I don't have a lot of exciting things to report on Day 12. I'm working out plot details in my sleep. Trying to think like my character. That's a good thing.
My do-it-yourself water kefir kit seems to have worked. I found a website that said I could train milk kefir grains to adapt to water/sugar so I could make my own sugar-free "soda". I'm on my second batch and the first one was tolerable...took awhile...thought I killed the grains but I think I'm cooking with gas now. Literally. : )
I saw a tree full of hawks? Vultures? on my way to work yesterday. Something creepy about multiple carrion eating, massive birds in a tree, especially a tree hovering right over a day care center. Shudder.
Dinner was so-so last night. Used up some leftovers. But here's an easy and light but tasty spaghetti sauce that is getting raves.
Marinara Sauce
1 Large can chopped tomatoes (not huge as in Sam's/Costco sized but like the 20-28 ounceish size)
1 Tomato paste (small can)
Dump into crock pot. Add 1 and 1/2 Tomato Paste cans of HOT water (and stir to get all the tomato out).
Add 1 and 1/2 tsps (approx) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon (approx) Granulated Garlic (or powder or 2 0r 3 minced cloves)
On low for 4 or more hours to let the flavors marry. Even better if put together the night before. I added the basil to the one that got the raves.
Additions. Chopped Black and Green olives. Fresh Basil. Chopped Garlic. Mushrooms, green or red peppers.
I have had a few questions about Veganism directed toward me. I'm stewing those thoughts, too. And will comment later when something forms.
Lots of activity over the weekend. Lots of food trials and errors and a few successes like Asian night and "meat"balls. Another coconut kefir lover won over. (Remember, kefir is the less scary, and much more socially acceptable first cousin to THE MOTHER of all teas.)
A birthday party with veggies and fruit and that made the fudgy cake not so difficult to pass up.
And a family party where these cookies drew raves and requests for the recipe and disappeared like ice cubes spilled on a parking lot on a 98 degree day. Of course, as pointed out, these cookies are in no way "diet" cookies. Good thing this Vegan adventure is not about counting calories.
Orange Cranberry Pecan Coconut Cookies
1 Cup Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Sugar
Zest of one small orange. (zest before juicing)
Juice of one small orange
1 Cup chopped nuts of choice
2 and 1/4 Cups flour (I used King Arthur, unbleached and Oat flour blend)
1/2 to 3/4 Cup of dried cranberries
Set oven to 350. Blend coconut oil and sugar until mixed. Add zest and juice. Mix. Add flour, stir. Add nuts and cranberries. Roll into small balls, or use small cookie scoop. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 11 minutes. These are really fragile when they come out of the oven. Loosen and let sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. Then place on rack or plate, let cool and then store them in the fridge.
Dinner was SUPER delicious last night. Way better than the picture.
The details...
Mushroom Onion Scrambled Tofu
1 Pkge firm or extra firm Tofu, drained, and patted dry. 12 to 14 ish ounces.
1 Onion chopped
3 Cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz of sliced mushrooms (approx)
1/2 Cup chopped frozen or fresh red, green, yellow, or combination of all of them, peppers
2 - 3 TBSP sundried tomatoes
1 tsp onion or garlic powder (or use onion or garlic salt and skip the salt below).
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp tumeric (this is for the color...if you don't have tumeric you could use curry)
In a large frying pan or on a griddle, place a dollop of olive or canola oil. Heat and add the onions, garlic, peppers. When they begin to shrink, toss in the mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. When mushrooms cook down a bit, slide the veggies to one side of the pan. Lay the tofu in the pan. Sprinkle it with the tumeric, salt, garlic or onion powder (or garlic or onion salt, skip the salt). Begin "chopping" the tofu and the spices into it, thoroughly working the yellow throughout the tofu.
That's it. You can either keep the veggies to the side or mix it all in together.
The Blueberry Lemon Waffles are AMAZING, too. Here's the link.
We made the following changes.
For the dry ingredients we used a Vegan pancake mix. (2 cups)
The wet ingredients were only 2/3 Cup of plain non-dairy yogurt (couldn't find blueberry).
1 1/3 cup almond milk,
No water, no oil.
SUPER fabulous.
Okay meatloaf fans. Here's the scoop.
I looked at seven different "meat"loaf recipes. There was something I didn't like in each of them so I combined the best each had to offer in measurements that seemed to be consistent. Here's what I came up with. And the parenthesis will be things I'll be changing in my next batch and why.
"Meat"loaf
1 Cup Black Beans (or half a can, mostly drained)
1/2 Cup Mushrooms
1 Carrot. (Next Time: I will chop the tip off and dice in tiny bits, then toss the remainder in the processor)
3 Garlic Cloves (Next Time: 4)
1 Cup Brown Rice (also Next Time, I will add an additional 1/3 cup rice)
1 tsp soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos (Next Time: 2 tsp)
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
1/3 tsp dried celery
1/2 tsp salt (Next Time 1 tsp)
3 TBSP chopped onion (Next Time: 4 TBSP)
2 TBSP ground flax seed, in 1 cup of water, let sit for 10 minutes. (Next Time I will use 1 Cup of salsa or 1 Cup of pasta sauce).(This is a binder and replaces eggs)
2 TBSP of sun dried tomatoes (Next Time: 3 TBSP or Kalamata olives).
1/4 Cup favorite nuts
Blend in a blender or food processor but not too much. A few whirs will do.
Add 1 tsp dried parsley (Next Time Cilantro if using salsa, or Italian seasoning if I use pasta sauce.)
Add the additional 1/3 cup rice
And 1 Cup Old-Fashioned oatmeal (1/4 additional Oatmeal)
And add the carrot bits.
Grease a loaf pan. Place the contents in the pan. Bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes.
The texture of my trial loaf was a little too blended. I think the additional rice, oatmeal and carrot bits, and a lighter blending touch will help.
The taste was pretty bland. Goodish, but bland. So I will increase the flavor quotient. It was pretty easy. Lots of ingredients. But once I am satisfied with the results it will be easier to throw together.
And, Kim, I so didn't take any comments of yours as snarky. I know I tend toward crazy. And this is the new crazy trip we have embarked upon. Glad you are enjoying the ride. And who knows, you may develop a hankering for Booger Tea. wink. wink.
Day 6 into my 21 Day Project. Writing/Editing every day on my co-written mystery. So far I've written three scenes and have edited each of them. I've also thought ahead a bit about what will be happening to bring the skeletal plot to life. I've been reading the first several chapters out loud, looking for glaring issues.
I can't say I'm having "fun" with this. I'm enjoying parts of it. I like putting my thoughts down in coherent word pictures that are supposed to evoke some sense or other. And when something I've written survives multiple edits and still makes me see, hear, smell or taste what I was describing...well, that's pretty cool. Especially since the co-writer is a ruthless editor. She loves to murder darlings. Lives for it, actually. : )
Day 6 Vegan = will usher in my first attempt at Vegan meatloaf. I'm not a meatloaf fan. So this could be interesting. I think I don't like it because I've chomped into things that I've not been able to chew and had to hide in my napkin. Oh, and the ketchup frosting always gives me pause. However, I'm thinking a bean/mushroom/nut/oat meatloaf might be delicious. I'll let you know.
Xta has asked for more info. And Kim has thrown down the dreaded gauntlet-like..."you aren't making Veganism appealing what with the BOOGER tea...." or some such comment that was worded better and with less sarcasm.
Ladies, sit back whilst I blather a bit.
Veganism, boiled down is this (and this is my understanding, no doubt someone may quibble) you don't eat stuff that comes from things with faces or with mothers. (Not to be confused with MOTHER i.e. the Booger tea).
So. Meat, dairy products including milk, eggs, butter, cheese, etc. and honey are no-no's in the Vegan lifestyle. And Vegan is a lifestyle not a diet. Most people choose to be Vegan out of respect for the creatures whom others eat or harass for food. I bought a Vegan cookbook at a thrift store and later went online to see the reviews. While paging through the book I was surprised to see fish recipes but shrugged it off. The reviewers DID NOT. The reviewers were NOT AMUSED. And it gave me another layer of how seriously folks take this lifestyle.
We, however, are maybe better called....hmmm... well, click here and you can see all the options. http://www.ivu.org/faq/definitions.html I guess we'll go with Strict vegetarian (or Pure Vegetarian) when it is all said and done. When our month of Pure Vegetarian eating is finished. We will proudly call ourselves flexitarians.
Our goal is to try and to explore the benefits of being as animal by-product free as possible to see what difference it makes in our lives. When the next month rolls around and we are faced with graduation parties and wedding season, none of us are going to laser stink-eye holes through each other if we succumb to wedding cake. Our digestive tracts may punish us enough. I, personally, think I will remain pretty much meat and dairy free. Once I find the magic balance of plant proteins and am able to make items that taste delicious (to me) I really will have no reason to go back.
The cake thing is that there is likely butter, eggs and or/milk in the cake or frosting. Rumor has it (I've heard but not looked for myself) that Oreos and Fritos are Vegan i.e. made with non-animal products. This doesn't necessarily fit the goal we are going for. : ). Kind of like the guy who got his stomach stapled and lost 200 lbs and lived off Coke and Cheetos because he only had so much room in his tummy pocket, and he didn't want to fill that pocket up with anything but those two little vices he'd grown to love.
As far as Booger Tea, Kim. That's just an extra bonus activity. That falls into the category of fermentation. Which is one we've barely looked into but are intrigued with, it's up there with raw. Both have terrific benefits but are also things that will take a lot of work and time to look into. In the interim it makes for a great ice breaker though (and fun to write blog posts). Really. And I have to admit that the gross out factor is way fun for me. And as crazy as it sounds, I kind of like the shot of Booger Tea to start my day. Gluten free and Paleo eating are items I've run across that I'd like to explore a bit more, too. And then there is the word macrobiotic which I've seen pop up and don't have the first clue about....
As for what we ate today. I ignored a lot of junk at the office and felt good about being a good girl and snacking on my orange, salad and leftover pizza.
Tonight I made potato casserole (pictured) with organic potatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and a little quinoa covered in a bubbly "cheese sauce." The "cheese sauce" was made of cashews, water, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. I need to tweak it a bit and will post the recipe when I get the creation to the taste and texture I'm happy with. (I didn't think the potatoes were soft enough and it was tangy enough that I think I need to add less lemon juice.) Rob and 24 loved it....and I liked it quite a bit....but...there are a few tweaks I need to make before I post the recipe.
Four days Vegan and I have no issues with feeling deprived.
My poor husband has had the flu, so no doubt, the only deprivation he's feeling is the three days he lost to his personal plague. It was cute because he'd come out of his feverish fog and stumble around for food other than what we had for meals and actually ask if said item was on the approved list. So he managed to be a Vegan Zombie over the weekend.
The birthday parties were cake. (or cake-free in our case.) 24 and I left the sick man home and attended. But first we ate lunch at home. I carried Larabars in my purse in case someone needed to pull me back from the edge.
We have a menu for this week. And a plan. I'll tell you, I'm looking forward to Farmer's Market season, though. And am so glad Trader Joe's came to the metro area. You might want to buy stock if you are looking to invest in a company because I'm probably singlehandedly keeping them in the black.
Today we had Vegan Naan Quinoa pizza. I need to tweak the recipe for the Naan and will post that when I get the buggar perfected.
I also have been working on my manuscript like a good girl. Three days in I've written or rewritten two scenes and edited a few more. Nice feeling of accomplishment.
And we unearthed
the Kombucha. And unearth is a good word because this little nasty mother is other-worldly. The Kombucha tastes fine....think raspberry vinegar shots and you'll have a good idea of what we are drinking. If Rob ends up on antibiotics then his body will thank him for the extra Kombucha probiotics. The Kombucha mother is, seriously, one of the most disgusting things I have ever encountered. It is solid and gelatinous and waves from the big glass jar as it eats the sugar in the tea preparing another batch.
