Pizza Night!

I have been really enjoying "The Healthy Hedonist," which I picked up at the local used book store last year. Recently, I made two more recipes from it that I've had on my "to-cook" list.

I started with her Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, which was easy and came out delicious.

Then I made her suggested Mushroom Topping. I brushed a little olive oil on first. The mushrooms were seasoned perfectly and the flavors were totally delicious. This from a former Mushroom-hater!

The second pizza I made was the Pissaladiere recipe. Isn't it beautiful? Of course, I left off the optional anchovy strips. This pizza has a base of delicious caramelized onions with roasted red pepper and kalamata olives on top.

Both pizzas were totally delicious, and we couldn't decide which one was better... Musty just declared that whichever one he was eating at that exact moment was the best one!

Vegan Fashion!

My friend Melissa is working with a clothing company called "Livity Outernational," and this weekend she had a trunk sale at her house. Because I teach yoga, she hooked me up with a pro-deal and gave me a few pieces for free, but I really loved the clothes and had to purchase something for myself too! These clothes feel really amazing - the fabrics are strong and natural and cozy. Best of all, they are made with the environment in mind!

The first piece Melissa picked out for me is this awesome hoodie. Honestly, I have hardly taken it off for the last 3 days! It's made of hemp and recycled plastic bottles! How cool. I love the slightly fitted waist, the warmth and strength of the fabric, the stylish and chunky zipper pull, the big hood that kept my head dry in the rain today, and the THUMBHOLES, which keep my hands warm. Thumbholes are the best!

This is the one I bought. I fell in love with this fabric - a combo of soy, hemp, and organic cotton. It's a perfect underlayer: silky, warm and it even has more thumbholes! Plus, I like the light silvery grey color.


This Lotus design is technically a men's tee, but I can't be bothered with gender normalities! I love the dark green-grey color and the long fit. When I am teaching yoga (and practicing), I'm always raising my arms above my head, or doing headstand or whatever... and I really prefer long tees that don't flop down and expose my midriff to the world! Modesty, please! This tee is made of a hemp-organic cotton blend that is soft and stretchy and warm but breathable.

Last but not least! Knee-highs! What fun! I made Snoopy get in the picture with me, but he was not cooporating and wouldn't look at the camera. These fun socks are organic cotton-hemp-lycra. They are warm and funny and very comfy.

These clothes are made in China, but Melissa assures me that the owner of Livity travels there often to ensure that the factory is seriously doing everything right - for their workers and for the environment. Personally, my commitment to veganism comes from ethical concerns for animals, but protecting the environment is an extension of that concern. Melissa taught me about how hemp is a great fabric for clothes because it's strong, breathable, doesn't require pesticides, and uses WAY less water than cotton (esp organic cotton). Still, all the items I brought home are hemp combined with something else. In my experience, hemp on it's own is a bit rough, like linen.

One thing Melissa and I talked about is how hard it is to be truly ethical in our lives. These clothes are made from really carefully harvested low-impact natural fabrics or recycled post-consumer fabrics, but still require production in China and the resulting trans-continental shipping to be economically viable. I think it's like veganism, and how we do our best - and feel good about doing what we can do. I never purchase non-vegan ingredients, but then when I found out that things like matches and paper towels aren't even vegan... sometimes I just remind myself that the changes I can make are making a difference!

A Family Full Of Valentines

Well Bloggie Friends,
It hasn't been the easiest week. On Monday morning, my beloved Grandpa fell and broke his hip. They gave him a partial hip replacement, and he's been in the hospital all week, and we've all been taking shifts to be there with him 24 hours a day. It was clear pretty quickly that he'd be okay, but it's still been a long and busy week.

My grandpa is 92, but he's really tough, and up until Monday, he's been going to the gym 3 days a week. The doctors and physical therapists have been really amazed by his recovery. Still, it's a long road ahead of him, so please send him some good thoughts! He is such a special person.

And... tonight, after 6 days in the hospital, he came home! Our whole family gathered at his house for a Valentine's Day dinner. We were celebrating our love for each other and our health, and especially my sweet grandpa's return home.

I made a huge batch of stuffed shells for the family dinner. Stuffed shells are the way to go. They are easier to fill than manicotti tubes, and less work than lasagna, but just as delicious. I cooked up a nice filling of caramelized onions and mushrooms with a little white wine, then I added 2 lbs of fresh spinach which I'd wilted down and chopped up, & a big double batch of tofu ricotta. You really can't go wrong with a dinner like this - everyone loved it!

For dessert I made Valentine Brownies! Yumola!

I know it's pretty nerdy to spend Valentine's Evening with your whole family, but there you have it! I'm so lucky to have such a super awesome boyfriend that he happily came along and enjoyed the evening with us all. Maybe not the traditional thing to do, but we're all happy. Thanks for being a great Valentine, Musty! You are the best!

Red Beans & Rice -- Key Lime Pie -- Yum!

Red Beans & Rice! The process of cooking up all the New Orleans food that I didn't get to eat when I was there continues on its merry way. Kittee showed me these Camellia beans and said they were the red beans, and that I had to have them. Once home I noticed that under the "Red Kidneys" it says "(Famous New Orleans Red Beans)". Hoorah! At an exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum, I saw a lovely typed out letter from Louis Armstrong, which he had signed "red beans and ricely yours,". And that put red beans and rice in my head. I pretty much followed the recipe on the package, but added a jalepeno as per kittee's suggestion. Here's what I did:

Put in my crock pot:
1 lb dried beans (not pre-soaked)
1 Tsp olive oil
1 stalk celery chopped
1 onion chopped
2 Tbsp parsely chopped
1 small jalepeno (quartered, seeds & all)
1 large bay leaf
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
+/- 8 cups of water

cooked on high for about 8 hours, until beans were soft. You may need to cook a little longer, because my boyfriend turned off the crock pot in the middle of the night, so they continued to soak there for about 5 hours before I turned it back on.

Next, I added
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 1/2 tsp salt-free Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 1/2 tsp salt

Cooked another 45 minutes, still covered. Then removed the lid and cooked until the gravy was really thick... maybe another 30 minutes. They are perfect and full of flavor! A little heat, a lot of flavor. Filling and totally yummy. Makes a TON.

You know, there is nothing I love so much as a baking request. A week or so ago, my dad sweetly requested a key lime pie (knowing full well that it would be a vegan version!). Of course I was eager to help! So, I made some key lime pie for my dad, for Superbowl Sunday... but not just any key lime pie...

Mini Key Lime Pies! Seven in all! I used Isa's amazing recipe from the PPK Blog, and it did not disappoint. I've made other vegan key lime pies, but I love this one best of all. The tartness, the sweetness, the creamy smooth texture, all totally PERFECT!

I especially am grateful that this recipe didn't require me to go buy tubs of Tofutti cream cheese - which grosses me out. The only thing I changed in the recipe is that I added a slurry of 1 Tbsp kudzu and 1 Tbsp cold almond milk at the end. It was especially fun because I got to use my mini pie pans and my mini cheesecake pans. The mini pies are great, because I could take 2 to my dad and 2 to my grandpa and 2 to my friend tomorrow. That's a lot more funner than bringing along a random wedge of a full pie.

Go make it! Now!