unfortunately...

...there will not be a movie monday this week. Guys, I'm going crazy with all this post spring break...um.. craziness! Seriously, it's kicking my butt. Let me tell you about my day: I woke up, got ready, did some errands/cooking/homework before having to bike to school at 1:40, had class from 2-6, biked home, finished some cooking I'd had to cut short earlier (because of the whole class thing), put on my workout clothes, decided to start dinner so I would have less to do later- this resulted in me doing parts of my ab workouts in between going out into the kitchen and checking on things- finished my abs, finished dinner, ate dinner, decided to do some homework before completing my workout at the gym, finished homework but then got caught up in apartment hunting... and now I'm sitting here, about to finally go to the gym, and I still have a hefty amount of homework to do when I get home because I've got a film history test tomorrow. Oh, and stewie's stressing over homework too so I told him I'd make him cookies and we could stay up late together working. gah, my life. I haven't been able to blog at ALL (aside from these sad rants about the fact that i'm too busy to blog... sorry about that) which is uber depressing because i've got a whole slew of great posts I've been cooking up.

blegh. so anyways... with all this crap going on I haven't had time to do anything except zip around trying to complete a never-ending to do list... on which a movie monday sadly does not make the cut this week. I hope to be back in a couple of days (I know, I said that last time...) with some super stellar posts to make up for all this blogger fail. Love you all!

<3
Em

Eek! So busy!

So what usually happens when I decide to do things like holiday countdowns (especially over vacations) happened again- I was doing so well until it came to the holiday itself and then I got caught up in a whirlwind of st paddy's day fun and camping that lasted all day and into the night and then the next day I was far too exhausted to do anything other than watch multiple episodes of cupcake wars and then the day after that I had to go to breakfast early in the morning and then drive down to apache junction to go to the renaissance festival and then drive to tempe to go to dinner and spend time with stewart's brother and then the next day I had to drive home to tucson and catch up on all the things I hadn't done over spring break and then the next day I had to go to class and then work out and then go grocery shopping at 8pm which led to dinner at 10 and I have just not had a spare minute until now to say sorry, I suck at blogging.

whew. forgive me? Not like the last post of the countdown is ever that important anyway, I wouldve just told you some fun things you can do to celebrate... and usually by the last day it's too late for that!

In other news, Stewie and I had a fantastic spring break. So busy, but tons of fun! We saw almost all our friends while we were there, drank a LOT of tea and coffee, and ate some really yummy food. Coming back to Tucson is bittersweet, but I'm thrilled that only 5 short weeks separate me from being a junior! I'm ready to get off this college train.

Hooray. Well anyways, I should probably go do important stuff like homework and cleaning now... I'll have some new posts up over the next few days- have a great week!

Movie Mondays: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

It's been crazy busy and I've been a blogger failure! more on that next post, but for now here's your movie monday before it gets any later!

Todays movie is so much fun! I love it- probably because I love the idea of a traveling circus. How much fun would it be to be in one of those? Especially if your circus is super magically awesome like it is in this movie.

The film is The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It's about a traveling circus comprised of the amazing Dr Parnassus, his 15 year old daughter Valentina (who he tries to pass off as 12 in the show- for various reasons), his assistant Antoine (who has a crush on Valentina), and a midget named Percy.

This traveling circus is unlike any other traveling circus though- inside the Imaginarium, dreams become reality. For the most part, they're very fun and enjoyable dreams. However, every once in a while the devil- known as Mr. Nick in this film- gets involved.

So skip back 1000 years ago. Dr. Parnassus is over 1000 years old, but he falls in love with a mortal woman. He agrees to make a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. The catch is that once the child Dr. Parnassus and this woman have reaches his or her 16th birthday, the child goes to Mr. Nick. And that's why Dr. Parnassus is trying to make Valentina appear to be 12. However, Mr. Nick can't be fooled by this- he is, however, willing to make another bet. Whoever can seduce 5 souls within the Imaginarium will win Valentina.

Sounds pretty cool by itself, right? But then there's this whole situation with Tony, who is played by Heath Ledger. I mean Johnny Depp. I mean Jude Law. I mean Colin Farrell. Oh wait, it's all of them. You see, every time Tony (who is rescued while nearly hanging to death on a bridge by the traveling circus) enters the Imaginarium, he shifts appearance. Tony becomes an important part of the story, as Dr. Parnassus offers his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever helps him win his bet against the devil. Obviously Tony like Valentina as well, so it becomes quite a little love triangle between her, Antoine, and Tony.

What fun. Semi-confusing, yes. It kind of reminded me of Across the Universe- so many fun colors and awesome use of scenery, animation, etc. It's magical and thrilling and wonderful. And Tom Waits plays Mr. Nick. Need I say more?

Here's a trailer:


sheesh, way to make it look super fricken dramatic- it's quite more lighthearted than they make it appear :) It's on netflix instant, so if you can, check it out!

St Paddy's Countdown Day 2

Today was SUCH an epic day of cooking. Seriously, like 6 hours of it. But you guys are in for some awesome irish fare! I made some delish vegan corned beef and cabbage as well as 4 rounds of irish soda bread. I also made my fave colcannon, which you can find here- I just now added the pics to that post though! On a whim I also decided to make some old fashioned sugar cookies with green 7 minute frosting. In the end, my fam and I had practically a thanksgiving feast in front of us for dinner- and there is tons left for me to take on our st paddy's camping trip tomorrow! yay.

Alright, it's late, so let's dive right in to the good stuff.

First, Irish soda bread!
My dad used to make this from time to time, and my grandma made it when he was a kid (and sometimes for me as well!). They make it with caraway seeds, so I wanted to be sure to do the same. I also found a yummy recipe for soda bread made with browned butter, rosemary, and black pepper, though- so I decided to double the batch and do half with rosemary and half with caraway seeds. They both turned out fantastic! I did figure out a bit too late though that the recipe already made two rounds of bread- so i ended up with four. No big deal though ;)

Start by preheating the oven to 375 and mixing together 3.5 cups of flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 cup oats, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp black pepper, and 1 tbsp caraway seeds or fresh, chopped rosemary. as you can see from the pic I didn't add caraway seeds or rosemary at this point, but rather waited until the dough was formed so I could easily halve it.

Next, melt 1/4 cup of butter in a small saucepan and allow it to brown quite a bit. Once melted, pour into the dry ingredients along with 1.75 cups buttermilk (I used milk and a few tbsp vinegar set out at room temp for a few minutes)

Mix well and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide in half.

At the point I added 1 tbsp caraway seeds to one half and 1 tbsp rosemary another half. I then divided those halves in half.

Form into round loaves and score the top.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 45 minutes or until a knife stuck all the way through the middle comes out clean.

yummy! serve hot with butter- whipped with honey or herbs if you like!

Now for the vegan corned beef and cabbage. This is so simple, so delicious, and quite healthy!

Begin by cutting two medium yellow onions into wedges. Sautee in a large pot with 1 tbsp of olive oil for about ten mins, or until just beginning to turn brown.

Then chop up 4 carrots into two inch, quartered pieces. I used about 50 baby carrots instead because walmart didn't have any regular carrots. can you believe that? ridiculous. Also thickly slice two stalks of celery and finely slice half a head of cabbage.

When the onions are slightly brown, add the other veggies to the pot along with four cups of vegetable broth, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp rubbed sage, 1 tsp mustard seeds (or dry mustard), 1 tsp vegan horseradish, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper.

Stir to combine and then cover the pot and allow the contents to cook for 15 minutes. Then add one pkg (about 8-9 oz) of beef substitute- I typically use morningstar steak strips, but there are many other yummy brands as well. You can also use seitan. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes or until carrots are tender. Once the 15 minutes are up, use a slotted spoon to remove the veggies and meat from the remaining juices in the pot.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp red wine, 1/4 cup water, and 2 tbsp flour. slowly add this mixture to the remaining juices and  stir well. Cook until the gravy reaches desired consistency, and then pour over the veggies and meat. Serve and enjoy!

yummmm. admittedly not the prettiest dish I've ever seen, but it is very tasty. definitely something every vegetarian should have on their st patrick's day menu!

I also made some cookies, which weren't too exciting, but photographed well.

yikes, total sugar bombs! haha. don't forget to check out last year's colcannon post to see the pretty new pictures that go along with the recipe!

hooray! tomorrow I am driving a few miles out of town with some friends to spend the day out in nature camping and having a blast- but i'll try to get that last blog post up anyhow!

Love,
Em

St Paddy's Countdown Day 3

Just pretend this was posted yesterday, ok? ;)

St Patrick's Day drinks pretty much revolve around three things: beer, whiskey, and irish cream. You could combine all three in an epic curdle-y gross irish car bomb, or you could just stick to one poison... and there's also always the option of going through the mcdonald's drivethrough for a shamrock shake- but the idea of going to mcdonald's is almost as gross as the idea of an irish car bomb.

I wanted to do something different. I'm sure people have made these before, but a quick search on google didn't bring up any results. The drink is called a Green Irish- a twist on the White Russian.

The components are pretty much the same- one shot hard alcohol (vodka in a w.r.), 2 shots liqueur (coffee liqueur in a w.r.) and half and half to fill the glass. My version swapped irish whiskey (jameson is a good option) for the vodka and bailey's irish cream for the kahlua coffee liqueur. The half and half stays the same, but I added a few drops of green food coloring to give the drink a fresh, irish tint.

Tastes just how you would expect- like a white russian with an irish twist! Very yummy and decadent. whip up a few for your st paddy's day party :)

1 oz irish whiskey
2 oz irish cream such as Bailey's
half and half
green food coloring (opt)

mix whiskey and irish cream in a glass. Fill with chilled half and half. add a few drops of food coloring and stir well. serve!

Later today I will be back with some awesome irish eats. So excited! I'm going to start cooking right now :)

St Paddy's Countdown Day 4

 Welcome to day two of my St Patrick's Day Countdown! Today is a Movie Monday- Irish style! Now, usually when I do themed Movie Mondays I write up a quick list of several movies you could watch for the occasion. This time, however, I'm just going to do one movie that's pretty special to me because I grew up watching it!

The movie is Called Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Heard of it? I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't- it was made in 1959. It's also one of those few disney movies that features real people, not cartoons. It's so very silly and dripping with irish stereotypes- but that's what makes it so fun to watch!

Darby O'Gill is your typical "old codger" who enjoys telling stories about leprechauns in pubs- in his case, though, they're actually true. Darby is friendly rivals with King Brian, the small and cunning king of the leprechauns. I honestly haven't seen this movie in FOREVER, I just remember loving it, so I only remember small bits of the plot- like that Darby's daughter and the new caretaker- handsome, young Michael- fall in love and sing the only song I can remember from the movie in which they refer to each other as "my dear, my darling one". I'm also pretty sure Darby gets trapped down in the leprechaun world for a while.

here is the plot summary from netflix:
Irishman Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe) finds himself face to face with magical little people -- leprechauns -- in this unheralded Disney gem. One of O'Gill's tall tales comes true when he captures the King of the Leprechauns, who must grant him three wishes. But all the wishes ultimately backfire, with comical results. Partly filmed on location, the movie co-stars Sean Connery (in an early role), Janet Munro and Estelle Winwood.

such a cute, fun movie- especially to watch on st patrick's day! Definitely not to be taken seriously at all- it's pretty corny and all- but still a lot of fun to watch. I don't know how easy it would be to find (i've got it on vhs somewhere I think), but if you can get your hands on it, give it a watch!

Since it's so old, there is no trailer available on youtube- but if you look it up you can find some silly and ridiculous clips.

St Paddy's Countdown Day 5

The countdown has officially begun! Hooray! Today, to start getting everyone in an irish mood, i've compiled a small playlist of some fun irish songs- from traditional to punk rock. Enjoy! Tomorrow I'll be back with an awesome irish-themed movie monday :)

Happy First Birthday...

  ... to me! Well, to this blog, technically. Yep, one year ago today I sat down at my little dorm room desk and decided to start a blog. Actually, I'm almost surprised it was only a year ago! Even though I didn't start regularly posting until around last October, I still fee like I've been blogging FOREVER.

In honor of this very special day, I decided to bake a cake! And since I'm so very selfless ;) and because today happens to be the day we are celebrating my Grandpa's bday, I decided to give the cake to him! I get to bake a cake, you guys get a recipe, and my grandpa gets a cake. Everyone wins!

Also, here is a list of a few of my favorite posts over the past year. Check them out if you haven't already!

The very first post on this blog- aside from the "i'm starting a blog now!" post- talks about how to stock a good vegan kitchen.

This is one of the few recipes that I made up all by myself. It is seriously SO DELICIOUS.

I think some really awesome things came from my Halloween food post. The savory cheesecake is soooo good and can be made any time of the year!

It was really fun to put together this list of family traditions. If you have a blog, you should do one too! And then send my the link so I can check it out!

I hope you guys are as excited as I am about the new feature I started just a couple weeks ago :)

These are just a few of the 150 posts from the past 365 days :) and now... an uber chocolate cake recipe!

My gpa loves chocolate, and I love chocolate, so I went with a hershey's chocolate cake recipe and chocolate buttercream. yummy!

Start by preheating the over to 350 and greasing and flour-dusting two 9 inch cake pans.

Then mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Now add a couple eggs, some milk, oil, and vanilla and beat it at medium speed for two minutes.

Now stir in 1 cup boiling water. Then pour the batter into the two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when stuck in the center. Cool the cakes, remove then from their pans, and then wrap and freeze then until you are ready to frost.

Now for the frosting, which I failed to take pics of while making.

Start by creaming 6 tbsp of butter. Then begin adding powder sugar a cup of a time, pouring in a bit of milk when it gets too dry. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, stir in some vanilla and then remove about 2 tbsp of frosting so that you can pipe on writing later.

Then add the cocoa powder and the last of the milk, if there's any left. you should have a nice, soft, thick buttercream.

I made a mini-cake since my gpa lives alone and probably wouldn't need a whole cake. I used a tupperware to measure a 6 in circle in both cake layers. The rest of the cake can be saved for cake pops/balls :)

Now it's time to frost! Line your serving plate with parchment paper to keep it clean, and then frost away :) frosting cakes is seriously like the bane of my existence- I hate doing it and I suck at it. I also suck at removing cakes from cake pans. Both of these problems can be attributed to the fact that when it comes to baking I'm very impatient. I never let my cakes cool nearly long enough before trying to take them out of their pans, and I hardly ever fully freeze my cakes before frosting them (which would make life so much easier). I also rarely chill cookie dough. It's a problem.

Anyways, because I suck at frosting cakes I'm not going to try and tell you how to do it. It's pretty basic anyhow.

Now decorate! You can do whatever you want, but I decided to just pipe on happy bday and some decorative dots in simple white frosting.

Here's the full recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
   
2. 2 Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
   
3. 3 Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Cake may be left in rectangular pan, if desired.) Frost with ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. 8 to 10 servings.
   
   
   ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
   6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
   2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
   1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
   1/3 cup milk
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   
   Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

You can find the copy of the recipe here, as well as high altitude conversions.

Happy birthday to Girl of a Thousand Faces! And to my wonderful grandpa! Have a great saturday :)

<3
Em

pretty new toy!

I got my beautiful sky-blue vintage typewriter yesterday!!! It needs a new ribbon but other than that it is perfect! I'm in love <3 new york times best seller list here I come ;)

Hello Spring!

So, I was scrolling through foodgawker, as i do probably at least once or twice every day (foodie much?), and I came across a picture of a pretty little bowl of soup. It was golden brown, and creamy, and garnished with walnuts, and had the word cheddar in the title, and I thought to myself:

"What the hell? It's not fall, people, you can't go around posting decadent cold weather soups. Sheesh."

Gasp. I involuntarily dissed on my fave season. But seriously, the time has come and gone for fall food and dare I say winter food as well! March 21st is around the corner and that means springtime baby. Yeah I know it's probably still frickin freezing up north... But down here the weather is glorious. In fact, so glorious today that I convinced stewie to cut class and go swimming in our (non heated!) pool. sunny, breezy, wonderful!

Usually I very much dislike spring, but thats probably because everywhere else I've lived it takes FOREVER for spring to decide to actually exist- it'll be beautiful and 70  degrees on a wednesday and be snowing by the weekend. frustrating! But down here in tucson we had only a very brief (albeit awful- have you ever biked to school at 9 in the morning in 20 degree weather? no fun!) cold spell that quickly dissipated into 60, and then 70, and now 80 degree weather. I know by late April it's going to start getting a bit too hot for comfort, but for right now it feels like the most perfect late-spring early summer weather. I'm all ready for barbecues and pastel flowered dresses and pool parties and camping trips and easter and yay! Haha. I get way too excited about the changing of the seasons.

I posted a list of reasons why autumn is the best season, but I don't see any reason why I can't post a list of reasons spring is still a good season sometime in the next few days. I will be up in prescott which will mean slightly cooler temps... but maybe I can snap some pics of budding deciduous trees and sprouting tulips... both of which Tucson pretty much lacks^^

anyways, hooray! hooray for spring time, the time of growth and rebirth and the end of school and perfect weather! It's going to be a great season :)

<3
Em