Happy Valentine's Day! (food is the way to a heart)

For these chickpea tacos, I started out making my newest addiction 'Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas' from eat, drink, and be vegan. As ususal, with coconut oil and lime juice. This recipe is memorized.

Next, the shells received avocado, tomato, and black olives. I didn't even use salsa. The flavor of the garbanzos carried these taco all the way.





I thought making sugar cookies would be a fun thing to do in the afternoon, but feeling slightly lazy, I busted out a Cherrybrook Kitchen sugar cookie mix.

I've tried most of their products, and each time I've been very pleased, this is no exception. I'm still impressed at the idea of having vegan convenience.



Italian Basil is the first official harvest from the Aerogardens we won in PeTA's Cooking with Kid's Contest. (I'm still glowing)











Just enough to make 'White Bean Hummus with Fresh Thyme & Basil' from eat, drink & be vegan. Imo, Dreena is pretty much the queen of dip, nibblers, spreads, & appetizers...

And this was a yummy dip, although Art said it was too strong for kissing. Just eat up, then go brush.





I'll tell more about the AeroGardens in another post, but here's a sneek peek at what's "growing on" around here: mint, Italian basil, dill, thyme, parsley, purple basil, chives, and 3 cherry tomatoes.

It's great having some fresh greens to eat in the dead of winter. The girls are completely fascinated with the quickly growing plants.



Last week, Art bought me these pretty roses --- before Valentine's day, and before I made these cookies. Just because. What a sweetie!

I made 'Oatmeal Raisin Cookies' again from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I used whole wheat pastry flour and subbed semi-sweet chips for the raisins. These cookies were great, and more on the healthy side. How do I love this cookbook, let me count the ways......