The days of froth have returned. The holidays are all about decadence right?
My morning cups of coffee have been quite elaborate as of late. I think the cold weather brings it out. This one was less than 50% coffee. The rest was cocoa powder, stevia, coconut milk “creamer” froth, and a partridge in a pear tree candy cane. YUM-AY
I also had a cup of Chai tea. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m obsessed with Chai tea lately. It probably has more to do with the way it warms me up than anything else – ha!
Continuing my liquid love morning…
OK. I can’t contain myself any longer. I have been on the edge of my seat waiting to post about this baby.
When my parents came last weekend they brought me their (rarely-used, collecting-dust-in-the-cupboard) juicer. I could hardly wait to use it! So excited (you guys know how long I’ve been lusting after one of these babies). But then I got swamped with my parents visit, work, the holidays…and had no time to get any juice-able groceries. Que lastima! Well, today the stars aligned and I FINALLY got the chance to juice it up.
I decided to start with a basic trio: apple, carrot, kale.
Whoa, this thing was scary…it was growling at me and carrying on (eek!), but once I set my camera down and started following the directions, I realized it wasn’t so hard after all.
Mmmmm…carroty :) At first I thought it was weird. It was like drinking a carrot (duh), but I really liked the taste! So clean and pure – I felt like I was showering my insides. Does that make sense? No? Oh well.
Cleaning all the individual parts of the machine was not so fun, but I did discover the pulp is almost as good as the juice! I saved it for a future meal, so stay tuned for my pulp-y dinner.
Since it was pouring outside, I set up shop on the couch. Just me, my computer, and America’s Next Top Model…
And some snacks. Apples sprinkled with cinnamon and Barbara’s rounds with roasted red pepper hummus (these photos are a mere representation of the actual snackage).
Later on I tried to replicate the roasted chickpeas that we had at Tabla.
I made the chickpeas from their dried form and (as I always do) left them a bit al dente. Then I patted them dry with paper towels, sprayed them with cooking spray and added salt, pepper, chili powder, and paprika and put them in the oven for 20 minutes (375 degrees).
They were the exact crunchy consistency of the ones I had at Tabla! So good, and unbelievably easy. These may reappear again and again and again. Lord knows I love me some chickpeas.
Tired of snack foods (shock), I knew I needed something substantial if I was ever going to muster up the energy to change out of my PJs brave the weather. Enter PB+J sandwich.
Not the most quality of breads, but then, peanut butter and jelly isn’t exactly the most sophisticated of recipes is it?
At the gym I had a mediocre work out, but the important thing is that I did something. The rain was friggin’ relentless, so I opted out of the extra mileage that shopping at Whole Foods requires and instead settled for our local market. I ended up paying 200% the cost for organic produce, but I also returned home with feeling in my fingers…I’d say that’s a worthwhile payoff.
For dinner I made a huge salad with field greens and juicer pulp, which I topped with two vegan Boca burgers and big blobs of hummus and BBQ sauce.
Humm-becue = best combo ever!
For course two I had Imagine’s Sweet Pea soup. I thought I would adore it since (a) I love peas and (b) I love Imagine’s other flavors…
Unfortunately, this soup wasn’t my fave. I finished the bowl, but didn’t go back for more (which is how I grade a good soup). Basically, if I can stick to the actual (listed) serving size, it’s just average. Normally I polish off the whole box/can/whatever in one sitting. Just sayin’
Vegan double chocolate cake.
Dessert put me in a coma, which was good since I had to go to bed early for work the next day anyways. Always seeing the silver lining, huh!
I think we need to start our own non-profit which finds good homes for all of our nation’s neglected juicers!
“cocoa powder, stevia, coconut milk “creamer” froth, and a partridge in a pear tree candy cane. “–now that sounds good!
Glad you’re still on the ‘jo. And that you havent gone totally chai tea on me.
Juicer. Well. I have one. A macked out Breville but since I hate cleanup, I dont use it as often as I should. The pulp crackers and stuff rock..but I dunno. I guess that’s my one lazy kitchen thing, is not juicing too much but as you know, I am normally a maniac in the kitch. 🙂
Thx for the info bout the bound book of the blog. I would like to do that. But want MINIMAL effort. I need to look into it b/c for me, minimal means paying a fee and letting someone do everything else. Anything more and sigh. I need to hold off. Maybe for my blogoversary I will do it though!
that cake does look delicious!! & your coffee sounds amazing as well 🙂 coffee drinks are the best. jealous of your juicer!! & sorry you didnt like the pea soup :- oh well
xxo
shelley
http://findinghappinessandhealth.wordpress.com
wow, that chocolate cake! heavenly!!
im NOT a fan of split pea soup-not only does it look like something from a babys diaper but it doesnt taste too yummy eitha!
i LOVE your frothie drinks!
that cake is killin’ me! looks sooo good.
I love me some chickpeas too, always a winner in this house!
And yay for juicing, I love it! And yes, I know exactly what you mean about showering your insides – I feel all shiny and new after I’ve had a big glass of green juice. YUM!
All your eats look fantastic….especially that cake!
I actually like carrot juice straight up.. of course I don’t have a juicer- but the fresh kind from the bottle is yummy! I think my favorite- is apple, pear and ginger juice… give it a try! I just think the ginger (if you like it ) is amazing in juice! I love getting new toys to play with! Juice on!!
Shouldn’t you be done w/ that cake by now!?! LOL, I kid. Seriously though. Looks delish.
Ya on the juicer!
That salad w! Hummus and BBQ sauce looks soooo great as well as your dessert!
Jenna
Hey, it looks like the cake cancels out the bad soup – it might even be powerful enough to end global warming, give jobs to Americans, stop armed conflict….okay maybe it just looks delicious!
Thanks for the heads up bout the sopa – I am a split pea fanatic and probably would have picked that up at some point. I guess I’ll stick to Amy’s and Dr. MacDougall for my quick fixes.
And I agree, frothy/foamy drinks are the best!
holy froth. actually holy drinks! i neeeed to try a juice! but i would suck at it. make one for me now, k?
if i liked chocolate that cake would have me doing backflips! i guess we’re both lucky i don’t. more cake for you and no backflips for me.
Showering my insides – that is why I love you! I still haven’t had the hummbecue combo. I’m missing out on this glorious taste bud party.
I really want to try that coffee! I totally neglected to buy “milk” at the store yesterday. Hopefully next week. I’m dying for a juicer, too. It looks like so much fun!
“showering my insides” – Totally know what you mean. I love foods that make me feel that way!
Ummmm coconut coffee is so delicious, and you DEFINITELY deserve it. Have you had coconut cocoa? AMAZE.
If I didn’t love just plain coffee, I would be all over your morning drink combo, it sounds lovely!
I’m still quite iffy about the juice thing…I love crunching on veggies and apples too much, I doubt I could find juice satisfying…
Nice job replicating that chickpea recipe–so nice to be able to do that sometimes 🙂
When I moved out to L.A. I “borrowed” my mom’s rarely used juicer. It’s amazing!!! And I don’t think she ever missed it!!!
Nice job!
How cool is your juicer?! What a great gift! You know, you can also use the pulp left over from juicing in baking–muffins, breads, etc. Yum!
Courtney
How good are juicers! We got one a few months ago and use it all the time (cleaning it immediately helps – it’s much easier and quicker to clean it straight away than let it sit there).
My current favourite juice is apple, carrot, beetroot and ginger (lots of ginger!)
At least the soup LOOKED good.. even if it didn’t taste good. All pretty and greenish.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a juicer.. maybe when I’m no longer a broke bum I’ll buy one. They look pretty nifty.
It’s been awhile since I entered a dessert coma.. really.. want.. to.
Hi, just a random reader, but I’ll have you know that my dinner salad was dressed with enchilada sauce and salsa and layered with sheets of nori! I guess your palate isn’t so warped after all! The combo definitely works!
BEAUTIFUL juice!!! I am so happy that you got a juicer!!!!
oooo i am loving your pimped coffee concoctions. hooooray for the juicer! and i love humbecue. so damn good.
I’m so glad I wasn’t able to read your blogs as you posted and just getting to this one now cuz just had some freshly sqeezed oj…mmmm…The oranges are the first harvest from my uncle’s orange tree and the juicer thing was this $0.99 plastic thing that wasn’t the most efficient in separating most of the pulp, but hey, what do you expect if it’s only 99cents! Your juicer from your parentals, looks very tech savvy, and I’m so impressed with your pulp recycling mode. Que bueno!
I heart you! I am the most delayed person ever when it comes to commenting…but thanks for the link love, LOVE!
HUMMMMMBECUE FOREVER!!
How are you hun? I’ve been catching up on your posts and want you know that I can 100% percent relate to how you’re feeling, even if it may be about completely different issues. Please know I am here if you want to chat! Honestly — I’m not just saying that! Let’s email or something.