MoFo Day 15! My second ever BLT

Kinda.

Last week, some douchenozzle broke the passenger’s window in my roommate’s car while she was at work. She didn’t have a day off until Friday, so she couldn’t get it replaced until then. We got a lead on a place that could fix it for cheap, but it was waaaaaay west. Like, in the ghetto west. C set out for the body shop, but after about 20 minutes, she called me. She’d gotten a little skeeved out, turned around and asked if I would go with her. I agreed, because who wants to drive to ghetto alone. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, but I could kind of see where she was coming from.

Anyway. On the way back, I asked if we could take a quick pitstop to Whole Foods. I saw a post about BLTs the other day on someone’s blog, and then the next day, my roommate had a TLT, with smoked tofu instead of bacon. I had everything I needed to make my very first BLT, except Vegenaise, and I didn’t know where else to get it. When we finally got home, I made and ate my first BLT. I didn’t take a picture or post it that day, because I was so hungry that I totally forgot. Apparently, I’d also forgotten that I bought a jar of Vegenaise a while ago, and it was still in the fridge. I couldn’t remember how long ago I bought it, but it smelled and tasted fine.

Yesterday, I was so busy making a bunch of cupcakes for tonight’s ‘We Miss KK Potluck’, that I forgot about dinner. I could have heated up a bowl of soup, but I didn’t feel like it. That first BLT was so delicious, I wanted to recreate it.

So, a little tempeh bacon, some thick slices of roma tomato and Vegenaise make a delectable BLT. But the L is missing. I never keep lettuce in the house--I much prefer spinach as my everyday green. So, I guess I still haven’t had a BLT, but a tBST. I’m pretty sure the sandwich police don’t care.

MoFo Day 7! Hummus and Feijoada

Two things tonight to make up for all the late posts recently, also to celebrate the return of internet. First up...hummus! Like any/every vegan, I’m completely addicted to hummus. I think it’s a requirement. I could eat hummus every day, for every meal. In fact I have some weeks. I have no idea where I originally found this recipe. All I know is that there is a .jpg file on my computer that was originally marked ‘hummus’. One day, after making this recipe, I decided to look it up. Based on some of the clues in the picture, I figured out that it’s from Vive le Vegan by Dreena Burton. The first pic below is the original file I found, complete with someone’s notes. I don’t follow the notes. I like the hummus as written. I usually use 4 T. lemon juice and sometimes I add less tahini. I’ve tried a few different hummus recipes over the years, and this is my favorite I’ve made. The second picture is the hummus I made this afternoon. I usually eat it with Garden of Eatin’ Blue Corn chips or carrot sticks, but it’s great with pitas or on sandwiches or straight out of the blender. Yes, I’ve nicked my fingers on the blades on multiple occasions trying to get every creamy bit.

(This is not my picture! I found it somewhere online.)

Tonight I finished the feijoada from Urban Vegan. I started soaking the beans on Wedesday night, but didn’t get around to putting them on the stove until Saturday around 2pm. Then around 3, Fred called, asking if I wanted to go bowling. I did, so I turned off the heat, threw a lid on the pot and headed out the door. Fred and I ended up hanging out all night, and I stayed over at his house. This afternoon, when I came home, I turned on the stove as soon as I walked in the door. This is a long recipe, but there’s hardly any active prep, just soaking the beans, chopping an onion, some garlic and the tempeh bacon.

I think the recipe has potential, but I found the actual flavor somewhat lacking. It had a nice smokiness from the tempeh bacon, but I thought it needed some salt and more pepper flakes. I’d also like to try it with hot sauce and avocado, maybe more garlic too (says the garlic fiend). Now that I think of it, there’s no salt in the recipe. I’m assuming it’s because of the two packs of tempeh bacon. I think like most soups and stews, this will taste better tomorrow, once the flavors can meld a little more. It was filling, inexpensive and easy. And the brown rice gave a nice texture contrast.

MoFo Day 6 (late)! Hangover breakfast!

Okay. So internet should be back at my apartment as of last night. I was pretty busy yesterday, and I stayed at Fred's last night, so I haven't been home to check yet. But that's the rumor. I'm damn determined to post 30 times this month. Comcast be damned!

Today's breakfast came about pretty easily. I could have made oatmeal in about 5 minutes, but I wanted something savory. I really wanted tofu scramble (in fact, it's rare that I don't want tofu scramble in the morning), but I didn't have any veggies to spare. Stupid strict budget. But! I did have an extra potato of questionable age chillin' in the crisper, as well as some tempeh bacon that needed to be used. Pesto-rosemary potatoes, it is!

I just winged it on the potatoes, but I did pay attention to what I was doing. That's a first.

1 T oil

1 yukon gold potato, diced

1 T onion, minced

1 tsp pesto paste

1/2 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

-Heat oil in skillet on medium, sautee onion for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant

-Add potatoes and sautee for 5 minutes

-Add pesto, rosemary, salt and pepper

-Cover and reduce heat to medium-low until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, about 10 minutes

While the potatoes were covered, I threw in the tempeh bacon and fried until it was browned and crispy, turning once. I like my potatoes a little on the charred side (thanks, Dad!), hence the brownish-blackish awesome below.

With a slice of wheat bread and some Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves, this isn't exactly the heathiest, most balanced breakfast, but it was exactly what I needed to sop up some of the beer still sloshing around my tummy.

My roommate had an extra ticket to see Ben Folds the night before, took pity on me and bought all my beer last night. I love her! I also loved the nostalgia quotient of last night's show. It brought me back to high school and early college, but in the best way possible. Thanks, C!