Holey Mole'

To introduce my acro-pseudonyms as of now:
M.E.H. is my Meat Eating Husband. While I have chosen a vegan lifestyle, fate did not have me fall in love with one so similarly minded. I make vegan food, he adds meat. However, keeping in line with our decision to be more planet and body friendly, we buy organic/free-range/hormone free/grassfed meats exclusively.

VeggieMama: My wonderful, beautiful, fabulous Mother. She finds herself unable to give up cheese. Sometimes, in moments of weakness, I can't say that I blame her.


Moving right along


M.E.H. and I threw a pre-solstice bash this weekend. I took on the challenge of creating a fabulous dessert and dip, both of which recipes I'd never tried, both with ingredients I, surprisingly for most vegans, have never eaten. After a trip to dear ol' Freddy's down the street, I was in raptures over my bounty: Pecans (not usually a fan), dates (never eaten one), coconut shreds, avos (mmm!), many strawberries (woohoo sale!), vegannaise (never had it), vegan sour cream (diddo), artichoke hearts (holy cow!), and baby spinach. Oh yes, and a baguette. On the menu: chocolate cream pie and artichoke spinach dip. Fruit to follow.


And so I started with the cream pie. I have to say that I have made this before, at Christmas time, for dinner at my lovely in-law's home. It was a huge success: The finger swipe through the second pie, on behalf of M.E.H, before it ever left the house, was proof enough for me. But I've never made a true to form raw crust, I've never eaten a date in my life (I know, I know), and I've never particularly cared for pecans. I went forth with my handy dandy food processor, and added my soaked pecans, dates, coconut, and itty bitty dash of real deal Hawaiian sea salt:

It all did look very nummy. And after I blended it to a crusty pulp, even the M.E.H. conceded that "holy crap, that's really good." So into my pie glass it went:

What followed was a messy short 10 minutes of melting chocolate chips with a wee bit of vanilla hemp milk, and then blending in firm tofu with an immersion blender. I added some huge-o strawberries to the mix to take away some of the richness, because believe you me, this stuff is rich-tastic and creamy as can be. The result, according the group, was glorious, tasty, and addictive:
Unfortunately, I have no pictures cataloguing the spinach-artichoke dip making. But let it be known: It was warm, gooey, and tasty as can be. In fact, I'm still consuming leftovers from the large batch o greatness.

My dear VeggieMama made a vegan quiche, which has accompanied me to dinner for the last two nights:

with some melted italian daiya and Corona Light. I'm digging this vegan quiche idea, even more so now that I have so much left over tofu from this weekend! Looks like I might be giving VeggieMama a call for her recipe. Do you have any uber-delish tofu breakfast favorites?

To close: Here's what's on the menu today:

Cherries, strawberries, and cantaloupe (all organic!), artichoke dip, spicy thai chips, tortillas, and vegan taco filling (a mix of peppers, tofu, and spices).

Mantra for today: Lokah samasthah sukhino bhavantu.
From what I've been taught through my yoga practice is that the mantra translates as "May all beings be happy and free." It's become my favorite mantra over the last several years and is my constant companion while running. It certainly helps to take the mind off of how darn tired I get! Check out Amma's link here for more info on it!

Question of Gratitude: What or who are you grateful for today? Studies on giving gratitude have shown that thanksgiving can have dramatic affects on your health and well-being. As a simple suggestion of thought, consider who or what you are thankful for today and acknowledge it or them during little times of pause. See what it can do for you! Today I am especially thankful for VeggieMama: Thank you Mama for the wonderful quiche; not to mention your wonderful loving friendship, humor, and, of course, BIRTH!