VeganMoFo - The Director's Cut

Someone escaped from the pantry and threatened me with sharp objects, so I guess I better let him have the limelight again... Sigh

Greetings.  It is I, EAR.  I have escaped from the cupboard to reveal the evil cooking secrets of Amy and Cam's meals past!  Mwahahahahahahaha.  Also - Amy forgot to take her camera to dinner tonight.  My revenge will be swift and spiky....

She claims these are Nachos.  But where are the Mexican hats?  And why isn't she drinking a margarita?  What?  Oh, you had a margarita with this?  I disprove of this meal - how am I meant to dip the nachos in the guac without opposable thumbs?

This appears to be some sort of bread based item.
It's pizza!
But how can it be Italian with pineapple?
Don't get me started, I let you out of the cupboard, just get on with the commentary!!!!
Fine fine....

Wow!  This looks restaurant quality.  Are you sure that you made this?
I was avoiding study!  for four hours.....
And what else did you do while avoiding study?

You knitted me friends?  Wow!!!!  I really am taking over this blog....  Tee hee!!!!
Meet Steve the armless overstuffed alien (thanks for the name Theresa!) and Teddy the tadpole!!!
Do I need a new gimmick yet? :)

It's not Vegan Cupcakes taking over the world.....

It's me! EAR! All of you bow down before me....

Mwahahahahahahahahaha
Oooh... what's this green stuff Amy?

That'd be Coriander EAR.
I must have some..... nom nom nom

Hey! Did you eat all the Coriander in the house?
Yes! Now I'm going to run away with your cheezley pizza. It looks so good and tasty.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Looks like I've inherited an ego maniacal rabbit, not just an evil acrylic one.
It's okay, I've put him where he can't cause any trouble......

Hopefully lack of opposable thumbs will stop him from eating my chocolate!

VeganMoFo a go go!!!!

Right.  Now that I've got that out of my system, I'd like to introduce you to this month's VeganMoFo mascot, Steve's friend, the evil acrylic rabbit:

Actually, he was meant to be a hamster for Cam, but I'm not very good at the knitting yet!  Isn't it kinda cool how he looks evil and demented at the same time?  So rad......
So evil acrylic rabbit (EAR - ha it's funny because the ears are the worst part), what did I eat last night?
 
YMCA (which stands for Yesterday's Meal Cooked Again - my family has a penchant for stupid nicknames for things) Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon.  I'm SO going to miss leeks over summer!  One thing, I always put mushrooms in this (they explode with tasty juice when you eat them), but I always wish I put more in. I could seriously live off mushrooms.
And for lunch?

We've discovered that the Trident brand Hot and Spicy Thai soup is vegan!  So I fried up some soy nuggets for extra tasty goodness (warning: you'll need a tissue for hours after eating this!).  Add extra coriander for a burst of fresh flavour!
Veganomicon is one of those cookbooks that I keep coming back to.  I tend to make the same recipes over and over (I'm tempted to go back and count how many times I've posted this meal!).  Cam's more of an explorer when it comes to food.  I like the comfort of knowing dinner's going to be amazingly tasty (last week I tried a new recipe and it turned out very badly - I was heartbroken after three hours cooking).  Hopefully I can kick my arse into trying new recipes this month.
I'm going to try and make brinner (breakfast for dinner) one day this month (it will have to be a weekend day).  I'm definitely going to try Celine's Seitan Bacon for that one!
One day down, 30 to go!!!!

In which Amy procrastinates from a law assignment

To tell you about VeganMoFo (Vegan Month of Food)! See Isa's blog for more information!

I'm joining in this year! So I've been evil and have saved up photos, etc for posting!
Possible plans include:

• Brinner (total steal from Scrubs!)
• Lazy student meals (how many ways can you make a tofu salad?)
• How to tell your family that you've 'turned vegan' (is that like turning into a zombie, except you don't want to eat brains?)
• Stuff I wish someone had told me when I first became vegan
• Snacks for work, a how to guide
• Why you'll never be skinny when I cook for you
• Possible rants about the law
• Vegan shopping in exciting locales!

I'm looking forward to a procrastination excuse!

Tofu madness

Veganomicon Asian Marinated Tofu with a baby spinach salad.  You can't see the beautiful glaze in this photo but drool..............................................

Cam made this a while ago - it's fried tofu with a Malaysian Curry sauce.  This was a tasty (and speedy) dinner.  Yummers.
Isn't it nice to have a partner who can cook? :) 

Creating things and feminism

A Stitch and Bitch snack (and Krafty Kath's talented fingers (dude, that sounds dirty!))
It's funny, as a feminist, I used to be a staunch opponent of craft, ALL craft.  I thought that the idea of making a dress, or knitting a scarf was antiquated; a waste of our brilliant minds.
HOWEVER, after becoming friends with some brilliantly crafty girls at uni (go English department at UQ! Woooo!) and at work, I've slowly, but surely become open to the very notion of creating things for myself.  Not that I didn't do this already via cooking (which I now see as more of a reflection of my growth as a vegan and society's obsession with the latest celebrity chef), but I now find myself fascinated by the possibility that I may possess the talent to learn to make my own clothes and other craft projects.
So, during the latest uni holidays, my friend Melissa (who, when she got married, made herself a wedding dress more beautiful than any you can buy) helped me learn to knit.  And thus, our little Stitch and Bitch group was born.

Snack during Stitch and Bitch at Kath's place - checkout the great yarn in the background!  It was made into a super cool skirt (Cam was jealous that he missed out on tasty snacks)
Of course, as a lifelong book geek, I had to purchase a reference text (no, it's not a knitting book, it's a reference text!).  My friend Kath had the book "Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller (a book with the BEST title ever).  So my friend Melissa tracked down, and I (ever the sheep) tracked down too, The original "Stitch 'N Bitch".  Wow.  This book is funny, and a great way to learn to knit.
Stoller talks about the great familial experience she has with crafting, something that I wasn't fortunate to experience as a child (I was very much encouraged to read - I can tell you stories about Shakespeare comic books, but I digress).  I think our group likes to feel a metaphorical connection with our foremothers, after years of connecting with our literary foremothers (see Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" for the idea).  With those invisible foremothers, with those background characters that came, saw and knit.

Stitch and Bitch mascot (well, wool devourer) Rowley.  How cute is he???
So, I want to know, of those of you are crafty and feminist, what do you think about crafty fun?

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie (and knitting)

It's my own bastardised version of the La Dolce Vegan Coconut Choc Chip Cookies.  I made a half batch of these and we ate them all at the movies!  (We saw Tropic Thunder - I love Ben Stiller when he plays a doofus!  It was like Zoolander, but set in the jungle!)
I have a Public Law exam this week, so I've been studying up a storm.  I lie - I've been knitting!  Check out this remarkably bad toy I made!  I think he needs a name......