Vegan Banana Bread

Slightly altered (less sugar) from ppk . Pretty darn good... I think I'll try to veganize mom's recipe next.

London Fog Cupcakes

Hands down the fave... Altered a recipe for Chai Latte Cupcakes - made it with Cream Early Grey, omitted all spices, added extra vanilla, and topped with Vegan Buttercream Frosting. Mmmmm

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

HAD to buy some Oatmeal Stout from Marble JUST to make these...
life is hard.

Green Tea Cupcakes

I can admit, maybe these funky lookin' green cupcakes weren't the best first try at vegan cupcakes... but... you know me and my tea so...

Brooklyn Pad Thai

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

(mostly) vegan stroganoff

so. good.

Tofu Scramble

I purchased a Cast Iron pan this weekend and, I must say, I am IN LOVE!

Tofu Veg B-fast Burrito

I'm going to try, real hard, to not eat out... I wanted Java Joe's this am... so I made my own. Total cost at Java Joe's for tofu burrito + veggies + x-tra green and coffee = ~$8.50 + tip... Total cost at Casa de Nichole for tofu burrito + veggies + x-tra green and tea = ~$1.50. Nutty, 'eh? I'm a little embarrassed I don't do this more often. Things will change.

Lasagna sans meat & dairy.

Soooo good!

Layers are:

• Lasagna noodles (cooked 8 minutes)
• "Ricotta" = tofu (12oz firm, crumbled), plain goat cheese (a bit, crumbled), garlic, scallion, thinly chopped zucchini, spices (nutmeg, oregano, ground pepper, garlic salt, italian mix), and 2 eggs... mixed together w/hands.
• Soy Mozzarella (Trader Joe's brand is the best I've found so far!)
• Crimini mushrooms (sauteed in truffle oil and margarine)
• Marinara sauce of choice

lefsedillas

Kayla and I played with lefse again yesterday... here's my new favorite sweet lefse:

Heidi's red chile raspberry jam & swiss cheese. Soooooooo good.

lefsedillas

NM style:
Traditional (plus cheese and cardamom):

Kalya as Vanna White:

Honorable Mention

Tried Rasoi last night, sort of on accident... mostly out of shock that it was open on Christmas night. It was damn good... SUPER excited to go again SOOOOOON!

Wonderful weekend.

Friday I worked a good 4 hours (don't want to over-do) and spent the afternoon in super-organizing mode (feels SO good to obsess over something that can actually get you somewhere). Friday night I went to an art show opening with Becks at our friends' art gallery (SCA Contemporary Art) and then to see The Q with Joey at the Box. Both were great fun!


Spent m' Saturday with Becks at the parents' and had din at g-ma's. It was a-mazing!
(Daddy's ouchie back caused him to miss out...which is why he is absent in all of the photos)
Saturday night I went with Joey to see Mild Pearl at the Box.


Today I did absolutely nothing until about two hours ago when I started din... made an AWESOME pizza.
whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's
tomato confit (from Kate's mom) as the "sauce"
goat cheese
red onion
artichoke hearts
spicy chicken sausage from Trader Joe's
=WONDERFUL

I love sandwiches

Have you ever had a deli that is hideously close to your place of residence that you've thought about going to on numerous occasions but refrained only because it was too convenient? That happens all the time, right? Well, I've been living here since August of last year and always wanted to try this deli right off of MLK called DG's Deli... maybe you've heard of it? Well... I finally tried it on my way home today, thinking that it would be a nice/relatively healthy/quick option for lunch as I only have an hour and a half to write this paper (that I've kind of given up on writing right now - surprise surprise). Anyway, tried the deli and give it two thumbs up... they have a very extensive menu, I didn't give it much thought and ordered the first thing I saw that had green chili on it, the Lobo Club. It was super good, I'll go back... come with me next time?

Post Script - the photo'll send ya to their site if ya click on it.

Even more updates...

I like my Mao (like the Communist leader in China, yes...). I'm gonna get a dog and name him something like Rugby and then call him Marx. Get it? Maybe? I donno. I like my cat. End of story.

I hung with Jenny on Sunday... no photos :( it was wonderful.

Went to din with sis on Tuesday (or something like it) at Flying Star... looked across the street and saw something... a Gelato place! Ecco Gelato is BAD FRICKIN ASS! (open 7-10 -SICK 'eh?!?!?) Go there. I LOVE THEM! (All sNob Hill needs is Relish). GO THERE!


Got to do lunch-ish with the wife on Tuesday - I believe - Also wonderful.

Wednesday night the cuz came over and I made din for her and sister. :) Lovely but no photos.

Hung out with Kris (we've been trying all summer) last night. Again, wonderful. Again, no photos.

Sorry for the scatteredness... My week has been different (no work... all school... love it)... and I wanted it to show, even if it wasn't the best way to do so.

Durango

This weekend I went to Durango with Kate. I'm gonna stick to my original thoughts and say that it's gotta be one of the best quick get-aways. :) We had a good time, ate some good food, drank some good beer and enjoyed the little mountain town. Unfortunately, I didn't get any shots of the places we ate but if you're ever in the town I'd hit up:
Lady Falconbergs - they have somethin' like 38 beers on tap (enough said)
Steamworks - brewery w/amazing Cajun
Jean-Pierre's French Bakery - self explanatory
Farquarhts Pizza Mia - amazing pizza (wonderful crust)


...mmmmmmartinis

(found a new yummy martini...
Vanilla Vodka + Pineapple juice + lime
... yum!)

...view on the way to Mesa Verde

... before the (short) hike down

...up close and personal

...Kate and I

... a tree?

...and me.
I became a little antsy so decided to take some photos of the views while [Kate was] driving... my self-centered self soon focused on the mirror w/my reflection. Got a good shot of the view in the reflection of my lens in a similar photo... I'm sure it would've gone unseen so... I figured I wouldn't bother posting it...

Relish ::two thumbs way up::

Summer and I just experianced the best lunch in the history of our lunches! AMAZING!
Chipotle rubbed roast pork, honey ham, swiss cheese, sliced pickle and cilantro mayo served toasted on a baguette makes up their most popular sandwich, the Cubano. I had to go to taste it for myself. I can now see why the people that know about it love it so much! They have a nice variety of sandwiches (both hot and cold) and salads. We hit right when they opened (at 11) and the crowd soon followed... everything we saw looked wonderful. I encourage you to check it out when you get a chance and support this wonderful deli. There are currently two locations one downtown @ 411 Central Ave NW and the other uptown @ 8019 Menaul Blvd NE I believe they're open from 11-5 on weekdays. LOVE IT!

(menu to be posted when I get home)

P.S. if you're lookin' for a lunch buddy, hit me up!

...and I'm feelin' good

<-- Just may be one of the best ways to start a day. Even though my apartment was dangerously close to an Einstein's I still felt that it was too out of the way to justify lengthening my already 1/2 hour drive to work. I now have a much shorter drive. This gives me motivation to get up and get going earlier. Now, I can leave 20 minutes before I need to be at work and have more than enough time to stop at Einstein's. It is fabulous and I love it. There is nothing like waking up early and starting the day off with a good breakfast. It provides for more productivity and a higher sense of acheivement and self-worth. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Rainbow Jello

I must make this.

Where's the time?