Last night I sort of cooked The Portabella Stuffed with Chipotle Mashed Potatoes from the Vegan Planet cookbook, only I didn't have any chipotle peppers, so I had to improvise a bit. Which I did.
Instead of chipotle I had to rely on garlic and leeks, and I threw in some corn just because I could. I also didn't have any so milk or unflavored rice milk, so I used a little Tofutti Sour Cream to cream up the mashed potatoes. So I had two big Portabella caps, stuffed with a mashed potato and corn mixture that was, shall we say, inspired by the Vegan Planet recipe, as opposed to actually being from the recipe. Either way? It was damn good.
Breakfast:
Organic Banana
Organic Oatmeal
Green Tea
Lunch (Hobees):
Coffee w/Soy Milk
Tofu Scramble
Has Brown Potatoes
Snack:
Cashews
Diet Coke
Dinner:
Portabella Mushrooms stuffed with Leek/Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Corn
A few weeks ago I got a speeding ticket on 280. I was heading up to the office on a day I would normally work from home, but I was making an exception because I had been invited to lunch by the CEO of one of our vendors, who was in town.
I got the ticket, and when I reached in my glove compartment for my proof of insurance, it was last year's card, and this year's was nowhere to be found. So he dinged me for that too. Although he did sy that I could show proof and have it removed.
I finally got the paperwork in the mail, and if I just wanted to pay the ticket and be done the fee was...are you sitting down?...$893. My head near 'bout exploded. Also, it said I wasn't eligible for traffic school...even though I haven't had a ticket in years. I was a little traumatized.
So on Thursday I walked to the RWC County Courthouse to show my insurance policy and see how much that brought it down. Only trouble? They didn't want to see my policy, that showed me renewing through 2009, and that I'd been insured with CSAA since 1990. They wanted to see that little card for just this year. So yes, they rejected my policy documents as proof. Amazingly. I had to go back to the office and call CSAA and have them email me JUST that little proof card for this year.
The nice lady did, however, give me an extension until July, and she told me how much the ticket would be if I got the insurance thing taken off: $162. And then I'd be able to do traffic school.
Wow.
Check your insurance cards everyone...that shizzle is important!
Breakfast:
Soy Latte
Vegan Scone
Organic Banana
Lunch:
Diet Pepsi
Beans, Rice and Guacamole Burrito
Soy Pudding
Dinner:
2 slices of Sourdough Bread with Soy Margarine and Organic Avocado
Soy Yogurt
Wednesday is my work from home day, when theoretically I am supposed to be very productive and have lots of time to power through things without meetings or interruptions.
Instead, and invariably, things conspire to get in the way of said productivity. Like the fact that my laptop has been limping ever-more-slowly along and apparently desperately need more RAM.
This Wednesday I spent nearly 2 hours mucking around with it, trying to get things up and running, so I could do my usual multi-tasking.
The only bright spot: an impromptu plan to meet a good friend I ahdn't seen in a while for dinner at my favorite veg*n place, Garden Fresh.
I love IM :)
Breakfast:
Puffins Cereal
Rice Milk
1/2 an Organic Grapefruit
Organic Banana
Lunch:
1/4 Watermelon
Leftover Rice with Soy Margarine and Nutritional Yeast
Dinner (Garden Fresh):
Diet Coke
Tofu Corn Chowder
Drumstix
Sweet and Sour "Pork"
Typically I call my S.O. when I leave the office. Because he's one of those night-owl engineers who shows up at work post-noon and hangs out past any normal conception of "dinner time", he is always at the office when I call. Often he suggests grabbing dinner, but also often I just can't wait to get home, put on my sweats, make some dinner and crash.
Last night I left the office at about 8PM, but I was dressed kinda cute for a presentation I had had to give, and I couldn't imagine what I was going to go home and have the energy to make, even with a kitchen full of healthy foods, so I said "sure, let's meet for dinner."
I even talked him into meeting at Hobee's, which isn't his favorite place, but I like it.
Then, of all the nerve, when I arrived the doors were locked, and they were closing early "because it 's slow, and we're going to paint."
That was what the young waiter dude told me, somewhat inarticulately.
Of COURSE it's SLOW if you LOCK YOUR DOORS and DON'T LET PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS IN.
Grr. Grumble, grumble.
So, we at next door at Una Mas.
Breakfast:
Soy Latte
Organic Banana
Lunch:
Leftover Organic Brown Rice and "Steak" Stirfry
Cashews
Soy Pudding
Dinner (Una Mas):
Diet Coke
Veggie Burrito
Chips
Remember how I went and spent my Whole Paycheck at Whole Foods on Friday , so we'd be well-stocked during the long weekend during which I did not intend to go out a lot, but rather stay home and nest?
OK, maybe I didn't tell you all that, but that was my intent. And part of that plan was that I thought I might cook some. And bought lots of fun ingredients with which to cook.
So, I finally cooked dinner last night. Monday night. The third night of a three day weekend.
It was yummy though.
Breakfast:
Vanilla Almond Crisp Cereal
Rice Milk
Organic Grapefruit with Organic Sugar
Lunch:
Soy Yogurt
Cashews
Snack:
Organic Corn Chips
Corn Salsa
Dinner:
Organic Brown Rice, served with:
Morningstar Farms "Steak" Strips, stir fried with Olive Oil, Garlic, Organic Leeks, Organic Asapragus, Organic Mushrooms, Organic Corn Kernels, Nutritional Yeast, Tamari and Tofutti Sour Cream
Just a little note: You'd be surprised how you can mostly use water to create the liquid of a gravy when you're sauteeing up so many flavorful ingredients. Add the Yeast and Tamari for color and a savory flavor, and then a bit of the Sour Cream at the end for richness (totally optional, actually, I've made the same thing many times without.) I used to use plain rice milk or vegetable broth to get a sauce really going, but I've discovered it's not really necessary if you're feeling lazy or out of those things.
That's going to be the title for my next Silicon Veggie article, which I must write today.
I've always avoided dim sum restaurants, because my first experience with one was that they had nothing, NOTHING vegetarian. I finally ordered some vegeterian fried rice, which they begrudgingly made me.
Yesterday my family had a birthday lunch at MIng's in Palo Alto for three May birthdays in our family. I was OK with the choice because I knew Mings has an extensive menu, including even some soy "meat" dishes, like Sweet and Sour "Pork." Which I ordered.
But I needn't have. They also had a couple of different vegetarian dim sum options, along with vegetarian wide noodles and bok choy. I was full by the time my sweet and sour arrived.
Which just meant I didn't have to cook dinner last night :)
Breakfast:
Vanilla Almond Crisp Cereal
Rice Milk
Organic Banana
Soy Latte
Lunch (Ming's):
Shitake Salad
Vegetarian Dumplings (dim sum)
Sweet and Sour "Pork"
Bok Choy
Vegetarian Wide Noodles
Dinner:
Leftover Salad, Noodles, Dumplings and Sweet & Sour "Pork"
Nuts are a good everyday staple in any veg*n's life, or at least they should be. They have protein, and are very satiating. Of course, they are also quite rich. So I think you can have too much of a good thing. And on Saturday I surely did, noshing on cashews...which seemed to tie my stomach up in knots for the rest of the day.
Either that, or I shoudn't have eaten those leftover Thai spring rolls two days later.
Breakfast:
Vanilla Almond Crisp Cereal
Rice Milk
Organic Banana
Lunch:
Leftover Veggie Spring Rolls
2 slices of Sourdough Toast with Soy Margarine and Organic Avocado
Snack:
Cashews
This was a week of extreme Ups and Downs when it came to vegan food accessibility and quality:
The ups:
- Last Sunday we went to a friend's house, and they actually cooked a vegan quiche for me. I don't think I've EVER had vegan quiche. It was quite dense and heavy, so I'm not sure exactly what she made it with, but man, you gotta appreciate that kind of hospitality, huh?
- While the hotel in which I stayed while in NYC this week had MANY issues (see my blog post about my hotel hell here) one nice thing is that although they had no room service they did provide menus for local places that would deliver to your room. Amongst the places: Zen Palate, a 20 year institution in NY, and the first truly veg*n restaurant I ever at at, and a Burrito place that actually offered soy cheese and tofu sour cream, so you could veg*n up every kind of dis they had. I have had nachos (once a staple food) only once since I went vegan...at the Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz during our honeymoon. I was in seventh heaven. (Yes, I am a sad case who stayed in my hotel each evening, ordered dinner in, worked and watched the American Idol finales. So, sue me.)
- While the Whole Foods Chelsea has a pathetic salad bar compared to Whole Foods salad bar here in the Bay Area (I mean, how can you really call it a salad bar when you have abut two fresh veggies to actually choose from, while mostly offering mixed, prepared salads instead) they did offer a vegan "chicken" salad that I've never seen here in CA that was quite tasty.
- I got to eat dinner with the S.O. at the Apple campus cafeteria. It was literally two minutes before closing when we walked in, so they had already cleared away a lot of stuff, including the vegan cookies and vegan entree choices that the S.O. swears they always carry. I did, however, have a very nice salad bar (with a much better variety of veggie than Whole Foods Chelsea, I might add.)
The downs:
- Starbucks in NYC do not carry the vegan scone I am now so addicted to from my local place.
- I neglected to give the conference organizers of the event I was attending the heads up that I was vegan, so there was no food for me. And the catering person looked at me like I was an alien when I asked if it was possible to get one of the veggie wraps without cheese inside.
- The combination of the two "downs" above meant that on both Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't really eat to much until the aforementioned wonderful order-in meals I got at my hotel.
- The result of Down #3 meant that when I was doing my usual if-it's-less-than-30-blocks-you-should-just-walk approach to getting around Manhattan, carrying my heavy laptop bag to boot, I was feeling both my lack of proper eating and my age!
Other ups and Downs were mostly all Ups:
- My presentation at MediaBistro Circus went well
- I did a radio interview on KPFK Radio in SoCal [Link is right to the MP3 file]
- And yesterday, in preparation for a long weekend which I intend to spend mostly relaxing if I can, I went to Whole paycheck and bought out the store.
The only Downs?
- I forgot to submit my monthly Silicon Veggie column on Wednesday per my official deadline. I have to write it this weekend, but I haven't given one thought to it, and have NO idea what to write about. Any ideas?
- Tomorrow at noon I'm meeting my whole family to celebrate three birthdays: my brother's, my nephew's and my brother-in-law's. I haven't bought them presents, and I guess I'll have to leave the house today to do so (which I wasn't planning to do...leave the house, that is.) Again, any ideas?
How was your week?
Hat tip to Vegan.com for this news:
I had recently come to the conclusion that after spending weeks reading and rereading A New Earth and being on line with Eckhart Tolle that bringing a higher level of awareness to my eating was the solution I'd been avoiding. My idea of a conscious eater, however, was not quite the same as Kathy's.
I thought it meant not allowing yourself to eat emotionally and filling the void of anxiety with food, as I've struggled with for years. I thought it meant taking your time, making healthy choices and chewing slowly—being conscious of every bite and not scarfing down a meal and then thinking about the next one.
That is one level of consciousness. But what she talks about in her book is a higher level. She speaks of "spiritual integrity." How can you say you're trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?
Mark Bittman gave a talk at TED that is making the rounds:
