Tuesday, December 23, 2008

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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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

Lasagna! In all its deliciousness:
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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.
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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.
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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.