Veganything

Just a little catching up

2008-12-23T14:12:00.008-05:00

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!

2008-12-23T13:44:00.007-05:00

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!

2008-11-24T15:02:00.010-05:00

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

2008-11-20T11:09:00.003-05:00

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

2008-05-30T14:08:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-05-17T11:43:00.003-04:00

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"

2008-04-09T19:09:00.004-04:00

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

2008-04-04T22:41:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-03-31T21:37:00.003-04:00

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.

2008-03-17T21:09:00.002-04:00

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.

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and some random thoughts

2007-12-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

What's a girl to do, sitting home with her dogs on a Saturday night? Well make cookies of course! These are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking. And they are nothing short of fantastic.

I'll be heading to Nannie's on Monday for the annual xmas irritation. Happy birfday, Jebus! I'm going to do my best to keep my cynicism to myself though, with this being our last xmas in the house. As much as I hate to admit it, the sentimental part of me knows this will be tough--for both of us. The only xmas memories I have, I have in that living room, with the dark wood wall, a roaring fire, the gumdrop tree, and Nannie's perfect tree with some ornaments that are 70 years old. Oh well. Things change. I suppose we just have to deal.

I went through six or seven cookbooks today, planning what to make while I'm down there. Nothing nailed down, but I'll definitely be doing a few things from Bryanna's Almost No-Fat Cookbook, the new Yellow Rose Recipes (don't have it yet? get it!) and one I picked up yesterday, Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. I've been pretty bad of late, and plan to get back to healthy eating by doing a lot of soups. They're filling, comforting, variable, generally low in fat, and I feel better when I eat a lot of soup, "lighter" somehow. Now to stay away from the bread machine...

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a happy time, however you celebrate the season. Cook lots and tell me all about it!

Some Food (with recipes) and Stuff

2007-12-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

Hey, kids! Yeah, yeah, it's been a while and I obviously didn't fare well with NaBloPoMo. Eh, whatever. But I DO know someone who completed NaNoWriMo, so a HUGE CONGRATS to my friend H. You did it! There was never any doubt. So now I know a novelist! I guess that makes both of us cool.

Aaaand on to some food and crappy pix. Wouldn't it just ruin things if I actually had a decent camera?

Earlier this week I made my friend VeganWitch's spinach lasagna.

YUM. I also made it last Thursday--on that day that some people "celebrate" but which is actually a day of mourning--for Nannie and she loved it. V was pretty fond of it too, as evidenced by his three helping dinner. As always, I added way more spices and garlic than called for.

It's super easy to put together and utterly delicious. Make it. Like now.

Kick Ass Lasagna

Ingredients

* 2-3 jars of favorite spaghetti sauce
* 1-16 oz bag of spinach leaves
* 1/2 lb. carrots
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 2 cloves minced garlic
* 1/4 cup canned low-sodium veggie broth
* 1 lb. tofu (I usually mash in some oregano, pepper, garlic powder and salt)
* 8 oz. vegan "cream cheese" (I use tofutti)
* 2 Tblspns. lemon juice
* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* 12 lasagna noodles, cooked
* 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice carrots and steam, set aside. Add olive oil to a large skillet, place over medium-high heat until hot. Add parsley and garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add carrots and veggie broth; simmer uncovered for 5 min. Add tofu, vegan "cream cheese", and lemon juice; stir well. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until fake cheesy stuff starts to melt. Stir in nutmeg and nutritional yeast. Remove from heat; keep warm.

Place 3 lasagna noodles in bottom of large baking dish. Spread carrot mixture over top, place 3 noodles on top of that and spread tomato sauce and spinach on top of those, repeat process until all noodles are used up... top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes. Enjoy!

On Thursday I decided not to go to work. Actually, on Wednesday I decided not to go in on Thursday. Late in the day I decided chocolate chip cookies would be a good idea. So here they are:

I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Something went awry but it was most certainly user error, as others have made this recipe with great success and that book is fucking amazing (as evidenced by the cranberry scones I made last week). Not sure what I did but the cookies didn't spread in the oven as usual, so for the second batch I had to flatten them before baking which I think made for a crunchier cookie. I prefer chewy, but whatever, they're good and of course being eaten. Oh, and I also added walnuts. Cuz, well, they're walnuts.

Next, on to some soup. I also didn't go to work on Friday (I actually was feeling kind of crappy both days--due to the fact that I'm a GIRL), so I made some potato soup. This is also one of VeganWitch's recipes and it is positively fantabulous. Make it. Like the day after you make the lasagna. Okay, that may be a bit much back to back, but toss together a salad and look how healthy you are! Besides, this soup has broccoli in it, and everyone knows that any dish with broccoli is super healthy.

Creamy Potato and Broccoli Soup

I have made this recipe several times in the last few weeks.....it is so awesome. I like to serve it with a sprinkle of vegan "bacon" bits and a dollop of vegan sour cream.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1 large onion
6 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons of veggie bouillon powder
ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups "milk" (I used Silk enhanced with flax and DHA)
1 head of broccoli (frozen or steamed)
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt, to taste

In a large stock pot melt the margarine and add the onions and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

While the onions are cooking, place the diced potatoes, carrots, water and bouillon powder in another stock pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.

Add the flour to the cooked onions to make a paste. Gradually add the "milk" and stir well. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until warmed through. Add the potato and carrot mixture. Stir in the broccoli, parsley and thyme and heat through. Add salt to taste.

I have also made variations of this soup using celery, garlic and veggie broth. Also have tried topping with vegan cheddar and croutons.

Enjoy!

Again, an easy and tasty recipe. You'll have leftovers, but it doesn't make it to the freezer around here--it's just too damn good and gets eaten quickly.

Lots of things going on aside from kitchen activities. Maybe I'll get to some of that later.

Thanksgiving with the Turkeys--and then some ranting

2007-11-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was the annual Thanksgiving with the Turkeys at Poplar Spring. Two vegan friends from Baltimore, who I don't see nearly enough, came down for the day. I love them dearly and they're smart and fun chicas, so it's always good to see them.

Of course it's always wonderful to see the turkeys, chickens, pheasants, and others enjoying their fanciful feast. Catered right to their yard on table tops for their dining pleasure, and with the security that no one is going to hurt them ever again.

Being a potluck, ya gots to bring some food, right? So I made gonzo salad, cornbread, and I had frozen the massive amount of Greek Stuffing from the other night, so I heated that up and brought it along. There were GOBS AND GOBS of food--so much there's no way you could taste everything. I truly wish there was a Poplar Spring Cookbook, because some of the dishes were nothing short of incredible and I'd love to have the recipes.

After a satisfying lunch and three plates (yes, I said three plates) of desserts we passed around, we went to visit with the other animals. I am especially in love with goats and pigs. Why? Cuz they're goats and pigs! Have you ever spent any time with them? The goats are always fun--they're so curious and have such unique faces. It's always with the goats though that I start crying. Especially with the older ones or the ones who've suffered such cruelty they have obvious lifelong injuries. Pigs are just so freakin' smart and adorable and many are quite affectionate towards humans. How anyone could put the flesh of these beautiful animals into their mouths in beyond my comprehension. You have to be a pretty sick fuck to look into their soulful eyes and see "food." Toward the end of the day, V and I took a walk out to visit with the cows, who I think had pretty much had their fill of people by that time. Can't say I blame them.

Which leads me to the angry portion of this post.

What the fuck is wrong with people? The ENTIRE IDEA of Thanksgiving with the Turkeys is to, well, spend Thanksgiving with the Turkeys. Gee, I thought that was kind of, you know, obvious. And of course to visit the other animals and serve as a fundraiser for the monumental work done at the sanctuary. So why the hell when they were bringing out the birds' feast were there more people lined up at the potluck, waiting to dig in, than hanging by the birds?? Why? I shall tell you why. Because humans are selfish, ignorant, tacky, greedy fucks. Now I'm no Miss Manners, but if any one of you ever happens to run across this--YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I was ashamed for you. You embarrassed yourselves. I don't care whether you're vegan or not; you demonstrated some high level assholery with that one. The birds were the guests of honor, and instead of even waiting until they had been served THEN going to get in line, your greedy asses were standing there, paper plate in hand, waiting to be given the "go" signal. Next year, how about you just write a check out to Poplar Spring and leave your sorry ass at home, k? Thanks.

And another thing--I know some of you brought non-vegan food to this event. In fact I saw you, Hippie Boy, walk in with those two large containers of grocery store-bought doughnuts. Being that this is DC and we don't have vegan doughnuts like Seattle, Portland, and Vegas, you broke the basic rule of the potluck. Way to go. Doughnuts aren't even vegetarian. And I noticed a lot of store bought things, especially on the dessert tables. I'm not saying you gotta rock the kitchen like Isa or Colleen, but come on. Most of that shit was likely not vegan. Don't have the time or talent to make something? Grab some pita and hummus on your way, but don't you dare bring non-vegan food to an ANIMAL SANCTUARY event. Oh, as for the TWO hummers in the parking lot? FUCK YOU.

And finally, I invited no less than 16 people to this event, and NOT ONE would attend. Kind of getting used to no one in this town ever wanting to do anything, but seriously, not one? For something fun, educational, and including free food? And for something that was actually pretty important to me? Then again, when I asked everyone I know to go vegan just for ONE DAY as a personal favor to me, I had exactly one person grant my request. One. Hope no one else ever needs a favor. Yes, I am aware that this could be nothing more than a failure in my activism, and that's probably something I should explore further. But in general, I have had it with omnis (yes this includes you, pescatarians) and vegetarians too afraid or too guilty or too stubborn to face the reality of what they're doing. What they're doing to the animals and what they're doing to the environment and what it all means with regard to social and environmental justice. It is NOT a personal choice. When YOUR so-called choices affect the well-being and the very existence of others, they cease to be "personal" choices. If you could have gone to this event, or a similar one in your area, and you didn't, well--you suck.

And while I'm starting my third paragraph with the word "and," I have had it up to HERE with people telling me how much they looooove animals. Yes, they love animals so much they put it into practice by tacitly participating in their murder and then eating their corpses. Please stop saying you love animals. It's obvious you don't. Just say you love dogs and/or cats, cuz that's really all you're talking about. And if you don't see the hypocrisy in saying you love your dog but you're eating a pig, well then I'm not really certain of your intellectual capacity.

This really shouldn't have turned into a big ole rant. Saturday was a beautiful day in so many ways. Overall it was wonderful seeing friends, sharing a meal, visiting with the animals. Just can't forget the asshats who always seem to stick out.

Greek Stuffing

2007-11-16T12:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a slacker. No posts since Sunday. I have failed in NaBloPoMo in a big way. But hey, if you gonna do it, do it big.

The pumpkin spice bread was a big hit at work. People grubbed it right up (yeah, you know who you are!).

Monday was D's birthday, so dinner at the Playbill. Tuesday was class. Wednesday was back in the kitchen! I made the Greek Stuffing from Cozy Inside. I was a bit leary of the raisins and the cinnamon--and with good reason. The recipe is good and the dish turned out just fine, it's just a personal taste thing that made both V and me less than crazy about this one. I think I'll try it again--because the wild rice and seitan were superb--but go with a savory flair next time. And probably more garlic, cuz, well, it's more garlic.

Although there's no pic of the Greek Stuffing, here is a pic of the two most adorable dogs on the planet taken that same night. How do I know they're the most adorable dogs? JUST LOOK! And see if this doesn't make you want to sing "Maggie got a big ole butt, oh yeah!"

I Have Redeemed Myself

2007-11-11T19:50:00.000-05:00

Today was far superior food-wise to yesterday's "eh." I'm much better with baking than cooking and got the baking bug early in the day. I made the Pumpkin Spice Bread (p65) from the new and fabulous The Joy of Vegan Baking. I added chocolate chips and walnuts. Yum yum yum! If my coworkers are lucky, they'll get the uncut loaf on Tuesday. If not, I will be extremely full of spicy pumpkiny chocolately walnuty yumminess. This stuff is the super bomb diggity.

Needing to make a better meal than yesterday, I once again turned to the Veganomicon, hoping for better results this time. Jackpot! I tried the Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans(p137). Good gravy this was delicious. In fact, V's word was "incredible." I didn't roast the garlic because even though I like roasted garlic, the flavor is just too subtle for me, and given that the rest of the soup was on the bland/simple side, I went for straight up garlic, and loads of it. I also included more thyme, marjoram, salt, and pepper than called for--and added loads of basil and oregano, with a dash of red pepper. Great tomato soup, but the thing that made it, I'm sure, is the fact that I used canned (by Nannie) tomatoes from my dad's garden this year. It would definitely be good with regular ole canned tomatoes if you have to use them, but go with the best brand you can get, and make sure they're organic.

A Not So Good Night in the Kitchen

2007-11-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

It's not often I make something that makes me toss my plate on the coffee table and say "I can't eat that shit." Well, tonight was the night.

Finally delving into Veganomicon, I tried the Chickpea Cutlets(p133) with the Mustard Sauce(p204). I went with the baking method rather than pan frying for the cutlets, and it's likely they were dry because I held them too long waiting for the side dish, and I may have made them a bit too thin, but they didn't have much flavor and were really really hard. I'd try again though, adding some spices and going with a pan fry. That doesn't change the mustard sauce though. Blargh! Now I'm a big mustard fan, but this stuff was just Not. Good. Yeah, my cooking sherry was probably past its prime, but even still, even if it was a bit vinegary, it should have worked with the sauce overall. I will NOT be making this sauce again.

The side dish tonight was Acorn Squash with Tomatoes, Chard, and Pine Nuts from The Vegan Gourmet. We made this last year for our non-thanksgiving and it was fantastic. This time, not so much. Just like for the dinner last year, I had to call V in to help on this one because I was getting a little behind in making everything come out together. This time we followed the recipe exactly (except we used red chard)--last time V kind of went off on his own, as he does, and made it his way and made it d-lish. Well the gods know sometimes that's just what you have to do, and that's how we should have done it this time. Edible, but nothing like it was the last time we made it. Still a great recipe, very colorful and makes a beautiful table (if you're setting a table and not eating on your sofa like usual), it just didn't turn out so hot this time but neither of us could figure exactly why.

I ate some of it, but made my meal from yesterday's Mac & Cheeze(p52) from Cozy Inside. Now THAT was good and worth making again and again.

Cashew Curry "Chicken" Salad

2007-11-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so I skipped work and class today. What's it to ya? I don't usually get to make anything on Tuesdays because of my schedule, so this just gave me the opportunity to make something yummy--which I did with the Cashew Curry "Chicken" Salad from Cozy Inside. I followed the recipe exactly, which is a rarity. The only thing I would add is that I recommend giving the cashews a rough chop before the saute. Seems like the thing to do, but Joni doesn't specifically state that. Anyway, D-lish! It's good warm or cold. And it makes your house smell divine.

Further exhibition of my need for a real camera...

Nirvana

2007-11-05T23:18:00.001-05:00

Not much to blog about today (though there is a news story I'd like to address later), but I do want to mention (especially for the DC peeps and visitors) that ten vegans dined at Nirvana tonight. Of course dinner with like-minded people is always good and refreshing from the "outside world." There's no explaining. No avoiding sensitive topics because you might "offend" someone during dinner--though no one seems to mind offending vegans during dinner. No compromising on the restaurant just so you can "find something" to eat.

Anyway, Nirvana is a particularly wonderful spot because it's all veg, mostly vegan or veganizable. In fact, it may be one of my new favorites for many reasons, but especially because it's about a mile and half from our house, the people are nice and helpful, the service attentive, and of course the food is DAMN GOOD. V had the vindaloo (heh--V for Vindaloo!) and I had one of my all-time loves, aloo gobi. H was kind enough to share her dosa and the three of us dabbled a bit from each other's plates.

So, good food, good friends, new people (even representin' from OCanada). If you live here, lemme know when you wanna go. If you don't, we're going when you visit. Especially you JenF, cuz I know you loves you some Indian foodstuff.

Hangover day dinner

2007-11-04T18:37:00.000-05:00

You know how you need greasy fries when you have a hangover? Yeah, well I didn't have any potatoes today but I did have a hangover. Needing something lovely and carby, I turned to pasta. Nothing elaborate, and no recipe. Just a plate of penne and sauce with burger crumbles, lots of spices, and some nooch. Oh, and of course some of yesterday's herb bread. Doesn't get much quicker and easier.

Afternoon delights

2007-11-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

A cool Saturday afternoon begs for some time in the kitchen. Today I got busy with a couple of Robin Robertson's recipes. First, I made the PDQ Pot Pie from Quick Fix Vegetarian (p137). I'm renaming this one "World's Ugliest Pot Pie" for obvious reasons, but that's because I used a round pie crust in a rectangular pyrex. Hey, as long as it tastes good, right? Which it does. And as promised, it was indeed a quick fix. Found myself to be out of onions today (how can I be out of onions??), so I added some onion powder to the vegetable mixture, and some broccoli and celery. I also used Tofurkey brats. Robin suggests using extra firm tofu or some type of "meat" analog--and the brats were the only thing in the fridge that would work (since I had other plans for the tofu). I also added a gob of garlic. Cuz that's how I roll.

Next, I tried Robin's recipe for Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan Planet (p511). Only I didn't have any cranberries, so out come the raisins. For such a simple cookie, this one was actually a bit disappointing. Turns out you need to flatten them as you're putting the dough on the cookie sheet, not make them as drop cookies per the instructions. Don't get me wrong--they're good, just not my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. I prefer a chewy cookie, these are a bit crunchier than I like. Of course this will not stop us from eating them. Duh. Cookies are cookies.

One more homemade thing for today--and the best thing in the world to have as a homemade treat--BREAD. This is a fantastic bread, light and fluffy, herby, crusty, just what bread should be. The recipe is from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. Do you have this book? Well you should. It's not vegan, but everything is veganizable. Except for maybe your favorite buttermilk honey cheese pepperoni bread, although I'm sure someone could figure that out too. Anyway, this bread is delicious. It's just the plain ole Herb Bread recipe (p304), which calls for marjoram, basil, and tarragon. Of those three, I had basil. You don't really think that would stop me from having homemade bread, do you? I threw in some garlic powder and rosemary along with the basil, and a handful of sesame seeds, and it's fantastico.

The theatre makes you think

2007-11-02T12:29:00.002-04:00

Last night my friend R and I went to see the Studio Theatre's production of My Children! My Africa! by playwright Athol Fugard . The story is set in South Africa during apartheid, and accounts the unlikely friendship of two students--one black, one white. Make that a black male and a white female. You see why their friendship was unlikely. Thami and Isabel are from different sides of town, different parts of their segregated town that is, and at 18 begin to see their similarities more so than what makes them so different. The other character in the play is Thami's teacher Mr. M. (Mr. Myalatya), a passionate and dedicated educator who brings them all together through debate and then enters them as a team into a literature competition. But as the world is changing right outside the classroom, in the streets of "the location," so too does the trio's relationship.

The script is lyrical and meaningful. All three of the actors were superb. It was funny and sad and maddening and thought-provoking. So, a good night at the theatre, and if you have the opportunity you should certainly catch a performance of this play. But...It made me realize how little I know of what happened in South Africa during apartheid, and what still goes on there today. It's not like it was some long ago period in history--I was an adult by the time apartheid officially ended. I don't ever remember hearing of it in school, WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING. I don't even remember much mention of it in college, despite the fact that I spent a lot of time focused on social justice issues. I'll leave the failings of the US public school system for another time, but this is my failing. My lack of attention to what was happening in South Africa during apartheid--and its residual effects--is embarrassing and inexcusable. Sure I remember when Mandela was released, but beyond what made the US mainstream media, what did I know? Nothing. And I still don't. I have much catching up to do.

Hello blogging world

2007-11-01T16:39:00.001-04:00

This is the first post of the rest of my life.

I've been thinking about blogging for a while, but never could coalesce my thoughts to the point of figuring out what to call it and what to write about. I knew veganism would be a part of it. I knew dogs, the two with whom I live in particular, would have a role. Animal rights would have to be discussed. I knew food would be up there on the list, along with my often bumbling attempts to create magic in the kitchen. I knew living in DC would be a factor. But which one of these topics to focus on? And then I figured it out. I will write about all of those things. Not with any sort of plan of course. Just all of it--veganything. And everything.

So why now? Today begins NaBloPoMo. What the hell is that, you may ask. It is National Blog Posting Month, a less stressing take on the infamous NaNoWriMo, which I'm not about to undertake. Can't say I'll keep up with NaBloPoMo, but perhaps. In addition, today is World Vegan Day. Between these two ocassions, it was today or never. Thus it is today.