Friday, August 15, 2008

homecoming (or, "Spot the Tomato!")

So I'm writing this from the comfy green rocking recliner in my mother's living room, covered in flour and crossing recipes off of the veganomicon index faster than I can decide on the next thing I want to make, and that is to say - life (or at least my pseudo-vacation before school starts full throttle again in september) is good.

I even got to make a pie - a birthday peach and blueberry pie at my mother's request, using the vcon pastry instead of my usual. It's definitely easier to use, like those pie crusts you see on television that people just sort of toss into the pan... but I think next time I'll stick with my madness-inducing-yet-extraordinarily-tender crust I usually use. Because personally I'd rather my pie disintegrate into buttery flakes at the touch of a fork than look pretty and pert, but that's just me.... and I'm just a pie-obsesso who so rarely gets to make them... :p

Mmm... and I'm mentioning here that in an awesome and unplanned way, there is a tomato in just about everything in this post. Which makes sense! It being the season and all. But I'm mentioning it so you can play along and find them. Like in the vcon midsummer corn chowder, which is SOOO good, you have to make it! With rosemary focaccia it was perfect, and there was a big paprika'd mountain of hummus on the table, too.

My old old old old cats say hi! They're still doing their thing where they act like mirrors or parallels of eachother. Haha, cute.

Went out for dinner at Corners on Bank. Not much to say... I mean, it was crazy delicious, but it was just a Boca burger. I guess to people who never ever eat those things it's a special treat, though. And they very happily let me pick my own toppings off of the menu options, so I got chipotle salsa, caramelized onions and guacamole, and the calabrese bun was teeth-sinking yeasty and notably fresh, so really, who's complaining at all?

Okay me, for forgetting to ask for my salad sans dressing. :p

I'm in love with hoecakes now, too. So easy to make and really surprisingly good. I made mine like...

1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos
1/4 cup sauteed onions
pinch of sugar
pepper

Fry them up, eat with salsa, say yum yum yum and think why didn't I make DOUBLE that amount because now I have to give my lunch to my sister who just came in the door with hoecake longing in her eyes. Alas, alas.....

....at least I got the vcon mexican millet all to myself! It wasn't gonna happen like that - I was making it for everybody, but everybody went to bed, and then a forkful of it went in my mouth and any plans to eat anything else went ~poof~ and I had half the pot all for me, and it was so good. I love millet! Especially when it's buttery and nutty and crisp/creamy, and eaten out of a dainty little rice bowl.

And then vcon blintzes, with dill-tahini sauce, applesauce and pickled red cabbage. A lot of work for something that tasted pretty perogi-like, but delicious nonetheless. Especially when all the toppings glooped together to form SUPER GLOOP of the potato-y sauce-y goodness.

Slice of Pie! Look at that structural integrity! ^.^

And lunch today - vcon creamy tomato soup (+ broccoli) with celine's cheezy crackers (YUM!) and vcon mushroom-walnut pate with more lentils and less walnuts because that's what I had.

(in conclusion: I love tomatoes! <------- ze obvious) :D

30 comments:

Liz said...

Holy WOW! Everything looks awesome! The pie, the hoecakes and the corn chowder look like they'd be my favorites...but I'd better try them to be sure!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Stop tempting me with all of the deliciousness already!! Well, actually, scratch that - keep it coming :0D

Anonymous said...

oh for the love of dog, feed me some of that pie!

Anonymous said...

Oh man, I love me some of that millet. We're rocking it tomato style around here, too - tonight we had pasta with tomato sauce & cherry tomatoes.

Alicia said...

The hoecakes sound very interesting. Do you think I could use polenta instead of cornmeal? is it the same?
And I plan to buy millet today for the first time!

aTxVegn said...

Wow wow wow!!! You are amazing, even in someone else's kitchen!

Anonymous said...

The little star crackers in your soup are so cute! I want a star cutter now! Your meals are always so perfectly balanced and pretty. The pie must have been an awesome treat!

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most amazing food entries I've seen in a while. It just made my mouth water!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Ooh, so much tasty food! I'll have to look at that chowder recipe. The pie is gorgeous! I WANT THOSE HOECAKES! I don't know what they are, but they sound SO good.

VeganCowGirl said...

Liz - happy happy homecoming - could those kitties be any cuter? I am totally on those hoecakes! They look mega yummy, nice and light too!

Enjoy your vacation and baking/cooking frenzy before you head back to school!

Steffi said...

you've just made me so jealous. and hungry. I want to call in sick and cook tomorrow. The pie is gorgeous, as is all the other food!

Jes said...

Cute cute cute cats! (You know I'm a sucker for cat photos anyways.)

And hotcakes! Yay! So tasty and fulfilling--especially in the winter (as you'd know better than I since you're in Canada and all).

Your posts always make me hungry...

Theresa said...

I can't find the tomato in the kitty picture.

Carrie™ said...

Everything looks so delicious I don't know which is my favorite. The chowder & the pie are really talking to me though. :o)

...barbara... said...

liz,
these rock...
i am getting more and more excited for when i get to be at mom and dads making lovely food....
still need to get me a vcon though....
and i have been craving perogies so i really wanna try the blintzes...
:)

Rage And Love said...

Hello there! It's been such a long time since I've visited this blog! Much has changed. I enjoyed the pictures much!!

JENNA said...

oh my goodness!! what a fantastic post of deliciousness!!!

jAe said...

i hear ya on the pie crust front - tender wins over tough for me every time too. cooks illustrated has a recipe that uses vodka (or some other alcohol... i think it's vodka) so that you have more room for manipulateability, but the alcohol just bakes off - i've been meaning to give it a try.

beautiful latice work, BTW.

ps. i wonder if we've met before or have friends in common - i just left montreal this spring.

- L said...

ha! my garden's got me playing "spot the tomato" now as well. if you ever find yourself in the maritimes you'll have to come by and see if, with a little tequila and rye, we can't make it a tag-team sport.

T said...

Wow, everything looks phenomenal- you've been busy! What I really want to try is those hoecakes though- sounds like a good addition to my cheap foods repetoire.

And its good to know those blintzes work- I will have to try Vcon's version for Rosh Hoshanna this year.

Eileen said...

you're going to make us all die of jealousy! or, you know, hunger. :)

Rural Vegan said...

Tough call to pick my favorites today but I'm going to go with the blintzes and that gorgeous pie that your did such an amazing lattice job on. Gorgeous presentation on everything!

Vaala ◪ said...

Beautiful food! I love tomatoes so I'm incredibly jealous it's tomato season over there (we are in the depths of winter right now). I especially love visiting my parents in the summer and raiding their garden for fresh tomatoes (and eating the little cherry tomatoes straight off the vines!).

tofufreak said...

lucky. lucky. lucky.

i seriously think that someone should invent a magic machine that teleports stuff through the screen. then i would buy it and eat all of your food. (and play with your cute kitties!)

bazu said...

tomatoes for the win! once my roommate made a smoothie with tomatoes (!!) and I had some because that's how dedicated I am.
Oh, and the parallel cats! Cute!

I love this post, and now I'm very hungry.

Carrie said...

everything looks amazing..you just made me very, very hungry. Your pie looks splendid...I don't have the patience for criss-cross crusts.

Anonymous said...

So you are saying that there is a pie crust recipe that exists on this earth that won't make you completely nuts when you make it??

Your pie looks totally amazing!

Ruby Red said...

Okay, i'm already sick of my poor-college-person-food. I want yours! The millet recipe sounds to die for, now that you mention it...

Erin said...

You've been a busy bee making all that incredible food! I'll take the blintzes and a slice of pie, please.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Okay, I finally got around to making the hoe cakes & they're SO good! I've made them 3 times now & they make a killer snack! yum.