I haven’t written in a while.  It was a toss up between studying for exams and writing here, and, well, something had to fall by the wayside.  Then I moved house, with all the packing and unpacking that entails.  Let’s just say it’s been a busy month.

However, I’m all settled in now and I love my new house.  Why do I love it?  Let me count the ways…

First off, there’s a beautiful convection oven that is an absolute dream for baking cookies, muffins, breads…  After my horrible apartment sized oven and stove, it’s quite the revelation to bake on two shelves at the same time!  As you can see, I’ve been making use of it:

Carrot-Oatmeal muffins with chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, and pumpkin seeds (recipe from one of the Anne Lindsay Lighthearted Cookbooks).  They have a pleasantly firm texture, without being dense- the kind of muffin you can throw into a lunchbag and still enjoy later without it being reduced to soggy crumbs.

 Chocolate chip cookies (recipe from the back of the chip package- which I threw away and then went digging through mucky garbage for because they were really good cookies!)

Secondly, I love my house because I finally have a garden.  A lovely vegetable garden, with peas, beets, two different types of lettuce, potatoes, herbs (including mint, basil, thyme, rosemary, and chives), and rhubarb.  I have a couple stories to tell about that rhubarb (of which I will fondly refer to as Audrey III, the vegetative star of the cult classic “Little Shop of Horrors”.)  Anyways, it’s a beautiful feeling to go out just before dinner and pick some salad greens right out of the garden.  Five minutes out of the ground, the lettuce is tender and almost buttery on the tongue- a far cry from the wilted store bought heads that are so popular!

Black Bean Burgers from How it All Vegan (made with Romano beans and extra chopped up veggies- because you really can never have too many veggies!)  The bed of greens that it’s sitting on is composed of baby beet leaves (the beets needed thinning, and the leaves are edible) and fresh picked lettuce.  The sprouts on top come from my very own kitchen counter- who needs the overpriced supermarket ones?

Thirdly…the house has strawberry plants!  ‘Nuff said.

I have a new baby- no, not that kind of baby!  My baby is black and shiny, and nonstick.  My baby is Teflon.  And she is one sexy mama, grilling up all kinds of delectable vegetable and tofu wonderfulness in seconds (OK, minutes) flat.

For my lunch tomorrow, I fired up the pan and filled it with a delectable selectio of zucchini, asparagus, red peppers, and bok choy stems.   I served these grilled veggies on top of a bed of baby spinach, bok choy leaves, and chickpeas, and drizzled the lot with a homemade vinaigrette.  It was really hard not to devour the whole thing then and there!

It’s a dreary, dreary day outside.  After working inside for the last 3 or 4 days, when there was beautiful sunshine outside, I couldn’t face another day of yucky weather.  So, I made my own sunshine!

Rainy Day Waffles
1/2 cup oats (not instant)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp orange zest
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
 1/2 cup water, orange juice, or milk of your choice
1/4 banana

Blenderize all ingredients. In a sprayed frying pan over medium heat, cook until done. Top with raspberries and remaining banana, or syrup and trans-fat free margarine. Enjoy!

The terrifying trial by Tempeh…
Was totally terrific!

Oh, sorry!  I didn’t see you come in.

But let me tell you, I’m glad we’re alone.  I can tell that in a moment, you’ll be devouring me in a hot and hasty, elbows on the table and no holds barred feeding frenxy. 

Yup, I’m scrambled tofu.  Lashed with guacamole and spiked with zesty salsa, I’m one sexy pita.

You know you love me.

I’ve been reading a lot of Anthony Bourdain lately, and whatever anyone else says about him, I love reading his books because they put me in the mood to cook something, anything!  But what to make?  It wasn’t time for a meal, the freezer is already full of homemade bread and Apple-Cinnamon-Raison loaf…Aha! The cookie jar was empty!

This did, however present a perplexing problem to ponder.  Can’t make chocolate chippers, we just finished off a batch of those.  Can’t make anything too health-ish, or my siblings won’t eat it.  But we had half a jar of Nutella and a box of Rice Krispies…

Now, I’m sure that Mr. Bourdain must be rolling in his hypothetical grave (despite all he’s done, he’s still not quite dead yet and as such technically be buried) at this thought of horrific culinary sacrilige.  But then he’d be missing out, because these Chocolate Rice Krispy Squares from “How It All Vegan” are so damn good that I practically ate the pan, glass and all.  In my opinion, good food can be whatever the hell you want to be.  Even if it involves Nutella.

And had a one night stand, these Calzones would be their love child.  I’m not joking.
The filling is onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, and sundried tomatoes, mixed with tofu feta cheese, pizza sauce, and gooey mozzarella. A scrumptious combination, all hidden inside the golden crispy crust. Mmmm….

But I can’t take all the credit. This is another diamond from “The Garden of Vegan.” The only significant change I made from the recipe is to cook the vegetables lightly before hand and press the water out of them, because the only other time I made these, the vegetables steamed inside the crust & made it soggy. Now, though, I believe I have achieved perfection in the art (and consumption:) of these calzones.