I feel like screaming

Earlier this week, after my return from L.A., where I had a fabulous time, I tried to post some pictures. However, every single one posted at the beginning of the post, where I did not want it, instead of where the cursor was, which is where I DID want it. I got some gorgeous pictures, especially of Descanso Gardens, in La Canada Flintridge (near Pasadena). I created slideshows with my Photobucket account and sent them to some people, and they turned out beautifully. So now I'm trying to post the slideshow here, and I'll let you know if it works.

Does anyone know why Blogger does this, or did I do something wrong?

Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens

A simple entree

It's been a while since I made this--my Puckery Pomegranate Seitan. I guess you could say it's like a vegan fessenjen--I adapted a meat recipe to seitan. Ever since it became popular, I've fallen in love with pomegranate flavoring. A bottle of pomegranate molasses lasts a good long time, but I used the last of mine tonight :(.

Anyway, here's the recipe--it's pretty simple:

2 tbsp oil

1 lb seitan, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp pomegranate molasses

2/3 C vegetable stock

dash of sugar

1/4 cup walnuts

Saute seitan in oil on both sides until it starts to brown. Remove from the pan and keep in a warm place. Add onions, garlic, pepper, and salt and saute until onion softens. Add pomegranatet molasses, stock, salt, pepper, sugar, and walnuts and bring to boil. Add seitan back to pan and coat with sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens then serve.

If there's a Middle Eastern store in your area, you can find pomegranate molasses there. My local Whole Foods also carries it. It's actually thickened pomegranate juice, so you could technically make your own, but it's cheaper and easier to buy a bottle of the stuff. Next time I go grocery shopping, I've got to get me another bottle of that stuff.

Portobella? Portabella? Portobello? Portabello?

However you spell it, they're D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. After work today, I did a bit of shopping at Whole Foods--note to self: Never shop at Whole Foods on a Sunday again--and when I got home, it was rather late. So I grabbed a box of Seeds of Change Tomato Basil Quinoa Blend from the cabinet, a packet of portabella mushrooms from the fridge and got to making dinner. I brushed the mushrooms with Annie's Natural Shiitake Sesame Dressing and threw them in my grill pan. I had a big problem, as you can see, trying to remove the gills from the mushrooms, and two of the three fell apart before I tried using a fork instead of a knife to scrape out the gills, which worked a bit better, but some of the gills will remain. The mushrooms were juicy and tasty, and it was a quick, easy dinner.

I'm in a bit of a grumpy mood because someone stole my newspaper. Because of the switch to Daylight Saving Time (note there is no "s" at the end of "saving"), the paper delivery was a bit late. Most Sundays, I hear the delivery person drop my paper while I'm getting ready for work. But not today. In fact, I was walking through the apartment lobby when I saw the delivery person. Because the Sunday paper is thick, they just dump it outside my door (during the rest of the week, they slide it under my door, usually well before I even get up). When I got home, there was no paper waiting for me. So I had to buy one. Because I subscribe to the paper, I get some of the Sunday supplements with the Saturday paper, so I ended up having to ditch two sets because I don't bother with the stupid advertising inserts. Which I also hate, even though my building does have a recycling program. But all's well that ends well, and I did get to read my paper.

Stir it up!

I have loved lotus root since I tried it at a local veggie joint a few years ago. So when I saw some at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, I had to get some. Yes, I know, it took a while to get around cooking it, but I was sick last month, and well, February was an otherwise bad month for me.

And I finally had to switch to the new blogger, and I'm going to see how it works for me--it's nice to see the picture instead of the code as I'm typing. I may play around with the theme as well.

Anyway, a couple of notes to myself about cooking lotus root: (1) cut the stuff thinner; (2) put it in the stir-fry pan first, even before the tempeh (or tofu or other protein). I used a mushroom mix I bought at Trader Joe's--oyster, cremini, and shiitake mushrooms--some onions, green onions, celery, and pea pods. I adapted a recipe for stir-fry sauce I got from Recipezaar.com, but next time I will use less arrowroot starch so the sauce isn't too thick. Lotus root is fairly rich in vitamin C and a decent source of iron. It's also very crunchy and crispy and while not extremely flavorful, it is tasty.

If you can find it wrapped at your local Whole Foods, take it home and give it a whirl!