Hair is the new Feathers: making things out of human hair extensions. Makes a great feathery-effect for the vegans in the house.
Barbie Bonanza: The boy offered me and the queens a tutorial on using the Dremel that made me feel like I was back in highschool shop class: "Now, I know this looks like a pretty dainty little tool, but this blade (taps blade) is strong enough to cut through steel pipe, so it can definitely take off a finger." (Followed by horrified, queeny gasps.) Also, a pair of fake glasses of the nerdy "wayfarer" style make an excellent pair of safety goggles in a pinch. Don't use power tools without them! Protects your eyes and makes you appear to be an expert. Win-win, I'd say.
Sawing Barbie's arms off was tough work, it was quite a bit easier to drill the holes that would make them beads. Now....what to do with all these Barbie arms?
08 August 2011
30 June 2011
Vegan Egg Salad!
YES! It can be done!
In the few months since I've last bothered to waste my time writing this blog, I have figured out how to make vegan egg salad that will fool even the staunchest anti-tofucians.
Anyway, it's pretty much exactly the same as regular egg salad, only instead of eggs, use medium (NOT silken - it's too soft) tofu! I added a bit of saffron to make it yellow, because I am fancy and I have it in the kitchen. Turmeric or food dye would work just as well, and it completes the illusion by giving the tofu a yolky tinge.
However! There is a SECRET INGREDIENT! You must acquire some Indian Black Salt, also called Kala Namak. It is a somewhat hard-to-find condiment, popular in Indian dishes. It comes as a reddish-pink powder or rocks, and contains a number of sulfur salts, which make the salt taste and smell like a hard-boiled egg, I swear!! A bit funky at first (I like to call it "fart salt"), you really can't make a convincing fake egg salad without it. It's a strong flavor though, and not much is needed.
I get mine at a wee Indian grocery at Pike Market called The Souk, where they sell it for $1.80 for two ounces. Vegans! Go buy some, use it on everything.
Now, to make:
Combine your brick of medium tofu into a bowl with a few spoons of vegannaise - as much as you like, I prefer LOTS - and simply stir it all up with your selected spices, and about 1/2 tsp of black salt. It should come out with a slightly chunky texture that looks like the real thing!
Typical egg salad spices include paprika, dill, and black pepper; I also think you can't go wrong with a bit of sweet pickle relish or a chopped up spicy pickle - whichever suits your fancy.
Put this stuff on toast and enjoy! Egg salad for all!
In the few months since I've last bothered to waste my time writing this blog, I have figured out how to make vegan egg salad that will fool even the staunchest anti-tofucians.
Anyway, it's pretty much exactly the same as regular egg salad, only instead of eggs, use medium (NOT silken - it's too soft) tofu! I added a bit of saffron to make it yellow, because I am fancy and I have it in the kitchen. Turmeric or food dye would work just as well, and it completes the illusion by giving the tofu a yolky tinge.
However! There is a SECRET INGREDIENT! You must acquire some Indian Black Salt, also called Kala Namak. It is a somewhat hard-to-find condiment, popular in Indian dishes. It comes as a reddish-pink powder or rocks, and contains a number of sulfur salts, which make the salt taste and smell like a hard-boiled egg, I swear!! A bit funky at first (I like to call it "fart salt"), you really can't make a convincing fake egg salad without it. It's a strong flavor though, and not much is needed.
I get mine at a wee Indian grocery at Pike Market called The Souk, where they sell it for $1.80 for two ounces. Vegans! Go buy some, use it on everything.
Now, to make:
Combine your brick of medium tofu into a bowl with a few spoons of vegannaise - as much as you like, I prefer LOTS - and simply stir it all up with your selected spices, and about 1/2 tsp of black salt. It should come out with a slightly chunky texture that looks like the real thing!
Typical egg salad spices include paprika, dill, and black pepper; I also think you can't go wrong with a bit of sweet pickle relish or a chopped up spicy pickle - whichever suits your fancy.
Put this stuff on toast and enjoy! Egg salad for all!
07 March 2011
Better Living Through Chemistry
SO...I like to make a lot of things, not just food.
Food is pretty awesome, but a lot of times I will forget about it when I am doing other things. So, I was thinking, if you don't think it's a "New Coke" idea, that I'd like to change things up here a teensy bit at GhettoLicious, and expand to encompass my entire world of making-shit-on-the-cheap.
I promise to uphold my thematic torch of making all kinds of things that are surprisingly easy and far cheaper than their store-bought counterparts, without looking like a cheap, handmade knockoff (ideally).
So, what do we think? Is this an OK idea?
Or do you want to start a riot now?
Food is pretty awesome, but a lot of times I will forget about it when I am doing other things. So, I was thinking, if you don't think it's a "New Coke" idea, that I'd like to change things up here a teensy bit at GhettoLicious, and expand to encompass my entire world of making-shit-on-the-cheap.
I promise to uphold my thematic torch of making all kinds of things that are surprisingly easy and far cheaper than their store-bought counterparts, without looking like a cheap, handmade knockoff (ideally).
So, what do we think? Is this an OK idea?
Or do you want to start a riot now?
04 January 2011
Variations on a Theme: Sweet Potatoes.
So, I don't know if I've posted it or not, but my grandma makes this delicious, total-heart-attack sweet potato casserole every Thanksgiving that's always the (other) highlight of my meal...(I cannot discount my one true love, stuffing).
She makes it with butter, sweet potatoes, crushed walnuts and a buttload of brown sugar. It's effin' delicious, but you just can't eat it every day. Anyway, I decided to make my own, slightly less sweet version to go with a little simple dinner of wild rice (microwave packet from Mom was -surprise!- totally delicious) and wilted spinach, which was purchased with E's food stamps...awesome.
To digress, I don't know what it is about wilted spinach, but I fucking *love* it. I mean, I'll go back for thirds. But it has to have balsamic vinegar on it. I hate fresh spinach (it doesn't CRUNCH the way I want my lettuce to crunch, ok?), but steamed for a bit and splashed with balsamic? Ohhh, yeahhh. My sisters and I used to seriously look forward to wilted spinach as kids. Weird, I know.
ANYHOO...so, I had a few yams and a few sweet potatoes, so I cut 'em in halves and threw 'em in a pot of boiling water for tenish minutes. (This is called blanching, kids, and it's really important otherwise your potatoes will be too hard and won't cook right).
Once blanched, I cooled the potatoes slightly and sliced them into about 1-cm thick slices, which I arranged in a lovely pattern in order to properly mix the yams and sweeties. You can do whatever you want - go ahead, make it ugly. I don't care.
Where G-ma sprinkles butter and liberal amounts of brown sugar between each layer of potatoes, I drizzled a small amount of futter and a very small pinch of brown sugar, coupled with a chopped yeller' onion and some basil flakes.
I was finished after about four layers (I believe I used 4 potatoes to start). Then, I popped the bad boy in the oven on about 375 degrees, and left it for....about half an hour, until the potatoes start to lose form and get soft enough to cut with a spoon.
So, a slightly less bad-for-you version of G-ma's special Thanksgiving Coronary Surprise! Deliciousness!
She makes it with butter, sweet potatoes, crushed walnuts and a buttload of brown sugar. It's effin' delicious, but you just can't eat it every day. Anyway, I decided to make my own, slightly less sweet version to go with a little simple dinner of wild rice (microwave packet from Mom was -surprise!- totally delicious) and wilted spinach, which was purchased with E's food stamps...awesome.
To digress, I don't know what it is about wilted spinach, but I fucking *love* it. I mean, I'll go back for thirds. But it has to have balsamic vinegar on it. I hate fresh spinach (it doesn't CRUNCH the way I want my lettuce to crunch, ok?), but steamed for a bit and splashed with balsamic? Ohhh, yeahhh. My sisters and I used to seriously look forward to wilted spinach as kids. Weird, I know.
ANYHOO...so, I had a few yams and a few sweet potatoes, so I cut 'em in halves and threw 'em in a pot of boiling water for tenish minutes. (This is called blanching, kids, and it's really important otherwise your potatoes will be too hard and won't cook right).
Once blanched, I cooled the potatoes slightly and sliced them into about 1-cm thick slices, which I arranged in a lovely pattern in order to properly mix the yams and sweeties. You can do whatever you want - go ahead, make it ugly. I don't care.
Where G-ma sprinkles butter and liberal amounts of brown sugar between each layer of potatoes, I drizzled a small amount of futter and a very small pinch of brown sugar, coupled with a chopped yeller' onion and some basil flakes.
I was finished after about four layers (I believe I used 4 potatoes to start). Then, I popped the bad boy in the oven on about 375 degrees, and left it for....about half an hour, until the potatoes start to lose form and get soft enough to cut with a spoon.
So, a slightly less bad-for-you version of G-ma's special Thanksgiving Coronary Surprise! Deliciousness!
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