Back in the kitchen!

Well, it really is nice to be home, after so much travelling and busy-ness... but it's REALLY nice to be back in the kitchen!

Here are a few of my recent creations...

This sorry picture is a result of my batteries dying and me resorting to Musty's inferior camera. However, the dinner was a smashing success!!! I made up a batch of Vegan Tofu Ricotta from the "Voluptuous Vegan" cookbook. I L-O-V-E that recipe. Then I steamed a bunch of chard from my garden & some zukes and green beans from the farmers market. I pureed the ricotta, veggies, a big handful of parseley & basil, and about 1/2 c of chopped up almonds. OH YEAH! It was so tasty. I've got a lot leftover for future fun. Then I stuffed that yummy goo into the cooked manicotti shells, and covered it generously with some delicious homemade tomato sauce. That tomato sauce was something special. Onions, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, and LOTS of the highest quality dry-farmed tomatoes. mmm. Musty and I devoured these bad boys!

Back in June, when it was my birthday, my great aunt and her daughter gave me the wonderful cookbook "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine." I had been eyeing that book for a while, and I was pretty excited to get a copy of it. I was especially excited, after so many weeks of not really cooking for myself, to bust it open and start trying out some recipes. These *delicious* numbers were the Tempeh Kabobs with BBQ sauce. My, my. They were very tasty and we both loved them. We also had some fresh corn with these, which was a nice combo. Musty was crazy for this BBQ sauce recipe, so I will probably be making it again and putting it to use in other ways too.

Aren't they beautiful?

Here's another great meal from the "Vegan World Fusion" cookbook... it's called "Maple Glazed Seitan." I used some RFD chicken-style seitan that I had in my freezer. It was really rich and tasty. I know it looks like crummy dog food... sorry about that! I promise you that it was tasty - a nice balance of sweet and spicy and tangy. I served it up with a delicious veggie-stocked salad, and some yummy beans.

My first morning home from Tahoe, I celebrated my homecoming by making a giant stack of crepes. Oh Yeah!! One of my most favorite things to eat in the whooooole world. I like to eat them with all sorts of good stuff... this one was stuffed with Whole Soy Frozen Yogurt "Black Cherry" flavor. Oh, so good.

I also had a few filled with this magical apricot jam. Our wonderful friend Gil made this and gave it to us. It's got apricot kernels in it... which impart a very subtle bitterness and flavor. Very nice.

On Sunday we had another meeting of our yoga book club, and I always make some delicious homemade vegan goodies. These are the Chocolate Pecan Chocolate Chippers from "Vive Le Vegan". MMMM! My little nephew CW helped me make them, and we pre-tested a few to make sure they were good. Despite his insistence that he "hates cookies with nuts" he ate two in record time. They were a big hit at the book club too.

I know that a few of you out there also enjoy doing yoga. In case you're interested, we read a wonderful book called "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater.