Where are you going? Where have you been?

Wow... I think it's been about 4 months since I've posted anything. Yeah, I kind of suck. I have a good excuse for most of that time though: I bought a condo! I've been crazily painting and decorating and unpacking since early June-- and most of May was spent waiting to see if I would actually get it. I have a fireplace and a little backyard, wood floors and a pretty big bedroom. Yea!

My sister was here for a couple of weeks, during which time we went on a family camping trip--kind of interesting since we are the only vege ones in the family, and K is 100% vegan. (I'm only about 85%) Lulu got to run around the beach like the crazy puppy she is, and we made vegan s'mores-- so that was pretty damn cool. We used some cookies we got from Sidecar for Pig's Peace in the U District, and some vegan marshmallow creme (that was really great actually. I'm thinking of using it in rice crispie treats!) and melted Trader Joe's chocolate chips. Tres bien!

I'm going to see her next Friday, which promises to be full of Korean deli food, secret swimming pools, museum going, and hot hot heat!

Next time? HP 7!

Vacation, vacation, VACATION!!!

I have a whole 9 days off!! YEA!! My major plans consist of: going to the parents' house to hang out and watch tv for a couple of days, cook lots of yummy food, visit an art museum or two, and walk around Greenlake a couple of times. Oh, and get a massage today. My life is not so hard.

I discovered this morning that Evil Bunny, my arch-rival who happens to live under my dining room table, had been out of her cage all night, and has managed to chew up a portion of the moulding against the wall. Not that this is expensive moulding- it's a light pink color, and of such high quality, nails cannot go into it (as evidenced at my previous apartment, when I tried to attach it to the wall better.) Therefore, as the weather is pretending to be nicer, Evil Bunny is now living outside on the porch for a while. Those who are less kind than I (who for some reason also own evil bunnies) keep them outdoors permanently, so I think she will survive.

Recipe of the day, adapted from VWAV:

Cinnamon French Toast:
(started with lovely cinnamon swirl bread from Top Foods)

Dipping Mixture:

3 Tbsp. soy flour
1 heaping Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 shakes of cinnamon

Mix together in a pie pan, and add:

3/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix, mix, mix. Dip bread and coat both sides. Fry in frying pan, about 2 minutes on each side. Serve with maple syrup and banana slices. MMMmmmmm....

The Healthiest Thing I've Ever Made

So, I started this new organic food delivery service called SPUD this week, and consequently have a lot of fresh organic vegetables filling up my fridge. Here's what I made tonight:

Rainbow Polenta

Polenta layer:

1/2 cup polenta
approx. 1 cup water
1 vegi boullion cube
random spices (thyme, herbs de province)

Boil water with spices and vegi cube. Add polenta. Stir and take off of heat. (*warning! Polenta will solidify, so if you want to be able to spoon it out easily, do this part last. I, unfortunately, did this part first, but it still worked out ok.)

Red/Orange Layer:

4 tbsp orange lentils
1/2 sweet potato, cubed small
3 organic carrots, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
organic vegi broth

Heat pan with some olive oil. Add carrots, garlic, sweet potato and cook for a few minutes. Add some broth and the lentils. Keep adding broth until vegis and lentils are tender. (sweet potatos are soft, lentils are fally-aparty) Set aside.

Green Layer:

5 asparagus spears
handful of snow peas
handful of "braising greens" (mini kale and chard leaves, part of the organic mix)
6-8 basil leaves, chiffonaded (make a pile of leaves, roll them up, cut very thin slices)

Chop up everything, and saute with some more vegi broth. Add basil chiffonade at the last minute, to keep flavor.

Layer with polenta on the bottom, greens in the middle, and orange/red layer on the top. Add some alfalfa sprouts if you want.

This seems like it was completely laborous and time consuming, but it really wasn't. And it was tasty too!!!