Quarantine Times - Weeks 5 & 6

The weeks are starting to blur together. Here's what's been happening...

 Finding my kitchen looking like this and texting it to the culprit.

 New flowers popping up in the garden.

 Enjoying the beautiful weather for hikes.

Exploring new paths...

{Crock Pot Split Pea Soup}

The crock pot has been my friend.  I made this soup and also this one.

 Speaking of soup, College Girl made some Vegan Matzo Ball Soup and I bulked it up with some brown rice and spinach.
Some other recipes I've been revisiting....

Roasted Red Pepper Rigatoni

Easy Black Bean Lentil Burgers

Cauliflower Stuffed Shells

I also made lasagna with the ricotta mixture from this recipe.

More puzzles..this one is custom puzzle with a photo we took in Italy. 

It's over 1,000 pieces so it might be more than we can handle.  

This one has been more manageable and fun to put together. It's called Where's Bowie and there are different David Bowie personas in the puzzle.

 The weather has been unpredictable so sometimes I have hot tea by the fire.

 While the lilacs are  also in bloom.

See more lilacs here.

We had hail one day too! Crazy!

How is your quarantine going?

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{Recipe} Cinnamon Raisin Protein French Toast

I had some cinnamon raisin bread that needed to be used up and was in the mood for French toast.  I wanted to make it a little more filling so I added some unflavored protein powder to the dipping mixture.  It made the house smell amazing while it was cooking. 

Ingredients:

1 cup dairy free milk

1 scoop protein powder

2 TBS ground flax seed

2  tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp cinnamon

4 slices cinnamon raisin bread

coconut oil for frying (optional)

To make:

• Combine non dairy milk, ground flax, protein powder, vanilla and cinnamon in a large shallow dish. 

• Whisk well to combine.

• Melt some coconut oil in a frying pan(optional).

• Dip bread in mixture making sure to coat both sides and place in heated pan.

• Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side.  

• Serve with maple syrup and enjoy!

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{Photography} Editing Lately

I can't take photos of clients right now but I've been working on my editing skills so I can keep them current and fresh.

I've been going through images from previous sessions and finding the editing process so rewarding.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed editing them.

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{Recipe} African Peanut Stew

I think this blog is turning into a soup blog but it's what I've been making a lot of lately.  This is actually a stew that cooks up in the slow cooker so I'm mixing it up a little (haha!).   I was inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes

4-5 cups diced sweet potatoes (2 medium)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used creamy)

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

4 cups chopped greens (I used kale but spinach works too)

toppings: peanuts, fresh basil 

To make:

• Combine all ingredients in slow cooker (except the kale/greens). Cook on low 6-8 hours.
• Stir in chopped kale and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Mash sweet potato until the stew is thickened.  Serve with chopped peanuts and fresh basil on top (optional). Enjoy!

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Easter 2020

This was definitely a strange Easter for us. In the last few years we've been going to New York to visit City Girl and in other years we've gotten together with family.

With both girls being here, we would have loved to see our local family but that wasn't possible since we are social distancing.

It was still nice to have them here and help plan our Easter brunch menu.

A table for four.

I made Heavenly Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal and sweet potato hash.   We got out for a long walk and even saw the Easter Bunny walking around in a local town from our car.

For dinner we ordered take out and made sangria to go with it.

College Girl made a delicious vegan lemon cake for dessert. It was a sweet ending to a quiet Easter.

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Quarantine Times-Week 4

Last week was our fourth(my fifth?) week of quarantine, here's what we've been up to (besides working!).

I dropped soup and scones off for a friend who is recovering from surgery. I also made a little bouquet for her out of flowers from the garden.

We finally got a puzzle to work on. I'm waiting on two more!

I made these Peanut Butter Cup Energy Balls. I keep them in the freezer for a sweet treat.

 Our state parks are closed but the trails are open so we've been exploring them on Sundays.

 We had our masks but weren't wearing them for a family photo op.

We had sushi bowls (basically this recipe without rolling them) one night with...

Sticky Sesame Cauliflower

We watched this crazy Netflix show together.

I also made some more of my bread from last week's post.
I hope you're staying home and keeping healthy!

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{Recipe} 3 Ingredient No-Knead Bread

I made this bread a few months ago but I hadn't done step by step photos until now.  With the stay at home order and bread limits at some stores-it's a good time to try your hand at bread making or if you just want a foolproof recipe.  (Sorry if you're not eating bread right now--come back later!)

 This could not be simpler and really only takes 3 ingredients to make (plus water).  Perfect quarantine bread!

 The only issue with this bread is that you have to plan for it. It has a really long rising time (8-24 hours) so you must plan ahead.  I found that if I mix up the dough the night before I need it, it doesn't feel like too much of a hardship and I'll have fresh bread the next day!

 Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour (I haven't tried it with any other kind of flour yet)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (just warm from the tap)

 To make:

• Mix together ingredients in a large bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 8-24 hours on the counter (no refrigeration necessary!).
• When you're ready to bake the bread. Preheat oven to 450ºF and place Dutch oven (or covered baker) in the oven to preheat as well.
• Form dough into a ball on parchment paper and let rest for 30 minutes while Dutch oven is preheating.
• Carefully add the rested dough on the parchment paper to the (HOT)  Dutch oven and bake covered for 30 minutes.
• Remove lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

 Remove from the oven and look at your gorgeous loaf of bread!

 You'll feel so accomplished!

 Let it cool a little before you cut into it..unless you just can't wait!

 I like to check the center to make sure it's cooked all the way through.

It's delicious right out of the oven, toasted later or great for sandwiches (we had paninis last week!).

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