fall back

I am really going to try to get back to business as usual since the last few weeks have been unusually unproductive and disappointing. I know I shouldn't dwell on it and instead should just keep on keepin' on. I have two cookbooks on loan I need to go through and get to work on, and of course, Thanksgiving is creeping up faster than you can say Tofurkey. I am interested in Bryant Terry's recipes in the latest Vegetarian Times and also have Happy Herbivore's Pudge Free Holidays to consult. I have only flipped through Terry's book (1 of 2 on loan!) but since each recipe seems to have a song assigned to it, I am having a mini crush on him. Being the nerd that I am have already found out he has a fiance. I know all the good vegans can't be taken, right?

I'm getting ready to take the pup out, but not before I download the Joan Harris playlist from itunes, so glad she cracked Greg over the head with that vase! I should also be reading Thanking The Monkey but Love Is A Mixtape, is a tempting re-read that keeps ending up on my bedside table.

garlicious

after two lightning rounds of thanksgiving food shopping (tj's and vons), i made the garlicky kale from vwav, without the tahini dressing. this was amazing, a great first time effort, and i don't always have those. the first time i had kale was at souen with a.t.s. i was clearly blowing it up to that point. i lazily bought the emerald sesame kale at whole foods for years, continuing to blow it but not nearly as hard. three or so years later, here i am sauteeing my own kale for the very first time and loving it, almost to the point of needing a moment alone. so thanks to the a.t.s, my cooking hero isa chandra moskowitz, the organic produce at sprouts, and the instructables (how to chop kale), for making this possible. oh and i would also like to thank myself dee dee ramone style.

hopefully i can ride this wave of confidence though the holiday cooking season. i have a few new recipes i am really excited for this year. in addition to our first tofurkey, i also found some great vegetable dishes to round out the stuffing/potatoes/bread, or rather to "unround". here is what i'm making: "maple glazed sweet potatoes" and "roasted cauliflower" from martha stewart holiday, "for the love of squash casserole" from vegweb, and green bean casserole. dessert is susan v's "double layer pumpkin cheesecake" and "spiced carrot cake muffins" from happy herbivore's pudge free holidays e-book. thanks ladies, i hope i do right by you.

thighspace?

thanks myspace for reminding me that i need to lose some weight, because i don't think of it nearly enough. i have been eating way healthier and walking a lot more so i am feeling a lot better about how i am taking care of myself. i have this silly strategy that if i lose a bit of weight before the holidays, whatever holiday pounds i put on will sort of cancel that out and i break even. my goal is to take it one day at a time and just keep trying harder to be healthy. i don't have any real numbers or dates in mind because that will just freak me out and push me toward failing. i want to try a new food every week or so to get used to eating a wider variety of foods and to put the veg back in vegan. i think i am going to get "pudge free holidays" from the happy herbivore. i haven't tried any of her recipes yet but they all look so good.

anyway i think that is a disgusting ad because what if it hits someone who really does not need to lose weight but starts to think s/he should because it is constantly being thrown in his/her face. i'm not saying myspace alone causes eating disorders but there are already a lot of negative media images that contribute to them so it's not helping.