Alaska, Long Beach

Occupations & Preoccupations

Oh my dear blog, how I have neglected you!  I have been preoccupied and occupied both enough to not take the time to write & record.  All apologies and at the same time, no apologies.  So after this little impromptu break you would think I would come back with something fabulous to say.  But no.  I am just going to show you the gift of vegetables I received from my grandmother's, caretaker's garden in the new bowl I purchased at the summer glass sale, here.  The sale is twice yearly at his studio and he sells off all last years work, along with insanely inexpensive seconds [pieces that have a little tiny bubble or some "imperfection" that is barely noticable to anyone but the artist].

His studio is incredible. Seriously.  And he lives on site with his wife and child in an aluminum trailer.  Glass blowing tends to be a real macho art and what is cool about this artist is that he takes a lot of female apprentices without any preferential treatment.  It is quite rare in this field.  If you have never had the honour of watching glass being blown, please find a studio demonstration near you to witness. 

Yes, my friends, veggies in a bowl.  And now back to my occupations and preoccupations.

Cheers!

Passover Once Again

Tonight is the first night of Passover and I am really looking forward to the Seder tonight.  I used to think it was absolutely dreadful but the older I get the more I love it.  I think what impresses me most is that the Seder we practice is about redemption from slavery & oppression, celebrating our freedom and reminding us that if only one person is enslaved no one is free.  Its a beautiful service that is anti-war, anti-slavery, anti-oppression, and pro-community and togetherness.  If you have never celebrated [go find a Jewish friend and do so] there is a part in the service where you go open the door to welcome in Elijah and remember that not everyone is as fortunate to have a wonderful dinner and hope that by this time next year there will be no starvation & poverty.  It sounds a bit hokey as I write it, but the sentiment is important.

I am making the exact same dish I made last year; I posted the recipe here.

I love gathering all the vegetables and making this dish, though I am tempted to add a bit more flavouring this year. 

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!  Time for me to get cooking!

Cheers!

Artichoke & Balance

I am sitting in a class on budgeting for grant proposals and have tuned out long enough to move money around in my bank accounts, send several emails, update contacts into my new phone, and now to post.  I am terribly productive in class when gossip websites, games, and car sites [my car is all but officially totaled and I need to buy a new one] are blocked out by the school's firewall.  Right as I was leaving work for class, I ran to the bathroom and managed to all but throw my phone directly in the toilet.  I didn't want to be driving without a phone so I ran into a mobile phone store and shelled out an unreasonable amount of money for a cheap & ugly little phone.  Ok it is not so bad, but I really liked my old phone.  So I have no one's numbers and... ok enough whining.  I just need a little perspective to feel better.  And a little comfort food.

I am posting a picture of my favourite comfort food and my favourite food overall.  Boiled artichokes and melted Earth Balance.  I just look at it and feel a little better.  I have been scolded for my artichoke cooking because I liked them over-boiled until they are practically mush and I don't grill them.  I love to make this, curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and watch a great movie. 

Here is my recipe for Hayley's Over-Boiled Artichokes & Earth Balance:

1. Wash several artichokes & cut off the stems near the base
2. I like to leave the tips on
3. Put artichokes in a large pot
4. Fill with water to cover
5. Boil until you can easily pierce the base with a fork
6. About 30+ minutes, the leaves should be falling off
7. I guess if you have a microwave melt a big bowl of Earth Balance
8. I put it in my in the toaster oven to melt because I don't have a microwave
9. Strain the artichokes, put on plate and enjoy!

Cheers all!

Potato Bake for Garlic Lovers

Here are the organic red potatoes before:

And here they are on their way into the oven:

Yum!  I adapted a recipe from How it All Vegan:

1. 4 Large Potatoes cut into cubes
2. Put in large baking dish
3. Cover in Garlic Olive Oil
4. Add tons of fresh garlic
5. Sprinkle with Cayenne Pepper
6. Sprinkle with Basil
7. Spray with Garlic Spray
8. Cover with Nutritional Yeast
9. Mix it all up
10. Bake until tender [done].

Notice there are 3 different garlic ingredients in this recipe, no exact measurements, and only 1 dish used; could there be a more perfect recipe?  It is in the oven right now smelling up my apartment and possibly the street.  I'll go out later and see how far I can smell the garlic.

In other news the laundry detergent worked beautifully and I have already worn some items washed with no "fragrancy" smells or rashes.  I think it is a keeper.  The only problem is that the soap gelled up pretty hard and is near impossible to get out of the bottle- I think next time I am going to add almost 2 times the water to soften it. 

A friend of T's is rarely ever home and never walks her dog- she usually calls T to walk him 3-4 times a week.  Today T couldn't do it so I had to and he is the freakin sweetest dog ever.  A little corgi with no tail and gentle eyes.  We took a long walk around the park after he went to the bathroom 6-8 times.  He doesn't like skateboarders though and chased one right off the sidewalk.  So cute; I think I might steal him from her... I still have her house keys...

Cheers all!

Sugartarian

This lovely apron was made by friends of mine and it is my favourite cooking apron "Put something exciting between your legs".  I do wish it had a pocket though.  I also discovered that I have a magnet box on my fridge that works as a great adjustable camera stand for self portraits of my lap as I stand against the cutting board. 

So what was I baking?  Cookies of course.  I have been on a single-minded quest to bake the ultimate chocolate chip cookies.  Ultimate vegan chocolate chip cookies.  So this badly lit and grainy picture was dinner [aside: I set my digital camera to "400" speed hence the grainy quality, and it seems strange that a digital camera setting would include film speed since there is no film.  Does this 400 refer to something else?  Does this actually make sense?]

Lately I have only wanted to eat super sugary foods all the time.  I have had cookies or ice cream for dinner every night this week.  I always have loved sugar, but lately it is all I want.  Strange.  Then last night at my weekly knitting group someone brought up an article they read lately about the vegan sugar tooth.  She couldn't remember much detail, but I was wondering if anyone has heard of this? 

Also, I have no idea what this site is, but they contacted me to use a few of my flickr photos for an article.  Take a look here.  It is almost like being published.  And I registered for another sewing class here, but this one I will actually attend.  I am so excited at finally learning how to work one of those machines. 

Cheers all!

Uno is the New Cool

Last night a friend and I went out, via bike, to eat and drink and play a little Uno.  We first hit up a taco stand joint where we both ordered the extra- yummy tofu tacos [yes Shari, this might be why I could never live in the South: tofu tacos. :) ] and we chatted for a bit.  Then we headed down to the Red Room [red walls, red lighting, red bar, etc.] for their giant mugs of cheap beer.  They are something like 32 ounces for $4.50.  I know.  Huge, cheap and by the time you get halfway through, warm.

We played several rounds of Uno sitting at the bar, but didn't get competitive until we put a little money on it.  Somewhere between $2 & $3 a game, but we never could decide on which.  Sadly I lost those games, and the double or nothing game too.   

It was fun and relaxing, and I think we might have started a new trend of Uno playing.  Soon all the punks at the bar, who were all interested in our game, will start carrying around their decks with them.  Next month when we do this again, I bet the bar will be packed with Uno players and maybe some serious competitions going on.  Anyway, at one point the bartender came over to us and something like, "You guys are totally nerding out, huh?".

Yes kid, nerd is the new hip.

Cheers!

Empanadas and Whine

It is the end of the semester and I have tons of homework including completely un-done term projects and looming final exams.  So did I touch any of that last night? Of course not, I made empanadas.  These are so easy and fun to make that I want to put everything into a dough-y pocket.  I bought pre-made dough and rolled it out into six little circles.  Then I browned veggie meat with onions and taco seasoning and put that on half of the circles, with some refried black beans.  I meant to put salsa inside, but forgot.  Then you just fold over the dough and seal it with a fork. I brushed some garlic olive oil on top and baked for 30 minutes or so until browned.  Yum!  I see endless possibilities!  Mango and cream cheese, tomato and cheese, seitan and broccoli.... 

Tonight I have class until 9:30 and about an hours drive home after that.  Then I need to wake up and drive to Arizona at 4am for my brother's graduation at 1pm.  Oy. Plus I have all the un-done homework listed above, and I took on extra work work (sure, I can manage the cafe!).  Oh and this morning T locked her keys in her car, infront of her ex-girlfriend's apartment.  Apparently she was feeding the dog. So I used my last AAA credit getting her car unlocked and was late for work.  Does this sound a bit like whining?  I hope so, because that's totally what it is. 

At least I had a great walk this morning.  And the piano tuner is here (at my work) so we all get treated to an hour or so of piano-ing.  It makes the place sound a bit like a horror film, with one key being hit repeatedly...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful anti-stressful week!

Yom Tov!

Tonight is the first night of Passover and I am making my first Passover dish, ever.  I am making the Vegetable Medley Kugel (Recipe below if anyone is interested) from the book, How it all Vegan.  It is all ready and sitting on the counter.  I am new to baking so this timing thing throws me off; how can you prepare and bake something so it is done exactly when you serve?  I don't get it; I was so worried about how this would turn out I started a few hours before I should, just in case.  But it looks perfect, uncooked.  Now I am getting nervous about burning it or something.  Oh the stress of cooking.... But at least this year I will have something to eat.

And I, of course, waited until today to do all the cleaning, so I only got to the fridge, kitchen floor and bathroom (I know there would be no chametz there [hopefully!] but I celebrate the symbolic cleaning ritual).  Plus I get a nice, glowing white fridge, and a glowing white bathroom floor, which the cats will promptly ruin by scattering litter all over the place.  I think that, today, they are in a contest of who can be the most annoying.  Just now they decided to take a break and nap a bit. 

Now off to shower and then the kugel is in the oven!  Happy Pesach! Yom Tov all!

Vegetable Medley Kugel:

4 matzos
2 cups zucchini, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
5-8 mushrooms, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 small onion, minced
splash of olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
egg replacer (to equal 2 eggs) [I used about 1 cup of whisked tofu to which I added garlic to]
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

preheat oven to 375 degrees. Break matzos into quarters and soak in a bowl of water until soft. Drain, but DO NOT squeeze dry. In a medium saucepan, saute the zucchini,carrots,mushrooms,broccoli, and onions in a splash of olive oil on medium-high heat until carrots are tender. Place the vegetables in a large casserole dish and add the stock, egg replacer, salt, and pepper, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the matzo, and bake for 20 minutes. Makes 2-4 servings.

Cupcakes

So before going to the dentist today I bake my first cupcakes ever.  And they are amazing!  I used the fancy Madagascar vanilla cake mix from Trader Joes, with soy milk, an egg replacer, and, of course, dark chocolate chips.  They are so freakin good. 

On a personal note, anyone who actually reads this might notice that all my cooking experiences are noted as being "for my first time".  That is because 2 months ago, I quit smoking after 13 years [ahhh! for some reason I get real emotional as I type this.  I think this is the first time I have written down that I quit and I the reality of it is hitting me.].  So to fill the time, and void, I have started baking, and well blogging, and power knitting, and reading, and eating, and anything else I can do to not miss smoking.  I made a huge life-transformation and little things, like cupcakes that look and taste like real cupcakes, completely thrill me in a completely new way.   I have gained a lot of weight, which is disappointing, but I really believe, almost know, that I will not smoke again.  So bring on the desserts!

Cookies

Today was totally and blissfully domestic.  I cleaned, shopped, and made a wonderful pasta lunch. I used brown rice noodles, organic marinara, spinach, garlic, hot sauce and dill (all from Trader Joe's- like there is anywhere else to shop)

After lunch I did something I have never done before, I baked cookies. I have made banana bread before, but that's it.  So I found a recipe online and set out to make the Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Though since I have been off the gluten for a few days, I used brown rice flour instead of the wheat flour, and I also substituted Earth Balance for the canola oil.  The cookies came out wonderful.  A little crumbly, but they were crunchy, goo-ey, and warm and for the first time baking cookies they were perfect.  Yay! My first cookies worked and they look and taste like real cookies!