Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Cardamom Glaze

Here in Southern California, citrus is in its peak season.  Sooo... I have been eating a million oranges lately.  I guess the fact that they are super cheap at the store plays a role here too.  Honestly though, it's become an obsession.  I have at least a couple a day.  Totally not vitamin C deficient over here!  I have to admit something about my orange eating habits.  I like the pith.  You know… that white bitter stuff.  The stuff that other people feverishly try to remove.  Yeah… I'm strange.  Maybe I need to be on that strange addiction show.  You now the one where people eat chalk and drink bleach? (obviously I watch too much reality TV).  Maybe i'm not that bad, but someone keep an eye on me… alright?  Truth is, I like to eat all the pith off then eat the actual sweet stuff.  It's not bad.  In fact it has the same amount of vitamin C as the actual orange pieces.

Roasted Shallot and Garlic Yogurt Dip

Remember when you were a kid and your parents had complete control over the remote?  Yeah.  That sucked.  When my super important cartoons were on, I was stuck watching football and NASCAR.  Left, left, left, fumble... whatever.  I even remember catching my Dad sleeping on the couch and thinking I was home free--- I would change the channel and then BAM... my Dad would ask, "what are you doing?"  When I would tell him he was asleep, I always got the same response.... "I was listening."  Someone please tell me... how can you be snoring, yet listening to the TV?  One good thing that came out of all this... I know my football.  I know what the calls mean, what the refs are saying, what the teams have to do to win.  It's kind of obnoxious.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Whipped Cream

 

Have I mentioned how much I love the zoo?  Seriously.  I will pass up almost anything else. Yes, yes, you still win, Disneyland.  But, I remember when I was little and we had season passes to the zoo.  My mom would always take a sketch pad and draw amazing sketches.  For some reason I always remember her sketching the gorillas.  Primates are may favorite.  They interact so much and, have you seen the orangutans that paint??  My faaavorite primate tho?  You could keep guessing but you wouldn't get it.  The bonobo.  They are actually the closest living relative we have.  I bet you thought it was the chimpanzee.  And I bet you didn't think you would learn something new here.  Thank my college biology teacher.  So... I was thinking about the zoo and thought, lets make monkey cupcakes. Thus... these delightful babies were born.



Lentil Sloppy Joes

Sloppy joes are one of those classic comfort food meals you remember from childhood. Of course, back then, they always came out of a can or were made with a spice packet. I grew up loving sloppy joes. They were always tasty and most of the time it meant we got french fries.  :-) I definitely never thought of them as healthy or vegetarian. Then it happened... I went lentil crazy. I wanted lentils in everything including my sloppy joes. This recipe is pretty simple. I took my basic sloppy joe and switched the meat for lentils. The trick is to keep the lentils from getting mushy. Not only do these taste just like your favorite original, they are filling and healthy. The lentils add a ton of fiber promising to keep you full, perfect for those New Year's Resolutions!

Coconut Pineapple Cupcakes

 

I love to bake. It is one of the reasons I volunteered to bring cupcakes in for my co-workers birthdays. Any excuse for me to bake some yuminess!! So...recently we had a BIRTHDAY!!! When I started asking around about things this co worker liked... I got a lot of chocolate, berries, and a "maybe" pumpkin. Thankfully I was able to ask this co worker what she would like. She choose coconut pineapple. Pretty similar to chocolate and berries...NOT?? Anyway... I started looking around for ideas, but I couldn't decide if I wanted coconut cake with pineapple filling or vice versa. I figured that coconut filling might be a little too complicated... So I chose the first. They turned out awesome!!