...4.23...What I Ate in a Day...As a Vegan...

...I started the morning with a piece of homemade wheat toast topped with some almond butter (which I'm trying to use up) mixed with some peanut butter...

...later I had some homemade strawberry soy yogurt with some flax seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, cranberries, pecans...and a half a brazilnut - for a full days supply of selenium...it was so good...and it's time to make some more soy yogurt now...

...for lunch I went out and pulled up some more of those little wild onions...because I wanted them to top the Korean Lentils...

...I've made these Sweet Korean Lentils before...and they immediately became a favorite...

...over jasmine rice...and sprinkled with the onions and sesame seeds...it was a delicious lunch...

...and FINALLY...I got some groceries...

...I had placed the order online last Friday...and my pickup times was Wednesday at 4:00 PM...such a crazy wait time...but I'm happy to finally have a bunch of fresh veggies...and the shopper did a good job of choosing fresh and crisp veggies...there were several things that we did not get...but I'm really happy to have what we did get...and it was a contactless transaction...I just pulled up and popped the trunk and they loaded everything...

...so for dinner...we pretty much just had veggies...I've still got 2 quarts of hummus in the freezer...and I made some Greek pitas to go with it...

...and the first 'big salad' I've had in a month...so delicious...

...and then I baked one of those big potatoes we got at the Church...chopped up a tomato...and whipped up some vegan ranch...

...what did you eat yesterday?...are you getting enough fresh veggies?...

~Have a lovely day!

...4.22...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...I made another one of the TWO-TONED WOMEN'S SLIPPERS from XOXO CROCHET...you know...so I'd have one for each foot...haha...

...and I barely...barely had enough yarn...in fact I ran out of the gold on the last row...so there are a few stitches of a slightly different colour...it's hard to tell in this light though...and I also ran out of the lighter grey...on the sc border around the top...so I just doubled the other darker grey and finished that...

...so it wound up being a really good use of some stash yarn...

...and I'm really happy with them...

...they fit really well...and don't slip off my heel...and hopefully they are thick enough not to wear out too quickly...as I must be rather hard on slippers...

...and I also finished the navy socks...

...I really love them...they are so comfortable with their boxy toe and princess sole...it's my favorite sock pattern...but I don't decrease the toe the same as the pattern...

...when I get to the end of the widest part of my foot...I start decreasing every 3rd row...for 5 decreases (15 rows)...and then I decrease every row 4 times...this leaves me with 10 stitches to kitchener instead of 8...and makes a nice rounded toe that I like a lot better than the more pointy one from the pattern...

...and of course the princess sole...is just reverse stockinette over the 30 (or for me 28 - because I decrease 4 extra stitches before I start the sole)...

...what's in your workbasket?

~Have a lovely day!

...4.21...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made the Vegan Fricadelle de Veau Mentonnaise...which is just the VEGAN FRICADELLES DE VEAU Á LA NIÇOISE with some vegan tuna and anchovies added...but then we changed our minds about dinner ...and didn't actually eat them...they reminded me of Mom's canned salmon patties though...so we'll probably have them with mashed potatoes, green beans and ketchup...

...and all of the particulars are over at The Vegan Version

~Have a lovely day!

...4.20...Over the Weekend...

...well...we got a pretty huge order from Amazon...

...the protein powder and hemp seeds are just things I always get...and the Mayorgan coffee too...the Man's fave...and the steel cut oats are his as well...I do eat them sometimes...but since I prefer my oats raw...I usually eat the rolled variety...the coconut milk powder you've already seen in action...and I like to add the black rice to the white when I make sushi...which I have plans for later this week...and the grits, high gluten flour and the olive oil all got used this weekend...I'll show you...

...first up...the whole wheat flour...

...now...I don't have the best luck making fluffy whole wheat loaves...they can be dense and heavy...but I thought if I added some high gluten flour it might give it a better texture...so I let the machine do the 10 minutes of kneading...

...shaped it into a loaf...

...and let it rise...and the rise up looks promising for a light and fluffy loaf...

...it baked up perfectly...

...let it cool a bit...but not too much...

...because that first slice of fresh bread hot from the oven is the absolute best!...

...while the oven was on...I baked a batch of peanut butter cookies...

...later in the afternoon...I made us a little olive oil dipping snack...it was delicious dipping the fresh bread into the fruity evoo...like the appetizer at the trattoria we used to love...hopefully it will still be there when the pandemic is over...

...Saturday evening...the Man made a batch of grits and put them in a loaf pan in the fridge...

...because he wanted to make fried grits for breakfast on Sunday...neither of us has ever had this southern staple...although I can remember Daddy eating fried cornmeal mush with molasses...I don't remember ever eating it myself...

...so...Sunday morning...he fried it up...

...and we had it with vegan sausage...

...it was OK...it was quite a bit of trouble and it took a long time to cook you can't turn it until it's crispy and you can't cook it on anything but low heat (at least not on our cooker)...

...so not sure we'll try it again...I may try baking some though...and we may try cornmeal mush too...

...I'd been wanting to have a nice fondue for a while...so when I found this recipe for Jarlsberg Melt (from The Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook)...

...I only did two things differently...I didn't have any soy milk...so I used almond milk...and I added 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper...it has a funky fermented smell to me...and I add to all my vegan cheeses...just a little bit...like the coriander powder...

...and I just mixed and cooked everything in my adorable little 80s fondue pot...do you have one of those tucked in your cupboard?...

...then we lit the little burner (a tea light actually)...

...and had a fondue feast...I'll definitely be making this again...and again...it was such a fun snacky dinner...

...and I may have mentioned that we've been watching a LOT of TV...this is the very end of The Phantom of the Opera...Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber posted The Phantom of The Opera in full and for free...it was for a weekend fundraiser for actors...it's not there any more though...

...while watching that...I got some yarn out of my stash...just these bits...and I hope it's enough...to make the TWO-TONED WOMEN'S SLIPPERS from XOXO CROCHET...

...just hoping I have enough of both colours to finish...you have to hold two strands together...so I'll be using one of each of the greys...I think it will make a nice heathery effect...

...one down...one to go...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week...

...4.18...Dinner and a Movie...

...the Man mixed up a rub of sorts for Cuban potatoes...and it was pretty wonderful...

...I made a pot of fonio...we'd had it before in stuffed peppers...and so the remnants that bag was still in the cupboard...and it's a good time to use it up...

...so in my bowl...I've got black beans...fonio...broccoli (of course...two bags down...two to go...haha)...and Cuban potatoes...

...we worked the crossword together before we started the movie...

...and the movie was Netflix's Watership Down...it's actually 4 episodes so we've not finished it yet...

...Watership Down ranks right up there with Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings... which I read when I was in Jr. High...I loved the rabbit language especially...and it holds the special place that all those books we read as early adolescents have...when we first start thinking deep thoughts and realizing the universal relationship of things in this world...and I think works of fantasy like these help us to see and evaluate our world better...

...I sort of found the cgi rabbits a bit weird at first...but I got over it once the story got rolling...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely weekend!

...Friday Favorites...Vegan Coconut Cream Pie...

...this Classic Vegan Coconut Pie recipe is my new favorite pie...I foresee taking it to many covered dish suppers...

...first of all...I made a crust...

...and rolled it out between my old cut open ziplock 2 gallon bag that I keep in the cupboard and have been using for this purpose...for years...the same one...it still works perfectly...

...measured my old Williams Sonoma pie pan...

...put the crust in the pan and crimped the edges...

...while that was baking in the oven...I gathered the ingredients for the custard...I was searching the internet for a vegan coconut custard pie after I found the bag of coconut at the back of the freezer...and the Man had ordered the coconut powder for me to use as a creamer...but it will be perfect for this...

...I mixed the powder with some water...but it doesn't mix easily...and I wanted it smooth...so I blended it with the stick blender...

...and toasted a cup of coconut alongside the pie crust in the oven...

...and just stirred the ingredients together in the pot...

...it thickens up nicely...I only used half the sugar and it was plenty sweet...

...added all but a 1/4 cup of the coconut...

...and stirred that in...

...and poured it into the prepared crust...

...it really fills it up...

...and luckily...I have just enough coconut to put back in the freezer to make this pie again...

...it's so pretty...

...it slices perfectly...

...and as the author says...no one will know it's vegan...

...do you like coconut pie?...

~Have a lovely day!