Vegan Apple Chocolate Cake (AfroVeganChick) and an Introduction!

Hi everyone! Yesterday I made the vegan apple chocolate cake from AfroVeganChick, and it was delicious! (I added some splashes of soy milk to the chocolate icing because mine turned out too thick.) 

And here’s one of my harvests this week – I got a bunch of snow peas and my first (and probably only) pepper! 

Here are some more of my Inktober sketches…

a bloodhound (original image)

a little creeper

some jars

a chilly witch

And now it’s time to introduce… a new kitty! Zach and I have been thinking for a while about adopting another cat, and it’s been almost a year since Buttons died. Cringer and Daisy still play with each other, but they seem to miss having another cat to play with (Leela has absolutely no interest in playing with them like Buttons did). We’ve been looking around at adoptable cats for some time now, and we finally put in an application last week. We heard back that we’d been approved, so we met and took this cutie home on Sunday… 

Her name is Rogue; her foster told us that the rescue (Noah’s Ark Rescue Project and Sanctuary) pulled her from ACCT Philly. She had five kittens (they have all been adopted) and is spayed now. She is still very young (~1 year old) and very energetic and playful. We’re keeping her in her own room and doing slow introductions with the other cats; we really hope they will get along well!

Peace. :)

Bookmarked Recipe: Roasted Apples (Tea and Sympatico)

Hi everyone, and happy first day of fall! Today I made a simple recipe that’s perfect for the season – the roasted apples shared by Tea and Sympatico in Vegan MoFo 2016. After they finished baking, Zach and I went kayaking up the canal and then down the Schuylkill River; it was such a fun adventure! When we got home, I enjoyed a cup of roasted apples as dinner cooked; it was a perfect treat, like apple pie without the crust! 

Here’s Cringer being cute; she likes looking out the window – being between the window and the curtain – and then letting the curtain rest over her head when she turns back… 

Peace. :)

Peanut Butter Apple Crisp (The Cooking Club)

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "History," so I made another apple crisp, this time with two of my favorite foods -- peanut butter and Granny Smith apples -- that I wanted to learn about more. (The original recipe is from The Cooking Club; use vegan butter.)

Here's my Inktober sketch…

And here's Leela hanging out by my computer chair this morning...

Peace. :)

Apple Cranberry Crisp

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Showstopper Dessert," so I made an apple cranberry crisp. I had the recipe written down on an index card but no indication of where it came from. I tried looking it up online and found similar ones, but I made some changes anyways so here's what I did: Peeled, chopped, and sliced five apples into a baking dish, then added 1 cup dried cranberries. In a bowl, melted one stick Earth Balance, then added 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1 cup broken-up pecans, and 1/3 cup flour, and mixed together. Poured the contents of the bowl over the apples & cranberries, then baked for 45 min at 350°F. 

It turned out quite tasty!

Here's my Inktober sketch...

And here's Daisy being very alert...

Peace. :)

Stuffed Apples with Maple Syrup (Taste for Life)

Hi everyone. Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "A dish with five ingredients or fewer (not including cooking oil and salt and pepper)," so I made stuffed apples from a Taste for Life recipe cut out from a magazine. The ingredients are apples, nuts (I used pecans), dried cranberries, cinnamon, and maple syrup (plus a pinch of salt). These were really simple to make and a nice little treat to have after dinner.

Here's my Inktober sketch; I really like how this one turned out...

And here's Leela...

Peace...

Apple Cider Popsicles (House Vegan)

Hi everyone! I’d been hoping to make at least one more batch of popsicles before fall, and I found the perfect recipe over at House Vegan! These apple cider popsicles were easy to make, and didn’t require a blender, which was nice (less to clean up afterwards, haha!). I had one today, and it was really good! I don’t think I’ve ever had an apple-flavored popsicle before, so this was new but definitely fun and seemed perfect for this time of year, with fall right around the corner... 

Here’s Buttons napping in the sunshine... 

Peace. :)

Easy Apple Nachos

Our oven is currently out of commission due to the heating element having popped (super startling by the way, haha!), so when I was looking through my bookmarks from last year's Vegan MoFo, I knew AfroVeganChick's recipe for Easy Apple Nachos was just what I needed. 

I didn't have walnuts, so those weren't included, and the peanut butter was already liquid-y enough so I didn't bother heating it up in the microwave. 

Simple, quick, and delicious! 

Here's Leela on my desk... 

...and Buttons on the bed. 

P.S. The Bethlehem VegFest is only a week away; hope to see you there!

P.P.S. The sign-up form, badges, and banner for Vegan MoFo 2015 can be found here.

Peace. :)

The Apple Man's Apples and Red's Peaches

Hello on the 27th day of the Vegan Month of Food! Today's final Veganlist is short & sweet, featuring two fruits – apples and peaches – that have appeared on The Blacklist.

The apples, of course, are those of the “Apple Man,” the one who was conducting surveillance on the Keens. Sitting at his desk, he munched on an apple, watching the footage taken from multiple cameras inside their home. In “Anslo Garrick (No. 16) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 10), Liz discovers the surveillance site, and we meet Mr. Kaplan when she arrives to “clean up.” (Mr. Kaplan is one of my favorite minor characters & I really hope she will feature more prominently in Season 2.)

The peaches hail from “Berlin (No. 8) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 22), when Red goes to the Russian ambassador's place, sitting down to eat while holding the ambassador's dog and going on and on about how good the peaches are and how freestone peaches are so ideal. The ambassador warns Red to not hurt his dog, to which Red replies, “Oh my goodness, no! I'm not a monster. You really think I'd harm a dog?”

Bonus quote from “Berlin (No. 8) Conclusion” (Season 1, Episode 22):

Red: Tell me your story. I'm not leaving here without a story.

Here's two more pictures of Buttons and Leela from yesterday.

Peace. :)