Eden in the Kitchen

Blog tour

2009-02-01T15:58:00.004-05:00

Well hello there friends. What can I say? I know it's been a long, long, long time since I've shown my face in blog land. Quite honestly, I needed a break from blogging; I needed to take some time, breathe, live my life, and feel free of the compulsion to keep in touch with any social circles, whether web-based or "real" life. But in my absence I have missed updating this blog and keeping in touch with all of my friends out here. Recently I've realized that I was ready to come back, and I've just been trying to imagine how.

Participating in a blog tour for Nava Atlas's new book seemed like the perfect way to enter back into blog land. Vegan Soups And Hearty Stews For All Seasons is not a new book, but rather the fourth edition of her classic Vegetarian Soups For All Seasons. This new edition, released January 27, is a veganized version which features eight pages of color photographs of her lovely dishes.

Those of us participating in the blog tour were asked to choose one recipe from the new edition and post about it on or around the book's release date. Oops, I'm a little bit late! Nevertheless, I wanted to participate because I am a great fan of the third edition of Nava's book, which is filled with recipes for beautiful soups and stews that are packed with flavor and healthfulness, while being simple enough for busy vegans!

The recipe I chose was the Provencal Bean Pot--a white bean based stew that is hearty and satisfying, combining many levels of flavor, from the richness and depth of dry red wine to the delicate freshness of minced parsley. It is so well balanced and seasoned, and makes a wonderful meal on a cool day like today. At Nava's suggestion I enjoyed this soup with fresh, crusty bread.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
4 celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 cups cooked navy beans (about 1 2/3 cups dried), or 2 16-ounce cans, drained and rinsed
1 16-ounce can salt-free diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or more to taste (or use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, to taste)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute over medium heat until both are golden.

Add the water, carrots, celery, and wine. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. If needed, add a small amount of water, but the consistency should be neither too thick nor too soupy.

Stir in half of the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Sprinkle the remaining parsley atop each serving.

And there you have it. I'll be back again soon but until then, bon appetit!

Fakin' it

2008-08-17T13:56:00.008-04:00

Every good, health-conscious vegan knows that highly processed meat and dairy substitutes are NOT a requisite part of a healthy, balanced diet. That being said, they certainly can be fun every now and again--so while we should be working to center our diets around whole, unprocessed grains, vegetables, and legumes, I think it's okay to enjoy these fun foods every now and again.

Like many of you, I received a shipment of vegan cheese samples from Galaxy Foods a while back. I never much shared on this blog how I used those products, so here's a sampling.

I used the Pepper Jack Rice Vegan cheese slices to make a small array of simple Southwest-style foods, namely...

Cheese and mushroom quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, and

Nachos on baked blue corn tortilla chips with salsa. Both were ready in just a few minutes and made satisfying and tasty small meals. I was surprised and impressed by the melt that I was able to achieve with these rice cheese slices--a rare quality among vegan cheese products.

With the white cheddar block cheese I went a healthier route and made salads... most notably this delicious salad with roasted apple-shallot vinaigrette. Cheese and apples make a surprisingly complimentary pairing, and this "sharp cheddar" style vegan cheese brought back remembrances of that. All in all, I liked the Galaxy Foods products that I sampled. I was more impressed with the individually sliced cheeses than I was the block cheeses. I may purchase these products from time to time in the future, but I really can live without them. I'm sure all of us as vegans have heard people tell us over and over again that they could never give up cheese. But really, it's pretty amazing how you get used to not eating it, and you really don't miss it or crave it ever. You just have to learn new habits--and it's easier than most people realize!

But I digress. I picked up these vegan buffalo wings made by Health Is Wealth Foods one day just to give them a try. I always loved the flavor of buffalo wings. But you know what they say--Wings are for flying, not frying... I made a dipping sauce by mixing some vegan ranch dressing (from The Grit Cookbook) with some Louisiana hot sauce. These were actually very, very tasty--a good treat every now and then.

I used some vegan sausage patties from Trader Joe's to make this breakfast sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin with strawberry preserves. Another one that's good for a treat once in a while.

This one's an all-time favorite weekend brunch--tofu scramble. I threw in some mushrooms, red peppers, and zucchini, and added some fresh salsa at the end. Tofu scramble is hardly an egg substitute--it is delicious and unique in its own right. And it's a great way to take in some vegetables early in the day.

I made a nice trip to the farmer's market yesterday and picked up plenty of veggies to do some cooking this week. I recently got a new cookbook and I am excited to delve into it--and to share with you what I come up with! So I will be back around soon. Have a great week!

A few favorites

2008-08-05T07:37:00.004-04:00

Not much new in the world of my kitchen recently... though I have made a few of my favorite foods to enjoy.

First and best of all, I made Fantastic French Toast from Vive Le Vegan! Cooking a fun breakfast on the weekends used to be one of my favorite things to do... This was fabulous--I made it with slices of whole wheat sourdough bread, and I made a strawberry-maple topping. A breakfast like this puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Another long-time favorite is Quinoa Spring Salad, also from Vive! It's so easy to make and so refreshing and so healthy, I can't understand why I have not been making it for myself all summer. A simple dressing of fresh lemon juice and olive oil is all you need to allow all of the wonderful flavors to come through. This contains green peas, roasted red peppers, diced cucumbers, scallions, cilantro, and toasted pine nuts.

I had a fun sandwich idea one evening after work--slice up some portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and red bell pepper and sear them in a hot pan with olive oil and a glaze of balsamic vinegar. Then make a batch of Lemony Cashew-Basil Pesto (Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan) and spread a nice layer of that on a slice of bread. Heap the seared veggies on top, and you have a fabulous dinner.

Here's something I've been meaning to blog for a while. Like many of you, I received a sample of Vegan Pro Bars in the mail a while ago. I received five flavors--cherry pretzel, maple pecan, kettle corn, cocoa pistachio, and sesame goji. I was anxious to try them and to share my thoughts on my blog... but somehow it fell by the wayside. But better late than never, eh?

This is the kettle corn bar, though I think my favorite was the cocoa pistachio flavor. In any case, I was quite impressed with this product. You can probably tell from the picture that it is made from whole, recognizable ingredients such as dried fruits, almonds, and sesame seeds. It is healthy and filling, providing plenty of protein and healthy fat. I found it to be an excellent breakfast, and I typically try very hard to make breakfast pack a powerful nutritional punch to start the day. The down side? They are quite expensive, to the point of being cost prohibitive. I don't know that I could ever fit Pro Bars into my food budget... Still, I'm glad to have been able to try them and be impressed with the fact that there actually are healthy, whole food snack options available out there.

Peace!

Still here...

2008-07-26T13:12:00.005-04:00

I'm still here, even though I have sorely neglected to blog recently. The truth is, my life over the past couple of months has been a series of ups and downs--and the overall effect has been to wear me out. It's funny how you can be on cruise control for a while, day in and day out, and then one day you your life just sideswipes you at 100 miles per hour. Has this ever happened to you? I'm sure it has... It happens to all of us once in a while, right?

I've done very little experimental cooking recently. I've been sticking to the basics, for the most part--easy, tried and true recipes that satisfy and require little effort. I got burned out for a while. But now I'm starting to miss cooking the way I used to...

I made this stir-fry weeks and weeks ago, but it was so good that it still deserves a spot on this blog. I made it for a good friend of mine who was willing to try tofu for the first time. In hopes to not turn him off by the texture of the tofu, I diced it extra small and used the twice-cooked method: Stir-fry it once in a little bit of very hot oil, add some tamari, remove the tofu from the pan and place on paper towels, clean the pan, add more oil and heat again until very hot, and then stir-fry the cooled tofu again. It creates a crispy outer coating that I have found even tofu-averse people can appreciate. The rest of the veggies we cooked in a teriyaki sauce that Melody created for her fabulous teriyaki tempeh recipe that I tested for her way, way back in the day. And we served it over udon noodles. We enjoyed this meal immensely, and I was quite pleased to have been able to offer my friend a pleasing first experience with tofu.

Talk about an easy meal... This is a Southwest-style Sunshine Burger topped with a slice of pepperjack flavor Rice Vegan cheese and avocado slices on half a whole wheat bun. Whereas I'm not normally a big fan of frozen veggie burgers, these are actually quite good. They have a kick to them.

It's never the wrong time of year for gingerbread... so that's how I justified making these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting from VCTOTW. I took them to work where they were well received, as always. Personally, I thought they were fabulous with chunks of crystallized ginger hidden like little gems inside the cake.

But... these are my last cupcakes for a while. I remember a time when I was a health foodie, and I loved being that way. Once you slip out of that habit it can be difficult to get back into it, but I'm making an effort. Especially with a mini busy season coming up at work, I want to be in the routine of doing what is best for myself and feeling great and energetic.

In other news, I got a bike, and I am playing in a softball league, and I have been running again, and I have been going to Jazzercise classes... so I'm staying pretty active. And next weekend I'm going backpacking with one of my good friends--which is super exciting.

I hope you all have been enjoying your summer. As for me, I'm ready for fall again--but I'm making the most of this awful heat. I'll be around again soon. :) Take care.

Cupcake mischief

2008-06-09T20:20:00.005-04:00

Do you have those friends who always manage to entice you to get into things--things you wouldn't have done on your own? Such as super-fancy, decadent cupcakes? Well, I have friends like that. In particular, I have two friends whose presence seems to be the key to the spontaneous generation of cupcakes. Let me show you what I mean...

S'mores Cupcakes, from VCTOTW, of course. Towers of vegan buttercream frosting drizzled with ganache and topped with graham crackers? Mmm...

Putting on the finishing touches...

Some of them we chose to top with strawberries instead, just to mix it up a bit.

And on yet another occasion:

Tiramisu Cupcakes! For someone who loves coffee and cupcakes (and that would be all three of us), who can imagine a more pleasing creation?

Abby takes her work very seriously--See how meticulously she dusts the cupcake liners?

And, well, what would we have done without Jessica's masterful bean arrangements?

Everybody needs friends like this, don't you think?

So for future reference... whenever you see cupcakes on this blog that have truly gone above and beyond, you now know who is probably behind the madness.

Cheers!

Eat, Drink, And Be Vegan!

2008-05-25T21:31:00.004-04:00

I have not blogged very much about this cookbook since I got it for Christmas, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been wearing it out. I have quite a backlog of ED&BV adventures to share. Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan! has been my favorite cookbook for some time, but her latest is on the verge of surpassing it!

This Sweet & Sour Chipotle Tempeh with Sweet Potatoes I made a while back, but I certainly have not forgotten how delicious it was. Sweet and tangy, it went excellently over steamed quinoa sprinkled with cashews. An added perk: My entire apartment smelled divine as it baked! I ate this for lunch every day for a week, and I think it only tasted better and better each time.

Roasted Garlic Artichoke Spread with Fresh Oregano: I made this for a little dinner party I had one evening. Bold, rich flavors of artichoke hearts and roasted garlic with the gentle seasoning imparted by the fresh oregano created an exciting, complex spread that was excellent served on simple rye crackers. This disappeared quickly, receiving many positive comments along the way!

I had some friends over for dinner one night and made this Blackened Tofu, after poring over many tofu recipes to decide how best to introduce one of my tofu-wary friends. I was hoping for something that would impart a lot of flavor, not have an extraordinarily spongy texture, and be simple enough that she would feel comfortable trying it herself after watching me cook it. This recipe, happily, did all of those things--and the spicy coating was delicious to boot. We made a simple vegetable sautée to serve with it. The leftovers I mashed up with a dab of Nayonaise and some chopped celery for a tasty sandwich spread. I've definitely dog-eared this recipe to use over and over again.

Veggie Sizzle Burritos. Another simple, delicious meal. I opted to forgo the vegan cheese on this one because I wanted to taste clearly the zucchini and portobello filling, which was spiced nicely with chili powder, paprika, and tamari. Baking them made the whole spelt tortillas nice and crispy. This is another keeper for sure.

The Lemony Cashew-Basil Pesto was a refreshing new take on the idea of pesto. Raw cashews add a rich, creamy taste that other nuts just couldn't achieve... The pesto came out quite thick, almost like a paste, so tossing it in the pasta with a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta cooking water helped to create a saucier texture. Because the nuts were raw, this pesto came together a lot faster than other recipes do. This may be my new favorite pesto recipe--and with summer in full swing, I foresee making it quite frequently!

I took these Lemon Poppy Seed Crackle Cookies to work one day and left them anonymously in the break room. It didn't take long, however, for word to circulate that I had brought them--people have learned to recognize the "different" types of baked goods that I bring in, I suppose! Our office manager came up to me and told me that the cookies were "pretty much perfect." Of course, I really can't take all the credit for that. This recipe really is an exceptional take on the classic combination of poppy seed and lemon. The cookies came out moist and chewy, and the poppy seeds impart an earthy layer of flavor that balances so nicely with the fresh, light, tangy lemon flavor. Many, many compliments to Dreena on this recipe!!

Finally, these Cocoa Banana Muffins that I made in an attempt to make use of some overripe bananas that I had lying around. I have to admit that, for some reason, they came out a little dry... though I greatly enjoyed them for breakfast with a glass of almond milk. Chocolate and banana is truly a great combination!

There are still many, many recipes in ED&BV that have caught my eye that I have yet to make, but I would say that I have gotten off to a pretty good start at breaking in this fabulous cookbook!

Sorry.

2008-05-22T08:15:00.002-04:00

I've not been in the mood to blog lately. I guess you could say I've been in a bit of a slump. Anyway... I didn't mean to disappear from this blog without a trace. So I wanted to drop a quick note to say that I'll be back soon--just as soon as I can pull it together. Thanks for understanding.

California Dreamin'

2008-04-26T11:48:00.010-04:00

[UPDATE: Some of you commented that you had some trouble seeing the photos, so I reloaded all of them. Please let me know if you can see them now...]

Wow--my trip to San Francisco has absolutely flown by. My friend Kelly and I fly home later today, and then Monday it's back to work. And every minute that we've been here has been just amazing. It's hard to think about going back to daily life after a week like this...

I wanted to do some blogging while I was out here but of course, I've been playing so hard that I've either been too busy or too exhausted most of the time. But I've thought a lot about blogging and I've taken lots of pictures to share. So sit back and get ready for a long post!

Our friend Kevin, whom we came out to visit, actually lives not in San Francisco but in the city of San Mateo, just to the south (though he's moving back to Atlanta in just a little over a month). So we spent a few days actually in the city of San Francisco, and the rest of the time we traveled around the area seeing other places, and hanging out in San Mateo a fair bit too. The first day after Kelly and I got here, last Friday, we went into San Francisco and walked around Fisherman's Wharf, down by the bay.

The bay was a spectacular sight, as was the view of the city behind it. We spent several hours just walking around the area, taking it all in.

And we took a break for Irish coffee (mine without cream, of course).

Many of you suggested that I try to make it to Millennium while I was here. Kelly and Kevin were open to the idea, so we headed there for dinner last Friday night.

The outside décor was nothing too fancy...

And the inside was low-key as well... and charming at the same time. All of us commented on these chandeliers, which somehow dressed up the room even in their simplicity.

We started off with some cocktails...

And we shared an appetizer, the Red Quinoa Timbale.

Each of us ordered a different entrée, and we all intended on trying each other's. It turned out that we all liked everything so much that we pretty much ended up sharing all three plates. Kevin ordered the Grilled Achiote Spiced Smoked Tempeh, which was sweet and spicy, with the flair of Latino cuisine.

Kelly's plate was the Erbette Chard Roulade, a French-inspired plate with toasted baguette slices filled with a tofu ricotta and cashew-chard "Florentine," on a bed of puy lentils.

I chose the Seared Edamame and Shiitake Cakes. The flavor of the fresh veggies on top played nicely off of the richness of the coconut-lime base.

Though we were quite satisfied after our meal, we still managed to share a dessert--the Chocolate Almond Midnight, a rich chocolate mousse cake with an almond cashew crust. This was a nice, sweet finish to our visit to Millennium. The waiter let me keep a menu, a great souvenir of the evening.

On Saturday we went hiking through Muir Woods... so no exciting food stories. But I did get to see some amazing redwood trees.

No photo, of course, can do justice to these spectacular trees, rugged survivors through hundreds of thousands of years of the history of the earth.

There were all sorts of wildflowers to be seen. These California poppies were among the most vibrant flowers I've ever encountered.

On Sunday we took it easy. We went down to the Stanford University campus and lay around in the sun for awhile. And we ate brunch at a cafe called Hobee's.

I had the Seven Veggie Medley, a vibrant dish of fresh veggies and tofu in a mildly spicy curry sauce.

On Monday evening we went down to the beach at Half Moon Bay, a straight shot west from San Mateo. I just love the ocean, and I had never seen the Pacific before.

Needless to say, it was fantastic.

The shore was wreathed by steep, rugged cliffs which were carpeted with these amazing, anemone-like flowers, that came in varying colors from pale yellow to deep fuchsia.

The sand along the shore was disturbed more by the footprints of seabirds than of people.

Tuesday we went up to Sonoma County... wine country. It was a cool, rainy day, not terribly conducive to taking photos.

Still, I did manage to get a few at each of the vineyards where we stopped. In particular, we took a walk through the viticulture garden at one of the vineyards, where I saw young wine grapes just beginning to bud on the vine. I believe this is a Merlot vine, but I can't remember for certain.

Wednesday while Kevin was at work, Kelly and I went on a short drive down Highway 1 along the coast. We started at Half Moon Bay and drove about an hour south to Santa Cruz... stopping often to soak up the incredible views.

We stopped for lunch in Santa Cruz, where we found this incredible falafel restaurant tucked away down one of the side roads.

I loved the message on this sign on the wall above the trash can. So, so true...

I got a sampler plate. The baba ganoush had yogurt in it, but the girl at the restaurant was happy to sub some dolmas for the non-vegan baba. The food was fabulous.

Thursday, Kelly and I went back to wine country. We both really love wine, and Kevin had some coupons for some free tastings, which he was happy to give us. One of the tastings was at an organic vineyard, and the first biodynamic winery in California. That was pretty interesting... though I would love to read more about the process of wine-making and its environmental impact. I have to admit that I'm not too knowledgeable on the topic.

At least as exciting as tasting the wine, though, was taking in the views of the vineyards throughout the valleys.

Yesterday was our last day to get out and see the city, so we headed back into San Francisco...

Though not before having lunch at Cafe Soulstice, a raw vegan restaurant right here in San Mateo.

In keeping with our custom, we shared several different items, starting with these nori rolls filled with fresh veggies and a "salmon" pâté.

We also shared the Nachos Rancheros...

And this fabulous sampler platter, which featured among other things some sunflower falafels, walnut hummus, and another taste of the pâté.

In the city we did what any visitor to San Francisco has to do at some point--we went for a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was pretty neat to see this landmark structure from this perspective.

But what was even more striking, to me, was the view of the bay and of the city.

Walking put us in the mood for ice cream, so we stopped in at Maggie Mudd, another spot that many of you recommended.

I was blown away by the extensive menu of dairy-free ice cream choices, and I had a difficult time choosing just one.

In the end, though, I settled on the Tarmack, a soy-based chocolate ice cream studded with peanut butter swirls and cookie chunks. Kelly chose a coconut milk-based flavor, the Dubliner, which I happily sampled.

And in just a couple of hours, I will be on the way back home. It's kind of sad to leave... but I've had so much fun here that I know I will be back out to the west coast again as soon as I have the opportunity. Thanks for sticking with me through this long, long post. I'll be back to blogging as usual in a few days... and another installment of my Atlanta Vegan Living series is coming soon. Cheers!

Couscous cake, and an update

2008-04-16T11:09:00.002-04:00

I made this a while back, and am finally getting around to blogging about it.

Vegan Planet's Pumpkin-Rum Couscous Cake--a ridiculously easy, no-bake recipe that is really less like a cake and more like a pudding. I used whole wheat couscous to lessen the guilt factor. It made a nice breakfast food alongside some almond milk.

Speaking of couscous cake, check out Robin Robertson's blog for a fun couscous cake challenge!

I am quite happy to say that tax season is over--AND I leave TOMORROW for my vacation to SAN FRANCISCO!!! I'll be gone for a little over a week. I'm planning on doing a bit of blogging while I'm there, so my next post will probably be from the west coast.

See you soon!

Not a love affair

2008-04-12T21:59:00.005-04:00

In recent months I have heard so much about this newly acclaimed superfood--açai (pronounced "ah-sigh-ee"), a dark purple berry that is known to be full of goodness like antioxidants, fatty acids, and fiber. Wanting to jump on the açai train just to see what this was all about, I picked up a package of Sambazon frozen açai pulp. What is my first thought to do with frozen fruit? Put it in a smoothie, of course!

For this smoothie, I used 2 packets of the açai pulp, a banana, vanilla soy milk, a spoonful of almond butter, just a dab of agave nectar, and a dash of cinnamon. I blended it up in my Magic Bullet, snapped a picture, and tasted it... and was disappointed. I found the açai to have a dull, flat flavor. It was incredibly bland. Not to mention that it puréed into such a thin, smooth liquid with no real texture--not the way I enjoy my smoothies.

I was determined to like this stuff. After taking a couple of sips of the smoothie, I began to wonder how I could save it. And then into my mind popped one of you bloggers--I know what VeggieGirl would do! She would put carob in it!

So I added about a tablespoon of carob powder, blended it up again, and took another taste. The carob really did the trick. I think it deepened the flavor quite a bit, adding a more complex tone and cutting through the blandness. I still didn't love it--but even if it wasn't love at first taste, açai and I will probably give things another try.

Living the vegan life in Atlanta

2008-04-08T21:45:00.004-04:00

When I tell people that I am a vegan, the question always comes around: "Where do you like to eat/shop/hang out in town?" Believe it or not, Atlanta actually has quite a few vegan-friendly offerings--you just have to know where to go. That's why I have decided to do a series of posts related to vegan living in my new home city. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with a variety of places to showcase, since being vegan is more than just a dietary choice--it really becomes a lifestyle.

To kick-start my series, I thought I would begin with one of the most unique spots this city has to offer--and perhaps my favorite of all.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe, as their online store has been around a little while. I love walking into this little shop that sells all things vegan, from food products to cosmetics to cookbooks to clothing, and peruse the shelves without ever having to read a list of ingredients. Not to mention the owners, Ken and Leigh, are friendly and cool to chat with.

(Note: The above photos of the store belong to Leigh and I've used them with her permission!)

I asked Ken and Leigh a few questions about their vegan journey. Here's what they had to say:

1. How long have you guys been vegan?

Leigh: I went vegetarian in 1992, and attempted veganism once or twice after that. Finally after I met Ken (who was already vegan when we met), I stopped being lazy about it and went completely vegan. That was in 2001.

Ken: I went vegan in August 1997. I had been a vegetarian for about 3 years and always knew that I would go vegan. It was just a matter of time and the ability to give up cheese. Back then there weren't good cheese alternatives as there are today. Most were very chewy and did not melt at all. What finally moved me towards veganism was a cheese overload in NYC while on tour with my old band. I ate so much cheese pizza that I throw in the towel and became vegan from that point forward.

2. Tell me the story of what inspired you to go vegan.

Leigh: I went vegetarian when I was in high school, for animal rights reasons. I had an older friend who was vegetarian who saw me eating pepperoni once and said, "Do you know what that is?" And I gave the typical omni answer, "I don't want to know!". But his words stuck with me, and I couldn't get past what the meat I ate actually was. it was a slow process, but I eventually gave up all meat. It took me a while to learn that every time I consumed cow's milk, I was directly supporting the veal industry. Once that clicked, it was a no-brainer. And eggs...geez. A few disturbing images of factory farmed chickens made egg elimination easy.

Ken: Aside from my silly cheese overload story, my main reason for going vegan is animal rights. My main inspiration for going vegan was learning about the horrid testing done on animals. I also believe animals are not here for us to eat or to be exploited.

3. How long has Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe been around? What inspired you to open the store?

Ken: Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe started as an online store in March 2005. We eventually opened the retail store in June 2007 because we wanted to help the Atlanta Vegan community and also expand our business. When we were just an online business, we had many local customers ask about when we would open a store. So, we thought it would be a good idea. We love having the retail store. We've also gotten to meet some of our online customers; some who were passing through Atlanta and wanting to stop in.

Leigh: The inspiration basically came from wanting to do something that was important to us. Running a 100% vegan store meant that we could serve the vegan community, as well as better support companies that offer vegan products. It's also our attempt at making the concept of veganism more mainstream, or at least less foreign to people.

4. Favorite foods?

Leigh: Hmm. I love food, so it's hard to choose! I'm a southern girl, so I like a lot of southern food. Breakfast foods like grits, biscuits, tofu scramble, pancakes, etc. I also eat a ton of tomato sandwiches. That's my comfort food. I like stir frys, with various veggies like kale, zucchini, onions, carrots, and nuts. I really enjoy baking, so I eat way too many homemade cookies, cupcakes, pies and muffins.

Ken: I love breakfast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner! However, being Italian, I love pasta dishes: especially lasagna!
I'm also a big smoothie nut. I enjoy a smoothie almost every morning.

5. Favorite vegan retail products?

Leigh: Oh, wow. Pretty much everything we carry I love for one reason or another. I have fun seeking out new things to carry in the store. We are excited to be getting in the latest creation from Chicago Soydairy next week: Teese. It's this amazing vegan mozzarella that tastes authentic, and melts very well.
I also enjoy finding vegans who make cool things that we can offer, like the Recycled Lunch Kits from Becky Striepe of Glue & Glitter. She's a local (Atlanta) vegan who's super-talented. Other cool stuff we have made by vegans are cute bags by Sugar Blossom Boutique, awesome Pottery by Vegan Dish, and cute mini books by Books By Bexx.

Ken: Like leigh. I dig all the products in our store, however I do have some favorites such as the Vega Meal Replacement (their powder is great in smoothies), Dulce Vegan sweets (Idalys and Howell rock!), Temptation Ice Cream mix (awesome with an ice cream maker), Stonewall's Jerquee and Pure Bars.

6. Favorite cookbook?

Leigh: I have much love for my cookbook collection! The titles I'm using most often lately are Vive le Vegan, Yellow Rose Recipes, and the mighty Veganomicon.

7. Favorite veg-friendly spot in the ATL?

Leigh: I think Soul Vegetarian II is still the best dinner around. The country fried steak, BBQ cauliflower, collards and mac & cheese... How can you go wrong? We also love Harmony Vegetarian, Chinese Buddha, and the vegan options at Village Pizza.

Ken: I agree with Leigh. Soul V has been around for such a long time and they rarely disappoint! I really like their collards and country fried steak.

8. Do you have any news about the store, etc. that you'd like to share?

Leigh: Well, we are excited to be sponsoring and exhibiting at the Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC this August for the very first time. We are really looking forward to the conference. Anyone that is able to make it must come to our table and say hi!
http://www.arconference.org

Ken: We are excited about some new t-shirt designs we have available. We asked some of our vegan designer friends to come up with some cool designs and they did! We also printed our first Cosmo's shopping bag that is made from recycled cotton and soda bottles.

9. Feel free to add anything else of interest that I may have forgotten...

Leigh: Thank you for the interview! It's really great how the vegan community comes together in so many ways, such as vegan blogs like these. It's exciting, really. And thank you to everyone who has supported Cosmo's over the years, too. We love what we do, offering vegan goodies to the masses. :)

Ken: Thank you Laura!

There you have it! So, if you're ever in Atlanta, don't miss the chance to stop by and do some shopping, and meet a couple of awesome local vegans! Oh yes, and be sure to check out Leigh's blog too.

Cheers!

Vegan Potluck!

2008-04-06T21:57:00.019-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, there was a vegan potluck picnic today for all the Atlanta vegan-folk--and it was pretty awesome.

All the food was incredible. Vegans really know how to cook, no?

This was my plate. My first plate, that is. I wish I could tell you what everything on here was, but I just remember how good it was. The thing in the middle, though--that's what I made.

It was a pretty simple recipe from Quick-Fix Vegetarian, the Black Bean and Rice Salad with Red Peppers and Corn. The name says it all--that's exactly what was in it, along with a chili-lime vinaigrette. It was pretty tasty...

This was my second plate. There were too many desserts there to try just one. So I tried this strawberry cream cheese pie made by Leigh of Raspberry Swirl, and this super-colorful pink lemonade cupcake, which also happened to be very photogenic (and the lemony frosting was to die for)!

I also got to meet Lori of Pleasantly Plump Vegan (who made a crazy good mac and cheeze) and Becky of Apron Strings (who brought some tasty tempeh nuggets with a tahini-miso dipping sauce). The other bloggers there were easy to spot--they were the ones with cameras sitting beside their plates! Hee hee. I got to meet some other really neat people, too. It's so nice to be around like-minded people when you can. Makes life a little nicer.

So... there was so much good food there that I ended up bringing a plate home.

Who wanted to miss out on the root beer cupcakes? The Chick-O-Stick cupcakes? The lovely pineapple upside-down cake from local vegan baker, Dulce Vegan? Or chocolate-chocolate chip cookies sandwiched with peanut butter filling? Wow--talk about sugar overload.

So... there you go. Many, many thanks to Ashley for being the brains behind this operation. I'm definitely looking forward to next time!

Redefining the salad, etc.

2008-04-05T19:47:00.009-04:00

Sometimes I get home from work so late that I don't want or need a large dinner... Enter the salad. It can be the perfect light meal, refreshing and healthy. The problem I run into is when all my salads tend to look the same. And taste the same. It's really easy to get bored pretty quickly. That's why, lately, I've been making a point of trying to liven it up a bit.

This salad features two kinds of greens, hearts of palm, cucumbers, dried cranberries, raw sunflower seeds, and a roasted apple-shallot vinaigrette. Just different enough to spice it up a bit.

Recently a representative from Galaxy Foods sent me some samples of their products to try.

Among the products they sent was some roasted red pepper hummus, which I enjoyed in the evenings as a light after-work snack. One of the more exciting things I did with it was creating this wrap one night.

I spread the tortilla with the hummus, topped it with some red pepper and artichoke tapenade from Trader Joe's, and finished with some alfalfa sprouts.

I almost never buy vegan cheese, so now that I have quite a bit of it in my refrigerator, I am trying to think of good ways to use it. One great use for it proved to be in Susan Voisin's Vegan Omelette For One.

I grated some of the mozzarella-flavor soy block in with the fillings. You can see from the picture that the cheese didn't really melt for me, but just the same it did make a nice filling for the omelette (which is still one of my favorite breakfasts--this recipe really is a winner).

Another great use for vegan cheese is in a vegan reuben--and I love vegan reubens!

This one uses Isa Chandra Moskowitz's delicious tempeh from her Tempeh Reubens in Vegan With a Vengeance, but for the rest of the sandwich I put it together my own way--with a generous helping of Dijon mustard, plenty of sauerkraut, some of this soy-based thousand island dressing, and one of the vegan mozzarella slices between two slices of rye bread.

I have more pictures to post, but that will come later this week. Also later this week, I am planning to begin my tour of vegan living in Atlanta--starting with my favorite vegan spot here in town! Not to mention the vegan potluck that I'll be going to tomorrow! Exciting stuff--so stay tuned!

Cheers!

Getting a quick fix

2008-03-27T12:22:00.003-04:00

This Jamaican Red Bean Stew was the first recipe I tried from Quick-Fix Vegetarian. While it was a crock-pot meal, which means that it did take some time to cook, it certainly was a low-fuss meal. I made it on a Saturday, as I was in and out of the house running errands. It was always pleasant to come back to an apartment that was filled with the spicy-sweet smell of this stew--filled with kidney beans and sweet potatoes and other lovely veggies, and cooked in a base of coconut milk and Jamaican-inspired spices. I served it over whole-wheat couscous (another quick fix), and the entire batch was good for a whole week of lunches. The flavors became even more complex and interesting on day two.

I'll be looking to explore some other quick fixes this weekend!

Operation: Zucchini

2008-03-21T07:50:00.004-04:00

I recently acquired some reduced-price organic zucchini at my local food co-op. I love zucchini so much, and I couldn't just pass them by, knowing they were in desperate need of a loving kitchen to make use of their potential. So I bought them and brought them home.... and Operation: Zucchini began.

The first zucchini dish I made was the Tomato-Zucchini "Frittata" from Vegan Planet. You may have noticed that there are no tomatoes in this picture. That's right; I just had to make do with what I had... which included zucchini, onions, and baby bella mushrooms. You know, I have made vegan frittatas before, but it still amazes me, every time, how nearly the silken tofu mixture can mock the firmness and texture of the traditional egg-based frittata. Anyhow, this was good. Very good. The only thing that could have made it better, I think, would have been to mix the veggies in with the tofu, instead of the layering technique that I used. Oh, yes... and frittatas are one of my favorite things to have left over. In fact, they are one of the few foods that I almost prefer the next day.

My mission was well underway at this point, but I thought for the rest of the zucchini that I would like to take a slightly sweeter approach. So next up were Dreena's Zucchini Spelt Muffins from ED&BV.

I loved these muffins. They were so soft and moist, and just sweet enough to be a delicious treat while still being wholesome and nutritious. I enjoyed these muffins for breakfast for an entire week, alongside a glass of almond milk. I threw a handful of raisins into the batter for a little something extra; some chocolate chips would be fun as well.

With that, Operation: Zucchini was just about over--the few stragglers I consumed in various ways, sautéed with garlic and red pepper flakes or raw as hummus dippers. I knew that with my busy work schedule, using up all the zucchini before they were past their prime would be a challenge. But it was a challenge I am glad to have risen to and succeeded.

Cheers!!

Thai Peanut Burger Wraps and a new blogging initiative

2008-03-18T05:03:00.003-04:00

I have been in a funk over the past several months, as you may have noticed by my absence from the blogosphere. My whole life has been that way; I've fallen into a few unhealthy habits and given up on some things that I used to love--and it's time for me to get back to life as usual. Granted, work will be extremely busy until mid-April, but I can and must still find time to do the things I like to do--getting outside, writing, cooking, blogging, reading your blogs... So that's my new initiative. As far as this blog is concerned, I am going to try and update it at least twice a week. There's time for me to do that. There's also time for me to leave comments at your blogs a couple of times a week. And since there's not time for me to cook as much as I'd like to, I am going to start writing some posts about being vegan in Atlanta--no west-coast town, but a pretty good place for a vegan lifestyle if you know where to look!

These Thai Peanut Burger Wraps with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce are from Vegan Planet. I had a difficult time getting them to firm up--I think I used firm tofu whereas it would have turned out better if I had used extra-firm. But no worries... They still tasted delicious, peanutty with a spicy kick, and a satisfyingly crunchy coating. The sauce made a perfect accompaniment--I was worried that it would be a bit excessive on the peanut flavor, but to the contrary, it really helped to bring out the different flavors that were going on.

I had leftovers, which were actually not quite as tasty as they were when they were fresh. I'm not really complaining... Maybe that's just me, anyway. I can definitely be funny about leftovers, and there are certain foods that I just don't really like when they have to be reheated. Oh well--the simple solution is to halve the recipe next time. Problem solved!

Have a great week. I'll be back around soon!

Cupcakes, cupcakes

2008-02-29T20:43:00.003-05:00

This post is a long time in coming, I know... I've been working long hours over the past couple of weeks. But I did promise pictures of my birthday cupcakes, so here they are!

I made two batches of cupcakes to take to work. The first ones I have made before: The Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar and cocoa powder with spices. These may be my all-time favorite cupcakes... They turned out so moist and delicious.

The second batch was right up my alley, if you know that I love all things pumpkin. These are the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting. They were very tasty; the frosting is what really kicked them up.

The people at my office are believers in vegan cupcakes now! They were really quite a hit.

A couple of my friends decided to throw me a little birthday party one night last week, and I lent them VCTOTW for their convenience. When I arrived, I was much delighted to find out that the party was Batman-themed! It was really quite marvelous. Here are the cupcakes:

Aren't they great? Here's a closer look:

The Batman looks so good! What a creative idea. These were the Chocolate Mint Cupcakes--another very delicious creation that I would recommend to anyone who, like me, thinks the mint-chocolate combination is just dynamite. I was so proud of my friend Gigi for attempting vegan cupcakes for the first time, and very, very excited by her success!

I've got more food pics to share... sometime soon. I'll be around later this weekend. Cheers!

24

2008-02-17T09:44:00.004-05:00

That's how old I am today. I don't have huge birthday festivities planned; I went to Athens and spent yesterday with my best friend from college, we ate at The Grit where I managed to polish off a huge slab of their rich, delicious Vegan Chocolate Death Cake. We tried to go hiking but the trail we attempted was filthy and depressing--so we cut our hike short but on the way back down, we stopped at this stretch along the trail where the ground was absolutely covered with shards of broken glass. We filled up two Nalgene bottles with glass pieces, and if we had been able we could have filled up two more. It was so sad and so infuriating--who thinks that kind of thing is okay?

I might make cupcakes this evening to take to work tomorrow... so just you wait. In the meantime, here are a few of the things I have been cooking up over the past couple of weeks.

I got home from work one night in the mood to bake cookies--specifically, cookies with cranberries and walnuts in them. I flipped open my copy of Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and I turned directly to the Walnut-Cranberry-Carob Clusters--perfect! As I was whipping them up, the recipe on the adjacent page caught my eye--"You Got Peanut Butter in My Chocolate" Cookies! Mmmm.... What can be better than dark, moist chocolate cookies with chunks of natural peanut butter swirled in? So after I finished the first batch, I whipped up a batch of these as well.

The first batch tasted delicious and wholesome, and it really satisfied my strange craving for cranberry-walnut cookies. I loved their texture, too--they were soft and crumbly, almost like little biscuits.

But the second batch--those were the best cookies I have tasted in a long time. Everything about them was perfect--just the right amount of peanut butter to complement the chocolate, just the right amount of moistness and sweetness. I took them to work in an attempt not to consume the entire batch myself. A lot of them got eaten at work--I heard no comments on them and I brought them anonymously--but I still had to bring a few of them home. I shared them with a friend the next day, and she agreed with me--the best cookies either of us had had in a long time. This recipe is definitelya winner!

Speaking of peanut butter, I made these peanut butter-banana quesadillas for breakfast one morning. I grilled them on my George Foreman grill and the banana slices became soft and caramelized while the peanut butter became warm and gooey. I enjoyed a green smoothie alongside this meal for a nutritional boost.

Last weekend I made a large batch of Savory French Lentils from ED&BV. Unable to find mushroom broth that did not contain dairy ingredients (why??), I instead used vegetable broth and I added some dried mushroom pieces. I loved these lentils served over roasted acorn squash rings as the recipe suggested; I also enjoyed it several times for lunch at work with steamed kale. This recipe was very easy and the great thing about lentils is that you don't have to plan ahead and soak them before you can cook them--which, for my schedule these days when I just don't know when I'll have time to cook, is a huge help.

Speaking of my busy schedule, I recently received a copy of this book:

Quick-Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson. All the recipes are vegan, and all require minimal preparation time. I have not cooked from it yet but I have perused it from cover to cover, and I am hoping to be able to dive into it some this week. (By the way, check out Robin's Website. I am quite excited about her new cookbook, Vegan Fire & Spice. I am hoping to be able to check it out soon!)

Last night, my friend from Athens and I made these veggie-portobella fajitas for dinner. All it took was a red pepper, a green pepper, a red onion, and a couple of portobella caps, a little bit of spice mix consisting of chili powder, cayenne pepper, adobo, and garlic powder, some flour tortillas, and fresh lime juice to finish. While I made the fajitas, Mary Ann whipped up some fresh guacamole and some homemade tortilla chips. Such a simple meal but so fresh and flavorful...

On top of tax season, I have also joined a spring tennis league--so it looks like I will be hitting the tennis courts every chance I get over the next couple of months. I'll still be cooking, and after this weekend I'm really going to focus very hard on fresh, healthy, balanced meals so that I look and feel extra-healthy by mid-April. You see, I have planned a vacation to San Francisco!!! I've never been out to the west coast and I'm so excited. My friend Kelly and I will be leaving two days after the tax deadline, and I am planning to have the best time in the world. We will be there nine days, and I am open to any suggestions anyone has as to the best places to eat and visit while we're there.

I'll be around again soon--hopefully it won't be two weeks before I blog again. Take care!!

Simple foods (and my first cheesecake)

2008-01-31T23:46:00.000-05:00

It is officially tax season, so I find myself working later and being more tired when I get home. So when I am willing and eager to cook, I take advantage of the ability to make large batches that I can draw from all week long. Like this Smoky Split Pea Soup from ED&BV.

I left out the smoked tofu and just added some liquid smoke instead. Mmm... I love soup, and split pea has always been one of my favorites.

Also from ED&BV, I made the Blueberry Carob Pancakes, with some Celestial Cream to go on top. The pancakes were heavenly--I just love carob--but the cream was so rich and delicious that it was otherworldly. This is one of the first dessert recipes I've made with silken tofu that didn't actually taste like tofu! One of the best parts of this breakfast was when I froze the leftover pancakes--knowing I would be able to enjoy them again soon!

I made this Key Lime "Cheesecake" from Vegan Planet, after many times of flipping past the recipe, eyeing it, knowing I didn't need to consume it, but knowing how fun it would be to make. I finally broke down. It was so easy to make... and so bad, but so good. And it got a seal of approval from one of my co-workers. I especially love the gingersnap crust.

And this salad is just a typical dinner for me... Nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose. I find when I come home from work that I don't really want much to eat, so a salad is usually perfect.

I'll try to do some blog-hopping this weekend... I've gotten out of the loop, but I have been peeking in on your blogs when I could even if I haven't had time to do much commenting.

Take care!

Back to life...

2008-01-19T17:39:00.000-05:00

I wanted to thank all of you who have been checking in on me, calling, texting, Facebooking, e-mailing.... It's meant a lot to know that you have thought of me. I've missed blogging, but given the circumstances it was something that I necessarily needed to let fall by the wayside for a while. In the meantime, I hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday season and that 2008 has gotten off to a promising start. I must say that, while this was not the greatest holiday season of my life, I do feel nevertheless like this new year--and all the years to come--hold promise for me that I could never have imagined before.

So... What has been going on in my life?

This is the only time I am ever going to mention this on this blog--and I'm telling you this way only because it's something that has to be told, and this is the only way I know of to tell you. Bob and I are split up right now. More pertinently, he decided that he wanted to move out. And I've been left with a mass of confusion, depression, loneliness, sadness... but most of all, confusion. Why should it have to be this way? I have no idea. But over the past few weeks, I have come to accept the fact that it is this way, now... maybe temporarily, maybe not. And I'm trying to look only forward from here.

If you want to ask me anything or to talk about this situation any at all, please don't hesitate to. Just send me an e-mail. I don't mind talking to any one of you about this. But I don't want to do it here on this blog. Hopefully now I can get back to this blog and what it was meant for--sharing delicious vegan creations!

I haven't cooked very much over the past month or so, but I do have a few things to share with you. For Christmas I received two great new cookbooks: Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson, and Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. I'm just starting to dive into them.

This is the Tuscan Spelt Soup from Vegan Planet--except I replaced the spelt with barley, as I did not have whole spelt on hand. It was hearty and delicious, perfect for a day like this:

Can you believe it? In Atlanta? It may look like a puny dusting to many of you, but this is as much snow as I have ever seen on the ground in my life!

Do snow days scream "comfort food" to you? Well, today screamed that to me. That's why I made myself the Apple Cinnamon French Toast, also from Vegan Planet. The cooked apple topping was the perfect touch... with a cup of coffee and wrapped in a warm blanket, as I sat and watched the snow falling through my dining room window. *Sigh*

I went on a business trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina a few weeks back, and I stayed at a bed and breakfast. It was my first stay at a bed and breakfast, and I was anxious to see how the food situation would work itself out. Steel-cut oats with walnuts and cranberries, and a side of sautéed squash... I would say it worked out quite well.

I went back to Athens with some friends for New Year's, and after staying out until 5:00 A.M. we slept until noon, and then went to Big City Bread--an Athens classic--for brunch. Their tofu scramble was delicious.

And this is one of the best roasted veggie wraps I have ever had, at Doc Green's here in Atlanta. I really appreciated the fact that they offered a sandwich without cheese on it--I hate having to ask to have the cheese left off. Why are people so addicted to cheese, anyway, that it has to be served on everything?? Anyway, not this time. And the chipotle-spiced veggie chili that I had on the side was equally delicious.

Now that I am back to cooking, I am planning to do it full-force... even though it is busy season at work now and I'm going to be up to my ears in tax returns for the next couple of months!

I'll be back around very very soon. I can't wait to read all your blogs again! Take care!

...

2007-12-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

I may not be around for a while.

Something came up that is completely changing my life... and I don't know what to do. Sorry I can't elaborate more out here on the world wide web. Every one of you and your blogs mean so much to me, and I'm glad to know you and call you friends.

I don't know when I will be back. Hopefully sometime soon. Until then, please don't forget me.

Happy holidays.

This makes me sad

2007-12-08T11:41:00.000-05:00

I wish I was not so out of the loop sometimes. I just learned last night that Ted Hafer, owner of The Grit vegetarian restaurant in Athens, committed suicide a couple of weeks ago. This news gave me quite a shock. He jumped off the top of the downtown parking deck... a place I know. I can visualize the view from the top of the parking deck--he was looking out over classic, beautiful, stays-with-you-forever Athens. I can imagine what the weather may have been like up there on a morning in November--cool, crisp, breezy... but I cannot understand what horrible things must have gone through his mind at that moment and led him to jump.

I never knew this man, but I knew his name and I loved his restaurant. He and his wife co-wrote one of my favorite cookbooks. He was a special part of Athens... and he was a husband and a father of two.

Here's the obituary that was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

I don't know what else I can say. Why do these things happen?

Staying healthy and happy

2007-12-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year when that blah feeling can start to sneak up on you--well, on me, anyway. This week has been like that for me, in part because I've felt a bit under the weather and in part because of coming back from such a lovely vacation.

Bob and I had a fun trip to Disney World in Orlando, and a marvelous visit with my sister and her fiancé. Here are some highlights of the trip:

Me and Bob, and a lovely twilight at Epcot.

Me and Ashton getting in to mischief in Norway...

And four happy people having a great time.

It's so easy to survive as a vegan there... Take, for example, this roasted veggie pizza that Bob and I shared for our Thanksgiving dinner at Downtown Disney.

And this bowl of vegan chili with a hummus sandwich that we scored at the Magic Kingdom. There is even an ice cream shop that serves vegan ice cream... though we didn't find it until after we had already shared a frozen lemonade, and we did not really need a second frozen treat in one day. We also found veggie burgers at the Magic Kingdom, and roasted veggie wraps and bean burritos with guacamole at Epcot.

Here are some of the things we've been eating since we got back.

Simple dinners:

Steamed edamame with coarse sea salt flakes.

Hummus.

This baked tofu sandwich was pretty good. I just mixed up a marinade of tamari, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, liquid smoke, onion powder, and garlic powder, and I baked the tofu in the marinade until it was all soaked up.

As I said, I've felt a bit under the weather this week. Nothing is a better answer to that than hot, nutritious soup.

This big bowl of quick miso soup with spinach and mushrooms was just what I needed yesterday afternoon.

And this Tofu Noodle Soup from Vegetarian Soups and Stews for All Seasons, using the leftover baked tofu, was also a wonderfully comforting meal.

So I've been focusing on food that will help us stay healthy... though sometimes you just need a treat.

Like these Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes from VCTOTW. I made them as a surprise for Bob one night. He was wowed by the dark ganache topping...

And he was taken completely by surprise with the creamy center! These cupcakes were so good, but as Isa suggests in the book, they're definitely better after being refrigerated overnight.

It's December, which means the holiday season is upon us. For some reason, I am not feeling particularly festive this year, at least not yet. That's okay. I have a project up my sleeve that may help with that. But for now, I wish you health and happiness and peace in your own lives... and I'll be around your blogs soon. I promise. Cheers!

Finally...

2007-11-21T15:43:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to pretend that I have a great excuse for not blogging over the past week or so. Granted, Marzie did make off with my memory card reader, but I replaced it several days ago. I just have not blogged because... I have enjoyed not feeling like it was my responsibility to blog. I've been hanging out with friends, going for long walks and enjoying the gorgeous autumn that we're having, cooking when I felt like it, and enjoying every minute of it.

See what I mean about the gorgeous autumn?

That's not to say I'm quitting this blog. I enjoy it too much. But when blogging goes from being a hobby to a full-time job, it loses its appeal. Maybe some of you have had this experience before. So, you may see less of me around the blogosphere, but I'm not going to disappear. I promise!

Starting off with some Seitan O'Greatness. This batch didn't last very long--it was too tasty! I made the Mostarella Cheeze from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook to go with it, because I ran out of agar and didn't feel like trying to hunt some more down. The cheeze was okay. It was better heated up with refried beans and salsa... yum.

On my last visit to R. Thomas, I tried their Hearty Breakfast Stew and loved it so much that I wished I had the recipe. Well, since I didn't, I decided to make one up. This soup was like a "souped-up" potato chowder (hee hee), and it was so good that I decided to share the recipe with all of you. It's not just like the soup at the restaurant, but it's darn close and maybe tastier. I've posted the recipe at the end.

This post by Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! came back to me one day when I wanted to make a pie and could not decide what kind I should attempt. I'm glad I tried the Key Lime Teasecake; it was delicious, and I felt much less guilty knowing that it was made of millet and sweetened with maple syrup. I only wish the key lime flavor had been a little stronger...

I loved DGMGV's kiwi topping so much that I copied her! Of course, original credit for the recipe goes to Jo Ann Stepaniak.

The credit for this blackened tempeh goes to Eat Air. It spent a day marinating in the refrigerator, and then it was a snap to blacken it on the stove for dinner after work. Sautéed kale and potatoes accompanied this meal, and it was all delicious.

I guess tomorrow's Thanksgiving. To tell you the truth, I had kind of forgotten about it this year. You see, we're not really celebrating in the traditional way this time--we're going to Disney World with my sister and her fiancé instead! But I wish each of you a wonderful, safe, and compassionate holiday. Until we meet again...

-----------------------
Potato Quinoa Chowdah

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 large carrot, diced small
3 cups water
6-7 small potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks (about 2 pounds) - Peeling is optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup kale, chopped
Cooking spray
3/4 teaspoon salt
Kelp granules and/or nori strips, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes. It's okay if the veggies try to stick to the pot a little. Add the water and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the little bits of veggies off the bottom. Add the potatoes and spices and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are pretty tender. Add the quinoa and cook for another 15 minutes, until the quinoa is done. The soup will get pretty thick at this point.

Spray another pan with cooking spray, and sauté the chopped kale just enough to take the bitterness off. Set aside.

In batches, purée about half the soup, then return it to the pot over low heat and add the milk, corn, and kale. Heat slowly, until the corn is done and the soup is hot all the way through. Add the salt. Serve, garnishing each bowl with kelp granules and nori strips, if desired. Makes about 6-8 servings.

I have stuff to post!!

2007-11-12T17:35:00.000-05:00

I just can't post it right now! You see, I somehow lost the memory card reader for my camera that transfers the photos to my computer... I've turned the house upside-down looking for it. I'm thinking Marzie probably made off with it, sneaky little feline. But I have a recipe to post, and some pictures, and in the next couple of days I'll do it even if it means replacing the little gadget.

Just in case you thought I had abandoned this blog...

Take care!

Inspiration-swapping

2007-11-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

As I was reading blogs this weekend, a couple of posts jumped out at me: First Diann at Eat'n Veg'n, and then over on Boo's Veg-a-Nut, I saw that bloggers had been inspired by a recipe I had posted awhile back for black bean patties, only they made it into harvest loaves (or bean loaves, or meetloaves, or whatever you'd like to call them). I thought this was very clever, so I decided to be inspired by their inspiration.

A few tweaks to the recipe made a very good loaf--a little crumbly, but I can fix that next time I make it. I served it with steamed kale and mashed potatoes, and a heavy drizzle of Dreena's Miso-Good Gravy from TEV. Very comforting food indeed. Thanks for the idea, ladies!

Also from Diann, a great big bowl of Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup. Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while probably knows that I'm crazy about pumpkin, so it was inevitable that I would try this soup as soon as I saw the recipe.

I really love the combination of spices in this soup. I highly recommend stirring some cilantro into each serving--it just adds one more layer to the already deep levels of flavor. So good. I can't wait to take my leftovers to work with me.

I made breakfast for Bob (well, and for myself too) this morning. His favorite breakfast is pancakes. For fun, I decided to try the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes from VWaV.

Though chocolate is not exactly a critical part of a healthy, balanced breakfast, my instincts told me that Bob would still really like it. I was right--I guess I know my man. Warmed raspberry preserves are the best accompaniment I can think of to a chocolate breakfast.

I thought I would be remiss if I didn't mention that November is now, offically, Vegan Month of Food! I've noticed that many of you are participating--fun! I am excited to see an explosion in great vegan food posts this month, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with all of your blogs a little better. As for me, well, I'll be cooking and posting just like always... but it looks like it might be a busy month for me, and I probably won't be posting every day. Nevertheless, I'm all for setting aside a month to revel in the wonderful, nutritious, and cruelty-free foods that make being vegan rock!

Until next time, peace!

(And by the way, if you're wondering what is going to be keeping me so busy this month, look here to find out...)

R. Thomas... again

2007-10-30T18:42:00.000-04:00

I guess you could say that R. Thomas Deluxe Grill is becoming a favorite spot here in the ATL. Bob and I stopped in for brunch recently. Here's what was cooking.

Bob started out with this gargantuan smoothie--the PomaCherry Bomb On Me. With a name like that, it had to be good, right? Right. With coconut milk, pomegranate, cherry, and agave nectar, how could it have gone wrong? As for me, though, I took a few sips and then stuck to my steaming coffee. It was, in fact, a cool morning (something I thought we would never get to experience this year down south), and all the seating at R. Thomas is on an outdoor patio. Organic fair trade beans, roasted locally... I wouldn't say I missed out.

For his meal, Bob went for R's veggie burger--such an excellent choice that I had a hard time sticking to my own plate. Truly one of the best veggie burgers either of us has had, with an amazingly smoky flavor and a satisfyingly chewy texture. On the side, an order of collard greens. Spiced wonderfully with a hint of cumin, and not cooked into oblivion.

I took a more breakfast-like approach with R's Hearty Breakfast Stew. The restaurant takes their red potato corn chowder and loads it up with quinoa, dulse flakes, nori strips, and an assortment of chopped veggies. As I was ordering, I asked skeptically if it was vegan. A resounding YES from the waitress! I'm glad it was, too. Being the southern girl that I am, it reminded me of grits--only better, and more loaded up with nutrients.

No room for their raw apple pie this time. But we have a dessert date sometime this week, for just that purpose. What a great way to chill out after work--I'm looking forward to it!

Cheers!

Thanks.

2007-10-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

My life has been really weird lately. Certain things have just not been right, and it's been throwing me off. I would tell you the details, but I can think of a couple of people who would be rather put off to discover that I had posted these things out on the internet... so sorry for my vagueness. Let it suffice to say that I've learned that I need friends here in my new city--and coming from a college environment where making friends happens almost effortlessly, I've had a hard time adjusting to the fact that most of the people I care about are now far away from me and that I have to take the initiative if I want to establish relationships here. As always, I do really appreciate all of your comments and thoughts and prayers...

I spent last week out of town on business, but I have some pictures to share with you from before then. Let me start out with a couple quick weeknight meals.

Baked potato with steamed broccoli, a quick cheesy sauce, and fresh black pepper. Quite comforting and easy... and if you cheat by cooking the potato in the microwave it's even easier. (Yes, I cheated this time.)

One of my favorite easy meals is cooked legumes tossed into a pan with kale that's been sautéed with garlic and red pepper flakes. These black-eyed peas were waiting in my freezer for a night like this. Bob made The Grit's Super Seven-Spice Potatoes to go on the side... he really likes that recipe.

Here's another attempt at the perfect hummus. It was quite good... but still not quite perfect. I tried to be heavy-handed with the olive oil, but it goes against years of being a health-conscious cook. Next time I'll ask Bob to add the olive oil--he's not shy.

It had been months since Bob and I made a homemade pizza. Finally I got up the energy to make a pizza dough, and I used Kris's recipe from DTV. Oh my goodness, there's no going back to any other pizza dough recipe, for this one achieved perfection. It was so soft and delicious and the edges puffed up nicely--and I used 100% whole wheat pastry flour. I topped this pie with homemade pizza sauce and pesto, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, red onions, and green bell peppers.

Here's a close-up of the crust. Yum.

Nava Atlas's African-Inspired Quinoa-Peanut Stew--thick and creamy and filling, yet at the same time kind of gentle on the tummy. I really liked it. Bob said it was just "all right." Looks like I get the leftovers!

Another quinoa-centered meal--Quinoa-Spring Salad from Vive! I can't remember the last time I actually followed the recipe for this, or even looked at the recipe... because it's so adaptable. This time I added chickpeas, green sweet peas, roasted red peppers, chopped cucumbers, artichoke hearts, green onions, cilantro, toasted pine nuts, and a simple vinaigrette.

One of my go-to lunches is a wrap sandwich. It's more portable than a traditional sandwich, and I prefer the wrap style anyway because the flavors of the fillings are not forced to hide behind the bread.

These are Balsamic-Glazed Portobella Mushrooms from VWaV. They made a delicious wrap with steamed Swiss chard and roasted red peppers, though I had forgotten how much mushrooms cook down. Next time I'll have to make about twice as much. They have a lovely, sweet-smoky flavor.

A recipe I've been meaning to test for Melody for quite some time--her Seitan Turkey Breast. I finally got to make it this weekend. It's very good, very savory. As she suggested, I pan-cooked the slices to give them a crisp crust.

The seitan turkey made an excellent wrap with steamed raab greens, roasted red peppers, and a dab of dijon mustard. Quoth Bob, "This seitan is almost too convincing." But that's a good thing--he really liked it!

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Now that all the food blogging is done, I have some exciting news to share. Meet our new fur baby!

This is Marzie. She was born to a stray mother--a couple Bob knows found momma cat hanging out around their porch one day with her new babies. They took the cats in and set about finding homes for the kittens. Marzie is sweet and playful, and every day she gets more accustomed to her new home.

Okay, okay, enough with the pictures!

That's all. I'll be around again soon!

I'm sorry....

2007-10-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

I've really needed some time to myself recently, so that's why you haven't seen me around much. I'll be back blogging in a week or so. I just have to get life figured out first.

Peace.

An award, and a look at breakfast

2007-10-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

Hi all! I am excited to announce that Monday, October 15 marks the official end of my first busy season--and here I am still alive and still excited about my job! This is truly exciting to me, because when I entered the field of tax accounting my only real reservation had to do with the seasonal nature of the work, and the fact that a few weeks out of the year would be uncommonly hectic. But enjoying what I do helps those extra hours become tolerable... though I am thankful that the balance of life and work will be more normal for a while.

Thanks, Lynn, for giving me my first blogging award...

This award means a lot to me because my original intent in starting this blog was to share how veganism really is compatible with the Christian ideal of compassion and nonviolence, and honoring God's creation. Being both Christian and vegan has been difficult at times--while I find that some Christians mock the idea of extending compassion to animals, I also find that some vegans turn away from Christians, even those who share their progressive ideas. I've found a bridge between those two lifestyles among all you friendly, lovely people, and it makes the journey much easier.

Mathetes is the Greek word for disciple, and the role of the disciple (per the Great Commission) is to make more disciples.

The Rules: In the spirit of this award, the rules are simple. Winners of this award must pick five other “disciples” to pass it on to. As you pass it on, mention and provide links for:

(1) Dan King of Management by God as the originator of the award.
(2) The person that awarded it to you.
(3) Name and sites of the five that you believe are fulfilling the role of a disciple of Christ.

I'm passing this award on to:
Midwest Vegan
Ron and Ginny of R&V Farmstead
Jenny of Bored at Work

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I have a love-hate relationship with breakfast. When I was a teenager I rarely ate breakfast in the mornings, and I found that I would eat too much later in the day, after my metabolism had already crashed--and mostly junky, refined food at that. Once I started taking a look at healthful eating, I realized that I needed to pay more attention to the one meal that many people tend to overlook. After much practice and experimenting, I have learned that a good breakfast that has the power to set the stage for a healthy day features the following:

1) Protein
2) Healthy fats (not too much)
3) Whole grains
4) Fruits and, if at all possible, vegetables

The combination of these, at least for me, provides energy for several hours, sets me up for a healthy lunch, and allows me to eat a smaller dinner in the time of day when my body doesn't need much fuel to carry me to bedtime. I prefer my food intake during the day to look like an inverted triangle--more in the morning, less in the afternoon, and maybe only a small snack in the evening.

The snag in all of this is, of course, time. I'm sure that at least part of the reason breakfast has become such a rushed and neglected meal is because people have places to go in the morning, and can't spend too much time preparing a great morning repast. I find that I still succumb to cereal and milk a couple of days a week, when I just can't pull myself out of bed in time for anything else; but I've really been trying to answer my body's needs by starting the day right. Here's a look:

Tofu scramble, with plenty of veggies and minimal oil. This one contains broccoli (florets and stems), a green pepper, onions, mushrooms, and salsa. Throwing some spinach in when you can is also not a bad idea. This one takes a bit of time, but Bob and I take turns getting up to make breakfast so it cuts the extra time in half. By the way, Bob makes a better tofu scramble than I do.

Kale & Kraut Sandwiches from Vegan Vittles, we have found, make an excellent breakfast, on whole grain bread. A bit of tahini provides the healthy fats, and the kale is a great way to get a leafy green in early in the day. The good thing about this breakfast is that I can make it up pretty quickly, stick it on the grill, and get dressed while it finishes cooking itself (keeping an eye on it, of course)!

SusanV's vegan omelette for one. I've shown you this very picture before, but I thought it deserved a place in my breakfast post. I do plan to make this again soon, and it would be especially easy to mix the batter the night before to set myself up for quick and easy preparation the next morning.

Grilled marinated tempeh alongside The Grit's Super Seven-Spice Potatoes. I know, this meal is lacking a vegetable. I think throwing some broccoli in with the potatoes while they're sautéing would clear that up pretty nicely. The tempeh, of course, is prepared the night before and then grilling it is a snap. Again, think minimal oil--it doesn't take much. (Sorry for the blurred picture--I was in a hurry.)

These are Leslie's Awesomeness Muffins from DTV. They're low in added sweeteners, and still sweet and delicious with all the added goodness you see inside. I substituted applesauce for the oil in this recipe, so the only fat comes from the walnuts I threw in. No refined flours, nothing artificial... Yes, these fit the bill too. Maybe add a piece of fresh fruit and a cup of tea.

Other breakfast-worthy meals include beans and sautéed greens; hummus wraps; vegetable or bean dips spread on toast; smoothies with flax oil and a slice of toast; etc. Most of those things are make-ahead items which would make for a quick, simple breakfast. The key is thinking outside of the cereal box.

Of course, no breakfast post would be complete without a special weekend treat like these pancakes:

For fun, I threw in some carob chips and topped it with banana "pudding"--bananas puréed with almond butter, as I saw alongside VeggieGirl's waffles (though the original recipe is here at Katie's blog). The banana "pudding" was amazingly simple and sweet and naturally filling--I was able to eat only two pancakes with it and not feel hungry for five or six hours! Of course, I would not suggest attempting pancakes on a rushed morning--save them for a leisurely day.

I know there are many different opinions out there regarding breakfast, and all are valid--each body is different and has its own unique needs. For Bob and me, a large balanced breakfast, followed by a medium-sized lunch, a little midday munchie, and a smallish dinner have proven to optimize our energy levels and promote the healthiest habits for the rest of the day.

I'm interested in how each of you tackles the breakfast issue. What works for you? What suggestions do you have that might work for me?

Mmm, mmm...

2007-10-08T22:55:00.000-04:00

Several of you asked about my aloo matar recipe from my recent post. It's a recipe that I came up with after reading about Indian cooking and glancing over a few different aloo matar recipes. I've posted my recipe on this blog before; here's the link to it!

In the past week or so I have found a new vigor for cooking and baking, and this post is the product of firing up the gas range with the windows open, the scent of autumn wafting in to energize me, and a freshly stocked pantry after a massive shopping trip.

Salad with marinated grilled tempeh, chunks of avocado, and a freshly made vinaigrette... one of my favorite light meals, especially if the tempeh is still warm from the pan.

This is something I have wanted to do for quite some time now--vegan beef stew. My mom is an excellent cook, and has always been one who rarely follows a recipe; she just has a knack for tossing things together to make a meal that's amazingly simple and flavorful and comforting. I used to love my mom's beef stew, and finally I got up the nerve to try and veganize it. I'm so glad I did--it's just so good!

I'll post the recipe at the end. I made it with TVP, and I would also like to try it with seitan sometime (especially since seitan doesn't have the "taint" that TVP carries when it comes to health--though I'm not too concerned about it, since I only use TVP once in a blue moon anyway). We enjoyed it on top of corn bread--Kris's corn bread, from DTV, as a matter of fact. I can be picky about my corn bread, being from the South and all that, but this recipe left me happy. I will admit that I made a couple of modifications, such as reducing the sugar and replacing the applesauce with plain soy yogurt. You see, I'm not used to sweet corn bread. I'm not opposed to making it that way sometime, but I wanted my stew to taste as much like my mom's as possible.

Next, a fabulous new recipe from Dreena--her Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas from her new cookbook, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan! No, I have not gotten her cookbook yet. I decided to wait until it hits our local vegan shop(pe) because I would just feel a little better buying it from them. But when I saw that Dreena had posted this freebie, I was all over it.

They came out of the oven looking golden and delicious, and Bob and I finished them off in no time. We did set some aside for salads:

They're so flavorful, and delightfully firm, almost crunchy. And a snap to make. Roasted chickpeas are destined to become a household staple, at least around here.

And of course, I did a little baking. I love pumpkin in every form that it can take, so I was really excited to make Kris's Pumpkin Zig Zag Loaf from DTV.

You can see the ribbon of cinnamon-sugar that runs through this loaf, giving it a special touch. Yet another wonderful baked treat from Kris's book--though it did take quite a bit longer in my oven than the recipe suggested. I have to tell you that in making this treat, I used the last of my cinnamon! This marks a first for me--never in my life have I run out of cinnamon. What is the world coming to?

Ah, well. Have a lovely week, my friends!

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Beef Stew Like My Momma Used to Make (Sort Of)

This makes enough for 6-8 servings--leftovers! Woo-hoo!

2 cups TVP chunks (stew-beef style)
2 cups veggie broth
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos or tamari
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1-2 tablespoons oil
1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper
Several tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
3 1/2 cups water (or more, as needed)
1/2 cup Bragg's or tamari
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Several dashes liquid smoke
5 large carrots, chopped
4 medium red potatoes, chopped
2 cups frozen green peas
3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring the veggie broth to a boil, then pour it over the TVP chunks. Add the 2 tablespoons Bragg's and stir through. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring around occasionally to ensure that it can all absorb the liquid. Strain the reconstituted TVP chunks, reserving any extra liquid.

Place the garlic and the oil in a large stock pot, and heat gently. Sauté the garlic for several minutes, then add the TVP. Sprinkle with the pepper and whole wheat pastry flour, adding just enough flour to coat the TVP well. Cook for about two minutes, then add the reserved liquid to the pot to deglaze. Let simmer a moment more, then add the water, Bragg's, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, carrots, and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the veggies are soft but not mushy.

Add the frozen peas, and return to a boil. Whisk the flour and water together, and once the stew is simmering again, add the flour mixture. Cook for a minute or two until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over corn bread.

Cafe Sunflower

2007-10-06T19:22:00.000-04:00

I have some great home-cooked food photos to share with you soon, but tonight I have to review my experience at Cafe Sunflower, the closest I've ever come to vegan fine dining.

There are two Cafe Sunflower locations in Atlanta; we visited the Buckhead location. The atmosphere was several steps above that of The Grit or any other vegetarian place we have visited--which are mostly great places, but have that rough, laid back, anything goes kind of feeling. At Cafe Sunflower, the lighting is dim and each table is illuminated by its own little hanging lantern. There are large pieces of abstract artwork on the walls, and it's all very attractive.

Cafe Sunflower is a vegetarian, almost-vegan establishment, which serves a couple of entrées that contain cheese, but is otherwise egg- and dairy-free. All of the desserts are vegan--and all look absolutely heavenly.

For his entrée, Bob chose the Garden Loaf: A soy and nut loaf served with mushroom gravy, roasted asparagus, spring rolls, and a tower of herbed mashed potatoes whose presentation was elegant enough for a classy French bistro. The loaf was very flavorful and had a satisfying firm texture.

I went with one of the dinner specials, the Stuffed Acorn Squash. This autumn gem was served with a stuffing of navy beans, corn, wild rice, cranberries, walnuts, and mushrooms, and sat on a nest of garlicky kale and mung bean sprouts. The filling had a smoky flavor and was singing with savory herbs like rosemary and tarragon. And I love the purple hue that the cranberries lent to the filling--see how beautifully it contrasts with the orange-gold of the squash and the vibrant green kale? A work of art, to be sure.

After dinner our server brought out not a dessert menu, but a tray showcasing each of the luscious desserts. Bob and I had intended to split something, but we could not agree on one thing so we each decided to order something and bring the leftovers home.

Bob chose this Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cake--one of the lightest, fluffiest mousses I've ever put in my mouth.

As for me, my chocoholic side showed through as I ordered a slice of the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake. The cake was dark and rich, and was riddled with chunks of chocolate. Wow.

So, there you have Cafe Sunflower. It's a bit on the pricey side, but completely worth it for a special treat.

By the way, what was the reason for this special treat? Well, I finally got all my scores in from taking the CPA exams, and I passed them all!! Woot! Maybe I'll never have to take another test in my life...

The greatest hubby in the world

2007-10-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

See what I came home to today?

Black Bean, Mushroom, and Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers from Vegan With a Vengeance, prepared by none other than Chef Bob. He came to pick me up from the train station after work, and when I got in the car I said, "It smells like food in here."

Bob said, "Does it smell like chili powder?"

"Chili powder? Should it smell like chili powder in here?"

"Well, I got chili powder all over my hands while I was making dinner."

Making dinner? How sweet is that? Oh, and by the way... this recipe is delicious, and surprisingly not too heavy for a later meal. Black beans, quinoa, and mushrooms all together in one dish can't go wrong.

I've been taking salads for lunch to work just about every day. But I know what I'm taking tomorrow--Bob had the foresight to make enough for leftovers! Yay!

Indian cooking, veganizing, and the quest for the perfect hummus

2007-09-26T20:50:00.000-04:00

Here it's been a whole week again since I posted... That's partly because the black bean chili I posted about last time lasted us an entire week, and partly also because it's been so gorgeous out that the thought of staying inside on the computer has not been very appealing. But here is a sample of what's been cooking...

On Saturday evening a good friend of mine came over to cook dinner with me, and I thought, What would be a simple, flavorful, fun vegan meal to teach Kelly how to make? And nothing seemed to fit the bill better than aloo matar, Indian potatoes and peas. I didn't remember until she got here that she had actually spent the summer in India, so we spent the evening discussing Indian cuisine and culture, and enjoying this spicy meal with whole grain chapatis.

Sunday morning I made these FatFree Vegan omelettes--I doubled the recipe and made vegan omelettes for two! I filled my omelettes just like SusanV did, with sautéed spinach and mushrooms--not because I meant to imitate her necessarily, but because those are my favorite omelette fillings. As you can see from the photo, I stuffed my omelette a little too full! Hee hee.

Bob wasn't too crazy about this breakfast... but I loved it. I think his main problem with it was that the inside of the omelette didn't cook up very firm, so it was a little squishy. A couple ways I could try to remedy this are to make thinner omelettes, or to cook one side of the omelette and then attempt to flip it and cook the other side. Both of these options sound tricky to me. I happened to like the softness of the inside, personally, and I think these omelettes could not be more perfect. There was a time in my life when omelettes were my favorite breakfast, and now that option is open again! Thanks, Susan!

There are some great pubs around town that Bob and I have had fun becoming familiar with. The default food item for a vegan to order at a pub is hummus--around here, every place has hummus, and so Bob and I are becoming hummus "connoisseurs," if you will. The good news is that every place we've been to serves first-rate hummus; the bad news, though, is that I've become addicted to it. And since going out for hummus two or three nights a week could become quite expensive indeed, I am questing to create the perfect hummus for those nights when I can't justify going out to satisfy my hummus needs.

I have made hummus many, many times before--just search my blog for "hummus" and who knows how many results you will find. And many of those times, I have been creative and come up with recipes I would gladly make again. However, I have to admit that I have never created the "perfect" basic, standard hummus recipe--you know, the plain, lemon-garlic variety. It often has a) a slightly bland flavor, b) too much garlic and/or lemon, or c) a dissatisfying texture. But in the next couple of weeks, I am determined to jump this hurdle and create a tasty, creamy, perfectly balanced hummus, and then I am going to do a happy dance.

This hummus came close, but it wasn't quite there. I was very satisfied with this hummus, though, and I'm looking forward to building on it next time. I found some big fluffy whole wheat pita loaves at the nearby grocery, and I warmed those up to serve it with--they're so much better than the thin, flimsy, cardboard-esque pita loaves that I have become accustomed to... Does anyone know a great recipe for soft, fluffy pitas?

My sister is coming to visit me this weekend, with her fiancé! I am having a hard time believing that my baby sister is engaged, but that's the way of the world, I guess--you get older, the people you love get older, and then you wonder where in the world all the time slipped off to. Anyway, I'm looking forward to her visit, and we've got some fun planned, so I may not be around until next week. But I wish you all a super-fantastic weekend, until next time!

Cake and chili

2007-09-19T19:24:00.001-04:00

These two foods have nothing to do with each other, actually... unless you consider that fall weather has inspired me to make both of them.

I could never get tired of showing you The Grit's Black Bean Chili, because it is the one food I think I could never, ever get tired of eating. Whether you stick it in a burrito, on top of a tofu scramble, or serve it with baked blue corn tortilla chips (and maybe a dollop of vegan sour cream), it is a healthy, filling bowl of tastiness every time. The only modification to the recipe that I suggest is using quinoa in place of bulgur... but really, either way it's fantastic.

Now, we keep a lot of bananas on hand during the summer, because each of us probably consumes about five smoothies per week. But when the weather cools off and the icy cold smoothie is not on the top of our list of culinary desires, those bananas sit around longer and longer, getting riper and riper, until you have to use them or lose them. That's what this cake sprung out of--shopping in summer mode but eating in fall mode. I froze about ten bananas yesterday and still had six left--so flipping through Kris's book I spied a recipe for banana cake, and got to work.

Per Kris's suggestion, I made a batch of her Peanut Butter Frosting to finish. Frosting and sliced bananas make up the middle layer. Also per Kris's suggestion, I made a batch of chocolate sauce to serve alongside this already rich confection.

Bob's slice. He was so impatient for this because he could smell it baking, and could hardly stand to wait for it to cool before diving in. Several delightful grunts and one clean plate later, he thanked me profusely for getting it in my head to bake this cake. The cake is sweet and moist, and the peanut butter with the (better than) cream cheese make for a rich, heavy frosting. I cut back significantly on the sugar in the frosting because the cake was sweet enough. And the cake with the icing is certainly rich enough without adding the chocolate sauce... but if you can handle a rich dessert, then go ahead and add the chocolate--it complements the cake so well!

With that, I wish you a fabulous end of the week! And I appreciate all of your comments, as always. Peace!

A rather taxing time

2007-09-15T19:46:00.000-04:00

The only thing I can think of to say about tax season in my office is, it's taxing! For the past couple of weeks I have been working pretty long hours, and eating 2-3 meals per day at the office. Needless to say, I have not been able to cook much at all, especially this past week. And quite honestly, when I have spent 12 hours or more out of my day looking at a computer screen in my office, the idea of coming home and blogging in my leisure time is not too appealing. But that's not to say that I haven't missed reading your blogs these last couple of weeks. I certainly have missed each of you, and plan to pay you all a visit soon. And I appreciate all of your comments and wishes!

Let me start at the top... Several weeks ago I picked up a copy of Kris's book, and the first recipe I tried from it was the Lime Coconut Bars--by default, actually, since that was the only recipe for which I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.

I have always loved the pairing of lime and coconut, and this is another great marriage of the two flavors--creamy and zesty all at once. The recipe was simple, and I'd make it again in a heartbeat as a dressed-up dessert to share with company. I will say, though, that the crust was a little crumbly, so perhaps I'd go a little lighter on the oats next time, and probably pulse them in a blender a few good times before mixing them in.

Last week I had the opportunity to test another recipe for Melody--her Summer Black-Eyed Pea Spread. I cooked up a huge pot of black-eyed peas and froze them in batches, and I'm glad I did because now I can make this fabulous spread anytime I want! We ate it twice--the first time on open-faced sandwiches...

And the second time on crisp French bread rounds, with an ultra-sweet and juicy tomato. It is fabulous with tomato and other fresh vegetables, and can be made in a snap if using pre-cooked peas. Bob and I both agreed that this was one of the best meals we'd had in quite some time.

Two fabulous recipes from Vegan Vittles up next. The first is a favorite around our house--the Kale and Kraut Sandwich. This time, I opted to grill the sammiches in the George Foreman for a panini-style lunch.

Also featuring kale--the Potato and Kale Soup. Yes, it's soup weather again! And this was a great, creamy, filling soup to kick off the fall. The puréed kale makes it turn a lovely green color, and it looks so elegant served with freshly cracked black pepper on top. This is another recipe I'll be making again.

Today Bob requested homemade cookies, and he always likes me to surprise him by not telling him what kind I'm going to make. So I secretly picked out these tasty treats from Vive!

Can you guess which cookies I made?

If you tasted them, you'd know in an instant that these are Dreena's Maple Walnut Cookies, for they are simply bursting with maple-y goodness! Bob said with conviction that they were the best cookies he's ever had. As for me, it would be difficult to pick out the best cookie I've ever had--but these would certainly qualify. I like to take my cookies out of the oven when they still look just slightly under-done--they continue to cook, of course, once they come out of the oven, and taking them out a little early ensures that they stay soft and chewy in the middle.

Finally, this pita may look ultra boring, but it was a healthy and delicious dinner. Aside from the assorted fresh veggies I stuffed it with, I also drizzled it with this wonderful vinaigrette from Diann's blog, which I made a large batch of and have been enjoying on salads galore for the past two weeks.

I'm likely to stay busy for the next month or so, because October 15 is another tax deadline. And now that the summer is winding away and being outdoors is pleasant and refreshing again, I plan to spend as much time not cooped up inside as I can. But I will still be around when I can. I hope you all are well and happy, and I can't wait to visit your blogs soon.

I'll leave you with this meme, which Diann tagged me to participate in.

1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of your first or middle name.

2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.

3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.

4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them ,they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

5. If I’ve tagged YOU (the bloggers that I've tagged are listed at the end), please join in on the fun!

LAURA

L - Loony. I may come off as reserved when you first meet me in person, but once I get to know you well enough, look out because I can be pretty weird and silly when the occasion arises. How else would I have earned for myself the name "Loony Laura" among my high school friends?

A - Artsy accountant. One mistake people tend to make when they hear that I'm an accountant is to assume that I am a "numbers person." Maybe I can calculate your taxable income, but even more than that, I love to write and to sing and to adore colors, nature, rhyme, and anything that breaks the mold.

U - Undeterred. If something needs to be done, then by golly, I'm going to find a way to do it. I find it hard to rest until all my tasks are complete.

R - Rushed. I always feel like I'm in a hurry--I'm not good at taking things slow and steady.

A - Active. I don't like "wasting time," which means I always want to be doing something. I don't even sleep as much as the average person... though I'm not trying to imply that sleep is a waste of time. :)

I'm supposed to tag five people... but I would really love to see any and all of you play. So if you read this and feel like joining in the fun, then consider yourself tagged!

Finally, enchiladas... and other stuff

2007-09-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

I was in awe when I visited Vivacious Vegan's blog this weekend to find her mouth-watering enchilada post. See, it's been several years at least since I made enchiladas, and I've long been jonesin' to try my hand at a vegan variety. In the past week or so, for reasons I don't understand, my craving became particularly strong, and it only took one person's blog to push me over.

I followed Crystal's step-by-step as a guideline, though I didn't exactly follow the recipes she shared--I took her ideas and made them my own.

I used a can of spicy refried beans, a can of black beans, sliced black olives, sautéed onions and green peppers, one batch of Vegan Vittles' Melty White Uncheese, and a can of enchilada sauce. I'd love to try making my own sauce next time, but I figured I ought to use what I had on hand. I rolled up ten tortillas like this:

Refried beans, black beans, a scoop of onions and peppers, a scoop of cheese, and a sprinkling of black olives.

Once they were all packed into the casserole, I spread the rest of the cheese over the top...

then poured the enchilada sauce over everything.

Into the oven it went, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, I chopped up some avocado, cilantro, and lime wedges to finish.

Tossed together a quick salad with a mango-chili vinaigrette.

Then they were ready to serve. Yum! Thanks, Crystal--you prodded me into one of the best meals I've had in a while.

I made these griddle-cakes out of leftover cornmeal "mush" that I made recently. They were okay... a good use for the leftovers, I thought, but not worth writing home about. Topping them with warmed blackberry preserves and some toasted walnuts was a good choice.

This tofu salad was a pretty decent invention--my goal was just to use up a handful of items in my fridge, but the flavors really worked well, with sort of an Italian flair. I wish I'd had time to drain the tofu a little better--it was a little on the wet side. But still, I can't complain. I'll leave you with the recipe.

I've got some great-looking recipes on my radar screen to try this week... so hopefully I'll have some time! Take care, until next time!

----------------
Thyme-y Tofu Salad

1 block firm tofu, drained and patted dry
2 tablespoons Nayonaise
2 celery ribs, finely diced
3 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, slightly crushed
3 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork until mixed.

No such thing as a free lunch?

2007-09-01T18:26:00.000-04:00

I am finally back from my week of training in North Carolina... As we were coming home yesterday, though, I thought we'd never get here--the Atlanta airport was backed up like crazy for the holiday weekend, and our flight home was delayed more than four hours. Eesh!

The week was nice, however. I can't say that it was relaxing because I did actually attend meetings and classes and socials for about 16 hours out of each day. But it was a nice change of pace from the office, and a great chance to get to know some of my new co-workers. And I've always thought that perhaps of all the states I have been to, North Carolina is the most beautiful. Friday's sunrise was a lovely sight.

As far as food went, I cannot complain at all. My meals were very simple but fresh, healthy, and beautifully presented. I did not take pictures of all my meals, but I couldn't resist taking one. This simple veggie plate is a good representation of the sorts of meals the chef created for me:

Today, Bob and I went to R. Thomas Deluxe Grill for brunch. When I went to R. Thomas before, they messed up when they ran my credit card and ended up charging me much more for my meal than they should have. After I called them and talked with them about it, it took them nearly a month to get everything straightened out and issue a refund. At that point, I was pretty hacked off and swore I would never go back to the restaurant. However, the manager sent me a very sincere apology, as well as $40 in gift cards! So if this meal looks a little extravagant, that's why.

We started with the Basil Tofu Lettuce Wraps, with diced veggies and tofu simmered in a curry basil sauce.

Bob enjoyed this gigantic smoothie, the Lemon Mango Slider, with coconut milk, lemon, mango, grapes, and agave. He said it was easily his favorite element of the entire meal.

For his entrée, Bob chose this Raw Veggie Dinner. Starting at the top and going clockwise, you see a collard kale salad, guacamole served with flax crackers and dehydrated sweet potato strips, a broccoli cauliflower medley, and a walnut sunflower loaf with chipotle sauce. In the center is a seaweed salad topped with raw sauerkraut. Everything on his plate was absolutely delicious, but my favorite was the nut loaf and chipotle sauce.

I ordered the Thai Express, a vegetable sautée with tempeh cubes, served over quinoa with a spicy peanut sauce. Very flavorful, and very, very filling. I didn't manage to eat much of this at all before I wimped out and asked for a box. It will make a fantastic lunch tomorrow.

When we discovered the Raw Apple Pie on the dessert menu, we had to try it. It was worth saving some room for.

You may remember when I ranted before about R. Thomas and their claim that all their omni choices are made with organic, free-range, "cruelty-free" meat and dairy products. However, as several of you pointed out, it is probably better for me to be thankful for the things that the restaurant is doing right, such as being committed to fresh, organic, local ingredients, than to be bitter about the fact that they market their meat as humane. R. Thomas really is a good spot to get great, healthy vegan food, and they're truly doing much more for the well-being of farm animals than 99% of the other restaurants in Atlanta... so I am not going to hold a grudge against them. (I'll just make sure I pay in cash from now on!)

It's supposed to storm across the Southeast this holiday weekend. Thank goodness--we surely need the rain and the relief from the heat! Have a safe holiday, and be careful traveling!

Surprising?

2007-08-31T16:47:00.000-04:00

I was reading on Cupcake Punk's blog and saw the link to this New York Times article.

How long do you think it will take America to accept that its diet is one of the most environmentally destructive forces in our world today? The research is definitely there...

I'm on my way home from my business trip now--I'll tell you more about it this weekend sometime. I hope your holiday weekend has gotten off to a great start!

A new recipe, a new book, and heading off...

2007-08-26T19:42:00.000-04:00

I realize it's been about a week since I blogged last... I wish it was easier for me to find the time to blog and to keep up with all of your blogs, but the fact that it's busy season at my office combined with the fact that I still don't have internet at home yet, makes it difficult. I apologize that I have not been commenting so much lately, but I will just have to do the best I can until one or both of those situations changes. In the meantime, I will be away at training in Carthage, North Carolina this week, which means I'll have some free time to catch up with you all... and maybe even sneak in a post of my own.

Bob called me earlier in the week and said he wanted to make dinner for me. When I arrived at home, this was cooking.

Dreena's Tomato-Lentil Pasta Sauce (Vive!) tossed with whole spelt ziti pasta and topped with capers. Though I'm not a huge pasta person, I enjoy it every now and again, particularly if it's a healthy variety. I took some leftovers for lunch one day this week and it was just delicious. Thanks, Bob!!!

Here's a recipe I tested for Melody--Teriyaki Tempeh. Gosh, it was just divine! The sauce has such a complex, perfect balance of sweetness, tang, and spice. It was fabulous on a spinach wrap with sprouts, avocado, and sliced veggies:

Bob raved and raved about this recipe--it's destined to become a favorite! I can't wait for Melody's cookbook!

Speaking of cookbooks, I went to Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe today and was quite thrilled to see this book proudly displayed on the shelf:

I had told myself that I could not buy another cookbook until I started my job, so I've been enviously reading all your rave reviews of Kris's recipes. Well, I did start my job, and then today the book was within my reach--I picked it up and flipped through the pages--and there was no way I could put it back. I'm excited about trying out some of the goodies in this book, but mostly I'm excited for Kris's accomplishment and wanted to show my support! Sometime when I get back from North Carolina I'll break this book in--the shop owner told me I just HAVE to try the Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Muffins.

The reason I went to Cosmo's today was to pick up some of this:

My favorite is the Thai Peanut Seitan jerky, but they're all pretty good. I wanted a few non-perishable food items to take on my trip this week... just in case. I contacted the person coordinating the event and I sent her a list of ingredients that I don't want to show up in my food, and I provided some food suggestions, which she forwarded to the chef who is catering the event. I've been assured that there will be appropriate foods for me, but in case that boils down to a bowl of lettuce, I wanted to have some protein handy. I really expect that the food situation this week will be fine, though--this company has been very understanding and accommodating when it comes to my diet, and I appreciate that about them very much.

This is an idea I got from The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood. The recipe is called Cornmeal Mush, and it's just cornmeal simmered on the stovetop in water and some salt. I stirred in some maple syrup and blueberries and it was a slightly sweet, buttery tasting warm and cozy breakfast. I refrigerated the leftovers and plan to use them to make griddle-cakes.

This salad was simple, but I had to show you these gorgeous cherry tomatoes that Bob's mom gave us from her neighbor's garden. They're so sweet and juicy and... I have been very disappointed with the tomatoes I've tasted this season on the whole, but the ones people have given us lately have made up for it in the most delicious way!

Thank you for your suggestions about the cheeze that I blogged about in my last post. I am happy to inform you that this cheeze does melt quite well if you shred it and heat it in the microwave--our favorite way to eat it proved to be as a queso dip mixed with salsa. Next time I make this recipe, I'm going to follow Vivacious Vegan's advice and make the Chedda variation--I think the miso will give it the bite that this batch lacked.

And finally, I was delighted to receive a package this week from Urban Vegan--a box of candy, my prize for winning second place in her Vegans Gone Wild! contest!!! The highlight of the package was this delicious toffee, made by Urban Vegan herself.

She also sent some licorice, two bars of dark chocolate, and a lovely card. Thanks so much!! I'm glad the weather finally took a small turn toward autumn so that this package could come unscathed through the mail.

It really has been slightly more bearable this past week or so--when I leave for work in the morning, the humidity is low and the air has the smallest hint of a chill in it. Of course, in the afternoon it still hits 100+ degrees, but I'm thankful for even the smallest progress. This is the time of year when summer has become just about too much for me to handle, and I look forward to pumpkins and warm soups and the many colors the gigantic oak trees around my apartment will be wearing.

As always, thanks for reading and for being wonderful friends. I'll catch up with you all soon, I promise! :)

The last few days of food

2007-08-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

This was a great quick weeknight meal. I made a batch of pinto beans on Monday evening, and then later that week I sautéed some kale in garlic and red pepper flakes, and I added some of the pinto beans to warm them up. Presto--dinner in ten minutes! It was tasty too.

Bob's boss surprised us with a lovely bag of homegrown tomatoes--something we haven't had all season. Besides eating them plain like candy, a couple of ways we have been enjoying them are:

On salads (with some more of The Grit's ranch dressing).

With hummus and sprouts. These little snacks look surprisingly elegant and are tasty, light, and perfect for an afternoon bite to eat.

I make a lot of smoothies, and this one was particularly delicious--peaches and raspberries, with cinnamon and ginger and a little scoop of cashew butter.

Sweet potato fries, spiced with cinnamon, chili powder, and cayenne. Another easy meal--15 minutes in the toaster oven, and perfect with a salad.

I made these cookies to help drag Bob out of bed on Saturday (ahem) afternoon... They're Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies, made with spelt flour and using carob chips in lieu of chocolate. They came out so soft and squishy and... unbeatable. We both thought this was the best batch of these cookies yet. I've stayed out of them pretty well, though--I've eaten about one of them over the course of the weekend. I'm still trying to tame my sweet tooth...

Today we went downtown to get a bite for lunch. I've blogged about the Raging Burrito before, but I wanted Bob to have a chance to try it. I ordered these veggie tacos, with grilled portabellas and peppers and salsa fresca and guacamole, and a side salad with sun-dried tomato-chipotle dressing. Bob ordered a burrito--a very tasty burrito, mind you, but not much to photograph. It was huge and he brought half of it home for dinner.

I checked out the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and decided to try the Colby Cheeze. I haven't really used it yet, but I've tasted it and I think it's... kind of bland, honestly. The pimiento flavor is overwhelming, and it's just missing something. Once I try it on something, I will let you know the final verdict.

That brings me to the end of the weekend. I hope you've all had a good one, and I wish you a fantastic week!

Quick and easy

2007-08-14T20:12:00.000-04:00

I have a feeling that's how I'm going to like it for a while. As a tax professional I'll get really busy in the spring, until April 15... and really busy in the late summer/early fall, until October 15. And even though today was only my second day of work, I am already getting thrown right in.

Over the weekend I made another batch of the Classic White Uncheese from Vegan Vittles, and so this is a simple "melt" I made with the help of a Gardenburger patty. There was not much melting going on, as you can see... even though the recipe states that the cheese should get at least somewhat melty. Ah, well--I don't really know why it would, but it would have been a nice surprise, I guess.

Also from Vegan Vittles, Chuckwagon Stew. It's super hearty and filling, and it was easy with about 15 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of cooking time. The flavors aren't earth-shattering but it's good, and worth making when you have little time... although it's more of a cold-weather meal, really. A fresh, crisp salad put the summer back into this dinner.

For another, lighter meal, I made a simple tofu salad with fresh dill. It was great on a piece of toast with spinach and tomato slices, and perfect to take to work.

Sorry this has been so abrupt, but I'll have more time to post this weekend I think. Everyone, have an excellent week. I'll be back around soon.

The real world looms...

2007-08-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

I went grocery shopping around noon yesterday--a very bold move since I had been up since before 7 that morning and had not yet had lunch. So when I went to the freezer case and spotted these Amy's burritos on special this week, I made an impulse decision that a black bean burrito would make the perfect lunch.

I've never tried any of the Amy's brand frozen products before, and I was quite impressed at how tasty a frozen burrito could be, topped with some salsa and enjoyed with a salad. Bob and I are both of the mindset that the "convenience food" craze is a very sad trend that not only impacts health but also people's connection to their food. However, when I was shopping yesterday I thought about both of us working full-time jobs, coming home tired and needing some relaxation time. I hope that I will find cooking dinner after work a way to relax sometimes, but... am I above eating a frozen burrito every now and then? Certainly not--I am glad that there is convenience food out there for me, even if I only want it to be an occasional thing.

I made these Sunny Blueberry-Corn Muffins from VWaV, and only as I was already mixing up the ingredients did it dawn on me that the 1/2 cup oil called for is A LOT of oil. Next time I'd really like to try and lower the fat content of these... but I have to admit, these are probably the best blueberry muffins I've ever tasted, with the lemon zest and the nice cornmeal texture. I'm staying out of them, though--I shared one with Bob and he's taking the rest to work to snack on and share.

I've been eating lots of salads lately, and I thought I'd take some pictures to prove it. One of my favorite varieties includes using mango chunks and Dreena's Simple Cider Vinaigrette (Vive).

I was not scheduled to start my new job until the 27th, but the company called me yesterday and asked if I'd be willing to start Monday--as in three days from now! Yikes--the real world looms larger than ever now, and Bob and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate my last weekend before jumping headfirst into full-fledged adult life.

I had read some reviews for this restaurant downtown called Thai Me Up--yes, Thai cuisine, as you may have guessed. It is very highly acclaimed, and I called to ask if it was vegan-friendly; I was assured that almost any order could be prepared to be vegan. So we got there at 6:00 and were able to take advantage of the early bird special--$10 per person for an appetizer, main course, and dessert.

Bob and I both chose the spring rolls to start, filled with shredded vegetables and black mushrooms and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Delicious--though only after they came out did I realize that I had meant to order the summer rolls, which are the same as the spring rolls but not fried. My mistake--oops.

Bob ordered the Red Thai Curry, which was rich and only mildly spicy.

I ordered the vegan Pad Thai, sweet and nutty and lightly crunchy from the mung bean sprouts. I ate less than half before I was finished, and the rest came home. What you see surrounding the noodle dish are chunks of fried tofu. I don't know why, but I expected the tofu to be sautéed, not deep-fried... I ended up peeling off the breading and just eating the tofu out of the middle, and next time I'll see if I can get it sautéed or steamed or something instead.

We both chose raspberry sorbet for dessert. You can't really tell from this picture, but it was one scoop of sorbet served in a tiny glass with a tiny spoon. It was just enough dessert to be refreshing without being too heavy.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was light and easy, with simple decor centered around white, pink, and lavender. I wish I had taken a picture of the pretty paper lanterns that hung by the tables--everything about the place was just lovely. We'll be back.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me about local versus organic produce. It's been a difficult subject for me for quite awhile, because I see the merits in both choices... though I've generally chosen local when I've been faced with the decision. As I get used to my new surroundings and do some more research about what's around, I feel certain that I'll find farmers markets and CSAs where I can support both--and then I can have my local, organic cucumber, and eat it too!

That's all I have for now, friends. Enjoy your weekend, and think of me as I start my new job Monday! Cheers!

PS--Sorry I have not been responding to your comments lately, but until we get internet at our new place I won't have time. As soon as we do, though, I'm going to start responding to each of you again--I still appreciate and adore everything you have to say!

Some eats, some treats, and my dilemma

2007-08-08T07:11:00.000-04:00

Thank you all so much for leaving your comments about my last post. I know when I get frustrated about our unyielding omnivorous society, I feel torn between being too passive--making people think I don't really find it that important--and too aggressive--shutting people's ears to what I'm saying. It helps to step back and let someone a little more removed from the situation give their opinions, and I appreciate the points each of you made.

Ahh... I've finally been doing a little more cooking these past few days, now that I'm feeling more "at home."

I spiced up these baked sweet potato fries with chili powder and lime juice, and I made a chipotle mayo dipping sauce that brought out a nice zing. I used about one teaspoon of chipotle paste to two tablespoons of Nayonaise.

Tofu scramble... Nothing special, but it sure was good.

I love graham crackers, and since packaged ones nearly always contain honey, I decided to try my hand at making my own, using the recipe in La Dolce Vegan! I don't know why I imagined these being so complicated to make but they were really quite easy, and have such a fresh and delicate flavor that could never compare to anything commercially produced. Does anyone know how long these will keep? Because around here, they lasted about... two days. Hee hee.

Daiku inspired this dish with his wonderfully fresh, beautiful potato salad. I looked at the picture but didn't read his recipe until after I had made mine... I'm surprised at how similar mine came out to his--but not really, I guess, since small waxy potatoes, fresh dill, crisp green beans, and a sweet and tangy vinaigrette make a wonderfully sweet and savory combination with a very satisfying bite. I left the potatoes slightly on the crunchy side. Perfect.

One of the simplest treats I've ever made is banana ice "cream." This time, I flavored it with cocoa powder and coffee extract--bananas and coffee pair surprisingly well together, you know!

I've had a bottle of Trader Joe's Mango Chili Vinegar waiting to be put to good use... Melody and Urban Vegan have both posted about this stuff. I liked the idea of a mango tofu stir-fry, though, so when Stonielove posted such a meal, I took a cue from her and created this meal. My friend Vesna came over and helped me make this one up, actually, and it was quite a sensation. I'll post the recipe for you at the end. A crisp green salad rounded out this meal.

And I'm going to leave you with another question. I have been eating about 75-80% organic, striving for 100%. Organic farming is something I (and I'm sure many of you) feel very strongly about, not only for health reasons but also for the environment... Conventional farming is brutal on the soil and on the air and water into which the chemicals leak--and while this method may yield more produce in the short run than organic farming, in the long run conventional agriculture is wholly unsustainable. However, what do you do when you go to buy produce and you have to choose between buying local or buying organic? Here's what happened: I went to the produce market to buy some cucumbers. The Georgia-grown conventional cucumbers were sitting in a bin right next to the California-grown organic ones. As much as I wanted to choose organic, I could not justify buying them all the way from California when I had an option that had been grown practically in my own backyard... so I chose the conventional ones instead. When organic local produce is not available, which do you choose to support?

Thanks for humoring yet another question from the brain of Laura. Have a wonderful week!

-------------------
Mango Tofu Stir-Fry

1 pound tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
2 teaspoons oil, divided
Tamari
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 small yellow onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, minced, or more to taste
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon mango-chili vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 cup whole-wheat couscous
1 cup boiling water

Heat one teaspoon oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the tofu cubes. Cook, tossing frequently, until golden brown. Splash a bit of tamari into the pan and toss the tofu until well coated on all sides, then remove tofu from the pan and place on a clean towel.

Mix the tablespoon of tamari with the vinegar, ginger, and ketchup to make a sauce; set aside.

Place the couscous in a bowl and add the boiling water; cover and set aside for five minutes, until the couscous absorbs all the water. Fluff with a fork.

Clean out the pan and then add the remaining teaspoon of oil and heat over medium-high. Add the peppers, onions, garlic, and jalapeño, and sauté until the vegetables just begin to become tender. Add the mango and the tofu cubes and cook for another minute or so. Add the sauce mixture and toss just until everything is coated. Serve over couscous.

Mixed reviews

2007-08-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Several of my friends from school were in town this week, and we all went out for a bite to eat. The restaurant selected is called R. Thomas, yet another veg-friendly place in Atlanta.

You can see from this picture that the decor was exotic--all the seating was on an outdoor patio, and despite the fact that it looked out on Peachtree Street (the main traffic vessel through downtown), it managed to conjure up the feeling of being on some tropical island. Perhaps the coolest thing was that all the light fixtures were decked out with red, blue, and green CFL bulbs!

I could not make up my mind about this place on a number of levels. One thing I really liked was their commitment to fresh, organic ingredients. They have an entire juice menu, for example, and they juice the fruits to order--straight from organic fruits, local whenever possible. They also had extensive vegan and even raw vegan selections on the menu--I ordered raw hummus with grilled vegetables and found it very satisfying.

Here's what bothered me: They touted their beef and chicken as being clean, humane, "happy" meat. Our waiter even said that since all their meat is free range and grass-fed, the restaurant shows great concern for animal welfare even in their omnivorous selections. Maybe I am too intolerant, but it really makes me angry when people say things like that. To me, it would almost be better if restaurants didn't claim that their meat was "cruelty-free" because then they are not misleading people into believing that animals would be well off if we all just started eating organic meat. It's ridiculous. Every time I have the opportunity, I explain to people that terms like "organic" and "free range" are more or less meaningless in the context of large-scale agriculture, and I find it to be such a setback when someone else comes along and claims differently. Which one do you think people are going to believe--the crazy, "extremist" vegan, or the guy who assures them that they can still enjoy their beef?

To the restaurant's credit, they do have an entire wall devoted to pamphlets promoting veganism and Farm Sanctuaries and other organizations that really do concern themselves with the welfare of animals. I don't understand why a place like that would even think it necessary to serve meat; there are about 1,001 steakhouses in Atlanta for people who just absolutely have to have their meat, so why does a restaurant that is obviously concerned with the ethics of eating feel like it should concede and serve meat, when they apparently know enough about the meat industry to promote veganism? It all just seems very deceptive to me.

Sorry, guys--I had to get that out. Please, tell me what you think. Am I just being crazy and touchy?

Anyway... here's what I've been cooking.

After thinking about this dish for quite awhile, I finally decided to make the broiled Japanese eggplant from Fatfree Vegan. It made a very elegant presentation, but it tasted... well, like eggplant. I like eggplant, but not this way--it didn't cook through very well and tasted spongy and bitter. The miso sauce was very good, though; I would make this again, but I would substitute zucchini next time--maybe some of the monster zucchini that some bloggers have been showcasing?

This next meal, however, does not receive a mixed review. I had some portabello caps waiting to be put to good use. I found some Follow Your Heart mozzarella cheese in the freezer. Put them together, and you get the Portabello Bagel Melt from Vive! I used a whole wheat bun in place of the bagel and steamed kale in place of the spinach, both making fine substitutions. The portabellos came out juicy and full of flavor, and the cheese got very satisfyingly melty. This sandwich needed nothing but a small dab of dijon mustard--perfect! Next time, I would love to try this with some roasted red peppers.

That's pretty much it for today. Peace!

Out and about, some eats, and another anniversary

2007-07-29T09:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday one of my friends from Athens came down and we got out and explored the new town together. Her cousin works at a local restaurant called Raging Burrito so we decided to stop in there for lunch. I forgot to take my camera, but next time I'll be sure to--they have some really neat menu options, and everything is vegan except for the obvious meat, cheese, and sour cream. No hidden ingredients lurking in the beans, guac, and sauces, which meant there was plenty for me to choose from. I ordered the Thai Salad (not a burrito at all!) which came with sautéed tofu and was drizzled with a light peanut sauce. It was so tasty, and HUGE--on a normal day it would have been enough for Bob and me to split, but I managed to eat the whole thing yesterday as I had uncharacteristically skipped breakfast and was pretty famished. The prices were very reasonable--$5 to $7 per meal--and with each dish being big enough to share, I can see Raging Burrito becoming a great place to stop in for a quick bite every now and then.

After lunch we roamed the streets for a little while, ducking into the little shops and things downtown. The town I live in is so close to Atlanta that it is basically a part of Atlanta rather than being a separate suburb, but it has its own downtown area that is quaint and artsy. It reminds me a little bit of downtown Athens, but more sophisticated and less trashy--Athens was a college town, of course, which meant the streets always reeked of alcohol and other unmentionable scents, but here it's clean and classy. We had fun walking and window-shopping, and occasionally stepping inside a store to get a break from the awful heat.

After exploring downtown, we headed a little further into Atlanta to check out this store I had read about on Happy Cow.

I have browsed the website of Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe several times, but I was very pleased to learn that they recently opened a retail store only about five miles from my apartment! My friend is vegetarian and quite interested in vegan living, so she was delighted to come along and check the place out with me.

The store is small, but they have some wonderful shirts and shoes and purses and wallets, as well as a section of supplements and beauty products, a nice collection of vegan cookbooks and magazines, and of course a grocery section. I found some brands that I have wanted to try--including Temptation soy ice cream, as well as Sheese (though the Sheese is quite expensive, I have to say, and whenever I can finally bring myself to buy it, it will have to be a VERY occasional purchase)! I picked up two dark chocolate peanut butter cups and a little package of seitan jerky. Today I went back, dragging Bob along with me. He loved the place too, of course... He especially loves his ice cream, so we picked up a little pint of this:

It's so creamy and rich (read: fattening!) so hopefully I'll be able to control myself around it. It's made on 100% vegan equipment by a 100% vegan company... which is just cool, and the way vegan ice cream should be (though I definitely have nothing against Soy Delicious!)... I remember reading about it on Bazu's blog, and I'm glad that I can finally try it myself.

Here are some of the things I have been cooking this week:

I have made this dahl before, but it was so good that it merited another photo.

This I have not made before, but now that I have made it, I can't figure out why it's taken me so long--I guess because I've never been a fan of Ranch dressing, so it's not been high on my list of things to veganize. But The Grit Cookbook has a recipe for its Famous Vegan Ranch Dressing, and I decided to give it a shot because the only way I've ever been able to force myself to eat raw carrots is by dipping them in Ranch dressing. Now, I don't know how "famous" this stuff really is, but it's far, far better than any Ranch dressing I have ever had before. I used Nayonaise, which really doesn't taste like real mayonnaise--and I suspect that's the reason I like this so much, because I always hated mayonnaise. The other bonus is that by using Nayonaise, this dressing has less than 30 calories per tablespoon--much less heart-stopping than the "real" thing!

I was cleaning out some of our folders and things where we have been stashing junk for the past two years (it's amazing how that stuff accumulates), and I came across a recipe on an index card that I had stashed away and forgotten before I ever even made it. It looked good, and a quick glance at the ingredients told me that I could veganize it in a snap... so I did.

Gingerbread scones. I know it's not exactly the season, but how I love anything gingerbread! I'm including the veganized recipe at the end here. I used fresh grated ginger, but when I make these again I might splurge a little and throw in some chopped crystallized ginger for a special treat. These are excellent dipped in coffee or orange-flavored tea.

Monday was our wedding anniversary, but today, 29 July, marks another anniversary--two, really. It's the one-year anniversary of this blog, but more importantly, a year ago today was when Bob and I made the decision to remove animal products from our diet and our lives. We had been nearly vegan for a couple of months already, and we knew after being vegetarian for about six months and doing our research about animal agriculture that committing to a vegan lifestyle was the right thing to do. So we did it, and we have not looked back. We've learned that being vegan, once you get used to it, is not difficult but exciting. Our tastes have changed, our bodies are so thankful for being kinder to them, and my cooking skills have truly blossomed. And, I have come to know and love so many like-minded people through your beautiful blogs. I know I've said this before, but you all really inspire me and give me hope, and I thank you for sharing your lives and your families with me. So often when I'm talking I will just refer to you by name--"So-and-so said such-and-such," as if we had just had a conversation over a cup of coffee or something. And that's really special to me, my friends! So thanks for sharing this year with me, and teaching me so much, and just for being so special.

Until next time!

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Gingerbread Scones

1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons very warm water
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
6 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, chilled
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup molasses
Orange juice
Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 400. In a blender, combine the flax meal and the warm water and mix until frothy. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda, and salt, and stir in the grated ginger. Cut the margarine into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the 1/4 cup water and the molasses to the flax mixture, and blend again until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir until moist. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead about 10-15 times. Shape the dough into a circle and cut into 12 wedges. Place the wedges onto a cookie sheet, brush the tops with the orange juice, and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until done.

A new home and another year

2007-07-24T13:05:00.001-04:00

I know it's been nearly a week since I posted, but I've just been incredibly busy--I'm sure you can imagine. I am becoming more and more excited by our new place every day, though, and it's really beginning to feel like home now. Here are a couple of shots of the dining room and the kitchen--which are finally in order.

The kitchen seemed so small at first, but with a little creativity and some thrift store shopping, we've got it up and running comfortably. I'm excited to have a gas stove instead of the electric one at our old place--I've always liked cooking with gas.

Since we were just about out of food, one of the first things I did when we got here was make a trip to Trader Joe's. There is a TJ's that just opened five miles from our apartment. I picked up this frozen entrée, which was very handy when we still had our kitchen packed up in boxes.

Here it is all cooked up--not too bad for a frozen meal.

I didn't do much cooking until yesterday. July 23, 2007, marked our two-year wedding anniversary! Instead of going out, we opted to cook up some special meals.

These are the Banana Bliss Pancakes from Vive! Always a favorite, and topped with blueberry sauce makes them really special.

Also from Vive! this is the Quinoa Spring Salad, which is also a favorite. As usual, I added about 1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas and made this a meal on its own.

Dinner, actually, was mostly Bob's doing--not from Vive! but still a Dreena recipe, we decided to try the Ginger Hoisin Rice Noodles from TEV. Simply delicious! In lieu of lemons I used lime wedges to finish, and it was just perfect.

We had hoped to go camping or take a road trip or something like that to celebrate our anniversary, but it kind of fell at an awkward time this year, what with moving (and the final Harry Potter book coming out--hee hee). So we settled on going for a nice, long walk and stopping at a local tavern for drinks. It made a lovely evening, and we'll have plenty more anniversaries to celebrate however we want!

I made these grasshopper cupcakes for Bob (though I did sneak a little taste). I used the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe from VCTOTW, and I made a simple crème de menthe buttercream frosting. Very fun and satisfying.

I'm having a difficult time finding places to go online, but now that most of the hard part of moving is over, I hope to have more time to get out and check out the town. Until next time!

Semi-huge update

2007-07-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this is day three of trying to post this blog entry. My laptop is having some serious issues so I'm going to be engaged in some major back-up and recovery operations... Whew! At least I didn't lose all these pics!

Hello! I am in the middle of moving--we have until Friday to be out of our current place so it's going to be a process of several days. I'm not going to have Internet access at my new place for a while, so I wanted to go ahead and fill you in on the past couple of weeks while I have the chance. So...

First thing: I finished my exams! At least for now. I won't know my scores for the last two exams for probably another month, and here's hoping I passed. But at least for the next few weeks, I can do whatever I want to do!

Second thing: Apart from Bob, Mary Ann is probably the best friend I have in the world... and I was delighted to be in her wedding Saturday. This isn't a great shot of the two of us, but it's the best I have until the "official" pictures are available.

And this picture's almost two years old now... when she was in my wedding.

Saturday was a very sweet and emotional day, and I can't wait until she and her beau Jacob get back from Mexico so that we can go on a double date together!

Food-wise, the whole wedding experience was quite wonderful. The reception (except for the cake) was a vegan's paradise--fresh fruits, raw and lightly steamed veggies, toasted pita wedges with fresh pineapple salsa... And the caterers told the wedding party to take home all the food we wanted after the reception was over, so my refrigerator has been full of fresh fruits and veggies ever since. As for the rehearsal dinner, it was held at a restaurant downtown. Both the bride's and groom's families were so gracious and accommodating... Here is the pasta dish that the chefs invented for Bob and me for the rehearsal dinner--artichoke hearts, roasted tomatoes, spinach, and an oil-based dressing over spaghetti noodles. It was fabulous.

For dessert, the other guests ate key lime pie while Bob and I were served plates of fresh seasonal berries. I can't say that I was jealous at all.

Apart from weddings and tests and moving, I have a little backlog of food photos to share with you.

This is from the 4th of July... finally. I made a double batch of the Barbecued Seitan Ribz from Fatfree Vegan. I had to bake them in the oven as I had no grill available... but wow, were these good. The texture was a little spongy at first, but the leftovers were perfect after some chill time. Definitely, definitely a keeper. Does anyone have a good barbecue sauce they particularly recommend? Oh yes, raw broccoli and The Grit's Super Seven-Spice Potatoes rounded out the meal.

This was just a quick bean salad that I made after picking up some fresh, local green beans from the health food store. Blanched green beans, chickpeas, red onions, and a dressing of vegetable broth, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper. I got the idea from an online recipe forum somewhere, but now I can't remember where. Good, though--light and healthy and filling.

Just a quick grilled sauerkraut, cheeze, and seitan sandwich using up the rest of the block cheeze that I made recently. I know several of you have asked me how the cheeze melted; well, I didn't have much success with it, either broiling or grilling. It's okay--it was still tasty and worth making again--but it would be nice to figure out how to make it melt just a little! By the way, this sandwich, though being a bit on the junky side, was quite good. Dijon mustard is essential.

I finally found a little farmers market just outside of Athens, and a couple of weeks ago I hit it up for the first time. There were about five or six growers present, but the produce they had to offer was quite a treat. I bought three cucumbers, three tomatoes, a bunch of fresh basil, and over two pounds of Swiss chard!

This soba noodle stir-fry was one of the best, and quickest, meals I've made in quite a while. I just threw in veggies that I had on hand, including fresh green beans, carrots, daikon radish, plenty of chard, some squash and zucchini... and garnished with green onions. Quick sauté in a little bit of sesame oil, then at the end I added a sauce similar to this one from Stonielove. I can't remember exactly how I made the sauce, but I do remember kicking it up with some siracha sauce... yum.

Finally, I decided to try the Brown Rice Pizza from Vive! I made a nice basil pesto to top it with, in addition to mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and red onion. The above photo is fresh from the oven...

And this is after trying to serve it. It was delicious, and the rice was seasoned so well, but... it fell apart. Oops. I followed the "crust" recipe exactly, so I'm not sure what went wrong. So, it was somewhat pizza-like but not really pizza... but it still made a tasty dinner.

And this is something that I created for Bob, one morning when he wanted pancakes but all of our cooking appliances and such were packed away. We had some leftover waffles in the freezer so I took them out, toasted them up, spread them with peanut butter and added a dollop of warm jam, then topped with a squirt of Soyatoo whipped topping. Don't know if this qualifies more as breakfast or dessert but he definitely seemed pleased (and based on the bite I stole, he had a good reason!).

I'll be back around periodically, but I don't know for now just how much I'll be able to get online. But I've been reading all your blogs and commenting whenever I could, and I promise I won't stop! :)

How 'bout that?

2007-07-10T17:54:00.000-04:00

I'm still in over my head with my upcoming exam and other life events taking place, but I had to come out of hiding quickly to express my excitement about winning second prize in Urban Vegan's Vegans Gone Wild! contest! Thanks, Urban Vegan!

Also, let me extend my congratulations to the first place winner, Diann! Her Extreme Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Tart with Caramel Sauce certainly looks like a deserving win to me, and I am excited to give it a go when I have the chance.

Urban Vegan will be posting the recipes later this week for all the hedonistic dessert submissions, and I will certainly be checking them out. Some of your entries I have already seen on your blogs, and let me tell you, the world of vegan desserts is a happy place with people like all of you around!

That's all--and now I dive back into my busy world... but expect a nice, long post from me with lots of pictures sometime next week! And thanks for all your encouragement. It means so much to me...

Assortment of meals

2007-07-03T12:56:00.000-04:00

One of Bob's friends recently wanted to take him out as a late birthday present, and he kindly allowed me to tag along. The restaurant was Clocked!, our local vegan-friendly diner with meat and cheese analogues to cover nearly every item on the menu. Bob opted for their hummus sandwich--they have a tasty hummus that seems to be pretty unique in the area of restaurant hummuses.

I chose this cheezeburger--and ended up discarding half of the enormous bun just so I could get a taste of something other than bread. It was tasty vegan junk food, and what really made the flavor great was their kickin' basil-jalapeño sauce.

Speaking of analogues, it has been on my mind for quite some time to try the Classic White Uncheeze from Vegan Vittles. Finally I got around to it, and I added liquid smoke as the recipe suggested for a smoked flavor. It's pretty tasty in my opinion--better than the Follow Your Heart stuff that we have purchased before. Next time I'll add more of the liquid smoke, which only comes through very subtly in this batch. The texture is somewhat firm but a bit crumbly, and I have not even tested its melt yet.

Bob tasted this and said "This would be good with that Seitan O'Greatness." 'Nuff said. A few hours later:

He's right. They do go very well together.

I had some local, organic zucchini on hand, and lasagna on my brain... so what ensued was this spinach and mushroom lasagna with zucchini in place of lasagna noodles. Here you can see it in its several stages of development:

I enjoyed it the evening I made it for dinner, but I have enjoyed the leftovers even more, as it firmed up much better upon refrigeration.

I don't know how much I'll be around in the next couple of weeks. I have my next exam this Friday the 6th, and then next week I'll be cramming for my last exam which I have scheduled for Monday the 16th. On top of that, we'll be packing for our upcoming move to Atlanta, also scheduled for the 16th... AND I am going to be in my best friend's wedding which will keep me occupied for most of Friday and Saturday of next week. I may not have a chance to post again until after we're in our new apartment, so in the meantime, happy cooking!

Sweeties

2007-06-30T21:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I inadvertently got into a dessert-making mode... I wanted to make a special treat for Bob, something that I knew that he would love. I didn't want to experiment on him (you'll see what I mean)... So I turned to my all-time tried and true cookbook, Vive Le Vegan! I cannot say enough good things about this cookbook, really. I didn't want to make any of Dreena's cookie recipes because I'm out of maple syrup at the moment, and that ingredient is what really makes her cookies shine. So I turned instead to the Chocolate P-Nut Butter Bars. They were a cinch to make, even though I had to wash my saucepan out twice during the process. And the result? Well...

It couldn't have tasted better if it had tried. Granted, peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven in my book, so these treats started with automatic points before I ever even sampled them. (And that's all I did--sample them! I'm still trying to fit back into my jeans comfortably!) Bob spoke very highly of these as well... with his mouth full, of course.

Then it was time for the experiment. When Urban Vegan announced her Vegans Gone Wild! contest, I knew that I wanted to try and re-create some classic French dessert. The winner?

These cute little profiteroles, cream puffs, which are commonly stuffed with ice cream or sweet whipped cream, and always drizzled with a rich, warm chocolate sauce. I decided to do a twist on both the cream and the chocolate--I made an almond whipped crème and served these profiteroles with a warm mocha sauce. Now, I have to admit before I post these recipes that I am quite pleased with the results of the crème and the mocha sauce... but not entirely pleased with the recipe for the cream puffs themselves. I have never made vegan pastries before so I was winging it on trying to replace the traditional eggs and re-creating the texture and mouth feel of cream puff pastry. I didn't get it exactly right, and I didn't have time to experiment with it again as the deadline sneaked up on me. But darn it, I went to all that trouble so I'm submitting this anyway! They look pretty, right? And they tasted fine, just not perfect. Can't win 'em all...

Almond Whipped Crème (I made this the day before so it would be sure to set)

1/2 cup plain soy creamer
1 tablespoon agar flakes
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 block (6 ounces) lite silken tofu
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Combine creamer, agar, and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until agar dissolves and the mixture becomes translucent and begins to thicken. Remove from heat. In a blender, combine tofu and extracts, and scrape the agar mixture into the blender. Whiz together until well blended and smooth. Chill for several hours. Once set, whiz again in the blender to soften, as it will have become very firm.

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Cream Puff Pastry

3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup water
6 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
6 tablespoons mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch turmeric (for color--may be omitted)

Place flour, salt, and nutmeg in a small bowl and stir through. In a saucepan, bring the margarine and water to a boil, then remove from heat and add the mixture of dry ingredients. With a wooden spoon, stir vigorously for about one minute. Place the saucepan back over low heat and cook the mixture for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Combine the mashed potatoes, baking powder, and turmeric, and add the mixture gradually to the mixture in the saucepan, mixing well between additions. Form the dough into 12 medium-large balls and drop onto an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

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Mocha Sauce

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coffee extract (or more, to taste)
1/4-1/2 cup plain soy milk

Combine the chocolate and water over a double boiler and heat gently, stirring constantly, until melted. Add soy milk as needed to thin the sauce to a pourable consistency. Once the mixture becomes smooth and saucy, remove from heat and stir in the extracts. Use immediately or reheat to serve.

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To assemble: Slice the cream puff in half, and place a generous spoonful of well-chilled almond crème on the bottom piece. Top with the other half of the cream puff, and then drizzle the warm sauce over the top and serve immediately.

My good friend the chickpea

2007-06-29T13:02:00.000-04:00

...O how I love thee.

I don't know what it is about chickpeas, but I find them more refreshing and satisfying than other legumes during the summer--perhaps because they lend themselves so well to consumption alongside fresh, raw veggies, both plain and mixed into salads and other wonderful concoctions. I certainly eat my share of these guys, and I have two fabulous lunches to prove it.

The first is a standard favorite. Hummus with fresh cucumbers, squash, and toasted pita wedges. I had a friend over for lunch and we made this together, and I have come to learn that I really enjoy making hummus with friends--it's a fun task and makes for good fellowship.

It's just a basic hummus recipe, with the addition of some sun-dried tomatoes for a little twist.

A second chickpea-centered lunch that I came up with recently was this curried chickpea salad... which turned out to be one of the best recipes I have ever invented just on the fly. I've got the recipe for you, too.

It couldn't have been more perfect served on a bed of romaine lettuce (I love buying the organic salad greens that have been "reduced for quick sale")... but I imagine it would make a decent sandwich or pita as well.

Curried Chickpea Salad

3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained well
1/4 cup Nayonaise
1/2 sweet onion, minced
1 rib celery, minced
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced (or run through a garlic press)
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Mix the chickpeas and Nayonaise in a bowl, and mash the chickpeas with the back of a fork until mostly mashed, with a few lumps. Add remaning ingredients and combine well. Serve chilled over salad greens.

Adieu.

Gotta do what you gotta do

2007-06-27T12:34:00.000-04:00

What I had to do was try and salvage the bland lentil dip that I made several days ago... It was dry and flavorless but I thought it had potential. So I added some curry powder to it, along with some minced cilantro, and I formed it into patties and baked it (325, 20 minutes) as a sort of twist on falafel. I spritzed the patties with canola oil before baking them, to help with the dryness problem. It worked out well--the lentil purée was so firm after refrigeration that I did not have to add a binder of any kind.

They still weren't great, but they were much more palatable, especially with a quick, light tahini dressing that I whisked together. Alongside a scoop of tabouli salad, it made a nice Middle East-inspired lunch.

The tabouli salad comes from The Grit's cookbook, and The Grit's version is the best tabouli salad I have ever tasted. The great thing about The Grit is that I can take their cookbook to Atlanta with me and enjoy most of my favorite meals, but lightened up and more affordable. The tahini dressing I made was also inspired by a Grit recipe, but I cut out all the oil and just added water to thin it out.

PS--If you're looking for a cool drink to enjoy in this summer heat, try a scoop of peach sorbet, 1/2 cup champagne, and a shot of Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur. Nice!

Thank you, thank you

2007-06-23T21:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much for all your well-wishes and thoughts and especially prayers for Bob's recovery. He felt much, much better today--still tired and not much of an appetite, but obviously on the mend. And as for me, so far so good. I have always been prone to throat infections, so living in close quarters like this with his particular illness just makes me a little panicky. But I believe I have been spared!

I've been cooking up some different things, trying to entice Bob to eat something more substantial than garlic soup or saltines. I made some miso soup with carrots and kale this evening, and he ate a bit of that, so I was happy to at least get some vegetables into him.

This one I was sure would win him over. I was wrong...

Mashed potatoes and lightly steamed kale, topped with The Grit's Yeast Gravy. This stuff is dangerous to have around, because I love it so much. Bob didn't feel up to it, but thank goodness he's feeling better because he loves this too, and he'll eat the leftovers so I'm not stuck with them.

I wanted to get him to eat something with some spicy mustard on it, to help clear out his congestion. He didn't want a sandwich or anything like that, but I knew if I made these he wouldn't be able to refuse them.

Everyone knows that big, soft pretzels are just a vehicle for mustard, right? Right! My little scheme worked this time--he gladly partook. I'd never made pretzels before so I referred to this recipe to get the idea down. I modified it a bit, as usual, so I'll include my recipe at the end of this post. These came out soft and chewy, just like a good pretzel should.

This is a potato stir-fry that Bob made a day or so before he got sick. He was actually able to stomach the leftovers, even with cilantro and spicy salsa. Must have been good! Someone recently asked me for the recipe for this meal so I'm going to include it here too, though the possibilities are obviously endless!

I've been drinking blueberry-banana-flax smoothies for breakfast and eating salads or kale & kraut sammiches for lunch, so despite what the above evidence may suggest I HAVE been eating pretty well--plenty of fruits and veggies and whole grains, and I've been avoiding sugar pretty well. If I must sweeten something, I generally either use stevia (for tea) or agave nectar (for porridge and such).

But what's a hot Georgia summer without fruit sorbet? I was inspired to make this champagne peach sorbet by the open bottle of champagne in our refrigerator, left over from earlier in the week when Bob and I had a little celebration. When he got sick I knew that no one would finish it before it went flat, so I used up some of it this way. Peaches and champagne pair so well, and there couldn't be a better time of year to enjoy a treat like this.

So what were we celebrating with the champagne? Well, I found out earlier this week that I have passed both of the CPA exams I have taken! Woot! Now I just have two more to go, and I'll be done by mid-July. Praise God! I couldn't have been more ecstatic.

Wishing you all health and happiness and peace and joy....

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Big, Soft Pretzels

1 cup plain soy milk, warmed (not too hot--around 110 degrees)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon demerara sugar

Combine the above ingredients in a small bowl and let sit 10 minutes, or until foamy. In the meantime, mix in a large bowl:

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture. Begin working it together, adding more all-purpose flour as needed, about 1/4 cup at a time. I added about 3/4 cup total. Once you can form the dough into a ball, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, incorporating more flour if necessary, until the ball of dough is smooth and soft. No rising time is necessary.

Divide the dough into 6 portions, and roll each piece out into a long, thin log. Once rolled out, let the dough rest for about 5 minutes; then roll each piece out more, if necessary, to a length of about 15 inches and a thickness about the size of your thumb.

Preheat oven to 425. Bring a pot of water to a boil. In the meantime, form each piece of dough into a pretzel shape; where you fold the ends of the dough back over the middle you may need to pinch it together slightly so that it will hold--but don't put too much pressure or you will flatten the dough. When the water is boiling, boil one pretzel at a time, for about 5 seconds, then remove and place directly on a greased pan. I found the easiest way to do this was to place the pretzel on a slotted spoon and submerge it; the pretzel stayed on the spoon and I didn't have to go fishing for it. Once on the pan, immediately sprinkle the pretzel with the desired topping (I used coarse salt on some and sesame seeds on some) and then repeat the process with the remaining pretzels. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Serve right away with mustard or your condiment of choice!

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Bob's "Hash Browns" (aka Potato Stir-Fry)

For each serving you wish to make, you will need:
One large or two small potatoes (any variety should be fine), sliced into wedges
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup chopped vegetables (we commonly use mushrooms, green peppers, zucchini, etc.)

Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet, adding the onions and garlic as it begins to heat. Sauté for several minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Add the other vegetables and the potatoes and cook on medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more oil if necessary to keep from sticking (but remember--it's much easier to add more than it is to remove it if you've added too much). During the last few minutes of cooking, season with salt and cayenne or black pepper to taste. Serve with ketchup or, as I prefer, with a bit of cilantro and some spicy salsa.

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Champagne Peach Sorbet

1 cup sliced frozen peaches (NOTE: If you use fresh peaches, make sure you slice and freeze them 2-3 days ahead of time to ensure a good texture)
1/2 cup champagne*
2 tablespoons white grape juice concentrate (or simple syrup, if you prefer), or more, to reach desired sweetness

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the peaches are pulverized and the mixture forms a smooth slush. Transfer to a container with a lid and freeze for one hour. Remove from freezer and stir, then retun to freezer and freeze for 2 hours or more, until set.

* If you prefer, you can just use simple syrup in place of the champagne: Combine equal parts sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has reduced slightly. Make sure to cool the syrup completely before proceeding with the recipe.

My plans are on hold...

2007-06-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

I have not meant to disappear this week. I had some meals in mind, actually... but that was before Bob got sick. He's had this nasty sore throat for several days now--much worse than my recent bout. He doesn't want to swallow anything at all, much less anything solid. The poor guy... I've been keeping him full of ginger tea, and gargling salt water. I hope it passes soon. It's extremely rare for him to get this ill.

He has been requesting the Cure What Ails Ya Garlic Soup from LDV constantly, so I have tried to make sure there's always some at the ready. It seems to pick him up whenever he eats it, I guess just because he's so hungry--though garlic is known to be high in antibacterial and antiviral compounds that I know cannot hurt. I wish I could enjoy this soup too, but I had an incident several years ago that involved large quantities of garlic and I have only been able to stomach it in modest doses since.

Bob loves this soup with a slice of toasted spelt bread and a little dab of Earth Balance.

This morning as he was leaving for work, I had a feeling he would be coming home soon so I made this sore throat-friendly porridge that he could enjoy when he came back. Sure enough, he never even clocked in before he turned around and came home.

Barley and quinoa porridge (recipe follows). Bob really liked it, so that was wonderful. I loved it too, despite that it was a very warm first morning of summer. The porridge is smooth and creamy, and has a wonderfully delicate vanilla aroma and flavor.

I made this for lunch, thinking that Bob might eat it. He didn't, but it was no loss for him, really.

There is a recipe in LDV for Lentil Dip... The idea is similar to hummus, but with red lentils rather than chickpeas--which sounded like an interesting idea. The copious quantities of oil that the recipe called for freaked me out, so I cut it way down. The resulting flavor was bland--even though I kicked up the spices a good bit. It made an okay lunch with some toasted pita wedges and cucumber slices, but I'm not going to be able to eat the rest in its present form. And it made quite a bit. I have an idea on how to use up the leftovers so that it might not be a total waste, but I shall not be making this recipe again.

As soon as Bob's feeling well enough to eat regular food, I have some recipes I want to try... but until then, please think happy thoughts for him. And for me too--I don't want any part of whatever this is! Take care... I'll be back around soon.

----------------

Barley-Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

1/2 cup pearled barley
1/2 cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain soy milk
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

Combine grains, water, cinnamon, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring 2-3 times. Increase heat to medium-low; add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, for another 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until barley is soft. Serve with additional agave nectar and milk, if desired.

A weekend in food

2007-06-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

After making sushi on Thursday night, I got excited about it and so Friday I decided to make myself some raw sushi for lunch.

I used alfalfa sprouts instead of rice, and the filling consisted of strips of raw zucchini, mushrooms, and green onions, all marinated for just a few minutes in a mixture of tamari, ginger, and sesame oil. I spread a thin layer of wasabi paste into the roll for some extra flavor. This was fantastic and far, far easier than dealing with sticky rice. A side of steamed edamame rounded out the meal quite well.

That evening, Bob and I met up with our friend Vesna and decided to go to The Grit for dinner, just one last time before he and I leave Athens (in less than a month now--wow!). I wasn't too hungry so I ordered a tabbouli salad, and ended up taking half of it home with me.

Bob ordered the noodle bowl--the day's sauce was a creamy roasted garlic sauce, which was kind of spicy and very smooth, but too much garlic flavor for me.

The three of us also shared an order of sweet potato fries. They're hard to pass up at The Grit, being seasoned so well with chili powder and cinnamon. See? We almost ate them all up before I remembered to take a picture. Hee hee.

So with that, Bob and I bid The Grit farewell--at least until we come back for a visit.

Yesterday for lunch I wanted to try raw zucchini noodles, which I made with my vegetable peeler. I've never used zucchini as pasta before, but it is something I will do again. This lunch was so light and fresh, with tomatoes and mushrooms and SusanV's white bean pesto, and a sprinkling of sea salt, sesame seeds, and nutritional yeast.

Last night we went to Vesna's for a stir-fry:

And she ended up crashing at our place, so I made a special breakfast of Vive's Blueberry Bounty Buns and fresh cantaloupe. The buns were delicious and not too sweet, and a cup of mandarin orange herbal tea complemented them so nicely.

The end.

Something simple, something special

2007-06-15T09:59:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid there's not a whole lot to share right now... I haven't had much of an appetite, really, and I've been studying like mad for my 6 July exam. I am still trying to eat fresh, healthy, and non-processed as much as I can, though I have caved and drunk coffee several times. It just helps so much when I'm stuck at home studying all day, to at least have something cozy to sip on.

One of the easiest and best lunches ever: Bake a sweet potato, then cut it open and serve it topped with homemade black beans. The beans are spicy, a perfect answer to the mellow, sweet spud.

Well, this isn't exactly unprocessed... but it was in my freezer, and I didn't have time to go grocery shopping on Wednesday. But I had recently spied these Dominex Eggplant Burgers at the health food store, so I picked up a box for just such an occasion. I actually really liked it... better than a Boca Burger or something like that. It actually tasted like eggplant, and the box assured me that it was vegan. I ate it on half a whole wheat bun, dressed it up with mustard and sprouts, and topped it with some cucumber slices. Pretty tasty.

This was my excitement for the week--it had been so long since I made my own sushi. Bob helped me with the miso soup (Quick Miso Soup For One, from LDV, but we split it into two portions), which contains diced silken tofu, baby spinach, and green onions, and I took care of the sushi rolls.

The roll on the left contains green onions with baby bellas, marinated in rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, and chopped ginger. The marinade was really tasty. The roll on the right is made with strips of grilled zucchini and grilled sweet potato. Nothing beats the taste of grilled veggies, and I loved this roll. With a small decanter of warmed rice wine, this meal was every bit as good as a sushi meal out on the town.

That's all for now. Hope your weekend is fantastic.

Farewell to the beach

2007-06-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

I grew up so close to the beach that for a long time after moving to Athens (four hours inland), driving back down to the beach never really appealed to me that much. But now that I only get back to the coast about once a year, I really do love it... and I often miss smelling the salt in the air and even the occasional visit from a crab that has somehow made its way into my backyard.

Bob and I went down to visit my family on Friday, and then Saturday we joined his family at Tybee Island, where they have rented out a beach house for the entire week. We meant to come back Sunday night, but I was having such an amazing time that I convinced Bob to take Monday off work so we could stay an extra day. Even yesterday evening it was still hard to leave, but we really did need to get back home.

Sunday morning's sunrise over the ocean was an incredible sight to see. I love the way the light dances on the water...

I always think it's fascinating to watch sea birds... the way they fly so gracefully together, the way the wind currents lift them and propel them along... the way they dive-bomb into the waves and emerge with a meal clamped in their beaks. This flock of pelicans I watched for quite awhile, until they disappeared around the north side of the island.

Swimming in the salty water doesn't really do it for me most of the time, but walks on the beach in the morning and after dark are always special moments for me. There is something about standing at the edge of the water, listening to the dark ocean and unable to see where it meets the dark sky... It makes me feel more aware of how small my life is, in a wonderful way.

I made this Quinoa Spring Salad (Vive!) to take along with us... It made several good meals until we finally polished it off.

Yesterday Bob and I had run out of food at the beach house, so I made a trip to the grocery store and picked up a few essential items, to make this quick three-bean chili. Yes, it may have been a little out-of-season, but it was the best and healthiest meal I could throw together inexpensively... and I could leave it in the crockpot while I was out on the beach. I thought it might turn out just so-so, but it was actually quite good. Fresh lime juice squeezed in at the last minute really freshened it up.

Other than that, we took black beans and soy milk and got by rather nicely for the weekend. Oh yes, and before we left for our trip, I made this incredible sandwich, prompted by Gaia: Kale and Kraut Sandwiches from Vegan Vittles. Only... I had no kale, but I did have local collard greens, and they worked just as well. This is a new favorite--it's easy and tangy and healthy, and filling enough to fuel a four-hour drive.

Well, now that I'm home I'm going to be studying a lot, and enjoying the weather as much as I can, and maybe not cooking too much. But I'm confident that I'll have more to share soon. I hope your week has gotten off to a good start!

Randomness

2007-06-07T19:54:00.000-04:00

I don't have a lot of food to show you today... Bob works at the dining hall on campus, which means he gets two free meals a day, so I've not been much inclined to concoct anything exciting just for myself. I've been eating leftovers and repeats, and let's face it, you can only take so many pics of the same meals. Besides leftover black beans, kale, and white bean pesto with fresh veggies, I've been enjoying some delicious, frosty smoothies:

As well as some fresh, organic salads:

In addition, I have been drinking cayenne pepper tea to try and kill this sore throat that I've had for weeks now. I know cayenne is known for its ability to cure a sore throat, but it doesn't seem to be helping me a whole lot. Bleh. Any other remedies you can share with me?

In the absence of much exciting food, I wanted to share with you these fun facts about me. Kleopatra posted these on her blog and kindly requested for her fellow blogger friends to fill them out, so here you go!

1. I love...
...my Creator/Father/Redeemer... Bob... my family and friends... nature... writing... sustainable agriculture... people, cultures, languages... Disney World (yes, it's true)

2. Right now I want...
...people to care about things that are important... to go on a road trip... to see a rainforest

3. I feel like...
...hugging someone who loves me... reading a good book

4. I hate it when...
...I waste my time... I wake up with a sore throat... people are apathetic... I make a bad impression

5. I fear...
...rejection... loneliness... illness... superficiality... climate change

6. I'm lonely without...
...Bob... writing... a good book to read... my friends

7. I need...
...time to be with God... to be active... to say what I'm thinking... to write... true friends to surround me

8. Today I...
...stayed at home alone, studying and drinking tea

9. Tomorrow I'm...
...driving down to the beach and to see my family

10. I just...
...went walking and got caught in the rain

11. I want to meet...
...other veg bloggers... Al Gore ("Why aren't you a vegan, sir?")... Cloud Strife (Any FFVII fans out there?)

12. I'm hungry for...
...nothing, bleh

13. I love it when...
...Bob does special things for me... people call me... I get to cook for people... I get to tell people why I'm vegan... a book or a movie makes me cry

14. I'm afraid of...
...blood... masks... false friends... not having my health... not having a planet suitable for my children to live on

15. I'm listening to...
...the A/C... my tummy rumbling

16. I'm wearing...
...an old t-shirt of my dad's... green pj pants

17. I wish I was in...
...Paris... South Dakota... California... Alaska... Canada... or anywhere but here

18. I'm craving...
...a vacation

19. I want to get...
...a bike (and sell a car)

20. I can...
...express myself well through writing

21. I can't...
...take it anymore

22. I have...
...difficulty focusing on things I don't want to do (like studying)

23. I haven't...
...always been very happy

24. I'm nervous...
...about doing the things *I* want to do... about what others think of me

25. My Mom thinks I'm...
...the smartest person who ever lived

26. My Dad thinks I'm...
...going to live my life the way he and Mom want

27. I think...
...it would be nice if my parents listened to *me* for a change

28. I'm happy when...
...Bob and I are having fun together... I get to see my sister... I don't have anything to think about

29. I'm sad when...
...my friends let me down... I let my friends down... I think about injustice

30. I like eating...
...ANYTHING vegan

31. I hate eating...
...anything NOT vegan

32. I love watching...
...rain on the streets... the wind... the French Open... Bob thinking

33. I love listening to...
...summer thunderstorms... Simon and Garfunkel... people speaking foreign languages (especially if I can understand them)

34. I love playing...
...tennis... 20 questions... Final Fantasy VII... music

35. I hate waking up to...
...Bob's alarm, because then I have to watch him leave

36. I can see...
...rain dripping from the eaves outside my window

37. I'm glad that...
...I have Bob... I have vegan friends... God created me just as I am

38. I'm disappointed that...
...so many people I am close to are harsh and rude when it comes to veganism... someone close to me ignored my birthday... some people do horrible things in the name of God

39. I look like...
...a wet willow tree

40. I wish I looked like...
...an athlete (maybe Martina Hingis)

I'm leaving tomorrow for the weekend--we're going to spend a few days down at the beach in Savannah. AND I'll get to see my sister! We'll probably just take leftover beans and such to eat while we're away, but I hope I'll be back to having food to share next week. Take care and have a fabulous weekend!

Tight budget, tight jeans

2007-06-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

That's where I find myself after these past few weeks. Sitting around studying, while munching on carby, less-than-healthy snacks has taken its toll on my body... and with me being out of work until late August, I find that my checkbook is being slowly depleted. So it seems like the perfect time to try and detox, and turn back to the basics: Whole, fresh foods, including plenty of grains and legumes and raw or lightly cooked veggies and fruits. I'm trying to drink nothing but water and the occasional ginger tea, until my body forgets that it ever wanted caffeine like it sometimes does. I'm trying to limit my intake of soy, as it's more highly processed. And I'm trying to sever my sweet tooth by eating nothing refined or having added sweetness of any kind. I've been going at it a couple of days now, and I'm doing fairly well except for the blasted cheesecake left over from Bob's birthday, from which I keep sneaking little nibbles. But I think it will be gone soon!

I made this quick soda bread from La Dolce Vegan--Sarah's Sandwich Spelt Bread. The green flecks you see are sunflower seeds. So far I like this bread a lot--and there is one tablespoon of maple syrup in the entire loaf, which is no cause for alarm as far as added sweetness goes, methinks.

A slice of this bread toasted and topped with Vesna's satarash makes an excellent breakfast...

And as per the name of the recipe, it's good sandwich bread too. This sandwich consists of SusanV's white bean pesto, which is really not so much a pesto as a white bean spread, topped with plenty of sprouts, mushrooms, and local cucumbers, and a bit of dijon mustard.

I asked Bob what he wanted for his "birthday dinner," and he requested beans and rice. Fine by me! I made a huge crockpot full of black beans, and we had them with brown rice and kale. Bob loves it when I put green peppers in the beans--it sort of lends a ranchy flavor that's quite nice.

For the kale, I used another recipe from LDV--Emira's Speedy Gourmet Kale & Tofu Delight. That's a long name for sautéed kale with little tofu cubes. It was absolutely delicious... my new favorite way to make kale. A sprinkling of toasted pine nuts adds a lot of flavor.

This is unusual for me, but today I have not had much of an appetite. I ate a little bit of granola for breakfast, but around 2:00 PM I decided I should probably really have something to eat. I can't understand why, but I've been jonesing for miso soup like none other, so when I found a recipe in LDV called Quick Miso Soup For One, I knew that it had been placed there just for me.

It made a gigantic portion of soup for one person, but I ate it all up. I skipped the tofu and just added carrots and baby spinach... It was the perfect soup for a rainy day.

It actually is a rainy day... I'm sitting next to the window right now, listening to the thunder rumbling in the distance. The rain was so good for our hot, thirsty land... I can see little eddies of steam rising off the asphalt, from being cooled so abruptly by a half-hour downpour that just slowed to a sprinkle. Georgia summers can be unbearably hot and humid, but an afternoon thunderstorm makes it all okay. I hope you all are enjoying your day, wherever you may be!

The best birthday ever?

2007-06-04T12:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Bob turned 23, which means he caught up with me in age. Hee hee. For Bob, it was a relaxed, lazy day, followed by an evening to remember. For me, it was a day to cook and cook and cook... but I was happy to do it.

I made Bob's favorite breakfast--pancakes. I used my basic recipe for nut and grain pancakes, adapting it to include whole spelt flour. For the strawberry topping, I just cooked down about 2 cups of frozen strawberries, along with a tablespoon of sugar and about a teaspoon of cinnamon, and adding a bit of cornstarch to thicken it up.

Lunch was mostly Bob's doing--he's the pizza guy around here. We had some frozen pizza dough which didn't thaw out very well, so instead of a pizza we decided to make a calzone--who cares if a calzone looks sloppy? We filled it with marinara sauce, mushrooms, shredded spinach and fresh basil, and a quick tofu ricotta. And of course, some extra marinara sauce for dipping is always a must!

In the evening Bob's friends came over for... I hesitate to call it a "party" because we really didn't party that much. So let's just call it an "affair." Anyway, this affair included...

Three dozen cupcakes! Whew! I baked all day long. I told Bob to flip through Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and pick out ANY three recipes that he wanted--so he chose the Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes, the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes, and the Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting. Here is the cupcake gallery:

Thirty-six cupcakes may sound like an awful lot, but it was a good call--by the time it was all said and done, we had four left! Bob's favorite, by a landslide, were the Mexican Hot Chocolate variety, and I would have to say that I agree (though I only had a bite of each one). They were so delicate and tender, and the complex flavors balanced each other quite well. I appreciated the simple topping, a dusting of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. As far as presentation, Bob preferred the Toasted Coconut Cupcakes. You have to admit, they are cute as a button.

Bob recently met another vegan at work--a girl named Vesna. He invited her to come last night, too--and come she did, bearing vegan gifts! She made a chocolate tofu cheesecake, beautifully garnished with almonds and orange slices.

This dessert was quite rich, but perfectly delicious.

She also brought a vegetable spread called satarash. She is from eastern Europe, and this is a Hungarian dish that she picked up along the way. She told me how to make it, and I certainly plan to try it out soon--it's delicious! At the party I had it with baked tortilla chips. The ingredients included eggplant, green peppers, onions, tofu, and tomato sauce, as best I can remember. It was seasoned very well--I will have to play around with it when I try to make it.

After the party broke up, Bob and I walked downtown with Vesna to meet three guys who were supposed to be staying with her last night. They were traveling through Athens on their way home to Gainesville, Florida... and they're a folk/bluegrass band with an acoustic guitar, an acoustic bass, and a banjo. We sat on the street downtown and listened to them play, and I had such a wonderful time that I could have just sat there all night. Bob brought his guitar and played some Pixies for us too, and we all really enjoyed it. It was about 1:30 when we finally got in last night, but Bob and I agreed that it couldn't have been a more perfect ending to the day. Bob said it may have been his best birthday celebration ever.

Two bean dishes and a bit of decadence

2007-06-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

The first of the bean dishes I have to share is quite awesome. Diann's three bean salad really struck a chord with me when I read it this morning, so I made it for lunch about two hours later!

I made it like she said, except that I used cilantro in place of the parsley and flax oil in place of the olive oil. What an easy, light, nutritious meal, and so refreshing on a day when it is hot enough to fry tofu on the sidewalk!

The second bean dish... not so much. Black bean cakes, of course, can be really good. These did not work out that way. I guess I should explain that I was in someone else's kitchen, and they didn't really understand the mechanics of making bean patties without eggs in them. So when the mixture was not cohesive enough, I wanted to add more oats to thicken it up--but she insisted that I add more flax eggs instead!

The result? Flax-y cakes, with a hint of black beans in there somewhere. They were also rather bland, and I couldn't find anything good to add to them for a little more zing. I don't mean to fault her--it was just a frustrating experience for both of us. Oh well. The sides for this meal, though, were delicious--cabbage and fresh salad greens, both grown organically on their neighbor's farm! And a juicy, summery tomato...

Now for the bit of decadence. I was studying my brains out for my exam on Wednesday and I had developed a short fuse, so Bob (what a sweetie) asked me if I wanted him to make me anything special. My immediate response--ice cream sammich!

A big scoop of So Delicious vanilla ice cream landed between two of Dreena's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies, which Bob made with whole spelt flour. Total comfort food--this may not have done my thighs any good, but it sure lifted my spirits.

Tomorrow is Bob's birthday, so I have some projects lined up. I can't wait to share! Until then, peace...

Cooking for 14?

2007-05-30T13:52:00.000-04:00

Thank you all so much for your comments and wishes in response to my last post! It was strange for me, being so reliant on my e-mail and such, to not have Internet access for so long... I should probably "get away" more often. But it was so wonderful to read over all your comments once I got back!

Actually, I have been back for a few days. But I had another CPA exam this morning, so I have spent the time since I returned preparing for that while I was still "out" of the blogging loop. I'm excited, now that one more part is behind me, to take a break and catch up with you all! The trip to Nebraska and South Dakota was an amazing and much-needed experience for me. I saw some things that I could never have imagined, beautiful things and horrible things alike. For those of you who might be interested in the non-food aspects of my trip, I have been doing a series of posts on my other blog to try and put into words a little bit of what I did and learned and saw.

Of course, cooking for fourteen people for a week was a separate adventure in itself! When Bob and I were planning recipes, we knew that we wanted to expose our team members to some new foods and flavors that may have never tried before, but at the same time we wanted to make things that almost anyone was sure to like. We wanted it to be healthy and colorful and rich in nutrients, just as we try to eat at home... But we also had to keep a budget in mind. Our trip leaders, before we left, told us that the food budget was $10 per person per day, which came out to about $1,000 total. This included breakfast and lunch as well, which we would really not be able to cook because of being in a hurry and not knowing where we would even be at lunch time on some days. So planning the meals was a little more complicated than I had imagined it might be.

The good news, though, is that we underspent our budget by HALF, and still had leftover food that we were able to leave at the ministry, where I am sure it will be put to good use. Everything that Bob and I planned and prepared was 100% vegan, but this is not to say that everyone on our team ate 100% vegan the whole week. People bought dairy milk and cheese and so forth to accompany their meals, and it wasn't really our place to try to stop them from doing so. I feel good about it on the whole, because everything we served was well received and we were able to explain a lot of things about a healthy, balanced vegan lifestyle, and we had some encouraging conversations about veganism that I feel sure got people started on thinking about the issues. But anyway... enough talk about that.

Days 1 and 2 were on the road... no cooking. The highlight from that leg of the trip was when we stopped at a pizza place in St. Louis, Missouri, and Bob and I shared a delicious vegan pizza. It was certainly not as good as we make at home with our tofu ricotta and pesto, but it was quite satisfying just the same. On day 2, we had dinner in Rushville, Nebraska, where we stayed for the duration of the trip. We got in at about 9:00 that night (mountain time, so it was 11:00 "our" time) and went to this little diner where my only menu option was a tossed salad. I was immediately discouraged, though the salad itself was very good and actually quite refreshing after a day of eating "on the road."

Day 3: Bob and I made sloppy lenties for dinner. Thanks, Leslie! (For my slightly modified version of the recipe, check here.) We shopped for the lentils ahead of time and took them with us on the trip, not being very confident about the availability of red lentils in Rushville, Nebraska. It was a wise decision.... This was the grocery store we had to work with.

It was fine, though, not lacking in anything basic. Organics were really not an option, which I had braced myself for ahead of time.

This was the biggest pot of sloppy lentils ever. I started with six cups of lentils, to give you an idea. There were a lot of leftovers, which was a GREAT alternative to PB&J for lunch every day. We had salad and French bread with this meal.

Day 4: Spaghetti with marinara sauce and roasted squash, zucchini, and eggplant.

The marinara sauce recipe was from The Grit cookbook, but what really made this meal special was the roasted veggies. Bob also made some garlic bread by heating a bit of oil with some minced garlic, then slicing a loaf of French bread and drizzling some of the oil, along with some salt and pepper, between each slice and then baking it, wrapped in aluminum foil, to get it warm and toasty. Served with leftover salad.

Day 5: Chipotle, Corn, and Black Bean Stew from VWaV. This was easily my personal favorite meal for the entire trip. Most of the team members also liked it very much but found it to be a little on the spicy side. Maybe I was a bit heavy-handed with the chipotles... oops. I forget that I eat spicier foods than most people.

We had this with tortilla chips and, yes, leftover salad again. I think this was the last appearance that our salad made. Bob and I both agreed that this stew turned out better this time than it ever has when we have made it in the past. Because we used pre-cooked beans? I can't think of what else we could have possibly done differently.

Day 6: We were out much later than we expected to be, and when we got back to the motel we were too tired to cook. So leftover black bean stew it was (yes, we made enough of this to feed the entire team two, probably three times)... I steamed some broccoli to go with it this time, and it was a welcomed change from salad.

Day 7: Bob made his signature "hash browns"--stir-fried potatoes, this time with onions and garlic and plenty of green peppers, broccoli, squash, and mushrooms.

Here's a tip: Serve this with cilantro and salsa... mmm.

Day 8: The meal I had been waiting to make all week was Chickpea Ratatouille from Vive! This recipe has, I think, the most non-traditional flavor combinations and was the most "daring" of all the meals we selected. Not to mention that we served it with quinoa (and we got to pronounce the word "quinoa" countless times that night), which has become my favorite grain for its ease of cooking, its taste, and its nutritional punch. The quinoa was another ingredient that we had the forethought to buy ahead of time and pack with us.

This meal was very popular with most of the team, though I think that they were even more excited about the quinoa than about the ratatouille! We served this with steamed broccoli. There were lots of leftovers, which made great breakfast and lunch the next day.

Day 9: Bob and I had a meal planned for this day, but we did not get to cook it. Instead, the missionary that we worked with invited us all over to his house for dinner. What was dinner?

Grilled kabobs! We built our own kabobs, and I was very pleased with the available veggies. There was actually a clean spot on the grill for us, too. The pasta salad that they made was quite impressive--carrots and cucumbers and snow peas and cherry tomatoes tossed in a vinaigrette dressing. There was also quite a selection of olives and pickles and such... I could not complain.

Days 10 and 11, again, were on the road. I ate lots of salads and energy bars and peanut butter on tortillas... it was good to get home and eat tofu again.

So that describes the cooking side of our adventure. What did I learn? Well, one thing that we did which I was very glad that we thought to do was to buy our spices in bulk, ahead of time. The day before we left, Bob and I made a list of everything that we would need, including quantities, for all the meals we had planned. Then we went to the health food store and bought precise amounts of everything. This helped keep the cost down immensely, and it was great to work with fresher dried herbs. The other thing, which we didn't plan so well, was quantities of food. We greatly overestimated the amount of food that fourteen people would eat, so we were constantly dealing with massive quantities of leftovers! This worked out fine in the end, but it was a little inconvenient trying to find room in the refrigerator, containers to hold everything, and so forth.

Since I've gotten back, my cooking has been minimal as I've been cramming for today's exam. I look forward to getting back into the normal swing of things, and having more food to share with you all soon!

I'll leave you with just a taste of the beauty that I got to see in South Dakota... This is a view from the top of Sheep Mountain, located in the Badlands on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Badlands were perhaps the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Peace.

Soul veggies, pasta pasta, and it's over

2007-05-13T17:29:00.000-04:00

I'm not really sure how to begin to describe the past week. So much has happened... I guess I'll just start at the beginning.

Bob and I found an apartment in Atlanta! Woot! It's a quaint little place in a nice, quiet part of town, within walking distance of a commuter rail station, and we can have a dog in our new place! This last part is the most exciting of all... we have wanted to rescue a dog for so long but the place we are in now does not allow anything with fur. We'll be moving in mid-July.

While we were in Atlanta, we ate out to celebrate my finishing school. Thanks to Happy Cow, we found this place called Soul Vegetarian--a 100% vegan restaurant not far from where we will live. It was kind of a hole-in-the-wall sort of restaurant, but the food was amazing.

We started with onion rings--one of my all-time favorite vices, which I only eat about once or twice a year.

Bob's entrée was called the Jerusalem Rice Dish--a smoky, earthy flavored veggie stew served over rice. It contained what the restaurant calls "kalebone"--basically their own seitan recipe. It was served with a spicy ginger sauce.

I went with a salad platter, which was a sampling of three of their salad entrées. Carrot salad, bean curd salad, and "egg"less salad are what you see here, with a side of creamy roasted garlic dressing and a slice of cornbread. My favorite was the carrot salad--it was savory and mildly sweet, with a hint of cinnamon and clove.

When we saw banana split on the dessert menu, there was no way we could pass it up. Bob and I split this huge creation, made of three scoops of soy ice cream (two scoops of vanilla bean and one of butter pecan), a carob hot fudge sauce, and sprinkled with chopped almonds. Wow... Bob declared Soul Vegetarian his new favorite restaurant. As our first experience at a vegan restaurant, it certainly did not disappoint.

My friend Abby and I have been studying together every free minute this week for our exams, and cooking when we couldn't take it anymore. Thursday and Friday we tried two different pasta dinners:

Thursday was the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto from VWaV. It was delicious... but I thought it was extremely ugly. I won't tell you what it reminded me of, but I doctored this photo a lot so that I felt okay about putting it on my blog. We served it with sautéed mushrooms and a mixed greens salad.

Friday we turned to Vive Le Vegan! and made the Roasted Red Pepper Cannellini Bean Sauce. This recipe was much more photo-worthy, and as far as taste goes, I enjoyed this one more as well... though Abby and Bob both preferred the pesto. What can I say? They were both so good.

We served the cannellini bean pasta with roasted mushrooms and asparagus.

Now, the best news of all. Yesterday, I officially received my masters degree! Woot woot!

My parents and Bob's parents came into town to go to the ceremony, and we had a little "reception" at my place afterward. The menu included:

Coconut-Lime Cookies from Vive! This was my first run on these cookies, and mmm... So soft and chewy.

Pineapple coffee cake from Susan's Fatfree Vegan Blog. This was a first as well, but I've seen it on many, many blogs and it seemed like a hit. It was! My mom loved it and asked for the recipe. By the end of the party, the coffee cake and the cookies were all gone--thank goodness.

A quick "egg"less salad that I made when I realized that we didn't have much real food in the house... Tofu, red peppers, celery, onions, lemon juice, paprika, turmeric, kelp granules, salt, and pepper. It was actually quite good, especially for a last minute creation. Bob and his mother loved it especially.

And finally, a fruit tray consisting of strawberries, blueberries, and red grapes. All organic, and beautifully arranged by Abby, who has quite the talent for entertaining.

Beyond graduating and new homes and pasta parties, I have a couple more things to show you from the past few days. When we went to Atlanta, we stopped by a farmer's market where we bought a huge box of mangos for $4.50. I love when mangos come in season. I remembered seeing a recipe on Vicki's old blog, many months ago, and have thought about it ever since. Unfortunately, mangos were no longer affordable and so I just filed it away, vowing to make it as soon as mangos became available again. Finally...

Sweet potato fries with mango dipping sauce. The recipe is pretty simple: 1 finely chopped mango, 1/4 cup Nayonaise, and 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce. Oh my goodness, how delicious! It has a nice zing to it, which pairs well with sweet potatoes and with mangos... I love the combination of sweet and spicy. Thanks, Vicki!

And for those of you who remember my leftover bharli mirchi filling, you will be glad to know that I used it up to make samosas. I used the samosa dough recipe from VWaV, subbing in whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose.

I made up a quick coconut-lime sauce inspired somewhat by Isa's Coconut-Mint Chutney recipe on the page following the samosas. It was sweet, again the perfect complement to the spicy samosas. These were good--I am sure the crust would have been flakier if I had used the white flour as I was supposed to, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Bob could not get enough of these! I feel so good when my food gets gobbled up like that.

With that, I sign off for the next couple of weeks. Bob and I are leaving tomorrow to go on a mission trip to South Dakota--where he and I are in charge of food for the entire team. We have a nutritious, delicious, and inexpensive menu planned, and I will fill you in when I get back! I won't have Internet access, but I look forward to catching up with you all when I have the chance. Take care!

More cupper cuteness

2007-05-11T01:26:00.000-04:00

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you...

Cupcakes!

Basic chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting.

Toppings include sprinkles, chocolate chips, and strawberry slices.

That's all for now!

Home, home again

2007-05-08T22:56:00.000-04:00

...I like to be here when I can.

It's been a hectic, yet fun, past few days. We have been on the run quite a bit... and it's not going to stop anytime soon. Sorry for not commenting on your blogs--I will try to catch up soon.

Saturday our friends had a cookout, and instead of taking the standby Boca burgers, we wanted to take some really special black bean patties for grilling out. I have a recipe that I have used before which worked fine on the George Foreman grill, but I had serious doubts about how it would hold up on a real grill. So after playing with my old recipe some, and reading this recipe for some more inspiration, I finally came up with the following recipe--and it's a keeper.

Laura's Grillable Black Bean Patties

2 cups cooked black beans, drained well
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeño, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
3-4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup quick oats

Place the beans in a large bowl and mash with a fork until well mushed. In a food chopper, combine onion, peppers, garlic, and sunflower seeds, and pulse until veggies are well chopped and sunflower seeds are crumbly. Add to black beans, along with dry spices, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and liquid smoke. Mix with fork until well combined. Add the gluten and the oats, and fold them in well with the fork. Mix for several minutes until well incorporated. If it seems too dry, add some cooking liquid from the beans or some more of another liquid, until it gets to a nice workable consistency.

Form into patties (you should get about 7-8) and wrap each patty in a piece of lightly oiled aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes in a preheated 325 F oven; then flip patties and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, unwrap and allow to cool down. Then rewrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, until ready to grill. The patties may seem flimsy at first, but once they chill they firm up nicely. Grill on a lightly oiled grill rack until delicious.

Alongside the black bean patties were these lovely grilled vegetables that the host of the cookout made. They were marinated in balsamic vinegar, oil, and some spices, and they were fantastic on top of the patty as well as on the side.

And for dessert the hosts made one of those cakes with whipped cream and angel food cake, and strawberries and blueberries on top to look like an American flag. Why? Because one of our friends just returned from Italy, and it was their way of welcoming him back home. Anyway, they reserved some of the fruit for Bob and me, and we brought our own whipped cream.

The whipped cream was made from a recipe out of Vegan Vittles, and it was wonderful--much better than Soyatoo. In fact, I have not purchased Soyatoo in a while because the last couple of cans we bought had little air pressure in them, and we could not get all of the product out. Bummer. But this was much better, though denser and more liquid than commercial whipped cream.

That was Saturday. Sunday I left to visit a friend in the small town of Manchester, Georgia where we had fast times, studying for the CPA exam together. We had fun too. We went hiking today and the woods were in full bloom with mountain laurel.

...So gorgeous.

We also cooked dinner together... and being in Small Town, Georgia, we decided to go with the most basic recipe we could find. Veggie-Bean Burritos from Vive Le Vegan! This is the filling, which was simply and deliciously seasoned with chipotle sauce and a touch of cumin, oregano, and other spices.

Jessica and I became quite proficient at rolling up burritos.

And here it is after hanging out in the oven for a little while. We served these with salsa and a tossed salad with a simple cumin vinaigrette that I threw together with ingredients that were on hand (and reading Dreena's Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette recipe for a bit of inspiration).

This tofu is one of the best whims I have ever had. I pressed it and sliced it into 16 pieces, and I marinated it in a mixture of soy sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, maple syrup, oregano, paprika, and a touch of olive oil. After it sat in the marinade for about 30 minutes, I pan-seared it over medium-high heat, and I tossed each piece in nutritional yeast when I took it off the pan.

The tofu made a great lunch on tortillas with spicy mustard, lettuce and tomato, and a drizzle of the cumin vinaigrette from the night before.

I just got home an hour or so ago from visiting my friend, and tomorrow we're up and at 'em early again. In fact, for the rest of the month, we'll be going and going and going. I'll be back again soon, but peace for now!

The Grit again, and more

2007-05-04T21:08:00.000-04:00

You may be tired of seeing and hearing about my meals from The Grit, but I don't get tired of sharing them! One of my friends wanted to go to lunch with me, and The Grit is the place we chose. I could never get tired of their food, and she had never been there before--after several years in Athens. So it really was a must.

This time around, I just got a "veggie" plate--steamed broccoli with spicy peanut sauce, lentil and chickpea stew over brown rice, and a cup of hot and sour soup. The broccoli and peanut sauce was excellent, as always (secret ingredient in the sauce = orange juice), and the stew was very thick and hearty--fairly mild, with a slight curry flavor. The soup? Maybe my favorite thing on the plate. But if you don't do spicy well then this would not be the soup for you--it wasn't hot and sour, it was HOTTTT and sour! Quite tangy, with huge chunks of veggies in it, just like I like it. Sorry about the glare on the soup--it was a pretty sunny day, and we sat outside.

At The Grit they have this huge dessert display case, and recently they have always had some variety of vegan cupcake on display. There was no way we could have eaten dessert after that meal (a good chunk of my meal came home with me as it was), but I had cupcakes on my brain after that. Later that night Abby and I returned to my place, and...

Vanilla cupcakes with cinnamon frosting, from VCTOTW. I used a little chunk of cinnamon stick to dress these up a bit. So tasty! I've got to get more artful with the frosting, though. It's harder than it looks to make all those incredibly cute designs that I have seen around!

If you remember, I recently bought a ton of red and orange bell peppers, and I knew that I wanted to make stuffed peppers at some point before they were gone. I did a search on stuffed peppers just to get some ideas, and I came across this recipe for bharli mirchi, Indian stuffed peppers. I knew I had to try it.

These peppers are stuffed and then sautéed, rather than baked like most Italian-style stuffed peppers. It was tricky turning them over and over in the pan to cook all sides--you know how peppers naturally want to sit in just a few positions based on their shape. But they finally did cook all over.

The filling is made from potatoes, and your traditional spices. I added some peas just for good measure. When I finished making the filling and tasting it, I was a little skeptical--it was kind of bland. But once the peppers had cooked and released some of their juices into the mixture, it was better. I think that there was too much potato--I had a good bit of filling left over, and so the flavors probably got too thinned out with all that potato. Next time I'll use smaller spuds! But we really enjoyed it, with some homemade roti.

What can I do with the leftover filling? Indian-style potato pancakes? Or... samosas? We'll see!

It's simple!

2007-05-01T20:31:00.000-04:00

What I have to share with you today are some very simple, no fuss, (mostly) healthy choices! Sometimes that's just what you need...

When it's almost 80 degrees when you wake up, what better breakfast can there be than a lovely smoothie?

This one's one of my favorites--blueberries, blackberries, a banana, raw almond butter, cinnamon and ginger, vanilla, soy milk, and flax meal. I like the almond butter--it helps smooth out the texture, and it provides some healthy fat and a good dose of calcium. I like to grind the flax meal and then blend it with the milk before I add everything else. It improves the texture, I think.

This idea came from stonielove's gorgeous blog. A nice RAW lunch with sprouts, red peppers, carrots, green onions, and raw pepitas with a little drizzle of vinaigrette, all wrapped up in collard green leaves. Fabulous, healthy, quick, and all-around perfect.

These don't taste quick and easy, but believe me, they are! Fudgy Brownies from Vive! are only the best brownies I've ever put in my mouth... and fudgy is definitely the proper description for them. The best part is, it took me all of five minutes to whip up the batter. If you're feeling really frisky, have one of these à la mode--it just doesn't get much better than that. If you are still not convinced of the greatness that is Dreena's fudgy brownies, well, I happen to know that someone else recently made them too, and I'm sure she will vouch for them as well!

On a more serious note, here is another simple thing you can do--and it will make a great difference. Our excellent administration is now proposing to remove the protections afforded under the Endangered Species Act to the gray wolf. About 12 years ago, wolves were reintroduced into the Northern Rockies after becoming severely endangered--and upon reintroduction, their impact on the ecosystem was dramatic. The aspen population rose sharply, which in turn allowed the beaver population to grow. Beavers are a keystone species to any ecosystem in which they dwell, creating wetlands that improve the overall health and biodiversity of the area. Removing just one species from an ecosystem can have any number of unforeseen consequences... and removing the gray wolves from their habitat did once, and assuredly will again, have a stagnating effect on the ecosystem. Yet, the governments of Idaho and Wyoming are prepared to legalize drastic wolf killing programs as soon as the ESA protections are lifted.

You can visit Save America's Wolves for more information and a chance to send a message to the federal government urging them not to de-list the gray wolf until proper protections are in place to prevent people like the governors of Idaho and Wyoming from opening fire on them. I took a class this semester on endangered species conservation and management, and one of the animals we studied in some depth was the gray wolf. I was amazed by the complexity and sophistication of these animals' social interactions. They really are beautiful creatures, and it angers me that people can so vehemently advocate their eradication on the grounds that they are a threat to livestock and to the elk-hunting industry. Just once, I would like to see our government put its priorities in order.

Have you read Aldo Leopold's wonderful essay, "Thinking Like a Mountain"? It's a beautifully written reminder that the ways and interests of human beings rarely line up with those of the natural world... and a clear challenge for the reader to discover which one's ways serve the higher purpose.