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Ice Tea and a Bagel NYC Edition

Y’all! Thanks to the magic of one j.d. funkadelic of the long running vegan blog Come Scone With Me, I have a stash of pumpernickel bagels in my freezer straight from New York City. Where the bagels are big and the rent is ridiculous. In honor of the final Sunday of MoFo I have returned to my theme and have a nice iced earl grey tea. Though I’ve had the bagel stash for a while I was afraid of posting too early for fear of a crazed and desperate west coaster pillaging my home in search of the magical pumpernickel. They don’t make ’em like this on the west coast.

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Awkward Food Photos Salad With Bean Dip

It’s the end of summer and I bet you’ve been eating a metric tonne of salads like I have. Sometimes salad looks pretty with vibrant colors and fresh rawness. But sometimes salads create awkward food photos.

awkward food photosMaybe you’ve had a can of Trader Joe’s cannellini beans in your pantry for almost 2 years and it is time to use them up. Maybe you don’t want to turn your oven on because it’s 95 and sweltering in your third floor Brooklyn walk up that is nothing like that jibber jabber they present in Sex in the City. Maybe you still have Chloe’s Kitchen because it’s too damn hot to walk it back to the library. So maybe you decide to make the garlic bean dip in it and learn that it’s a bit too garlicky for your tastes. So you dump it on your salad and can’t wait to blog about your newest creation, Artisan Bean Dip Salad. But just look at that unappetizing pile!

This photo needs help!

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You need to put some text on there! Call it a super food. Nutritionists like Ginny Messina may talk about the iron in beans but did you know they have 1 gram of proline per 100 grams of dried beans? What about that 2.060 mg of niacin? Let me tell you, proline will be the next big thing in the super food world. Get on that bandwagon now!

Food That Looks Like My Cat: Mini Fondant Cake

I wanted to take a slightly different tack this week for Food That Looks Like My Cat. So I made a food that would absolutely look like George. Behold! The George mini cake!

george-cake-1I used the easy bake oven recipe for a lil’ yellow cake from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes from Kris Holcheck. Then I got creative with the fondant and dyed and rolled out a wee George face to top it.

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George inspects his likeness and gives the George Seal Of Approval, which is just a look slightly above disdain for the panda monkey’s nonsense.

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The lil’ yellow cake cut open.

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As Seen On TV Tempeh Tuna Rollie

Let’s get Rollie! This week I decided to try another recipe from the Rollie recipe booklet. The tuna sandwich Rollie, which I made into the tempeh tuna Rollie. I assembled some ingredients to make a simple tempeh tuna. After last week’s brownie mishap I didn’t want to get too fancy here.

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The recipe calls for pre-made biscuit dough that gets rolled out. I turned to my old standby Bisquick to whip up a quick and small amount of dough.

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Then it was on to rolling out a bit of dough and stuffing it with the tempeh tuna filling. The biscuit dough was a bit sticky but this worked out fine.

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Now I just had to skewer that roll and get it into the cooking chamber to let the vertical cooking technology work its magic.

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I let this cook for about 10 minutes and then pulled it out. The number one lesson we have learned this month? The Rollie does not easily give up its food. Luckily, this came out easier than last week’s brownie, but it did take a bit of running the skewer around the edge to loosen the dough.

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But just look at that! I think it’s my most successful Rollie shape to date. The top end was a bit uneven but it has that characteristic flat Rollie bottom on the other end. And the taste? This was great. By far the best thing I’ve made in the Rollie. Hot biscuity dough, warm tempeh tuna filling? Like a tuna melt but using vertical cooking technology instead of some big heavy pan. That new apple watch has nothing on the Rollie.

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Tasteless Tablescapes: Silver Explosion

What is the number one lesson we have learned from tablescapes over the years? Shiny is good. The more your tablescape shines, the more fun you’ll have with your dinner party. But not everyone can afford to buy a pile of silverplate table tchotchkes. Tasteless Tablescapes to the rescue!

 tablescapeCover a whole mess of toilet paper rolls in silver glitter and be prepared to be dazzled! This may not shine a lot in regular light, but when you throw on a spotlight and hit your flash the magic really happens.

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Look at that shine! Look at that flash! Oh my. This is something that will impress your guests to no end. Stack up those rolls to create height! Vertical tablescaping adds extra interest and intrigue. And for that extra special touch that says you care? Bedazzle that place card with a silvery initial.

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The Garlic: Vegan Co-Worker Turns Down Halloween Candy

Winston-Salem, NC- Andrea Kupwirth noticed today that her vegan co-worker has turned down all offers of Halloween candy.

“Who turns down Halloween candy after Halloween? I gave the kids the smarties rolls and dumdum pops last night so I could bring the good mini Snickers and Reese’s Cups in to work to share.”

The mini Snickers was offered at 8:02 am with the Reese’s Cup following at 8:23.

When told that smarties and dum dums are both vegan Kupwirth eyed her co-worker suspiciously.

 

Awkward Food Photos Avocado

Avocado, is there anything you can’t do? Tasty when eaten with a spoon, tasty when mushed up and eaten as guacamole, tasty when stuffed into the center of sushi.

avocadoThis humble little fruit, which also goes by the name alligator pear, is so versatile and fun! But for food photography? The avocado is not always the belle of the ball. Dark green in color, oblong, lightly textured. Those words simply do not pop with fun.

This photo needs help!

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Jump in on the latest food photography trend! Put a bunch of other things into the picture to highlight and complement all that is the avocado. Beans are popular; make sure you artistically strew a few outside your tiny bowl. Include your drinking glass in the back. An end of garlic completes the photo. It doesn’t quite fit in and leaves the viewer wondering what exactly will be happening. They’re hooked and will keep coming back to your blog for more!

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