This weekend is going to be a pretty quiet one cooking wise. Tonight I'm going to finish up the last of my pumpkin soup for dinner, maybe add a vegetable. For lunch I went to Pasara's with a coworker, and I had this awesome stir fry of oriental eggplant, peppers, onions and tofu in a spicy bean sauce, but I don't think that was waist friendly, so I'll just have to have a lighter dinner. I'd love to learn how to make it though. They have a couple of vegetarian/vegan friendly options on their menu, plus their happy hour is fantastic!
But this weekend I'll be busy helping a friend with wedding preparations, so I doubt I'll do much cooking. She did get me a vegan cookbook that arrived yesterday, so I'm super excited about cooking from that in the near future. Next week though, as long as it's cooler because right now it's much too hot outside, I plan on making this butternut squash and coconut curry soup recipe I found on loveandoliveoil.com. I'm super excited.
Have a good weekend, all!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pumpkin Soup
I keep promising pictures and this time, I actually took them. The downside is they are home on my mom's laptop. So, when I get in, I'll add pictures to this posting.
Anyways, I had my "OMGINEEDPUMPKIN" craving on Friday. Friday night however, I went out with two coworkers for happy hour then saw "Going the Distance." It was a very cute, very sweet movie. Saturday my plan was to spend all afternoon/night catching up on True Blood with my sister AND making this wonderful soup, but I was sad and depressed and needed hugs, so after 3 episodes and no soup, I ventured home to snuggle with my Whitney. She apparently needed snuggling too because she did not leave my side when I got home.
So Sunday was the day and Sunday it happened! Now the pumpkin soup I wanted to make involves andouille sausage and heavy cream and although that sounds gross, it's actually really good. A bit more hearty and wonderful if you top it with some smoked gouda. I was just going to make a simple soup and replace the cream with coconut milk or soy milk, but decided since I had time and the ingredients available, that I would stretch the vegan resources.
The result? Actually pretty amazing. My mom liked it and I thought she'd turn it down when she learned of what was in it or because of the spice (she doesn't like spice). My dad enjoyed it and wanted to know the carb count so he could have it. It also had a ton less fat/oil than the previous version which I liked more. This in a bread bowl would be outstanding. It made a ton, so I froze half and have been eating soup for dinner every night this week. I'm not complaining.
Pumpkin Soup
2 cans puree pumpkin
7 cups organic vegetable stock (I used 7 cups of water and 4 -2 cup serving vegetable bullion cubes)
1 onion
4 tbs Earth Balance
8 oz soy milk
1 tsp red pepper flakes
14oz vegan ground "sausage"
pumpkin spice flavor seasoning to your heart's content, but about 2 tsp, maybe 1 tbs
1/2 c packed brown sugar
salt to taste
Saute in a heavy pot (I used my dutch oven) the ground sausage and red pepper flakes over low-medium heat in 2 tbs Earth Balance for 5 min. Then add the diced onion and the remaining Earth Balance until the onions are soft. Add the pumpkin puree (or 1 1/2lbs diced pumpkin), reduce heat to low and mix. Then add stock, sugar, spices and mix well. Cover and let it simmer for about 45min-1hr (if you are using fresh pumpkin, just make sure it's soft).
Anyways, I had my "OMGINEEDPUMPKIN" craving on Friday. Friday night however, I went out with two coworkers for happy hour then saw "Going the Distance." It was a very cute, very sweet movie. Saturday my plan was to spend all afternoon/night catching up on True Blood with my sister AND making this wonderful soup, but I was sad and depressed and needed hugs, so after 3 episodes and no soup, I ventured home to snuggle with my Whitney. She apparently needed snuggling too because she did not leave my side when I got home.
So Sunday was the day and Sunday it happened! Now the pumpkin soup I wanted to make involves andouille sausage and heavy cream and although that sounds gross, it's actually really good. A bit more hearty and wonderful if you top it with some smoked gouda. I was just going to make a simple soup and replace the cream with coconut milk or soy milk, but decided since I had time and the ingredients available, that I would stretch the vegan resources.
The result? Actually pretty amazing. My mom liked it and I thought she'd turn it down when she learned of what was in it or because of the spice (she doesn't like spice). My dad enjoyed it and wanted to know the carb count so he could have it. It also had a ton less fat/oil than the previous version which I liked more. This in a bread bowl would be outstanding. It made a ton, so I froze half and have been eating soup for dinner every night this week. I'm not complaining.
Pumpkin Soup
2 cans puree pumpkin
7 cups organic vegetable stock (I used 7 cups of water and 4 -2 cup serving vegetable bullion cubes)
1 onion
4 tbs Earth Balance
8 oz soy milk
1 tsp red pepper flakes
14oz vegan ground "sausage"
pumpkin spice flavor seasoning to your heart's content, but about 2 tsp, maybe 1 tbs
1/2 c packed brown sugar
salt to taste
Saute in a heavy pot (I used my dutch oven) the ground sausage and red pepper flakes over low-medium heat in 2 tbs Earth Balance for 5 min. Then add the diced onion and the remaining Earth Balance until the onions are soft. Add the pumpkin puree (or 1 1/2lbs diced pumpkin), reduce heat to low and mix. Then add stock, sugar, spices and mix well. Cover and let it simmer for about 45min-1hr (if you are using fresh pumpkin, just make sure it's soft).
Yummy pumpkin-ness a'brewin
In batches, transfer your soup to the blender and blend well. Return it back to the pot, add the soy milk and heat, but do not let it boil. Add any remaining pumpkin spice/salt/pepper that you feel necessary.
Friday, September 17, 2010
PUMPKIN
I have an obsession with pumpkin. From now until after Thanksgiving, I will make pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie and drink pumpkin spice lattes (used to be gingerbread lattes until Starbucks messed with the recipe. Thanks guys). I. Love. Pumpkin.
My goal this weekend is to make a vegan pumpkin soup. My pumpkin soup before contained spicy sausage and heavy cream, so finding a nice alternative that matched that flavor might be a challenge. So I will keep you posted this weekend what I come up with =)
My goal this weekend is to make a vegan pumpkin soup. My pumpkin soup before contained spicy sausage and heavy cream, so finding a nice alternative that matched that flavor might be a challenge. So I will keep you posted this weekend what I come up with =)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Mac and no cheese
The first week or so I was on this plan, I had an intense craving for mac and cheese. I love mac and cheese but I love to hate it. I would never order it out but man oh man, if calories (ha, or lactose) weren't an issue, I'd eat it once a week. Last time I made it though was back in November when I couldn't silence the craving.
Seeing as how I am choosing to not eat cheese, mac and cheese seemed like an impossibility until I started doing some research. Turns out you can mimic the taste and texture of cheese fairly easily. It won't taste just like cheese, but it takes the edge off and for the most part, is not that bad (how many times can I say "cheese" in this blog?).
So I found veganyumyum and this lady not only has beautiful pictures, her recipes seem fairly easy and not too fancy, and her mac and cheeze was under her favorites. I read some reviews and decided this would be the recipe I'd use. Problem was I had never heard of half the items in the ingredients. Nutritional yeast? Tamari? Luckily for me I have a cube mate who is from California and fairly familiar with vegan items. And she doesn't laugh at my ignorance too much. She informed me that I'd probably have to go to a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's to get the items needed for this recipe. Awesome. I love Trader Joe's and have always wanted to visit a Whole Foods, so I googled mapped them near Waldorf and....nothing. Not within 40 miles anyway.
There's a Whole Foods about a mile from my office, so I made the walk there. I really wish I had someone with me because I was so lost in this store and felt so dumb. I knew the items I was there for but didn't know which section or what they looked like, so my first Whole Foods visit was a big overwhelming. I managed though except for the tamari and came back with my list (and the best pear I've had in a while. And no I didn't eat the whole thing, sticker included).
Next time I make this, I will premeasure and set aside my ingredients because it all moves so quickly. I was so worried about over cooking but it was okay. The recipe can be found on veganyumyum here but I made some adjustments based on what I had versus what I thought I had versus what I forgot at the store. Over all though, I really liked it. It wasn't mac and cheese but it was really good for what it was. I will definitely make it again and make sure to have everything on hand =)
Seeing as how I am choosing to not eat cheese, mac and cheese seemed like an impossibility until I started doing some research. Turns out you can mimic the taste and texture of cheese fairly easily. It won't taste just like cheese, but it takes the edge off and for the most part, is not that bad (how many times can I say "cheese" in this blog?).
So I found veganyumyum and this lady not only has beautiful pictures, her recipes seem fairly easy and not too fancy, and her mac and cheeze was under her favorites. I read some reviews and decided this would be the recipe I'd use. Problem was I had never heard of half the items in the ingredients. Nutritional yeast? Tamari? Luckily for me I have a cube mate who is from California and fairly familiar with vegan items. And she doesn't laugh at my ignorance too much. She informed me that I'd probably have to go to a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's to get the items needed for this recipe. Awesome. I love Trader Joe's and have always wanted to visit a Whole Foods, so I googled mapped them near Waldorf and....nothing. Not within 40 miles anyway.
There's a Whole Foods about a mile from my office, so I made the walk there. I really wish I had someone with me because I was so lost in this store and felt so dumb. I knew the items I was there for but didn't know which section or what they looked like, so my first Whole Foods visit was a big overwhelming. I managed though except for the tamari and came back with my list (and the best pear I've had in a while. And no I didn't eat the whole thing, sticker included).
Next time I make this, I will premeasure and set aside my ingredients because it all moves so quickly. I was so worried about over cooking but it was okay. The recipe can be found on veganyumyum here but I made some adjustments based on what I had versus what I thought I had versus what I forgot at the store. Over all though, I really liked it. It wasn't mac and cheese but it was really good for what it was. I will definitely make it again and make sure to have everything on hand =)
Mac and Cheeze
Serves 3-4
About half a box of macaroni noodles
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1/3 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 Tbs Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Lemon Juice, fresh
1 Tbs White Miso
2 Tbs condensed tomato soup (reeeeally thought I had paste but nope)
1 1/4 Cup Almond Milk
1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Pinch Salt
Black Pepper, to taste
Few Ritz crackers to crumble on the top
Begin by heating a sauce pan and adding the earth balance. Once melted, add flour and whisk vigorously until a smooth paste forms, called a roux. Be careful not to add flour to a pan that is very hot, or your roux will be lumpy and you’ll need to start over. If you mix in the flour as soon as the margarine is melted and you should avoid any problems.
To this paste, add lemon, miso, and tomato and whisk until well incorporated. The mixture should still be paste-like. Then slowly pour in the almond milk, whisking constantly, until it is completely incorporated. Add the yeast and mix well. Cook the mixture until it thickens, whisking often. This should take approximately 5 minutes, but it’s flexible. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When you boil the noodles, add the broccoli when you have 5 min left in cooking, just enough so the broccoli cooks but doesn't overcook. Mix the sauce and noodles together, crumble the crackers and bake at 400 for 15 min, just until the top browns a little.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Cake Time!
Eating vegan has been fun and trying. You don't realize how much food you make has some level of animal by-products. One that I thought was going to be the hardest obstacle to overcome but ended up being the easiest was baking. I was bored one night a few weeks ago and stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a go. I made a couple of alterations to it because I lacked some of the ingredients but it came out so yummy. Very moist and I had no need for icing. My mom, who was a little skeptical at the idea of a vegan cake, really liked it.
This recipe also proves that vegan does not equal healthy all the time. I think next time I'd also cut back a little on the sugar, it was definitely a sugar overload.
Vegan Orange Cake
This recipe also proves that vegan does not equal healthy all the time. I think next time I'd also cut back a little on the sugar, it was definitely a sugar overload.
Vegan Orange Cake
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease or line with parchment paper a standard round or 8 x 8 inch square pan.
In a large bowl whisk together:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
In a medium mixing bowl (or I use a large measuring cup) mix together:
- 3/4 c orange juice
- 1/4 c pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until smooth. Pour into cake pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Long time no post!
So, I thought about resurrecting this thing again. I love posting about food and life, and for some reason, I really love this blog, so I figure I'll give it another go around. It's been 6 months since my last post, and I'm cooking new and different things, so it'll be fun to get back in it. Especially since I'm now eating a whole new diet, so having a record of recipes I love will help. Plus, my phone now takes and sends pictures! Not great pictures, but pictures nonetheless.
I guess the real reason why I brought this blog up was I was looking through old facebook stuff and saw a picture I took, and the caption was "first day being 26." And I remember taking the picture so vividly. I had walked out of Latin class (uuugh Latin, you were the bain of my existence!) and had about an hour to kill before I was meeting up with my mom in Alexandria. We were going to see Julie and Julia and have dinner beforehand. The night before Jill came over and we watched Kenny vs Spenny episodes and Andrew bought me a beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings (that to this day I've never taken out, I love them so much). It was a fantastic birthday, and not because of what I received, but I was with people that I love.
This birthday, one year later, is quite different. This past year has been a whirlwind and I can say that when I took that picture a year ago, I never thought I'd be where I am now. I graduated from Maryland in January. I thought I would have no problems finding a job, and was even off to a good start with some promising interviews, but interview after interview turned up nothing. I seemed to always be in second place. From about March onward, I feel back into probably the worst depression I'd had in a while. I knew I was depressed then, but now looking at myself then, I don't think I could have realized how bad it was. I neglected my health, put on too much weight, was irrational/emotion and strained relationships.
I finally did get a job in May but it was a crazy one. A good friend of mine asked me to work with her until I figured things out doing customer service for an electronic cigarette company in Baltimore. It was by far the most trying job I've had. The people I worked with though, were amazing. It's the only job I've had where my coworkers yelled at me all day, then at the end hugged me and asked me to have dinner with them. Different cultures =) I'm back in DC now though, working my same on and off again job, but it's something to tie me over until I either go permanent, go back to school or find a different job.
This birthday is also different than the past several, because someone that I've spent the last few birthdays with someone who will not be present in this one. In May, my world at that time came to a sudden stop as the person that was my best friend and my life broke up with me. Different reasons were given (and sometimes changed) for the cause of the break up, but in the end, and at least today, it seems like it really was for the best. I hope anyway. I can see now that we lost our own identity, and no couple survives unless they can be themselves. It's still hard to accept sometimes that it's really done and over. The recovery has been bumpy but the old saying of "time heals all wounds" really is true as each day gets better. I still care deeply for him and it's taken me a while to reach this point, but I sincerely hope he's doing exactly what is good for him and he's happy. I did realize through this process is that I really do have amazing friends. Friends that listen to me cry about the same things over and over, friends that hang out with me at the drop of a hat and friends that would literally do anything for me. I can confidently say that I'm not only lucky to have the people in my life that are there, but I really am lucky because these people do love me.
My 26 was an intense year to say the least. But its end brings a promising and hopeful start for 27. I do live at home with my parents, and although they agree that this is not a living situation that either of us want to last forever, they are very kind for allowing me to live there until I get back on my feet. I'm now vegan and have been for 3 weeks now, and have never felt better. I'm not even trying and I'm losing weight. And for the first time in weeks, I'm.....happy. Like, not just in a good mood, but people have commented that they can see that I'm happy. I feel hopeful. I'm painting more and focusing on myself and having fun. I can see how much I've grown up in my face from my last picture but it's okay. I've come a long way. So even though I've already cried today (I'M SO CLOSE TO 30 NOW!), I can honestly say that I look forward to what 27 brings. I think it's going to be a great year of new experiences, new friends and a new me. So, happy birthday to me!
I guess the real reason why I brought this blog up was I was looking through old facebook stuff and saw a picture I took, and the caption was "first day being 26." And I remember taking the picture so vividly. I had walked out of Latin class (uuugh Latin, you were the bain of my existence!) and had about an hour to kill before I was meeting up with my mom in Alexandria. We were going to see Julie and Julia and have dinner beforehand. The night before Jill came over and we watched Kenny vs Spenny episodes and Andrew bought me a beautiful pair of diamond stud earrings (that to this day I've never taken out, I love them so much). It was a fantastic birthday, and not because of what I received, but I was with people that I love.
This birthday, one year later, is quite different. This past year has been a whirlwind and I can say that when I took that picture a year ago, I never thought I'd be where I am now. I graduated from Maryland in January. I thought I would have no problems finding a job, and was even off to a good start with some promising interviews, but interview after interview turned up nothing. I seemed to always be in second place. From about March onward, I feel back into probably the worst depression I'd had in a while. I knew I was depressed then, but now looking at myself then, I don't think I could have realized how bad it was. I neglected my health, put on too much weight, was irrational/emotion and strained relationships.
I finally did get a job in May but it was a crazy one. A good friend of mine asked me to work with her until I figured things out doing customer service for an electronic cigarette company in Baltimore. It was by far the most trying job I've had. The people I worked with though, were amazing. It's the only job I've had where my coworkers yelled at me all day, then at the end hugged me and asked me to have dinner with them. Different cultures =) I'm back in DC now though, working my same on and off again job, but it's something to tie me over until I either go permanent, go back to school or find a different job.
This birthday is also different than the past several, because someone that I've spent the last few birthdays with someone who will not be present in this one. In May, my world at that time came to a sudden stop as the person that was my best friend and my life broke up with me. Different reasons were given (and sometimes changed) for the cause of the break up, but in the end, and at least today, it seems like it really was for the best. I hope anyway. I can see now that we lost our own identity, and no couple survives unless they can be themselves. It's still hard to accept sometimes that it's really done and over. The recovery has been bumpy but the old saying of "time heals all wounds" really is true as each day gets better. I still care deeply for him and it's taken me a while to reach this point, but I sincerely hope he's doing exactly what is good for him and he's happy. I did realize through this process is that I really do have amazing friends. Friends that listen to me cry about the same things over and over, friends that hang out with me at the drop of a hat and friends that would literally do anything for me. I can confidently say that I'm not only lucky to have the people in my life that are there, but I really am lucky because these people do love me.
My 26 was an intense year to say the least. But its end brings a promising and hopeful start for 27. I do live at home with my parents, and although they agree that this is not a living situation that either of us want to last forever, they are very kind for allowing me to live there until I get back on my feet. I'm now vegan and have been for 3 weeks now, and have never felt better. I'm not even trying and I'm losing weight. And for the first time in weeks, I'm.....happy. Like, not just in a good mood, but people have commented that they can see that I'm happy. I feel hopeful. I'm painting more and focusing on myself and having fun. I can see how much I've grown up in my face from my last picture but it's okay. I've come a long way. So even though I've already cried today (I'M SO CLOSE TO 30 NOW!), I can honestly say that I look forward to what 27 brings. I think it's going to be a great year of new experiences, new friends and a new me. So, happy birthday to me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
