Just a little catching up

Okay, Nannie's moved in. The housemate's in. We're all just one big happy family. Or whatever. My drinking's gone through the roof.

Anyway, I'm cooking too. You know, stir, sip, stir, sip, smoke, stir, sip, and so forth. Just like Julia Child would do it.

This ain't perrty, but it was damn tasty. I believe both recipes are from Veganomicon. I remember that it's navy beans with onion, pepper, carrots, celery, garlic, and something. And homemade croutons. The couscous was cooked in tomato juice and then heated until the tomatoes were warm. Very rustic, kind of ugly, and very delicious.


IIRC, it was one of Nannie's first days at the house and I made the "Anything Goes" Fruit-Filled Muffins from HIAV. They wound up being blueberry and mango, and they were muuuch better than those last disasterous booberry muffins I made. The recipe said it makes six. I doubled it and got 21. Go me. I thought the batter was an odd consistency, a bit like paste, but they turned out fantastically!


Had some leftover chili, from some leftover chili, so that's right--it's nacho time! Nothing healthy here, just some plain ole chips, smothered in chili, FYH Vegan Gourmet nacho flavor, and salsa. Muy delicioso, de acuerdo.


Undoubtedly, one of the bestest things in the world is cornbread. And if it's not cooked in a cast iron skillet, I don't want it. The one I favor lately is Joni's from Cozy Inside , sans the sugar. I love ya, Joni, but cornbread ain't supposed to be corncake. What's up with all these yankees putting sugar in their cornbread? HA! Anyway, not sure what I served with this, probably something beany, but I wish I had some of its corny goodness right this minute. Slather it in Earth Balance and your mouth will thank you.


Lastly, I made one of the best tofu scrambles ever. Don't ask me exactly what's in it, and definitely don't ask me measurements. That's the beauty of tofu scramble. Clean out your fridge, be creative, try your luck, whatever--it always come out some serious yum. From what I remember, this one has baby bellas, onions, garlic, peppers, spinach, grape tomatoes, gobs of spices, and gotta have the nooch. It was good for lunch the next day too.


Guess that's it for now. We'll see how Jesus' birthday dinner comes out and I might have some pix from that. At least I know dessert will be good. Cuz really, is dessert ever "bad?"

Happy 93rd!

Not many people will be un/lucky enough to ever hear those words on their birthday, but thankfully, Nannie is. On December 2 we celebrated her 93rd birthday, and in the house together. We left the 'burg and arrived at the new place on the 28th, and the movers came on the 29th. Yes, professional movers thanks to some bailout (former) friends who can't keep their word. But that's a post for another day.

On to the celebration!

Even though we had just arrived, Nannie had set to work unpacking everything, so by that Tuesday I had access to all the fixins for a proper sit down grown up kind of meal. The lace tablecloth is probably 50 or 60 years old at least. This is Nannie's wedding china. The glasses are her (or her mother's, not sure) Chantilly crystal. And pardon the everyday silverware. After moving and cooking and arranging, I was just too pooped to bother finding one of her three boxes of silver. Not to mention I'm sure it would need to be polished. So, here's her birthday setting.



So what did we have to eat, you ask? Aside from that beautiful salad?

Lasagna! In all its deliciousness:


And of course the important things...what was for dessert? Well Nannie loooves banana splits, so I tried the Banana Split Cupcakes from VCTOTW. I wanted to love them as much as I thought I would, but they just didn't have that "ummph" I was looking for. Pretty? Yes. Good? Yes. Should I have just made birthday banana splits? Yes.


But if you want to serve them properly, you must have these little plates from gods know when. Matching tea cups fit into their very own little groove. I love these things. I want to make pie and coffee every day just to show them off. Another inherited addition from Nannie's stash.


So that was it! We dined by candlelight. We sang happy birthday. And V washed the china and the crystal by hand. I'll have to plan something truly divine for her 94th.

Back in the Kitchen Again--cuz vegans don't ride saddles!

Alllrighty! No more slacking. As I was commanded, thinking of "my public." Har har.

Saturday's dinner was savory tofu steaks (cubed), baked potatoes, and one of my most favorite dishes ever--the chard, acorn squash, tomatoes, and pine nut thing from The Vegan Gourmet, page 96 or so.



It is truly wonderful, but I don't know why I find it so complicated. Maybe it's the timing--you have to do x for five minutes, then do y for seven, then do z for four, add this then, and so on. I'm not good with that much direction. Anyway, I had to make some subs and it just didn't turn out as lovely as I remember (from when V made it, of course). I used frozen butternut squash in place of the acorn and canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. It wasn't inedible, but it wasn't fantabulous. And because of all the timing issues, the baked potatoes were overdone. Not twice baked, just overdone. Boo. I should hang up my apron now if I can't even bake a freakin' potato.

Sunday was better. I raked leaves for a while (you have to do that when you have a yard, ya know) and then spent much of the afternoon in the kitchen. First, I made the blueberry muffins from the Nov/Dec 08 issue of VegNews.



Eh. I've had (and made) better. They tasted bitter to me. Perhaps it was because I used frozen blueberries, but it just seems like they should have more "flavor." Probably won't be making again.

Next, I made the garlic basil muffins from the same issue of VN.



Muuuch better. They need quadruple the amount of garlic powder and basil called for, and I think some red pepper flakes would help, but overall a nice subtle change-of-pace dinner bread. And hey, "change" is all the rage now. That and "hope." Bladdy blah blah.

On to the appetizer. One of my most favorite things in the world...roasted brussel sprouts. It is positively AMAZING what a little olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a brussel sprout can do for a girl. Deee-lish.



On to better and starchier things...mac & cheese! Yes, that's right kids, vegans eat mac & cheese like everyone else. Well, not cheeeese of course, but something much better. A lovely creamy flavorful sauce. All the fat, none of the cruelty.



When I asked the freaks which was the best recipe, my buddy Misa immediately recommended this one. As usual, she's dead on balls accurate--and that's an industry term (vegan brownie points if you know what that's from). This shit is good. Damn good. It's the Soul Veg recipe, mostly. It's creamy and lush and it gets all bubbly in the oven. Just like mac & cheese should do. We also had some black eyed peas that I had previously frozen, jazzed up with onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, and whatever else I happened to toss in. Not the "prettiest" meal, but it was damn tasty.

So I hope to be back. And I hope to get better pix in the future. These suck.

Next up...Vegan Cooking Adventures with the G-ma!

Boy do I suck

Wow. Has it really been since MAY that I blogged? About anything? I suppose now that we've moved, and Nannie is about to move in, I'll get back to normal, cook more, and start blogging again. You know, cuz sooo many people read this thing. haha

I should make something good for dinner and get a pic. Last night we had hot dogs and a salad. That doesn't exactly make for interesting discussion, I suppose.

One helluva week

Last weekend I went down to visit with Nannie. As many of you know, I think she's having paranoid delusions and things are getting a bit difficult to deal with. It's looking more and more like we won't be able to do the house thing, but I'm really not sure how much longer she can stay where she is--alone. She was all down with coming to live with us, provided she had her own apartment, but she is completely against the assisted living thing. So, I remain stuck. And I grow ever more resentful that I am an only child and only grandchild, thus all of this falls to my aging yet immature shoulders. Amos stayed down there with her though, so I'm hoping he can perk her up and give her something to focus on rather than her "issues."

So I returned home dogless. When I got back on Monday, I heard about Maggie Moo's big weekend with Daddy at the dog park, lots of long walks, and even a bath at the doggie wash. Of course we thought she was exhausted, or just a typical lazy ole hound. But by Tuesday something was definitely amiss. For much of the day she stayed by herself in the bedroom. This is unusual. She peed in the floor two or three times. Okay, an accident in the night or can't hold it until you get home, but this was different, too many times, and never letting me know she needed to go out. And the biggest thing of all--she wouldn't eat dinner. Now THAT'S unheard of. Also, that night her breathing was labored, which is the thing that started worrying me the most.

Wednesday V calls me at work to tell me he's at the vet with her. She hadn't perked up at all and by then had a lot of puss coming from her eyes, so he knew there was some type of infection and took her in to be checked out. I was about to leave work and meet him there when he called and said the vet told him to get her to the e-vet. She had a temp of 105. Okay yeah, panic.

So we rush to Friendship Animal Hospital where they immediately took her back. We waited not so patiently. A tech came out, jotted down the symptoms. Short time later the doc comes out and calls us into a private room. Of course I think this is a bad sign. He said three things concerned him. 1) the high fever; 2) she seemed to have some pain when he pressed on her back; and 3) her stomach felt "full," perhaps like her organs were enlarged. Well given that she just had a grade 2 mast cell tumor removed on April 3, naturally my thoughts turn to cancer, and that it had spread before we got to it. Yes, he admitted, this was a possibility. But he needed to do x-rays and a full blood work up; she needed an IV, and they wanted to monitor her overnight. So we went home, nervous and afraid that she might not be coming home with us again.

V had to go immediately into work, so I was left at the house alone. The boy was at work; Amos was at Nannie's; and Maggie was in the hospital. It was awful. The vet called a short time later and said that the blood work was held up in the lab, but they found something like lacerations all over her back, perhaps from a small animal, he wasn't sure. They'd started her on an IV and she seemed to be doing better. But what was going on with her back? I was told to call the next morning and we could probably bring her home.

Next day. Her temp is down to normal, she's perked up, she'd eaten breakfast, and she was HOWLING. That's the girl I know and love. They had shaved part of her back/rear area and it was covered with these lesions. The vet says it does appear to be some type of allergic inflammation. It could be some very small animal bites, OR it could have come from the inside. She could have rolled around in something like poison ivy or another plant that caused a reaction. Basically, we just don't know. It's a mystery. Here's a crappy phone shot--if anyone has ideas as to what it could be please share!



There is one remaining concern, however, and that is that her liver enzyme levels are elevated. This could be 1) body wide inflammation and detoxing; 2) sludgy liver; or 3) liver cancer. We're going to keep her on benadryl and antibiotics for the next two weeks and then recheck her liver enzymes to hopefully see a decrease. If they remain the same or go up, we'll have to do an ultrasound and possibly a needle aspirate to determine what it is. I'm really thinking it's number 1.

BUT, she's alive and she's getting better. And I think my nerves *might* be getting back to normal. As always, my friends at VFF were extremely supportive and wonderful; sending me lots of supportive messages and phone texts and even virtual cuddles from their puppies. I'd like to say I had some real life friends who were as sweet, but alas, that's not the case. DC people are disappointing as usual.

Whew. So it's been a helluva week. My eyes well up with tears every time I look at Maggie now. I'm so happy she's alive and I don't even want to think of life without her. She's back where she belongs, and being her houndy self.

It's Farmers' Market Time!

Opened last weekend, conveniently at the corner of 14th and U. Here's today's haul.



Includes:
rhubarb
strawberries
pink ladies
radishes
mizuna
rainbow chard
buttercrunch lettuce
bok choy
purple bok choy
asparagus
spring onions
sundried tomato baguette

Yum!

"Abortion Redacted"

Are you fucking kidding me??

As if the assault on human rights, women's rights, and intellectual freedom in general weren't enough...now our lovely government is trying to ban the term abortion altogether. POPLINE, the database on reproductive health, recently "banned," and reinstated (thank you, Johns Hopkins), the ability to search for information on abortion. Salon has a nice, quick and dirty synopsis here.

Really? This doesn't even require comment, I'm sure.

Yet again, I'm embarrassed to be an Amerikkun. Get your fucking "laws" out of my uterus and out of my health databases. I typically flip off the USAID when passing by the Reagan Building, henceforth they get the double bird--typically reserved for motorcades (just in case) and the helicopters flying frequently overhead.

Watch This Video

Please. Spend a short 52 minutes of your life and give some thought to this video. What have you got to lose? What were you doing with 52 minutes anyway?

The Emotional World of Farm Animals

"Buffalo Chicken" Salad!

Okay, don't question it. Just love it. And make it. Worry about it tomorrow.



Salad of boston green and red, endive, carrots, red cabbage, cukes, red onions, green peppers. Take your favorite chicken sub such as extra firm (skillet browned) tofu, or chik'n nuggets, or chik'n strips, whatever, and toss those in a "buffalo wing" sauce. Ken's and Buffalo brand are vegan but chemically. Hey, the healthy part is the salad, right? Top your salad with the buffalo "chicken" (but don't use real chickens!! duh!) and toss the whole thing in a ranchy/blue cheesy blend of Vegenaise, garlic powder, onion powder, dill, basil, oregano, parsley, paprika, pepper, and red wine vinegar to desired texture.

Enjoy bliss.

Some People are Awesome. Some People Suck.

Yeah, you know who you are. It's (was) my birthday and I'll rant if I want to!

I'll start with some awesome people. My five friends who joined V and me for dinner at Vegetate last Thursday for my birthday. Not only did four omnis happily go to a vegetarian restaurant with three vegans, all apps and entrees ordered were vegan and there was much passing and swapping of plates. I had such a blast with everyone and they all have my lifelong thanks for coming out and giving me one of the best b-days ever. This group of delightful and witty peeps are most definitely people who are awesome. Our server at the restaurant? He's one of the people who suck.

Another awesome person--our mortgage hotshot, A. She is nothing short of amazing in her dedication to helping us get into a house. Too bad we lost the "perfect" place, but she was right there through the whole thing and is a fantastic cheerleader with a super sharp financial brain. This of course amazes me, considering my hatred of all things mathematical.

To add to the list--my boss, M, with whom I only have one more day. Were it not for her, I would not have a new job with a tremendous bump in responsibility and salary. She's one of the most incredible people I've ever met and it breaks my heart that she's leaving. Alas, she is so wonderful, everyone wants her to come work with them, and she's moving on to something exciting for her. Her new colleagues are lucky bastages indeed. Though I lose her as a coworker, she will remain something much more precious, a friend.

And the final note on people who are awesome--my love, V. He is the funniest and most handsome and most patient man in the world. I know putting up with me and my shit is not an easy thing (no comments necessary on this one, kids), and he endures with love and humor. He rocks my world and fills my eyes with tears for how much I love him. And I'm not just saying that cuz he got me an i-pod for my b-day!

On to the people who suck...

Former friends. What's up with that? Once we were friends, confidants, buds, girrlz. Now that I'm here, little to no contact EVEN WHEN THEY VISIT DC. I almost posted about this back in January--because I was really really hurt--but I let it go, hoping there would be an apology e-mail. Something to tell me how horribly busy they were during the big conference of the year. But I know that conference. I've been going longer than they have, and I know there is plenty of time to do non-conference things. Especially if one of those things is seeing an old and dear friend. You know, maybe contact somebody before you get to town, let them know your dates, your schedule, figure out when you can get together? Or maybe that's just me. I'M the one who had to contact them while they were here, only to be told they were going to sessions that night but would be going out the next. All this by text. And I never heard another word. No text. No call. And I knew when the conference was over of course. I was there too. And here, two months later, no contact explaining why that happened the way it did. Today, I find out that one of these people was in town last Thursday and Friday. You know, my BIRTHDAY. And yet again, didn't bother to mention the visit. So, these are people who suck. If it's you and you see this, are you offended? Because I say you suck? Yes? I suppose that's much the way I felt when I realized how little our friendship means to you, when it always meant so much to me.

Other people who suck--friends who only want to do things that are their idea. You know the type. Doesn't matter what you come up with, if it wasn't their suggestion, they won't participate. Sure, they offer up ideas of things to do, and will give you shit for not coming out, but you'll never see them show up for anything you suggest. Even when it's your birthday.

And while I'm on it--people for whom you go out of your way to do something special for them. Oh, I dunno, let's say on their birthday. And you don't even get a many happy returns when yours rolls around. Now obviously I'm not saying "I got you a gift; where's mine?" Gods no. Not what I mean at all. If I give someone a gift it's because I want to, with no expectation of anything in return, save for a "thanks." I'm just talking about some kind of acknowledgment, you know, a call, an e-mail, a text, a hug. I don't think that's asking too much, so I'm saying those are people who suck.

So some people are awesome, and some people suck.