anise flatbread

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing

4 tsp unbleached cane sugar
1 tbsp (+) anise seeds

whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

add water and olive oil and mix in thoroughly.

divide into 4 equal balls.

flatten balls as thin as possible without leaving holes on aluminum foiled pans. (i'm sure parchment paper would be better, but i didn't have any.)

spread 1 tsp sugar across tops of each piece. sprinkle anise liberally.

spray with olive oil. bake at 400 until edges are brown.

Per 1:	Calories	Fat	Sodium	Carbs	Sugar	Protein	Fiber
	389	19g	291mg	49g	6g	2g	1g

adapted from this recipe.

french toast

::recipe::

oh, covetous heart

dear self,

don't be makin' stupid resolutions like that last 8-minute-videos one.

that was just dumb.

self challenge:

8 minute abs + buns every day for the next 2 months.

16 minutes ain't so long...

birthday tea

Menu:
Scones & clotted cream
Mini broccoli cheddar quiches
Mushroom risotto
Tomato bisque
Chickpea pitas
Bacon-wrapped apples
Pinwheel sandwich wraps
Salad

Dessert:
Bergamot & vanilla cupcakes
Chocolate & cherry cupcakes

vive

my life is a whirl of "i wish the week was over" and "i'm so glad it's friday."

no wonder time is going so fast.

beer bread, old bay, and bobbie's lentils

currently, my second loaf of this beer bread
is in the oven. it's an ugly loaf, but super tasty. i used a hefewiezen for my beer, and brown sugar. fantastic! especially with some margarine...

i've been using tons of old bay lately. i read about it in veganyumyum's blog, and shortly thereafter found myself in a quaint fish shop looking for bottled water, and saw it. i was very excited at the time, though since then i've actually found it at whole foods. i put a dash of it in a lentil dish based loosely off of my old boss bobbie's favorite dinner, and it helped unbland the french green lentils and wilted spinach. (trader joe's chili pepper sauce helped as well.)

just:
saute a crushed garlic clove, 2 chopped green onions, and 1/2 tsp of old bay in 1/2 tbsp olive oil for 3-5 minutes. add 1 cup dry french green lentils and coat in the oil. stir for 1-2 minutes.

pour in 2 cups water, cover. simmer at medium high heat, adding water as needed for 30 minutes.

add enough water so the lentils are slightly soupy at the end of the 30 minutes, and pour into a large bowl. add handfuls of raw spinach, folding into the lentils. add another 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning and 1/2 tsp chili pepper sauce, and mix thoroughly. eat!

almost done baking for the weekend. just need to blend up a tofu omelet mixture for the marinated veggies...

oh, sage!

when you discover a new favorite spice, it's magical.


driving down the 1 yesterday in the warm sea air, the fennel and the sage wafted through the spider's topless convertableness.


slice the fennel bulb, the sage, a medium onion, and some crushed garlic, spray with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes at 400.

today i had leftovers over portabella mushrooms, and mixed in with bruschetta and israeli couscous.

leg sunburns

are distracting when you pee.

when your pants are down around your knees, and you notice the flaking skin, it's hard not to try and take some of it off.

no one wants to look like a leper.

bean pate

i got a can of giant white beans from falletti foods, with the intention of making a pate. so i scoured the internet for pate recipes to see what i could do to make it taste really pate-like, and not just like a bean dip.

my ideas so far:
bean pate bianchi di spagna pate
saute
2 minced thinly sliced shallots
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
2 3 chopped green onions
in
1 tbsp olive oil
put in blender, blend to chop up finer
add
1/2 tsp truffle oil
2 3 tbsp pinot grigio
1/4 cup 6 tbsp earth balance
giant white beans, drained and rinsed
and blend to complete smoothness

put in covered bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

i may or may not include some agar-agar. i'll have to see how i feel/how easily i can find it.


wound up using the agar-agar. i had flakes from a feta experiment a long time ago, so i put 1 tbsp flakes + 1/4 cup water in the blender. i alternated letting it sit a couple minutes, and running the blender on high for a minute, (while sauteeing the veggies) then put into a small pot with another 2 cups water and brought it to a boil. i reduced the heat to medium-high and did a low boil until the flakes were dissolved (i did do a little whisking) and the water reduced to 1 cup. i then poured it in the blender with the bean mixture and did a high blend.

i poured the mixture into a glass loaf pan with a thin layer of black pepper along the bottom, covered, and put in the fridge.

it smells amazing, but i'm too full of thai food to eat it right now, so i'm going to have to wait until later.

::update::
it's good, but a little mild. it needed mustard (which i always ate with pate, anyways). i think next time i'll try a more flavorful bean, or maybe just use more seasonings.

yield: 3 cups pate; nutrition: per 1/4 cup

Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
95	7g	0mg	199mg	7g	0g	2g	2g

potato salad and jalapeno poppers

this was a very successful experiment. no one could tell it was vegan, which is what i was going for. it tasted just like my grandma's, too, which was always part of the 4th of July for me.

5-6 medium russet potatoes, boiled for 30 minutes and skinned, chopped into bite-sized pieces

aside, mixed
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp tapioca starch (or potato)
1/4 tsp salt
with
1 cup vegan mayo
2 tbsp soy milk
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
3-4 chopped green onions

and combined with the potato pieces.

covered and let set in the fridge for a while. garnished with ground pepper.

yield: 1 gallon salad; nutrition: per 1 cup

Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
105	4g	0mg	137mg	14g	10g	1g	2g

i also made jalapeno poppers, which had a great flavor but were a little hot.

hollowed jalapenos, just caps cut off and deseeded, about 12
then mixed
1 container of tofutti better than cream cheese
1.5 oz of high protein tofu, crumbled completely into little grains (for texture)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed garlic
2 green onions, chopped
and filled the peppers with the mixture.

i feel they would've been better breaded and fried than grilled, which is what we did. grilled is good, but you got a lot of pepper in a bite.

yield: 12 poppers; nutrition: per 1

Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
92	5g	0mg	1236mg	10g	2g	0g	1g

i have *got* to try this.

"apricot vanilla bean pate de fruit," stumbled upon at cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com while looking for bean pate recipes. nummmmm...

if you've never fired anyone

or been responsible for getting someone fired, you will never
understand how much this messes with you...

tonight

i am getting drunk at home with cheap ass whiskey and ginger ale.


wanna come over??

bored and boring

pub food dinner, vegan bleu cheeseburger (wot!) with fries and balsamic mushroom n onion stirfry.


and angelcots, if you haven't had one, are AMAZING.

when i'm boring, all i think about is food.

oy, chest pain.