Squirrel’s Vegan Kitchen

Jim’s birthday was on Labor Day. He’s not a big birthday celebrating kind of guy and he especially doesn’t like surprises or having a lot of attention on him. After having a hand in two friends birthday’s this year, one turned 35 and the other 30, Jim said to me, “You have to promise that you won’t do anything like that for my 30th.”

So. I did it for his 29th instead! If there’s one thing about me, I don’t like being told to not do something. That is a dangerous combination mixed with my love of spoiling Jim.

I got his siblings in on the plan and they came out, with their respective spouses (one set from Seattle, the other from Phoenix), for the weekend. I planned a big vegan BBQ birthday bash for last Saturday that turned out to be a blast. We had all the vegan food you could ask for and more, tiki torches, some music and guitar playing, even Dave came by to hang out!

Enough of all this rambling, though, here’s the grub!

Kabobs! Just on the grill, so not quite grilled yet. I marinaded the tofu overnight in a teriyaki sauce and then skewered them with chunks of pineapple and zucchini.

We also had Field Roast and Tofurky brats, but those were boring looking, so I didn’t take a picture. A note for grilling such things, though: soak them in water for a couple of hours ahead of time if you have the time. Then you can cook them longer without them drying out inside. Grilled and juicy!

Real Food Daily Cashew Cheddar alongside the Seitan O’ Greatness. As I always do, I up the spices with some sage and fennel and liquid smoke, to make it pepperoni-ish. Jim and I could live on this seitan and cheese and crackers. When we eat stuff like this I wonder what it tastes like to people who aren’t vegan or haven’t been vegan for very long. I mean, does it just taste foreign and weird? I can’t really remember what cheese tastes like, except greasy and salty (does it really taste like anything else?) and I don’t think it tastes like cheese, but it does taste damn good and that’s all that matters!

Curried tempeh salad from Vegan Planet. Our friends Jen and Alex brought it and it was wonderful. They said they about doubled the spices from the recipe itself and I loved it and that is saying a lot as I have a history of being anti cold salads (that aren’t lettuce based).

An amazing salad that Kate made using assorted greens, micro greens, nectarines, blueberries, cashews and a flax oil and rice vinegar dressing.

I also made this asparagus pasta salad, but forgot to take a picture! Oops.

For dessert I made a chocolate peanut butter pie. Well, two actually.

You all know, if you’ve read this blog for any period of time, that Jim and I are both peanut butter and chocolate crazy. Not slightly crazy, but seriously crazy. It’s just the best taste combo! So good, in fact, that I have to show you all another picture:

If you are allergic to peanuts, other nut butters also taste amazing paired up with chocolate. I imagine that cashew butter would be heavenly with this.

And to share the love, here is the recipe!

Hands down, the best gift Jim got (and me too, as I’m lucky enough to share it with him) was this beautiful family portrait, painted by none other than the talented Chris Harback:

Isn’t it great? Jim and I are both getting the biggest kick out of Hazel, in her little ball. It reminds us both of a sorcerer, that we are all under the control of. Jim and I are both still in shock and marveling at how amazing this is. I mean, look at all of us! Chris is one heck of an artist and an even more amazing friend!

In closing, here is a cute little video we shot of Hazel tooling around her cage. We were trying to get her out to clean her cage, but she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to come out or not. Please ignore my strange baby hamster-babble.