tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84984766183947189892024-03-14T05:38:53.074-05:00Vegan RawrThis is what I eat.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-34734872721107254262009-11-12T14:40:00.001-06:002009-11-12T14:41:59.737-06:00Creamy Butternut Squash SoupI think my photography is getting better. This is yesterday's lunch, made with water, soy milk, pureed (local) squash, spices, and lavender from the garden.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBU9IdIDLxgUJii35DkVo34tmJ8KEEJDBrO9bvNvecm-cT1I_9OE7Db-t3eL3Sc_WC_5On457l3nOj5Uoy6F_64zOAjnTUuk7GNP2aq8a4uK_kloxDiuTjOP1qydfPr4yYbF6VnJkvHI/s1600-h/squash+soup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBU9IdIDLxgUJii35DkVo34tmJ8KEEJDBrO9bvNvecm-cT1I_9OE7Db-t3eL3Sc_WC_5On457l3nOj5Uoy6F_64zOAjnTUuk7GNP2aq8a4uK_kloxDiuTjOP1qydfPr4yYbF6VnJkvHI/s320/squash+soup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403320075188072498" border="0" /></a>maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-40632676219451612712009-11-11T18:09:00.006-06:002009-11-11T18:50:59.279-06:00Vegan S'moresOrganic raspberry chocolate, Sweet & Sara marshmallows, and generic graham crackers.<br />Hell yes.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4-b3EwWD9P11On7exsgR_xY0jyS6eSCh_OWSm_5hQ5v7TMvIbZ1ofS0gU0erngJ_Gj6tDQk2bkK9NAeNvbRrxGIXStwPAG3sRL9ne_zDdV6tKWAOPITAfvLptOMrbQz2NWZu326JEC0/s1600-h/smores.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4-b3EwWD9P11On7exsgR_xY0jyS6eSCh_OWSm_5hQ5v7TMvIbZ1ofS0gU0erngJ_Gj6tDQk2bkK9NAeNvbRrxGIXStwPAG3sRL9ne_zDdV6tKWAOPITAfvLptOMrbQz2NWZu326JEC0/s320/smores.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403013206863165714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7d_vpbqYGI5PdeLTOXC0-AYwPFDxeqiwmQurWv9flSCViNvgh41MST0IZpNQC8cp4wJlzUSLHJ_GRInAO2xiduluro6v0pgMC7iIECbpDqYXf0gkxPiTYiiDzYOTXzZe18H6NpEuhl78/s1600-h/smores.jpg"><br /></a>maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-77534626482800011862009-11-08T11:11:00.007-06:002009-11-08T11:20:51.747-06:00Autumn Sandwich, Breakfast, and Take OutInspired by <a href="http://bjorkedoff.blogspot.com/2009/10/vegan-mfo-day12-happy-canadian.html">Evan's post on Bjorkedoff</a>, I sought to recreate some kind of Autumnal Sandwich. Jay made flat bread before I got home, sort of ciabatta style but with less air, from the Joy of Cooking recipe and added in some caramelized onions and herbs from our garden. We used a ton of local ingredients: red leaf lettuce, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, jonathan apples. We added soy nut butter and orange fig spread. It was exactly as good as it sounds ONLY BETTER.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFn6tjt8uya3Mpj2ER6JtzOJCczThqL8JE1DeNddoXkpEfKqhlPobyv_D_h-LwzZLaYln3ccuHbMgw2NOmbeYBu88F1E6WUUKW-MIAYTn4Ox1pL8QSOORbUTNSWY4ss_Sf3RF1lTW3pOA/s1600-h/sandwich4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFn6tjt8uya3Mpj2ER6JtzOJCczThqL8JE1DeNddoXkpEfKqhlPobyv_D_h-LwzZLaYln3ccuHbMgw2NOmbeYBu88F1E6WUUKW-MIAYTn4Ox1pL8QSOORbUTNSWY4ss_Sf3RF1lTW3pOA/s320/sandwich4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401782921864700066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here are a couple of breakfast shots from the past week. One features local eggs, Gimme Lean sausage, homemade biscuits, and local muscadine jelly. The other is some mashed potato cakes with local BBQ sauce.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3OUwwa9ks0ti00tyMTZskwUjcOGHz-MqFOlpF4ttqQ27BQKT9uw2kc0UpZxMtJWO5l3mi9HgwbSn-DMd0EgcYQL1jkGfQGAiEw5R7vWH7zDBSkfPN_n76_S-Z7ECCdKs2ejH5-pxBkU/s1600-h/breakfastmess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3OUwwa9ks0ti00tyMTZskwUjcOGHz-MqFOlpF4ttqQ27BQKT9uw2kc0UpZxMtJWO5l3mi9HgwbSn-DMd0EgcYQL1jkGfQGAiEw5R7vWH7zDBSkfPN_n76_S-Z7ECCdKs2ejH5-pxBkU/s320/breakfastmess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401783148127695362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVOQCNDu4ejSLr4B8s-mHiTGuX9l8PhDy0_41tsNetTisVoLdV7DD3H6iGCldrh0HHWXEK0Bc2ohKe8DCymhjTZl7YyIsfsoyt_Tc5wvvdVPu5aDHhFghNv1Hex-nmVv1dQreNz1gVpA/s1600-h/potatocakes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVOQCNDu4ejSLr4B8s-mHiTGuX9l8PhDy0_41tsNetTisVoLdV7DD3H6iGCldrh0HHWXEK0Bc2ohKe8DCymhjTZl7YyIsfsoyt_Tc5wvvdVPu5aDHhFghNv1Hex-nmVv1dQreNz1gVpA/s320/potatocakes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401783322105104322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally, some take out from a Middle Eastern place called Ali Baba's. This is the vegetarian combo, which has two huge pitas, four dolmades, two falafel balls, some pickled salad, babaganoush, and hummus. It was more than enough for two people, and it was like $7. Kind of amazing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHe5b41NSydnfI3xIHOV6hJwtHci18QrO7yE_n80R79rUx1zWihmGiwdsZB_ucruvL3KdoIV1OfFBaYqOfZn0kzpz_X1mHPzP21qHOpUyEztlS6tlhm_00H8IsPWhH-eTK89gE4WtL5s/s1600-h/takeout.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHe5b41NSydnfI3xIHOV6hJwtHci18QrO7yE_n80R79rUx1zWihmGiwdsZB_ucruvL3KdoIV1OfFBaYqOfZn0kzpz_X1mHPzP21qHOpUyEztlS6tlhm_00H8IsPWhH-eTK89gE4WtL5s/s320/takeout.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401783819441897282" border="0" /></a>maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-53864980934940442612009-10-29T14:06:00.007-05:002009-10-29T14:44:09.242-05:00Bean Burger, Shepherd's Pie, a Porch Party, and a Bento (sort of)Okay, a few things to catch up on over the last ... however many months. New template with no dates makes me look like less of a slacker, I guess.<br /><br />Here are some things I've made in the interim that I took pictures of. First, shepherd's pie with tempeh, local veggies, and local (dairy) cheese.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhPIxOhRsPoI01RzxA9omBxALaq5YpM8Dq_ctsLya34gqkwsC9huWJvR36Rcemu_89oM-UPqUoILiDeYoHW622RJMBFAs9WWQ8wL8MneRznpD_FJUputsfYxrKpZewtP0YSmqhz1zEfc/s1600-h/shepherdspie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhPIxOhRsPoI01RzxA9omBxALaq5YpM8Dq_ctsLya34gqkwsC9huWJvR36Rcemu_89oM-UPqUoILiDeYoHW622RJMBFAs9WWQ8wL8MneRznpD_FJUputsfYxrKpZewtP0YSmqhz1zEfc/s320/shepherdspie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398101141982571362" border="0" /></a><br />Nom. Next, homemade bean burgers. One shot of the patty cooking and one shot of the complete burger.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgCBH3FZFfZuBkv6mjxP2AKbUweXjGY-kTXqrhCEIhORdetJ3wObGuFWiVWpXJu1TfOB2ib8IQsZliN9xbh00imxb0N6GnO00rmlMpDDMyLRsk3obDnVzUqZULH1aRTecBu8qU1mEiyA/s1600-h/patty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWgCBH3FZFfZuBkv6mjxP2AKbUweXjGY-kTXqrhCEIhORdetJ3wObGuFWiVWpXJu1TfOB2ib8IQsZliN9xbh00imxb0N6GnO00rmlMpDDMyLRsk3obDnVzUqZULH1aRTecBu8qU1mEiyA/s320/patty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398101315192306578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkNySm2xXNrZ7S30OysEEscAJkW_E-6KghAzoYYN_Pzw7sCZdS0Ndmg46Dg6blJqoE0Q70AB1UACgqeuwFH6SlvUaRW1s70qlEM4Xiegql3H8luWOu1Z7_LjcRrf-SgU5jE-U2_Mr1Sw/s1600-h/beanburger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkNySm2xXNrZ7S30OysEEscAJkW_E-6KghAzoYYN_Pzw7sCZdS0Ndmg46Dg6blJqoE0Q70AB1UACgqeuwFH6SlvUaRW1s70qlEM4Xiegql3H8luWOu1Z7_LjcRrf-SgU5jE-U2_Mr1Sw/s320/beanburger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398101406991238962" border="0" /></a><br />Finally, a shot of a few dishes from a big porch party we had this summer. Zatar bread, hummus, veggie roll ups, and a few other things I can't recall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY9SXV2EU6IhSFHnzv7SkoyliXr6_vDEcp_kD0Cv6azdaflJ1h8OoTHPfrQrJwjTEknQ9O4SDg4vqOY3EdJltFGp_3dqzmSTdPmCyehc040CimqEFZC8-XFeWvndGDuIyC3Y6S9SrgFk/s1600-h/porchparty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivY9SXV2EU6IhSFHnzv7SkoyliXr6_vDEcp_kD0Cv6azdaflJ1h8OoTHPfrQrJwjTEknQ9O4SDg4vqOY3EdJltFGp_3dqzmSTdPmCyehc040CimqEFZC8-XFeWvndGDuIyC3Y6S9SrgFk/s320/porchparty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398101693413243186" border="0" /></a><br />Not gonna lie, I love a potluck.<br /><br />Now for something new. I've decided to try making a few bentos for lunch, and I attempted my first one last night. It's sort of a bento fail, but I'm posting it here hoping that the failure is at least a little bit endearing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lugWpcy33csaTcmWb6zMtSj849HsceCY-5iVA2GQQPd_ArK9VQMsyHXwes4BzS37jqS173HMdp0SLaa8w2WYv6cPndbMf4U9H2260f_xu35VVmyFw9Qe9dfn4Yds8kzhOe3YplfxWHw/s1600-h/bento+%28Medium%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1lugWpcy33csaTcmWb6zMtSj849HsceCY-5iVA2GQQPd_ArK9VQMsyHXwes4BzS37jqS173HMdp0SLaa8w2WYv6cPndbMf4U9H2260f_xu35VVmyFw9Qe9dfn4Yds8kzhOe3YplfxWHw/s320/bento+%28Medium%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398102036583567074" border="0" /></a><br />Steamed broccoli, veggie dog, baked tofu, sliced carrots, snow peas, prunes, a banana, and some graham crackers. Sauces and seasonings on the side, there.<br /><br />We had a huge sushi party a couple of weeks ago, and made a big pot of chili this weekend. It's not that I'm not cooking, it's that I'm not taking pictures and, obviously, food posts without pictures are kind of like tits on a boar hog. But I am working on correcting this. I primrose.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-19663612325415173252009-10-26T15:12:00.000-05:002009-10-26T15:14:20.322-05:00AnticipationSo much food this weekend, and so much not going on this blog. I am going to fire up the crock pot tonight. Expect more blogging in November.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-76403699625433146482009-08-16T08:10:00.003-05:002009-08-16T08:45:36.816-05:00Vegan? Locavore? Both? Neither? A discussion on ethical eating.I know, it's been a very, very long time. Here is the truth: I've started eating a few local nonvegan foods, and I've been a little nervous about posting. My friend Gene was in town last week. He was one of my friends from church, a fellow vegan who helped with the vegan cooking class. He prompted to me start thinking about why I don't post, since he always read and frequently commented on the blog back when it was active.<br /><br />Taking the Menu for the Future class last year was a great experience. I encourage anyone who's interested to get involved with that or any of the other discussion courses offered by <a href="http://www.nwei.org/">Northwest Earth Institute</a>. The class did talk about the hazards of factory farming, the resources consumed by raising livestock, the pollution, etc, and the necessity of eating lower on the food chain. However, it also talked about the benefits of eating local. And that's kind of the rub for me.<br /><br />I believe as strongly as ever that eating lower on the food chain is the more ethical choice for a lot of environmental reasons. I also believe that animals, even animals you keep for food purposes, even animals you kill and eat, should be treated with kindness and allowed plenty of space and healthy food. If a person kills an animal, it should be done as humanely as possible and with reverence for the sacrifice the animal is making.<br /><br />When it comes down to it, which food is the more ethical choice: a pineapple or an egg? Let's say you're a girl living in Arkansas. The pineapple is grown using cheap borderline slave labor and flown halfway around the world using dirty oil. The egg is raised a few blocks away by a friend at a <a href="http://www.dunbargarden.org/">community garden that serves as an outdoor classroom</a>, teaching urban kids about sustainable farming. That one is pretty easy.<br /><br />Now which one is a more ethical choice, the pineapple or a locally raised chicken? The chicken was pasture raised and spent its life running around and eating bugs and grass and playing with other chickens. When it was killed, it was done in a way that minimized the animal's suffering. To me, the line is blurry. Who would I rather be? The chicken, who enjoys life and loses it prematurely, or the man working for pennies in the unrelenting heat growing the pineapple? The woman who died in the desert for the oil it took to transport the pineapple? Her children? It's way more complicated than just not eating or using animal products, for me.<br /><br />Gene and I both agreed: in a sense, veganism is easy. (I know a lot of people who would be shocked to hear it!) You can make one choice, draw a line in the sand, and know that most of the time your choices will be the most ethical under the circumstances. In terms of Kohlberg's moral hierarchy, I think choosing veganism is akin to choosing a system of laws that already exists, like choosing a religion that most closely matches your beliefs and becoming an adherent of that faith. It's a great way to simplify the process, and I am absolutely not criticizing it. I admire and respect vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, locavores, anyone who takes the time to make a conscious choice about what they put in their body based on ethical concerns.<br /><br />I just think for me the question has become more complex, for now. Jay is in the kitchen right now making breakfast: local eggs, local blueberry jam, and local 8 grain vegan bread. We still use the smart balance lightand the unsweetened silk. We still check the label for sneaky bits of whey. We still make our own ice cream with mimicreme. In fact, after Gene and I finished talking about this, we wandered into the kitchen and I heated up a meal of local purple hull peas (seasoned with vegan bacon salt and vegetable broth) and cornbread (veganomicon recipe). Most of the food I eat is still vegan.<br /><br />I'm not going to lie, though. It's been nice to have eggs in the morning, or local raw milk colby on my pizza, or even meat, occasionally. And I guess that's the point. I've always been a vegan with a lot of exceptions, so I suppose this is one more. As to whether I have the right to the term vegan, my friends understand the complexity of my relationship with food, and understand that it's shorthand I use with strangers whom I don't feel need to know the depths of this issue.<br /><br />It's not that I'm never going to eat another pineapple again, either. But when I do, it will be like meat: with as much concern as possible for how it got to my table, with the knowledge that it's a very occasional treat. For now, that's where I want to be and the choice with which I'm most comfortable.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-15448736735114336792009-03-28T17:02:00.004-05:002009-03-28T17:45:32.039-05:00Hot Soup and Rich Beer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwFIOnNd_Ug_6BhfwM_KaKSddF3dBDcHZY8gVbEVpNGaBWbybc8xXkDmAlFoHZq-WnJa_SseEg4hZ9yj_4DkL73zuggsxH4hMU-BEU-mwcCm4gHa3h0Lx60VBlE1K0ZLzkFpki9bIB_0/s1600-h/soupporter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKwFIOnNd_Ug_6BhfwM_KaKSddF3dBDcHZY8gVbEVpNGaBWbybc8xXkDmAlFoHZq-WnJa_SseEg4hZ9yj_4DkL73zuggsxH4hMU-BEU-mwcCm4gHa3h0Lx60VBlE1K0ZLzkFpki9bIB_0/s320/soupporter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318372585467134114" border="0" /></a>It's one of those random cold days after it should be well into spring. Tomorrow I'll be lolling about on a sunny hillside, sprawling on blankets, laughing with friends, and snacking on hummus and flatbread. Today, however, it was seriously time for some soup. This is just water with some broth cubes dropped in, frozen spinach, frozen peas, penne, sauteed onions, and a few spices. I have also been loving the new Paradise Porter from <a href="http://www.diamondbear.com/">Diamond Bear Brewing Company</a>. It's a weird name, but a good beer.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-12771147260498262652009-02-19T11:11:00.004-06:002009-02-19T11:30:18.478-06:00Homemade Ginger Vanilla Ice Cream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcTb5oE54DW7qKUD05EXc4MuawFD8DTJgunJWO2u3dlX-FruPLq0hrnNX_xs2_u8z9f26Pzcb1BITeOj2yKfN3Svk4B4srbmAh3lJj1C0GzbzfMmpOHxXFhf6oB8Q7ShkxCE7GJKgw_o/s1600-h/icecreammaking.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcTb5oE54DW7qKUD05EXc4MuawFD8DTJgunJWO2u3dlX-FruPLq0hrnNX_xs2_u8z9f26Pzcb1BITeOj2yKfN3Svk4B4srbmAh3lJj1C0GzbzfMmpOHxXFhf6oB8Q7ShkxCE7GJKgw_o/s320/icecreammaking.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304561481876377954" border="0" /></a>Holy crap. Ever since little Evan did a post about <a href="http://bjorkedoff.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-am-never-buying-storebought-ice-cream.html">ice cream made with Mimic-creme</a>, I've been wanting to try it out. They have it here at the Drug Emporium, an enormous Walgreen's type store with a secret health food store in the back called Vitamins Plus. I always forget it's there until someone reminds me, but they have a ton of selection and better prices than Whole Foods and Kroger.<br /><br />So I picked up some <a href="http://www.mimiccreme.com/">Mimiccreme</a> thinking I would try Evan's method, only to discover than when your refrigerator has a ice maker, you don't own ice cube trays. On Monday, when it was supposed to be a state holiday, I stopped by work just to check my e-mail only to find out that we were supposed to be there anyway only no one told me. I felt like that imaginary time in jr. high, when everyone changed the time of the party and conveniently forgot to tell the smelly kid. I am the smelly kid.<br /><br />So I was stuck at work, feeling sorry for myself, and decided to buy an ice cream maker. It's the grown up version of "fuck this, I want some ice cream." The feeling passed, and I didn't end up buying one, mainly because there were too many choices and I've never used one before. That night, however, we had a couple of Couchsurfers coming back to Vermont from California, and as we were pulling out of the driveway to hit the grocery store, Jay spied something in the back of their car. "Is t<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRo896qNuBw-SDwJ0obgFJZXiVW48FXmwAetitpPxajtqN2K0hClJbM2naNFYtqkDG4rRx4luIRhLNSDEMJNzsH8C0EzGhZDzLUHgahX8Pli0NDZTzthG4Y8QbKMatf1Vi6Vup0sYtqQ/s1600-h/icecream.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRo896qNuBw-SDwJ0obgFJZXiVW48FXmwAetitpPxajtqN2K0hClJbM2naNFYtqkDG4rRx4luIRhLNSDEMJNzsH8C0EzGhZDzLUHgahX8Pli0NDZTzthG4Y8QbKMatf1Vi6Vup0sYtqQ/s320/icecream.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304561846679561282" border="0" /></a>hat an ice cream maker?" It, indeed, was. After dinner, they brought it in and made ice cream. It was magical.<br /><br />We put in about a cup of liquid per person, which ended up being some Mimiccreme and some soy milk. Then we added a little bit of vanilla, some ground ginger, and (in a stroke of brilliance) ground up chunks of candied ginger. We added some extra sugar, too, but the result came out too sweet, so I think in the future I'll taste it and keep it more creamy and less sweet. The ice cream maker the girls had was a Rival brand that one of them had picked up at a thrift store for $5. It had an inner container for the creamy mixture and an outer container for the ice and salt. They used a whole canister of table salt and layered it with the ice until it filled up, then plugged in the machine that magically made the ice cream.<br /><br />I think the whole thing took about 45 minutes. I am buying an ice cream maker.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-38716237062229808162008-12-30T13:21:00.003-06:002008-12-30T13:32:10.857-06:00Pumpkin Pudding<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOkagu4OyoHBoLnwxe7QZmU7qg6G7VW4IReuN7NEsPIIgPgp8pmBT4OlaLcFNl9XriYyIed-LCLZAWke3YEdol9d9zjLQrlGPTMFmE52HTLFy0JIqmMvC-PbbibKZ5Dx4JmjRy9dxvLQ/s1600-h/punkinpudding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOkagu4OyoHBoLnwxe7QZmU7qg6G7VW4IReuN7NEsPIIgPgp8pmBT4OlaLcFNl9XriYyIed-LCLZAWke3YEdol9d9zjLQrlGPTMFmE52HTLFy0JIqmMvC-PbbibKZ5Dx4JmjRy9dxvLQ/s320/punkinpudding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285665552795252066" border="0" /></a>Jay, god love him, has issues with recipes. In that he doesn't use them. Whoever's reading this might be thinking, "But, Maggie, you don't really use recipes either. You're always changing things or throwing things together." This is true, but I have several cookbooks, and the internet, and I look at recipes a lot. I look at other food blogs; I look at random cooking sites; I watch videos from everyday dish and food network. I have a lot of contact with recipes, and even though I almost never follow one to the letter, I generally use them to get an idea about proportions of ingredients, or what flavors might best complement each other.<br /><br />When I say Jay doesn't use recipes, I mean he really refuses to even look at them. And in terms of complaints about boyfriends, I know this one is minor, but it's super dooper annoying because it can be so wasteful. I'm sure I don't have to remind you all of the <a href="http://veganrawr.blogspot.com/2008/11/curried-pumpkin-and-kale-soup.html">pumpkin pie failure soup</a>. There was also the bread that resembled a bowling ball, at least in texture.<br /><br />The only upshot here is that he lives with two additional people who can generally rescue his unfortunate baking mishaps. The credit on this one goes to John. Jay tried to make pumpkin muffins. Who makes muffins without looking at a recipe? Jay does. They came out really dense and wet, but not altogether inedible. They just needed a little something extra. John made an orange maple syrup sauce and poured it over the top of them, turning them into delicious individual pumpkin bread pudding delights.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-26542456892818844912008-12-29T13:25:00.003-06:002008-12-29T13:49:33.276-06:00BBQ Tempeh and Lemon Dill Coleslaw<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyP1sBXeuNU8Hko2IDUPzz3sMaC0ax3CsoHscvw711x4nWHZn5u7vxUEHLO-7K6Z4jUCDBOPF1C8ygLP45TPlfEehxDydfWAcnTZups93MDY2K2B1qI72YIqet3z-r_jy4gNKbgoiZVoo/s1600-h/bbqtempeh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyP1sBXeuNU8Hko2IDUPzz3sMaC0ax3CsoHscvw711x4nWHZn5u7vxUEHLO-7K6Z4jUCDBOPF1C8ygLP45TPlfEehxDydfWAcnTZups93MDY2K2B1qI72YIqet3z-r_jy4gNKbgoiZVoo/s320/bbqtempeh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285296092147530002" border="0" /></a>This is kind of awesome. John made a special bbq sauce with orange juice and rind, brown sugar, ketchup, and vinegar and poured it over some prefab garden vegetable tempeh. Then he baked it with some sauteed onions and peppers, and I made some creamy lemon dill coleslaw.<br /><br />The coleslaw was just half a head of cabbage, sliced, mixed with some vegenaise, salt, pepper, dill, celery seed, and lemon juice. I like it really lemony so I used the juice from a whole lemon, and just enough vegenaise to moisten it. The lemon coleslaw and the orange bbq sauce made a nice pair, but I wish I'd done something kind of Asian-inspired, like ginger and lime coleslaw. Maybe next time.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-10963131490345010672008-12-17T14:41:00.005-06:002008-12-17T15:13:02.979-06:00Peach Cobbler<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCGarXMYgUnQ2d_S9O5oPvQM-RD_jbmnL4TeWjr90dxpWsJzthdHyba_0ueoqKbIBt4_mFd8If7BZFv5lHFQYHiFmHZ9U8j99IEcl0ARibdwWqZoTVOQk-Wb3F3yEDH2yqzWdUyRTy0I/s1600-h/peachcobbler.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCGarXMYgUnQ2d_S9O5oPvQM-RD_jbmnL4TeWjr90dxpWsJzthdHyba_0ueoqKbIBt4_mFd8If7BZFv5lHFQYHiFmHZ9U8j99IEcl0ARibdwWqZoTVOQk-Wb3F3yEDH2yqzWdUyRTy0I/s320/peachcobbler.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280862275260272242" border="0" /></a>What? Stop looking at me that way. There has been weather and we've been cleaning the house and here I am with more food love for you.<br /><br />This is a peach cobbler. I bought an enormous bag of frozen peaches from my local food co-op and I needed to use it. I was feeling sad about the winter and wishing I'd saved more lovely summer and fall fruit, and then all of a sudden there it was, like a beacon: ginormous bag of frozen peaches! I decided cobber was the way to go because it's so easy.<br /><br />This one was made with flour and a five grain cereal blend and some baking soda and some soy milk and oil. Basically a rough biscuit dough. I put the peaches in a casserole dish, dumped a cup or so of sugar on top, and then spread the dough around. I baked it at 350 until the dough spread out and firmed up and looked dry. It was delicious and we ate it with vanilla ice cream.<br /><br />Speaking of which, I posted something on facebook last week about the sausage apple stuffing and a friend posted a comment with something like "Sausage?! Was it vegan sausage?!" And I responded with this:<br /><br />"Yeah, I actually am talking about vegan sausage. I dispensed with the superfluous words like soy or fake or vegan when describing my food a while ago. I just expect people who know me to assume, correctly, that I mean the vegan version of whatever I'm talking about."<br /><br />If anyone reads this, what do you think about that? Do you generally modify the words when talking about your food? I just find it cumbersome and unnecessary. Thoughts?<br /><br />Also, I added a tag. It's "local." I'm going to go back and stick it on a few previous entries.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-41200382145767271992008-12-12T10:48:00.004-06:002008-12-12T11:04:33.561-06:00Fettuccine Bolognese<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPAihCfRTyZTjQSQSmFoAYUu7i7gJQdR9e2egbBwiNQUAn_w8vsUnbhofNWNfjxDTxYitYuc7bqCCZlTAGmstPT3074Ya8FL82ztTwzZmgGrJfmJ467CgFgQ1ADi3FezZo8GnSQQdII0/s1600-h/bolognese.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPAihCfRTyZTjQSQSmFoAYUu7i7gJQdR9e2egbBwiNQUAn_w8vsUnbhofNWNfjxDTxYitYuc7bqCCZlTAGmstPT3074Ya8FL82ztTwzZmgGrJfmJ467CgFgQ1ADi3FezZo8GnSQQdII0/s320/bolognese.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278946990937231074" border="0" /></a>I'm calling this a fettuccine bolognese. I'm not really sure what a proper bolognese is, but m-w.com tells me it's a tomato sauce flavored with meat. Well, this is a tomato sauce, and it's flavored with fake meat, so that's close enough.<br /><br />I made my basic marinara, with onions and garlic, a can of crushed tomatoes, a bay leaf, some red wine, salt, pepper, and a bunch of Italian spices. Then I stuck a couple of Tofurkey Italian sausages in the food processor, ground them up, and added them to the sauce.<br /><br />I know this isn't terribly exciting, but it was terribly delicious, and it's the easiest way I've found to make a really "meaty" pasta sauce.<br /><br />I'm going to be playing a lot of catch up this week, I have posts ready to go about the following foods: pumpkin pudding, peach cobbler, homemade bread, bbq tempeh and coleslaw, spaghetti bolognese, aloo ghobi, and (coming up tonight) vegetable samosas.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-58993627829358774612008-12-07T22:13:00.005-06:002008-12-17T14:52:34.660-06:00Stuffed Squash and Sausage Stuffing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSVR5k_xl2vv8wBkQPhBG4vqn_rvYELaA-xKRpxiuTYjXWhXLKbEC25eoQk-NMuTkxCagX-oTPeNn42KZf9Q-IcZMfTcDxuWiGZYmRU7hsDtN1ESvZZ36TaQLGuMyE4S6pCXs3eitP40/s1600-h/stuffedsquash.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSVR5k_xl2vv8wBkQPhBG4vqn_rvYELaA-xKRpxiuTYjXWhXLKbEC25eoQk-NMuTkxCagX-oTPeNn42KZf9Q-IcZMfTcDxuWiGZYmRU7hsDtN1ESvZZ36TaQLGuMyE4S6pCXs3eitP40/s320/stuffedsquash.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277268005659944338" border="0" /></a>My roommate John had a birthday today. We had leftover biscuits and cornbread in the freezer, and a few leftover pancakes from breakfast. John had been wanting stuffing. Easy.<br /><br />I crumbled up the bread products in a casserole dish, sauteed some sausage, diced apple, minced onion, and chopped fresh sage in a skillet, then mixed all that together and poured vegetable broth over the whole thing. I baked it at 350 for a while, until it looked done, maybe 25 minutes or so.<br /><br />The squash was pretty easy, too. I sliced them in half, brushed them with olive oil, and baked them until they were sweet and mushy. I cooked some red chard, onions, and garlic in a pan with some nutritional yeast and other spices (I have no idea what I put in there, maybe some Cavendar's?) and dropped a spoonful in the middle of each one. Finally, I topped them with shredded mozarella teese. When John tasted the filling, he asked if it could be his boyfriend. This was an awesome birthday meal.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-48509984225830655632008-11-18T15:16:00.004-06:002008-12-17T14:52:49.477-06:00Sushi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NsdN5Bo9VaIWGTjweR93hortfvCqoluLChA6hgN5VECda6p3y9wIvF9GC81-jYqBdUEB_cDN6C3C-8Darqn_M2gTtGkrDA3RTD_qOtbsUQVF3eprJQButQ5zuWe0SwjmxDMnxwG5i6k/s1600-h/sushi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NsdN5Bo9VaIWGTjweR93hortfvCqoluLChA6hgN5VECda6p3y9wIvF9GC81-jYqBdUEB_cDN6C3C-8Darqn_M2gTtGkrDA3RTD_qOtbsUQVF3eprJQButQ5zuWe0SwjmxDMnxwG5i6k/s320/sushi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270109627516855970" border="0" /></a>Sarah sent out an e-mail planning a big sushi dinner for her birthday, only the party wasn't until next Saturday. Screw that. The Rosetta household got a mad sushi craving and decided to do something about it. After hitting the Asian grocery for nori and miso paste and a few other essentials, we came home and made two courses.<br /><br />The first was a big pot of miso soup, with dried shitake mushrooms, baked tofu, and hijiki. We pretty much just added the paste to the water until it tasted right, then added the other stuff and let it simmer for a long time. No real science to it.<br /><br />The rolls were a little more complicated, but no one should be intimidated by making sushi. We sliced up a bunch of kale, shiso, steamed butternut squash, baked tofu, carrots, and scallions (from our own back yard). We made a bunch of jasmine rice in the rice cooker, with extra water to make it a little stickier. If you don't have sushi rice, any short or medium grain rice will work fine. When the rice was done, we mixed it with rice vinegar, salt, and sugar and let it cool off some before making the rolls. Then we sat down at the table and just kind of went for it. Everyone grabbed a sheet of nori, spread it with rice, threw various combinations of the ingredients on it, and rolled it up. I even made one inside out roll and sprinkled it with sesame seeds. We made some wasabi paste (from the powder) and some spicy mayo sauce out of vegenaise and sriracha. We ate sooooo much.<br /><br />If you've never made sushi before and still think it's scary, let me share two facts. Fact 1: we made about 14 sushi rolls for under $10 total. We fed 4 people with sushi that, at a sushi bar, would have cost close to $100. We had tons of leftovers. Fact 2: The very first episode of <a href="http://theppk.com/shows/">Post Punk Kitchen</a> gives a step by step sushi making lesson in great, immaculate detail. No more excuses. You don't even need a mat. Just go for it.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-57029154209700370072008-11-09T08:42:00.007-06:002008-12-17T14:53:28.556-06:00Curried Pumpkin and Kale SoupOh, hello there. I'm a curried pumpkin and kale soup. I look delicious and innocent, but I have a dark secret. I started life, as do most pumpkin soups, as a can of pumpkin at the grocery store. Maggie and Jay brought me home and I sat in the cabinet for a few days, awaiting my debut.<br /><br />Then, one night, among much revelry and perhaps a few drinks, Jay decided to make me into a pumpkin pie. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWYWJ8rgQULV-t5NbRhzxka7VrNa0zM1va4KX8j5Zl6fk-P9wVJs4jibyqu3FpbsxlJ6zx3PWKV-ACgz3sw1NpMjJF9F0pg2GQtTTGtGJDamsXI0p8cjLtQYIxLXD1R9Tj7l4zKqhF44/s1600-h/punkinsoup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWYWJ8rgQULV-t5NbRhzxka7VrNa0zM1va4KX8j5Zl6fk-P9wVJs4jibyqu3FpbsxlJ6zx3PWKV-ACgz3sw1NpMjJF9F0pg2GQtTTGtGJDamsXI0p8cjLtQYIxLXD1R9Tj7l4zKqhF44/s320/punkinsoup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266668253018774514" border="0" /></a>Maggie wrote down the recipe that she likes, and brought it to him in the kitchen before returning to the living room to chat and watch movies with everyone else. I was delighted! A delicious pie! It was about halfway through the process that I got nervous. Jay didn't seem to be looking at the recipe much, and instead was tossing in ingredients without measuring them. Dubious.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I trusted Jay. I mean, he made that great aioli last week, and delicious guacamole. Surely he wouldn't do me wrong. I was poured into a crust and put in the oven. I baked. And I baked. And then I baked some more until I was getting extremely worried. Everyone had gone into the backyard by the fire and seemed to have totally forgotten me. When Jay finally returned and alarmedly took me out of the oven, it was not a pretty sight. I was dark chocolate brown and, as Maggie quickly concluded, did not taste anything like pie should taste.<br /><br />I was devastated. They banished me to the refrigerator and decided to think about me later. After waiting so long to satisfy them with my delicious, squashy goodness I knew I'd likely be thrown out into the compost heap. The next night, however, something magical happened.<br /><br />Maggie, John, and Jay were again spending time in the living room, and John suggested that they might make a soup for dinner. Maggie volunteered to make some crusty french rolls to go with it, and while she was in the kitchen, ended up making the main dish as well. She started with 4 cups of vegetable broth made from bouillon. When the broth was simmering, she did something brilliant and magical. She scooped out most of my mushy, pie interior and dumped me into the broth. Jay whisked me into oblivion while she chopped kale. Once I was entirely incorporated with the broth, she added the kale, some more water, curry, ginger, salt, and sriracha.<br /><br />I couldn't believe my good fortune. Instead of being tossed heartlessly into the compost heap, I had been reinvented as a delicious fall soup that everyone loved. I was soaked up into bread and eaten ravenously by the multitudes.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-27394481675996647822008-11-06T19:12:00.008-06:002008-12-17T14:53:43.482-06:00Pizza with Teese CheeseAdieu, VeganMofo. I had a great time and it really kicked my ass into blogging again. I promise that even though October is done, the posting won't stop. It might lighten up a little, but who knows. This week I was out of town for work and then in stupid CLE all day on Wednesday. If a CLE is mandatory for all newly licensed attorneys, it should be equally applicable to all areas of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i0eqz3bdsrzUdwYG6z0P-bSZngWNHs-7bgfbYZpDm5NXkAUEcGcci4ElP8Esj7STjV-FT8kW_PP8hQqohsK_e3TcaBo7ON1jtO_bXY3NBBya6ZXbbnms0Rg099WeUq1rMMZz9wEOpSM/s1600-h/pizza.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2i0eqz3bdsrzUdwYG6z0P-bSZngWNHs-7bgfbYZpDm5NXkAUEcGcci4ElP8Esj7STjV-FT8kW_PP8hQqohsK_e3TcaBo7ON1jtO_bXY3NBBya6ZXbbnms0Rg099WeUq1rMMZz9wEOpSM/s320/pizza.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265717398494115954" border="0" /></a>practice and not some kind of civil lititgation love in. That's all I have to say about that.<br /><br />I finally gave in and ordered some <a href="http://www.teesecheese.com/">Teese</a>. I was sort of holding out, thinking I'd make it back to Chicago soon and try more, but I heard they finally released the cheddar flavor so I caved. I'm so glad I did, because it's awesome. One of the good things about having a boyfriend who works at a pizza place is that you can bring your own ingredients and make pizza with their dough and their ovens. Actually, most of the pizza places here will let you bring in your own cheese, so it's not that big of a deal except that it's free. For this one, we brought the mozzarella Teese, fresh oregano, vegan pepperoni, and local shitake mushrooms. I ate like five slices last night and then another for breakfast this morning.<br /><br />It doesn't taste like cheese. I cheat often enough that I remember very clearly what cheese tastes like, and this ain't it. That said, it tastes really, really good. And, of course, it melts. It melts and it browns and it looks just lovely. I mean look at it. While it didn't taste like cheese, it tastes close enough that it didn't make me feel deprived, and I think that's what's important when evaluating an analog. I'll post again when I think of something fabulous to do with the cheddar, but I definitely recommend the Teese.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-15155062214390698792008-10-27T19:53:00.005-05:002008-12-17T14:54:53.622-06:00VeganMofo 23: Baba Ghanoush<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUESXa9st4AVzbLdlWKBFJm_gwbCcu4wm4Lg13E8Nat2PU8V8nsY704QVDiyc5RTX20fcLqfgyZm-TGWrCM3ELbFXuWYuv4nS4RmxeT0aXke_pLMjYnrajy5_GeY_YeQRUXF964DYYMY/s1600-h/babaghanoush.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUESXa9st4AVzbLdlWKBFJm_gwbCcu4wm4Lg13E8Nat2PU8V8nsY704QVDiyc5RTX20fcLqfgyZm-TGWrCM3ELbFXuWYuv4nS4RmxeT0aXke_pLMjYnrajy5_GeY_YeQRUXF964DYYMY/s320/babaghanoush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262001743493852034" border="0" /></a>I had an eggplant that was about to be at death's door (pictured in the pantry below) so I decided to make some baba ghanoush. I've never been a big eggplant fan, but lately I've been trying to work on expanding my palate. I think people view vegans and vegetarians as picky enough as it is, and when you start excluding more foods it just gets overwhelming for people trying to cook for you.<br /><br />I never have made it baba ghanoush before, but I've tried it at restaurants and thought it was okay. Jay smoked the eggplant on a fire in the backyard, then I blended it with tahini, olive oil, salt, pepper, a little curry, and lemon juice. I forgot to put garlic in it, but it was good anyway. Nevertheless, I'll remedy that tonight.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-76064183436404337292008-10-27T19:07:00.004-05:002008-10-27T19:21:40.073-05:00VeganMofo 22: Reuben Sandwich<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfjIL3Weo9KdA9BYG6Fi-jxrV5bGLpldL4YlRuo9UGRpjH-EdYN5c5FE_CaE2xuWB4w1nrU3iUyOgXhbEuS4b3dzKcJUIMt1RCO0aYzJaH_5gGxMoo92nHYOU1kDcURNtj7qlv-_X9WY/s1600-h/reuben.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfjIL3Weo9KdA9BYG6Fi-jxrV5bGLpldL4YlRuo9UGRpjH-EdYN5c5FE_CaE2xuWB4w1nrU3iUyOgXhbEuS4b3dzKcJUIMt1RCO0aYzJaH_5gGxMoo92nHYOU1kDcURNtj7qlv-_X9WY/s320/reuben.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261989865742689874" border="0" /></a>Yesterday for the picnic I made reuben sandwiches. I made the <a href="http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=98">corned beef seitan</a> recipe from everyday dish. My corned beef, however, was substantially less attractive. It sort of looked like a naked meat loaf, and was a little bit spongy while it was warm. It firmed up quite a bit as it cooled, though. I put it on toasted marble rye with sauerkraut, sliced tomato, and thousand island. I was out of veganaise so I made the thousand island with garden herb dressing and ketchup, along with some pickle relish and a squirt of spicy mustard. They were really good, and my friend Eric said he wants to get together and perfect the recipe and maybe sell it at the new grocery store going in down the street. Wicked.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-48415010875251592182008-10-26T18:50:00.002-05:002008-12-17T14:55:24.602-06:00VeganMofo 21: PantryThis is the shelf in the corner of my kitchen that serves as the pantry. I figured I'd share since I'm so excited about all the fresh things on there. Every Monday I make an order with the Arkansas Sustainability Network's <a href="http://www.littlerock.locallygrown.net/">food club</a>, then pick up all my lovely veggies on Saturday morning. Pictured here: Sweet potatoes, eggplant, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAP5_ZKwSCKm0ekhD4oJPpv1AOvME8asVJSu3cISFfX5zE_CSikTfoevQ9vVyhIcmhzn4GXIZFooYBfPwJxOQpIBn6gNkeKwuZI4JyjXFX2GC2cfekmZVVcRA9EYC_1qL3VZ0FP9C6l6g/s1600-h/pantry.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAP5_ZKwSCKm0ekhD4oJPpv1AOvME8asVJSu3cISFfX5zE_CSikTfoevQ9vVyhIcmhzn4GXIZFooYBfPwJxOQpIBn6gNkeKwuZI4JyjXFX2GC2cfekmZVVcRA9EYC_1qL3VZ0FP9C6l6g/s320/pantry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261985599347362610" border="0" /></a>apple, butternut squash, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and summer squash. Everything but the potatoes are from <a href="http://www.arnetwork.org/">ASN</a>.<br /><br />I've mentioned before that eating local food is really important to me. In fact, for almost the entire summer, I ate nothing but local produce save for one head of organic broccoli that left me guilt-ridden for weeks. It would take a long time to explain why this is so important to me, but if you ever get the chance you should take the <a href="http://www.nwei.org/discussion_courses/course-offerings/menu-for-the-future">Menu for the Future</a> discussion course. Heck, just order a few of the books with your friends and do the course yourself. It doesn't have to be taught really, as it's more like a book club than a class. That will give you a much better understanding of the ethics behind my choices than I ever could articulate.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-7379615350518063262008-10-25T11:46:00.008-05:002008-10-28T13:08:05.414-05:00VeganMofo 20: Tofu Scramble<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAg1bimMKhR0U1U16kbI7Wl1OT41fub7Yd_SwzulIPofFU9iq8VXAAUF4x-AS7T8vjlJmbb-NfVxM40dpqKnRBsAeX-LxoVWBx7K2d9VjM_hMOCyjOp3GyhrTxvKRr7gHyaE_r4jR1aWk/s1600-h/breakfast.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAg1bimMKhR0U1U16kbI7Wl1OT41fub7Yd_SwzulIPofFU9iq8VXAAUF4x-AS7T8vjlJmbb-NfVxM40dpqKnRBsAeX-LxoVWBx7K2d9VjM_hMOCyjOp3GyhrTxvKRr7gHyaE_r4jR1aWk/s320/breakfast.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261984342203386706" border="0" /></a>I'd never made a tofu scramble before. Maybe that's not true. It's possible I tried it once in high school and the result was so abysmal that I swore it off. But yesterday was a banner day. A few months ago, I signed up for <a href="http://www.couchsurfing.com/">the couchsurfing project</a>. I have no idea where I heard about it, but it seemed like a cool idea: if someone is traveling through town, help them out by hosting and letting them crash on your couch. Since my house has a huge couch, a twin hide-a-bed, a futon, and a big air mattress for overflow, I figured it was ideal. Thursday afternoon I got my first couch surfing request, from a girl named April, her boyfriend Jonah, and their two dogs. He had a dj gig at a club downtown, and they were going to come in late Friday night and leave fairly early the next morning. My roommate John expressed apprehension about the dogs, but in the end his desire for good karma via unconditional hospitality won over.<br /><br />As it turns out, April is vegan. We had already planned to make a big breakfast for them before they headed out, but it was extra special because there are few things a road-weary vegan appreciates more than a hearty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T4qZ6206yLicfrWITOwcUjIl3y5d2VJAfe5sdWRgZ_RtDWZ_YE05n2d4ZdkvvD9i62CpO6SJ3Pg3XskysL57UnlkIyhtPFIt5k8-ZV9ty2e65041cLGYhU5gLayHyqNd6RfY8eLdx7g/s1600-h/actionshot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T4qZ6206yLicfrWITOwcUjIl3y5d2VJAfe5sdWRgZ_RtDWZ_YE05n2d4ZdkvvD9i62CpO6SJ3Pg3XskysL57UnlkIyhtPFIt5k8-ZV9ty2e65041cLGYhU5gLayHyqNd6RfY8eLdx7g/s320/actionshot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261984474794864914" border="0" /></a> vegan breakfast. Mostly because they're so hard to come by.<br /><br />The other great thing about the cooking experience was that my two roommates and I cooked three things in the kitchen, all at the same time, sort of tandem cooking all the dishes together. My kitchen isn't huge, but we worked amazingly well together, like a well-oiled breakfast machine, and had a great time. We made biscuits and gravy, tofu scramble, and home fries.<br /><br />The tofu scramble was easier than I'd imagined. I sauteed some onions, peppers, and garlic in smart balance, crumbled in some extra-firm tofu and let it cook until it had some chewy toasty brown spots on it. I also added cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. John taught me the method of patting it down and letting it cook for a while, then stirring it and patting it down again. When it got close to done, we added some diced tomato. Both the tomato and the tofu were contributed by our lovely house guests, who said we should go ahead and use them before they go bad. It was really delicious and much easier than I anticipated. I'll be making it again.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-22936159519643884322008-10-21T09:05:00.000-05:002008-10-21T10:11:27.226-05:00VeganMofo 19: Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Sausage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdAnGOaoGNt7Vr7IZYC8qpC9BeLaBF2IQWTEDTvYzqwfofN0BLxYr7FuN5rM5hSJzFgsf6u7v0aUXpnCtQUBGyvsX26bA6gwN0IJ8GyH9ZSYg1BUcf0kjQWaNJZZaiX-fijPO71sRqpc/s1600-h/sausage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdAnGOaoGNt7Vr7IZYC8qpC9BeLaBF2IQWTEDTvYzqwfofN0BLxYr7FuN5rM5hSJzFgsf6u7v0aUXpnCtQUBGyvsX26bA6gwN0IJ8GyH9ZSYg1BUcf0kjQWaNJZZaiX-fijPO71sRqpc/s320/sausage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259221603037546226" border="0" /></a>I'm not a big fan of chocolate. There, I said it. I'm not one of those women who coos and swoons whenever she sees a brownie. I like sweets, and I like chocolate fine, but I don't place it on a pedestal.<br /><br />That said, these chocolate chip flaxseed pancakes were awesome. And yeah, that's some Gimme Lean sausage. I love that shit.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-87284537608729250422008-10-20T08:04:00.008-05:002008-10-20T10:59:33.805-05:00VeganMofo 18: GuacamoleI'm always mystified by those packets of powdered guacamole mix they have in the grocery store. Guacamole is not difficult and shouldn't requite a packet of any sort of powder. Jay made this one with two avocados, a small tomato, a bunch of minced garlic, minced fresh jalapenos, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4r4qm9fmIttPGoGsRpnVYyPIOufhyAkLCMBusLE2dtJ1OqIYHGjD06xrP2CwFjeJn3RWyNgxq9BwY9mOJo77jJ5oahkh8pyuKB1BP6tFfUz7ri8UBqG2rPKHswp-ZeGp_8aXwrIG9Vy0/s1600-h/guacamole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4r4qm9fmIttPGoGsRpnVYyPIOufhyAkLCMBusLE2dtJ1OqIYHGjD06xrP2CwFjeJn3RWyNgxq9BwY9mOJo77jJ5oahkh8pyuKB1BP6tFfUz7ri8UBqG2rPKHswp-ZeGp_8aXwrIG9Vy0/s320/guacamole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259221373719290962" border="0" /></a>fresh cilantro, a whole lot of fresh lime juice, and some salt. We tried it on several types of condiment conduits (because you know whatever you're scooping with is just a vehicle for transporting the guacamole) and we both preferred the <a href="http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=triscuit&Site=1&Product=4400001317">olive oil and cracked pepper triscui</a><a href="http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=triscuit&Site=1&Product=4400001317">ts</a>.<br /><br />In general, Jay really prefers snacks to actual food. One of the first weekends he spent at my house, I left one Saturday morning for brunch with my mom. When I came home he was sitting at the dining table with literally every condiment in the house spread out on the table along with various chips and crackers and tortillas. I was a little startled. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Having a dip fest!" he replied, as if it were obvious. His strength in the kitchen really is in making fantastic dips, probably due to his affinity for them. He made a great asparagus aioli a few weeks ago that I'm drying to have him duplicate once I get more vegenaise. Yesterday for the picnic he made a garlic butter spread with the smart balance and garlic and salt that we spread on my focaccia (which was better than the previous one, if that's even possible). His other kitchen adventures are good, I'm not saying he's a one trick pony, but for some reason condiments are where he really shines. That's really good, since creamy delicious vegan condiments aren't so easy to come by here in Little Rock, and I've seldom had the inclination and skills to make them.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-91766868259909574142008-10-15T09:54:00.004-05:002008-10-15T12:42:36.211-05:00VeganMofo 17: Biscuits and BaconI'm a breakfast person. I'm not a bowl of cereal, powerbar kind of breakfast person, either. I like to sit down, preferably with a friend, and actually eat real food. I build in time in the morning so I can do this before work several days a week. For me, it sets the tone for the day. For one thing, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdLvR1yU2j1Z8dsYS8v-Got8s-UdoHxuQEABnmZyd7hqfHgrjwOQ-bR-UfSWha9v_LRsuEOsJI0KuNaSY-mRlDV28Zki86PrLo5ROjkEq2oypanOtpCqK88OWyVstcPyZGPTLfIdp-QI/s1600-h/biscuitsbacon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigdLvR1yU2j1Z8dsYS8v-Got8s-UdoHxuQEABnmZyd7hqfHgrjwOQ-bR-UfSWha9v_LRsuEOsJI0KuNaSY-mRlDV28Zki86PrLo5ROjkEq2oypanOtpCqK88OWyVstcPyZGPTLfIdp-QI/s320/biscuitsbacon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257394605161532290" border="0" /></a>I'm not starving before lunch time and hitting the vending machine. But beyond the physical benefits, sitting at the table and spreading jelly onto freshly made biscuits, listening to Morning Edition, and taking some time to mentally map out my day or the rest of my week is a great mental sanctuary.<br /><br />This morning it was drop biscuits, tempeh bacon, and sliced pears. After I took the picture I made little biscuit sandwiches with smart balance, local muscadine jelly, and bacon. They could kick an egg mcmuffin's ass any day of the week.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-51226074811487035062008-10-13T20:19:00.006-05:002008-10-14T15:17:26.959-05:00VeganMofo 16: Focaccia and MarinaraI got my breadmaker back from my friend's house where it was being stored and decided to break it out. I started with <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Onion-Focaccia/Detail.aspx">this recipe</a> and modified it by adding a bunch of fresh rosemary in the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQumpr5LRCCSE6us44wziGIoHSKKMAm_bAw9yOxub5cRHKMs792ChXbmYnbvHsYG1BcgxpKF4pSjhPtvcK8qFwgiAxoAQtzwVCdVVsoojA-VGKoa81Dx7UZ4ATx2CfxjbprK5nuORnjZw/s1600-h/focaccia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQumpr5LRCCSE6us44wziGIoHSKKMAm_bAw9yOxub5cRHKMs792ChXbmYnbvHsYG1BcgxpKF4pSjhPtvcK8qFwgiAxoAQtzwVCdVVsoojA-VGKoa81Dx7UZ4ATx2CfxjbprK5nuORnjZw/s320/focaccia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256813369810492210" border="0" /></a>dough and a bunch of nutritional yeast.<br /><br />I didn't feel like chopping onions. Actually I never feel like chopping onions. I know you think I'm being a big baby, but it really does hurt and my eyes swell shut if I'm even in the same room. Usually I get someone else to chop them, but Jay didn't want to chop them either. We decided to use the handy food processor, but somehow they turned out more like onion mush. Whatever. We added a bunch of garlic to to the mush, then dumped the mush out into a skillet with olive oil and started cooking them. I added more fresh rosemary (we had pilfered a ton of it from my mom's garden), fresh thyme, and fresh oregano, along with some dried Italian seasoning. With all the fresh herbs, the mush started to turn a lovely green color.<br /><br />I took the bread out of the bread machine when it was done kneading, oiled it, and let it rise for a bit until it was fluffy. Then I smashed it out in a thick circle on a pizza pan and made little dimples with the end of a big spoon. When the mush seemed to be done cooking, I spread about a fourth of it on the top of the bread and put it in the oven at 400.<br /><br />To the remaining mush, I added a big can of crushed tomatoes, more olive oil, salt, pepper, and (of course) more fresh rosemary. I didn't have any wine in the house, but normally I also add a splash of whatever's handy. I covered that and let it simmer while the bread was cooking, and in 20 minutes we had something magical. As you can see from the picture, I'd already eaten a huge chunk of it before I was like "oh crap I have to get my camera." That's how much I love you, internet. I stopped eating magical focaccia so that I could show it to you.<br /><br />Edit: I am, once again, <a href="http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/eatarkansas/2008/10/catching_on.aspx">internet famous</a>. It's a shame he suggests serving it with grilled chicken, but it's nice to sneak all this good vegan food into the popular media.maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498476618394718989.post-21491167936293763632008-10-13T10:23:00.005-05:002008-10-13T18:57:03.122-05:00VeganMofo 15: The Vegan's HundredYanked from <a href="http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/the-vegans-hundred/">Bittersweet</a>, via <a href="http://baliwhat.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/the-vegans-hundred/">Baliwhat</a>.<br /><br />1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.<br />2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.<br />3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.<br />4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.<br />5) Pass it on!<br /><br />I was surprised at how many things I had to leave unbolded because, while I've eaten them, I haven't eaten a vegan version of them. Interesting. Also, nothing is crossed out because I can't imagine ever refusing to try any food, especially a vegan food.<br /><br /><a href="http://maggiela.livejournal.com/52439.html">Read the list her</a><a href="http://maggiela.livejournal.com/52439.html">e</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01147228594018377625noreply@blogger.com0