Simple Smoky Gravy (VegNews)

Hi everyone! This week I tried the simple smoky gravy from “The Thanksgiving Cookbook,” which was a bonus pullout in the most recent VegNews. My only change was to use all-purpose flour instead of oat flour. It turned out really well; I had a big ladle of it with some mashed potatoes. 

Here are the kitties...

Leela under the bed

Daisy in the sunshine

Cringer being her goofy self

Today marks one month without Buttons. Everything I’ve tried to type here turns rambly and sad, so instead, I’ll share an old sketch. Buttons didn’t get the memo about holding still as a model; she kept rolling around dramatically and then got up before I could finish it, but I still like how it turned out, and I like remembering her so happy & carefree...

Peace. :)

Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes (Steamy Kitchen)

Hi everyone, and Happy Halloween! "Halloween" is of course the prompt for today, the last day of Vegan MoFo, so I made pumpkin mashed potatoes, veganizing this recipe (use vegan butter; canola oil & soymilk in place of the heavy cream; and vegan Worcestershire sauce). 

I had been a bit skeptical about this dish at first, but it was actually pretty good!

Here's my Inktober sketch; it looks super scary lol…

And here's the kitty crew saying they hope you don't get too frightened on this spooky night…

And a throwback photo of Buttons from around Halloween 2014…

Peace. :)

Scalloped Potatoes (My cat loves Daiya!)

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Making the humble potato the star of the show," so I immediately knew where today's recipe was going to come from: My cat loves Daiya! I made the scalloped potatoes for dinner tonight, and they were really good!

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Leela on the sleeping bag this morning...

Ramblings: Today felt like a wrapping-up-the-mourning day. I woke up and went to go downstairs to feed the kitties without instinctively glancing in at Buttons' fort (Zach had made it by draping a blanket over a chair). Later, I finished the book I'd been reading when Buttons was still alive. For lunch, I finished the leftovers from the meal I cooked before we brought her to the vet. Nearly everything we'd rearranged to make things easier for Buttons has been put back to where it used to be. I typed up a bunch of memories this afternoon; I don't think I could ever forget her, but I sure as hell am not taking that risk. I certainly don't like the idea of life going back to "normal" without Buttons, but I know she wouldn't want me mourning forever, so I'm OK with it.

A photo from the first day Buttons came to live with us.

Peace. :)

Three-Bean Chili (Vegan Crunk), then a Buttons Update

Hi everyone. Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Let's get boozy!" I don't drink, but the three-bean beer chili recently posted over at Vegan Crunk sounded really good. So, I modified it for my lunch today. The recipe already calls for including mushrooms, so I simply replaced the beer with a package of mushroom gravy (Imagine brand), making it a three-bean mushroom chili instead. The three-bean cans I found contained chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, and pinto beans. The chili was good, and I have lots of leftovers, so those will be nice to enjoy throughout the week.

My other changes: I used Morningstar's vegan pulled pork since I already had a bag in the freezer and couldn't reach the last bag of Beyond Meat crumbles at the far back of the very top shelf at the grocery store last night (aka "short people problems"). And I only used half the chili powder because I realized as I was measuring it out today that that was all I had. 

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Cringer cuddling with Buttons last night (photo by Zach)...

Here's Buttons this morning, looking out the window from her cat tower once again...

Buttons update: I'm so sorry to share this news, but we had to let her go today. I'll do a memorial post after Vegan MoFo is over; writing anything more right now is going to lead to even more breaking down and crying. I just miss my Buttons girl so much, and I'm heartbroken and numb.

My last photo of Buttons at home, in the sunshine, before we brought her to the vet.

Peace...

Cabbage, Chickpeas, & Rice

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Survival food," so I'm sharing a meal I made a month ago. One of my neighbors had given me a cabbage from his garden...

...so I chopped it up and cooked it with a can of chickpeas and some white rice in vegetable broth, adding salt and pepper at the end. Accepting food from others is humbling; we survive together, and meals like this are good reminders.

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's a sleepy Leela...

And here's Buttons this morning in her cat bed...

...and then in her cat tower...

Peace. :)

Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Spicy!", so I decided to make a triple-spicy chicken sandwich using a spicy Boca chik'n patty, a slice of Tomato Cayenne Chao cheese, and chipotle Vegenaise. It was super spicy (for me, at least); the tagline Zach came up with is "this is how heroes are made," hahaha!

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Daisy last night with a big yawn...

And here's Buttons in her cat tower this morning, looking out the window...

...and later on the couch...

Peace. :)

Scrappy Pasta

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Repurposing food," so I made spinach tomato linguine, adding scraps I needed to use up: 1/4 cup or so each of diced onion, spaghetti sauce, and Daiya cheddar shreds. It was a nice lunch, and I got some stuff cleared out of the fridge, so win-win.

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's a pic that Zach got two nights ago -- Cringer came up onto the couch to hang out with Buttons (she did it again last night as well)... 

Knocking on wood, Buttons' new appetite stimulant seems to be helping. She's still not super enthusiastic about food, but she's eating a bit better. Here's Buttons this morning, in her cat tower once again and looking significantly less grumpy than she did in yesterday's pic...

...and then this afternoon, hanging out with me on the bed while I was reading for a bit...

Peace. :)

Homemade Pickles

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Sell yourself." This summer I grew a bunch of cucumbers in my garden and I couldn't eat them fast enough so I started making pickles. I just chopped the cucumbers, boiled water & vinegar & a scoop of a pickling mix, poured the boiling liquid over the pickles, waited, and then put them in jars and into the fridge. (This is the quick version, and the pickles should be eaten within three months.) I've eaten quite a lot of pickles this summer and fall, but that's good because I like pickles and it's fun to eat foods you've grown and prepared yourself. These five jars are the pickles I still have left to finish by mid-November. So, all that's to say, while I'm not looking to sell these pickles, I'm willing to share...

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Here's Leela on the bed...

And here's Buttons back in the cat tower again this morning...

Peace. :)

Kyoto Stir Fry

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is "Grocery store tips and tricks." I don't really have too many tips & tricks. When getting groceries, I just try to keep it simple and be as efficient as possible. I usually start at Giant because I can find most of what I need there. Then, if I need to, I'll go to the health food store -- Kimberton Whole Foods -- for whatever's left. It's a really nice store, a local family business with lots of vegan specialty items in stock. In addition to whatever ingredients I'll need that week, I always make sure to grab a quick meal, something that I can just heat up when I don't feel like cooking and/or don't have time. The dinner I had tonight was one such quick meal -- the Kyoto Stir Fry bowl from Sweet Earth -- something new I'd grabbed when it was on sale. It was good, but a little plain; I had to add some sriracha.

Here's my Inktober sketch...

Today was another dreary sort of day, so here's a throwback picture of Daisy back in the summer when she was sitting in the window, a nice breeze coming through the screen...

Buttons hasn't eaten much today, so the vet gave us a new appetite stimulant to try. Fingers crossed that it will work (or continue to work; she's just now eaten some dry food for me, yay!). Here's Buttons from last night; I took this pic after I had to get up from what was an incredibly adorable cuddle session; she had snuggled in between me & Zach on the couch and kept stretching against us and curling back up and being just way too cute...

And from this morning...

"Yes, I jumped back up here."

"Can you stop with the pictures so I can settle in?"

And from this afternoon, when she joined me for yoga...

Peace. :)