No Scrambled Tofu, Just Scrambled Thoughts

Last night, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I laid in bed for a couple of hours and finally got up and started looking at house rentals on the computer. The babies weren't even stirring yet. Safe to say my mind is working overtime these days. In a month’s time we will be settled back in Austin. So crazy to think about. 

Although it has been stressful at times, the past year and a half has been a huge learning experience. I learned never to buy a condo when the market is about to take a nose dive! Ha. Seriously, I learned a lot about real estate. Should I ever want to buy again, I will know what to look for -- and watch out for -- in a realtor and in a property. I also learned that the grass is not always greener and realized how lucky I was to live in a city like Austin, which has so much to offer in terms of nice weather, music and art scene, friendly people, vegan-friendly dining, and activities for kids.  When I was attending college in Oklahoma, I always loved driving down to Austin to see bands play and hang out. I wanted to move there for a long time. It just took awhile to realize that dream. Once I got down there, I was so happy. But then we bought the condo and quickly discovered what a money pit it was (and how gross some of the other tenants were -- ugh, the stories I could tell!) Also, Tony and I were having a hard time, as I think a lot of couples do when they first become parents, and I wasn't loving my job, either. Put all that together and I was becoming quite the bitter little pill.

Who would have known that Tony losing his job was really a blessing?  We went through several months of thinking we were going to be foreclosed and our finances would be screwed forever.  And we had to move to upstate New York, an area I had never even thought about visiting. But in the end, it made me stronger. If I can pack up everything I own and move 2000 miles to a place where I have no family or friends, with a 1-year-old in tow, while extremely pregnant mind you, I can do just about anything and get through it. And that is a good thing to learn about yourself. 

We were able to sell the condo and get back on our feet financially. As much as I bitch about certain aspects of the East Coast (seriously, winter, I give up, you have beaten me, it's okay to retreat now), I'm thrilled that I got to visit Boston and Montreal, and of course all our day trips to New York City.  And now that this chapter of my life is coming to an end, I'm getting a second chance to appreciate all that is good about Texas, and raise my family there as I intended.

In less than three weeks, we're setting out on a road trip, stopping in Nashville and Memphis and I'm not sure where else along the way.  We are going to find a place to live once we get there. I've never done anything like that, just packed up and hit the road with no forwarding address. I can't wait.

So, uh, I guess this is a food blog, yes? Where does food come in? Well, I'm trying to use up stuff I have in my freezer and fridge. Dry goods can be packed and shipped. I hate to toss anything. So my meals might be sort of...interesting...for the next several days. 

Last night I made Moroccan Lentil Stew, from Vegan on the Cheap.

My slow cooker gave off a horrible burning smell as it started to heat up. You know when you turn on the heater in a motel room and you can tell it hasn't been used for awhile because it smells like burning dust? It was like that. I was pretty scared; I really didn't want to get electrocuted while making soup. But I turned it down to low for awhile and the smell went away. I'm not sure my 1970s crockpot will be making the move with me. Sorry, buddy.

I also made a huge batch of kale chips, using Averie's recipe. Best snack ever. Here they are ready to go in the oven. I don't have a dehydrator but the oven works fine.

Even though Olivia just got her two front teeth, for a grand total of four, she wants to eat everything she sees us eating. She loves to gnaw on the kale leaves until there's nothing left but a few soggy strands.

If you've gotten this far, thank you for reading my thoughts on moving and everything. Writing helps me clear my head. Have a great day!

Sag Paneer and Food Farewells

Hi guys, how was your weekend? Did you remember to set your clocks forward? We didn't! We did not realize it was Spring Forward until we noticed our clocks were messed up on Sunday morning. Good thing it wasn't a work day for Tony!  It's nice to have that extra hour of daylight in the evenings. Spring is really on the way now.

Saturday night, Tony and I stayed up late talking, planning our upcoming move. We are so excited, but we are trying to calm down and get organized. Today Tony finds out when his last day of work is at his current job. They are kind of being jerks about it. This attitude is just one reason why we are so ready to move! After he gets that straightened out, we can start scheduling the movers and everything else.

On Sunday we made a farewell trip to the cute, artsy town of Hudson. Full of little galleries and secondhand stores, we've always enjoyed our day trips to Hudson. And although we will have no shortage of Mexican restaurants to choose from in Austin, we wanted to eat one more time at Mexican Radio, where we've had so many tasty meals.

On one of our previous visits, Tony ordered the carne asada fries, which looked so good that I was inspired to make it at home.  This time I decided to try Mexican Radio's version for myself, veganized of course (they'll veganize pretty much anything on the menu.)  It was so perfect -- a bed of French fries covered with chunks of crispy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside seitan, and topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, and vegan cheese and crema.

While Jackson was helping me devour it, the waitress brought over some jalapeno ketchup to dip the fries in. Yum!

So long, Mexican Radio! We love you. P.S., I'm going to decorate my new house like you.

I also did a little home cooking over the weekend. My latest tester for the Urban Vegan was Sag Paneer with Dry-Fried Tofu. This is one of the top recipes I've tested so far. You guys are going to love her new book when it comes out. So many winners.

Sag paneer, if you don't know, is an Indian dish consisting of creamed spinach studded with cubes of cheese. It's usually quite rich. In one of his books, Anthony Bourdain notes that people are often disappointed when they try to recreate a restaurant meal. They just can't get it to taste the same. The reason, he says, is because they have no idea how much butter and cream are used in restaurant dishes. That is where the rich flavor comes from. I've found this true in the past when I've tried to cook Indian food at home. Even before I was vegan, I didn't want to invest in a jar of ghee (Indian clarified butter) or use heavy cream, so something was missing in the end result.

But I have to say, nothing is missing from this Sag Paneer. Vegan half and half adds the necessary richness without the cholesterol, and dry-fried tofu stands in for the cubes of cheese. I'd never browned tofu without using oil, but it works quite well when you use a nonstick pan. I had golden brown cubes of tofu in minutes with no added fat.

Roxanne recently shared a useful article with me --  a long list of vegan recipes that are especially appealing to kids. I'm definitely going to be making some of these dinners for my little dudes, so I thought I would share it with you guys, too.

Have a great day!

Olivia's Birthday

Olivia is one.

My serious, mysterious baby has grown into a giggly, happy little girl.

Don't let the smile fool you. She let us know early on that she was a tough cookie.

And she is definitely still the boss.

Jackson didn't know what to make of this new little creature at first.

Now he is pretty thrilled with her, especially when she shares cake with him.

Baby girl, I am so excited to watch you becoming this awesome little person. We love you more every day. Although we love to see every step of your development, there are some things about you that I never want to change.

 Your strong opinions

Your curiosity

Your infectious smile and laugh

Your love of learning

And playing

Your bravery in trying new things

Your reflective, thoughtful side

And most of all, your sweet, loving nature that makes you so lovable and amazing

Happy birthday Miss O!

The cake is Rene's Tomato Soup Cake with Vanilla Frosting from La Dolce Vegan. Tomato soup sounds bizarre in a cake, but you don't taste it. It just tastes like a spice cake. I used to really dig this cake, but this time it was too sweet for my taste.  I mean I know cake is supposed to be sweet, but it was like hurting my teeth.  It's been a couple years since I made it last. So I don't know if I did something different, or maybe my taste buds have changed. The important thing is that the kids loved it.  It was Olivia's first taste of cake and I think she's hooked now!

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!

Recipe Links and Menu Planning

Since I am still camera-less (Tony took it with him on a trip), I thought I would link to some recipes other bloggers have recently posted that look really awesome. I had these bookmarked and I hope I get around to trying them all eventually.

Philly "Cheese" Sandwich on Soft Pretzel Subs from Peas and Thank You
Beetroot Pepperoni from In the Mood for Noodles
Deep Dish Pizza from go vegan meow!
Tempeh Pepper Pasta Perfection from Irreverent Vegan
Buffalo Soy Curl Hot Pockets from Vegan Food Rocks
Tex Mex Avocado Pasta from Cook. Vegan. Lover.
Chocolate Cherry Oatbran Muffins from Veggie Prairie Girl
Kid-Tested Easy Peanut Noodles from Vegan Food, More Than Tofu and Sprouts!
Raw Chocolate Mint Pie from Sketch-Free Vegan Eating

And here are the meals I am planning to make next week. I usually make a menu every Thursday and go grocery shopping on Friday or Saturday. First I look through my cupboards to see if I need to use up anything. Then I sit down with one or two cookbooks and pull some recipes out. This time I used La Dolce Vegan and Vegan on the Cheap. After I have my menu, I make my grocery list.  That's how my mom always did it, and I have to say it's worked for me for years.

Fri. - Punkin' Pasta (LDV)
Sat. - Cheezy Mac with peas (VotC)
Sun. - Spicy Tomato Peanut Kale Pasta (LDV)
Mon. - Pizza and also bake Irish soda bread (Urban Vegan tester)
Tue. - BLT Casserole (LDV)
Wed. - Moroccan lentil soup (VotC)
Thu. - Cajun Seitan Po'Boys (VotC) , Tomato Soup Cake (LDV)
Fri - Sag paneer with dry-fried tofu (testers)

The Punkin' Pasta and BLT Casserole are old favorites that I haven't made in awhile. I'm really looking forward to trying the Po'Boys.

What upcoming meals are you excited about making?
Have you come across any mouth-watering recipes on other blogs lately?

Have a great weekend!

Midweek Eats

First, as usual, a couple of my latest testers for the Urban Vegan's new cookbook:

Ginger Tea

Substantial Mix-n-Match Salad

My salad contained romaine, roasted broccoli, lentils, raisins, slivered almonds, and horseradish dressing. Completely random based on what I had in my fridge.  I like that some of Dynise's recipes are more like suggestions. It's not difficult to make a cup of tea or throw a salad together, but maybe it's something that wouldn't occur to you until you're leafing through a cookbook and come across it. Then you think "Hey, I do have some ginger in my fridge that's getting a little tough." And instead of throwing away a shriveled, old piece of ginger and feeling bad because you wasted it, you are inspired to make a tummy-soothing cup of ginger tea.

For lunch today, I had a "salad sandwich" -- roasted broccoli, kalamata olives, and romaine on a French roll with horseradish dressing, Veganaise and sriracha. I don't think you can see anything in this pic besides the romaine. Gotta cram as much of it in there as I possibly can, I guess. Yay, antioxidants!

For dinner we made pizza with roasted red pepper, homemade "pepperoni" and "parmesan." It's been awhile since we have made pizza. Such a lapse will not happen again. It's just too good!

I have to part with my camera for a few days. Tony is going on a business trip and taking it along.  This is also the first time I'll be watching both kids by myself for an extended period, so I'll probably be too worn out to blog anyway. Talk to you next week, friends!

March

January and February always feel like the longest months to get through, especially since we moved to a snowy climate. Sure, the first couple of snowstorms are fun novelties, and the sheer white landscape is beautiful to look at. But after the holidays, the days of cold and snow seem endless. The snow turns gray and then black along the roads, but stubbornly refuses to melt. So I am always happy to see March arrive. It makes me feel that, at last, spring is near! And that makes me feel happy and optimistic in general. Besides the first day of spring, March means St. Paddy's Day and Olivia's birthday. I think it's going to be a great month.

Here are some meals we've had over the past few days. First, a couple of Urban Vegan testers, for her new holiday cookbook.

Lettuce Soup

Kibbeh

When I told Tony we were having lettuce soup he said, "What are we, in the Great Depression?" I admit, it sounded too simple to be tasty, but Dynise has a way of teasing rich flavors out of the simplest ingredients. Garlic and cumin give the soup a Mexican-ish flavor. It is great with a drizzle of hot sauce.

Kibbeh is a Middle Eastern dish typically made with minced lamb or beef, that is either formed into balls or served casserole-style. This vegan version is made from bulgur and lentils. I served it with spicy Cumin-Harissa Sauce, which I've tested before. It was so good, I had to make it again. I also served hummus and pita alongside.

When I went grocery shopping, I impulse-bought some tofu dogs and had one when I got home. I know it's unwise to grocery shopping before you eat.  But sometimes it can result in a lunch that is exactly what you were craving.

A lightning-fast yet amazing pea pesto soup, one of my all-time favorite soups. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson and is available online.

From Vegan on the Cheap, smoky tempeh with cabbage and potatoes. A hearty, uncomplicated, yet tasty dish. I caramelized the onions to give it extra depth of flavor.

I also made a different kind of recipe this weekend...not a food at all, but made from mostly edible ingredients.

It's a natural homemade deoderant. The recipe came from Leslie over at Pixiepine Blog. She reported good results after using it for a month, so I decided to give it a try. My skin is so sensitive to most deoderants that there is only one brand I can use (Dove Sensitive Skin) and I've always been a little creeped out by all the chemicals in it.  I've tried Tom's of Maine in the past and it did not work for me at all. Happily, I am having great success with Leslie's deoderant. I love the soft scent of the coconut oil base. Yum.

Of course my little man Jackson helped me with all my kitchen creations. Look at him standing on his tiptoes so he can stir.

Miss Olivia is so close to taking her first steps unassisted. I think it will be any day now.

And Monster got a new bed over the weekend. So all my babies are kicking off March in a happy mood. (Actually, Monster can't decide if he wants to sleep in his bed or chew it to pieces, but I think either outcome would make him happy.) I hope March brings you much happiness, too!

Check it out, Lacey Loves Food is giving away a copy of The Happy Herbivore cookbook!