a day at home

        My mom and sister live in an old small town in Washington state. I have about one week left of break before I head back to the old town I live in on the other side of the country, so I'm trying to enjoy every second of my time left with my family. Today, my sister and I took a walk to a cafe downtown. We soaked up the antique feel of the city and the friendliness of the community while sipping lattes and playing with the camera. I am slowly letting go of the holiday season and am already eager for warmer weather.

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a fiber-full sandwich

                 


             I'm a big sandwich lover. I'm also a vegetarian, so the go-to turkey sandwich I used to make isn't an option any longer. One day I decided to put together all my favorite veggies together and I created a very healthy and delicious vegetarian sandy, as I like to call them. If you aren't vegetarian, merely substitute the tofurkey with real turkey. I also think this would be good with honey glazed ham.

Ingredients:
-Cucumber
-Baby spinach
-Feta cheese (I use Mediterranean-style from Trader Joes)
-Hummus
-Tofurkey
-Whole wheat bread (in the photos I used flax seed bread, which is equally as healthy and tasty)

Steps:
-Toast two slices of bread and spread an even amount of hummus on each.
-Cut up some cucumber and put it on top of one of the bread slices.
-Place a couple slices of tofurkey (or real meat) on top of the cucumber, sprinkle feta cheese on top.
-Pile on the spinach, I use a lot because I love it.
-Cut in half.

Note: This sandwich has a lot of fiber, so if you aren't used to eating fiber, you may want to lessen the amount of spinach you use or drink an extra amount of water with it to avoid an upset tummy.

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Asheville

Last January my friend and I drove to Asheville, North Carolina. The cold, mountain air was crisp but refreshing in every way possible. Being surrounded by rolling hills was comforting, it made me feel like we were tucked away. The thing I remember most about our mini-vacation there was the abundant amount of fresh, organic food. All of the produce the restaurants use is local, which is so rare in America, a country that seems to favor over-processed foods from factories.

As you know by now, I'm a huge foodie. Being able to walk into a restaurant, any restaurant, and know that the food I'm eating is fresh and pesticide-free makes my experience so much better. Not only does their food taste ten times better than most other mid-sized city's food, but it is better for you.

My friend and I are going back this January, and I am beyond excited. If we could make it a yearly tradition to go here every year, my life would be complete.

(They also have tons of hidden cafes, specialty chocolate shops, and boutique clothing stores. Needless to say, Asheville is my dream town).

gli spaghetti con i pomodori e parmesano

Pasta is always good to make when you don't know what to make for dinner. It's fast, simple, and you can easily throw together ingredients you already have to make it delicious. Tonight I was in the tomato mood, so I created a dish with a name that boasts about my Italian speaking skills. "Gli spaghetti con i pomodori e parmesano" sounds complicated but it's really easy. It's almost like regular spaghetti, but a little fancier. And yes, Bella the dog will show up if you add as much parmesan as I did.

Ingredients:

-Spaghetti noodles
-A large can of diced tomatoes
-Pesto
-Parmesan cheese
-One long baguette
-A clove of garlic
-Butter
-One to two cups of baby tomatoes
-Olive oil
-Sugar


Steps:

-In a large pot, boil three to four cups of water and add the noodles.
-While the noodles are cooking, pour the can of diced tomatoes in another pot and simmer with two tablespoons of pesto and about half a cup of parmesan cheese.
-Slice each baby tomato in half (use as many as you want- I used about a cup).
-Line up the halved baby tomatoes on a baking sheet.
-Drizzle about two tablespoons of olive oil over the tomatoes, making sure to spread it evenly.
-Sprinkle about two teaspoons of sugar over the tomatoes. This helps them caramelize and get that pretty golden brown color.
-Roast them in the oven at 320 degrees for around 20 minutes, or until they start to look light brown and wrinkly.
-While everything is cooking, cut up some bread.
-Dice the garlic clove and spread evenly over each piece of bread with butter.
-Sprinkle parmesan on each piece of bread and put in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the parmesan starts to brown.
-Once everything is cooked, put noodles onto plates, scoop sauce on it, top it with some parmesan cheese and baby tomatoes.

Buon appetito!

a long shirt