Beans and ugly shoes.

I made a whole mess of rice yesterday! I like to throw all sorts of goodies in my rice. This time I used kidney beans, sweet corn, broccoli, red bell pepper and pineapple!

I went for my first run in very very very long time yesterday. I ran 1.5 miles away from the house and then almost cried when I realized I had to somehow make it home. Boo! It really wasn’t THAT bad…the sun was shining, I was sweaty and after one day in the sun my freckles are coming back! And don’t run on the petal on the sidewalk. Slippery like whoa!

Finally Friday!

Juniper is usually more excited when a package arrives in the mail than we are. She sits beside us while we open it and as soon as its contents are taken out, she hops right in! I found her laying in the a box she turned on its side after my shower today.

I started a new batch of kombucha 10 days ago! It will soon be time for drinking! This is a really small batch but in a few days I’ll start brewing a gallon. I bought a little heat mat for the brewing because it is just so cold in our house. I think the mushroom is really loving it!

I was craving pasta and vegetables tonight for dinner. I warmed up some peas, kale and mushrooms to top the pasta.

I made a cashew cream sauce for the pasta using 1 cup of raw cashews, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1/2 cup soymilk, 1 tablespoon cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon paprika!

I poured the cashew sauce over 16 ounces of whole wheat pasta.

And then topped the pasta with veggies! Happy Friday! I even exercised after work and took a nap. I don’t mess around!

Bits and bites.

I finished reading “There’s a Seal in my Sleeping Bag,” and I started reading “Is Everyone Hanging out Without me?” this week. I loved Mindy Kaling before I started to read her book and I love her even more now!

I’ve been making peanut butter, banana and almond milk smoothies this week. I used to make fun of the powdered peanut stuff I’ve seen popping up in the grocery stores lately. “Who the hell would buy this stuff?!” I would. I would buy this stuff!

I found a little brown jackalope that matches my little blue jackalope in the background.

The co-op near our house started carrying these veggie burgers. We gave them a try this weekend and had mixed results. Eric really liked them. He said they might be the best veggie burgers he’s ever had. I didn’t like them as much though. They are kind of grainy and that was a deal breaker for me.

Yesterday we make our usual trip to Seattle. Bamboo Garden was of course on the menu, as were the pot stickers!

Curry with rice! The waiters at the restaurant always get excited when I try something new. They also like to say “You eat everything. Good job!”

Lo mein for days!

I was craving lo mein a few days ago.  I found a few recipes that I thought looked splendid so I got to cooking.  I tried two recipes and then came up with my own version, taking bits and pieces from each recipe.  I want to try it a few more times before posting the recipe, but I think you’ll be delighted!

Recipe 1.

Recipe 2.

My version!

It sure is a Monday.

I made a ton of food tonight after my jaunt on the elliptical machine.  I like making a bunch of food at the beginning of the week so I don’t have to slave over the stove later in the week.  I have other things I’d like to do besides cook!

Pasta with beans and peppers. Hawaiian chilli with pineapple. Jasmine rice.

I put my new copper dishes to good use.

I started to feel a little mopey tonight so forcing Juniper to have a photo shoot with me always makes me feel better.

She didn’t mind though. She had things to play with.

Cyndi Lauper can always make things right too.

Sushi rollin’ machine!

There was sushi today. Which is always a good thing, but it was a little sad eating it today. There’s a cute little Asian market called Mekong a few blocks away from our house that we go to fairly often. We stopped by there today for some rice and tofu. There was a “sale” sign in the window with a listing of certain percents off of particular items. I just thought that Mekong was having a sale to clear out old stock for the new year. NO. No no no. Mekong is closing! How sad! I bought my first sushi rolling supplies from Mekong! And…where else can you buy 100 packs of organic green tea for $4?! Mekong will be closed in about a week, so we’re going back there tomorrow to stock up on rice noodles and organic green tea. And now we roll our sushi in memory of Mekong.

Today I used Jasmine rice in my sushi. I never use traditional sushi rice. I’ve used short grain brown rice and Jasmine rice with success. I’ve also used long grain brown rice with MUCH less success!

I used tofu and avocado for this one.

Part of my avocado was a little brown so I didn’t want to use that. I cracked open a can of baby corn to mix it up a little bit! It sure did mix it up. It’s ok…but no…not again. (Don’t try it!! I already tried it for you and it’s not worth it!)

Five beautiful rolls were made.

Eric doesn’t like sushi, so this is all for me! Traditionally a few teaspoons are dropped into the cooked rice to make it sticky. And since I love rice vinegar I don’t stick to that traditional way. I probably use about a third cup of rice vinegar! Don’t hate. If I ever make sushi for you I’ll stick to using just a few teaspoons. Unless you love vinegar too! And then all will be right in the world.

I sprinkled some sesame seeds over the top and poured a small bowl of tamari.

Happy sushi-ing!

If you wanted to learn more about sushi making you should watch this video.  You might recognize the actor.  Go ahead…check it out!

Do you make your own sushi at home?  What do you put in yours?  And did you check it out?

 

Nachos with avocado-cashew cream!

Last night I was craving nachos.  I got the idea in my head to make some sort of avocado topping for the nachos.  And I had the idea to blend some avocados with cashews…because cashews seem to make most things better.  I did some research and found a few recipes similar to the idea I had in my head.  And I came up with my own avocado-cashew cream topping!

I caught sleepy Juniper yawning this afternoon. I like to image that she’s singing a song. Perhaps Erasure? Probably Oh L’amour.

Avocado-Cashew Cream

• One avocado
• 1/2 raw cashews soaked for a few hours
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (if you don’t like spicy things, just leave this out)
• 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

Blend the soaked cashews with the water until super smooth!  Transfers to a food processor.  My blender didn’t want to blend the avocados.  If yours does…then no need to transfer.  Add the avocado and spices.  Blend and then serve!  I left mine chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes, but it’s ok to use it right away!

Avocado-cashew cream!

Usually we top our nachos with tvp, refried beans and some melty gooey vegan cheese.  I felt like being a little healthier so I chopped up some raw veggies.  I also had some corn and pinto beans to add to the fun!

Bell pepper, avocado-cashew cream and tomatoes.

Also…everything is better with Tapatio sauce! Happy Nacho-ing!

A quiet Christmas with a kitten.

We were up at 5:30 in the morning… on my day off! This is unheard of. It was Christmas though and I was excited to roll out of bed to begin the day!  Our families sent us so many packages this year.  We decided not to open any of the boxes when they arrived in the mail so it would be a real surprise.  There were plenty of Middleswarth chips too!  Juniper was the official Christmas inspector.

Christmas came to a grinding halt when Eric opened a book.

This past summer at an estate sale, Eric found this ET wrapping paper. Vintage too! He wrapped my gifts in it this year. I’ve never seen the movie ET!…(or Grease. Or Dirty Dancing. Or The Shining.)

Four years ago when we moved to Seattle I had a bowl like this. It came out here from PA with us. I lovingly referred to it as, The Cock Bowl. The Cock Bowl met its tragic end on day when Eric was washing dishes and one of his stainless steel bowls fell off the drying rack, knocking The Cock Bowl onto the floor with it. The Cock Bowl shattered into a million little pieces. I loved that bowl and Eric has been looking on Ebay for a replacement bowl for the past four years. He found some! Four to be exact. One was shattered in transit though. Another Cock Bowl bites the dust. I was so excited when I saw these! I would remind Eric from time to time about my broken bowl and he would always feel sad when I brought it up. He scored major points with this one!

Mistletoe.

Juniper even had a few gifts! She loves these little plastic spring toys. They’re easy for her to carry them around in her mouth. She goes nuts over them! We throw them down the stairs and she runs after them at full speed, mumbling little meows at she’s chasing it. I also found this toy in her food bowl today. She will do that with all of her toys. She puts them in her food bowl. I don’t know if is playing and then decides she’s hungry so she just drops the toy in the food or if she’s trying to be motherly and feed the toys? Goofy little girl!

I tried a recipe today for soft pretzels from that Natural Christmas 1978 book I bought a few weeks ago at the thrift store.

Finished pretzels!

They were lightly crispy on the outside and super soft and fluffy on the inside! I’ve tried recipes for soft pretzels before and they always just tasted like dough. There was never any real flavor. These however, DO taste like a soft pretzel!

The coarse salt really did the trick too!

We also decided to make an easy Christmas dinner today. Nachos! Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great day doing what you do to celebrate the holiday!

Vegan Krabby Patties!

Chickpeas!  They’re super versatile AND tasty.  On Monday I made some chickpea patties based on this recipe.  I of course tweaked the recipe, but I think I found my perfect patty!

*Ingredients

• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 4 white button mushrooms
• 1- 28 oz. can of chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon cayenne powder
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce ( I use Tapatio!)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

*Instructions

-Drain and rinse the chickpeas.  Chop up the bell pepper and mushrooms and lightly pan fry them until tender.  Use a food processor to chop up the chickpeas.  I like my chickpeas chopped into really small pieces.  Be careful not to process them too much though or you’ll have hummus!  Put the bell pepper, mushrooms and parsley in the food processor and pulse until the pieces are very fine.

-Put chickpeas and veggie mix in a bowl and add the rest of your spices.  Combine by hand and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

-Form patties and fry over medium heat until evenly brown!

And there you have Vegan Krabby Patties!

Lightly fry the bell pepper and mushrooms.

Use a food processor to chop up the chickpeas and veggies. My parents are going to think I’m bad. They sent me this food processor for Christmas. I couldn’t wait to use it though! It arrived a few weeks ago and I had been good, but I couldn’t wait any longer! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Chopped up chickpeas and veggies ready for mixin’.

Hand mixed with the spices.

Form patties and lightly fry until brown.

I bought some of this try with the Krabby Patties. It tastes exactly like tartar sauce!

Vegan Krabby Patties!

 

Sweet and Spicy Nuts!

Yesterday I decided to try this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Nuts.  The recipe is pretty simple so it didn’t take too long to make.

Next time I think I’m going to use 1/2 cup of sugar instead of a whole cup.

The recipe also called for 1.5 teaspoons of cayenne powder. I decided to use 2 teaspoons. It was spicy without being too spicy. Next time I’d use more cayenne!

Bubble bubble sugar.

I used my Silpat to bake the nuts on. It’s so easy to clean! If you don’t have a Silpat you should really use parchment paper. The sugar of course is really sticky when it comes out of the oven. I’m not sure how you would clean off your baking sheet otherwise. I’m too lazy for all of that scrubbing!

We’ve been snacking on these all weekend! The Christmas feasting has begun!