I feel like blogging, but I really have nothing to blog about. I've been sick and haven't been cooking lately. I did, however, make (for the second time) the most delicious, easiest black beans ever. It's a Whole Foods recipe. Their website actually has a lot of great recipes and a good search engine that lets you search for "vegan" recipes only. The beans are full of flavor: smoky chipotles and tangy, sweet OJ. The recipe called for zest, but I'm lazy. I just used a splash of OJ. -- WF's Chipotle-Orange Black Beans. We had them with a head of kale and some home-grown swiss chard.

It's been a hot summer so far, nearing 100 most days. I just want to stay inside, drink white wine spritzers and eat cold leftovers. Luckily I'll soon have some indoor educational activities to occupy my time. I'm starting the Plant-Based Nutrition course through Cornell University. It was developed by the man responsible for my veganism: T. Collin Campbell. I couldn't do the program without a scholarship, but luckily Cornell thinks a midwife is a worthy cause. My online courses will start July 7th. I'm very excited to begin. As part of this quest for more nutrition knowledge, my mom has sent me her copy of Becoming Vegan. I've also ordered Your Vegetarian Pregnancy to peruse.

So that's the vegan stuff. As far as the house goes, here's a better photo of my beloved countertops. You can better see the recycled glass. They are swoon-worthy.

Roadtripping South and More Things on Buns

It's the calm after the storm, a lazy Sunday morning. I'm the only one up and am monopolizing the hell out of the coffee. Kevin and Kittie are asleep upstairs. Sterling and Larry, who came up from AA County last night, are asleep in the cave downstairs. We're home from our romp down south, where we basked in the patchouli-scented glory of Asheville and tapped our feet to the twangy tunes of Nashville. 

My bro was in Asheville for work/play (he follows the Nascar circuit and makes bank on hauling drunk rednecks around in a bicycle rickshaw.) We met up with him and all went to dinner at Rosetta's Kitchen. Evidently my tired, hungry brother was pretty skeptical that the veg fare would fill his belly, but in the end he could barely finish his meal. Score.

My vegan cornbread, local kale, and the most aaaaamazing Grandma's Golden Gravy

Kevin conquering The Mountain

OK, I confess. We went back for breakfast the next day. It was that good.

On to Nashville for the wedding, which was gorgeous. My cousin was married in the spring rain at Cheekwood. We checked out some of Nashville's vegan offerings, like the new vegetarian joint The Wild Cow. It was so-so compared to Rosetta's. I think the beans-and-three at Calypso Cafe take the vegan cake for Nashville vegan grub.

It was good to travel, but it's also good to be home. I may not have shared this, but we finally got the countertops! They're a slate gray concrete, with green and blue flecks of recycled glass. We love love love them. People talk a lot of shit about concrete counters, but I think they're full of it. We love them. You can see some in the photos below. Here's a little photo recap of some Seintan O Greatness sausages Kevin's been making lately. The recipe is lifted from the PPK forums.

  

Meatwad!

Rolled up Tootsie Roll style

Not poop. 

Kitchen Kevin koncentration.

Enjoying my dogs!

Also, FYI. We have sleep-space now. The Cave. We cleaned up the kitchen and bought a futon on Craigslist. It's cool and dark and cozy. Kittie's a fan. It's where she spends all of her time now.