Photo Wrap Up

Because I still have photos and recipes from last year on my computer that have yet to be blogged, I decided today would be little words and a whole lot of pictures. Not all of the photos are very good, so bear with me. I just had to get this off my chest/to do list.

Baby Corn with Peppers in Sweet Teriyake sauce from Happy Herbivore

Hot Sauce-glazed tempeh and Messy Rice both from Veganomicon

Tofu and Broccoli in Spicy Peanut Sauce from happyveganface

Peanut Ginger Noodles (i think) from The Picky Vegan

Potato Latkes from The Vegan Table

I think I can sleep easy tonight. Have a good weekend everyone!

Udon Noodles with Sesame Tofu & Pumpkin Muffins

First off, I wanted to tell you all my lack of ability of finding the "&" key. Believe me I know it is located at the number 7, but for some reason my poor little fingers sit idle looking for the key, which forces me to look down at the keyboard. Mrs Greene, I am sorry I failed you, I was your best student in both Introductory Keyboarding classes, and yes people I did get As without even trying. booyah. I took Keyboarding class as my freshmen elective of high school. I loved it, Mrs Greene had a deep voice with a southern drawl mixed with discontent. I would spend about 40 of the 50 min class online playing games (before myspace's time!). Anyways, thought I'd share that with you guys. But I am a good typer, speedy (120wpm, just took the test!), accurate, and all that jazz (hint, ill be looking for a job in a few months!). Way off track here, thank you number 7.

This sunday I decided to actually cook. I'm becoming lazier and lazier, but I am so stressed and strapped for time that most of the time I look to my freezer, pasta, or take-out. I had been drooling over Vegan Dad's recipe Udon Noodles with Sesame Tofu. I had great luck finding udon noodles in the store, but I was confused since the package said Wheat pasta and Gluten-free on the front label...hrm. But I don't worry about gluten, so it didn't worry me. They were also flat and not cool rounds ones like I have always had, but that was okay. I'm just being extremely harsh on these noodles. Like always, I love vegan dad for his simple recipes, easy to follow instructions, and the constant feed back he gives to our questions. Obviously the sesame tofu was the main feature of this dish. The tofu was to be fried, but I am trying to stay away from frying anything, so I drudged my tofu with a little soy sauce and the sesame seeds, it worked to get the tofu and sesame to bind, then just heated my oven to 400degrees and had the tofu in for 20 mins. While my tofu baked I prepared my noodles and veggies (orange and red peppers, carrots, and green onions). The sauce was nothing other than soy sauce, hoison, and rice vinegar. But since I cannot find rice vinegar no matter how many times I ask confused looking grocery workers I used a smidge of white vinegar and added a bit extra hoison. The recipe was so satisfying, barely any work to be done for such a delicious meal. I had plenty of leftovers for the next day and enjoyed it just as much.

Since, I had so much extra time while making my dinner I decided to finally make the VegNews Newsletter's Perfect Pumpkin Muffins. Unlike Caroyln who posted the recipe, I didn't have too great a success with the muffins. I have a feeling I just do not like putting tofu in any of my deserts. I have had no luck with them. I think it also has to do with my hatred of putting baked goods in the fridge. The tofu then spoils quickly and ruins your baked good. I mean, they were good and all, and I enjoyed the flavors, but next time I would just use apple sauce or something other than tofu. They were quite rich in the sugar and oil department, so definitely a treat that shouldn't be indulged. I think I have to throw away the 5-6 that I have left as they are starting to smell weird. They look good, taste good, but being in microbiology makes me wary of everything i touch, look at at, sit on, and especially eat.

And to finish this post off. HAPPY DIWALI!
I hope everyone has a great celebration. I really wish I got to spend more time in India and be there for Diwali, just means i will have to go back. I know you have all seen this picture in another post, but it is a picture of Ram and Sita at the temple my host mom went to every day.

Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie and Veggie Curry Pockets

What is better than vegetables and bread? Vegetables in creamy sauces surrounded by bread. Both of these recipes did just that.

Joni from just the food. had a very enticing recipe in photo and in flavors which she called Vegetable Curry Pockets, very appropriate. These pockets were simple to make as she wasn't making her own dough, but using frozen puff pastry dough, that sounds good with me. So while my puff pastry was defrosting I went ahead and made the filling. The filling, which I failed to get a good picture of is filled with carrots, broccoli, and peas that are laced within a curry cream sauce (margarine, soy milk, and veg broth). It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I had issues filling my pockets, and it got a little messy. But mess doesnt stop taste, so no problem there. I also ended up having a ton of extra filling, but again, no problem. Why throw it out, when it can fill pita pockets or be topped on rice, etc.

The pockets were amazing. Pipping out hot with such a creamy delicious insides. I've said creamy a billion times already, so you get my point. The flavor was perfect, subtle spice from the curry and sweet from the butter. In other words, I will definitely make this recipe again. And highly recommend it.


Lindsay at Happy Hervivore had my second recipe of creamy and breaded goodness. Her version, a deconstructed pot pie entitled Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie. Now, Lindsay went all out and made her own biscuits. We all know, I need simple and quick to be able to survive. I bought the vegan Pillsbury dinner rolls and baked them while making the filling. The recipe, somewhat similar to the filling of the first was mostly made creamy by vegetable broth, soy milk, and corn starch. Then I had frozen peas, corn, cauliflower, and broccoli with my favorite all-season spice, Season-All. Took less than 15 minutes for this meal to be ready. With no prep and only one pot and one baking sheet, this could easily count as a simple meal that warms me up just thinking about it. Creamy sweetness is exactly what I want to taste when I need a fast break from the world. This recipe will definitely be added to my normal line-up.

Simple Meals

Some days it feels great to know your meal will be ready from start to finish in less than 10 minutes. With barely any dishes and barely any prep, what else could be better. Every Monday I am in school from 9am to 8:30pm with few breaks in between. It sucks...
So, I have an hour and a half I have to get dinner in my stomach and be ready for my last class of the day.

Some days I will just eat a frozen meal from Amy's Kitchen, others I will run to Qdoba, and like yesterday I found a quick meal in my fridge that would also satisfy me beyond any belief.

The past weekend I had gone to a farmer's market and Whole Foods. I had gone with expecting to buy only a few items, and left with two full bags and 100 dollars out. Yes, 100 dollars. There is a reason I dont go to Whole Foods too often, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

At the Farmer's market, I bought the best looking sweet corn, which I couldn't let it sit in my fridge for much longer, so the corn is what I designed my meal around. I had also gotten gardein's bbq pulled pork. They are new mock meats that are so high in protein and fiber that it is almost unbelievable. I paired my 'pork' with spinach and cream cheese on toast. Now, this meal had more salt and 'butter' products than I am used to, so I had to have a salad to go along with it.


I don't know why, but I highly enjoyed this meal and savoured every bite. It was everything I could have asked for on a stressful day. And with only one pot and my plate to clean up, it made my life a whole lot easier.

Satisfying and quick, what are your favorite simple meals?

Broccoli Risotto

Last week I realized that I had a package of Arborio rice in my cupbard for almost an entire year without being opened. I decided to open it and then two days later I finally gave in to making some risotto. My reason for not making it? I am lazy and thought it would be too much work and stirring. What gives!? Man, is that a wake up call. I need to get back into the kitchen and make sure that I dont get that lazy again with food.

I looked through my barren fridge and saw that I had zucchini and broccoli left. I decided on the broccoli (if you didn't figure that out from the title...). I sort am on an off mode with zucchini, i love it then i avoid it, weird. I typed into good ol google "broccoli risotto" and used the first recipe I found which came from cooks.com. I've only ever watched my mom make risotto, so I really had no idea what it entailed...

It was the simplest thing ever. My hand never got tired and it was sort of fun. I got so excited when I had finally mixed all of the veg stock with my rice. A pretty good pay off when I had waited so long to use the rice.


I pledge that I, Sarah, will not wait a year until I next make risotto.

Hotch-A-Do

What better way to spend a saturday morning than with like-minded individuals.

This morning my campuses environmental organization (well 10 of us) headed over to a Milwaukee breakfast hot spot called Hotch-A-Do. It is right next to one of the biggest/most known veg friendly restaurants in the city, so I really never noticed it. But it was sure not to be missed. Although the menu really only had a few vegan friendly items, one of the first items on the menu is their vegan burrito. As described by their website menu: "Generous portions of tofu, green peppers, onions, morning spuds, vege chili, all wrapped in a grilled flour tortilla Includes a side of our homemade salsa and topped with fresh avocado." Does that description not get you all? I had it mind even before we got to the restaurant. So when the menu arrived, I had no reason to even look at it.

There was a run/walk for the local children's hospital, which meant streets around our school were all closed, couldnt cross the street, and members of our group ran it, so well by the time the race was over we were all starving. This meant my appetite was HUGE! I was so ready for my burrito to arrive. But in the mean time I got to engulf some delicious and fragrant Rishi Peach White Tea. We all got to know each other better as 6 of the members were new this year. I still remember everybody's name!!

Our food finally came. Three of us got burritos (although, mine was the only vegan) and the rest got eggs or pancakes/french toast. It so happened that all that ordered the burritos were sitting next to each other. Pretty much all were drooling over how good they looked, we sure didn't eat our words or spit. It was the best breakfast burrito I have ever had. Ever. It was perfectly seasoned, perfect amount of tofu, perfect amount of their amazing chili, and fresh avocado can never be beat.


We all were so full after brunch. It was so great getting together with a group from campus. It looks like this will be a recurring event in the club, so can't wait til the next food event. Mhmm food.

Afterwards I headed to Whole Foods to get my hands on the vegan candy bars that I keep hearing about from Go Max Go Foods. They are designed to mimic famous candy bars (Three Musketeers, Snickers, Milky Way, and Almond Joy). I ended up not finding them, fail. But I ended up finding a bit over 100 dollars worth of other goodies. I know, don't judge. It had been 4 months since I went on a proper visit, I got a little carried away. I left with natural acne solution kit, vegan potstickers, 30 Clif Bars (89 cents!!!), Teese moz cheese, and other delicious vegan specialties that I never eat.

Lunchbox time

So one of my favorite days of the week is when I get to pack my cute little Laptop Lunches lunchbox. The company even has a new version, 2.0. It allows to switch up the size containers within the bento box, as their are no longer any more ridges on the bottom of the container. Great idea, as now there is a large sandwich container, and lids for all of the container sizes. So far this semester, I only get to use it once a week, but now that I am an intern at the crime laboratory, I will get to use it as well on Thursdays and Fridays. I definitely will be able to make new friends with my cool lunch box.

pb&j, carrots w/ hummus, apple, oreos

pb&j, curried potato salad, celery w/ peanut butter, vegan fruit snacks (costco!), and a fortune cookie
my fortune was: 'Teaching means learning twice'
i was satisfied.

Buddha Bowl and Channa Saag

It is October...How the hell did that happen? I cannot believe that I have already been in school for a month and that I am only a few weeks from the middle of the semester. I am excited that it is already half over, but this also means that my applications for graduate school are needing to be completed. But no fretting, I have it all under control. Well, maybe not the paper I am supposed to have finished by Saturday night (did I mention it is a minimum of 12 pages!).

This week I have spent most of my meals hitting up Subway and Qdoba and my freezer. I am close to being completely out of all food, so I have a long, long list of groceries to get this weekend. But I love grocery shopping, so it will be fun to take a break from Amy's frozen dinners and Boca chicken nuggets.

This first meal comes from one of my favorite bloggers jessy, or happyveganface. Her recipe sweet 'n spicy adzuki buddha bowls. Now, I still have yet to find adzuki beans in any of the stores near my house. Ill have to try a middle eastern store next time, as they tend to have beans that I've never heard of. So I switched up the recipe slightly to fit my needs with kidney beans instead of adzuki. But the bowl was full of fresh veggies, cashews, and the most delicious, simple, and light sauce. The sauce was mostly just agave, soy, sriracha, ginger, and a little vinegar. I was so highly impressed with all the flavors, I dont know why but the sauce hit the spot in so many ways. And it has every time I've made it. I also have made the meal for my family and they loved the freshness to the recipe too. Filling, fresh, and light. I dont even know what else to say, but yum.


Now that I am missing Indian food so dearly, I keep wanting to make every Indian recipe I see. So I decided to made Vegan Dad's Channa Saag recipe. Spinach has somehow become one of my favorite vegetables (my mom would be proud) and I always adore chickpeas. A simple, quick recipe perfect for a weekday. It was sweet from the wilted spinach, tomatoes, and onions, and nice and spicy from the garam masala and chili powder. I enjoyed every bite.

So obviously, my writing skills and food loving adjectives are quite low at the moment. I am hoping it is being stored in a reservoir for my Buddhism/Feminism paper. I want to get at least half of it done today, but that looks dismal. And the final countdown begins.

Happy October, happy mofo-ing!

VEGAN MOFO, Numba 3

Well guys and dolls, it is that time of year again.

The time of year that we are thankful to make food without sweating our heads off in a steaming kitchen, the time of year that we get to complain of the cold and eat warm soup, and the time of the year that we are posting our heads off in the love of veganism, food, and friends. Welcome to Vegan Mofo v. 3

This is my second year of Vegan mofo, but this year I am going to make a really great attempt to post everyday of October. We shall see.

WYSE cupcakes

My life right is made up of mostly school and school. Thrown in is food and sleep. And that is how it should be for someone in their 3rd year of university. Im completely okay with this. But one activity that does help to take the ease off school, no matter how stressful, is the organization Women and Youth Supporting Each Other, WYSE. It is a national curriculum-based mentoring program for college-aged women and 6-8th grade middle school girls. These girls are normally at-risk and need guidance to help keep them on track. We work at a school that is 99% latino, a charter school. Even though the school we work with is really great, with great teachers, administration, and building, the girls do come to us willingly looking for that extra help and mentoring. Currently, we have over 50 mentees (almost 50% of the female population). The program is once a week at the middle school, where we use a curriculum to address major topics. When I say curriculum, I am refering to having a set topic each week that we base all of our activities off of. This week is focused on personal identity, where we will have 3 activities that all allow the girls to get to know their fellow mentees and mentors a bit better and also allow themselves to learn more about who they are. Other topics include: politics of motherhood, STDs, healthy living, and so on. So, we dont just sit there idly for 2 hours and hope that we can think of something to do, nor do we ever help them with homework, we are not there to be teachers or parents, but to be mentors. At the end of the year, we have a grand 'ol banquet, last year I was in charge of the event. All the girls and their parents were invited for a chic night at our university. We served a large dinner, showed a slideshow of what we did the past year, handed out awards and certification of completion, and really got to know our girls better. Im again in charge of the banquet for this year, and already in gear to start planning (its in April!).

Not only am I chair of banquet, but I am a director of the program. I hold the position of Community Director. I have direct contact between the middle school and their administration. I also handle all attendance for mentees and mentors. It ends up being a lot of work, 3 WYSE meetings a week, over 20 hours committed some weeks. But it is worth it. I have loved every minute I've been apart of the group. I've gotten to know some of the most amazing women on my campus and also learned more about myself. My mentee is the most adorable girl in the world, now a big bad 7th grader, we will graduate the same year. She is quite shy, but has a spunk to her that reminds me a bit of myself. I can't wait to get to know her even more this year.

These cupcakes were made for our after-training party. One Saturday last month, we spent a good 5 hours speaking to all of our new mentors (25) about the experience they will have and how to handle all the hardships that will arise. It is difficult to realize that even though these girls are amazing and strong, all women have experiences that are traumatic. So hopefully, our mentors are ready to take on any scary situation. The dinner was at another director's apartment. About 12 girls were in attendance. We served, garlic bread, salad, and pasta marinara (my suggestion ;) ) and I supplied these cupcakes for desert. The first is the ever so famous Cookies n' Cream recipe from VCToW. I had wanted to make these forever, but never had the cookies for it. These babies were so moist and chocolatey, I had trouble limiting myself to only one while I was baking. The cupcake on the right is what I call "Spiced Chocolate" Cupcakes. The major difference is in this chocolate batter there is red chili pepper, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. They are topped with the same luscious white frosting (also of VCToW) and sprinkled with even more red chili powder.
Let me tell you, the girls at the party went first for the Spiced Chocolates. I was very surprised since most people dont relate spicy to chocolate, but chilis and chocolate were made for each other. Everyone thought they were so delicious and also really moist. They were really surprised when they found out they were vegan. So I think I did my job.

Chickpea Pot Pie

I'm almost back to feeling a 100%. I had two midterms last week, they were tough and a lot of work...thank god they are over. What was great is that we had Thursday and Friday off for our fall break. I've been relaxing since Wednesday night in the comfort of my home sweet home. Though, the madness is about to start all over with two more midterms and two large scientific analysis papers.

Well one thing that does help to calm me down before large exams is to eat a good, hearty meal. This dish found on Vegan Dad's blog is 'Chicken' Pot Pie. This isn't a meal to make the day before a big exam or on a busy night, took me a good hour to make and then 45-50 minutes to cook. The leftovers were plenty, and they were perfect for those crazy days. While all the wonderful veggies cooked, I made the incredibly easy crust. What is nice about this pot pie is that there is only one pie crust, no bottom, just the top. Less unnecessary starches means more room for amazing vegetables. And I mean vegetables! It was filled with chickpeas, corn, celery, onion, carrots, peas, and potatoes. I was a bit nervous to make the crust, but it was so easy to mix. I did use a hand mixer, which made it very easy to put together. When all the vegetables were finished cooking I strained half the water and added in vegetable broth. It calls for vegetable broth powder, but it is a great deal more expensive than just cubes, so that remains to be something I will stock. My filling did end up a bit runny, but I didnt mind at all. Next time I will get rid of more water before adding the vegetable broth. What was so great with this dish, is after I assembled it and put it in the oven, the entire house filled with the aromas of the vegetables and the dough baking. I felt so accomplished. And I felt even more accomplished after I got to taste it. It was so damn good. It was everything I was looking for. I made sure to savour every single bite. I enjoyed the leftovers to the next few days just as much. You cant ask for more from a pot pie.

I must go and work on one of my papers. Sadly it is due on Tuesday afternoon, and I have barely started. I know what I will be doing all tomorrow. Lame school. Have a happy Monday!

Bean and Rice Burrito

I am feeling a bit better. Thank you all for your kind words. Fluids and soup were my best friend this weekend. My mom did make a delicious lentil dish for me on Saturday night. Green lentils, yellow and red peppers, onions, turmeric, and vegetable broth. It called for parsley, but I stopped her right before she put it in. I have to say, parsley and I are not friends. But it was really delicious. Im so excited I brought the leftovers back with me...hello Monday night dinner.

Now that I am back at school, there is 3 days left til our fall break. I have 3 days of school to make-up, plus two exams...bring it on!

I will speak about my concert adventure, where my friends and I all went to the Chicago Diner had lovely vegan food. But that review and pictures from the show will come in about a weeks time.

Now to review another of Vegan Dad's recipes. Im telling you, I love his recipes. They are simple, few ingredients, and are most of the time less than an hour to prepare. It is great for any student. The Bean and Rice Burritos looked amazing from the picture. I love beans, rice, and jalapeno peppers, so this recipe was definitely for me. The recipe was quite easy, just had to wait for the rice to cook really. I had bought nacho cheese from Whole Foods that day, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use it...wrong. Turns out I hated the nacho cheese. It was mostly a strong after taste from the cheese. The bean and rice and tomato mixture was perfect though. It was just what I was looking for. Nice simple meal, with great potential for leftovers. Next time I make this, I will leave the cheese out. I have yet to find a cheese that I am truly satisfied. I do like Tofutti slices, but I cant find any around here. Im not fond of Galaxy's white cheese slices, but their yellow cheese slices are perfectly okay with me. I am dying to get my hands on Teese and as well Dr. Cow's Tree Nut Cheeses. Once it gets colder, I will order the cheeses (since I wont have to pay extra for a cold pack).

Mhmmm, cheeese. One thing, Im still learning to live without. My house probably has 10 different types of cheese at one time. My mom is from Denmark and loves every cheese; therefore, I am quite partial to cheese after cheese myself. At Whole Foods today, I saw a blue cheese walnut bread, it was extremely tempting, probably the most tempting thing I have seen since going vegan. I am learing how to live without, but it will take some time.

What non-vegan item is most tempting for you?

sick...

So my absence has been due to being very sick. I went home yesterday, still got to see the concert (full review coming), but apparently I might have pneumonia. I got x-rays to test for it today. This would not be the first, second, or third case, but my fourth. So it is a great possibility. Im hoping not, but it makes sense. I have midterms next week, so I need to get better in the next few days, like that will happen. At least I only have 3 days to get through of school, we have our fall break starting wednesday.

This weekend, Ill be nursing myself back to health. Lots of fluids, my antibiotics, and loads of soup.
Have a better weekend!

Internship excitement

Well, I have loads of homework and a few meetings yet to go to tonight, so Ill make this short.

I got a really exciting phone call from my local FBI field office saying that I have moved forward in the application process for the highly competitive FBI Honors Internship, and have received an interview...TOMORROW!! Oh my! I am so excited. This is the chance of a lifetime. As some of you may know, I am a junior undergrad studying biology. I hope to continue grad school with forensic science (most likely trace elements or DNA). I really want to be a forensic scientist and with this internship I would get the chance to work at the FBI crime lab in Quantico, VA next summer. I freaked out mad when I was listening to the voicemail. I have been waiting to apply for this internship for two years now.
The application process itself is very hardcore. First faxed application, notices, recommendation, and the normal stuff. Also you must pass first security clearance. Then interviews. If you are considered further, more security clearances with polygraph test (lie detector), hair follicle/urine tests (drug tests), and they will visit family members, neighbors, friends, teachers, high school teachers, counselors, and so on to get more information on you. Then if you clear all that, you qualify. I've known I've wanted to work for the FBI for a good 7 years now? So while in high school I made sure all of my decisions were based on their requirements (no drugs of any sorts, marijuana and up and up). Even though, I already barely drink and never would have done drugs; the excuse of 'I want to work for the FBI, sorry I'm leaving the party...' or whatever, was quite helpful when peers demanded responses.

In other words, Im bouncing off the walls too excited to even try and think about hormones and their transduction pathways, ergh.

Yay, wish me luck!!

Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir Fry

Monday, monday, monday. How I loathe thee. Other than hating the first day of the work/school week, I always have the hardest time waking up. On the weekends, my schedule reverts back to bedtimes of 3am-5am and waking up at 11-2pm. I've never been a very big fan of the mornings. My mom got me an alarm clock at a very young age, as I was not any picnic to wake up for school even then. But I am awake, and half-way done with classes. And so ready for my afternoon nap.


But before I do so, I must rave about this amazing recipe from Robin Robertson's blog called Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir Fry. Anything with tofu and asparagus...sign me up. A very simple stir-fry that took less than 10 minutes to prepare and 10 to cook. The sauce is quite simple made up of mostly just soy sauce, sugar, and a little seasame oil. But the tofu is enhanced with fresh garlic and ginger. And lastly, the extra spice of red pepper flakes. I like heat, so I added double of what was called for. I have not a bad thing to say about this recipe. It was amazing. The flavors so simple, but exquisitely paired with the delicate asparagus. And asparagus are not yet psychotically expensive, last week I saw a bunch for 99cents at my local grocery store, so I will definitely be making this again.

Also to add, I know I use white rice (of course, enriched!). Most people would cringe with that thought. But growing up I HATED rice, the texture was absurbed to me (can you tell I was/am a picky eater). But, I realize now it was because my mom always used wild or brown rice. As well, living in Brazil we ate white rice every day. It is what I am accustom to, what I like, and also it is almost 3x quicker in cooking time than other variations. I am learning to like brown rice, but it's baby steps.

That's all. Enjoy your monday!

VEGAN FUCKING MOFO

I did say I was not going to participate. But I cant help it! Everyone is doing it and Im feeling the peer pressure!!!

More so, every blog is making me really excited for Vegan Mofo. I have already over 15 entries lined up, so I was like why not?

So it is official, as of 7:09pm CT of October 5th, 2008 I have signed up for the Vegan Month of Food!

This means that I must adhere to posting at least 20 times in the month of October. Ill be doing my normal stuff, but also be adding in a bit more personal goals for myself and talk about a couple projects I am working on animal rights and not. Also, if you have a specific question for myself or want me to answer, Ill do so!

Time for Desperate Housewives and more hot apple cider!

Mac and Cheese

Thank you to everyone for all the recommendations for mac and cheese recipes. I did try one, I went for Vegan Dad's version called Creamy Mac and Cheeze. I mean creamy right in the title, that had to be the one for me. The funny thing is, I was never a huge fan of mac and cheese as a vegetarian. I mean every so often Id crave those boxes of the cheesiest mac and cheese by Kraft or Velveeta shells, but that was the extent of my mac and cheese love affair. But it seems that I need to wait longer than 6 months san cheese to try out these recipes...

The picture is not beautiful. I have a feeling I was shooting with ISO 1500 setting. But even so, you can see how creamy this mac and cheese is. The sauce was easy to make with my awesome bullet blender. All the nuts and seeds took a good 20 seconds to pulse down. I was making this while on the phone with a friend, I finished and was about to heat it, but it wasnt really orange/yellow. I realized, I forgot the nooch! I grabbed by canister of nutritional yeast and mixed it all in good. Again, it truly was probably one of the most creamy recipes I've tried so far. My biggest issue was that it had no real flavor other than the nooch. I enjoy nooch, but definitely in small quantities. I think it really is an acquired taste. I had no problems downing my entire portion, but the leftovers sat inthe fridge...forever. Im not going to throw this recipe out (like the veganomicon recipe) but I might try it in a few months and see if I like it then. But for the moment, I think Im going to stop trying to recreate a vegan processed cheese pasta.

The weekend is almost over...again! It just comes too fast. Hopefully this school week, goes by nice and quick. I have a great Thursday planned. Off to Chicago to see Tegan and Sara and CITY AND COLOUR. I have been looking forward to this show for MONTHS! It is the first time I get to see both of these artists live. It is City and Colour's first American tour. I am missing an exam for this show. I spoke with my professor, no worries, I drop it from my grade. I get to meet up with some great friends and eat some great vegan food at the Chicago Diner and see probably one of the best shows of the semester. Oh boy. I better calm myself down, still have 4 days to get through. Drink some of my hot apple cider and read Vegnews.

Book, book, book nerd

Okay, so even though I am not participating in Vegan Mofo, I am of course in the spirit of things. I am loving just going through all the blogs that are participating and finding new blogs to stalk and love. Today I came across Awesome. Vegan. Rad. She has a great entry on the top 100 books at Librarything. Bold each book you've read, and color books you own. Star books you love. Well here I go!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (32,484) **
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling (29,939)**
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling (28,728)**
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling (27,926) **
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling (27,643) **
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling (27,641) **
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (23,266)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (21,325)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling (20,485) **
1984 by George Orwell (19,735)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (19,583)
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (19,082)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (17,586)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (16,210)
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (15,483)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (14,566)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (14,449)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (13,946)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (13,272)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (13,091)
Angels & demons by Dan Brown (13,089)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (13,005)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (12,777)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (12,634)
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (12,276)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (12,147)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (11,976)
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Part 2) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,512)
The Odyssey by Homer (11,483)
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (11,392)
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut (11,360)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (11,257)
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Part 3) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,082)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (10,979)
American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman (10,823)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (10,603)**
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (10,537) **
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (10,435)
The Lovely Bones : a novel by Alice Sebold (10,125)********(one of my favorite books)
Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card (10,092)
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman (9,827)*****
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman (9,745)
Dune by Frank Herbert (9,671)
Emma by Jane Austen (9,610)
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (9,598)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (9,593)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (9,433)**
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (9,413)
Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides (9,343)
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (9,336)
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (9,274)
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (9,246)
The Iliad by Homer (9,153)
The Stranger by Albert Camus (9,084)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (9,080)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (9,027)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (8,960)
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (8,904)
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt (8,813)
The Little Prince by saintexupryantoinede - 75k - (8,764)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (8,421)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (8,417)
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (8,368)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (8,255)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (8,214)
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (8,191)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (8,169)
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (8,129)
The Complete Works by William Shakespeare (8,096)
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (7,843)
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (7,834)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (7,829)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (7,808)
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (7,807)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (7,793)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (7,710)
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (7,648)****
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (7,598)
The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk (7,569)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (7,557)
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) by Philip Pullman (7,534)**
Atonement by Ian McEwan (7,530)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (7,512)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (7,436)*
Dracula by Bram Stoker (7,238)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (7,153)
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (7,055)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (7,052)
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (7,043)**
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (6,933)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (6,901)
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (6,899)
Neuromancer by William Gibson (6,890)
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (6,868)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (6,862)
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6,841)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (6,794)
Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (6,715)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (6,708)
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (6,697)


Almost half the books I have read, and I own just as much. Some of the books that I own and have not read yet Im hoping to getting to soon. They are all with me at school. In general, I love reading, my only issue is I allow myself to think while I am reading, so I have to re-read pages over and over and never get relaxed. Currently I am reading: Punishment by Anne Holt, Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, and The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer.

Today is the perfect day to sit around and drink tea or hot cider reading a great book. Hopefully if I get my work done for the day, Ill get to do just that.

Blackened Tofu, Tomato Cabbage, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well the week is over, it was a nice quick week, but Im still exhausted. My apartment is also FREEZING, making it hard to concentrate on anything. We are having our maintenance guy come and help us close the storm windows since we cant get them shut. The high was in the high 50s today! Its crazy how it went from 90 to 50 so quickly. But, thank god for the weekend. Im going to relax and work on homework all weekend and Im perfectly okay with that. I am so happy it is October, it is one of my favorite months. Halloween, the weather, the smells, and all the amazing childhood memories. I've done a lot of cooking this week and have loads of recipes that I need to share. So no time to delay.

Sadly, Im still trying to catch-up with my September foods. I made Dreena Burton's Blackened Tofu, from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan. Ive seen a lot of people make this recipe and was excited myself. I made about 5 slices, then realized it was way too much. The smell of all the spices was mouth-watering. Though, I had issues with construction. I think next time Ill soak up more water from the tofu by having it sit between pots and books for maybe 30 minutes. It was hard to keep the spices on while frying them because they just were not sticking. It might help to also add some constarch to the mix to just have that little extra binding. But other than that, this was really good. I paired it with some rice and edamame and green beans. Really quick dinner and filling. Great for a weekday meal.

I've been grilling my mom for the last few months on a recipe she used to make us as kids. It was quite simply cabbage, ground beef, tomatoes, and veggies. But it was one of my favorite meals ever. She doesnt even remember it! So one day, I set out to recreate it. I had a small head of cabbage,celery, onions, and red peppers in the fridge, so it seemed like the perfect evening to prepare this dish.





Cabbage and Tomatoes
serves 2
1/3 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 head of one small cabbage, chopped
2 large ribs celery, chopped
1/2 can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup soy ground 'beef'
salt, pepper to taste
1 tsp cornstarch

-Using a bit of olive oil, saute the onions, in a saute pan, until clear transulcent, (3-5 mins). Add the cabbage and celery to the onions. Add a little water to help the mixture boil down. Once the cabbage is softened (after 5-7mins) add the tomato sauce. Let simmer for 3-4 mins. And stir every few moments.
-Add in the red pepper and water. Allow to simmer for a minute. Add the meat crumbles, salt,and pepper. Once the crumbles are defrosted, add cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp water to thicken the sauce. Serve once the sauce has thickened.
---

This meal was delicious. I adored every bite of it. I was so glad I made enough for two, as I had the rest of it the next day at lunch. Its such an easy meal and so filling. A great fall meal that will keep you nice and warm. I know I didnt really re-create the meal my mom used to make, I have to keep trying to refresh her memory. But this meal turned out amazing, and I cant wait to make it again.

And a final note on deserts. I FINALLY made Isa's chocoloate chocolate chip cookies from Veganomicon. Her cookies call for walnuts, but I left them out. I was surprised by how many cookies they made. I had a good 30 cookies that were medium to large in size. Took 4 cookie sheets to get them all baked. You have to try these cookies to believe how amazing they are. Each bite melts in your mouth while you are being submerged into the chocolately dough and chips. The only thing Id change for the future, is half the chocolate chips in the recipe. I think Im just a whimp, but oh my gosh I would have a bite of cookie, then 5 gulps of soy milk, and so on. They are sooo rich. But of course, that is a good thing. I made these cookies a few weeks ago and I still have a few cookies left. They are getting stale, so I might just use them to make cookie ice cream. Also delicous. So you have to make these cookies when you have a fresh gallon of soy milk. If you want amazing rich chocoloate chip cookies, pull out your copy of veganomicon and you will be set.

Yes, it is Friday night. But I have a lot of work to get done. Ill be reading a lovely chapter of Physics on conservation of energy, wooooho....

dont worry, Im kidding. booooo, is a better word for it.


Oh! Catherine, I finally used my shopping cart this week. My biggest issue is I fail at maneuvering it when it is packed. I probably ran over 5-6 people on the bus, plus my bags bumping into everyone. I guess that means I should do grocery shopping more than every 3-4 weeks ;)

Have a good weekend all!