Fruska Gora and daily menu

Fruscka Gora

Greetings from sunny Serbia! Here in Belgrade, the weather has turned to Spring literally overnight, and the streets are filled with beautiful girls in bright dresses and handsome boys in crisp white shirts and new haircuts. I must say, the Serbs I have encountered in Belgrade are terribly good looking in a sporty sort of way, totally unlike the lanky hipster paperdolls in Berlin (who are also, actually, pretty bloody attractive in their own way). I guess what I'm saying is, if you are single and looking for a hot tennis player with a country house, try Belgrade, and try Berlin for all of your hot starving artist needs.

Ahem. Using Europe as a boyfriend buffet ASIDE, I am very much enjoying my stay in Belgrade, but a lack of variety in vegan options has led me to eat more or less the same thing day in and day out. As you can imagine, this does not make for very interesting blog posts, however, feast your eyes on THIS:

So here we have my daily lunch, from a local a la carte restaurant that has slightly different offerings every day. The thing in common is that its always simple, good food, and that its INSANELY cheap- less that 2 euros usually. (That's crazy-town.)

So above we have, from clockwise- red beet salad, Serbian cornbread (Proja) which the owners insisted contain no jaja or mleka (eggs or milk) but I'm a little skeptical. Next to that we have pirinac (rice) with leeks and what may be the national dish of Serbia, Prabanac- beans with paprika and other spices. (Sometimes made with bacon or other meat stuffs so ask!) On the side are some simple grilled veggies. I eat this literally every day and I'm not sick of it yet, which either says something about me or the good food on offer.

Anyways, the weekday lunches might be monotonous, but Belgrade itself is city that really knows how to relax in style. The prices are so low in comparison to the rest of Europe that it seems silly not to enjoy the vibrant club scene, enjoy the view from a water-front restaurant, or stay up all night dancing on the tabletops of a local kafana with live folk music.

And I have been doing some of that. But I was also offered the chance this last weekend to head to the Fruška gora (a country area outside of Belgrade known as the Frankish Hills, as Rebecca West says, for a reason far too dull to interest anyone). Now, this area is sort of a wide green valley filled with small country houses, Orthodox monasteries, and acre upon acre of fruit trees. Its special in Serbian history for offering a retreat from Turkish dominated territory, and to this day houses the tombs of many Kings. But I'm no Serb historian, I'm in it for the fruit! We're talking cherries of all seasons, pears, figs, grapes, plums, and all manner of sunflowers, lavender and corn. Its not the season for these yet, but Oh my G-D, it is still so insanely gorgeous.

Here we were in the tail end of winter and the area was still a sight. In the little, elegantly appointed home I stayed at we stayed outside all day and ate bread and apples, played cards, and watched neighbors walk by on horseback. Its truly hard to believe that such a beautiful and seemingly ancient place exists to close to bustling Belgrade, but it does, and if you ever visit Belgrade you would be extremely remiss not to pay this area a visit.

I'm hoping to go back when the fruit trees are full and lie in the fields gorging on cherries in the sunshine! Ugh, doesn't that just sound almost too divine?

song of the day: The Shoes- Time to Dance

Vegan Mofo: Ahh, fig season...

A perfect Fall breakfast- soy yogurt, slivered almonds, figs, and a drizzle of agave nectar.

Have a great weekend!

Vegan Break Up Power

UGH.

Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I have a good reason. My gorgeous, perfect, moody German boyfriend broke up with me so I haven't been doing a lot of eating. Or cooking. On the bright side, am now skinniest ever!*

(*I'm just kidding pro-ana blog-stalkers, go get help!)

I find that most people come in one of two varieties- emotional trauma either leaves them nauseated and unable to eat, or causes them to gorge on anything and everything. I always assumed I was the latter, but this time around the heartbreak block I'm finding myself completely unappetized.

The little I do eat usually comes out of a box (or a bottle, haha) however I did muster up the energy the other day to not only head to the grocery store, but actually cook something. Well, kind of. As I mentioned the last time I went through a break-up (yes, this blog has seen two breakups, and yes, that is the most depressing thought I've had all day) I recommended salads as excellent alternative breakup food. First of all, they are bright and cheerful. Second, all the chopping is an excellent displacement activity. And third, they are healthy, as a break for the bingers, yet light- as a break for the nauseous.

Well, I went for a variation of this as my main meal this week, inspired by an entire loaf of bread that I bought when I was still together with S. and wildly optimistic about what kind of healthy eating habits the future held. Just like making lemons out of lemonade, you can take that stale, neglected loaf of bread and make panzanella! With peaches, for sweetness.

Peach and Tomato Panzanella

4 c. medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, minced very finely
2 spring onions (green parts) sliced on the diagonal
2 big peaches, cut into chunks
Sea salt and fresh pepper
Olive oil
4 cups bread- toasted or grilled, cut into chunks

1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, onions and salt & pepper in large bowl. Let it all sit and get juicy while you toast the stale bread slices and cut them cubes. Add in peaches and a big drizzle of olive oil.
2. When bread is room temp, toss everything together. (Fresh basil would be a nice addition here as well.) Let it all sit at room temp for 30 minutes to an hour, and serve with a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar and big ole glass of wine spritzer. If you have just broken up with someone feel free to eat straight out of the bowl.


Song of the Day: Taylor Swift- You Belong with Me (THAT'S RIGHT! FTW!!!)

As a special bonus, here is my breakup playlist:T's Tragic Breakup Playlist for the Brokenhearted ENJOY!

Berlin to Budapest

Hey party people!

I'm writing to you now after a long absence due to my hectic last month, which included a visit to the USA, a return to Berlin, and all of the preparations to get here to crazy, sexy Budapest! It was a stressful transition, but it everytime I move to a new country it seems to get easier. Probably its about accepting that you are going to be desperately confused for about a month, and trying just to relax and enjoy the panic.

I took an overnight train (for only 29€!) from Berlin, offering me the unique experience of sleeping with 6 other people in the space of a janitors closet while we passed by Dresden, Prague, Bratislava, and a bunch of other random European cities. We arrived the next morning at Budapest's Keleti station, a train station that is both beautiful and sketchy as all get out. (There's all these weird back hallways with people playing cards and drinking shots at 9am...) Luckily, my new roommate was waiting for me, and took me back to our neighborhood which is still sketchier. On our block we have a heroin needle exchange, a brothel, a park which looks like a meeting point for human traffickers, and on the bright side, a gay bar called "Desire."

But despite the sketchiness, my apartment is lovely and centrally enough located to make the slightly disconcerting surrounding bearable. Just look, a mere 20 minute walk and I'm here, at the Central Market Hall in Fõvám square!

As a vegetarian traveling to Budapest this is a MUST. They have everything, from all varieties of local fruits and vegetables (like gorgeous Hungarian peppers) to every spice imaginable, including Hungary's favorite ingredient, paprika. (Both smoked and sweet varieties, natch.) Since I am too busy to prepare food at the moment (*sob*) I picked up some of Hungary's most available summertime fruits: flattened peaches and lascivious red cherries. I've been eating both with soy yogurt, muesli and agave nectar for a daily breakfast before heading over to Buda for my traineeship.


Meanwhile, back in Berlin, Summer is in full swing, with tons of festivals, live music playing by wanderlust-y tourists, and of course, a huge produce scare. You might wonder how cucumbers could become tainted with E.Coli.... or maybe, since you are vegetarian you don't wonder. (Hint: its from animal shit.) Sad. But look at these beautiful rainbows over Görlitzer Park!
Before I left I had a small dinner party to say goodbye to all my pals. Staying away from cucumbers and tomatoes, we indulged in a humungous pot of risotto, packed with sugar snap peas, asparagus, and lemon juice and zest. To reproduce in your own home, follow my normal risotto recipe (using 2 cups rice), lightly saute peas and asparagus on the side, then at the last minute, fold in veggies along with the juice and rind of one lemon. Completely lekker.

Meanwhile, its time to adjust to my new kitchen and get cooking here in Budapest. Wish me luck!!

Song of the Day: Ben Folds Five- Whatever and Ever, Amen

Breakfast of Champions... or cleaning ladies

Now that I actually have a job (my dream job, as a cleaning lady in a kindergarten) my weekends have taken on extra significance. I used to be happy eating a little bread and jam, but not anymore... now I have to clean out my fridge and eat huge, epic, brunch-like feasts on Saturdays and Sundays. It just makes my celebration that I don't have to use a mop that day all the more enjoyable. This weekend, I made tofu scramble for the first time in, it feels like, years. (In fact, I think it has been years...) This is partly due to the fact that I *finally* found some local tofu that doesn't have the consistency of feta cheese, so now I have to eat it everyday in some form. The above pictured foray back into scrambled tofu territory brought me back to my college days,when me and my 3 roommates would often cook together and tofu scrambles were pretty much standard on weekends. (This was before I mastered pancakes.) Just a bit of tofu, some red peppers and onions, and a bit of turmeric and thyme, and you are cooking with gas. (Or electric. Whatever.)

Sunday I took advantage of the bulk of frozen blueberries in my fridge to whip up some banana blueberry pancakes for S. and I... they were gone before we had finished our first cup of coffee.
Not being satisfied with that carb feast, I also whipped up some sesame-poppyseed bagels to enjoy throughout the week (or, lets be honest, through Tuesday) so that my weekday breakfast can have a little flair as well. As you can see, they turned out lovely, even in my cold kitchen. (Ever since I got the tip to keep rising dough in the oven with a bowl of hot water, I haven't had nearly so many disappointing dough experiences. Thanks, SMP!)

Now, feeling fortified from the weekend, its on to the freezing, mop filled days of the working week... let's hope Spring comes soon...

PS: I added a recipe index, as much for my use as for yours, as well as a page with some photos from my travel. I didn't do an "about me," as blogger suggests because, well, don't the posts say it all?

song of the day: Kanye West- All of the Lights

My blueberry days

Above: half-eaten rooftop brunch featuring blueberry-banana pancakes, brunch potatoes, pretzels, mustard, beer, coffee, apfel shorle, and lots of strange and German non-vegan things... (weisse wurst not pictured, shudder)

Below: another blueberry pie, devoured withing mere minutes of this photo being taken by a pack of hungry houseguests.



Ahh, summer.

Summer Pie Madness

Why, when it is hot enough to melt off my make-up, do I suddenly have the urge to make pies? It is not to please my boyfriend, who is completely indifferent to most sweet things I try to force on him. Its not to get rid of all the extra fruit I have growing in my non-existent orchard. I guess its just because when I look at a peach or carton of blueberries, I instantly envision bubbling fruit surrounded by a sweet flaky crust and topped with some ice cream. Let's just say I have a one-track mind.

However, I do not have the skills to match it. Check out this disaster of a blueberry pie.

Well, it wasn't so bad. The blueberries were lekker. But the crust was not much to see, mainly because I could not master keeping it flaky in such warm weather. I kept re-rolling it, only to find it harder and harder to put it into the pan without it breaking. And then when I did, of course, it was overrun by out-of-control blueberries, so that it was more like some kind of neglected pandowdy or something.

But for the lovely, and tiny, peach pie you see framing either side of the page, I took the great advice of the lovely Urban Vegan and just basically did not mix the dough AT ALL. Just the tiniest bit. And it turned out so lovely! (Her cookbook is just full of such tips, btw.)

I topped it with some quick cashew cream and the whole thing was just marvelous for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Didn't last much longer than that.) I'm also lusting for some cherry pie, but I really need to find someone who likes sweets more than my boyfriend, because I cannot continue to eat these things all by my lonesome. (Not a good reason to break up with him, but I'll be sure to bring it up in some upcoming fight. "You never eat my pies!" I'll scream...)



Song of the Day: My Bloody Valentine- Strawberry Wine

Sweet Corn Risotto and More

Fresh fig and Peanut-butter toast in the backyard... Ah, America!

I tried to eat absolutely everything I can't get my hands on easily in Europe while staying in DC, and I think I nearly succeeded. Most important was sweet corn and vidalia onions, which were so delicious I could have cried. (Is it weird to like onions as much as I do? What happens to you if you eat too many?) I saw a recipe in the Washington Post for sweet corn risotto, so I decided to give it a whirl for an evening when my friend James came over to cram for the bar exam. (Majorly flashback inducing.)

Basically, you do your typical risotto recipe (which I have published on here so many times its crazy) and then at the very end add in 3 ears worth of corn kernels. Stir until corn kernels are plump, then serve, with green onions on top.

I thought it was good, although with such a light addition to the risotto the broth really shines through, so be sure to use a good quality one. In addition, I thought it might benefit from some heirloom tomatoes added in at the last minute. I served them on the side drenched in balsamic and it went together perfectly.

Another great dinner was my standard fare: rice and beans, cinnamon-baked plantains, and avocados. This time I kicked up the rice by adding some orange juice, but other than that it was the same old rice and beans, and they were delicious as ever.

For the plantains, its the same technique as I made for the chipotle plantain enchiladas, except I tossed them in maple syrup along with the cinnamon, salt and pepper, and paprika. These babies cooked up great in about 45 minutes at 375.

I'm sure my parents won't miss me destroying the kitchen for dinner every night, but it was so fun to eat all my favorites. And now its back to Berlin...

Song of the Day: Squeeze- Tempted

Salad Days and Latkes

Finally, its actually hot enough to be called summer in Berlin! Along with the rising temperature comes late nights and lazy days in the park, and that feeling of not wanting to eat anything too hot or substantial. My latest solution is to make big salads filled with the delicious cherries appearing in Kaiser's. My first try was to combine them with field greens and chopped kohlrabi. (If you don't know what it is, don't be worried: I thought it was fennel and got a strange surprise when it tasted more like a broccoli stalk mixed with jicama.) Yesterday I made an awesome huge salad for S. and I to eat in the park, this one featured cherries, avocado, carrots, field greens, and thin sliced onions tossed in a apple-cider vinegar based dressing. Who knew avocados and cherries went so naturally together? (Oder, "togesser" if you want to sound like a German.)

And even though hot food is a bit of annoyance in this weather, dinner requires something a bit more substantial. And although latkes (or "potato pancakes") are kind of associated with Hannukah season, I figured they are cheap to make and could be at home alongside a salad in the summertime as a light dinner. Not only that, but when you are on a budget its always handy to have a lot of recipes involving potatoes and carrots. Latkes are a little extra effort but scrumptious any time of year.



Here is my basic "recipe," without strict measurements. I want to point out that I omit any real binder here other than flour, but if you've never made them before you might find this a bit tricky. (The traditional recipe uses a few eggs.) I've seen other recipes using cornstarch or egg replacer and I imagine this might be easier for beginners, but if you don't have those ingredients on hand this always works for me!

Potato Carrot Latkes*
1.) Peel 2 carrots and a few potatoes (3-4). Grate them into a bowl using a hand-held grater. Now here comes my innovation: use a potato ricer to squeeze all of the excess liquid out of the grated veggies. This works because they aren't cooked and won't go totally through the ricer, but the pressure is perfect for squeezing out all the juice without using 50 paper towels to do it by hand.
2.) Add to the squeezed and grated veggies a small onion, diced tiny, and an equally tiny diced garlic clove. Toss with liberal salt and pepper.
3.) Sprinkle a good bit of flour and a few dashes cornstarch over the veggies, and mix with your hands. Add in more flour as necessary to coat the entire bowl, not so much that you can see the flour, but enough that you can form a small handful of the mixture into a ball that stays pretty well together.
4.) In a skillet, heat equal parts oil and margarine over medium heat, enough that margarine sizzles but not until oil is smoking. (You can also test a small clump to see if its ready, like you might with pancakes.)
5.) Drop in smallish balls of the veggie mix (about 3 at a time is good) and flatten into a thick disk using a spatula. Cook on first side for about 4 minutes, then flip to cook on other side another 2-3. Each pancake should be crispy and browned, and the time varies from batch to batch so keep an eye on them.
6.) After each set, the oil and margarine should be used up, so clean out any loose browned bits and replace oil and margarine for each new batch. Keep finished latkes in the oven on low heat until ready to serve.
7.) Serve with soy sour cream and applesauce, if ya got it!

*Potatoes and carrots are just the beginning- you can also use sweet potatoes, apples, beets, zuchinni... yum!

Song of the day: Cursive- Hymns for the Heathen

Rhubarb Crumble and Caribbean Curry

Carnival of Culture in Berlin

I have been all over the place as of late! The end of school (at least, the attendance mandatory portion of it), moving and weddings have kept me incredibly busy. But there is always time for food, even if I've been doing more eating than cooking lately.

I recently moved back to Berlin, just in time for 3 great things: summer, THE WORLD CUP, and the Carnival of Culture! The first two are still kind of on their way, but the Carnival of Culture was a few weekends ago and it was awesome!

When it was described to me I was a little turned off- a few days of the different cultures of Berlin parading their unique aspects sounded a little colonial to me. But it was awesome! And it definitely wasn't just a situation where the Germanz just sat and watched. As dancers, clubs, children, and hula hoopers paraded by, it was clear that everyone was involved and having a great time. And the days preceding the big parade in Kreutzberg were filled with awesome food and lots of live music- from big professional performances to ad-hoc drummers circles and gatherings of singers and dancers around accordians and guitars. The food ranged from Moroccan tagine wraps and Mexican burritos to French Crepes and American funnel cake (ha!). Yet another example of the uniqueness and spirit of Berlin.


Also arriving in Berlin with the advent of summer: tons of fresh rhubarb! I've never made anything with the fruit before (which looks a lot like a hot pink celery stalk) but I decided to give it a shot for a simple desert, rhubarb and strawberry crumble.


The process was simple. I chopped up a bunch (maybe three whole) rhubarbs and a small carton of strawberries. Although there is some contention over whether or not to peel rhubarbs, I ended up doing it because upon chopping them, I noticed a tough, stringy outer layer that was easy to remove. The fruits were then tossed with the juice and zest of one lemon, about 1/2 cup of sugar, and a teaspoon arrowroot powder. I topped it with a mixture of margarine, sugar, flour, a teaspoon baking powder, and oats (+ a pinch of salt) and then cooked it at about 375 for maybe 40 minutes, or until it was browned on top. Couldn't have been simpler or more delicious. The rhubarb adds a great tartness to the super-sweet strawberries, and the whole concoction was just crying out for some vanilla or coconut ice cream on top.


I also made an awesome curry to test out this new Caribbean curry powder I found at bio market down the street. From what I can tell, the addition of star anise and mango powder is what made it more Caribbean than Indian. I intended to add in some plantains and scotch bonnets, but ended up making a milder curry using carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and smoked tofu. It was awesome, and a new chapter in my book "Trying to get S. to eat sweet potatoes in things other than latkes".


Now that I'm relatively settled (at least for the next month) I'm looking forward to more cooking with local specialties! And maybe coming up with some good snack foods for the World Cup!

Song of the Day: Scissor Sisters- I don't feel like dancing

Up-side down, Phake- Me-Out Pflaumenkuchen

On a nice cool evening a few nights ago I was walking down the street with my friend when we encountered what looked like a large crate of plums, discarded by the side of the road. Curious, we examined closer to find that, indeed they were plums, and most were still good. Now, if this were the U.S., I would have assumed that each one was fitted with a tiny razor blade and that would be the end of the story, but being in Berlin I decided to whimsically cast aside my American paranoia and bring the lovey plums home. I would make pflaumenkuchen, I thought. (Oh, how innocent I was back then.)

You see, a while back I had bookmarked Mihl from Seitan is My Motor's post on pflaumenkuchen, thinking it would be a good thing to make since a) plums are falling from the sky and b) I could impress my man with some traditional home-cooked german fare, rather than just bitching about how I can't cook because there are no chipotles in Germany. It all sounded well and good, until I started to make it.

The first problem happened in the grocery store, when I couldn't find yeast for the life of me, tried to ask a shopkeeper, and then, gesticulating wildly, dropped my purse along with thousands of euro coins all over floor. (Yeast is "hefe", in case you're wondering.)

Then came the measuring. You see, having no access to measuring cups at the moment, I thought I would try some improvisation: a shot glass! I merely converted the measurements into shot glass ounces and hoped for the best, rather absent-mindedly and cockily combining things while chatting on skype with my mother in the states. But soon, I realized that something had gone wrong. The dough was incredibly sticky, not warm like yeasted things ought to be, and getting worse by the moment. (Looking back, I think I doubled the soymilk and halved the yeast. Ugh.) Before long, I was frantically adding in flour using my elbows (hands too sticky) and cursing the day I ever thought I could bake. I suddenly knew, with frightening clarity, that never again would I spend a casual afternoon making muffins or cupcakes. Instead, I would be the stupid American who doesn't understand celcius or the metric system and has to busy herself with dropping coins all over supermarkets for small German children to find. German children whose mothers probably make a killer pflaumenkuchen. UGHHHH.

*Ahem*. However, an hour later, when my terrible little dough had not risen yet, I decided to strike back with trademark American ingenuity. I put all the plums I have dutifully cut up, along with some vanilla sugar and earth balance, in the bottom of the tin. I rolled the dough out thinly, cut it to size, and placed it on top. Then I cooked the whole thing for about 30 minutes. Here is what appeared after some flipping:

Not bad, right? At least pretty, or nothing a little powdered sugar couldn't pretty up.

As for the taste? The plum part was delicious, the dough was not too sweet and (obvs) un-risen and a little tough but had sort of a plum juice layer that tasted a bit like marzipan. And my boyfriend? Thought it was all intentional. Hurrah! Am not most worthless cook in Europe after all!

All the same though, I still have the ingredients, and 1/2 a crate of plums left... I think I want to try Mihl's recipe again, this time not fuc*ing it up utterly... maybe I'll use something a tad more accurate for measuring this time? While I ponder it, I may as well finish off the rest of my little monster creation, which, after all, really wasn't too bad. Particularly with a bunch of powdered sugar and a glass of soymilk.



Song of the Day: Die Stern- Was hat dich bloß so ruiniert?

Caffeine Alternatives

Something about summertime makes the following things mandatory to consume daily, at least for me: mango, lime, corn, ginger, avocado. Well, actually, these are pretty much year-long obsessions. But, there is something about hot weather that entices you to eat things with less preparation, to add a little kick or spice to something and call it a day. Its either laziness or a testament to how sweet summer produce is, or a little of both. (Actually, all of those things together are pretty awesome too.)

My favorite mid-day snack and caffeine-alternative at the moment is mango, doused in lime juice, salt and pepper, (shout out to M.I.A.!) or alternatively, lime juice and sriracha. The salt and pepper just adds a little kick, while sriracha turns it into weird spicy candy. Both effectively kick me back into study mode. Splashed down with a little homemade ginger limeade (still working on the recipe) and I'm in heaven. Ginger is another one of those foods that seems to go straight to my head and wake me up. And lord knows, I'm not above trying anything that will wake me up. (Well, except for like, meth.:P)

The other night to celebrate my brother being in town we had a little bbq with even more summer goodness- sweet corn with lime and earth balance, marinated grilled mushrooms, garlic-sauteed spinach and home-fries. It's so convenient to have grill access for quick and easy suppers after a long hard day of... studying in the air conditioning. I'm trying to get braver about trying things on it, since I tend to burn all things that are not vegetable kebabs.


And speaking of studying, back to it! In exactly 3 weeks from today I'll be walking out of the NY bar exam a free woman!

Song of the day: Regina Spektor- Dance Anthems of the Eighties

More spicy summer lovin:
Instant Mango Avocado Salsa
Jerk Tofu, Mashed Plaintains, Garlicky Kale
Spicy Gingered Chickpeas
Chipotle Black Beans and Red Quinoa

High Standards

Why is it that when I'm stressed, my reaction is to attempt an entire lifestyle makeover, rather than address the one source of anxiety with calm and focus? Maybe its the same impulse that causes you to clean your room when you have 24 hours until a big paper is due. Or start revising your resume and surfing Monster rather than work on the simple task your boss asked of you.

Well, for whatever reason I got on a real self-improvement kick this weekend, deciding that before the end of the semester, with its attendant heart-attack inducing bar exam stress, I need to accomplish the following adjustments:
- spend (waaay) less money
- lose weight and get exercise regimen back on track
- complete all of my outlines two weeks before finals so that exams will be a breeze
- simultaneously complete all bar exam legwork and applications
- learn german and french (for international law career, of course)
- dress professionally and wear make-up, rather than rolling around like old man in woolen blazer and checkered slip-on vans
- just generally be a successful, self-motivated, healthy individual, rather than sad-sack bed-confined walking-hangover with literally thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt.

Hmm. Well, I've accomplished one goal: spend less money! I've been exploring the concept of leftovers, as well as avoiding my weaknesses- the various delicious restaurants a stone's throw from my house. I even invented a few things, since I've also developed this bizarre laziness that won't let me open a recipe book.

Above we have the luscious Apple-Leek Salad I concocted with the leeks leftover from passover. So simple: Toss spinach and apples in (vegan) green goddess dressing, and top with leeks that have been sauteed in a little EB or olive oil. Ground pepper's nice on top too. I could eat this everyday for lunch...

Next, I used up the rest of the spinach along with a trusty can of chickpeas in a super-quick Curry, with coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, and fresh ginger and garlic. This one needs some work so I'll post the recipe when its sufficiently improved. But it satisfied my need for mango and coconut (who needs chutney when you have fresh mango?!) so it certainly worked for me.

Still obsessing about mango, and finding myself with half an avocado on hand, I concocted this feast, which, while freakishly bright in the photo, was just about the BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN. It was so good that I had a fit of existential angst while eating it, knowing that no matter what, I could never duplicate such simple deliciousness for anyone else. *Sob*
At any rate, here's what it was: a can of black beans, sauteed with onions, tomatoes, and cumin, over saffron rice. On the side, fresh mango and (here's one killer) fresh corn off the cob tossed in lime, salt and pepper. And now here's the other killer: Coconut lime cream Guacamole. You will want to try this one. I combined half an avocado and juice from half a lime, along with 2 tablespoons of coconut yogurt (the kind that's entirely coconut milk.) Oh my godfathers was this good. I definitely didn't regret the decision to avoid El Rinconcito for once.

Of course, all of my penny-pinching was thrown in my face as a hideous cosmic joke when I received a $100 parking ticket from the District of Columbia for not removing my borrowed car from the street by 4:01pm. F*ck it. I'm going back to shoveling take-out food into my mouth while lying in bed watching Arrested Development until the sun comes out and stays out, for good.

Song of the Day: Liz Phair- Polyester Bride

Yes, We Can!

I had a long, lazy weekend ahead of myself this week, and I knew if left to my own devices I would simply read my new bookstore finds (Hannah Arendt and the new Antonio Negri!) rather than do anything productive. (Although, according to Negri, expending my mental energy is of course, productive...) But anyways, I've come across 3 mentions of canning lately, one in the Washington Post, one in Vegetarian Times, and one in the new Gourmet. A good rule of thumb for me is that if you tell me to do something 3 times, I will most likely do it. So I bought a boat-load of figs at the farmers market and got to it!

In case anyone is in the mood for some delectable home-made preserves, here are the basic steps for doing so. There are plenty of other step-by-step guides out there, but lest you get scared off, let me cut through the precautions and give you the basic outline:

1. The first step (aside from gathering your ingredients and equipment) is to boil and sterilize the jars and lids. You need to keep them hot while you prepare the recipe.
2. Prepare the recipe. This generally involves a good bit of chopping or peeling, but its not much more work the making a stew.
3. Once the jam/preserves whatever is ready, you carefully pour it into the hot jars. I used a ladle for this, but others suggest a funnel. Using gloves or a magnet, you carefully put the lid tops and screw tops on.
4. The final step is to boil the closed jars once more, usually for about 10-15 minutes. After letting it cool you can check to make sure the lids are on properly (they should be concave to the inside of the jar.) And you're good to go!

I would really encourage this project if you're one of those DIY people. I'm pretty sure I didn't save a lot of money, but when it comes to Christmas and Hannukah gifts, you can't beat homemade preserves. Think about it: if you handed someone a $3 jar of strawberry smuckers for a gift, they'd be like "wtf?" But a homemade jar of delicious preserves is a totally different story. You're still not spending much money, but people love it. My plan is to make several types of preserves and put them in little baskets- fig, strawberry, and apple butter I think. Plus its nice to know exactly what went into something you eat.

And here are some more delicious looking recipes:
*Caramel Pear Butter
*Mango Chutney
*Vidalia Onion Relish
*Blueberry Jam

In other news, I'm now carless! I moved to an area of town with ample public transportation, my bike is ready and raring to go, and I'm taking the plunge! I hope that this will at the least me save money, but more importantly I'm hoping that by "unplugging" from my vehicle I remove one of the screens that separate me from the world. Wish me luck lugging my law books around!

French Toast w/ Figs and Coconut yogurt

Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I woke up wanting something brunchy- without having to leave the house, of course. I always get tempted to make french toast, but most vegan recipes seem so needlessly complicated- if there's a food processor involved, I'm not likely to make it for breakfast.

But my college boyfriend used to make divine french toast using only soymilk, cinnamon, earth balance, and french bread. I remember sitting on his washing machine waiting for the next mini-pieces to come off the skillet and popping them directly into my mouth. No need for syrup!

So I tried to make something equally simple and jazz it up a little with some figs and divine coconut-milk soy yogurt I had. Sooo good.

EASIEST POSSIBLE French Toast
1. Take a piepan and splash in some soy milk and soy creamer. (About 1:2 ratio.) Add some cinnamon and whisk together.
2. Dip pieces of bread into the milk and fry over medium in a knob of earth balance.
3. Serve w/ figs, pecans, yogurt, or syrup or powdered sugar! You're done!

Cupcakes and Heartbreak Salad

When your relationship ends, the whole world comes to a stop. Minutes seem like days and its hard to believe that you will ever want to listen to music, read a book, or eat anything that doesn't come out of a box again. However, if you can drag yourself out of bed and away from the Jameson's, its possible that some sifting, chopping, and mixing could cheer you a little.

Well, it did for me. Just a little.

The cupcakes I made for a friend's birthday party which she conveniently held at my bar. They're both from VCTOTW. On the left we have the gingerbread cupcakes topped with lemon cream-cheese icing, and on the right the strawberry tallcakes (a variation on my favorite chocolate cherry cream cupcakes. While the tallcakes were good and very pretty, the gingerbread cupcakes were INSANE. Kind of spicy and slightly salty, topped with the most fabulous icing I have ever had, vegan or not. My roomate was furious with me when I polished off the last of those two babies.

Seriously, try them. Its always nice to be the one bringing cupcakes to the party. :)

After the rush of the weekend, I was still (understandably, I think) pretty miserable. On a whim I stopped into Wholefoods, vaguely planning to get something from the to-go section. But walking through the produce aisle, inspiration struck. Some bright and ripened mangos caught my eye, reminding me of all the mango trees in Cuba and what a wonderful thing it is to reach up and grab a juicy piece of fruit when its hot outside. Some avacado and fresh corn got tossed in, reminding me of a delicious guacamole they have at a restaurant in Atlanta that I commonly frequented when I was single. Some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes so red they made me smile. And finally, some wasabi dressing- to wake me up and work magic with the avacado.



So I chopped up all the veggie, sliced off the corn kernals, cubed the mango and avacado, and tossed it all the with dressing. (Actually, I made enough for two servings and squeezed some lemon on one so it would keep for the next day.) Maybe its not the prettiest picture, but believe me. This salad is magic. The entire time I ate it, the sun was shining in the window and all my favorite food memories were popping in my head. I couldn't think about the break-up for even one bite. Now that's a good salad. I highly recommend it next time you find yourself eyeing the boxed mashed potatoes and cookie crisp.