cashew

Lazy-Active Weekend

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This weekend was one of those weekends where I just didn’t want to do anything but relax on the couch.  Unfortunately I have responsibilities and a husband who gets stir crazy if he stays home for too long so only about 60% of my time was spent lounging.

On Saturday morning I made my first attempt at organizing our office/spare room which used to be my office/elliptical room.  Now that we have (finally) gotten rid of the non-functioning elliptical we have tons of space to organize the office and make it into the perfect space for me to work and to practice yoga.  I love having a little quiet hideaway to get my work done, I’m so much more productive.  After a cleaning sesh Hubz convinced me to head downtown to look for new shoes and hit up the farmers market.  Finding new shoes was a bust since nice vegan shoes and boots are very limited in Burlington, we’re hopping our trips to Philly and NYC will be more fruitful.

We stopped into the farmers market in search of a vegan cupcake however all they had this week was chocolate-mint, not quite what we were looking for so instead we headed to one of our favorite eateries Zabby & Elf’s Stone Soup.  I was really in the mood for a nice cup of chili which came with two hunk of nice bread and the Hubz decided to go with the hot bar and a hunk of my bread.  Everything was so warm and delicious, perfect for a fall day.

The remainder of Saturday was spent running errands and then home to do a short yoga session, lounge and catch up on Dexter.

Sunday came and along with it a time change, this totally screwed my day up.  I was all ready to head out the door to pick up groceries when Neil pointed out at that it wasn’t 8am but rather 7am!  We waited around for a bit and then headed out to pick up our groceries for the week which included lots of root veggies, squash, Brussels Sprouts and green beans. Any idea what I might be making this week??

After grocery shopping we headed home and I decided to just relax for awhile because I wasn’t feeling great, a little bit of an upset stomach- I blame all the gluten I ate on Saturday.  I was supposed to do a 5-Miler yesterday but after waiting out to see how I was feeling I ultimately decided I just wasn’t up for it so the Hubz and I went for a 2.3 mile walk before dinner.  When we got back he changed into his running gear and went for a run and I made dinner: Black Bean & Butternut Squash Burritos with Chipotle-Cashew Sauce and a green salad.

Chipotle-Cashew Sauce:

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 dried chipotle pepper
  • 1 15oz can whole tomatoes, with juices
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon cumin powder
  • 3 tablespoons cashew pieces
  • salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a small pan over med-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-5 minutes until translucent.  Stir in the garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, water and chipotle pepper; bring to a simmer then cover and reduce heat.  Cook for 10 minutes on low.   Stir in the cumin and cashew pieces and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Transfer everything to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Return to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In other news I have temporarily givin up coffee and alcohol.  

Recipe(a) Of The Week: Cashew-Paprika Mmmm Sauce

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This week’s recipe or should I say reci-pea? is inspired by Mama Pea’s Mmmm Sauce . I have read so many good times about this recipe I had to try it but I was out of almonds so I’m going to have to try Mama Pea’s true recipe when I get stocked back up. Until then however I think that this is a pretty tasty substitute.

Recipe(a) Of The Week: Cashew-Paprika Mmmm Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2-3/4 cup water*
  • 1/4 cup chickpeas, (if canned rinse and drain)
  • 1/4 cup Parma! (raw vegan parmesan) or Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Taste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

*start with 1/2 cup and increase as needed or until you have the consistency that you like.