Insane Spice Rack Situation

Friends, I have a small problem. First it started with this nice spice rack, which soon filled up. Then, as you can see, I spread out all over the counter with other spices.

Then, I cleaned out one of the drawers, and quickly filled that with more spices. Was that enough, you ask?

No! I needed a whole entire second drawer! Over all, I think I have 3 kinds of smoked salt, 4 varieties of paprika, 4 different types of black pepper, many obscure spices I brought home from India, all the usual spices, and the list just goes on.

What happens is that I hear about some great spice or I see some spice on the shelf at the Japanese grocery store, and I just cannot resist it. But, then I get home, and truth be told, I don't really know what to do with it. Or, I use it in that one recipe that inspired me to buy it... and now it just sits there. So! This year year, for VeganMoFo, I am going to be featuring a different spice from my collection every single day. I can't wait! Problem solved!

Put On Your MoFo Pants!

Hoorah! VeganMoFo is almost here!

Just a few more days before we launch into the 5th annual Vegan Month of Food.

I hope you have a good pair of MoFo pants, because there's gonna be some serious action on the interwebs, with so much vegan blogging going on.

Perhaps you are more of a skinny jeans person? Or jeggings?! Either way, you'll need to get comfy, because my goal is to blog every single day for the month of October!

A Perfect Autumn Soup

As far as weather goes, we haven't had much of a summer here in Santa Cruz. In theory we still have one more day of summer, but it's been feeling like fall for a while now.

To celebrate (yet another!) foggy evening, I made this Quinoa & Corn Chowder from Viva Vegan. Have I ever told you how much I love Viva Vegan?? What an amazing book. This was my first time trying this recipe, and I thought it was amazing. Somehow it was light and filling all at once, and packed with corn, lima beans, potatoes, and great seasoning. The recipe calls for aji paste - which I haven't found anywhere around here, but I looked online and found that I could use Sriracha sauce instead - perfect! As a result, the soup had a nice little kick of spicy heat - all the better to warm us up and stave off the fleece socks for one more night.

Giveaway Winner & Snoopy Spaz Video!!

The winner of my Chef Snoopy Bookplates is .... Yvonne! *

(*Yvonne: send me your mailing address at ameyfm @ yahoo. com, so I can send them to you!)

In case you didn't win, here is Snoopy himself to do his very special happy dance just for you, to cheer you up!

How to Eat 1,000 lbs of Tomatoes

Okay, maybe not 1,000lbs... but still... even after all that canning, we've still got a LOT of tomatoes to eat. Maybe next year I won't plant quite so many tomato plants? So, in case you are experiencing a similar dilemma, I'll show you what I've been cookin' up.

Of course there's always pasta. We don't eat pasta all that often any more, so it is a super fun treat when we do have it. To make some pasta sauce I just chop up a whole mess of tomatoes, saute some garlic in olive oil, toss in the tomatoes, cook for a while, add in a little salt & pepper, and then a big handful of fresh basil. Maybe some dried oregano if I am feeling crazy. Quick and easy and super yumz. Also, to atone for my starchy sins, I made a big batch of roasted brussel sprouts (ala Vegan With a Vengeance), and roasted sunchokes.*

(* if you have not have roasted sunchokes, this is a serious issue which must be addressed)

Next up was a big batch of Pico de Gallo salsa. I made a big pot of beans... and for a few days there I would just have a big bowl of beans with about a 1/2 cup of salsa mixed in. Mmmm. I must do this again. I love salsa, but I love love love love pico de gallo.

Pizza night! Of course! Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats requested that I chop up the tomatoes into smaller pieces (as shown), so that it would be easier to eat. That's true, it was easier to eat... but it was also not as pretty as leaving the whole huge slices of heirloom tomatoes on the pizza. Honestly, I'm not sure which one is more important to me. Next time I will have to make his and hers pizzas. He can have his ugly pizza and eat it too!

Also, Roasted Tomato Soup with Corn and with a Kick (from Vegan Soul Kitchen). I hadn't made this soup in quite a while, so I almost forgot what a great recipe it is. Technically the recipe also calls for fried okra strips, but I didn't have time or energy for that - and really, the soup is still a great experience without them. This is a perfect later summer/early fall soup... somehow light but also full-flavored all at once.

Enjoy the tomato time!

hey, p.s. I finally made Vegan Eats & Treats its very own Facebook Page... I share post updates and various other vegan musings there. Check it out!

How To Can Your Own Tomatoes

Canning season has officially begun! I'm not an expert canner (by any means), but I have had success over the years with canning applesauce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, jams & jellies, pickles, and occasionally something special like apple pie filling or veggie broth.

Many folks are scared of canning, since botulism can mess you up... but it hasn't hit me yet, so I'm still feeling sassy. If I am canning something new, I do some reading online and make sure I follow a careful recipe, just to be sure.

If you are new to canning, tomatoes are a really a good place to start. The very high acid in tomatoes makes them much more safe to can than something less acidic (like green beans or something like that... then you need a special pressure canner, which would be rad and you would be very fancy). This year I canned up three different tomatoey products:

Plain ol' canned tomatoes (diced)

Tomato Sauce (for pasta!)

Roasted tomatoes with olive oil & salt (umami, baby!)

What follows are instructions on canning Diced Tomatoes:

You will need:

Two big pots -- Lots of tomatoes -- Glass jars, lids, and screw bands -- Canning tongs (optional) or regular tongs -- Canning funnel (optional) or a paper towel -- A knife -- A bowl for tomato tops, seeds, and icky bits -- Time!

1. First of all, let's be clear about this. You are going to need a lot of tomatoes. These little buggers really cook down a lot. I used all these tomatoes from my garden, plus more from my friend Jane the Farmer.

2. Wash your tomatoes off. They might be a little sticky or dirty or whatever, so give them a little tomato shower.

3. Get Chopping! Can you tell that I took this beautiful photograph at night? Also, can you see that you are in for a very messy job? Because you are!

What about the peels?

People who have more time than I do, and who are more fastidious than I am, will often take the time to peel their tomatoes (which is done by blanching them in boiling water). But seriously folks, this whole affair already takes hours... and I don't mind a little extra fiber!

To seed, or not to seed?

As for the seeds, I go back and forth. Sometimes I take the care to seed my tomatoes, and sometimes I don't. Seeding them is a benefit because the seeds provide a texture that you may not want, they can be a little bitter, and also the seedy goo adds a lot of liquid to the final product. Seeding them also takes a bit more time and (rather small amount of) effort, so if you are lazy, just skip it. Either way it's all yummy in the end.

4. Fill your giant soup pot with tomatoes as you chop - The excitement is building!

5. Prepare the jars.

You should have a bunch of glass jars with separate rims and tops (for a good vacuum seal).* Put them all in a big pot of water, covered by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and then boil them for 10 minutes. This sterilizes the jars, so it's important! Once the timer goes off, just leave them in the hot water until you need them, and keep a lid on the pot, because you will need to get this water boiling again soon.

As you can see in this picture, I finally splurged and got a proper canning pot - it's huge and has a special rack on the bottom, which keeps the glass off the very hot bottom of the pan. It was only $25 at the hardware store, so if you enjoy canning, I really recommend it. If you don't have such a thing, you can also just put a dish towel on the bottom of the pot. It will work just as well!

6. Cook up the tomatoes!

I bring them to a boil (covered), then remove the lid and lower the heat to a simmer, for about 30 minutes. This can be done side by side as the jars are cooking up.

When the tomatoes are done, you may have a lot of liquid in the mix. You can leave it in, or you can decant some of it. I just press the ladle down gently (pictured) and take a few ladle-fulls out. (tomato juice!). Whether or not you get this depends on how much water was in the tomatoes you started with.. you didn't do anything wrong if you didn't get any, and you didn't do anything wrong if you end up with a lot of water to scoop out. Also, like I said, it's fine to leave it in there.

7. Pour the tomatoes into the jars! (ack, no picture for this step!)

Carefully remove the jars from the hot water (pouring any hot water back into the pot). Now, use a ladel to pour the tomatoes into the jars. I use a special canning funnel, which is a big help. It lets you be a little sloppy, while still keeping the rim of the jar clean, which is important for a good seal. You want to leave about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of space at the top of the jar. If you don't have a canning funnel, pour carefully, and then when you have filled all the jars, use a damp paper towel or dishcloth to wipe the top rim on the jars completely clean.

Note: the tomatoes are hot, as are the jars, so please be careful!

Put the lid on each jar and screw on the band tightly.

8. Process the jars

First of all, double check that your lids are screwed on nice and tight! Now, carefully lower the hot jars of tomatoey goodness back into your giant pot of very hot water. (*Note: I use canning tongs, which are so rad, and a great idea if you plan on doing more canning in your life. Otherwise, you can be very careful and use regular tongs. But please remember, you are dealing with boiling water, hot tomatoes, and glass jars... so you really do need to be careful!)

Once again, have a rack or a dish towel on the bottom on the pot to keep your glass jars away from the bottom of the pot.

Bring the water to a boil, and then lower to a low boil (more than a simmer), for about 25 minutes. Once the beeper goes off, remove the jars (again, be careful!) and set them on the counter to cool off. Now you can go in the other room and listen to the world's most glorious sound: the pop-pop-pop of the vacuum seal setting in!

Once the jars have cooled, double check to make sure that the "button" on the top of the lid has been sucked down. If you can still pop it down, then your seal didn't work. But don't cry. Just put that jar in your fridge and use it sooner rather than later. See, it wasn't so bad.

9. Gloat!

Don't forget to gloat! I like to leave all my jars out on the table for a day or two to bask in the beauty of such industry and hard work. Then I put them away for the winter in the cupboards. Sometimes I give some away as christmas presents, sometimes I keep it all for myself! :)

Look What I Got!!

My aunt got me an amazing, glorious, beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven for my birthday! And in my favorite color! My birthday was actually back in June, but at the time she just gave me a little card saying she would get me one. I had the enviable task of looking through all the colors and sizes available, and picking out the one I wanted. Luckily for me, there is a Le Creuset outlet about an hour from here... and each summer they have a big sale. So, while I was away in Italy, she went over and found just the one I wanted! Technically it is a "second," but I can't really tell why, and the quality is still so good that it has the regular lifetime guarantee.

I have wanted one for so long, because there are so many recipes out there that call for putting something on the stovetop and then straight into the oven, and I've never had a dish that could do that. Now I do!

To celebrate my beautiful new dish, I made the recipe that first made me long for a proper Le Creuset pot: the No-Knead Bread from the New York Times. I've made it many times with my pyrex covered dish... but I was always a little afraid that the pyrex would blow up (which apparently has happened for some people). Worry no more! Plus, the crust was even more wonderfully crispy and golden with my new enamel dish. If you are one of the 5 people who has still not made this amazing recipe, run to your kitchen and make it now!! It is SO amazing, and your mind will be absolutely blown that you made such an amazing and perfect loaf of bread on your own, at home.

What a lucky girl I am! Thanks again Auntie L!

Autographed Bookplates & a little giveaway!

The night before the Vida Vegan Con, I realized that many of my favorite vegan cookbook authors would be there... and it would be fun to have them sign all my cookbooks. But I already knew I'd be coming home with a bulging suitcase full of treats, so I didn't want to lug all my books along. Instead, I whipped up some little bookplates! I did a little drawing of our dog Snoopy, wearing a chef's hat and holding a whisk (my favorite cooking utensil!)... scanned it in to the computer, and printed them out on sticky paper. Perfect!

In the end I got autographs from Byanna Clark Grogan, Terry Hope Romero, Dynise Balcavage, Julie Hasson, Joanna Vaught, & Colleen Patrick Goudreau. Somehow I still managed to miss some amazing authors, but I'm not complaining! It was so fun to come home and stick them in their respective cookbooks!

Anyhow, I had some bookplates leftover, so I thought I'd do a little giveaway. I'll send a set of 10 Snoopy-style cookbookplates to the lucky winner. You can put "From the Kitchen of {Your Name Here}", and lend your books out with faith that they will return to you, or you can save them for book signings and such, and get them autographed like I did!

This giveaway is open to people in all parts of the world! Just leave a comment! I will pull out a winner next Wednesday, Sept 14th (it's my aunt's birthday and my grandpa's birthday... so that seems like as good a day as any!).

Vida Vegan Con: The Day After!

I knew Vida Vegan Con would be a whirlwind of new friends and presentations and good food and general non-stop activity, so I made sure to give myself one extra day at the end of my trip to explore Portland and visit with my friends and family there.

My sweet friend Sandy picked me up at the conference on Sunday night, and we headed over to Prasad for some dinner. I ordered the "Ganesh Bowl," with half quinoa and half brown rice. After a weekend of all-out gluttony, this healthy and delicious bowl of yumz really hit the spot! Veggies & tofu in a warm coconut milk curry, with a giant heap of fresh kale (lightly steamed). Just thinking about it makes me want to eat it all over again.

Monday morning, Sandy and I made our way over to Vita Cafe, for the first stop in a crazy vegan-errand day of fun. Even though Sandy used to live ACROSS THE STREET from Vita, she had never been here before. The decor was warm and funky, and even though Vita isn't 100% vegan, there were so many vegan options to choose from! So, we got our coffee and started to consider our options.

I ended up with the "2+2+2": two veggie sausage patties, 2 pieces of french toast, and scrambled tofu (equal to two eggs, I guess). I have a long-standing love affair of french toast, and I find it difficult to pass up French Toast any time I see in on a menu. Mmmmm.

Sandy ordered the Huevos Rancheros, vegan style. OMG. I was jealous of it! But luckily it was huge, so there was enough for me to have a little too. Definitely good. Want to go back.

We also got a Northwest Hazelnut Corn Cake, which was freaky good. Oh my gosh. Just looking at these pictures and remembering this all these good meals is making me want to go buy some more plane tickets!

dorky fan pic outside Vita Cafe

You can practically see the drool dribbling down my chin!

Two doors down from Vita Cafe is the beautiful little all-vegan bakery called Dovetail Bakery. The owner Morgan even came out from the kitchen to chat, and she was so kind and friendly. I was still full from breakfast, so I picked out a couple of treats to bring home with me.

In the end I picked out the Apricot Scone (left) & Apricot-Millet Muffin (top). Of course, I also forced Sandy to take me to Back to Eden and there I picked up a Coconut Cardamom Muffin (right) & Blueberry Scone (bottom). Now these tasty treats are all hanging out in my freezer, just waiting for me to eat them. I'll be there soon, little friends... just gotta eat some more veggies for a few days!

We stopped at the Co-op on Alberta St., where I was told you could find Soy Curls in the bulk bins. Score! Of course I had to buy a loaf of Dave's Killer Bread and one of their Peace Bomb mini baguettes too. I'm sure you understand!

Cute bike racks outside the Co-op. Even the bike racks are veg-friendly, for God's sake!!

We stopped to spend some time cruising all the cute shops on Mississippi St. I was worried that with so many vegans roaming the streets of Portland, someone might break into the car for my stash of Dave's Killer Bread and soy curls, so I made sure that Sandy locked the car. Stay away thieves! You can get this stuff in your own city! You lucky turds!

Los Gorditos! A great little taco truck with an extensive vegan menu. A perfect spot for my last meal in Portland, and a final visit with Sandy and my lovely cousin Eliza.

I ordered the veggie burrito. It's not all that exciting to look at a rolled up tortilla, is it? But I'm sure you all know, burritos are magical pockets of rainbows once you bite into them! Also you can see a few of the different salsas I sampled. They had a huge salsa bar, I love that! I love trying different salsas, but my favorites are always pico de gallo and tomatillo salsa. Mmmmmm!

Sandy ordered the enchiladas, which were amazing and also huge, requiring a take-home box.

Friends... Portland is like a vegan fairy land. You go from your vegan brunch to the vegan bakery (and in between those two is a fancy 4-course meal place which offers an all-vegan option every night). Then you get in the car and as you drive down the street you see the word "VEGAN" everywhere - outside the shoe store, on every food cart... it's absolute madness. Then someone tells you that right down the street you can get Soy Curls in the bulk bin. It's enough to make a vegan go crazy! I can't wait for my next trip to Portland... family, friends, food, fun... it's wonderful!

Vida Vegan Con: THE SWAG!

Maybe you are like me, and the word "free" gives you heart palpitations. If so, just imagine my excitement as I was checking in at the VidaVeganCon registration desk, and looked behind the desk to see a long table with rows of huge VegNews bags filled with goodies for each person. You always read about how the actors and actresses at the Oscars get big gift bags full of special goodies... It felt like that, but just for vegans!

The bag had so much stuff in it, I had to take two pictures... First: there was a sweet little green cotton Vida Vegan Con bag (and button), a lovely bag of organic red rice from Lotus Foods, a bamboo spreader from Earth Balance, a compactable chaco bag from Coconut Bliss (and a great water bottle I got from their exhibitor booth too!), a Vega power bar, a Vida Vegan Con coffee travel cup, and even a OXO-brand pepper mill & little baggie of pepper corns. I'm super stoked to have a great pepper mill! Plus, that was a gift from the publishers of the soon-to-be-published book "Vegan Slow Cooker," which I am definitely interested in.

Plus more! Coupons for free Earth Balance products, mini bag of Dandie marshmallows!, some little So Delicious milks and coupons for free So Delicious stuff, various discounts... and as a presenter, I also received a copy of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's new book "30 Day Vegan Challenge" and the new "Peas and Thank You" cookbook. I heard Colleen speak at the conference, and I've enjoyed listening to her podcast for a while now... so I'm not at all surprised that her book looks like a totally thorough and amazing resource for anyone interested in going vegan. "Peas and Thank You," also looks like a lot of fun and the recipes look great.

Also in the swag bag was a jar of Food For Lover's vegan Queso sauce. woooot! I already had a couple jars at home, and I knew it meant I would have to check my bag, but heck, I'm no dummy! I'm not gonna walk away from free queso! FFL's queso is super spicy, and is good with tortilla chips or on a quesadilla or whatever. I wish it were a little thicker, but I love the flavor and I love that it's got some serious Texas-sized spicy kick to it!

In addition to all that, everyone also got a copy of Hannah's amazing book "My Sweet Vegan," which is a totally rad book! I already have it (of course), so I gave my new bonus copy to my cousin Eliza who has a vegan-friendly bed & breakfast in Victoria, Canada and is always interested in more vegan recipe ideas! Also at the conference I picked up a couple books from some of the other amazing people there. I got Bryanna's latest book (autographed!!!) "World Feast Kitchen," which I can't wait to explore. And of course Kittee's amazing new zine: Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food - all vegan, all gluten free and all delicious. I tested for this one, so I already KNOW it's good!

But wait! There's more! On the last day of the conference, I received a few more goodies. Each of the presenters was given a bottle of wine from Vegan Vine. I haven't opened it yet, since I'm still recovering from my special conference cold... but I look forward to it. You may have noticed that I'm really not much of an alcohol drinker, but every once in a while I enjoy a little taste. Probably twice a year or something like that! ha ha.

Also! The glorious Nicole from Upton's Naturals Seitan was at the conference and put out a great offer to bloggers. In exchange for all this amazing free seitan, I'm supposed to come up with some good recipes for them to share on their site. What a fun challenge! So, keep an eye out for that.

This is a final silly little thing... FLIP BOOKS! At the Gala event on Saturday night, there was a booth where you could get filmed for 7 seconds, and then they would turn it into a flip book. SO COOL. My dad has a special affection for flip books and he has passed this affection on to me... and I had a hard time stopping after just two. Honestly, if it weren't for common courtesy, I could have monopolized that booth all night long! Kittee and I made one together where we are dancing around like weirdos, and then I made one of just me as a gift for my dad. Apparently it was quite a hit, because he already wrote me an email saying that he is carrying it around in his pocket and flipping it all day long. :)

Here I am at the PDX airport... all loaded down with my swag! (and a few extra goodies I picked up in Portland) can you believe that I showed up at the conference with a not-full suitcase and nothing else? Ha ha! On the way home I had to unzip the expando feature on my suitcase just to cram every thing in there. Plus, you can't tell in the picture, but I even had a whole loaf of Dave's Killer Bread shoved in my purse... and all those packages of seitan in a freezer bag crammed in my VegNews bag. I wasn't sure what the airport security folks would think about a carry-on bag full of frozen seitan and Soy Curls, but I got through without a glitch!

Vida Vegan Con: The People!

Even though the food was delicious and Portland was great and the sun was out and the conferences were informative... probably the single most amazing part of Vida Vegan Con was meeting so many incredible people. Really, you should see the non-stop love fest that's happening on Facebook these days. I met people whose blogs I've been reading for years, I met friends I've been talking with on the PPK for years, I met cookbook authors whose recipes I've made and loved, and I met even more folks who I'd never met before and now I love them!

There were college students and grandmothers, all shapes and sizes, shy and extroverted, raw vegans and nacho vegans, Americans, expats and people from overseas... it was really amazing. {We had some vegan fellas and vegans of color, but we need more of you to come next time and add even more diversity to our experience. Come! We know you're out there!!} It was just so inspiring and heartwarming to be able to sit down at a table of strangers and not feel like strangers. Instantly there was a feeling of warmth and connection and camaraderie that was so beautiful. The people I met were smart and kind and compassionate and creative and engaged and interesting and interested. I am still on quite a high from it all! Perhaps there is hope for mankind after all! Well, actually, I'm a pretty positive and optimistic person... but this weekend really helped reinforce that.

Here are some photos that capture just a small handful of the many, many wonderful people I met:

picture from the PPK via Facebook

You may have caught on that I love the PPK. I've made so many most excellent friends from the PPK. In fact, all those great vegan potluck buddies I have here in Santa Cruz... we met online at the PPK! It was super fun to meet many of the familiar names from the forums at the PPK. Naturally everyone was just as fun and sweet (or snarky!) as I knew they would be.

My sweet PPK-care-package-swap-friend-turned-in-real-life-friend Gabrielle, of Vegans on the Move (check it out - she's sporting some of my special Vegan Eats & Treats buttons!)

picture by Erika!

Here I am in my spokesmodel finest with my fellow Vegan Battle Royale Game Show coordinators, Miss Kittee and Miss Mo... two of the funnest, most raddest and awesomest gals a girl could be asked to throw a gameshow with. They are great!

picture from the PPK via facebook

Here's our game show in action! PandaCookie of Team Vegan Destroyer faces off against VeganLisa of Team Vegan with a Shotgun. Meanwhile it looks like Kittee and I are busy bossing someone around. Ha!

picture by Bryanna Clark Grogan

Also, I love this picture of Julie Hasson (of "Vegan Diner" and Native Bowl) and Joanna with me. Plus, I love even more that the picture was taken by the sweet and wonderful Bryanna Clark Grogan. I've been loving Bryanna's recipes for years - I subscribed to her newsletters back in the day, I've got 3-4 of her cookbooks, and I love her blog so much... so it was a real superhero moment to meet her in person. And of course she's just absolutely wonderful: kind, smart, gentle and fun.

I love this picture of Kittee & Joanna hawking their wares. Look at Kittee's cute bags. I have one and they are amazing funs! Plus, everywhere you take it you will get wide-eyed compliments of awe and wonder from everyone and you will feel like a superstar. Get one for yourself. While you are at it, get her awesome new zine of gluten-free Ethiopian recipes. And get Joanna's book if you haven't already. Geez!

I sure loved meeting Mr. O from FatGayVegan. What a super sweet guy!

At the Gala with the smokin' hot Erika of The Cosmpolitan Hour. What? You still haven't listened to the Cosmpolitan Hour wrap up of Vida Vegan Con? Check it out here!

And with Mo and Jordan (the other cool bean behind The Cosmopolitan Hour)! Plus there is a friendly vegan man growing out of our heads.

There were so many more wonderful people I didn't snap pictures of (heck, I didn't even take half of these pictures!)... and I wish I had. Ever since I got home I've been adding friends to my Facebook page and blogs to my blogroll like a maniac - so many great new sites to follow and enjoy! Here are links to a few of the new ones I've added so far... check 'em out:

Sweet & Savory Vegan

Vegansaurus

Happy Vegan

SpaBettie

Bonzai Aphrodite

Lazy Smurf's Guide to Life

Choosing Raw

JL Goes Vegan