One of the things I hate the most...

Am I the only person who hates it when you spend a ton of time cooking something and then you don't like it? It's one of the things I dislike most, probably only second to stressful parking situations. (Don't laugh, I hate when I can't find parking and I have a paranoia about my car getting towed.)

This past week was trying - not because of any huge emotional event, but because it was one of those weeks where something goes wrong every day.

Right, the cooking thing. Monday (I think) I made a dish called Disco Stew that I got out of this cookbook. It sounded awesome, and it was... okay. Not nearly as good as I had hoped. That was going to be my big recipe to share of the week, and it didn't come out well, so that's why I didn't post about it. BUT, since we'd had such a bad week, and my mother was feeling sick, I made a big pot of green chile stew - my own recipe! I served the stew with these Flaky Chive Biscuits. Everything came out perfect.

Green chile stew and biscuits

I've also been eating a lot of veggie burgers - I got the Boca Vegan burgers and they're pretty good (especially with green chile... New Mexico people will know what I'm talking about.)

Vegan Boca burger with lettuce, tomato, red onion, ketchup, and Vegenaise.

My problem with blogging is that I think of ideas for posts and then don't write them down, so I end up just rambling like this with miscellaneous pictures of food. And here's a picture of me:

Lazy snow day outfit

And here's a picture of my cat:

I actually wrote down my chile recipe (usually I just kind of throw things in) so tomorrow after I'm done working I'll post it.

Until next time!

Updates and Food Snapshots

I've been absent for a while, yes - I'm still not quite in the habit of blogging, but I'm working on it. (Albeit more for my own satisfaction than anybody else's.) I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking because I've been busy, but I did make a quick throw-together lentil stew the other day, so next time I make that I'll post photos and the recipe.

My mother made kale chips, much to my surprise

Coffee and a bagel with peanut butter - one of my favorite breakfasts, and yes that IS a squirt gun on my desk.

Vegan burrito from Chipotle - yes, you can eat vegan there!

On Monday I got invited to a private staff party at City o City in Denver. The crowd was approximately 100 yuppies, 100 hipsters, and lone gothy me. I had a great time though - who can say no to free drinks and free veg Thai food? My friends David and Davey of Bike Theft played a few songs and there was much revelry and jubilation.

On Wednesday Davey invited me out to the monthly vegan dinner, Chomp. The cuisine this month was Cajun, and featured some absolutely amazing chocolate-caramel turtles that I wish I had gotten the recipe for.

In other news, it's sunny today, but yesterday it dumped almost two feet of snow on us. Lovely weather for laziness and tea-drinking.

Happy Saturday!

Mediterranean Lunch

Today's lunch: Pita with hummus and mixed greens, and a healthy serving of Couscous Confetti Salad. (I left out the raisins because I didn't have any on hand.) Delicious. Note: If you do make this couscous salad,  I highly recommend getting someone to help you chop vegetables. That's where most of the prep work goes.

I've started saving vegetable scraps to make my own soup stock. When I have about a pound of them or so I'll share my stock-making adventures.

Now Playing: J.S. Bach - Double Concerto in D minor

1/16/12 - Food and Old Friends

Today I went to see my friends Jordan and Jillian. We've known each other since the fourth grade but don't usually see much of each other since I was living in a different state for about five years. Today I had a great time catching up and playing music.

Jordan is much better at finger picking than I am.

Of course, hanging out with me always involves food because I'm one of those people who has to eat roughly every 20 minutes (that's why I have a food blog in the first place). Jill is also a vegetarian and Jordan's gluten intolerant, so we went on an adventure to Whole Foods to acquire something quick, vegan, and gluten free.

Vegan Blueberry Muffins... not so gluten-free.

The Bombay Potatoes are my favorite from Tasty Bite. They're vegan, free of MSG and preservatives, and best of all, fucking delicious. Seriously, if I could only eat one meal for the rest of my life, this would be it. Probably. (I'm a sucker for Indian food.)

Bombay potatoes with basmati rice. Yum.

Now that we're living in the same town again, I look forward to many more days of food and music - maybe next time with more actual cooking involved. Jordan and I talked about writing music together while I'm here. I think we can both learn a lot from each other because we play completely different styles of music.

I remember when she was a puppy - now she's getting a gray muzzle. But she still jumps on me.

Until next time~

Now Playing: Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Recipe: Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

This is my second PCRM recipe adaptation. The original recipe put a few instructions in a curious order, and I thought it lacked complexity of flavor - but it could just be because I think everything's better with a little peppery kick. This soup has a wonderfully fresh, smoky-sweet flavor and goes great with a grain or pasta dish on the side.

Ingredients


1 white or yellow onion, chopped
6 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups vegetable stock
2 red bell peppers
2 cups unsweetened soymilk
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
dash of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper
paprika, for garnish

In a large saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add onion and carrots and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the carrots and onion are cooking, cut the bell peppers in half and remove seeds. Place the halved peppers skin side up under the broiler until the skin is well charred - check them roughly every five minutes or so. When the skins are blackened, remove from the broiler. Set aside and let sit, covered, for about 15 minutes. Remove the charred skin - it should peel off easily.

In a large blender or food processor, blend the carrot mixture, soy milk, and bell peppers, adding small portions of each until completely blended. Note: If your food processor is getting full, back off on the soymilk. Return to the pot and stir in remaining soymilk, lemon juice, and vinegar. Season with Tabasco, salt, and pepper, to taste. (I tend to use quite a bit of Tabasco, but I like everything spicy.) Heat slowly until steaming, but do not boil. Serve topped with paprika - don't skip this! I promise it makes it all come together. (Well... I guess you could skip it.... just don't tell me.)

And there you have it. :) A delicious blended soup for all seasons.

Now Playing: Killing Joke - Follow the Leaders

1/5/12

Lunch today: Amy's Indian Dal Curried Lentil soup, and a slice of Rudi's whole wheat toast with Earth Balance vegan butter. Yum~

Staying with my mother at the moment - I lost my house back at the end of October due to roommate issues, and I have things here to sort out anyway (i.e. all of the things from my childhood and adolescence that are lying around cluttering up the place.) My mother is going on a new diet to eliminate chemical additives in food, so with luck I can get her to eat more plant-based meals. If only I could get my sister to eat my cooking I swear she eats McDonald's practically every day.


Well, I plan to be cooking as much as possible, as well as checking out the vegan options at some local restaurants. An old friend of mine from high school gave me some recommendations, so I'm hoping to check it out soon.

Now Playing: Christian Death - The Blue Hour

Recipe: Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

This is my first recipe adaptation from the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart. This breakfast is simple and tastes quite like apple pie. The original recipe suggested quick-cooking oats, but any proper foodie can tell you that's sacrilege. Trust me, it's much better this way.

To tone down the apple flavor, reduce the amount of apple juice concentrate - just make sure that the total amount of liquid adds up to 2 cups.

Ingredients


1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup apple juice concentrate
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and top each serving with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Serve with fresh fruit or  raisins.