"don’t settle as with all matters of the heart you will know when you’ve found it." -Steve Jobs

Wow... it has been UNGODLY too long since I have posted. Soo much has changed since then.... SOOO MUCH! I have no idea what I am doing with my life or what my next move is... everyone says I have sooo much time but honestly I have to choose my major in a couple months. Frankly I have NOOO idea. Going into college I was management, since then I have thought econ, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, and now marketing. Which is practically every business major. 

Right now I am between these three:

Econ: Helps prepare me for the LSAT, and one less class than all the other majors. But who knows if I am even planning on taking the LSAT anymore even. And what would I really want with an econ degree... 

Finance: I don't know if I will like the classes, but it would be useful for life. 

Marketing: I think I might like marketing, my dad was a marketing major and it is the most broad. However, I cannot take my intro to marketing class until I return from spain (OH! I'm moving to spain in august... it really has been long!!) and I have to choose my major BEFORE I leave for spain. Choosing marketing would be a total crapshoot... it could be the kiss of death on the next two years of my life... okay three semesters but still. 

So here is the deal. If I am thinking of econ only because it has one less class, and I am taking 12 credits each semester... maybe I'm not supposed to be a student. Now this may sound perfectly normal... but hear me out. Everyone in my family has their end degree. My mother has her doctorate in nursing, my father his juris doctorate, and my sister is a third year med student. I have a LOT of pressure on me, I feel like I am letting my family down and wasting the opportunities I was born with. 

My dad did recently discuss with me quality of life. He told me, for the first time, that my happiness in life is more important than money. Everything WILL turn out okay. I need to relax, not worry, and make decisions. My life will unfold, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me and what new friends I make in the process.

PS- I am in love with Steve Jobs... I wish he was still alive because it would definitely be on my bucket list to have a conversation with him. 

So... I made the rest of the cupcakes... I realized, the thinner the batter, the longer the cooking time. Interesting. So I think I am taking a break from sweets for a while. I need to lower my glycemic index. I'm not actually sure if that is how it works, but it sounded good.

I am currently making some rice, beans, onions, hummus, flax, hemp oil... and God knows what else I find. On the topic of God. People think I say "Oh my God" too much... Really I only say it because I want to include God in on that moment. Like today, I was driving and a bird was low swooping, I was scared I was going to hit it. I said "Oh my God" I didn't have time for a prayer or to even think, but God was looking out. It is like a mini-prayer and inviting God into every situation.
Anyway, it feels so freeing not having my facebook. I almost feel like I am back in olden times... lol riiiiight. But seriously... without facebook, texting, and phones... how else do you get a hold of people in a reasonable time frame? I don't know how....

I also worked out today, it feels very freeing working out too. I dance. I love it, I get tired but I am having so much fun I don't care... you don't hear people saying that about running or weight lifting... they hate it... they just enjoy it because it is all they know... it is theirs. I love sweating... I love dancing. So I am getting a smidge (I wish) closer to deciding what I want to be) I am settling on business. I need to limit my choices, and business is still a VERY broad area. The three main things I am thinking now: some general form of business, law, opening my own shop. More than likely I will go into law or some general form of business. It is the "safe" choice. But I haven't always been that "safe" girl. Sure, I don't take risks... like ever... no seriously I'm wary of the stock market... I drive like I'm 80... I don't break laws or even guidelines... I'm extremely straight-edge. Too bad my mom thinks I'm some drug dealing hooker... I always think it is funny that the good kids get reprimanded and the bad ones parents don't give a damn. I guess that is why they are the bad kids.

I got my audio recorder from my sister. I want to start documenting my life. I used to love my dad's old recorder, it was the size of a walkman, remember those? My aunt had one... I had this great idea for one that connected to the internet where you could listen to all sorts of music... meet the iphone... anyway, being a lawyer my dad uses his for recording trial stuff I guess... it always made me feel so professional hearing my voice next to my dads. I was always so shocked at the way my voice sounded. It sounded the way it has always sounded, I always feel like my voice has been the same, a personal narrative of sorts. I still disagree with my voice, but it's better. Anyway, my dinner is finally ready, nummmmnumnum!!! yes I am eating at 8:30 lol It has raw onions in it, I love their burn. I remember one night I was so desperate to binge I ate a whole raw baby onion...simply because it was in front of me lol Anyway, here is a pic of dinner tonight:

sorry... phone pic : /

Facebook and cupcakes

So... this is the first time since 2006 that I have deleted my facebook for some reason other than lent. I just don't think it is a valuable allocation of my time anymore. We will see how this goes. I kind of want to start writing again, but eh who knows... writing takes a lot of time that I don't have...

So, this past weekend was pride weekend and the vegan bakesale. I met a TON of new people, networked, and met this amazing boy! His name is Chris, he is raw and has great aspirations for his future. He gave me  cookies... how sweet?!?!?

I made cupcakes for the bakesale... they took forever, I only got two hours of sleep that night and I ended up getting sick... still sick actually... anyway.... school is going alright halfway done!!! SOOO CLOSE!

Anyway, that is all for now!

Choco Chip Cookies

Ok, so I totally aced this one! I decided I was sick of making health food cookies and splurged. I used the full amount of oil called for. EW I know.... but soooo yummy! I was inspired after noshing on SweetArt's Main Event (a vegan choco chip) I 1/4thed the recipe and only made 4 cookies. They were soooo amazing! I got the recipe from the Cookie Connoisseur by Kelly Peloza.

Here is the Main Event

Here is my cookie (sorry my camera is out of battery so my phone will have to do!) 

I used semi-sweet and dark choco-chips. They spread out a LOT and were very thin and delicious, this next batch, which I plan to make tonight, I will do half oil/half applesauce

Here is a picture of me red-riding-hood-ing it to my grandmothers!! 

I am on the search to make the best choco-chip cookie ever, I will make updates and progress. I plan on trying all the different recipes I find, perfecting them one by one, then choosing my favorite!

Summer classes and a few words on my mother.

Today I spent the day, four full hours of it, applying and registering for summer classes. Applying took all of 30 minutes. Then I had to take my placement test, which took me 2 full hours, almost exactly. I did really well and placed above where I needed to. Then came registering. I sat in a room for a good 30 minutes, then met with an advisor for another 30, then had to set up my account and register. which took me nearly a half hour because the computers are useless and no one was there to help... guess that's what you get at a community college. Funny though I saw someone from my old school there. Guess he didn't like it either. So now I am all registered and paid... 800 dollars for 10 credit hours... yes please! Everything worked out perfectly, despite it being long and painful! On the way back though my mom decided to dig the knife in a little deeper and discuss how irresponsible I am. Right.... I am irresponsible, the one who does all the shopping, cooking and cleaning... the one who keeps track of my mother for her... ya I need to re-evaluate, sorry! Apparently she thinks she is just being helpful. So when I snapped at her, telling her I can't take her abuse anymore and that if it continues I am living with my dad for the summer, she was upset. I made her lunch, specifically for her, a loaded vegan sweet potato (recipe to come). Except she was too disgusted with me to eat. So I again snapped, and told her, "I found this recipe specifically for you, I bought this sweet potato JUST for you, I made it JUST for YOU, and I cut my finger making it FOR YOU... and you don't want it?" Huge slap in the face right there. I guess she felt bad so we shared it. Over the sweet tater I told her how I was feeling. I explained to her that when she says things like that it is very degrading and condescending. It is very hurtful and makes me feel completely worthless. I asked her if she understood what I was saying, and realized how that made me feel... if she had ever been made to feel that way by her own mother. She never answered. My sister is extremely needy and very reliant on my mother for everything. I am the exact opposite, I want no help from anyone, I want to figure things out on my own. I am very meticulous and want things done exactly right. She if extremely un-precise, so I have never relied on her to do anything for me. She doesn't understand that and I guess took that as a sign that I was lazy and didn't get anything done, since she couldn't imagine me doing it on my own. Especially since my sister, who is five years older, wouldn't have done it on her own, how could I have done it on my own five years younger? Well I did, but she never saw it because I never told her about my life, we never talked because she never understood and never cared to understand. Anyway, she is a great woman... maybe not the best mother, but she is all I have and I have learned to live around it. She has yet to realize her behavior is a problem. This is why I do better living separately from her.

A change of mindset

As I said, I am interested in starting an animal rights group on campus. However, I am having second thoughts. I don't want to be obnoxious, I feel it is most powerful if people can relate to me, if they don't look at it as us vs. them. I do not want to be condescending. I want to encourage people to be the best they can be, for the world. I am not sure protesting has this desired outcome. It seems like protesting just creates more barriers. We are supposed to be working for peace, not more segregation. Those people driving by only see looney's who they have nothing in common with, and want nothing to do with. However, had we approached them politely and less aggressively at a time more convenient for them, when they weren't already at the tracks, it could have sunk in further. The problem here does not lie in the people, we cannot change their blind ignorance, it is the powerhouse behind it that needs to be stopped, and many many people would agree that they don't like the way certain monopolies are run. IE: most american's would love a McDonald's reform, but telling them that they are wrong for eating there and that it is bad is only going to make them feel awful, and ganged up on. They are likely to go more into depression and revert further into their ways. What if I really did have it all backwards? I don't want to be extreme, I want people to give veg*nism a shot. I think the best way to do that is to talk, approach people politely, and feed them. Which makes me wonder, do I really want an animal rights group? If not.... what DO I want? Where is my life going with this?

Finals

It's finals week... or should I say two days lol. Today is my last day of finals!! I will be home after this and then I have a whirl wind of things to complete. Unpack, get to see Jonathon Safron Foer speak, making a vegan cinco de mayo for my best friend! then take her home the next morning and leave for columbia at 8am, when I get back at around 1ish I need to shower and get ready because I am meeting with my new schools Student Government Association to discuss starting an AR Club. Thing is... I thought he was an adult so I had been calling him "Mr." turns out he's two years older than me. O well! I just don't want him thinking I am a kook! I want to put off the best impression for ARA's all over. He is a preppy kid so I have decided to wear one of my lacoste dresses, a necklace, my crescent, and my sorority badge. I am so excited and so nervous at the same time! Here goes nothing!!! Wish me luck!!!

Big Announcement Reveal!

Soooo my big announcement. I am transferring schools. I need to be closer to home... and I need a fresh start... not that my life isn't exactly where I want it, I just know that I can get more being back home. I have more resources to make a bigger change. I want to start selling my baked goods, I am also trying to get a job and start an AR group at my new school. I need to take summer courses and I am also trying to get a service leadership certificate. Ya... I am going to be busy. But when I am not busy I get depressed...

Anyway... this is my last sunday in this god-forsaken town. Don't get me wrong, I love this place. But it is kind of like how you love laying in bed alll day and eating a ton of food.... and then you always get sick and vow you will never do it again because you got nothing done and are in pain and know you just ruined your diet? Ya.... kinda like that.... it's just a playground of nothingness. Hm... well it is bittersweet leaving. Today is my last sunday here. I will visit often I hope.

I cannot wait to start baking again. And cooking. I just ordered my mom's mothers day gift, and I cannot wait to try it out, it comes in this wed! I am going to start testing the waters with mailing my baked goods. I will start by sending them to friends who are staying in warrensburg over the summer, and family. Maybe I can actually get a market for this going.... it would be awesome if I could. Anyway... I am living life. Actually living. and each day provides new opportunities for making my life amazing. Live it up!

Ohio

I am in Ohio. Yes, Ohio. Well apparently, Columbus, OH has a huge vegan following. Yesturday I went to ZPizza for the first time, I had been wanting to try it for a long time as I've heard about it on PETA. The food was delicious and reminded me of Pi pizza. The dough I thought was better because it was whole wheat and softer than Pi's. The cheese was daiya and obviously the same. Their match meat was more tender and less seasoned (a plus in my opinion) The only difference I couldn't decide was the sauce which would have needed to be a side-by-side comparison. It was a little pricy, to say the least. But it was delicious, and a fun atmosphere. When I told them I was vegan they pulled out a list, sort of like it's own separate menu. My first clue into how awesome Columbus is. 

Anyway... you may be wondering why we are in Ohio. My mother is a nurse and we are attending the Midwest Nursing Research Society. It is a lot of fun and am really enjoying it. Anyway we are going home tomorrow and I am nervous we will get delayed due to the snow. Can you believe it is snowing at the end of MARCH!?!??!

California Salad, we already ate the avocado, so creamy and yummy

Can you see the steam? Fresh service!

YUMMMM

Needless to say, this got eaten like right after I took this

DAIYA!!!

Spring Break, exciting announcement in the works!!!

I have some very very very good and exciting news that I just received yesterday, however I am not ready to share it with the public yet. Heck, not like I really even have a fan base though who would spoil anything!! So just know there will be a big surprise reveal coming up soon (think mid/late-April)

So besides my icing failing miserably, I made cakes, cupcakes and cookies. My cakes fell (I either overmixed or the batter was toooo moist) but they leveled out just fine. My cupcakes are kind of a mess, but the cake itself tastes great. AANNDD- it was super super healthy! I replaced the oils with applesauce to make it even more moist, so no oils, the butter I used had flax seed in it (smart balance light with flax is vegan, flax is a natural, plant source of Omega-3's), I used whole wheat flour, and obviously there was no cholesterol since there were no eggs or dairy!!

buttercream? ya right...

6in cake, see how badly it fell?

So I realized why some exploded like that, I believe those were the ones I added some "buttercream" to the center to see what would happen, none of them visibly had a filling after baking so I guess it absorbed it

what I ended up leveling off, boy was it tasty

After being in the fridge for a long while my "buttercream" held together a smidge better, adding the green dye

all iced and pretty

side view, first time I've iced a cake like this (with a spatula, etc)

about to dig in!!!

In case you were wondering, once room temp the "buttercream" went to mush again, this was after the crumb coating... and after my cake started to slide around : (

The cookies on the other hand.... well they are good.... fudgy, chocolatey, and crunchy. Although I was going for gooey and chewy.... I have no idea what happened with them.... first, I think I messed up the batter because it was unbelievably sticky! Second, my oven is a mess and we have no thermometer so it's a guess and check game. I guess some were over done, but the recipe said until the edges were firm. I ate numerous since after each tray went in I tried a different technique, thinner cookies, shorter cooking, thicker cookies longer cooking, and tons of other combos. So of course I had to try them all to see if something worked.... right? Well none turned out like the picture or the way they were supposed to.... they are kind of dry and cakey but they are dense and fudgy (not gooey fudgy mind you though) I had tried the regular chocolate chip recipe of hers (Kelly Peloza) and they too were supposed to be gooey and chewy and I ended up with cakey, and I even made them in a different oven that is more reliable. Anyway, those were my mishaps. Maybe I am just not destined to make cookies?

St. Patty's Day, a day too late

Yesterday was St. Patty's day, and boy o boy do I love that holiday. In all seriousness though, I have no idea why I love it so much... I feel like I love every holiday and maybe since I have a special connection to this one is why I like it so much... but I'm not even that Irish. Anyway, I had an amazing St. Pat's day, I wore my green PETA shirt around campus, leafletted, met some veggies and even a vegan (in my town? who knew!) went to my composition class where we received our mid-terms. My teacher liked mine so much, she read it to the class (what am I a second grader?) she also told me it was so useful I should try and get it published in the school newspaper! My paper was on the vegan friendliness of different restaurants throughout my college town.  I indeed had a super green, vegan St. Patty's day!!! Anyway, I am going to try and update at least every other day even if I have no new pictures just to get myself into the habit so we don't have another hiatus like last time! (can you tell I love that word? I think it is because the first time I heard it, it was used in context with Lost, my all time favorite T.V. series)

Anyway, I am going home tonight and I really cannot wait. First off, I love the train!!! I get to watch a movie on the train and start my outline for my extra credit paper in geology. I also get to start on my next comp essay, all of my essays in comp so far have been about animal rights, and I think it is really starting to catch on in my town, it makes me briefly consider staying... for like a second...

One last class before I am officially on break, but it is my philosophy class. It is a really enjoyable class, fun, easy and thought provoking. Plus, it starts at 1pm so it's such a refreshing Friday!!

Have a wonderful and safe friday everyone!!!

Crazy vegan day!!

So today was INSANE!!! I finally met up with the vegans in my town and they were sooo nice! One of them made pizza and brought me a slice!! It was DELICIOUS! We talked for about an hour while I ate veggie and brown rice sushi!! YUM! When I was in line buying it the lady behind me was like, "is that all vegetables in there" I was like.... are you trying to be rude to me? Of course its just vegetables? Have you never had a vegetable? But she said it looked good, almost as if she couldn't believe meat free could be good... had she never had a pb&j? or pancakes? or pasta?
Anyway!!! After lunch with my new vegans, I was rushing to class and waved off a leafletter. Usually only religious organizations come by and I had to be in class in ONE minute... so I was super late, but it was totally worth it! Anyway, I had a twinge of guilt afterwards thinking, maybe they were ARA's. When I got back to the house, there were tons of vegan pamphlets. I was soooo upset with myself. I NEVER blow off leafletters, because I wouldn't want to be treated that way. I could have met two new people and my professor was later than I was, so I totally could have stopped! I spent the next half hour after I got back from class walking around campus looking for them, but they had already left.
I went shopping later on and got Toffuti cheese slices so I will tell you how I like them in relation to the galaxy cheese slices. I also got more 8th Continent soy milk, vegan boca crumbles and vegan morning star chick'n strips, as well as PEANUT BUTTER! (the holy grail of foods!!) Anyway, it was a successful trip and day but I wish I had met those vegans!

Cheesy Spagheasy

Ok, so if you have been wondering where these awesome names are coming from, that is all thanks to my wonderful mother! My whole family is kind of a health buff family and my mom is always on the perma-diet! Anyway, despite her not wanting to transition, she and my father have both been very supportive of my choices. She alwayyyys used to make me pasta when I lived at home so besides her naming it, this is sort of a dedication to her! She used to just make noodles and parmesan but since I haven't found an accurate replacement for that just yet, I use spaghetti sauce. This recipe is sooo creamy and a delicacy (even though it is suuuper easy and is basically spaghetti!!) Hence the cheesy, spagh(etti) and easy parts to its name!

You will need:
Whole wheat noodles
Spaghetti sauce (I use prego veggie smart smooth and simple, since I HATE tomatoes this is a super smooth recipe that is full of flavor! and has two servings of veggies!)
daiya mozza shreds (btw I'm almost out of these and as you may have noticed I put it in EVERYTHING! sooo I'm running out of ideas since I LOVE cheese!)
Parma raw
A microwavable pasta maker (I use pasta 'n more, but other brands are pasta boat which can be found at walgreens, or you could make it on the stove top but I don't have one of those lol)

Make your pasta how you like it (al dente provides the most flavor) add your spaghetti sauce and stir in daiya and put a little on top, microwave for about 30 seconds or until daiya starts getting gooey. Add your parma raw on top for looks, texture, and taste!

Notice how the sauce almost becomes like a creamy red sauce, it gets
thicker and creamier and much richer and is so delicious!

Frijoles Fiesta Nachos

HELLOOOO... i'm sick : ( so I don't feel like writing much, but I felt I should because it is my two month of being vegetarian. (the thirtieth will be my two month vegan) sooo, I am pretty much lying in my warm and cozy bed pretending the world doesn't exist and am about to watch a movie on my laptop!

Yesturday I made the most amazing nachos that you HAVE to try! The reviews were astounding, omnis everywhere said "I love this cheese" "that's not real cheese?!?!?" "Vegan is what's up!!"


You will need:

black beans
corn chips
daiya mozza shreds
salsa- I used hot!

put a thin layer of chips down so they are just covering the bottom of the plate, then add a layer of daiya, repeat, microwave for 45 secondsish, add beans in a circle on top, microwave for the 15 secondsish, then add salsa in a ring of fire around beans.

College Cooking

So, I am back at school! It's exciting and I am really enjoying it. However, there are things I miss. Here is my top things I miss

5. My single room
4. My car
3. My family
2. My cats
1. A stove

However, I can show you tons of great stuff using only a microwave (and sometimes a toaster)

I made a mini-pizza using the following ingredients:
Arnold's sandwich thins
pasta sauce (I used ragu veggie one or something)
daiya cheese

I toasted half of the sandwich thin and then put on sauce and cheese to my liking then NUKED IT for 30 seconds! it turned out a little soggy but the "cheese" melted perfectly and it smelled devine (even my omni roomie thought so!) I was too hungry to wait for it to cool and potentially congeal so I ate it with a fork and knife. In the past I used to make this in the toaster oven and it was much crispier but the cheese didn't melt as well, but I probably didn't put it in long enough. Either way, the microwave version was ooye gooey and delicious!

Taco Night Revisited!

So, this time I made taco's with great northern beans that were leftover from the chili recipe! I added red pepper, onion powder, soy sauce, white rice vinegar, taco seasoning, and brown rice! So delicious! We topped with daiya mozza shreds and lettuce, would have used olives but we were out : (
I also finished off most of the leftover desserts, only two buckeye balls left! I made like 50 so that's pretty impressive, although I did give most away and the ones I didn't my sister sneaked. My mom gave the last one to her boyfriend without me knowing it was the last one.... o well! Kinda sad though because we have a ton of non-vegan buckeye balls... I guess it's a compliment!

Couldn't take any photos though because I ran out of battery while taking pics of the desserts and everything and left my charger at school : (

Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned: Celery does NOT go in smoothies... period... the end... goodbye!
-But not really goodbye. I have made two different types of smoothies with celery and the texture is disgusting beyond belief! It is so pulpy! I have to admit though I HATE pulp! So, you may like it, but be warned it is extremely pulpy. Maybe I should have used a strainer or something to extracted the pulp, either way, I could barely finish that smoothie! It had- peanut butter (YUM) celery (normally yum...) 8th Continent Soy Milk (YUM and super low-cal!) and Agave (yumm!) would have been a great meal... but I decided I wanted to drink it instead of eat it... BAD IDEA!

So that was my short update, haven't been making much food lately, but I did go to another vegan event run by the St. Louis Animal Rights Team, or START, you should check them out if you are anywhere near the area. They are really great people and do some pretty amazing things! The food was great, and there was an AMAZING turn out!

I leave for school In exactly a week and I am not too thrilled, to say the least! There is still so much that needs to get done. I need to move, finish thank you notes, go to doctors appointments, pack up, hang out with everyone I never see, clean up, and relax.... somehow I don't think I will be able to relax, it is soo stressful moving! Wish me luck...whoever you are....!

After Christmas blues

Christmas is over, and I am glad... and sad... I did sooo much baking I don't even believe it! During the break I was having some second thoughts about school but now I am more energized than ever! I just hope I am not going to overwork myself. I find myself as one of those people who puts myself 100% into everything I do and burn myself out.

Anyway, I have also seen a lot of new movies lately. I have seen: The Other Guys, Black Swan, and Julie and Julia.

I LOVED Julie and Julia. Probably because I blog and cook/bake even though I am just getting into it. However, the movie was so well done how the two plots parallel each other! Fantastic!

The Other Guys was a great movie, very funny albeit a little crude, but still great!

Black Swan, I feel this movie would have been better had I knew what it was about or had read the book. She becomes psychotic by the end and my mother (as always, she teaches psych nursing) began diagnosing her with numerous psychological fallacies. I believe the mother sexually abused her, as she was clearly very sexually repressed and the mother was a very controlling, overbearing sign of anxiety for the lead. Wonderful acting, could have used a little more explanation though.


So over this break, I have baked: (click on the purple items for links to their recipe)

Peppermint crisps

Gingerbread cake 
2 of them! The recipe makes WAYY too much icing- I only made one batch of icing

Buckeye balls
I used less powdered sugar than the recipe called for and instead of doing all of them covered in chocolate, I covered some in gingerbread icing. They made about 50!

Icing covered cashews and pretzels
using leftover gingerbread icing

Marshmallow bars
I did not add any icing, and I used only about 1/4 a cup of margarine because I ran out, I used smart balance light with flax- it's vegan! I also used semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead of butterscotch, Baker's brand is vegan. I would suggest using smaller marshmallows like she has because it is difficult to cut with bigger ones and leaves the baker eating too many scraps! Not that that's a bad thing, but I have a big event coming up and can't afford the calories. However, this is by far my favorite dessert EVER!

Goddess bars
The recipe doesn't tell you this, but make sure to break up your shredded wheat! I added some coconut to the top!

Gingerbread cake cutouts, buckeye balls and coconut covered goddess bars!

Chocolate chunk oatmeal peanut butter cookies

Cashew Butter cookies

Peppermint Cheesecake
I used a little less than 16oz of toffuti, and I skipped the lemon juice and added at least a half a teaspoon of peppermint. Peppermint is very potent so add to it in little portions, I used 1/8th a teaspoon at a time until I found a taste I liked. I also added two drops of red food dye to make it pinkish

Over this break I have cooked:

Bean tacos

Cheezy Rice and Bean Cass

White Bean Chili- This is actually my aunt's recipe and originally included chicken and chicken stock.

• 3cans Great Northern Beans drained
• 32oz Vegetable Stock
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• cumin, cayenne, and cloves were also included but cannot remember the exact amounts, start with 1/8th or 1/4th teaspoon and adjust to taste
• I bag daiya cheese (possibly more for topping)
• 1tablespoon olive oil

1. Add olive oil to a sauté pan, then add onion until translucent. Then add in garlic and the rest of the seasonings. 
2. Pour beans and vegetable stock into a big pot (it makes about a gallon) add seasoning and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. 
3. Pour into a slow cooker (4quart or more) and cook on light for a while or until ready to serve. If you do not have a slow cooker just keep in the pot until ready to serve on a light setting. This has a bit of a kick to it but is super good with cornbread!

Cornbread
I made this for thanksgiving so this was the third time I made it. It fills an 8x8 pan nicely. It is soooo good!

Mac 'n Cheez

and others!

Vegan Wine and Cheese Meet-Up

So, I haven't really had many updates on recipes because I have been eating leftovers and my mom and I went out to lunch today. One of my favorite restaurants! I got my favorite veggie burger of all time and a tempeh wrap. Ya, I've been eating a lot lately! Anyway, last night I went to a vegan wine and cheese meetup in my area. It was really great to meet so many awesome new people. I was definitely the youngest one there, luckily I dragged my mom along with me though! It was awesome, they had amazing desserts and I met so many ARA's who were willing to help me out. They gave me so many new ideas and I am excited to try them out in my college town. They had sugar and gingerbread cookies, chocolate mouse cake from The Chicago Diner, chocolate coffee truffles, "cheese" cubes, cashew basil and herb "cheese" spread (follow the link for recipe), crackers and tofurky and toffutti roll-ups!! SOO GOOD! Now I want to do AR with my life. I do not know what I want to do exactly with my life though, so it's difficult. I just know I need to help animals. It makes me nervous because the clock is ticking. Anyway, I have been able to get in touch with a couple vegans from my town so I am actually really excited. I think we are going to start leafletting!!! Cannot wait!