back in action!!

i'm back from outer space; it's summer again and i'm ready to begin my contorting journey again for real this time. 

here is from last summer:

here are some future goals:

 

freakin awesome, right? 

YUMATHOOOON!

i had some extra potatoes... and as they say, if life lives you a potato, make a salad!
or, i said that to myself! :)

recipe inspired by my friend, Cody Forrest, who made this super amazing vegan potato salad once and i ate all of it.

boil potatoes, the usual. let 'em cool, cut 'em up. big bowl. put a bunch of dijon mustard on it. i got some course ground because it looks cool. chopped scallions, fresh dill, olive oil, salt. i almost put half a lemon of juice, but then i didn't. maybe i should.

add stuff until it tastes great! don't overdo it at first, you can always add more.

oh! i am also going to make some pumpkin cupcakes with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. yuss. fall. brb.

THANK THE LORD.

 Long Beach Vegan Eatery. i approve.

there is a vegan place within walking distance from my apartment. SCORE.
i went there for the first time yesterday.
chikin parm sub. first off, this was the biggest freaking sandwich i'd ever seen. $9.95, i had just assumed it  was normal expensive vegan pricing. this thing though, was a honker. breaded chikin smothered in a chunky marinara and melted daiya cheeze on it in a ciabatta sub. yes, the ciabatta was perfectly toasted. masterpiece. needless to say, i ate the entire thing. but actually i was slowing down at the end which says a lot considering the size of my stomach!

today! burrito. beans, chikin, daya cheeze some other things i can't remember right now. i called it in so i wouldn't have to wait for it there, then called back thinking that some mac&cheez would be good too. little did i know how humungo the mac was. and the burrito!! this is seriously bigger than any chipotle burrito, and i know their burritos quite well. this beast must weigh 5 lbs. and the burritos always come with homemade tortilla chips and their homemade salsa which is also huge! must be 8 oz of salsa!! and i guess the mac comes with garlic bread?? this is a ridiculous amount of food, for $15. and it smells AMAZING.

time to eat yo.

update! i have devoured half of this burrito and am way stuffed.
blackbeans and refried beans, salsa, daiya cheddar, chikin strips, rice, wrapped up in a huge tortilla and grilled on both sides. holy. kdsanfoeiahras. and i can eat a chipotle burrito no problem. this has to be double one of those. 

hey, i like potatoes!

potato ballllsss!!!!

boil some taters, make sure to cut them into big pieces before boiling. (it's quicker)
sautee some spinach and minced garlic in a pan on the side. either use some white wine or olive oil or water if you want it to be low/non-fat.
chop some scallions and basil.
once the tatoes are all boiled (still on the firm side) mush all of it together.
roll into balls!
place on cookie sheet. it's pretty important to spray the pan so your balls don't get stuck.

taadaaa!


also!  tonight i ran out of wheat pasta, so i boiled some potatoes and treated them like pasta. a bit of olive oil drizzle, garlic powder, salt, black pepper. SO good. i didn't even miss the pasta. and quite filling!

soon, i will make a potato salad methinks!

kombucha!

best way to start the day!
i recently switched from coffee to tea. it's been a little rough.  i can't seem to drink enough tea to keep myself awake!
today, i have had about half of this kombucha bottle and i feel awesome. naturally energized, thinking clearly, happy, and calm. that's the sort of energy i want to have everyday.

today....!!

i went to trader joe's and was so tempted to buy a the vanilla date smoothie from ReJuice, but thought. oh.my.goodness! i am going to trader joe's! they most definitely have all of the ingredients, and i know all the flavors! oh man! I AM GOING TO MAKE MY OWN.

tadaa!

i don't have a picture though. because i didn't have my computer. but here's a picture of what it could have looked like! haha.

.banana
.vanilla soy ice cream (any sort of ice cream would work, tj's just didn't have other kinds of non-dairy vanilla)
.dates
.almonds
.water
.ice

yum to the max.

also, today, i watched the food network for a bit because, my parents have a television, and Paula Deen was on! i'd heard a lot about her, but never actually watched her show. she is quite a character. would not use any of her recipes, but she's hilarious. and i could totally use some ideas from her.
she made this cheesecake with pecan praline goo ontop. yo, i could totally make a vegan version of that. maybe next week. but it's going to happen. :)

when in doubt! bake a cake.

 well.....
my attempt at making vegan cupcakes was a fail.
because i'm stubborn.
i hate butter and buttery products. they just gross me out.
so, i tried to make frosting with a banana base.
i'm dumb.
this was the result. after probably 20+ minutes of beating it. (below)

 

a lovely overly-sweetened banana goo. 

  

 the cake part turned out super though! 

i used unbleached white and wheat flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, a bit of apple cider vinegar, almond milk, cinnamon, and canola oil.

i ended up drizzling some of the banana goo ontop and that turned out as an awesome glaze sort of thing. 

today i took half of the goo and tried to revive it as a frosting. i added half a container of tofutti cream cheese. it definitely got thicker! but not fluffy in the least bit, so i added some flour and made it into a 

cake.

oh! the stirfry at the top is what i made for dinner. i make healthy food too sometimes! this is halved baby bella mushrooms, chopped scallions, halved brussel sprouts, chopped broccoli, and immitation chicken strips sauteed in soy sauce and a bit of olive oil with minced garlic.

what to do with the rest of the goo... dump it all ontop of the goo-cake i made? oh dear.