Simply..simple.

Yesterday was post #50...That's just an itty bitty milestone in my little blog life...but anyway.

Last night I felt oh so very homemaker-ish. It was about 10pm. I was sitting on the computer, bored, with a mostly-clean apartment and not a ton of ambition. What I normally do when I'm bored is reach for the handle on the fridge. (I never said I was perfect.) Well, tonight when I did, I noticed a lovely little cauliflower, sitting all alone.

Remember this post? Well, I decided to roast some cauliflower and then mash it up with my awesome hand mixer (still don't know the actual name...) and whip up some diet mashed potatoes.

Then, the oven was still hot, and I looked in my pantry. Chick peas. I could totally roast those. So I drained and rinsed the huge can, sprayed 'em with some pam, and salt and peppered them before roasting for about 15 minutes. They're so good, and an awesome snack!

I realize I didn't cook up a turkey dinner with homemade cranberry sauce and gram's secret gravy recipe, but this was a milestone for me. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I had a small cup of veggie juice and had a couple bites of my creations. Not bad for reaching for the fridge door, huh?

Let's backtrack for a second- back to the mashed "potatoes." Whenever I use that mystery hand mixer that my mom gave me, which belonged to my great-grandmother, I think of her being in her apartment in Brooklyn teaching my mom how to use it. How simple (and maybe more difficult!) it was to "make-ah-da-sauce" (Italians talk funny sometimes.) They didn't have processors. I know what you're thinking- duh...

I looked around my own apartment. We live so simply. Yes, Chad has his big TV, but we have a small kitchen table that was my grandfather's. Our couch is a love seat from my parents' set. We don't have much. It's mostly second hand.

But I wouldn't trade this life for much else.

I'm a simple person. I don't need "things" to be happy or survive. I thrive off of love, happiness, laughter, (weird, isn't all that in my blog address?) and family. I mean, let's face it, I went into a pretty selfless career path.

Sometimes Chad says "must be nice to have a big house and a boat and three SUVS and a private jet and a town named after your first dog" but I don't think it would be. Money is nice, but it's not what makes a person. I know that even given the chance, I would not be interested in the slightest in having a huge house. (A huge yard is another thing. My only dream is to have Callie in my backyard and a nice garden.)

It almost makes me sad to hear him say things like that. I want him to see the beauty in the small, simple place we have. Sure, we don't own it, but that's not entirely important. There's a little saying "Home is wherever I am with you."

That's how I'm feeling today.

Being thankful for today.

Today, I played hookie. Hooky? Hookee? I don't even know how to spell it- that's how often I cut class.

Anyway.
I picked up my new car, decided on homemade chili with cornbread for dinner, and got home...to Chad already at home and an air freshener for my new car, with a card on the table. A "random" act of love.

Thank you, Chad, for being my best friend and for being so amazingly wonderful to me lately even while I've been sick and too exhausted to do much more than make the bed.

That's all I really have to say today, but I will leave you with some silly pictures that I've been meaning to show.


Carson likes to hug Chad's leg while he snuggles.


I will probably never read a recipe all the way through before attempting it. This is what I had to google when I got all of my ingredients boiled, mixed, stirred, and...what? You need an ice cream machine?!...


While I do my homework, Carson lets me pretend I have a dog....he sleeps like one.


Thank you Chad, for letting me take pictures of the food that turns out half-okay before I allow you to dig in. Stuffed portobellos, salad, and tofu. Successful evening.


I know, Carson overload. But...Chad made this. Carson is in LOVE.


And here's my new car. :)

Big News!

I just wanted to let all of you know something BIG.
Like, REALLY. REALLY. BIG.

I just made lunch.
Chad sat down.
Chad bit into lunch.
Chad loved lunch!

and...for one of the first times, I LOVED what I made!


Thank you Emma @ She Got Married once again for posting such a deelish recipe for your squash & tofu veggie burgers!

Tofu Squash Burgers
Makes 6 patties

1/2 pound tofu -- crumbled
1 pound yellow squash -- grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 small onion -- minced
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon oil

(Serves 3)

Mix all the ingredients (except oil) in a bowl. Form 6 patties and fry in
oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until brown on one side. Turn and
fry 5 minutes longer. Serve hot on whole wheat buns.

Per Serving (2 patties) : calories 247, Protein: 14g, carbohydrates: 30g, fat 10 g

Alright- there will never be a day I follow a recipe the exact way it calls for it- so here were my subsitutions.

I used spaghetti squash. It was what I had.
Instead of wheat germ, I used 100% natural oatmeal.

Ok, that's it. Oh, and I didn't have whole wheat flour so we used the white. (I'm using my white flour up and switching to wheat- okay?)

Chad and I had some light wheat bread so we used that as "buns" but I ate my second burger with no bread. Deelish, full of veggies, and my boyfriend had a yummy start to his day. This means I'm one step closer to being an ultimate home maker.

Sunny Sunday...time to indulge.

I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed today (surprise!) & I had one thought on my mind. "What's for breakfast?" I could have done oatmeal...meh. I could be healthy and have a fruit salad and a slice of toast...meh.

Today, my friends, is a banana bread day.
I looked at my recipe, at the stick of butter, at the flour, and thought about finding substitutes for this morning's breakfast.

No.

Not today.

I was amazing all week. I went out for dinner with my friends and got a salad and a water. No wine. No beer. No (ok, maybe I grabbed a couple off of Danyelle's son's plate..) french fries. But I DIDN'T use ketchup. It's fine, right?

This morning, I made my banana bread just as the recipe called for. And, I added in the chocolate chips.

This is my recipe, in case you're feeling indulgent.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan.
1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the pan.
1/2 cup sugar.
3/4 teaspoon baking soda.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
3 ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat, it's all I had.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
1 cup chocolate pieces.
3/4 cup walnut pieces.

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Cool slightly.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
Mash the bananas (strangely my favorite part!) in a medium bowl. Beat the egg in small bowl then mix into the bananas. Mix in yogurt, vanilla, and butter.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts as the batter comes together. Don't over mix!
Scoop the batter into a buttered/floured pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes. (It says 60-70, but my oven is small and usually 30 does the trick. Basically until a toothpick comes out clean.)
Cool for 20 minutes before un-molding and slicing.


And, I'd love to have shown you a picture, but I yet again had a bit of a blunder. It's not BAD, but it's....not fluffy on top. And no fluff = unhappy banana bread. When it's done cooling, I'll be sure to have Chad test this Sunday's indulgence experiment ;)

Happy Cooking, even if you flub ;)