sometimes, you need to squish

Angst does this thing we call "squishing."  It involves him poking, kneading, and otherwise massaging something soft and puffy until it seems comfy to him... at which point he usually walks away, abandoning all his hard work.  It's always fun to see him really working something, though, even if it boggles my mind that he doesn't do the obvious thing and lie down on the thing he just squished to oblivion.

He's got something, though - squishing is fun!  It feels neat and benignly destructive.  A human example might be something like a stress ball or the ghetto equivalent - an uninflated balloon filled with flour and tied off.... or tofu.

I wish I'd gotten a picture of my tofu-cotta tonight but my hands were a little bit covered in tofu to operate a camera.  Tonight's scrumptious meal was Baked Ziti from Vegan on the Cheap.

We actually have a few contributing factors for how this became the dinner of choice.  First, I got home from work a little bit earlier than usual (= more time), and Second, I have tomorrow off (= more time to stay up).  Third, and possibly most important - it was really darn cold by the time I tested how fast I could walk in my new boots.  Hey!  That reminds me - I never talked about my boots in the last post!

No time like the present...

Aren't they adorable?  I'm spending a bit too much time on my feet to continue wearing 3-4.5" heels, but I just cannot get into the flats trend.  It is my opinion that they spread out your feet and make the whole picture less attractive... or maybe I'm just not willing to pay $60 for shoes that don't have a heel and don't make my legs look longer or my stature taller.  I won't lie - high heels are a woman's Power Suit.

Anyway, I went to Macy's - twice, actually, and the first time almost made me swear off the store and did make me write a long and detailed (and unanswered) email to the company's customer service department.  Regardless of my growing disdain for the store, I had spotted a few pairs of boots when I was wandering around the shoe department unattended for 40 minutes the week before, so I figured I would give them one last chance.  I'm glad I did, because I ended up with these adorable, non-leather American Rag cowgirl boots that show the rockstar side of me without breaking my ankles or helping my outermost toes bind to one another.

By the way - when it's in the upper 50s with a strong "breeze" and I'm wearing nothing but an above-the-knee skirt, mid-calf boots, and a short-sleeved polo shirt, I can walk pretty fast in them.

So, now that that's out of the way - back to dinner.

I felt like the Baked Ziti needed a companion of the greenish nature, so when I was at Trader Joe's after work on Monday, I picked up a bag of broccoli and cauliflower.  I used about half the bag and steam-sauteed the veggies with some olive oil, garlic, my Tuscan herb mix from California, and some salt with just a few spritzes of water to keep everything steamy.  It came out sooooo well.

It tasted just like the baked ziti I remember my mom making (well, her's probably had melted mozzarella,  but beside that, it was pretty close) and it was actually pretty simple.  One of the reasons I made it tonight was because I thought it would be really time consuming, due to the need to cook the pasta and make the "ricotta," but it really did not take as long as I thought it would.  In fact, if I had been prepared (and didn't kind of want it to take a while), I probably could have made the whole thing, start to finish, in a little more than an hour.

That being said, this most likely would not be a dinner I would make after a particularly tiring day or on a normal work day in the middle of a normal work week, unless I had thought ahead and already boiled the pasta and prepared the tofu-cotta so all I had to do was combine everything.  The tofu-cotta was convincing enough that I am pretty sure you could feed this to a bunch of omnis and no one would know it wasn't "real" ricotta.

To be completely honest, though, here is the order of dinner's awesomeness:

2nd runner up - the baked ziti itself

1st runner up - the surprisingly tasty (and simple) side dish

Winner - squishing the tofu through my fingers until it was all coarsely crumbled.  That was really way more fun than I thought it would be and I probably enjoyed it a bit more than I should have.  Cheers!

what I hate

Hate is kind of a strong word, but honestly, there is one cooking "chore" I despise above all else.  I've mentioned this in passing a long time ago, but there is no prep step I hate more than pressing water out of spinach.

Hate it.

Unfortunately, there are at least a few recipes in this world [and my recipe repertoire] which require this soul-smothering step.  Tofu-Spinach Lasagna from The Vegan Table is one of them.  Fortunately for me, the effort is eventually worth it, since this is a flavorful, aromatic, and actually quite simple dinner to prepare.  Due to extensive prep, you definitely can't make this on a rushed night, but I'm sure you could prepare it and then pull it out of the fridge or freezer for a quick, easy meal another night.

Back to how much I hate pressing excess water out of spinach, though, because that's the point.  I've done all kinds of things to avoid this step in the past, one of my favorites (though not terribly efficient) is "dry frying" the spinach until all the water evaporates.  Tonight, though, there was no getting around the need to do it "right."  So there I was, standing over my kitchen sink with the spinach in a colander, pressing the back of my wooden spoon against it to get the ever-so-slightly satisfying sloop of water being squeezed out.  I was contemplating how much I hate doing this and a brilliant thought popped into my head.

I didn't have my Tofu Xpress the last time I had to "press" the water out of my spinach, but when I got this bugger for Christmas, I remember the little instruction manual (yes, I do read them) made an off-handed comment about also pressing water out of spinach.

I guess other people hate doing that as much as I do.  So I gave it a shot.  It was so efficient, and the best part was, I didn't have to do anything!  So, while that was pressing, I crumbled the tofu and sprinkled the soymilk, lemon juice, basil, salt, and garlic in the food processor and made "ricotta," to be combined with the waterless spinach.

After baking a little more that 40 minutes, my lasagna looked delicious and my kitchen smelled delicious.  Mister and I put away about half that pan.

MMmmmm.....

So, I start my new job on Tuesday, and I have some shopping to do before then.  My purse is starting to show its age, as are a great many of my clothes.  I hate shopping.  I do.  I'm sorry - I know I sound dreadful, but I just can't stand shopping.  I want to like it, really I do, and maybe this weekend I'll finally have some Estrogen Awakening and find that I could go shopping every day.  That would really help me get a new purse, a few new items of clothing, and a pair of shoes in which I won't break my ankles walking from the bus to the door of my new job.  That would be a little embarrassing, and my healthcare doesn't kick in for three months, so the 4.5-inch Carlos Santanas have to go.

I also have to go food shopping.  That is generally far less traumatic.  How's about a menu?

1. Rotini with Spicy Vegetable Ragu from Vegan on the Cheap.  It's been a while since I consulted this cookbook, but I figured it might be a wise choice since I'm between an old paycheck and a new one...

2. Savory Sausage and Pepper, also from VotC.

3. Better-Than-Takeout Tofu Stir-Fry, also from VotC.  I needed to get a different flavor profile in there - this should do it!

4. Salsa Rice and Red Beans also from VotC.

5. Yakisoba from The Accidental Vegan because I also haven't played with this book in a while and in case you didn't notice, I'm sticking to familiar stuff this week.

6. Kedgeree also from The Accidental Vegan.

sunday, windy sunday

Aside from the near-cyclonic winds blowing down through the concrete jungle today (and by the way, Chestnut Street makes a mighty fine wind tunnel), it was a gorgeous sunny day.  It seems like ordinarily, I spend gorgeous sunny days in my cube farm, alternately wishing I was outside and wishing my office had no windows.  Today, though, I spent the whole day wandering around Philadelphia with my dear sister, delighting in one another, the sunshine, and a feeling of glamour that can only come from shopping (with a side of gossip).

You want Hollywood glamour?  Look no further than this incredible consignment store find - a black, sequined mini-dress, shrouded by a sheer black-and-white, leopard print (sometimes) overlay with a train.  We were daring each other to wear it to Brother's wedding next month in between giggles.  After all, the whole point of the trip was to find a fabulous dress for the wedding.

Bohemian Barbie

Backyard BBQ Barbie

1920s Glamour-puss Barbie

I am so blessed to have such a stunning sister - when I look at her, I think how serendipitous it was that her parents named her after a Greek goddess - this lady should be in magazines and on some billboard on Times Square.

This lady should not.  No, I did not leave with that hat - it stayed in the store where it belongs.  I did get a snazzy scarf (50% off!) that Mister said looks exactly like my other scarves; I explained that it was different - this one has tinsel woven in.

The most clever back-door-protection I've seen.
Arcadia Boutique on Rittenhouse Square

Eco-Chic Barbie

By the way - in case you were wondering - nothing looks bad on her.  She is simply breath-taking!  In addition to playing Runway Model, I also had fun walking down the streets of Philadelphia with her and watching all the guys checking her out.

After we had exhausted ourselves and most of the clothing stores we were interested in, we stopped into a few other places - the Borders closing sale, the Kimmel Center so she could see the Eiffel Tower, and Anthropologie, where I haven't been in forever.  We had fun poking through the clothes and oddities, and then came upon a table full of houseware treasures.  We examined a set of [presumably] hand-painted measuring "cups" and after a discussion on how I still need beautiful things to be functional, dear Sister scooped up the cups I had been admiring and headed for check-out.  Over my protests, she explained that she had to buy me a housewarming gift since she didn't get to help me clean when we first moved in.

Have I mentioned I love this girl?

After Anthropologie, we stopped into Starbucks for the first iced coffee beverages of the year, which we sipped through funny green straws as we walked home through sunshine and flower petals.

Lots of petals.  I wish they would stop raining, actually.  But it was still a lovely scene, and a cat hung out with us a few minutes, too, so that's always fun.

Once I had bored Mister half to death with my new measuring cups and scarf, I went out to be a responsible adult.  In other words, I went food shopping....for this menu:

1. 2nd Avenue Vegetable Korma from Appetite for Reduction, since I failed to make this last week.  Mainly, because Mister failed to be awake for dinner.

2. Jerk Seitan on Coconut Rice, both from Vegan With A Vengeance; same story as above. 

3. Garlicky Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil.  Aside from the pretty recipe box I was given at my bridal shower 4 years ago, I have no idea where this recipe came from.  I'm not too sad about that  because it's just barely a recipe.  It sure makes for a tasty (and simple) pasta dish, though.

4. Mediterranean Chickpeas and Vegetables from an old issue of Cooking Light magazine.

5. Mediterranean Pasta with Artichokes, Olives, and Tomatoes, from an old issue of Body + Soul magazine.  This is one of the first pasta dishes I made that did not involve a heavy red sauce, so it has a special place in my heart.  Oh, and it's also hella delicious.

6. Spicy Black Bean Burritos, adapted from the original red-and-white-checkered Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, lovingly given to me by my mother before I had figured out how to cook.  I've made the recipe straight before, but Mister and I agree that it tastes far better when wrapped up in a soft, salty tortilla.

So, tonight, I has happy to be able to employ the help of two of my new measuring dishes:

flaked coconut never looked so pretty

I love jasmine rice anyway, but it's far prettier now

After oohing and aahing over my pretty dishes, I got to work on Jerk Seitan on Coconut Rice, which is hardly a one-pot meal.  It's actually more like a three-pot meal, if you must know.  It smelled so delicious and so tropical, between the coconut, cinnamon, and lime scents filling the air.  To tell the truth, my hands still smell like the three limes I juiced (two for the marinade and one for the rice).

The Coconut Rice recipe yields a huge amount, so although there were no leftovers of the peppers and seitan, there is leftover rice.  I'm contemplating turning it into an easy-to-reheat breakfast cereal, although it could come in handy as a base for the Korma.  I guess you'll just have to check back and see what happens!

Bon Soir, mes amis!

(sorry.  too much PIFA)

better get this party started (picture parade)

you can hear the soundtrack to today's post here.

I guess I'll start at the beginning, a very good place to start (please pardon what will probably be a plethora of lyrical puns).  Like I mentioned in my first mini-post, we spent pretty well all of day 1 traveling from Philadelphia to Los Angeles by way of St. Louis, flying Southwest Airlines.  In case you've never had the pleasure (I hadn't), it's a different experience than any I've had on other airlines.  They do this first-come-first-served seating thing, where you're assigned a queue when you check in.  The earlier you check in, the better place you get in "line," which means you have an advantage in the melee that occurs during boarding.  We missed that on the flight out, boarding just about dead last since we checked in at the airport, so we had to sweet-talk a young man into giving me his seat so I could sit with Mister.

Southwest flight attendants are quite friendly and on our flight from Philly to St Louis, we had a whole crew of flamboyantly gay men, one of whom donned a bedazzled apron when he served drinks and snacks.  That's right - snacks.  I don't know how Southwest stays in business - two free checked bags per passenger, free drinks, low fares, and free snacks, which were passed around by a smiling man saying to take as many as you want.  Unless, of course, the established airlines are just taking us all for a ride...

I had no expectations for the veg-friendliness of the St. Louis airport, but Mister was pleased to find a Dunkin' Donuts (his happy place) and I was happy to find the requisite Starbucks.  There were two things that really surprised me, though, upon landing at Los Angeles:
1. the airport was much smaller than I expected it to be.  Of course, we only saw the Southwest area.
2. there was very little in the way of vegetarian fare at the airport and nothing vegan.  I thought this was odd, considering how veg-friendly California is supposed to be.

After sleeping like a couple of rocks, Mister and I beat our alarm to waking up for our first full day in the Golden State.  We took advantage of the hotel-provided breakfast and were on our way to Anaheim.  Mister and Brother(in-law) went to Blizzcon; Sister, Nephew, and I went to Disneyland:

Pumpkin Mickey Mouse on Main St

We went to Tomorrowland first, I think.  I've never been to Disneyland, but I've been to Disney World several times and my favorites places were always Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland, so we hit them up almost in that order.  We couldn't really go on any rides because Nephew is just a little guy and I'm not huge on rides anyway, but we did tour the House of Tomorrow, which was supposed to be all full of exciting innovations but ended up being a living infomercial for ABC (tv), Honda, Microsoft, and a few other companies.  Regardless, I saw the kitchen of my dreams...

We stopped by Frontierland next because Sister thought I would enjoy a cajun restaurant in Disney's version of New Orleans.  I had a delicious veggie po'boy with baked beans (sans pork) and a fruit salad.  It was delicious and inspired one of the items on my short menu (to follow) for what remains of this week.

After lunch we traveled to the Haunted Mansion, which was all decked out for Halloween in the style of "The Nightmare Before Christmas," one of my favorite holiday movies.

After saying hello to Jack Skellington, we made our way to Fantasyland via Cinderella's Castle.  It's far more colorful and Victorian in style than the one in Disney World, but it is also undeniably smaller and less faerie-tale-esque.  I'd still be pretty darn happy to live in it, though (with that kitchen, of course)!

prettiest darn drinking fountain I've ever seen

Me and Sister-dear

my two favorite Disney Villains of all time - Cruella DeVil and Maleficent

 After seeing all of the Lands of Disney, Sister directed me toward Downtown Disney, which is apparently a little shopping/eating area between Disneyland and California Disney Adventure (we didn't go there).  We were dazzled by stores full of sparkly princess dresses and I tried to convince Sister that Nephew was entirely too young to be defined by silly things like gender roles, but she wasn't buying.  We did agree, though, that the next baby should be a little girl.

While Nephew was eating some lemon gelato, I popped into a Sephora store on the strip and came out with these two treasures:

also, my new zebra-print scarf!

After Disney, we went to a little place in San Clemente for dinner called Carbonara.  The food was delightful and their bread was amazing. Even more amazing than my Butternut Ravioli and our glasses of SuperTuscan was the dessert tray.  Sister and I couldn't resist these little bits of heaven - Strawberries on Chocolate Mousse in candied almond shells with dark chocolate coating inside.  I think it would be safe to say there was nothing vegan about this dessert, but it was my vacation and sometimes, you have to break the "rules."

Day 3 of our California Dream saw Mister and Brother off to Blizzcon again, while Sister, Nephew, and I flexed our shopping muscles at an outdoor mall, The Spectrum.  This place was incredible - a carousel, ferris wheel, and a train for little ones, as well as multiple fountains and sidewalk cafes, both of which I love.

We lunched at Veggie Grill, which was incredible and a little overwhelming.  It is a completely vegan restaurant, right down to their delectable chocolate pudding and chipotle ranch dipping sauce.  I'm not ashamed to say I was literally salivating while pondering the menu.

My lunch included the All Hail Kale salad with candied walnuts and a citrusy vinaigrette, accompanied by the to-die-for sweet potato fries and chipotle dipping sauce.

Sister indulged in the Baja Fiesta Salad with crispy tortilla strips on top of papaya and mango.

Nephew's lunch consisted of "chicken" nuggets and sweet potato fries.  It also came with chocolate pudding that Sister gave me because she doesn't want the little one developing a taste for sweets.

After a filling but not terribly bloating lunch, we headed over to Urban Outfitters.  For my wedding, three years ago today, a friend gave us a generous gift card to Urban Outfitters.  Unfortunately, the one in Philadelphia sucks, so all I've successfully purchased there was a pair of socks.  I was happy to see many more things in this one that I would be willing to put on my body.  I ended up with a pair of fingerless gloves and the adorable owl book I used to keep track of my adventures.

We also stopped into a few other stores where I could go broke (White House Black Market, I'm looking at you), I got two fun sweaters from Wet Seal, we played on the carousel and got coffee at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and did a little people watching at the outdoor cafe.  I have to admit, I felt like a rockstar and I was completely amused by how dolled up everyone was - the teenagers are so good at emulating their favorite celebrities, Sister and I made multiple sightings of Mylie Cyrus and Taylor Swift.  The moms were pretty high fashion, too.  Moms on the East Coast generally relegate themselves to jeans and sneakers.  These moms?  Stilettos, skinny jeans, big bug sunglasses, styled hair, dripping with jewelry but not in a trashy way... it was pretty impressive.

We stopped into Trader Joe's for some provisions, including "Two Buck Chuck," which Sister insisted that I had to try.  I was still adjusting to the idea of buying wine at a grocery store.  We also got a Shiraz-Cabernet blend as back-up.

San Clemente beach

more San Clemente Beach - not a bad picture for an out-dated cellphone

adorable little gate in Sister's white picket fence

Back "home," Sister played SuperMom, baking our spaghetti squash while ordering pizza and putting the little one to sleep.  I'd never had spaghetti squash before, so while the Misters chomped on spinach pizza, Sister and I had Spaghetti Squash Marinara with our Two Buck Chuck (which was actually pretty drinkable!).

The next day, all five of us packed into the 1992 Camry sedan and headed to Blizzard Entertainment to see where Brother spends most of his waking hours.  On the way, we passed the Gingerbread House, which is the most photographed house in the area and has apparently managed to do wonders for upping property values.

scary ork on a beasty outside of Blizzard

glamour shot of the ork

Afterwards, we lunched at another sidewalk cafe "inside" another outdoor mall.  This time, Native Foods tempted our palates.  

doesn't everyone have an outdoor fireplace in their outdoor mall?  I mean, it has to get cold sometime, doesn't it?

fountain view from cafe

Mister's Gyro Bowl with a toasted pita, seitan standing in for the standard lamb, and vegan tzatziki sauce saturating the seitan and veggies

Sister's Soul Bowl with veggies, beans and rice, BBQ sauce over Ranch Dressing and a hunk of cornbread

My Hollywood Bowl - grilled tofu on skewers, painted with peanut sauce and laid atop broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and carrots, as well as brown rice and more peanut sauce, with a side of sweet potato fries

We decided to walk off lunch and Sister and I happened upon a little koi pond.  This "little" fella wanted to say, "hello!"

me and Mister

 We finished lunchtime with a trip to Peet's Coffee, where I got a caramel soy latte.  That night, we dined at a cute little Italian place which has earned a place in our California Family's heart, Fratello's.  The food was good and the atmosphere appropriate for a family.  Something I noticed at the Coffee Bean (of all places) and was confirmed by our dinner at Fratello's is that the menu doesn't always mean anything.  I ordered Angelhair Pomodoro, which was defined as being tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil.  I ordered this because it sounded delicious and because sometimes they sneak parmesan cheese into the ubiquitous marinara sauce, so I thought I'd played it safe...until my pomodoro sauce came spiked with parmesan.  I also had two "Americanos" from the Coffee Bean which appeared to be spiked with milk, even though an Americano is just espresso with water.

After dinner, we retired to Sister/Brother's house to watch Star Trek XI and drink some wine.  The next morning, our last full day in Sunny San Clemente, the family picked us up and we had brunch by the Pacific Ocean at the Beach Garden Cafe.  Ironically, I could not get enough fresh fruit during this vacation, so I was thrilled by the size of my fruit salad - mostly cantelope and pineapple, which was fine by me.

view from our sidewalk table

After brunch, we strolled the Avenida del Mar, including a fruitful stop into Oliver's Olive Oil which resulted in three delightful herb-n-spice blends finding their way into my bag (after I paid for them!).  That place is amazing and I will happily stop in each time I visit Sister in the future.  They have dozens of olive oils and balsamic vinegars that you can taste before you buy.  There are also artisan salts in glass jars or samplers and special home-made pastas.  This store is a foodie's heaven.

After a filling brunch and an afternoon in the sun, we were feeling a little drowsy, so we stopped by the Coffee Bean for a pick-me-up.  Amazingly, even though I specifically said to the young barista, "No Milk," my Americano was still not black.  I'm hoping that the hazelnut flavoring is an opaque, Bailey's color, but for now, Starbucks and their the-same-every-time Americanos are winning in my heart.

sunset at our hotel the last night

 After a brief recess to the hotel so Mister and I could start packing up for our departure the following day, the Family picked us up for a final dinner at Thai This in Dana Point.  It was adorable and the wait staff loved Nephew, so they didn't mind him dumping rice all over the table after Mom and Dad put some on his little plate.  The names and descriptions for the entrees were hilarious; my favorite description included this: "Yippee Ki-Yay, Mother Father!"


After some Family Pictures the next day, Brother drove us to LAX for the return home, whereupon I got detained by security, keeping my record of never making it home easily intact.  They felt the need to keep the Huckleberry jam I had purchased during our layover at St. Louis, and I was free to go...so I went directly to Starbucks for a nice, black-as-night, Hazelnut Americano and a banana.  On the long way home, I went through the Vegetarian Times and Real Simple magazines I had with me and constructed a short menu, which I'm going to shop for in a few moments.  The menu is:

1. Hot Dogs with Sauerkraut and Baked Beans, inspired by the simplicity of the baked beans at Disneyland reminding me that I've become so caught up in putting some new gourmet feast on the table every night, I've forgotten how fun it is just to have "normal" food.

2. Moroccan Lentil Stew with Raisins Cranberries from the October 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times.

3. Buckwheat-Black Bean Soup, also from the October 2010 issue of Veg. Times.  I may sub out bulgur for the buckwheat...we'll see.

I'll leave you with some final pictures of the haul I brought home:

my spiffy 1980s-inspired sweater with the more sedate black v-neck beside it and my new black fingerless gloves on top

my three seasoning blends from Oliver's, plus two jars of my beloved McCormicks Garam Masala which I finally found at Albertson's.  It took a lot of self-control to only buy two.

I love Snickerdoodle coffee and apparently, only people in California agree with me.

This is a baby Murloc, a mythical sea creature from the World Of Warcraft.  Mister made the mistake of showing me how adorable they are when he was playing one day, so he made up for it by standing in line for 30 minutes at Blizzcon to get me my very own little Murloc.  His name is Gurky.