Saturday, June 28, 2008

Apricots coming out of our ears

My mom's tree is so overloaded that branches are breaking off from the trunk. We are talking bushels of apricots. Well, maybe one bushel. But it is soooo many. The little bean loves her some apricots, but we are limiting her to 5 a day. Her best friend, Po-po, downed 5 in 7 minutes. Should be interesting to see the result of that. My mom spent her day yesterday canning halved apricots, making lo-sugar jam and putting up a bit of puree for.......

THE BEST VEGAN ICE CREAM OF THE SUMMER
I really must apologize for being the worst food p0rn photographer in the greater tri-state area. Really, I am pretty darn bad at this. Sorry.

This is my apricot ice cream recipe
as adapted from several sources, including of, course, Veganomicon.

1 pound squishy-ripe fresh apricots (10 to 16, depending on size)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar




1/2 cup coconut milk cream (the super thick bit that rises to the top of the can when it is refrigerated)
6 oz silken tofu
1 cup soy milk
3 drops almond extract

Slice open the apricots and remove the pits, then cut each apricot into sixths. Cook the apricot pieces with the water in a covered medium, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 8 minutes, and stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

Once cool, purée the apricots and any liquid from the saucepan in a blender until smooth. If there are noticable fibers, you might want to strain the apricots. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, I just left the apricots in the blender to chill. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender, which should be cool from the fridge. Blend until blended! Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. This was the max amount I can even fit in my ice cream maker.

Here is this morning's breakfast. Joy of Cooking's Buttermilk pancakes, organic CA strawberries, and VWAV tempeh bacon. Little bean loves her some pancakes and berries, but balked at the bacon. Sigh. It was so delicious.



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Swimming bean

The little bean did her best yet at swimming class this morning. She kept her mouth closed most of the time and preferred to swim and kick instead of using the kickboard. She swam with her face in the water a couple of times and didn't drink a drop. She also blew lots of bubbles in the bathtub tonight, stopping every so often to flash a mega-grin to me and her dad.

Dinner tonight was Seitanic jambalaya from Veganomicon, using the seitan recipe from VWAV. I left out the cayenne and the little bean enjoyed a decent portion. NNH (no-nickname-husband) liked the seasoning and had 2 helpings. We had a couple glasses of BR Cohn cab sauv, a good pairing.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Happy First day of Summer!

It took me an hour to get the baby and I out the door to the beach, but I'm happy to say we spent 2 whole hours there. The little bean was covered head to toe: big floppy hat and her new aussie-designed sun suit. She loved playing in the sand, and when it got too hot even under the umbrella, we decided to explore the water. SHE LOVED IT! She enjoyed jumping in the waves with me and swam a little when the water was deeper after a wave. We showered off, which she also loved. After changing clothes, we ate almond butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. I thought she might nap, she kept laying down on the blanket and closing her eyes, but she was too distracted. She also didn't have a nite-nite blankie with her, and that was bothering her too. So we trekked back to the car in the heat, she walked almost the whole way. I was very happy we'd grabbed such a close spot. The beach was getting packed and cars were circling the lot. We might go back later tonight with Dad, I know he wants to surf again.

I've been cooking dinner every night, but have't made anything too remarkable. Made a pretty darn good ginger stir-fry with bok choy and asparagus last night, served with grilled tofu and brown rice. Probably just hungry after surfing, but the-as-yet-un-nicknamed husband cleaned his plate and went back for more (he usually isn't the #1 tofu fan of the universe). He isn't crazy about sesame the same way I am, so I left it out for once. Maybe that made all the difference?

I'm ready to join the little bean for a nap...I'm beat and it's HOT!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Summer is definitely here

The little bean and I swam in my mom's pool yesterday morning, 80 degrees outside, 92 in the pool! It felt like a bathtub, and the little bean went bonkers. She loved swimming so much, I could hardly hold on to her. I'm glad of 2 things: 1st that the pool fence is getting installed next week, and 2nd that swim lessons start on Tuesday. She is going to love swimming lessons at our local YMCA. The husband and I took turns taking her last year, at 6 months old and she enjoyed it then. Today is super boring, lots of laundry and a trip to Target out of the way. We'll plant some flowers after her nap this afternoon.

Last night I made fettucine with garlic and broccoli rabe last night but it got inhaled before I could take a picture. It was exactly as good as a dish I had at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. The
husband wanted to make jelly-donut cupcakes for dessert, but we had no room left in our tummies.


I thought I'd post pictures of dinner from 2 nights ago, here are the veggie sushi and shiitake kale noodles from, of course, Veganomicon. Usually the sushi turns out a bit rounder, I'm not sure what I was doing this time. The noodles were great, I used pho noodles instead of udon and I think I'll double the broth next time to make it more like soup. The sushi keeps well for a great lunch, as well.
I'd like to make a pilgrimage to 99 Ranch down on Clairemont Mesa to get some cheap produce and random asian ingredients. It is an adventure just wandering around in there.




Monday, June 9, 2008

Vietnamese Seitan Baguette

I made dinner from one of our favorite recipes Saturday night. Veganomicon strikes again! I pan fried the seitan then sliced it up for the sammies. I wish I'd snapped a pic of the dipping sauce, that is what really brings the vietnamese flavor.
Crispy Seitan

The assembled baguettes


We had a wacky mexican lunch with my mom's family yesterday. We blanked out and forgot my uncle and aunt, then the waiter was really grumpy to everyone (even gave me attitude when I didn't order off the menu. The bean burrito was really good with lots of guac smothered all over it.) The chips and salsa were just what we'd been missing, and my auntie had an omelette that looked pretty darn good, full of fresh spinach. The mariachi's had the little bean positively entranced, but she is going through a growth spurt and needed a nap instead of a mexican meal. It was great to see my cousin (currently living in Arkansas), and she announced that she is moving home for good early next year. I'm glad, she is a sweet girl and I look forward to spending more time with her. Happy Monday...

Saturday, June 7, 2008

OMG I love homemade "vegan" ice cream

I decided to bite the bullet and try one of the ice cream recipes in Veganomicon (my current obsession). After spending 3 weeks abroad eating dairy gelato, I wasn't sure if the vegan version would satisfy. The husband requested chocolate, and that sounded good to me, but I only had almond extract. Blended together the coconut milk cream, silken tofu, sugar, soymilk and melted choco chips (oh crap, I bet those weren't actually vegan), threw in the almond extract and some toasted almonds and ... I ate it so fast I didn't have time to take a picture.

Here's the pic from this afternoon:


I also made (heart-shaped) biscuits and gravy from VWAV and we snarfed those down for breakfast this morning. My only complaint is that it looked like sh*t on a shingle. But man, it tasted great. Happy Anniversary Honey!!!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Finally posting some pix

Some lovely Cornwall shots, it was sunny but cold!