Orecchiette

I decided to make some pasta for the first time the other night. I picked up some semolina flour and followed this recipe. It's so easy and yummy! I roasted some brussels sprouts and added tomato, olive oil, basil, garlic and salt. I will definitely be doing some of this in the future. 

Pizza!

I used this Quick and Easy Pizza Crust recipe and it turned out great. I used 1/2 can of pizza sauce and topped it with garlic, red onion, bell pepper, mango and basil.

Recap

I haven't been posting much. Here's a few highlights. 

Bagel recipe from Vegan Brunch with scallion Tofutti cream cheese and chipotle hummus.

Same bagel recipe, but I made 8 large ones instead of 12. 

Sushi with carrots, spinach, red bell peppers, cream cheese.

Roasted veggies with gluten-free pasta spirals.

Whoops, how did this get in here!? It's no big deal.

Soup

Today's cool and cloudy weather is a sharp contrast to the hot and sunny weather over the past few days. So I decided to make some soup. 

I diced:

• 1 yukon gold
• 1 russet potato
• 1-2 large carrots
• 1/4 large onion
• 3 collard leaves, stems removed and diced, leaves rolled and sliced thinly

And put it in a pot with about 8 quarts of water. I brought it to a boil. While this was happening, I diced up a 1/3 bunch of scallions.

I put in two Not-Chick'n bouillon cubes. After the vegetables were soft, I added two handfuls of wakame, the scallions, and maybe 2 teaspoons of salt.

It's hitting the spot.

2012 Y'ALL

Whew! 2011 was kah-ray-zay. Here comes flying cars and entire meals in pill form. But until then, I still have to keep grounded and prepare meals. Here's the scoop:

On Christmas Eve, I went to my first ever NFL game. Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium are known for being the kings of tailgating, so we decided to be a part of that. I brought some Tofurkey Beer Brats, sauerkraut, ketchup, curry powder and buns so we could make Currywurst. I washed mine down with a Kaliber.

REAL Tailgating: Vegan Dogs and Non-Alcoholic Beer

On Christmas I ate with Girlfriend's family. Her grandmother was very sweet and set some plant foods to the side before they became un-vegan. Most Awesome Girlfriend made a chocolate peanut butter pie that I loved. Isa Chandra really helped me out this year. I made the Seitan Roast and the Chocolate Bottom Macarons. The roast was "the best vegan food I ever had." Yay! Both were a huge hit. I did not take pictures. I recommend both recipes.

For New Years Eve I cooked Curry Tofu w/ Rainbow Peppers. I used the Curry Tofu recipe from Veganomicon, but instead of marinating it I just tossed it all in a frying pan. In another pan I cooked red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers. I added red cabbage to fill out the color spectrum and mung beans to complete the yum spectrum. Served it with rice and Ta-da!

Today I made some Black-Eyed Pea Fritters and Collard Greens. For the fritters, first I looked at a recipe in Vegan Soul Kitchen, then I started improvising and they turned out weird. The collards were totally awesome though, so it looks like all money this year. 

STL

Last weekend I took my girlfriend and her daughter out to the City Museum. I cannot recommended it highly enough. The whole place is a piece of interactive art with tunnels and caves, a ten-story slide, a school bus hanging off the roof... Do not pass up an opportunity to go if you are in Saint Louis.

On the way there we stopped at Cafe Berlin in Columbia, MO. I got a 1/4lb veggie burger on toast with hummus, bell peppers and mushrooms with roasted russet and sweet potatoes.

The GF got a salad with some wicked ginger dressing.

 We went to the top of the arch. Here's a view from 630 ft above the ground.

Before we left we ate lunch at the Lemon Grass. I started with some spring rolls and peanut sauce.

For an entree I ordered the Com Tay Cam Dau Hu, or Veggie Rice in Hot Pot. I've never been to another place that does this. It comes out sizzling and the rice is on the bottom so some of it is very crunchy while the rest is soft. So yum.

GF got the veggie delight, which comes with a super-cute hunk of rice.

Hearty Party

Hey! Here's a few dishes.

This first one is a blended sweet potato and squash soup with sauteed mushrooms, inspired by a similar dish in the Veganomicon.

Next up is what I ate on thanksgiving. My friend's dad is quite the chef and made this stuffed roasted acorn squash. I did make the Mujadara. I used a slow cooker all evening, then reheated it in the over the next day. It turned into veggie meatloaf, I kid you not. 'twas delish!

 
If you have a friend with a wood fire oven, be sure to come over when he lights it up. We had a pizza party where everyone makes their own. Here's mine: