A Disaster Twice Over + Treats

I am starting this post with this horrible disaster. It was Tuesday night and it was quiet all through the house. Ray had gone back to the Music Building around 8pm to practice for his piano, bassoon and trumpet "midterms", let alone writing papers, and playing/practicing his own upright bass. I don't miss school in that way. I should have made some dinner before that, as we were both hungry, but I am stubborn and decided to prepare a meal that I thought would only take about 10 minutes while he was gone so we could eat after. Well, he didn't get home until after 10:30 and I was expecting him around 10pm. Because of that, I timed everything wrong and... well, let me back up...

I have been thinking about this recipe from the Spring 2005 issue of Veggie Life Magazine. It is a recipe called Soba Noodles with Green Soybeans and Spicy Tahini Sauce. Sounds good, right? But, does the above look good to you? Not me, it looks too mushy and creamy. I'll tell you why...

While you are cooking the noodles (5 minutes), you are supposed to prepare and heat the sauce. This also only takes five minutes, so I figured all in all, this meal would take about 10 minutes total, barely any chopping, mess, etc. Boy was I wrong! It was just about 10pm and I thought Ray would be home pretty soon so I started on the sauce. It heated up and I lowered it to barely any heat so it could sit and wait. Well, time and time went on and I had to finally turn off the pot of boiling water because Ray was no where in sight and these noodles take only five minutes. I didn't want them cold. The water was turned off the heat and the sauce in the saucepan sat for a long time... It got clumpy. Then it got whiter. Then it reminded me of puke. Then it reminded me of dairy. Ugh. This was gonna suck.

Ray got home and I decided to toss the sauce. I figured that it would be a waste if I served it as-is because it really didn't look good. It was a waste no matter what. Plus, there wasn't too much, as I cut down the recipe (it served 4). So, like a typical American, I tossed the food down the drain and started over (guiltily). Started the noodles (again), re-did the sauce, and finally served it. It didn't smell that good. I should have known. So I added a bit more tamari to it. The noodles were too mushy, the sauce was basically inedible (aka, tasted like complete shit) and I was soo mad/upset/frustrated/hungry/guilty of wasting (again). I wasn't even going to save this for a hungry dog (well, maybe...if there was one around). I threw a mini-fit, hastily stomped to the kitchen and tossed it away. I decided to have the remaining 1/2 of the sourdough bread and make up a meal as fast as possible.

Ray's meal: peanut butter and blueberry spread on Sourdough. With Kettle Chips. Ray said, "I've never had pb & j on sourdough before." That's when I realized that I fucked up, again! Eew, that had to have been bad, plus with salt/pepper chips? Ugh. He still ate it.

Leslie's meal (while moping): 2 corners of Sourdough bread with Earth Balance. What the $^#@ kind of meal is this? I had ice cream right after and that made it a meal. My junk-vegan-meal.

Here's the ingredients if you feel like being brave (I cannot give exact recipe, see website if available)...
veggie stock, tahini, soy sauce, brown rice vinegar, ginger root, sugar (I used agave), cayenne, soba noodles, edamame, carrots, green onions (I omitted), sesame seeds (I used Gamashio which consists of sesame seeds, sea salt, sea veggies, dulse, nori and kombu).
Attempt this recipe with caution and a back-up meal.

Onwards we go...
Yep, more treats. I decided that it was time to stop just throwing everything I had in the pantry into a bowl and calling it treats. I have nothing with this, I am just tired of it, as I have been making pretty much the same treats here and there for a few months now. I sort-of changed it up. I decided that I would love to cookie-cutter treats, but that probably would have been weird and too difficult. Instead, I put treats in mini muffin and muffin pans. I figured I'd use the pans in some way since I'm not baking (for now). They are nice and convienent and I don't have to worry about cutting and making a mess each time. Plus, the mini ones are about 2-3 bites, and the larger ones are about 10 bites.

These treats consist of: peanut butter, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, brown rice puffs, barley sweetened chocolate chips, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cashews and a dash of sea salt. Most or all items are organic.

I mixed as usual, Pam'ed a muffin tin and pressed firmly into the pan. These were nice and sweet and simple. More simple than my standard treats, anyway. Take a closer look...


And now... saving the best for last... ta da!

These are my ULTIMATE special treats. They are a take-off (aka, my own revised recipe) of one I found in Vegetarian Times magazine a while back. I first made these around Xmas time, and I made them so much (treats for home, gifts, desserts, etc) that I decided to stop making them around the time I started this blog. So, this is for sure worth the wait because they are awesome, filling, nutritious and raw. They are also fast and easy to make.

Ingredients: rolled oats, coconut, pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds), raisins, raw sunflower seeds, cinnamon, fresh ground almond butter, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, vanilla.
Method: mix dry ingredients, stir. Then mix in wet ingredients, stir. Grind up a bit of oats with your desired "seed" and use as a coating. The mixture should be dough-like. Fill a small bowl with water. Wet your hands and roll 1-inch balls. Roll them in the coating mixture. Place on a tray. Place all of them in the freezer for 20 minutes and then store, air-tight, in the fridge. Simple and delicious!


The above is my special container for only these bites. I have a typed-out ingredient list attached to the lid for guests as well as times for when I bring these to work.

I highly suggest trying these.