clearly, i’ve had a few recipes just waiting to get online. this one longer than most. i know, i know. i promised it months ago and just never had the chance. the good news is, i’m getting to it now. and i’m sure you’ll forgive me once you taste these bad boys. or…maybe you won’t because you could have been eating them for the past month. details.

this one was born out of a request from the hubster. you see, he isn’t a huge chocolate fan {crazy, i know}. and gets a little jealous when i make cookies and get to devour them while he just looks on with envy. his request: cookies without chocolate. easy enough.

these cookies are simple, easy, and incredibly tasty. you can dress them up. or eat them plain. but whatever you do, enjoy them!

simple sugar cookies

ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick earth balance, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs hazelnut oil {optional}

directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. in a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. set aside.
3. in a large bowl, cream together the earth balance and sugar until smooth.
4. beat in egg, vanilla, and hazelnut oil.
5. gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
6. roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
7. bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. let stand on cookie sheet five minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. [they break otherwise...i learned the hard way.]

* if you want to sprinkle sugar on top, i won’t stop you. but i do recommend pulling them out at around 5 minute to do so. it adds a nice little treat.

this recipe is vegetarian, dairy free, nightshade free, cinnamon free, soy free, and contains no msg.

{and in case you’re wondering, i’m totally trying to make up for the egregious lack of posting for the past month or so. is it working yet?}

being back in the ‘burgh and dealing with the fact that winter is still very much present, soup seemed to be on the brain. but not just any soup. sweet potato soup.

not quite sure where the craving came from as i have never had sweet potato soup before. and while most potato soups happen to include the nightshade variety {ie – white, red, russet…} of potatoes, sweet potatoes made for an easy substitution.

the recipe {potato and garlic soup with fresh thyme, pg 97} that i officially went with was adapted from the complete vegan cookbook.

Sweet Potato and Garlic Soup

ingredients:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes or yams
• 5 cups 365 brand vegetable broth
• 6 cloves garlic, whole
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1 tbs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dry
• 1/2 tsp salt
• black pepper
• 2 tsp minced fresh parsley {optional}

directions:

1. heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat.
2. add onions and saute, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes.
3. meanwhile, peel the potatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
4. add potatoes, broth, garlic, and bay leaves to the stockpot. increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. stir, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and falling apart.
5. add thyme during last 5 minutes of cooking.
6. remove and discard the bay leaves.
7. use an immersion blender to puree the soup {you could also use a regular old cuisinart}, and blend until fairly smooth.
8. return puree to the pot, add salt and pepper, and heat until steaming – approximately 2 minutes.
9. serve in warmed bowls garnished with fresh parsley {again, optional}.

note: this recipe is vegetarian and vegan. it is also nightshade free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, soy free, egg free, cinnamon free, and contains no msg.

well, hello there my severely neglected blog. i’ve missed you! really. i have. so much has happened while i’ve been gone — i quit my day job; went to the west coast {arizona and seattle} for two weeks; started a pilates class and a meditation class; began a new business; photographed, edited, and listed an insane amount of books over at the etsy shop; and wrote several to-do lists.

with everything that happened last month, one of my most favorite things was getting to make soft pretzels with my mama. not only was it just plain fun to do, they happened to be the most amazing soft pretzels on the planet. seriously. i’m not exaggerating here.

please don’t be scared by the length of the recipe. it’s really not as complicated as it sounds. and the effort is most definitely worth it in the end when you taste those fresh-from-the-oven pretzels.

Ridiculous Rye Pretzels
courtesy of the New York Times

• 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup whole-grain or dark rye flour
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons earth balance, melted, plus more for serving
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• Coarse sea salt or kosher salt, for sprinkling
• Mustard, for serving.

1. Combine 1½ cups lukewarm water (110 to 115 degrees), yeast and honey in a large bowl; stir to combine. Add the rye flour, 2¾ cups all-purpose flour and kosher salt; stir again.
2. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 12 to 15 minutes, adding up to ¼ cup all-purpose flour if needed, until the dough is soft and smooth but not sticky. (Tip: to prevent dough from sticking to hands, rub a small amount of melted earth balance or vegetable oil on them.)
3. Lightly brush a large bowl with some of the melted earth balance. Shape the dough into a ball, seam side down, and transfer to the bowl; brush the surface of the dough with melted earth balance, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm spot for up to 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
4. Lightly brush two parchment-lined baking sheets with earth balance. Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 12 pieces. With your hands, roll one piece into a snake with thinly tapered ends, about 16 inches long. (Cover remaining pieces with plastic wrap while working.) Transfer to prepared baking sheet, looping one end, then the other, over the midpoint of the roll, making a pretzel shape. Repeat with remaining dough. Let the pretzels rest 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, placing two racks in and above the center of the oven. Meanwhile, bring 10 cups water to a boil in a large pot. When the pretzels are ready, stir the baking soda into the boiling water. (Note: if you double the recipe, make a fresh pot of the baking-soda wash for each batch.) Gently lift 2 or 3 pretzels, depending on the surface area of your pot, and slide them into the bath, knot side down. Poach for 30 seconds, turn them over and poach 30 seconds more. Using a long-handled mesh strainer, transfer the pretzels to a kitchen-towel-lined sheet tray to drain, then return them to the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle freely with sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
6. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, turning the trays halfway through, until dark brown. Transfer to a cooling rack until just cool enough to eat. Brush the tops with melted earth balance {optional}, if you like. Serve with mustard.

this recipe is vegetarian, also dairy-free, nightshade free, soy free, cinnamon free, and contains no msg.

the hubster and i officially made it out of pittsburgh before the second snowmageden hit. we are thrilled to be out of the cold, and into the dessert where the only “weather” that hits is an occasional raindrop amidst the 50-60 degree weather. and that’s a cold spell.

so far we have been living it up with lots of fun activities like:

• an extended trip to the half price book store. got some amazing cookbooks {wholefood, new good food, cooking for arthritis – has lots of nightshade free recipes, vegetable heaven, sunlight cafe} and some natural health books {the natural health bible, healthy living with ayurveda}
• made sweet potato and chickpea koftas from mollie katzen’s vegetable heaven
• went to hohup yoga with the hubster and my mama
• went to see the ansel adams exhibit at the phoenix art museum
• hiked superstition mountain {at least parts of it} at lost dutchman state park
• took pictures at the elvis presley chapel in apache junction, az
• took a weird train ride through the goldfield ghost town
• lunch at wild thaiger, though not sure how “safe” my meal actually was. our waitress thought i just didn’t like peppers. oh well.

taking lots of pictures, of course. but…forgot the cable to upload any of them. will have to post a link to the album once it gets uploaded on flickr.

that’s about all i have to report. i’m sure i’ll have more fun things to post about soon. i’m going to a meditation class with my mom tonight, we are headed to sedona for a day trip, and tuscon for an overnighter. certainly beats being in the cold and snow of pittsburgh!!

head on over to PopCity for a great article on some pittsburgh foodies, their blogs, and a bit of fashion fun.

one of the blogs – FoodBurgh – actually talks about [gasp] vegetarian eating in the ‘burgh. shocking. and delightful. and totally my kind of blog!

…it’s been 1 entire week since my last confession post.

and frankly, i’m not sure i have anything new to report. it’s been a pretty boring food-related month so far. maybe it’s the frigid weather we’ve been having, but i’ve been feeling less than motivated when it comes to cooking. or eating.

i did make a tasty butternut squash soup last night. we had it with an incredibly tasty rosemary boule from whole foods. quite a yummy combination if i do say so myself.

what have you been eating lately? have any good recipes to share?!

there was a great post over at iheartpgh on monday {jan 4} about being a vegetarian in pittsburgh. yours truly had a nice little quote at the end about being a vegetarian and the choices that people make around food.

also featured are some of my favorite local foodie pals terra mcbride and kelly miser.

thanks to jennie for the great article. and for putting me in some great company!

the hubster managed to document our weekend of festivities. seeing as there were about a million great picture, i had to make a montage to get the most mileage out of them.

side note: why does 2010 look so weird? almost feels like we should be part of a space odyssey. well, maybe a dyslexic space odyssey…or something.

in any case, i hope you had a fantabulous new years celebration filled with lots of good food, good people and plenty of libation [water included].

we had a great time in the mountains of north carolina. there were so many great things about our trip. most importantly, it was spent with people we love. doing the things that we loved: relaxing. talking. playing. creating. cooking. eating. connecting.

some amazing things about our trip:

we spent four whole days without phone service, internet access, or television. and you know what? we survived. in fact, we loved it. [until it came time for football, but that's another story.]

we ate incredibly well. now that might not sound amazing, but if you consider the fact that we had several people with different food intolerances and food issues, you might be inclined to agree. every meal had something for everyone – including nightshade free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, cinnamon free, no msg and several candida-friendly meals. oh, and every meal was vegetarian to boot.

i did not leave the house. not once. until we left. what? it was cold. and there were too many fun things to do inside, like play pick [aka bananagrams] and knit. yep, finished my fingerless mittens that i started a year ago and a scarf.

hope you had a great time doing whatever you did. and wishing everyone a happy, and most importantly, healthy new year.

looking forward to another year of good food and fun!