Calamity Jenn Strikes Again

Last night as Ben and I were cooking dinner, it happened. I made (once again) a huge mess in the kitchen.

We were making sloppy joes, his with ground turkey, and mine from the Vegan Sloppy Joes recipe in my January cookbook, How it all Vegan! I had made the tomato sauce for mine in the food processor, and it was looking pretty good--all nice and tomato-ey. Ben had put the food processor out for me, around the corner of the counter and down at the end... not where I usually put it, but a decent spot, since we don't have a ton of counter space in the kitchen. So I'm turning to grab the tomato sauce so I can mix it with all of my veggie goodness in the skillet, and my arm knocked the bottle of olive oil off the counter and onto the floor.

I wasn't looking as I turned, but I must have been wild with my arms, because I know I didn't put the olive oil near the edge of the counter. And of course, the dog was already in the kitchen with me, so as I'm trying not to move and step on glass shards in my sock feet, I'm also trying to pick up the dog, so he doesn't step on the glass or go to town licking up the oil.

Did you know that it takes a REALLY long time to clean up a shattered bottle of olive oil that was more than 3/4 full? Ugh. Ben was really nice and did all of the sweeping and moping so that I wouldn't hurt my back (yes, I'm such an old lady... bad back and all). I helped by putting the dog up and fetching soapy water, clean water, rags, etc. Ugh. By then, our food was cooled off, since Ben had turned off the burners. Good thing, too, because it definitely would have burned, and then no sloppy joes for us!

Mine turned out really good, though. If you're a fan of veggie sloppy joes, definitely try it out. I used Boca veggie crumbles instead of TVP like the recipe called for. It's what I had on hand, but it worked just fine. Leftovers were pretty tasty at lunch today too! :)

Stay tuned, because a new month means a new cookbook to use! I have no idea which one to go with, there are so many in the cabinet.... ;)

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy

I know what you're thinking. Jenn, you didn't cook at *all* this week! What about your New Year's Resolution to cook at least once or twice each week???? Pshaw, I say. Sunday ends the week, and I definitely cooked tonight.

I made "Everything Goes" Stir-Fry, with Garlic Toss For Noodles. The recipe for the stir-fry makes me smile, because it actually calls for two cups of "everything goes" veggies -- basically, whatever veggies you have on hand. So I put carrot, onion, red bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, and tempeh in mine. I cooked the Garlic Toss in a separate pan so the flavors could all gel together into some spicy garlic goodness, and then mixed it in with the veggies right before serving. Yum!

Oh, and just a side note. Don't forget to check on your rice as it cooks. I was so busy stirring my Garlic Toss into the stir-fry that I ended up with little crispy pieces of rice at the bottom of the pan. Turned out fine, but Calamity Jenn nearly struck again.

Chili-rific!

So this past weekend was our second annual Chili Supper. We had a bunch of people come up from Austin, along with a bunch of our local friends too. All together there were five different types of chili. Personally, I thought mine was the best... It was also the only veggie chili, and so was the only one I tried. But keeping with my New Year's Resolution to cook one month from one of my cookbooks once or twice a week, I made a new chili recipe. I tried out Sarah's Delicious Chili from How it All Vegan! and it was pretty tasty. I hadn't had chili with garbanzo beans before, but I have to say that I liked it. I would have added some additional spice to the recipe after taste testing for seasoning, but my in-laws were joining us for dinner, and my mother in law can't handle any spice right now. So I was the good daughter in law and made mine not very spicy. *pat on back*

I also made Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies. This would be only the second time that I've made vegan cookies. These turned out so yummy! I picked up some chocolate chips that were swirled with peanut butter and added walnuts. Yum! The consistency was different from a non-vegan cookie. My friend Nick said it reminded him of a biscuit, but to me it was a cross between cake, cookie and biscuit. So good, you definitely should try this one.

Well, It's Friday...

...and I missed today's Friday Feature. No worries, I'm full of excuses tonight.

1. We had a workday at school, and I was busy workday-ing.
2. Ben and I are having friends over tomorrow, and we were cleaning and washing sheets from the guest room.
3. Tomorrow is chili supper, so I made a grocery list.
4. Oh, and I was finishing up counting shrink wrap and packaging for inventory. That's my very least favorite part of inventory, don'tcha know.
5. And how could I forget, I seem to have hurt my back. Again. As in, my back stretches and Aleve haven't done a lick of good. So here I am, about to lay down in bed with the heating pad. Here's hoping it will feel better in the morning, or at least well enough to stretch it better than I could tonight.

And yes, I know it seems that I haven't cooked this week, despite my New Year's Resolution. Well, that would be because I haven't. Sunday I made a Use Up What You Have pasta-casserole-bake. I cooked up the last of the package of macaroni from Thanksgiving, and mixed it with the last of the veggies from when I made pizza that week, with the last of the Zesty Tomato Pesto sauce, also from pizza night, and the last of a package of veggie crumbles. Mix it all together, top with vegan Parmesan, bake for about 15 minutes at 350, and you're good to go. The leftovers made for pretty tasty lunches this week.

No worries, though. Tomorrow is Chili Supper. But enough for tonight. Right now my bed and heating pad are calling. Goodnight!

Pizza Crust is Hard to Do

Now just sing the title of this post to the tune of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and you'll be on the same page as me. Of course, it could be because right now I'm watching an episode of Buffy that has everyone singing and dancing.

Last night I tried my hand at making Yeast Free Pizza Crust, along with Zesty Tomato Pesto. Well the sauce turned out great, I added a bit more garlic and basil than the recipe called for, but then I do love garlic more than any other seasoning. The crust was another thing altogether. Yesterday I said it couldn't be too hard, but I think I spoke too soon. Should've learned my lesson from the lasagna noodle fiasco. Dough is hard...at least for me. *sigh* I'll get the hang of it eventually...

Music Monday.... and Go Frogs!

Today is not only Music Monday, it's also my first day back at school from Winter Break, Dinner No. 2 from my New Year's Resolution, AND... the TCU bowl game! Wow, what a busy day! I forgot how tired I always am the first day back at school, and then I had to run by the grocery to pick up a couple of things for tonight (like parsley... the store I was at yesterday didn't have it, gah!).

Honestly, the last thing I want to do tonight is cook. Fortunately, I'm making pizza, which is pretty painless. The only thing is, I'm making Zesty Tomato Pesto and Yeast Free Pizza Crust from How it all Vegan! I've never made pizza crust before, but it doesn't look so bad.

So here I am on the couch, already tuned into Fox, wearing TCU plaid flannel jammies, and a TCU t-shirt. Go Frogs, beat the Broncos! (The video isn't from when I played in the band not too long ago, but it's nice to see that pregame hasn't changed!)

I Knead Noodles

Ha, get it? Yep, I'm a dork.

The lasagna turned out pretty yummy last night, but I can't say the same for my first attempt at homemade noodles. Apparently I didn't knead the dough long enough the first time, because when I put it through the roller part, the dough fell to pieces. So I kneaded and kneaded, and kneaded some more, and tried again. Came out fine, and I cut it into lasagna-sized strips. But when I cooked them in the boiling water, a bunch of them came apart. When I drained the water, I had a few whole noodles, and lots of little bits of noodle. So I ended up having to use the store bought no-cook noodles anyway, which ended up working out great.

And speaking of lasagna, here's a good looking one I found in GulfCoastCottagePDF's Etsy shop. (Italian Feast Felt Food PDF Pattern, $5.99)

Music Monday

Tonight starts my New Year's Resolution, and yes, I know it's a little early. Oh well. I was inspired. (And if you have no clue what I'm talking about, check yesterday's blog update.) One month of cooking from my newest cookbook, How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. My mom is coming over, along with possibly a couple of guy friends, and I'm making Classic Spinach Lasagna, with homemade Traditional Tomato Sauce from the same cookbook. (Homemade pasta sauce rocks, and is super easy!) I'm also making Easy Garlic Spread and cooking it in some puff pastry to make garlic bread rolls. Yum! I bought some lasagna noodles just in case, because the closer it gets to cook time, the more chicken I'm getting about making my own pasta. We'll see... I might save homemade pasta for another night when I won't have company...

What about Music Monday? Hold your horses, I was just getting to that. I was putting groceries in the trunk of my car today and had a very "hippie" moment. In the Whole Foods parking lot, wearing faux-suede boots and an organic cotton skirt, putting reusable grocery sacks filled with tofu and organic veggies into the tiny trunk of my Beetle...

Needless to say, I listened to some Beatles on the way home.

This is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Whew!

I hadn't realized that it's been so long since I updated my blog... Oops! The holidays are busy for everyone, so hopefully you didn't miss me too much. ;) All I know is, we were definitely Christmas-ed out. Five is a little much, but there's not really much to be done about that. It's nice to be able to spend time with so many different family members, though!

During my week away from school, I've been doing some thinking. And no, it didn't hurt, thank you very much.

Ben and I have been going out to eat most nights, and not cooking at all. For a while I was doing pretty good about cooking at least one dinner per week at home, but the last couple of weeks the only cooking I've done is to take to Christmas Eve dinner at Ben's grandmother's house. The way our schedules are, Ben and I really only eat together Monday and Wednesday nights, plus the weekend. So ideally, one (or both) of those nights would be staying at home for a home-cooked meal. Then, since Mr. Picky Pants doesn't really care for leftovers, that would leave me with lunches to take to school or leftover dinners for nights that I eat without him.

So I've decided that my New Year's resolution this year is to cook one or two dinners per week. That being said, I am a cookbook-holic. Yes, I admit it. I love to look at cookbooks, but the problem is that since I don't cook often, they don't get much use. This means that part of my Cooking Resolution is going to be to use those books! Right now I'm thinking of spending one month per cookbook, so I can try out as many recipes as possible. And I'm not afraid to admit that I was inspired by watching the movie Julie and Julia while wrapping presents. I'm starting with How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer, which my mom gave me for Christmas. Oh, did I forget to mention that I've recently started cooking vegan at home? Except for Christmas Eve macaroni and cheese, that is. My mom is coming over for dinner tomorrow night, so I'm making something from my new cookbook. I'm also trying my hand at handmade pasta, to use my brand new pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid. Wish me luck!