Happy International Flag Burning Day!

Real holidays have real songs.

I declare my independence from tick and ric rac nationalism.
By my friend Paul Gailiunas and The Troublemakers.

We might get arrested, we might get spit on, so here is a song to explain our point of view.
We'll tell you why it so thrills us to see all those colorful flags being set on fire.

On the 4th of July we declare our independence.
Independence from the greatest evil around.
That is the evil of nationalism.
It separates us and crushes us down.

Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning Day, burn the scourge of nationalism away.
Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning Day, happy International Flag Burning Day.

We burn the stars and the stripes and the maple leaf.
The Palestinian and Israeli flags.
The hammer and the sickle and the lone star of Texas.
We love to dance 'round the smoldering rags.

Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning day, burning those hateful borders away.
Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning day, happy International Flag Burning Day.

We declare that we're citizens of the whole world.
Don't pay no respect to our borders or armies.
'Cuz patriotism is the flip side of racism, why we any better just 'cuz of where we're born.

Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning Day, burn the scourge of nationalism away.
Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning Day, happy International Flag Burning Day.
Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning day, burning those hateful borders away.
Flag Burning Day, Flag Burning day, happy International Flag Burning Day.

Flag Burning Day Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

• 1/2 stick Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy yogurt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup ground oreo type chocolate sandwich cookie
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
  

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Cream together: Earth Balance, sugars, yogurt, baking powder and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir well to mix.
5. Stir in chocolate chips, ground cookies and coconut.
6. Drop by tablespoon onto a parchment covered cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10-11 minutes until golden brown.

Seitan Trials

I want to post bug shots, but I'm holding back for your sake. I have a fully loaded arsenal of aphid/swallowtail caterpillar/ladybug larvae pictures I might possibly spring out at any given moment. Prepare yourselves.

I also haven't forgot about the seitan trials I began way back during veganmofo. It's just that, there's only so much gluten two people can eat. I've been experimenting a bit too, which is how I spent a few hours this afternoon. While it frigg'n poured like wild baboons outside, I steamed itty-bitty-mini seitan loaves and played with taste and textures.

I learned a few things:
*ground flax (not milled) adds a nice texture, if you want that sorta thing in your seitan.
*my palate leans towards a more oiled loaf and using a good tasty green olive oil makes a big difference.
*too much chickpea flour makes seitan bready.
*vegetable broth doesn't really change the flavor profile.

xo
kittee

Jeweled Spiders and Inspiration.

Like so many of you, I haven't been cooking much. I've been eating a lot of soy yogurt and sucking down green smoothies, all of which make for very boring posts. I've also been getting married, which is the biggest reason I haven't posted. Dazee, Vee and I made the epic drive to DC and did the deed. It was fun. When we returned to NOLA, the garden was in great despair, so I've been spending a bit of time out there sprucing things up.

I found a white jeweled spider, so skull-like.

We don't get them too often, though a yellow one visited the rosemary not too long ago.

I transplanted some purple datura, which had germinated in a tire by the street, and they are strong and steady. I also put in some echinacea, hollyhocks and foxglove, we'll see if I got them in the dirt too late. Just today, I picked up some seeds for giant zinnias--which I always have high hopes for, but usually they succumb to a white fungus and crash along with my cucumbers.

I'm also really inspired by this post on the PPK. I've spent much of my day driving around trying to get all the needed parts for Alton Brown's flowerpot smoker. Once I get it together and give it a go with some protein, I'll report back.

Speaking of inspiration, check out this cake from Vegan Homemade. Cookie dough balls are cooked into the batter!

xo
kittee

Mo' caterpillars n' stuff.

I haven't been up to too much lately and that includes cookin' and bakin'. I finished the Buttony sweater and have started on another one, but with variations (a vintage stitch on the sleeves). I've been drinking and enjoying green smoothies (I've kept to the same recipe), I've been buying vintage recipe pamphlets from Ebay, and I've been sewing skirts.

Oh, I've also been plucking.

Yes, the caterpillar is poopin'/just pooped in case you were wondering. That's it's butt, not it's face...

Cruanky Bianca is fed up with all of the caterpillar posts and has given me the EW award. As you can see, she thinks I'm nasty. Well stop reading my blog then Bianca! Damn.

Lovely Celine was wondering how I'd describe myself in six words (she enjoys looking at bugs):

1. short-waisted
2. patient
3. crafty
4. friendly
5. platform-wearer
   
6. collector

How about one more caterpillar shot, ya know for posterity?


xo
kittee

From caterpillars to caterpillar rolls...

When I wrote the stinging caterpillar post, I thought It'd be clever to end with a caterpillar sushi roll since tying bugs and food together is always good for a laugh. Somehow, the real caterpillar pictures went on and on, and I knew adding a recipe at the end would be disastrous. Plus, I think I need to work on rolling caterpillar sushi a bit more. The avocado sorta gets mushed out of shape when I apply pressure to the mat-- still tasty, but I need to work on my technique. I'm happily willing to eat these sorts of mistakes, and I'll probably be eating a lot more since these hit my sushi spot and fit in with the way I want to eat this Summer.

My favorite sushi stuffing ideas have been on Pakupaku for ages, though I've yet to get that section finished. Yesterday, I was lazy and didn't want to go to the store for ingredients, so I used what we had in the kitchen: dried shiitakes, cukes, carrots, avocado and beets. If I'd been more ambitious, I would have made some tempura for the innards.


The cucumber pickles were a snap. Peel and seed half a cucumber and cut into strips. Toss in a good squeeze of beet juice (grate and squeeze out the juice with your hand), a small squirt of agave, rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil.

For the mushrooms, I simply hydrated a handful in boiling water, squeezed out the excess water when they were soft, and tossed with tamari. You could be fancier and use a ponzu sauce if you wanted.

The carrots were julienned with an OXO tool that I purchased thinking it was a regular vegetable peeler. I like it, and it's easier than pulling out the ol' Benriner, so no gripes from me.

I made both inside out rolls and regular futomaki, and the rice filling was seasoned traditionally with rice vinegar, salt and a bit of granulated sugar. I went non-traditional too--I used a combo of organic short grain brown rice and a cereal blend I found at Hong Kong Market. I freakin' love this stuff, it's got all kinds of things in it besides rice; oats, barley, job's tears, aduki beans and mung beans. I just used a tiny bit of the blend, so the sushi wouldn't be co-opted with beans.

Also, if you're interested in less standard sushi fillings, you might be interested in Japanese pickles. I have two cookbooks, which give lots of information: Tsukemono Japanese Pickling Recipes by Ikuko Hisamatsu and Easy Japanese Pickling by Seiko Ogawa.

xo
kittee

Caterpillar Onslaught

Caterpillar season is in high gear down here--we have gadjillions of stinging buck moth caterpillars. I didn't think there'd be too many buck moths this year, since we had a cold spell when they came out last year and most of them died. No such luck. It's been going on for weeks, and I cannot really deal anymore.

They come out of the massive live oaks, and they cover most of the city.

Even if you manage to avoid them on the ground, they'll succeed and fall from the trees to get you. I keep promising Vee no more stings, so I have to be really careful when I walk him, he's been foot chewing to survive.

Later in the summer, we get Io moth caterpillars, which sting too--worse in fact, more like wasps.

Though the Ios don't come out in droves, when they hatch I can often find 30 mini sized ones on a single plant. They like to camouflage themselves in hibiscus trees, so I end up grabbing them unintentionally when I garden. Stinging caterpillars are easily one of my least favorite things about living in New Orleans. I grew up lovin' on woolly bear and other tame caterpillars, so it just seems twisted and wrong that we have ones that hurt.

At least we do have the fluffy, innocuous woolly bear caterpillars of my youth. We get 'em in lots of snot like colors here, and they look sorta stingy, so most people leave them alone.

They also eat way more than their weight in my finest greenery--I've been picking them relentlessly from my mint and angel trumpet.

Next up, the dreaded fruitworm.

The destruction left from a group of these is insane. They come reliably every year and cover my garden. They really gross me the f*ck out and it's a necessity to hand pick their squishy bodies and then spray with BT. I loathe them.

Of course, the fruitworms have already crashed my garden party and ate their way through the last of my collards. They've started eye-balling my tomatoes, and I'm sure the tomato hornworms are not very far behind.


While the tomato hornworms are really cool to look at, they are my sworn enemy. Imagine having loose ones running amok in your house. It happened to me. Battle up!

xo
kittee

Green Smoothie Success

Just now, I gobbled down a delicious green smoothie! Thanks so much for all the input you've given me, this was a booty slappin' success.

Here's what I blended:
2 ice cubes
1 banana
1 pitted date
3 cubes frozen mango
a big handful fresh spinach
a big leaf of raw kale
enough unsweetened almond milk to make it whirl.

I'm going to experiment with some canned pineapple too, but it may not be necessary. I found an affordable bag of frozen organic mango, and since this smoothie only uses a few cubes at a time, this works well for me. I'm really happy with the taste and texture of these ingredients. I think I can probably handle a couple a day (which is my goal).

Also, in case some of you want to read more about green smoothies, my friend Dave lent me Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko. It's a pretty easy read, discusses the benefits of green smoothies and has some recipes.

xo
kittee