still feeling under the weather. it seems like everything is exhausting to me right now. we only left the house twice today. once for our saturday morning bagels and then to pick up some groceries to make dinner. we skipped the market since i wasn't feeling up for navigating through crowds of people this morning. we only have so many days left of harvest veggies so i was disappointed not to go.

we did make roastless brown potatoes & vegetables from this vegweb recipe. i was in need of some hearty, simple, comfort food and this recipe definitely fits the bill. we've made it a couple of times before for thanksgiving and x-mas and it's always a hit with the omni fam.


we make it with a few changes (and short-cuts because we're lazy):

3 organic russet potatoes
4 organic red creamer potatoes
3 ribs organic celery
3 organic carrots
1 small yellow onion, diced (j hates pearl onions)
1 package Hain Veg Brown Gravy
1 small package of Imagine Portabello Cream Soup
herbs to taste


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1) Chop celery, carrots, and potatoes to chunks that are approximately the same size.

2) Dice onion.

3) Dump veggies in a greased casserole or roasting pan.

4) In a small saucepan add the gravy mix and the soup mix, stir in 1/2 cup water.

5) Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over veggies.

6) Add fresh herbs (if using) and a few cracks of pepper.

7) Bake (covered) for 50-60 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 10 minutes.

we ate ours with wheat toast. if you're feeling industrious whip up some biscuits and i guarantee you won't be sorry.

no elaborate food posts today. i spent the afternoon and evening hooked up to monitors in the hospital (a long story, but i am well fortunately.) by the time i got out i was totally exhausted and starving so it was pb & j and a trader joes chocolate soy cream bar for dinner. i heading to bed now. but here's a picture of some chocolate peanut butter cookies i made in july from my sweet vegan. they tasted awesome, but i remember having some trouble getting them to stick together because of the humidity. and as you can see they didn't look very pretty.

my toes are freezing

ten comments today at work on the green tights and turquoise wedges. i get them every time i wear the yellow tights too. ha!



this looks like one of those seventies cookbook pictures. the ones where the food always looks really oily and orange, but i swear this food tasted really good. whenever j and i are really lazy about cooking dinner (which is often) this is one of our standby meals. a bag of the trader joes frozen arribata pasta (not an std), can of beans (usually cannellini or chickpea), and whatever veggies are on hand (in this case zucchini. spinach is good too). it's got a little kick to it, which i love and can be completed prepared and consumed in about fifteen minutes.

oh yes, and i've decided to participate in the veganmofo. twenty posts in the month of october about vegan food. i can do it. the vegan food part isn't the problem. it's the finding the time to post part and remembering to snap a picture. but i'm motivated. wish me luck!

happy october!

more videos. i've enjoyed this song, but it's even better with this animation. although i'm tad creeped out by the mustached men.

found via poppytalk

so sweet.

i think my first crush was a combination of all these stories.

found via Creature Comforts

summer's been busy. blah, blah, but really it has been. j and i just walked home from a street/craft fair. we had plans to go back tonight and listen to some more bands and drink more beer, but j is napping on the couch from all the beers consumed earlier. there were something like fourteen breweries there selling their wares. j did not stray far from the beer tent the whole five hours we were hanging out. alas, no beers were consumed by i even though i was interested. i did feast upon the blue nile vegetarian sampler plate. it was a little on the skimpy side in terms of portions, but the food was delicious. spicy lentils (in hindsight, i should have skipped for the sake of my stomach), garlicky greens, and some spiced (but not spicy) vegetable mix served on injera. yum!

an ulcer is currently ruining my days and regular eating habits. i've been learning by trial and many errors what foods i should be avoiding. food that may not taste spicy to my mouth is turning out to be too spicy to my stomach. boo.

regardless we ran in to tons of old and new friends down at the fair. a friend of mine makes birch bark jewelry and gifts. i bought this adorable birch headband from her. i also picked up a johnny cash and sewing buttons from here. hopefully, we have some time to stop back there tomorrow and pick up a few more things i was eyeing and to take advantage of what may be the few remaining warm days in michigan.

the ulcer is really hindering our food choices around here these days. i was told to stick to bland foods, which is almost impossible. who wants to eat bland foods al time? not i, apparently i'd rather lay awake with stomach pain and heartburn. like i said, i'm learning... slowly. i've being eating a lot cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and soy yogurt. we did veganize this broccoli gratin recipe from everyday food last weekend. i only picked up one head of broccoli at the farmers market last week so we ended up halving the recipe. we used plain soy milk and soy cheese (teese is good). j was in a cooking mood so he made it while i sorted bills and mail (fun!). we ate it with corn on the cob (also from the market). it was the perfect simple, creamy, comfort food to soothe my weary stomach after a week of assaulting it with pizza, penne arribiatta, and taco bell (!). this recipe is definitely going in to our regular rotation and we'll probably try it with pasta shells or potatoes mixed in.

we've also been devouring an obscene amount of chocolate chip cheesecake. i picked up a cake at whole foods on wednesday to celebrate mine and j's third wedding anniversary. so good, chicago diner cheesecake. we've both been sneaking bites here and there straight from the fridge.

adorable dog photo to hold you over until next time.