beans, beans, good for your heart

Okay, so I hadn't really thought about it until last night, but I made several dishes with beans as the central player. And, that became obvious in our household yesterday evening. I'll say no more.

Except this.

Here's what it looks like the first time you introduce a new bean dish in your home:


And, here's what it looks like when you've introduced the fourth bean dish in one weekend:


And, speaking of bean dishes, here's one of them that I remembered to photograph. We had the Spicy Autumn Burgers last night with some oven baked fries and a basil aioli. (and, I actually had the last burger for lunch today, and they're even better the next day!).


Okay. Enough of beans.

Tonight I think we're going to have pasta with tomato sauce and "meat"balls. There's a recipe in my How To Cook Everything Vegetarian with nuts and rice as the base. Seriously, if you're a vegetarian, you should own this cookbook. It has EVERYTHING, and variations on each recipe. I love it. Mark Bittman thinks of everything. And, he's not even a vegetarian. Amazing.

And, though it has nothing to do with food, I'll share this photo with you of my number one boy and his friend and cuddle buddy, Chewbacca.

3 items! "Happy Birthday, China-Bear!" & "A Dozen Delights!" & "An Update on the K-Bear!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHINA-BEAR!

In more pet news this week, China-Bear, my cat and long-time companion, turns 16 today! She was all in a flutter yesterday picking out her birthday outfit, birthday meal(s), gifts, and other such festive fancies. Here she is thinking about it:


Also, I'm not exactly sure what happened after I went to bed last night, but all I'm sayin' is that the China-Bear woke up feeling mighty darn frisky this morning, and the Meerkat seems to have become a man. Coincidence?


and, now...

A DOZEN DELIGHTS!

You may have already surmised that I'm a big fan of Dozen Cupcakes, Dozen Bake Shop, and the owner of both, the King of Cupcake Manor himself, James. Well, now there's even more to love! Dozen Bake Shop just started doing a vegetarian/vegan dinner on Friday and Saturday nights (three seatings each night, go here for more info and to RSVP).

Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot in the way of vegetarian dining, which constantly hurts my little heart, so I'm thrilled to have another option! I went on Saturday evening with Barbara, and met up with Mags and the E-dawg. We sat upstairs in the new seating area (with a little outside seating area/balcony, too!). The structure is that you RSVP in advance, then you come in, there's a limited menu on the board while you're waiting, you order at the counter, get your drinks and a table number, and then shortly some fantastically delicious food arrives at your table.

We all ordered the eggplant lasagne, which was a HUGE crock of bubbling goodness--eggplant, sauce, lots of ricotta, breadcrumbs, cheese, with a little lightly dressed (as it should be) side salad. We also ordered the starter/small plate of the 7 Onion Tart with red wine reduction. It was YUMazing! Seriously--so good! We didn't order some other items, but James dropped by with some to share--and I'm SO glad he did--the Seitan Po'Boy (with sweet potato fries) and a slice of some beautiful red velvet cake. By the time we left, I was stuffed beyond all reason, but happy as a (vegetarian) clam!

The Seitan Po'boy and the 7 Onion Tart tied for first place in my affections. The seitan was perfect with a vegan (onion?) gravy, and a spicy sauce, and the bread was also fantastic. The onion tart was simply a taste sensation.

In fact, all of our food was so delicious that I only remembered to start snapping pics after we'd already made a significant dent in the offerings. But, check 'er out.

Eggplant Lasagne:


Seitan Po'Boy, and a space where the sweet potato fries once were:


7 Onion Tart, nearly completely decimated:


Red Velvet goodness:


Good food = good times:




*note--there was also a butternut squash casserole with maple infused creme fraiche on the menu, but we didn't taste it. sounds good, though, huh?

Check it out! Support LGBT-owned businesses and good vegetarian food options! Where it's at, yo!

AN UPDATE ON THE K-BEAR

Okay, and lastly, I just wanted to say thanks for all the sweet messages, emails and calls about the K-Bear. He's actually doing really well! He seems to have shaken off the soreness, and has started to heal. He now likes to go by the nickname "Face" (he thinks it makes him seem tough. never mind the yellow kerchief...). He's looking pretty good, eh?

who could hurt a k-bear???

A big brutish pitbull, that's who. Not that I'm saying all pitbulls are bad. But, I am saying it IS bad to have an aggressive one off-leash in the dog park.

On Thursday evening I was walking into the off-leash area with Zeke (my dog-sit pal, and spottiest man about town) and Caleb. I'd just taken off Zeke's leash, and was bending down to take off Caleb's when he was charged and attacked by the aforementioned pitbull. And, then pack mentality took over, and several other dogs got into the mix. I thought I'd been bit at first, too, but only got a couple scratches and bruises. Caleb, on the other hand, sustained some bad facial injuries. A couple milimeters higher and he would've lost his eye.

Here's a link for the post-attack photo. I'm posting it as a link so you don't have to see it if you don't want to. It actually looks worse in person, but you get the idea.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb286/ehrrinkeenan/IMG_6995.jpg

I rushed him to the vet, and they gave me two options--to have surgery right then, and take the chance that his organs could handle the anesthesia (he's over twelve years old), or to try cortizone, antibiotics and neosporin first, and then reevaluate if it's not healing properly. Option 2 results in a slower healing time, and bigger scar, but also didn't potentially risk his life by putting him under anesthesia without the blood test to see if he could handle it (the test would take overnight to come back, at which point the surgery option would be moot; if he has to have surgery later, they'll have to "trim" the tissue first).

So, I opted for Option 2. And, it actually seems to be already starting to heal. He was pretty sore and stiff for the first couple of days, but seems to be pretty much feeling back to normal now. It was just a really scary experience for both of us.

I found the owner yesterday, and she agreed to pay the vet bill, but still seems to feel it's okay to take her dog into the park. I'm relieved about the first part, but bummed about the second part. I'm not going to take Caleb to that dog park anymore, and am considering whether we should possibly just avoid dog parks from here on out. This stinks because dog parks are his favorite spots. (It was in West Park, in the North Side adjacent to the Mexican War Streets, fyi).

[This is the second time Caleb has been attacked by a pitbull. The first time was ten years ago, right after we'd moved to Pittsburgh. That time his arm (right front leg) was fractured. That time it was a dog in the neighborhood with an owner, but off leash].

I wish dog owners would be more responsible--especially when they have a dog that powerful in their care.

If you're a dog-owner, please be responsible, and also be cognizant about the other dogs around you and their demeanors. And, please wish the K-Bear a speedy recovery.

no, pancakes. really.

Okay, the Hurd was right (with regards to her comment yesterday). PYT was indeed referring to actual mac-n-cheese pancakes. She'd developed a fondness for them from visiting Shopsin's in her ol' stomping grounds of Brooklyn. Check out the menu! It's off the hook! Okay, so anyway, I did not make mac-n-cheese pancakes, but I did make the Alton Brown recipe for Next Day Mac-and-Cheese "Toast". They turned out pretty well, but I actually think the regular mac-n-cheese was better because it had more moisture/creaminess. But, still. Pretty yum.

I also made a salad with butter lettuce, chevre and roasted beets. I made a vinaigrette with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some dry mustard, a little honey, a couple cloves of garlic, some crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisked it all togheter, then tossed the beets in that, and roasted them, and also drizzled a little on the salad. I wanted to add avocado, too, but it wasn't ripe yet. And, wanted to add some toasted walnuts, but forgot (d'oh).

PYT made a bean dish with green and white beans sauteed with some garlic and butter (she said she normally puts buttered bread crumbs on top, but skipped it since the mac-n-cheese was all about breadcrumbs. It was SO good! This is my new favorite way to eat green beans. Dang. Deelish! It reminds me a little of a Heidi recipe (from Super Natural Cooking) for pan sauteed white beans called golden-crusted something...

All in all, a delicious dinner for a winter evening.
(look, in the picture below you can see PYT's toes!)


The boys anxiously awaited leftovers

it's a cel-e-bration!

Hi y'all! I hope you've all had happy and satisfying holidays. I definitely have. I only have a sec now (but hope to find some time to write tomorrow), but just wanted to give a shout-out to a few peeps who are celebrating personal holiday-style today.

The first, my dear, dear love, the K-Bear, Caleb, K-lip--mommy's baby tulip, CornNibblet, Kipper, the Kippopotamus, Kibbit, PunkinPie...aka my #1 dog. As in, I am hangin' with my literal dog. It's his birthday! He's 12 years old today! I first met him when he was but three days old, on New Year's Eve 1995. He looked like a blind hamster. The next time I met him he looked like a little old man puppy. The next time after that he came home with me. We've been inseparable since. He is full of 100% pure sweetness and love. We've so far commemorated the day with Happy Hips treats, Canine Carryout treats, my famous "dog casserole" (contains no actual dog), pig ears, and extra-big and frequent walks in the park. Happy birthday, baby boy.

Here's us holding paws:


Here's when he was taste-testing my homemade dog treats (he gave them two paws up, way up, btw):


Here's the picture that was featured on Dozen's website a while back when he was enjoying a doggie cupcake (speaking of Dozen, it's their 1st birthday today!):


And, I have a really cute picture of him on xmas, but I don't have a way to get the pictures out of my computer at the mo'.


And, another person celebrating today is my pal Kara. She just graduated! I'm actually heading out in a minute to celebrate with her. Woo hoo! Congrats, grad!


Also, last but not least, yesterday was Nowlzie's birthday! (she and the k-bear are both Capricorns). Tonight is her bowling birthday party. I so much wish I could be there, but alas, it's in Brooklyn.

I hope she is having this much fun:

and...

because i love thanksgiving

Actually, I'm of two minds when it comes to Thanksgiving. On one hand, I love a holiday that's all about the cooking and eating of food, tradition and observing a time to be thankful. On the other hand, I'm disturbed that we continue to honor an annual celebration of conquering and decimating a native population. I wish that were more acknowledged when people talk about the Thanksgiving holiday. But, apart from the genocidal undertones, I actually really, really enjoy Thanksgiving. And, I don't really want it to be over. Yesterday most of the talk around the water cooler at work, and in catching up with friends, was about Thanksgiving dinner. And, since I didn't cook the giant meal this year I'm not the proud owner of a refrigerator loaded down with leftovers. I kept craving stuffing all day yesterday. I could smell the sage and celery wafting from the workplace kitchen while everyone warmed their leftover feasts, and wanted more, more, more!

Now, I did actually end up with a beautiful container of leftovers from Thursday. I dubbed it "tupperware full o' love", but it was quickly gobbled up for breakfast and lunch on Friday. So, last night I had to--had to!--cobble together some stuffing. (Do you call it dressing or stuffing?) I didn't have all the ingredients I wanted/needed, but it still came out a-okay, if not exactly as I was picturing. Speaking of picturing it...


Cornbread Stuffing
makes a 9x9" pan

1 16-oz bag of cornbread bread crumbs (or make your own cornbread, and crumble it up)
about 4 c. vegetable broth (always best if you make your own*, but I like this kind, too)
1 lg onion, diced
2-3 celery stalks, diced
1 c. dried cranberries (I was out of these, but they really make it!)
1/2 lb. mushrooms (any kind, I used white, 'cause that's what I had on hand), sliced
2 T. fresh sage, chopped
2 T. other fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme and parsley)
3 T. butter or olive oil (it tastes better with butter, but I was out so used evoo)
a little wine for deglazing the skillet
1 egg, beaten
freshly ground sea salt and pepper, to taste

So, I preheated the oven to 350, and lightly greased a 9x9 pan.

In a large bowl, add the cornbread crumbs and set aside.

I added the evoo to a skillet, and sauteed the onion and celery with the sage, rosemary and thyme until softened and translucent. Then add them to the cornbread crumbs. In the same skillet, without cleaning it first, add the mushrooms and parsley and cook about 8 minutes or so, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and then it starts to evaporate. Add a little wine (I used marsala, 'cause it was handy), and get all the goodness from the pan--the bits or herbs and veggies. Cook that for a few minutes, then add the lot to the bowl. Add the beaten egg (I actually don't usually use egg, but I needed a little extra moisture) and the stock/broth one cup at a time until it has a dough-like consistency. Make sure all the breadcrumbs get mixed in or you'll have hard bites in your dressing.

Transfer the stuffing mix to your greased pan, and pop it into the oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Then remove the cover, and return it to the oven for another 15-25 minutes (depending on how moist your mix was).

Yummers.

I also realized last night that I left two important items off my Thanksgiving menu list! Leslie also made a roasted truffle gravy and a salad with butter lettuce, oranges and fennel. We had the salad at the end of the meal (I love when the salad is at the end of the meal), and it was the perfect end to a lovely meal. The salad itself was light and fresh, and really ideal to conclude a big meal.

Unfortunately, I had to run out not long after dinner--way before I was at a point where I could eat pie--so I didn't get in on the pumpkin pie. Now I need some. I may have to make that this week, too. It's the never-ending Thanksgiving!

Here's a Natalie Dee Thanksgiving themed/pie themed slice of goodness:


Why did I have to run out so quickly after the meal, you ask? Because my excellent pal Dinah had an extra ticket to see Avenue Q! And, this was no ordinary ticket to a show. Oh no. This was front-row center! I've never had a seat like that before. I could peek down into the orchestra pit! I was sitting right behind the conductor! I could look over her shoulder and see the names of the songs and her notes on the sheet music! And, it was such a great show! I've had the song "The Internet Is For Porn" in my head for days, and even got Mags and the e-Dawg singing along on Sunday.



*I mentioned making your own vegetable stock above, and I've had a few people ask me how you do it. It actually couldn't be easier! Basically all you do is simmer vegetables and aromatics in water for about an hour and strain. I usually keep a bag in the fridge where I keep vegetable scraps--the stems from herbs, the end pieces of veggies, potato peel and ends, mushroom stems, etc. For your stock, you just want a bunch of veggies--I use my scraps, and then also add some carrots, onion, celery and garlic, all in large chunks. And, I usually add in a couple bay leaves, some peppercorns, etc., too. Add enough water to cover all the veggies and make a good amount, then bring it to a gentle boil. Then lower the temperature to med-low, and simmer for about an hour. Then pour the broth through a piece of cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer. I like to freeze it in several tupperware-style containers in about 4-cup increments, so I can just take it out and thaw it as I need it. Easy, peasy!

Tonight I'll be spanning time with my pal Zeke. The K-Bear just had a bath this morning (after rolling in some stench during our little hike on Sunday), so he'll be joining me. They're a cute pair. I also have Classic Book Club tonight, so I'll be reprising the lemon-rosemary-pinenut cookies, and I'm sure I'll get to taste all sorts of delicious treats contributed by my fellow book clubbers. I love book club!

Have you peeps tried out the Double Wide restaurant over on the S.Side? I didn't find out that it was uber-veg/vegan-friendly until they were temporarily closed due to a fire. But, they're back. And, I checked out their menu online yesterday, and feel very excited on the inside. Vegetarian Pulled "Pork"? Oh, hells yeah! The only glaring omission I notice is that they don't serve grits for their brunch. Seeing grits on a menu always makes my day. And, it seems to be such an obvious choice for their motif. Hopefully I'll be checking it out soon, and can personally tell them that they need to get some grits on the menu, tout suite! Will report back...

schooled

Last night I attended a "Knife Skills" class at Chop, Wok & Talk, through CCAC. I'd been pretty excited about it, because even though I genuinely like to chop/dice/mince, I thought maybe I could learn some new tricks that would help me be more efficient.

But...not really. The only new thing I learned was a good method for cutting bell peppers (cut off top and bottom, then sort of shave down the sides, leaving all the ribs and seeds in tact in one unit). The food we made was really 'eh' (guacamole, beef-vegetable soup, "mushroom" potatoes--cut to look like mushrooms, zucchini "fans", some chicken tender thing, and a red pepper medley thing). Actually, the guac and the red pepper thing were okay (but they used pre-sliced almonds! it's "knife skills", people!). Everything else was bland and uninspired. Frozen vegetables in the soup! Dessert was a half-frozen Sara Lee cheesecake! I'm disappointed; it's just really not what I had in mind at all.


But, on the upside, gal-about-town and friend-of-the-blog Jess was also in the class, and it was nice to see her, and she gave me a nice compliment about this here blog.

Does anyone know of anywhere to take good cooking classes? I emailed both culinary schools a few months ago about public classes, and never got a response from either. Hmmm.

On a completely different note, I was searching for fig recipes, and came across this site. Hi-larious!

And, on another note still, I did have some good eatin' yesterday. At the party the other day, Jr. mentioned a new ice cream shop, Oh Yeah! in Shadyside. My bus delivers me just a couple doors down from there (while I'm at my current pet-sit gig), so I checked it out after work. The concept is an upscale ice cream parlor and cafe. All their coffees are fair-trade and locally roasted (at La Prima), and their ice creams are local, too. They use local favorites Dave-n-Andy's (this blog hates ampersands!) and Woo City (from Ohio). Woo City is all natural and organic, and also features a line called "Woo Fu" that's vegan and tofu-based (hear that, Kramer? they had lots of vegan stuff). Okay, so back to Oh Yeah!. The way it works is that you select an ice cream base (or two, or more), and create your own flavor using "mixins". And, there are gajillions of options. So many, in fact, that I was a little overwhelmed. But, I went with the Extreme Vanilla (gorgeously flecked with vanilla bean seeds, which made me think of Heidi) ice cream as a base, and added in cashews and caramel. Not the most adventurous, but it sure was good. Chock full of mixins--just the way I like it. Some of the more unusual add-in, I mean mixin, flavors were figs, hot peppers, seaweed, avocados, wasabi peas, smoked salmon and hemp protein. But, they had all the standards, too. Actually, it put me in mind of DQ Blizzards, but for the upscale crowd (like me. heh.). It's pricey, but a nice indulgence, and I love that they're supporting FTO and local and organic. Good stuff. They were missing curry as an add-in, though. 'Cause I still dream about Baby Boo's coconut-curry-caramel-cashew ice cream creation. Dang. And, I know E-dawg would add salted caramels. And, I agree wholeheartedly.

Oh, and ps! They're also dog-friendly, so you can bring your favorite pooch-pal with you, and they have dog-ice cream! The K-Bear is so there. If you didn't know, the K-Bear enjoys a good dog-friendly venue, especially when they feature dog treats, and especially-especially when they feature his adorable mug on their website. Check out the gallery at the Dozen Cupcakes site to see the K-Bear gettin' down with his own bad self and a dog-cupcake! (his picture is currently on the bottom row, far left)