September 21, 2011 9:24 PM

Here's a short follow-up to last week's post:

Mac & Bean

- I did not have enough kidney beans

- Nor enough tomatoes

- Nor the right kind of tomatoes

- I didn't add water

- Nor parsley

- Nor thyme

- Nor black pepper

- Too much pasta

- No garlic

- AKA everything was slightly incorrect (at the very least)

Optional Spices

- I had the basil!

- No oregano

- No red pepper

- No salt

And I put everything in the pot at once. Hmmm... No wonder this went wrong. Thanks to VegAnn for mailing me the real recipe (I'll test it out eventually, promise!) and some delicious cookies WITH PRETZELS IN THEM!!!

Nothing gives a soft cookie more attitude than pretzel bits! These are some fantastic cookies, and I wish I could share the recipe with you but I don't know it and that's what her blog is for (hint hint, you should post the recipe on your blog)

I really want to do another giveaway, but I need to acquire quirky, out-of-this-world stuff to offer! So I'll try to hit up some second-hand shops and find some ties made out of shoelaces or something. Or just buy a bunch of old shoelaces and try to figure that one out myself...

If you ever plan on filling a cup with espresso and drinking it straight (like I did), please make sure to take a long walk or something before getting into your car. Because 4 shots of espresso = amazing + the jitters. And add ice if its too hot outside because you are gonna sweat like a crying banshee.

Thursday September 15, 2011 7:23 PM

Congrats to VegAnn for winning/taking that free chocolate that was offered up with last week's blog! This post is dedicated to you, in a strange sort of way.

Before I go into this post, here's a little background: I really love my best friend VegAnn. She is sweet, kind, and always super chill with whatever weird things I say or do that catch the rest of humanity off-guard. VegAnn is awesome, and her theme song should be "Feeling Groovy" because she always rolls with everything I do and always has something nice to say.

Now that I am no longer living with VegAnn, I miss her a lot. But, like all things after time, my brain twisted my image of her, the one person on the planet that I would listen to if I broke down and started slaughtering the masses, into someone I should listen to - aka my conscious. So now, whenever I get that nagging notion, 'oh hey you probably should check your phone for messages before you go to lunch', it has VegAnn's face and voice.

And now that I am no longer living with her, I don't get to eat her delicious cooking either, which is where the real story begins.

VegAnn and her family have this thing, well I guess its a tradition, where they all eat the same meal on Wednesday nights. Because everyone in the family is so picky (like vegan vs non-vegan) and has different schedules, Wednesday is the one day where they sit down together (if they can) and eat "Macaroni and Bean". When I lived with them, I took part in this ritual, and I came to know Wednesdays as Mac and Bean nights.

However, I do not have the recipe, and now that I am living away from them, I wished to continue the tradition. And here is where my antagonistic and quite critical conscious, dressed as VegAnn, stepped in to argue with me over what goes into the pot.

Me: Uhhh, it's a Thursday, but.... it's not like I only have to make this on Wednesdays or something. Mac and Bean can be any night of the week.

Fake VegAnn: WRONG. OFF TO A BAD START ALREADY!

Me: I have this pot - it's the biggest I have. That should work fine.

Fake VegAnn: OH GOD NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT??!!!!

Me: I'm not quite sure what goes into Mac and Bean - I know it has kidney beans, tomatoes, and macaroni.

Fake VegAnn: YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE PROPORTIONS ARE OF EACH!! AND VEGANN USES WHOLE WHEAT MACARONI AND CHUNKS OF TOMATOES, NOT CRUSHED!!!!

Me: Well, sometimes Mac and Bean is made with tomatoes that have been pulsed in the blender for a while. And I couldn't find vegan whole wheat macaroni!

Fake VegAnn: SHE ONLY PULSES HALF OF THE TOMATOES IN THE BLENDER, STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOUR FAILURE!!!!

Me: I know she puts herbs in it too, but I really only have dried basil. I'll put a lot of that in.

Fake VegAnn: I DON'T EVEN THINK THAT WENT INTO THE ORIGINAL MAC AND BEAN!!!

Me: You don't even know? I thought you were VegAnn?

Fake VegAnn: SHUT UP!

Me: Well, I don't want to eat just pasta, tomatoes, and beans, so I'll put in some vegetables. I think onion goes into the pot.

Fake VegAnn: BROCCOLI DEFINITELY DOES NOT GO IN THERE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!!?!?!?!?!?!

Me: Chopping up the squash in the fridge - it can't hurt.

Fake VegAnn: YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN VEGANN COOK WITH BRUSSEL SPROUTS, WHY ARE THOSE GOING INTO THE POT?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!

Me: Oh, and I've got to take out the trash, so I'll just put that on simmer for a while.

Fake VegAnn: DON'T LEAVE THE APARTMENT WITH THE STOVE ON, YOU NIMWIT!!!

Me: Relax, I'm just going twenty feet to the trash can. I'll be right back.

Fake VegAnn: This is not going to end well..........

Me: Uh, I think I put the macaroni in too early, it's all mushy...

Fake VegAnn: You didn't even put the garlic in AND YOU EVEN HAD FRESH GARLIC LIKE SHE USES, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!??!!

Me: Whatever, it's probably still edible.

And yes, it was still edible. But it does not look like Mac and Bean, other than the fact that you can see the macaroni and at least one kidney bean. And the funny thing is, in reality, VegAnn would have corrected the order of putting things in the pot, been a little fussy about whole wheat pasta, and been thrilled to put in extra vegetables.

As it is, my conscious stopped pretending to be VegAnn, and I adopted her attitude for a quick "que sera, sera" before digging into my imperfect Mac and Bean.

Happy Wednesday, err, Thursday!

P.S. I think parsley goes into it too? I'm not sure, but I definitely didn't put that in there...

Thursday September 8, 2011 8:30 PM

Well, here's another post, once again centered around vegan foods. I bet you are soooooooo surprised :P

Yes, I am experimenting with strange foods. This was rather disappointing (as to be expected), and if you look on the right side of the packaging, the little thermometer even says this is 'mild', despite the large "Hot N' Spicy" claim on the front center. It was chewy like jerky should be, but it wasn't really jerky - more like jerky flavored taffy.

Oh hey, what's this? If you guessed "Gardein - Buffalo Wings", you'd be correct! I didn't make it correctly (when do I ever?), but it came out good! Mostly, I wanted the buffalo sauce, and that was done right in this lovely freezer package - the fake chicken was alright, but it didn't have the texture (or taste) of wings (more like white breast meat, if anything meat-related).

OK, so Mike, Matt, and I went to a restaurant called the Owl House, on Marshall St in Rochester. It does have vegan options, and I insisted on trying several of the appetizers - the Rosemary and Sea Salt Fries, the house special Corn Chowder, and the Vegan Loaded Nachos. We were all full after the appetizers, but for some reason, we got meals anyways.

I got a Buffalo Tempeh sandwich on a fresh baguette with pickled onions, fake cheese, avocado, and there was probably something else on it I've already forgotten. And it came with a small tossed field green salad. Mike (to the right) got a pulled pork BBQ sandwich with who-knows-what on it, and Matt (across the table from me) got something un-vegan and was the only one of us at the table to clear his plate. I ended up taking Mike's salad, my salad, the leftover fries, and half of my sandwich home with me - and you all know how I always finish my food. (I think it's because I devoured the appetizers.)

And this is not food - this is the pretty lake by where I live! Yup, this is Florida on a Friday afternoon! And I drive by this twice or more a day!

I wish I had more to share with you, but I haven't been doing much other than housekeeping and work!

Don't buy 88% cocoa Extreme Dark Chocolate from 'Endangered Species' - if you want to lick cocoa powder, you can do it for much cheaper by buying baking chocolate or doing like VegAnn did and taking a spoonful of it in your mouth. Oh, and if you do want it, let me know and I'll stick it in an envelope addressed to you.

I guess this is my first free thing blog giveaway? FREE CHOCOLATE if you like rinsing your mouth repeatedly and are willing to give me your address.

Oh, and brushing your teeth afterwards should not happen if you have minty toothpaste. It doesn't work as well as you think it will.