Summer of green things

So, the overload of veggies has begun with my local CSA. I'm up to my ears in lettuce! Not that I'm complaining; I just think back to six months ago when I was SO SICK of potatoes from my winter CSA. Haha, when it rains, it pours. But this does mean that I have had salad every single day, lunch AND dinner for the past week. I'm good at mixing things up though. I will usually do some sort of baked/sauteed/marinated/fried/etc. tofu or tempeh, with different seasonings, as the main protein in the salad. Fresh fruit is amazing, especially when it mixes with a vinaigrette dressing (this week, it's cherries, last week was strawberries.) Nut and seeds and whatever other veggies my CSA gives out also join in. I usually will rotate dressings (I usually make my own), with a ranch, oil/vinegar, salsa-ranch (!), or some sort of peanuty-asian-style (Nik isn't as fond of this, so not that often *sadface*). The above salad has a marinated tempeh (Shoyu, liquid smoke, a little peanut oil, pepper, and enough water to cover in pan-cooked until all liquid is gone and slightly crisp) on it and a simple ranch dressing (veganaise, a little soy milk to get the right consistancy, pepper, and a few shakes of basil, oregano, parsley, garlic and onion powder.) Yum!

Also, I only discovered this last summer, but I TOTALLY love fried green tomatoes. A little nooch, a little flour, a little cayenne and salt, YUM!!!

VeganMoFo Day 19-Lentil Burger and Mizuna Salad

Happy monday! Er, I hope it is, I mean. I had a knackering for a veggie burger the other day, and since I'm totally against boca burgers or their other frozen equivilants (those are NOT veggie burgers!), I make my own. I'm partial to using the VCON recipe for Black Bean burgers and just mixing up which beans I use and changing up the spices. Today I decided on lentil burgers, with a side salad using some of that lovely Mizuna I got in my CSA. And of course there are apples and pears on that salad, since my fridge is overflowing with them.




I have a few new things for my shop, either later on today or tomorrow. I'm finishing up my new holiday cards, some fun ornaments, and a few new prints. Hooray for productive weekends! I know, I know, it's only October, but I need to start applying to holiday craft shows and whatnot, so stock needs to be up. And not to mention all those crazies (i.e. smart people) who have already started their holiday shopping. Go all handmade gifts this year people! xoxo

Salad, salad, salad, BLONDIES

I feel like I only eat three things in the summertime: salad, fruit, and ice cream. At least I manage to cover almost all my food groups with this diet, but yeah, it's all about the simple things in the summertime. I get so many greens in my CSA that I have to get a little creative with my salads, or it will quickly get old. Here are three salads from this week.

Marinated (one lemon + shoyu + garlic scapes + pepper + thyme) and grilled tofu topping a pretty awesome salad that is plentiful with the fruits and veggies and nuts and seeds and arugula. Used the marinade as a dressing. Strawberries on a salad is THE BEST. Strawberries paired with cashews is even better! I really like how the fruit mixes with the dressing and gives it some sweetness.

extreeeeeeeme closeup! *cue Wayne's World tune*


Tonight was a taco salad-like concoction. Black beans as my protein paired with some guac and veggies and spinach and some veganaise mixed with some fire-roasted salsa and some cayenne pepper for a kick. Yoww! My fave dressing is usually a creamy one, and salsa is great mixed with the veganaise.


Steamed and then sauteed tempeh (in a simply olive oil/salt/pepper) was quite lovely topping this salad! My staple olive oil + apple cider vinegar + sea salt + thyme +pepper dressing and some strawberries to sweeten it up!


I had a sweet attack the other night and also needed to use up some strawberries that were too ripe YESTERDAY, so I made some blondies! I used the VWAV recipe, but used applesauce instead of yogurt and made a strawberry compote to replace the raspberry preserves. DELISH. I put them in the fridge, since my baked goods always start to go bad too soon if I leave them out on the counter in this humidity, but they were realllllly good today all cold and firm. My sweet tooth loves me today.

Broccoli Flowers, White Choc. Chips, and Frittata!

My first recipe from Vegan Brunch! I made the frittata, except with spinach and those mystery flowers from my last post (which turned out to be Broccoli Flowers!) This was soooo good. I also acquired some black salt recently, so I added some of that in. So freaky how eggy it was.



Had a severe cookie craving mid-afternoon today, so I put some of those white chocolate chips I got last week to work in some cookies. I used Isa's choc. chip cookie recipe. Mmmmm.


Dinner tonight was some grilled portobellos on a yummy salad, with balsamic dressing. Those broccoli flowers are pretty good raw too! Edible flowers have always kinda weirded me out, but these were very un-flower-like in taste. Or I guess, how I imagine flowers taste.

Been away; Away so long.

Hello! Well gosh I haven't updated this in awhile. I've been a bit overwhelmed lately with a whole bunch of things going on, and it has just been a week (month?) of just trying to lay low. To minimize the stress or something; I'm not sure. I do that when I'm stressed, just hide out.

I do have some good news though. I was accepted into the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this year! I was a bit stunned that I got in actually, as competition is notoriously stiff for this craft fair. Anyways, SUPER AWESOME! Plus, it's like five blocks from my apartment, in McCarren Park, so I don't have to go far (or bother with getting a car service or something to lug all my stuff)! I'm a little intimidated, as it is a 2-day outdoor event (June 6 + 7th), which I've never done before. I've seen the masses that have attended though (I'm among them)! Scaaaaary! Haha, no it will be good. Bust Craftacular, a few years ago, was pretty crazy too, and I think I have a better grasp of how much I need to prepare. Woo!

I have FOUR DAYS OFF this weekend! I had today off for Good Friday, and I took Monday off for a mental health day (I really like these). Nik is taking me to Candle 79 for dinner tomorrow! It's a bit of an early b-day celebration for me (I turn 29 on monday, eep!!) I really can't believe I have lived in NYC for five years now and never been. I even have their cookbook! I'm pretty sure I'm required to try the Seitan Piccata, as that is always the first recommendation anyone gives that has been there. Monday, I have to go try my luck at the DMV renewing my license, spend a gift cert. at Macy's, and check out the Jenny Holzer Exhibit at the Whitney.

I did my taxes today and they just about made my head explode.

Two new cookbooks came for me this week, Wild Fermentation, and The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. Really excited about both of them! Especially the Fermentation one for all the veggies I'll get in my CSA this summer!

Okay, enough babble and more food!

Caesar Salad, from Vcon, with garlic croutons. This was an amazing dressing, and I had the leftovers in a salad wrap the next day. I needed a new dressing too, as I always make either a basic olive oil/apple cider vinegar/thyme/salt/pepper dressing or a creamy ranch. Ohh, I did make another new dressing this week (but no picture). I just mixed some veganaise with yummy salsa for a simple southwestern style salad. Yum! I actually ate salad for most of the week, with various toppings (tofu, tempeh, leftover veggie burger, SPROUTS!) and veggies. It's the springtime. I was excited to see more greens at the farmer's market today. I'm waiting for the asparagus!



I made yummy veggie burgers this week, using the basic chickpea cutlets recipe from Vcon, but with cattle beans, and added veggies and spices. Sauteed swiss chard and a pickle!


I did this cuckoo clock painting earlier this week, but forgot to post it! Nik's dad got him a cuckoo clock for this past x-mas, and it is so great! I thought all the cuckoos would drive me nuts (it goes off every half hour), but I don't even really notice it anyore, and I still get a kick out of the little bird that comes out. It's in our kitchen, so it keeps me company when I'm making dinner, haha. Prints are available in the shop!


And an in-progress Mister Fox to wish you a happy friday!

Phew.

I'm so glad the holidays are over with!! I can eat normal again! I seriously think this headache that I have had for the past two days is a result of sweets withdrawl too.

AAAAANNNNNNNNND...I got a Vitamix!

*happy dance* It was love at first sight.

So far, I have only experimented with smoothies, hummus, and soup (it really comes out steaming hot! Watch the video on their website!) I'm going to the Co-op tomorrow to buy some bulk nuts to make some nut butters. Ohhhh Nutella, here I come!

This is a soup not made in the Vitamix (I made a creamy potato-carrot soup yesterday in it, and while it was super-yummy, it wasn't so pretty). I used homemade veggie broth (yeaaaah), tempeh sausage crumbles, a bit of leftover lentils, potatoes, carrots, and onions. It was a mega-flavor soup. Yum!

I couldn't NOT play around with the Vitamix tonight, so I made edamame hummus! I took one can of cici beans, one whole lemon minus peel (I get a kick out of throwing the whole thing in. Take THAT old blender!), maybe 1/2 cup of edamame beans, and a bunch of olive oil, salt, and white pepper. Smooth and creamy in a minute. Amazing. Served it with toasted pita bread!

Annnd a detox-gimme-raw-fruits-and-veggies salad, with a slice of whole wheat bread, from the other night.

I will crush youuu plague!

So! I caught the plague this weekend and thus, haven't blogged in a few days. I totally crushed my sickness though and I'm super-proud of it. I started to feel all sniffly and foggy on sunday and I woke up at 4am monday feeling like DEATH. It was probably a funny sight to see me scrape myself out of bed at 4am and go straight to the stove to boil some water for throat relief. Yep, straight water, no tea. When I feel myself catching a cold, I usually overdose on OJ, tea, soup, and vitamins. Eff that over-the-counter crap. I did drag myself to work this week, as I've called into work once in my entire life for sickness reasons, and I certainly wasn't going to start now. I'm fine now. Take THAT plague!

I made some apple-sage seitan on sunday that fit itself into two dishes this week. I just used the basic seitan 'o greatness recipe, baked, swapping the spices for more garlic, pepper, thyme, and sage. I added in one apple, chopped finely. It came out really really good. I had it over a salad of pea shoots, green cabbage, daikon, more apples, and a curried ranch dressing.



I made a MASSIVE bowl of soup monday night using the seitan again. It also has lentils, kale, and onions. I also had a tiny bit of quinoa left in a box, so I dumped that in for bonus nutritional value.



Leeeetle apple hand-pies! I used the recipe off of VeganYumYum, except subbing homemade applesauce for the blueberries. I love things that make a fabulous breakfast and dessert!


Dinner tonight was a tempeh-nori salad in a wrap with pea shoots. Sweet potato fries as a side! Num!

Endless berries and other yummers

Kittee's strawberry pie!! SOOOOO good and really easy to make. I added some Rhubarb in with the strawberry jam part. mmm.

My mom made a blueberry bunny pie! She knows the way to my heart: blueberries, bunnies, and hearts. <3 <3 <3 She even gave me the bunny cookie cutter she used, after seeing how much I flipped out over how cute it was! score!




Strawberry buns!! I made the roll part using this recipe, but just used some mushed strawberries (and rhubarb!) with a bit of sugar, as the filling. And, I don't have a spice grinder, so my flax seeds never get ground and they look like bugs. But they're super-yummy, i swear!

Strawberry salad:

Taco Salad! Can you tell I have had a lot of lettuce in my CSA?? Salads galore. I loosely based it off of this recipe (just for the Catalina Dressing idea. Layers go like this: bed of lettuce, pea shoots (!), carrots, and radish, topped with crunched up blue corn chips, topped with homemade catalina dressing, topped with TVP, black beans, lots of spices, topped with GUAC and a chip.


Family BBQ!