Winter Happenings & Life

We've gotten a lot of snow this winter and it has been sticking around longer than usual.

I'm ready for it to all melt but it sure looks pretty when it first falls.

I've been reading a lot and this was a fun read and a spin on Romeo & Juliet in modern times with dare I say, mature adults.  It's  cute!

I made my 3 Ingredient No Knead Bread again, this time in a loaf pan, and it turned out perfectly that way.

I got this beautiful book from City Girl for Christmas and it's so beautiful sitting out  but also fun to look through.  I've been following their Instagram account @accidentallywesanderson for a long time.  

I watched Bridgerton on Netflix and flew through it. Now I'm reading the books and loving them too.  

We went to Philly for City Girl's birthday dinner.

We were cold but it was worth it!    Her friend was able to meet us there which made it extra special.

Some of the food we made for Super Bowl (but didn't watch the game).  We made pesto pinwheels, Buffalo Chickpea Dip, Cauliflower wings and...

this Simple Healthy Slaw.

I made a vegan chocolate cheese cake with chocolate ganache for City Girl's birthday. It may not look pretty but it was so good!

Speaking of City Girl, she moved back to the city!  We've been helping her move her in over the past couple of weekends.  I like to look out the window at her place (drinking wine of course)  and watch the happenings outside.

I bought a fresh new candle in hopes that Spring would get here quicker! It's not working but it smells nice.

We've been walking at the state park because the path is clear on most days.  The views are so pretty too.

One last shot of the snow before it's (hopefully) gone for good. I saw these tracks leading up from the woods  and stopping midway. I wonder what they were doing?

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{Recipe} Vegan Pasta With Lentils

I tried a little something new with this recipe post.  I've started creating videos for my photography clients and practiced making this one first (see it below).  This is an easy, budget friendly meal that comes together with a few simple (mostly) pantry ingredients.  

Ingredients:

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBS tomato paste

8 cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 1/4 cup dried brown lentils

1 1/4 cup short tubular pasta (like mezzi rigatoni)

5 cups vegetable broth (plus more if  needed) or water

1 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

salt  & pepper to taste

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

vegan parmesan for topping(optional)

To make:

• Heat some water (or olive oil) in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions  carrots and celery, cook and stir for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
• Season with salt and pepper. Add the lentils, tomato paste,tomatoes, broth, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer with the lid slightly ajar until lentils are tender (around 45 minutes). 
• Bring to boil and add pasta.  Add more broth if necessary.
• Cook, stirring frequently so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom, until the pasta is al dente and liquid has reduced.  Discard bay leaf.
• Serve with some vegan parmesan if you like. Enjoy!

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Costco Finds & Faves

It's been awhile since I did a Costco post (see my Costco Holiday Finds for the last one) and I've got some more things to share with you.  Some are new and some are favorites that we continue to purchase.

This was new to me. It's very sweet and I've found that I like it better as a warm drink. I use half a scoop to cut down on the sweetness.  It tastes like warm apple cider.

I love getting our spices at Costco. They are such a good deal. My current faves a are: Garlic Powder,  Cinnamon, Onion Flakes, Everything Bagel Seasoning  & Cumin.  We also get the Himalayan Salt & Black Pepper grinder combo there.

Their organic frozen fruit is also a great deal.   Mango is a staple that I like to keep in the freezer (sometimes I defrost it for snacking).  I also love their organic blueberries.

We stocked up on butter for holiday baking. I still have a few in the freezer.

Mr. Click just picked these up.

Nuts are another staple that I like to keep on hand.  I keep them in the freezer if  we're not using them quickly.   Sometimes I can find raw cashews as well.

We tried the Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano when the girls were home and it was a hit. 

These were also a hit but too big to keep around the house.  We sent  some off with each of the girls.

Kirkland batteries are well reviewed so we were interested to see  how they stack up against leading brands. They've been great!

When we were at  Costco over the weekend I saw that they had our beach chairs for sale again.   Now is the time to pick them up. They seem to always sold out by summer.

{Travel-Ocean City Maryland/Assateauge Island}

We got  them last year and they've been such an upgrade from our old ones. I want to get two more!

What are you favorite Costco finds?

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{Recipe} Vegan White Lasagna Soup With a Twist

 Ever since I saw this recipe for Vegan White Lasagna Soup,  I knew I would be making  it.

The only problem was that when I wanted it I didn't have any lasagna noodles on hand.   No worries, I swapped chickpea rotini in for the lasagna noodles and they worked out perfectly!    I also got a protein kick by using chickpea pasta.  

Ingredients:

Cashew Cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked
1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBS lemon juice

Pinch of salt & pepper

Soup

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 medium sweet onion, dicedd

Juice of 1 lemon

6 cups vegetable broth

2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used a combination of basil, parsley & rosemary)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp agave syrup (I used 1 tsp)

8 lasagna sheets (I used 8 oz of  chickpea rotini but any pasta should work)

1 package frozen spinach, defrost/squeeze out as much liquid as possible (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

To make:

• The cashews  need to be soaked for 6-8 hours but in a pinch you can soak them for 15-30 minutes in boiling water.
• When you're ready to make the soup, first make the cashew cream.  Drain and rinse off the soaked cashews. Add them and the rest of the cashew cream ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until very smooth. Set aside.
• Heat a large soup pot and add some water (or olive oil) to the pot. Add garlic and onions and cook until slightly caramelized.
• Add lemon juice and scrape any bits of onion and garlic off of the bottom.
• Add in vegetable broth, Italian seasoning,  nutritional yeast and agave.
• Pour in the prepared  cashew cream and whisk to combine everything.
• Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
• Break up lasagna noodles into 1-2 inch pieces if using and add to pot. Otherwise add whatever  pasta you prefer.  
• Simmer stirring frequently until the noodles are al dente (check your  package instructions for how long they need to cook.
• When noodles are cooked, check and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Add in defrosted spinach (or fresh if you have it. ) Chopped kale would be nice too!
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

This was a hit and I'll definitely be making it again!  Check out my Recipe Index here if you're looking for more inspiration.

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