Dinner With Friends!

So I'm two days away from heading back up to Washington... actually less since I'm flying out Tuesday morning.

Yesterday we had some good friends over for dinner and I made the ENTIRE THING!! I was so proud of myself. Even though it basically meant spending all day in the kitchen and my feet hurt by the end of it, everyone enjoyed everything and so it felt really good. It's nice to just hang out with friends and family, and even better when everything is vegan.

Making such a big meal is a real milestone for me. It really boosted my cooking confidence.

The aftermath

Rustic Winter Stew (the pic on PPK is better >_>)

The Menu:
-Rustic Winter Stew with Mashed Potatoes or Rice (I didn't feel like making Polenta)
-Cornbread
-Zesty Bean and Corn Salad (a double batch)
Drinks: Water and non-alcoholic Sparkling Burghundy
Dessert: Chocolate Pudding Pie with whipped MimicCreme on top

So basically, I am really grateful for the internet because without it I could not cook awesome meals like this.

Cornbread (of course)

Bean and Corn salad

It's beautiful....!!

 Rich (our main guest)'s wife also brought an amazing cucumber salad that tasted kind of Vietnamese. It was awesome.

This dinner served about 12 people if you count the two little kids. I was glad that we fed everyone well and still had some rice and mashed potatoes left over (and cornbread and bean salad too!). Actually there was some pie left over too.

My little sister talking to Rich

One of the best moments of the night was when Rich was teasingly trying to guilt me for creating such tasty food that it caused him to overeat. My response? "I regret nothing!!"
He burst out laughing.


On the one hand I'm glad I'm going back to only having to cook for two people since cooking for so many has been a little difficult and sometimes exhausting. But on the other hand it's really nice to be able to share delicious vegan food with other people and get compliments on it... it also is a nice way of surprising people, showing them that you don't have to really give up tasty food when you're vegan. You just have to make it a little differently and sometimes it tastes even better. My sister just told me "vegan food is the only way I like eating vegetables!" Hahaha.

I guess I'll have to start going to potlucks and stuff xP

In general I'm fairly satisfied with how things have gone food-wise on this trip. I feel humbled that my family has bought me what I wanted to cook with while I've been here, and my parents have both been very supportive... the kids for the most part have tried everything I've made even if they thought they wouldn't like it. It's been good.

I will miss them...

Looking to the future: the next vegan potluck in Bellingham is scheduled for February 18th! I will have to start thinking of what to bring... xD

I Stand Corrected!

Today me and my youngest sister walked to the nearest grocery store, called Farmer's Market. A year and a half ago, when I first came home after turning Vegan in Hawaii, I had a sad incident involving having to buy someone yogurt  that was almost certainly made from factory farm milk because there was nothing else. So, I was bracing myself to be disappointed again, but I needed garlic today and I knew they had to at least have garlic.

Boy, was I surprised! Things are getting better. The produce section was actually quite impressive... they had a big long thing full of what I suppose you would call specialty items, and the prices of everything were pretty comparable to what I paid in Bellingham, except the organic stuff was slightly more expensive than at the Co-Op.

Brace yourself for an onslaught of Rae-fanning-over-vegetables!

Kale, Chard, Leek, Beets, Celery/Celery Root!

Note the tiny amount of Yukon Gold potatoes. But at least they're there! xD ALSO... if you click on this photo to enlarge it, there ARE Kaffir lime leaves! There was also a sign for lemongrass but I didn't see any lemongrass anywhere. Hmmm.

LOOK AT THAT BEAUTIFUL PURPLE KALE. OMG.

This is mainly because of the (2) Daikon.

My sister was making fun of me for taking pictures of everything xP Oh well... it wasn't in a mean way, we just teased each other.

Our cart. Note the lovely SMALL/cheap bottle of cooking sherry.

I was also very very pleased to see the large array of nondairy milks and also a section of the freezers devoted to Amy's products.

We bought about $40 worth of stuff and I went home determined to cook 3 different things for dinner that night. So, I made a double batch of this Leek and Potato Soup, some Black Bean Salad with Corn from vegweb, and a bunch of baked asparagus with garlic salt and rosemary (I didn't use any other herbs or normal salt).

It was exhausting. But, everybody seemed to like everything, so I was happy. I made the asparagus especially because it's one of the only vegetables my youngest sister ADORES... and thus she ate about half the tray before I could take a picture.

Stupid yellow tint...

 Somehow the soup didn't turn out as green as it usually does... I wonder if it's because I didn't use the actual blender but instead used the handheld/immersion blender my mom has. The consistency wasn't as nice that way.

This was the smallest pot I could find that wouldn't be full to the brim with a double-batch.

I forgot to add cilantro.

My 2-year-old nephew LOVED the salad... he ate a lot of it. So did my sister / his mom.

Two people in my family are having digestive issues since the stew last night. I'm not sure why, since nobody else who ate it is having problems... but now my brother is leery of curry and lentils, so I figure I'll take a break from both for the next few days if possible.