update

The following was my post- Thanksgiving update that I was supposed to post on 11-30-11...

The kitchen has been very, very busy coming up with menus for Thanksgiving and the work week.

For Thanksgiving, I was moderately pumpkin-ed out and completely exhausted, so I opted for an easy dish as I had two desserts I wanted to make for my aunt's holiday feast.

I made beansprout noodles (from a package) with artichokes and sundried tomatoes and a dry vermouth sauce.  The beansprouts wanted more liquid than I was prepared to give them, so the taste came out a little mellow.

Next time I'll be more conscientious of prepping the noodles better before hand.

The desserts were:

roasted almond and oat cookies

pumpkin bread

and for a bake sale done by the church of one of my co-workers (to whom I will be forever indebted for her fabulous thank you's when I made my cakes last year), I made chocolate cookies with chocolate and cherry chunks.

I really really do miss baking every week, but with not sleeping much any more, I don't think adding another "to do" to the list is a very good idea.  We'll see though... I'm thinking of a re-birth of cake30 for the New Year if I can get everything else under control and let go of a few of my obligations.

Here's what's going on in the kitchen now:

I'm full-fledged vegan as well as gluten and soy free.
It's making life interesting, especially since I've been doing a lot of traveling lately for both vacations and conferences. At the latest conference, I had three separate members of the wait and kitchen staff come up to me at different junctures to ask for recommendations as to what they should feed me. I feel badly for making people worry about what they're going to feed me, but it's empowering knowing how simple it all is- give me some rice and veggies. Give me fruit for dessert.
I'm not finicky. I'm just not going to eat things that don't make me feel good.
I'm going to try to come back with some more blogs and recipes for good and healthy food... I'm not anticipating another four month hiatus... and we'll be delving into some raw recipes as well.

See you soon!

tummy ache

holy poo!

My stomach kills and I spent far too much time in the kitchen last night.

I'm tired... but lots of good veggies... lots of decent ethnic food...
lots of... time for bed.

night.

11.14.11

For today:

Breakfast
Lots of coffee!
a couple coop energy squares

Lunch
Lentil soup
Egyptian potatoes

Dinner
Pineapple Rice
Some more egyptian potatoes
Water

Snack
Popcorn with oil and nutritional yeast.

I'm dying for a pumpernickel bagel with some sprouts and hummus... going to have to hunt some down soon-- or maybe a recipe... That could be good to bring into the fac next week... hmmm.

11.5-11.13

I miss my cake baking blog.

It felt like amid everything that was crazy and uncontrollable in this world, I had something that moored me... I had something good to offer the people I cared about.

I'm groundless now. The Veganism isn't the problem and running to baking and meat eating again won't be the solution.

The fact is that I bit off so much more than I can chew and my coping mechanisms haven't caught up yet. The cake baking was a coping mechanism- it was a touchstone to normalcy when the rest of the world spun out of control.

I'm picking up gratefulness as a substitution for baking and starting up something small and interesting at work to try and fill the baked goods void.

 I'm grateful for my thanksgiving cactus. I received this as a gift two years ago with a note not to kill it. Now it has nearly a dozen blossoms. Exciting!

I'm grateful for rosemary and other indoor herbs... for their resiliency... I think this guy has a comeback in him.

I'm grateful for good produce and good recipes....

Here's what's been on the plate lately and what I just finished cooking up today:

French Lentils with aromatics- from How to Cook Everything (Bittman).

Vegetables in curry sauce (veggies not pictured) from: http://www.ethnicvegan.com/easy_weeknight_vegetables_in_curry_sauce.html

 

Vegan Pad Thai- could have used more peanut sauce

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/thaifoodrecipes/r/veganpadthai.htm

Sunflower Butter Rice Crispies

http://www.singerskitchen.com/2011/10/sunflower-butter-rice-crispies-with.html

 

Pumpkin tart

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/dining/harvest-tart-with-pumpkin-roasted-red-peppers-and-olives-recipe.html

Veg galumpkis- super lazy (left over boiled cabbage and rice, jar sauce)

Roast potatoes and pumpkin with rosemary

Apple goodness- braised apples with raisins and pumpkin pie spice

Heavenly Pineapple Thai Rice

http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipesstepbystep/ss/pineapplerice.htm

Egyptian potato salad

http://www.singerskitchen.com/2011/08/egyptian-potato-salad-and-31-weeks.html

Vegan Spring rolls... modified from the following:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/ThaiSpringRolls.htm

I'll be making more of these this week and take some pics, along with ratatouille from another Bittman book.

Two websites I'm relying on for a lot of recipes and I really appreciate: An Opera Singer in the Kitchen and Ethnic Vegan.

In addition to the above, I've been enjoying sprouted bread sprout and hummus sandwiches and toast with earth balance and homemade macaroons (dates, coconut and lemon juice) Yum!

10.29-11.4

So much deliciousness, so little time.

I did a lot of cooking last Sunday and into the beginning of the week. The only thing missing was protein and galumpkies... the cabbage is still chilling in the fridge waiting for me to stick it into some spring rolls.

The pumpkin tart that I did at the beginning of the week was super tasty/ pseudo addictive. Smushy pumpkin met roasted peppers and onions and salty olives and a flaky crust. Loved it... making it again to share with my vegan kids at work if I can find another pumpkin.

Did a second round of the tomato farro soup with basil. Not as amazing, but still salty, creamy and just enough garlic and basil to satisfy the savory. One of my work veggies tried it and loved it.
She also brought me in a vegan twix which was heaven. We figured that the caramel recipe was a little off- way too much liquid, left it runny and took her forever, so caramel is on the docket for this weekend.

The squash risotto wasn't a smash hit. Here's why: recipe called for 1/2 cup of white wine, but by then, I was sick of reading recipes and just free poured in some carmenere. Far too much, so it overwhelmed everything.


Did some cranberry sauce- could have used more sweet to balance it.

Roasted the left over pumpkin with potatoes... could live on it.


We started with the trainer again the week before last, meaning if I'm spending coin trying to get in shape, I need to get better about food. More protein, more veggies, less nonsense.
Before I make any more promises I don't wind up keeping, I'm going back to tracking what goes into my mouth more closely and modifying little by little.

Here's what's on the burners for this weekend:
spring rolls
Thai pineapple fried rice
Pad Thai
Sunflower butter crispies
Pumpkin Tart take two
Caramel sauce

And maybe clearing off the coffee table- you don't even want to see the office...

10.23-10.28.11

I know, I'm behind... again.

It's been a busy week between the stomach flu, meetings and the daily stuff that I have to get done.

I've been perfect as far as vegan goes and have done really well as far as not eating any fried dough/ much wheat at all.

Here's an outline:

10.23.11

Cooked two delightful things:
1, tomato basil soup with farro.
Five ingredients, tastiest thing ever.
I didn't food process/ blend- I like texture
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/dining/farro-and-fresh-tomato-soup-with-basil-recipe.html

2, vegan tempeh wraps
I also cooked up some extra tempeh to make galumpkis (no idea how to spell that right!)

And made a third piece of deliciousness:
Sunflower butter puffed rice treats with espresso chocolate topping. Amazing.
http://www.singerskitchen.com/2011/10/sunflower-butter-rice-crispies-with.html

I didn't have good chocolate in the house, so I improvised with unsweetened bakers squares and some cane sugar and the resulting texture was magical.

I've decided that macaroons are the perfect dessert and made some on Wednesday.  Just used six dates, juice from one lemon and unswt coconut. Will use a little less lemon next time, but the macaroons were so delicious.

Main things I've eaten this week:

Vegan bento box from the coop
Rice and beans
Tempeh wraps (wrapped in cabbage)
Toast with earth balance (the stomach bug required something brat-y)
Sprout sandwiches
Tomato farro basil soup- I've bought all the stuff to make a massive batch of this- I plan on freezing a ton and enjoying this winter.
Vegan sushi from the coop with some vegetable protein- I need to look into what this is and if I should get a bunch of it because the sushi with gluten-free soy sauce or tamari is delightful.

On the docket for this weekend is making roasted mixed root vegetables, picking up a rosemary tree, more tomato farro basil soup, cranberry sauce, galumpkis, pumpkin torte and squash risotto.

Wish me luck!

10.20-10.22.11

Oh goodness!

What a few days.  PT, the trainer and a long walk/ run today and I'm ready to curl up on the couch and watch some Pride and Prejudice and drink hot cider on this chilly and drizzly day.

The good news:

1. I am quitting flour. No more fried dough.
2. I'm quitting refined sugar. I have a sweet tooth the likes of which the world has never seen. So it's time to take a gander at some vegan sweets.
3. I'm quitting potatoes. Tonight will be my last round of roasted potatoes and I'm not buying anymore.

What I did buy today was a pie pumpkin and some crazy looking squash. It's called a buttercup squash and looks like what happens when an acorn squash and flying saucer have a baby.

Here's what I've been eating:

10.20.11
Breakfast
Homemade apple crisp
a couple now or laters

Lunch
Roast potatoes
Beans

Dinner
Roast potatoes
fried dough

Dessert
Chocolate

10.21.11
Breakfast
Nothing

Lunch
Roasted potatoes

Dinner
Roasted potatoes
Beans
Chocolate

10.22.11
Breakfast
Chocolate macaroons

Lunch
Black rice salad (peas, peppers, onions and spices)
Dolmades

Snack
Walnuts
dates
cider

Dinner
Roasted potatoes

To expound on the good news today- I just received clearance to run a 5K in December and was allowed to do my first development run today.  I was only allowed to run a half a mile, but embedded in my 3 mile walk, it was delightful. I'm stoked to get to continue.

I have a ton of cooking to get to: tomato basil soup, pumpkin risotto, squash torte with a spinach crust and caramel apple crisp. I'm trying to do serious food prep on the weekends and eat from it the rest of the week. We'll see how it works.

Have a great day!

10.20.11

I'm in tummy-ache city and feel miserable.

All day, all I've wanted is potatoes and fried dough and I had them and now I'm over tired, over stuffed and ready to pray to the porcelain god before I hit the sheets.

Did lots of apples today- made a pseudo apple crisp. It wasn't stellar, but it served its purpose. More updates after I get rid of the nausea.

10.19.11

Grrrr....
I'm tired, hungry and miserable.
But my Malaga Wine colored nails and my rose tea are rocking my world.
It's the little things, but I digress.

Today was an incredibly delicious day.

Breakfast
Water
Apple

Lunch
Water
Apple
Peppers, fennel and hummus

Dinner
Pizza Fritte
Potatoes
Fried Eggplant

Snack
Tea and chocolate

And now... bed time!

10.16.11-10.18.11

This isn't working as planned. I should be used to that by now and bob and weave... roll with the punches if we're going to take the boxing metaphor all the way.

There are two prevalent issues:
1, I'm so bored with it. I read posts and think, poor fifty people who've checked this out. They must skip to another page thinking, "wow, that's fifteen seconds of my life I'm never getting back."

2, Some days I forget to post and other days I don't remember everything I've put in my mouth... that didn't sound right, but you get the idea. besides Sept. 17th, I've been perfecta at this.

How to make this more exciting?

Anecdotes and yummy vegan findings.

I'm used to the comments from fellow faculty members I've shared meals with.

"Oh, you're eating turf again." or
"How are you getting your protein?" with a creepy wink.
The answers range from,
"You know what makes turf taste good? Silence." to "Last time I checked I didn't ask for your opinion. Enjoy the products of murder." to "Spinach is suiting me well. Pedal your wares elsewhere."

The middle one, I actually don't say, which brings me to my next point (hang in there, there is one).
I was listening to the radio and there was a comic on talking about how his worst first date ever was with a vegan. He told her, "Stop crying and let me enjoy my burger".

Not funny for two reasons: 1, not all vegans care what everyone else eats. I make decisions for myself and unless someone is being super out there, I don't feel the need to impose my beliefs on them.
and 2, first date at a burger joint? Seriously? What are you, fifteen? Not saying he's cheap, but if some dude wants to impress any lady, taking her to a sh!tty burger joint or family restaurant and picking up the fifteen dollar check isn't going to cause swooning. It doesn't need to be expensive... Try something interesting. Something creative. Something that isn't what every other man in America who's trying to get into any woman's pants would do.

Sunday and Monday were rife with potato chips... Tuesday was back to pizza fritte... Two things I'm learning, how to lessen the amount of refined carbs and that food isn't going to help anything.

10.16.11
Breakfast:
Conference homefries and bad coffee

Snack:
Almonds and pretzels

Lunch:
Apple

Dinner:
Tomatillos
Potatoes
Potato chips

10.17.11
Breakfast:
Coffee
Apple
Chocolate

Lunch:
French fries

Dinner:
Potato Chips
Saag

10.18.11
Breakfast:
Coffee
Trail mix
Chocolate
Apple

Lunch:
Pumpkin
French fries
Potatoes

Dinner:
Peppers and hummus
Eggplant
fennel
Fried dough

10.11-10.15.11

Last night may not have ended as well as planned.
The artichoke was taking forever to cook, so I decided to make myself some fried dough instead.

I was a bit better today:

Breakfast:
Peach
Clementine
Coffee

Lunch:
Vegan dumplings
ginger and soy sauce

Dinner:
Fried dough

I had conferences this weekend and didn't have time to post in the meantime. I was perfectly vegan all week- aided by pumpkin pie fill (sans evaporated milk) and the incredible gnocci I was served last night at the dinner.

10.9-10.10.11

My grandmother and mother both think I've lost weight. I think I'm still on a carb binge, but more on that later.

10.9.11
Breakfast
Coffee
Pineapple

Lunch
Oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar
Rye toast with jam
Home fries

Dinner
Strawberries and pineapple
corn soup
avocado
Pizza frite
Roasted potatoes
(I know, I know, don't judge me)

10.10.11
Breakfast
Coffee
Potatoes
Pineapple
apple cider

Lunch
more potatoes
raw red peppers
hummus

Dinner
steamed artichoke
avocado

I know that I need to kick gluten... any recommendations?
I think what I'm going to try is focusing on the water and any time I want a bread product to drink another glass of water and reassess if I'm hungry... this of course won't work for the stress mowing, but hey, it's a start.

10.6-10.8.11

10.6.11
No breakfast

Lunch
Pasta Fagoli
Pumpkin

Dinner
pasta fagoli
strawberries
Pineapple
potatoes
Pizza

10.7.11
Breakfast
Pizza
Pumpkin
Coffee

Lunch
Pasta Fagoli

Dinner
Vegan dumplings
Pizza frite

10.8.11
No Breakfast
Coffee

Lunch
Vegan dumplings
Pineapple and strawberries
Nectarine

Dinner
Pizza frite
Pasta Fagoli

10.4 and 10.5.11

Breakfast
2 clementines
Coffee
Water

Lunch
Falafel
black rice fagoli

Dinner
Black rice fagoli
Pizza
Cider

10.5

Breakfast
Lots of coffee

Lunch
two clementines and organic chocolate

Dinner
Cider
Black rice fagoli
Pizza
Potatoes

Dessert
Pumpkin with chia

9.29-10.3.11

Busy. Busy. Busy.

9.29.11
Breakfast
Absolutely nada.  Running super late for a flight.
Coffee on flight.

Lunch
Spinach salad with garbanzos and nuts
Lorna Doones

Dinner
Veggie Paella at the Latin Quarter

9.30.11
Breakfast
Coffee
Fruit
Pumpkin juice

Lunch
French Fries
Water

Dinner
Spinach salad
peanut butter toast
Drinks

10.1.11
Breakfast
Fruit
Coffee

Lunch
Peanut butter and molasses sandwich
Hummus sandwich

Dinner
veggie soup
Asian salad with shitake mushrooms
Potato chips
Drinks

10.2.11
Breakfast
Fruit
Garbanzo beans
chips

Lunch
Fruit
Salad
veggies with hummus
Wine

*** Huge B-day party-- I served cake and ice cream, but didn't eat any of it.

Dinner
Fruit
chips with hummus
peanut butter sandwich


10.3.11
Breakfast
Bagel
Jam

Lunch
Fruit
chips
hummus
salad

Dinner
Pizza
Pickles
black rice
avocado
Fagoli mix
Cider

9.26-9.28.11

9.26.11
Breakfast:
fruit
Animal crackers
coffee

Lunch:
sprouts
peppers, mushrooms and onions
Corn Chowder

Snack
pie

Dinner:
Saag
Roasted eggplant

9.27.11
Breakfast:
Fruit
Animal crackers

No Lunch

Dinner:
Saag
Pizza
Potatoes

9.28.11
Breakfast:
Pretzels

No lunch

Snack:
Saag
pizza

Dinner:
Pizza
Potatoes
clementines

9.25.11

The problem with making pizza is that just like potatoes, it doesn't last.
I made the decision along time ago that I'd rather eat my cake than have it.
I know I promised no more wheat or sugar- I'm working on working it out of the diet, but I'm not ready for cold turkey yet.

Breakfast:
Coffee
Pizza
slice of raspberry, meyer lemon, poppyseed pie

Lunch:
Pizza
Potatoes
Lots of green tea
another slice of raspberry, meyer lemon, poppyseed pie

Dinner:
Veg Corn Chowder- dry mix from coop
sprouts
more green tea (stupid beginning of the school year cold!)

9.21-9.24.11

Breakfast:
Coffee
Grains and coconut milk with honey

Lunch:
Grilled eggplant
salad

Dinner:
Peppers and hummus
oil and bread

9.22
No Breakfast

Lunch:
apple and peanut butter
sprout and hummus sandwich

Dinner:
Mulled cider
Potatoes


9.23
Breakfast:
2 clementines
coffee

Lunch:
None

Snack:
Apple and peanut butter

Dinner:
Stuffed grape leaves
Sprout and hummus sandwich

9.24
Breakfast
Coffee
Toast with peanut butter
apple

Lunch
1/2 fried dough with cinnamon and sugar
apple cider

Dinner
hummus and sprout sandwich
potatoes
pizza with mushrooms, olives and artichokes
apple cider

9.18- 9.20

Consistency isn't my forte.  That's sort of the point of the 100 days.  Good news is I haven't cheated again. Bad news is I went on a potato and bread binge... details below:

9.18.11

Breakfast:
Coffee. Didn't have time to eat anything before we went major appliance shopping.
Dried apricot binge

Lunch:
Potatoes.  Lots and lots of rosemary potatoes
Dill carrots
Water
chocolate
hummus

Dinner:
More potatoes. lots and lots of rosemary potatoes
cracker binge
salad

9.19.11
Breakfast:
grains and coconut milk with honey
Coffee

Lunch:
homemade vegan coleslaw

Dinner:
peppers and hummus
bread with rosemary oil
water  cracker binge

Snack:
Can of dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)

9.20.11-- Good DAY!
Breakfast:
clementine
Coffee

Lunch:
Salad with sprouts
vegan coleslaw

Snack:
Veggie chips (on way back from coop)

Dinner:
coop pre-packaged falafel with amazing Ginger People dressing
Kumquats- yes, they've arrived and they are awesome.

9.17.11

I was so naughty today! I had a party with some grad school friends and a professor that had been planned before vegan kicked in. Between the cheese platter, the chicken riggies and the mixed cold cut and tuna subs, I was about overcome with temptation and nearly threw in the towel completely.  I almost came out perfectly...

Breakfast:
Lots of coffee
Inhaled some crackers and apple slices as I got ready for the party

Lunch:
Party time.
half of a veggie sub- shop screwed up and put mayo on.
Salad and some veggies
Coffee and apple pie

Dinner:
Where it got ugly...
Half a tuna sub- I know... I know.

Made a chocolate cheesecake for my neighbor's bday and may have licked a spoon.

I'm ashamed, but felt so gross after eating that crap that I'm making a recommitment and a promise to pick up with the veg tomorrow and take both gluten and refined sugar out of the diet from now on.

9.16.11

I was so bad today!
The cravings are nearly unbearable: I want a tuna sub with shakers and onions- hold the cheese.
I ate a ton today, but nothing is satiating me.

Breakfast:
Rye berries with honey and coconut milk.
Coffee

Lunch:
Eggplant, tomatoes, artichokes with balsamic vinegar
Bread

Snack:
Bread with pickles
Rest of eggplant, tomato and artichoke salad
Crackers

Dinner:
A ton of potato chips
sweet potato gnocci with bruschetta topping.

And I'm still craving that Gd sub!

9.15.11

Yesterday (Thursday) was such a wash that I came home, made some more rosemary potatoes and then crashed.  It's good to be busy.  It's nice to be needed.  It's exhausting to have to be out of the house for tens of hours. I didn't write yesterday down, but I'm pretty sure this is what I had.

Breakfast:
Finished off the stewed pears with rye berries
Coffee

Lunch:
Grilled eggplant and sauce
Bread and honey/ coconut milk mixture

Dinner:
2+ pounds of rosemary potatoes
Bread with homemade pickles

9.14.11

I'm very addicted to roasted rosemary potatoes.
It's like a two pound a day habit... I may need to cut them back/ out all together.

Breakfast:
slice of homemade pizza
Grains and stewed pears.
coffee

Lunch:
Grilled eggplant
Sauce
Chunk of pumpernickel

Dinner:
homemade sprout bread
pickles
rosemary potatoes

Dessert:
coconut milk, honey and macha

9.13.11

Breakfast:
Rye berries
with homemade stewed pears.
(easy recipe: 7 c fresh pears sliced, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cloves, 1 tsp all spice)
Coffee

Lunch:
homemade pumpernickel bread
sprouts
Veg yeast
vegan mayo
Water

Snack:
homemade pizza with artichokes, eggplant, tomatoes and shitake mushrooms
dipped the crust in homemade sauce

Dinner:
More pizza, caponata (Sicilian ratatouille), veggies, lots of banana chips and some raspberries.

9.12.11

I've been super hungry today and have no idea why.

Breakfast:
Coffee
Pumpkin pie mix with oat groats

Lunch:
Sprout sandwich
pear
water

Dinner:
Again, I didn't sit down to eat.  I sort of picked at a bunch of different things as I cooked, which I know isn't a great idea.
I think part of it was stress- the house is a mess from being away last weekend and everything else going on with work.
Bread with homemade sauce
Oat groats with tomato paste, oil and seasonings
mushrooms
artichokes
grilled eggplant
Homemade pizza
pear slices
Lots and lots of roasted rosemary potatoes... these may be my new comfort food.

I resolve to start sitting down for dinner... and to stop making everything I can think of and just stick with one thing a night... too much time in the kitchen.

9.11.11

Our favorite diner in our friend's hometown was closed this morning- power outage on the whole street. So instead of amazing homefries, I wound up with fast food hash browns. It made me a little cranky, but that could also be due to the 3 hours of sleep I got last night.

Breakfast:
Coffee
Hash browns.

Lunch:
I sort of grazed as I cut up veggies and fruit and did some prep for meals this week-
a few slices of pear
half a dozen chunks of pineapple
handful of pine nuts
1 small japanese eggplant fried
pumpkin pie mix
sauce with bread
homemade pickles with bread

Dinner:
I fell asleep at 5ish and woke up at 2:40 to clean the kitchen and take care of a few other things.
Had a couple of pieces of graffiti eggplant (fried) and decided that I'm not frying eggplant any more.
Some water and went back to bed.

9.10.11

Just got back from a wedding upstate this weekend.  It was gorgeous and I got to hang out with friends I haven't seen in years- we realized at one point that the last time we were together was 7 years ago. Crazy.

I was nearly perfect- only one potential mishap: two fried pickle chips.  I don't know if there was egg or dairy in the batter. Otherwise, I did surprisingly well.

Breakfast/ lunch:
two fried pickle chips
garden salad w/ oil and vinegar
rye toast with peanut butter
Lots of coffee

Snack:
celery sticks

Dinner:
garden salad
green pepper stuffed with wild rice, tomatoes and spices- soooo good.
green beans and carrots

Snack:
Pizza crusts

9.9.11

Breakfast:
pears with oat groats
Coffee

Lunch:
Sprout sandwich on rye

Dinner:
Caponata with slice of Italian bread
chips
2 clementines
nuts

It was a late night- I had a three hour drive for a friend's wedding.  They had a cocktail/ dessert and cheese party and then we were hungry driving back to our cabin.

Snack:
fries with ketchup
crust of one slice of pizza

9.8.11

Breakfast:
Rest of pumpkin pie mix with coconut milk
toasted bread with oil, oregano, garlic, onion and salt and pepper.

Lunch:
stuffed grape leaves (canned)
rye bread

Dinner:
Bag of BBQ Kettle Chips (I know, I know, not healthy- it happens).

9.7.11

Breakfast:
strawberries and pineapple chunks
Coffee

Lunch:
Vegan sushi
cucumber melon mint salad

Dinner:
grilled eggplant, squash and zucchini
tomato, onion, basil salad
lots of bakery country wheat bread

Dessert:
1/2 can organic pumpkin pie filling mixed with coconut milk

9.6.11

I didn't sleep last night- must've been first day excitement...
I wound up eating a lot of pie and a lot of spicy thai eggplant between 1 and 3 am.

Breakfast:
Coffee
a few bites of pineapple and strawberries

Lunch:
Sprout sandwich: pumpernickel, veg mayo, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds and sprouts.

Dinner:
Left over Saag and basmati rice
a few bites of honeydew.
Two pieces of apple pie.

I'm stuffed.  Now it's time for bed.
See you tomorrow.

9.5.11

Breakfast:
Oat groats
w/ 2 Tbs coconut milk, strawberries and pineapple
Coffee

Lunch:
Bits of apple as I made pie

Dinner:
grilled eggplant, zucchini, hot pepper and squash
Homemade pumpernickel bread
Tomato, basil and onion salad

Dessert:
Earl grey with honey
Apple pie

Snack:
Sprouts

more Apple pie

9.4.11

I learned little from yesterday's lesson, but honestly, I prepped the veggies to make spicy Thai eggplant like three days ago and needed to get it made or lose them to the compost.

Breakfast:
5 chunks honeydew
Arroz con coco
2 bites of an arugula, tomato, sprout, veg mayo and nutritional yeast sandwich
6 1/2 inch bits of fried eggplant

Lunch:
Rest of sprout sandwich
2 Vegan soft pretzels- see below for more info
Lots of water.

Dinner:
Spicy Thai Eggplant
Sarson da Saag- see below for more info
On basmati rice

Dessert:
Fresh Strawberries and Pineapple with 2ish TBS coconut milk and 1 tsp sugar

Note on vegan pretzels: I went shopping yesterday and they had a pretzel snack stand.  I was craving one sooo badly that I decided I needed to make some today.  It was a humid day, so both the pretzels and the pumpernickel bread I made (that I'll be cutting into tomorrow) had rising issues.  They came out soft, but not pretzel-y. I'm not going to bother sharing the recipe since the birds and neighbors dogs wound up with the leftovers.  I will find a tasty one and share it as soon as I do.

Sarson da Saag's cousin, Saag Paneer was one of my favorite dishes pre-vegan.  My local coop has an amazing prepackaged version of it with fresh farmer's cheese (Lord, why am I talking about cheese?). I had some defrosted collard greens from last summer's garden (just put this year's up), so I decided to make it with a few pounds of pre-cooked greens. Don't be overwhelmed by the Garam Maasala recipe on the page- you can find it pre-made at coops and in the international section of decent grocery stores. I omitted the tomato and the lime and substituted ground fennel for hing, but the results were still incredible over some basmati rice.
Recipe for Sarson da Saag:
http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/side_sarson.html

9.3.11

We're brought up thinking that there's a right way and a wrong way to do everything.  I think it's part habit, but it's also part time management.  The truth is, we can only feasibly follow one path at a time (if the metaphor stands).

This education comes at a cost.  Evaluative and critical thinking skills aren't needed until we begin to question that "holy grail" of a right way that we were presented.

This being said, there are multiple right ways to do vegan depending on one's tastes, goals and banner waving.

Today, I did it a bit wrong....

Breakfast:
arroz con coco
coffee

Lunch:
Water
Tempeh

Dinner:
Garden salad with oil and vinegar
Sweet potato fries dipped in honey.

Where did I go wrong?
I had last minute plan changes yesterday afternoon... That's why lunch was just the tempeh mix.  I was smart to eat that before we left though, because we wound up at a diner for dinner and I ordered the only two vegan things on the menu.
The fries were deep fried.  They were nothing spectacular, but by that time I was so hungry I scarfed most of them.
The fat content was off for today.  I need to be cognizant of the fact that no matter whether or not I'm partaking of animal, deep frying things isn't going to help me.

9.2.11

Took a three mile walk with mom this morning.  The nice thing about summer vacation and living close to my parents.

Breakfast:
Grapes, strawberries and arroz con coco-- now I'm getting a little tired of it, luckily I don't have much left
Coffee

Lunch:
Arugula and tempeh
water

I had sort of two separate dinners tonight- Had to stop in at my Nan's and then I was hungry again at 9ish.
Dinner:
Tomato, cucumber and radish salad (courtesy of my aunt's garden)
Italian bread

Tempeh
Sprout/cucumber sandwich
Vegan Lemon Curd
Honey dew

Yum!

9.1.11

First I've got to say, Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!  37 years and they still entertain each other and their company with middle school antics at the table.  Love you both!

What I ate:

Breakfast:

Cut melon, pineapple and mandarins- fruit salad at work breakfast meeting.

Coffee

Couple bites of arroz con coco

Lunch:

Half of my arugula and tempeh salad.

The tempeh recipe is divine. Find it here tempeh lettuce wraps

I'm beginning to realize that I need to mix arugula with other greens.  By itself it's overwhelming.

Dinner:

Garden salad with Newman's own balsamic dressing... remember to check dressing tops- I wound up drowning my salad rather than bathing it.

Water

Pumpernickel cucumber sandwich with vegan mayo, hemp seeds and nutritional yeast.

Snack:

vegan lemon curd- delicious.

toasted slice of pumpernickel with vegan mayo and nutritional yeast

Recipe for vegan lemon curd- I think it's from vegan news, but I can't find it again...

1/2 c lemon juice

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c coconut milk

1/8 tsp tumeric

3 Tbs cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest.

Mix all ingredients except for zest in a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat for 2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and whisk until thick. Add zest, stir and cool.

8.31.11

Breakfast:
Arroz con coco.  The flavors are even better the second day.
Apple with two tbs of peanut butter.

Snack:
5 fresh figs
9 almonds

Late Lunch:
Lots of water
Vegan Thai dumplings bought at the local coop

Dinner:
Bites of honey dew melon, water chestnuts, coconut milk and strawberries- prepping for tomorrow.
Pumpernickel sandwich with: vegan mayo, nutritional yeast, cucumbers, arugula, and hemp seeds.
Glass of wine with the neighbor.

Made some vegan lemon curd--seems way too liquidy, but we'll see.  Also, have some homemade pumpernickel bread raising!

8.30.11

I attempted to make vegan arroz con coco on Monday night... I only had basmati rice in the house, so I used that, some coconut milk, water, spices, coconut flakes, raisins and sugar.  The flavor was dead on... the problem was that the rice was a little al dente... ooops.

I had left over arroz con coco for brunch.
Grapes and Coffee for a snack.
Water
And for dinner: Wine

and two sprout sandwiches: Pumpernickel bread, vegan mayo, cucumber, hemp seeds, ground golden flax and veg. nutritional yeast.
Yum.



I repotted my indoor plants last night after some grueling yard and garden work.  Here's me with my dirty feet up on my dirty porch.

100 day vegan challenge

Start: 8/30/11 end 12/7/11

For the next 100 days, I will eat no animal products with the exception of honey.

We've all seen the pro-vegan books and I've been reading about how wasteful consuming animal products is since I went vegetarian in high school... whether you think it's propaganda or ridiculousness, you have to admit there's something wrong with the Standard American Diet.  Remember though, I'm not asking you to change.  This won't be my soapbox.  This will just be a record of what I'm doing.

I'm doing it for health, animal dignity and just to see if I can do it.

Let's see how this goes.