Josie at 14
Lately our old cat Josie has taken to sitting on the arm of the couch in the Little House and squawking at me, demanding Party Mix cat treats. The noise she makes is very loud, and she puts her whole small body, all her effort, …
Author: Leslie Kimel
The Back Bedroom
Lately I’ve made a little project of adding some finishing touches to the back bedroom. I’ve been scouring eBay for vintage solid-brass switch plates, curlicue picture frames, and Roseville and McCoy pottery in blues and greens. Boxes have been arriving on our doorstep, and I’ve …
Halloween Cuties
On Thursday Mom had a pumpkin-carving party and she gave me these adorable felt ornaments she made. Whenever you go to Mom’s house she always gives you something: old newspapers to use as garden mulch, maybe, or an interesting catalog she got in the mail. This time, she gave me these tiny handmade decorations—a jack o’lantern, a cat, a ghost, a bat, a witch, and some sweet little monsters.
All the guests at the party (Bunny, Kris, Sophie, and me) were exclaiming over them.
“Aww, they’re so cute,” Sophie said (in her scarecrow costume and new blue braces).
“Look at the little cat!” Bunny cried. “She’s got so much personality!”
“Each one is a little character!” I said. “I just love their expressions. They’re so . . . expressive!” (I always say something dumb.)
Mom didn’t think the ornaments were any big deal. She gave them to me in the exact same way that she’d give me some old newspapers. “Oh, and here are your ornaments,” she said after we’d carved our pumpkins and eaten hot soup and cobbler and were about to head home.
But I was really enchanted by them. I can’t believe Mom can still sew so well even though she had a stroke and went blind in one eye last year. I tried to say a good thank-you, but Mom isn’t into thank-yous. “And I’ve got tons of newspaper if anybody wants it!” she said.
Vegan Orange Coconut Muffins
Last night I made Vegan Orange Coconut Muffins, flavored with a little orange extract. Whenever I bake, something always goes wrong—maybe not horribly wrong but at least slightly wrong. Last night was no exception. I ended up spilling pretty much an entire bottle of orange …
New Mushroom
On Friday Rob asked me to go to Native Nurseries on my lunch hour and get some garlic for planting. I did, and on the way back to work I texted him, “Got the garlic.” I didn’t mention that I’d also bought a statue of …
Vegan Coconut Date Walnut Muffins
On Friday night after work, I made muffins. Of course my cats were involved, since I plainly prefer my baking ventures to be as unsanitary as possible.
Buntin, our black and orange tortie, really seems to relish the hustle and bustle of baking–and seeing what she can get away with amid the hurly-burly. She likes sneaking into cupboards when I open them. She also enjoys sneaking into drawers. On Friday night she tunneled into a drawer in the Hoosier cabinet and proceeded to bathe herself among my cookbooks.
Carl, meanwhile, was convinced I was mixing up some cat-food muffins, so he was running around the kitchen making very demanding eye contact and “yelling.” He got up on the counter to press his point. He was sure I was holding out on him.
Despite all the goings-on, my muffins turned out really good–sweet and moist and satisfying. Here’s the recipe, minus the accidental two cups of cat fur.
Vegan Coconut Date Walnut Muffins
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
11/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup almond milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Topping:
2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with papers.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, almond milk, canola oil, and vinegar. Mix well. Add the flour mixture, stirring until the ingredients are just blended. Fold in the coconut, dates, and walnuts.
Fill the muffin tin and bake about 20 minutes until the muffins are lightly browned on top.
Once the muffins have cooled, dip the tops in melted butter, then dip them in sugar.
Showy, Sensational Surprise Lily
It happens every year in late summer or early fall, often after a heavy rain: At the end of September or the beginning of October, the old yards and cemeteries around Quincy are festooned with the bright red flowers of surprise lily (Lycoris radiata). It’s …
Sunflower Stepping Stone
Yesterday on my lunch hour I bought a large Christine Sibley stepping stone shaped like a sunflower. I was very excited. After work I wheeled it in the wheelbarrow through the wild petunias and positioned it in front of my favorite bench. Then I stood …
Vegan Meatballs
Today Rob and I made vegan meatballs. We’d been dreaming about them for weeks. Rob wanted to call them “Everything But the Kitchen Sink Meatballs” because they had so many ingredients—walnuts, oats, panko, tofu, nutritional yeast, sautéed mushrooms, and more. We baked them, then deep-fried them for good measure. Since we’d rolled them in cornstarch, they developed a nice golden, crunchy crust in the hot oil.
We ate so many meatballs we had to stretch out on the floor in the sunroom after lunch. The cats walked around on our full stomachs and kneaded them and generally drew unwanted attention to them.
“There’s nothing like a cat kneading your stomach when it’s full of meatballs,” I groaned.
“It’s definitely not what you want,” Rob agreed.
“I guess we should just get up and do the dishes,” I said.
“Yep,” Rob sighed. “Cats ruin everything.”
Vegan Meatballs
Ingredients:
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces button mushrooms, finely chopped
1½ cups walnuts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1½ tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
1½ tablespoons fresh basil, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ cup nutritional yeast
½ cup quick-cooking oats
½ cup panko
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 packs extra-firm tofu, well drained
Cornstarch for dusting
Oil for frying
Directions:
Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is tender. Add the mushrooms and sauté until cooked.
Put the onions, garlic, and mushrooms into a large bowl. Add the walnuts, fennel seeds, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, yeast, oats, panko, and liquid smoke. Break up the tofu with your fingers and add it to the bowl. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.
Use an immersion blender to process the whole mixture until relatively smooth.
Roll the mixture into small balls, about ¾ of an inch in diameter. Roll the balls in cornstarch to coat. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 385 degrees F for 15 minutes.
When the meatballs are done baking, deep fry them in hot oil. Drain on a paper towel.
Serve over whole-wheat spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce.
