Day 12-14

Day 12: Wild Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Sandwich

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wild-Mushroom-and-Roasted-Garlic-Sandwich-358375

I modified this a tad to make it vegan. Namely, used oil instead of butter. I used roasted garlic that I'd gotten at the farmer's market to save myself some time roasting it myself. It was pretty good. I could have done without the parsley, but Sam liked the parsley. And of course, it would be better with cheese... (but isn't EVERYTHING better with cheese?!?)

Treat: Citrus Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes

http://www.thegluttonousvegan.com/2009/11/lemon-rosemary-and-olive-oil-cake.html

A few weeks ago our good friends De and John were visiting us from Maryland and one day I took them for a drive down the coastal scenic Route 1 to Big Sur south of Monterey. We stopped at Big Sur Bakery for a snack before our drive home. The bakery is known for being very "granola" and creating delicious dishes from seasonal ingredients. This particular morning I settled on a Citrus Olive Oil cake that was so delicious I went back in and bought another for Sam who couldn't go with us. Ever since that delicious taste of heaven I have been scouring the internet for a comparable recipe and came across this recipe and was impressed to see it on a vegan blog.

Thursday morning Quinn was in no mood to play on this tummy while I worked on grad school but as usual was perfectly content to sit in his Bumbo and "help" me cook. So I finally decided to test out this recipe and it did not disappoint! I don't know what was better, the intoxicating smell of rosemary and citrus filling my house or the first warm bite of these delicious little cakes! I made cupcakes instead of one large cake and used orange zest instead of lemon because it is what I had. Vegan or not, this recipe is a must try!

*Special bonus- since there is no egg in the batter you can lick the bowl guilt free ;)

Day 13: Eating "out"

Technically we did not actually eat out... It had been a very very long night and day of complete teething misery and I had zero energy to cook but there was no way we were taking Q out to a restaurant in all his teething glory so Sam went out and picked up dinner from Island's and brought back some Coldstone as well. What a great hubby! Just the treat I needed. Except since I haven't been eating sugar at all in the evenings and haven't been eating much at all, it gave me a ridiculous sugar high and I couldn't get to sleep for a long time! Worth it though...

Day 14: Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash over Brown Jasmine Rice

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-Chili-with-Butternut-Squash-363715

Hearty. Flavorful. Satisfying. Delicious. A few words that come to mind after eating this for dinner tonight. Takes awhile to cook so not exactly a quick weeknight dinner. But it wasn't difficult, other than trying to figure out the best technique for chopping up butternut squash :-P I didn't bother with any of the garnishes toppings and honestly the dish had a depth of flavor such that it didn't need it. I definitely didn't miss the typical meat in chili. I will be making this again for sure, vegan or not.

Motivation? I am starting to forget my reasons for starting this experiment and just thinking of what I am learning and how I want it to impact me eating habit post-experiment. So for the remainder of the month I think I will stop reflecting I why I started this and start figuring out how it is affecting me. Starting next time...