The Betty Crocker Project : Vegan Smokey Garlic Alfredo with Chicken & Some Springtime Vegetables

So I got Dan's fever plague. It came and went pretty quickly but it was still a pretty annoying thing to have happen when you're so close to putting the putting the final touches on something... like your new home after a move. We're so close to calling this place home now. It's all at that cruel stage where it becomes more like cleaning than decorating. I've also been distracted collecting a kinda odd selection of groceries recently.

See an important part of moving for me is finding out where I can get supplies. I've been scouting out grocery stores and pagodas and keeping notes in my phone*. I've also been buying vegan necessities and oddities as I went from shop to shop. I wish I could compare myself to an adorable squirrel or those sweet little old ladies filling their cupboards and pantries in case there's another depression or emergency bake sale. I mean what kind of little old lady wouldn't have all the ingredients for carrot cake at hand at all times? But in reality, this scenario is more like one of those creepy survivalists in Idaho - stockpiling Daiya, Tofutti, Lightlife and Gardein in case I never leave my home again and venture into civilization.

It's not that I'm anti-social. I'm just really shy... and kinda weird. 

So long story short, we needed a vehicle for garlic to defeat our plague and had some fancy organic spinach linguine... Smokey Garlic Alfredo it was! If you're following along in your copy of Betty's Big Red you'll only find Betty's Classic Alfredo. We used that as the inspiration for the base sauce of this dish and tinkered. I mean isn't that the beauty of Betty? She gives us what we need - even if it's just inspiration.

So let's make a lovely light springtime Alfredo that's is way more "low fat" but just as creamy as any of it's dairy ridden peers. We added artichoke hearts and peas to ours this time but this sauce would be wonderful with any vegetables. I already have plans to toss in broccoli next time or maybe some zucchini. Yeah I like to dream big. 

Meet The Shannons for Lunch!

In case you missed why this place is perfect place to celebrate not being saved.

If you're still around after the rapture - you should meet us for lunch at Foodswings in Brooklyn, NY at 1:30pm this Sunday May 22nd.

This is also the day after my 36th birthday. So be prepared to see this old lady eat a lot of mac & cheez. I mean a girl's got to celebrate some how right right?

Vegan Double Taco Burgers = A Cure for What Ails You

So last weekend, Dan got sick. I had to miss the prom and stayed home to watch Dr. Who. No, you didn't travel back in time. We're talking NYC's infamous Veggie Prom. I know I could have gone on my own, but it's just a part of our relationship. We treat each other the way we'd want to be treated, and I wouldn't have been thrilled if he had gone off to dance the night away while I was stuck home suffering. So I stayed home and we made Double Taco Burgers.

Now I'm not sure if this a recipe as much as combo trick. A few months ago, I was shopping with my friend Marta, who you might remember her from such adventures as The Danannie Wedding and Vegan Tuna Casserole. We were checking out a new grocery store in Norfolk and found a series of skillet sauces created by Frontera and Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless... and heaven to Betsy,* one of them is vegan.

Be sure and read your labels - There are 2 green packets. One is vegan - the other isn't. You can see the ingredients list in this post from The Kitchn.

This sauce even uses agave nectar instead of honey for sweetness. So I got one and tested it out. That night we used it to make some Gardein chicken tacos, but this weekend we took it one step further. During my grocery store scouting, I found these skillet sauces in NYC too, and picked some up for occasions just like this weekend... times when we needed something fast and friendly and absolutely fabulous.

We needed Double Taco Burgers! During a time when nothing seems to be going right Double Taco Burgers are here to make it all seem a little less something. I mean, setting up the cable/internet in a brownstone has turned out to be a challenge designed for the Macgyvers of the world. We had so many cables and cords running through our apartment it looked like Hoth. Then Blogger dies, taking blog posts and comments with it. SIGH. Yeah - we needed some thing to fill our bellies that wasn't going to lead to a lot of dishes and was super quick.

OK - I'm going to say it. I mean I have to right?

Help us Double Taco Burgers. You're our only hope...

The Betty Crocker Project : Chili Pots

So a lot has happened these past few weeks while we've been busy with moving... I mean on a global scale. I mean where do I even begin? Should I go all the way back to Donald Trump publicly embarrassing himself? Or maybe I should mention Bin Laden is dead or the Celtics losing in the playoffs? There are storms ripping through the US and floods heading towards New Orleans... I mean they caught a Nazi in Ohio!

I know some of you are like : "Annie! I come here to read about food and werido sci-fi stuff!"

But it's going to be OK - I mean I do more than just hang out with Dan, read comics, bake and watch the BBC. Not much more yet - my life is still a little small but living in NYC it's about to get a lot larger. I mean I'm setting up lunch dates left and right at some of the best vegan restaurants on the planet with some of the best folks on the planet. This weekend there are pretty much too many events for vegans and vegan-friendlies in NYC... I don't think we're going to be able to keep up :

• Friday May 13th at 9pm at Public Assembly, 70 North Sixth Street (map) we have the infamous Vegan Prom.
• Saturday May 14th at 5pm at Cipriani Wall Street, 55 Wall Street (map) Farm Sanctuary is having their 25th Anniversary Gala.
• Sunday May 15th at around 11am in the West Village (map) vegans are taking to the streets in The NYC Veggie Pride Parade

This recipe is one of those recipes that is so easy and quick - it's ridiculous and a great dinner for right now with so much going on. Yes - I know modern technology has made it possible for folks to wash dishes while catching up on current events but who wants to do that? Why not have less dishes and read? Yes - This is a vegan version of the chili and pasta casserole with some extras and twists... but really what isn't - right?*

Let's eat some chili pots...

And We're Back... & this time we made Vegan Garlic Chicken Ramen featuring the Vegan Hard Boiled Egg

Not your dorm room's ramen...

So you may have noticed that we've been M.I.A. lately. For those of you who aren't my buddy on Facebook or Twitter, this might be some big news: we moved to Brooklyn. Not just Brooklyn, but into a brownstone on a tree-lined street in old-school Bed-Stuy. So the past week and then some has been full of the usual moving dramas. You know - the packing, cleaning, and moving of various beloved objects. The unexpected melt-down at the thought of leaving the first home you ever shared with your partner. You know, the one that has all those lovely ups and horrible downs that come with a new and important relationship*. Of course, there is also the realization that you might never again visit this town that at one point you thought was going to be your forever home. This is of course followed by the calm realization that your real forever home is with your old man, and so you pack up your car with kittens and head out into the night... with a few tears.

OK. Now add to that driving a stick shift car from Virginia to New York with only a few weeks of practice under your belt, a few trips to IKEA, and a new apartment that while very charming is notably smaller than your previous place**... and that should pretty much bring you up to date on what we've been doing.

So we thought we'd come back with something easy: Ramen. I've been thinking about making this for months. Like many of you, I too have lived off ramen during periods of my life, and with my life various experiences and earned wisdom have come to develop a respect for real Asian cuisine. I certainly mean no disrespect to their instant counterparts, but the more traditional Asian noodle dishes are pretty much heaven. I mean, noodles to begin with are pretty much divine... so really is it hard to imagine a Pho/Ramen/Lo Mein Heaven? Um - No. I also hope this isn't too braggy, but I'm pretty happy how this little champ turned out. I mean she might not be the prettiest bowl of ramen to ever grace the internet, but she sure was delicious and gave me an excuse to make vegan hard boiled eggs again. Which is always a treat for me.

So to celebrate our first day back to the internet - Let's make some noodles!