This Month’s Bits and Bites: March 2014

They say March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but I uphold that in 2014, it came in like a lion … and out like a lion. I’m not talking about weather, though. I’m talking about speed. Didn’t March just start? Wasn’t March 1, like, two days ago? I’m so confused.

This month was a strange one – from one end of the spectrum to another. It was full of hope (spring! it’s happening!) and hopelessness (the horrific landslide that occurred not far from where we live).

Predictably, before the mudslide, I spent much of the month obsessing over gardening and natural playscapes for our little one. Food-wise, after discovering just how full I remained for hours and hours after this super-simple breakfast, I started working toward incorporating higher-protein ingredients into my recipes. You’ll see some of those soon.

And then, for the past week, every time I sit in front of my computer, – all I can do is watch news about the mudslide, read Facebook status updates from so many friends who are just one or two degrees of separation from the disaster, to continue to shake my head in disbelief.

Holding my loved ones just a little tighter as March comes to a close.

New recipes this month:

Top row:

• Black Bean, Mushroom, and Avocado Breakfast Scramble
• Cinnamon Dolce Iced Coffee

Row 2:

• Cranberry Orange Irish Soda Bread
• Baileys & Coffee Blondies
• Thick & Creamy Chocolate Coconut Chia Pudding
• Artichoke Arugula Pesto Grilled Cheese

Row 3:

• Creamy Potato-Kale Soup with Fennel Seed & Optional Sausage
• Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Yogurt Bread
• How to Make Almond Milk Coffee Creamer
• Cucumber Hummus Avocado Toast

Bottom row:

• Broccoli & Meyer Lemon Pizza

Top 3 most-viewed

Two of the three top recipes are super-easy, throw together recipes that I photographed and shared on a whim! Goes to show that simple can often prevail. Well – that and avocados. And the number one recipe? One of my new obsessions: blondies! Love it.

3. Cucumber Hummus Avocado Toast
2. Black Bean, Mushroom, and Avocado Breakfast Scramble
1. Baileys & Coffee Blondies

New posts on Oh My Veggies:

Kiersten and crew are doing incredible things over at Oh My Veggies lately. If you haven’t visited this incredible vegetarian site lately, you must! Here are the pieces I contributed this month.

• One-Pot Pasta Primavera
• Meatless Meal Plan for 3.31.2014
• 20 Secret-Ingredient Cauliflower Recipes
• 4 Ways to Make Quesadillas (and 10 Tasty Filling Ideas)

And this month, I was especially in love with:

Thin mint Lara bars. Looks like I’m going to have to officially jump on the homemade Larabar bandwagon.

We finally started watching The Good Wife. We never want to stop.

Homemade chocolate graham crackers. I love looking at a recipe and KNOWING my picky toddler would adore it. Must make soon.

The Oh She Glows cookbook. What an incredible book from the wonderful vegan blogger.

Never enough Brussels sprout pizza in the world.

The prettiest doughnuts I’ve ever seen.

This thought-provoking piece about a parentless playground in the UK called The Land. I’m not ready to leave my 2-year-old at a place with old mattresses, burn barrels and pallets stacked sky-high, but it does say something about allowing your child to take risks – and the fact that oftentimes they play best with what nature (or, okay, the junkyard) already has to offer. (Enter my new obsession with natural play areas).

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Kare

Kare is a vegetarian home cook living among carnivores. She loves creating irresistible and flexible recipes that help multi-vore families like hers keep the peace - deliciously.