make: New Mexico at home (almost)

One of the little luxuries I miss the most from my Santa Fe days are my favorite lunchtime treat of green chile-hummus sandwiches from the co-op. The green chile from Tr*der Joe's doesn't come close to the stuff we ate in Santa Fe, but, in a pinch, on top of homemade hummus and and thick-sliced bread, it'll do the trick. Plus, at 79¢, it's a whole lot more affordable than a plane ticket to get the real thing.

make: tea

Thirteen hour shifts take some getting used to, and I'm sure there's more coffee than blood running through many of my co-workers' veins! I try to stay away from the stuff, drinking tea instead. I just grab a few teabags on my way out the door in the morning, and keep a glass jar (with a lid to keep out hospital germs!) with me all day. Yesterday I ran out of my organic fair trade green tea, so I had to scavenge in the galley. When I saw this little yellow packet, I immediately thought of EAS (of course). I don't think it's the same Maryland Club, but still. It certainly made me smile!

What gets you through your work day?

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Hello, faithful reader(s)! I'm getting over a nasty bug that had me on my back for a few days. This morning I woke up craving french toast in a serious way. This is what T and I came up with based on what we had on hand. We were pretty pleased with the results!



Vegan Chai French Toast

Ingredients:
4 slices bread (we used Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane)

Batter
1/2 c soy milk
1/2 c chai concentrate (make your own or tazo)
2 T tapioca flour (or 1 T cornstarch)

Topping
2 T Earth Balance
1/4 c (or less) sugar
Optional: pecans, slivered almonds, maple syrup, other fun toppings

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Slice up the bread and spread it on a greased baking dish

Combine batter ingredients and stir with a fork until there are no more lumps. Carefully pour the batter over top of each slice, fully saturating.

Melt the EB over super-low heat until almost completely liquid. Remove from head, and add the sugar (+ extras) , and stir until combined. Immediately spread over top each slice of bread with a spatula.

Bake for 30 minutes. Top with bananas or berries as desired. Enjoy!

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I am always on the lookout for simple and practical holiday gifts, and I think this is a perfect example. A friend made this lovely holiday decoration by tying together some sprigs of rosemary and a few chili peppers with coordinating raffia ribbon. Not only is it a festive decoration for a kitchen or door, but it can be "used up" after the holidays are over!

What is your favorite simple or practical holiday decoration?

make: Shutterfly!

I am so impressed by Shutterfly's Holiday Cards this year, and I am so excited to be included in spreading the news!



I have been sending out my own Christmas Cards since I was 15, and I have tried every approach in the book. I've done handmade, computer print out, photo cards, you name it. Inevitably, I put hours of work into something (either by hand on online), and it still doesn't turn out quite as I was imagining it.



I think this is why I'm so impressed with Shutterfly's collection this year; the cards are beautifully designed, and, from my past experience with Shutterfly, I already know they will be well executed. I'm particularly excited about the designs printed on stationery cards; I just love the weight and feel of those cards, something you miss out on with with the cards printed at home or on photo paper (although, the photo cards on Shutterfly are pretty great, too).



Every year my sister makes a calendar for each member of my family, using new and old family photos. This year, I plan to make one for her, and I'm can't wait to get started playing around with the designs on Shutterfly! Plus, if I can get my act together before midnight tonight, I plan to use the coupon code MYCALENDAR, to get it for free!



*Shutterfly is offering free cards to bloggers this year. Find out more here!

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We picked out the biggest pineapple (a symbol of hospitality)...


All the platters and serving dishes have been properly post-it'd according to the vegan/vegetarian/omnivore menu plan...


(and now cover every spare surface!)


The salt shakers and candlesticks have been polished and filled...


The table's been set...


Everything is ready for family and friends to come together tomorrow and celebrate and give thanks! I have much to be thankful for this year, and I am so glad that I can count wonderful family and friends among those blessings.

Here's hoping you all have a lovely holiday tomorrow!

make! (repost)

Grandma's Pecan Pie is a annual Thanksgiving tradition in our household. In anticipation of the big day, I'm reposting my vegan-ized recipe!

Grandma's Vegan Pecan Pie

For years, we thought my Grandmother used a secret family recipe for her delicious pecan pie; then we found out it was just the recipe on the back of the Karo Syrup bottle. Oh, well. Here’s how I vegan-ized it.

Ingredients:

• 3 x Ener-g egg replacer
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup Karo Dark Corn Syrup
• 2 rounded tablespoons Earth Balance or Smart Balance, melted
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups crushed pecans
• 1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen deep-dish pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl.
   
3. Prepare egg replacer, making sure to mix out all the lumps, and add to filling mixture.
   
4. Stir in pecans.
   
5. Pour into pie crust.
6. Bake 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack–if you can wait that long!

The last shot in the slide show shows the “original” recipe and my vegan version. So, you can see there’s a slight difference. It’s not quite as “solid” as the original recipe, and I keep planning on experimenting with stabilizers, but really, the pie’s never long enough for anyone to complain about the consistency!

Original:

Vegan:

make!

General Tao's Tofu

Inspired by this vegweb recipe. Definitely freeze your tofu first, but the egg-replacer in the recipe isn’t all that necessary (dipping your tofu in water first works just as well!). Perfect for an otherwise blah weekday night.

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I love these little handmade soaps as wedding favors (in this case, the soaps were made by the bride's mother!); they smell divine! To make your own soaps, try this.

make!

Curried Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Warm and delicious and inspired by this.

My (only slightly modified) version:

• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree or roasted pumpkin puree*
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder, or to taste
• 1-2 apples, cubed
• salt/pepper to taste

Line a medium pot with a thin layer of water. Over medium-high heat, add onions and cook 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add broth, lentils and apple pieces. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until lentils are orange and soft. Add pumpkin, curry powder, cinnamon, garam masala, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or brown rice.