One of the tougher things about giving up dairy at home has been my love of cheese, but I’m determined to eat very little animal protein at home (and I’ve become more lactose intolerant over the years), so I’ve managed not to give in and buy any cheese. In many ways, I think it’s made me a more versatile cook, but sometimes I do have a hankering for familiar comfort foods.

I came to mac and cheese late in life (since neither of my parents like it), but it’s become a food that I enjoy and sometimes crave, so I went looking for recipe ideas.

FatFreeVegan has become a resource for me as I’ve been exploring vegan cooking, and it was there that I found an exciting-sounding recipe for vegan mac that I thought I’d give a shot. I’ve added squash for a thicker texture and used vegetable broth (instead of water) for a little bit more savoriness.

This is my adaptation (which I’m rather pleased with, if I do say so myself):

Photo: Step 2

Photo: Step 3

Photo: Making Bread Crumbs in the Food Processor

It was so good, I had two helpings…and I still wanted more, even though I was already full!

I always find it soothing to do a little cooking after a long, hard week. Here’s what I’ve been making:

Cashew “Cheese”

I’d gotten some goodies at Nuts.com, and I was excited to try out this recipe for cashew “cheese”. It’s not bad, but I think next time I will have to soak the cashews longer (I only soaked them for about two hours) and cut down on the lemon zest. The recipe makes for something more akin to hummus, and I think I was looking for something a little bit more neutral…so next time, maybe a splash of red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice, and then more nutritional yeast.

Chinese Mustard Green, Smoked Tofu, and Enoki Mushroom Sauté

One of the stands at my local farmers market has some great Asian greens, so I picked up a typical Chinese green and made an easy stir fry with a little seafood sauce for flavor (you could use black bean sauce for a vegan option). I think it’ll be really good with quinoa or farro as an easy lunch dish for the week ahead.

Braised Collard Greens with Onions

I braised these greens in vegetable stock, and I had some for lunch with the cashew cheese and some of the kobucha squash that I steamed. All three went into a naan for a delicious and satisfying wrap.

Roasted Kobucha Squash Seeds

I’m not one to waste the plentiful seeds inside my kobucha squash, so they got washed in a colander, patted dried, sprinkled with garam masala and olive oil, and roasted for about 12 minutes (with one toss in the middle). An easy snack food.

Now I’m in the middle of baking a tomato quiche using flash-frozen tomatoes from the farmers market and a recipe from the New York Times. Hopefully it turns out nicely. Of course, now I have ideas about making a vegan mac and “cheese” and a vegan chocolate shake…but clearly I have my work cut out for me, eating this stuff first.

Awhile ago, I bought this rather handsome planter and I wanted to fill it with succulents. A few weeks ago, I finally decided to get off of my bum and put it together. To prepare, I picked up 6 plants at Lowe’s and some cactus dirt. Then I realized that since my planter doesn’t have any drainage, I’d have to get clever to make sure my plants didn’t sit in water (not good for dry-climate plants).

Unlike some situations where you could drill drainage holes, the decorative planter is wood, and therefore mightrot if exposed to water.

To compensate, I used a container-in-container system–BUT disguised it to look like it was planted right in the planter.

Here’s the planter:

I used some foam to create some space between the bottom and the plastic inner containers:

I used leftover plastic take-out containers for the inners. I tried a few different sizes to see what combination would work best:

Using a screw and a screwdriver to “drill” holes in the bottom, I created drainage:

Here are the plastic containers with holes inside the planter:

I filled the gaps with plastic bags to create a bumper on top of which I filled dirt to disguise the plastic containers.

Once the plants and dirt were added, I added a little water (sparingly–again, they’re desert plants!) and put them in the sun:

I love the combination of textures and heights, and I think they’re a great addition to my living room.

Those who know me well know that I am big on de-cluttering. But I don’t just trash things. Clothing can be donated. Food can be composted. Even bras can live on.

Last summer, I attended the BlogHer conference and in my goody bag, I received this pouch from HopeLine from Verizon.

This prepaid envelope allowed me to mail several old cell phones to HopeLine so they could be used to support local shelters and nonprofits focusing on domestic violence prevention and awareness. I thought this was a great idea. I had three cell phones that I had held onto (because I can’t bear just trashing things that seem like they’d have another use) over the years, so I was extremely happy to find a good use for them.

If you also have cell phones lying around your house, go to their website and request an envelope.

I love shopping and I love photography—but sometimes I don’t have time to share my photos on the blog. I’m delving back into my photo back-log to bring you posts about things that happened long enough ago that I don’t remember the exact  details. These are my approximate recollections. 

Back in the late summer/early fall (I know! I’m terrible at keeping up with blogging…you can blame grad school), I hosted a brunch party. For brunch, I feel like you should always have an array of drinks, from sparkling wine to juice, and of course, coffee. Now, I’m not a coffee drinker. I do sometimes have an espresso, but mostly for the caffeine. I’ve just never learned to love that bitter, dark coffee flavor (despite my mother being an avid black coffee drinker).

I have made cold brew coffee once or twice, and I liked the effect, but in this particular case, I was short on time. Luckily, I spotted this Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee (in two different size glass jars) over at Court Street Grocers, so I picked up a large bottle. I liked the chicory flavoring, and I liked that it was concentrated so that you could add ice, water, or milk (or booze) to dilute it. Convenient and clever.

Now I realize that for the vast majority of people, cold brewing yourself is sufficient, but for those lazy-pants, you now have a convenient option in your shi-shi grocery stores. Very Brooklyn.