boys like girl-treats, too!

It would be something of an understatement to say my cupcakes were a success.  I'm not a big braggart (ordinarily), but I have irrefutable evidence that my cupcakes were a hit - 3 previously cupcake-filled containers came home with me empty.  Then there were the nearly vulgar sounds some colleagues made while eating them.  Personally, I'm a fan of the eyes-widening, mouthful-of-cupcake-smiling reactions, of which I got many.  I've kept you in suspense long enough - wanna see 'em?

of course you do

Let's travel back in our magical phone booths to... 24 hours ago (Mister's been watching Dr Who)...

Although I honestly bought the wine specifically to make the icing, I knew I was only going to use a couple of ounces and it would be such a shame to waste that whole big bottle...  Nothing says "I'm ready to bake!" like a glass of wine balancing on top of two small cookbooks.... nothing, maybe, but a brand new apron (seriously, I don't think I can have too many - I'm becoming an apron addict).

I wish I could have gotten more of the apron in the picture, but my arm isn't long enough to do a full body self portrait, but that cute little pattern just repeats along the body and down to the cute little gathered hem bits.  Okay, so clearly I have to take a picture of the whole apron by itself because that last part made No sense.

This, right here, is probably my favorite part of the whole recipe (except the Eating It part).  This is the part of the recipe that made me fall in love with the oddly-named Funeral Cake.  This part of the recipe actually smells better than the part where the cupcakes are baking.  I know - you don't believe me - but go ahead and melt Earth Balance in a saucepan with oil, water, and cocoa and tell me you couldn't die happy.

Go ahead.  I'll wait.

Anyway, once I was done salivating from the scent of the cocoa boiling on the stove and had cleaned up enough to feel comfortable touching it, I poured the chocolatey mixture over my dry ingredients (which includes so darn much sugar I actually ran out and had to sub in some brown sugar to make up the difference - way to plan ahead and check your ingredients, Natalie - apparently flour wasn't the only thing keeping me from baking) and mixed it all together until it resembled oily fudge.  I filled the cupcake liners to the top and just look at them pretending to be pure chocolate candy cups!

Once they'd finished baking (about 25 minutes was perfect), I managed to let them cool to Nearly Room Temperature (the closest I'm likely to get any time soon) before trying to ice them.

I put about a cup of confectioners sugar in a bowl, then carefully sprinkled in 2 Tbsp red wine.  I stirred it up good with my little whisk, until the sugar had all melted into the wine and the icing had a puce kind of hue going on.  Never a big fan of pink-purple, I added another teaspoon red wine for color, but then the icing was way too thin.  In the future I will likely do the same amounts but either

a) use 1.5 cups sugar OR

b) put everything (cupcakes and icing) in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Despite the huge mess I made, I ended up dipping the top of each cupcake into the icing, swirling it around a little and then setting it down on the tray they live on in the refrigerator.  I put them all in the fridge overnight and it definitely helped the glaze set but not before it dripped all down the sides, making quite a mess when people pulled off the wrappers today.

The woman who inspired me to make these was extremely grateful and astonished I could combine two great things like chocolate and red wine, but she took her cupcake home to eat for dessert tonight, so I have to wait until tomorrow for her reaction, but everyone else gave me instant gratification.  The gents loved the cupcakes and used many descriptive words to tell me how much.  Another colleague has now specifically requested the Strawberry Creme cupcakes that were part of yesterday's brainstorm.  Fortunately, the incredible reactions I got on this batch are definitely provocative enough to get me back in the kitchen in time to bring those cupcakes in next week...

nothing ventured, nothing gained

So, I've been thinking of baking on and off for a couple of months.  Obviously, the best time to do so is during the first May heat wave in years.  Let's back-track, though.

A few times recently the Baking Bug bit me, only for me to open my cupboard and discover (repeatedly, since I don't learn the first time) that I have less than one cup of flour.  Not too many things you can make with that little flour.  A few times recently, Mister's been up to his old tricks, wandering into the kitchen, wanting "something," only to be thwarted by the fact that neither of us has replenished the flour, so again - no baking.

This past weekend I was around cakes almost every waking hour.  I watched batter being made in large quantities and enough frosting (they call it "icing" in the South) to fill a plastic storage bin other people would use for their winter clothing or to corral cleaning supplies.  I was surrounded by the heavenly scent of cakes baking - chocolate, almond pound, vanilla - and watched as they were prepped for icing and then decorated efficiently and skillfully.  I was even lucky enough to have some batter slung at me while I was eating my breakfast, as a sister-in-law reacted in time to save a full cakepan from overturning but too quickly to put down the spatula first.

Needless to say, after a weekend like that, all I wanted to do last night, my first night home, was bake cupcakes and even decorate them.  It's rare that I bother with icing my cupcakes, as I explained over the weekend, because you have to be patient enough to let them cool and I just want to eat them while they're still warm.  Nevertheless, when I started daydreaming about what I would make and how I would decorate, I was rudely awoken to the continued Lack Of Flour in my cupboard.

~*~*~*~*~

Over the weekend, we moved the retail and service portion of our flagship store (which is currently our corporate headquarters) into a new location, just two doors down.  Despite the move being so close we didn't even need movers' assistance, and despite a bunch of hardworking individuals pulling a 14-hour day while I was sitting in Georgia sniffing cake batter, things are still a little crazy as everyone gets settled.  A little (okay, a decent bit) of that chaos is leaking back into the "old" building, where me and other administrative folks are still in residence.  By the end of today, one of my colleagues was clearly in need of some TLC and good, old-fashioned, female-tilted relaxation.  

I hatched a plan on my walk home: moist dark chocolate cupcakes, topped with something decadent.  Maybe I would get a decorator tip and food coloring and make a red rose topping (a wee bit ambitious for someone who has never actually decorated a cupcake outside of smearing an improvised "cream cheese" icing on top and carefully placing chocolate chips to look randomly sprinkled on).  No.... I try to stay away from artificial ingredients, so why would I use food dye?  Ah!  Strawberries!  Yes, I would puree fresh strawberries and then make a pink "buttercream" to frost the tops of these decadent chocolate cupcakes.  Hmmm.... suddenly, the light flavor of a strawberry creme topping seemed better suited to vanilla cupcakes, which I had no interest in making.  Then I remembered a comical conversation about Tequila-tinged cupcakes and rethought the strawberry theme - I'll stop at the liquor store, pick up some Pinnacle Whipped and macerate some berries in it, then plop them on top of a chocolate frosting!  But then there's the issue of transportation... thinkthinkthink... I've got it! 

~*~*~*~*~

As I sit here, telling ridiculous stories and dragging this post out as long as possible to make up for all the words I haven't been sharing, I am breathing in the thick, delicious aroma of newly baked chocolate cupcakes.  I used Dynise's recipe for Funeral Cake in her new book Celebrate Vegan.  I actually tested this recipe for the book, so I knew its intense flavor was exactly what my colleague (and I!) need to make it to Friday.  It is taking every ounce of my imaginary self-control to stay away from the cooling cuppers (though I think the large amount of batter I scraped from the sides of my mixing bowl and ate while they baked helped...)

I know, I can feel your sarcasm seeping through the computer as you think "Wow, Natalie, you made chocolate cupcakes?  Good freakin' job."  No, no, friends - it gets far better.

When I stopped to get flour on my way home (and strawberries, just in case I changed my mind), I also picked up a bottle of sweet red wine.  Again, nothing much new here, so let's skip right to the Big Innovative Moment this has all been leading up to:

If I actually let the cupcakes cool without eating them, I'm going to whip up a glaze using that wine.  The cupcakes alone are enough to give you a foodgasm, (have I mentioned you need to get the book??) but if the icing comes out even half as well in real life as it does in my brain, the complementary flavors will kick these sweets up a notch and a half.  Current plan is to do a cup of confectioners' sugar with 2 Tbsp of the wine, then more or less paint the glaze on or possible dip the nicely domed tops of the cupcakes to allow a little Hershey Kiss-shaped action on top.

No pictures tonight, sweetpeas, nor confirmed recipes - I promise I will return tomorrow with pictures, recipes, and reactions, but for now it's time to get to sleep so I can get up early and ice my cupcakes!

still alive - be thankful!

I know other bloggers have gone far longer than a week without a post, but I am not normally among them so it feels like forever.  I hope you'll excuse my absence, considering how busy I've been preparing for Thanksgiving and Black Friday - or I should say it like this:

1. the first Thanksgiving (or holiday at all) that I've hosted in my own home!
2. the first Black Friday I've worked retail in fifteen years.

Fortunately, both went off pretty well, yet both were fairly stressful in the days leading up to them.  Additionally, I just haven't felt like I had anything interesting to say.  I realized recently that one of the reasons I've found blogging to be so much fun and so fulfilling in the first two years of this little blog was because I was still learning how to cook new and interesting things, so I was always trying to make something I hadn't made yet so I could come up with a unique post.  Over the last several months, I've found myself perfectly happy to repeat "favorites" from the last few years, and although I only rotate recipes every few months, I still didn't have anything interesting to say about making "this" dish again.

Here is a quick recap of my Celebrate Vegan mini-menu:

The two pasta dishes (Pasta with Shallots and Chard and Pasta with Red Peppers and Basil) were just like I remembered them - relatively easy with a ton of flavor.  Neither of them made as much as I thought I remembered, but believe me, with Thanksgiving coming up, there was no place in our fridge for leftovers anyway.

I made one new recipe from the book I wasn't able to make before because it needed tweaking for Mister's intestinal safety, the Jambalaya and it was quite tasty and fake-meat-alicious!

So let's switch gears.

There's a lovely song by Josh Groban (which you can hear a beautiful cover of here) with the following lyrics:

Some days we forget to look around us.

Some days we can't see the joy that surrounds us.

So caught up inside ourselves, we take when we should give,

So for tonight, we pray for what we know can be,

And on this day we hope for what we still can't see.  

It's up to us to be the change,

And even though we all can still do more...

There's so much to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for a great many things, not the least of which being how well my first Thanksgiving as the cook and hostess turned out!  Here was our menu:

When my parents arrived, we set out mixed olives, veggie crudites with Muhammara (from Celebrate Vegan) and store-bought dill dip (thanks, Mister), and Spanakopita (from The Accidental Vegan).  The main course was a Torfurky Roast which Mister has wanted since his first non-meat-eating Thanksgiving and I was thrilled to be able to give it to him.  Alongside the Tofurky was mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, and my mom's becoming-famous salad, then dessert was Apple Pie with Vanilla "ice cream" by So Delicious.  Dad brought two delightful bottles of my favorite wines - Apothic Red and the 2009 vintage of Georges deBoeuf Beaujolais-Villages, as well as a four-pack of mini-champagnes "for after work."

Oh?  You wanted a picture parade?  Okay!

I began my preparations on Monday or Tuesday night, starting with the Muhammara dip since it would taste the best after sitting in the fridge for a few days.  I figured it was best to make it the same night we had Pasta with Shallots and Chard since my home already stank of an onion sibling (and since I already had the book out).  After simmering three chopped red peppers with a chopped onion and sliced garlic for an hour, I dry-toasted some walnuts,

And then placed everything in the blending machine...

and pureed it until it was mostly smooth and homogenously orange.

After it cooled a little, I scooped it into a "tupperware" and stuck it in the fridge, to be forgotten until Thursday.

Wednesday night, I intended to make the spanakopita because I've found that it sticks together better if it's made the night before it's eaten.  So I chopped up a shallot to substitute for the revolting onion in the recipe and sauteed the onion and spinach while the lentils cooked.

Added the brown lentils (I'm not actually sure why, either)

and then a big heap of crumbled feta tofu,

and stirred it all together.

This is where it gets fun.  By the time I started making this, I'd only worked one eight-hour day at work (the others went long in preparation for Black Friday) and after that 8-hour day (of being one half of the sales force, since one person got sent home with an eye infection) I had a 2.5 hour hair appointment (oh, how I missed you, Candi KaBoom!), so I really wasn't on my most... "with it" behavior.

I realized after all the work of assembling the spanakopita, including gluing sheets of phyllo together with olive oil while listening to the darkly angelic voice of Amy Lee through my earbuds, that I had missed one step of the two-step process required to preheat my ancient oven.  So, finding (at 2am) that my oven was still cold after it was "preheating" for 30 minutes, I covered the spanakopita with plastic, put it in the fridge and went to bed.

It came out just fine when I baked it the next morning.

Then came the piece de resistance.

Mister's long-awaited Tofurky Roast, complete with wild rice stuffing.

I put it in a little Corningware casserole dish and surrounded it with quartered potatoes and carrots, then poured half of the sage marinade over it and stuck that puppy in the oven.

It's not a real puppy, by the way.

appetizers - from the top: Muhammara, Dill dip, olives

more apps: Spanakopita, crudites

The Torfurky, all basted and roasted and ready to eat!

Sides: mashterpaters, roasted broccoli, and the canned
cranberry "sauce" Mister insisted we needed

I realized in a panic a few days before Thanksgiving (and a few days after I constructed the menu) that I had completely neglected to get/make gravy.  In an incredible (and incredibly fortunate) coincidence, my dear Mama Pea posted this recipe to save my butt.  It was good and easy to make in a pinch, but a little too thick to become a regular occurrence in our home, so next year we'll think ahead and find something a little more pourable.

Next year?

That's right!  It seems my parents enjoyed themselves enough to consider sharing the holidays - with any luck, that means I will always host Thanksgiving and they can have Christmas :)  In any case, thanks to my hard-working dishwasher and helpful husband, it didn't take all that long to clean up after dinner, allowing me to get to bed by nine(ish) since I had to be up at 3am to go to work.

In case you were wondering, Philadelphia is incredibly quiet and peaceful (and dark) at 5am.

day dates and lazy nights

Since I'm such a sweetheart (except when I eat Mister's soup), I woke up on the first day of my serendipitous three day weekend this morning.  As usually happens on days I can sleep in a bit, I woke up an hour before I needed to in a complete panic that I was going to be late if I didn't get up right now.  Fortunately, I remembered quickly that I was off today and didn't have anywhere to be until I went to see the magnificent and persevering Philadelphia Orchestra play the first concert in their opening series.

Please forgive the blurry picture, but you can see the important bits.  The pouty young man in the lower right corner is Julian Rachlin, the violin soloist for today's (and tomorrow's and Sunday's) performance.  He is quite a performer!  He is actually only a few years older than Mister and I and I laughed a little to myself when he took the stage - I had no idea they could make nice expensive suits to imitate the growing (and somewhat disturbing) trend of skinny jeans on boys.  I discussed this with a colleague 12 years my junior - she sees no problem with boys wearing girlpants.  Call me old-fashioned, but men's and women's pants are designed differently because, frankly, men and women have different spacial needs in certain areas....

Anyway, back to the performance.  Julian was totally a rockstar - he was a pleasure to watch as he nearly danced along with the more lively parts of the music he played and had some of the most charmingly pretentious facial expressions and theatrical, dance-like movements while he was waiting for the orchestra to let him play again.

Ordinarily, when I see the orchestra (not that it's a common occurrence, though I'm trying to weasel my way into the Lang Lang concert next Saturday, what would have been Franz Lizst's 200th birthday), I prefer to sit in the balcony so I can see all of the instrumentalists, not just the ones closest to the stage front.  The seats Mister and I occupied today were the closest I have ever sat to the Orchestra and it was amazing to be able to see the faces of the performers.  In a time when the arts in Philadelphia are encumbered at best and more realistically, endangered, and in the first few days of a new contract negotiation for the players which results in "downsizing" their salaries and benefits (the Orchestra declared bankruptcy earlier in the year and is trying to keep one of the world's best orchestras afloat), it was heart-warming to see how genuinely they enjoy playing their instruments.

For any arts lovers out there, here is the concert I had the privilege of seeing this afternoon:
Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Opus 25 ("Classical)
Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D minor, Opus 47 which was magnificent
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92 (which was featured in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus if anyone is familiar)

I loved every minute, but classical music is not really Mister's thing.  To reward him for accompanying me, we visited a new restaurant for a late lunch (resulting in no fun dinner stories, unless you want to hear about the PB&J I'm about to eat).  Zavino is a pizza and wine bar, part of the 13th Street Renaissance owed to a pair of visionary female entrepreneurs.  Despite the threatening sky, we elected to sit outside.  There was an awning to protect us when it did start to pour but we felt badly for the waitresses who brought our food (shielded by a tray over top).  We started with a tray of marinated olives and an apple and candied walnut salad, then each of us got our own pizza.  They had a Garden Pizza on the menu and when the waitress told me what was on it, there was no question what I would order: house-made marinara (spectacular) with large, thin slices of garlic, sauteed spinach and thin spirals of fennel.  It was amazing.  Even better, my evil plan worked - it started raining once we were seated and stopped when we paid the bill, allowing us to stroll home without getting wet.  Timing is everything folks.

Speaking of timing, this seems a good time to share the new menu!

1. Monk Bowl from The 30 Minute Vegan because it's been a really, really long time since I've cooked from this book and I missed a couple of the recipes.  Those follow:

2. Pasta Florentine, which, to be honest, was the whole reason I was looking through the book to begin with.

3. Put the Tex in Your Mex Chili.  I'll be honest (again).  I hate the name of this meal, as well as a lot of others in the book.  There is no need to be this cheesy - it's a vegan cookbook!  :)

4. Homey Vegetable Stew with Dumplings requires a little extra effort but is so worth it.

5. Farfalle with White Beans and Cabbage from Vegan on the Cheap.  It's a 7-meal menu and the week before payday, so I figured I should probably complete the menu with some favorites from this book.

6. Mexican Rice and Bean Bake


7. Better-Than-Takeout Tofu Stir-fry

ghetto sommelier

I don't actually have any official training in wine, but my uncle did fine dining long enough to learn quite a bit and pass it on to me.  I want to say that he did actually have formal training in the art of being a sommelier, but I can't remember and unfortunately, I can't ask him.  What I do remember is him giving my sister a lesson on the 10 Steps to Tasting Wine on her 21st birthday.  What I remember even better is her not caring at all (she's the beer and cocktail half of us...I do the wine and occasional cocktails) while I did my best to absorb and memorize every word he said from the periphery.  Okay, occasionally I got distracted by the "are you kidding me?" look on my sister's face.

Anyway, I do love wine.  I make a lot of jokes about liking wine too much, and sure, there are times I do.  But I drink wine because I like wine, not because I'm trying to become inebriated.  This is why I had de-alcoholized wine served at my wedding and it was quite delicious.  Mister actually discovered Ariel wines relatively early in our relationship and gave me a beautifully packed crate of four varietals, surrounded with a hay-like substance and dried babies breath and other flowers.  He did this because he recognized that I actually enjoy wine and he wanted to share that experience with me, but he doesn't drink alcohol.  That was probably one of the most romantic gifts he ever gave me...my 29th birthday present was pretty good, too...

Isn't my engagement ring pretty?  Okay, anyway, back to wine....

The point of all this rambling is that over the years, I've tasted a great many wines from various regions and different colors: Pinotage from South Africa, Shiraz from Southeastern Australia, Cotes du Rhones from France (and despite my objections, it became a favorite), Tempranillo from Spain, Tres Milliones from Mexico, Malbec from Argentina, and its drier cousin, Torrontes, as well as several different Rieslings from Germany.... surprisingly, Pennsylvania has several vineyards that produce well-rated wines - one of the best reds I've had was a 1998 Cabernet Franc from Chaddsford Winery... but I maintain to this day that the rest of their wine is bordering on awful.

As I've tasted each wine, I've tried to figure out what is different about it, what is special.  As I got more involved in cooking and creating, I wanted to use my tasting experience to appropriately pair wines with my dinner.  There are times I regret a little that Mister and I don't crack open a bottle of wine and drink it down while eating dinner and then popping olives in our mouths while alternately discussing philosophy and world events (we only do the latter), but Whole Foods was the only place I could get Ariel, other than ordering it, which is an ordeal in the city, to say the least.  Due to alcohol laws in Pennsylvania, and the fact that Ariel is "real wine" that has simply had the alcohol removed, Whole Foods lost their "okay" to sell it (Pennsy's a weird state sometimes), so we haven't had it since our wedding.

Regardless, for my dining pleasure, I enjoy matching cuisines or specific flavors with a wine I think would complement the flavors, or so intensely contradict them that it works somehow.  I can't do cocktails with dinner - I don't know how anyone can, personally.  For me, a cocktail is an aperitif, possibly a dessert beverage, but the meal requires wine.  Obviously, the easiest dinner to pair with is an Italian dinner.  It's a no-brainer: Italian food = Italian red wine, or at least a full, dry red wine.  Asian fare usually leads me to Riesling (a German wine) because of the amazing juxtaposition, and on the off-chance that I make dinner too spicy, it has an amazing cooling quality.  It's the middle ground or one-offs that perplex me.

Tonight, I made Chickpeas Romesco and served it on Saffron Garlic Rice, both from Veganomicon.  According to Isa and Terry, this is a latina dish - Spanish, even.  A Tempranillo or Malbec probably would have been very appropriate accompaniments to this dinner, but I had something specific on my mind.  It was so specific, in fact, that if I had walked into Wine and Spirits and it had not been on the shelf, I would have walked back out, rather than buy one of the aforementioned latino wines.  Nothing against, 'em - I love me a good Malbec and it doesn't take much convincing for me to indulge (though paydays usually help).

Surprisingly, the wine I was determined to serve was American, and not even a "normal" wine, rather a blend.  Probably not surprisingly, that blend is Apothic Red, my current darling.  Regardless of that fact, as well as that it was on sale, I have so completely analyzed and memorized the flavors of this wine that I couldn't think of a Malbec or Tempranillo that would have matched the flavor I was going for.  So I swooped into the wine store, picked up a bottle, and the first sip at dinner confirmed that I made the right decision.

The savoriness of the garlic-oil rice and the perfect, chunky sweet-umami of the chickpeas and sauce worked perfectly together.  The wine brought out the sweetness of the ground almonds and subtle sprinkle of sugar in the sauce, while the almost meaty texture of the slow-braised chickpeas brought everything together.  It's nice to be right sometimes.

eat, drink, and be merry

...for tomorrow, we die.  Or go back to work.  Same thing.

All kidding aside (who's kidding?), I had such a delightful weekend, I am both dwelling on each moment and regretting that it all ends when I go to sleep tonight.  Each day has adventures of its own, so we'll keep a positive outlook, shall we?  Probably the best way to guide you through my fabulous weekend is another picture parade, with me popping in from time to time to share a fun story.  Let the good times commence!

There has been a lot of good eating going on lately.  I snapped the above picture while having a surprise lunch with my dad.  I surprised him by being in center city mid-day on Thursday, so we went to Farmicia for a nice little lunch.  Although I was tempted by the Hummus and Avocado Sandwich, I ended up getting the Tres Tamales, which was three (no, really?) perfectly sized tamales, stuffed with their vegan chorizo and "vegetables" (which appeared to actually just be diced chili peppers).  I love how the tamales came in a Tv Dinner-like tray-plate.  In the leftmost top were scrumptious refried black beans.  In the middle was a very spicy salsa roja, and on the right was a pickled cactus salad.  Being an adult, I tried the pickled cactus, even though every cell in my body was saying, "No...I don't think that's a good idea..."  It wasn't, but I chewed up one piece and swallowed, satisfying my need to be adult and classy.  Then I chased it with a nice swig from my celebratory peach fizz (peach nectar + cava).  Dad enjoyed a Crab Cake on Brioche that was thick enough he decided it would be in better taste and manners to make it a fork-n-knife sandwich, rather than trying to unsacrimoniously shovel it all into his mouth.

This bit of my breakfast was part of a super-awesome discovery just before I left the produce section of Whole Foods last week: Mango Nectarines.  Interesting flavor - they look like a champagne mango with their yellow-pale green skin, but they taste more like a nectarine.

Speaking of Whole Foods, I think I'm falling in love with Trader Joe's.  We'll recall that the logistics of my first journey out there were probably not ideal for making me put it on my list of places that I regularly shop.  However, yesterday, I got done teaching a bit later than I wanted to and in order to redeem the day (because teaching someone how to make music isn't fulfilling enough :P), I decided to get off the train at Suburban Station instead of Market East.  Trader Joe's is just a few short blocks from the stairway from subterranean to the city surface, so I decided to take my chances on the buses running more frequently on a Saturday (they do).

I got all these veggies for only $19.95:

• 2 zucchini 
• a cucumber 
• 3 shallots 
• 2 garlics 
• 2 limes 
• 1 lb bag of lemons 
• 7oz arugula 
• a bag of snow peas 
• a bag of broccoli florets 
• a bag of shredded cabbage 
• a red pepper 
• an orange pepper 
• and a quart of vegetable broth

as a result, I saved about $15 total for this week's grocery bill, which is pretty significant considering this menu has seven dinners, not 5 or 6 like normal.  Also, this came in handy when I went to Superfresh and discovered that ThePowersThatBe have decided that consumers were getting their canned beans for a steal, so in the one week between the last time I shopped there and yesterday, they felt justified in increasing the price of beans 32 cents.  

When you're talking about beans, that's a serious number.   I mean, really - $1.19 for a 15oz can of chickpeas?  I guess it could be worse... they're still 80 cents more expensive than that at Whole Foods.  

Anyway, I ended up making the least expensive meal last night, primarily because I wanted to use up my Tofurky sausage and leftover Coconut Rice before something bad conspired between them in the fridge. The only thing I needed to buy for Stewed Lentils with Soy Sausage from Vegan Express was a can of tomatoes.

I heated up the leftover Coconut Rice from our Jerk Seitan the other night, but there really wasn't quite enough leftover to match the volume of the stewed lentils.  In the future, I think we'll need twice as much rice and I probably could have used more than 1 cup of diced tomatoes, too.  The 2 sausages instead of four, though, was right on.

After dinner, since it was Saturday and all, I made myself a little cocktail:

Pineapple Malibu Rum + 100% Papaya nectar + Lime Perrier

Speaking of fruity cocktails, Mister and I had brunch with my parents today (this appears to be turning into a monthly event) and while Mister and Mom stuck to French press coffee, Dad and I decided to celebrate the true nature of brunch: an excuse to drink frilly cocktails way too early in the day.

Closer to the camera is my beverage, April in Paris (st. germaine elderflower liquer + white wine + champagne).  I felt a little silly ordering it, with all that flowery name and whatnot, but I needn't have felt that way since my dad followed up by ordering a Ruby Slipper (absolut ruby red vodka + lime juice + triple sec + cranberry juice + champagne) which is the pretty pink drink further from the camera (and close to my father).

The menu at Valanni is pretty diverse and full of tasty-looking things beyond their fruitilicious cocktails (now might be a good - or damning - moment to point out that Valanni is a fabulously trendy hotspot in the heart of Philadelphia's "gayborhood").  I decided to get Cinnamon French Toast with a citrus glaze and vanilla-maple syrup, sprinkled with pecans and dried curants.  I had no idea how thick the bread would be!

For my savory side, I also ordered Roasted Potatoes which required me to ask our [very nice] server for salt - apparently the cook isn't a fan.  Roasted anything should always involve salt.  I guess you have to play it safe, though, when you're cooking for a bunch of strangers who may or may not have hypertension.

The purpose of my parents' visit was to bring me gifts from afar - Arizona, to be more specific.  The last time we had brunch with them was right before they left to visit my sister, so today was the "now we're home and we have presents" phase of brunch.  Oh, and also because we love each other.

Anyway, there were two big special presents that provoked the visit.  The first is this amazing handmade bowl:

The creator is Michael Nowack, a now-local artisan.  To my surprise, it is both microwave- and dishwasher-safe!  Add that to gorgeous and we have a winner!

Because my parents love my husband more than me, they also gave us two hot sauces and a grill spice mix that contains not just one kind of hot pepper - no, there are five chilies in that mix.  The pain they are clearly trying to inflict upon me, though, was balanced out by the sweetness of the other special gift.

This is Mesquite Flour.  I saw some in Essene yesterday, so it's comforting to know where I can get more if I need it, but this is "special" mesquite flour.  My sister, apparently an earth mother, plucked the pods from her very own mesquite tree and pounded them into this flour all by herself.

You know what they say: You can take the girl out of Africa, but you can't take Africa out of the girl.

Once we'd digested brunch and finished up any last-minute errands that needed running on the weekend, I made dinner.

This image just brings joy to my heart in that welling-over kind of way.  Doesn't that look tasty?  Hearty? Savory?  It doesn't hurt that it's also an attractive color combination, but anticipating the taste makes me want to drool even now.

I served up Pasta E Fagioli from Veganomicon with a delightful mixture of olives and the last of my Apothic Red.  I'm finishing the wine with a few squares of my dark Belgian chocolate from Trader Joe's (and kicking myself a little for not picking up another three bar set while I was there yesterday).

Farewell, Weekend, until we meet again!

red, red wine... stay close to me

So TGIF, right?  It's funny how certain vices are so culturally acceptable that you can gain acceptance and approval merely by giving the sight-unseen, I-could-be-a-liar-but-you-don't-know impression that the happiest way to welcome a Friday evening, once safely home from work, is by begging your bottle of wine not to stray too far from your side.

As though it can actually move without my help.

Social persuasion and acceptable conformity aside, I must admit I was pleased to find my darling Apothic Red at a $2-off discount upon my "detour" on the way home from work.  I'm trying to keep my wine-drinking to the weekend, so the little sale tag was a welcome sight and the familiar taste and scent were similarly comforting.

I didn't have the best day at work (that seems a trend lately, eh?) so I was glad that the less-than-coveted "Last Meal on the Menu" spot belonged to my very favorite recipe for beans-n-rice: Cajun Red Beans and Rice from The Accidental Vegan.

It was every bit as fabulous as I wanted it to be and the wine was a fairly complementary addition  Mister and I ate it all up, so if I haven't done so previously, let's add this to the No Leftovers pile.  Although I could probably go on and on about how awesome this recipe is, I'm sure I've done that already in plentiful previous posts about this dinner.  I'm hoping to have something slightly more exciting to babble about soon, so for now, the most exciting thing I can share with you is the new (exceptionally long for no good reason) menu:


1. Chickpea Croquettes with Green Salad Topping from Vegetarian Times: Quick and Healthy, which was really reprised from an earlier issue of the magazine I don't feel like finding right now.  I've made this before and it's a fun, light, quick summer meal.


2. Tuscan Vegetable Ragout from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy.  I figured it's been long enough since the last time I made this.  Hopefully, I can restrain at least some of my enthusiasm so I don't overcrowd the pot like I normally do.


3. Singapore-Style Rice Noodles with Snow Peas, Peppers, Cabbage, and Tofu also from Vegetarian Times: Fast and Easy.  I'm pretty confident that the reason I've never made this in all the time I've owned this cookbook (quite a few years now) is because the title is just overwhelmingly long.  I mean, seriously - once you've listed three vegetables, don't you think we could name it something like "Singapore-Style Noodles with Tofu and Vegetables"?  How likely is it, really, that simplifying the name would make it less appealing to someone looking for a "fast and easy" dinner recipe?  There's no need to list the ingredients in the title - it takes away all the mystery.


4. Chickpeas Romesco on Saffron-Garlic Rice, both from Veganomicon because one of my silly readers reminded me it was sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust and that made me sad.  Oh, and also because this is a kick-a$$ recipe.


5. Pasta Della California also from Veganomicon and also super-awesome.  Besides, my Sister-Trip is coming up - we've begun the "scheming an itinerary via email" phase of planning and squealing.


6. Pasta E Fagioli, also from Veganomicon.  It's still the reigning champ, so I figured it couldn't hurt to remind myself why.


7. Stewed Lentils with Soy Sausage from Vegan Express for two very viable reasons: one, I have an open package of Tofurky in my fridge that needs to be used (primarily the reason I sought this recipe out) and two, because my beluga lentils are threatening to find a different cupboard to live in - one where they'll occasionally get used.

longest week ever

I know I say this every Friday, but I am SO glad it's Friday and I'm home from work for two days.  Have you ever had one of those weeks that just never seemed to end?  It never happens when you have a ton to do and need more time, right?  Nooo... you only manage to squeeze that 25th hour in when all you want is for the day/week to be over.

I'm excited to be going to a cousin's wedding on Sunday - let's hope it doesn't rain!  I can't wait to see what a lovely bride she'll be and I'm thrilled with this completion of her family.  Her husband-to-be is a great guy - a true gentleman and a good father/provider.  They are such a great couple and I am delighted to be a part of the day they officially commit their lives to one another.

I wish I could say that was the only reason I wanted the week to pass quickly, but as you may have picked up from recent posts, things aren't going so well at work.  An image comes to mind...

Anyway, I really hit a wall last night.  Well, maybe yesterday in general.  Usually, I just have to give my brain/soul a little pep talk on the way to work, but my body cooperates with my efforts to force myself out of my home, onto the train, up the stairs, and into the cube farm.  Yesterday, even my body rebelled and I literally had to use my arms to force my legs to carry me into the office.  Yes, I do know what the word "literally" means and I do mean to use that word.

I narrowly avoided being whipped up into the Dark Clouds of the Apocalypse that chased me to the train on my way home, only to observe the hail hitting the windows once I was safely on board.  I didn't think it was supposed to rain until today, so I had no umbrella.  Fortunately, I found a very kind and amusingly chatty cab driver to take me home from the train station.  Obviously, my plans to coerce Mister into a dinner outside at Horizons (or even just Stella) were rained out, but I had absolutely no desire to cook.  At all.  Possibly for the rest of my life.

In case you were wondering, this is what dinner looks like on those nights.  It kind of looks like a jello mold, but with farfalle and purple cabbage, wouldn't you say?  It looks about that appetizing, too.  Fortunately, after a brief braise with about 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and a generous sprinkling of the Mediterranean Sea Salt, it tasted just fine.

I'll admit, though, it was kind of fun watching the perfectly molded leftovers escape the container in which they'd spent the last few days.

Tonight, though, I was perfectly and happily aware that it is Friday.  I made a little deal with God toward the later part of the afternoon.  It went something like this: "please don't let it rain until I have made it to the wine store and home safely."  There really wasn't any "and then I'll do this for you," part, unless you want to count my silent agreement to not throw a temper tantrum on 5th Street.  Fortunately, God loves me anyway; in fact, God loves me so much that it's still not raining.  Maybe we can make a deal for Cousin's outdoor wedding on Sunday?

With some help from an almost-missed treasure on the bottom-most shelf of one of the foreign wine sections, I gathered the ingredients for a hearty, flavorful, and elbow-grease-intensive Pasta Puttanesca with Artichokes, from The Complete Vegan Cookbook.  In addition to enlisting the assistance of my newly acquired bottle of Nederburg Pinotage (which I haven't had in about 10 years!), I got to snip some leaves off of my pretty, aromatic, kitty-seducing basil plant (which I have craftily hidden in the one windowsill he hasn't discovered yet).

I was a little worried about the contribution the artichokes would make, since I was supposed to get frozen, rather than canned (but did not).  Fortunately, since the artichoke hearts were simply soaking in salt water, rather than brine or marinade, they were actually somewhat overpowered by the pungent sauce.  I also used more red pepper flakes than I'm usually comfortable adding, which added a fun little kick in the throat.  This was good and I can certainly see myself making this again, but at this particular moment in time, I can't think of anything that makes this sauce outstanding against many other puttanesca recipes I have.