Teenage Vegan

Monday, February 19, 2007

Well, this week was pretty busy, so I didn't have much time for cooking (we even had *gasp* cereal for dinner one night!) Plus, I was pretty worn out on cooking after our Valentine's Day cooking extra-vegan-za!

Me finishing off the rest of the B'Cous Cous I Love You, from Vegan Eats and Treats. Originally, we were going to make homemade ravioli, sauteed arugala, and frizzled leeks from Voluptous Vegan, but after making all of the desserts, we just weren't up to it anymore!

A very happy (and full) boyfriend!

Dessert #1: Believe it or not, these are the chocolate cherry tallcakes from VCTOW that so many people seemed to make for V-Day. The first half of them I attempted to decorate the way suggested in the book, but it just wasn't working, and I blame it all on this:

William Sonoma's Mechanical Pastry Bag... after seeing this on a blog, I begged and begged and was delighted when I unwrapped it under my Christmas tree. But so far, it's been nothing but trouble! The plunger is so difficult to push down that I usually need my boyfriend to do it for me, and then it either shoots out across the room or only comes out in a few sporadic thin lines. Plus, cleaning it is a bitch; no matter how much I scrub, there's always some damn frosting left in the nooks and crannies! So I settled on just frosting the last half of the cupcakes with a knife an then topping them with cherries, and they turned out just fine. Not as pretty, but still tasty.


Dessert #2: Chocolate dipped strawberries, drizzled with vegan white chocolate!



Dessert #3: Dark chocolate coffee truffles, from The Vegan Feast Kitchen. These were Tommy's least favorite dessert, but I've been snacking on them all week! Unfortunately, after slaving away in the kitchen for hours to make all of these delicious sweets, I sat down at the table and realized that sugar (and, more specifically, chocolate) sounded disgusting. So I stuffed myself on coucscous and had one chocolate dipped strawberry (which I only ate because it seemed a shame not to!). Oh well, I suppose it was better for me in the long run!

And one not-V-Day post: Deja Vu Sloppy Joes from Students Go Vegan Cookbook (which we're currently borrowing from the library) and polenta fries from the Vegan Vice blog. I had this with the left over apple cider while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Can life get any better? I think not!
Have a good week, all!

Labels:

Saturday, February 10, 2007

A congratulatory... grapefruit?

Yes, that is what I received from my best friend and her mother after learning that I was accepted into the University of Washington! I was so excited, because UW was definitely my first choice school. I plan on majoring in sociology and minoring in women's studies (a professional feminist in the making!). It was especially nice since I heard back before the other applications were even due, meaning that I didn't have to finish filling any of the others out! Mwahaha :)

Baked tofu from Bryanna Clark Grogan's Almost No Fat Cookbook, served with vegan tartar sauce on top and fit fries on the side. Although this was greedily devoured by my family, I just couldn't bring myself to eat it after adding kelp powder into the breading for the tofu because it smelled like fish food! It tasted fine, but I put up a mental blockade against it and settled for eating everyone's fit fries for dinner instead (sweet potatoes are good for you, right?)


Curried tempeh filling from The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen on two slices of sprouted barley bread with macrobiotic squash soup (you can see half of the butternut we used in the upper right corner!) and three bean salad from Trader Joe's. This was originally supposed to be sushi, but I was still feeling a bit iffy on sea vegetables after the kelp powder incident, so it turned into sandwiches. Delicious all the same!


Really really yummy vegan raspberry "jell-o" from a box I got at Sidecar (Seattle's vegan grocery store) for only $0.79! I added frozen raspberries in and topped it with soy whipped cream (Soyatoo brand), which I used to hate but now love. I wanted to make the jell-o cute, but the only molds I had were for Easter - hence the rabbit shape.

Pretty much the whole reason I go to Pike Place Market: yes, that is a vegan snickerdoodle the size of my hand. They also have really amazing gigantic vegan cinnamon rolls, but since Tommy and I had just split one at The Globe (which we went to after seeing it featured in the Get Sconed blog, btw) I decided to go for a cookie. I also got yummy wheat-free sugar-free applesauce bread. I'm pretty sure the place is called Cinnamon Works, but I could be wrong.

Really, really good lemon date squares from the Vegan Vittles cookbook, which is pretty much my new favorite cookbook ever. So delicious - just the right combination of sweet and lemony, and perfect to pack in a lunchbox the next day!

Greek Salad also from Vegan Vittles - tofu feta, cucumbers, kalamata olives, roma tomatoes, and garlic caper dressing (our own addition) on top of romaine lettuce with sourdough bread on the side. I'm usually not too big on salads (I know, what a crummy vegan, huh?), but this one was yummy!


Gyros, also from - you guessed it - Vegan Vittles! Seitan stir-fried in a mixture of soy sauce and herbs with sprouted wheat pita bread (which, btw, does not hold together very well) and a tofu-cucumber sauce. We also had lettuce, onions, and tomatoes on them. A bit salty, but good!


Our standby healthy meal: roasted acorn squash with rosemary and olive oil, three bean salad (same as from the sandwiches) and quinoa with a tahini-tamari dressing. Quick, easy, and nutritious (a good source of complete protein!)

PMS + Veganism = amazing chocolately goodness. The World's Best (And Easiest) Chocolate Pudding from Vegan Vittles with soy whipped cream, organic sprinkles, and crumbled up fruit sweetened wheat free chocolate cookies. Definitely made both Tom and I sick, but it was so worth it.

Tofu Yung patties from Chicago Diner cookbook, with brown rice and frozen edamame on the side cooked with mirin. This tasted just like egg foo yung (or so my mom said, I've never had it); it definitely had a very egg-y texture and a delicious Asian flavor.

Peace out everybody!