Happy 32nd Birthday, Nathan!

My best friend Nathan celebrated his 32nd birthday Saturday night, but the festivities were bittersweet. You see, the birthday party was also a going-away party. Nathan's moving to North Carolina for a job in a week! We've been friends since I was in college, at least 11 years ago!

Nathan and I met in my hometown — Jonesboro, Arkansas. I moved to Memphis after college and Nathan followed a couple years later. I love Memphis for all its grittiness, but Nathan hasn't been happy here. He prefers the small town life, and he's elated to be moving back to the country. Unfortunately, this means Nathan will be about 10 hours away from me!

Anyway, Nathan had his birthday/going-away party at Three Angels Diner, a kitschy cafe in the Broad Avenue Arts District. I've reviewed the place before, and they have quite a few delicious vegan options. Our waitress was even vegan!

Perhaps my favorite vegan item on the menu is this Mock Egg Salad Sandwich made with tofu, vegan mayo, and grilled crusty bread:

Sandwiches come with homemade chips, and they're super-yummy. But I was having a fat day Saturday, and we were eating dinner very late. So I opted to sub my chips out for one of the many veggies-of-the-day (most all of which are prepared vegan). I went with the sauteed zucchini and roasted red pepper side.

My boyfriend and I also split the restaurant's last overflowing bowl of vegan Broccoli & Cauliflower Soup:

Nathan requested that I make Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Glaze:

The cupcake recipe is my basic stand-by from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but I veganized this recipe from AllRecipes.com for the caramel glaze. At first, I tried the Brown Rice Caramel Glaze from Isa's cupcake book, but my soymilk powder was apparently expired.

I wasted a whole cup of brown rice syrup before realizing the soymilk powder had gone rancid. My only other option was to scour the internet. Luckily, the recipe I found was easily veganized and delicious.

Happy 32nd Birthday, Nathan! I'll miss you, boo!

Stylin' and Profilin' with Betty Crocker

I just love Meet the Shannons! If you haven't discovered this fabulous blog yet, get thine ass over there now. Bloggers Annie and Dan use the blog to showcase their veganized versions of Betty Crocker's finest recipes. I have a massive to-make list compiled from the drool-worthy posts on their blog, and I finally got around to making one last night. This Crunchy Vegan Asian Chicken Salad:

It features my all-time favorite food in the universe — Ramen noodles!!! The crunchy noodles are fried up in a little Earth Balance and some sesame oil (no, this isn't a low fat recipe ... and no, I do not care), along with Morningstar Farms chicken strips and sesame seeds. Then it's all tossed with broccoli slaw, green onions, mandarin oranges, and a homemade sesame dressing. And of course, I spiced mine with loads of sriracha. Just damn delicious. Make this. Please.

Oh, and that's a steamed wheat bun peeking out from the back of the plate. I purchase those at my neighborhood Vietnamese market and keep 'em in my freezer at all times.

On another note, the adorable Kelly Paloza, author of the Vegan Cookie Connoisseur and blogstress at Seitan Beats Your Meat, and the super-talented baking whiz Glauce of All About (Vegan) Food, both passed me the Stylish Blogger Award. Thanks ladies! Now I'm supposed to tell y'all five things (okay, it was seven, but I'm short on time so I'm changing it) about me and pass the award on. Here goes:

1. I'll eat just about anything so long as its vegan. The only two foods I do NOT like are licorice and arugala. That's it.

2. Until recently, I rarely ever ate fruit. Just not really a fan. When I want sweets, I'd rather have cake. But I'm really working on this. Trying to eat a piece of fruit everyday. This morning, I had a banana. Yesterday, I had a grapefruit. Baby steps.

3. I don't care for most music recorded between 1950 and 1980, with the exception of early punk rock and some disco. I hate the Beatles. I hate all classic rock. I mostly hate all modern indie rock. I make no apologies for this. I do not care how uncool that is. I mostly listen to dance music, rap, hip-hop, and late 1990s punk rock. Lady Gaga is my goddess.

4. I'm learning to hoop dance! I've been able to hula-hoop on my waist forever, but now I'm using the Hoopnotica videos to learn crazy moves like corkscrews and floating. Still very much a novice, but I'm getting there.

5. Since mid-December, I've had a crazy messed-up right index finger. I was bitten by a cat that I was trying to save after it was run over by a car. The bite immediately got infected. I took antibiotics and the infection seemed to clear, but I developed a boutonniere's deformity (look it up). Now my finger is stuck in a crooked position and I have to wear a finger brace 24/7. Next week, I'm scheduled for a finger MRI. I've learned to type, write, and do pretty much everything with nine fingers. Hopefully, I'll get my finger back one day. Oh, and yes I am right-handed.

Okay, now I'll pass the Stylish Blogger Award on to three of my fave bloggers (the rules said seven, but I'm changing that part too):
* Lauren and Eric at Goodbye Texas, Hello PA (because I'd love to have fancy cocktails with them!)
* Jen at That Pain In the Ass Vegan (because if we ever meet in real life, we're gonna have so much fun!!)
* Dianne at Singer Eats (because her latest post on Everything Toast is so right up my alley!).

Punky Pasta

I rarely make the same recipe twice. Well, when I was testing for my cookbook, I had to. But when I'm trying things from other cookbooks, I tend to opt for new dishes every time. But every great once in awhile, I stumble upon a recipe that I must make again and again. This Punk-Kin Pasta from La Dolce Vegan is one of those:

I've been making this recipe for years, and I'm really not sure how I've never managed to post about it before. Hell, maybe I have and I just can't seem to pull it up using my search function.

Anyway, I do have a rule about only making this dish in the fall or winter. Since it contains pumpkin, I only make it when it's in season. I guess pumpkin time is really over, but it's still February. And I had some frozen pumpkin puree and Morningstar Farms burger crumbles in my freezer that needed to be used.

The sauce is so simple — just pumpkin puree, onions, a little water or stock, and veggie burger. But it's oh, so delicious! I tossed in some brown rice & flax pasta spirals and topped the dish with Daiya mozzarella. Voila!

Do you have any all-time favorite go-to recipes in your cookbook collection?

Just An Average Tuesday: A Food Diary

I typically post pictures of one or two dishes from one meal of the day, whether that was a hearty breakfast, a yummy lunch, or a decadent dinner. But I don't cook everyday. Some days, I just eat leftovers and convenience foods. Today was just an average Tuesday. No cooking, just easy food. Here's a recap.

As all Tuesdays go, this one began with my alarm going off at 7 a.m. I woke up, took a shower, and stumbled into the kitchen to dine on Whole Wheat Bagels with Tofutti Cream Cheeze, Strawberry Preserves, and Zucchini Marmalade (from local Dodson's Farm):

I also had a sliced Anjou Pear since I'm really trying to stop neglecting the fruit group:

By 9 a.m., I was pulling into my office at the Memphis Flyer, the alt-weeky paper where I work as a reporter and an associate editor. Tuesdays are deadline days for us since our weekly hits the stands every Wednesday. I spent the morning editing copy, and by lunch I was famished. As always on Tuesdays, deadlines forced me to enjoy my lunch at my desk. I heated a bowl of Annie Chun's Udon Soup:

And some leftover Spicy Greens from Happy Herbivore:

Remember that big ole conversation heart cake I got for Valentine's? I packed a generous slice in my lunchbag to enjoy in the afternoon. I ate this while I wrapped up my duties for the Wednesday paper:

After we finished the issue, I headed home to hop on Falcor (that's what I've named my new bike, a sweet-ass Electra ladies' cruiser) for a quick ride to Overton Park before losing daylight. It was 64 degrees out today! Goodbye stupid winter! When I returned, I took my doggie Datsun and my friend's doggie Bayli for a quick walk through the 'hood.

Then I whipped up a quick dinner of a Veggie Dog with Sauerkraut and Dijon and some of the baked Chili-Lime Corn Chips from Happy Herbivore:

Today was "Trubie Tuesday" (that's "True Blood Tuesday" for the uninitiated), so I had to hurry. Every week, the bitches gather at our friend Shara's house to watch Sookie, Vampire Bill, Eggs, and all those crazy vampires and fangbangers. I typically munch on food at Shara's too, as there's always snacks. But I avoided the munchies tonight because I figured I had all the extra calories I needed in that cake earlier.

Anyway, now I'm at home blogging. When I'm done, I'll prep lunch and dinner for tomorrow night (packing my lunch bag, chopping dinner veggies, etc.). Then I'll go to bed and start all over. Goodnight, y'all.

Valentine's Day for the Un-Romantic

Confession: I ordered my own Valentine this year. My favorite local cupcake shop was offering customized vegan conversation hearts cakes, and I didn't want to risk the boyfriend Paul forgetting to place my order. So I placed my own order at Muddy's Bake Shop. I even chose my "conversation" phrase:

I did make Paul pick it up and pay me back, however. This adorable vanilla cake is so moist and delicious, and the frosting is sinfully sweet. Muddy's, a kitschy East Memphis bakery, always has at least one (sometimes two) vegan cakes in their bakery case. And they can always make vegan cakes and cupcakes by request. I'll do a full post on Muddy's very soon.

Paul arrived at home with my cake shortly after I got home from the office. Then we headed to Blue Fin Sushi Lounge for the obligatory VDay dinner. Here we are at Blue Fin:

I'm not romantic at all (as evidenced by the choice of words on my VDay cake). In fact, romantic gestures make me barf. But I do appreciate a good reason to spend my hand-earned cash on tasty restaurant eats. One thing the boyfriend Paul and I can always agree on is Asian food. Be it Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, whatever. We like it all. This Valentine's Day, we opted for sushi.

We started with cocktails and a plate of Edamame Hummus with Crispy Chips:

I've made edamame hummus at home, but nothing compares to the version at Blue Fin. They pour a little chili oil over the top before serving, and it makes a world of difference.

For my main course, I chose Inari (sweet fried tofu pockets stuffed with sticky rice), Roasted Asparagus Nigiri (hand rolls), and the Veggie Roll with tofu and assorted vegetables. Yum, yum!

After dinner, we headed to the Flying Saucer, a downtown bar boasting the largest selection of specialty brews in town. Paul ordered his favorite hefeweizen, Ayinger Brau-Weisse. I opted for my most favorite beer of all time, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier — a smoked beer from Germany. I took this pic with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone:

How'd you spend Valentine's Day?

Have a Heart for Animals!

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! When you're gettin' gushy with your loved ones, don't forget about the creatures who need our love the most. Every year, on the weekend before Valentine's Day, our local veggie group Food Awareness puts on a "Have a Heart for Animals" demo at the busy corner of Poplar and Highland in East Memphis.

I didn't take any shots this year (oops, forgot!), but here's a snap from last year's demo. The people in the back — Vaughan and Barbara — organized this year's demo, but the guy in the front (Mark) wasn't able to come this past Saturday:

I believe we ended up with about 10 people, all holding signs with pro-vegan, Valentine-themed messages. Here's my sign (it's the same one I've used for the past several years):

After lunch, we all caravaned to Mosa Asian Bistro, a regional eclectic Asian eatery with lots and lots of vegan options. Our server was so amazing. He literally went through every dish on the menu, explaining what was and wasn't (or what could be made) vegan. After much deliberation (I don't do choices well!), I finally settled on the Thai Curry with Brown Rice:

Unlike some Thai curries, this one is naturally fish sauce-free. It was all coconutty, and Mosa was quite generous with the fried tofu and veggies (potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and onions). I ate every last bite, including that giant mound of brown rice. Of course, I doused the dish in sriracha and Mosa's hot chili sauce first.

For more on Mosa or other Memphis vegan dining options, check out my Memphis Vegan Dining Guide.

More Lindsay Love!

Look Lindsay Nixon, I know you have a husband and all. But I really think we should get married anyway. I assume this means that you would cook delicious fat-free meals for me every night, right? If so, let's get hitched!

Yes, I just proposed to the author of Happy Herbivore. Since she's spoken for, I may have to keep dreaming. But maybe I can just marry her book. I would settle for that. Why am I so very enamored with Lindsay and her recipes? Here's why — Spicy Greens with Spicy Sausage:

It's simple really. Just Lindsay's homemade spicy steamed sausages (made in the Julie Hasson way) sliced up in collards with red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, and hot sauce. But as a Southern girl, I've never been all that crazy about collards that weren't cooked for at least 40 minutes. I've tried the quick-cook methods, but they always leave something to be desired. For some reason, Lindsay's simple preparation is just as tasty as if the greens simmered on a stove for hours. And there's no oil! Just blows my mind, really.

Did you notice that sexy macaroni peeking in the background? Yep, that's a Happy Herbivore recipe too. There's two variations on vegan mac & cheeze in the book — one is baked and the other is made on the stovetop. As a former fan of boxed macaroni and cheese, I opted for the latter — Easy Macaroni & Cheese:

It's made with Lindsay's creamy-as-hell vegan noochy sauce. Ridiculously good, y'all.