Oktoberfest

when i hear the word "oktoberfest" i usually visualize polka dancin' dudes in lederhosen eating sausages and drinking large amounts of beer. not anymore. this year i participated in the post punk kitchen october care package swap. my swap partner was brittany from VA and she really sent me a sweet basket! I received TJ maple leaf cookies, organic brown rice crispy treats, dark chocolate covered pretzels, two kinds of primal strips-(thai peanut and hickory), justin's hazlenut butter, dandies vanilla vegan marshmallows, lara bar jocolat, white chocolate chips from pangea, tj cranberry butter, chocolate covered espresso beans, and blood orange bat dots!
the hazlenut butter puts nutella to shame. plus i chuckled a little because it was called "justin's nut butter." i have such a dirty mind.
the cookies were great! i have evil s'mores plans for those dandies.
i used some of these the other day to make really great cookies that i will talk about next month for my SPECIAL THEME during VEGAN MOFO. what's the theme? c'mon--i'm all about suspense. let's just say it'll be cool, way cool. if i told you now, i might just have to kill you. and that wouldn't be vegan.
i'm not a huge candy fan--just a chocolate purist. i found these to be really great! plus they make great accents for cupcakes or dressing up fun shaped cookies.
the cranberry apple butter really jazzes up the ol' tired pb&j. i am also going to play around with it and make some bbq sauce with it.

i would never buy myself this stuff. sad, but true. i'd probably buy it piece meal, but i really don't get specialty stuff too often. largely because i'm broke, don't live super close to a TJ, and i know (this is silly because i know i'm worth it)--i'm just busy most of the time taking care of everyone else first, then i eventually get to "me". this bundle of vegan goodies really made my day. this was a ton of fun and i'll more than likely do this again.

thanks, brittany! i hope you are enjoying yours.

there's more to pumpkin than pumpkin pie

there's pumpkin saag! i'm always amazed at the little gems i find in veganomicon. this is one of those recipes you don't really hear about but should! here's how my menu planning goes: i take what i get at the food bank, add the little extras we can afford to round out our groceries for the week, and then use cook books to come up with things to do with the food. this pumpkin is from my compost pile--it was one of those happy accidents that just grew from the pile and gave us one gigantoid pumpkin. i'm surprised it wasn't accompanied by a coach and some mice. after it was cleaned, peeled, and chopped i had several pounds of awesome roasted pumpkin to use for a few recipes.

this dish is the perfect mixture of sweet and savory. tip: roast the pumpkin a night ahead, and you'll have this dish done in no time the next day. i paired it with some flat bread and curried potatoes/carrots. the only thing that could have made this more awesome would have been a nice dal.

plum it!

When the plums take affect
Yes, the plums suddenly juice her mind (mind)
She is no longer a nervous wreck
Now her nerves are blind; she feels fine (fine)- "Plum Dumb"
The Dead Milkmen, Big Lizard in My Back Yard

i've never been a huge fan of plums, except for the occasional jar of baby food. i know, i'm a freak. i found this recipe in Lickin' the Beaters: Low Fat Vegan Desserts. i acquired some plums from the food bank and wanted to put them to good use. score!

here's a money shot of the cake. i was apprehensive about making it at first because it calls for zero leavening and weighed about 20lbs when i took it out of the oven. it is a VERY dense cake, and a little goes a long way. this is true hippie food--a sweet that you can actually feel good about eating because it doesn't contain much sugar and only a scant T of oil. note to vegans who want to make something for your co-workers: don't make it for the omni set. it's not that it's bad-(because it isn't), it just won't win them over--and i'm afraid that's just the reality we live in today. i did have my co-workers try a little and they described it as "good but different". and while i'm not the kind of vegan who's out to convert others, i am the kind of vegan that is about dispelling myths about vegan cuisine tasting like dirt.

remember, MOFO is NOT this month. it's next month. i have a super secret surprise up my sleeve with a fun theme, so i want you to recruit as many readers as you can. what's the big deal? well, i'm donating 1/2 of my blogging check to mother hubbard's cupboard if i rake in over $30--this requires about 10,000 a month. i know this is high traffic, but this is doable. in november i have this crazy goal of ONE MILLION HITS so i can give this local food bank an amazing donation. won't you help me? i can't achieve this goal without you, so please get the word out.