somethin' in the works

Yes.... I know I suck at posting recently.  I'm sorry.  But you're tired of hearing me apologize for sporadic posting anyway, aren't you?

I could babble about why I haven't been posting but it comes down to this: I don't find it interesting to post about recipes I've made multiple times and if I don't have anything interesting or entertaining to say, I don't want to post just for the sake of keeping up the blog.

Stick with me, folks.  Not giving away anything just yet, but stay tuned - something's coming.

Soon.

:)

While we're waiting, though, why don't you page through some of my older posts?  I used to put together some fairly entertaining posts when I was still figuring out this crazy cooking thing!  Pick a post you enjoyed, then click on one of the tags for other posts like it.  Or, just pick a random past month to check out.

If you want to laugh at someone being completely random and scatterbrained, check out December of any year and January of 2010.
If you want to think deeply, check out October 2009 or the tag Operation Gratitude Attitude (November through December 2009).
If you like faerietales, read the posts I wrote about PIFA, either by using the PIFA tag or by going to April 2011.
If you want to know more about the information that led to my decision to "go vegan," check out my multi-part review of Skinny Bitch between August and October of 2010.
If you need a suggestion, leave me a comment with what you want to read about/learn and I'll point you in the right direction.

No food pictures because you've seen them all before.  How about an Angst picture?

How about his Greatest Hits?

See you soon!

oh holy hotness

Once again, I am not talking about me here.

Tonight's dinner was Veggie Goulash from La Dolce Vegan.  Mister and I felt that the best way to chose between the final two dinners on the menu was to evaluate which veggies were closest to becoming science experiments in the crisper - the shriveling zucchini won.

I got about the gathering and prepping of ingredients and realized that I was missing a couple of ingredients.  It isn't a very far stretch to substitute basil for marjoram, but I will admit, it took me a moment or two to figure out what to do about the vegetable bouillon cube I didn't have because I used it to recreate my Sayadia on Wednesday.  I decided to use the maximum paprika - 2 teaspoons - as well as a sprinkling of curry powder, along with 1 scant cup of water.  It came out well, even if it made my mouth into a fireball and my face began to sweat and my nose threatened to run while Mister laughed at what a weenie I am and I thanked God for how effective dry red wine is at putting out mouth-fires.

One of these days I should have Mister take a picture of what happens to my face if I eat something my Irish tastebuds perceive to be "too spicy."

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to mix up the paprika a little - 1 tsp of Spanish paprika (mild) and 1 tsp of Hot Hungarian paprika.  I really, truly did not expect it to pack that much fire.  It's a gorgeous shade of red, yes, but so is "normal" paprika - the kind that doesn't make me think the Coconut Bliss in my freezer would be a good intermezzo to my dinner. 

Remember Operation Gratitude Attitude?
1. I am grateful that I had the foresight and self-knowledge to start with just one tsp of the hot stuff.
2. I am grateful that SuperTuscans are dry enough to partially smother the fire that had dominated my mouth by the time Mister helped his Hot Greek Self to seconds.
3. I am grateful that I have a tasty pint of Coconut Bliss in my freezer (talk about intense chocolate - you need to try this!).
4. I'm grateful that it is Friday night.  That actually has nothing at all to do with dinner.  I'm just glad as heck these past two weeks finally ended.

you learn something new every day (if you pay attention)

Today I learned what an incredible difference organic dried basil makes. It smells noticeably better than "regular" dried basil. The flakes are larger and greener, making it look not quite as dried as the grey-leaf variety (I don't think they do that on purpose, though). The difference in taste, though, was absolutely astonishing. You really wouldn't think that a dried herb being organic would make that big of a difference. You would be wrong.

Yesterday, I learned that Angst Loves Salads as much as he loves plain old spinach. As I have probably made clear in several posts in the past 7 weeks, I am in full-on NeedFreshThings mode. As a result of that and my recent Salad Fails (thanks, Wawa), I have reverted to what I know: If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That would be less insulting and more accurate, though, if it was:

If you want something done your way, go to Burger King or do it yourself.

Since we're not a big BK family, you can see where this is going. When I set the salads down on the table tonight and returned to the stove to get the soup, I turned around to find Angst sitting in my chair (with impeccable posture), getting dangerously close to my salad. When we eat, he just begs pitifully. We've shared a variety of the mixed greens with him and he seems to enjoy them all, though he is apparently of the opinion that some greens must age, so he'll leave them on the kitchen floor and walk away, but come back in a few minutes acting like it's Christmas and eat them all up.

Anyway, on Sunday night, I made the simply titled Lo Mein from The Accidental Vegan.
I must admit, when I looked at my bowl-o-noodles, I thought it was going to be really bland. I almost brought the tamari to the table in case we needed a little more flavor. I completely underestimated the funny little chinese noodles' ability to soak up the tasty pan sauce after I sauteed the veggies - it was extremely flavorful! I haven't included zucchini in a stir-fry in quite a while, but I was happy with how it came out. Since I have gotten into the habit of assembling our salads while dinner is simmering or doing something else that does not require the constant attention that a stir-fry demands, I just skipped the salads on Sunday.

On Monday, I made Red Lentil Artichoke Stew from The Vegan Table. I also made rice to serve it on top of, but the rice didn't finish cooking until we had finished eating, so it turns out I'm just ahead of the game for the Kedgeree I will make for our final dinner on this menu.
I kind of lost my enthusiasm for this dish in the week it took me to cook it, but once I had the first forkful in my mouth, I gave myself a figurative pat on the back for being able to see from the recipe that this would be a tasty chance to take. It was a delightful main course to follow my beautiful salad:

I dare you to make a prettier one.

Tonight, I made the Potato Corn Chowder from The Accidental Vegan. I've made this a few times before and it never fails to make me warm and happy inside. I am also currently infatuated with the combination of the chilled salad with a soul-warming bowl of steamy soup. I didn't bother with the clementines in our salads tonight, but I liberally sprinkled them with dried cranberries, chopped red pepper, and sliced olives. I think I could probably eat an entire bowl of greens and kalamata olives - the bitterness of some of the darker greens, as well as the sparkle of some of the peppery greens are really enhanced by the salty, yet wine-like flavor of these purple treasures.

The dried cranberries were also tasty, but to make the same claim as above would be like saying, "Wow, this gummy bear sure makes my coffee taste better!"

Speaking of coffee, I had a realization last night: the best part of waking up each day is my oatmeal. My happiness is amplified by the drinking of coffee, but after the coffee, it's more or less downhill from there. Take a shower, beautify, drive an hour to work, spend 8.5ish hours trying to be subtle about pulling my hair out, drive an hour home from work and then loop around my neighborhood several times (up to 45 minutes on top of my commute home, depending on the day) looking for parking, then cook dinner, etc. I guess it starts to pick up a bit there, since I enjoy cooking and the subsequent eating of dinner with my dear hubby.

Anyway, as a result of my revelation, I am consciously trying to enjoy more of my day. My astounding ability to be grumpy must be fought off before it takes over - that was one of the reasons I did Operation Gratitude Attitude in the fall: I wanted to make a habit of finding the silver lining. I may have to revive it in some fashion, perhaps in a new-and-improved form for Lent. In the mean time, if you'd like to read through OGA Part 1, feel free to click on the tag below.

bringing gratitude back

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The weather outside might not be frightful, but it's pretty darn cold! Fortunately, while I was baking cookies, my darling husband went outside and dug out my car. I can't tell how much snow we got, but it's more snow than I've seen in Philadelphia in a while and I love it - I hope it never melts! Every time I look out the window I'm happy. Except when I first woke up this morning and forgot how bright snow makes everything...that hurt.

Anyway, as penance for my awfully inconsistent blogging lately, I will reveal my happy secret! The reason I have not been very faithful in my writing recently is because my schedule changed temporarily at work, which has resulted in me only making a few dinners in the past week and a half. I made up for that this weekend with a ton of baking and cooking, but first, my news:

After working my little behind off for nearly a year, I was promoted! It's so gratifying to see that giving something your all can still get you somewhere. As I've been alluding to in my gratitude lists, the Director of my department has been gracious in her praise of me and my efforts and she was all smiles when she offered me a promotion. As a result, I have temporarily stepped in to guide an absent supervisor's team during the second shift. Getting home at 1 AM is not terribly conducive to cooking dinner when my husband is still working "normal" hours. I'll be back to my regular hours soon, so hopefully I'll be able to return to my cooking and posting at that time...despite the crush of busyness we're all anticipating.

Like I said, I cooked and baked up a storm this weekend. There's not too much else to do when it snows for 24 hours straight. It was so amazing - every time I looked out my window, it was still snowing and there was even more on the ground. The best part is that since it was so cold today, it's all still there! Should make for fun driving to work tomorrow, but that can't be avoided.

After a long snowy day, I couldn't think of a better dinner than my more-loved-each-time Potato Corn Chowder from The Accidental Vegan. I don't care how many times I've repeated that recipe - it is one of the best snowy-winter-day meals I can think of. For pictures and a bonus recipe, follow the links!

After dinner last night, I made Isa's Sparkled Ginger Cookies again. I made them smaller this time, which unfortunately resulted in them being a little crunchier than the first batch. To be completely honest, some of them actually burnt. That was disappointing because those cookies are so good! I made up for that tonight, though, and if tomorrow doesn't come soon, I will eat them all before I get them to work!

Tonight's dinner was Peppered Pasta. I didn't know whether I wanted this or the risotto, but I realized that more than half of the vegetables I bought on Wednesday were for this dish and I didn't want anything bad to happen to them, considering it's already Sunday. The risotto is made entirely from pantry goods, so that can wait for last. Peppers and garlic smell so good when they saute together, too.

Before dinner, though, I made four cookie sheets full of the Apple Peanut Pretzel Cookies from VCIYCJ. They don't really look anything like the ones in the book but they taste SO GOOD and that's really what matters. Also, the lighting is weird in these pictures because the kitchen light blew out again. We really need to move before an electrical fire burns this whole place down. One of the first things that occurred to me when accepting my new position at work was the fact that the pay raise associated with this position will expedite the moving process by a bit.
mmm....so many cookies....

I might need another soon. I might also need a gym membership...

The most amazing thing about these cookies are the bites that contain peanuts - I used lightly salted peanuts because they were the only roasted peanuts I could find that weren't rolled in MSG. The only thing I would change about this cookie when I make them again is that next time I think I will chop up a fresh apple, rather than using dried apples - they were just a little too chewy for me.

I had an awesome time at my company holiday party, despite the fact that the only thing I ate was a carrot stick. Not very friendly to my "dietary needs," but why would you expect a posh country club to cater to the whims of its guests?

Left to Right: My (former) supervisor, me, and my generous colleague.

1. I am grateful for the opportunity to take on new responsibilities at work and learn more about that aspect of the company.

2. I am grateful for the beautiful snow adorning the streets and sidewalks of my happy little neighborhood.

3. I am grateful for this last quiet weekend with my husband before the chaos of diet season starts and I have the privilege of working 6 day weeks for 3 weeks.

4. I am grateful that my wonderful husband went outside in the sub-freezing weather to shovel the pretty snow away from my car, as well as dust it off of the windows and other important parts of my car so that I can just get into my car and drive to work tomorrow, instead of performing that same snow removal in high heels and nice clothes.

M.I.A., but still thankful

Wow. It's been a whirlwind of a week so far. In fact, I spent all day reminding myself that it's Wednesday. For some reason (maybe the crazy nature of the week) I had convinced myself it was Saturday. Anyway, more on the storms later - let's talk about food!

To be quite honest, when I was drafting my menu, I was more focused on how many cookies I could foresee myself making between now and Christmas (and how to prioritize those 200 glorious pages of recipes) than on what's for dinner. I managed to whittle my list down from "all of them" to 4 special and relatively easy recipes. Also, despite an ardent desire to make the Magical Coconut Cookie Bars, I wanted things that could be packaged and taken places to share. As much as I would love to eat them all, I don't like shopping enough to go out and buy a whole new (bigger) wardrobe.

Before I babble about whatever I haven't babbled about this week, let me share with you my bizarre menu (it has an equal number of dinners and cookies - unusual for me).

First, dinners:
1. P.B. Thai - this is my own recipe, and I swear I must have made it before, but I can't find a corresponding blog page for it and I never cleaned up the recipe page. Normally, each recipe I write has two pages - one full of my chicken-scratch with words crossed out or written upside down and quantities changed or inserted, and then the second page, which displays the finished recipe in perfect, school-teacher-legible printing. This only has the first page. In any case, I guess I'll get to share the recipe this time!

2. Peppered Pasta - I hemmed and hawed about this. On the one hand, it's very tasty and Mister is always happy to see pasta in his bowl. On the other, it's a lot of slicing. I actually find the slicing rather therapeutic, but it sure does take a while.

3. Arborio Rice with Roasted Red Peppers, Pine Nuts & Basil from The Vegan Table. When I was flipping through my little gold book of chicken-scratch and pretty printing, I came across a particularly horrendously messy page - it was my attempts to create this dish before I knew Colleen beat me to it.

4. Potato Corn Chowder from The Accidental Vegan. I tried not to have soup on the menu, but this one is just so good. I want to make it tonight, but it's Wednesday, so a veggie burger it is.

Now for the cookies:
1. Sparkle Ginger Cookies from Vegan With A Vengeance, because they were so amazing when I made them a week ago or whenever that was. I need more. I dream of these cookies.

2. Peanut Apple Pretzel Drops from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. What an amazing combination. I'm surprised Ben & Jerry haven't turned it into an oddly named pint of ice cream.

3. Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles, also from VCIYCJ. I keep thinking of that horribly cheesy Savage Garden song, "I knew I loved you before I ate you." Okay, I changed the lyrics a little. The point is, these are going to rock. Or they are going to be profoundly disappointing due to the way I have been building them up in my brain for weeks.

4. Chocolate Agave Trailmixers - like trail mix in cookie form...mmm....

Go get the book. NOW.

I haven't been writing because my schedule has been off and I haven't been cooking as much. I did make my other dinner from my sister's hippie cookbook last night. It was a lot spicier than I thought it would be! Mister liked it and I can add rice to the list of things for which I am grateful.
Speaking of lists...in addition to my Operation Gratitude Attitude list, I wanted to share some lyrics to a song that has made me cry at least the first time I've heard it every Christmastime since 1998. Thanks, Celine...

The Magic of Christmas Day
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
It's the season to be jolly and be thankful for all that we have
All the lights and decorations put up in anticipation of the joyful celebration that's on its way
We're counting the days 'til it's time for Christmas day
God bless us everyone - The good and the bad, the happy, the sad
God bless us everyone - Here's to family and friends
It's good to be here again

On the streets there's children laughing
People smile as they are passing
Christmas time is here, our waiting is done
Wishing it could last forever not just twelve days in December
Through the year let's try to remember that special way that everyone feels
It's the magic of Christmas day

So fill your heart with love and joy
And through the eyes of girls and boys
Share their wonder, live through their joy - It's easy to do
Just open your heart, the spirit will come to you

I want to cry just reading those lyrics. Granted, part of it is because I can hear her singing those words with every last bit of her soul when I look at them. Over the decade that I have unashamedly owned this CD, I have had various life events occur that could tie into that song, so in addition to the amazing sentiment portrayed through the lyrics, I've managed to attach a great many memories. I hope you enjoy the lyrics as much as I do, even if Celine isn't your cup of tea.

1. I am grateful I had today off and was as productive as I could be.
2. I am grateful that the upper management sees fit to throw a holiday party for us - we're not entitled to a holiday party, no matter what my colleagues think.
3. I am grateful for sites like funny.com to pull my husband out of whatever funk he was in earlier.
4. I am grateful that I will finally get to tell the world my big news very soon. You think it's driving you crazy not to know - imagine knowing and not being able to tell anyone.

double the spinach, double your fun

Some people might not think spinach is as fun or tasty as Doublemint gum. Angst would disagree.

My little monster...um, angel has had a great weekend, despite the fact that I broke two separate bags of spinach. All that matters to him is that I shared it before the big mean pot made it all gross. Each dinner had its highlights and lowlights...kind of like my new hair:
Ignore the super-cheesy smile, if you wish. I just didn't feel like having another emo/goth pouting-at-the-camera picture. After all, I'm happy about my hair.

Anyway, last night I made Chamomile Couscous with Savory Spinach and actually bought chamomile tea to make it this time! I figured if I only had one teabag last time, I probably had no teabags this time. It came out much better with two chamomile teabags, rather than 1 chamomile and 1 spearmint/chamomile/licorice teabag. I modified the recipe slightly - in place of the 1/2 Tbsp of honey I just swirled in some agave nectar. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably a scant teaspoon.


I have to say...I am really developing a serious distaste for the Whole Pantry Garam Masala...it's way too heavy on the cardamom - I like a more savory blend, especially for Savory Spinach. I may have to get my favored brand, McCormick, and save the WP brand for baking.

Also, I don't think the 2:1 tea:couscous ratio is quite necessary. Probably 1.5 cups would be better. 2 cups was overkill and created a little pool at the bottom of our bowls, no doubt with the help of the sauce from the vegetables.

It rained so much today. It was supposed to, according to the weather guesscast, but I really hoped it wouldn't. Alas, when I woke up and looked outside it was an absolute mess. I nearly called off my hair appointment because it just looked like the kind of day you want to be all scrubby and comfy and not go anywhere. In any case, that simply wasn't an option because our cupboards and refrigerator are becoming uncomfortably empty, so I braved the nasty rain and the not-nearly-as-cold-as-weather.com-said-it-would-be temperatures. There's still a lot of empty in our fridge, but the freezer is well stocked and the coffee situation has been rectified. And there's bread. The end of the loaf is a sign of the endtimes for Mister, so it is very important to replace the bread as soon as it runs out. Normally, I get a loaf about three sandwiches from the end of one bread, but Whole Foods hates multigrain bread this week and I think it's ridiculous that a place called Whole Foods even stocks white bread.

So tonight we had Curried Tofu with Mixed Baby Greens. I thought I would be clever and try to cut out the fat of sauteing the garlic and ginger in olive oil, so I put vegetable broth in place of the olive oil and 2 Tbsp water, but then I kind of goofed and made the rational connection that if I was going to "saute" the garlic and ginger in broth, I may as well add the tamari at the beginning of cooking as well. Word of advice: if you choose to make this recipe, don't do that. I will tell you why now: the broccoli rabe hogs it ALL. This means not only that the spinach and bok choy don't get to swim in it, but that every bite of broccoli rabe is a flavor explosion in your mouth and you simultaneously love it and wish you were drinking water instead. It's intense. So take my word for it - saute the ginger, garlic, and broccoli rabe in broth (rather than oil) if you must, but don't add the soy sauce/tamari until you add the bok choy!


Also, you will do well to do one of these two things:
Cut the curry spice mixture in half
OR
Don't use silken tofu.

It was kind of gross the first time I made it, and I thought it was because I didn't put the salt in the spices that was necessary to bring out their flavors. It was kind of gross this time because the spices just sit on top of the tofu...they don't absorb and flavor the tofu, they just hang out with it.

1. I am grateful I had a nice long weekend.
2. I am grateful for the opportunity to watch two timid little girls turn into bright and beautiful teenagers.
3. I am grateful for the years I spent learning how to play music so that I can now teach it.
4. I am grateful that Superfresh is only 3 blocks away and that I am able to walk with speed.

Dr. Atkins' worst nightmare

That's me! I know I'm not alone, but sometimes I look at what I'm eating/cooking and think that Dr. Fadkins would have a heart attack (ironically, he did). Today was Carb Day in my home.

Breakfast: oatmeal
snack: slice of bread with Earth Balance
Lunch: PB sandwich
snack: pan-seared apple
Dinner: carbs cooked with carbs and covered in carbs (more details in a moment)

I remember, at the height of the Carbs-Are-Evil Craze, being in the middle of a grocery store and just getting all the things I normally got and suddenly noticing all of the absolutely horrified looks I was getting. Women were literally stopping in their tracks to stare at me. Naturally, I became a little nervous and self-conscious, but then I laughed inside my head when I realized the source of their horror. Inside my cart I had:
a few different kinds of pasta
a loaf of bread
burger buns
a bag of rice
a box of cereal
fruit

Obviously, there were various vegetables and other things, but those were the things my fellow shoppers were staring at in awe. They were then looking at me as if to say, "How can you eat carbs and still be thin? Don't you know carbs make you fat??" Of course, what seemed to escape the attention of all these carb-starved dieters was what was NOT in my cart: chips, cookies, ice cream, candy, and other crap. Newsflash! Those things are what really make you fat.

So, now that I have absolutely blown your mind, let's talk about my carbalicious dinner. Tonight, I subjected my husband to a feminist version of his favorite dinner: Shepherdess Pie from Veganomicon. I made a couple of substitutions, due to my husband's trouble with tempeh and distaste for mushrooms. I've mentioned "pet ingredients" before - Nava's is sundried tomatoes, Robin's is soy "meat" crumbles, and it seems to me that Isa's are mushrooms and tempeh - Mister's mortal enemies.
It was very tasty and extremely photo-friendly. I think one of the things I was happiest about was the mashed potato topping - it blows my mind that the creamiest, most spreadable mashed potatoes I have ever made from scratch are vegan. I think it was my secret ingredient.

You want to know what it is, don't you?
If I told you, it wouldn't be my secret ingredient.
Anyway, Mister compared it to a potpie but with a mashed potato topping. He stated quite bluntly that he prefers Sarah's Savoury Shepherd's Pie. I liked it, but I could think of a couple of variations I'd like to try, which would probably bring it more in line with Mister's preferences. He did agree that the mashed potatoes were awesome and he's a big mashed potato fan. We actually ate a tub of mashed potatoes for dinner one night of our honeymoon. Why not? It was our honeymoon.

So, 3 lbs of potatoes, 1 cup of peas (high starch vegetable), 1 cup of corn (same thing), and flour to thicken the gravy equals Atkins Apocalypse. You can keep your fatty corpses, sir. I still remember when a friend of mine fell victim to the hype. I watched him eat a combo plate of filet mignon and tilapia, nestled on a bed of really tasty looking risotto...which he scraped into the garbage.

I am firmly convinced that the reason the Atkins thing took off is because carbohydrate is an essential macronutrient and if you do not get enough of it, your brain does not function correctly.

Now we push the negativity into the corner and take a moment to be thankful:
1. I am thankful for this "3-day weekend" to spend time with my husband before my schedule turns upside down.

2. I'm grateful for the four walls that keep the sub-freezing cold out of my home (for the most part).

3. I am grateful the wind hasn't blown out the pilot on the heater or the oven. Yet.

4. I am grateful that my sister will be home in Pennsylvania for two weeks in ten days!

smushy and green

I don't think I understand the big deal with avocados. One of my favorite bloggers, Nicole of Another One Bites the Crust, absolutely loves avocados and puts them on everything but dessert (and sometimes I think that's because she hasn't figured out how to incorporate them yet).

Tonight, I made Pasta Della California again, and this time I employed the help of a, well, employee of Whole Foods to help me find a ripe avocado. Perhaps we went too far and my avocado was too ripe, but it was just kind of mushy. It tasted kind of green (not a bad thing) and I'm still struggling to find the right words to describe the texture. I keep thinking of the yolk of a hardboiled egg, but that's too chalky. In any case, I can't seem to find a satisfying avocado. I'm not giving up, but I'm not going to actively pursue this healthy fat, either.
The sauce was exceptionally flavorful, though, and I didn't remember it being so intricate last time, so I think the whole dish came out better this time around.

Angst has developed an amusing new habit. I guess it was only a matter of time, since cats like to sleep/hang out on elevated surfaces. His new favorite place to sit/nap is on whichever chair I have vacated. Mister calls him "the mommy" when he does this, which seems to confuse and alarm him, since I then explain that if he's the mommy, he'll have to get up and make dinner or go to work (depending on the time of day). I was sitting at my computer, leaving my dining chair empty, and this is what I turned around to see (and yes, the chairs are directly beside each other):

He's so cute, snoozing away on my chair, isn't he?

1. I am grateful to have tomorrow off to spend with my husband before the insanity begins at work.

2. I am grateful for the opportunities presented by the insanity at work.

3. I am grateful that unlike 10% of the adult American population, I get to go to work.

4. I am grateful for the innovations in transportation that allowed me to try a ripe avocado from New Mexico (obviously, I'm not as committed to eating locally as others might be...baby steps, folks.)

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll BLOW your house down!

Today was so weird, weather-wise. It was miserable and rainy when I woke up, but it slowly tapered off and turned the middle of the day absolutely gorgeous! The sun was out, the air was mild, the birds were singing...okay - I made the last part up, but you get the idea. I wanted to take advantage of the day because tomorrow is supposed to be about 20 degrees colder and not at all the kind of day you want to wander about your neighborhood (and I'll be at work). My father and I went to Macy's to see the Christmas lights show that we've seen since I was a child and rode the monorail. By the way - it does not feel good to know that the object of a cherished childhood memory now resides in a museum! Afterward, we wandered around center city and the Reading Terminal Market a little while, then parted ways. I completed my menu for the week (which I shall share shortly) and set about to buying the things necessary to make these delightful meals. I made a short stop in to a bookstore to grab Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and while I was looking at some other books, the most amazing thing happened.

I heard screaming and clattering, and if it were the night before Christmas, I would have jumped from my bed to see what was the matter. It wasn't though, so instead, I merely peered out the window to see dead leaves swirling violently after scurrying sneakered feet that just barely cleared the (heavy) easel sign outside that had just been laid down by the most powerful wind I can recall in Philadelphia. When I crossed the street and approached the entrance to Whole Foods, I found that the wind had also huffed and puffed and knocked over a whole bunch of potted pine trees on steps outside. It was amazing how much destruction only one gust of wind could cause. Granted, we were in the middle of a wind advisory that I had (and I suppose many others had) gallantly ignored, so I shopped as quickly as I could and ran home as fast as you can with a load of groceries on your back. That is to say, not much faster than normal.

Anyway, no interesting food stories, really. Last night we had veggie burgers and tonight I heated up the leftover Coconut Curry Tofu from Monday. So, without further ado, here is the new menu:

1. Black Bean and Sweet Potato [Carrot] Stew from the Global Health Alliance Cookbook my sister gave me for Christmas last year. If you want the whole story, go back a couple posts.

2. Tempeh Shepherdess Pie from Veganomicon. I have skipped over this before, despite how delicious it sounds, because of the tempeh, but I'm just going to substitute baked and smoked tofu and hope that works!

3. Pasta Della California again, from Veganomicon. I made this before, so this time I grabbed the first person I saw wearing a WF apron and made her help me pick out an avocado. It better be good.

4. Chamomile Couscous with Savory Spinach because I was looking through some old posts and thought, "hey, that was pretty good!"

5. Curried Tofu with Mixed Baby Greens - I'll admit, the final recipe spot witnessed a showdown between this guy and P.B. Thai, but I think you can see who won.

I almost wrote earlier because I knew what I was grateful for by 1:30 PM.
1. I am grateful that the rain cleared up and gave me such a beautiful day off.
2. I am grateful that Macy's still hosts the largest active pipe organ in the country.
3. I am grateful that I have this Sunday off, too, to finish my hair :)
4. I am grateful for the nearly 2 hours I got to spend with my dad today.
Please excuse the crappy picture. It was taken blindly with my cellphone. It's the cute that counts.

brush the dust off the cover

Sometimes you need a little time to fit obscure gifts into your life - have you noticed that? Sometimes, someone gives you something and your first reaction is, "Oh...gee...thank you." Or, to borrow a phrase from my mother, "that's interesting..."

My sister has devoted her adult life to the service of others. After college, she did a year with Americorps, and I think she was only stationary for about 6 months before she was getting shot up with immunizations and plunking down in an airplane bound for Africa. Her heart preceded her by about 10 years, but she finally made it, courtesy of the Peace Corps. She was in Zambia for about two and a half years before taking the long way home (through Zanzibar and Thailand, and I think a few other places before landing in California and my beloved Tahoe). Upon her return to America, she moved to our nation's capital to actually work for (as in, get paid and wear clothes from a store and live in a building with a closing door) the Peace Corps. She is currently about 6 months away from getting her Masters degree in something long that I can never remember but will help her help others more effectively.

Last Christmas, she was full of Peace Corps influenced/produced gifts, including my everyday-is-a-holiday calendar and a spiral bound collection of recipes from all over the world, appropriately titled:
Food From Around the World: A Global Health Alliance Cookbook.
Apparently, it was a collaborative effort of her fellow students, the introduction would lead you to believe:
The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) is a diverse college with students, staff, academic professionals, faculty, and alumni who have lived, worked and traveled all over the world. This cookbook highlights the favorite recipes of the members of the MEZCOPH community.
The Global Health Alliance (GHA) is a student organization within MEZCOPH which is dedicated to improving the well-being of diverse populations. The proceeds of this cookbook will support various donation efforts as well as the GHA in future projects.

Anyway, a lot of the recipes call for meat and when a recipe from some hitherto unknown part of South America (as an example) uses meat in a recipe, it's really not the kind of meat you can replace with tofu or seitan. Considering the impoverished status of most of the countries visited by these students, though, there are a few vegetarian meals as well. I figured that since this week was so weird menu-wise anyway, this would be a good week to explore this cookbook a little more. I'll be honest - I looked through it when I got it, and it's been spending quality time with my relatively unused WIC cookbook on a shelf in the hallway ever since. It's okay, though - I know she just bought it to support the GHA.

Enough babbling - tonight I made the Coconut Curry Tofu from that little cookbook and it was really good! I really think that surprised the heck out of me and Mister.
You're supposed to serve it over rice, but I kind of like it swimming in broth/sauce. I think my husband would disagree, but he's okay. He just dumps the excess sauce in the sink before refilling his bowl.

I have finally resolved the rest of my week, so I will probably complete my menu tomorrow night (so I can shop for it on Wednesday), but I'll tell you now that the other recipe I will make from this book (probably tomorrow...duh) is called Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew, but since I do want Mister to eat it, I will be substituting carrots (yes, I got some) for the sweet potatoes.

1. I am grateful to have enough money to keep my home warm when the wind is howling forcefully outside the windows.
2. I am grateful for the resolution of today and the revelation of tomorrow.
3. I am (now) grateful for my sister's support of the GHA planting a really good curry recipe in my Pier 1 (that's international!) bowls.
4. I am grateful that my old coat is still so warm :)

making it count

Today may very well have been one of my last Sundays off for a while. I won't know for sure until sometime this week, but let me say - if it was, I spent it well.

In addition to a weak and horribly cold grocery shopping trip - by the way, December in Philadelphia is officially too late to still be stubbornly wearing your fall jacket - I revisited dear Candi KaBoom at Salon Sugar, had a nice dinner out with the hubby, and made cookies!

I got two dinners' worth of ingredients, as well as a frozen pizza for Mister and some veggie burgers as a back-up/quick dinner. I have no idea how this week is going to go and I'll do my best to keep you updated, as well as a big announcement coming soon! If I need to, I can "finish" my grocery shopping on Wednesday. I may also finish my hair that day!

So, today, Candi just cut my hair. I'm really bad at keeping up with that whole 6-8 week trim thing. I think the only time I've ever pulled it off was when I lived 5 minutes away from my salon, which was moderately priced, and my hair was only 2 inches long at the longest and shaved in parts, so obviously, upkeep was important. I haven't had my hair cut since Labor Day weekend, when Salon Sugar opened. To say I was in urgent need of a haircut would not do justice to the mutiny my split ends were organizing. We got a little crazy and I'm happy with the result, as well as our plans to draw "lightener" (Candi's euphemism for bleach) through my hair on either Wednesday or Sunday (depending on whether I'm off), then retouch the black streaks and add in some unnaturally bright red streaks. It's going to be great - I'll have pictures!

When I was at Salon Sugar, Candi told me she had recently had a lot of vegan/vegetarian clients in the salon and wanted to be able to give them restaurant recommendations, so she asked me about places Mister and I like to go...which soon had me fixated on going out to dinner. Horizons is closed on Sundays, so we went to La Fourno - I sound like a bunny rabbit, but I swear, they have some of the best salads there.

On Friday night, probably around midnight, Mister came into the kitchen (I swear, I spend the majority of the time I'm home in there. If I'm not prepping, I'm cooking, and if I'm not cooking, I'm cleaning up) and opened the food-containing cabinets and kind of wobbled back and forth, looking from side to side.

Me: Do you need something?
Mister: I want cookies.
Me: We don't have any. I'm sorry. Do you want me to make you some?
Mister: No...it's late.

So I made him cookies today.
I made Sparkled Ginger Cookies from Vegan With A Vengeance and they were wonderful. I really need to get Isa's cookie book. My next cookie conquest will definitely be the Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles. It's like everything you ever wanted in a cookie all rolled into one batch!
1. I am grateful to have had today off and to have accomplished so much and still had time to relax this weekend.
2. I am grateful for a husband who listens to me babble until I come to a rational conclusion.
3. I am grateful (this time, anyway) that his only guidance in my decision-making process was "I want you to do whatever will make you happy."
4. I am grateful that Isa is still pumping out cookbooks - I will own them all!

a tale of two dinners

I truly intend to write everyday so I can record my gratitude attitude, but yesterday my brain was way too busy thinking about something big and exciting (to be revealed in a future post) and I could barely focus on making dinner, much less writing about it. I did remember to take pretty pictures, though!
That is the Thai Pinapple Fried Rice. I was going to make it the night I made the Chickpea Stew with Fried Polenta but I really had very little faith it would come together quickly (lots of chopping - I knew cooking would go fast) and I was really hungry that night. It was really good and the coconut milk helped everything stick together in a way that made it easy to eat with chopsticks.

I've heard it said that you learn something new everyday. Yesterday, I learned how hot pineapple chunks get when you stirfry them in a wok on high heat for 7-10 minutes. Hot.

Anyway, while I was chopping I was chatting with my parents. This weekend they are celebrating my mother's *mumblemumble* birthday and their 40th wedding anniversary. That is so rare these days and I think it's wonderful that they still have so much fun together - today they went up to NYC to see the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall. Granted, bus trips with a bunch of people from their church kind of screams "old people hobby," but it still sounds fun!

Tonight's dinner was Hearty Stew which seems to vary from Colleen's recipe each time I make it. The recipe calls for tempeh, which I've mentioned before does not get along well with Mister's belly, so the first time I made this, I used Steak Stirfry Strips by LightLife. This time around, I used Ray's Seitan, but that is not the major variation.

This morning I tried to put together the week's menu and grocery list. I didn't get it completely finished because I remembered the uncertainty that presented itself to me at approximately 6 PM on Friday and realized that I really can't plan a menu for this week until that is resolved. Fortunately, I'm scheduled to be off from work on Wednesday, so I can take care of additional shopping then - I did get two recipes and I'm going to pick up some veggie burgers as back-up.

Anyway, the point is that I realized last night that I had underestimated the number of carrots remaining in the bag and needed to pick some up in order to make dinner tonight. So my plan had been to make my list and do my 3 days worth of shopping today so I could get carrots. Then came the 30-degree temperatures with wind, rain, and very wet (but beautiful) snow, and all I wanted to do was drive to lessons, teach, and drive home. I completely forgot to stop at some lovely suburban food store on my way home and pick up just the carrots.

I made an executive decision: Corn is an acceptable substitute for carrots.
And I was absolutely right - I think I actually like the corn in the soup better than the carrots! I love the combination of potatoes and corn. Dr. FAdkins is rolling over in his grave. Look how pretty the corn made it, though! It was sooooo good, between the corn and the seitan. I am also officially in love with this herb combination: thyme, tarragon, and marjoram.
Marjoram smells so much like tea I can almost imagine it tasting sweet all by itself.
Tarragon also has the most divine smell. I'm not a big fan of anise/licorice-scented things, but it's subtle enough to enjoy.
I love how people talk about the "subtle hint of lemon" in thyme. Thyme is one of only two herbs I can smell the moment I take the cap off the jar (mint is the other). That is not subtle in my book.
Yesterday I was grateful for:
1. a few minutes to talk to my parents and tease them about telling the whole world about their anniversary.
2. getting home safely and finding parking relatively easily for a Friday night.
3. the end of a very busy week.
4. a mind-blowing and flattering conversation I had shortly before leaving work.

Today I am grateful for:
1. time to relax this morning before heading out to work.
2. time to play Christmas songs on my piano in that "quiet" time.
3. my special treat - a peppermint americano
4. the first snowfall in Philadelphia! It was so pretty - I love snow. I hate when people say you won't like snow when you get older - it's not true! Any young folks reading this - it's not true - don't believe them!

everyday I write the list

1. I am grateful for how quickly I can make Chickpea Stew with Fried Polenta when I get home from a long, exhausting day at work.

2. I am grateful that I had a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Clif Bar that I could eat in the 10 minutes between training sessions.

3. I am grateful that my husband stayed awake long enough to take out the garbage tonight.

4. I am grateful for having the opportunity to overhear two people from Marketing at work tell the Director of my department that the training we did yesterday and today was the best training they had ever been to and the best organized.

Bonus: I am extremely grateful that I had the good fortune to overhear my Director's response to each of those two people: "It was really all Natalie - she did everything."

step aside, mr reese's

Somewhere along my brain-dead ride home from work tonight, I managed to extract a few things from the squishy gray matter residing in my skull. Many of those things were about what I would like to eat when I got home - specific things pulled out of the "everything" that I wanted to eat. Today was the kind of day where calories just shouldn't count and probably don't since I ran around like a lunatic who had recently escaped the asylum today (I do work close to where Byberry Asylum used to be) and adrenaline makes the metabolism speed up (and I was running on adrenaline most of the day). I was hungry and thirsty and couldn't stop thinking of everything I wanted to eat and drink - a lot of good ideas came out of that mess, but here is the best one:

a scoop of chunky peanut butter sandwiched between two pieces of 72% cocoa dark chocolate

A week or so ago, I was in Rite Aid picking up a few things. I couldn't tell you what I went there for, but I know that as I left, I saw a sale on the amazing and luxurious Ghirardelli chocolate squares. A bag of these babies -->
ordinarily sells for about $5, but I got it for $1.50. I could not pass that up. I don't know if you can say these are vegan, as they are manufactured in a facility that also processes milk and therefore the chocolate could contain trace amounts of dairy, but they don't put it into this specific product on purpose, so I picked them up. SO GOOD.

Actually, they're great on their own, but with a salty, chunky, peanut butter "filling" they are nothing short of utterly amazing. I thought I would just have one. I was wrong.

Anyway, I had the same dinner tonight as I did last night, so here we go... I made the Orzo Pilaf with Roasted Red Peppers and Peas. It was very good and came together exceedingly quickly, which surprised me. The recipe certainly gave the implication it would be a fast cooking recipe, but I really did not think the orzo would absorb the broth quite as quickly as it did! I tried to deny it, but cooking 12 oz of orzo (2 cups uncooked) in 28 oz of vegetable broth does not quite get the pasta to al dente. A full quart would probably do just fine, as I was able to get the pasta to Mister's specification of "fully cooked" by adding about 4 oz of water. It was a fast and easy recipe, reliant completely on pantry staples (dried orzo, canned broth, jarred roasted red peppers, frozen peas) which will make it a very convenient choice for future busy weeks. Of course, I'm sure my schedule will slow down soon...it's such a shame sarcasm can't be adequately communicated through the written word sometimes.

It sure it pretty, too, isn't it?

Since I missed last night, we'll do a "double feature" today. Here are the 8 things for which I am thankful today:

1. I am grateful for my Director's kind words and efforts to build me up in the presence of her peers.
2. I am grateful for my supervisor's confidence in my abilities and his willingness to share that with me when I feel nervous.
3. I am grateful that I did not have to participate in the new hire training today on top of the company-wide trainings I helped facilitate.
4. I am grateful for the sale on Ghirardelli squares I took advantage of when I didn't need chocolate, knowing there would come a moment when I did "need" chocolate.
5. I am grateful for the coupons I got in the mail from DSW and Macy's to provide the incentive and urgency I need to get myself new shoes.
6. I am grateful for Sarah McLachlan's willingness to share her angelic voice and fiery disposition for the last two decades. (I've been listening to Wintersong the past two days - amazing holiday album).
7. I am grateful for the quiet moments I had when I got home from an insanely busy, no-lunch-break, nine-hour-long day.
8. I am grateful that this Friday, two paychecks will deposit into our bank account.

a thousand beautiful things

I don't want to say the last two dinners were failures...but I can't say they were successes, either. I enjoyed the Cuban Black Bean Soup just as I imagined I would, and Mister grinned and bore it, just as I imagined he would. Mister didn't have have anything to say about last night's Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew aside from "what is this?" However, I think both of us really had to make an effort to remember how fortunate we were to find out that we aren't big saffron fans and muddle through our flower-scented dinner.

Tonight, I sought out the safety of the Pasta with Beans & Chard because one can rarely go wrong with pasta, especially where my husband is concerned. I guess that's why pasta seems like such a reliable meal to feed one of those crazy people who doesn't eat the preserved corpses you usually serve. By the way, I say things like that to point out the irony of people thinking I'm weird because I eat the bounty of the earth rather than glut myself on the bloodless bodies of the weak. Sorry - I couldn't even say that straight. The point is, I think it's funny that people are so taken off guard by vegans and vegetarians and resort to trying to make us feel inferior about what seems like such a natural choice, purely because our choices make them uncomfortable.

So, that was quite the tangent. The point here is that tonight's dinner didn't suck:
I had mentioned in one of the posts where I was still forming the idea of Operation Gratitude Attitude that my recent introspective pondering was partially owed to the influence of Annie Lennox. I would like to share some lyrics from the specific song with you now, so that you might ponder it as well and keep it close to your heart and mind when you help me build my list of blessings.

1000 Beautiful Things
Every day I write the list of reasons why I still believe they do exist
A thousand beautiful things
And even though it's hard to see, the glass is full and not half empty
A thousand beautiful things

I thank you for the air to breathe, the heart to beat, the eyes to see again
A thousand beautiful things
And all the things that's been and done, the battles won, the good and bad in everyone
This is mine to remember

So, then, here is today's list:
1. I am grateful that today is over and I feel the pieces of a very complicated puzzle coming together.

2. I am grateful for the opportunity to prove myself at work this week.

3. I am grateful that I woke up this morning with enough time to paint my nails - it's amazing what a shiny new coat of red can do for a girl.

4. I am grateful for this tasty elixir: