Best Week Ever?!

What a week it has been so far...and it's not even over!! Just for a quick recap: I passed all of my pre-internship exams this week, Obama was inaugurated, and season 5 of LOST premiered tonight! For three hours! I can only pay tribute to all the awesome events with yummy vegan food...

First, the end of Bush and the beginning of Obama! I am so excited!!!! I used the toppers from the Bake and Destroy blog, like the ones I used for election night cupcakes, to commemorate our lunchtime sandwiches (Obamawich?) as the inauguration was occurring. Yeah, I am pretty cheesy like that...but don't they look cute!
I also got to utilize some of the Tex Mex food Steven brought me from his Texas trip last month! Yay! I made a Pinto Bean Mole, with the jarred mole sauce he bought, onions, garlic, corn, bell peppers, local zucchini, green beans, pinto beans, tomatillos, Mexican chili powder, and lime juice. It was soooo good! I have never had mole from a jar before, so this was a cool thing to try. It got thicker than I expected, mostly because of the peanuts and cocoa, but it was still tasty. I prefer the homemade stuff, but it's hard to argue with a souvenir and a time-saver! I served it up with some homemade guacamole from the avocados, cumin-lime millet, and fresh lime wedges! I only wish I had some rice milk horchata to wash it all down!

Another plus this week was that I perfected my Creamy Creole Sauce! I am excited about this, because I really like this creamy texture and spicy flavor with dishes like the Cornmeal Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon, with my faux "crab" cakes, and even on sandwiches and veggies. I will give you the recipe, as I am feeling generous! :)

Creamy Creole Sauce (makes about 2 cups)

1 cup spicy brown or dijon mustard

1/2 cup vegan mayo

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar

1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce, like Frank's

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until well combined. Pour into a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. Will keep for about 1 week in the fridge, but it won't stay un-eaten that long!

Now for the sweet stuff: LOST Cupcakes!! I, again, got some cutie patootie cupcake toppers from Natalie's Bake and Destroy Blog. I love these things! It really makes cupcakes taste better, if that is possible. We got a huge bag of crystallized ginger this week at the store, so I decided to make the Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting from VCTOTW!! I hadn't made these before and I am not sure why! They are so moist from all the molasses and so flavorful and delicious! I love the little accent of a crystallized ginger piece!

Oh, and how awesome was LOST??? I will just nerd out for a second and tell how flippin pumped I am for the fifth season!! Is anyone with me on this? Maybe I am just excited for having more LOST-watching parties so I can bake and be with good friends. Maybe.

Here's all twelve different toppers, happy and together pre-premiere:

Craving Some Soul Food

Some things are just good for your soul. For example, my soul was absolutely ecstatic on Tuesday night when Barack Obama became our next president!!!! Perhaps it was due to his awesome-ness, his amazing staff's work, or my cooking?! I did make those lucky black-eyed peas, you know! I also made these Barack Obama Cupcakes!! As good as these were, I guess he deserved his win from his own merit....

These are the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, topped with a Maple-Cinnamon Buttercream that I whipped up...and they are blessed with little Obama cupcake toppers, courtesy of Natalie at Bake and Destroy!! These were a perfect way to celebrate a victory! Oh, and the pumpkin puree used in these was some I made myself from a locally-grown pumpkin courtesy of the Columbia Farmer's Market and Steven! yay DIY! These not only tasted amazing, they were life-CHANGING! :)

Another thing that is good for your soul: SOLE food! This is a culinary ideology and, more recently, a trend where consumers are beginning to desire foods to eat/purchase that are: Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical. I hope this is not just a hip trend for eaters, but that it becomes a way of life for people everywhere. Here are a few meals we had this week that were both in the area of soul foods and SOLE foods!

Seitan Chorizo-Stuffed Acorn Squash with Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread

V-Con's Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu, Dirrrrrty Brown Rice, Roasted Root Veggies

BBQ Soycurls, Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread, Garlic Barack-oli

(we had this on election night, I had to go there....)

This week has been so crazy, but I am so glad the election is over and I can think about other things! Thanks to everyone who worked for the Obama or their state/local campaigns! It really is important...I promise :)