Powered by Pinfatuation: Creme Egg Brownies

You guys, I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long. I fell hard down the Pinterest rabbit hole. Seriously, you might need to plan a Pintervention.

I even wrote not 1, but 3 marketing blog posts to help other marketers convince their bosses that Pinterest is a legitimate way to spend your work day. I'm such an enabler.

I've convinced myself that Pinterest is an acceptable form of digital crack, as long as I'm actually making some of the projects I pin. Which step is rationalization on the road to recovery?

Well, that self-talk + a new crush on Instagram now that its available for Android= Powered by Pinfatuation.

I solemnly vow that every time I make something I've pinned, I will take a photo of it with my phone and post it here with the title Powered by Pinfatuation. First up-

Creme Egg Brownies

Holy moly. I managed to make these vegan and gluten-free for Easter, and they are dangerously delicious.

So here is the gorgeous, original photo from Pinterest and recipe by love & olive oil.

And here's my version.

This actually turned out much better than I expected. Definitely not completely CraftFail worthy.

To veganize and de-gluten these suckers, I used a gluten-free brownie mix instead of making the brownies from scratch (thanks Ms. Crocker), I substituted Earth Balance for unsalted butter (and didn't add the 1/8th tsp of salt), and I used dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

I'd definitely make these again.

Pesto Kick

While I was rummaging through the cupboard looking for the pecans, I found a bag of pistachios still in their shells. I was going to give them to the squirrels, but then I remembered a recipe I saw in Splendid Table's e-news last week (or was it the week before?). It was pistachio pesto, and since I'm currently on a pesto kick... I googled pistachio pesto and came up with this recipe on relishmag.com. The only substitution I made this time was to use nutritional yeast instead of cheese. I wasn't sure what the article meant it when it said this pesto was "lighter and brighter", but after I tasted it, brighter really seemed like the best way to explain the difference between the pistachio pesto and the classic pine nut pesto.

I like to make pesto in big batches and freeze it in my heart shaped ice cube trays. Once they're frozen, I pop them out and put them in baggies and store them in the freezer. That way I always have pesto on hand when the mood strikes.

Pesto Party!

I have a ton of sage growing in my front yard. Sage is one of those flavors that definitely tastes like fall to me. So I decided since it's November, I should use it to make something. I found this recipe online for Walnut Sage Pesto at Epicurious.com. I didn't have any walnuts on hand, but I had pecans I wanted to use up, so I substituted pecans for walnuts. I also used nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan. And I didn't use parsley. I guess I'm not very good at following recipes. :) But it does taste delicious! Here's my version:

1/3 cup chopped fresh sage
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, toasted
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
a little water, just enough to get desired consistency

Throw it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Serve over pasta.

I think it would also be great in a bread pudding or stuffing.

greatest grilled cheese

Today I made the best vegan grilled cheese I think I've ever made. I used slices of homemade spicy bread a friend made me, slapped some soy cheese and garlic salt between them, slathered the bread with Earth Balance and fried them up. Two thumbs up! Thanks for the bread AB.

My neighborhood bar

It's not like everyone knows my name there or anything, but I'm still pretty happy that the Sundown Pub on Lombard is within walking distance of my house.

Last night after an especially crummy day at work, it was nice to go snuggle up in some lounge chairs, watch the Steelers beat the Bengals, drink a couple of glasses of wine, and get some vegan grub. Sundown Pub always has vegan options, and everything I've had has been delicious. Last night I opted for some fried rice and veggies, but I also highly recommend the veggie burrito.

Tonight I'm cooking at home. Maybe tomorrow I'll share Isha's world famous mac n' cheese recipe with you. I wonder if I could make it gluten free with some rice noodles? Hmmm.

What not to do with Mint Chocolate Silk

This morning I thought I had a brilliant idea. I thought if I put the Mint Chocolate Silk in my coffee instead of regular soy milk, it would be like a fancy mint mocha coffee shop drink. I was wrong. It was not delicious. I do not recommend this.

Oops, I missed a day!

So not only did I forget to blog yesterday, I practically forgot to eat. Is anyone else noticing that Vegan MoFo is making them realize how terrible their eating habits are?

Since all I ate all day yesterday was a Luna bar, a handful of cocoa almonds, and a frozen waffle, I was ravenous by 7pm when I chowed down on Halo Thai (on Alberta). I was way too busy stuffing my face to think about taking a photo or blogging.

But today I made up for yesterday with a mixed berry turnover from Back to Eden for breakfast. Delicious! A chik patty as a snack and leftover Thai food for lunch, and I'm feeling pretty good.

In Portland, we are very blessed to have several vegan bakeries to choose from. I love them all, and I always pick something up from Black Sheep when I go to the PSU farmer's market, but Back to Eden is my favorite. My Tuesday evening ritual has become candle light yoga at 7pm followed by a walk over to Back to Eden and a post-yoga treat. I can't tell you how delighted I am to be a regular at a vegan bakery! In the summer I can't resist soft serve in a cone, but when the weather gets cooler, I indulge in baked goods and chocolate. They even have a whole row in their display case dedicated to gluten-free cupcakes, macaroons, fudge and other GF goodies, which makes it a perfect date spot for me and my gluten intolerant sweetie. I <3 Back to Eden. See you next Tuesday, B2E!

What will Silk think of next?

October is my favorite month of the year. I like fall leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, and my birthday. November is always kind of a let down, but Silk Nog is my consolation prize. My very sweet boyfriend bought me my first nog of the season yesterday.

Then when I hit the grocery store, I saw a newcomer next to my beloved nog- Mint Chocolate Silk! I had to give it a try. It's not bad, but it's not as delicious as Silk Nog, or even the Pumpkin Pie Silk which I also enjoy. But after I heated it up with some Dandies marshmallows as a treat after cardio boxing class, it tastes pretty great.

The Bus was less than impressed. He prefers cat food. Go figure.

i have good intentions...

But when I get super busy and/or stressed, my lunch and dinner ends up looking like this:

That's white pasta with Earth Balance margarine, salt, pepper, and soy cheese. Strangely comforting, but not very healthy or energizing. What do you make for lunch that's quick, easy, and cheap?

Saddest Vegan MoFo

My vegan month of food is off to a pathetic start. I ate leftover mashed potatoes and coffee for breakfast and peanut butter on white bread for lunch. This is all that's in my fridge:


Tomorrow I solemnly vow to go to the grocery store. For now, I'm off to make another soy grilled cheese.

GF baking might be harder than anticipated...

My first two gluten free baking experiments have ended badly. I'm sorry I didn't snap photos of them for you before they went in the compost heap, but they weren't much to look at, just shapeless brown blobs.

I tried substituting white rice flour for brown rice flour, I guess they aren't interchangeable? Or maybe the problem was that I left out the xantham gum (which I think I might need to order online?). Either way, more experimentation is necessary. I packed the GF bread and the tofu scramble hot pockets for my recent trip to Big Sur, but neither got eaten. I'm glad I packed them though, the bread was dense enough that I probably could have used it as a weapon to knock out a cougar if there had been an attack.

In other food news, I'm considering signing up for the VeganMoFo challenge for the month of November to get myself back into the swing of blogging. I'm sure you're all dying to see photos of what I eat for lunch every day, right?

gluten-free vegan recipes?

My very sweet boyfriend appears to be allergic to gluten. He's been gluten-free for a couple of weeks now, and his belly has been feeling much better. However, we aren't finding too many places that serve vegan, gluten-free fare (thank heavens for corn tortillas and thai food!), so I see a lot more cooking in my future.

That's a-ok with me, I've been meaning to get back on the cooking at home bandwagon and I love trying new recipes and science experiments in the kitchen. I'm going to stock up on rice flour this weekend. Expect to see a lot more recipes from me on this blog as I attempt to make my vegan favorites gluten-free. And if you have suggestions or tips, send them my way. I picked up a copy of Flying Apron's Gluten-free and Vegan baking book at Powell's yesterday and The Gluten-Free Vegan is in my Amazon cart.

First cooking challenge? What to make and pack for camping for 5 days in Big Sur?

Boy oh boy, I've got a lot of eating to do

The PDX Vegan Hundred: 100 Great Foodz in Portland, OR

Some of the best and most unusual vegan options Portland has to offer, with a few peculiarities, for peculiarities’ sake.

How many have you tried? The ones I've tried are in bold.
Fries with spicy tofu sauce at Dots
$1.25 Corndog from Hungry Tiger Too (Wednesday special)
McMinnville Cream donut from Voodoo Doughnuts
Tiramisu from Portobello
Vegan Soyrizo Burrito from Los Gorditos
Professor Nanotear Ham and Cheeze sandwich from Tube
Milkshake from Sip
Gnocchi from Portobello
Boston Cream Pie donut from Sweetpea Baking Co. (Saturdays only)
Soft serve from Blossoming Lotus
Local cherry tomatoes from a farmers market
Sesame Tofu from Bay Leaf
Jerked chickun from Assase Ital
A Big Big Lunch Special from an Indian chaat house
Soy latte made with Stumptown espresso
A crappy tofu scramble
Cornmeal pizza from Dovi Vive.
Weeping Tiger sandwich from Bye & Bye
Bye & Bye or Floor Punch from Bye & Bye
A Bowl meal from a cart
Vegan nutella from Freddy Guy’s hazelnuts
Soy curls in bulk
40 cent Tofuffalo at Hungry Tiger Too (Thursdays)
the weekday vegan pancakes from Laurelthirst
Maple vegan sausage waffle from Flavourspot
Drunken noodles with pepper steak from Thai Food Cafe
Macnocheeto from Homegrown Smoker
Veggie platter from an Ethiopian restaurant
Blackberries picked from a public place
Baba Ganouj from Ya Hala
Coconut Smashed Yams from Papa G’s
Vegan slice from Bella Faccia
a Whiffies fried pie after midnight
Chili dog from Zach’s Shack
Vegan poutine from Potato Champion!
Missionary Chocolate Truffle
Apron Activists 4-Course Dinner
Hot Wok at New Seasons
Che Guevara Burrito from Laughing Planet
Pad Thai from Pad Thai Kitchen
Random vegan dessert from a stand at Last Thursday on Alberta
The Giant Pancake at Hungry Tiger Too
TLP from Red & Black Cafe
Cornmeal tempeh plate from Proper Eats
Maple Walnut Scone from Back to Eden
Vegan Mezza platter from a Lebanese restaurant
Crispy eggplant from Fujin
Lemongrass Tofu Sticks from Van Hanh
Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX
Cocktail made with local liquor
Biscuits and Gravy from Paradox or Vita
Coconut fried oreos from Homegrown Smoker
Field Roast sausage
Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce
Toddbot’s Triangles
Local microbrew
Hot Lips soda
Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala from The Farm Cafe
Picnic in Laurelhurst Park
Burrito eaten in Pioneer Square from Shelley’s Honkin Huge Burritos
Eggplant tibs from Bete Lukas
Tator tots before noon or after midnight
Lone Ranger from Chaos Cafe
Hand-crafted mocktail at Portobello
Tofu at a BBQ place
Mint Fava Falafel at Nightlight Lounge
An unexciting hummus plate at a bar.
Koi Fusion spicy tofu tacos
Tofurkey dog with grilled onions from the Veggi Dog Stand
Sesame chicken from a vegetarian chinese restaurant
Bagel with scallion cream cheese from Sweetpea Baking Co.
Vegan savoury crepe
Club Vegan at Backspace
Ice cream sundae from Back to Eden
Raw fudge from Blossoming Lotus
Tempeh reuben
Pause vegan burger
something baked with local marionberries
Sunday Brunch at Sweetpea Baking Co.
Dave’s Killer Bread
Higher Taste Burritos
Thai food that the server swears is vegan, but you taste fish sauce.
Elephant ear from the Saturday Market
Sticky bun from Dovetail Baking Co.
Savoury pie from Nicholas
Giant salad rolls from the Just Thai cart
Vegan torta from Los Gorditos (cart or taqueria)
Nutritional yeast on your popcorn at a movie theater
Vegan grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Grill
Vegan Nachos at El Nutri (2 carts)
Something from the by-request vegetarian menu at Andina
Vegan Steak and Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian
Dragon Noodles at Red & Black Cafe
Falafel from Wolf & Bears
Vegan apple fritter from Voodoo Doughnuts
Four-Cheese Lasgana from Blossoming Lotus
Vegetarian Chinese lunch buffet
Chicken Salad Sandwich at D.C. Vegetarian
Cinnamon Roll from Dovetail Baking Co.
Personal Pizza from a cart with a wood-fired stove

Only 47 out of 100? That's not a passing grade is it?

Cooking Spree

I didn't plan to, but last night I went on a huge cooking spree.

It started by trying to make homemade tortillas because I saw some guy make them on his grill on OPB's "Create" channel, and it didn't look so hard. I now understand why someone invented a tortilla press, but my thick, crumbly tortillas still taste good.

In total I made:
12 tortillas
Black beans in the crockpot for the first time
Pesto
A vegetable pot pie
A blueberry cheesecake cream pie
lemonade

After I finished cooking, I wasn't hungry, so tonight I'm going to have a lot to eat!

Short but sweet visit with Boo

This is Pulin. He's my boo. He's been my boo since my pre-PETA2 days when we met gathering signatures for a campaign to ban gestation crates in Florida.

He still works for PETA, but every once in awhile he pops into my life here in Portland and brightens my day. Yesterday was one of those days.

We shared a chocolate berry tart and a key lime pie tart at Sweet Pea Bakery. So yummy! Isn't funny how vegans and bloggers both take photos of their food before they eat? He did it too. It wasn't just me.

Garden!

One of my favorite things about owning my own house is gardening! It's like one big science experiment!!!

I think it's going pretty well, even if the only edible things I've grown so far are spinach and kale.

The broccoli is starting to look like broccoli.

The strawberries are starting to look like strawberries.

And I got a ton of free plants at a plant exchange this weekend. I traded some raspberry, garlic, and lemon balm starts for lamb's ear, calendula, ruby lettuce, early girl tomatoes, parsley, purple basil, spearmint, a jade plant, potatoes, and what might grow up to be an almond bush.

I've been tempted by the infomercials for the topsy-turvy, so when D-Day told me her genius idea of using Trader Joe's recyclable bags instead, I had to give it a shot. These cost a couple bucks each instead of $20, and they look pretty.

Only time will tell if tomatoes and lemon cucumbers will like them as much as me.

deep fried...

Normally, I am of the opinion that everything tastes better deep fried. Potatoes, tofu, and even oreos are all better battered and fried. I do think frying can be taken to extremes (my ex deep fried a gas station donut that already contained over 50% of the recommended daily allowance of saturated fat before it's trip to the fry daddy!), but deep fried asparagus sounded like a great idea to me.

After a trip to Burgerville, I'm surprised to say I was wrong. Golden fried asparagus was kind of tasteless and very chewy and hot grease spewed out of each tough stalk as I tried to gnaw through it. It is definitely not a food I'd recommend eating while driving. Turns out I prefer my asparagus roasted with garlic or sauteed with lemon and pepper, which is how I intend to eat it tonight.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I'm going to Eugene tomorrow to cheer on the Rosebuds at their rematch against the Gems!

I come from the land down under...

...also known as the basement.

We made some serious progress this weekend. I hung the little utility boxes.

And installed insulation.

And dad did the actual electric work. Now there are new outlets that work and switches that really turn on lightbulbs and it's all very exciting.

We took a break Saturday to celebrate Valentine's Day. I made heart shaped pink and white pasta (which I forgot to take a picture of) and heart shaped peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache (which I did remember to take a picture of...)

After our heart-y dinner (ohhhh, get it?), we went to MONSTER TRUCKS!!! Gravedigger's performance in the freestyle was disappointing and overly cocky, I don't think Dennis Anderson would have approved, but Toro Loco made up for it. There was a wedding ceremony during the intermission. 5 couples tied the knot right there in the middle of the arena amid the monster trucks and smashed up cars. One particularly romantic couple even vowed to "Get 'Er Done" instead of saying "I do."

So Sunday we went all Toro Loco on the basement and the patio because we wanted to "Get 'Er Done" like we learned the night before at the Monster Truck Jam.
We got lucky and managed to squeeze the 4'x8' sheets of drywall down the funky dug out stairs that lead to my basement, so we didn't have to cut it outside which was a big relief.

As I type, B and dad are slapping up the drywall. I don't think they'll get it all done today though, so dad has extended his stay until Friday.

I'll have to think of an extra special Father's Day gift for him this year.

Let's hear it for my boys...

...yeah, let's give the boys a hand...

All is well in the world.
I found the Iron City.

And the pierogies. This is the vegan brand.

Yum.

B challenged me to invent a new savory waffle topping last weekend when we were breakfasting on traditional waffles with Earth Balance and maple syrup so I came up with a Primanti Brothers Waffle in honor of the Steelers. It's a savory waffle with peppered tofurkey slices, fakin' bacon, soy cheeze, spinach, tomato, and an avocado sauce on top of a steamy, hot waffle. With fries on top. Obviously.

We hung out at Punchkin's, ate a lot, drank, and I knit anxiously, swinging the Terrible Towel around at crucial moments when the Steelers needed my support.

The Steelers won. The cats rejoiced.

The Bus was very proud and likes his new Superbowl Ring.


To recap, I heart Blitzburgh.

Iron City in the Rose City?

I've been on a quest this week to find a 6 pack of Iron City beer and a box of frozen pierogies for the Superbowl this weekend. I've checked Fred Meyers, Whole Foods, and World Market, but I haven't had any success. Whole Foods and Fred Meyers did have potato and onion pierogies, but both brands had egg and milk in them. World Market had all this beer...

...but no Iron City. What's a girl to do?

I'm going to stop by New Seasons tonight on my way to practice. I know I've bought vegan pierogies at the New Seasons on Division before, so hopefully the one by the hangar on Tacoma will have them too. Cross your fingers that they also have the I.C.

In keeping with our theme this week (cats and the Steelers, we've decided that Analog is a Steelers kitty too because she's black with yellow eyes. And she's very fierce, see?

This will be her first Superbowl, I want it to be perfect.

Wish me luck at New Seasons tonight! And wish the Steelers luck on Sunday!