Anyway, I drove home today, had two hours to catch up on a ton of email, then went to my brother's show. I know I have posted this before, but he has a band, you can find them here.
We got back pretty early, were kind of rude and didn't stay for the other band, even though we're big fans of one of them. I was just tired from driving all day. How does sitting in one spot make you so tired? Regardless, I made some super simple pasta for dinner. The only thing that is really worth mentioning is the Nutritional Yeast and Pine Nut Cheese, which is equal parts toasted pine nuts and nutritional yeast, pulsed in a food processor until it looks like that grated parmesan cheese you can buy at the store. Today I had it with kale and broccoli with some tomato sauce. I've also had it with just some vegan margarine, and it was also really good.
Spelt Pasta with Easy "Parmesan" Topping
Nutrition Information: 414.2 Calories; 12.7g Total Fat; 1.0g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol; 62.6g Carbohydrates; 12.7g Fiber; 18.3g Protein
I can't call this gluten free because the spelt pasta does contains gluten. Eden's Organic (the brand I used) says:
Spelt is allergy friendly. Although it does contain gluten it is different from modern wheat, highly water soluble making it easier to digest. Research has shown that like kamut, another ancient non hybridized wheat, spelt can be an excellent substitute for most people with wheat allergies.I'm not a gluten free expert, and I don't need to be gluten free, so I'm okay with this, especially because this pasta is tasty...but I do see a lot of recipes that are called gluten free that contain spelt? Maybe someone who IS an expert can enlighten me on this. The impression I got it that some people with a gluten allergy or intolerance are okay with spelt, but if you have Celiac Disease, its a big no-no.
From here I just wanted to post some pictures from this weekend, so if you only came for the food, feel free to leave now. Aww, you want to stay? Thanks, that is nice of you.
I spent a few hours Sunday in DC with my best friend from college. I usually go to her place in Adam's Morgan, but this time we went to the National Cathedral for the gargoyle tour! It was very cool. Our tour guide was great (his name was Mark), very knowledgeable. The only downside was that it was FREEZING. Or, rather, WINDY. We ended up asking him to cut it short, although he did spend some extra time inside since we were being babies about being outside (it wasn't just us, there were other cold people on the tour!). So the rest are just some pictures from that, enjoy!
Outside the Cathdral...looked like such a nice day
Looking up at the gargoyles
A DC Black Squirrel!
Ahh, leave me alone and stop taking my picture crazy lady!!!
Because I can't resist anything cat related..
Inside the cathedral, warming up.
That's it! There was actually a sad story about the cat, apparently he was carved after a real cat. His owner was one of the cathdral carvers and was killed in a car accident right outside the cathedral just a few years before it was finished (took over 80 years to complete everything), and so the cat is watching over the place where his owner died.
We also went to eat at Open City in Woodley Park (right near the Metro stop), and it was kind of vegan friendly. Friendly in the sense that their vegan items were marked VEGAN in big letters. However, there were only two of such items! No matter, I kind of like not having to choose from a ton of things. My food was okay, a veggie sub with hummus, but the side of fruit was actually awesome, as was the hot mulled apple cider. Yum.
In completely unrelated news, I am a co-owner and administrator of a website for military significant others. It is a pretty huge site and we got hacked recently, but I think we've finally got it under control, its really looking good. If you or anyone you know has a boyfriend/fiance/husband in the military, feel free to message me and I'll give you the address. That honestly wasn't meant to be a plug for it, the whole situation has been stressful and I just wanted to say that I'm glad its up and running smoothly again.
Today's Song: "Nothing Happening" - Ben Kweller
*Oh, and I will be catching up on everyone else's blog soon, I promise! There are so many posts!*
Gorgeous pictures, gorgeous food =)
ReplyDeleteGargoyle tour? The Gothic style of architecture intrigues me - I would love something like that. Now, about your "cheese"...do you blend the pine nuts and nutritional yeast or just stir them together before using as a topping?
ReplyDeleteAh, fantastic question Heather! I pulse them in my Magic Bullet...I will edit that. You probably could leave the nuts whole, but I am not a gigantic fan of nutritional yeast, so I personally wouldn't put it on by itself with just the pine nuts whole, but some people like nutritional yeast more than me.
ReplyDeleteI love the gargoyles and the black squirrel!
ReplyDeleteI love that food you made. Nooch, noodles, and a green veggie= perfect comfort meal :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, vegan parmesan is always so simple but good! I usually make mine with cashews, though pine nuts would probably be great as well.
ReplyDeletei love me some nooch!! i buy it in bulk at whole foods.
ReplyDeletespelt does have gluten in it, although it is wheat free. i don't use it just because i've been trying the gluten free thing. i can still eat oats though.
that squirrel is precious!! what did you name him??? he looks like a "vivica" to me. it's okay though. i stalk squirrels, too. i think some of them actually like it.
Joanna, I've been trying to do the gluten free thing too...I find it helps with my skin. I just knew I had seen a few gluten free recipes that called for spelt, although I'm now seeing that most of them specify that spelt is only okay for some people.
ReplyDeleteHow confusing. At least now I know, right?
I didn't name the squirrel. Although I would have probably named him something lame, like Blackie.