Saturday, December 22, 2007
Happy Holidays!
I don't defrost much nowadays and it completely slipped my mind to take the frozen tube out of the freezer. So, instead of the hour and a half it is normally suppose to take, it took 3. We ended up eating at about 10 pm, but it worked out well and I was able to get a lot of stuff done for the holidays.
Gift shopping is just about done, and all I really have left to do is finish my grandma's blanket, bake goodies for friends and family and have a picture developed.
Baking will be this weekend so I *SHOULD* have many more pictures to put up before Christmas.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Wow! It's been forever!
I was also blessed enough to get three new collections to my recipe book stack, Veganomicon, Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and Vegan Baking. All are just amazing. Non vegans even love the recipes so much they ask for them. I actually need to sit down and plan all the recipes I'm going to be preparing soon :)
Other than that, I have some pictures from a Mexican Fiesta that I never posted.
I made a soy ceviche, guacamole (not shown), a Mexican casserole with chreese and a peanut butter, banana, chocolate philo pastry. It was my first experience with philo dough and thankfully wasn't as hard as I had imagined it. I had put off working with the dough for a while now because I thought it would be too hard and too much of a hassle to use. It turned out great though!
I also fell victim to the survey thats being passed around and figured why not :P
- Favorite non-dairy milk? -So Nice-chocolate (strangely its the only chocolate milk (vegan/nonvegan) that I like)
2 . What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
AHHH there’s so many. I really want to try the Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, along with its chile cornmeal crusted tofu and chewy chocolate raspberry cookies.
3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Salt.
4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
I still cannot get the apple cake to work. It comes out looking really pretty and then tastes like bread L
5. Favorite pickled item?
Pickles themselves! I love pickles!
6. How do you organize your recipes?
I use my computers to keep track of all my recipes that I love. I also have a file cabinet that keep track of each type of recipe in meal type order for backup!
7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Trash and recycle.
8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
Foods or meals? I’d for sure bring garlic, bread, and mushrooms.
9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Easy bake oven :P
10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Butter Pecan.
11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Food processor.
12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Garlic. Hands down.
13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Sinfully Vegan-by far, not my favorite.
14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Orange Marmalade.
15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Lemon garlic pasta from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.
16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tofu.
17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner.
18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Espresso machine.
19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Frozen peas, Frozen blueberries, Frozen corn.
20. What's on your grocery list?
Too many items. I’d be poor if I bought them all lol!
21. Favorite grocery store?
Frazier Farmers, Sprouts.
22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.
Pecan Pie.
23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
I have so many blogs that I read, but I’d have to say my top three are:
http://stonielove.blogspot.com/
http://veganvice.blogspot.com/
24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Hmmm. I don’t really have a favorite chocolate bar, but Endangered Species chocolates are wonderful!
25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Um, maybe philo dough?
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Pita Sandwich and Apple Bread
This pita has vegan mayo, sauteed mushrooms and onions, garlic and rooster sauce.
This was the apple bread I made, it was a bit dry, but the apple part came out really well.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Super hot weekend and Caribbean Curry
This was actually really different from the normal curry I make, and was really a nice combination of spicy and sweet. It has bananas, apples, black eyed peas, beans, onions and garlic along with spices in it. It tasted delicious and went perfect with the hot day! Paul is shown below modeling a plate of it nicely for the camera.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tofu Katsu and Cake
I also mad a quick and simple pineapple upside down cake. Everyone seemed to get to it before I could take a picture however...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Adobo, Lumpia and soap!
The adobo however, came out way to salty and will have to be worked on. I'm not sure if it was just the fake chikn or the amount of soy sauce used.
The picture isn't the best, but you get the idea.
I'm also working on making my holiday presents. Soap is by far my favorite to make and is one of the most relaxing things for me to do. I use an olive oil base, so there are no animal products in my soap. I have so far green tea soap, holiday wassel , chai tea, and lemon grass apricot. Hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
A little slow...
I PROMISE to get back going soon and into my normal habit of things. But for now, I thought I'd share so pictures from Nebraska with you all. Hope you enjoy! (Some of the pics need to be expanded before they look right lol. The sitting picture however is just low quality :( )
This is the river where my great uncle had his ashes spread. He grew up near this river and would play in it when he was a kid. It was a beautiful and moving ceremony.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Finally Back!
I finally am back. My trip to Nebraska was a lot of fun and I was able to get a lot of great photos and meet a lot of amazing people. As soon as I came back, I started to move into my new place. I'm really excited about the new place because of the size of the kitchen. This is a huge difference to me as I was working from a single hot plate before :) As soon as I get completely moved in, I'm going to be posting a ton of new dishes! Keep watching!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Finals are over...
For those of you who read this whole post, I'm sorry if this didn't make much sense. I'm walking in my sleep right now :)
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Polenta
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Potato Curry and Cranberries
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Sunday Morning French Toast!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Shitake Tofu
I had a few things left in the fridge and decided to throw it all together to make dinner today. Shitake mushrooms with tofu and green onions. I made it with a lot of sauce to be able to pour it over the rice. I know I'm obsessed with Asian cuisine and stir fry-ish foods, but really, I can't help it!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Asian Noodles
This dish was basically a stir fry with somen noodles instead of the rice and was more "soupy". The tofu was my trial of frozen tofu and it came out great. It completely gives it a different texture and taste. I'll have to have more frozen tofu adventures in the near future.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
White Chili
Friday, June 01, 2007
Cupcakes, Kevin and the Did You Knows!
Here is a picture of the chocolate cupcakes and little Kevin eating his.
The only issue I have with making the cupcakes, is that the frosting seems to melt within five minuets of sitting out. I use Earth Balance so I am wondering if that is the reason. If anyone has any solution to this, PLEASE let me know :)
On another vegan food blog, Vegan Vice, she lists a series of "Did You Know" facts she got from a Native Foods flyer. I found it to be very helpful for quick facts about food and the effects it has on our planet. I've listed the list from her website below.
Pollution: The meat industry causes more water pollution in the United States than all other industries combined because animals raised for food produce 130 times more excrement than the entire human population does - 86,000 pounds per second. A typical pig factory farm generates a quantity of raw waste equal to that of a city of 50,000 people, but without the sewage system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the runoff from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined.
Land: Of all agricultural land in the United States, nearly 80 percent is used to raise animals for food. More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals. Twenty times more land is required to feed a meat-eater than to feed a pure vegetarian.
Water: Raising animals for food consumes nearly half the water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Also, the EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.
Global Warming: Meat production causes global warming. The massive amount of animal feces produced in factory farms is the largest source of airborne methane in the U.S. According to the EPA, methane traps heat in the atmosphere more than 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide does.
Energy: Raising animals for food requires more than one-third of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S. Satisfying our appetite for flesh requires fuel to produce fertilizer for the crops that are fed to animals, oil to run the trucks that take them to slaughter, electricity to freeze their carcasses, and much more.
Animals: You can't be concerned about the environment without caring about our fellow inhabitants, the animals. They're made of flesh and blood, have complex social and psychological lives, and feel pain, just as humans do. More than 27 billion animals are killed by the U.S. meat industry each year, and they're killed in ways that would horrify any compassionate person.
"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you can do."---- Sir Paul McCartney
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The Great Mendoza Pasta
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tacos and Mexican Rice
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Chana Masala
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Missing
Sorry its been so long since I've posted. My camera is out of commission right now and until I can get that up and going again, no food post :( I'm working on it! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Spicy Gnocchi
I made Spicy Gnocchi the other day and added extra garlic and spice. It came out great! I actually wish there was more left. It was just a standard basil and garlic flavored gnocchi and pasta sauce with added spices for yumminess.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Chris Day!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Spicy Forrest
This is the chick'n cooking in it's yummy sauce!
And here is the finished product!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Cupcakes
I made the Coconut Lime cupcakes from Vctotw and they were absolutely amazing! I only had one picture really come out so my apologies! Anyways, I didn't think it would come out half as good as they did. Honestly though, I've never had a better tasting cupcake EVER. They were moist and fluffy. Just perfect for a summer snack. I can't wait to try more from the book :)
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Breakfast in Bed
Monday, April 09, 2007
Dinner Party
Friday, April 06, 2007
Strawberries and Japanese Curry
I cut up a bunch of fresh strawberries for a snack while the guys were playing video games. I set it down on the table and it was gone within a few minuets. I was very sad I only got a few ☹
For dinner, I made the Japanese curry with potatoes and mushrooms. There is pita bread to go with it, as it is always perfect for dipping.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Soy Jerky and Cuban Black Beans Over Rice
This jerky however looked a bit different and I want to go ahead and try it. Despite the interesting smell, the jerky was really good and had a good texture. I didn't get sick afterwards which is great news. The company is called, Tasty Eats. I had the Tandoori Chick'n flavored one, which was really quite interesting.
For dinner, I made Cuban Black Beans over rice with extra tomatoes. I put in jalapeños to make it extra spicy.
I was having trouble with the lighting for the camera, so you’ll have to excuse my images.