Curried Potato Salad & African Peanut Soup

I am alive! Sorry for being missing for a few months, over break I rarely used my laptop as my ups fan (i think it is called) was dying again... So every time I had my computer on it sounded like something was dying or a giant vibrator, whichever you'd prefer. But! I ended up deciding to get an iMac. I was tired of the troubles I had on Windows and Windows 7 did not live up to my expectations. So far I am happy with my mac and just have to twerk with all the cool applications to find ways to do things I prefer (ex. renamer, sizeup) and learning the new keyboard shortcuts. There is a few things I dont like about my computer, such as how the usb and jacks are in the back (I can never find them and then i feel like im scratching the metal while trying to blindly get them correctly), the magic mouse's batter life is terrible, and i wish they computer came with the full-size keyboard. Just little things.

I am proud to say that I am in my last semester of undergraduate and being a part-time student (over-load of credits from summer school/study abroad) I am enjoying myself and able to relax a bit. Just today I mailed my last application for graduate school. It is such a relief that it is over and I am now only able to wait. I have heard back from one school, the department has congratulated me, but I guess the UC schools do it backwards and I still have to get accepted into the UC system. But I don't see why I wouldn't. If I dont get it, I will be really disappointed and upset that the department chose to email me before it was final. But my next move is to visit the schools I get into, meet with professors, students, and get a feel for the place. Though, in the end, money will be the deciding factor. The cheapest school w/cheapest living will most likely get my bid. But I sort of think I would love living in California in the Sacramento area and being so close to vegan heaven, San Francisco.
Enough of me. I just figured I owed you all a little update, I feel like Im so disconnected with the blogsphere.

Hot dogs were one of two 'meats' that I ate when I was an omni and I requested them often. Hot dog day at school was my favorite of all the 'day' lunches and mom's Pillsbury wrapped dogs with cheese are still a favorite meal of mine. I decided to pair hot dogs (topped with french fried onions and ketchup) with a potato salad, seemed like they always pair nicely. I decided to go non-traditional and try Vegan Dad's Curried Potato Salad. The recipe called for onions, garlic, frozen peas, and of course potatoes (i added celery). Using a little oil, curry powder, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon is what made them pop. I really enjoyed the recipe. I had a bit of an issue with getting the spices to spread evenly in the dish, so every so often a bite would be a bit too much. The flavors came together to really make this a special potato salad. I think it would be perfect for a summer bbq or vegan potluck. And it paired perfectly with my delicious hot dogs. Also, just for anybody curious, I have found two brands of buns that are vegan (so far). The first is Ener-G Tapioca Buns , I am not a fan at all. They are gluten-free and extremely plain, tacky mouth feeling, which is one reason why I dislike most breads. The other brand is Natural Ovens Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns (which were used in this meal). I am not 100% happy with them, but my favorite type of bun is sesame, soft and chewy and rip apart fresh. I will live with them, but I can't even find them at the company's website, so who knows if they still make them...

As always I love my soups. I saw Show Me Vegan's recipe for African Peanut Soup w/Red Beans and became very intrigued. I have never heard of putting nuts in soup, so i had to make it. It called for onions, diced tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, ginger, red beans, kale, and a little peanut butter. The peanuts surprisingly went in right after you sauted the garlic and onions. For some reason I figured they'd be last minute softening in the broth. They really had great flavor having been sauted with cayenne pepper and the onion/garlic mixture. The soup was a fresh flavor in my mouth and really wowed me, especially since the broth was heightened with creamy peanut butter. I enjoyed the little bit of crunch that was still present from the peanuts and the soft, sweet flavor from the tomatoes. This soup has been added to my gigantic collection of favorite soups.