Saturday, February 14, 2009
Holy Vegan Valentines Day Batman!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
On the edge of 2009!!!
- I am in love with tofurkey deli slices - they are make a GREAT sandwich.
- It's true what they say about veganaise - it is GOOD. I'm the kid who grew up eating mayonaise with their french fries - I love mayo. I do NOT love miracle whip... it's not a miracle, it's a travesty. Veganaise is good.
- Curry - I LOVE curry. I made a cocount curry with cauliflower, red peppers, mushrooms and onions with a sauce by Maya Kaimal Indian Sauces - it was VERY good.
- Silk Soy milk - plain is excellent. I made muffins with it last week. And then made muffins for my hubby again with actual organic milk and he said - these taste different what did you do? (suspecting soy milk I am sure) I liked the ones last week better. Ha! The ones LAST week were made with soy milk!!!!!
- All things field roast - sausages, deli slices, celebration roast. All two thumbs up.
- OH - and I have been struggling to find a good substitute for chicken noodle soup.... as the days click away I am inevitably that much closer to my annual winter cold that will knock me on the couch for a few days.... after much experimentation I have found the holy grail of vegan "chicken noodle soup". It is NOT, I repeat NOT the Amy's no chicken noodle soup. I love most everything Amy's makes - but they just can't get their soup right. I have yet to try an Amy's soup that I really like. No - the clear winner is Fantastic World Foods Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup. It IS fantastic!!!! It comes in a large pouch to make a whole pot - or it also comes in little individual "cup o soup" packages that you can make a single serve. I have a ton in the cabinet on standby for the impending plague.
And last but not least - what am I reading??? I just finished "The Ultimate Vegan Guide" by Erik Marcus. It was a GREAT read. And also made me take my vitamins and supplements a little more seriously. And I also LOVED how Erik explained how you are not 'giving up' anything - really becoming vegan is about "crowding out" what you used to eat with new foods. It is not as great of a "sacrifice" as you might think - when you are really just replacing one type of food for lot's of other options. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering crowding meat out of your diet. :)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Your buying a what?????
I am on the edge of purchasing a classic car. The 1957 Chevy Bel Air Townsman Wagon!!!!! That's right - completely irresponsible. No, I don't NEED this car.... the economy is awful - what I am thinking? Well - candidly it's a better investment than most things right now.
She's in GREAT shape and we are getting a steal!!! And the best part - just like our house, she's been maintained and slightly upgraded - but hasn't been messed with. I LOVE IT!!! And yes the color actually matches our house - it's really funny.
I have been wanting a new car - I thought I wanted a GMC Acadia, then I drove one when I rented a car for a business trip. I hated it. Frankly I am spoiled by not having a car payment - and $40,000 for a new car? Really? THIS is so much better than that!! The cool factor alone trumps any new car. And it's MUCH cheaper and will only go up in value.
I saw the car parked at a old repair shop downtown and thought what a cool car. My husband and father in law (aka the repair men in the family) looked her over and gave her the green light. We took her for a test drive to see if I even remotely enjoyed driving the car. Way too much fun!!! We did our research on the net to find out what other cars were available. There is actually a restored wagon for sale in nearby Alabama, but they want about five grand more. And it's been repainted NOT an original color. This car is the original two tone of Sierra Gold and Adobe Beige. There is another one that is on Staten Island that has been a show car and is BEAUTIFUL - again they want five grand more and it's not an original color or interior. So we are sticking with the local gal.
My husband had a Chevy Nova in high school that he rebuilt and put in car shows - so he gets to re-live his youth with this grocery getter. Probably not the hot rod of his dreams... but I've always had a penchant for old wagons. I'm sure we will be constantly tinkering with her - there will always be something. The good news about old cars is they are EASY - no computer brains and gazillion wires and fancy gadgets. The downside - some parts are hard to come by - but that's what Ebay is for.
Now what I have to do is figure out how the heck I am going to get her in the garage. Guess I know what I am doing this weekend.....
Friday, November 28, 2008
On the edge of becoming vegan...
Six months ago I was on my way to Birmingham for work and I was eagerly anticipating stopping at a chik-fil-a for drive through dinner. I LOVED chik-fil-a sandwiches. About two miles out from the exit I got behind a semi-truck hauling chickens (presumably to slaughter). Feathers flying everywhere, filthy truck.... completely killed the craving for a chik-fil-a sandwich. It amazes me how we are able to compartmentalize and avoid acknowledging where meat comes from - that nicely wrapped in plastic sanitized slice of meat at the grocery store does not register for most people how it got there, we simply don't want to know.
I have also had someone in my life that is not a meat eater - my dear friend Beth has been a vegetarian since she was in high school. For her, the past six months have been a hilarious bout of quiet reflections of "see, I told you so". In the past we have occasionally had some discussions. I vividly remember a conversation probably ten years ago about the environmental impact of McDonalds... all I heard at the time was blah, blah, corn, blah, blah, cattle, blah blah pollution...and all I was thinking is man I love a happy meal. Now Beth - I hear you LOUD AND CLEAR.
Work has also been interesting. We have meetings - we eat together. In the past six months I have had my fair share of meetings with an obligatory sandwich platter - nothing is more satisfying than a cold cheese sandwich. Or worse, when lunch is ordered in and no one bothered to ask if anyone has any preferences - so Jason's deli ham sandwich boxes all around! Great, thanks. Again not wanting to call attention to myself and not make anyone go out of there way - I crawl "into the pantry" and suffer while I try to make a lunch out of a bun and maybe some chips. I have since learned to call ahead and quietly request that I have a veggie option for lunch.
And being newly veggie, the conversations and questions of course come up. My favorite is the assumption I am doing it to loose weight... ugh, I assure you I am not and in fact I think I have gained a few pounds exploring all of my new "options". This is NOT about weight.
A few brave people have asked: So why are you not eating meat? And again I am back to my perplexed state of what do I say. Do I say - "its a personal choice" stay in the pantry and move on; or blurt "Because of the horrors of industrially produced meat (aka factory farming) and the fact that over 70% of the corn grown in this country is to feed livestock that aren't even supposed to be eating corn and the fact that I can no longer justify that eating a cow is okay but it's not okay for me to eat my great dane - is why I do not eat carcass. And if you knew what I know you would not eat meat either." And stand and watch their jaws gape open and then they awkwardly move the conversation on. Typically my response is a sanitized combo of both of the above responses and if the person is even remotely interested I will tell them to watch "The Meatrix" - http://www.themeatrix.com/ it's a cartoon play on "the matrix" and pretty much sums up why I am not eating meat. It's benign and easy for most people to stomach.
Which brings me to .... Earthlings. I have not watched Earthlings. I started to... and I am too afraid. Having read and listened to everything that I have in the last six months - I am AFRAID of this documentary. I am afraid of what it will do to me. The documentary is nicknamed "The Vegan Maker". It is a VERY intense documentary that details the exploitation of animals as pets, food, entertainment and research. I watched the first section on pets and knew that it only got more intense from there. I am afraid it will make me hate people (more than I currently do now), I am afraid it will make me jump off the deep end and pack up and leave in the middle of the night to join the Animal Liberation Front. I am seriously afraid of this documentary. It's like "The Meatrix" is a Disney film and "Earthlings" is XXX pornography. Or perhaps more appropriately a "snuff" film.
On the edge of surviving my first vegetarian Thanksgiving!
So why is it so significant that I am a vegetarian at my family's table? It amazes me that people that are "family" can have such completely opposing views on the world. I think everyone has moments where they think - Am I really related to these people???? How can we be SO different? In this situation it applies to my brother primarily - he's a cowboy and a ferrier by trade, rodeos and raises bucking bulls as well. He's a good guy, I love my brother - but, wow, does he have a different view on the world. A few Thanksgivings back we practically had world war three around the table debating the Florida amendment to ban pig gestation crates. It ruined Thanksgiving that year. I am a member of the Humane Society – they (my brother and his wife) HATE the HSUS. And they REALLY hate PETA. And it makes sense – everything that their lives are about are all greatly opposed by those organizations. We have very differently ideologies.
So this year I was concerned that the topic of vegetarianism might come up. In comparison to the debate on the gestation crates - this discussion probably would have been THE actual apocalypse. Thankfully we all ate and no one noticed that I or my sister didn't have a slice of carcass on our plates. I also enjoyed a helping of dressing that was made with veggie broth instead of chicken stock - thanks to my very accommodating parents. I fixed my plate last and pulled a serving from what appeared to be the "extra" pan of dressing. Sneaky.
I am a conflicted veggie this holiday season, as I am sure that many are. On one hand I want to stay "in the pantry" and cause no commotion over our personal eating choices. Ensure that no one has to go out of their way to accommodate my preferences. Essentially keep the holiday peace.
On the other hand - I want to jump up on the table and proselytize to everyone who can hear me. I want to wear a t shirt that says "if you knew what I know - you wouldn't eat that". Or one that says "we are all being LIED to" !
So how DID all this get started? That will be my next post…. If you don’t care to know – don’t read the next blog post. I think the one after that one will be about why we don’t have kids… and I’ll give a shout out to my friend Anne Marie who shares my sentiments on the kiddies!!!
For now, I am thankful that we had a good Thanksgiving this year. I am at home today giving thanks that I no longer work retail especially on black Friday. I hope everyone enjoyed time with their friends and family. I am looking forward to a VERY festive "meat free" holiday season.