Thoughts From a Vegan Girl

So, since I've gone vegan, my brunch options have been nill. What's so hard about making a vegan waffle or blueberry pancake folks? Pre-vegan, my hubbie and I were regulars at The Frog and Turtle for, among other meals, brunch. One of my favorite parts about brunch was the Bloody Mary. Now, it's not just any Bloody Mary... it is a fantastic, mood altering, spicy concoction... best I've ever had.

Well, my favorite barkeep, Ian, seized the challenge and made me a vegan batch. So, guess where we had brunch this past Sunday? Granted, I had fruit for the meal part which wasn't exactly filling, despite how delicious and beautiful it was, but my Mary put a smile on my face all the same!

Now I just have to work on James and those vegan pancakes!

So, my grand plans of cooking and experimenting this week fell by the wayside. I figured with my husband away for the week, I'd have time, right? Well... Monday night I grocery shopped and went to the gym, Tuesday night I worked @ WS, Wednesday night I had dinner and a margarita at my favorite eating drinking establishment, Frog & Turtle and then Thursday night, he was home!

I did however make some banana bread that turned out really nice. I also made some preserves, this time it was strawberry blueberry jam.... yum!


Every day of being a vegan is a learning experience. I just found out yesterday I cannot have Worcestershire sauce. I think I knew it had anchovies in it, but I think I forgot or blocked it out because of my deep seeded hatred of anything aquatic (to eat that is... love the animals - really) because once my very favorite bartender told me he'd make me a special batch of vegan Bloody Mary's for me for Sunday's brunch, I was perplexed for a minute and then when he brought out the bottle, it didn't come as a surprise.

Ya, so that's all I got. Another fairly uneventful week in my world.

Well, that's easy! me... (ahem)

So, here it is, the 3rd freakin' week of July. I say it every year... oh hell, everyone says it every year... summers go by way too quickly.

Since my last post:

1) We have gone to Boston for our anniversary... and tried several vegan restaurants, all varying in levels of fantasticness. My fav was Addis Red Sea Ethiopian restaurant. Neither Bo nor I had ever eaten Ethiopian, but once we got used to the tiny little chairs, the table, the lack of utensils, we were fine! On a scale from 1 to 5, I'd give it a 3.75. I'd def go back, I just may order differently. Others that we tried include Grezzo (raw, vegan food, very good, phenomenal dessert but over priced) and The Grasshopper, which was ok, but not outstanding.
2) I went to Vermont for the Brewer's Fest in Burlington. I had fun, it was good seeing old friends from my previous life.

I've also been cooking, reading and berry picking!

As far as cooking is concerned, I have been doing a lot of experimenting with items I pick up at the farmer's markets as well as recipes from my newest cookbooks. My garden has also come alive with zucchini! I made a vegan zucchini bread, which was fanfreakintastic, recipe originating from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I resist the urge to freely post a recipe, because I want you to buy the books and support the folks who work so hard to put them together, but that being said, if you send me an e-mail, I will send you the recipe... but I still think you should buy the book! I also made some fried plantains with black bean dipping sauce from one of my other fav cookbooks from Cafe Sunflower. I have pictures of neither because, well, I am still a blogger in training and it does not always occur to me to take pictures... I'll get better, I promise.

On to reading... at the suggestion of the parents of a friend of mine, I am now reading The China Study and have been for a while. Truth be told, once I got back from ATL, I have not had a lot of time to read. But, I have the best of intentions of getting back at it this week. fantastic book, it'll change your life if you are open to it.




Berry picking... strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, oh my! I have a number of strawberries frozen and have made both raspberry and strawberry jam. The jams were a bit of a challenge. I'm off the white sugar and I will not use the artificial stuff (Splenda, Nutrasweet, etc) so what to sweeten the jam with? You need sugar for it to set. I have opted for turbinado sugar, but would be interested in suggestions of anyone has any.


Lastly, there are a few things that I have recently discovered and feel strongly about that I would like to share here:

• Blue Mango Veggie Burgers - very tasty, absolutely delicious
  I think that's it... you are up-to-date. I have some serious cooking plans this week, so stay tuned for a more successful effort at picture taking and posting.
• Maria & Ricardo's Tortilla Factory wraps - yummy, elastic-y, makes it easy to stuff 'em with the good stuff, then slam 'em in my panini press. I got Sundried Tomato... would be interested in knowing what other flavors they come in. I called the company and they aren't a lot of help as they sell through distributors and the guy I talked to told me they only had white and whole wheat... what?!? (no website that I found, but I bought them at Lois' Natural Marketplace in Scarborough)
• Healthy Living Market on Dorset St in Burlington, VT. They are kinda like a WFM, but are smaller, have a eat-in deli / cafe area and carry some really cool stuff that I have yet to see at WFM... like lots (10 maybe) of different flavored tofu / tempeh...BBQ was the only one I can recall but they all looked fantastic. Their bulk area was also way cooler with more choices for grains and pilafs.

Well, I believe that concludes my rambling. Stay tuned as I have some serious cooking plans this week and I will be more diligent about my pictures.
Ciao!

Ok, not really juice, but Diet Pepsi. Today is my one month anniversary since I have ingested a DP... pretty cool!

Bo and I went to Atlanta last week and my in-laws were great about trying to accommodate my eating preferences. On our last full day there, Mom and Dad wanted to eat someplace Vegan,. so they could see what it was like. We found this fabulous restaurant in Buckhead called Cafe Sunflower. I cannot wait to go back! My FIL even had desert - a chocolate peanut butter pie which he LOVED and it was mostly tofu... go dad! Everyone really enjoyed their meals. Truth be told, the only one I was concerned about was dad.

I have started reading this book called The China Study. Wow... did you know they (the rest of the world) refers to cancer and heart disease as WESTERN DISEASES. OMG... this was news to me... kinda scary news. How is it that the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, the one who spends the most on health care lays claim to the most horrible diseases?!? It's our diet and lifestyle. The more I read this book, the more I want everyone I love to be vegan. It has definitely shown me how people can become extremists and even preachy about the subject... this is some really scary shit!

About my veganism... I am loving it! I am excited about the foods I can cook and the new veggies I can incorporate into my diet. I know I do not have to be vegan to have to do this, but it has been a great motivator. During my recent trip to Atlanta, I also found 2 new cookbooks: the cookbook from Cafe Sunflower (of which I was excited to see they have included many recipes from their restaurant) and also The Joy of Vegan Baking, which has some fabulous recipes for everything from biscuits and cornbread to apple and pumpkin pies.

Bo is also being amazingly supportive. Do you know he actually requested soy half-n-half for his coffee the other day when we were at the grocery store. It means so much to me that he is being so wonderful and supportive about this. How lucky am I??

I guess that's all for now.