I am sure if you are reading this you know we eat a healthy diet at the Dietrich house. However, this morning I woke to find the most beautiful white box with that lovely royal blue writing that says "The Donut Hole" on my kitchen counter. (Let me interject, I love those white, cardboard bakery boxes, especially the plain ones. They bring a smile to my face & flood me with fond memories of my childhood.) Yes, my sweet husband, while out making an early morning run to the hardware store, stopped by The Donut Hole, waited in a long line & came home with 2 of my favorite pastries! (Of course, Mr. Healthy had none!) I have 3 favorites: chocolate cake doughnut, blueberry cake doughnut & apple fritter (their apple fritter is the size of 2 of my fists!). I realize this is not the healthiest breakfast. However, in the 3 1/2 years we have lived here, I have never once stopped by The Donut Hole to get myself a doughnut & this is only the second time Sean has done so. So no worries of me falling into that trap! I sat & had my morning coffee all the while pinching off sweet, apple cinnamon chunks of goodness. Even more than the "treat" of having doughnuts for breakfast, the fact that my husband found a small way of showing me that he loves me is today's simple pleasure.

Labels: apple fritter, bakery boxes, blueberry cake doughnut, chocolate cake doughnut, coffee, Santa Rosa Beach FL, Sean Dietrich, The Donut Hole

Sean is working on a new website for me. I think my current website is just grand, but as a perfectionist, he is always looking to improve on the exisiting, whether it be his piano playing, his running, his painting or my website. So, this past weekend we went to my hometown of Brewton, Alabama to shoot pictures at the house where my Mother grew up, which now belongs to my aunt & uncle. We chose to take the pictures there because the house was built in the early 1900's & really has a lot of southern charm.

First of all, the house is located on one of the two main roads in the town, so when people ride by & we are on the front porch shooting pictures--people notice! Sean got a good taste of Brewton when a huge truck on "jacked up" wheels came revving by with an enormous rebel flag flying on a full-length flag pole somehow attached in the bed of the truck, with 3 shirtless guys in the front! Mind you, Sean grew up in Kansas.

While there, we decided to take advantage of the kitchen & shoot some cooking video, too. I brought some food with us, but still needed to buy a few things to cook what I had in mind. I needed tofu. Brewton is small; they have about three grocery stores. It was getting late, so I decided I should call & find out if any of the stores carried tofu. I thought my best bet would be Wal-Mart. Here is how the conversation went after the associate answered the phone...

Me: "Hi, I was wondering if you all carry tofu."
Associate: "What kind of food?"
Me: "Tofu."
Associate: "Please hold."
Pause
Associate: "What is it you're looking for?"
Me: "Tofu, t-o-f-u. It's a soy product. It is typically found in the refrigerated section."
Associate: "Ohhh, tofu! Please hold."
Pause
Associate: "Yeah, we carry tofu. It's in the produce department, so when you come, just head on over to produce."


Wow! What an ordeal; but they had it & were open until 11:00 that night. So I was able to make my scrambled tofu. I was trying to make very simple dishes, nothing fancy.

I guess I had never thought of how difficult it would be to cook while being filmed & attempt for my personality to come across. I am cooking away, lost in my thoughts, Sean is nearby in the kitchen behind the lens of a camera & it is difficult to be chatty, but not too chatty, funny but not cheesy. However, we finally got into a rhythem & got some good footage. Really I just want my potential clients to be able to see me on my website & get a feel for who I am; I have a very outgoing personality & am likable, in my oh-so-modest opinion!

So for just a couple of days this weekend, I was a starlett in my own right! And do you know what? I liked it!

Labels: Brewton Alabama, cooking video, personal chef, photos, scrambled tofu, Sean Dietrich, tofu

I recently ordered 'The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook' by Joanne Stepaniak from Half.com. I really wanted to try my hand at making "block" cheese; I haven't tried any of her recipes yet, though, because the ones for block cheese all call for agar flakes or powder & I don't have any right now. But this afternoon I decided to try her Philly Potato Chowder. Well, I didn't have enough potatoes, so guess what? I got to use some more of my squash stash! I have modified her recipe enough that I have made it my own, so I am posting it; but for the record Joanne's recipe was my base.


Cheezy Potato Squash Soup

8 cups water
3 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 cups diced squash
2 large onions, diced
1 cup plain soy milk
3/4 cup cashews (all the cheeze recipes I have ever made call for raw cashews, I actually use regular salted cashews & it always turns out)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 T. salt
1 T. onion powder
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. dill
1 t. white pepper
2 t. lemon juice
3 pinches citric acid
fakin' bacon bits

Combine water, potatoes, squash & onions in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover & simmer until potatoes are fork tender & begin to break down, about 30 minutes.

Remove 2 cups of the soup broth with some vegetables in it, place in a blender with remaining ingredients, except the fakin' bacon. (I tried to pick out most of the squash & add to the blender so that they consistency of the final soup would be more smooth.) Process until completely smooth. Return blended mixture to the soup pot. Cook & stir over meium heat until thickened. Garnish with fakin' bacon bits.

***I am sure I used more garlic powder & onion powder than listed above, probably more salt, too.





















As I am typing this my husband went & tasted the soup, from the kitchen I could hear him say (and I quote) "What is this soup?". I was nervous that he didn't like it, so I asked "Do you like it?", Sean said "Yes; what is it? You didn't use real cheese did you?" I have been cooking completely vegan for my husband for over 3 years now & he still asks, "Is this vegan?" I want to say, "No, Sean, I added bacon grease just for kicks & giggles!" Well, at least he likes it! I will finish this post after I have tried it....

It was alright; but what I will do differently next time is this...While the potatoes & squash cook saute' the onion with diced celery & then add some minced fresh garlic. Add this to the blender & puree with other ingredients. I think this would add more flavor.

On a random side note, I had been out running errands one day & came home to find this on my porch...



























Yes, that is my goofy husband, Sean, the one who started us on this vegan journey, in a box with his keyboard. I really don't have any words & I certainly didn't on that particular day, either. His explanation was that he thought to sit down on the box, but it didn't really hold him up; he slid into the box & just decided to stay a while...with keyboard in hand, mind you!

Labels: cashew cheese, homemade cheese, Joanne Stepaniak, Sean Dietrich, squash soup, The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, vegan cheese, vegan potato soup

This short little entry isn't about food at all (this will probably the first & only time you don't even see a picture of food or mention of food). Tonight I am going to brag about my husband, Sean. I have been tempted to give him a "name" like other bloggers do, there are many I have thought of..."Red-beard" as my Daddy calls him; "The Hippie"; "The Vegan"-being that he is vegan & I am not; however, in my blogs I just call him "Sean", in real life I call him "Bay". I digress--what's new?

Sean & I just returned from a long weekend at Lake Martin in Alabama. More on that later. On Friday he was at his keyboard practicing away & I was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. In the magazine was a calendar which reminded me that today was THE DAY! You see, Sean is a jazz pianist & is currently in college at Northwest Florida State College near where we live. He recently submitted a CD of his playing to be considered for the Kathleen T. & Philip B. Phillips Jazz Piano Competition in Pensacola, Florida. Players from really prestigious music schools like Berkley & Julliard enter; only 5 participants are chosen. The deadline was March 6 with the promise that if you are chosen you would be notified by March 13.

So, as I sat on the couch & had the realization that today was THE DAY (March 13), I got very nervous & anxious. I didn't want to mention it to Sean, I didn't want him to be nervous, too; it's bad enough for one of us to be nervous. Instead, I suggested we get dressed & go to the little boutique grocery store, Katherine's. As I was getting ready, Sean's phone starts ringing & the caller ID says "UWF", that stands for University of West Florida, the college that hosts the competition; I start yelling for Sean that UWF was calling! Needless to say, my talented husband has been chosen to compete in the Phillips Jazz Piano Competition on April 3! Only 5 were chosen & Sean was one of them! I am so proud & wanted to share our news with all who are willing to read my oh-so-(too)-detailed blogs!

Labels: jazz, Kathleen T. Philip B. Phillips Jazz Piano Competition, Lake Martin Alabama, Northwest Florida State College, piano competition, Sean Dietrich, Universtiy of West Florida