I can’t get this fabric out of my head. It keeps trying to design my living room-to-be. It tells me that it will be OK to paint most of the walls navy as long as I put up dentil molding and paint it white. And a copious number of white shelves. And turn a wall or two into a mural, or even wallpaper them with something coordinating and light in color. It has some crazy ideas and keeps making me tell people. As a result, everyone keeps trying to help me design the first real place that will be mine, fearing that I’m going to make some monstrously bad design decisions . . .

It’s no secret I’ve been living among boxes for too many months although I’m far from packed since I ran out of steam a little bit prior to Christmas, what with all the gift making to pretend to finish. But what I’ve been reluctant to discuss in any real great detail is the fact that I’m taking a bigger leap than moving . . . I’m actually buying an apartment. For a while, it looked as if purchase would be dependent upon a co-op interview. At first, I’d mention my apartment to people, but it occurred to me that co-op boards are finicky creatures and if the interview went disastrously, the more people I told, the more disappointed I’d be if the purchase fell through. While that wouldn’t be a big deal if I were really ready to buy an apartment, I’m honestly jumping the gun a little bit here because the price happens to be just right. Because I ventured a little deeper in Brooklyn, I managed to find a lovely place that will cost me less than my current rent. But this might be one of two places in my price bracket in New York, so failure would have really meant failure.

It turns out the Board has decided they don’t need to meet me. Someone must have seen my knitting needles when I was originally checking out the place and decided I was no threat, so now we’re really on a roll. The closing walk-through is tentatively scheduled for Friday so I feel like I can really talk about it now, which I’ve wanted to do for ages because I’m excited and I need to finish picking out paint colors, because if I’m lucky there might even be a paintbrush in my future this weekend.

I am, as always, inspired by Anthropologie:

With the exception of, perhaps, a rug or that yellow vase (on sale for $19), there is not much there in my price range. Some of their couches are gorgeous (especially the fabric, although their nearly overstuffed couches come in shapes I rather like), but anyone who thinks Anthro’s clothing is a touch expensive should check out the heartbreakingly expensive $4000 couches (so far outside of my price range it’s not even funny). My parents’ decided my couch was to be my Christmas present, however, so they have felt free to opine on everything I’ve pointed out thus far. I found this affordable model from Urban Outfitters and I kind of love it:

My mother muttered things about “practicality” and “comfort,” which is sort of amusing as she has seen the shoes I wear. Besides, it is the perfect color for my second couch. I’m probably also a little bit smitten because it will go well with the piece I plan on updating with the fabric featured above.

I feel, though, that I should have a countdown ticker on here.  Something to remind me that this is the last move I will ever have to make if I so choose.  The worst bit of being a renter is that it’s hard to really invest a lot of effort into where you live because you don’t know how long it will be yours.  It will be nice to finally get away from all of that.

People who think of macramé as nothing but plant holders probably don’t quite understand my fascination with it. Even the handful of people I’ve come across recently with some macramé background largely stuck to really basic jewelry and bags.

I’ve started the second exercise in my book, which is another double knot pattern. This one is a little more structurally complex than the first, but I’m not lost yet.

If I say that’s not cat hair on the sheets will you buy it?

I’m kind of excited to move on to the hitch knot lesson next, since it’s hitch knots that seem to me, at least as a beginner, to allow you to add a lot more fluidity to your work. If you really know what you’re doing you can create things like this:

Earthcrust: Malenco, 2003 by Ed Bing Lee

Earthcrust: Tasmania by Ed Bing Lee

Pragmipedilum – Bing Shan by Ed Bing Lee

Craft Alliance 2005 Exhibit, Material Content: Basketry Sculpture in the 21st Century

Super Sized by Ed Bing Lee, as seen in FiberArts Magazine (April/May 2006)

There may be no turn of phrase I hate more than “This is not your grandmother’s knitting/crochet,” because many of our grandmothers made beautiful things that we should all be proud of, but I could never have pictured Bing’s macramé world when I was six.

I’m also obsessed with a new piece of wood in my life that isn’t a knitting needle. (My newest knitting needles are, in fact, aluminum and they may or may not have come accompanied by what could or could not have been more than ten balls of yarn). This newest piece is 47 inches of beauty that was too large to light properly, at least in my apartment:

Should I tell the instrument that my neighbors already hate it?

Suzie was right. There was definitely another thing I’d wanted to do for a long time. Play the didgeridoo. I really can’t say when I first heard one, but I always thought of them as being the kind of instruments that were difficult to acquire here. Not for Suzie and her husband Matt (extra kudos to Matt for selecting a didgeridoo that hadn’t been slobbered on by half the bored children in Long Island who were visited Sam Ash all the years these sat on store shelves). The first time I brought it to my lips I most definitely made the wrong sound. And got a mouthful of sawdust. I shortly figured out, though, that the embouchure is the same that trombone players use for pedal tones. I can’t wait until I figure out a few more things. In the meantime, check out this fantastic player:

He appears to be circular breathing, too. Take that Kenny G. I’ve thought it’s about time I learned that, too. It was a fantasy aspiration for a lot of the trombone players I played with when I was younger. I imagine that will go much better than the dancing. Compliments of a salsa meet-up and an introductory lesson, I discovered that I might not partner dance well. I haven’t given up yet, but I’m now scouting for DVDs to watch in advance of taking any more dance classes.

I’m still deciding which pottery classes I should take.  Right now, this one at the Clay Art Center is winning.  The fact that it’s a 12 session class makes it a strong contender.   I’ll also admit that I’m still intimidated by picking out a loom and a spinning wheel.  And I haven’t even really given much thought to Japanese yet.  But I have started a second item on my to learn list:

Starting at the beginning.

Since my mother remembers nothing of her macrame days, a couple weeks ago I finally cracked and bought a book:

Even though I hate reading directions, I decided I would approach macramé methodically. The book recommends using sophisticated things like “project boards,” but I decided that since Sivvie the Cat has already decided that my mattress is a scratching post, it might as well be a project board, too. Halfway through learning overhand knots, I decided it was time to start with the first project. The book refers to it as a belt, but mine wasn’t really appropriate for much more than a headband.

Good thing my hair is unruly because I suspect that I’m going to wind up with a lot of “headbands.”

Had I bought some kitchen twine as recommended I’m sure I would have ended up with something heftier, but I decided a while ago that macramé would make good use of odd, leftover bits of yarn. This is a worsted weight acrylic which, from my recollection, is a shade skinnier than kitchen twine. I’m enjoying the rhythm of macramé and the fact that you can have an end product in an hour. You can do this with knitting, but that usually requires needles big enough to land large aircraft. And I can’t help but feel like I’m cheating. And my yarn budget isn’t roomy enough to permit me to go through 20 balls of yarn a week unless it’s Christmas season and there are gifts to be made.

Several hour hat.

Take this hat as a point of comparison. It’s knit flat because I didn’t have access to DPNs when I started it, so there are slightly slower purl stitches to contend with, but it’s really not that big of an item, the yarn is of average size and the needles (8s) are biggish. Still, this is four hours or so of knitting and I still need to seam it and add some interest to the top. My friend and I decided that it was impossible for pom poms to be manly, so I’m trying to come up with something else. I have ideas, but I think I want to keep it a surprise and my friend is somewhat likely to see this (it’s his yarn, so it’s OK that he sees this much of the hat).

Cross Hatch Scarf

And because my interest in textiles and weaving has only grown over the years, I decided that I wanted to make a scarf that looked a little more woven. I doubt I invented this pattern. It’s more likely that I remembered it from one of my stitchionaries. It’s coming along beautifully, but I must admit that the woven knit stitch is eating up far more yarn than I thought it would so I ran out of yarn. Fortunately, this is the first project in months where this is happened so I think I’m finally getting better. And I was able to pop into P&S Fabrics just as it was closing during lunchtime to snag a couple of balls.  I also got some yarn for a long overdue “thank you” scarf.  I’ll admit that I bought some Vanna White acrylic yarn.  It was nicer than I thought it would be.  And I’ll deny that I bought 10 more balls of yarn for a cardigan that I will finish when and a few more for “thank you” legwarmers.

Does this mean my luck will come lately, if at all?

I’ve heard it’s lucky to have black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, but I never managed to get my act together enough to make them on time. This year is no exception, although I did manage to buy the black-eyed peas and similarly contemplated making something with them on New Year’s Day. Perhaps that will be good enough. Last night they went to good use, though. I formed them into tasty, albeit a tad spicy, black-eyed pea patties.

Black-Eyed Pea Patties (Makes 8 Patties)

* Preheat oven to 350° F.

* Combine:

1 can (15 oz.) black-eyed peas, rinsed and mashed

¾ c. quinoa flakes

¼ c. pecans, ground into a paste

¼ c. vegetable broth (this amount is approximate – you want the “dough” just firm enough to hold together)

1 tsp. amchoor powder

½ tsp. garam masala

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. Hungarian hot paprika

½ tsp. salt

* Smoosh mixture together into patties 2″ x 2″ x ¼” and place on non-stick cookie sheet.

* Drizzle with olive or canola oil or spray with cooking spray.

* Bake for 20 minutes, turning the patties over at ten minutes.

Next time I make these, I think I might cut back on the paprika. Or use standard paprika. I like spicy food, but I think I really didn’t want these patties to be that spicy. Particularly as I served them with a couple of healthy dollops of hot, store bought mango chutney. Thank goodness for the chanterelle “calamari,” as they were the only thing that added a little calm to my dinner last night.

New Year’s Day is also the time for resolutions.  I do not make any regarding organization, finances, people, weight loss or even quitting smoking (when that was applicable). I may be ambivalent about whether or not I should make general dietary changes, though. It would explain why I bought the ingredients to make smoothies, but have instead discovered that if you mix equal parts Vegenaise and peanut butter with a hit of wasabi paste or powder you end up with something revoltingly and embarrassingly delicious. For the most part, what I do make are “knowledge” resolutions. I thought that it would be fun to list them here so I can get a good chuckle at the end of the year when I’ve made virtually no headway:

1. Learn how to play chess.
2. Learn Japanese.
3. Refresh my French. I’m really hoping I can save up enough for a visit this year.
4. Learn macramé. For real this time. I know I claimed I was working on this months ago, but it took several times for crochet to stick.
5. Learn how to read crochet patterns.
6. Take one ballroom dancing class.
7. Take pottery throwing classes.
8. Learn 12 new knitting tricks or techniques. (This includes alternative cast-on methods that I must put into practice . . . it’s quite sad that I still insist on using the long tail method despite the fact that I have a fondness for lace knitting. The two do not mesh well.)
9. Purchase a loom and spinning wheel. Weaving and spinning are from last year’s list. Sadly, my finances and desire to learn how to do both on fancy equipment were not in sync last year. This year looks more promising. At the very least, I will get a Nifty Knitter and a spindle. A five-year-old could afford these on a modern allowance, so I should be able to, too.
10. Read a book a week. If this means that I have to buy one of those machines made for paralyzed people that requires you to puff into it to make it turn pages, so be it. I should probably be humiliated that a friend recommended that I do this, but at least he understands how knitting complicates my reading life.

I might be suffering from technical difficulties.  I am woefully unaccustomed to Internet Explorer.  I had thought I was linking to my pictures,  but it seems I am not and, frankly I’m tired.  After knitting late until the wee hours of the morning (not necessarily a bad thing as I finally got to see The Science of Sleep, which I had wanted to see in the theaters but every time I tried to see it was sadly sold out so I gave up) and still finding myself miles away from where I should be, I am exhausted.

But I took a break to make some cookies and prep some more chocolate gingerbread for Christmas.  The oven will largely be occupied by a turkey most of tomorrow, unfortunately, so I definitely had to get dessert out of the way. I’m quite glad with how the cookies turned out.  These were the Cranberry-Pistachio Cookies I was tinkering with last weekend (was it really only a week ago?).  They’re a little more cakey than the first version and quite tasty.  Despite the fact that my mother had just slandered all vegan baked goods as “dry” (not just mine, Native Foods’s carrot cake was caught up in the broad sweep), she seemed to have no problem choking down a few all the while offering advice – this might be the appropriate time to point out that my mother has never baked a cookie that didn’t come from a package in her life.

Pistachio Cranberry Cookies (Makes 16)

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift together: 

1.5 c. sorghum flour

1/2 c. chickpea flour

2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. baking powder

Cream together:

1/2 c. Earth Balance

1/4 c. + 1 tbsp. non-hydrogenated shortening

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

* Then add

1 tbsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

1/8 c. soymilk

* Add dry ingredients to the wet, plus:

1 c. dried cranberries

1 c. shelled pistachios

* Combine well.  Uncooked dough should be able to hold shape when pressed together.  If it does not, you might need to add a splash more liquid.

* Roll dough into balls containing approximately 1 tbsp. worth of dough.  Flatten on the cookie sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes.

I’m actually a little sad I can’t show the progress of my Christmas gifts as I’ve been working my tail off and yet still seem to be getting nowhere  (but there is always my flickr stream for the curious until I’m able to get things working on this end).  I think I’ve been crafting into a black hole.  It’s possible I’d be a little further along if my mother would leave me alone long enough for me to finish her gift, but she can’t because she’s a little obsessed with my company.

Normally nothing would make me happier than a large plate full of tater tots, but I had heard rumors that Whole Foods had waffle fries. Apparently, that would be the Whole Foods in Long Island only, unless there’s hope for the Bowery location. I had to have instant something, though, so I went for tater tots instead. On day 1 of Christmas Crafting for the Family they were a bit of a let down, but they weren’t supposed to be my prime focus. My grandmother’s lap quilt was:

I didn’t have the time to spare to move the pieced bits off of my bed, so yes . . . I slept on my grandmother’s quilt. Fortunately, this is not one of the evenings I slept on a sewing needle. Or a crochet hook. Or scissors. Or knitting needles. Clearly, I need to stop crafting in bed.

I got quite a bit done. Then, come Sunday, I hit a bit of a wall. Apparently, I no longer wanted to make a quilt. I wanted to make a die. As a result, I kept pinning bits of my quilt into a hexahedron shape and then sewing it together. Then I’d rip it out, without a seam ripper because I must admit I still haven’t picked one up. Then I’d say, I have to be careful. I must check this before I’d sew. And then I’d check it and it would look a little wonky, which I’d blame on the pins. Then I’d sew . . . repeat six times. At least I managed to make it all the way through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before I finally stopped doing this. Sadly, this means that I didn’t manage to piece together the entirety of the front side of my grandma’s quilt over the weekend, but it was a valiant effort.

On Monday morning, it is wrinkled, unfinished and mocking me.

On some levels, I almost wish I’d decided to just do a patchwork throw instead, but the hexagons are on such a large scale that I really think it’s going to need the quilted stitches to balance it out. As I won’t see my grandmother until Christmas Day, however, I realized I really ought to start on at least one of my mother’s presents, especially as she’s usually so excited to see me when I visit that I’m lucky if I get to use the bathroom by myself.

It’s actually quite a few rows beyond here, but I barely have time to write this post, much less take another picture.

I decided that crocheting a throw for my mother instead of knitting it might make me want to kill myself a little less because I’m at the stage that I still find beginning crochet stitches interesting. Now is not the time to ask me about her slippers or her cardi I was contemplating on Friday. Those might still be coming, but I’m setting my aspirations high. I think I thrive off of crafting pressure. At least, until the deadline is past. Then the gifts have a way of languishing in the bottom of a WIP bag for a few years before I half-heartedly finish them. For holidays, birthdays, etc., I really should just give people picture books. They will all have one title: This is What I Intended to Finish for You but Never Will.

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies. I will make these work yet. My mother doesn’t know yet, but I’m going to force her to bake and make candy with me in California on Sunday.

Perhaps if I hadn’t spent a couple hours on Saturday botching up the cookies I planned to take to the cookie exchange party I might have gotten a little further. The party was nice. Nothing says holidays like overfilling yourself with sugar, carbs and tea. Sadly, either my recipe is not quite right or, in a hurry, I overestimated the Earth Balance just a touch. These came out a little flatter than I wanted but, even worse, they were a little too salty. I really, really wish EB came unsalted, too. I just don’t buy that the shortening would be quite right. But I’ll get these and my pomegranate chocolate chip cookies (not pictured) working by Christmas.

Brunch is the best meal of the day, especially if potatoes and creamy sauces are involved.

I justified cooking a nice meal for brunch because it is two meals in one. Loads of vegan cookbooks have fake omelet recipes (don’t ask me to name one now as I’m speaking on a reduced sleep schedule) that tend to consist of dredging the tofu in something and marinading it and whatnot. I couldn’t be bothered to remember which cookbooks those might be, though, so I cobbled together something of my own. Let’s just say if you slice tofu really thin and dredge it in equal parts cornstarch and nutritional yeast with added black pepper and black salt (the crucial element) with a little bit of turmeric for color and then you fry it up quickly in a little bit of canola oil, it might be one of the loveliest things you’ve eaten in a while. Or at least I thought it was, alongside some beer (sorghum-based) and caper home fries and a nice Caesar salad. (I’m happy to report that the Veganomicon Caesar dressing has wonderful staying power.)

This is why I went for a lazy dinner many hours later.

I may have a spring roll fetish although I’m not crazy about the tiny wraps.  Curse Whole Foods for running out of the full-sized ones.

I whipped up a batch of my 30-second peanut sauce to go with these cabbage/butternut squash cranberry rolls. Disappointingly, my butternut squash had gone off since I bought it on Friday so there wasn’t much that I could salvage. But these were good and kept me from undergoing a big production in the kitchen for dinner. I saved that for the saltwater taffy that failed me yet again.

Definitely hard to see, but on Sunday night sugar became my enemy.

This time I watched the thermometer like a hawk. I pulled the sugar off at the right time, but it also hardened to an unpullable state before I could work with it. I tried breaking it up a little bit and was rewarded with a nice little abrasion (it looks worse now that it’s healing). I haven’t given up on saltwater taffy, yet, but I’m definitely done with this recipe. It is not my friend.

I firmly believe in bookending my years with a nice healthy bout of delusion. This delusion usually tends to manifest in list form. While January’s resolution list tends to contain one or two things I accomplish (I learned to crochet this year. Maybe next year I’ll actually learn how to read a crochet pattern.), my holiday present to-make list tends to require a Christmas miracle for completion or, at the very least, understandable Disneyland employees who let me enter the park with my needles on Christmas Eve so I can finish my mother’s cardigan in front of her. The fact that I was much further ahead this time last year has me a shade concerned. Granted, last year this time three-quarters of my craft corner and half of my apartment wasn’t in boxes in anticipation of a move that still hasn’t happened. I know that there will be problems ahead, however, as I don’t even know what everyone’s getting yet . . .

In an extra special round of delusion, probably brought on by holiday panic, I decided that that pile of fabric above, acquired from Purl Soho’s fabric store last night, will become some sort of lap quilt for my grandmother. It is important to note that I have not acquired a new sewing machine since mine broke in May, so I seem to think I will be hand-quilting this. And finishing everyone else’s gifts. And making candy. And baking a few batches of cookies for a cookie exchange. And I just might have decided that I want to make my mother a short-sleeved cardigan for Christmas instead of slippers. And then there’s my brother’s scarf. He’s in California. Why did he ask for a scarf?

I can get through this provided that

carbonated water, citric acid, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, concentrated orange juice, sucralose (Splenda, a non-nutrititive sweetener) natural and artificial flavor, caffeine, gum arabic, natural flavor, yellow #5, glycerol ester of wood rosin, brominated vegetable oil, taurine, guarana, ginseng, and vitamin B complex

is vegan. Jolt brought it for many a college paper. It can bring it for me now. I also foresee a sudden outbreak of the “flu,” that might relieve me of work obligations. If they had just left me alone today while I was trying to piece my grandmother’s gift, I wouldn’t have to break out the fake sick days, but for some reason, there is a lot less patience for patchwork than purling at my office.  Next year I resolve to start holiday gifts in July . . .

Apparently I shower long enough for several dollars worth of sugar, corn syrup and cornstarch to go from “soft boil” to “hard crack.” After staring at my newly acquired candy thermometer, patiently waiting for the temperature to rise to 270 degrees, I decided I would be there for a while and really ought to shower because I decided “pulling taffy” would be a miserable excuse for being late to work yet again. It seems that’s all it took for the temperature to get a move on it, and by the time I stepped back out of the shower it had risen over 100 degrees, making my sugary mass no good for anything other than hard candy. Had I set it up accordingly. I didn’t, because I wanted to pretend as if those 30 degrees really made no difference, so I popped it into aluminum foil, still suffering from the delightful fantasy that I could turn sugar that should be soft crack but wasn’t into anything pliable. I do now accept the fact that I have been saddled with a rather tasty door stop.

Lump of coal cookies.

Fortunately last night’s cookies turned out well, despite the fact that I was highly distracted by whether or not it would be blonde v. blonde on last night’s America’s Next Top Model finale (I know, I know . . . but I . . . I don’t have cable). True to form, I willfully skipped over a couple of necessary ingredients and had to improvise a little bit. I think it was because I was focusing on the black cocoa powder, which I just can’t bring myself to order online. I keep telling myself that if I can’t find it with some ease in New York, of all places, then I’m not meant to have it. Except for strawberry Ricemellow Creme and anything else I capriciously decide is exempt, but not black cocoa powder because I really feel as if NY Cake Supplies should carry it. So, these Lump of Coal Cookies are tasty, if not as black as they’re supposed to be.

Clearly, I’ve been baking up a storm lately. I’m one step away from calling it a compulsion. I wish it was because I desired the goods I’m baking. Realistically, I think I’ve been searching for the cookie that destroys my belief that cookies are easy to make gluten-free. What I’ve really, really craved (even more than the New Farm mac in my fridge) is a nice bowl of soup.

Possibly the best soup in the universe. And that’s saying a lot because I have an unholy love for soup.

Good thing Frecklefoot was willing to put up with me as a tester. What with all of my food allergies and my genuine inability/lack of desire to follow non-baking recipes with any level of precision, I am probably a testing nightmare. But, without her patience, I would never have tasted the most glorious soup in the universe. As I’ve mentioned before, my grandma grew up in the Philippines, but her father was fresh from Greece and so was most of the food in her household. I, however, did not really grow up eating Greek food. I spent a lot of time contemplating it, though, particularly after I visited Athens in college. You can’t really look too far into Greek food without encountering avoglomeno (never vegan) which can be both an eggy, silky sauce or a soup. Let’s just say that Frecklefoot’s avoglomeno is everything I always imagined avoglomeno soup to be. Hopefully she’ll forgive me for tossing in a couple of dumplings, because I’ve been craving those too, lately.

When Nigella used the word “wodgy” to describe her chocolate gingerbread in Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, I knew instantaneously what she meant. Isa’s Fudgy Wudgy Blueberry Brownies in Veganomicon are definitely wodgy. Any good chocolate dessert is wodgy, really. (Except that all good brownies are required to be a little crispy in places they’re not wodgy, too. I know many disagree, but I love edges.)

The thing of it is, making something both gluten-free and vegan at the same time is definitely a trial and error situation. Not to mention that, from the moment you read a list of recipe ingredients on a page, it’s easy to formulate an idea in your head as to what you think the recipe should taste like. I should have bore in mind the truth that chocolate is a flavor bully, not unlike green peppers and onion. Strong things like mint and raspberry (and I suppose I should say orange even though my brain does not really register orange as a food, outside of those mostly orange-free jellied orange slices my daughter-craving neighbor used to feed me as I cleaned her fish tank and learned to sew Cabbage Patch Kid clothing and watched every Hayley Mills movie known to mankind) tend to hold their own. Ginger normally does, too, but I will be the first to admit that I expected the classic gingerbread spices to resonate a little more boldly.

Unlike the slight fall suffered by my mini loaves, the spices are more of a matter of taste than that of veganization/de-glutening, so those will be simple to adjust. I think I’ll probably cut back on the Earth Balance a touch in the final version to balance out the fat, and hopefully minimize sinkage. You can’t really see it once the loaves are glazed, but it just seems as if I should fix it anyway to be thorough. I’m reluctant to cut back too much on the EB, though, because I want to make sure they stay wodgy. So, bearing my caveats in mind, this is the current recipe.

Chocolate Gingerbread (Makes approximately 12 mini loaves), Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Feast

½ c. Earth Balance

1 c. brown sugar

¾ c. light corn syrup

¾ c. molasses

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. warm water

1/3 c. silken tofu, blended until smooth (you can use either vacuum packed or Chinese-style soft tofu – the chocolate and gingerbread flavors are so strong that you’re unlikely to notice any beany aftertaste)

1 c. soymilk + 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (go ahead and get this started early)

2 c. gluten-free flour

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

* Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease mini loaf pan.

* In large saucepan melt Earth Balance, brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, cloves, cinnamon and ground ginger. In a cup dissolve baking soda in water. Take saucepan off heat and beat in tofu, clabbered soymilk and baking soda-water mix. Stir in flour and cocoa and beat with a wooden spoon to mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into loaf tins and bake approximately 35 minutes until firm.

* Remove loaf pans to wire rack and let cool in loaf tines. (Because I did not use a big pan like the original recipe, which Nigella recommends letting cool on top of a rack, I actually loosened them up after a couple of minutes and then gently tipped the loaves out onto the rack to cool. This did mean, however, that I had to put them onto a plate for frosting.)

Gingerbread Frosting:

2 c. confectioners’ sugar

2 tbsp. Earth Balance

1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

¼ c. ginger ale (I’ll admit I want to try this with a strong ginger beer, but I was lazy and went to the bodega on the corner.)

* Sift confectioners’ sugar.

* In a saucepan heat Earth Balance, cocoa and ginger ale. Once Earth Balance is melted, whisk in confectioners’ sugar. Transfer mini-loaves to plate and pour frosting over the top.

I’m really guessing about how many loaves this will make. I definitely overfilled the tins. You should leave a good third of it empty because these rise quite a bit (and I even used a GF mix with very little chickpea/besan flour, which is a known “bloomer”). I also thought it would be a clever idea to pour my remaining batter into my mini donut pan. Except that I wasn’t clever enough to take into consideration the fact that mini donuts would probably require one-third of the cooking time until after I had put everything in the oven. Then, I didn’t want to open the oven door because I would afraid I would make the mini loaves fall, which they did anyway. So, by the time I was able to rescue the donuts they were overly done.

The ugly side of baking. At least my pan made it through intact.

The donut failure should be no big deal because they were afterthoughts anyway, right? Not so. Now that I put some gingerbread concoction into my mini donut pan I suddenly crave gingerbread cake-style donuts.  Perhaps not chocolate gingerbread donuts, but gingerbread nonetheless. I’m going to have to get on those provided I don’t sign up for Baker’s Anonymous in the meantime or unless it turns out that I’ve simply been overly influenced by that Rachel Ray Dunkin Donuts ad that’s been running non-stop.

I also made yet more cookies. I was supposed to finish them last night, but my motivation to arrive on time to work is fairly low so I decided to get a good night’s sleep and finish them in the morning instead. I probably would have still been on time to work had I not also decided that I needed to frost my gingerbread in the morning and instead found myself behind a bunch of lotto-ticket buyers at the bodega while trying to buy ginger ale. Fortunately, outside of soaking the raisins and a short rest in the fridge to firm up the dough once all the ingredients were combined, these cookies worked up fairly quickly.

Visions of anisette dance through my head.

There is no anise in these Zaleti, but I’m thinking that it would make for one heck of a tasty alternative with some pine nuts and dried cherries, perhaps. Zaleti are a traditional, Venetian, cornmeal-based cookie. Because the original recipe calls for so little All Purpose flour, they are a good choice for gluten-free folk. Substituting for only 1/2 c. of flour tends not to change the recipe up so much. As far as veganizing goes, this time through I subbed whizzed tofu for the egg because I’d already prepared some for the gingerbread, which left them a little bit tender. I was afraid flax would be too noticeable here, but these cookies taste kind of healthy in the best of all possible ways, so I think I might try another batch using a couple of flax “eggs” in place of the tofu for purposes of comparison. Nigella was right. These really are good breakfast cookies and, since they use very little sugar, they’re a nearly guilt-free little indulgence.

Zaleti (Makes 16), Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Feast

1/3 c. raisins (Nigella recommends golden for the color, but regular work fine)

2 tbsp. dark rum

1/3 c. Earth Balance

1 c. fine cornmeal

½ c. gluten-free flour blend + ½ tsp. xanthan gum (call me paranoid)

¼ tsp. salt

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ c. silken tofu, blended until smooth

Few drops pure vanilla extract

Zest of ½ lemon

* Soak raisins in rum for an hour (or overnight)

* Dice EB into small cubes. Mix polenta, flour and salt and cut in the butter. When consistency of sandy rubble mix, add in sugar and raisins (reserving the remaining rum – you may not need it, but keep it just in case).

* Beat whirred tofu, vanilla and lemon zest together then mix it into the dough. Keep mixing until the dough forms a ball. If a ball does not form, add reserved rum. Form dough into a disc, encase it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. After putting dough in the fridge, preheat the oven to 375°F.

* Remove chilled dough. Flour hands lightly and pinch off ping-pong-ball-sized piece of dough, roll into cigar shapes then mold or press into oblongs (1 x 4 x ¼”), placing on parchment paper lined baking sheet as you go. (I used a non-stick baking pan with no problems.)

* Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and firm, but not too hard, as they will harden as they cool.

Lastly, I said something about providing a recipe for my Mint Chocolate Crispy Rice Treats. I don’t know that anyone reading this has been patiently waiting for them, but I figure I ought to type it up somewhere, if only so it doesn’t get lost in the move because I certainly plan to make them again.

Mint Chocolate Crispy Rice Treats

4 c. puffed rice or crispy rice cereal (e.g., Nature’s Path)

2 tsp. mint extract

1 container Ricemellow Crème

½ c. Earth Balance

* Grease a large pan. (I’m kind of hopeless here – a good-sized roasting pan will probably do the trick.)

* Add puffed rice to a large mixing bowl. In a largish bowl in the microwave heat Earth Balance (approx. 45 seconds – you want it to melt). Stir mint extract and Ricemellow Crème into the Earth Balance. Add mixture to puffed rice and combine well. Pour everything into the greased pan and distribute evenly. You may find this easier to do if you rub some EB on a spatula. Let rest in the fridge for an hour.

Ganache

3 c. chocolate chips

¼ c. soymilk

2 tsp. min extract

* Heat chocolate chips in the microwave. (Heat for one minute, remove to stir, then heat for an additional minute.) Stir in mint extract. Add soymilk a little at a time. You want the chocolate to remain thick enough to spread.

* Spread the ganache evenly over the treats and refrigerate for an additional hour. When chocolate has completely set, cut into squares.

* Optional: Crush candy canes or peppermint candies and sprinkle over the top before cutting the treats into squares.

Note: Peanut butter variation – Omit all mint from the recipe. In place of ½ c. of Earth Balance, substitute ½ c. smooth peanut butter.  Top with some crushed, salty peanuts for extra peanut goodness. The peanut butter treats will set up and stay firmer than the mint chocolate ones.

* * *

Holiday is an odd time for craft blogs because, while you tend to be busier than ever, you also suffer under the paranoia that if you post pictures of anything, the recipients will finally start reading your blog and your holiday surprises will be ruined. But lest people think I’ve only been crafting for myself lately, I have actually been diligently working away for others. I feel a little proud of myself because the two items shown below in extreme close-up are very nearly done.  I’m only showing this much because the close up gives very little away.  This is important since the recipients, unlike my grandma who has barely figured out what an answering machine is, do know their way around the internet.

I am such a bad daughter. Through the years I have been claiming “My mother can’t cook.” But every time I look at the New Farm Mac recipe (and on the one other occassion that I have dared to make it), I’ve always thought it was missing something — onions. Then I remembered, my mother used to make macaroni and cheese from scratch but, ungrateful family that we were, we clamored for Kraft so my mother’s one recipe didn’t come out very often. The thing of it is, I have this idea that I really liked the homemade mac and cheese when I was a kid. I also have it in the back of my head that it was my father who liked the Kraft stuff the best, although we all universally despised Velveeta’s mac and cheese.

Maybe I shouldn’t call it New Farm mac, but New Farm Little Dreams seemed to be pushing the beauty of this recipe just a tad. I love that we GF people get shapes now. I definitely ate a pentagram or two last night. And a bunny. Is that vegan?

This bunny is right. It’s not mushy, unlike the penne that dissolved in the Caesar dressing last week. I’ve been pretending that that stuff is really garlicky “goat cheese,” which helps it go down a little easier at lunch time.

The New Farm mac recipe nails the salty, fatty and bland part of comfort food. Part of me wants to add a little bit of mustard and umeboshi and miso to this to give it a sharper taste. The other part of me knows that this is the one item in my fridge that has me most hovering like Nigella over a pan of leftovers. The fact that it’s slightly bland means that I will eventually stop eating it. Adding onions and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs gave it a slight boost, but I’m afraid that any attempt to make it more cheddar-like will break my stop mechanism, which would be OK if this recipe weren’t likely to have 500+ calories per serving.

Once described as OK if you like margarine, perfect for folks who have been too embarrassed to eat directly from their containers of Earth Balance.

I know Jess at Let’s Get Sconed has a lower fat version, but I try to treat this recipe as Special Occasion Food. Perhaps in a few days, I’ll know what that occasion is. At least I had a couple of veggies last night, too. I even ate them first.

Artificial lighting makes this look like a grisly scene, but trust me, they are delicious.

I’m on a Veganomicon roll. Last night I also decided to get fancy with my sprouts and dove into the Cornmeal Masala Brussels Sprouts recipe. I knew I was destined to make these as every last ingredient is one I have in my kitchen all the time. (OK. I did run out of salt once and I actually threw together my own garam masala using Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe). The recipe calls for a pound of Brussels sprouts. I wasn’t about to step on my scale, even with my sprouts, so I just had to trust that my little neighborhood Asian fruit and vegetable stand didn’t steer me too far off course. Go figure, they didn’t have Brussels on the stalk there (and, is that one pound with or without the stalk . . . if without, how do you know?). I’ve only seen Brussels like that in pictures and in a grocery store in California. Isa suggests serving them with an Indian-inspired meal, but they added a nice little bit of interest to my Southern feast.

Note (to the person who found my site Googling “wheat gluten itchy welts”): I frequently don’t look at what searches bring people to my site, but the welt thing stood out for me.  On the off chance you have returned, I’d recommend an elimination diet.  I’m sorry to inform you that it was hives that finally made me realize I was definitely allergic to something.  I stubbornly ate seitan “duck” a few more times before trying the elimination method (we know this as denial), but yeah . . .