Bon Appetit! Chickpea Salad and Homemade Pesto

I'm going to get right to the chase here. My dinner most likely kicked your dinner's butt tonight.

I had a craving for Italian food today - Italian food is not very gluten free friendly though. So, most of the Italian food I have is at home.

It started with a cold Chickpea Salad:

In the mix:

• 1 can chickpeas (15 oz)
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced and quartered
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

This was absolutely delicious. Quick, fresh, and different than your run of the mill green lettuce salad. It was nice for a change.

Up next... Easy as Pie Vegan Pesto

TJ's brown rice pasta with Easy as Pie Vegan Pesto

What you need:

• 1/2 cup fresh basil (mine came from my basil plant - yum!)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

How it's done:

Put all ingredients into your food processor. Grind until smooth.

This was amazing. I have never made my own pesto before, and I cannot honestly remember the last time I had pesto. To be perfectly honest with you, the measurements above are a rough estimate. I don't measure when I cook. I never have - I just "eyeball it". The pesto was too runny at first, so I added more walnuts. If it was too thick, I would have added more oil. That's just how I roll. My mom is on the verge of tears every night because she knows very very soon I will not be cooking for her anymore. :) I had that bowl x2.5 - no joke. My mom and I ate an entire box of brown rice pasta tonight. Ridiculous.

I went out for ice cream tonight with FH and Mandi/Kyle. Mandi is 3 days over her due date and she is itching to have that baby of hers! She goes to the doctor tomorrow - I hope she gets the Okay to go to the hospital!

I obviously couldn't eat ice cream, so when I got home, I whipped up a late night snack: protein muffin, raisins, and Sunflower Seed butter!

this guy is oozing all over the place

My momma taught me not to lie - so I won't. I did not wait until tonight to try the sunflower seed butter like I said I would. I snuck a taste this afternoon in between lunch and snack time (which was an apple by the way). It's... different. I like it, I really do - it's just something I have to get used to. Amy warned me it was more savory than sweet, and she was so right! It is very delicious though, and I love it! I'm not sure how I will feel about it in my oatmeal though. Question: What do you put sunflower seed butter in?

I came to the overhwelming realization today that I am getting married in 21 days - that is THREE WEEKS PEOPLE! I am not freaking out - it's just not my thang, but it's all becoming so real. We have been talking about it since December, but it was all just "in theory" - nope, it's really happening. I'm starting to envision it, and I know it will be perfect. Not because everything will go as planned, but because it will be our wedding day. I think that is the perfect way to plan a wedding - realizing not everything will be absolutely pristine. At the end of the day, I will be married to the most wonderful man and that is the most important part of the day.

My 23rd birthday is also on the 23rd!! Yay for Golden Birthdays! Question: What is the deal with Golden Birthdays anyways? What is so special about them?

Until tomorrow mes amies - bon noir.

ps: there were totally 2 different languages going on in this post.

Branching out to New Products

Good afternoon lovies!!! I hope you are having a fabulous day so far.

I did make it until 11:30 last night - then I was knocked out so fast! I noticed the other day I had some questions on my comments and wanted to address them really quick.

How do you find living with your folks? I don't mind it too much. I get along great with Mommasita, so we never have any problems there. We always say if we only had to live and cook for each other, life would be a piece of cake. :) It is hard from time to time because I am an adult, and sometimes the parental units can forget that. However, I do not pay rent, they pay for my groceries, and put a roof over my head. I find because they have been so graceful to let me live here while FH and I saved up money for our home and through renovating it that I should be respectful and follow their rules. It is only fair!

Now that you are "off" for the summer, how do you find your daily and morning routine different from when you teach during the school year? I am a lot less tired - haha. I go to bed later, but tend to wake up still around 6 or 6:30 in the morning no matter what. During the school year, I get up around 5. My breakfasts are the same, just at different times. I am able to eat more throughout the day as I please, which I love :) During the school year, I run after school with friends. During the summer, I run mid-morning after my food digests. This summer is a little different with planning the wedding and renovating the house, but I have a loooot of free time to cook and bake, which I do not have time for during the school year most times. I love being a teacher - I could never imagine doing anything different. I also cannot believe some people have to work during the summer - YUCK!

I started my morning off right with a bowl of whipped banana oats! These were a little dry, probably because the banana was not as ripe as I usually like. This was topped with cinnamon, flax, bloobs, and peanut butter. Yum!

Why yes! That is my new breakfast mug from Allie. Thanks for noticing!

dry, but delicious

I don't even care that you think this looks disgusting. I know how good it tasted going down into my belly.

After breakfast, I did some blog surfing - then I had to head off to Trader Joe's to get more eggs for make another meatloaf. However, when I got home, I realized I still had one more egg in the fridge which is all I needed as I was cutting the recipe in half. RAWR!

However, I was more than okay with this because I picked up a few things I absolutely needed in order for my existence to continue.

Enter in: Apple Pie Lara Bar

Can you believe I have never had one before?

I am now a believer in LaraBars - this was great. I am not at all ashamed of the fact that I ate this at 8:15 in the morning right after my breakfast. Sometimes, a girl just has to do what a girl just has to do!

The bar was soft, chewy, and really did taste like an apple pie. I usually go for bars that have the crunch factor, but I can imagine this would be absolutely delicious if frozen for a while. In fact, I just left my computer to go put one in the freezer. :)

Also neccessary: Trader Joe's Sunflower Seed Butter

I haven't tried it yet, but probably will have some with my nighttime snack. I have never had sunflower seed butter before, but I am sure (just like all other nut butters) I will enjoy it immensely. I love looking forward to something new!

After making my padre his other meatloaf, I set the kids up in the sprinkler outside. They had fun, and I got a little sun - I know, I should be a poet. When we were good an hungry, I brought them inside for some lunch. PB&J was on the menu for them, leftovers were on the menu for me.

salad, carrots, hummus, leftover tofu

Can you even believe that after 4 days I have gotten the kids into a routine of having "rest time" after lunch? They are peacefully watching Enchanted right now on the TV so Auntie Chelsey can have alone time. LOVE IT!!!

Question: What food product have you recently tried that you love? What do you want to try soon that you have been meaning to?