Boo!

OOOOoOooooOOOOOOOoooooOOO! Happy Halloween! I wish I made some awesome and spooky food since it is Halloween AND the last day of MoFo...But alas, I did not.

It's been real. I've enjoyed reading other MoFoer's blogs and getting to know some new people. I wish I had kicked ass and made a bunch of awesome. But there's always next year. After all, this was just an experiment to get myself blogging again. So that goal was achieved. I may continue with some food posts, but I want to focus on what my blog is really about: nothing! Kidding. KIDDING! Nothing is about nothing. So don't be a stranger. Come back and read about my adventures; culinary and otherwise. Until next time, happy haunting!

Chick-un Soup

WARNING: TERRIBLE PHOTO! This was a very unattractive soup under hideous lighting conditions. But it was freaking delicious, so I thought I might as well share it with y'all. I've made many a mock chicken soup, but this one was among the best. I've heard about freezing tofu for a firmer texture, so I gave it a try. Great results. I like WildWood's Super Firm vacuum sealed variety for all my super firm tofu needs. Since it's not packed in water, it has a much firmer texture than any extra firm tofu packed in water could ever possibly have. On top of the super firmness, I froze it. So needless to say, it stood up to my soup. I had some leftovers for lunch today, and the tofu was still going strong.

I don't follow a recipe for making mock chicken soup. I've been making it more or less the same way for years, tweaking ingedients here and there, experimenting with different things. It's usually a soup I make when I don't have many ingredients on hand, which is why I used to make it all the time back when I was a broke ass vegan. I still kind of am. Who am I kidding? But yeah, a simple soup is one of those staples up there with beans 'n rice. Here's the low down:

In a medium pot, heat about a T of oil and add one chopped leek, one large diced carrot, and 2-3 stalks of diced celery including leaves. Saute until tender. Add black pepper, a few dashes of dried parsley and thyme, saute a little longer. Add water (I never measure this...maybe 6-8 cups? I like me a big pot of soup...) and cover until boiling. Add mock chicken base (I like Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. Or you could sub the water with homemade or packaged stock). Add about 3/4 c jasmine rice. Cover and boil until rice is nearly done. Add peas and diced tofu, cover for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. Adjust seasonings to taste. The stuff yo face.

Flapjack WIN

I love brunch! Every breakfast is brunch to me, even if it's just a bowl of cereal because getting up early is for the birds. Cereal is usually what I go for, but today I wanted corn cakes. I wanted corn cakes last night, but I worked later than expected, and after a long Sunday of serving other people food, I didn't really want to think about food at all. So this morning I made some flapjacks, half cornmeal/half wheat flour. I wanted to go for a gluten-free corn cake, but I wasn't in the mood to experiment. I have made some notoriously f*ed up pancakes through experimentation. One time I swear I almost had a nervous breakdown over one such experiment. So anyway, these turned out tasty, and much fluffier than anticipated. I also braised some greens in apple cider vinegar, because I think nearly every meal needs greens. And I sliced up some Tofurky Italian links. I know, I know...I HATE fake meat; especially sausage. BUT Aaron got a bunch of these dudes for free at the co-op where he works, and I was trying to think of ways to make use of them. He has made spaghetti with this particular sausage before and I liked it, so I thought they may be a nice brunch accompaniment. Sure 'nough, yum. I topped them on my braised greens, and decided to forego maple syrup on the flapjacks and went with some Earth Balance 'n pomegranate jelly. A little coffee in my Snoopy mug, and I am one satisfied vegan. Stuffed, in fact.

That 70's Food

Last night I felt like a piece of crap for whatever reason. I was having these weird chills but my face felt hot. The swine flu is rampant in Minnesota, and I thought I was getting paid back for all the jokes I made about it. Whatever it was, I woke up feeling ok today. Thank goodness. I took some of those homeopathic flu prevention tablets. I guess they really work! Tell your friends.

Anyway, I missed two musical performances by two of my friends and stayed home on the couch, watching some PBS telethon thing celebrating the works of Julia Child's French cooking series. I don't know why I was moved to watch her slap butter on dead chickens and wrap them in bacon when I was already feeling kind of sick. It was totally gross. And the lighting and colors of 1970's tv was so revolting and unflattering to food, I don't know how anyone wanted to eat back then. It was interesting, though. And she was funny as heck. So now I know how to select a proper roasting chicken, stuff it with butter, wrap it in bacon, tie it and poke it and roast it over a spit if I ever need to do that. Or host an omelet party. That was hilarious. Bon appetit..!

I plan on a post tonight. I work until 7 or so, but I can possibly motivate myself to make soup. I'm thinking soup or corncakes.

Morning After

Brownies did not happen last night. Lots of beer did though, as well as lots of friends. Lots of not feeling awesome right now, but a small price to pay for a really fun burfday. We went to my former place of employment with a crew of people from another former place of employment. It was like a reunion or something. Good times.

I might post about food later. Right now I'm having some toast and a cup of Gypsy Rose Tea, which is turning out to be a very soothing hangover fix. I've had a tin of this tea forever, since I don't drink tea often. Tea tins and little baggies of loose tea always get lost in the abyss of my disorganized cupboard. But tea was sounding good today. I love black tea. Maybe I should switch up my morning coffee routine every once in while with a nice spot 'o tea. It's much less anxiety inducing than going on a french press coffee rampage.

Happy Birthday To Me!

I have been too busy for bloggin' lately. I don't even remember Monday, Tuesday is school all day, etc. Aaron picked up some groceries last night so we could make birthday brunch. We slept til noon, which was glorious. It's a rainy day, perfect for snoozing. We used to always have Wednesdays off together and made it a tradition to sleep in and make a scramble. Today I made the usual, with broccoli, spinach and mushrooms. Some people make complicated scrambles with all kinds of pointless ingredients which are not scramble-related. Curry for example. I think people throw that in just to make it yellow. I don't think a traditional scramble should taste like curry. I want it to be reminiscent of scrambled eggs. So here is my super simple scramble recipe that has won the hearts of at least a few vegans I know:

3 t vegan margarine
1 lb. medium or firm tofu
1 t turmeric
2 t prepared yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste
any veggies you like

Heat margarine in a large saute pan. (I use a wok.) Place tofu in a colander and squeeze out water. Crumble, squeeze, press, squish etc. until water is drained. Place in pan with the melted margarine and add turmeric, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix until spices are blended. Meanwhile, prep your veggies. When tofu is slightly browned, add veggies and cover with lid to steam for a few minutes. Cook veggies to desired consistency, stir around and viola!

That's it. Takes like no time. I like using spinach and broccoli because they cook super fast and I love greens in my scramble. There are a zillion other things you can add though, so be creative. I'm kinda plain.

I work later, which is lame because it's my birfday and I just wanna lounge around watching movies with the kitties and my Snoopy mug of coffee. Oh well. Tomorrow night will be full of birthday fun. I plan to make my special brownies (not "special" brownies, although there's a thought...) and I will be having some friends meet up with me for drinks 'n good times. I'll be sure to blog about brownies and birthday shenanigans, maybe even including my secret brownie recipe. MAYBE...

I'm Tired

Oh my GAWD. Why do I keep working doubles? I'm killing myself. And for what? I have nothing to show for my long, strenuous hours. Today was long as hell. I walked to Wilde Roast Cafe on my break between shifts and had a tasty toasted hummus sandwich while I studied for a paper I need to write. I had never been there before, and it was nice. They have cozy chairs around a fireplace, the atmosphere is fancy yet laid back, and nobody bothers you. I like. I work a double tomorrow as well, so we shall see how my blogging will go...Hopefully I have time to come home and chill out for a second before "work: the sequel."