This past weekend, The Hubster and I were in the mood for a little something different when it came to breakfast. I had come across this recipe from Lettuce Pray and knew that it was the perfect something.

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s easy and totally flexible. We used our favorite morning ingredients — sweet potatoes, onions, spinach — and built our egg muffins around those. Feel free to add in your favorites.

The not so great thing about this recipe is how much time it takes to make. It’s totally easy and delicious, just takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. A bit time consuming for breakfast, if you ask me.

I will say that the taste is worth it. Just not worth it on a regular basis. Think Sunday brunch. Think fancypants entertaining with friends or family. Think holiday breakfast treat.

And in case you’re wondering, The Hubster said that these are only good the first day after you make them. They loose their deliciousness on the second day.

Egg “Muffins”

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
• 1 tbs canola oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced and loosely chopped
• 1 cup spinach, wilted in olive oil
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Grease a muffin pan and set aside.
3. Combine grated sweet potato, canola oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine.
4. Divide sweet potatoes evenly among 8 muffin cups.
5. Place in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes.
6. Remove from oven. and reduce oven temp to 350F.
7. Add onions on top of the sweet potatoes, leaving enough to sprinkle another round on top of each cracked egg.
8. Add wilted spinach.
9. Crack an egg over each “muffin”.
10. Sprinkle with remaining onions, and dried parsley.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
12. Place back in oven and cook for an additional 10-20 minutes {less for runny yolks and more for more solid yolks}.
13. Gently slide a knife along the edges to loosen, and pull up with a fork.
14. Serve hot with your favorite accoutrements {toast, pancakes, waffles, etc}.

For your reference:
This recipe is vegetarian. It is also nightshade free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, soy free, corn free, cinnamon free, and contains no MSG.

Do not. I repeat. Do not make these cupcakes.

They are way. too. good.

And will make you want to devour an entire pan without coming up for air or sharing a single crumb with your loved ones. Which, in turn, could lead to fights. Or a separation. Or even a nasty breakup.

Which is precisely why I didn’t post these on Valentine’s Day. Call me a closet romantic.

These cupcakes also make me want to send several thousand love letters to the loverly Blake over at Life is Cake (Eat it up). She is the one who turned me on to these bad boys. And turn me on, she did.

These cupcakes are the perfect combination of salty and sweet.

So perfect, that I think it has officially blown away my love for all things chocolate and peanut butter. And makes me want to write in all caps, italics, and bold.

BECAUSE HOW ELSE CAN I GET MY POINT ACROSS THAT THESE LITTLE CUPS OF SALTED CARAMEL-Y CAKES ARE INSANELY AWESOME?!

Who knew that sea salt would mellow out the sugary sweet caramel in the most perfect way. Or make it so that you could eat an entire plateful without being sent into a sugar coma. Or reduce you to a quivering mess the minute the salty caramel-y sweetness hit your lips.

Or…

Sorry, what?

I got distracted.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

• 1 stick Earth Balance {or other vegan margarine}, room temperature
• 2/3 cup raw sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon caramel extract
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 cup crushed pretzel pieces

For the frosting

• 5 tbs Earth Balance (or vegan buttery spread)
• 3 tbs Spectrum vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp caramel extract
• splash almond milk
• 1/4 cup pretzel pieces
• sea salt

Directions:

Make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Beat in the vanilla extract.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 17 – 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. (Always check a few minutes before the stated baking time. Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.)
8. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
9. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.*

Make the frosting:

1. Cream Earth Balance and Spectrum together with hand mixer.
2. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time
3. Add caramel extract
4. Add splash of almond milk to achieve desired texture (smooth and light).

Putting it all together:

1. Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost with the caramel frosting.
2. Top with pretzel pieces.
3. Crack {or sprinkle} your favorite sea salt on top. {I used Pink Himalayan}
4. GO FIND A ROOM WITH A DOOR, LOCK YOURSELF IN IT. AND EAT TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.

* Do not be an impatient fool like me, and start to rost them before they are completely cool. The frosting turns into a puddle and will not stay on the actual cupcake. See Exhibit A.

Goal: $100
Actual: $134.53

Ouch.

I’m not sure why this surprises me, considering I had no menu or shopping list to speak of. Just went to the store because I knew we needed stuff to eat. So I meandered. And wandered. And grabbed things on sale. To the tune of 34.53 over budget.

I definitely stocked up on the usual fruits and veggies. Also had to add in a few standards for The Hubster like pasta and tomato sauce, and Amy’s frozen burritos. All were on sale, so I grabbed a few more than usual.

Of course, we were also out of some pantry staples like dried cranberries, canned beans, vegetable broth, chocolate chips, and sea salt. I stuck with the bulk section as much as possible, but it adds up.

Another item on the shopping list that thrills me to no end: ketchup! First time I’ve purchased in 3 years. Don’t worry, it’s of the organic, agave sweetened, variety.

Menu for the week:

• Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters with Salads
• Sweet potato knishes and veggies
• Sweet potato frittata
• Stuff
• Grub
• Dinner
• Salads
• Granola
• Fruit Leathers

Project: Food Budget

I’m excited to report that I have some great company on my Project: Food Budget challenge. Please check out these wonderful blogs, and give them support as they take on this challenge.

All have different budgets, number of mouths to feed, and food preferences {veggie + meat eating}. And yet, all have a common goal of saving money and making better choices when it comes to the food we put on our table.

Want to get on board? Fabulous. {Now go here.}

Participating blogs:

It’s no secret that I have become obsessed with Pinterest.

It’s also no secret that I get tired of looking through decadent desserts and other unhealthy recipes. So, I decided to do something about it. I created a Healthy Eats board to start proliferated the good stuff online.

{Join in on the fun! I’d love to add you as a contributor to the board so you can help spread the health.}

I inadvertently stumbled upon this recipe in my healthy pinning efforts. I was intrigued. The Hubster was intrigued. I knew it would be making an appearance in the near future.

And because we don’t really stock bread crumbs, I decided to make this one gluten-free. We eat enough bread on a day-to-day basis, why not switch it up a little.

The tahini sauce was a nice addition to the party. Added a smooth creaminess to the smooth and creamy zucchini patties. Also made it feel a bit more like a falafel than a veggie burger. Which was welcomed.

Zucchini Patties

Ingredients:

• 1 {15-oz} can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 cup rolled oats, finely ground {aka oat flour}
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1-2 tbs dried parsley {1/4 cup fresh}
• oil for cooking {ex: canola, safflower}

Directions:

1. Mash chickpeas in a bowl until smooth.
2. Stir in zucchini, onion, oat flour, chickpea flour, salt, and parsley.
3. Form into patties. I got 6-8 out of the batch.
4. Heat oil in a medium to large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Saute patties until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
6. Serve with tahini sauce, or in pita’s like the original recipe suggested!

For your reference:
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan. It is also nightshade free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, wheat free, gluten free, corn free, cinnamon free, and contains no MSG.

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp parsley {for garnish}

Directions:

1. In a food processor combine garlic and tahini.
2. Add kosher salt.
3. Remove from food processor and add olive oil and lemon juice.
4. If too thick, add a teaspoon of warm water until desired consistency.
5. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Note: We put everything in the blender and it came out super thick. Don’t do what I did, and follow the directions.

For your referenece:
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan. It is also nightshade free, dairy free, soy free, wheat free, gluten free, egg free, corn free, cinnamon free, and contains no MSG.

Heart Healthy Foods

Date: Tuesday, February 21
Location: By Phone!
Time: 8PM
Cost: F-R-E-E

Heart disease is the number 1 killer of men and women in the US. The most shocking piece of all, is that it is totally preventable. And not with a pill or surgery, but through the food we eat.

That’s right. You have the power to reduce your risk for heart disease by a whopping 70% simply by changing your diet.

Holy crap, that’s huge.

This 1-hour teleclass will cover the basics of good nutrition plus the top 10 foods to get more of for a healthy heart.

You will also learn what foods pack the most nutritional punch when it comes to wiping out free radicals in the bloodstream, protecting those blood vessels, and reducing inflammation in the system.

Feel good, eat great, and prevent heart disease.

I’m not one to make a huge fuss out of today. I much prefer to show people how much I love them the other 364 days of the year. Call me a bit of a cynic, but I don’t need someone else to tell me how and when to show that love.

I actually made The Hubster promise not to do anything big for Valentine’s Day when we first started dating. {He didn’t listen.}

I’m also not one to put up a holiday-specific post or recipe. Sorry, no sugary sweet treats today.

I prefer my sweets in the form of sweet potatoes and sweet dried cranberries. And when I saw the original recipe over at Weelicious, I knew it was my kind of meal.

I mean, how can you go wrong with sweet potatoes, cranberries, pine nuts and mint?

The Israeli couscous is just kind of a bonus. A fun bonus, mind you. But not the main attraction.

Whatever you choose to do today, hope it’s filled with love. And if you’re in the Pittsburgh area, make plans to check out the Love of Friends party. I hear it’s the only way to spend Valentine’s Day.

Israeli Couscous with Yams

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yam or sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup Israeli couscous
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until translucent.
3. Add garlic and yams. Saute for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Add Israeli couscous and stir to coat with oil.
5. Add in broth and dried cranberries and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and all liquid is absorbed.
7. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, mint, salt and pepper.
8. Serve!

For your reference:
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan. It is also nightshade free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, corn free, cinnamon free, and contains no MSG.

This bruschetta was two years in the making. I say that, because it’s been two whole years of not eating tomatoes. Two whole years of avoiding one of my favorite foods because it gave me miserable migraines, cold sores, and jaw pain to name a few.

And then, I was told I could eat anything I wanted again. That whatever had been causing the food sensitivities to appear had disappeared!

And while it was the best news ever {seriously, it was}, I didn’t quite believe the day had finally come. I was hesitant to try the foods again.

I think it took me three whole weeks to work up the courage to have a plate of pasta with tomato sauce. And another week after that to try it again. And another week to dig into white potatoes. And another week for bruschetta. And…

Now that I’m finally back to eating tomatoes, I realized how much I have missed them. And am excited to have them back on the menu.

This bruschetta is like old meets new. Bruschetta was — pre-food intolerances — a favorite summer time treat for me, while the fennel is a new taste. The combination of the two is like an explosion in the mouth. Powerful flavors that play nicely together.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any fancy balsamic’s laying around. It’s just as delightful with a basic balsamic.

Roasted Fennel Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 bulb fennel {stalks cut off, bulbs halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise in 1-inch thick pieces}
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar*
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar*
• 7-8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat {approximately 1 tbs}.
3. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat {approximately 1/2 tbs}.
4. Arrange on baking sheet lined with foil.
5. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then chop.
7. Combine roasted fennel, diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
8. Serve atop your favorite crusty bread {we love a roasted garlic french bread}.
9. Delight in the flavor-flav.

*I decided to get all fancy when it came to the fennel and bruschetta and tried out a delicious fig infused white balsamic vinegar. It really added a subtle sweetness to the bruschetta. Feel free to experiment with different flavors and styles.

Goal: $100
Actual: $103.32

I was super pumped to be so close to the budget this week, even though I had mentally set a goal of coming in around $75.

I would have made it, too, had it not been for the Chinese Five Spice and pine nuts on the list. Those two items alone cost close to $15. Subtract the large butternut squash I bought just to have on hand, and I would have made $75.

Such is life.

I also discovered on this trip that Fleischman’s has several varieties that are dairy-free! Nice to know there are other options out there — particularly for those that don’t have Earth Balance in the store.

Menu for the week:

• Roasted Fennel + Asparagus Pasta
• Lentil Burgers with baby new potatoes and peas
• Israeli Couscous with Yams
• Zucchini Fritters + Veggies
• Garlic Fried Rice
• Corn Chowder + Crusty Bread
• Granola
• Fruit Leathers

Project: Food Budget

I’m excited to report that I have some great company on my Project: Food Budget challenge. Please check out these wonderful blogs, and give them support as they take on this challenge.

All have different budgets, number of mouths to feed, and food preferences {veggie + meat eating}. And yet, all have a common goal of saving money and making better choices when it comes to the food we put on our table.

Want to get on board? Fabulous. {Now go here.}

Participating blogs:

• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Test Kitchen Tuesday
• Red Pen Mama
• Acquired Tastes
• Fit Flexitarian
• Warm As Pie 
• Katy Rank Lev
• My Inner Healthy
• Little Blue Hen
• xox, b
• What da Health?
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• Fresh…A New Chapter
• Chandeleah
• Two Eggs Over Easy
• That’s Just Me
• Eat Whole Be Vital
• Four Happy Violets
• Naturally {Un}refined
• Pgh Dad
• yogabeautylife
• Charmingly Modern
• naMAMAste
• Six Dollars a Day
• The Gluten-Free Vegan

{Please don’t hurt me for the Miley Cyrus reference. Or because I actually kind of sort of maybe actually like the song.}

Sometimes it’s not about how pretty you do something. Or how good it feels while your doing it. Or how healthy something is.

Sometimes it’s about bragging rights. About never having to do that something again because you conquered it and can move on. About facing your demons and knowing you can do whatever you set your mind to.

And sometimes, it’s all of the above.

Which is exactly what happened last month when The Hubster and I climbed Camelback Mountain.

Oh. Em. Gee. We climbed a mountain.

I still can’t believe it happened.

It was the most terrifying, exciting, thrilling, anxiety-inducing, exhausting journey I’ve ever been on. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

We hiked up steep trails, scaled mountain sides, slithered down steep rock cliffs, and saw gorgeous scenery. All without seeing a rattlesnake {thank G-d!}.

Climb your own mountain.

Everyone has an obstacle or proverbial mountain that they want to climb. Here are 5 things that helped keep us sane {and moving} on our climb.

1. Just start. The Hubster and I have talked about climbing Camelback Mountain for 4 years. Every time we would go out to Phoenix, we would say this was going to be the trip. And then we would make other plans. Even if it’s just researching trails or scoping out the scene, it’s a start. And will keep you motivated to take the next step.
2. Take it one step at a time. If you would have told me I was going to climb a mountain, scale a really big rock, or be so tired that my legs might give out on me while climbing down the mountain, I would have said “no thank you”. But taking it one step, one rock, one minute at a time made everything seem possible.
3. Have a cheering section. When I was tired, The Hubster would sit me down and say how proud of me he was, how amazing the hike was, and how kick-ass I was doing on the hike. And when he felt like he couldn’t make it any more, I did the same thing. Without his support I don’t think I would have kept going. The more people in your life know what you’re up to, the more they can cheer you on, and the more likely you are to keep on keeping on.
4. Admire the scenery. Take time to look around and enjoy where you are. Even if you aren’t overlooking the city from the top of a mountain, you still have amazing things happening all around you. It could be a blog post that garnered a lot of attention, a class that had double the people registering for it, or even being able to wear your favorite “skinny jeans” again.
5. Share your successes. Share it on Facebook, on twitter, and on your blog. Telling your friends, your family, and your coworkers that you kicked some major butt inspires others to want to do the same. It’s not bragging, it’s excitement. And that excitement is inspiring.

And in the spirit of #5, what is something that you are most proud of accomplishing? Share your successes in the comments below.

Supremely excited about all of the fun things we have going on over at Propelle, an organization I started with two of the most amazing gals in Pittsburgh.

We have a Networking Happy Hour tonight that is sure to draw an amazing crowd of women entrepreneurs who are doing their thang. And who also happen to be the most supportive, wonderful, creative, and inspiring women I’ve ever met.

We’re also going to be opening up registration for our very first class, Live What You Love (and make money doing it). This class is going to be epic.

More details below.

Live What You Love and Make Money Doing It.

Date: February 20th, 2012
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Location: Songwhale (100 43rd Street, Suite 115, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. Located in The Ice House Studios in Lawrenceville!)

Do you dread Mondays? Live for the end of the week, when you get to relax, do nothing and be away from work? Does that alarm clock make you want to hurl things across the room every morning?

This workshop is for you.

We will help you tap into your passions, turn that energy into profits, and live what you love day in a day out. Before you can be awesome at what you do, you have to love what you do.

Cost: $25