I'm Vegan, and Therefore Cooler Than You

New Location!

2009-10-06T22:52:00.002-04:00

Hello anyone who still reads this! I must apologize for the 1 1/2 month blog hiatus. I've been busy... I am currently blogging from South Korea! The military finally approved our paperwork, so on the 25th of September, I flew from Washington DC to South Korea. We are living right off-post, in a beautiful apartment that would cost an obcene amount of money in the States. (Seriously, I have marble and hardwood floors, huge bay windows, and more closet space than anyone could ever need. Thank you Army!) I have yet to eat much of the local cuisine, as we've been super busy trying to get situated. I'll try to start posting more regularly now. Have a great day, all!

PB Surprise Cuppers

2009-08-24T15:39:00.003-04:00

No food posts today sadly. There was going to be one, but all of my picture-worthy food got eaten before I could snap a shot! I'll just have to tell you about the most magical food ever...cupcakes. Friends of mine get together about once a month for game night and I always make something vegan and yummy. I made a cake last time and wanted to make something similar, as the cake was a hit. I decided to make cupcakes, but not just any cupcakes! I made peanut butter surprise cupcakes! The surprise is a vegan peanut butter cup baked into the middle! I just used the basic chocolate cuppers recipe from VCTOTW for the batter and placed a frozen peanut butter cup in the middle. (Yes, it has to be frozen, otherwise it melts before the cake sets. Also, don't push them down into the batter. They will sink down during cooking.) When they come out of the oven, they look like everyday, boring cupcakes, but then you bit in and there is a little peanut buttery surprise in the middle! I made some homemade vegan/pb icing for the top and crossed my fingers. They were a hit! Everyone raved about them, which is just further proof that vegan doesn't equal disgusting!

Food on a Food Blog

2009-08-11T12:15:00.004-04:00

Hey look, an actual food post on my food blog! I've been cooking quite a bit lately, although it's pretty much the same thing... I have a veggie wrap for lunch most days, which is quick, easy, and quite tasty. The wrap is a vegan flaxseed/whole wheat wrap with a boca burger, hummus, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. YUM! Since it's summer and all the good fruits and veggies are in season, I eat as many as I can. Cucumber, celery, and carrots are on the side.
For dinner, I made a curry with mixed veg, chickpeas, and brown rice. I actually made my own curry powder blend with coriander, cumin, turmeric, fennel seed, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. It was SO good! I don't like a lot of heat in my food, so it was nice to be able to add more flavor without adding heat. The recipe made quite a bit, so I was able to eat this for two meals. It was even better reheated, because all the flavors had a chance to really infuse the rice, veg, and chickpeas. The photo is a little blurry, but... deal with it?No word yet about going to Korea. We're hoping to hear by the end of next week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've been doing a lot of research on the different foods I'll be able to find over there and I am SO excited!!!

Uncertainty

2009-08-05T19:19:00.004-04:00

Yes, I'm a bad little vegan. Life has been quite hectic here. Rob is serving with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. Without him here, I've not been cooking anything really interesting. I've been eating healthy, but I tend to choose salads, veggie burgers, or stir-fry over anything elaborate. I did make the broccoli-cashew stir-fry out of ED&BV the other day. It was spectacularly good, further proof that Dreena is a goddess in the kitchen!
Another reason for my lack of postings is that I'm trying to get over to Korea myself. The Army has programs that do spouses to go over. We've been going through all the required steps and should have an approval or denial in a few weeks. If I do get to go over, it's going to open a whole new culinary world! I've been trying to increase my tolerance for spicy foods, as Rob tells me everything is HOT over there! He's had to go back to being vegetarian instead of vegan while he's there, but is hoping that I get to go over so that he can get back to veganism. I miss cooking for two!
I will try to post here more often. It's been crazy with school, being an Army wife, and all the other household duties. Have a wonderful day all!

I'm a little bit angry...

2009-03-23T11:12:00.002-04:00

I am really sick of seeing these STUPID high-fructose corn syrup commercials! Some well-meaning woman/man/child tries to stop another from eating a food containing HFCS, but when the other person rebuts the argument, this naive person can't come up with a single bad thing to say about this sticky substance. Gee, let's all live in Wonderland and not think about the evils of this crap!

Arguements:

"It's fine in moderation!"- Well that may be, however it is in EVERYTHING from bread to cereal to applesauce. It is nearly impossible to "enjoy it in moderation!" Pick out five products from your pantry. I am willing to bet that at least three of those products contain HFCS.
"HFCS is a way to lower food costs!"- I'd rather pay the 1 cent difference and get something that is sweetened with actual sugar, not some "franken-fructose."
HFCS is natural!- Sure, if you consider genetically-modified enzymes and chemicals "natural."
"HFCS doesn't make you fat!"- Really? Then why are there hundreds of studies that prove otherwise? Fructose does not release or stimulate insulin. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps to metabolize our foods by pushing carbohydrates into our muscle cells to be used as energy, and allows carbohydrates to be stores in our liver for later use. It also stimulates production of another hormone, leptin, which helps to regulate our storage of body fat and increases our metabolism when needed. These two hormones keep our body fat regulated and tells us, for all intent purposes, when we are satisfied and sends the message to our brain to stop eating.

I'm thinking that Americans need to stop going blindly on what they see on tv and start doing some research into what they put into their mouths! DOWN WITH HFCS!

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

2009-03-10T16:45:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone! I doubt anyone still reads this, as it's been six months since my last post. I would make up an excuse like I've been busy, or something tragic happened, but it just got put on the back burner. I have no idea how often I'll post on here, but I thought I'd give an update.

Rob left for BCT on August 20th last year. He is a 63M- Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer. The long and short of it is that he fixes tanks. He went to Ft. Jackson, SC for BCT and Ft. Knox, KY for AIT.He got through Army BCT (Basic Combat Training) and AIT (Advanced Individualized Training) with flying colors. In fact, the boy even got Distinguish Honor Grad (like the valedictorian) of his AIT class, as well as an Excellence in Maintenance award. He's the best soldier ever! This is him at his AIT graduation... So cute!

This is us at his BCT graduation.

He was chosen for another program, H8- a four week training after AIT that will train him in recovery missions. This means that he gets to go into "the danger zone" and fix broken down tanks, if the need arises. I'm thankful for this extra training. I wouldn't want him going into an unsafe place without proper training. He will be done with this training at the end of the month. From Ft Knox he will fly 6000 miles to South Korea. He is quite excited about this! We have to wait until he gets over there to find out if I can accompany him. I am trying very hard not to get my hopes up. I would absolutely LOVE to live in South Korea for a few years! I'll keep everyone posted... if anyone still reads this...
I've been keeping busy in Maryland while Rob's away! I've taken up karate, which is so much fun and a great workout! I haven't done much excited things in the kitchen as it is very hard to cook for one person when you're used to cooking for two. I have made countless batches of cookies and sent them to Rob these past few months. I send enough for all the guys, I'm like the "Company Mom." I just took the next batch out of the oven; sugar cookies for Rob and chocolate chip for the company. They can't believe they are vegan! When I went for AIT graduation, all the guys grilled me on how I could make such kick-ass cookies without milk, egg, or butter. I just smile and tell them it's a secret...
I've also been working on my schooling again. I've changed back to my original major of psychology and should be getting my bachelors degree at this time next year. I'll start my masters right after and then decide whether or not to get my PhD. Since my school is stricly online, I will be able to finish regardless of whether I'm here or in Korea. It's challenging, but really interesting.
I will close by saying to everyone, from a proud Army wife- You may not support the war, but please support our troops!

Payne

2008-08-18T20:31:00.003-04:00

Robert Howard Payne III and Samantha Mareah Farone would like to announce their marriage, this, the Eighteenth day of August in the year Two Thousand and Eight. They were wed in a simple ceremony at 2:30 this afternoon.

Announcement

2008-08-11T12:58:00.003-04:00

Okay, the big news. Robert, my loving fiance, will be shipping out for US Army basic training on the 25th of this month. Yes, it is sudden, but he is looking forward to facing these challenges head on. He is leaving in a few hours for MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) for his physical, security clearance, etc. He'll be there a few days, then will come home for about a week and leave for basic training shortly after that. Yes, I am scared. He was originally going to join the US Air Force, however the benefits of the Army were much better. I did not expect him to leave until the fall, so this is a quick change, to say the least.
As of right now, I don't know much, but hopefully I'll know more within the next few days. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers please!

Update

2008-08-10T13:40:00.000-04:00

(Hopefully) Big news to come tomorrow!

Apology

2008-08-03T16:03:00.004-04:00

Yes, I've been neglecting this blog. I apologize. It's really hard to make a good, photo-worthy meal when you get off work at 7 and your hubby-to-be leaves at 7:30 for his job. I've been cooking a lot of pasta, tacoes, even pancakes. I have promised him better food this week, so hopefully I'll be posting more. Lots of stuff going on here lately, some that could, in fact, change my life. I don't want to say anything yet, but I may have big news coming in future blogs. (No, I'm not pregnant.) So, if I haven't been cooking, what have I been doing? Well, I've been trying to track down the owner of this...
Yes, that is a snake skin...right next to my house. I had to put my foot in the shot to give some perspective of how big that thing is. I swear, if I come accross the snake that this belongs to, I may need new pants. I don't have issues with snakes per se, at least not until I'm face-to-face with them. I also went and hung out with my sister at the beach. She was down with a bunch of her friends. It was nice to see her again, even if she makes me feel insecure and totally inadequate... ;-) Hey, an actual food picture! I thank the Happy Herbivore blog for the above meal. I was all set to have stir fry, but happened upon the recipe for Vegan Pho. I have had udon noodles in my pantry forever, but hadn't used them until this recipe. The broth was a tad too salty for me, I think next time I'll use low sodium broth. Otherwise, it was super tasty!This is lentil soup (yes, those are ice cubes floating. I was hungry, it was too hot.). Beside it is a homemade baking powder biscuit. I didn't feel like rolling out and cutting the dough, so I rolled pieces into balls and placed them in a muffin tin. They were tasty. I had more than I should have though... Naughty girl!

I'm going to attempt a pasta primavera tonight. I say attempt as Rob is still in bed and if he stays asleep much longer, we may end up with sloppy joes and fries... I will get back to reading blogs soon, I promise! Hope everyone has a great week!

Super sweet!

2008-07-22T23:33:00.004-04:00

YAY! I've been nominated for this blog award by Natalie (Her super great blog here Her blog is really great, she's so creative and the pictures are fantastic. I'm passing this award on to some well-deserving bloggers.

These are the rules for the people I am awarding:
*Put the logo on your blog.*Add a link to the person who awarded you.
*Nominate at least seven other blogs.
*Add links to those blogs on your blog.
*Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

I want to pass this award to:

Megan at Megan the Vegan
Alice at Alice In Veganland
Theresa at The Tropical Vegan
Erin at Vegan Homemade
Diann at Eat'nVeg'n
Dawn at Ve*gan Chick
Cecilia Scrumptiously Vegan

Go forth and nominate!
On a food related note, Im going head to head with a non-vegan tomorrow in a not-so-friendly bake-off. It's my oatmeal peanut butter cookies and double chocolate brownies against her lemon slice and apple slice. The Aussie is going down!!! Wish me luck, pictures tomorrow!

Sneeze away

2008-07-20T14:25:00.005-04:00

I'm allergic to... cats, dogs, trees, dust, grass, mold, and pollen. DId you see wheat or peanuts on the list? No? YAY!!!!!!!!!!! NO FOOD ALLERGIES!!! I'm still limiting my wheat/nuts consumption, just because I really didn't miss it all that much. (Plus, I lost a few pounds, which was super nice!) I'm back on my allergy meds and on three different creams for that icky nasty rash. I have to say that in the few days I've been using the creams, my rash is almost gone! I'm actually wearing a tank top today, which I haven't in at least a few weeks.

Since I was eating gluten-free, I made Dreena's Chocolate Chip Cookies from ED&BV. I made them with spelt flour, which I haven't used before. I was a little worried, but they turned out perfectly. I couldn't tell the difference (and neither could Rob, who ate quite a few of them!)

I could lick the computer right now. That's how good those cookies were.

I also started making smoothies in the morning. I usually eat oatmeal or cold cereal, but it's been way too hot to eat oatmeal and I couldn't find good gluten-free cereal. Smoothies are cool and help me get my fruits and veggies! I've been using a combo of frozen and fresh fruits, along with some soy milk, flax seed, or OJ. Even Rob's gotten in on the smoothie action!

This is his pouty "Why is there a camera in my face at this time of the morning" face...

To celebrate my allergy tests, I made the chickpea patties from V-Con. Yes, this is the first time I've made these. They were yummy, but not as OMG as everyone says. Rob loved these. I made just a quick gravy to placce over top when I realized these were a little on the dry side. I just took some veggie stock and added cornstarch to thicken. It looks a little like snot, but it was good nonetheless. On the side was an ear of corn from my last farmers market purchase. It was super sweet, definetly will be buying from that vendor again soon!

And this was just a veggie/tofu stirfry; simple but good.

I'm making a curry right now for lunch. Nothing special. Just chickpeas, potatoes, and onions. I have something cooling on the stove now, but that's another post... :-)

No pity, only input

2008-07-12T13:31:00.002-04:00

My skin has staged a rebellion against the rest of my body. My allergies are out of control. I have been itchy and uncomfortable for the past few weeks, but these past few days have been unbearable. I see my allergist on Thursday, but I need a fix until then. Allergy meds are out of the question since they will mess with my allergy tests, so I've bought super-ultra mega strength hydrocortisone cream and a huge box of oatmeal (for oatmeal baths). I've also decided to do a food challenge. I'm taking wheat and peanuts out of my diet. Between my local farmers market, a few roadside stands, and Giant foods, I have a ton of fresh fruit and veg (which I need to eat more of anyways), rice, and tofu. I am sad to see bread and pasta go though! I wasn't able to find any sprouted bread or gluten free pasta, so I'm just leaving it out for now. I'm hoping my doctor tells me that it's not a food allergy, or one I can handle. Stress!!!
So, I know there are a ton of gluten-free vegans out there. How do you handle it? What do you use in place of wheat?

Rant

2008-07-07T20:33:00.002-04:00

You know what bothers me? The fact that everyone else's blog has pictures of these lovely vegan restaurants with seitan and vegan cheese on the menu. I'm annoyed. I am envious of the people that have Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and huge farmers markets within a 5 mile radius. I would LOVE to just go down the street, pull into a dining establishment, and order off the menu without grilling the wait staff about the veggie burger. And that's another thing! I'M SICK OF VEGGIE BURGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! There, I said it! Yes, I know, you're gasping in horror. But really, how many can one person eat before turning into a veggie burger themselves? Yes, I do appreciate it when I see a vegan option on a menu. However, why should I not enjoy my meal? I mean, when everyone else is eating this gourmet looking (and tasting) food, why do I get the requisite Boca burger on a bun with a toothpick stuck in the middle? Is it so wrong to ask chefs to be creative? Why did you become a chef if you didn't want to be creative? I understand that being vegan is a personal choice. I chose to eat this way. However, I should not be shunned by the eating world because I made that choice. If I had any gumption or willpower, I would start my own restaurant. But I will readily admit, I don't have the skills. The logistics of opening, running, and conceptualizing a restaurant are too damn tiring!. Speaking of which, I'm tired.

Whirlwind

2008-07-06T16:10:00.002-04:00

Whew, what a weekend! My Dad got here Thursday night. We just hung out. I made tortilla chip soup (my standard "non-vegan people are over" meal). My dad just raved about it! He says he's going to make it and take it to every family function from here on out. Very nice. Friday we got up early and headed to the beach! We parked at the bus terminal and took the shuttle to the boardwalk. Parking was close to $50 otherwise. Do you know how many packages of tofu I could buy with that?! The shuttle? $1. All day. Much better. We walked and walked and walked up and down the boardwalk, looking in all the little shops, drinking strawberry lemonade and eating Thrashers' french fries (SO good.). We also walked on the beach! The US Navy band was supposed to play at 8pm, they had a huge stage set up on the sand. We sat down close to the roped off area in the sand (the shoot the fireworks right over the ocean). The Navy band never did go on. They ended up shooting the fireowrks off early, as a storm was moving in. They were just fantastic! We were less than 100 ft away from where they shot them off. Everyone clapped and cheered at the end, then beat feet off the boardwalk. We headed to the bus and felt a few sprinkles, but nothing major... We got to the bus stop and then all hell broke loose! The storm was like a freaking monsoon! Needless to say, by the time the bus got there (between traffic and people ahead of us in line, we got on the 4th bus that came our way), we were SOAKED. I had to literally wring out my clothes! It was fun though, an experience I'll never forget!
Yesterday we headed up to the Dover Downs, which has slots and electronic table games. We lost, of course, but it was fun! The money didn't last long, I'll tell ya. We also went to the Goodwill to get my dad some cheap kitchen stuff. He got a super nice (nearly brand new) Pyrex baking dish for $3. He also forgot it and left it in the back of my car. I guess I'll be taking it to Pittsburgh next time...
It was fun, and I ate like crap. I promised myself that I would get back to eating healthy this week. I'm down 2.2 pounds, and I have another ten to go! Oy.

Five

2008-07-02T20:48:00.004-04:00

No excuses for not blogging. I've been feeling rather ill lately (allergies), so I haven't really been cooking much. My mother was here last weekend, and we filmed episode 5 of Lovin' From the Oven. Make sure to check it out at ovelove.com! This episode is our best, by far. We played around with the format a little, PLEASE let us know what you think! (Don't make me beg. It's not pretty.) My dad will be here over this weekend, so I probably won't blog until next week. I'll have lots of pictures to post though! HAVE A GREAT 4TH!!!

Hazy

2008-06-25T18:39:00.004-04:00

"This medicine is playing tricks with my mind. It's the most potent anti-histamine on the market, and apparently it makes me crave raw onions and sing 2Legit 2Quit by MC Hammer nonstop in my head. Seriously. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried... "

Above: That's what I said to Rob last night. Yes, I'm serious.

In other news, episode four of the show is up on the website! Make sure to check it out at ovelove.com! We're filming the fifth episode on Saturday, tres exciting!

I actually did make dinner last night, in between itching fits and medication haze.

Underneath the red stuff was a seitan rib, of sorts. I used a recipe from Vegan Vittles. It was okay, although I only ate half of it. I don't think a spicy BBQ was what my stomach needed last night...

I would post a huge blog about my emotions of being diagnosed with a food allergy right now, but I'm trying to stay positive (even though three seperate people told me I look "puffy" today.) I think I'm going to go to bed. It's not even nine o'clock, but my room has two HEPA filters, newly washed sheets, and lots of hypoallergenic pillows! These next few weeks are going to suck without all my allergy meds. But once I get tested, I'll know exactly what I'm allergic to, and can get better, more effective meds. It's really a double-edged sword; feel better, but only by feeling worse temporarily.

Itchy

2008-06-24T18:44:00.002-04:00

I'm so tired right now. I've had a rash on my chest for a few days now, but chocked it up to allergies/excema that I've had since I was a kid. It itched, but I've been putting lotions n' potions on it, hoping it would heal and go away. WRONG. Around noon-ish, I started to itch. This wasn't some little itch either, it was the mother of all itches. The itching (and a lovely rash) started on my chest, then moved to my arms, torso, legs, and every where else. I couldn't take it anymore. I went to an urgent care center here, hoping for some prescription strength hydrocortisone and a script for some more allergy pills. Instead, I ended up with a two shots of epinephrine, a shot of benadryl, a shot of dexamethasone, and a shot of morphine with phenergan. And I'm still itchy! Now the only thing to do is get allergy tests. The doctor said it doesn't seem like a contact allergy, this would be something I've ingested. Great. A food allergy, just what I needed. He said it may be peanuts or wheat. Seriously, that would SUCK. I got a script for three meds, the name of an allergist, and an afternoon off of work. I'm really tired.

It's way too humid here.

2008-06-22T20:44:00.002-04:00

You know, some of my best meals are those that have no recipe. Take the bowl o' rice above. I originally started with an idea of red beans and rice, but after I found out that I had no red beans, that had to change. I took the cooked brown rice, added some leftover black beans, tossed in some corn and added a bunch of spices. It was the best meal! Comforting, quick, easy, and filling. Perfect. I had some leftover, so I packed it for lunch the next day. Usually rice + microwave= nasty, but this was really good! It didn't get dried out, which was a surprise.

This is what Rob and I had for dinner tonight. I used Isa's recipe for tofu-basil ricotta. I was a little unsure about tofu on pizza, but I was pleased. I do miss stringy, gooey mozzerella, and this wasn't stringy or gooey in any way. It was however, a very nice addition to the pizza. I can imagine this being on a higher end pizza; something Wolfgang Puck would serve, rather than Pizza Hut. I put mushrooms on Robs' half, since I'm not a big fan, plus onions and black olives. The crust was (gasp) pre-made, but give me a break, it was way too humid to make a crust from scratch. I like the tofu ricotta idea, and now I have many new formulations bopping around in my head...

Fourth show should be up shortly, fifth show is going to be filmed this weekend! It's going to have a very special guest!!!! (You'll have no idea who she is, but let's just say she's a Rockband enthusiast with a PhD and a lovely vegan daughter...) Have a great week all!!!

Back in the saddle

2008-06-15T21:49:00.005-04:00

Due to filming the shows and working, I've really been neglecting my blogging duties! I made the blog rounds this weekend, and I'm mostly caught up! I'd really appreciate it if you guys could add ovelove.com to your blogrolls. We're really trying to get the word out about the show. The more people see it, the better for vegans everywhere! But enough of the infomercial... I have actual honest-to-goodness food porn!Okay, bad picture, I know. However, these were damn good! I sauteed onion, button mushrooms, and red bell peppers with some garlic, soy sauce, and assorted other spices. I put a layer of refried beans on the tortilla, added the mixture, rolled it up, and viola! Quick dinner for Rob before he headed off to work. Unfortunetly, Rob's stomach didn't agree with the onions though. He and his father have this weird aversion to onions, but it usually doesn't affect him if they are cooked, which these were. These were very cooked, more than I usually do actually and he's never had a problem before. But anyways, I felt like I poisoned the boy! He recovered quickly though, thank goodness!

Again, bad picture, good meal. Spiced tofu with sauteed potatoes. The potatoes are something my dad used to make all the time. Simple enough really, just potatoes, olive oil, onion, and garlic salt. I added a bit of basil too, just because I could. I should have used a waxier potato though, as these russetts kind of fell apart. They were good though! The tofu was good too. I used a bunch of spices, I can't even remember what they all were. I know there was some garam masala, sesame seeds, paprika, and I think some basil... I just coated it in braggs, sprinkled on the spices, and baked it for awhile. It was a good meal.

Hey, how'd that picture get in here!?! ;-)

High

2008-06-10T23:02:00.002-04:00

I just can't go to sleep yet. We just got done filming episode three of the show and I'm still on the high that I get from it. This is a really great show! We're getting more comfortable, having a little more fun, and just rally getting our stride. It's a lot of hardwork, but it's so fun!!! Please, please, please check it out! the first two episodes are already up, I'd love any and all feedback you can give!
I'm watching 30 Days, a show by Morgan Spurlock (of Supersize Me fame) about people who live a completely different life for 30 days. Morgan himself has been a coal miner (last weeks' show). A famous football player used a wheel chair (this week's show). Next weeks' show? An "outdoorsman" has to live with a vegan family!!! YAY! This show has a good track record of leaving people more aware and open to ideas, so I'm hoping this is going to be good for all us veggies! Make sure to tune in to FX at 10pm next Tuesday!
Day two of the diet went well! I've been eating healthily and I worked out this morning. I even managed to grab a banana as a quick snack instead of the animal crackers that looked oh-so-good... Yay for me!
I know I've been slacking at commenting lately, but I promise to get back to that tomorrow or Thursday.

Episode Two: Revenge of the Chickpea

2008-06-09T14:44:00.002-04:00

Episode two is up and running on www.ovelove.com!!! Check it out and leave me lots of comments! (Also, have you entered the Chocolate Mania contest yet? No?! Well you'd better hurry!!!)

Read This

2008-06-08T18:04:00.002-04:00

I found this article while surfing the net and thought it was very smart. Check it out here

Updates n' such

2008-06-08T13:24:00.002-04:00

Well, the second episode is filmed. It should be up online shortly, we are having issues uploading the mpeg with Google Video. Chris is working hard on getting it working though! Tomorrow we are filming the next show. Sneak peak- It's all about Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan! We were going to film the chocolate show next, but due to scheduling issues and such, we postponed it. Make sure you visit the website (www.ovelove.com) and send us your favorite original chocolate recipe!!!
Not much else going on here lately. Work, home, cooking, cleaning, and generally being awesome is taking up quite a bit of time. I'm starting a contest with the girls at work tomorrow though, which is going to kick start my lazy butt. I have a month to lose more of my body weight than any other girl. The pot is up to almost $5o, and I could really use it! My plan is to work out at least 4 times a week and eat as healthily as possible. I have to admit, I've been lacking in the healthy food department lately. I need to eat more veggies and less convienence foods. I've already gone shopping and my fridge is stocked with fruits (including a lovely fruit salad), veggies (pre-cut, so I have no excuses) and low fat soy yogurt and soy milk. I plan on visiting the Happy Herbivore and Fat-Free Vegan blogs often!
If anyone else wants to get healthy with me, I could use the support! No money will be exchanged online of course, but it would be really great to have a bunch of us "less than active" vegans blogging towards a common goal! Actually, I'll make it a contest! Leave me a comment and let me know youre going to try to eat healthier and work out more, at least for the next month. At the end of the month long period, leave me another comment telling me what you did and how you changed. I'll pick a winner and they will recieve a lovely vegan gift! So let's get going here people!

Back in the Swing of Things

2008-06-05T22:20:00.004-04:00

Whew, I finally have a minute to sit down! Lots of things have been wracking my nerves lately, so I've been a little high-strung. I had my nursing proficiency test on Tuesday and I passed! That means I don't have to re-take all the courses I took in Pittsburgh. This is a load off my mind, considering I can work until spring and pay things off (my car for starters!). I just want this damn nursing degree to be finished so I can start making the big bucks! ;-)

We also filmed the next episode of the show! It's always a great time. I love having my friends over, cooking, and laughing. It's also not a bad thing to have it filmed and share the fun with all of my bloggie buddies! We brainstormed a lot Tuesday night, and we may be taking the show into a slightly different, but more fun direction. We have a ton of episode ideas that should last until the end of summer. We may start filming once a week instead of every other week as well. Lots of changes, but I think the show will benefit.

On to food.... Tonight I made just a quick stir-fry with some veggies and tofu that needed to be used.

The tofu is actually a pre-packaged "Tofu To Go" in sesame teriyaki flavor. The flavor goes all the way through, which is so nice! It's also not salty, something I have an issue with in other packaged tofu. It was quick and easy, what can I say?

I thought I'd share this with you as well... I hope you ALL enter, even though I know you probably have ED&BV...

That’s right, we’re having a contest!
We want your favorite (original) chocolate recipe. All submissions must be vegan, meaning no milk, eggs, or chicken. Whether it’s an old family favorite, or something you made up yourself, we wanna know about it!
The winner, in addition to having their recipe featured on our next show, will receive a copy of Dreena Burton’s fabulous book Eat, Drink & Be Vegan!!!
So here’s what we need from you:
NameAddressPhone #Recipe (duh)
Once you’ve got those figured out, email ‘em to us at info@ovelove.com. We are cutting off submissions Saturday, June 14th at noon and will inform the winner by Monday, June 16th. What are you waiting for, get your winning recipe in now!

Bringing Down the House

2008-05-30T20:43:00.003-04:00

You guys, the show it a hit! Not only have I gotten a TON of great feedback, but I was actually recognized on the street! Okay, I was actually recognized by the furniture delivery guy at work, but it's still pretty cool. He asked the HR lady if "a short haired girl with a vegan cooking show" worked in the office. He saw the show and thought I looked familiar. Pretty cool! We are filming the next show on Tuesday, it shouldn't take us nearly as long this time to get it up on the internet. If you still haven't seen it, please watch! (Pretty please, with a cherry on top?!) Just click on my picture on the right side of the page. It should direct you...

Today was a potluck at work to celebrate the end of our official training period. I was going to make a cake, but someone else was bringing one, so I decided to make something I hadn't tried before. I found inspiration in ED&BV. I made mini-pudding pies! I made two kinds, chocolate-peanut butter and banana-nut. I specifically wanted a dessert with tofu, as I promised something with tofu in it awhile back. These turned out great; a big hit with the non-vegans.

All the little mini-pies!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chips

The Banana-Nut. These originally started as vanilla pudding, but those were too...well...vanilla. So I cut up some bananas, put the slices in the bottom and topped the whole thing with walnuts. They mellowed out in the fridge all night, so the banana flavor got all through the pudding. I'm a sucker for banana pudding.

So those were eaten, along with BBQ pork, mac n' cheese, and coleslaw (with mayo). I had noodles with teriyaki sauce, and of course, a little mini-pie. I couldn't resist. And the fact that everyone ate tofu was great. (Ten to one, they come back to work Monday and say their stomachs hurt all weekend. They will blame the tofu, I just know it.)

I am going to go watch the National Spelling Bee. Seriously, those kids are SMART. Aptylism? Cinisize? Crazy, man, crazy!

100 Posts and some BIG news!

2008-05-27T19:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of recent posts, but I wanted my 100th post a good one! Yes, I've posted 100 times already! I'm kind of amazed at myself... But anyways, THE SHOW IS UP! Yes, it's true! We got it all straightened around and it's up on the website! Go to
http://www.ovelove.com and click on the "shows" tab. You'll see the recipes listed and the link to the show below them. Please let me know what you think!!!! (Also, I am really not a mega-bitch. You'll see what I mean when I say "make it fine." Trust me, this wasn't meant to be as bitchy as it sounds. It was one of those things that sounded better in my head...)

C-c-c-c-c-heck it out!

2008-05-24T09:37:00.003-04:00

If you are in the Salisbury, MD area this weekend, be sure to check out PAC14 at 6:30pm Saturday and 10:30 am Monday, which will be airing our very first episode of "Lovin' From the Oven!" If you aren't in the area, you'll just have to wait a few days for us to post it online. (We're having issues converting the files, but we should *fingers crossed* have it up early next week.) It looks really good! I can't wait for you all to see it!!!!

It's done!

2008-05-21T14:58:00.004-04:00

My nerves are SHOT. Yesterday was fun, and I do mean F-U-N. However, I spent so much time and energy worrying about the show, I have nothing left to give today. I'm tired. I'm sore, I'm a mess! I took a half day today so I could regroup and finish the ten loads of laundry and dishes I have piled up... Enough about that though, THE FIRST EPISODE IS DONE!!! You guys, I have to say this is like a dream come true. I feel so privledged to have this opportunity. I love being vegan and to be able to share my passion with the local area (and the world, being that it's on the internet) is amazing. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with good thoughts, good food, and great friends. This is what I get in return; call it karma, call it God, call it what you will, but I am lucky.
It was so fun, I can't even tell you! Of course, I was nervous (I had been all day!) but once the camera started to roll, I loosened up and we were able to film all of the food segments without multiple takes. The intro/outro took a few takes (thank you, Mr. Car Alarm), but they turned out well. Chris did most of the editing today, all that's left is the opening/closing credits. Boats to Tangier , a really cool local band allowed us to use a song of theirs for our credits. Pictures from my blog will be used in a montage for the opening as well. It will hopefully be up on the net by this weekend. YAY!!! Make sure to visit our website here!
I'm super tired. I'll post more about the show later!

Breathe in, breathe out

2008-05-20T09:40:00.001-04:00

We film the first show tonight. I'm hyperventilating. Seriously.

Heeeeeere's Johnny!

2008-05-18T19:05:00.006-04:00

Wow, so much happening! Not only has work made me extremely tired, but I've been working on the show as well. We film in two days!!! Our website is http://www.ovelove.com/ Check it out! That's where we'll post the show. The first episode should be up before the weekend, I'll keep you posted. I went to Chris and Michaels' last night for dinner, and we worked out a few kinks in the show and got a few more ideas down on paper. Chris made a really nice meatloaf, with mashed potatoes n' gravy, ginger-glazed carrots, and green beans. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Everything was great, but I forgot to take pictures... Yes, I know, I'm slacking in my blogging duties. But I'm getting better, I swear!

Rob and I hit up Ocean City this morning, as the weather was just too perfect not to soak up a little sun. We got there about ten, found a great parking spot, then walked hand in hand along the shore while cherubs played harp-y love songs, and dolphins jumped across the sunset-filled sky... (Snap back into reality...) It may not have been that romantic, but it really was nice!

The water is still frigid, but after awhile, your toes go numb, so you can't feel it anymore...

A perfect little shell. Rob kept picking up only the most perfect of shells and handing them to me, as little gifts. How sweet!

Toes...so...cold... At least my toenails are painted...

"Rob + Sam" Oh, trust me, we get much more sappy...

This spells out "I Heart Sam"

He hates having his picture taken... Can you tell?

I really wish this wasn't so blurry, because it really is a great shot of us. We have precious few pictures of us together where I am not blinking, Rob isn't making some weird face, and neither of us look constipated...

I'll take a Rob, on the rocks, with a twist of lime please.

So that's my day. We ate lunch at the Brass Balls Saloon. They had the obligatory veggie burger with some massive waffle fries. The clouds started to roll in soon after, so we headed for home. It started to rain about five minutes from home, so we made our exit at just the right time. It was really lovely to spend time together. It seems as though with our schedules we have precious few minutes to enjoy each others company.

I have gingersnap cookies cooling on racks in the kitchen right now, but you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for those pictures!!!

Not enough hours in the day

2008-05-11T16:19:00.003-04:00

Well, granted, I've got a lot of food in my house. However, I have been too busy to cook any of it. Between work and preparing for our guests (who are sitting next to me right now), I've been busy and tired. Not a very fruitful combination. Our meals have been tofu stir-fries and sandwiches, neither of which are worthy of having a picture taken. But I promise, I'll get back to cooking real food soon!

We have a name!

2008-05-09T14:13:00.006-04:00

We have a name! Rather, the show does. Drum roll please........ "Lovin' From the Oven!" After a brainstorming session with many suggestions, we settled on this one. I think it's pretty damned cute! The first filming will be the 20th, for sure. Can't wait!!! Here's dinner from last night. Megan made the chili and rice, Chris and Michael made the roasted chickpeas. So yummy! Karina made some amazingly moist spice cake, but I didn't get a picture of it.
Megan and Karina.

So, how cute is this? Rob made himself stuffed peppers the other night. He was so proud of himself! I didn't get to see the final product, as he made them while I was sleeping. I put my memory card in my camera to upload these pictures, and came across about eight pictures of his stuffed pepper! How cute!!! Here is his lovely dinner.

Slacker!

2008-05-06T23:21:00.004-04:00

I've been very busy lately, too busy to get groceries, which is why I haven't posted any yummy creations. I did manage to make it to the grocery store today, so I have food to eat now. I was craving some kale chips, but really hate the washing, chopping, and such that goes along with them. Imagine my joy when I saw this:

Pre washed, pre cut kale! Yay! I'm all about the convenience...

I promise to post more soon. I have a really cool recipe set aside for Thursday's veggie meeting. It will be a long meeting, I think. We're going to have a brainstorming session for the show, which will be filmed on the 19th! I'm hyperventilating... Until then, however, I'll leave you with the newest (if only temporary) member of our family, Emma!

Isn't It Ironic?

2008-05-04T20:08:00.003-04:00

"Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything's okay and everything's going right. And life has a funny way of helping you out when you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up in your face" -Alanis Morissette

This weekend was full of mixed emotions. Friday, my grandfather was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He's only 71 years old and otherwise very healthy. It came as a shock to our family, to say the least. Within a day of diagnosis, he had exploratory surgery, a chemo port implanted in his chest, a round of chemo scheduled, and a two month wait until he has his esophagus removed. My family is still in shock, but we are okay. My grandfather is strong as an ox, and won't let anything keep him down. It will be okay.

Due to that horrible event, my mother and cousin Jen didn't come down this weekend to drop off Emma. I did see my mom however. I drove halfway to Pittsburgh, she drove halfway to Salisbury, and we met somewhere along I-70. We had lunch sitting on the curb of a Burger King parking lot. It would have been a depressing time if we weren't two wild and crazy girls. We ended up laughing the whole time. Emma and I then headed back to Salisbury, driving 6 1/2 hours altogether. Not a great way to spend my Sunday, but it was wonderful to see my mom, if even for a half-hour.

The weekend wasn't a total loss though! Saturday night, Chris and Michael came over for a dinner party/test film for the show. I made the dishes I'll be preparing for the first episode. Tortilla Soup (from La Dolce Vegan), Pink Lady salsa (my own creation...), sangria, and a chili-chocolate cake with ice kream. Everything was good, although my salsa had WAY too much onion in it. I only used 1/2 a red onion, but it seemed to over-power everything. It did turn the whole dish a lovely pink color though, hence the name. I'll post all the recipes on the blog after the first show. It was great to spend time with friends, laughing and talking. I had a blast, and can't wait to do it again.

The simple tablescape

Michael, my first prep cook!

Chris, the director, interviewer, jack of all trades.

Getting ready to film!!! EEK!

Me, in my kitchen, going over some of my favorite vegan products

The filming went really well! This way just a test, but it got me familiar with being on camera and not talking to anyone in particular. I learned that, when asked proper questions, can really talk! It was so much fun! I can't wait to actually start filming. We have about two weeks until then, so I'm trying to eat super healthy and drop a few pounds... I'm also doing more research about vitamins, minerals, proteins, trans fats, and other health issues so that I'll have other things to talk about. We've got a bunch of shows planned, including a few special ones, but I'm keeping those a secret! Everything is really coming together. So exciting!!!!!!

Tired...

2008-04-30T21:58:00.002-04:00

I really like my job, but I'l tell you, it's tiring! All I do is sit on my ass all day, but yet I crawl into bed each night like I ran a marathon. I wonder if daydreaming instead of paying attention burns calories... So needless to say, I haven't been cooking much. I did make a batch of Dreena's Chocolate Mint Melties from ED&BV for the folks at work. They couldn't believe that they were vegan. I don't understand why people think vegan food is nasty! Just because it doesn't have meat, milk, eggs, or honey in it doesn't mean it can't be every bit as good as "regular" food, if not better!
I did manage to make falafel the other day. I love falafel. I had the leftovers for lunch today, crumbled over a salad.

I don't know why my camera is blurry on the one side. I thought it was just my contact lenses, but seeing it through clear lenses makes me think I need to clean my camera...

I also happened to make a recipe I've ear-marked for the cooking show; Isa's Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies from V'Con. I made these tonight and plan on taking them to my veggie meeting tomorrow. (Hopefully no one from the SUVSA is reading this! I like to keep my creations a secret...) Rob has sampled several of these and have given them a full-mouthed, hearty "These are GOOD." They taste almost like a brownie, they are incredibly rich. I could eat about a thousand of these.

Tomorrow should bring more news about the cooking show! Names are still tentative, but I'm leaning towards "Veg Out." Like when you are tired and need to relax, you just "veg out" on the couch and chill... What do you think?

Hells yeah.

2008-04-27T21:10:00.002-04:00

I have an affinity for mall food. You know, the food that smells so good, but is so bad... I've tackled Cinnabon. It was easy enough, the buns turned out really well. I set my sights a little higher this time. Call it what you will; Bavarian Pretzel, Auntie Annes, Wetzels' Pretzels, they're all the same. Hot, buttery, soft pretzels are what I was craving. So instead of going to the mall and buying one for $3.00 and debating the veganicity of said hunk of dough, I decided to make some! It wasn't hard at all!

While the ones at the mall may look prettier, mine tasted just as good! (I know what you're thinking. No, that is not salt on the pretzels, it's cinnamon-sugar) The dough was super easy to work with and they bake really quickly. These were the perfect combination of salt and sugar, with the doughy inside and slightly toothy outside. Drool.

Auntie Sam's Soft Pretzels

1 1/4 c Warm water
1 T + 1/4 t Yeast (I used quick rise, NOT rapid rise)
3 3/4 c AP Flour
3/4 c + 2T Powdered sugar
1 1/2 t Salt
2 T Vegetable Oil

Bath

4 c Warm water
1/2 c Baking Soda

Optionals

1/4 c Butter, melted
Rock or Kosher salt
Sugar- Cinnamon mix

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon or two of powdered sugar, set aside. Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeasty water and oil. Mix until dough comes together (It will be shaggy, that's okay). Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes. Put into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Preheat oven to 425F. Place baking soda and warm water in a large bowl, mix until dissolved. Remember what you used to do with Play-dough? Cut dough into eight equal pieces and roll out each piece into a 3 foot "snake". Holding both ends of the "snake," twirl into a pretzel shape. Dunk into the water bath and lay on paper towels to blot the excess water. Place onto a nonstick baking sheet. (You'll need to do this in two batches, as 8 pretzels wouldn't fit onto a single sheet) Bake 4 minutes, rotate baking sheet, bake another 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter and add salt, sugar, etc...

You have to try these!!!

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

2008-04-26T18:57:00.004-04:00

Two truths and a lie is a game that we had to play on our first day of training for my job. So I thought I'd play it with you! Can you pick out the lie?

1. I recieved an e-mail back from Dreena and not only has she given me permission to use any of her recipes, but she's also offered to send a copy of ED&BV to give away on the show. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not that I'm excited or anything...

2. My mother is coming down the next weekend to drop off their dog. (We're taking their terrier Emma until next June. Long story...) She was talking to my cousin Jen and mentioned the fact that she was heading down. Jen said she needed to get out of Pittsburgh, so my mother invited her to come along for the trip! Jen and I used to live only a few miles apart and would get together frequently before I moved. I can't wait to see her again!!!

3. I went to the Farmer's Market today and got a ton of great stuff! I was amazed at the offerings! Some of the stands had flea market stuff, but most had the nicest fruits and veg I've seen in a while. I got strawberries, romaine lettuce, carrots, and some lovely little peppers. Can't wait to go back!

So which is the lie? ;-)

Sadly, the lie is #3, the Farmer's Market! I did drive by, but there were only three tents! Three!!! I didn't see anything remotely colorful, so I ended up at the regular grocery store. I do plan on going back once the growing season really kicks off. I've heard it's really hopping in the summer. I did get some really neat things at the grocery store though! I found ready-to-eat Sesame Ginger tofu which is so good! I cut it up and put in the salad I had for lunch. It had a really nice chewy texture. I also got some other flavored Nasoya tofu; Onion-garlic and Asian 5-Spice. Since they are firm and not extra-firm (my preferred texture), they are chillin' out max and relaxin' all cool in the freezer. Ten points and a gold star to whomever gets that joke...

Happiest Girl In the World

2008-04-25T20:14:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm hyperventilating. My lungs are fine, I'm actually feeling a ton better. I should be able to wean myself off the steroids in a day or two. That is a BIG relief! No, the reason I'm in overdrive is something good! In my opinion, there are three "Holy Grail" authors in the world of vegan cooking. (In no particular order...)
1. Sarah Kramer
2. Dreena Burton
3. Isa Chandra Moskowitz

I'd be an honor to meet or even cook with those three amazing creators. I will never meet them, I'm sure. However, they do know my name! In the quest for good recipes to use on the upcoming public access cooking show, I decided to contact Sarah to see if I could use her recipes. She said yes, and I was just stunned! I feel so privledged! After my meeting the other night, I decided to e-mail Isa. I didn't expect a response back, especially not in less than a day! She told me to go for it and use any of her recipes I'd like. YAY!!!! I just e-mailed Dreena a few minutes ago, and if she says I can use hers, I'm going to be the happiest girl around! I've also heard from The Happy Herbivore, who gave me the go-ahead to make some of her dishes. I can't believe the support I've gotten for such a little show! I'm going to be pouring over cookbooks for the next few days trying to amass a solid list of recipes to test. It's going to be great!!!

A Little Help Please!

2008-04-24T21:08:00.001-04:00

Calling all vegan chefs!!! I need your help! It looks as though this vegan cooking show will actually become reality! While I have a ton of cookbooks to get recipes from, getting permission from writers and such is a big pain in the neck and time consuming. I am looking for recipes that you have created and would allow me to make them on the air. I promise to give full credit to you and your lovely recipes! If you are interested or would like more info, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you asap. Thank you in advance!

Part Deux

2008-04-23T22:24:00.014-04:00

I just got done watching American Idol, and Carly should NOT have gone home. I am sad. SO I will blog and feel better. Back to the Momma's trip...

On the way home from Phillie, we stopped in New Castle, DE to fill up the gas tank and get some food. Sub shops are almost always good choices as I've never run into a shop that doesn't have a veggie sub of some kind. We were so lucky to find this one! My sandwich (called "The Nonni", which is kind of coincidental, as my mom's nickname as a kid was "Noni") was eggplant, broccoli rabe, and roasted red peppers on a soft white roll. The combination was insane. The eggplant was sweet, the broccoli rabe had a slight peppery bitterness to it, and the roasted red pepper just added it's goodness. So yummy. My mom had a ham n' cheese, and she said that the provolone was the creamiest she's even had. I took her word for it.

After we got home, we pulled out the PS3 and played Rockband.

Roberto, looking dorky and cute. Rob puts us all to shame. He's amazing.

I made a quick chili for dinner. It really hit the spot. I know everyone has a different recipe, but mine has been passed down from my father, whose only seasoning is chili powder, and the measurement is extremely precise... "Keep adding it until the sauce doesn't smell like tomato anymore." Yup, we're sticklers for measurements...Rob also got a much-needed haircut! My mom started out her working life as a hairdresser. (Now, she has her Ph.D in education, go figure!)I adore this picture, as Rob and my Mom are BOTH smiling! Usually Rob tries to ruin the shot. Here's a picture of a really amazing salad I had at Saladworks. It's the Avocad-licious salad. It has all the normal salad lettuces, as well as mandarin oranges, cucumber, hearts of palm (the jury is still out about that), avocado, and tomato. Tasty, but the texture is a little weird with so many "softies and crunchies."

Wednesday was gorgeous! We headed to Ocean City, which is about a half hour from here. We were about a week away from opening weekend on the Boardwalk, so many of the shops weren't open yet, but it was still really nice. We ate lunch in this little hole in the wall restaurant that probably hasn't seen a new coat of paint since the early 70's. It looked like an old biker bar, and it smelled like it too! Many a cigarette and whiskey has been consumed in that place, let me tell you! I ordered fries, because that was the ONLY thing I could eat! They were good though.

The Boardwalk has a cute little Midway, with some pretty nice rides. I'm not a ride person, but I do love amusement parks. Odd, I know. My mom was trying to point to the Ferris Wheel, but she was a little off. AHHH SHARK!!!!Taking this picture was a laugh-riot. My mom was trying to do the "Captain Morgan" pose, but ended up looking like a Rockette. It took about three tries to get it right. My poor mother, so out of the loop.

Here's the view from the beach. The waves were quite high that day, and I tried to get a picture of the waves breaking on the rocks, but my camera was too slow. It was so calming though, to see the waves breaking and hear the water move... I love the ocean!

As warm as the water was when Mac and I went to Florida, that's about how cold the water is up here! It's still quite chilly, to say the least! I had shoes and socks on, so I stayed away, but my mom kicked off the sandals and dipped her toes in. As she described it, the water was "toe-numbing" cold.

Now before you see this next picture, let me preface it by saying that my mother and I are dorks when separate, and when we combine dork forces, we will do just about anything. That includes doing things that are reserved for toddlers and the elderly. Now scroll down and look at the dorkiness...

Yes, we did ride this thing up and down the Boardwalk. We rented it from an old surfer dude who had spent too many years in the sun. He had tandem bikes, low riders, and all sorts of other bikes, but my mom and I had to go for This. The name of the place? Wobbly Wheels. We couldn't even say the name without laughing. We were getting looks from just about everyone on the beach, and I have never been so glad to be in a new place where I knew no one! Trying to turn this thing around was hysterical, as my mom nearly ditched it into the sand, then went over a curb. I've never laughed and been so embarrassed at the same time...

Then we spent most of Thursday driving home, saw Billy Joel on Friday (AMAZING. Hands down best concert EVER.) Spent time in the ER, moved stuff, and then flew back to Salisbury on a little Dash 8 aircraft with seven people on board, including the pilot and flight crew. Woke up Monday morning, went to work, and have been trying to get this blog done since then! I'm trying to catch up with all your blogs before the weekend. Veggie meeting tomorrow, I hope to have some new info about the cooking show! I can't believe that this could really happen! How exciting!!! I've got a name in mind, but I want to run it past the group before settling on it. I'll let you know!

The Past Week- Part One

2008-04-22T14:21:00.005-04:00

Okay, I'm back to the blogging world! I feel like it's been a month, rather than a little over a week. Lots to talk about! First off, thank you to everyone who sent me get well wishes! If you've read the blog for any length of time, you know I have asthma that tends to make me miserable when it is least convenient. This weekend was just such a time. I noticed I was having to use my inhaler more the latter half of last week, but I didn't really think much of it. It's spring, and my allergies tend to make my asthma worse. I went to Pittsburgh to see Billy Joel (Amazing!) and took my trusty inhaler with me. Rob told me to bring my breathing treatment machine with me, but I am not lugging that 5 pound nebulizer through two airports! So I left it at home. I used my inhaler about twenty times Friday night, but managed to get up and help my father move to his new place. I managed to help with about 2/3 of it and then my lungs decided to rebel. They decided that they were too good to help in the oxygen exchange anymore! I was wheezing heavily, coughing and hacking. Not good. Even my inhaler wasn't working for me anymore. I told my sister to drop me off at the ER. I walked up to the triage desk and told the nurse that I was having an asthma attack. She put a probe on my finger to measure my O2 level (called a pulse ox). Now normal people should have a pulse ox of 98 to 100%. Mine was 89%. That's not good. Anything under 95 in a normal person is cause for concern. They took me right back to a treatment room, gave me a few breathing treatments, buffed me up and sent me on my way. I feel better now, but I'm on steriods again which are not fun. I feel all "puffy." But my lungs are okay, so it's a fair trade I suppose. But on to happier times...

I had such a great time with my mom! (Who reads this blog and was mad that I hadn't posted yet. Sorry Mom!) She came in Saturday evening. We chit chatted most of the evening and planned for the rest of her trip. Sunday, we kicked off the Farone Family Summer Concert Series. Mom and I headed up to Philadelphia (about a two and a half hour drive) to see Jason Mraz. We were smart and made dinner reservations at the venue. They had a great vegan selection, which made me oh-so-very happy.

This was my meal; sesame coated tofu with chinese veggies. Guys, seriously, this is the best tofu I've ever eaten. The texture was really dense, but not overly chewy and the glaze was perfect. The tofu was seated on a bed of napa cabbage, bok choy, pea pods, carrots, and sprouts. This was the quintessential vegan meal.

After dinner, we saw Jason Mraz, who was fantastic. He played almost his entire new cd, which was nice, as I felt privledged to hear it before most other people! One of his opening acts was Bushwalla, a guy out of Cleveland with a very nice moustache and the single "It's Hard To Be A Gangser (With A Basket On Your Bike)" Hilarious! My mom ordered his cd, because it's just too funny not to love. We headed back to the hotel via cab (my first cab ride!), fell asleep, and rode back to Maryland on Monday.

(Blogger is being weird, so I'll post later.)

Lungs suck.

2008-04-21T20:36:00.001-04:00

Hello all! I'm not dead, just very busy! I have been jet-setting between here and Pittsburgh, ended up in the ER on Saturday with an acute severe asthma attack (GRR.) and I started work today, so I'm tired to say the least! I promise to post tomorrow.

Tag, I'm it!

2008-04-11T15:03:00.003-04:00

I've been tagged by Ve*gan Chick! This is my first 'tag!' I'm more excited than I should be... So here are five things you don't know about me.

1. I am religiously confused. I take in many things from all different religions, such as meditation, karma, God, a Higher Power, and past lives. But I still check the "Lutheran" box on forms that ask.

2. I suffered from anxiety and panic disorder for a good part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of panic attacks at night. Though therapy, hospitalization, medication, and support from my family, I got over it and have been (mostly) panic free for over 6 years.

3. I'm obsessed with Alice In Wonderland. I have two Alice-themed tattoos; Alice herself on my right hip and "Curiouser and Curiouser" in the middle of my back, right under the bra line. I'm thinking of getting another one on my shoulder when I get the money. I used to read Alice when I was having panic attacks at night, as it was the longest book I owned. I find the story very intriguing and sometimes, I wish I could visit Wonderland myself, just to escape.

4. I have no depth perception. You know when you have an eye exam, you put on the special glasses and they ask you which dot looks like it's popping up? They don't pop for me. Those Magic Eye pictures? Lost on me. I even have issues playing the 3D video games, they make me sick because I have problems viewing the picture correctly. Weird, I know.

5. I'm horribly, utterly phobic about throwing up. It's been a fear ever since I can remember. I refuse to take any sort of pain medication other than ibuprofin because I had a reaction to codeine one time. (I had my wisdom teeth out and took motrin. No vicoden for me!) I even have pills that have an anti-emetic effect, so they keep me from throwing up when I don't feel well. Yes, I know, it's your body's way of ridding a toxic substance. Yes, I know how much better you usually feel afterwards. No, I don't care. I'd rather be sick for weeks than throw up once and feel better.

So that's it! I'm going to tag:
Katie- The Chocolate Covered Vegan
Theresa- The Tropical Vegan
Lori- Pleasantly Plump Vegan
Diann- Eat'n Veg'n

You've Got A Friend

2008-04-11T11:19:00.004-04:00

I really have a lot to do today, but it mostly involves running errands and I really don't feel like doing that yet. So I'll blog a little while and maybe get up the motivation to actually leave the house... I had a veggie meeting yesterday, which I just love. It's always a really nice way to make friends and get out of the house. I was a little worried though, because the hours at my new job will be 10-7 Monday through Friday, and our meetings are at 6! I let Chris know that, and what do you know, they decided to change the meeting times! How amazing is that?! I really feel special. I haven't been in the club that long, and for that accomodation to be made is just wonderful.
We had a great time last night. We made teeshirts for ourselves and anyone else who wants them so that when we do events and such, we all look somewhat uniform. The design is really cute, I'll post a picture when they dry. As always, it was a potluck, so I got to eat a nice bean dish, some homemade bean salsa, and homemade guacamole (!) and chips. Karina brough a pie, but we didn't get to it. I made a peanut butter pie, which I forgot to take a picture of. This was a dessert I grew up on. It was a haphazard kind of recipe, I just made substitutions the best I could. The flavor was amazing, but it was very soft. It's supposed to be kept frozen, and for good reason. After it sits out, it gets a soft pudding consistency. Still good, but not as firm as I would have liked it to be. I'll make it again, but I think I'll use extra firm silken tofu (I only had firm), and maybe omit the soy milk I put in.

Peanut Butter Pie (AKA Heaven In a Crust)
16 oz. Extra firm silken tofu
3/4 c Creamy peanut butter
1 c Sugar
2 t Vanilla extract
1 t salt
Chocolate cookie crust
Mix everything but the crust in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour into crust, freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Top with whipped soy cream, chocolate sauce, and crushed peanuts.

Chris, Me, Karina, and Megan. For once in my life, I'm the tallest one in the picture!!!!!!

(And I look thin, which is always a good thing...)

My mom comes down tomorrow!!!!! I can't wait! Yes, it has only been a little over a month since I saw her, but we are more like best friends rather than mother and daughter. (Actually, the only time we fight is when the roles change from best friends to mother/daughter. It throws the balance off. It's a power struggle kind of thing...) We have so much planned, between concerts, sightseeing, and generally coolness. I'm taking a ton of pictures, so I'll be sure to post the good ones!

Are you there God, it's me Samantha.

2008-04-10T10:28:00.003-04:00

I freaked out yesterday. Usually, I am able to rationalize my freakouts and go about my day without panicking too much. I tell myself the universe, God, and karma will work their magic and everything will be fine. Yesterday however, I couldn't stop myself. My mind raced with my financial standings, paranoia that I was just unemployable, worries about getting into school, anything and everything I could worry about. I walked through Walmart contemplating whether to buy the cheap soymilk, even though it tastes watered down, or to splurge on the Silk stuff and pay the extra 50 cents. (I went with one of each, to even things out.) I came home and sent out about ten more resumes and filled out countless applications for jobs even an untrained monkey could do. In the midst of my freakout, I called out to whomever was listening in this great universe that I need a job! ANY JOB! I composed myself, my thoughts, and my incessant worrying. Then my phone rang. It was a lovely lady offering me the position I interviewed for a week or two ago. I would have taken this job no matter what it paid, and to my surprise, the pay is stellar! I'll be making more than I ever have. I start the week after next. The benefits package is incredible, and the place is literally a minute from my house. If it wasn't for the gigantic Lowes in the way, I could see it from my house. With gas prices the way they are ($3.23 right now, and rising), this is a good thing! I'm excited, to say the least. A paycheck will be so lovely...

I also got a letter accepting me into the nursing program at the local college for this fall. So happy about that! I'll have my degree in about a year, hopefully. Life is good!

Rob had been hungry for white pizza, so I whipped one up last night. It was supposed to be just garlic, onion, and some basil, but it ended up turning into "Clean Out The Fridge" pizza. I just kept adding to it, and it turned out well. I made the crust from scratch, which was easy enough, but the recipe needs tweaked. My favorite part of the pizza is the crust. When I was little, I used to slide off all the cheese and pepperoni and just eat the crust. I need a strong flavored, salty crust. This one was good texturally, but way too bland for me. It needed more salt, and maybe an olive oil coating on the edges... But anyways, Rob loved it.

That's a mix of chickpeas, portabellos (for Rob. I picked all of them off.), orange bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, onion, garlic, and a little bit of broccoli slaw mix. This was definitely a "eat with a fork" pizza. I also took some Tofutti cheese slices and melted them on half of the pizza. I'd never had them before, so I was a bit cautious. They were good! Mild, salty, very nice. I may just have a grilled cheeze sandwich for lunch today!

I have a veggie meeting tonight. We're making teeshirts with the SUSVA logo on them. I'm bringing a peanut butter pie with a chocolate cookie crust. This is partly for me, because I've been craving it like no other and I will consume the whole fattening thing unless I'm surrounded by others....

Sesame Street

2008-04-08T22:10:00.006-04:00

Is it sad that going to the post office is the highlight of my day? Seriously, this sucks. I need a job and I need one tomorrow. Now. Yesterday. Thank goodness my mom is coming down this weekend. I need a distraction! I don't have anything to do tomorrow, although I may go walk a few doggies. Thursday is a Veggie meeting, Friday is boring as hell, and Saturday my mom arrives. That begins a week o' fun, with two concerts (Jason Mraz and Billy Joel. !!!), and random "shenannigans." My sister loves that word...

Anyways, on to the food portion of this whole "food blog" thing... Last night, I made quiche, adapted from the Fatfree Vegan's recipe. The filling was good; creamy with a good balance of flavors. The recipe calls for a brown rice crust, but I think I would have preferred a normal pastry crust. The rice was a little bland in comparison with the filling and the edges got way to dry. But the filling is good. I could see taking it and making little mini-quiche in a phyllo crust...Oooohhhh yeah. Isn't it pretty?! I heart asparagus.
Since everyone seems to be posting their yummy oatmeal pictures, I thought I'd take one of mine! I love oatmeal, I have ever since I was a kid. I have matured past the instant oatmeal packets with enough sugar to send even a non-diabetic into shock. I now enjoy oatmeal with flaxseeds, maple syrup, walnuts, and raisins.

I just realized how off center this picture is. Sorry! It was early. Yes, there is oatmeal under there. I just haven't stirred in all my additions. It wouldn't look as pretty if I did that.

Tonight was a lo mein inspired dish. I used linguine, veggies, and the sauce from ED&BV's Broccoli Cashew Tofu Stir Fry recipe. Totally yummy. I tried to get a candid picture of Rob eating his noodles, but he caught on to my plan and refused to let himself be photgraphed. Loser. Tomorrow is brought to you by the letter "G" for groceries, which I need to get, and the number 6, which is how many resumes I sent out today...

I wish it was in the 70's again.

2008-04-06T16:33:00.004-04:00

Well this has been a nice weekend thus far! Yesterday went so well! After waking up late and racing around the house like a maniac, I picked Karina up and we headed for Salisbury U. While we were waiting for Chris, we were pulled in to a conversation with a middle-aged man who is the leader of the Table Tennis Association for this area. (Yes, I'm serious.) He had a briefcase full of ping-pong stuff. I mean, whatever floats your boat, but seriously, ping pong? Anyways, he didn't get the hint that we didn't really want to talk, but that didn't stop him from showing us how to solve the little puzzles on the tables at Cracker Barrel. You know the ones that are wooden and have the pegs? Apparently, there are 7 ways to solve it, and a million other ways to make "cool" formations. Thank goodness women pee a lot, because I excused myself and walk away as quickly as I could. When I got back, the gym was open and we were allowed to set up. We got everything ready, and it looked really nice! We had brochures, stickers, cd-roms, and such to hand out, plus the corkboard o' trivia I made and the basket to raffle off. I was really surprised at the turn out. There were a lot of people there! There were also a lot of clubs there, some singing off key karaoke, others taking peoples' pictures with a life-sized Jesus picture, and still others trying to do some sort of dnace routine that never really went anywhere. Most of the responses we got were positive, but some just ignored us completely. I stood out in front of the table and talked with people. It was fun, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! I think it's a little weird that I'm trying to get people to go to this school, but I don't even attend... It was nice. I'm hoping we got people at least a little interested in going vegetarian/vegan.

Chris and Karina at the table... Me and Chris. The tee shirts were huge! Mine was a large, I wear a small usually. All the students and parents! Karina picking the winner of the basket
It's been rainy and cold all day today. It was overcast yesterday, but at least it was warmer. I was in soup mode. I needed something spciy to liven up this cold spring day, so I made tortilla soup. I used to go to Max & Ermas', a place like TGI Fridays/Applebees/etc with my mom when I lived in Pittsburgh. We always got the tortilla soup. It was so good, but loaded with cheese. The recipe I used was from La Dolce Vegan, but I altered it a bit. Rob and I are not spice loving people. We're bland, I'll admit it. This recipe called for a small can of peppers, I used about six jalapeno slices, and took the seeds out before putting them in the soup. I also omitted the cumin and cayanne, and used adobo instead. Adobo is a great seasoning blend, you can get it in almost every grocery store. It's got salt, black pepper, cumin, tumeric, and garlic in it. It's a good mix, especially for mexican dishes. I also added some celery, just because I had to use it up.

This turned out so great! The heat was perfect. Not enough to make you sweat, but just enough kick to leave a tingle on your tongue. I also made some tortilla chips out of corn tortillas. I cut them up, sprayed them with a little lime juice, let it soak in, then shallow fried them until crispy. I lightly salted them, then put them in the soup with a little basil for garnish. I will make this again for sure. It was perfect on a day like today. And it's good for you too! (Other than the fried chips, but I'm sure you could bake them and they'd be just as good.)

Papa can you hear me?

2008-04-04T20:49:00.004-04:00

Today was good. I actually got out of the house for more than ten minutes! I met with Chris and Karina from the Veggie Society to discuss everything for the table event tomorrow. I love being creative, whether the media is food or paper. I took Rob's old corkboard, covered it with yellow paper, trimmed the edges in blue and green paper, then took colored paper, wrote questions on them, and taped them to the board. I got some clip art of happy animals and put those on as well. I brought it to the meeting today, and it was well recieved. We decided to make it a raffle. If they get a question right, they put their name in the bucket. At the end of the day, we'll pick a winner. I bought the stuff for the basket, which was so much fun! I love putting together that kind of thing. The lucky winner will be getting a basket full of Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Endangered Species dark chocolate, Method hand soap, Naturals bar soap, natural toothpaste, body cream, papaya face mask, and a few other things I can't remember. I wish I could win! It should be a good time. I'm bringing my camera, so hopefully I'll take lots of pictures.

And on to the promised dessert. My grandfather (I called him "papa") used to make the most amazing rice pudding ever. It wasn't the traditional thick pudding though, it was looser, but flavored with the perfect blend of everything yummy. It was famous in our family. I was usually the only one that could request this ambrosia, because I was Papa's little girl! It is the one food that I would go unvegan for. Unfortunatly, the recipe died with him. If we had asked for the recipe, it would be like admitting that he would never make it again, and at that point, we weren't ready to accept that. But it's always in my mind. I always wonder what the ingredient list was. My father said he knows it only had five ingredients, but other than rice and a dairy liquid (cream, milk, half n' half?), he hasn't got a clue. From what I remember, it had raisins and either nutmeg or cinnamon... I've been craving it and have been trying to analyze what I remember of the dish. I came accross a Coconut Rice Pudding recipe on Happy Herbivore's blog, and it sounded pretty good. I made it today, and I swear, my grandfather was in the kitchen with me. The smell that filled my kitchen was heavenly. It smelled just like my grandfathers! The taste was very good, although a little flat for my tastes. I think it needed something to cut the sweetness just a little, but I'm not sure how to do that. All the usually acids wouldn't work here. It was good though, and it satisfied my craving. I'm going to keep tinkering with this recipe... Also, I promised to explain the "Kale Chips" I had the other night. I have a hard time eating dark leafy greens. I'm not a huge fan of them. I like spinach, and swiss chard is okay, but I don't actively seek them out. So when Chris announced he made kale chips, I was a little leary to say the least. All I know of kale is the stuff that I usually avoided in prevegan wedding soup. I tasted one, lo and behold, they were great! Salty, crispy, with a very fragile texture, these things are great! They aren't bitter at all, just good. I actually made a trip to the store just to buy kale. (I'm such a good little vegan!) Chris's looked prettier than mine, as I left them in the oven a bit too long, but they were still a most healthy substitute for potato chips.

I know it looks like there is a brown liquid at the bottom, but it's just the bowl. These things are dry as a bone!

Chris's Kale Chips

A bunch of kale, destemmed, cut into small pieces

No stick spray

Salt

Heat oven to 400, spread kale on a cookie sheet, spray with no stick spray, sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 minutes approx, or until they get crispy. Keep an eye on these, they will burn easily!

So good, and good for you. I may have a new favorite snack! Oh, the job interview went well. I should hear back shortly. Yay!

Can I put my hands in the cement now?

2008-04-03T20:26:00.003-04:00

Okay, I was supposed to post a dessert tonight, but that has been sidetracked until tomorrow. I had a Vegetarian Society meeting tonight and ended up making another batch of cinnamon rolls and some Chocolate Mint Melties. (Dreena is amazing, isn't she?) They were quickly consumed by the people there. Karina made a lovely beans n' rice dish, Chris brought some Kale chips. I'm going to make them soon, I'll explain it then. It's so nice to get together with them and just talk. We get off topic often, but it's all good. I like that I have friends that share the same views and such. They asked me to do a vegan cooking show for public access. Chris had mentioned it once before, but I didn't want to get excited as it may not come to fruition. But it was brought up again today, and it seems like it may really happen. They want to show it on public access as well as on the schools' tv channels. How cool is that!? I have no clue what I'd make, but I think it would be so much fun!
I'm going to help out the Veggie Society on Saturday. The campus is holding an event people that have been accepted to Salisbury University, but aren't sure whether they want to attend yet. Some of the clubs have been invited to set up tables and have games to intice and entertain the possible "students." We're having a trivia game-type thing and are giving away stickers and such. I wanted to make cupcakes or cookies, but there are over 300 people registered, so that pretty much cuts the possiblity of that. It's not that I wouldn't want to, but I just don't have the time or money to make that many! I hope we get a good turn out. I always hate when you put so much time into something and then no one shows up....
I need to get working on the trivia game, so I'll sign off for now. More posts tomorrow, I promise!

Culinary napalm

2008-04-02T20:49:00.003-04:00

Quick post tonight, as American Idol is on in ten minutes. I can't miss the results show! And anyways, my dinner was pretty lame. I tried to Sarah Kramers' fried "chicken." We had this dish at the last vegan potluck we went to and it was fantastic! I tried to make it for dinner tonight and it was horrible at best. I think the wheat gluten caused the problem. The recipe calls for "instant" wheat gluten and I used regular vital wheat gluten. I'm hoping that was the issue, because otherwise my faith in my cooking abilities are shaken. The dough came together well, but turned into the stickiest thing I've ever seen! It stuck to my finger, the knife, the cutting board, you name it, it stuck to it. I decided to boil it anyways, and ended up using kitchen shears to cut it as the knife kept getting stuck. This should have been a clue, but alas, I'd never made "boiled" seitan before, so I didn't know what to expect. After boiling for an hour and not seeing a magical transformation like I'd hoped, I ended up with THIS:

The only thing I can come up with to describe this is chicken skin. You remember it from your non-vegan days, the slimy scum that coats the chicken. That's the texture this had. BLICK! I threw that out and made goulash with elbow noodles, boca, tomato sauce, celery, and onion. Rob loved it, I was still upset my my culinary failure, so I didn't really enjoy it. But life goes on, and I settled my craving with some So Delicious vanilla ice cream with melted vegan chocolate chips. So much better than fried chick'n any day!

Tomorrow, I have a job interview. YAY! It's nothing special, but it will pay the bills. After that, I plan on making a dessert that is close to my heart. More on that tomorrow. Also, check out my new blogroll. I've added a few new blogs that I just love! Idol time!!!!!!!

Mmmm. Mall food.

2008-03-31T20:41:00.003-04:00

For awhile now, Rob has been craving cinnamon rolls. I'd never made cinnamon rolls before, and after searching for recipes, I told him to forget the thought of them. No way was I even going to attempt to make these delicious bits of goodness. And then I got bored; really bored. I spent a good three hours making these things. Most of that was rising time though, they rise three times! The first rise time was extended by quite a bit, as my kitchen was kind of cold. I ended up getting my old heating pad, turning it on low, and placed the bowl on top of it. It worked like a charm! The dough was easy to work with, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected it to be sticky and annoying, but it just took a tiny bit of flour on the counter when I rolled it out. I filled the center with a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. I sliced them up, laid them in the pan, put them back on the heating pad and let them rise for a third and final time.

Before the baking... And after 20 minutes in the oven...My kitchen smelled insanely good at this point. I made a quick glaze flavored with maple syrup and more pecans.

And then the final product, which was quickly consumed. These tasted exactly like the cinnamon rolls I used to get at Cinnabon. The pastry was light, the sweetness of the sugar was perfectly balanced by the cinnamon and pecans. Rob was astounded by these.

These are not really a "make it in the morning" kind of treat. These take a bit of time, more time than I'm used to, but the end result is so worth it. I plan on making another pan when my mom comes down in a few weeks. She's not really a "sweets" person, but after she saw the pictures, she was quite impressed!

Dinner was Dreenas' Bean and Corn Tortilla Lasagna from ED&BV. Quite tasty, I must say, but a little light. I think next time I'd add more beans, boca, or even some veggie sausage to give it more bulk.

The recipe is only two layers of tortillas, this is actually four layers.

It's Rob's night off, so I'm going to go find a good movie for the two of us to watch while we cuddle on the couch. Yay!

First Aid training comes in handy!

2008-03-30T18:33:00.004-04:00

Okay, I need to get a job. I've been so bored today! I've resorted to matching the dreaded "big box of socks." I'm sick of digging through the laundry basket full of unmatched socks, trying to find a pair of my socks in the sea of Rob's. So I matched them. That killed an hour of my time. I also spent an hour at the gym, an hour talking to my mom, an hour playing computer games, and several hours watching reruns of America's Next Top Model. I'm BORED. Hopefully I'll get a job soon and then can stop complaining about how bored I am and start complaining about how much I need a day off!

I gave both the dogs a bath today, which they hate. Most dogs love water, but these two are almost phobic. Chichi gets used to the water quickly, but Roxy fights the whole time. She's small, so it doesn't really take much to contain her. After their bath (with allergy reducing shampoo! Thanks Petco!), they get a treat. I tend not to give them treats, as Chichi is fat enough already and Roxy usually just hides hers from Chichi. I gave them each a milkbone and they munched away. Roxy starts opening her mouth really wide and running around the house, she looked crazy! She often runs around the house like a maniac, but not with her mouth open. She wasn't even making her "devil growl" like she normally does. I picked her up and saw that down in her throat was a half eaten milkbone! The poor thing was choking! I don't know the doggie heimlich (if there is such a thing) so I did a finger sweep. Basically, I shoved my finger down her throat and grabbed the treat. She took a big breath and then licked my face, something she's NEVER done. It was so scary! I held her on my lap for a few minutes just to make sure she was okay, and she soon squirmed away and started terrorizing her stuffed fish. Whew. That could have been bad! Thank goodness she's okay!

Dinner tonight was lentil soup from The Glad Cow Cookbook. This is a nice dish. I expected it to be very heavy, like a stew, since it has lentils and vegan sausage in it, but it was actually quite light. I love the simplicity of the flavors, you can pick each of the seasonings out, but they blend well together.

This was a very pleasant meal. We'll probably eat it for a few days, because this makes quite a bit of soup. It's all good though, soup is usually better the next day anyways.

No dessert was made, as we still have brownie cakes (as I like to call them) left over. I really wish I had some Rice Dream or Tofutti to go on top... Drool.

Trust me on this.

2008-03-29T20:27:00.003-04:00

You know what sucks? Asthma. And I just happen to have it. I was diagnosed with it around age four, and with medication it's been well-controlled. Until recently that is. I'd say in the past two years, it's gotten progressively worse. I know my triggers, and I avoid them as much as possible. But lately, it's been getting harder and harder to breathe. (Do I hear a Maroon 5 song coming on?) Even my rescue inhaler isn't working as it should. I used to be able to take a puff or two and go along my merry way. Now it's two puffs every two hours. My doctor and I have spent an insane amount of time and money trying new treatments. They work for awhile, but I eventually end up with a prednisone taper pack and a recommendation for nebulizer treatments four times a day. I hate steroids as they are not good for your body long term and they make me blow up like one of those balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Once my new insurance kicks in, I will haul my butt to a doctor who will hopefully send me to an allergist for a new allergy test. I know I'm allergic to every animal under the sun, pollen of every sort, mold, mildew, dust, codeine, penicillin, dairy, and smoke. (At the Humane Society, I walk the dogs outside, so the allergy isn't bad. I also take a shower and change my clothes the minute I get home. ) I have a sneaking suspicion that I have a few more food allergies than I'd like to admit. I know that my environmental allergies are getting worse, as the minute I walk into a "clean" facility like a hospital or grocery store (all hard floors, usually quite clean, no plants/animals, good air flow), my symptoms diminish. I'm going to start keeping an allergy diary, to see if I can find any patterns between food/environment and symptoms. It's getting to the point where I can't sleep, eat, or move without being constantly congested, coughing, wheezing, and it's getting annoying!!!!!!! Okay. Pity party over.

Tonight, I decided to try something quite different. I made Peanut Butter Pasta for dinner. Now before you start cringing and skipping through this part of the blog, let me assure you, it is not what it sounds. Okay, it is, but it's really good! If you don't believe me, trust that Sarah Kramer won't steer you wrong. This recipe is in The Garden of Vegan. I'm too lazy to actually go look at the book to find this recipes' real name, but it's p 153 or something close to that.

Isn't it pretty?! I used whole wheat pasta, which accounts for the darker coloring. This dish is really interesting. The sauce is very easy, not too many ingredients, but when they get together, the flavors transform into this light mild peanut sauce that isn't sweet per se, but perfect with the heartiness of the pasta and the crisp broccoli. It's just good. Even Rob liked it, and he's not big on "sweet" meals. Side note- the look he gave me when I told him what we were having for dinner was priceless! I'm not big on spice, so I omitted the cayenne pepper it calls for, but I still noticed a slight heat that would hit me every once in a while. Could this be the Braggs? I'd never used it before this!

I also made brownies, because Rob's been in the mood for them. I used a new recipe, and they turned out a little too cake-like for me. I think I'll go back to my tried n' true recipe next time. This is still insanely good, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's going to satisfy Rob's brownie craving. The chocolate is not cloying, but still very strong. It's a good mix between cake lightness but brownie flavor. Mmmm... If this wasn't so high in sugar and fat, I'd be sans fork, head down like I was in an eating contest at the fair. For your sake, I wish computer monitors were scratch and sniff!

So with that, I'll leave you to go find more interesting things to read and do. Take care all!

'Tis a gift to be simple

2008-03-28T18:25:00.003-04:00

I'm in love with Salisbury. The love I had for Rob is just a distant flicker compared to the white hot passion I have for this city. It gives me presents, like a 76 degree sunny day. It loves me so much, it's planning to shower me with rain and thunderstorms as I head to bed... Okay, okay, I am still madly in love with Robert. However, I do love days like today! It's been so nice outside today! I always love when I can take the dogs for their morning "potty" walk in shorts and flip-flops. Granted, a cold front is supposed to move through tonight and drop the temps into the 50's, but I enjoy today like it's neverending.

Yesterday was the Veggie Society meeting. I always love going to those. I get a renewed sense of confidence and energy for my lifestyle. Chris made some lovely lasagna, and I brought cupcakes from VCTOTW. These chocolate cuppers were just amazing. I topped them with my own secret frosting recipe, which gave them the extra sugary kick they needed.

Aren't they pretty?! Everyone at the meeting loved them. Our little club is planning a great leafletting/table event about the horrors of factory farming soon. Perdue is a major employer around here, so needless to say, chicken is big. We're hoping to do it before Earth Day, which is going to hold another table event for us on the Salisbury Univ. campus. We may hand out food (why do I have a feeling that I will be spending lots of time in the kitchen... Not a bad thing at all, though!) and do other awesome Earth Day things. There has also been mention of a public access vegan show of some sorts...

I made just a quick dinner last night, a pasta bake. I kind of threw everything together, including some red pepper flakes... A few too many got thrown in. This was spicy! I'm a small town girl, with small town taste buds when it comes to spice. A little too hot for my tastes, but still good.

Today was another day at the Humane Society. I managed to walk five dogs, Rob went with as well and played with some of the dogs in the play yard. I found out that my buddy, the male dog I posted about last time, passed away. At least he's in a place now where the toys are plentiful and the cuddles are neverending.

I'll post more soon, I promise. My computer decided to crap the bed (yes, again!) so I'm relying on Rob's computer until I can get a new power cord for mine. I hate electronics. Maybe I'll become Amish and reject the modern world...

I'm a bit of a downer today.

2008-03-26T16:43:00.002-04:00

No food pictures today, as I have been busy busy around the house. We went from a townhouse to an apartment, and since Rob is such a packrat, we have a lot of stuff. We ended up getting a storage unit, and have been putting stuff into crates, putting the crates into the storage unit and such. I wouldn't mind having it in the spare room, but my Momma is coming down and needs a place to sleep! I always feel badly when people come to my house and have to sleep on the couch. It's just better when they can retire to their own room, shut the door, and sleep in comfort. On top of that, I've been cleaning and doing laundry. Speaking of laundry...
I always thought pocket protectors were for nerds. I mean really, how does one come into possession of a pocket protector? I've never seen them in a store, I've never seen anyone actually wear them. I've never had that urge to protect my pockets at all costs. Well, maybe I should have tracked down said protector as someone who shall remain nameless (I'll just call him... the Fiance) came home with a massive stain on the front of his shirt. I asked him how he got a blue stain on the front of his shirt and he replied "Eh, pen opened up in my pocket." I thought this was just an ongoing joke, perpetuating the geek stereotype. But apparently, it happens.

Rob and I went to the Humane Society today. Angie, the volunteer coordinator, got him all set up in the cat room (he played with every cat for at least 5 minutes, just so no one would feel left out!) and told me about two dogs that had come in last night. Now, due to this being a court case, I cannot say why they were there. However, I can tell you they were both very ill. I saw the first dog. He couldn't even lift his head. He just laid there, not opening his eyes, not running to say hello like he no doubt did before all of this happened. The other dog was faring a little better. He was able to stand up and drink some water, but you could tell he was still in pain. I got into the kennel with dog #1 and sat next to him. His eyes opened slightly, as if to say "Love me. What did I ever do to deserve this?" I laid my hands on his head and started petting, all the while talking soothingly to him. His IV site stopped running as he was laying on his paw so I moved his leg to unkink the IV. (Nursing skills put to good use!) He lifted his head and placed it right next to my lap. I got a brush and brushed him for awhile, then tried to life his head to the water dish. He just wasn't thirsty. I stayed with him for a good hour and he started to move more. He actually stood up! His balance was completely off, but he stayed up for a good ten seconds before laying down again. By the time I left, he was still very ill, but at least there was a slight improvement. I don't mean to make anyone cry, but this changed a lot of things for me. I guess I never thought that people actually abused animals like that. I knew it happened, but to see the consequences of it made it so real. These poor animals didn't do ANYTHING to deserve this. They gave love and comfort, happiness and gratitude. And one sick, sad person was able to squelch that spirit. It makes me sick, honestly. But I came away from the humane society knowing that I gave that dog the love that he craved. I know I made a difference. I pray that they get better and the horrible person (or persons) that did this to them are punished to the fullest extent. GRR.

I plan to post more pictures tomorrow. I have a Veggie Society meeting and plan to make some cupcakes... Mmm... Sugar.

I had a My Little Pony lunchbox.

2008-03-22T22:09:00.003-04:00

Today was fun. When I was younger, my mom, sister, and I would go to the Humane Society a few times a year to drop off old towels, Lysol, and bleach. If it was nice, we'd help out the staff and walk a dog or two. It was fun, although due to my horrible allergies and asthma, we were never allowed to bring them home with us. Now, I have two dogs, even more insane allergies and asthma, and a need to get out of this house! (Seriously, looking for a job SUCKS.) I headed to the local Humane Society and became a volunteer. I was given a tour, a leash, and free will to do whatever I wanted. I could cuddle the cats (out, allergies are a bitch when I'm around cats.), play with dogs in the fenced in play yard, or try my hand at walking the dogs down the street. I needed a workout, so I grabbed a very playful pitbull mix and headed out the door. The first few steps were good. I thought "well isn't this nice?" Oh, if I only knew what was about to come. Apparently, this pitbull thought that a passing squirrel was a threat to it's life. The dog ran after the fluffy little terror, and I nearly went with it. I managed to hold my ground and not go ass-over-tin-cups, but it took every muscle in my body to stay upright. I finally managed to get the dog back on the trail, we finished the walk, and I was spent. But when I walked back in to the kennel, all the dogs saw the leash and went crazy! I ended up taking Roscoe (a pit/lab mix), Eve (a pit/dalmation mix), and Audrey (a pit/something mix) for a walk. They were all just like the first one, and took me for a walk instead of the other way round. It's nice to know that I could give them just a little bit of love. I plan on going back as much as possible. I'd like to help out with the spay/neuter clinic. At least there I can use my wound care/injection skills!

I was tired, but dinner was somewhat ambitious. I felt the need for Asian food, so I attempted sushi and sauteed string beans. Both tasted good, but not restaurant quality. I'm too poor for takeout... I just put cucumber in mine, as if they sucked, I didn't want a lot of prep involved. They were good though!

When I was in school, my dad used to put Little Debbies' in my lunch every day. My favorites were the cosmic brownies, but in a close second were the PB&J Oatmeal pies. They were so sweet with just a little hint of tang from the jelly... Drool. I saw them in the store the other day and have had a massive craving for them. I decided to formulate my own recipe. It may sound a little weird, but trust me, these things taste just like the Little Debbie ones! I was really surprised that they tasted so similar.

Little Sammies' PB&J Oatmeal Pies

1 cup Earth Balance

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Replacement for 2 eggs (I used flax seed, but whatever works for you)

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 c oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 c Grape jelly

1/2 c raisins (optional, but I think it gives a nice flavor)

In bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat first six ingredients until fluffy. At low speed, beat in next five ingredients (and raisins, if you choose). Chill dough several hours. Drop by rounded tablespoon, place onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 - 15 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool slightly, then put jelly on top to cover.

*You want to almost undercook the cookies. The softer they are, the more the texture is like the original. *

They are so good, and I'm sure kids would love them. I don't have any kids, so I wouldn't know...

And with that, I'm going to bed. I had some weird case of insomnia last night and didn't get to bed until 1:30am. Since being dragged behind pitbulls is a good workout, I don't think I'll have that problem tonight...

Crazy, Krazy!

2008-03-21T18:46:00.002-04:00

Even with change comes predictablity. It seems as though everytime I move, I end up cutting my hair. After watching old seasons of America's Next Top Model and throwing my hair in a ponytail for the umpteenth time, I needed a change. I loved Jayla's hair from ANTM, so I woke up yesterday, headed to the salon, and had 8 inches cut off. I was going to donate to Locks Of Love, but my ponytail wasn't long enough. It took about an hour, but I love my new hair! I keep running my fingers through it and expecting there to me more than there is... I think of it as a cost-cutting measure as well. Think of how much less shampoo and conditioner I'll use! Dinner last night was the Tom Tofu from Vegan Vittles. This stuff is GOOD. I had a few pieces leftover, so I cut them up and threw them on my salad at lunch. It tasted just like chicken fingers! This will be going into my regular repitoire of recipes. (Try saying that three times fast!)
Dinner tonight was stuffed peppers at Rob's request. He's been craving them lately, so I whipped up a batch. Everyone has their own recipe, mine consists of brown rice, boca crumbles, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic, and a bunch of spices with tomato sauce. I just looked at the picture I took. With the flash, the pepper looks silver... Weird. I really was green, trust me. On the side is a sweet corn cake. It's just flour, cornmeal, creamed corn, agave, and EB. I could eat it every single day...

And finally something that would make The Chocolate Covered Vegan proud- Chocolate cake! I don't think I've had true chocolate cake since going vegan. I got this recipe from my aunt, of all people. She makes it for my Uncle Joe, and realized that it was vegan, so she passed it along! It's called Crazy Cake, probably named for the method of making this cake. You make it right in the pan, and the wet ingredients go into three wells you make in the dry ingredients. I also made come chocolate frosting for the top, although the cake is so moist, you don't really need it.

Aunt Robbie's Crazy Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup vegetable oil2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting:

1/4 c EB

1/3 c Non-Dairy Milk

3 c. Powdered Sugar

1/2 t Vanilla

2/3 c Cocoa

Melt Eb in a small saucepan, take off heat. Stir in cocoa. Add milk and sugar, alternating and stirring the whole time. When all the milk and sugar is incorporated, add vanilla. Pour over cooked cake and let sit until it sets.

Once this is gone, I have another recipe that I'm toying with. This is my first attempt at baking without a recipe, so I'm trying to get it right before posting. I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't take forty tries before I get it right...

I'm the Cookie Monster

2008-03-19T14:47:00.007-04:00

When I was a kid, I was thin; pencil thin. I never really ate, I just didn't have an appetite (except for chocolate, which I still love too much). Then in about 8th grade, genetics took over and I started gaining weight. This was a good thing for awhile, I got to a healthy weight. But when I got married, I ate to comfort myself. I missed my family, my husband was abusive, and I felt I couldn't do anything right. I ate myself to about 160 pounds. (I have always been an emotional eater.) Then, after soem major life changes and divorce papers, I started going to Weight Watchers with my mom. I dropped 30 pounds and looked great, but I still didn't feel good about my body. I carry most of my weight in my midsection, which other than being unsightly, is unhealthy. Due to the genetics of my family, I'm at a greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, and obesity than I'd like. So even though I'm healthy now, and at a good weight, I still feel like I need to improve my physical condition. And the fact that bathing suit season is closing in is quite a motivator too... I've been eating better and exercising. I've limited my chocolate consumption. I've made lower fat treats. And it's paying off. I haven't stepped on the scale, as I would probably end up throwing it against the wall. But today, I took my jeans out of the dryer and put them on. I actually didn't have to do the "my jeans just came out of the dryer and they're a little too tight, but I'm going to wear them until they stretch out" dance! Small victory, but hey, it's a start!

I didn't eat dinner until late last night because I went to my step aerobics class. I made it before I went so Rob wouldn't have to wait.

Once again, Cozy Inside came to the rescue. S*@& on a Shingle. Usually this is creamed chip beef on toast, but Joni's version uses beans. She says to use pinto beans and chickpeas, but I used pinto and black beans. This was very good. I used my bread machine once again (Twice in a month... new record for me!) to make a lovely veggie bread. It turned out great, even though I used 4 T of oil instead of 4 t... oh well. Directions are for losers.

Dessert was homemade banana bread. I used Isa's recipe off the PPK forums. The taste is fantastic, but I'm still getting used to cooking with electric, so the load didn't rise properly. I think I need to clean and calibrate my oven again. This is a really dense loaf, and tastes magnificent warm with some Earth Balance on top... The night before last, I made Better Burgers from Vegan Vittles. I didn't have any buns, so I went with the "meetball" preperation. Wow. These are so good. I liked them better than the frozen meetballs we normally get. they don't have that overwhelming burnt soy flavor the frozen ones have. And they use TVP, which is great because I have a whole bag of it in the cupboard. I served them with whole wheat linguine.

I also took the leftover ones and crumbled them in a salad I had for lunch. I know, I know, "meetballs in a salad? You're nuts!" but they didn't have any sauce, and are good sources of protein!
I have extremely dry skin, I have since I was a little girl. Nothing has ever really worked on my skin, no matter how expensive, doctor prescribed or OTC. Rob heard that flaxseeds and "those omega things"(omega-3 fatty acids) could help with dry skin. So I decided to thank him for the suggestion. I made chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. They have olive oil instead of EB, flaxseeds instead of egg, and walnuts for more good fat. I only had one, and it was perfect. Buttery (with no butter, go figure.), chewy with a nice crisp to the sides. I could inhale these. But I'm going to be good... for now. They have olive oil, flaxseed and walnuts, so they're good for me, right?

I'm going to go have a cookie... I mean, drink a glass of water now... yeah, water...

I'm Hot Sticky Sweet, from my head to my feet

2008-03-16T20:23:00.004-04:00

Okay, hot sugar + skin= OW. Not that I would know first hand, as I am always careful when I cook... But if I had somehow burnt myself on boiling sugar, I would hope that whatever I made would be worth it. On a completely unrelated note, I made peanut brittle! It's Rob's favorite snack. It hurts my teeth, so I don't eat it. Plus, all that sugar and Karo isn't good for the waistline. He's skinny as a rail, so he can eat it. Stupid metabolism...

Here it is boiling away on the stove. Isn't it pretty? And evil. This is how I burnt myself. There must have been some water in the pot, as it spit at me right after I took this picture. Nothing major, just a little burn on my arm. I didn't need that skin anyways...

Close up! I really think my up close photography is getting better. The lighting is way better in the apartment than the last one. I still need to find a completely white background though. But if I did that, you all would miss my lovely countertops and the varitable shitstorm of crap in the background..

Dinner was the Pilgrim Pie from Vegan Vittles. I love this cookbook! This recipe was really good, although I needed to add more salt after I tasted it. I used to love Shepards Pie when I was younger, but the versions that I've tried to make just didn't live up to my expectations. This dish was very close to what I remember. It's comfort food at its best.

This picture sucks, but basically it's mixed veggies with mashed potatoes on top. The recipe is mush more complex than that, but you get the idea. I used to make this on a daily basis, no matter what my parents served me. I used to take my mashed potatoes and mix my veggies in so that I could swallow it all in one gulp without tasting the canned peas on my plate. Every meal in my home was served with a canned veggie and mashed potatoes (from a box, no less!). I'm glad I grew into my love of veggies. It would be hard be a vegan if I didn't love all sorts of them. I still can't stand beets though. Blick!

It's not chocolate!

2008-03-15T16:43:00.003-04:00

I'm bored. I've unpacked everything, I have yet to find a job (it's a small town), and I'm broke. The only thing I have to do it cook, which isn't a bad thing at all. Last night for dinner, I made Maple Corn Fritters from Cozy Inside. The more I thumb through that book, the more I like it. The Maple Corn Fritters were good, although next time I would probably use creamed corn instead of whole kernels. I think I'd add a bit of agave nectar as well. They were very good though, especially because I used the good real maple syrup that my dad bought me for my birthday. I know this will sound weird, but I think the fake maple syrup tastes more "maple-y" than the real stuff! Bizzare. The syrup that I got has a very subtle but deep flavor that I love. I could drink it if I wouldn't feel like a total glutton...I've been trying to include something sweet in Rob's lunch everyday, just to make his day (well, night really) a little better. The last two night were the cookies I made (so good, so good). Today, I made yet another Cozy Inside recipe, Apple Turnovers. Now that I have counter space, I'm actually able to really work with dough and roll it out properly. The dough called for 1T of cinnamon, which I thought was a lot, but it's not overpowering at all in the finished product. The apple mixture in the middle was perfectly seasoned as well, although since I only had whole cloves instead of ground, I omitted them. I had one (just to test them of course) and I had one of those "I'm in LOVE" moments. These are like a little handheld apple pie like my grandmother would have made, had she had any cooking skills whatsoever. And I actually feel like June Cleaver making these. I mean, what is more American than vegan apple pie pockets?I like this picture. I think my photography may be getting better. Then again, maybe not...Rob is trying to guess what the treat is, hence the name of the blog. He's keeps guessing it's something chocolate, no matter how many times I tell him it's not!

Dinner tonight was tofu with chimichurri sauce. One of our favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh had a chimichurri tofu that was awesome. I've been craving it, so I decided to formulate my own recipe. I really couldn't remember exact flavors, so I kind of threw things together... It turned out really well though! And it's green for St. Patricks' Day!Chimichurri Tofu

1/2 c Parsley
1/2 c Olive oil (use the middle quality stuff)
1/4 c Lime juice
1T Garlic
1/2 Onion
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Pepper
1 t Oregano, dried
1 block Tofu, extra firm, pressed

Cut the tofu into eight triangles. Fry until golden brown on all sides, set aside. Combine everything except oil into a food proceessor, turn on, and slowly add olive oil. Drizzle over tofu. Don't eat this if you plan on kissing anyone within a 24 time period... Trust me.

I took a walk with the dogs earlier today. I've been trying to get into bathing suit shape. I've been doing really well. Rob's grandmother just sent us a bunch of Easter candy.... This is a bad thing... Must resist...

I'm going for a walk after I post this

2008-03-14T12:41:00.002-04:00

I'm writing this on my back patio. It's sunny and nearly 70 degrees. I am soaking it up. This is fantastic. The veggie society meeting last night was great. I made the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies from Cozy Inside. This was the first recipe I made from this particular cookbook. If these cookies are any indication of the rest of the book, it will be a favorite of mine! They turned out fluffy and yummy with a perfect balance of all the flavors. The recipe calls for smooth peanut butter, but I only had chunky on hand (Rob and I have an aversion to smooth pb). The chunky added a whole new texture to the cookie. Everyone agreed that they were amazing. I will be making these again, I'm sure.
Now that we have more space in the kitchen, I get to pull out all my kitchen gadgets. Last night, I got out the bread maker. I made a whole wheat cinnamon/raisin/cranberry bread. I wish you could have smelled my kitchen. This stuff was heavenly! Rob asked for his lunch (a PJ and J, he's such a little kid!) on it. He's in love with the bread, and of course, me for making it! I want to make a pesto bread next, maybe followed by a sunflower/poppyseed one... Ah the possiblities!
Just something I've noticed- Someone from Dunkirk, NY has been visiting my blog. When I was a little kid, my family vacationed in Dunkirk. I think that's when I first loved the water, we spent all day at the beach... Just a little memory I thought I'd share.

If you lived here, you'd be home now.

2008-03-13T10:19:00.005-04:00

Ah, it's good to be home!!!! Hello fellow bloggers, I'm back! Wow, so much has been going on lately! Firstly, Rob and I love our new apartment. The kitchen is about twice the size of my last one. It has tons of counter space and cupboards. Plus a double sink, a garbage disposal, and a dishwasher. Best of all, I have room for all my cookbooks! Some of these are vegan, most aren't. I recieved a lot of them when my grandfather passed away. He loved cookbooks, even though I never saw him look in any of them. A few of them up there are from the 50's and earlier. I look through those every now and again just for laughs. Lard? Chicken fat? Ew. We have a dining room now, but only one chair, so we have yet to eat our lovely dining room table. We have to pay off a few things before we start buying new stuff. That's what sucks about moving; you want new stuff, but you're usually too poor to get it!

I'm in love with the area here. It's been over 5 years since I lived in the area. I missed it! I cannot wait until the summer. Gentle breezes, sunshine, warm nights... The apartment complex that we live in is great. Everyone is so friendly! We have a little patio, a dog park, walking path, indoor/outdor pool, and free fitness classes every Tuesday and Thursday. I went Tuesday, thinking it was going to be me and a bunch of old ladies doing tai chi. WRONG. It was about seven girls my age, doing true 1980's step aerobics. I almost laughed during the warm up because 1) I am the most uncoordinated person I know. I can hardly walk and chew gum... and 2) I wasn't even breaking a sweat. But that changed. I never thought I could be so sore from step on and off a little block! It felt good though. I'll be back next Tuesday. I would go back today, but I have a meeting. I'll be attending my first Vegetarian Society meeting tonight. I'm so excited! I'll let you all know how it goes. I want to bring some cookies or something, I may make Dreena's 5-Spice Almond cookies. Those are always a crowd pleaser...

Roxy and ChiChi have found their new favorite spot in the house- in the sunlight near the patio door...

We've arrived!

2008-03-10T11:10:00.004-04:00

So, we're here! Rob and I got to Maryland on Friday after a very long 7-hour drive. (Ever tried driving 50 miles an hour behind a U-Haul truck for 7 hours? It's enough to make you scream.) It's been a very long week, between packing, loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking. I'm slowly working through the boxes, but until they are all put away, it's easy meals for us. I plan on cooking soon though, my kitchen is awesome!!! It's got counter space, cupboards, and lots of room. Lovely!

Spontaneity is lovely.

2008-02-28T12:09:00.003-05:00

My sister called me Monday to let me know that she is sick of men, school, work and cold weather. I suggested she get away someplace warm, someplace she's never been. She suggested we BOTH get away. So we did. We booked everything online and within four hours, we were in the airport headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We got in late Monday night, woke up early on Tuesday and hit the beach. It was perfect! The water was blue and warm, the air was 82 degrees with a nice breeze. It was amazing on so many levels. She had never been to the ocean before! We just saw the sights, layed on the beach, and ate local food. We found this cute little Cuban place for dinner. I had a new food; plantains! I'd never had these banana relatives before. They were very tasty. We came back yesterday evening. Our flight was delayed out of Ft. Lauderdale, so we got into Pittsburgh about 7ish. We left warm, sunny Florida and came back to 17 degrees, wind, and six inches of snow. NOT FAIR. And since we're still cleaning out the pantry, I didn't come home to any yummy vegan food. All I'm left with is some pictures, memories, and a slight sunburn...

You like me, you really like me!

2008-02-22T17:39:00.003-05:00

Our moving date is getting closer and closer. It's two weeks away. I haven't even made a dent in the packing that needs done. Ugh. I have too much stuff. No, I take that back. ROB has too much stuff. We have boxes in the basement full of stuffed animals and "cool rocks." No, I'm not kidding. Just because you were given something when you were seven because you fell and skinned your knee is no reason to hold on to it forever. It's not even like he uses any of this stuff either. It's in the bsement, in a box that's been there since the last time he moved... It's a losing battle, I'm afraid.
Rob and I are members of a Vegan Meetup group here in Pittsburgh. We've made some friends through it and attended some events; it's nice to meet like-minded people. We are very sad to leave it. I have been doing some research as to groups in Maryland, but there aren't any Meetup groups around. I contacted the president of the Salisbury University Vegetarian Club about where to find assorted vegan foods as well as any restaurants, health food stores, etc. I also asked if they would allow Rob and I to attend their functions and such, even though we don't attend SU. I got a lovely e-mail back from Christopher, and he not only gave me fantastic info on where to buy/eat vegan food, he also told me that they welcome the public in to their club! I'm so excited! They have vegan potlucks all the time and do all sorts of fun club things. I'm excited. I am a very personable person, but I'm not one to walk up to someone and ask them to be my friend. This gives me a way to meet people in the area that share the same type of views and are my age. Sweet!!!
I also found out that Salisbury has a branch of the National Exchange Club. The Exchange Club is such a great organziation. My father has been a member since I can remember, and I was a member in my hometown before I moved to Pittsburgh. (Pittsburgh doesn't have a group here.) Their whole purpose is the prevention of child abuse, as well as community service work. I have a deep respect for this organization and everyone in it. When I was a memeber in Warren, I helped work at a Turkey party (this was PV or Pre Vegan), where you eat, play games, buy tickets for prizes, and have a great time. Turkey parties are held all over the place up in this neck of the woods and ours is always the biggest. I also helped with various child abuse prevention activities, the spring Flag raising in Warren, the 4th of July parade, and many other things. I can't wait to get back into the club. Please check them out. We all care about animal cruelty, right? Well humans are animals too! No one should EVER be abused under any circumstances. If you or someone you know are being abused, please contact 1-800-799-SAFE.
If you'd like to be involved with this great organization, go to
http://www.nationalexchangeclub.org or
http://www.preventchildabuse.com

Anyways, I need to get back to packing. Blah.

Food For Thought

2008-02-19T08:20:00.010-05:00

You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called "The Doctrine of Signatures" was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges , and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

La Dolce Vegan and Snot

2008-02-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

Okay, packing seriously sucks. I hate packing. I hate moving. I just want to be in my new house, unpacked and cooking in the upgraded kitchen. I cleaned out Rob's closet today, and found black mold. Scary!!! That stuff can reak havoc on anyones' health, but it's especially nasty for me. With my asthma, bronchitis, allergies, and various other lung issues, it is super dangerous. I'm so glad we're moving! I'm fighting off a nasty illness right now. I woke up last night at 3am with a horrible sore throat. My bronchitis is flaring up again too. I went to the Dr. this morning, she gave me steroids for the bronchitis, a strep culture (negative, thank God), and some nystatin swish n' swallow. Oh Lord, this stuff is ICKY. I'm on daily corticosteroid therapy for my asthma and bronchitis. While I'm very good at rinsing my mouth out after taking them, my bronchitis flare lowered my immune system, which allowed me to get thrush. The thrush triggered my sore throat. Yay. So now I have to swish this thick, icky liquid in my mouth for a minute then swallow it. I had the pharmacist put some of the "I'm a wuss and can't stand the taste of medicine" flavoring in it. It doesn't help. Now I have to swish cherry-flavored nasty medicine. Blick. It's not fun. I'm not contagious in any way, as the bronchitis is chronic, and you really can't catch thrush unless we swap spit and you have a compromised immune system. I felt better this afternoon, so Rob and I headed to a local bookstore for a vegan potluck. Each month they choose a different vegan cookbook, everyone makes a recipe and then we all sit and eat and chat about vegan-ness. This month was La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer! Now, you all know how much I love that cookbook, and since Sarah has commented on here a few times, I was super excited. I made her Cinnamon Doughnut Holes(p198). Fantastic! They taste more like a cake doughnut than a yeast doughnut, and they are delicious! I forgot to take a picture of them, but trust me, they turned out really well. I was surprised at how many people were there, and how many dishes we fit onto the table!I think my favorite were the coconut chocolate chip cookies(p218) basil and sun-dried tomato pasta (p133). This was my plate:

In the bowls, there was Chili Con Bulgar (p 163) and Mushroom Stroganoff (p 136). At the top of my plate going clockwise, I have Chickpea Salad (p71), Spiced potato salad (p 89), Faux chicken (p 287), Black bean and corn salad (p 74), Southwestern corn casserole (p 169), and the awesome coconut chocolate chip cookies. I didn't have anything that wasn't fantastic. I'm going to have to make most of those again... soon!

Now I have to go swish n' swallow, eat an orange, watch Reqium For a Dream with Rob, and hit the sack so I can wake up and continue packing. Blah...

Oy Vey

2008-02-13T21:11:00.002-05:00

So today was difficult. Knowing that Rob was flying to a job interview was on my mind all day. He didn't let on that he was nervous, so I was anxious enough for both of us. He called me around 5ish to tell me the news... HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!!! Apparently, they were very pleased with his qualifications and interview, so they offered him an amazing position in the Salisbury, MD hangar. I can't believe it. This was his FIRST interview in the aerospace field, and he wowed them. I'm engaged to such an incredible man! We have 30 days to get everything tied up here, relocate, and get settled. We want to be out of our current place by the end of February. These next few weeks are going to be crazy! I will try to post as often as I can, but forgive me if it's not updated every day. I guess cleaning out the pantry was a good idea after all...

Are crabcakes vegan?

2008-02-11T20:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the blogging absence everyone! A lot has happened lately, and the blog just got pushed to the back burner. I haven't really had much in the way of new food anyways, just some tofu scrambles, chili, and stir-frys. Pretty boring stuff, although tasty and vegan! Rob and I are trying to clean out the pantry, something that we've felt the need to do for some reason. Which leads me to my announcement!
Roberto has two job interviews in the next week! Wednesday, he will fly to Salisbury, Maryland to interview with a really great aerospace company. He'll fly back Thursday morning, spend a few days back in the 'Burgh, then head on Tuesday to Philadelphia for an interview with another company. I am so excited I could scream. If all goes well, we could have a choice between Salisbury, Philadelphia, or Norfolk, Virginia. Could it get any better?! I love the Maryland and Virginia areas, as I lived in Delaware for four years. Philadelphia wouldn't be bad, but I've been there a bazillion times and am quite unimpressed with it. I'm really pushing for the Maryland job, but any of them would be great. I'm praying so hard that all goes well!!!
So if/when (fingers crossed) Rob gets one of these jobs, we would be moving very quickly, most likely within two weeks. We figure, it'd be better to eat all the pantry stuff now and buy more where ever we go rather than haul it with us. I never realized how many cans of black beans and chick peas I had! I'm going to get pretty creative with them, I have a feeling!
Proof that you can get vegan food anywhere- My mom and I went to the Alanis Morrissette/Matchbox 20 concert last week. It was fantastic! I'd seen Matchbox 20 before, and they were even better than I remembered. They did a great mixture of all their songs, and played for over an hour and a half. It doesn't hurt that Rob Thomas is insanely good looking. I swoon over him. Yes, that's right SWOON. He makes me weak in the knees... (Just don't tell Rob!) Alanis was equally phenomenal. That girl can ROCK. Her voice is just as good as it is on her CD's, proof that she is talented beyond belief. But anyways, my mom and I went to an Irish Pub before the concert. I was resigned to the fact that a salad was in my future... But no! Thay actually had a portabello sandwich on the menu! I'm not a big fan of mushrooms, but I'll choose them over a salad when I'm super hungry. It was really good, not too soft, not too firm. The balsamic glaze was reduced so much, it actually had a sweetness to it. Yummy! I love when I can find things right off the menu like that, especially in places with limited or specialized menus. I would have taken a picture, but it was really dark and nothing would have turned out on my camera phone.
So, hopefully by this time next week, I'll be sharing our moving plans with all of you! I'm going to go nurse my allergies (horribly bad right now). I've rinsed my nose out with a Neti pot, drank some special allergy tea, taken all my meds, and I'm still sneezing. Oy.

HFCS is evil.

2008-02-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

Holy crap. My allergies are seriously kicking my ass right now. I have allergies to just about everything (except food). Dust, mold, pollen of all sorts, animals of almost every kind, smoke; you name it, it makes me miserable. Right now I'm typing with bleary, red, itchy eyes so pardon any misspellings or typos... Anyways, I felt ambitious last night after watching Good Eats, so I made "meatloaf and gravy", sauteed mushrooms, and peas. The meatloaf was good, although it fell apart a little when I took it out of the pan. I don't really like mushrooms, so Rob ate all those. He raved about the whole meal. I think next time, I'll add a little tofu to the meatloaf to hold it together more...

I made portabello mushroom burgers a few nights ago. Rob was in the mood for them. You can't really see the mushroom, but I just thought the colors of the lettuce and tomato were pretty, so I'll post it..

In the spirit of Lent and other self-deprivation, I'm giving up something very dominant in the world today; high fructose corn syrup. It's in EVERYTHING! From the research I've done, HFCS not only contributes to obesity and the consequences of that, but it also turns off the "full feeling" that you get when you eat. So we mindlessly eat and eat trying to feel full, when all we're really doing is tricking our brains into wanting more of the sweet stuff. Considering that I'm a little pudgy in the belly region, this isn't a good thing if I want to lose weight... The more I read, the more I get scared of this stuff. It's even in pickles and bread! How ridiculous is that!? Insane. So, I'm going to eliminate it out of my diet for at least 40 days. (Side note- I almost took a sip from Rob's Dr. Pepper just now... This isn't starting out well.) Good luck to me!

Clouds taste like vegan marshmallows

2008-01-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

I try very hard not to make snap decisions in my life. I try to keep my head squarely on my shoulders. But sometimes, my feet float off the floor, and my head gets lost in the clouds. Since the beginning of nursing school, I've done well. The lecture portion was lovely, I passed the tests with flying colors. The clinical part went well too, I never really had a bad review. I was confident, prepared, and miserable. I would cry nearly every day. It's gotten worse lately, progrssing to panic attacks in my car on the way to the hospital. I just couldn't do it anymore. Poor Rob, I woke him up the other morning at 5:30am and just sobbed on his shoulder because I didn't want to go to the hospital. I talked with my mom (my best friend) and she comforted me. She told me to relax and get out of nursing school. I had this idea already, but I always seem to seek approval on the big decisions from her. So I quit. I'm not done with nursing, I just need a new program. Plus, Rob's not using his Aeronautics degree here in Pittsburgh. He's looking for a job elsewhere, so we'll move and I'll start school there. I thinks that's the best plan for both Rob and I. But where ever we go, we'll both be vegan, so there will be lots more posts here!
This lunch was courtesy of Rob's favorite place, The Double Wide Grill. It's a tofu scramble wrap with "hubcaps." I had this meal with my grandma, and she thought I was nuts for taking a picture of the food. I explained the blog and such. Good dinner conversation, I must say!
I'll post the dinner I'm cooking later... have a great day!

YES!!!!!!!

2008-01-26T10:52:00.001-05:00

My mom and I scored Billy Joel tickets!!! AAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! I'm so excited!!!!!

Sarah Kramer is right again!

2008-01-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

I have finally found it!!! Yes, my friends, I have found the perfect sugar cookie recipe! I got a few new cookbooks in the mail the other day, The Garden of Vegan, The Glad Cow Cookbook, and Cozy Inside. Since I love Sarah Kramer's book La Dolce Vegan, I decided to take The Garden of Vegan for a spin. I flipped through and found a sugar cookie recipe. Since Rob has been cookie-free for at least a week or two now, I thought it would be a nice surprise for when he gets home. That, and if I made them early enough, I could totally destroy the evidence if they sucked... The recipe is hella simple. I used flaxmeal as the egg replacer, something I've never used before. (I have a whole bag of flaxmeal, but I keep forgetting that it's in my pantry...) I don't know if that way the key ingredient, but the cookies are awesome. Soft in the middle, but crispy on the bottom and full of flavor. These are now my favorite cookies. Thank you Sarah!

My grandma is coming down to Pittsburgh tomorrow! Well, technically, she'll be here tonight, but I won't see her until tomorrow. My mom and I are taking her to the Pittsburgh Aviary, which is such a great place. They have birds from all over the world, and tomorrow they open an exihibit with a two toed sloth. Now, to those of you who have issues with zoos and animals in captivity, let me say that this place has some of the most caring, well-trained employees I've ever seen. A lot of the birds have been rescued from less-caring shelters. The cages are incredibly clean, and they have these huge open rooms where the birds can live with other species in the correct environment. It's really fantastic. They even have a room with nothing but Lories (a type of small parrot, known for their vibrant colors), which you can feed with nectar during certain times of the day. My grandma is a huge bird fan. She's going to love it! We're also going to my favorite vegan spot, The Double Wide Grill. They have omni food too, but I don't know why you'd eat it. I'll try to take a picture of whatever I get. Speaking of pictures...

Pasta Primavera! It had just about every veggie I could find; carrots, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, swiss chard, onion, peppers, and garlic... So yummy! My "Ruby Red" tofu scramble. The colors are much more pretty in person, with the dark red kidney beans and bright red tomatoes. Rob loved it. I'm hard-pressed to find things he doesn't like. I'm lucky in that respect!

Tomorrow morning, Billy Joel tickets go on sale here in Pittsburgh. My mother and I adore Mr. Joel. I grew up listening to his "Storm Front" and "River of Dreams" albums. We are going to get tickets come hell or high water. She'll be on her computer, I'll be on my laptop, and Rob will be on the desktop. Between the three of us, we should be able to get two tickets... at least, I hope!

What kind of veggie are you?

2008-01-21T21:33:00.001-05:00

What type of vegetarian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as militant vegan

You are a militant vegan! Happy? Surprised? A vegan is someone who avoids consuming/using all animal products, including flesh, dairy, eggs, honey, leather, and so forth. Some avoid products tested on animals. Being a militant vegan means you have more radical views than most vegetarians, namely animal rights. You may be an activist already or on the verge. You are confident and unwavering about your ethics. Not a vegan? Perhaps you're one waiting to happen! Check it out at www.goveg.com

militant vegan

67%

health-conscious vegetarian

67%

vegan vixen

45%

welfarist vegetarian

39%

new veggie

17%

quiet vegetarian

17%

lazy vegetarian

Drumroll please......

2008-01-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

Well, the results are in. My seitan is... AMAZING! I used the ever-popular Seitan O' Greatness recipe that is floating around the internet and it turned out so great! It was really easy too, a little too easy. I was surprised that I didn't have to knead, change water, knead, change water, boil, etc... Just knead for a minute and bake. Awesome. When we go out to dinner at our favorite vegan place The Double Wide Grill, Rob always gets BBQ pulled seitan. It's a take on BBQ pulled pork and very good. So I made him a take-off of their take-off. Seitan sandwich w/ BBQ sauce!

Rob was impressed. I was grateful that I didn't mess it up royally. Now I feel good about myself and my culinary skills... He and I are going to see Cloverfield tonight with some friends. No need to fill up on popcorn, I've already got a belly full o' seitan!

This could go one of two ways...

2008-01-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

I'm excited. I just got two new vegan cookbooks at Half Price Books. I'm beginning to amass quite a collection. Eventually I'll have no room left on my countertop and will have to dedicate a bookshelf to them. That's just fine with me! I got Vegan Vittles and The New Vegan. Both look awesome. I've already got about a hundred new recipes that I can't wait to try! Yay for cheap books!
I'm trying my hand at making seitan today. I'm scared. This should be interesting... I'll post later about the a. horror or b. amazingness...

Seriously, it's cold.

2008-01-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

It is FREEZING here! I swear, Jack Frost is not nipping at my nose... He's biting me on the ass! the wind chill right now is subzero. This is January, but still, it's not normal! I was planning on doing a 6-mile walk today, but that went out the frost-covered window... So what does a girl do when she can't feel her fingers and toes? She makes soup! This is my take on Pasta e Fagiole. It's surprisingly like my minestrone, only with zucchini and squash... There are other differences, but it's not really important. The soup was good, very warm and almost "cozy" feeling. I added lima beans at the last minute. It was a good addition. I'm giving lima beans a chance in my cuisine. I feel bad for them. No one (except my mother, she's just weird) says "Hmm... I'm hungry for lima beans!" At least, no one I know. But I like them. They're understated. Kind of like me...

Today was a good day. Rob and I had lunch with Kim, a girl we met through the Pittsburgh Vegan Meetup group. She needed help putting together her Pilates machine, and since Rob can look at anything and know how to put it together, he volunteered his services. She was going to make banana chocolate chip bread, but had stove issues and burnt the loaves. So we got lunch instead! We went to Aladdins, a middle eastern place. We've been there before, as Rob's sister worked in the Cleveland store. Rob had a hummus falafel roll (exactly what it sounds like). Kim and I had the Mujadara plate. Okay, I seriously wish I had taken a picture of this thing. It was HUGE! A full large pita stuffed with lettuce, lentils, rice, Lebanese salata, and cripsy onions. I can't even begin to describe the awesomeness that it this dish. It was prefectly balanced; cold, warm, spicy, sweet, tangy. Awesome. I have got to replicate it. I'm already formulating my recipe in my head. It can't be that hard... can it? After lunch, Rob and I went to Trader Joes' since it just happened to be in the same area. I have been craving their chocolate covered almonds with sea salt. The sweet and salt compliment each other in a way I cannot describe. Perfect. I also got some curry sauce, dried lychee and dragonfruit (jury is still out on those), and tempura battered veggies for Rob. I have to pace myself in that store, or I would end up spending more money than I have...
Why is it that when someone tells you not to sleep, that's all you want to do? We're heading out with friends tonight for Midnight bowling. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about; it's bowling at midnight (so no kids allowed), strobe, black lights, loud music, and beer. It's the most fun you'll have at a bowling alley! But it doesn't start until 12, and I'm usually fast asleep by then. So now I'm munching chocolate espresso beans in hopes that I'll stay awake. Rob's napping already. I have issues with sleeping. Once I'm out, don't wake me up, I'll be worthless. Rob can fall asleep in an airplane hanger with jet engines blaring. (Yes, I know this for a fact.) It's a talent I do not possess. Maybe if I watch Project Runway, that will keep me awake! I'm on Team Christian. He's so funny!

Is it July yet?

2008-01-18T07:06:00.000-05:00

Is this pretty or what? Even though it's frickin' freezing here (the wind chill tonight? -5!!!), I still have a taste for summer. I miss the fruit salad that I eat day after day, the cold food that fills you up, and the smell of grilled veggies... I'm getting tired of slaving over a hot stove, working my fingers to the bone to make a measly hot meal for you people! And do you even say "thank you!?" No, you don't. It's all worthless! Yeah, okay, deep breath... Seriously though, I'm almost getting sick of so-called comfort food. I need fresh, cold, light food. So I made a nice summer salad. I kind of threw things together, and it wasn't half-bad. It was actually quite good, hit the spot.
Sam's Summer Salad
1 c rice blend, cooked
1 c black beans
1 c corn, frozen is better than canned if you can't get fresh
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 c basil
2 t oregano, dried
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt (more if you need it)
1/4 t black pepper

mix everything together, let it sit for about an hour. eat plain or with pita. You could spice it up a million different ways, I added a little cumin about halfway through the bowl. So good.

Rob and I are getting together with a girl we met at our vegan meetup a few weeks ago. She has a Pilates machine that Rob is going to put together for her. We've been promised vegan Banana Chocolate Chip bread. That makes me happy. I also found a Half-Price Books store 15 minutes up the road from me. That makes me VERY happy. Life is good...

Is it Monday yet?

2008-01-13T18:51:00.001-05:00

I'm so not looking forward to this weekend being over. I feel like I didn't even have a weekend. I spend most of yesterday running around like a chik'n with it's faux head cut off trying to get everything clean and presentable before Rob's friends came over. It's not like they would care that a candle was lit in the bathroom or the stove was spotless, but it makes me feel better to know the house is thoroughly cleaned. I made dinner as planned, lasagna and garlic bread.

Everyone loved it, which is nice to hear. I also made brownies from scratch, but they were a bit hard to serve. I cut them when they were still slightly warm, so it crumbled them a little. But they were still good. I mixed vegan chocolate chips into the batter and it made little pockets of chocolately goodness... mmm...

Due to massive amounts of alcohol consumed by everyone but me (seriously, I'm not much of a drinker. I did have sake for the first time last night though. Not impressed.), I ended up with a puking fiance and two people passed out on my couch. I really hate when people sleep over. We don't have a "guest room" (we use our spare room as an office) so they end up sleeping on the couch. I feel like I have to stay upstairs and hide until they wake up. I couldn't take it any longer however, and ended up braving the living room to get something to eat from the kitchen. I grabbed whatever wouldn't make noise, which left me with an orange, soy yogurt, and a Clif bar. I would have prefered oatmeal... Ah the sacrifices we make for the ones we love! (Or don't want to wake up!) His friends left around noon. I cleaned up the house, disassembled a beer pong table, and put out food for my parents. They came down with my sister and her friend to play Rockband. We had fun. It's amazing how uncoordinated my family is! But now I have stuff to do before school tomorrow and then bedtime. I need a weekend to recoupe from my weekend! Oy...

Things you find on the side of the road

2008-01-12T12:23:00.000-05:00

And I'm back! My computer FINALLY got fixed. HP is a great company, but their customer service policy is ridiculous. My power cord was broken, but I had to send the whole computer back. Then they fixed the computer component, but left the broken power cord. Then they finally sent me a new powercord after Rob put the smack-down on them. All that crap is a waste of time, money, and resources. But anyways, it's fixed and I can blog away!

A few nights ago, I was in the mood for roasted veggies. I made a huge pan's worth of red pepper, potatoes, turnips, fennel and parsnips. Everything was good... mostly. I'd never had turnips or parsnips. Turnips are okay in my book. Mild, potato-like, all in all very nice. The parnsips are a different story. EW!!! Seriously, they are nasty. I was hoping they would taste carrot like, since they share the same shape, but no. Rob said they tasted like cleaning fluid. I had a hard time distinguishing parsnips from everything else, since it was all white and cut the same... So I ended up eating what I could, then had a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal with raisins and pecans. (Which is my new favorite breakfast, by the way.)

Last night, I went out of my culinary loop and tried to make something crazy. I wanted something earthy, spicy, warm. Curry came to mind. I have never really had curry before. I've had things with curry powder, but no honest-to-goodness curry. I made a potato and chickpea curry that was out of this world. Seriously, I'm addicted. I'm eating the leftovers right now. It was exactly what I was craving last night. I'm thinking of adapting the recipe into a tofu scramble type thing. I had a recipe, but adapted it so much, it's pretty much my own...

I'm sure there are many more elaborate and tastier, but this is a good beginners curry. I'm in love.

Currycurrycurry!!!

1 T olive oil

1 med. white onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large white potatoes, cubed

2 c. Chickpeas, drained

1 T dried parsley

3 t Curry powder

1 t Cumin

2 c water

Couscous or rice

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add in potatoes, cumin, curry powder, and water, bring to a simmer, cook 20 min. Add parsley and chickpeas, cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve over couscous or rice.

Tonight I'm making lasagna. Rob challenged his friend Will to go vegetarian for a week. He's thinking of going full time veggie now. So I'm making my world-famous lasagna, some garlic bread, and PB chocolate brownies for dessert. I hope it all goes well. I get nervous making food for others. I can always tell Rob to "eat around the burnt part" or "Well, I guess we're eating out tonight.." but not so much with others... I'm sure it will be fine though.

I found another half marathon! It's actually the same day as the one I was originally going to do. It's about an hour and a half north of here, which is a long ways, but it's on the way to my hometown! Rob and I will be crashing there for the night, visiting family and enjoying the sights. I've continued my training, I haven't missed a workout yet! Although I love my treadmill, I get bored on it if I have more than a few miles. I was scheduled to walk 5 miles today, and it's sunny, so I walked outside. Bad idea. I took a new route, which isn't walker friendly. A lot of hills, and virtually no sidewalks. I was amazed at the amount of trash accumulating on the side of the road. I walked by two syringes, a used condom, a tampon, countless scratched off lottery tickets, and an amazing number of Lunchables containers... Pretty nasty stuff. I also came across a seemingly normal pair of Nikes. They were in pretty good shape too. I have to admit, I was tempted to pick them up, but really, who throws out perfectly good Nikes? Next Saturday is 6 miles. I'm actually looking forward to it. Maybe I'll find a hundred bucks or a new guitar or something else good...

I'm not dead

2008-01-10T11:42:00.001-05:00

I'm not dead, although my computer is, which is why I haven't been posting. However, I have been assured by HP that my computer will be up and running soon. I just bought groceries, so my kitchen is stocked. I'll be posting all my pictures soon!

Actual pictures again!

2008-01-03T21:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah, this doesn't look good. However, it was quite tasty. This was dinner the other day. I had some acorn squash to use up. So I roasted that, added some onion, garlic, corn, black beans, rice, and a bunch of seasonings, then slapped it on a tortilla with some lettuce. Rob thought is was too sweet (the acorn squash was really sweet), so he ended up eating tacos. Loser. I thought it was good though. Spicy, but not hot, sweet but not dessert-like. I thought it was pretty good. I'd make it again, but maybe with a different squash that wasn't so sweet.

This was dinner last night. After my disappointment with the half-marathon, I need to chop, dice, and generally mangle anything I could get my hands on. I made One Wild Chick Soup from ED&BV, al ong with some herbed foccacia (homemade, thank you very much... okay, it was pizza dough with olive oil and herbs, but STILL...) Anyways, this is a fantastic recipe. It's perfect for a down in the dumps, cold and windy night. The wild rice is such a great flavor in this, you almost forget the chickpeas... almost.

But it still didn't take my bad mood away. I was craving brownies that I made a day or two ago. I have an issue with sweets. I will binge on them, all it takes is a lick of frosting or a bite of cake to get me hooked. I know that if I eat one brownie, I will eat the entire PAN of brownies. It's not a pretty picture. I keep rationalizing, saying to myself, "You're not in training anymore, so why not lay on the couch and eat what you really want?" However, I stayed away from the vegan confection and jumped on my treadmill this morning, even though I don't have to anymore. I hate that. I want to be a big, fat slob like the rest of America seems to be. It's easy, too easy, to just give in and take the low road. I envy people that have no issues with weight or that can run a 10K and not think twice. I am not that person. It takes everything in my being to even think about exercising or say "no" to a bite of oh-so-good-but-oh-so-bad-for-you food. I have to constantly think about what is going into my mouth (and inevitably on my hips) and how I will work it off. It bites. (no pun intended). I need goals, limits. My new goal is a less than stellar 10K in June, and a few 5Ks along the way. I will keep training as if I am walking the half marathon. I can't just stop now. I have the momentum going. I will keep on keepin' on...

ANGRY

2008-01-02T15:31:00.001-05:00

I'm so angry right now. I just got my info packet for the half-marathon I was going to run in March. They want $1000 in fundraising! Are they nuts?! I am a college student, all my friends are college students, and its right after the holidays. I'm not about to go asking people for money who are already tapped out. Plus, most of my friends and family can't spare more that five bucks. I sure as hell can't raise $1000 just to walk in a half marathon. I don't know who they're kidding. I think it's also a shame that the money I would raise isn't good enough because it doesn't meet their minimum requirements! I'm seriously pissed. And disappointed. I had my sights set on this race. It gave me a goal, a purpose. All I can find around here are 5K funwalks, and that's not at all what I set out to do. Hell, I could walk a 5K now, and I wouldn't have to train. I was using this as a way to get out and get moving, but now I have nothing to train for. It's awfully hard to push yourself to do something when it's useless. This blows. I'm going to go chop something up. The poor onions in my fridge don't know what's coming...

Am I stupid?

2007-12-28T18:44:00.001-05:00

Hey guess what?! I'm actually going to get off my ass and do something physical! Yes, I do work out, if not on a very sporadic basis. I've decided to walk a half marathon at the end of March. (No, I have not been drinking.) It's for a good cause and I need to get off my ass. Seriously. I feel like I may grow roots if I don't. The thirteen week deadline will give me motivation, as I can't just wake up the day of the race and walk the 13.1 miles with no problem. I'd like to think I can, but I can't be that naive. I've got a training schedule all set up, I've bought new shoes, and I've consulted my doctor. Everything is a go. Rob said he'll do it too, although I've refused to let him unless he buys new shoes. (All he has are work boots and old skate shoes that are falling apart.) So March 29, 2008, I will walk in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society "Just a Short Run." Why am I walking and not going for something amibitous like running? Well, what seems like a short time ago (although it's been about 9 years) I ripped my arch and achilles' tendon in a freak cheerleading accident. After many casts and Advil, I healed, but now I have scar tissue. Scar tissue doesn't stretch very well, so each attempt at running brings pain and an unsettling pulling sensation. So I'm destined to walk my way through life, which is okay.
I'm sure all of you have had a friend, family member, or co-worker that has been diagnosed with cancer. If you haven't had your life touched by this horrible illness, be glad. My grandfather died of pancreatic cancer three years ago. I miss him terribly. Rob's father is a survivor of leukemia. He's in remission now, thank God. We need to find a cure for these illnesses, and fast. From the research that I've done, eating a vegan diet lowers your risk of certain cancers, but it's not a save-all. The treatments need to get better, diagnosis needs to be faster, cures need to be found. I'm walking in hopes that we can finally find a cure, so that no one goes through the disease process ever again. I urge you to get out there and do something, anything to help in the war against cancer. If we all rise up, we will find a cure, sooner rather than later.

Christmas, family style

2007-12-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

Well, the day of Christmas is officially over. I am slightly glad, honestly. It's just so much work! I love seeing my family and spending time with them, but it's tiring. Tuesday night I made double batches of the almond cookies (adapted from ED&BV 5-Spice Almond cookies) and the Chocomint melties, plus a HUGE pot of minestrone. I also packed, gathered up all the gifts we needed to take up and tied up some odds and ends here. We left around 7:30am, got to Warren (my hometown) around 10 and headed right to the nursing home to visit my Grandma. She has severe dementia. While she is able to smile, move around (via wheelchair) and convey emotion, nothing that she says make sense and she has inappropriate emotional responses. She is happy most of the time though, if not a bit mischevious. She stuck her tongue out at me, then laughed like hell! Funny, I'll tell you. We also saw my Aunt Cathy. She just had back surgery a few weeks ago, and she looks better than ever. Modern medicine amazes me.

After that we headed to my Great Grandma's house. This woman had 13 kids, and raised them in a shoebox of a house. There were kids everywhere, relatives I didn't have a clue about, and meat everywhere. By the time we left there, Rob and I were both starving. There are only so many candy canes that you can eat before even those make you nauseous. Thank goodness we headed to my grandma and grandpa Stewarts house after that. They always have food. My grandmother was convinced that Rob and I would starve unless she made a vegan dish, so she made us a roasted veggie tart. Here she is with the tart before it went into the oven:

The tart was amazing! I am SO going to make this. I'm sure it won't be as good as hers, nothing ever is! The cookies I made were a big hit! The family was amazed that they had no butter, eggs, milk, or honey in them. My Uncle Joe said "I've had three of these, and I'm not a cookie person!" He even smuggled a big bag of them out. My grandfather works at a flower shop as a general handyman and delivery guy. He took a bag to work with him for the ladies at work. Everyone ate them up, there was none left for me! I think it's pretty funny that the vegan food was the first to go! This was the spread:

There was also a cherry cheesecake that I would die for, but I held back and had some fruit. It wasn't the same. I am sad. But it's a sacrifice I make.

It was really a good time. We head to Ohio this weekend to do Christmas with Rob's family. More cookies will be baked tomorrow. I'm actually getting sick of making cookies. We just found out that Rob's sister is pregnant. I'm going to be an aunt! I can't wait to give her a big hug. I'm looking forward to buying gifts and attending showers. I love little babies!

Adorable People

2007-12-23T22:52:00.001-05:00

I am tired. I have worked the late shift the past few nights, hence no dinner posts. My dinners have consisted of veggie soup and primal strips. But tomorrow, I will make a real dinner, I promise. Even Rob has been commenting on the lack of homecooked meals. Wow. The boy that could live on Fritos and Kool-Aid is missing a homecooked meal. I have to bake a few things tomorrow anyways, so I will be in the kitchen. I'm taking the choco-mint melties and the almond cookies up to my hometown for Christmas. I'm also taking my amazing minestrone. My family is big on meat and butter, so the vegan fare will be slim. However, I have been promised a vegan roasted veggie tart. My grandmother is so adorable. She is convinced that we will be starving unless she comes to our rescue. Therefore, she is attempting her hand at vegan cooking. (The women has never even had a meatless meal, so I'm a little scared.) She called me and listed every. single. ingredient. in. the. tart., just to make sure Rob and I could eat it. I made sure to remind her of the no butter, "not even a little on the top to make it brown?" rule, as well as the "no milk, eggs, or honey" rule. The woman is a saint. She always make a big fruit salad, and called me just to make sure that we could eat it. A fruit salad. So I'm pretty sure our meal will be minestrone, roasted veggie tart, fruit salad, and cookies. Not a bad spread! I also want to take something else savory, but I'm not sure what yet. Maybe something "bread-y?"
I am going to take a hot shower before my muscles in my shoulders explode. Who knew that Target could be so stressful?!

Lima beans...

2007-12-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

How great does this dinner look?! Yeah, the food is good, but look at the photograph itself. You can see the steam! You can see the colors much better. And it's not all blurry. Can you tell I got a new toy for Christmas?! Rob bought me a fabulous new digital camera. It's amazingly cool, due to the fact that it has a "cuisine" setting, just for taking pictures of food. YAY! Now, I can't promise that the pictures will get any more interesting, however I can promise that they will look better. I'm in love with my new camera... and Rob!
This dinner, by the way, was Blackened Tofu from ED&BV. Pretty good all in all. The spices were a good blend. The tofu was a little soft for my taste though. I also made couscous with chickpeas. I like chickpeas. I also made lima beans. These poor, defenseless green bean things have not gotten their fair shot at my palate. I've always kind of passed these over, due to the fact that I was forced to eat the canned version as a child... with Molly McButter no less. (Yes, my parents ate the fake butter stuff. No, we weren't poor... well, not THAT poor.) I decided to get the frozen version instead of canned. I prefer fresh produce, but since I've never seen fresh lima beans, that would severely limit my lima bean consumption, but anyways... I heated them up with some butter and garlic, I figured if I did too much with them they would get lost in the copious amounts of garlic and onion I would inevitably put in. They were amazingly... not bad. They weren't fantastic, but I think they require further usage.
I just wrote a blog about lima beans. How boring am I? But as Christmas approaches, the food will get better. I promise!

Cookies make me crazy

2007-12-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

I have decided that I am not a failure in the kitchen. At least not baking-wise. Yesterday, I got the craving for oatmeal cookies. I made these.

They were very good. I would have liked to put raisins in them, but I was out and wasn't about to run to the store in the middle of things. They turned out well, and I had some oatmeal leftover, so I thought "Hmm... maybe no bakes?" So I made Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bakes.

They may not look the best, but they tasted fantastic. (By the way, I just realized that my Rob's camera has a close-up setting. So all the crappy pictures that a slightly blurry due to using a normal setting should be a thing of the past. I'm a dork and didn't realize that setting was even there until the other day. Duh!) So by the time those were on the parchment paper, I was in full on baking mode. Enter gingerbread men! I decorated these with just a plain white glaze.

These are from La Dolce Vegan. Awesome, although the flavor of molasses really comes through. I would suggest lowering the molasses if you aren't a fan. I am, so that wasn't a problem. Listen to Sarah Kramer and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours before rolling! Otherwise you end up with a very messy countertop and disfigured gingerbread people. While those were chilling, I made Chocolate Mint Melties from EB&BV. Oh my goodness. I can't tell you how much I love these. If you have been craving Girl Scout Thin Mints, make these. The cookbook is worth buying just for that recipe!

These are jst too good for words. Rob and I both miss Girl Scout cookies, my favorite are the samoas and thin mints, his are the Tagalongs. I got an idea... All Tagalongs are are shortbread with peanut butter and chocolate, right? I'll make my own! I spread vegan shortbread with peanut butter, chilled for a few hours, then dipped in chocolate ganache.

They are fantastic fakes! So good, I should start my own Girl Scout baking company! "Maybe Plenders' Plunders of Velda's Avengers! " (You get a gold star if you can tell me what movie that line is from!) Well, I already had the peanut butter out, so I made peanut butter cookies! I would have a onderful picture, but my camera battery died. Yes, again. They're great though. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. However, they spread A LOT. I ended up with a batch of cookies with straight edges because I had to cut them apart... I needed a cookie that I knew didn't spread. Ah, Russian Teacakes! Also called snowballs or Mexican wedding cakes. Extremely easy to veganize because they contain no eggs or milk...

Some people use almonds or pecans, I always have and always will use black walnuts. I think they add a flavor that can't be beat. Oh yeah, I forgot about dinner because I was baking all day... Let's put together a quick tofu stirfry!

It was supposed to be the Cashew stirfry from ED&BV, but I forgot to add the cashews, so it's nut-less. But it's still awesome. I am in love with the stirfry sauce. Dreena is a genius.

So I'm all baked out. I'm amazed that they all turned out as well as they did. But now I'm left with more cookies than Rob and I could possibly eat. No, strike that. We're left with more cookies that we SHOULD eat... I sent some of the cookies to Rob's sister and her boyfriend, Matt in Alabama. They are vegetarians. They aren't coming home for the holidays, so I thought I'd send the holidays to them! My family is also very geeky and loves to ride around and look at Christmas lights every year. We've done it since my sister and I were little and just can't give up the tradition. So tonight we're headed up to my parents to ride around and marvel in the wasting of electricity... I'm taking cookies up there, as well as the almond cookies I just took out of the oven (5-Spice cookies without the spice and with more almond extract). I love the holidays!

Rob and I had our portraits done for Christmas- Aren't we cute?!

Cookie Party

2007-12-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

These are my latest attempt at decent sugar cookies. They are the best so far, although the dough was still a little hard to work with. I will make these again, but I'm going to chill the dough overnight and see if that helps. Rob loves them, so this is about half the batch. He ate the rest before I had a chance to take a picture...

These are Dreena's 5 Spice Almond Cookies from EDBV. I adore these cookies! The flavor is so perfect, subtle but warm. I was surprised to find 5 Spice powder so readily. These cookies have hints of anise and almond, but nothing is overpowering. They are perfect. I plan on making these for my dad (It's his birthday tomorrow!), but I may lower the 5 spice powder and increase the almond. He's a big fan of the almond cookies at our local Chinese place and these taste very similar. I'm drooling on the keyboard....

Last night's dinner was Chickpea Sensation patties from EDBV. They were good, although they have a lot of ingredients. Plus, I added some red bell pepper because I had to use it up before it started to turn, and it just overpowered everything. Rob loved them though. There aren't any leftovers, so you know he loved them!

Craving cookies

2007-12-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

I'm hungry. Actually, I'm just quite bored, so I'm hoping that writing this will keep me from eating the last few cookies in the kitchen. I tried a new sugar cookie recipe. This one turned out better than the last, but it's still not what I'm looking for. I have another recipe that I may try on Friday. Funny thing is, I don't even really like sugar cookies. I mean, they're okay, but I they're not my first choice. Rob loves them however, so none go to waste. It's almost a mission now. I'm on a quest for the perfect sugar cookie. I want one that's crispy, rolls well, has a rich taste, and isn't dry tasting or flour-y. Is that so much to ask!? I think not.

I tried to take a picture of the last batch of cookies, but my camera died. It was perfect timing however. As I was getting ready to take the picture, I thought to myself "I haven't charged this in awhile. I wonder when it's going to..." Battery dead. They weren't anything special though, so you didn't miss much. The lasagna I made for dinner however was awesome! Rob went back for seconds, and then thirds. He told me it was his favorite meal ever, even better than his mom's. Yeah, I'm amazing. The recipe is so easy, it almost wrong. I wish I had a picture!

"This is even better than my moms!" lasagna

1 pkg "ready to bake" or "no boil" lasagna noodles

1 pkg boca crumbles

1 pkg soft silken tofu, nori mu vacuum packed works best

1 jar chunky pasta sauce

3/4 c panko bread crumbs

1/4 c Earth balance

A bunch of italian herbs; basil, oregano, parsley

some garlic salt

heat boca and tofu together in a pan, add dried herbs and garlic salt to taste. Place a layer of sauce, then noodles, then meat mixture in a 9 x 13 pan, keep layering until the ingredients run out. Mix panko and EB in a bowl, place on top of final layer. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Remove foil, cook another 15. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Tonight was brought to you by Whole Foods. My aunt Cathy is in the hospital, she just had back surgery. (A laminectomy decompression fusion to be exact.) I visited her yesterday, and the hospital just happens to be a few blocks away from Whole Foods. I got a few things; soy nog, freeze-dreied fruit, a really good goji berry trail mix, and some other boring things. I also grabbed some squash and vegan turkey stuffed with wild rice. Oh...my...God... These are my new favorite things ever. I took one bite and was hooked. I actually dug the packaging out of the trash (don't worry, it was a new trash bag) to make sure I wasn't eating real meat. I could not have asked for anything more in this product. The squash sucked, but these made up for it. I also made cous cous, a new food for Rob and I. He's so cute, he said "wow, this rice is really good!" I told him it wasn't rice, it was cous cous and he got this very confused but careless look on his face. Precious.

I'm getting groceries on Friday, so the plate is resting on my notebook o' recipes and the Giant Eagle ad... I need to go take some Advil. I didn't think my workout yesterday was that intensive. My arms feel differently. Ow.

stupid cookies

2007-12-02T10:18:00.000-05:00

I didn't cook dinner last night. I had cereal. I'm not sure what Rob had. I did bake, however. Rob was in the mood for Christmas cookies, namely the sugar cookie cut outs. I found a recipe with a very yummy looking picture next to it and decided to give it a try. I was skeptical of the recipe due to the fact that it requires Ener-G, which I have never liked. I just don't think it does it's job. I usually use applesauce or silken tofu. But I decided to give it one more shot. The recipe also uses Tofutti cream cheeze... I made the dough, let it rest, and tried to roll it out. It was awful! It didn't old together at all! I tried adjusting the wet to dry ingredient ratio, but that didn't help. I rolled it out the best I could, hoping that some miracle would happen in the oven. It didn't. They just look sad. They taste fine, and they help together when cooled, but they still looked flaky and weird. The icing on top was awesome though! The taste is super good, it reminds me of the Almond Crescent cookies that I used to down by the box before going vegan... I'm going to try another cookie recipe soon, maybe one that doesn't use Ener-G.

Awesome Icing
2 c powdered sugar
4-6 t soy milk
4 t light corn syrup
1/2 t almond extract
food coloring
Mix the powdered sugar and soy milk in a bowl until smooth. Add corn syrup and almond extract, mix until well combined. Stir in food coloring. Dip cookies in icing, let dry overnight.

I think I'm going to try making the "No-Knead" bread today. I'm in the mood for bread and I feel the need to validate my baking skills. I'm really hoping that this cookie fiasco isn't a sign of my normal Christmas cookie making marathon. I don't think I could deal with six failed cookie batches...

Sudafed=Fun

2007-11-30T22:59:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that tomorrow starts the month of December. I'm amazed at how quickly this year is passing. I'm done Christmas shopping, with the exception of some stocking stuffers I plan on getting Rob and some little treats for the two dogs. (Who are both cuddled up next to my feet, keeping them toasty warm!) Now I just have to wait for everything to be delivered by FedEx, UPS, or the USPS. Then I have to wrap it... And keep it a secret... I'm notoriously bad a keeping presents a secret. If I could, I'd give everyone their presents now. I put a lot of thought into my gifts, and I love seeing the reactions I get from the recipient of said gifts. For instance, Rob's grandmother (the sweetest lady you'll ever meet. She stands under 5 foot tall and teases her hair until she's about 5 foot 4...) told me forever ago that she has two guardian angels, Amos and Bert. So I bought her two bronze guardian angel figurines and a card that reads "May Amos and Bert watch over you always." Now, she's a very sentimental woman and this will make her cry like no other. I love it! But now the angels are mocking me, taunting me, willing me to give them away before Christmas. Must....resist...urge...to...give...gifts....

Just because we hadn't been out in a while, Rob took me to PanAsia; a Japanese/Sushi place down the street. We split a house vegetable roll and an avacado roll. Rob had some homestyle tofu and I had Mu shu vegetables. I was underwhelmed by the mu shu, but the rolls were fabulous. I would eat sushi everyday if I could. (No, I don't make my own. I have an intense aversion to vinegar. I can eat it if I can't smell it, but I have issues with willingly, knowingly placing it in foods I prepare.) I didn't take pictures because I still feel a little weird taking pictures in a dimly lit restaurant.

Dinner last night was stuffed butternut squash. Up until yesterday, I had never eaten squash! How deprived am I?! I was so happy with the way this turned out. I got the recipe from La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer. It had brown rice, pecans, walnuts, onion, garlic, bread cubes, and a bunch of seasonings in it. The texture is a little weird, so if you have issues with mixing "crunchies" and "softies" I suggest you stay away from this recipe, or modify it to suit your tastes. But if texture issues aren't an issue for you, go for it! You won't be disappointed.

Isn't it pretty?

I hate to say it, as I really don't want pity (yeah, right..) but I'm sick. Yes, I'm fighting a virulent strain of acute nasal pharyngitis. I'm sure i'll be okay, it's nothing to fret over. Just go about your business, don't worry about little ol' me... Okay, enough dramatics. I have a cold. I suppose one of the hazards of working with the public is being exposed to all those germs. I'm taking all my vitamins, downing Airborne and vitamin C and drinking all the liquids my kidneys can handle... Plus taking enough Tylenol Cold to tranquilize a small horse.... I want to feel better NOW! Stupid cold...

Is it Christmas yet? No? Thank God.

2007-11-29T10:20:00.001-05:00

Okay, I've decided that Christmas needs to be post-poned by a month. Even though I have most of my Christmas shopping done, I feel likeI'm in a time crunch. In June, I thought it would be a great idea to start a needlepoint (counted cross-stitch to be exact) project for Rob's mom and giveit to her for Christmas. It's a beautiful pattern; Jesus standing, looking out into the distance with the "Footprints" poem on the side. However, I didn't realize how long it would take me to finish Jesus and his amazing technicolor pain-in-the-ass dreamcoat. I only have about a third left, but I just can't look at it anymore. I keep putting it off. I promise myself that I'll work on it later for at LEAST an hour...

Dinner the past two night has been pretty quick and easy. Working the odd hours that I have been is taking it's toll on my culinary forays. I did recieve my copy of Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan in the mail though, so when this lot of groceries is done, I'll delve into the worderful world of Dreena's cooking. Dinner last night:

Enchiladas! I took refried beans, slathered them on some flour torillas (I prefer corn, but I couldn't find any at the store) added a filling of boca and corn seasoned with taco seasonings, rolled them up and placed them in the pan, threw on some enchilada sauce and baked for a half hour at 350. I would have added cheeze, but Rob's not a big fan and I'm on a diet. I've gained five pounds due to lack of exercise and an overload of sugar. Because I lost over 30 pounds about a a year ago, I'm terrified that I'm going to put the weight back on. I'm fighting hard against genetics, and I have a crappy metabolism so it's a very real fear. I know I need to workout and eat more veggies, but I hate working out and the veggies that I love have a high sugar content (corn, peas, carrots). I did workout this morning, and I had a balanced breakfast, so I get a gold star! (You know, I wish all these gold stars I give myself had some value...)

This was dinner two nights ago, a lovely stir-fry with lots of veggies. I added some bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corn and red chili flakes to a frozen stir-fry veggie mix, added some sauce and placed it over some brown rice. It was pretty good, nothing special. I think next time I'll add some wild rice to the brown rice. I love that stuff!
Okay, I need your help! Every Christmas, I make lots of cookies; peanut butter, sugar, chocolate chip, Russian tea cakes, snickerdoodles, and a few others. Well this year, I'm making vegan cookies, and I need some new inspiration! I would love to try everyones' favorite cookie recipes, but you'll have to post them before I can bake. So crack open the holiday tomes and post away! Thanks!!!

My feet ache like I never thought they could.

2007-11-27T00:38:00.001-05:00

So sorry I haven't posted recently. I've been working a lot lately, and when I come home at eleven, a bowl of cereal sounds just as good as a home-cooked vegan meal. Poor Rob has had to fend for himself! I plan on cooking a very nice stuffed acorn squash tonight however, so I'll post that soon.

Help wanted- Cookie recipes for family, deliciousness a must, must be available for holidays, dairy/eggs need not apply, no phone calls please, comments preferred.

Is it Tuesday yet?

2007-11-23T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Roberto and I went to my parents house for our day o' gluttony. Nothing was too special about the meal, just the normal food. I did make an amazing pumpkin cheezecake though.

It was pretty good, although next time I would use pumpkin pie filling instead of just pureed pumpkin. The pumpkin flavor just wasn't all there. It was still super good however. After dinner, we popped the old Rankin-Bass Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer in the VCR (yes, we still have the old VHS copy) and played Phase 10. Phase 10, if you've never played it, is a card game in which you have to get through ten rounds of cards, like 7 cards of the same color, or a run of 8. It is the only game that can single-handedly make my family insane. I swear, my sister skipped me nine times! If I didn't love her so much, I would seriously hurt her... But in any case, we had a blast. And there are leftovers today... specifically leftover pie...

Today was less eventful, due to the fact that I had to work. I work at Target while I'm off of school. It's brainless. I swear, a monkey could work there. I arrived at nine and chaos was already engulfing the store. People were waiting on carts (or buggies as some people call them), kids were screaming, toys were making all sorts of ungodly noises, and the aisles were packed. I hopped on a register and started checking out the endless stream of shoppers. There are a few things I would like to say after all of this.

1. Your child is 6 months old. He or she will not remember this Christmas. Therefore, it is not necessary to buy $750 worth of cute outfits and toys and then complain that you're spending all this money you've worked so hard for.

2. I don't care that we're out of Bratz dolls, Hannah Montana games, or High School Musical CD's. I'm sorry that you had to be at JC Penny's this morning at 6am and therefore missed the screaming tween toys at our store, but don't blame me. I don't do the ordering.

3. It annoys me when you insist on paying your $7.00 hemmorrhoid cream/Depends adult diaper bill with pennies. You know who you are, old woman. Just try to come into my line again... just try.

4. Please don't hesistate to get halfway out of the door before walking back into my line and asking me if I can give you 17 gift reciepts. What the hell do you need a gift reciept for M&M's for?!?!

Yes, I'm cranky and tired. I chose to work at Target, and I do so wth a smile. However, I'm allowed to be cranky after today. Plus, I think I broke my little toe and I have about a million papercuts. Pity me. ;-)

What's the matter with parents today?

2007-11-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

You know what bothers me? People. More precicely, stupid parents. Now, I don't have kids, but still, some things are common sense. Let me explain. I was at Target today and noticed a very cute, if not highly annoying little blond girl, probably around 3 or 4 years old. She was all decked out in her Christmas dress with little bows in her hair, patent leather shoes, and white tights. And her eyes we bright red, as were her cheeks from all of her screaming. She was bellowing throughout the store "I WANT CANDY!" over, and over, and over again. Now, if this was my child, I would have dragged her out of the store, and had "time out" in the car, and then, IF she was more well-behaved, would have gone back inside for her pictures, sans candy. This mother however, does not share the same philosophy. She said in a very wishy-washy way "Emma, if you stop crying and take a good picture for mommy, I'll buy you a slushie!" Are you serious?! Now the mom takes out a packet of M&M's and hands it to the child, who eats the entire packet in a matter of minutes, and starts crying again. More M&M's. I'm appalled at this process of give and take. The child has her lovely picture taken, and walks out of the studio screaming "I WANT A SLUSHIE!" And the mom takes her to the food court and buys her a large slushie, which contains more sugar and food dye than any food should. The child slurps happily away until they reach the door. "I WANT NUGGETS!" And the moms response? Yup, you guessed it. "If you stop crying, mommy will take you to McDonalds!" This makes me ill.

And after all of that, I needed a good, homecooked, healthy meal. So I made an amazing pasta dish. I call it my "No Need for a Food Processor" Pesto.

1/2 c chopped basil

1/3 c toasted pine nuts

1 can diced tomatoes

1 6oz jar of artichoke hearts, chopped and drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb pasta

Boil pasta until al dente. Heat garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil unti garlic is soft. Add basil, salt, pepper, artichoke, and tomatoes. Heat through, toss with pasta.

This is amazingly good, and so simple. I know the photograph isn't the best, but still, it's so worth making. I can put a hundred ingredients together or I can put together five. Somehow, the less I put in, the better it tastes.

I burnt my fingers on the meal

2007-11-19T18:21:00.000-05:00

This was dinner tonight. Both from V-con, they were "eh." The cornbread was a little bit bitter for some reason. aI'm hoping it will be good tomorrow with some EB and agave on top... The black bean soup was good, but it needed more salt that called for. And it makes A LOT. It filled my biggest pot almost to the top. I'm hoping it freezes well, otherwise I'll be eating black bean soup until Thanksgiving... Which brings me to my plans for that day!

We will be dining with my parents at their house around 3pm Thursday. They will be making all the normal holiday foods, I'll be bringing the vegan foods...

- Tofurky roast (I'm not too fond of it, but Rob loves it)

- Wild mushroom gravy, courtesy of Whole Foods

- Cranberry wheat rolls

- Stuffing

- Cranberry sauce (homemade! My first foray into cranberry sauce making)

- Mashed potatoes, my speciality

and

- Pumpkin cheezecake
It's going to be a fun day... We'll probably end up breaking out an old Christmas movie, Trivial Pursuit, and laugh like crazy! I love my family.

Failure.

2007-11-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

You all know that each week I try to use a new food or two in my cooking. My parents are very unadventurous cooks. I swear, we ate canned green beans or canned corn at least five times a week, usually with A. taco salad B. Bay-seasoned chicken, or C. hamburger helper. I don't think I ate a pea or broccoli until high school. I was deprived, I know. Even when I left home, I still ate boring foods with no taste. I blame my parents for me not being able to tolerate heat (peppers, chili flakes, wasabi). Now that I cook for myself, I'm finding all sorts of new foods that I never thought I'd like. Can we say tahini? Miso? Falafel? Lentils? Hell, even cauliflower!? I love grocery shopping now, I get to buy all sorts of foods that most people haven't ever used or tasted. Most new foods that I try are fantastic, fennel is a new favorite. However, I can expect to love everything. Enter arugula. I made this pasta dish from V-Con a few nights ago. It's the pasta della California, without avocados (I cant find good ones this time of year). I took a bite and just couldn't take another. It was horrid. The arugula was so icky, sour and bitter, not a good taste. I ended up making gnocci and throwing the whole failed pasta dish into the trash.

Last night, I made Tip-Top Tofu Loaf from La Dolce Vegan. I was good, although I would add more breadcrumbs next time. It was a little too soft in the middle for me, despite cooking it fifteen minutes longer than it called for. The flavor was good, but do NOT be tempted to add salt. Trust me on this. I also made roasted red skin potatoes, which look slightly burnt, but that's just the coating of onion soup mix and a little tamari. I was a bad vegan and failed to eat at least one green vegetable with dinner, but hey, I'm a big girl. I can do whatever I want, and you can't stop me! (Mature, I know) I wasn't going to take a picture of this meal, but as I'm about to take my fist bte, Rob says "hey, aren't you going to photograph that?" I love that kid...

I also want to thank you all for putting up with my extremely bad photography. I've never been one to take good pictures, look good in pictures, or actually manage to keep my eyes open in pictures... I have a new camera, but I need to find a memory card for it, which is proving difficult. Hopefully that will help, although I'm not making any promises...

This is way too long of a post...

2007-11-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

I hate surveys, I really do. Between myspace, e-mails, and facebook, I am REALLY sick of normal surveys. But this one isn't a normal survey, it's all about vegan-ness and me, so I like it! Feel free to copy this and post it on your blog! I stole it from Squirrel's Vegan Blog, who stole it from Bazu, if I remember correctly...

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

-Low fat plain Silk

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

-Muffins of some kind, chickpea cutlets, pumpkin pie

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

- a little bit of kosher salt

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

- French toast. I never can get it right...
5. Favorite pickled item?

- Dill pickles

6. How do you organize your recipes?

- purple notebook

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

- trash, unfortunately. We don't have a recycling program or center anywhere near us...

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

- cranberries, chickpeas, chocolate

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

- Making corn muffins with my grandpa... I miss him!

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

- Toss up between Tofutti Vanilla almond bark and So Delicious Carrot cake

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

- Food processor hands down! I have no idea how I lived without it!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

- Basil

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

- How to Cook Everything
14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

- Apple Butter

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

- Chili

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

- Tofu

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

- Breakfast. Any meal that consists of mostly carbs and sugar is okay in my book!

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

- Food processor and a bag of pretzels
19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

- Frozen peas, popsicles, Amy's breakfast sausage

20. What’s on your grocery list?

- Everything, a lot of produce mostly

21. Favorite grocery store?

- Whole Foods or Mustard Seed Market when I can get there
22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

- I really don't have an answer for this one...

23. Food blog you read the most.

- I read a ton, there are way too many to pick!

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

- Rice milk chocolate
25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

- Some new olive oil

26. Veganaise or Nayonaise?

- Neither. I've never been a big fan, vegan or not.

27. What is one recipe or ingredient or cooking technique that you’ve become familiar with in the last year that you can’t imagine you ever lived without?

- Pesto. Ah, how I love thee...

28. What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

- Parents' house for dinner (I'm making all the vegan stuff, since my dad still asks if I can eat cheese and eggs...)

29. Favorite kitchen smell?

- Nothing better than garlic and onion saute-ing... or vegan chocolate brownies...

30. Make up your own question to put here (and answer it!)

And now for dinner, Chili! It's cold, rainy, snowy, sleety, and I've been doing domestic things all day. Who knew re-caulking a tub could be so difficult?! I usually make chili with just kidney beans, but I was feeling a little punchy today, so I dumped everything in the pantry into this batch. No real rhyme or reason for anything...

"Whatever, I'm too tired to cook" Chili

1 large can tomato sauce

1 can each chickpeas, dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, mild chili beans, diced tomato

1/2 c. brown rice

1/2 c lentils

1/2 large onion, chipped

1 T garlic, minced

1T olive oil

1 pkg. Boca crumbles

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add all the canned goods, heat to a boil. Add lentils and rice, turn heat to low, cook until your fiance walks in the front door 45 minutes late... Or until the rice/lentils are cooked, whichever... So yummy! (This makes A LOT, but it freezes awesomely)

Tomorrow is Light Up Night in Pittsburgh, where they light the big Christmas tree and all the places downtown have stuff going on. We're headed out to dinner with some of our friends. I'm letting them pick the place, I'm just hoping it's got a vegan friendly option. I'm really sick of salads with a sad looking tomato wedge and a few stale croutons... I'm bringing some vegan hot cocoa with me for walking around in what should be the coldest day of the year...

Just so you know- if you have a Max and Erma's restaurant near you, they now have a vegan option! (The manager assured me!) I went there today with my Dad and sister. They now have a Grilled Veggie Sandwich, which is awesome! Grilled zucchini, roasted red peppers, basil, and tomato on foccacia with a tomato basil pesto. It comes with cheese, but just order it without. It's so good!!!