I MADE RIBZ!

And they were yummy! For some reason I was never a big rib eater when I was a non-veg, but that being said, these things were absolutely amazing and I want to make more soon! I even made my mom try them and she says they do taste like barbecued ribs.

The recipe is from Everyday Dish. I like watching their cooking videos because afterwards I want to go on a cooking spree.

Here's what you need for "Susan's Barbecued Seitan Ribz":

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons peanut butter, tahini or other nut butter
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon soy sauce
about 1 cup barbecue sauce

Pretty simple. Go to the site, watch the video/read the recipe and then go coook!


That's a picture of the ribz on day two (yummy leftovers). There's rice, beans and then the ribs of course. Those are the ugly ribs, the cute ones were eaten first. :) Some yummy asparagus are one the plate as well, gotta have something green. The red sauce is a tomato sauce that my dad makes for barbacoa. I think I may try modifying this recipe by omitting the barbecue sauce and then tossing in some barbacoa seasonings next time. Mmmm, seitan rules.

And another picture just because:

Spinach Gnocchi!


I've never made Gnocchi before, but it's surprisingly easy to make. I did make it in a pretty lazy way though... I microwaved 2 red potatoes (1 small and 1 large) and 2 white potatoes (1 small and 1 large). I just used those potatoes because they were the only ones I had. Then I grated them with a fork, added about 2 cups of flour, and about 3/4ths cup of frozen/thawed spinach. Mix it up, roll it out into a long tube thing on top of a floured surface and chop off segments of about 1" long. Maybe a little bit longer.

Then use your thumb to roll the little segments off of a fork to make cute little stripy groves on them. Toss the gnocchi into a large pot of salted boiling water (don't throw all the gnocchi in at once, do several batches). As soon as these little suckers float to the top scoop them out! Don't leave them in any longer or you will end up with mush like I did with my first batch!

Then open up a jar of spaghetti sauce heat and toss it over the gnocchi. Simple.

And a picture of an apple crisp I made as well:

It was originally supposed to be an apple pie, but I made the gnocchi and a bunch of sausages beforehand, so I got too lazy to make a pie crust.

Whoo!

So, the first meeting went well. We actually didn't meet the day we were supposed to meet because he got stuck in traffic! So I waited around anxiously all day for nothing!! When we finally met [way early the next day] I didn't even have any time for the nerves to build, I just got ready and took off! The work I have to do is pretty easy and I get to hang around equestrian centers and noisy birds all day. I've actually got some scouting to do... I need a couple of back up sites in case things don't go as planned at the sites we have already chosen.

Here's one of the birds we're hoping to attract:


It's a Great- Tailed Grackle. Picture courtesy of Google Images, hopefully I can take some decent pictures of my own soon.

I'm so nervous!

Tomorrow afternoon I am going to meet with the senior director of the research project I'm going to be working on. It's my first time meeting him! He sounded nice over the phone, and maybe slightly awkward? At least I hope he is slightly awkward, because that tends to put me at ease. He's coming down tomorrow and we're supposed to check out all of our research sites. I really hope he'll drive... I don't like driving with people I don't know well and driving to places I've never driven to doesn't make it any better!

I tend to freak myself out when it comes to new situations, I know that is normal, but I think that it's a lot worse than what your "average" person goes through. I hate that. I must think of questions to ask and general conversation for the drives to all our spots. Awkward car silences are not fun...

Is it dumb that I'm worried about what to wear when I've already got the internship? WHY DON'T I HAVE MORE GROWN UP CLOTHES?! What should I do with my blah hair? Pony tail will keep it out of my face and off my neck (I think it will be warm out tomorrow), but will I look too little kid-like? Stupid, I know, but when it comes to professional settings, I always think people will think I can't do things based on how I look: teenie-tiny, young-looking girl. I must peruse my closet now.

So...

I have far too much time on my hands lately... and I thought it would be interesting (to me, anyway) to take pictures of everything I ate for one whole day. But I forgot/got too lazy to get the camera after breakfast. So here is a picture of Friday's breakfast:



Tofu scramble (loosely based off of this recipe), peruano beans, romaine lettuce, avocado slices, a strip of Morningstar's bacon, ketchup, a slice of toasted whole wheat bread, and orange juice. It was yummy.

"Simple Apple Yogurt Cake"

I was craving a cheese danish a few nights ago so I hopped on the internet and searched for yummy vegan danish recipes. Then I found out that they took forever to make and I wanted sweetness now, but luckily I found a different recipe to satisfy my bread craving. I made what Susan, from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, calls a "Simple Apple Yogurt Cake." But of course I was missing half of the ingredients so I made a bunch of substitutions, but it came out okay. I wasn't too crazy about how I could taste the brandy (the recipe actually called for rum, but I had none so I figured brandy was kinda the same thing...). I also ended up replacing the apple sauce with mashed bananas, the apple juice with soy milk, the plain soy yogurt with regular strawberry yogurt, and I skipped the raisins altogether because yuck.

Here's a picture:

Not much to look at, I know. The white patches, in case you are confused, are apple slices. I probably wouldn't make it again, but my Mom liked it and said I should. Hmm.

EDIT: I MADE THIS FOR EASTER, WITH THE SAME MODIFICATIONS AS BEFORE EXCEPT I ACTUALLY USED PLAIN YOGURT THIS TIME. I ALSO USED SOME WATER+SOY MILK IN PLACE OF THE APPLE JUICE. IT WAS MUCH BETTER. :)

Pizza!

I made 2 whole wheat pizzas and they were yummy. I'm really happy with the pizza dough recipe I've been using lately: Amazing Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
It's easy and it tastes good.

My sister is in love with Papa John's pizza, but I think it sucks because they put like 3 little pieces of bell pepper on it! Lame! I put a ton of veggies on mine. Yellow and green bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomato slices, onions, and small pieces of "pepperoni" seitan.



Pepperoni recipe story:
A few weeks ago I went crazy and decided to make two different kinds of pot stickers, veggie stuffed and "meat" stuffed. Well, I've been into making a ton of food so that I can freeze it and have insta-meals the next time I'm feeling lazy. :) So I made double the seitan that the pot sticker recipe called for and tossed it in the freezer. For the "pepperoni" I thawed and chopped the seitan and poured a little bit of soy sauce on them...and voilà instant pepperoni!