New Job Starts Tomorrow!!

So obviously my biggest concern is what color to paint my nails.  It is October which calls for the darker shades but it is also 91 degrees in Huntington Beach which is hotter than it was most of the summer.  Since I'm not sure what the vibe is at the office or what the dress code policy is I figured I'd go with something a little demure and once training is over and I'm out on the field on my own I can fire off the blacks and reds and glitters, oh yes.  

The winner, A Taupe the Space Needle

Feed 'em

Tiny paper bags that were for the trail mix bar at the wedding now work perfect for snacks! 

Packing lunch for my main squeeze is really kicking my ovaries into a frenzy.  I can't wait to pack special lunches for my curly headed non-existent beebees. sigh. We got a mason jar salad with tomatoes, edamame, green beans, corn, cucumbers, jalapenos, grilled chicken and avocado.  A whole wheat wrap also with grilled chicken and avocado, some carrots, some pub mix and one of the most delicious Jazz apples I've ever had.  He's working out more now so we thought it best to start easing some meat back in every now and then.  A man can only survive off of tofu so long before he starts growing chi-chi's.

Vegan Tofu Chili

I've decided that my cooking style these days is "healthy soul food" so with that comes today's creation

VEGAN TOFU CHILI & JALAPENO CORN MUFFINS

Soy cheese and milk-free sour cream

Drizzle a little honey when they come out of the oven, oh boy!

I know tofu isn't for everyone but at least give it a try, my husband loved it and he is not a tofu fan at all.

NECESSITIES

For chili:

2 cans of red kidney beans (drained)

1 can of great northern beans (drained)

1 can of diced tomatoes (or stewed, whichever ya like)

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 yellow onion (diced)

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 fresh jalapeno

1 pressed and drained package of extra firm tofu

2 tbs. olive oil

For corn muffins:

1 box of jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 c. milk

1/2 fresh jalapeno

8oz. drained corn

1 tbs. mayonnaise (grandma's secret ingredient)

Chili:(4-6 servings)

1. In a medium pot on medium high heat saute the diced onion, jalapeno and garlic until brown

2. Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper 

3. Crumble tofu into pot and stir until coated with seasonings

4. Add tomatoes and drained beans, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes and you're done

Corn muffins: (makes 6-8)

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.Grease cupcake tin

3.In a bowl combine all ingredients, fill cups 3/4 of the way and place in the oven for 15-20 mins

Pinterest Reviews: Mason jar salads & Boiled scents

Mason Jar Salads: Awesome.
Wonderful idea, legit concept. Just make sure the order is correct.  The salad stays fresh all day.  Take it easy with the dressing tho because once you start cramming goodies in there it creeps up and you don't want it touching your salad.

Boiled orange peels and cinnamon sticks: Disgusting.

Sounded like such a good idea and I figured with a small apartment it would make the whole place smell great.  It smelled like hot cinnamony urine. Had to trash it instead boiled lemon peels and rosemary which were just sitting on my counter, much better.

Breakfast of champs

Living in Orange County I have noticed an over-abundance of  gnats. Disgusting.  They're everywhere, all in the grocery stores, on the streets and on our patio which we have a sliding screen into our kitchen.  They kept managing to get inside so we bought a screen to block our patio from the outside world and I also made one of those apple cider vinegar traps which worked wonders. Now to my point; me and DB loooooveeee bananas and we would only get to enjoy them for a few days before the gnats started hovering.  At this point I would just peel them and stick them in the freezer with the intention of making banana bread at some point but I have found a new pleasure, banana shakes.  In the morning I grab 3-5 of these frozen delights, throw them in the blender with a cup of vanilla almond milk, 1 tablespoon of honey and blend into submission. It's so creamy and so filling you almost feel like you shouldn't be having it for breakfast.

Sometimes I'll toss in some strawberries for a little kick.  Go, do it.

A Good Book or 8

My whole life I've never been able to just read one book at a time and the library only makes it worse.  At this very moment I have a bookmark in:

 -The China Study

-A New Earth

 -The Vixen Diaries

 -Nutrition for Dummies

-Fifty Shades Freed

-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

-The Wind in the Willows

Nothing brings me so much joy as a stack of books and a quite place.

“Oh for a book and a shady nook,
Either indoors or out,
with the green leaves whispering overhead,
or the street cries all about.
Where I may read at all my ease
both of the new and old,
For a jolly good book whereon to look
is better to me than gold” 
― John Wilson

Butter chicken for Toby

Toby is here!  I say that as if everyone already knows who he is and the sad thing is that if you don't know him you probably know someone who does.  Toby came to visit us with his friend Charlie on his road trip from Colorado back to the Bay Area.  Toby is an artistic soul, a master in all forms of creativity (check his site www.mynameistobias.com) including cooking, so I felt I had to come correct with him as my guest.  The  hubs and I are pretty much vegan but we never subject our guests to our eating choices so tonight I experimented with a new method of cooking chicken, oh man...so good.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it because as soon as it was out of the oven the man was home from work and ready to eat.  But never fear, dear Tobias snapped a pic for instagram that I have stolen, it doesn't look delicious and the plate is not beautiful but please believe it was fan-freakin-tastic.

What I used:
12 drumsticks
Table salt
Olive oil
1 stick of salted butter
1 sprig of rosemary
Any seasoning blend you like *my favorite, sent to us from my brother & sister-in-law in Baltimore*
Heavy pot or pan with lid, i used this.
Baking sheet

Please note, I do not measure anything and I do not look at times so everything is a guesstimation.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. Throw the drumsticks in a tupperware container full of salt water and stick it in the freezer to chill out. The salt water keeps the chicken from being bloody when it fries and I find that once the cold chicken hits the hot oil it seals the moisture in better. *I did this about 20 minutes before step 2 but the longer the better*
2. In the pot I put 1TBS. of olive oil and 4TBS. of butter on medium-high heat.
3.  Once the butter started bubbling I took the chicken out of the freezer, rinsed and seasoned it.  I then placed the drumsticks into the pot allowing them to brown on all sides.
4.  After all of the pieces were browned I placed them on a baking sheet and poured the remaining butter mixture from the pot on top of the chicken.
5. I popped the baking sheet in the oven at 350 for 15 mins  I then turned the pieces over and  upped the heat to 400 for 5-10 mins and when the skin began peeling back off of the legs and the pieces appeared to be done I broiled them for a little under 5 mins until they were crispy looking.

The chicken was so juicy and would be delicious with a sweet glaze afterwards, I'll be trying that next time.