This is what an afternoon spent in the kitchen looks like..

I thought my oven died on me this morning! This would not be good for me. At all. As you may or may not have noticed, I enjoy my oven. I enjoy being in the kitchen. I enjoy creating things to feed to my loved ones. My husband came home during his lunch break and after some fiddling around, he was able to figure out the issue. He fixed my oven! Oh, great relief. I celebrated by spending the majority of my afternoon in the kitchen baking and cooking with the windows and back door open and the sun shining in. I baked a banana chocolate chip loaf (different from my normal one... I had no eggs), snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies. These were all new recipes for me, but the peanut butter cookies were my favourite. So soft and chewy and perfect. Mmmm. Then I made dinner - spinach risotto and baked beans with pineapple which I just served with some raw carrots and sugar snap peas.

I guess I made up for last night when we went out for dinner (Again! We didn't go out for months and now it feels like we're always going out.) to East Side Marios where I had the best dish I've ever had there - mushroom spaghettini. I am typically not a fan of that restaurant (Kyle and the kids love it), but the kids meals were only $2 yesterday, and I'm cheap. :P I'm sold on it now, though.. that meal was delicious. With the salad and bread? Mmm, I'd totally go again sometime.

Now onto the recipes! I'll also put up the recipe for the grasshopper pie that Tiernan and I made together the other night. Funny story: When I was a little kid my Mum would make Grasshopper Pie and I loved it. I once asked my parents why they called it Grasshopper Pie and my Dad told me it was because you used grasshoppers to make it. Being the terribly gullible child (okay, person) I was (am), I believed him. I felt so shameful that I was eating this pie made of grasshoppers and enjoying it. I felt awful for all the poor bugs who had to die so I could eat their minty bodies. Ha! Oh, yes. This is definitely a true story. I was very relieved when I learned the real truth!

The banana bread, peanut butter cookies and snickerdoodles are from the cookbook, The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes.

Grasshopper Pie

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 bag Oreo cookies, crushed

7oz jar marshmallow cream

1/4 cup milk

some green food colouring

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

After the cookies have been crushed, mix them in a small bowl with 1/4 cup of melted butter. Reserve half a cup of this for the top of the pie and spread the rest of it in the bottom of a 9x9 dish.

Mix milk, food colouring and peppermint extract. Add in the marshmallow cream, blend it well and set aside.

Whip cream until stiff. Fold into marshmallow mixture gently.

Spread the marshmallow mixture on top of the cookie crust, and then sprinkle the 1/2 cup of crumbles on top of that.

Put it in the fridge and chill overnight so the cream will set.

Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf

(which is tasty, but fell in the middle)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 mashed bananas

1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch pan.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the oil and brown sugar and blend well. Add the bananas and milk and combine. Add the dry ingredients slowly, and mix until just combined.

Spread batter in the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes until it's golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup margarine

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the margarine with 1 1/2 cups sugar. Add applesauce and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Mix the remaining sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. Form the batter into tablespoon sized balls, and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place on a baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until they have cracked and the edges are set.

Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup natural peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl cream the margarine with the sugar and brown sugar. Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix well. Add the peanut butter and mix on low with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spoon the batter by heaping tablespoon onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes until they are slightly browned and have spread.

Spinach & Feta Risotto

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 litre of vegetable broth

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine

1 tbsp dried dill

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 cups baby spinach

1 1/4 cups feta cheese, crumbled

In a medium saucepan, bring vegetable stock to a boil and then simmer.

In a large pot, cook the garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir it to coat the rice in oil. Add the wine and dried dill and cook, stirring, until it's absorbed. Add the warmed vegetable stock a cup or so at a time, stirring until it's absorbed. Keep adding the broth until it's done. When the last bit of broth is almost absorbed, add the spinach a little at a time until it's wilted. Add the feta and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine well.

Baked Beans and Pineapple

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can baked beans in tomato sauce

1 can crushed pineapple

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tsp mustard

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat the oil and cook the onions until soft. Add to a casserole dish along with the rest of the ingredients. Combine well. Cook for 1 hour, stirring halfway through.