Work in Progress…

…But actually finished! I was lucky to be selected to participate in the 60-Day Project for the incredibly super-cool-as-heck Shellyfish. The idea behind the project is to send Shel’s mom, who recently had a milestone birthday (her 60th!), a series of gifts from volunteers over 60 days. I love this idea and think it is very creative. I hope Shel’s mom is enjoying her steady flow of love from bloggers around the world. My gift goes in the mail today:

A beautiful ball of organic cotton and linen yarn (because she knits), pretty color, isn’t it?

A homemade card.

And, a few Snickerdoodles!

Hooray! Oh! And Happy Earth Day!!!!!!!!!!

Speedy Dinny

It was absolutely beautiful in Portland on Sunday! The temperature reached into the 80s, the sun was warm and comforting, and there was a soft, cooling breeze. I rode my bike around enjoying the freedom of the weekend. When dinnertime approached, I wasn’t in the mood to spend a lot of time preparing my meal. Luckily I had printed off a recipe Lolo from veganyumyum had posted a few weeks ago for Simple Fried Rice with Japanese Seven Spice. The only change I made was substituting Chinese Five Spice since I didn’t have Japanese Seven Spice (feel like you’re in math class anyone?). I know they contain different ingredients, but this meal was incredible anyways! It truly is fast, simple, and tasty. I halved the recipe and still have plenty left over for two more meals.

Sweetness

What’s one to do when there is a happy stash of homemade pita in the freezer and a grumbling belly waiting for dinner? Make falafel!! Last night I prepared a new kind of falafel made with sweet potatoes instead of chickpeas. The recipe is from Fat Free Vegan and it is delightfully delicious!! I halved the recipe and it made just enough for two meals. The accompanying Yogurt-Tahini Sauce is my new favorite. It has a sweet tang from the addition of ketchup, but all the richness I love from tahini – so good! 

And, a lil’ sweetness for dessert:

Tasty (well one of them was) vegan donuts from Voodoo Donut in Portland. I rode my bike over to Voodoo to satisfy a treat craving last night. Believe it or not, this was my first time visiting Voodoo. The donut on the left is a chocolate-glazed, custard-filled. The donut on the right was kind of stale, lemony (way too lemony), and dry. There was quite a selection of vegan donuts to choose from which was nice. I also tasted a regular glazed donut because apparently that’s how you tell if a place makes good donuts, you base it off their plain donuts. It was good. Fresh, sweet, donutty. Enough said. I shall let the icky lemon donut be forgotten…

The Way of the Noodle…

…is Long and Narrow

I have no idea what that means. I came across the quote on a menu and it made me laugh something serious. It doesn’t matter, I love noodles.

This looks rather radioactive, but the colors were truly very bright! This is the Khao San Soba Noodle Bowl. The recipe is in Refresh by Ruth Tal. I adapted the recipe only slightly. My bowl includes shredded red cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cashews, and two (2!!!) sauces: a Simple Sauce (recipe in Refresh – think Braggs, garlic, lemon juice…) and a Tahini Sauce (recipe also in Refresh) with lots of chopped parsley. I really enjoyed this, even as leftovers the next day (and I usually detest leftovers).

And, check out my new stainless steel water bottle! I purchased it from Food Fight. I love them so much because they stopped selling bottled water awhile ago (something I wish all stores would do). They recently got these bottles as an eco-friendly replacement, and I am happy as heck with mine! Go Food Fight!!!

That’s it!

Color for Cloudy Days

Just a quick post featuring some simple and colorful meals to ward off the cloudy days :

Veggie Pizza - Homemade crust and sauce topped with mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach, olives, and some seasoned Papa G’s Tofu – Pizza is often a weekly staple and I am happy about that!

Spicy Tofu Triangles on a Bed of Lettuce – The recipe for this meal is in Vegan Express. This was served with a lemony couscous and steamed broccoli. I really enjoy the simplicity and quickness of all the recipes I have made so far from Vegan Express. It is a great cookbook to own if you have lots of busy workdays and just want a tasty, fast, delicious meal. In the summer I can appreciate the recipes even more because it will give me more time to spend outside flying my kite, riding my bike, and causing trouble.

Future tulips! Hooray for Spring! Although, it did hail twice yesterday in Portland and the snow levels dropped quite low on the mountain…