Intentional Tarts

doing things the easy way

2010-08-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

Having extremely important tasks to accomplish such as painting her nails and scratching her ass (but of course not in that order), an efficient blogger spent approximately seventeen seconds drafting a response to "ambitious" Nick Newcomen via Paint.

As a proclaimed fan of not needlessly burning 12,000 miles worth of gasoline, she believes that if more of us weren't fame-seeking assholes, the unicorns would come out of hiding and light the world with their magical glittery love.

all I want out of life....

2010-07-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

is to make peach upside-down cupcakes, and then eat them all. The bar is worse than everything. Possibly even worse than Mel Gibson, and at least as unreasonably demanding.

Excuse me now. I have to go not pack my highlighters, watch, potato chips, and weapons.

(spicyish) enchiladas with easy guacamole

2010-07-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

These are soooooo yummy. Credit is due to my friend Jannette and FatFreeVegan.com for their delicious enchilada recipes that merged and morphed into this one. This is also easily adaptable, so you can add any veggies you like into the mix. This makes about ten enchiladas.

Ingredients:

corn tortillas

1/2 cuppish of your preferred cheese (I used a mix of pre-shredded "Mexican" cheeses. Queso blanco would be magical. For a vegan version, omit.)

2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed & drained (or one big can)

2 cans enchilada sauce (I like medium heat)

1 onion

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1 green bell pepper

1 poblano pepper, roasted (method below)

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled (method below)

2 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tsp chili powder

2-3 tsp ground cumin

2-3 tsp taco seasoning

smoked paprika (optional, highly recommended)

pinch oregano (also optional)

1-2 tsp sugar (optional, naughty, brings out roasted pepper flavor like whoa)

salt to taste

nonstick spray

Mandatory stuff:

large rectangular baking dish

Useful but not mandatory stuff:

food processor

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Roughly chop or slice your onion, zucchini, squash, and half your green bell pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large nonstick pan. Sauté the veggies until they have softened and browned a little. Add your seasonings and the garlic. Stir and sauté just a few minutes more, making sure the garlic doesn't burn.

Put all your cooked veggies into your food processor. Add the beans and the roasted poblano pepper. Pulse until you reach a consistency you like. I like to leave mine a little bit chunky so I get bites of veggies, but you can puree it as much as you like. If you do not have a food processor, you can just cut your veggies up much for finely before you cook them, and either leave them and the beans whole, or mash it together with a fork or a potato masher.

Lightly coat a large rectangular baking dish with nonstick spray. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the bean mixture in the center of a corn tortilla. Roll the tortilla closed and place it seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is full and/or you're out of beany goodness. (You should be able to fit about ten enchiladas in if you arrange them like I did, which was perfect for the quantity of bean mixture). Pour canned enchilada sauce evenly on top of the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with as much or as little cheese as you'd like. Place in the oven and bake until cheese is melty and sauce is bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.

Optional: Finely dice the remainder of your green bell pepper and top the enchiladas when they come out of the oven. I do this to indicate which enchiladas actually have bell peppers in them because I have to make them in separate batches, since Ryan is a freak who hates peppers. Hmph.

Top with Easy Guacamole (recipe below), serve with a side of Jolee Porter rice, and dig in!

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How to smash garlic:

To smash the garlic, lay the flat side of your chef's knife on top of the clove, still in its skin. Pound down against the blade. The garlic will pop easily out of its skin and be kind of crushed up. That's all you need to do.

How to roast a poblano pepper:

If you have a gas stove, you can roast them by holding them in metal tongs very close to the flame until the skin has blackened. I have electric, so I put my pepper under the broiler of my toaster oven, rotating once until it's mostly blackened. It doesn't get perfectly even this way, but it works. Put the blackened pepper while still hot into a paper or ziploc bag and leave it to steam itself for a few minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, remove the pepper and scrape off and discard the blackened skin. For less heat, remove and discard the seeds as well.

Easy Guacamole:

3 avocados

1 medium tomato

one small onion (Or half a large)

juice from 1 lime

1 bunch cilantro

Peel and seed the avocados. Squeeze lime juice over avocado pulp immediately to keep it from browning. Finely chop the tomato and onion. Roughly chop the cilantro. Mush together with a fork. Love.

Store extra in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed down directly on top of the guacamole so no air comes in contact with the surface. This will keep it from turning brown longer.

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Next time......vegetable soup, hoecakes, and strawberry-peach upside down cake! Yummers!

Sweet Lady Propane

2010-07-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Good god, it's hot. It's really, really frickin' hot. And as you may remember from the recent debacle in which some not-air-intake hairy gaping maw in my living room floor ate my wedding band, we do not have central air conditioning. We have two window units, but we only use one because one of them smells distinctly of dead rat in the ceiling. If you worked with me at Starbucks, or if you've had a conversation with me in the past five years, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I like to make dinner most nights, but cooking lately turns my house into a blazing inferno in which it is too hot to do much of anything expect sweat and complain and hallucinate. Accordingly, tonight I decided to make dinner on the grill and dessert in the fridge, so my house is only medium-awful right now instead of stroke-awful. Hooray for the grill!

"My dad says butane's a bastard gas!"

Also, all of this stuff is crazy easy to make, so you really have no excuse.

The following are recipes for grilled veggie skewers (you could also put chicken, etc, on them if you were so ~~barbaric~~ inclined), grilled polenta, and kinda vegan banana pudding. The pudding itself is vegan, but the Nilla wafers ruin the party. (Or save it. You decide.) We were supposed to have salad too, but Kroger's super high quality bag of spring mix had turned into lettuce pudding in the mere two days since I bought it. And yes, I put it in the fridge. Anyway, here you go!

Grilled Veggie Skewers

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 Vidalia or red onion

1 bell pepper, your favorite color

1 8 oz container baby bella mushrooms

1 container cherry tomatoes

olive oil for brushing

coarse salt (optional)

Mrs. Dash or other seasoning blend (if you use one that contains salt, omit the salt above)

Special stuff:

skewers, wooden or metal*

Method:

Slice your zucchini and squash into 1/2 to 3/4 inch rounds. Cut your bell pepper and onion into roughly one-inch pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms (or not; they just looked nasty to me. I don't eat mushrooms, so you probably know better than I do).

Slide them onto the skewers in no particular order. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with your seasoning and salt if using. Grill on the top rack (if you have one) over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn once and grill about 5 minutes more, or until the tomato skins split. At this point, the veggies (besides the tomato & mushroom) will still have some firmness to them. I like them like that, so I take them off, but you can leave them on until they reach your favorite level of mushiness. Just keep an eye on them and maybe turn them again to prevent burning.

*You don't need to soak the wooden skewers. The ends are going to burn either way, and who cares, really? It's just an extra step and a waste of time.

Grilled Polenta

Ingredients:

1 cup polenta (also knows as yellow corn grits)

3 cups water or vegetable broth (I recommend broth)

1/4 cup sharpish cheese plus more for topping (like pepperjack or cheddar)

salt to taste (optional - add salt if you're using water, but not if you're using a salted broth)

2 tbsp butter (optional - I didn't use any since I used cheese)

smoked paprika for dusting (optional, but magical)

Stuff:

a big microwave safe dish

Method:

Put polenta and water or broth into the dish. Microwave 6 minutes. Remove and stir thoroughly, making sure to break up the large lumps. Microwave 6 more minutes. Remove and stir again. Microwave 2 more minutes. Remove, stir in cheese and salt and butter if using. Pour into a square or rectangular dish and let cool to set. It should be about 1.5-2 inches thick. Refrigerate overnight if possible. If not, let it set til it's cool enough to cut and be handled easily.

After it's set, cut into squares. Preheat the grill over medium. Brush both sides of squares with oil, or just give them a spritz with some cooking spray. Grill for 3-4 minutes on both sides, or until they have nice brown grill marks on top. In the last minute of grilling, top with a sprinkling of cheese and smoked paprika. Or forget about that like I did, and melt the cheese on top in the microwave.

Really Frickin' Easy Sort of Vegan Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. pack silken tofu (I use Nasoya brand in the refrigerated produce section)

1.5 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup-1/2 cup sugar

5 terribly ripe bananas

as many Nilla wafers as you want (enough to line your bowl and some to top or mix in if you like)

Method:

Put tofu, vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar, and 3 bananas into the blender. Puree til smooth. Taste for sweetness, and add more sugar if necessary. Add the other two bananas and pulse, leaving them a little bit chunky.

Line a bowl or dish with Nilla wafers and pour the mixture over the cookies. Top with more Nilla wafers if desired. Chill in the fridge until set. Be amazed that you are eating a fat-free (I think - who knows what's in Nilla wafers) banana pudding that is chock full of protein.

NOTE: I am assuming that it's something in pudding mixes that gives banana pudding its traditionally bright yellow color. This actually turned gray on top almost immediately and did not look at all delicious. I think maybe if I'd topped it with some lemon juice, it wouldn't have turned gray (think guacamole), but in my opinion lemon juice doesn't belong in banana pudding. You could cover it in plastic wrap, pressing it down so that no air touches the top of the pudding, or you could just decide you don't care and eat it anyway because it's super tasty.

See this?

This is my neighbor's smoker. It smells fricking amazing, and if anything will be the de-vegetarianizing of me, it'll be this smoky deliciousness wafting into my house and making me drool uncontrollably. Tonight he was smoking a bunch of ribs, and I'll have you know that Ryan turned down the ribs because he was so full of grilled veggies, polenta, and pudding. Now you know, that's a good meal!

almost fat-free vegan cranberry-orange muffins

2010-07-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, hasn't it? Between moving and being a whopping four freaking days behind on my Kraplan lectures, I haven't had time for the blog. Rest assured though, I have been making and photographing up a storm of tasty and unemployment-friendly dishes that I will post soon enough. Rather than indulge in 4th of July fun with the family at the lake (oohhhh, the annual all-you-can-eat ice cream social......), I'll be getting all caught up and back on track so that I do not fail the bar. But really, does it matter if I fail the bar?

Not really. It doesn't really matter because I doubt there will be a law job for me even with yet another expensive certificate collecting dust in my mom's basement.

Maybe, though, just maybe, there will be a muffin/cupcake job for me. Ike & Jane's just hired a new doughnut maker, so while I missed the boat on that job, it seems the dessert industry is still thriving. I have hope.

Anyway, here's some tasty, cheapo muffins I made last night. Admittedly only cheapo because Kroger was having a mega-sale on Craisins a few weeks back, but taking timely advantage of sales is a big part of unemployment survivalism, so these count.

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup orange juice

2 tbsp almond milk

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Ingredients I am out of that would also be good in this:

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp orange zest

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Put all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine. (Stirring with a whisk rather simulates sifting flour, so I always use one for dry ingredients.) Add the OJ, almond milk, sugar, and applesauce and stir gently until just combined. (No need to mix the wet ingredients separately; I find this only wastes time and creates more dishes. No longer having a dishwasher, I say screw it and dump it all in one bowl. It worked fine.) If the batter seems a little dry, add another tablespoon or two of almond milk (one tablespoon at a time, people!). Fold in cranberries and chopped nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the cups and bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and chow down.

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Decorative afterthought - Sprinkling the tops of these with granulated sugar before baking would be both tasty and very pretty. I will do that next time.

One other thing - these struck me as looking a leetle bit dry when I took them out of the oven. I think this is some kind of cardinal sin of baking, but when my baked goods strike me as slightly dry, I let them cool partially and then cover them for the rest of the cooling process. I think it sort of steams some of the moisture back into them. For these, I let them cool enough that I could (just barely) handle them, and then put them in a cake carrier with a lid. You could also put them in your microwave. Don't wrap them up or anything, just let them cool in an enclosed space, and they'll moisten right back up. This has worked for me for pretty much everything from muffins to cupcakes to even cookies - and it makes for an especially delicious and chewy cookie. I would not recommend trying it on a whole cake, as it's probably too large to actually moisten and will just get sort of sticky on the outside. But for little stuff, it works like a charm.

best ever mushroom burgers

2010-06-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Ryan had a bunch of leftover mushrooms from some weird Men's Health "recipe," so I made him some mushroom veggie burgers. I say him because I will not touch mushrooms. I think they smell like butt sweat, but they sure make a good burger.

You can definitely play around with the seasonings on this one. I am a chronic over-seasoner, and with these I wished I'd added a bit more something. Tofu just really needs a lot of help in the flavor department. I think next time I'll go hog wild with the soy sauce and just drink some extra water to compensate. Probably some garlic would be good too. I also plan to try this recipe with the roasted eggplant blended in.

Ingredients:

About 3 cups of leetle mushrooms (I used Bella), finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed/squished to reduce water content

1 cup cooked brown rice* (make it on the dry side)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or regular flour)**

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp burger or steak seasoning

1 tbsp dehydrated onion

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

pinch cayenne pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

cooking spray

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large-ish frying pan over medium high heat. Salt lightly to taste and sauté the mushrooms and onions until nicely browned and all the water has cooked off. (Moisture is the natural enemy of the homemade veggie burger.) Transfer the cooked veggies to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

Put the tofu, one can of beans, cumin, chili powder, soy sauce, burger seasoning, dehydrated onion, and cayenne pepper into the food processor and process until thoroughly combined and pretty smooth. Scrape the bean & tofu mixture into the mixing bowl with the cooled veggies. Add the rice to the bowl and stir thoroughly to combined. Next add the flour, starting with 1/2 a cup until you get the desired consistency - firm enough to form a patty and hold its shape. You can probably go up to a whole cup of flour if necessary since the water content of your tofu and beans will vary. Once the flour is thoroughly mixed in, and you have the right consistency, fold in the second can of rinsed & drained black beans. Form into patties and lay them in a single layer on a flat surface, like a cutting board. If desired, sprinkle them with a grilling rub like your burger/steak seasoning.

Put a small-medium nonstick frying pan over medium heat and coat lightly with cooking spray. Gently drop one patty on. Fry for 3-4 minutes, then flip and cook 3-4 more. Flip like a pancake if possible, without using utensils. To remove from the pan, you can use a spatula. These are firmer and will hold their shape better than yesterday's burgers. Fry each burger individually and arrange on a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Wrap leftovers individually in plastic wrap and freeze. To re-heat, microwave 1.5-2 minutes, flipping halfway through.

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*Most Perfect Brown Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water or vegetable stock

a leetle salt

Method:

Throw it all in a pot, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to simmer. Ignore for 30 minutes, then turn off the heat. Leave the pot covered and on the burner, and ignore for 15-20 more minutes. Rice will be perfectly cooked and on the dry side. You're welcome.

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**You could use vital wheat gluten instead of flour if you wanted that meatyish texture. I like the texture VWG gives, but I do not like the voluminous gases it creates in me and the mister,so I just go with regular flour. If VWG is your thing, though, have a party. Have a party, but please turn on a fan.

super cheap eats edition: giving poverty law a whole 'nother meaning

2010-06-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

We are moving at the end of this month, so we are extra poor right now. I'm trying to get through this week spending as little as possible while not eating garbage. Today I only spent $16.16 on groceries (for myself - the carnivore is on his own), and I think that will get me mostly through the week - breakfasts, snacks, and one meal. For the other meal I'll probably just do PBJ or something cheap.

My $16.16 haul

One caveat - I have a very well-stocked kitchen. Back when I had the enormous income of $10.99 per hour (plus tips!) and no debt, I accumulated pretty much every herb/spice/seasoning you could want, and being a baker, I always have flour/sugar/etc on hand. That's a big help in being able to create dishes that are tasty, cheap, and not half bad for me.

This week's Poverty Law Menu features smoothies, banana muffins, black bean tofu burgers, and Jolee Porter rice. All vegan, all tasty, all cheap.

Breakfast smoothie! - makes one 16ish ounce smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

3/4-1 cup orange juice

1 banana, broken into large chunks

Method:

Throw that shit in a blender and let it go.* Drink up!

*If you are using whole frozen strawberries, and I recommend that you do because they are usually wayyyy cheaper than sliced, microwave them for 20-30 seconds. This will soften them up just enough so that they don't screw up your blender. IF you have a wholesale club membership, you may be able to get your frozen berries even cheaper. I get a gigantic bag of strawberries at Sam's for about $8. It lasts me 2-3 weeks.

I was a smoothie proprietress for many a year.

Banana (Walnut) Muffins (vegan!) - makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas (never throw away a banana! freeze them. the blacker and rottenier, the tastier they'll be in breads!)

1/4 cup applesauce (or canola or vegetable oil, or softened margarine or butter)

1 cup sugar

2 cups whole wheat flour (or white if that's what you have)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

optional:

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 cup chopped walnuts (or raisins, or chocolate chips, or whatever you have around)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mash bananas with a fork. Add the applesauce and sugar (and vanilla if using) and cream together with a hand mixer, or whisk vigorously. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir gently just to combine. Don't worry about little lumps of flour - overmixing is bad. If using, fold in the walnuts. The batter will be kind of stiffish.

Spray or line a muffin pan and spoon the batter in evenly. If the batter piles up a little higher than the sides of the cups, that's fine. These muffins hardly rise at all. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. These are dense and have a wonderful hearty texture, so they're not too sweet and just perfect for breakfast. They are also fat-free if you don't use the walnuts, but even if you do, it's The Good Kind of fat.

Black Bean Tofu Burgers & Jolee Porter Rice (vegan!) - makes 6-10 burgers depending on thickness

These are not quite as involved as they may seem at first glance. Seriously.

Ingredients:

for the burgers -

1 block extra firm tofu (from the refrigerated area of the produce section)

1 19 ounce can of black beans, rinsed, drained, and halfheartedly patted dry

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is available at frou-frou stores - you could probably sub extra flour or bread crumbs)

1/2-3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Panko, but you can use any kind or make your own)

1/2-3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or regular if that's all you've got)

1 onion

1 green bell pepper, seeded and stemmed

2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp burger seasoning

1 tsp soy sauce

hot sauce to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

cooking spray

for the rice -

1 cup rice

1 onion

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup salsa

big pinch turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp olive oil

Useful Equipment:

food processor

a reliable non-stick frying pan

the ability to flip pancakes without a spatula

Method:

Heat one tbsp of oil in a medium pot (you're going to make the rice in this later, so make sure it's big enough and you can cover it). Process one onion and the green pepper in your food processor until finely chopped.

Squeeze out as much of the water as you can from the chopped vegetables, and then add them to the hot pan. Sauté until vegetables are softened and lightly browned. Put the vegetables in a large mixing bowl and let them cool.

While the onion & pepper are cooling, heat another tablespoon of oil in the same pot. While it's heating, chop another onion in the food processor or by hand (doesn't matter how finely/roughly - your choice). Add the onions to the hot pot and cook til they soften. Then add the rice, vegetable stock, salsa, and turmeric and cumin if using. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, press as much water as you can out of your block of tofu. I do this by cutting a slit in the package and squeezing the whole thing, with the tofu still in the package. This way the water can drain out but the tofu stays in. The tofu will probably crumble inside the package; that's fine. Add the beans & tofu to your food processor and process until fairly smooth.

Scrape the bean/tofu mixture into the mixing bowl with the cooled veggies. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine. Start with just 1/2 cup of the flour and add more if needed to form patties. The patties will be pretty sticky, but if they hold their shape, they should be okay.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and spray it with cooking spray. Cook the patties individually, about 3-4 minutes per side. The best way to flip these is like a pancake. Don't touch them or use a utensil; just flip them in the pan. They are very soft while hot and will probably not hold their shape if you use utensils. The good news is, if you have a bad flip and they get mushed, they are very easy to re-shape while still warm. Cook until browned on both sides (about 3-4 minutes per side) and then transfer (without touching or using utensils - you can do it! But if they get damaged just mush them back into a round) to a cutting board or other flat surface to cool partially. Once they have cooled enough to be handled without breaking, transfer them to a cooling rack. Once they have cooled completely, you can pick them up with no problem.

Looks McDonaldsy

Serve with tomato slices (and mashed avocado if you've got it would be super tasty) on sandwich bread or a bun or naked with a side of Jolee Porter Rice.

Store leftovers in plastic wrap in a zipper bag in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave for about 60 seconds, flipping over halfway through.

NOTE: I think these would be even tastier with maybe a cup of whole black beans (drained & rinsed) folded into the mix for a beanier texture.

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So there you go. You have breakfast, snacks, and one meal per day for a week for little monies. Hope you enjoy!

roasted eggplant

2010-06-17T20:26:00.001-07:00

First order of business -

Pickles got a haircut! And a ridiculous bandanna!

She looks so cuuuute!

Okay, anyway. I finally remembered the eggplant! Does your eggplant always taste like soggy old sponges? Well, no more! I only know how to cook eggplant one way, and it involves an appalling amount of salt and oil, but it sure is tasty. And here it is.

Roasted Eggplant

1 eggplant

coarse salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Slice eggplant horizontally into roughly 1/4" thick slices. Salt both sides of each slice liberally and put them in a colander in your sink. This will draw out a lot of moisture, so don' t be surprised when your eggplant has water all over it. The water is sometimes kind of brown and gross, too. Don't panic. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450. Lightly spray a nonstick baking pan or a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Thoroughly rinse the salt from the eggplant slices and pat the slices dry. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices generously with olive oil. And I do mean generously. I used exactly 1/4 cup for the one eggplant. I've tried it with less oil, and the eggplant burns on the outside while remaining yucky-old-spongy on the inside. I've also tried it with canola (less saturated fat), but it just doesn't cut it. Olive oil, and lots of it, is a must. Do NOT add any more salt.

Roast for 25 minutes, then flip the slices over and roast for 10 more minutes, until the eggplant is golden and delicious. It will look sort of deflated - that's a good thing. If it still looks sort of puffy, it still tastes sort of spongy. The eggplant will be quite salty. I like it for sandwiches (just add a little pasta sauce and maybe some provolone and you've got one tayyyystay sandwich) or for layering in lieu of noodles in a lasagna. Or you can throw it into your blender or food processor with one can of cannellini/white/Great Northern beans (or chickpeas & tahini, but this way is cheaper), a few cloves of garlic, juice of one lemon, and some fresh parsley, and you've got yourself one heck of a dip. Enjoy!

black bean chili & jolee porter rice

2010-06-15T19:36:00.001-07:00

I forgot the eggplant. Again.

This chili/soup is by Fat Free Vegan, and here is how much I spent on it - whatever two cans of beans and a green bell pepper cost. It was unusual for me to be out of beans, so it would normally be the price of a green bell pepper. The rest was made entirely with stuff I had on-hand. Admittedly, I have a rather ~~over~~ well-stocked pantry, but the ingredients are stuff I think many people have on hand. So, here you have it:

Fat Free Vegan's Smoky Refried Bean Chili

Actually, I think I won't post it because I followed the instructions almost precisely, using the pinto beans as a replacement for refried, and doubling the spices. If you would like to see this recipe, then go there. Give her traffic. Her site rocks. GO. THERE. NOW.

Now, for the Jolee Porter rice, also very wallet-friendly and made entirely of pantry items -

olive oil*

1 onion, chopped

1 cup rice

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup salsa

optional Lori Epps supersecret spice blend:

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

Heat the oil in a mediumish pot, sauté the onion, throw everything else into the pot and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes.

Eat!

the Ricemaster Porter in her natural habitat

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* a note on oils: you can pretty much use how ever much or little you want. To sauté one chopped onion, I'd use anywhere from a half to a full tablespoon because I am a little piggy and like to reduce my onions to caramelly browned goodness. As long as you have a good non-stick surface to work with however, you could hardly use anything at all. For instance, Susan of fatfreevegan.com just uses nonstick cooking spray, and that's it. Whatever your caloric/caramelly goodness preference is will work just fine.

the infinity dress: not edible, actually

2010-06-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today I was supposed to write a post about roasting eggplant, but I forgot and made a dress instead. It seem to have been somewhere in the back of my mind, though, because I selected an eggplanty color, at least. I'll roast some eggplant tomorrow. For now, allow me to present The Infinity Dress (click for pattern & instructions).

Caryn and I made one for each of us today in about an hour and half. The second one took about 20 minutes, after we'd figured out what we were supposed to be doing. And let me say, thank heaven for Caryn because I do not sew. I used to KIND of sew, but I always needed constant supervision because I am incapable remembering basic sew-related things such as: my fingers never belong in the path of the needle. So, I have some rather lopsidedy areas in the seam, but whatever. This dress is rather forgiving, so it's great for a doofus like me. I still need to even out the hem, and I may narrow the straps because I don't like how bulky the knot is. Btdubs, if you look at the instructions, she says you need about 3 yards for the straps. I just got two yards because I don't like all the waist-wrappy business (makes me look thick), and I also didn't want to pay for another yard because I really don't like all the money-spendy business. Oh, bt-btdubs, my waist hole was too big in spite of some rather stellar algebra performed by Caryn. I recommend erring on the veeeeery small side because the jersey is so stretchy, and the weight of the hanging fabric made the hole larger than we cut it. I think.

Without further ado, here you have it in a few of its many variations:

Next time I/we make one, we'll take photos of the steps and post proper instructions. For now, just be jealous of our skillz.

brinner - cinnamon rolls from scratch

2010-06-10T19:53:00.001-07:00

cinnamon-rolly goodness in its pre-baked state - the ends didn't slice so pretty, but they just got chewed up anyway

I made Paula Deen's cinnamon rolls. They are buttery. They are tasty. Make them. Follow her recipe exactly. Space them closely enough on the pan so they touch lightly when baking. I didn't, but based on her recipe photo, I think I should have.

hot 'n fresh out tha oven

Glaze them bitches, fry up some potatoes, and have yourself some brinner.

Hide leftovers from husband.

spicy-sweet vegan curried tofu salad

2010-06-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Tofu:
• 1 15 oz. block extra firm tofu, prepared Grit-Style (see below)
• Canola oil for frying (about 2 tbsp)

• soy sauce
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Dressing:

• 1 15 oz. block silken tofu, pulsed a few times in the blender til smooth (lieu of mayo, which is the devil)
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (Cheap store-brand are usually vegan. Brand names tend to contain some kind of fishy stuff.)
• 2-4 tbsp your favorite mustard
• 2-4 tbsp your favorite vinaigrette (homemade, store-bought, whateva - just probably not a fruity one)
• 1/4-1/2 cup mango chutney (from yesterday’s recipe)
• 1/2 a Granny Smith apple, medium-diced
• 2 chopped green onions, white and green parts
• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste (1/4 – 1/2 tsp)

Directions:

Grit-Style Tofu, from The Grit Cookbook, which you really need:
For the tofu, cut the block of extra firm tofu into playing diced-sized cubes. Put about 1 tbsp canola oil over high heat. Let it heat up just a LITTLE bit, and add your tofu cubes. (Adding the tofu after the oil gets hot will send a terrifying column of flames shooting up from the pot. There is a lot of water in tofu, and hot oil + water = terrifying column of flames.) Sauté until evenly and lightly golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with soy sauce, and sauté a little longer. Remove from the pan, and spread the tofu cubes on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Rinse the pan and wipe it dry. Put in another 1tbsp of canola oil, and turn the heat to high. Allow the oil to become very hot and add the tofu (enough water has cooked out at this point that you needn’t worry about hellfire singeing your eyebrows). Sauté, tossing almost constantly until tofu cubes are firm and very well browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce to taste. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast to coat tofu cubes and, tossing vigorously, sauté a few more seconds and remove from heat.

*N.B. - Don't try to pan-fry more than one 15 ounce block of tofu at a time. To cook evenly, the tofu cubes need to be more or less in a single layer in the pan. I use a big soup pot so it's big enough to cook the tofu evenly, and because the sides are high enough to keep me from getting burned by splattery oil.

For the dressing:
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir thoroughly to combine. Use less of the mango chutney and more of the mustard & vinaigrette if you want it to be less sweet. I used all the chutney I had (about 1/2 a cup), and it wound up pretty sweet. No complaints here. If you prefer a more savory version, you can also swap the apples for celery and add roasted, salted cashews. This makes about double what you'll need to coat the fried tofu, so save the rest because you'll like it so much, you'll want to fry up more tofu tomorrow!

Combine the tofu with enough dressing to moisten well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature. Serving suggestions: in toast, pita pockets, tortillas, lettuce wraps, cabbage wraps, or - my personal favorite - a bowl .

This recipe was inspired/adapted from various thises and thats, such as:

• The fabulous Ina Garten's Curried Chicken Salad

• The Grit Cookbook's Tofu "Chicken" Salad Sandwiches
• Fat Free Vegan's Chickenless "Chicken" Salad

veganized sunny morning muffins

2010-06-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

I adapted/veganized this from Sunny Anderson's Sunny Morning Muffins on Foodnetwork.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup strawberries, chopped

• 1 cup frozen blackberries, thawed & chopped (or any old berry - frozen or fresh - you prefer. I just happened to have blackberries around.)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (white, organic, officially vegan, whatevs - I used organic), divided

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or white flour. I prefer wheat flour for breakfasty items, as it gives them a heartier taste/texture.)
• Pinch (big pinch, for me) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 cup almond (or soy, or hemp, or whatever) milk

• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but always recommended)
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

(for non-vegans/non-havers of almond/soy/hemp/whatever fake milk - swap out the 1/2 cup milk & apple cider vinegar for 2 large eggs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together strawberries, blackberries, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until berries give off juices.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, lightly whisk/stir 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar into almond/soy/whatevs milk. Let sit and curdle while you prepare the other stuff, at least 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, curdled almond/soy/whatevs milk, oil, 1/2 cup sugar, berries, orange zest, and if using, vanilla extract.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix. Do not be alarmed by flour lumps. They are totally okay, and will work themselves out during baking. Gently fold in walnuts.

Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups (you can use liners or not if you have a reliable nonstick muffin pan. I just lightly sprayed a silicon muffin pan instead of using liners). The quantity of batter should fill 12 cups just to the rim. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 45-50 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature.

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These came out just a leetle too juicy, which is how we politely refer to soggy. Juicy is of course better than dry, but next time I might bake them about 5 minutes longer, or drain a little of the juice off the berry mixture. Still, though. Taaaaa-stayyy!

domestic update

2010-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Husband currently doing battle with frozen solid raw mango cake from hell. Expect hilarity to ensue.

Now no longer especially raw. :-(

But at least he likes it!

(Good thing somebody does.)

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Update to the update:

Ryan has fashioned a cape for Steve out of his cake napkin.

Superkitteh!

We might've had a few beers with dinner tonight.

mango chutney: not super photogenic, actually

2010-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on Foodnetwork.com, from Paula Deen's Home Cooking. Shut it. I love Paula. Plus, this recipe is from a guest on the show anyway, and there's no butter. So shut it.

The recipe below is directly from Foodnetwork. I made probably slightly less than half the amount of the recipe, as I just had one leftover mango, after the raw mango cake from hell and last night's guacamole. If you want to do that, just use the one diced mango, and a little less than 1/4 cup each of vinegar, raisins, and brown sugar. I used the same quantities of garlic and ginger (using that convenient ginger paste in lieu of fresh, and yes I know it probably is full of preservatives). I also omitted the pepper since I didn't have one, and just added a pinch of cayenne.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups diced mangos
1 (1-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, minced (Scotch bonnets are REALLY hot. If that's not your thing, sub a jalapeño)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until thick, about 25 minutes, stirring often to keep from sticking. Let cool, and store in an airtight container.

Mine came out looking like this:

I wanted it to be a little less ~~barfy-looking~~ chunky since I'll be mixing it in with sauce for a curried tofu salad, so I pulsed it a few times in the blender. If you need to add a little water so the mixture can move in the blender, that's fine. Just add it a tbsp at a time so you don't overdo it.

This is really, really tasty and easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand which is always a plus. I highly recommend it.

quinoa & black bean salad with mango-citrus guacamole

2010-05-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

I adapted (barely) this recipe from one on NoTakeOut. NoTakeOut.com posts one dinner menu every day that only takes about 30 minutes (and not a Rachael Ray 30 minutes; a normal human 30 minutes without all the yum-o!! and sammies). Everything I've made from their site is tasty, quick, and usually pretty inexpensive. They also organize their recipes really well, with a shopping list and a list of staples/pantry items at the top, and a list of detailed instructions for multi-tasking below. They post a link to their daily recipes on facebook, so I highly recommend you friend/fan/like or do whatever is the pretend verb of the week to their page.

My version is a little different just because I didn't have a few of the ingredients, and I had a few things I needed to use up (such as extra mangoes from the raw food debacle). I also omit the dressing.

Ingredients:

your favorite leaves for the salad base

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced and separated in half

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 orange, zested, then peeled and chopped

3 avocados, peeled & seeded

1 small tomato or 1/2 1 large tomato, diced

1 mango, diced

juice from 1 lime

handful of fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt & black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté half the diced onion with 2 cloves minced garlic until soft. Add oregano, cinamon, tsp chili powder, a generous pinch of hot paprika, and the orange zest. Add the quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Turn off the heat, leave the cover on the pot, and just let it sit while you make the guacamole.

Mash the avocados together with the diced orange, mango, tomato, and remaining onion. Stir in the chopped cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and salt & pepper to taste.

After you finish the guacamole, stir the black beans into the quinoa. Pile your chosen leaves into a bowl and top them with the beans & quinoa mixture. Dollop some guacamole on top, and dig in!

raw mango cake: consumption

2010-05-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

My verdict: Meh. Kinda yucky. Also, a huge pain in the ass and very messy. I had to wash the food processor and blender no less than fifty times each.

Ryan's verdict: Delicious!

With the raspberry sauce:

So, here is what really chapped my ass about this cake. The recipe says "chill in the freezer to set." Okay, but for how long? Maybe seasoned raw foodists would just know, but I sure didn't. I chilled it for a few hours, then moved it to the fridge. Here's what happened when I took the side off the springform pan:

Mango mush - Ev. 'Ry. Where. It was not unlike just pouring a smoothie on the counter. I guess I should have expected that would happen. So then I figured, maybe it's just supposed to stay in the freezer. Maybe it won't freeze solid.

Also wrong! It froze into an utterly uncuttable solid block of rawness. So I thawed it for like 30 min, and it was cuttable, but not biteable, so Ryan microwaved it - meaning it was no longer raw, I think. Whatever.

Regarding flavor, I thought there was something distinctly Tums-esque about the cashew layer. To be fair, I am quite picky about my cashews. Kroger brand cashews always taste Tumsy to me, too. Ryan thought I was crazy and ate the heck out of it.

The mango layer, which was, as I've mentioned, basically just a smoothie, was delicious. The crust was really, really good. I might just start making my pie crust that way in general (walnuts blended with dates - so easy). It held together quite nicely, as well.

Thus ends my interest in raw foodism. Oven, I'm back.

raw mango cake: construction

2010-05-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

So, on vacation, I ate a ton of sea creatures. And I think probably some chicken stock. And a bite of chicken. And some gelatin.

I haz a guilty. But not too much because, well, I was on vacation, and it was all really. Really. Delicious. Anyway, whether because of guilt or for an excuse to interrupt my Kraplan lectures, post-vacation I have developed something of an interest in raw food. I stumbled upon this recipe at the Raw Freedom Community for raw mango-"cheese"cake, which included a photo that looked too tasty to pass up.

Doesn't that look magical? Yes, it does! So I embarked on a non-baking adventure. Right now, the cake is still chilling, so I haven't gotten to slice it up and dig in yet, but each component I sampled along the way was pretty darn tasty.

Mango Cake - a recipe for an optional raspberry topping follows this recipe

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups raw pecans (I used walnuts b/c they were wayyyyyyy cheaper)

1/2 cup dates (The only dates I could find were rolled in raw, unsweetened shredded coconut. They looked just like cat turds, but they were really quite tasty.)

Dash vanilla extract (Does this come in raw/non-raw versions? No clue.)

Cheesecake* layer:

2 cups raw cashews, finely ground in the food processor

1/4 cup raw honey (I have no idea if my honey was raw. I am not that hardcore at this point.)

1/4 cup agave nectar ($1.50 cheaper per bottle at Kroger than at Earth Fare for the exact same brand. I guess it's organickier when you buy it at Earth Fare, because, um......?)

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mango layer:

4 cups fresh or frozen (and thawed) mango, roughly chopped

2 dried (non-sulfured & unsweetened) pineapple rings, soaked in water 2-4 hours (I used pineapple chunks in what I imagined to be about the same quantity as 2 rings)

1 smallish very ripe banana

1 tbs coconut oil (optional, and therefore, whatev. I didn't use any.)

Directions:

Crust:

Process everything in the food processor until evenly mixed. I processed the walnuts first just to make sure they ground up evenly before adding the sticky dates. Press the dough into the bottom of a springform pan.

Cheesecake layer:

Put all the ingredients in the blender (cashews should already be finely ground in the food processor) and blend until smooth. I recommend the blender over a food processor for this step, unless you have a smallish food processor. I have a 14 cup, and it was just too big to mix this relatively small quantity of stuff into a smooth, even mixture. It was also a little too dry for the blender to handle, so I added maybe 1/4 cup of the water that the pineapple soaked in to loosen it all up. Stream in the water a little at a time until your blender can start moving everything, and then keep blending for several minutes until it's all smooth and creamy-like. It actually looks quite a lot like cheesecake filling. And in this photo, it also looks a bit like a Georgia O'Keefe painting.

As for tasting like cheesecake, well.....it's cashews, people. It's good, but it's cashews. Be realistic. Pour it into the prepared crust. I chilled this layer in the freezer for probably an hour and a half before I added the mango layer on top. I did this because 1) I wanted the layers to look nice and crisply separated like in the original photo, and 2) I forgot to soak the pineapples, so I had to wait on that.

Superfluous Note: Agave nectar is alleged to be a good sugar alternative, but I am not super clear on why. I started reading something about glycemic indexes and whatnot, but I got bored and dozed off. Anyway, you can find this precise bottle at Kroger and feel pleased that you purchased it for about 30% less than I did.

It really is mild and delicious.

Mango layer:

Drain the pineapples. (Raw chef and author of this recipe Fairygirl says that fresh pineapples don't work as well, so make sure to use dried.) By the way, the soaking pineapples look exceptionally funky.

Throw pineapples, mangoes, and banana into the blender and puree until nice and smooth. You won't need to add any liquid to this for it to blend nicely. Pour over the cheesecake layer. Chill in the freezer to set (I think for a few hours, then you can move it to the fridge. We shall see.)

Optional raspberry sauce topping:

(Is raspberry sauce ever really optional? I think not.)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups fresh or frozen & thawed raspberries

1-2 tbsp of agave (sweeten to taste)

juice of 1/2 lemon

Blend until smooth. Strain to remove seeds. Drizzle over cake slices.

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*I rather do not approve of applying the cheesecake label to a vegan/raw food. It's tasty, but it doesn't taste a bit like cheesecake. Maybe that's fine for a long time vegan or raw foodist who remembers not the tangy, creamy goodness of an actual cheesecake, but if you serve this up to an omnivore or cheese-eater calling it a cheesecake, you're setting yourself up for one disappointed guest. Although, I guess "pureed cashew cake" doesn't exactly sound appetizing, so who knows what to do.

strawberry (and banana) pies (veganizable)

2010-05-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Delicious strawberry pie recipe brought to you by Jeremy. (I know, right!)

I made two of these pies (one strawberry, one strawberry-banana) today because Sam's Club was having a berrystravaganzaa. Just $2 a pound for huge, beautiful, tasty strawberries, not at all like those raggedy ones they sell at Wal-Mart.

Ingredients:

Crust:

50 Nilla wafers

1/4 cup melted butter or margarine (I used Earth Balance vegan margarine, making this recipe vegan - yay! Oh wait. Nilla wafers are probably not vegan, but I bet you could find such a cookie in vegan form.)

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp orange zest

nonstick spray

Filling:

8 cups ripe strawberries (variation: 1 large banana can sub for roughly 2 cups of the strawberries)

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust:

Process Nilla wafers in a food processor until finely ground. Add melted butter, 2 tbsp of sugar, and orange zest. Pulse until everything is evenly distributed and moistened. Spray a 9" pie pan with nonstick spray. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Filling:

Process 2 cups strawberries in food processor until mashy and liquidy. Put mashy strawberries and water in a pot and bring to a boil. (I had to add a little more water during cooking so it could boil without giant steam bubbles building up and exploding everywhere.) Boil, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Press through a sieve into a bowl, reserving the liquid.* Discard the pulp.

Combine 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a pot. Add 1 cup of the strawberry liquid, stirring constantly with a whisk. (TIP: you can dissolve the cornstarch in a little water before you add it to the pot. It'll dissolve more easily and you won't have any lumps. If there are lumps in your mixture, don't panic. Stir diligently, and they'll dissolve. It's just easier to do it ahead of time.) Stirring constantly, bring to a boil, boil for one minute, then reduce heat and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Arrange a layer of sliced strawberries on the crust. (Banana variation: If you're doing this, this layer is where you replace the strawberries with banana slices. Follow the rest of the recipe as-is.) Spoon about 1/3 of the strawberry sauce over the sliced strawberries. Layer the remaining sliced strawberries on top, and spoon the rest of the sauce over them. Make sure it's fairly evenly distributed since that's what holds all the fruity goodness together.

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*You may have more than 1 cup of liquid. Hang on to the extra. I used mine to make a little more sauce (reducing the corn starch and sugar in proportion to how ever much liquid was left) since I think I overdid it on the sliced strawberries and wanted a little more goo to hold everything together. If you don't need to make extra sauce, chill the leftover juice and combine it with your favorite vodka. Drink, get trashed, and eat the whole pie by yourself.

curried chickpeas & quinoa with cilantro yogurt sauce

2010-05-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

Yummy. Yummy. YUMMY. This recipe is from the fine folks (actually, I think it's just one folk) over at Fat Free Vegan, and it is FAB. I have already sung (sang?) its praises on the facebooks, but it's going here since it's what I made for dinner tonight.

You can find the original Fat Free Vegan recipe here.

Curried Quinoa & Chickpeas

Time: like seven seconds. (Or like 15-20 minutes.)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger (I use that handy stuff that comes in the tube in the refrigerated produce section - don't judge)

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed & drained

curry powder to taste (For me that's rather a lot. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp.)

pinch cayenne pepper

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (roasted are tastiest)

1 cup cooked quinoa

salt to taste

Sauté your onions with a little salt til they soften. Add the garlic & ginger and cook for one more minute, taking care not to let the garlic burn. For real, burnt garlic is nasty as hell.

Add the chickpeas, curry powder, and cayenne, and stir. Add the tomatoes (not drained, juices and all) and the cooked quinoa, turn the heat down to low, and cover. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a little salt to taste.

Fat Free Vegan shows this served in lettuce leaves. I find lettuce a rather pointless leaf, so I either eat mine just out of the bowl or wrapped in cabbage leaves.

Yogurt sauce (in which this meal ceases to be vegan)

This here is my very own made up recipe, meaning, it is quite imprecise.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (and by cup I mean "1 single-serving container/cup thing from the grocery store")

2 cloves garlic, minced very teeny

1/2 a smallish cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

juice of one lemon

one handful fresh cilantro, chopped

salt & peppa

Stir that shit up and dollop it on top of your curry. Eat.

And seriously, check out Fat Free Vegan. Give the lady some traffic and look around. There are plenty of great, easy recipes to be had. You need vegetables! Do it!

Well, I didn't have anything else to do.

2010-05-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

So I used to write now and then about funny stuff, and then I just sort of ran out of steam. To tell the truth, I haven't felt especially funny for a while now. Lar skoo will do that to a girl. This food blog is sort of an effort to jump-start my writing again, and also, it's Something To Do during what seems to be an Extended Period of Unemployment. So here you go. Food to follow.