a blog for food lovers.

Hi.

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:53:32 -0500

It’s been a really, super, seriously long time since I’ve blogged. I travel full time for work and haven’t had any free time to update..I’m sorry but I do hope you enjoy past recipes! :)

Mac & Cheese w/Butternut Squash

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:03:18 -0400

1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock, skimmed of fat

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne pepper

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound elbow macaroni

4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)

4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 ounce)

2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon olive oil

Olive-oil, cooking spray

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine squash, stock, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash contents of saucepan; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking dish (4 inches deep) with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.

I tried out this Veggie Vindaloo recently - absolutely...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:05:10 -0400

I tried out this Veggie Vindaloo recently - absolutely delicious! I substituted the spinach for collard greens.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 bag (250 grams) fresh spinach, washed and stems removed
1 tablespoon oil

for the Vindaloo sauce:

1 onion, chopped
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger paste
2 dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin powder
freshly ground black pepper
splash vinegar

Directions:

To make the vindaloo sauce:

Place the ingredients for the sauce in a blender and puree together.
Season to taste with additional, salt, chillies, or garam masala.

To make the veggies:

Using a large frying pan, lightly saute the zucchini and cauliflower in the oil.
When they begin to soften, add the vindaloo sauce.
Add the chickpeas and mix well.
Season to taste with additional, salt, pepper garam masala or chillies.
Just before serving, add the spinach leaves and allow them to wild.
Serve over white rice.

Quiet Storm - Pittsburgh, PA

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:58:22 -0400

I had a day off in Pittsburgh not too long ago and I REALLY wanted to check out a vegetarian place for lunch. Thank goodness for google search because I found one and knew I had to go after looking the menu over a few times! EVERYTHING sounded so good.

I tried the buffalo tofu tenders as an appetizer, I’ve never had tofu this way and it tasted so darn good! For lunch I had the apple panini - which had apples, seisage, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. It was a nice mix of sweet and sour and I would definitely recommend trying this out if you are ever in the Pitt area!

Check out the website for more info/menu etc: http://www.qspgh.com

Long time..

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:44:02 -0400

I am currently on the Honda Civic/Blink 182 tour and have not had any time to update this blog! Apologies, I do miss it..and cooking! Feel free to follow my personal blog until the tour ends in October: livefreeortour.tumblr.com

Enjoy the old recipes until I return! :)

I recently went to Disneyland (so much fun!) in California and...

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:23:32 -0400

I recently went to Disneyland (so much fun!) in California and had a super delicious meal - followed by this fruity crepe for dessert! It was definitely one of the most delicious things I’ve tasted in the 4 months I’ve been on the road! It was from a place called Orleans Cafe - which is right next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride! Try it out next time you are there - you will not be disappointed! ;)

Not the healthiest BUT I was really craving some Grilled Cheese...

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:00:33 -0400

Not the healthiest BUT I was really craving some Grilled Cheese when I stopped at Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas. It was the BIG MAC of grilled cheeses - LAYERED with 3 different types of cheese and served with tomato soup (with goldfish for crackers). I also got some sweet potato fries on the side, I couldn’t help myself! It was pretty delicious but a LOT more food than I could handle.

I stopped in Denver, CO this morning for breakfast. I went to a...

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:11:39 -0400

I stopped in Denver, CO this morning for breakfast. I went to a great little place called Watercourse - I had the Mediterranean Blue Plate special with tofu (Sweet potato homefries cooked with caper berries and olives, tossed with sheep’s milk feta, and served with two eggs any style or scrambled tofu and choice of toast). It was delicious! If you’re ever in the Denver area..make sure to check it out.

http://watercoursefoods.com/

Sorry for the lack of updates!

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:56:35 -0400

I haven’t been cooking much. My current tour is ending soon so I have been very busy. I’m hoping to get creative with the crock pot again soon though. Stay tuned! :)

I went to the original Kerbey Lane Cafe location in Austin, TX a...

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:31:38 -0400

I went to the original Kerbey Lane Cafe location in Austin, TX a few days ago and had the vegan breakfast platter which included spiced pancakes, tofu scramble and soysage. Soooooo good! Austin has some amazing food spots & Kerbey Lane is right up there with my favorites!

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:20:18 -0400

This is the first thing I’ve made in my crock pot on the RV! It took right around 3 hours to cook down, and of course I modified it a little so there were not as many ingredients as the original recipe. It came out pretty darn good, my bus mates were pretty impressed. I am only bummed that I wasn’t able to use fresh ingredients, instead I had mostly frozen veggies. STILL - it was so good! YUM! (these directions are for a slow cooker only!)

3/4 cup quinoa
1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium potatoes
16 oz pkg frozen corn kernels OR 4 ears fresh corn on the cob
4 cups vegetarian soup stock or water
1 cup chopped green beans
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 lg red pepper, diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic

1 tsp gr coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
1 bay leaf
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro OR 2 scallions sliced, tender greens & whites

Sauté garlic in oil. Add potatoes, red pepper & beans, sauté 5 minutes
Combine all ingredients except corn & cilantro or scallions in a large crockpot
Cover and cook on low for 3 - 4 hours
Turn heat to high, add the fresh or frozen corn kernels, and cook for another 1/2 hour
Stir in the cilantro or scallions, salt & pepper to taste, and serve

I just got a crock pot for the RV!

Sun, 29 May 2011 23:37:01 -0400

Any veggie/vegan slow cooker suggestions?

Ezekiel Breakfast Sandwich

Tue, 24 May 2011 12:14:55 -0400

Traveling on an RV has been a challenge in the cooking department. I managed to make a decent breakfast sandwich with ezekiel english muffins, tofutti, sprouts, egg whites and meatless canadian bacon. Pretty darn good actually! All I had to put this together was a microwave, george foreman grill & a skillet.

I finally had the chance to stop at a popular Nashville spot,...

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:12:12 -0400

I finally had the chance to stop at a popular Nashville spot, Loveless Cafe. They are famous for their fried chicken, but since I am a vegetarian I opted to have breakfast food which was just as delicious as the chicken I’m sure! Eggs, Biscuits & Hasbrowns. I have to say..they have THE BEST Strawberry Jam I have ever had! If you’ve never been..make sure you check it out the next time you hit Nashville. :)

I stopped here on a recent trip to New Orleans for some...

Mon, 16 May 2011 19:45:36 -0400

I stopped here on a recent trip to New Orleans for some Beignets! First time trying them out, so delicious!

I recently went on a business dinner in San Antonio, TX to a...

Tue, 10 May 2011 14:24:28 -0400

I recently went on a business dinner in San Antonio, TX to a place called Urban Taco. I normally go for the same dish when I’m out for mexican food (enchiladas) but the style of this place was different, and they didn’t actually have what I wanted so I had to try something different. This ended up being a good thing!

I tried the 3 taco special with 2 sides which included: Red Snapper, Potato & Zucchini, Roasted Corn Con Lime. These were served on small, soft flour tortillas. I had Green Rice & Grilled Green Onions as a side. EVERYTHING was delicious! Just thinking about it now is making my mouth water.

I finally got the chance to stop at a real grocery store...

Wed, 04 May 2011 12:35:21 -0400

I finally got the chance to stop at a real grocery store recently and picked up a bunch of food for the RV. I’m not a huge fan of frozen food but sometimes it is just the easiest thing to make when traveling. I got quite a few things from the Amy’s brand - like this Macaroni & Soy Cheeze. I never had it before, but it was delicious! I also made up some Morningstar Fake Bacon to go with it. Yum!

You can’t go wrong with Jimmy Johns! Definitely my...

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:57:34 -0400

You can’t go wrong with Jimmy Johns! Definitely my favorite food to order for delivery when I’m on the road. You can order online at most locations AND it’s delivered very quickly! I always get a #6 on wheat with a pickle. Mmm :)

I tried out a Vegetarian place while I was in San Diego one day...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:33:40 -0400

I tried out a Vegetarian place while I was in San Diego one day for lunch called VegNout. I got The Island Boy which had Veg Chicken, Jalepenos, “bacon”, L, T, O, Vegenaise. It was good, but not GREAT. The place was cute though & def worth checking out if you are ever in SD. They had a LOT of options so it was hard to choose just one!

http://vegnout.com/

I was in San Diego for about a week while the RV was getting...

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:40:40 -0400

I was in San Diego for about a week while the RV was getting some repairs. On my last day there I checked in to see what the best breakfast spots were in SD. I saw a place called The MIssion come up quite a few times, and it had a LOT of great reviews…so I went there!

The menu had a lot of great options so it was hard to choose, but I ended up going with the Zen Breakfast. It included tofu, brown rice, egg whites and slices of cooked squash and zucchini. It was so delicious, and I ate every bite! If you’re ever in San Diego, definitely look up The Mission. There are a few different locations and they also serve lunch.