| Books Read in 2009 |
[31 Dec 2009|12:44pm] |
January: I can't believe I didn't finish a single book in January!
Feb. 6: World War Z, Max Brooks
Feb. 15: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
Feb. 28: Personal Velocity, by Rebecca Miller
Mar. 18: The Revolution of Little Girls, by Blanche McCrary Boyd
Mar. 21: sTORI Telling, by Tori Spelling
Apr. 5: Carrying Water as a Way of Life: A Homesteaders History, by Linda Tatelbaum
Apr. 7: Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure, by Sarah Macdonald
May 12: Miss Wyoming, by Douglas Coupland
May 20: Blindness, by Jose Saragamo
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| Stewed Tofu and Potato in Miso Gravy |
[07 May 2009|05:47pm] |
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Another hit from Vegan with a Vengeance! We've been having a lot of rain here lately, and I was craving something hearty and warm and comforting. This completely fit the bill! I used Yukon Gold potatoes, since they're waxier than my beloved Maine potatoes, and I thought they'd stand up better to a half hour of simmering. The gravy is rich and somehow buttery. I served it over rice to make sure I got every last drop of the gravy. It froze really well, too. I've been eating it for lunch all this week.
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| Curried Tempeh-Mango Sammiches |
[07 May 2009|05:23pm] |
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I was looking for a recipe that used mango, and remembered this one from Vegan with a Vengeance. I have to admit though, this is not vegan. I can't stand mayonnaise in any form, so the Vegannaise the recipe called for was right out. I subbed in some Greek yogurt, since I knew it was the same consistency as mayo. The sweetness of the mango is the perfect balance for the tart dressing, and the tempeh gives the whole thing a nice texture. And of course I'm a sucker for curry. Aside from the mayo subbing, I made the recipe as written, and used a lavash bread with flax. I have a feeling I'm going to be eating this all summer!
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| Couscous with Corn and Black Beans |
[26 Apr 2009|05:50pm] |
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It's been blissfully warm here the last couple of days, so my mind has been turning to quick, light salads for dinner. This one might be the quickest recipe I have. It comes together in no more than ten minutes, requires no chopping or dicing (I snipped the herbs with scissors), and doesn't even really require cooking! I heated the water for the couscous in the kettle, and poured it over the dry pasta right in the same bowl I used to mix the salad! I know this is going to taste even better tomorrow for lunch, when the flavors have had all night to meld.
Recipe here!
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| Coffee Cake |
[12 Apr 2009|05:58pm] |
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I found this recipe last week, and immediately thought of the cherry pie filling I've had in my pantry for about a year now. The original recipe is for Apple Pie Coffee Cake, from VeganYumYum. Since I used cherry instead, I subbed almond extract for the vanilla, and added a little cardamom to the topping (although I would have done that for any filling). The dough is very biscuit-like, and not too sweet. I might actually make my own pie filling next time (I have a good cobbler recipe in an old cookbook good for many kinds of fruit), so that the filling could be superflavorful to balance the (I hate to say) blandness of the dough. In this case, I don't mean bland as a bad thing... it's a nice, sweet, blank canvas. I'm imagining this with blueberry, peach, raspberry, mixed berry, strawberry... the possibilities are absolutely endless.
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| Jerk Seitan |
[12 Apr 2009|05:51pm] |
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Once again, Vegan with a Vengeance comes through with the delicious. This is another recipe I've had on my list for awhile. I'm working on a goal of cooking out of my pantry more, and was pleased to see I had all of the ingredients for this. Also, I got to use my blender again! The only thing I changed about this recipe is I had to leave out the green pepper, because I didn't have one. Oh! And I used chili powder instead of cayenne, because I'm a spice wimp. This was flavorful and delicious, and I think it would be excellent in a wrap, too. I can't wait to have it again tomorrow for lunch!
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| Hoppy Birthday! |
[12 Apr 2009|05:47pm] |
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Today was Mrs. Cooper's birthday, for which she always gets a special breakfast. This year was a salad with all of my favorite things: carrots (cut into coins), bananas, grapes, and raisins. Definitely not healthy for every day, but for once a year? She deserves it.
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| Snobby Joes |
[12 Apr 2009|05:44pm] |
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I've been meaning to try these for awhile, and last week when I was looking for a way to use up some naan, I happened to have all of the ingredients! This is the Snobby Joe recipe from the Veganomicon, and it is SO good. I used red pepper instead of green and extra maple syrup, but I love sweet stuff, so you might not want to do the same. A healthy dose of chili powder kept it zesty. This is a great weeknight supper, it came together very quickly.
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| Japanese Fried Tofu stir fry |
[28 Mar 2009|12:21pm] |
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I had some tofu at home that really needed to be used, but didn't really have enough to do most of the recipes I have (I had used part of the block for something else). Enter stir fry! I found a recipe on the PPK for a marinade/sauce for tofu, and picked up some vegetables to add to the mix. Oh, and also pineapple. I made 1.5 times the marinade recipe, and added some maple syrup and Asian chili sauce. I will absolutely make this again!
Recipe here!
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| Peanut Butter Cookies |
[28 Mar 2009|12:17pm] |
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One of my friends has moved far away, and for his birthday, I wanted to send him something really nice to remind him that the people at home love and miss him. Enter cookies! What I really love about this recipe, is it only makes a single batch of cookies, so after sending some to him, I didn't have a pile left over to conquer by myself.
Recipe here!
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| Tamarind Lentils |
[28 Mar 2009|12:13pm] |
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These are from the Veganomicon, borne from my desire to use up the tamarind the bought like a year and half ago for a recipe. These are crazy good! Sort of like baked beans, but they take a fraction of the time to cook, and they have a nice tang. I ate them by themselves, but they'd make a nice side, too.
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| Food Musings |
[09 Mar 2009|02:44pm] |
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So... I keep meaning to make the Curried Split Pea soup from Vegan with a Vengeance because the recipe makes A LOT and it'll fill my freezer for lunches for like six days. But... I also have about half a quart of soy milk in my fridge, and I don't drink soy milk. So I feel like I should do something with that. My pantry is pretty stocked with staples... onions, a couple sweet potatoes, canned tomatoes and paste, quinoa, pasta, nooch, peanut-canola-sesame-olive oils, frozen corn, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans.... none of this sounds like it goes together to me. Any suggestions? Maybe for something that makes a lot and uses soy milk?
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| Palak Paneer |
[03 Feb 2009|04:08am] |
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My favorite Indian dish is, well, anything really that involves paneer (homemade cheese), but especially palak paneer. I was having a serious craving for Indian food, but just couldn't get myself motivated to go out into the cold and pick up something from my local favorite restaurant. Why not stay warm at home and just make it myself? Ever since I saw that Whole Foods had paneer, I was waiting for the nerve to attempt this recipe. Once I actually looked up the recipe, I wonder why I waited so long.
I'm always a little intimidated when I want to try a new cuisine. There are new oils, spices, techniques necessary... so many opportunities to mess up or fall short. Surprisingly, I already had the spices I needed, I only needed vegetable oil, and I didn't need ghee! Ghe kinda sketches me out... shelf stable butter? I'll pass.
Anyway, despite the fact that I dirtied three pots and a frying pan, this was really easy, mostly requiring stirring and heating. I served it over plain old white rice, with a side of naan. I had this for leftovers for the next three nights, and still have two servings in my freezer to bring for lunch. I don't think I'll ever tire of it!
Recipe here.
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| Chickpea Noodle Soup |
[03 Feb 2009|04:02am] |
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I was feeling under the weather last week, and needed some soup. At the last minute, I changed my mind from grabbing that cold can of tomato soup, and realized I had all of the ingredients to make Chickpea Noodle Soup from the Veganomicon.
I made this before, and reported that the pepper was a little much, so I halved it this time with great results. I threw in some bok choy (I think this is my favorite vegetable), and added parsnips. I used linguine instead of soba, since there is no way I can finish a pot of soup by myself in one night.
Deeeeeeeeeeelicious!
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| 2008 Reading |
[31 Dec 2008|06:53pm] |
Jan. 9: Youth in Revolt, C.D. Payne
Jan. 31: Greasy Lake, by T.C. Boyle
Feb. 18: To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis
Mar. 10: The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
Mar. 23: The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Mar. 30: The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman
May 2: The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman
May 19: On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
May 21: The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris
June 29: The Word by Irving Wallace
June 30: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
July 4: The Exes by Pagan Kennedy
July 17: My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
July 24: Without: Poems by Donald Hall
Aug. 13: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Aug. 15: This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes
Sep. 12: Wild Ducks Flying Backward by Tom Robbins
Nov: A Hundred Little Hitlers by Elinor Lipman
Nov: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
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| Fitness |
[13 Nov 2008|01:28pm] |
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So... the past month or so, I've been trying out some jogging at the gym. I like it, but I can't run very far yet. Only ten minutes and then I'm wiped for the rest of my workout. I remembered reading about a running program where you start out gradually, and work up to a 5k. I found it! I'm pretty excited about it. I'd love to get to the point where I could run ten miles, without ending up with a beet red face perhaps. So, we'll see. I read there's a high dropout rate around week 4 (it's only a six week program), so my first goal is to make it past that. It'll be so nice to be able to take a nice jog outside in the spring!
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| Halloween 2008 |
[04 Nov 2008|01:17pm] |
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I guess I've been super busy lately. I don't FEEL like I have been, but clearly if I can't get on here once in awhile and say hi, I've got a lot going on.
I went to a Halloween party this year and had so much fun! This is a picture of me with my brother and sister. They didn't stay long, long enough for my brother to teach me the ways of Flip Cup, a game I had never even heard of before and am kind of obsessed with now. I was a zombie prom queen, and while I felt that my makeup was nice and subtle in person, I just look sick. And also, I didn't use enough blood. I was on the right track, I think... I ripped my dress using a fork to simulate a run through the woods, and used a bloodied hand to grab at the train on the back of it. I just skimped on the blood. Oh, well. Next year.
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| Meme! |
[15 Sep 2008|08:57pm] |
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mood |
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music |
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I am so watching Bridezilla. |
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1. Do you like blue cheese? Emphatically NO
2. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Yeah a few... hundred? Thousand? Not anymore.
3. Do you own a gun? Only one of the glue variety.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? We don't have Sonic here, and if we did, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't eat there.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Nah, I hardly ever go.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? LOVE veggie dogs. When I ate meat, I loved an all beef frank though. With cheese.
7. Favorite Christmas Song? So hard to say, because I LOVE Christmas music (there, I said it). I think it's I Wish You a Merry Christmas by Big Dee Irwin and Little Eva.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee
9. Can you do push ups? Sure. And not the girly kind, either.
10. What’s your favorite meal? It changes from day to day, but anything fried, or fish, or involving sweet potatoes and/or lots of butter is a sure winner.
11. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? The ring my BFF gave to me for my 30th.
12. Favorite hobby? Knitting.
13. Do you work with people who idolize you? This is going to sound conceited, but sometimes I think they kinda do.
14. Do you have A.D.D? No. Not even facetiously.
15. What’s one trait that you dislike about yourself? Right now? The 15 pounds I've gained in like four months. (See #10.)
16. Middle name? Lee
17. Name 3 thoughts at this moment. 1. Am I seriously going to have to Head Ref on Thursday? 2. How mean am I if the ratties don't get out to play tonight? 3. Is that a roll?
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. 1. margarine 2. milk 3. apple cider
19. What happened to #19? It put the bomp in the bomp a lomp a lomp.
20. Current worry right now? Head reffing on Thursday.
21. Current hate right now? This fucking PLAGUE OF FRUIT FLIES. Will I ever be able to have bananas again?
22. Favorite place to be? Curled up in bed.
23. How did you bring in New Years? I don't remember, but probably sleeping.
24. Where would you like to go? Abroad. Anywhere.
25. Name three people who will complete this? 1. Dunno 2. Maybe 3. You?
37. Best bed sheets as a child? SMURFS
38. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Aside from the scarring wound sustained when I was one, I guess the time last year that I got hit in the back with a softball.
39. Do you love where you live? It's alright.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 1
41. Who is your loudest friend? Erin has the loudest laugh.
42. How many dogs do you have? No doggies. :( But I do have six rats!
43. Does someone have a crush on you? No.
45. What is your favorite book? Three: 1. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis 2. Youth in Revolt, C.D. Payne 3. The Beggar Maid, Alice Munro
46. What is your favorite candy? I love candy.
47. What is your favorite sports team? My kickass kickball team. Also my softball team.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Aw, jeez. I don't know. Nothing sappy.
49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? Sleeping
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? Fuck! I hit Disable instead of Snooze!
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