Homeschool Prom Queen

Buying a House…

So I’m not very old (I’m 22) or mature (as my roommates can tell you, I’m big on bathroom humor), but right now I’ve somehow found myself in the middle of buying a freaking HOUSE. I’m going to grad school next year in Chapel Hill, and my parents and I realized that since I know I’m going to be there for a few years, it would be a better investment for me to own a place rather than rent.

Fast forward a month or two, and I somehow spent all yesterday wandering around houses with a realtor talking about “investment” and “resell” and “location” and ugh. Each step of the process has been doable and manageable, but the end result - me living in a house that I own - seems like an impossible fantasy. Somehow I feel spoiled and overwhelmed and responsible and naive all at once.

On the bright side, in another month I’ll hopefully have a place to live, and a whole new set of responsibilities to be overwhelmed by.

no-literally asked: i am super-excited about all of your vegan recipes!

I’m so glad that you like them! They are definitely going to slow down now that I’ve burned through the stock of recipes I’ve stored up, but I’m having so much fun doing them :)

Recipe Project: Vegan Powerballs

While there are a surprising number of chocolate treats that you can buy from the store that are vegan (OREOS whaaaaa?), most of them are secretly pretty nasty for you. There are a lot of fantastic no-bake vegan cookie recipes out there (and even tasty baked treats as well), but I created this recipe for when even no-bake cookies require TOO MUCH TIME. These are super quick, probably vaguely healthy (peanut butter is good for you, right?), and satisfy a chocolate craving.

Vegan Powerballs

Serves 1-2 desperate people

Note: The measures for this recipe are approximate. I’ll give the ratio of measures as well, and you can adjust until the dough has the same consistency as playdough or silky bread dough.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tablespoon flax seed meal

1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (natural works fine)

Optional: crushed pistachios.

(Ratio: 1 cocoa: 1 flax seed meal: 1 honey: 2 peanut butter)

Directions:

1. Stir together all ingredients except pistachios and adjust to taste.

2. Form the dough into small balls (~1.5 inch across), and roll the finished ball in pistachios, if you like.

3. Either eat immediately, or chill in the fridge, depending on how impatient you are.

Recipe Project: Vegan Chili

Ok, so vegan chili seems kind of obvious. But this is really more of a chili curry than a soup- it ends up incredibly thick, and so so filling. I haven’t bothered to calculate how much protein this has in it, but it is probably a truly astonishing amount. From experience, I can assure you that consuming two bowls of this will end your evening: early naps will prevail. If you are feeling cold and empty though, it will warm you up and fill you to the brim with beany, lentily, fantastic goodness :)

One last note: I am not a fan of spicy food, but I’m pretty sure you could turn this into a fireball with the addition of some cayenne pepper and jalapenos.

7000 Protein Vegan Chili (inspired by 101 Cookbooks chili)

Done in an hour, but active for 15 minutes. Serves: allll the people :)

Ingredients:

Olive oil (I’ve been using garlic-infused oil)

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (once again: try Muir Glen for BPA-free cans)

1 chopped onion

1 cup lentils

1 14-oz can kidney beans

1 14-oz can garbanzo beans

1 quart of veggie broth OR (recommended) 3 veggie bouillon cubes (I like Rapunzel-brand) and 6-8 cups of water

2 tbs. cumin

2 tbs. chili powder

1/2 tbs. ground ginger

1 package vegan fake ground beef (the crumbled kind, NOT the paste kind)

salt

Directions:

1. Chop your onion, and soften in the olive oil in a BIG pot on medium/high heat (3-4 minutes).

2. Add the spices and cook for a few minutes, stirring so nothing burns.

3. Add in tomatoes, water/bouillon cubes or broth, lentils, and all beans. Cook on medium/high for ~30-40 minutes, or until lentils are soft. While this is happening, you can go chill as long as you remember to stir every once in a while!

4. Add in the beef crumbles a few minutes before you think the chili is done- they just need to get warm.

5. Done!

Recipe Project: Risotto Variations

Basic risotto is all well and good, but sometimes it doesn’t really feel like a full meal. What do you do if you are craving risotto, but you are like me and the idea of making more than one dish is just horrible? Yay, then it is time for variations! Each of the variations below add in a protein-y, meaty something or other to make the risotto feel more substantial.

Variation One: Roasted Tomato and Mushroom Risotto

You will need everything to make basic no-chicken broth risotto, plus:

a small container of grape tomatoes, halved

1-2 Portobello mushrooms, chopped into bite sized chunks

1/4 cup (2-3 glugs) olive oil

1 spoonful brown sugar

Lots of salt :)

Possible addition: I’ve also added steamed rapini/broccoli rabe to this recipe, and it has been delicious :) To do this: steam your rapini or boil for 3-4 minutes in salted water and then sautee for 5 minutes in lemon and olive oil. Add on top of risotto with other veggies.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2.. While your broth is heating for the risotto, cut up your grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and shallots.

3. Toss the tomatoes and mushrooms in a small casserole dish with a liberal dose of olive oil and the spoonful of brown sugar. Now, you need to add the salt. WARNING: if you add too much salt, your tomatoes and mushrooms will be disgusting. If you add too little salt, they will be boring. Add in around a 1/2 tsp. of salt at a time, stirring and then tasting the dressing. When it tastes good to you, stop.

4. Pop tomatoes and mushrooms into the oven to cook for 30-40 minutes.

5. Make your risotto.

6. When risotto and veggies are done, serve risotto with a heaping pile of roasted veggies on top.

Variation Two: Lentil Risotto with Italian “Sausage”

You will need everything to make basic mushroom broth risotto, plus:

1/2 cup lentils (green or brown is good)

Extra broth or water- probably another half or full quart

Vegan italian sausage, sliced

Directions:

1. Make risotto as usual, but when adding in rice, also add in lentils.

2. A few minutes before the risotto is done, heat up/crisp your sliced italian sausage in a pan.

3. Mix it all together and enjoy!

Recipe Project: Basic Vegan Risotto

I didn’t discover risotto until late in college, but it has become one of my favorite things to make. It is unusual enough in the south- where I’m from- that if I make it at home it seems fancy and special. Even here in the north- where I go to school- it seems labor intensive enough that it seems worthy of a special dinner. HOWEVER, you should know that it is actually super easy to make, and it is really easy to turn vegan. Typical risotto uses a starchy short grain rice (arborio rice), a broth (typically chicken), and a TON of parmesan and butter. When I went vegetarian, risotto was one of the few dishes that my adamantly non-vegetarian boyfriend and I could agree on, so I started making it with mushroom or no-chicken broth, but kept the butter and cheese. Making it vegan is a short jump from there :)

I was a little worried that risotto without butter and parmesan would be pointless- it’s just rice, right? SO WRONG. It turns out the rice and broth give you more than enough creaminess on their own, and a little margarine replaces the subtle butter flavor that I was missing. Risotto and vegans who miss creamy dairy = best friends forever.

Vegan Risotto

Done in ~45 minutes, serves ~3-4 as a side, or 1 person for a few days as a main dish

Ingredients:

1 cup short grain rice (look for Arborio rice in the store)

1 quart of broth (No-chicken or mushroom)

2 shallots, chopped

1 Tbs. vegan margarine

1 cup white wine (or… however much wine you like tehe)

Directions:

1. Put the broth on the stove in a separate pot, and heat to a simmer. Keep the broth simmering throughout.

2. While the broth is heating up, slice up your shallots and melt some margarine in another pot over medium/high heat.

3. Put the shallots in with the margarine and cook until translucent (2-3 minutes).

4. Pour your cup of rice into the margarine pot, and stir it around for a few minutes. Don’t burn it!

5. Pour about half your wine in with the rice. Keep stirring until it is absorbed!

6. Lower heat to medium. For the next 30-40 minutes or so, pour about a cup of the heated broth at a time into the rice, and stir while it absorbs. The stirring releases the starch in the rice, making the risotto creamy. Once you’ve used up all your broth, taste the rice to make sure it is cooked. If not, you can start adding water a cup at a time until the rice is cooked. Note that the rice will start getting thick, creamy, and harder to stir towards the end. Workout + Dinner!

7. Add in a little more butter and the rest of the wine, tasting and adding until you like the flavors.

8. EAT.

This is only the basic recipe. Next up will be two variations!

coolyourdools replied to your photo: I haven’t been giving this perfume much love…

ps maybe you could put the source link, like to the company or where to buy it? i’d love to look more at their stuff

I think if you click on the picture it should take you to their website. They are actually SUPER DUPER AFFORDABLE, for perfume :)