The Anatomy of a Fail November 22, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, rant, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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So close and yet so very, very far away. I’ve got a good cookie that could be great with the right frosting. Yesterday I wasted far too much organic extract and coconut oil and still got nothing. Grr. I was able to salvage the frosting after just tossing any old thing into it. It doesn’t taste amazing or anything, plus I wouldn’t begin to know where to begin writing a recipe for it.
So instead I present you with my failure. In my signature drawings. Which I have perfected and patented.
Step 1: Find the perfect recipe from the family archives. Thumbs up!
I can absolutely make this vegan. Do you think 1 cup of Earth Balance is equal to 1 cup of lard? I’m sure it is.
Step 2: The recipe isn’t quite right.
Maybe my grandmother wrote it down wrong? Did I miss something? I’m going to power through, eat the mistake and try again. Tomorrow. You can never have enough giant biscuits.
Step 3: This isn’t working.
I hate biscuits.
Step 4: Check the recipe again. Try baking them again.
If I just sit down and think, I’ll get this. What am I doing wrong? Why can’t I make these stupid freaking biscuits?
Step 5: I’ll get them right next time. Or I’ll give up and eat a pan of brownies. I can’t mess up brownies.
Aaarrrg!
Speaking of brownies, I made the Eureka/Super Fudgy brownies again Saturday. This time I broke up a bunch of Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s and put them on top. Amazing.
The Perfect Brownies? Maybe. November 18, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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After 3 failed attempts at making the cookies in my mind (which are delicious … also in my head), I’m taking a tiny break from the little bastards. Now I’m on the hunt for the perfect thick, thick frosting that I can reformulate. Then it’s on to my gramma’s recipe box. I found the Christmas recipe I really want to remake and I almost died when I saw it called for a cup of Crisco. My heart exploded just thinking about that. Ug.
In other news, I may have found the most perfectest brownies in the whole world. I’ve had many, many, many experiences with brownies. Since I live with the Brownie King of South Dakota (no, he’s not from South Dakota, it just sounded good), I’ve spent far too much of my time looking for brownies that I actually want to eat. I usually call dibs on the crunchy outsides (I literally cut off just the crunchy parts) and let S have the rest. Not this time. This time I ate the corner, then as I was depanning I tried another. And another. Oh, the amazement of finally finding a brownie I want to eat!
To create these beauties, I used both Wing-It Vegan’s brilliant original Eureka Brownies recipe and Not a Rabbit’s amazing Super Fudgy Brownie recipe. Basically, I followed Wing-It’s recipe, but used Rabbit’s chocolate measurements. And, of course, I made a few tiny changes of my own, too. I decreased the sugar to 1/2 cup, added 1 tsp more milk, and 2 more tablespoons of cocoa powder.
So if you want to join me in chocolatey brownie bliss, make these now.
I’ll add a picture when the dumb camera battery is done charging. Grr.
Quick and easy November 16, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, recipe, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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No, not me. How rude! I’m talkin’ quick and easy – and delicious – vegan treats.
Like what, you ask? How about chocolate mousse with that extra avocado you have lying around?
I had that tonight, actually.
I don’t measure well, so you might want to adjust to your tastes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Mousse
1 avocado
1 T peanut butter
1 T agave
2 T cocoa powder (you can also use melted chocolate chips. I’d go with a handful or two … just keep it to less than 1/4 c worth. Probably an 1/8 c would be best)
tiny sprinkle salt
2 tsp oil (I use coconut)
1-2 T almond milk
Throw it all in your Magic Bullet and blend. Taste, curse me and add more of whatever it is you’re missing. I might even double the peanut butter, the chocolate and the oil … but that’s just me. I tend to cook by taste. :/
And while we’re here, how about a word about the Magic Bullet? It’s both a blessing and a curse. I love that I can grab it and whizz up something quickly without having to get my blender out, but inevitably, within a few minutes I’m bitching about the damned thing. It doesn’t mix evenly. Doesn’t completely chop anything. It leaks. It just irritates the heck out of me. But I still use it every morning.
Non-vegan news: Happy birthday Martha Plimpton!!
Is That an Ear? Or, Seitan in a Can November 14, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Review, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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Months ago, when we were at our fish-scented but lovely Asian market, we picked up two cans of seitan. Just because it was there and I was so excited to see some vegan stuff in a store.
But then I just let it sit there. Until today.
Fig. 1: The can has been opened and dumped into a waiting bowl. Subject is wrinkly, squishy and a little scary. Professional vegan nerd can be heard saying “I’m scaaared. I’m scaaared.”
Fig. 2: There seems to be a dual liquid zone. One can only assume that the bright red liquid is an oil of some sort.
Fig. 3: Vegan nerd believes she may have spied an ear or some other appendage in the seitan. After much poking it is determined that she is, indeed, wrong.
Fig. 4: Dressing the seitan in a can (SiaC) up with some leeks and red peppers has little effect. Vegan nerd does her best to make the subject palatable but still has not tasted said subject.
Fig. 5: SiaC attempts to fit in among the healthy dinner items (quinoa, edamame, sweet potato) but isn’t fooling anyone.
All in all, it wasn’t that bad, but I’m not looking forward to busting open that second can anytime soon. I suppose it’ll do in a pinch, but there’s just something so nice about making your own.
I’m not naming any names, but SiaC tasted almost identical to seitan I’ve gotten at legit vegan restaurants in both Boston and NYC. I am not amused. It makes me wonder what they’ve got in their kitchens.
In other news, I’m getting closer to posting another recipe. I just need to run through the testing one more time and I’ll be happy.
And in 100% non-vegan news, new Walking Dead tonight. That is all.
Vegan pumpkin oatmeal November 11, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, recipe, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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Let’s just start with this: I’m terrified to post a recipe. Even this sad little simple one. What if I wrote it wrong? What if I measured it wrong? What if you all hate it? Oh, man. So many things to worry about.
Basically this came from my being to lazy and not having the right stuff to make the chocolate peanut butter oats I usually make. So I threw this together and kinda liked it.
Vegan pumpkin oatmeal
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I use almond, but any would work)
1/3 cup rolled oats (not instant, they’re gross)
1 T ground flax seeds
3 T canned pumpkin
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1-2 t agave syrup (optional)
tiny bit of salt (I shook my salt shaker once) – optional
In a small bowl, mix oats, flax, pie spice and salt, if using.
In another small bowl, mix milk and pumpkin until blended.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir completely. Give it a taste. You may not need anything else, but I use unsweetened milk, so I use a teaspoon of agave at this time. once you get it as sweet as you want it, stir it all up, put a lid on it and stick the bowl in the fridge for at least a few hours. I leave it overnight so I have breakfast in the morning.
You know, this probably would taste really good if you omitted the agave and poured on some maple syrup in the morning. Just a thought; I haven’t tried that yet. 
So there you go. My first recipe. Eeeks!
A day in the life of this nerd November 9, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, personal, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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Since I’ve got a few vegan recipes up my sleeve that still need a little bit of work, I’ve decided to post everything I ate Sunday instead.
Because Boston was delicious, but let’s face it, pizza – even vegan pizza – does not make a healthy me. So I’m prefacing this with a little caveat: While I’d like to pretend I eat this little in a normal day, I don’t. I’m still not feeling great from a stomach thing on Friday (no pizza was involved in the sickening of my stomach), so this is Nerds and Bees Lite.
a cup of tea and a piece of peanut buttery bread I was too lazy to let finish toasting
one cookie from the Asian market
over the course of the day, I ended up having three small handfuls of these yummy organic, unsalted peanuts
don’t tell S that I sometimes drink the chocolate almond milk straight from the carton
I was making breakfast for the next day, so I had to taste my oats to make sure they were good before I put them in the fridge *this recipe should be up soon
organic heirloom tomatoes, avocado, vegan mayo, salt and pepper on a rustic-y bread? Mmm
a glass or two of water
a tiny taste of Tofutti while I was trying to see if it was soft enough for my cookies
I busted out a bowl of spaghetti squash with Trader Joe’s sauce and a half of a mini pita for dinner
this is a cookie-related test of the frosting. To clear up any confusion, I only licked the beaters, not the whole bowl
test cookies
*recipe to come, I just need a tiny bit more tweaking
making S some Brussels sprouts and garlic … I might have eaten a few
So that’s it. A whole day of food and nothing that even seems scary, right? Go vegan; it’s easy and yummy.
Tonight, tonight November 4, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: personal, vegan, Vegan MoFo, walking dead, zombies
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After realizing that episode two of The Walking Dead airs on Sunday, I’ve decided I’ll sit down and re-watch it tonight so I can tell y’all about it.
And I’ve already failed at Vegan Mo-Fo by not posting yesterday. I’m sorry! What can I say? I’m a busy bee. Plus I had a follicle emergency that had to be addressed.
Anyway, look for my super awesome posts later today.
ETA: Well, lookie here, Yahoo has posted 10 vegan fall recipes on their Yahoo! Green page. Yay!
They range from kale chips (yum) to chocolate acorn squash baked custard (FYI, I hate custard) to cabbage rolls.
Yay for Yahoo!
Boston eats November 2, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, trips, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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I’m trying to whip up some recipes for Vegan MoFo, but so far all I’ve managed to do is make other people’s recipes. Hey, I get distracted.
Tonight it was delicious cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.
While I expand on the couch, let’s plan out some places to eat on our upcoming Boston trip.
Yes, we just went to NYC. And to Boston a few weeks before that. And we’re headed to Florida in a few more weeks. What can I say? We get around. *wink wink*
Anyhow, let’s talk about my favorite places to eat in Beantown. By the way, I’ve never, ever called it Beantown. It’s just odd.
Peace O’Pie – Do you love pizza? Do you love having more than one boring-ass choice? Then you’ll love this place. They have a pretty big menu of interesting and awesome toppings. And it’s all vegan! They even have a sign asking you not to bring your crappy non-vegan things in. Although I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone bring their own food or drinks into a pizza joint, but I’m sure it happens.
I almost forgot to mention: Peace is a little pricey, but it’s worth it. But I’m going to try my darnedest to remember to bring my own drink this time.
Wheeler’s – Best vegan ice cream in town. And Wheeler’s pretty cool if you catch him in the right mood.
Cue dramatic music… when I was looking for his web address I saw on Yelp that Wheeler’s is closed. I’ve been too busy to get there the last few times we went to Boston. I feel like this is partially my fault for not eating enough to keep him open. I’m so sad.
Grasshopper – Yummy Asian delights … and they’re all vegetarian! Keep in mind that the plates are hugemongous.
Wagamama – We don’t have one of these chain restaurants around here, so I like to go when I get the chance. Of course, I only get one thing, but I don’t care. I love it.
Honorable mentions
Veggie Planet – I used to get the same thing by mistake every time I went. I hated it. Now I remember not to get that and I’m happy again. I won’t tell you what it is, I’m sure it’s delicious to someone.
The Other Side – The food is good, but the atmosphere just isn’t my thing. And I don’t even want to start telling you about the bathroom…
Grezzo was awesome, too, but it was really pricey for such tiny portions. And now it’s gone. They had amazing takeaway but cheeses that I’m going to miss.
If you think my choices suck, then please, please, please tell me where else I should go. I’ve hit just about every vegan/vegetarian restaurant in town and either not liked it or not liked the menu and left before ordering. But I’d love to have more choices. I like to eat!
November 1, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, personal, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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It’s World Vegan Day*! So give your vegan friends a high five and go a day without eating a dead animal or animal by-products. Try it, you’ll like it!
*World Vegan Day is not to be confused with the slightly disturbing Hug a Vegetarian Day. That was September 24.
I know it’s meant to draw attention to vegetarianism, but I don’t want some grubby so-and-so trying to hug me, so back off, buster. I’ll take a high five and a squirt of hand sanitizer over a hug from a stranger (or co-worker) any day.
Little known Nerds and Bees fact: I am a super hand washer while S couldn’t care less. It’s very upsetting to say the least.
Vegan MoFo October 31, 2010
Posted by That girl in 2010, Vegan MoFo.Tags: food, vegan, Vegan MoFo
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So after much deliberation and thought, I’ve decided to join Vegan MoFo this year.
I know this isn’t a food blog, but being vegan is a huge part of who I am, so I’m making the leap this year. And hey, if it gets me blogging more often, it can’t hurt can it?
I need to get a move on if I want to tell you about Walking Dead episode two before it airs!
You know, I’ve picked up a few cookbooks I’ve been dying to veganize, so maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.
We’re also working on some shirts, which should be awesome! I can’t wait!
