Recent Projects: January and February

SWAP UPDATE:  If you are still interested in joining in on the Feb. swap, be sure to sign-up by tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 18).  I will mail out addresses on Saturday!

January:

 

A woman at work knits tons of hats on knitting looms.  We bought several sets of looms for the teen department (at the library) and she shared her expertise with many interested teens (as well as some intrigued staff members ;).  After completion, I gave this to the lovely Ruth.  For those who don't know, Ruth is an amazing friend of mine.  She is 91 and the mom of my Aunt Jo.  I am fortunate to hang out with her and her sister, Edna, once a week.  If you think that the later years of life are only a time for slumber and laziness, these two ladies could show you a thing or two!

Here's the loom, hook and hat:

February:
Bookmark for February bookmark swap on goodreads.  This one was inspired by a recent YA book read via audio, Before I Fall. 

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A Busy Week

Wow, I really didn't mean to go so long without posting, but it's been a busy week for me.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but I work part-time and usually have plenty of free time or at least, time available for other things.  Last weekend was the Lawn and Garden show in town which was fun.  I went to another gardening seminar at the library, this one by Ruell Chappel, which was very inspiring :)  And then I've been working every day this week, so that I can head out of town for a Jazz Festival at Truman State (where I graduated from).  I'm pretty excited.  When I was still living in Kirksville (working at the rehab) I made a point to stay away from campus because I had become so tired of school.  But now that I've been away for awhile and since I haven't seen some of these friends for years now, it will be quite nice I think.  Plus it's always nice to hear some good jazz.  I was a music major and this is kind of an unofficial time for music alum.

I promise there will be more food coming next week.  The posts of Intrigue will no longer be a weekly post because I don't think I can keep up with that, but as I've mentioned before I discover so many wonderful things through other blogs and sites that it is important to me to recognize them.  Actually, that's the reason this isn't a food post because I want to catch up on everyone else's blogs ;)

A few pics for fun (and though I now have an account, none of these are on Flickr - YET!):

Adam & me

Jordan said the hat was too big!

But it looked fine to me :)

Oh well!  It happily belongs to my parents now.  Next time I won't make an expert guess at such a novice level, haha.  I guess that's how we learn, though!

Tofu Benny and my second hat

 

If you don't own Vegan Brunch, you should find access!  Try requesting it at your local library if it's not a good time to buy it or borrow it from a friend (if you're lucky enough to live near many vegans).  Every single image looks amazing.  Seriously.  I remember discovering scrambled tofu, VwaV style, and realizing that we could have homestyle vegan breakfasts that matched our omnivore days.  What a delight!  I am a breakfast lover, which means that there is rarely a time that it doesn't sound good :)

Now, let's take it to the next level.  We once made the Greek Tofu Benedict from Veganomicon, which turned out quite nice, served up with a tahini dill sauce, tomato, and olives with a side of fried potatoes.  It was actually my first "benedict" and a good experience.  When I asked Adam what he would like to celebrate his 3rd Veganversary (which was actually in January) he wanted Tofu Benny from Vegan Brunch (one of the incentives for gifting it to me at Christmas) and I was happy to oblige.  We've talked about making English Muffins for sometime and this seemed like the perfect time to start.  We made the English muffins in the book, using spelt flour and they were great.  Just as good as the store and we know all of the ingredients without spending $5 for the "good stuff."  The only other changes to the English muffins that we made were coconut oil instead of margarine and we did not add sugar to the yeast.  For the tofu marinade the only thing I substituted was apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar, which worked out fine.  For the Hollandaise sauce I used lime juice instead of lemon and apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar.  All of these changes were made to accommodate what we had on hand.

These babies were served up with Breakfast Sausages that I mentioned in yesterday's post and a little spinach and raisin salad on the side.  Delicious!  I highly recommend this recipe.  The tofu had a wonderful texture and the Hollandaise tasted amazing!  Strangely, the texture of the Hollandaise sauce really reminded me of egg yolk.  Has anyone else had this experience?

And, how about a pic of my second completed hat?

This was meant for Jordan (my brother), but was a bit bigger than he wanted.  For some reason I had decided to add a few stitches misunderstanding what the yarn was capable of!  But, I will say that I am very proud of how smooth the top turned out compared to the last (which you can't really see in this picture).  And my parents were quite happy to receive it, so all is well!

I plan to start a Flickr account soon and then you can see each of us styling it if you choose :)

Something Simple

It seems easy to spend hours in the kitchen, especially when trying a new recipe.  You don't want to miss a step and want to put all the pieces together to test out someone else's discovery and learn something new.  Though, I enjoy such things, I feel there is nothing quite like looking at the things you have on hand and putting those to good use.  This could almost be a Pantry Raid-type entry.  The difference is my pantry raids usually start as a frantic "what the hell are we going to eat tonight?" until I open a magical door or two in the kitchen and realize that we will survive.  With these meals I had a vague idea of something I wanted to use and went from there.  All of these were quick and easy, and most likely involved some sort of leftover from another meal (seitan, falafel, rice, etc.).

Creamy Seitan and Rice

2-3 c. seitan
10-12 oz. tomatoes (feel free to use more!)
ground bl. pepper
red pepper flakes
paprika

Rice (mixed with margarine and tamari)

 For this dish, I sauteed an onion for about 3 min.  Then tossed in seitan to brown.  Once it was to my liking, I added in the rest of a 28 oz. can of tomatoes (probably 10-12 oz.).  Once the rice was done cooking I mixed in tamari and margarine.  This was then thrown in with the rest and mixed up.  I think I threw on some other spices, like paprika, pepper and red pepper flakes.  But, this is one of those things that will change each time you make it anyway.;)  Top with nutritional yeast and that's it!

Cannellini Sausages, Veggies and Rice 

If you haven't made Vegan Dad's Breakfast Sausages, you should!  He is probably the Master of vegan faux meats.  We have made these numerous times and love them!  Usually I make them the size described in the recipe, ping-pong balls stretched out.  But we decided to make them larger yesterday for some Tofu Bennies (from Vegan Brunch).

2 large cannellini bean sausages, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/3 head of cabbage, sliced in 2 in. pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 handfuls of spinach
fresh ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
rosemary
coriander
water
rice

After heating skillet with a little oil, brown sausages.  Remove sausages from the pan and set aside.  Toss in onion, carrot and cabbage.  Saute for about 7 min., tossing in the garlic for the last minute.  Add sausage, spinach and spices.  After mixing, add 1-2 cups of water for cooking and to create a thin sauce.  Allow to simmer for 15 min. or so, until carrots have softened.  Mix in rice and it's ready to serve.

I may have forgotten some spices, so if I think of them I will update.  But throw on whatever sounds good to you! 

DIY Stitch Markers

Today I was determined to finish knitting a hat, but needed stitch markers.  The last ones I cut up from a thin piece of cardboard fell apart and since the yarn shop is closed today (and I didn't want to go to one of the BIG stores), it was up to me.  I've seen some fairly simple looking homemade markers that use jewelry making materials, but I wanted something quick (a bit anxious to finish!).  So, first I posted on Ravelry boards to try to avoid an hour of searching (which is what I do, constantly looking for another idea).  After an hour of no results (impatient), I looked up some ideas.  I found this idea to use leftover yarn pieces and was hooked.  But then, skimming through a craft box I found some metallic pipe cleaners.  These were super easy, a real cut and bend procedure.  One thing about these, though, is that they strip off a bit as you knit, leaving behind little bits of shine in the project.  So, maybe not the best option, but they worked today and I am pleased :)  I will post a pic. soon!

Want a free cookbook? (and more)

This could be yours:

To get your copy head over to Vegan Family Style! Even if you have a copy of this book this blog is worth a visit. I just stopped by in the midst of my hitting familiar and new blogs adventure and am very glad I did! Recent entries include: raw desert, orange pudding cupcakes and green smoothies.

It's wild. I've been to so many blogs the last couple of years and sampled many recipes, but I just didn't really interact. Crossing that line still feels a little strange. But believe me, I'm quite anxious to get involved in the online vegan world. I haven't had many vegan friends and it seems wonderful to have this whole community available.

So, next up my first hat! I'm pretty psyched because I'm not great about finish projects unless it is some sort of assignment, like for work, school or perhaps a gift. I started knitting recently (actually this was a second go at knitting) and I finally completed something! Now I'm ready to begin a new project or two.

Eats and Drink of the day:

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast cookies (VCIVCJ)

First attempt from VCIYCJ! I'm very excited about this book. Just flipping through, every pic is absolutely amazing. Today I had to try something. We had a couple of very ripe bananas, so that was a start. I chose the recipe for Banana Oatmeal Breakfast cookies. Going
with the things we already had: I substituted pecans for walnuts. I didn't have quite enough oats, but threw in some pumpkin seeds. We didn't have dried cranberries, but I look forward to trying it with these next time! Despite the changes they still seemed wonderful and I'm excited to try the rest! This recipe already uses brown rice syrup and agave, so there was no need for a sugar substitute.

Falafel Reubens

With toppings minus thousand island.










After toasting with mixed green salad.







Chickpea Cutlets (VWAV) and gravy, roasted brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes

A tasty dinner with Chickpea cutlets covered in shiitake gravy, roasted brussel sprouts and potatoes. The brussel sprouts were seasoned with oil, garlic and salt. The potatoes were seasoned with oil, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, rosemary, coriander, oregano and lemon juice. Thanks to the lemon juice and coriander combo these were slightly tangy and delicious!

Brews in Review

Well, Adam has been working at a local liquor store for the past 6 months or so. He just recently got a job at the library and will no longer be there, so we are taking advantage of the discount while we still can :) Tonight he brought home a 6 pack of Tripple (New Belguim) and one tall pint plus 6 oz. of Deep Enders Dark Porter (Anderson Valley).

Tripple wasn't bad. I don't really have a lot to say about this one, it was decent. I will say that New Belguim Brewing Co. is known to be a very sustainable crew, so that's a good thing. Not to mention they put out a fine line of beers.

Now the Deep Enders Dark Porter. Oh, this was wonderful. This beer had a wonderful clean, smooth dark malty taste. The maltiness was not overwhelming, but just enough to add a little sweet tang. Another great thing about these guys? Solar powered! I highly recommend this beer! Lucky for us, Adam will be able to get a 12 pack of these babies for $22 :) Those will definitely last us awhile!