The Betty Crocker Project Meets The Shannons for Lunch...

I would like to introduce you to my lunch today: Betty's Rustic Avocado Baguette Sandwich with a side of baby carrots.

I won't lie: if there were a Sandwich Hall of Fame, this fella would be in there all like this. If there were a Little Miss Sandwich Pageant, this sandwich would be in there all like this. If there were a Fellowship of The Sandwich, this sandwich would be in there all like this.

I'm glad no one was around to see me eat this epic creation, though, because to honest this little guy is messy. looked a tiny bit like this eating it. I had a green avocado beard, and next thing I knew I was wearing a trucker's hat. But it was worth it!

I think you'll agree.

The Betty Crocker Project : Cornmeal Chicken with Fresh Peach Salsa

You knew it was coming when you read "Georgia" and "Farmer's Markets"... the Fresh Peach Recipe!

I debated making a crisp or pie or some kind of other yummy baked treat. But the thing is, you can use frozen peaches for those, or you need to add sugar or agave nectar, and these beauties are just perfect on their own. This recipe can only be made with fresh peaches, and really brings out their flavor, rather than mimicking it.

We used Match Vegan Meats Chicken, which I've decided is my favorite fake chicken to make with a coating. You can make the chicken "breasts" any size you want, and you don't need to add oil, cooking sprays or soymilk or anything like that to coat them. We order a lot of our fake meat and cheeses in bulk from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe and May Wah to save money and get the products we want. If you order enough you get free shipping, and can fill your freezer.

Now, Betty's peach salsa was already vegan, but I added a little bit to it to give it a little extra something. I liked how the little extra really gave it more heat, and a savory flavor that made the peaches seem a bit sweeter. I had this mango salsa once at The Candle Cafe in NYC that had something similar going on with minced onions. I still remember it fondly. I was really happy with how this turned out and I think we did justice to the epic reputation of The Georgia Peach. No not that one, silly... this one!

The Betty Crocker Project : Bacon Cheeseburger Hash

I recently read an article written by a woman who had been married for five years and worked in the wedding-planning industry. She started with a brief summary of their courtship. Of course, it had the arc of any good love story. There was the lighting bolt "love at first sight", the standard "we broke up once", and the "happy ending" wedding. But that's when she pointed out that, well, obviously that's not the end. She listed off all the things she would never experience again: first kisses, the declaration of romantic interest (that doesn't make it sound very exciting), and all the little humorous anecdotal stuff that comes from getting to know each other. She mourned over the loss of adrenaline rushes and, well, plain-old stupid-ass drama. Can you tell where I'm going here?

(This is where I deleted a whole section about all the first kisses I've been excited about in my past, but now make me shudder... back to our story.)

Last night, I made vegan Bacon Cheeseburger Hash for my husband--and although we had the Hiroshima of epically passionate first kisses, there's another kinda of poetry that comes from our home, and the ongoing love affair that is our life together. One that doesn't make me cry, or stay up till 3 AM watching cartoons and thinking of all the things I did wrong or choices I could have made differently.

Somewhere in this skillet dish that combines two soul mates--bacon cheeseburgers and french fries--I'm finding something pretty special. More special than the "meat cake" Cheeseburger Lasagna, and the mythical Cheeseburger Pie? Hmmmm... hard to say. Everything is special in its own way. I do know that this dish only takes about 20 minutes and makes enough for 2 large portions (or 4 probably-healthier portions). I also know that it was a big hit around the Shannon house last night, and will live on long after The Betty Crocker Project has gone down in history.

The Betty Crocker Project : Red Beans & Rice with Our Fried Okra

Around the time I moved from DC to Norfolk, Dan and I started talking about driving to Savannah, GA for the weekend. We talked about seeing the mossy trees and walking along the river. We planned trips to see lighthouses and Civil War forts. We researched the vegan spots in town, and we planned on just kinda hanging out with each other. I mean, what's more fun than a day trip with your best friend?

There was something strangely satisfying about heading to Savannah for our first anniversary as a married couple. There was a rosiness around everything we did, a romantic glow that came from doing things we had mused about for years.

We're going to do a big Savannah, GA Summer Trip write-up this week. But for now, here's what we had for dinner the night we got home. We cleaned up at the huge farmer's markets between Savannah and Norfolk, and this is what we did with the North Carolina okra we bought. Paula Deen, Queen of Heart Attacks, is a pretty big deal in Savannah, and I went on her website to veganize a few of her tips on frying okra. They turned out prefect. I think even she would approve of these little beauties, even if they are probably the the healthiest fried food on the planet.

You may notice that our Red Beans & Rice recipe is bit different than Betty's. Although I'm sure hers is lovely, we decided to skip the pork rind, and to use white wine and liquid smoke to get a bit more flavor. Plus, ours only takes about 20 minutes to make, instead of 2 hours.

The Betty Crocker Project : The Vegan Pudding-palooza!

Butterscotch & Chocolate Breakfast, with a side of Love for one of our favorite Vegan Bloggers: QuarryGirl.

I learned something new about my marriage recently: one of Dan's favorite desserts is pudding, and I can make some pretty tasty vegan puddings! YAY! +10 Soul Mate points!*

We recently asked folks on Facebook and Twitter what flavor of vegan pudding they wanted a recipe for. The response was a little overwhelming! We not only had a lot of comments and tweets, but there were write-ins, and someone even wrote me a poem. Which was thoughtful. Everyone likes presents.

The thing was, the answers were all over the place! We had everything from Tapioca to Lavender Vanilla Bean (Which sounds pretty heavenly to me! I adore flower-flavored foods; They're my very very very favorite.) There were a few strong contenders, and few random ones (Bacon &Peanut Butter?) but they all (or almost all) sounded pretty fabulous... and my inability to deny the world of any flavor of vegan pudding lead us to the obvious: We needed a Pudding-palooza.

Our Pudding-palooza will be playing on 3 stages over the next few weeks, and hopefully will include your favorite flavor. This week, we're featuring the classic trio: Vanilla, Chocolate and Butterscotch! And the crowd goes wild!

OK, before you guys rush the stage... here's your first batch of vegan pudding! But don't wander too far. Coming up next: Tapioca, Coconut and Banana.