sushi

For as much as I crave sushi and as easy and inexpensive it is to make, I'm surprised I don't do this more often. Since fish are my friends, I chose to make rolls with tofu, avocado and cucumber. Above you can see the goods layered up: sushi rolling mat, Japanese seaweed, sticky rice (soaked in a rice vinegar mixture), cucumber, avocado and tofu.

rolling!

Sliced and served with soy sauce and wasabi, sushi is the perfect refreshing summer lunch. For tips on making your own sushi, recipes and additional fun ingredient facts I visited this website.

curry seitan

Last night I made the most delicious dinner ever. I purchased a bag of vital wheat gluten some time ago with dreams of making my own seitan but hadn't gotten around to it because the whole recipe takes about an hour and twenty minutes. It is so easy to make and you can easily add your own favorite spices to the batch. I followed this recipe and then of course added a teaspoon each of curry and garam masala. For the final cooking I roasted it in the oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes and then served it over oven roasted sweet potatoes and brown rice.

mixin's

stewin's

 eatin's

morel huntings

This past weekend we went hunting for morel mushrooms. Unfortunately we had to cut the search short because of unforseen allergy problems, but our small scavenge yielded a few small treats! I cooked them on the stove top last night in just a little olive oil and salt and they proved to be just as delicious as I had hoped: true jewels of the forest. I'm looking forward to a second search this weekend. 

granola makings

We made granola for the first time last night; it was so easy! My ingredients list included: vegetable oil, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, oats, cranberries and sliced almonds. We whisked all those together and then watched them toast in the oven. Delicious!

pizza makings

Last night Brandon and I set out on an adventure to make pizza with his brand new bread machine. The machine didn't come with instructions and had already endured one failed attempt at bread, so we were nervous. Mostly because you have to really commit when you make bread; the dough cycle along took about two hours!

Burying the yeast. DUNDUNDUN.

Our toppings consisted of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, green peppers, pepper and rosemary.I literally sat in front of the oven and watched it bake because I didn't want what was coming up on a three hour dinner preparation to go to waste.

SUCCESS! We have a few things that we'd do differently, such as rolling the crust a little thinner and using a more flavorful tomato sauce that doesn't costs 39 cents a jar, but all in all it was super scrumptious.

Birthday!

Today I turned 21 and to celebrate I made these cupcakes (regular sized and a petite version, of course). The sky dumped an obnoxious amount of snow on us last night, so my birthday will be pretty quiet, spent cuddling in bed with my mom and anxiously anticipating the opening day of fruits (this Saturday!) and warmer traveling weather.

Yesterday the mail brought new goodies that I ordered from McClain's Printmaking Supplies, including new engraving tools and resingrave blocks of all sizes! I'm itching to get back into the lab at school, even though this Winter break seemed to go by faster than usual.

Steps and New Year Yums

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful evening filled with high hopes for the new year. Among my list (yes, I have a whole list and a whole year to accomplish it) of resolutions are only use glass and ceramic in the microwave, purchase only trans fat free foods, finally teach Brandon how to crochet, and enter more juried art exhibitions. What are yours?

Brandon and I spent a record 4 hours and 15 minutes in the kitchen preparing our New Year feast. Exhaustion just makes the food taste that much better (and I will be snacking on leftovers for days!). For an appetizer we prepared an Indian dish called Dal Makhni. Dal Makhni is a rich and creamy lentil stew with tomatoes, cashews, and a myriad of delicious spices. 

For the main course, we pan fried tofu to go with snow peas, broccoli, and brown rice. I prepared a creamy peanut sauce to accompany mine while Brandon chose to stir fry his tofu in a spicier sauce. We also made Chana Samosas, a potatoe, cumin and chickpea stuffed pastry. Accompanied by brown rice and shredded carrots, our meal proved to be a success! We then had delicious eggnog ice cream sandwiches for dessert!

 

 These drawings are the fruits of a wonderfully productive evening spent at Sacred Grounds! I clearly LOVE fine line work. The figures have transformed a little, as you can see. The progression from unknown objects to unknown processes makes much sense to me. Moving...Removing...Moving...Removing.

Small side note: There is no such thing as too many markers! (And lucky me, I found the PERFECT straw purse lined with blue and white plaid cotton at Goodwill to carry all of my colors!)