Pancakes and Grilled Polenta with Portobellos and Gravy

How lucky is my little brother? Not only does he get all my old college poli-sci books, but I make him pancakes with strawberries and chocolate-hazelnut spread (inspired by CCV's contest, natürlich) every morning. Well, I made it once. But still. Lucky!

I guess it was partially for me too... the only antidote to learning boring and enraging shit about our legal system is to eat incredibly decadent food!

I'm studying corporations right now, and may I just rant for a moment? (I'll take that as a "yes.") The basic idea behind corporations is to offer protection to groups of people who wish to make a profit, by making them relatively immune to legal liability individually, and to allow them to hide behind the corporation as a "legal person". I just believe that this is inherently immoral. We don't allow that much power for groups that do NOT entirely exist to make a profit, so why only allow it for greed? The effect is that no matter how terrible the thing a corporation does (cough, cough, Monsanto, Enron, Blackwater, Exxon...ect) the individual members disclaim their responsibility for it to the end... and what's worse, they don't really have a choice! Our society has approved of allowing a fictitious legal representative take the fall for something individual people thought up and accomplished, we encourage it and reward it! The resulting legal and moral crimes never get punished... or do, and get taken out of the corporation's capital, never out of individual pockets. They get a kind of protection that individual people could never dream of, and are capable of perpetuating wrongs that individuals would never be capable of.

Its just. so. enraging.

At any rate, its only 12 more days and this is all over, and I can stop fuming about legal injustices and start getting excited for Berlin, Brussels, and... human rights abuses scholarship... ? Well, what can I say, I like being angry. I'm a glutton for punishment.

And a glutton for other things. This is a delicious dinner my Mom and I made to make studying a bit more enjoyable: Grilled Polenta over steamed spinach, with grilled Portobellos and Vidalia Onion Gravy. It was so marvelous, and extremely quick and easy to put together. I mean, I literally put the spinach on a plate, topped it with grilled polenta triangles, and grilled, marinated portobellas. The gravy is from VCON and though also quite easy, it defines decadent, especially with the summer's awesome supply of huge vidalia onions. This is definitely a good thing to throw together for company, especially since you can make most of it outside on the grill.

Too good to be true. And now, back to horrible, miserable Corporations

Song of the Day: Morphine- Buena

Bright and tasty!

The last few days have been so completely filled with studying that virtually my only break has been cooking and eating. As a result, I'm making sure that everything I eat is fabulous and cheerful. Its helping me cope... sort of.

Above we have an awesome salad made with what I expect is sort of a bizarre combination to most people... sweet potatoes and beets! (But they're both root veg, sooo...?) I roasted them both in the oven and cut into chunks, then put them over some spinach and topped with walnuts and Jessy's awesome Sweet Orange Miso dressing. The dressing was sooo good, like everything that little ray of sunshine makes! And I was nervous about my weird combo, but it right up my alley- especially with the walnuts, they are a must. But citrus, miso, beets and sweet potatoes are definitely weird-good rather than weird-bad. So, the beet obsession goes on.


Last week, we had a pizza night at my house where everyone basically picked their own topping. I was thrilled to descend from the study cave to top mine with pineapple, bbq sauce, onions, mushrooms, and a little nooch, before running back up to continue. Shortly thereafter, like magic, my delicious pizza was piping hot and ready for me to gobble down before running back, like Gollum, to my precious notecards. My Dad is getting way awesome at homemade crusts, although I want to introduce him to the concept of whole wheat flour.


Another one of my Dad's creations was a stir-fry made with every vegetable in the fridge, plus mock chicken. (Oh, if our ancestors could see us now. 10 years ago my family would have been eating chicken fingers, mac & cheese, and biscuits, and now we're all sitting around watching the Daily Show and noshing on completely vegan fare without complaints.) The sauce was a ginger-sesame oil-soy sauce kinda thing, and on the side we had SUPER-GARLICKY spinach, because that's how we like it, and some really sweet and perfect pineapple. (This must be pineapple season, because every pineapple I've eaten lately has been phenomenal.)

Later in the week I made an attempt to develop some cherry brownies, but I think I went a little overboard on reducing the oil and sugar, because in my opinion they were not nearly gooey enough. When I fix it I'll post the recipe. But in the meantime, they worked in a pinch, and they were pretty!



I also wanted to point you guys to an awesome section exclusively on canning that was in the Washington Post this weekend. There are a ton of recipes and stories about various people's experience with canning. I was really into canning over the fall, when I made fig spread and tomato sauce, but summer is a great time for it too! If you're thinking about it, and ARE NOT studying for any huge exams, I would recommend giving it a shot!

Song of the Day: Bright Eyes- Poison Oak

"Food Inc." and Swell Curry

One of the stars of "Food Inc."

Today, I took a break from studying to see "Food Inc," a documentary that purports to expose the dark side of the American industrial food complex, and does a decently good job of doing so (particularly when it comes to the plight of illegal immigrant laborers). However, though I thought it admirable that the movie explores the problem from a range of socio-economic positions and tries not to be too judgmental of the people inside and out the system, there were some points when my jaw-dropped at the totally glaring omission.

Here: I can sum up the problem very simply. Our first introduction to the narrator features him (Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation) sitting at a diner counter, thoughtfully perusing the menu before finally landing on a cheeseburger and french fries. Let me just pause to have you think about that for a moment.

This is the guy who exposed the fast food industry. The guy who is going to spend the next two hours touring the nation's biggest producers of meat to expose the disgusting conditions, health risks, and human rights abuses caused by our food system skewed towards mass meat production. A guy who is going to quote The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. And he opens the movie chomping down on a burger? WHY?

This was my issue with the movie in a nutshell. They overview the major issues with the food system, and examine a few possible solutions and potential areas of improvement. But never, once, does anyone mention the word "vegan", "vegetarian", or "plant-based diet". (The word "herbivore" is thrown in there- in reference to an animal.) And believe me, after watching this movie, your decision to go vegetarian is going to be the #1 thing on your mind. The lack of ANY reference to vegetarianism as a viable solution or even step in the right direction isn't just an oversight, its outrageously bizarre given the context and, I think, offensive.

As a matter of fact, I struck up a conversation with a guy leaving the movie theater, who immediately brought up the fact that his first reaction with the movie was revulsion at the treatment of animals throughout the film. "I'm an athletic guy, and I always thought I needed protein... but you look at those animals, and how sick they are, and loaded up with crazy chemicals and think: I need THIS to stay healthy? There's got to be a better way." Couldn't agree more, movie-guy. Just wish "Food Inc" would have thought to mention that.

Did anyone else see the film and think differently? I would encourage others to see it, just take it with a grain of salt since it clearly equivocates on animal rights.

*********

At any rate, the movie did make me thrilled to be vegan. And I was even more thrilled when I got home and, in no time at all, threw together this scrumptious little curry from the fabulous Swell Vegan's line-up of delicious recipes. I made her "Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry," subbing green beans for spinach and seitan for tofu. But it was perfectly lovely, and made a sweet background to me ranting at my parents about the industrial food complex for a few minutes.


You make people dinner and they'll forgive a lot of things. :)


Song of the Day: Fugazi- Merchandise

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

Cowboy Corn Cakes w/ salsa, caramelized onions and avocado cream

I whipped up these corn-cakes the other night in a effort to use up some cobs of sweet corn and the rest of the avocado-lime-cream. All the recipes I've seen for them would have made Paula Deen blush by how packed with butter and eggs they were, so I was a little skeptical about coming up with a vegan version. I shouldn't have been, obviously! It never ceases to amaze how unnecessary eggs and butter often are. Not only were these awesomely yummy without being totally heart-attack inducing, but they brought to mind the kind of easy and hearty food cowboys might eat around the campfire, after a long day of... hmmm, what exactly do cowboys do, other than get in fights in saloons? Anybody know?

Well at any rate, they were super topped with spicy salsa and avocado cream and I highly recommend them for yourself and any badass vegan cowboys you may know. Thinly sliced scallions might be a good addition to the batter as well.



Corn Cakes
-1 C. flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. salt

-1/8 tsp. onion powder/ season salt (optional)
-1 C. soymilk
-1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
-2 C. corn kernels (preferably fresh)
-2 Tbs. earth balance, melted
-1 tsp. agave nectar

1.) Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and onion powder and set aside. If using fresh corn, carefully cut corn off of cobb, cutting close enough to get some of the pulp. (If you're like me, the corn flies everywhere, so maybe do this into a bowl.)
2.) Whisk together soymilk and apple cider vinegar and set aside.

3.) Add 3/4 C. of the corn, the melted margarine, and agave nectar. Process until fairly smooth. (Some lumps= ok.)
4.) Grease and heat a griddle to medium heat. Combine the wet and dry ingredients along with the rest of the corn and whisk together until "just mixed." Ladle onto the griddle in small batches, heating about 2 minutes on each side.

Serve with salsa (as long as its not made in New York City, since cowboys hate that), caramelized onions, and avocado cream or guacamole. :)

Song of the Day: The Thrills- Big Sur

Gertrude & Alice; BBQ Tofu & Plantain Tacos with Avocado Cream

Unsurprisingly, I'm really getting burnt out on studying. I'm feeling very petulant these days, because while it is perfectly clear that I can't stop now, so close to the test, I still have the overwhelming urge to ditch all these notecards and tapes and sulk all day at a coffee shop over some Gertrude Stein novels and massive soy vanilla lattes.

As a matter of actual fact, my real escapist fantasy would be to just actually be Gertrude Stein, presiding over an avante-garde salon of famous artists and writers and making wisely arrogant quips while my lover cooks me french delicacies, a la Alice B. Toklas.
Stein and Toklas in their fabulous Parisian flat. Don't they look so relaxed?

However and unfortunately, I've yet to wake up in Paris just yet, so I guess I will have to just take some inspiration from both Stein and Toklas: look at every obstacle as if its just foolishness, and cook myself delicacies at every spare moment.

This evening's meal was a good start: I found some good plantains at the store and had a yen for BBQ tofu, so made my meal around that. The result? BBQ tofu tacos with plantains, black beans, and avacado-lime cream, topped with shredded lettuce and cucumber/mango relish. (I know, I got carried away.)

Looks kind of bizarre outside of the taco, but believe me it was all very tasty. I think anyone of the components could be good again in the future or with different combinations. What I might do differently next time is use a spicier BBQ sauce because altogether the meal was pretty sweet. But then again, any kind of sauce (jerk, hot) would work just as well.

BBQ Tofu
*Everyone has their favorite tofu strategies, I just happened to use this method because I wanted small pieces that would stay crunchy in tacos yet soak up the sauce.

-1 lb. extra firm tofu, pressed, drained, and sliced into smallish cubes
-plain soymilk
-flour
-corn-starch
-spice rub, seasoning salt, ect.
-oil for frying
-your fave BBQ sauce

1.) After cutting the tofu to your desired bite-sized dimensions, fill a large saute pan with about 1/2- 1/4" peanut or vegetable oil and heat to medium. While its getting hot, fill one small bowl with plain soymilk. Next to it, fill a small bowl with equal parts cornstarch and flour, and a good heap of spice rub or blend. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.

2.) When oil is hot (test by dropping a small piece in and seeing if bubbles quickly fizz around it) start dropping chunks of tofu in the milk bath, then rolling them in flour/ cornstarch mixture before dropping them (carefully) in hot oil. Do this in batches depending how large your pan is.
3.) Using chopsticks or tongs, flip the tofu pieces over after about 3 minutes. When both sizes are lightly browned and crunchy, transfer to a plate or bowl lined with paper towels.
4. When all batches are done, remove paper towels and douse the tofu in your favorite BBQ sauce. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet or pan and stick in the oven for 10 minutes or so. This should render the outside BBQ sauce a little crunchy and keep your tofu hot while you prepare anything else you're having.

Avocado-Lime-Cream
-1 Avocado diced
-Juice from small lime
-1/2 clove garlic diced
-1 tbs agave nectar
-salt to taste (i used about 1/4 tsp)
-1/2 lb. silken tofu

1.) In food processor, pulse first 5 ingredients until creamy. Add in silken tofu by a couple spoonfuls at a time, stopping when cream has reached desired consistency and tanginess. Refrigerate until ready to use.


Perfect Plantains
-2 large Plantains
-Earth Balance
-Brown sugar (optional)

1.) First, find the right plantains. (This is where I usually f*ck up.) The ones you want for sweet plantains are going to be browning and speckled all over and yielding slightly to the touch. Basically it should look like a banana looks when you think "time to make banana bread."
2.) Peel plantains, using a knife if necessary. Quarter by cutting it once in the middle, then cutting each half into four. Meanwhile, place two knobs of EB over medium/ medium low heat and wait until butter has just melted but not yet started to bubble or brown.
3)Add in plantains, quickly coating to toss. If there is not enough butter to coat them all, add in a little more.
4) Raise the heat to medium and cook, turning and tossing occasionally, until sides have caramelized and plantains have changed to a bright golden yellow. At this point, sprinkle with a little brown sugar if desired, cook a minute or two more, and remove from heat. YUM!

Quickie Cucumber Relish
*Utter simplicity but so nice and cooling, I like to serve this relish aside thai or african dishes too. Alongside, for instance, tofu satay I would sub out mango for chopped red onion. Traditional recipes boil the vinegar first, but I don't bother and still like it. (Up to you my friends!)

-1 large cucumber
-1/2 mango
-Rice vinegar
-pinches of sugar

1.) Peel and de-seed cucumber, then cut into thin matchsticks. Cut mango into tiniest pieces possible (just try making matchsticks, ha!) Combine in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar, and pour over enough rice vinegar to coat. Toss once, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Well its back to work, fortified by all the exotic fusion yumminess. And as Gertrude Stein would say: "Considering how dangerous everything is, nothing is really very frightening."

Song of the Day: Paolo Conte- Sparring Partner

Raising the bar

Oh dear. I promised myself I wouldn't stop blogging just because I was studying for the bar exam. But like most promises to myself (I will make it to the gym 3 times this week, I will never watch "The Shining" again, no more white wine at weddings...) it seems I only had to make it because I knew I would break it.

At any rate, I'd love to say I was off gallivanting around Europe this whole time (only a little of the time, more on that later) but I instead have mostly been sitting inside a quiet room, staring intently at an outline book, and listening to the gratingly-nasal-yet-soporific sound of bar exam lecturers droning on about equitable servitudes and hearsay exceptions. For those of you that are, happily, non-legal people, the Bar Exam is a two day exam one takes after graduating from law school that takes about two months to study for. Despite the fact that everyone has to do it before practicing law, its still insanely stressful. I think its safe to say this has not been my favorite summer ever. (And weirdly, my hair has been falling out because of stress... soooo, um.... that's not good.)

And yet, there are still some things to be happy about. First of all, I am almost 100% moving to Brussels, Belgium in September to begin a masters program. WOOO! Pommes frites, sexy Eurocrats, and amazing chocolate here I come!

Second, no matter what else is going on in my life, food can always cheer me up. And I've pretty sure that vegan food makes you smarter, so I've got that on my side too.

Today for instance, I started off with some of B's magic oat-nut pancakes, spruced up with extra flax seeds for brilliance and some bright cheerful cherries for soul power. These are so good and the recipe is really flexible if you don't have all the ingredients.

For "lunch", aka, cramming food in the general direction of my face while taking furious notes on Contracts, I had a quick saute of faux-beef (the kind they sell in little packages at the groceria) with some broccoli, onions, and plum sauce in a wrap. I've been eating a lot of these kind of wraps lately, since its so fast to throw leftover salad, guac, or tofu together and come up with something marvelous and moderately hands-free. So good.

For dinner, my Mom and I got a little adventurous and decided to try the Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with pine-nut cream from V'Con. This recipe is slightly labor intensive but its all really easy steps and everything came together beautifully. Seriously, it was such a hit. The best part is, its a traditional moussaka with a rich cinnamon-spiked tomato sauce, layers of roasted veggies, and thick, rich pine-nut cream on top... but it tastes really light, not at all the way a regular moussaka or lasagna tastes. And the labor intensiveness got me out of a few hours of studying! We served it with a quickie salad of vidalia onions and cucumbers tossed in Italian dressing.

Anyways, I imagine everyone else's summer is involving a lot more, like...., going outside... at least I hope so! I'll be catching up on everyone's blogs in the next few days in between scarfing down more wraps and contracts. :)


Song of the Day: Belle and Sebastian- A Summer Wasting

Final Finals!

Its my last final exam period of law school, and I'm determined to make it more successful than the five that came before. This time, I will NOT chug diet coke, wine, and coffee simultaneously. I will NOT wait until 6 hours before the exam to start studying. I will NOT get caught up in the Hills, or the Real Housewives of Hades, or whatever else is on my parents bountiful cable channels.

Instead I'm going to continue working out, eating healthy, and getting an adequate amount of sleep. Because thats the way to get good grades, right? Well, actually, I have an ulterior motive: I'm going to Berlin and Brussels right after finals and I want to look hot for all the fancy europeans, and one in particular. Eating jellybeans, doritos, and coffee for two weeks isn't the way to look your best. So instead I'm all over a bunch of very boring healthy food, like hummus and carrots, spinach salads, bananas. So no very interesting food things at the moment. Instead, here are my top 5 favorite finals distractions. Enjoy!

1. Autotune the News

This is self-explanatorily awesome.

2. International street style websites.
The only thing better than American hipsters: international hipsters!
But really, I like to think I could get good fashion ideas from these cool sites, if I ever get out of self-imposed study quarantine.
Still in Berlin
Mess this Dress (Mexico)
Easy Fashion (Paris)
Modaturkiye (Istanbul)

3. Looking up conspiracy theories on wikipedia.
Dude, its amazing what you can learn about a historical event based on the conspiracy theories that branched out of it. Try JFK, Jonestown, or the Vatican for starters... and be prepared to be creeped out, in an educational kind of way.

4. Pancake Mountain
I love watching clips of Pancake Mountain. This public access kids show, which has featured The Evens, M.I.A., and the Go! Team in the past, is what DC kids would watch if DC was actually cool.

5. Hark! A Vagrant
And finally, Kate Beaton's online historical comic, Hark, a Vagrant! is so weird and funny and I lerv it. Example: Marie and Pierre Curie

So there you go, T's guide to calorie-free procrastinating bliss. Now, back to work.

Tea for two...

This saturday was the premiere of the movie version of the iconic documentary "Grey Gardens," and being amply obsessed with the original (available free here) I figured it warranted a small celebration. And who better to watch it with then my very own dear (and non-Big Edie-esque) mother?

If you haven't seen either the doc or the recent movie, "Grey Gardens" is the story of two of Jackie O's relatives, Big and Little Edith Beale, who fell into poverty and squalor after Big Edie's separation from her husband and their subsequent retreat from high society into the increasingly decrepit Hampton's home of their glory days. It's not just interesting as a reversal of fortune story, however, because the two characters relationship- both loving and incredibly delusional and restrictive- is the main focus of the film, particularly the effect it has on the ambitious but delicate Little Edie.

If I wanted to make theme food, it would been along the lines of cat-food or ice cream, so instead we decided on the following:
-Stuffed mushrooms
-Tropical Sliders- with veggie burgers, pineapple, and mango ketchup
-rosemary french fries
-and for dessert, apple turnovers (from your grocer's freezer).


The Stuffed Mushrooms were de-stemmed and brushed with olive oil. Then I heated some shallots and leeks in a pan with oil until translucent, sprinkling liberally with salt and pepper. Finally I tossed in some breadcrumbs and cooked 2 minutes more, then dropped tablespoon-fulls into the mushrooms. They were cooked 15 minutes at 450 (I think...).


For the tropical sliders, I made the "mango ketchup" from the Candle Cafe cookbook. I used a cleaned out coconut milk can to cut the buns into little circles, and grilled pineapple and burgers for them. And they were so good, although the mango ketchup didn't totally knock me out. Next time I'll try making my own rolls I think...

Anyways, we ate everything too fast to get pix of the rest, but the HBO version definitely lived up to my expectations (while not surpassing the documentary, of course) and the food did as well. And I have this newfound obsession with scarves...

Song of the Day: Rufus Wainwright- Grey Gardens

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

Next year in Jerusalem!

Hope everyone is in the midst of a good Pesach or a happy Easter, or like me, both! I tried out a couple new recipes this year and was very pleased with the result, so this is a recipe heavy entry, at least where my blog is concerned.

Passover is a very special holiday to me, because its the first Jewish holiday I celebrated when I started to get in touch with my spiritual side (if you will) a few years back. That year, I actually went out and bought the materials for my own seder and had a little solo dinner- with a beet root subbing for the lamb shank and a parsnip for the egg. :) I knew that if I found it meaningful and exciting on my own, that I would really like it once I had some others, be it family or friends, to celebrate with.

Since that year I've hosted my own seder for 13 people, and had other years where, for whatever reason, I found myself pretty much on my own. But luckily this year I had no need to celebrate solo! My friend Karen had a seder at her house along with her fabulous roommates. I offered to make the charoset (an apple-nut mixture which is used on the Seder plate) and to bring a few vegan options. I decided to make the Cauliflower-Leek Kugel from VWAV and also to try to veganize some coconut macaroons, one of my fave desserts from years past. 

                       Vegan Macaroons alongside other goodies

I thought they turned out pretty decently, so here's the recipe.

*******************************************************************************

Passover Macaroons

1 Bag coconut (in the baking aisle)

6 T sugar

1  T arrowroot flour

2-3 egg replacer eggs (Ener-G brand works for me)

1 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix together coconut and sugar. Toss together w/ arrowroot.

2. Add in wet ingredients and mix well with your hands. 

3. Drop by the tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake until slightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Let them sit for a few minutes before carefully putting them to cool on a cookie sheet. (This is the part where they tend to fall apart, so use caution!)

************

At any rate, Karen's Seder went off, relatively, without a hitch. One of the cool things about Passover is that its a holiday that doesn't merely venerate the past, but rather asks participants to think about the present. In what forms does slavery still exist in the modern world, and what have we done in the past year to eradicate it? For me, in addition to being a sobering reminder about human trafficking and child soldiers, this always brings animals to mind. To look at our actions, it would appear that we consider animals objects who only exist to serve our needs and have no other purpose in life. Vegetarianism is a great way to reverse this treatment, but around Passover I always try to think about other ways to help the fight for animal liberation.  

But aside from philosophical considerations, its always nice to eat a big dinner with friends. And my charoset, a mixture of apples, walnuts, kosher wine, and figs (my secret ingredient!) went over great as well. So what if Karen and I kept the drinking going far past the proscribed 4 glasses with dinner...

I got to have a second holiday supper today, since part of my family celebrates Easter and part celebrates Passover. So tonight we had a sort-of Passover-friendly Easter dinner, and I took the opportunity to jazz up the kugel I served on wednesday and try out another dish I've been gunning for lately (with, you guessed it, beets.)

You see, I felt the cauliflower leek kugel, as is, is a bit bland for my tastes. I think its because I'm not so keen on dill, which is the main flavoring. So I changed it up a bit, and here's my new version, with mad props to both Isa and Bon Appetit (the source of the non vegan recipe.)
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Cauliflower-Leek-Mushroom Kugel with Herb Crust

2 small heads cauliflower, cut into smallish pieces

3 (egg-free) matzohs

2 leeks, white parts only, well-rinsed

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

3/4 C. mushrooms, sliced

1 container silken tofu

1/2 C. almonds

1 tsp. agave nectar

Parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, cook cauliflower about 10 minutes, or until soft. When done, drain and put in a large bowl- mash it up!

2. While cauliflower is cooking, crumble up two of the matzohs into the food processor and grind into bread crumb consistency. Set aside. Then empty the silken tofu into the food processor and liquefy until creamy. Once the cauliflower is mashed, add the tofu and bread crumbs, using your hands to combine.

3. In a large saute pan, heat some olive oil over medium low heat. Add in garlic, sliced leeks, and onions. Cook until onions are transparent. Next, add in mushrooms, and cook 3-5 minutes more. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. 

4. Add leek-mushroom mixture into cauliflower mixture, combining with your hands. (You could put a little more salt and pepper in at this point if you wish.) Pour the whole thing into a lightly oiled casserole dish.

5. Now, for the topping: chop almonds coarsely and put into a bowl. Crumble the third matzoh in there with them. Then, chop a good amount of parsley (maybe a third a cup) and add that in there as well. Drizzle with olive oil and 1 tsp. agave nectar, and mix it up with your hands. Sprinkle this mixture over the casserole until it is covered.

6. Cook for about 40 minutes and let stand a few minutes before serving. :)

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This last dish has no symbolic meaning for Pesach or Easter, but I saw some delicious looking golden beets at the grocery store the other day and I.... I just couldn't help myself. I was inspired to try a walnut dressing from Mark Bittman's preparation in the Times last month, and this turned out just great. Basically, roasted beets are coated in a simple dressing of walnuts, roasted garlic and olive oil, to which I added a little bit of lemon juice and agave nectar. It turned out fabulous.

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Roasted Beets with Walnut-Garlic Dressing

1/4 C. Olive Oil

5-6 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 C. walnuts

Juice from one lemon

1 T. Agave nectar, or 1 T brown sugar

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in whole garlic cloves, and let them roast until browned on all sides.

2. Add in walnuts and cook a few minutes longer, until lightly browned.

3. Remove from heat and wait a few minutes before adding to a small food processor. Add in lemon juice, agave or brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Grind until no large pieces remain.

4. Toss with chopped beats and serve at room temp. YUM! (This is also nice over mixed greens for the leftovers.)

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I hope everybody's holiday was as fun and full of leftovers as mine was! 

Song of the Day: Metric- Gimme Sympathy

ATL-iens

                                A gas-station fruit stand On Ponce de Leon Avenue

While the rest of the East Coast (including the lovely Jessy!) was enjoying the Cherry Blossom festival in my hometown, I dodged traffic and allergies by taking a short trip to Atlanta to see some of my best friends from college. I have to say that I love Atlanta more than almost any place on earth- its funky, diverse, full of weirdos from all over, and spilling out all over with its own brand of music, art, fashion and food. This weekend I was thrilled to see some of my favorite people and places... and not that much has changed since I lived there!

Cabbage-town, home to delicious food and lots of dogs and chickens


When I arrived, my pal B. and her shy and retiring girlfriend Kiki (hehe) met me fresh off the MARTA and carted me off to the awesome East Atlanta Village taqueria, Cantina La Casita. The menu here has expanded a bit since the last time I was there, but they still have awesome guacamole and salsa, killer mushroom tacos, and a new treat: peanut butter plaintain tacos. They also have a variety of tamales and other options. (And did I mention margaritas?) We happened to be there on trivia night: did you know  that Australia has no active volcanos? (Me neither!)

The next day, while my hosts were at work, I met my darling friend Maggie to hike around and find sustenance. Atlanta is many things, but its not particularly friendly to people with no wheels. No matter though, since most of the things we wanted to check out were in walking distance. We had lunch at the less-vegan-friendly-than-I remembered Radial on Dekalb ave, got coffee at Java Monkey (which also has delicious vegan rasberry-fudge cake), and much later a few beers at Twains, all in my college-aged haunt Decatur (properly pronounced "DeeKaaaaaayter".)

                                           Yours truly at Twain's in Decatur

While we were pretty tame our first night all together, the second evening we had a little retro-style dancing and debauchery in mind. So of course we hit up the Cabbagetown favorite 97 Estoria, location of a variety of scandalous evenings in our past, and also home to some damn good food and beer. I got the vegan riblet sandwich with caramelized onions on ciabatta bread, while my girls split the awesome falafel sandwich.

The music was rocking at Estoria, but for oldtime's sake we had to head over to MJQ, a converted underground parking lot that often has the best dance party in Atlanta, if you can catch it on a good night. Sometimes its just riddled with hipsters and the music sucks, but we had decent luck, and it was pretty much hilarious to see my rather strait-laced, adulty friend B. transform into her wild college-era self, dancing for hours and beating off the boys that flock to her like flies to honey. A real heartbreaker on the dancefloor, that one. :)

Nursing a hangover we headed out the next morning to one of my all-time fave's: Ria's Bluebird, on Memorial ave in spitting distance of the cemetary. This brunch-heaven has inspired plenty of my own breakfasts since I moved away, so it was great to experience the original! I got the "bionic breakfast"- a vegan hash packed with potatoes, mushrooms, corn, sprouts, and a killer spicy tofu sauce. I think this breakfast gave me super-powers.... if only I could have it every weekend!                    

There are also plenty of other vegan options, 

including a killer tofu scramble and options for subbing tofu for eggs in other recipes.

                                 Bionic Breakfast at Ria's Bluebird in Grant Park

Aside from visiting a handful of my favorite institutions, I was also lucky enough to experience some of B's own delicious cooking: Oat- pecan pancakes with berries and bananas. Here's the recipe, courtesy of B!:
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B's Vegan Oat Nut Pancakes

Serves 4.

3/4 c. white flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. cinnamon & nutmeg, each
1/4 c. toasted & chopped walnuts (or pecans!)
1/4 c. quick-cooking oats
1 1/3 c. soy milk (vanilla is good)
1 T. veggie oil
1 tsp. maple syrup

Mix wet. Mix dry and add the wet to the dry. As a bonus, caramelize some bananas or apples, or spread the pancakes with PB (the one time I'll eat PB any way other than straight out of the jar). I adjust the spices and baking powder according to my taste that morning, so if you want 'em fluffier and spicier, add a little extra.
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I was so happy to be able to even briefly hit up my Atlanta before the end-of-semester madness really kicks in. And now I'm looking forward to a few weeks free of traveling and/ or visitors to get my act together and finish up this law school bullshit!

Song of the Day: Lil' Mama- Lip gloss