The holidays are fast approaching and I’m always trying to find new ways to serve up my favorite holiday foods. Squash is a staple at our holiday table and this tasty twist will spice up any meal. It’s a wonderful combination of sweet and savory flavors with creamy squash.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
1 large Butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons coconut oil, liquid
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss all ingredients together and pour into an even layer in the roasting pan.
Roast for 20 minutes and then stir.
Return to the oven and roast for 25 more minutes or until squash is tender.
Autumn has finally come to Vermont and with that an abundance of fresh, local apples. This recipe was inspired by the changing of the seasons. It is a wonderful cake perfect for dessert or brunch.
Serves 8
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen | This is the blog that got me started cooking vegan for Neil back in 2006. I actually stopped reading it for awhile, not because I didn’t like it but it just got lost in mix with all the other great blogs out there. Anyways, over the past few months I have started back up reading it and now I remember why- it’s because of yum recipes like these: Savory Lentil-Mushroom Burgers, Hibsicus-Blueberry Cooler, and Thai Black Pepper and Garlic Tofu.
Q: What blogs make you say yummmm? Please share below!
Each month, a new vegan/vegetarian friendly cookbook will be announced via email group and on the blog. Once the book is announced, participants will have one week to get a copy of the cookbook and then one month to read, try new recipes and analyze the cookbook. During the month, participants should feel free to blog/tweet/facebook about their experience with the cookbook. At the end of the review period, each participant will have one week to right a final review about the cookbook and post it to their blog. Once all the review posts are up, I will link them from my the new Cookbook Club tab.
When doing your final review of each months cookbook each of us will address the topics in our blog post:
Layout
Is the layout clear?
Are you able to easily tell the ingredients apart for the instructions and the notes?
Are the instructions easy to follow?
Are the recipes numbered or is the section labeled?
Aesthetics
Does the cookbook feature photos?
If yes, is there a photo for every recipe?
Do the photos of the recipes look like the actual results?
What kind of paper is the book printed on?
How is the quality of the photos?
Recipes
How many recipes are in the cookbook?
What kinds of recipes will you find in this cookbook?
Is there a theme to the recipes?
Are the recipes complex or simple? would they be good for seasoned cooks and/or beginners?
Ingredients and supplies
Are the recipe ingredients easy to find?
Are there any items that stand out as being expensive or specialty?
Are there particular appliances that will be required such as blenders, juicers, dehydrators, ect?
Information
Does this cookbook provide additional useful information?
What additional information beyond recipes does this cookbook include? Is it easy to follow?
Other important Information
You need to make the recipes! Yes, to get an accurate representation of the cookbook you need to try out at least 3-5 recipes. Additionally when you right your review you should make sure to include your experience while cooking the recipe:
How did the recipe turn out? How did it taste?
Was the recipe easy to follow?
Be honest when discussing the recipes you tried- if you didn’t like it then explain why.
Okay now that you know what this is all about are you interested in participating? If you answered yes then please email me with 5-10 vegan/vegetarian cookbook picks to lindsay@runningwithtongs.com. I will then tally up the votes for the cookbooks to decide which cookbooks we will be reviewing; please see tentative schedule below. I will email participants as well as post the list to RWT with the start date, end date and post by date. Planning to participate? Just email me anytime during the month with your Name, Blog and Twitter Handle (optional).
On Saturday we spent nearly the entire late morning/early afternoon making our way through the RnR Montreal Expo. First stop at the Expo was race bib pickup and then on to t-shirt and swag bag pick up.
Once Neil had checked in and picked up all of his goodies it was time to make our way through the expo.
Our first stop was the Brooks Running game area where we had some fun playing a few games. We even played a competitive game skee ball which I won even with Edie sleeping in the Ergo (and no she didn’t even wake up!) I proudly wore my skee ball championship medal although after seeing Neil’s RnR race medal it wasn’t so impressive, but more on that another day.
After playing some games we made our way through the vendors and spent our time lusting over new running gear, trying some samples and of course getting our photo taken.
As much as I would have liked to have purchased everything in site Neil and I both held off since I am in need of new running shoes, which aren’t cheap. We did however pick up a few Bondi Bands which Edith just had to model for you (don’t worry she won’t be running for beer anytime soon).
Overall I thought that the race expo was really well done. The layout was perfect and we hit very few congested areas. I also loved the start of the expo where they had some fun games for us to enjoy. Now I have only been to the VCM expo besides this one so I don’t have much to compare it to but overall I thought it was really well done.
This past Sunday Neil ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Montreal, Quebec this past weekend. This was his second half marathon and his first international half marathon. We headed up on Friday after Neil got out of work and checked into our airbnb rental which was in the perfect spot just 1.1 km from the Mont Royal Metro Station and surrounded by our favorite shops and restaurants.
We arrived later than expected on Friday night and with a sleepy baby and pouring rain we decided to stay in for the night. We ordered food from our favorite vegan restaurant Aux Vivres which unfortunately took nearly two hours to finally get because the online ordering/delivery service that they have on their website did not place our order because we were not using a local number and rather than contact us or update our order page we didn’t find this out until 15 minutes after the food should have already arrived which was an hour after we had ordered.
Tired, hungry and frustrated we decided to call Aux Vivres directly and Neil ran out to pick up our order this time. I was a little frustrated and almost just gave up on getting dinner but I was so glad we did because my Dragon Bowl was just as good as I remembered and the big slice of carrot cake Neil and I shared was delicious.
Neil ordered the Macro Bowl (photo from Aux Vivres site)
Unfortunately I don’t have much else to share when it comes to food and sites because the bulk of the weekend was spent at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Montreal Expo and race. We did stop into the Eaton Centre for lunch at the food court and then Saturday night Neil and I picked up a few things to make a pasta dish at the apartment for dinner.
Since this weekend was dedicated to the race we are planning on making another trip up (hopefully) in October so we can spend some time enjoying our favorite eateries and sites.
I could make a meal of snack foods and often do. My favorite meals are the ones made up of all kinds of little appetizers especially the chips and dip type. This type of eating can sometimes not be the best especially when you are adding chips into the mix so it’s important to find healthier options.
I recently stumbled upon these new chips that are Way Better for you than your normal chips. They are made from sprouted grains which aid in digestion, they are filled with Omega 3 essential fatty acids and are filled with whole grains. On top of all that they are made with simple, all natural ingredients.
*All Natural * Vegan * Certified Gluten Free * Non GMO * Certified Kosher * Excellent Source of Whole Grains * Low Sodium * Never contain: Trans Fat, artificial colors, flavors or Preservatives
After sampling all the flavors that Way Better Snacks provided me (see disclaimer below) I had to go back for more and luckily our local natural food store had a few flavors including my favorite-Sweet Chili. These chips were so delicious and had just the right amount of seasoning on them to give them flavor but not over power.
The other thing that I love about these chips is that they actually satisfy my craving for snack foods and one serving as a snack leaves me feeling full. Many other chips that I have tried always make me want to eat more and more and more because they are never that satisfying and all of the salt and preservatives cause me to crave more rather than satisfy my craving.
Other flavors:
Simply Sunny Multi-Grain
Simply Unbeatable Blues
Simply Sweeet Potato
Simply Beyond Black Bean <– second favorite and so good with hummus
No Salt Naked Blues <–third favorite and delicious just as is!
Disclaimer:Way Better Snacksprovided me with their product at no cost. I was under no obligation to review them if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.
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