Recipe: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip muffins (no sugar, high protein)

If a little peanut butter is good, a lot is even better, right? Well, maybe. These muffins taste amazing if you’re a peanut butter lover, but they’re denser and moister than what I usually prefer. Next time, I’ll probably cut the peanut butter to 3/4 cups and add another egg. Supplies measuring cups and spoons 1 mixing bowl blender muffin … Read more

Recipe: Mocha-Cream Muffins

I recently went to visit Mindy Celeste for the Christmas holidays. Before leaving, I threw my unused half-and-half into the freezer, since  it would have spoiled in the week I was gone. Alas, thawed half-and-half isn’t great in coffee. It tends to separate in the freezing process, so when you put it in your coffee you get a smattering of … Read more

Free houseplants: Sweet potato vine

sweet potato vine

I like to keep sweet potatoes around. They’re an easy snack for both me and the cat. Throw one in the microwave for 4-6 minutes and voila! I eat the orange part, and Lilo snacks on the skins. But sometimes I misplace a sweet potato until it’s so old, it’s started to sprout a vine. Pretty, isn’t it? Instead of … Read more

Recipe: Slow cooker pineapple-chicken curry

June is a big month for harvesting and freezing berries for me. To make room in the freezer this week, I cooked up a pot of curry using frozen chicken, pineapple, and peas as the central ingredients. Not to brag, but it is beyond delicious. The pineapple goes wonderfully with the coconut milk, and together with the lemongrass adds a nice … Read more

Quick Dinner Recipe: Mixed Veggie Scramble with Radish Toast

We signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share this year, paying a flat fee at the beginning of the growing season to a local farmer, who then delivers a box of fresh vegetables once a week. Getting a CSA subscription is more economical than buying an equivalent amount of vegetables at the grocery store, and some CSAs let you … Read more

Recipe: Slow cooker tomatillo soup (vegan/vegetarian)

My favorite coffee shop recently featured tomatillo soup for lunch. It was delectable and inspired me to create my own version at home. Because I keep cooked beans, caramelized onions, cooked grains and vegetable stock on hand in the freezer, the preparation was incredibly quick and easy. (You can find my directions for making big batches of beans here, caramelized onions here, … Read more

Recipe: Sunny Citrus Muffins with Lemon Icing (sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free)

I was feeling fancy this week, so decided to make iced muffins. I usually skip icing and frosting because they tend to be loaded with sugar. Plus, I’m a bit lazy! But I’ve been wondering lately if sugar substitutes could create the satisfying, crunchy-but-melty texture of a good icing. My curiosity finally won out over my laziness, and I started experimenting. … Read more

Recipe: Cardamom-spice muffins (vegan, grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free)

I’ve been continuing my experiments in vegan baking with coconut flour. This week, I decided to try a variation on the sweet potato muffins I posted a couple weeks ago. As with the vegan chocolate-orange muffins I made last week, psyllium is the not-so-secret ingredient for holding the muffins together and giving them a nice texture. If you like chai, you’ll love these … Read more

Recipe: Sweet potato muffins (wheat-free, gluten-free, whole grain, sugar-free, dairy-free)

I’m still experimenting with coconut flour, but this week I wanted to try mixing it with another flour so I could use fewer wet ingredients and have a more traditional muffin texture. I loved how these turned out! Sweet potatoes and applesauce make them sweet with no added sugar. They’re moist and flavorful, and they keep well in the refrigerator if … Read more

Cat behavior: Keeping cats off the counters (and making an almost-free cat perch—with bonus sweet potatoes)

Remember the adorable kitty who usually sits patiently on her perch when it’s dinnertime? While I was away for Christmas, Lilo decided that was silly. The first night I was back, she jumped onto the counter as soon as I started to put her dinner together, nudging my hand and trying to stick her face in the can. Well, that’s … Read more