I’m buying them early in hopes they grow in size a bit before July. Now i’m on the hunt for dried cotton plants…

In other news, the herb garden is still growing. Although I think something isn’t right. They have true leaves, but they just don’t seem to be maturing very quickly. Is that normal? Also the lavender doesn’t seem very lavender ish yet. Anyone have any thoughts?

Last night and today has been a cooking frenzy for me. I really should be studying and getting caught up on reading, but apparently the kitchen calls! I started out last night making my first ever tamales! So yummy! Piet and I are going to a Cinco De Mayo party on Wednesday, and I shuttered at the thought of mounds of delicious food covered in cheese. I really wanted an alternative to eat guilt and bloat free. So I went out on a limb and made vegan tamales which will be served with Tofutti Better than Sour Cream.See this recipe and others after the cut below.

Next was Bran Muffins. This only came about when cruising the Winco bulk (our favorite place in the world) and discovered whole wheat bran, so I snatched some up. This recipe of course uses apple sauce in place of eggs and since they are on the healthy side, I decided to top them with a sprinkle of Sugar in the Raw mixed with cinnamon.

And last is another loaf of my French Bread. It is the newest addition to my bread repertoire and the most simple. I think everyone was getting sick of my rosemary olive oil haha.

Recipes and a note about veganism and me below.

After long hibernation, Keven the “vegan” is making a partial comeback. I was never vegan for issues regarding animal cureltly (to put it lightly) as I believe even meat eaters can make the right choices by purchasing locally farmed grass fed meat, and you don’t need to be vegan to take a stand against the horrors of our meat industry. With that said, I would rather be a regular person who for the most part choses to have a “vegan” diet, but I love eating delicious food other people make me regardless of what is in it, and I love trying new things.

Piet and I already do not purchase or cook meat (except on a very rare occasion I surprise him with bacon), i’ve turned him onto the delicious wonders of Almond Milk, so we no longer have to buy milk for his tea or cereal, I cook most my meals with whole foods and tons of olive oil, I NEVER use butter, and I almost always substitute apple sauce in my baking for eggs (makes for some amazing corn bread!). So, it’s not a huge stretch for us to take it to the next level and make an intentional decision to be healthier people. I feel better when I cook and eat in a way that does not involve animal products, but that doesn’t mean we can eat the delicious grass fed, locally raised steak Andy cooks up on the BBQ or have a peiece of Grandmas pie just because it has butter in it…..mmm these bran muffins are good and getting crumbs all over my keyboard….ok now for recipes.

Vegan Tamales

6 cups water or vegetable broth
1 cup corn oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 bag corn husks (you can buy these at Fred Meyer or Winco)
6 cups Maseca corn masa mix for tamales (also at the above stores)
2 cans black beans (approx 4 cups)
1 chopped onion
16 cloves roasted garlic, chopped (could substitute with garlic powder)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Optional : Trader Joe’s tofu Chorizo.

First thing is to roast the garlic if you are going the long route. Here are some good instructions on how to do that.

Soak corn huks in warm water for 10 – 20 minutes so the individual husks come apart easily.

In a large mixing bowl combine corn mesa mix, water/veg broth, baking powder, corn oil and salt. Mix well and set aside.

To make the filling sate chopped onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil for about 10 min or until soft and translucent. Combine with black beans in blender. Here you can experiment with other spices or I threw a splash of worcestershire sauce and white wine vinegar. Pure until smooth.

Spread open individual corn husks and spread a good amount of mesa mix onto each one, leaving about 1/2 inch on either side. Then put a spoonful of the filling in the middle, and sprinkle some tofu chorizo in there as well if you like. Fold the small end of the husk up and then fold the sides in so they overlap and you surround the filling with the mesa mix on the inside.

Stand them up open side up, in a large pot with a steamer inside and steam covered for about 2 hours. Check on them every 20 min or so to replenish water if needed.

Bran Muffins

2 1/2 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup brown or white sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup apple sauce
1 cup almond or soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil

Mix bran, flour, sugar , baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl.

Combine oil, milk and apple sauce in small bowl. Whisk until frothy. Slowly add to dry mixture until all combined, but don’t mix too much. Distribute evenly into muffin cups and you can add sugar and cinnamon or sliced almonds to the top of each.

Bake in muffin tin at 400 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Its moving right along! Nothing new to report really, the cilantro exploded upward and got a little too big for its britches because it started to get droopy. Really looking forward to cooking with fresh basil and driving my cats nuts with catnip!

Speaking of cats, Eskimo has an upper respiratory infection, which he is prone to. But this time our vet gave us Greenies Pill Pockets for his medication. They are amazing! Eskimo loves them and gobbles it right up! I highly recommend them to anyone who need to feed their cat a pill.

Week 2 of my windowsill herb garden and all my seeds have sprouted and  been planted! Basil (on the left) was the first to sprout, Lavender (on the right) was second runner up, and Cilantro and Catnip and Sage are a little behind but have all poked their bright little faces through the dirt to say hello.

Also, heres a cute picture of my cat and the little succulent Piet surprised me with when I got home from work the other day

I have dreamed of a little window-sill herb garden all Winter. With school and work I hadn’t had the time to get things started. My one and only goal for Spring Break was to get everything set up. Using a mixture of recycled jars, and mixed matched pots set upon the lovely little shelf Piet put up for me I will grow Basil, Cilantro, Lavender, Sage and Catnip!

I’ve started the seeds out in a damp cloth sealed in a plastic baggie. This will speed up the germination process. Stay tuned for week two!

Yes Spring is here..albeit early, but here indeed. Our courtyard is in bloom. I adore the fact that we only need to walk out our front door to have a lovely stroll through a garden.

I also found this little yellow jem of a cactus at Ikea of all places. So I rescued it, re potted it and gave it a nice sunny home in on our front window sill.

More images after the cut

Even better you can find them on Plywerk at Fawn & Forest!

]]> http://cafevanzoen.com/2010/01/23/berkley-illustrations/feed/ 0 http://cafevanzoen.com/2010/01/05/leaving-for-atlanta/ http://cafevanzoen.com/2010/01/05/leaving-for-atlanta/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:07:13 +0000 Keven http://cafevanzoen.com/?p=354 Day 3 – Grand Duke Alexander

Yesterday was my first day back on campus for Winter term. Its going to be a difficult one involving the dreaded Finance 303 and my senior capstone, Animal Aid & Grant Writing…which i’m quite excited about.

I took the camera to campus but the battery was dead, evidenced by these two photos clearly taken at home. Tomorrow i’m off to Atlanta for a week to work the Atlanta Gift & Home Furnishings Market for Mosey whom i’ve been interning for since beginning of Fall term.

Day 4 – The Basement

Piet and I are settled in our new home. We even set up our first Christmas tree together this evening. The apartment is wonderful, sporting steam heat which we can use as much of as we want. Piet’s brother says “they live in a sauna”. Its really nice in this below freezing weather we’ve been having. The cats seem quite happy here as well. All is well, and Merry Christmas!

Check out the whole post for more images

I’m still working on the bedroom, I think we’ll paint one of the walls a pale yellow, and eventually mount our headboard. But Piet did set up a little vanity for me! He’s the best

The tree!

Between moving, Thanksgiving and school I haven’t had much time to post. But here is an amazingly cute free calendar I found today, i’m definitely putting this on our new fridge.

Its by Yasmine Surovec and it’s free! You can download it here.