Black Bean Cakes

James and I visited a restaurant called Sunny Point Cafe in Asheville, NC during one of our days off at camp. Oh. Em. Gee! Absolutely recommend this place!
We Googled "best breakfast in Asheville NC" and Sunny Point came up first and multiple times... so that's where we were goin.
The menu is deliciously extensive with very simple foods that they have made culinarily complex and delicious! James asked the waitress what was Sunny Point's claim to fame... she immediately said the Huevos Rancheros (which I had been eyeing something fierce). Apparently the HR was featured on Good Morning America as the best breakfast in America!!! Obviously I got that and James got their Breakfast Sandwich (also tasty).
Well here is the menu's description of the Huevos Rancheros:
Savory black bean cakes served with Snow Creek chorizo sausage, feta cheese, roasted tomatillo salsa, and herb tossed red skin spuds topped with two free range eggs any style, cilantro crema, and crisp tortilla strips.
Oh, yes, please!!!
I nearly cried with the deliciousness of this dish and was threatening James with a fork if he took more than one bite.


Well, here we are, a month or so later and I am craving Huevos Rancheros like its my job! And in spite of the fact that it is definitely not vegan, I am challenging myself to make something that remotely harks back to that plate of heaven.


But, here's the vegan part--- BLACK BEAN CAKES!  mmmmmmm... rather good actually.
So, I know that Gina was looking for good vegan burger recipes... and I think I found one! Now, I did try the just plain black bean patty and it was... okay, but it would be great with BBQ sauce, lettuce, and a slice of pineapple (add cheddar or provolone to really throw it over the edge), or whatever burger toppings you desire.

Black Bean Cakes (12-16 small patties)
2 15-oz cans cooked black beans
2 tbl canola oil
2 tbl yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin (add a little chili powder too)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup masa de harina (Mexican flour... we used regular flour)

Rinse and drain black beans.
In a small saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil over medium heat.
Cook onion, garlic, cumin, and salt until onions are translucent.k
Place drained beans and onion mixture in a small mixing bowl and mix together with an electric beater (don't beat them to puree, just enough to break up the beans).
Gradually add flour, allowing mixture to absorb it before adding more. Should be a dough-like mixture when you're done with this part.
Test dough by rolling it in the palm of your hand.
Add more flour if it sticks to your hand until it doesn't stick and holds the shape of a ball.
Divide the dough into 16 small balls and flatten into cakes.
Place a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the pan.
Cook cakes until lightly browned on each side, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.


And there you go! Black bean patties. If you really want a meaty flavor, use a beef bouillon cube (vegan if you can find it) and water to reconstitute some TVP (to be explained later) to mix into the recipe, just cut the beans down in half.


Enjoy!

Why, hello there!

Good afternoon, my lovely readers!
I thought you'd all be tickled to hear that I'm back in New Jersey and back online.
Where have I been? Well, James and I went to work at a camp for Aspergers, high-functioning autism, and ADHD kids in Zirconia, NC--Talisman Camp! It was my third summer and James' first. Once again, it was awesome! James got to see me in action with the kids and he got to learn why I really just don't like kids. Hahahaha!
Now you see, it was camp... food was... lacking in veggies.
I'll say it: I. Miss. Veggies!
And, I gotta admit... carb, carb, protein, carb was making me feel ill.

So, James and I decided that we are going back to 95% vegan lifestyles again.
95%? Why not go all the way?
Well, for a few reasons: 1) soy milk is ridiculously expensive, 2) the occasional cheeseburger won't undo everything, 3) cheese on the rare occasion would be nice, and 4) because that's the way we want it.

We saw after our experimental vegan month how much better we looked and felt (and, hey, I lost quite a bit of weight--no complaints here). And even with the constant exercising we did while working at camp, we still didn't feel as good as we had on our vegan diet.
So, ta da! We're doing this "vega-tarian" kind of diet. And now that we have a blender, we can start doing smoothies! Mmmmmm... thanks Shannon!

Oven-Baked French Fries

Okay, this is one of my favorite recipes--however, like many of my recipes, I kinda just go until it feels/tastes right. But! I have worked over the week to perfect my french fry recipe because it is a crucial ingredient to many meals.

OVEN-BAKED FRENCH FRIES
2 small potatoes per person, washed, peeled if you want (I like skin on)
     (3/person if you're feeding a crowd, then you'll have enough for those people who get a little extra)
salt
pepper
Pam spray

That's all the ingredients! Easy.
Now for the DIRECTIONS:


Preheat your oven to about 350*. 

While that's heating up, wash, peel (or don't), and cut your potatoes into long, slightly thick fries.

Spray a cookie sheet with a thin layer of Pam.

I like to spread the fries out so that they are in rows and not touching each other. Salt and pepper to taste (also good with chili powder, garlic salt, or cajun seasoning).

Throw in the oven for 20 minutes.

Take out the fries, flip them, stir 'em around a bit (take one to taste, just to make sure they aren't poison).

Put them back in for another 10-12 minutes.

Take them out and enjoy!

BONUS! Dipping sauces!
Now there's lots of dipping sauce possibilities.

The ever classic, Ketchup
BBQ sauce (my favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's Original; James' favorite is KC Masterpiece or Bonesuckin' Sauce)
"Carli Mud Sauce": 1 part bbq sauce, 1 part mayo (delish, but not vegan)
Homemade Chickfila Sauce: 1 part honey mustard, 1.5 parts bbq sauce (its not exact, but pretty darn close)
Or even the plain and simple: 1 part mayo, 1 part ketchup (throw in a little Sriracha for a kick)


Enjoy your french fries, my friends!
The next time I make fries, I'll be sure to take pictures of the whole process.


ANOTHER BONUS!
Aren't you lucky?

This recipe can be modified for sweet potatoes!

One sweet potato per person (those suckers are big!)
Salt/Pepper or Brown sugar/Cinnamon for a sweeter taste
Cook for 20 minutes, then for 6-8 minutes
Enjoy! (I prefer no dipping sauce here)

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times

Last night, James and I were invited over to a friend's house for dinner and wine. As the broke grad students that we are, we obviously said yes. And I was so tired of being cooped up in the house, I jumped on the opportunity to socialize.

Like I've said in a few previous posts, if its free food, eat it. Good news is that our friend is a vegetarian, so our delicious meal was entirely vegetarian (that means cheese was involved, lots of cheese). But to help y'all open your horizons, here's what we ate in an incredibly satisfying, non-meat meal...

• Pizza - crust, tomato sauce, mozzarella, corn, basil or arugula
• Salad - mixed greens, goat cheese, blue cheese, toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinegar
• Sauteed mushroom caps and pickled eggplant
• Potato chips and french onion dip mixed with cajun seasoning
• Red wine - a cup a day is healthy for you!
• Grapes and smoked gouda
• Toasted bread, olive oil, sauteed kalamata olives, tomato sauce

Overall, it was a fantastic evening spent in a warm kitchen with good friends!

My next couple of posts will include recipes for oven-baked french fries and semi-homemade lemonade and one where I talk about the changes that this experiment has caused in me!

Happy eating!

More Lentils!

James and I found ourselves craving the awesome lentils I made a few days ago. So I made them again.... not quite as spicy this time though. I also made some oven-roasted asparagus to go on the side for greenery and just because I love asparagus.


Rice: follow directions on the bag or box
Asparagus: break the white-ish purple ends off, lay on a cookie sheet, dribble some olive oil over top of them, salt, pepper, garlic powder, put in a preheated oven, cook until tender enough to fork (I really just try them over and over until they are ready)

Lentils: (this is the recipe I use as a guide, but I don't really follow it to a tee)
1 cup dried lentils
1 onion, chopped
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
oil, for frying
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp berbere (or an addtl 1 tbsp paprika or 1 tbsp cayenne pepper)
sea salt and pepper to taste

NOTE: I use anything that's a neutral tomato (think tomato sauce or soup) instead, works fine, you just let it boil longer/ I don't have most of these spices, so I use: cinnamon, chili pepper, cumin, garlic powder, turmeric, and sriracha (all of this is to taste, but really, just throw it in, measuring is silly).

Directions:

1. Soak lentils for at least an hour in water (I got for two or more hours). Drain and rinse and set aside.
2. In the pot that you're going to cook everything in saute onions and garlic in oil until golden.
3. Add broth or water. Add spices and tomato paste. When gently boiling, add lentils.
4. Turn down heat and simmer until lentils are tender and its a thick stew. Add more liquid if needed.
5. Serve with rice, Injera bread, or pita bread (I prefer rice).

So there you go!

Happy cooking!

Jumping off the Wagon

Okay, so instead of falling off the wagon on a whim or a serious need to indulge a compulsion to eat when upset, James and I went off vegan for two days or so. GASP! I know, right? But, but, but, you said... yeah, yeah, I know what I said. I said that I would do this vegan for a whole month! Here's the story:

I went to work at the pizza place in the next village over. It has the most delicious Italian food (and I don't like Italian food)! Before the dinner shift they have something called family dinner where they serve dinner to the people working that night! Awesome, right? And its totally free!
Now this is where James and I have made a slight adjustment... if the food is free, eat it, even its not vegan. Cuts down on our food budget. Its fiscally responsible.
Anyway, the food was delicious as always.

Then the next day, we were out with our dear friend Laura and we all went to a Mexican restaurant. James got the chicken enchilada, I got the beef enchilada. It was good, but not overwhelming. We had ice cream. Again, good, but underwhelming in the deliciousness.

We. Regret. These. Decisions.

James and I have felt heavy, sluggish, tired, and generally gross from eating all of this over-caloried food. We found ourselves craving tonight's vegan taco dinner. Which was, honestly, far more satisfying than the restaurant Mexican food we had!

Let me know when you are back in your seats... I know you all fell over from surprise!

In essence, we have found that eating vegan food has increased our energy, regulated our systems, made us much more emotionally pleasant, and generally feeling much better about life.

So our two day experiment with the SAD (Standard American Diet) has left with surprising results... we prefer fruits, veggies, greens, grains, and nuts over meat and dairy.

Now all we need is a juicer and a blender and we will be SET!

Lentils and Tacos

No, not together... that might be a little weird, though I did see a recipe for Lentil Tacos.
Anyway, my apologies for not updating recently. Its been hectic around the house lately. So a few nights ago, I decided to finally do something with the large amount of lentils that I had in the cupboard. After scouring the internet for a recipe, I found Masir We't... an Ethiopian dish that is very vegan!

Although I didn't have the Gran Masala and turmeric spices that I needed, I found that pretty much any strong spice really does the job.

Lentils, like dried beans, take FOREVER to cook... this pot took over an hour of boiling, stirring, tasting, seasoning, and such until it was finally ready.

And, TADA! We have lentils! I added quite a bit of Sriracha to them so they were very spicy. From what I know about Middle Eastern and African cuisine, adding some yogurt cuts the spice pretty well... maybe ranch dressing would make a good substitute? I dunno, but what I do know is that it was delicious!

Tonight I made our usual tacos. But, I skipped the wrap... I haven't been a fan of bread in three years because of a camp job, so I was happy with my wrapless taco. :)

Happy eating, my friends!

Websites to Check Out

Okay, so I've spent the last few days trolling the internet, looking for some recipes and pages that would help with my vegan experiment... here's a few that I've stumbled across.

The Seed: A Vegan Experience
This is an event that's being held in NYC that I would LOOOOOOVE to go to. However, it is $30 a person for two days and I would need to find someplace to stay. Hmm... anywho, the event includes tasting some of the finest food from vegan restaurants across the city, cooking demonstrations, workshops, vendors... basically its a Vegan-Con (for all my nerd-tastic friends)! For more information: http://theseedexperience.com/

Find Life Again
This blog is all about changing your diet and lifestyle in order to change your life. Sounds pretty awesome. It has loads of articles about the hazards of "diet" foods, the link between sugar cravings and psychology, and, most recently, how your attitude about life defines your life. However, this blog seems to be on hiatus... so don't count on too many new articles.

All Vegan. All Delish.
Facebook is an excellent medium for finding groups of people that have the same lifestyle, hobbies, or interests as you (like you guys didn't already know that). This page is pretty new (seems to be run by the same guy as "Find Life Again"). But it has lots of links to different vegan news stories, plenty of motivational pictures, and lots of other vegans from around Facebook.

Pinterest
Now, if you don't know, I absolutely LOVE Pinterest. I have boards for all kinds of things, but some of my favorites are "Places I Want to Go," "Meaty Meat," "Veggie Recipes," "Wedding-type Stuff," and, of course, "Desserts!" In my food categories, I make sure to pin recipes that I want to try soon. Actually, I've had a lot of success with making recipes from Pinterest... James always gets excited when I tell him I'm making a recipe from Pinterest.


Other Vegan Websites
Vegan Action
Vegan Recipes, Diets, and Information
The Vegan Society
Plant Based on a Budget

And here's some books to look into:


Enjoy!

Back on the Vegan Path

So after a few days of slips and tumbles from the vegan way (particularly due to an amazing spinach and artichoke dip that was made because we were guests)... James and I are back on track.

Tonight, I was determined to make a really good, well-rounded vegan meal. We had lots of veggies in the fridge, so I was well prepared to make something delicious, and so I did!

Here's the final product:

This plate of vegan veggies is comprised of spinach, garlic, yellow squash, sweet onion, green bell pepper, asparagus, russet potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Now, this whole thing costs less than $5 a meal, so its a super filling meal with lots of leftovers. But, each component was done very specifically, so let's make a meal!

First, I washed and diced three small russet potatoes and two small sweet potatoes, then threw them in a deep baking dish. I salted and peppered them as I do with pretty much everything, but put a few small dollops of vegan butter in to help soften and flavor the white potatoes. This butter is made mostly of oil, so you don't have to add oil to the pan to cook. Then I set these aside to make the other food that would go in the oven.

Sprouting!

Next we have the asparagus. Now, the asparagus that James had gotten from ALDI a few days ago had started growing in its container which sat on top of the fridge. So, I took the asparagus out of the container, rinsed it, then chopped off the thinnest sprouts and the whitest, hardest bottoms of the stalks. I put these on a cookie sheet spread out pretty evenly, poured on a little (about 1 tbsp) of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I put the asparagus and potatoes in the 300* preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes... I don't usually measure or keep track of time, I just go til it looks, tastes, smells, and feels good.

While the potatoes and asparagus were in the oven, I ripped up some spinach into a frying pan with some chopped garlic, honey, olive oil, and.... wait for it... balsamic vinegar!! This was my FAVORITE part of dinner. It was so good that I have decided that I'm having it for lunch tomorrow! So what I did was turn the stove top on VERY LOW and turned the spinach over and over til it just began to wilt, then I turned off the stove.

In a soup pot, I cut in thin slices of yellow squash, green bell pepper, and sweet onion and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I let these cook in their own juices for a while... until the yellow squash began to soften. Then I turned the stove off again. I checked on the asparagus and potatoes, they needed about 20 more minutes. So I stirred them both and put them back. I turned back on the squash, pepper, and onion pot on low and let them cook while I waited on the potatoes and asparagus. In the last 5 minutes of cooking for what was in the oven, I turned back on spinach to a very low heat and turn the leaves until they were well-warmed and delicious.

And, TADA! Dinner is served!!! Overall, it was absolutely amazing! In retrospect, I would have sauteed the peppers and onions well before I added in the squash, but they added a good crunch to the dish. The spinach with honey and balsamic vinegar added a nice tang and sweetness that actually paired well with the salty asparagus. I honestly did not miss meat! I really think that it had to do with the potatoes. The white potatoes gave the filling feeling of meat, whereas the sweet potatoes gave the hardy feeling. This was easily one of the best vegan meals that we've had since starting the experiment. I told James that I felt like this and this is what he had to say:

I am incredibly happy to say that I agree with James. And I am beyond thrilled to say that the Farmers Market will be opening up in South Orange very soon... be prepared to see some really awesome meals coming soon.

Good eating!

Movie Review - Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

Okay, I haven't watched Food, Inc. yet... but I will eventually.
So, here's a movie review for one of the food documentaries I watched recently. Enjoy!

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

This movie starts off with one Australian guy, Joe Cross, who has a chronic illness that makes his body produce too much histamine and break out in flares and blisters and all kinds of nastiness. So he has to take loads of steroids which lead to lots of weight gain. After realizing that he was poisoning himself with bad food and medication, Joe decided to try a 60-day juice fast. Now, juice fasts are not for the faint of heart. During the first week, Joe spent much of the day in bed or in the bathroom because of a deep depression, hunger, and a sudden overload of fiber. He would take almost a pound of fruit and vegetables, throw it in a juicer, and drink up the funny-colored juices. Even better, he met an all-American long-distance trucker who had the same illness and was in desperate need of help. This guy, Phil Staples, weighed over 420 pounds! He was depressed, angry, and miserable. Of the two men, Phil's story was much more inspiring... he lost almost HALF of his body weight over the year since he started juicing.
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is a documentary that will have you on the verge of cheering the entire time, stunned at the facts of the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet), and it will make you want to buy a juicer right now! I know this is how I felt. It was definitely inspirational and showed that you don't have to eat meat to be full. I highly recommend this inspiring documentary to anyone looking into juicing.

This film can be seen on Netflix or on Hulu at this website: http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead

Feel like getting into juicing? Here's some juicers that you should definitely look at (and I promise, there are cheaper ones out there):
     

Missing Foods

As you know, I ate pizza with cheese, ham, and pineapple last night. Honestly? I feel like I'm paying for it... I feel sluggish (in more than one aspect :|...) and really weighed down. I absolutely regret that pizza.
But I do miss some non-vegan foods:

Steak - actually, I don't miss this sooo much. Even though steak is my favorite food, I rarely got to eat it, so I guess its not so bad.

Chicken - I do miss chicken. I love chicken wings, my mom's "Greek Chicken," ground chicken chili, and that delicious mayo/swiss cheese-covered baked chicken that would probably lead to a heart attack. I'd say that if I had a grill, a little one like the one in the picture, or even just a George Foreman type grill, I'd grill up a little chicken to put in salads.
(I'd grill basically everything I could if I had a grill.)

Ice Cream - gah! I miss ice cream so much! Its one of my favorite desserts and I can't have it! There is rice ice cream and sorbets and such, but they don't really scratch that itch. And this craving for ice cream is only getting worse as the weather is getting hotter.

Chocolate - I. Miss. Chocolate. Now, don't get me wrong, I like dark chocolate too... but you have to get 70%+ dark chocolate for it to be vegan. I don't particularly favor dark chocolate. I would kill for a Hershey's Symphony bar... I'd freeze it and eat it nibble by nibble when the craving strikes.

Soda - SURPRISE! I DON'T MISS SODA! Okay, so I used to drink a soda or two a day. Yes, seriously. But since we started this vegan thing and since school is out (no more access to vending machines), I think I have drunk only 3 or 4 sodas in the past two weeks. I don't think you understand how much of a breakthrough that is!


Well, despite all the foods that I miss, I have grown to love a few too.
So, here I go, back on the wagon for the second half of my vegan experiment... I'll keep you posted.

Falling Off the Wagon

Well... it happened... James and I fell off the vegan bandwagon. Wait, wait, wait, before you get all in a tizzy, here's the story.

I have really been struggling with my depression lately. I get on Facebook and see all my friends on awesome vacations, doing cool internships abroad, working great jobs, getting engaged, getting married, all this fabulous things... then I look at myself. I severely sprained my left ankle a few nights ago and I am just now able to put weight on it to walk around the apartment, so I've been cooped up inside for a while. I have a job that has been a little less than awesome, I'm on for the two slowest shifts of the week, and money is getting tight. I think about what I wanted to do this summer--go hiking, visit the shore, hang out in Manhattan--and then I remember I can't do any of these things because of either my ankle, my wallet, or my lack of a vehicle.

So finally I just thought, 'screw it, we're ordering a pizza.' James and I ordered a medium Domino's pizza with cheese, ham, and pineapple. It was good. But it was not... well, let's just say it lacked the hallelujah choruses I expected/wanted. Actually, I am feeling kinda gross. Maybe its the food or maybe its just guilt-stomach (you know that nauseous feeling you get from feeling guilty, yeah, that one).

Ok, so this weekend, it looks like I'm going to be doing some kind of cleansing... something to get this pizza out of my (and James') system. Any suggestions?

Food Dreams

Okay, last night, I literally dreamed of food. Is that bad?
I dreamed about steaks, pork chops, chicken wings, french fries, buffets, mashed potatoes, ice cream (sooooo much ice cream), and all kinds of foods that I'm not allowed to eat while on this vegan experiment.
So it got me thinking... if I could break my vegan experiment for one meal, what would I eat? My first instinct is to go to what I always say is my "last meal": medium-rare steak, loaded mashed potatoes, garlic-roasted asparagus, a glass of good red wine, and the perfect cheesecake for dessert. However, that meal nearly turns my stomach! That must be progress... right?
Once my id is satisfied with that little food fantasy, my rationale returns and I think honestly about what I would eat. I wouldn't want something too meaty, cheesy, or heavy because my digestive system is no longer as strong as it needs to be for such difficult food. Maybe I'd have chicken wings? No... too spicy and greasy. Philly cheesesteak? That has veggies! And loads of meat, cheese, and grease. The diner's Porky Omelette with cheddar (ham, bacon, peppers, onions, and hashbrowns in a 3-egg omelette)... maybe I should take a hint from the name.
After going through lists and lists of foods that I would eat, I finally come to a conclusion that... honestly, I'm rather proud of... sushi! That's good, right? I mean, fish is full of Omega-3s, edamame is one of my favorite snacks, and you can get vegan sushi, too. Okay, okay, maybe the white rice isn't the best and the soy sauce is full of sodium, but its still better than a steak, right?
Well, I found this fantastic website called Two Foods that will do an instant comparison of any two foods that would want to eat... so I put in steak versus salmon sushi.

As you can see salmon sushi is a much better choice than steak in every category, unless you're stockpiling your proteins--even then, salmon sushi is not all that far behind its bovine counterpart. So, if I were to break my vegan experiment for one meal, I'd say that I'd probably go with sushi! 

Other interesting comparisons:

• Dairy milk vs. Soy milk : soy milk is higher in calories, carbs, and proteins; lower in fat
• Apple vs. Orange: apples are higher in calories, carbs, and fats; lower in protein (and vitamin C!)
• White bread vs. Wheat bread: white bread is higher in calories and carbs; lower in fat and protein
• White rice vs. Brown rice: Brown rice is higher than white rice in all categories
• Potatoes vs. Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are higher in calories and carbs; lower in fat and protein

There you go! Some interesting food comparisons for you!

Updates!

Sorry I've been a little behind on posting, guys, but here's some updates!

• We now have an a/c unit in our living room! Its a small one, but it does well for cooling down the living room... but, we will probably need to get another one for the bedroom or get a bigger one. However, cool air is cool air is cool air and I'm happy to have it!
• I am down 3 more pounds, so that's 13 pounds total since the beginning of the vegan experiment. Down 20 pounds from my highest weight and 20 pounds away from my pre-last-summer weight.
• My ankle is healing nicely. I've stayed off of it for the most part over the last two days, but I can put all of my weight on it when I'm standing still and a significant weight when walking... its just tight and sore.

Now for the food updates!

Well, two nights ago I made a delicious dinner of sauteed green bell peppers and onions (with taco seasoning and taco sauce), black beans, rice, oven-roasted corn on the cob, and leftover salad spritzed with lemon juice. The peppers and onions were delicious as always. I'm gonna stick with boiling the corn on the cob or figure out a better way of oven-roasting it (it was less than done on one side). The black beans could have used a little somethin-somethin to spruce them up, but I'm not sure what. And the salad was surprisingly good!

We've found that Mexican food is by far our favorite genre of food, so expect more pictures of food that, essentially, looks just like this!

However, we decided to cross the pond in our vegan food travels and try traditional French Provencal cuisine! Even though I couldn't put too much weight on my ankle, I cooked ratatouille (pronounced rat-ah-too-ee)! There's lots of ways to make ratatouille: sauteed, roasted, baked like a casserole, etc. I decided to go with the baking recipe. It called for:

• eggplant
• red peppers
• onion
• zucchini
• tomatoes
• garlic
• rosemary
• basil
• salt

Remy from Ratatouille (Pixar)

Well, I didn't have red peppers, zucchini, or rosemary. So, instead, I used one green bell pepper, one yellow bell pepper, one yellow squash, and left out the rosemary and put in a little bit of fresh pepper. Overall, the ratatouille was AMAZING! I would say, instead of leaving very large chunks of garlic like the recipe said, I will chop it up into much small pieces. James had no complaints... actually, he was eating it so slowly that I thought he didn't like it. Come to find out, he just wanted to savor every bite! I think that one glass of wine would have rounded out the meal perfectly, but it was good all the same.

Happy eating!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Mom pinned this recipe on Pinterest and we had leftover sweet potatoes, so I tried out making some chips!

Number one... be VERY careful when using a mandolin slicer. I sliced a couple layers of skin off the flesh pad at the base my right thumb. And its in the most awkward of spots. And we don't have any Bandaids!!!

Anyways, so here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
1 large sweet potato (cleaned, not peeled)

2 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (optional)


For a sour cream and onion flavor:
Sprinkle with onion powder


For a sweet twist:
Salt
Brown sugar
Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 200ºF. Using a mandoline, slice the sweet potatoes on the 1/8 inch setting. Lay the sweet potatoes on 2 baking sheets lines with parchment paper. Make sure not to overlap the sweet potato slices. Lightly drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil and then use a basting brush to be sure the top of the sweet potato slices are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes. Take them out of the oven, flip them over and cook for another 30 minutes. Flip them over once more and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. Let them cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and onion powder for some “sour cream and onion” flavor. OR, for a sweet twist, put on salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon!

Pizza, Pizza!

Almost 300 pageviews?! Since when was I so popular?
Anyways, so James and I were talking about the foods we missed from non-vegan life... one we both said is our favorite pizza. Then we discovered that we actually love the exact same type of pizza: pineapple, ham, cheese, jalapenos... mmmmm, Hawaiian!
Well, Gina said that Little Caesars has lots of vegan stuff, but there aren't any Little Caesars within walking distance. But, we do have a Dominos one block from our apartment, so I checked out their menu to see what was vegan and... THEIR CRUST AND SAUCE ARE! Huzzah, my friends, huzzah!
Through a combination of the Dominos website, the Vegan Eating Out page on Dominos, and their email with Dominos I have been able to find a laaaarge list of things James and I could eat from Dominos on the nights that I don't feel like cooking.

So here's what I'm thinking...

Pizza with red sauce
green peppers
pineapple
spinach
onions

And Cinna-Dippers...
yes... the white icing is VEGAN!




Happy camper.

Hot, Hot Heat

Ok, maybe its the heat or maybe its the smell of bbq warring through the winds, but I have been very irritable for the last two days.
It's been in upper 80s to low 90s with ridiculous humidity for most of the weekend. And without air conditioning, both inside and outside were miserable. Even the short walk to and from the train station was almost unbearable.
Well, last night was definitely a test of the resolve for me and James. We went to a friend's house for a Memorial Day cookout. They had hamburgers and brats on the grill. Luckily, our good friend, Laura, brought some veggies with her. So I salted, peppered, garlic powdered, and olive oiled some green, red, and yellow bell peppers, onions, and asparagus. I also boiled up some corn on the cob. Overall, it was enjoyable. But it felt lacking and I really, really wanted a burger.
After a few hours around the meats and cheeses, James broke down and said we'd order a pizza when we got home. But never fear, avid readers, we did not order a pizza.
Thus, the vegan experiment continues...

On a sidenote, I have cut waaaayyy back on my soda intake (nothing short of a miracle). I have been drinking almost a liter of water a day. But I could really go for some of those Crystal Light or KoolAid mixes.

Memorial Weekend - Saturday Dinner

Like I said before... its Memorial Weekend. Brats, ribs, and steaks on the grill and I'm stuck eating rabbit food.
But not really! Eden Gourmet sent me a $10 off coupon in the mail, so I figured I'd take some advantage of that! For $3.39, I got 10 bananas, 1 package of Tofurky kielbasa sausage, and 1 container of "Earth Balance natural buttery spread." Now I know what you're thinking... "what on earth is tofurky?"
Tofurky - tofu, wheat gluten, canola oil, water, soy sauce, wheat protein, onion, garlic, black pepper, mustard, spices, garlic, paprika, salt.
Yup, that's it. And not only that, check out these facts:

• 100g of Tofurky Kielbasa contains 12g of fat and 0mg cholesterol
• 100g of typical pork kielbasa contains 28g fat and 65mg of cholesterol

Kind of a big deal, eh?

Before it went in the oven

Okay, so this is what we had for dinner:

1 package of Tofurky Kielbasa sausage
2 russet potatoes, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
salt, pepper, butter spread to taste

Typically I put the sausage on the top to let the juices soak down into the potatoes... but, that didn't work so well with the Tofurky, so I used some of the "buttery spread" to get a little juice in the pan. Anyways, I cooked the mix for about 30 minutes, stirring it halfway through. Basically, just cook it until the potatoes are soft, but not mashed-potato-soft.

So here's how it turned out. It wasn't bad. The kielbasa was waaaaayy drier than I like and had a funny spongey bread texture to it (not the best substitute for pork sausage if you ask me), but James really liked it. Add a little Sweet Baby Ray's and that'll make any weird meat or "meat" taste better. But, the potatoes turned out fantastic! I'll definitely be needing to remember that...

On to dessert. No holiday meal is complete without dessert!

So I took 4 large bananas, cut them longways then in thirds shortways, mashed them with a potato masher, then blended them with a handheld mixer. After a tiny splash of lemon juice to keep them from browning too much, I put the... well... banana goop in the freezer. An hour later I took it out, mixed in some cinnamon, brown sugar, and caramel to sweeten it up a bit. I poured the mixture into a long, shallow container and let it freeze for another hour or so. It actually turned out REALLY REALLY good! And it was completely vegan!

That was dinner and dessert tonight, but I have work tomorrow, so I will have to face the delicious pizza at work and use all my willpower to resist the temptation.

Week-iversary!

Okay, so many things I need to talk about, so here we go.

I have not eaten meat, dairy, or eggs since last Sunday, so its kind of my week-iversary of being vegan! And I have had over 180 pageviews since the creation of this blog! Thanks so much guys! And, in only one week of being vegan I have lost an amazing 10 POUNDS!!!! I am so excited.

Other awesome news...
Cold Stone Creamery has vegan ice cream... also known as sorbet. Sorbet is a great alternative for those non-dairy--its usually sweetened water flavored with fruit puree, in order words, DELICIOUS! It does have a bit of a tang to it, but its very good. James and I got the watermelon sorbet... rather tasty, my friends.


Now, I know you all know its Memorial Day weekend so there's barbecues all over the place and the smell of meat is everywhere! So what are we vegans doing? Well, stay tuned for the deliciousness...

Home-popped Popcorn!

One of my fondest memories from childhood is the hot air popcorn popper my mom had (well, that and the hand-cranked Snoopy shaved ice machine).
Well, our local grocery store had a huuuuge bag of popcorn kernels for a dollar! So, James and I (both lovers of munchies) got it to take home.
Come to find out... You don't need a hot air popper to get homemade popcorn... Just some oil in the bottom of a pan with a lid (very important)!
Put just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, turn on the heat, put in ONE kernel, put on the lid, and wait for the magic!
POP!
Once the solitary kernel has popped, pour in enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pan. Replace the lid. And shake the pan as the popping begins! Just like microwave popcorn, listen for the popping to slow down, then turn off the heat.
After all of the popping has stopped, put on salt, garlic salt, or even sugar for a sweet-and-salty kettle corn taste!
Mmmmmm... Delicious, nutritious, filling, fun, cheap, and vegan!

Skinny Bitch and Juicers

A good friend from my undergrad school, who I've sadly been kind of out of touch with, emailed me and said that she is so proud of me for trying vegan for a month! It was a great thing to read after my hard day yesterday.
Also, she suggested that I read the book "Skinny Bitch," then another friend of mine said the same thing! So apparently I am missing out on something. Well, I've read lots of reviews about and excerpts from this book and it seems very much like my style... no nonsense, straight to the point, real talk. The reviews have been mixed at best... some say that its just a trashy way of selling a fad diet (veganism) or that it could change your life! Doesn't make choosing  to read it very easy, eh? Well, my wallet chose for me... I'll wait a while before buying it.

Bella Juice Extractor - $53.99 at Target

Speaking of which... does anyone have a juicer and/or a blender that they would like to donate (or sell very very cheaply) in support of this vegan experiment? I have been wanting a blender really badly... I have always LOVED smoothies... really, they're one of my favorite foods. And a juicer is a fabulous thing for lots of reasons... I can extract all of the micronutrients from my fruits and veggies, better absorb those nutrients, and I can use the leftover pulp to make veggie burgers, bread, and soup! Gotta get your money's worth, yanno!
Gina has a couple of posts about how awesome her juicer is and how much she loves it... even a video! I added the juicer video below... watch out for the apple...
In the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," both of the main people went on 60-day juice fasts and absolutely changed their lives. A little long for me... maybe a week.

Well, that's all for now, folks. James and I may be trying Buffalo Seitan at Andrew's house tonight... should be interesting! I'll keep you updated.

Adios!

Day 4

Ok, not the best day for this carnivore.
I'm definitely craving a burger... And chocolate... But I can attribute most of that to hormones.
We had a good lunch of apples, carrots, and peanut butter. And dinner was leftover Ethiopian.
James was amazing and went and got me a 70% cocoa Lindt bar to fix my craving. That definitely helped... It was so rich, I couldn't eat more than one square.

Other than that....
Fun fact: Oreos and animal crackers are vegan too!

Ethiopian deliciousness!

Okay, Gina (http://www.ginasveganblog.blogspot.com) came back to town to treat me and James to a vegan dinner out. So we went to a local Ethiopian restaurant, Lalibela (http://lernj.com/).
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!

Here's how it went...

We (James, Gina, Laura, and I) went in and sat in the corner. Gina told the waitress that her, James, and I were all vegan and the waitress told us that all of the dishes labeled "vegetarian" were 100% vegan! She was vegetarian, so she said that all the vegetarian dishes were delicious.
After much excitement and many questions, we finally figured out what we all wanted.
Not only that, the waitress brought a free appetizer!

Okay, it may not look too appetizing... but, man, it was delicious. Brown lentils, onions, and jalapenos along with the injera bread which is your utensil... there are no forks or spoons.

After that awesome food... then came our entrees!

So you chose your entree and two vegetable sides, which meant we could choose three things from this list.

Again, looks less delicious than it actually was.

To the left was a bowl of the injera bread. In the center was Gina's and my entree, number 25. If looking at the tray as a clock face, starting at just past 12: number 30; 2 and10: number 27 (I learned that I like beets!); 4 o'clock: number 28; 5: number 33 (not too awesome); 7: number 31 (FAVORITE); and 11 o'clock is James' entree: number 34, pumpkin something.

Only half demolished... we worked on it for quite a while afterwards.

After the absolute deliciousness of dinner, our waitress surprised us with an all-vegan dessert menu! Gina almost cried.

With the Chocolate Almond Cake to the left and the Maple Pecan Cake to the right... the three vegans at the table were VERY happy with our choices. I much preferred the maple pecan cake. Neither tasted any different than non-vegan cake! Actually... I think the maple pecan cake was better than almost any I've ever tasted!

All in all, we had an amazing time out to dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the company and the food.

I do not doubt that James and I will be visiting Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant again in the future!

Guac!

I've never made guacamole before. And I never used to like it... Green goop seemed weird. But I have grown to love it.

Made this recipe:

2 Hass avocados
1 plum tomato
1/4 onion
1 lime
1 crushed garlic clove
Red chili powder
Sriracha (to taste)
Salt
Pepper

My First Intentionally Vegan Dinner

Okay, so I have discovered that starting a vegan diet while being sick is a horrible decision. All I wanted was chicken noodle soup. Instead, James made me some tomato soup! (That's my man.)

His sister came over for dinner two nights ago and I was feeling awful. In a few moments of strength, we went through the food cabinet to see what was vegan and what was not. The result of this was actually pretty much amazing!

The top shelf is not vegan, the stuff on the counter is vegan!

After that, we went to the grocery store to stock up on all things vegan... here's some of the stuff we got:

• apples, lemons, limes, avocados, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, strawberries, carrots, peppers, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, bananas, and loads of other fruits and veggies
• black beans, honey (a touchy subject for some vegans), cereal, tortillas, vegetarian refried beans (check for lard), olive oil, balsamic vinagrette, popcorn kernels, and lots of other vegan stuff

Then, after a LOOOOONG wait in line at PathMark (where they were yelling at people to finish, check out, and leave because they were closing, but the store had only one register open) and a crash in my sickness, we finally got home.

Luckily, I could leave Gina and James to the cooking while I recuperated on the couch.

This was the deliciousness we had for dinner... white rice, corn on the cob, tacos made of vegetarian refried beans, lettuce, taco seasoning, taco sauce, and lime juice on a white corn tortilla). And water to drink!

Surprisingly delicious!

Best part was... we had leftovers! Plenty enough for lunch the next day when I made veggie fajitas (red and green bell peppers, onions, and taco seasoning) with lettuce, rice, and refried beans.

It was SOOOOOO good!

Overall, the first two days went well. I am excited to try some Ethiopian food tonight. Come to find out, vegan food is easy to find in Indian, Mexican, Asian, and Muslim cuisines! So this creative cook is so excited to try cooking with the vegan restrictions! Bring it on! 

Why Vegan?

The rules of veganism are actually very simple and strict.

• NO MEAT (beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc.)
• NO DAIRY (cheese, milk, casein, etc.)
• NO EGGS

That's it. The end. Nothing more. Essentially, nothing that comes from an animal.
How simple is that?

I was inspired by a multitude of things... my shopping fiasco, Gina and her blog: http://www.ginasveganblog.blogspot.com, my friend Shannon's weight loss, and the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" (the website: http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/ and to watch: http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead).

The goals are:

• feel better physically
• feel better about myself
• help James feel better
• maybe even lose a little weight
• inspire myself to push harder to get better

And so, I have started!

The Beginning

Why on earth would I, of all people, go vegan?

Well here is a basic outline of my diet: hot wings, cereal, eggs, anything beef, Chinese takeout, beer, soda, chicken, Mexican food, cheese anything, candy of all kinds, definitely chocolate, loads of starches, etc, etc, etc. 

But, at the end of my first year of graduate school, I had packed on even more weight and broken my own record of my highest weight. Though this led to a few tears, it did not phase me. However, last week, I went shopping and I could not fit in any clothes that were supposed to be my size.

That. Was. The. End.

I told James that he and I were going on a diet.

But, I didn't know what kind of diet or how or anything. There's hundreds, maybe thousands, of types of diets... all with their own rules and shortcuts and flaws and expensive books or videos to follow. I needed something that was grad-student-budget, easy, and strict. I didn't want any shortcuts.

Then James' sister, Gina, mentioned that she went vegan because of the strict rules. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fish. Absolutely none.

I realized that this was the kickstart I needed and the diet that I should try.

So, here I am before the beginning of my vegan experiment... in a weight class designated for small sumo wrestlers, racked with frequent headaches, weird swelly ankles, constant breakouts, occasionally crippling moodswings.

Yes, I am happy. I am happy because I am with my best friend in the whole world, James. Despite all the flaws I see in myself, he will still say that I am the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

But, I don't see myself this way. And I want to! More than that, I want to FEEL like that. So, I decided we would try this vegan thing for one month, just to see we feel at the end.

And so begins our one month experiment with the vegan lifestyle!