FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Resolution #Fail

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So… I’ve officially broken all but one of my New Year’s resolutions.  My 365 Project lasted only a few weeks.  I try to make the most of Tampa, but I can’t stop longing for LA.  I just couldn’t help myself in the dairy department when faced with sea salted caramel brownies at the Taste of South Tampa.  And then meat…  I hadn’t had a single non-seafood meat craving until I went to Animal (THE carnivorous hip spot in LA) and sampled all sorts of animal.  It was at that point that I downward spiraled.  It’s a darn good thing I’ve been keeping good company!!!

On my last day in LA, Hansell grilled a feast complete with feta filled risotto, meat skewers, and grilled glazed donuts toped with melty ice cream.  Even I’m not crazy person enough to turn down that degree of temptation.  I gorged.

GORGED.

Upon my return home, I immediately reverted back to my non-dairy veggie state. Relief!  Relief that was totally destroyed when car accident Friday happened.  I nursed my neck-ache with champagne, fume blanc, and real cheese pizza.  Oh and I had real cheese pizza in LA.  I had fallen so far off the wagon.

But it gets worse…  When I drove home from St. Pete on Saturday, I lost complete control.  To avoid completely grossing you out, let’s just leave it at… I ate both Taco Bell and McDonalds on Saturday.  Are the WTFs flying yet?!

Even after all of this, I had zero intention of being a perma-meat eater again. But I’m not one to deny myself a little bit of out of control (OK a lot a bit of out of control).  I decided to give myself a proper send off  to veggie-ville by visiting an ultimate favorite of mine, the bar at Bern’s Steakhouse.  I ate the whole shebang: french onion soup, salad, baked potato with sour cream, chateaubriand, onion straws, and veggies.  Leftovers?  Ha!  Not at all.

The moral of this gluttonous story is…  My body is so far out of whack that I’m happily returning to non-dairy, veggie Kristin.  I stocked up on my pre-LA guilty pleasure spring rolls (which seem a lot less guilty now) and stir fried some marinated tofu and green beans for dinner.

 

Look Out Weekend!

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Isn’t this how it always pans out?  You’re exhausted all week and you promise yourself a nice quiet weekend and then…  You get an invite to something too fun too pass up?  Oops?

My friend Kelly emailed me earlier today about a non-touristy sunset cruise that she and the other Kelley are going on tomorrow and asked if I’d like to join.  I hesitated out of pure sleepiness, but knew this was something I couldn’t turn down.

You see, both Kell(e)ys are moving soon: one to Jacksonville and one to Spain, so I need to get as much Kell(e)y time in as humanly possible.  And there are about a gazillion cherries on top of this cakey invite, some of which include:

1.  The cruise is BYOB

2.   Kelly is kind of a big deal at a local wine rep and will, for sure, bring the best bubbly ever.

3.  Kelley is famous for her veggie trays.

4.   I’ve been looking for an excuse to make this vegan layer dip

5.  FULL MOON!!

So party, party it is, because I don’t see myself making my way back over the bridge after boating.

Now on to the dip…  that I totally jacked from my college roommate, Emily, and modified to be dairy free.

Mix one package of dairy-free cream cheese with taco seasoning to taste.  I used about 1/2 of a large packet, but it’s important to sample periodically because it can get super salty, super fast.  Then layer refried beans, taco seasoned cream cheese, and salsa in a casserole dish (or pie plate).  Top with olives and sliced jalapenos (that I forgot and have to pick up at the grocery store tomorrow on my way to St. Pete).

Serve with tortilla chips or health it up by toasting sprouted corn tortillas.

Oh and hoping to bring FoodFash mashes back stat!

Emergency Cookie

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What do you do when you’ve got the ‘I still want to be on vacation’ blues?  Bake emergency cookies, obvi!

I used to make shortbread cookies all the time when I was younger because a.) they’re delicious and b.) all of the ingredients are solid pantry staples.

I decided to mix things up by using the almond meal I hadn’t touched since the world’s most expensive brownies.  And then I erred on the side of caution by using an almond meal/bread flour mix.

FoodFash Almond Shortbread Cookies

1/2 Cup Almond Meal

1/2 Cup Bread Flour

1/2 Cup Earth Balance

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Dash of Salt

Mix all of the ingredients together until all of the Earth Balance is evenly distributed.  Roll the dough into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!