Monthly Archives: November 2009
My First Vegan Cookbook (and Half-Marathon!)
Samples included spinach lasagna, banana bread, herbed dill scones, greek salad, and coconut cream pie! I need to make that coconut cream pie, pronto.
Sarah took our picture! There I am on the far right!
She gave a quick spiel of her life story on how she became vegan and stayed vegan, and basically opened it up to the audience to ask her any questions for the rest of the time… short and sweet!
A Few Things That’ve Been Keeping Me Going
SF Renegade Craft Fair 2009
Man oh man, have I been meaning to talk about this forever! The Renegade Craft Fair happened back in July (18th and 19th)! And although it’s four months later, I still have to mention it, because it’s pretty much one of the best things on earth I have ever experienced. So, yes, I was quite excited and so happy to have made it there!
When I first walked in, there was a booth of all things made up of the “Renegade Craft Fair owl” and there were tons of Mat Daly posters. I wanted all of them. Notice the owlage…
Very crafty and creative journals made out of old book covers.You can find similar ones here: Ivy Lane Designs.
Hm, wonder which poster I bought…
I love all of this.
You can find tons of these on Etsy.
Pretty much the cutest wedding cake topper I have ever seen in my life!Mosey Handmade.
This lady rocks the planet.
I Heart Guts.
Art Goodies.I was so tempted to buy that owl block print. SO TEMPTED.The cupcake and fawn are pretty darn cute, too!
The infamous Renegade owl. Unfortunately, I spent too much time looking around and the face painting booth (yes, and they had a cupcake booth in the beginning, too!) closed down = major bummer. But at least I got to snap a photo of this cute girl that had it done…
Almost got one of these but had to control myself…
Okay, this guy is definitely one of my favorites. I talked to him for quite a while about owls and going out owling at night, and we could have gone on for hours. He gave me an extra special amazing deal on three owl prints! I purchased the first print on the top left, and the bottom two on the left. He rocks! Please support him!
My favorite famous beard lady, Erin Dollar, who, of course, happens to be from Portland (because everything great comes from Portland). She is incredible. I so admire her and her creativity. I haven’t purchased a beard yet, but one of these days… in the meantime, the 48 beardy stickers will suffice. Etsy shop here.
Arcane Arts. I first encountered this artist in Portland at the Doug Fir Lounge’s Crafty Wonderland. (I purchased the two owl prints next to each other in the center.) It was so cool to encounter her again!
I also met the wonderful Cakespy! That was quite a lovely surprise, since I have been a fan of her blog for years now. She’s rad and makes awesome cupcake art!
Laura George was also a pleasure to meet. I had just seen her art a few days before coming to the fair, and it was awesome to buy her art directly from her instead of through Etsy! Her prints are very clever and cute, such as the one I purchased below:
The aftermath of loot all over my bed.
I love you, Renegade Craft Fair! You made my craft-loving, owl-obsessing, Etsy-fan-admiring dreams come true! And it turns out I won’t have to wait an entire you for you to return: they’re putting on a holiday fair this December! I am SO there!
A Happy Pumpkin (and Owl) Filled Feast!
So I know it’s been a good week now, but I sadly haven’t had time to update. My Halloween is usually never typical, and this one was no exception. When I woke up, I was immediately inspired and motivated to cook and bake. I wanted to create a nice dinner meal for my family. And that is what I did. All day long. Eight hours. In the kitchen. And I loved every second of it.
I made my own pumpkin and leaf toasts out of black bread and a cookie cutter.Put a little butter and cinnamon sugar on them, stuck ’em in the broiler for about 2 minutes…
Ale, Pumpkin, & Pork Stew-2-3 lbs. pork loin
-4 c. chicken broth
-1 bottle of a good scotch ale (or any beer you think would pair)
-1 c. water
-15 oz. pumpkin puree
-4 T butter
-1 c. sliced carrots
-1/2 sliced red onion-1/2 t. cinnamon
-1/4 t. cloves
-1/4 t. nutmeg
-3/4 c. heavy cream
-salt & pepper to taste
Turn the slow cooker to ‘high’. Add the beer, broth and water – then the pork loin. Cook for 3-4 hours until the meat begins to fall apart. Take chunks of the pork out and break into bite size pieces and then return to the pot. Add the pumpkin and spices. In a pan on the stove, melt the butter and toss in the carrots and onions – lightly salt and pepper. Cook until they just become soft then add this to the stew pot. Stir the stew and cover – cook another hour. Add the heavy cream and cook another hour. Turn the soup to warm and serve when ready.
These turned out AMAZING! I plan on making lots of these guys and giving them out as gifts this season…
Pistachios with Anise & Orange-1 tablespoon superfine sugar -1 teaspoon ground aniseed -1 teaspoon salt -2 tablespoons vegetable oil -Grated peel of 1 orange -1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, combine 1 teaspoon each superfine sugar, ground aniseed and salt. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the grated peel of 1 orange and 1 1/2 cups shelled raw pistachio nuts and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes. Toss the toasted nuts in the sugar mixture.
Butternut Squash & Brussels with Ginger & Cilantro4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10 cups) 3-4 cups sliced and quartered brussel sprouts (optional)1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons ground coriander Salt and pepper 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large bowl, toss the squash and brussels with the oil, coriander, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On each of 2 large baking sheets, arrange the squash in a single layer and bake, turning occasionally, until tender and golden-brown, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the squash to a serving bowl and toss with the crystallized ginger and cilantro.
Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte with Graham Cracker Crust and Caramel3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cooking spray
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
9 cups vanilla dairy-free ice cream (about 1 1/2 cartons), divided
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted and divided
1/4 cup jarred caramel topping (I made my own, which, by the way, was my first time making caramel and IT WAS HARD… all the recipes online said it was so easy.. liars! But it eventually kind of came out…)
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients (mixture will be crumbly). Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. Combine pumpkin and the next 4 ingredients (through cloves) in a bowl. Soften 6 cups ice cream; add to pumpkin mixture, stirring to blend. Spoon half of mixture into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Cover and freeze remaining pumpkin ice cream.
4. Soften remaining 3 cups vanilla ice cream; stir in 3 tablespoons pecans. Spread over pumpkin ice cream layer; freeze 1 hour or until firm. Soften remaining 3 cups pumpkin ice cream; spread over vanilla ice cream mixture. Cover; freeze 8 hours or until firm. Cut torte into 12 wedges. Place 1 wedge on each of 12 plates. Place topping in microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 45 seconds. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon topping; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pecans.
Cheers! Hope you enjoyed the pictures and recipes from the feast and that you’ll try out a few things as well!