Lurve to Lurve You

There's been lots o' love-cookery going on as of late among me and the folks I spend time with. Lots.

So today I share, just to make you a little bit envious if the people in your life suck and don't ever really spread the vegan love.

P made me and her roommate these lentil burritos drizzled in cilantro-sour cream the other week. They were delish, even though they look a bit baby-vomitesque in my pic below:



This amorphous blob (jk, SS) was a spicy steamy casserole that SS made for me and P when we came out to visit. It featured artichokes and Italian sausage and was invented by SS himself and--despite the blurry camera-phone pic (I'd forgotten my camera)--it was really really good:




I made this vanilla cake with chocolate ganache frosting for Tudor Rosy for her birthday party. I was not all that fond (the cake recipe called for WAY too much almond extract), but other folks seemed to like it well enough. Alas, I failed to take pics of the party-nibbles that Tudor Rosy herself made, the majority of which were vegan (seriously: how sweet is THAT, to make sure your ONE vegan friend can eat the foods at your OWN stinking party? Lurve ya, TR!):



And then finally, this was our little vegan Thanksgiving potluck extravaganza. We had one hell of an amazing spread. Everyone brought a dish of some sort of vegan food, and we seriously GORGED THE SHIT out of everything.



The menu was as follows:

ENTREES:

• Pumpkin ziti w/sage breadcrumbs


• Halushki

SIDES:

• Dueling stuffings (one was a sausage-apple one, the other a wild rice-cranberry)


• Sweet potatoes


• Biscuits and gravy


• Baked beans

DRINKS:

• Warm apple cider, with or without whisky

DESSERTS:

• Magic choc-pb rice krispy treats (they magicked some folks straight into the next day--hee)


• Chocolate bread-pudding with rum sauce

The night ended with folks in a food-induced (or, um ahem, magic rice krispy-treat-induced) stupor, playing cards and then scrabble. It was very old-school family holiday-ish and a lot of fun.


So darling dearest friends, oh loves of mine, in this week of thanks, you all are at the top of my list. I appreciate so much the fact that you embrace and support my veganism so completely. It means a lot to me, so thank you all for kicking ass so seriously.

XXOO

Lilly Handmade Chocolates: How Sweet It is

So I won a couple gift certificates for Halloween (I won Most Gruesome Costume for my Carrie costume), and one was for Lilly Handmade Chocolates in my neighborhood. So you can only imagine my IMMENSE glee when I found that they actually sell some vegan chocolates.

The shoppe itself is super cute, bedecked with rows of beer and wine and other alcoholic sundries. And in the back are the chocolates, the sweet divine chocolates. You pick them out ($11 for 6 pieces is what I redeemed my gift certificate on), and Lilly herself boxes them up for you, with a cheerful smile and pink hair ablaze.



I got two of each of the following chocolates (pictured from left to right):



After Midnight--"Bitter chocolate stout mixed with intense dark chocolate for a crazy rich fan favorite!"

The Redhead--"She stands out in a crowd and loves the attention! Intense dark chocolate truffle that is filled with a blueberry vintage port ganache."

In the Pink--This one's not listed out on the website, but it was our favorite of the three and I think it was cranberries in a berry drink of some sort.

We nibbled on them out on my roof on an unseasonably warm night and lavished in their rich flavors. They were rich enough that I was only able to eat two of them in one sitting.

The Chomp Monster was much the same:



Since I had $4 still left after the 6 chocolates, I also got this chocolate bar to round the gift certificate up. The Chomp Monster is "a fan favorite! Dark chocolate with Black Mission Figs, Roasted English Walnuts & just a touch of Sea Salt" and it actually was my favorite of them all as well. The mix of the figs and the salty bite of sea salt mingling with the crunchy sweetness of the walnuts was AMAZING. And even though the bar was $5, it took me a few days to eat it all, it's that rich.

So: my point. If you're in Tremont, swing by Lilly Handmade Chocolates and hug her the hell up for being vegan-friendly. And then DEFINITELY pick up the Chomp Monster. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Spinach & Artichoke Pasta

So the original recipe for this came from The Vegan Cook's Bible (which actually is a really cool cookbook if you haven't yet perused it).

The recipe itself is super easy-peasy, easily adaptable (get inventive and throw in some more seasonings or, as I did, add some shroomies), and it actually tastes like a lot more work was put into it than is actually the case.

And it's one of those recipes where you can really just wing the quantities and go entirely by taste.

It also is REALLY REALLY good, *AND* you could easily adapt it into a spinach-artichoke dip by leaving out the liquid from the artichokes and also leaving out the shrooms.

So: make it.

INGREDIENTS:

• Frozen spinach (about 2 cups if you wanna be anal)


• 6-oz. jar of marinated artichokes


• Vegan sour cream (1 to 2 cups, depending)


• Penne pasta


• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced


• White mushrooms, quartered (I used about 2/3 of a large container)


• Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Cook penne pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

Reserve the liquid from your artichokes and dice the artichokes up finely.

Heat oil in a pan on low. Add garlic and cook a minute or two until fragrant.

Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until they start putting off moisture.

Add spinach, artichokes, and reserved liquid.

Let simmer for maybe 10 minutes or so, however long it takes for the frozen spinach to cook through.

Add vegan sour cream and stir until mixed. Simmer on low until sauce is heated through.

Season with fresh pepper and salt to taste.

Serve over hearty portions of pasta.

(The sauce goes a long way, so you can get at least 6 servings out of it and possibly up to 10)