Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Forget the Dogs...Bringin it On...

So I feel kind of guilty over yesterday's malaisical post (not to be confused with musicals which I hate. BTW fact that you were just dying to know about me.)

Here I am to rectify it. I will give you all you never knew you wanted but might have felt a teensy weensy spark of curiosity over...or not...you still get it, regardless of your want to know or not. And that spark of curiosity might have been more along the of indigestion and yet still...here it is.

And. At 1:45 p.m. it was only 79 degrees. It was beautiful and not horrid. So I guess the weather, the endless heatwave, the great outdoors offers no excuses. Ha.

My "chalk" outlined island. You can't possibly figure it out from the picture. But. I felt the need to share it. Next see the lovely red wall next to the marbleish looking step. That step is new and it is clad in my new floor. My floor has yet to be clad elsewhere which is why permanent marker was applied to it. The floor was an amazing price and we LOVE it. Faux but it looks so much like the tile in the adjoining room we were shocked. I feel like we are so close to getting this thing done. YAY!

Next. My $1.99 red purse. Okay. It's not Coach or Kate Spade or anything. But it's cute and has an inner section that is the wallet. It's way smaller than I normally carry. But I like it.

The red purse is posing with the now wrinkled from the dirty-clothes-pile maize sweater. Once it's washed and the weather continues to move toward fall...I'm so going to love it.

Pasta Rustica. Adapted from The Kind Diet cookbook.

Pasta of your choice. We used this one. But as I was rereading the ingredients whilst taking the picture I realized the dang stuff has eggs in it. So. Keep that in mind. I loved/liked it because it has lentil flour in it giving it extra protein. Prepare pasta according to instructions and set aside.

Finely mince two garlic cloves
Finely chop an onion
Dice an eggplant (or zucchini)
Chop/slice a handful or two of mushrooms.
And finely chop a small cabbage (or half of a large one)

Dab (about a TBSP) fat (or broth) of your choice (olive oil, coconut oil, Earth Balance, Lard...whateves) into a skillet (large).

Begin sauteing garlic, onions, eggplant, mushrooms...when they look and smell almost done add the cabbage and cook for a few more minutes, stirring everything together. The cabbage will begin to turn translucent, that's a good time to stop. Mix the veggies into the pasta. Set aside.

In small bowl take 1/4 cup +(don't be stingy) soy sauce (or favorite equivalent) and mix with a 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce. When mixed, dump over pasta and veggies and mix. Weirdly delicious. It reminds me of low mein. You could also add Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, other squashes/veggies.

And now the piece de resistance. MWA. No pictures. It was DEVOURED.

SERIOUSLY YUMMY CHOCOLATE VEGAN CHEESECAKE

Based on this recipe which was borrowed from another.

1 12.3-ounce package tofu (She used regular)
1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut milk (Silk's Chocolate Almond milk would work)
1 lb. dark chocolate (melted)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
* (cookie crumbs, fruit etc. if you want to go fancy)

She made a graham cracker crust: She tossed cocoa powder, a little sugar (a TBSP of each give or take) and a brick of graham crackers into the blender and added 2 teaspoons of Earth Balance til it all stuck together.

Blend tofu, Tofutti, sugar, milk together for several minutes. Add lemon juice, vanilla, cocoa powder and cornstarch, blend again. Finally add melted chocolate and thoroughly combine. Pour mixture into prepared springform (greased) already "crusted" or pie plate (ditto). Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. The middle should still move when removed from oven and nothing should be browned. Let cool. Then place in fridge. I would let it sit at least overnight in fridge and preferably 24 - 36 hours.

*She poured half the cheesecake mixture in prepared pan, then added a layer of crushed vegan cookies and then dumped the rest of the cheesecake mixture over that.