Vegetarian Meals Part 2 (Photo Heavy)

andre - the green lasagna recipe is on my blog (goudamonster.com) and the butternut squash mac and cheese is... well, i don't really have a recipe for it right now. i made it months ago and don't remember exactly how i did it. i can tell you that i cooked and pureed butternut squash, then blended it with a bunch of fresh sage, salt and pepper and combined it with a smoked gouda cheese sauce that i whipped up on the stove. smoked cheese takes it above and beyond i think

i've been craving mediterranean food so tonight i decided to try and make baked falafel. they are made with chickpeas, fava beans, cilantro, parsley, lemon, cumin, pepper, wheat flour, and some other things i can't recall off the top of my head. i cut small cubes of feta cheese that i stuffed into each one, then pressed the balls into a preheated baking mold. i also made some makeshift tabouleh with quinoa, lemon, olive oil, mint, parsley, and tomato. the falafel balls are 75 calories each and crazy addicting. i meant to only have two but ended up eating twice that

Will you marry me?

As long as you propose with a ring made of cheese. 8)

I made a salad that's a little different. It's a celery salad - super fresh and crunchy and satisfying to eat. It was easy to make as well. I ate it on the side of some veggie chicken fingers and a handful of cherry tomatoes. There is a honey mustard sauce for dipping, but that was for my boyfriend.

The salad is several stalks of celery, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice, about a tablespoon of lemon zest, a couple of tablespoons of chives, a quarter cup of chopped parsley, 1 cup of garlic parmesan roasted chickpeas, a handful of toasted walnuts (about 1/4 cup), and about an ounce of crumbled good parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Divided it between three of us.

Thanks, all :]

I'm pretty excited because for my birthday my friend bought me a nice table and a storage unit for keeping my food photography stuff organized. Previously my setup was kind of a huge mess as I was just taking over the dining room table with all of my junk. Now I have a nice little station that's easier to shoot at and keeps my excess props in one place.

New area (and my cat Smudge):



I also went to the home improvement store and bought the materials to make another fake table top prop. I bought a plain board and then stained, painted, and beat it to make it look weathered. My first test shot with it as a background. Really pleased with the result.



And onto more food... this was just a snapshot near the window, nothing special, but I bought my boyfriend "big franks" for our anniversary (he's obsessed) and decided to make jalapeno cheese stuffed pigs in a blanket with them. Made a whole wheat flaky dough to wrap around it. They were pretty huge and not exactly low calorie ;P



Then on my birthday I wanted to try out my new table so I had to cook something. I ended up making mini pumpkin spice cakes with a cream cheese rum glaze. Even though I made them with whole wheat flour they were super soft and moist. About 90-95 calories each.