Vegan Mofo V Day 27: It's Easy Being Green

If you were traumatized by soggy brussels sprouts as a kid, I apologize. I never had them until I was an adult, and luckily they were quite scrumptious. That is largely due to Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks, which is one of my favorite blogs ever! Anyhow, if you've had them before and hated them, I beg you to try them at least one more time before you write them off for good.

Tonight I made the "Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Garlic" from VWAV. I will duck and cover while admitting it's the first time I've made them. Can I make up for that by saying it definitely will not be the last time. Hot damn were these good! I ate the whole pan, minus one, by myself. My mom tried a bite but didn't really like it. Oh well, more for me! I finished roasting them and tried a few morsels before taking P for her nightly walk. When I got back I popped the rest in the toaster oven, planning to eat them during Parks and Rec.

It was a good plan, until I came back and saw the plate I toasted them on broke during the process. It's an old thrift store plate that my sister bought some years ago and it already had some cracks in it. Maybe it was glued back together at some point. I have no idea and it was not my smartest kitchen move lately, that's for sure. I'm glad she wasn't planning on taking the plate with her when she moved, but this is the second one I've broken this month so I do feel bad about it. However I found two really cute xmas plates for myself at  the thrift store today so maybe I was subconsciously making room for those? Probably not.

We have a new inhabitant I'd like you to meet. S/he doesn't have a name yet, but I discovered him/her some time last week and finally snagged a photo tonight. I'd never seen one before so I was super excited. My mom will be thrilled that the cricket population will be under control, but I am a little sad because I love those little creatures too.

Inspiration and Attempts at Imitation- aka Jess Scone is Awesome!

I haven't cooked dinner in a while so since my sister made dinner twice last week, she informed me I had to make dinner on Tuesday. I couldn't think of what to make so I fell back on something easy- mac and cheese, greens and fried tofu. I've made similar plates before but this time I knew I needed to phase out the oven due to the warmer weather we've been having.

For the greens I used the "Southern Style Greens" recipe from Vegan Bites. I'd made them before and they weren't too complicated so I did it again. I added some liquid smoke to give them a bit more flavor.

The mac and cheese is "Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese" from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. I hadn't made this one in a while since it calls for about 2 cups of cheese, but that was pre-Daiya. I gave it another shot a few weeks ago and the gooey texture reminded me of the new Amy's mac and cheeze that is vegan- except I could get more servings for my money even after buying a package of Daiya. I did have to doctor it up a bit and add some more seasonings since the only seasoning in the recipe is salt. I'm sure it depends on the cheese sub you use, but I needed more. For inspiration, I looked to my favorite mac and cheese -Get Sconed's adaptation of the New Farm recipe. I added garlic, paprika, onion powder, shoyu and a bit of nooch. That did the trick.

Staying on trend, I also tried to copy Ms. Sconed's Cornmeal Crusted Tofu. I didn't have everything she used for her marinade, so I did the best I could. I used the breading from a link she posted on the PPK. Whenever I fry tofu it's a disaster. I am the messiest drudger/batterer there is. My tofu pieces emerge from the pan half naked and there are little chunks of fried breading floating in the pan. Not this time! The marinating really helped me out. I am going to use that strategy from now on. She is my hero!

First and Third

 We had lots to celebrate this weekend!

Saturday was my 3rd Penny-versary. We celebrate the day she was adopted since we don't know her true birthday. This was a wonderful year because she was so much healthier than the year before. I am so grateful for that. One of the small benefits of not working was having more time to spend with her. She learned a few more commands and also had more goofy playtime with me. Of course, her being healthy also meant we could do a lot more walking and a bit of running too. I'm almost to the halfway mark of losing my "dog" weight.

Sunday was my 11 year anniversary of becoming vegetarian. I'm thrilled that I made the change because I know it was the right thing to do for me. After two years of it, I decided it was time to "go all the way" and just go vegan already, so next year I can celebrate 10 years completely animal-free. It's exciting and I am happy about it, but there is something really embarrassing that also needs to come out.

I had my first green smoothie yesterday. Even though I eat lots of veggies, I am still not a fan of salads or raw veg (I did cry the first time someone tried to make me eat broccoli 26 yrs ago). And you call yourself an herbivore? Whatever! Anyhow, I got over being a big ol' baby and made one using the recipe my friend Anita makes for her kindergartners. It was delicious. I can't believe I waited to long to try one. I made another one this morning. It's a great habit I plan to get into and eventually I won't need to make the kiddie version. If you've never made one, get over it and go for it-you won't regret it.