Moping Over a Hot Stove

This past weekend I broke my commitment to participate in the 2008 ColdNFuzzy Studded Glove Dance-Off. I was well aware that passing up this opportunity was the act of a lunatic, but I had some serious moping to do after the lamest two weeks of my adult life.

And what better way to mope during the Vegan Month of Food than shut myself in my apartment and prepare things to gorge on while watching Rock of Love Charm School?

Saturday's brunch-for-lunch was a tofu scramble with green bell pepper and onion, grape tomatoes with rice vinegar and dried basil, and wheat toast with apricot preserves. I had worked up an intense hunger during the big summer-to-fall wardrobe switch. Sometimes I don't know how I freakin survive these high-velocity weekends.

It's October, and we all know what that means - pumpkincentric everything. I face this yearly pumpkin obsession with zero cynicism. I love pumpkins. I also love cookies, so it made perfect sense for me to grab a can of puree and make these pumpkin clumps. The recipe called for an alarming amount of dry oatmeal, producing a cookie of power bar consistency and slight blandness. Not bad, but next time I'll make sweet rolls.

Monday was less moping, more brown rice. This was a recipe-free attempt at Mexican cuisine - black beans and leftover green pepper and onion were thrown into the rice with some cayenne pepper, cumin, and chili powder. I was impressed, and emailed Chili's this photo with the suggestion that they expand their menu. Chili's was game until they realized the dark things were beans and not chunks of cow heart.

The crowning achievement of the week was tonight's Creamy Pumpkin Soup, which I made with the leftover puree. The original recipe uses chicken broth, evaporated cow's milk, and Parmesan cheese, so I substituted with low-salt vegan broth, reduced some soy milk on the stove, and omitted the cheese garnish. Cumin, chopped jalapeno, black pepper, salt, and a bay leaf wonderfully compliment the mellow flavor of the pumpkin. And how could I resist a dish that calls for sauteed celery??

So thus far, autumn has been alive with oats and gourds - and it's only going to get awesomer. I will now depart to gather more recipes for the mope session I have planned for a random weekend in January 2012. It will most likely feature lattes, butternut squash pancakes, and me entering a depression-induced coma while watching The Fly II.