Are you out there??

As a blogger, you get kind of bummed when you don't see the "Followers" count increasing steadily over time. You start to think - is anyone out there actually reading this? To quench my blogger-loneliness, I added a nifty little widget "Feedjit" to my page. Over time, I've been noticing that folks from California, Alaska, Washington, D.C., Canada, Boston, New York, and several other countries have been visiting my pages. And although they aren't clicking the little "Follow" button to let me know they're right there with me, I'm confident that they are. Don't be shy friends - feel free to click that button and to leave some comments on my posts! I love answering questions, responding to ideas, and getting advice from readers, so step right up!

As the weather is becoming increasingly more beautiful and the plants around us begin to delight our senses, I've been doing more summer vegan cooking. What exactly does this mean? Well, I've put away my stews, heavy dishes, warm soups and roasted veggies for now, and have started preparing a lot of crisp raw dishes, celebrating the array of summer veggies just starting to show up at the Farmers Market and food stores.

This week Justin and I put together a Korean-style cabbage salad using a head of shredded purple cabbage, some shredded carrots and edamame. Justin made a sweet-spicy sauce that complimented the flavors of the veggies really well.

Korean Cabbage Salad

We also made Vegan Yum Yum's Smokey Miso Tofu and used it to make sandwiches with caramelized onions and mushrooms, tomato, and cucumber. The tofu was delicious and we'll definitely be making it again, though next time I won't use her drying method. When I tried using her method (placing a cast iron pot on top of the tofu to squeeze excess water out) the tofu ended up crumbling a lot and we didn't get as many slices out of it as we wanted. I'll also slice them a little thicker next time. The marinade in the recipe has a surprisingly salty, smokey, sweet flavor. We had some extra and used it on the sandwich as well.

Smokey Miso Tofu

Dinner! Smokey Miso Tofu with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Cucumber & Tomato, Korean Cabbage Salad, and, of course, a pickle

Since this is one of the few times Justin and I have two days off in a row together (he works on Saturdays and has off on Fridays; I have off on Saturdays & Sundays) we decided to do a little exploring. My dad recently gave me the family picnic basket which I'll pack with some left over cabbage salad, hummus veggie wraps, and juice, and we'll head up to Bradbury Mountain State Park for a picnic and a hike. 

What are you doing for Memorial Day? Family picnic? Hiking? Hanging out at home? What are kind of menu are you planning? Let us know!