Cooking Marathon

Today, I briefly returned to my roots and cooked three separate things. This hasn't happened in over three months, people! It may be the hot weather -- a really hot kitchen always motivates me to cook. Don't ask me the logic behind that. 

I went for my normal jog in the morning, and then got to work whipping up a batch of Banana Biscuits from Vegan Diner. I had one overripe banana sitting around, so it seemed like the perfect thing to bake. Now, I'd never had banana biscuits before in my life, but these were superb. They're described in the cookbook as being a cross between a biscuit and a scone, and that's exactly what I found.

My afternoon plans fell through (and I even had a contingency plan!), so I pretty much struck out socially this weekend. Ah, I did go to see the Carolina Chocolate Drops with a bunch of people on Friday night. Anyway, no plans meant a trip to the grocery store and the Co-op, with plenty of time to stop by the library for an armful of cookbooks. 

My slow cooker is busy percolating the Slow Cooker Summer Pasta Sauce from healthyslowcooking.com. I'll post pictures of the finished pasta sauce once it's done. I also veganized a recipe from a neat cookbook called Soul Food: Recipes and Reflections from African-American Churchs, by Joyce White. 

The Mixed Greens recipe was a cinch to veganize, since the only meat product it called for was chicken broth. Super simple to sub vegetable broth. I also used kale instead of mustard greens, just because the other greens at the grocery store were wilty-looking. 

There's garlic, jalapeno peppers, and cider in this, which gives the kale a deep, spicy flavor. I'm planning on making this one again!

Southern Style, Vegan Style

Every once in a while I get a craving for mac and "cheese." Non-vegan, there was a dish I'd make with three kinds of cheese and bacon. Yeah, I know, it kind of sounds like a heart-attack waiting to happy. Now that I'm dairy and meat free, I either make my own or pick up a box of Amy's frozen mac and "cheese." 

But there's something really trashy and nostalgic about making it from a box. Which is why I picked up a box of this at the East End Co-op. 

Fifteen minutes and a half a cup of rice milk later, I ended up with this:

So I didn't end up with very much mac and "cheese." But that's okay, because I steamed some kale, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, then tossed everything together. 

Yum, this ended up being delicious! Next time I might fry up some tofu or seitan to make this a true Southern extravaganza.

Chickpea Tacos

So I was at Trader Joe's this weekend, and there was a giant display of their organic taco shells, along with a handwritten sign suggesting either ground beef or chickpeas for a filling. That got me to thinking ... I do love chickpeas ... and I do love tacos.

I sauteed the chickpeas with onions, tomatoes, black olives, and a generic taco seasoning. Topped with yummy queso, and then green salsa (not pictured). This is the perfect weeknight dinner, because it literally took fifteen minutes to make.

Earlier this week, I also heated up a lovely Field Roast and roasted asparagus and baby potatoes.

I have staunch omnivore house guests this weekend, so we may have to resort to restaurant eats. I'll keep you posted.

Stir Fry and (Finally) A Few Comics

So, I managed to cook a few dishes this week. Tonight we had a stir fry. No recipe needed. I used a Thai satay peanut sauce and asparagus, fresh green beans, mushrooms, straw mushrooms, baby corn, green pepper and onion. A liberal teaspoon of sriracha rounded out the flavor. 

 I also tried a new dish. Cannellini Kale Soup is from Get it Ripe, and it was quick, easy, and delicious. The cannellini beans give this soup a smooth, hearty texture. Can I just say again how much I heart kale?

Now onto comics! I finally read Batwoman #6 by J.H. Williams III/Amy Reeder and Animal Man #7 by Jeff Lemire/Travel Foreman. 

I have to say that both issues were disappointing. There was a great scene in Animal Man where Cliff attempts to impress girls by telling him who his father is. The girls don't believe him, at least until Buddy swoops in, quite literally. Otherwise, nothing really stood out in either comic. There was a lot of flashback sequencing in Batwoman that made the events hard to follow. I can only assume that everything gets clearer in #7, which I forgot to pick up from the comic book store last night! I did get the next issue of Animal Man, so expect a review soon. 

Food Collage

A vegan mostess from Dozen Bake Shop. Eaten on an inappropriate Christmas Mickey Mouse plate! Yes, I do know that it is Easter.

Broccoli with Food for Lovers' original queso. So far, this is my favorite vegan "cheese" dip.

 Homemade veggie enchilada with liberal amounts of Daiya.

Oh, and I finally caught up on some of my comic book reading. I'm so behind, I don't think the guys at Phantom of the Attic will recognize me anymore. More on that next time.

I'm On a Roll

I cooked again tonight! I know, someone should give me an award. :) Today I tried the Bangkok Street Cart Noodles from the latest issue of VegNews (April 2012). I made some substitutions -- I couldn't find rice noodles at Giant Eagle, and didn't have time to go to an Asian grocery store, so just used some udon noodles in the pantry. I also totally forgot to buy peanuts. 

It was still very good. Next time I'll try it with the rice noodles. You can't see them very well, but there are snap peas and cilantro mixed in with the red bell pepper. 

I think we're having leftovers for the rest of the week. I have to do a crazy midnight shift Friday morning, so I'm not going to be in the mood to cook.


So is anyone else excited about The Hunger Games? I love the books (with some reservation about the third), and can't wait to see the movie in IMAX!

I Finally Cook Something!

So it's something I've featured on this blog before, but that doesn't mean it's not exciting! It's Polish Neighborhood (Cabbage and Potato) Soup from Ripe from Around Here. 

 

With Tofurky beer brats! I love cabbage and potatoes, and the beer brats just tip the scales into soup bliss. 

I also made some stir-fried veggies tonight with the leftover cabbage and some mushrooms, but it wasn't exciting enough to warrant a picture. They tasted good, though.

And now, on to a non-food related topic. Super Best Friends Forever recently premiered on Cartoon Network. I believe this is the first of several shorts involving the adventures of Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl. The hope is that if this project does well enough, SBFF will be made into a regular cartoon. I really think it will succeed. The 90-second short is lively and fun, and the superheroines even have diverse body types. Yay for that!

Sorry, Still No Cooking

There was some junk food this week, however. Exhibit A: excellent pizza.

Nothing fancy, just vegan cheese and fake pepperoni from Spak Brothers, the only Pittsburgh pizzeria with a vegan pizza option. They also have vegan hoagies and seitan wings, which I'd like to try.

Exhibit B: A great piece of pecan pie from East End Co-op. Please note that I split this with J!

 Despite the crazy, unhealthy eating going on the past three weeks, I've managed to lose ten pounds. Which is great, but kind of confusing. Maybe it's because I'm sometimes too busy to eat a proper meal. Also, nothing but oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter and a teensy amount of agave nectar for breakfasts. Who knows?

But I had a dream last night about cooking, so feel that I will return to the kitchen very soon. Maybe for some late Irish cooking. More on that later.

No Cooking

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been incredibly busy lately, which means I haven't had a lot of time for cooking. I made an uninspired pasta, and J cooked a humongous pot of veggie chili that is going to take forever to eat. Uncharacteristically, I tried to convince him it was a good idea to have take-out every day this past week.

That didn't happen. But we did have a couple of good meals. The first was at Station Street. Well, more accurately, it came from Station Street. J brought a couple of vegan hot dogs home for dinner one night. He's far from a vegan, but it was Friday, so he couldn't eat meat. 

I made a traditional choice with a House Dog, with ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, and the welcome addition of sriracha. This was very good. Next time, however, I'm going to try something else. Maybe the Hawaiian Dog, minus the bacon, of course. 

Next time we'll eat in. I have heard that the decor is very kitschy, and I'm big into kitsch.

We also went to China Palace in Shadyside. We went to this restaurant once before, almost a year ago, and for some reason never made it back. I don't know why. There are a hundred vegetarian options on the menu, so many I was almost overwhelmed. 

We started with the fried sweet yam. This was basically like a vegetable tempura. The batter was not quite as light as I'd like to, but it was still a satisfying appetizer.

  J ordered the Stir-Fried Spinach Lo Mein. 

And I had the Soy Protein with Kung Pao Sauce.

This was amazing! By far the best Kung Pao dish I've had in a long time. We're definitely going back to the China Palace.

I'm sure that there'll be more take-out and restaurant posts in the future. Life is very hectic right now -- I haven't knit a thing in days, or read any comic books. But hey, I still have to eat, right? :) 

Very Random Post

I'm covering all the bases tonight -- vegan food, knitting, and comic books!

It's been unseasonably warm for February, but that hasn't deterred me from making more soup! Last night I made a piping hot Black Bean and Tomato Soup from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. It was easy enough to pull off on a weeknight, even on a Thursday night when my energy level is usually low. More importantly, it tasted great. I had a cup with a smoked Tofurky sandwich. 

There's a few tomato slices tucked in there, but no lettuce. Our fridge has been freezing all of our lettuce lately, which is an annoying problem I haven't been able to fix yet. 

I finished the cardigan! Here is a picture of it blocking. I tried to enlist J in taking a picture of me wearing the cardigan, but no luck so far. Maybe tomorrow, when the sun is out. 

Overall I'm pleased. I did spaz out when I was making the raglan decreases (I was paying attention to Captain America on the blu-ray when I should have been looking at my knitting!), so the neckline turned out to be off-the-shoulders instead of a traditional scoop-neck. I added a black button in an asymmetrical position to make it look intentional  (not shown in the picture).

Here are the details:

Pattern: Vinelle by Voolenvine (you can download it from Ravelry)

Needle size: 8

Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (in Eucalyptus) 

My newest project is a shawl in striping colors. The pattern is Athena, by Kate Ray. I love stripes, but I hate weaving in all the loose ends. Sigh.

And finally ... I didn't get to my local comic book store this week. I think Animal Man came out this week, so I have to go there soon to get my copy. But in the meantime, I've been reading Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise. I'm on the fourth volume of the pocket book edition.

My introduction to Terry Moore's work has been unusual. I read the first few issues of Rachel Rising first, then the first trade volume of Echo, and then finally picked up the first volume of Strangers in Paradise. SIP is like an addictive soap opera in comic book form. Katchoo and Francine are best friends who may also be in love with each other ... except there is everything standing in their way, from a sweet boy named David to gangsters, plane crashes, and pregnancies. SIP is over-the-top, bittersweet, addictive fun. 

Fat Tuesday

Why do they call it Fat Tuesday? I guess it's because you're supposed to gorge yourself before the long stretch of meaty deprivation. As I don't eat meat, I had to indulge in a different (yet still extravagant!) way. 

So here's what I ate today:

I made another steel-cut oatmeal in my slow cooker last night: Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Oatmeal, from healthyslowcooking.com. The recipe is here. And yes, that is graham cracker crust sprinkled over the oatmeal! I added an extra half a cup of coconut milk this time, and cooked it on low for only six hours to prevent burning/sticking. 

For lunch, the aforementioned jambalaya. J actually cooked this one while I was at spinning class last night. I left out the Red Jambalaya recipe from 500 Vegan Recipes for him, but he improvised, adding extra vegetable broth, Tofurkey kielbasa, and a lot of Old Bay and cayenne pepper. It was almost too spicy for him to eat, but perfect for me!

For dinner, a meal with no vegetables in sight! Grilled cheese sandwiches (with Daiya), french fries, and Tempeh's Smoky Maple Tempeh Bacon. After snapping the picture, I stuck the bacon in the sandwich. The Daiya shreds didn't exactly melt, but it was still a really good dinner. Oh, and I used Trader Joe's low calorie wheat bread to minimize the guilt factor.

For dessert, half a piece of the best chocolate cake in the world, from the East End Co-op. 

In other news, I'm 98% done with the cardigan I've been knitting for three weeks. I have to sew the armholes and loose ends, and then acquire some suitably pretty buttons from either the LYS or Etsy. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm done.

Good Belly 12-Day Challenge, Day One

Today J and I went to see a matinee performance of The Gammage Project today, a harrowing docudrama based on the true events of October 12, 1995, when a black man was stopped by police due to a traffic violation, and ended up dead. It was a great performance, but we needed cheering up when it was over. So we went to Whole Foods, where I got another container of Brad's Raw Leafy Kale. I also picked up a quart of GoodBelly Probiotic juice in cranberry watermelon. 

I'll admit, I didn't read the back label until I got home. I'm not that big of a juice drinker, mostly because of the added calories and sugar, and the serving of this has 100 calories and 24 grams of sugar. I'll drink the juice, of course, but next time I think I'll pick up the Goodbelly Straightshot (no added sugar, and just 30 calories). 

I love the cranberry watermelon flavor. It has a slight yogurt-ish taste to it, but of course it's vegan, so there's no dairy involved.

I also purchased the ingredients to make Cheesy Kale Chips, recipe courtesy of Pride & Vejudice. My food processor went kaput when I was making the cashew/nutritional yeast spread, so I didn't get a very smooth consistency. A few of the chips didn't get that crispy, due to excessive glops of cheesy sauce. I cooked the kale at 200 degrees for 50 minutes; maybe I should have kept in the oven longer. But it didn't matter, because these taste so freaking good! 

J and I ate half a batch. The other half I put away in sandwich baggies to eat tomorrow. Oh, and tomorrow, one day ahead of Fat Tuesday (cause I can never cook elaborate dishes on workdays), I'll be making jumbalaya!

New Kitchen Bling

I finally got one! After years of waiting for soups to cool before ladling them into our blender or food processor, and then laboriously blending in batches, I went to Target and purchased an immersion blender. It isn't the fanciest model, but it has made cooking a whole lot easier. 

Here is my tortilla soup (recipe from The Happy Herbivore) in chunky form. 

And here it is, after the immersion blender did its magic. The process literally took 30 seconds.

Best of all, the immersion blender was easy to clean. I loathe kitchen gadgets that have a lot of intricate nooks and crannies to clean.

Earlier in the week, I made the Baigan Aaloo (aka Eggplant and Potatoes) from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. Sigh. This turned out to be mediocre. I didn't think there were enough spices involved to give this dish a full-flavored taste. The directions were also mystifying. There was no mention of oil, broth or water to saute the onions and garlic in. I went ahead and used broth. 

I then had some difficulty getting to the red potatoes to become tender without having the eggplant mush down to a paste. I ended up fishing the potatoes out and cooking them separately in another pan.

Maybe it was just me having an "off" day in the kitchen, but my Baigan Aaloo didn't compare to the dozen of other recipes I've made from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.

On an entirely different subject: I am always on the quest for healthy breakfast choices. On Sundays I love to make elaborate spreads with tofu scrambles and pancakes. But for the rest of week, I try to eat conscientiously. I want to eat enough to keep me satisfied until lunch (which means that fruit or non-dairy yogurt isn't really an option), yet minimize the processed, packaged food factor. 

Last night before I went to bed, I made the Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal from healthyslowcooker.com. This is steel-cut oats with the Peanut Butter & Co's white chocolate pb I keep religiously in my pantry.  I cooked it on low for seven hours, but it was starting to burn on the edges, so next time I'll check it at six hours. Even slightly burnt, it was delicious. Here is the before picture; I forgot to take an after one.

 

Do you have a favorite healthy breakfast? 

Brad's Raw Leafy Kale

I just want to do a quick post about Brad's Raw Leafy Kale. I bought a container of the Nasty Hot flavor when I was shopping at Whole Foods last weekend, and it's incredible. I make kale chips all the time, but I bake them. Brad's Leafy Kale is dehydrated and has a great mixture of nutritional yeast, cashews, and jalapeno sprinkled over them. One 2.5 ounce container was kind of pricey, which makes me think a dehydrator of my own might be a good future investment. I have wanted one for years. In the meantime, I'll pick up another container of this Kale. It was a satisfying and healthy snack. 

Oh, and my household is divided about the spice level of this product. J thinks Nasty Hot is an accurate description, while I only found the kale to be mildly spicy.

I Love Trader Joe's

I really do. Today I braved the snow and the wind to get a bagful of lovely vegetables (including romaine lettuce, sweet  potatoes, and red peppers). I also ended up with a few extras in my cart, like these beauties:

Wow. This is one of the best salsas I've ever had. And the fresh is in the description is not a lie -- it tastes like it was made this morning. The guacamole was also out of this world. Both the guacamole and salsa were very reasonably priced, at least two dollars cheaper than what I could get at the other grocery stores. 

Going back in time ... want to know what J and I had for dinner last night? We had this:

It's Skillet Spanish Beef 'N Rice from Pillsbury's Hamburger magazine. This is a dish I used it to make all the time before I changed my diet. J mentioned how much he missed it the other day, and I thought to myself: I can veganize that.

I used Trader Joe's meatless ground beef instead of real hamburger, and added a few chipotles and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to liven up the taste. It's shocking how easy this recipe is, and how, just a few years ago, I thought it was challenging. All in all, it tasted just as I remembered it. J had two helpings! 

Since I'm all about the food (or in this case, the drinks) today, I just wanted to mention that Good Belly, a vegan probiotic drink company, has a 12 Day Challenge on their website. If you sign up, they'll send you coupons! I haven't tried any of their products yet, but the next time I'm at Whole Foods I'll definitely pick up a bottle.

Aliens, Apes, and Salad

I just had to read this volume of Power Girl. The charming art montage on the cover, paired with the title (Aliens and Apes) made it irresistible. I have to admit, however, that my expectations weren't very high. I read Power Girl: The New Beginning, and found it a bit hard to get through, especially the fight sequences.

Aliens and Apes is absolutely pitch perfect. It's funny, action-packed, and Power Girl is a compelling heroine. I especially loved her interactions with her best friend, Terra, whom she just happens to have to rescue from certain doom! Oh, and Power Girl's cat is super cute, too. 

It's been a rough week, so I haven't caught up on the single issue comics I purchased last Wednesday. I did read Animal Man #6 and Memorial #2.

The last issue of Animal Man ended on quite a cliffhanger. This issue takes a surprising detour -- I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but let me just say that it was nothing I was expecting. This comic book is BRILLIANT. Each issue gets better and better. 

I can't say the same thing about Memorial #2. I read the first issue, and found the writing clunky and the plot bland. I love the idea of the premise -- an ever expansive fairy tale, but on paper it just didn't appeal to me. I wasn't planning on picking up the second issue, but an interview with the writer and artist on War Rocket Ajax convinced me to give it another try. 

Alas, it was just more of the same. The protagonist and her talking cat companion were not interesting enough for me to want to read on. This is a shame, because I'm all for supporting comic books featuring female leads. 

Oh well. At least I had some great food lately. On Saturday night, J and I went to a friend's house for dinner. We brought a split pea soup (you can see a photograph of this soup from a few weeks ago), and our friend made a lovely Mango and Heart of Palm Salad with a Lime Vinaigrette. It was a nice alternative from the traditional tomato/lettuce salad.

Last night I was feeling sluggish, so I decided to give my system a nice jolt of energy by making a big pot of Creemy Kale Soup from Jae Steele's Ripe From Around Here. Mmm. There's really nothing better than kale. Here, pureed with zucchini and onions, the kale had an almost cilantro-ish taste. 

Oh yeah, and I finished that vest. Which turned out to be a short-sleeed knitted top instead. I'll post pictures next time, I promise!

Photo Anatomy of a Saturday

Sleeping cat.

New yarn (after a three month yarn diet!)

WIP (Isla Wrap)

Second sleeping cat.

Meat-less, cheese-less taco night.