Hungry Yogi

The sweet life

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:18:00 +0000

Life has been busy--not too busy to cook, certainly not too busy to eat, but the kind of busy that involves so much writing work that blogging becomes a few keystrokes too many to bear. However, I took a little me time this weekend. Ben made me a soy cappuccino in the machine I got him for his birthday a few weeks ago, and I made this pear tart, from Vegetarian Times. It turned out gorgeous and perfect. See? Mmmm....a perfect Saturday afternoon repast.

Sunday Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:29:00 +0000

I spent most of the day cooking--not only processing my motherlode of tomatillos into puree and freezing it (salsa verde all winter!), but preparing all the elements for dinner. Harvest season is a lot of work! Here's what I came up with for this evening:

Chickpea cutlets, Napa cabbage slaw with sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, braised collard greens, potato galette, big juicy grapes. So satisfying!

What to do with a fresh fennel bulb

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:41:00 +0000

The fall/winter season has begun for my CSA (community-supported agriculture) share. Every other week I get a big load of fresh vegetables, a little different every time, so I never know for sure what's coming. This week, the share included cutting celery, collard greens, kale, Chinese cabbage, a mix of Asian greens, radish greens, leeks, sage, parlsey, garlic chives, and a big white fennel bulb.

Now, I know what to do with most of that stuff, but I've never cooked fennel before, and this beautiful bulb looked like it deserved good treatment. So, I looked through all the cookbooks I thought might mention fennel--this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, too. Finally, I took everything I read and mixed it all together, discarded most of it, and came up with this very simple recipe which was so mouth-wateringly delicious that I'm sorry I only had one bulb. Here's what I did:

Trim the stalk and leaves off the fennel bulb, setting aside some of the freshest of the leaves for garnish. Cut off the bottom, cut out the hard core at the bottom, and peel off any tough outer leaves. Very thinly slice the fennel.

Heat 1 tablespoon Earth Balance over medium heat in a skillet (it sounds like a lot for one serving, but it's worth it). Add the fennel. Saute for about five minutes, then cover the skillet and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Uncover, season with salt, and continue to saute about five minutes more, or until some of the fennel pieces are golden-brown and crispy. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over everything, stir to cover everything in lemon juice, and serve garnished with fennel leaves.

This made one really delicious serving, so if you want to make this for more people, I would allow about one bulb per person.

Brussels Sprouts-Potato Hash

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:08:00 +0000

What do you do with a batch of beautiful Brussels Sprouts? While strolling (virtually) through the Vegan Mofo blogroll the other day, I saw some delectable photos of Brussels Sprout hash. I would post the link to them, but I can't remember where I saw it. Even so, I just had to try it. I didn't follow a recipe--really, hash is about leftovers. Instead, I just chopped and tossed according to inspiration, with mouthwatering results. I may add fried tofu cubes or a leftover Tofurkey beer brat to the rest of it for lunch tomorrow, but for now, no need. Even without extra protein, this dish tastes fantastic, for die-hard Brussels sprouts fans, and even those who give them a 'meh.'

I started fresh pack of Brussels sprouts I got at the co-op on Monday night, where I shop while my oldest son is taking his drum lesson across the street. Rinse, slice.

Next, I sliced a red onion (I only had red left from my last CSA haul), cubed a couple of baking potatoes (not the best for frying, but also what I had left from my last CSA pickup), and halved a lemon.

I heated a splash of olive oil in a skillet and grated a big fat clove of garlic into the oil. On top of that, I added about a quarter cup of raw pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), most of which I bought to make green mole (stay tuned).

After the garlic began to golden-up and pepitas started popping, I added the onions (saute 5 minutes), the potatoes (saute 5 minutes), and then the Brussels sprouts, then some sea salt, black pepper, and ground chipotle powder. I sauteed everything for about 15 more minutes, then squeezed half a lemon over the whole shebang and covered the pan to let the potatoes steam a bit, since they weren't getting soft--about 15 more minutes.

And this was dinner--light but filling, nutty and sweet, savory and crunchy--and exactly what I wanted.

National Taco Day

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:32:00 +0000

Rumor has it it's National Taco Day, and I'm not going to confirm or deny (or even google it). I'm just going to go with it. Tacos are perfect when you've got leftovers, so I lined up grilled tofu, salsa verde, lettuce, tomato, and Teese onto my whole wheat tortilla. Rolled it up and that was lunch. It took all of 3 minutes. Because I'm intense in the kitchen that way.

Fall Harvest...and Salsa Verde!

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:57:00 +0000

The first two weeks in October are the most beautiful in Iowa, in my opinion. The air cools, the light gets deeper, shadows lengthen and the leaves all start to turn, tree by tree, all around the neighborhood--red, gold, orange, rust. Gorgeous! This is also the time to get most of the rest of the vegetables out of the garden, and boy did we have some work to do! Even the teenagers helped. (Who says teenagers can't take a few minutes away from their video games to assist the oldsters with their silly old-fashioned non-digital chores?) Most of the work for Emmett and I involved plucking tomatillos from the vines, while Ben and Angus attacked the apple tree. Tomatillos really took over this year, although I was still able to harvest some tomatoes, peppers, and apples.

Emmett picked these beauties.

Angus trimming the apple tree.

Tomatillos like crazy!

With all of this bounty, obviously I had to make Salsa Verde. I based it on the recipe in Viva Vegan!, although I only had one white onion and no green onions, so a large yellow onion stood in. After our garden work, Ben fired up the grill and we roasted the onions, garlic, serranos, jalapenos, and tomatillos--and then some tomatoes and more peppers to add to the guacamole. Because if tortillas are on the table, then guac also must be on the table. It's the law. (You knew that, right?)

Food prep outside is fun!

Oh yeah...soooo good!

If tortillas are on the table, guac must also be on the table.

What the heck, why not throw some tofu on there, too? Dinner was whole wheat tortillas with beans, salad, salsa verde, and guac. Also grapes and apples, and the rest of that rockin' chocolate pudding pie from Saturday.

Meanwhile, I see big batches of salsa verde in my future, so nothing goes to waste.

And what do you do after a hard day's labor? You either climb a tree...

He's safe from any further manual labor up there.

Or you lie in the hammock.

Wake me up when...oh, never mind, don't wake me up!

Kale chips and veggie soup

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:46:00 +0000

My quick no-nonsense kale chip recipe--tear up kale leaves, spread on cookie sheet, spray with cooking spray or olive oil, bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt--and crunch away! Soup is lots of random CSA veggies in veg broth, with a few spoonfuls of TVP.

Kicking it off with pudding pie

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I couldn't resist this pudding cake when I saw it on the PPK blog, or more precisely, my 13 year old son couldn't resist requesting it, and I'm a sucker for his vegan dessert requests.

I only had half the necessary amount of almond milk (unsweetened vanilla) so used organic plain soy milk for the rest.

Date night at Takanami

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:24:00 +0000

Cool Manhattan-chilling technology. Loaded miso soup. Seaweed salad. Takanami Vegan Maki. Lindsay Lohan waitress. Enough said.

Tortilla pizza with garden tomatoes, kale, oregano, and Teese

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Tasty lunch. Spray ww tortilla with cooking spray or brush with evo, top with tomato slices, kale, oregano, and salt. Bake at 425 until tortilla and kale are crisp. Top with Teese, bake 5 min more. Cut in wedges. Devour.

Panko-crusted tofu over artichoke salad with local tomatoes andpeppers, plus oven roasted potatoes with thyme, Stallion CellarsReserve Maverick Meritage

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:45:00 +0000

Friday night dinner: Dipped extra firm pressed tofu slice in panko, cooked in skillet with cooking spray. Cut up fresh local potatoes, pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs, and roasted in the oven with sea salt, chipotle powder, and Spike (and some cooking spray) at 400 for about 45 minutes. The salad: mixed baby greens with artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, local sweet peppers and tomatoes, and an olive oil vinaigrette. The wine is the bottle we won at a Key West raffle at the Green Parrot.

Dinner at the Red Avocado, and Buck

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:21:00 +0000

Tonight, we went out for dinner again (decadent!), this time at The Red Avocado. The occasion: the last night that the documentary Buck is playing at the Bijou Theater. I just happened to see that it was here at all, and I'm so glad I didn't miss it.

But first, the food. We started with a beer (shouldn't most meals?). I had a Madhouse Brewery (Iowa) Honey Pilsner and Ben had a Bell's Two Hearted (which the menu called 'Double Hearted--what?), and an appetizer of hummus and white bean purée.

Next, Smoky Sunset--sweet potatoes and tempeh with garlic aioli, yum! I've been craving tempeh all day. It was absolutely delicious and the aioli tasted like smoke in the best possible way. Ben had the Salad Organica.

Finally, the movie--a beautiful and moving documentary about Buck Brannaman, the man who was a model and advisor for The Horse Whisperer movie. Four stars. A must-see if you like horses or animals in general. Or even people.

Last day of summer breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:55:00 +0000

And it's chilly outside! Need...warm...food...can't...work...

This was exactly what I needed. Toasted sourdough bread topped with melted nacho Teese (from Chicago Soy Dairy) topped with pressed tofu fried in evo with sesame seeds, hot pepper flakes, and soy sauce, and finished with a slice of garden tomato. Steamy mug of Ginger Twist herbal tea. NOW I can get to work!

Date night at 2DOGS PUB

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 23:15:00 +0000

Wednesday is date night and we almost always eat out. Tonight we are trying a new restaurant in the neighborhood: 2DOGS Pub. It's burgers and bar food, which certainly has its place. I had Peace Tree Ramblin' Red Ale (brewed right here in Iowa), flash fries green beans with teriyaki glaze, the chipotle black bean burger, firestarter style (siracha chile sauce, giardiniero, jalapeños, and grilled pineapple, hold the cheese), and onion rings. Mmmm...bar food.

Summer's Over, MoFo Begins!

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:39:00 +0000

First of all, I can't believe it's time for Vegan MoFo again! If that doesn't kick me back into blogging on this site, nothing will. It's been a crazy-busy summer, what with two vacations and what-not, but now I'm back from my most recent foray to Key West and ready to dig back in, get back to work, and make it happen.

Second, I've got a new focus. As a co-author of many diet books, I feel compelled to perhaps at lesat consider practicing what I preach with a bit more rigor (i.e., Do I really need to make cookies again? Do I really need to eat that many Twizzlers while watching Project Runway? Do I really need the entire avocado AND the crumbled corn chips on top of my chili? I mean seriously...)

Third, about the yoga...I've had to take the whole summer off from asana because of a knee injury that is finally seeming almost better. I can almost do Uttanasa again, and for anybody who knows me, you know that's big because pre-knee-issue, I could practically rest my forearms on the darned floor. I have hypermobility syndrome which sounds really cool if you want to do lotus pose while in headstand, but is not really cool at all when you suffer one injury after another because you are too flexible and your muscles can't compensate and you have to stop doing asana altogether! Therefore, my new yoga focus is strength, strength, strength. Build it!

This third point dovetails nicely with the second point, since losing weight is of course easier on taxed tendons and lax ligaments. These both circle back nicely, like a lovely dhanurasana, to Vegan Mofo, where I will be blogging much more regularly about both these issues--with all the focus on the food, of course, as is required for MoFo. (Maybe November can be MoYo.)

In preparation for my renewed rigor on all counts, here are some pics of what I've been eating this summer, when I wasn't gallivanting around Key West or lazing about on Topsail Island or hailing the pool bar servers at the Don Cesar in Saint Pete. Oh what the heck, I'll share some of those pics, too.

Kiddos and me in the sea (Topsail Island, NC)

The gorgeous Don Cesar in St. Pete Beach

Uncle John and I on the St. Pete Pier

This is the car we rented to explore Florida. I think Ben took more pictures of the car than anything else.

Breakfast by the pool.

Hummus wrap on Duval Street at the Lazy Dog.

I swear he was posing.


One of the Hemingway House cats--he didn't feel like showing us whether he had six toes or not.

This guy owns the street.

We won a bottle of wine at the AIDS benefit raffle at the Green Parrot!


Roasted farmer's market vegetable platter with cranberry almond tabbouleh and ponzu-glazed tofu at Seasons 52 in Tampa, on our last night in Florida.

Good-bye Key West!

And with all that, I bid good-bye to summer and welcome fall with open arms. Let's do this thing!

Fast Food

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:41:00 +0000

I love to cook, but if I am to be totally, brutally honest (and diligent about practicing the yoga principle of satya), I have to admit that I don't usually spend very much time or energy in the kitchen. Sure, I'll go on the occasional cooking binge on a weekend without much on the schedule, but when I'm struck with that kind of non-negotiable belly hunger that absolutely will not wait for fussy preparations, I eat whatever I can make the fastest.

It occurred to me today, when in the throes of exactly this situation, that some people might want the occasional inspirational idea for really quick meals that are actually nutritious and plant-based, and also look pretty. Because really, aren't aesthetics at least 30% of the satisfaction?

Of course, the first order of business is to have plenty of basic ingredients on hand. That means a pretty constant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, good bread, and in my case at least, brown mustard. Add some extra firm tofu and you can make lunch really fast. Here's what I had today--and I actually have some variation of this for lunch pretty often:

This involved frying two slices of extra firm tofu in a teaspoon of sesame oil, drizzling them as they cooked with a teaspoon of soy sauce, then sprinkling with hot pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and a little bit of Spike seasoning before flipping. This took about 5 minutes. Put the tofu on a toasted bun (toast bun while frying), top with mustard, lettuce, tomato slices, add some blueberries/strawberries and a handful of pretzels on the side, and take it back to your desk where you are still trying to finish up that chapter. Wait, am I projecting again? In any case, this took all of 8 minutes. And it's pretty.

Chili Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:05:00 +0000

When I was young, chili dogs were my favorite food. I didn't even have to think about it when someone asked me the question. On my birthday, my parents used to take me to King's, a restaurant that served foot-long chili dogs. Heaven! (That restaurant is now a Perkins. They do not have chili dogs--let alone veg chili dogs.)

Buns out of the oven

So I had some leftover homemade veg chili I made the other day--really good, with black beans, zucchini chunks, sweet potato, lots of spice--and I had delicious apple sage sausages. All I needed was the buns, so I whipped up these lovely creatures using half King Arthur's Bread Flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. They were a bit too big so I had to trim them down for chili dog size, but they were fresh and so delicious. Even better than I remember!

Mmm...

Working lunch

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:02:00 +0000

As I finish up my next book, I am eating lunch at my desk on Saturday. Bummer! But that's o.k. because I get to eat two pieces of wholegrain sourdough toast. I topped one with mashed sweet potatoes, black beans, and pink salt. The other got the almond butter, bananas, and raw cacao nibs treatment. Another cup of coffee, and I'll finish this thing in no time!

Lenten update: I am lame. Last night at Happy Hour, I had a shot of Patron with club soda and a lime. But just one, and nothing when I went out for dinner later! I'm not going to throw in the towel, I'm going to consider that a single slip and try not to do it again. Still no sugar. Interestingly, I noticed that I wasn't constantly hungry all day yesterday--likely a product of reduced sugar intake. Note the delicious natural sweetness of my lunch--who needs cane sugar when you can eat like this?

Curry soup, sushi rolls, and sesame coleslaw

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:18:00 +0000

I've been eyeing a recipe in Vegetarian Times for Chickpea and Greens Curry Soup. Last night I finally made it, leaving off the suggested yogurt garnish. Basic method: Saute onions and a lot of spices (curry, cinnamon, turmeric, chili powder, nutmeg), then add chopped greens (I used lacinato kale, the recipe suggests spinach), then add can of chickpeas, 1 chopped tomato, 4 cups veg broth, 1 can coconut milk, and simmer for an hour. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro . It was good but not salty enough for me, so I added a bit of soy sauce towards the end, which made it perfect.

As that simmered, I made sushi rolls, one flavor with marinated tofu, avocado, and green onions, the other with sweet potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. Deliciousness. My teenager devoured most of the sweet potato rolls--he's not very good at sharing. Finally, chopped red cabbage tossed with chopped scallions, cilantro, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, a pinch of 5-spice powder, and sesame seeds.

Lenten update: So far, so good. No sugar, no alcohol. We'll see how it goes when I meet a friend for happy hour today and order a club soda with lemon. Will I be able to handle the inevitable peer pressure?

Deprivation, or Discipline? (On the occasion of Lent.)

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:08:00 +0000

No more glasses of this for awhile...

Or any of these...

I'm not Catholic, and yet, I go through this every year: What to give up for Lent. I think I'm obsessed with Lent because I am not someone overwhelmed by a sense of personal discipline. In fact, I'm kind of lax--hedonistic, one might even say. I'm not good at deprivation. Lent seems like an opportunity to work on what is arguably a failing. (Not that arguable, really.)

As is my custom, I had no problem feasting on Original Field Roast Grain Meat Company Apple Sage Sausage, homemade pancakes (from VwaV) with maple syrup, and tofu scramble (freestyle, lots of curry powder) with fresh pico de gallo and avocado cubes and spinach, along with a couple of homemade Hurricanes (orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, white rum, spiced rum, amaretto, strawberry syrup, angostura bitters) on Fat Tuesday. (Sorry, I was festive without a camera.)

But then, I had to face the yearly dilemna: What to give up.

I'm never very good at this. I've tried unsuccessfully to give up sugar for 40 days oh...enough times to make me want to bake a batch of cupcakes to forget. In fact, I don't think I've ever once been able to give up anything for Lent and make it all the way to Easter. Not a very good track record, I guess, looking back on it.

Sheesh.

Every year, however, my health habits have gotten a little bit better. That's why, this year, I've decided to try giving cane sugar and alcohol the boot. For 40 days. Until Easter.

DEFINITELY no more of these...

I chose cane sugar specifically for two reasons. One, I eat too much of it. Two, if I just said "sugar" and could not take occasional refuge in Rice Dream Pies or maple syrup, I would surely fail. And I'm adding alcohol because I just can't take it like I used to, and I don't think it's doing me any favors. It won't kill me to give it a 40-day rest. As I told a friend the other day, I can have a chocolate martini on Easter, right? It's not like it's forever.

It's only going to feel like it.

Not even any of these...sigh...

So here is my pep talk to myself:

"I can do it! Go Hungry Yogi! You don't need no stinkin' sugar. And the next time you cook something good, take a darned picture!"

Merry Vegan Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:59:00 +0000


My boys on Christmas, plus girlfriend Hailey

Christmas snow!

It's been a crazy year. So crazy, we've had nobody over. We've had no holiday gatherings at our house in something like 3 years? We've always politely suggested that we "meet at *your* house." Because our house was what we euphemistically like to call "in flux." I was working like a maniac and Ben was doing about seventy-five projects at once, and, well...you know how it goes (or maybe you don't, but if that's the case, then let's meet at *your* house).

However, my poor mom, who hates to cook, and whom we abandoned on Thanksgiving to visit Ben's parents, really needs a break. Therefore, I finally agreed we would have Christmas Day dinner at our house.

So, never mind my sprained ankle, stress level, and work load I am ignoring this week for the sake of my own sanity. It's Christmas, which means it's a time for family, love, sparkly gifts, and especially cooking. Here is the menu I'm planning:

Tofurken from here (because doesn't that just look so cool?)
Garlic mashed potatoes (no recipe, winging it)
Roasted blue-and-sweet potatoes with onions and mushrooms (no recipe, winging it)
Isa's punk rock chickpea gravy (from VWAV)
Dinner rolls with Earth Balance (purchased)
Peas (just plain and roly-poly, the way the kids like them)
Big Christmas Salad (with red peppers, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, all that good stuff--free form)
Jamaican rice and peas (by which they mean beans--a recipe we got from a girl named Nana in Jamaica--she says it's the best)
Cranberry sauce (homemade because really, it's so easy, I don't get the canned thing--no recipe, winging it)
Gooseberry pie (with the berries from my dad's gooseberry bush, waiting patiently in the freezer--no recipe, winging it)
Red velvet cake with pink frosting (special-ordered from Fair Grounds coffeehouse, my fave vegan bakery)

Do you think that will be enough food? (Full disclosure: We also got a local organic ham so my dad doesn't swoon from a perceived lack of sustenance, and I'm working on him to take his first baby step from supermarket meat to locally-produced-on-small-family-farm meat, but the ham doesn't get to come to the table. I know.).

I will report back with photos once cooking has commenced. For now, I'm off to finish my shopping and then do some yoga so I can calm down enough to have a steady hand in the kitchen tomorrow and the next day. Peace on earth and happy merry to all!

UPDATE: Pictures! Also, I was lucky enough to win one of the handmade cookbooks from Vegan Eats and Treats, so added the Panforte from that to my Christmas menu.

Grace, the cockatiel, is helping me choose a recipe.

Panforte ready to bake

Finished Panforte from Vegan Eats & Treats homemade cookbook, "Inter-Galactic Vegan Delights"

Rolling out the dough for Tofurken

Adding the sausages

Adding the cashew cheese layer

Rolling it up

Getting ready to steam it

Steaming...

Finished Tofurken--yum!

Preparing the gooseberry pie

Ready to bake

Cranberry sauce

Blue white sweet potatoes, ready to roast

New Refrigerator!

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:21:00 +0000

For about six months now, we've been limping along with a refrigerator that needs to be completely emptied about once every ten days, turned off for 24 hours, then restarted. This is due to some fancy-schmancy broken part that would cost nearly half the price of a new refrigerator to replace. Finally, after one too many trips down the stairs and out to the garage (aka beer) refrigerator with armfuls of food, I decided enough was enough. We were going to have to suck it up and buy a new one.

So, after much research and a series of fortunate mishaps for which Sears and LG were variously to "blame," we are getting this new refrigerator, at a drastically reduced price. It's a long story, but suffice it to say, I am a happy customer.

However, upon measuring last night, we realized that our cabinets above our old refrigerator are too low. At some point, we plan to rip them all out anyway, so Ben took the circular saw and just cut off the bottom of the cabinets. Why not? I never liked those cabinets.

Now, we've got a space all ready. They will come and haul away the old one and install the new one. Supposedly. I remain skeptical, as it all seems too good to be true.

I swear I'm going to keep this one shiny-sparkling-clean, oh mighty refrigerator gods! I swear it!

In the meantime, I let the camera battery die so wasn't able to take pictures of what I've been cooking all week, but this included:

-A vegan butternut squash cheesecake, based on this Vegetarian Times pumpkin cheesecake recipe, but subbing puree I made from butternut squash I had from my CSA and using some homemade cranberry sauce in place of the candied cranberries. Easy and so good, seriously, you should try it. My kids had no idea it contained tofu. Even my son's very picky girlfriend ate an entire piece, and she usually won't eat anything.
-Butternut squash soup with coconut milk, to use up my leftovers.
-Tofu breakfast burritos
-Follow Your Heart quesadillas (used their "monterey jack" cheese) with green salsa and Amy's chili (my "fast food")
-A failed attempt at Essene bread. A friend has enlightened me to my errors so I'll re-do that and post it later.
-Probably a lot of other food I can't remember, since I eat a lot.

Now, my camera is charging and I am waiting with baited breath for my new friend, Ms. Fridge. She's stainless steel. With four doors. French doors. And separate drawers for fresh fruits, crisp veggies, and various tofu-related products. And two freezers. And a wine drawer. And a really tall ice maker, so I can fit the whole pitcher in there. And...and...and.. Oh, I'm sure the reality of our relationship will soon bring my reverie to a screeching halt, but until she arrives, just let me have my fantasies.

Hells Yeah Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Emmett...you will spoil your dinner!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas is next, and I'm sitting here at my desk looking out the window at actual SNOW, I have a hankering for cookies. Peanut butter cookies. My 12 year old son Emmett gave me the idea the other day, when he said, "Mom, will you make peanut butter cookies?"

Hells yeah.

So I looked around and found these, on the Hell Yeah It's Vegan website. Thanks Claryn! I don't know you, but I like you already.

First, I prepared my mise en place. Because I'm fancy like that. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was to use some light coconut milk I happened to have leftover, instead of the soy milk.

I mixed it up in my KitchenAid stand mixer (LOVE), formed the dough into balls, and then on a whim, rolled each dough ball in Florida Crystals before putting on the cookie sheet and making the old-school fork marks. (Because it's the secret code for peanut butter cookies.) I admit to eating some of the dough--but if I hadn't, it would have made more than two dozen cookies, and I only have two cookie sheets. And two dozen peanut butter cookies should be enough for anyone.

Here they are, ready to put in the oven:

And here they are, all baked and delicious. Chewy, soft in the middle, as promised. I even baked them a little longer than stated, and they were still perfectly textured. As you can see, between oven and plate, I now have far fewer than two dozen remaining. Because we are all naughty cookie-snatching dinner spoilers. All of us!

Salad, Sally, Snow, and Soup

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Wow. I mean, wow. The Mofo postings overwhelm me. How the heck do people have time to cook and photograph and write every day like that? I'm impressed. I'm also now officially obsessed with this blog. But I digress.

We hit the road, literally going over the river and through the woods to "grandmother"s" house (BF's mom), where Thanksgiving was definitely not vegan but had many delicious elements, like this:

My main course

and this (Angus was just so exhausted waiting for his food!):

Wake up, Angus--dinner is almost ready and you should really be helping!

and of course, "Grandma" in the kitchen.

Ann at the stove

It was also Sally's birthday. She's 12. We made her a little turkey cake.

Happy Birthday Miss Dog!

So, while there was turkey on the table and I could only drool and dream about the amazing vegan creations I saw on Mofo this week (Tofurken, I have my eye on you for next year...or Christmas!), I had plenty of good salad and corn and sweet potatoes and I ravished the relish tray--and we had serious happy-family time, unplugged from computers and blackberries and televisions.

Now we are home, and it's snowing! In fact, I believe it's the first snow of the season. That means soup weather, so I'm cooking up delicata squash, kale, and green chilies in mushroom broth, for pureeing:

Soup-to-be

I plan to sip it from a big mug. With a side of toast. Topped with pumpkin butter. Because it may not be winter yet, but it feels like winter, so who am I to behave otherwise?

Squash Saturday...Sunday...Monday...

noreply@blogger.com (eve) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:59:00 +0000

I may occasionally be late on deadlines, but I would never fail to honor a commitment--especially to a squash. Therefore, I felt it my sacred duty to spend the day cooking my beautiful bunch of squashes and making them into squash truffles (and do it right this time), roasted stripetti squash (I owe it to my CSA--second half of this post explains why), pumpkin spice syrup (but with homemade pumpkin puree instead of canned, because I've got it) and pumpkin butter (I'll just make it up as I go).

They've been waiting so patiently. See? See how long-suffering they are? Just waiting, waiting to be made into something delicious? Because they just know they have it in them?

First, I roasted them for about 15 minutes so they would soften up enough to cut and scoop. Then, I returned them to the oven to get nice and soft.

After they were fork-tender, I scooped all the squash to make 4 cups, and scooped the pumpkin separately, to make the pumpkin recipes. I pureed everything in the VitaMix to make a beautiful, silky, creamy squash puree and pumpkin puree, respectively. I am here to tell you, the VitaMix truly makes a complete puree--no straining necessary. It's beautiful.

For the squash truffles, I heated the squash puree on low heat, as instructed in the recipe--but two hours later, it will wasn't "very dry." I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but it just doesn't want to firm up into anything I could possibly roll. Maybe it's the weather. I added the almond butter, syrup, vanilla, and salt. I tried to drop a few onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment. They weren't very round. Finally I gave up and stirred in a bunch of grated coconut. This made it shape-able, so I rolled it into balls, put a few chocolate chips in the middle of each one, and put them on parchment on a baking sheet. Put them in the refrigerator to see if they will firm up any further. More on that later.

For the pumpkin syrup, I measured out 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1-1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup Florida crystals, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice. Boiled the heck out of it, and yum! I've been scooping the stuff into my coffee cup ever since.

For the pumpkin butter, I combined the remaining pumpkin puree with 1 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup apple syrup (I used up all my maple syrup and I happened to have apple syrup from a local farm), and another tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (I'm going to need more of this!). I boiled it until it was thick and yummy. I've been spooning the stuff onto toast ever since.

Finally, I "roasted the heck" out of the stripetti squash (as instructed). The shells, blackened, contained the most delicious carmelized squash! Wow. I take it back, I take it all back, what I said about stripetti squash before! I've been eating it all by itself all weekend, and also put some into my lentils.

I spent most of Sunday and most of today so far eyeing those unfinished squash truffles in the refrigerator--with suspicion. I'll finish them before I leave for Thanksgiving--which will not be vegan so I guess I'd better bring something--something more substantial than squash truffles, but they might make it into the car, too.

Anyway, the squash and I had fun. We laughed. We cried. It was better than cats. Now I'm ready to have a great holiday--you do, too! As soon as Thanksgiving is over, Christmas recipes are fair game--and I just saw a recipe in Better Homes & Gardens for coconut and grapefruit gumdrops...