Crock-Pot Vegetarian Sausage Orzo Soup

Someone recently asked me for vegetarian dinner ideas that would leave their omnivore fiance full and happy. Instead of giving her actual recipes, I advised her to include a protein, grain, hearty vegetables and lots of flavor (from seasonings and/or herbs) in every dish. All of those elements are essential in making a vegetarian meal filling and delicious.

However, if I had made this soup before she asked me that question, I would have just given her this recipe. This soup is chocked full of comforting flavor and textures - and it's also thick and hearty. I promise you, your omnivore lovers will not miss the meat with this soup!

Crock-Pot Vegetarian Sausage Orzo Soup
Yields: 4-5 servings
Adapted from Taste of Home
-2 vegetarian sausage links, chopped (I used Tofurky Italian Sausages)
-1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
-1 cup frozen chopped spinach
-1/2 cup chopped onion

-2 cups canned diced tomatoes, undrained
-2 tablespoons minced garlic
-2 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
-1 teaspoon dried basil

-2 tablespoons dried parsley

-Pinch of cayenne pepper
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-1/2 cup uncooked orzo 

Directions:

1.) Place all ingredients, except for orzo, in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

2.) Five minutes before serving, cook orzo in boiling salted water according to directions on the package. Add orzo to soup, stir, and taste for seasoning (adjust as necessary). Ladle soup into bowls and serve with slices of bread (we had leftover slices of challah, which paired beautifully with the soup).

The best part about this soup? It thickens up even more in the refrigerator overnight, so your leftovers at lunch the next day are even better. I love meals like that.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Lion and the Rose Bed & Breakfast

As I mentioned yesterday, Z and I spent the weekend in Whitefield, N.H., and we stayed at The Lion and the Rose Bed & Breakfast. The Lion and the Rose is a Victorian-style inn owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo, Roger and Chris Croteau (who just celebrated 10 years of owning this B&B, after moving up here from Key West, Florida).

Source.

The Lion and the Rose is a newly restored 1895 Queen Anne Victorian Painted Lady. The interior is adorned with bold, busy wallpaper, photos of the innkeepers and their families, and furniture, chandeliers and overall decor straight from the Victorian era. This time of year, Roger and Chris also have their B&B decked out for the holidays.

All seven of the inn's rooms are named to match that room's decor. We stayed in The White Lilac room, which was complete with matching wallpaper (don't mind our mess in these photos).

Chris was kind enough to take us on a tour of the rest of the rooms before we left on Sunday. Other notable rooms include The Far East, The Lion's Den, and The Egyptian Room (you can view all of them here). 

In addition to the inn's detailed decor, Chris makes breakfast for all of their guests every morning. Breakfast is at 8 or 9 a.m., and you dine with a few of the other guests who are also staying at the inn. On Saturday morning, we enjoyed eggs with dill, home fries, and English muffins. On Sunday, we had French toast stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese, smothered with a fresh raspberry syrup. Both meals were excellent, and it was really nice to chat with the innkeepers and the other B&B guests.

Overall, our stay at The Lion and the Rose was fantastic. The price was reasonable (room rates range from $89 to $185 per night), the innkeepers were welcoming, the food was delicious, and the decor forced us to take a step back in time. A nice, relaxing step back. 

Which do you prefer: Hotel or bed & breakfast?

A Weekend in the Mountains

First things first: Thank you all so, so much for your kind words on my post yesterday. I am overwhelmed with the support and encouragement I received from all of you. I truly am one lucky lady! Thank you.

After my last day of work on Friday, Z and I headed up to Whitefield, N.H. We were showing our parents Mountain View Grand Resort (where we're getting married), but we stayed at The Lion and the Rose Bed & Breakfast. It's a little more affordable, and we've also already stayed at Mountain View before. (A full review of this B&B is coming soon!).

Our weekend was filled with beautiful views, delicious food, and some quality bonding between both families.

Life-size gingerbread house (completely edible) at Mountain View.

Inside The Lion and the Rose B&B.

View from the top of Mount Martha.

Where is your favorite place to travel to for a weekend away? Mine would definitely be anywhere in the White Mountains, or Portland, Maine.

Working From Home (Permanently)

Here is where I work now:

After 7 years of freelance writing and blogging "on the side," today marks my first day as a full-time freelance food writer and blogger. At the beginning of November, I told my boss at Eversave that, at the beginning of December, I was leaving the corporate world to finally pursue my dreams...no matter how terrifying.

Being a planner - and an anxiety-ridden human - this decision was definitely not made overnight. Despite the inconvenience of conducting phone interviews for stories in my car on my lunch break, or having to sit down at the computer to write after a long day of work, the real reason I am pursuing a career devoted to food and writing is because that is what I want to do. Like most people, though, I don't have the luxury of just up and leaving a job without having to make some calculated decisions first. Here, in a nutshell, is how I planned for this giant career move:

1.) I started saving. About 6-8 months before I quit my full-time job, I started saving. For me, that meant transferring $200 into my savings account every two weeks, as soon as my paycheck was directly deposited. You can probably set this type of transfer up automatically, but I just did it manually right after my check went into my account - that way, I didn't even miss that $200.

2.) I confided in others. I talked to everyone I knew in the food and/or writing industry to pick their brains about anything and everything. Whether they were freelance writers/bloggers, personal chefs, or all of the above, I wanted to get their professional advice on...well, everything. I wanted to see what type of work was out there, how they got to where they are now, and what the ups and downs of a freelance lifestyle are. Let's just say, every piece of advice I received was invaluable, and ultimately gave me the final push of motivation I needed to make a move.

3.) I weighed the pros and cons. Would I end up being home all day, secluded from society? Would I make enough money to survive? Is this smart to do months before our wedding? I thought long and hard about this decision - and bugged Z about a zillion times with my worries - but in the end, I knew this is what I wanted to do, and when you want something bad enough, you make it work. It also helps that I am very self-disciplined (case in point: I woke up at 8:30 this morning to get workin'. I probably should have taken one day off, at least). Either way, the pros eventually outweighed the cons. 

4.) I planned ahead, work-wise. I knew once I was a full-time freelancer, I'd need some consistent work  - right in the beginning - to help pay the bills. Even though I was saving so much money ahead of time, Sallie Mae and our mortgage don't care. I knew I'd need consistent money coming in right away if I didn't want to wipe my savings clean within the first two months. Thankfully, this was kind of easy for me - I already had regular writing gigs with Local in Season and Foodies of New England Magazine, and I also did some occasional recruiting for my alma mater (which pays handsomely). To ensure I'd be OK financially regardless of how many writing jobs I picked up, I let my college know that I could work a lot more career fairs in the winter, spring and summer. They were happy to take the extra help, and now I already have a few of those gigs lined up over the next few months. 

5.) I got the right (for me) technology. I've been working on a PC for my entire writing career thus far, but I've used Macs before - and I knew that's what I wanted if I was going to be a full-time blogger and writer. Despite how much money I was saving, I didn't want to splurge on a brand new Mac. After doing some digging - and schmoozing - Z discovered that his younger brother had an older, but perfectly functional, MacBook Pro...that he would gladly give to me. For just starting out in this career, Z's brother's generosity made it so I didn't have to invest in such an expensive item right away. Thanks, Max!

As you can see, making this decision took months of planning - and worrying - but I know it will all be worth it in the end. Life is too short to not pursue your dreams. And if this doesn't work out, it doesn't work out - at least I can never say that I didn't try.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My childhood home always had the “good food” growing up. The sugary cereals, frozen pizzas (and pizza rolls), salty snacks, and sodas. It’s a miracle I grew up to be a health-conscious vegetarian.

Despite all the unhealthy foods and snacks we ate, my mom did try to get some nutrition in our diet. For a few years, she went through a stint where she sneaked wheat germ into her homemade baked goods – and she always used the Kretschmer brand. I remember not being able to taste the wheat germ, but always glared at the bottle in the fridge. How dare you make my mom’s desserts somewhat healthy!

So, when Kretschmer randomly contacted me a few weeks ago, asking if I’d try their wheat germ, I happily said yes. I was eager to use the wheat germ in my own baked goods, mainly to see if I could taste it, now that my palate has matured a bit. I was also intrigued by wheat germ’s health benefits. I mean, my mom always told us it was healthy, but…at the ripe age of 7, I never bothered to do my research.

Basically, wheat germ is derived from the most nutrient rich part of the wheat kernel (which is removed during the refining of whole wheat grains to white flour). Wheat germ is a great source of vitamin E, the B vitamins, and folic acid. Wheat germ even helps with muscle function, red blood cell production, and digestive tract health, and it supports a healthy nervous system which can lower anxiety levels (something I could definitely benefit from) and improve mood.

Wheat germ is also very simple to incorporate into recipes - Kretschmer recommends replacing 1/2 cup of flour in your recipe with wheat germ. With this in mind, I decided to make my go-to chocolate chip cookies. It's hard to screw up traditional chocolate chip cookies, and I wanted to test the wheat germ in two ways: 1.) To see if the simple substitute Kretschmer suggests works, and 2.) To see if I noticed a difference in taste. Let's just say, everything worked out fine.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: 36 cookies

Adapted from Betty Crocker

-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I didn't have brown sugar, so I just used another 3/4 cup of granulated sugar)
-1 cup butter, softened
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 egg
-1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used unbleached flour, and the cookies came out fine)

-1/2 cup Kretschmer Original Toasted Wheat Germ
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

 Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips.
2.) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft).
3.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

These cookies came out almost exactly like they always do - I think the only slight difference in taste was because I used granulated sugar in place of brown sugar. The wheat germ did not affect the taste at all, nor did it skew the baking process. All it did was make these cookies somewhat healthy. I'm OK with that!

Have you ever baked with wheat germ before? Are you a fan?

The wheat germ was complimentary, but always, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.

Update: [Economical] Wedding Plans

I just realized I owe you guys a wedding update! We did get engaged almost exactly 5 months ago, so I guess it’s only fair to let you guys know what we’ve planned so far.

Basically, we have the place, the date, I have my dress (it was the second one I tried on!), we got our engagement photos done, we nailed down a DJ, and we bought our invitations/Save the Dates. Phew! Oh, and the only things we paid full price for were the venue and the DJ. Boom. Here are the specifics:

Place: Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in Whitefield, N.H.

Source.

Date: August 2013 (sorry – have to keep some details private!)

Dress: I can’t tell you the exact dress I got – Z does read this blog, afterall – but I can tell you that I got my dress at Modern Bride in Bedford, N.H. and had a great experience. They even told me my alterations would be free – don’t ask me why, but I’ll take it! My experience was so good with Modern Bride that I’m  taking my bridesmaids there in January to find our bridesmaid dresses.

Engagement photos: Our friend, Joey, took them for us at deCordova in Lincoln, Mass. Joey was kind enough to take our photos as his wedding present to us, but he is one awesome photographer. I'd be happy to put anyone in touch with him who might be looking for a professional photographer - just shoot me an email if you're interested! We haven’t chosen a photo for our Save the Dates yet, so I unfortunately can’t share one of the photos on the blog yet - but I will as soon as they're sharable!

DJ: Peak Entertainment. They’ve worked at Mountain View many times before, and really seem to know their stuff. I’ll be sure to give a full review after our wedding!

Invitations: Um, we bought a Groupon deal that saved us hundreds – yes, hundreds – of dollars on invitations. The deal even included reply cards and Save the Dates!

That's about it for updates so far. We’re taking our parents to see Mountain View this weekend, and I am beyond excited. It’s such a beautiful place - we know they’ll love it!

I’ll be sure to update you guys in another couple of months when we have more planned. We do plan to go to San Francisco and Napa Valley for our honeymoon, so any recommendations for where to go would be greatly appreciated!

Ezekiel 4:9 Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Bread

Have you ever heard the term “carbo-loading”? A lot of times, people who are training for marathons do this. I’ve never trained for a marathon, but I do “carbo-load” on a daily basis.

I have toast in the morning, a sandwich for lunch, and usually have one or two forms of bread and/or carbohydrates at dinner. Right after cheese, bread is one of my favorite foods. So, when the folks at Crier Communications asked if I’d like to try some of Food for Life Baking Company’s Ezekiel 4:9 Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Bread, I was immediately intrigued.

I have to admit, my first thought when I received the email was: “This sounds like a genetically-modified product with 20,000 ingredients.” But after doing some research on the product, I was happy to have been proven wrong. While there are a good amount of ingredients in this bread, every single element is legible and recognizable:

Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Flax, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt. Rolled in Organic Flax Seeds.

The company also sold me on the nutritional values in each and every slice. Taken directly from the email I received:

The combination of the 6 grains, legumes and seeds creates a complete protein containing all 9 essential amino acids, while decreasing the calories and carbohydrates found in the original grain. Unlike commercial breads that are “enriched” and “fortified” to restore vitamins and nutrients that are lost during processing method, Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Flax Bread is naturally flavorful and nutritious.

The bread is also 100% flourless and is low-glycemic, diabetic-friendly, pH-balanced and kosher-certified. Each slice contains 90mg of Omega 3, 5g of protein, 4g of dietary fiber and 18 amino acids from vegetable sources.

Oh, and the bread is also quite tasty – but if you are someone who doesn’t like bread with a lot of texture and some crunch, then this isn’t for you. I enjoyed it several ways – for my morning toast, as bread for my lunch sandwiches, and also in various paninis and grilled cheeses for dinner – and it was delicious each time. The bread is rather filling, however, so I most enjoyed it as toast in the morning – one slice versus two slices was just satisfying enough. 

One warning: I highly recommend refrigerating or even freezing each loaf, especially if you’re not going to eat it within a short amount of time. Because this bread lacks certain preservatives to keep it fresher longer – meaning, it’s actually made with real ingredients – it can spoil quicker than other store-bought breads.

Am I the only one that eats my body weight in carbohydrates on a daily basis?