Almost nearly entirely somewhat mostly moved...

save for a load of laundry at the old apartment which at this point I'm a wee bit tempted to abandon. Ooops. Who needs towels? Not I, said the dry woman. I greatly enjoy living in Norfolk and more specifically in my new house. I've lived in just about everything but a house for the past 14 something years and I am taking careful note of the feeling of real hardwood floors, a garden, a decent sized kitchen, and tons of room for our abundance of kitties. [side track] we have a garden! Tonight I enjoyed a quick lettuce wrap which featured home-grown jalapenos scattered amongst brown rice, hummus, tomato, and artichoke. [end side track] The mere fact that I am no longer physically residing on VB soil has been enough to drop my stress level drastically. The abundance of kitties helps too. This past week I wandered around nearby shopping centers and discovered 2 huge thrift markets, an antique shop, an international food market, and a small health food store. We're talking within a 10 minute biking distance. I am 10 minutes and $2.14 away from a vegan lemon poppy seed cookie and a cane sugar jamaican root beer! It's love!

Baking soon at a kitchen near you: Chocolate Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Cream Cheese Whoopee Pies

- Love, Raven

Apricot Thumbprint Cookies

For some reason these cookies remind me of sleepovers at my nana's house. That lady has an abundance of apricot preserves. What do you do with that much apricot? Bagels? Toast? Cookies! These are exceptionally fun because you're supposed to squish your fingers into them.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup apricot preserves

-Preheat oven to 350
-Combine flour, baking powder, salt, & sugar in a medium bowl
-In a separate bowl combine oil, milk, and extract. Slowly beat into flour mixture until a soft dough forms
- Lightly oil two baking sheets with cooking spray. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls and place balls 1" apart on sheet
-Bake for 7 minutes, then quickly remove from oven and place your thumb into the center of each cookie to form an indentation. Spoon a tiny dollop of preserves into the hole. Place back into the oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes

Banana Pecan Pancakes

Any time that I come across another damned vegan pancake recipe I wince. There are probably 70000 vegan pancake recipes to weed through on the internet and only a few of them actually yield good pancakes. I came across the original version of this gem on vegweb, but did a little alterin' here and there to make it tastier. The incorporation of the banana makes these more dense than your typical pancake, but I like them that way. In hindsight, some toasted oats on top would have been a great finishing touch.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tsbp water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 ripened mashed banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

-Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
- In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Mix into the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the mashed bananas and pecans. Ladle a large dollop of batter in a frying pan on medium heat. Cook until golden brown.

Was going to leave a post doting on power juicers...

but was temporarily detained and distracted by humans. Post to come soon. Ask again later. TTFN. Until then, I leave you with this.

Thai-Spiced Maki Rolls

Oh my god. That's about all that I can say. These rolls are intended to be spicy however you can easilly adjust the level to your own taste. Also, mango slices or clementines would work well in replacement of the mandarines. Nearly anything acidic and bright in flavor will do. There are many online guides on how to successfully roll sushi, cook the rice, etc. so I will not swim in that area for too long. Just the basics, my dear friends, and obviously my own thai addition.

2 sheets toasted nori

1 cup short grain rice
1 1/4 cup water
1 block extra-firm tofu
1carrot
2 mandarine oranges
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes


The rice:
-Combine rice and water in a medium sized pot
-Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and continue to cook for 20 minutes
-Meanwhile, combine rice vinegar and sugar in a small bowl to form a solution. After rice is cooked, take off of heat and allow to sit for ten minutes until all of the water has been absorbed
-Spoon the cooked rice onto a flat surface, carefully folding in the sugar/vinegar solution. Fan the rice with a magazine or whatever you have on hand (alternate between fanning and folding).
-Once cooled, place half of the rice in the center of the nori sheet (placed dull side up), and spoon out evenly leaving only 1/2 inch of exposed nori at the end.

The filler:
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan on medium heat, add in 1 tsbp curry paste and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Add in slices of tofu and cook until slightly browned.
- Slice the carrots and peeled orange pieces into sticks.
- Place the tofu, carrots, and oranges in the center of the rice and slowly roll the nori.
*As mentioned before, many guides can be found online about rolling sushi*
-Allow roll to settle for a few minutes and then cut into 4-5 large pieces

Top with peanut sauce and chopped peanuts, recipe should yield 2 rolls.