Catch You On the Flip-Side!

Ladies & Gents:

As of this evening, I will have minimal access to the internet for the next two weeks or so. Which means: chances are I won't be updating here. BUT if I get bored, or eat something that is SO good that I find myself three-hours later, butt-nekkid and slathered in it, with no memory of how I got there, I may perhaps manage a post. So keep your eye out. But chances are, you won't be hearing from me again 'til sometime around New Year's Eve.

Have no fear though! I will be back with plenty of oily feces and recipes for the New Year! So don't give up on my blog: I shall return!

Smooches.

And happy holidays, however you choose to celebrate them!

Chipotle Chili With Sweet Potatoes And Brussel Sprouts

                                       from the ppk


There is something shit-tastic about the brand of crushed tomatoes I've been buying. There HAS to be. 'Cause this is the second chili recipe that I've whipped up that's BOMBED*. And there's NO WAY. There's just no way. I can see one of them sucking because of a random disgusting thick tomatoeyness. But TWO?? For the EXACT SAME REASON?? It's GOT to be the brand of crushed tomatoes. Seriously.

But what a bummer. Because I really liked the flavor of brussel sprouts mingling with sweet taters and tomato. And I really think that this HAS to be a yummy recipe. And yet, BLORF. Brought it for lunch on Monday, heated it up, took a few bites and was like Why God Why?!?! The brussel sprouts were great. The yams (I subbed) were great. I fucked up and bought poblanos instead of chipotles (I had just finished up dicing up THREE huge poblanos and was thinking, My--this is a LOT of peppers, and then, as I was scraping them off the cutting board into the pot my brain was suddenly all NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOthoseare
poblanosnotchipotlesyoudumbmotherfucker but too late), but even THOSE tasted fine. But the tomatoes. Egads. Like a tomatoey version of caulking or something: Thick. Unappetizing. Overwhelming. Just nasty.

I passed some of the chili along to my friend QBL for a second opinion, so we'll see if she never shows up at work today because of Death by Disgusting Chili or something. But man alive. How disappointing. 'Cause I try not to be a food waster, but even the THOUGHT of forcing myself to eat this chili the rest of the week makes me want to weep and never stop. So it's surely going to be a case of Mr. Trashcan meet Ms. Disgusting Chili.

NONETHELESS: I pass along the recipe, because I really DO believe that it's probably a good one. If my tomatoes didn't suck. But that's what I get for being cheap. From now on: The most expensive crushed tomatoes I can find, goddammit!

----------
*The first one, which was this one, I never posted about because it was SO terrible that I was suspicious that something weird was going and didn't want to sound like I was dissing the recipe when I was pretty certain that it wasn't the fault of the recipe itself.



INGREDIENTS:

• 2 T. olive oil


• 1 red onion, diced


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 tablespoon coriander seed, crushed (or I subbed in like 1 t. of coriander powder)


• 2 t. dried oregano


• 3 chipotles, seeded and chopped


• 1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes (2 average sized), peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces


• 12 oz brussels sprouts, quartered lengthwise (about 2 cups)


• 2 t. ground cumin


• 3 t. new mexico chili powder (or other mild chili powder)


• 1 32-oz. can crushed tomatoes


• 1 c. water


• 1 16-oz can pintos, rinsed and drained (about 1 1/2 c.)


• 1 1/2 t. salt


• Fresh lime juice to taste (about one lime was good for me)

DIRECTIONS

In a soup pot over medium heat, saute onion in olive oil for about 7 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, coriander seeds, and oregano and saute a minute more. Add remaining ingredients (except for lime juice). Mix well. The sweet potatoes and brussel sprout will be peaking out of the tomato sauce, but don't worry, they will cook down.

Cover pot and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for about half an hour, stirring often, until sweet potatoes and fork tender but not mushy.

Squeeze in lime juice to taste and adjust any other seasonings. Let sit uncovered for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Serves 6 to 8

(Recipe from the ppk)

Upside-Down Shepherd's Pie

                                       from My Veggie Kitchen


**WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY-SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING TO BRING YOU THE FOLLOWING LATE-BREAKING NEWS**:

My boyfriend likes to put Bac-Os on everything.
And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING.

I waggled my wtf-eyeball at him when he kept tossing them on some of the pasta dishes I'd made.

But then the one time, he shook them all over my fettucine alfreda, and I was like, Dude, not EVERYTHING needs Bac-Os. Until he convinced me to try it. And I realized that it actually DID taste good with Bac-Os. So I thought, Perhaps he's right after all.

Until this weekend.

This weekend, I made us this upside-down shepherd's pie. And seriously: It was the bomb. It's super-fricking easy, but it's totally yumtastic belly-warming winter food. He took a couple bites, and his eyes lit up. "Holy shit. This is like the best thing ever," he blurted between bites. Then 10 seconds later: the dude is totally shaking Bac-Os all over it.

Now, pasta: I can see. But shepherd's pie? That I tossed a bit of sage into to give it a kind of chicken-pot-pie flavor? AND BAC-OS?!?! I'm sorry, dude: no. That's just gross.

But I think perhaps he's becoming a bad influence. Because the day before, I totally had a hankering for Bac-Os, and I whipped up a quick pasta dish that ended up being delish (some margarine, Bac-Os, flour, veggie broth, nooch, and garlic powder, which tasted strikingly similar to a previous pasta carbonara recipe I've made before and love, but with only half the cooking time):



So: Damn the boy. And damn Bac-Os. I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

But whatever you do, don't damn this shepherd's pie recipe, 'cause it's damn motherf-ing good. No lie. And I don't even like tater tots.

**WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY-SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING**




INGREDIENTS:

• 6 c. mashed potatoes


• 1 lb tater tots (half a bag)


• 3 T. Earth Balance Margarine


• 1 small onion, chopped


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 c. broccoli florets


• 1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced


• 1/4 c. flour


• 1/2 c. frozen peas


• 1/2 c. frozen corn


• 1 can chickpeas, drained


• 2 c. vegetable broth


• 1/2 c. soy milk


• 2 T. nutritional yeast


• 1/2 t. salt


• 1/4 t. pepper


• A shake or two of sage powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Melt margarine in a sauce pan. Add onion and mushrooms and saute until soft. Stir in garlic and broccoli and cook until the garlic is aromatic. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for a couple minutes longer. Add the remaining filling ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and remove from heat and set aside. The sauce should have thickened a bit.

Spread mashed potatoes in a 9 x 13 casserole, spreading some of the potatoes up the sides. Pour in the gravy and veggies. Spread tater tots over the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until the tater tots are browned and the gravy is bubbly.

COOK'S TIPS:

This can be made with any combination of veggies that you want and can be as simple as mixing a bag of frozen veggies with gravy and adding a can of beans or seitan strips. Just make sure you have five or six cups of filling. Also, I kept the nutritional yeast to a minimum at my kids' request. I ended up sprinkling some extra over the top for myself. You may just want to add some more.

(Recipe from My Veggie Kitchen)

Vegan Ice Cream Cake Bar!

So my plan for my sister's b-day (which fell on T-day this year) was to make individual little ice cream cakes for everyone. I used the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World chocolate cupcake recipe and doubled it to make two cakes. I then cut out individual little circle-cakes with a glass (the two cakes yielded about 7 of them). My plan was then to coat each cake with a mixture of caramel and oreo cookies and then use one of my martini glasses to shape the ice cream into a cone-shape on each cake. I then planned on drizzling fudge over each of them and serving them with soy whipped cream.

But, as with most well-intentioned plans, things went awry: The caramel sauce was thin and drizzly instead of thicker as I'd assumed from the recipe which said the sauce was "thick but pourable at room temperature." It was not. However, I *did* use cornstarch instead of arrowroot. So that could've been the problem, although they SHOULD be relatively interchangeable (3:2 ratio of cornstarch to arrowroot). Nonetheless: I was forced to change plans and instead decided to reverse things up and make an oreo-fudge layer for the cake-tops and use the caramel to drizzle all over everything. Fine and good. But then I tried to shape the ice cream and realized that there was NO way in hell THAT was gonna work.

Then: KABBLAM! Ephiphany! Ice cream cake bar!!!!



I knew my sister would love it, so when it came time for dessert, I brought out one of the boring little plain individual cakes with some candles in it. Disappointing surely. But after she blew out the candles, I announced that--taddah!--there was an ice cream cake bar. Woot woot! Cafeteria style, I laid out oreo-fudge, caramel sauce, oreos, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and soy whip, and everyone lined up and made their own ice cream cakes.

It rocked.

This is my sister thinking to herself: Boy does this ice cream cake bar rock! And also, Boy do I hate you and your motherf-ing camera.



Had I thought of this plan initially, I probably would've just made the chocolate cupcake recipe AS chocolate cupcakes instead of cake and served THOSE for the ice cream cake bar instead, because as it was, I have a contained of misshapen cake-fragments left over from cutting out mini-cake circles. But hey: you live and learn, you know?

So although there isn't a specific recipe for the cake in its entirety, I am posting the two sauce recipes, since they were both really delish. The caramel sauce is thin and drizzly and uber-sweet. The fudge is thick and dense, a little bit difficult to work with and thin out (perhaps a bit more soy milk would've helped) but seriously fricking fantastic.

Enjoy!



CARAMEL SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 c. Earth Balance or other vegan margarine


• 2 c. brown sugar


• 3/4 c. soy creamer or soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)


• 2 T. arrowroot (or 3 T. cornstarch)

DIRECTIONS

Combine 1/4 cup soy creamer with the arrowroot. Set aside.

Melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan. Stir in brown sugar. Add remaining 1/2 cup soy creamer. Bring liquid to a boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Take the pan off the heat and immediately add arrowroot slurry. The liquid should thicken quickly.

Pour over ice cream! Or store in fridge for up to one week.

(Recipe from the ppk)




OREO FUDGE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 c. cocoa or carob powder


• 2 T. cornstarch


• 1 1/4 c. soy milk, rice milk, or other non-dairy milk of choice


• 1/2 c. maple syrup


• 1 t. vanilla


• 12 to 15 oreo cookies, ground

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, sift together the cocoa and cornstarch.

Transfer the cocoa mixture to a small saucepan and whisk 1/2 cups soy milk into the cocoa mixture. Add the remaining soy milk and maple syrup to saucepan and whisk well to combine.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, while whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes or until it forms a thick sauce. (It will happen all the sudden--like BLAM! Suddenly thick!)

Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Stir in the oreo cookie crumbles.

Serve warm as a topping for cakes, desserts, non-dairy ice cream or sorbet, or as a dipping sauce for fruit. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, and reheat as needed.

(Recipe adapted from The Vegan Chef)

Sweet n' Salty Stuffing

Entirely random unsegue into a stuffing recipe: I have strange food-habits, which I've no doubt mentioned before. But this morning, while grabbing a utensil to take with me for lunch, I realized the following one takes the cake when it comes to irrationality...

I have this one fork in my collection of forks that I hate. As in, when I pull it out of the fork drawer, I get angry. And I usually try to avoid using it, unless absolutely nothing else is clean. Why? Because it has a wide base and short tines. Which for some reason fills me with intense hatred.

And now: the stuffing I raved about incessantly yesterday:

                                       from bakingsheet

I'm a big proponent of the salty-sweet combination in a dish. There's just something incredibly delicious about the way the two contrast on the tastebuds.

Case in point: For a long time, my mom used to make fun of me because when we'd hit up a movie and grab a late-night snack somewhere after, my order would usually consist of toast and ice cream. Or toast and pie. Or toast and cake. Get me? Salty-sweet: love it.

And that's what I dug so much about this dish: It's got the saltiness going on from all things vegetabley and bouillony, but the apples and cranberries counter it with a delightful and delicate sweetness. AND, not only does this stuffing represent when it comes to the sweet/salty combo, it also does so with the soft/crunchy. Smushy gushy bread and soft veggies blessed with an occasional crunch from the pecans. How stuffing is meant to be.

I doubled this recipe, but I'm just reposting the original. It doubles easily. I just baked it in a 9x13 glass baking dish (or something along that line of measurements), and I think I added on maybe 10 or 15 minutes to the baking time, but only because I added a little too much broth.

Anyways, there were only six of us, and even with double the quantity, there were very little leftovers. And it was the dish most raved about at T-day. So hopefully that's enough stuffing-flattery to get you try this recipe out.

(Ps. Allularpunk: If you try it, lemme know what you think!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. onion, diced


• 1/2 c. celery, diced


• 1/2 c. apple, peeled and diced


• 2 t. dried or 3 T. minced fresh parsley


• 1/2 t. dried sage


• 1/4 t. salt


• pinch cayenne pepper


• 4 c. bread cubes (white or whole grain)


• 1/2 c. dried cranberries


• 1/4 c. chopped pecans


• 10-12 T. strong vegetable broth* (up to 3/4 cup)

*Use strong veggie broth for the best flavor. (I used double the amount of bouillon that you'd usually use for 3/4 c. water. Also, as bakingsheet mentions, you can add a tbsp of soy sauce to boost the flavor if yours isn't particularly flavorful.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a 1.5-quart baking dish.

In a small frying pan, sautee the onion, celery and apple until tender with the parsley, sage, salt, cayenne (or regular pepper, if you prefer). This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with onion mixture, cranberries, pecans, vegetable broth, adding slightly more if the bread is very absorbant (some need more liquids), and mix well. Taste one of the cubes and, if necessary, add additional salt or pepper.

Pour into prepared casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until top is crisp and golden.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

(from bakingsheet)

Tofurkey Day!

(from Someecards)

So Thanksgiving! How dare I take so long to post about such a bountiful day of food! Laziness, my friends. On account of all the tryptophan! (Which, my bitches, is found in things other than turkey, so don't you EVEN get all up in my grill about that!)

So yes: Thursday was a fun Tofurkey day, but a brief one--a veritable wham bam thank you ma'am-type Thanksgiving, mostly because one of my sibs was home from Chicago and had to be at the bus station by 5 to get back. So we had T-day at my house, since my house is the closest to the bus station and afforded us the most amount of time to stupor it up after eating. It was also my one sister's birthday, so we kind of jammed food and gifts up into a brief four hours or so. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day, and I must say, most certainly the BEST Thanksgiving meal we've had over the past five or so years. (And all vegan to boot!)



However, because I'm evil (but a NICE kind of evil), I'm only bringing you a menu today. MWAHAHAHAHA!

OUR EATS:

• Two Tofurkeys--mom





• Tempeh sausage (from VwaV) with biscuits (from Vegan Dad) & gravy (from The Vegan Family Favorites)--me



• MacGyver Mac n' Cheez--me





• Apple-cranberry stuffing--me





• Sweet potatoes with cranberries and pecans--my mom





• My mom's green bean casserole--mom





• Ice cream cake bar for my sister's birthday--me



• Beer--and lots of it

It was really a fantastic feast, the highlights being the stuffing (which was beyond fantastic--recipe this week) and my mom's always amazing green bean casserole.

The only disappointment was actually the tempeh sausage from VwaV. I made a double-batch and really regretted having done so since barely anyone ate any. It was much too potent, and (maybe it's just me but) I'm not a huge fan of biting into large bits of fennel seed. And with something like 2+ Tablespoons of it for just one batch, that's a lot of fennel. The only thing that really made it worthwhile is my mom peering skeptically at the tempeh sausage not once but two or three times and asking, "So what is this again?? Tabouleh??"

Stay tuned this week for an astonishingly tasty stuffing recipe and more info on that ice cream cake bar which--trust me--you'll want to hear all about.

Mole Skillet Pie with Greens

                                    from Veganomicon

I'm pretty damn certain that the chile-chocolate mole sauce from Veganomicon is my absolute favorite recipe from the book. I had pondered this after first making it. But this second time around, I realized that I am 100% smitten.

There is just something goddamn sexy about that mole recipe. No matter WHAT you put it on, it turns the dish from Bugs Bunny to Jessica Rabbit, it's THAT kind of sauce. (I just realized that Jessica Rabbit isn't ACTUALLY a rabbit. God, I clearly haven't seen that movie in forever. But you get my point.)

Needless to say, I was also very found of this skillet pie as well, given that it's pretty much just a vehicle for eating mole sauce. Granted, the veggies and stuff are a nice touch, and the biscuit-topping was unusual but damn tasty. But it's kind of like when I order French fries and then load up on the ketchup so much so that I can barely taste the fries--essentially, the veggies and biscuits are just an excuse to eat mole.

Any which way though: this recipe isn't too terribly complicated, and it's a nice warming recipe for these upcoming blustery winter months.

INGREDIENTS:

The Mole Sauce:*

• 1/3 c. sliced almonds


• 1/3 c. tortilla chips


• 2 T. sesame seeds


• 1 t. anise


• 2 t. chili powder


• 1 1/4 t. cinnamon


• 1 t. marjoram


• 1/2 t. cumin


• 1/4 t. allspice


• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 4 cloves garlic


• 1 small onion


• 2 c. veg broth


• 2 T. peanut butter


• 15 oz. tomatoes


• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate

(*Note: This makes a quantity in excess of the amount called for in the Mole Skillet Pie recipe. Just so you're aware. You'll have leftover sauce.)


The Skillet Pie:

• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 1 yellow onion


• 1 small carrot


• 1/2 lb. kale


• 2 c. black beans


• 1 c. almond or soy milk


• 1 t. apple cider vinegar


• 3 T. peanut oil (or other mild oil)


• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or whole wheat flour works as well)


• 1/2 c. cornmeal


• 1 T. sugar


• 1-1/4 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. baking soda


• 1/4 t. salt

DIRECTIONS

For the Mole Sauce:

Prepare spice mixture. Place almonds, aniseeds, tortilla chips, and sesame seeds in a pot and stir to toast for 2 min. Remove from heat. Place in food processor with spices and pulse until finely ground.

Saute garlic in oil. Once it's sizzling, add onions and cook - 5 min. Combine PB and a few T of hot veg broth, stirring until PB is emulsified and easy to pour.

Pour remaining veg broth, PB mixture, spice mixture, and diced tomatoes into a pot. Boil. Lower heat and simmer 8-10 min, until reduced. Remove from heat, puree, and return to stove. Add chocolate until melted and incorporated. (Lindy Loo Note: I think the "returning mole to stove" step is kind of unnecessary myself, unless you're not planning on eating it for hours. You can just as easily simmer until reduced, toss in your chocolate until it's melted, remove from the heat and puree, and then serve.)

For the Skillet Pie:

Filling: Heat peanut oil. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add carrot and cook until onion is tender and golden - 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and combine with steamed greans, beans, and 1 cup mole. Stir to coat everything with sauce. Place mixture back in skillet (or a casserole dish) and smooth out over top.

Crust: Combine milk and vinegar in measuring cup. Place oil in a large bowl, beat in milk mixture and sift in flour, cornmeal sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until moistened. Pour over vegetables and smooth to cover. Bake 30-35 minutes.

(Posted at Calorie Count--the mole recipe as well, originally from Veganomicon)

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

                        from Cupcake Punk

Hmmmm. Apparently I shouldn't wait so long to post about a recipe, because when I do, I sometimes kind of forget my thoughts on the recipe. Which doesn't make for the most useful of recipe-postings.

Case in point: These Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies. I think I made them about three weeks ago. And boy were they... ummm... cookie-ish! Like, they were SO cookie-ish that I was like, Wow: Cookies. And the pumpkin was so very... pumpkiny. And you'd think the pecans would be pecany, but they were chocolate-chippy if you can believe that! Oh wait. No. My bad, the chocolate chips were what was so chocolate-chippy. And also, I mean, talk about round and slightly lumpy-ish like, in that way that cookies are? Totally the case. Again, perfect examples of the existence of cookies.

Yeah.

And what further complicates the issue when I wait too long to blog about a dessert recipe is the fact that I will pretty much eat ANYTHING if it's sweet. So although I *DO* remember plowing through a good dozen of these by myself over the course of no more than a couple of days, given my love of sugary desserts, that means absolutely nothing. They could've tasted like sugar-covered dookie, and I would've been like, "Dookie me up some more dookie, o sugar-covered dookie!"

Like, this weekend I bought this GLORIOUS vegan oreo cookie cupcake at Nature's Bin as a treat. This thing was like sugar from heaven. Seriously: it was like 2/3 frosting, 1/3 cake. Which is pretty much exactly the way I love cake. And by that I mean Screw cake--I really just love frosting.

Anyways, I decided to chow down on this cupcake on Friday night, and seriously: I was a little bit concerned that I was going to die. Of sugar. Like my death certificate would read Cause of death: Sugar:

ME (eating cupcake): moan

N-A: What's the matter?

ME: I think this is the sugariest thing I've ever eaten. In my whole life.

N-A: Um. Then stop eating it.

ME: But it's SOOOOOO good. (taking another bite)

N-A: stares at me as though I am ridiculous

ME: Blorf. Oh my god.

N-A: Seriously. Stop eating it.

ME: I don't want to waste it though. 'Cause it's sooooo good. (shoveling in another bite and leaving one last bite remaining) Dammit. (moaning again) I can't do it. I think if I try to eat it I will die. Like actually die. Or throw up. Ungh.

N-A: rolling eyes

So yeah. Things I can vouch for with these cookies: They had sugar in them. They were cookie-ish. And I ate at least a dozen in two days. Which means they were either good or terrible. So if you like cookie-ish cookies, you'll love these. Cookies!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. Earth Balance, room temperature


• 1 c. packed brown sugar


• 1 c. granulated sugar


• 1 c. pumpkin puree


• 1 T. apple butter or apple sauce


• 1 t. vanilla extract


• 2 c. all-purpose flour


• 1-1/3 c. quick or old-fashioned oats


• 1 t. baking soda


• 1 t. ground cinnamon


• 1 t. ground cardamom (I omitted this 'cause I didn't have any)


• 1/2 t. salt


• 1 c. chocolate chips


• 1/2 c. chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Beat the Earth Balance and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the apple butter/sauce, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and beat for another 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon and whisk together. Slowly add it to the butter mixture until just combined, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom once or twice to ensure even mixing.

Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. Drop spoonfuls of dough on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool on the tray for a minute or two to set, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

(recipe from Cupcake Punk)

$1 Black Bean and Salsa Soup, with a Side of My Two Cents

So I'm cheap. As we all know. A fact that this recipe got me thinking about once again, given how pleased I was about how inexpensive and quick a recipe it is.

But it's also a recipe that got me thinking yet again about one of the more overlooked issues of veganism, and that's the issue of class/classism, an issue that's all tangled up in the concept and practice of veganism.

I've had friends argue with me that it is more expensive to be vegan than it is to not be vegan. And although I WHOLLY disagree--as long as you're not feasting continually at restaurants and off of processed food (both of which are issues the meat-eating population must contend with as well, which I think is important to note), it's *much* cheaper to be buying fruits and veggies than it is meat and cheeses--I can't overlook the fact that the vegan diet *is* a diet more easily accessible to middle- and upper-class individuals.

I don't say this as a way to discourage individuals FROM eating vegan. I'm by no means saying that someone with a meager-budget couldn't afford to go the vegan path. It's a fairly easy and cheap task if one goes about it correctly.

But my point is this: so much of veganism comes down to accessibility of information, access to education, and how all of that is overwhelmingly tied to class in so very many ways.

The class issues of veganism are a topic that's rarely discussed by vegan food-bloggers. But I'm reminded of them each time I happen upon one of the more upscale vegan food blogs and find myself wondering a) where in god's name do they find the time to COOK such elaborately-prepared meals... daily... and sometimes more than once a day, and b) how in the hell are they able to afford such obscure and expensive ingredients?

And I don't mean to pick on the upscale vegan food blogs. These class issues are apparent in even the simplest, most basic vegan food-blogs. We often forget, but the mere act of being a food blogger reeks of privilege in many ways.

Food-blogging means, of course, having some sort of disposable income to blow on "cooking food for fun." It means having money to spend on recipes that go above and beyond the more basic and inexpensive recipes available to us. And this is a disposable income which many folks don't have. And it also means having disposable time. Again: something which many folks don't have.

But above and beyond that: I know there are many vegan food bloggers out there who don't splurge on unnecessary, extravagant ingredients, and who blog only occasionally because they are too busy to be cooking for fun on a regular basis. BUT EVEN SO: Food-blogging requires having a digital camera. Again: more money. And it requires access to a computer. That means either being able to afford one, or having easy means of accessing one, and this, in turn, means having time to spare. Sitting in a public library, using a school computer-lab, etc. all these things require extra time. And that time is a luxury that many don't have.

Like most of us, I tend to forget that I am lucky in so very many ways to HAVE the money to be able to entertain myself through cooking. I am lucky I don't have to resort to "feasting" on the bare minimum, on fast-food burgers or casseroles-in-a-box, simply because I have just barely enough money to scrape by or because I don't have enough time to cook because I'm too busy working to make ends meet. And I haven't even BEGUN to discuss the other topics I mentioned earlier: namely how class affects our ability to access information and education. But I'm lucky in that regard too. I've had the time and money to be able to educate myself. And I've been lucky enough to have access to information that not everyone has, information that has led me down the path of veganism. Again: another luxury not available to everyone.

I say this as a reminder to myself (and to others) as Thanksgiving grows near, as many of us contemplate Adopting a Turkey instead of feasting on one (again: a luxury), as we contemplate the elaborate feasts we will be crafting, as we try to figure out the best ways to get pictures of it all to post on our food-blogs.

We all have a bad habit of getting angry at folks for not seeing the cruelty inherent in a meat-eating diet. I am no exception. But I think it's important to remind ourselves once in a while that we are lucky people, that we are blessed with access to many things that others do not have--namely money, time, information, and education, and that if we hadn't been graced with these privileges, we could very easily be on an entirely different path right now.

So next time we get all up on our high-horses, let us be humble and reminded of that fact. And let us be thankful.



Phew. Boobies feces dookie nipples! Look at me getting all serious and shit.

Enough of that! On to a recipe.

This soup is similar to the Salsa Chili Soup I posted about back in the day and which I'm also quite a big fan of, simply because it's cheap and takes like 10 minutes to make. And I have to agree with Happy Herbivore: it's delicious.


                                      from Happy Herbivore


INGREDIENTS:

• 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed


• 1 cup frozen yellow or roasted corn


• 1 cup chunky salsa


• 1 1/2 cups veg broth


• 1/2 tsp cumin


• hot sauce as desired


• baked corn chips - optional

DIRECTIONS

Place 1 cup beans, salsa, broth and cumin in a blender. Puree until smooth.

Transfer to a medium saucepan. Add remaining ingredients except chips. Stir to combine.

Heat thorougly over low.

Once warmed, serve.

Top the soup off with broken chips.

Note: You can skip the stove top and heat it in the microwave instead, too. My dorm room was without a stove and it worked just fine... but I did burn my tongue off a few times

Makes 4 cups

(Recipe from Happy Herbivore)

BAH! grumblegrumble

Oh man. Can I just tell you how much I hate this week? So much that I have yet to blog here. Which pretty much NEVER happens.

I have a backlog of recipes and photos. And I have memes I should be tackling. All that coupled with the annoyingness of this work-week has been making me shy away from doing a GODDAMN THING on this blog. =P Instead, I've been looking at vintage clothes on-line in my spare time and craving a good thrift-shopping outting.

But I must not let this week get the better of me.

So here you go.

First: Memed.

I got tagged for a meme by the lovely Leslie and Yasmin, and yes yes yes, I've been avoiding actually doing this meme because I've done shorter versions and longer versions once or twice before and I feel hardpressed to think of some other interesting tidbits about myself that I haven't yet shared. But since more than one lovely veghead tagged me for it, I've been feeling a bit guilty not actually taking the time to do it. So I started it on Monday, and I've gotten as far as... 1 fricking fact. I keep wracking my brain, hoping to think of something, and then I'll be like, Nope: already mentioned it in some previous blog post. So I must admit defeat.

Here's my single UTTERLY UNFASCINATING fact that I could think of this week.

#1: I drive a bright yellow new VW beetle, and I hate it. I hate it because it's a piece of shit. I hate it because I bought it from a cop who ripped me off and whose teeth I'd like to knock down his throat. And I hate it because whenever I'm in it, I feel like a parody of what people see me as, as a stereotype of myself, and IT IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF WHO I AM AT ALL. So that irritates the piss out of me. The only fun thing about it is when N-A drives it around, since it is so very much a girl-car, so it's funny as hell to see a big, fairly imposing dude behind the wheel.

So since I suck, if you're REALLY interested in finding out some fascinating facts about me, you can ask me a question in my comments section and I will answer it. Or you can not. I will quite possibly go home and cry myself to death if you don't, but don't let THAT pressure you into thinking of something to ask. *Evil eye*

Secondly, I share with you (mostly to get rid of them finally) pictures of a couple recipe-less things I recently ate.

The first is a batch of eggplant parmesan. I didn't fry up the eggplant long enough, and I should've ground the breadcrumbs down super-finely ('cause they ended up kind of messy), but nonetheless: delish. And the one useful thing I *CAN* share with you is the sole reason they came out so tasty: Instead of using just breadcrumbs to bread them, I used half breadcrumbs, half ground-pecans. And seriously: if you go away from this blog today WITHOUT killing yourself out of boredom after reading this sour-ass post, and you're looking to whip something up for dinner, take this one recommendation with you. You've not tasted good eggplant parmesan until you've tasted eggplant parmesan breaded with pecans.



This second pic is of tiny shell-pasta coated in the VwaV alfreda sauce (with walnuts subbed in for the pine nuts), and topped with roasted asparagus. The VwaV alfreda sauce is one of my favorite sauces, mostly because it's so fricking easy to make and because I almost always have the ingredients around. Oh, and also because it tastes damn good.



Thirdly, cat pics! 'Cause cat pics always make me feel less grouchy!

This is the stray cat I've been feeding since last winter. I'm not sure if it's a boy or a girl, but I've been calling her/him a she, so she's stuck with that for now. Anyways, she's the one I built the cat shelter for a while back. I wish she was less skittish, 'cause then my mom might be willing to adopt her. But although she talks to me when she sees me, she won't allow me to pet her. I just hope she puts the shelter to good use this winter as well. (Please, no lectures about feeding strays, otherwise you will find yourself with one less nipple. I know the deal. I thought about it long and hard when I started feeding her, and I've made the commitment. I feed her like I feed my cats (though not as large a portion), and I've done it every day since about last March or so. So until I start regularly returning to her bowl to see it's not been eaten, or until I move, she'll be getting fed.)






This is Zooey watching the stray from my roof and looking like a weird gargoyle:




And here's a random pic of Franny, just so she doesn't get mad that I posted pics of Zooey but not her. =)



An this is a random pic of N-A's kitchen table. Really, not all that interesting, but for some reason this picture makes my eyes happy, so I share.



Hopefully tomorrow: a recipe! *GASPS OF SHOCK AND HORROR* Keep your fingers crossed.

Pinto Bean Tacos

                                      from the Veg Times

Oh tacos. I love you, and that love for you is the bane of my existence. You are to blame for so many things:

#1: gas,

#2: me not getting laid that one time because my breath smelled after I ate many of you and then biked over N-A's afterward, breathing through my mouth the whole time and conjuring up the sour breath of the taco-gluttoned dead (the not getting laid part moreso being the result of me getting salty at being told my breath smelled than it was the fact that my breath actually smelled, though I STILL hold you responsible),

#3: more gas, and

#4: the time I caught some taco shells on fire in my broiler.

Nonetheless, you are my go-to food on days when I'm feeling too lazy to cook anything else. And for that I thank you.

Plus, you come in so many different shapes and forms that it is near impossible to ever be bored by you, and for someone who has the culinary attention span (and general attention span) of a 2-year old, that is a great thing.

Needless to say, for this reason alone, I was excited to stumble across mention of this version of you on someone's blog recently. Normally, as you know, I whip you up with just beans or with fake-meat. But sausage? How have we never thought of that?

The other brilliant thing about you, tacos, is that you're so simple to make and yet so yummy. Such was the case with this version of you as well. And not only did I like you this time, but N-A did too, loudly blurting, mouth half-full, Oh my god. These may be the best tacos I've ever had.

Hyperbole? Perhaps. But you WERE damn good. And I didn't even use cheez on you. I can only imagine how fantastique you'd be then. *Growr*

It seems unfair not to share my love for you with others, so that they may love you too.

So, dear readers. *tearing up* Meet Pinto Bean Tacos.

This is a day you will remember always. *Cue something from the soundtrack of Gray's Anatomy or Dawson's Creek*

(Note: I omitted several ingredients--red onions being one--so check out the link below for the original.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 6-inch corn tortillas (I used crunchy)


• 1 Tbs. canola oil


• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)


• 4 oz. soy chorizo sausage, such as Soyrizo


• 1 10-oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles


• 2 15-oz. cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 small avocado, sliced


• 1/3 cup vegan Cheddar cheese (optional)


• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Heat up tortillas/shells according to package directions.

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Crumble soy sausage into pan, and sautee until it's begun to brown. Stir in diced tomatoes, and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Stir in beans, and cook 2 minutes more, or until beans are warmed through.

To assemble tacos: Fill tortillas/shells with some bean mixture. Top avocado, cheese, and cilantro. Serve with salsa and hot sauce, if desired.

Serves about 3.

(from The Veg Times)

Curried Dookie

My new favorite word is dookie. My fella refers to butts as dookies. I've always referred to poop as dookies. The conflation of the two meanings gets a bit confusing. When I shout, "Whatever, dookie" I mean "Whatever, poop" but in his head I'm not sure if it's being interpreted as "Whatever, butt." And though perhaps still an insult, "Whatever, poop" has a better ring. And alternately, when he pokes me and says, "Check out that girl's dookie," my head immediately reacts with horror at someone walking around with their poop out until I realize that I should be sneaking a peek at a mighty fine ass. See my dilemma here?

What does this have to do with food? Well, I've been eating a lot of things lately that look like dookie. In both senses of the word.

Surprising? No. What with my lengthy list of dookie/vomit-reminiscent foods of yore.

What IS surprising is that I think I'm starting to not like Indian food. *GASPS OF SHOCK AND HORROR* Thing is, I think it's only Indian food that *I* cook that I'm starting to not like though. A nice puff of naan and some spicy eggplant curry from the local Indian food restaurant sounds delectable to me right now. But the past couple weeks, when I whipped up two different Indian food dishes at home, they didn't make lunchtime too happy for the week. And the thing is, they weren't bad recipes. I just never found myself looking forward to actually EATING them at lunch.

The first Indian dish I whipped up was Georgia's Dahl with Eggplant and Spinach:



I ended up making lots of adjustments (cumin seeds to cumin powder, mustard seeds to mustard powder, chili paste to chili powder, etc.) mostly just because I didn't feel like going out and buying whole versions of things I already had in powdered form. And all in all it was a nice, tummy-warming recipe. And it made TONS--I had enough for like a small army. But it was so DENSE. (It looked nothing like the picture posted at Lady's Vegan Blog, as you can see.) Whenever I dipped a fork into it, I felt like a little kid playing with his mashed potatoes, 'cause I could've easily formed it into some huge edible sculpture, it was that thick. I ended up pawning off some of it on my friend P. She, in turn, I suspect ended up pawning it off on the garbage.

The other Indian food dish I made was Scrumpdilly's Spicy Red Lentil Dal:



This was UBER rich and decadent-tasting. And yet, for some reason, I felt like I was gonna die whenever I ate it for lunch. I could only get a part of the way through a portion before I just couldn't handle eating anymore. Which was weird because it really IS very yummy. But perhaps it was too heavy for lunch portions? I mean, all that coconut milk perhaps isn't something that's gonna leave you anything but sluggish for the rest of an afternoon. So again: this was actually a really tasty and simple recipe, but I just was like BLUH whenever I tried to eat this for lunch.

Perhaps I'm turning into an old fogey and no longer can handle spicy foods? Perhaps I'm turning into a palate curmudgeon? Perhaps I just need to make lighter lunches so I don't feel like I'm dragging around a belly the size of a house for the afternoon? Not sure.

Either which way, it saddens me, because Indian food used to be my favorite food. And now, well, I guess if it's going to drop that title, I'd really like to have something to enthusiastically take its place.

And not dookie.

Unless you're referring to the ass meaning.

In which case, PERHAPS I'd be amenable to that.

Uber Amazing Blog Award--And Then Tomorrow: A Recipe, Promise

So the delightful Chile Chews bestowed an Uber Amazing Blog Award upon me on her blog, stating that Lindy Loo (that's me!) "proves that vegans are not sucking the joy out of life like some loud-mouthed famous chefs claim. I wished I lived closer so I could crash her parties..." Awww shucks. *Making some more inappropriate genitalia cookies while blushing*

In turn, I'm supposed to nominate at least one other blogger for the same award. And as I'm currently obsessed with her blog, I'm nominating Kittee at Cake Maker to the Stars. If you haven't stopped by her blog, you must.

Her blog is bold and brilliant. It is damn near impossible to roam around on it without feeling suddenly cheery because of the bright and wonderful food pics. She's devilish and funny. She's weird and nutty (high compliments in my book). She dorkily photoshops and narrates her pics in ways that make me feel like I'm 8 again and thumbing through crazy-fun library books. She somehow defies the normal world of cooking and baking by creating things like Sushi Candy:



And Halloween Sushi:



She has some cute instructional videos up. She makes me laugh. She's got MAD style.

And seriously: she's just plain ol' super fricking adorable.



So if you haven't checked out her blog yet, hop to it. It's eye candy, the likes of which you've probably never seen before:

Cake Maker to the Stars

Now That's Election Night!

Wow. What a fricking night. I feel like an asshole even writing about it because no matter what I say, it's going to sound underwhelming in comparison to the joy welling up in so many people's hearts across the country right now. So instead of going on and on about what a great thing it is and how truly excited I am to have been alive for such a historical day (trite!), I'll instead yammer on excitedly about how I rung in Election Night: With vegan philly cheezsteak sandwiches, vegan mac n' cheez, and cheap vegan beer.

Take that, Republicans!

Yes, I started off last night at Now That's Class, a local bar that boasts a DELIGHTFUL variety of veganosities.



11213 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland, OH
216-221-8576

Tuesday Night they have $4 vegan philly cheese steaks, $2 vegan mac n' cheez, $2 vegan potato salad, and half-off Great Lakes beer during Happy Hour, which--holy crap--what a deal! And in case you didn't notice, all of those are VEGAN VEGAN VEGAN.

Throughout the week, they also offer up a variety of vegan Mexican foods as well, from enchiladas to tamales to empanadas.

And on Sunday, they have vegan breakfast for dinner, serving a variety of breakfast foods between 6 and 9pm for your vegan dining pleasure.




I heard about this place quite a while back--you may actually remember me posting about it here. But I somehow have managed to avoid actually getting my ass out there up until this point.

But finally: FINALLY!

And seriously: What a truly great place. They have a constant lineup of concerts, and a quite impressive space for their shows. Apparently they sometimes have a skateboarding ramp set up in their concert area when a show isn't going on. They have old school video game machines. They have a jukebox. And they have vegan grub grub grub.

So I was pleased to find myself there, glued to the television set, on election night.

As my friend Kevin said (and I take great liberties with my not-quite-so-verbatim quote), "When people ask what I was doing when I found out Obama was elected president, I can proudly say, 'I was eating vegan philly cheezsteak.'"

And eat philly cheezsteak we did. Having met up at 7:15, we realized that they didn't start serving philly cheezsteak until 9. So in the interim, we gorged on some chips & salsa, and a potato-spinach enchilada which I delightfully realized was made by the dude at the West Side Market whose Mexican food I've always dug. I was actually pretty stuffed after that, but at 9, once the smell of cheezsteak started wafting through the air, I could hardly resist ordering more, so P and I split a cheezsteak, and I also ordered a side of mac n' cheez. And seriously folks: This was really really good food. And not in that "well, it's not that great but it's vegan, so I'm gonna get excited about it anyways"-type way, but genuinely genuinely really fricking tasty. I was really really surprised. And for only $6. I mean, I felt like I was in on a secret being there--like I was a little bit conflicted between thinking "my god, how is it that more people don't know about this palce" and thinking "this is gonna be OUR little secret, lest it get overrun by the mainstream."

But because I love you, I'm letting the cat out of the bag. Get up there, ASAP. Preferably on a Tuesday night. And GORGE THE FUCK OUT OF YOURSELF.

The only thing I was slightly disillusioned with was people's utter lack of interest in the fact that it was election day and a momentous day in U.S. history. Which I found even MORE surprising 'cause when you head off to a bar that's pro-vegan, that has a Thursday Bike Night where if you ride your bike up there, your first beer is free, and where punk apparently still reigns, you kind of expect people to be a little bit invested in politics, even if it's bitterly or angrily or disgustedly. But when we first got there, as results were just rolling in, they had two tv's blazing with Two and a Half Men and nary an election result in sight. The bartender was a doll though and let us turn on another tv so that we could keep our eye on how things were going. So we spent the first part of the evening talking very minimally and craning our necks every five minutes to see what was going on.

Then, as the place filled up and more televisions were switched over to the news, we kind of expected everyone to be communally glued to the television. Instead, just two or three folks stood around gazing at the tv while everyone else milled about disinterestedly. And when we realized that Obama had taken Ohio and harriedly blurted out our excitement, the people at the table next to us ACTUALLY GAVE US THE ONCE OVER, as though they were too cool to be excited. The general air--dare I say it--was a little bit "Feigned Disinsterested Hipster-y," as though it wasn't "cool" to actually be engaged in the events of the evening.

So I must admit, with regard to Election Night, I was kind of happy when P and I finally left and trotted off to an Election Party instead, because the overwhelming indifference in the bar would've sapped all the excitement I felt upon hearing that Obama had won.

And I'm glad we DID trot off, because instead of cool hipster nonchalance, we got to ring in the election of our new president with excited cheers, tears, and musicians busting out Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" on piano while everyone threw hugs around, cheered, and sang along.

And here I probably should insert my thoughts and feelings about what it felt like to ring in our first African American president, but I'm thinking the majority of you are on the same page as me so I really don't have to say a word.

Other than: Hell yes.

Which is two words actually, but BITE ME--WE DID IT!

"The Most Bizarre Google Searches by Which People Stumble Across This Blog", Edition 272.343

So I dug VeganMofo, and although I wasn't able to post 5 days a week, I *DID* post 25 times for the month, so TAKE THAT.

However, although VeganMofo DID bump my readership up by like 250+ or so, it also effectively managed to kill all entertaining google searches for the month.

Lucky for you all, I have some leftovers from the last time I posted my google-searches.

So enjoy.

• you fucken vegetable


• my brownies didn't cook all the way


• fucking cool vegetarian recipes


• fucking pizza


• Franny and Zooey Liz Phair fuck and run


• refried shit


• yeah that vegan crap


• loo shit eating sex


• mark twain bourbon


• sexy man licking lips


• bean curd bizarre


• vegan leatherface


• homemade topless


• feasting ass


• shit on head porn


• Mexican chocolate is sweet


• shit cake pan


• sentences using benign


• image of testicle licking

(For past editions, click HERE)

Caramelized Tofu & Brussel Sprouts

                                      from 101 Cookbooks

This recipe was SO very yum.

My only problem with it: The cutting of brussel sprouts into "1/8-inch wide ribbons." No matter what direction I cut, they were chunks, not ribbons. I don't know what wonderful land of strangely ribbony brussel sprouts 101cookbooks lives in, BUT IT APPARENTLY IS NOT THE U.S. of A.

So my recommendation: Just do the best you can with shredding them up thinly. The thinner the better, since they'll take less time to cook.

Also, I doubled the recipe (sort of) below, mostly because--I'm sorry but--there's no way in hell that 1/2 block of tofu can serve 2-4 people.

Otherwise: this is one of those wonderfully minimalist recipes that brings out a delicate and sweet medley of flavors from your brussel sprouts and tofu by not overdoing it with too many other ingredients. And it doesn't take very long to make. Woot woot!

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz. extra-firm tofu cut into thin 1-inch segments (or just thinner strips--I also pressed my tofu)


• A couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt (optional)


• A couple splashes of olive/peanut/sesame oil


• 4 medium cloves garlic, minced


• 2/3 c. pecans, toasted and chopped


• 6 T. fine-grain natural cane sugar or brown sugar


• 1/4-1/2 c. cilantro, chopped


• 1/2 to 1 lb. brussels sprouts, washed and cut into 1/8-inch wide ribbons

DIRECTIONS

Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet (or pot) with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Saute until slightly golden, about 4-8 minutes each side. Add the garlic and pecans, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Scrape the tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 10 minutes (or until golden and tender), stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious. (It may take as long as 15 minutes if you cook a whole pound.)

Serves 2 - 3 as a main, 4 as a side

(Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks)

Meme This, Motherf-ers!

Got tagged by Eat a Vegan, and since I haven't seen this meme before, and since it's buttfucking early in the morn and I'd much rather be thinking about all the places I'd rather be right now other than here, I'm taking her up on the challenge.


1. Four Places I Go Over and Over

• The Westside Market--Every Friday morning. I love me some fresh veggies.


• Prosperity Social Club--I get my drink on here fairly regularly. It's become my favorite local bar. Helps that they have a pool table and a great patio.


• My neighborhood library--I'm one of those nerds who always has shit on order and who the librarians know by name.


• Civilization Coffee Shop--I am a bagel whore and they have my favorite bagels.

2. Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly

• Bo


• N-A


• P


• Thinking that it's got to be super uninteresting for you to read the answer for this one since you're just gonna be like: Oh yay. Four people that I totally don't know.

3. Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now

• Still in bed with my two cats curled up against me, purring.


• Still in bed with N-A curled up next to me and snoring to wake the dead.


• At N-A's in the summer, sitting out on his porch with a bunch of his friends, smoking, drinking, and talking shit.


• Messing up my sheets with N-A.

4. Four of My Favorite Places to Eat

• Melt--Vegan grilled cheez!


• Johnny Mango--How I can manage to regularly finish off one of their Big Plates and still only weigh 130 lbs is beyond me.


• Mint Cafe--Bubble tea! Awesome curries! Yum soup!


• Pacific East--still my favorite sushi place.

5. Four TV Shows I Watch Over and Over

• The Office--I can watch this shit over and over and do whenever possible.


• The Simpsons/Family Guy--I catch the reruns sometimes while eating dinner.


• The Wire--I don't watch this over and over, but it's definitely in my top 3 televisions shows of all time.


• Six Feet Under--See "The Wire."

6. Four Bands/Musicians You Just Can't Get Enough of This Month

(I switched the tagging question cuz, well, if you wanna meme this, then consider yourself tagged)

• Kings of Leon--I don't know why, but I'm smitten as of late.


• Wow--I'm a douche and can't really think of any others. I've basically been listening to the Kings of Leon station for weeks on Pandora Radio. *COUobsessedGH*

Chickpea Chili

More balls: this time, tiny ones. Otherwise known as chickpeas. And/or pixie testicles.

The very kind Roxanne took the time to email me this recipe, after reading me whine about the stupid boring tomatillo recipe I made a few weeks ago, and she assured me that the recipe she sent would put my tomatillos to MUCH better use.

And boy was she WRONG WRONG WRONG!!

Just kidding, Roxanne. Veganmofo!

Actually, I was rather surprised at how wonderfully flavorful this recipe was given the ease of preparing it. Mainly, all it requires is roasting a bunch of vegetables, blending them, and then throwing them in a pot with some chickpeas. How easy is that?

And the end result: DELECTABLE.

Now, I didn't use this chili in anything taco/burrito-ish the way the original recipe does. I just took it for lunches for the week as is. But I *DEFINITELY* think this would make a fantastic addition to a burrito.

Regardless, this chili is sweet and interesting and flavorful and yet somehow tastes healthy (probably because it is). It also smells FANTASTIC in every step of the recipe--from the roasting vegetables to the simmering chili. As I was cooking it, N-A kept commenting on how good it smelled, and once I tasted it, I forced a bite upon him as well, and he agreed that it was really quite tasty.

I don't know that I'd serve it up as plain ol' chili to friends or anything, since it moreso seems like a recipe that you'd add to ANOTHER recipe (and it doesn't make a whole helluva lot). But a big hell-yes to serving it at a party with some tortilla chips. Or on top of some nice plump burritos.

And also cool is the fact that this is actually a fairly forgiving recipe. And by that I mean: I have no clue whether I had remotely close to 2 lbs. fresh tomatillos, but it didn't matter. It was damn tasty regardless.

Roxanne also offered me these tips, which I pass along to you as well:

- Why strain the tomatillo mixture? Skip that unless you feel the need.

- Add a small Spanish onion, julienned or sliced thinly, to the pot with the chickpeas. Simmer until soft. It gives more texture.

- Just keep in mind that since the jalapeno seeds aren't removed, it can be pretty spicy. But I think that's part of the charm.

So thanks, Roxanne. And remember: You don't have to put on the red light.

• 2 lbs. fresh tomatillos, washed and peeled


• 2 jalapeno peppers, stems removed


• 1/2 c. roughly chopped Spanish onion (1/2-inch pieces)


• 4 cloves garlic


• kosher salt, to taste


• 1/4 c. olive oil


• 1 (32 ounces) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed


• 1 T. freshly ground black pepper


• 2 T. chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 500 degrees.

Place the tomatillos in a heavy-duty ovenproof pan or pot with the jalapenos, onion, garlic, kosher salt and olive oil. Place the vegetables in the oven and roast until they are soft and lightly browned, for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the tomatillo mixture from the oven, pour into a blender and puree until smooth. You might have to do this in 2 batches. Pour the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, and pour the strained mixture into a saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat. Add the chickpeas, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir in the pepper and cilantro.

Makes about 6 1/2 cups.

(Original recipe--and complete burrito recipe--found HERE)

Balls Balling It Up in a Balls-Like Manner

                                      from the Veg Times

Dammit! I slipped up on the last week of VeganMofo of course by getting stupid sick. But I'm gonna try to make up for that fact today by posting multiple times. We'll see how that goes.

First topic of the day: Balls.

Big ones. Little ones. Hard ones. Squishy ones. Round ones. Smushy ones. Firm ones. Mushy ones.

This one has a little star. This one drives a little car.

Oh shit. Sorry. I think I was channeling Dr. Seuss there for a moment.

Anyways, I just realized that they have yet to post this "meat"balls recipe from the Veg Times on-line, so I will have to repost this again at some point WITH the recipe.

Nonetheless, I whipped up these "meat"balls last week I believe, on one of our last days of nice weather, coaxing N-A into coming over before he headed to work to have a nice dinner out on my porch and chow down on these babies. As always seems to be the case lately with homemade "meat"balls (the beanballs from Veganomicon being another perfect example), these "meat"balls didn't firm up ever, instead choosing to remain squishy and airy and slightly mushy.

But I've gotta say, the flavor for once made up for that. They're zingy and delectable, and provide a generous punch of spicy flavor to a pasta meal, enough so that I was craving them the next day.

So my apologies for the lack of recipe. Consider this a taunt until I'm able to post it sometime in the near future. (Or if you're a subscriber to the VegTimes, go look it up yourself in one of the recent issues, AND STOP GIVING ME SUCH A HARD TIME! *sniffle*)

Follow-Up Food-Related Pet Peeve

Bean Gum (bēn gŭm)

n.

1. Similar to the affliction of Bean Tooth, it is the state of being that occurs after an individual has consumed a bean-filled item of food, wherein one or two of the skins of the beans stick high up in one's gums in such a way that again renders the bean indiscernible to the touch of the tongue, thus causing one to walk around for one to ninety days with bean skins stuck up in one’s gums, only to have one appear out of nowhere in said individual’s mouth one to ninety days later while he/she is eating a completely unrelated food, causing them to think a) why is there a bean in my soy ice cream/peanut butter sandwich/cup of espresso? and then b) Dear god, when was the last time I actually HAD beans, and how long has this bean been actually hanging out in my mouth???
   
2. The gum that has been inflicted with a case of Bean Gum: BLORGHGHGHG! Where the hell did this black bean-skin come from? I haven’t had black beans in 17 days and... OMG! I bet I had a bean gum!

So sayeth the Dictionary of VeganMofo. Again.

One of My Biggest Food-Related Pet Peeves

Bean Tooth (bēn tōōth)

n.

1. The state of being that occurs after an individual has consumed a bean-filled item of food, wherein one or two of the skins of the beans stick to one's teeth in such a way that renders the bean indiscernible to the touch of the tongue, thus causing one to walk around all day with a bean-skin stuck to one of their front teeth, only to be discovered--with great horror--far too late in the day upon an accidental glimpse in a restroom mirror.


2. The tooth that has been inflicted with a case of Bean Tooth: Fucking shit, check out that girl's Bean Tooth! Nasty!

So sayeth the Dictionary of VeganMofo.

Three Cheers For Vag-Time!

So finally: the moment you've all surely been waiting for! It's VAGINA-DENTATA-TIME!



As I mentioned last week, I had a little Vagina Dentata party this weekend, and we all watched the movie Teeth.

In honor of the movie's vagina dentata theme, I decided to whip up some vagina/penis-themed munchies.

First off, I adapted the bloody finger cookie recipe to make little vaginas and penises.

Now, I must tell you. It is really f-ing hard to make tiny penises and vaginas. Harder (snicker) than one might think. Veganmofo! The problem with it is that as soon as you take a penis or vagina out of context (place it in a situation where it's not attached to the body), it kind of looks confusing and isn't really obvious as a penis or vagina.

And then, to top THAT off, this morning, I suddenly panicked and got paranoid that I put the clits in the wrong place on the vaginas. All them labia and lips and whatnot make things so very confusing when trying to recreate them! But N-A didn't say anything, and he's pretty much a clit connoisseur. Ha ha ha. And no one else at my party said anything either. Then again, they could've just been sitting around thinking to themselves, "The poor poor girl--she doesn't even know where a clit is located."

Well, f- that! I think I got it right.

And if I didn't, well, make your own damn vagina cookies!

Anyways, these are the befores:




These are the afters:




Unfortunately, they sank as they baked, so they didn't look quite as good as the pre-baked versions, but they worked.

I also made some cut-up wieners (get it!), aka. "pigs"-in-a-blanket, served with ketchup (blood--get it!).

This is not the best of pics, and it's a before-pic, but oh well. Basically, I cut vegan hot-dogs into quarters, and then I wrapped them in a piece of Pillsbury Crescent roll dough (also vegan):



And finally... The piece de resistance of the party was the vagina dentata surprise that my friends P (and L) brought over and kept a secret up until the point of unveiling. It was definitely the highlight of the party's munchies.

You can see why:



Ha ha ha.

P used an Isa Chocolate Cake recipe and then decked it out with vegan frostings, fruity chews, and almonds for teeth.

I don't think I've ever seen a cuter vagina dentata. Have you?