when the weather looks like this...

I came home to this sight the other day. It was kind of funny, actually - I'd just trudged home through a blizzard with visions of hot stew in my head and what do I find but the storm decided to join me in my kitchen!

Ha, it was okay. I managed not to step in any of the puddles and was very very thankful for the crockpot stew I had put on the night before. Yeah, I actually used my crockpot! *shock* my mom would be proud. I had actually been so busy that I acted the great cliche and took it down off the highest shelf I have to put some veganomicon cholent-style ingredients together the night before.

I'm actually not sure if I'm sold on the tarragon + caraway thing... but it was warm and hearty and perfect at the time. (ie: full of potatoes). I added tabasco and corn, too.

Earlier than that (or later? oh I don't remember. sometime!) I made vcon lemon & pea risotto with roasted red peppers.

I don't know why people complain about leftover risotto! I actually thought this was tastiest cold out of the fridge, slurped up like cold lemony pudding. I'm weird, yes. I tried Risotto al Salto too, to try it (basically fried up like a fritter), which was fine. But nothing on the ice-cold stuff!

I posted about hoecakes before, so there isn't much to say about the big yellow thing on the plate - except maybe to amend my recipe to stress than fine cornmeal should be used in a hoecake. This one was coarse which did NOT work anywhere near as well, but ah you learn. The interesting bit, at least to me, is that grayish dip-like blob in the corner. It was very tasty! It's black bean & orange dip from ED&BV, and it's a little sweeter than a regular b.bean dip and really great on wraps and things.

In the midst of being busy I made some muffins to take to school. I wonder why I decided to make jammy muffins to put in my bag? Ha ha, anyway, they're hearty jam-dot muffins from Fran Costigan's second book. They're okay... I like that there's lots of toasted oats and sesame in them, and my mom's homemade plum jelly. A wee bit heavy, but I subbed some stuff so it could have been my bad.

Over christmas my dad bought me some veggie burgers for christmas eve Burger Night (woohoo!), which happened to be Amy's California Burgers. They're soooooo good! They don't taste a blessed thing like fakey meatstuff, but they DO taste like toasted bulger and mushrooms and loads of other great all-natural things. I had some on buns, and some on salad with tahini dressing and both ways were awesome. I had the last one today though, and I don't know what to do because I never buy pre-packaged food for myself but I think I've fallen in love!


And finally... we call this an economic birthday, or a belated one, or whatever. It's a full moon tonight and though it's neither of these boys' birthdays (although it's close), it's definitely always a good time for a chocolate jalapeno cake with ganache topping and strawberries inside. Yeah, I know!! It's another Extraveganza cake recipe and holy schlamoli, it's SO tender and delicious and soft peppery perfect, I tried a whole bunch of it that stuck to the cake tin. ^_^;

Word to the wise: the recipe mentions nothing about de-panning this cake, and in fact implies that it shouldn't be, I think, at least when you read the icing recipe along with it. I did anyway and it was a total headache cause it was so fluffy and sticky (and criminally delicious. did I mention that?), but I think it came through the operation 97% intact. Minus the chunks I ate. (I'm starting to think that being able to fix cake disasters is as useful as baking one that tastes good... :P)

Anyone else notice how the stuff on top kinda looks like a crab? Not planned! But I like it.