Vegan Pancakes & Cookbooks.

So. I am making a Vegan Cookbook. Well, a homemade one. With a binder, and a hole puncher. I mean you have to start somewhere, right? I actually bought The Vegan Lunchbox and have been anxiously awaiting it's arrival in the mail. Yesterday, I was at Barbara's Bookstore and saw another vegan cookbook called Vegan with a Vengeance and bought it. I couldn't help myself. Nothing in her recipes are from a box. They are very natural and healthy and sound delicious. I've been reading through it since the moment I got it. I just need someone to ask, "Sarah, would you mind making me some vegan brunch, or better yet, three vegan meals daily for a month?" That way, I could pretend I was Julie Powell from Julie and Julia, great movie by the way, and cook every single day. I have this urge, this passion, to cook almost every second of the day. It's quite frustrating. It just leads me into the kitchen with the realization that I don't have enough applesauce for this recipe or I just ran out of soymilk, and then I end up eating veggies and hummus. Not the hardest recipe in the world. I got carried away. But the cookbook is by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. She has five vegan cookbooks, all of which are amazing. Of course I didn't know this at the time of purchase, but man, she is my idol. I sound like a complete loser. She has a whole book devoted to vegan brunches. The title, Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For. Oh my Lord. She has another one solely devoted to vegan cupcakes. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I want every single one of her books. I'm just overwhelmed. There is so much food to be made and so little time. And it's summer. Which means I have more time on my hands then ever. Darn.
I must retire and bake some chickpeas. I have an immense craving for them.

Grilled Tofu and Pesto & Summer Salads. Eat.

I was so delighted with my grilled tofu with Parsley Walnut Pesto, so I decided that when I made it next, which was last night, I would document it. Or photograph it. So here are some photos for you.

Grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Garnished with homemade pesto and a tomato slice.

I'm getting hungry just looking at it. I need some lunch. But before I leave to eat, I'm going to put a few more photos up from my dinner last night. Nothing special, just a few salads that I find completely irresistible.

Spring Mix with fresh cut strawberries, blueberries, beets and topped with sunflower seeds.
Tossed in strawberry poppyseed dressing.

Alright. This next salad is strictly veggies. Oh, and beans and chickpeas. Great combination. My mom and I found this recipe in a Cooking Light Magazine. The recipe calls for much intensive labor, so if you have a heart condition I wouldn't recommend it. You basically have to chop every vegetable known to man. It takes about an hour plus.

Romaine lettuce, red pepper, yellow pepper, hearts of palm, olives, carrots, red onions, cucumber, tomato, corn, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans, fresh basil, and fresh oregano.
Tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Vegan Banana Bread and Nips.

Last night I went to a backyard concert. I really enjoyed it. That is all.
Then I returned home and baked vegan banana bread with Michele, more commonly known as Nips. Yes. And I am known as Proportio. It's alright if you do not understand. But honestly speaking, this is probably the best banana bread I have ever eaten, let alone baked myself. I shall post the recipe. Nips and I decorated our printed our version of the recipe with paint markers. A nice touch if I may say so. I suggest it.

Before...

After. Grandiose.
After.

Will post pictures of banana bread later. Get excited.

I shall be back. I must clean my keyboard. It is looking a bit dirty.

Pesto and Thrift Stores. Grand.

I had an amazing day yesterday, surprisingly. I've been waking up pretty early every morning just naturally, which is pretty new to me. But that way I get to enjoy breakfast at a normal hour. Breakfast being one of my favorite meals, of course. Well I enjoy all three. Plus snack breaks. Oh! For dinner I had a simple, yet delicious, meal. Grilled tofu with parsley, walnut and lemon pesto. Delicious. Throw some baby tomatoes in there and it's even better. But anyways. Went to some thrift shops yesterday. I hope someday to own one. That sentence was rather spontaneous. I've never actually considered owning one until this very moment. At the Brown Elephant I found three, or four, it was four, good books for only a quarter each.

My Father's House; Meyer Levin
The Jungle; Upton Sinclair
The Awakening; Kate Chopin
Pride and Prejudice; Jane Austen

Later I took a trip to the Salvation Army. There was a 50% off sale. Crazy, since everything is dirt cheap already. But hey, I'm not complaining. Bought some Liz Claiborne heather colored shoes. They are similar to Keds. But I figured $2.50 was a better price then $35.00 for some tennis shoes made of cloth. Good buy.
Oh, and I also bought a purse, made in Morocco. It's brown with silver and bronze studs and has three pieces of Moroccan money on it. Quite charming. I'll wear it in even more than it already is. That's all the fun about thrift stores. Wouldn't have it any other way.About to go eat lunch with my daddy. He and Bob just got back from New York. He was only there for a few nights, but saw two musicals. One of which was Billy Elliot, possibly my favorite movie of all time. I'm enraged. Not really. Just a bit jealous.
Food time. Yum.

Craving Sweet Potats.

I just ate at the Salt Water something downtown. It was really a very nice restaurant although I butchered it's name. I had a spring mix salad with carrots, fennel and raddishes. The dressing was a balsamic vinagrette. Delicious. I have a large appetite though and already seem to be hungry again after the 45 minute train ride. Oh well, dinner is soon enough. I'm craving something substantial. Perhaps sweet potatoes? That would hit the spot. Luckily I bought some sweet potatoes last night at Trader Joe's. Going to Trader Joe's is an event for me. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping for clothes, but grocery shopping at Trader Joe's definately takes the cake. Some of the workers actually have noticed how frequent I shop there and speak to me in the isles as if we're on a first name basis. Quite nice. Speaking of cake, it was my friend's birthday today. Happy Birthday, girl. I feel very vague in writing all of this. I'm nothing but a newb. Nube? Whatever.
Any good vegan sweet potato meal ideas? Hit me up.

First Timer

Okay. First blog post and I just started with the word "okay". Hmm. Alright, well nobody will read this blog anyways. I pretty much made a blog just so I could have more access to other vegan bloggers. Call me lame, but they are really interesting and have delicious dishes posted all over. As you can tell by my URL, I absolutely love food. In fact, I just watched the movie Ratatoullie. It's grand. Truly. Watch it. I guess over time this blog will get better. I mean it has nowhere to go but up, right?
Night.