I Wanna Be Loved Bayou!

It has been one whole week since my first post, and what a week it's been. There have been two cooking projects, a birthday party, a hang-over and my first visit to Highline since deciding  to eat my way through the menu.

Where to begin!? The best place to start is going to be on the bayou.

I had been enlisted to cook appetizers for 50+ guests for a bayou-themed birthday party. On the menu for the occasion were Cajun Mini-Quiche, Jalapeño Cornbread and Cajun Spiced Popcorn. (I actually had to stop typing for a second and reminisce about those quiche. They were so wonderful. Mmmmm....) Okay, so, last Friday:

I used Susan V's phenomenal, wonderful crazy-delicious mini quiche recipe and then kind of added my own little spin to Cajunize it. For the cornbread, I found this  mamma jamma. I replaced the corn with jalapeños and we were set! My own little spin for the quiche involved Tony Chachere's creole seasoning and extra bell peppers! 

( Ca-jun-ize  transitive verb  \΄kā - jun, - īz \ : to make something Cajun, in this case food). 

(Mamma Jamma  noun  \ 'mä-mä, ‘jam-mä \: 1. something that is considered by many to be very sexy and/orboss. 2. synonym for the word "thing" (Thank you Urban Dictionary)).

We started the evening off with a some green beer to celebrate the launch of my almost world famous blog. 

My roommate, Tiff, helped by drinking beer. 

Brandi looks a little skeptical of the project. 

         

The green beer slowed the cooking process down a little bit, but we still managed to get everything done. And Brandi even found time to KNIT!

Weeding out the Meat (& Dairy)

Welcome to my very first post! Welcome all, um, 3 of you. Hi, Mom! Thanks for telling your friends!

This post is going to be a brief little introduction. Later on I will jump in to all the delicious things; recipes, cooking adventures and the chronicles of me eating my way through the Highline menu. That link does not take you to the website, but to another blog that does a superb job capturing all the glory of this fantastic restaurant/bar.

HERE WE GO!

After making the conscious decision to abandon all animal products, I was somewhat skeptical about how I was going to survive. I was leaping from one extreme to the other. I was diving into veganism after a steady 2 year diet of sausage, nachos, pizza and cream puffs. Yes, cream puffs; those mini ones from Costco! The only break from all that delicious junk food had been the 1 month post break-up Alcohol Diet.

This is what my steady diet had created.
Yes, I am wearing a tie.
That guy in the dress shirt is  abhorred!

Oh, early 2007 (all of 2006, and 2005), not the greatest years of my life.

Moving on.

I started out small and boring; hummus, Madison Market Deli (NOT boring, just convenient), Zen party mix and frozen vegetables. The change felt almost immediate, but in reality it took about a month for my body to realize that it could survive without Chicken Parmesan Lean Pockets.

Summer 2007. Thanks veganism!
I upgraded from the tie to those God awful ripped jeans.

AND YET NO ONE IS ABHORRED!

What happened next?! You are on the edge of your seat, I know. I know because I installed a little camera that shows me exactly what you are doing while you read this. Pretty creepy, huh? JUST KIDDING! But, seriously, you are on the edge of your seat, right?

So, what happened next was a steady increase in energy and a magnanimous desire to cook. I finally discovered the kitchen after 26 years. Yay! I am now dangerously close to becoming Donna Reed sans children and husband, which I guess makes me an extremely watered down version of Martha Stewart without the ability to sew. Well, I can hem; yes, I know, not the same thing.   

Never-mind; I am totally this woman.

Please stay tuned for more posts! Tonight I am embarking on a Cajun Cook-fest for my friend's birthday party. It will be nothing short of AMAZING.