Larabar Lunatic

First off, FAT ASS ZUCCHINI FROM THE GARDEN OF PHELPS! Thanks, future family in law (getting a little ahead of myself here...)!

I made unphotogenic:

1. Zucchini noodles swimming in a Creamy Tahini Lemon dressing (reminiscent of Alfredo sauce, I love raw renditions)

2. Zucchini Bread that tasted stellar with soy yogurt + superfruit spread. But all around, something I wouldn't make again because I've just had better and am on a pursuit to find a MOISTER bread recipe. The family liked it though!

Weirdly, this sucker was WAY hard. Like an elongated acorn squash or something. Typically your market variety is alot more tender and well easier to grate and eat raw. Hmmm....

It's like a big smile!

......Now for the point of this post:

Oh Lara, you are so good to me

I go crosseyed for youuuuu

Ever since I 'won' a case full of every flavor of Lara on the market, I've been swoonin. I'm such a nerd, that I saved all the wrappers and paperclipped them together. I just like their color schemes, okay?! Or maybe because their varying aromas still linger within their wrappers.....o_O

Only kidding! I just sniffed one and they smell like nothing!

Also, try thinkFruit, they taste pretty much the same as Lara except with differing flavor combinations (Apple Noni, Cashew Acai, Chocolate Pomegranate, Peanut Goji) and aren't all completely raw. Higher in fiber, lower in protein and calories (blah blah blah who cares about those numbers).

I'm particularly fond of :

Banana Bread (as pictured above)

Key Lime Pie

Lemon Bar

Ginger Snap

I heard those geniuses over at Larabar are creating new flavors such as PBJ, Tropical Tart, and German Chocolate Cake

I must jump on that.

haha wow

thought this was hysterical and had to post it

SEMI-FAIL waffles with banana sauce by Katie

What's the perfect thing to do the morning after a weird friday night??

Blast altgirly country music and make waffles! So I put some Neko Case and Jenny Lewis on repeat and hit the kitchen.

anyways... I made some (fabulous) vegan waffles with banana sauce

Vegan Waffle Recipe:

2 Cups of Flour (I used whole wheat)

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more! it tastes AHMAZING)

2 cups of Vanilla Soy Milk

1/4 cup of Canola oil

Substitute for 2 eggs, I used Ener-G

2 tbs of brown sugar

1 tsp of  vanilla extract (not the fake gross stuff lol)

Mix up the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a BIG bowl

Put the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend till it looks right

Add the two together in the BIG bowl

P.S. it's okay if there are some bubbles and lumps but try to get rid of most of them

Put it in your waffle maker DON'T forget to GREASE the waffle iron (with oil)

Banana Sauce Recipe:

3 Mashed Bananas (i used a fork)

2 Pinches of Brown Sugar

Splash O' Lemon Juice

 

Put it all in a shallow pan and cook it up, it should get more liquidy.

Attempt 1:

turned out nice, a little soft but still yummy!!

Attempt 2:

I forgot to regrease the pan.... OOPS! lol but i got the waffle halves out of the iron and stuffed them with the banana sauce! NEW CREATION: BANANA STUFFED WAFFLES. A fail for me= a win for the vegan waffle community!

Attempt 3: WE HAVE A WINNERRRRR

I didn't have a lot of batter left so these are thin and crispy but I'd have to say I really like them that way. These are a new favorite (even bear wanted some)! I think i'm going to do this again!

Natalie: Pesto-Fire Roasted Tomato-Curried Pizza!

PestoFireRoastedTomatoCurried Pizza

Its name wasn't the only mouthful here. At first, Katie was super skeptical about the amount of toppings and flavors busying our virgin pizza dough.

We attempted to incorporate an "artsy" aspect. Yup, that's our version of a bullseye.

Raw pizza slapped onto my hot ass pizza stone! Almost didn't fit, and a bitch to transfer from my wooden cutting board (as seen on upper left corner)

Finished product! OM NOM. Success with the exception of a single semi charred crater!

Recreate this masterpiece? Depending on if you get creative with your pesto/tomato application, the measurements may vary. Yields enough for two teenagers. You'll need:

• (Trader Joe's) Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
• 3/4 cup Pesto Sauce (homemade recipe see below, or store-bought)
• (Trader Joe's) 1/2 cup Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• Handful of spinach
• mustard greens (wish I had kale for this one!)
• chopped grilled zucchini (or raw, I had leftovers from the Fourth)
• chopped or sliced onion

Pesto:

• Equal BIG handfuls of fresh basil and cilantro
• 2 smallish smashed garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs water
• 2 Tbs toasted pinenuts
• s&p to taste

Whir it up in your Magic Bullet!

Layer all ingredients, shove into a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, et voila!