Comfort and Joy

Give me a choice between a five-course gourmet meal and a simple bowl of pasta with marinara, and I'll choose the pasta dish every time. Fancy food is, well, fancy. Nice for a special occasion, but I'll take a frosty beer and a vegan cheeseburger over a glass of wine and some crap with a balsamic reduction any day.

So it need not be explained why I love Veronica Grace's Vegan Comfort Foods From Around the World. This new self-published cookbook by Veronica (a.k.a. the Low-Fat Vegan Chef) is loaded with 60 comforting (and low-fat!) vegan recipes! Nothing against fat, but I get plenty of that through other meals. This book offers me a chance to indulge sans guilt, and that's refreshing.

The full-color, photo-heavy book is divided into chapters based on regions of the world — Americas, Europe and Asia. There's also a chapter for comfort sauces, gravies, and dips. I picked out a few recipes to try first.

Last night, I made the Baked Ziti with Greens.

Admittedly, baked ziti doesn't photograph well. But most comfort dishes don't. This hearty meal of whole wheat penne pasta, homemade marinara, spinach, and tofu ricotta (made with silken tofu, nooch, and miso!) isn't something you make because it looks pretty on a plate. You make this because it tastes the way a warm blanket feels on a cold winter night. It warms the heart.

It did, however, look quite lovely before baking. Note: I was supposed to mix the tofu ricotta in with the pasta before layering in a casserole dish. But I didn't read the directions and just plopped it in piles on top. Either way, it all mixes together in your tummy.

For a potluck last week, I made the Low-Fat Hummus and served it with toasted pita.

My omni friends love hummus, and they didn't even miss the usual oil in this oil-free, light version. That's the thing about Veronica's recipes. As much as I love oil and fatty foods, I can't even tell that stuff is missing from these dishes.

There are so many more dishes that I want to try from Vegan Comfort Foods — Indian Spiced Basmati Rice with Peas, Rotini with Chanterelle Mushrooms in a Red Wine Tomato Sauce, Spaghetti Marinara with French Lentils, Herbed Tofu Ranch Dip, Slow-Cooker Meatless Sloppy Joes, and Easy Cheezy Shells and Broccoli.

Cassi's Slumber Party!

Yesterday, I told y'all about Birth Week, the days preceding and following my birthday. I celebrate for a week straight because that means more parties, more friend time, and more opportunities to pig out. But it just so happens that I'm not the only friend in my circle celebrating Birth Week this week.

My friend Cassi's birthday was on Friday (mine is Wednesday), and we had a girls-only vegan slumber party at her house to celebrate. We wore PJs, ate vegan pizza, watched Pretty In Pink, and played Girl Talk (yes, the old board game from the 80s where you have to complete dares or declare your loser-ness with zit stickers).

Oh, and we consumed lots of wine and wore mustache tattoos on our fingers. Here's Cassi sporting a very serious mustache and a bottle of Bitch Bubbly.

Cassi picked up a large Mega-Veggie vegan pizza with Daiya from Mellow Mushroom. In true slumber party fashion, we devoured this while sitting on a blanket in the floor.

And she got an order of their vegan Muffuleta Bread (olive salad, French bread, and Daiya!!! So good!).

I picked up a quart of TCBY's Silk Chocolate Almond Milk Yogurt on the way to Cassi's, but we were having so much fun that we forgot to eat it.

We didn't forget the cake though! Cassi requested a build-your-own cupcake bar from our resident vegan baker bestie Stephanie (Poopie Bitch from the PPK). We are so lucky to have a professional vegan baker in our friend circle! She brought un-frosted cupcakes, three bags of frosting (vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry), and sprinkles so we could decorate our own.

Here's some the ladies getting creative with their cakes. On the right is my pal Autumn, whose birthday happens to be today!

And here's my finished creation. Yes, I went with vanilla cake and vanilla frosting. I'm a vanilla kind of girl.

Later in the night, we made popcorn, and rumor has it there was even a late-night Taco Bell run for black bean burrito frescas!

Nacho Birthday

It's nacho birthday. It's my birthday. Get it? Okay, maybe it's your birthday too. If so, happy birthday! Libra power! Anyway, it's technically not my birthday yet.

On Wednesday, I'll be 33. But I celebrate Birth Week rather than one little ole day. My week of festivities kicked off today with a birthday celebration with my family in Jonesboro, Arkansas. This morning, Paul and I made the hour-long drive to my parents' house, where we met up with mama, daddy, granny, and me-maw.

A few days ago, my mama asked me what I wanted her to cook for my birthday. I requested a nacho bar! I expected she'd have a few basics, but she went ALL OUT. I couldn't even fit everything into one picture.

There was chips, Spanish rice, black beans, refried beans, Daiya cheese, Gimme Lean vegan burger crumbles, vegan sour cream, guacamole, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, green onions, and salsa.

I piled my nachos high with every vegan option available. This was soooooo good. I wish I could eat nachos every day. I think my favorite part of this meal though was my mama's homemade guacamole. Damn, that woman can make delicious guac.

In keeping with the Tex-Mex theme, my mama made vegan Margarita Cupcakes! Limey, tangy, and delicious.

After our lunch, it was present time! I got a new Mio Active calorie-counting watch (my old one was dying), money to buy new running shoes (for when my foot finally heals and I can run again), clothes, a new scarf, salt and pepper shakers, a silver bracelet, an avocado smasher (so I can make guac like my mama), and a dip platter for parties.

I was supposed to have run my first half-marathon today. I signed up for the Shelby Farms Greenline Half months ago, but my stress fracture hasn't totally healed yet. I'm so glad I got to spend the day celebrating with my family rather than being all sad that I can't run.

Vegan Vine Wine!

I have a confession (okay, I've made this confession here before, but maybe you missed it): I'm not the best vegan when it comes to drinking wine.

Here's the deal: If I'm at an art show or an open-bar party, and there's wine there, I'm not going to grill the bartender and break out the Google or the Barnivore to determine the vino's vegan-ness. I'm just going to drink it — don't ask, don't tell-style.

But despite my poor judgement when it comes to free wine, I prefer to only have vegan wines in my home. I do use Barnivore in the liquor store, and I have a few brands that I know are safe. Around these parts, I can find Orleans Hill wines (makers of Our Daily Red) in several varietals, but for everything else, I have to stand in the aisles and pore over my "Is This Wine Vegan?" app. It's a pain in the ass. I wish I had access to Vegan Vine here. How much more obvious could it get? The word "vegan" is in the name!

Vegan Vine generously offered to send me four bottles of their animal-free wines. Best review schwag ever. There was Vegan Vine's Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Admittedly, that was way back in August, and I'm finally on the last bottle this week. I'm a little ashamed to admit it took me that long to finish four bottles of wine.

Anyway, Paul and I opened the first bottle — Chardonnay — in our hotel room in Chicago when we were there for Veggie Fest back in August. I'm a red wine girl, but Paul only drinks white. So I compromised (because I'll drink anything, really) for his sake. This a shot of the chard in our hotel window.

I thought it tasted peachy and dry with an oaky aftertaste. Paul said it had an initial Granny Smith apple flavor with a dry finish. Clearly, we have no idea what we're talking about. But it was lovely!

Next up, I opened the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with some Trader Joe's crackers and Ste. Martean vegan muenster cheese. Nothing beats vegan cheese and red wine. Best snack in the world. I picked up this cheese in Chicago and toted it home. It was so perfect with the cab sauv. I'm kinda sad that cheese and wine didn't last forever.

I opened the Red Wine a few weeks back on a weekend night. When I open red wine, I get to drink the whole bottle by myself (not in one day!). So I think I had a glass of this for four days before it was all gone. Too bad I dropped the cork into bottle when I was opening it. I was digging out cork from my glasses for days. But nonetheless, best red blend I've ever had.

Finally, I opened the Sauvignon Blanc this week. Now remember when I said I'm not a white wine girl? Well, that's because I forgot about sauvignon blanc.

I love how it's not too sweet. It's just a tad dry. And it tastes like summer. Like an apple. Or a platter of delicious grapes. I have one glass left in the bottle, and I'm kind of sad it'll be over after that.

Lucky for all of us, you can order Vegan Vine wine online. And it's affordable. Each bottle ranges from $14 to $18. Or you can join the Wine Club and receive four bottles in the mail every quarter for about $54.

Go Green for the Fall

Before I get into tonight's post: I've sent off free Earth Balance coupons to four of the six winners in last week's giveaway. Problem is, I've still not heard back from Belinda and TM (are y'all out there?). I'll wait another week, and if I've still not heard from them, I'll re-draw two more names.

The winners who have been mailed coupons are Natasha G., Katelyn W., Amanda T., and Abby H. Congrats y'all! I'll be choosing the North Coast Organics deodorant winners after midnight tonight.

No, this isn't a post about eco-friendliness, though you should probably make that kind of going green an autumn goal as well if you're not already as Earth-friendly as possible. But tonight, I'm talking about microgreens!

I'm not much of a gardener. I grow hot peppers and fresh herbs on my front porch every year, and I do okay. Sometimes, though, I forget to water my plants for a week and they come so near the brink of death. I don't have the proverbial green thumb. But I've been reading Mark Mathew Braunstein's new book Micro Green Garden: An Indoor Grower's Guide to Gourmet Greens, and now I'm sold on the idea of growing microgreens.

Microgreens are baby greens. They're just picked as seedlings or when the plants sprout their first true leaves. You might pay $4 for a bag of baby romaine in the supermarket, but you can grow your own at home for practically free. And the best part — some microgreens can be harvested in as little as a week. Surely, I can remember to water something for a week, right?

I haven't started my microgreen garden yet since I still have a few pages in Braunstein's book to read before I jump in. But that's my fall/winter goal. You grow microgreens inside your house, so you can have fresh local greens all winter. This book tells you how to choose the right seeds (Do you want watercress? Or bok choy? What about turnip or sesame?), how to prepare the soil (you can plant microgreens in plastic cafeteria trays), how to light the plants, and how to harvest and store the greens.

One chapter lists the inside scoop on all of Braunstein's recommended microgreens. You can find out the germination period for broccoli rabe or cabbage and learn about the flavors of each.

And the last chapter is for recipes. Sadly, there are only four recipes. As someone new to microgreens, I'd like a little guidance. But the recipes that are included (pea shoot and red pepper saute, fennel rice balls, microgreen medley salad, and potatoes and greens) sound and look delicious.

I'll keep y'all posted on how my microgreen gardening comes out. If I'm successful, I'm sure I'll be posting pics of the stuff I make with my baby greens soon.

By the way, if you haven't heard of Braunstein before, he's a bit of a vegan pioneer. He wrote Radical Vegetarianism in 1981 (and the cover photo is a power fist made with asparagus!!). He's also a huge advocate for medical marijuana and ending the war on drugs.

Dining 1900s-Style

I am going so slow with this next cookbook project, I swear. I see other authors putting book after book after book out, and I don't understand how they do it. But anyway, I promise that I am working on it. Case in point: today's menu.

In case you haven't read, my next book will be a collection of veganized versions of foods that were popular throughout the decades of the 20th century. Today, I focused on the first decade — 1900-1910.

The Club Sandwich's history is kind of a mystery, but it supposedly originated on menus in men's clubs at the turn of the last century. The first mentions in print were in 1903 and 1906, according to the Food Timeline website. I made a vegan Club Sandwich using a homemade seitan ham, homemade tempeh bacon (both recipes will be in the book), vegan mayo, lettuce, and tomato.

On the side, I made a Waldorf Salad.

The waldorf salad was said to have been created in the late 1890s (which were awesomely referred to as the "Gay Nineties" back then!) at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It's often made with raisins, but I used green grapes, apples, walnuts, celery, and vegan mayo. And it's served over a bed of red leaf lettuce.

Better Than Champagne

I have a love affair with probiotics. Yep, that statement officially outs me as a vegan nerd. Have y'all read vegan marathoner Matt Frazier's "The 17 Weirdest Things I Do Now That I'm Vegan" on HuffPo yet? If not, you should give it a read. It's all about that weird stuff vegans like that has nothing to do with veganism (putting beans in desserts, dehydrating, drinking weird-ass smoothies etc.). Here's an excerpt:

14. Drink kombucha. It'd be really weird if we brewed kombucha and had our own SCOBY, like my buddy Jeff Sanders does, but we're not there yet. For now, I'm satisfied drinking it, something I didn't start doing until I got to Asheville, where it's made locally (like so much else). I've found the smaller and more local you get kombucha, the funkier it tastes, which I imagine is how it's really supposed to be.

Well, I guess that makes me really weird like Matt's buddy Jeff Sanders. I brew my own kombucha (here's my tutorial post). I know the science is still out on all of kombucha's health claims. But we do know one thing for sure — probiotics are good for you. And kombucha contains probiotics. But there's a new probiotic drink in town that might give good old 'booch a run for her money.

KeVita is a "sparkling probiotic drink" that's not kombucha. It's made with four strains of live probiotic cultures and apple cider vinegar, but that's about the only thing each flavor has in common. Each one has a different ingredient list depending on the flavor. Kevita sent me some vouchers so I could try their stuff out, and I picked those five flavors you see there. Each has a very uniquely different flavor profile, a fizzy mouthfeel, and because of the probiotics, there's a slight aftertaste of rejuvelac. Think champagne but with bonus health benefits!

My fave of the bunch was the Daily Cleanse Lemon Cayenne. It reminded me of a light and crisp lemon champagne with a tiny hot kick at the end. This one has cold-pressed lemon plant extract, cayenne extract, maple extract, and it's sweetened with stevia. So it's like a sparkling version of the master cleanse juice, right?

I also loved the Mojita Lime Mint Coconut. It's made with coconut water, cold-pressed lime extract, vanilla extract, and stevia. Light, summery.

The Mango Coconut was like a fizzy version of coconut water. Plus, it has mango puree for a sweet and fruity taste. Pomegranate tasted just like a pom juice spritzer, like someone had spiked my pom juice with champagne. Both of these were sweetened with stevia.

My least favorite was the one I expected to love the most — Living Greens. I didn't dislike it, just my least fave of the five. When I saw "greens," I expected this was made with kale juice or something crazy. But it's actually green tea and a phytoalgae blend sweetened with organic cane syrup. Tasty. But it was almost too sweet. The sugar syrup means this bottle is 60 calories for the whole bottle (2 servings, but I had it all in one sitting), while the other stevia sweetened bottles range from 10 to 40 calories.

But don't let that push you away from Living Greens. It looks like there's some healthy stuff in that phytoalgae blend. Plus, there's caffeine! Bonus!

Will I give up my beloved kombucha for KeVita? No. But that's only because my home-brewing of 'booch is ultra economical (as in practically free). KeVita retails for about $3 a bottle, so it's similar in price to bottled kombucha. If I was buying my kombucha regularly, I'd definitely switch these out from time to time to keep things interesting.