vegan peach cobbler.

hey lovelies!

today is NOT a fashion post. it is summertime in alabama, which means 95+ temperatures, unless it's raining. my uniform has been denim short-shorts & tank tops/t-shirts. but one of these days (tomorrow hopefully) i plan to get a little frilly; i have the urge.

but today was my mom & her husband's anniversary, so i made them a vegan peach cobbler from vegan with a vengeance.



my globs of crust were too large & didn't spread like i thought they would, so there are biscuit-like things floating on top of caramelized peaches. brown sugar & cinnamon pervades it. SO GOOD. it would be a delicious fall treat, but mom bought 50-million peaches at the state farmer's market so i thought this would be a good way to use some of them.

recipe~
vegan peach cobbler

filling-ingredients:
8 peeled & sliced fresh peaches
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cornstarch

topping-ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 cup brown sugar + more for sprinkling on crust
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

instructions:
preheat oven to 440 degrees Fahrenheit & have a glass 9 x 13 baking dish.

prepare filling:
mix all filling ingredients in baking dish; set aside.

prepare topping:
in a medium-size mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. create a deep indention in the middle, add the liquid ingredients, & mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. drop by tablespoonful over the filling, leaving an inch or so between each spoonful. sprinkle a bit of extra brown sugar.

bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbly & the topping is browned. sprinkle a touch more brown sugar & cinnamon a few minutes after extracting from oven.

try it out! it's delicious. :)

with love,
rachel. <3

put on your black shoes & dance the blues.

hey loves!

took advantage of the wonderful sunlight today -- it's rained for the past four out of five days wherever i've been. so i soaked up some vitamin D & took pictures!




army green tunic & black leggings are forever 21 (from of my indiana shopping!), zipper heels are zigi soho, cross necklace & pearl bracelet are gifts.

this is my cat, angel. (my brother named her. :P) she just had to get in the picture!

i'm back in alabama! for the time being, anyway. indiana was... interesting. i really liked downtown indianapolis -- the circle centre mall was amazing! i loved walking over the streets. we went to hard rock as well, & i got a delicious honey citrus salad. (i think that's what it was called...) romaine, blue cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, orange wedges, & a sweet orange vinaigrette. yum! my stepmom & i also went to the edinburgh outlet mall, which was your typical outlet mall. still ended up with some nice finds, though.

however, i was a bit surprised; people in indiana do "staycations" where they go to a hotel for a weekend as a vacation. dad's hotel was covered in people over the weekend! it was quite bizarre to see the place nearly empty on the weekdays.


mom snapped this shot of a orange lily in our garden while we took pictures. i think i'll leave you with it.

with love,
rachel. <3

don't look before you laugh.

look ugly in a photograph.
flash bulbs; purple irises
the camera can't see.
(city of blinding lights -- U2)



hey there!

mm, man, it's been a good day. spent the first half in the hotel room, essentially, reading & being lazy & watching the fifa cup kick-off concert. that was amazing: a good mix of african music & western music, not to mention some european groups. soccer isn't very popular around here, but i might have to watch this! mom & i went back to the summit after she finished with her workshop, & we went to the cheesecake factory (more on that later), did some shopping, & found a wonderfully abandoned parking lot to take pictures in!


v-neck is old navy, vest is american eagle, skirt is from walmart, shoes are candies, sunglasses are from kohls.




earrings are betsey johnson (i know, you can't really see them, sorry!), heart pendant (which is actually a watch) is american eagle, blue-jewel bracelet is thrifted.

we then went to charming charlie, which is the cutest clothing/accessory store! it's color-coded, which is quite handy actually. but their clothes don't really interest me: its all in the details!

that belt is actually purple... hotel lighting is crap.



then we went to another shopping mall & to two other stores: aerie & forever 21.

the cardi is from aerie, & SO SOFT. they're having a sale, so i suggest you get yourselves over there for cute undies & comfy basics. i also bought a very surf-inspired natural-tone hoodie, but my picture was deleted, & some undies, but i'm not showing you my knickers! xD the parisian-esque striped shirt is from forever 21. i got the last one out tonight! :D

all skirts are forever 21. i got the black pencil skirt for a steal: $6.80! :D i was also thrilled with the tiered crochet-lace skirt; it somewhat reminds me of chanel spring rtw 10.

but now let's talk food. (this is one of my favorite subjects, especially when i eat well!) we went to the cheesecake factory, & it was my first time. i ordered the portobella on a bun, & it was SO GOOD! i couldn't finish it, though. it's one of the most unhealthy items on the menu, but it sounded so tempting i couldn't resist. ;) grilled portobella + swiss (i believe) cheese + lettuce + tomato + purple onion + spicy mayo? delicious. i got a green salad on the side, but i only ate a few bites. it was quite fresh, though.

i did one other thing tonight, but i'm going to keep it a surprise & show you tomorrow. ;D

with love,
rachel. <3

i love you more than french fries!

hey loves!

the above is my playing-around on picnik; i think it looks kind of neat. mom & i are in birmingham for this technology conference; it's more of her thing. i've been hanging out in the hotel room & walking around most of the time. we've had a blast, though! eaten lots of amazing food, done some shopping, & simply had wonderful mother-daughter time.


tank is from belk, jeans are levis, wedges are from target, belt is american eagle, purse is charlotte russe. peace sign earrings (you can't see, i know) & wooden bracelet are gifts, pearl&chain necklace is vintage (my grandmother's), ring is mark.

mom & i were outside in downtown birmingham & we decided outside pics would be a welcome change. i enjoyed having a photographer, too. thanks mom! :)


i also went to urban outfitters for the first time yesterday, which was awesome! all the clothes were so cute, and the apartment stuff was wonderful! next year i'll be buying some of their stuff to decorate my dorm/apartment. :D my only complaint were the many aloof hipsters. i don't enjoy people in retail who don't look happy to have a job, you know? but onto the goods:

the dress was on sale & it fits wonderfully! the bottom hem is scalloped. also, if you know me in real life you should know how relevant the notebook is. for those of you who don't: i love french fries. on trips where there isn't much vegetarian-friendly fare, i will gladly scarf down some deep fried potatoes with ketchup. :D

this is my first non-knit hat ever. i'm pleased to have it, & on sale for $10? what a steal! :D but i feel very silly wearing this hat-shape with my hair loose, hence the hair-pulled-back.

we also went to whole foods for the first time. oh my goodness, i know it's kind of ridiculous to be so excited about a grocery store, but that place is AMAZING! i bought this reusable tote; isn't it cute? we also bought some vegan cookies, which are delicious! we're going to go back friday when we leave for home & stock up on some food we can't get in rural alabama, & perhaps eat at the deli. any suggestions?

also, i'd like to talk FOOD. :D yesterday we went to flip burger, which is this swanky (i love that word) burger joint in the summit. there's also one in atlanta. i got a nutella & burnt marshmallow milkshake -- made with liquid nitrogen! -- a faux-falel buger, & fried pickles. it was amazing! the burger was a falafel mixture deep-fried, topped with a small salad, with a feta-mixture spread on the bun. i had to eat it with a fork, mostly. it was SO GOOD. then tonight we went to california pizza kitchen, which was all kinds of good. we got the mediterranean plate -- a small amount of feta cheese, small greek salad, & their amazing tuscan white bean hummus, along with pizza-pita bread -- and a 1/2 cheese, 1/2 goat cheese and roasted pepper pizza. it was delicious, & i've got leftovers for breakfast!

well, that's all for tonight! :) comment please!

with love,
rachel. <3

cooking adventure #1 -- falafel!

hello!

today's post will not have any pictures; sorry you visual-oriented people. :P instead, we're talking FOOD. mmmmm.

this evening, i decided that i would attempt to make some falafel. falafel is such a fun word! i sing a little song every time i say it: fa-la-la, fa-la-fel, fa-la-la, fa-la-felllll. i suppose it's hard to convey a song without sound, but i'm assuming you get the picture. xD

what's falafel, you say? it's pretty much a chickpea (garbonzo bean) mixture formed into a patty and fried. it's middle eastern cuisine. now, i read quite a few food blogs, and i see falafel EVERYWHERE on these things! so i've been wanting to try it for ages.

this christmas i received vegan with a vengeance, which i have heard all sorts of wonderful things about. and it has a falafel recipe in it! so i crack it open and start making it. i follow the recipe, halving everything for i hate to waste. then i put the mixture in the fridge to chill. after forming the patties and heating the oil to fry these babies in, i realize...

I FORGOT THE FLOUR!

"oh, well," i tell myself, "what's a tablespoon of flour going to do?"

it turns out, the flour helps bind the mixture together so it doesn't fall into tiny pieces in the oil.

"well, shit," i tell myself, "how am i supposed to fix this?"

i have about half the patties left, and i'm so near just throwing them away when my mom walks in and i plead for help. she suggests i roll the patties in flour, roll them back into balls, and flatten them out. maybe this will fix my pathetic patties!

well, it doesn't exactly work like a charm, but the remaining three i had stay together better than the others -- they finish in a patty-like form!

then it was the moment of truth: am i even going to like these things?

i fill a halved pita pocket with tomatoes, carrots, and avocado. i place approximately one and a half falafel patties on top. (normally you'd drizzle tahini on top of the jewels, but i didn't have any.) i bite in --

OH MAN. falafel is delicious! even if it crumbles every time i take a bite.

do i consider this adventure a bit of a catastrophe? yes. there were other minor problems as well; my food processor was too small, my pita pocket ripped as i was filling it with goodies, wahwahwah.

am i going to attempt to make this again, correctly? definitely! it was delish. when i make it right, i'll let you know how they turn out, and give you the recipe if they form correctly.

so! tell me; have you ever tried falafel? have you ever tried making falafel?

fa-la-la, fa-la-fellll!
with love!
rachel.