My Best Attempt at Vegan Cooking

The average American dinner consists of a hunk of meat, some kind of starchy food, and a simple side of vegetables...perhaps canned or frozen peas, green beans, broccoli, etc. (I'm making a lot of assumptions in this post so sorry if my stereotypes don't apply to you.) I'm good at making these dinners. No big deal right? But lately I have realized that my diet has been a little lackluster. Everyone wants to be healthy and vibrant and I have come to realize that the true key to health success is a proper diet and consistent aerobic exercise. This is what it will always boil down to folks. So to revamp my efforts to remain fit and healthy, I studied up on Veganism. My goal was to learn how to cook with vegetables because honestly, how many of us know how to use lentils, chickpeas, kale, and the like? So here are a few candid shots of my efforts. By the way, I'm a huge ice-cream monster so I could never be vegan. And I'm not against eating meat either.

My lovely Sweet Potato and Leek Gratin. Looks yummy right? Wrong. It was a failure. I couldn't afford fresh Rosemary so I used dried. And I forgot if you double the dried herb or cut it in half if you don't have the fresh stuff. I figured bold flavor isn't always bad so I doubled it. Ick. Every mouthful was full of dried, pine-needly rosemary leaves. Someday I hope to have my own bounteous herb garden which would have come in handy the night I made this.

Me making Couscous and Vegetables.

Success! This main dish was so lovely! I only wish I would have trusted that a meager cup of couscous would do the job. I think I settled for a cup and half. In the end, I felt the couscous slightly overwhelmed the yummy veggies. When will I learn to trust the recipe? This recipe featured spinach, green peppers, green onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, and kidney beans.

I made this Coconut Cream Cake for my Mother-in-Law's birthday about a week ago. Definitely not a vegan recipe but still really tasty. I topped it with toasted coconut and heart-shaped strawberries for a little flare. I owe my love for cooking sweets to my mother, who as Brian claims, is the best treat maker there ever was. I also admit that I am quite proud of the last-minute strawberry idea. I had never thought of cutting a notch at the top to make them look like hearts until I made this cake.

Current Pics. of Baby David

Baseball boy! The hat didn't stay on for very long...

Look at those dark blue eyes! I love snuggling him in my bed in the morning before I get him dressed for the day.

And this folks, perfectly represents my inability to format well on my blog. I guess I need lessons. But it is a cute picture. I love this yellow outfit.

Daddy and David singing songs at the piano. David really likes when Brian does this with him.

I think this pic. really shows off his little personality. Can't you just tell how much he is like Brian? He pulls these faces and screams at me all of the time. He is really a vocal baby.

David will be four months old on March 1. I have just loved being his mommy. He really adds so much happiness to our lives.

No, not a Boy Scout

This is a MAN SCOUT!

This is the guy that can be seen wandering the neighborhoods in Spring, TX selling mulch to help earn money for a crazy two-week backpacking trip in Philmont. This is the Varsity Coach of the Klein Oak ward that will be responsible for a handful of teenage boys in the middle of some mountain range in New Mexico this summer. This is the guy that can literally do anything he puts his mind to, even sewing on his own scout badges...and you can tell that he did a good job! And he hasn't ever even used a sewing machine before! This is the man that can make his wife roar with laughter as he recounts the story of using a Bulgarian woman's bathroom while trying to sell her mulch. This is the substitute teacher that writes referrals and takes away cell phones. This is the guy that is known as "Mrs. Cook" when he teaches kindergarten! This is the guy that makes the Freshman girl choir giggle when he admits that he was a Soprano in his first year of High School. This guy has some good jokes up his sleeve, even in his sleep when he tells me to put the baby on his "bach". This guy can even sing the Batman theme song in his sleep without realizing it...now that is talent! This is the guy that will do the 20-minute shred workout with his wife because she wants him to see how hard it is. This is a family man, and a dedicated, motivated, hard-working student. This man is worth knowing!

Happy Valentines Day to you Sweetheart!

Who Likes to Hold Baby?

Santa does!

Aunt Heather and cousin Ethan do!

Mason does!

Mommy REALLY loves to hold baby! Even at the expense of a face-squash.

Grandma Cook does!

Grandma Salisbury does!

VJ loves to hold baby!

Bala and Balaji do!

and Grandpa Cook...

and Uncle Alan

Great Grandmas really do...

Grandpa Salisbury really loves to hold baby

Xenna likes to hold baby on her lap!

Daddy loves to hold baby in his elbow pit.

Uncle Parker loves to hold baby...even when baby poops on him and makes funny noises.

Aunt Rachel likes holding baby too...

Oh and of course Uncle Ty and Aunt Suz did. They liked the practice. Here is a picture of them. As you can see, Suzi is going to have a baby very soon.

And a slew of other aunts, uncles, and cousins like to hold baby...we just don't have pictures.