Searching for the motivation...

Only 1 more day until Vegan MoFo.  I do not have much to share right now, I hope for some inspiration heading into MoFo.  I have not been cooking much recently.  I do have a vacation coming up that I hope to get a lot of housework and cooking completed.  I just need to stay motivated.

I did however, make a massive plate of fries yesterday.  I felt good and comforting.  I ate to many and it made me feel a little less comfortable later but it was still worth it.

More than a Fair time,

It is fair season here in Georgia.  As a kid, it was something I really looked forward to each year.  Now that I am older, it is till fun but for other reasons.  As a people watcher, it is always interesting to go and see the unique characters that wander the fairgrounds.  This year, Ashley and I took her daughter, Kaleigh.  Kaleigh was sick so her energy level was low but we still had a lot of fun.  It was her first real fair experience.  We did t all, we rode rides, we eat fries, we pet animals, and we played games.

An unconventional Real Estate meeting

Last Thursday evening, I had a meeting with Adrienne (who does Crack the Plates) and her partner, Nathaniel.  We talked Real Estate and Adrienne made some amazing food.  It was really refreshing to have a Real Estate meeting with folks that I seem to have so much in common with.  It was a nice "outside of the box" experience.

Adrienne made some beans, rice, and a jerk seitan with peppers.  It was delicious.  In fact, it was so good I had to go back for seconds!  The beans were by far my favorite.  They were perfectly cooked and seasoned.  It was a great meal coupled with great conversation.  It is also nice to see other folks who collect the vintage cook and glassware.

Nathaniel even shared his first successful cookie making experience with me.  I was warned that the cookie was made with whole wheat flour.  I actually do not mind whole wheat in my pastries so I thought the cookie was fantastic.

It turned out to be a really fun night and I got to know so very nice people.

Burrito rice...soon.

Lunches have been heavily on my mind over the last week or so.  I have been enjoying the cooler weather and the invitation to use the oven again.  However, I did make some summer standards, burritos!  I made an extra to tote to work with me.  There is not much like a good burrito.  I am working on a rice recipe for inclusion in burritos and I think I am about done with it.  It has been adding some great flavor and texture to the burrito.

I also made a nice light pasta salad.  The recipe is worth sharing but I will wait for the upcoming Vegan MoFo.  It is just around the corner!  I do not think I will be able to commit to posting each day as I did last year.

I will be out of town for a few days in October.  Vacation!  In fact, I have a full 10 days off from the jobby job in October.  I do not have much planned at this point.  It was kind of a "use it or lose it" scenario.  It will be nice to have the time to relax, take a weekend trip and get some house works done.

Thank you.

I really appreciate the helpful comments I got about my blog and the ways to improve it.  It is nice to have help, in fact, I took several of the recommendations.  I think this will help me support other blogs I enjoy as well as help other support this blog.  Thank you.

As for the kitty to live with me, I am doubtful.  I am allergic and not home enough.  I do enjoy the company but it does not currently suit my life.  I will just have to hope that Jamie goes out of town again so that I can cat-sit!

Last week, I made some great thai food.  It has been something I have been craving and Ashley was down to try.  It came out really well but I want to continue to tweak the recipe before I share it.  I am not sure it is very aesthetically pleasing.  It came out very green.  The taste was solid though.  It is hard to go wrong with thai basil and thai chilies.

House guest!

Over the Labor day weekend, I had a house guest!  I was so excited and we had so much fun.  Tato came for a visit!  It has been a long time since he came for a visit and I was thrilled he was here.

When I lived with Jamie, and just began this blog, years ago, Tato had just flown in from Maine to live with us.  He was just a little rug rat then and really was a hellion.  Now, he is older and far more mellow.  He still head-butted me awake each morning at 9:00am.  That was a downer, but it was still sweet.  He is a good guy and I was disappointed when I had to take him back to his home at Jamie's.

It is always hard when it is time for him to go home and I hope he come back to visit again soon.

All food and no action.

I think my life is at a strange point when talking about the blog upkeep.  There are so many things that I want to do with this blog but am not tech savvy enough to even know where to begin.

• I would really like to add a blogroll on the side so that readers could see blogs I follow.
• I would like to tie in a way to contact me for Real Estate purposes.
• I would like to find a away to drum up more followers.
• I am still thinking hard about changing the name of the blog.

It seems like I have take many food pictures to share but there has not been much going on in my day-to-day life so I do not blog.  I feel like I am sharing picture of food I ate a week or more ago.  I guess there is no harm in that.

I thought I would share a few picture with the blog world and attempt to "catch up".  One is a nice summer salad.  I had some leftover soy strips so I fried them yup and tossed them on.

I made a stir fry about a week ago.  Stir fry is one of my favorite dishes.  I really like to pack the veggies in!

I have also still been making smoothies nearly every day.  In fact, I made one recently and poured it into my new mushroom cup!  Jamie got it for me, they are super cool.

A confession...

The other day I got a little motivation and wanted to hike Stone Mountain.  I left the house with my camera in tow, ready to climb the mountain.  I rode into the park only to get completely lost and unable to find the trail head for the mountain hike.  I drove around for about 30 minutes before getting annoyed and driving back home, defeated.  I did spot a few mid-day deer though.

Once home, I had to cheer myself up after such an event.  Cake should do it!  I used my chocolate cake recipe to make one of the best cakes I have whipped up.  Nothing cheers me up like cake.

This weeks lunches were back to bakes pasta.  I just had it a week or so ago but it was so easy and perfect that I had to go another round.  It was so good and so gooey!  Perfect for lunch at the jobby job.

Amicalola Falls

After the apple orchard, we followed the tradition of last year and headed town the road to Amicalola State Park.  After a short hike through a well beaten path, the trail takes a new turn.  A staircase of 175 steps begins.  It is quite a climb but well worth it once you see the falls at the top.  Last year, Kaleigh was half asleep and was not old enough to walk the entire distance.  This year, not only did she climb to the top on her own but she even had the energy to climb out on the rocks with me and play in the smaller falls.

It was a great end to the day.  Ashley and I wore her out so much that Kaleigh slept the whole way back to Atlanta.  It was a full day and resulted in a large sack of apples at my house, I have no idea what I will do with them all.

Apple Jubilee 2011

As a child, one of the highlights of the late summer early autumn season was the afternoon my mum and I would go to the apple orchard.  It made great memories for my mum and I.  We road on hay wagons, ate apples we should have been picking and always left with a gallon of cider and maple candy.

The apple orchard in the south are a little different but have their own brand of greatness for a mother and child.  I was lucky enough to accompany Ashley and Kaleigh to the orchard for the second straight year.  It was a great day and Ashley and I were constantly amazed at how much she had grown in a year.

This year Kaliegh was even big enough this year to pick her own apples.

As a lunch, we split some ribbon french fries.  These are always a treat at the orchard, as they also grow their own potatoes.  I just wish they made some vegan pie for us!

Baked Shells for Work

My work food has been much improved recently.  I have been trying to break out of the sandwich mold to get some other items.  Next month will be exactly 1 year since I went "out" on my lunch at work.  I figure this has saved me hundreds of dollars.  Maybe I will actually run the numbers for it sometime.

Last week was a hit.  I had some let over mock meats from a burrito, as well as some vegan cheese, so I decided to make some baked shells!  It was actually really good.  The vegan cheese made it really creamy.  It was certainly one of the best work meals I have had in awhile.

Forcing the issue

I have to admit, I am forcing the issue of autumn here.  It is still in the upper 80's and humid in Atlanta but I am over it.  I want the autumn to come.  Not only am I planning another foliage trip but I am eating the typical autumn foods.

Locally, I found a super sale!  I got three large sweet potatoes for only one dollar.  Thrilled, I snapped them up thinking it was another autumn food I have been craving.  In my opinion, autumn is the best time of the year for foods.  Heavy, roasted, laced with garlic and herbs.  So good.

I took these discounted sweet potatoes and cubed them up like home fries.  I wanted it simple, after all, it was still too hot to labor long in the kitchen.  I doused them with some salt and cinnamon and tossed them in the oven.  They were fantastic.  I ate them for a couple of days and they made perfect work food.  Good find.

For my bedtime snack it was some store acquired pie topped with some store acquired almond ice cream.  Simple, yet yummy.

Brussel Sprouts!

The grocery stores in Atlanta seems to be selling a lot of my favorite autumn vegetables.  Brussel Sprouts are at the top of that list.  Ashley and I spotted them on sale and grabbed a bag.

We first opted to just make a simple roast.  I used my Roasted Brussel Sprout recipe that I have had for years.  It is a simple idea but still one of my favorites.

A few days later, I made the obligatory "cook all the veggies before they go bad" dish.  I tossed the remaining brussel sprouts, garlic, potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, and even a block of tofu.

A new bread and more burritos

I have not been posting many recipies lately.  I would like to say that I am saving them all up for veganmofo but it is not true.  I have just been a little busy and trying to perfect dishes to share.

My most recent experiement is a new blueberry bread.  It has some uniqinees thay I will drop on the blog world at a later date.  (Maybe these cliff hangers will help my dwindling blog-hits?)  I will however, share a quick photo.

I have also been making burritos often.  I think that it is my autumn craving for hearty foods coupled with the heat of the lingering Atlanta summer.  I really want something heavy but my body rejects not only the food but the time it takes to cook it.  Burritos are the prefect solution.  Hearty, quick, easy.

Mango has been finding its way into many of my burritos.  It really adds a nice sweetness, much like corn, but jucier.  It is a massive hit at my house and I would encourage anyone to try it.

The Mainers Whoopie

In Maine, everything was a whoopie pie.  It was rare to go into a local sandwich or coffee shop and not have some homemade whoopie pie available.  There were stores dedicated solely to selling whoppie pies.  They seemed to be popping up faster than wild blueberries.

I was fairly intrigued.  It seemed that there was almost a lack of creativity to the phenomenon.  All I never saw were the standard chocolate whoopies and the occasional vanilla or peanut butter whoopies.  While I am sure there are specialty places that offer a wider variety, I did not see them.  Maine has never really been know for its variety.

All of these whoopies got me thinking outside the box.  I have already done chocolate chip whoppies, and red velvet whoopies, and a few other variations.  I am determined to get back to my Maine roots and stir the pot a bit.

Introducing, Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pies:

(recipe to come soon)

The Spinach Pasta

Ashley and I made a great dish with the spinach pasta that we picked up at the farmers market.  We roasted some vegetables with tofu and I made a cheese sauce with cashew cream and nutritional yeast.  It was kind of somewhere between a mac and cheese and a pasta salad.  It came out fantastic.

The noodles were so flavorful and the dish as a whole was great.  We made enough for each of us to take some to work the following day.  I also had some left over hummus from Ashley's birthday celebration, and took it to work in a pita.