10 posts from April 2008

I was in the mood for some moussaka and, more than that, it would use up the copious amounts of food still in my fridge from when my mom brought some up.  So, I decided to try this recipe, 1) for something new 2) my other moussaka recipe takes AGES to make 3) my other recipe also uses yogurt, which I didn't have.
So, I tried this one!
I changed it up a bit, adding some squash and chickpeas (I would HIGHLY recommend the chickpeas, it really makes it) and using egg substitute and soy milk.  I don't think my other recipe has potato in it either, but it is delicious in the dish!  I'll definitely put it in all of my Moussaka recipes.  I read that English put mashed potatoes as a topping on theirs (don't they always?  Sounds like shepherd's pie), might try that next time too.  It isn't as pretty as the book picture but it was still yummy.  I haven't made the other recipe in a long time, because it is so labour intensive, but this still tasted normal (I was leery about the topping, but it wasn't bad). 
I also made a dessert today.  It was a brownie/pumpkin pie from Vegan Cupcakes....it is....interesting.  Pumpkin and chocolate are something I think you have to get used to though, lol.  Oh well, I was craving something and I know no one else will want some.  But I am a pumpkin FIEND. 
Anyway.  Here is the recipe.  I highly recommend Moussaka in general.

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 Vegetarian Moussaka

1 eggplant (8oz), cut into 1cm (1/2 in) slices

I large potato, cut into 1 cm slices

30g/1oz of butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500 g (1lb) flat mushrooms, sliced

400g (13oz) can chopped tomatoes

½ tsp sugar

40 g (1 ¼ oz) butter, extra

1/3 c (40g, 1 ¼ oz) all purpose flour

2 c (500ml, 16 fl oz) milk

1 egg, beaten

40 g (1 ¼ oz) grated parmesan

Added:

1 can chickpeas

1 sliced yellow squash (because I needed to use it and didn’t have enough mushrooms)

I also used soy milk instead of milk and egg replacer instead of the egg and left out the sugar

1.       1.   Preheat the oven to hot 220C (425F).  Line a large baking tray with foil and brush with oil.  Put the eggplant and potato in a single layer on the tray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 20 min.

2.       2. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes, or until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.  Increase the heat to high, add the mushrooms (and chickpeas)and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes, or until soft.  Add the tomato, (and squash if you are adding it) reduce the heat and simmer rapidly for 8 minutes, or until reduced.  Stir in sugar (or not)

3.       3. Melt the extra butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute or until pale and foaming.  Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk.  Return to heat and stir constantly until it boils and thickens.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and, when the bubbles subside, stir in the egg and Parmesan.

4.       4.  Reduce the over to moderate 180C (350F).  Grease a shallow 1.5 litre (48 fl oz) ovenproof dish.  Spoon one third of the mushroom mix into the dish.  Cover with potato and top with half the remaining mushrooms, then the eggplant.  Finish with the remaining mushrooms, pour on the sauce and smooth the top.  Bake for 30-35 min, or until the edges bubble.  Leave for 10 minutes before serving.

I'm so excited!!  My partner looks great!  An artist, which is always a good sign!  She is a semi-vegetarian (I've already stalked her blog :P) so I'll have to come up with something to push her all the way!  Man, this'll be awesome, I have so many ideas!  I'm annoyed I can't really get started until after finals. It'll be a nice treat for getting through  MY LAST YEAR OF SCHOOL.  Crazy.  Seems so unreal.

Maybe I shouldn't work on it till after the mother's day presents anyway...

Anyway, expect updates on my Mum's Day gifts!  My swap updates will be on LJ since it is friendslocked and she can't see it :P

Mum
I started 2 bags for her.  The first just didn't work out because I couldn't find any applique fabric to match the colour/design of it.  So, I opted for a plain canvas instead.  It is going to have a green band around the bottom, which I haven't done before, I hope it turns out.  And since I'm totally at a loss of what to put on it, it is just going to be flowers and butterflies and bunnies and happy things :)  She enjoys that.
Btw, here is the market bag I made her last Christmas
She is using more and more reusable bags and always gives them to me or my sister when she brings stuff to us, so she needs more.  Mine are cuter than the ones at the grocery store :P

Anyway, that's all for now.  Off to school to dread finals.

~Nikki

This is what happens when I have nothing else to do/don't want to do homework.  It was rough because whatever is wrong with me is making my hands shake like crazy so some of the times I could hardly hold the pieces of fabric or pick up pins.  Sort of scary, but whatever, it'll pass eventually. 
Anyway, I started this last night and I have all the major construction finished!  Just hem and buttons/button holes left.  Granted, those are what take the most time...but whatever :P
For some reason, matching the top and bottom together made it a little snug, so it is going to be quite fitted :)  It can be fixed easily if I add the buttons and find it a little too tight.  But anyway, here it is so far.  Threw on the belt and hat for kicks :)

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Finished this today instead of doing homework....just wasn't in the mood, lol.
Patches all done by me, two pockets on the inside.  Very durable bag as the only thing I had lying around to line it with was a heavy black canvas material. 
No pattern, just threw it together off the top of my head.  There needs to be some sort of closure on the top, though.  I'm thinking button + loop, unless I can find one of those magnetic snaps or something.  But, other than that.  Ready to be used!

A late night challenge: Show us a photo of the full moon.

What can I say?  Is it obvious I'm missing China?  Another photo from my travels, a little village we stayed at outside of Turpan, Xinjiang Province.  This is in the morning :)  *sigh*  Good times.  Man, I have to get started on my plans for the reunion!  I haven't even signed up yet, let alone a plane ticket.  I can feel my empty wallet throbbing at all my plans when I no longer have a job.

~Nikki

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Mmm, delicious lunch!!
The stew recipe was originally with polenta, but I decided to to biscuits instead.  I'll include the regular recipe though, just cut out the part about polenta if you don't want it!

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1 large carrot, sliced into 1/4 inch matchsticks
1 large yellow squash, sliced into 1/4 inch matchsticks
1 large zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch matchsticks
2 Tbs olive oil
10 oz sliced cremini mushrooms (I used portobello, because I had some)
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts sliced into thin rounds
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c pitted kalamata olives, chopped (I left these out, I don't like olives)
1 28-oz can chopped tomatoes, undrained
2 14-oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained  (I used dried canellini, that I had soaked.  Should have soaked them a bit longer, whatever)
1 c Polenta

1.  Bring 8 cups salted water to a boil (Halved the recipe mostly because I don't own anything that can fit 8 c of water in it, still came out wit a TON) and fill a large bowl with 8 cups of ice water.  Add carrot to boiling water, and simmer 1 minute.  Add squash and zucchini, and cook 1 minute more.  Drain, and plunge in bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  Drain and set aside.
Side note: Now would be a good time to get the biscuits ready.  Put them in the oven right before you simmer the stew at the end of Step 2.
2  Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms, and sprinkle with salt.  Saute 10 minutes, or until liquid is released and mushrooms begin to brown.  Add leeks and garlic, saute 1 minute more.  Stir in tomatoes and white beans.  Reduce heat to med-low, cover, simmer 10 to 15 minutes
3 Polenta: Whisk together polenta and 4 cups of salted water in 2-qt sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over med-high heat, whisking frequently.  Reduce heat to low and cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until thick and porridge like, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper
Stew Continued
Stir carrots, zucchini, and squash into stew; simmer 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper (I used Marjoram, thyme, and some cajun salt-alternative)
Serve stew on top of polenta (or not)

Per serving: 280 Cal; 10g protein; 7.5g total fat (1.5 sat fat); 44 g carb; 0mg chol; 896 mg sodium; 9g fiber; 8g sugars
--Less sodium when you cut out the salt and used the chopped tomatoes 'with no salt added'

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Mamaws Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
from Vegweb

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    2 cups self-rising flour
    1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
    1 cup soy milk
    1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
    2-3 tablespoon vegan margarine.

Directions:

First, combine the soymilk & vinegar and set aside. Next, in a small bowl throw in the flour and cut in the vegetable shortening with a fork. I like to use Crisco butter flavored shortening, which is vegan! Next, pour in the milk mixture and gently stir until the batter comes together.

The key to great biscuits is to not handle them too much. The more you stir them or knead them, the tougher they become. This rule follows for the next part as well.

On a clean surface, generously spread all -purpose flour to cover the surface you will be working on. Place the batter on the floured surface, and throw a little more flour on top. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough, but not too thin, because these biscuits don't rise a whole lot. Next, you can use an empty round can or glass to cut out the shape of the biscuit. I usually end up cutting out biscuits and re-kneading the leftovers a couple times to end up with about 6-8 biscuits.

Place the biscuits on a greased baking pan or iron skillet, put a small pad of butter on top of each one, and put them in the oven.

Bake these biscuits at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 15 mins

[EDIT]  Forgot to mention, I added some parmesan cheese and rosemary to the batter.  And then sprinkled some parmesan cheese onto the tops of the biscuits before I but them in the over.  I can't recommend this recipe enough, they are delicious!

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 Enjoy!

Is there something about my face that just says 'I'm a heathen' more so than others?  I always seem to be getting approached by proselytisers, or maybe I'm just to nice to say 'go away I'm trying to study and have heard what you are going to tell me a hundred times before.'
Anyway, this guy comes up to me while I'm on my computer writing a court brief and asks if I will participate in a survey for him.  I knew what it was about, I saw them praying before they came over.  I don't mind, I'll help out, whatever.  The questions weren't overly offensive, though it got a little awkward when they found out I was Buddhist.  Most of my answers tended to be along the line of 'whatever works for someone, good for them' type attitude. 
He asked me what it takes to get into heaven, and even though I answered 'reincarnation' to an earlier question about life after death, I decided to keep playing along.
I said that, if that ends up being the actual ultimate truth, I would like to think that a truly loving and caring god wouldn't make a kind, compassionate, loving person who lived a good life burn in hell for all eternity because they didn't believe in/find god or heaven in their lives.
But they kept going, 'would you like to hear what the bible says about this?'
Apparently even if you intellectually accept Jesus Christ as the lord savior and son of God, you won't get into heaven unless you have true faith.  Where that line is drawn is beyond me.  I would like to think that all Christians don't believe that god would condemn someone who was a wonderful person to eternal hellfire just because they weren't Christian.  They are all just different paths to the same goal, aren't they?  Whatever it takes for someone to become a good person, right?  That is how I think of it anyway.  Atheism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, or Judaism, whatever brings peace, love, and compassion, right?  I tried to get that message across saying that Jesus and Buddhism essentially teach many of the same things, about being a good person and everything.  I'm not sure if they accepted that or were offended, but they didn't look offended, so that is a good sign.
Wishful thinking?  Never accuse me of not being an optimist :P
At the end of the '4 Laws' booklet (I should have brought it with me, just to try and wrap my head around some of it.  I just really didn't understand/didn't want to think they believed that/understood why they are so keen on converting people) there were 2 circles, one represented the 'self' being on the throne, surrounded by chaos and frustration, with Jesus outside of the circle.  The second one had Jesus on the throne with no chaos or frustration around.  They asked me which represented my life and which I wanted to represent my life.
I said the 3rd circle.

How many people do you think they get to convert by doing this?  Proselytising in the guise of a survey.  Oh well, maybe it was extra credit for one of his classes or something.  Whatever.

Anyway, so that wasted about 20 minutes.  Better go finish that brief.
Ha!  And I told the girl I was meeting with (to work on an essay) about those guys and she was just like 'Oh!  I just can't be bothered with those types of things'  It was classic.

Awesome.  I so wish there was a protest going on around me.  I would so be there.  I'm still so furious at the mention of China.  I know that each protest makes it worse for the Tibetans, or at the very least, doesn't really help their cause but man, I get a twisted joy out of knowing that they must be so annoyed and embarrassed at not being able to get the torch through hardly any of the cities. I'll stop there, because I will get venomous if I keep talking about it.

After Paris?
San Fransisco.

Whoever thought they would be able to get through San Fransisco without incidents should be fired.
That is a picture of some protesters scaling the golden gate bridge. I can't imagine how windy it must be up there. I hope they don't get hurt.  Fantastic though.

The problem I have is that none of this really matters.  Sure, it embarrasses them, sure it 'brings the human rights abuses in China to light' (bad idea, Olympic Committee, btw), but it won't really change anything.  China is still going to benefit from getting the Olympics.  Even with the protests and lack of substantial reproach, it is just an international showing that China can get away with anything without fear of serious retribution.  Seriously, Olympic Committee, what did you expect?  Sure, they made promises, but what incentives do they have to keep them since they already won the Olympic bid?  The repression in China has gotten worse since the second they won that stupid bid.  Good job Olympic Committee.  This goes on your heads too.
Seriously, it is like giving the Olympics to Nazi Germany.  Great idea that was.

Screw you China.

~Nikki

Show us a photo of cherry blossoms in bloom.... Or, if you don't have cherry blossoms where you live, show us a photograph of any flower in bloom!

Grand Canal 070

Wow, two in a row.  Can you tell when I have a lot of homework?  I tend to post more.  Ah, procrastination, you will kill me in the end.

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." -- Pamela Hansford Johnson
Show us a self-taken picture of the sunset.
Submitted by Connie.

Here are a bunch, from a few of the places I've lived.

Denton.  What a beautiful skyline :P  Seriously only decent thing about Texas is the amazing sunsets.

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New Orleans, how I miss thee.  I'm sure I have other pictures from there, but this is what I could find.  View from my balcony :)

And China, how could I not?  I think I have more pictures of sun rises in China than sun sets.  Reminds me a bit about the schedule we kept there while on trips :)  It was wonderful.  Something great about sunrises in foreign places.
First picture is at Tian Chi, a mountain range where we stayed in Yurts.  It was freezing, but probably the most beautiful 'wilderness' type place I've ever been.
Second is the Forbidden City, in back and outside.

Third. ...  Ha, I love this picture.  It is from a park (Xiang Shen) right on the outskirts of Beijing.  Beautiful automne foliage colours.  But anyway.  I enjoy this picture, this is the memory I have of sunsets in Beijing.  The sun slowly disappearing and being blocked out entirely by the pollution.  Wonderful.

This last one is at Hangzhou.  Most gorgeous city in China, especially during Spring.  They have a Starbucks.  How can you go wrong? 
I'm pretty sure we went to Haagen Dazs after this picture was taken.

That was a nice, depressing, reminiscent break from studying.  But now, back to papers.  Or sleep early.  Whatever.

~Nikki