Last day of summer!

It's another sunny, seventy-five degree day in Los Angeles, and it is hard to believe that tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox.

This will be my first year spent without real seasons, and I wonder how I'm going to feel about it. I'm thrilled to be rid of the Hoth-like lake effect snow of Western Michigan, but now that there is not the threat of winter lingering behind fall, I am actually starting to miss it. I used to get chills when stores started carrying back to school items, and would curse the change in weather.

Now, all I want is chilly nights, colorful leaves, and to bake things with apples and pumpkins. At least I can still do that last one, and the nights do get colder out here in the winter months to create a faux-fall coziness.

I was excited to see this in my inbox today from the Farm Fresh To You people:

FALL FARM TOUR

Fall is soon approaching and a wonderful time to be at the farm. Join us at our Southern California Farm Tour on Saturday, October 1st, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Valley Center at our partner farm, Stehly Farm Organics. Look forward to pumpkin picking, tractor-trailer rides, picnicking, arts & crafts for the kids, self-guided walking tours, live music and more. Hope to see you there!

Am I too old for this stuff? Nah. If I don't go, you better believe I'm hosting a pumpkin carving party in October. :)

In celebration of fall, I'm going to make spaghetti squash in place of pasta tonight, with roasted tomato pesto sauce from Oh She Glows. I've had the sauce before (and it's killer!), and I recently learned about spaghetti squash. Apparently you roast the squash and the insides become spaghetti-like strands (hence the name). So curious to try it! :)

Happy end of summer/beginning of fall from Calvin and Hobbes!

Organic produce right to my door!

When biking home from work recently, I spotted a van with the words, "Organic products delivered to your home and office," printed on the side.

Since I am carless in LA, I use any opportunity for delivery. This was right up my alley, so I checked out the website provided, farmfreshtoyou.com.

They offer fresh produce delivered to your door at decent prices. I decided to try it out with the "Small LA" box to start. It's coming on Friday! According to the website, this is what I'm getting:

Monday 09/19/2011 - Friday 09/23/2011

Service: Small LA

(Weights are approximate)

	3	cnt	Arvin	Dapple Dandy Pluot
	2	cnt	Washington	Gala Apple
	1	lb	Arvin	Thompson Seedless Grape
	1	cnt	Santa Maria	Bunched Broccoli
	1	bu	Our Farm	Nantes Carrot
	1	bu	Our Farm	Bunched Arugula
	1	lb	Watsonville	Green Bean, fresh
	.5	lb	Our Farm	Assorted Sweet Pepper

I hope I can eat all of it since I just went a little nuts at the Culver City Farmer's Market. My boss had an old juicer she didn't use and gave it to me this week, so I've been gathering up some juicing recipes, and now I'm stocked on apples, oranges, beets and carrots. I'd like to do a juice fast at some point. I'll be sure to report back on my delivery when it comes.

I watched Forks Over Knives this week as well, and it made me want to do a better job eating whole foods and leave out the processed stuff (especially since I have a weakness for Tofurky sandwiches). So far so good since I'm up to my ears in farm fresh produce this week. It's a fantastic documentary with a lot of data supporting that diseases can be controlled by eating a whole foods, plant-based diet. Dave and I discussed how we never want to be a slave to a slew of pills, and I'm so happy we're committing to veg(etari)anism in our twenties.

I'm off to make tonight's meal: Veganomicon's chickpea cutlets, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli.

Happy eating!

Best "mac and cheese" of my vegan existence thus far...

I had been wanting to try out the Vegnews Macaroni and Cheese recipe for some time, and when I was planning a "home cooking" vegan meal for the week, I couldn't think of a better addition.

I tried keeping my expectations low after being turned off my some sub-par nutritional yeast based experiments. I told myself it wouldn't be like macaroni and cheese, but to think of it as a delicious pasta dish of indeterminable flavor so as not to get my hopes up.

One thing I did differently from the instructions was to steam the veggies instead of boiling in hopes of preserving nutrients, and it turned out just fine. I also left out the cayenne because my SO isn't big into spice, and I really wanted him to like it.

I have to say, I was extremely pleased with the results. I love that it is actually baked, and that it has a crunchy breadcrumb layer on top like my favorite macaroni and cheese of my dairy eating days. Not quite as creamy as I would have liked, but it absolutely brought me back to eating homemade mac and "cha."

This is the ultimate in vegan comfort food besides the food coma inducing veganized version of Emeril's fettucine alfredo, but that's another story. Highly recommend.