You Will Make It only if you run

I may have been too busy with kittens (below) and school to post but haven't been too busy to cook. Or more accurately, I haven't been too busy for Andrew to cook. I'm a lucky lady.

We picked blueberries in the rain and it was beautiful. Andrew made some buckwheat pancakes the next morning and this whole berry sauce which was incredible. It made our lips and teeth blue too, which we loved.

He ordered some Soy Curls from http://www.veganstore.com/ and recreated the barbequed soy curls we had in Portland. And he made corn bread, like, from real corn.

While he was ordering the soy curls, he thought he'd surprise me with a bag of Dandies Marshmallows (best marshies ever). Yay!!! I tried to copy something I saw on http://www.letsgetsconed.blogspot.com/ and chopped a few marshmallows in half and added them to some brownie batter and then in the last few minutes of baking, I tossed some more marshies on top and voila! SMORE frickin BROWNIES!

Today was Andrew's 23rd birthday. He's growing up so fast. I made these apple cider cupcakes (recipe slightly modified from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). I frosted them with cinnamon cream cheese and and a little apple butter swirled on top. Fall is here. It's official.

Awww...don't they look appetizing? We're fostering these troublemakers right now.

Vegan donuts, I love you.

I think that every once in a while, a good person deserves to buy a pack of peanut butter Newman O's and eat them all within like 2 hours, tops.

Anyway...

Oh yes, donuts.

Oops. I mean DONUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I had the time to make donuts everyday. These were so crispy on the outside, so soft and melt in your mouthy inside. The recipe for these can be found in My Sweet Vegan. I am also anxious to try the donut recipes from the current issue of Vegetarian Times. Check it out: French Toast Donuts. Apple Cider Donuts. Good Lord. But I need a handy donut pan which I can't see myself buying anytime soon (the tuition! It aches!)

And a couple of this week's dinners:


This is going to sound lame but we really just started buying beets this summer. I don't know why-they are wonderful. I like them plain or with a little maple syrup/tamari mixture drizzled over them. The kale is from our garden. We have been living off of these sausages since we bought Vegan Brunch. The bread was homeade (by Andrew), brushed with olive oil and rubbed with a clove of garlic. Rustic.



Pesto pasta. The lemon basil is from the garden as are the tomatoberries (cherry tomatos shaped like strawberries-and ohboy are they sweet!)

July Schmuly!

Yesterday my family came over to celebrate my mom's birthday which was a few days ago and baby Brennan's first birthday, which was yesterday, but had already been celebrated. So the birthdays kinda cancelled each other out. Anyway, Andrew took pictures.

So...everyone showed up before we were ready because we spent a good part of our afternoon searching for skewers...we were dashing about the kitchen and grill like mad. Me making the marinade for the veggies, Andrew chopping, me making the ice cream, Andrew making the dough for a flatbread that he would later "bake" on the grill, me making cupcakes, Andrew lighting the charcoal... anyway, look how pretty these skewers turned out. They really stimulated the old taste buds too. The recipe was from the August issue of Vegetarian Times .

Baked beans! I threw this together, don't even remember how exactly...hm, sauteed some onions, added them to the beans, mixed in some tomato paste, maple syrup, onion powder, molasses...yeah, that's about it. Never made this before but it worked out nicely.Raspberries and blueberries, fresh from the farmer's market. Mandarin oranges, fresh from a can. When in doubt, make a fruit salad.

We Fell in Love with the Place...

Our hotel room at the Jupiter. My mom thought the mural was a window. What a loon.

Our first night in Portland-We walked to Hungry Tiger Too and I ordered the corn dog basked while Andrew got the BLT (both vegan-a course) and then we shared. It was a satisfying meal after a day of waking up at 4am and then trains and planes and more trains. Tater tots are truly comfort food. This was the first time I had them in waaay to0 long.

We were so excited about Voo Doo Doughnuts. It was neat inside and there were people filming something there-a camera's dolly set up outside the place...anyway, the doughnuts! We had the girl pick a dozen for us-lots of vegan options they have. My fave was the one with the purple pixie stick like sugar on top, it was all grape-y and raised deliciousness. There was also a chick-o-stick topped doughnut and a voo doo doughnut a course-with cherry red filling and pretzel pins.

Stumptown coffee is truly perfect!!!!!! Wish we'd have brought some home with us...

At Rocco's Pizza they appeared to be only selling pizza by the slice. We were hesitant to order because we like to indulge ourselves on whole pies and didn't think one slice would be enough food after a day off walking around the city, riding the streetcars, and hours at Powell's. The vegan pizza is called The Compost Pile-which wasn't the most enticing name but this stuff was great-had just about every veggie on it and I was full about halfway into this.

We had been dreaming about this place for so long and finally we are here! A vegan strip mall, kids! Food Fight was just as awesome as I expected, this is Andrew outside of the grocery (he was chewing in most of the pics I took of him-a good thing!) We got some Dandies marshmallows (that were snacked on during our travels and later melted into amazing rice krispie treats). Sweetpea Bakery was our breakfast stop, got some Stumptown coffee a course and some muffins-we were most surprised by the nutritional yeast shaker at the cream counter-maybe that was what made us realize that we had to LIVE in Portland. We also went to Herbivore Clothing where Andrew picked up a hoodie and I got a T-shirt dress with an elephant on it that says "I'm Vegan and I Love You" across the chest. We didn't go to the tattoo parlor...maybe next time.


Our last full day in Portland was spent on our hotel-rented bicycles and I seriously rode to the end of my physical capacity (so many hills!) We were weak and sweaty as we hobbled our way up and down Alberta looking for an ATM machine...not in that bohemian neighborhood. We did eventually find a health food store that let us get cash back on our purchase so then we crawled over to The Homegrown Smoker BBQ, which was basically a big smoker in a corner lot with a couple of picnic tables. We shared this meal of Tempeh "ribs" and soy curls and coleslaw and macaroni and cornbread and went back for some barbequed beans. The picture does it no justice because I was playing with the functions on my camera when we took this...but mmmmmm.

So now we really want to live in Portland. Nice people, vegan food, mild winters, beautiful landscape, art and culture, perfect coffee, vintage shops on every block, serious farmer's markets...I'm going to cry.

Food to eat!

Didn't I mention this mac and whatever? (I say mac and cheese but I realize it's not cheese and words like chreese or cheeze are just silly.)

okra from this recipe:http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8908.0 but I did not deep fry it- just a little saute action. The chickpeas were influenced by a chickpea salad that the Earthen Jar serves, it's just chickpeas and peas and onions and a little cumin and we have sooo much dill so I had to throw some of that in as well.

And more from Vegan Brunch! (what did we ever do without it?)

Andrew has been making these bagels regularly. We use them for Tofurkey sandwiches and as toasted buttery goodness in the morning. We eat the hell out of em.

Vegan omelet?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just made these. Just. For the first time. I have a feeling that I'll be making them all the time. Really, really, really, really, really good.

Cough Cough

I have a nasty cold.

That means chili. Last night Andrew made some and I had like 3 bowls because it made my throat feel so good and it tasted great. I don't know how he did it but it was smoky and hot and beany.

On a rainy day there are biscuits and tea. Sweet Cornmeal Coconut Butter Biscuits and tea. Oh these were good. We ate them all within a day.

The recipe is from The Vegan Soul Kitchen which I bought recently along with Vegan Brunch. We love these books, the recipes look amazing and so far have been decadent.

And this morning for breakfast...Okay, our waffle iron gets a decent amount of use (usually making pumpkin waffles) but this morning Andrew made yeast waffles from Vegan Brunch. They were sweet and crispy and different but still good in that way that makes you feel a little bad about eating dessert for breakfast. But yum. And no, I didn't feel bad, I just made that up.

Lot's of cooking the past couple of days. For din-din, Andrew made beer battered tofu (Vegan Brunch) which was like eating in a bar-something we haven't done since pre-veg times. It was greasy goodness.

And the next day...

SOUP. Andrew made this, of course, as he's still been taking care of me while I'm feeling blah. It was made with kale from our abundant garden and leeks from the farmer's market...he made the croutons from his homemade bread. This soup seriously made me feel better. I'm getting used to relaxing.

eleveneleven

Foodwise, what's been going on? Andrew made pizza recently. I had my fam over for dinner. Cooked some Shepard's Pie (excellent recipe from the Chicago Diner cookbook) and some macaroni and cheesi, which was so good!!! gotta give it up for this recipe I found on vegweb.com: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8295.0 My 8 year old brother and 6 year old niece actually ate it! They didn't know that it wasn't real cheese! So good (and guilt free as no suffering went into it). I made strawberry shortcake for dessert and topped it with some coconut whipped topping and Trader Joe's vanilla ice cream. But none of that was photographed.


Last night I made some peanut butter bars. They aren't what I expected but they're not bad at all. Chewy like rice krispie treats and very rich.





Recipe also from vegweb, modified very slightly:

1 cup brown rice syrup

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter

1 bag vegan chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix peanut butter and oatmeal in medium bowl with hands. Boil rice syrup & sugar in a medium saucepan and then pour over oatmeal mixture. Stir quickly to combine. Press into greased 13x9 inch pan. Pour chocolate chips on top. Bake for 1 minute. Cool. Cut into bars, obviously.

Today began our 3 day weekend and what did we do? We drove a couple of hours to IKEA!

Bought a couple of these chairs...

And a shelving unit that we're going to squeeze betweet the stove and coffee cart and fill with our cookbooks, which will free up some much needed space in our book case (speaking of books, I'm reading So Big by Edna Ferber right now. It's amazing, I can't pull myself away. It won the pulitzer in 1924. Not that that means anything these days but I guess they knew their stuff back then. It's a very good book so far.)

We also got these lovely pillow...

and some other cool stuff.

We were in Canton, Mi and we couldn't be so close to Ann Arbor and not go to the Earthen Jar...so with our bellies roaring we drove another 15 miles. Oh, it's the best. I got vegan lasagna and spicy okra and squashy curry and black eyed peas with indian goodness about them. Drool.

Long day. Good day.

And I recieved my Lush order today so maybe I'll go take a bath in Vanilla Fountain.

Michigan Maple Walnut Cookies!

I tweaked this, made it a bit healthier and veganized it from an omni recipe, it turned out fantastic, these were buttery and maple is my favorite flavor in the world...oh god, the frosting... Andrew said this was one of the best things I've ever made.
Cookies:
1/2 cup earth balance
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup coursly chopped walnuts

Frosting:
3 Tbsp vegan cream cheese
2 Tbsp earth balance, softened
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted, to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees beat earth balance and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in maple syrup. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually beat into sugar mixture. On low speed, beat in oats. Stir in walnuts.

2. Drop dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes or until cookies are a soft golden brown. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.

3. For frosting, beat cream cheese and earth balance in small bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in maple syrup. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting on cooled cookies; top with toasted walnuts.

SO GOOD.

Moonshadow

Been busy. And working so much that I feel like I'm going to have a mental collapse. Too many idiots in this town. Retail crushes your soul.

So...there was one weekend where we went to Chicago. Did lots of fun stuff. As you can see. One of the best things was touring Graceland cemetary though. Way cool. Oh, and we went to The Chicago Diner and I tried the biscuits and gravy and the tempeh hash (which Andrew later replicated-his was even better) and pancakes. I eat too many pancakes.

And then there was the weekend at the water park resort thingie in Ohio...kinda crazy. Spent about 10 hours driving. Ate cereal all weekend. Complained about the gazillions of children at the place. Had a decent time.

And other things that have happened lately:

CAT FOSTERING!

CUPCAKES!
YOGA! RICKY GERVAIS! SMOOTHIES! SHOPPING! PLANTING VEGGIES! AMAZING WEATHER! WALKING DOWNTOWN AT MIDNIGHT TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE SIDEWALK CHALK FLOOD! ASPARAGUS! SLEEPING! THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL!

everything's gonna be alright, baby

The kitty doesn't live here anymore...we miss her lots.
Someone came to pick her up two days ago. Her name was Melissa and she already had a cat and she has two children so that's good, little kitty will get the attention that she requires. She said they live on 2 acres of land and the kitty will be able to go outside when she wants to which is good because I think she was getting cabin fever. She was going to go to the pet store and buy cat toys and a pink collar. She was so excited to come see the cat that she took the day off of work and came like, first thing in the morning. I think that the kitty's new home is a good one.

Skyler cam over and spent Friday night with us, we went to Andrew's dad's and watched Pinnochio-I fell asleep at the whale part. Then last night we watched Over the Hedge which is a really sweet movie-great for animal lovers, and Ben Folds does the soundtrack, I highly recommend it.

Also-I finally bought Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and made the S'mores cupcakes! so fun and so delish!

Speaking of cupcakes, Andrew and I are going to do some yoga together. Oh, did I tell you that he made a table? He made our kitchen table! It's beautiful! And sturdy!

random

I love the kitty. I'll be sad to see her go. We have no definate takers yet, but that's because I've been so protective. I posted a thing on Craigslist for her and got 4 responses...It's just that would rather a woman take her, and I'd rather have her fixed beforehand. I wish I could keep her.

Andrew made risotto tonight. It had leeks in it and italian "sausage." Sooo creamy. Oh my Goshalosh.

This book looks really cool.

I'm glad that there's going to be a children's book on the topic. I can't wait until it's available.
There are so many vegalicious books coming out this year!!!

loves everybody. loved by nobody.

I saved a cat. What a hero I am. She had been running around Rachel's neighborhood for a week after her caregiver kicked her outside, deciding she was too big a responsibility. I had to try to help the poor thing, so skinny, so sweet. She's on my lap right now, she needs constant attention. We've only had her for a day but I am frusterated already, nobody wants a cat. Everyone is trying to get rid of their cats. I just feel bad, we're not supposed to have pets...rambling I am.

Everyone's Talking bout a Revolution!

Just watched The U.S. vs. John Lennon. Good stuff. Motivating at a time when I can't stop thinking about activism. But all those hippies in the fur coats shouting for peace is kind of a contradiction in my book. Anyway, I ordered The Best of John Lennon on half.com even though I keep promising myself that I'm going to quit with all this internet shopping...oh, who needs money?
So speaking of activism, I got PETA to send me a half hour program (or series of programs) exposing fur farms and factory farmes and cruelty that can so easily be prevented and I took the DVD to my GRTV and asked them to play it on the local channel...didn't think they would, this is stuff that might be considered "graphic" but they are going to play it on these dates at these times:
Wed04/15/09 06:30 PMGRTV
Mon04/06/09 09:30 PMGRTV
Sat03/28/09 11:00 AMGRTV
Fri03/20/09 01:30 PM
And somebody is bound to see it and who knows? Maybe it will change their lives?

FOOD-wise, tonight we made barbequed tofu burritos...mmm. Just sauteed the tofu in some olive oil at high heat turning constantly for about 10 minutes, added cumin and some pre-made rice, added some barbeqe sauce, rolled it in a burrito thingie with some chopped red onions and chopped celery, ate two so fast, but you've got to. There's that feeling that if you put a burrito down that it will fall apart when you pick it up again.


Then Andrew made a rhubarb/blueberry cobbler which was amazing, jeezus. poured a bit of cream on it and enjoyed it with coffee. That stuff makes you feel alive!

Meyer may I?

This morning Andrew and I went to the Meyer May House. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1909 and was renovated to historacal accuracy in the 80s and given to the community. So it's a museum now and it was really cool to tour it...it's only a few blocks from where we live which is another cool thing. It's amazing. So much detail and lighting and the windows are gorgeous and my favorite things might've been the window seats although the dinner table was great, on each corner was a lamp post sorta thing with a plant under the light, difficult to explain but the guide called it a "room within a room." Apparently the garden is something so we might go back in the summer to check it out.

So later in the day the two of us made some zuchinni bread together (The Joy of Vegan Baking), it was awesome, can't get enough of it. Then I made dinner which was Orange-Chipotle Glazed Tofu (vegetariantimes.com)



Serves 6
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs. rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 tsp. minced seeded chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained, plus 2 tsp. adobo sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
2 14-oz. pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
1 Tbs. vegetable oil

Directions
Whisk together orange juice, maple syrup, vinegar, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, and salt in small bowl. Cover, and chill.
Cut each piece of tofu crosswise into 8 slices, each about 1/2-inch thick. Place tofu in large shallow glass dish. Add 1/2 cup orange juice mixture and oil to tofu, and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours, turning from time to time. Reserve remaining orange juice mixture, covered, in refrigerator.
Preheat broiler. Line large baking sheet with foil, and coat with cooking spray. Place tofu on prepared baking sheet. Combine marinade and reserved orange juice mixture in small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat 12 to 15 minutes, or until syrupy. Keep warm.
Broil tofu 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until golden, basting occasionally with orange juice mixture. Serve with remaining sauce.