Anybody wear Danskos?

Specifically, the vegan ones? There's a pair in my size pretty cheap that I'm really tempted to get... the vegan felt Danskos were only made for a short while and are no longer manufactured. However, after Dansko recently ended their partnership with Sanita, who has always been the maker of their clogs, Sanita started selling their clogs directly to customers while Dansko is having their clogs made in China. Sanita now has one vegan clog as far as I can tell, which is really cute but too new to come down in price :)


Maybe next year! Here's the still expensive "Sanita Professional Vegan Clog"

Thanks, ladies!

Beets a roastin'

I roasted some beets this evening while I was watching Obama's infomercial. Wasn't it great? It had the cheeze factor with the background music, the issues and solutions discussed plainly and with text, showed Obama in an Oval office-looking format, had the emotional highlights from his campaign speeches (when he talked about his mom dying of cancer and having to figure all the insurance stuff out, it totally broke my heart!), and on top of all that, really highlighted the people of America that will be helped by an Obama administration. How could anybody be undecided after that? Right?!?

Oh yeah, back to beets. They're good. I always thought I hated them because of the crappy salad bar canned kind I'd had, until I tried them for real at the Farmers Market a few years ago. The beets I roasted were from the market, and the cute old vendor (he had to be like 70!) told me to take as many as I wanted when I asked him about how many a pound is because I only had $3 left. How sweet is that? When they cooled down and I got to skinning them, I was delighted to find that I had an orange, a yellow, a red, and a deep purple beet. Woo hoo! My salad was quite beautiful.
Here's Cookie napping. She's extra fluffy because she just had a bath today - the poor kitty needs them fairly often because with that long hair, she gets some major dingleberries! She's currently licking the Goddess dressing remnants out of my empty salad bowl...

Tofu memories

I tend to think about random things in the shower, and today what should pop into my head but the first time I ate tofu! I was 13, a fairly new vegetarian, and lived off of salad with ranch dressing, cheese pizza, and jo-joes. To make a long story short, my home was not a happy place, and I usually used babysitting money to buy my own food or ate meals at friend's houses. One of my newer friends, Alicia, had been raised vegetarian and I always got a good meal at her house!
One evening I was over and they decided to go out to dinner and invited me along. I was surprised to learn that we were going to a Chinese Restaurant because I thought that all Chinese food had meat in it. Luckily, Alicia's mom ordered the food because I didn't know what any of it was, and when it came there were all these plates of weird vegetables and a few plates with these big chunks of whitish stuff that I didn't recognize. I remember being a little embarrassed and wanting to just eat plain rice, but they told me it was just made out of beans and tasted like the sauce so I tried it.
And just like that, I was converted into a tofu lover! I didn't eat it often until I was in college and had my own kitchen to cook in (there weren't veg restaurants around Portland when I was in high school), and it's been a staple in my diet ever since. I really need one of those shirts that says "I &hearts tofu!"



P.S. Alicia's still one of my best friends. Awww!
That's us in May at the Sasquatch Festival :)

The unbelievable happened - I ate faux meat and liked it!

I was shopping for some fake meat for Jesse to try today when I noticed that the Tofurkey Beer Brats are a little different than most: they are made of organic tofu, vital wheat gluten, herbs, and spices. Not a bunch of weird ingredients, but two simple ones. I talked myself into making one for myself for dinner, instead of making something different like we sometimes do. I almost wimped out at the last minute ("it looks like meat! Ahhh!") but I was brave in the end! And guess what? It was totally good! I wish I would have made two for myself! I think all the condiments and especially the sauerkraut really helped. So if you're a faux-meat-aphobe like me, try these out! I was pleasantly surprised :)

Do grilled onions and sauerkraut make anything delicious?

P.S. I found a bunch of pics of us cheering at the march online and added 'em to my Sunday post :)

Fall is here - time for crisp!

Mmmmmmm criiiiiiiiiiiisssssp! I think my favorite is the classic apple crisp, but I had organic pears in the fridge that I got on sale and needed to use up. I used this recipe from vegweb, and added a handful of blueberries. It smells so good in the apartment!

Pears and blueberries, ready for some crispies!

Ready for the oven!

Ready to eat! P.S. I have a better picture, but blogger is loading it sideways! Annoying!

Cookie girl says hello!

March for Farm Animals!

This morning the Radical Cheerleaders for AR performed and kept everybody cheering and chanting during the annual March for Farm Animals! It was really fun and there was a great turnout - I'd guess 75-100 people marching. Yay for Farm Sanctuary! Marching is always a fun change of pace for us because we get to do different cheers than usual (more chanty than movementy), like this one:
One and one, we're havin' some fun
and march on, all day and all of the night
Two and two, we wear vegan shoes
and march on, all day and all of the night
Three and three, eat at Sweetpea
and march on, all day and all of the night
Four and four, kick cruelty out the door
and march on, all day and all of the night
Five and five, shop at Food Fight
and march on, all day and all of the night
Six and six, eat carrot sticks
and march on, all day and all of the night
Seven and seven, vegans go to heaven
and march on, all day and all of the night
Eight and eight, LIBERATE!
and march on, all day and all of the night
Nine and nine, vegans are fine
and march on, all day and all of the night
Ten and ten, never eat meat again!
and march on, all day and all of the night!

Woo! I didn't get many pictures because I was busy jumping around and cheering and all, but here's two. I didn't get one of myself!

2 cheerleaders and a bunch of marchers

Cheerleaders in between chants...
and lots more marchers behind!

And here's my dinner...

Edited Oct. 27 - I found a bunch of pics online of the march that were just uploaded, here's a couple :)

"My name is Vavoom, and you know what I got?"

The whole group - 120 strong!

"I'm too sexy to eat meat, too sexy to eat meat, so sexy and sweet!
I'm too sexy to wear fur, too sexy to wear fur, rather go naked - brrr!
"Well I'm a cheerleader, green vegan machine! And I'll fight for animal liberation!"

So many signs!

My vegan food "a-ha!" of the day

Do you know what happens when you put frozen bananas in a juicer? It makes banana ice cream! I'm not really an ice cream person, but I was amazed to watch a frozen banana go in the top, and ice cream come out the bottom. How fucking cool is that?

That's all I've got for today. It's been a long one. I just got home. Tomorrow is the big march for farm animals, and we're cheering at it bright and early. I'll try to get some pics.

Happy weekend, mofos!!!

Dinner and a movie

So I've had this film, Whisper of the Heart, on my Blockbuster queue FOREVER, and it finally came! I love love love Hayao Miyazaki's films, and although he only wrote it and didn't direct, it had the classic Miyazaki trademarks of the young girl heroine who relies on her own intelligence and wit to save the day, the importance of nature, and the fantastical in the everyday. Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are still my favorites, though. :)

For a quick dinner to go with my movie, I whipped up some whole wheat spaghetti, marinara and meatballs, and garlic bread. I got the meatballs on sale at Whole Foods, and though Jesse freakin' loved them, they were way too meaty for me! For the garlic bread, I just Earth Balance-d some baguette, sprinkled on some garlic, basil, thyme, and paprika, then popped 'em in the oven on 250 until the pasta was done. Yum!

Nom Nom Nom - Cookie liked it, too!
I didn't get a picture of that, but here's a recent one of her and Zoey:

She's getting so big! She still thinks she can fit in there with Zoey, though :)

Fridge tag!

Here's another fun veganmofo game from Bianca of VeganCrunk! From her blog:
"So, what's in your fridge? I wanna know. I'm tagging anyone who has any of these items in their refrigerator:
1) A log of Teese
2) More than 2 bottles of hot sauce
3) Something pickled that's not a cucumber
4) Packaged condiments from a fast food joint
5) A winter squash"

I have 3 bottles of hot sauce and pickled jalapenos. Woohoo! Here goes:

The whole shebang

Top shelf:

Flax seed meal, hemp oil, cat food, Chocolate Chai Rice Dream, cocktail mix, green juice, organic chocolate syrup (so good on bananas!), Vegenaise and garlic aioli, jams, applesauce, pickles, and jalapenos. Some vegan but sad fakey syrup hiding in the back.
Bottom shelf:
leftovers, almond and cashew butter, refried beans, enchilada sauce, some old tapenade I forgot about, even older non-vegan nacho cheese and shitty pasta sauce, Earth Balance, Tofutti Sour Supreme, and salsa.
Bottom shelf:
baking soda, corn tortillas, burger buns, Dave's Killer Bread

Crisper:
salad greens, mushrooms, pears, roma tomatoes, apple, carrots, green onions, parsley, beets, carrot, nectarine

Fridge door:
onion, mustard, lemon juice, 3 curry pastes, margarine, veggie dogs (I got those for Jesse and he didn't like them), some hot sauces, Goddess dressing, ketchup, teriyaki sauce, Cha Cha Chicken salad dressing (so good for soba salad), miso mayo, a bunch of dressings that aren't as good as the Goddess.

The hot sauces:
Sriracha
Yucatan Sunshine habanero
Crystal Louisiana style

If Bianca's post didn't tag you, I'm gonna try to tag you! Bare it all if you have the following in your fridge:

1. More than one form of chocolate

2. 3 or more salad dressings

3. a nutritional supplement

4. food with a discount sticker on it

5. baking soda

Cheesy sauce - delicious and nutritious!

Do you love you some cheesy sauce? I know I do! I originally found this recipe from vegweb, but I think it may be from a cookbook, or at least a variation of a cookbook recipe. Cheesy sauce is awesome on nachos (especially if you add some spice to it), but also great as a topping for baked potatoes, on broccoli, or mixed with pasta for some good old mac and cheese. Here's how I do it:

1/4 cup nooch, 1/4 cup flour, whisked together with 3/4 cups water on medium heat
stir often as it thickens quickly!

Once it's thickened, add a dash of olive oil, a good squirt of mustard, and 1 t. garlic powder
I also added some cayenne pepper

Mix it together and use it asap! It will over-thicken if you're not careful

Put it on some nachos! Or whatever. Add deliciousness AND vitamins and minerals! I actually just had a lot of bloodwork done, and my B12 level was great. I totally think it's all the nooch!

Baked tofu, mashed potatoes, and kale

Holy jeepers Batman, I think this was one of the best meals I've ever made! I am never buying pre-baked tofu again! I had no idea it's so easy to make! Wowza! Alright, I think I can calm down...

At the Farmers Market on Saturday, one of the larger veggie vendors was cooking up some yummy veggies, and one of the delicious things I sampled was kale and shallots, sauteed in olive oil with a little balsamic thrown in at the end. I'm a chard girl, but I couldn't resist!

The mashed potatoes are my basic recipe of boiled potatoes mashed with Earth Balance, Tofutti Sour Supreme, and garlic. I also had a little pesto left over from the market, so I threw that in, too.

On to the best part of the meal - that beautiful tofu! I looked at a bunch of recipes on vegweb, and settled on the tried and true Simple Baked Tofu. I had all the ingredients on hand, except I ran out of balsamic so I substituted some sesame oil for the 1 T. that I was short and I omitted the salt. This was such an easy recipe, and just turned out so delicious! I used foil on a cookie sheet, and flipped the tofu halfway into baking. If you don't already have a favorite marinade for baking tofu, try this one out! You won't regret it! :)

My plating was inspired by The Farm Cafe and their tofu marsala. Aren't I a fancy pants with my square plates? haha Jesse got them for me last Christmas and I was all pissed because I wanted him to get me a cool antique ring (we didn't do wedding rings, so he kinda owes me), but I got fucking dishes! I really love them, though. Don't tell! haha

Another delicious angle...

Yum yum yummy!

Tag! The vegan freezer game!

So I was tagged for this fun game by the lovely VeganView, and now I get to show you all my freezer! I was so tempted to go shopping and stock up my freezer after taking photos and realizing there isn't much in there... but maybe that means I'm being good and eating lots of fresh and local stuff? haha
From L to R: some corn, frozen water bottles wrapped with socks for the chinchillas when it gets too hot (I guess I can put those away now!), stirfry veggies, 2 tupperwares of lasagna, tater tots, spiced rum, chocolate Soy Delicious (not so great on it's own, but awesome for milkshakes), icecubes, some granola, and a bunch of little icepacks. Jesse is an avid airsoft player (real looking guns that shoot pellets - him and his friends go out in the woods and play war basically) and he used those in the summer to stick in his gear to keep him cool. Boys are weird!



Here's the door part of the freezer:

Blueberries, more corn (I can never remember if I used the last of it so I buy more - I do that with tater tots, too!), and a Voodoo Doughnut bag with our wedding doughnut in it. I tried to eat it the day after we got married, and Jesse got all upset because it's some tradition to save it, I guess. Because we're so traditional getting married late at night in a doughnut shop! haha

And now, I get to tag 3 of you for the freezer game!

Jelymo of That Pain in the Ass Vegan - because she's hilarious and super cool and I love her and I want to check out her frozen dinner collection!

Bianca of Vegan Crunk - because she is always making me drool with her scrumptious Southern style cooking and she's super duper awesome!

Jess of Get Sconed - because she's totally rad and hers was the first vegan blog I ever read (after finding her other blog Stumptown Vegans) and I wanna see what local treasures she has stashed away!

Only 10 days left of VeganMoFo! Can you believe it???

I'm not a stuffed pepper virgin anymore!

So I was at the Farmers Market today, picking up vegan pesto, french bread, chocolate panini, kale, tomatoes, shallots and such, when I saw bell peppers 3 for $2 - just begging me to find the biggest ones possible! While foraging for a 3rd monstrous pepper, I wondered about what I would do with them. Just the usual tossing them in stirfry and salad and everything, or could I use them for something a little more special? Then it occurred to me - I have never made, let alone eaten, a stuffed bell pepper! Guess what I made for dinner tonight?

Here's my attempt at a recipe, complete with pictures (oh my!). You should include whatever sounds good to you, but the essentials are a sauce, a grain, a protein, and a few veggies.

For my stuffing, I started out by sauteeing tofu and a granny smith and a golden delicious apple in olive oil. Then I added some enchilada sauce and black beans. Next, chopped rainbow chard, yellow corn, and a handful of chanterelles. More enchilada sauce. Then, when it was just about done, I added yellow and red roma tomatoes, onion, cilantro, green onion, and cooked quinoa.

Cooking up some fresh and local deliciousness!

Cut the tops off your peppers, deseed, and put 'em in a baking dish

Stuff those babies!

Drizzle some sauce on the bottom of your baking dish and on top of your peppers, replace the tops, them pop 'em in the oven on 350 for about an hour!

Take 'em out of the oven and be proud of your beautiful creation! Losing your virginity can be a good experience! haha

Plate it and eat it!

Since I'm not really a recipe person, I threw in what sounded good to me. I did look at a few recipes online to see how long to cook them and at what temp (350 and 40 -60 minutes). I cooked them for about 45, and I think they could have used another 15 because they were definitely nice and roasty on the top and middle, but not quite cooked enough on the bottom. Still delicious, though!

I think I've finally accepted, and even began to embrace, the fall season :)

Yet another Veganmofo survey! Yay!

Jess of Get Sconed created this fun survey - thanks, Jess! I totally love surveys and I didn't take any photos today, so you saved this mofo!

What was the most recent tea you drank?
Hmmm... I don't really drink tea. I'm gonna guess it was the Organic Oregon Chai I bought last winter? BTW, OC has honey in it, except for the organic version!

What vegan forms do you post/lurk on? If so, what is your username? Spill!
I was on the Craigslist vegan forum for like 4 years until a few months ago. When it was published to the front page of CL it attracted lots of people - many of them trolls, and some were habitual trolls with a zillion differnent user names. It was just a pain to deal with so I left. The people on that forum really helped me go vegan and gave me so much support and lots of resources. I was BigEnchiladas. Now I post on the ppk as VavoomKitty.

You have to have tofu for dinner, and it has be an Italian dish. What comes to mind first?
Lasagna!

How many vegan blogs do you read on an average day?
10 or so.

Besides your own, what is the most recent one you’ve read?
Wing it Vegan. River has been doing a Halloweeny veganmofo theme and her creations are just amazing. She made the cutest falafel monsters ever earlier this week! Seriously!

If you had to base your dinners for a week around one of the holy trilogy – tofu, seitan or tempeh, which would it be?
Tofu for sure. I don't like seitan, and I think I would get bored of tempeh.

If you had to use one in a fight, which would it be?
Seitan because I'd be all "seitan is on my side, bitches!" and I'd go to pull it out of my pocket and they'd be all "omg, she's a witch! Run!!!" and I'd win.

Name 3 meals you’d realistically make with that tough protein of choice!
Oh shit, but I wouldn't make any! Honestly, I've only had it at chinese restaurants and I got some in a can at Food Fight and it looked like brains and scared the crap out of me. What the heck do you all do with seitan?

What’s a recipe in vegan blogland that you’ve been eyeing?
Pretty much everything from Vegan Dad's blog. Like this Chocolate Pumpkin Pudding Cake... drool!

Do you own any clothing with vegan messages/brands on them?
I rock the red wings are for flying, not frying hoodie multiple times per week. I need another Herbivore hoodie! I also have a give peas a chance shirt that I got from Buffalo Exchange. And lots of AR/vegan message pins on my purse or sometimes clothes.

Have you made your pilgrimage to the 'vegan mecca' yet? (Portland, duh)
I've lived here all my life! What what! Holla!

What age did you first go vegan? Did it stick?
22. I was vegetarian from about 12, and started cutting dairy out at 19 (I refused to eat eggs after finding a bloody one when I was 4). It stuck and I wish I had just done it at 19 instead of eliminating things so slowly!

What is the worst vegan meal you’ve had? Who cooked it?
The lasagna I made last month was pretty bad... I ran out of sauce so it got all burny :(

What made you decide to blog?
I'd been thinking about it for awhile... I read a lot of blogs anyways!

What are three of your favorite meals to make?
taco salad, nachos, enchiladas, are you sensing a theme? haha!

What dish would you bring to a vegan Thanksgiving-themed potluck?
Tofu pumpkin pie, baby! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Where is your favorite vegan meal at a restaurant? How many times have you ordered it?
I love the vegan fajitas at Mazatlan. It's also a few blocks from our apartment! I've had that at least 20 times over the years. The live noodle bowl at Blossoming Lotus is another fave. I'd guess 10 times or so on that one.

What do you think the best chain to dine as a vegan is?
I despise chains! Not just for the lack of vegan options, but it makes me so sad how homogenized the US is... I just don't get that mentality. That said, I'll go with Subway.

My kitchen needs a………
Food processor! And of course, more space. Some counter space would be nice!

This vegetable is not allowed in my kitchen…..!
Brussels sprouts

What's for dinner tonight?
I had edamame, a veggie roll, inari, and sake. And it was $8! I love sushi happy hour!

For the Love of Vegans

That's the name of the vegan pizza you can buy at my local Whole Foods. I still wish they did soycheese (they will make you one if you buy the cheese separately, but it ends up costing more than it should because you don't get a discount for not getting cow cheese or anything)... anyway, it's pretty tasty! They use a base of roasted red pepper hummus, and pile on all the veggies (minus artichoke for me). Oh yeah!












P.S. This post counts for yesterday... another "oops I fell asleep on the couch" evening for me :)

9 layer dip for the last debate!

I cannot believe how close we are to the election! Less than 3 weeks! We Oregonians should be receiving our ballots in the mail in the next few days! It's all so exciting!!!!

I wanted something yummy to snack on while being glued to the television, and couldn't decide between nachos and taco salad. Then I got to thinking... why not go ultra-snacky? 7 layer dip it is! Mine actually turned out as 9 layer dip, but lots of the layers were veggies, so I don't know if that counts! I don't like fake meat for the most part, so I didn't put any crumbles or tvp in, but here's what I used from bottom to top:

Chelsea's Happy Vegan Awesome 9 Layer Dip Delight
refried beans
quinoa
spicy Tofutti Sour Supreme
spinach
tomato
cilantro
green onion
avocado
black olives

What a delicious debate it was!

Anatomy of a shopping run

Well... actually I was just stopping by Whole Foods after work to get fruit. Yeah right! I was way too hungry for that :) I only spent $30.05 though, so it could have been much worse!

Here's what I got:
3 bananas
3 Granny Smith apples
3 Bartlett pears
Naked Green Machine
1 firm tofu
1 extra firm tofu
2 lbs. red quinoa
miso soup
3 cashew Lara Bars
package of dulse seaweed
Tofutti Sour Supreme
1/4 lb. nooch
pecan sticky bun

I don't usually buy bananas because they are shipped from so far away and because of the labor issues associated with their production, but my Whole Foods just started carrying Earth University bananas, so I grabbed some. From the website, "For more than fifteen years, EARTH University faculty, staff, and students have been experimenting on EARTH´s on-campus banana farm. Together, they have developed new techniques to increase quality and reduce the environmental and social impact of commercial banana production. Several of the environmental management techniques developed at EARTH over the years have become banana industry standards." Pretty cool, huh?

Have a lovely evening, everyone! I can't believe I'm posting before it's dark out - now I can catch up on all of your fabulous blogs!

Another Veganmofo survey!

Thanks to Broke-Ass Vegan for passing along this survey!

1. If you have to choose between locally grown or organic, which do you usually choose?
Honestly, most of the local stuff here is not certified organic, but the farmers use organic methods so it isn't much of an issue. I lean towards local in general, though.

2. Favorite way to prepare potatoes:
Roasted; but mashed with Earth Balance, Tofutti Sour Supreme, and garlic is a close second!

3. Do you press your tofu before preparing/cooking it (if you eat soy)?
Not really. I tend not to prepare or plan much before I cook something... but if I'm cooking for other people I do. I usually just open up the package and squeeze it with my hands over the sink. Does that sorta count?

4. Name your favorite recipe that is a tradition in your family:
Sadly, we don't really have any traditional recipes. My Mexican grandma moved to Oregon when she was young to work in the shipyards, and changed her name to an America one, stopped speaking Spanish, and refused to cook Mexican food. My Mom cooked steaks and meatloaf and nasty stuff for her husband when I was a kid, and I mostly ate at my friend's houses. I'll have to start a tradition!

5. Any food allergies?
Not that I know of, though I have broken out in hives a few times in the last couple years...

6. When you want to go to a fancy dinner, where do you go?
The Farm or Nutshell.

7. When you have a cold, what do you crave?
Hot sauce and onions.

8. What kind of water do you drink? (Filtered, spring, tap, etc.)
Plain old tap water. We have good water here.

9. Name a flavor of soda you'd love to see:
I don't like soda, but I'd have to go with chocolate! Maybe then I would like soda?

10. If the recipes you ate as a child were compiled into a cookbook, what would the title be?
Cheese pizza, ranch dressing, cheese enchiladas, and jalapeno poppers - how to have a coronary on a vegetarian diet. (This reflects my teenage years).

11. If you were allowed to grow one food that can't grow in your climate, what would it be?
Avocado!!!

12. Favorite type of mushroom?
I can't really taste the difference from mushroom to mushroom, but I love how big portobellas are.

13. Most frustrating part of your kitchen?
There is literally no counter space. We have a tiny bit under this big glass china cabinet, but it isn't very deep because the cabinet sticks out.

14. Last food you burned?
Garlic. It cooks so fast!

15. Usual response to a veg*n's favorite question, "But where do you get your protein?":
"Actually, there's a lot of protein in veggies and even fruit! Not to mention beans and grains. I tracked my protein intake last year, and I had double the amount needed by an adult female. Protein deficiency in adults is really unheard of in the US."

16. If you were baking your own birthday cake today, what flavor would it be?
Chocolate. I wouldn't bake my own cake, though!

17. Favorite brand of chocolate chips?
Guittard semi sweet. They're always on sale at Fred Meyer!

18. You have $200 of your tax return reserved for Williams Sonoma- What do you buy?
A Magic Bullet, a nice platter, some wine glasses.

19. Do you plan your menus in advance? Any tips to share?
No, but I aspire to one day. It's really not in my nature :(

20. You have 3 minutes before you have to leave the house and you're starving- What do you eat?
Bad habit, but I don't. My body knows not to get hungry early in the morning, though.

21. If Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray got into a fight, who would win?
I'm gonna say Rachel. Her pearly white smile would blind them all!

22. If you eat oatmeal, what do you add to it before serving?
Nut milk, brown sugar, raisins and craisins.

23. If you got to travel to one country and learn all the traditional dishes there, where would you go (ignore commitments in your current place of residence)?
India of Lebanon. That's a hard one!

24. Favorite late night snack?
A bit of dark chocolate.

25. Favorite springtime food?
I can't think of what becomes ripe suddenly in the Spring... I think most of it isn't ready until summer here...

26. Favorite food-related magazine?
Vegetarian Times is alright, I don't really read magazines though.

27. Which do you prefer: shoyu, tamari, conventional soy sauce, or Bragg's Aminos?
Shoyu.

28. What vegetable or fruit do you dislike the most?
Watermelon. I wouldn't eat it for $20, it's that yucky to me!

29. Name a holiday food you look forward to all year long:
Does soy eggnog with rum count? I also love pumpkin pie.

30. If you could convert anyone to veganism with your magic wand, who would you convert?
My husband. I know that's selfish, but it would be awesome! Other than that... the President would be good.

Odds and ends enchiladas

I think one of my favorite things about enchiladas, besides how delicious they are, is how versatile they are. You can roll your tortillas, stack them up, or layer them casserole-style. You can whip up an individual serving in the microwave, or cook up a whole bunch in the oven. And what can you fill them with? Why, anything really! Tonight I made a casserole-style batch with what I had in the crisper - potatoes (ok those weren't in the crisper!), chard, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, corn, chilies, and onion. Oh yeah!


I just realized that I've been neglecting the kitties in my posts lately, so now I have to make up! :)

Zoey and Cookie sharing the chair! Awwww

I &hearts kitty cat feetsies

Check out that toe hair!

Not a kitty, but these are the super cute Vegan Earth shoes I was talking
about that I got so cheap on Ebay... :)

My best friend's birthday

I'm finally home! Here's a quick recap of the night: drink at the Farm, dinner and drinks at the Montage, drink at my other best friend's bar, then we all went to Hungry Tiger. Woo hoo! Happy Birthday Steph!

My veggie linguine with cajun gravy at the Montage

Leftovers!

Awesome coconut squash ravioli wantons with sweet chili sauce at Hungry Tiger

Hungry Tiger's dessert special was apple pie from Sweetpea! Yay!!!

Friday night surprise dinner

When I got home late from work last night, I discovered that Jesse had made me an awesome dinner! He doesn't cook often, but is a waaaaaaaayyy better cook them I am. Which makes sense, because he grew up cooking with his family and I didn't. Anyway, he gets home later than I do, so he usually eats whatever I make, or cereal, or chips and salsa (boys are so weird!). He made hummus, pita bread, tabouleh, and falafel and there is a TON left over. Woohoo! The falafel didn't hold together as well as he would have liked, but I didn't care because it tasted good!

Hummus and tabouleh

Falafel and pita bread

P.S. This post counts for last night... I fell asleep on the couch after watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was pretty funny!

I'm hungry

But I don't feel like cooking! There's also a sink-full of dishes that need to be washed, so I've been avoiding the kitchen this evening (except to pour a quick glass of wine). So far I've had the last 2 sugar cookies from debate day and some grapes. I'll probably just end up eating a Tasty Bite (well, the Trader Joe's cheap version) with some leftover quinoa. Maybe salad. Or more wine? Haha! I'm totally thrown off by it getting dark so early now... I can't believe it's only 7:30! It feels like 9:00 to me.

Anyway, here's some good food I've eaten lately that I haven't blogged about. Maybe I'll inspire myself to make something!

Black beans, quinoa, veggies (all local of course!),
guac, salsa, and leftover cheezy sauce (it didn't reheat
very saucy, but still tasted good) which I ate with corn tortillas

Tomato Basil Cream Pasta a la VeganYumYum, baguette, and spicy pepper olive oil

Tostones, spicy black beans, quinoa and tofutti

Milkshake of Soy Delicious Chocolate, frozen banana, chocolate hempmilk, and a handful of blueberries

Taco salad from King Burrito in NoPo

Hummus among us!

I love hummus. A lot. I love roasted pepper hummus, tomato basil hummus, white bean hummus, cilantro hummus... but most of all, I love traditional Lebanese hummus. The hummus is what I look forward to when I eat out at Lebanese restaurants or get a quick falafel on my lunch break. And do you know what I just realized the other day when I was standing in the nut butter section of Whole Foods? I have never made my own! So I grabbed some tahini and made some hummus as soon as I got home!

Here is the recipe I used. It calls for using 1/4 cup of the bean water, but I found it to be a tad too runny. Next time I'll go for 1/8 a can. It was also very garlicky, with it being raw and all... so cut that down if you're not into that. Other than that, this hummus was fabulous and just like what I get in the restaurants! And way cheaper :) Woot!

Ready to blend...

Ready to go in my belly!

Presidential debate cookies!

Inspired by Vegan Crunk's post last week, I made some cookies and had my own little viewing party! Jesse was supposed to make it, but got stuck late at work :( he did make the last 15 minutes, at least. It was torture not to break into the cookies while I was waiting for him!

I used a sugar cookie and icing recipe from vegweb. It turned out pretty well! I did have to add a little water to the dough, and I didn't realize that you're supposed to flatten sugar cookies rather than ball 'em up on the cookie sheet, but they were still tasty if a little goofy-looking!

When I got ready to make my blue and red frosting, I opened up the box of food coloring to discover that some jerk-off took the red out and replaced it with blue! Can you believe that??? So, I used yellow. Whatever. I'm still a little annoyed as you can probably tell! I quickly discovered that O-B-A-M-A is tricky to spell out on a dinky little cookie, so I went with the classic "OBAMA RULZ" after that.

And what a great debate it was! I loved that McCain was trying sooooooooo hard to be nice to Obama after last time, and it was obvious how fake it was.

Here I am ready to laugh my ass off and yell at the tv!

Rasperry cider toast to Obama

Sugar cookies before icing...

...and after!

Veganmofo survey!

Thanks for passing this along, VeganView!

1. Name a song that involves food in some way?

Biscuit - Portishead

2. What criteria do you use when buying a new cookbook?

Do I have money? LOL! No really, I'm a novice cook, so I don't have many cookbooks. I use vegweb a lot.

3. What did you eat today?

A bagel with hummus and veggies, a small bowl of veggie chili, a sticky bun... I need some fruit!

4. Name a vegan food you know exists but have never tried...

I don't think I've ever had a vegan tamale. Sad!

5. The Food Network just called and needs you to start your new show tomorrow. What will the title be?

Vegan Eating for Dummies

6. Favorite hot sauce or other spicy condiment?

That is a tough one... I love Sriracha, Aarvark habanero hot sauce, and wasabi

7. How old were you when you became vegan?

22

8. Favorite vegan cheeze?

Follow Your Heart because it's cheap. Sheese Gouda flavor is really good on crackers with mustard, though!

9. Cutest baby animal?

Any that's not a human and is very furry!

10. Favorite type of jam/jelly?

I love the lavender-infused ones at the farmers market

11. Do you take any vitamins/supplements?

VegLife Vegan Multi

12. What food/dish most embodies the Fall Season?

Definitely pumpkin pie!

13. What food would you have a hard time living without?

Tofu, avocado, olive oil, chocolate

14. Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate?

If it's plain old coffee, then hot chocolate for sure, but if it's a yummy mocha with hemp milk or something, I'm all over that!

15. It's 10 pm and you're starving. What do you eat?

Have I been drinking? haha If not, a handful of nuts or a salad or just go to bed, if yes - I've been known to make cheezy sauce all hours of the night!

16. If you have an animal companion, what is her/his favorite food?

My kitties love their fancy gross meat food, but they (especially Cookie) love to eat whatever else I'm eating. Zoey loves vegan coffee cake, Smart Bacon, and goes wild over chevre when my husband has it.

17. Worst injury you have gotten in the kitchen?

I burned myself pretty good on my inner forearm on the oven the night before I left for Italy... when I got back 2 weeks later it was still all scabby. No scar now, though! That was about 2.5 years ago.

18. When you have a food-related question, who do you call?

Whoever I think will answer the phone! Usually my husband or my best friend.

19. Summer is ending-what food will you miss the most?

That's a toss up between heirloom tomatoes and berries. I love summer!

20. What snacks do you keep in your purse/backpack/desk at work?

Purse - dried fruit and nuts
Work - Lara bars and sometimes a box of cereal or packets of oatmeal. I'm trying to start eating breakfast... it's really hard for me :(

21. Favorite soup to make on a rainy day?

Does chili count?

22. What is your favorite combination of fresh vegetable/fruit juices?

I really like green juices, a la Naked or Columbia Valley.

23. Favorite brand of root beer?

Root beer is foul

24. You are having three vegan celebs to dinner! Who are they?

~James Cromwell

~Woody Harrelson

~Erykah Badu

25. Make your own veganic question! Here's mine:
When was the first time you heard the word "vegan?" What was your first impression?
I remember hearing the word vegan (pronounced vay-gun) when I was a sophomore in high school. A punk friend of mine thought I would be interested in all this stuff he had found out about dairy because I was a vegetarian. He told me about it while I drank a milkshake and he ate a burger at Burgerville. I didn't believe him. I never heard anything about vegans again until I started college and met a few!

And here's a yummy little sticky bun I just ate from Dovetail Bakery

Stinging nettle soup!

Sounds pretty hard-core, huh? Well, you know me! :) Nettles are actually an extremely healthy food - they are rich in vitamins A, C, D, iron and calcium, and have quite a high amount of protein for a veggie at 40%! But what about the whole stinging issue, you ask? Even brief cooking totally neutralizes it.

I bought a bag of stinging nettles from the mushroom vendors at the farmers market last weekend, and ended up using their recipe to cook them up. It made a huge pot of soup, and was surprisingly delicious! Here is the recipe:

Springwater Farm Nettle Soup
1 lb. potatoes
1/2 lb. young nettles
1/4 lb. maitakes
1/4 lb. shittakes
2 oz. butter or olive oil
1/2 pts. chicken or veggie stock
sea salt
black pepper
4 Tb. sour creme (I subbed Tofutti and halved it)


Cook the peeled, chopped potatoes for 10 min. in salted water. Drain. Wearing gloves, cut nettles up with scissors (I pulled them apart with my hands over the saucepan). Melt the olive oil in a saucepan, add the nettles and stew gently for a few minutes.

Add the potatoes and heated stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms (I used a mix of cremini, shiitake, and chanterelles) in olive oil until cooked. When all is soft, cool slightly and mash with a potato masher, or puree in blender. Add the mushrooms, seasonings, and sour cream. Bon appetit!

The nettles tasted similar to spinach to me, but with a bit more of a bite and they didn't get as mushy. I think next time I make this, I'll add some garlic and maybe onion. This reheated nicely, and was great with Sriracha :)

No flash, served with garlicy french bread

Zoey preferred the bread!

And a bonus! This is probably the best shot of a cat I have ever taken. It's the desktop on my computer now. I am so proud of myself!

Cookie girl mid-bath

I &hearts Indian food

I went to my favorite place to get Indian food today, India Chaat House. It's only a food truck with a bit of covered seating, but I think it has the best Indian food in town. It's all vegetarian, but they will make any dish (or mango lassi!) vegan upon request. I had navraten korma, naan, and pakoras with mint and tamarind chutney. What a feast! I had to keep shooing the kitties away :)

I watched a really thought-provoking and heart-breaking documentary today, The Boys of Baraka. It follows 20 boys from inner-city Baltimore who are picked to go to the Baraka School in Africa, which totally changes their worldviews and gives them support that is completely lacking in the public schools (80% of Black boys do not graduate high school in Baltimore). I don't want to give too much away, but if you haven't seen it you should! In the special features, there is a commentary piece from Bill Cosby that tells it like it is: the biggest problem we face today is that we are losing the ability to communicate with one another. Two of the boys get in a big fight that would probably leave one dead and one in juvy back in Baltimore, but at the Baraka School, they are brought to a remote location and told to set up a tent together before they can leave. Cosby reminds us that this is a lesson that even someone like George Bush needs. As an educator, this is something I believe strongly in, and just another reason that I am horrified by the McCain/Palin ticket and their stances on foreign policy. The three year olds in my classroom don't get away with having conflicts and not talking about it and resolving it with each other, and it is ridiculous that world leaders aren't held to the same standards.

Veganism and booze

There are many vegan straightedgers, but there are plenty of us who enjoy imbibing from time to time. I work the typical M-F schedule, and sadly, my husband works really long days and weekends, so our time together is pretty limited. He does have Fridays off, though, so we try to go out to happy hour after I get off work when we can. It's a nice time to catch up with each other and spend time together without the tv and computers and cell phones and all the distractions of modern-day life. We went out today, and both had an awesome baked avocado salad, which I conveniently forgot to photograph, but when it came time to order more drinks I couldn't specify what I wanted and ended up with an (admittedly tasty) pinos gris. What I wanted was a coffee drink, but I always get confused about what has dairy (Kahlua is safe? But not Irish Creme? Maybe?). So I decided when I got home I would make myself something tasty. Right now I'm nursing chocolate ricemilk spiked with spiced rum. And it's pretty tasty! What crazy vegan ingredients do you all substitute in alcohol beverages? I also enjoy making my own hot toddies at home with agave nectar...

P.S. Sorry for no pictures... my camera cord died, so I ordered this cool thing to stick in the empty slot where cd drives and stuff go that has a usb drive and is a card reader! So I just pop that baby in nice and easy! Thanks newegg.com! It just came today and Jesse is installing it as we speak :)

The best Freudian slip ever!

Ok, before I get into anything directly vegan related, I have to say - did you catch the absolutely hilarious Freudian slip that Palin made toward the end of the debate? "John McCain is ready to LEAVE, excuse me, ready to LEAD..." I think about 200 people simultaneously busted up laughing at the bar I went to watch it! Oh man. I think that says it all!

Today has been a long day. After work I went to a gallery opening for a friend of a friend, then ran off to a nearby bar to watch the debate. She had some new pieces that I haven't seen before, and it was catered by a vegetarian cafe! I was very to happy to eat some real food as well as an amazing chocolate cupcake with espresso frosting before drinking wine and yelling at the big screen :)

Elise's work totally blew me away!

Free food that I can eat! Awesome!

I didn't have time to make it home after the opening to watch the debate, so I went to a bar to watch it with strangers! It was actually really fun to watch it with a bunch of boisterous, like-minded people, though I now reek of cigarette smoke.

Get out the vote! Don't let this
person be the next VP!

Happy Veganmofo y'all!

I decided last night to take the plunge and participate in Veganmofo! Veganmofo, or Vegan Month of Food, is a bit daunting for the likes of me - if you know my blog, you know that posting once a week is pretty good for me, so trying to post every day will really be a challenge! I think it will be a postitive challenge, though, and also help me to really consider what I put in my body on a daily basis.

Tonight I had a surprisingly good dinner! I went over to my mom's house to help her clean and get ready to move for the first time in her life! It's a pretty big deal. Her house is closing next Friday, and it's a big job to pack up your whole life and move it, ya know? Her house is in the Arbor Lodge neighborhood, which although is gentrifying and full of cafes and shops and even has it's very own New Seasons, there are some draw-backs - property taxes have gone up A LOT, there is much more traffic even on the side streets, etc. I think it will be good for her to try something new out anyway. So, she's packing up and moving to Saint Helens of all places! It's a pretty cute small town with lots of old buildings, and even has it's own vegetarian cafe. But back to the point... my sisters were over there to help too, and made burritos for dinner. One of my sisters doesn't like most meat, so she wanted Morningstar crumbles anyway, and even though they looked gross and meaty to me, my sister insisted that I try them! I don't like flour tortillas, so I brought my own corn ones along with some brown rice and had tacos. It was probably the best meal I've ever had over there!

Morningstar crumbles, brown rice, guacamole, salsa, tomato, refried beans, and corn tortillas... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

See you all tomorrow!