Got no eyes,Got no mama

Our friends, Brian and Laura, came over last night to eat vegan. Today is Brian's birthday, so I made birthday brownies. Honestly, a Muddy's cupcake would have been much better, but when in Chez Murrell (at present), you're stuck without added sugar, refined flour, or any of the other stuff that makes birthday food so freaking good. We'll have to save those for the birthdays that end in "0" or "5." I made the brownies ( https://www.feastingonfruit.com/easy-vegan-fudge-brownies/ ) in a mini-muffin tin and iced them with vegan chocolate icing, made with coconut butter ( https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/recipes/basic-chocolate-frosting-coconut-cream/ ).  The oat flour in the brownies was made by blending up slow-cooking oats, and the coconut butter in the icing was made by blending (and blending and blending) coconut. We also had delicious apps, made by Brian and Laura, as well as taco soup: cans (or cups) of beans (with juice),

I have to say that I miss basic breakfast stuff. I love grits, and bacon, and eggs, and hash browns, etc. etc. Although this recipe comes from the Minimalist Baker, whose last couple of recipes have not rocked my world, I had hopes for these crispy hash brown stacks. Cutting to the chase, they were good, not great, but did fill some need for crunchy potatoes this morning. I used purple potatoes, because Greger, the guy behind the How Not To Die book and cookbook, notes that the more color in my food, the better. Red onions are better than white ones, purple cabbage better than green, etc. As a result of purple potatoes, my stacks resembled little hockey pucks - but I am guessing they taste better. For dipping, I mixed a little salsa with a dap of ketchup and chipotle Tabasco. Also used a little of the “sour cream.” Not bad. CRISPY HASH BROWN HAYSTACKS 7-ingredient crispy hash brown haystacks with corn and fresh parsley. Crunchy on the outside, slightly tender on the inside, and pe

Vegan cashew sour cream: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/cashew-sour-cream-non-dairy-sour-cream-alternative-substitute-204512 It’s okay, but it ain’t sour cream. Vegan nacho cheese sauce: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/best-vegan-nacho-cheese-sauce-296110?ic1=suggestedAsset%7Cnacho From one review: “ My 13 year old daughter is not a vegan, yet she DEMANDS I make this at least once a month.” I’m gonna call bullshit on that one. There’s no way anyone would demand this over, say, Poncho’s dip. With 5 stars, I thought that maybe this was a winner, but it was just okay.  Sesame peanut noodles: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/peanut-sesame-noodles-106572 This was good, but with the amount of red pepper flakes in it, you need to know that it might burn your lips off. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. After three weeks, Dan is down 8.5 pounds, and his blood pressure has dropped enough that his cardiologist has him on half doses of his blood pressure meds.

Just don’t.

Today I had a business lunch meeting with a colleague and a very nice couple who love the UofM. The place for lunch was their choice; we went to O'Charley's. Now, I am not real big on chains to begin with. But to walk in on this plant-based diet and hope for something decent to eat was apparently way out of the realm of reality. I scoured the menu, but all I could find was a house salad (hold the cheese, which they took to mean "hold everything but lettuce." I ordered some collard greens, but they were forgotten. And I asked about the mashed sweet potatoes and was told they come with sugar on top. They held the sugar, but the potato was less than tasty. My colleagues should know that I plan to offer a list of places to eat in the future. It is hard to eat out and eat healthy and well.

In my distant youth, I loved peanut soup. When my cravings for that kicked in this week, I was certain we couldn't have it. Surely it had cream and other bad, delightful things in it. I was wrong. I found multiple recipes, and only Emeril's had cream. This version was fairly easy to make and fairly quick - and I thought it was pretty good. Note that sweet potato is often used in these soups. I think we will try that next time.  -Dan West African Peanut Soup (Found on CookieandKate.com) This West African peanut soup recipe is a creamy and comforting, spicy vegan soup. Made with a simple combination of peanut butter, tomato paste and collard greens, this soup comes together quickly and would be a great weeknight meal. If you love spicy flavors like me, don’t hesitate to use liberal amounts of ginger and garlic. INGREDIENTS 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth 1 medium red onion, chopped 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teasp

When I was in high school, always dressed in khakis and a button-down collar like almost every other guy in the school, there lurked under the surface a thought that I would one day have a ponytail and earring. I kept that thought for about 20 years, then finally realized my place in the workforce was not going to think much of that. Now I couldn't have a ponytail even if I wanted it. But this way of eating has brought back some thoughts of the seventies, when my mother was attempting to bring "hippie" food into a house that loved its meats. She made horrible dishes of bulgur (which we promptly labeled vulgar) and other grains and even made yogurt for a while - without the modern conveniences that make it easily now. Fortunately for all of us (I think - could be debatable), she moved on. The cooking she passed on to me is a passion for making fresh bread and rice krispie treats, and neither recipe is on our current diet. However, I laughed when I saw this in my mornin