Countdown

I haven't cooked anything awesome lately. I've got some pizza photos from CPK, but I haven't bothered to download them to my computer yet. Things have been a little unusual lately. We had days and days of rain from Tropical Storm Debby. The storm caused my flight from Houston to be delayed. I was out there looking for a place to live. Found a two-story townhouse to rent for the next two years. It has a big bedroom and master bathroom upstairs, as well as a small study area which will become the cat corner. The downstairs has the kitchen, utility room, dining room, living room, half bath, and tiny patio. The living room has a fireplace, but I can't imagine ever using it. The place is freshly painted with new floors, granite countertops, and tile backsplashes. It's close to work, on a bus route, and has a guard at the gate and nighttime patrol. I start the drive out there this weekend. That's why I've been MIA. Lots to do between my trip out there and the actual move. Probably will be MIA for another week or so. :)

Variety Hour

I feel like this post is a little disjointed, because I've cooked several different dishes recently. Oh well, better to get these posted than let them languish on my iPhone 4S and MacBook desktop.

Herbed polenta with white beans and spinach - The recipe calls for using a pressure cooker to make the polenta, but I just made it in a pot on the stovetop after looking at some other basic polenta recipes. I used white beans and spinach. I also omitted the mushrooms. I usually don't buy mushrooms unless I'm sure that I'll use them in a couple days, so I didn't have any in the fridge for this recipe.



Cherry chocolate chunk mini loaves - These were incredible! I baked them for my mom's birthday and she loved them! I used fresh cherries, so I bought a cherry pitter to make things easier. I read online that you can use an orange stick (the manicure tool) to get the pit out. I found the correct mini loaf pan (8 wells in a single pan) the day before her birthday, so I was very happy about that. I could have made it as a cake, but I wanted the little loaves so she could take leftovers to work.



Thai black pepper tofu - Since my Tofu Xpress is in a box somewhere, I placed my tofu between two loaf pans, set that inside a tupperware container, and then added cans on top as the weight. This was a pretty good quick tofu press actually! I let the tofu marinade during the afternoon and baked it later. I took a shortcut and used minced garlic and a bag of asparagus stir-fry frozen vegetables. I wish I had an extra onion to cook with the other vegetables, since the stir-fry mix did not include onion.

More Cheesy Foods

I decided to make a pizza last Friday. I had a rough couple days, so I spent the afternoon with my sister. After coming home, I gathered up all the pizza ingredients that I bought earlier in the week. I used a pre-made Italian crust by Rustic Crust, pre-made pizza sauce in a jar, and Daiya cheese as one would expect. I decided to add some interesting toppings, so I sauteed some Frieda's soyrizo, an onion, and a bell pepper. I put sauce, a thin layer of Daiya, the sauteed toppings, and another layer of Daiya. I baked it until it was melty. Yummy!



The other cheesy dish I made was the mac and cheese from The 30 Minute Vegan. There's a tiny bit of curry powder to give the sauce a kick. I liked that. I mixed in some microwaved peas and served this with the the remaining Frieda's cooked with another onion and pepper. This was simple enough to make, especially since I had almond milk left in the fridge from some baking. I'll post the baking adventures and the other things I've been cooking soon.

Cheesy Foods

I've been on a cheesy foods kick lately. I'm enjoying the chance to do some cooking now that I'm not traveling. I accepted a postdoc in Houston and I'll be visiting in a few weeks to find an apartment. I've been spending a lot of time with my family and friends to enjoy our time together before the move.

Mac & cheese with peas and grape tomatoes - used an extra Tbs nutritional yeast, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and less salt. I also used regular flour and wheat pasta.



Cheesy black bean spread made with Bryanna Clark Grogan's melty chedda - I used 2 Tbs corn starch + 1 Tbs flour, instead of the oat flour listed in the first link. I found this info on a forum.



Grilled cheese - this is NOT my photo, but I would highly recommend this recipe!!

You Can Call Me Doctor...

Last week, I attended the commencement ceremony for my PhD. Since I just defended six weeks ago, I was one of the graduates still sorting through postdoc offers. Lots of people finished months ago, or even a year ago, and are already working as a postdoc or in a company. Oh well, I still have a little time to pick a postdoc. My first choice lab is brand new, so they're working out finances before bringing me back for a formal interview. My second choice lab gave me a solid offer, but I'm waiting to see what happens with my first choice. Either way, they're in the same city and I'm moving out of South Florida this week! I intend to start a postdoc in July, sometime after the 4th preferably. Since the grad office is going to take some time to upload their photos and the photographer information isn't available yet, I'll just share one of the photos my mom took. This is me with my advisor. I am disappointed that my regalia is so plain. You'd think with all the money that my institute has that the regalia wouldn't be generic rentals from Herff Jones.

May Eats

I've been MIA because I've been taking care of my mom after a minor surgery. We went to San Diego for commencement this weekend. My mom only took 2 photos, so I'm waiting to get more from our program admins before posting them here. :)

Tofurky pizza - not worth the $8, but pretty good.


Pancakes - very fluffy


Candle Cafe desserts available at select Whole Foods


Urban Taco - left off the crema, added black beans


Z Pizza - Berkeley Vegan pizza made with Daiya and veggie sausage crumbles - YUM!!


Ploy Thai in Brandon, FL - Panang Curry with Tofu



I also went to Ceja's Mexican in Oceanside, but I forgot to snap a picture of my delicious vegetable fajitas. I was having dinner with one of my absolute best friends and her family. :)

Airport Food

This will be my last travel post for a couple weeks. Yay! Here are some of the things I ate in airports during the month of April. :)

Look at all the fresh veggies!

Mushrooms on a veggie burger?! Why don't I try that at home?

91% Cacao - I usually buy 70%, but this was awesome!

Dark chocolate KitKat in Canada