I made the brownies.

I finally took a minute to stop all and make the gorgeous brownie mix Regine gave me (3 weeks late).   I will say they turned out to be quite wonderful.  They lean more towards the fudge side rather than the cake side.  I like them a lot.  Although it seems all that I sketch and write about I am liking these days.  I will have to eat and sketch something that I am not too fond of and see how that turns out.  May be interesting...

Oh Clementine!!

Addiction of the week: Clementines.

Yep, pretty crazy huh?  Not really.  But lately I just think these little things are the best thing since (not sliced bread) oranges.  I have been buying them by the bag at Whole Foods and they have been so sweet and delicious.  They are small and easy to carry on the train in your pocket book or in your coat pocket.  A perfect snack and a great name to go with it.

Friday is here...

Friday is here -finally-and I am home with some good GF pasta and roasted garlic sauce and I am just so exhausted.  Very long week (again).   I will wake up with a hearty breakfast and colorful sketch.  Until then...

Treats from Down Under

Carob! I have met carob and we like each other!! My soul mate-sister-friend Emily sent these wonderful treats to me from Australia.  In the special care package was this carob covered rice cake, another carob covered rice wafer and a ginger nut bar.  All were very  good and it was nice to try some different things. In fact I liked the carob rice cake so much that emailed the company, Naturally Good (they are based in Australia), to ask them what the availability was in the States.  No response yet.  We better order a case Em! 

Year of the Avocado

I am officially calling it the Year of the Avocado for me.  I think since January 5, 2008 I have brought an avocado to work every day for lunch.  It is now a running joke in the office.  The fact is that I buy them by the bag (5 per bag) and I end up eating one a day as to not waste them-Especially when they are very ripe and ready to go.  I think they are the perfect compliment to any lunch.  The lucky person sitting near me when I happen to cut the avocado in half benefits as well.  I do share my avocados, just not my chocolate ; )

The House of Tea

Any time I make it down to Philadelphia I always have to go to The House of Tea.    This place is amazing with all of the different varieties of tea from around the world.  I  went down last month and purchased some Indian green tea called Maka Bari that is completely different from any Japanese varieties of green tea I have had.  So interesting how tea, like wine, is unique to it's region.  I also picked up the spicy chai, twig tea and some pure black tea to add to the collection.  As if I needed more choices in the tea pantry.  

Busy week=Lara Bars...

Wow.  Very busy week.  I can always tell how busy my week has been by the amount of Lara Bar wrappers I find at the bottom of my bag by Friday.  This is a sure sign of a week without "real" dinners.  These bars are great though and can get me through an entire class after a full day of work.  Simple yet tasty.  This flavor (Cinnamon Roll) has only dates, walnuts, almonds, cashews and cinnamon.  I like the cherry bar the best, but I think I OD'd on those last summer so I am taking a break from them.  The manufacturer is "Humm Food" and I love how they put it, " Enjoy the energy and start humming".  I continue...hummmmm.

Ahhhhh, Cereal!

OK, so they are not Peanut Butter Bumpers, but they will do.  Mom got these for me over Christmas in her huge effort to stock the house completely full with nothing but gluten-free treats for me.  Thanks Mom.  These are great and I buy them all the time.  They have a little touch of sweetness and are basically your everyday corn flake.  I think the thing that makes them so special is that they are the one type of cereal that I can have, besides those scary rice puffs things that are sold in the huge plastic bulk bags, and they are actually quite good.

Asparagus-finally!

Finally, asparagus goes on sale for less than $4.99 per pound.  Why is it always so expensive?  This bundle was a good one and organic as well.  Bonus!

My Morning Coffee

Good, strong, fair trade coffee is just great.  I like it made very hot from a french press with a little soy milk added.  It is such a special treat in the morning.  My favorites are Whole Food's roasts.  In particular, I like the Mexican and Sumatra varieties.  The coffee roaster at my Whole Foods is always so helpful and friendly when I go to scoop my bi-weekly bag.  I  think that he must really enjoy what he does, for he is always smiling.  It would be pleasant to be a coffee roaster.  There is still time...

Taco Night

Taco Night is always a good time.  I always go for the blue corn shells.  They are my favorite.  It is always fun to arrange all of the toppings neatly on their own plates to distribute.  Must haves:  tomatoes, avocado, cheese, sour cream and salsa. Taco nights (and a good bottle of Spanish wine)  can get me through the very long week. 

True Chocolove

Ok, so Chocolove is the #2 favorite.  It was #1 for a while, but Dagoba pulled ahead in January when I discovered the lavender flavor.  But I do still LOVE Chocolove.  This one is my favorite of the bunch, the 55% Raspberry variety.  It is dark chocolate but with a hint of raspberry bits.  Makes a perfect combination.  This one was gone before the watercolors dried.

Pad Thai Lunch Break

I have discovered a wonderful cookbook by Susan O'Brien entitled The Gluten-Free Vegan.  I made this Pad Thai from the cookbook and it turned out to be quite good.  The dish ended up on the spicy/sweet side.  Very tasty!  If you are looking for a new cookbook, check it out.  I am trying to make something new from it every weekend and it usually turns out that I have enough for leftovers for lunch the next day which is always a good thing.  This was perfect for my lunch break after working all morning.  Still have not broken the habit of eating at my drafting table though...living dangerously! 

Thank you Regine!

Nothing like coming back from being out of the office for a day to a treat like this on your desk. My sweet friend Regine picked this up for me on a trip to Trader Joe's.  I have not tried their brand yet.  Although I do LOVE Trader Joe's Gluten Free Granola.   I plan to make the brownies on Sunday night as a reward to myself for working on my illustration pieces all weekend.   Thank you Regine!

Give the Bees a Break!

I recently discovered Agave Nectar and it is very tasty! Quite sweet, in fact about two times that of honey.  A little bit goes a very long way.  I think it is important to know that our sweet honey bees are in danger of extinction.  So much so that Haagan-Das Ice Cream company has donated $250,000 to two major universities to fund the research of our bee colonies-The Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).   So give the bees a break and try Agave instead...