Monthly Archives: May 2012

Veggie Fajitas

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Julie • 2 Comments

I have a serious weakness for Mexican food. First and foremost because it is awesome and excellent and delicious and otherwise perfect in every way, but also because it’s so easy to find or cook vegetarian versions of almost any dish. This is probably true of most any cuisine (Indian, anyone?) but I think all the bean and cheese burritos I ate when I was a teenage junk food vegetarian made a permanent impression on me.

Mexican is my go-to when I need to whip up a quick, healthy, and yummy dinner. After my car accident last week, I came home tired, upset, and in need of comfort food. I wanted to cook rather than order in – cooking always seems to put me back in balance, and I knew that after the day I’d had, the enthusiastic sizzle of veggies in the cast iron skillet would be a welcome sound. Life lesson of the day? Fajitas make everything better.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Quick & Easy, Vegan

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dessert Hummus

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Julie • 4 Comments

Dessert hummus? What on earth is dessert hummus?

I didn’t know either, and being Lebanese, I know hummus in all its variations (or so I thought). White bean. Roasted garlic. Red pepper. Chipotle. Edamame. Cilantro. I could go on and on. But never in my 31 (ugh) years had I heard of dessert hummus. So when I came across the recipe, I was obviously intrigued – and a little nervous. Would I end up with an inedible pile of goo and then be out of beans the next time I wanted stew? Would I be shaming my ancestors by calling this hummus?

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts, Quick & Easy, Snacks, Vegan

Classic Guacamole

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Julie • 2 Comments

I had a bad Monday this week.

Who didn’t, right? Mondays suck. They have always sucked, they continue to suck, and they will suck forevermore. Monday even has its own illness. I am not at all unique in hating Mondays. This particular one, though…wow.

It started off normally – the frantic rushing out of bed, scrambling around taking turns in the bathroom, fixing lunch, grabbing the trash and recycling on the way out the door. Traffic was slow on the first part of the beautiful parkway I take to work, typical for a rainy morning. But it broke free after a few miles, and I was on track for an uneventful commute.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Appetizers, Quick & Easy, Snacks

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Julie • 22 Comments

Have you ever slaved away on the perfect dessert?

I’m not talking an hour or two. I’m talking days of strategizing, googling, and ingredient shopping, followed by an early morning wake-up to ensure adequate time if (when) something goes wrong. I’m talking egg whites that need to be beaten to a perfect foam while the yolks get tempered into another part of the dessert. I’m talking a crust that needs to be partially rolled out and then re-refrigerated before the butter gets too warm. I’m talking finicky, fragile chocolate that can be ruined with even a molecule of water.

I have slaved away on that dessert. This is not that dessert.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts, Quick & Easy

Mounds Cupcakes

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Julie • 1 Comment

I have a little bit of a thing lately for candy turned cupcakes. I guess there’s no real reason to do this – why not just eat the candy and call it a day? I’ll tell you why – because it’s fun to reinvent the wheel when the new wheel is a delicious frosted hug. These cupcakes were my mom’s request for her birthday last year, and she requested them again this year for Mother’s Day. She’s a dark chocolate fanatic, which is why these are topped with a rich, fudgy ganache instead of a standard buttercream. Bittersweet ganache is also a perfect yin to the yang of the (to die for) coconut filling – I think heaps of frosting on this might be overpowering.

… [click for recipe and more]

Filed Under: Desserts