I weighed in at 150 pounds this morning, which is up 9 pounds from the end of April. My body fat percentage remains low, but not too low. 150 was also my initial goal for weight gain, and now I’m there. Achievement Unlocked!
My ideal weight is 160, but I know there’s a lot of work and time (and a lot of vegan eats) to get there in the right way. I believe now that it can actually happen.
Pasta Jambalaya from Vegan Express. It’s not going to win any awards for authentic cajun cuisine, but it’s savory, filling, and super easy to make.
I’ve been waiting to buy Vegan Lunch Box for a while, so when the new edition came out, I was all over it. If only I ate this well when I was a whippersnapper! No time like the present, I say.
I think I actually drooled when thumbing through the book. Vegetable wat? Yes. Tofu apple spring rolls? Double Yes. The plan is to move this into the rotation with The Asian Vegan Kitchen for the evenings when I don’t have quite so much time and energy (as much as I love AVK, the recipes are not always simple). Also this way I won’t be quite so tempted to fry things every night.
Did Vegan Man get a deep fryer? Why yes he did! And that means making things hot and crispy by dunking them in hot oil!
I was brain dead after a long day of work, so the first thing into the pot was a package of store-bought spring rolls. Look at them bubbling away!
The results of The Fryening were crisptastic. It’ll be hard to go back to baking, but I vow to use it sparingly (the small 1.1 liter size helps with this, it’s definitely for side dishes). That being said, I’ve got a huge list of things that need frying. Tofu, tempura, potstickers, curry puffs, and so much more.
What else should I fry?
More goodness from The Asian Vegan Kitchen, this time pad thai. This was far and away the best pad thai I’ve made at home. It would have been even better if I would have had bean sprouts on hand. It’s a little spicy, thanks to the full teaspoon of cayenne pepper, as a warning to the mild-mannered.
Tonight’s dinner was from The Asian Vegan Kitchen, which I’ve been enjoying as of late. These Spicy Noodles were very easy to prepare, and they were indeed both spicy and noodley! The dish came out just a tad bit saltier than I like, so I’ll definitely tweak the sauce next time.
Being greedy, I asked for both cake and pie for my birthday a few weeks ago. The pie was already chronicled, and now it’s time for the cake. I requested German chocolate, not knowing the can of worms it opened up. The usual suspects didn’t suggest a recipe, but we did find one on the internet. It was okay, but made waaay too much, and the frosting wasn’t so hot. Varia was convinced she could do better.
She most certainly did! Varia tweaked the recipe to produce a smaller cake, switched out some ingredients for the batter and devised a completely different frosting; thick, sticky, coconutty caramel that compliments the moist cake. I’m not complaining at all, as I got not one but two birthday cakes (and a pie), and I’m able to share her recipe with you.
We used the Soy Delicious coconut milk yogurt to add maximum coconut goodness, but standard soy yogurt should work just fine.
For the Cake:
4 oz dried apricots, diced
4 oz water
1 cup vanilla soy or oat milk
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain coconut yoghurt
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour two 9″x2″ cake pans
Soak apricots in 4oz water, set aside to soften.
Stir together soy/oat milk, cider vinegar, and vanilla.
Measure dry ingredients into a bowl. Sift or whisk to combine.
Puree softened apricots. Place in mixer/bowl and mix with soy yoghurt and sugar until fluffy and pale coloured.
Fold in dry ingredients.
Add soy milk/vinegar mixture, mix until batter is smooth.
Divide cake batter and bake for 30-35 minutes
Cool on rack. Frost.
For the Frosting:
4 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup buttery spread – baking stick
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup soy/oat milk
2 1/4 cups shredded coconut
Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and keep on hand.
In a deep saucepan, melt the buttery spread.
Add brown rice syrup and brown sugar and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring. It will bubble up – be careful, very hot. Add the milk, stir in. Add cornstarch and water mix, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Take off the heat and stir in coconut. Allow to cool, frost bottom cake, slap top cake on, pile frosting all over.
I want to talk a little bit about my kitchen cactus. When I got to Boston in 2000, the previous tenants of the apartment left a scraggly little aloe vera cactus. I’m not the best with plants (to put it mildly), but over the years, the cactus has managed to survive misfortune and thrive. It’s helped soothe cuts on numerous occasions, and reminds me that even I can manage to keep plants alive sometimes.
Earlier this year it was starting to look especially bad. I read up on matters and discovered it was far too big for the small pot it was living in. I took a risk and split the plant into 5 sections, and then into 5 separate planters. 2 of the sections didn’t make it, including the main branch of the old cactus. The other 3, however, have taken root and thrived – over the last few weeks, little shoots of new cactus have been popping up from the soil! The plants are green and vibrant, and that makes me a little vibrant myself.
Plants are amazing things, and I hope over the rest of my life I can be a more skillful caretaker.
