I changed the name and location of my page. Go here! Oh, and if you want to, you can update your links to my page. Thanks!

Communication between my stomach and brain ceased to exist on Friday evening. Or really, I chose to ignore everything except utensils, food, and Tim. We attended the third benefit dinner held at Sweetpea Bakery here in Portland (you can read about our experience at the previous two dinners here, and here). It was a cold, rainy, windy night and this meal provided solace. Thanks once again to Isa, and all the lovely folks who helped prepare, serve, and take care of all 40 diners. I always look forward to the next dinner!

Photos of our meal (descriptions for each course taken from the Apron Activists blog):

Appetizer
Plantain Rice Paper Rolls
Rice noodles, sweet plantains and toasted pumpkin seeds in a fresh rice paper roll with chili dipping sauce

These were amazingly yummy! I could have eaten about twenty or more. I am not usually a spicy savvy person, but the chili dipping sauce that these rolls came with was good enough to eat with a spoon. I didn’t do that, but I should have…

Soup
Jamaican Curry With Roti Bread
Sweet potatoes, kidney beans and baby limas in a rich Jamaican spiced coconut curry served with flat bread for dipping

Okay, I love beans, I love curry, and I love this soup. The flat bread was the perfect accompaniment. I nearly licked my bowl clean, but, sigh, I had to keep my manners in tact.

Entree
Jerk Tofu And Yucca
Marinated and grilled jerk tofu a green beans served over mashed yucca and topped with a fresh mango salsa

Gorgeous plating, no? This was my first time eating yucca. It was pretty good! I almost stole Tim’s serving of tofu, but he had somebody keeping watch over me:

Meet Creepy Doggy. We made him a fun hat and a paper airplane out of tea bag wrappers. He caused a lot of trouble. At the last benefit dinner, every table had a kitty figurine and we uh, accidentally left ours behind. This time, we were reprimanded (thank you, Jess), and now Creepy Doggy lives with us…

Dessert
Pumpkin Rum Bread Pudding
A lush and spicy pumpkin bread pudding spiked with rum, served warm with vanilla ice cream

This was when I had to accept defeat with my stomach. I was insanely full after a few bites of this decadent dessert. I ate more than I should have because it was hard to stop (kind of like picking strawberries…). Wow this was yummy.

And if that wasn’t enough:

Diners left with homemade cookies wrapped up in takeout boxes. Despite a stomach nearly eighty times its normal size, I still ate a cookie when I got back to my apartment. So there. Addiction isn’t a bad thing if it revolves around cookies.

On a side note, I am in the process of changing my site to tahinitoo instead of vegan addict. I hope to have everything updated in the next week or so. If you see tahinitoo leaving comments, it’s really vegan addict, or whatever. Go eat some cookies and it will make more sense.

What a nerdy title, right? Ha. Who cares!?! I’m so full of yummy food that my mind is looped in loops. What yummy food you ask? Maybe I shouldn’t tell… Ok, ok I’m weak, I’ll tell you. Tim and I made Jessy’s (of happyveganface fame) Green Rice and Tempeh Meatlessballs for dinner. This meal is so incredibly delicious!! The rice is perfectly seasoned and loaded with spinach; the tempeh meatlessballs are fun to make and a lovely complement to the rice. In fact, this is the best tempeh recipe I’ve made. Try it!! I can see (in the near future) using the mixture for tempeh burgers. Indeed. Tempeh burgers and some sweet potato fries would be great after a long day at the office.

Who doesn’t love food you can eat in a bowl?

On a separate note, remember when I posted about Portland’s first Let Live Animal Right’s Conference? Well, now you can view video footage from the event!!! The Let Live organizers have also started a monthly series of talks that are free and open to the public. There have been two so far; the next one is on December 28th and features Isa doing a talk on culinary activism. Hooray!! If you don’t live in Portland, or can’t make it to the events, keep checking the above site for new videos. You will learn a lot, I promise. A lot.

First off, thank you for the kind words regarding my previous post. A four-day weekend and a partner who has been taking awesome care of me is helping immensely. Cookies have helped too!

I participated in my first protest today (!), and I definitely see myself attending more in the near future. As a shy, quiet, and likes-to-hide-in-the-shadows kind of person, this protest dug deep within and had me shouting phrases like “Forty dead animals, one fur coat” while marching proudly in the front of the group. It was quite an afternoon. Portland had a great turnout for Fur Free Friday, an event that takes place in cities all over the country on the lamest (in my opinion) day of the year: Black Friday. It felt awesome to promote something other than obnoxious consumerism and 4 a.m. “early bird” sales. I’ve never been one to shop on Black Friday, but being out amongst those that do while communicating a powerful message was exhilarating. Plus, marching through the streets (police escorted) and holding up traffic is pretty satisfying, so says the evil twin who resides in me…

And now… Cookies! I recently particiapted in a PPK Cookie Swap and received my cookies a few days ago. My cookie swap partner is an amazing baker and sent me three kinds of cookies, so fresh and yummy it was almost like I had just taken them out of the oven. In my package: Maple Walnut Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, and Ginger Cookies. Tim and I enjoyed them all (we had to freeze some in order to prevent over consumption). Here is a photo of the Maple Walnut Cookies:

And the Ginger Cookies (which were HUGE, by the way):

The Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies were too delicate to photograph, but trust me when I say that they were moist, pumpkiny, and lovely with a cup of tea. Thanks to my cookie swap partner for keeping my belly happy!

Oh, and I have been testing recipes like crazy for an upcoming vegan cookbook:

No-Fail Buttermilk Pancakes

Energy Bars

Ginger Curry Potatoes

Savory Tomato Olive Muffins

Lots of fun in the kitchen for sure! More photos to come later…

One last issue: please click here, and encourage the soon-to-come Obama Administration to bring change to the US Department of Agriculture. It only takes a few moments and it will help promote more humane agricultural policies nationwide. Thanks!

Yikes, it has been a long while since I’ve posted… I am pretty much lost in the shuffle of life right now and am seeking some serious balancing out. For now, I suppose my page will be taking a rest. Hopefully in the next month or so I can post some photos of recipes I have been testing for an upcoming cookbook (I’m not sure I am allowed to say who the authors are yet, but it’s exciting!!!!), and also highlights from the next benefit dinner being held at Sweetpea in Portland. Until next time…

Savory Biscuits (as in cookies that aren’t sweet, but savory): A test recipe photo. These are yummy as ever and I pretty much ate the whole batch.

As promised, here is the recipe for Skanky Pumkpin Squares:

*Just a quick note: The first time I made these, I used all-purpose flour and evaporated cane juice. The second time (for which the recipe below reflects), I used whole wheat pastry flour and unrefined dark brown sugar. Both methods worked nicely, but I am posting the latter because they might be a tad bit healthier.

Makes 9 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2 T ground flax seeds

6 T warm (not hot!) non-dairy milk (I used soy)

1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup unrefined dark brown sugar

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

1/2 T blackstrap molasses

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (scooped and leveled with a knife)

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t fine sea salt

1 t pumpkin pie spice

1/2 t cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

METHOD:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seeds and soy milk. Set aside (let rest for at least 5 minutes, you want it to get thick and goopy).

3. In a large bowl, or stand mixer bowl, blend together the pumpkin puree, canola oil, and brown sugar.

4. Blend in the flax mixture. Add the vanilla extract and molasses. Blend some more. Scrape down the sides of your bowl if necessary.

5. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well.

7. Pour the mixture into an 8×8 inch square baking pan (I used metal).

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

For the cream cheese frosting:

2 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 ounces Earth Balance or margarine, softened

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese and margarine until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract and blend some more. Add the powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time. Blend on high speed for several minutes, or until the frosting reaches a consistency you like. When your Skanky Pumpkin Squares are cool, spread the frosting over the top and cut into 9 squares (or however many you want). These are awesome with a mug of tea, a glass of milk, or probably even coffee (but I don’t drink coffee so I might be wrong about that). Enjoy.

I have unintentionally been on a protein overload lately and lunch this afternoon was no exception. Portland now has an all vegan taqueria truck called Los Gorditos II and today was the grand opening. Hooray, hooray, hooray! Tim and I are lucky enough to live fairly close to the taco truck, so we walked there to fill our grumbling bellies. The best part? The kind folks preparing and serving the food were giving away free burritos, sodas, tortilla chips, and fun cookies (I think they might have been Mexican tea cakes)!!!!! Despite the large crowd gathering in the lot, we only waited maybe five minutes before our burritos were ready. I opted for the Regular Burrito (simple name, no?): a flour tortilla filled with beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Tim had the Fajita Burrito: a flour tortilla stuffed with grilled veggies, soy curls, beans, rice, onion, and cilantro. The final word? BEST BEANS AND RICE EVER. We pretty much plopped down on the sidewalk, unwrapped the (HUGE) burritos and chewed in happy silence, commenting briefly on the yumminess. We will definitely be heading back to Los Gorditos II for future meals.

Mind the bite marks, but how else will you see the inside?

Now I am off to work out the recipe for the Skanky Pumpkin Squares.

I don’t know what it is about the pumpkin, but it seems to be making its way into kitchens everywhere, mine included. Who can resist the pretty orange color, roasted seeds, and sweet or savory delights the pumpkin so willingly gives us? Not me! This October marked the first time I ever roasted my own pumpkin. I used to walk right past bins of sugar pumpkins at the farmers’ market, but the thought of using canned pumpkin puree for holiday treats this year made me shudder. What did I discover? Roasting pumpkins is easy and fun! Plus, you can make savory (or sweet) snacks from the seeds! The pumpkin might be skanky, but I love it anyways.

Before I moved to Portland, I had a job working at a local wine shop in Pennsylvania… Funny, considering I don’t drink alcohol, but whatever. During the fall months, we always had a crockpot with mulled apple wine for customers to sample. One nice lady commented on how the mulled wine would pair well with pumpkin squares she makes every Thanksgiving. “Pumpkin squares?” I asked. “Oh, I must bring you the recipe! They are so good!” the nice lady replied. And guess what?! She came in the next day with the recipe written down for me! She totally deserved a Customer of the Year award.

The recipe ended up becoming a favorite of mine, but I stopped making them when I went vegan, and then completely forgot about them – until a few weeks ago. I veganized the recipe, but my method of recipe adaptation/creation never involves writing stuff down. I need to work on that. Anyways, once I make them again and write down the changes, I will share the recipe. For now, I will tease you with a photo:

Topped with a cream cheese frosting, I give you the Skanky Pumpkin Square. Stay tuned for a recipe soon… I promise.

Tim and I took a few days off this week and drove up to Seattle to see one of our favorite bands perform. We brought our bikes along and took advantage of some lovely weather and food (donuts and more). We even found a park two blocks away from our hotel that had a Petanque court! How cool is that? Below is a photo journal of the highlights:

Beloved Mighty O Donuts and my new favorite bevvie: Chai! Here you see a Cocoloco donut and a Lemon Poppyseed Donut. Mighty O was less than a mile from where we stayed, so we walked there in the morning (on two different occasions… What?) to fuel ourselves for bike rides.

Tim and his new galsses made from donuts: one Raspberry lens and one Chocolate Peanut Butter lens.

Sipping some tea amongst the lovely fall leaves…

Moving on from donuts:

We also rode our bikes along the Burke-Gilman trail. This is an amazingly pretty trail, especially with the fall foliage at its peak. It’s easy to ride farther than you realize, and there are nice parks along the way to stop and have lunch.

Gas Works Park

Fun ducks and cormorants at Matthew’s Beach

After lots of bike riding, we were hungry:

Pizza Pi was also close to our hotel (we stayed in the University District)

Vegan sausage, mushrooms, spinach, olives, garlic sauce, and some Teese, I think.

Ready to play some Petanque! Tim won a game and I won a game. The reward? Donuts! This game is so much fun.

We also strolled through the University of Washington campus and spent some time people watching and remembering the freedoms of college life… Sigh…

It’s hard going back to work after having such a happy vacation.

Even Mr. Duck agrees with that.

Last night Tim and I attended a four course benefit dinner held at Sweetpea Bakery in Portland. Staff from Herbivore, Food Fight Grocery, Sweetpea, and some helpers prepared and served a most lovely and beautiful meal to forty people. The dinner was held for House of Dreams, a no-kill kitty shelter. The tables were each accented with a kitty knick-knack. This was the second benefit dinner we have attended so far (I posted about the first one here), and the food was delicious! I hope there are more benefit dinners to come. Thanks to Isa and all the good folks who made last night so special!

Here are a few shots of Sweetpea Bakery all decked out and ready for hungry vegans:

Tim and I were lucky and ended up sitting at a cozy table in the corner next to a window. I just didn’t get a photo of that or us… Oooops!

Onto the food!!!!!! It was dimly lit inside so I had to use my flash, forgive me…

Soup
White Bean And Roasted Garlic
A puree of navy beans and sweet smoky roasted garlic with leeks and fresh herbs

Salad
Golden Beet And Shallot
Warm roasted golden beets and baby greens in a creamy vinaigrette with caramelized shallots and a handful of toasted walnuts

Main
Autumn Plate
Cornbread and homemade sausage stuffed acorn squash, smoky grilled tempeh in a wild mushroom ragout served with garlicky green kale

Dessert
Caramelized Apples
Warm apples in a caramelized maple sauce, served with crisp gingerbread shortbread and topped with homemade coconut based vanilla bean ice cream

Annnnnnnnndddddd:

Housemade hot chai – so good! My first time having chai, it’s true!

The gingerbread kitties that were served with the dessert were so cute (and yummy). I was lucky enough to get two cookies, complements of the sweet Jess from Get Sconed. Thanks Jess!!!!! Oh, I mean three extra cookies because Josh from Herbivore snuck us a few extras as well!!!! I love cookies, so it’s okay.

This was an amazing dinner; Tim and I really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks to all the people who organized the dinner and prepared and served us an awesome meal!