who says you can only have ONE kind of mashed potato at once?! well, maybe nobody said that, but i’m breaking that rule anyway. sometimes my mashed potatoes just aren’t sweet enough, i need something else in them. well wait a minute… this other potato over here is even named “sweet” – why can’t i mix the two together?! well, you CAN audrey, you so can.
plus you know me, i love my dishes to have lots of colour! Continue reading
these are always always always a hit. i’m not much of a baker, but when i find something that is easy to make and that people like, i try to create it into my own. i have yet to quite create the perfect consistency for these {i’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to anything i make or do}, but i do think i found the right name for them. the ingredients are so simple and healthy that you could literally eat them for breakfast – and not feel at all guilty about it!! they are also great for holiday parties or after school snacks. a good source of dietary fiber and protein as well as healthy fats. Continue reading
i discovered this grain in the bulk section. i’m always looking for new grains to try… i’m not much on rice, i’m kind of burnt out on cous cous, and quinoa can be expensive and a pain to have to rinse every time. kaniwa is fairly new to the united states, and therefore not a lot of nutritional information is yet available on it. however, according to this site, it is high in protein much like its quinoa cousin. kaniwa does not contain saponins like quinoa does, and therefore it does not have to be soaked or rinsed prior to cooking.
kaniwa is so itsy bitsy – a tiny little grain with a big earthy taste. according to what i’ve read, kaniwa is best served as a porridge, with butter and maple syrup. so that’s exactly how i prepared it. Continue reading
simple is as simple does.
my birthday is on thanksgiving this year, did i mention that?! i was born on thanksgiving, and every 6 years or so it falls on the day. do i have an opinion about this, of course i do. i mean, it might seem cool to share your birthday with one of the bigger american holidays, but it’s actually not all that great. every year i have to plan my birthday around the turkey and quite frankly, i’m much better than poultry and my presence on the planet is more crucial, i feel. alas, every year i kind of get forgotten about. story of my life. i’m not cut up about it, but this year i did decide that i would make it all about ME. whatever i want to do, i’ll do it. and if that means staying home, making dinner alone, listening to my favourite music as loud as i want and taking like 3 naps before i meditate under my stars, well then by golly that’s what i’m going to do.
this year has been pivotal for me. i have much to celebrate. and i feel like birthdays are kind of like new years day. like, it’s actually a NEW YEAR for each of us on a different day… you know?! anyway, it definitely feels like that for me this year and i want the chance to reflect, give thanks, and meditate in order to manifest what i want this year to look like for me… which mostly means being open to whatever the universe has planned for me 🙂
that had absolutely nothing to do with today’s meatless monday recipe. other than the fact that because since i’m planning on completely spoiling myself with some delicious food all day long, i must pinch some pennies during the week. this means the crockpot gets a workout! last weeks lentil soup was a hit – i had a few readers tell me they tried it and loved it. my friend miss J put sweet potato in hers… YUM!
soups are such a great make-ahead meal and can be so unbelievably easy to make. i made this dish for some friends of mine when visiting in the rockies and it was such a hit that not only did i make it again for the roomie and myself, but when i went shopping yesterday, i bought the ingredients again. not a drop was wasted, i love that! Continue reading
i’m really pleased with how cute and delicious these little treats turned out.
half the time i plan my meals and half the time i wing it with stuff i have around the kitchen. only on occasion has that not worked out for me. my roommate usually eats whatever i make anyway because he’s a wonderful guy, but there have been some creations even i had to pass up because it just didn’t turn out good. haha – but i grab a spatula, put the apron back on anyway and try again 🙂
this time, it turned out brilliant. didn’t see how it wouldn’t, either. when you start with a basic classically good recipe, you can pretty much bet it’ll taste terrific. these were no exception.
okay…
this week has been epic for me. why? you ask… well, i’ll sum it up in my usual cryptic style :
i’m transforming and it’s really kind of kicking my ass. and as some of you may know, i’m a huge astrology buff, and boy is there some major stuff going on up in those beautiful stars… and it’s totally changing my life! good stuff, but also a lot of purging. i’ve been meditating longer than normal, and it actually takes a lot out of me, physically. which is fine because i’m manifesting some BIG changes that need to occur. i started to blog about it and realized it was a little heavy for some… so maybe i’ll open those doors again later, but for now we’ll stick to the basics – food and fotos. meanwhile, i’ll continue to lovingly work on this planet from behind the scenes…
you’re welcome.
so, having said all that – i bought a car recently and that means reconfiguring my food budget a little. it’s a good thing, because it kind of forces me to do what i always said i liked doing anyway… batch cooking ahead of time and packing my lunch for work 4-5 days a week. it’s so easy to spend 5, 10, 15 dollars a day at work just buying food on-the-go and i’ve found i spend half my breaks just buying food. so, why not plan ahead, save some money, AND save time in the long run… you know how we roll here at food and foto, we KISS – Keep It Seriously Simple.
i’ll just give myself 3-4 hours on my day off in the kitchen and just work my pots and pans out! i throw on some music or some bad TV in the background, pour a mimosa, and plan my meals for the week.
happy monday, ya’ll!
sorry for my absence – i missed you. i was away last weekend in the mountains, and i didn’t get the chance to blog remotely on monday or tuesday and by the time mid-week rolled around i just decided to take the rest of the week off from blogging. with the holidays rapidly approaching, my “day job” will get more demanding of my time and energy, and thus i will appreciate the “calm before the storm,” if you will.
so, we’re back on track and here is today’s meatless monday recipe. it’s all about soup in the audrey michelle household. soup is all the things i look for in a meal : simple, healthy, easy, filling, and delicious. cost-effective, too!
see, i just bought a car. i think i mentioned that? well, a car means a car payment for me and that means reconfiguring my budget. i typically just splurge on food – it’s just my thing, i don’t shop, i don’t go out, i don’t eat out – my “treat” is food, always has been. and it will continue to be that way, i just have to be a little more aware and plan ahead. i plan on posting a blog about batch cooking, which ultimately saves time and money… just need to allot some time to yourself to plan ahead and just do it!
soup is a great make-ahead meal that keeps well in the fridge and is friendly with the wallet. so, on with the recipe!
hope you all had a safe and happy halloween! i just LOVE this time of year, don’t you?! i love being in the kitchen more than normal… and i love busting out my crockpot… and i’m even more eager to bust out my vitamix!! i will be doing that this weekend when i am basically a personal chef for my best friends in the rockies 🙂
i also love making my own pumpkin seeds. they are one of my favourite snacks, and when pumpkins are on sale – so what better time to make some?! i paid 2 bucks for my pumpkins on a one-day sale. i would say these average sized pumpkins yield about 2-3 cups of seeds – that’s a decent value!
Continue reading
look at that colourful plate!
i heart vegetables. i especially heart spaghetti squash, it’s seriously one of my favourites! and it’s hard to get it all year round, but i try anyway. right now is the best time to buy it – totally in season, and they are HUGE. i like that there is usually a variety in size with spaghetti squash… i typically buy a smaller one just for myself and my roommate, although it is still very good as leftovers, so make extra if you want!
i also realized, when browsing through previous posts to make sure i wasn’t duplicating this one, that i eat a lot of tomatoes. i mean, A LOT! i cook them, which i’ve read is actually better than eating them raw because they are more bioavailable that way. in other words, your body uses the nutrients more effectively because they are cooked… i don’t fully understand it all, but this fact i found online was interesting :
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so – hooray for cooked tomatoes! Continue reading
if you’ve been a reader for a bit, you probably know by now that i do not often cook pasta. i am getting better, but for the longest time it just seemed like i couldn’t make a decent pasta dish to save my life.
mostly, i just throw together stuff in my fridge and call it a “primavera” — and i’ve been on this kick where i just make my own sauce fresh every time i make a pasta dish or spaghetti squash dish. i’m all about things in one pan… make it easy! Continue reading
i made this dish weeks ago, and have had this blog in queue for a while now… i had quite a collection of blogs to keep me updating regularly, but i haven’t been cooking much this week and so my recipe backups are all gone now yikes! — see, i had a rather busy week, and another one ahead. i’m using up what’s in my kitchen to rid my fridge because i leave for a trip to NEW YORK CITY this week!
woo!
but today – today will be spent in front of my computer with WORDPRESS CLOSED so i can focus — i’ll be editing a wedding i had the privilege of fotographing this past weekend amidst the fall foliage and log-cabin backdrop. it was gorgeous and i can’t wait to share some of the fotos!
in the meantime, here is a simple recipe for a simple side dish… Continue reading
it’s that time of year.
my goodness do i love autumn! the leaves, the brisk air, the campfire nights, the comfort foods… i mean, i guess most people don’t consider squash a “comfort food” – but isn’t it, though?! i mean… in my opinion, if you put something in the oven, it’s comfort food. haha! mostly i just mean i think of the aroma that roasting squash in the oven creates in your home… it just screams AUTUMN and COMFORT!
anyway, squash was on sale and i bought all kinds of it. i wanted to try some varieties i had never tried before. a few of my favs were in the mix, but i also came out with some i never tasted and i am excited to! Continue reading
i am fully aware that “buttercorn” is not a word… remember how i like to make up names for my dishes?! well, this was no exception.
and i’m so fully in autumn mode it’s not even right. and it’s not just because we got hit with some snow this week. i’ve been ready now for weeks. i thrive in the fall, i love this time of year!! and yes, part of it is because i have a birthday approaching! 🙂 but i just love the food autumn brings. i’m finally ready to put away the salad fork and bust out the soup spoon more often… i’m ready for root vegetables, squashes, potatoes, yams, and soups!!!!
squash was on sale a couple weeks ago – 10 pounds for 10 dollars. so i snagged up 3 different kinds – spaghetti, acorn, and butternut. i always use my spaghetti squash as pasta, so i knew what to do with that… and i was going to try to make the butternut squash as soup anyway – then i thought, well why can’t i just use BOTH kinds of squash in the soup?!
and so i did. Continue reading
i seriously LOVE mushrooms.
i could eat them with every meal. and sometimes it seems like i do. contrary to what many people think when they meet me, i’m not a vegetarian or vegan and i do not follow a rigid diet plan of any kind — however, i do try to eat about 80-90% fruits and vegetables every day. i find that mushrooms make a great meat substitute, mostly for the texture. some of my favourite meat substitutes are mushrooms. the texture is great, there is such a variety, and i just LOVE the flavour! of all kinds, really… i don’t necessarily find the need to “substitute” my meat, it’s just that i find my body doesn’t crave the meat as much as it does fish or beans or other proteins. every now and again i’ll have a burger or once in a blue moon i’ll have a steak, however i can’t remember the last time i did that. point is – mushrooms are great!
so, salmon season is pretty much over… i think we’ll get another run or two but that will be it. do you know how you can just kind of guess that the season is about over? well, have you been to the grocer and SEEN the size of salmon filets right now?! massive! like, i mean MASSIVE fish! they’ve been cruising around eating up the other fish, gettin’ all fat and delicious on us… THAT’S how you can usually tell it’s the end of the season. they’re HUGE!
whenever there is a one-day special or sale of any kind on salmon, i nab it up. i don’t like freezing my fish, so i’ll just buy enough for a nice meal with the roomie or cook a little extra for salads. all seafood is so much more expensive out here in the land-locked states, so i don’t eat it nearly as much as i would like. frozen fish just doesn’t taste as good… i prefer only eating wild-caught, in season, as local as possible fish.
the real secret ingredient to this dish and part of the inspiration for even buying the fish was to use some of this absolutely amazing marinade that was gifted to me as a generous sample. it’s a locally made product which is a basil-based vinaigrette that i was immediately hooked on the first time i tried it when the vendor was demoing the product with some simple bib lettuce. i didn’t find a website for the actual producers, but i do know that this particular bottle in the above foto was made only 3 days prior to me consuming it. talk about fresh!! i’m so lucky.
if you can find it, get it. you can buy it online and it’s actually cheaper than the store that way. the ingredients are so simple, if you had the right combo of good oil and vinegar you could almost mimic it. but i tell you, it’s the best dressing i’ve ever tried!! i’m not sure i’ll ever go back to another dressing again! and i have tried a TON of vinaigrettes! italian-style dressing is my absolutely fav, but it simply has to have the right combination of good oil and good vinegar and the right kind of spices. i mean, when you’re basing your dressing around FRESH basil, i guess you can’t go wrong… Continue reading
i like to make up names for my food…
i can’t remember where i picked this idea up… maybe it was during my cleanse, i was talking to someone about dairy and particularly mayonnaise and how i don’t really like it and i wish there was a better dressing for my tuna sandwiches. then i heard about trying an avocado in place of dressing – and HOLY SMOKES! what a better sammy it makes!
so, here’s the extremely simple recipe : Continue reading
sometimes, i just want crunch, texture, tangy, salty, slightly cheesy, light food. and usually i crave a salad. i eat really well, generally speaking. i have a healthy, well-balanced diet. and so if i’m craving something, i listen to that craving. i have noticed i’ll crave something like this simple salad after i’ve loaded up on too many carbs or rich proteins. it’s like my body finds a way to tell me i need the balance… so cool.
i’ve been kind of a slacker eater this past week. i was up in the mountains for work a couple weeks ago and the company gave us a pretty hefty per diem for food, so i just splurged. plus, it’s a 3-hour ride so we snacked and snacked! also, uhm… continental breakfast!? yes, please. every morning! Continue reading
HAPPY LABOR DAY! hope you are enjoying the weekend – getting some late sunshine, firing up the grill one last time, taking a final dip in the pool, and of course, eating and drinking!
i thought i’d share a fun recipe in honor of the holiday weekend.
these were super fun and easy to make. i made some in the past, but wanted to try a little different approach this time – mostly, more colour. i love zucchini anyway, but the inspiration for this dish was to use up some of the cream cheese i had in the fridge as well as a few of the tomatoes i had lying around – never want those to go to waste!!! when i spotted the multicolour ones at work, i had to snag them up. it’s too bad there aren’t too many “blue” foods, or i would’ve made a slightly more festive version 🙂 Continue reading
i like making stuff myself.
salsa and guac are always so easy, super healthy, and a hit for any occasion. i sometimes just like to have it sitting out while i’m preparing dinner or of course, during any football game. i’m so happy it’s preseason! the broncos are playing super late tonight, so i look forward to catching the game!!!
i heart italian dressing.
and i’m always trying to find ways to put in on things. i would like to come up with a recipe of my own and just make it at home, but somehow i don’t seem to get the combinations right, it’s frustrating. so i just buy whole foods’ brand. and it’s probably just about the same cost as buying the ingredients to make yourself, to be honest. plus i love a light summer salad for dinner, but those days are almost over – womp womp.
mostly i just had this stuff lying around, so i put it all together with some veggie pasta and VIOLA! something to put italian dressing on! Continue reading
food & foto 