its as simple as something that nobody knows...

Well it was a beautiful day out.. until now, its raining and storming and gross. Summer thunderstorms aren't that bad though, they're actually pretty peaceful in a different way, I think.

So I found a recipe in veganomicon that i wasn't really too crazy about. the edamame and corn sesame salad.. meh. I really love edamame..and usually just eat it plain but I thought this would be pretty good. I think it was the dressing that I didn't find that appealing to me, I suppose.



I also made cookies the other night, they're all gone now though, but they were pretty awesome. I've seen them on a lot of different websites but I'm really not sure what cookbook they're from..if they are even from one. But they definitely should be, because I assure you..they are awesome! Especially for a chocolate/peanut butter fanatic like myself, i really loved them.





Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, sift 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened margarine, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add 1/4 cup soy milk and beat well. Gently mix in flour mix 1/3 at a time. For filling, mix 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 cup peanut butter in a bowl and beat until sugar is absorbed and peanut butter is stiffer. Add 1/3 cup chocolate chips. It should be solid enough to form into balls, add more sugar if its too oily/thin. Take the chocolate dough in pieces smaller than a golf ball and flatten into disc on parchment paper. Place teaspoon of peanut butter mix on center of dough, fold dough over peanut butter ball and seal edges. Roll dough into ball. Places balls on sheet, seam down, and bake for 8-10 minutes. yum. :)

So I started training and it's been going fine so far! I had today off..but I work tomorrow at 3:45 until close..wow it's going to be a longgg night. Oh well, I'm actually pretty excited to start working on my own and such. :)
I made dinner last night which came out really well. I made the Snobby Joes from veganomicon. I thought they were awesome, though the mother said they were a bit spicy..meh I like a spice though. :)





Okay so maybe not the most appetizing looking sandwich..but quite delicious none the less!
Next concoction from veganomicon? apple peanut butter caramel bars are definitely calling my name ..mmm. :)

there's no need to complicate..our time is short

i really wish i could sleep later, but for some reason on my lassst day before actually working i end up waking up at 8:30 and unable to fall back asleep. :(
yep so i start training for serving tomorrow at 10:30..i suppose it's not that early but still. i'm really excited to start serving! hopefully i won't mess up tooo much..

so the first recipe i made from veganomicon was the mango blackbean quinoa salad..except not really. we decided to go for pineapple instead of mango.. which still tasted absolutely awesome.





can i just say that i loveeee quinoa! i was so impressed with it, not just in the salad..but just after I cooked it in the veggie bouilon, it was delicious! i'm looking to make the pineapple cashew quinoa stirfry next...

so of course i had to make a dessert too. so it was tough deciding which to make first, haha but i decided on the jelly donut cupcakes. i've never really been a huge fan of jelly donuts, so i'm not really sure why i was so pumped about this recipe. meh, they came out great though and i was quite impressed.








yumm. i just thought they were absolutely adorable as well. :)

feels like another warm day today..yesterday was soo humid it was really uncomfortable. i'm looking forward to a sunny warm day so i can finally go to the beach. hmm hopefully soon! :)

my rollercoasters got the biggest ups and downs

So I finally got a job..well two technically. I was hired for unos..but then realized that would be kind of silly to memorize the menu for 3 months just to probably never work there again. thus, i went over to applebee's and told them i was a transfer from philly blah blah and they called my manager and he said "definitely" take me sooo i go in tuesday at 10:30 to talk to the managers and such. i'm pretty excited to go back so at least i know kind of what i'm talking about since ive already been working at an applebee's since september. woohoo. :)

Oh speaking of finallys (i'm not so sure if thats a word..meh) i alllso finally got veganomicon. i know i know, no big deal because every vegan has already had it for forever. but i've been swooning over it for a while and never actually got it and now i do and i'm super excited. only problem is what to make first!

I did have a bit of a fluke with cookies this past week though. I still had so much soy yogurt left..and the thought of just eating soy yogurt kind of makes me feel nauseous..thus i've been searching for lots of recipes using it. i found these yogurt chocolate chip cookies online..on allrecipes and it wasn't a vegan one(they used real yogurt and butter) but a vegan said they had used it and supplemented the ingredients. I did not like how they came out..kind of like spongey cookies..and not that tasty aside from the entire bag of chocolate chips in them. Hmm..cody liked them so i told him they were alllll his haha. :)



yes i didnt even bother taking them out of the saran wrap haha


Buttt the other day, i found a recipe from ppk.com for chocolate chip blondies (my dad says i need to stop putting chocolate in everything haha..its true though, but it only makes things better!) i could still see the yogurty spongeyness to them as with the cookies, but it worked much better in a "brownie/cakey" like way than a cookie way. I think they are quite delicious!




yumm. kind of like a chocolate chip muffin tasting..delicious none the less.

Blondies with chocolate chips (from ppk)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil a 8x8 brownie pan. In medium bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. In large bowl, mix together 3/4 cup soy yogurt, 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of molasses(i had none so i used maple syrup). Mix with wire whisk. Add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar and wisk until combined. Fold in dry ingredients in batches slowly, wisking as you go. Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Pour into pan and bake 35-40 minutes until top is firm.

Mine never really got completely firm, which is why the middle pieces are a bit cakier..but i think they taste the best :)

Well i'm off. hopefully making a delicious dinner from veganomicon tonight.
i've had quinoa for over a week now staring me down to be used..so i must. i've never had it before so i'm a bit excited. :)

being unemployed is not very fun..

So i've been home for over a week now..and still..no job. :( i've applied at a bunch of places but i guess i'm not needed. hmph. I couldn't even go back to fuddrucker's/u-turn...they closed down last week completely! so i suppose i'll just go out yet again today and fill out a million applications. one of them is bounddd to give me a shot,..hopefully. :\

Anyway, last week my brother's girlfriend, Christine came for a night and so I made a dessert for us all to enjoy while she was here and such..as if i needed an excuse to make a dessert haha. There were two pretty ripe bananas just begging to be made into something delicious, so I decided upon a banana coffee cake from fatfreevegan and it came out fabulous!


I also made some french toast for my mother for mother's day last sunday..
and i even remembered to take a picture! but unfortunately, I erased all my pictures on my camera before I had the chance to upload it..what a shame, because they were really scrumptious! tasted just like french toast that i remember. :)
i'm sure i'll make them again sometime soon though, cody really likes french toast so perhaps one day soon for him i will. :)

well off to continue the never-ending job hunt....hmmmmmm...

The conclusion of my sophomore year..

So I came home on thursday after two out of four finals. I still have two more on monday, so once those are over, so is my sophomore year officially! It's so crazy how quickly it's going by.
I'm glad and sad that the year is over. It was by far more enjoyable than my freshman year. I had all intentions of transferring after my freshman year and I thought I would do it after my sophomore year. But now I definitely do not want to at all! I suppose being in the apartment as opposed to the dorms definitely helped out a bit. I'm not the kind of person that can easily share a tiny room with two other girls and a bathroom with 85 other girls. I like to have my own space and time to myself as well! Which was perfect in the apartment! Next year it will just be me and my one roomie who i've lived with since freshman year..we're looking for a house to rent in Manayunk! I'm so excited to live down there. So many good vegan eats! And tons of stuff to do as well..should be an awesome year! :)

Aside from being done, yesterday was my dad's birthday. And every year we always make him a german chocolate cake..which is delicious..but not vegan. :( So I found a recipe for the frosting and made it. I cheated a bit with the cake though, it's not made from scratch.. I just used the vegan duncan hines box mix and replaced the eggs with flax seed mix. The cake was a bit crumbly though..but tasted delicious anyway.




He enjoyed it as well so I was glad. For the frosting:
Boil together 1/2 cup vegan margarine, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup crushed pecans, 1/2 cup soy milk(i used almond breeze), and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir constantly for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and put onto cake while still warm but not soo hot.

I also made cinnamon buns. Which took me forever to make, with the rising of the yeast and everything. But was WELL worth it. These things were SOOOOO delicious. No joke. I think they were amazing. and the icing was just perfect on top.




The recipe was a bit complicated, well for me anyways, but still it was worth it.
Mix 2 1/2 teaspoons of active yeast, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup warmed soy milk in a bowl and let sit until foamy. Add 2 egg replacers, 1/3 cup melted margarine, 4 1/2 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and knead for 5-10 minutes. Dough should be firm and smooth, not stick (I had to add more flour to get it not sticky..at first it was a sticky mess!) Set aside in covered bowl and let double in size. After dough has doubled (not going to lie..i did not notice mine get bigger the first time) put dough onto flour work surface and cover for another 10 minutes. (this was when i noticed it did get a bit bigger). In small bowl, mix 1 cup packed brown sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Roll down into large rectangle and spread dough with 1/3 cup softened margarine and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon mix. Roll up dough(this was fun!) and cut into 8 sections with a sharp knife. Place rolls on a cookie sheet and cover for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. While baking, beat together 1/4 cup margarine, 2 cups confectioner sugar, 1-2 tsp of vanilla and enough soy milk to get consistancy of frosting desired. Pour onto warm rolls before serving.

So now i'm off to find a job, and hopefully one that i'll actually enjoy this summer.. last summer i was stuck being at work at 7 a.m. most of the time! not cool..