happy belated birthday to me...

my birthday was on the 13th. funny, i don't feel 37. then again, i don't know what anyone is supposed to feel at that age: miserable? sad? angry? how about hungry? yeah, i was hungry that day. so i made myself some chocolate chip cheesecake brownies from vegan cookies invade your cookie jar. note: they were good, a little on the dry side-(what did i do wrong?), and not as cheesecakey tasting as i thought they would. to exercise some portion control, i made them in a muffin pan.
for dinner i made seitanic tacos. i took store bought seitan and seasoned it with ms. dash chipotle flavor, cumin, cinnamon and topped with fresh cilantro, mashed avocado, red pepper slices, and served them on chipotle tortillas. what's that mess of orange goodness in the foreground? crazy carrot jalapeno relish. i know this sounds silly, but i'm trying to find more creative ways to incorporate even more veggies in my diet and not be so horribly reliant on sauces. give it a try, i think you'll like it, and it's a cinch to make:

crazy carrot jalapeno relish

1.5 cups finely chopped carrots
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1-2 pickled jalapenos finely chopped
2t olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt

i used my vidalia chop wizard to finely chop everything. i sauteed the onions, garlic, and jalapenos in a non-stick pan, then added the carrots and just a little bit of water. i covered and simmered until they were fork tender and cooled. is an awesome relish for anything mexican/latino. i used this later to add in some roasted carrot soup and it worked out great! see below:i roasted 4 cups of carrots in the oven with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. pureed the shit out of them with 2c v-8 juice, 1 c. coconut water, cinnamon and cumin. after pureeing, sat that baby on medium heat and added the leftover relish. topped it with some leftover seitan and added a tiny dollop of soy sour cream. totally decadent.

i didn't do all the cooking that day, btw. i know it sounds backwards to cook for myself on my birthday, but i really enjoy cooking. with my cramped schedule any extra time in the kitchen is a big gift. mr. jewbacca made me the following on my birthday morning for breakfast:
he asked me if i wanted to go out to eat. i said, "no." "well, what do you want then?" he asked.
"i want a plain bagel with pb&j topped with nanners."

and that's just what i got. i'm a lucky woman indeed.