Some Like it Hot, or How I Found the Tummy Culprit

My husband is a spicy food freak. Thanks to the lovely lady behind Vegan Conversion Challenge, who we got meet along with her husband, he got his paws on some jalapeno salt. He puts that stuff on everything now, including toast, and worries about what will happen when it runs out (he's still got half the canister!) I think I'll be ordering him an early Christmas present....

For our lazy dinner on Sunday, I picked a recipe out of Veganomicon that would be both new to us and useful of the tempeh I bought recently: Spicy tempeh with broccoli rabe. Unfortunately, I couldn't get broccoli rabe, so regular broccoli stood up to the challenge.


The sauce was definitely my favorite part but the dish as a whole was delightful! Spicy foods have recently made an appearance in my life and I feel like I can taste more because of it. On a sad note, the tempeh confirmed my recent grumblings that soy is making my stomach unhappy and I will be eating less of it. I find that baked goods, soy creamer and soy sauce don't bother me, so at least there's that!

Too hot for TV close up

The Skinny on the Kitch

One of the most important aspects in a vegan diet is, of course, your kitchen! Sure, you could eat out for every meal but what fun is that? I mean, I like going out, but I like cooking at home more. I know what goes into my food and I can eat as much or as little as I want (although it always turns out to be too much......)

When we first took a look at our duplex, there was another woman poking around She said "Oh, I'm a teacher at the culinary institute and this is DEFINITELY a gourmet kitchen. It will be perfect for me!" Well we didn't think so. I mean, look for yourself.


This is the view from the hallway, and this is basically it. I mean, the countertop you see is it, and there's about 6 inches of space before cupboards hit. Just to the right of the stove, where you can't see, is a little spice cabinet, which is pretty cool. But we had to buy 3 different shelves/cabinets to hold all of our stuff. I know that this isn't the smallest kitchen in the world and that it's bright and cute, but it's really non functional. Plus, because there's no dishwasher and no space for dishes, it gets cluttered very quickly. Then again, I'm a mess.

The view from the spice rack area. The kitchen is alo painted this lovely shade of pink, which actually contrasts well with the blue middle room (it could technically be a library with all the books and such...)

Tomorrow I will review another VCON recipe that I am cultishly in love with.

Italinese?

Last night's dinner was an unusual pairing. When I first found the PPK, I printed off a recipe for salt and pepper tofu. I'm sure if you search the Kitchen forum, you'll find it. I'm kind of too lazy to find it for you. Anyways, the first time I made it, I was astounded by the flavors. The only time I had had salt and pepper anything was s & p squid at some crappy buffet, and it was AWFUL. This recipe is rich and filling and quite oily, which is why I only made it for the second time last night.

When I picked up what I needed, I also grabbed bok choy and mushrooms to go along with the tofu. Well, my husband vetoed that. Usually he's cool with what I pair, but for some reason he wasn't feeling the 'choy. Which is strange, as he loves it. So I gave him another option: spaghetti squash. And that is how we came to have an Italian-Chinese dinner last night.

I didn't have cornstarch, so I used Ener-G as I don't use it for ANYTHING and it seemed to work fine. It added a sticky crust to the tofu, which was kind of my favorite part.

Spaghetti squash with a marinara sauce and nooch, my garnishment of choice.

My furbabies, at time of peace.

Benefit dinner for the chimps!

Last night I was lucky to attend an Apron Activist's benefit for the NW Chimp Sanctuary! Before dinner, we were treated to a slideshow from one of the chimp outreach employees and she told us all about where the chimps came from and how they've improved.

Now, I forgot my camera. I sat next to Jess, who took lots of pictures, but she probably won't have them up for a couple days. Dinner included a bread basket with a mushroom walnut pate and carrot ginger spread, salad with a cilantro drizzle and fresh figs (which were a first for me!), creamy butternut squash risotto and apple pie with Coconut Bliss ice cream. Whew!

Dinner was outrageously good, and the people I got to share it with were amazing. Having Isa and employees of the vegan mini-mall cook for you isn't too bad, either. I can't wait for the next one!

Sweet, sweet potatoes and burgers.

Wednesday was the last day I cooked something other than oatmeal. When I wasn't working, I cooked so much and I loved it! Even with a part time job, I'm finding the time is scarce.

Wednesday's dinner was a test run for a dinner I'm making for some guests on Halloween before the big party. I have been eying this recipe for Besan Burgers since it first made an appearance in my Reader. For some silly reason, I thought that I would need more food so I made Sweet Potato Curry from Recipezaar. Recipezaar, by the way, is amazing. That's where I found mug brownie. You know, the minute brownie you make in a mug?

The sweet potato curry was really good. However, it made enough for a small army, so I had lots of leftovers for the freezer. Jeff tells me it could have had more spice, but he puts jalapeno salt on everything. The besan burgers were amazing! I only left out the frozen peas, and served it with a little tofu sour cream and avocado. Next time I'll take the writer's suggestion and saute some yummy mushrooms...



Tomorrow I'll be covering the benefit dinner I'm going to tonight, which will be cooked up by none other than Isa herself! I'm really excited and the menu looks amazing.

Memory Quickie

I don't think this post counts. But I got called into work way early and haven't been able to type out a post until now. Today I craved Italian espresso like mad, and just went through all of our pictures of Florence to find....no pictures of espresso. Use your imagination.

Tomorrow will feature a sweet potato curry and some fun burgers. Hold onto your hats!

Ode to Comfort

So many stories of feeling under the weather are whirling around the MoFo atmosphere, and it frightens me a little. I mean, can I catch a cold through the internetz? I'm very susceptible to germs, being seemingly without an immune system.

I thought I'd dedicate my post today on comfort, things that get me through the day and through bouts of coughing and general malaise. Growing up, my grandmother had a tea bookshelf. Seriously, she was the queen of tea and would give you certain teas based on your symptoms. Oh, it was lovely, and I miss it so much sometimes. I mean, I make tea myself, but it's not the same as having someone else take care of you!

My mother fed us potato chips when we had sore throats. It turns out she was the only person in the world to do that - I've done extensive research. Our upset tummy cure was baking soda and water and to get rid of an earache meant laying on the couch with a huge glass jar on our ear, filled with hot water. I really don't miss those days at all.

These days, comfort to me is a little bit of hot oatmeal in the morning and my coffee with soy creamer (I've been on a mad hunt to find the coconut creamer!)


Whole wheat macaroni with VCON Cheezy Sauce does the trick on cold and windy afternoons (not a soup person!). This is just for me as husband doesn't share the love of vegan mac!



And as of recently thanks to this post, I've been making hot chocolate with almond milk. Every day. Sometimes twice. In a naughty penguin cup my hippie mother gave to me.