National Chocolate Cupcake Day

Even though I had an eggplant waiting in the wings, I decided that today had to be recognized. I would have made these this morning and brought them in for my coworkers, and a late Boss's Day gift (ha), but I can't peel myself off the sheets before 11:00am. It was a dead sprint to midnight to get these puppies done.



So, besides the obvious cheating by using food coloring for the frosting, where is the violet? Well, mixed right into the batter is a handful of culinary lavender that I picked up a few months ago. I'm a little worried that my cupcakes are going to make my coworkers sleepy. Or suddenly want a bubble bath and a glass of wine.



In case you're wondering, that's a Skittle on top.

Indigo

I got the weirdest list of foods when I tried to research for this recipe. Artichokes? Rosemary?

I finally settled on Indigo as somewhere between blue and purple, which gave me a little leeway in the color spectrum. I felt that cooked cremini mushrooms, red kale, and black mission figs fit the bill. Also, it was all I saw at the Wedge in the three minutes I had to pick something out before I was late to work.

What do you think?


All day long I wondered. Soup? Stew? Dessert (ew)? Then I remembered the box of arborio rice I picked up at Trader Joe's on a whim. I just had to replace the bottle of white wine I thought I still had, but apparently was consumed Tuesday night. Yep.



Black Mission Fig Risotto with Lemony Red Kale
Makes about 6 servings

1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups heated broth
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
about 10 black mission figs (fresh), stems removed, and quartered
1 tbsp dried parsley
salt and pepper
1 bunch red kale
1 lemon's worth of juice
2 tsp olive oil

In a large saucepan, heat the Earth Balance. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add garlic and mushrooms. Stir to coat, and cook for a minute or two, until the mushrooms soften. Add rice. Stir to coat. Add wine, and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates. Add two cups of broth. For the next 15 minutes, add a cup of broth and stir until reduced and absorbed. Once all the broth is poured in, add the figs and parsley and cook until the risotto is done. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil. On lowish heat, sauté the kale for about a minute. Flip the leaves around with a pair of tongs. Drizzle with lemon juice, and cook until wilty.

Serve risotto over kale. Yum!

There is no blue food

I was glad to find a blue dish in this house, since the "blue" food I made is actually not blue at all.

I finally whipped out the Pancake Puff maker (also known as an aebleskiver), and experimented a little. I only had two large blue potatoes, so I decided to do a trial run with some sweet potato. Turned out good, and figured out the perfect flame to cook them without making a big black puff. So then I make a blue potato pancake batter. Still blue. I drop the batter into the pan, and...green?



See how it's blue, but once it starts to cook, it turns a teal color? God dammit.



Then I pour on the wild blueberry sauce, which has turned a rich merlot color. Sigh.



So, it's true. Blue food does not exist.

Green day, green girl.

Those of you that know me and Paula know that when we get together, and there's alcohol involved, it can get ugly. There was broken glass out in the damn hallway of my building. As Pizzy put it, "We did good."

Well, I certainly did not feel good this morning. My 38-year old body is not bouncing back like it did fifteen years ago. Also, I'm an idiot for drinking not just red wine, but vanilla vodka-ginger ales, white wine, and a couple of Bell's Two Hearted Ales. Kill me. Then my boss called and wanted me to come in. Not happening. It was all I could do to get up and pee today, let alone do anything else. But like a good little vegan mofo'er, I soldiered on.



Linguine with Pistachio Pesto, Italian Sausage, and Grapes.
(thanks to Isa for the edamame idea)
Makes 6-8 servings

1 lb linguine
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1/2 cup shelled edamame
2 cloves garlic
handful fresh basil leaves (about a cup, packed)
1/2 cup water
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 Italian sausages (I used Tofurkey), diced
2 cups green grapes, halved

Boil the pasta and set aside.
Throw the nuts, edamame, garlic, and basil in a food processor and turn it on high. Pour in the water while it's going, and drizzle in olive oil until it reaches a desired consistency (I used about 1/3 cup. It ain't diet food). Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a small pan. Add the sausage, and cook for about two minutes. Add the grapes. Cook about three more minutes until heated through and the sausage bits start to brown a little.

Add pesto sauce to the pasta and toss. Add the sausage and grapes. Check for salt. Serve.

The Curry Matches the Drapes

This is my friend, Paula. I made this dish for her.



This is what I'd call a Massaman Island Curry. Tofu, yellow peppers, coconut curry, pineapple, and bananas. But since it's been dedicated, it's called The Curry Matches the Drapes.





Paula is moving back home to Rapid City at the end of this month, leaving me drinking buddy-less. I told her to come by tonight and I'd cook for her. How appropriate to have my lovely flaxen-haired friend over on yellow night. Now she can say she has a recipe named after her when I'm rich and famous. Yeah.

Love you, Paula. xoxo

Now, back to the serious drinking...

Good morning, sunshine!

I woke up to the sound of Mischka chattering at the window. Expecting to see a bird out there, I noticed that it was snowing. Great, big clumps of the stuff. Not the mere dusting we got on Saturday.

I am totally unprepared. I need boots. I need a new winter coat. I need a hat, fer chrissakes. Where is all the stuff from last year, you ask? Either ill-fitting, ugly, or not particularly vegan as I try to replace all my pre-gan stuff. I found two mismatched mittens. I don't have time to run to Target before work, but I totally had time to make a batch of warm muffins. Gingery Carrot Orange Muffins, actually.



These turned out good, but not as orange-y or gingery as I'd like. I'll try them again with zest of two oranges, and either fresh or crystallized ginger. Powder didn't do this justice.



But they are still tasty, and I'll give some to my neighbor and the unappreciative losers I work with. I definitely need more vegan friends.

Rainbow Week Day One: Red

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Ed showed up with about two pounds of fresh raspberries from his garden. I tasted some, and couldn't believe it. I never knew they could taste so good. I immediately froze some of them for this week, but had no idea what to make until today.



Raspberry Tomato Basil Gazpacho (and raspberry sangria)
serves 2

2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 slice bread (I used 1/2 a pita)
2 tbsp chopped cucumber
1 tbsp of fresh chopped basil
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup red wine
1 cup water
salt and white pepper to taste
Cucumber and basil to garnish

Put everything in the blender (my VitaMix made quick work of this, but you may have to add ingredients one by one to a normal blender) and turn it on high until liquified. Add water as needed to reach a desirable consistency. Add salt and white pepper and taste. It should be fresh, but not bland. Garnish with cucumber slices and a sprig of basil. Eat. Make sweet love on red satin sheets.

That picture was hard as hell to take without completely wrecking my bed. Bowie has a thing for those sheets, and likes to roll around in them.