Imma dirrrty, dirrrty vegan...

My friend Michael has ten chickens, and so shared a dozen beautiful, fresh eggs with us... So, I made my first omelet today! Yummy...

The omelet contains: eggs, onions, garlic, carrots, red and green bell peppers, feta cheese and tofutti "cream cheese".  The potatoes came out very well too! I had baked some potatoes the other night and had three left over. I cut them up and fried them in about 1/2 inch of canola oil, then salted them as the oil drained off of them after removing them from the pan. It's a good thing I don't cook like this very often!

And we listened to this playlist while cooking:

A-Punk by Vampire Weekend on the album Vampire Weekned
A Big Jump by The Chemical Brothers on the album Push the Button
Budy Bye by Johnny Osbourne on the album DJ Kicks
Fortress by Pinback on the album Summer in Abaddon
Fun by Noddy on the album A Seed
The Heart's a Lonely Hunter by Thievery Corporation featuring David Byrne on the album Cosmic Game
House of Jealous Lovers by The Rapture on the album Echoes
Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma) by Jorge Ben on the album Beleza Tropical: Brazil Classics
Rude Buddah by Transglobal Underground on the album Rejoice, Rejoice
Thank You Everyday by Deee-Lite on the album Infinity Within
Two Clouds Above Nine by Deee-Lite on the album Infinity Within
Ulysses by Mason Jennings on the album Use Your Voice

This week we also had Pasta in Garlic-Almond Sauce. Wow! Sooo Good!

And also; My new favorite Carrot Soup: Curried Carrot Bisque! We scarfed it down so fast, I forgot to take a picture. Wow, it was so good. Please, please make it and enjoy it as much as we did!

Vegan Lasagna and Easy Beansy Pasta

Dinner:

I try to be vegan, but I love cheese so much, it makes it hard. That is why I am excited about the vegan lasagna I made! I am getting my cheese fix without the cheese! I basically followed this recipe, which is an adaptation from Veganomicon.  One word of advice: using the right tool for the job can make all the difference!  You can try for 30-45 minutes, and fail, to "process the cashews into the garlic until creamy" using a blender when making the Cashew "Ricotta",  or do it in about a minute in a food processor. Totally your choice, of coarse...

The Expanding Circle says that the Cashew Ricotta is "probably the best dairy analogue" she has ever had. I think it is delicious, but it tastes to me like Toby's Original Tofu Pate (which I enjoy). I added more garlic than the recipe calls for though, so that might explain it.

I served it with Spicy Kale, for the win (and 5 out of 5 stars!)...

Lunch: 

Easy Beansy Pasta
This is a very basic, easy to make, and surprisingly tasty, meal. My daughter and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
1-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 large Red Onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
pinch cayanne
1 15 oz can Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 - 1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn kernals
1/3 - 1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

Penne Pasta, cooked
Sour Supreme (a.k.a. Tofutti) to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, until the garlic begins to brown. Add the spices and saute for another minute. Add the beans, corn and peas, and saute until heated through.  Serve over penne pasta with a large dollop of sour supreme, stir together.

Naam Bowls!

When I visited my friend, Miguel, in Vancouver BC last summer, we went to The Naam Restaurant. It is a funky little restaurant, reminiscent in decor and attitude of Eugene's Morning Glory Cafe, but it serves dinner!  I had the Naam Bowl when I went there, and loved it! I had no idea how to make it though, so I resigned myself that I wasn't going to get it again until I visited Vancouver again. And then I made it by accident! Ok, it wasn't a perfect replica, but the sauce seemed close. Other major differences: The Naam bowl had more food in one serving than one person should eat, 15 kinds of veggies, homefries instead of baked potatoes and tempeh instead of seitan.

Naam Bowls
Baked Potatoes
Seitan 
liquid from making the seitan
Carrots, diced, steamed
Corn
Broccoli, steamed
Green Bell Peppers

For lunch, I had leftover "Vegan Chef's Choice" pizza from PRI (Pizza Research Institute)...My favorite pizza of all time!

Kale Chips

Do you have leftover kale?  Here is something delicious to do with it!

Preheat oven to 350. Wash and dry the kale (may use a salad spinner), remove stems from your kale. In a large bowl, lightly coat the kale with olive oil (1-2 Tablespoons to about 1/4 lb kale) and sprinkle with salt. Spread the kale on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are brown, but not burnt.  They turn out very crispy and surprisingly yummy!

Good friends and comfort foods

I have got to say, this has been a tough year.  Today marks one year since my dear friend and ex-partner, Paul Carlile, took his life.  I have gotten through it by having some very good friends let me cry on their shoulders, a very good counselor (Thank you Carol Goodman), by staying physically active, listening to great music (Thank you Daniel, David and Elliot for exposure to so much great new music), and by eating good food. My coworkers were also very patient and understanding on days when I couldn't go to work (Paul and I worked about 50 feet apart) and on days when I had to close my door, shut my blinds and take a nap in the middle of the day.  There have been a lot of firsts this year that have been hard (my birthday, his birthday, the anniversary of our breakup, and the holidays - but who doesn't find the holidays hard).  The anniversary of his death is the biggest one, the one I have been dreading the most.  My friend Crissy told me that the anticipation of the anniversary of her Mom's passing was worse than the actual day was...and I believe the same will be true for me.  My dear friend Miguel suggested that I have a potluck and gathering of my closest friends.  I thought that was a fantastic idea, so that is what I am doing.  And I made comfort food for the occasion.


Seitan Portobella Stroganoff

This is a very rich, hearty meal. (I had to try it before I served it!)  The recipe can be found online at one of my favorite vegan cooking sites, PostPunkKitchen.  I made the seitan (pronounced SAY-TAN, I am told, though I keep wanting to say seetan or sayten) from scratch, as recommended.  I also recommend it, but I gotta say, it looks like brains cookin.

oh, and by the way, that was supposed to be 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in there, not 1 tablespoon, as I mis-read. Still turned out Dee-Licious. I am serving the stroganoff over wide egg-noodles...I definitely give it 5 out of 5 stars.  I am going to make it again someday.


The other items I made are recipes I have posted before: White Bean and Kale Soup and 7-Layer Candy.  Mmm, mmm comfort food, one of the many, many things I am grateful for.

Special breakfast: Banana-Nut Waffles

Yum, yum, yum!!!  These waffles are sweet and the walnuts add a great texture.

1 3/4 cups soy milk (I didn't have any, so I used vanilla coconut milk)
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 average-size very ripe bananas
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped finely
Nonstick cooking spray

Pour the milk, water and vinegar into a measuring cup and set aside to curdle.

Mash the bananas very well in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk mixture, oil, syrup and vanilla, and stir.

This would be a good time to start heating up the waffle iron.

In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together and stir. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with a fork. Don't overmix, just mix until ther are minimal lumps left. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Spray the cooking surfaces of your waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray and cook the waffles according to the manufacturer's directions.  I enjoyed my waffles with a big mug of Chai Lon!

Recipe from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

My infamous 7-Layer Candy, Chai Lon or Chai Yen and snack!

I learned this recipe from my grandmother when I was 12 years old.  It is SO good! (and so bad for you!)  Please take it and play with the ingredients as you see fit.  It always turns out yummy.

7-Layer Candy
1/2 cup butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup coconut, sweetened, shredded
6 oz. butterscotch chips
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup slivered almonds
3/4 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a 9x9 baking dish. Crumble enough graham crackers to make 1 cup, sprinkle evenly over the butter (graham crackers will soak up most of the butter). Sprinkle the rest of the dry ingrediants in layers. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand until cool, cut into squares.  I like to keep the candy in the refrigerator, I think it is a dish best served cold.

I have switched out butterscotch chips with peanut butter chips and have switched the nuts to peanuts, cashews, walnuts and filberts, all with good results (though walnuts are not really my favorites of the bunch).  I am sure pecans would be good as well.

Wondering what to do with the rest of the sweetened condensed milk?  You could make a favorite Thai beverage with it: 

Chai Lon or Chai Yen

12 oz. brewed Coffee
generous tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

Stir the milk in.  Hot coffee with milk is Chai Lon, iced makes it Chai Yen.  Enjoy!

Snack:

Beecher's Marco Polo Cheese (available at Fred Meyer's!) on Fred Meyer's Potato Rosemary Bread....Peppery and Delicious!