hurts so good/Mister saves the day

I truly don't know how these things happen.  I thought I was finally finished my food shopping when I walked out of Trader Joe's this evening, only to get home and start making Granada Paella from The Urban Vegan and discover that I was short a red bell pepper.  I don't know how many times Mister has gone out after I started making dinner to get something I was missing (tortilla chips, refried beans, spinach, to name a few) but we can add Red Bell Pepper to the list.

He came back with a brown paper bag and my spidey-sense* told me the red pepper was not alone.  Indeed, after Mister pulled out the pepper, he smiled and reached back into the bag and gave me chocolate, "because you ran out."  What a sweetheart! because I did eat my last mini-chocolate bar from the halloween candy last night.  I thought it was sweet that he wanted to be as vigilant about my dark chocolate supply as I am about his bread supply.
*spidey-sense: the magical ability of wives to know beyond any shadow of doubt that their husbands will return home with at least 1 item more than they were sent out to get.  I inherited mine from my mother and that's why my dad isn't allowed to go to Pepperidge Farm unchaperoned.

Anyway, I recognized that Mister was probably about to be even more helpful as I was cooking dinner.

I love this recipe - truly I do - but I keep forgetting how now that I make it correctly, it burns my face off.  This is normally how dinner goes when I make this:
Bite 1: mmmm....tasty, but hey, that's a little spicy!
Bite 2: umm.....
Bite 3: chokecough
water break
get a few more bites in: face starts to feel a little hot around the ears, eyes, and nose
water break
few more bites: nose starts running
wipe nose
water break
few more bites: now my tongue and lips are burning at a steady rate, almost ignorable
few more bites: can't quite feel my tongue
Time for 2nds! (can't help it - it tastes so good it's worth the pain)
grand finale: my nose is red, my ears are red, my nose is sniffly, my lips are burning and my tongue is nearly numb... and my husband, who by now has plowed through three bowls without blinking or taking more than two sips of water, is laughing at me.

As I've learned previously, the best way to treat these "symptoms" is with dark chocolate.

Thank you, Mister

Although Angst initially showed some interest in dinner, it didn't take long for him to decide he wasn't terribly interested in whatever was making his Lady disintegrate, so he found something else to be far more interesting than our dinner time talk about dubstep. [By the way - if you want to see something incredible, click here and prepare to hold your breath for about 6 minutes.]

Inside that large Williams-Sonoma bag live some other, smaller paper bags.  Just before we sat down, Mister added the little brown sack from Essene to that bag, but Angst really wanted it.  This is the last in a series of pictures of him climbing into the larger bag to snuffle at and try to retrieve "his" bag.

my bag.  mine.

tonight's winners: Angst and Chorizo

At work, we frequently run little daily contests to inspire our sales agents to do their very best (Silly me, I usually regard that as "work ethic," but what do I know?).  Since our sales department is open from 7am until Midnight, there are a number of shifts that spread across the day, so normally, we'll have a "day shift" winner and and "evening shift" winner.

Angst is our Morning Winner.  I guess.  Remember the struggle of skill and wit that has been playing itself out in our kitchen?  Last night, the score was stuck at Mouse 2, Me 'n' Mister 0.  This morning, the score changed a little... as of this morning, the score was Mouse 2, Me 'n' Mister 0, and Angst Won.  In case I needed a reminder that Angst is neither vegan nor buddhist, stumbling out of the bedroom to find him batting a dead mouse around the kitchen is a great way to remember.  By great I actually mean nauseating and not the best way to wake up.  I was simultaneously proud of him for behaving like a cat and so, so sorry the little mousey wouldn't let Mister and I catch him and release him into a nice, grassy, cat-free area.

Mister was proud of me for disposing of the mouse without waking him up, even though he told me I could have.

Evening Winner

I had intended to make Mama Pea's Chickpeas and Dumplings tonight, but for inexplicable reasons, I walked into a home that was in no way as chilly as I needed it to be to want to make a homey, hearty stew with dumplings.  Mister decided it wasn't hot enough to have the A/C on, which I appreciate as our financial situation could almost always be better, but I have to admit - I disagreed.  Nevertheless, my desire to make the stew was gone with the air, so I opted to make the Chorizo Veggie Wrap from Katie Briggs at Philly Broadcaster.

Freeing the vegan chorizo from the "casing" came the closest I've been to feeling completely disgusted toward meat since...well, since this morning.  I did my best to banish thoughts of dead mice from my visual memory as I squished the bloody red faux sausage out of its plastic tube and into the sizzling skillet.  It immediately smelled the way I thought it should, which was delicious, by the way.  It smelled very similar to the chorizo they use at Farmicia, but as I ate my dinner I became convinced that it is most certainly not the same, since my face has never actually caught fire at Farmicia.

Fortunately, I was generous in my slathering of guacamole.   I didn't realize at the time that it would save my face from falling off; I just really like this guacamole.  It's the best guacamole ever.  It's so good that I have absolutely no problem sneaking up on strangers at Whole Foods and telling them they should buy it because they'll never eat better guacamole.  It's so good I can ignore the frugal side of me nagging about how there's no good reason it should be that darn expensive.  No reason except that it's the best guacamole ever.  So, since I had applied about a half-inch layer of guacamole, I was able to at least partially battle the chorizo for the ethical treatment of my tongue.

The arugula added a fun crunch and a bit of cool, crispness amidst a very spicy dinner.  Unfortunately, it had the tendency to grab hold of something slimy of either the guac or chorizo persuasion and attach that thing to my lips when it slurped past.  In the future, I'll probably chop up the arugula so it just sits there like it's supposed to with its little green hands folded in its little green lap.

Seriously, though, these wraps are phenomenal.  The chorizo was quite a bit spicier than I expected it to be (for no good reason, other than the less spicy nature of the chorizo at Farmicia).  In fact, it was so spicy that I went through two large glasses of water and a small cup of almond milk and Mister laughed at my red nose and sweaty brow.  But, it was so tasty that I still had a second [smaller] wrap [loaded high with mouth-saving guac], even though I knew it would burn my lips.

But hey, that's what chocolate's for, right?

I've found that spicy things make me crave chocolate.  I'm sure there's a scientific reason, but I'm not terribly interested in that right now.  What I am interested in is how Trader Joe's packs so much amazing taste into these little dark chocolate bars?  What's even better?  They sell these 1.65 oz Belgian chocolate bars in three-packs at the cash registers for about half of what I normally pay for one Endangered Species bar.

Good thing I plan to go back for more chorizo....

curry fail, dinner win

If you could imagine a bizarre meeting of flavor and texture, what would it be?  Would it be sweet and gritty? Bland and crunchy?  Savory and vinegary?  What would your bizarre combination look like?  Would it be deep jewel-toned or a pale marigold?  A murky green or possibly a effervescent blue?  What about smell?  Would it smell like it tasted or would you be completely led astray?

Although my entire menu comes from Vegan on the Cheap, a book I've spent a lot of time in while feeling particularly stretched or impoverished, I still managed to eek out a few recipes I hadn't made yet that didn't contain ingredients to which Mister is "allergic."  Tonight, I made Coconut Curry Rice, which didn't have a single fresh ingredient, to my dismay.  Nevertheless, it was fabulous.

To look at it, you wouldn't think it different from any other coconut curry I've made (and considering Mister's love of curry, I've made plenty).  If you let yourself believe that, though, you would be horribly mistaken and I can't let you do that to yourself.

I started cooking and got as far as sauteing the garlic, and then the rice, then adding the veggie broth and creamy coconut milk...while it was simmering away at perhaps too lively a pace, I suddenly realized I had forgotten to add a crucial ingredient - the curry powder!  Otherwise, it would just be Coconut....Rice with veggies.  Mmmm... I can hear Mister hiding now.  I crouched down and started poking through my alphabetized spices, measuring spoon in hand, and there was no curry to be found.  Well, okay, the Muchi Curry of Doom was still there and probably will be for the rest of time, but my regular curry powder was gone!

Fortunately, thanks to my mother-in-law and Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, I had been concocting my own curry mixes long before I found that magical orange powder at Whole Foods.  I grabbed a juice glass and started emptying various spices into it.  When it appeared I had combined about 2-3 tsp of cumin, coriander, garam masala, muchi curry, celery seed, turmeric, chili powder, cardamom, and salt, I stirred everything together with a chopstick (I'm so multicultural) and dumped it into the bubbling coconut rice.

I must have had some clue what I was doing, because it turned an attractive shade of golden orange and tasted just like it should have.  There was an occasional "grassy" bite when you'd break open a celery seed, but I'd say it'll do in a pinch.  The scent of the "curry powder" combined with coconut milk was kind of other-worldly and the texture was akin to a savory rice pudding.  Mister doesn't like rice pudding, but I do, so I was pretty excited about the world of possibilities this opens.

After plowing through two bowls, I decided to practice enough restraint to guarantee leftovers sufficient for work-lunch.  I calmed the curry flavors still dancing on my coconut-sweetened tongue by trying out a new bar of dark chocolate.

Divine 70% Dark Chocolate absolutely lives up to its lofty name.  If the wrapper is not gorgeous enough, just look at that chocolate!  I might need just a nibble more.  Anyway, I can't stop myself from getting good, quality chocolate when I know it was also produced in a way that benefits more than just my tastebuds.  Divine Chocolate is 45% farmer-owned and fair trade certified, not to mention evidently free of animal products.  People think you have to make huge sacrifices all the time in order to live ethically.  This chocolate will prove them wrong.

On a lighter note, how about some fun pictures?

In October, my cousin got married in a small, private ceremony.  Yesterday, her in-laws hosted a reception to celebrate their marriage.  They had their "first dance" to "My Eyes Adored You," which my mother told me my father always thought was "My Sweet Georgia."  Listen - the next time you hear it, you'll know what I'm talking about.  During the dance, their little son became jealous that Daddy had Mommy all to himself and pretty much hung on my cousin's leg until she picked him up and let him join their dance.  After the dance, they cut their cake and fed each other.  The picture above shows my cousin getting "gotten" by her husband while her father takes a picture of the cake all over her pretty face.

This morning, while I was getting ready to go to work, I heard a rustling in Mister's room.  Mister was fast asleep in our bed, so I knew our little Monster was up to something.  I went in to find he had a new happy place.

He loves to crawl inside of Mister's various duffle and messenger bags.  In this picture he looks really small...don't let your eyes deceive you - that's just a really big bag.  I'm pretty sure I could hide in it if I wanted to.

Right before I walked out the door, I felt a pair of eyes on me and found that he had managed to get onto these shelves in the closet by my little work area.  I have no idea how he got up there and he appeared to have no idea how he was going to get down, but I think he's going to be very sad when we finally unpack everything and put stuff on all his fun places.

He does have his own little "bedroom" again, though...the space just below him has his blanket and pillow, as well as his litter box.  I guess he's just hanging out in the loft space, if you look at it like that!

delicious surprise

Longer ago than I want to admit, in what feels like a different lifetime, I was hopelessly addicted to Star Search.  Does anyone remember that?  Every weekend, I would park myself in front of the TV to watch America's youth compete against one another to see who was the best - kind of like American Idol, but without all the drama and caustic wit.  I won't deny that as I watched Ed McMahon introduce the acts and congratulate the winners, I harbored a secret hope that one day, I would appear on that show and take home top honors.

When I was 14, my love affair with Star Search ended.  That may have been the year it went off the air, but it was definitely the year I lost interest in watching it - you might call it the beginning of becoming jaded.  My family went to the shore for a week, and although we programmed the VCR (with a VHS tape and everything!) to record my favorite show, something went awry and when I popped in the video, full of anticipation after a week at the shore, all I saw was TV snow.  This was disappointing beyond the feeble reach of language and I'll tell you why.  For about 13 weeks, I had watched with something akin to pride as this funky late teen named Beth Hart swept, week after week.  You couldn't touch her; she had Star written all over her - she had a great look and the confidence of a rockstar, strutting around the stage, interacting with the audience.  Better still, she knew it - at the end of every song she performed, you could tell she knew she nailed it.

The weekend I missed was the weekend she won.  I never got to see her winning performance or celebrate for the girl I had tuned in specifically to see for 13 weeks straight.  I turned on the TV the week after and she was nowhere.  I stopped watching.

So, that was kind of a bummer way to start, huh?  The point is I stole my post title from one of her songs - one more flashback and I promise I'll stop.  God only knows how many years after all this, possibly during college, I heard this amazing song on the radio and then the announcer said a name I hadn't heard since the beginning of my adolescence - apparently, Beth Hart went on to make it pretty big.  I went out and immediately bought Screaming For My Supper, which had a song called "Delicious Surprise," with spicy lyrics like "If I won me the lottery, I'd dance naked in the streets with a top hat full of money.  You'd wanna get to know me, if I won me the lottery."

I had two delicious surprises tonight.  The first was dinner (appropriately): we had Quinoa Bulgur, Kale, and White Bean Stew from Appetite for Reduction.

The title could lead a person to believe it would be a thin, anemic soup, which is probably where Mister's lack of enthusiasm came from.  A person would be wrong, though - want to know what's propping up all that glorious kale?  Cups and cups of diced potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and leeks.  This stew was so flavorful, it didn't even matter I was one clove of garlic short.  It starts with a generous herb blend: marjoram, thyme, and the mystery spice, the thing that makes you go "hmmm?"  Crushed Fennel Seed.  It's so subtle, you don't even notice it until you pause for a sip of water and you think to yourself, "what is that sweet, anise-y taste, lingering along the sidelines of my mouth?"  It enhances the overall flavor of the stew without ever drawing attention to itself.  That's something I really like about Isa's soup - I have probably 100 soup/stew recipes, but hers are always amazing and I think the reason is because she always incorporates a little something that throws your tastebuds for a loop and makes your brain shake itself off for a second look.  Tarragon in lentil stew, fennel seed with kale and potatoes, the mellow warmth of roasted garlic.

I'm going to go enjoy my second delicious surprise while I craft the new menu.  My Beaujolais-Villages is already poured and "breathing" and I found a dessert-sized chunk of Vivani dark chocolate in my cupboard.  Bon appetit!

stress relief isn't always chocolate-flavored

It's here!  The moment you've all been waiting for - the post for which you've been holding your breath!  The Great Vegan Chocolate Round-Up.  Yes, I am a woman of my word.  But first, a lesson in stress relief, should you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being destitute in chocolate possession.

Mashing a can of black beans until they look like the picture above just might be the best way to relieve stress I've found in 2010.  Sure, eating too much chocolate and occasionally drowning in wine might be fun, but beating the pulp (quite literally) out of a pile of beans is pretty darn rewarding.

What was even more rewarding was when they [eventually] held together and really did let me form them into Better Bean Burgers from Vegan on the Cheap.

Mister and I agree that I should have smushed the patties a little thinner to make them more crunchy and less mushy, but the Vital Wheat Gluten ended up doing exactly what it was supposed to and forming these into some pretty "meaty" (if not a little squishy) "burgers."

I placed each burger between two halves of an Arnold's Sandwich Thin and served with a healthy side of fries.  What you can't see in this picture is Mister's healthy side of condiments, because heaven forbid he should taste the food.  Anyway, the Better Bean Burgers were tasty and relatively simple to make once the beans were mashed.  Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll always have days when a little bean-mashing might help, so it's good to know I can turn that aggression into a tasty meal!

Now, my patient, dedicated readers, it's time for dessert (long overdue).

By way of introduction and explanation, I set out on this journey quite selfishly.  I love chocolate and I love excuses to eat chocolate.  That being said, I especially enjoy savoring my chocolate and I would rather have one really good small square than an entire bar of something I'm eating just because it's chocolate.  Life is too short and calories too precious for either to be squandered on less than the best chocolate.  While trying to discover the best ways to spend my time, money, and calories, I figured I would share my findings so that you might find it easier to navigate the road of vegan confections (if you're new to this game) or possibly get a pointer from someone who has traveled this road before.  Katie, I'm looking at you.

The contenders?

• Theo Mint Dark Chocolate 70% cacao
• Bug Bites by Endangered Species
• Equal Exchange Very Dark Chocolate 71% cacao
• Newman's Own Organics Dark Chocolate 54% cacao
• Green & Black's Dark 70%
• I very much enjoyed the Vivani I bought a few weeks before this idea popped into my head, but I wanted to focus on chocolates I hadn't tried yet, so you can see what I have to say about Vivani here, with the added endorsement that I will absolutely buy it again.
• I have had Endangered Chocolate bars before and find them completely enjoyable.  Feel free to read about my first encounter with this vegan chocolate here.

The Criteria:  I tasted, savored, and chewed my way through these delights with these things in mind:

• texture
• "darkness"
• savorability (on a scale of 1-5, 1 being the least and 5 being the greatest)
• nutritional profile
• company karma

Theo Mint Dark Chocolate was first on this reviewer's tongue.  It had a smooth, velvety texture, as well as a bittersweet darkness that was perfectly accentuated by the mint, resulting in a savorability score of 4.  I liked that there were only 5 ingredients, although as I made my way through the rest of my chocolates, I discovered that to be a theme.  That just shows how brainwashed I had been by commercial candy producers, to be impressed by simple, pure ingredients with no more than three syllables per word.

The whole bar was 420 calories, 34g fat (20g sat.fat), 22g sugar, 8g fiber, and 6g protein.  However, one of the things I enjoyed most about this bar was that it was divided into 6 perfectly-sized mini-bars (think Hershey's fun-sized), which make a much more palatable nutritional profile.  Assuming you can practice self-control and eat one sixth at a time, you'll only set yourself back 70 calories, 6g fat and 3.5g sugar, which is a small price to pay for dessert.

In terms of company karma, Theo has a pretty good leg up on other chocolate companies.  They were the first organic, fair trade chocolatier in North America and they invite consumers to visit the facility in Seattle.  "Best of all, Theo Chocolate tastes amazing because it's made with love, integrity and only the highest quality, sustainably sourced ingredients."  This is a company you and I can feel good about supporting.

 Next up, we have Bug Bites, individually wrapped .35oz pieces of dark chocolate by Endangered Species.  I grabbed one of these little guys on my way through check-out at Essene one day, figuring it was the perfect size to be a nice dessert one night without making a commitment to a whole bar of chocolate.  The texture was smooth enough to seem creamy, earning it a savorability rating of 4.5 and the dark but sweet flavor brought out the deep berry notes in the Beaujolais I was drinking alongside.  Something I found a bit alarming and a little charming was when I opened the wrapper, a small square picture of a Green Darner dragonfly greeted me.  I don't know why I wasn't expecting that.  Bug Bites are certified organic by both the USDA and Oregon Tilth.  They are also gluten free, kosher, and vegan.  A serving size (see nutritional label ^) is 4 pieces, but I found one to be completely adequate for satiating my chocolate cravings for only 50 calories, 4g fat, and 2.5 g sugars.

 Equal Exchange Very Dark Chocolate (71%) absolutely lived up to its name.  The chocolate was extremely dark with a strange hint of fruit juice at the end.  I couldn't quite make out whether it seemed to be a berry or citrus flavor, but it wasn't overwhelming either way.  For savorability, this bad boy was the favorite, coming in at a perfect 5.  The chocolate is fair trade, kosher, organic, and the cacao comes from small worker-owned co-ops in Latin America.  If that doesn't get you karma points, please tell me what does!  
 
The nutritional information is a little alarming, but once again, this bar can be broken into sixths for long-term enjoyment, bringing your evening dessert to 92 calories, 7g fat (4g sat.) and 4.5g sugar for 4 squares of dark chocolatey goodness.

Newman's Own Organics Dark Chocolate (54%) was far sweeter than the others and almost fudge-like in texture.  Honestly, it was cloyingly sweet and it may have been the lower cacao content, but I would be borderline on labeling this as dark chocolate.  I suppose its saving grace was the lack of dairy that would deem it Milk Chocolate, although that does have me pondering what SoyMilk Chocolate might taste/feel like.  Unfortunately, the overwhelming sweetness lowered its rank on savorability to a 3.  The whole bar has 470 calores, 32g fat (19g sat), 41g sugars, 4g protein.  The bar is divided into 8 squares and 2 seemed an adequate dessert which would still set you up with the scariest nutritional profile yet: 117 calories, 8g fat, and 10g sugar.  As for karma to balance that mess out?  Well, they are USDA certified organic as well as Rain Forest alliance certified.  I love their cookies, but I'm really not impressed with the chocolate.

 Green & Black's Dark 70% will bring this party home.  I picked up one of the "fun-sized" bars, weighing in at 1.2 oz, which is only slightly above the recommendation for daily dark chocolate intake.  Yes, that's what I said - due to the happiness-inducing qualities of the flavanoids (antioxidents) present in dark chocolate, health/wellness professionals recommend eating 1 oz of dark chocolate daily, especially through the winter months when people are at risk of developing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  That's right, folks, put away your artificial sun lamps and buy yourself 100 oz of dark chocolate!

Anyway, this little bugger is the only chocolate on our round-up with a foreign accent: distributed internationally, these tasty little treats were made in Italy!  Like the other chocolates reviewed, G&Bs are organic and paired well with Beaujolais.  This bar was adequately dark, but not outstanding and not quite as smooth as the other chocolates.  The wrapper is sophisticated and attractive, but the chocolate itself started out a little "waxy" for lack of a better term, which influenced its overall savorability, earning another 3.  The best thing about this bar is its size - I found half the bar to be quite sufficient for an after-dinner treat, but even if you ate the entire "Little Taste of Green & Black's" you would still only eat 190 calories, 14g fat (8g sat), 10g sugars, 4g fiber, and 3g protein.

So, there you have it - my Super-Duper, Organic, Good-Karma, Vegan Dark Chocolate Round-up.  I sure hope it was worth the wait!  Did I miss anything you were hoping to see?  Did I miss anything you love and think I should eat?  Let me know!  Until tomorrow, Champagne wishes and dark chocolate dreams!

chickpeas and chocolate

Before you ask (in case your memory is super-sharp), No, I have not made chocolate hummus yet.  It is most definitely still on my imaginary To Do list, but it is yet unmade.

Why don't we back up to last night's dinner then?  We took a second go-around with Colleen's Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew, but this time I left off the saffron.  Despite that exclusion, when I tasted the simmering broth halfway through, it was undeniably sweeter than I thought it should be.  I held off on adding a glug of tamari like I really really wanted to and instead doused it with a healthy shake of salt.

It's really a very attractive dish - bright and colorful, just brimming with the colors you can imagine as scarves tied to the poles holding up tents at a Moroccan bazaar.  I served it over top of Israeli couscous, and I would like to record here, for future reference (most likely my own), that it takes about 7 minutes of boiling for Israeli couscous to be al dente.  Israeli couscous is delightfully light, so it felt like I was eating a fluffy white cloud.

Mister had picked up something I consider utterly revolting at the corner store because he thought it would help him sleep.  We've been having another fun bout of insomnia, so at this point, I was pretty on board with almost anything non-habitforming that would help him get some much-needed sleep, but I really wasn't expecting this:

Drank is formulated to thoroughly relax the person drinking (dranking?) it.  On the back, where it touts the chillaxing ingredients, such as melatonin, valerian root, and rose hips, it also carries the following "pieces of advice."  It is not advised to have more than 2 servings in a 24 hour period - mind you, there are two servings in one can.  Also, it is advised that the user drinker not drive while drinking it.  I read a review of this magical beverage and became a little doubtful that it was anything more than some genius attempt to make a dime off my husband's inability to sleep soundly.

He wanted to drink it right after dinner, because he was thirsty.  I had to beg him to hold off until later,  "just in case" it worked and knocked him out.  Meanwhile, I was hurrying to get a batch of cupcakes done by Midnight - Mister's birthday.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, frosted with melted Dark Chocolate Dreams.  These are absolutely the richest baked treats I have ever made.  They are so good, but holy cow!  These are the first cupcakes I have ever made that were so intense, Mister and I could both only handle one heaven-sent cupcake each. 

I just realized how gluttonous that sounded.  Unfortunately, I'll take this moment to confess - normally, if I make cupcakes or muffins, we each have 2 right out of the oven, and if I make cookies, we usually have between 5-6 the night I make them.

Anyway, Mister made it to Midnight, I said "Happy Birthday" and presented him with a frosted cupcake (since birthday cakes always have icing), and then I let him drink his Drank.  I tried a sip, and ironically, it tasted like a watered-down energy drink.  I prefer the bite of Red Bull, as well as its effects, but I will say one thing:  Mister slept like the dead last night.

We had a pretty relaxed day in celebration of Mister's Birthday as well as his first day off since last week.  We slept until about 11:30, which is more and more rare these days, and after a leisurely time waking up, we took a little field trip to Mister's Toy Store: Radio Shack.  He was like a child, rifling gleefully through bins to find the strange little things he will stick together to create a sound-making apparatus (some people call them amplifiers).  About 30 minutes later and a bit lighter of purse, we left with Mister's Bag O' Goodies in tow and he's been playing with them pretty much all day.

Meanwhile, I made Curried Cauliflower, Garbanzo, and Tomato Salad from The Complete Vegan Cookbook.  It had to marinate for a few hours, so I started my chopping, mixing, and marinating during the rainy afternoon.  By dinner time, all I had to do was tear up the butter lettuce and scoop the vegetables over top of it.

In addition to being pretty, it tasted pretty good.  Although the cauliflower was steamed before I marinated it, it was still pretty crunchy and it took me a while to chew my way through dinner.  Nevertheless, it was filling but not bloating and now I am relaxing with a few squares of dark chocolate and a glass (or two) of Montepulciano.

who needs holidays when there are mondays?

And now the whole world thinks I'm crazy :)

But really - let's compare: Christmas/Chanukkah? People more or less "expect" presents. Gifts are part and parcel with family-oriented holidays...and birthdays...and anniversaries. If a date on a calendar could possibly mean anything then a gift is probably warranted.

[Amusing sidenote: last Christmas, my sister gave us a Peace Corps calendar marking every holiday observed in every country ever, so every single day is a holiday somewhere. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Estonians everywhere a Happy Rebirth Day!]

Monday, on the other hand? No gifts required, much less expected (as much as anyone should really expect a freely given token of love). So, then, if an amazing husband were to surprise his wife with gifts upon her return home from work one Monday, wouldn't they mean that much more?

Our anniversary was three weeks ago. My birthday is still two months away. Though malls everywhere may protest, it is not, in fact, Christmastime yet. We aren't in the habit of celebrating Estonian holidays, as neither of us has Estonian blood. So why did I get presents after my greeting hug & kisses?

sweet, sweet love...

I was absolutely ecstatic about the Endangered Species Chocolate bar. I have seen it all over blogs and magazines lately and I can't find anything to hate about a chocolate company that donates 10% of its earnings to protecting wildlife, while proving that life without Godiva may be worth living after all. Now that I have happily savored one of the three little squares of 70% cocoa dark chocolate hiding beneath that very dignified wrapper, I can happily proclaim my love for this bar. Who knew vegan chocolate could be quite this good? Also, I have never had dried blueberries in my candy before. That made me ever-so-slightly wary, but it was awesome! The tartness of those tiny wild blueberries actually enhanced the bittersweetness of the dark chocolate.

I haven't had the Maple Candy yet...to be honest, looking at it makes my teeth hurt. It's absolutely gorgeous - the little maple sugar crystals glisten and sparkle like any maple-leaf-shaped ornament ready to decorate a Douglas Fir, but the idea of putting it in my mouth is a little daunting. My plan is to break into it on some lazy day that I can pawn the uneaten parts off on my coffee or oatmeal. I like the story behind the Coombs Family Farm, though.

Me, though? I'm going to dwell on what a great husband I have.

If ever there was a segue into something I meant to cover last night, that was it. I alluded to the holiday season when I began my ramblings about what it means to me to slowly become vegan, but I ran out of words and steam before remembering. It's been on my mind again especially since I came home to unexpected presents after a day of feeling built up by some colleagues.

I've mentioned Chocolate-Covered Katie multiple times over the months since I found her blog. I told you about Hug-A-Carb month and how that spilled over to Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness. I directed you to her cookware.com giveaway and today, she announced her Big, Fat Chocolate giveaway!

Her enthusiasm and joy are contagious apparently (and I'll take that over the Swine Flu any day). Between her good humor about damn near everything and a surprisingly thought-provoking article I read in the November Reader's Digest, I'm in a mood to count my blessings.

The season of Advent is a special time for me...Christmastime. It is a time for reflections, sometimes an opportunity to start over, sometimes a moment to wander the streets of Nostalgia and wonder when things got so damn complicated. I'm not going to pretend that if we all just embrace the holiday season with the innocence of children that we will magically transport ourselves to a simpler time, but why not take a step back anyway?

I have decided that from Thanksgiving until Christmas, I will take time each day to count my blessings. At the very least, I will find four things about each Today that make me happy. I don't have any spiffy graphics because I'm art-retarded, especially when it comes to computers, but I hereby dub that time Operation Gratitude Attitude and will do my best to blog every day, even if only a few words to record what I am grateful for that day. I would love it if you would all play along - I know there are a decent number of people (maybe even more than I realize) who read this blog regularly but have never commented or do so only rarely. I want you to share what you are grateful for with me! Let's do this together - I will tell you four things each day that I feel blessed to be/have/see/taste/etc and all you have to do is leave me a comment with just one of your blessings. Do we have a deal?

I'll start:
I am grateful for my loving, faithful, generous, kind, and compassionate husband. (I could keep going, too.)
I am grateful that my parents are still alive and still married...to each other - December 6th will be their 40th wedding anniversary!
I am grateful to be the sister of a woman who can climb mountains, leap from cliffs, and save lives...all in one day.
I am grateful that I love my in-laws and they love me.

What are you grateful for?

3 meals, 3 things

It was a dark and stormy night...the rain beat against the windowpanes and below the window, cars could be heard splashing through the puddles. Angst had tucked his feet beneath his body and greatly resembled a large, fuzzy, gray egg.

So I made one of the most colorful meals imaginable, just for spite.
Tonight I made Fiestadillas again, although I did actually add a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella to each one to help it adhere to the tortilla better. It kind of worked, though I probably could have used more cheese. Surprisingly, I just wasn't all that interested in piling on something that used to be a favorite food and now seems to be loaded with unhealthiness. Don't mind me - I'm just over-analyzing. I did actually take a picture this time!Also, in my continuing attempt to make "well-rounded" and balanced meals, I made a side dish - Spiced Potatoes & Green Beans from the September Cooking Light magazine. It was pretty easy, smelled great, tasted even better, and to my delight and astonishment, it looked very much like it did in the magazine!No cupcake stories today...and it turns out my assistance is needed at work tomorrow, so I will have to hold off on my good-neighbor-cupcake-baking until Sunday (as well as the accompanying story). I won't leave you sweet-less, though!

When I was at Whole Foods the other day, I picked up this sweet treat - Clif nectar cacao bar, flavor: dark chocolate walnut.

At 160 calories and delivering two servings of fruit cloaked in the most realistic dark chocolate taste and texture I've found yet, this chocolate-oriented fruit & nut bar is my winner (as far as vegan chocolate fun goes). It actually reminded me a little of the first bar of vegan chocolate I ever ate, on my honeymoon in Lake Tahoe. My (brand new) husband and I went to a paradise within my heaven: a wine and chocolate store. Honestly - the only thing better than a wine & gourmet chocolate store was that it was located in the most beautiful and peaceful place I have ever been. So anyway, we gawked at $500 bottles of special vintage wines, poked at some way-too-exotic-for-our-tastes chocolates and ended up leaving with about $50 worth of organic, fair-trade, and vegan chocolates.

Not a bad flavor association for a $1.19 bar made of dates, walnuts, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and vanilla (all organic) that can be easily purchased a mere 5 blocks from my home (rather than about 3,000 miles). So I think it goes without saying I was very happy with this bar and it will definitely find its way into my basket again!

I feel like it's Reverse Day. I started the blog with dinner, babbled about my midday snack, and now I'm going to tell you about breakfast (because I just remembered). Anyway, I think I got all my fruit servings in for the day with this morning's breakfast: Oatmeal, cooked in unsweetened soy milk, but here's the twist: I hulled 5 large strawberries and peeled my two remaining bananas, stuck them in my handy food processor, then stirred the resulting slop into my oatmeal. Oh my heavens was it good! It was just the right amount of sweet and perfectly thick. I was only going to do one banana until I realized that if I left the other one hanging there, fruit flies would take control of my home.

One last thing before I go - if you're feeling philosophical, check out my old buddy's new blog:
3 Things in DC.