where's the greens?

My half-ass holidays are not turning out as bad as I thought they would be. Last year I think I tried to hard to be too awesome. This year I had the holidays so far from my mind I didn't know what I was going to cook until it was time to go to the store. There are still tons of recipes I wanted to make from last year and the year before that and new ones I am also excited about but I will just have to work them in another time. There is plenty of feasting to be done.




We had tofurkey roast, stuffing, and for the first time ever, macaroni bites-which were everyone's fave. My uncle came over when we were nearly finished and I asked him to try one, which he did and he said it was good. I thought he was making fun of me at first since everyone in our family jokes about our veg-ness, but then he asked where they were and helped himself to a few more bites. I'm tempted to call them "shots" more than bites because it seems like you should just shove the whole thing in your mouth and go for it, but maybe that's just how I eat them. I could not roux for anything so I was afraid they were roux-ined, but everyone loved them. I did put more than a pinch of tumeric so that might explain the color. We were supposed to have some spinach as well but since I forgot to thaw the tofurkey we had to go get another one and it just pushed everything back. Even though spinach takes practically no time, we couldn't wait that little bit extra. Good news is there will be tons of it tomorrow to eat with celebration roast and the surviving macaroni bites. I am thinking to make a few more in the toaster oven tomorrow if the pan fits.

I am getting used to being banned from the kitchen on thanksgiving day due to the turkey and all, but since I am too tired to make dessert today I feel bad about not bringing one tomorrow. I like to always bring the veg-ness so we have enough to eat and also in case anyone wants to give it a try. I was going to make the two layer pumpkin tofu cheesecake and maybe some other goodies as well but I am just too wiped out, especially after cleaning the kitchen. My sister's boyfriend bought us desserts from a local veg restaurant but I don't think any will be left by dinner time tomorrow.

p.s. Thanks to Get Sconed for the adapted mac and cheez recipe and to Mosetta Stone for inspiring the macaroni bites. Y'all made my dinner a hit! I am putting breadcrumbs and spinach next time.

p.p.s. Whisking really reminded me that I gotta start working out my arms again (along with everything else!)

how about these?

remember that clearasil commercial (or was it oxy?) when the guy is telling his friend to go hang out and he points to his pimples and says, "how about these?" That is my last few weeks, thank you very much. I've gone back in time and have been breaking out like a mofo. I can't decided if it is a new moisturizer or stress but I am going with end of year, possibly end of employment stress. I hope it gets better but I am hoping to get it back under control, at least enough so that it does not show in my face.

love-a-bull

If your heart needs melting, look no further. I just ordered the Happy Endings Calendar from BADRAP, can't wait for 2010 and my dog can't wait for a walk so here we go.

holi-daze

While at Target this afternoon I found out there are only 45 days left until Christmas and only 16 (I think) until Thanksgiving. I have not planned my menu or tried out any possible new editions. I did make Tofurkey roast last night and it was yummy since I loaded up the casserole dish with veggies and basted like a mofo. I will have to get cracking if I want to do any tests in the next two weeks. I definitely want to bring a pumpkin tofu cheesecake for my co-workers to try and also because I don't think anyone else at home likes it as much as I do and I do not need to eat the whole thing, even though I can. I also need to finally make the pumpkin brownies which are also featured in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (it invaded my mailbox today)

Since I ate way too many halloween cupcakes I am trying to get back on the right track. I made black and white bean soup for the billionth time today since I had leftover veggies I didn't use in the roast and I have way too many cans of beans in the cupboard. It just finished cooking so I can start putting it into jars and packing some up for tomorrow. Yay! That and some extra walks might take care of some of the cupcakes, but now I have to watch out for vegan cookies. Maybe I should start with the breakfast ones?

Did I mention I went to Target today? We have been swamped at work for the past few months but I think it is finally going to slow down (so they tell us). In the meantime everyone has been stressed out, bogged down and riled up so I did what I would normally not do and jumped on the commercial Christmas bandwagon really early. I bought a 3' lighted tree, two tubes of $1 bulbs (one disco, one glittery) and a mini stocking for each of us plus glitter glue to write our names. Since we can't have candles around all that glorious paper I also bought a reed diffuser that is supposed to smell like cedar and pine. I would have preferred to get a real tree but since we might be gone for two weeks I feel bad for how that would turn out. I was so excited for all my purchases, the only thing I could not find was a package of reasonably priced hooks, but isn't that what repurposed paperclips are for?

You Can Never Have Too Many Black T-Shirts (especially if you love cupcakes!)

I picked up two new black t's at marshall's the other day since I have an occasional laundry lapse and also because I have not quite trained a certain pup to not jump on me. After going through all the racks and trying on five different shirts and only liking how one of them fit, you know I went back and grabbed another one in the same style and size. However, I think the shirt in the picture is going to be in heavy rotation as soon as it arrives. I'm hoping by then the only muffin top I am sporting is on the shirt and not under it. I'm ramping up to my old walking schedule!

Order yours here and support San Francisco's first and only vegan bakery.

fall back

I am really going to try to get back to business as usual since the last few weeks have been unusually unproductive and disappointing. I know I shouldn't dwell on it and instead should just keep on keepin' on. I have two cookbooks on loan I need to go through and get to work on, and of course, Thanksgiving is creeping up faster than you can say Tofurkey. I am interested in Bryant Terry's recipes in the latest Vegetarian Times and also have Happy Herbivore's Pudge Free Holidays to consult. I have only flipped through Terry's book (1 of 2 on loan!) but since each recipe seems to have a song assigned to it, I am having a mini crush on him. Being the nerd that I am have already found out he has a fiance. I know all the good vegans can't be taken, right?

I'm getting ready to take the pup out, but not before I download the Joan Harris playlist from itunes, so glad she cracked Greg over the head with that vase! I should also be reading Thanking The Monkey but Love Is A Mixtape, is a tempting re-read that keeps ending up on my bedside table.