So what has happened in the past month? Well, I attempted a recovery from holiday overindulgence, first. I did not bake for a good two weeks, not because I didn't want to but because I actually couldn't bring myself to: I had no desire to eat sweets (sacrilege!). Also, just before the holidays began, I started a 30-day ReNew Life Digestive Cleanse to help keep me somewhat on track, physically, during the holidays, and I finished it mid-January. That's around when I got my desire to bake back. (Did you notice the absence, aside from the cinnamon rolls, of baked goods in my previous blog post?)
Mid-January--the 15th, to be exact--is when Matt and I started dating three years ago. To celebrate our anniversary, we went to our favourite vegan restaurant in Montreal, Aux Vivres, and ordered all of our favourites, including one dessert each; no, no, we are by no means one of those cutesy couples who shares a single dessert. We are vegan beasts who have the primal urge to devour entire pieces of cake that we encounter along our path, sharing with no one. Want proof?
This is my angry beast face. You'll notice that in the bottom left corner there is Matt's piece of cake that I didn't want. (It's nowhere near me.) Meanwhile, below is the source of my rage:
That's mine! And he's eating it! Growwwwllll... But it's very easy to appease the beast:
Give her her friggin chipotle brownie!
Yes, Matt did take a few more bites (I do have one or two generous bones in me when it comes to dessert), but the rest was mine, all mine! Other notable dishes from Aux Vivres are below, but you'll have to excuse my bad habit of taking photos of food only when they're half or two-thirds eaten.
Here's a pretty big mess on Matt's plate, with chili cheese fries in the foregound and the last chapati with veggie butter in the wooden bowl.
My glorious Mekong in a chapati. This bugger is so big that I eat only half for my meal and the other half gets to come home with me to face its fate later. That's a big slab of grilled tofu in the middle, with lettuce (sometimes a bit too much), daikon, carrots, and beautiful sauce, though they skimped on it a little this time.
I know, I know: tea with meals is naughty because it reduces absorption of minerals, but I couldn't resist trying the yerba maté. In the background, you can behold half of Matt's sandwich, which is veggie pâté with sprouts, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and veggie mayo (I believe--I've never had it).
Matt's dessert, which I admit is absolutely delicious, but I prefer the chipotle brownie to it, so that's why I leave this gooey, creamy chocolate decadence to him. This is banana-chocolate pie, by the way.
The vegan attacks!!!!!!!!!!!
A vegan in her natural habitat before pouncing...
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So that was it for our anniversary dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching True Blood episodes because I just recently got into it after a fabulous friend of ours, one Marc, gave us the Sookie Stackhouse series, upon which True Blood is based, by Charlaine Harris for Christmas. I have only 100 pages left in book four!
Other than our anniversary dinner, I've been living the life of a, how should I say it politely--let's say I've been working only on weekends, and cooking, working out, hanging out with friends, and reading at home in my pyjamas during the week. Yes, this is what has become of my life as a non-student. I've been applying for writing, proofreading, and translation jobs left and right but I have yet to hear a response. But I'll spare you all the whining and just show you the rest of my culinary adventures. I will be posting again soon because I have ten recipes or so to test for the lovely and talented Happy Herbivore, so please stay tuned, and thanks for sticking around.
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Bryanna Clark Grogan's recipe for pizza dough (for which I upped the whole-wheat content just a tad) from Nonna's Italian Kitchen, with my own toppings: arugula, broccoli, orange bell peppers, a bit of tomato sauce, olive oil, and my best friend, Daiya.
I can't tell whether he's posing for the photo or guarding the pizza....
This is a dish that will be in Happy Herbivore's upcoming cookbook. It's for something based on a meal called chicken and dumplings that I'd never heard of before. Frankly, I don't care what the original tastes like, because this is one of the greatest and creative meals I've ever had. Thank you, Lindsay!
Here's a nice close-up, but I apologize for the ominous shadows that lurk in the bottom left corners of some of my photos. I clearly am not a photographer (but will accept any advice I can get).
A pakora from Pushap and Happy Herbivore's Moong Dal, for her upcoming cookbook. When you make this, don't be surprised when family members, friends, and neighbours appear in your kitchen: this meal offers an enticing aroma.
The salad that accompanied the moong dal and the pakora, drizzled with vegan butter from Aux Vivres (every time we go, we stock up and put it on, well, pretty much everything)
Another genius recipe by Happy Herbivore for the cookbook: Egg-Nog French Toast. This is serious stuff.
Kale replaces spinach effortlessly in spanakopita. This recipe by Robin Roberston is really easy to make, and it's delicious. I added some Cheezly that was in my fridge to the tofu mix, and it offered just a touch of melty goodness. This is great for making on a Sunday afternoon so that it stands in as a quick meal for the rest of the week.
This recipe from Vegetarian Times arrived in my inbox serendipitously the day I was wondering what to do with the Brussel sprouts in my fridge, which were slowly floating towards the light. Like the spanakopita above, this is another easy dish to prepare at the beginning of the week for later meals.
And might I say that they go very well together?
Vegan Dad seems to like Brussel sprouts, too, so I used the rest of the my excess Brussel sprouts in his fabulous, hearty, comforting, and warm Roasted Vegetable Ragout. I served it atop whole-wheat penne.
My first-ever batch of snickerdoodles :) (How can you not smile when you say that word?) This recipe is by Lauren Ulm, the lovely lady behind Vegan YumYum. I was delighted by the taste of these cookies and I absolutely will make them again.
Vegetable Ragout served atop whole-wheat penne. But watch out! A Wonky Tonk lurks!
Ok, stop what you're doing. No, no, I'm serious. Take your hand off the mouse--wait, no. Click here. Then, go to your kitchen and get out all of the ingredients. Preheat your oven, and please, just make yourself this batch of brownies. Fran Costigan is the mage behind this recipe, and I think I have to say that this is the best brownie recipe I have ever tried. It's exactly as I would have my brownie: moist and fudgy. I'm not a fan of brownies that taste more like cake than what I just described. Feel free to send more recipes my way to challenge this one--who am I to refuse brownies?! Plus, you don't even have to feel guilty when you eat this. Just take a gander at the ingredient list and you'll see exactly why. Heck, just behold the photo below and guilt might not even cross your mind.
See? Pure decadence. Also, these refrigerate wonderfully, as she indicates in the recipe. I always confuse prunes with dates, so I made date purée for this even though it called for prunes, and I wouldn't have it any other way. One last thing: the ganache can absolutely be omitted since these are very rich... but I wouldn't recommend it ;)
And because I can't leave well enough alone, I insisted that my sister take a photo of me smothering chocolate on my lips. For the record, I totally had one brownie a day for four days straight. No joke.
And in an attempt to finish somewhat elegantly, here is the sunrise at my bedroom window one morning. Perhaps it is symbolic to end this post that relates a bit about my confusion and fright at starting the year and my life as a university graduate with a clean slate. Let us see what the new year brings. For now, I will enjoy the present.
Lots of love, and thanks for reading,
Vegan in Suburbia
