Out and about, some eats, and another anniversary

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

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

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?

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

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

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

...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

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

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...

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.


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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

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.