Sunday Breakfast
Happy Sunday everyone. It’s the first full weekend at home I’ve had in awhile with all the adventures, events and celebrations of the last few months. It’s been so nice to actually get a few things done around the house (I did SO MUCH laundry yesterday) and focus on the things I care about.
For one, that means more home-cooked meals. I’ve been feeling a little bit like a scavenger in my own kitchen recently, but that changes this week. I’ve made a plan for a few healthful and tasty meals over the next week and bought supplies and ingredients. A little bit of planning in advance goes a long way.
This morning we had my favorite pancakes. I’m more of a waffle girl than a pancake girl but these are just so good; they have exactly the right amount of sweetness and fluffiness. Full disclosure, I had these for dinner earlier in the week too. Oops.
I also made a broccoli quiche for dinner last night. Despite making the world’s worst pie crust, it was really satisfying. Even for dinner. I think the secret is extra broccoli and fresh herbs.
Just a little announcement, Cute and Delicious is now on Facebook, so you can like it HERE and keep up with new posts and other discussion. Yay!
What are you making for dinner this week?
in the kitchen
Despite all the hard work it takes to put together a supper for eight, I do love being able to spend so much time in the kitchen creating an assortment of dishes. Yet again, I got so caught up in preparing and serving everything for our most recent secret supper I didn’t take a single photo the night of the event when everything was finished and presented. I still think just the colorful vegetables, spices and ingredients are beautiful though. Oh and that quiche, it’s making me dream of quiches and pies to come.
The days are getting darker and cooler and I am looking forward to the many delectable meals that will be prepared in our kitchen. The turn of the seasons and the coming of fall brings me so much happiness.
Have a wonderful weekend!
easter brunch
Well, we managed to pull everything together and put together a lovely Easter brunch. We even managed to snag an amazing dining set, including a beautiful hutch and a buffet, from Craigslist and pick it up on Saturday. There was a lot of cooking and moving of furniture and cleaning (as we still haven’t quite moved in 100%) but I’m proud to say it went off without a hitch.
We reused the wonderful moss centerpieces from our rehearsal party along with a few pieces we have in our china collection. I am totally in love with this bunny.
We also used the cloth napkins that we got for our wedding (which you’ll be seeing in action, in the next few days). Clearly I have a thing for bunnies. While we do have a lovely set of spring themed dishes, we were one setting short. This mismatched mushroom plate fit in nicely though.
I even tried my hand at flower arranging for the occasion. I obviously chose a vase that was much too large, for my flower selection, but I was really happy with the extra color.
I had to get a little fancy and make these french toasts with asparagus and orange beurre blanc that I found on Martha Stewart. Of course, with a few simple substitutions, I was able to veganize the entire recipe. They were a lovely addition to the brunch, slightly decadent, but not too sweet or overwhelming of the other dishes.
I’ve never had a beurre blanc sauce before so I’m not sure if I made it quite right but it was extremely tasty.
Cooking in our new kitchen is a dream. For the first time, I have sunlight in the kitchen. It’s an amazing thing.
Shawn’s one request was a deep dish quiche filled vegan bacon and daiya cheese. I used the broccoli quiche recipe as the base from Vegan Brunch
Alicia brought some delicious roasted Brussels sprouts and a carrot ginger soup with cashew pesto. So good. I also made some roasted spring vegetables but forgot to photograph them. Oops!
My mom made an orange quinoa salad. Definitely an orange theme this year.
Nine of us fit at our new table! I still can’t believe we found it.
With so many different dishes, we had to fill our plates many times with small servings. Here’s round one with the french toast, quiche, soup and veggies.
Mochi really wanted to be part of the party.
I made some molasses candies as a treat. Having never made them before, I’m pretty pleased with how they came out. I think I could take another crack at it though. I used blackstrap molasses so they were particularly strong. Ideally I’d prefer them to be a bit more subtle and less chewy. Of course, they should also be coated in chocolate. Making candy is like making magic.
Luckily my mom brought an assortment of chocolates from Xan confectioners.
It was a wonderful day filled with family and friends. It definitely showed me how much it takes to host a good party. Thank goodness I had help with the dishes. Now I’m just glad I have the rest of my Sunday to relax.
February roundup
Okay I have to admit I’ve been a bad blogger this month. I have been distracted by a number of things and have not devoted the time to this blog that I would like. In an attempt to find some redemption, I have a few things to report on.
One of the first points made is that in a troubled economy, many people turn to comfort foods. This fact on it’s own, isn’t what irked me. What got under my skin was the equation of Kraft brand foods with comfort foods. Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup when they’re having a bad day? That’s why it’s called comfort food. It certainly does not mean it needs to be junk. “Pasteurized prepared cheese product” is not food. The tomato soup and grilled soy cheese you see above has all the appetizing qualities and simplicity of any good comfort food and it’s vegan.
Without going on a diatribe about how bad certain processed foods are, I just want to point out that if you want something simple and inexpensive there are vegan alternatives that cover these bases as well. Not every meal you make has to be gourmet. If you want a box of mac and chreese that is better than that blue box you had when you were a kid Roads End Organics makes some amazing vegan versions that are not only insanely delicious but under $2 a box. I recommend the Shells and Chreese especially.
I suppose I’m just upset by the fact that something like this interview even made it onto the air. I can’t believe that someone can go on and say that Velveeta mixed with salsa is a healthier direction. How about just salsa? How about delicious fresh tomatoes, chopped and seasoned with herbs and spices? Doesn’t that sound more appetizing? I realize I’m ranting a little, but I’m just a bit shocked still that on the same station I hear reviews of local farmers markets that I also heard this garbage about processed junk and how to market it to people when they economy is down.
And moving on…
For Valentine’s day breakfast he cooked up some tofu scramble, camp style of course. Tofu and mushrooms mixed with nutritional yeast, ketchup, mustard and cooked over flame in vegetable broth. It was seriously delicious. We also enjoyed the typical camping fare: veggie dogs, veggie burgers and oatmeal. You can check out some more of our misadventures and Shawn’s beautiful photos of the trip over at studiodrome‘s blog We even made it in the local paper!
