A not so Christmas creation...

...But good just the same. I had my sisters-in-law come over Friday to Saturday for a sleepover. We did a lot of baking and laughing while they were here. For dinner that night I made a homemade pizza. It came out really well and last night we decided to try it again. Only this time we made a taco pizza!



It came out really well! It's our family's replacement for Godfather's taco pizza. Less expensive, and the lettuce doesn't wilt before you can eat it. I really like it with sour cream smeared on the top of it.

More Robin FoodPorn

With a testing deadline of December 24th for her current book, I have been quickly finishing up the testing on a few recipes for Robin.

{Note, I've now received permission to print titles of recipes, just not the recipes themselves. :)}


Savory Artichoke Squares feel like a cross between a really good bread, a great sauceless pizza, and a decadent appetizer, all in one.


Chocolate Faux-Silk Pie is creamy, silky, rich, and downright sinful.


Indian Eggplant Fritters go perfectly with other Indian dishes, and are crunchy and flavorful.


Pierogi Stuffed with Potato and Fried Onion is my FAVORITE recipe thus far. This is comfort food at its finest, and the whole batch was inhaled by Rian, Oliver and I in less then 10 minutes, no joke. This recipe alone is worth buying the book for.


Not a testing recipe, but foodporn-worthy in its own right, Fettuccine with Red Lentil Sauce is a recipe from Robin's book Vegan Planet. The sauce is delicious and creamy, and innocuous enough to trick an 18 month old into consuming 3 bowls of pasta slathered in it.

Women's Health Subscription

I also apologize for not posting near as much as I should. I'm hoping to get a camera soon and there will be an onslaught of pictures coming in then. *fingers crossed*

Life has unfolded very un-beautifully for us since we bought our house and I've been running like crazy trying to get things done.

Anyway, I decided last year to get a Women's Health subscription in hopes that it would be a positive influence in my life. I thought they would have some good ideas for keeping energy levels up (which is necessary when you have a toddler) and some fun recipes and good work out tips. As my year's subscription comes to a close, I have realized that I was sorely mistaken in my views of WH. Don't get me wrong, they have good tips on makeup and fashion and the occasional hint on how to spice up your "bedroom life" and some decent recipes. But aside from those (which are many in number but very few are actually helpful) the entire magazine is basically screaming "You look like crap! Go workout!" And then there are the success stories from women who write about how they used to look like you and they DISGUSTED THEMSELVES! So they jumped on the treadmill 3 times a week or quit eating out so much and now they are pretty and they love themselves because they don't look like YOU anymore! And you just sit there thinking, "I didn't think I looked that bad!" Each issue comes with full color pictures of how you SHOULD look if you would just eat this - which ends up tasting like cardboard with bad icing on it, or that which goes down about as easily as it comes back up and tastes about the same too. So at the risk of losing all contact with the outside world and losing all of these wonderful ads for cardboard, I am not renewing my subscription to Women's Health. And I like to think that I'll be saving a few skinny trees from wishing they were fat people so they didn't have to get cut down to make this magazine.

Another Day, Another Cookbook

I apologize deeply for my lack of posting. Something a little like life {and a butt-busy one at that} has hit me, and I just haven't had the time or wherewithal to get my butt over here and post.

This will all be changing now. I was recently chosen to test for Robin Robertson's new cookbook, 1000 Vegan Recipes. I am extremely flattered to have been chosen, as those within vegan circles will know...she's a freaking way famous cookbook author! hee hee *gets a little giddy and starstruck*

Ahem.

In any event, I will be testing like crazy for her for the next few months. I've been asked not to post actual recipes {which makes sense} or recipe titles {which makes...some sense}, so I will do my best to give very brief descriptions...and pictures...oh the pictures!

My first testing assignment was a batch of peanut buttery muffins. These little babies took me right back to the days of Elementary School lunchboxes. If these muffins are any indication, I am going to LOVE testing for this cookbook.



{I also recently acquired a Digital SLR, so hopefully my photography will be improving. This photo is not that great, mostly because there was no natural light. Be expecting better photos in the future. :D}