Peanut "Beef" Maifun

Apparently I tripped and fell off the blogosphere this last week. In my adventures off the web during the last week I've quilted, turned the Christmas music off and turned Amy Ray up, took my wife to A Christmas Story: The Musical (which I hope makes it to DVD eventually so I don't have to watch just the movie 500 times during the month of December, because the movie doesn't have pirates, and the musical does), was taken to Maurice Sendak's Nutcracker Ballet, took a trip to Oly to visit friends and share a squash dinner and my reasoning behind why December is my least favorite month of the year (really, America, do you need an excuse like Christmas to have goodwill and compassion? Can't we just have it regardless of what season it is?), I made a damn good faux beef stew, played slots with my mother-in-law, kicked it at Seattle's best les bar with new and old friends, saw Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (which, btw, is not worth seeing in 3D, or perhaps even in the theater for that matter, but IS worth seeing for Will Poulter of Son of Rambow fame, who pretty much saved the movie), met with the tattoo artist that will be inking my arm in Banksy, found out I'm not shaped like a lemon, read quite a few chapters of the Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, made a small dent in the 80 oz. jar of chunky peanut butter residing in my apartment, had coffee at Cafe Vita while watching an uncharacteristly Seattle type monsoon, drew on a napkin, and made a KICK-ASS asian inspired beef noodle dish.

See? I've been B to the U to the S to the Y. Maybe a little to busy, which is why it may have taken me 'til today to realize I was ignoring my computer on non office hours. The break was swell, but the swellin's gone down, and I'm back with vengeance. So here's one of the dishes I made this week, which I have affectionately dubbed Peanut "Beef" Maifun, and it's even more fun if you make it, share it with a friend, and hit the movies after.

Peanut "Beef" MaiFun

Chick’n ‘n’ Dumplings (slow cooker recipe)

I head into this years Thanksgiving with apprehension. It’s the first year in 5 years I am going to have Thanksgiving with my family, and while I am grateful, I do have apprehension. For the first time in 5 years, I will be having a mixed vegan and non-vegan Thanksgiving, and mixing family and friends. I’m making all the sides, plus an app and dessert that are vegan friendly. It’s a little stressful. And who has time to make a meal for themselves the day before with that pressure? Thankfully, I think I have found an answer: Slow cooker chick’n ‘n’ dumplings.

With the exception of the chick’n, I had everything else on hand, as the rest of the vegetables were all getting cooked in Thanksgiving dishes. That’s what makes this dish brilliant for the day before Thanksgiving– you can pretty much have everything on hand, and with little extra work, you’ll have an awesome dinner to empower you through cooking. 

Chick’n ‘n’ Dumplings (slow cooker recipe)

Shepherd’s Pie

Our friend Vanessa has been hounding me since we moved back a few months ago for the privilege of following me around the kitchen while I cook in an attempt gain some mad cooking skills through osmosis*. She finally invited herself over to make this dream come true today, but unfortunately, not realizing an eight week old baby affects scheduling, arrived more than a few hours late, just as I was putting dinner in the oven (don’t fret Vanessa, there are many more opportunities in the future).

Since the air finally took on that distinct crisp, fresh scent that means snow is on the way (which the weatherman has been promising), so I decided it was the perfect time to make Shepard’s Pie. If tender veggies and faux beef topped with mashed taters with a side of crispy kale seasoned with sumac doesn’t warm you to the core, just add in your wife, three good friends, and an eight week old baby snuzzling into your chest, and your heart will grow three times, like the Grinch’s did after the icicles around his heart melted.

Shepherd’s Pie