I'll admit, it doesn't look the most appetizing. And it sounds weird. But it tastes great! Besides that, it's practically a meal in a bowl, when you think about it. It's filling, a little like a chowder, a not- quite- cream- soup, super easy to make and would make great leftovers.

Broccoli Bean Soup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces
1 potato, diced
1 can white beans, drained (I used Great Northern)
5-6 cups broth
1/2 lemon (juice only)
5-8 cloves roasted garlic
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
pinch cayenne
5 drops hot sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp miso
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp sour cream*
1/4 cup cream*

Saute onion and add broccoli in the olive oil, cooking until bright green. Add the potatoes through the white wine. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add the rest of the ingredients, adjust seasonings then give it a blast with the immersion blender. That's it.

*Thanks to Bazu, I'm on the band wagon. If you're reading this, then you know I'm vegan. So to me, 'normal' dairy products would be vegan products. Ditch the dairy. And the old time lingo. This is liberating!

Believe it or not, today was a soup day while yesterday we had hoped to have a picnic. This is yesterday's dinner. We still had the same food, but the weather dropped 20 degrees so we ate inside. Either way, the food was awesome. Check out that sandwich. It's a take off on the muffaletta in Veganomicon, but made with the leftover vegetables from Saturday night. Let me go on record for saying that the olive salad stuff makes this sandwich. It is addictively good. You can also see a quinoa salad peaking out from the background. I'm trying to learn to like quinoa, but it's not an easy thing for me.

Dinner tonight: I'm thinking Tofu Marsala. With a side of roasted asparagus.

We were having company for dinner last night (omnis) and I really wanted to do something different. I'd already determined an Italian theme (so NOT different) and the main dish: baked ziti with ground seitan. Browsing blogs the way to go if you're lacking in creativity. Other people have the best ideas! Kittee happened to post an antipasto platter that sounded incredible! Mine was more simple and cut-to-the-chase, but it was a wonderful way to start the evening. It's roasted peppers, grilled eggplant and zucchini with the balsamic mushrooms from VwaV. We also had tofurkey sausages, crock cheese from the Uncheese Cookbook, sundried tomato tapenade and olives. And bread, of course. The platter was followed by margherita teeese pizza (this got great feedback!), then the ziti, salad and green beans.

The ziti was good, but not as good as I remembered it from the last time I made it. That's ok. Dessert more than made up for it! It's one of those chocolate mousse pies that every vegan knows how to make. Here's my version. It's super rich and is a terrific make-ahead dessert.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

1 12 oz package chocolate chips
1 12 oz package firm silken tofu (I used mori-nu)
3 Tbsp agave*
3 Tbsp maple syrup*
1 tsp vanilla
prepared pie shell

Throw the tofu in your food processor. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler (or microwave). Blend tofu, add the chocolate after it's cooled a bit and the rest of the ingredients. Blend. Pour into prepared shell. Refrigerate a few hours.

*I suggest starting with 2 Tbsp of each and adding if you want it sweeter.

Tonight's dinner: muffaletta with some of the leftover antipasto platter.

Thanks, Kittee! And Happy Birthday!

and it really looks awesome, doesn't it? Only it wasn't. It was only good. The flavor was fantastic, but the texture was too soft. If anyone has suggestions on how to firm up the ground seitan (I added garbanzo flour and some vital wheat gluten, but it just wasn't enough), I'd really appreciate it. We topped them with the special sauce from Eat Air. That sauce is really special. Give it a try. It'll work on any sandwich. Today we had the leftover sauce with added onions and capers for reubens. Mmmmmm.

I haven't posted cookies in a while and I've missed making them. To fix that, here are the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (tester) from Garrick and Kelly's upcoming cookie book. I know, you're probably thinking it can't come soon enough. So many good recipes from that cookie creating team.

And, a simple pasta with a cool name: Spring Italian Pasta. The key to this is roasting the tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes and found several recipes for roasting them on the web. One said 8 hours at 200 degrees, another said 1/2 an hour at 400 degrees. So if you try it, do it however you want. I'm sure they'll turn out great. I roasted with olive oil, garlic slices and tossed it all with spinach and some roasted cauliflower and other spices. It's great for a weeknight. I'm planning to roast some tomatoes ahead of time and use them in other dishes, too.

One other thing! One of my recipes was blogged at Vegan.com! Thanks a lot, Erik! While I haven't quite figured out how to link a small banner from that site, I hope to. In the meantime, it's a great site. Go check it out!

Yep, another Hezbollah Tofu recipe! This was originally Lapin aux Picholines. First off, who would eat rabbit? Even Bourdain refers to it as "bunny" in the recipe, further proving his lack of compassion. In an effort to counterbalance his negativity, I adapted the recipe to tempeh and even served it with the favorite food of bunnies: carrots! Take that Bourdain!

There are a lot of ingredients in this marinade, but the rest of the recipe is truly a no-brainer and takes little effort. I've noticed that a lot of these recipes that I've been adapting really aren't that complicated and follow very similar techniques. Maybe I need to branch out a little more?

This recipe has a few steps. First you steam the tempeh, then marinade it. Bread it and make the sauce and you're done! It's a really complete (and gourmet!) tasting dish.

Tempeh with Olives
Serves 3-4

Tempeh and Marinade
1 8 oz package of tempeh, steamed
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup dried mushrooms (mix of porcini and shiitake)
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup tamari
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp miso
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
black pepper

Breading
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1/2 cup soy milk
3/4 cup panko crumbs

Sauce
2 Tbsp earth balance
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 small red pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
reserved marinade
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1/3 cup small green olives, pitted

Really, this isn't as hard as it sounds. Combine the boiling water with the dried mushrooms and let sit about half an hour. Strain. Discard the mushrooms or save for another recipe. Combine the liquid with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Cut tempeh in half, then vertically in half. You'll have 4 squares. Cut those squares into triangles and put in marinade. Let sit at least an hour, but overnight is better. (Keep the marinade).

Now we're going to bread them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet. Combine the flour, dried herbs, salt and pepper, placing in a shallow container. Take the tempeh from the marinade, dip in the flour, then the milk, then the crumbs. (This is like the awesome Wingz from Don't Eat off the Sidewalk. It's sold out but Katie has the recipe posted.) Place on the sheet, spray the tops lightly with oil and bake for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake another 10-15 until lightly browned.

While those are baking, make the sauce. Melt the eb, then add the onions. Cook for 10-15 minute over medium high heat to get a little hint of caramelization going on. Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for another couple of minutes. Add the flour and tomato paste, stirring until they're mixed in. Add the wine and reserved marinade, reduce heat to medium and let cook about 10 minutes, till thickened. Stir in the fresh herbs and olives. Check the seasonings. Then add the tempeh triangles, spooning sauce over them. That's it!

By the way, I couldn't find picholine olives anywhere. Hopefully, you'll have better luck than I did. I just ended up buying the smallest pitted green olives that I could find. I'm convinced it didn't affect the dish.


And in closing, this is another dinner we had this week. It's a grilled seitan BBQ cutlet with the macaroni and cheese from YRR. We're getting to grill weather here.... I'm looking forward to cooking outside!

This was originally Veal Tongue with Madeira. Disgusting and cruel. Just when I think Bourdain can't take it further, he does. Made with tofu and a few adjustments this turned into a delicious and killing-free dinner. Take that, Bourdain!

Tofu Tongue with Madeira
Serves 3 - 4

Tofu and Marinade
1# block of extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/8ths
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup madeira wine (or port, or sherry)
1/4 cup tamari
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp agave
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
pepper

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp earth balance
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 leek, cut in quarters and finely chopped
1 carrot, cut in thin half moons
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thinly (optional)
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp flour
reserved marinade, adding broth (if needed) to equal 1 cup
salt and pepper to taste

Marinate cut tofu in the olive oil through pepper ingredients for a few hours or preferably overnight. Remove tofu from marinade (reserving the marinade) and bake on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 400 degrees for half and hour. Turn them over partway through cooking. While baking, prepare the sauce.

Heat the oil and earth balance over medium heat. Add the onion and leek and saute a few minutes until it just started to look translucent. Add the carrots and mushrooms and saute another few minutes. Add the herbs and flour, stirring and cooking to remove flour taste. Add the marinade/broth cook until thickened. Adjust salt and pepper, if needed.

To serve, spread sauce on plate, top with tofu and garnish with parsley or other fresh herbs.

I just can't get over that tongue idea. Thankfully, I've never had tongue (or veal) in my life so I can't really say if the baked tofu approximates the texture or not... but it sure tastes great!

Next up: Lapin (rabbit!!!) with Picholines

Be sure to check out Hezbollah Tofu for other great recipes! Don't miss the t-shirt post!

We had some great food. Sunday started out with Yeasted Waffles from a recipe I printed out in 2002. You can tell it's been around a long time by looking at the paper, too. We used to have these all the time and I was looking forward to veganizing them. They turned out yummy, but I think next time I may add a teaspoon of baking powder (not really sure if it would make a difference or not) to make them just a touch lighter. They're really great as they are or I wouldn't post the recipe. I just like to play with recipes. We enjoyed these before a wonderful afternoon seeing Pride and Prejudice at the Cleveland Playhouse.

Yeasted Waffles
about 5 8 inch waffles

1 3/4 cups soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp ground flax in 1 cup + 1 Tbsp hot water
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Bring the water for the flax to a boil. Take if off the burner and whisk in the flax. It will get goopy. Let it cool. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk it around rather than sifting it. Heat the soy milk, water and oil till it's about 120-130 degrees (think warm, but not so hot it will kill the yeast). Add the vanilla, maple syrup and the flax goop to the liquids. Whisk the liquids into the dry ingredients, adding a bit more water if needed to make a thick batter. It will expand so be sure there is room. Cover bowl and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Waffle-ize.

We also had fantastic peanut noodles topped with seitan stirfy. The noodles are a tester for Yellow Rose Recipes and probably the best peanut sauce I've had. Great balance, a different consistency... just awesome!

I'm having more fun with this Hezbollah Tofu Project than I ever imagined. Converting recipes to make incredible food, while making fun of Bourdain and helping to raise money for charity, what could be better? Last night's dinner was this Tempeh Basquaise (originally made with chicken.) I used to think we vegans were obsessed about food, but clearly Bourdain is obsessed with meat. I can't believe how many different kinds of animals (and 'cuts') he uses in this book! Here is the better version. It looks like a lot of work, but it really isn't.

Tempeh Basquaise

Serves 3 - 4

1 8 oz package tempeh (steamed)

1/4 cup tamari

1 cup broth

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 smoked paprika

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

I onion, cut in thin 1/2 moons

1 red pepper, sliced in thin strips

1 orange pepper, sliced in thin strips

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 14.5 oz can plum tomatoes

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup reserved marinade (after baking)

1 Tbsp capers

1 tsp herbes de provence

1/4 tsp cayenne

salt and pepper

2 - 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

After you've steamed your tempeh, cut it into thirds. Cut those thirds vertically, so the tempeh is split, then cut in triangles. You'll end up with 12. Or cut it however you want.

Make a marinade out of the first set of ingredients and marinate tempeh for an hour or overnight. Then cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 an hour. Keep the marinade. (See notes below if you don't want to do all this.)

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil to medium high heat in a frying pan. Pan fry the baked tempeh, then set tempeh aside. Add sliced onions to the frying pan. Saute about 5 minutes, then add the sliced peppers. Saute another 5 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hand as you go. Add the liquid from the can, too. Let simmer about 10 minutes. Add the reserved marinade, wine, capers, herbes de provence and cayenne pepper. Check for seasoning, then add the tempeh back to the pan. Spoon some of the sauce over the tempeh and let simmer 10 - 15 minutes, or until the sauce is desired thickness. Garnish with chopped parsley.

We had this over parsleyed noodles and thought it was a lot like a cacciatore. The roasted green beans in the background are from Veganomicon.

Notes:
You can skip the steaming if you want and go straight to the marinating. Or you could even skip the baking and go to the panfrying, but the few steps involved with the tempeh are all really easy stuff that hardly requires your attention and will give you the best flavor.

Baking the tempeh in the marinade and then reusing the baked marinade is like using a reduction and really enhances the sauce.

If you wanted, you could go all the way up through baking the tempeh the day before. That way you can throw the sauce together lickety splickety and have a great dinner any time.

And this very special note: I have no idea why I can't get the right font on this post. It looks wacky and I can't fix it. Hopefully the next post will be back on track.

I've never eaten curry outside of my own house. I'm not sure even what it should taste like. I tried the Curried Noodles in VwaV and was kind of on the fence about them. But now I tried a new tester for Crack of Noon: Curried Cauliflower Frittata. I bought new curry powder for the occasion and WOW! This is so good. I'm going to have to try those noodles again. Here's the frittata with a cucumber salad on the side, using the Yellow Rose Lemon Dressing (tester). Yummy!

Now for that recipe with the oh-so-clever name. Well, I tried to come up with a cooler name than just "pasta salad". My addition of one word changes everything. Sort of. But don't let the name throw you off. This is really good! And it uses soy curls. I'm trying to incorporate them more. This is tasty and easy, great picnic food, too.


Mexicurly Pasta Salad
Serves 4 as a side dish

For the soy curls-
1/2 cup soy curls (break into about 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cups boiling water
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

Dressing
1/2 an adobe pepper
1/3 cup vegennaise
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp cumin
1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp cayenne

Vegetables
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/8 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp diced poblano peppers (or jalapenos)
1/4 cup green peas (if using frozen, thaw under hot water)
1/4 cup corn (if using frozen, thaw under hot water)
fresh cilantro (or dried) to taste

2 cups dry pasta

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Bring 2 cups water to a boil to soak the broken strips. Add 1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp chili powder along with the tamari. Let strips and spices soak for about 10-15 minutes to rehydrate. Drain and squeeze dry. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a frying pan. Toss the strips with 1 Tbsp cumin and 1 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper. Fry in the hot oil until lightly browned. Place in mixing bowl.

Prepare dressing by mixing all ingredients together in a blender. Add dressing, drained pasta and vegetables to mxing bowl. Adjust seasonings. That's it!

This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It's a knock-down, drag-out flavor bomb in your mouth and we love it. It's my version of the Bourdain recipe of the same name, but subbing seitan and minus the cruelty, with added flavor and compassion. Fasten your seat belts for this one though. It's power packed.


Seitan au Poivre
Serves 4

4 seitan cutlets, 4-6 ounces each (see previous post for a recipe)
1/8 to 1/4 cup peppercorns, roughly crushed (edited! see below)
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp olive oil (for the pan)
1 Tbsp earth balance (for the pan)

1/4 cup brandy
3/4 cup broth
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp dark miso
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp earth balance
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the cutlets. Rub about 1/4 teaspoon olive oil on each cutlet side and and rub in about 1/2 tablespoon of the pepper. Set aside. Heat the olive oil and earth balance over medium high heat. When really hot, sear the seitan cutlets on both sides. Keep warm and make the sauce. Take the frying pan off the heat.

Using the same frying pan, deglaze the pan with the brandy. Put it back on the burner and reduce by 1/2. Add the broth and reduce by 1/2 again. Take it off the burner, and add the tomato paste, miso and vinegar. Stir in the last of the earth balance. Check the seasonings and serve over cutlets.

This sauce is super dense and concentrated. It will look like you didn't make enough, but once you taste it, you'll know. Just a little bit of this goes a long way to really enhance the cutlets.


Here is the finished plate, with some lovely lemon dressed broccoli (the dressing is a Yellow Rose tester) and pasta fresca. Next time, I'd probably serve it with rice pilaf or potato side instead of pasta. It needs a nice carb backdrop to offset all the intense flavors going on here. We'll have this again and again. Not only is it easy, but it's got that Wow Factor and would be great for a dinner party.

Don't forget: it's all about Hezbollah Tofu!

Edited because I'm being intentionally vague. The 1/4 cup is a lot of pepper, but if you are a pepperhead, go for it. If you just love pepper but don't really want to marry it, you'd probably prefer the 1/8 cup.

That is a gratuitous picture of pizza margherita so that this is not a pictureless post. It was delicious. Now on to the the purpose of this post.

Thanks to Isa who generously gave me permission to post my adaptation of her seitan cutlets in Veganomicon, here is the recipe for the seitan that I think is the best I've ever made. It's a double recipe because I always make double seitan recipes. The original is on page 132 in Veganomicon, the best vegan cookbook ever. This is the seitan I used for the Hezbollahed Seitan with Sauco Port and Roasted Shallots from the previous post. And in the Hezbollahed Seitan au Poivre which will be the next post.

Seitan Cutlets
Makes about 2 pounds

2 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
3/4 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup dark (mushroom) soy sauce
1 Tbsp marmite
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil

6 - 8 cups cold broth, your choice, but make it strong

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Measure the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl with the garlic. Add the wet to the dry and knead thoroughly. I use a kitchen aid mixer with a dough hook and let it go about 10-12 minutes. Add a tiny bit more broth as you go if you think it needs it. The resulting dough will not be pretty. It won't be shiny and smooth or anything like that. It will be gnarly and burly and lots of little balls of dough probably. Take it out of the mixing bowl and work it together with your hands until you get a "log". Keep rolling it until it will hold together and looks seamless. This is a lot easier to do than it sounds. If it sticks to you, wet your hands a little. Cut into cutlets and spread them/shape them until they are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. At this point, it's really forgiving and you can patch holes, make neat sides and all that stuff. I get about 16 cutlets out of this. Pour your broth into 2 9 X 13 pans or one larger roasting pan if you have it. Bake for 30 minutes, turn over and bake another 40 minutes. Allow to cool. Use what you want and refrigerate/freeze the rest.

Next post: a yummy way to use 4 of these cutlets.

Feb. 2009 update- My tastes have changed a little and I'm now making this with a little more liquid, so it's not quite as firm.

Mmmmm... just finished dinner and the first recipe I've adapted for the Hezbollah Tofu Project. I thought I'd be doing something a little more challenging, but it turns out that it was super easy to veganize. It helps that I made the very best seitan of my life to use in this recipe. I'm going to check with Isa about posting that recipe because about 95% of it is really her creation. On to the main course!

Filet of Seitan, Sauce Porto with Roasted Shallots

13 peeled whole shallots (slice one of these thinly and reserve)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp earth balance
4 4-6 oz seitan cutlets
salt and pepper
1 tsp flour
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
1/4 cup port (you could use red wine if you don't have port, it would just be vin)
scant 1 cup strong seitan stock (boost it, if you have to)
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

This recipe is easy. But pretty damn impressive, if I do say so. You'll see. Toss the whole shallots into a small ovenproof casserole pan with the tablespoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of earth balance. Cover with foil, pop in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. You want them slightly brown and limp, but 'still recognizable and intact'. Keep them in the oil/eb mixture- you'll need a tablespoon of it later.

Rub some salt and pepper into your cutlets (both sides). Heat 1 Tbsp earth balance in a frying pan (you need to cover the bottom of your pan, so use more if you need it.) Heat on medium high heat. When really melted and bubbly, sear the seitan cutlets on both sides. Remove and place in the oven to stay warm. If you eb looks burnt (mine didn't), toss it, wipe out your pan, turn down your heat and add another tablespoon. When melted, add the sliced shallot. Cook for 4 minutes over medium heat until pretty limp. Add the teaspoon of flour and the thyme. Stir around for another 2 minutes. Add the port and deglaze the pan. Reduce by 1/2. Add the cup of stock and reduce by half again. When reduced, adjust the seasonings and strain. Put it back in the pan, add the tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and a tablespoon of the shallot roasting oils.

Serve each cutlet with 3 shallots and some sauce. We even made the mashed potatoes that are a suggested side. Another super easy veganization!

Next day thoughts:

I think I would go wild and use 2 teaspoons of flour just to make the sauce a little thicker. Or cut back a little on the broth. It goes great with the mashed potatoes, too!

And to boost my broth if it doesn't have enough going on, I add something like marmite, kitchen bouquet, more garlic and ginger, tamari, red wine, miso, a boullion cube, black pepper..... you get the picture.

On the cutlets, mine were on the large side and I don't think I would have wanted them any smaller. They were about 5 ounces and as big as my hand.

Pommes Puree
6 Idaho potatoes
1 tablepoon salt
1 cup soy creamer
2 tbsp earth balance
salt and pepper

Slice potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Place in pot of cold water with the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes till the potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and drain. Bring the soy creamer and the earth balance to a boil. Add pepper and keep this warm. As soon as you can handle the heat, rub the skins from the potatoes and toss them in a bowl. Add about 1/2 the liquid and some salt (if you're a saltophile like we are) and mash. Add as much more of the liquid as you want to get a nice consistency. I had extra liquid so next time I'm cutting that back by about 1/4.

Next up will be the Seitan au Poivre. I know that one will be even easier.

I wish I had some of Gwenlet's Clafoutis that Kick Bourdain's Ass for dessert.

And if you want to know more about Bourdain, read Hezbollah Tofu!*

*This is the most plugged blog ever in a single post by me.

I'm hooking you with a delicious slice of picture because most of this post is going to be wordy. If you get tired of reading my blather, just focus on the pizza. It's Teese (again!) and this pizza beat the last one by a mile. We like the Teese better sliced and with just enough of it on the pizza to give you that creamy, cheezy fix. Big news on the Teese front: they are no longer shipping direct. I don't blame them. It must have been a real pain in the ass to develop, make, pack and ship. Now you can buy it from several different stores, with more in the works. For all the latest on Teese, keep an eye on this page.

We had a great time in Washington. The cherry blossoms were out and were beautiful! Eating proved to be a bit of a challenge, so I'll just give you the highlights. We loved loved loved Sticky Fingers! They have awesome sandwiches and we went there twice for lunch and took baked stuff back to the hotel for later. I loved the TLT and Jim raved about his Club Sandwich. Java Green was also a big hit with us. Harmony Cafe in Georgetown was wonderful and we had fantastic pizzas at both Ella's and Pizza Paradiso. Vegetate has a lot of potential but I had the feeling we hit them on an off night. There seems to be a really active vegan community in D.C. and I'm sure there will be even more options next time we go.

Hezbollah! If you don't know about this project, read up on it here. Sara, the brilliant mind behind the Hezbollah Tofu Movement, says it better than I ever could. I'm tackling a couple of recipes and can't wait to get started. I'd love to see vegans do this with lots and lots of cookbooks!

I'm off to try a new seitan recipe.