Easy Biscuits (Vegan)

As the name intimates...these are easy biscuits. You probably have the ingredients lying around the house (well, maybe just in the kitchen cupboards) and it doesn't require any sort of cooking finesse!

This is from a book that I unfortunately don't have the title to...sorry, folks! I borrowed it from a friend and made a few photocopies but forgot to write down the name...

Easy Biscuits:
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 margarine or vegetable shortening (I use vegan butter sticks) at room temperature
3/4 to 1 cup sour soy milk (soy milk + 1 tsp vinegar)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, sift (yes...get out that sifter!!) together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the margarine and sour milk and mix together gently until "just mixed." (If you want, you can cut in the margarine and sour milk by holding to knifes together until is fairly well mixed...or just get your hands dirty!)

3. Spoon into lighlty oiled muffin tins or roll out and cut with biscuit/cookie cutters and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. If you are going for the roll out method, spread some flour on the surface (and on your rolling pin) and roll the dough until it is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, the biscuits will rise during cooking. If you don't have cookie cutters, take a butter knife and you can make all sorts of fantastical and fun shapes for your biscuits! If spooning into the muffin tins, there should be enough to fill 6 tins (not full) to make 6 biscuits.

4. Bake for 12-18 minutes.

You can slather the tops with butter and jam or dip these into a sumptious soup. Or serve at a dinner party with a nice dip and vegetables.

Loo-ish Ways...

This is going to be a rather short post because I became aware today that I have not stopped moving since last Wednesday night...and even that was only a few hours of peace.

Thursday - work.
Thursday night - I made peanut butter cookies, dark chocolate brownies, boiled potatoes, prepared a salad, prepared for an interview (a whole other story), signed health insurance information for my job, watched Project Runway...whew.

Friday, after a long and grueling day working for the man, I met with my very good friend Morgan for a long session of, "catch up on each others lives." She moved to NYC a few years ago and we are those two gals that can sit on the phone with each other for hours at a time...there is never enough Morgan time. We spent the evening eating at Diva, a great Indian restaurant in Davis Square. If you go there, which I recommend that you do, order several different breads for the table - they do a fantastic job with them. My favorites include their classic garlic naan and the punjabi paratha (both vegetarian, though neither vegan).

Saturday morning, I found myself trying to relax. It started off calmy enough with a candid documentary on North Korea. However as I was ever-so-casually browsing Craigslist, I came upon a posting for a simple yet sturdy kitchen table for $30. I have been looking for a great craft table and this was it! So, without hesitation, we headed off to Kingston, MA - about a 45 minute drive from our place. The seller, a guy named Terry, was a very friendly smiley guy in a one-piece coverall...you couldn't help buy like him immediately! Turns out, he only wanted $20 for the table since we weren't taking the chairs.

But, I digress (and this post is suddenly growing curiously long)...we barely made it back to the house (and barely got the table inside) before we were back out again to Jamaica Plain to meet with Bllu, Eric's sister for her birthday dinner. She has a two year-old named Mairead, so meals out are always a stressful affair! After dinner we headed back to their place and chatted...then back home and straight into bed - I was exhausted!

Sunday morning, try as I might, I just couldn't sleep in very late! I made our grocery list and then we both tackled the apartment - scrubbing, disinfecting, wiping, sweeping, mopping, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Then...off to the store.

At this point, I saw Eric grabbing his camera and thought to myself, "gosh, that's strange...we're only going to Whole Foods and it is not that entertaining." Oh, Loo. He mentioned that there was a tower at the Fellsway he had been wanting to take a picture of for a long while but he never remembers. He is working on an online comic, The Parallels, so I thought he might need a reference picture because it was a cold and very, very windy day...not strolling or hiking weather!
We get to the park and there are no directions to the tower, so, using perfectly good logic, we just start heading up. To my delight, there were dogs all around - what a wonderful sight! We climbed up but could still not make out where we should head for the tower...we had stepped out onto this huge rock formation on the side of the hill overlooking the dog field below and I was scanning the sky for a tower-like protrusion from the trees. I glance back toward Eric only to find him missing! I looked down and to my never-ending delight, found him down on the knee with the most sincere look of love upon his face. My heart stopped - because I had imagined this moment so many times before - and a huge smile began to spread across my face. I will never recall the specific words he said to me because all I really heard was, "I choose you," and the silly babble coming out of my mouth was a jumbled and repetitive and resounding, 'yes!'

It doesn't change anything about our relationship...but it lets me know - in that deep sort of way - that someone has found me so special that they are willing to spend the rest of their life with my silly loo-ish ways.

RECIPE: Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes (Vegan)

Wait, wait, wait...come on back here!

This recipe may be vegan but once you put these tasty little morsels in your mouth I promise that both you and your mouth will be instant converts and your friends will never even know the dairy is missing.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite dessert recipe books and from two of my favorite vegan chefs - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. These uber cool chicks hail from Brooklyn and have been cooking and baking up a fury on their online cooking show - The Post Punk Kitchen - since 2003. They are also the authors of the famed, "Veganomicon." (you need to say it in the movie announcer voice...really)

This particular recipes is from, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," which is packed with a ton of other tasty cakey treats.

Vegan Tip: When buying white sugar, make sure to look for vegan sugar...not a bad idea even if you are vegetarian. Many white sugar refineries use bone char (charcoal made from animal bone) during processing making it less suitable for those of us with a vegan/vegetarian diet. You can find a pretty good list of some confirmed safe and un-safe companies here. Also, Whole Foods Market sells vegan white sugar at a reasonable price.

Environmental Tip: While paper liners can be fun for muffins/cupcakes, re-usable plastic liners save you money, reduce random trips to the store and provide a fantastic way to cut down on your paper consumption. I currently have a set of Wilton liners which are resilient little buggers! There are a lot of brands and a lot of styles so go get some...

And now on to the fun part...

Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes with Old Fashioned Velvet Icing:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Cooling/Icing Time: 1-2 hours

Ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder (dutch pressed or regular)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil (can substitute safflower/sunflower)
2 tbsp food coloring (or a good chunk of solid paste color)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp chocolate extract (I have never found this, but it has not been missed in my recipe)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. (Should be frothy.)
3. Sift (yes, it's worth it) the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and mix.
4. Add the oil, food coloring, chocolate extract (if using) and almond extract to the curdled soy milk. Whisk well to combine. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing just until large lumps disappear (do not overmix).
5. Fill cupcake liners about two-thirds of the way full as these cupcakes will rise fairly high. Place in hot oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until done, but be sure not to overbake. Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Old Fashioned Velveteen Icing:
It is extremely important to completely cool the cooked flour mixture before beating in the shortening and margarine. An electric mixer can be a necessary tool to get the right consistency.
You can work on this while your cupcakes on cooling. Because a portion of this icing needs to cool in the refrigerator, it is not a bad idea to begin when your cupcakes come out of the oven.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (can get vegan at Whole Foods Market)
1/4 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance - Soy Garden is a good brand)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup superfine or castor sugar

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the flour and soy milk. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to thicken and has a puddinglike consistency, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and press plastic wrap onto the top of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Allow mixture to cool completely before the next step. (as you might guess, this is very important...a warm pudding/custard might melt the fats in the next step)
2. Cream together the shortening, margarine, vanilla and sugar...then beat in the cold custard. Beat with electric mixer for 4 to 6 minutes; frosting should become lighter in color and have a very creamy texture, similar to thick whipped cream. Frost on cooled cupcakes, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes before serving.



If you make changes to this recipe with good results, please post in the comments section.

The Loo Forecast...

Extended Weather Forecast: Snow
Extended Loo Forecast: Grumpy

So, I do live in New England and, yes, I chose to live here. It really is a beautiful place - rolling green hills, lots of trees, access to the ocean, access to great architecture, access to river-side bike rides, access to history - just NOT in the winter...and winter has been here 100 days too long!

I would normally spend a snowy winter weekday curled up on the couch reading a book. No concern about the thousands of commuters crawling, digging and sliding their way to work. But, as you know, my life has recently changed and while I welcome the larger paycheck, I loathe the fact that tomorrow I will find myself along with those thousands of Boston commuters trudging my way through the freezing, wet, mushy snow to the steamy hot confines of the 'T' where I will weave my way under the streets of Boston and on to eight hours in the stiff and unwieldy chairs of the training room at my new job.

I dream of warmer days. I dream of the weekend. And most of all, I dream of life without the 'American' work week...a life with more focus on our lives rather than units of production. I dream of a crafty existence...

RECIPE: Three Cheese Baked Ziti (Vegetarian)

This three-cheese ziti is easy to make and super delicious. Pairs well with yummy homemade garlic bread!

Vegetarian Tip: Check your cheeses to make sure the product does not contain rennet. While sometimes derived from vegetable sources (it will say!), rennet is typically produced from the stomach of cows. You can read more here (if you have the, eh, stomach for it): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet.

If you make changes to the recipe with good results, please post in the comments section!

Three Cheese Baked Ziti (Vegetarian):
Prep Time: 20 mintues
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb penne rigata pasta
1 25-oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use the Whole Foods 365 Brand Tomato & Eggplant)
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of basil (can use dry or fresh, we use dried in the winter)
sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, combine 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce (not the whole jar, folks), ricotta cheese, Parmesan and basil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Allow the cooked pasta to cool for 5 minutes, then toss with the cheese & sauce mixture.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce on the bottom of a square (8x8, 9x9) baking dish. Pour the pasta mixture into the dish and drizzle the remaining sauce over the top.
5. Top with mozzarella cheese (don't be shy) and bake uncovered, until the top is golden brown and bubbly...about 30 minutes.
6. Serve immediately!

Bon Appetit!

The Wooden Spooner Attacks

It is at the end of one journey that I find myself beginning another. I suppose someone once said that, "all good things must come to an end." I am not sure who said it or to what end it meant to them (and I am clearly too lazy to look it up), but I do know that it does seem to be an adequate description for at least part of my current circumstances.

For the last seven months I have enjoyed a rare experience - unemployment with a solid weekly paycheck - time for bike rides and long walks, time to try new recipes, time to make costumes, time to host parties, time to host out-of-town guests, time to travel, time to sleep-in and time, even occasionally, to be bored - free time to do with as I pleased without the care of a 9 to 5 and some pudgy boss looking over my shoulder (could you fix that TPS report?).

While this time has passed swiftly, I did not spent it idly. My boyfriend and I spent the summer exploring the streets and surrounding areas of Boston on our bikes as we adjusted to life living together (aka me re-arranging things every week). We won free tickets to Old Sturbridge Village and thus explored rural town life of the 1830s and met Carl the rooster (he looked a bit peckish...ooh). I spent a gazillion hours making a corset (my first real sewing project and a most arduous task I assure you) for my halloween costume and nearly as much time on the phone with my mom as she managed the task of sewing the rest of our period-accurate victorian looks. I found myself in Salem on more than one occassion but also managed to get out of the state and head to NYC for a visit with my very dear friend Morgan. My sister came to visit in October and we staged a crazy Halloween inspired potluck (witch fingers, bloody eyeballs...good wholesome food)...only a few short weeks later, my mom was here for a Thanksgiving visit. I chopped my hair short and discovered the delight of pixie bangs and went on an annual wine tour with my dear friends Rose and Susan. I handmade 90 cloth napkins, 64 hand-stamped tile coasters and 16 hand-stamped trivets in the course of 2 weeks. In Oklahoma for the holidays, I helped do a faux finish paint job and challenged my mom to our annual Iron Chef Doughty competition (yes, we're nerdy!). January found me in need of a slower pace as well as the need to file for an extension on my unemployment benefits and, let's be honest, it was time to start the real hunt for a new job.

Amidst this time as an 'unemployed', I rediscovered myself. You see, I was once a very creative individual but my time with my previous employer stamped it out of me in a most viscious manner - sales. Sales where your salary depends on your ability to convince other people to do something they may not want to do - something that screams (to most of us) to run away. While I did my best to help my clients make the decision they wanted, I still knew the shortcomings of the product I was selling and sadly even I would push a sale. This tore at the very essence of who I am (or was) and eventually found me slinking and slumping into a habitual sludge of boring and very uncreative activities. When the company announced a voluntary layoff program with severance included it took but the space of a breath for me to realize the path I would take. If you would like to imagine the smile on my face (or rather in my mind), think of the Cheshire Cat...

So, it has been with this gift of unemployment that I have found myself again in touch with the Lora I knew growing up - the girl tirelessly in pursuit of doing creative things. Today, I find myself again acting the creative soldier...BAM-BAM-BAM-WAZAAAA.

I have spent the last 28 Sundays calling the unemployment line for my weekly check and I have but one last call to make - for my time to re-enter the workforce is at hand and life is about to get a lot more repetitive. BUT, I refuse to let go of this refound link with my creative juices and will dedicate my extra hours to as many creative endeavors as possible.

My blog will be my voice for these passions; my blog will be a way for me to remember to the very tips of my toes (very cold toes at the moment) who I am and what I am capable of - my blog will be a way for me to share my essence with you. In it you will find recipes and craft projects along with product suggestions and reviews and as always the random meanderings of my mind.

Fasten your Quidditch goggles and enjoy the ride...