Get your party hat on – someone’s got a birthday today!
Last night the whole fam (minus my little brother who we channeled in from Denver) gathered to celebrate my Mom’s birthday – complete with candles and Pepperidge Farms birthday cake, natch.
Finn got a kick out of Grammy blowing out her candles! 
There were gifts, a plethora of Iowa college apparel,
uncle/nephew bonding time (seriously, don’t they look like two pals having a conversation?!)
and hangin’ out as a fam. 
Happy birthday to my fellow fashionista,
my theater partner,
my shopping buddy,
my partner in crime,
and, most importantly, my best friend. Love you MOM!
I didn’t have to say goodbye for too long, because this morning we bundled up and went on our daily walk in the freezing. cold. temps. Seriously – where’d this weather come from? I kinda like it.
I used the chilly morning as an excuse to make something warm & comforting for breakfast – Pumpkin Pancakes!
No Trader Joe’s here yet (the “coming soon” sign says Fall!) but luckily I still have a box of Pumpkin Pancake mix leftover from a previous trip.
You’re supposed to add butter, eggs, the whole 9 yards, to this mix, but I just add a 1/2 scoop of chia seeds and water, and cook like normal.
Drizzled with a little agave nectar – this was 5 star, people. 5 star!
While it’s not the most nutritious breakfast in the world, it’s certainly one of the most delish. Moist, sweet and full of autumn spice. Yum!
I’m taking a Raspberry Chobani Greek Yogurt to work for a mid-morning snack, since I know this won’t hold me over like my normal breakfasts do.
Hopefully that will tide me over ’til it’s time to break into this bad boy – a Kitchen Sink Salad!
In the mix:
- Mixed greens
- Spinach
- Celery
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Chopped peanuts
- Dried cranberries
You eat with your eyes first, and mine popped when this was assembled. I can’t wait to dig in! I’ve got some Raspberry Vinaigrette at work to dress it up.
Larabars are on sale at my grocery store this week, so I stocked up. This Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip is my absolute favorite of the new flavors LB’s got out now.
Nutritious and delicious!
In other news, voting opens today for Project Food Blog Challenge #2, for which I made Homemade Pasta & Pasta allo Scoglio!
In case you missed Friday evening’s post – your votes landed me the Reader’s Choice position for Challenge #1!!!! I still can’t believe it. Seriously!!!!!
At any rate, voting is open today – September 30th. All you have to do is click on this link and click on the heart. I would “heart” it if you’d vote, if you feel strongly, for dish I made for the challenge.
Oh, also – Ben and I both agreed that making homemade pasta, then cooking it, would make for an excellent date night. The couple that cooks together, stays together!
Time to get hopping – have a great Monday!
~~~~~
Do you prefer to cook alone in the kitchen, or do you like cooking with others?
For everyday moments I like cooking alone – it is like stress relief for me! But every now and then I do like cooking with others.
I like cooking with my husband, but I’m fine doing it by myself. It just depends. I don’t cook very much with others though… with my mom/sis that’s fine, but w/ friends tends to stress me out.
Hey!
Heard TJ’s is going to be open in November!!! YAY!
Happy birthday to your darling mother!
As for your question, I’m prefer cooking alone, but I like having people around when I cook. I’ve tried cooking with people, but I tend to take over at some point and finish the project on my own. I don’t know why, but I’m just like that.
I actually prefer to cook alone since I can tend to get a bit….stressed. It’s best if I’m left to my own devices!
Happy birthday to your Mom! That rhinestone denim photo is officially the most out of control thing I have seen in weeks! Oh my god!
Also, will be voting for you right…….now!
I prefer to cook alone, because that way I can keep track of everything that is going on. But I do like to have my fiance cook with me. But it’s more like me telling him what to do next. But he is getting better and better, and it makes it a lot more fun when there are two people cooking.
I have no choice- I have to cook alone! My bf doesn’t cook at all. That pic of you and your mom in the denim is amazing!
I love doing anything new together as a couple. Always makes for great bonding. Happy bday to your mom!
Where did you find the PB chocolate larabar?? I have been scouring DSM trying to find them!
I love having the time to cook with my husband…although at this stage of our lives, it doesn’t happen enough!
I love your celebration of your mom. I can honestly say my mom is one of my best friends too. And I pray that my two daughters will say the same when they are grown <3
Does a glass of wine count as cooking with others? Ha! I usually prefer to cook with my husband and a glass of wine. I think it can be both difficult and eye opening cooking with someone new.
I love cooking with my boyfriend. We both have a love of good food, and love to cook. It’s a perfect activity for us! An evening in the kitchen, chopping up veggies and creating sauces for stir fry is a perfect evening in our book. A lazy rainy day baking bread or cookies is much enjoyed as well. What a wonderful way to spend time together! Happy Cooking!
OH MY GOSH. Those pancakes look ABsolutely amazing!! I am drooling right now.
I don’t mind cooking with my son (gotta get him started early and all!) or my younger sister, but anyone else tends to just get in my way or stresses me out!
And good luck with Challenge #2!!!
Love the blog! I tried visiting the challenge site but an annoying advertisement pops up on your page and then your post goes away…know how to fix this?? Good luck with the challenge!
Ugh – I know – sometimes when Foodbuzz gets too much traffic it gets a little wonky! I think you should still be able to click on the heart, even after the post disappears and is replaced by a weird ad?!
If not, hopefully they can get things smoothed over so that it starts working later today.
Thanks for your vote!!!!!!
I wish I could get my boyfriend to cook with me more! We make breakfasts pretty often and have had a simple MYO pizza on the agenda for ages, but we always end up going out!!
happy birthday to your mum!
Those pancakes look delish! I’ll definitely be making them soon. I just had a delicious breakfast as well: an oatmeal waffle (recipe compliments of the non dairy queen) and topped it with peanut butter, banana and honey. Yum!
Ok – keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Two things that freaked me out when I read this. One, I clearly remember reading about your mom’s b-day last year and two, OMG Finn is getting so BIG it’s amazing! How fast does time go by, seriously?!
Glad it was such a wonderful celebration! Happy Birthday to your mom
voted!
for the TJ’s pancake mix – you just add chia seeds and water? nothing else? i love that mix – i should try that!
I love your Pepperidge Farms cake tradition — family traditions are so fun!
I LOVE pumpkin anything — so I’m thinking I better get some ‘cake mix as I’m still pretty lazy about cooking from scratch… I much prefer my HUSBAND to cook
Is that mix better than homemade pumpkin panckes do you think? I’ve always been tempted to buy. But I don’t know if I might as well just add pumpkin and spices to my own mix.
Cooking with others is fun, but I also love to cook alone because I can do things at my own pace. And I also like to sing to myself lol.
You and your mom are way too cute. I like to cook alone because it’s my time to unwind after a long day. It’s definitely my stress reliever!
my husband and i almost always cook together. it’s one of our favorite ways to spend time together!
Ooh, this food is fab. It’s right up my street!
Er, yeah so my blog is NOT The Habit of Marketing! I have no idea how that got in there! Duh.
I like cooking on my own, but sometimes, it can be so much fun to cook with somebody.
)
I have to make my bf cook more with me
what hyvee did you find the laras at?
They are KILLING me with the wait for T.J.’s to open! Could they go any slower! Agg!
I prefer cooking alone.. it’s my stress reliever!
ok so i missed the part of why you would buy your Mother a cake and not make something delish??? Must be her favorite, cause they way u love to bake/cook, i can’t imagine u didn’t do something homemade.
Just askin?
It’s a family tradition – see the bottom of this post: http://iowagirleats.com/2009/10/07/happy-birthday-to/
I’m getting a TJ’s, too!! Wahoo for us!
Your kitchen sink salads always look ballin’ and I totally loved the Choc. PB LARA bar too…except my favorite new flavor = cookie dough 
I like cooking alone and w/ others – it depends on my mood! My favorite person to cook with, though, is my dad 
Every time I see your mom’s kitchen I have the urge to be there!
Happy Birthday to her!
Cherish every moment with her, I have lost mine and I miss her so much.
Awww! Happy birthday to your mommy!!!! It looks like you guys had a great time.
I love all the “what you are eating that day” stuff. I love the lemon larabars. Yum! And your kitchen sink salad looks delicious. And oh my! The pumpkin pancakes! I never would have thought to use agave nectar instead of syrup. That stuff is so yummy!
I voted for you already. I actually like to cook on my own for normal stuff but I do enjoy it when The Hubble steps into the kitchen for me. But he always seems to think he knows more than I do and tries to change things or takes pictures and I don’t like that. Haha! Maybe we are doomed….