day#30: in closing

woah, i bit off more than i could chew. was i crazy trying to shoot for 1,000,000 hits this month? probably. would i do it again? yup. there's something to be said for aiming high. going vegan has taught me so much about myself, my relationship with food, kindness towards animals, the environment, and what it means to truly nourish myself. i hope that by sharing my eats with all of you and some of the stories about the truly beautiful people i've met at the post punk kitchen, you'll want to stop by some time and take a gander.
this post is dedicated to all of you future post punk kitchen members. it would be awesome to hear my children make an informed decision by telling me that they also want to pursue veganism. i will not force the issue, though. when the time is right, i'll have a conversation with them about how food gets to their plate and see how they feel about it. for now, i have two awesome children that are really good vegetarians. my son can't stand eggs, cheese, and meat. he also hates veggies. but he loves fruit, grains, peanut butter, and most sweets. my daughter has blown me away by eating anything i put in front of her: avocado, kale, peas, bananas, sweet potato, squash, oatmeal, and has shown that she does NOT care for chocolate. weird, huh? the other day she started signing "more" at the dinner table, and is trying to feed herself. how awesome is that?
regardless of how you choose to eat, please take a moment and pause. what can you do to be more connected with your body? how often do you eat in a rush?are most of your meals from prepackaged foods or a number on a value menu? when was the last time you sat down in a chair in the kitchen and enjoyed a home cooked meal? are there smells in the kitchen that make you feel at peace? what are they?

cooking something for someone is one of many ways to express love to others. i cook for myself because i love me. i cook for other people and share food because i love the people close to me. think about it: you have to find out what someone likes, find a special recipe or come up with one on your own, take the time to find the perfect ingredients, make the food, present the food, watch them eat, and clean up after wards. it's a process we take for granted.
sea turtle sammies for my son!

so--schmaltzy as this ending may be, i thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog. i look forward to seeing the end numbers at foodbuzz and writing a check to my local food bank. i couldn't have done this without everyone's support.

eat well, be well, and don't forget that someone out there needs you.

xo jen

day#29: dropping the ball

i know, i know. i missed yesterday's post. noted, ball dropped. i have MOFO burnout, seriously.
and another dropped ball: dear graciakai of the ppk, i know you wanted a vegan chicken parmigiana sandwich--but this was all i had. i hope you don't feel gypped by having a luscious dish of roasted acorn squash stuffed with sauteed portobello mushrooms, roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, and bulghur named after you. i personally think this is way more creative than a veganized chicken parm, but who am i to say what's cool? i'm as dorky as they get.

vegan foodies, i give you the GK's tricked out squash

you'll need:

• one acorn squash
• 2 c. SOAKED bulghur*
• 2 cloves of garlic, via garlic press
• one smallish onion, chopped
  
• 9 sun dried tomatoes, cut into thin strips with kitchen shears
• 1/2 roasted red pepper cut into strips
• 1 T. ms. dash basil blend
• 2-3 portobello mushrooms, chopped
  
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 t. salt

clean, halve, scoop, and roast that squash at 375 for about 45 minutes. NOTE: brush halves w/olive oil and poke holes in flesh with fork. put a little water in each half and cover with foil too!

saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms in a little olive oil on low-med heat. add vinegar, salt, roasted red pepper, bulghur and toss in the sun dried tomatoes last. simmer for a few minutes. when acorn squash halves are done, fill each half with this mixture. you can earn extra points by drizzling a little extra olive oil on top too.

*to soak bulghur: 1 part water to one part bulghur. EXTRA NOTE: you can use any grain or small pasta for this. quinoa or rice for you GF peeps, and i believe couscous or orzo would work well with this!

day#27: some things just don't need promotion

look, it's a piece of pie! sweet potato to be exact.
i mean, whadda ya hafta do to promote pie? absolutely nothing. pie pretty much sells itself, it needs no PR. hell, even mud pies look awesome enough to eat, until you eat some and then you realize duh it's just dirt. all hail the pie.

if you're a pie hater, i don't want to know you. i'm sure a few of you exist--you just haven't had really good pie yet. oooh, so you're a cupcake person? i'm not. i suppose you feel the same way about me. i hope you're not going to convince me it's hip to pay $4 for a fancy schmancy cupcake, because i'm not out to convert you. i'm happy you don't like pie, because there's more for me. pies 4 eva!

pies4eva is a post punk kitchen forum member, and i love her dearly. i met her on the playground, the parenting section of the forum. if you have little sweet potatoes, i highly recommend going there to read/share/vent any and all things parent related. screw those other parenting message boards.

so this pie--it's wolfie's pumpkin pie recipe from vegan-a-go-go. i subbed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin and used EB/oil blend for the crust. it was a really nice way to seal the deal on our thanksgiving dinner. the topping didn't turn out the way i thought it would. i envisioned more of a struedely like topping and it just sank in the pie. sugary and nutty morsels throughout the pie was really rad anyway, but not intentional. perhaps that happened because of using the potatoes? who knows.