Apple Crisp

A good crumble has been the bane of my existence for years. Never have I been able to master the art. My good friend Ashley has been dabbling in vegan baking for the last several months and her first attempt at an apple cobbler she nailed it. I was green with envy and a satisfied belly. Last night I requested that she show me the crumble skills. I made the flling and she showed me the crumble. I am confident that I have got it now. In fact, this may have been the best apple crisp ever! Super tasty and nice and syrupy.



Apple Crisp

Filling

5 large tart apples
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of clove powder
1 teaspoon of allspice

Peel and core all apples. Slice all apples into thin pieces lengthwise. In a large bowl, add all sugars and mix well. The sugar will begin to melt a bit causing a nice brown sugar sauce to form in the bottom of you bowl. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix well again. Add the remaining spices and mix.


Crisp

1 1/3 cup of flour
1 1/3 cup of oats
1 1/3 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of margarine
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats. sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. In the meantime, melt the 1/3 cup of margarine. Once the dry ingredients are well mixed, slowly add the margarine, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Using you hands, gently mix the margarine into the dry ingredients. The moisture should cause the mixture to become damp and slightly ball up. You may need to add more margarine. Once the mixture is "crumbly" set it aside.

Pre-heat the oven at 350. Evenly spread the apples along the bottom of a large baking pan. Once the apples are evenly spread, gently sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top. Do not pat down. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crumble get a light golden color.



This was so good that I had to force myself to take a picture before I started to eat any. It was only a minute or so after the picture that my plate was empty. Re-fill!

I am learning how to do some drywall patching today! I am kind of excited. I am looking forward to being able to handle much of the small stuff at my house on my own. Tomorrow is an off day!

Seitan Steaks

It was an unproductive day in the way of house work but that is not what many readers are here for anyway. Food - there was great production!

Ashley and I spent some time together today and had a plan to make some dinner. She said she has really liked the seitan that I have made and wanted to make some more. I told her that I had felt like I had been neglecting the readers of my blog who want recipes. I wanted something new to post. We compromised and decided we would have seitan but I would do something new with it. Introducing...




Seitan Steaks

The broth

4 cup of water
2/3 of cup of soy sauce
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoon of onion powder
1 tablespoon of dried chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon of liquid smoke
1 tablespoon of hot sauce
2 teaspoon of thyme
2 teaspoon of oregano
2 teaspoon of parsley
2 teaspoon of sage

In a very large pot, bring the water to a boil while adding all other ingredients. The color should be a dark brown and should have a potent and strong smell. If the smell in not strong enough or not to your liking, adjust the spices.

Gluten

1 cup of vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of parsley
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together well. Once the mixture is well blended, add slightly less than 1 cup of the above broth mixture. Mix well. The dough should be a light brown in color and somewhat tacky to the touch. If it is too moist, add some regular flour to the mixture. It should not be sticking to your hands or the sides of the bowl once it is fully mixed. Take a cutting board and sprinkle a bit of flour on the top. Place the seitan on the cutting board and begin to kneed the dough, slowly flattening it like a pizza dough. There is not need to use a rolling pin. Be gentle. If the dough begins to stick to the cutting board, add more flour. Do not let it stick. Once the gluten dough is about 1/4 inch thick, let it sit for about 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 5 pieces roughly the same size and place them into the remaining boiling water. Boil for 45 minutes.

Marinade

1/2 cup of chipotle bar b que sauce
1 tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of hot sauce
1 teaspoon of liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients together in a pan. Once the gluten has finished boiling, take out each piece and place it in the marinade. Let soak for at least 1 hour. The longer the better. Feel free to let it go overnight.

Frying

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 cup of oil
2 tablespoons of onion (chopped)
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

In a saute pan, heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. This should take about 5 minutes on med-low heat. Add all other spices and stir well. Carefully remove the garlic and onions without removing the oil. You want to leave the flavors intact. Then gently set 2 pieces of seitan into the oil and fry for about 8 minutes until it begins to brown. Then flip and fry the other side for about the same time. Remove. Repeat until all piece of seitan are cooked. Serve the seitan topped with the garlic and onions that were removed from the oil and a spoonful of the marinade.


This may be one of the best seitan recipes I have made. If you only try seitan once, this is it. Try this out. No joke. This is extremely good. Juicy, succulent and savory. I made it tonight with mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. All around, a great meal!

If you have questions about making seitan, please check the Seitan Tips post and feel free to ask.

Burritos and Cobbler

Extremely full from a large lunch. I need to head to work soon but I may need a nap after all this food. I have been thinking about some easy foods for one and burritos came to mind. I found a nice avocado the other day so it was on.
Two huge burritos may have been a bit overkill but I just could not stop eating them. My special guacamole brings it to the next level. That recipe will have to wait for the cookbook. I need to keep some things a secret.
I also whipped up some blueberry cobbler with some frozen berries that Jamie and I picked last summer. Tasty! Cobbler is something I have always struggled with and I need some help. This tastes good but it is not what I had in mind. Oh well.










Hiking or something fun tomorrow looks to be in the works. It should be a nice day out and although I should do something more productive, I may just go do something fun. Next month should bring a lot of visitors to the house and I have many exciting things to look forward to.

Jelly Donuts?

Typically I am not a user of cookbook. I tend to find following a recipe very limiting. I like to write them but not follow them, ironic, I know. Actually, I think that the need to follow someones instructions in order to have a healthy, delicious, and nutritious meal is a sad testament to our self domestication.

Recently, I received a great cookbook for my mother that I will be exploring in depth. It has a lot of great information beyond just simple recipes. Ashley got a copy of the Veganomicon for her birthday and I have been poking around in this treasure too. With my recent donut fanaticism, I was very intigued by the jelly donut recipe that I found. I failed. I do not think they remind me of jelly donuts at all, however they are tasty! I have proven it before, sometimes a failed idea is a new discovery.
I will continue to work on this item until it is perfected. A recipe (and name) for this jelly filled circle will be posted soon!

Back splash

Ten hours later but Jamie is moved and somewhat unpacked. It is at least livable for the moment. This will settle as they get more organized. In the meantime, the last bit of work was being done at my house, so I thought. There now needs to be some touch up work on a few things. My slate back splash was completed and most of the master bathroom hallway was re-tiled. I grabbed a quick photo of the back splash. I need to clean the place up a bit more now that there has been grouting and whatnot. Dust everywhere.I am going to begin painting the interior of the house very soon. I am committed to it. Actually, I am a little afraid of committing to colors. I know that I can just re-paint the walls if I change my mind but it is a lot of work. Painting coupled with the yard work is slightly overwhelming but exciting too. Day off soon, hopefully. Big things coming up.

The last supper

I went to the condo for the final time last night. Jamie will be moving out on Sunday. She was not feeling well so I made dinner. I insisted that she pull up a chair near the stove so that she could keep me company. After a minute or so, we decided that Tato might want to join us in the kitchen. We dragged his bed beside Jamie's chair and he immediately jumped in. He is so cute sometimes.

He joined us for quite some time, however he was not nice for very long.

For dinner I wanted Jamie to pick something that reminded her of things we made in the condo together. She choose Indian food. I had been wanting to try some new things I had picked up recently so, it worked out great! This may have been the best Channa Maslsa that I have made yet. and it was the easiest. Not sure if it is worth posting a recipe considering all the other Indian food recipes on the net.

Productive

I was extremely productive today and was heavily rewarded! I got up early on my day off and grabbed my new hedge clippers. My front hedge was out of control. It had not been trimmed in a long time. It was a task I have never attempted but I think I did a good job. I cut my hands all up on the holly but it was worth it. It was blocking my walkway into the house.

I then grabbed my new rake and started what I thought would be an afternoon of yard work. To my surprise, 2 years worth of leaves and pine needles are for than an afternoon operation. Thirteens massive piles of leaves later, I was only half way done with my front yard. I had not even begun on my side and back yard. I immediately felt blisters beginning on my thumbs so I called it a day. One hedge trimmed and thirteen piles of leave left me still feeling pretty good. There is something strong about working outside. I can not wait to get some more done.

I think my yard is going to be awesome...eventually.

After my yard work, I took a drive to a few thrift stores. Nothing great but it was a nice ride. The weather has been great and it is nice to roll my windows down and let Lucero and Jose Gonzales ring through my car. A nice afternoon drive. I even saw one of my new neighbors and they waved to me. It is fun to live in a neighborhood that I choose.

Home. Nap. Knock at the door? Delivery. I got the finally check for the contractors and a awesome package from my mum. Surprise! A new spice rack, new tote, caulk removal tool, and a copy of The Conscious Cook. It is nice to know my mum is thinking about me. I wish I could cook like this guy, this book is amazing and has a lot of fun information too. Thanks mum!

Chocolate Donuts

The lemon cake is nearly gone and after a long weekend at work I wanted to make some donuts! It has been awhile since I tried a new flavor and today I went with chocolate. Lemon Donuts with poppy seed icing have been on my mind but after the recent cake, I figured I should mix it up. I am not sure if too much lemon is a bad thing but I did not want to press my luck in fear of a whammy.



Chocolate Donuts

1 egg worth of vegan egg substitute (powdered replacer works best)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup soymilk
1/3 cup of coco powder
4 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt the margarine and stir in the soymilk, vinegar and vanilla. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together thoroughly. When the liquid mixture is warm (not hot), pour it into the dry mixture and stir until well mixed.

Pour the batter into your donut baking pan (greased and floured). This recipe should make 6 donuts, only fill the pan about 2/3 of the way to the top to avoid overflow.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees. Let donuts rest in the pan on a baking rack for 30 minutes. In order to remove the donuts from the pan, you may need to use a butter knife and some gentle twisting with your hands.

Hawks vs. Suns

As a child, basketball was a large part of my life. As a teenager, basketball represented several things (and people) that I did not want to be reminded of. As a young adult it was mainly ignored until I moved back to Maine for a year. At the time, I lived with my mother, brother and sister. Both my brother and sister were star players on their high school teams. In fact, my sister is the star player on her college team as well. I began going to their high school games mainly to support them, I was a quiet spectator but by the end of the year I was one of their loudest and rowdiest fans. Since then, I have had a newly found interest in basketball. For me it seems like more then a game to watch (I watch no other sports), it is something that reminds me of my family. In fact, several years ago I severed 2 of my tendons in my left ankle playing a pick up game at a local park. This game is no joke.

Since living in Atlanta, I have made it a point to try and get out to several basketball games. Last year I attended 3 in the season. This season is not half over and I attended my first game last night. It was a great game. Phoenix Suns (one of my all time favorite teams) vs the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta won by one at the buzzer with a three point shot. The crowd went bonkers and I was a happy guy. Highlight real below.

getting ready for tip off

behind the back pass from nash

layup by hill

nash on the line. easy two.

I am brave

I fell asleep watching X-files, as usual. A typical later night at work leading to bed at 3am. I was startled awake around 4am by shadows racing overhead. I was disoriented and confused, jumped out of bed and turned the light on. As my eyes focused to the light and flicker of the X-files menu screen I noticed a large bat flying around my bedroom. Alarmed and haunted by the X-files theme song playing in the background I started to panic about bat bites. I realized that I did not know much about bats so I closed it in my bed room and googled them. One of the things that stood out in my half slumber was rabies. There seemed to be no quick online suggestions about how to get a bat out of your bedroom. I tucked myself into the hallway bathroom and worked on a game plan as I began to wake up. The best idea I could come up with was to try and get the bat into one of the unused bedrooms, open the window, shut it in and hope it flies out of the window on its own.

I chose my bedroom, opened the windows and began the daunting task of trying to encourage the bat to fly into that particular room. It was on the wall of my bedroom and I began tossing things in the bats direction (pens, tato toys, and any other small objects I could find). The bat seemed to get very irritated and was spinning aorund the room to the hymn of the X-files theme still playing in the background. After nearly an hour of throwing random objects the bat finally flew down the hall into the desired bedroom.

The next hour was spent trying to encourage the bat to go out the window. Ironically, the bat sat on the windowsill of the unopened window for about 40 minutes. Eventually, I just shut the door, stuffed a towel under it and went to bed.

Four hours later I woke up to see if the bat had flown out of the window. It had not. It seemed to be asleep on the floor (or dead). At this point, I was on the phone with Ashley who I had plans with today (remember? Hawks vs Suns!). She said she was in the area and headed over to help me with the bat issue. When she got to the house we tag teamed the bat who was apparently sleeping. She was fearless and put a plastic bucket over the top of the bat. I slid a piece of cardboard under the bucket. Then we took the bat outside and set it in the leaves. Done deal. The kinks of a formerly vacant house.

Lemons Lemons Lemons

I got up early today to help Jamie look at some more apartments. It was less eventful then it was a week or so ago. The second time always is. First time you look you get to see what is available, the second time you are trying to make a serious decision. Apartment hunting can be a brutal process.

Shortly after my last post I still was feeling slightly unproductive. Should I work on the house? Nah! No one wants to read about that! I made a great little lemon cake with some amazing lemon glaze. I placed it on my newest thrift store acquisition. A super cute teal plate that would make Jamie proud.


Lemon Cake

3 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of oil
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 teaspoons of lemon zest

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients starting with the oil and ending with the lemon juice. There will be some bubbling, do not be alarmed. Mix until all the lumps are out, our into a greased 9x9 baking pan and bake for 45 minutes. Use the toothpick test in the center to see if the cake is complete.



Lemon Glaze

2 cups of confectionery sugar
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of lemon extract
1 teaspoon of lemon zest

In a mixing bowl, add the sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Add the zest and extract and mix well. If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice. If the glaze is too runny, add more sugar.

Rosemary French Fries

I feel day like these are few and far between. Some huge up-side and and substantial down-side. I got next to nothing done today. I little cleaning around the house and that is about where I capped out. On the other hand, I got in a great nap and relaxed all day. Difficult to say if this was a good day, the verdict is still out. I enjoyed it and I think that should count for something. I love my days off.

I have spoken to several people about the food on my blog who are not typical "cookers" nor are they vegan. It seems that some people feel like my recipes might be a bit to involved for people not already familiar with food. I am determined to post some recipes that are easy and friendly to an unexplored kitchen. For lunch I made myself some rosemary french fries.

Rosemary French Fries

4 med potatoes
2 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of rosemary
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper

Cut the potatoes into fries type slices (larger then a matchstick but of similar shape). Boil the potatoes until slightly tender. Do not let them get soft. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. When the potatoes are finished boiling, strain. Pour the oil into the bottom of a loaf pan along with the other spices. Add the potatoes to the oil and toss to coat them with the oil and rosemary mixture. Bake for 20 minutes and flip. Bake for another 20 mins.


I hope this is something people can sink their teeth into. I did and it was well worth the minimal effort.

Short Update

I started some home improvement activities recently. It was a very prideful moment because I am not very good at this type of stuff nor am I very confident that I am doing it correctly. There were a few areas around some trim that needed some caulking. I went out and acquired a gun and tube, read some articles online and went to town. Success! I would have posted a picture of my caulk but my mother reads this blog.

This should be a relaxing week. I am super pumped to go see my first basketball game of the season on Friday. Hawks vs Suns. It should be a great game. I hope to get out to several more before the season ends.

I have tomorrow off so hopefully I will make some great food. Cross those fingers! I can not get enough days off.

Garlic bread my in fact be the best bread ever.

Peppermint Fudge

Super simple. Super Delicious.

Peppermint Fudge

2 cups of confectionery sugar
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup of coco powder
1/4 cup of soymilk
3 tablespoons of vegan margarine
1 teaspoon of peppermint extract

In a sauce pan on low heat, melt the chocolate chips and margarine. Stir well. Add the coco powder, soymilk, peppermint, and sugar. Continue to stir vigorously until smooth. Pour into an 8x8 pan and chill for 3 hours.



I made a pan of fudge the other night as a belated dessert for my Dinner for One! It was a nice treat. One year, I made vegan fudge for all my relatives for the holidays. It was something I made often but had not made it years. I totally forgot why until, I sat down with the pan and ate half of it. Wired for the rest of the night and sick to my stomach the next day. Be careful with fudge.

I seem to recall doing this as a kid many times. Some things never change.

Shiitake Gravy

iAs promised...

Shiitake Gravy

3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of shiitake mushroom caps
1/2 cup of soymilk
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of onions
1 tablespoon of oil
2 teaspoons of ginger
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of cumin

In a sauce pan, heat the oil and add the garlic (chopped) and onions (chopped). Once the onions begin to soften and become translucent, add the mushrooms (chopped) and black pepper. Stir frequently and let the mixture cook on low heat for about 4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Add the water and soymilk and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the remaining spices and let it cook down. Stir frequently and this process should take about 20 minutes. When done, this should be a semi thick gravy. It is it not thickening on its own, add a little cornstarch.

Dinner for one!

Dinner for one. Spicy Seitan, Fried Veggies, and Asian Mashed Potatoes with a Shittake Gravy. Generally I do not cook for myself. I find it a little anti-climactic. There is no one around to enjoy it but me and I really struggle to motivate myself. It was actually a major concern when i no longer lived with Jamie. She and I were talking about this concern the other night and she said that I need to cook for my readers. Not quite the same but I am willing to try it. Here it is, for you!
Asain Mashed Potatoes

4 small red potatoes (quatered)
2 cups of water (or shittake broth)
1 1/2 tablepoon of soymilk
1 tablespoon of vegan margarine
1/2 tablespoon if miso paste
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

In a pot, bring the water (or broth) to a boil and add the potatoes and miso paste. In a bowl, combine all other ingredients. When the potatoes are tender (about 25 minutes) strain the water out and put the potatoes in the soymilk and spice mixture. Mash the potatoes.

The potatoes should have a nice smooth flavor. I will post the shittake gravy recipe in the near future. Until then, enjoy the monitor meal.

It snowed in Atlanta last night. People were flying off the roads. The drivers were far more dangerous than the snow. Silly drivers.

Buffallo Tempeh

Dinner was rewarding tonight. I was asked to meet Jamie at 7pm to see a new apartment but got caught in a moronic amount of traffic before realizing that I was not going to make it. Jamie has gotten much experience looking on her own so I am sure that she can see one without me. I do like to be a part of the process though.

Totally inspired by Jenna and the Good Good Things blog, I made my own version of buffalo tempeh and ranch dip, coupled with roasted brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. It is fun that I can now link each thing I make to a recipe on this blog. Trucking along to that cookbook goal!

Buffalo Tempeh

1 package of tempeh
2 cups of panko flakes
2 cups of water
2 cups of soy milk
1 1/2 cups of hot sauce
2 tablespoons of margirine
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Pre-heat the oven at 375. In a pot, bring the water to a boil. While the water is heating up, slice the tempeh into triangle slices about 1/4 of an inch thick. When the water is boiling, add the tempeh and let boil for about 5 minutes, until the tempeh is a little soft. Remove the tempeh from the water and let cool for about 5 minutes. During the 5 minues, take 2 seperate dishes, one will have the soy milk and mustard and the other will have the panko flakes, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Stir each well (be cautious not to crush the panko flakes). Take a baking pan and evenly spread the tablespoon of oil over the bottom.

Take each slice of tempeh and dip into the soy milk mixture and then into the panko mixture. Pat the panko flakes onto the tempeh so that you get a good coating. Gently place each tempeh slice into the oven pan until all are in the pan. Bake for 10 minutes then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.

During the baking time, take a sauce pan and melt the margarine, and sugar until the sugar. Once the sugar is runny, add the hot sauce and vinegar and stir well. Do not let this get hot, keep it warm. This may require turning the heat on and off. When the tempeh slices are done, place each slice into the hot sauce mixture and let sit for 2-3 minutes and then flip. Serve hot.


Oh, check out my super cool new plate! According to Jamie, I have become an accomplished thrift store shopper. I do like this plate. This should be a fun weekend coming up. Nothing solid planned but some interesting prospects.

Cauliflower Coconut Soup

A nice lunch soup on a boring Monday afternoon. This soup is very rich and should be eaten with small portions and with friends! Very tasty. Much like a thai curry but a little more liquid and not a spicy.


Cauliflower Coconut Soup

1/2 can of coconut milk
2 green chili peppers
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1 cup of cauliflower
1/2 cup of thai basil (chopped)
2 tablespoons of onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of ginger

In a sauce pan, heat the oil on med - low heat. Cut the chili peppers lengthwise and de-seed them. Chop them into small slices. Add the chopped onion and peppers to the heated oil. When the onion is translucent and the peppers are beginning to brown add the chopped cauliflower and basil. Let cook on low heat for another 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and add all the spices and sugar. Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes. Then pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. It make take several trips to the blender so that it does not explode. Once smooth, let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes and serve.


It looks like the last of the major contracting work will be completed on the house by the end of the week. Then it will be cleaning and painting time. I hope this place will start looking like a house soon. It kind feels like a huge apartment right now. I need to give it some character.

New Chairs and Comedy

After a nice weekend of fun events, I am preparing for a plan-less set of weekdays. Friday I went home from work (not feeling great) and got a good nights sleep. Saturday morning brought me some new chairs!
I am so excited to have them! This is the same fabric that I had on my couch as a kid. Some days I miss that couch, I hope these chairs make up for the loss. I am not sure where I am going to put them yet but they are awesome. Super excited!

That afternoon, Jamie and I went to look at apartments for her. She saw about 11 of them before we ran out of appointments. She has some good prospects and I trust that she will make a good decision. Apartment hunting is something I really enjoy (and have too much experience with) and I can not wait to go again.

That night Ashley and I went to a new comedy club to see Tom Simmons. Tom is a great local comedian. I used to go to comedy shows several time a month. I was a regular at a popular venue and occasionally visited a few others. It had been quite some time since I had gone and It was a good reminder of how much I enjoy live stand-up.

Given my resurrected love for stand-up, I noticed that Dan Mangini was playing at club I was once such a regular at. Dan is my absolute favorite local comedian. In fact, a genuine case can be made that he is my true favorite. My brother Ben, and I discovered the greatness of Dan one night several years ago. Since then, when I notice he will be playing in Atlanta, I try to attend. Jamie and I made a plan to head out to Roswell Georgia and get in some good gut laughs. Sadly, there was only 13 people there and one of them thought it would be cool to heckle Dan. He handled it well but it was disruptive. Oh well, that is what you get when Jesus is at your show.

Hurray for new chairs, revitalized comedy interest, and upcoming food!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Due to demand, I will give you my super simple recipe for roasted brussel sprouts. This is very easy and is far from your grandma's nasty boiled into oblivion brussel sprouts. These are crisp and nutty in flavor with a nice crunchy texture.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

15 med sized brussel sprouts
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of oil
2 teaspoons of ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of paprika

Pre-heat your oven to 375. In a baking pan pour the oil and garlic, enough to lightly cover the bottom. This is the most difficult part of the recipe. To much oil will make them soggy and to little will dry them out. Put the baking pan in the oven with the oil and let the oil get hot (about 5 minutes). Do not let it smoke. Chop the stem off each of the brussel sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise. When the oil it hot, sprinkle the pepper, salt, and paprika into the oil and place each brussel sprout open face down in the oil. Roast for about 25 minutes.


Sat I will be getting my first new furniture for my home! As a child I had an orange couch. It was called the Muppet-hide couch by everyone. It felt just like Muppet skin. When I was 19, my best friend Jonny and I threw everything I owned away so I could be a minimalist and travel, including the couch. This was one of the most difficult things for me to let go. In a thrift store today I spotted two chairs with the same material! I was so excited I almost cried. Needless to say I bought them and they will be a permanent fixture in my life. Pictures soon!