Short & Simple

Normally a single 26 year old like myself would never stay in on a Friday night but after the long week filled with endless car problems and little to no sleep I barely had energy to take pre-made frozen food out of the freezer and put it in the oven, never mind showering, getting dressed and going out. And normally I wouldn't take the time to blog about pre-made frozen food unless it was something new and exciting, which is what is happening in my mouth as I type.

Tonight my dinner is consisting of good ole' Boca Chik'n Nuggets and some AMAZING sweet potato fries. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet potatoes but they aren't anything special, unless they are the new Spicy Sweet Potato Fries by Alexia. They are the perfect balance of sweet potato flavor and spice. I mean, really perfect. They are made with chipotle peppers to give them a little kick. They are fabulous on their own but phenomenal when dipped in Veganaise mixed with some pureed garlic. I have always used Alexia's regular sweet potatoes when I am too lazy to cut and bake a fresh sweet potato and they never disappoint. I didn't have any expectations when I put them in the oven other than it was a quick meal for a lazy night. If I did have any other expectations, they surely would have been blown away. I'm pretty surprised at how impressed I am with a frozen food as simple as this. This is definitely something I am going to be recreating with fresh sweet potatoes next time.

You can just see the chipotle goodness speckled all over them!

You can also see a very patient but disappointed lab/bloodhound(clearly not my 7lb vegan dog) who was waiting for the bite that never come. Yup, I ate dinner on the couch with my feet up and my laptop where it belongs, on my lap. 

That's all for tonight. I need to rest up for my exciting day of vegan baking with my brothers girlfriend tomorrow. I will be test driving some recipes for the bake sale portion of a craft fair that benefits the Milton Animal League next weekend. I haven't baked in awhile so I gotta make sure my stuff is good right? Or am I just looking for an excuse to bake?You'll never know..... muah hahahaha(that was my evil laugh) Anyways, expect a sweet(pun intended) blog on the treats either tomorrow or Sunday.

Also, expect a post soon on Gizmo's homemade vegan dog food. 

Hasta!

Coconut Curry

I never thought I would like curry, I always found the smell very overpowering, until I tried a green curry coconut dipping sauce filled with veggies for scallion pancakes at my favorite local Thai restaurant. It definitely changed. I decided to try and recreate it as a main dish. I don't have an exact recipe, I usually never follow them completely so I scoured the web and combined quite a few of them to make the amazing meal that was dinner last night.

Here is my basic recipe
4 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot minced
1 tblspn minced fresh ginger
1 onion chopped
1-2 tblspns oil
Green curry paste to taste - I think I used about 2 tablespoons.. I add it by the teaspoon and taste
2 cans coconut millk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb tofu drained and cubed.
1/2 head cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces.
1 butternut squash peeled and chopped
1 lb fresh green beans broken into pieces.
1 red bell pepper chopped

Heat oil in wok and stir fry tofu until lightly browned, remove from pan.
Add garlic, ginger and shallot and cook for a minute or two.
Add coconut milk and a teaspoon or two at a time of curry paste and bring to boil.
Add cauliflower and squash and cook 10-15 minutes until they are almost perfectly tender.
Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until just about done.
Add tofu and cook until heated through.

Serve over jasmine rice.

The flavor of the sauce was so light but flavorful, it had just the right amount of spice with the flavor of the coconut coming through. I was nervous about the squash with the sauce but they matched perfectly. 

Luckily I made enough to feed an army so I can eat it all week for leftovers, unfortunately I am a slob in the kitchen so the aftermath is still sitting in the sink and on the counter.

Make it! Eat it! Enjoy it!

Tantric and Xavier Rudd

I have been dying to try Tantric India Bistro in the Theatre District in Boston for quite awhile but I could never get the (ex)bf to go with me, he hates the smell of curry. I finally got the chance to dine there last night, and unfortunately I had hyped it up so much in my mind and from reviews that I expected too much. Or did I? You tell me..

My mother and I were heading into the city for a concert at the Wilbur Theatre, more on that in a minute, we decided Tantric would be perfect. Well, we arrived around 6:30 and it wasn't really busy, maybe about 7 tables with 3 waiters that I saw. Waited about 5 minutes before anyone even came over to seat us, once seated it we were given water almost immediately but it was another 10 minutes before anyone came to see if we wanted drinks. He assumed we were ready to order because our menus were closed but I was really waiting so I could ask for the vegan menu because for some reason the vegetarian options are on the main menu but the vegan one is separate.

I ordered the Persephone's Pleasure cocktail and Aloo Gobi Masallam. My mother ordered a glass of Malbec and the Lauki Kofta in Tomato Gravy. Aloo Gobi Masallam is roasted cauliflower and potatoes with sauteed onions, garlic, ginger and garnished with fresh tomato and cilantro. It was very delicious and seasoned well but was a much heavier dish than I expected and also maybe Thai food has spoiled me because there are always an excellent variety of fresh vegetables in each dish and this one only had the 2.. The Lauki Kofta is Indian green gourd/squash croquets flavored with garlic and green chiles in a light aromatic tomato sauce seasoned with fennel. My mom loved this dish, I did not only because I do not like fennel at all, although the croquets by themselves were pretty good........

All in all the meal was ok but unfortunately service was severely lacking.

Anyways, I'm sick of writing about something that was just ok, let's move on to something amazing, like Xavier Rudd. WOW. I had never heard of him before this week. My parents had tickets to go see him and my dad unfortunately(for him) couldn't make it so my mom asked me to go instead. He is not only gorgeous, but he is a phenomenal singer/songwriter. He plays the guitar, drums AND the didgeridoo. The music is this funky/folky/hippie/make you want to get up and dance kind of music. Oh, and the best part is, he is a vegetarian! Hot, talented and veg? Pretty much a perfect man if you ask me :)

Anyways, that's all for tonight, I am extremely tired. My next post is going to be on the African Sweet Potato Stew I made last week.

Goodnight!

Well hello there.........

Welcome to my brandy-new blog. I suck at writing, but I'm good at cooking. And thanks to my wicked fancy camera, I take mediocre, at-best, photos. So I figured why not torture the cyber world while I try to improve the two things I kinda suck at and show off what I am good at all at once........? Good idea, right?

It won't be all cooking though, I'm obsessed with my dog, Gizmo(also vegan) so there will be alot of posts about her I'm sure. There will also be a lot of random thoughts, animal rights, music and whatever else is stimulating my brain cells at that moment. Tonight, its just trying to get this friggen thing set up.

Let the torture begin. Enjoy your stay!