How To Prepare for a Cheap, Epic, Vegan Road Trip

Hey, everyone. All five or six of you. Yeah. You guys. What's up?

So today is Saturday. Tomorrow is the beginning of my graduate school tour road trip! And, OOPS, I haven't done much of ANYTHING yet! Now, those of you who know me know that I hate packing. I always leave it to the night before or morning of, and my list of supplies usually includes only the bare essentials: 2 t shirts, contacts, toothbrush/paste, book, iPod. I mean, what else does one need, really? Unfortunately, in this case, more than that. I've only gotten into one school, and it's neither of the ones I'm visiting, so I have to at least put on some sort of act. Make them believe that I'm a professional, mature individual who takes pride in her daily appearance and social image. The other problems? It's tough to road trip with a vegan diet and minimum wage. And there are TWO such unfortunate freaks going on this adventure. Yup, X is coming along for the ride.

Things to do in preparation of motorin':

1. Prepare some eats for the road. Okay, so I cheated a little bit on this one. Normally I prefer to make all of my own snacks and meals, pack them up, and go. But given my limited time and limited motivation, I did some purchasing. Several cans of vegan soups, some pre-made containers of tabbouleh and Mediterranean rice, hummus, tortillas, pretzels, and, of course, peanut butter and bread. I DID at least go through the trouble to make some rocking homemade granola for breakfasts, and plan to whip up my fame-gathering tofu sandwich spread (if you want the general idea of making your own, seek inspiration from the song Talkin' Tofu Wiggle by Samuel Seth Bernard). I also made a batch of those chocolate chip cookies we here at Oops all love so much. We're couchsurfing, so I wanted to make a nice little something for our hosts.


2. How about that couchsurfing? Ever heard of it, folks? Get familiar, because it's a wonderful option for those traveling on the cheap. Check it out at couchsurfing.org. You meet incredibly interesting people who often are willing to show you around, and the rate is $0 a night. X and I will be blogging during the trip, no doubt, and will share with you our own experiences.

3. Collect absurd music lying around your house. It will keep you entertained for many hours of driving. When you could be hearing anything from Paula Abdul and Ace of Base to Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake at any moment, you will NEVER nod off.

4. Look up vegan eateries at your destinations prior to tripping. There will be times when you just don't want that damn soup anymore, and if you can work it into your budget and your schedule prior to the trip, it's always nice to eat out. One of our stops for the week is Ithaca, so X and I are jumping out of our skin to eat at the Moosewood Restaurant. Anyone who is vegan/vegetarian and loves to cook is familiar with that name. In Amherst, MA, my favorite place to eat is the Amherst Brewing Company (they have good fries). This will be another important meal.
Had I gotten my act together a week or so ago, I would have loved to have purchased this book for the trip: Healthy Highways. X has used this book on a trip in the recent past, and said it's truly a must-have.

5. Bring some interesting reading material. Besides being entertaining at the boring times, it might be a nice conversation starter in the awkward quiet moments that are no doubt going to happen with your couchsurfing hosts.

6. Take a shower, you dirty hippy. Really, though, you don't know when the next chance will be, so take one before you go. Fortunately for me, my sweet new fauxhawk is the type of haircut that only looks better the less you shower and the more nights you sleep on it. What did I say about trying to appear professional and mature? Oh, well.

So, I guess that's that. Start getting excited for future posts.

Wednesday Night Shenanigans: Stir fry and Cookies

Friends -

This post is about putting together a stir fry on the fly. About making the best, most unhealthiest cookies in the world, and sneaking them into a two-dollar movie cause you're cheap. And laughing.

The original plan, on yet another gray, sloppy day in the burbs, was to do Taco Night. The bearded one recently received a tortilla press, and had wild plans involving vegan chorizo and homemade tortillas and all I could think about was CILANTRO. And how crappy grocery store tomatoes taste.

My family, however, just had Taco Night on Monday - during which my wonderful mother had four pots going on the stove filled with various meat, non-meat, and vegan options, bless her heart - so that idea got scrapped. Well, set aside for another night and another post. Instead, we gathered at Cy's house to see what kind of veggies he had in the fridge. One chopped carrot, two diced bell peppers and a zucchini later, we decided it was time to fry. Stir fry, that is. It was game on when Cy pulled out a bag of already-chopped fresh mango. Sweet and sour baby.

Now for a quick word on tofu. Since moving back to the burbs, I've been using Panda Tofu, produced in Royal Oak by the Michigan Soy Products Company. It's yummy. In Ann Arbor, I was a fan of Rosewood products, often available in bulk at the local food co-op! As with most other ingredients, it's definitely worth seeking out locally produced items - they're not only tastier, but usually cheaper too.

I've been preparing tofu for myself and others for about three years now, and I'm always seeking out new ways to make this often misunderstood, yet magical and delicious curd more appealing. Especially when I'm trying to impress skeptical omnivores. During this quest, I've found that the best thing you can possibly do for yourself and your tofu is to take the time to press it. Seriously,

TAKE THE TIME TO PRESS YOUR TOFU.

I really can't emphasize this concept enough. I only started to devote myself to pressed tofu a few months back, and I feel sad for all the time I've lost. How do you press tofu? Easy, although it does take a little bit of advanced planning. But we're all smart people, right? Simply liberate your block of curd from its cute little package, and rinse with some fresh water. Pat or shake dry, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel. Sandwich between two flat surfaces, and weigh it down - I usually use a thick cookbook and a big can of tomatoes. Let the 'fu press for an hour or so, and flip halfway through if you can remember. If you can't, YOU'VE RUINED IT. Just kidding.

A Somewhat On-The-Fly, Sweet and Sour Stir Fry:

-a chopped carrot
-a chopped bell pepper
-a chopped zucchini
-some chopped mango
-one block tofu, pressed and cut into cubes
-enough dried noodles for 3 people

Sauce (mixed in its own bowl and set aside):
-1 Tbsp tomato paste
-2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
-1 tsp chili bean paste
-2 tsp soy sauce
-1 tsp maple syrup
-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup water
-2 tsp potato starch

As with all recipe creation, ingredients should be adjusted to your taste. Hoisin sauce/maple syrup for sweetness, soy sauce for salt, vinegar for sourness. Chili bean paste may be substituted by extra soy sauce & hot sauce or cayenne! Remember, season - and taste - early and often.

Heat water to boil and cook noodles, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat some oil - we used sesame - in your pan until hot hot hot! Add the cubed tofu and fry until brown on all sides, about ten minutes. Remove tofu from the pan and drain on paper towels. Refresh pan with a little more oil, then add carrots. Stir until kinda soft, then add both the pepper and zucchini and continue to fry. At this point, I added a dash of cayenne pepper, as well as salt and lemon pepper, and stirred until the veggies were almost tender. Do as you wish - remember, this is cooking on the fly, and you can do whatever you want! Once the veggies are where you want them, add the tofu back to the pan, lower the heat and pour the sauce in. Cook until the sauce thickens, stirring to evenly coat everything.



At this point, I wish we had some cilantro or basil or some kind of herb to garnish with, but we didn't. OH WELL. Serve hot, with noodles.

Dessert, sneaked into Wednesday night's brew and view showing of Youth in Revolt, was a batch of these bad boys, courtesy of our heroes the neverhomemakers:

We didn't have brown sugar, or oil, so we melted some Earth Balance and upped the white sugar to compensate. YUM.

I want to wear you like the crown you are.

OH HAAAYY, it's Pancake. So, today is the 25th. Vaffeldaggen! Waffle Day! One of many food-centric Swedish holidays. Or so we thought. Turns out we were a month off (it's MARCH 25th), but we decided to continue on anyways. Practice, after all. Double checking the functionality of our waffle recipe.

The plan for the morning was thus: make waffles and enjoy eating them with our first batch of homemade maple syrup, all while boiling down the next batch. The two trees are giving us a bounty that we never had anticipated, and not only do we have plenty of time still to go, we even have two more trees to tap! Joy. Bliss. Delectation.

We decided to denominate today Waffle Day in the US of A. First, we had to concoct a recipe. Originally, we were just going to google one up. We found an alluring post for some specious chocolate waffles, but Beeardsmith was all like "Hell no! Banfi." So we invented some quib instead. Folks, hold onto your G-string, cuz this shit is SPANKIN' GOOD.

ROOBLEY BELGIAN WAFFLES
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup applesauce
2 T maple syrup (using maple syrup over sugar is great for many reasons, two of the best being the flavor and the fact that you can get it LOCAL! We used our own.)
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp safflower oil
2 cups soy milk
Non-stick spray or butter or oil for the waffle maker
Team Teamwork's Ocarina of Rhyme album on repeat (CHECK IT OUT)

So you start with pre-heating your waffle iron so that you don't have to wait any longer than is necessary to get your breakfast. Be sure to heat up your oven to approximately 200 degrees to keep the finished waffles warm while the others are getting squished. When this has been accomplished, start mixing all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and all the wet ingredients in the other bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time. Do not overmix! Just get things mostly incorporated. And just like that, it's the Waffling Hour. Grease your waffle iron between each waffle, and go for it. Dance about the kitchen in an awkward manner to kill time and to burn those calories. This recipe makes about 8 waffles, and they are divine. From the pictures, if you look closely, you can see that these were enjoyed with a chocolate chip cookie appetizer and dessert.

This recipe turned out excellent. Flawless. Peerless. We drizzled our syrup over top and dug in like the happy, perfect suburban family we are.

Why You Should Take up Babysitting in Unemployment

Hello, friends, Pancake here. It's a lovely snow-covered morning here in the burbs. My dog is lying comatose by my side (I think she's alive), and I'm still hanging out in my pajamas, per usual. I slept like a rock last night, as I had a very busy Monday.

Now, if you were to ask me if I ever wanted babies, I would probably tell you "Hell, no. You crazy." But there are three reasons on this Earth that always make me reconsider, and their names are Evan, Peter, and Audrey. I have been the lucky sitter for these little people for several years now (although it's been about a year since the last time we saw each other), and had the pleasure of watching them for almost 12 hours yesterday after a night of snow!

Like everyone here at Oops, I am slogging through difficulty. Fiscally drained, emotionally wrought...Oops, it's HARD TIMES! I have a lot of misdirected love in me right now, so I've decided to start giving it to little people. As it turns out, the little people feel it in a big way!

Anyhoot, for this blog, I've concocted a list of reasons as to why you should consider babysitting in troubled times.

1. Kids make you feel better. Before I arrived at the kids house, I was feeling pretty low. But when a child that hasn't seen you in over a year immediately gets excited about coloring with you when you walk in the door, remembers all the jokes you used to tell them (and still thinks they are funny), and all the pictures you used to draw for them, how can you NOT automatically feel rejuvenated? It's like DRUGS! DRUGS!

2. Kids give you an excuse to do fun and awesome shit. I hadn't gotten to use my showshoes yet this year. But these kids cross-country ski, so I piled them and their gear into my tiny ass car and took them to Huron Hills Golf Course (we were in Ann Arbor). This is a GREAT, CHEAP thing to do after a good snow. I mean, the gear isn't cheap, but if you have it anyways, access to the grounds is free. So I ran in my snowshoes while the wee ones went a-skiing. A snowman was made with the youngest when she got tired (we couldn't get its mouth to stay on, which was a tragedy because he was supposed to have a droopy mustache). Later, we'd take the two dogs on an hour long walk through Eberwhite woods and around the neighborhood. Snow ball fights abound.


3. Kids give you an excuse to act like a kid yourself. After snowshoeing, I dragged these kids into a supermarket to buy supplies for Puppy Chow. This would be an activity for after dinner. To kill time until dinner was done cooking, we watched Olympics and played a rushed game of Life, in which no one could afford to buy a house until near the end of the game, and in which I decided to throw my husband and the two twins I supposedly had out of the car about halfway around the board. After dinner, we made Puppy Chow and watched Happy Feet. I turned them into Puppy Chow addicts (yes! enabler!), and watched each of them fall asleep one at a time starting at 8:45. You know you did a good job when they drop like that.

4. You make bank. Parents need child care. They need GOOD child care. If you are an awesome and reliable babysitter, your wallet will definitely feel it. Although I would babysit these particular kids for free, it's really a great source of extra income when the bank account is running low. Hurray, money! Now I can pay for Wednesday night Brew and View!

5. Networking. When you are a good babysitter, the parents sometimes will look out for you. And when the parents are heavily connected to an industry in which you have an interest, this is GREAT. The parents of these kids have always been particularly helpful when I've been looking for work, and continue to be. Never overlook a good relationship when job-hunting.

Cheers!

Syruping

Today is the first major batch attempt at maple syrup! A small amount was made (successfully) the other day by Xtina's dad, and now we're upping the ante: 5 gallons of sap from one tree collected over two and a half days.

Their was barely any color to the sap before boiling started. Sitting in the cooler, you could tell that it was slightly yellow, but it was so light that it's barely significant. Now, after 4.5 hours of boiling, we have this:

You can see that it has darkened significantly, but is still nowhere near the dark amber that we're all used to in our mapley goodness. The flavor is coming along, but there is still some more uncooked sap to add in, and it likely won't change much until the entire sap volume is in the pot. We've lost about 3 gallons worth of water volume so far. I'll update this post as the cooking comes along. Stay tuned, we might need to make pancakes soon. Or waffles. I like waffles more.

UPDATE: The complete volume is in the pot now, we're on the home stretch! It'll probably be a few more hours until it's all done though. The kitchen is starting to smell pretty nice.

UPDATE: The sap has really boiled down a lot, and has darkened a bit more too. You can see how much lower it is in this photo. Take a look.

Okay, so maybe it's not all that much darker, but it's a lot lower in the pot. Sooner or later, it will have to be finished!

UPDATE, (almost) FINAL: Ladies and Gentlemen, Pancakes and Waffles, we have, here tonight, the first batch of maple syrup made from Xtina's generous trees. I present to you:

It's pretty light for maple syrup, but apparently the early season stuff generally is. But that doesn't matter a whole lot to me, I just know that it's DELICIOUS. It's the color of honey, and it tastes like distilled magical unicorn tears.

These photos might not show this detail well enough, but there is still some significant sediment in the syrup despite the cheesecloth filtering. While the cheesecloth did catch a decent amount of stuff (called "sugar sand" i think), there's still a bit floating about and will likely continue to settle overnight.

I wasn't able to confidently fill the large 32oz bottle all the way to the top, so I put the remainder in this little jar. What are those little stringy things you ask? Why that's saffron. Homegrown, right here in Michigan saffron from our own little garden. Let's see how it tastes in a little while, eh?

Overall, this was a really fun experiment, and I think each batch will be better and better. We might experiment with more additives, and possibly other tree syrups. I'll get back with final pictures of the chilled and settled syrup tomorrow.

Maple Syrup, Hoes, & Muddy Puppies

Today, friends, was a great day. Great, because it involved lots of hoes hose. The hoes hose was needed to collect sap from Sugar Maple trees on Xtina's parents' property! That's right kids, it's maple syrup time!

None of us have done it ourselves before! It was an exciting experience, especially since we learned how to do it from the intarwebs!! We currently have two trees tapped, and they're dripping profusely. We want more.

Our method was the cheapest tapping method I could find. Beginner's kits ranged in price online from $15 and up depending on what came with it. The taps (actually called 'spiles') are $5 each at the local nature center, and you'd still need hooks for hanging the buckets, and the buckets themselves. It's probably not too expensive overall, but I got two trees tapped for just $6 and some stuff around the house.

• 25 ft of 3/8" polyethylene hoes hose for connecting to the tree and channeling sap - $6
• Two large igloo coolers (the giant plastic food cooler things) to hold the sap. Or other large vessel of your choice
• Drill (baby drill!) with appropriately sized bit (3/8")
• Duct tape to secure hose
• Scissors to cut hoes hose

And that's it! Really! You need to locate an appropriately sized (at least 10" in diameter) sugar or black maple tree (learn to identify it however you can). Then, take your drill, locate the biggest roots on the tree and drill a hole ~ 2 feet above ground level about 1.5-2" deep. Wiggling the drill bit around to widen the opening of the hole helped get the hoes hose in, and by only widening the opening, the hole pinches around the hoes hose to help seal. Then, it's simply a matter of securing the hoes hose in a way that lets them drip into the container without popping out. That's it! It will start dripping soon!

Apparently, the best sap flows happen on a warm day following a cold night, common this time of year. We'll be posting updates regularly. The next step is collecting and processing the sap, which will involve repeated freezings outside and removal of the solid ice (for those needed a chemistry refresher, the solid ice should be entirely/mostly water, and removing it will concentrate the sugar in the remaining sap, without the energy cost of cooking!). After that, cooking will happen, but I still have to find another container to hold the semi-concentrated sap after emptying the igloo.


Cy was eager to get started on the maple syruping from the get-go, but the ladies had more important things to attend to first...Puppy. Chow. Muddy. Buddies. Snack food of the gods - maybe someday we'll blog about something healthy. Maybe.

Pancake JUST decided that this dish is henceforth called Muddy Puppies. Let it be known. So it is done.

You might be familiar with this delicious and addictive delight. If you've ever checked out the back of a Chex box, you've seen the recipe.  We decided to jazz it up, and, OOPS!  It's VEGAN! 

Recipe:
4 cups rice Chex
5 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch
1 cup of peanuts (oven roasted)
3/4 cup almonds (oven roasted)
3/4 chocolate chips
3/4 peanut butter
1/3 cup Earth Balance
Powdered sugar to coat (as you desire)

Mix Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in very large bowl.  Very, very large.  Add roasted nuts, and stir.  In a separate, microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate, peanut butter, and Earth Balance.  Microwave for 1 minute, and then stir until well combined.  Dip some Cinnamon Toast Crunches like nachos.  Eat.  Replace eaten Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Drizzle in 1/3 of the chocolate mixture to large bowl.  Stir.  Keep adding and stirring a little at a time until everything is coated.  Repeat with powdered sugar.  Eat.  Ruin your appetite.  Divine.  *We wanted to add pretzels to this, but we didn't have any.  You should try this at home.  Post your own variations--we'd love to read them!*

Brew and View: TWILIGHT!!!

Last night the gang went out for some cheap, pain-free fun. In downtown Ferndale is a fine establishment known as The Magic Bag. Why is this place so excellent? Simple. It's a movie theater turned bar. And they show you movies like Twilight: New Moon. Now, it's possible that Pancake and Xtina had already seen this movie twice in theaters. It's also possible that Beeardsmith was subjected to one of these viewings (to be fair, we went to a bar BEFORE thst show). But all of these previous experiences were trumped by the show at the Magic Bag. Is there a better movie to watch with a buzz than New Moon? I ask you.

The place was filled predominantly by women (to be expected). Every appearance of the eight pack was met with cheers (and hey! He's legal everybody!).
The other great thing? Admission is two dollars. And you don't have to leave your seat to get more booze. They have table service. For those of you not into beer, Woodchuck Cider is available (thank god). The only irritating part of the experience was that one of the giant orbs hanging from the ceiling left a shadow on the right side of the screen. I was willing to let this slide.
Supplement the trip with listening exclusively to 106.7 The Beat of Detroit and things will be perfect. Guaranteed.
Jiggity squat.

What Time Is It? Balumtimes!!

Happy holiday everyone. I'm X, currently spending my Valentine's Day drinking the last bottle of Ace Perry Cider in the house and listening to "You Gotta Move" by The Rolling Stones in the kitchen, by myself...

Ahem. What is the best part of this pink and purple holiday? Is it the flowers? Nah, too cheesy. Is it the promise of unconditional forever-love? Nope, turns out that was a lie. Is it the wine? Perhaps.

The real answer, of course, is chocolate. I support any holiday - as hallmarked as Balumtimes may be - that so fully embraces and idolizes what is perhaps my favorite food. My plans for the celebration of chocolate enthusiasm day? Lava cakes. Chocolate molton lava cakes. Take me out for dessert, and I will pick the chocolate cake almost every time. No other dessert provides the concentrated hit of cocoa that only temporary satisfies my almost insatiable craving for the dark stuff. Unfortunately, these restaurant cakes are almost never vegan. Enter the cheaper, more fun option - making your own!

This feat was accomplished by the Beardsmith and myself with a little help from our Oops, It's Vegan! friend Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix. Now, normally I abide by "if you can make it yourself, its gonna be better" rule. I try to avoid overly processed foodlike products and stuff from boxes. HOWEVER. Have you tried this mix? It's like crack. CRACK. And perhaps most amazing of all, the mix contains no animal products! All you need is a nifty and easily conjured replacement for the egg, and you're good to go. We knew that chocolate brownie lava cakes would trump chocolate cake lava cakes. Thus the adventure unfolded.

We carefully coated five ramekins with a little Earth Balance and dusted them with cocoa powder. Next, we melted about two ounces of chocolate chips with a little soymilk - about a tablespoon - to create ganache. This we chilled in the fridge, and whisked every five minutes until it achieved a frosting-like consistency, which took probably twenty minutes or so. Once the ganache reached the desired state, we used our hands to form five marble-sized balls, which we then placed on a plate in the freezer to harden. Our impatience only allowed us to wait another twenty minutes for this step.

In the meantime, we mixed up the brownie batter, adding the water and oil called for on the box, and using a slurry of cornstarch and soymilk for the egg. We poured each ramekin about three-thirds full of batter, then pushed a ball of chocolate into each and covered with the rest of the batter. The cakes were then put in the preheated to 325 degree oven, and baked for about 40 minutes.

The result? Several melty-chocolate filled "cakes" of bliss. I say "cakes" because I'm unsure if these ever really baked. The edges were delightfully chewy. The centers were a complete mess of melted batter and chocolate amazingness. It was exactly what I wanted.

The best part was that I got to embrace all the love in my life by sharing these with my family and friends. Not a bad Balumtimes!

A More Proper Intro

Hey folks, thought I'd clear the air from my first, more experimental post. Hope it wasn't too absurd, but look, I thought I'd dabble in some weird new shit. Also, I'm enjoying playing around with the appearance of this here blog, so bear with us as we tweak.

Anywho, I'm Cyrus, aka, the Beeardsmith. I brew beers. I bake breads. I'll share news about these things with you all. And, I have a beard. I guess I could share news about this too, thought it might not be as gut pleasing. I did not choose this nickname, but it fits, for now.

I cook, because I love to eat, and there's no better way to eat great things for cheap than to make them yourself. Unless you're new and practicing, which we all often are, and then the road is a little bumpy, but it eventually smooths out and becomes delicious. I'm not vegan, I enjoy my dairy, so I may post things that don't necessarily abide by the blog's title, but I think we can all find a way to manage.

Like many of us here on Oops, I'm a recent college grad, in between things and living with my parents. That's right, I admit it outright too. No job. Waiting for my new road to start, which will be osteopathic medical school, this June. Until then, I'm doing what most of us are doing: living frugally, making and eating what fun I can, and fending off boredom in any way I can.

On that note, onward to the foodening! It can only get better from here.

Coming soon, meatless chorizo tacos, and the deflowering of my giant steamer. Oh yes.

First Law school rant (many more to come)

Valentine's Day.....and my difficult marriage with law school continues.  The fact is, our relationship has no direction.  Instead we just sit in silence contemplating how to get out of investing time in one another.  It's not that I don't want the relationship to work; it's that I feel it's completely one-sided.  To work so hard, just for law school to give me a piece of paper, and probably no career opportunities, is so difficult.  It's not as if law school wants to give back any words of encouragement or show that it appreciates all of the time and effort that I pour into it.  I want to give up this relationship, but I figure that 2 more years of headache and misdirection MAY actually "open up opportunities".....it's just up to me to find them!

As it happens i am a meat-loving unlawyer who takes solace in my vegetarian and vegan companions, who are all sorting out the early-twenties life crises that many Detroit suburbanite post-grads seem to be grappling with.  I happily endorse and embrace my friends in their quest, and merely wish to find a way to spout incoherent ramblings about the trials and tribulations of that marathon called "law school".  Heed my warnings, for those who contemplate this journey - be prepared for a rough ride!

Canadians.

Xtina's parents left her home to embark on a week-long vacation. In light of this event, the gang decided to get together and create the teens-gone-wild-because-momanddad-aren't home weekend that none of us ever had. Forget the fact that we're all in our early-twenties. Sometimes you have to channel your inner-adolescent. You'll feel yourself becoming increasingly awkward and horny if you succeed.

Although we gathered together a respectable amount of booze, we mostly wound up hanging out in the basement/kitchen eating a bag of Oreo "lard." I'm sure everyone has things to say about the weekend, so it'll probably all be covered eventually. I'm here to talk about Saturday, and the inaugural Sex^n experiment.


Sex^n had a number of totally rad components, starting with the homemade multigrain bread brought to us by Beardsmith. HEY, BEARDSMITH, WANNA POST THE RECP? THE RECP! The layers in the sandwich were as follows:
Bread slice
Vegenaise
Chipotle sweet potato fries (Unfortunately not homemade-Alexia brand)

South-westy tofu patties (recipe from The Vegan Table)

Vegan nacho sauce (ie Nutritional Yeast sauce. SWEEEEETT)
Avocado

Bread slice

As a side, we had homemade tortilla chips made by Beardsmith. To made the vegan nacho dip, basically just heat up about 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and 1/2 cup flour in 2 cups water in a saucepan. Spice it as you like, cook till it thickens, throw in a little earth balance and kablam--a tastey shmack.

After images of Sex^0 were documented, everyone went on to create their own little lays. Some toned down, some amped up. Xtina decided to remove some layers and eat them separately. Beardsmith loaded his down with extra goodies like broiled peppers and fried zucchini. He also made a second, smaller sandwich after the first that we simply called "The Quickie."

Handbag

Hello and welcome to Oops, It's Vegan!, home of the Sex^n Project. Who are we? Four mostly unemployed post-grads living with our parents in metro-Detroit. When we're not watching Degrassi, growing epic beards, having our cars backed into by Canadians, or looking for jobs, we're having epic vegan dinner parties.

The Sex^n Project is a study in mythical vegan sandwich-making. Sandwiches so ooey, gooey, and visually stunning that you nom until your stomach is encroaching on your lungs. Ouch. The Original Sex was designated Sex^0 (or Sex Zero), and subsequent models will be numbered in order of creation.

This blog will NOT be devoted only to The Project. Not every dinner party or solo meal is a sandwich. Get ready for orgasmic, inspiring food pageants. And possibly some stories of cheap adventures in unemployment. Also, don't be alarmed by occasional rants about the nefariousness of law school.

This is Pancake, Beardsmith, Xtina, and Un-Lawyer, and we are excited to share with you the beautiful ideas and foods born from depression. Cheers.

Introductions!

Welcome to the new blog! We'll be celebrating food in all its delicious glory. But first, A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR US ALL.

Blah blah blah fads;ofijdsf;

AND THEN OMFG B LAHGEROIUJ. Woop dee wup foomp.

Banfi

VEGENAISE IS Blorpf fanandoin bleepeedook.

1. Seeing as fantasandwiches are weebley, bluhdoog.
2. Excellence is roobley, and fobbies are borange.
3. Ponchos act financially quib.

• And how!