End of a busy week

Every spare moment I had, I was knitting a sock and a scarf. I didn't finish either for the weekend which was super disappointing. I participated in my second Civil War reenactment and I liked it far better than my first attempt years ago. I'm looking forward to giving it another go when it's warmer out next year. It was a very cold weekend, and I was wearing far to little clothing. I did not get sick however. I'm sure I would be feeling it today. It amazes me how everyone around me will get sick, but I won't. I don't want to say that it's my vegan diet helping keep me healthy, but, well.... yes I do. So I have not been cooking much lately, so we've been eating out a lot. Mainly we get burritos from, Pancheros, Qudoba, or Zumbas. Zumbas is a bit of a drive, but by far my favorite place. I need to get a picture of their burritos sometime. So I'm just posting a random food picture from my gallery. Mmm.. Molasses Cookies. I need to make these again.

Vegan Mofo 2009 survey

On the Manifest Vegan blog I found this VeganMofo 2009 survey from WhoaWren so I thought I would join in on the fun.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk? Vanilla Almond

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Roasted Eggplant dip, burritos, splint pea soup

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Coconut oil and salt

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Vinegar noodles... just as bad as it sounds, don't know what I was thinking.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Cauliflower

6. How do you organize your recipes?
I'm in the process of adding my favorite recipes to Tastebook. Otherwise I have recipes to try scattered all over the house.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I've been bad lately, we have a compost pile, but I've just been using the trash.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
Avocados, dark chocolate peanut butter, and apple cider.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Making berry jam with my mother.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice cream, vanilla

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
Stick blender.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Cumin.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Alton Browns first cookbook

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
lasagna

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Tempeh has really grown on me these past months

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Dinner

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Lunch bags, a basket, lighter, microwave splatter guard

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Cabbage soup, bread, walnuts

20. What’s on your grocery list?
Always soymilk, earth balance, bread and oat bran

21. Favorite grocery store?
Better Health Market. Novi, MI

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet
I know there's something, I just can't think of one. Usually I can find any recipe online If I search long enough.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Eat, drink and be vegan

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Endangered species dark chocolate

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
Vegan meat balls. At them with spaghetti.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
Kolrabi. Not really scared of it, but I received from our CSA and didn't know what to do with it.

Pickles!

I've gotten into canning in a major way this year. With our CSA membership, I've been receiving tons of in season, locally grown produce every week. So much produce that it was extremely hard for me to use everything before next weeks delivery. Brian surprised me one day by getting me a large pressure canner, and I've made it money well spent. Today I made watermelon rind pickles. I've never actually tasted watermelon pickles, so I didn't know what to expect. One can didn't seal properly, so I took the oportunity to give them a taste, and they're really good! Earlier this year I made a batch of bread and butter cucumber pickles, which seem to sweet to me, but Brian likes them. I also made pickled cauliflower, which I like alot. Both are pictured below.

October 3rd

Today was a busy day around the house. Do laundry, wash dishes, pay bills, etc. I made zucchini soup for dinner, which I will have pictures of later. We're going to a euchre party at Brian's aunt's house tonight. I'm bringing fresh sliced watermelon, homemade salsa and chips, and potato salad (another picture to post later.)
This isn't the salsa we're having tonight, but one that I really want to make again. It's avacado pico salsa with hearts of palm.

October is Vegan Food Month

So I'm a day late starting this, but, in honor of Vegan food month I'm going to post my food pictures everyday. (Or at least as often as I can.) I'll start off with a good fall dish: Root vegetable gratin.