diandra's vegan brownies

So, I've been looking at my analytics page a bit for fun. And found that time and time again the thing that people search for when they search and get d-funk.blogspot.com is my vegan fudge brownies. they're an adaptation of the rebar recipe and can be found on the old endearing records site here. and below, with a few modern-day-diandra modifications. i haven't made these in forever since discovering the kinikinik gluten free chocolate cake mix (which i use bananas and soymilk with, so it's very much the same, just no gluten). loves!

Diandra's Vegan Fudge Brownies

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (or 1 cup unbleached, 1/2 cup kamut)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups thick soy milk (like vitasoy original)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, roasted and chopped
1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 325F. Prepare a 9"X9" pan by greasing it.

2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the coffee, soy milk, and olive oil. Combine the wet and dry mixes and stir to mix well. Stir walnuts into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle the top with dairy-free chocolate chips and bake for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Divide the pan into 12 squares and enjoy!

(Diandra came up with this recipe by adapting the brownie recipe in the Rebar Modern Foods Cookbook, p. 318.)

the youth crew's back

this four day off in a row thing kicks ass. i am so happy and relaxed right now. i mean, i didn't even swear when i came back from errands to find a long line of cat puke under the kitchen table. now i'm waiting for it to dry so i can scrape it off the carpet. gross.

i had a productive crafty day and it's 4pm already. not only did i sleep 11 hours (! i feel so rested !) but i went on a hunt for a rolling pin and couldn't find one (!!), ended up buying a good cheese grater for grating potatoes (so i can make a croat pie), a basket, and heading to the best thrift store IN THE WORLD, the hospice store in college heights. not only did i find a smith bros. cough drop tin, a gold owl jar, a duck-hunt themed hand knit sweater (prezzie for a friend coming in a few days), but also some fabric for xstitch and beehive patterns (my favourite canadian vintage find). if i had an unlimited amount of cash right now i would have just trotted out there with EVERYTHING.

i've also just cleaned out my craft room. so i'm going to cuddle with rupert (probably the puker) and watch the l word, discs 3 and 4 of season four. yessss. and knit sock 2.

a row of days off

i love this weekend more than anything in the world. not only was it christmas and i was utterly spoiled (my favourite so far being these boots from stewart), but we had a wonderful dinner and a fun night where we geeked out playing our nintendos and board games. today stewart's working for the whole afternoon so i rented the L word season 4 discs 1 and 2 and am going to cuddle up with the cats and watch all 7 episodes. YESSS. then i have tomorrow and the next day off too! i feel so relaxed. it's ridiculous. i'm looking forward to a weekend of knitting, napping, the eating of left over turkey, hanging out with ladies, and rollerskating.

this morning i made myself oatmeal for the first time ever and LOVED it. i cooked the oats with almonds (sliced) in avalon dairy's cereal cream and then covered it with apple pie jam. oh my lawd! so good. i can't believe i hated this as a child. anyway, off the net and to the couch. love love.

Merry Christmas!!

I'm sitting in leggings on the couch about to have a yummy yummy amaretto and eggnog morning coffee and cookies (yay christmas). I have about 2 rows left on a project I'm gifting today and then have about a 1/2 hour sewing project to do before dinner. so I'm going to cast on a new pair of socks. probably with some shibui socks. i'm so excited to have 4 days off to do nothing but keep house and knit. and eat. and sleep. and cuddle with the cats. it's the best christmas present ever! thank you christian calendar for providing me with four days off!

i hope you all have a wonderful christmas! i love you lots! you made my year. xoxo

i thought i saw you lookin' my way...

this week at work was utterly insane and for the first time in FOREVER stewart and i have the same two weekend days off (minus when we went on road trips). i forced myself to sleep in a number of times and finally crawled out of bed at 10am. nice. i have put in some laundry, folded, rotated, etc more laundry, and am going to get in the kitchen and make coffee. yum. tonight we're having a little get together, of the wine tasting kind, and i need to figure out my menu. as of yet, this is what i'm planning:

1. a cake from the pastry chef. it's butter cream and in my fridge right now. delicious.
2. oyster, etc platter (jen's bringing this)
3. spinach balls (miss patty is bringing this)
4. popcorn. it's a tradition.
5. saltine, pb and j, cracker sandwiches
6. cheese ball
7. deviled eggs
8. oranges

i credit miss amy sedaris with full inspiration for this. yum.

pictures tomorrow. xo

the love that i crave is a polar bear

this is the banner i made this morning. today has been awesome. lots of warm beverages and spiced rum. and yummy warm foods in bowls and on plates. and knitting. a long long bout of knitting. i think we stitched and bitched for three hours. it was nice.

and now it's bed. i think it's FREEZING outside, but i love winter. and i'm getting excited about christmas. so many things i want to make like bunting and hankies and more baked things and cooked things. i feel like i can accomplish it all! phew!

don't get offended if i seem absent minded

i'm going to curl up with rupert and finally turn off vinyl tap (god, i hate randy bachman sometimes, err, all the time?) and listen to final fantasy. i played it so much around the home for a while that stewart's sick of it (and right now he's at work). i got my pin cushion coloured in today and it's incredible. 3 more buttons and the pins to go. i can't wait to see it finished sometime in january. the holidays slow us all down. must knit warm socks. must knit warm socks! it's so cold outside right now! -36C with wind chill or something. it's draining, really.

i'll post pictures of my wips tomorrow. !! xo

it tastes like chinese mango.

just because the tree's up doesn't mean that im ready! i'm cold (i should probably put a sweater on and wash off the eyeliner) and need to climb into bed. today was good. i got the job i've been pulling for the last 6 weeks (phew), we had a staff christmas party (it was at a house with all you can eat appies and all you can drink wine and beer!!) tonight and it was a short, quiet night for us, but a lot of fun. my coworkers were all happy to meet stewart and to hear my tales of rollerderby.

tomorrow im hopefully going to get my tattoo FINISHED!!! and then we have another christmas party that night. i'm going to work to get some knitting done in the meantime. i'm feeling a little more on top of it again. i find that the holiday season is really draining on me.

off to watch godzilla wars with stewart and finish the toe of a sock! stay warm and away from the -33C with wind chill (brrrr). i left my phone out in the car and i think i have to go rescue it.

xo

my top 10 albums of 2008

i'm happy someone started the top 10 lists! i've been thinking about it all week and here it goes! overall, i wasn't really excited by music this year (!!). oddly, too, my choices are a little more all over the place than last year (which was all electro), and they're in order.

1. why - alopecia
2. crystal castles - s/t
3. jaguar love - take me to the sea
4. cut copy - bright like neon love
5. mirah - the old day's feeling
6. she + him - vol. 1
7. hercules + love affair - s/t
8. sebastien grainger and the mountains - s/t
9. robyn - s/t
10. teenagers - reality check

special mentions go out to M83, mates of state, and chad vangaalen.

my favourite shows of this year were definitely the blow, crystal castles, and pan de sal and the mathematicians in vegas.

the most disappointing album for me this year was definitely the new css. (excuse me while i throw up).

and, lastly, the old albums that i re/discovered this year that made 2008 awesome were: sleater kinney's dig me out, replacement's pleased to meet me, and preston school of industry's all this sounds is gas.

what were your faves?

that's the way you want it...

my throat hurts a lot and i can't seem to get my thoughts straight. stitch and bitch was so nice today! i got to work on stewart's xmas scarf and teach someone how to long tail cast on (with three other knitters yelling! it was so funny how intense we were getting! "no, not like that!" "like this!" "put your fingers together!!") and stewart and i had dave over for lunch and ate okonomiyaki. yummers.

now we're going to curl up under a blanket with tea, baked goods, knitting, and watch flakes.

xo

you called me to tell me you're finally dying

if i told you that this dinner pictured here wasn't in japan, would you believe me? the other week we went all the way up to sushi factory sendo just past college heights and got some sushi for dinner (yummers) and i saw the cutest handwritten sign that said spicy miso ramen. and thought, finally! yum! the owners of sushi factory sendo are the only japanese sushi shop owners in prince george. they sell a lot of japanese products and have more specifically japanese foods. it's really great. and they speak in japanese and i get to hear my long missed irashaiiiiiii!!!

today is cookie making day and pierogi day and cookie swap day. i'm pretty excited for all the fun to ensue. i'm going to make some tea to deal with this sore throat, and charge my laptop, decorate the tree, get all purdy, and charge the battery in my camera. lots of stuff to do in the next two hours. have a good weekend!! xo

about when the headache starts to kick in

i have 21 minutes left on my macbook's battery and a burning need for both coffee and eggs. i got up at 5am to give stewart a ride to work and it was so bright out, the orange glow of pg reflecting on the 20ish centimetres of snow we received. i was so worried i wouldn't make it home alive! but i did and who knows if i'll be able to get out of my spot. yay winter. rather than going to bed when i got back home at 5:45am-ish i checked my email (!!) and began paying my bills. I LOVE BEING ABLE TO PAY MY BILLS. it's the most empowering feeling ever. and, i bought a few xmas presents on etsy (buy handmade!!) and amazon. now it's time for breakfast, a tooth brush, and some daybreak north.

OH UNBC!

i just logged into my UNBC account and it finally has an "overall" fee statement and i want to share it with you:

Account Balance:				-$42.00
Detail Code	Description	Charge	Payment	Balance
APFG	Application - Domestic Transcr	$125.00	$0.00	$0.00
APPF	Application Fee - Undergrad	$10.00	$0.00	$0.00
FITN	Intramural Recreation &Fitness	$400.00	$0.00	$55.00
GPSS	GSS U-Pass	$48.00	$0.00	$48.00
GRHD	NBCGSS Health and Dental Plan	$610.00	$0.00	$0.00
LATE	Late Payment Fee	$173.68	$0.00	$0.00
ONEC	Student ID Card	$34.50	$0.00	$2.00
ONED	Deposit to Smart Card	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
PARN	Parking - Per Semester	$63.60	$0.00	$0.00
PIRG	PGPIRG Fee	$32.00	$0.00	$4.00
SERV	Service Fee - Student	$320.00	$0.00	$40.00
T102	Graduate Tuition	$9,129.09	$0.00	$476.28
UGRD	Society Fee - Graduate	$266.64	$0.00	$33.33
CASH	Cash Payment	$0.00	$2,078.19	$0.00
CHEK	Cheque - Payment Received	$0.00	$10.00	$0.00
INTE	Interac	$0.00	$3,742.59	$0.00
SCHL	Tuition Scholarship	$0.00	$2,500.00	-$700.61
SWAV	Tuition Waiver - Student	$0.00	$851.04	$0.00
VISA	Visa	$0.00	$2,072.69	$0.00
Charges:		$11,212.51
Credits and Payments:			$11,254.51
Account Balance:				-$42.00

weird things to consider include:

1. by paying my tuition late i have paid them a total of $173.68 in interest/fees on my late payments. over two years that isn't so much but it's totally $173 i don't have right now and probably would have liked to have to spend on things like lattes, magazines, and yarn.

2. my health plan has cost me $610.00 and i've only used it a handful of times. i went to the clinic at school twice (i think), one which led to lab tests, and i went to emergency once and got a prescription that was discounted once. i should make a plan to get my teeth cleaned and a few more doctors visits until the end of my policy year.

3. I have paid $400 (!!) for the recreation services (ie. gym) on campus. and i've never used it not once. the entire time i paid $35/month to go to another gym and now that i work for the ymca i get a membership. but i can't buy out of the program as far as i know (i just emailed and asked).

4. so far, my MA has cost me: 11, 254$$ not including books, living, supplies, transportation (until now), and school trips. shit.

not-so white xmas

so, i know it's NOT christmas yet. but our inaugural drive around Candy Cane Lane as well as our start of the advent calendar chocolate-a-thon has sealed the deal. the boxes for shipping gifts are out on the floor and the table is piled both with unwrapped gifts that need homes, fliers for more gifts, and a random assortment of small boxes. i rounded it off with a work dinner at the legion (i LOVE the legion) and a trip to the library with my sweetie who i feel like i never see anymore. i was able to snag some excellent books including two gossip girl texts (i thought, if i love the show i might like the books?), a biography of santa clause (!!), the moosewood restaurant cooks at home book, lotta prints, getting started knitting socks, and i <3 felt: 33 eye popping projects for the inspired knitter. as well as some cool dvds and the juno soundtrack. i can't get over how much i love love love our local library here in prince. not only does it have this incredible modernist design but the librarians are just *the best*. the knitting section is awesome and the teen book section is very pro-active and up to date and thorough. they've also got this incredible collection of graphic novels and a "youth cd" section with things like modest mouse in it.

work has been incredibly stressful lately and i don't really want to share but i feel like i need to say that right now i'm experiencing a personal sense of loss-of-life and have no energy, am underslept, unsure about everything, and exhausted all the time. i don't like it what so ever.

well, must go. i'd like to finish my tam tonight. more soon! this week proves to be a good un. xo