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 =)

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.

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

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!

Brownies, the low fat version

So, I had a hankering for brownies but don't want to blow my ww diet. I also had no eggs and started looking for substitutions. Pureed black beans? I had no beans. Bananas? I had no bananas. I searched and searched and remembered Julie talking about putting yogurt in cake mix in place of the oil and eggs so yogurt it was. I opened and dumped out the brownie mix, then looked through the fridge and only had strawberry yogurt. So I put that in there. Oil? No oil, but not wanting to throw it away I used applesauce.

I made the most craptastic, heavy, chewy brownies that had an after taste of strawberries.

Next time I'll just go to the store for eggs and oil and have regular brownies.

This is what happens when you don't want to get pantsed...

So this weekend I had Jill, Julie and Lizzie over. Lizzie left early but Julie and Jill stayed. About 1am Andrew decided to go to sleep. Julie then decided that potato cakes were an awesome idea, then this is what happened:

Let me explain. Earlier in the night Jill pantsed me. If you don't know what pantsing is, it's the act of pulling down one's pants exposing your hiney for all to see. She then did it to Julie when Lizzie gave her a piggy back ride (I dropped her earlier)
So then I was after Jill. She begged and pleaded for me not to pants her. "Please please please Susan, please don't do it! I don't want to show my butt!" So I didn't and you know what she did? She poured a cup of water on me. Since Julie and I had both been pantsed by her, we decided to gang up which really just resulted in me throwing a pitcher of water on her and Andrew. He was innocent and unaware this whole time. Cold and wet he went to bed when I started potato cakes. Then flour started being flung because water was thrown. Then potatoes were thrown because of flour. Jill aimed a bottle of mustard on me and I returned the favor with ketchup. It was disgusting and Julie cleaned my kitchen the next morning while I scrubbed the floor and carpet. Here are the photos that captured the event:

They look innocent and sweet but they aren't

Beautiful

Bulls-eye

She likes it

So the last couple of pictures are just too gross or not flattering. One I am covered in wet potatoes and ketchup that's clumped over my eye. Remember when Jack Black from Shallow Hal pretended to have pink eye to avoid seeing Rosemary so he gunked up vaseline over his eye? That's what it looked like.

Jill's Dinner

So I know I said I'd have pictures. I promised even. You know what though, I stink at taking pictures and I'm even worse when it comes to uploading them. When my phone could send pictures, I did it all this time but now I have this crappy phone that doesn't send or receive pics, so I don't often do it.

I will however share the wonderfullness that is Jill's Dinner. This dinner started off as a "i think this is what I used to put into the burrito casserole..." then I just sorta played with it from there. I also put different things in it all the time. Sometimes I use turkey meat. Sometimes it's two different peppers. Other times I make my own concoction of seasonings. Point is, I've never disappointed with this dinner. I cooked it once for my bff and she loved it so much, and requested it over and over that I named it after her. It really is that easy and yummy, so onto the recipe!

Filling:
1lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
3-4 garlic cloves (pending the size and love of garlic) minced
1 red or green pepper (which ever is on sale)
1 can refried beans
salt, pepper, sprinkling cayenne
1/2 packet taco seasoning

Sauce:
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 packet taco seasoning

Extras:
8 soft medium sized taco shells (i think they are fajita size-NOT soft taco or burrito size)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar or mexican blend cheese

Saute the onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add ground beef until brown, cooking it slowly (for some reason it tastes better this way). Add seasonings to taste, turn off heat and add the refried beans and blend well.

In a separate bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients until well mixed. Add more salsa or sour cream as you see fit. Basically, if it doesn't taste good or is too thick, add those two accordingly.

Heat the soft shells in the microwave until they are soft. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with a little sauce to keep the burrito things from sticking. Fill each with the mean filling, fold like a burrito then place seam side down in the pan. You should be able to fit 6 vertically and 2 horizontally. Cover the burrito things with the sauce, cover with cheese, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 min, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove, let sit for 5 min or so. Add optional chopped cilantro for color.

Serve with either salsa, sour cream, both or none.

And enjoy.

And be prepared to make best friends.

coming this weekend..

So I haven't seen Jill in FOREVER so this weekend I have invited her over. Julie too. I was pondering what to make for dinner and Andrew sheepishly asked me "isn't Jill coming over?" I said yes and he responded"...doesn't this mean we get Jill's Dinner?"

Yes!

He LOVES LOVES LOVES this dinner. It's practically the only casserole thing I can get him to eat. Jill loves loves loves LOVES this dinner, which is why it's named after her. I make it many times she comes over for dinner. It's a whole made-up thing I started cooking when I couldn't remember the recipe for a tex-mex dish. So, all of you out there keep an eye out, this weekend Jill's Dinner will grace the likes of this blog. With pictures. And you will want to recreate this dish.

I should trademark it.