day#18: woah, i almost didn't make it!

today was one of those never ending days at the office. i'd hang up the phone and it would just ring again. normally, i blog in the morning before work or after i get home. after work, it was a never ending game of waitress for the kids and i almost didn't get my blog entry in today! the following sammich is the perfect thing to have for lunch-(or dinner) on one of those hectic gogogogogogogogogogo days where your life might need a couple paper clips, straw, and string to create some sort of invention to get you out of a crazy jam.
this is not to be confused with the adamcrisis fridgey feng shui, because it didn't require me to clean out my fridge or rock out to punk. nope--this is a careful selection of some of my favorite sandwich ingredients that i could still manage to broil, assemble, and gobble within 15 minutes.
i call this masterpiece the shitty macgyver, after mumbles the thrax. i believe ol' mumbles is just known as just mumbles on the new ppk board. it is made with an organic cibatta roll made by tree of life foods, slathered with veganaise, roasted red pepper, banana peppers, cheddar daiya, bacon bitz, pickles, and gold medal tomato slices. i almost burned the house down broiling it, so the bacon bitz were a little burned.

i don't think richard dean anderson or just mumbles would really mind.

day#17: it's what's on the inside that counts

i typed the title of that entry at least five times before assuring myself that was grammatically correct. i still don't think it is. it just sounds funny, y'know? it's what's? i was never an english major, and do not profess to be the grammar police. i just don't like sounding like an idiot.
well, let's set that shit aside and talk about this pancake. this ain't no tiny hotcake--this is as thick as it looks. about 2.12 inches to be precise. see that crack on the outside? it's the gateway to heaven: filled with a glorious strudel filling that will have you doing flips, cartwheels, n' shit you never thought your body could do. in fact, you might say you died inside and was born again a better human being. if you're smart you'll see the segue to the dedication. these amazing stuffed pancakes are dedicated to the aspiring nutritionista ijustdiedinside from the ppk.
i'll have to post a video on how to make these "nailed to the v" stuffed pancakes. i can't list the recipe right now because i've run out of time. i'll film something this weekend so you can see your author in action. there's definitely a learning curve, but the payoff is awesome.

day#16: twofer tuesday for the gluten free peeps

this first dish was a dish that could have been a disaster, but i didn't give up hope. i hate wasting food. i wanted to make a gluten free dessert without chocolate-(a super challenge for me) and thought, hmmm--it's been a while since i've had rice pudding. i think i'll make some. i looked over tons of vegan rice pudding recipes on the web. i moaned: i did NOT want to wait 4+hours to make it. i had an idea. what about putting the rice+milk in the rice cooker? it should work, right? it made the whole house smell like christmas, but the rice didn't cook. fail.

instead of tossing it all in the compost pile, i put the dish in a tupperware container and added more milk, and i let that soak overnight. the next day i reheated it in a pan with some smashed bananas, topped with some homemade raisins-(made by my own rabbi) pecans, a dot of EB, and just a touch of agave nectar. this turned out to be a better than average save! i brought some to work and had my omni and vegetarian employees try it. they both liked it quite a bit.

i'll call that little treat a cup of hope rice puddin' for mittenmachen, one of the ppk gluten free girls. her blog is really cute, and her food photography is wonderful!

here's how i made the pudding--feel free to make the rice first so you can avoid the failure.

in the rice cooker:
1 c sushi rice +2 c water. set your cooker to "cook" and walk away

• 2 c non dairy milk
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t cardamon
• 1/2 t ginger
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 t vanilla
• 3 overripe bananas

mix cooked rice with other ingredients under low/med heat until nice, thick, and sticky. garnish with raisins, pecans, dot with EB-(or not), and a touch of agave nectar. this makes a great breakfast.

i have a limited range when it comes to seafood. i never had much exposure to it growing up so i can't tell you what crab really tastes like. fishy? i guess so. i wanted to make a stuffed mushroom with mock crab sort of thingy, and this is what i came up with. i tried these out on some omni friends that thought they were really good. i don't think these tasted crab like at all, just like spicy-quinoa-cheezy goodness!
these are called titty babies, for the great and illustrious kittee. she's the kind of person that oozes so much cool, all you can really do is stutter around her. i wish i were independently wealthy so i could hire her to be my personal creative assistant, because she's such a smart gluten free cookie.
here's the recipe. i love you, kittee!

titty baby mushroom whores d'vores:
you'll need:

• a bunch of button mushrooms, medium to large in size. wash 'em and scoop out the caps n' junk.
• 1 1/4 c. cooked quinoa
• 1 t powdered seaweed
• 2 big T veganaise
• 1.5 t red pepper flakes
• juice of a lemon
• pinch black pepper
• 1 t bragg's
• 1/2 c. daiya cheddar cheese-set aside

preheat the oven to 350. got yer mushrooms ready? grease a cookie sheet or rub some olive oil on a glass baking dish. mix the cooked quinoa and everything else-(except that cheese) and stuff that mixture lovingly into the caps. be gentle so you don't break the mushrooms. now, set these tittie babies in the baking dish/on cookie sheet take little bits o' the cheez and top them all. if you want to really go big, top 'em with fakin' bacon, but most bacon bits have wheat in them, and that would negate the whole GF thang.

cook uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. if you like a soggy mushroom cover with foil. enjoy!