Well... I took the test and...

*Thud*

That's the sound of me passing out from a week of 10 hour days, followed by a weekend of studying. My first day of class last week I was handed a 200 page manual which was covered over five 2 -3 hour classes which in turn was followed by training on the floor. I would come home, pass out, wake up early and study, because every day we had a quiz.

One issue I ran into was that every class they ordered one dish of everything we talked about in class. Obviously most of it was meat dishes and me being a vegan was an issue. I compromised with dipping a veggie in each sauce so I would understand the "flavor profile". There was a part of me that felt a little guilty for doing that, like I was cheating or something, but ultimately, I feel ok with the decision. I wish that I could work at a vegan restaurant, but the only one here closed, so I will have to make do in the non-vegan world.

That said, I was very impressed by the entire section devoted to vegetarians and vegans. The even went so far as to discuss why vegans don't eat regular sugar, so why certain "vegetarian" dishes aren't appropriate. I was pretty impressed, and I have to say, I never thought to ask about sugar when I'm interrogating a poor server at a restaurant. Does any else out there ask about sugar in recipes?

Anyway, it was thoroughly exhausting and all for a restaurant job. I took my test on Monday afternoon and it was 68 questions... 9 pages... and none of it multiple choice. I swear it was harder than any test I took in college! Of course, I passed :) I don't fail at things like that. I start on Thursday and I'm actually looking forward to it!!!

I had today off, which was such a welcome relief. Finally no anxiety of an impeding test. I had a bazillion errands to run, but I found some time to cook as well:

This weekend I managed to make some more muffins. Pumpkin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. Oh... my.... goddess... these are SO amazing. They're moist, sweet and fragrant. I love all the spices used... It's like pumpkin pie in a muffin. If anyone needs a little taste of fall, I highly recommend these muffins. They were so good, in fact, that this is a picture of the 1st batch that I made. These went to my brother - he loved them! The second batch is all mine though!

Today I made repeats... Hummus Quinoa Casserole from Vive le Vegan! and Curried Split Pea Soup from Vegan with a Vengeance. I made a half batch of the casserole, but I used all the veggies. I think actually, I could just eat the roasted veggies. It will be a nice quick meal before or after work.


I've always been a firm believer that Split Pea soup should be so thick you could stand a spoon up in it. I don't know if they make it like that here in the U.S., but in Denmark it's the standard way. It should also be pureed in the blender. I always add potatoes to this soup because it helps to thicken it up and I like the texture that it gives the soup.


This weekend I also made some Asparagus Potato soup from Vegan with a Vengeance. Not a fan, although I do love asparagus. Mom thought maybe there wasn't enough salt in it, but I wasn't terribly fond of the texture. It seemed a bit... gelatinous. And when I took it out of the fridge tonight, I wasn't too fond of the smell either.


I made an interesting find at Whole Foods today. It's called a Monstera fruit. According to the website it's a cross between a banana, mango and pineapple. It was $5, but I just couldn't resist trying something new! You wait for the little "scales" to fall away naturally and then eat the fruit bit by bit. I'll post more about the fruit when I finally get to it. Has anyone else out there tried one of these?

One last thing... I little reward if you've made it this far :) Nava Atlas, a wonderful cookbook author, is selling her new not-yet-released revised and veganized cookbook: Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons. If you order it from her blog at the same price (roughly) as it will be sold for on Amazon.com, PLUS she'll send you a slightly hurt, but FREE, copy of Vegetariana. TWO for the price of one and she'll sign it too. I already ordered mine. It is a vegan cookbook about SOUP after all... and we all know how much I love soup!

Be sure to check back in a couple days... I made a new purchase that should arrive tomorrow and I have an experiment up my sleeve to blog about ;)