Oh, I've been so slow lately, so very very slow. I've been going at a snail's pace, just slurring along the sidewalk, doing my best not to get squashed by pedestrians or dried out in the sun. These have been my priorities as of late, and as usual, my poor old blog is the first to suffer. I did manage to get a recipe out this week, so there's that.
My kitchen has been experiencing some separation anxiety as well, as my cooking has taken a turn for the infrequent. I suppose I'm in a sort of creative slump recently, so I've been sustaining myself on super simple meals (read: glorified snacks). Rather than totally succumb to ennui and sloth, I picked up a cookbook at the library and decided to let it do some of the thinking for me.
It's been a while since I actually followed a recipe. Usually I just browse through the photos and ingredient lists, then interpret the dishes my own way. I guess you can chalk one positive mark up for drowiness. It seems to have granted me to patience to follow directions, step by step. The book I embraced this week was The Sprouted Kitchen
Cookbook, a collection of tasty whole foods focused recipes accompanied by ethereal photography and quick, casual storytelling. I'm enjoying the book quite a bit, and the hubby and roomy are enjoying the food too.
I made the Red Lentil Soup and Roasted Acorn Squash recipes from the book last week. Both were very simple to construct, and plenty tasty. I gobbled the squash without remorse. I didn't see recipes for these exact dishes on the Sprouted Kitchen blog, but she did have some other lentil soup and acorn squash recipes up for you to check out. If you want to make the same things I did, you'll just have to go find the book
- Spiced Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk | The Sprouted Kitchen
- Lentil Soup with Chipotle Yogurt | The Sprouted Kitchen
- Roasted Acorn Squash & Harvest Salad | The Sprouted Kitchen
- Squash Boats with Quinoa | The Sprouted Kitchen
I've been working hard to reduce my sugar and starch intake lately. That means giving up my beloved ice cream. Bummer, I know. I've contrived a snack that helps to soothe the aching void ice cream has left. It's not exactly health food, I guess, but it's got to be better than Hagen-Daaz. At least I hope so.
Behold, the peanut butter vanilla parfait. I scoop out a tiny bit of all-natural peanut butter and plop it in the bottom of a tiny, four ounce cup. Then I add a little blob of chocolate syrup, followed by a big dollop of fat free vanilla greek yogurt. I add an extra dab of chocolate syrup on top, follow by about a tablespoon of granola. I'm no saint, but I figure how bad could this possibly be?
I've been teaching up a storm lately. I taught a photo editing workshop at AFBA Photo Camp a couple of weeks ago. Camp was a great success, and I was glad to be a part of it all. That same weekend I taught a vegan sushi demo in Fredericksburg. The crowd was small, but we had a good time getting to know eachother, and I think I may have converted some sushi-phobes over the the right side of the plate. Last weekend I taught a private sushi class in South Austin for a very fun group of ladies celebrating a bachelorette party. It was my first private class, so I was a little bit nervous. Luckily, they were a great group, and we all had a wonderful time rolling maki together.
I've been a real bookworm recently too. Right now, I'm reading the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
Read anything good lately?