fave five of the week!

1. Coming right up: EMERALD CITY COMIC CON. All you Seattle kids better go, since I'm stuck in Colorado writing a thesis.

Who's gonna be there? Well if it were me, I'd be most excited about Felicia Day, especially considering I creepily had a dream about her last night where I asked her to eat dinner with me and play board games with us. Not weird.

Maybe it's cause of this awesome video I saw a while ago of Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, and STEVE JACKSON himself playing Munchkin. Together. Wut. (Side note: I swear what happens to Sandeep literally happens to me every time I play Munchkin. Oh, and um, yeah. I watched the whole thing.)

Long story short, friends, go to EECC, drink it in for me, have a ball. Tell F-Day to say hi to me on my birthday during Denver Comic Con.

2. Sarah Glidden's first book, How To Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less. I picked this up because I liked her style (as we all know, I'm big into watercolor and ink). Turns out, the timing for me to read this was impeccable: it revolves around her experience on a Birthright Israel trip, and I just submitted my application to go on one this summer. I'm enjoying the book so far--I feel like her sentiments about the Israel/Palestine conflict are pretty similar to mine. And I am way impressed at the amount of research she did before taking a 10-day trip. Maybe I should take a hint...

3. This week's fridge art creations chez moi.

4. This body positive, naked, vegan cooking blog. I should probably be best friends with all of these people. As Eleanor said, "Natalie, this is your jam. And bread." Naked vegan cooking friends! Love me back!!!

5. Latest character creation: Moishe Mouse, for Moishe House Chicago, who housed and loved me during my time there! And what a wonderful time it was.

Yup.

Being a vegan (or a vegetarian) can be just as annoying for us as it is for you.

Mmm. Applesauce.

No, I didn't just get my wisdom teeth taken out. And neither did any of my friends. It is, however, fall, and apples are more than in season, and who doesn't want to eat hot, steaming, cinnamon-y, apple mush when it is supposed to snow this week? Exactly. Somewhat inspired by (but with a different recipe) PurpleFoodie's recent post, I made applesauce this evening.

My applesauce turned out delicious, if a little on the chunky side (this is due to the lack of potato mashers in dorms at CC), but oh so enjoyable all the same. Eating it hot was delicious, but I still have some leftovers to enjoy cold (or microwaved) later! Yum.

Ingredients
• 4 or 5 (depending on size) organic apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
•2 T brown sugar
•2 T white granulated sugar
•3/4 t cinnamon
•1/4 C water

Directions

Put water and sugar in saucepan over medium heat until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add apples and mix well until evenly coated. Cover. After 10 minutes or so, add cinnamon, and stir to coat apples evenly. After another 5-10 minutes, your apples should be soft enough to mash. This step is your call- if you want a smoother applesauce, leave mixture over heat for longer, and less time if you're going for a chunkier style. Remove from heat, and mash with a potato masher or fork until applesauce has reached your desired consistency. Let cool a little, and enjoy!

Vegan chocolate mousse

Eat dessert first; life is uncertain.
I figured this was an appropriate recipe to start off this blog with. I know the prospect of anything vegan being rich and delicious is a long-doubted one, but this dessert is one that will easily seduce the most dubious foodies.

Ingredients:
•1 package of silken tofu*
•1 package of dark chocolate chips (usually about 10 oz)
•1 t vanilla or almond extract
•2 T maple syrup

Directions
Blend the tofu in a blender until smooth. Melt chocolate chips either over a double boiler over low heat or in a microwave. (Note: if using a microwave, microwave chocolate chips at half power for 40-second increments, stirring between each time). Add maple syrup and vanilla, and then pour into blender with tofu immediately. Blend until the mixture is creamy. Pour mousse into small bowls or one large one and refrigerate until set (usually 2+ hours).

The wonderful thing about this chocolate mousse is that since its main ingredient is tofu, instead of egg whites and whipping cream, it can almost be considered a healthy post-meal decadence, at least in comparison. Enjoy!

*Make sure you use silken tofu! The first time I attempted to make vegan chocolate mousse, my boyfriend-at the time and I made the mistake of using extra-firm tofu, which resulted in a somewhat-grainy and and much less delicious version of this. We also happened to accidentally blend part of a wooden spoon in the mixture as well. Lots of laughs, but a splintery stomach ensues.