just cooking stuff

I’m probably one of the messiest & nonchalant cooks you’ll ever meet. I chop veggies crudely, add ingredients out of order, and my tongue is always burnt… but at least a do cook, a lot at that!

My favorite recipes are ones that free-for-all ingredients from my pantry totally work with. Like red lentils. Leftover peppers halves, onions, finishing-up a can of tomatoes, garlic, and shallots, a can of coconut milk; it’s all fair game. And if you’re missing anything, eh, it will still be good.

Also, any reason to wear an apron is a good one! I definitely have a collection built up, but this is one of my favorites! I found it years ago antiquing in Olympia. I added the dala horse as my very first screen-printing project (soooo lucky I didn’t ruin it while I was doing it too!). My dad is Swedish and my mom is Finish, so I’ve always had a soft spot for Scandinavian folk art. I have a pile of cloth napkins with this print as well… maybe I should dig one out for a new and decorative dishtowel….

This recipe is based on this one if you’re curious….

(i have an obnoxiously large collection of vintage leaf and fruit shaped bowls & plates…
they keep me from over using the microwave because non of them are microwave-safe) Hey it's rhubarb season too!

Recipe : Vegan Mac & Yease

I have been through a lot of Mac & Yease recipes (vegan mac and cheese with nutritional yeast!) over the past year, and finally I think I’ve come up with my favorite recipe! It’s based on at least 6 other recipes that always had something missing for me. But now I’ve found the two magic key ingredients after cooking a lot of Indian food: tomato paste & cashew butter. Tomato paste gives a good subtle tart flavor and adds great color. And the cashew butter makes it creamy and thick, but surprisingly not too nutty.

Shown garnished with fresh baby heirloom tomatoes!

Vegan Mac & Yease

1 tbs. Earth Balance or non-dairy margarine
1 tbs. Flour
1 ½ cups Almond Milk (unsweetened)
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Turmeric
2 BIG tbs. Tomato Paste
3 BIG tbs. Cashew Butter
1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 ½ tsp. Salt
Sriracha to taste

1. Make a roux by melting the Earth Balance over low heat & beating in flour with a wire whisk. Continue to beat over medium heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
2. Slowly whip in the almond milk. Only add a couple tablespoons at a time so the mixture stays smooth.
3. Add onion powder, turmeric, salt, 2 big fat tablespoons of tomato paste, and 3 fat tablespoons of cashew butter.
4. Add the yeast! Whisk lots, keep it smooth. Now add Sriracha and maybe more salt to taste.
5. Eat it with stuff, pasta, gnocchi, or chips!

Note: Add a more almond milk at the end if your sauce is a little too thick. The cashew butter is quite the thickener.

blackberry picking!

Today we went blackberry picking and made cobbler and peach blackberry puree cocktails!

tiny kitchen

Last night we had Sean over for a little dinner party and made Jamaican Tempeh puffs! We all helped out in my tiny tiny kitchen, and our little thingamabobs turned out perfect. Sean also brought over some fancy champagne from his work, mmmhmm.