I'm back! With a Chocolate Cake!

So I've been absent for quite a while.  That's because I've been busy being pregnant and enjoying my sweet newborn!  Listen, the first 3 months of pregnancy I could barely get out of bed, let alone look at a food blog.  The smell of a fresh baked cake was enough to make me run to the bathroom!!!

But all that has changed, and things are starting to settle into a rhythm, so I thought I'd stop by from time to time to talk about food.

Not promising I'll be on here daily, or even weekly, but when I get the urge I'll post!

Here's a yellow cake with chocolate frosting I made for my mom's birthday.  I followed a recipe by Deb from Smitten Kitchen exactly.  Unfortunately, despite positive reviews I found the cake slightly dry and crumbly and the frosting just wasn't my favorite.  I'll give the cake one more go since others seem to have had success - including the famous Deb.  But I'll try a different frosting.

I've also got to note that I may be a bigger fan of vegan cakes.  They seem to turn out moister and lighter!  Maybe it's because of the oil, instead of butter...?  So I plan to also try a vegan yellow cake again very soon just to see what I think.  You know, do a little comparison.  Anyway, I do need to find a perfect (and easy) cake frosting recipe.  I find I much prefer cocoa powder over melted chocolate chips in recipes.  So I'm on the hunt for a good cocoa powder cake frosting.  I will keep you posted!

Salmon in Foil Packets

Bit of a hiatus... I'll explain why later... but for now, at least for this one post, I'm back!

And what a way to come back!  This salmon baked in foil is healthy, super delicious, elegant enough to serve to company, and SO simple you won't even believe it.

To be fair, I have to credit my friend and old roomie Jennifer for the idea.  She used to make something nearly identical with chicken, and like so many other things she cooked for me, I never forgot it!

The Mayo Clinic cookbook uses the same method but with salmon, and I made that recipe back in high school and was quite impressed with myself.

Well, enough said, here's the recipe.

Salmon in Foil Packets

salmon filets, skin off (as many as you want)
red onion, sliced super thin
lemon, sliced super thin
thyme sprigs
garlic, peeled and sliced super thin
S&P
juice from remaining lemon
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  2. Arrange salmon filets on their individual sheets of foil (the foil will fold up to form a little package for each serving, later).  3. Top with S&P. Top with lemon, onion, and garlic slices. Lay thyme springs on top. Drizzle with lemon juice and a few drops of olive oil.  4. Fold up each piece of foil tightly around the salmon like a present. (Make sure you can easily unwrap it to check the doneness later though).  5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, tops.

Here it is pre-bake:

Lentil Stew Leftovers

I added some chopped steamed kale to my lentil stew and it made a great, healthy lunch.

Lentil Stew With Acorn Squash

When I don't know what else to cook and I need something fast, lentil stew is the answer.

I can make it mindlessly, it must be the easiest healthy meal in the world.

I roasted an acorn squash and scooped out spoonfuls to add to the stew at the end of cooking.  Cornbread on the side!

A Lunch of Leftovers

And omnivores want to know where vegetarians get their protein?  I think between the black eyed peas, tofu, brown rice, and kale I'll be okay.

These were just some leftovers I took to work for an easy, healthy lunch.

Hospital Food

Now, when I think "hospital food" I conjure images of watery instant mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak, bland rolls and jello cups.  But when I visited the cafeteria in the hospital where my nephew was born, I was pleasantly surprised!  It's not gourmet, but it definitely did the trick!

Below, spinach salad with teriyaki tofu:

Mixed barbecue beans (very good!)

Collard greens (kinda garlicky)

And below was my mom's salmon salad. Not bad!

My Appropriate Fortune

I got this fortune in my fortune cookie when we ordered Chinese food last week. I thought it couldn't be more appropriate!

Welcome Baby Nolan!

My nephew was born today! He is perfect, just like his big sister Abby.  I love being an aunt!

Some fun facts from the day:

- Because Nolan was delivered c-section, we couldn't be in the operating room, but Laurie (my baby sister) and I had our ears to the door the moment he came out, and we heard a loud waahhhhh! It was music to our ears, and what is cool is that we heard the exact same first wail from our niece Abby, when she was born over two years ago.

- I got to go in the operating room with Abby just after delivery so she could see her baby brother for the first time.  I held her as she looked down at baby Nolan squirming and screaming on that metal tray table while they cleaned him up.  Her reaction and the site of him just made me cry, she at first looked shocked that this is what came out of her mommy's tummy, then immediately said in the sweetest voice, "Hey Nolan" and when he sneezed she said "Awww, bless you Nolan!"

- Mary and Zach (mom and dad) are doing great and are so proud of their new family, as they should be!

- Abby fell in love at first sight with her new brother, and considered him her responsibility to protect.  It bordered on frustrating for the rest of us who were dying to hold him, but really, he is HER brother, isn't he?

- I'll end with this funny video.  We love you Nolan, welcome to the world!

This morning

This was my coffeepot, early this morning.  I was all alone and it wasn’t light out yet.  I woke up with a flutter in my stomach, excited for everything to come.  I love moments like this.

Fun, Bad Saturday :)

Wow.  So much can change so fast!   One minute, I’m telling you everything I put in my mouth, the next minute, all that seems so insignificant, but then, significant again for a different reason.

So with that bit of vagueness, I’ll proceed with talking about what I eat.  I probably won’t manage to take a photo of everything I eat.  It’s just too much.

But I’ll say that this Saturday, there was some debauchery that went on.  I’ll give you a hint.

And another.

Hurrah! One last.