where i’ve been
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….. seems like a completely disjointed draft of this post was published unintentionally, ahhh, well, if you saw the draft of mixed up, here’s how the thought process changed into what i mean to say……….
europe, oh enchanted, beautiful, easy to simply be place. i had almost forgotten. until i was completely and utterly blown away by your majesty, again.
my 30s are lovely and amazing, and already bringing me a different slice of life. there’s a touch of grace in that i’ve never felt closer to my Grandmother. i feel as though i’m wrapped in a humbling new cloak. i feel a bit like cuddling up in it and not sharing much right now.
so much has been on my mind lately and none of it cooking (in the kitchen, that is). with the close of my first, and 50% completed Vegan MOFO, i bid my food blogging farewell for a while. it’s fantastic to have reached the point where i’ve happily settled into veg routines. the blog has really helped, and now i’m ready to move along.
priorities, relationships, boundaries, share space, other interests, other things, all will find a proper shift to this new positioning. i’m not sure where this blog will go next, or when. i guess time will tell.
until then, i offer you the first part of my reading list as food for thought and to answer any questions about the source of my introspection:
Warrior of the Light, Paulo Coelho
Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff
The Shambhala Guide to Yoga, Georg Feuerstein
The Heartmath Solution, Doc Lew Childre
Quantum Healing, Deepak Chopra
The Field, Lynne McTaggart
A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle
Molecules of Emotion, Candace B. Pert
Thirst for Wholeness, Christina Grof
The Self-Aware Universe, Amit Goswami
Boundless Energy, Deepak Chopra
Shakti Mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, Georg Feuerstein
Bono, you crazy, inspiring, humanitarian You… you messed with my MOFO! if i hadn’t fallen madly in love with you last night, i might hold it against you that the world stopped when you hit the stage, and a MOFO post went missing. jeez. please. do. it. again.
bud up bup bup ba buuuuuuuuu… you got me stuck in a moment…. and i can’t get out of it……….
errr something. who knows, i was too busy dancing and singing and tearing up in sheer awe of something so great. how do i love the passionate, philanthropic type. in your honor, and to win back the love of the MOFO, ahem, i say let’s make little irish vegan babies!
then, and only then, will i share my Black Bean Yummers with you, but keep your guitar jamming hands off vegman’s tequila, k? them are fighting words.
essentially, what you see is this recipe, which i ABSOLUTELY LOVE, and is generally a party pleaser so long as i don’t use the word “hummus.” i don’t have much new to add to that recipe other than mad love for it, and another hefty thanks to SusanV.
however, i learned one new tip this last time i made it so i thought i’d pass on. i brought fantasia to a casual afternoon gathering where the plan and easy meal of DIY sandwiches. it was an informal deal of friends and fun. delicious on its own, ya know. one great thing about DIY sandwiches is that we can score with a range of tasty breads and good veg, and if its a really good day there are olive relishes alongside. boy was i in luck with the offerings at this partee! my friends are great so i had no worries. obvs i skipped the cold cut, and instead lathered up my bread with this bean dip, then loaded up on lettuce, tomato, onion, etc. MMMMMMMMMM.
back in omni days, i was a breakfast lover. i loved me a piled up carni breakfast too. forget cereal or pastries.
breakfast sort of went out the window when i stopped eating meat. generally breakfast is now a piece of fruit. a small sacrifice, and much healthier choice. and i can still linger in the pleasures of my coffee and nondairy moments.
this recent discovery launches veg breakfast to new levels in my world. here’s an answer to the “i want more than an apple but not tofu or breads” desire. plus, it’s a taco, so this baby gets vegman very excited:
refried black beans, oven roasted sweet and regular potatoe combo, chopped poblano pepper
holy smokes, i thought i’d never find such a beautiful LAZY vegan go-to breakfast of this kind. this here taco will fuel building an empire or dampen the next day wine stomach. sweet jesus, i’m a happy veg.
i love me some stocking in that kitchen. SIGH
WHOOooooooo-YA! as of the 12th of october, i have now satisfied my 4 ”planned” MOFO themes *no fail.* almost 1/2 way there, guy/als, and only 9 nine days left until i cross over to my 30s, and OMG i’ll be heading to Barcelona on Saturday!!!!!!! singing, and strumming my bongo, “Bye… Bye…“ oh, your ears? can’t carry a tune and i have no rhythm? ahhhh well, i’ll get back to business.
speaking of business, there’s so much to be excited about right now when i stop focusing on my current J-O-B, including growing my very own new business, being recognized as a cofounder of the awesome organization i’ve been donating time to this year, an unexpected adventure down the path of a 200 hour yoga teacher training, and a yoga kids training. wow. i knew MOFO would be good but never had i considered this much goodness to roll my way at once. that’s right folks, many of shifts took movement in October, and the surprise of teacher training started yesterday! more on these great things another time. one day i will have the juice on a sychronicities post, which keeps getting wider and wider. for now, i just wanted a little stir on the other MOFO goodness i’m cooking up……..
not spain, not vinyasa flow, not Paulo nor Deepak, can trump my excitement for these beans:
Call it Chili, Call it Beans, Call it AWESOME
Pintos, Kidneys & Black Beans (4 cans total, dried beans would also work)
20oz organic stewed tomatoes
2 homegrown poblano peppers
2 homegrown anaheim peppers
1 green bell pepper
5 serrano peppers, seeded
1 yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
juice of 2 limes
sea salt
dash of fresh cracked pepper
i let it stew on a slow rolling boil for about 3 hours before serving. as you can see, i loaded up a bowl with handfuls of fresh chopped cilantro and 1/2 a small avocado. i also squeezed another bit of lime on top before diving in to the best damn beans i’ve ever tasted.
it can be a struggle and a challenge to dine out in the suburb where i work. we’re surrounded with SAD chain after SAD chain of fried and not fresh foods. i have a distinct memory of seeing the “grilled vegetable” side being prepared at one of these SAD places where i worked in college. i remember the cook grab an individual plastic wrapped vegetable side from the freezer and throw it in to the microwave. when she pulled it out, she had to shake the vegetables away from the plastic that had melted to them so that they fell onto the plate. hardly any of the people i served those “grilled vegetables” to would ever eat them. i’d say that’s a good thing, though rather unfortunate when you consider how hard it is to get a healthy forkful of food at those restaurants, much less, something that doesn’t taste like plastic covered styrofoam. gross.
most of the time i bring my lunch, but there comes a time when i spend all of sunday partying with chocolate peanut butter pillows and do not get my sunday stock on… like this week, hehe. fret not, i have found a couple of diamonds in the rough:
SANDY’S - Maya’s No. 1 Pick
Sandy’s Market is pretty awesome. not only is it a health food store, it’s by far the best place to satisfy my healthful lunch out desires with an abundance of choices, buffet style. baked potato bar, salad and fruit bar, freshly made hot soups (at least 1 is vegan and usually contains a bean), several selections of hot entrees (mostly vegan, and generally there’s a vegan chili which is, surprisingly to me, the bomb!). if you dine in there’s a hot tea service with multiple choices of loose leaf teas they will serve up in individual pots. the market part is also good for picking up health food staples, buying in bulk, or looking for off out of the ordinary vitamins and other natural home remedies. their staff is really knowledgable too. Sandy’s has the Prescription for Nutritional Healing sitting out for shopper reference. so far they have had every oddball thing that i’ve gone looking for. i once picked up this red tea exfoliating foot cream while perusing the bargain bin. it’s so awesome, i wish i had grabbed all 17 tubes of it.
like all good things, there is a downside: the last time i went out to lunch at Sandy’s, i think it was a shocking $14 experience . the prices had gone up, and i used to think the $11 price was high (think the website is not up to date). yes, i know, it’s a locally owned, health focused place, but jeeeeeez that’s steep. i love Sandy’s but my bank account has to save for rainy days. thank heavens there is a out to lunch solution called taking it To Go. this way, i pay only for the food i want and it costs significantly less.
SALATA - No. 2 Pick
[excuse the crackberry photo]
even though salata is a franchise / chainy thing, i give it street cred for offering a huge selection of greens, fruits, beans and nuts for salad stocking. i compare it to subway gone salad bar. they assemble the salad for you as you go down the line selecting all your ingredients. pictured: spinach, red onion, green bell pepper, shredded cabbage, olives, cilanto, oranges, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, raisins, dried cranberries, garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and almonds. weird combo, yes. affordable, yes. tasty and healthful, also yes.
now, now, now, i couldn’t leave you for the weekend with a boring MOFO post about food in plastic boxes… not when i can leave you with The Halloween Bone:
HAPPY MOFO DOG FACE !!!
*theme*FAIL*
it was so very optimistic of me to think i could handle MOFO’n themes. no way am i that methodical or capable of separating emotion from writing blog posts. it was funeral this monday, so today i wish you a happy market monday on this thursday!
the Urban Harvest Bayou City Farmer’s Market is one of my favorite local farmer’s markets in Houston. it’s held every Saturday morning 8 to noon, rain or shine. Houston’s no Portland, sniff, sniff, but we do have a mighty fine selection of farmer’s market pleasures.
my market morning always begins at the Katz Coffee tent. i try to remember to bring my own special Tsunami Warrior travel coffee mug, but even when i forget he provides me a recyclable container and refuses to let me pay for refills. ”This ain’t Starbucks, m’am, help yourself!” so i do, and i tip generously each time i return. aside from supporting a local, high quality business and free refills, what i love most about Katz is that there is always soy milk creamer sitting out next to your standard variety dairy creamers. this is the only coffee establishment in houston i’ve not have to ask, much less pay *ahem*Starbucks*ahem*banlist*** for something other than cow’s milk. YEEEEEAAAAAA KATZ!!!!
actually, now that i think more about it, all of the vendors at this great market were ready to talk vegan with me. YEEEAAAAAAAA Farmer’s Markets!!!!!!!
“excuse me, sir…”
“i like your squash.”
“what? try your eggplant? i don’t know…. i’ve never had very good luck with those.”
“let Mama tell you.”
“you will not fail at eggplant again.”
“sold. i’ll take a papaya and a butternut squash while we’re at it. thanks.”
once shopping was done, we listened to live music while we enjoyed more coffee and a breakfast of farmer’s market fresh pear sorbet from the Trentino Gelato tent.
for dinner, i followed Mama’s directions to prep the eggplant and concocted this beautiful dish:
Mediterranean Inspired Eggplant Saute
Eggplant, peeled, cubed and soaked 1-2 hours
Garlic, chopped
Roasted red peppers, sliced thinly
Olives, pitted and sliced
Fresh basil leaves, chopped
balsamic vinegar to taste
aside from the soak time, this was a super quick meal. first, i sauted the eggplant and garlic in a bit of olive oil, salt to taste. once i was moderately comfortable that the eggplant was about cooked, i added the other ingredients and let the balsamic vinegar cook away. took maybe 10-15 minutes total. once complete, i emptied my eggplant from the pan, added a touch of oil and sauteed spinach and chopped garlic in the same pan. the spinach only took about 2-3 minutes, i like it barely wilted. i thought the pair made perfect compliments.
i’m still acquiring a taste for eggplant. the first couple bites were different. the rest of it i quickly scarfed down and determined the dish to be SO YUMMY! a definite repeat for my collection.
sam and i warned you, k? i will use anyone and everyone’s birthday as an excuse to make Isa’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows.
this time was extra special b/c it was a best friend’s birthday and Vegman was there to take photos.
these are by far my favorite vegan treat. i love them more than Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. i also love them more than Two Bite Brownies. i love that they are vegan and do not hurt my tummy or any other animals.
Isa’s the Head Chef, and i respect her choice of naming her recipe. but here’s a secret: when i make them i present them as Better Than Reece’s Vegan Four Bites:
today i offer you words from a Vegman:
Vegman goes to Veg-Heaven
There I am. Alone. I stand on my toes in this mysterious foreign land. Strange and carnal smells waft across the semi-vacant rooms, and the lives of men could be said to ride upon those flittering wisps. My life, it would seem, is the rider. The wisp is a pale horse named seitan. I feel as if I am among the Mongol hordes about to partake of a meal before battle, and it must be satisfactory or we shall all surely perish at the hands of the Roman legions. But, all things are not as they seem, and this grandiose vision transmutes into a sweet, charming candle-lit dinner with your gracious host of this blog. The seitan was fantastic but what I truly remember were her eyes.
So, I am not a vegan. I know, it’s hard to believe! But true. When I met Miss K (as I call her on my own blog) I was not unaware of veganism, but was oblivious to tasty vegan dishes. And, wow she can cook them! I am reminded that creativity really can overcome both habit and real material issues regarding food preparation. If the food tastes good, and it’s also better for your environment and community, then what’s not to like? I confess I am still a bit carnivorous – my body becomes sickly if I cut it out altogether. However, what I have done is greatly reduce my consumption. Not everyone is bred to go all-vegan, but you can still make a difference with your food choices.
Miss K has refreshed my natural instincts to provide proper care for animals, even if one does not wholly take on the vegan diet. In addition, I have been shown that veganism (and pseudo-veganism) can be delicious and healthy, and it does not need to consist entirely of tasteless vegetation that even a goat wouldn’t touch. I am often reminded though, that the wider world views veganism as: impractical, expensive, trendy and tasteless. But, this can be overcome one good cook at a time!
Overcome, just as I was overcome one day with unbelievable scents from the kitchen that lifted me from my feet. And so, I floated, mesmerized and unable to turn right or turn left. Following the scent, I came upon a door – two doors, between two worlds. Standing, or rather still floating, I perched upon the precipice of past and future. Grasping that I should neither fall back nor proceed into the forbidden realm of unrealized possibilities, I sat. Slowly, I opened my eyes to discover a feast had been prepared. A great and warm light splashed across my face. Miss K was there with tofu bagel tasties, and I with my camera in hand. And, I tell you, it was heaven.
up and coming… more Vegman Special MOFO Photos !!!
laughing my VEGAN MOFO’ N face off
there’s got to be one good reason for me to be singing Texas country and eating at buffets. yes, indeed.
tonight i dined at Pepper Tree Veggie Cuisine with Society of Peace for Texas Veggin Out Days. we had a huge buffet of fresh, 100% vegan dishes. it was primarily all veggies, not loaded with tofu or faux meat dishes like i feared. i think i ate an entire plate full of kale, broccoli and green beans. i was a sucker for the mushrooms and spring rolls too.
there was a brief discussion about the animal rights aspect of Veganism, reminding us of the 56 BILLION animals who are slaughtered each year for human consumption (not counting aquatic life). while i consider myself primarily persuaded in the Enviro-Veg variety, i also love the animals and i found that stark fact strike extra sad tonight. sad, yes, until i consider that each veg meal eaten makes a difference. what is it now 450+ VEGAN MOFO blogs?!? WHOOOO WHOOOO!
what’s also sad is that i also learned the Boy Scouts are selling hotdogs as a fund raiser. wow.
so i get on my soap box derby for a moment: just as a fish is not a vegetable, the fact that something is edible does not make it food. this real truth is probably one of the things i love most about eating vegan. when i stopped eating meat and dairy, i started looking at foods differently. i was forced to reconsider processed foods. i couldn’t help but want to understand all of the sources of my foods and their composition. as it became abundantly clear a couple of weeks ago, suddenly my refrigerator now contains very little beyond real foods that come more directly from the earth. to sum up everything i’ve learned in just a few words, the less artificial intervention, the better. hot dogs: 100% intervention, bad.
as i dined with my veg foodie friends tonight i joined conversations about the abundance of amazingly great foods that veganism has introduced to our lives. things we never even knew about under a conventional American diet (or “SAD” diet). there was no mention of burdens or frustrations in food limitations. nah, why would there be? that seems to only be a conversation i have in SAD restaurants, where there is rarely a fresh vegetable on the menu.
Houston has a fairly good selection of veg restaurants. Pepper Tree is a great one (even better if next time i can bring booze). Society of Peace has an awesome calendar of events. in the MOFO’n spirit, i will commit to exploring more of this. there are 2 Raw Potluck dinners at one of the most awesome coffee houses in Houston and 2 Organic Raw Cooking Classes, which you know i need badly. i could certainly use more time in my life to Veg Out, so this will become my Out to Lunch MOFO theme. in making the decision about tonight’s event, i did go partly because it seemed like the right place to be on the first night of VEGAN MOFO. of course, i signed up as a volunteer and talked up my environmentalism, so all the more reason.
VEGAN MOFO, you’re already enriching my life (and my calendar).
