Ready for an eye candy explosion?

...cuz I've got a month's worth of photos just waiting to be oogled!

Now, this may be a bit overwhelming, so I'm just going to caption the photos and elaborate where needed.

curried cous cous with tomatoes and chickpeas + braised red cabbage with red wine vinegar, onions and apples + acorn squash with brown sugar

I just found out that Blogger has a "jump break" feature, which I have now dubbed the "not as awesome as lj-cut" feature. So, to avoid having this photo-laden post clog up the homepage, I'm hiding it behind the following link that says "Read More...". Please click it! That is, unless you clicked a link directly to this post. In that case, you're good.

16 bean soup mix with quinoa, onion, collard greens, carrots, potatoes, leftover Tofurky slices

 Oh snap! I bought good beer! A few Fridays ago, I got off of work and had a craving for some dank stout. I took a little stroll to River City Cellars, which I am lucky enough to live two blocks away from. The first one is Founders Breakfast Stout. I've only ever had this beer when I hang out with friends at Mekong, but I love its thick, rich flavor of coffee and chocolate.

 A few nights later, I drank the second beer I picked up on the trip- Bourbon Barrel Stout by Bluegrass Brewing Company. This beer was introduced to me by my blogging counterpart, miss Paprika. She used to get this beer all of the time from River City Cellers, and now that I've had a whole one to myself, I understand why! It is rich and heavy in its... stout-ness, but it has that bourbon kick to it, obviously. Can you tell that I'm not that great at reviewing beers? Meh, I just know this one got me pretty sloshed, and it tasted good.

red lettuce salad with marinated portabellos, marinated tomatoes, carrot, avocado, sunflower seeds, and raspberry vinaigrette + remainder of avocado in background with garlic and liquid aminos 

To accompany the previous salads, Webber whipped up some pb&js. I only thought it fair to show off his creations, as well. :-)

white potato and sweet potato hash with onion, garlic, purple bell pepper, and Twin Oaks veggie chorizo + artisan bread with marinated portabellos and tomatoes

The purple bell pepper came from the Farm 2 Family bus when they were parked in Carytown one morning. I just couldn't resist the novelty. Sadly, the color lightened when cooked, but it was tasty!

Mixing sweet potatoes into my usual breakfast potato hash is a new dig of mine. I'm enjoying cooking them into savory dishes laden with peppers, chili, and paprika. I actually made the same thing this very morning, but I added some more bell pepper, sweet pepper, and broccoli.

Ah, ramen. You sustained me through college, but now I find you boring and not very filling. Here, I cooked some cabbage and chickpeas in with the ramen. The broth consisted of veggie bouillon cubes and liquid aminos.

Okay, I admit it, I used a little of the seasoning packet. It is chock full of MSG, but I was craving the flavor. A little bit of teriyaki sauce and rice seasoning (seaweed and sesame seeds) topped it off.

salsa with roma tomatoes, green tomatoes, roasted tomatillos, onion, garlic, and cilantro

I did a double take when I went to add the cilantro, but then I realized the cilantro-sensitive individual, Paprika, would sadly not be able to partake in the salsa anyway. No holds barred!

sweet potatoes and kale sautéed in chili powder + refried beans with nutritional yeast + jasmine rice / aforementioned salsa + dollop of veganaise

See what I mean about the sweet potatoes? I have them coming out of my ears, and I am so over baking them with butter and brown sugar. That's saved for my winter squashes.

I have deemed this the most exciting creation of the month. Yes, I know it looks like barf in a blender, but bear with me. I saw a post on Vegan for $3.33 a Day for a chipotle split pea soup, and I set out to make it myself. I cooked the split peas in veggie broth and added most of a can of chipotles in abodo sauce (a daring, spicy risk that was ultimately worth it). It got a little strange when I added the veggies I had that were about to go bad into it- cabbage and roasted beets. So... split pea soup already looks like barf to begin with. Add chipotles, and it becomes red barf. Add beets... and it is now a dull mauve-salmon color. 

But HOLY HELL was it good! Everything blends smoothly, the chipotle and veggie stock give it a wonderfully spicy and full flavor, and the cabbage gives it a little more texture than just pureed split peas. I definitely geeked out over this meal.

Moral of the story: If you're not totally sure on how to cook certain veggies, make them spicy! That's how I roll. Unless you don't like spicy. Then... you should probably learn to cook.

-panda-

Currently playing: Crass- Big A Little A, Saosin- Lost Symphonies , Iron Maiden