A few years ago, I was both blessed and cursed after trying Noodles & Company’s Thai Curry Soup. Blessed because the stuff is delicious; cursed because the stuff is delicious.

[courtesy of Noodles & Co. Website]

[and, not the healthiest choice]

Needless to say, there was good reason to remix this recipe.  I love this soup, but since I want to eat it all the time, it’s not a sensible choice to order the real deal 7 days per week.  My jeans don’t conform to this decision.

Don’t be scared about the seemingly long list of ingredients.  You probably have everything in your kitchen right now besides the coconut milk, lemongrass, Chinese cabbage, bok choy and scallions.

Now, if you want, you can leave the cilantro and scallions out of the initial cooking process and just use them as garnish.  Some people don’t care for the way they look when they’re cooked, but I like the flavor that they add to the soup.  Either way is good, so the decision is yours.

Or, you can substitute the scallions for red onion.

Or, you can leave both out.

Or, you can do 1/2 and 1/2.

You could also slice up a raw tomato into wedges and add a wedge or two to each bowl when you serve the soup.

This soup is a party waiting to happen.

I’m a total mushroom-a-holic.  I love them lots.

I normally taste my soup throughout the cooking process, not only because I’m impatient, but also because the flavor tends to change as it cooks.  I like this soup pretty flavorful, so I add a lot of curry powder.  If you hate curry powder, you can leave it out, but it’ll be much less tasty.

To round off this soup, I added some marinated and grilled firm tofu.  It was fantastic.  You could also add chicken or shrimp, and it will be just as yummy.

This recipe will yield about 8 – 2 cup servings of soup, which is similar to the serving of a “regular” bowl at Noodles & Co.  Here is the nutritional information for each serving (assuming 8 – 2 cup servings):

Not too shabby, right?

Print the recipe, and make it…it’s delicious!

]]> http://www.joggerslife.com/2011/thai-coconut-curry-soup-noodles-co-remix/feed/ 2 http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/my-ridiculicious-mac-cheese-recipe/ http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/my-ridiculicious-mac-cheese-recipe/#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:19:33 +0000 http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=4297

Although I am a baker at heart, I also love cooking.  My favorite things to make are comfort foods, and I love nothing more than to whip up a huge pan of mac ‘n cheese or grits ‘n greens for potlucks and family parties.  [I also have an affinity for food names that have an 'n in them].

One of my most requested contributions for parties is my mac ‘n cheese.  In the past, I’ve actually lay awake at night, conjuring up ways to make my mac ‘n cheese even better.  Now, I think that I’ve come to a resting point with the recipe.  Rather than try to change it any further, I’m going to leave it just the way it is.

There are several things that I love about this recipe, but the one thing that puts it over the top is the pasta.  Please don’t use elbow noodles.  I’ll cry if I hear about it.  I promise you that it’s only about 32% as good when you use anything other than cavatappi or cellentani pasta.

This one…the corkscrews!

I brought this ridiculicious mac ‘n cheese yesterday to the annual Cookie Party, and it was a total hit.  So much that it’s prompted me to post the recipe here, allowing me to share it with all of my blends as well as my real friends at once [hi friends!].  I only wish I had taken a picture yesterday of its’ beautifulness.  I guess you’ll just have to make it yourself!

Let me know if you try it.  I promise it’s delish.  This would be the perfect thing to bring to Mom’s house (or Grandma’s) for Christmas dinner.  Everyone will love it.

Beth’s Ridiculicious Mac & Cheese

2# Cavatappi or Cellentani Pasta (they hold the most cheesy goodness!)

1C White Zinfindel

1C Heavy Cream (or milk, if you must)

3 T Worcestershire Sauce

1 T Horseradish

1/2 T Garlic Powder

1 t Pepper

1 t Paprika

1 T all purpose flour

3 T Milk or water

24 Oz. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (I buy the huge bag already shredded from Safeway)

12 Oz. Shredded Cheddar & Colby Cheese Blend  (Ditto above, but use only ½ the bag)

1-2 C Corn Flakes (crushed), or Bread Crumbs

1 C Fried Onions (canned or homemade)

1)   Boil pasta al dente, drain and set aside.  Noodles should be a little chewy, or they’ll end up mushy after you bake the mac n cheese! Reserve about 1 cup of the noodle water in case you need it later.

2)   In a large pot (think: big enough to hold all of the noodles and be able to stir and mix at will), bring the White Zinfindel to a low boil, and simmer on low/medium for about 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in the heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, garlic powder, pepper and paprika.   Simmer on low/medium for another 3-5 minutes.

3)   With the mixture still at a low simmer, start whisking in the shredded cheese gradually.  Keep the heat high enough to melt the cheese fully, but not high enough to burn.  Continuously stir the cheese as it melts, or it won’t make a nice smooth sauce.

4)   After all of the cheese has melted, whisk together the flour and milk/water until it’s fully dissolved and not lumpy anymore.  Turn up the heat on the cheese mixture slightly, then begin quickly whisking the flour/water into the cheese.  You have to do this quickly and whisk the whole time or it will end up lumpy.  After it’s all dissolved and combined, turn heat down to low/warm.

5)   Hot noodles work best, so if you weren’t able to keep them warm while you were making the cheese mixture, re-drain them in hot water to warm them up a bit.  Add the noodles to the cheese mixture in 3 parts, making sure not to add too many noodles to the cheese mixture.  I always end up with extra noodles in the end [which is perfectly fine with me...that means I have buttered noodles for days!  ...oh, buttered noodles!]  If things get a little dry, just add in some of the reserved noodle water (from above).

6)   Top with crushed corn flakes or bread crumbs and fried onions.  Cover in foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, removing foil for the last 10 minutes.

7)   Eat!

Let me know if you make it–I’d love to know how it went!

Click for printable version!

Today is not going to be your standard “She’s Crafty” post.

Because I have slept for 30 of the past 48 hours.

Because whatever illness I have contracted has caused me to foster the perfect environment for the largest cold sore in the history of mankind.

Because I have to run/walk 3.1 miles in the freezing cold tomorrow, with the aforementioned cold sore advertising itself on my face the entire time.

Because I will probably have no friends after tomorrow.

Because I worry incessantly about things that probably have no bearing on my social, developmental, mental, economical, or behavioral status.

Because this post is likely fueled by too much NyQuil.

Because inside my head it sounds like this:

…waaaahhhhhhh….swoooshhh….static….static…swooooshhhhh.

Who knows.  I can’t explain it.

In any case, what I really want to tell you about is my weekend.  Most importantly, my friends and I have planned our annual holiday cookie party for Sunday!  Do you and your friends have cookie parties?  If not, you should.  Each person brings 3 dozen cookies to the party, then when you get to the party, you swap all of your cookies with all of the other cookies.  You go home with (at least) 3 dozen assorted cookies, and sometimes you even get recipes for the ones that your friends bring.

Even with my swooshing, static-y head, I still know that it’s a good time.

Although I generally rely upon my trusty 1001 Cookie Recipes cookbook (which has been my favorite for the past 10 years), this year, I decided to deviate from this formula, and I fell prey to the cult of Martha Stewart while I was in the checkout line buying soup [swooshhhh....static....swooshhhhh].

Generally speaking, Martha Stewart is too froofy for me.  I usually think that her decorating ideas are too much like something that my best friend’s mom would tell me to do, so I avoid her.  However, through the static and swoosh, something told me to buy this glorified magazine turned cook(ie)book.

Although this cook(ie)book does have quite a few complicated cookie recipes (which I also tend to avoid), there were some that seemed manageable while still being practical enough to please the masses at my cookie swap.  Since I can never “just” make 3 dozen cookies, and I am the queen of excess, I decided to make 4 different cookies.  Plus macaroni and cheese, so as to level our collective blood sugar out a bit during the party.

I decided on the following:

1. Chocolate Peppermint Cookies: I chose these because I love the combination of chocolate and peppermint during the holidays (Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, anyone??!!), and I liked the idea that they were chocolate cookies dipped in white chocolate.  Fun!
2. Glitter Ball Cookies: These are really pretty cookies, and a few days before I bought this cook(ie)book, I purchased (on a whim) 3 jars of glittery sanding sugar at Marshall’s for 1/2 price.  I believe in cookie serendipity.
3. Cream-Filled Chocolate Cookies: I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a cream-filled cookie, and these are cute because you can use food coloring to dye the filling any color you’d like…I’ll use red and green for Christmas.
4. Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches: If it has the words “peanut” and “butter” in it, I’m pretty much definitely going to make it.

As you can see, had I not been high on NyQuil when I was purchasing soup, I would have thought better of buying this cook(ie)book, saved my $5.95, and just looked these recipes up online.  The recipes above are the exact same ones that are published in this magazine, and I could have got them for free.  [swooooshhhhh....static....static....static...]

So, I’m “giving” them to you for free…before you see this magazine in the checkout line and waste your hard-earned cash.

I’ll keep you posted as all things cookie and NyQuil hangover unfold this weekend.  Hopefully my cold sore doesn’t cause me to lose all of my friends, hopefully I don’t crash and burn during the Jingle Bell run like I did last time, and hopefully I don’t do anything silly on Sunday as a result of combining large amounts of NyQuil and sugar.

[swooooooshhhhhh....static.......]

Pray for me.

Disclosure: Actions you take from the links within this blog post may yield commissions for joggerslife.com. See Jogger’s Life’s disclosure statement for more details.

These are (hopefully) the last two pictures you’ll ever see of my kitchen in such a severe state of sadness.

I don’t want to get my hopes up, since we’ve had several bouts of premature counter top excitation, but tomorrow morning, I should have fully-installed granite counter tops.

It feels like Christmas Eve.

You know that term “elephant in the room”?  Wherein the “elephant” is this enormous, smelly, hairy beast of an uncomfortable whatnot, and no matter how badly you want to be like “HEY!  What the hell is that ELEPHANT doing in this room?”,  you never bring it up because it’s just TOO MUCH to talk about?

Well, I think that each one of us has at least one “elephant in the brain”.

There’s always that one thing that anonymously plagues us over and over and over again, but we constantly refuse to address it because it’s just too scary/ugly/intimidating/dirty to even think about.  It’s just TOO MUCH.

Well, Rachel says that it’s not too much.

She has encouraged everyone, in the spirit of “I own this shit”, and “sorry I’m not sorry”, to put a leash on our collective ‘elephants’, and take the smelly beasts out for a little jog in the park!  Since I’m all about Girl Power (!) I decided to take Rachel’s lead.

I have been thinking about this post all week.

What could I possibly OWN that I haven’t already OWNED on this blog?  I’ve already told you about how, for 15 years, I thought that my eating disorder was a perfectly sensible way to deal with my emotions, I exposed myself and concluded that I thought I was pretty f&ck!ng awesome, I’ve told countless stories about the struggles I still have with disordered eating and thinking, and I also told you how not sorry I am for loving a black man because it makes me a unique piece of the blogging world.

What more can I possibly give you?

“I have nothing more to give”!

Or so I thought.

This morning, it occurred to me–as I was rolling out of bed on a Friday.  Wishing that I was not going to work.  Daydreaming as I was applying lip gloss, about another land far, far away, in which I didn’t have to go to work today.  And it occurred to me.  This is serious.  I’ve been letting this particular elephant stomp around in my brain for way too long.

I have to own this.

I desperately, completely, wholly, truly want to quit my day job.  Not because I suck at it, not because it doesn’t pay the bills, not because I hate my  coworkers or my work environment.

It’s because I want to own a tiny little bakery.

Tiny.  Like Tiny (with a capital “T”).

I’ll bake cookies.

Cupcakes.

I’ll serve you lemonade.  With a flower in my hair.

Wearing an apron.  It might be this one, but I have 2…so I’ll wear the one that feels appropriate on any particular day.

[But...I promise to do my hair and makeup when it's for real...but I might still wear running shoes if that's OK.]

Then, the most important decisions of my day will be;  a) which apron to wear, b) whether to make strawberry cupcakes with vanilla butter cream, or vanilla cupcakes with strawberry butter cream, and c) chocolate chip, or peanut butter?

I promise that I will always, always smile.  Because I would be owning, living, and doing exactly what I want.  Fulfilling a part of myself that dies a little more each and every time I do a bank reconciliation, a financial statement, and a quarterly report.

I really want the huge, smelly elephant to be gone, once and for all.

I really want to be Bethie Crocker.

Sorry I’m not sorry.

p.s…I’m scared.  The thought of doing my current job until the day that I keel over and die literally makes me want to keel over and die.  However, the idea of quitting my job to bake cookies and cupcakes makes me want to curl up in the fetal position and cry for my Mommy.  I need a game plan.  I’ve owned it, now I have to do something about it.  Did I mention that I’m scared?

Remember when I used to cook all the time and then post recipes for you guys?

Yeah.  Well, there’s not a whole lot of time for cooking these days, considering that I’m either working, sweating or studying.  Unfortunately, cooking is a great stress relief for me.  For that reason, I do my best to cook at least one delicious meal every weekend.

Thanks to an unexpected offer from Ryan at POM Wonderful, I received a case of delicious, nutritious POM Pomegranate juice.  I had tried POM in the past (after I received some freebie coupons last year), but I never attempted cooking with it.  Considering the fact that I had an entire case, I knew that I needed to cook with it.

I didn’t want to try the normal things that immediately came to mind (pancake syrup, glazes, etc.), so I decided to make Chicken PACOS.

Chicken POM Tacos.

Yes, I made that up.  Isn’t the name just brilliant?

(I kid.)

Tacos are My Gazelle’s favorite meal of all time.  If I ask him what he wants to eat for dinner (provided that he’s home), approximately 90% of the time, he’ll tell me that he wants tacos.  The other 10% of the time, he doesn’t want to tell me that he wants tacos because he likes to seem mysterious and unpredictable.  So, I make him tacos.  Then he says “woo hoo! Tacos!” I basically never cook anything besides tacos for him.  I don’t mind, but tacos get kind of old.

Since I’ve been partaking in the occasional bout with organic, locally farm-raised chicken, I decided that I wanted tacos tonight as well.  So, we were having fancy tacos.  POM tacos.

I chopped up the chicken breasts into tiny cubes, added Adobo seasoning, pepper,  and garlic powder, then cooked it in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat.

(please excuse the sub-par photos…my camera apparently does not respond well on manual focus in low light!  Lesson learned.)

When the chicken appeared to be cooked all the way through, I added approximately 1 cup of POM Wonderful.

Then, I added a packet of my favorite taco seasoning.

Then I drank the rest of the POM (with my hawt post-12 mile bike ride hair).

As soon as I stirred everything together to combine, I noticed a marked difference in the texture from my normal taco meat.  I would guess that something having to do with the fruit sugar in the POM caused the mixture to be much more thick, and the seasoning seemed to adhere to the meat better.  I hate watery taco meat, so this was a good thing.

I was nervous about the whole thing, because I was afraid that the POM would make the meat way too sweet.  I crossed my fingers and layered up the tacos…

Spinach, Amy’s refried beans, chicken, salsa, daiya cheese (yum!), and sour cream.

PERFECTION!

These tacos were so freaking good.  By cooking the chicken in POM, it made it incredibly tender.  It also added an interesting edge to the standard taco meat flavor, and made things sort of sweet without being too sweet.  Even My Gazelle loved it.

So, I’ll probably make this again tomorrow.  Since he’ll probably want tacos again.

This week, Flashback Friday means that my site has new(ish) content.  That in itself is a blessing.  It’s been an interesting week.  Someday my life will be back to normal.  Until then, we have Portobello Burgers with Roasted Pepper Paste.

I’ll be announcing the Luna & Larry’s giveaway winner soon, so stay tuned!

———-

Originally posted May 19, 2009

“Black girls run? Of course we do. The goal of our blog is to provide a community and inspiration for black women who run and encourage more black women to run.”

I admit it.  I am not a fan of stereotypes.

For that very reason, I admire Ashley and Toni from Black Girls Run.  I love that they are breaking through stereotypes in order to better themselves and others.  Over the past few weeks of reading their blog, one of the things that I’ve loved the most is the recipes!  Big shocker, right?

For THAT reason, I asked them to put together an extra special recipe for all of my readers.  They happily obliged.  So, hop over and check out their blog, but first, look at this deliciousness!

Oh my goodness.  I’m totally having this for dinner tonight.

________

Courtesy of Toni Marshall & Ashley Hicks of Black Girls Run

Portobello Burgers with Roasted Pepper Paste and Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

Burgers:
4 large Portobello mushrooms
4 tbsp. Olive Oil
2 tbsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Parsley
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
4 slices of Mozzarella or Provolone cheese
14oz jar of Roasted Red Peppers
1 tbsp. parsley
1 clove garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 multigrain hamburger buns or rolls

Fries:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin strips
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. brown sugar
Salt to taste

Directions:

Burgers:
1.    Combine 3 tbsp. olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, parsley and lemon in a large bowl. Place the mushrooms in, and allow them to marinate for 30 minutes.

2.    Next, to make the red pepper paste, combine the jar of peppers, garlic, parsley and 1 tsp. olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until it creates a thick paste. (Be careful not to over process because it can become soupy very fast. Once the paste is done, taste it, and add as much salt as you like.)

3.    After the mushrooms have marinated, place them in a non-stick skillet and grill for 6 minutes on each side. (I actually poured the mushrooms and the marinade in the skillet so they could sauté in the flavor.) Salt and pepper to taste.

4.    Toast bun with cheese or choose. Place mushrooms on bun, and spread on the red pepper paste.  Top with lettuce, spinach, onions, or your favorite hamburger toppings.

Fries:

1.    Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

2.    In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except the brown sugar. Toss the mixture until the potatoes are evenly coated. (I like heavily seasoned food, so after I tossed, I sprinkled on extra paprika and cinnamon.)

3.    Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer, sprinkle with brown sugar and salt and bake for 30 minutes. (I used granulated brown sugar so I wouldn’t have any clumps. If you do have clumps of sugar, they are more likely to burn and you will have charred bits on your fries.) Be sure to turn the fries often so they cook evenly.

_________

To eat:

Stuff into mouth.  Chew.  Repeat.

Thank you Ashley and Toni!  I am so anxious to try this recipe!

]]> http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/flashback-friday-portobello-burgers-with-roasted-pepper-paste/feed/ 3 http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/flashback-friday-almond-macaroons-so-good-you-might-cry/ http://www.joggerslife.com/2010/flashback-friday-almond-macaroons-so-good-you-might-cry/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:37:39 +0000 http://www.joggerslife.com/?p=3123

Every Friday, I pull an old post out of archives so that we can all enjoy it again. Today, I have almond macaroons on the brain, so we all must suffer.

In the past year, many people have tried this recipe and loved it. Here are a few links to the posts about their experience:

Katy from Silly Tater Tot (one of my favorite girls ever!)
Jen from Healthy Laps
Sarah from Tales of Expansion

Just a slight mention that maple syrup can be substituted for the agave nectar if preferred (since I know there’s a lot of info floating around right now about how bad agave is). A food dehydrator is not necessary, so don’t be scared. Make some. I promise you’ll love them!

Happy Friday!

_____________________
Originally Posted April 26, 2009

I just wanted you to know that I’m having trouble picking a topic. The list that you see above? Yeah…so all of those orange folders contain pictures of things that I need to tell you about. This is sort of my “to do” list of blogs. Clearly, I’m not really making a very good dent in the “to do” list. That’s kind of my M.O.

However, I am going to mark one thing off of my list today. It’s not necessarily the oldest thing on the list, but it’s the one that I want to talk the most about. So, that’s what I’ll do. Because I am one of those people who do the fun things first, and save the not-so-fun things for later. Not that all of the stuff I want to tell you about isn’t fun, but this is probably the most fun.

Well. I think so.

And it’s my blog.

And you’ll be so happy that it is. And that I made this decision.

See, here’s the thing. I bought an Excalibur Food Dehydrator.

The reason why I bought the Excalibur Food Dehydrator? Well, because I wanted to make macaroons. It was power of suggestion, really. I’ve seen too many of those dehydrator macaroons floating around the Blogiverse lately, and I needed to make some of my own. I’m so easy. I’m proof that viral marketing really does work.

That was ok with me. I got a great deal on a ‘blemished’ Excalibur (although I cannot find a blemish on the thing), and I happily gave up most of my counter space for this appliance.

Everything was all find and good until I realized one thing. I did not have a freaking recipe for the macaroons. I searched high and low, near and far. None of the recipes I came across were what I really wanted, and it seems that the Queen of Macaroons was not giving up her recipe! The world is just not fair.

In the meantime, Calib, as he is now known, was just begging me to use him. I’m not kidding.

So, I made up my own recipe. And, since I refuse to have secrets between us, I am giving it to you. I learned how to share. Me and sharing…we go way back. Don’t be thwarted by the “dehydrator” thing. You can make these in a regular old oven, you just have to set it as low as possible, and you can even leave the door open. It’ll still work. I promise. But start saving your money for a Excalibur. It’s worth it. I promise.

Trust me, you want to make these.

This is just before they were dehydrated. Aren’t they cute? You don’t have to make them this round though–I scooped them out with a tablespoon and plopped them onto the trays, but you can just scoop them out with a spoon and plop them on if you’d like. My Gazelle says they look like balls of rice.

I say they look like balls of heaven.

You can make them with raw cocoa

Or without

I couldn’t make up my mind. So I made both.

Ok, here we go!

Almond Coconut Macaroons (So Good You Might Cry)

Buy It:

2 Cups Raw Almonds, ground (flour-style)
2 Cups Raw Ground Coconut
2 Medjool Dates, spun in food processor
¼ Cup Agave Nectar
½ Cup Honey
1-2 Tablespoons Almond Extract
¼ Cup Raw Cocoa Powder (optional)

Do It:

Combine all ingredients. You’ll know it’s perfect when everything sticks together easily. Add more coconut if things look too gooey, and add more honey/agave if it’s not sticking together well. Try not to eat all of the batter.

Form batter into round balls (or any other shape you’d like), and place on food dehydrator trays(1). Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 6-8 hours(2).

(1) If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can also make these in your oven. Set your oven on the lowest temperature possible, and you can even leave the door open. Allow to stay in oven for 2-4 hours, or until macaroons are firm to the touch.

(2) I dehydrated mine for 7 hours.

Here’s a printable version of my almond-coconut-macaroons!

Please make them and tell me how much you love them. It will make me smile.

And now, I can take “macaroons” off of the to do list. And wasn’t that fun?

Starting today, I’ll be doing “Flashback Friday” posts, where I pull an old post out of retirement and recycle it for your reading enjoyment. Today’s post was inspired by Heather at Hangry Pants, who reminded me that vegan cupcakes are yummy. Very, very yummy.

And, well…it’s my birthday…so let’s enjoy cupcakes together!

I’ll admit that vegan cupcakes had me skeptical.

Cupcakes without eggs?

Pfffttt! It’ll never work!

I was so wrong.

I love marble cake. Marble cupcakes. Marble fudge. Chocolate/vanilla softserve (“twist” as we call it in good old CNY). I’m not incredibly fond of chocolate, but if you put vanilla together with chocolate, I’m all over it.

This recipe was perfect for me.

In the recipe, it actually states that pouring the chocolate and vanilla simultaneously into the cupcake tin is tricky for the hand/eye UNcoordinated. I thought I would have no problem. I was again, sadly mistaken. It was really difficult, but I managed.

They were a little messy, but it was ok. After this, I swirled the batter around with a toothpick. Next time, I’ll use a knife for an even more swirly affect.

The recipe recommended baking for 25-27 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Since I was too lazy to take out my pizza stone, mine didn’t take as long, so they were finished in 20 minutes. I didn’t take a picture of them straight out of the oven, but they were lovely.

But, here they are with a layer of fluffy vegan buttercream piped on. I love how it looks like marshmallow!

Mmmmm. Cupcakes.

Last week, I made my first recipe from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World cookbook (me and cupcakes have been getting along well lately), and as a result, I had about a cup of leftover vegan chocolate ganache. Since I don’t let anything go to waste these days (thank you, Sarah), I put the leftover ganache to good use.

Oh, heavenly cupcakes.

So, I know you’re wondering if they dry, mushy, or fall-apart-y due to having no egg in the recipe.

Nope.

Definitely not.

I mean, I tried this one first just to make sure.

Then I had another so that I was absolutely sure that the first one wasn’t an anomoly. They’re definitely all moist, delicious, and totally vegan. And the buttercream. I’m not even going to talk about the buttercream. I would be here all day.

Vegan cupcakes might just take over the world.

Today, we went to Noodles & Company for lunch.  Restaurant Boy had tofu for the first time.

I’m happy to report that he ordered it entirely on his own, and he loved it!

And now, this soup.

THIS soup.

This SOUP!

This soup might just be my Achilles Heel.

But I don’t really mind, because it’s delicious.

Does anyone have a reliable recipe for Thai Curry Soup that they want to share or point me to??

On another note, it snowed last night.  Again.  That means that I don’t have kickboxing class tonight, and that makes me sad.  I love kickboxing class!

On yet another note, I want to say a special WASSUP to all of my new readers!  Hi new readers!  If you found me because of Fitbloggin’, are you as completely BOOSTED as I am about going?!

* Have you joined my Facebook Group yet?

* See how my training is going over here!

* Looking for my eBook?

*Check out my body image project!