Pumpkin Bars That Are More Like Cake

On Sunday I had a killer day at the gym. I beat my personal best time for a 5k run on the treadmill, I ran straight for 13 minutes, and then I weighed myself. I have lost 19 lbs since I started going to the gym! I celebrated the 19 lb loss by buying myself a new pair of jeans (the smallest size I have bought in years) and by making this cake, courtesy of Paula Deen. She named the recipe pumpkin bars, but I think it's much more like a cake than a bar.

Spiced Carrot Cake

I have been on a bit of an Everyday Food kick lately. I have over four years' worth of issues piled up and I have started feeling bad about how little use I get out of them. I made this spiced carrot cake the other night and I was thrilled with the results. I could still taste the carrots, but it was very subtle. The glaze kept the cake moist, even over the next couple days. I topped it with a bit of Cool Whip that I had lying around, but it wasn't necessary.

Veggie Burgers

If you ask me, a burger without meat is not really a burger. Even though Everyday Food calls these bad boys a Veggie Burger, I call it a tasty sandwich. The patty is mainly made of bulgur and beans, with a few mix-ins to give it some flavor. The patty is pan fried to give it a crisp outside, and it remains soft in the middle. I really enjoyed them, they had great texture and taste.

Greek Quinoa Salad

I have blogged about my Greek salad before. I have made it as is, or tossed in some pasta to make Greek pasta salad. This time I added cooked quinoa to the mix. Quinoa is pronounced keen-wa, and contrary to popular belief it's a seed, not a grain. Quinoa is an great source of fiber, protein and is also gluten-free. To make it you simmer one part quinoa to two parts water for 15-20 minutes. I used half a cup of uncooked quinoa which resulted in just over a cup of cooked quinoa. If you are adding quinoa to my Greek salad, use a bit more olive oil and lemon juice than what the recipe calls for. 

Click here for another quinoa salad that has been posted on this blog.

Appocado Salad

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in so long, sometimes life can get in the way of the things we actually want to be doing. I am here, and hope to be posting regularly again.

A couple weeks ago a my friend M took me to a restaurant in Edmonton called Dadeo, which features Cajun and Creole cuisine. I ordered a crab cake po' boy (amazing), and sweet potato fries. My friend ordered "appocado salad" as her side. Appocado is an apple and avocado combination. I tried a bite of hers, and I knew I had to re-create the salad at home.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

I found a recipe for snickerdoodle blondies on FoodGawker, and I had to make them. The picture on the blog I got it from shows a light and fluffy blondie. I made the recipe exactly as directed, and somehow I ended up with a blondie that was pretty dense, and tasted more like gingerbread than a snickerdoodle. However, I happen to really like gingerbread, and so I really liked these.

(also see after the jump for a picture of my second attempt at cinnamon buns)