Bikram Yoga & Baked Vegetarian Samosas

I'm a total gym rat - going to the gym to get my daily dose of cardio is practically an addiction.  But lately I've also been really getting into Bikram yoga, which is 90 minutes of yoga practiced in a 105-degree F room.  Sounds fun right?  (Actually the heat is awesome in the winter time...not so much during the sweltering Baltimore summers, though)  Anywho, it's rather a nice break from the intense cardio workouts I'm used to at the gym, and my mind and body both feel awesome after the hot yoga sessions. 

The session I went to this morning felt especially good, and it sort of set me on a health kick for the rest of the day.  After the class, I had a tasty Moroccan-inspired spaghetti squash and chickpea salad and a baked sweet potato for lunch.  At the grocery in the afternoon, I was totally geeking out in the produce and natural foods section.  So when dinner time rolled around, I wanted to make a healthy complement to my mom's Burmese coconut curry noodle soup (sounds good, right?), and I was inspired to make some baked vegetarian samosas after seeing this recipe for chile pea puffs.

Vegan Cowboy Cookies

I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of oatmeal cookies.  I love the fact that they're actually filling and have some substance to them.  But until recently, I have never heard of cowboy cookies - oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut.  How the name came about, no one really knows, although I'm pretty sure cowboys have nothing to do with these cookies.

At any rate, these little suckers were a huge hit at my house.  I love that the addition of the shredded coconut - they give a nice texture to the chewy cookies.  And anything with pecans (and of course, dark chocolate) is fine by me any time.  Unfortunately, I was fresh out of pecans when I made these, so I had to sub in walnuts.  But I'll definitely be using pecans the next time (and there certainly will be a next time).

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili and Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits

Disclaimer: This will be the first of a string of entries that will soon be up.  Bear with me here - I've got a back-log of a whole month's worth of recipes from my baking binge, after all.

There's nothing I love more than a bowl of hearty soup or stew on a winter night.   But this year's winter here in Baltimore has been pretty weird.  It's January, but the temperature outside is still in the 40's and 50's degrees F.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm loving this mild weather; unfortunately, it's not exactly soup and stew weather.  But dammit I'm tired of waiting for the weather to come around.  And besides, I have a brother with a cold right now who could certainly do with a comforting bowl of soup (I know, I know, I am such a good sister.  I try.)

This chili isn't anything special - it's literally a throw-together-whatever-I-have-on-hand kind of soup.  I had a whole bunch of vegetables to use up so I just pretty much threw them together into a pot with some veggie broth, a can of black beans, spices, and some cilantro (trust me, the cilantro makes this dish).

I first sauteed an onion, a green bell pepper, and some garlic with a bit of olive oil in a large pot over medium-heat.  When the onion became translucent, I added in a few carrots and a couple of potatoes, diced, and some frozen peas (probably about a cup or so) that I had to use up.  Then add in about 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth, some spices (I used oregano and thyme), and some salt and pepper.