I freakin' love Seitan

The end.

Pizza and Beer Night

Never mind the 6-pack and extra large pie from the local pizza parlor. This was a make-it-yourself night. My local Whole Foods is also home to a great little pub. If you know Pennsylvania, you know the odd beer-purchasing laws of the state (i.e. beer purchases are mostly restricted to buying entire cases from beer distributors), which is partly why I love WF so much. In the pub, you can buy large, individual bottles of some of the delicious microbrews or seasonal 6-packs from the walk-in fridge room; fill up a growler to go or enjoy a pint inside the pub. It's a small spot, and every time I've been there it's been full of people.

At the local bar, I enjoyed a delicious Belgian dubble, so I was excited to see one inside the fridge room. Ashley's been on a hunt for a random beer I had leftover after my neighborhood Halloween party - Three Philosophers. It's a cherry Belgian tripel. Whole Foods had it!

We were planning to make our own pizzas for dinner, originally on pitas, but then Ashley spotted the garlic naan. Best idea ever. The garlic flavor of the "pizza crust" added a little extra something to the pizzas. We bought a package of four and ended up using all of them (Ashley ate both for dinner; I saved one of mine to have the next day).

To start, we rubbed a little olive oil on top of the naan (the secret to all great pizzas!), and then the sauce. I used Muir Glen's organic pizza sauce, which already had Italian spices in it, so we didn't need to add our own. And finally, mozzarella cheese and we each chose our own toppings (he likes pepperoni and I like olives). Into the oven they went at 400 for about 15 minutes...perfect and tasty!

Chik Patties Parmesan

Confession: I am a wanna-be vegetarian. I seem to have commitment issues with my food relationship though. While I still enjoy a little bit of meat from time-to-time (except beef), I often opt for vegetarian choices when possible.

I love to make chicken parmesan, but this time I wanted a vegetarian option, and a shortcut (I know...seriously asking a lot, right?). Not exactly. I was able to get both with Morningstar Farms Chik Patties and the resulting meal was great!

Prepared as normal, I poured a little sauce on the bottom of a glass baking dish, then placed the Chik Patties on top, covered in more sauce and mozzarella cheese. In the oven it went at 350

for about 20 minutes. I have a gas oven and my broiler drawer under the oven is really shallow, so I was able to put the small dish in the toaster oven under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to completely melt the cheese. The meal was great! Overall, these aren't bad "chicken" patties and I will definitely try them in a few more recipes. The box comes with four patties.

Dear Blogger,

I 98% hate you and your 987385970235897243589724 screw-ups per day. Now I remember why I stopped posting.

Ashley's Man Sandwich

My man has his own man...man sandwich, that is.

Sure, he has the cupcake-making side:

But he loves some "dude food." His usual kitchen activity involves watching me cook, and then

being awesome and cleaning up the dishes, but he makes some tasty scrambled eggs.

The scrambled eggs in his man sandwich had mozzarella cheese and some Italian spices. The

potato roll was toasted to burnt perfection. His reasoning? Hot eggs have steam...steam makes bread soggy...bread needs to be extra toasted to avoid getting soggy. He also loves his Zing sauce...it's a sauce from NC my mom always used in her awesome bean dip. It adds a little kick to the food. Mmmm.

Summer Splendor

Summer's best - freshly picked blueberries

From the garden - Garden Peach heirloom tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella from the co-op.

Shrimp Caesar Salad - Romaine, avocado, shaved Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon
with shrimp sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, Old Bay and lemon. Dressing added after picture.

Mmm...Italian! Farfalle tossed with roasted broccoli and garlic, organic tomato sauce and mozzarella.

No better breakfast - a cheese omelette between toasted and buttered oat bread.

Garden blooms - marigolds, rosemary and mustard green blossoms. So fragrant!

My favorite fella...

...And a little bit of puppy love with a farm friend's new Rottie love bug, Annie.

Good food isn't just for people

As some of you may have read on (anne)vironment, I have a pup who has experienced seizures - one major seizure that impacted the right side of her whole body and a couple of minor/partial seizures that primarily affected the right side of her face. One of the best places to start when battling canine epilepsy is analyzing your dog's diet. I read label after label after label (and then some) to find the food that would best suit her needs, leaving out all of the unnecessary ingredients (which just so happen to be the ones that can be most harmful to dogs who experience seizures). After doing more dog food research than I ever thought possible, I decided that Dick van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet food was going to be the best for Wheeler. This food is free of gluten, soy, dairy, corn and animal by-products - all common ingredients in traditional dog foods. Because Wheeler's previous food was chicken-based, I chose the chicken and sweet potato version of Natural Balance.

To give her meals a little boost and extend the life of a bag of dry dog food (sure I want her to have the best, but the best is pretty pricey...), I cut up and boil sweet potatoes, then mash them in the food processor. I also make a pot of rice. Both of these ingredients are often used by those who make homemade dog food, so they are great to add, even if supplemental to dry food. Wheeler loves it, and cleans her bowl every time!