Livin La Vegan Loca

Here I Yam!

2008-10-07T16:12:00.008-04:00

It's highly unfortunate that I don't post my photos until about 4 months after the food has been consumed, digested, and recycled back to the earth and atmosphere, because I have such a terrible track record for writing down recipes (umm, I don't), and I have long forgotten what goes into each delicious dish. Not very helpful to you, the viewer. Still, I thought I'd get a few of these (poorly lit) out of my backlog box, in hopes that it will create the vacuum necessary to get my slackin' fanny back into the kitchen, creating and documenting a new slew of terrific disasters.

This here is some of the best stuffed zucchini I've ever shoved in my spit-hole in my life!

It's hard to tell from the yellowness of the photo what-all went into it, but I'll try to make a few edumacated guesses: onions, corn, sundried tomatoes, bread crumbs, oregano, a layer of red pepper/cashew "cheese", and a couple of other veggies that have slipped my mind. Not a pretty picture, but you can pretend to salivate anyway.

This is one of my favorite dishes from Rosetta's Kitchen in Asheville, NC, an awesome vegetarian/vegan soul food spot that's open long after the bars close. It's called peanut butter tofu, and it's one of those things that you either love or you despise (like cilantro)...I have to have it every once in a while, and more often than I make it up to Asheville. Basically, you cube and freeze some extra-firm tofu, thaw it, then toss it with a mixture of peanut butter, shoyu, miso paste, olive oil, and little bit of sweetener. Their recipe calls for sugar, but you can easily substitute maple syrup. Bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes, until everything gets brown and a little crunchy. I like to serve it with a mess o' spicy greens, and here I've made blue corn crepes and threw in some sliced avocadoes.

Rainbow Slaw.

2 different kinds of cabbage in a salt rub, red and yellow bell peppers, toasted mustard seeds, brown rice vinegar, sesame oil (toasted and raw), and shoyu were the basics.

Roasted red pepper, marinated shiitake, and lettuce norimaki.

Raw vegan lasagne kicks all kinds of summertime ass!
Layers of zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, sundried tomato sauce, cashew "cheese" (pinenuts work well, too), portobellas, a walnut meaty layer---and I mean that in a Bible sense, as in "I give ye these nuts and fruits and seeds as your meat"---, and of course(!) a nice slathering of pesto sauce. Add any other thinly sliced veggies you like, wrap it and let it sit a few hours, then slice and gobble up (and watch your carcass-eating friends have embarrassing orgasmic attacks and beg for more).

This one looks good, but it's too bad I don't remember the flava-rings. Potatoes, tofu, daikon, squash, and orrechiete over lettuce? I wonder what it tasted like...

Well, that's all I've got time for today, folks. Cross your fingles and maybe I'll be back!

Sometimes some JABBERWOCKY...

2008-08-25T21:39:00.003-04:00

...can really help you get through the day. Especially when life is not making a whole lot of sense, but you know you can divine something from the murkiness of it all, if you just look deeply enough, or abstractly enough.

And here's mine:

As I stand in this floambertsnog listening to schizzle
And the flip-flap of the winged Be-He-Moth sets me to frizzle
The splorts in my mind begin to cronk back and forth
Across schasms of dunkrock from south Crag to north

Should I ascue the critter and fling through the proush
Setting all subsequent beskwittles a-whoosh?
Or is it bester to toigh down and batten the Gildershod
Thereby sneeching further plaise from El Bunder God?

Itʼs quackshuns like this that give my razz a twittle
And thereʼs nought left to droom but google P. Diddle
For the wisenack oft blooms when snorching hubriskly
Instorgation desmacks one upon blacker he kissed me.

But now I groph too far awarft of the gayden
Which skines no promish for Lorsh to say then
Whither the grung Be-He-Moth finds his Frodung
Or sufrices all life on the errant Lacklung.

The left arm moveth atwine, water twurgs down,
The Hordnath hath come to clunter a chown
This marth be the last Toblerooter I am gibbons
To besquath my evortlast Smot from the hibbons!

I dart longly with my flortle-ink, twerds the critter
Draply luring it asnonk with nought a low twitter
Checking each splort that groams up to give me droth,
Alas, the proush flies wide and off flaps Be-He-Moth!
©Natalie Stroodnorts--2008

JUST MORE PICTURES

2008-08-14T19:59:00.018-04:00

Well, it seems I have not only fooled you, the public, but I have fooled myself into thinking this blogging would be a great medium for me to share all of my most profound, intellectual thoughts on food, consumption and consumerism, the earth, environmentalism, greater imperialsim (within the whole animal kingdom), love and hate, compassion vs. tolerance, recipes, the importance of clarity in speech, yada yada yada... because, apparently, I have entered a simpleton era, where I have exchanged deep thought for deep sleep, coffee and writing for wine and dumbbells, mind-opening documentaries for mind-numbing "romantic comedies", and my red bug for my red bike (see photos below!). However, now that my good friend e-mile-high has begun her own blog, I feel pressured into proving that I am more than just a web page with sexy photos! She's so much cooler than me at everything else, and now she's outted her hidden skills once again (like, witty on paper as well as in person. I also found out earlier this year that she's got a bit of a baking-gene up her sleeve...I never knew)

Anyway, the awful truth is, post-tirade, I've still got not much to say. So I'm thinking about taking questions. I may even have to develop an entirely new webpage with a built-in forum or ask/answer session, then scurry out of bed in the wee of the night (uh, usually the wee-wee of the night), before the glory of morning dumbs me down again, and give you my exalted philosophy on all the intricacies and abnormalities of life. Seriously, folks, right now, 5:30 in the afternoon, all I can come up with is 42. And this ziti/asparagus/pesto salad.

Let's see....I think it was curried collard greens, coconut curry sweet pertater patties, a daikon and zucchini "spaghetti" salad (using my benriner), and cucumber curls

grilled veggie lavash roll. well, what did you think it was??

I don't know. a sallet of some sort. with peanut lime dressing. yes indeedy

mint chocolate cupcakes for a friend's burpday!

raw topping (and sauce) pizza

vegexican torta sammich (with chipotle-curried seitan)

mashed herbed tater and "cheese" cups

A veggie pot pie with lots of cauliflower. I forgot to get a photo with the top crust on.

what are YOU lookin at?

none of these guys are Waldo.

yams with pistachio, sauteed kale, grilled portobella mushroom, pesto, and fresh mater!

another versian of the above, but with beer-batter crepes and blackened tofu.

I want this for dinner RIGHT NOW.

Was that insightful enough for you?????

There's a reason for the warm, sweet nights

2008-05-11T16:41:00.026-04:00

I found a couple of more fotogs. This probably looks very similar to one you've seen before. The males are buddhist, and are particularly fond of all things yin/yang.

Blackie is practicing his mantra.

L'il Frito believes in equality among all-creatures, sewn and sprung from She-Tiger's rib.

the Bellamy Brothers, lettin their love show

Sooprize, Sooprize! Suprizza.

and mo' sallet!

I mean, why can't we ever just have a SALLET??

homemade feelawful, err, I mean, falafel. and roasted red pepper hummus.

sakes alive, am I hongry!

just let your love fly, like a bird on a wing

(or a lucky bird, who still has its wings, and head)

wait a minute, I haven't shown these pictures before?

this is from my Xmas partay, a while back.

roasted veggie roll with red sauce, green spinach, white ricotta

mixed sweet and spicy nuts

the veggie roll, complete.

More cupcakes, with huge chocolate chunks inside, gobbled up within minutes by 2 boys.

the post, complete.

Why, that's just ththsouper!

2008-02-22T10:50:00.017-05:00

Okay, people. I uploaded these pictures quite a while ago, saved them to draft, and now I have only my feeble memory to rely on for summoning up descriptions of what may have been going into my mouthhole at the time. The first two are easy. I had this fantastic idea that I would bake up little slices of vegan heaven (or whole pies, as is the case), and take them around to local coffeeshops, where the owners would surely realize they had been missing out not only on sensation, but on a whole clientele market, and would commission my baking expertise on a weekly basis. What actually happened was I spent a lot of money and time on baking and delivering, some lucky people got some good free eats, and the plan flopped like an eggless souffle. I did, however, have one tiny success. A neighbor bought a beautiful apple/almond torte from me to take to a party, which I somehow forgot to get a snapshot of.

Below is the extremely decadent and rich dark chocolate mousse/raspberry torte...

...and here is a chocolate covered espresso almond torte.

I'm not sure what this is, but it sure looks good! Rice noodle spicy tofu stirfry, I believe.

Probably with some sort of ginger sauce.

This I remember: I went through a soup phase for two weeks; every night

was a different soup or chowder concoction. Below we have seitan dumpling soup.

This is my first dumpling soup ever, and it was as rich and comforting as I imagine its origins meant it to be on a cold winter night.

a bowl of the yummy bone-warming elixir.

here is a couscous/almond/currant salad over red leaf lettuce with a citrus-y

vinaigrette, using fresh juice from tangerines and lemons.

I believe this to be a thai peanut-noodle dish with lightly sauteed kale, carrots, peppers, and ribbons of raw daikon. (topped with a squeeze of lime and a sprig of mint)

of course there had to be a pho night during the soup marathon (pronounced "fuh", my friends).

here are all the garnishes for diners to greedily pick and choose from:

peanuts, carrots, mint, basil, lime, jalapenos, serranos, green onions,

mung bean sprouts, and cilantro

putting it all together, we start with the noodles.

add some color and texture: thai marinated tofu, shrooms, bok choy, and green onions.

Add your sauce (sadly I don't remember everything I threw into the sauce, but if you want to make your own pho, I suggest starting with an authentic pho sauce recipe, omit the beef broth, and throw in some of your own flavors to bring back the depth and "hardiness" of the broth. It tends to be very intricate...a lot of ingredients!). Serve with garnishes and enjoy!

My neighbor was sick with some sort of cold/flu conglomeration, so I made her a beans and greens "get well" soup. She reported that her sinuses cleared almost immediately, and she was feeling good again within a couple of days. The broth was very strong in fresh ginger, cayenne, and garlic, and I tossed in a medley of kale, swiss chard, carrot and beet matchsticks, onion, kidney and black turtle beans.

This is an African "peanut egglant" soup....I mostly followed the recipe from Veganomicon (same fabulous authors from Vegan with a Vengance).

OMG I want some right now!

This is a miso/chickpea/macaroni soup, also inspired by a recipe in the aforementioned Veganomicon.

Whilst I am certain there were more soups in the marathon, this seems to be all of the pictures I retained. That's ok, there are bound to be some super soupy days ahead! Besides, I think I've found some other images in my repertoire that I may have to entice your greedy little devouring eyes with. But I will save that for a separate post (possibly another one today).........that way I can feel all caught up and gooshy inside, and who knows.......one day, just maybe, purrrrrrrrrrhaps, I will do this right and start giving out recipes! That was the purpose of this blog all along, right? Well, alas, though I may have failed at everything else in my tiny little life, at least I am a PRO at crastination!!!

honk honk!

GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLING UP TURKEY-FREE FOOD!

2007-12-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

That's right, people. Dessert is first around here! Shown is a spiced rum chocolate pecan pie. Toss one back for all ye Capt. Morgan fans out there. (you know who you are :) )

Sur la table.

A la table.

A sanctified marriage of greens.
Green beans amandine and chipotle swiss chard all wrapped up in one!
Mushroom and merlot gravy, simmering away.

Garnet yam and coconut soup, souped-up thai style with curry and lemongrass.

Yeeeeeee-um.

Soup's on.

Celebration roast in puff pastry, rolled with curried and roasted

red pepper, yellow squash, and carrot.

The innards.

(It was so fabulously hot it broke my beautiful polka-dotted dish clean in half!)

Before it was all drowned in gravy. Especially the garlicky mashed golden yukons.

Can't forget the spiced cranberry apple compote!

...and herbed garlic butter (earth balance, bien sur!), with fresh herbs from my
"green room": basil, parsley, oregano, and sage.

Not pictured is a 12 grain/seed bread fit for slathering.

Finally, let's be thankful for that super-hot kitty love!

(and they weren't the only ones lounging around in cozy baskets after that huge meal!)

That's it for my photo-journey for the month.

Just a few things that I LOVE

2007-09-20T16:49:00.000-04:00

This is the way TomLucas rolls, and I love it!

You can't really tell from the photo, but he is roosting high up above the earth.

Anytime can be SAMMICH time!

I love sammiches. on crusssty bread.
I love critters who love each other.

2 honky brothers, in this case.

I love thai spring rolls. I wish I had taken a foto of the pre-roll-your-own layout. A beautiful tray full of all sorts of enticements, including zucchini strips, carrot strips, marinated tofu strips, portabellos (lightly sauteed), red bell peppers, mung bean sprouts, bean (cellophane) noodles, leaf lettuce, cilantro, peanuts...what have I forgotten. oh yeah, fresh basil, of course! Served with a thai peanut lime sauce (with coconut milk and jalapenos and other goodies).

I love chocolate on chocolate cupcakes!

with fresh sprigs of chocolate mint!

and cat butts!

can you find the cat ears in the first photo?

I love good ol' southern comfort food.

Macaroni and "cheese" (with an added creamy tahini lemon sauce for pure zesty goodness)

Sauteed spicy swiss chard

Mushroom and onion turnover

FANNNNNNTABULOUS.

Morning glories and morning coffee

with the first hint of a fall breeze

wafting through my morning breath

Kitties who hold down the bad chi in the disastrous office zone.

2 person desk.

bad chi.

good kitties.

I also love love.

and I love loving love.

and I love others who love loving love.

and I think I might love lovage.

Crazy mixed up starry weekend and more

2007-09-11T15:29:00.003-04:00

Suffer ye no more, the bad camera and its subjects hath returned! I will let pictures speak mostly for themselves this time around.....the monotonous photo uploading has wearied me for the day. Plus, I need to go trim mine fingernails.

very hard to see what this is, so I will tell you. Goulash. With real Hungarian paprika, carrots, red bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomato sauce, red wine, vegetable broth, jalapenos, mushrooms, potatoes, a hint of butter (earth balance), and fresh marjoram. oh YEAH, of course there was pasta (creste di gallo---which means rooster's comb, but it reminds me of dinosuars), which I cooked right in the stew.

I topped it with a dollop of suncheese, to really drive home the richness. It was served with french bread, marjoram-garlic butter/olive oil combo, and Pepperwood Merlot (altho something spunkier, like a Pinot Noir or Chianti, would be nice)

"Last night's leftovers" Salade Nicoise

I had grilled herb potatoes leftover from a cookout, and tomatoes,red onions, and jalapenos leftover from taco night, so I threw together a salad for lunch. I very quickly sauteed the potatoes, onions, pine nuts, green olives, and capers, tossed them on top a bed of shredded red leaf lettuce, threw on the diced maters, then drizzled with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. A little mustard added to the dressing would also be superb.
I had some leftover sauteed shiitake shrooms and julienned carrots, so I decided to make a couple of sushi rolls. I spread a little umeboshi paste on the rice to cut the richness of the mushrooms, and served with seaweed salad. Another semi-light lunch.

So-Easy After Dinner Love Bites
Just grab some frozen prepared filo pastry shells, add a spoonful of vegan custard to each
(I had some leftover from my Boston Cream Bundt cake), sprinkle in some vegan chocolate chips, top each with a raspberry, and bake until the chocolate has melted.

Things got reeeeeally HAIRY Labor Day Weekend! I just couldn't leave these out.
So solly.

Megan has decided that black wigs make the best sleeping partners

I've finally found the star characters for my new comic series

oops, how'd that get in there??

How "The View" would look under my direction

Scooby Doo, where the HELL are you?

the evidence is in: what vegan food can do to you. It's totally addictive.

The entire Labor Day Weekend was a bachelorette blow-out for my neighbor Jennifer. And that's 7pm Friday eve through Monday morning, when it was finally time to start drying out. However, it started even a couple of days earlier for me, because I was asked to cater the Sunday morning Brunch/Negligee party. I thought I had taken a couple of shortcuts to make it easier on myself; alas, I was running around harum-scarum until the very last second.

Here is the bride-to-be. Looks like she puked up a pink explosion.

lemon blueberry cupcakes with lemon frosting (real lemon juice and zest). sprinkled with confetti
I had a star theme going on (the bride is a fan of them). Thus, the star-shaped bowl, with star confetti pasta salad.

Here is an upside-down Boston Cream Bundt Cake (the chocolate is on the bottom layer). I thought I had screwed this one up, but it came out tasting terrific. Notice the star formations on top...

Star-shaped Gimme Lean soysages, with pesto mashed potatoes dolloped on top. I also made a hollandaise sauce to go with...

blueberries, scrawberries, and bananas tossed with lemon juice and cinnamon

chocolate blueberry croissants. not shown are spinach and chipotle cream cheese (vegan, of course) croissants

the table, also befitted with a pitcher of mimosas that kept on flowing

there were bagels and spreads, as well, and someone else made up a batch of scrambled eggs

(I was the only vegan in the house)

It was an overall success. YEAH!!!

Ok, that's all for this time, my friends. If anyone wants to donate a camera, I'll give you my address!

"doo-DOO-doo-doo"

2007-08-14T17:56:00.000-04:00

o.k. I just have to mention something really serendipitous about my last post...

You see where I said "what is the DEAL with cupcakes...." meant to be spoken in a Seinfeld whine? And then you see further down, where I make the link to the VCTOTW website? Well, if you go to that website, and read the current blog, she makes the EXACT SAME REFERENCE! Get - OUT! How weird is that?! I swear I hadn't already read this post; in fact, hadn't even been to the website in a while...

I AM CUPCAKENATOR.

2007-08-14T17:02:00.000-04:00

It's too bad I wait so long to upload pics of past repasts sometimes. by the time I sit down to tell you about them, I've oft forgot what half the d'rn ingredients were. (ahhh, the dangling participle conundrum)

Below is Double Sins on a Dime, i.e. carbo-overload mixed with conveniently cheap and dangerously devilish crescent rolls in a tube (eh-hem... PHO. partially hydrogenated oils.) Generally I try to stay away from artery-clogging glue, but on this day I was desperately craving a croissant-filled something, so I "craved-n-caved" to Pillsbury. It is a spana-croissanta, filled with spinach and tofutti cream cheese, mixed with cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Soooo not healthy. But still VEGAN!! The shells were baked atop Muir Glen chopped tomatoes and diced peppers, and a tofu feta, mixed with fresh herbs from my stairgarden (all of which are shrieking like mandrakes as they wither up and die in this unremitting heat).

and outta this world nachos (with ingredients leftover from taco night). it's a damn shame you can't see all of the goodies that went into this whopper. To name a few: veggie ground round; seitan stir-fried with lime juice, chili powder, curry powder, and broth from the "chicken-style" seitan container; red onion; jalapenos; FYH monterey jack; shredded lettuce, cilantro (ya gotta LOVE that cilantro!); and of course, salsa and hot sauce of choice. Oh, I almost forgot: also thrown in were some broiled summer squash, zucchini, and red bell pepper in a "special sauce" .
There. I think I named all of 'em.

yes, my gut was hurting a bit afterwards, but it was definitely worth it.

why do cats insist on being outside when it is hotter'n blazes???? here is Blackboy playing dead amongst dying flowers...

I also baked up some uber-fab mini lemon bundt cakes, with lemon frosting, served with fresh scrawberries. They were thigh-packing good, but some of the bundt stuck to the pan, so not necessarily photo-worthy this time around.

Speaking of baking, what is the DEAL with all the cupcake-orama going around lately? Is it a part of the vegan credo?

"thou shalt commit vegecide once a day, thou shalt bake fancy colorful cupcakes 3x/week"??

It seems that every vegan blog I visit (and many "other" eaters as well) are way into the cupcake thing. At first I thought it was a phenomenon started by the rockin' VwaV girls (that's Vegans with a Vagina to you), but then I found a couple of sites where you-know-who-you-are had not yet heard of their book, Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. So WHAT IS GOING ON??

Let me clarify; I have nothing against cupcakes, or any girlie baking for that matter. Actually, I hadn't really given them much thought in the post-Brownies years of my life. But now I am just jealous! Jealous of everyone who makes them expertly, and shows them off in such confabulous fotos. I even have my very own copy of VCTOTW just waiting on the counter in the kitchen for me to dive into whole happy hog. But, make no mistake, I will show you all that I am truly vegan. I, too, can be a cupcakenator, just like the rest of you. You - just - WAIT.

Come play Vegan Hangout-opolis with me!

2007-08-10T14:47:00.001-04:00

Obligate foto of the day

Anyone out there want to move to Asheville with me (or somewhere else 4-seasonish, beautiful, artsy, counterculturish) and open a small vegan cafe/rock and theatre venue/art and gift store? This is just a portion of one of my long-standing dreams, and I'm not getting any younger (in fact, I am getting older and older! blechhh!!)

Though I do not currently have any start-up cash, history has proven to me (by default) that I am at my most motivated, creative, ambitious, and positive best when I have a partner to chase a dream with. The "vegan entrepreneurial" movement is growing at a fast-pace these days, and I am far past ready to hop on the train they call the VBOTOTW.....that's vegan business owners take over the world to you. or more like CVTOTW=creative vegans take over the world. One problem: I do not personally know any vegans (how sad is that? it's not like I live in bumfuck antarctica), much less someone excited by the prospect of opening a funky little cruelty-free artspace cafe. But I know you people are out there!

This place that has been only in my imagination for the past 15 years or so is destined to be in reality; I just want to make sure I'm the one to do it! However, although I am not disclosing all details of said venture, if this sends shockwaves of warm fuzzy bubbles through your body because it is the exact same dream/goal you have, and even better, if you've got the business know-how but need a creative partner (I can also add/subtract and spell good. g-o-o-d. see?), then let's tawk tofurkey. Maybe, just maybe, we will hit it off.

I am ready to start anytime. The kitty jungle and I have to find a new home in 3 months time, and I'm searchin hopin wishin for some wonderful bit of grace in the face of bleak reality...

If you have ever loved an animal...

2007-08-09T11:49:00.000-04:00

If you are someone who has happened upon this blog, and you are not yet convinced that veganism is the only way to live a worthwhile life on planet Earth, please set aside a small portion of your day to watch this video (preferably not right before dinner). http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1282796533661048967

The choice is yours, of course, but the choices we all make each and every day should be informed choices.

Here is a description of the video--Earthlings--pulled from the same page:

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and ... all » scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby. With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. EARTHLINGS cries to be seen. Highly recommended!

NO COMMENT

2007-08-07T16:50:00.000-04:00

What I manged upon while the rest of the crew went out for fried sea animals scooped from the Atlantic...

Oh, I am weary with blurriness. I am bleary with worriness. Does anyone else out there own a Sony Cyber-shot 6.0? It is almost impossible to take a focussed foto!

In any case, it's whole wheat pasta with snap peas, broccoli, carrots, cherry maters, fresh basil and garlic in a kick-tush lemon caper sauce...one of the best I've made. I wined and dined myself in front of the super-mega-deluxe-hi-def-flat-screen-boob-tube (I had my choice from about 15 of these things) in the sun room overlooking the bay. It was ALRIGHT!

All American Break Fasting O' Champions

2007-07-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

Oh my freakin' gourd, I am sooooooooooooooooo sorry I have denied all ye fellow plant-eaters out there for so long. What is my blogdarn problem? They say habits take 21 consecutive days of practice to form, (some say 28, tho, and some say 7), but my writing practice is so rusty that I can't seem to come up with more than 50 words per week. That being said, this will again be a sadly unprolific post, as I am currently hanging with the family unit back in ol' Weirdginia Beach, and there is much spelunking and cavorting to do.

Before continuing, however, there is one thing I want to make clear. Being holed up for 5 days amongst 10 extremely flesh-eating fanatics (half of who have animal companions that they, like, totally love), the vegan mind tends to roll certain topics over and over inside the skull, keeping one awake at night in silent conversations, and constantly on their toes during the daytime, either running away from horrific visions on plates or putrid smells of searing carcass, or straining to keep mouth shut regarding inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the carnivorous lifestyle. These thoughts led me back to this blog, in which I suddenly realize that I have as yet to make the point to all my fellow readers and bloggers out there that I have, FIRST AND FOREMOST, chosen the vegan lifestyle for ethical, compassionate reasons. While my focus here so far, and perhaps, mostly, is to show the world how enticing, healthful, and varied eating a plant-based diet can be, I still have my ingestion vices, and I did not choose veganism for "health" reasons (altho many a long time ago I did, and guess what? it was not the glue that stuck me to it). It is the fundamental obligation to others---in this case other species---that is the casein-free adhesive that binds.... On that note, as someone who tries to live compassionately in whatever way I can, I also believe in being compassionate to myself (admittedly, these words at times speak louder than my actions); taking care of my body in turn takes care of my mind, and, yes, feeds my soul. The purely plant-based diet (vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, seaweeds, etc.) is the most beneficially healthy way to stuff one's gullet in a temperate clime, ......which is just my set-up to boast to you that after my blood panel last week, the doc said to me "You are disgustingly healthy"; in fact, she said "disgustingly" in such a dramatic, drawn out way that I thought for sure she was about to give me horrible news about my state of health!

O.k. Now we can move on...these pics are from the last week and a half from my life. For some reason, I switched to an "Americanized Diet", in the vegan vein, of course, for several days. This includes your typical meal staples: cereals with "milk" and fruit, waffles, sammiches, tots, crap like that. So, even though I just went on above about how yummy and creative vegan food can be, I am not really offering up a lot of creativity in this post. Solly. Better luck next time! But to keep you abreast of my mouth-shoveling habits, here goes:

I bought a huge batch of blueberries which I ate almost every morning for breakfast. Here, thrown over a bowl of wheat-free granola. I had no plain beanjuice in the house, so I used a little chocolate soymilk as my "wettener", and oddly, the flavor combination was awesome!

After eating so many blueberries, it is necessary for one to take a long, hot bubble bath to release the toxins...

salad and spanakopita from Cafe Life. yum.

oh yeah, my token lounging felines pics:

another extremely simple breakfast: brown rice cakes, nanners, and cinnamon.

see how easy it can be when you need to take a break.....fast?

extremely blurry picture of a durn good stirfry: rice, swiss chard, purple peppers, daikon, carrots, broccoli, almonds, and I-d0n't-remember in a garlic-ginger-shoyu sauce

more of those blue balls!

I made brown rice with a coconut curried dal, and topped it off with tamari sweet pertaters and collard green rolls. the filling in the rolls is simply leaf lettuce hearts in an almond/coconut "dressing". OMG they were soooooo good!

and of course, one needs pappadam to scoop up the curry.

sammich time! it was tasty, but sorry for you, I don't remember what-all went in it. use your imagination.

below are 2 different versions of an interesting meal: soy nuggets served with creamy pesto, sweet potato/carrot/garlic mash, and pesto yellow squash mash. don't knock it. it was super-tasty, so much so that we were still talking about it the next day. the pesto is a cashew, parsley, basil, chive mixture (with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt)

Ok, there is a svimming pool calling my name, so in the words of a band from long ago that I sadly can't remember the name of now in my old age: "that's it tell next time, yellow-bellied toadsuckers!" (eh-hem, which I hope none of you really are)

keep on rockin in the free animal world of our hopes and desires!

she wants to see inside my fridgamicator!

2007-07-19T10:06:00.002-04:00

ok, I uploaded these pictures yesterday, but then we lost power due to an electrical storm (lots of those this week), and I couldn't finish my post. lindyloo, from yeah, that "vegan" shit wants to know what is in my fridge (and yours, too), so sorry for this what-some-might-consider banality, and bear with me...

I won't bore you with a list of details, for if you are reading this, then I assume you have the eyes, brain capacity, and/or imagination to make out the goodies inside and pretend what may be lurking beyond.

here is the "meat" drawer, watched over by Filberto the Fire Pig

some produce goodies

I use Sta-Fresh bags to keep my greens and other veggies, well, fresh

and in the door, we have condiments!

hot sauce in every variety and nationality

here is a close-up section of magnets and ooey gooey food remnants that no amount of scrubbing with biokleen can erase

Now for some gratuitous kitty fotos before we move on to the gastronomical portion of this simple post.

here we have the Black Boy (a.k.a. Sylvester) showing us how to slumber

and here we have L'il Frito, one-upping Black Boy in the how-tos of Zen Beauty resting

Last night's supper (and the night before, as well) consisted of brown rice fusilli, curly kale, white onions, broccoli, and almonds in a garlic lemon sauce (with a little white wine and olive oil thrown in as well, bien sur!) sprinkle a little cayenne powder on top, and you've got yourself a pretty pasta meal deal!~~~ an episode or two of The Lost Room is a fine accompaniment for this dish.

The creeping kitties want my lunch! I don't blame them.... I made a burger with the same leftover patty mash concoction I previously made some "croquettes" with (scroll down to see). I'm not sure I can remember all of the ingredients I used now, but originally they were meant to be millet bean burgers. After I pretoasted then pressure-cooked my millet, I lifted the lid, let them steam clear for a second, and to my soooooo-prise I found that I had cooked yet another batch of quinoa! In their raw, dried form, the two grains (well, quinoa is not technically a grain, it's a seed) look almost identical. The good news is that they also make good substitutes for one another, although millet has more of a sticky quality that holds burgers and croquettes together better. On the other hand, quinoa is a complete, power-punching protein, so take that! No wonder those frisky frelines are trying to get at my sammich!

quinoa bean and beet burgers go a long way, topped with lettuce, onion, pickle and 100% rye bread!

the farfrednugen said they tasted very "convincing", or something to that effect

howdy-hoo, am I ever getting hongry! thought you might like to see the precooked patty (shaped just like a slice of bread). if you squint your eyes just a little, it looks like an authentic bloody-cow burger that's been left to fester in the heat. the quinoa wigglies appear to be maggots, and there're a few dead cockaroachees and who-knows-what-else in there! ok! so don't squint your eyes! and believe me when I tell you it's not only tasty, but 105% prime healthy.

contains (besides quinoa): beets, sunflower seeds, black beans, garlic, onions, much-rooms, cumin, and what-all

a simple breakfast of cinnamon raisin mochi with a tahini/maple syrup dish. deeeeeelish, and such a more nutitious, longer energizing sweet morning treat than an almond croissant!

...and here are the quinoa-bean croquettes, served with avocado and red leaf lettuce (to make wraps), a mustard dipping sauce, and summer squash fries with chili dust. the fries were super-tasty, but next time I will use a deep fryer to give them a better crunch.
fianally, the lunch pic I promised in my last post...

I don't really have anything mind-blowing, earth-shattering, creative, or even dull to say right now (and haven't in a while). I am just taking it all in... so as Porky Pig would say, "Th-th-th-that's all folks! Now stay away from me and go eat a tree!"

amazing days of grains

2007-07-17T15:53:00.001-04:00

I have a huge container garden on my back deck, full of sun-loving plants---->flowering, fruit, vegetable, and herb. I really had grand visions for this south-facing garden (think BH&G centerfold), but there have been 3 major problems: a.)my backyard is full of large hickory trees which block the sun until about 3:30 pm, 2.)we suffered a pretty bad heat drought here over the past couple of months that no amount of running around, up and down stairs, with pitchers of tap water, could alleviate, and thirdly.)last week the rains finally came, greening out the foliage, but now the sky turns gray everyday right around 3:30 in the afternoon, right when the sun is angled best to supply much needed chlorophying love to my garden. So now a fungus grows among us, in the form of mushrooms and mold thru-out the soil. Thankfully, culinary herbs are best when not in flower, and I've got a bunch growing in pots all down the back steps.

Jaime, Sylvester, chives, parsley, spearmint, chocolate mint,

sage, marjoram, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, and basil

On Sunday and Monday, I had to finish off some "soy products" in the fridge before I 86 them (no, not an interstate) from my menu for a while. So Sunday night we had TJ's Soy Nugget lettuce wraps with a dipping sauce, a mound of quinoa with rice, and steamed broccoli with a thick, creamy, "cheesy" sauce. Ahhhh, simple pleasures!

taking the picture with a Rose of Sharon backdrop gives it a bit of a Hawaiian feel

the dipping sauce was tres simple as well: vegenaise, spicy mustard, shoyu, dash of brown rice vinegar, dash of maple syrup, and cayenne powder (kind of a glorified BK sauce)

The best way to serve leftovers is to add one or two fresh new ingredients, then present it in a different style. In this case, my batch of quinoa rice has gone a long way. Last night I sauteed some corn, scallions, and pine nuts, then tossed it with the grains and fresh minced ginger, and plated it atop a bed of mesclun. The tempeh, I first steamed, then marinated with brown rice vinegar, mirin, toasted sesame oil, ginger, and a splash of water (I saved the marinade to toss on my salad later). Then I browned the tempeh in my cast iron pan with a hint of sesame oil, and flash-sauteed some mushrooms. At the end, I threw some teriyaki sauce (shoyu, mirin, vinegar, maple syrup)in the pan to coat the tempeh, deglaze the pan and thicken into a sauce at the same time. The remaining sauce was drizzled over the plate. Wooo boy!

and here is the salad: carrots, daikon, cukes, cilantro, and sesame seeds,

with the ginger dressing

In today's lunch, I used last night's leftover grains and corn combo to make a new dish, and I finally finished off the quinoa rice! Peculiarly enough, it was the most savory, wonderful meal of them all....I will post the pic tomorrow. Until then, chow happily and ciao bella!

Macrobi-NOT-ic

2007-07-15T16:40:00.002-04:00

Firstly and most importantly, let's reflect on unconditional sibling love of the fur-klan. This is sweet Megan (whom the menfolk of Moon are all intrepidly in love with) kissing and licking on her brother (my paramour), Little Lord Fauntleroy. One of my favorite meditations is to watch these displays of affection and wisdom; felines, I believe, coined the maxim "cleanliness is next to godliness" many a long time ago.

And a gorgeously blue morning glory on my balcony...

o.k... as far as the first week of my elimination diet went, I started out with a bang and went down with a sputter. Starting on Monday, I cut out wheat in all forms, corn, peanuts, and alcohol. Coffee was still in my "ok" list, because while I make mine half-decaf (and organic), the coffee detox/withdrawal is one of the hardest for me, and I couldn't handle that hullabahookie on top of any food reaction withdrawal symptoms I am having/may have. Unfortunately, by Friday, my resolve was not only broken, but crushed and ground a la mortar and pestle, when I went with friends to see The Decemberists at Chastain Park. With very noble intentions, I got a bottle of water for my imbibing pleasure, while everyone else bought oilcans of Fosters or bottles of vino. However, by the time we sat our rumps down on the metal benches and the first bottle was uncorked, I couldn't stand the idea of only having a "good time". I wanted the full experience, like everyone else! So, in compromise, I allowed myself a half of a small plastic cup-ful of the good red stuff. It was by the 3rd pour however (of only half a cup, mind you), that I had to finally admit to myself that this "counted", and I had broken my diet. When we left the ampitheatre, it seemed silly to get back on the wagon immediately after I had lept so valiantly-yet-foolhardily off, so we shimmied back to the neighborhood "Regal Beagle", where I faintly protested against the glass of merlot that was offered to me, and then vehemently demanded that I be served a carton of peanuts as well! (I won't even begin sharing details of the neighbor's yardsale the following morning, in which spicy bloody marys and mimosas were free-flowing onto the lawn...)

So without further ado, here are a few meal cut-outs from my weak week:

today's redemption lunch: rice, beans, and tempeh bacon atop mixed mesclun greens, finished with carrot almond sauce and whipped tofu "goat cheese"

Mid-week, I made something slightly off the plan, but still relatively healthy---->Eggplant Dharmasan with "nomato" sauce. It was scrumpdillyicious, and left my eating partner and me feeling fantastico afterwards!

some ingredients in the "nomato" sauce are below. Why not tomato sauce, you ask? The simple answer: because tomatoes, altho delicious, are nightshades; nightshades contain solanine; solanine is an alkaloid that can really mess with your joints and bones. Think "arthitis + rain". Here's a place to find

more info on the subject.

layers of the eggplant Dharmasan: nomato sauce, eggplant slices coated in potato chips (my favorite--->salt & pepper Kettle chippies), tofu "goat cheese", more of the same layers, with the option of topping it all off with FYH mozzarella.

ready to go in the oven

and served with a side of brown rice angel hair tossed with rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice,
capers, and pine nuts

tuesday's lunch: leftover long-grain brown rice, topped with water-sauteed kale and carrot-almond sauce, served with a mix of pinto and cannellini beans, suncheese,
and grated daikon (tossed with a touch of ume-zu).

On Monday, I made green rolls, and they rocked! they're made with steamed swiss chard, beet greens, and cabbage, rolled with flash-sauteed button mushrooms, diced stems from the greens, and suncheese (a combination of soaked sunflower seeds, lemon juice, garlic, and umeboshi vinegar, or ume-zu)

Starting tomorrow, I am cutting out all soy products as well (for at least a week). This will suck royally, as I am rather dependent on Silk soy creamer in my morning java, and almond milk, whilst good in its own right, just does not provide the thick velvety goodness of the creamer. Better luck to me!

I'm aLiiive!!

2007-07-09T11:22:00.001-04:00

Ok, I'm coming out the other side of a black hole brain fog time warp, which caused a crash in my cognitive motor equipment (see above pic). There's still a lot of static in there, but hopefully by the end of this week (this is elimination diet week to determine FOD contaminants entering orifice) I will be seeing clearly again, and, perhaps, remember what the word "passion" means. Translation: I will begin posting again, in earnest, with plenty of tongue-teasing fotos. On the what-might-be-considered-to-some downside, since I am cutting wheat, soy, corn, peanuts, and WINE!! out of my diet for a little while, my meal concoctions may appear slightly less decadent, a.ka. Simple and Healthy.

The beauty of simplifying your cooking, however, besides the numerous health benefits = feeling on top of the world, is that your tastebuds begin to truly come alive, delighting in the subtlest flavors. What used to seem bland, due to extreme flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, salty) deadening your tongue sensors, suddenly becomes packed with exciting new taste sensations. Plain brown rice becomes sweet and nutty, and is perfectly delicious in its own right, without shoyu, salt, or butter. Vegetables steamed or slow-sauteed with just a pinch of sea salt need nothing else before popping into your mouth. Indeed, foods with added sweeteners (think cake) become so overpoweringly sweet, your tongue will feel as if it is going numb. If you have stopped eating sugar for a month, or even just a week, the negative effects of just one little bite of chocolate chip cookie will be immediate: muscles will feel suddenly weak and heavy, migraines will strike like a bolt of thunder, and your brain will fog over like the windows of my '73 bug.

It has been a while since my diet has been "pure", and I've paid the consequences: weight gain, acid reflux, chronic joint and muscle pain, depression, IBS---->to name a few. Right now I am reading The False Fat Diet, by Elson M. Haas (which I highly recommend for anyone who suspects they have food sensitivities), and it has given me the encouragement to track down and cut out the culprits, once again. I am not much good at fasts, even juice fasts, so I choose to do a limited elimination plan for a couple of weeks (and I'm fairly certain wheat is my enemy). I will keep you posted on the progress...

For now, however, a few pictures from lost weeks gone by, probably with minimal explanation :)

to satisfy the repressed carnivorous shadow in me, a little "kitty a la king". this is tomlucas, a defector from the 'hood, who decided the West End of Moon St. was a far more royal environment for his regal (and extremely demanding) bloodline.

errr, for some reason I have been on a total pizza kick over the past month or so.

One Saturday eve, when I was dining alone (well, just me, the 8 felines, and the tele), I decided to do it up right Japanese-style. Obviously, I went a little crazy and made 5 times as much food as one dainty little sprite like me could ever eat.

here is vegetable tempura, including baby bellas, red peppers, summer squash, and my favorite--->teriyaki tempeh wrapped in nori

cucumber and daikon salad, with a dash of ume vinegar

and toasted sesame oil, topped with toasted dulse

teriyaki tofu nigiri, topped with scallions and sesame seeds

(that's edamame in the background)

vegetable dragon roll (I can't remember everything I put in it), red pepper-

portabella-scallion roll, and inari nigiri

ahh, the infamous pizza, this time as a casserole. I wanted to try upside-down pizza bowl, but changed my mind at the last minute. sorry about the horrible picture quality;

I need to work on my lighting.

I took my morning's leftover coffee, and made this wonderful afternoon pick-me-up: cold coffee, frozen banana, vanilla soy ice cream, and chunks of dark vegan chocolate. eeeeeyyummmm.

super-groovy eggplant "cannelloni", with my fantabulous tofu ricotta, basil, marinara, spinach, and pine nuts. topped it off with some sourdough breadcrumbs.

I semi-promise, one of these days, REALLY SOON, I will start supplying recipes for some of these creations. Meanwhile, be on the lookout for an entourage of macrobiotic-y repasts. See you next time!

Interspecies Peace

2007-06-05T18:25:00.000-04:00

It's not vegan, but I just had to include this photo of a raccoon on our balcony eating cat throw-up. That's little Megan under the table keeping a close eye on coonhead and secretly laughing her furry head off. (I wasn't present while this picture was being taken).

I still haven't quite gotten into the rhythm of blogging; in fact, I'm still trying to make sense of it all, so my posts are very picture-oriented currently. However, I used to be an avid journalist, and I've written plays, short stories, poems, the beginnings of many novels, etc....I don't know where all my words have gone. Perhaps I just need to do some inner-coaching and just coax out a sentence here and there for a while. I feel as if I've been brain dead for the past 2 or 3 years, a sad sad state of human affairs. Anyway, keep coming back; quite possibly you and I both will find out I have something to say after all!

Lookie! I made another pizza. This one has a whole wheat crust, chipotle "cheese" spread, sauteed baby spinach and scallions, artichoke hearts, portabella shrooms, deeeelish farmer's market tomatoes, and FYH monterey jack. Another mouth-watering meal, accompanied with budget-friendly TJ's Charles Shaw Blend Merlot.

2007-05-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

Just a few more pics to entice the tastebuds. I think I'm getting hungry...

the making of a fabulous dupluxe pizza (that's: dual deluxe)

before the oven

ready to mange upon

a portabella and strawberry salsa sallet. mmmmmmmmyum.

spicy seitan, squash, red bell peppers, and penne

I'm a boner-fido blogger now!

2007-05-31T15:24:00.000-04:00

This is my first post, and I am just testing the waters right now without any explicit literary agenda...sooooooooooooo, I will just post a few pics of meals from the past month. I'm really not sure where this will all lead or what form my "blogging" will take, so I will just ride the wave of inspiration and hope to catch a few good ones! oh yeah, did I mention that I have a penchant for being corny (like, slathered-in-earth-balance-corny)?

simple dog, pasta, and grilled veggies

can you say tacos, tacos, tacos, tacos?

grilled endive, fennel, olive, basil, and tangerine salad

scrambled tofu with avocado and corn chips over multi-grain bread,
topped with vegetarian "bacon"
My Favorite Breakfast!

raspberry sorbet, chocolate mousse and vanilla cream parfait

Bryanna's Ligurian easter pie

Easter morning soysage pockets with a corn and red onion salsa gravy

pesto pasta over steamed kale

spicey thai peanut sauce and veggies over rice noodles

I have many more pictures, but for some reason blogspot is being stubborn and not letting me post them. Maybe next time?