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.

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.

It’s Vegan Man’s birthday! I totally got some flowers, three bars of soap, and a cherry pie! The picture was after I roughed it up a bit, but it still shows off its majesty. The crust was wonderfully flaky, and the filling just sweet enough.

As a bonus, here is yours truly doing a bad re-imagining of Warrant’s Cherry Pie in the style of Radiohead.

Veganomicon wins again with the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Dipping Sauce (though we served it on ciabatta). This was one heck of a tasty sammich. The dipping sauce was not only savory but very spicy – my lips are still burning.

Found on the internets. I’m assuming this is old ad copy. The gent here doesn’t quite get it, however. While he’s perfectly willing to put on an apron and wash the dishes, he’s not yet able to take the crucial step and make the damned cookies himself. So it really should read “I’ll do anything for cookies except for bake them!”

Vegan Man has no such problems.