Accent Vlog and Stylish Blogger Award

I first saw the Accent Vlog on Cook.Vegan. Lover and now I keep seeing them. I think it's interesting to match voices with faces and also hear the variations in our accents. So I thought I would post my own today.

If you want to make your own video, here are the words/questions.

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

• What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
• What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
• What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
• What do you call gym shoes?
• What do you say to address a group of people?
• What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped
• body and extremely long legs?
• What do you call your grandparents?
• What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry
• groceries at the supermarket?
• What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
• What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

The lovely Carissa at Coffee and Sunshine has given me a Stylish Blogger Award.  Carissa, if you could see me sitting here in my pajama pants and ancient hoodie, you might reconsider that label, but thank you all the same!

As a recipient of this award, I'm supposed to list 7 interesting facts about myself. Here are 7 facts, and I'll leave it to you to consider whether they are interesting.

1. I always thought I was a cat person until I got my dog. I grew up with cats...I wish I had some pics of my childhood cats, Murphy and Treena, to scan in. Here I am with my cat Luna who I had in college.

Luna ran away around the time I started seeing Tony. Tony is terribly allergic to cats, but he had nothing to do with this coincidence. That's what I tell myself, anyway. ;)

And of course here is my Monster, my original baby before the human ones came along.

2. I've lived in 4 states...7 cities...and let's see, I've moved residences 17 times.

3. Films I can watch over and over include: Rushmore, Office Space, Anchorman, Shaun of the Dead, and The Big Lebowski (although, I can only watch that one if I have fixins on hand for a White Russian).

4. I love sleep so much. 9 hours a night is crucial, 10 optimal.

5. I love owls. Also sloths. Just look at them.

6. Much like Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, David Byrne, and Michelangelo, I am left-handed.

7. My kids are totally adorbs. Yep, that's a fact.

Thanks again, Carissa!

Super Bowl & Urban Vegan Tester #15

Happy Monday, amigos y amigas. Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? I don't really follow football, but somehow I always end up watching the Super Bowl.  There's always the $3 million dollar commercials to keep me entertained...What did those of you not from Michigan think of the Eminem Chrysler ad? It made me proud of my hometown! What was your favorite commercial? Were you cheering for a certain team to win? Did you even watch the game?

Of course the Super Bowl means beer...or in Tony's case, homemade picklebacks...

And, perhaps most importantly, the Super Bowl means food. My contributions this year included: Shamefully Simple Chickpea Chili, an Urban Vegan tester recipe that is so easy and fast, yet tastes like it has been cooking for a couple of hours. Salsa verde gives it quite a kick.

I also fixed some vegan Rotel queso...

And guac...

I feel silly posting a guac recipe because it's so basic and everyone has their own taste, but here is mine.

Super Bowl...of Guacamole
2 avocados
2 Tbsp. cilantro, minced
2 Tbsp. red onion, minced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
Mash together in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

Today I'm just trying to get the energy to face the week. Tony is working a lot of overtime which means long days for me and the kiddos. And of course we're supposed to get more snow tonight!

Hope YOU have a great week, see you tomorrow!

Diner Food, Breakfast Food

My Super Bowl goodies are chillin on the counter, waiting to be eaten tonight. So now that I have some free time, I thought I would clear off my camera.

Friday night, we ate at the Eveready Diner. If there is one thing folks in this neck of the woods can't get enough of, it is diner food. I always get the veggie burger and sweet potato fries.

Tony had to work all day on Saturday, so I made "breakfast for dinner" for the kids and me. We had a yummy tofu scramble with spinach, roasted potatoes, and pancakes. This worked out well because Tony was able to make himself a burrito with the leftover tofu and potatoes when he got home, and Jackson had the rest of the pancakes for breakfast this morning.

This was the first time I made a scramble using my Tofu Xpress. It makes such a difference in the texture, I just loved it. I think I'll be eating a lot more scrambles from now on.

 Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Cookbook Challenge - Pad Thai

Last night I did another PPK Cookbook Challenge recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance -- Brooklyn Pad Thai! In grad school, my friend Beth and I would go to this Thai restaurant that had the most excellent pad thai. I haven't had really decent Thai food since. Maybe I need to go to Brooklyn. Or maybe just make it myself from now on. This is why we refer to VwaV as "the cookbook that can do no wrong" around here. This stuff is seriously awesome.

It's all coming together...

Sauced and ready to be devoured...



The recipe sounds complicated because you have to make the individual servings. I think that's why I never tackled it before. But it all comes together so fast that it's not a big deal. The recipe makes a lot! I cut it in half and we still had leftovers. I would've liked a little more sauce, so I think next time I will cut the noodle amount down, but make the regular amount of sauce.

Cookbook Challenge - Mango-Ginger Tofu

This week, the PPK Cookbook Challenge checks in with Vegan with a Vengeance. I was so excited when I got this cookbook a few years ago. I was vegetarian, not yet vegan, but I already owned the Sarah Kramer books and VwaV seemed to be along the same lines...a cookbook that would be funny and interesting to read, while also full of quality recipes.

Tony and I soon came to refer to VwaV as "the cookbook that can do no wrong" because we ate one awesome meal after another from it. Amazingly, there are still a few recipes that I had not gotten around to...until now.

First off, Mango-Ginger Tofu.

I love the presentation of this dish. Once I plated it, I was like "ooh, this is gonna be good" and couldn't wait to eat it. The taste lives up to the appearance, too. I loved the contrast between the sweetness of mango and the heat of jalapeno. I am not sure why I never made this in the past, but I know we'll be eating it again soon.

Urban Vegan Tester #14 - Stuffed Portabellos

Tonight we had Milled-Stuffed Mushrooms with Aioli, from the Urban Vegan's upcoming book. Roasted portabello mushrooms are filled with a flavorful millet pilaf, and drizzled with garlicky aioli. The prep was a snap, since I made the millet and the aioli earlier in the day. Tony and I enjoyed the combination of flavors, while Jackson liked the pilaf on its own.

Tony got off work early due to Snowtorious B.I.G., and will be off most of tomorrow. So, after dinner, a little celebration was in order. Nothing says SNOW DAY like beer and brownies, right? My favorite brownie recipe can be found here. Mama Pea's brownies are low-fat, yet wonderfully dense and chocolatey.

And now it's time for me and the couch to get re-acquainted. I think we'll be spending a lot of time together over the next couple of days.

Urban Vegan Testers #12-13

Today I have two more tester dishes to whet your appetite for the Urban Vegan's upcoming cookbook. Both of these recipes were hits with my entire family.

Pasta with Red Peppers and Basil - penne pasta, sauteed red bell pepper, plenty of garlic and basil, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts. Even though there's no sauce, with such a variety of flavors in every bite, you really don't miss it.

Brazilian Pastels - kind of like a mini-empanada, the pastel is an adorable Brazilian street food that can be stuffed with a variety of fillings. These contain vegan beef crumbles, and make a fabulous snack when dipped in hot sauce. I'm guessing they wouldn't mind taking a dip in vegan queso, either.

And for the 30-Day Challenge...#12 - bullet your whole day. Well, it's supposed to snow all day today and tomorrow, so I already got my errands done. This isn't gonna be very exciting. But here goes.

• Get woken up by Jackson who has been sleeping in our bed since 4 a.m.
• Fix breakfast for me and Jackson (oats for me, granola bar and apple for him)
• Give Olivia her bottle while Jackson watches Dora
• Take Monster out for his walk (with much protesting on his part, since it's snowing)
• Tony leaves to shovel out his car and go to work
• Write this! Ha
• Shower and get the kids clean and dressed
• Play with the kids
• Do any prep work that I need to do for dinner
• Fix lunch
• Eat lunch with Jackson, give Olivia her lunch
• Clean
• Cuddle the babies until they go to sleep
• 30 min. walk on treadmill while reading my Kindle
• 20 min. yoga
• Play on the internets until the kids wake up
• Play with the kids
• Find out when Tony is coming home, watch TV or start dinner
• Dinner
• Walk Monster
• Entertain the kids until they get tired
• Watch a movie or some mindless TV (last night was Get Him To The Greek, tonight it's a trashy extravaganza -- Gossip Girl, 19 Kids and Counting, and SAG Awards Fashion Police)
• Sleep!

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, have a great day!