Thanksgiving post

This past week was my birthday AND Thanksgiving for me. I've been busy giving thanks and celebrating life- oh and I guess I had a HUGE feast in there as well. :)

Brown rice, mushrooms, garlic and onions with gala apple for some different texture



Creamed corn a la John



Sweet potatoes- naked and delicious


John baked me a birthday apple pie!


I was really grateful- can you tell?


A TARO cake. They are my favorite cake and I NEED to learn how to make one



I got a new food processor. Happy birthday to me!! :)

This past week has been one of the best birth-weeks. I've been on a 5 day vacation and visited all my friends. I have to say thank you! to all those that made my first days of 25 fantastic.

Teddy

Potato Corn Cakes

I've been off sampling the Whole Foods Deli again. My sampling this week was their Potato Corn Cakes.




I'm not sure if they came through in the picture but those green flecks in there are jalapeños. Their potato corn cakes had a lot of spice to them. It was the last thing I expected but I loved it.

They definitely aren't for the faint of heart though. I'm not sure most people would enjoy the level of spice added to these. I sure enjoyed it. Perhaps I'm a loco, spicy-food-loving girl and you may be a anti-spicy goddess :)


Like your food with a lil kick? Then you'll probably enjoy Whole Foods' potato corn cakes.


Teddy

Poached Pear

I must start this by saying I am NO EXPERT on wine by any means. The reason I wanted to try this was the adorable bottle!!

Come on, it's cute right?

I simply pealed the pear and simmered it in the wine with a couple of cloves for about 20 minutes.

This is a great desert to impress your friends. It's quick, simple and extremely flavorful. Give it a try sometime!


Teddy

Vegan Chicken Salad

Vegan Chicken Salad

Last weekend I learned that a gigantic Whole Foods opened just 7 miles away from me. I HAD to check it out. Having been to some disappointing Whole Foods in the LA/Orange county area, I was not expecting much. I was shocked by how AMAZING this particular location was. They have everything from a decent vegetarian/vegan section of the deli as well as a tea bar and a separate coffee bar.

The Tustin Whole Foods is definitely going to be a shop I frequent at least weekly.

After seeing and sampling (thank goodness for the open sampling of ALL items at the store) this vegan chicken salad, I had to get some for lunch this week. Normally I don't like anything drenched in mayo but the onions and pickles are delicious in this. Two thumbs WAY up in my book. I even walked out with a weeks worth of munchies for about 30 bucks.

If you're in the area you MUST check out this new Whole Foods (and if you happen to be in town on a sunday, their sunday brunch comes with 25 CENT mimosas until noon!)

Teddy

Chocolate Peppermint Pie

This is my first official recipe testing post for Melody ;)

Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Pie

Of course, I choose a dessert. I've yet to have a slice but the pie LOOKS good and that has to be a sign of good taste right?




I'm not sure how you could go wrong with chocolate and peppermint- this recipe is already a success to me.



Teddy

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, I only eat pumpkin and chocolate this time of year so EVERYTHING becomes pumpkin chocolate. I mean, I need to eat a whole years worth over a period of a few short months, ya know?

I must resist making the same delicious thing every day.

Extreme cookie close up!

Don't be surprised if there is MORE pumpkin chocolate desert sometime soon.


Teddy

Midnight Baking

Can't sleep and don't know what to do about it? Are you sick of watching infomercials and late night television?
Well I have a new solution.

BAKE

Nothing like the smell of freshly baked cookies to help soothe a person to sleep.


Teddy


PS stay tuned to see what I baked :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins

Vegan pumpkin and semi sweet chocolate muffins

I've been yearning to get into the fall spirit but mother nature seems to be fighting me on this one. It's been in the high 80's here in southern California and I'm sure everyone's heard about our fires. There's one fire only about 10-15 miles from here but I'm confident it won't reach my home. So far everyone I know is safe and let's hope it stays that way.
There's a TON of California "snow" accumulating and it's pretty smoky out but it's probably worse in San Diego. Hope everyone is okay down there!

On a lighter note :)...



Before this heat wave and fire fiasco arose I prepared myself a whole pumpkin for my annual fall baking.
Above is my first pumpkin creation. Last year I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies quite a bit and this year I wanted to lighten them up a bit for a muffin recipe.
I shared these with some friends and only ate one myself- note to self make more of these soon. I've already had requests at work haha

Stay safe,

Teddy

Garlic Potatoes

If you want to get technical about it, I officially call this:
Rustic roasted garlic potatoes with rosemary

But who's keeping track right? :) What really matters is the taste.
I tell you, they are terrific.

Simply chop up some new potatoes, throw in a roasting pan with olive oil, salt/pepper and rosemary- the whole process takes about 30-45mins in a 350 degree oven.
That alone is a good dish.

If you want to make it over the top, toss some garlic into some aluminum foil with olive oil and place in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 mins. Mash in some of the soft roasted garlic and anyone who takes a bite will think you're amazing - well from MY experience. lol

Enjoy your starches people!

Teddy

Mom's Birthday Dinner

I know it's been a while but here are the pictures I took at mom's birthday dinner :)




We went to her favorite sushi restaurant. It was so cute. Once we finished eating they surprised us with a green tea mochi birthday "cake".



Although we were all stuffed, we managed to choke down some mochi (and when I say "choke down" I actually mean fought each other for every bite!)
I'm the night was a success and I think it's safe to say mom enjoyed her lil birthday bash.

Teddy