Larabar "Blizzards" & Tortilla Picante

This post is in honor of my brilliant husband.

I can't even tell you how smart and creative I think he is. (supportive, unselfish...etc.) First of all, I think he's a genius, when it comes to his job (and all things technological). I could never do what he does; my brain just does not work that way.

Then, besides that, he is an elementary teacher at heart, and I feel like I'm married to this little computer of ideas. And if I have an idea, I talk it over with him, and he perfects it. He learns how something works, and he can tell you all about it five years later. He always lets the kids go with him to do errands, even though it would be much simpler if he went on his own. He gathers the kids around him at night for a nightly devotion and prayer.

Those are just a few things I love about him. I know he's going to roll his eyes at all of this because he knows he's not perfect, and I'm not saying he's perfect.

He can be impossible at moments, let's be honest. :)

Then, besides all of that...he makes me healthier, too. I could so easily be a "junk-food" vegetarian because that's sort of what my natural palate leans toward...but besides the fact I choose to do better on my own, he encourages all of us to eat more vegetables, etc. He tells ME that I need to start preparing more raw food again because he really felt good when I was doing that. He stopped eating meat (around 7 years ago) as a (huge) gesture to me, but along the way, he has developed his own feelings about the subject.

I love that he is sensitive and compassionate about the same things I care about. We argued when we were engaged about whether or not we would take our future kids to McDonald's. Now, when I'm not even in the room, I sometimes catch him talking to the kids about why we don't eat animals. And I see him with Dash, talking gently about why it's important to be kind to the little snail or rolly-polly or whatever he is holding. All of that warms my heart tremendously. I realize how much I lucked out in the husband-picking department. He's about as perfect for me, as I imagine they come.

He is always concocting these great ideas for meals. The other day, when he was driving home, he told me he was thinking about blending icecream with Larabars. So this weekend, that is what we did with some vanilla Soy Delicious. Here is our version of a Concrete or Blizzard.
We made different flavors. First, Cherry Pie. Then Banana Bread flavor mixed with Chocolate Coconut. And finally, Apple Pie. The ingredients of a Larabar are dates, nuts, and then whatever extra flavor is added, like bananas or cocoa powder and coconut.
I pinched the Larabars into pieces for the food processor, then blended them a little before adding the icecream, then blending it some more.

Here is another dish that Ryan created...about 11 years ago.

I was working 3 jobs at the time, and when I came home late, he had supper ready for me.

He did that a lot.

He named this dish Tortilla Picante, and we still enjoy it often today. First, you cut corn tortillas into strips, and cook them with olive oil in a skillet. They will get crispy. Put them aside. In a large pan, add chopped avocados, mashed silken tofu, olives, garlic, salt and plenty of salsa. (We always used Picante Sauce back then before I stopped eating it, which is how it got its name, of course.) Then, add the corn tortilla chips back in, until they are chewy.