I’ve spied some great food around the sphere the past week. And then I drooled.
Here are a few of the gems I’ve been salivating over:
1. Marla’s Very Blueberry Layer Cake
3. Katie’s Creamy Cauliflower Cheeze
4. Emily’s Copycat Girl Scout Thin Mints
5. Jenna’s Oatmeal Cream Pies with Cinnamon Buttercream
6. Angela’s Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Almond Buttercream Frosting & Raspberry Glaze
7. Bitt’s Creamy Basil Raw Lasgana
8. Jessica’s Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes
I could go on and on and on with what I’ve spied lately that makes me drool me really excited.
It makes my food seem far less exciting.
Do I need to justify this? No, but I will:
I work full time, I have a family, I have a blog. I am not always Mrs. Masterpiece. And you know what, millions of other working mom’s aren’t either. Or millions of college students who only have a microwave, a small space, and no expensive appliances in which to create their meals or recipes. And that’s ok! We all do the best we can!
So in honor of that sentiment, today’s “masterpieces” are a couple Microwave Recipes…
1. Microwave Blueberry Banana Oat Cake
2. Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter & Oat Snack Bars
3. And a No Bake recipe: No-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake Bites
Notice a theme here: Simple, fast, not a lot of dishes, microwaveable, no-bake. This is my speed lately.
I didn’t always used to be this way.
Raw Vegan GF Girl Scout Samoas-Inspired Cookies were quite an undertaking. As in a multi-day cooking affair.
But now, I try to create masterpiece-looking and masterpiece-tasting recipes that are fast and easy.
Like Fresh Vegan Spring Rolls with 2 Minute Peanut Sauce
From my last post about having a productive day, it was fun to read what you’ve done that made you feel productive. And just how often you change the sheets on your bed.
Questions:
1. What have you spied lately that’s made you drool? Do you think you’ll actually make it or just admire it and drool over it from afar?
I admire all kinds of recipes and cooking. I can admire beautiful food, and a wonderful recipe for just that even if I have no intention of ever making it. I don’t intent to take up painting but I still admire great art and am moved by it. Same with great food.
2. Would you describe your cooking style as KISS (Keep it Simple, Sweetie) or more along the lines of Mrs. Culinary Masterpiece?
I can create masterpieces, and if I had time, I would love to just fritter around in the kitchen just for the sake of cooking, creating, and relaxing.
But life has changed. And life is always changing, and for now, I love to drool over all recipes. But what I will end up creating in my own kitchen is going to come down to the time investment.
But I don’t know any women with small children and full time jobs out of the home who have ample “kitchen fritter time”. If you do, have them email me because I need to know their secrets!
If I can make sure a hot bowl of oatmeal is waiting for her when she wakes up, that’s just as important as anything else in life to me. Oatmeal as a masterpiece. Isn’t that what the blogosphere was built on, anyway?
You really made me drool…but I totally do not spend the time to make things that elaborate!
KISS…all the way.
So true that spending a lot of time on recipes can be hard with limited time and money, purchasing exotic ingredients has been holding me back from trying many recipes on my wish list so I don’t blow my grocery budget.
1. Too many recipes to list! Vegan pizzas, sprouted lentil burgers, avocado ice cream and raw breads to name a few.
2. In between depending on how much time I have. My work schedule and half-marathon training has been taking a lot of resources lately, so I’ve been more keep it simple. But soon I’ll have more time in the kitchen. :-)
AMEN to this :”purchasing exotic ingredients has been holding me back from trying many recipes on my wish list so I don’t blow my grocery budget”
Sarma, Matthew, Ani…lovely but sometimes their budgets both money and time (well not as much Ani) are just not the same as my levels.
Wow. So much “food porn” all in one post! I am drooling along with you now! I feel like i need to step up my creativity in the kitchen. You and all these other bloggers are so amazing in the kitchen! I def have a KISS method. Anything too complicated and I want no parts of it. Unless it’s something I REALLY want to make and have the time.
That Skylar pic is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! (that rhymes)
thanks for thinking that I am amazing in the kitchen…some days i wonder when I look around and see what everyone else is making!
PRECIOUS picture!!
omg cauliflower cream cheese?! that sounds so interesting…i am intrigued!
and the blueberry cake looks awesome as well! great recipe picks!!!
my friend Katie is a great cook, check out her easy stuff!
My entire life right now is devoted to finding ways to eat healthy as simply and quickly as I can! So I can’t thank you enough for the microwavable (and non-bake!) recipes from the bottom of my college heart. I tried the banana cakes yesterday, and it was a beautiful experience!
Emma, thank you :)
I needed to hear this, thank you.
Hi!! I just happened to bump into your blog 3 days back and since then have been religiously going through your many posts!! I am a vegan and would like to eat raw food occasionally! Awesome blog and lots of great information. I have already tried your raw vegan choc. chop cookie dough recipe .. it was YUM!! I also placed my order for a Spiralizer. I often go to the raw food bar at our local Whole Foods and enjoy the raw noodles and raw pad thai sauce. I can’t wait to make it myself now.
Check out my next post….it is going to have to do with a spiralizer!!
And glad you liked the choc chip cookie dough!
YAY!! I love it!! I am excited about getting mine!
I can’t work and I can’t have kids so I’d gladly trade that in and abandon my projects in the kitchen that seem complicated but really aren’t that hard.
Everyone makes different choices and has different abilities, no need to justify. Plus some of the people who you posted about, baking IS their full time job, it’s not a hobby. So they better be good at it, huh?
So true! I think a lot of us forget that some bloggers get paid to blog. and that is what they do!
Thank you ladies…YES…..some other bloggers don’t have FT jobs or kids!
If I had 40 hours a week at home in my kitchen
and then another 4-6 hrs each day MORE that I wasnt parenting..
I would REALLY be a good cook :)
Both of you have awesome recipes, which is why I featured you both :)
Plus I choose to blog less frequently so I can use the hour or so to make food rather than blog daily.
That blueberry cake looks amazing!!! Wow.
Averie I am totally “KISS” when it comes to cooking. I either follow someone else’s recipe or I just throw foods together and call it a meal. A salad with a hard boiled egg and dressing plus a baked sweet potato? Sounds like a feast to me.
Even when I have free time I don’t use it for Kitchen Fritter moments — I’d rather make a recipe that someone else has done and that works! Some people make time for that and enjoy it, but not me!
That pic of Skylar sleeping is so precious!!!
I’ve pined over the same things. Funny how all the desserts that make us drool are gluten-full :-)
They say people crave their allergens.
And there is just not a way to make certain desserts QUITE as good without gluten. I mean, we can kid ourselves and say they are Just as good..but nah, probably not.
Just want to let you know that not only is my blueberry cake sugar free, it is gluten free as well. Made with GF corn & oat flours. Trust me on this – you will never miss the gluten. I can’t even tell the difference. It actually tastes better than wheat flours :)
Averie, your simple and delicious recipes are WHY i come to your blog! Just because it’s simple does not mean it’s not creative. Maybe it takes the same amount of mind power to think of just a few things that will be delicious together without a lot of embellishment, as opposed to a huge fancy dish. I can see the beauty in both, and always in you! Hope you have a wonderful day! xoxo
thank you SO MUCH Emily for this comment.
Thank you for seeing the beauty and creativity in all recipes… and the functionality/practicality in my recipes. And for coming here FOR that!
That blueberry cake looks amazing!!! Of course, I gave up sugar for Lent! I’ll have to wait til Easter to make it…
There are some days I spend hours in the kitchen making various foods, and other days where I just want to heat something up! I find as my work week goes on, the less inclined I am to cook something haha. I love your blog for the short, simple and nutritious recipes :)
thanks for the last sentence :)
Amy, great news – my blueberry cake is sugar free :)
Aw, Skylar is such a cutie! And you are a great mother. All your masterpieces are so yummy!
thanks sweetie!
oh my gosh- that last picture melts my heart :) So many pretty masterpieces. I usually don’t have the patience to make things look too pretty- I wish I did! I want to make this creamy black bean soup:
https://www.healthywithheather.com/2011/03/01/creamy-black-bean-soup-crockpot/
I share your drooling–especially love the blueberries and the cupcake! Wow.
Wow these food pics are AMZING! I am going to click on each link and check out the blogs! Angelas blog I know ; ) saw those cupcakes today!
That is the sweetest pic of Skylar , how precious! I love how you said, we all do the best we can, : ) I agree!!!
as a mom, you know full well too…that we all just do our best :)
OK. This post has be drooling — big time. I can’t even choose which one is doing it the most. However, those microwave chocolate-peanut butter bars and definitely on my to-make list now. Sounds so easy!<3
they ARE easy! make them :)