All's Well that Ends Well

I'm awfully sorry about my last post - what a bummer to read! At any rate, I believe the things that happen in life, whether good or bad, are balanced. Without the bad things, you can't fully appreciate the good and without goodness, you can't get through the bad.

So, I'm happy to say that this past week has been better than the one before. Although we did lose a second colleague's husband a few days after my last post (this time, lung cancer but he had never smoked a day in his life), and my father lost his longtime companion dog, my grandmother's shingles is on the mend and she is enjoying this beautiful spring weather with me (although many, many miles away)! My new job is bright on the horizon, and I'm doing all I can to heal my body.

As we all know, cooking always helps! ....These gorgeous chocolate raspberry cookies from Veganomicon are a housewarming gift for a cookout we are heading to in about an hour. I whipped them up in no time, and with no fancy ingredients! They look hard, but they are only firm on the outside, with an incredibly chewy and soft middle! Four star recipe, or maybe just 3 and a 1/2 but only because I'm not a big chocolate person....
So, I spent yesterday in mid-70 degree weather with a perfect breeze and cloudless sky, chatting with a friend during our yard sale. The birds were everywhere (both sight and sound), my newly planted flowers were blooming nearby and I felt completely renewed. Later, I had a great workout, then came home to wash and wax the car, and mop the kitchen floor. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then I am surely a goddess after yesterday!

Oh yeah! My graduation party (last weekend) was a complete success. Unfortunately, I was so busy being hostess, I didn't take any photos!! Arghh!!! We had: 3 bean salad (family recipe), Spicy Slaw (I'll post about it again this summer - it's incredible! **** stars), Macadamia Nut Blondies (V w/a V - always amazing ****stars), Chunky Monkey Brownies (from Veg News' latest issue - only ** and 1/2 stars -kind of hard), Seitan Skewers with Chimchurri Sauce (see last post)(from Candle Cafe Cookbook - tons of great reviews and comments from omnis! ****stars), a tapenade from Trader Joe's with crostini (***stars), Dreena's white bean hummus from ED&BV but with rosemary instead (great reviews! ****stars), baba ghanouje (eggplant dip - from a can but authentic from the Middle East! always **** stars but high in sodium!) with pita bread and veggies. The salad picture above is a leftover mix of the party, including the seitan on the top, which was just scrumptious (it reminded me of the steak salads my husband always talks about from PA - except they apparently put french fries on top, too- yuck!)
Needless to say, after all the prep for the party, I wasn't in the mood to cook after the graduation. We went directly (directly is perhaps a bad word to use when leaving on a Saturday afternoon from the middle of Washington, D.C.) to my favorite local place: Sammy T's. There, my family feasted on the following (I did remember to get pictures here! - sorry they're not all that great): The Adventurer (a bean/grain burger in a tortilla with hummus and loads of other stuff)....
A Bean and Grain burger (my husband's choice - soft but amazing taste! and no, I didn't bite the cheese)....
















My all-time fav: the Spinach Foldover (tortilla with a great hummus/tahini sauce and sauteed spinach, red onions and mushrooms). I get this every single time, and am never disappointed!








And last, but not least, an equally yummy tempeh stir fry over linguine with a peanut sauce. I got this about five years ago and never got it again because as my husband was carrying the leftovers home (between his legs on the seat!!), it leaked and stained the seat of my brand new car and I'm just too wary to try it again!

Now it's time to go enjoy the gorgeous weather once again and be thankful it's not so cool anymore, but still not our typical Southern heat wave yet, either! Here are some non-food photos from my garden. I have planted some herbs and veggies I hope to share with you later this summer! Have a good Memorial Day!