Vegan MoFo 5: The Pleasure of Ordering a Pizza

Right now, I am grateful for diversions. I even went to work for a few hours the other day, just to keep moving. Besides, I got to go hang out in the 1st grade classroom, which proved to be some great therapy. The kids just walk up to you, hug you, and ask you if you want to play. Can't beat that.

While I normally love cooking as a diversion, I am out of groceries. I'm not talking, oh I don't have onions, so I can't make the thing I want.


I have no vegetables - not even frozen or canned, no pasta, no fresh herbs. So while cooking would be a welcome task, grocery shopping never is.

Luckily, when I moved to Baltimore, I moved a few blocks from a place that has vegan pizza options. I like the Tofurky pizza and all, and I love making pizza at home, but being able to just order one and then binge has its place.

Johnny Rad's uses the word "vegan" on the menu after foods that are, and to indicate that some foods can be made so. If you go into the restaurant itself, it's written on their big chalkboard menu. I'm always excited to see the word because that means everyone can, and that it's being normalized.

So I had a Primo with vegan cheese - I love the sea salt and crispy whole basil leaves. I've had it with the vegan chik'n, which is great, but sometimes simple is better.

I tried to order a Caprese, and the guy told me that the balsamic would make it not vegan. While I appreciated the warning, I was confused and suddenly worried that I had stupidly been eating balsamic vinegar as a so-called vegan. So I changed my order.

However, fellow vegans and Google confirmed that I had not been stumbling around, eating animals for years now. So I need to check in at JR's and figure out what's up with that. Either way, extra points for them looking out for me.

Vegan MoFo 4: Some Days Are Hard ...

... and the only thing suitable for eating is a shake.

It's been a rough few days for us here, since we lost someone we love. For the record, I had pre-written my other blog posts, so the tone was different. This one, however, was written in part to distract myself from the fact that my home has a new emptiness that we all can feel.

Here's my recipe:

Sorrow-Drowning Shake
-1 cup So Delicious Mocha Almond Coconut Fudge Ice Cream
-1 cup coffee
-1 cup bourbon

Combine, blend, and remember the good times, preferably while sitting by a rainy window.

You might not want to drink the whole thing at once. After half, I was pretty toasty for a few hours.

If you want to pretend to be healthy, you could toss a handful of cacao nibs in it. It seems like that's a thing people do. I made no such pretensions. Peanut butter would probably be pretty good too. If the hangover from this isn't too bad, I'll give it a try.

Vegan MoFo 3: Celebrity Sightings

I worked a booth at the Baltimore Book Festival this past weekend. The only shift that I could do was, naturally, during Doron Petersan's cooking demo.

Petersan is the vegan who started Sticky Fingers Bakery in Washington, D.C. I've been there more than once, and am a big fan, so I was bummed about missing her at the festival. However, I was dedicated to my cause and as I was trying to lure people in to learn about my library, I noticed Petersan herself walking by.

I ran out to say hello, and she asked if I had been at the demo. When I sheepishly explained my obligation to my booth, she motioned for me to follow her. We crept in the back of a makeshift kitchen where she pointed to a plate of mini pumpkin whoopie pies and said, "Quick take one! Take two! Take three! Grab some for your friends!"

They were unbelievably good. I had never in my life been interested in making something called a whoopie pie, but that's all changed. I was tempted to keep them all to myself, but was rewarded for sharing. Let me tell you, my two non-vegan booth comrades were impressed, and I felt like the coolest person around.

Then I got my picture taken with Peter Rabbit, and I knew that I was.

Even if you don't know the D.C. area, you might know of Petersan from Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Her bakery was the first vegan winner of Cupcake Wars All-Stars. They had appeared twice before, winning one of those times. Apparently they're up for another round, and you can vote for them by "liking" this picture. Do it!

Goodbye, Kittybum

My sweet baby Skeletor passed away this morning. She is a lovely rescue kitty who likes to sleep against my chest when I sleep on my side. She also likes to just lie on her back in the middle of the floor, and to watch me cook. She goes apeshit for those Temptations treats. She loves Happy Panda Hour.

She is black and white, but has a weird little brown spot on her leg. She's so soft and funny.

When I make my hand look like a talon and flex my fingers, she comes running for a head scratch, but at the last minute she turns sideways and slams into me with her whole body. She's pretty sedate, but every once in awhile she goes nutsy, and tears around the house at approximately 30 miles an hour.

She doesn't like most people, but there is a handful of them that she's pretty attached to. IF there are two people in bed, she likes to crawl between them in the mornings.

My big dog defers to her always, sometimes sleeping pathetically on a kitty bed, while she lounges on his. She likes to lie across his chew toys, or stand near his food dish while he paces and whines, but never challenges her.

I feel good about being a good mom to my kitty. I feel happy about all the time we spent together, and all the cuddling we did. I feel good about the fact that I could take her from a shelter, and give her a happy, warm place to live. And I feel good about spending the last month making her as comfortable as possible, and nursing her carefully on bad days.

I miss my pretty kitty girl.

I was sad the next morning to not have to break up a kitty slap match at breakfast.

I am so warmed though, by the outpouring of love from family, friends, and strangers. Thank you, everyone. I am so fortunate to have such loving people in my life.

*Updated Oct. 3, 2012

Vegan Mofo 2: Pinto Bean Rollups with Cheese Sauce

This came together out of leftovers and on-sale items.

I had some poblanos from the farmer's market, some soaked and cooked pinto beans, and an onion, so I made refried beans. I had planned to make pupusas, but I came home one night starving and not in the mood to wait. I had scored a few packs of small corn tortillas on sale, so I heated everything up and whipped up a sauce from nutritional yeast and almond milk.

Fast and delicious!

Vegan MoFo 1: Pumpkin Lattes - No Spice

Vegan MoFo - I'm trying for one a day.

I know people are all a flutter for pumpkin spice lattes. I've never had the Starbucks one, but it sounded good. Since I had half a can of pumpkin to use up, I tried to do it at home. The first time was awful. I followed a recipe from some blog that went too crazy with the spices. It turned out kind of loamy.

But with a third a can of pumpkin left, I tried again. It was simple and great!

Here's what I did:

Whisk together:
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup pumpkin
1 tbls agave
1 tsp garam masala

Then I mixed equal parts espresso and the above.

The leftovers were great iced!

Vegan MoFo 2012

I missed the deadline to sign up officially, but I'm going to do it anyway. I need something a little more productive than catching up on cop shows and playing The Sims. What better than to write at length about the food I eat?

I'm hoping it'll be cathartic. Never has the concept of showdown been more appropriate. Until recently, I had no consistent employment, and now I have a bit of debt to contend with. The job I did get isn't exactly going to do it, so I have to keep a tight budget where I can.

The other food related challenge I'm facing is dealing with a 6 year old's diet. I actually don't have to do much of it, because she's not mine, but my input has been requested. She's not vegan. Of course, I won't be involved in preparing non-vegan foods for her. The kid eats about as SAD as you can get most of the time, and she's pretty arbitrarily picky about what she does eat. It would be manageable except for the tantrums. I just don't know how to deal.

So food related stress all around should make for gripping blog posts. Or at least, for a poorly photographed diary of what I eat every day.

One other source of stress is how sick my cat is. She's been sick for about a month now, and the vets are unsure about what the problem is. She has good days and bad, but normal tasks like eating and finding the litter box are always a struggle. I love her though, so I've been caring for her as best I can.