Cabbage and Chickpea Soup

Today's soup came from a post on the Post Punk Kitchen blog this week.  It was delicious, and I just love when colors pop out of the pan before they cook down into a cohesive blended palette.

This soup tastes light yet is hardy.  The fresh dill added notes of tanginess against the milder flavors of the cabbage, onions, thyme, chickpeas, and rice.

I won't post the original recipe since I almost stuck to it completely this time.  I only adapted it by using brown rice and purple cabbage (instead of white rice and green cabbage).

Perfect for a cold winter day like today (got down to 56 degrees!).

Warm Quinoa Salad w/Pine Nut Miso Topping

This would be my attempt at food styling.  Clearly not my forte...yet!

The pine nut miso sauce on warms this salad enough to be enjoyed in the cold weather!  And it got kudos from the omni, who I have slowly taken with me to the dark side.  His palette is beginning to appreciate the subtleties of clean cuisine (as opposed to "needing" fat and high protein dishes to satisfy).

It's Simple (whatever has no measurement, add how much you would want):

Start 1 cup quinoa.  In a separate saute pan, lightly saute 1/2 chopped onion and 2 carrots over medium heat for just 2-3 minutes until shiny but not too soft.  Then add salt and pepper, a handful of cranberries and half of your green leafies (mine were a mixture of kale and chard, about four leaves) and half of your pine nuts.  Saute for another 3-5 minutes, stirring so everything is touched by the heat.   This preserves the crunchy freshness but also warms and softens it just enough.  Stir in chopped fresh parsley to taste. Add the remaining green leafies to the top, cover, turn off heat, and set aside.

In a small saucepan, warm 3 tablespoons of water on low.  Add 2 tablespoons of miso paste, the remaining pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1 date, chopped.  Cook on very low, stirring constantly, for several minutes.  If the mixture is too watery, add more miso or a little flour and cook for a few additional minutes.  This is best served warm over the dish so I kept mine on low, watching to make sure it did not boil.

Add quinoa to veggies, cook over medium for a few minutes, stirring the flavors together.  Serve topped with miso sauce.  Garnish with fresh parsley and black pepper.

My morning cup of joe. And by joe I mean oatmeal.

Okay, friends, just because my stomach is going to take three days (hopefully not more!) to recuperate from my sugar fest over the weekend, doesn't mean I will deprive myself of my morning coffee.

If you didn't see me decked out in my robe on Facebook this morning, this is the post for you.  Introducing my new look.  It's called "Wear My Husband's Robe Until My Guts Get Back to Normal".  I also call it "Shower Optional".

This cup, however, is my post-coffee smoothie.  See?

Because my stomach feels like it's going to hate me for a long time, I thought I'd treat it with a warm green smoothie.  If I had seen this recipe one year ago, I would have given it a big "No, Thank You".

The Weird Yet Very Soothing Warm Cup of Stuff That Has No Name

Blend:

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons raisins

1 cup hot (not boiling) water

When it's smooth, add:

1 handful kale (I used the crinkly kind)

1 banana

1 pitted date

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 dash of almond milk

Blend till smooth, enjoy warm.

That should do the trick to get my tummy on the mend.  

Holiday Baking. None of these are sugar free!

December, december, december.  If you are my blogger friend, you probably think I disappeared.  I haven't been commenting on your blog, I haven't been posting, and I have 500 posts in my Google Reader to catch up on.

But now I'm on vacation for two weeks so things should get a lot less hectic, aside from usual holiday stuff...

...like baking!

Over the weekend a non-vegan friend had a few of us over for a baking day.  I'll share my contributions to the day since none of their baked goods are vegan (uh--not even close!).  We all have a different approach to holiday baking.  The hostess has her list of regular, traditional things: thumbprint cookies, frosted sugar cookies, sprits.  My other friend who comes every year has her favorites (she's not a baker but she's perfected these after doing them each year): peanut butter cookies with a hershey kiss on top and mint frosted brownies.

I, on the other hand, bring something different every year, each time taking a risk that it will be a flop.  I've had about a 50% success rate in the past, but this year was a big success.

At my friend's request, I made these non-vegan caramels as we made these last year and they were a hit:

Gingerbread Caramels from Martha Stewart

Then, last night, I found a post about vegan caramels at Tale of Two Vegans:

They're vegan!  And very pretty!  I didn't know this was possible, but I'm definitely going to try these...soon!

We also made Peanut Butter Pillows from the PPK blog:

Hint: do not over-mix the filling or it will be too oily!  I don't think I'll make these part of my regular holiday baking routine...they are a bit oily for a cookie platter and don't hold up during transport very well.  These will be special occasion cookies, though, as everyone loves them.

Next up is Cranberry, Ginger and Pistachio Biscotti from VegNews:

See how it's dipped in the middle? That's because the initial baking was too short.  Just follow the directions and don't try to make it "better" like I did!  They will be fine.  Our first batch were awesome because we followed the directions.  These will be a regular part of our baking list for the future.

Lastly, Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (say what?!?) from PPK:

It's almost like it can't decide what it is...chocolate, or snickerdoodle.  But they are yummy, have a great texture, and look awesome, with crackles like snickerdoodles and coated with sugar crystals.  Will definitely be making these again next year.  Maybe mixed up with some regular snickerdoodles for fun.

For the rest of my baking exploits this year I will try to add in some color variety...most likely white and yellow or light brown.  For some reason I just can't pass out plates with all dark brown stuff!

Ranting and raving about being vegan. And my dog. And my bra.

Saturday night, I went to gelato with my friend.  And I didn't buy gelato...I bought sorbet!

It was the first time, even since being vegan, that I visited our local gelato joint and remained dairy-free.  Real (milk) gelato simply did not sound good to me.

The friend I was with asked me if I eat dairy when I go out to eat, and I said no.  But honestly, this is a new thing for me.  Before I was more lenient because eating vegan out in the world can be a challenge.  However, the more I do it, the easier it becomes.  And the thought of eating something with butter or cheese is, well, gross.  It really just doesn't belong in my body anymore!

I did succumb to peer pressure on Friday night, however, as my husband's intoxicated co-worker practically cupcake raped me.  (If you saw it, you would understand).  One bite was enough to remind me how sensitive my pallet is to not only dairy but the crap that they put into refined cupcake mixes and pre-made frosting (I'm trying to keep my gag reflex at bay right now).

I was just telling my husband the other night that I can't believe I'm still a vegan.  I was sure when I started this diet that it would be a phase.  I go through a lot of phases, but this just feels so right.  It feels right like my Snuggie (yes, the 'as seen on TV' snuggie).  It feels right like the sweats my husband is begging me to throw away.  It feels right like the aroma that my dog's slobber leaves on my cheek for me to enjoy for the next hour...

[comes out of daydream state] Oh, um, yeah, vegan.

Just sayin'.  The longer I'm vegan, the more vegan I am.  Next time, I will be using some self-defense techniques before letting cupcake rapists get to me.

And FURTHERMORE...my husband is sick again with a cold (we have preschoolers at our house every day so we're exposed to a plethora of germs).  This is his second time being sick since I was last sick!  This has never happened before in the history of my being a preschool teacher.  Really, ever!  And when I was sick, it did not turn into a sinus infection.  This is a vegan miracle, considering I've never gotten even a small cold without it turning into all out sinusitis.

Go Vegan!

Okay, so I may have slipped due to being force-fed cupcake, but at least I'm not a dog trying to eat and wear a bra at the same time.

Bread, Pie, Beet salad, Kidney Bean Soup, and VP Update

Join me to catch up on this week's kitchen chaos...

The Vegan Project Update and Catching Up

...and it's good news!

His cholesterol levels are within the normal range now!  And he totally attributes it to the vegan diet (I'd estimate that 75% of his meals are vegan compared to 30% before I started cooking and blogging).  And this is without the exercise that his doctor suggested.  Diet alone brought down his hereditary high cholesterol.

Success!

Other than that, here is what I've been up to (and what I remembered to photograph) for the last 10 days:

 My best attempt at making cream by simmering down homemade almond milk were absolutely fruitless.  Without adding sugar, it's blander than bland.  Without fat, there's no cream potential in here.  I don't remember what I actually did with this but it looks like I added some saffron : )

Refridge Thai Curry was SO good!  I had kaffir lime leaves and all of the vegetables to make a rockin' curry.  I'm actually tempted to stop blogging and go make some.

 Appreciating the kodak moments during the cooking process.  This is your brain...this is your brain on a vegan diet...any questions???  Nature's gift of complexity.

 And age.  Or disease.  Lesson learned: don't judge a lemon by it's black dirty exterior.

 I have a great relationship with my pressure cooker now.  At first I was a bit bewildered and intimidated by it.  Now it knows I'm in charge.

 There's the thai curry.

 My mac and cheese from Vegan Yum Yum.  I added one sweet potato for extra vitamins.  I used the extra cheesy sauce as a dip the next day.  Delectable for this former cheese addict. 

After baking in the oven.  I thought it was good before and after baking, personally.

 A faux truffle from dates, walnuts, vanilla, and cocoa powder.  Rolled in toasted coconut.  Inspired by Ani Phyo's Chocolate Cake.  Good and pretty and can be rolled in anything to look cute.  But it's still made from dates and walnuts.

 A party in a cake!  If you're willing to eat sugar during this holiday season, check out the Ginger-Macadamia Nut-Coconut Carrot Cake from Vegan with a Vengeance.  Oh my wow.  Crowd pleaser and looks amazing!  I frosted it with her coconut frosting (loaded with sugar, and I felt sick the next day, literally like I had the flu). I brought it to a party and everyone loved it.  Would I eat it again and risk the sugar hangover?  I'll get back to you on that one.

 Dexter's menu is highly predictable and consistent.  Grain-free all meat kibble and whatever the kids drop at lunch time.

 Mitch waits, hopeful, that more food will magically appear in his bowl after he has emptied it.

***

Until next time...I'll try not to let ten days pass before my next post!