It’s a good thing I can’t watch the Oscars (thanks ABC and Cablevision) because I’m studying for a test tomorrow. It’s insurance and I keep falling asleep when I try to read it. Anyways here’s to diversions like blogging and cooking….
Last week I stopped in the bodega in my building for a snack and bought some Ritz crackers but when I tried to spread on some tofutti cream cheese they all totally fell apart. I was crushed. So I was trying to think about what to do with a bunch of ritz cracker crumbs. A quick internet search including ritz and vegan lead me to Lindy Loo at Yeah, That “Vegan” Shit and a lovely recipe for Mac & Cheese topped with Ritz. I followed the recipe, but I still don’t see why you need to make the white sauce and cheeze sauce separately. Anyway, it was still easy and I only had half a box of elbow macaroni, so I only used 1/2 the cheese sauce and the extra pan came in handy for mixing. 
The verdict? This is some super awesome mac & cheese. Too bad I don’t have any stewed tomatoes or it would be just like grandma used to make. Well, not my grandma, but everyone else’s mom-mom I knew growing up in Delaware.
Mmm cocktails…They both have sake. The one on the left has spiced something, and the one on the right is the French 79 and has champagne. The point of cocktails is that you don’t remember what’s in them. Yummy. 
With the cocktails we got a little jalapeno cornbread. 
Now for the apps, I got the special which was an artichoke risotto. This was really nice. Creamy and full of flavor. The chips in top are zucchini. 
The Ninja had the mushroom ravioli. This was really lovely. The little bits on top were kind of bacony and the sauce was rich and creamy. In fact when he asked me if I wanted to try it he said, “oh, you can’t have this, it’s got cream in it,” and I said “um, duh, we’re at a vegan restaurant, I can eat ANYTHING!” Yay! 
The wine was a Chilean malbec/cab. Nice. 
Ah the seitan piccata. Signature dish. The seitan was perfect. Nice density, lightly fried to perfection. I’ve made this dish from the 
I got the seitan special, which was beautifully fried seitan with a portabella mushroom and roasted vegetables in a mild chipotle sauce. This was also really good. There were two pieces of seitan and I couldn’t quite finish both but I still almost took the last little piece home it was so good. 
Holy cannoli, batman. I do miss cannoli. Not with this around. This was fantastic. The ice cream was coconut chocolate chip.
I also made some garden fresh pizzas while I was watching Olympic hockey. The sauce was from the garden. Last summer’s garden. Late in the summer I finally borrowed my mom’s dehydrator and saved a few pieces of summer. Just what I needed in this wintry weather. The tomatoes were from mom’s garden and the eggplant and peppers from my 
On the left is some dried tomatoes and on the right cubed and dried eggplant. The tomatoes were in slices, so I cut them up with some kitchen scissors. 
OK, so the shitake mushrooms weren’t from the garden, but next year I’ll have to dry some ‘schrooms. Red and green bell peppers on the right.
This is the sauce on the pizza dough. 
I added 
Gluten-free toast with “mite.” Vegemite on the left; Marmite on the right. The consistency is a little different, and I’m sure there’s some subtle taste difference, but I can’t tell them apart. It may look like chocolate nutella or something, but I assure you this salty, yeasty topping does not resemble chocolate in taste. 
The Bread is Ener G gluten free, dairy free bread. It has a shelf life of about 6 months. I would have used it earlier, but I was kind of fascinated to see how long it would last. The special packaging is the “preservative” and you don’t have to keep it in the freezer like other gluten free breads I’ve seen. The packaging got puffier the longer it sat around. For gluten-free bread, this isn’t half bad. It tastes a little healthy, but otherwise is good. 
Here’s some snowy photos of my neighborhood.
Big tree that decided to lose a few branches in my yard.
This is the footbridge I take on my walk to the train. It’s much scarier at night when you think the Headless Horseman might be galloping up behind you. I live in Sleepy Hollow, so don’t think that couldn’t happen. 
OK, Headless Horseman aside, here’s some actual danger. Just past the bridge there was a downed tree fallen on a power line completely blocking the road for anyone downhill from it. I just kind of walked around it to get home. The snow was pretty, but knocked out my cable for a couple of days. Cable is back on now, so I’ve got to go catch up on some Buffy I DVRed.
*For anyone who didn’t live through the 80’s, the title “He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich” is part of the lyrics to “Down Under” by Men at Work. I had no idea what a Vegemite sandwich was until many years later. I once named our corporate volleyball team “Vegemite Slamwich.” It won an 
Chocolate truffles filled various flavors from hazelnut to mint (yes, I ate them all) in a cute decorated wooden box. Orange ginger marmalade which I slathered heavily on some toast. Wicked yummy, I could have eaten it with a spoon. A handmade origami gift box and a very pretty beaded necklace. Oh, and an oh so cute photo of Squirrelly.
I’m also pressing some tofu in my new 
The photo is right after I put the tofu in. It’ll be about half the size in about an hour and more like a quarter the size if I leave it overnight. Then I just break it up and add it to a little peanut oil in a small cast iron skillet, add a dash or so of soy sauce, and some hot chili oil. Sometimes I add a little sake to the pan to deglaze if the little tofu bits starts to stick to the bottom. Serve over hot sushi rice.
Vegan Dance if you want to 