Tofurky and Sloppy Joes

I thought I'd take a break from Boston apartment hunting to do a lil' blogging.

First, let's talk about my excellent Thanksgiving weekend!! My dad, mom, and brother Ryan flew in from Minnesota and Los Angeles (respectively) for the weekend. My mom and Ryan stayed with me in my apartment and my dad stayed with my brother and sister in-law down the road. We had a great time, with lots of eating involved - just the way I like it! :) I prepared the vegan feast for Ryan and myself (recreated last years' meal), and my sister in-law made the non-vegan meal for the rest of the fam. Here are some highlights of the weekend:

Andy, Ryan, and I took the win in our post-Thanksgiving meal game of Trivial Pursuit. (They aren't into all the photo opps like I am.)

We spent Black Friday on the National Mall. Our first visit to the *new* MLK Memorial!
My sister in-law treated us to Jersey Boys tickets. What a great show!! We were all thankful that she planned ahead and did that for us! :)
Ry and I went to Mount Vernon on Saturday, after Mom and Dad had headed back to MN. It was really cool - beautiful property right on the Potomac!

It was fun to be with my family (although I wish my sister and her family had also made the trip), and it was also great to check off some DC bucket-list items. Namely, MLK Memorial and Mount Vernon. I still have a few more to check off, so we'll see if I can get those taken care of before I depart.

I also want to share a vegan sloppy joe recipe I made a few weeks ago. It made a large batch, so I was eating them for days, but the flavor got better and better the longer it was in the fridge. I got this recipe from the Vegetarian Frugal Housewife - I searched through a lot of recipes, and this one has more of a sweet recipe, which is just the way Mom used to make 'em.

VEGAN SLOPPY JOES



1 12-oz pkg Smart Ground (or other vegan "ground beef" product)
2 whole cloves garlic
1 lrg or 2 med green bell peppers
16oz tomato sauce
1 medium diced onion
4 tbs soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs mustard
2-3 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
6 tbs ketchup
1 tbs salt
3 tbs cider vinegar
1/2 cup tomato paste (or fresh tomato chunks)
pinch nutmeg
pinch oregano
3 tbs olive oil

1. Chop onions, garlic and peppers.
2. Fry Smart Ground in pan with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Add spices and soy/worcetershire sauce.
4. Add chopped items and fry a bit more until onions soften.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Stir. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes on low.
7. Test flavor and add more spices as needed.
8. Simmer 5 more minutes and serve over buns or bread.

I paired this with some steamed/mashed potatoes and cauliflower. It's got all the great flavor and texture of the potatoes, but it makes it slightly healthier by swapping out some potatoes in favor of the cauliflower. I mean, enough margarine, soy milk and salt, and you can mash just about anything into deliciousness, right?? :)

Enjoy! Back to apartment hunting I go. Getting SO excited about Beantown in 2012!

Beantown, Baby!

Okay, so I've been super bad about blogging the past few (many) months. It's been a combination of laziness and busyness. And because of the laziness and busyness, I haven't been cooking as much as I'd like, so fewer recipes to share. But I've got some big news! I'm moving to Boston!!!!


Let's rewind a few weeks! At the end of October, I had a head hunter reach out to me, asking me if I'd be interested in a Digital Media Supervisor position at Mullen (exactly the job I want at a really great ad agency) in Boston. My initial thought was, 'Nah...I want to move to LA, not Boston.' But I paused for a second and realized that I'd be happy to be on the east coast for a few more years...and Boston is a great city for advertising, *and* just a great city, in general. I've only been to Boston a couple of times, but I have some friends there. And, heck, this is the time in my life where I should embrace opportunities like this! Throw caution to the wind -- I'm young, not tied down by anything, working on building my career, and this is a GREAT chance to work at a GREAT agency.

So I replied to the recruiter, letting him know I would, in fact, be interested. I had a couple of phone interviews, and very quickly they asked if I would come up to Boston to meet with them in person. This was really cool - I've never been flown to another city to interview! (not to sound like a country bumpkin) They flew me up last Sunday night, put me up in a super nice hotel next to Faneuil Hall, and I interviewed at the agency the next morning. I knew they wanted to make a quick decision, and they weren't kidding! I received an offer yesterday (Friday) and accepted. SUPER EXCITED!

So here we are. In a matter of weeks, my entire life is changing. I've got a lot to take care of before I move in a couple of weeks, but I think the stress will all be worth it. I don't start until Jan 2nd, so I'll be moving up to Boston mid-December, storing my belongings and staying in corporate housing while I apartment hunt, then I'm turning around and driving to MN for my annual 2-week stay.
I had plans to fly to LA to celebrate my 30th bday (Dec 29th), and that has to be canceled, due to timing constraints, but I can make an LA trip in March or April. Not the end of the world. :)

I've always believed everything happens for a reason, and this really validates that for me. I was definitely ready for a career move and some new challenges, and getting to move to a new city is just the cherry on top. I'm going to miss DC and the great friends I have here. I'm also going to miss the families that I babysit for here - I've really fallen in love with some wonderful kids. BUT that's what Facebook is for, right?? :) And I'm sure I'll be back for some visits.

All that said, I also plan to get back to cooking more and blogging about recipes. So I won't be MIA for another 5 months! I made some really tasty vegan sloppy joes the other day, so I'll try to get those posted this week. :)

Cool as a Cucumber

I'm two weddings into my "summer of weddings".

In June, I went to Geneva, NY (in the Finger Lakes region of upstate) for my friend Sarah's wedding. She is one of my Phi Sigma Sigma sorority sisters from Syracuse and just a really great friend. It was a lovely wedding and I was able to catch up with a lot of friends who live all over the country.


Then, earlier this month, I hit the road for 19 hours (9 hrs there, 10 hrs back) and attended my friend Jen's wedding in Midland, MI. Jen and I share a lot of mutual friends and while we both attended Syracuse, I didn't get to know her until I moved to DC. I'm thankful to have her in my life and was happy to be a party of her perfect day!


I'm heading to Minnesota for my friend Cassie's wedding in a few weeks, which should be a wonderful time. I'm flying in Thursday, staying through Tuesday, so I can see lots of friends and family. This will probably be the only trip to MN until Christmas!

So that's what I've been up to...and trying to keep cool. It's TOASTY in DC right now. We had a heat index of 120-degrees this past week. "Crazy hot", I believe is the technical term. :) So I've been trying to keep my cooking cool - and not use the oven. At the same time, my sister and I are counting calories in an effort to lose weight, while supporting one another. We just started, but I had a very successful week. So, while the recipe I'm sharing today is not the healthiest option, the key is moderation. I've eaten what I want all week...but just limited my portions. I think this will work, long term, for me, since I'm not depriving myself.

Onto the recipe -- Creamy Cucumbers are something my mom has made for us for as long as I can remember. I always loved when our neighbors would bring over some cucumbers from their garden in the summer, because I knew Mom would be making these cukes. It's really easy, doesn't take much time or too many ingredients, and tastes delicious. It always made a great side dish to corn on the cob. I've, of course, veganized the recipe. Again - enjoy in moderation and keep cool!

Creamy Cucumbers

3-4 medium cucumbers
1 medium onion
1 cup Vegenaise (vegan mayo)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar

Peel and slice the cucumbers into thin circles. Thinly slice onion. Combine, salt and let stand for about 15 minutes.
Combine the Vegenaise, vinegar and sugar with whisk and pour over veggies. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight for best flavor (or at least for a couple of hours).

Stew To Get Me Through The Week

Greetings all!! Busy, busy, busy. Wedding season is upon us. I have one wedding per month from June through October: upstate NY, Michigan, Minnesota, Annapolis, upstate NY. And I'm driving to all of them, except Minnesota, in my sweet new ride! So it should be a good chance to try 'er out on the open road. I'm trying to get in plenty of babysitting to plan ahead and cover the expenses involved in all that travel (and pet care), so it's rare to have a night "off". But tonight was one of those nights - babysitting job canceled last minute!

I have a scary Friday ahead, as my sweet Jakers needs to have surgery. He needs to have his teeth cleaned, which means they put him under anesthesia, AND they need to remove a "diseased" tooth and a small growth next to that tooth. My poor Boo Bear! I'll be dropping him off Friday morning, and picking him up that afternoon. I'm hoping to be busy at work, as a distraction, but it is going to be a scary day for this single mom.

So with that coming up, I wanted to cook something this week that would last me through my busy week and right into my weekend, since I won't be leaving Jakers' side while he's healing to cook or get take out.

Enter Rachael Ray. Now, I can't say I'm a fan. However, I ended up on one of her dozens of series on one of the cooking channels (I think it was THE Cooking Channel, actually) this weekend while I was cleaning my apartment. She happened to make this vegan stew (well, she had to ruin it with chicken broth, but that was an easy swap), so I DVR'ed the episode and later went back and jotted down the ingredients/recipe. It's a spicy zucchini potato stew. The problem was that when I went to chop ingredients, I discovered the 2 zucchinis I bought last week were soft and covered in white, fuzzy spots. Hmm. So I swapped in yellow squash and it seemed to work well. I honestly think you could do a lot of swapping to use up whatever you have on hand! This stew is hearty, has SO MUCH flavor, and could not possibly be healthier. It's literally a pot of delicious vegetables.

I happened to have some leftover biscuits that I made this weekend, so those made a great pairing. Oh, and I spent last weekend hanging out with my ADORABLE Little Sister from my sorority - who just happened to be in Baltimore with her hubby for Memorial Day - and she turned me on to a delicious red wine called Malbec (I'm not much of a wine connoisseur). I had a glass of that with dinner, which tasted great and helped mellow me out after a long day.

Hanging at the Baltimore Harbor with my Little and her hubby (Karen & Jason).

Quick side note: Once I got my veggies chopped, I realized my largest pot would not be able to contain all of this goodness, so I ended up having to use two pots!

2 pots o' goodness

So it makes a ton of stew, but it refrigerates (and probably freezes) really well, so that just means lots of leftovers. Enjoy!

Spicy Zucchini Potato Stew

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 med zucchinis, thinly sliced
• 2 Fresno (I could only find Anaheim) chili peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 cubanelle peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 5-6 baby potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (I did a couple dashes of dried)
• 2 sprigs of thyme (I did a couple dashes of dried)
• salt & pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 28 oz can Italian style tomatoes
• 2 cups veggie broth

Pour an even coating of olive oil in the bottom of a (very) large pot, heat over medium heat. Add all the veggies and spices from zucchini through salt & pepper. Stir and cover, allow to simmer and wilt down.

Roast the red bell pepper over open flames. If you never done this before, it's actually really easy - turn gas stove on to low/med heat and set pepper on the burner, turning every few minutes until it's charred. (If you have an electric stove, use the broiler in your oven.)

Chop the roasted red pepper and add to mix, along with veg broth and tomatoes. (I added some, but not all, of the juice in the tomatoes.) Continue cooking, uncovered until the sauce thickens and veggies all soften. But don't cook so long that things end up mushy - you want the veggies intact.

I sprinkled a little nutritional yeast (you can use Parmesan cheese if you hate animals -- I kid, I kid!!) and dried parsley. Serves many ...like, I'll be eating this for a week+.

Ramen: Breakfast(?) of Champions

I just saw this link via thedailywhat - only the best website ever, which my brother Ryan turned me onto:
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2011/05/top_uses_for_top_ramen.php

I don't think I've given ramen noodles too many shout-outs, but I am a closet ramen lover. I actually just discussed this with my coworkers, when the smell of my ramen lunch wafted over the cubicle walls and someone said, "I smell ramen." Yes, I do choose to eat ramen on a regular basis. Not only is it SO affordable, but the Top Ramen brand of "Oriental" flavor is vegan and delicious! Not just for college students anymore!

I used ramen in this recipe for Fumi Salad, but I'm now inspired to think outside the box and find some other uses! The Seattle Weekly blog post (above) includes a breakfast burrito recipe that I think I might try and veganize with tofu instead of egg. I'll keep you posted.
GET EXCITED. :)

Living the High Life

I've had a rough few weeks. On April 8th, I was on my way home from work when another driver decided to make an illegal u-turn without looking in the lane next to him to see if there was someone there (why bother, right?). So he essentially turned right in front of me and I t-boned his driver's side.

The good news is that no one was hurt (the reckless driver had his two toddlers in the back seat). The bad news is the Foci (my 2005 Ford Focus) was totaled out. :( Don't get me wrong...she wasn't the fanciest of rides. But she was a good car. She's gotten me back and forth between MN and DC many-a-time. Oh, and she was paid off.

After several weeks of being in limbo, but falling in love with my rental car - a 2011 Hyundai Elantra, I ended up buying a 2011 Hyundai Sonata -- slightly larger, with a few more perks than the Elantra. But the dealership I went to made it TOTALLY worth my while to go with the next model up. I'm in love.

The new ride has bluetooth, XM radio and is so comfortable. It will totally make the ride to and from MN (and to and from the 5 weddings I have to attend this year!) so comfortable.

I'm just relieved to have that whole ordeal over with and be able to focus on other aspects of my life vs stressing about what I was going to do about a car!

Moving on - I've recently discovered something very exciting (well, exciting for me, but it doesn't take much to impress this girl). It's a pasta called Shirataki noodles. Based on my reading, it sounds like there are two types, but the one at my grocery store is tofu-based. They come packaged in a liquid (found in the produce section, near the tofu), and all you need to do is drain/rinse them, then boil them for 2-3 minutes. It's that easy!


One package contains two servings (although I was able to eat the whole thing, no problem) and contains only 6 grams of carbs and 40 calories!! CRAZY TALK! And it really has the same consistency of spaghetti noodles! They also sell it in fettuccine and angel hair, fyi.

I discovered, when I got home, that I didn't have any marinara sauce in my apartment. So I had to get crafty and make my own from scratch. Well, not totally from scratch - I had a can of tomato sauce, but it takes some work to make that into a tasty sauce! So I'm going to post the recipe I used (it was all eyeballing, so I have to guess on measurements). I liked this marinara so much that I might just always make it this way and skip the pre-made jar. Pair this HEALTHY pasta dish with some sauteed mushrooms and spinach, and you've got yourself a killer meal. (Although, full disclosure, I also ended up baking some of mom's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies after my healthy dinner!)

"Homemade" Marinara

• 14 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 small can of mushroom stems & pieces
• 1/4 white or yellow onion, diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
• A dash of cayenne pepper
  
• 1-2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet (or small pan, to keep splatter contained). Add mushrooms, onions and garlic. Satute, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and seasoning and stir well. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, allowing flavors to marinade. Continue to taste, adding seasoning as desired.

Drive safely out there...and enjoy some guilt-free pasta! :)

Vegans Gone Wild: LA Edition

I flew to LA a few weeks ago to visit my brother. My mom also flew into LA from Minnesota, so it was a chance for us to spend time together, while also hanging out with Ryan.

My brother, Ryan, is the smartest person I know. I have previously mentioned that he was a 4-time Jeopardy! winner, who went on to play in the Tournament of Champions last year.

Yes, that's really him.

I sent him a copy of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation a few years ago for Christmas, in hopes of having him understand why veganism was so important to me. I never expected him to go vegan, himself, but that's exactly what happened. For me, being vegan is a very emotional experience. I learned about the animal suffering, correlated my love of cute, fuzzy animals with the suffering my eating was causing, and that's all it took - it flipped a switch in my head and I was done contributing to that industry.

For Ryan, it was a more academic approach. Peter Singer poses the ethical/logical conflict to how we should live our lives, with how agribusiness works. And for Ryan, *that* flipped a switch in his head and he decided to make drastic changes. I love having him as an advocate, because he's much better at explaining "why vegan?" to people than me. He keeps a cooler head than me, because my passion just runs so deep. I tend to get frustrated when people know the facts, but don't make a change. I'm thankful to have him as a resource and ally.

I digress - what I'm getting at is that this trip to LA was filled with lots of veg-friendly restaurants (Mom was outnumbered) and some great sight seeing. Below are some highlights.

Mom's first experience with Ethiopian Cuisine @ Rahel Ethiopian

Mom and I, in front of the Hollywood sign, en route to the Griffith Observatory

On the Santa Monica Pier


Ry and I on the doubledecker tour bus

In the gardens of the Getty Center

I love LA. It was a great trip where being vegan was easy. I can't say that about every city I've visited. Oh, and I felt very at home with the traffic. Very similar to DC traffic. Sad, but true.
But the main perk of this trip was I got to spend some wonderful quality time with the fam!

I've got some new recipes to post soon! Stay tuned...

Portland: A Vegan's Holy Land

I think I found a new favorite city. And it's Portland.


I flew out to Oregon a couple of weeks ago. One of my closest friends from college lives in Portland and it's terrible that I haven't been to visit her sooner. (She's visited me in Minnesota twice and DC once.) It was about dang time I got out there. And we had a fun-filled weekend!

Highlights include (don't be surprised at all the food mentions):

• Multiple options for vegan cupcakes - we went to Saint Cupcake and enjoyed some DELICIOUS desserts
• My friend works for the Trailblazers, so good seats to two NBA games (including the Timberwolves)
• Two words: Slappy Cakes...it's a restaurant with griddles built into the table, so you choose the batter and toppings, and make your own pancakes at the table (vegan batter, toppings and butter are available!)
• Voodoo Doughnuts, which is a well known doughnut shop with TONS of vegan options
• Powell's Books - a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) bookstore with both new and used books. Anything and everything you might like. We wandered the main location in Portland, but I didn't buy any books and kicked myself later. Luckily, they also have a location at the Portland Airport! So I got me some quality used books! :)
• Most importantly, good friends. I got to see some (new and old) Portland friends, some friends from Mpls who recently moved to Portland and one of my closest friends in DC also flew out for the weekend. Just an all around good weekend.

I am hoping to get back out this summer. It rained the entire weekend, so I'd like to check out the non-winter weather. Although, rain and 50s is GORGEOUS January weather to a girl who grew up in Minnesota. Plus, with all of our other "must see" food stops, we didn't even check out the food carts of Portland -- so I really DO need to get back!

Age is just a number...mine just happens to be a big number

Not everyone seems familiar with the term "golden birthday". It's when you turn the age that your birth date is. So for me, my golden birthday was this past December - I turned 29 on the 29th.

I remember when I was younger and friends would get a special birthday when they turned 8, because it was their golden birthday. I would think, 'Aw man...I won't get to have the BIG golden birthday until I'm 29. Ew, so old. I'm gonna have a husband and a bunch of kids. I won't get to have ANY fun.' (Of course "fun" back then meant a Cinderella-themed party with pizza delivery and renting a PG-13 movie.)
SURPRISE!! I don't have a husband or (human) kids. And drinking is WAY more fun than PG-13 movies!!!

Where did the time go?? I was, like, 22 a minute ago. I swear. But each year I'm shocked to realize I don't feel old. I feel good. And each year seems to get better for me. And guess what? Your golden birthday is just like all the others. Who knew?!

This year, I baked my own birthday cake. I opted to try a vegan version of what some might know as "better than sex cake". However, I learned this recipe from my Aunt Carlotta, who doesn't throw around the "s" word, so we call it "yummy cake". :) The recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, caramel sauce, Cool Whip and Heath bars. So definitely a challenge to make it all cruelty-free.
And - long story short - no one in my family tried it, so I ate just about half of the cake, myself, and I gave my cousin the other half (she has a husband and kids, though, so she probably stuck to just 1 piece, unlike me!). I can assure you, this cake is SO rich, decadent and satisfying for any sweet tooth. Worth the effort!

Vegan "Yummy" Cake

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (just check ingredients to be sure it's vegan - I think most are)
• 1 can vegan sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups vegan caramel sauce
• vegan whipped cream (can be found at Whole Foods or co-op)
• 1 order of vegan english toffee

Prepare caramel sauce ahead of time. This recipe (link above) makes more than 2 cups, but don't over-do the caramel (save the extra to top some ice cream!).

Prepare and bake cake in 9" x 13" pan. Allow to cool completely.

Using the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the cake - don't be shy, you want to poke a hole every inch, or so.
Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake, aiming to pour the majority of it in the holes. Do the same with the caramel.

Top the entire cake with about 1" - 2" of whipped cream. Crush toffee and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle a bit of caramel over the top.

Voila! Done. ENJOY.

My niece / assistant, CharBaby. :)

Why Christmas And Surgery Don't Mix

I had SUCH a good holiday at home in Minnesota. I saw so many of my friends and family. I got to meet my new niece, Evy, and spend some quality time with my 2 yr old niece, Charlotte. I ate lots of good food. I got some great gifts for both Christmas and my birthday. It was just really nice.

Well, it was all nice except for the whole wisdom tooth extraction part.

That's right, I decided to combine my vacay and a medical procedure. WEEEE! Here's the thing -- when I started my current job last January, I compared the two dental plan options and the HMO seemed better than the PPO. (and by "better", I mean "cheaper") But what I didn't realize is an HMO plan really restricts which dentists you can do to. You can read about my experience with a local dentist on my Yelp review. Clearly I wasn't going to let these people perform surgery on my face. But every dentist in the DC metro area that accepts my HMO plan was shady or just plain awful (based on reviews)! So I looked at my options in MN - as a long shot - but found that Metro Dentalcare, a chain across the Twin Cities, in fact accepted my Cigna HMO! YES. So that locked it in -- holiday break it was.

I scheduled the procedure for Dec 23rd - to give me some time to enjoy myself at home beforehand, but to get the surgery in early enough to be fully recovered before the Jan 1 drive back to DC. Bad choice. I ended up getting dry sockets (when the blood clot doesn't form over the hole, so you have exposed bone) and didn't sleep for three nights due to the THROBBING inner-ear pain. It was reminiscent of the aftermath of my tonsil removal back in 2003, for those of you who have experienced that joy.
Finally at 6am on Christmas morning, I paged my oral surgeon who, in turn told me to increase the vicodin and take it simultaneously with the ibuprofen. Let's be honest, he just wanted to go back to bed. But that worked. Christmas day was pain-free....from what I remember. Between my sleep deprivation and narcotics, I hit really high highs, then really low lows (aka I passed out about every 30 mins). MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh well, it's done and over with and I'll never have to worry about having my wisdom teeth removed again. And I'm on the PPO dental plan at work this year. 2011 is already lookin' up!

I'll share more about my time at home, some pics and an AMAZING cake recipe in my next post!