Confessions of a Broke MoFo

This is where I try to make it look like I have been blogging and didn't just dust this thing off for Vegan Mofo. You are too smart to be tricked like that, right?!

I don't have any official theme yet, but I do know I will have to get a lot more creative this year. Usually I try to buy a lot of ingredients I haven't used yet or whatever new products are on trend, but I am really going to have to stay close to home and on budget this time around. Last year I was unemployed, but still had a bit of money to play around with. This year I am working part time for much less money, so even though I love my job, I am still working on becoming a budget genius. At first I thought this would make for the worst mofo ever, but maybe it will be one of the better ones since I have to put more effort into it. We'll know in about a month, so stay tuned.

I'm definitely going to do some pantry raiding so I can make the most of what I already have on hand. I also might revisit past mofo ideas that didn't happen, as well as plugging away at an a-z ingredient challenge I gave myself last year. I don't think I got too far with it, so those are also an option. I also want to make more pies since I only made three last year and there are way more recipes than that in VPITS. There will probably be lots of soups and starches too. I might highlight some underused cookbooks or maybe at least try to make something from each one at least once? See, I never think I have any good ideas and then as I start typing out of my asparagus, here they come. I am super excited to get inspired by what everyone else is doing, even though it probably will take a whole year to read everyone's amazing blogs.

I am working on some frijoles de la olla right now, so let's see what happens. Peace!

p.s. If you don't know what Vegan Mofo is, learn about it here.

breakfast served all day

this used to be my favorite thing to read on a menu, might be one of the few things i miss since becoming vegan. then again i can chug as much chocolate silk as i want without judgement or the cost of refills. this an egg mc vegan from vegweb. i've made them a good six or seven times yet but never managed to have the camera handy. i know my picture isn't as good as the other ones out there, but i'm pretty sure it tastes equally awesome as theirs, even if in the patented "gross-good" way.






and here is an update on last night's dinner, cheap wine included, enjoy!

always great, worth the wait

dinner is way behind schedule, i am trying not to freak out about it since there is really nothing i can do, except maybe mix a cocktail while the sauce simmers? there will definitely be lots of snacking/chatting time, or better yet, a chance to look at the treats i picked up at the library today:

The artful vegan : fresh flavors from the Millennium Restaurant

The Real Food Daily cookbook : really fresh, really good, really vegetarian

Eat, drink and be vegan : everyday vegan recipes worth celebrating

The PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick!) vegetarian cookbook : 240 healthy and easy no-prep recipes for busy cooks

i totally nerded out and told the librarian about vegan mofo. i think i said blog at least four times, once per book?

katrina de voort watch out

autumn is here and my house is going to smell like soup, often. this is "hearty black and white bean soup" from 125 best vegan recipes courtesy of the library. i always wait to add salt and pepper to taste because i'm afraid using canned tomatoes and the stock might have enough salt already. it turned out pretty well for all the rushing i did. my only criticism would be that it said to process half the beans until they made a paste and i think you could have just mashed the hell out of them in a bowl for easier cleanup and also a bit more fun.

next pot of yum will be chuckwagon stew from table for two, but before that will be whatever i make for my niece's dinner tomorrow and wednesday night will be spinach lasagna. so good!