H.A. Larson's Blog, page 67

Burns Nicht

Bringing in the haggis



My friend giving his annual Robert Burns' Address to the Haggis



Bagpipers (it wouldn't be Scottish without this)



Last night, I finally made it up to the annual Burns Nicht that has happened for the last six years. I'd been wanting to go for the last few years, but had never made it for whatever reason. I'm half Swede, but the other half of me is predominantly Scotch-Irish. My ancestors traveled into America, through the Appalachians where they eventually settled in Southern Missouri. I also own a small plot of land in Scotland, in County Glencoe, so it was only fitting that I went.
It was a lot of fun. There was plenty of Scottish food (which I didn't partake of as I've been a vegan for awhile now), bagpipers (obviously), and, of course, haggis. It was nice to be able to celebrate my Scotch heritage while hanging out with my husband and friends.
Burns Nicht mean Burns Night and is aptly named after the 18th Century Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns is most famous for writing Auld Lang Syne and and Scots Wha Hae, which as the unofficial Scottish Anthem for several years. He also loved his haggis so much that he wrote the Address to a Haggis for it. A friend of mine delivers the Address to the Haggis every year at Burns Nicht here and I was glad I finally got to see him do it. 
Long live the kilt!  ;)

Orange Cauliflower

I love cauliflower. A lot. I've always liked cauliflower over the years, but I typically always ate it raw with dip, or steamed as a side. As I began moving towards a vegan diet, and especially after going vegan, I realized the true potential of this amazing vegetable. It's sturdy and can hold up well. You can slather it in a good sauce and bake it whole, you can make cauliflower steaks on the grill, and you can break it up into florets and do a myriad of things. When I break it up into florets, I like to make a light batter to dip it in (seasoned to preference for the particular style I'm going for) and then either bake or fry it until crisp. I've baked savory chunks served with mashed potatoes and gravy (try it), or, my other favorite, fry it crisp and make an Asian-style sauce to cover it with. Put all of it over some basmati or jasmine rice, and you've got a drool-worthy dish.
Monday is one of my days off, and my only day off before a long work stretch, and I realized that I never have time during the week to have a decent meal. I remedied that by prepping a bunch of vegetables, bagging, and labeling them. One of those bags was labeled Orange Cauliflower. It was so easy to whip up the other day since it was all prepped and ready for batter, and completely, thoroughly delicious.

Orange Cauliflower
Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cleaned, trimmed, and broken up into florets
For the batter:
1/3 c. whole wheat flour1/3 c. rice flour (Rice flour imparts a unique, amazing crispiness so skip it if you must, but if you have some....please use it.)2 T. cornstarch1/2 t. each salt and pepper1/4 c. - 1/2 c. water (You want a thin batter, not too thick, not too thin so start with a 1/4 c. and slowly add as needed up to 1/2 c. from there. Basically, you want to sauce to coat the florets, not fall off or stick to it in globs.)
For the sauce:
1 c. orange juice2 T. soy sauce or tamari1 T. rice wine vinegar3 T. sugar1/2 T. red pepper flake1 t. each of granulated garlic and granulated onion1 T. corn starchOil for frying
For the rice:
1 c. rinsed rice2 c. water1/2 t. salt

Instructions:

1. Bring 2 c. water to a boil in a saucepan, add rice until it reaches a boil. Turn down heat to medium-low, cover, and let cook for approx 15 minutes, or until tender.2.. Whisk batter ingredients together in a mixing bowl until incorporated.3. Heat oil for frying in a large frying pan over high heat.4. Toss the cauliflower florets in the batter. Add half the florets to the frying pan, giving them space to fry without touching. Fry until crisp on one side, roughly 5 minutes, and then turn and fry until crisp on the other side as well. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the rest of the florets.5. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add to a saucepan set to medium-high. Whisk sauce on stove until it boils and starts to thicken. Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutes, whisking every minute.6. Mix the sauce and cauliflower together, toss to coat. 7. Serve with rice.

Notes:
This recipe would be great to add a few veggies or a can of Mandarin oranges if so desired.

Seasons: The Rebirth

The spring has arrived with warmth,the sun is high in the sky.My thoughts on this day,are thoughts of you and I.I realize how far we've come,and how I thought we'd never make it.But we did make it,we just go together, we fit.We begin again today,we hold hands as we go forth.We look back with wisdom,before beginning our rebirth.The flowers bloom, and the leaves open.

Vegan Breakfast Tacos - 2nd Version

I have a tofu press now (see last post) and, so, the other day, I decided I needed to use it of course! I also have a surplus of tortillas and decided on breakfast tacos. They came out so good!

Vegan Breakfast Tacos
1/2 block of tofu, pressed1 large potato, washed and cut into chunks1/4 of onion chopped up small1 clove garlic1/2 can of black beans1 t turmeric1 t smoked paprika1 t red pepper flake1/2 t each of salt and pepper1 t lemon pepper1 T parsley flakesoil for frying, I used coconut1/2 c salsa 1/2 c. grated Daiya cheddar (or your favorite vegan cheese)tortillas

1. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.2. Add the potatoes and onions. Fry until golden on one side, flip.3. Cut up the tofu into chunks, or tear up with your fingers, and add to the skillet, along with the garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes.4. Add the black beans and all the seasonings. Stir to incorporate.5. Fry for another few minutes then turn the heat down to medium. Fry for another 7 minutes, stiring occasionally, until potatoes are cooked through.6. Turn off the heat.7. Add the salsa and cheese and combine well.8. Fill some tortillas and enjoy.
You can top this with a variety of good toppings that you prefer. You can easily double this recipe if you want to use your whole block of tofu.

What's in my Mail?

For the last few months, I've been posting my Ipsy subscriptions as they come in. Yesterday, it arrived, but it arrived with some other fun stuff that I had ordered from Amazon with my holiday gift cards. Anyway, I thought I'd share all the things that came in.




A few weeks ago I made a quick stop at Akin's to pick up some supplements and, of course, I perused the aisles for awhile. I found the neatest little tea press for loose leaf tea. I occasionally drink breakfast tea (something I picked up from a trip to Ireland), and I also keep a few different kinds of loose leaf herbal tea around as well. I have a tea ball, but sometimes I want more than one cup of tea. I decided not to buy the tea press I saw at Akin's because I had Amazon gift cards. This coffee press was cheaper than the tea presses and does the exact same thing, so I got it. I'm looking forward to drinking some English breakfast tea this weekend!





I do so love my music, and I have my favorite genres, but I really grew to love the band Alabama Shakes. I liked a few songs off their first album, but after they put out their second album I was properly impressed. So, I purchased it and it's going to be blasted in the car on my way to work today.





You all know from reading the posts here on my website, that I am obviously a vegan. To that end, I've been collecting some good vegan cookbooks. This is the fourth one I've purchased, and I've heard nothing but good about it. I cannot wait to start making some of the awesome staples that Miyoko has developed. Look forward to some related food posts!





I love me some tofu, but it needs to be pressed of the majority of its liquid before using. I usually accomplish this by taking a plate, covering it in a small stack of paper towels, setting a block on tofu on that, covering it with another stack of paper towels, adding another plate on top of this upside-down, and then stacking a bunch of cans on top. If I'm not careful, my cans come crashing down and my tofu quits pressing! The remedy? An actual tofu press! I can't wait for my next tofu scramble.





Last, but not least, my monthly Ipsy subscription arrived. From left to right:
*theBalm's Mr. Write Now eyeliner in Jac. It's a brown color, and I had just been lamenting the day before that I need a brown eyeliner (I've been using an old eyebrow pencil) so this was a pleasant surprise.*hey honey's eye countour lifting fluid*Mitchell and Peach's English Leaf body cream (smells heavenly)*Hikari's cream pigment eye shadow in Mink. It's a brownish color and will go well with the eyeliner, which I'm sure was planned. *Lastly, a Beau Gachis smudge brush. I got a bunch of new brushes for Xmas, and I am excited to add this to my collection as I don't have enough really good eyeshadow brushes.


So, there you have it. I got all kinds of fun stuff in the mail yesterday! It was like Christmas Part 2.
Have a fantastic weekend my friends.
-H.A.

Seasons: The Thaw

The Coldest Winter has left me chilled to the bone,as I prostrate myself before the fire alone.The fire crackles and roars with the heat of years,while the frost around my heart melts into tears.I weep for all the wasted time that I spent,mired in hatred and anger that would not bend.Outside, the icicles begin to fall,as the renewal of spring begins to call.

Writing Update

The other day I revealed the cover for my forthcoming book "The Box". (If you didn't see that post, go to the Home or Author tab and check it out.) As I'm sure you can tell by the cover itself, I've moved away from the paranormal thrillers I have been doing and am working on a scary tale. It's another story genre I've always been fascinated with so writing one of these kinds of stories seems like a natural progression for me. After taking a few weeks off from writing over the holidays, I'm currently working on Chapter 5. I'm hoping to complete the book sometime in either late March or April. Time will tell! I will publish a teaser sometime next month, so stay tuned for that.
Another project I'm currently working on is re-editing "The Station". As a self-published author, it's easy to miss a lot of little things that can distract from the story itself. In my usual haste to get my completed work out, I often don't take the extra time to go over the story with a fine-tooth comb, and, as a result, the story can look sloppy here and there. Also, up until now, I've been using Word to write my stories and when I convert it to the required html format for download to Kindle, the spacing and indents get messed up. I've remedied that as well by using a new program that will convert my text to html without any issues. I'm not going to re-edit my first two books as it's a time-consuming project, but I want to make sure my 3rd effort looks as good as it deserves.
I'm also working on a couple of short stories that I'm planning on submitting to publications at some point. One of them has a supernatural bent, while the other is more of a true-life, very dark, and gritty kind of story. I'll keep you posted on what I do with these as well.
As you also saw from yesterday's post, I'm still interested in poetry. I had started, early last year, a book of poetry that I plan on selling for Kindle for a mere $0.99. I've never been an avid poetry writer by any means, but lately I've felt the urge strike up again, so I'm going to publish tiny snippet poetry here and there along with one of my photographs.
So, that's the latest with H.A. Larson in the Author World.
Have a fantastic day!

Seasons: The Coldest Winter

I am here, you are there,close together but miles away.There are things to do,and so many things to say.
Cut the tension,corrupt that which hinders.As I walk along the path,of the coldest winter.

The Coldest Winter

I am here, you are there,close together but miles away.There are things to do,and so many things to say.
Cut the tension,corrupt that which hinders.As I walk along the path,of the coldest winter.

Cover Reveal for my Upcoming 4th Book

Most of you are already aware of the fact that I've been working on my 4th book. It's called "The Box" and today I'm giving you an exclusive look at the cover. 





So...what do you think? Are you going to be ready to read this one? Comment or send me an email with your opinions/comments/questions.