French Toast & Szechuan Tofu

I exist! A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hopefully your new year is full a joy and love and all the good stuff. So far, I have yet to make my resolution. I just want to continue to be healthy and happy.

I'm sorry I didnt really update, if anyone missed me. At home, I really don't go on the computer. Either I am with friends or spending time with the family...oh and don't forget dumb 'ol work. I feel like I spent my winter holiday in a clothing store. I really wonder how many pieces of clothes I rang up. Im not doubting 2,000 or more.

I did have a great Christmas. It was the first year EVER that we stayed at home with just my parents and sister. It was really nice and relaxing. I hope we do it more often. I got a lot of great gifts, including the cookbook Sinful Vegan. Yum! Everything looks so good. My sister also donated a BedKit in my name. It is an organization by the name of "Sleeping Children Around the World" (scaw) which goes to countries in need, buys the supplies for the kits in that nation, and give them to children who are in need of common necessities. Each kit is a 35 dollar donation, which constists of: a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), clothes outfit, towel and school supplies. All of the money reaches the kids, as the volunteers pay for their own travel expenses. My entire family was really excited about it. We are now planning on holding back on gifts and donating to a cause in each of our names. My big gift of the year was a good chunk of change. I ended up buying a Wii and games with the money. Now all I can say is my search was HORRIBLE. It took 2 weeks of me calling 20-30 stores each morning after their shipments. By the end of the journey, I knew some of the employees just by their voice, some knew me, and I had all the shipments down by heart. I freaked out when one store finally said "We have one left." I rushed out the door and was giggling the entire way to the store. I absolutely love it. I have wanted one for awhile. I got 4 games (Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Super Mario Galaxy, and Cooking Mama) and so far I love them all.

I also had a great New Years Eve. I spent it with some friends downtown at a comedy show. It was a bunch of comedians and also a comedy sketch group. It was great fun, though some of the comedians were a bit too rounchy for my taste. The sketch group was really great. They are called Big Dog Eat Child. If you are ever in the Chicagoland area, you should check these guys out. At midnight they had a complementary champagne toast. And what was even greater was public transportation was free all night.

So here I am, back at school. Hoping that all of my books arrive in time. I ordered only a week ago, so Im guessing they will be a bit late. I start school on Monday. Genetics and lab, Physics and lab, Criminology, and Forensic Science. Im quite excited about the last two. I hate Physics. And am nervous about the workload of genetics. It's going to be tough, but atleast I am doing what I am passionate about.

Long update, I mean I was gone for a full month! So on to the goods.

First up is mouth-watering french toast. This was a really late dinner. I think I started cooking around 11pm? I used Vegan for the People's recipe. I looked at Isa's, but it was just too many ingredients and a few I didnt have. So this one was quite simple with spices, flour, nooch, and soy milk. I used an older loaf of french bread that needed to be eaten quickly. I got a bit impatient with the soaking process, so a few of the pieces didnt get the 'full drench' effect. It was amazingly delicious and the whole apartment was full of the aroma. My roommate came in wondering what smelled so good, she always gets so surprised when vegan food tastes good. I was really excited to pair this feast with tons and tons of fruit that I just bought the day before. I had bought fresh strawberries, kiwi, plums, raspberries, AND nectarine. Yeah I went crazy. So I cut up most of the other fruits. I got to the strawberries...they were all horribly moldy. I bought them the day before. I was so frustrated, but it is such a hassel to go to the market that I wasn't about to turn around and return them. So I haven't bought any berries since. But Im always stocked with kiwi, pears, and apples. yum!

And what do we have here, Szechuan Tofu, and why yes? Another Vegan Dad recipe. Added to his recipe, I added celery, onion, and bean sprouts. It was sooo damn delicious. I roasted the peanuts first, so the flavor from the peanuts were so fulfilling. Im also glad I added the celery as the crunch from the nut and celery was the perfect combination with the softness of the pepper and tofu. The szechuan sauce I bought was absolutely hot! I really wasn't expecting it so I piled on my normal amount of asian chili sauce. Word of advice to myself, only a tbsp next time...please? I ate every bite and more, but I also had to nurse my mouth every few bites. I paired it with some cous cous. This was definitely a great dish that I will be making sometime in the future. Yum.

Enjoy your week. I will be back, much sooner than the last.

Spicy White Bean Soup

The soup I talked about a few days ago was so good I couldn't just let it sit in my 'blogging' notepad. Again Vegan Dad's recipe called Spicy White Bean Soup. Can you tell I love his recipes? I think I say this once or twice a month. Anyways, it looked like the perfect soup to have when sick. I'm still not sure if I am really sick or just a cold. Hopefully only a cold, but I am prepared to fight this baby. No illness will get in the way of my studies this week. I have three finals and still in the works of finishing a 30 page laboratory report for physics. But, the end is in site and I am thinking about packing.

The soup is 'spicy' because it uses his recipe for seitan pepperoni. I thought this would be the perfect time to use the leftovers from my Thanksgiving seitan log, but that did not go as planned as it already was soggy and just did not taste right. I made the recipe the same and added basil, bay leaves, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, tomato paste, and olive oil. I let it simmer for 40 mins and the smell was just radiating through my house. I got so excited when the potatoes were perfectly cooked that I never added the peas or corn, but I am fine with that. I had two bowls of this lovely soup for dinner, with another two bowls of leftovers. This soup took less than 10 mins to prepare and 40 to cook. I will be adding this to my normal line-up of meals. So simple, but so perfect.

Thanksgiving

I have to say Thanksgiving has never been my favorite family-oriented holiday. My family in America is very small and during the winter months my nuclear family is the only family in a 1000mile radius. So we normally spend the holiday with family friends. Last year, it was really nice as we hosted the whole event at our own home. It felt much more casual and relaxed. Plus, after we stuffed our faces we were able to quickly get to bed.

This year was at my godmother's beautiful home. It was nice seeing everyone, but the time I spent creating the meal the day before was not really worth seeing two 25lb turkey's being cooked and sliced and fought over. I did though have a very extensive menu. I was the only one that would be eating my dishes, so everything I made was single or double servings.

THE MENU!!!
Bryanna's Seitan Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Bryanna's Rich Brown Yeast Gravy
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Sweet Yellow and White Corn
Cranberry Sauce and Applesauce
Apple Crisp


It was fun cooking all night, I just hated not being able to reward my cooking with eats right away. Though I did cheat and tried some of the Green Bean Casserole. oops...

Before dinner I spent most of my time re-heating and preparing my food. It is too bad they had to sit a night as the green beans were not as crisp and the mashed potatoes were not as fluffy. Such is life and it was all still perfectly amazing and delicious.

I took one picture of my plate, my family already thinks I'm strange for taking pictures of my food, I was not about to take 30 pictures and let my food get cold. Let's start with the green bean casserole. Holy hell, I absolutely looooved it. It was better than any green bean casserole I have ever tried. If I ever have to go to a dinner or am feeling like a good 'ol American dinner I will be having this! The Seitan Turkey was also amazing, very very flavorful and the texture was perfect chewy and soft. I normally am not the biggest fan of true meat replacers, when they are very similiar to meat's texture and taste I get really weirded out. But for the occassion they worked and were delish. I made my mashed potatoes with Earth Balance, soy milk, and a little Tofutti Sour Cream to fluff them up, they tasted amazing with the dark gravy (which even my parents liked). My mom made the cranberry sauce and applesauce which were to die for, both recipes had fresh orange zest which really made them pop.

Sadly, the apple crisp never actually got to be a part of the dinner party. I made a full recipe of the crisp, but we ended up leaving the dinner early, so we took it back with us as there was already two full tables of deserts to be shared. My family and I enjoyed it the next few days. This recipe is amazing. The combination of allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon made the apples even more brilliant. The topping was also perfect. I wouldnt change a thing about the recipe and I will be making it again and again.

That night I went to bed as early as I possibly could force myself. I woke up at 3.50AM and was at work at 5AM! I worked a 10 hour shift on the lovely American 'holiday' Black Friday. Shoppers galore attacking you, getting mad at you for them not reading discount signs, getting mad at the long lines, and screaming children being lost while their parents are bargain hunting. This year it was not as horrible as the year before. Less people are out due to the economy, but still enough to make it a perfect work day...

My thanksgiving break was not all cooking and eating and work. I got to spend a lot of time with my good friends and some friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I also got to know my new puppy, Mona, a bit better. She is now much calmer around me and likes to cuddle up against me and sleep. 7 more days and I will be back home able to see my family, friends, and of course, my puppies again :)

TuNori Melt and Cannelloni

A week of school is left and 3 days of finals. Oh my, how did the time go!? Apparently sleeping and school and studies. Right now I'm making a lovely soup from Vegan Dad, the smells are making their way to my room. But right now, I really have to get caught up.

I tried another two recipes of Vegan Dad's earlier this year. The first was TuNori Sandwiches. One food that I absolutely adored when I was a meat-eater was tuna fish sandwiches and melts. They were probably one of my favorite lunches, aside from crescent dogs, and cucumber sandwiches. My mom would wrap them in foil and put them in the oven for a good 20 minutes. The bread would come out crispy, the cheese perfectly melted, and the spread melted in your mouth. Well it has been too long since that childhood memory, so I set out to recreate it. His recipe was quite simple, using chickpeas, vegenaise, and nori. I have not enjoyed nori in the past, but I really wanted to try the recipe, so I halved the nori in hopes that would be too little to develop that distinct after-taste. It smelled good and looked like a tuna salad. I popped these babies in the oven for 20 minutes on 200 to try and 'melt' the vegan cheese slices I have. They came out nicely, though I apparently no longer have the photo. Oh well. It turns out that I was still able to taste the Nori perfectly. It wasn't that it was horrible or the recipe, it was my damn sensitive taste. Next time I will try the same recipe, but add celery salt and other spices to get that same level of pow from the original.

The next recipe as I said was too from Vegan Dad. I made his Cannelloni. He made his own marinara sauce to cover the cannelloni, but I felt confident my glass jar marinara would work just the same. So all I had to make was the 'ricotta' filling. The main ingredients was the crumbled tofu, nooch, parsley, and soy creamer. It was so simple to make and it even smelled delicious. I filled my cannelloni with quite some difficulty until I finally gave in and got my hands dirty. Popped them in the oven for 40 mins. What was strange was they were so dry, even after they were covered in marinara and baked for 40 mins, I couldn't figure it out. I called my mom about it and she asked if I pre-boiled my cannelloni as some are all ready for baking and others you have to boil. Well shucks, got me. I definitely am an idiot and did not pre-boil pasta. Wow, hah. I didn't miss the step, but it sure did feel strange filling raw noodle with filling. They were still pretty good, the filling is absolutely mouth-watering. A few days later I saved the last of the bunch by completely DRENCHING them in marinara sauce and re-baking them. They came out nice and plump and again delicious. I will definitely be making these again and remember to pre-boil the cannelloni.

This post sounds like a failure in ways, but it really wasn't. I think that every time you mess up, you only become a better cook. I am doubting myself less and less. When I started to cook all my meals this summer, I would check and re-check and go back a third time to make sure I had the right measurements and was following the steps correctly, but I definitely have no need to do that anymore. I am able to do more and more intricate recipes and hope to do an amazing gourmet presentation for my family for part of their christmas gift (Food is so much better than gift cards!).

Well, I must check on my soup. I am hoping it will be done soon as I am getting hungry. I do believe I am getting sick. I am all congested in my head, sneezy, and a sour throat I only get when I am sick...ugh

8 days til I am home and done with this semester!

i know, i know

I have been horrible, don't worry I know. I haven't forgotten about posting or any of you. I will be back in two weeks, hopefully before then, but these next two weeks are 3 exams, last assignments in all classes, and a physics fair. Already I am really behind. But Im keeping optimistic that I will be able to catch back up this week.

Take care! And I'll write in a bit.

PUPPY!

Its definitely been awhile, I still have a ton of posts stored up from last month, but school is kicking my butt. I will post this quickly...tomorrow my family might get the chance to adopt a little puppy!!!! My sister works at Petsmart, she is the head caretaker for all the animals at a large shop downtown. They have a Pet Hotel attached to their store and there has been a little bulldog that was left over a month ago and the owners have no come to pick it up. The store has called them MANY times and for awhile they said they were coming, but now they hang up after they hear it is Petsmart. So this poor little gal has been in the hotel for over a month. The store has declared her abandoned and tomorrow she will be legally abanoned and we will be able to adopt her.

I think her name is Juicy and here is my sister meeting her for the first time today:

And of course, I cant not just stop with one, so I will show our other two puppies:

Ella is my sister's dog, she is almost 2 years old and the cutest monster ever. She likes to watch TV, like no joke she watches it. Anytime an animal comes on TV she goes nuts. We are working on her and she gets better, but its like she thinks she is protecting us from the dogs. And sometimes if she knows the commercial she will bark pre-maturely since she knows it is coming. She also loves to takes walks and cuddle.

Mack is my 12 year old man Boxer. We rescued him when he was 3 and have loved the boy ever since. He is the kindest, most gentle boy ever. He has a ton of problems with his hind legs and pretty much drags them now. You can sort of see how he has scraped his nails to the quick, so now he wears little booties. He also is acrobatic, since all of his strength is in his front legs he sometimes will stand only with his front paws on the ground. He has gone deaf in the last two years so really relies on Ella to know what's going on and loves to cuddle even more. He is in love with that little poof he is sitting on and sits there and licks it to death.
This last picture is of Mack and my late baby girl Maggie. We had to put Maggie down in Februrary due to degenerative mylopathy. She lost function of her hind legs and was in great pain as her nervous system was breaking down. It was the worst thing ever to go through, but the days before we decided she really communicated to us that she was in too much pain to handle anymore. We all miss so much. I have a picture of her and Mack right above my workspace when they were puppies. So cute.
Well we find out tomorrow if we get Juicy. I hope we do, I know we will be a great home for her and be able to give her all the love she needs.

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!