gazpacho gazponcho

While I should have been dancin' in the rain and gettin' all wet and shit, I was INSTEAD chopping an effin' ton of tomatoes for "quick" gazpacho. Not quick, but only because I am a suuuper slow cook. So. Gazpacho. Never had it before, at least not to my knowledge. It was... Uh... Well, along with being a slow cook, I am also not the best cook. BUT I AM LEARNING. Along with learning how to cook, I am also learning that maybe gazpacho ain't my favorite dish. I like everything in it, but just maybe not all at once.

I didn't take a picture of what I made because it looked like this (aka pretty gross and possibly toxic):

But this is what gazpacho is supposed to look like:

If you really want the recipe, I can give it to you. But you have better things to do, I assure you.

$trapped

Question:

How can I be a vegan on a tight budget?

my fellow vegan friend Meggie Woodfield gave me some good tips already. One of those tips was to eat a lot more beans, lentils, rice, and potatoes since those foods are cheap and filling.

What tips do you have?

Cuz I ain't gots me a lots of cash, man.

my little pony wrap

In my attempt to make a vegan lunch today, I took the easy road. No oven, no stove, no microwave, no food processor, no NOTHIN' 'cept a can opener and a knife.

I don't really need to explain this veggie wrap I made or give any kind of a recipe because, to be honest, it ain't that exciting. But it was fairly flavorsome. I just used hummus, spinach, black beans, yellow squash, cucumber, salt, pepper, and basil. Here's where things get eXcItInG!!! I have no idea how to wrap a wrap. I just kinda haphazardly folded it and stabbed it with some toothpicks. It worked, but it wasn't as visually appealing as it could have been.

OH YEAH! I forgot to put a little stupid toy on top of my veggie wrap. I apologize for my error. Here is a picture of a pony to make up for it.

where oh where have those six and a half months gone?

HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOO.

Yeah. You missed me so much, I just know it.

I want to say clever things in this post. I wish I could post some photos of delicious vegan dishes I have made along with a novelty toy placed in the middle of the dish. It would be cool if I had something profound to declare, some sage advice to give. But I'm tired.

So that's exactly what I want to discuss right now: Tiredness. Sleepiness. Xtreme laziness.

I am not typically a lethargic individual. In fact, I have evidence on tape of me as a youngen quite literally bouncing off the walls. I am known to my family and those close to me a ball of energy. I have never been able to sit still (which sometimes proves to be difficult in my meditation practice, no doubt). So it has come as a surprise, disappointment, and cause for concern that lately my energy level is waaay low. I tend to get 7-8 hours of sleep. I get exercise daily. Fresh air, check. Sun, check. I take a multi-vitamin. What's my deal?

There are a few things I know must contribute, whether large or small, to my sluggishness. One being my far-too-much intake of caffeine on a daily basis. I need to quit this addiction, I really do. I am sure this chemically dependency plays a big part in my up and down (especially down) mood. But I also think that my diet has been contributing perhaps just as much to this roller coaster.

In the past few months, my good old trusty friends Depression and Anxiety have been a bit too clingy. And they make me crave processed foods, energy drinks (funny, since it does nothing but increase the anxiety), and late night mindless eating binges. I still eat relatively healthy, but nowhere near the way I was eating when I was vegan. I remember having almost too much energy while on a vegan diet. And food was actually fun, fresh, and flavorful. I miss cooking. I miss caring for my body and what goes in it. And I actually miss nutritional yeast, damnit!

So here's the thing: I start small. I begin by cooking something simple and easy maybe once a day or at least every other day. I ease off on the caffeine and chemically foods. No overwhelming myself here, just slowly starting to steer myself back onto the path of good nutrition and good health. Why? Because I deserve it.

quick-and-easy brown bread, homie

Awhile back, I decided I didn't want to buy bread. Well, at least limit the bread I buy in the store. So that leaves me with either not eating bread or making bread. Since I suddenly have an intense cooking obsession, I decided to go ahead and make my bread (and day). I haven't gotten around to the real bread making... You know, the difficult-yeast-kneading-rising bread making. Instead, I made this incredibly easy brown bread. Pretty flavorful. Here it is.

Quick-and-Easy Brown Bread

1 1/2 cups soy milk or rice milk
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar (or distilled vinegar)
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup raisins

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine the soy milk or rice milk with the vinegar and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, and salt. Add the soy milk mixture, molasses, and raisins, stirring until just mixed. (The batter will be fairly stiff and sticky.)
• Spoon into a 5 x 9-inch lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
• Remove from the pan and place on a rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf

boy, it's (vegan) chili in here

I had a lot of TVP that I wanted to use, so I found this recipe for vegan chili. I am not necessarily the biggest chili fan-- I don't hate it, I don't love it. But this turned out really well! It is just the right amount of spicy and the right amount of thickness. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. The "she" being me. Anyway, really easy to make, too. The picture below shows the splatter from the chili attacking me.

Vegan Chili

1/2 large or 1 small onion, chopped
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Dash liquid smoke (optional)
1 cup TVP mixed with 7/8 cup hot water
1 16-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups cooked beans (black or kidney)
Dash ketchup
Dash mustard
1-2 cups vegetable broth (depending on desired thickness)
• Heat a couple of tablespoonfuls of water in a large, nonstick skillet. Add the chopped onion, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper and cook until the onions are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add more water, if necessary to keep the onions from sticking. (Use oil or margarine, if necessary.)
• Stir the soy sauce and liquid smoke into the TVP. Add the TVP to the onions in the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, beans, ketchup, mustard, and vegetable broth and cook until heated through.

Makes 8 servings

oatmeal raisin cookies

A few nights ago I made these suckers. They were pretty good, but a little too dry. I would probably add more liquids next time, such as barbeque sauce and vegan ranch dressing. Kidding, I might add some oil or something. In the picture below, you will see that an elephant is standing on one of the cookies. Is that a real elephant and are the cookies ginormous? Or is that a very small elephant on top of normal sized cookies? I will let you figure that out on your own. You need to learn to solve your own mysteries.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup Quick oats
1/2 cup White flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/4 cup Granulated sugar
1/4 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Apple sauce
2 tsp. Egg replacer powder
2 tbsp. Water

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix the dry ingredients and the raisins. Mix the
egg replacer with the water. Add it and the apple sauce to the dry
ingredients. Drop onto a non-stick cookie sheet (lightly coated with oil,
if necessary). Bake for 12-15 minutes.