Domestipithecus

I love produce weeks!

We have (as they say in the UK) subscribed to a box scheme. We get a box of produce delivered to our door every other Monday. For the last couple deliveries, we have gotten the mixed fruit and vegetable box. We were getting a lot of fruit as opposed to veggies and when we would look at what the all veggie boxes were getting, we would be all jealous. So we switched to all vegetables.

Boo and I love veggies. There are very few that we don’t like and the ones that we haven’t tried yet, as was the case for me with some chard one time, we are so excited to try. This is the list we got this time around:

1 Lettuce,Green Leaf
1 Peas,English(3/4 lbs.)
1 Tomato,Cluster(1 lb.)
1 Onion,Yellow
1 Chard,Rainbow
1 Spinach,Bunch
1 Asparagus,Bunch
1 Carrot,Rainbow(Bunch)
5 Squash,Zucchini
1 Tomato,Roma(1 lb.)
1 Potato,Red(1 lb.)
1 Bell Pepper,Yellow

I am so freaky excited it’s ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculous freaky excitement. The blueberries and strawberries we got last time were starting to… fade. So I made sorbet! Its so yummy. I sort of used the recipe in my Kitchen Aid ice cream maker booklet. I cut the tops and softer spots out of the strawberries (I had a one pound container) and put them in the blender. Then I threw in the blueberries, about 4oz and about 1/4c water and blended. Then I poured in the simple syrup (made previously with 2c sugar and 2c water), blended and then poured into the already churning Kitchen Aid bowl.

The results (the picture sucks but whatever):

I also made some vegan sourdough english muffins.

Basically used an english muffin recipe but used warmed, unsweetened soy milk instead of regular milk or powdered. I had thought Dwight (my starter) had died when I went to Ireland for 3 weeks, but he’s alive and kicking and sour as ever! I love making things that look like they do in the store. I remembered the first time I made these I kept exclaiming, “They LOOK like english muffins!!”

These are more dense than the store bought ones and the holes (nooks and crannies) are not as pronounced, but I have read that the real English english muffins have much smaller holes than what we expect here in the states. And they taste great so who cares!?

Since we borrowed Veganomicon from Josh’s mom I have been obsessed. I love it. I want to make everything in it, except for that nasty portabella mushroom steak thing. *hurl* I despise mushrooms. They are disgusting and slimy and they taste like moldy dirt. You want to torture me? Make me eat mushrooms with cilantro. I’ll give away any secret I know to avoid putting that bile-rise inducing “food” in my mouth.

I have gotten better with the mushrooms. I can actually eat food that they have come in contact with. I didn’t used to be able to. I remember going to chinese buffet years ago, back when I ate meat, with my co-workers for lunch. I would go to get something from the buffet and I would come back to a mushroom on top of my peking dumpling. I would then have to give it to someone else and go get another for myself. I ended up getting a lot of dumplings for other people that way.

Cilantro I will never, ever be able to eat. That leaves out a LOT of food when you live in SoCal. They put it in EVERYTHING. When I first moved out here, I couldn’t figure out why all the food I had tasted like dirt. Finally, a friend figured out that it was cilantro. I didn’t even know what cilantro was. They don’t use a whole lot of it back in New Hampshire. Here, they use it like salt. *shudder*

Well. That was a rant.

What I had originally started this post for was to put up some pictures of things made from the book mentioned above, my own stuff and other new cookbooks.

Below is my own home fried potatoes with a tofu scramble from How It All Vegan! (minus the mushrooms). Isn’t it cool how the tofu looks like scrambled eggs?

This is my own roasted garlic mashed potatoes (roast 2 heads garlic and mash with 4 largish russet potatoes and some earth balance), corn and vegetarian bangers (sausage) from a mix I bought while in Ireland. I also sliced up and sautéed some elephant garlic to put on top of the potatoes.

This is my easy peasy (though I used corn) vegan shepard’s pie. Easy peasy because I layered the potatoes that were left over from above on top of a can of corn which was on top of onions and Boca Ground Burger that I had fried up. I used regular ketchup on top with onion powder, garlic powder and Italian Seasoning mixed in. This was incredibly yummy and tasted just like I remember from when I was a kid (except my mother, knowing that I hated peas, would use peas. Stupid peas.)

I love how the camera caught the steam rising from both plates.

And last, but certainly not least, Boo had flowers delivered yesterday. They are gorgeous.

I love me my Boo.

Lunch today is a Chickpea Cutlet from Veganomicon (which I just discovered I have been putting a wayward ‘r’ in) on a Kaiser Roll with some Vegenaise. I am in heeeaavveeen.

No picture, but I could eat these things every day… Wait I may have a pic of another time I made them (during my blogging blackout). Here it is served with a “beefy” onion gravy (Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix is vegan), alongside a “steak” of green cauliflower. This is also called Broccoflower but Boo and I decided to call it cauccoli because, well, we’re twelve and it makes us giggle.

These things are like crack. I just finished my sandwich and I want another.

Yes, finally, pictures.

I did this in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. I used size 5 needles for the body and size 4 for the edging.

Cast on: Evening Nov. 5, 2007 Washed with Dreft and Blocked: Friday, Feb. 8
There were a lot of “I can’t deal with this project anymore so I am not going to” moments where I wouldn’t touch it for a long time.

The blanket was delivered to it’s adorable little recipient, Benjamin, a couple weekends ago.

Unblocked corner:

Blocked blanket: