Mayhem in the Kitchen!

100 Calorie Vegan Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies for Two

As much as I bake, I really don’t get to eat as many sweets as one might think – I make small batches, and look for occasions to bake for others whenever possible. Usually this means I don’t have any baked goods in the house when my husband or I want them most, and honestly,…

Chocolate Cherry Fudge Cookies

Last night we were cleaning out our refrigerator in preparation for veering off of our regular meal plan for the long holiday weekend, when I came across a handful of organic cherries. They were still perfectly good, but didn’t look quite as plump as they once did, so I figured they’d be a good candidate…

Kirkland Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you guys love Costco as much as I do? I was already on board when I learned about their employment practices, and then when they announced their sustainability practices I was 100% sold. Lately though, as they expand their vegan, organic, and fair trade selection, our love affair has gotten way more serious. My…

Pear Crisp

Last weekend we stocked up on pears for something a little different to spice up our lunches and late night snacks. Sadly, they looked much better than they tasted. Not wanting to let them go to waste, I whipped up a nice lower-sugar fresh pear crisp. Dessert in our house is a complicated topic –…

Zucchini Bread

Well, it’s that time of the year again – we’re most of the way through summer and it’s zucchini mania. I honestly have a refrigerator full of the stuff. I hadn’t even realized there were so many out in my garden until our neighbor pointed out a particularly huge one that she said was perhaps…

Tabouli Salad Wraps

I absolutely love Mediterranean food, so the other night when I came in from the garden with a bunch of parsley, a big bowl of cherry tomatoes, and no plan for dinner except that vegan felt right, I knew exactly what needed to happen. Tabouli salad makes a great item to have around for lunchtime…

Roasted Red Cabbage

Sometimes, all I want for dinner is a big plate of vegetables. Usually it’s broccoli or brussels sprouts, but tonight the only vegetable that wasn’t spoken for was a wilted head of red cabbage, so I had to make do. These are fabulous, even when made with the wilty cabbage from the back of the…

Vegan Wedding Cupcakes

This is a historic weekend for Minneapolis – Thursday, August 1st was the first day same sex marriage was legal in our state (and in commemoration, starting at midnight, our Mayor performed 46 wedding ceremonies in 6 hours!) It’s amazing to me that just two years ago, we were fighting tooth and nail to be…

Fudge Brownies with Cookie Dough Frosting

Yesterday we had a double birthday celebration at my office, and my coworker was bringing in bacon chocolate rice krispie bars, so I knew I had a lot to compete with. Initially my plan was to go with a classic chocolate cake, which led to fudge brownies, which led to fudge brownie cupcakes, and if…

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

I live in a very closely knit community, and in the summertime, that translates to neighborhood potlucks at least once a month. People still talk about the hamburger cupcakes I brought to my first potluck in 2008, so last night I spent about an hour going back and forth about what to bring this time…

Flourless Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night, I thought I had my entire Saturday morning planned out: wake up around 6, have a cup of coffee, make scones using my favorite recipe, devour scones while having another cup of coffee, head for the farmer’s market, share the recipe for those fabulous scones before noon. Instead, we woke up around 10,…

Homemade Cheez Crackers

I spend many of my weekends working a part-time job at a public library. A few weekends ago, I was chatting with one of my colleagues about food, specifically unprocessed food, and she suggested I check out The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila. The cover features homemade pop-tarts, so, basically, I was sold the minute…

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

OK, Confession time: I had never tasted red velvet cake until everyone went red velvet crazy in 2009. In fact, several years prior, I made a red velvet cake at the request of a colleague without even knowing what it was supposed to taste like, and just assumed it was basically chocolate cake with copious…

Banana Crunch Bread

I don’t know about you, but when summer rolls around, we go a little produce crazy and end up at the local farmer’s market each and every weekend. Right now our countertops are stacked with a beautiful array of local fruits and vegetables. Sometimes this makes it hard to keep up on our old grocery…

Copycat Recipe: Maxwell’s Beach Cafe – Italian Nachos

A couple of weekends ago I traveled down to the Iowa Great Lakes for some family time and much needed R&R. My husband’s family spent their summers at Lake Okoboji growing up, and thought it would be fun to get the entire family together to relive those fond memories. We spent most of the weekend…