I know it's January but I have been making salads like it's June. I have been making all the salads from Salad Samurai, aiming to make all the ones from the Winter chapter by the time the season leaves us. This one is actually from the Fall chapter, and it's called the Collard Sweet Potato Crunch Bowl. It called for cubed sweet potato but I had roasted mine whole and it was too soft to cube. So I just scooped it on top and it was none the worse for it. Those Sriracha and Smoke Pecans are really addictive. I had extra from this salad and I totally ate them all at work the next day. I shared. Swear.


I got Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen for Christmas and have made a few things from it already. This is the White Lasagna with Butternut Squash. It was really good. It has tofu ricotta, an alfredo sauce and pureed roasted butternut squash. Alex is really not into any of those things so I had this all to myself the whole week. I shared with my coworker, who as of late has had vegan aspirations!


Alex does, however, really like Mexican food and he helped me make burritos the other night. I made spicy lentils with some taco spices and tomato sauce, some sauteéd diced onions and peppers and rolled them inside along with some avocado slices. Some brown rice and black beans on the side, and other than the large quantity of food, there's not too much to be ashamed of, healthwise. Not that it has ever really stopped us before, but I have been aiming for healthier alternatives.

 Speaking of appropriate winter gear, I received some new winter boots today! They are from Native Shoes, a Canadian company based out of Vancouver, and all of their products are vegan! I was in search of a vegan "bean boot" and these looked to be a good fit. They are similar in style but without the leather and shearling. They had a bunch of colors but hardly any that were left in my size. This color combo seemed acceptable enough, and after trying them on I love them!!



While in curry-mode I made this sweet potato curry with adzuki beans and cauliflower from
Isa Does It. It was a thai-inspired curry with red curry paste and lots of lime. It was very seasonal and delicious.


I made this salad from Salad Samurai but this is actually from the Spring chapter. It's the Green Curry Lentil Salad. It was super spicy but good. It was sweet from the pineapple and crunchy from the toasted coconut. I added Lemongrass Tofu to the salad even though it didn't call for it because it was dinner. Everybody wants a little tofu in there when they eat a dinner salad. If they don't then tell them I said Yes they do.


Okay this one is definitely from the Winter chapter of Salad Samurai. It is called Sesame Noodles In The Dojo. I have been to Dojo in the West Village on Terry's recommendation and was not a fan, but then after reading the intro to this salad recipe learned that they overhauled their entire menu and the restaurant sort of fell flat. The Dojo she once so highly recommended is now just a really generic pan-asian sort of place. These sesame noodles are a tribute to a dish once prepared so well by the restaurant back when. Plus noodles? In a salad? I'm there. I added Beyond Meat but this really didn't need it.

 
Speaking of noodles in salads, here is the Pad Thai Salad with Asparagus and Tofu from the Spring chapter. I know, I can't stick to the right season! What gives? This salad was pretty good but the asparagus didn't shred into ribbons the way I thought they would and were a barely noticeable addition to the salad for a pretty good amount of work. It took forever to shave the asparagus spears, and most of the asparagus was left behind once they couldn't be shred anymore. Maybe the really big husky stalks would have worked better for this, but I always find the skinny ones in the store. The salad overall was good, but benefitted from some Golden Mountain Sauce drizzled on top!


I've been doing my best to keep making smoothies, which is really no problem, aside from the time it takes to peel chop, blend and drink. I have been kind of in a protein-shake-mood lately. I have finally been able to work out again after my shoulder injury healed. Well -- it didn't exactly heal. I got shot up with some concoction of steroids at the doctor and was put on a high dose of anti-inflammatory drugs. It feels pretty good most days by now. I am hoping by the time I go back I will not need any further treatment. In the meantime I have been cranking out the Chaturangas and planking until I drop. I made Alex do a 45 minute Nike Training Club workout with me this morning. It was fun to work out together yet funny. Do couples work out together? Or is that supposed be separate?


In conclusion I have been keeping busy this winter with my favorite activities, like cooking, yoga, seeing shows, and playing bass. And making ravioli. These have a lentil & ricotta filling. Putting my ravioli pan to use!


Enjoy the rest of the season! There's much more fun to be had before it's over <33

I got these mozzarella sticks the first time I went to the Rockville Center one and loved them so much. The second time I went, they said they were all out, and I almost cried. This time I ordered them the second my butt touched the chair, so as not to waste any time. As soon as they arrived I ate three of the five back to back and my will to live was slowly restored. They are just daiya, but they just do it really right. Also how do you guys pronounce daiya? I always thought it was  "DIE-ya" but I heard a few people say "DAY-ya" and I was like, how silly, but then someone told me they got corrected by someone from daiya when they pronounced it "DIE-ya" and that the true way is "DAY-ya." What gives?

The bottles of water for the tables were so fancy, they looked like they could hold angels' tears.


I ordered the seitan scarpariello, which is like a sausage-and-peppers-with-setian thing. It was okay. the pasta was undercooked and the seitan had a really weird texture. And I filled up on the bread and salad and mozzarella sticks by the time this came, so shame on me. #sorrynotsorry.

I will say that the entrees came on Italian-sized plates. That is to say that the plates the entrees were served on were the size of Italy. That was great for us, except that we forgot to bring our extended families with us to help us eat all of it. Alex ordered the seitan parmesan, which ruled. It was so good and everything you want from seitan parmesan. I wish I had ordered it -- or not ordered mine and just ate a KZ-sized portion of his. There would still be leftovers for both of us. Anyway, A+ on the seitan parm. Oh, and I love that "GO VEGAN" is painted multiple times on the front windows, and that all of the waiters' shirts have "Go Vegan!" written underneath their "3 Brothers" logo. It warmed my progressive vegan heart.

For dessert we shared the PB Bomb, which like all their desserts, comes from Vegan Treats bakery. It was a clear choice, because peanut butter, but they had lots of great options like keylime cheesecake and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and PB brownie cake and lots of other stuff too.


We could barely fit this inside our bodies. But we did. We did it. In the name of peanut butter and vegan food.
Overall I had a great meal and a great evening. It was a hefty bill -- $80 for two. We shared an appetizer and a large salad, each got an entree (that will feed us maybe two more times each) and split a dessert. So for Italian food, I'd say that's a little overpriced. But I have no real complaints, besides my entree not being my favorite. I'm sure most other things I could have ordered would have been great. We did skip the alcohol, which is what usually drives up the bill, but we did get and appetizer and a dessert, so that ain't cheap either. But I'm a young adult and it's possible one day we won't be young adults anymore, and maybe we'll have a mortgage and a million blonde vegan baby brats to feed, and we won't be able to drive 60 miles on a Tuesday night for Italian food. So I think we should get apps and zerts now. We're young. Right?

It's a tradition we have in our little two-person family that we celebrate all special occasions, including but most importantly birthdays, with Ethiopian food. Our favorite restaurant is in New Jersey where we used to live, so we make the trek out there every once in a while. Now, to go over two tolled NY State bridges, through the Garden State Parkway, and whatever godforsaken traffic said obstacles may be withholding, that's got to be some damn good food. Believe me -- it is that good. We make a thing of it and get appetizers, eat every last bite on the platter, get Ethiopian coffee, and vegan chocolates. They are also BYOB, so we bring a couple bottles of red wine and yeah, like I said, make a thing of it.


Now, while photographs of Ethiopian food may not be magazine-cover status, the taste of it is way better than anything that has every graced the cover of Bon Appetit. This is especially true at Mesob Restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey. I have eaten at dozens of Ethiopian restaurants in several different states including legendary DC and PA. Mesob still wins. This is the best food. Ever.


We went to Mesob on the weekend before my birthday, which fell on a Tuesday, and the hassle of getting to and from Mesob on a weeknight is pretty impossible. So on my actual birthday, Alex cooked! It's really cute to see this super learned almost doctor get so flustered and confused by tasks that I complete on the reg. It makes me feel powerful. Anyway, he did a great job. He followed the recipe for New England Glam Chowder from Isa Does It, and lucky for him I always make notes in the margins of anything confusing or what I thought worked or suggestions for next time, such as "salt!" or "put nori in the blender," because I could see him literally losing his mind trying to crumble nori by hand. It came out great and we adorned it with handfuls of oyster crackers.


Surprise! He made me cupcakes! Baby's first cupcake! Also the first cupcake I ate that I didn't make or buy! They were perfect. The best birthday cupcakes I could ask for.


We put the cupcakes on the table in lieu of bread or whatever you dip in your glam chowder. Just kidding, we didn't dip our cupcakes in it. That would be gross.


The following weekend I made a meal that we lovingly refer to as "Italian Dinner." The plate is divided into quadrants. It always has meetballs, pasta, greens with beans, and caesar salad. It comes with breadsticks and red wine. As uncustomizable as I have just made it sound, I changed it ever-so-slightly this time, by making the tempeh meetballs from Isa Does It, instead of my usual recipe. I also made the beans with a ton of arugula my Italian customer gave me from his garden. This time I made the sauce how his father makes it. It was on point. I was inducted into this family when I was taught the secret to his success this summer. My Italian food game is at an all-time high.


The day after I made this dinner I got really sick, and decided I am going raw. I always say I'm going raw forever after I get sick. Rt4? Compromise? Who's to say... Oh look! Almond Butter!


KZ Passing out now.

These are much more massive than the personal-sized bolis at Stuff Yer Face, but hey, making extra is a bonus of home cooking. There's beauty in leftovers.



View of mine with the cheese from the inside. Like I said, a little sloppy, but aint nobody care. Each boli is unique and beautiful in its own special way, or something to that effect.



Here's an inside view of Alex's, with no cheese. It looks a little cleaner. But as I said, he cares not about how well it photographs. He had about 6 slices of his.

 One night we went out for Mexican food and got several margaritas. They are a once-in-a-while thing, but damn, frozen margaritas sure are one of the best pleasures in life. These are both for me, of course, followed by at least two more...