The Quilting Never Ends...(and neither does the cooking): Cabbage Casserole and Broccoli Peanut Soup

So today I was looking at the back of my quilting work to assess how things were going and discovered this:

I have managed to quilt one of my knitting projects into the back. There is just not enough room for this quilt!

I am anxious to get it done too because I pretty much spend every day chasing the cats out of the tunnels they have burrowed into it while on the machine.

That would be the indignant look of Leela after she retreated back to her dog when I chased her off the quilt. Again.

My CSA box on Wednesday included more cabbage, a shocking amount of broccoli and more carrots. There were other things as well, but these three items were the focus of tonight's cooking.

The Broccoli, Apple, and Peanut Soup recipe is from "Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons." This is a great soup. I highly recommend it. I omitted the apples and more than doubled the carrots. Basically I needed to use up some carrots in a serious way.

The second dish is a Vegan Cheesy Rice and Cabbage Casserole recipe. I was beyond desperate to burn through cabbage in new and exciting ways besides variations on coleslaw and cabbage soup. 

The casserole is ugly and as a general rule photographing anything involving vegan cheese is best avoided but otherwise this is a good recipe. I had eaten such an alarming amount of soup by the time it was done that I wasn't able to do much more than taste it, but it is going to be great leftovers.

The biggest changes I made was the omission of the vegan sausage and the bread crumbs. I already have big plans to get good bread tomorrow that I want on the side, not in the casserole, and the vegan sausage...well...I try not to go too crazy with the vegan processed foods if I can avoid it. The Daiya vegan cheese was more than enough.

I didn't even know they made 8oz cans of fire roasted tomatoes but I used a full 14.5oz as that was all I could find and it wasn't too much. I think any less than that would have actually been too little. 

I am hoping maybe we get a cabbage break next week. I am still sitting on a full head of it! I am seriously considering shredding it up and freezing it for later.

Recycling and Laundry

Somehow I forgot to publish my all important Tea Vessel post from the other night so tonight will be a double post night. My tea vessel went out in public today by the way and people commented on it.

In other news I got a new recycling bin. I don't know what possessed Rabanco to decide that a household that often has one single bag of garbage weekly and a single 32 gallon recycling every TWO weeks would need a 94 gallon recycling container.

Yes, that would be my long driveway in the background. I currently haul my garbage and recycling down with a wheel barrow. Even if my truck was still working I wouldn't be able to lift this recycling bin into the bed. I wonder if when they dropped this off and saw my driveway if even an ounce of sympathy crossed their hearts. Major Bummer. 

Nim had a good day today because my washer machine is broke. He isn't thrilled with all days no longer revolving around him. But as luck would have it, I got home after tax preparing and had to run right back out to the laundry mat to wash every last towel I owned. This means Nim got an evening out on the town.

That is Mount Si in the background. Our snow level is low and at that particular moment, while cold, we even had a break in the rain.

Have a good evening!

Tea

I have a bit of an off week right now with my new job which is actually a good thing because everything is breaking. My car goes in Thursday and currently my washer is on strike.

I have also been using this week to make sure other aspects of my daily routine are fit for public...such as my extreme tea drinking.

New office calls for new tea "vessel." I have actually wanted to replace my other one for about two years but found myself highly motivated this week.

The company is oneVessel and this little guy caught my eye while shopping at PCC on Monday. My main complaint is that it is only 12 ounces. Yes, I could have gotten a larger "vessel" but I was stuck on the graphics and the shape of this one.

Today was its first full day of usage and so far it has done good. I might have had it too full so I got some leaking at the threads when I first put on the top, but other than that it worked just fine.

I wanted to take a deep snow picture of a miserable hike I did today but it was raining so hard and Nim and I were both so cold I just couldn't bring myself to mess with the camera. Nim was annoyed enough with me as it was!

A Job, A Birthday, A Cooking Blitz, and, My Valentine

What a week! The short of it is that I accepted a job. It seems like it is going to be a good one and while part-time right now has good growth potential both in hours and responsibilities.

My first day was Thursday, February 13th which also happened to be my 41st birthday. Somehow I hope that is a good omen. The last couple of years especially have been incredibly challenging and I can use all the good omens I can get.

My friend keeps reminding me that it is the Chinese New Year for the year of the horse and now is a good time to pile on the wishes!

Nim has put up with a lot of crazy energy from me over the past few weeks. He is a good boy.

Today I was supposed to be working my second day of the new job but they weren't ready with the computers which means I finally could get the plumber out that I kept having the cancel for interviews.

With my faucet fixed it was time to take care of a huge situation: two weeks worth of CSA boxes from Jubilee Farm:

The cabbage I shredded as well of as one of the bags of carrots. I dumped boiling water over both follow by cold water and then tossed with a Miso Tahini sauce. This was one of the favorite things I made.

Next up I decided to experiment with a new recipe for celery root and basically made a Celery Root Remoulade which apparently is a common use of celery root. I actually don't mind the end result, however I find it too heavy on the mayonnaise (vegan). The celery taste is strong! But I don't mind that.

I have no idea what these dry beans are, but when I cooked them they were like lima beans which I love.

I combined them with the two bags of kale I had (both were right on the edge of going bad), 2 red onions, and a couple of cans of fire roasted tomatoes. It came out really well. It is pretty much a variation on this recipe for good luck I have made before.

The parsnips I had a special idea for and that recipe did not let me down. These Parsnips Fries are really nothing like your standard french fries but it is a considerable improvement to a boring roasted veggies.

And lastly the rutabaga was basically mashed. I used this Creamy, Smoky, Whipped Rutabaga recipe for my ideas, but really didn't include anything other than garlic and almond milk.

This should help keep me fed for the rest of the week and more importantly keep things from rotting before I have a chance to use them all up. I like doing the winter CSA because it gets me out of an eating rut, but you really do have to be on top of it or it is a lot of waste.

My Valentine:

Happy Valentine's Day!

2014 Mystery Quilt Sandwich and Pin

Sunday I finally dealt with the sandwiching and pinning of the Mystery Quilt. I have really been putting this off. The quilt is SO large and I just don't have the house space.

I had an unpleasant amount of help. Not innocent Leela. No, she just watched.

Emile tries to look innocent, but he definitely is not.

I could hardly pin fast enough. I would hear the growl.

Rapid galloping.

And then this. Because of the size of the quilt I swear he would nail the side farthest away from where I was actively pinning. so I couldn't catch him.

I am now well into quilting. I still can't believe how big this quilt is!

Friday Relief

It was a single-jacket hiking day and things have thawed enough that my washer machine is working again. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am glad this week is over.

Have a good weekend! Gossypium Quilt Shop is having their one year anniversary so I hope to head out to that on Saturday, but otherwise this is looking like a low-key weekend.

Freezing

Here we are in February and as begrudgingly expected we are in another freeze. I don't know how other states handle weeks of this below freezing stuff.

Earlier in the week Nim went to Aquadog Spa and had a swim. It had been awhile but he remember the routine. This is the only environment he plays fetch reliably by the way. We tried out a life vest on him this time. The theory being that perhaps with some buoyancy help he might swim a bit less crazy. I am beginning to think that really we just have to wait until he about 10 years old or so.

Today I dragged my wimpy self outside and hiked. Basically Nim was driving me nuts from too much time in the house. My house is kind of a crazy making place for me as well. I have one faucet that is dead until I get a plumber on Monday and once again, some of my pipes are frozen. I figured we both needed a break from the house.

This was a double jacket hike for Nim. It was so painfully cold. Hard on the face and hard on the lungs.

His "Back on Track" jacket is the black one over the purple fleece. I really can't say enough good things about the "Back on Track" jacket. This is the first time I have ever hiked him in it and it did really well. Because it hangs more like a blanket I think it helped provide more warmth and protection to his legs.

Also because of how it hangs I had to eventually bustle it when I sense he was on a poop walk.

He has absolutely no shame and walked for quite awhile with his jacket bustled until he could find his ultimate pooping spot. Anyone that has walked with us knows how extensive the poop walk process is.

We are supposed to go over freezing this weekend...I can't wait!