Saying Goodbye to Lost

I apologize for not posting in quite some time. This past week has been very busy and stressful. J was in the hospital for a couple of days, and then we went to upstate New York to visit his mother for the weekend. I was too stressed out to cook while J was sick, subsisting on the hospital salad bar and leftovers. But once Friday night rolled around, I was cooking like a maniac.

J, his mother, and I are all big fans of Lost. Last night was the big series finale, so I threw a Lost party on Saturday night for the three of us. Of course, a party ain't a party without dessert.

This is the peanut butter blondie from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I think I may have to buy a copy of this cookbook someday, despite it being full of wicked temptations (ha ha!). The blondies were AMAZING. My mother-in-law loved them too.

The rest of our dinner had an Italian vibe going on. I made the pasta e fagioli from Veganomicon. This was quite easy to throw together, and I loved the tomato-based sauce. Tomatoes smell so wonderful when they're simmering down to a sauce. I'd never had pasta e fagioli before, but apparently other people make the dish with peas instead of tomatoes. Next time I think I'll throw in a cup of peas, but I won't forgo the tomatoes.

I also made a batch of Rustic Olive Rolls from Students Go Vegan. I made these rolls once before, and then realized that my baking powder had expired, umm, approximately a year ago. Amazing what a difference fresh baking powder makes. Here's a picture of a roll, with the heel of a store-brought loaf of French bread.

They're actually more scone-like than roll-like, which is completely alright with me. I love the kalamata olives and onions, and the fact that you just mix up the ingredients and then bake. No waiting for any yeast to rise.

Here are a few pictures of our festive table.

I also made us iron-on transfer shirts with the Dharma Initiative logo on them.

The Lost series finale was amazing. I cried for an hour afterwards, not only because the television show ended (I've decided that it's my favorite series of all time, tied with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It definitely had a much better ending than Buffy), but because the series finale was profoundly sad and beautiful.