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. :)

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

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.

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

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.)

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

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.
*****

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

Ich will curry essen!

Oh boy, its been a busy few weeks and its set to only get busier! I have been cooking occasionally, sure, but more often I've been gorging on lentils with celery root and pomengranate syrup alongside beets in walnut/ garlic dressing with blood oranges from this local pizza place across the street. Under $4, full of good health stuff (iron! potassium! vitamin c!) AND it allows me to continue reading the Emma Goldman autobiography that's been commanding my every spare moment. (Read it, it's amazing!)

However, there are a few recent creations worth note. First, my Mom and I attempted to recreate the Candle Cafe's awesome 'paradise pie' on a less time consuming scale. To the left is my brother consuming the result of our plotting. Rather than millet, we used quinoa (much quicker!) as a base, spread into an oiled casserole dish. Next, we put a layer of beans: black bean soup and a can of black beans, both drained, mixed with a little cumin and spread on top of the quinoa. Finally, some boiled sweet potatoes were mashed with a tablespoon of miso and generous sprinkling of cinnamon, and spread on top. The "pie" was baked at 350 for about 30 minutes, and topped with some good old mushroom gravy. Not quite as good as what you can get at that dear little vegan restaurant in NYC, but stlll quite delicious.


Adding to the generalized mayhem, my darling S. was in town from Berlin last week, prompting me to bake up a storm of cupcakes, breads and other sweets. Of course, being S., he ignored them all in favor of coffee and cigarettes. And of course, being T, I gobbled them all up. However, I was able to tempt him into eating one luscious gingerbread cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing. (From VCTOTW, naturally.) He was duly impressed, although I wasn't quite sure he understood what I meant by "wee-gan".

However, he proved me wrong! On Wednesday, after a ridiculously packed day including 3 classes and an intense mock-deposition, in which I had to convince some skeptical mock- lawyers that I was sexually harassed by an imaginary employer, I returned home to find an extremely relaxing scene: S. had cleaned up the apartment and cooked a home-made peanut curry, complete with carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and (gasp!) mock-chicken strips! From what I could ascertain, he liberally used peanut butter, soy-sauce, red pepper flakes, curry powder, and soy creamer. At any rate, it was delicious, all the more so because I didn't have to cook it. And soon my imaginary sexual harassment ordeal was just an imaginary memory...

So now S. is back in Berlin and I'm back into the thick of things... but he did leave behind a specially requested gift: Karl Marx's Das Kapital, in the original German, which I intend to translate into English, page by page. By the time I visit Berlin again in May I should be able to bore people with the important features of the commodity... in German! And maybe one of these days I'll attempt some good old German cooking as well... Although I think, for the moment, I'll be preoccupied with the upcoming passover feast.

Song of the Day: Of Montreal- The Autobiographical Grandpa

You know you've been veganized...

As I was enjoying my delicious and homey supper of mashed potatoes with spinach, mushrooms with leeks and thyme, and roasted brussels sprouts this week, I stopped for a moment and looked down in wonderment as two thoughts occurred to me:

1. This entirely-too-green meal might be a nice dinner for St. Patricks day- screw green eggs and ham!
2. Everything on my plate was something I would have considered deeply odd to eat a few years ago.

That's when it occurred to me... I had been veganized!

You see, when you first go vegan, there are a lot of foods that you havent been exposed to before, and it can be scary. You might just stick to fake chicken nuggets, cheese-less pizza, french fries, salads and spaghetti, like all the uninitiated. Then you start to venture a little further, frequenting health food stores, trying your hand at some muffins, maybe a stir fry and... even some baked tofu. Soon enough though, you find yourself eating, for every meal, things most people have never heard of or thought of... and loving it! It means you've been VEGANIZED! Symptoms:

-you think everything's better with nooch on it.
-you can instantly tell if the barista gave you regular milk instead of soymilk.
-you look at recipes with kale in them and think: "YUM!"
-"panko", "agar-agar" and "arrowroot" aren't nonsense words to you- they're in your pantry!
-you're deeply shocked that people still make non-vegan cupcakes.
-you know how to pronounce "quinoa" correctly.
-you prefer brown rice and whole wheat bread to their bleachy-white counterparts.
-you fight over the last green bean, and lust over brussels sprouts, beets, broccoli, and all those other veggies your childhood self turned your nose up at.
-to you, sweet potatoes and black beans go together like peanut butter and jelly.
-you are weirdly obsessed with oatmeal.
-you have agave nectar, maple syrup AND molasses in your pantry.
-why put white sugar in your coffee, when you have stevia/ succanat/or sugar in the raw to choose from?
-you can veganize almost any recipe (even one by Anthony Bourdain) in less than 3 steps.
-you can't remember a time when there wasn't a tub of Earth Balance and a bottle of Braggs in your fridge.
-the words "chocolate soymilk" are deeply meaningful to you.
-the words "chickpea gravy" cause a faraway look to appear in your eyes.

What's funny is, you don't have to be vegan to be "veganized"- I think the fact that my parents now suggest things like roasted beets, paradise pie, and penang tofu for dinner shows that they too have fallen victim. Who knows, with the prevalence of health conscious recipes online, and mainstream omnis who love vegan food like Mark Bittman, perhaps the whole world is on the verge of being veganized...

What are your symptoms?

Song of the Day: Titus Andronicus- Arms Against Atrophy

Miserable Spring Break

My so-called "Spring Break" in Columbia Heights

Ever heard that saying, "if you want to make G-d laugh, tell him your plans?" Absolutely could not be more true for my pitiful excuse for a Spring Break.

First, let me back up and say that Spring Break is cherished in a law student's year, not necessarily for the opportunity to travel to exotic locales and imbibe tropical drinks, but more often just for the much needed opportunity to catch up! I was excited about my break for the most mundane of reasons- I speculated I could study for the MPRE, start my outlining, and finish some job applications. How lame is that? Yet even those most soporific of plans could not be completed, because almost immediately I came down with the absolute WORST flu... and didn't recover until break was over and it was back to the grind. No studying, no progress, just 7 days of staring at the ceiling and choking down the occasional potato or bowl of oatmeal...

And to think, I had planned to make a different cookbook recipe every day last week! HA!

Directly prior to my gloomy illness, however, I got to partake in an extravagant vegan lunch at one of my favorite spots, Teaism. Teaism has been around forever, and is sort of a new-agey tea salon for posh people with a few locations around DC. They shill bubble teas, loose leaf teas, and various nibbles (including an ostrich burger, wtf?) and have sort of an Asian bent. And despite how yuppie and expensive it is, I find myself haunting there on those occasions that I have a very specific craving... their tofu bento box. Behold!

Now, as far as I know, this is the only vegan thing on the menu. But what a vegan thing it is! The box is stuffed with freshly steamed edamame, brown rice covered in gomashio, silky tofu in a ginger scallion soy sauce, and the best part- a sweet potato salad drenched in creamy miso dressing.

I have no idea if this is authentically Japanese, but it is the best combination of flavors and always makes me feel like I have a total protein buzz. If you happen to be in DC and heavy of pocket, definitely give it a shot.

Although I cannot vouch for its healing properties, since I immediately got the flu afterwards... oh well. Upon returning to school I found out that lots of others had this dread illness as well, so I'm hoping that none of you in blog-land were struck down in recent days! You probably weren't, because unlike me, you probably weren't heard bragging to your Mom the day before, "That's why everyone should go vegan. I NEVER get sick, like, EVER! I can't even remember the last time I've had a cold that lasted more than 2 days! Blah blah blah...." What a dumbass.

Oh well. Spring break may be over, but Spring is just around the corner! I can't wait!

Song of the Day: Neko Case- People Got a lot of Nerve

Sweet Things

I could care less if I have someone to spend it with, I love Valentines Day!

Sure, its a exploitative ploy by heartless capitalists to take advantage of our fragile emotions in the arena of relationships for profit, but.... chocolate! pink! flowers! Sorry, i love it. There is no other holiday that practically mandates champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. And well, even if you end up spending it with your parents (cough, cough) it can still be fun. Actually, maybe more fun...


I had the chance this week to make lots of sweet things... the delicious chocolate chip cookies from VWAV and agave nectar cupcakes from VCTOTW. I topped them with simple buttercream frosting and sliced strawberries, for a friend who is diabetic, but willing to indulge a little on her birthday. Both turned out absolutely perfectly , prompting the usual disbelieving "This is VEGAN?" remarks. How sweet...

Anyways, for the sake of Valentines Day, I would like to send a shout-out to three people that I'm sure would have been my Valentine if they knew I existed...

First, obviously, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who makes my life SO SWEET! Whether through cakes, brownies, cupcakes, cookies or delicious savory items, how could I live without the Goddess of Vegan Cooking and her tomes? I couldn't, and I don't want to try. A world without Isa is a world I don't want to envision. (And she's pretty adorable, too...)

And then there's the wonderfully witty Dan Savage, who's weekly sex column, Savage Love, is the first thing I flip to in the City Paper every week. Sure, he's dirty. But he is ALSO an incisive critic of all those opposed to gay rights, the first to point out political hypocrisy in sex-ed, and the first to tell you to DTMFA (dump the mother forking a$$hole) if someone is treating you as less then deserving of respect and satisfaction. And I love him for that, and would love to take him (and his partner) out for cupcakes and cocktails.

Finally, and I would like to say in advance that I am available for next year, the hilarious and adorable Ryan North, who's dinosaur comics rule my world. Ranging in subject matter from religion, philosophy, movie plots, politics and modern physics, North always makes me chuckle gleefully at his static dinosaur creations' antics. Plus, he's a redhead! *SWOON*!

At any rate, i hope that the above-mentioned, and all of you lovely bloggers, had a luscious and indulgent Valentines Day, whether with your dream date, your parents, or your lovely selves.

Song of the Day: Universal Heartbeat- Juliana Hatfield

Beta Carotene Buzz

My current late winter obsessions include:
-Vitamin D
-Jake and Amir
-The Dresden Dolls
-The Rocky Horror Picture Show
-Maritime Law
-Step Class
-Making valentines
.... and apparently, orange food.



Carrot-Ginger-Cashew Pasta
*This recipe is casual with portions, because it can easily be stretched. I usually use about 3 carrots and 2 handfuls cashews.


-Raw, unsalted cashews
-Carrots, peeled and chopped
-1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
-1" ginger root, peeled and sliced
-1/2 tbs agave nectar
-Braggs
-Whole wheat pasta
-Kale or swiss chard, loosely chopped

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for your pasta. Bring a small pot of water to boil for your veggies.
2. Using a steamer insert, put equal parts carrots and cashews, along with the garlic and ginger in a pot to steam. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and steam for about 5 minutes, or until carrots can easily be pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, cook desired amount of pasta.
3. (Carefully) add steamed veggies to food processor or blender. Add a dollop of olive oil, a splash of braggs, and agave nectar. Blend until smooth-ish.
4. Once pasta is al dente, pour over kale or chard. Then toss with carrot sauce, adding a tiny pasta water if desired.



Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage

-1 Butternut Squash, halved and de-seeded
-4 cloves garlic diced
-13 sage leaves, julienned (roll them up and run your knife through them)
-Olive oil
-Earth Balance
-1 small onion, diced
-1 c. Arborio Rice
-1 c. white wine
-4-6 c. vegetable broth

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Set up the prepared butternut squash in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Rub in with your hands, then sprinkle over about half the garlic, all the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Stick it in the oven. Then, get rest of ingredients ready.
2. After 30-45 minutes, or when squash is fork tender, remove from oven and let cool. When suitable to handle, scrape out squash in small clumps into a bowl. Drizzle any pan juices over top. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, melt 1 knob of earth balance along with 2 T EVOO at medium low. Add in the garlic and allow to cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add in the onion, stirring to coat. Cook until soft, about 3 more minutes. Then, season well with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, put the broth in a small saucepan and place over medium low or low heat.
5. Add the rice to the large pot and stir to coat for a minute or so. Then, add in the wine and raise the heat to medium. Stir until rice has absorbed the wine.
6. Now comes the portion of risotto-making called "ladle and stir." As in, ladle some of the warmed broth into the rice, and stir with a wooden spoon until it has been absorbed. This is going to continue until the rice has lost all of its crunch. If and when you run out of broth, use warmed water.
7. When rice is soft and each grain is encased in a creamy sauce, your risotto is ready! Stir in butternut squash, more salt and pepper if wished, cover and reduce heat to low. When ready to serve, stir one more time.


Song of the Day: Dresden Dolls- Night Reconnaissance
(Listen HERE)

Oldies but Goodies

I so dearly love reading cookbooks. Ever since I was a child, I loved to browse through my mother's collection while I sat and ate my Special K at the kitchen table. Flat bound bread machine cookbooks, thick Good Housekeeping compilations, glossy Martha Stewart tomes... I read them all cover to cover, even (especially!) the recipes I would never think of trying, like liver and onions. I loved to find the secret ingredients to big stews, or the kneading technique to the author's pizza dough. Similar to biographies (my other favorite reading material), cookbooks often tell you more about the author than the subject matter. How could you not wonder about the woman who drew the whimsical illustrations for the Moosewood Cookbook? Or the serene goddess who had time to whip up a loaf of cocoa nut bread for the kids, then wrap it in a towel as they head to the beach? Cookbooks, a lot like blogs, are a window into someone else's day- not the exciting love affairs or professional accomplishments, but the mundane stuff that fills in the gaps... which is also where a lot of life's small, personal pleasures derive from.

At any rate, I sometimes forget that cookbooks are also instructional, not just aspirational! I thought this week I would dig up some dog-eared recipes I have never tried from my treasure trove and see what I've been missing.

First up was Dreena Burton's The Everyday Vegan. Burton has come out with another cookbook at this point, but this is still my favorite. The tone is encouraging, not preachy, and she makes sure to point out that some people are simply looking to incorporate more healthy food into their diet, not defend animal rights, and that's also a perfectly valid reason for cooking vegan. She also includes a list of pantry essentials and health information for new vegans (all the hotspots- vitamin b, protein, ect.) And better still, she is oriented towards entertaining- she has menus and party ideas, along with quick meal tips. (I imagine this book is especially useful for people with small children.)

I've made a lot from this book but haven't checked it out in a while. This time, the Spicy Thai Stew was calling my name. Yams, carrots, peppers and onions in a spicy peanut sauce. Rather than add the chard into the stew, I wrapped it around it so I could tear off little pieces and make roll-ups... This was so good that my roomate was pissed at me for making a half-portion. Also, this recipe was super versatile- I could imagine using the same sauce with green beans, cauliflower, ect. If you have a jar of peanut butter and few veggies, you can make this. Yum.

The next cookbook I dusted off was my all-time favorite, The Garden of Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. This cookbook, like its predecessor, How it All Vegan is more like an all-around vegan handbook, packed with tips, crafts, and inspirational stories. There's even a section on college meals- when your only kitchen might be a dirty microwave down the hall from your dormroom. The recipes are generally pretty simple, but the carefully measured ingredients and spices ensure things come out suspiciously terrific.

I made the Dinner Crepes, thin delicate pancakes around a heady mixture of shallots, lentils, veggies and walnuts. This dinner, friends, was a glamorous affair. The filling was not at all difficult to put together, despite containing my achilles heel, lentils, and was so aromatic and satisfying. It seemed like just the thing you would eat at a cute french bistro with a glass of wine and a cute guy named Jacque.


The best part? Leftover crepes... to fill with bananas and sour cream, faux nutella, butter, brown sugar and almonds... have I mentioned I love crepes?

I plan to continue on my cookbook revival all week... I've still got some I've never ever cooked one thing from!

Song of the Day: Animal Collective- Daily Routine

Budapest-Inspired Strudel

Budapest has a thriving cafe culture that has lasted from the days of Austro-Hungarian empire, and wasn't touched by the double occupation. The number of beautiful (or sometimes decrepit) old coffee houses and "etterems" around Budapest is staggering, and quite of a few of them have some delicious little pastry on offer. The ones that tempted me were always layers of golden puff pastry encasing juicy sour cherries, slices of apple, or rich poppyseeds resembling millions of caviar. What could be more stylish to eat then one of those and a small cup of expresso?

Cafe Szimpla, in the Jewish Quarter

I decided to try my hand at the delicacy and gave it a shot using the recipe for "Black Forest" strudel from The Joy of Vegan Baking.(Although "Black Forest" stuff is usually German... oh well.) It turns out that making a strudel is a delicate process, but not at all time-consuming or difficult. You have to brush thin layers of thawed philo dough with soy-butter, then wrap them around your filling... and then a few minutes later, you have the world's best coffee accompaniment!


I can't wait to try this with other fillings (apple! sour cherries!) but I think I'll hold off on the intense poppyseed ones... for now.

In other news, did anyone see this story about a guy who got fired shortly after his boss found out he was a vegetarian? Apparently he called him a "vegetarian homo." Putting aside for the moment the legal questions here (most likely diet-based discrimination IS acceptable in the workplace under the law... ) I'd like to just point out how ridiculous it is that vegan/ veg men often get overly taunted for their diets. Eating meat does not make you a man. And making fun of other people for their humane lifestyle is such a sad way to hide your own insecurities.

Song of the Day: Golden Age- TV on the Radio