HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Tonight will be a quiet night.  Going to pop in either Ghostbusters or Hocus Pocus, drink a glass of (organic vegan) wine or three, and enjoy the evening.  Tomorrow I am meeting up with some friends for Dia De Los Muertos (LA Day of the Dead) at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Should be fun!

Pig In a Blanket

Rudimentary Peni's excellent song about animal cruelty; I don't have the stomach to watch the video but I thought I'd post it anyway....

Edgar Allan Po' Boys

Its my favorite time of the year....autumn. And my favorite day of the year is just around the corner.....Halloween! So to celebrate, I cranked up some classic Bauhaus records and got down to the business of making some spooky Po' Boys.

This was my first time making po' boys, so I wasn't sure how they'd turn out. But......they turned out absolutely spectacular. Seriously delicious. This will definitely become a staple in my kitchen.

Everyone makes po' boys differently, and everyone has different preferences. The key to a po' boy is the French baguette. One that is crispy on the outside and airy on the inside. Crunchy is key. Everything else kinda comes down to preference. Here's how I made mine.....

Ingredients:

• 1 package of seitan - thinly sliced (that's enough for 2 or 3 people)


• 1/2 onion, finely chopped


• 5 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 or 3 peppers, finely chopped


• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Bragg's Aminos - healthier soy sauce)


• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or whatever vinegar you like)


• 1 tablespoon garlic powder


• 1 tablespoon turmeric

Toppings:

• kale (I boil mine in water with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes to soften it up)


• miso mayo (or vegannaise will work)


• hot sauce (being a hot sauce addict, I used Tapatio and Tabasco)


• gravy

Directions:

1. Start the gravy. You can cook it up and let it simmer while you do the rest. My gravy recipe can be found on this page.

2. Sauté the seitan slices, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat (I used olive oil, you don't need too much, maybe 2 tablespoons)

3. After the onions soften a bit and the seitan starts to brown, add the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder and turmeric and sauté a little longer until the liquids cook off and the smell is so awesome you just can't wait any longer

4. As the seitan is nearing completion, toast your baguette

5. Once the baguette is nice and crispy warm, pile the seitan mixture on, add your toppings (miso mayo on the bread), slather it with gravy, find some suitably spooky music and enjoy your Edgar Allan Po' Boy!

Back Home!

Well, I am back at home from my week in Washington. I've been sick all week, so that's put a damper on things, but I still had a wonderful time and I look forward to moving there with much anticipation. Pictured above is the town of Renton, where I'll be working and most likely living.

Everyone is so nice and welcoming at the library. I've known them "virtually" for the past 6 months, so it was nice to finally meet the person behind the voice on the phone!

This is where I'll be working (was there Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for meetings)


The air is so clean up there, I felt so invigorated, and even when I hit the yoga mat, my breathing was much better, which led to a great set of asanas all around.

Upon arriving back in Orange County, I swung by Mother's Market (an awesome vegetarian grocery store) and picked up some essentials....a few ingredients for various dals, and a few bottles of kombucha. I got home, desperate for some rest, but I had to complete a test for my evil cataloging class, so I've been working on that for the past several hours, but thankfully I'm finished and now its time to rest and relax!

Listening to Inside My Mind (Blue Skies) by Groove Armada, and drinking a wonderful cup of tea. Such an improvement from the cheap 7-11 swill I've been drinking this past week!

On Friday morning, I woke up early and decided to take a walk in the morning chill before starting on yoga, and fortunately, I remembered my camera for once!

Seattle Vegan

I've been in the Seattle area all week for work. The food options have been dismal for the most part, but today I took a short trip up to the University District in Seattle and had dinner at a completely awesome vegan Thai restaurant called Araya's. I had the avocado curry dish, which is pictured above.....sorry for the poor picture quality, but I took it with the camera on my phone, as I forgot my real camera at the hotel. It was one of the best things I've ever tasted. So good. On my way back, I was treated to a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier. Quite lovely!

I've been sick with a cold all week, so this dinner was a welcome experience. I really loved the University District. It was very lively, and lots of cool people were about. I'd write more, but I'm trying to get a nagging headache to go away, so I'll cut this short. But once again I'll say, Araya's was absolutely awesome!

Moving To Seattle!

Yup, I'm moving up to Seattle. I am moving up there for my job as an access & interface librarian. I've been wanting to move up to Seattle for several years now, so I'm quite excited about this opportunity.

I'll be in Seattle all of next week for work, and while I'm there I'll be finding a place to live. I hear there are a ton of awesome veg*n restaurants in the area, and I'm excited to check them all out. And the hiking looks great.

I signed up to contribute to Vegan MoFo, but I've been so darn busy I haven't had a chance. I'm going to attempt to catch up this weekend, but with school work, getting ready for my trip, and various other responsibilities, I may not have time.

Supposed to attend a permaculture workshop on Sunday, but I may not even have time for that! I'm going to try to make it, because this'll be my last chance to do so, and the people who run Ars Terra are awesome. Fortunately they are in a fairly successful band and go on tour quite often, so I'll still be able to say hi when they are in Seattle.