soak up the sun...and there's no place like home

Okay, you got me - as just about every picture of me will show, I'm not a big fan of the sun.

However, I am a pretty big fan of My Sunshine - my sister.  So, for her, I packed myself and my husband up and shipped us out to sunny Arizona to spend some time with her and see her graduate.

In my last post before we left, I stated three goals:
1. to take my camera - done
2. to remember to use my camera - did better than I've done in the past
3. to take pictures of my food, heedless of other people's opinions of me - more or less failed, but it was more because I just wanted to eat and enjoy my food rather than being self-conscious of strangers' impressions of me.  I also didn't think Mister would appreciate me taking pictures of our food every time we ate, especially in the morning.

Without further ado, then, here are the fruits of my labor - a picture-story, if you will.  Let's start from the beginning.

The last meal I made before we left was Punjabi Peppers and Tofu from La Dolce Vegan.  I made this for two reasons: I love it and there are never leftovers, so I figured it was a safe bet for the night before we left for a week.  Fell a little short there, so I will check on the status of the one serving of leftovers tomorrow.

After dinner, Mister and I went about our Packing Dance.  Due to Mister's frequent travel up until a couple of years ago, Angst is quick to recognize the activities that commonly culminate in Mister leaving.  He can also recognize when Mommy is also engaged in that dangerous activity.  He copes by hiding in the space between my computer table and the HVAC unit.

Our travel survival kit.  Plenty of tasty and quality food bits in case all we found in the Dallas airport was a steakhouse.  Also, in addition to charging for all checked luggage (resulting in me carrying around a very heavy carry-on), American Airlines feels completely justified in removing the free peanuts and replacing them with $6 bags of granola that they generously make available for purchase on the flight.  If you don't want to fork over $3.50 for a chocolate chip cookie, you can always stuff your purse with $.99 Clif products.  The Larabar was the splurge (at a hefty $1.29).

So, after much pressure applied to the eardrums and a really rocky landing, we did arrive in Tucson, located our spiffy Nissan Versa (not so much spiffy as it was a jumpy little bugger), and proceeded to the hotel.  After relaxing for a minute or many, we made plans for dinner with my sister at Blue Willow that evening.  I had a delightful stir-fry over brown rice.  All the food was beautiful and very tasty, but I somehow neglected to take pictures!


The next day we wandered around on 4th Avenue, which was full of tattoo parlors, coffeeshops, bars, vintage/thrift stores, head/smoke shops, and miscellaneous other stuff.  At a fair trade store, I found some gorgeous decorated glasses, but realized the difficulty in getting them home so they stayed at the store.  In another store, I tried on a fabulous [and very tight form-fitting] Betty Page-style dress, but ultimately realized that I don't like people looking at my body like that, so it also stayed in the store.  Here are a couple of highlights, though:

They had these all over the place - they are very creative places to lock up your bike and they are made from old bike parts.  This little guy and his friend were my favorite, and I like how you can see the mouthless face on the wall behind him.  I don't know what was going on there but she looks pretty even without a mouth.

This was the exquisite doorway to a defunct spa just off the beaten path.  The padlocked doors were made of ornately scrolled wrought iron or possibly brass and surrounded by those gorgeous lapis tiles.  I informed Mister that the reason I was taking a picture was so we would remember to include such a doorway in our future home.

Later that evening, we met up with Sister and about 8 of her closest friends at a nice outdoor cafe at Hotel Congress.  I couldn't quite gauge the level of surliness our bartender was exhibiting until Mister ordered a Pepsi and the bartender remarked that he only had "cola-syrup beverage" with a barely discernible twinkle in his eye.  After a couple of drinks, Sister, one of her closer friends, Mister, and I went to Lovin' Spoonfuls for dinner.  We had a ball ordering - Mister got Country Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy while I got the Pepper Steak.  It was all fun and tasty and again, I failed to get a picture.

The following morning, Mister and I returned for breakfast.  The Mediterranean Scramble was just what I hoped it would be - chunks of tofu, lightly browned and sauteed with halved kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and soy bacon.  Mister had a breakfast burrito and seemed quite pleased.  Their coffee was amazing and fair trade, as well as shade grown.  We wandered along 4th Ave again, then returned to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.

My parents had arrived during the day, so we met up with Mom, Dad, Sister, and Sweetheart at a glamorous [and booked!] hotspot Downtown - Cafe Poca Cosa.  The woman in charge was such a charmer and remained completely cool amidst the chaos of three large parties arriving for their reservations at once.  My original intention was to get a margarita, but the list was extensive to the point of being overwhelming and my father wanted me to select a bottle of wine for the table.  When I saw my favorite Rosemount Estates Shiraz, I had to be a good daughter and defer to Dad...

As you can see, I've been a bad influence on him.  The minute the food arrived, he whipped out his fancy picture-taking cellphone and started taking pictures of the food!  Not to be outdone, I decided that if he could take flash pictures of the food (subtle, Dad), I could capture a couple of images as well.

I ordered the only vegetarian offering on their very meat-centric menu.  It was a phenomenal restaurant, but I really don't think it's necessary to have 3 chicken entrees, 2 beef entrees, 2 pork entrees, 2 fish entrees, and 1 vegetarian entree.  Regardless, my Pastel de Elote con Marron Amarillo was extraordinary.  It was essentially a corn cake smothered in a roasted yellow pepper sauce, accompanied by cantaloupe, watermelon, sesame seed-adorned cucumber slices, and a mixed greens salad with jicama and slice of red bell pepper.

Mister, being a bit snobby or perhaps taking a cue from his father during our Christmas Eve dining adventures, ordered the "off menu choice" of very fancy Chile Rellenos (stuffed pepper) accompanied by a slice of pineapple, about a cup of cubed carrots, and a mixed greens salad with jicama.

After we ate, drank, and made merry, Mister and I strolled around Downtown for a little while before getting utterly and completely lost [in the car] trying to find our way back to the hotel.  We retired early since we would need to check out before leaving for graduation in the morning.

There's my dear sister, being 'hooded' to symbolize her being awarded her Masters of Public Health.  Good job, little sis!  We stuck around for a picture (or 500) after the ceremony before heading off to the airport.

A few final pictures that I can't really tie in but I think are cool:

palm trees!

This was actually pretty neat - it's a picture of a little green plant sprouting from inside a chunk of 180,000,000 year old petrified wood.  There's something magical about that.

Speaking of magic, we did manage to make it home in one piece, even if our heads feel like there's cotton in them and I probably won't hear right until Monday.  I even managed to put together a menu, because heaven forbid I take these last two days to relax!  You know I missed cooking, though, so I was happy to dive into some old favorite cookbooks and find recipes I haven't made yet - I only have one previously-made dinner in here, but I can't even guess how long it's been since I made it.

1. Snobby Joes from Veganomicon

2. Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon with Garlicky Kale with Tahini Dressing from Vegan With A Vengeance.

3. Chickpea Broccoli Casserole from Vegan With A Vengeance  (okay, you got me, this is the repeat)

4. Braised Cauliflower with Three-Seed Sauce from VwaV - this was actually in the Side Dishes section, but I realized that with the help of some rice and the addition of chickpeas, this could be a great meal in itself!

5. Quick Green Veggie Soup with Couscous from Vegan Express.  Yes, I will push my luck with soup until the minute Mister informs me it is not soup weather.

6. Thai Steamed Green Garden with Coconut-Peanut Sauce from Vegan Express.

feelin' a little saucy

I am officially sick of Springtime.  In addition to the wildly erratic weather, which is reason enough to hate this cursed season, everyone I've ever known has died in the spring, so the time between March and June is just rife with anniversaries of loved ones leaving my life.

I don't want to dwell on morbidity, though, so we'll talk about my temporary Summertime.  By the way, there are at least two seasons I prefer over Summer, but it still beats Spring.  Anyway, in thirtysome hours, I will find myself on a westbound plane for the first time since my honeymoon.  Mister and I are really bad at vacations.  Before our honeymoon, our last real vacation had been to the very same place but four years earlier.  It will probably be another two and a half years before we find our way to the airport again, since we planned our 5th anniversary trip almost as soon as we got home from our honeymoon (and it WILL be a financial doozy).

We'll be winging our way out to Arizona to visit with my sister a little and see her graduate before hopping a plane that same day and heading home so Mister can get to work the next day.  I am having mixed feelings about the break from cooking.  On the one hand, I love cooking and creating and experimenting.  On the other hand, eating other people's food inspires me to recreate it in my own [more affordable] way.  It's also really nice to have someone else serving me food and cleaning up after me for a change.  In case you were wondering, Angst did not make me breakfast in bed, did not take me to brunch or dinner, and did not make me a Mother's Day card.

My sister helped me scope out a few dining establishments, because it occurred to me well after I'd committed my trusty sidekick and I to this trip that we would be leaving our comfort zone of veg-friendly urban restaurants and grocery stores.  According to dear sis, Tucson has a pretty decent vegan scene, and from the number of restaurants I saw offering tofu scrambles, vegan breakfast burritos, and espresso drinks made with soymilk, I have shaken off my concern and realized that this could be an incredible culinary adventure!  Here is the hit list:

Lovin' Spoonfuls which serves a completely vegan menu and was apparently the brainchild of a woman who converted from a "hard core carnivore" to a vegan in just an hour (as the result of a meeting she attended on vivisection - you can read about her journey on the website) but didn't know what vegans ate.  Her experiments and cooking prowess led her to a culinary talent her friends recognized and urged her to start a restaurant.  Personally, I just really enjoy being able to look at a menu and know that I can choose anything on it.  I may have to go there every day.

Blue Willow Restaurant, Bakery, and Gift Shop which is not completely vegan, but has some really interesting sounding things and it serves breakfast all day, which makes it a winner in Mister's book.  It appears to be right around the corner from the hotel where we'll be staying, and I like that it has a gift shop because even when they're cheesy, they're still fun!

The Cup Cafe @ Hotel Congress - we almost booked a room at Hotel Congress, but I couldn't see from the pictures if they were charmingly vintage or just out-dated and really didn't want to find out once we were there and it was too late.  Mister and I have both had some pretty awful hotel experiences...in fact the room we stayed in the weekend we became engaged was not quite...clean.  I remember Mister calling maintenance and asking them to come clean our bathtub and them offering to provide him with supplies (to do it himself).  Considering this is going to be our best attempt at a vacation in a while, I didn't want to accidentally book a decrepit room in an overpriced hotel (even if it IS located dead-center of all the excitement).

Anyway, according to my sister, Hotel Congress, along with its club and cafe, is the happening place in Tucson.  I don't think we'll be hitting the club, but everyone needs a trusty coffeeshop and I like two kinds the most: one that is so cozy you get warm inside just looking at it OR a hip, modern, trendy hotspot.  Cup Cafe appears to be the latter and I could use a little glamour.

Hopefully, three things will occur on this vacation that have never happened before:
1. I will remember to take my camera.
2. I will remember to use my camera.
3. I will realize that none of these people will know who I am or ever see me again (with the exception of my sister and possibly her friends) and therefore it doesn't matter if I'm the weirdo taking pictures of her food in the restaurant.  If the food is nearly as awesome as I imagine it will be, I would really like to share pictures here since my growing group of followers indicates that some people really do find me interesting enough to read on a regular basis.  Plus, for those people, I'll have to find some way to make up for my absence Tuesday through Friday and it seems like pictures fix everything.  Here's one now!

Tonight I made Broccoli Pasta with Savory Sauce because Mister's belly wasn't feeling like Punjabi Peppers and Tofu was a good idea.  It was very good, though I think the sauce might take some tweaking.  This won't be the last time I make it, but I do want to share the recipe - I've noticed that I tend to be more creative and inspired when I'm under a great amount of stress.  I've been under a great amount of stress recently, in case you haven't picked that up from, well, every post this month.  Anyway, enjoy the recipe, and as always, please leave me a comment and let me know how it came out for you if you try it!

1 lb of broccoli florets (1 bag of frozen or two large crowns, fresh)
1/2 lb of pasta (I used gemelli, but rotini or cavatappi would also hold the sauce well)
14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
3 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce

1/2 Tbsp harissa (I left this out for Mister's belly problems, but I can imagine how it will enhance the taste)
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp raw agave nectar

Boil pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, steam the broccoli in a basket for about 7 minutes, until bright green but still crisp.
While pasta is boiling and broccoli is steaming, simmer tomato sauce in a medium saucepan.  When it is steaming, add the peanut butter and stir until thoroughly combined.  Once the PB is smoothly mixed into the tomato sauce, stir in tamari, worcestershire sauce, harissa, vinegar, and agave nectar.  Allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes.  Drain the pasta and return to the pot, add the broccoli and the sauce and toss to coat evenly.  Serve with a crisp green salad and a bowl of marinated olives.  If you want to, that is :)

Bonus picture!

My beautiful sister glamming it up in the pimped out limo our wedding party took to the reception.

sunshine on a cloudy day

As if to contrast the oppressive heat and glaring sunlight we "enjoyed" this weekend, I woke up to a dismal, humid, rainy Monday.  It should never rain on Monday - it's like the weather sticking its tongue out at you and saying "yeah, you thought it was hard enough getting up and out on a Monday morning..."

Off I went though, but I sprinkled my day with little drops of sunshine in the form of an email exchange with my sister regarding my upcoming trip to her home in Arizona.  It appears, from a link she sent me, that Arizona or at least Tucson is much more veg-friendly than I thought it would be.  I'm getting more excited by the day, especially now that I have such great dining experiences to look forward to. 

Inspired by the Southwest Adventure looming in the near future, I had Mexican on my mind.  I wanted to go to the Chipotle near my work for lunch, but did not have enough time, so I went to the cafe located inside my building.  Today, of course, seemed to be Anti-Veg Day because everything they were serving had meat.  Normally, I can at least count on one vegetarian soup alongside whatever fleshy treasure they're serving the "normal" folk, but today my choices were chicken or beef.  Unless you're inclined to think similarly to a more recently hired employee in my workplace, chicken is actually considered meat.  Even the pizza was meat-lovers.  I kid you not.  So, my lunch was a container of week-old "vegetable crudites" and a big banana.

To make up for it, I made Naked Burritos for dinner.

If you're feeling a little twinge for Mexican-inspired food, click here for the recipe.

We followed up with this tasty treat for dessert:

I have to admit...it smells kind of awful.  If you can get past that, though, there is a pleasant and surprising interaction between the creaminess of the coconut and the puckering tang of the lime, which is quite pronounced!  I don't think this will be a favorite, but I know we'll have it again, and I'm just happy to chalk up one more successful nondairy-frozen-dessert-that-Mister-likes experience.

And, since I'm always thinking ahead (or maybe just because I really like breakfast - having some, that is), I made granola.  I have come to realize that granola is my summer equivalent to my tasty cold-weather breakfast - various incarnations of oatmeal.  My standby recipe is taken from the brain of Sarah Kramer in La Dolce Vegan and it's a good transition from winter into spring: Apple Cinnamon, much like my oatmeal.  However, as summer approaches and as I let my eyes drift to a sunny southwest place where I've never actually been, I wanted something a little more...well, summery.

Summertime Granola
2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced/slivered almonds
1/2 cup dried pineapple pieces
2 Tbsp raw sesame seeds
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light agave nectar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine everything but the pineapple pieces in a large bowl and mix well
Spread evenly in a 9x13 baking pan and pat down lightly
Bake 15-20 minutes, stirring every 7-10 minutes
Remove from oven.  Stir again and cool slightly before mixing in pineapple pieces

Yield: about 4 cups.

magical talking devices

Every once in a while, I have this moment of clarity where I find the time to truly appreciate something that I take for granted every other day/hour. A couple of days ago, I was driving and suddenly I realized how cool that was. Now, I drive every day, just about, and there are times my 60 mile roundtrip for work everyday makes me want to sell my car, but a few days ago I realized how amazing it really is that this piece of machinery yields to my every whim. With just a tug this way of the steering wheel and some gentle (or sometimes quite abrupt) pressure on a pedal at my feet, I control the way the vehicle operates and it does what I command (this was not always so with my last car).

I had another one of those moments earlier today. This one is not nearly so deep and philosophical - actually, I think it's more comical than anything else, but I still appreciate it. Today's amazing moment was when my sister called me from a grocery store in Arizona. Here I am in Pennsylvania and my cellphone rings and connects me instantly with my sister, wandering the aisles of a grocery store thousands of miles away, asking me where to find pomegranate molasses (because she's such a wonderful sister that she is going to make a modified version of the Pomegranate Saute for a potluck). I know, you think I'm crazy, but that's because you're taking this moment for granted.

Stop and reflect on that story for a moment. Cellphones, though invasive at times, are magical!

Today was a fun day. First, Mister and I went to the spice store to get red lentils (and ground cloves, crystallized ginger, and black licorice, because I really did marry a man just like my father), then we went to a diner for breakfast at 3:30 PM. We're still celebrating his birthday, and if breakfast at 3 (after we'd been up for hours) was what he wanted, that's what we were doing. After stuffing ourselves full of omelets and potatoes (and craptastic coffee), we waddled home in the 95 degree heat and were thrilled by the still-working a/c in our home.

For dinner, we had Red Lentil Coconut Curry (thus the trip to get more red lentils):
Red Lentil Coconut Curry
serves 6-8
Spice mixture:
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp canola or olive oil
2 cups water, divided
3/4 cup jasmine rice
2 large carrots
1 small head cauliflower
14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes
1 cup peas
1 cup red lentils
15 oz lite coconut milk
1/2 tsp honey

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice, lower heat to lowest possible setting, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, until all water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, mix together all the spices and salt in a small bowl. Quarter and cube the carrots and cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets.
Heat the oil in a large, deep pot and add the spices, stirring continuously for one minute. Add carrots and cauliflower and stir to coat with spices. Allow to cook for a minute or two, then add the undrained tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. Stir well to dissolve spices, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, lentils, coconut milk and honey. Cover and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve over rice.

It was a nice tasty birthday curry. Now I'm ready for leftover birthday cake!