speedy, speedy!

Life has been a little crazy lately . . . thus, meals have been quick, simple, and not necessarily photo-worthy! I did manage to snap a couple of pics this week, though:


I haven't had my lunchbox out in ages, I think largely because I've been preparing a lot of one-pot dinners, which have transitioned well to lunches in leftover form. However, I did manage to pack a dinner for my busy Wednesday this week -- ants on a log, pink lady apple slices, a corn muffin, and a small piece of leftover brownie (no, I didn't bake -- leftover from dinner out the previous week,) which I enjoyed during the Haiti partnership committee meeting, before choir practice.

Oh yeah . . . did I mention Dan and I are going on a mission trip to Haiti this spring? Considering I've never left the country, I figure, Haiti would be quite the first adventure! I'll tell more about the trip when we have more details.


Breakfast this morning was mysteriously similar to last Saturday's breakfast . . . can't get enough waffles! The recipe's so easy and so delicious, I can't help it. :) This time, I decided to top them in the manner in which my friend Ann taught me -- peanut butter and maple syrup. (Hey, it's protein, right?)

Speaking of Ann, she was kind enough to help me with my taxes last night, and I'm looking at a whopping refund again this year! Wahoo! Most of my refund will be earmarked for travel expenses, but I may treat myself to a new cookbook, too.


Dinner tonight was simple: hash browns, (which get better and better each time I make them -- this time I tried a higher smoke point oil, with excellent results!), and scrambled eggs with mushroom, onion, garlic, spinach, and feta. YUM.

I may bake later tonight . . . until then!

a very disjointed post:

I have been wanting to tell you all about my most recent addition to my kitchen arsenal, but I keep forgetting! So, here it is:

My grandma and grandpa sent me $10 in a letter not too long ago, and with my discount, I was able to buy a mortar and pestle for only a couple bucks out of my own pocket! I have been wanting one of these for ages -- handy for smashing up spices and ginger when making chai, pulverizing garlic cloves, and cracking cardamom pods when making Indian food. I've only used it once so far, but I can't tell you how much easier crushing spices was this time 'round! (I used to use my meat mallet to crush them on a cutting board . . . allspice bits flew everywhere!) Perhaps I can now finally give away my meat mallet -- I have found it handy for crushing garlic cloves, but not much else, since I quit eating meat a year and a half ago!

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When Dan and I have sushi for dinner, there usually isn't much talking, because Dan likes to use so much wasabi in his soy sauce that it makes him cough and have watery eyes. (I enjoy a hefty but moderate amount of wasabi -- enough that I can feel it up in my nose, but not beyond that.) I just thought you'd like to see how much wasabi Dan enjoys with his sushi:

Super-Wasabi-Man decided that this wasn't quite enough for him after he mixed it in and took his first bite, so he actually added a bit more. (His soy sauce usually ends up a creamy brown color from so much wasabi!)

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How's THAT for a vegan lunchbox!

Red pepper nori roll, edamame, and pickled ginger, with soy and wasabi for dipping.

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I love polenta. SO much. My favorite method of polenta enjoyment is simple: a little pat of Earth Balance and a little drizzle of pure maple syrup.

Yummy.

That's all for today! I promise to post pictures of sushi making sometime this weekend.

put THAT in your vegan lunchbox . . .

. . . and EAT IT!

Even though I sort of already took a picture of this food, I had to show it to you again, because leftover miso soup and a spring roll made just about the best vegan lunchbox EVER!



Miso soup, a spring roll, peanut dipping sauce, a clementine, and a few bites of Green & Black's organic super dark chocolate. Mmmmmmm.

Speaking of chocolate, I had a lesson the other day on how to taste chocolate -- it was pretty interesting! I never really realized that, like wine, chocolate has many subtle nuances hiding in its dark depths. I tasted this one bittersweet one that had strong cherry-like undertones . . . holy moly! I also tried one the other day that had a very dark, almost coffee-like bitter finish to it. Happiness.

Free high-quality chocolate tasting is just another one of the reasons why I love my job. :)

Oliver in the sky with diamonds . . . and food.

A high kitty:

(The catnip came out of the bag kind of fast . . . I don't think my boy minded a bit!)

Now, on to the food!

An immune system booster type blueberry and OJ smoothie with a couple of other "secret" ingredients:


My vegan lunchbox for work today: black-eyed peas, one and a half corn muffins, grapes, and a cookie!


Breakfast of champions . . . a leaning tower of leftover tofu pad thai:

(This came from True Thai, which is located on 27th and Franklin in Minneapolis -- rated best Thai in the city! Michelle and I ate there last night for a fun weekend treat . . . truly, some fabulous thai food!)

I can't seem to get enough squash this fall:


AND, there's hummus among us!


Hope everyone had wonderful weekends!

my vegan lunchbox, and then some!

I forgot to show you my "vegan lunchbox" I took with me to the zoo on Thursday:

Apple slices, carrot sticks, and celery sticks for dipping in peanut butter, an apple-cinnamon muffin, and some Green and Black's Hazelnut and Currant chocolate for dessert! (Funny story: I offered a piece to Olivia, she took one look at it, her eyes bulged out of her head and she whispered, "oh . . . chocolate!" While she was eating it, she was trying to get down out of her chair; Chelsea offered to hold her chocolate for her; Olivia furrowed her brow at her mom, pulled her chocolate to her chest, and said, "no . . . !" I think Liv thought Chelsea was trying to sneak a bite! We all laughed.) This ended up being not quite enough lunch for me after all that fresh air and exercise, so I supplemented with some popcorn, and a cup of coffee. Man, I likes my coffee.
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I made chili and cornbread for dinner tonight! I really love chili -- you can use up pretty much whatever veggies you have on hand, and it still somehow tastes good. Ingredients in this chili (most, if not all, organic):
canola oil
red onions
carrots
celery
green pepper
jalapeno
garlic
yukon gold potato
frozen corn
kale
canned tomatoes
black beans
pinto beans
green onions
water
salt
chili powder
cumin
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A short tower of peanut butter cookies. I made these yesterday for dessert -- Michelle came over for dinner before the Cloud Cult show at the Varsity. (I made roasted veggies and tofu, and whole wheat couscous for dinner.)
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Hooray for Cloud Cult, by the way -- what a rockin' show! I love when a band has enough of a following and is popular enough that the show turns into a romping singalong. Awesome! (And it's really fun being on "the list," too! Michelle was healthy this time 'round, and happy to fill the role of "plus one.") It's also always fun to watch my buddy, Dan, play drums!
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So, this started as a food post, but has turned into a little bit of the last few days kind of post! Bear with me.
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Last thing . . . I just HAD to show you my spoils from the thrift store today! Christine and I poked around the Unique Thrift Store on Rice St. in Saint Paul, and I found three really awesome things:

The coat is clean and in reasonably good repair (one small rip in one of the seams, which can be easily mended,) and fits me perfectly. The scarf is fuzzy and warm, and matches all three of my new coats (this one, the green cord fall coat, and the blue wool winter coat.) The shoes are something special all together . . . yes indeed, those are patent leather bowling shoes! They are by "Soft Walk," and are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned . . . no breaking in period, incredibly! They are just the right size, and are in perfect condition -- they had never been worn (I think -- the treads were sparkling clean and one of the footbeds still has scraps of the sticker from the shoe store that sold them,) and were only $14.95! (Christine mentioned she thinks Soft Walk shoes run around a hundred bucks, retail.) I spent less than $25 today, and got some majorly awesome stuff, if you ask me! I'm starting to feel like a thrift store goddess -- between today, and the Diesel jean jacket I found at Tatters a couple of weeks ago for $20, (the girl who rang me up told me that the jacket used to be hers, and she bought it originally for $160!), I've gotten some really awesome deals!
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And that's all, folks. For now, anyhow.

saddest dinnerbox ever

Some friends are picking me up straight from work tonight and we are headed to an outdoor concert, so I packed a dinner in my Laptop Lunchbox because I know I won't make it until 8:00 without something to eat. It's the saddest "dinnerbox" ever -- a sunbutter and strawberry all-fruit spread sandwich, grapefruit segments, baby carrots with hummus, and a couple bites of "tiger chocolate" (dark chocolate with espresso beans.) I really, really need to go grocery shopping. Here's hoping I can make some time to do that this weekend!

P.S. About the Laptop Lunchbox . . . if you are a long-time visitor to my blog, you know how much I love it! However, my only complaint to date is that a sandwich really doesn't fit in the container that's designed to hold a sandwich. This was never much of a problem for me, because I'm not a huge sandwich person. However, I think I solved the problem today -- I just took the sandwich-sized container out of the lunchbox and tossed the sandwich in the bottom of the box. The few extra milimeters of space seem to have solved the sandwich smush problem! Awesome.

P.P.S. The heat has finally broken here -- mid eighties during the day, and temps dropping into the sixties at night. Whew!