Another Snow Day

It's been wonderfully Wintery and snowy over the last few days.  Not just the old waking up to a blanket of snow, but the really cozy, satisfying snowing-through-lunch or snowing-through-hot-chocolate-breaks.  Just glorious.

So usually when it snows, I start roasting squash like there's no tomorrow.  The same way, I suppose, that my friends & family back East run to the store for the staples -- bread, milk, eggs.  But I wasn't prepared, and I ran out of squashes to roast on the first day of snow, so I had to move on to the next best thing -- making kale and putting it in things.

L: Kale chips with sea salt and garlic.
R: Soup with rice, celery, garbanzo beans, carrots,  and of course kale; topped with scallions.

Even the pets got into the cuddling mood.  It should be noted that Ike & Olivia have NEVER been this close to one another without growling-snarling-swiping, so this was quite exciting for ol' Momma.

L: Ike & Olivia
R: Beatrice the hamster

I've been taking more than my usual hot chocolate breaks, thanks to the vegan-friendly Starbucks hot cocoa mixes I recently found.  Life-savers, really.

Lots of packages to ship out today!  It's a good thing to be staying busy, even though I wouldn't argue with another lazy day on the couch, under blankets, watching horrible TLC shows on Netflix.

I hope everyone reading this is staying warm and cozy, and getting to enjoy some nice Winter weather, too.

Comfort Food in (un)Comfortable Weather

I guess it all depends on what you're into, or maybe where you have to go and how you have to get there... but I happen to love a good rainy day.  Yesterday was gloriously rainy, today is cloudy and drizzly, and I feel so very lucky to be able to work from home, and spend a little time just being cozy.  I started off the morning with some of Starbucks' new hot cocoa mix.

This stuff is awesome.  At first, I was all "hell no, I'm not spending $6 on a box of hot chocolate mix..." but realizing it was the only vegan-friendly cocoa on the shelf, I decided I didn't really have a choice.  I am SO glad I tried it!  It's well worth the $6, and if you mix it up with hot Coconut Dream, you have quite the decadent drink in your hands -- warm, creamy, rich & chocolatey -- so comforting.

My other comfort food is soup.  Unfortunately (for me) my boyfriend doesn't share this sentiment.  Unfortunately (for him) I'm going to make soup, anyway.  This one from Post Punk Kitchen looks like it will fit the bill.

Find the recipe here!

I love kale, I love chickpeas, I don't think there's any way this could go wrong.  We always called them garbanzo beans... there isn't a difference, is there?

I hope everyone is staying warm and cozy out there!  We're supposed to get some snow or ice here in Chicago.  It's difficult to really believe that though, going from a 60-degree day to snow... but hey, that's Chicago for you.