What I've Been Up To Lately

Wow, nearly six months without a post! I can think of dozens of excuses, but it all boils down to this life thing being so busy all of the time. Some big changes have happened as well. 

Summer is over, and I feel like all I did was drive back and forth to Wisconsin for business trips. I completed fifteen of these torturous events over the past nine months. Ugh.

I also just finished moving. I made the decision to get out of my propane-sucking behemoth of a house, sell, donate, and give away most of my stuff, and move into a tiny one bedroom apartment half a mile from my job. It's saving me oodles of money every month, especially since it has free heat. I decided to go microwave-less, mostly since I can't fit one in my tiny kitchen. Finally having a gas stove/oven is kicking so much butt that I don't even miss nuking my leftovers. I can do that at work if I absolutely have to.

My boring life aside, here are some photos to catch up on my recent food adventures. I have an iPhone 5 now, so much better pictures are on their way!

First up, photos from dining out:

Veggie combo platter from Nile Ethiopian, my favorite restaurant for the past few months.

 Surprisingly delicious "Cantina Bowl" from Taco Bell of all places. It's hard to believe that this came from the same chain that stuffs tacos into Doritos.

Big basket of steamed tofu and spinach from Bamboo House in La Crosse, WI. Silken tofu served with sauce on the side. Very filling.

"Weedwhacker Roll" from Shanghai Bistro in Hudson, WI. It tasted as pretty as it looks.

Giant bowl of Sechzuan Tofu from Shanghai as well. Lots of silken tofu, topped with mounds of cracked black pepper.

Now on to some pizza adventures. Did I mention that I have a boyfriend now? Well, I do. He's amazing, and he makes amazing pizza. Here is one all topped and ready to go in the oven.

Here it is, cooked and fabulous.

With bonus hairy man-legs in top right corner!

Here is another, super thin and crispy. Simply dressed with fresh veggies.

This one was topped with some ground seitan and Daiya.

Some homemade pretzels on a dreary Sunday morning. The weird looking black stuff is some weird looking black salt crystals supplied by the BF.

Some faux pasta made from spaghetti squash. The sauce was a can of diced tomatoes blended with red lentils, garlic, and herbs. It tasted like creamy tomato basil soup.

Besides making epic pizza, the man also owns a smoker and we've been experimenting with smoking tofu. Pictured below is a "tofu marination station"

Tofu, marinated and ready to go in the smoker. A couple of blocks were left plain to bake and dip in BBQ sauce later.

A tray of applewood-smoked goodness! The last-minute addition of mushrooms to the smoker was a stroke of genius. They were gobbled up in minutes.

My latest obsession, African peanut soup. So gross sounding, but so tasty! After trying some at the local coop, I was determined to make my own. It turned out way better.

That's it for now! Now that I have a better camera and super fast internet, hopefully I will be motivated to update more.