Veganspiration

not all of this is vegan, but i am highly impressed with this youtube series called "great depression cooking." it stars the uber-adorable great grandma clara, who teaches viewers how to make the meals her family ate during the 1930s and tells charming stories about bootleggers. i want my grandma to do this too!



this one (pasta with peas) is kinda carb-heavy, but vegan, cheap and soul-warming. i made it last week (with tricolor rotini) and it was one of my favourite things i've eaten in weeks! i added carrots with the peas, and substituted a big can of diced tomatoes for tomato sauce. i also recommend basil. who knew the depression was so friggin tasty?

one day i hope to start my own "depression cooking" web series, wherein we will eat a whole box of oreos and call it breakfast. hey-o.

3 Tiers For Cupcakes!

!Hip hip horahchomchompchomp..

yay elephants sitting admist ambrosial wilds. And nutrition brought to us by cupcakexxx, a ms. mustakos and the younger royer boy. I sat and watched and ate and snapped low quality photos. Prop handler I suppose.

Dinner = Coconut polenta, with savorinessauce mmm

The scrumptiousness marched on into the evening when we discovered sunken milford treasure in the oven: Man-o-war -upon-Milford-Beaches Jelly Donut Cupcakes. Laura and Alex baked them from the Veganomicon recipie and put Rose Preserve inside and used sweet rice flour and arrowroot powder instead of the boring old types of things. They were chewy and sunken in the middle and looked just dashing in their pleated silver new year's eve gowns. Resplendent resourcefullness indeed! The swirling pink jellyl in the middle was uncannily like the jellys that sting so very painfully on connecticut's coasts. Milford was in dire need of a more benevolent jelly situation In Deed.

Upon tier segundo were Jacob’s pumpkin banana walnut cupcakes. They were taken and evolved quickly in the 198 1/2 kitchen from a Martha Stewart recipie of all things. prisonlicious. They were soft and tasted like like pumpkin pies in my mouth.

Now follow me up to the third tier! Coconut and chocolate macaroons. Like sweet bales of hay breaking open in the mouth! oh i'd bother to find a needle in them if I had to. would spend a lot of time with these little guys, no problems.

So Yes its true! It all really happened in my mouth! I know. wow.

And then much, much aloha in my mouth when I poured this Fire rock kona pale ale my mother so sentimentally purchased into my gullet.

In summary:

I say: Mmyumyomyum, “what is this icing?!”

and jacob replies: “uhm…sugar and butter.”

I never knew I was so easily satisfied by soy butter and sugar alone! A chubby Detroit child lives within me bones I guess.

A fortune cookie from e_lena, reminding me that it is important essentially to:

Play as hard as you work and be “potentially less stressed”

!

lucky numbers: mystic 13

Tasty Curry of Undetermined Ethnic Origin

elena's roommate annie gave me this recipe for thai curry out of a book. i tried making it with tofu and it didn't go so well, so the next time i tried seitan and it was perfect. i also tried adding okra, which i've never had in thai food ever, but the sliminess of the okra held the curry together pretty well. then i got carried away adding other vegetables. t.i. says you can add whatever you like!


INGREDIENTS:
- 1 package seitan (i used westsoy vegetarian stir fry strips)
- 2-5 dried chili peppers, chopped (i used mexican instead of thai - whatever)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 jar green thai curry paste (thai kitchen - for some reason all the other kinds of curry paste have shrimp or fish in them)
- 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 4-5 white mushrooms, chopped
- 1 pkg okra, chopped (i think like 20 pieces?)
- salt
- 1 can coconut milk
- cinnamon
- fresh coriander, chopped

the first thing you'll probs want to do is chop up all the vegetables, to save time later. i made the mistake of putting them all together in a bowl, which was annoying as i later learned they required different cooking times, but boy did they look pretty:


heat up some oil in a wok, add the crumbled-up chilis and then the seitan. the more chilis you add, the spicier your curry will be. fry to your preference, then remove it from heat and set aside.

in a large saucepan, add more oil and fry the garlic and the ginger for two minutes. we learned that if you keep your ginger in the freezer, it's a lot easier to grate.

add the onion and a dash of cinnamon (to taste).

then add curry paste and a few (maybe 3-4) full jars of water. bring it to a boil. you'll want it to be enough water to cover your curry, so you may need more or less water depending on how much stuff you're throwing in there.

add your potatoes, carrots, coconut milk and seitan. bring it back to a boil, and then reduce the heat, add okra, mushrooms and red pepper and simmer for 20-40 minutes (enough time for the carrots and potatoes to get tender). before eating, sprinkle in the slightest bit of salt and a dash of coriander.


oh man, delicious. eat it over brown rice! OM NOM NOM NOM.

and yes that is king tut on my water glass.