Juicein' and Travelin'

The family just got back from a one week trek to our hometown, Phoenix/Gilbert. My week was relaxing, mostly consisting of grapefruit from the backyard for breakfast, acai smoothies with mom for lunch, and Green or some local joint for dinner. Plus, I got to run almost everyday, sleep in, watch 3o Rock on Netflix, and not deal with the break-out causing, hair-pulling out stress of working in the coffee shop.

The Snackimals loved their grandparents, especially the grassy field in the backyard and the toys doted upon them (although Zdzislaw had a weird obsession with killing the giant Siberian stuffed tiger, don't ask).

Josef, however, worked like crazy everyday at Electric Haven, a Tempe-based traditional tattoo/barber shop. EH does 13 dollar, 13 related tattoos on Friday the 13th.

To say it was crazy would be an understatement; Josef worked from 11 am to 4 am the next day! I can testify to that because Sara and me were smacking ourselves to stay awake towards the end.

Some of the highlights were the Birds of Prey/Native American dance Sara and I went to on friday. The was a show put on by Liberty Wildlife, where Sara teaches at, and it included vultures, falcons, hawks, barn owls, a bald eagle and a cute one-eyed owl named Ivan.

It was awesome to see all the birds up close and personal. Sara has the coolest job ever! (except for astronaut/cake tester)

Whenever I am staying at my parents, I like to cook a huge, elaborate meal, because: 1) There is never a shortage of willing eaters 2) They have a huge kitchen with every pot and pan I desire 3) I have access to Salerno's, the Italian restaurant I used to work at and makers of the best tomato sauce known to man. This time around I did a triple-pasta-punch of Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Sage Bread Crumb Topping (from Veganomicon), Eggplant non-Parmagian (taught to me by Ida from Salerno's), and Spinach Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta (from my brain). Oh yeah, and Coconut Heaven Cupcakes and Cookies and Cream Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

I may have bitten off more than I could chew. Lately my meals have been consisting of almonds and smoothies scarfed down at work and dinner by Josef when I get home, so I'm a little out of cooking shape. I started chopping the minute I got back from the gym (4:30) and finished the cupcakes hectically by not even measuring at 7. Dinner guests were my mom, her spinning class friends Manami and Nicole, Josef, Sara, and yours truly. It was an even split of vegans and non vegans and everybody came back for seconds. Success!

The week went by too quickly. My parents sent us off with hugs and three bulging bags of grapefruit. Somehow I ended up with a long weekend, so I seized the opportunity to turn the grapefruits into liquid gold (aka grapefruit juice). Let the citrus alchemy begin!

By the way, I cannot emphasize how useful my citrus juicer has been. I bought it for five bucks at Queen Sooper's (the King Sooper's that gay people go to) for my second Master Cleanse. It's nothing fancy, non-mechanized, just a old-school juice with a screw-on bottom.

I juiced enough grapefruit for me and Josef the next morning, then used the rest to fill up ice cubes for on the fly smoothies and iced tea. Yums!

so... procrastination?

I know I promised a new post (to whom, I am not sure) 10 months ago. I am no longer new to Denver, my age has been bumped a a whole digit, gots me a shiny MacBook Air from Josef, and my family has grown to four. NO, I am not pregnant(gross!); I have a new baby girl named Scout McCarthy-Phoenix.

She's a Japanese chin-min. poodle mix. She is a squirrelly little ball of crazy that unfurls into a leggy psycho she-wolf, like a unlame version of Pokemon. Zdzislaw loves having a playmate and has thankfully stopped trying to get freaky with her. (No means NO)

Anyway, we have been living in ParkHill area Denver for the past ten months in a little blue cottage. Josef tattooing, me barista-ing, and Zdzislaw working Colfax for spare change. I love having a backyard for the babies, a spare bedroom for guests (Carolina, Sara, and my 'rents), and a bike, Rosemary, to get around.

Most of all, I love my kitchen, especially now that the crazy-summer heat is gone, I have no qualms with heating up the house. I've been cooking a lot from Appetite for Reduction and Viva Vegan. My most recent adventure has been Dirrty South night: flakey biscuits, pepper gravy, and kale greens and hoppin' john black-eyed peas. As you can see, it has the healthy plate ratio of 1/2 carbs, 1/4 proteins, and 1/4 pure gravy (with some hot sauce thrown in for extra nutrients). The biscuits and gravy recipe was from The Vegan Girls Guide to Life. I haven't done cut-out biscuits since 7th grade home-ec (I'm usually lazy and just do drop biscuits), but the rolling out is worth it for the flakey, biscuit-y taste.

Flaky Biscuits and Gravy

Preheat oven to 350.

1 cup soy milk mixed with 2 tsp. apple cider vineger: whisk together and set aside to curdle.

Mix in bowl:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Cut in 1/4 cup veggie shortening with fingers or fork or pastry cutter if you are rich and ridiculous. Gently mix in soy milk/vinegar until combined. Wash your paws, dry, and coat them and a clean surface in flour. Fold dough over six times and press into an inch thick layer. Use a cup to cut out biscuits. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Whilst (I really try to use that word as much as possible) the biscuits are baking, start your gravy.

Heat 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Stir in 6 Tbs. flour, 1 Tbs. pepper, and 1/4 Tbs. salt. Slowly pour in 2 cups unsweetened soy milk and stir for 5 minutes until gravy in thick and delicious. Pour over everything and anything. Snaaap.

sooo... denver?

I know its been long... too long. And I am not gonna make up for it with this post. It's been super busy for the past couple of months. Moving to Denver, starting my new job, Joseph working crazy at Lifetime Tattoo, having visitors, and getting settled into our new home. The food here is amazing! And the biking! I don't want to get into it too much because somewhere between the packings and unpackings and move-abouts, I lost my camera cord. Soooo... expect an awesome post next time after I beg, borrow, steal, or fashion MacGyver-style a camera cord.
Much love from Whitney, Josef, and Zdzislaw.

Au Revior! South Dakota!

Lot's of things have been going down in the Whoseph collective. Most excitedly, the end of the long, slow cigarette drag in hell that our stay in Yankton has been. The stay wasn't that bad: Joseph had the opportunity to put together some amazing pieces (check out his tattoos here), I got a nice job I can transfer with, and we got to enjoy a beautiful fall. HOWEVER, the bitter winter, lack of decent food, and drunk bozos yelling from cars have left us eager to hit the ground running. Next up is Colorado!

A house in Colorado... with a backyard and basement and most importantly a kitchen. That word is so beautiful to me right now. A kitchen, not a kitchenette. I no longer have to try to make healthy, tasty meals with just a toaster, mini fridge, and microwave. Just the simple fact that I will be able to saute almost makes me cry. My name is Whitney and I like food.

Because of this impending move, we are trying to concurrently save money and clean out the fridge. What I've really taken away from our stay is being creative and cheap with food. Lessons learned: You can't use analogs like Vegenaise and cheez all the time. You can't follow recipes to the T. But you CAN learn to caramelize onions in a toaster oven, hooray!

I'm frustrated by the lack of frugal vegan cook books (except Vegan on the Cheap, which I am totally gonna go out and buy once this money saving pays off). Maybe there's not much of a market; I feel like foodie-ism is almost escapism. People pour over Top Chef and Gourmet whilst eating Wendy's. Veganism also has an elitist tag that it can't seem to shake. People give me the look when I tell them I'm vegan that I used to give to the guy at Starbuck's who ordered a 190 degree-xtra foam-20 packets of Equal-3 dashes of cinnamon-half coffee-breve-3 shots of espresso-and 2 pumps of vanilla syrup. (Seriously, he got one everyday)

Veganism should be the diet of the people, not the uppercrust. I won't stop the revolution until I no longer have to answer "Where do you get your protein?" and the phrase "rice and beans" replaces "burger and fries".

A lot of vegan authors guilt me with the "Your body is your most important asset, so you should put the most money into healthy, organic, raw, unrefined foods." Which I guess would be valid to me if I was blowing money on 300 dollhair shoes and frivolous things like haircuts. Alas, Joseph and I are determined to be debt free. That means saving and scrimping and as our guilty pleasure-guru Dave Ramsey saves "Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else." Meaning, we have to make sacrifices and not eat the "best" foods now so later on we can hopefully eat organic, unprocessed everything. I believe debt is human slavery just as the meat/dairy industry is animal slavery.

Sorry to be getting hotheaded and wordy, this argument has been bouncing around in my head for sometime. Getting out of my bubble and into the world has opened my eyes on a lot of issues. It's easier to stay up in an ivory tower/ soap box and preach than it is to make an impact and do something. I would prefer the latter. Maybe that means writing a Cheapskate Vegan cookbook or maybe it means throwing a Molotov cocktail at something, anything. (Jk, Homeland Security, please don't put me on the no-fly list).

That being said, here is my last dinner at the 3rd St. digs. It is a caramelized onion pizza with flaxseed dough. And I think it cost a buck fifty to make ; ).

Step One:

Caramelize a thinly sliced sweet onion. If you have a stove, than means cook covered with a tablespoon of olive oil on low heat for 20 minutes, then uncovered on medium heat for 10.

or

Crank your toaster oven up to 425 and leave it on. Heat up a little oil in the pie-tin you use as a baking sheet. (I know this situation might not apply to everyone) Add the onion and cover with an oven safe plate. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove coverplate, stir, and cooked uncovered for 15 minutes.

Caramelized onions should be dark brown and soft. They will taste sweet, which I sometimes balance with a dash of salt and balsamic vinegar. They are also yummy and should be put on everything.

Set onions aside and get crackin on your pizza dough.

1/2 hot tap water

1 Tbs. flaxseed

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. sage

1 tbs. olive oil

Whisk flax seeds and water until combined. Drizzle in oil. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sage. Combine flour mixture with water until you can form it into a ball. Press into a oiled dish.

NOTE: The flax seed is completely optional. I grind a bunch in my coffee grinder (when its clean)and store it in my freezer. It's good for adding fiber, omegas, and binds the dough.

Top with 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, and whatever veggies you have in your fridge. Cook for 15 minutes until brown then top with nutritional yeast. The pizza was soft and sweet like focaccia. Last time I whipped some up, I had some leftover stuffed mushroom filling made from fresh bread crumbs, sauteed mushrooms, walnuts, and lemon juice. I formed them into little sausage balls to top the pizza with. It was delicious and way better than the expensive faux stuff.

P.S. Wanna see one of the cutest things ever?

He's not dead and stuffed, just wicked playful.

The Perfect Chocolate Chips Cookies

I've made many vegan cookies in my day, some good, some not so good and crumbly and dirt clod-like. But this is the best. Admit, it is directly stolen from Isa from the post punk kitchen, but it rules so much I need to share it (especially with Carolina, ((btw I miss you!).

www.theppk.com/2008/11/chocolate-chip-cookies/

These rule because:

1. They do not require (expensive! though still yum) vegan butter

2. Taste like my family's secret Tollhouse recipe from my youth

3. Only one dish required

4. And they are a notorious convertin' treat to get people to eat gross vegan food.

Enjoy and go forth!

Merry Christmas

Snow has fallen, ugly sweaters have been worn, and I am soooo glad I won't have to hear anymore Christmas music. Merry Christmas from Whitney and Joseph and Zdzislaw!

...These are a few of my favorite things

Word to the wise, if you get a holiday retail job, you will be driven insane by the constant Christmas music. It has officially crossed the line from annoying me to making me want to gauge my ears out with candy canes. The combination of a certain overplayed song (which I'm still not sure how it is related to Christmas) and the end of the year lists that I love reading, has led me to create of things I have come to adore in 2010.

1. Salty Chocolate

Like a Jeff Bridge's western, it has managed to combine two things I love and make it more awesome. Chocolove's Sea Salt and Almond Dark Chocolate and Chuao Chocolatier Cafe's Sea Salt and Panko are my favorites. Both feed my cravings for sweet and salty, and I figure that the heart-healthy benefits of dark chocolate balance the badness of salt (Kinda like Spark's without the whole "kills college freshmen" side effects).

2. NPR

I can't believe people are trying to shut it down. Modern media and life can be so mind numbing, its refreshing to learn things other than which psuedo-celebutante in in rehab. I love Science Friday, The Splendid Table, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and This American Life. It's free and commercial free, if that is "left wing" and wrong, I don't want to be right.

3. Not being constantly plugged in.

I don't have a SmartPhone, leave my cell phone at home and hate texting, and have never gotten cable. And that's the way I plan to keep it. Though I love the Internet for all the lovely podcasts, music, blogs, and recipes it supplies me (not to mention using google to prove I'm right in petty arguments), I feel like the constant flood of social networking and shiny images make peoples insensitive and less grateful for knowledge. PS: IPads can stuff it.

4. Moustaches

I don't know, I just like 'em.

5. Soup

Soup is good anytime, but in Midwestern winters, it's a necessity. Super easy to make and there are no shortage of yummy veggie varieties. Just mix spices, veggies, grains, veg broth, and sometimes fruit. Saute this, puree that, and you have a solid, hearty meal. Soup is the true working man's food.

6. Secondhand books

Fifty cent books are a gateway drug for authors I have been sceptical about before. A ten or fifty cent risk at Goodwill or the library has paid off by introducing me to Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, and Jonathan Franzen. Way cheaper and less soul sucking than chain bookstores.

Other things people should unconditionally love: Turkish pistachios, nutritional yeast, Community, Paul Newman, peppermint tea, black cardigans, Bobbi Brown, and composition notebooks.

We are going to Chicago to eat and have fun for a few days. I am so excited and am totally gonna stalk Oprah and climb the Sears Tower.