Tangible & Intangible

"Like most people who love to cook, I like the tangible things. I like the way the knife claps when it meets the cutting board. I like the haze of sweet air that hovers over a hot cake as it sits, cooling, on the counter. I like the way a strip of orange peel looks on an empty plate. But what I like even more are the intangible things: the familiar voices that fall out of the folds of an old cookbook, or the scenes that replay like a film reel across my kitchen wall. When we fall in love with a certain dish, I think that's what we're often responding to: that something else behind the fork or the spoon, the familiar story that food tells."
-Molly Wizenburg, A Homemade Life, p. 2&3

Oh, Autumn

Remember how I didn't want fall to come?

Yeah, I'm over that.

I am dreaming of apple cider and pumpkin patches. I caught myself baking vegan apple pecan muffins a few days ago. I am dying to photograph the changing leaves and layer up in scarves. I am already craving pumpkin pies and winter squash. And do you know what else is lovely in the fall? Roasted veggies.

The October issue of Whole Living printed a recipe for Roasted Fall Vegetables with Lentils. I took inspiration from it and this is what followed....

Roasted Vegetables with Black Rice

Ingredients:
1 cup of organic black rice (I tend to buy from the bulk section in my local health food store)
2 1/2 cups of water
1 large organic red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large organic carrot, chopped into two inch pieces resembling homemade matchstick carrots
1/2 medium to large organic red onion, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1) Place black rice and water into a medium size pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer over low heat for 55-60 min.
2) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange veggies over two baking sheets and drizzle a tablespoon of the olive oil over each baking sheet and season with salt and pepper (I also think chopped garlic would be good on here too. Feel free to add some). Bake for 20-30 min, rotating once. Keep an eye on the veggies as to not burn the bottoms.
3) In a small bowl whisk together remaining three tablespoons of olive oil, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar.
4) Toss cooked rice, roasted veggies, and dressing together. Enjoy!

Funks and Avocados

So, I pulled a disappearing act on you.
Bet you thought I was gone forever.
Psych!

I have been in a funk lately. The kind of funk where nothing is inspiring to you. I haven't felt like cooking, or writing, or photographing at all for the past few weeks. It's been a very, very bad funk.

My days have consisted of toast...which I honestly ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner one day. Though in my defense I didn't just put Earth Balance on each slice- I did a little mashed avocado and sliced tomatoes as well. Peanut butter and banana slices are pretty great too. And work. And being upset that my car window broke. And watching a lot of pointless TV. And I think I've done ten loads of laundry in the past two days.

It's time to pull out of this funk.

I forced myself to look at cooking blogs this morning, because if I'm not constantly surrounding myself with food and people who pull out my passion for it, I do stupid things. Like make a lot of toast.

Oh boy. Let me tell you how happy I was to discover this recipe for Cold Avocado Soup via Joy the Baker.

Have we discussed my love for avocados? I think we should, because it is rich. Intense. Powerful. LOVE. Basically, if it were healthy to eat a whole avocado at every meal, I totally would. I find ways to use them in everything. Tofu scrambles, smoothies, stir fry, vegan sorbets. Yes, you read that right. Sorbets.

So what I'm saying is, I think this Cold Avocado Soup might be the thing to pull me out of my funk. And if that doesn't do the trick, this Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake might.

My Weekend According to my iPhone

This past weekend I took a road trip with my family to the small town of Phillipsburg.

We...

ate at an old fashioned soda shop and diner.

stoked up on cady at The Sweet Palace.

and browsed countless antique shops.

(more pics to come!)

My Exact Thoughts

"I wanted to do something with food, I said. That was what I kept coming back to, after everything else. At the end of the day, when I was exhausted and fed up and unsure of everything, food was a certainty. It was what I thought about, what I cared about, what I wrote about, what got me out of bed in the morning. (I mean that, I get up for the sole purpose of eating breakfast. I don't know why else you would.) It was so obvious, so utterly terrifying."-Molly Wizenburg, A Homemad Life, p. 166

Snapshots From My Kitchen

Here's a look at what's been going on with The Skinny Bitch Project lately- delicious, yes?

Tomato and Tofu Stew

 Kale with Peanut Butter Dressing

Minty Cantaloupe Surprise

Adventures in Cupcake Making

If I thought I was mad at Kim for the hell she put me through making wonton wrappers, it was nothing compared to the deep desire I had to pull my hair out over baking chocolate cupcakes.

I began my yesterday afternoon in a great mood. Church was lovely, lunch was lovely, grocery shopping was lovely, and I hoped to have a cupcake in the midst of all this lovliness. I gathered up all my ingredients, pulled out the electric mixer, and began the baking process. Things began very smoothly. Even though I could never claim to be anything close to professional, baking is my thing. I've had the gist of it down by now since my mother stuck a spatula in my hand at the age of four. I think this love for baking stemmed more from my enjoyment of licking the beaters rather than the actual baking process, but that's beside the point. I know baking- and I know that the ratio of dry to wet ingredients is drastically off in Kim's recipe.

I had sifted the flour, cocoa powder, and other dry ingredients together. The almond milk had been set to curdle with the apple cider vinegar. I creamed the Earth Balance with the sugar. And then it all went horribly wrong. The dry ingredients were added along with the almond milk/apple cider vinegar mix and it rapidly became clear that there was not enough moisture to turn this into a batter. At first, I didn't panic. I still had 1/2 cup of orange juice to add with the hopes that it would cure my problem. Well, it didn't. I added more milk and it kind of improved things...ok, no it didn't. It just kept looking like a mess of stiff chocolate dough- not a smooth cake batter.

After some time of hoping an praying I could mix it out of disaster dough land and into happy cake batter land, I decided to just give it a go and throw the damn things in the over and see what would come out. What came out was just plain awful. The cupcakes looked so dry, which clearly makes sense since the dough (I never did get it into a batter) was so dry.

The cupcakes got set out on the counter to cool, I made myself a tempeh bacon BLT, and met up with my girlfriends to see Something Barrowed (which was adorable, by the way). I didn't try the cupcakes when I came home. I thought to myself that they couldn't be that bad. So, I whipped up the peanut butter frosting, which turned out splendidly. At least I managed to make something right. I frosted the cupcakes and took a bite.

YUCK.

The cupcakes were absolutely horrible. I honestly didn't know one could screw cupcakes up that badly. Lesson learned. I officially gave up for the night and got some shut eye. Upon waking up this morning, I sent a text to my friend who happens to be a baker (I slightly hate him for getting paid to do what I love most) and asked him if we could go over the recipe and figure out where I went wrong. I read the ingredients to him over the phone and asked him if it was at all weird for a cake batter recipe to have such a small amount of wet ingredients. He informed me that it was and we made plans to get together and figure this thing out.

This afternoon, I hauled the ingredients over to his apartment, slapped on an apron, and began showing him what I had done. He had the genius idea of putting a pan of water in the oven while it preheated so it would hold moisture. When we got to the "disaster zone" part of the recipe where we mixed the dry and wet ingredients into the Earth Balance and suger mixture, he instantly saw the very obvious problem that there was simple not enough wet ingredients to make a real batter. We added two more cups of almond milk and that seemed to do the trick. The dough turned into a beautiful cake batter and eventually into beautiful little cupcakes :)

We did decide that we could get away with reducing the additional almond milk by 1/4 cup and doubling the baking soda and powder, since the cupcakes didn't rise as much as they should have. So, when I get around to trying this I will let y'all know how it goes.

(Sorry, I didn't get a picture of them with the peanut butter frosting. Oops.)

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Sauce

Saturday, I made Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Sauce. Delicious, yes? Oh, yes.

This combination of butternut squash, vegan parmesan, panko breadcrums, and Earth Balance is stuffed into a lovely little wonton wrapper, quickly boiled, and tossed with the sage sauce. Sounds simple right? Well, it is.

But would you like to know what is not simple? Making wonton wrappers.

I began making the wrappers around noonish with the idea that I would be able to eat the ravioli for lunch before two. Oh, what nice little thought that was! I was still working on the wonton wrappers by the time two o' clock rolled around. Hunger pangs broke me down and I made a snack out of strawberry slices and some almond butter on toast. Now, it wasn't the making of the dough that gave me trouble. That bit was simple enough- mix flour, salt, and warm water together and knead until smooth. However, after letting the dought sit under a clean towl for 20 min., the task of rolling the dough out and forming the wrappers began. And it was hell.

Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it took much longer than anticipated. I had absolutely no idea the man power it was going to take to roll that dough down to one sixteenth of an inch. I rolled. And rolled. And rolled. And rolled some more. Fianlly, after a good hour plus I got 17 wonton wrappers out of the dough (I was supposed to have 24, but not all my wrappers were a uniform 3" x 3" square, nor were they perfectly one sixteenth of an inch). And earlier I had seriously been worried about not making time to work out. Let me save you money on the gym- make wonton wrappers everyday. Your arms will get all the work out they need.

When it came to making the butternut squash filling, it was a snap. Although, this recipe made me officially hate my blender and I am  now purchasing a food processer ASAP. While my blender rocks at whipping out a great smoothie, it's awful with sauces and oh say, blending squash and Earth Balance. Normally, I can deal with having to poke the contents of the blender continuely with a spatula until reaching the desired texture, but my patience was running a little thin at this point after how long it took to make the wonton wrappers.

Blender issues aside, after assembling the contents of the ravioli, they boiled nicely while I worked on the sage sauce. Now, the sage sauce isn't so much a "sauce" as it is, a bunch of sage breify sauteed in a ton of Earth Balance. I felt like that was a nice little homage to miss Julia Child and her love of butter, since I modeled The Skinny Bitch Project after The Julie/Julia Project.

The ravioli turned out to be much better than I expected for my first time making them. Actually, they turned out pretty damn well if I do say so myself. The sage is a perfect complimentary flavor for the squash. The texture of everything was smooth and creamy...delectable!

Basic Smoothie-On-the-Go

With its light texture and perfect ratio of tartness to sweetness, this could be the drink of my summer. I can picture it now- sitting on the deck, flipping through Lucky and other summer reading, sipping this delectable smoothie.

Gosh, I'm such a girl.

:)

The Basic Smoothie-On-the-Go is a simple blend of orange juice, frozen strawberries, vanilla soy yogurt, one banana, a touch of vanilla extract, and acai powder. I choose to leave the acai powder out simply because it is way out of my price range (though, I do love acai!).

Can't wait to sip this out under the sunshine!

Wake- Up Smoothie

Before the 28-Day Challenge, I was never a big smoothie person. To me, they were more of summer treat- something you made when you were tired of iced green tea and needed something cold while sitting on the deck with a magazine or book.

But now, I cannot imagine life before smoothies. I have at least one a day, because when you can turn a simple drink into something so delicious and healthy, why wouldn't you?! I really should've been blogging about this amazing smoothie long before now. I've been making it for almost two months now. It is truly the perfect start to a good day (which yes, sounds like an ad where I'm trying to convince moms across America that this is what your kid needs in order to stay happy and healthy all day long. But it's true.)

Who knew a little orange juice, vanilla soy yogurt, frozen blueberries, a banana, and flax seed could be soooooo good? Kim did, of course. I completely axed the wheat germ from this recipe. Let's be honest, no matter how healthy it is, it's gross. (Yes, it's true- even us insane health buffs have things on our "I don't care how good it is for you, I won't eat it" list.) I was seventeen last time I had wheat germ though, so maybe I should give it another shot....

Anyway, wheat germ thoughts aside, this smoothie is amazing. Whenever I wake up and realize I forgot to make my green smoothie the night before, I make this instead. And you should too.

Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

Oh, muffins.

Of all the wonderful baked goods in existence, muffins hold a very special place in my heart. Growing up, my mother would always buy those big variety packages of muffins from Costco and freeze them. We always froze them with the intention of saving them and always having a quick breakfast. Though, quite honestly it often turned into us grabbing them out of the freezer day after day. We never had a reason to freeze them in the first place.

Most of my memories of muffins may have come from a commercial bakery, but absolutely nothing beats homemade muffins- especially when those muffins are vegan!

The simplicity of this recipe was the best part. Kim makes it easy by giving us a very traditional recipe. The only way this recipe differs from a "normal" muffin recipe is by using soy yogurt in place of eggs and almond milk in place of dairy milk. And that nutty brown sugar topping? It makes this muffin! After all, isn't the best pat of a muffin the top?

Blame Ice Cream Makers and Food Processors

{Photograph by Jennifer Causey, via Simply Breakfast}

Ok, so I'll admit it. I've been a bad blogger.

I haven't posted anything new in for.ev.er.

Please forgive me. I don't suppose that I have any real excuse other than loss of momentum. The Skinny Bitch project isn't something that I've given up on. However, if I'm honest, I'm at a breaking point.

It all started when I wanted to make a soup that required a Vita Mix. Now, I don't own a Vita Mix, nor do I have the $500 it costs to buy one. Soon after, I discovered that I also don't have an ice cream maker vital to another recipe. Oh, and I don't have a food processor. I know what you're thinking, What kind of vegan doesn't own a food processor?! (For those of you who don't know, food processors are necessary for an untold amount of vegan recipes. The same is probably true of non-vegan recipes as well, but I never once had a need for one until turning veg.)

Anywho, I hit a rut. A big How in the world am I going to afford all of this? and What the heck did I get myself into? rut. So, it was back to me making up recipes on the fly with whatever happened to be in my fridge. Which, If I'm being honest, usually means covering everything in avocado. It's a wonder I'm not 100 lbs heavier from all the fatty avocados I eat, but that's another story...

Something happened two days ago. Something wonderful.

Erin McKenna, owner of BabyCakes NYC, came out with her second cookbook, BabyCakes Covers the Classics! This is wonderful because, BabyCakes was the reason I was able to go vegan. As much as I love cooking, a love baking a million times more. And fresh baked muffins are just about the greatest thing in the world, are they not?. Erin helped me go vegan by showing me how to bake without dairy or eggs. Her first cookbook is what sent me to the bookstore where I happened upon the veg cookbook section for the first time!

Now, whenever I get a new cookbook, I devour it. I sit down and read all of the introductory information right down the types of equipment needed and brands recommended. (Yes, I am a full blown kitchen dork.) Once I'm done obsessing over my new cookbook, I start pulling out every other cookbook I own, marking every recipe I wan to try with bright pink Post-Its. This is exactly what happened to me after purchasing BabyCakes Covers the Classics.

So here I am again with a new fire lit.

Watch out bitches.

It's about to get real skinny up on Tea & Audrey.

Posts on FOUR new recipes coming next week!

Finally...

...I made time to tell you about the yumminess that's been going down in my kitchen lately!

Kim's recipe for Coconut- and Almond- Crusted Tofu with Spicy Mango Chutney was to die for.

It took all the restraint I had to not eat the entire pound of tofu! And the chutney- oh the chutney! The recipe made more than I used, which allowed me to put the chutney on toast for breakfast over the next few days.

Tip: When measuring out the almond meal, cocunut milk, panko breadcrums, and flour for the tufu cut Kim's measurements in half. I found that I had so much left over that I had to dump much of it out. I was not a fan of wasting that much food.

Peanut Pasta Salad with Fried Tempeh Bits was on the menu for my Super Bowl Sunday at the begining of February. The recipe had me blanching veggies for the first time in my life. I have no idea how I got away with not learning how to blanch a vegetable before, but I'm soooooo glad I have now. It may be my favorite way to cook/eat them! I loved how crunchy the veggies were, while still tasting cooked.

The peanut dressing was simple to make and can easily be whipped up for another salad or dressing for stir fry.

Is there anything that cures winter blues like a big bowl of soup? Nope. Especially if that soup is Curried Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup! This soup was simply delicious. I have no other way to describe it. It was just one my favorite spices paired with great winter veggies- simplicity at it's finest. This soup will easily become a staple in my fall and winter must-haves.

Coming Shortly...

More recipes from The Skinny Bitch Project!

Peanut Pasta Salad with Fried Tempeh Bits

Coconut and Almond Crusted Tofu

Spicy Mango Chutney

AND

Curried Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup

Valentine's Day



Happy Valentine's Day!

I've always believed that Valentine's Day is a day that you can enjoy at any age, single or taken. Honestly, I've never had a valentine on Valentine's Day. I've never been one of those girls who hates the holiday for lack of romance. I think it's better actually! There's so much hype over the holiday that I feel most couples are let down when the day doesn't meet their expectations. I however, have no expectations. Of course, I realize saying I "have no expectations" prompts people to say, "Oh, how sad for you to not have something to look forward to!" They'd be wrong though, because I actually have a lot of fun things to do today despite being single.

And if you're looking for some fun things to do today too here's a preview of my day:

Making these peanut butter cups

And homemade peanut butter chocolate balls

Photographing anything reminding me of love

Watching Paris, Je T'Amie

And New York, I Love You

Coconut Banana French Toast

Today was the start of The Skinny Bitch Project!

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. So naturally, the first recipe I tried was from the breakfast section of the book- Coconut Banana French Toast! Let me tell you, it was good. The batter was very simple to make with a very light texture to it. I am also happy to report that even though the recipe says it serves six, there was enough batter left over to refrigerate and make again!

It was a slight struggle to keep the bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan, however. I found I had to use far more Earth Balance in the pan than the recipe called for (approx. 2-4 Tbsp more!). Unfortunately, I think all the extra Earth Balance added an unintended buttery flavor to the toast. It could have simply been that the cast iron skillet wasn't the best choice for the recipe and that's what caused to sticking. I think I'll try using a griddle next time I make this.

Kim definately did good with this recipe though! I had three delicious pieces covered in banana slices and maple flavored agave nectar :)

Week Four

WEEK FOUR of Whole Living's 28-Day Challenge

Some of you may have been wondering if I was still keeping up with the challenge since I haven't been writing about daily lately. The answer is yes. I am still very much doing the challenge. However, now that we're in week four, there isn't as much to talk about other what I've learned from the challenge:

One: Caffeine is wonderful, but I am not Lorelai Gilmore. I may have once been like her and claimed, "I can't stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking the coffee I stop doing the standing, and the walking, and the words putting into sentence doing." You know what though? I am perfectly capable of not drinking coffee and functioning. In fact, I am falling asleep so much easier than I have in years now. Have I given up coffee completely? H to the ELL no! I have cut back significantly however, and it feels great! I'm choosing green and black teas more often and the results are showing. Um, beautiful skin anyone? :)

Two: Smoothies are just about the best thing since sliced bread. The Green Smoothie is officially going to be the start to my day from now until forever! I keep trying more and more smoothies from the list of recipes provided by Whole Living. Other than discovering that I really hate kiwi in smoothies, I have yet to try a smoothie I don't like.

Three: Cardio will not defeat me. I will defeat cardio. Working out on the elliptical is getting easier and easier for me each day. It makes me laugh now when I think back to the first day when only five minutes on it made me collapse on the floor. I lied there thinking, Why am I doing this?! I kept up with the workout everyday though. Now ten minutes feels more like three minutes. I've been up to 30 min. for two days in a row now, and I'll be up to 35 min. tomorrow!

Four: Organizing your life in small daily tasks does wonders for the mind. I have always had a problem with taking on massive projects all at once. I've never just "tidied up my desk" or any other small chore without going into freak-out-hyper-active cleaning mode. Now, I'm getting better at tackling small projects one at a time. It makes life so much less daunting. Also, I'm learning to relax. Really relax. Not just zone out in front of the TV, but meditate, listen to music, read more, etc.

Overall, the challenge has been a fantastic experience that has and will continue to restructure my life.

Day Seventeen

DAY SEVENTEEN of Whole Living's 28-Day Challenge

What I Ate?
Green Smoothie
Apple with peanut butter
Vegan "chicken" patty sandwich with one slice tomato, sprouts, hummus, and 1/4 avocado on whole-grain bread
Ginger Smoothie (make it vegan by using agave nectar)
Small salad (greens, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, sunflower seeds, oil & vinegar) with soy yogurt

Detox Your Bod: Lower Body, Cardio, Walk for 5 Min., Run for 10 Min.
Um ok, so I didn't exactly work out today. Why? I was lazy. Plain and simple. I just didn't want to. I will not accept this as a setback though. Tomorrow, I will work out.


Detox Your Mind: Visualize Passionate Productivity
This one was fun. I'm a photographer...who's had her degree since August and I'm still waiting tables. Honestly, I'm terrified of applying for a photography position for fear of rejection. I need to be visualizing myself in photography. I need to gain the courage to go out there and apply for a job in the field I love.

Day Sixteen

DAY SIXTEEN of Whole Living's 28-Day Challenge

What I Ate?

Two slices of toast with vegan cream cheese and two kiwi

Green Smoothie

Grilled "cheese" (made with Earth Balance and tow slices of whole grain bread) with soy yogurt

Eggplant Tempeh Potpie (recipe from The Vegan Table)

Detox Your Bod: Mix Upper Body and Lower Body Moves, Walk for 3 Min., Run for 7 Min.

20 minutes on the elliptical today!

Detox Your Mind: Wake Up with Gratitude, Do One Delicious Thing

Waking up thinking about the things your grateful for is a fantastic idea. It definitely puts a little smile on your face before your feet hit the floor. Then, transitioning into doing something "delicious", something all to yourself that morning, makes for a peaceful time :)

Day Fifteen

DAY FIFTEEN of Whole Living's 28-Day Challenge

What I Ate?

Green Smoothie

One slice of whole grain toast with "cream cheese" and two kiwi

Tofu Scramble with two slices of whole grain toast and Earth Balance

Eggplant Tempeh Potpie (recipe from this lovely cookbook)


Detox Your Bod: Upper Body Moves, Cardio Moves, Walk 5 Min. Run 5 Min.
Due to the fact that I'm using an elliptical instead of running outside, I'm going to continue upping my time by five minutes every other day until I hit an hour. The upper body moves are a great extension of last week's arm toning routine.


Detox Your Mind: Get Connected
My social life has been changing slightly since starting the challenge. I'm learning how to say "no" to activities that will keep me out late and deprive me of sleep. Deprivation of sleep always leads to sleeping in later, which takes up more of my days than I'm willing to give up. However, I am clearly not willing to give up my social life either. It's more a matter of restructuring it- doing more things during the day with friends. Good thing I'm the queen of mid-afternoon coffee dates. And oh yeah, we got introduce my favorite thing ever back in yesterday! That oh-so-delicious thing called coffee :) So, I had a little coffee date with a friend. I also managed to keep it to one cup of drip coffee before switching to water.