Cucumber Walnut Bread (Simple Sumptuous Cooking)

Hi everyone! After harvesting a bunch of cucumbers from my garden, I decided to use the biggest one to make the cucumber walnut bread from Simple Sumptuous Cooking (I found the recipe through the cucumber recipe round-up on One Raw Bite). 

The cucumber walnut bread turned out really well, and when my mom visited, we had some of it with the chocolate mousse that she’d made for me. 

Delicious!

Cringer always loves to snuggle with my mom when she visits… 

bonus goofy face

Next time I post, it’ll be Vegan MoFo! My theme this time will be “Elementary, My Dear Vegan” – I’ll be veganizing food from the TV show Elementary!

Peace. :)

Pumpkin Spice Cake (Walks, Talks, & Eats)

Hi everyone! Yesterday I made the pumpkin spice cake from Walks, Talks, & Eats; it turned out great! 

Small harvest this week; my garden is pretty much done for the year… 

Here are a couple kitty-themed Inktober sketches… 

Leela’s doing much better this week; she’s transitioning onto her prescription food, and she seems to be enjoying it, hooray! Today she decided to take a nap in the cat bed and snuggled in with her favorite toy mouse! 

The other kitties don’t want to be left out, though, so here they are… 

Daisy was joined by Cringer on the loveseat for some snuggling.

Rogue did some posing during a exploration of the house while the other kitties were closed away.

Peace. :) 

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: Jewelled Rocky Road Bars (veghotpot)

Hi everyone! Today I made the jewelled rocky road bars from veghotpot (Vegan MoFo 2014); they were delicious and such a nice treat! 

Here’s Daisy, posing cutely… 

Peace. :)

Bookmarked Recipe: Caramel Apple Rolls (x means no onions)

Hi everyone! Today’s new recipe was shared in Vegan MoFo 2014, and I can’t believe it took me this long to try this super sweet & incredibly delicious dessert! The caramel apple rolls are from x means no onions, and they are so good and simple to prepare. 

I couldn’t find a vegan caramel sauce in stores, but thankfully the post includes a link to a recipe, which worked perfectly. It’s pretty hot today (there’s a heat advisory), but the rolls were a nice reminder that fall is just around the corner! 

Here’s Daisy… 

Peace. :)

Tofu in Spicy Peanut Sauce (Modern Martha)

Hi everyone! This week I visited my sister and we tried a new recipe – the tofu in spicy peanut sauce from Modern Martha. It turned out really well; the only change we made was to decrease the amount of sriracha to 1 teaspoon. We had it with white rice and mixed veggies, and it was delicious! So delicious, in fact, that I’ve already made it again!

I’ve also tried some new popsicles recently; they were both really good, but between the two, I preferred the salted caramel one… 

I did more vegetable sketches this week…

beets (original photo)

bok choy (original photo)

broccoli (original photo)

Brussels sprout (original photo)

cabbage (original photo)

Here’s Leela in one of her favorite summer nap spots – behind the door in the bathroom. I accidentally woke her up by taking her picture; whoops! 

Peace. :)

Bethlehem VegFest, Vegan Treats, and More

Hi everyone! Bethlehem VegFest took place on July 14; I was totally out of the loop and only found out the night before. With such late notice and plans later that day, I figured I’d skip this year, but Zach made sure we got there on Saturday for a bit. For lunch, I had the buffalo chick’n mac & cheese from Freakin’ Vegan – there was a long line but it was definitely worth the wait – and Zach had a grilled cheese & pineapple guava lemonade. 

Then we picked up some desserts at Vegan Treats; I got the triple berry cheesecake and Zach chose the s’mores cheesecake. 

In other news, I harvested my first ears of corn on Sunday!

And then on Wednesday, after we made a delicious batch of lemon spinach pasta, my sister Alena gave me the grand tour of the new Aldi near her, so of course I grabbed some fun vegan stuff – hashbrowns, two types of meatballs, and chicken patties. 

I also sketched some more fruit…

nectarine (original photo)

pear (original photo)

And here's Cringer; she takes the most dramatic cat naps... 

Peace. :)

Fancy Desserts and a Simple Meal

Hi everyone! Just a short post today of the delicious box of goodies Zach and I got from Vegan Treats last Saturday... 

cookies & cream cake, lemon meringue cheesecake, and brownie cheesecake

...And something super simple I made this week: pasta with tomato sauce and lentils. 

Boil 1 ½ cups elbow macaroni; when ready, strain and set aside. Combine 1 ½ cup tomato sauce and 1 can lentils (drained and rinsed) in the pot to warm up, then stir in the pasta. Makes three servings.

Here’s Leela, hanging out by the cat tower. She’s been loving the warm weather! 

Peace. :)