Still Around and Great News

Hi, sorry for my disappearance there! For a few days I was busy 24/7, doing some single parenting while Tony was on a business trip. And honestly since he got back, I've been on pins and needles waiting to hear about something...which I can share with you now, and will in a minute...anyway I was too nervous to do much cooking, let alone blogging. But I've calmed down now, enough to share some news, and of course some food pics.

First, my big news -- we are moving back to Texas! That was the nature of Tony's trip last week. Well, he nailed his interview and is starting a new job next month! We are SO excited. I've talked a little bit before about how we ended up in New York. It's never been a good fit for us and we've always considered Austin our home. And in a few weeks, we are going home!

We are just beginning our planning process of how we are actually going to move two adults, two babies, a dog, and all our stuff over 1800 miles. The rest of this month is going to be insane and stressful, but a good kind of stress, because our dream of the past year and a half is coming true. 

So in between getting estimates for moving vans, I'm de-stressing by spending time in the kitchen...

First, my latest Urban Vegan tester -- Irish soda bread. A nice crusty, dense loaf, tastes great with margarine and jam or agave. As the name implies, soda bread gets its rising ability from baking soda rather than yeast. So you do not have to allow an hour for the yeast to do its work. Just mix it up and stick it right in the oven. So easy.

Our local health food store expanded over the winter, and now has a full bakery and deli. While I was checking out the new design, these tofu chicken fingers caught my eye. I don't often buy pre-made treats like this, but it was one of those times I was too nervous to cook.

I made an agave-mustard dip for them. They were kind of bland. Just a reminder that homemade is usually better!

Cajun-spiced Po'Boys from Vegan on the Cheap. Creole seasoned seitan, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard, Veganaise and pickled jalapenos. Yum! The seitan recipe was also from VotC.  It's not my favorite seitan...it had a slight grittiness to it...but it makes two pounds for super cheap. It always surprises me when I see expensive pre-made seitan is. At my health food store it's $4 for 8 oz. I didn't work out the exact cost of this seitan but it was far less, and so easy to make.

Next up, Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut Kale Pasta from La Dolce Vegan. Many of my favorite recipes come from this cookbook. I actually have a recipe published in it, too. Woo! Anyway, this was one I hadn't tried. Man, is it good! You cook the kale in tomato juice and it has such a great texture. . So perfect and easy.

Finally, Wolffie's BLT Casserole, also from La Dolce Vegan.  Yes, I adore BLT sandwiches so much that I sometimes like to eat them in casserole form. However, we have a strong superstition about this casserole in our home. You see, every time I've made it, Tony and I have gotten in a fight.  Not a fight about the casserole -- we both think it tastes great. Just some unrelated argument.  

Oh casserole, what evil powers do you contain?

We were sure that this time, the spell could be broken. We ate our casserole and, to our relief, we did not fight that night.  But...we did fight the next day. Nooooo! It must have been the leftover piece in the fridge. Even a single piece holds enough bad juju to make us fight. Couldn't have been any other reason, ha!

Luckily we made up quickly and everyone was in good spirits to celebrate Olivia's first birthday! Which I will have to get to tomorrow, since it's time to go to a dentist appointment. Fun!

I hope you guys are all doing well.  Any good news, funny food superstitions, or other randomness you want to share? It is good to be back. See you tomorrow!