A bull in a chia shop. (Explosive pornorrhea).

Huh. I thought having a blog would be like having a chia pet. I sit and watch, but it’s not growing. I spend quite a bit of time spreading the chia seeds all over my clay kitchen. I cook,prep, wash, and process. I even like organizing the pantry. What can I do with the stuff in the fridge? How can I use that last quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika? How many fresh basil leaves do I need to substitute for a teaspoon of dried basil? The kitchen is my classroom and my sanctuary and I cannot bear to leave it long enough to blog about it apparently!

Having the luxury of being in the kitchen is a something I’ve dreamed about for a decade or so, and ironically, this economic decline is has afforded me the time to educate myself and produce more in my kitchen than imaginable. I almost want to thank millions of mistaken homebuyers and their conniving lenders...but not quite.

I’m not clear as to why I’m drawn to the kitchen. Maybe it is the near instant gratification or the awesomeness that washes over me when I actually finish something. Sure, I had fun in the kitchen as a kid, but I never had anyone cultivating my zeal at a very young age. I liked blue box mac and cheese, ground beef patties with gravy, and peanut butter balls: certainly nothing that was mysterious enough to draw me into the process of c

ooking it. But with the dawn of adulthood (and the Food Ne

twork), I’ve found a veritable seed sprouting in my soul.

However, nothing has sparked my interest like vegan cooking.

I never would have even thought to make this Mexi-mess with animal products. I’m pretty sure my heart would explode upon the first bite.

Soyrizo and tofu, ctate's queso, and cilantro...I could eat this forever...

Nor would I have made fritters and gravy! Fritters from Crawdaddy zine, white country gravy from Vegan Explosion.

Or DEOTS cinnamon rolls! Pumpkin ones!

Vegan cooking is definitely the best way to get the most out of your cooking skills and creativity. While many veggie products need just as big of a laboratory as processed non-veg ones (veggie bologna. Really?), on the veggie homefront we cannot help but to pull out food from its root, and make something out of seemingly nothing. Who knew my most favorite nacho cheese could come from cashews and yeast?

So, to catch you all up on what I’ve been doing in my chia kitchen, here is a grip of porn! (con detalles, por supuesto)

The pastasaurus!

Somehow I had parmesan cheese so I made some non-vegan pesto. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how good it was. Mmm...I digress. So I decided it would be a good time to break out the non-vegan pasta as well. Last year my brother went to study abroad in Florence. My mom went out to visit him and of course she brought me food! (YES!) And what did she bring me??? BLACK spaghetti! I love food, but I might love black things even more. The black coloring comes from squid ink, and while this fact may even initially displease an omni, this was honestly the best pasta I've ever had. It was mild and spaghetti like in flavor (not squidy!), and the texture was so light and just barely chewy. My mind was definitely blown! And the pastasaurus came from my super vegan, kitty loving bf! Rawr! (means "I love you" in dinosaur.)

Smoked gouda mac & cheese

with carmelized onions and apples

I went on a vegan cheese shopping spree, and picked up some gouda Sheese. It was interesting and strangely reminded me of candy...not sure why, and it was quite off-putting, so I decided to make mac n cheese. Not the best idea.

The strange fake goudaness of the casserole permeated the walls and my soul, and I ended up throwing the whole thing out. I had to drown it in dijon mustard just to get it down. It would've been good with real gouda though! Topped with carmelized onions and apples(YUUUUM!). I suggest making a version of this if you like gouda Sheese!

Brushing/dipping the Sheese in liquid smoke would make it more palatable if you wanted to eat it straight as well.

C is for Cookie

And then there is the baking...Baking and I have a love/hate relationship. So my boyfriend made Black & Whites and I made snickerdoodles, both from VCIYCJ. We took them to a New Year's Eve party and tried to keep with the color scheme. We added black gel to the chocolate. They were so

great! Isa suggests eating the B&Ws the same day, but my friend was eating them a week later. These were big and cakey and soooo yummy!

The snickerdoodles were a little gummy and fell apart pretty easily but I blame the awesome looking food coloring!

Just 'cause I can

Grilled pb&j. White chocolate peanut butter from PB & Co. Nifty idea, but it was too Earth Balancy. Maybe a sweeter jelly jam would be good, or using canola oil instead of Earth Balance (blasphemy!)

The best tofu scramble EVEEERRR!

Orange County has an independent natural food chain named Mother's Market. AND they also have a cafe in most of the stores. This comes in handy on those damn-I-wish-there-was-a-vegan-breakfast-place-around-here mornings. I cannot thank my bf enough for this ah-ha moment!

Mother's has seasonal cafe specials. One fine morning the bf and I ended up here and lo and behold (!) the special was vegan benedict!!! I think I peed myself a little. Pretty good hollandaise. Tangy and creamy. REALLY strange looking though. As if they over cooked it, and all the oil separated. Still yummy! But OH! That tofu scramble! I don't like things to taste like tofu. Especially when it comes to scrambles. And frosting. No chalky soyness, please! But this was silky smooth and soyfree!...tasting. I asked the waitress what the scramble consisted of and she explained it was only tofu, mustard, tamari, and garlic. WHAT?! No crack? No gold flakes? No angel tears? ALLELUJAH!!!

Last but not least...

DEOTS tempeh wingz!

Especially good for those who don't like spicy wingz! Mild, baked, and all around num nums!