Update | A tiny burst of inspiration

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Lately I have been really lacking in the inspiration department, but can you blame me? I'm working myself to the ground, so even if I was inspired, I wouldn't have the time to execute any of my ideas. Anyway, tonight I felt some inspiration out of nowhere and decided to paint a little to have a few more things to add to my art store. They're not masterpieces but I like them and I hope someone, somewhere, might like them too and maybe want to hang them up somewhere in their house or office or bedroom or wherever.

If you're interested, you can click here to take a look at my art store. The link will also always be in my link bar up at the top of my blog.

I put these pieces up on there along with a few that I've had completed for a while.

If you check out my art store and find something you like, thanks! If you don't, that's cool too :)

- Sam

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Recipe | Spicy Lettuce Wraps with Seitan and Sauteed Peppers

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Okay, so they're not really wraps because they're small... but I didn't know what else to call them. They're delicious, though, and that's all that matters.

Makes 12-15 lettuce wraps

A couple tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 12oz package of Seitan strips
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato, diced
1 head of any sturdy lettuce. I used bib lettuce, but romaine would work fine too. Just pull off the leaves, wash them, and pat them dry. Keep in mind that iceberg lettuce has basically no nutritional value, so try and stay away from that if at all possible
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Chile Lime hot sauce (I used Cholula brand)
Salt and pepper to taste

Feel free to add more or less of the hot sauce. I enjoy spicy foods, so I was pretty generous with it.

Set a large skillet coated with olive oil to medium heat. Start browning off your seitan to get it nice and crispy. This should take around 7-8 minutes. Keep the seitan moving in the pan so it doesn't burn. Once the seitan is crispy, go ahead and add the pepper slices. Sweat them for about 5 minutes and then add the cumin, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Spoon the seitan and peppers into your little lettuce cups and top with your chopped tomatoes. I topped mine with some honey mustard as well to balance out the spice.

Enjoy! :)

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Recipe | Vegan Blackberry Jam

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If you're anything like me, you love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich... quite frequently. However, buying organic jellies and jams all the time can end up being expensive. Not to mention, a lot of times companies will use gelatin (an animal product) to thicken their jellies and jams. So, a simple solution to these issues: make your own! This recipe is really simple and very easy to customize to your own preferences.

12 oz bag of frozen blackberries (or any frozen fruit, really), thawed
A few tbsp raw sugar (I used about 4 tbsp)
The juice of one orange
The juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp calcium water
1 tbsp fruit pectin

A couple things that should be explained right off the bat:

1. I think it's standard that all packets of fruit pectin come with a separate packet of monocalcium phosphate to activate the pectin to do its job. Mine did, and that's what the "calcium water" in the ingredient list refers too. My box of pectin called for that to be mixed with water and added to the recipe before the pectin. Just follow the directions on your box and you should be okay.

2. I enjoy a jam that is less sweet and a little bit more runny/not as gelled up. Therefore, I did not add nearly as much sugar as some recipes call for and I added less than the suggested amount of pectin to my fruit mixture. Customize this recipe to cater to your preferences! It's very adjustable.

Combine the bag of thawed, frozen fruit, orange juice, and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Begin mashing up whatever fruit you chose. Mash it to the consistency that you desire. I left mine quite chunky. Bring to a simmer on low heat and dissolve the sugar. Add your pectin according to the directions on your box. You can transfer your fruit mixture to whatever you plan on storing it in, leave the lid off, and put it in the fridge for a few hours to cool off. It will continue thickening as it cools.

If you actually go the length to steralize a mason jar for this, your jam should last for quite some time in the fridge. I'm impatient so I just washed my mason jar really well. I don't expect it to last very long in my fridge because I'll eat it all before it has a chance to go bad.

Enjoy! :)

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Update + Recipe | An Apology and a Quick Recipe

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I haven't blogged in quite some time, and it's mainly because I've been prepping to move out of my old apartment and into a new one for the past couple weeks. I haven't had any new recipes because I haven't been grocery shopping to make any remarkable dishes for you guys since I'd end up having to lug all my new groceries to my new apartment (it was bad enough transporting the little groceries I DID have in the scorching heat).

So, just a little recap on my life: I am finally all moved into my new apartment. I'm living alone now because my roommate Rachel graduated and to be honest I just can't tolerate living with anyone other than her, so this is the best option for me, lol.

Last Monday was Memorial Day and I got to go home and spend it with my family, and Chris came over which was nice. My sister visited from Virginia with the baaabbbbbyyyyyyy which was awesome since I hadn't seen her or Liam since Easter weekend. I made quiiiiiite a large spread for just my mom, my sister, my aunt, my sister's friend Dana, Chris, and I but I was too frazzled to photograph anything. I was cooking a bunch of things at the same time and I didn't have the time nor energy to capture all the steps and outcomes. I did write down the recipe to the vegan black bean and avocado burgers that I made, but again, I didn't take any pictures of the finished product. But I'll still probably make a post about the recipe soon.

I did, however, make the chickpea and avocado dip, which went over quite well with everyone who tried it! So that was nice :)

Now I'm back down by school for the majority of the summer. I babysit down here and I soon will be starting to work with a professor as a reading and grading assistant on campus, AND on Monday I have an interview at a coffee shop about 25 minutes away, so I'm hoping that goes over well. I might be biting off more than I can chew, but we'll see how everything goes :)

Tonight I had a simple dinner but it was delicious enough to be blog worthy :) It's not really a recipe... it's more like an idea: Vegan BLT

So for this I just took 4 slices of smokey tempeh, sauteed it over medium heat in some extra virgin olive oil in a skillet to get it crispy on both sides (about 5 minutes on each side). Then I added those crispy slices to a club roll from my supermarket's bakery with some slices of fresh tomato and some red leaf lettuce. The whole thing was gone in about 5 minutes. That's how good it was.

If I had more options in the fridge I probably would have added some sprouts or used kale or spinach instead of the lettuce. I was also gonna add some avocado but mine just wasn't ripe enough to slice.

Enjoy! :)

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