New Venture

I totally apologize for neglecting this blog.

During the time where I took a break from writing in this blog, I started working on something major.  For a period of time, I dropped off of the face of the earth and did some serious soul searching.  Through encouragement from friends and family, God, and opportunities opening... I decided to take the plunge into something new and jump into photography.  I also wanted to recreate my old blog into something better with my new venture so I hope you can continue to follow me. I still wanted to have recipe post, inspiration posts, and whatnot so check it out here at www.monicawangphotography.com.  Thanks for reading this!  I really appreciate it.  Will continue to post new stuff. =)

Special thanks to this book here for helping me build the home page!

Scrumptious Vegan Blueberry Muffins

This is my first real post in ages.  I was contemplating to just stop writing in this blog because most days I don't feel like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done.  Therefore, I am reducing the number of pics I put in each post because it takes a lot of time to organize and edit the images. Even though I will not do step by step pictures anymore, I still hope you get the gist of things.  I really do miss writing in here and oddly enough, the posts motivate me to cook and document things.  I motivate myself.  Haha!  That sounds weird.  

And, I get this question a lot but people always ask me if I cook still.  The answer is yes.  I love cooking and it has become a part of me.  I can't live and eat without cooking but I have found quicker ways to do things and improvise on the spot.  I will try and share my tips =)

These blueberry muffins are super yummy.  I actually like them MORE than regular blueberry muffins because they taste totally delicious but are a lot healthier and easier to make.  I don't have to bring the butter to room temperature and I can practically mix everything with a regular fork so I don't have as many dishes to wash.  Another thing I have challenged myself to do... cook without making as many dirty dishes!  I got this recipe from GP's cookbook which I adore still.

Recipe
Makes 1 dozen muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup real Vermont maple syrup
1/4 cup light agave nectar
1 cup white spelt flour
1 cup whole spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen and thawed them)

How to Make
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with papers.

Mix wet ingredients together, stir in the dry ingredients, and fold in the blueberries.  Divide among the muffin cups and bake 'til a toothpick tests clean and the muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let them cool before eating.

To thaw the blueberries quickly, I used a glass container and microwaved the blueberries 30 seconds at a time (tossing in between every time interval).  Make sure not to overheat the blueberries!  You want them to be room temperature when you add them into the batter.  I also used a strainer to remove all the berry water before adding them to the batter.

 

They are the perfect thing to eat to start off your morning!  Especially Monday mornings.  The only downside to this recipe was that the ingredients were quite expensive for simple blueberry muffins.  Definitely don't let any of the muffins go to waste. 

I'm back from my super long hiatus...you guys probably thought I was dead.

I gave my blog a makeover.  Since I have been getting much better at Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop I couldn't help but change things up a bit.  I wanted things to look a whole lot cleaner and I actually missed writing and documenting things on this little blog.  All I have been doing the past 4 months is constantly work and as much as I love it, sometimes it is good to switch things up a bit for my own sanity.  I can't promise I can update quite as frequently as I did before but I will try once a week or something.  I will try my best!

Anniversary

Yesterday, I celebrated my 1 year anniversary with my husband at Sotto.  The food and cocktails were so good.  I can't believe 1 year just flew by for us!  I already feel like this year is flying by too even though we are only in February.  

I'm trying to find time to fit my blog into my new schedule but having a really really hard time doing so.  Thanks so much for still checking in once in a while!   This is a super lame post I know....

Home Office Design: Part 1

I am still alive over here!  Just super duper busy.  I don't have time to even post this entry but I'm squeezing it in.  I'm working on my home office slowly but surely and I wanted to share my progress.

I was inspired by this gallery wall for my home office so I went for a little visit to my local thrift store to find the frames.  I was looking for flat vintage frames in metal and wood.

Source: joannamay.org via Monica on Pinterest

I picked up all my picture frames and mirror for about $70.  It was a steal especially since I did consider buying frames from Etsy but the shipping costs were killer so I'm glad I found my frames locally.  Most of the frames ranged from $1 to $7 and the large vintage mirror cost me $23.  I first started by cutting out pieces of newspapers in the size of my frames just so I could see how the wall would look before I started pounding nails into the walls.  It was a lot easier than I initially thought.

And ta-da!   I'm still trying to figure out what to put in some of the frames.... that is a whole another project in itself.



If you are curious, I got my table from Cost Plus World Market, chevron rug from Urban Outfitters, sea shell book ends from this Etsy shop, and the chair and desk lamp from Home Goods.

New Year

I'm not one to write resolutions because they always seem incredibly hard to obtain.... like when people say they are going to cut out sugar from their diet or they are going to work out.  It's like huh?  That already sounds like a fail.  Sorry to be a pessimist.  Resolutions sound so final and it is hard to say that I'm never going to do anything again like I am never going to eat sugar again.  Yeah... sounds like even more of a fail when I put that into context.  I try to set little goals throughout the year and for me, I like that idea much better.  I am not one to sit still because I am always moving around doing something!

2011 Highlights
Got married to my best friend

Traveled to 6 different countries and got to experience it through my husband's eyes.  It was his first time in Europe.

Gracie learned how to swim.

I quit my job.

I read 20+ books.  I can't actually say read because I listened to them. I'm totally into audiobooks which allows me to multitask when I'm listening to a book like driving through horrible LA/OC traffic or washing dishes.  My husband caught me crying last night in the kitchen after going through one of my favorite books on my ipod.  Haha!  I am quite the dork.  These were my favorite books this year some of which I have gone through twice already..... Hunger Games (fyi, the 3rd book was my least favorite), The Kitchen House, World Without End, Unbroken, and The Help.  I am always looking for new books to read so please share if you have a good one.  It will be much appreciated!!!

Got a new car which is my favorite.  It is so functional and I've made up my mind that I'm sticking to mini-SUV's forever.

Learned how to use my dslr camera quite a bit through this blog and found my favorite lens so far.

2012 Goals in Process
I'm leaving corporate finance and running far FAR away.

Drink less wine, drink more water.

Read more books including the Bible.  I'm currently on Baby Proof which is totally fitting for me if you know me well.  I want to read through the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series this year too.

Learn how to edit film and make videos.  I took a free Apple workshop this week for iMovie and already getting started on this goal.  I couldn't pass up a free class!  I want to take more of them.

Learn graphic design.  I already got started on Adobe Illustrator and watched youtube tutorials this past weekend.  Knowing how to use this tool will be perfect for thoughtful gifts for friends and family.  I can make customized stationary, calendars, whatever!  Love it already.

Set up an art corner in my new office to paint.  Loving the idea of creating abstract art from here.

Go to Hawaii for the first time.

Embrace turning 3-0 and love every minute of it.

Pay more attention to my husband and be a better wife.  I get easily distracted by all my interests that I sometimes forget that I should be including him in my list of interests.  Whoopsie!  I know I need to be better about this.

This is a totally random collage but I thought this post needed some sort of visuals.  This is where my mind is at today =) All over the place as usual!  That is the norm. 

 

image source (left to right):  1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Pumpkin Spice Bread

I quit my corporate job this week.

I feel like a free bird and God has answered my prayers.  Hallelujah.  I cannot say that enough.  I didn't know when this day would ever come and I'm finally working for myself.  I actually put those type of thoughts at the back of my mind in a deep dark well never to be resurfaced again.  However, the opportunity presented itself unexpectedly and I am so incredibly thankful.  I get to start 2012 completely anew.  My new role is going to be super demanding so my upcoming challenge will be how to manage my time and find balance.  I have had a lot on my mind the past few weeks so I decided to take a little breather and bake this bread.  I got this recipe from my coworker and adjusted it for less sugar and whole wheat.  It is still really yummy and satisfying without all that sugar and saturated fat.

I took the image below on my new desk for my home office which isn't finished yet (I blogged about ideas a couple weeks ago here).  I love my new desk and will post pics when my office is all done.  Thanks to my husband for finding it!  I have the best, most supportive husband.  Just wanted to say that!

Makes 2 loaves (one for you and one for a friend)

2 cups pumpkin
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar (if you want it to be sweeter, I recommend adding 1/2 cup of sugar)
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup room temperature water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup toasted walnuts
Butter for greasing the pans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 9 by 5 loaf pans with parchment paper and grease with butter.  Mix together the dry ingredients (the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and baking soda) in a medium size bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and water with a whisk.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Add in the walnuts and mix 'til combined (do not overmix).  Pour batter into the pans.

Bake for 60 minutes or 'til an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans.

I always do half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.  If you do 100% whole wheat flour, it tastes a bit dry and grainy so the half and half strategy works for me.  Otherwise, I do 100% whole wheat pastry flour.  It doesn't taste so whole wheat-y if you know what I mean. 

My trick to getting the loaves out of the pans is to line the pan with parchment paper.  Trust me it works! I line the pans with the parchment paper, lightly grease the sides with butter, fill the pans with batter on top of the parchment paper, trim the long edges of the parchment paper with scissors, and bake.  I use the sides of the parchment paper to pull the bread out.  It is so much easier this way.

The loaves came out and they made my house smell delicious in the process.