Good friends and comfort foods

I have got to say, this has been a tough year.  Today marks one year since my dear friend and ex-partner, Paul Carlile, took his life.  I have gotten through it by having some very good friends let me cry on their shoulders, a very good counselor (Thank you Carol Goodman), by staying physically active, listening to great music (Thank you Daniel, David and Elliot for exposure to so much great new music), and by eating good food. My coworkers were also very patient and understanding on days when I couldn't go to work (Paul and I worked about 50 feet apart) and on days when I had to close my door, shut my blinds and take a nap in the middle of the day.  There have been a lot of firsts this year that have been hard (my birthday, his birthday, the anniversary of our breakup, and the holidays - but who doesn't find the holidays hard).  The anniversary of his death is the biggest one, the one I have been dreading the most.  My friend Crissy told me that the anticipation of the anniversary of her Mom's passing was worse than the actual day was...and I believe the same will be true for me.  My dear friend Miguel suggested that I have a potluck and gathering of my closest friends.  I thought that was a fantastic idea, so that is what I am doing.  And I made comfort food for the occasion.


Seitan Portobella Stroganoff

This is a very rich, hearty meal. (I had to try it before I served it!)  The recipe can be found online at one of my favorite vegan cooking sites, PostPunkKitchen.  I made the seitan (pronounced SAY-TAN, I am told, though I keep wanting to say seetan or sayten) from scratch, as recommended.  I also recommend it, but I gotta say, it looks like brains cookin.

oh, and by the way, that was supposed to be 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in there, not 1 tablespoon, as I mis-read. Still turned out Dee-Licious. I am serving the stroganoff over wide egg-noodles...I definitely give it 5 out of 5 stars.  I am going to make it again someday.


The other items I made are recipes I have posted before: White Bean and Kale Soup and 7-Layer Candy.  Mmm, mmm comfort food, one of the many, many things I am grateful for.