cold and sleeping beauty

It almost seems inevitable that I would take a few days off after MoFo.  I love MoFo, but there is something about "obligatory" blogging that wears me out a bit.  Obviously, I chose the obligation, and there weren't really any rules about blogging every single day, but when there's such a good chance new eyes will find your posts, you don't really want to skip a night.  So anyway, sorry about all that.  I'm back!

Fortunately, some fun and exciting things (as well as self-deprecating moments of wallowing in near existential crisis) have been happening in my absence.  Why don't we pick up where I left off - Wednesday.

Wednesday, if I recall, became quite cold by the lightless hours.  This only helped me appreciate more the lovely present awaiting me on the kitchen table when I returned home from work that night: my brand new, 3rd of the limited run, Audrey coat from Vaute Couture!  I don't know if I ever mentioned that I ordered it (back in August, which got me the coat at a 45% discount), but I have been anxiously awaiting it, especially as October drew to a close and I began to anticipate and experience the bone-chilling winds of November.

This picture actually shows the Hepburn coat (big difference, I know).  The huge difference between the two is probably about 6 inches.  While the Hepburn is more similar to the coat I replaced - a wool pea-coat that stopped just above my knees - the Audrey travels to mid-calf.  This will result in an increase of warmth I probably can't even fully recognize just yet.

I haven't worn my new coat out yet because it's been quite temperate since it arrived (go figure), but it has some serious lining, so I'm sure it will live up to the claims of being wind-proof.  This was one of the deciding factors - I think the coats are gorgeous, and it's almost a rite of passage for the underground diva in me to own a couture coat, but truly, I'm just tired of shivering through a wool coat in a Philadelphia winter.

I was supposed to attend a Dia de los Muertos party Wednesday night and I spent a decent bit of time preparing for it by daydreaming about the sugar skull make-up I wanted to try for it.  Unfortunately, I forgot I was old until after I'd made, eaten, and cleaned up dinner.  By then it was 10pm, it was cold, and I had grown just enough common sense to recognize that it was too late to safely ride the El to West Philly and back.  I think the only reason Mister did not expressly forbid me to go was that he isn't my father.

Because I am a nice person, to use the words of a new boss, I agreed to work the later shift at work last night so another colleague could work early and attend an event after work last night.  As such, there were no fun dinner stories, aside from Mister and I taking turns heating up leftovers.  We ended up sitting at the table together, though, and discussing Occupy Philly, theology, and race relations until almost midnight.  He drank coffee, I drank champagne, and together we put a small dent in the bag of Halloween candy my father gave me on my way to work.

Today, after sleeping past noon and taking our time waking up, Mister and I were happily ensconced in our Day Off Routine of drinking coffee and playing on the internet when there were two short buzzes from the "doorbell."  Ordinarily, we ignore the doorbell since it's right on the street and sometimes hoodlums walking down the street think it's funny to ring a doorbell as they walk past.  Today, though, I yelled to Mister (who was fully dressed already), "Hurry, it's my present!"

Mister jumped up and ran out the door - Philly mailmen don't leave packages and don't wait more than a few seconds before deciding you aren't there even though they know full well you probably have to unlock two locks, run down two flights of stairs to unlock two more locks and run down the small alley to the street...  Regardless, because my former athlete still has it, he returned a few moments later (albeit a bit winded), smiling and holding a perfect white box with my name on it.

I hope I'm not the only woman who buys herself presents.  Maybe I should start following my dad's lead and saying they're from Santa to me.

"Santa" sent me an early Christmas gift (because I'm a really good girl) - a shipment of e.l.f. cosmetics:

• a palette of 100 shades of eyeshadow
• 12 cosmetic brushes
• eyelid primer (just in case these colors don't have the pigment or staying power to match MAC)
• "porcelain" foundation
• a 4-shade "shimmer" palette
• two eyeliner pencils and a pen (Mister said I should save money and just use a Sharpie - he doesn't realize it costs less than a Sharpie)
• make-up remover wipes (we'll see how they stand up to my Neutrogena wipes)

That was all the provocation I needed to finally get in the shower and start my day - I couldn't wait to paint my face up with all that PETA-approved, cruelty-free makeup.

this is kinda what Heaven looks like to me

I hardly knew where to begin.  Look at all those gorgeous colors!  I watched a couple online makeup tutorials for color inspiration and got to work.  I started with some black, mainly to test the intensity of pigment I was working with and I was absolutely astonished at how dark it went on with only a little dab on my new brush.  Oh, that's another thing - I have been working with the same 3-4 shapes of MAC brushes for the last 10 years (and also, all the make-up I got today costed the same as one blush brush from MAC).  It amazed me what a difference some of these new brushes made.

In the end, I was feeling like a pretty, pretty princess, so I went with a violet-fuschia shade with carbon black in the crease and some silvery-white highlighting just beneath the eyebrows.  I had a bit more trouble than I anticipated filling in my eyebrows, which made me wish I had gone ahead and included the brow pencil in my order.  There's always next time.

You can believe there will be a "next time."  Probably a lot of them.  I'll be honest - I was not expecting the quality I've seen so far.  Do me a favor - head back up to that first shot of all the items I got.  You back?   Good - now, all that stuff?  It was $36.  Last time I went to MAC I spent a little more than twice that amount and came away with 2 eyeshadows, blush, lipstick and liner.  If I had replaced my blush brush like I needed to, I would have taken that total over $100, which is actually all too standard for me.

Totally worth it.  I can barely wait to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

You may be thinking, "Um, yeah, so this is great, but what about the food?"  Patience, dearies - here we go!

 

After discovering that it was quite cold and windy outside during our trip to Whole Foods, I couldn't think of a better way to warm our innards than with a big pot of slow-simmer stew.  Good thing the last item left of the menu was Vegetable Lentil Stew from Vegan on the Cheap!

It was every bit as savory as I remembered it and it went well with the rustic, sour Pain de Campagne from Whole Foods I served alongside. 

Wednesday night's dinner was fun and special, but this nonsense has gone on long enough, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that.  Let's look at what's coming up this week!

1. Pasta E Fagioli from Veganomicon, AKA My Favorite Pasta e Fagioli recipe so far.

2. Savoury Shepherd's Pie from How It All Vegan, AKA Mister's Favorite Winter Dinner.  It has been far too long since I've made this and Mister was mourning that there are no good vegan imitations of Pub Food when we were looking at a menu at an Irish Pub/Restaurant the other day.  Eventually, this will result in me trying to make a vegan version of Bangers and Mash, because that is what he truly wanted, but when I told him I put this on the menu, he was pretty darn excited.

3. Pasta Con Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction, because apparently I want to use all my cookbooks in this week's menu.  Also, because broccoli is awesome.

4. Moroccan Chickpeas and Zucchini, also from Appetite for Reduction.

5. Mediterranean Bowl from the Construct Your Own Bowl chapter of Appetite for Reduction.  As we know, I love bowls, so it was only a matter of time before I decided to try one of these.  Since they're so simple (not really a structured recipe), I have skipped these and the Sammiches/Wraps section, but we're gonna give it a go (and now you have Lady Marmalade stuck in your head.  You're welcome.).

6. Tanya's Asian Delight from The Garden of Vegan.  I feel sorry for this cookbook.  I never use it.  It looks brand new.  I just can't get into a lot of the recipes these two crazy Canadians come up with in it (really, WHY would you put diced pickles - AKA relish - in Sloppy Joes?  WHY???).  One thing that I find completely charming in that "not gonna serve it to anyone I want to impress" kind of way is how quirky and down-homey the names of most of their recipes are.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to YouTube - magical videos of makeup applications and Evanescence/P!nk are calling me.

mean wife makes good

I am a mean, short-sighted woman.

When I got home from work late tonight, Mister told me he'd been feeling sick all day and didn't eat much besides crackers, which made him "all pukey."  I told him I was going to eat food and asked if he wanted to eat anything with me.  He said no.

Nevertheless, it was really my finest moment of No Common Sense when I grabbed the leftover Harira soup from the fridge, heated it up and ate it.  No more than 10 minutes afterward, Mister came into the kitchen and started snooping in the fridge.  In the exact location where the soup had been.

I lamented that if I had known he would get hungry, I wouldn't have eaten the soup but I didn't think he'd want the soup anyway (even though that's usually what he eats when his stomach is angry) and he feigned devastation that I would do such an inconsiderate thing.  Soon we were laughing all over each other, then we stood facing one another as I offered to make him a new soup.  He thought for a moment, then said he would like that, so I made

Emergency Lentil Soup
2 servings

Ingredients:
2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
1 large rib of celery, halved and sliced
1 large carrot, diced
1 medium potato, diced (I used a neato purple one we found at Linvilla last week, but I'm sure a regular ol' tater will do just fine)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup dry lentils
2 cups vegetable broth
1 sprig of fresh thyme


Heat olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat, then add garlic and celery and saute 2-3 minutes.  Add carrot, stir to combine, cover and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add potato and salt, stir to combine and then cover and saute 2-3 minutes.  Add broth and lentils and bring to a boil.  Stir in tomato paste until completely combined with broth, then place the thyme sprig on top and cover.  Turn heat to the lowest setting and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20-25 minutes, until lentils and potatoes are tender.  I usually test this by trying to smush a potato piece between the spoon and the side of the pot.  Before serving, remove the now-droopy sprig of thyme.

helpful reminder

It feels like fall is arriving a week early.  Mister and I are completely okay with that, although I need to be a little more vigilant about wearing enough clothes to deal with the lower temperatures.  Due to "rail improvement," what is usually a 30-minute train ride to teach turned into an hour-and-15-minute-long odyssey.  At the conclusion, I decided to treat myself to a coffee to wake me and warm me and as I was walking back to where I teach, I passed a restaurant marquee that struck a chord (sorry, terrible pun).

"It's time for soup and chili!"

Obviously, that was meant to be an invitation for passing cars to pull into the parking lot and enjoy soup and/or chili inside the restaurant, but as I strolled by, coffee in hand, I thought, "Yes, yes it is."  During the long way home, I had plenty of time to plot my replacement for what was supposed to be Spanakopita, including which grocery store to hit for supplies.

So, as I sunk into my light scarf and hooded shirt and watched the dreary scenery of West Philadelphia pass by my window, I daydreamed of a hearty, savory soup and September Lentil Soup was conceived:

September Lentil Soup
6 servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, pressed/minced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and diced (I quarter them lengthwise and slice at about 1/2-3/4")
5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt (or whatever suits you, though I wouldn't recommend amethyst bamboo salt)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 Tbsp [vegan] Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup brown lentils (a la Goya)
1/2 cup red lentils
4 cups vegetable broth

Recipe:
Heat oil in a large saucepan or soup pot (I found my 2.5 qt saucepan was just fine), then add garlic and green pepper.

aim for all veggies to be of uniform size

a shortcut I find helpful is to press the garlic onto
the peppers and scoop the whole mess into the pot

Cover the pot and reduce heat to low.  Saute garlic and pepper for about 5 minutes while you're dicing the carrots, then add them to the party.  Cover again and saute 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, while you dice the tomatoes.

Stir in tomatoes, thyme, salt, and black pepper.  Sprinkle on liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine, then cover and simmer 5 more minutes.

Stir in both the brown and red lentils, then pour in the broth.  Add tomato paste and stir well to make sure everything blends together.  Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.

Once the soup has come to a rolling boil, reduce heat to the lowest setting and allow to simmer, uncovered, 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender.

enjoy!

Mister and I certainly did enjoy it!  It was everything I wanted it to be and it was really a great feeling to recognize that I now have an adequate enough understanding of how certain things taste and how those flavors can work together that I can create a tasty recipe out of thin, chilly air.  It was perfect - an attractive, chunky, filling and totally savory soup.  Mister, who does not normally appreciate soup dinners went back for a generous second helping.  Fortunately, he was also in total agreement with the marquee that started it all...

coming up for air

Should I cry about being a bad blogger again?  While I always feel a little guilty/bad when I miss a few days (because they always end up being more days than I thought), sometimes I think it's better just to be quiet.  After all, nothing is more boring that reading about dull, mundane events in someone else's life.

Actually, the past several days have been anything but dull, I just didn't think they really needed to be captured for all time in the pages of this blog.  I haven't been doing anything special with dinner - in case you didn't notice, every item on the current menu is an "old favorite" or at least "past success," so there weren't any ground-breaking discoveries to share.

So, what have I been up to?  Well, I spent the weekend teaching and shopping.  Food shopping, clothes shopping, shoe shopping - you name it.  As a result, I had plenty to say on Pretty Woman in an Ugly World, so if you have some time, why don't you read about my experiences?

• Macy's: The Good
• Macy's: Part 2, subtitle: Cross-Dressing is not Good Customer Service

Yesterday, I started my new job!  So that's fun, right?  Absolutely exhausting, too.  See, it's funny - for the last several years, I have been the one standing up in front of a group of new hires and teaching them about the company, processes, products, etc.  Now, I'm in the learner's seat and it's fun to see the other side - the side that is slightly bewildered, not by the information, but the speed at which it is delivered.  I'm learning quickly, though, which is good since we have a special event this weekend and need all hands on deck, so to speak.

I actually had intended to post last night, but was quite exhausted after all that learning and could not even focus on the screen so I just went to bed after convincing myself to wash the pots and knives so I could just come home and cook tonight without having to clean up.  That's another thing:

I get home when it's still light out.  You may or may not realize how incredible this is, but it is rare that I need my sunglasses on the way home from work, since I usually got home around 9pm.  Today, I was sitting on the bus for my 15 minute commute home (can I tell you how much I love that??) an hour and a half earlier than I would have been leaving my old job.  It was such an incredible feeling that I found myself grinning like a fool and the other folks must have thought I'd lost it.

Tonight, I made and ate dinner, cleaned up leftovers and started this blog before the time I would have even been putting dinner on the table two weeks ago.  Again, I cannot express (and I have a lot of words) how wonderful that realization was.  Not only are we eating dinner closer to times that "normal" people eat dinner, but I also don't have to start dinner the very moment I walk in the door to ensure that we can eat and I can clean up before bedtime.  I'm still getting used to that - four years of walking in the door and immediately starting dinner is a tough habit to break.

Enough about all that - let's have a food parade!

The last meal I made before starting my new job - Rotini with Spicy Vegetable Ragu from Vegan on the Cheap, at Mister's request.  If you haven't noticed that he always gets what he asks for, just keep reading.

It was tasty and pleasantly spicy, but I think I must have overcooked the rotini because it kept falling apart.  I feel like that happened last time I made it, though, so I might experiment with a more stable pasta shape in the future.  

I hate having an open package of Tofurky sausage lying around for very long, so the very next meal I made was the delightful and hearty Savory Sausage and Peppers, also from Vegan on the Cheap.

Depending on where you live or how much you care about the weather in other places, you may or may not know that it was miserable here in Philadelphia yesterday.  The temperatures didn't quite make it past 65 and it was pouring rain - in fact, it was the most opportune time possible for me to learn about the leak in my umbrella, as I was standing in the rain, in pumps, waiting for the bus...and then walking through a 2-3" puddle to get into the bus....poor shoes, poor feet.

Needless to say, after Mister finished coddling me and petting me and telling me what a cute little drowned rat I was, I stripped off my shoes, soaked stockings, wet clothes, and put on my "comfy clothes."  All I could think of cooking was something warm and slow and hearty...

Today, on the other hand, started out quite grim and foreboding, but by lunchtime the sky was clear and sunny and the weather turned out to be beautiful.  It almost seemed a shame to be inside a training room, and once again, I could feel sympathy for the hundreds of new hires I taught over the last few years, especially when the training room had no windows.  Nevertheless, preferring to see opportunity rather than obstacle, I just thought of how lovely it will be to take picnics in Rittenhouse Square this fall.

Speaking of lunch, from the rumors the seasoned employees are spreading and the way we've been treated so far, it seems the boss knows quite the way of "wining and dining" his new employees - we've been taken out to lunch or had lunch ordered for us and there will be a big grand opening party this weekend with food, fun, and open bar.... what a great introduction to the company!  From what I can tell, people are their primary focus and I'm completely on board with that - it is evident that every employee is valued, and because they feel appreciated, morale is high enough that everyone is completely pleasant and invested in passing on those "good vibes" to the customers.  What a great place to work.

Tonight, I made Kedgeree from The Accidental Vegan because if I didn't, Mister was going to eat all the kalamatas I bought for the recipe.  The recipe actually calls for mushrooms, but we don't do mushrooms, and long ago I decided that the earthy flavor of kalamata olives was an adequate substitute for them.  Regardless, Mister loves kalamatas, so though he knew he wasn't supposed to eat them, I could see the level in the clear plastic container dropping...

I love how dark emerald green the kale is...it's really gorgeous.  I used lacinto kale because it's a little easier to work with than curly kale and I think it went well in this recipe.

Shortly after dinner, Mister started poking around in the freezer and then the cupboards.  He did the same thing a few nights ago, so I asked him if he wanted something and this time, he told me.

So I made him cupcakes.  He didn't know whether he wanted cookies or cupcakes, so I gave him a few choices.  He chose Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but I didn't feel like making the ganache-drizzle topping, so I just plopped 4 chocolate chips onto each cupcake while they were baking.

Nom.

lovely day for an apocalypse

Soooooo....about that apocalypse thing...  I took the above picture on my way back to the train station after teaching yesterday, approximately 2 hours before all the good little kitties were scooped up by an invisible hand and delivered to heaven and the rest of us experienced a catastrophic earthquake unlike any seen/felt before, leaving us to survive continuing chaos and degradation until the world is mercifully destroyed on October 21st.

As you can see, I was not one of the chosen.  According to a comment on my last post, neither is one of my readers.  Unfortunately, neither was Angst.  He was very disappointed.

On the brighter side of things, yesterday was a gorgeous day - not bad for your last day of "normal" life, huh?  In a way, it kind of felt like one of those movies they put out a few years ago where everyone is going about their business like everything is normal, completely ignorant of the danger and destruction that awaits them in just a few short hours.

Or not.  "Rapture Fail," to quote so many others.  As much as I would like to live in the Time of Tribulation (not really, actually), I'm pretty happy the whole day passed with nothing more than gossip, sunshine, and a movie I liked far more than I thought I would.

I started the day with a smoothie date!  Kelly from Living On The Vedge met me at Pure Fare in Rittenhouse Square and helped introduce me to the wonderful world of smoothies.  While I still can't see them becoming a regular part of my breakfast rotation, I think they have a place once in a while, kind of like a special treat.  I plan to actually devote a post to my smoothie experience, so I'll move along in the day for now.  After we finished our smoothies and nice conversation, she headed to the Rittenhouse Row Festival and I headed to the train station for a relatively short day of teaching.

As I approached Suburban Station, I was caught off guard by this astonishing image.  First of all, the Comcast building is the tallest building in the Philadelphia skyline and is an imposing building to stand beneath.  It looks like it reaches straight up to heaven (maybe Angst should have taken the elevator instead of waiting) and, being clothed in reflective glass, it actually blends in with the sky until you notice that the sky looks a little pixelated and weird.  Then you have this moment where your brain yells, "Holy crap, that's a building!" 

The other incredible thing that caught my eye was the eerily perfect reflection of the building I was standing next to.  After I stood there gawking long enough to make a few tourists stare at me, I decided to pull out my camera and capture this amazing view before heading underground and out of my beloved city.  It is definitely things like this that cause me to pause and truly love my city.

After teaching, I returned to my fair city and found not a single stone overturned, so it looked like we were still safe from the zombie invasion for which the CDC was preparing America.  I was relieved to see the beautiful and historic synagogue on Lombard St was still in one piece, with the 10 Commandments standing proud and strong at the top.

Another welcome site was the steeple of St. Peter's Church on Pine St, the gold cross gleaming in late afternoon sunlight.  It came into view as I crossed 4th St and I was struck by the way it stood out against the magnificent white clouds, as if to say, "we're still here!"

So, the threat of apocalypse past, Mister and I thought we would enjoy the beautiful weather with a trip to Horizons, intending to drink in the temperate air and remarkable sky along with a tasty dinner and undoubtedly decadent dessert, possibly a cocktail or two.  A lot of other people had the same idea, so given the choice between dining inside and at the bar or eating elsewhere, we headed back toward home.  Mister tried to find another fun place to eat, but I really had my heart set on Horizons, so we just went home, where I prepared the last dinner from our menu, Fusilli with Lentil Sauce from Vegan Italiano.

I have seen recipes for lentil sauces before and aside from the way red lentils break down and thicken a sauce, I just couldn't imagine how it would work.  In fact, my original intention for this sauce was to use red lentils, until last night, when I pulled out my jar and found it to be lacking at least half the quantity I needed to make the sauce, so I hesitantly used regular ol' Goya brown lentils instead.

Mister and I were both completely surprised by how incredibly tasty the sauce was and how well all of the parts worked together.  Mister plowed through three big bowls and I chomped delicately through 1.5 (keeping his food math intact).  I am so sorry I didn't make this sooner.  I don't anticipate lentil sauces being my new passion, but I will definitely make this one again, and probably in the not-too-distant future.

After dinner, we watched Avatar and it was really a remarkable movie.  We both went into it with a trepidation we reserve for big budget blockbusters with CG main characters.  Our bro-in-law in California does this for a living, so we know CG has improved significantly in the last ten years, but Jar-Jar Binks really ruined everything.  We were both completely impressed with the movie in all aspects - CG, storyline, acting, even psychology (awesome inner battle with Jake Sully).  After the movie, we still had to wait for some of the drunks to stop screaming in the streets, so I put together this week's menu.  Having gotten through our Italian Week, I felt the need was quenched and we could move on to a completely ethnically diverse menu:

1. Italian-Style Rice Casserole from Vegan Italiano.  Okay, so I didn't make this last week due to a dearth of peas at Whole Foods, but I have the peas now, so we'll have it soon.  Besides, I can't go from all Italian to no Italian without doing irreparable damage to Mister's psyche.

2. Naked Burritos - I've seen one too many Qdoba billboards (I pass one every day on my way to work) and the craving for Mexican, more precisely burritos, set in.

3. Pasta Con Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction.  Old habits die hard...maybe I'm not completely over my Italian cravings.

4. Seitan Gyros from The Accidental Vegan, at Mister's request!  I almost always ask Mister if he has any requests when I start my menu planning.  98% of the time, he does not.  Last night, I asked again, and by habit, he said "no." Less than 30 seconds later, he stepped back into the kitchen and said, "Yes. Can you make me gyros with that seitan, since it tastes so much like lamb?"  How could I refuse my poor vegetarian Greek?  He hasn't had a gyro in nine and a half years.

5. Salsa Rice and Red Beans from Vegan on the Cheap.

6. Seitan Pepper Steak also from The Accidental Vegan.  Since the seitan recipe makes a 2-lb loaf and I don't know how long it will keep, I figured I should have another recipe that requires seitan on the menu this week.  I had some trouble choosing between this and Seitan Cacciatore, but ultimately decided that my menu, though far more diverse than last week's, still required a little more variety.

So there you have it: Italian, Mexican, Greek, and Asian.  Not bad!  We kicked it off tonight with Mister's request, since I had to bake the seitan this afternoon and I figured it might be easiest to just slice the seitan very thinly right after it popped out of the oven (okay, I let it cool a little tiny bit).  I set up a Build Your Own Gyro station on my long counter and let Mister construct his own.  I figured that was also a safer way to go about the Tahini sauce because it seems like I always put too much sauce on Mister's stuff.

Shortly after I took that oddly yellow picture, I think I figured out why gyro-serving places always give it to you in a little paper cone.  It's hard to keep those suckers wrapped in a cone shape without crushing the pita and/or getting tahini sauce all over your hands.

I did both.  SO, I decided I was not as good at gyro-eating as my Greek husband (unlike him, I think I only had one or two gyros before going vegetarian) and decided to turn my dinner into Gyro Salad (kind of like a Greek version of Taco Salad).

Second time around, I just skipped the pita altogether.  It was so good - the savory seitan really did mimic my memories of lamb and Mister was thrilled - it was exactly what he wanted it to be.  He so rarely requests anything other than "Whatever makes you happy, baby," that if he does want something specific, I fall over myself to make it for him.  The crunch of the chopped romaine was the perfect complement to the chewy seitan and the umami of the seitan foiled the semi-sweetness of the tomatoes as the smokiness of the tahini sauce coated everything with a layer of "something special."

lentils save the day/a souper supper

So, since I skipped last night in favor of some much needed sleep and unwarranted stupidity (with which I may still be infected), does that mean you get a double post tonight?

Kinda.

The unifying thread will be lentils and how awesome they are, but we will read a tale of two suppers.  Can I just say before we begin that I am so excited it's Friday that I haven't completely understood yet that it is Friday?  I'm still in get-stuff-done mode, so although I refrained from sharing my agenda with Mister over dinner...I still have one.  I've already made and eaten dinner and started into my brand new bottle of Dragani Montepulciano D'Abruzzi.  I'm presently babbling posting, so all that's left is menu-planning (and a second glass of wine).  Halfway through the to-do list isn't a bad place to find oneself after one of the most productive and frantic weeks of my life.  That includes the weeks leading up to my wedding...a cakewalk compared to this past week.

So, although I had planned to make my Indian Lentil dish last night and even had waffles for breakfast instead of oatmeal so I wouldn't dirty the pan I needed, by the time I got home from work around 9:10, despite my best intentions, cooking a meal was not on my list of priorities.  Fortunately, there was a large Gladware container filled nearly to the brim with Vegetable Lentil Stew in the fridge.  I pulled it out and walked over to Mister, showed him the container and suggested we heat up the leftover stew for dinner.  He laughed and agreed and while the soup was warming and filling my kitchen with the most homey and delightful scent, I realized what a perfect night it was for soup anyway, since the day's high temperature hadn't even crested the freezing mark.

Soup to the Rescue!

Anyway, since I had already thawed the frozen spinach in preparation for last night's cooking adventures, I set my mind to making Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu from Vegan on the Cheap before I took a step off the train.  I came in the door and put down my stuff, made a few unintelligible noises at Mister, then started to simmer the rice and lentils.

It smelled so rich I was afraid I wouldn't be able to eat it, but then I remembered how tasty and nutritious it is and dug in.  Although this is a time-consuming meal to prepare, it really doesn't take much effort, which is fortunate, since I didn't have much energy!  I still don't and I'm beginning to fear carpal tunnel might take up residence in my wrists soon from all the typing and other computer work I've crammed into the last 5 days.  Before I start babbling like a complete idiot and making typo/grammatical errors even a first-grader would catch, I'm going to muddle through menu-planning and dish-washing.  Then, I will have an epic sleep.

lentils: they do a body good

The past two nights, I have removed my block of organic spinach from the freezer, placed it on the counter, and opened Vegan on the Cheap to the recipe for Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu.  Last night I decided I didn't have the patience to simmer both brown rice and lentils (separately, of course), so I made the chickpea dish (which came together with delightful speed).  Tonight, I was willing to do a long-simmering meal because I didn't want to be very actively involved in meal prep when I got home from another busy, exhausting, but pleasantly productive day.  I pulled the spinach out of its frosty bed, placed it on the counter as I opened the book...let's pause a moment.

I'm still working on my cookware collection.  Presently, it is only as big as a 10-piece bargain cookware set that is beginning to deteriorate and have fewer pieces.  I have two saucepans - 2.5-qt and 1-qt; a 3-qt saute pan, a 6-qt stockpot, and two round skillets.  There are a few other pieces, like my square skillet and double-burner griddle, as well as an uncooperative wok and a couple of heavy cast iron pieces, but that is my main cookware.  I use my 1-qt saucepan as my designated Oatmeal Pot during the colder months and I'm not in the habit of washing dishes in the morning before work.  This means that the remnants of oatmeal have all day to form a bond with my nonstick pot.

Back to the story: My plan was to cook the rice in my 2.5-qt saucepan and boil the lentils in my 1-qt...oh...yes, the one covered in crusty purple oatmeal slime.  Right.  So, it's back into the freezer for the spinach and back to the menu for me.  It didn't take me long at all to change course and make a deliciously chunky, hearty Lentil Stew with Vegetables.

My belly is warm and full of sloshy stew.  The vegetables really came out well, too - yukon gold potatoes, carrots, a parsnip, and a Belgian endive to replace the small head of cabbage I couldn't find.  About halfway through I became worried it would be too brothy, but it was exceptionally thick and chunky.  The spice mixture was also one to be reckoned with: thyme, fennel seeds I crushed with some mortar-n-pestle action, Spanish paprika, and ground savory (which is another one of those ingredients I've been resisting until now when I realized how many recipes I've skipped because of my savory-poverty).  

To be totally honest... if the ingredients were to magically reappear in my crisper & cupboard between now and tomorrow night, I would make it again.  In case you haven't seen the lovely depictions of Colder-Than-Death the weather maps have shown spreading over the entire east coast, let me tell you - it is really freakin' cold right now.  Tomorrow's high temperature is 35.  That means the return from work becomes more bone-chilling every night.  I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to it going all the way up to 44ish on Friday.  Fortunately, I have some innard-warming lentil stew to fill my belly.

goes 60 to 0 in 24 hours

One of the best phrases for laissez-faire I-don't-care attitudes toward anything is,

You win some, you lose some.

While I don't like to overuse that phrase and I certainly wouldn't want to be accused of cliche, it's probably the best way to summarize the last two nights of dinners.  I'm noticing a theme - first I did my curry dinners back to back, and now I've done my brothy dinners right in a row - both times with mixed reviews.

Last night, well yesterday in general, was kind of cold and miserable.  Although it seems to me that just about every Winter evening is the perfect one for a soup/stew dinner, in the Spring one must really grasp for justification.  Most of the time this involves cold rain, but yesterday I pulled it off with just wind.  I made Classic Lentil Stew and it was hearty and warm and just what I wanted after an afternoon of clothes-shopping-failure.

{Quick aside: Does anyone remember that horrid Britney Spears song, "Not a Girl"?  That's kind of how clothes shopping makes me feel, despite my age and growing smushiness proving I am very much a woman.  When I go to Macy's, the size 4 pants are just a little too big for me, but when I go to H&M I can't even pull the "same" size over my womanly hips.  Talk about knocking the wind out of your thirtysomething sails...by the way, I never looked like Britney does in that video, and if I did, I still would have worn more clothing.}  

Back to the soup/stew.  It was delightful!  The potatoes made it nice and hearty = substantial and the herbs added a nice earthiness to the French lentils I used (I actually didn't have any of the $.79/lb brown lentils you can get at SuperFresh).  I think the two bay leaves also added a depth of flavor that might have otherwise been missing.

That was 60.  Now for the Zero.

This is one of those times you really can judge a "book" by it's "cover" (or a star by her implants) - the Quick Moroccan Tagine was exactly as bland as it looked.  I had no idea you could actually simmer all of the excitement out of kalamata olives and nothing else tasted like anything either.  This is the first time in a long time (that I can remember with my old lady brain, anyway) that I actually added salt at table.  I had to - it didn't taste like anything!  That was really disappointing.  It smelled so good when it was cooking, but it was really not very good.  Fortunately for Vegetarian Times I have two cookbooks that prove they do actually know their stuff.

Who knows?  Maybe my tastebuds are still burnt out. Stay tuned, kids - this old dog has some new tricks coming soon.

wintertime, and the livin' is easy

Having "wasted" my day off enjoying myself yesterday, I made the only thing for dinner that I had the ingredients left to make: Kedgeree from The Accidental Vegan. I have made kedgeree (kitcheree) before - it's fairly common in vegetarian cookbooks with any kind of international flair. From what I can tell, it is the result of Great Britain's colonization of India. Ordinarily, it is a kind of pilaf, a mixture of lentils and rice (complete protein!) with some herbs and spices mixed in so it's not completely bland. Not exactly main course material...until this kedgeree.

Look at it, all chock full of vegetables! I would dare say that the kale and carrots outnumber the rice and lentils! Having recently noticed how awful brown rice smells, I must admit, I wasn't all that excited about its prominent presence in this dish, but the subtle spices and hearty sauteed kale, balanced by the sweetness of the carrots really gave this kedgeree a pleasant mild flavor. I substituted kalamata olives for the mushrooms in the recipe because Mister hates mushrooms (I'm not a fan myself) and we both love olives. It took some time to prep, but I'll definitely do it again.

After dinner, we needed more cookies, so I whipped up a batch of Banana-Maple Oatmeal Cookies from Susan V at FatFree Vegan Kitchen. They were delightful and very easy to make...even easier to eat! Mister and I ate over half of them last night - it's amazing how much easier it is to overindulge when something is labeled as low-fat.


Oh! It's time for a flashback - watch the screen:

The year is *mumbleahem* and my dear friend, Courtney, and I are around 21-22 years old. In a moment of what can only be described as a complete lack of good taste, we decide to rent "Spice World" and have a girls' night in. Our snacks of choice? Mini York Peppermint Patties. Why? Because they're low in fat. Go ahead and completely ignore that they're made of sugar and therefore contain a decent number of calories, times however many we each ate. We sure did.
You can also ignore our beverage of choice - Snugglers - instant hot cocoa (surely low-cal) with a generous "shot" of peppermint schnapps.

~*~ end flashback movie ~*~

Since I didn't feel like chasing myself around the streets of Philadelphia, had the wind picked me up and carried me away, I shirked my Domestic Goddess duties yesterday and did not go food shopping. We needed to finish up our big box of spring mix baby greens before they get all wilty and gross anyway, so tonight's dinner was a simple soup and salad:

I'm taking taking a page from Mama Pea's book and photographing every salad I eat - I understand why she does it - they're all beautiful!

I reheated the Potato Corn Chowder from the other night and made a pretty little salad of spring mix, sprouts, carrots, cranberries, broccoli, and olives. Quick-cooking dinners are perfect for Friday nights, even if I didn't actually spend my usual half hour looking for parking when I got home from The Week From Hell at work. It feels good to arrive at the weekend, especially since I took Sunday off.

If you are in need of celebratory libations on this fine weekend, let me add that Smirnoff's Grand Cosmopolitan is very easy to drink. Cheers!

bad, good, better

I believe I mentioned that my Valentine's Day plans were put on hold due to appropriately red drops of water dripping from my bedroom ceiling? Moreso, that our attempt to go out to dinner was delayed by the lack of response from our unmotivated maintenance men? When we finally heard from them(on Saturday night, after our second call), the best they could tell us was that a roofer was coming out on Monday, but on Tuesday, we still had some dripping. When we called again to get a status update, we were told that apparently the roofer was frightened of the snow, but the latest our rotting ceiling would be defended from more melting snow was Friday. That is where tonight's tale begins.

I returned home from a rather busy day at work on Friday and fortunately, found parking with much greater ease than I did on Fat Tuesday. By the way, I don't think we should have Mardi Gras anymore until people start observing Lent again. That's not fair - some people do make sacrifices and life changes during this time of repentance - Kate Moss is going meatless on Mondays! Anyway, when I came home, Mister greeted me with a hug, a kiss, and these words:

"I have good news, bad news, and great news!"
Good news: whoever needed to work on the roof did so and now there's no more leak.
Bad news: there is also no water in our pipes.
Great news (in Mister's world): no water = no cooking = Chinese take-out

I have to hand it to him - if I had been home before he took the initiative to get the Chinese food, I probably would have chosen something else, so kudos to him for being slick and ordering it before I got home. I was chopsticks deep in broccoli when I heard the horrific sound of glugGLUGglugrumblerumble and then a slow dripping sound as the water restored itself to us and the toilet started filling up. This is one more thing I love about my husband: he is absolutely brilliant. He thinks of things other [normal] mere mortals would not think of - like flushing the toilet after we lost water so he would hear it filling up when we got it back. Well played, love.

So, today, the good news is that we still have water where we're supposed to and we don't have water where it doesn't belong. The bad news is that the snow taking up multiple parking spots still hasn't melted. The better news is that I rekindled a grand old flame tonight when I made my dear Isa's French Lentil Soup with Tarragon and Thyme. I had forgotten just how amazing that soup is, despite the three posts I've already devoted to that very subject. In addition to this very earthy, savory, and downright meaty vegan soup, I made two of the prettiest salads I think I've ever made - and I've been pretty impressed with some of my salads.
Mixed organic greens from Earthbound Farm, mixed organic sprouts (clover, onion, alfalfa), half of a clementine orange, red bell pepper, and kalamata olives. The greens were fresh tasting and varied in flavor and boldness, the sprouts were nutty in flavor and a little crunchier than I expected. The clementine is perfectly ripe and the olives are almost overpoweringly salty. Odd combination, but a good salad, all things considered.

a bun in the oven

Did I give you a heart attack, Mom?

No buns in my figurative "oven" - let me get that out of the way immediately.

I made my first ever vegan biscuits and I'm still high off of how well they came out. I ended up doing a kind of hybrid between Isa's Herbed Whole Wheat Biscuits from Vegan Brunch and Sarah's Easy Biscuits from How It All Vegan. By the way, I still think that is one of the most clever names for a book ever. There were three things about this recipe that amazed me:

1. watching the cider vinegar turn soymilk into buttermilk was simultaneously awesome and stomach-turning.

2. with just the right amount of ingredients, a dough formed and separated itself from the bowl, as well as the spatula, quite easily!

3. they really, really tasted like (whole wheat) buttermilk biscuits! It blew my mind. They were fun looking, don't get me wrong, but I really did not expect them to be this good - perfectly crisp and crunchy on the outside and light, puffy, and soft inside.
They kind of look like rocks, since they were drop biscuits, not cut. When I broke my first one open, there was a fabulous little puff of steam...mmm....so good. Another neat thing was that it seemed like the whole wheat flour made the biscuits a little sweeter, even though there was no sweetener - just thyme. By the way - I don't know if I just got lucky with my whole wheat flour, but it's very hard to sift because flakes of wheat stay on top of the little grindy-wheels. Irritating, but wholesome, I guess.

Anyway, I served my happy little biscuits with chunky, steamy, savory bowls of French Lentil Soup with Thyme and Tarragon from Veganomicon.
I still love this soup! It smells so good while it's simmering, and the length of time it takes to simmer is about the length of time it takes me to babble about some mundane but amusing parts of my day to Mister, make biscuits, and clean up. If you'd like to read more of my raving about just how good this soup is, and how you should make it and eat it and never eat anything else ever again because there's just no need click here or here.

There was one thing that was different and special about tonight's making of this heavenly soup: I used up a sprig of genuine home-grown lemon thyme, given to me by my previously mentioned generous colleague. It added a neat flavor to the soup, though I must admit it didn't really stand out against the generous helping of tarragon (my new favorite herb) and the savory smokiness of Hungarian paprika. I could definitely taste the difference, though. Surprisingly, this was also my first time cooking with fresh thyme.

In case you were wondering, once I got absorbed in my chopping and sauteing and sifting and plopping, I was able to ignore the utter disaster that someone else might refer to as my living room. Hopefully, this will get fixed tomorrow, because I won't be able to live like this for very long...

soup's on!

Having had the last of the lentil soup for lunch today, I came to the conclusion that if I was playing one of those silly games where people ask you questions like, "if you could only eat one soup for the rest of your life, what would it be?" my answer would be Isa's Amazing Lentil Soup. When I made it originally and posted about it, I included an excerpt from Veganomicon in which Isa writes that you'll never need another lentil soup recipe. I would like to amend her statement: you will never need another soup recipe. Period. I have eaten that soup on three occasions over the past week and every time I put the spoon in my mouth I am astonished anew by how delicious it is.

So, can anyone tell me why I pushed my luck and made another soup tonight? Actually, the answer to that is, "so I could take the menu off the freezer door and post the new one," since that was the last recipe on last week's menu. That does not explain, however, why there is another soup on the new menu. I digress - the point is, tonight I made Double Pea Soup with Roasted Red Peppers from Veganomicon. It was very good, made with split peas and "regular" peas, and very colorful from the green peas, orange carrots, and red peppers.
Also, today I did indeed return to Whole Foods to clear out their supply of my precious Nectar bars. See, it's funny - I go through snack phases and I'm either all about the bars or I absolutely want nothing to do with them. I had been on a raw rage due to a very pre-packaged and carbolicious winter, so I wouldn't even entertain the notion of a snack other than an apple, pear, cup of strawberries, you get the picture: Fruit in all it's untouched glory. And I'm sure that in the middle of February when all fruit is nasty and most of it has been trucked/flown in from other parts of the WORLD (not even country), I will crave fresh fruit like no one's business. At the moment, however, I am all about the bars.

I babbled about all of that just now because I think it's funny how I wouldn't have cared one whit about Clif discontinuing the Nectar line a few months ago and now I regard it as an apocalyptic tragedy. Here is my shrine to Nectar:
I have never actually had the lone Cranberry, Apricot, Almond Nectar bar in the middle, but when I went to Whole Foods, they had the 4 Cacao bars I snatched up, the 3.5 boxes of Lemon Vanilla Cashew of which I took 2, about 6 boxes of Cherry Pomegranate, and then these bars. I believe there are probably 6 boxes of what sounds like a teeth-achingly sweet bar for good reason, so I thought I'd see if the Cran-Apri-Almond bars were worth hording.

Finally, as if Fate had aligned certain factors to soften the trauma of Nectar's slow disappearance, Chocolate Covered Katie is hosting an Amazing Grass Chocolate SuperFood bars Giveaway! I entered, of course, and if you're interested in possibly trying some of these bars for free, just follow the link and read about the contest! While you're over there, check out the rest of her blog - it's primarily her fault I even remembered my love for the convenience of getting two fruit servings in a neatly wrapped bar. She focuses primarily on breakfast and dessert as far as I can tell, so she has some absolutely incredible ideas for that all-important first meal of the day.