When Vin gets sick, I swear to god he is the biggest baby ever. It's like he's dying or something. He wanted to call his momma for sympathy and her special chicken soup, but I wouldn't let him. "Oh grow up!" I'm saying as I wait on him hand and foot. I'm as bad as she is. I made Potato Jalapeno Soup and he had 2 humongous bowls. Couldn't be that sick.
 Anyways, I don't admit it, but I love to feed him. (No, I never ever admit it.) He wants me to make more tomorrow. Next time, I'll add the jalapeno amount that I want. When it comes to hot stuff the kid is such a wimp. I used the lowest amount, and it was a mild salsa heat level. But he's sick, so I decided to go easy on him today...

Roasty Toasty Potato-Jalapeno Soup Above is my gorgeous chunky Soup [RECIPE HERE]. It surprised me, it was THAT TASTY. Simple ingredients, too. I actually had everything! I freaking love it when that happens.

At last at last I made them! Low-fat potstickers, A.K.A Chinese dumplings, filled with an Indian sesame stir-fry curry type thing. They have been on the brain for weeks now since I saw the photo on the Naughty Curry site. I've been partying in Mexico all week and I came back feeling like a big fat grease ball. You know the feeling? But I ate fried food everyday down there and I was still craving it amazingly. American chinese restaurants load the oil, as you probably know already...

These little guys satisfy my spice needs, and at the same time use only a bit of oil. They are a fabulous wonderful discovery. I'm a big dipper-dunker too. MMMM. Dipping sauce du jour: Hoisin with lime.

Indian Sesame Potstickers Above are the Chinese potstickers stuffed with an Indian sesame stir-fry from Naughty Curry. SO EASY you can use any mushy leftovers for a filling, really.

Here’s where I screwed up. When I substituted one white onion for the red onion that it called for. Bad. Bad. Never again. So when I made it again, cause Vin was bitching, I had to use meat. It looks pretty, anyway. Unfortunately, I’m almost out of my garam masala and I don’t remember where I got that version from. Anyone recommend a favorite garam masala blend? Not too cinnamony, please.

Bell Pepper n' Chicken/Seitan Pilaf RECIPE HERE If you don’t have red onion, like I didn’t, use HALF of the white onion.

So I had to celebrate Christmas AGAIN last night with Vin's step-family, and I seriously did not want to go. I mean, sweet...watch everyone open their presents while I get stuff from the dollar store. Yeah they hate me, but whatever.
Vin wanted me to make sweet potato pie. So I did. Took all day. We were ten minutes late, and they were already done eating. Nice.
So today I made these Pom-Pom Sweet Potatoes [RECIPE HERE] with the two I had left over. Loved it. I'm so sick of all the usual fattening Christmas crap and needed something different and kind of light. Vin wanted to know why my sweet potato pie had turned out like crap and this dish was really good. I socked him in the arm instead of saying..."Cause they don't deserve it."

Pom-Pom Sweet Potatoes [RECIPE HERE] This is a really cool, unique way of flavoring up sweet potatoes. I never liked sweet potatoes before because for some reason they are always made sickeningly sweet. You've got to get dried pomegranate seeds. From there, it's super easy.

Banana Bread with almonds & chocolate chips

2 eggs

2) In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda; mix thoroughly. Add this to the other bowl and mix well. Next add the walnuts and chocolate chips. Save some of each to add on top of the loaf before putting it in the oven. Bake for one hour and place a knife or fork in the center of the loaf to make sure it is completely done

My First (successful) Banana Bread! With almonds instead of nasty walnuts...

So while I was slaving away for a belated Thanksgiving, my friend Carly was eating West African food at her boyfriend’s sisters place. They are from Sierra Leone, and the food is VERY spicy hot. No fair, no fair. What a waste -- Carly hates spices of any kind (lives on Spaghetti-o's and McDonalds). But they would be insulted if she didn’t eat, so she ate their mildest dish with tons of milk. The sister was so impressed, she made Carly a special batch and gave her some spice mix.(Carly wanted to THROW IT AWAY!Aaaaaah!)

It was couscous with some vegetable that was totally new to me. I brought Courtney, of Naughty Curry a small bowl of it, just so she could tell me what the vegetable is--. plantain, found only at the Asian grocer in our town. So that’s where I went. I lightly fried two plantains cubed in a little oil and what was left of the spice mix. Then I stirred in the Veggie Couscous Upma from the NC site [RECIPE HERE]. Oh my god! Oh my god! I immediately made Hamburger Helper to divert Vin. I'm kind of a selfish bitch when it comes to food. Oh well.

Indian-Spiced Couscous with African-Spiced Plantain Above is Veggie Couscous Upma [RECIPE HERE]mixed with the addition of spicy sautéed plantains. Better than sex (lately, anyway. haha) The plantains were sauteed with a spicy hot mix, and the couscous Upma is a super quick-easy-tasty dish that takes 15 min. tops. (you just need frozen veggies and a lime)

"There is one picture on your website that kinda sucks," I was telling my friend Trobee (of Naughty Curry) when she was making pumpkin pie at my place on Sunday. "The rest, awesome, but there is one..."

I love pissing her off every so often. It's hilarious. And easy. She looked it up on my computer and said, "Yeah that's the one Courtney took, and it always bugged me, but... That's it. We're making this right now! It's super fast."

So she made this addictive curry-spiced pumpkin dip. Honestly, I wasn’t planning on eating ANY, cause I’m used to associating pumpkin with icky sweet spicing. But I'll be damned. It’s actually got the garlicky-onion mojo that I am a total slave to. I didn’t have the garam masala, so she used 1 tsp of coriander seeds with the cumin seeds, whizzing them into a powder after roasting them.

Anyways, the dip was all orange gorgeousness. Trobee won’t be outdone. She pulled out stuff and created this platter in 2 minutes. Damn her. I guess she is going to use this pic for the website. But we all know who really made it. Anyway, I noticed that the old photo is gone... HA!

Curry-Spiced Pumpkin Dip

Above is Naughty Curry’s YUMMY Pumpkin spread [RECIPE HERE] . Spicy and garlicky, it is fantastic on bagels, crackers, chips, and veggies. (I added cayenne so that Vin won’t eat it. I’m such a bitch.) It happens to be vegan, cause the cream cheese is soy.And it's gluten-free. 

Swear to god that I am like Wendy in Peter Pan, taking care of a bunch of big dumbass lost boys, except I'm always telling them, "I ain't your mama! I shouldn't have to tell you (fill in the blank.)" But who am I kidding? I love my boys. And I love to feed them. 
So the other night it was Celebration Poker Night in my kitchen (the election was over, no more phone calls, ads, etc.) They wanted a huge platter of Bang Bang Bacon Bitches [RECIPE HERE]. The deal was, if they could show me their voting sticker, I would make their Bitches. [They all believe I invented them myself, and that I am a genius. I let them -- I'm kind of a liar like that.]
 Anyway, all you do is mix in spices with cream cheese, spread it on the tips of bacon slices, insert jalapeno slices, and roll em up. Everyone LOVES them. Its cool. So...can anyone here vouch for Boca bacon?

Bang Bang Bacon Bitches These be the Bitches [RECIPE HERE]. You can easily make them in advance for a party, then quick shove em in the oven when it's show time.

Vin made me do it. Clean out my closet. I’ve been fudging on it for months now, and he finally took no mercy. Clothes that I do not officially wear had to go. After the dramatic experience, I felt totally out of shape , and made (what Vin and I call ) Popeye Patty Cakes [RECIPE HERE]. Its basically potatoes, spinach, peas, onions, garlic and spices…all mashed up and fried in a titch of oil. The original recipe uses mustard greens, but you know Vin and his spinach. Spinach is much easier, anyway. Not so stiff.
Anyway, it is full of vitamin and stuff, bursting with spice-love and something for Vin to gobble with his plate of bacon. But then I ended up eating them with those buttery ready-made pastry shells, full of trans-fats (whatever those are) so whatever.

Spicy Popeye Pattycakes Say hello to Peppy Green Pattycakes [RECIPE HERE], made with stuff easily found in your pantry. The texture is soothing, and the flavor is bursting with spice-love. Healthy, low fat, vegan, all that good stuff. Fun little twerps.

"Look at what momma has, boys!" I told the big group of cavemen that gathered for the big game at my house the other night.
 I’m really super proud about this one, and I’ll tell you why. Loaded nachos with NO CHEESE, and no one missed it. See, there was this awkward thing going on because one of Vin’s biggest beer drinking buds, can no longer eat wheat. That’s totally weird, since this guy used to be a garbage gut. Now he just brings rice chips and mineral water. I felt bad for the guy even though he is kind of a prick, so I used my new spice knowledge to come up with this frickin awesome wheat-free nachos. [Well actually they are honey-dijon rice chips.]
 What makes it is this sensational tangy hot Screaming Green hot sauce [RECIPE HERE] that is like this crazy jolt of flavor. Also in the pile is spicy rice, soy sour cream, and salsa. Best part is, I only told him it was wheat free. Everyone demolished it. The end.

Spicy Loaded Rice Crisp Fixins A funky pile of spicy rice, honey-dijon rice crisps, soy sour cream, salsa, and the main mojo ingredient, Screaming Green hot sauce [RECIPE HERE]. We were wolves while we ate this, serious.