Another Mama Masterpiece

Last night, I made some of Mama Pea's chewy bars for Billbo to take for breakfast and for breakfast on the go when I am in a hurry. Umm..YUMMO.

I had all of the ingredients at my house (miracle) and they were so easy to make.

Delicious and healthy ingredients

Sweet and salty

Delivered just as MP promised

They turned out just a little bit crumbly, but I think that is because I don't have a grinder for the flax seeds and had to improvise with a plastic baggie and a hammer for my "ground flax seeds." Seriously.

Don't you wish you had that for breakfast? You do.
Buy the book already!

Tofu Tuesday

Last night, I braved the land of tofu again. Mama Pea said that if I didn't like tofu, it was because I didn't know how to cook it. I tried again and she was right...as usual.

I made tofu tacos based on her recipe.

First, I pressed the tofu in between two cutting boards and underneath some cookbooks.

Then, I made the marinade.
I had Mama Pea with me at all times so I wouldn't have a subpar tofu experience like the last time I tried it. Billbo was skeptical that I could make tofu that we would both enjoy. I was skeptical, too, but my desire to be like MP drove me to give it another shot. I'm glad I did.

After slicing the tofu unto pieces, I marinated it overnight and then broiled it. My slices are not as pretty as the pro's, but I bet they tasted just as good.

My ugly tofu slices.

While the tofu cooked, I made some guacamole. I left my camera at work so I had to use my old one and the pictures are all blurry. Lame. The guacamole was pretty basic (avocado, lime juice, onions, cumin & salt), and despite my inability to choose a ripe avocado, it tasted pretty good.

I didn't make my own salsa...I figured these folks did it better anyway.

Much like my pancake flipping skills, my tofu flipping skills could use a little work.

Here's the spread: Whole grain, whole wheat tortillas (toasted in a dry pan to crisp a bit), guacamole, shredded lettuce, salsa, cheddar cheese (hey...I'm not vegan) and tofu. I also saved a bit of ground beef from the whole grain wheat spaghetti I made on Monday night in case Billbo boycotted the tofu.


Here is Billy's plate...one beef soft taco and one tofu soft taco. He liked them both. Success!
Served with a side of whole grain Santa Fe style rice, courtesy of Uncle Ben. It was delicious! I fully intend on exploring more meatless options. While I have no intentions of becoming a vegetarian (who are we kidding...I don't have that kind of discipline), I do think that having some meatless meals each week is a healthy choice for the family.

Yum.

Stay tuned for more meatless options to come!

Berry Delicious Breakfast

I spent a small fortune yesterday at the grocery store and I am historically bad about not using all of the produce and groceries I buy before they go bad. Determined to use up every bit of my purchases, especially the impulse purchase of organic blueberries, I turned again to Mama Pea for a delicious breakfast recipea.

I knew she wouldn't fail me. I substituted blueberries for apples and made Mama Pea's Apple Blueberry Cinnamon Pancakes.

I had everything I needed for the job.

C-Bizzle munched on a few blueberries while I worked.

Okay, he munched on a LOT of blueberries while I worked.

For some reason, I have a griddle and it was MUCH easier to cook pancakes on the griddle than spooning out the mixture, one pancake by one, onto a skillet, but you can cook them that way, too.
Look at all of those blueberries!
I need to work on my flipping skills.
Holy blueberries these things are good.

C-Bizzle said they were worth the wait.

Delicious.

He went into a blueberry zombie state he ate so much.
They were finger licking good.
Arm lickin good...

They may take a few minutes longer to make than frozen pancakes, but I'd make anything that made C smile like that.

He said they were so good, they'd make you smack your mama. Especially for making him take a bath to get all of the blueberry juice he was saving for later off of his face and hands.

Have a great weekend everyone and if you get the chance, head out to the bookstore to get this cookbook! You won't regret it!

Holy Peas-An homage to Mama Pea

Most of you know about my total obsession with Mama Pea. I love her and think we would be friends if we weren't separated by thousands of miles. Because I want her to be successful (because it gives me hope that I, too, could be a successful ex-lawyer), I purchased her book. I even pre-ordered it in hopes that my purchase could increase her chances of reaching bestseller status.

I was so excited when this arrived yesterday...

I couldn't wait to try out some of her recipeas and it just so happened that I signed up today to bring food to my sweet friends who just had an adorable little boy. Perfect timing.

I was worried I would be disappointed because I love her so much that I didn't think it possible for her to live up to my expectations. I shouldn't have worried. I flipped through the book and found exactly what I wanted to make to accompany my casserole and salad for the new parents...Mama Pea's cookie dough balls.

I went to the grocery store and came home loaded up with MP's baking necessities.

She said I would want to eat the dough right out of the mixing bowl. She was right. Luckily for my friends and my waistline, I didn't, but only because I made this batch for my friends. Anyway, they miraculously made it to the oven...
And cooled off...
And packed up...
And labeled, giving credit to their originator...

I did eat one, though. Actually, two...one while they were piping hot and ready to go, and one when we got back from dinner. Holy cookieballs these things are DELICIOUS! I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I am going to toot Mama Pea's. She is a genius. Vegan schmegan, this is one of the most delicious treats I've ever had.

Mama Pea should've put me on her blog book tour!