I love New Jersey!

My mom is a great cook. Last night she made a vegan stew. Tonight for dinner she made VeganYumYum’s Rustic Bread & Eggplant Lasagna.

This was the best meal I’ve had in a while. It was fantastic. The flavors blended perfectly; the tomatoes were sweet and delicious; the bread crumbs were crispy; the eggplant was superb. The whole family loved it. She made one completely vegan…

And one with cheese…

My dad, brother, and sister have all raved about this lasagna to me. Now I know what they’re talking about. These disappeared in about 20 minutes.

My mom requested that I make my massaged kale salad (kale, olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice) and I topped it with some thinly sliced onions. Everyone loved this too! I was really happy. They were kind of doubtful about the kale but now I’ve converted them to be kale lovers.

I had a very yummy homey breakfast today. It was huge!

  • 1/4 cup (a little more) quick cooking oats (to use them up)
  • 1/4 cup farina (suggested serving size is 3 tablespoons)
  • <1 cup water
  • <1 cup almond milk (sweetened)
  • cinnamon
  • orange extract
  • dash of salt
  • toppings: whole milk, honey, agave nectar

I’ve been really into simple big bowls of oats with minimal toppings. I love my breakfast grains. I got into the habit of simple bowls while driving across the country. Almost every morning I had this at Denny’s (minus the fruit; that was Bobby’s):

A big bowl of oats topped with brown sugar, milk, and sometimes a little bit of butter.

Today and yesterday for exercise Bobby, Julia, and I walked to Kunkel Park and played on the swings.

It’s about 3 miles roundtrip. Swinging is also a great ab workout. No wonder (many) kids stay fit so easily.

What did you do for fun when you were little? I loved climbing things and I was always scaring my parents. I (almost) never got hurt though.

23 Replies to “I love New Jersey!”

  1. I am so glad you posted the Vegan Yum Yum recipe! I just got a casserole pan and I was looking for the perfect recipe to break it in 🙂

  2. Aww I love NJ too! That lasagna (both versions!) looks amazing… I will try it soon! Also, Kunkel Park!! I have an internship in Princeton right now… like 10 mins from that park! haha small world. 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your time in NJ before embarking on the grand NYC!

  3. No wonder you love cook! those two bakery dishes really makes me hungry again (after dinner!!!)
    I am not a big fan of kale…but how come your kale looks so green? the kales I can find in our super market is really dark green that makes me a bit scared to use them in salad 😀

  4. I recently went on swings again and I hated it! I felt that feeling in my stomach going down like on rollercoasters. How did I swing so high as a kid?? It was awful for me as an adult!

    Same thing with rollerblades. I had no fear when I was little, now if I see a slight dip, not even a hill, I turn around for flat surface.

  5. gosh i love how your fam eats! so who is the vegan?

    yes the swingsets were a childhood fave, and teeter totter. we did all kinds of tricks on the swings, flipping and somersaulting. one year for christmas we got a pogo stick, which was totally awesome. and another year we got stilts!

  6. it seems that you’ve been feeding well by your mom (the best cooker ever for any child I think). Really happy for you, enjoy your time with them!

  7. Kale salads are my favorite! Food all looks so good. I used to swing a lot when I was little though hated going too high because then my stomach would drop. Though I did it anyways … go figure 😉

  8. New Jersey loves you! Yay Kunkel Park! And I will have to make that eggplant lasagna because I love eggplant. My brother hates it which is really sad since it’s so delicious.

  9. Maggie,
    You know I love your simple bowls of breakfast grains. They look perfect to me as does your mom’s lasagna. Aren’t moms the best? Although, you know I love your dad for his oatmeal recipe. 🙂

    When I was little, I loved riding my bike, swimming, and playing evening games with the neighborhood kids, especially German Spotlight and Capture the Flag.

  10. Wow that looks like a delicious Lasagna! When I was a kid we built forts and created new paths in the woods, climbed trees, road bikes a lot and played flashlight tag. Those were the days!

    You picked a great time for a trip to NJ – the NE has had such warm weather lately! But it makes me nervous that winter is going to start late and go right through March. Hope not!

  11. Look at you guys! so cute!
    I was a hyper active kid but skating was probably my favorite and playing on the bars…it’s what got my mom to put me in gymnastics.

  12. I also loved climbing things. We had a bunch of trees in our backyard in Michigan and I have fond memories of climbing them. I’m not the most coordinated person so it’s a miracle I never fell and broke something.

    Glad you are having a great time at your parents’!

  13. Hooray for Mom’s cooking! And you just reminded me that I haven’t been on a swing in ages!

    My daughter was the fearless one – jumping off a 15 foot diving board at age 5!

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