(925) chefs d'oeuvre

So it snowed two Fridays ago, and it iced over last Friday, and the Monday of our second week of classes was a holiday. I am having a hard time adjusting to my school schedule because of all the days we've had off. It has been nice to have days off, but I would rather just get back in the mood of going to classes and doing homework all day long. It has been incredibly cold outside but I'm just glad it's not raining anymore!

Snow day breakfast: joy tea, garlic roasted sweet potatoes, vegan buttered toast + a scramble with shiitakes and green onions. So lovely.

Not so great vegan brownies I made the night it snowed. 

Peanut butter agave nectar GF waffle + Happy Herbivore's peanut butter cup smoothie//Everyday Happy Herbivore

Bella tacos from the same cookbook above! These weren't as flavorful as I hoped, but still had a great "meaty" texture, was filling, and the homemade taco sauce was awesome! They were incredibly easy to prepare too//Everyday Happy Herbivore

I have been trying to cook from the same book all week (can you tell?) so I made the sweet and sour tempeh. I served it with brown rice and broccoli, then cooked shiitakes with garlic in a mixture of soy sauce, olive oil + toasted sesame oil. This was so amazing! The tempeh gets so tender from steaming it, then the sauce really seeps through it. I miss Chinese take-out a lot, but this was even better//Everyday Happy Herbivore

1 shot bourbon/1 orange slice/1 bag orange tea/8 oz. water/1-2 T ginger syrup//shutterbean

Starting to realize how perfect orange ginger toddys are before bedtime.

I sort of went on this mission to make an Indian feast this weekend...and I must say I succeeded! Here is jasmine rice and Indian roasted cauliflower with potatoes. These were really flavorful and they soften up quite a bit! A great side to serve with the spicy dish below//smitten kitchen

Sometimes simple is not the route I want to take with some dishes. I remember having this chana masala for my 20th birthday and wanted to recreate it. It was pretty spicy from the jalapeno, but the flavors were perfect. There is a mild kick of ginger that is lovely. I am also kind of sick currently, so this is great to clear my sinuses! This, and the recipe above, came together easily with just a little prep on the morning of. Indian feast success! //smitten kitchen

And the feast continues...with brunch! Here are polenta grits and joy tea, with this tofu scramble puttanesca being the main star. I had everything to make this scramble and let me just say, it is the best tofu scramble I've ever had! The flavors of kalamata olives, capers, tomatoes and a TON of Italian herbs/oregano/thyme really make this scramble sing. I will certainly be making this and other scrambles from "Vegan Brunch" again. I am going to include some recipes from this book as well this week; I can't recommend it enough! //Vegan Brunch

This didn't last very long, at all. Still drooling.

New adorable Parisian lamp in the hopes of making my apartment a little cozier. This has been quite the lovely weekend, and a rough past two weeks of classes, but I'm ready to make things a little easier and get in the swing of school again! 

(784) ce jeu

I'm about to start my fourth week of school tomorrow! That just sounds crazy. I was recently "elected" the co-secretary of our French Club, which I'm incredibly excited about! I am so ready to immerse myself in French culture, watch more French films, make crepes and madelines! Our first official meeting, after the preliminary, is tomorrow. I also took a lovely trip to Charlotte this weekend to visit a friend

Easy dinners are what have been keeping me going lately. This scramble was incredibly easy to put together and a great end-of-summer dish. Lee fried the potatoes, which were amazing

French toast skills are getting slightly better. This batch turned out just a bit burnt, but still delicious and filling

On our way to Charlotte after about 5 detours!

Beautiful mason jar lights at Fern, a restaurant in Charlotte

The most beautiful bloody mary. Tasted pretty good too!

Cory's dashi ramen topped with a poached egg. This was made with zucchini noodles, so it was gluten-free too!

My farmhouse vegetable ragout. Braised in a delicious, vegan sauce, the fingerling potatoes were so tender and that was definitely the best tempeh I've ever had. It was so soft and tasted nothing like the tempeh I've eaten for years.

My new found love: Amelie's French Bakery in Charlotte. Not just because they're the only place to have macarons outside of NYC, but the atmosphere was so inviting...and French! They had everything, from pate, to madelines, French cheeses, etc. It is definitely my new favorite place. The macarons were delicious! They're also open 24 hours, which is pretty lovely. If I lived in Charlotte I'm pretty sure I would live in this bakery...and be broke.

They also had lavender French lemonade, which is amazing. I have to say, I am a huge fan of that lemon San Pellingrino sparkling beverage I had.

These were the only jam filled ones they had, but they're marvelous! Look how perfect the feet are

Tried to start off today with a healthy breakfast: avocado toast drizzled with balsamic vinegar and salt.

My new apple pomegranate lemon tea from Teavana (yet another place I wish we had here).

I made a very interesting twist on granola today from Shutterbean: candied walnut, coconut, black sesame seed granola (with many other things involved!) It is currently cooling but I'm sure it'll be great for breakfast this week.

(779) Til Love and Fame to nothingness do sink

It looks like I cooked a lot this weekend, maybe, or had too much free time on my hands. in any case, I have a lot of things to share. I made new things, mostly, and have been lazy as holy hell all weekend since it was a three day one. hopefully I'll get my hardworking self back soon!

Friday off: fries from Emma Key's and a book

first time ever making iced green tea, and I had a bunch of leftover tarragon. so I made tarragon lime green tea. it was good (and made great photos!) but definitely was quite tart for my taste. I would suggest adding more honey (1/2 C) or perhaps less lime juice and it would be great. but I gave it a shot!

simple friday lunch to myself: pan-fried squash topped with lemon juice, olive oil, fresh basil and salt.

gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for Saturday breakfast. definitely paid for eating 4 pancakes and bacon all day long. it was good, but I still haven't fully mastered the art of making pancakes. I think the batter was way too thick, which happens sometimes when gluten-free pancake batter. next time, I want them to be thin and perfect!

I finally made pesto, which was super easy and quite spicy. I used nutritional yeast instead of parm and it was great. I didn't have much use for it so I plan on freezing it in ice cube trays tomorrow just to have on hand.

do you ever fix a meal that is really good, but you're still feeling "meh"? that's how I felt with these. pieces of GF artisan bread topped with caramelized onions, pesto and heirloom tomato. it was too peppery for me and I just couldn't dig it. sometimes I think my tastebuds take days off.

now on to new favorites: these oatmeal zucchini cookies have been on my mind ever since I read Nicole's post on Eat This Poem. they were perfect and tasted just like chocolate chip zucchini bread in cookie form. I really enjoyed that they had coconut oil instead of butter too. they were so easy to make, and even more of a delight to share! everyone was surprised/hesitant at the zucchini.

I've had this blog long enough to know that I've ranted more than a few times about making homemade pizza dough...well I did it! kind of. I used a Hogsdon Mill boxed GF mix and I have to say...it was perfect and so so easy. I was dumbfounded at why I never did it sooner. sometimes it's nerve wracking to do something new in the kitchen, and pizza crust was one of them. more specifically, it was using yeast that made me scared. but I did it and the crust was nothing short of amazing! seriously the best pizza I've had in a long time. we used a whole wedge of jack Daiya cheese, heirloom tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, an all-natural pizza sauce from Whole Foods, and Applegate Farms sunday bacon. it was the most perfect pizza. next time I will be making it totally homemade however. I hope it turns out as well as this did!

after eating all that pizza (which is now, sadly, all gone), I needed a light dinner tonight. so I decided to finish off my artisan loaf of GF bread with a pairing of this salad, which has pretty much become my go to salad.

and finally, a giant bottle of wine to get me through at least 5 readings of this book for 2 different classes. happy cooking!

(719) better call saul

hey all. I moved out into my new apartment last week. I am working on cleaning and getting things moved in which means I'll be cooking again soon!

homemade North Carolina pulled pork bbq with bone suckin' sauce and homemade lemon mint infused iced tea, all made by my bestfriend. Ashley made these after a long day of moving furniture for 10 hours. it is by far the best bbq and iced tea I've ever had. see recipes for both below! also, be sure to bump CCR while enjoying this meal.

I picked up some cherries on sale Friday at Whole Foods to make this cherry clafouti. mine turned out a little thin since I made it in a 3qt pan rather than a 2qt dish. it was delicious and pancake-esque but I think it will be fluffier when made in a 2qt dish. I subbed 2/3 C sorghum flour and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum, and of course, rice milk.

new sofa and tables, and one sleepy friend.

amazing reading lounger I got from the Salvation Army for $30

simple homemade pizza with squash, onions, and dried basil.

me sporting my new dress after the Moonrise Kingdom premiere party!

welcome mat is welcoming (this place feels more like home lately).

 new idea: book cover and wine bottle pairings. these are a match.

first housewarming gift: a beautiful French wine with lovely calligraphy on the bottle.

my newest poor student meal: sliced hard-boiled eggs, spread with garlic hummus, and drizzled with sriracha. this would be great served with crackers, sliced tomatoes, and cucumbers. this was a deconstructed rendition of the sriracha hummus deviled eggs I like to make more parties.






Iced Tea (adapted from Alton Brown)
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-5 C sugar
-3 C water
-6 lemons, sliced
-mint sprigs
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Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Remove from heat. Add sliced lemons and mint, and let sit for 10 minutes. Use the simple syrup to sweeten any kind of tea you make, from green to herbal to black tea. Sweeten to your own liking!
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Slow Cooker Carolina BBQ (allrecipes.com)
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-1 (5pd) bone-in pork shoulder roast
-1 T salt
-ground black pepper
-1.5 C apple cider vinegar
-2 T brown sugar
-1 1/2 T hot pepper sauce
-2 tsp cayenne pepper
-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
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-Place the pork shoulder into a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Pour the vinegar around the pork. Cover and cook on low for 12 hours. Pork should easily pull apart into strands.


-Remove the pork from the slow cooker and remove any bones. Strain out the liquid, and save 2 cups. Discard any extra. Shred the pork using tongs and two forks, and return to the slow cooker. Stir the brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes into the reserved sauce. Mix into the pork in the slow cooker. Cover and keep on low setting until serving. 


-Serve with bone suckin' sauce, coleslaw, and fantastically Southern sides (and CCR!)