Off-Road Cooking

Happy birthday to my amazing mother! Without her, I would not be where I am today. I certainly would not have learned to cook, that’s for sure! She has taught me to be brave, strong, loving and caring, and has encouraged me to be myself.
We went to my sister Livi and her husband Guillermo’s new house and had a delicious dinner. Lentil loaf (tastes like a veggie burger), great salad, leek/potato/broccoli soup, salsa verde (with avocado added), and of course the birthday cake which Livi and Guillermo bought in Cincinnati.

One dish I make that always turns out well no matter what is crockpot chili! My mom gave me this crockpot and I thoroughly enjoy it, marveling at how simple it is to use! Chili is such an easy thing to make. This one is vegan. I put 2 cans of beans, garlic, onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, and my secret mix of olive oil and soy sauce! I use soy sauce because I don’t cook with salt and soy sauce provides a little more liquid to combine with the oil. Someone (a handsome off-road cooker extraordinaire) recently suggested to me that I could add cinnamon to chili, which I have been doing with curry for quite some time. I might have to add cinnamon every time now that it turned out so well! Normally I would add fresh tomatoes, jalapeños/Thai chilies, and some tomato paste, but the snow was falling fast and I didn’t feel it was appropriate to venture out, so I just used what I had! It was scrumptious!

Impromptu no-bake cookies with my friend Jessica totally happened this past Friday. She was pet-sitting for a friend and we made no-bake cookies after cooking dinner at the friend’s house. They were so delicious…simply because we were in the mood for a sweet treat! Jessica (featured in photo) is a very dear friend of mine and we enjoy cooking together. We didn’t really follow the recipe (no surprise there) but they turned out well. I’m proud to call her my friend! Here’s to more adventure with Jessica, foodie and otherwise!

Well actually three are pies, but who’s counting? Persimmon bars (top L), bison savory pie (top R – for sister and her husband, not for me! Haha), delicious cranberry-apple pie covered in yummy brown sugar (bottom R, old recipe from awesome family friends), and black bean salsa vegan savory pie (bottom L, turned out great!).

Here I am with my sister at my mom’s house sometime during the Christmas season. We obviously love baking and made 4 pies that day, as you will see…

I know it’s been a long time since I have written on this blog. I have decided to go back to school and get my master’s degree in public policy. My mom has taken a job at a local hunger-relief agency that does really awesome work. We sure haven’t stopped cooking though! The above pic is of pineapple curry, a vegan curry recipe I have invented that tastes best with fresh pineapple! More pics to come! Happy cooking!