Wrapping up 2020

Hi everyone! Figured I'd get in one last post before the new year, so here's some of what I've been eating. It's mostly simple meals since I've been trying to use stuff up at home, but first are these sweet potato fries that I got as part of a grocery order from Kimberton Whole Foods; they were good, but so spicy!

 More mac & Chao with green beans...

A burrito with rice, pinto beans, crushed sweet spicy chili Doritos, and guacamole...

A salad with crushed root veggie chips for some added crunch...

Spaghetti with Gardein beefless ground...

Vegan Treats!

Ramen with added veggies and Boca...

Christmas cookies from Crust Vegan Bakery from a friend!

Chocolate peanut butter cups from my mom...

Upton's cheesy bacon mac with tater tots and pickles...

A simple Christmas dinner at home...

Chicken noodle soup...

Pizza rolls with tater tots...

And today's lunch, spicy mac & Chao with tater tots and pickles...

Here's hoping for better times in (and out of) the kitchen in 2021. Who knows, maybe I'll actually break into some of the cookbooks I've gotten this year...

my current collection

Could Daisy be any cuter? I'd like to know how it would be possible...

 

Peace. :)

Cookbooks

Hi everyone! Today's Vegan MoFo prompt is: Cookbooks – Show us your favorite cookbooks! I don't have too many cookbooks, but the ones I have, I really like. My favorite is Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson; I posted about it here during last year's Vegan MoFo. I've tried lots of yummy recipes from it, but my overall favorite is the veganized orange chik'n. 

I love my random cookbook; it's a re-purposed photo album (the sleeves hold recipes I've found online as well as ones my mom has cut out from magazines/newspapers and mailed to me).

I've been trying more recipes from Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and they've turned out really well, like the Omaha Yakisoba from earlier this month and the marbled banana bread. I especially love this cookbook for how beautiful the photography is!
 

And today, my brother-in-law Ben gave me a new cookbook (Vegan: 60 Vegetable-Driven Recipes for Any Kitchen by Gena Hamshaw). I've already paged through it and found the recipes I want to try first: peach crumble coffee cake, butternut squash mac and cheese, lentil sloppy joes, and double-chocolate brownies!

Here's Leela: another morning, another meditation...

Peace. :)

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food

Hello everyone! Today's prompt is "Tell us about your favorite cookbook!" Mine is Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson (link goes to my posts about recipes I've tried from it). 

Other than my "photo album" cookbook (random recipe cards and recipes cut out from newspapers and magazines), Q&EVCF is the one I've used the most, but I don't have many cookbooks to begin with. Here's my little collection, for reference. (I've only tried a few recipes from Isa Does It so far, and the bottom two I've never made anything from, lol.) 

In Q&EVCF, there's a thorough section on stocking a vegan pantry and essential kitchen tools, as well as a section on smoothies, though I haven't tried any of them. She also has a list of 65 meal ideas that combine different recipes in the book (she uses a $ to indicate meals that are less expensive), and then the heart of the cookbook begins – breakfast; side dishes; soups and salads; main courses; sauces, dips, and dressings; and desserts. Some of my favorite recipes that I've tried this year include the mushroom gravy, collard greens, banana pancakes, and veganized orange chik'n (which is probably my most favorite!).

Tonight I decided to try a new recipe from Q&EVCF – the veggie "meat" loaf. It's been a while since I've had meatloaf, but I think this turned out pretty well, plus it finally got me to find some vegan Worcestershire sauce. And referencing the suggested "quick and easy meal idea," I also made the garlic green beans and smashed potatoes (using purple potatoes!) to go along with it.

As always, here are Buttons and Leela...

Peace. :)

Goals for 2014

Hello there! I hope you had a good start to the new year! In December, I clearly lapsed on my posting-once-a-week goal, but I'm bringing that goal back, and taking on a few others, for 2014.

Trying New Recipes: One of my goals is to cook more from my cookbooks:

Vegan Handbook (Vegetarian Resource Group)

The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals (Gentle World)

Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food (Alicia C. Simpson)

My collection cookbook, which contains tons of random recipes, some handwritten, copied down from who knows where, some clipped out from magazines, newspapers, etc.

I've rarely used these cookbooks; they pretty much just sit on a shelf together, wondering what their purpose in life is, so I'm going to try to pay more attention to them. I would like to get a greater variety in what I'm eating, and I know I'm sure to discover some new favorites in the process.

Reading More: I read a fair amount already, but I want to try to read even more this year, and I have a nice (nearly 2-ft tall) stack of books for 2014, and I'm sure more will be added along the way. I'm currently reading Catching Fire (The Hunger Games series) by Suzanne Collins. I saw the movie before reading it, and overall, I'm liking the book better, but there are a couple parts that I thought the movie handled better.

Self-publishing: Having completed my fourth NaNoWriMo this past November (as well as a Camp NaNoWriMo in April 2013), I feel it's kinda ridiculous that I haven't done anything with the stories I've written (other than just reading and editing them myself). I want to publish them, and I've been saying that for a while, but I keep procrastinating. My goal is to self-publish at least one of the stories. I think I might try my story about Mystery (the 30,000-word one I wrote during Camp NaNoWriMo) first, followed by my NaNoWriMo novel from either 2012 or 2013.

Other goals: I also want to work on exercising more, try meditating, and get back into the habit of walking every day (once it stops being so cold out).

Oh, and one more goal, thanks to Rachel at The Vegan Mishmash, is to submit my turkey sketches to 46millionturkeys.

Well, that's about all for now. I hope everyone's keeping warm; Mystery's strategy to stay extra warm and comfy is to cry until I lie down on the couch and let her curl up on my stomach. While she has me pinned down, I use the time to do some reading. 

"Chop, chop! Time to get more reading done!"

Peace. :)