Another illustration I'm working on...

You must click the photo to en-biggen!













Not finished yet. The fleur-de-lis pattern needs a little re-coloring.

I like this version better,

without the dagger and the crown.



















The now-erased icons did make Lady MacBeth's identity more obvious, but I don't think they're necessary. That's what my classmates said, too. Also, I think the absence of the dagger and the crown draws attention to the ladder, and I like that. It gives the viewer some white space, too--some room to breathe within the image. By the way, guess who came up with the ladder metaphor when my original idea (drawing Lady MacB. at the bottom of a big, Elizabethan flight of stairs) didn't pan out? Ben! He has a gift for metaphor. I admit I'm really good at reading metaphors (even obscure ones requiring leaps of faith--it's a muscle one must develop!), but I'm not great at thinking them up. So thank god I have a husband with the soul of an illustrator. Is there anything he isn't good at?

What's done cannot be undone

Alright, here's my illustration of Lady Macbeth, the literary villain whose sinister ambitions resulted in regicide, mayhem, and play-wide bloodshed. Click to enlarge, as usual. Do you think it needs the little dagger and crown, or should I get rid of them? (The idea of erasing them from her dress is so appropriate... reminds me of L. MacB.'s "Out, damn spot!" soliloquy.)

Where to buy the cupcakes

Visit my online shop to buy the cupcakes. If you wanna.

Heart-shaped everything

Ben made a cutie-cute heart-shaped layer cake for Valentine's Day, and we scarfed down a bunch of it while watching Saturday night TV. Quel romântica! And I made two heart-shaped pizzas, one with a tomato sauce and one with a garlic sauce. Here's the dough, followed by the pizzas before we tossed them in the oven:





































I've started making a vegan Italian "sausage" by sauteing Gimme Lean soysage with basil, oregano, and a squirt of Sriracha. Now Ben and I agree that no vegan pizza is complete without it.

Roasted cauliflower and red pepper soup

This creamy, easy soup sustained me for a week. In terms of lunch, I mean. Do you all have soup thermoses? Because I can't live without mine.

I roasted a head of cauliflower (coarsely chopped), two red peppers (also coarsely chopped), a medium-sized onion (diced) and several whole, peeled cloves of garlic in a big oven pan. I drizzled a bunch of good olive oil on there, threw on a bit of salt, and cooked it, covered, for about thirty minutes. Then I cooked it uncovered for another ten minutes.

If you have a immersion blender* to match your beloved Kitchenaid mixer, this is really, really easy. Transfer the roasted veggies to a soup pot. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with one cup of unsweetened soy milk. Blend with immersion blender until kind of smooth (but keep some chunky veggies). Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then immediately turn heat down to low. Allow to simmer at least 15 minutes (or up to an hour), stirring occasionally. Add water if you want a thinner soup--but in this case, why would you? (I frequently prefer thin soups, but I think this one is best if it's thick and hearty.)

Roasting cauliflower really brings out something special in the flavor. It's just a really nice taste that doesn't come out when you cook cauliflower with other methods. And I'm sure I don't need to sing the praises of roasted garlic or roasted red peppers. All divine.

* Shown here, I believe, with daiquiris--which are clearly the most trivial and embarrassing thing to make with one's hand blender. Soups and vegan mocha milkshakes yes, daiquiris no.
** Just use a regular blender, or the pulse button on your food processor, if you don't have an immersion blender. If you don't have any of those things, how about an old-fashioned potato masher?

He's ALIVE.

I finished my first Claymation figure and started playing around with animating him! The above is a little movement test.

Daydreamin' at the Natural History Museum!

Click to enlarge... and I mean really enlarge!

Spinach dip, long-awaited

All the local stores were out of Tofutti sour cream for about a month, so I couldn't satisfy my ache for spinach dip until today. Soooo good, and so midwestern. Just make it the same way you would a non-vegan spinach dip; the recipe is probably on the frozen spinach label. It's easy--some scallions, some water chestnuts (a midwestern attempt at exotic-ness), a ton of delicious spinach (frozen is as nutritious as fresh, but this is the only recipe in which I think frozen is better), and the Tofutti sour cream. A little salt. You know.

Also in this bento: pasta salad with creamy red wine vinaigrette, half a kiwi, and miniature slices of pumpernickel.