Quick and Easy Tropical Sorbet

The story behind this homemade sorbet is fresh in my memory because:
a) it's short, and
b) it literally just happened twenty minutes ago.

My daughter was coming into the house, after playing outside for a while, and she banged her top lip on the metal door, giving it a little scrape and making it swell up. So, I told her I'd make her something cold to help the swelling go down. I thought I would whip up a smoothie real quick, but my blender was in the dishwasher getting hosed down. However, my food processor was clean and available! So, I swirled together a bunch of stuff that I found in my freezer and fridge and made a sorbet, not certain how it was going to turn out. But you know what? IT WAS DELICIOUS! I thought I'd hop onto the blog and share it with you guys before I forgot what I put in it - it's perfect for a cooling spring and summer pick-me-up. I put the leftover sorbet in popsicle molds. Can't wait to try those too!

This makes a lot, so halve the amounts if you don't want more sorbet than two to four people can eat in one sitting. Also, I'm just kind of memory-eyeballing the amounts here. I did not measure this. I just tossed stuff into the food processor and hoped for the best. It's just how I like to live my life.

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen peach slices
1 cup frozen nectarine slices
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
3 tablespoons agave or maple syrup, or more to taste
1/2 - 1 cup non-dairy milk, to taste

• Put everything except the milk into a large (I think mine is a 4-quart) food processor and start spinning on high. Gradually drizzle in the milk, just a few tablespoons at a time, to thin out the mixture to your desired consistency. 
• Serve it up and enjoy!

Red Lentil and Quinoa Slow-Cooker Chili

Heya! It's a been long time, sorry about that. I've been homeschooling my eight-year-old and it takes up a LOT of time. But I'm going to [try real hard to] get better about scheduling blogging time for myself so I can get back into the game. I also haven't been blogging much because I haven't really had the time to get into the kitchen and create new recipes. I've mostly just been cooking out of cookbooks and/or buying ready-made food, which is never as good as fresh, but sometimes your allergies are really awful and you're too tired to pan-fry some friggin' tofu or whatever. But the other day I had a little burst of energy and some ingredients on hand to make this chili from lentils and quinoa and, man it turned out great! So, I definitely wanted to share it with you. Give it a try - it's so easy, it makes a ton, and it's super healthy. Read on for details!

1 yellow onion, diced (save half to use as garnish, if you like)

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced with seeds removed
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained but uncooked
1 cup split red lentils, uncooked
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 28-ounce can crushed plum tomatoes
1 package of vegetarian "meat" crumbles (optional, but adds nice texture)
2-4 cups vegetable stock, depending on the consistency you prefer
3 tablespoons tomato paste
.5 to 1 tsp salt, to taste
.5 teaspoon cumin
.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf (optional but calms the farts, or so they say)
handful cilantro, chopped (optional, for garnish)
hot sauce (optional, for garnish)

• It really could not be simpler. Just toss all of the prepped ingredients into your slow cooker, cook on high for about 4 to 6 hours (or more, if needed). Give it a stir maybe once an hour or so, if you're home to do that. If not, don't sweat it.
• Ladle into serving bowls and top with onion, cilantro and hot sauce. I think some fresh avocado would be nice on this too, but I didn't have any. Boo.
• Enjoy!

Before I go, I want to share some photos with you of my most recent trip to our town's most popular (okay, only) vegan restaurant, Spiral Diner. It's been a while since I've visited, because it's kind of 'spensive, but it was every bit as good as it was when I started going there the first year they opened, which feels like about a million years ago. Check out this grub, y'all.

Nachos Supremo

Hot Potato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
It was basically a smushed baked potato with all the trimmings grilled into a sandwich, and it was amazing!!

S'ketti and Meatballs with Garlic Toast

I bought one of these super cute mugs too!
Is it just my imagination or is that tiny triangle a derivative of the TriForce?
(Only fellow nerds will know what I'm talking about.)