black magic, brown rice

I know, I know - how many posts can I really devote to brown rice?

At least one more.

I am just so pleased with myself at the moment.  Tonight I made the Seitanic Jambalaya from Veganomicon in just under an hour!  The book gives it an hour and a half, and previous attempts
have seen me begging the rice to be plump and done after two and a half hours of simmering uselessly on the stovetop.  Tonight, though, I nearly made this into an express meal!

Well, okay, let's not get out of control here.  Besides, it's not like I did anything terribly innovative - I just used the same trick I've employed for other brown-rice-stovetop-simmering recipes - I cooked the rice separately and then added it to the pot.  Ah, yes.  The pot.

Another contributor to my success may have been the use of my beautiful 4-quart saute pan.  Everything fit!

Speaking of perfect fits (and awkward segues...), I am so excited about a new development exactly halfway between the two center city locations of my company.

HipCityVeg is the new venture by Nicole Marquis, who was formerly the General Manager at my dear, departed, and sorely missed Horizons.  I knew I was in love when I read a review that featured a casual mission statement from the proprietress: "I wanted to put Horizons on a sandwich."  Um... you had me at Hello!

Great reviews abound and apparently there have been lines out the door since the place opened on Monday.  I am hoping to stop by there for lunch tomorrow since I will be traveling from one store to the other and, like I said, it's mid-way.  My mouth absolutely watered checking out the menu...

I'm putting my camera in my purse now and with a little luck (and probably a lot of patience), I'll finally have some food photos for you tomorrow (and of course, as detailed a review as I can muster!)  Until then, chickpeas, take care!

klutz in the kitchen

You would think I didn't know my way around a kitchen.  You'd think I've never cooked before... or measured anything... or stirred a pot.  If you haven't been following this blog for the last couple of years, you might think I was just learning to cook from the way I was dropping things and tossing things around tonight.

You know, it's ridiculous - I took a couple of days off from my kitchen and it's as though I've never handled a measuring spoon or a spatula before.  I spilled water, poured salt all over the counter, knocked rice on the floor, and dropped at least two measuring spoons.  I tossed bits of spinach all over the stovetop and God forbid I transfer the coconut milk from the counter to the pot without dumping some of it on the skillet and pan-frying tofu in the process.

Fortunately, it all came together (after a little swearing and a lot of stooping) to make Sag Paneer from Celebrate Vegan.

I'll be honest, I was not all that impressed, after all my hard work (of spinach-slinging, salt-spilling, and rice-scattering).  It was really rather bland, despite the addition of the maximum amount of salt (plus a little, probably) and the shallot-garlic-ginger base.  I caught Mister trying to be subtle as he snuck more salt onto his second serving and unabashedly doused both servings with a generous amount of hot sauce (at my suggestion).  I did not have an opportunity to test this before the cookbook was published, but I wish I had so I could have suggested a ton more flavor.  One of my favorite parts of Indian food is the almost overwhelming 'spiceyness' and flamboyant flavors - those aspects were disappointingly absent from this recipe, making me glad as heck for the overboard flavors in The 30 Minute Vegan's version of this Southern Asia staple.

Angst still seemed to think he urgently needed to share Mister's dinner...

"This is my Imploring Face"
(note the paw on Mister's knee) 

"Please, Mister, I NEEDS!"

So, Black Friday I came home and ate leftover Spanakopita and leftover Apple Pie.  Saturday I slept most of the day, drank some coffee, got another make-up delivery, and then went out on a belated Anniversary Dinner with my hubby because....

...Vedge finally opened!  Hallelujah, folks.

I took a bunch of pictures, but it's possible that Vedge is even dimmer than Horizons was, so none of them came out.  Here's the synopsis:

I started out with an Apple Cide Car, per the power of suggestion from Dynise's review of the Friends and Family night.  With dinner, I enjoyed a nice glass of Dolcetto.  The server explained that the Chef suggests three plates per person and that the menu lists plates in order from light to heavy.  To share, Mister and I ordered our old favorite from Horizons - Truffled Fingerling Fries, a newsie Crispy Cauliflower with Kimchee Mayo and an order of Roasted Baby Broccoli from their "Dirt" list (today's fresh veggie sides).  I elected to try a new dish, despite many of my favorites from Horizons making a slightly altered appearance on the menu - Steak-Spiced Tofu with squash, chanterelles, and a few other unidentified vegetables.  I can honestly say that this dish marked the very first time I have actually found mushrooms enjoyable.  I will not be seeking them out any time soon, but it was nice to not have to eat around them.  Mister stuck with what he knows, ordering the Grilled Seitan, even though it came on a bed of beluga lentils with some mushrooms surrounding it.  It was so refreshing to be able to order and eat anything on the menu.  The delightful thing about the small plates thing Vedge is doing is that it enabled us to order and enjoy dessert without feeling like total pigs (and since it's much further from home, the walk back helped burn off a few calories).  Mister, as usual, got Fig & Quince Cheesecake and discarded the fruit.  The figs tasted kind of "green" and the quince was middle-sweet.  I would have left them on, myself.  I got the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Pumpkin(-spiced) "ice cream" and loved every warm, melty bite.

As a side note, Angst helped me finish the blog post tonight and Mister took pictures:

Vedge is on the Horizons

Please pardon me if I giggle to myself throughout the post - I couldn't resist the urge to have such a punny title.  Better to laugh at my ridiculousness, though, than to cry over the closing of Horizons, right?

Yes, Horizons is now defunct.   The doors are shut and will not reopen until the building bears a new name (because this area needs another pizza place....like I need a hole in my head), so I will share the details of our "last supper" (toot, toot!  here comes the Hell Train again!  First stop - Blasphemy) before turning my eyes forward to anticipate the opening of the new restaurant, Vedge.

Saturday night was temperate - not too hot, but not remotely cool, and the humidity was surprisingly held at bay.  We prettied ourselves up a little (I felt the occasion warranted sultry red lips and relatively minimal black-shadowed eyes) then headed to Horizons for the last time.  To my surprise, the entire outdoor seating area was unoccupied, so we elected to start the trend - indeed, before we had our aperitifs, we had guests at two other tables nearby.

To be honest, I spent part of Friday and most of Saturday daydreaming about the menu at Horizons, from pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers to the last sip of espresso and bite of a sinful chocolate dessert.  By the time we started our jog over there (Mister's whole family is made up of speed-walkers, whereas I have short legs and sometimes have to run to keep up), I had plotted out my entire gastronomical experience.  I started with the Nightboat to Recife, which I already raved about here, which was a nice accompaniment to my Salt-Roasted Golden Beets.

There is a very sweet-n-sunny difference between your standard roasted red beets and these lighter-tasting siblings.  The sweetness of the beets was appropriately matched with dense, barely-ripe and definitely chilled chunks of avocado, concealing a "surprise" center of marinated tofu.  I even appreciated the charming crunch of the red onions diced within, despite my standard hatred for the allium.

Mister had a delightful looking mediterranean-influenced chopped salad that I forgot to take a picture of until he had already marred its beauty by digging in. [edit: you can see Kelly's great picture of it here]  We both struggled with the desire to start out meal with the BBQ Seitan, because we knew it was unlikely to be featured at Vedge this fall, but we agreed that there was no need for that much seitan in our meal.  How much, you say?

Well, like I mentioned when I recapped our previous dinner at Horizons, there were certain "old favorites" I wanted to taste once more before they were gone.  I have been so busy enjoying the varied flavors and textures of some of the more esoteric entrees on the menu, it's probably been over two years since I last ordered the Grilled Seitan entree.  Mister gets it every time we go there and has already expressed his concern that it might not be available at Vedge, but I've already secured his promise to go when it opens regardless of the presence or absence of seitan on the menu.

While it was certainly as delightful as I remembered it, I'm not killing myself over neglecting it for half the time the restaurant was open.  One of the reasons I was able to allow myself to branch out, so to speak, was the knowledge that Whole Foods and Essene both carry the same brand of seitan that Horizons used.  Somewhere in the last two years, I forgot what made their seitan special isn't the maker, but rather then preparation and presentation.  Mister and I agreed that what really takes Horizons' seitan over the culinary edge is that they grill it to melt-in-your-mouth perfection, meanwhile leaving the little crispy bits on the edges for texture.  Now that Horizons has closed its doors and there is not much chance the Grilled Seitan entree will be on the menu (at least initially) at Vedge, I may need to finally invest in a grill pan for the stovetop.

No meal would have been complete without the amazing Truffle Fries with white BBQ sauce.  I didn't take a picture because I always forget to take a picture.  I don't know - there's something about its side dish status that makes me think, "why would I take a picture of a little tin bread pan with wedge fries in it?"  Regardless, they were every bit as delicious as they've always been and if Vedge doesn't think they're worthy of a place on the menu, it looks like we'll also be investing in some truffle oil of our very own.

Since I'd spent the day fantasizing about dessert, I did not require Mister's reminder to get an espresso to accompany my exquisitely rich (yet not too much so) Chocolate Tart.  No matter how amazing the other desserts are, knowing that Kate Jacoby will be focusing more on fruit-centered desserts at Vedge, I knew I had to get the Tart while I could.  I have very little doubt she will continue to serve her amazing cheesecake, especially since it lends itself so well to fruit accompaniments, but I thought the rich, chocolatey nature of this dessert put it on the endangered list, so it was the last bit of Horizons to pass my lips.

Or not.  As we were finishing up dessert, I heard my name exclaimed from behind me.  Turning, I saw Kelly, looking perfectly pixie-like, especially beside her very tall, incredibly friendly husband.  A round of introductions were had on behalf of the two Misters and then Kelly and Hubby excused themselves to take a short walk before returning for the Happy Hour AfterParty held in the upstairs bar.

As previous pictures of our dinner at Horizons have shown, the dining area inside is considerably darker than the outdoor tables.  Considering it was a fine dining restaurant, this makes sense, and it's nearly surprising that they even had an outdoor seating area as casual as the one on their sidewalk.  There were tasty hors d'oeuvres being butlered by Kate Jacoby herself, as well as some other members of staff.  I was still quite full from dinner, but could not refuse the opportunity to try a seitan-kimchee kind of roll-up...which promptly bit my face off and I had to wait for the bartender to make me a delightful daiquiri unlike any I'd had before in order to take another bite.

I had a great time getting to know Kelly and her husband a little better and after closing the bar (literally, unfortunately), we all walked out together to see the saddest sight I've seen in a while.

While I am truly excited about Vedge and very much anticipating its opening day/night, I am very sad to see Horizons go.  I guess I'll just have to hone my seitan-slinging skills and up my culinary creativity (harbinger of things to come...).

change for the better

I had a really great day today.  I got up early to teach, but that didn't quite happen (summer always gets a little sporadic in terms of student attendance) so I was just super productive instead.  I got so much done that I completely forgot it was Saturday and was about to start whining about how "I don't waaaant to go to work tomorrow," when suddenly it dawned on me: tomorrow is Sunday.

Today was both productive and an exercise in adaptation.  I'm teaching!  No, wait, not teaching, so... I'll go food shopping!  I'm going to make an exciting recipe for dinner tonight because I have a fridge/cupboard stuffed with tasty vittles!  No!  Horizons is closing two weeks from tonight, so... we're dining at Horizons!

I love Horizons.  I'm so sad it's closing because I know we won't go as frequently when the new location, further into Center City, opens.  At the moment, anyway, since I spend almost every minute of my week commuting to or being at work, when we do venture out (which isn't all that often, though we've been trying to get out more), we tend to stick pretty close to home.  So when Kelly tweeted that she was eating at Horizons tonight and that the final evening would be July 2 (two little weeks away), I folded up my menu and called for reservations.

I was set on eating everything I hadn't eaten yet, so even though I love the Salt Roasted Golden Beets, BBQ Seitan, and Grilled Asparagus Salad, I was determined to start the meal with a new appetizer.

So, we started our meal with the Olive Board, which wasn't so much a board as it was a square plate, but I'm not going to pick nits.  There was a perfectly-portioned baby ramekin of mixed olives, marinated to perfection with garlic, herbs, and vinegar.  Beside it was a small butter cup of kalamata tapenade, ideal for dipping the lightly salted, dense and crispy breadsticks and thinly sliced carrots and zucchini.  There were also some pickled vegetables, but we (even Mister!) weren't so excited about those.

For the first time this year (and probably the last) we were able to sit outside, enjoying the company of Mazy the Little Gray Pitbull.  She was so precious.  I shot this picture while she was worriedly looking inside the restaurant to see where her mommy went (ladies' room).

As usual, Mister got the Grilled Seitan on Grilled Spinach and Yukon Mash with a red pepper coulis on top.  It looked ever more attractive than usual and it nearly made me regret my choice.

I've been hemming and hawing over the Pacific Rim Grilled Tofu, topped with turnips and concealing a base of edamame puree on top of a miso sauce.  My main concern has always been that the gochujang lacquer would be too spicy, but it was tangy, just as our waitress promised it would be.  I was happy that I ordered it and got to taste it, but I wasn't kicking myself for missing out all these years.

Once again, the portions were perfect to allow us room for their delightful dessert menu.

Mister got a double decaf espresso to go along with his Lavendar Cheesecake with blueberry smash and ancho peanuts.  At Kelly's suggestion (inadvertent, albeit), I chose the Chocolate-Stuffed Beignets with Iced Coffee Float. 

For the uninitiated, the beignets are basically fried doughballs, coated in powdered sugar, with a gooey dark chocolate center.

I was planning to join Mister in his after-dinner espresso, but when I saw that the beignets were accompanied by a coffee float, I refrained.  I did, however, tell him that when we come back for closing night, I want him to remind me to get an espresso with the Bittersweet Chocolate Tart (which is divine, but certainly requires coffee to calm the intense chocolatey-ness).

Fortunately, since I was so productive today, running all over the city, weighted down by heavy bags at least half the time, I probably burned off at least a few calories in advance.  Besides, we have a relatively calorie-conservative menu this week.

A few words of explanation: all of these recipes (except the last one) come from a cookbook I don't even own, enhanced at times by additions that came from my very own brain.  The cookbook that inspired these meals is The Low GI Cookbook, which happens to be available as a "special edition" being sold by the weight loss company that owns my days.  Our recent visit by the chefs who are laboring to enhance our program and foods to be at the top of the industry inspired me to show a little company pride and construct my whole menu from this book.  Obviously, since it's written for omnivores, a little tweaking was necessary here and there, but it wasn't too hard to find some delicious-looking and creative meals.  My only foil was the desire to make a new Mama Pea "recipea."

1. Tuscan-Style Beans with Tomatoes and Sage served over small pasta

2. Lentil, Spinach, and [To]Feta Salad using the tofeta recipe from HIAV.

3. White Bean Salad, served with po' boys (no, no, I could not resist the opportunity to use my new BBQ sauce, but at least you'll get a recipe out of it for the first time in months).

4. "Chicken" [Seitan] and [Baby] Bok Choy Stir-Fry - This recipe appears to be made for seitan, and I'm actually pretty sure my version will be better than the original as a result.  There were no "adult" bok choy at Whole Foods today, so just got twice as many baby bok choys.  The Curse of Bok Choy continues, apparently.

5. Parsley, Butter Bean, and Cherry Tomato Stew, which will most likely be served over rice.

6. Vegetable Chili Bowl which is far enough from a soup that Mister should let it slide.

7. Chickpeas and Dumplings (yes, a bonus recipe! AKA, I had a little trouble counting) from Peas and Thank You.  This looks so incredibly tasty I don't care how hot it gets this week.  I'll just turn the air conditioning way down low, throw on a cozy sweater and get to simmerin'.

pre-friday WIN

Today was super-dooper busy at work.  As such, I feel completely entitled to the calories I probably overconsumed at Horizons tonight.  Mister and I finally went and there were available tables tonight, so we had a happy, adventurous, tasty dinner.  I even remembered to take very dim pictures!  I'm going to ramble a little about our visit, but please, even if my play-by-play of a gourmet dinner is not exciting to you, stick around - most of the WIN happens after dinner.

I literally spent at least half the time I was at work today walking briskly from one end of the building to the other for one inane reason or another.  I got through the day quickly, but with the forward-looking thought of what a delightful evening lay ahead - after we turned ourselves away from the bar seats at Horizons over the weekend, Mister and I decided to go tonight, when we figured it would be less crowded.  Our plan was actually to sit outside and ignore Mister's allergies long enough to enjoy the balmy evening air while we dined.  However, as we approached the restaurant, there were no tables set up outside.  As we drew closer, it looked like the restaurant wasn't even open and I had this dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach that Horizons went out just like so many other restaurants/businesses in the Queen Village/Bella Vista neighborhoods lately - no notice, just closed up one day.  Then we spied a sign in the window indicating that service was available upstairs only.  I turned to Mister and told him that if there were no seats, we were making reservations for tomorrow night.

I ignored him as he told my upstairs-bound back that we couldn't sit outside tomorrow night since there are supposed to be serious thunderstorms.  I ignored that we would really need to stay home and comfort the poor, terrified cat.  Fortunately, there were a few available tables upstairs, so Angst will have the pleasure of our presence tomorrow night.  I'll do my best to give you a short picture parade but I didn't want to use my flash, especially since it seems to make the pictures in dark areas even darker, so the pictures are a bit dim - hopefully you can still see a little.

I wanted to start my meal with a cocktail.  It's been a bit of time since I've had one - possibly since brunch with the parents a few months ago.  One of the things I normally love about Horizons is how unique their combination of ingredients are and how esoteric some ingredients are.  However, it does not help my usually stubbornly autonomous self to make a decision on a cocktail when I can't even pronounce the components of a cocktail, much less get an idea for the taste.  After some consultation with our delightful server, Jeannine, I opted for the Night Boat to Recife.  Since I can't pronounce the liquors, I sure can't spell them, but I'll describe the drink - it was absolutely the most complex cocktail I've ever had.  It started out with an unmistakable and strong citrus flavor, then moved toward a slight bitterness before resolving to a most bizarre but delicious aftertaste I can only compare to the taste of cinnamon applesauce. I know that doesn't sound sexy, but it really is an incredible cocktail.  I had a glass of Pinotage with dinner because I'm thrilled to find a single restaurant in Philadelphia that has Pinotage (a spicy South African blended red wine) by the glass.

For the eating portion of our evening, we began our meal by sharing the Shaved Spring Vegetable Salad, consisting of micro-lettuces with shaved fennel, roasted asparagus, toasted hazelnuts, and what appeared to be edible flower petals, dressed in a sublime hazelnut vinaigrette.  Mister, as always, ordered the Grilled Seitan and I almost did as well, since it has been well over a year since I've ordered it, but the past three to five times we've gone to Horizons, I've struggled with my curiosity about the Fresh Hearts of Palm Cake with braised beluga lentils and curried mixed squash, topped with cucumber chutney.

I tasted each component individually.  One of the deciding factors was my desire to eat their braised beluga lentils, so I tasted them first - they were good, but not outstanding on their own, which wasn't how they were meant to be eaten anyway.  The mixed curried squash was extremely flavorful and not terribly spicy.  The two together were perfect.  The cucumber chutney tasted more like marinated cucumbers, but I might be misunderstanding the nature of chutney, since I've always had spicier chutneys.  The cake itself was amazing both texturally and spice-wise - this provided the heat I was expecting to find in the curried squash, and was perfectly balanced by the chutney, curried squash, and lentils.  I'll admit, I was a little hesitant going into it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Horizons has never let me down, and I fully expected they would not let me down this time either.  I was not disappointed.

I was also not disappointed in our shared side of truffled fries, which I have presently decided are the best food currently available on earth.  I even said to Mister that if the world actually were going to end in the near future and the date and time really could be foretold, I would want the last thing I ate on this earth to be truffle fries.  That's right - not chocolate - truffle fries.  They're that good.

We agreed that dessert was also necessary, so we perused the adorable little dessert menu.  They usually have a few standards as well as a rotating flavor or two, specifically related to their cheesecake.  It is truly remarkable how nearly identical their cheesecake is to "real" cheesecake - the only way I can tell the difference is that my digestive system and intestinal tract are not rebelling.

Mister almost always partakes of the cheesecake when we do get dessert, but tonight, we both got our own slice of Lavender Cheesecake with a dollop of whipped "cream" and mashed blueberry coulis.  It was divine - that's really the best explanation I have.  I could ramble on and on about the amazing texture of the cake or the charming tanginess that makes you wonder if it's really vegan.  I could dwell on the perfect graham cracker crust or the fascinating scent-flavor experience created by using lavender in food.  But really, you should just focus on this: Go to Horizons before they close and eat truffle fries and cheesecake with a nice glass of Pinotage or Muscato.

Now, on to the rest of tonight's WIN.

About a week ago, I retweeted a simple but cheesy message in a silly and desperate attempt to win free tickets to a ballet I can't afford to see.  Let me back up - I could afford to see every ballet or orchestra concert I wanted to, as long as I was willing to sit in the nosebleed section and squint at the stage, wondering if I need a new prescription for my contacts.  I am not willing - I got spoiled by seats close enough to the stage that I made eye contact with the dancers.  So anyway, I tweeted some silly line about loving the Arts in Philadelphia, figuring it was worth a shot, and to my incredible surprise, I won!  One week from tonight, I will be floating down from an ethereal high of spending the evening watching powerful, strong men and women move around a stage with grace I can only wish for from seats I couldn't possibly afford (hopefully in the company of a similarly graceful and beautiful female - Mister has made it quite clear that although he enjoys spending time with me and doing stuff to make me happy, he has to draw the line at men in tights). 

Winning, Part II: after dinner, I perused the feed on Facebook because you know, it's kind of addicting.  Imagine my delight when I saw my Summertime Granola recipe featured on Chic Vegan today!  Head over [click here] and check it out!


Winning: Finale:  Tomorrow's Friday and then it will be a nice, long, fruitful yet relaxing weekend.  Cheers!

something old, something new

What a strange day.  Originally, the weather was predicted to be stormy and scary - thunderstorms and other such severe weather.  Instead, today was mild enough that I only wore a light jacket out of stubbornness and paranoia - the last thing I need is to get sick right now.  I suppose there's never really a convenient time to be sick, so I'll rephrase that: I really don't want to get sick again - I feel like I've spent the better part of the last six months either ill or trying (normally in vain) to battle some pathogen.

Mister, on the other hand, is definitely sick.  He slept most of today.  I left the apartment mid-afternoon and headed over to Whole Foods; I returned to the lingering scent of a recently extinguished candle and found Mister was not where I left him.  Instead of sitting at his computer, he had crawled back into bed, fully clothed.  He was fast asleep and remained so while I went to SuperFresh, CVS, and Essene, even stopping on the way home from Essene to chat with cousins (Greeks can't live too far from one another or they wither and die, I think).  He slept through two rounds of dish-doing, as well as some fun on You-Tube (you haven't lived until you've cried through this video) and Facebook.  The sun set, my belly began to growl, and all my plans to have a completely Mama Pea-inspired dinner, including dessert, went out the window as I looked in on his slumbering form.

I heated up what was left of the Salsa Rice and Red Beans and poured a glass (or few) of my newly acquired bottle of Apothic Red (did I leave out the trip to the wine store?  Yeah, that was right before Superfresh).  Nothing exciting there.  We did not make it to the Eiffel Tower light show, either.  In fact, unless you count the joy of spending almost $200 on groceries, wine, and toiletries, today was pretty well wasted.  Nevertheless, I do have a new menu for you!

1. Mama Pea's Meatloaf with braised skillet potatoes (and possibly cake).
2. 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma from Appetite for Reduction.  I have passed over this recipe several times because Mister doesn't like brothy food (he refers to it as "runny").  However, he's gotten Kormas at restaurants, so he'll be okay.
3. Pasta Florentine from The 30 Minute Vegan.  It's been a while since we've had this - heck, it's been a while since I've cracked open this cookbook.  Anyway, I was glancing through some old posts and saw this and thought, "well, that's easy and always goes over well...why haven't I made it lately?"
4. Jerk Seitan with Coconut Rice, both from Vegan with a Vengeance.  It's been a while since we've had this, also, and the jerk spices of the Rice Island Casserole always make me long for this dish.
5. Pasta Puttanesca from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals.  If it's been a while since I cracked open 30MV and made the meal from there, it's been eons since I've bothered with this book.  Sad to say, ever since my "Vegan Experiment" became a way of life, I have largely neglected any cookbook that is not expressly vegan.  This is not without good reason - I never realized until the last 6-9 months exactly how dairy-heavy many vegetarian cookbooks are.  Nevertheless, this recipe is naturally vegan and supernaturally incredible.
6. Vegetable Etouffee also from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals and also a recipe I've neglected far too long.

Now, as I was putting my menu together, I had intended to only choose 5 meals because I thought Mister and I would go out to dinner tonight, either before or after seeing the Eiffel Tower in the plaza of the Kimmel Center put on its little light show.  Right now you're probably thinking (if you actually read the first part of this post), "Good thing you added that Etouffee, then, huh?"

No.

We did not go out tonight, but due to some mixed-reaction news I got pretty early in the day (as in, some time during the four hours Mister and I were both awake), we most certainly will be going out to dinner this week.  Specifically, we will be dining at Horizons.  The news?  They're closing.

This is devastating to me - Horizons is my favorite restaurant in all of Philadelphia (and we have a lot of great restaurants!).  One of my favorite parts of living in Queen Village is how close we've been to Horizons.  Don't get me wrong - the pricing still keeps it in the "Special Occasion" bracket of restaurant choices, but it was nice to know it was there.  Mister and I have often mused about a phenomenon we've both recognized during the time we've lived in the city: depending on where you live, your idea of proximity changes.

When I lived in the sticks, the last gasps of the Main Line, in a town that is more sub-rural than sub-urban, I thought nothing at all of driving 15-30 miles to find something fun to do.  When I moved into my Art Museum apartment, I enjoyed that there were many places (Art Museum, Wawa, restaurants/bars, work) that I could walk to, but I was still in a place where I didn't think twice about driving to a different part of Philly or out of the city altogether to find fun.  When I moved to the ghetto, the only time I went anywhere without being inside an enclosed vehicle was the one time we got three feet of snow and the only way to the bar was to walk.

Everything changed, though, when we moved down to Queen Village.  I had never been so close to everything I could possibly want.  Three supermarkets, Essene, two Farmers' Markets, flower shops, all of my favorite restaurants (except Azure, but they closed shortly after I moved) and bars (except Fergie's, but I stopped going there shortly before I moved) - there was no need to drive anywhere and the parking situation made me loathe to do so unnecessarily anyway.  Suddenly, if we couldn't walk there, a place was simply "too far away."

The point of all that babbling? Well, the mixed-blessing of the whole Horizons situation is this: they are closing Horizons, but opening a new place somewhere in Center City.  Presumably, the move is because they're doing so well they are always completely booked, but it makes me sad because I know Mister and I will not be as inclined to travel to the new location.  I'm hoping it will be somewhere close, like Washington Square or Old City, but with my luck, they'll have done so well that they'll end up in Rittenhouse Square.  Sad to say, if that's the case, we'll probably go once just to check out the new digs...and never again.

So, sometime this week, we'll dine at Horizons.  Some time in a few more weeks, we'll dine at Horizons.  I intend to go as many times as we can afford and Mister will let me before they close (tentatively set for July).  It's funny, because we didn't end up going there for Valentine's day because it was "just too far" from our new apartment for us to want to make the trip on a frost February evening.  Just a week or so ago, we had planned to go, "just because" and I postponed it, telling Mister I wanted to wait until we had a good reason to go, like a celebration of some sort.  Well, I wouldn't call this a celebration by any stretch of the imagination, but it's certainly a good reason if ever I had one.

dinner improv

So, yesterday was my birthday.  I stayed home, not because it was my birthday, but because I didn't want to be a sniffly mess by the time we went out to celebrate my birthday.  In any case, it was delightful - I slept until almost noon, then stayed in bed savoring the coziness for another 20 minutes.  When I emerged from the bedroom, Angst hurtled himself from my chair and down the hall to greet me with an unusual amount of enthusiasm.  He must have known it was a special day.

No.  His food bowl was pitifully empty.  It's the thought that counts.

Speaking of thoughts, Mister had a few of his own and when I finally deigned to take a shower, he stealthily wrapped them up all pretty.  If there had been anyone present for the gift-opening, they probably would have thought he'd given me the most outlandish gift to give a vegan ever:

I laughed so hard...and then made Better Bean Burgers from Vegan on the Cheap for dinner tonight.  They are so darn easy to make and now they're easy to smush, too!  The burger press comes with a removable insert that also creates a dimple so the burgers don't swell while they're cooking.  I'm guessing that's a meat thing, because I have never had a problem with my veggie patties poofing.  I made three of the burgers using the insert and one without.  I don't think I'll use the insert again, at least not for these specific burgers.  They smushed more evenly without the dimple - that seemed to obstruct the flatness to which I could smush.

I didn't take any pictures tonight because they don't really look any different from the first time, other than being a little flatter.  Besides, I want to tell you about my amazing birthday dinner.

Last night, which was my actual birthday, we went to my favorite restaurant - Horizons.  Considering yesterday's highest temperature was 27 degrees Fahrenheit, and considering our reservation was at 8:30, a good 3.5 hours after the sun tucked itself beneath the Philadelphia horizon, I'm pretty glad my favorite restaurant is only two and a half blocks away.  I told Mister a funny story about a crosswalk conflict I encountered on my way home the night before and by the time I had finished, we were there!

The place was packed.  I'm thrilled that Horizons continues to thrive.  If anything, they are growing in popularity.  When we arrived for our reservation, there were only two tables open in the entire restaurant (and they had both floors open and operating).  The noise level was a little higher than I would have preferred, but the ambiance was still unbeatable.  If anything, the fact that the joint was hoppin' kind of added a hip vibe; like we were finally where the action was (I feel like I'm normally late to the party). 

The menu was to die for...yet, nothing did.  How's that for a happy birthday?  There were a bunch of new additions to the menu, of which Mister and I shamelessly availed ourselves.  I began my birthday dinner with a charming little aperitif: Chocolate Chai - a heated drink in a coffee cup, chocolate chai tea + dark rum + frothed soy milk with a side of agave, just in case you need it sweeter.  It certainly did the job of warming me up!  I started my meal with Salt Roasted Golden Beets - smoked tofu + avocado + capers, sandwiched between several very thin slices of golden beets, garnished with two artful and paper-thin slices of pumpernickel bread and served beside a shallow pool of cucumber dill sauce.  The whole thing was chilled, which was much easier to swallow after my innard-warming pre-dinner drink.  It was an amazing combination of flavors and textures and the cucumber sauce was very much like a smoother (less garlicky) version of tzatziki.  Mister ordered the Purple Potato Pierogies, which were fried and better resembled empanadas than any pierogi I've ever seen.  They were filled with - wait for it...purple potatoes - and garnished with a salsa of dried olives + avocado + pickled red onions and laid upon a generous puddle of aji amarillo crema.  He was almost in ecstasy over these little polish dumplings - he said they fulfilled every taste: salty, sweet, savory, sour, a complementary bitterness and that the textures were just as varied as the tastes.  Mister and I have dined at a lot of nice places with fabulous food, so I didn't take his last comment lightly: it was the best appetizer he had ever had, anywhere.

Moving on to dinner would be quite a challenge with the appetizers garnering such lavish praise!  Mister selected the Grilled Seitan, laid on a bed of mashed Yukon Gold potatoes dressed with grilled spinach sheets.  Atop the seitan itself was a roasted pepper filled with a baba ghanoush-like tapenade.  Mister gets this every time we go to Horizons, except for last year when we got the chef's tasting menu, but he loves it so he's always happy.  I opted for a brand new addition to the menu, Cauliflower and Smoked Eggplant Braciole.  It was amazing - the cauliflower was wrapped inside thin filets of eggplant, a little package topped with a sprinkling of roasted Kalamatas, nestled among a crowd of English peas and grilled chickpeas on Sicilian salsa verde.  I took a scoop of peas and garbanzos first and my mouth nearly imploded from pleasure - what a phenomenal first bite.  When I cut into the braciole itself, I was similarly thrilled with the combination of the cauliflower, smoked eggplant and roasted olives.  My dinner was accompanied by a lovely glass of Malbec, perfectly poured at the table by none other than Kate Jacoby (I felt so special).  We also shared an order of Curry Fries.  I think we're using the word "fries" a bit liberally here because what we got were five huge baked wedges of curried potato - the curry was faint, almost unnoticeable, but they were still delicious.  I still prefer the Truffled Fingerling Fries, but they were disappointingly absent from the menu.

As we blissfully finished our dinners, we reflected on how brilliantly planned the menu and presentation is at Horizons.  They give you just enough of whatever you're eating that you are happy and sated, yet not about to roll home in a wheelbarrow.  That means there is also always room for dessert.  When the waitress brought the dessert menu, we happily perused it.  Mister ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was a gooey square of cake, soaked with toffee sauce, and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I opted for the Bittersweet Chocolate Tart, which was sprinkled with crystalline balls of cinnamon and brown sugar and befriended by a scoop of cinnamon ice cream topped with a stick of cinnamon.  They were both so good they were gone before either of us realized we'd eaten the whole thing.

That did it, though.  They tipped the scales from being pleasantly full to feeling round enough to be rolled home like a barrel.  Once we made it to the apartment, I immediately changed into my yoga pants, vaguely aware of the irony... regardless, stretchy waistbands were made for nights like last night.  Now I repent - watch my next menu come nearly completely from Appetite for Reduction, for real this time!

bringing gratitude back

It occurred to me at some point today that if I didn't start finding the day's blessings, I would let this be a complete Birthday Fail. I could go into a diatribe about all the things about today that sucked, but I think I'll be in a better humor about how everything came out if I start with a list of things for which I'm thankful:

I'm grateful that I opened my eyes on another birthday. No, I won't tell you which one - a lady never reveals her age, and I am old enough to say that.

I'm grateful for the many messages of love, well wishing, and kindness that I received from people I'm fortunate to have in my life.

I'm grateful that I don't have a physical birthday gift because my husband has something so specific in mind that he can apparently (by his own admission) only find it in cyberspace.

I'm grateful I didn't have to work on my birthday for the first time since I started working for a weight loss company - January is kind of an important month, in case I haven't let on.

I'm grateful that the woman who sold me my Beaujolais this evening asked to see my ID. She also wished me a happy birthday and many more.

I'm grateful that my day was more or less redeemed by a husband who loves me enough to limp two and a half blocks to my favorite restaurant and then hobble home after a delightful five-course tasting menu...on what is probably a newly broken foot.

Along those lines, I'm also grateful that my husband is stubborn enough about injuries that he didn't want to spend my birthday in the hospital...although it didn't become evident that his toe is probably broken until after dinner anyway.

I am grateful that being off today gave me the opportunity to sleep in for the first time in a month.

So, despite the fact that I kind of hate grocery shopping and I can think of at least a dozen better ways to spend my day off and my birthday, it feels good to have that out of the way and know that the ingredients for the coming "week" of dinners are all collected in the cupboard, fridge, and freezer. This week's menu is completely inspired by the woman who taught me my first lessons in vegan cooking: Sarah Kramer.

1. Tortilla Chip Soup from La Dolce Vegan. I've mentioned before that this is absolutely my favorite book out of the three she's written. The portions are perfect for our little family of two humans and a curious cat and most of the ingredients are "normal." That's kind of a rude way to say it, but she's Canadian and they have all kinds of wacky condiments up there, apparently. Anyway, this looked like a fun way to use up the leftover tortilla chips.

2. Veggie Goulash also from La Dolce Vegan. This is an easy and fun recipe - the combination of flavors and textures is bizarre enough to be interesting but safe enough to be edible.

3. Punjabi Peppers and Tofu also from La Dolce Vegan. I don't think I have ever done a series of recipes from this book that did not include this one. It's easy, it's fast (important in January), there are never leftovers, and it's just so darn good!

4. Aloo Chana Soup from The Garden of Vegan. I tried really hard not to have more than one soup on the menu, but this just looked like too much fun to pass up. I'm trying to figure out how I have passed it by before! Aloo = potatoes and Chana = chickpeas and the tastes I can imagine from this Indian-inspired soup are just lovely.

5. Peanut Butter Pasta also from The Garden of Vegan. I was going back and forth between this and another pasta recipe involving spinach and miso...I'm still thinking I may have to include that one in the next "week's" menu, but I didn't feel like dealing with the heat of raw garlic when I was making my menu, so it fell into second place.

For anyone in the Philadelphia area, let me really plug for Horizons. If you've never eaten here, now is the time - the five-course early winter tasting menu is amazing. Here is a brief, and hopefully tempting, review:

We started with Salt Roasted Golden Beets with fresh avocados topped with micro-greens and a ball of smoked eggplant topped with seaweed caviar. The eggplant was amazing - perfectly smoky. The second course was a Cauliflower Soup, with a crispy seared cauliflower lying on a bed of pureed cauliflower, surrounded by a consomme. The presentation at this place is also just to die for, as though the food being awe-inspiring isn't enough. Our third plate was Pan Seared Peppercorn Tofu, which Mister and I have both wanted to try for a while and kept going back and forth on it. Mister compared the tofu to a very tender tuna steak and I found the chunks of coarse salt mixed with the pepper to be absolutely charming. On top of the tofu was a crepe filled with mushrooms, which resulted in some less than dignified faces made by the Mister. After he finished sputtering and grimacing, he expressed his disbelief that anyone would eat fungus on purpose and removed the offending crepe from his tofu. Fortunately, the tofu was resting on a bed of perfectly sauteed spinach and smothered in a tasty sauce (actually, it was delicately drizzled). I tried a bite of my crepe, just to see what Mister was fussing about and it wasn't great but it wasn't nearly as revolting as my husband made it seem. Fourth course included our well-loved Grilled Seitan on Yukon Mash with some kind of mustard-based sauce. Finally, they brought out a three-dessert sampler plate...I love dessert, so this was the best possible way to end my birthday meal. Mister disagreed because he felt there should be candles involved and the waitress agreed with him, so she presented me with the tealight illuminating our little table-for-two and wished me a happy birthday no fewer than three times.

So, having counted my blessing and recounted my dinner, I'm off to count sheep. I'll bet I get all the way to....zzzz.....

all I want for Christmas...

A ventilation hood. I want to bake, make veggie burgers, and pan-sear polenta without sending the fire alarm into a screaming fit.

I would also like a little more time, if you please, Santa.

I am the worst blogger ever. I can't believe it's been more than a week since my last post. I know there are people who go longer, but I don't want to be one of them! To make up for my negligence, I will share a recipe with you for the first time in months, it seems.

So, heavens, what have I been up to? What vile mistress has stolen my attention? The easiest answer is work...heck - I haven't even had time to cook, much less write about it. All of that should end relatively soon, and I'm back to my regular schedule, so hopefully I will be more faithful in the future.

As always seems to happen with shortened weeks, I packed a ton of work into Monday and Tuesday last week. By the time Wednesday arrived and was cold as hell, I wanted nothing to do with Christmas shopping, regardless of the change in schedule leaving me destitute when it came to gifts to give. I did concoct this tasty mid-day meal:
You could call it Cookie Dough in a Bowl (with pears) because that's really what it tasted like. I started by dicing a fairly ripe Bartlett pear (skin on) and allowing it to cook on a sprayed skillet long enough to start releasing a sweet syrup. Then I stirred in a handful or two of oats, along with a glug of soymilk. When all was said and done, I think I probably added about half a cup of soymilk. I also crushed two Sparkled Ginger Cookies and stirred them in. It was so good and exactly what I was craving after freezing my fingers off playing Christmas music on my piano in a bedroom the heating unit hates.

I stayed inside all day, and tried to get excited about spending time with a special someone to celebrate a very special birthday...
At midnight, I suggested to my darling sister that she might need a bathroom break. When she agreed and took off, I grabbed the bartender and ordered two Birthday Cake shots. They were so good and I haven't done a shot since....well....I don't know....probably a few years ago, actually.

Before we went out to Southwark, though, I took my dear little sister to dinner at Horizons, so she could share the wonder. It was freezing cold and there was still snow (and ice) everywhere. In my enthusiasm for getting to a patch of clear sidewalk, I fell over on the two block trek to Horizons, but my sister told me I fell very gracefully, so I guess that makes it okay. We had a delightful dinner and great conversation. Let's add that to my Gratitude list.

The following day was Christmas Eve, and to my immense surprise and great delight, I was able to get all of my shopping and wrapping done while Mister was at work (poor thing). Once he got home from work and took a short nap, we headed to church with his dad and stepmom. The service was beautiful and afterward, we headed to Rittenhouse Square for one of the most amazing dining experiences of my life so far. We went to Lacroix, which most definitely did not have a vegetarian menu, resulting in my husband and I presenting a challenge to the chef to match the foie gras and veal his parents ate with a humane alternative. It came out extremely well, and I was amazed with their willingness and ability to create a multi-course menu out of thin French air. I still think the most fun part of the evening was when my father-in-law tested the very French (accent, pompous air and all) Sommelier to pair a red wine with their overstuffed duck liver and boxed baby cow chops as well as our crazy vegetarian entrees.

Regardless of my harsh words about their choice of dinner, I cannot find enough words to express my gratitude to my parents-in-law for treating us to such an extravagant and fun-filled Christmas Eve dinner.

On Christmas Day, we ventured out to my parents' home for presents and dinner with my parents, sister, and cousins. It was a good time with a plateful of tasty food. I made Colleen's Tofu-Spinach Lasagna and everyone was awed by the tofucotta. They did not know it wasn't real ricotta until I pridefully told them - that made me happy!

I spent the whole weekend at work, but at least I'm back to my regular hours, so I was able to cook up the last two items on my 2 week menu. I reprised Colleen's amazing risotto, only to be told by my husband (after he picked his way through half a bowl) that he doesn't actually like risotto. Awesome.

Last night's dinner went much better. I knew it would, because I've mentioned before that you can't go wrong with Mister and Pasta. Not true, actually - he doesn't care much for that whole wheat healthy pasta. So, as promised, here is a picture of and recipe for P.B. Thai
Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, bias-cut
medium head of broccoli, cut into florets
large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
8 oz smoked tofu, cut into thin strips
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, pressed/minced
15 oz lite coconut milk
generous 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
dash of cayenne
2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
12-16 oz noodles (I used linguine)

Cook pasta according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, prep the vegetables and tofu.
When pasta is done cooking, drain and leave in the colander, covered.
Add oils to pot and heat on medium until the oil shimmers (shouldn't take long).
Add ginger and garlic and saute 1-2 minutes.
Add vegetables and cook 3-5 minutes, until vividly colored.
Stir in coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, and cayenne.
Simmer, do not boil, for 5 more minutes, then add pasta and stir to incorporate.
Heat through and serve.

(vegan and one-pot dinner)

Enjoy!

all that's missing are the feathers

Like most people (I suppose), I find a blog-niche and stay with my 10 most familiar/comfortable blogs, in terms of my reading pleasure. When I find a new blog to read, it was normally linked to one of my favorites. In the case of Bittersweet, though, my Dad inadvertently led me there. That's why the next part of the story is so much funnier than it would have been if I had linked there from any of the blogs on the right side of the page here.

Having made many valiant attempts to make a scrumptious vegetarian main dish for holiday dinners, my mother has more or less waved the white flag and given that responsibility to me. I'm more than happy to take it on, and with each new holiday I try to branch out and contribute even more. Maybe I'm practicing for when she's too decrepit to make family dinners (just kidding, Mom!) or maybe I'm excited to be able to offer some of the more interesting side dishes that I never make because it's just Mister and me. Anyway, I am elated to report that I have found one of my contributions for Thanksgiving and I can't wait to make my father eat it:

Tofu Turkey - how cool is that???

The marinade looks painlessly simple and the whole process seems quite effortless, but I am thrilled. Mister finally gets his "tofurky" even if it's not the "roast" in the freezer section of Whole Foods. I get to play with tofu and cookie cutters. My parents get to experience the wonder of tofu after it's been marinated and baked. This is going to be great!

Yes, Dad - if you're reading this, I really am going to make you eat one.

Now, where was I before I started waxing sentimental the past two days? Ah yes, prepping, cooking, and eating some great dinners that escaped my literary attention because I was thinking too hard. I blame it on Annie Lennox, but we can get into that later.

Last night, I made Seitan & Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens and it was definitely better than the first time. The difference was in the seitan. Normally, I use White Wave Seitan, but I couldn't find it at Whole Foods. I also couldn't find it under the products on White Wave's website, so I'm wondering if it has met an untimely demise... Anyway, in its conspicuous absence, I stared blankly at the refrigerator, then furrowed my brow and tried to figure out which of the remaining seitans would be an acceptable substitute. I believe I chose wisely - I got Ray's Seitan Wheat Meat which looked utterly terrifying swimming in its little tub of broth. Apparently, it's locally produced and is the brand used by Horizons to make all of their amazing seitan dishes! So, despite how gross it looked before I cooked it, the minute it hit the pan I knew I'd made the right choice. It was so much better than the White Wave that I'm kicking myself for passing it by so many times...of course, it's also about twice as expensive, but whatever - you only live once, you may as well enjoy dinner.
Tonight, we had Two-Broccoli Stir-Fry on Soba Noodles. I have to hand it to Mister - he was a good sport. He's not a huge fan of non-spaghetti noodles...he doesn't even like whole-wheat italian-style pasta - durum semolina all the way, baby. However, as I've mentioned, Broccoli is one of his favorite vegetables, so perhaps the doubled broccoli won out over the weird noodles and hunks of tofu.

Also, having failed to locate and purchase my new kitchen toys, I just squeezed the hell out of three oranges. By the way - that's how many oranges you have to squeeze the hell, er, juice, out of to get 1/2 cup. I skipped the zesting bit...the peels weren't in very good condition after all that mutilation anyway.

Broccoli BFFs hanging out on a bed of soba noodles, leaning on tofu pillows
My attempt at a more artistic still life.

Anyway, two great dinners: I love polenta, the seitan was amazing, my hunks of tofu happily absorbed the murdered oranges' juice for a fun and juicy addition to the broccoli, and I have decided that (regardless of Mister's feelings) I love soba noodles.

amy lee looks just like me

What a funny week this is becoming! It has thus far been chock-full of memories, but also of hopeful looking-aheads. I don't know if I'm waxing philosophical because everyone else seems to be so focused on the approach of the second decade of the 21st century or what, but I will admit I'm buying into the hype at least a little.

For nostalgia, though, I mentioned earlier a memory of my mother making chicken cacciatore when I was growing up. I'm thrilled to say that my recent undertaking of making Seitan Cacciatore from The Accidental Vegan was an absolute success. I feel much more comfortable making weird, avant-garde dishes than I do when I try to replicate a traditional meal within the confines of vegan/vegetarian cooking. I guess there's always the reminder, poking my brain, that my husband's mother and father are both phenomenal cooks and he is used to eating very tasty things. I guess I'm a little worried that my seitan/tofu/tofurky version won't measure up to his childhood memories of the same foods.

Nothing to fear! I was very pleased with the way it came out, and Mister couldn't have been too disappointed - he went back for thirds! It also tasted nothing like my memory, but I equate seitan more with beef than with chicken.
True to form, tonight was One-Serving Wednesday. I think it needs a new name. I've given up on making small portions and have turned my focus to just eating everything Mister hates. My sweet potato fetish is becoming a weekly event - tonight I scrubbed and cubed another garnet yam and then tossed it with broccoli, olive oil, garlic, and a touch of salt. I wasn't really paying attention to how long it baked because I was preparing my tempeh. I haven't had tempeh since sometime this summer when Mister and I went to Horizons and I was really craving it. I was going to follow one of Isa's recipes for scrambled tempeh, but in the end here's what I did (perhaps it will find its way into recipe form at some point in the future):

Heated 2 Tbsp peanut oil and 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil in a large skillet. Added about a tsp of good curry powder (I favor Frontier brand), a tsp of dried cilantro and about 1/4 tsp dried thyme and sauteed it all for about a minute. I splashed in about a Tbsp of tamari, then added 8 oz tempeh cubes and stirred to coat. I covered the skillet and wandered around my kitchen for a few minutes, checking on the tempeh and the roasting vegetables. About three-four minutes into the tempeh cooking time, I added 1/4 c water, then cooked more or less until that evaporated/was absorbed into the tempeh. Then I took the roasted broccoli and yam out of the oven and added the tempeh, stirring to combine. Quite easy, actually.
The funniest thing happened today. We are currently working with some "outside consultants" to ensure we are completely prepared for what we hope will be an onslaught of business in the new year. I presented my part of the training today and later on, the leader of the pack said to my supervisor, "That Natalie...she looks a lot like the lead singer of Evanescence, doesn't she?"

I LOVE Amy Lee. There are not too many things you can say to compliment me more, aside from the time a new trainee was being seated with one of our veterans for some mentoring. Upon reaching his cubicle, she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, you have a picture of Natalie on your cubicle? That's so awesome!" The picture was actually Megan Fox. I was flying high for the rest of the day.

Keep an open mind - I take my own crappy pictures ;)

Anyway, I remember waaaaayyy back in 2003 when Fallen came out. I took the CD to a bar my friend tended to show it to him. From about 10-15 feet distance he looked at the CD and then at me in surprise:
"You recorded a CD??"
To be completely honest, I had not noticed until that moment that in that moment we did indeed bear a striking resemblance to one another.

So, that was my happy moment today.

Praise Seitan!

Yes, I said it. Praise Seitan. I remember the first time I had seitan - it was in a Caribbean-style restaurant in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia called Azure. It's gone now, and that's a shame...I miss Azure - amazing grilled seitan, fantastic wine list, and a never-fail dessert menu. Mister and I went there for our first vegetarian Valentine's Day and went back whenever we could after that. It was, and remains the only restaurant in Philadelphia I would move my car to go to.

Don't get me wrong - Horizons is a very close second. In fact, it has two "edges." First, it is 100% vegan food - Azure was an omni-restaurant. Also, Horizons is only two and a half blocks from my home. There is no weather I can't walk through to get there.

All of this was actually necessary to show you exactly how happy I was about dinner tonight. I made the Jerk Seitan with Coconut Rice from Vegan With a Vengeance. I think Isa has officially replaced dear Martha in my affections. I think I've mentioned before that I really was not even remotely adventurous in my food choices in my younger years. I've generally attributed my willingness to try new things in adulthood to my vegetarian diet, but upon further reflection, I think it is my husband's influence. His sisters, my best friends, who arranged our whole courtship it seemed, swore that my husband could eat worms and they would look delicious. It's true - there is something in the way he eats that makes you want to eat what he's eating. I think even if he and I had never become vegetarians, he would have opened my eyes to a whole new world of flavors and foods. Maybe I would have even eaten whatever meat they usually marinate in jerk spices...

Last time I made this, I didn't have the patience to let the seitan marinate in the seasonings, so I just sauteed it in oil and made a sauce with the marinade ingredients. I can't remember ever being more wrong about something. Tonight, I found the patience to marinate the seitan almost as long as I was supposed to and I can't even describe the difference it made! The seitan was so tender, juicy, and flavorful. Also, serving it on top of the Coconut Rice made a great flavor combination - the subtle sweetness of the coconut milk contradicting and calming the very intense flavor of the marinade-turned-sauce coating the peppers and carrots and seitan. It also smelled great!
On another note, today was a sleepy day - it was rainy and miserable and Saturday. I got up when Mister went to work but couldn't get moving for hours. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do, but tomorrow is another day and since it will be nicer out, I will feel more inclined to be productive since a lot of my errands involve outside-time. I did get the menu done, though:

1. Chickpea Broccoli Casserole from VwaV. Yes, it was on last week's menu - I didn't get to it because I do not have broccoli. I still don't know how I missed that. Grocery shopping is on my To Do list tomorrow.

2. Garlicky Spaghetti with Beans and Greens from the August Cooking Light. I dare you to click that link and NOT want to eat the picture.

3. Stir-Fried "Beef" with Broccoli and Bell Peppers from the July Cooking Light. The recipe calls for real dead cow, but I want to try those beef stirfry strips by LightLife again - even in a stirfry this time!

4. Chickpea, Tomato & Spelt Soup from Body+Soul, an imprint of Martha Stewart's little universe. This looks like such an innards-warming soup...I squirreled the recipe away a while ago and I've just been sitting on it. This last week of October seems a good time for its debut. Body+Soul is a magazine I keep going back and forth on - on the one hand, I love Martha and I want to subscribe to a Martha magazine, but MS Living would break my heart with almost daily reminders that my home is too miserably small to entertain loved ones. On the other hand, though there are a lot of uplifting and helpful (think stress-relief) articles, there's also a decent amount of fruitiness going on. Also, I think this Dr. Weil character is a fraud. If he's not a fraud, he is way too fruity for my tastes. I just hate when celebrities "adopt" a pet doctor - I think it's Oprah's fault..."Dr." Phil ruined it for everyone.

5. Chickpea Stew with Fried Polenta from The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. I don't know what made me think of it, but I remember nostalgically looking back on the first time I made this, over the warmer months, and thinking how awesome this would be as a late October meal. It's been a while, too, since I've sunk my teeth into my beloved polenta. Speaking of favorites - I get to have my pillow-soft polenta with it's crisp outer layer, drenched and warmed in a blender sauce made by my food processor.

In the midst of grocery shopping and donating and organizing and cooking tomorrow, I also plan to get some baking in, so stay tuned!

(you can just see the anticipation in his eyes, can't you?)