baking blitz (vegan mofo day 29)

after talking myself out of being totally lazy and still a bit sad, i was hellbent on doing some holiday baking. tonight i made susan v's double layer pumpkin cheesecake but since i only needed one cup of pumpkin and the can holds two, i also made isa and terry's pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes. there's no sense in being wasteful, right?

i was afraid i might not be able to pull off the double duty but i checked my ingredients and had everything at the ready, except for cupcake liners. i was short by about 8. i remembered i had a package in my room "somewhere". digging ensued and after a short while i did find the liners as well as the marine research cd i have been missing for months. i'm going to change my playlist and get through the rest of the week with some poppy and rockin' goodness. i've been shamefully unmotivated this week so i really need the boost. as soon as i got over my cold it was lady time!

cheesecake time will have to wait until tomorrow night. it will be tough, but i want to have a surprise treat for my niece. i wouldn't be a very good aunt if i offered her a slice from a half eaten pie. it's my first time with the recipe, but the few fingerfuls i scooped off of the food processor tasted great. not soon enough we will know for sure. since there is no cutting involved with cupcakes, i give them a bit longer to cool and i know i will claim at least two of them. sweet dreams!

mellow mama blues (vegan mofo day 26)

i daresay this has been the season of soup for me and will probably continue into the winter. after flipping through lots of books and photocopies i knew i would be making some manner of lentil soup, just not sure which since i didn't do the greatest grocery run this week. i nearly gave up, but decided to flip through eat, drink and be vegan and found mellow lentil "sniffle" soup. i wanted to make it sooner but did not have red lentils or curry powder on hand. i'm not sniffling nearly as much as last week but it can't hurt to try harder to keep them away.

if not for being sick i would be really ashamed to admit how much of this weekend was spent sleeping, but i think the extra rest really helped out. i'll guess find out tomorrow when i don't feel like doing a lick of work and want to crawl back into bed. other than skipping out on laundry, i feel really bad for not being able to work with my dog this past week. i know it is going to show in tomorrow's class. hopefully i can cram a quick review. i have really bad schoolnerd guilt and i hate to waste time/money. i have lots of things to make up this week, can't even start to think of pumpkin carving, but it's coming!

what's happening? (Rerun!) - vegan mofo day 22

i'm finally starting to feel a bit better, thanks for the well wishes. i've been experimenting with the neti pot the past few days, haven't quite mastered it, but maybe tomorrow. i've been super congested and tired so haven't had much thought of cooking and also didn't want to sneeze all over whatever i might have made.

i took it easy and made the black and white bean soup again. i wanted to make all new things since it would be more challenging and also more fun, but i think i get a pass since i'm still sick. hopefully this weekend i can get in a good grocery run and some rest and come back stronger next week. i totally thought i would blog everyday, then i was proud to have only missed once but now i think it's three or four days and i'll be glad to finish with the requisite twenty posts.

after the aids walk on sunday we had lunch at california vegan (benjie pancake!) and made a quick whole foods run before it was time to head home. i don't know why we don't have a whole foods, i need to write a letter. anyhow, i got san marzano tomato paste in the tube, so excited! i never knew you could get it in tubes until recently, might have something to do with how high it is on the shelf. i also got some sweet potato puree which might go into a pie or the spice cake beverly lynn bennett has in the latest veg news. i tried to make sweet potato and pumpkin pies about five years ago with little success, but i think it is time to give it another go. i also want to make the double layer pumpkin cheese cake from the all vegan edition of desserts magazine. i only have a few more weeks to practice before thanksgiving, but pie is great anytime.

sick and tired (vegan mofo day 18)

dear dear mofo's, your girl is starting to get sick and is therefore, quite tired. my niece hasn't been well for a few days now and i have been trying to fight it off but woke up with a sore throat and have had many sneezing fits today. grrrrrrrr.

it didn't keep us down though. we went to a rally against prop 8 hosted by cousin. we were there for about three hours holding up signs, soliciting honks and at times, facing ugliness from the opposition. mostly it was yelling or gesturing but these really great guys decided it would be cool to throw water bottles at us. thankfully no one was hurt and i would say we "won". when we showed up there were far more "yes on 8" people and they had taken up all four corners of the intersection. after about an hour and a half their numbers dissipated and ours grew a bit and we had a great time. my arms are super sore since i don't give them much exercise, but that's okay. i can walk it off tomorrow at the aids walk.

everyone else napped when we got home but i knew i had to make us some soup (so did the carrots and celery that have been in the crisper). i didn't have much to work with so i had to use a simple recipe i was able to find in vegan bites. i made the bean bag soup. i thought it could use a little more kick, but i'm also beginning a cold and my senses are compromised. it has a lot of liquid to it and a good amount of garlic so hopefully it will serve its purpose. keep fighting the good fight!

choco-late (vegan mofo day 17)

laziness prevailed once more for dinner. we had yves veggie dogs w/ trader joe's chili as well as road's end mac n chreese. i used to make mac but my niece doesn't eat it and i really don't need to eat it all myself, though i can quite easily. my sister's boyfriend was to join us for dinner but he was running really late and we started without him since we were so hungry. even though he was tardy, he made up for it by showing up with a huge pumpkin for each of us and better still, he made us a vegan cake from scratch. he's not vegan so it means so much that he would put forth the effort. i haven't tried it yet, but it looks delicious and it's really the thought that counts. they've only been dating a few months but countdown to conversion is on.

i'm hoping to not have to convert anyone and instead can find a rad readymade vegan who cooks as much as i do or at least really likes to help with dishes. a gal can dream.

i have confidence in me! (vegan mofo day 16)

it sounds really corny but were it not for becoming veg, i don't know that i would cook well, if i cooked at all. it's so easy to heat and eat or just drive thru. when i first started cooking for my newly veg self it was pretty easy things, many a stir fry, tons of burritos and a few near o.d.'s on amy's. i started buying cookbooks and they sat unused for quite a while. now i can't keep my nose out of them.

as time goes on, i find myself trying even more new foods and pushing myself harder to learn more about cooking. it's such a great feeling. there are lots of things i eat now i would have turned my nose at eight years ago. there are recipes i flipped past thinking they were beyond my skill level or more sophisticated than my palate. now i look at them, reread and realize i could totally do it and they sound amazingly delicious.

when i bought veganomicon last year, i felt more like vegan moron or something, i didn't feel worthy or ready to use it. now that i've made four of the recipes without effing them up i feel confident to get started on some others. i don't know when i'll actually think i'm a great cook in so far as i can measure just by looking, use a knife like i mean it or throw together my own recipes that someone other than i will eat, but for now i think i am a good student and i know i'll get there eventually. in the meantime, i have confidence...my favorite song from the sound of music, another thing i never thought i would like but it's quite good.

rice rice baby (vegan mofo day 15)

tonight i made the tomato-rice soup with roasted garlic and navy beans from veganomicon. i know it will be a bazillion times better with the roasted garlic but on the way home from work it was almost too hot to use the range, much less turn on the oven. i will definitely make it again as directed as soon as the weather permits. it was still quite delicious and what made me the happiest was that my parents actually ate something i made.

my mom is more open-minded than my dad, but even she will make a face while tasting or eschew the tofu. my dad just says i am cooking with play doh again. i haven't made rice in an age, and have never cooked brown rice so i asked my mom to test it out. she said it needed a few more minutes but it was good, score! the next challenge was to get my dad on board. he doesn't eat beans, ever, but i thought if i could get him to taste before i added them in, he might go for it. all three of us had soup together like a happy family, awww. i'm glad everyone was able to appreciate my efforts and it was nice to give my mom a break after a long day at work. i was afraid the portion would be too much for so late in the week but i think it will work out just fine.

near the end my dad griped that it was too tomato-ey and my mom reminded him how much he likes tomato soup. then i said he should eat it with a grilled cheese, which made me want a grilled cheese, which i still might make right now. yum.

toaster oven tuesday (vegan mofo day 14)

we had two gentlemen join us for dinner tonight via nate's meatball's and newman's own marinara sauce. can you smell the laziness? the most "work" i did was to mince onion and garlic and chop the bellpepper. then i sauteed the onions for a good while before adding in the onion and then the peppers. the "meat"balls went in a few minutes before the sauce in which they simmered until just perfect. i sliced open the baguettes and lined the bottoms with tofutti mozarella, spooned on some sauciness and topped with more mozarella. after a minute or two in the toaster oven, dinner was ready. we had salads to go along with it so it wasn't a complete sham. slacking tasted pretty good tonight.

i'm not sure what to make tomorrow, most likely a soup/stew or chili since i requested celery and carrots i had better use them or else. as lazy as tonight's dinner was i'm not completely sure i'll ever be down with the quickness of the pdq vegetarian cookbook. i know i take forever with prep but that's because i enjoy cooking and don't like to rush. i can pick up the pace when the occasion calls for it. i can't knock it yet since i haven't tried it, but so far it seems like it is too darn quick, for example, frozen chopped onion and refrigerated minced garlic. i'm going to give it a chance though because if/when i have a different schedule which does not allow as much time between getting off work and getting dinner on the table, it might be just what i need.

next week i start another great adventure to do with one of my favorite mofo's, my puppy "penny". i've not been the best dogmother the past few months so i owe it to both of us, but especially her, to regain control of the situation. our vet recommended a trainer and i observed one of his group classes today. we can start officially in the new group next monday but are welcome to drop in on any of the other sessions for more practice. a few of the dogs were more stubborn than she is and more than a few of the owners less assertive than i am. from where i stood i felt confident that i could/would do a better job than those people, but we'll find out soon enough for sure. the best owner/handler of the bunch was a ten year old girl with a dog that probably weighed as much as she did. awesome.

go granny go (vegan mofo day 13)

two firsts for me today, which should be embarassing, but better late than never i think.

our backyard was a wreck this afternoon due to ridiculous winds made even more ridiculous by irresponsible neighbors not cleaning up their party decorations. there were balloons and other trash strewn in my yard when i got home. i'm pretty sure i wasn't able to recover all of the balloons and the dogs may have ate some while i was at work, will know tomorrow for sure. anyhow, i vigorously raked the yard for the first time ever. we don't have much in the way of seasons but we do get some strong winds and the fires that go along with them. normally i wouldn't care for the backyard to get a bit messy since no one will see it, etc. now that i have a crazy goat dog who will eat anything and everything, i'm way more conscious of keeping the yard clean and safe.

the other milestone was my first batch of non-bisquick pancakes. i did pull it out and make the whole wheat apple pancakes from table for two (used granny smith). i don't know why i never braved the world beyond bisquick. it's about the same amount of measuring and mixing but i feel a lot better not totally relying on the box mix. no pictures since i did get a late start and had to quickly serve the hungry child. they should turn out prettier next time, also will add more cinammon and possibly the raisins. i haven't made pancakes in a long time due to my poor lefthanded flipping "skills" but since these were on the thicker side it was slightly easier. believe you me, i shall dust if off and try these again.

our menu plan for the week is a bit lacking. tomorrow we're having meatball subs and thursday night soyrizo, not as inspired as last week, not sure if it is mofo fatigue or being overwhelmed by so much good stuff to try and make. wednesday is my "free" night so maybe i will make up for at least one of those lazy/boring days. yesterday i ordered my slingshot for next year and a few cookzines as well, c'mon priority mail!

gonzo for garbanzos (vegan mofo day 12)

i finally made the "italian beans and bows" from table for two, delicious, nutricious and super easy to make. what normally slows me down is prep/chopping, but since this recipe called for canned beans and tomato paste, i only really had to measure out the dry ingredients while the pasta cooked. i was powerful hungry after getting back from grocery shopping and almost ate a frozen meal, but i'm glad i put in the 20-30 minutes and ate this instead. i served a small plate and quickly went back for a bit more. i packed the rest for lunches, mine for tomorrow and my niece's for tuesday. i'm in charge of her dinner tomorrow and i'm thinking of making the whole wheat apple pancakes, but we'll see how it goes. i can never really plan too much for monday.

in other news, i finally made up my bed properly, new clean sheets and not one, but two blankets. it's been sheet city for some time now so it's great to finally need blankets, and slippers. pretty soon it will be time to bring the dogs in at night, not sure how penny will fit in my room now that the bed takes most of it up, but we'll find a way.

bye bye buy(vegan mofo day 11?*)

i probably shouldn't have but i bought another cookbook yesterday. i most especially should not have since i just picked up another one from the library. i also got fifteen candles which has been great so far. it's a collection of quinceanara stories, most of which would be best appreciated by quince survivors, but i didn't have one and they're still quite funny.

post-library i met up with my sister and niece for some errands. as soon as we got in the first store my niece had to go to the bathroom and that store didn't have one. since i wasn't going to shop much, i offered to take her. luckily for us the nearest one was in the bookstore. in the process of looking for the bathroom i did find the cookbooks and knew we would have to circle back to those after "basic needs" were covered. since the restrooms were just past the children's books i had a feeling we might also make a stop there first.

that little girl was after my heart, telling me she loved books. i told her she could get a halloween book, which i soon realized was not very smart since a lot of them are picture books that are kind of pricey, for a bunch of pictures, no matter how awesome they are. we were going to get another amelia bedelia for her to practice on but then i had to go and point out biscuit. she really wanted the biscuit book. it was a few dollars more, but she could read it to me instead of me reading to her and i'll take all the breaks i can get these days.

i already had bought or checked out most of the cookbooks the store i would have been interested in, except for vegan bites: recipes for singles. i read about it in vegnews and got really excited for another small portion book since i have been using table for two like crazy. which is not to say that i won't make a "regular" to "big recipe" and eat the same thing for about a week, because i have, many many times over.

lately, i have been trying really hard not to buy much of anything, even food and books, or food books. i feel bad to buy a cookbook when there are probably 20+ other ones i could use, or the same guilt in making more food than i will actually eat and being wasteful. for the time being, i cook for three vegans (2 adult + 1 child) plus the occasional open-minded omnivores at work. in a year or two, that number will probably change to one. my sister and niece will move out, if i don't do it first. i need to start scaling down, like back when i first turned veg and only cooked for myself. even though i spent money on the book, i will eventually spend less on food, right? i specialize in the rationalize.

p.s. yesterday's post was pre-empted by change of venue for scary movie night, so i didn't have time to write it up before we left and when we got home, it was today already.

where have you bean? (vegan mofo day 9)

today was a vwav night. we had scrambled tofu, which i haven't made in a while, and tempeh bacon which i made for the first time. it was only my second time working with tempeh so i know i could have done a lot worse. next time i will use a bigger skillet and put the flame a bit higher. due to the crowding, some of the thinner slices broke into shorter pieces, but it was okay because i always break them up to put them in my burrito anyway. i thought of making some potatoes, but good thing i didn't start up since i was already behind schedule and i had another recipe to make after dinner.



i normally wouldn't push myself so hard. by the time i make dinner and do the dishes, i am equally done. this week i've been super low energy, but yesterday i had the best bean salad ever. a coworker went to a seminar about isogenics (first time hearing of it) and they had this salad. since i've been sharing my soup surpluses with her, she said she was going to make some and bring it to work the next day. everyone who tried it wanted the recipe which she gave me today so i absolutely had to make it tonight. it's fairly easy, two cans black beans+ two cans corn,(drained). chop 1 red bell pepper, 1 bunch green onions, 1 bunch cilantro. the dressing is 1/3 cup olive oil, juice of three limes, 2 cloves minced garlic and salt/pepper/cayenne/cumin to taste (she put 1 tbsp each so i did that too). i'm thinking about adding an orange pepper and cubed tofu and serving as tostadas. oh and i forgot, the most important thing, the avocado. i chopped and forked that in last for fear of smashing it up too much while mixing. i scooped out the last of one of the halves and thought this looked like a heart, or maybe africa. who doesn't heart africa?



p.s. this is great conditioning for the holiday cooking to come.

get yer rayaya's out (vegan mofo day 8)

this was my second time making rayaya's tofu cutlets from table for two. for all my love of fried foods, i kind of suck at frying, go figure. these turned out better than last time, when i think i used too much oil and didn't coat the pieces well enough. third time will be a charm i guess, but i do prefer the crispy tofu sticks on the opposite page. it's still a bit too hot to use the oven, hopefully we get a break soon.

since someone was wonderful enough to recall the copy of bless me ultima i had checked out, i stopped by the library after work to return it. i was a bit peeved since i had barely started it, but then realized with all of the mo-foolery i would probably not read it in the next three weeks even if i had been able to renew it. i'll pick up another copy when my cookbook hold harvest comes in and hopefully that is soon. i did get caramelo, the vegetarian family cookbook, and williams-sonoma thanksgiving entertaining, woo!

after that, i decided to do a few laps around the "regular" supermarket and i saw this. they had blueberry, plain and strawberry banana, which are only half of the flavors (raspberry, vanilla, passionate mango). i almost got the blueberry one, but it was almost three dollars for one teeny yogurt so i put it back. hopefully i find it again in another store for less because it sounded really good. i'm probably late to the game as usual, but at least i got there.

talkin' turkey (vegan mofo day 7)

we haven't hit halloween but i'm already thinking of thanksgiving. growing up it was never my favorite holiday. i didn't really care for turkey since it would always be a bit too dry and i was too grossed out by gravy to try to remedy it that way. we didn't do cranberries either (see other blog for lack of veg/fruit enforcement). my childhood thanksgiving would be something like this: little bit of turkey,corn, maybe mashed potatoes (again sans gravy), biscuits and pumpkin pie. ask me why i'm a chubby vegan, right?

now that i'm doing the cooking and i'm open to more foods, it's a different story. the only reason not to look forward to holiday cooking now is the issue of kitchen scheduling. if my dad is making a turkey or we are the hosts, i've really got to scramble to make most things ahead or after all of the omni food is complete, hello huge waste of oven/counter space you poor turkey!

i'm not sure what i want to make yet. i used to always argue that we should just eat whatever we want and buck the traditional menu since the real point is to be together and give thanks, blah blah blah. on the other hand, i am thinking of trying some of the thanksgiving food from the real food daily cookbook or some dishes i wanted to make last year but did not. i've never made a main dish, just sides. i'm also trying to use less prepackaged/box mix kind of food so this is another push in that direction. it's really a great opportunity to challenge myself and i look forward to it. i just need to find a focus and then do a few tests that way i am not unpleasantly surprised by my results. in case i botch it, there must be pumpkin pie, and maybe sweet potato too. just to show i am a good sport, i will still have turkey at my table.

how do you all reconcile the holidays? what are your favorite dishes?

p.s. i am probably going to cook again tomorrow, after two days off. gotta hit the books, hopefully some of the cookbooks i put on hold magically show up and i can pick up tomorrow after work.

wake up and smell the coffee cake (vegan mofo day 6)

welcome to the working week, a.k.a. mondays invariably kick my butt. i can't fall asleep sunday night because i am so excited for all of the things i plan to do as soon as i get home from work the next day. after not nearly enough sleep and the drain that only monday can bring, i haul myself home and that's about the end of it. but i reminded myself, must...keep...blogging.

after a snack and a cat nap, i realized that not needing to make dinner was not a good enough excuse to leave the kitchen alone. i have been wanting chocolate chip cookies for weeks but i didn't feel like making them tonight. flipping through the library of underused cookbooks i looked for something i already had all of the ingredients to make. it was a toss up between banana chocolate chip muffins or cinnamon coffee cake from the joy of vegan baking. since we didn't have enough ripe bananas, coffee cake won.

too bad the saints lost, i think this is my worst week for the season. i'm not a football fiend or anything, but i would like nothing more than to whip the executives in the office pool. i'm still in first place by one point, phew!


p.s. hello to my fellow mofo's who've been reading/commenting these past few days.

ahoy matey minestrone (vegan mofo day 5)

i decided to give table for two a break and try something from eat, drink & be vegan which i am previewing, thanks to the library. there was a time when i just bought way too many cookbooks and made one or two recipes in them, so now i'm borrowing before i buy.

after checking my shelves, monkey minestrone was the best use of materials already on hand, i only had to get green beans. i even had kid-friendly pirate pasta. there was a brief freak out when i re-read the ingredients and thought i did not have any rosemary, but further digging in the pantry revealed i did. it was my first time using my new immersion blender and my last time using tetra packed stock (bouillon from now on). the soup looks delicious, i've already ladled out tomorrow's lunch in my new soup mug. i will probably have some for dinner tonight with salad and some crusty bread.

that covers food, now here is the fun:

Vegan Mofo Survey #3 borrowed from Liz's blog Food Snobbery Is My Hobbery.

1. Name a song that involves food in some way.

More than Toast- The Mr. T Experience

2. What criteria do you use when choosing a new cookbook to buy?

It used to be dessert, but now I look for favorite ingredients and new dishes to challenge my “skills” and expand my menus

3. What did you eat today?

Cereal w/ vanilla silk, tofu salad sammich w/ chips, lazy sunday!

4. Name a vegan food that you know exists but you have never tried.

Vegan pastrami sandwich @ Orean

5. The Food Network just called and needs you to start your new show tomorrow. What will the title of the show be?

Tofu Is a Four Letter Word

6. Favorite hot sauce or other spicy condiment?

Something habanero

7. How old were you when you became vegetarian/vegan?

22- vegetarian and 24- vegan

8. Favorite vegan cheeze?

Follow Your Heart Monterey jack so far

9. Cutest baby animal?

They’re all cute when they’re babies.

10. Favorite type of jam/jelly/marmalade/preserves?

Boysenberry

11. Do you take any vitamins/supplements?

Veg multi when I remember

12. What food/dish most embodies the Fall season?

Calabasitas

13. What food would you have a hard time living without?

Beans

14. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

Tea, always bet on black

15. It's 10PM and you're starving. What do you eat?

Whatever isn’t bolted down? It depends on what we have at the time.

16. If you have an animal companion, what is his/her favorite food?

All of the dogs love baked savory tofu, and broccoli.

17. Worst injury you've gotten in the kitchen?

A good slice from the serrated peeler

18. When you have a food-related question, who do you call?

Ask mom or the internet

19. Summer is ending- What food will you miss most?

Fresh fresh fruit

20. What snacks do you keep in your purse/backpack/desk at work?

Tea, cereal and sometimes chocolate

21. Favorite soup to make on a rainy day?

A nice stew

22. What's your favorite combination of fresh vegetable and/or fruit juices?

I’m more for solo juices, love apple

23. Favorite brand of root beer?

Blue Sky

24. Make up your own question!— What do you wear when you cook?

pajamas

put yr movie where yr mouth is (vegan mofo day 4)

i've been a table for two fool these days. i made the tofu salad really quick yesterday after an impromptu nap and before dinner errands. it didn't look/taste too impressive at first, definitely needed something more. after chilling the flavors had more time to work it out. we added paprika and some more vegenaise and it's perfect now.

i nearly overloaded this sammich when i got back from artivist tonight. i probably shouldn't have had an appetite left after watching some of the films, but i didn't eat since breakfast so i was quite hungry. i'm not sure if or how any of these will be distributed, but keep an eye out, especially for blinders. i was really surprised by giving thanks as well, if someone can get some screenings going for early november, that would be something to celebrate.

there were not too many people there, which really bummed me out. i thought the place would be crawling with do-gooders and hope-mongers, but there were maybe 30 of us (including a famous skinny bitch)and that's being generous. however, there were some really wonderful older ladies sitting behind me. i want to be just like when i am their age, still fighting, but with better connections and more wisdom. i think one of them is on the board for the genesis awards.

i wish i could have gone to more of the films in the series, they all looked amazing. next year i will probably get a pass, some tissues, and one of those butt donuts. i love nothing more than a good movie, even better when paired with a good cause, add in some hollywood history and i'm done.

souper size me (vegan mofo day 3)

i'm trying to bring my lunch to work more, to save money and to make sure i eat healthier. instead of just buying more food every week for whatever sounds good, i am looking at what i already have and what i can make with that plus a few other ingredients. its no groundbreaking strategy but prior to wising up i've managed to accumulate a lot of dry/canned goods that are just waiting to be made useful.

i'm completely soup crazy right now, probably going to make a lentil soup or minestrone on sunday. i just have to get the fresh vegetables and i'm all set. the only problem is that i don't have many ways to transport soup to work. i love the corningware grab-it's. we had three but are now down to two since my sister broke one. i haven't found a replacement yet, might get the set of four from amazon. anyhow at target today i saw the slightly bigger corningware soup mug and decided to go for it. if i love it, i'll get a few more. i can't wait to have a huge mug of steaming hot soup, yum! it also wouldn't be fall without at least one batch of calabasitas.

one day at a time (vegan mofo day 2)

i think i was four or five when we were all sitting at the dinner table and i asked my mom where bacon came from. she told me it came from pigs and i immediately said i didn't want any. then she said i would have to be a vegetarian, which i interpreted as veterinarian and was sold. then she explained it meant i would have to eat a lot of vegetables. since at the time my consumption of "vegetables" only included corn and potatoes, i chickened out and went for the bacon.

we weren't really raised to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, or to really eat healthy, period. we were always fed and had as much as we wanted of whatever we wanted, but no one really made us eat anything that was especially good for us. i sometimes wished my parents would have made me try more new foods, but if they did maybe it would have been as disatrous as the time a friend's mom wanted me to try broccoli. not only did i protest, i cried. i think i was eight, now you would have to pry it from my cold dead hands, i love me some broccoli.

even though it took me a long time to get on the vegetable wagon, i was still never really sold on meat, but i was first in line for cheese, always. i remember having tons of respect for vegetarians, even more for vegans, always admiring their stoicism and wishing i could do the same but it always seemed too tough.

then a friend of mine went veg and i figured if he could do it, i could too. memorial day weekend of 2000 i went meat free and never looked back. a few years later i decided to go all the way and commit to being vegan. my two biggest concerns/holdbacks were that it would be too expensive (no way!) and that i would miss cheese way too much. the second was easier to get over, it took me a while to learn that the only way it would be expensive was if i lived exclusively on prepackaged frozen dinners and other vegan junk food (though in moderation, at times, it rules).

i've gotten more shopping savvy and have embraced the beauty of the bulk bins. i filled my basil and parsley jars for under fifty cents and i am pretty sure at the start i foolishly paid about 4-5 dollars each. my latest crusade is to bake/cook more foods with less box mixes, it's kind of gross, for any way of eating. i will still cheat with frozen veggies and canned beans though, at least until someone offers to pay my way. working women (and men) need shortcuts.

the most common question i think we get as vegans is "what do you eat" with the implication that we are limited in our choices or are being deprived in some way. excluding all of that other stuff actually expanded my choices more than i could have ever imagined. i finally had the push i needed to try new things and though i realized there was much i had been missing out on, i also realized there were a lot of things i thought i would miss but did not, still don't.

come and get it (vegan mofo day 1)

even though it's still quite warm out, it is now october and the chuckwagon stew from table for two has been calling for weeks. i've been trying to use my cookbooks more and since the portion is small, it's good for experimenting. total success. i could not resist invoking carl weathers while adding in the gravy since i did indeed have a stew going.

p.s. happy world vegetarian day! very cool that vegan mofo and veg awareness month have collided so brilliantly this year, no?