Vegan Chocolate Shake

Last night, we had a little sweet tooth that needed to be satisfied. We made these amazingly simple vegan chocolate shakes & they were gone in about 2 minutes!

Ingredients

• 4 frozen bananas (peel & slice them before freezing)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 3 tbsp un-sweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (or PB2 mixed with a little water)
• 2 tbsp protein powder (we use the vegan hemp protein from Trader Joes … it’s really tasty) – This is completely optional by the way: we hadn’t eaten dinner, so we wanted a little protein to fill us up!

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in blender & mix.
2. Enjoy!

This makes 2 big shakes, so 1/2 the recipe if it’s just for you!! 

 

Buffalo ‘Chicken’ Pasta Bake

I love sharing vegan recipes here … and we really strive to eat vegan whenever we can. However,  some most days, we want a little more cheese in our lives. Last week, we made all of our meals at home. It was really nice to have that time in the kitchen, and know that we were treating our bodies a little better. We needed a little comfort food, so we decided to make this buffalo ‘chicken’ pasta bake for lunch. We say ‘chicken’ because what we treated as chicken is really something else amazing: soy curls (more on that in a post a little later this week).

You guys … this dish blew our minds. We ate it ALL in one sitting <- let’s act like I didn’t just share that detail. It was SO FREAKING GOOD!

Ingredients

• 1 box of rigatoni pasta
• 1 cups soy curls (soaked/drained)
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk (yes, I realize I use real cheese/butter, but also use copious amounts of almond milk when cooking)
• 1/2 block of monterey jack cheese (grated)
• 1/2 block of cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cups Franks hot sauce (plus a little more for the top)
• 3 tbsp Italian bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup green onions (diced)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 2 tbsp ranch dressing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2. Soak soy curls in bowl for 10 minutes, then drain. Add to hot pan with olive oil & a few dashes of hot sauce. Continue cooking on medium heat until soy curls have developed a little color.
3. Cook pasta in water until just al dente. Drain & set aside.
4. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large sauce pan, then add flous and cook until flour is golden. Whisk in almond milk until smooth. Stir occasionally until mixture thickens, then add the most of the shredded cheese & hot sause. Stir together.
5. Add soy curls to sauce.
6. Add 1/2 of the pasta to an oven safe baking dish. Pour half of the sauce/coy curl mixture on top. Then repeat. Make sure pasta is coated with sauce.
7. Top with remaining cheese & bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden and bubbly.
8. Remove from the oven and top with green onions, cilantro, hot sauce & ranch.
9. Enjoy!

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Words To Shoot By :: Askew

Not sure about you … but sometimes, it’s really easy for me to be sucked into an internet wormhole. One minute, I’m checking my bank account, then the next thing I knew, it’s 2 hours later, and I’m lost in the work of an amazing creative. Last fall, before moving to Portland, we discovered Words To Shoot By via that same wormhole phenomenon. WTSB is a collaborative of photographers & artists who come together a few times a month to contribute photos. These photos are their own interpretation of a word that Steph, the lovely curator, sends out.

Once we were settled in Portland, we got in touch with Steph, and it was just our luck: she was starting WTSB up again after a short hiatus, and looking for new contributors … the timing was perfect. This is our first time contributing, and we are so excited to get to know the other amazing artists we’re so lucky to be sharing a space with. Be sure to head over to see this week’s post: Askew.

Jimmy:

Ravyn:

Monday Morning

Monday 2.27.12

This past weekend was nothing to write home about. In fact, I’d like to forget most of it. I was under the weather from Friday afternoon until this morning … pretty weak, and feeling ultra-puny. The most activity I did was washing a sink full of dishes … the rest of the time was spent on the couch, catching up on episodes of Big Love, and knitting a new cowl (that’s the pink thing up there). Speaking of knitting … Jimmy jumped on the bandwagon this weekend, and started to knit his own hat. It’s quite funny to sit on the couch with my husband who’s knitting away … but I really love it. This morning started with a nearly 4 mile walk in the bright, warm sunshine. It feels really great to be feeling better.

Happy Monday.

Nikon D700 // 28-75mm  f2.8 // Processed with VSCO film.

Apple & Cinnamon Coffee Cake

While we were catching up on TV last night, we ended up watching a few episodes of New Girl. In one of the episodes, Jess was appalled to know that one of her new friends doesn’t like dessert. How could someone not like dessert?! Well, I am kind of one of those people. Sure, every now & then, something sweet sounds good, but typically, I’d choose pickles over ice cream & pizza over a cupcake!

Here’s the thing, Jimmy loves sweets. So, in order to keep my hubby happy, I try to cook outside of my comfort zone a few times a week … which leads me to this apple & cinnamon coffee cake we made this morning.

You guys … If you haven’t stumbled upon Food Happy, take a few minutes to browse the site! Stephanie is a fellow vegetarian who uses a clean, simple approach to cooking. Her ingredients are easy to find, yet the dishes end up tasting like they took hours to prepare!! So, when I saw her recipe for Gram’s coffee cake, I knew we had to try it!

Head over to her post for the full recipe with step-by-step instructions & ingredients. *Note: We used almond milk instead of 2%, and it worked wonderfully.

The Incredible Holg :: January

Yes, we named our Holga. In case you don’t know … a Holga is a toy camera of sorts. They are made without strict quality control, meaning there are often light leaks and blur & vignetting on the photos. It’s all part of the fun … It’s an experiment. It’s a challenge to shoot without a focus ring that you can see, no meter & it’s film, so you have no idea what you’re getting until you have the film developed.

Here’s a bit of The Incredible Holg’s action from January. All of these were taken by Jimmy … he’s pretty amazing with film.

Loving this double exposure … It’s dreamy!

Holga 35 mm // Kodak Tri-X <-Favorite b&w film ever!! 

Meeting Our Fitness Goals

There comes a point when you realize you’ve let yourself go. I think it was a few weeks ago that we both agreed we really needed to keep working harder on getting into better shape. We have nothing stopping us now, and we both agree that before we even think about kids, we need to be happy with our bodies.

We’ve been really good at taking hikes & walks during the week … J is running again, prepping for another 1/2 marathon this May. One of the coolest apps we’ve been using lately is Run Keeper. We can easily keep track of our walks/hikes/runs, and Run Keeper gives us reports to help keep track of our activities.

Since we’re getting a handle on the whole ‘moving’ thing, our next focus is our diet. Trying to eat all (or most) of our meals at home has been a challenge, but  doing a weekly meal plan is really helping. We aren’t focused as much on eating carrots & cucumbers only … Just more on eating at home. Preparing all of our food from whole ingredients, and trying to have some portion control.

Basically, we’re really trying. It’s hard. It’s hard to find the time to exercise. It’s hard to have discipline while making food choices. It’s hard to work hard and feel like you’re not making a difference. It’s hard knowing some people don’t have to try at all. But, with all of that said … it’s worth trying to make a difference in our lives. Plus, who doesn’t want to look better naked?! ;)

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Even though I’ve been a vegetarian for several years, I still have a way of remembering exactly what some of my favorite ‘meaty’ foods tasted like … a McDonalds cheeseburger, my mom’s fried chicken, and the number one comfort food in my book: chicken noodle soup. Who cares that it was from a can? It was so freaking good.

Thankfully, since becoming a vegetarian, I’ve only been sick a few times (maybe just two times), so it’s not like I had to suffer through yearly flus/colds without a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Though, I have to admit, there are rainy days when it just seems like the perfect meal.

Well, now, I’ve found a replacement. A really good replacement. Chickpea Noodle Soup may be one of my favorite ‘I-need-comfort-food’ meals ever.

Ingredients

• 7 cups water
• 3/4 box of elbow macaroni (about 3/4 of a pound)
• 1 can of chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
• 1 tbsp. canolla oil
• 1 tbsp. butter (use a tbsp of olive oil here to make this vegan)
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• a pinch of pepper for seasoning

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan
2. Add pasta, chickpeas, salt, garlic salt, oil & butter to the pan. Cook until the pasta is tender.
3. Serve. Be sure to add a little pinch of pepper in the bowl. Yes, seriously, it’s that easy. The water becomes the broth … a seriously tasty broth that gives the canned stuff a run for it’s money.
4. Enjoy!

Adapted from Fresh 365

Monday Morning

Monday 2.20.12

On Saturday, we met two new friends for dinner. Three and a half hours later, J and I were walking back to our apartment in awe that we’ve been lucky enough to meet some really great people here. This morning, I jumped out of bed for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood & up into the west hills. While I was walking, I noticed so many bulbs have sprouted, bushes are flowering and trees are budding in Portland. It’s pretty rad.

Happy Monday.

Nikon D700 // 28-75mm  f2.8 // Processed with VSCO film.

Instagram :: Lately

The air is changing in the Pacific Northwest. Days are getting longer. We’re enjoying our time together, and living as much as we can.