Big 'ol pile of yarn

My little sister visited me last weekend, and we ventured up to Queens to PS1 for the afternoon. So glad we did! I've been a little under the weather lately and super-busy with work, so it was really nice to just go out and look at some art. And um, jump in a gigunda pile of yarn! This was a super-fun visit; lots of great exhibits that amazed us both, and ended with some frolicking in this yarn pile. People were just lounging about, with the occasional kid (okay maybe us too) falling backwards or forwards into the pile of fluff. We tried to dig to the bottom and found it was too tangled, but it's probably about 4 ft. tall! Also, the artist who created it hid a bunch of gold necklaces in there too, and if you find one you can keep it. It just brought a smile to everyone's face in there and was a perfect end to a great day. :)

Happy 2012!

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Rolls, recipe from Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk

 Happy New Year!! Here's to a super-fantastic 2012, filled to the brim with greatness and happiness!

(Umm, and yumminess! These Pumpkin-Cinnamon Rolls are my favorite, and the perfect way to kick off the new year!)

Goofs

Sisters!

Tamale time!

When my little sister was visiting me last weekend, I decided that we should have a cooking night in (brrr, it's cold out there!)  I wanted to make something time-consuming and different and something we don't eat often, so tamale time it was!  Tamales have been on the "things to make" list for awhile now, and it was the perfect night for them.  We made an improvised filling of black beans, rice, sauteed mushrooms, onions, and some sriracha and cumin seasoning, and used the recipe from Viva Vegan! to do the rest. Holy yum!   Added bonus: this makes a TON of leftovers, so into the freezer they go for later enjoyment!

Dinorawr!

My little sister is visiting me all this week and we're going to see the dinosaurs today at the Museum of Natural History and then we are going to rock out later on to some Nintendo rock.  Talk about embracing our childhood!

I'm also excited for some Red Bamboo for dinner tonight. It's one of my favorite NYC restaurants!

The Veggie Burger is Smiling at Me

'Sup!  How is life?? Life is good here, and I'm a busy-bee prepping for all sorts of fun fall/holiday things relating to my shop and planning craft fairs and what-not.  Nik and I are also planning a trip to Portland, Maine in a few weeks, which I am PSYCHED about. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to do/see while I'm there??  I really want to take a day-trip to Acadia National Park, but we are short on time, so we'll see.  What should I do! And more importantly, where should we eat?!  

Speaking of eating, I made this yummy veggie burger last night and tried to draw a ketchup smiley face on it (yes, I am five). Instead, it kinda of looks a little demented.  The veggie burger was a bit of a concoction of marinated tempeh, roasted yellow and green peppers, onions, radishes, garlic, arugula, and some flour, vital wheat gluten, panko bread crumbs, and peanut butter to hold it all together. Sorry for lack of recipe, but I just kinda mix things together until it holds. Totally delicious! And I am eating as much corn on the cob as I can, before it is gone for the season. In fact, I have been buying extra to freeze so I can enjoy it when it is miserable and snowy outside. There I am, using the old noggin'.

Another recent dinner (I love sammiches, if you couldn't tell that already), of tempeh with a little wakame, veganaise, onion, and salt/pepper to taste.  Coleslaw on the side! 

My little sis and her boyfriend came to visit me recently. I took them to Economy Candy and they luurved it (I did too).  I bought lots of Chick-o-sticks and I'm pretty sure something of the butterfinger-like persuasion must be made from them soon. 

And I'll end this post with Mister Miles.  I love it when he crosses his legs like that, looking all proper-like. :)

'Lil sister's graduation and senior art show

Hello! I've been home a few times this past month to celebrate my little sister's senior art show and High School graduation (yes, I said High School! She's a young one-or I'm old, whatever!) Anyways, I'm super-proud of her!

Jenna is the smiley one in the front with the really long hair. What a bunch of cuties!

Sisters!


Check out this bad-ass senior display she made. I super-love the hand painting that she did on the walls and that cool globe. High school, my friends, high school. Look out world!



Annnd it was really nice to get out of the city and just stare at this for a few days:

Highline Park and walking around Chelsea

Last saturday, I finally got to check out the Highline Park with my sis and Nik. It was a really nice day out and it was surprisingly, not too crowded. My inner macro-geek got the best of me with all the pretty flowers everywhere and it was quite nice to be surrounded with a patch of nature among the buildings and concrete. LOVE the design of these gardens so so much!






Afterwards, we walked around Chelsea for a bit. I like to check out the graffiti, and I was hopeful that some of the smaller galleries would be open, but no luck on that front.





We happened upon this amaaaazing window farm in a window of a gallery. I tried really hard to capture a picture of it, but the reflections were really working against me here. Check out their website though! It was a vertical hydroponic garden! There were even little peppers growing! I was blown away, to say the least.

Chocolate-chip pancakes with Cherry Sauce and the South Street Seaport

Decadent brunch today with some chocolate-chip pancakes and a cherry sauce. That's a plum hiding in the background that I got in my CSA this morning. So pretty and fruity! Pancakes from VWAV and local cherries from my CSA. Lots of cherries! I'm going to make a cherry pie with them sometime this weekend!

Last night, we went to the South Street Seaport to check out Black Moth Super Rainbow. I was pretty impressed with the opener Dan Friel (Blank Dogs were eh), and Black Moth Super Rainbow was fun (although doesn't sound as good live as on album). They had fun video and costumes though. Afterwards, we went to see (500) Days of Summer, which was super-cute, but not as good as the trailer looks. Heading to Candle 79 tonight...mmm.

Italian Ice!

Happy Friday!

This is my sister's last weekend here, so I'm hoping it is a nice and sunny one. I wanna go see Black Moth Super Rainbow tonight at the South Street Seaport, but it's a no-go if it's thunderstorming. Hate that! Nik and I are taking Jenna to Candle 79 saturday night for a belated b-day celebration (she turned 17 on wednesday! My baby sister is growing up!) I had dreams of that Seitan Piccata for weeks after the last time I went there...any recommendations of what I should get this time around?? Other than that, I want to see 500 Days of Summer real bad!

On to the food!

White Bean burger with MEGA-GUAC! Used the black bean burger recipe from VCON, but with white beans. Why yes, yes I do like my guac topping to be equal to it's burger! Sooo yum. Kale chips on the side.


I had a muffin craving the other night at midnight. I know. I had cherries and blueberries in my CSA this past week and they are a super-win combo. These didn't last very long.


Jenna loves eggplant parm. and vodka sauce, so I combined the two for her birthday dinner on Wednesday. I used the vodka sauce from VCon and OH MY GOD why haven't I ever made vodka sauce before?? Seriously, I don't think I can ever make a plain tomato sauce again. I took great care in salting my eggplants and letting them sit and "sweat" out their water before rinsing and wringing them dry (it's fun to squeeze eggplant after they are salted!) This resulted in some super-tender eggplant. I dredged them in flour, dipped in soymilk, and then coated them with breadcrumbs + italian spices, before frying them up in some olive oil. Layered them with the vodka sauce and some Follow Your Heart Mozzarella and baked for 30 minutes. Lots of work, but worth it (plus we had leftovers for tonight!)

Um, guys? Have you gotten Hannah's new e-book yet? I made the Birthday Cake Ice Cream wednesday (yes, I was in the kitchen forever that night!) I mean, I knew this would be good, but this was seriously good. So creamy! I wanna try it with chocolate cake next! I can't wait to make more recipes from this!



Hope everyone has a rad weekend!

Beach Fail. Bonus pizza and doughnuts!

Hey friends. I'm gonna be slow blogging in the next few weeks, as my 'lil sis is still here and I kinda forget about these things when I have visitors. We're having so much fun! We tried to go to the beach this past saturday, but that was kind of a major fail. In fact, it was so bad, it was downright comical. Original plans were to venture to Long Beach, in Long Island, but after reading up on the temperature of the ocean (48F!!!), we decided to keep it cheap and just stay on Brooklyn sand. Off we trekked to Coney Island, with the sun shining on us, only to arrive to clouds galore and really really harsh winds and coldness. Brr! We brought a lovely picnic and everything, but it was pretty frustrating to try to eat a sammich with sand flying at your face. Gross! Coney Island sand! There were a bunch of crazies swimming in the water, but we only cautiously dipped our feet in and ran shrieking away (wusses, I know). We did manage to bury Jenna up to her neck, and it was pretty funny watching her try to wiggle out of the piles of sand we heaped on her. Our train ride there was longer than the time we stayed there, ha! All three of us had a layer of sand covering us when we left, and I'm still finding it around the apartment. Should have went to the park!




I made some Isa Pizza, from Vegan with a Vengeance, last week, topped with the cashew ricotto, pesto, tomato sauce, zucchini, and fire-roasted red peppers. Um, yum!! I love this pizza and it is worth all the time it takes to make all the different toppings.


The other night, my sis and I made DOUGHNUTS. Heavenly, I tell ya. I used this recipe, which I have used once before, with great results. We rolled them in a powdered sugar/cinnamon mix and I even piped in some raspberry jam in a few (we just used a regular heart-shaped cookie cutter for the filled ones). I stuck a chopstick in and moved it around a bit, to create a little space and just piped it on in. Easy-peasy! Total sugar-coma!




There has been lots of healthy smoothies and salads also, but pizza and doughnuts are way funner to photograph!

I have been tidying up my Etsy shop, unlisting older things that I don't feel fit well anymore, and working on adding new listings. I took a bunch of photos this weekend of art cards, so I'm mostly listing those in the next few days. I want to re-photograph some of my originals also, but that will most likely have to wait until next weekend (please sun, cooperate). A recent new addition to my shop are these blank notecards, from my Love and Peace series. I had them at Renegade and they did really well, and I finally got my butt in gear to put together a listing online for them. Yay!


More to come soon!