tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74517449168039114742024-02-21T06:00:03.737+00:00how to feed a veganBexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-12672313969709063552013-09-06T14:06:00.001+01:002013-09-06T14:06:38.380+01:00Vegan Diner - Cookbook review-ish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today I'd like to cover a book that has been hanging out in my collection a while, but not too long, and I've been hording photos of for ages but missing quite a few photos too because I can't for the life of me lay my little mouse pointer on them . . . </div>
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<img border="0" src="http://www.juliehasson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/51t0MeBgUML._SL500_AA300_1.jpg" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Diner-Classic-Comfort-Food/dp/0762437847"><b>Vegan Diner</b> </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Diner-Classic-Comfort-Food/dp/0762437847">by Julie Hasson</a></div>
I've been seeing Julie pop up on the ppk forums since I first became vegan and have learned that she is a great vegan chef. Recipes that she comes up with are to be trusted, tried and fed to your family. I guess it probably helps that she's looking to feed her own family as well as running a vegan food business. It is in her interest to produce delicious foods that anyone and everyone can enjoy.<br />
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Starting with breakfast I made the:<br />
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Blueberry Nutmeg Muffins (pg 19)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpmu2YBukuP0ze1mIWMSfuFgpzJmeYga36jY4Tq8K509Y2boQqyK5XFwKelsfPZwswnz6PZJz4xORifkGHFG713xGdc4ZFMAteN1Bgi24FqMZ0sS0dGHpVPRDjJ1YGZlOvYdRVSlbb3p8/s1600/IMG_3170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpmu2YBukuP0ze1mIWMSfuFgpzJmeYga36jY4Tq8K509Y2boQqyK5XFwKelsfPZwswnz6PZJz4xORifkGHFG713xGdc4ZFMAteN1Bgi24FqMZ0sS0dGHpVPRDjJ1YGZlOvYdRVSlbb3p8/s320/IMG_3170.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mocha Muffins (pg 20) </div>
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Banana Biscuits (pg 25)</div>
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Breakfast Potatoes with Peppers and Onions (pg 45)</div>
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Soups Salads & Sides:</div>
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Quick and Hearty Chili (pg 70)<br />
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A nice quick chili. Great on it's own but super awesome over potatoes. </div>
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Garlic Dill Potato Salad (pg 80)</div>
This was awesome! As with everything I make with raw garlic these days, I scaled down the amount asked for because I couldn't bare to hear it was too much. I am totally in love with creamy potato salads anyway, always have been. This doubled as a good help to use extra fresh dill I had hanging out in my fridge.<br />
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Vampire Fries (pg 85)<br />
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Yup, more garlic and I loved them. But not too much garlic. Garlic is good for you!</div>
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Sweetheart Fries (pg 86)</div>
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Main Courses:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0oG2KNUh5tJvIwwUedTHBYWiq6VR64rRjbsUrQQia4pg8uEuACOKBy-_KyWVV-dFTvt4G-0C__sJhO0ZqdnlPxnfC3698_oW5MvSwfE1Yth4hCEbqQodtLZl2Ta_TSyy8J_9xMHlRtgV/s1600/Diner+Sloppy+Joes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0oG2KNUh5tJvIwwUedTHBYWiq6VR64rRjbsUrQQia4pg8uEuACOKBy-_KyWVV-dFTvt4G-0C__sJhO0ZqdnlPxnfC3698_oW5MvSwfE1Yth4hCEbqQodtLZl2Ta_TSyy8J_9xMHlRtgV/s320/Diner+Sloppy+Joes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Very Sloppy Joes (pg 93)</div>
I've always had a love hate relationship with sloppy joes. I like sandwhiches and I like the sloppy joe filling but half of it always squeezes out and you end up eating it with a fork anyway and for sandwhiches I feel like they are fork free foods. I forget which blog I recently saw this on but I had to do the old forhead smack on this one. Sloppy joes over potatoes. I think baked potato would be best but I don't do baked spuds often so the cubed and roasted are just fine here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqimJPZ60CfKWl7kWBmdBc31cbtCFTXqmuoR45gYe9jPWGZLXITcqEZ6R0pRoDCmgPqnAZKCjRZzykAOLFGoGu7dwLK1oigzvjMZk2TX6s6JG58ndjjFxqO_NmZifkI9L9T9v_C0o1JAz/s1600/Diner+Qinoa+Burgers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqimJPZ60CfKWl7kWBmdBc31cbtCFTXqmuoR45gYe9jPWGZLXITcqEZ6R0pRoDCmgPqnAZKCjRZzykAOLFGoGu7dwLK1oigzvjMZk2TX6s6JG58ndjjFxqO_NmZifkI9L9T9v_C0o1JAz/s320/Diner+Qinoa+Burgers.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Quinoa Burgers (pg 100)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEfZGNsBzCccgppPW4hM55Tk22REGxE3Ms4VpN6zPYz40-RZPg5gWvLKraDX0zNuKQzGw0RfDyfArAhXCIrtcGhLEFF5PnjMvxsrJqsw5H-FeVl1_3Wu3O0C_cvtsIYClP7wO8ThI6lQH/s1600/Diner+Mac+Cheese+w+hamberger+steaks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEfZGNsBzCccgppPW4hM55Tk22REGxE3Ms4VpN6zPYz40-RZPg5gWvLKraDX0zNuKQzGw0RfDyfArAhXCIrtcGhLEFF5PnjMvxsrJqsw5H-FeVl1_3Wu3O0C_cvtsIYClP7wO8ThI6lQH/s320/Diner+Mac+Cheese+w+hamberger+steaks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cheezy Mac (pg 104)<br />
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Just add something green for a super yummy rounded out meal.</div>
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Jambalaya (pg 105)</div>
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Desserts:</div>
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Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (pg 124)</div>
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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (pg 125)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigsU3PW_t6KGCAjDF_ZIpmx18kGCvCK4TdUXQAhqu0dDB8-9dX8_5_3FN7bCWwZEA7ojUGOCh5Bjb9kskvvotg3IcT2T7V_YXMD9W-Wz6885bRCUtNddNAevJVQy6ZUW57FBFmG_D76L_/s1600/Diner+Brownies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigsU3PW_t6KGCAjDF_ZIpmx18kGCvCK4TdUXQAhqu0dDB8-9dX8_5_3FN7bCWwZEA7ojUGOCh5Bjb9kskvvotg3IcT2T7V_YXMD9W-Wz6885bRCUtNddNAevJVQy6ZUW57FBFmG_D76L_/s320/Diner+Brownies.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ooey-Gooey Brownies (pg 126)<br />
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Ok these I almost had to report a problem with before I realized the problem was me and my oven. It's a gas oven and I've always had trouble regulating temperature in gas ovens. Sometimes the seal has been crap. Sometimes there isn't even a suggestion of temperature control, just on or off. First I didn't make them exactly as written I had substituted whole meal flour and then realized as they were baking that I forgot the sugar completely. They still tasted ok, good thing I like dark chocolate! Both the first and second times I made them there was a baking time issue. I just could not get the centers to bake. Then I thought about it, no matter what I baked in there if it were dessert/snack bars or dinner casseroles I had a ridiculous time getting the centers to heat up before the edges hardened and turned to cemented lumps of charcoal. The final time I improvised a tray on a cookie sheet and followed the recipe exactly and voila! Perfect delicious best brownies ever brownies. Seriously make these. </div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Apple Crumb Pie (pg 138) with All Purpose Pastry Dough (pg 136)</span></div>
Sauces & Incidentals:<br />
I won't comment on these individually but just say as a group all the sauces I tried were awesome and I have made them more than once since the first try.<br />
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Creamy Sage and Pepper Gravy (pg 160)</div>
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Rich Brown Gravy (pg 176)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkKCWvnVhv5Qe6e9G3n5pfon91KDoHrmbVuv61nuJLK1dTr7mMlOx8fEVhdy_RB_lFjRayMlqogoSvlc7WWgQulHp8UlUpkK4C8PD6XFHd1r08AcGEN7qMrMeqaT8AGvwfKSaMmFlsP6y/s1600/Diner+Rough+Rider+BBQ.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkKCWvnVhv5Qe6e9G3n5pfon91KDoHrmbVuv61nuJLK1dTr7mMlOx8fEVhdy_RB_lFjRayMlqogoSvlc7WWgQulHp8UlUpkK4C8PD6XFHd1r08AcGEN7qMrMeqaT8AGvwfKSaMmFlsP6y/s320/Diner+Rough+Rider+BBQ.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce (pg 178)</div>
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Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce (pg 179)</div>
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There are loads more I want to make. When I made the bulk of these recipes I was keeping away from too much gluten for our family. Lately I have been reintroducing it a bit and my little one seems to be doing much better with it. While I won't be going crazy with it I am now able to try out some more of these recipes. On that note I did find the book a bit gluten heavy. For some things like sauces and gravies when a flour is called for it's not a hard sub to choose something wheat and/or gluten free but in recipes where vital wheat gluten flour is called for the substitution is much more difficult and the result will almost certainly not be the same as the recipe creator intended. Aside from a gluten aversion this book does not disappoint and I look forward to trying out more recipes. Just now writing this I know that tomorrow morning I will be making Cherry Almond Poppyseed Muffins (pg 18) but with the cranberry variation. The recipes cover lots of diner style food and definitely hit the comfort food spot.<br />
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Julie's latest book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Pizza-Cheesy-Healthy-Recipes/dp/144942712X">Vegan Pizza: 50 Cheesy, Crispy, Healthy Recipes</a>. Can't wait to get my mitts on that one.</div>
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<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-87950546786001653732013-09-02T20:35:00.002+01:002013-09-02T20:35:35.497+01:00Make Your Own Tortillas - Save money and preservatives!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I bought flour tortillas and wraps for the longest time just assuming that there was some magic trick to making them and therefore it would just be too much work to make at home. Turns out that is so far from the truth it's laughable. When I finally got around to trying it, while living in Spain where tortillas are available but silly expensive, I goggled a recipe and just went for it. I had no special equipment, not even a rolling pin, working in a tiny hostel kitchen with thin beat up pans. So I think it's safe to say that pretty much anyone can do this and once you do it a couple times you'll get into a rhythm and it truly is super fast, like 10-20 minutes fast! So I'll get right to it shall I?</div>
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<b>Flour Tortillas</b></div>
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<i>2 1/2 c all purpose flour*</i></div>
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<i>2 1/2 c whole wheat flour*</i></div>
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<i>1-2 tsp salt, to taste</i></div>
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<i>1/2 c vegetable oil, like canola/rapeseed**</i></div>
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<i>1 1/2 c boiling water**</i></div>
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<i>Combine flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add oil and boiling water and mix and knead into a soft, but not sticky, dough. Be careful of using your hands with the hot water. Allow the dough to rest about 5 minutes and preheat a griddle or pan(s). Before I used a griddle I would use 2-3 pans at once. Heavy bottomed pans (cast iron is great here) is best but thinner pans can be used. They will not require much preheating. Once the dough has rested a bit divide into desired number of tortillas. I usually use these for tacos and would divide the dough into 32 balls.</i></div>
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<i>Sprinkle your work surface with flour and have extra handy as needed. Roll dough fairly thin but so you can still handle it. We're not looking for paper thin here. Place your rolled tortilla onto the hot griddle or pans, pans should be dry, no oil needed.</i></div>
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<i>You may need to increase or decrease the heat on your pans as they come up to temperature. What you are looking for are small/medium bubbles to start forming on your tortilla within a few seconds. The first one or two for me always take a bit longer as I usually don't wait for things to preheat properly. Once you have those bubbles all over your tortilla (or you check and the bottom is starting to lightly brown) then flip and cook the other side for a few more seconds. Once everything is nicely hot, but not smoking, my tortillas usually take roughly 30 seconds per side. To steamline the process I am cooking and rolling out dough at the same time. Once your tortilla is cooked pile them up, they are ready to eat. If you are storing them allow them to cool fully so as not to trap loads of moisture in with your tortillas.</i><br />
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<i>*You can mix this amount of flour any way you desire. I have used only all purpose flour and all whole wheat as well. I prefer a mixture of the two for the best texture. The resulting tortillas are soft and light but also flavorful and filling. In general all purpose white flour gives softer fluffier more flexible results, whole wheat will be heavier and make for stiffer cooked tortillas. You can also directly substitute spelt flour without trouble.</i><br />
<i>**You can also change the ratios of oil and water within this amount although I have never tried an oil free tortilla. I have found that this amount of oil really helps in maintaining a soft flexible tortilla once they have cooled in in the following couple days without needing to reheat the breads.</i><br />
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I'm writing out this recipe fast and furious so if something is unclear or you have general questions please feel free to ask and I will try to clarify or modify the recipe :) Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-74412342411180698862013-09-01T20:53:00.000+01:002013-09-01T20:53:31.063+01:00The Vegan Pantry - Welcome to Vegan Mofo 2013!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.veganmofo.com/"><img border="0" height="67" src="http://www.veganmofo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/400x84_g1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Vegan Mofo in September! Exciting but that means it kind of snuck up on me. I haven't participated in a couple years and I've really been wanting to get back to this blog regularly so I've signed up. Fingers crossed I can make a good showing :)<br />
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While I won't have a particular theme for the month I will be mostly expanding on what I intended this blog to be about, how to feed a vegan. This can cover everything from ingredient use, recipes for new foods as well as old favorites, and places to eat out or how to eat well in a nonvegetarian establishment. Hopefully you find some helpful things to feed yourself or the friendly vegans in your life. <br />
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To kick off the month I wanted to share my vegan pantry with you. This is the master list of what I try to stock in my pantry. Different households will favor different things but hopefully this is a good starter list for anyone wanting to refresh their own pantry or those just wondering what a typical vegan might be storing in their kitchen cupboards.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Vegan Pantry</u></span></b></div>
<b>Beans/Proteins</b><br />
<ul>
<li>chickpeas (dried and/or canned)</li>
<li>blackbeans (dried and/or canned)</li>
<li>lentils (dried)</li>
<li>kidney beans (canned)</li>
<li>vegetarian baked beans (canned)</li>
<li>soy mince (tvp)</li>
<li>soy chunks </li>
<li>tofu (fresh extra firm)</li>
</ul>
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<b>Grains</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>brown rice </li>
<li>white rice</li>
<li>gluten free pasta</li>
<li>whole wheat pasta (preferably organic)</li>
<li>rolled oats (preferably organic)</li>
</ul>
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<b>Flours</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>whole wheat flour (preferably organic)</li>
<li>white flour (preferably organic, rarely use this anymore)</li>
<li>whole spelt flour (preferably organic)</li>
<li>brown rice flour</li>
<li>chickpea flour (besan)</li>
<li>corn meal (maize flour)</li>
<li>corn starch</li>
</ul>
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<b>Sweeteners</b></div>
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<div>
<ul>
<li>white sugar (non bone char)</li>
<li>dark brown sugar</li>
<li>confectioners sugar </li>
<li>treacle/molasses</li>
<li>golden syrup (in the US I had corn syrup)</li>
<li>maple syrup</li>
</ul>
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<b>Fats</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>vegan non hydrogenated margarine</li>
<li>canola/rapeseed oil</li>
<li>extra virgin olive oil</li>
<li>sunflower seed oil</li>
<li>raw coconut oil</li>
<li>toasted sesame seed oil</li>
</ul>
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<b>Other Baking</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>cocoa powder (fair trade)</li>
<li>vegan semisweet chocolate pieces/chips/bar</li>
<li>baking powder</li>
<li>baking soda/bicarbonate of soda</li>
<li>cream of tartar</li>
<li>xanthan gum </li>
<li>vanilla extract</li>
<li>almond extract</li>
<li>peppermint extract</li>
<li>active dry yeast</li>
</ul>
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<b>Other Canned Goods</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>tomatoes</li>
<li>tomato paste</li>
<li>coconut milk</li>
<li>pineapple</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Vinegar/Condiments/Sauces</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>balsamic vinegar</li>
<li>apple cider vinegar</li>
<li>brown rice vinegar</li>
<li>soy sauce/tamari</li>
<li>thai curry paste (red or green)</li>
<li>liquid smoke</li>
<li>ketchup</li>
<li>mustard (whole grain, dijon, english, etc)</li>
<li>hot sauces</li>
<li>brown sauce</li>
<li>marmite/yeast extract</li>
<li>miso paste</li>
<li>vegan vegetable stock cubes/granuals</li>
<li>nutritional yeast</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<b>Dried Fruit/Nuts/Seeds/Nut Butters</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>raisins </li>
<li>prunes</li>
<li>figs</li>
<li>cranberries (unsweetened)</li>
<li>dates</li>
<li>shredded coconut (unsweetened)</li>
<li>flake/chip coconut (unsweetened)</li>
<li>almonds</li>
<li>cashews</li>
<li>walnuts</li>
<li>sesame seeds</li>
<li>hemp seeds</li>
<li>flax seeds</li>
<li>sunflower seeds</li>
<li>peanut butter</li>
<li>almond butter</li>
<li>tahini</li>
</ul>
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<b>Beverages</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>soy milk (unsweetened and/or sweetened)</li>
<li>coffee (fair trade organic)</li>
<li>teas (green, black, herbal)</li>
</ul>
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<b>Spice Rack </b>(items with * I consider basic spice rack needs)</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>anise seeds</li>
<li>allspice (ground)</li>
<li>basil*</li>
<li>bay leaves</li>
<li>cardamom</li>
<li>cayenne</li>
<li>celery seed</li>
<li>chili powder*</li>
<li>cinnamon* (ground)</li>
<li>cloves (ground)</li>
<li>coriander</li>
<li>cumin seed (and/or ground)*</li>
<li>dill</li>
<li>fennel seed</li>
<li>fenugreek seeds</li>
<li>garlic powder*</li>
<li>ginger*</li>
<li>mustard powder</li>
<li>mustard seed</li>
<li>nutmeg* (ground)</li>
<li>onion powder*</li>
<li>oregano*</li>
<li>paprika*</li>
<li>paprika, smoked</li>
<li>peppercorns*</li>
<li>red pepper flakes*</li>
<li>rosemary*</li>
<li>sage*</li>
<li>salt</li>
<li>thyme*</li>
<li>tumeric</li>
</ul>
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<b>Basic Produce</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>potatoes (preferably organic)</li>
<li>onions</li>
<li>carrots</li>
<li>garlic</li>
<li>bananas</li>
<li>apples</li>
<li>oranges</li>
<li>lemons</li>
<li>peppers</li>
</ul>
</div>
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While this looks like a huge huge list remember that this is pretty much every bit of food in the kitchen and lots of things, like the spice/herbs list are small bottles. Like I said before, different households will favor different things or more or less choices. I like knowing that I don't really have to shop most days if most of these things around. <br />
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Here's to a month of vegan food greatness!</div>
Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-46451022244527809932013-03-23T22:36:00.000+00:002013-03-23T22:36:14.574+00:00Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (low sugar)Ok so I realize looking at this picture that these totally look like dog biscuits and your dog would not mind eating these at all. I think to remedy the dog biscuit look you can make these just into drop cookies but I made these with my 2 year old and she loves loves loves to play with the dough. I decided she would probably like pressing these into shapes with the cookie cutters. Or rather she played and I pressed them. <div>
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This recipe is based on the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cookies-Invade-Your-Cookie/dp/160094048X">Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar</a> but with a couple tweeks to use a banana that was a little beat up on the counter and to reduce the sugar to alleviate any guilt that might crop up when feeding your kids cookies. Although with the reduced sugar and banana these are definitely less sweet than your typical cookie. Luckily my little Noodle hasn't really learned what sugar is. If you're not into the light banana flavor, apple sauce/puree would work just as well.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>1 medium banana, mashed</i></div>
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<i>1/2 c peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)</i></div>
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<i>1/2 c dark brown sugar</i></div>
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<i>1/3 c nondairy milk</i></div>
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<i>4 tsp ground flax</i></div>
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<i>1 tsp vanilla</i></div>
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<i>1 1/3 c spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)</i></div>
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<i>1 tsp baking powder</i></div>
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<i>3/4 tsp baking soda</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>1 tsp cinnamon</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>1/2 tsp salt</i></div>
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<i>1 1/3 c oats (whatever kind you have)</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Mix together the banana, peanut butter, sugar, milk, flax, and vanilla until smooth.</i></div>
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<i>Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add oats and mix together.</i></div>
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<i>Drop by rounded teaspoon (or press into shapes) onto prepared cookie sheets and bake about 10 minutes. </i></div>
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Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-31030411451610302422013-03-23T12:22:00.002+00:002013-03-23T12:22:28.879+00:00Meal Plan Wednesday (13/3/13)You'll probably see a trend forming between previous weeks and this one. I'm really cooking up a storm with Vegan Diner. I'm working up a consolidated review of the book but there will be snippets here and there through dinners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_YvQdQ3kY0qG6L8A9I1ZZDu5u_1VSXTD3IxYY5k6chSJi8lL-8GdH8ZFhJURn-iSnoyMfHM3RjPU1nH8phZ0B2WaNeLQyqfhYkDF_SdHWg5renAyUQi3uyKbl1dtac4ZAHCnk1tsyuLa/s1600/Diner+Chili.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_YvQdQ3kY0qG6L8A9I1ZZDu5u_1VSXTD3IxYY5k6chSJi8lL-8GdH8ZFhJURn-iSnoyMfHM3RjPU1nH8phZ0B2WaNeLQyqfhYkDF_SdHWg5renAyUQi3uyKbl1dtac4ZAHCnk1tsyuLa/s320/Diner+Chili.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Quick & Hearty Chili (Vegan Diner 70) with oven chips<br />
I neglected to snap a pic of our actual plates but I simply scooped this chili over our oven chips (fries). This chili was super quick (as advertised) and the whole family enjoyed it. I might have mentioned this before but I do enjoy things over oven chips. Such an easy way to construct a satisfying filling meal.<br />
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Pasta with <a href="http://veganyumyum.com/2007/02/esmes-sauce/">Esme's sauce</a>, broccoli & <a href="http://havecakewilltravel.com/2012/10/09/pbbbsandwich/">chickpea bacon</a> and Marinated Portabella Mushrooms (Vegan Table)<br />
I've made Esme's sauce ages ago but in working to clear out old bookmarks I have rediscovered it and it will move to the family favorites binder. This is an excellent alternative to the usual cheesy pasta sauces which I do also enjoy but it's good to mix it up. Especially with a toddler to feed, I want to keep that palate alive and accepting of different flavors. The Noodle really enjoyed this but with pasta you're already half way there anyway. She loves her mushrooms and broccoli as well so this really was a winner. I've made this marinated mushroom side before as well with a couple types and sizes of mushrooms and it's always been a treat.<br />
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"Steak" and Ale Stew. OK, this wasn't steak or ale but like most recipes I end up making it's just a starting off point for my easily distracted brain. This wasn't actually in my original meal plan but we had a half a bottle of Spitfire to use. I started with <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew">this recipe</a> which is super simple and made only slight changes (like using soy chunks instead of cow, no celery, added potatoes and parsnips), and I just made this on the stove top. <br />
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<a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2013/02/winter_vegetable_curry.php">Winter Vegetable Curry</a> with rice. No pics but this is a good mild curry that you can easily modify to your own tastes. I ended up adding garam masala to up the flavor. We're used to a bit more spice around here.<br />
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Quinoa Burger (Vegan Diner 100) with Vampire Fries (Vegan Diner 85)<br />
This I had to modify not because of our preferences but because quinoa is expensive! I'll probably manage to get my hands on some sometime soon but I figured rice would work just fine here and I happen to have some leftover in the fridge which worked out swimmingly. I dressed up the burger with some hummus, ketchup and cherry tomatoes (the only ones around right now that have flavor). For the fries I added carrot sticks to the pan and roasted them in the oven as oven fries. I also opted to add the garlic to the fries as they went into the oven rather then after. Although I would have loved to eat them with the garlic on post cooking I know that my husband would have picked on me about my garlic tastes and the little Noodle would have found the flavor too overwhelming.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs6OlV62V-xKt0q3BsA5fz31bAZ65tqr3VCCj4yCCPvMUf_T8hyphenhyphen0a6CBtsn0Vp6t_OXENwfWIWxElX_n4DO-p6SueMaSI0GTtglAhOw08h24Xe13Vjmc9cATKS7cWITyW1Il0_XjZ97Uh/s1600/Diner+Sloppy+Joes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs6OlV62V-xKt0q3BsA5fz31bAZ65tqr3VCCj4yCCPvMUf_T8hyphenhyphen0a6CBtsn0Vp6t_OXENwfWIWxElX_n4DO-p6SueMaSI0GTtglAhOw08h24Xe13Vjmc9cATKS7cWITyW1Il0_XjZ97Uh/s320/Diner+Sloppy+Joes.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Very Sloppy Joes (Vegan Diner 93) over baked potatoes<br />
This, in my opinion, is a way better option than sloppy joes on a bun. I love sandwiches as much as the next guy but most of it ends up on the plate needing to be scooped up somehow and I end up with a rubbish joe to bread ratio in each bite. An potatoes are just the best! In the background you can see kale. That was just quickly steamed. That was pretty good too :)<br />
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Hmm looking back is making me hungry . . . .time to get some lunch.<br />
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<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-31163571054914430142013-03-18T22:34:00.000+00:002013-03-18T22:34:04.123+00:00Meal Plan Wednesday (6/3/13)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This was a weird week where everything was trying it's best not to fall into place. We made it through pretty well mostly winging dinner as most of the meal plan was thrown out the window.</div>
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Cheese Mac (Vegan Diner 104) with <a href="http://thriftyliving.net/?p=943">Hamburger Steaks</a><br />
I was really pleased with this mac & cheese and the addition of the last of my fresh spinach didn't hurt either. The side of hamburger steaks is a recipe I bookmarked ages ago as the flavor profile sounded like something to try out (my main reason for bookmarking anything burger like these days). I skipped the gluten and the steaming step (since that for the benefit of cooking the gluten properly). They were definitely a nice natural side for the mac. Especially topped with left over bbq sauce.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4lcXnP4B_dtSntlxeLHM-fAShwDC-OBjaePsVdWq-ejuycRPMBBLDqPj7tX2ncarugoMhfs-fkl5-g9trGl1sz-j7TyQLmuuCZvDxQmD3QPVgw7xlP0yaVKBjx0FworcGH47_t87c8PQ/s1600/lentil+veg+stew.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4lcXnP4B_dtSntlxeLHM-fAShwDC-OBjaePsVdWq-ejuycRPMBBLDqPj7tX2ncarugoMhfs-fkl5-g9trGl1sz-j7TyQLmuuCZvDxQmD3QPVgw7xlP0yaVKBjx0FworcGH47_t87c8PQ/s320/lentil+veg+stew.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Veggie and Lentil Soup. Lex cooked tonight. The Noodle and I were out early in the morning stomping around town hitting the library and visiting ducks. Then we all went out for our big weekly shop finally. By the time we hit the checkout the Noodle could hardly hold her head up. She nearly fell asleep twice during the day but when it came to laying down for a little nap . . . oh heck no! so she was tired and velcro'd to mum for much of the day. So Lex stepped up and threw together this delicious soup. It's another reminder that a good veggie soup is only a little way away. Raid your fridge and cupboards, chop chop chop, simmer simmer, yum yum!<br />
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Thai Red Curry over brown rice. Lex cooked this one too! I know! You don't have to tell me! Enough with the exclamation points though . . . well maybe one more. . . This was so good! The Noodle thought so too. She ate a little of everything in this dish. It helps that she has an undying love for coconut. Thai curry is another one of those awesome dishes that goes together pretty quickly like a soup if you keep the curry paste around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4IlUCqFJE5yGeILvzJWTpDmK6lbA9fryKc1R87DYPgmq9cFlX3__r5srlXgQIk1VOmHJKZJsmr9AjZDoJF9nljK6SsOPSzTvGVVButAXDtS1sfSlhKF6YgyatLoCxIUBUQVvqLRzM7mR/s1600/OSG+Potato+Soup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4IlUCqFJE5yGeILvzJWTpDmK6lbA9fryKc1R87DYPgmq9cFlX3__r5srlXgQIk1VOmHJKZJsmr9AjZDoJF9nljK6SsOPSzTvGVVButAXDtS1sfSlhKF6YgyatLoCxIUBUQVvqLRzM7mR/s320/OSG+Potato+Soup.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2013/02/25/not-your-average-potato-soup/">Not your Average Potato Soup</a><br />
I recently discovered <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/">Oh She Glows</a> and I have to say I'm hooked. I haven't explored the rest of the site but the recipes are great and the photography gets your mouth watering. If you need help with making delicious healthy meals this is a must visit for you. This week has been all about the one pot meals. They are perfect when you can only steal away 2 minutes at a time away from your clingy toddler. This is a super easy recipe that you can get together on a busy weekday night with no problem. It will also keep well for a couple days in the fridge if you are one to do some cooking in advance. I followed the recipe as written then added to it to fill it out and fill the pot. I added an additional half pound of potatoes and half cup of lentils (I don't have the split lentils in the house so used whole) then snuck in some carrots. I know it's supposed to be potato soup but the original is both a potato soup but a lentil soup too. It's like the two got together and had a baby anyway so I said to heck with it. Carrots go with everything.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e65DdGFUuWrp8ncgLL3f7xf5CsBl7jycGLcBPqiugdR311qw7TCj1Mu0PcVqGwkCEC1uFvA7_9aamGSuasmO76mn__q1sqk2ynTpeCj00UitrI1h1oqqx-noVBl-R8eti9L_cmA0jyxo/s1600/Chickpea+&+Dumplings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e65DdGFUuWrp8ncgLL3f7xf5CsBl7jycGLcBPqiugdR311qw7TCj1Mu0PcVqGwkCEC1uFvA7_9aamGSuasmO76mn__q1sqk2ynTpeCj00UitrI1h1oqqx-noVBl-R8eti9L_cmA0jyxo/s320/Chickpea+&+Dumplings.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://peasandthankyou.com/2013/02/20/chickpea-crockpot-pie-with-biscuit-topping/">Chickpea Crockpot Pie with Biscuit topping</a><br />
Another recent blog discovery, <a href="http://peasandthankyou.com/">Peas and Thank you</a>. Not a veg blog but enough wholesome family meals that there are plenty of veg options and things to be modified to such. The photo really sucked me in with winter making it's usual last hurrah in March it just looked so cozy. As you'd expect I subbed veg options for butter and milk. For the biscuits I used spelt flour and skipped the nutritional yeast and herbs. I'm sure they would have made tasty additions but Noodlepants was helping me and she can be a bit over zealous with the herbs and spices. Also we are pretty low on nooch. As one of the more expensive ingredients we use I'm trying to spread it out a bit.<br />
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We didn't make it to the market this week and Noodle is all about being Mama's shadow these days so she's doing everything I'm doing. Both of these things probably contributed to the off-ness of the week. I look forward to our market trips. Hopefully we get back to them next week.<br />
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<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-10977298519091864792013-03-10T22:01:00.000+00:002013-03-10T22:01:33.687+00:00Meal Plan Wednesday (27/2/13)1. <a href="http://mouthwateringvegan.com/2013/02/21/vegan-chinese-sweet-sour-%e2%80%98pork%e2%80%99/">Chinese Sweet & Sour 'Pork'</a><br />
So super yum. As you can work out I forgot to take a pic but I will totally make this again. For us I used soy chunks (tvp chunks) hydrated with water, soy sauce and a splash of liquid smoke. I didn't do the breading and frying part. While I love fried stuff it's not really that good for ya and more importantly I had a short person hanging off my trouser leg trying to pull and push me out of the kitchen so I had to shorten the method a bit. The sauce for this is glorious. I skipped the optional tomato soup powder as well as the food coloring and I dare say I probably doubled the pineapple but again there was this little person saying something like "want pine apple" (yup she says it separated like that, so cute). I added the extra because I knew she would be picking a bunch out for herself.<br />
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2. <a href="http://elizaveganpage.blogspot.com/2012/10/lentil-and-vegetable-soup.html">Lentil & Vegetable Soup</a><br />
I feel like everyone has a veggie lentil soup on their blog and I'm sure they're all tasty. Let's face it, veggie lentil soup is pretty quick and easy. You can add any veg you'd like and the stock can be light or dark. It's simple healthy delicious food (well unless you add something not delicious, unhealthy and/or complicated). This is a good place to start if you've somehow missed the boat on lentil soups. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwE-pX58Y5tCUJTrgRWaNMto6e_7bht3afXOGh6obqZIuSn0i0IzIHcukPGRWmwVSWoFwKEp6VPfO4tiaYb7ml68kwOpC2yjGzOE5j00iyuoSWmm1W3P20CquzzJXnvBsdl0Ew6RBeD23/s1600/jambalaya.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwE-pX58Y5tCUJTrgRWaNMto6e_7bht3afXOGh6obqZIuSn0i0IzIHcukPGRWmwVSWoFwKEp6VPfO4tiaYb7ml68kwOpC2yjGzOE5j00iyuoSWmm1W3P20CquzzJXnvBsdl0Ew6RBeD23/s320/jambalaya.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
3. Jambalaya (Vegan Diner pg 105)<br />
Yes, this is a photo of some ugly food. I could have prettied it up I suppose given more space and time but we wanted to eat. Given the first two meals of the week we should all consider ourselves lucky I managed to snap a photo at all. All that out of the way this was some good food. In the past I've really enjoyed the recipe in Veganomicon but since I've been focusing on giving Vegan Diner a good testing I chose this one. It's some excellent comforting food let me tell you. I doubled the recipe (reminder, I have a hungry husband) and added kidney beans because I knew they wouldn't take anything away from the original recipe and it would stretch the meal out a bit more yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSEFg68i8Xm51GM_6L-qmN6NsCsspBl8GoZTHsdGRp3Jo0J9NLBLui7oeh3Ovfuw3cMEYEKeyAG25cP0yXVG6cm8WmVUvVgxJ5V_iW9G2tmZgWCOrYIPqa0GsOD9O9TbvtD24l_NVPdLK/s1600/chickpea+cutlets+w+Diner+Rich+Brown+Gravy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSEFg68i8Xm51GM_6L-qmN6NsCsspBl8GoZTHsdGRp3Jo0J9NLBLui7oeh3Ovfuw3cMEYEKeyAG25cP0yXVG6cm8WmVUvVgxJ5V_iW9G2tmZgWCOrYIPqa0GsOD9O9TbvtD24l_NVPdLK/s320/chickpea+cutlets+w+Diner+Rich+Brown+Gravy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
4. Mashed potatoes, broccoli and <a href="http://www.theppk.com/2010/11/doublebatch-chickpea-cutlets/">Chickpea Cutlets</a> with Rich Brown Gravy (Vegan Diner pg 176)<br />
The real focus for me in this meal was the Vegan Diner's Brown Gravy because I love me some tasty gravy but a happy discovery occurred while further simplifying and deglutenizing the already simplified chickpea cutlet recipe. The original recipe for the cutlets was a winner in my book already but I now have a couple issues with it. 1. We don't have vital wheat gluten so readily available to us these days and 2. we're shifting away from eating wheat and gluten. So with that in mind along with an impromptu trip out to <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/framptonmarsh/">Frampton Marsh</a> left me rushing to get dindins out. I'll post my modifications after I make it again just so I'm not sharing something that will leave you all hating me when it turns into a big pile of slop in a bowl. What about the gravy you ask? It was delicious and pretty nutritious as gravies go. Julie doesn't use corn starch to thicken here instead opting for a couple flours mixed with the other seasonings. My only criticism of it is that there may be too much dried onion powder in there for my tastes. I actually reduced it when I made it, suspecting that the printed amount would be a bit over powering. Noodle ate this first. She scraped it off her potatoes and cutlets and into her mouth then asked for more.<br />
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5.Baked Potato & Greens Soup with Potato Croutons (Veganomicon)<br />
I have had my eye on this soup ever since getting a copy of Veganomicon but for some completely unknown reason never actually made it. I probably had it in my head that I didn't have enough time or it wasn't hearty enough of some lame-o thing or other. Whatever the reason I totally should have made this ages ago. It's delicious and easy (my two favorite things in food at the moment). I only added chickpeas to round out this to a one pot meal and create some leftovers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFrPV9wDYA7Lq0wgtzjtJ4AWawmLxz14Ppi0FOljT7mCd9_plWVhOeRQuy1wkPLzy3byxl-b0Yt3xWo1PLt-PJrKK1tb5CRQNyaACcZd81YRXSrz21BYTleZf_5eJLoGiU9SBYmwUMU7d/s1600/pigs+in+clover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFrPV9wDYA7Lq0wgtzjtJ4AWawmLxz14Ppi0FOljT7mCd9_plWVhOeRQuy1wkPLzy3byxl-b0Yt3xWo1PLt-PJrKK1tb5CRQNyaACcZd81YRXSrz21BYTleZf_5eJLoGiU9SBYmwUMU7d/s320/pigs+in+clover.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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6. <a href="http://elizaveganpage.blogspot.com/2012/10/pigs-in-clover.html">Pigs in Clover</a> and for lunch we had a nice big salad of spinach, avocado, cucumber, beet, <a href="http://havecakewilltravel.com/2012/10/09/pbbbsandwich/">chickpea bacon</a> and hummus dressing. No pic of the salad but it looked like a salad, trust me :) I definitely recommend the chickpea bacon. Super yum and a great way to boost your salad (Lex asked for a good high calorie salad). I liked the idea for this baked potato dish and liked the idea of making it more of a twiced baked potato thing even more as it made it a bit less fiddly to accomplish. I used lentils instead of oats and also added fennel as it always instantly reminds me of sausage. Since I had a baked potato item on the agenda for the previous night I went ahead and baked the potatoes for both nights at the same time which cut down on time and energy to make this.<br />
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7. Pan-Fried Chickpeas, Brussels Sprouts with <a href="http://veganyumyum.com/2009/01/crash-hot-potatoes/">Crash Hot Potatoes</a> and Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce (Vegan Diner pg 178)</div>
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I can't get enough potatoes, can you tell? Crash Hot Potatoes is another recipe I've had bookmarked for a while. I knew I would like them and I'm always looking for more ways to enjoy one of my favorite foods. The barbecue sauce was excellent. It really is a good classic barbecue flavor as far as I'm concerned. I know barbecue, like chili, is a regional thing. For me this is classic barbecue. I might be making this regularly and keeping it on hand rather than buying premade stuff with the extra preservatives.<br />
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Noodle Snacks:</div>
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<a href="http://farmersmarketvegan.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/granola-of-the-week-5-figgy-pudding-gingerbread-granola/">Figgy Pudding Gingerbread Granola</a><br />
I love this idea. I've been thinking about granola a lot but didn't want the Noodle to be eating all the sugar that traditionally covers those lovely chunks of oats and nuts and other goodies. This was my first go at fruit sweetened granola and I'm sure we'll find our favorites and I'll improve my methods. I used this recipe as a guide and used some additional bits I had about (like a single super ripe banana). I meant to snap a photo before the chunks were all eaten up but well, they were all eaten up. I can't believe the Noodle maintained interest throughout the whole batch rather than getting bored of it after the first day. Toddlers aren't so much picky as fickle in regards to food. Well as long as they have a good diverse palate from the start.<br />
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the market haul</div>
The groceries:<br />
kale (250g)<br />
red grapes (500g)<br />
2 parsnips<br />
cherry tomatoes (500g)<br />
4 bell peppers (3 yellow, 1 orange)<br />
lemons<br />
bananas<br />
apples<br />
carrots<br />
oranges<br />
sm potatoes<br />
mushrooms<br />
flax seed<br />
soy milk<br />
tvp mince<br />
tvp chunks<br />
muesli<br />
oats<br />
raisins<br />
peanut butter<br />
baked beans<br />
canned tomatoes<br />
tomato sauce<br />
coconut milk<br />
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Totally lost track of the slips this week but there was little pantry restock this week. Mostly the regular weekly stuff. Definitely less than <b class="priceLarge" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">£</span></b>50, I'd be surprised it if was <b class="priceLarge" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">£</span></b>30 but I don't have my totals so we don't know for sure.<br />
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Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-33349950906769051172013-03-01T13:05:00.000+00:002013-03-01T13:05:44.449+00:00My go to "meatball" recipe, finally! and Meal Plan Wednesday (20/2/13)<span style="text-align: center;">I know that Meal Plan Monday has this great ring to it and everything but we've started this new tradition of doing our big weekly shop on Wednesdays. Going to the market in near by Boston and then hitting up the supermarket for the rest of our stock-up Maybe there is a stop at an additional shop for a little fun treat for the Noodle. I've been having more fun than she has collecting little Playmobile guys (and gals). I, of course, have not been very regular on posting my meal plans for the week but in the interest of full disclosure I do not get them done every week. I don't know how you moms do it out there. Between looking after the Noodle, and keeping the house and cooking in between my day is over. I struggle to get proper exercise in as evidenced by my significant lack of strength.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">This was the last week in dinners.</span><br />
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1. Sloppy Joes over potato (Vegan Diner - page 93). I'll be making these again and will do a separate post highlighting their deliciousness with my preferred serving method. And maybe a photo which I totally flaked on this time.<br />
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2. <a href="http://veghotpot.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/mixed-bean-and-pea-garden-burger-vegan-and-gluten-free/">Bean and Pea Garden Burger with chips & veg</a><br />
These were plenty tasty and another good burger for putting in those random bits of vegetable. I added off cuts of the kale and cabbage I had (stem and tougher leaves cut into small confetti). Seriously, don't throw out your kale stems they are edible they just need to be cut up due to their fibrous nature. Toss those bits into burgers and soups. We served these with spicy sweet potato fries.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx-srPGf0VFM-M163nfoRLqW5l5fySESezyJkKK8Web1X4_9l4TLm3-SxaAd-L_vAkILUuWYrx7gjczbwr_yQevsQaXeUXRxWrE9usb39f-DL_BZ4gL_3msW80FT28dN_RBTFAe20Isnc/s1600/nacho+potato.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx-srPGf0VFM-M163nfoRLqW5l5fySESezyJkKK8Web1X4_9l4TLm3-SxaAd-L_vAkILUuWYrx7gjczbwr_yQevsQaXeUXRxWrE9usb39f-DL_BZ4gL_3msW80FT28dN_RBTFAe20Isnc/s320/nacho+potato.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
3. <a href="http://keepinitkind.com/nacho-potatoes/">Nacho Potatoes</a><br />
Another delicious bowl idea. I've been leaning toward the bowl presentation more and more lately. Especially as we lean away from eating bread and wheat over all. Potatoes make a great base for many of these sandwichy type things.<br />
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4. <a href="http://lisaprojectvegan.blogspot.com/2012/12/blue-plate-special-38-pistachio-crusted.html">Pistachio Crusted Tofu with Rice & Peas</a></div>
For some reason this link doesn't want to work and bumps you to the home page of Lisa's Vegan Project but no matter. In the top right corner there is a search box and enter "pistachio tofu" and it is the first result :) This was really nice and simple. A couple things overall I might change if I make it again. I think I'll add a bit of corn starch/flour to the mix to help the crust stick onto the tofu better and I'll also think of a sauce for the hubs to use because he really wanted a sauce on this. He does like his sauces though. I thought it was fine as is. I added carrot to the rice mix for more flavor/color/veg and I used regular onion as I rarely buy leeks. I caramelized the onion and carrot together then mixed it with the peas and rice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9oD2LGWzxshp_4lASp5F2l-ACqLYUkjRWnkqX3xo9JBmxoR4r1Ub1XgVUCysSWiRHiJsibm6JQXdfak_H7tZ87XYSoo-pafPqB5AmzuSGlQ4AbRZxxhKzj8sS0jrCEIh885nNxCF6tqN/s1600/not+veg+cobbler.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9oD2LGWzxshp_4lASp5F2l-ACqLYUkjRWnkqX3xo9JBmxoR4r1Ub1XgVUCysSWiRHiJsibm6JQXdfak_H7tZ87XYSoo-pafPqB5AmzuSGlQ4AbRZxxhKzj8sS0jrCEIh885nNxCF6tqN/s320/not+veg+cobbler.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
5. <a href="http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/9737">Vegetable Cobbler</a><br />
Because let's be honest. No one thought I'd bake this right? The stew was great anyway. I ended up adding kale, green beans and chickpeas. The topping was made with a combo of spelt and oats in biscuit form.<br />
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6. <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FatfreeVeganBlog/~3/u4hJgHus7OA/gluten-free-meatball-mix.html">Gluten-Free "Meatballs"</a><br />
Of course I didn't straight up follow the recipe but I didn't make that many changes either. And I totally flaked on the photo but again, I'll be making this again and will do a better job of it next time. I think this is my go to recipe. After so many months, years, searching. Thank you Susan! Try these balls!!!<br />
My adjustments and thoughts on the recipe . . .<br />
-Doubled the overall recipe to give us leftovers (didn't double the salt though).<br />
-Sunflower seeds instead of walnuts (Susan does suggest the use of other nut/seed)<br />
-bit of extra oats to account for my slight shortage of chickpea flour<br />
-put lentils in for the kasha because I had some cooked and don't generally have kasha on hand<br />
-used the optional ingredients except for the tomato powder I used tomato paste and accounted for the moisture by adding it as part of the boiling water measure. Reduced the water to 1c due to the already moisturized cooked lentils<br />
-I was tempted to skip the baking soda in the recipe but opted to go ahead and add it and make note of if it seemed to add anything to the texture. Think of these as meatball cookies. It will work without the baking soda but the soda does help aerate and texturize the balls. Without it I think they will be much more dense and they may take slightly longer to cook due to the lack of tiny little steamy pockets inside.<br />
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7. Oven fries/chips with Linda McCartney Sausages, baked beans and salad (aka junk food night). No pic of this one either but I'm sure it's not hard to picture and there wasn't much to making it so there isn't much here to take credit for. I did enjoy looking down at my plate laughing to myself that this is the most junky our food gets really. A bit of extra salt and fat but not much really and more than half the plate is full of nice raw veggies anyway.<br />
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Noodle Snacks:<br />
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<a href="http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/snackle-soldiers-aka-wholesome-oat-snackles/">Wholesome Oat Snackles</a></div>
So this was my first attempt at trying to lead the Noodle away from bread. Yes I can make gluten free bread and I will but we still have wheat flour to work through and limited space and most importantly a budget so it's not something I could tackle this week. While these were plenty tasty Noodle wasn't all over them. They were of course cookie like as you'd expect and I've come to realize that she like bread bread. Like yeasty bread. Ah well. I ate them and I will no doubt come back to them as she goes into a cookie phase. As you can see I even tried to make them kinda bread stick like but she was too clever for that.<br />
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I've started work on a pantry staples post but assuming your kitchen is semistocked you can do pretty well on your weekly shop. Especially if you're willing to shop around a bit. There seems to be a few programs in place at certain stores that amounts to "price matching" but I haven't really gotten around to taking advantage of this and I don't think that works in connection with the veggie markets so we would still be doing a bit of shopping around anyway.<br />
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This week's shopping list (some things like rice, miso, and oats we won't finish over the week they just go to stocking the pantry) and some extra bits we picked up on the fly (these are marked with *, this usually happens at the market when we spot a good price on things like fruit that are not on my dinner menu).<br />
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bell peppers (needed 1 got 4)<br />
cherry tomatoes<br />
*kale<br />
apples<br />
tofu<br />
avocados (3)<br />
*kiwis<br />
cauliflower<br />
*cabbage<br />
*mandarine oranges<br />
*pears<br />
potatoes (4 kilos)<br />
pistachios (1/4 kilo)<br />
porridge oats (1 kilo)<br />
vegetable shortening<br />
rice (2 kilos)<br />
mushrooms (0.8 kilo)<br />
bananas (1.86 kilos)<br />
miso paste<br />
Linda McCartney sausages (3 pks of 5)<br />
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total for this was about <b class="priceLarge" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">£</span></b>30. By the end of the week we ended up around <b class="priceLarge" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">£4</span></b>0 with little bits and bobs that were forgotten or found on sale (mostly fruit, we love our fruit).<br />
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It looks like quite a low number for a family of 3 (including 1 athlete) but that's definitely the good thing about meal planning. I can look ahead and chose meals that have low ingredient costs. In the case of this week I chose one more expensive ingredient that I wanted that I didn't already have on hand (miso) but this jar will last several weeks. In our pantry (I'll expand on this later) we keep bulk items that we order online which help keep costs down too. These will show up as more expensive blips in the budget but work out much more cost effective over the long haul. I really want to show that, whether you're single, a family, an athlete or whatever eating vegan can be pretty cheap and healthy.<br />
<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-24184250653357237882013-02-13T18:18:00.000+00:002013-02-13T18:18:35.061+00:00Lemon Rice with Chickpea Pancakes filled with Curried ChickpeasThis is the first meal I can say I'm pretty proud of in a while. I've made plenty that is tasty but this had the potential to be pretty. It needed a little green though no? Sprinkle of coriander perhaps. This one is actually really easy. You can make all or parts of this well ahead of time and just reheat as needed.<br />
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<i>Lemon Rice with Chickpea Pancakes and Curry Chickpea Filling</i></div>
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This meal came together from a few different sources. I have been making the<a href="http://altveg.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/lemon-rice-recipe.html"> lemon rice</a> from Dino's <a href="http://altveg.blogspot.co.uk/">Alternative Vegan</a> for a while now. Always very tasty and the Noodle likes it too. As a side note, I recommend the podcast too although it's been a bit quiet as of late. But I can definitely sympathize with running out of time everyday. I don't really modify the recipe so much as leave things out that I don't have and it's always good. I never have curry leaves around (my pantry space/refrigerator space is just too limited right now for little extras). I also usually don't have the nuts on hand and just skip them although I suspect a teeny bit of nut butter would also be a tasty flavor addition if you are opposed to whole or chopped nuts.<br />
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The pancakes came from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickpeaflourpancake_5094">Madhur Jaffrey on BBC food</a>. I wanted something thin pancake-ish but with only chickpea flour to make the meal gluten free. These were silly easy to put together and cook. My mods to these was to leave out the chillies and the ajwain. I used a dash of powdered coriander seed rather than fresh which I never have on hand and I cut the garlic back to two cloves. I love love love garlic but I wanted to keep them toddler friendly.<br />
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The curried chickpea filling and the coconut sauce are based on recipes from reFresh by Ruth Tal. I haven't made as many recipes from this book as I'd like but I've made this a couple times now and it's super tasty and easily kid friendly. Well my kid as she loves loves loves coconut.<br />
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<b><i><u>Curried Chickpea Filling</u></i></b></div>
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<i>Based on "Curried Garbanzo Filling" <u>reFresh</u> by Ruth Tall (pg. 101)</i></div>
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<i>2 cloves garlic, minced (more if you want!)</i></div>
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<i>1 onion, small dice</i></div>
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<i>1 carrot, small dice</i></div>
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<i>1 bell pepper, small dice</i></div>
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<i>1-2 medium hot chillies, minced (optional)</i></div>
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<i>1 Tb ground cumin</i></div>
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<i>1 tsp oregano</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp salt</i></div>
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<i>1 tsp tumeric</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)</i></div>
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<i>4 c (850 g) cooked/canned chickpeas, drained</i></div>
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<i>1/4 c tomato paste (could use a fresh tomato or 2 here instead)</i></div>
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<i>Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Add veggies and spices and cook until soft, stir occationally.</i></div>
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<i>Mash chickpeas (or pulse with food processor) but leave them a little chunky. Add chickpeas and tomato to the saucepan and mix. Continue to cook until heated through.</i></div>
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<b><i><u>Spiced Coconut Sauce</u></i></b></div>
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<i>Based on "Coconut Curry Sauce" reFresh by Ruth Tal (pg. 86)</i></div>
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<i>1 onion, small dice</i></div>
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<i>2 cloves garlic, minced</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp ground cumin</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp salt</i></div>
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<i>1 Tb garam masala</i></div>
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<i>3 Tb flour of choice (wheat, spelt, rice)</i></div>
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<i>2 c (500 mL) vegetable broth</i></div>
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<i>1 can (400 mL) coconut milk</i></div>
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<i>2 Tb tomato paste (or a couple chopped tomatoes)</i></div>
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<i>Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add spices and flour and cook stirring for 1 minute.</i></div>
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<i>Slowly stir (or whisk) in the vegetable broth taking care to avoid lumps. Then stir in the coconut and tomato. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally cooking 30 minutes.</i></div>
<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-24225645387055827862013-01-16T23:44:00.002+00:002013-01-17T23:00:11.527+00:00Vegans are eating all the quinoa off the plates of Bolivians!I hesitate to share the article because I'd rather not give them more traffic but it makes sense to show what's annoying me before I rant about it. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoa">This op-ed piece</a> appeared on The Guardian website today and it's pretty poorly written to say the least. Now I can talk, but then I'm not a writer by trade. While this article is an opinion there should still be some integrity/fact checking involved right? I hear people saying The Daily Mail has gone down the tubes and I'm starting to think The Guardian wants to follow swiftly on it's heels. <br />
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Image from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/21/quinoas-global-success-cr_n_838441.html">Huffington Post</a></div>
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Seriously? Vegans are eating all the quinoa and starving Bolivians? All 1.5% of us worldwide? We aren't the only ones who eat quinoa by the way and can we eat that much of it considering some very rarely eat it if ever because it's not that cheap and we vegans are not all wealthy (contrary to Blythman's supposition)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>. Also, as <a href="http://vegansaurus.com/">vegansaurus</a> has already <a href="http://vegansaurus.com/post/40684400970">pointed out</a>, this is old information. The prices of quinoa have been rising in Bolivia for a while now and other news outlets (Time and NPR) already reported it as news more than a year ago. I don't think that should mean that we dismiss what is happening to Bolivians and their available foods but this has happened and is happening to many people around the world. This is a world problem. Something we should all consider and take action on. And the soy commentary. What is up with that. I've been correcting people on this for ages and the misinformation still goes around and around. All that soy that is growing in South America is not for tofu!!!! All this beef that everyone insists on eating means that cattle need more feed and what are they eating? Corn and soy. On that same point during the entire time that I've been eating soy in it's various forms it's actually only been US grown soy. Even better when I lived in Vermont we bought Vermont organic soy from <a href="http://www.vermontsoy.com/">Vermont Soy</a>. Of course not all vegans can buy local but you can bet that most of them (US based anyway) are buying domestic. This piece reads like it was paid for and not as in weekly pay check kinda paid for. But then reading the author's other works and we find that this isn't the first vegetarian dig and it all reads the same. Maybe she's just feeling overly defensive about her dietary choices.<br />
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The truth of the matter is that this isn't an article informing anyone about an issue. This is an article to catch vegans out. This is a piece to attempt to punch holes in ethical veganism. No doubt a few people will latch onto it and think "yeah, vegans aren't so great after all." To them I will say this: Veganism isn't about being perfect. It's about doing less harm. It's about compassion. It's about doing the best we can for ourselves, everyone we share the planet with (humans and nonhumans) and for the planet itself. As we learn we adjust more behaviors as we can in the best way we can.<br />
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What should we do about the quinoa issue? I don't really know but I have some thoughts and they aren't particularly complicated ones that I'm sure anyone can come up with but no doubt people with more money and monetary interests will say that it is more complicated than this. Anyway, start by buying fair-trade and organic. If you must buy quinoa these are ways to at least do what you can to ensure the growers are properly compensated for their crops. Shouldn't we expect and hold our governments accountable to take care of their people? Shouldn't some of a country's crops be held back locally for the local population? it may be a simplistic view but I find it just ridiculous that farming communities are reduced to hot dogs and ho-hos. No I don't find it ridiculous, I find it bull shit. But then I find poverty bull shit. There is no reason that it needs to continue except greed and cultivated apathy. That's another rant for another day.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-90837519229326762692012-12-14T21:35:00.000+00:002012-12-14T21:36:20.632+00:00Hankering for a new cookbook? Like Happy Herbivore?If you answered yes to those two questions then head on over to <a href="http://www.skinny-vegan-food.com/">Almost Skinny Vegan Recipes</a> and<a href="http://www.skinny-vegan-food.com/2012/12/triple-happy-herbivore-give-away.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FcaGTh+%28Almost+Skinny+Vegan+Food%29"> enter </a>her awesomely generous giveaway for your choice of three Happy Herbivore cookbooks. The best part? The giveaway is open to international entries and as you probably well know that is a damn rare thing indeed.<br />
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Check out <a href="http://www.skinny-vegan-food.com/2012/11/interview-with-lindsay-happy-herbivore.html">Claire's interview with Lindsay</a> to get to know the Happy Herbivore herself a little better.<br />
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Oh and almost forgot to add to get your entries in by Dec 25th!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-45071876730268848312012-12-12T23:19:00.000+00:002012-12-12T23:21:53.501+00:00Hold the Beef Stew and Meal Plan Monday (10/12/2012)This is really working for me. Not just the meal planning but the cleaning out the saved recipe pile. My first bit of advice for that, if you come on a recipe that you really want, copy and paste that business because a good chunk of my bookmarked links no longer work. Yes I know some of them are a couple years old and what do I expect but anyway, moving on. <br />
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Notes from last week:<br />
<a href="http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/best-vegan-green-bean-casserole.html">Green Bean Casserole</a> was a huge hit with the family. I sped up this recipe by basically making a green bean and mushroom gravy (skipped the sherry because we just don't have any at the mo) and made our own fried onions by just frying onions with vegan margarine and breadcrumbs. I use this method a lot you'll come to see. I skip the baking step of a casserole and opt for a gravy or stew as it's pretty much done off the stove and it saves us a bit of time and money to not bake it.<br />
The <a href="http://robinrobertson.com/mac-and-chard-2/">Mac & Kale</a> was done in the same was as above, just skipped the baking. I almost never bake mac & cheese dishes. I did change the linked recipe a bit by using sunflower seeds rather than cashews (don't have any) and no mustard as we only have English mustard at the moment which I felt would be too strong for the lighter flavors of the sauce. Again, family gobbled it up. <br />
I'll finish up with my streamlined stew. I started with this recipe and adapted for my ingredients and time. The family really really liked this. It is a fabulous stew and I would encourage anyone to try it out in either method. I'll probably make it again in the coming weeks and only change it by adding dumplings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXcgrrWslNirLJ_wKuBUtFP7CL-VV_0_C8NWMxaORXel2aE9WKjStjIjoj-BbT3bBF7HupfOQhb6MTSQfhNkForOxIjWHPkgOce-xqKceWBwPFypfWlsg-eS1En_HQNbdkk6GfStcnbE_/s1600/IMG_3086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXcgrrWslNirLJ_wKuBUtFP7CL-VV_0_C8NWMxaORXel2aE9WKjStjIjoj-BbT3bBF7HupfOQhb6MTSQfhNkForOxIjWHPkgOce-xqKceWBwPFypfWlsg-eS1En_HQNbdkk6GfStcnbE_/s320/IMG_3086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>"Beef" and Pepper Stew</b></div>
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<i>(heavily inspired by Jenn's recipe <a href="http://jennshaggy.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/spanish-purple-pepper-beef-stew.html">here</a>)</i><br />
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<i>1/4 c vegan margarine or vegetable oil</i></div>
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<i>1/4 c all purpose flour</i></div>
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<i>8 c veg broth (or water with appropriate number of stock cubes)</i></div>
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<i>2 bay leaves</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp dried thyme</i></div>
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<i>2 c soy chunks</i></div>
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<i>1 heaped Tb marmite</i></div>
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<i>1 tsp mustard</i></div>
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<i>3 Tb vegetable oil (I often use canola/rapeseed or sunflower)</i></div>
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<i>2 cloves garlic, minced</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp ground cumin</i></div>
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<i>1/4 tsp ground coriander</i></div>
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<i>1/2 tsp paprika</i></div>
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<i>pinch ground nutmeg</i></div>
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<i>1 med onion, chopped</i></div>
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<i>2 sweet bell peppers (anything but green in best here)</i></div>
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<i>2 sm-med potatoes, scrubbed and cubed</i></div>
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<i>2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced</i></div>
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<i>1 (14oz?) can diced tomatoes (or whole and squish 'em up)</i></div>
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<i>salt & pepper to taste</i></div>
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<i>1/4 c corn starch mixed with 1/4 c water (optional)</i></div>
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<i>In a med/lg pot melt margarine, stir in flour until fully incorporated. Whisk in stock a couple cups at a time to avoid clumps. Add bay leaves and thyme and leave this to heat over med heat and carry on with the rest of the stew. Turn it down if it begins to simmer before it is needed.</i></div>
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<i>In stock pot/soup pot combine soy chunks and about 2 cups water (this may vary depending on the brand of chunks you use, no worries though, this is stew after all) with marmite and mustard, heat over med/high heat. Once chunks are hydrated and any extra water has cooked off add oil, garlic and spices and mix. Saute this mixture for about 5 mins to cook the garlic and heat all the spices well.</i></div>
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<i>Add veggies to the chunks. If there are any stuck on bits at the bottom of the pot the juice from the canned tomatoes should help loosen these up. Cook until onions are translucent and potatoes begin to become tender. Pour in heated stock (carefully of course). Stir well. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Bring up to simmer and continue cooking until veggies are tender. At this point if your stew is not thick enough, combine cornstarch and water in a cup and add to pot stirring well. This should thicken things up in a few minutes. </i></div>
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I know it doesn't look like it but I actually had my meal plan ready on Sunday but it's taken me this long to get this post out. My only excuse is usual life maintenance + teething toddler = not much time left to sit at computer. Seriously, the poor Noodle will chew her hand off if I don't watch her. </div>
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Monday - <a href="http://vedgedout.com/2012/12/03/moroccan-lentil-soup/">Moroccan Lentil Soup</a><br />
Tuesday - Sweet & Sour Stirfry with veggies & kidney beans<br />
Wednesday - Boston Baked Beans & Brown Bread<br />
Thursday - <a href="http://cookingforaveganlover.com/2010/09/20/easy-peasy-recipe-cheezy-broccoli-bean-bake/">Cheesy Broccoli Bean Bake</a><br />
Friday - <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CakeMakerToTheStars/~3/ywUmFTv3c_w/pudla-of-moment.html">Pudla</a> with <a href="http://cooks-hideout.blogspot.com/2012/10/bisi-bele-bath-tangy-lentil-rice-with.html">Besi Bele Bath</a><br />
Saturday - <a href="http://simplevegancooking.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/roasted-tomato-spaghetti-sauce-with-lentil-balls/">Pasta with Lentil Balls</a><br />
Sunday - Tom Yum Curry (have an open jar of this paste in my fridge to use) with rice & soy chunksBexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-32933494931913677082012-12-05T11:29:00.000+00:002012-12-08T19:14:52.571+00:00Meal Plan Monday (week of 3/12/2012)This past week we stayed pretty true to our meal plan as far as food but as usual I switched up the days. <br />
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Not a lot of pics but some notes:<br />
Shepherd's Pie - should have made two, we like leftovers for lunches. I usually don't even actually make a "pie" so much as a stew of the filling ingredients and some nice mash to go with it. Time and energy saver and just as satisfying in my opinion.<br />
<a href="http://thesweetestvegan.com/double-bacon-cheeseburger-recipe-the-sweetest-vegan-fast-food/" style="text-align: center;">Bacon Cheese Burger</a><span style="text-align: center;"> - This was the second time I've made this burger recipe. It's nice and moist while still being firm and it doesn't use vital wheat gluten which I just don't have on hand and no hope of getting any time soon. I, as you can see, opted to make some rolls. It turned out I had the time and it just makes the whole thing more burgery. Super yum, especially the coconut bacon. I've made this before but it's been a while. The Noodle really likes her "crunchy bits." The fries are swede fries as we had one of these to use.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.apeekintomykitchen.com/2010/03/spicy-potato-roast.html" style="background-color: white; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Spicy Roast Potatoes</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> and Lentil pea curry </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">- I had methi (fenugreek) seeds rather than leaves that's why this was only inspired by the recipes above. Both were really good. Actually the lentils and peas were especially tasty but then I've always loved my green peas and lentil dal type foods are usually nice and cozy comforting on these cold days. I had the lentils already cooked and in the fridge so this came together pretty quickly and mostly while holding Miss Noodlepants.</span></div>
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<a href="http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/real-vegans-eat-quiche/" style="background-color: white; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Chickpea Veggie Quiche</a> - This was nice and I will be putting this into regular rotation. I ended up making two smaller ones with red pepper, onion, kale, and peas. More kale and onion on the side. Noodle ate the kale and picked out the peas from the quiche. I found this to be fairly quiche like but lacking in the heaviness and overly richness that I remember egg quiches having (not that I had that many before going veg). I will be making this again with a couple adjustments, the biggest one is doubling the filling batter but that was my mistake for splitting the recipe between two crusts to begin with.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwf1IVrCI3uJnpCP4s1hKNjTxK8kWSdCE5LkrfTHGUIqr6IGhLnG3ash6dKuAGoFtYqEcRmYkLXq8kTWXr3_sCQf0Qcq0vQVihFn5uulkVCK_LDqPBB_7CmCbQ1R_PpIAS7acujWd5p0Po/s1600/soyless+vegan+quiche.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwf1IVrCI3uJnpCP4s1hKNjTxK8kWSdCE5LkrfTHGUIqr6IGhLnG3ash6dKuAGoFtYqEcRmYkLXq8kTWXr3_sCQf0Qcq0vQVihFn5uulkVCK_LDqPBB_7CmCbQ1R_PpIAS7acujWd5p0Po/s320/soyless+vegan+quiche.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://i-40kitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/50-states-of-mofo-ohio-cincinnati-chili.html" style="background-color: white; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Cincinnati Chili</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> with </span><a href="http://cookandbemerry.com/homemade-new-england-common-crackers/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;">Vermont Common Crackers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> - no crackers so those are still on the list of things to make one day. I thought it might be a bit ambitious. Made the chili flavor profile but with more veggies and over pasta. Yum!</span><br />
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The Noodle and I managed to snag a cold from our excursions out into the outside world hence things are a little late this week. It took me several days to work through food plans between lots of Noodle cuddles, Lex's parents coming to visit (this happened yesterday actually, not stressful just need to keep on the tidying because of our small home), realizing we need to get a new (used) car suddenly, the week just seemed too quick and busy. But in the end we did make it and I do have a meal plan . .<br />
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This week we have fresh mushrooms & kale to use as well as plenty of frozen green bean. Lex also just snagged some cheap salad greens so let's plug that into the equation. . .<br />
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Monday - Steamed potatoes, <a href="http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/best-vegan-green-bean-casserole.html">Green Bean Casserole</a><br />
Tuesday - Baked Beans, Linda McCartney Sausages, & steamed potatoes<br />
Wednesday - <a href="http://jennshaggy.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/spanish-purple-pepper-beef-stew.html">Spanish Purple Pepper "Beef" Stew</a><br />
Thursday - Fried Buffalo Seitan sandwiches (<a href="http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/vegan-fried-chicken/">seasoning inspiration</a>) with <a href="http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/08/ultimate-vegan-hot-wingz.html">Hot Wing Sauce</a><br />
Friday - Loaded <a href="http://eatingappalachia.com/2010/02/23/fried-rice/">Fried Rice</a><br />
Saturday - <a href="http://robinrobertson.com/mac-and-chard-2/">Mac & Kale</a><br />
Sunday - <a href="http://fullofbeansblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/vegetable-love.html">Potato Bruschetta Cakes</a> & <a href="http://elizaveganpage.blogspot.com/2012/10/lentil-and-oatmeal-sausages.html">Lentil Oatmeal Sausages</a><br />
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<br />Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-16500368182513378362012-11-27T14:59:00.003+00:002012-11-27T15:01:38.898+00:00Meal Plan Monday - errr TuesdayHa! you thought this blog was dead didn't you? OK it was for a while but I never stopped thinking about writing. I'm just absolutely rubbish at carving out time for myself especially these days. Why so much so now you ask? Because I now chase around a toddler for a big chunk of my day. A toddler who loves to try and "press buttons" and "use 'puter" so needless to say I don't really use the computer much with her up and about. I do miss the community aspect of all these lovely foodie blogs. I get so many ideas from reading other's kitchen experiments, successes and failures (although we're all a bit reluctant to share those most of the time).
Anyway to jump right back into it I'd like to continue to fill out this blog with practical advice and real world recipes (that are accessible in a cash, time and skill way). To help me make more time for my blog I'm going to use this partly as a tool for our family by way of meal planning.<br />
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Meal planning is a great way to keep to a budget and to cut back on decision making in the middle of your hectic week. Ok my weeks aren't really that hectic as a stay at home mom but as anyone with children will agree you are busy busy busy all the time even if you're just busy playing.
Meal planning is also a good way to focus on using certain ingredients and making sure you're eating an interesting and varied diet.<br />
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Some of my rules of meal planning (or questions I ask myself) are:<br />
-do I have particular perishables that need using? If so slot those in early in the week.
-is it a skint week? If so focus on using more of what's already in the house.<br />
-what ingredients are cheap or on sale that we can use?<br />
-try to keep meals flexible so if you need to change out an ingredient or two you can or switch days around without throwing the entire plan out the window.<br />
-One meal a week from my ridiculous collection of bookmarked recipes from other blogs
This last point is particularly important in our house as we frequently check the reduced produce areas of the supermarket and score super cheap veggie. Sometimes these need to be used straight away so if we stay flexible in regards to ingredients then we can use those cheap ingredients and save money.<br />
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So without further rambling my meal plan for this week (I try to do this on Sunday so I shall try to do a Meal Plan Monday post):<br />
<b>Monday</b>: Shepherd's Pie<br />
<b>Tuesday</b>: <a href="http://thesweetestvegan.com/double-bacon-cheeseburger-recipe-the-sweetest-vegan-fast-food/">Double Bacon Cheese Burger</a> (but probably eaten one at a time without buns) with salad
<b>Wednesday</b>: <a href="http://www.apeekintomykitchen.com/2010/03/spicy-potato-roast.html">Spicy Roast Potatoes</a> and Lentil pea curry (<a href="http://mykookbook.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/methi-malai-matar.html">inspired by this</a>)<br />
<b>Thursday</b>: Black bean spicy stir fry (we have a sauce packet in the cupboard and this can take any veg you find)<br />
<b>Friday</b>: <a href="http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/real-vegans-eat-quiche/">Chickpea Veggie Quiche</a><br />
<b>Saturday</b>: <a href="http://i-40kitchen.blogspot.com/2012/10/50-states-of-mofo-ohio-cincinnati-chili.html">Cincinnati Chili</a> with <a href="http://cookandbemerry.com/homemade-new-england-common-crackers/">Vermont Common Crackers</a> (wish me luck here because I have no kitchen equipment save a rolling pin these days)<br />
<b>Sunday</b>: Tacos (using tvp/soy mince, lentil refried style beans, tomatoes, fresh greens)<br />
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So that's this week. I'll see about adding a recap on the success of the previous week with next week's meal plan. Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-68801484459188390642010-02-10T22:34:00.010+00:002010-02-26T15:37:05.122+00:00Why We Don't Need Dairy - Nutritionally<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs278.ash1/20544_1210120377814_1372873863_30511819_3662059_n.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 272px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs278.ash1/20544_1210120377814_1372873863_30511819_3662059_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Everyone already knows that calcium is key to strong bones and teeth. It's a little less known that it's required for nerve and muscle function as well as blood clotting. Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in the human body is stored in the bones and teeth while the remaining one percent is stored in the blood and other tissues. Calcium moves about in our bodies in two ways, from consuming it and pulling it from our bones. Extracting it from bones happens when blood levels of calcium drop too low, usually when it's been awhile since having eaten a meal containing calcium. Ideally, the mooched calcium will be replaced later on, but this doesn't always happen and replacing the borrowed calcium can't be accomplished simply by eating more calcium.</span></span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One of the most common questions a vegan will hear is "Where/how do you get enough calcium?" If we don't consume dairy then we must struggle to get this vital nutrient no? We listen to our televisions, schools, parents, governments tell us our whole lives that not only do we need calcium but we need to get it from milk, cheese, yogurt and all things dairy. It certainly seems like you need dairy to get to the amounts of calcium recommended. While we do indeed need calcium there are many ways in which to get it. Chances are good that we do not need quite as much as the US RDA suggests and there are other healthier ways to get it than the dairy overload diet more and more people are led to eat.</span></span></span></p> <p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">To look at the issue simply, milk from other animals is nutritionally too much for us. The milk produced by each mammal is especially formulated to fuel their infant's extremely high growth rate during those first weeks/months/years (depending on which mammal we are looking at). Cow's milk has more than four times the calcium content as human breast milk. We do not need this amount of calcium during our greatest growth cycle. Why would such a concentration of calcium, ideal for a baby not even of our species, be required when we stop growing bones as adults? Just look at the size of cows. Their bones are much larger than human bones . Comparatively we humans are tiny. Not once during our entire life span do we need to grow to the size of a cow. </span></span></span> </p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></span><p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Most mammals are weaned after this first big growth stage because they are able to finish growing and thriving on the diets of their parents and others of their kind. We drink milk as babies and normally by the time we reach the age of about 5 we stop producing the enzyme to digest milk, lactase. The ability to truly digest lactose (people who continue to produce lactase in sufficient quantities) occurs in only about one third of the world's population, mostly Caucasians. Which brings us to another issue, lactose intolerance. It is portrayed as an illness or a defect but it is in fact part of our natural maturation. We're supposed to grow out of milk. Our mommies don't need to provide us with milk anymore because we are big kids and can eat big kid foods and our bodies know this. </span></span></span> </p> <p></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The consumption of cow's milk also means a big shot of saturated fat and protein at the same time. The jury is still out about protein and calcium but there seems to be some evidence of increased calcium loss through urine while also consuming lots of protein. So you might be dumping most of that calcium from that glass of milk or hunk of cheese literally down the toilet. Sodium also increases calcium loss, 5-10mg of calcium for each gram of salt. Depending on how the rest of your diet looks, again, all that calcium might be going right down the drain.
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There are few studies on vegans and calcium. However we don't need lab results to find the evidence we need. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The world picture fails to support benefits claimed by the dairy industry. Countries that have the highest traditional consumption of dairy products (United States, Sweden, Israel, Finland, and the United Kingdom) also have the highest rates of osteoporosis-related hip fractures. Places in the world with a traditionally low intake of dairy such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and countries in rural Africa have the lowest incidence of osteoporosis. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Worldwide, the incidence of osteoporosis correlates directly and strongly with animal protein intake. The highly acidic nature of animal protein could be the major cause of bone loss in these animal intensive regions. We must also take into account that the calcium in cow's milk is supposed to come from the grass but most cows never see grass, never mind eat any of it. Their feed is supplemented with calcium. Since the cows are being fed supplements couldn't we not just supplement our own feed? The closer we look, whole idea that we need to drink milk becomes more and more unnatural.</span></span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So how much calcium do we need? A good question as the authorities cannot seem to agree. The US RDA states that we need 800-1000 mg of calcium per day. The World Health Organization puts it at 400-500 mg and Japan's recommendation is 600 mg and in the UK it's 700 mg. In the end I don't think exact figures are important. It is only recently, when humans started over engineering their food, that we have started worrying about specific levels of nutrients. Osteoporosis is also a recent problem. Coincidence? Couple that with companies and industries wanting to sell as much of their product as possible and it is clear that we are over complicating the matter. We have allowed ourselves to play mother nature thinking we could make food better.</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> It is no coincidence that we have so many diseases </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(such as osteoporosis) </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">that simply were not an issue before our over engineered consumer driven society emerged . You can get all the calcium you need without suckling at the teats of other animals.
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 0.19in; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> While the amounts of absorbable calcium from vegetarian sources varies, it is clear that a diet containing a wide variety of foods (and if you are worried, a supplement – from vegetarian sources of course) will get you to any of the recommended calcium levels you subscribe to. To help you actually get the calcium where you need it keep in mind that vitamin D, and likely K, aid in the absorption of calcium. When blood levels of calcium begin to drop, the body responds in several ways. It promotes the conversion of vitamin D into its active form, which then travels to the intestines (to encourage greater calcium absorption into the blood) and to the kidneys (to minimize calcium loss in the urine). Get your vitamin D primarily from the sun just like most of the other animals. Animal products that claim high vitamin D collect it mostly through enriched feed or</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> sun exposure, both of which we can do directly to ourselves</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">. There is also the third option of eatting foods that contain some vitamin D. Essentially vegans are at no more of a disadvantage than omnivores to get enough vitamin D. If you do start taking a vitamin D supplement make sure it is D2 (ergocalciferol) which is vegan (usually derived from yeast), D3 (cholecalciferol) is animal derived (usually sheep's wool or fish oil). Vitamin K, which is found mainly in green leafy vegetables, likely plays an important role in calcium regulation and bone formation.</span></span></span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/images/collards.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 188px;" src="http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/images/collards.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/images/blackeyepeas.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 181px;" src="http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/images/blackeyepeas.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I'll give you a little reference so we have somewhere to start on this "we don't need no stinkin' dairy" journey but remember that these are not the only foods with these nutrients and ultimately you should be eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and grains. In this way you can be sure to hit all your nutritional needs. In addition there are several vegan multi or specific vitamins available on the market to be found in your local coop, natural food store, mail order, or maybe even in your local chain supermarket.
<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 0.19in; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Souces of Calcium in common veggie friendly foods</span>:
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Collards (1 cup) 357mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Spinach (1cup) 291mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Blackeyed Peas (1cup) 211mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Calcium set tofu (3oz) 163mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Canned Baked Beans (1cup) 154mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Broccoli (280g – 1 stalk) 112mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Green Peas (1cup) 94mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Fortified Soymilk (1 cup) 93mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Kale (1 cup) 93mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oranges (1 cup) 72mg</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Almonds (1 oz - 24 almonds) 70mg</span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cobornsdelivers.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/almonds.jpg">
<br /><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 130px;" src="http://cobornsdelivers.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/almonds.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/1000/nahled/oranges.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/1000/nahled/oranges.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 0.19in; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/creative2005/images/photo_thing09.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 184px;" src="http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/creative2005/images/photo_thing09.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZcMPXr9rH9VRKaMMukGYBONGJxRVVcShyvOtCTj66CcHCZud1QDib9J6q2G4gzdB6SaQz7FU-3S9sX1om1b7nZd2CrMQnsGHZoLHuaTbDpAYtnSwv3R-2evChdTXB25Y0E13gMjQdd0/s400/broccoli.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZcMPXr9rH9VRKaMMukGYBONGJxRVVcShyvOtCTj66CcHCZud1QDib9J6q2G4gzdB6SaQz7FU-3S9sX1om1b7nZd2CrMQnsGHZoLHuaTbDpAYtnSwv3R-2evChdTXB25Y0E13gMjQdd0/s400/broccoli.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; widows: 2; orphans: 2;" align="LEFT"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sources of Vitamin K (mcg per 100g)</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cauliflower 3600</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Brussels sprouts 800</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Broccoli 800</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lettuce 700</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Spinach 600</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tomatoes 400</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cabbage 400</span>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">String beans 290</span></span></span></span>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lkaeinteriors.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/brussels-sprouts.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 156px;" src="http://lkaeinteriors.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/brussels-sprouts.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://madhurivasa.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/cauliflower.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 153px;" src="http://madhurivasa.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/cauliflower.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.free-extras.com/pics/s/sliced_tomatoes-624.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 161px;" src="http://images.free-extras.com/pics/s/sliced_tomatoes-624.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.happycow.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/kale.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 205px;" src="http://www.happycow.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/kale.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What we hear coming at us from such trustworthy sources as our schools and our government is actually advertising from the dairy industry. They wish to continue selling as much of their product as they can. Yes, humans are omnivores. We can eat just about anything and get energy and nutrients from it. We're lucky like that. However, ethics aside (because this is primarily a post about nutrition and health), humans were not built to handle, over the long term, many of the things we feed ourselves, including dairy. </span></span></span>Pay attention to who is doing the latest study claiming the latest breakthrough, a business studying it's own product is probably not the best source of reliable information on that product. When a popular yogurt brand tells you that "calcium helps you lose weight and yogurt is a good source of calcium!" remember that it's just a commercial meant to sell you yogurt.</span></span></p> Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-16026189169008684022009-10-05T13:39:00.007+01:002009-10-06T15:20:57.815+01:00Why Vegan? Reason #768 and the current olive climate<span style="font-size:85%;">Just one of the endless reasons. I came across <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all">this story</a> from the NY Times through a few other blogs and I just felt I needed to help pass it on. The story talks not only on food borne illnesses but also touches on how food safety procedures and "laws" are not followed and barely enforced.<br /><br />If the story about where hamburger comes from isn't enough to put you off your meats then the food safety issue certainly should put you over the edge.<br /><br />"But I only buy organic meat" you say. "Happy meat," as it is often referred to, is not safe from this particular issue. Organic and conventionally raised cows go to the same slaughter houses. They are killed the same way and processed on the same conveyor belts by the same under paid and over worked employees. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I'm traditionally not the pushy type really but I'm growing into a slightly pushy person the more I come up against this denial from the majority of the world's population. Eating meat this way isn't healthy and it isn't natural. How is this natural? It kinda freaks me out to look at. A crop of cows. For a happy meat view just imagine grass under their feet.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Confined-animal-feeding-operation.jpg/250px-Confined-animal-feeding-operation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 179px;" src="http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Confined-animal-feeding-operation.jpg/250px-Confined-animal-feeding-operation.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">a CAFO - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation<br />(Image source: </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/cafo/">http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/cafo/</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">)</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />But as this is mofo let's have a little food here to take the pain out of my head from the above mentioned insanity which was kinda chaotically written. <br /><br />Yesterday I went on a crazy walk around Granada in search of an herbolario (natural health/whole foods stores) to try and buy some grains other than rice and maybe if I'm lucky some reasonably priced tahini. Of course these shops are tiny so no matter how well stocked they won't have loads but that's ok because I have neither loads of money or loads of space to store random bits. I'll share my finds another post but I was super excited to find olives.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://brightspark76.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/spanish-olives.jpg?w=99&h=96"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 95px;" src="http://brightspark76.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/spanish-olives.jpg?w=99&h=96" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The olives might not seem like anything special but let me tell you. This is the first place I've come to that I can buy olives in bulk. Spain grows plenty of olives, lots of green olives which is ok because I like those too. However in just about all the shops you can only buy canned green or black olives. The black ones taste like nothing, a true crime if you ask me, but that's no different than canned olives in the US. The green ones vary from tasting lightly olivy to pretty good. Getting the ones with pits still in them is the key here but still stay away from the black ones. Even with the pits they taste of nothing. The green pimento stuffed ones are acceptable (watch out for anchovy stuffed olives, the most common stuffing). When you come to the plastic packets of green olives with pits, these are the best cheap packaged olives.<br /><br />If anyone has some tips for olive consumption in Spain for me please let me know. Spain produces just under half the world's olives. Why is it so hard to find good ones? Are they hiding them in the midst of all that meat so I won't see them as I run past?<br /></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-16498052664120748742009-10-04T13:11:00.004+01:002009-10-04T15:51:08.608+01:00Juicy Jones<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4t7_MiY0woJkKrw1eDzLt2107LGyJcB2z0lFXRv6ybA2EevTfqft7blbMsypU9n1pkVV1xFb4w6xoUz0ejFwW30JOfBhAtk8jjdhbaxAQwBsZc9f8ywUCCNpd-rxlm1KZYDz7c9dlgykZ/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4t7_MiY0woJkKrw1eDzLt2107LGyJcB2z0lFXRv6ybA2EevTfqft7blbMsypU9n1pkVV1xFb4w6xoUz0ejFwW30JOfBhAtk8jjdhbaxAQwBsZc9f8ywUCCNpd-rxlm1KZYDz7c9dlgykZ/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The absolute best place to spend all of you food money when in Barcelona. Once we found Juicy Jones we couldn't come back enough. They stole us away from going back to Vegetalia as we had planned.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhpe6g5DpkNJNYoOvyNsA5Vu6zTnPI7SBs36QKEE6kYuCkpxp_ebU2KaFNa4xfbwyB99oR7N2s-EQrJMrN9mw4hrAPy5sUv-PnsiujDX8AcJEY0WgYObX-nobhOuUsWJ1xUQANnEMxeGn/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhpe6g5DpkNJNYoOvyNsA5Vu6zTnPI7SBs36QKEE6kYuCkpxp_ebU2KaFNa4xfbwyB99oR7N2s-EQrJMrN9mw4hrAPy5sUv-PnsiujDX8AcJEY0WgYObX-nobhOuUsWJ1xUQANnEMxeGn/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">There are two Juicy Jones locations: Cardenal <span style="font-family:arial;">Casa</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:arial;font-size:medium;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: left;font-size:17;" ></span></span></span><meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.0 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H3 { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --></style><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman,serif;font-size:85%;" >ñ</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">as</span> 7 (just off Rambla) and Hospital 74. We only went to the Cardenal </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Casa</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:arial;font-size:medium;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: left;font-size:17;" ></span></span></span><meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.0 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } H3 { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --></style><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman,serif;font-size:85%;" >ñ</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">as</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> location. I hear Hospital is the larger of the two.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvBLfwW2S_FofbnzAjMsfXD2Gf3UewAT_7BUUGNoYNp8jUqWpetIFfh19w_mLoxr97XR-nkN2lm9QNZuWkj1z48CuxVXOyNeR4M6fICPVXz8Yz52a7Fj9uesyr4WQT6AkQshJYd3uAhWO/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvBLfwW2S_FofbnzAjMsfXD2Gf3UewAT_7BUUGNoYNp8jUqWpetIFfh19w_mLoxr97XR-nkN2lm9QNZuWkj1z48CuxVXOyNeR4M6fICPVXz8Yz52a7Fj9uesyr4WQT6AkQshJYd3uAhWO/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Juicy Jones is awesome. AWESOME!! Ok, must not get too excited and focus. I'm ok now.
<br />I wanted to eat everything. It was all so tasty. Tasty and vegan. The decor is bright, funky, graffy but the furniture is clean and basic. Even though the walls are really busy it's not over whelming. The above photo is of the bar as you walk in. At first appearance it's just a simple bar and a tiny shop but behind me is the restaurant dining area pictured below. You can order and eat at the bar or grab a table. We tried both and I'd recommend a table for a full meal but the bar is perfect for a milk shake and hummus.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJX9RoeA3pSOr0wl1CG0oql19ly6o_UqUKKX8RijL3y34rrCE1DAUKEfJ5nxxTcl6EtLpcAeP_MJHUx2hPJ3SbVmruNXLuxqPxHLQKRSKlE40jCz0375s7jXUMtzMBRuavRt57D85yb_Y/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJX9RoeA3pSOr0wl1CG0oql19ly6o_UqUKKX8RijL3y34rrCE1DAUKEfJ5nxxTcl6EtLpcAeP_MJHUx2hPJ3SbVmruNXLuxqPxHLQKRSKlE40jCz0375s7jXUMtzMBRuavRt57D85yb_Y/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Our first visit consisted of a cookie. We accidentally found the place wandering around and had already eaten lunch but I had to get something. When we came back we took things more seriously with some hummus and a couple milk shakes (they use soy milk for these). Lex got the Fruit Slam: mango, pear, strawberry, papaya, soy milk, sugar and ice. I saw chocolate and I couldn't turn away, I tried the Banana GoGo: banana, cocoa, soy milk, coconut, cane sugar and ice. These were so so so so yummy. The hummus was also super yummy.
<br />
<br />The next time we came back it was with the intent to eat a full meal. After careful consideration we ordered from the Menu del Dia.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe50EmEoHVFUM5K4Zh4BHmnsU6Prrl4GBW-wROmot5ti2FtuJnUATGLm75lauYeZAvycKynIzShNvqisw08CSbFHDMZjagXEdPRTWRS_jdm8q-BAANR4YDIRULMok8j5wCLPkMHMZrnlRA/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe50EmEoHVFUM5K4Zh4BHmnsU6Prrl4GBW-wROmot5ti2FtuJnUATGLm75lauYeZAvycKynIzShNvqisw08CSbFHDMZjagXEdPRTWRS_jdm8q-BAANR4YDIRULMok8j5wCLPkMHMZrnlRA/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">1. Sopa/ensalada (soup or salad)
<br />2. Thali/Plato del dia (Indian plate or plate specials)
<br />3. Postre (dessert)
<br />From the listings on the specials board we went with a good sampling of items.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRRcty-kbOTezoifqULha6oU8MkbX4PI1gz_bN5UD-kEELaBw7F8fi7ljgKZzUpkrMAtOSI10S7JgYEBfXB19Xb8M74qPhUXnHkPzDF6P4oiZtd-dBE2zfSz0ZxqHnq1exdKU4uuuwjGe/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRRcty-kbOTezoifqULha6oU8MkbX4PI1gz_bN5UD-kEELaBw7F8fi7ljgKZzUpkrMAtOSI10S7JgYEBfXB19Xb8M74qPhUXnHkPzDF6P4oiZtd-dBE2zfSz0ZxqHnq1exdKU4uuuwjGe/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Lex got 1. Hummus (he really liked this hummus) 2. Nidas de Patata con setas y queso vegano y ensalada de judias. No pics of the hummus but this was a kinda potato and vegan cheese pie with a green bean salad. Really good and comfort foodie.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIw3fs4HIuhivEmbuaB7_ldF8a-ueJPeQdpexTOL6vq02RKeaKEMpNlBnDm9RmvZuFcyREDHHxaqQjpk9BQh_1u4QAFWsF_PKQscg6Pk9lJhOJ1q8h0ftaX7xj51w6RBeDEibvf2Ez3KI/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIw3fs4HIuhivEmbuaB7_ldF8a-ueJPeQdpexTOL6vq02RKeaKEMpNlBnDm9RmvZuFcyREDHHxaqQjpk9BQh_1u4QAFWsF_PKQscg6Pk9lJhOJ1q8h0ftaX7xj51w6RBeDEibvf2Ez3KI/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">I went for 1. Crema de Calabacin (cream of zucchini soup) 2. Thali (Brocoli masala, papad dam, onion, bhajee, mixed dal, mixed veg, plain rice, chatni itimati. No pic of the soup but it was lovely. As was the whole Thali plate. Lex helped me polish it off in the end. We both thought it was the business.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUa7davhNpXqc-UvTJdaFfJTlrf3IjOtdFuqBzsBoERkUtOmdH91IeYGgJAUafwIn5dkqNCUeAj978LdtIxeJ23YbscoWIPp10hZwg6Y_Ok-LVTLiqFLDI_Q9ZgeLjmi3tz2cTb9vpC8S/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUa7davhNpXqc-UvTJdaFfJTlrf3IjOtdFuqBzsBoERkUtOmdH91IeYGgJAUafwIn5dkqNCUeAj978LdtIxeJ23YbscoWIPp10hZwg6Y_Ok-LVTLiqFLDI_Q9ZgeLjmi3tz2cTb9vpC8S/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dessert - Biscuit de Pi</span><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman,serif;font-size:85%;" >ñ</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;">a y Crema de Chocolate. They were a good size though, just a little bite to finish off the meal. I got the last Crema de Chocolate, score!
<br />We were stuffed to the rafters after this meal but it was so good. Could not stop eating. All this food came to 8.50€ per meal. An awesome deal as this was far too much food. We could have shared one. This also comes with a beverage. Water (bottled in glass) or wine. You can also just get one of the main dish specials and the juice selection of the day for 7.95€. Probably a slightly healthier option than stuffing yourself sillybut for the extra 0.55€ get the appetizer and dessert and share with a friend.
<br />
<br />The next time we came back we tried something else from the printed menu which never grows tiresome to look at.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://picasaweb.google.com/bexbennett/HowToFeedAVegan?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbttuLMxIDavQE#5388740757530890466"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBbVHA3Lf0S7UdaZY_rYGFajsTQzI3_Un5K28Pix_4z25GElxsvU_QBi8RD9rupqvUIL988scggG_aqUQlYTo0L4dCSrsJXW3Zkuv0Bp2dwU9Kdn4WAvg2QULQOy7EAEAkf7UWDIj4UsH/s320/JJMenu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388740757530890466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">To have a closer look at the menu you can click the picture and zoom in. They have this menu bound to look at in the cafe but this one was nicely displayed at the entrance for people to peruse the selection.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1HmiWgIMty8IsYEJsOrndgFrtn7vhxAn47yQBSYm0qwrqT4hXshEBugYHi8M_O9376zm6pyqsetiqAC556eQ5YkXD2N5aBhjFKOJaMHERCoaq0zSb1PwqY3UyGGQ_cNGCQadBkVnemAE/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1HmiWgIMty8IsYEJsOrndgFrtn7vhxAn47yQBSYm0qwrqT4hXshEBugYHi8M_O9376zm6pyqsetiqAC556eQ5YkXD2N5aBhjFKOJaMHERCoaq0zSb1PwqY3UyGGQ_cNGCQadBkVnemAE/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">To drink a Strawberry Mary (another milk shake of strawberries, papaya, soymilk, cane sugar and ice) and a mixed juice of beet, ginger, carrot, orange, and lemon. Both were to die for naturally. And for our chewing pleasure, sandwiches.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsaJxACn0zMT3rR1DI-FC3kuQdE0jd4ArnVI5Il7d9uydxKKArnpP8NZOVk83mE4TJ1_LXRO54nbsLvd3cHxScVQIZfUOABK_7-UNwtYwroShYsgcEKdvFR9KBky23mIQFZA9bfZZkZUo/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsaJxACn0zMT3rR1DI-FC3kuQdE0jd4ArnVI5Il7d9uydxKKArnpP8NZOVk83mE4TJ1_LXRO54nbsLvd3cHxScVQIZfUOABK_7-UNwtYwroShYsgcEKdvFR9KBky23mIQFZA9bfZZkZUo/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Toscano: hummus, green beans, sundried tomatoes, onion and spinach.
<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0p4v0XFqaV5_IE6Cq7WkF1PKdK6I2G3WMOBf8BhLW0p2O0jtRPomQLdkgzBIv4DDrQ8KT0NsVmM609ADUBM0ZEy81145WDmliIqpzBVYbNypb1j_WUi8xzpJk5z5gjP9NfHVQeoMoFL4D/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0p4v0XFqaV5_IE6Cq7WkF1PKdK6I2G3WMOBf8BhLW0p2O0jtRPomQLdkgzBIv4DDrQ8KT0NsVmM609ADUBM0ZEy81145WDmliIqpzBVYbNypb1j_WUi8xzpJk5z5gjP9NfHVQeoMoFL4D/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Tofu: oven baked tofu, avocado, carrot, scallion, sprouts, lettuc</span><span style="font-size:85%;">e, and ginger satay sauce.</span><span style="font-size:85%;">
<br />
<br />So in conclusion we would like to offer our services in opening a Granada (that's where we are at the moment) branch of Juicy Jones. WE LOVE JUICY JONES!! Get your tapas, salads, sammies, huge meals, sweets and drinks here!
<br /></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-22956888335710337322009-10-03T13:14:00.000+01:002009-10-03T15:57:19.749+01:00Vegetalia<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Barcelona has a few vegetarian options and a couple really tasty ones for vegans. Check out </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.happycow.net/europe/spain/barcelona/"><span class="Apple-style-span">HappyCow</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"> for some good places to start because I'm only going to tell you about the two we went to here.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">After looking at HappyCow for suggestions we decided to start with a little place called </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.vegetalia.es/"><span class="Apple-style-span">Vegetalia</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">. This started our adventure with Spain and "open hours." In the US I was used to shops small and large having their posted open hours and those being fairly accurate give or take a few minutes. Here it seems you're lucky if they have posted hours, those hours are merely suggestions, and they will almost certainly be closed for siesta and on Sundays. So we had to walk by Vegetalia a couple times over a couple days before we hit it open. </span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpniixaZ8daufLtYyRLrqagHtbUdHpOc2tDPhO1s0fQVK7YniTfWgCymDuWLxZEHdLu4CPPJql6ZnW_CKG_CXHJfw6oRrmmdZFKa_6obPoI4qGAweeadV9tDv1_OQCE5fW-7FKn3ACC_O/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLpniixaZ8daufLtYyRLrqagHtbUdHpOc2tDPhO1s0fQVK7YniTfWgCymDuWLxZEHdLu4CPPJql6ZnW_CKG_CXHJfw6oRrmmdZFKa_6obPoI4qGAweeadV9tDv1_OQCE5fW-7FKn3ACC_O/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Vegetalia</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">Escudellers 54</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span">08002 Barcelona</span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Vegetalia is not strictly vegan so be sure you talk to your server. As is the case all over Spain, they may not speak English but they know what vegan means here (you might get blank stares in other restaurants). When we went our server did not speak English and he did not know for sure which items were vegan but he was super friendly and more than happy to consult with other staff to check on veganness. Don't speak Spanish? no problem! We don't either. Vegano is Spanish for vegan when you're lucky enough to encounter people who know what it means. This isn't so different from the US when you think about it. How many times have you asked for vegan and maybe even spelled it out, "so no dairy, eggs, honey, etc" and received a soup with chicken stock or a sandwich with traditional mayo on it? So at Vegetalia, if you don't speak the local language, simply point to what you are interested in and ask "Vegano?"</span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4sPQg7CUpILx2Pw_D-ZwWtHHhyXhekHpphFGlX9Kprbs79IjO5uIsK21nVIOiVTjyHItEihM9WA8ipf0Pi3EaP4FAwtqoU2HQw7sbAbjUxnrPD44NYwBroMjs0AulzPhFbKKshGr4ntM/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4sPQg7CUpILx2Pw_D-ZwWtHHhyXhekHpphFGlX9Kprbs79IjO5uIsK21nVIOiVTjyHItEihM9WA8ipf0Pi3EaP4FAwtqoU2HQw7sbAbjUxnrPD44NYwBroMjs0AulzPhFbKKshGr4ntM/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">So let's actually talk about some food yes? We were in the mood for burgers so that's what we went for. Expecting a burger on a bun, we were surprised to receive a burger on a pile of salad with wholesome brown rice. For me to eat healthier why don't you. In all seriousness though it was very tasty. The brown rice was lightly seasoned and ever so slightly sweet. The burgers were both very tasty. Lex ordered a seitan based burger (I'm sorry to say I forget the flavor) and mine was seaweed tofu. Again, not all the burgers are vegan so be sure to ask. </span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ngEpcgbn1uvSVY6JoXlrl0KeSRMfaGR2dtzD5msqzDqZw8EosTtcPuR1I86vMW98lRaWodiR_xgf4QyPdCCGQMDDXPVq36sNsayog5-v_yhCe9Jox4C8GmvHMXV4wqe1LAxMcD4xuqcV/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ngEpcgbn1uvSVY6JoXlrl0KeSRMfaGR2dtzD5msqzDqZw8EosTtcPuR1I86vMW98lRaWodiR_xgf4QyPdCCGQMDDXPVq36sNsayog5-v_yhCe9Jox4C8GmvHMXV4wqe1LAxMcD4xuqcV/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Really like the burgers and maybe need some other bits? Well Vegetalia also stocks a small shop area with a mixture of items including some of their own brand foods like the burgers and tofu. They also stock a small selection of books. I didn't peruse these due to my abysmal Spanish and our backpacking/travel lightly state. The Vegetalia brand can also be purchased in other supermarkets around town like El Corte Ingles.</span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZaKl7Hh5eEa6X6wq2yytbYQ0HB3YQP955S-n7qqHHWHI7uglOiGXk6MVlafVURDPaim79oVwkjQ9GNA5u540ALpxD6D37CUHjsZkKcDkIWGqo15mMs3W-jn_HlqAIHTl7aRoG-p_Jscf/s1600-h/VegetaliaShop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZaKl7Hh5eEa6X6wq2yytbYQ0HB3YQP955S-n7qqHHWHI7uglOiGXk6MVlafVURDPaim79oVwkjQ9GNA5u540ALpxD6D37CUHjsZkKcDkIWGqo15mMs3W-jn_HlqAIHTl7aRoG-p_Jscf/s320/VegetaliaShop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385772599095108306" border="0" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">Vegetalia offers a little of everything from the Menu del dia, a set menu for 9.90€, to a simple coffee and juice bar. Sit at the bar or grab a table. Snag the local animal rights paper, <a href="http://www.animanaturalis.org/">Anima Naturalis</a>, off the rack to remind yourself you have local allies and to look for other cruelty free businesses to visit in Spain. Definitely visit Vegetalia when you're in Barcelona. It's cute, tasty and friendly.</span></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-67000730688518436272009-10-02T13:27:00.002+01:002009-10-02T14:57:54.142+01:00It's all about me.<span style="font-size:85%;">Where would Vegan MoFo be without a survey or two? I admit they are kinda fun to fill out. Weather you find them fun to read I suppose depends on if you are interested in that kind of thing and if the answers are entertaining.<br /><br />Our first survey comes from Lauren of the <a href="http://whoawren.blogspot.com/2009/10/vegan-mofo-survey.html">Whoa Wre</a>n blog. I like to throw in one or two of these little bits here and there. It helps us get to know each other a bit. Because if I just love eggplant and you can't stand them, can we ever really be friends? Lesser things have caused wars. Just kidding, I'm too lazy to be that judgmental.<br /><br />on with the interrogation:</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">1. Favorite non-dairy milk?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Almond milk, hands down. I don't get it super often though, it's just too pricey. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">I've been doing lots of cooking on the fly since we started traveling but we seem to be holding in one place for a little while so I'm thinking of a falafel tester for Isa's new cookboo<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>k, peanut ginger tofu (because we need to have that at least once a week), maybe some crepes but I haven't decided on a filling yet.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />3. Topping of choice for popcorn?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Nooch!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Hmm, that would have to be the rice pudding I was going to try and make but walked away while leaving the stove on. Burnt the crap out of it.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />5. Favorite pickled item?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">It's a toss up between ginger and good ol' dill cucumber pickles.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />6. How do you organize your recipes?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">My cookbooks were in alphabetical order by author, I was thinking of organizing them by the rainbow next. Now I'm down to keeping things online. Those are mostly bookmarked through GoogleReader and I have them sorted into basic type (breakfast, dinner, snacks, cookies, indian, thai). The cool thing about that is you can have them tagged in multiple categories.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Trash</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Almonds, Avocados, Tomatoes</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">My mom used to make bread rolls for holidays, I remember getting one (or three) still warm, and spreading butter/margarine on. Watched it melt and then mowwed it down. It was probably a pretty basic bread recipe it was just the homemade, fresh, warm, awesomeness of it. The rolls also made awesome holiday leftover sandwiches hehe</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />10. Favorite vegan ice cream?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">So far I think I'll have to go with the pomegranate chip flavor from So Delicious.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />11. Most loved kitchen appliance?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">My vitamix was the business!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />12. Spice/herb you would die without?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">We go through a potentially unhealthy amount of cumin at times.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Vengeance-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1569243581/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254488242&sr=1-9">Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz </a>was my first vegan cookbook and it really got me into cooking, veganism and not being afraid to try new things.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">If we're talking the good stuff, mixed berry.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Lentil and tomato sauce over pasta. There are a few really good ways to tweek it and there is a good amount of familiararity so as not to cause a panic.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Seitan and tofu are both in my heart, it's like having to chose between two children.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Afternoon/early evening which is usually dinner.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">I no longer have a refrigerator but the communal refrigerator here has our stock of pots and pans on it.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Only two things in there right now, peas and green beans.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />20. What's on your grocery list?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Flour, fennel seed, whatever vegetable looks good and doesn't cost me all of my money.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />21. Favorite grocery store?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">It was City Market in Burlington. They pissed me off a lot but they usually had most things I was looking for and didn't rip you off too much for them.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Now I frequent Mercadona in Spain<span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span> the prices are pretty good.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />22. Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">I don't really have anything looming over my head at the moment.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa's because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://vegandad.blogspot.com/">Vegan Dad</a>, <a href="http://havecakewilltravel.com/">Have Cake Will Travel</a>, <a href="http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/">Diet Dessert & Dogs</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">I'd love a vegan fruit and nut bar but until then I'll keep buying plain chocolate and making my own. I've recently fallen in love with Valor chocolate, they have a banana bar that is sooooo frikin good!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">Peanut butter is pretty extravagant here. No less than 3.50€ a jar. Highway robbery, for cheap crap stuff, not even all natural.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><br /><br />26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?<br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">I'm always a little scared to work with new things. I hate to ruin things and waste food and money but you just have to throw caution to the wind and go for it.</span></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-87872027667141642412009-10-01T18:30:00.001+01:002009-10-01T18:30:00.230+01:00Bienvenida a España<span style="font-size:85%;">Hopefully that's grammatically correct. Did I mention I don't speak Spanish? I'm trying to learn but let's face it I suck. Anyway, we've entered Spain via Barcelona. Spain is one of the gazillion places I haven't been to before and Lex hasn't spent any time here either (aside from some islands as a kid) so it's new for us both.<br /><br />We took an over night flight from Athens to get here on a fairly budget airline. Let's just say it was a rough ride but luckily I was tired and still managed to sleep through most of it. Arrival time was about 5am. After waiting around for about 30 mins for the buses to start running and a little argument with the ticket machine for the bus we snagged a ride to Placa de Catalunya. Then to a little metro ride back out of the city center for our first hostel stay (my first hostel ever). This was located within a 5-10 min walk to the metro stop and on a mountain/hillside. Due to it's partial woodland location, one night when we were walking back to our dorm we saw this litle piggie:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQdzenVctPsUlkhLOyPDCDAfkm8hd9hVf25lR8v6QIEotWruTP95SxNBdWBeInHqNqm5Q1kYcS4BC5dG8t1VJl-e4XBKzc7R5hlExZ9go9GzUu-N1dc4eZKHoZUKKc_x2QEhjsfjA3gsi/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQdzenVctPsUlkhLOyPDCDAfkm8hd9hVf25lR8v6QIEotWruTP95SxNBdWBeInHqNqm5Q1kYcS4BC5dG8t1VJl-e4XBKzc7R5hlExZ9go9GzUu-N1dc4eZKHoZUKKc_x2QEhjsfjA3gsi/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4CDIZkP94tVOQng130z8Z_n_LEvrVf9LrNDW11QXaOXkT6IYcSk5KnkekduIXjdcUz4UQJ6_mGm-VAggMfg_z1X4MeVd12f3BFBm-cYOv9tTDq3YVmtwBLTj4hMsL-_-OJV2GyVnJn2a/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4CDIZkP94tVOQng130z8Z_n_LEvrVf9LrNDW11QXaOXkT6IYcSk5KnkekduIXjdcUz4UQJ6_mGm-VAggMfg_z1X4MeVd12f3BFBm-cYOv9tTDq3YVmtwBLTj4hMsL-_-OJV2GyVnJn2a/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Yup, a wild pig. Also a first for me. It (can't honestly say whether it was a boy or girl) was munching on grasses and roots around the buildings making her little (big) piggie sounds. When we saw him we just froze, carefully got out the camera for a couple of quick shots before it wandered off in search of more munchies.<br /><br />It is true what they say about Spain and veganism. It can be hard. It really depends on how you approach it. Speaking some Spanish will definitely help you here but it's not necessary. Eating out at your regular omni establishments is hammy and fishy. Only tell you are vegetarian and they will bring you fish and ham or just stare at you as if to say "how do you live like this?"<br /><br />Traveling in Spain my first bit of advice would be to stay at hostels with a kitchen. Lots of them have communal kitchens and there isn't a shortage of delicious ingredients. And please for the love of cute furry bunnies don't leave your mess in the way of other people waiting to cook. Cook your grub, wash your pots, <span style="font-style: italic;">then</span> go eat. But I won't rant on about it. Due to this being the land of pig legs and chicken of the sea I don't feel like I'm missing out by cooking for myself all the time. Hit any supermarket and you'll find: rice (brown isn't as common but it's usually available), pasta (watch out for eggs), canned/frozen/fresh fruit & veg, sauces and condiments (as usual don't assume and read the labels), bread, herbs/spices, and oil. Even the little markets seem to have all these things.<br /><br />Vegetarianism isn't completely missing here and there are restaurants to go to. The ones we've hit I'll blog about don't you worry. There are also healthfood stores and even the larger supermarkets seem to carry a few "specialty" or "international" items like tofu, veggie burgers, seitan & tempeh. Barcelona is especially easy to shop in due to it's size. There are healthfood stores and large supermarkets where you will find almost everything you are accustom to eating and more (kamut milk?!?! I didn't buy it because it was rather expensive but I am intrigued). Soy milk is easy to find everywhere, Spain does cater to it's lactose intolerant. Almond milk also seems to be easy to find although, again, it is rather pricy. <br /><br />And just for pure touristy stake:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBD0hezqDFnARK_waXydk6dhgjTGykdfaf2Qyl0TXzcU3hdr844XgRs0WW9pHt2N7-A87oA6TN49RZ6f2f-bjIoDcz7DEKpjtZE_e_dWg8timUpxwi5Ml39y7A8PoHdhkUE6asE11w-2qV/s512/CatTourist.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBD0hezqDFnARK_waXydk6dhgjTGykdfaf2Qyl0TXzcU3hdr844XgRs0WW9pHt2N7-A87oA6TN49RZ6f2f-bjIoDcz7DEKpjtZE_e_dWg8timUpxwi5Ml39y7A8PoHdhkUE6asE11w-2qV/s512/CatTourist.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">and welcome to Vegan MoFo 2009!!</span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-59640655793965877942009-07-30T11:56:00.006+01:002009-07-31T21:30:00.007+01:00Nomads<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;">So in the event that you did not know, and how could you as I haven't said anything about it, Lex and I have become vegan nomads. We've decided to see some of this fantabulous world and knew that keeping on with the ol' nose to the grind stone wasn't really getting us anywhere nor was it making us happy. So why not throw caution to the wind and head off into yonder places with our trusty back packs and tent.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Well ok, the backpacks and tent hadn't proven themselves to be trusty just yet as they are new. The cookware and camp stove as well but we did some reading and some research so we weren't just picking any old random junk, we hoped.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">So far our first stop has been Greece. Visiting family, taking a few days to relax and recover from the jet lag that hit me hard. The poster child of Greece?<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDi89tKz9ZfjRX40XlHZgxY_abrMpEpqCbtI8tnekkZ8o_kXJFAwL2WvbjM7l8xpwW2SoZFtdHnJVjC6mw0NphQv34pV-uANh1B8mUOwv1lYrnyoSrJBZ8_J_JTkjaV8xyzEG-a2B0sK8B/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 494px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDi89tKz9ZfjRX40XlHZgxY_abrMpEpqCbtI8tnekkZ8o_kXJFAwL2WvbjM7l8xpwW2SoZFtdHnJVjC6mw0NphQv34pV-uANh1B8mUOwv1lYrnyoSrJBZ8_J_JTkjaV8xyzEG-a2B0sK8B/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">One awesome, knarly olive tree. The trees are everywhere but I love these big ones that just have trunk and branches everywhere. Awesome. This one we came across walking back along a trail beach side on Ithaki.<br /><br />We spent a couple days in Athens. We've been before so we didn't go crazy with touristy stuff but we did visit the new Acropolis museum which wasn't open last time we were in town. It's awesome (but doesn't allow photographs) so I would highly recommend it. I did get this photo just outside the museum which is perched in the midsts of "a series of small walls" as Mr Eddie Izzard would say.<br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p_hoys2qW3bAnGDw4mLgA0QamlcdvdJzun9qXzQt88aBSUsbcky6DxloSrQrZbNVNaZPodrtPzAuPqdLdjgXl0DkvcwkyBsiJciEgel61N-HyWcMtLx_19OGs4Efgis5Bf5DSfyOid7z/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p_hoys2qW3bAnGDw4mLgA0QamlcdvdJzun9qXzQt88aBSUsbcky6DxloSrQrZbNVNaZPodrtPzAuPqdLdjgXl0DkvcwkyBsiJciEgel61N-HyWcMtLx_19OGs4Efgis5Bf5DSfyOid7z/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />From Athens we went to Ithaki, an island in the Ionian sea just off the much larger island of Kefalonia. There are no shortage of sights to behold, some simple, some delicious, some cuddly.<br />Montage<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESHKtRZeplAdAuxN9PYPuYplEpgLwWyLeWFqA_xslMOn6YSWUQz5cBBHjOq8tQSh62JwkA0x2hwKVGfZJKhjpdLqceE-Iyw4d23HiENFClS6ssSkGDXcZqqEL8KmRd5elHEtBY6HGm3Zu/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESHKtRZeplAdAuxN9PYPuYplEpgLwWyLeWFqA_xslMOn6YSWUQz5cBBHjOq8tQSh62JwkA0x2hwKVGfZJKhjpdLqceE-Iyw4d23HiENFClS6ssSkGDXcZqqEL8KmRd5elHEtBY6HGm3Zu/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_y_mmveybVBj2fw7ATrbjvzcClYstRdQpl-YvtxHDEKng82Z9xmDK8EDXPgixvIK1QT9f6S8OwCEMmaog440NqpNjFQ3439DyFhc0XeCobX4UU8aulcfuiko3l6Ba1oRrVFrccEGKXKK/"><img style="cursor: pointer; 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width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SVprwerC20FW_VrMj2ONVCkqDtBtqzlSNFP4lCqF0TNfnPAwrzQ9KOd48_JYciCMMQFhli6TqHRBcZsg5ME2u7D9vg5aAnBjEPOZItlcBjyrWPtLlC7gCgYBWtYu6ZeWG9_CPaVLfTmq/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVWt1Eb_dEI-lc1RGK54xEVhn02WmfnjDT7fQYlB_Gg2YR_Y-Kiv0Wwg1mHR3YtDFuPXlIcUG-bQMJRK5XWnhbUivL-hdbdZQbogZgwOFToTUMwVmu_wKC6228ZFesxwfSiNufEIWmJo8/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVWt1Eb_dEI-lc1RGK54xEVhn02WmfnjDT7fQYlB_Gg2YR_Y-Kiv0Wwg1mHR3YtDFuPXlIcUG-bQMJRK5XWnhbUivL-hdbdZQbogZgwOFToTUMwVmu_wKC6228ZFesxwfSiNufEIWmJo8/" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh296gBs33sSptEbrpJBtmnS3jGbTdWoV_YR2u17Br4sGQavpo5QqTrvawuBs4B0AgQT8jpw_GQvWzuMjsDWLvPK1w-dsMF8KuXc55I9sxEhxfSLoF6dQNdSZjKiOlh5nW6ie-tIDnSJviD/"><img style="cursor: pointer; 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width: 200px; height: 149px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOd9YYq5QZNes1reTgvjl_HBhSrg3sDLp3P9M-5Xw5MbpvKq3QXjfpenofSJxMvqhzkP0LSaOclwlWE-G2nn22vJIsGKyz6ufj0mAuP2WXos7mCmftmkunLdhFPPYuI0giZIZjinx6xwgI/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh16KsVwZCvnOU2Ks-fX0nqGMsHUCFC0jlbDzwUDGO0qpasYgQC-59wJHW-CJPNZHjK6_yVket6M3ofA00enzSiPpwRJtTAglTwT4p9RSzF0PRUq_55uXokcx2mBzOY8tFTcSmpTW3EOW/s512/trailBabies.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAh16KsVwZCvnOU2Ks-fX0nqGMsHUCFC0jlbDzwUDGO0qpasYgQC-59wJHW-CJPNZHjK6_yVket6M3ofA00enzSiPpwRJtTAglTwT4p9RSzF0PRUq_55uXokcx2mBzOY8tFTcSmpTW3EOW/s512/trailBabies.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sd5XGvtLNYgsuUshTLFG3223FtgW5h50aq04XUd5Do31cfIWSEtU94iMXtJO1aXnc5RWy0Qo6vYSyVBtTTKmw93HEQODN-K17SIXnMCOdY_hOO-fZb6NXY_wA0nDoG1ZwhdYfVtkA__M/s512/Dora.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sd5XGvtLNYgsuUshTLFG3223FtgW5h50aq04XUd5Do31cfIWSEtU94iMXtJO1aXnc5RWy0Qo6vYSyVBtTTKmw93HEQODN-K17SIXnMCOdY_hOO-fZb6NXY_wA0nDoG1ZwhdYfVtkA__M/s512/Dora.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Needless to say, all these adorable kitties keep any hint of a rodent problem at bay. Unfortunately some people find them to be a nuisance and they do breed rather easily. There are some nice people around including vets who are trying to keep the population under control by humane means.<br /><br />As this is a food blog I will be providing yummies to drool over and to try out. Today I give you:</span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHqzHCqK9UP89dnaS7llUz27sosq3-hvl_z4NxJU3Xdsz4t2jqUingbLc4OtTi-sLNXA5a-lJuPZMgOG42DHAiAIWb2_AwdGFA0WBA-bZEvAq9zz3QuEBArZperX6W1KfaG2ISWO5xocc/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHqzHCqK9UP89dnaS7llUz27sosq3-hvl_z4NxJU3Xdsz4t2jqUingbLc4OtTi-sLNXA5a-lJuPZMgOG42DHAiAIWb2_AwdGFA0WBA-bZEvAq9zz3QuEBArZperX6W1KfaG2ISWO5xocc/" alt="" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lex's Banana Rice Breakfast Pudding</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>So simple and nice. So easy to make even when you're camping! Also great as dessert.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Serves 2</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>1/2-3/4 c brown rice (quick cook or old school)</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>2 bananas</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>2-3 Tb olive oil (or oil of preference)</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>cinnamon to taste (optional)</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Fill medium pot with 2-3 c water and bring to boil over high heat. </i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Meanwhile add oil to small-medium saucepan and slice bananas into it. You're looking for enough oil to keep the bananas from sticking while they cook briefly.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Once water is boiling add rice and cook until done. Al dente to well done is fine, whatever your texture preference. Quick cook will take 10-15 mins, regular brown rice will be more like 30-40 mins.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>When rice has about 10 mins left, place bananas over medium heat and cook to a nice mush. As they cook down they will soften and sweeten.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Add cinnamon to taste, you shouldn't need additional sweeteners. Remove bananas from heat and set aside until rice is done.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Drain rice of excess water and mix together with the bananas.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Serve warm or at room temperature, probably cold too but we couldn't test that as we are operating without refrigeration at the moment.</i></span></span></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-88403689113551689552009-07-20T15:08:00.007+01:002009-07-29T11:27:48.337+01:00The Vegan Scoop<span style="font-size:85%;">Having to hunt around for vegan ice cream seems to be a thing of the past for a lot of us which is a wonderful thing. There's soy, rice, coconut, hemp and who knows what else to make you forget what that silly dairy based ice cream even tasted like let alone why you ever ate it. And along with this vegan ice cream boom seems to have come a vegan ice cream recipe book mini boom with two books released nearly back to back for our summer ice cream eating enjoyment.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />Wheelers Ice Cream contacted me a while ago asking me to try out one of their recipes and to share it with you all to promote it's book offering, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Scoop-Recipes-Dairy-Free-Tastes/dp/1592333923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248860864&sr=8-1">The Vegan Scoop</a>. Do I want to try out a new ice cream recipe? Are you mad? Hells yeah!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:arial;font-size:13;" ><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Rh4V8S_kln1kO9YT8_L-Qa3vjINV6w-A5pROsR7LWtndfd9fEJIo5WOXlU3BATCZMG3HHKvFgquLg0da7SjL-CjR532EDPkhf0ZCn27IQRe6hmpayXXxKjpnCGAVTW86ZIstIEgZs48e/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Rh4V8S_kln1kO9YT8_L-Qa3vjINV6w-A5pROsR7LWtndfd9fEJIo5WOXlU3BATCZMG3HHKvFgquLg0da7SjL-CjR532EDPkhf0ZCn27IQRe6hmpayXXxKjpnCGAVTW86ZIstIEgZs48e/" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Normally (I say normally but in my experience it's 100% of the time) when you find mint ice cream in your local freezer case it's just mint flavor, not identifiably any particular mint (or at least I don't know which mint this is). Sometimes if you're lucky you might find a seasonal peppermint type thing. Wheelers have given us a new one to try out, spearmint. I must say I was pretty excited to give it a go. Spearmint has always been my favorite mint flavor. I've been known to, as a child, mow my way through an entire pack of Life Savers spearmint candies/mints in a remarkably short period of time.<br /><br />My only worry was finding spearmint extract. I've never seen it before. Maybe the coop will have it . . . .nope. Health food store . . . nope. Regular old super market . . . they have an extract just labeled "mint" but after having a look at the ingredients it turns out it's spearmint with a touch of peppermint. I gave this one a try and it was spot on. I think they just added a little peppermint to give it a kick as spearmint is a bit more subtle. I don't remember the brand but it's a common one and you should find it in your regular old supermarket in the spices and/or baking areas.<br /><br />The ice cream was good although the flavor was strange at first because of eating that generic mint flavor for so long. My tongue was confused. This was bright and refreshing while still being wonderful creamy ice cream.</span></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fv0k70IqwgWMbqL_SB8GwjENSx5EIoHFvLWOlL76z2zjbBkLyfSYhQgJT2ynS0iMIR-ga1o-jEZ2yyMgB6O6vH7aZUToybjqgMmnc3KR5y3Cjj6At7Hc-LJMuLc9vd4TH4j0NbzafQ1Q/s512/spearmint.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fv0k70IqwgWMbqL_SB8GwjENSx5EIoHFvLWOlL76z2zjbBkLyfSYhQgJT2ynS0iMIR-ga1o-jEZ2yyMgB6O6vH7aZUToybjqgMmnc3KR5y3Cjj6At7Hc-LJMuLc9vd4TH4j0NbzafQ1Q/s512/spearmint.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Spearmint Ice Cream</b></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>1 cup (235 ml) soy milk, divided<br />2 tablespoons (16 g) arrowroot<br />2 cups (470 ml) soy creamer<br />3/4 cup (150 g) sugar<br />1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract<br />1 1/2 tablespoons (23 ml) spearmint extract<br /><br />In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup (60 ml) soymilk with arrowroot and set aside.<br /><br />Mix soy creamer, remaining 3/4 cup (175 ml) soymilk, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add arrowroot cream. This will cause the liquid to thicken noticeably.<br /><br />Add vanilla extract.<br /><br />Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instruction.<br /><br /></i></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:arial;" >Yield: 1 quart (approximately 600 g)</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=";font-family:arial;font-size:13;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-63744960347855162832009-05-10T15:06:00.002+01:002009-05-10T15:06:00.392+01:00Thank You Joanna!<span style="font-size:85%;">Reading through my list of vegan blogs yesterday I came across some very important information. Something that the people at Boca and Garden Burger don't want you to know. The secret diy burger formula. <a href="http://joannavaught.com/"> Joanna Vaught</a>, creator of many a delicious recipe, posted a basic tried and true <a href="http://joannavaught.com/2009/05/diy-burgers.html">equation for making burgers</a> just the way you want them or a different way every night. Whatever strikes your fancy. She just knows the way straight to my heart.<br /><br />I had to get right on this. Could it be true? Oh the possibilities. My first thought was hoisin sauce. I wanted some. Hosin made me think stir fry, I had bell pepper and carrots already. And I was off.<br /><br />This is what I came up with:<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">~2 cups finely chopped carrots and shiitake mushrooms (vegetables)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1 cup black beans and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and 1/4 cup black sesame seeds (protein)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">3/4 cup vital wheat gluten</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1/4 cup oil and a splash of water (liquid)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">1 T black bean garlic sauce (liquid seasoning)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">2 tsp crumbled dry red chili and 1 tsp ground ginger (dry seasoning)<br /></span></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3516528909_2f98e339e9.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 315px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/3516528909_2f98e339e9.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">This made 6 good sized burgers to fill out our Ezekiel buns. Building went as follows: bottom of bun, Vegenaise, cucumber, greens, burger, pan fried red onion and orange bell pepper, hosin sauce on top bun. Unhinge jaw and eat.<br /><br />I'm loving this formula. Brown rice and vital wheat gluten are a pantry staple. These burgers will take whatever you have around. Read through Joanna's suggestions and you'll get the idea. What a great way to pull together different theme patties or to just help clean out the cupboards in a super tasty way. Don't feel confined to burgers here either. Go for cutlets (add a little more gluten if you like more chewy texture) or balls (yeah I said it, balls) for a sub, pasta or whatever.<br /><br />Have you checked out <a href="http://www.herbivoreclothing.com/item/yellow-rose-recipes--joanna-vaught">Yellow Rose Recipes</a>? No? What is wrong with you?!?!<br /></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-46499441288964500582009-05-09T14:34:00.005+01:002009-05-09T15:12:44.062+01:00It's almost time for another wonderful book<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/spatulla_v180x200.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 200px;" src="http://thedaringkitchen.com/sites/default/files/spatulla_v180x200.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">So you're all wondering, "How the hell am I suppose to feed a vegan if you keep disappearing?" All I can say is, sorry about that. I'm working on a big project at the moment (nothing crazy exciting for anyone but myself I'm afraid) that is keeping me more then busy. I'm a bit overwhelmed really but I'm just going to keep chipping away.<br /><br />Aaannnyyway . . . I thought I should probably post something for the April Daring Bakers Challenge. I did it, I just have the worst time sitting down to post about it. Well, I kinda did it.<br /><br /><strong style="font-weight: normal;">The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from <a href="http://jennybakes.blogspot.com/">Jenny Bakes</a>. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />So this challenge allowed for some creativity. I took that permission and stretched it to a tester recipe for Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero's new cookie book. So I would like to reveal one delicious brownie.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HB79ZGX1UL6YaIpiue0iGFkIdaEtUroDspSTSX4LuqlpCcJMllN0YS00VacJqF8Q5GT1GZDc3pBIOQ098oETI5dkaR0xGisn47uBC27M5labSlv87vmGR4VXVhMFlsei50V74Y-reRjJ/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9HB79ZGX1UL6YaIpiue0iGFkIdaEtUroDspSTSX4LuqlpCcJMllN0YS00VacJqF8Q5GT1GZDc3pBIOQ098oETI5dkaR0xGisn47uBC27M5labSlv87vmGR4VXVhMFlsei50V74Y-reRjJ/" alt="" border="0" /></a>Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownie<br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />It's in the spirit of cheesecake at least. I just couldn't bring myself to buy 3 tubs of vegan cream cheese for a whole cake. That's not something I need lying around. Now I realize that this isn't the best picture of this delectable treat so I would also like to direct you to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/isachandra/sets/72157615549238736/">flickr pool</a> for more photos from this highly anticipated book that looks like it will be a companion to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241876945&sr=8-1">Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World</a>, to be entitled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cookies-Invade-Your-Cookie/dp/160094048X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241876992&sr=1-5">Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar</a>. This takes care of the ever present chocolate craving as well as the cheesecake need we sometimes experience. For chocolate chips I used Lindt 70% thins all crumbled up. That was the ticket let me tell you.<br /><br />So I ask that you please stick with me here. I have some tasty treats waiting in the wings and I will try to set aside time to complete the posts for them.<br /></span>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7451744916803911474.post-65417635689003806622009-04-22T15:00:00.005+01:002009-04-23T04:30:56.175+01:00Happy Earth Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spacetoday.org/images/SolSys/Earth/EarthBlueMarbleWestTerra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 324px;" src="http://www.spacetoday.org/images/SolSys/Earth/EarthBlueMarbleWestTerra.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">You really must love these awareness days if for nothing more then it gives us bloggers something to talk about. I don't know how I feel about "Earth Day." I love my Earth in all its dangerous beauty and therefore everyday is Earth Day. I try to live my life with lighter steps and help clear up the debris of those who want to stomp around. I am by no means perfect but I keep stiving to be better, be more educated and clean up old habits.<br /><br />In an effort to use this day as it was intended, to bring awareness to the issues. Everyone knows the basics and a lot of people subscribe to them: reusable bags, drive car less, fuel efficient vehicles. Fewer people seem to get into the "eat less or no meat" and won't touch the dairy and egg issue with the ever popular <span style="font-style: italic;">10 ft pole</span>. If you truely want to save the planet. If you really really want to shrink down that ol' "carbon foot print" you'll need to go vegan. That's all there is too it. If I'm not only preaching to the choir here let me just say that it is easier than it has ever been to go vegan. There are an array of amazing delicious vegan cookbooks out there (just check out my library for a start). You'll find great vegan online social networking which can translate into real life social networking. Yes there are other vegans out there and chances are there is at least one near you. My favorite is <a href="http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/index.php">The Post Punk Kitchen</a> a couple other very welcoming communities are <a href="http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/compassionatecooks">Compassionate Cooks</a> and <a href="http://myforum.justthefood.com/user/discussions.aspx">Just the Food</a>. Speaking of Compassionate Cooks, Colleen does a very informative podcast that is worth checking out. She talks about food, animal rights, animal "processing" and literature.<br /><br />I have already read several articles and posts about the benefits of the vegetarian lifestyle on this oh day of the earth so I won't really go on about it. I'll just point to the following.<br /><br />If you are familiar with Mr Mark Bittman (author of<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Everything-Completely-Revised-Anniversary/dp/0764578650/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240450420&sr=1-1"> How to Cook Everything</a> and of the more recent <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Matters-Conscious-Eating-Recipes/dp/1416575642/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240450420&sr=1-2">Food Matters</a>) here is an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?_r=1">article from the New York Times</a> about meat consumption. Now I don't completely buy into the Bittman philosophy (he mentions something about being "vegan plus" which is a term that will only serve to confuse people as it's inaccurate) but I think he makes some good points and he will reach a lot of people that a vegan will probably not for the simple fact that he is not vegan. He's got some good information.<br /><br />When I read Kelly's post at <a href="http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/04/22/happy-earth-day-i-guess/">easyVegan.info</a> I understood the possition completely. It can be tough to keep the faith when so many just aren't willing to take the necessary steps to get it done. While I would like people to do something rather then nothing at all, there does seem to be a lot of half-assing going on. Use your whole ass people. Don't just take one step and call it quits. Keep taking steps, see where they lead you.<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://girliegirlarmy.com/default/20090422/leave-your-guilt-at-the-door-earth-day-pride/">The Girlie Girl Army</a> for some great factoids about what your vegan choices do for the planet and the creatures that try to live on it. I kinda like their Earth Pride.<br /><br />I hope everyone had a good day. Do something for the Earth everyday. Go vegan! These guys really want you to. Did I mention don't "process" them?<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/piglets.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 120px;" src="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/piglets.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Us/urban-chickens-hen-chicks-md.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 134px;" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/Us/urban-chickens-hen-chicks-md.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freefoto.com/images/01/48/01_48_5---Lamb--Northumberland_web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 116px;" src="http://www.freefoto.com/images/01/48/01_48_5---Lamb--Northumberland_web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.windameer.com/feather&kid_may10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 177px;" src="http://www.windameer.com/feather&kid_may10.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/calf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 120px;" src="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/calf.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/ducks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 119px;" src="http://www.tractorland.co.uk/UserFiles/image/ducks.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721763882751546459noreply@blogger.com4