And the cooking begins

It has been wonderful to have some time off. I worked the first week of break and then spent much of the week after Christmas with one of these dogs in my lap.



Can you blame me? 74 pounds for the light colored one and 60 pounds for the little black one, I often end up with both of them trying to squeeze next to me. There is no better way to recharge one's batteries than by sucking up the good energy of these two boys.

I've been relieved of my duties at my mom's store until there is a busy day, she can't be there, or one of her (I'll save my commentary here) employees quits to do um...nothing. Good help is damn hard to find, people. I've got only one class to teach at the university and am looking forward to working on getting to that sense of balance in my life. I'm very much looking forward to trying some new recipes that I've been drooling over the last couple of months. I've got a fancy new food processor (like, I'm a little scared to use it) and a big butcher's block cutting board and am ready to get busy using them. We'll see just how fuzzy that fantasy/reality line gets between my kitchen and the food network.

Although...a side note for those of you who know me.... I hate stuff out on my counters. I even put the burner thingies away on my stove and get them out when I need them. However, with my little kitchen and little bit of storage I am doing a piss poor job of it.... My cutting block, red Kitchen Aid stand mixer (swoon), Kitchen Aide Architect processor, Kitchen Aid blender, (thus far, I have been really happy with these appliances) espresso machine and coffee pot all live on the counter. I've also added some lovely large glass jars for things like onions, potatoes, apples, and garlic because my crisper drawers (and meat drawer which is usually full of stuff that should be crispered) isn't big enough. They are pretty and look really sharp, but they are on the counter. Gah. I have to keep a beat down like hold on my inner Rain(WO)man.

I've been wanting to make my own veggie burgers. Making them yourself, you control things like salt, additives and any overly processed ingredients. Also, you're looking at a buck or so for maybe 8 burgers instead of maybe eight bucks for the same bought in a store. That extra money goes pretty far on organic root veggies and apples. I noticed on Vegan Dad (see my blog roll) a recipe for sausages and thought it would be the same. FAIL. Somewhere, I blew it. Maybe its because I don't have a real steamer.

This is my stock pot full of water going at a full tilt boogie boil.
I've decided that even if it had worked, the hour plus it would have taken to make four... was not worth it. I can live with buying my vegan sausages from Trader Joe's.

However, in my ongoing quest to 'eat the rainbow' and increase my veggie intake (in a real way...beyond, 'this is my side of veggies' which often leaves you feeling like you're grazing) I also made squash cakes. They're like potato cakes only um, with no potatoes. I cooked a spaghetti squash, mixed in a third cup of flour, 4tbsp Earth Balance, a half cup of Veggie cheese and a healthy dose of pepper.



I think I could have gotten away with less oil because of the fats on the inside (maybe just cooking spray or olive oil in my Misto). Likewise, I think I could have cut the Earth Balance a wee bit, although damn... it was good. Additionally, I think a plant based diet can get a bit lean on the fats if you're not careful. Finally, the smaller you make these, the better. a quarter of a cup is pretty good.

These were got yummier, the more I thought about it. I like them for dinner better than breakfast, I think. Next time I'd like to add a pinch of chili flakes. But a great and inexpensive way to get in some yellow veggies. I've got some good left overs, but am going to reheat them in the oven because the 'crisp' value is important.

Today I've got a black bean soup I'm itching to make and some pinto bean veggie burgers I want to cook ahead. Wish me luck that my new processor doesn't outsmart me.