Five Things I’m Loving Lately, Part 3

(1) Vegan baked recipes

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I recently vegan-ized my Most Popular Chocolate Date Cake for a dinner party. Dear reader, it was good stuff. Served warm with a little coconut milk ice cream, this cake made the perfect end to a delicious meal. Coconut oil and chia seed “eggs” have become my new staples. I’m stoked to experiment with more baked recipes. In the meantime, check out this link for other vegan recipes.

(2) Nutmeg

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Freshly ground for me, please. It’s remarkable how much this simple spice wakes up a dish, sweet OR savory. Like the savory stew I made recently (can you spot it below?). If you’re not used to nutmeg, start with fresh nuts and a microplane (we use this one). The resulting flavor is much more pungent and complex than you’d get from the pre-ground stuff. And that’s my Jessie guarantee.

Trust me.
Trust me.

(3) Star Trek: Fleet Captains

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This board game is a recent addition to Peter’s collection. We’ve yet to finish an entire game, but it won’t be long before I crush the Klingons into the dust. Bwah ha ha!

What’s that? Why yes, that IS the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). Peter gave it a paint wash to bring out the features.

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We’re the coolest couple at our address.

(4) Peter-made pretzels

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This pretzel was made from the same Peter Reinhart recipe as mentioned in these two old posts. There’s nothing like a warm pretzel with homemade honey mustard sauce. Unless it’s a warm pretzel with honey mustard sauce made by Peter while I kick up my heels with piping hot Celestial Seasonings Earl Grey tea and a good book. Luxury.

(In the background? A long-simmering recipe I won’t share with you … yet.)

(5) This chef coat

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I have a tendency to splatter things in the kitchen where they shouldn’t be splattered. Like hot oil on my arms.

I saw this dirt-cheap red chef coat at Restaurant Depot and knew I had found the solution to my kitchen woes. When I have time, oh, next year perhaps, I’ll take in the sides a bit. Because looking snazzy in the kitchen is a non-negotiable.

Have a great week!

P.S. Happy Birthday tomorrow to both my sisters! See my previous birthday post here, with a vintage Powerpoint cartoon.

snisters

13 Comments

  1. You look good in Red!! Very nice!
    And…no comment on the Star Trek game…. I’ll just take your word for it that it’s as “cool” as it…sounds.
    Peter-made pretzels? I’ll take 5 please!

    1. Haha! We’re as “cool” as the game is (a.k.a. we’re nerds) 😉

  2. 1. You are beautiful in red (any color actually)
    2. I adore soft pretzels. Had my first with Ryan 6 years ago.
    3. I need to use nutmeg in savory dishes!
    4. I have never watched a star trek episode. Eek!
    5. I love your blog 🙂

    1. Aww, you’re so sweet, Monet 🙂 I love your blog, too!

  3. Awesome red coat Jessie!!

    Chia seeds as eggs? The only step to vegan food that I have been really scared of is how to replace the eggs, they play an important structural role if you don’t want to end up with cookies instead of cake! Plus I love eggs.

    Nutmeg ohhh nutmeg! I have been using it in sweet and savoury stuff forever! It goes really well with tomato sauce, especially when there’s red meat involved. I normally add a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and some sugar near the end of the cooking.

    And the Greek version of Bechamel sauce doesn’t have onions and cloves but lots of nutmeg and some cinnamon.

    Happy birthday to your sisters! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Christa 🙂 Replacing the eggs in baking can be tough, but I find ground chia seeds or flax seeds mixed with water (1 tablespoon per 3 tablespoons water) works well most of the time.

      I should have known you use nutmeg in savory dishes! It sounds simply amazing in tomato sauce 🙂 I need to have you come here and cook for us!

  4. Mmm, lots of good stuff! I’ve never tried chocolate date cake (or homemade pretzels!!), looks scrumptious! The chef coat really suits you, love the vibrant color and you look like a pro 🙂

    Do you have any book recommendations? I’m currently rereading Persuasion and will need a new book soon 🙂

    Have a super day, Jessie 🙂

    1. Thanks, Lucy! I haven’t read many adult books lately (which probably tells you a bit about my eclectic tastes!). Have you read The Help? One of my favorite (relatively) recent reads for adults. And of course, I have to put in a plug for anything by Madeleine L’Engle.

      Looks like I need to branch out a little 😉

    2. Hi Lucy, I just thought of something else. Have you ever read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins? I read it for the first time this past year and couldn’t get it out of my head. I think you’ll like it!

  5. LOVE the red chef coat! It’s rare to see colored ones…super cool.

    I’ve actually never had fresh nutmeg…major blogger fail!

  6. I think all freshly ground spices are much better than pre-ground.
    I try to grind my spices as needed (or at least in very small quantities). I love that you can grate nutmeg right into a dish though. It’s a bit cumbersome to do that with, say, allspice without grater the skin off your fingers.

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