Vegan Curried Cabbage And Potato Soup (Oh, The Stares You'll Get!)

I was faced with the challenge of cooking for one again last week. I usually opt for something potato-ish. And fast. I don't want to linger in the kitchen for too long because I have some Real Housewives of Beverly Hills to catch up on. As a woman, a housewife (though not of the Beverly Hills ilk), I can attest to one absolute truth in that show: women and pack mentality. It gives me shivers. I have scars to prove it. So BH girlfriends: I can TOTALLY relate! Back to my soup. This came together in a flash. I have cabbages growing like there's no tomorrow in my garden. The cabbage is a staple in our home. Apparently it wants to become a staple in my garden as well. And if you'd like to be let in on one of the best kept weight-loss secrets while watching RHBH, well, here it is: cabbage. Add some potato, yummy Indian spices and you have yourself a delightful, light and super healthy dinner: Beverly Hills style.

Yesterday morning I headed out to Home Depot. I knew there were sales to be had. I could smell it in the air. And sure enough--discounts galore. I picked out some mums to add a pop of color here and there throughout the yard before the inevitable happens and freezing temps are the norm. I love the mum!

One More Week (Stay Calm: Knit One, Double Crochet, Too)

Well. He's still with us. And that is all that really matters right now. There we were last week, all three of us: Dr. Thyme, me and our vet, blanket spread on the all-too-familiar floor. Me hunched over him, holding his head in my lap. She says, I want to check him out one more time. I'm biting my tongue and nodding. She walks over to him, bent over to be on his level. He gets up. She follows him over to the other side of the room, then this happens: He growls at her. We all go silent. She said, Alright. I need to examine him a little more closely. She escorted our boy down the hall. A few minutes later, in she walks with him in tow. His tail is wagging. We all compose ourselves again. Dr. Thyme and I look at each other. She said, I'll tell you one thing, he's a fighter and that whole growling at me thing. . . I'm pretty sure he's not ready to go anywhere just yet.

Vegan Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread: Healthy, But without That Healthy "Taste" (And Seeing Pink. . . Cotton Yarn)

I had no business turning my oven on yesterday afternoon. It had reached nearly eighty-five degrees outside. I refused to turn on the air conditioner and close the house up. I had all the windows open. There was a lovely breeze crossing through all the rooms in our house. It has been gorgeous here. Every hour or so, I'll succumb to a hot flash and have to run outside, stand on the porch and wait for it to pass fanning my face the whole time. My calendar says fall. The trees say fall. My body says, Alright already. . . enough with the summertime weather, bring on fall!

Green Tomato Salsa (Canning Is NOT For The Faint of Heart Nor For Those Prone to Carpal Tunnel)

Let's say you're at home and decide to take on a couple of "projects" you thought you HAD to finish before husband returns from his business trip. Let's say hubby left you with twenty pounds of green tomatoes he'd strongly suggested might make a wonderful salsa. Godforbid should you disappoint. Godforbid even more that you should NOT take on such a seemingly easy-peesy project. But let's say because you are suffering daily bouts of hormonal upheaval so daunting, you decide to cram as much as you can into the course of your fourteen hour wake cycle to keep the wolves "at bay", you end up conquering not only THE WORLD, but everything in your home with lightening speed--amazing yourself at the surrealness of the female body heading into it's second stage of life: this amped-up hot flashing engine you drive is nothing short of a miracle. (Why aren't more Almost Fifty women willing to speak of this?!) To top it off, you have enough energy at the end of the night to begin yet another knitting project.

Twenty Pounds of Green Tomatoes Later. . .

All of the sudden, my garden had turned into this massive clump of overgrown tomato plants invaded with green balls of unripened fruit. The very same plants I'd started from tiny seed back in February. Here it was October and the plants still looked amazing (although I've lamented our tomato-less season on more than one occasion). I'd not canned a single jar of salsa. And, I refused to buy tomatoes to do so. If I couldn't grow my own, then forget it. I guess we'll just go through winter without salsa.

Vegan Challah (Pecan Sticky-Bunned for That Old: When At First You Don't Succeed Baking Lesson!)

I wanted to bake fresh rolls to have with dinner last Saturday night. And because the planner in me has taken a vacation, I had about three hours to do so. Enter the bread machine. So, I flipped open one of my favorite cookbooks for all things dough, and found a challah recipe: Saffron and Olive Oil from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. Being a relative newbie to the world of challah, this sounded amazing. I was planning a pasta dish and saffron is one of my very favorite Crocus sativus. And typical of me, I began prepping for my bread machine recipe without giving any thought to reading the recipe all the way through. I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of where this is headed.

Vegan Chicken And Dumpling Casserole (Ultimate Comfort Food for What The Doc Said)

I've had a comfort food craving lately. So baked casseroles are de rigueur. I picked up this amazing book deal at Walmart Monday: Cook's Country Best Lost Suppers cookbook for seven bucks! Whoa. This is just what the doctor would order for me (if I had the stamina to see one, that is). I haven't been "book" shopping since Borders announced it's closing. I'm still too bitter to drag myself to a Barnes & Noble. Not yet. I really needed to literally "stumble" upon a book find like this. (There were only two on the shelf--just waiting for me!) The cookbook has been a dinner respite here for the past two nights. Going on three if you count this evening because I already have my mind set on another famous meal from this "Lost Treasure" collection. Sure, the cookbook's full of meat eater stuff, but as a veteran vegan, I can easily manage most, if not all the book's offerings as a vegan translation. And the very first recipe in the book beckoned me to do just that. The chicken and dumplings had my name all over it. I could not have been more pleased. It was the perfect salve for broken hearts. Dr. Thyme and I kept oohing and ahhing over this scrumptious dish of yum. The bisquits (or dumplings) are the key to this whole meal. Hubby proclaiming the dumplings "the best" and requested them in some future breakfast ensemble. Sometimes I think the cooking gods look out for me. Especially in my great despair at the unfairness of the it all. The world. Life. Everything.

Last Friday it became clear that our boy was not improving. I was in a state. I called our vet and made an appointement, barely able to speak other than answering the all-too-familiar question: What seems to be the matter? I stammered, He won't eat. And that was about all I could get out. The next morning was the first appointment available. When we arrived, the receptionist and I weighed him--I knew he'd lost weight because his leash and collar had had to be adjusted. She looked at me, I looked at her, then we went into "the room" where not one, but three of our kids in just the past two years had taken their last breath. It was about all I could do to not run out of the room screaming. To say my nerves have taken a beating would be an extreme understatement. I've not been sleeping well either. No wonder.

Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash And Garlic Soup with Pistachio Crumbles (Now Sewing "The Jacket" and Now Reading "The Help")

I know it's fall "officially" but I really didn't begin to feel fall until last night as the aroma of roasted butternut squash and a whole head of garlic began to fill the house. Now. It's. Fall. I bought a really good looking squash (not too big, not too small. . . just medium-ish) when they started to look like they might withstand a few weeks or longer on my kitchen counter. In this case, "longer" is the operative word--said squash was purchased about a month ago. I don't know why, but I find having a squash on hand during the months of September through March sort of an imperative. This little guy shared a spot in a bowl with some apples. I thought they made a nice arrangement. A "fall bounty" aesthetic. So now after having successfully enjoyed the heck out of this soup, I wonder if I've accidentally discovered a way to increase the shelf life of the butternut by pairing it with apples? Yes, these are the things I contemplate. Food shelf life. 

Vegan Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting (For The Fall Equinox . . . Or for The Heck of It)

It's a gorgeous day here in the holler! I nod thankfully toward the sun and my calendar in anticipation of the fall equinox this Friday. I may hit the local "pagan people" store and pick up some sage for a house cleansing. (And then will probably walk out with ten other pagan-like things I don't need: unicorns, crystal necklace, a meditation CD--which is a complete waste of money no matter how good the music sounds in the background at the store. I know not how to meditate. Never have. Dr. Thyme tried teaching me and I laughed so hard he threw his hands up in the air and walked away. The closest I come to "meditation" is nodding off to sleep with a book open on my lap right before bed.) Anyway. . . with sage smudge tools at hand, I'll walk through the house in the geographic order called for by our Native American brethren to cleanse and bestow upon our abode the blessings of health, good tidings, warmth and a white Christmas. (I don't think that's too much to ask from sage.) Yesterday our first cord of firewood was delivered. We've already christened the fireplace and had our first fire. So cozy. The temps are sneaky this time of year though. One day you hit eighty, the next, it's sixty. Sweater and wool slippers to tank top and shorts with flip flops. Welcome to the Midwest.

There was a special occasion recently that called for some vegan baking. I was considering all of the "best" cake recipes I had in my repetoire before settling on one of my all-time-never-fails-me favorites: coconut cake. The last time I made one of these I think I made the three-tier version. Every time I bake a vegan coconut cake, something new pops into mind in terms of how I might ratchet up the coconutty-ness of the flavor and I go with it, fingers crossed the whole way through. Cobbling together a few tips from two veteran baking idols: Ina Garten and Rose Levy Beranbaum, I was able to complete this amazingly delish celebratory homage to coconut cake.  

It's a gorgeous cake. It reminds me of snow and snow globes all at the same time.

What I loved most about baking this cake, aside from the fact that the batter was delectable--the cake itself rose to perfect little baked-up layers and it made me happier than you could possibly know. (Because I've been there too many times with cake messes in vegan translations, trust me.) Plus, I am a batter hog of the worst kind--sometimes nearly wanting to just consume the pre-cake mass and altogether skipping my original baking intentions. It's horrible, I know--this cake produced that kind of batter: spoon-lickin' good!

This cake stores best in the fridge. That way you can snack on it for a week or so. I think it gets better with time.

Vegan Coconut Cake

*Adapted from Ina Garten

Makes two 9-inch cakes

3 sticks unsalted vegetable margerine (cut into cubes and set out at room temp. for 30 minutes)

2 cups sugar

5 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replace mixed with 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup of water (or the egg replacer of your choice equivalent to 5 eggs)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (*this is mandatory--it really makes the cake that much better!)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (use the scoop and sweep method to measure the flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
zest of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 9" cake pans with parchment paper, then spray with non-stick baking spray. In a large mixing bowl (the stand mixer works best)--add the room temperature margerine and sugar and beat on medium speed for about five minutes until the mixture is very light and very fluffy. Next prepare the dry ingredients in a separate bowl--the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk well to combine. Set aside. Next, mix together the egg replacer powder with the water. Now, add this to the sugar mixture and beat on medium speed for another two minutes. Add the extracts to this and mix well. Now you add the milk and flour mixture in the following manner: first add a third of the flour and then a third of the milk to the sugar/egg mixture. Mix well after each addition--about fifteen seconds of mixing--then add another third of the flour mixture, another third of the milk and repeat this step until the flour and milk are all used. Remove the beaters from the bowl and fold in the shredded coconut and lemon zest to the batter with a spoon. Don't overmix it! Next, spread the batter in the cake pans and flatten with a spatula to make sure the batter is even on top. Bake for 45 minutes. The edges of the cake should be golden brown in color and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 30 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely on cooling racks.

Vegan Coconut Buttercream Frosting

5 tablespoons vegetable spread
5 tablespoons unsalted vegetable margerine
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
3 cups of powdered sugar--or more if needed
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (*this is a key flavor enhancer!)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut (for sprinkling over the cake after it's frosted)

Cream together the first three ingredients then begin adding the powdered sugar one half cup at a time. Continue adding the sugar until the desired consistency of your frosting is reached. Add the extracts and lemon and zest. Mix well. If you see that you need more powdered sugar, add only about a quarter cup at a time.

Vegan Chocolate Biscotti And Vegan Donuts (The Breakfast Weekend!)

I've been on a bit of a breakfast crusade lately. With the onset of shorter days and darker mornings, my craving for the morning sweet-but-satisfying has intensified. These chocolate biscotti were a must. My first ever "try" at making homemade biscotti. So easy. Just use a light hand when mixing the dough. Shape into a log or two logs, bake for the first round about twenty minutes. Remove and allow the log(s) to cool. Then slice, and bake for the second round. It's the second baking shot that really gives this Italian cookie its "crunch" and earns it top honors in our house for dunking-ness durability. We proclaimed it a winner during our Breakfast-Palooza!

Vegan Mushroom Lasagna in Velvety Bechamel Sauce (Learning to Knit Lace Again: A Black Shawl State of Mind)

This is one of the many nights I hadn't a clue as to what we'd be having for dinner--with about an hour to spare before Dr. Thyme came home, I was sort of in a pinch. I was in no mood to run to the store either. To be honest I was having one of my "shut-in" periods: times when being amongst the masses of other three o'clock grocery store scavangers sounded about as appealing as having my eyelashes removed one at a time by a trained monkey. No thanks. I had a limited amount of energy in my reserves and figured, whatever it was I made for dinner would most certainly have to last at least two nights. I was in a non-cooking frame of mind. It happens. I'm Almost Fifty. Hormonal. What can I say.

Precious Sister Time (This Is Us Making Up for Lost Time And Visiting Our Mother's Ghost)

I could have titled this post, "What I did on my summer vacation". Because really, the best moments of the summer were squeezed together in the shrinking daylight hours of this past week with my sister. That old adage time flies when you're having fun--it certainly does. Trust me. Before we knew it, I was taking her to the airport for her flight home. We have so much lost time to make up--every moment we have together is truly precious. We call it: Making new memories. We have years lost. Dr. Thyme is patient and kind while she is here. Giving us the "girl space" we need. Also, jumping in to be Photo Studio Man (because he really does take some of the best pictures we have in our collection--especially now that his eyes are fixed).

Not Ready to Say Good-bye. . . Again

I have been here before. The longer naps during the day. The slightly less-than-normal appetitie. (No diving head-first into the bowl!). The changing of food to increase interest in the least little bit of kibbles. The on the floor with bits of food in my palm, making "Yum" sounds and pretending to eat it myself. Once we get started, then the full cleaning of the plate eventually happens. And I sigh a big sigh of relief. It's gradual, this change. But once the pendulum swings, you prepare.