I got a box of chocolates! Maybe I do like Valentine's Day!

So, I've never been a Valentine's Day person. It's such a Hallmarky holiday, and Hello! Love me and cherish me everyday, thankyouverymuch! I guess with it being on a weekend this year, I decided to actually get Jesse a gift and we even went out to dinner! I got him a chinese dragon tea cup and some Ritter Sport bars, and he got me a fancy box of chocolates! Thank goodness Jesse bought me these, because they're so expensive I probably never would have tried one! Missionary Chocolates LLC makes vegan, organic, local ingredient truffles here in Portland and sells them in various places. A few months ago, someone on the PPK mentioned that they were sold at a wedding shop in Jantzen Beach (where Jesse works), so I couldn't resist but strongly drop the hint! I've only sampled the Sweet Raspberry Heart so far, and honestly - IT IS THE BEST TRUFFLE I HAVE EVER HAD, VEGAN OR NOT! Oh man, I am in chocolate heaven!

Only 7 left...

On our way to dinner at the Vita...

Dinner was awesome, but I forgot to bring the camera :( . I got a $50 gift certificate for $25 from a radio station deal last month, so we went all out at the Vita! The best thing hands down were the Buffalo Things - tofu buffalo wings. I've never had the real kind before so I had no idea what to expect, but Jesse misses them a lot and sorta freaked out over the deliciousness! He thought all of his meat eating friends would like the tofu ones just as much as the meat version!

Someone else's photo of the Buffalo Things! Thanks Google!

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day, or a rockin' anti-Valentine's Day! Either way, you better have had some chocolate!!!

Update on Cookie Dookie after her spay surgery:

I haven't mentioned the kitties in my last couple posts... Cookie has been acting funny ever since her surgery. Tomorrow will be the official 2 week mark when she's supposed to be back to normal, but I was really getting worried because she hasn't been as lovey with me as she used to be. She always loved to be held on her back like a baby, and hasn't been letting me hold her that way. She also wasn't waking me up in the morning by licking my face! All is back to normal, though, she just took a little while. I finally got a picture of her exposed hairless belly, and it's pretty cute! I get to cut her stitches out tomorrow, yay! Thanks for all your love and support, blogger buddies! :)

I woke her up taking the picture... look at her feet! haha

Close up... I wonder how long until that fur grows back?

Happy New Year!

Today is my 4 year veganniversary. Though the transition from vegetarian to vegan took me (literally!) years, going vegan is the best decision I have ever made. It is better for the animals, better for the environment, and better for my own body and soul. Thank you all for your commitment to veganism, and to changing the world through delicious food. Cheers!

Salud! Strawberry chocolate chip pancakes and a mimosa

Presents for the kitty cats!

Guess what my spoiled kitties got for the holidays? Not one, but TWO cat trees! I got them one, and Jesse's parents surprised me and got them one, too :) . They are in kitty heaven! Zoey was declawed by her previous owner (we adopted her from the Humane Society), so I was concerned about her being able to get up them. Unfortunately, the 6 ft. one is just too big for her to get up on top of, but she's loving the top of the 5 ft. one! There's a little cutout in the bottom of the bed part for her to jump up through. Happy kitties!

Once she got to the top, Zoey didn't want to share!

She eventually gave in!

It's ginormous! I custom ordered it from a guy that makes these in his spare time (let me know if you want his contact info - they are really cheap!) and I think I should have put one more ledge on it... whoops!

I tackled the cinnamon rolls from JoVB - pretty good! I subbed whole wheat pastry flour because I was out of all purpose... so they were a little heavy. Still tasty, though!

My favorite present! These are soooooo Chelsea! Jesse's little brother always gets me awesome gifts :)

Have a fun and safe New Years Eve everybody! Jesse and I are going to see his friend's band play and I don't know what else afterward... 2009, I can't believe it!

My latest obsession - pancakes!

It's been snowing like the dickens here in Portland! Actual snow is a pretty rare occurrence here, so the city basically shuts down when the roads get slick. PSU was closed for 2 days last week, and had late openings for 2! It was sort of annoying because my vacation is supposed to be most of this week and all of next week (we're closed for children, so it's optional inservice time), and now I'll have to make some of that time up or just not get paid... I was planning to go in tomorrow, but I just found out we're closed again! Yikes!

One awesome perk of being around the house unexpectedly last week (other than frolicking in the snow) was that I actually had time to make breakfast! I read on one of your awesome blogs that Bisquick is vegan (sorry don't remember which...), so I decided to pick some up and try it out. Pancakes have always been a big frustration for me; I've tried a ton of recipes and they've all turned out like crap! Recently I had a breakthrough with the basic recipe from VWAV, and finally figured out what the batter is supposed to look like and when to flip the damn things (thank you so much Isa!). I have a dinky kitchen with NO counter space, so I thought I'd try the Bisquick out to cut down on dishes to wash and all that. Oh man, is it easy! And the Heart Smart kind doesn't have any weird crap in it. I've found that replacing the egg is totally unnecessary, just use equal parts Bisquick and soymilk. Here are some of my recent pancakes:

Chocolate chip soynog pancakes

Strawberry blueberry pancakes with tofu scramble and hashbrowns in the background

Strawberry flax walnut pancakes

I recently moved the living room furniture around a bit to make space for the Solstice Tree, and the kitties seem to love it! I actually really like it, too. It isn't a whole lot different, but I moved the big cozy chair into a corner where you can't see the tv, and it makes a really lovely spot for reading, and also creates a view out the window in a different direction than I've really looked before.

The cuties!

Lights on!

Lights off! Yay!

Happy Holidays everyone! Peace, love, vegan, and all that good shit :)

The Melting Pot update, and SantaCon!

So...I forgot to bring my camera to The Melting Pot. Whoops! Though I didn't get any faux fondue, the meal was definitely filling and pretty good, though the price was pretty outrageous (still full price of $50 something for me); luckily I wasn't paying!

We were a group of 11, seated around a large table with 4 fondue pots in the middle. The first course was 4 different kinds of fondue accompanied by bread, tortilla chips, apples, carrots, and broccoli. The server thought there was some vegan mushroom pate for me, but it sadly had sour cream in it. Next up were our salads, mine was a mix of baby greens, walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty tasty. My parents in law ordered a different salad which came with a shallot vinaigrette and was served in a gravy boat, which I stole and used to dip the leftover bread in. I wish I would have thought to ask for oil or something while everyone else was eating fondue!

Next was the entree course. The server was really nice and always asking, "how's my vegan friend? Getting enough to eat?" and made sure everyone at the table knew not to dip meat in the pot in front of me. Each pot had a different broth in it, and I got a huge platter of good stuff to cook in mine. Tofu (frozen and thawed), mushrooms, eggplant, potato, broccoli, asparagus, and Jesse had the vegetarian plate which also included some cheese ravioli. It was a LOT of food and I was totally stuffed. And then there was the final course... dessert!

There was a large menu of chocolate fondues, and many of them included dark chocolate. I was very hopeful that I would get to chow down, but sadly, all of the chocolate fondue had dairy in it. The server made me a beautiful bowl of fruit, though, which pretty much made up for it. Bananas, strawberries, and blackberries, tossed in a sugar glaze and garnished with mint leaves and powdered sugar. Everyone was jealous of my blackberries! Overall, it was a very nice (3 hour!) meal, and they went out of their way to accommodate my veganness. I would definitely not recommend seeking it out for a special vegan dinner, but if friends or family invite you there, have no fear - you will leave stuffed like everyone else!

SANTACON PDX 2008

Santacon is a worldwide event that has many different incarnations depending on locale and culture. Here in Portland, it's a fun-filled day where thousands of Santas take to the streets, interact with strangers, do crazy (but legal) things, and get drunk. I went to a baby shower that afternoon, so I could only go out for the evening, but it was fun! I went with my girlfriend who it took a few drinks to even get a Santa hat on, and we started out at the Holiday Ale Festival. I had already been with Jesse on Thursday, so we didn't need to buy new mugs, and I ended up not having to spend any money at all! How is that possible, you wonder? While we were waiting in line to get in, 3 different people came up and gave me their extra tickets as they were leaving. At first I was kinda shocked and just said, "thanks, uh, ho ho ho!" but after a few people I became more comfortable with my alter ego. More people gave me tickets inside, and I had so many I even gave my friend some! I took lots of pictures with tourists, started a few Christmas carols, and had quite a jolly time. Yay Santacon!

My last minute Santa costume!

Mmmm Barleywine!

All that beer made us hungry, so we ventured to the Tube for nachos, tacos, and ham and cheese sandwiches (all vegan, of course!). Oh, and whiskey. :)

A very tasty Thanksgiving

So, I didn't end up making those cookies... I got lazy and roasted my veggies in the morning instead of the night before so the oven would be free for baking - but that was ok! I still had plenty to eat!

Field Roast, mashed taters and mushroom gravy, stuffing, roasted veggies, candied yams, dinneroll with jam, and there was pumpkin pie on the other plate :)

The next day I woke up bright and early for Fur Free Friday! It's a worldwide event, and the march here in Portland attracted around 200 people! We had a bloody fashion show, lots of Radical Cheerleading, a march route that stopped at places that sell fur as well as a few places that have stopped (!), cake at the end, and then a smaller group of us went to do a demo at Ungar Furs (the last exclusive fur store in Portland).

Some of the crowd

Radical Cheerleaders for AR (that's me on the left)

Two of the fur hags and me in the middle

Good job, Portland!

I will learn to bake, gosh darn it!

Life has been a little crazy lately! I've been having classic hypothyroid symptoms (well, for like 10 years, but I didn't know all my weirdness could be a medical condition until recently), and trying to figure out crazy blood tests with my doctor. Fun! It looks like I have "subclinical hypothyroidism," but my B12 is on the low end of normal, so the doc wants me to take mega B12 doses and then re-check my thyroid in January. I may need to start medication and drastically cut down my soy intake... but we'll see.

Enough of that! Two of my awesome vegan blogger buds, VeganView and Vegan Crunk, have awarded me the Butterfly Blog Award! Woohoo! Thanks, ladies! "I'd like to thank the academy, and Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and Sarah Kramer, and Food Fight, and Herbivore, and, and, and..."

So onto the baking portion of this blog post! I didn't grow up in a home that ate fresh food or really cooked at all, so I never learned to cook. I've figured out how to prepare a decent meal as an adult (thanks in large part to my husband who spent a lot of time experimenting in the kitchen as a child, and has parents who are great cooks!), but following a recipe is still a little tricky for me. I'm working on it, and VeganMoFo helped a lot! And then there's baking. I have attempted to bake things a few times a year since I became vegan almost four years ago, and very little of it has been tasty. I think part of the problem has been that I tend to use random recipes off of vegweb, and part that I don't understand the lingo or have natural instincts with baking. I have a very limited sense of smell, so I can't tell when something is burning. I have no idea what pancake batter should look like compared to cookie batter. I don't have an electric mixer or one of those contraptions that mix together powdery stuff. But, there is hope!

I recently bought Vegan with a Vengeance and started using The Joy of Vegan Baking that I got for the holidaze last year. Both of these books are very patient with the novice, and have lots of pointers, tips, and tricks that have been REALLY helpful to me. Here are a few of my recent accomplishments:

Basic Pancakes plus blueberries from VWAV

Look! These look like tasty pancakes! And I made them! Isa included a whole page of pancake tips, the most helpful being to cook them on one side for about 4 minutes. I have a timer for my french press that goes for 4 minutes, which totally came in handy. I also discovered that I have probably WAY overmixed every other pancake batter I've ever made.

Chocolate Brownie a la mode from JofVB

I like that there's no soy ingredients (if you don't add the chocolate chips), and these brownies use flax seeds and applesauce for their moistness! There weren't any special tricks, but this just seemed to be a fool proof recipe. These were so tasty that I took them to work!

Peanut Butter cookies (some plus choc. chips) from JofVB

These cookies were delicious! The first batch I baked was perfect, but the second batch came out a little burnt. I think it was because I had a little less dough, so the cookies were smaller, and I should have adjusted the time a bit more (or made fewer cookies, but made those regular size). The tip in this recipe that really helped is to whip EnerG egg replacer in the blender, rather than by hand in a tiny bowl. Or at least I think it helped. It definitely looked more like egg consistency than when I usually make them!

Chocolate Chip Scones from JofVB

These were absolutely amazing. I still can't believe I made them! Colleen made very clear in the recipe exactly what the dough should look like, and how exactly what to expect from the dough as you add more ingredients. Can you tell I like chocolate yet??? Well, I AM a woman, afterall!

Four recent successes... pretty exciting stuff! Tomorrow morning we're going over to my mom's for breakfast, then over to Jesse's parents' for the rest of the day. I'm going to attempt the Sparkled Ginger Cookies tomorrow morning from VWAV :) Tonight I'll be roasting a bunch of root veggies and making Cranberry Salsa which I've made the last few Tofurkey Days and is always a hit. I serve it over Tofutti Cream Cheese with crackers. Field Roast's Celebration Roast will be my centerpiece, and Jesse's mom always makes me a vegan version of the mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied yams, and gravy. Awwww!

Have a happy, relaxed, and tasty Thanksgiving everyone! xoxoxo ~Chelsea

P.S. Don't forget Fur Free Friday! This annual event will be happening in cities all over the world, and the Portland one will be starting up at 11:00 am (meet at Pioneer Square, west side). Compassion is the fashion, don't buy fur!