The Holidays! Just like everyone else!

I'm going to go ahead and call my first Vegan christmas a complete success. I mean, how could I not? With  Fat Free Vegan's Sweet Potato Casserole, Vegan Dad's Pumpkin Pull Apart Rolls, Acorn Squash with Sage-Apple Rice from Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, and Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero's Maple Pecan pie, how could I go wrong?

The correct answer is: Only if I burn everything. Or miss crucial ingredients.

I didn't. So it didn't go wrong.

Also? It snowed today. Sortof. I tried to get a picture of the flakes:

See the snowflakes? See them? 

That didn't really work (and this is the best attempt). But that's ok, because I veganized this recipe for breakfast. (Tradition to have cinnamon rolls for breakfast on christmas in my family)

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread with Butter Rum Glaze

I look a little insane while my mother teaches me how to make pie crust (again-I really can't pick it up and I don't know why)

Making Pie Crust

Bought in a yoga store in RI

 When the 2nd iteration of the Teal Cat project came out, I had to get one for my sister. It was her christmas gift, plus a donation to an animal rescue nonprofit in the area.

Teal Cat #231

 This is the third time I've made the pull apart pumpkin rolls and the third time they've come out fantastically.

Vegan Dad's Pull Apart Pumpkin Rolls

 I made pecan pie for Thanksgiving and was drooling over it for Christmas too!

Maple Pecan Pie

Burnout on writing, but not on cooking

Sorry guys. The end of october gets RIDICULOUSLY busy for me. (Birthday and all)

So, I was supposed to go to a vegan potluck (organized via ThePPK) but something happened and it ended up not happening (but it will! At some point! Somewhere!). I'd spent a while thinking of what I wanted to make for this potluck-one person who was going to attend has a nightshade allergy so I was trying to brainstorm things to make that were friendly towards this person. I had Celery Root in my refrigerator from the farmer's market and I google searched to see if celery root went with Sweet Potato. Supposedly it did.

I remembered the Quesadillas I made previously (which I have yet to blog about. Whoops!) Yuca quesadillas from Veganomicon. They were incredibly good. So. Good.  So, I figured, if I could do a mash of that and put it in a tortilla and call it a quesadilla, why couldn't I mash Sweet Potato and Celery Root together with some spices and onion and garlic and call it a Quesadilla?

Well? Why Not?

I did:

Sweet Potato Celeriac Quesadilla with kale

I did half on a cast iron skillet on the stove and the other half in a George Foreman (can you tell which one this came from? You're very smart, so I bet you can).

I had to add a bunch of spices to the mash, but after frying, these babies tasted delicious-indian spiced but wholly my own creation.

Breakfast!

I've been... slacking recently. Posting pictures of food with no back story. As such, I have a wee little one for you today.

I've been dating a boy for a month. Back when we first met (from the internet, of all places), he would go on about how we ought to go to brunch sometime. It was not to be for our first date (turns out thankfully), but several weeks later. Overall, it sounded like a good plan to me, though I was slightly concerned with the places that he suggested. On one of their websites' however, the one restaurant claimed to be able to cater to any dietary preference/style. I figured that meant vegan-friendly. Or at least, there was probably something I could eat. I had high hopes that they might be able to make vegan pancakes. I knew I should have called ahead of time, but work was busy, so I didn't.

We get there and there is a [short] line and the boy was already waiting there. There's a man gladhanding (if I use the term correctly) and I asked him about vegan options. he said anything and if the server gave me a hard time, come to him.

So I ask if I could get vegan pancakes. Turns out, not really. SO! I had a bagel toasted with jam:

Bagel with strawberry preserves

And a giant plate of fruit with granola (I didn't actually really like the granola..I never really have, so I'm not sure what I was thinking-but the fruit was fantastic!):

Fruit Plate with Granola

As it turns out, something in this breakfast didn't agree with me as I started having...severe....digestion issues that lasted into the next morning. I think it was probably the amount of fruit I ate (almost the whole plate) plus the fact that I didn't let my body just flush it out. I had to eat more food later... But it tasted so good while I was there! :)

Soup and the accompanying awful picture

Ever since I moved in the beginning of September (and really before, in conversations my then-meat eater roommate and I had about food/sharing food), my roommate has been talking about this chili that he loves. He makes it with a base of peppers instead of tomatoes and sweetens it with honey (not this time!). I was vaguely intrigued but cautious. Chili is not my favorite in the first place, so it didn't seem like something I'd necessarily want to try..

It's quite good at first go, with some daiya on it plus some vegan sour cream. I learned in eating the leftovers, however, that it should be warmed up again and have more vegan cheez & sour cream in it, plus maybe some bread or something. Potatoes might go nicely in it..

One of my favorites

I'm a (veggie) burger kind of gal. I love making burgers out of beans/legumes/veggies. Stuffing my nutritional needs into one little patty? Best thing. Plus I can put ketchup on it. I like ketchup on my burgers, no matter what they're made of. So. Good.

Anyways. I made these a little while back with sauteed kale and tomatoes (I have got to find a better recipe for kale... Like peanut sauce or something!). From Color Me Vegan, the Cashew Red Lentil burgers. (Curried) They are to die for. (Well.... maybe not. But they're really good! I promise!)

And a little shout out to Occupy Boston! Love them. So well organized.

Chickpeas & Kale with Vegan Dad's pumpkin Rolls

It appears I have several days to make up for. Whoops. (for the record, here's what kept me from posting-Rock Climbing with a work friend + spending a night at the boy's, having work thursday night as well as during the day and being exhausted/forgetful when I got home)

So! Moving on! On Sunday night, after I was foiled by the local indian restaurant in my quest to have spinach and chickpeas as dinner (darn you ghee) the previous night, I made Isa Chandra's Chickpeas & Kale indian spiced dish from Appetite For Reduction. If you have AFR, I'm sure you can figure out the real title of the dish. If not... well, if you ever borrow the book or see it, I'm sure it will become obvious what I'm talking about-it's in the stews section.

Last week, when I saw Vegan Dad's Pumpkin pull apart rolls,  I lusted after them. Lusted, yearned for, and any other descriptors that you can think of along those lines. So, I made them on Sunday. YUM. I'd picked up Pumpkin butter from the same place I bought a bushel of apples and smeared it all over. So. Good. I can't recommend that recipe enough.

Indian Chickpeas & Kale

(PS, Sorry for the random elbow/dish in the background. I'm still figuring out photography and the boy hadn't moved his elbow in time.)

I know, I know.

Everytime I say I know, now, I have to say it twice. (I think it comes from listening to the Wicked soundtrack one too many times)

Mea Culpa. I know [I know]. I am incredibly incredibly lucky to have so many vegan/veg friendly restaurants in the near Boston area and that my whining the other day was taken the wrong way. I am sorry.

Anyways. I'm skipping a few days worth of food to give you last night's dish, which was... very interesting. As you may remember, I am following the Cookbook challenge from The PPK. This week is Vegan Soul Kitchen and it has quickly earned a place in my heart. I will probably be buying the cookbook at some point. Last night, I made a bbq tempeh over flat bread and topped it with the Apple Beet Currant salad instead of the Carrot Cayenne Coleslaw (somehow, cabbage didn't appeal to me-I've never really been a fan). Guys. The Apple Beet Currant Salad? SO. GOOD. Unbelievable. The flavors together were a little wonky, but tasted good over all.

Beets!

I love the way beets dye everything they touch.

(We had a beet and apple salad last night on top bbq marinated tempeh (both from Vegan Soul Kitchen) and homemade flat bread). Blog post to come on that. 

Surrounded by a bounty and unable to partake

I live outside Boston, MA. A place not exactly known for it's dearth of vegan restaurants-we have two in Somerville, two vegetarian in Cambridge, one vegetarian in Watertown, three in Boston... Yeah.

So, I was on a date with the boy last night. Instead of visiting Veggie Galaxy (the vegetarian restaurant newly opened in Central Square) as would have been the smart move, I decided we could probably chance it somewhere in Inman or Union Square. They seemed like urban enough places that they'd be vegan friendly.

We failed. There was a Sandwich shop that I now know is veg friendly-but based on my stomach, I was pretty sure I should have something a little beans & greens like.. So we left Inman Square having failed miserably and walked on to Union to see if Machu picchu would be at all veg friendly. (Peruvian food)

Not so much. I had thought since it wasn't american, it might be more friendly towards veg people. But it seemed like most of the dishes had meat. So, in the end, we went to the Indian restaurant. I got Chana Masala after being foiled on another chickpea & spinach dish that had butter in it.

It was good, a little hot & spicy, but good. Except all of a sudden the cilantro tasted like soap! What the fizzle?

I've never had an issue with cilantro before. Ever. Of course, maybe I hadn't used it enough to realize? But it seems kind of strange, because I have certainly eaten cilantro in things before and not had issues...

Anyways, here's the pic (I keep taking pictures once it's dark outside, sorry! And sorry for the poor iPhone quality):

As you can see, I started eating before I remembered to take the picture. Whoops.

Day 6! (MoFo'in it up)

Remember a couple days ago how I had a really crap day? Well, I was planning on making this new recipe that night-coconut rice with quick curried swiss chard and some sort of bean-y side for the protein. I soaked pinto beans since I don't work with them much. Of course, I forgot that I soaked pinto beans at work. I also didn't make sure to soak just over a half cup (which usually ends up being pretty close to the 15 oz can amount). So I had less than a 15oz can's worth of soaked pinto beans by the end of the day. Anyways.

As I was saying-I forgot that they were pinto beans. I thought they were navy beans. So. this shit day where the main thing was going to be coconut rice that I'd never made before? Quickly became White bean rosemary burgers. Only I got home to less than a can's worth of beans and them being pinto at that.

I told myself it was ok, cooked the beans, reduced the amount of onion, but otherwise followed the instructions. (From What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyways-see previous posts for a link) I ended up having to add some water to hold it together, but they still tasted decent and they were really fast. Done by the time my roommate got back from picking up more ketchup. (Somehow, we go through a ton of ketchup) 

I still made the quick curried swiss chard from Color Me Vegan. That was great the second time around. Really really lovely. The first time too, for that matter! Anyways, the burgers turned out quite well even if the combination of tastes between the chard and the burgers was a little on the strange side...

Rosemary Bean Burgers with Quick Curried Swiss Chard

Well....

At least they aren't solely using non-human animals in studies....


Tonight, the boy came over. Which means I have a lot less time to put together a blog post. Which means that I'm just going to show you what my roommate (an omni) made for dinner! It was delicious (though he used more oil/fat than I ever do). A stir fry of vegetables and nuts and sauces. Yum. Also, pan fried sweet potatoes. (Also, more fat than I ever use, but that made them more delicious)

Vegan Mofo-Post 4

Good evening!

I am perky right now. Very very perky. Earlier today, I was not. And it is all because of these five words: Peanut Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (there would have been chocolate chip too, but no such luck). They are joy filled words. So. Joy. Filled.

Which is exactly what I needed on a day like today. Today started fine, but starting around lunch/after lunch, it started going downhill. Have you ever had those days where you just get into a funk for no particular reason? You just start feeling sad/down for no reason? Yeah, it was one of those days. I think maybe it was just my body/brain processing all of these emotional highs and compositing all the opposite feelings into an afternoon. (I've had a LOT of really good days recently and nothing really to bring me down.)

Anyways, it actually transitioned into a really awful commute home. I took the Silverline to the Red line, stayed on that until my stop. Realized the bus wasn't going to show up for 20 minutes, because busses to my area are really really infrequent, even at rush hour (not having a bike is really frustrating). Saw the bus. Got on the bus. Proceeded to realize after a half mile that it was the right bus going in the wrong direction. Missed both possible correct busses. One of which I got about 50 feet away from but couldn't catch. Ended up walking home in the cold misty rain. At least the boy kept me company via text. :)

Of course, I also daydreamed of what kind of baked good could possibly make it up to me. I remembered my failed peanut pumpkin soup (more on that later) from last night and decided that perhaps that recipe wasn't completely wrong-the flavors of pumpkin and peanut go fairly well together. So, naturally, why couldn't they make a delicious fall cookie?

I stopped by Market Basket and picked up a can of pumpkin puree and another jar of Teddie Peanut Butter (I bought one last night too).

After dinner (which was supposed to be Coconut rice, quick curried chard & some sort of asian-y bean dish, but ended up being the Rosemary Bean Burgers from What the hell does a vegan eat anyways), I searched for a recipe that resembled what I had in mind. Nothing quite came up, so I just dumped a bunch of sugar, peanut butter, pumpkin, applesauce, flour & baking powder in a bowl and mixed these up.

I baked them at 350F for ~15 minutes and they came out puffy and a little cakey. Perfect. Smooth texture and just sweet enough taste with both pumpkin and peanut flavors shining to their best (unlike that soup!).

That's it! Peanuts and Pumpkins seem to be the theme of the week. Pumpkins have come up a LOT so far that I've seen on the Vegan MoFo feed. So I feel like I fit right in. 

Cinnamon flapjacks with apple Butter

On the PPK forums, there is a cookbook challenge for 10 weeks? Last week was American Vegan Kitchen. I actually bought the cookbook, as it was the only one I didn't own/couldn't find in the library. No offense to Tami, but AVK is not my type of cookbook. Don't get me wrong-all the recipes look delicious-but I'm attempting to eat as whole-foods focused as possible with as few meat-subsitutes as possible (My roommate is an omnivore and also trying to eat healthy, so we avoid fake meats/soy products). I also don't like TVP. And fried was out. So a lot of the recipes either weren't worth it to me or were just plain sides and I look for easy to make dinners-one pot or very simple dishes that can pair well. Nothing jumped out at me. 

Friday nights and Saturday mornings are where I allow my choice in foods to become a little less... smart. I had a 'Somerville cheese steak' and marble cake from The Pulse Cafe in Somerville on Friday night. No pictures, as I ate it immediately. Saturday for brunch, I made apple-cinnamon flapjacks as a nod to AVK during the AVK week. They were good, though not really flap-jack-y. More thick panCAKE. I spread homemade apple butter all over them too. Quite delicious and I would definitely make them again. Though I might add a wee bit more almond milk to thin them out next time. 

What I can't do without

When I went vegan, it wasn't too much of a struggle. I was lucky in that I went vegan and the first day and a half I had someone cooking for me. That made things much easier. Of course, if I hadn't, I probably would have subsisted on cereal (before I accepted most as non-vegan and switched to Kashi's 7 Whole Grain Puffs) and soymilk and PB&J's. As it was, I managed when I got home with a few home cooked meals, some of my own invention, most from one of the cookbooks I got-Urban Vegan or Vegan with a Vengeance (I still have not used veganopolis) in the beginning. One thing I had (and still have) every day is this:

I swear by it. So. Freaking. Good. I'll eat it by itself mostly now, but a really great dessert is a spoonful of this with some chocolate chips mixed in. Or making my own peanut butter cup by adding some sugar to the peanut butter, melting down chocolate chips, resolidifying a base in a mini-cupcake paper and then putting the peanut butter in and covering with more melted chocolate. SO GOOD. 

It's incredibly rich and fattening, so beware, but once in a while, it's a nice treat. 

Why I went vegan

It all starts here:

Ok, well, actually, I shouldn't say that. I don't like lying. Let's try that again.

It all starts here:

That's better. That building is where I was convinced to go vegetarian. I was 15 and attending a 5 week French immersion program in Nova Scotia (the place is called Universite Sainte Anne-there's an accent on the e in Universite, but I don't know how to make that happen). One of the requirements for the class I was assigned (based on my skillz in french before I arrived) was to give a presentation. I played my bassoon and talked about classical music. This lovely girl I met there gave a presentation on veganism. It was good. But I was afraid, so I went vegetarian. I did that for seven years, but it became habit/rote rather than belief. I ate turkey at thanksgiving and christmas one year. I definitely didn't pay attention to ingredients labels. I didn't realize I could find a vegetarian community online. I felt disconnected.

Which brings me to the first picture. That's the plaque denoting the start of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. I wish I could say I had a picture I took/a picture of me by that plaque, but I was the only lonely person on top. I would have stuck around for a bit, but I had a really bad case of the shivers. It was windy and cold. And, more importantly, I was really nervous. So I picked up my too-heavy pack (weighed in at 26 pounds without water, with food) and turned around to walk North on the Appalachian Trail. I ate vegetarian food for the first week. Then, after a snowstorm I hiked 15 miles in (I've never hiked 15 miles before in my life), the wall broke. I started eating meat again. We won't get into that.

Fast forward a bit:

I made it! (Which brings to mind this hiphop song I've heard playing a lot recently...) I was one of several hundred from the several thousand who attempted! Go me! I think, in the beginning, a lot of people looked at me and were like she'll never make it. (I weighed 190 pounds at 5'7.5") The funny part is, that it never crossed my mind that I couldn't make it-I pushed myself through the emotional parts but the physical aspect was never much of an issue. 

I lost about 40 pounds and gained a lot of self-worth/self-confidence. 

When I started acclimating back to real life, I started having a lot of food issues-I've always had food issues, but they became especially difficult, seeing as I'd been eating junk food on trail and I still lost 40 pounds. I didn't know how to eat healthy to keep it off. I tried. I tried really hard. Some of it crept back on. I managed to stabilize for a while. Then the holidays came and I started really worrying.

Eventually, I decided that going Vegan would solve all my problems (it didn't) and that I could never gain weight by going vegan (I totally did). But I gained a whole lot more than just weight. I became much more closely connected to my body. I started listening to it. I started feeling so much compassion for animals again. I realized that this diet choice I'd made to feel in control again (i still didn't) was the best choice I could have made for so many reasons-I was helping to make animals' lives better. I reduced my own impact on the world, environmentally wise. I was feeding my body the best kind of food I could without the worst of it.

I've now been vegan for 9 months (to the day!) and so far, I'm having a blast.

Vegan Mo-Fo

I'm doing this called Vegan MoFo. Maybe you've heard of it. Probably. Maybe I'm insane, since this is going to mean 2 months glued to my computer and struggling to maintain my social life at the same time.

What's that? Two months you say? That's because I'm doing Nanowrimo in November.

I don't have a badge for that because they haven't come out with the artwork yet.

I'll just leave you with one last thought: Vegan Philly Cheesesteak. (Yeah, I'm saving actual posts about food for October. I think you'll live)

Veggie galaxy

Veggie galaxy, a vegetarian diner styled with a fifties vibe recently in central square. I got take out recently-the French toast stuffed with vegan banana nut cream cheese. I also got an upside down sticky bun. Yum. The food was incredibly delicious, but there was a huge problem. They forgot to give me my food. I had to walk to the counter. My food was tepid. The server was apologetic bit didn't offer any options-like reheating. (I should note it was take out-but I live fairly close. It wouldn't have cooled much.)

This week, I menu planned for myself and my roommate. I have a feeling I'll be doing that occasionally. Or often. Or all the time. Because I enjoy it. and I enjoy cooking. I went back to a recipe i'd used before in Color Me Vegan, Red Lentil Apricot stew. Which, despite seeming as if it might be bland based on the ingredients, is actually quite amazing. The mix of spices and flavors is perfect. Beyond perfect. And it is so very easy. 

I also made bread and jerk asparagus based on Isa's Jerk Asparagus recipe. I used jerk seasoning, however, that my friend brought back with her from Jamaica. I used a bit too much, it was a little too hot for my liking. I also put rosemary in the bread. And flax meal. I think the flax meal made me stinky gassy. The rosemary was good though. 

Black bean soup rougly based off American Vegan Kitchen's black bean soup. We added chard because it was about to go bad and zucchini for the same reason. There were more black beans than called for, but I personally adore black beans. They are the best thing ever. 

New Foods.. sorta.

Two days in and I think both of us are doing very well at keeping each other on track. Portion sizes are better, there is a LOT less snackage between meals so far (and both days have been not-work days, which are notoriously awful for me in the snacking department) and our meals have been good. Plus, leftovers will no longer languish in the depths of an overstuffed refrigerator. They will be used within a couple days.

Luckily, we both seem to be awesome cooks. Here's what I made last night:

That's nominally the pineapple cashew quinoa stirfry from Veganomicon. With several changes made due to lack of certain ingredients/availability of other ingredients that needed to be used-We had previously made quinoa/rice mix plus white rice that the indian food restaurant gave me with my chana masala, so I used those plus an onion instead of the scallions and rosemary instead of thyme. I think I added some chipotle chile powder and srirarcha because I didn't have the hot peppers.

It still turned out delicious. It was good cold this afternoon too. I absolutely adore Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Actually, I adore most of the vegan cookbook authors since all their foods seem so delicious. (Only a few random duds so far!)

 Here is what the roommate made:

 Using the basis of the tomato curry (because I fail at reading ingredients list thoroughly/don't realize when instructions are stupid time consuming) from Moosewood, he created this for dinner. There's a rice/lentil mix under there-I've been trying to intentionally up my protein intake to see if it makes a difference-but that's kale from my parent's garden-there's so much of it-and tomatoes from his. Local local local! The kale was cooked perfectly. No bitterness, but still a little hint of crunch to it.

Food and Moving to a healthier eating pattern.

Yesterday, I moved. I moved all of 8 miles or so, closer in to Boston. I moved here:

Whose kitchen looks like this:

This will be interesting. My roommate and I are both seeking to eat a healthier diet and having someone else striving for the same will keep us on track through the guilt processes. Which means cooking a lot from scratch, which I do anyways. It's a tiny little kitchen, but as long as I (Or my roommate) am the only one in it, it does not appear to be an issue. The appliances are decent, which I am happy about.

Those are the Rosemary Bean burgers that I got the recipe off What the hell does a vegan eat anyways (I think). I used too much onion, but that's ok. Those are leftover lemony pan fried chickpeas with greens and the burger's topped with this blueberry onion thing. Delicious. 

Pan Fried Chickpeas and awesome

Sometime early last week, I was on The PPK, checking (obsessively) the active topics. And someone had created a thread about oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. Which I had never heard of before. I mentioned it to a few coworkers, including a really petite pretty one who always makes feel like a too-tall fat ass. And soon they were bugging me to make them. So, I did. I used JoeJoe's and the chocolate chip cookie recipe from VWAV (that's Vegan with a Vengeance). The chocolate chip recipe is so good and so easy. I actually liked the chocolate chip cookie I made without the JoeJoe better than the oreo stuffed one. 

Which isn't to say I didn't like them, but I think they were a bit much... Everyone at work, however, loved loved loved them. Who am I to judge? I may have shown non-vegans just how awesome vegan baking can be. (Thanks to Isa Chandra!) 

So, in case you were unaware, there's this giant storm moving up the east coast. Her  name is Irene. I think she'll be my friend. Last night, I got really worried, so I went to the grocery store. And I bought foodz. This is one of the things I bought and I'm very happy with my (extraneous) purchase. Because it is fantastic on bread:

I made bread tonight. Just in case we lose power, we will still have baked goods. It was just as good as any bread I ever make. (Which, not to be awful, but my bread is almost always good)

I made Lemony Panfried Chickpeas with Chard from Color Me Vegan. I used Chard and Kale from my garden instead of a bunch of chard from the supermarket. It turned out ok, but definitely not as good as the first time I made it.

This was dinner. I might go make some toast and have more of Mighty Maple on it.

Life Alive

I had the Green Goddess as a wrap for dinner tonight at a place called Life Alive in Cambridge, MA. I think I've just become a huge fan. The food was good (not sensational) and very very healthy, with plenty of vegan options!! The general vibe of the place is pretty awesome as well. Definitely going to have to go back.

Oh Hai

I haven't forgotten about this blog. I have, however, found a job, and it has eaten my free time desire to do anything beside nothing or cooking dinner after work. I keep forgetting to take pictures of what I make-which has been delicious, by the way.

Thankfully, my brother's girlfriend gave me a reminder the other night (thanks M!). So while I denied taking pictures that night, I did the following night on the leftovers that I warmed up courtesy of a george foreman I purchased for $5 at a yard sale.

This is the Chipotle Lentil Burger from Appetite For Reduction. I used the full amount of chipotle peppers, to the benefit of my brother and detriment to me (widely known as a spice wimp). Quite quite hot. This was my attempt to quieten the screaming of my taste buds-daiya mozzarella shreds. Though you can't see it very well, I have also spread this blueberry onion chutney/jam/relish/spread thing that makes any burger phenomenal. I mean it. SO GOOD.

It also came into my mind the same night to make FatFreeVegan's St Patrick's Day muffins (lemon zucchini) into cookies. Can't be that hard to switch from muffins to cookies, right? Right! Well, I added a little more flour, a lot less almond milk, and some more sugar as well and they came out fantastically. Still a little muffin like, but so delicious. I also forgot to take a picture at home, so it's just on top of the tupperware top from when I brought them to work to share. I will win the hearts of my coworkers through my baking. (And my hard work. They love my hard work. :) )

Also, I follow Beyond Willpower, who is currently running a contest to win Forks Over Knives, the accompanying book and The China Study! How awesome would it be to win that? I've been wanting to show some of my friends the dvd and I totally could if I won. And remind my mother that she's been meaning to go more vegan. (She totally said this and then continued on with her habit of eating eggs and dairy all the time. Ew. (There are many gross things in dairy that I shall not mention on this blog)

The brother drops in

I had a draft of this on another computer, but apparently I didn't save it properly. Too bad.

Anyways. Here is a gratuitous picture of my brother:

He likes making faces. Also? I haven't seen him in 3 months because he's been hiking the Appalachian Trail (he's such a copy cat). I made dinner on Saturday night because there were some recipes I wanted to try. He ate lots and liked it (he's a meat eater, but he definitely believes the western diet is problematic and that meat eating should be minimized-not abolished). 

Since I got Color Me Vegan last thursday, I've been cooking out of it a lot. Saturday night, I made the Sweet Potato Burritos from the Rainbow Section and the Apricot Lentil Stew from the red section (red lentils, but we used half green because we were almost out of red). 

It came out really delicious. And we got some great pictures of it too. 

Gratuitous blurry picture of me and the lentil stew with apricots:

 The whole thing put together. Completely delicious. (I went without the tortilla, since I'm attempting to limit refined carbs as much as possible)

No Pictures

I have no pictures for you today. You cannot see the pie that came of Tuesday's Farmer's Market. The crisp crust with the strawberries and rhubarb spilling out, spring written in the top of the crust, because finally, finally, there are fresh, local strawberries. I had been waiting for this day for three months. I kid you not.

And the taste. Well, let's just say that a pie that is filled with local fresh produce is by far and away, better tasting than any pie made from fruit from another far away part of the country.

The crust, though, which I made from Vegan on the Cheap, leaves something to be desired. Of course, I come from a family of pie crust-makers. (On my mom's side) Unfortunately, the inherited recipe uses an egg. And I definitely didn't feel like replacing, so I just used VotC. It was acceptable. I ate a LOT of pie in the last two days.

Another thing you cannot see: Caldo Verde with Tempeh Crumbles. From Appetite for Reduction. It was creamy (from using my immersion blender on 3/4 of the cooked yukon golds) and flavorful. The tempeh was rather magnificent and I was proud. I've never used Tempeh successfully before-the Sweet Potato with the tempeh in AFR (sorry, lacking specific name) didn't work so well. It was bitter and I couldn't make myself eat it.

This, though, was absolutely fantastic.

More Fun in the Kitchen

I'm going to call this soup "Clearing out the Refrigerator of 3 week old kale and scallions soup"

Yes, that's right, that's leftovers soup. And doesn't it look delicious? 

Funny story: It tastes good too. 

Today was Farmer's Market day! First one I've been too since I forgot last week. I'm going to share what I got (for $19.23)

Three pints of strawberries, three tomatoes, a bundle of Rhubarb, those are turnips that are apparently good raw/roasted/grilled and a bunch of red chard. 

I loooove summer fruits and veggies.