You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2008.
Nachos make a great dinner. They are not the healthiest thing out there, but if you can get the nacho fix at home you’re far better off than going to a restaurant! I chopped up a bunch of what I had on hand for toppings – in this case, tomato, avocado, black olives, and green onions. The cheez was super easy to whip up and was actually my first experiment with nutritional yeast. It turned out rather successfully – it sure does present like real nacho cheese, doesn’t it? Topped it all off with a dash of cayenne and hot sauce and voila! Vegan nachos!
To make the cheez sauce (the only part of this that really begs for explanation), I put 1/4 c flour, 1/4 c nutritional yeast, and 1 tsp salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in 1 1/2 c water, turn heat to high, and whisk continuously until it boils for at least 30 seconds. It becomes nice and thick very quickly. Take it off the heat and serve warm. This was the jist of the basic recipe I found online, but I added about 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric to give it that nice neon yellow color.
It was good – even hubby liked it. It’s vaguely cheesy, and a wonderful consistency. I think next time I will try out the cheez sauce from fatfreevegan.com’s Macaroni and Cheez (also on the menu this week) – I think I would like something with a little more flavor and zip.
My camera tells me I am way behind in posting photos of the food I’ve been making, so here is a brief rundown of three recent highlights:
The perfect sunday breakfast, a.k.a. LightLife “sausage” formed into patties and blueberry corncakes with a blueberry topping:
Comfort food extraordinairre: brussels sprouts pan-fried in Earth Balance and garlic, garlic mashed potatoes, and fried chicken that is neither fried nor chicken…!
And, finally, baked dijon-tarragon tofu, roasted red potatoes, and braised baby bella mushrooms wrapped in phyllo:
Too bad my camera doesn’t take better low-light food photos. The photos really don’t do anything any justice…
What happened on Monday (see previous blog post) is not something I am allowing myself to think about anymore. You are all right, he doesn’t deserve the time I’ve devoted to him in thought… and so I am officially closing the topic for myself. I am not going to let this incident grow and eat at me like the comment from the guy 7 years ago did. I think that’s the best thing to do, just forget about it, not talk about it, and move on.
This morning I read a highly relevant story that I would like to share with you. It comes courtesy of a NYC taxi driver, as retold by David Pollay and reported at themomentumproject.com:
I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.
I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And he even threw in a one finger salute! I couldn’t believe it!
But then here’s what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:
Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.
So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.
So that is what I plan to do. That guy chose me to dump on that day, best I can do is smile, wish him well, and move on. I did go for a run last night, though it was very mediocre and only about half of my normal performance… But you know, at least I went.
When I was in high school, I think in grade 12, my mom and I were biking through the Byward Market in Ottawa one evening. If you’ve ever been to the Byward Market, you’d know that at night time it mainly consists of bars, lineups to get into bars, and people driving around looking for parking places near bars. It’s relatively crowded, but not so much that biking is harrowing (such as it can be on narrow busy city streets). We were minding our own business, mostly winding around blocks and staying close to home. Then the inevitable douchebags roll by and decide to take notice of me. One of them leans out the window and yells, “Get out of the way, you fat cow!”
It took me years to get over that. Seven, actually. I did not ride a bike in public again until just a few months ago. Fucker took over a significant part of my life in an instant he probably didn’t give a second thought to.
So tonight, I’m out there running along my neighborhood roads. It’s 8:30 on a Monday night in a quiet residential area, not terribly well lit but enough to catch the potholes before they catch us. We were light clothing, have reflector dealies on our shoes, we never fear for our safety when out in the dusky late summer evenings. We are rounding out mile number two on our way back home. It’s been a good run, instead of choppy three minute segments of running and walking I’ve managed three even, sustained runs and three comparatively short walks, though our average mile time of 14:something stands. I’m not concerned so much with speed at the moment anyway, I’d just like to get my stamina up.
We’re running along, like I said, and suddenly this car comes up from behind us. I don’t think about people in cars anymore. After the uneventful first 10 or 15 outdoor runs I sort of lost my self consciousness. Which is a good thing. The next thing I know, the car wooshes by us and that ugly, abrasive three-letter word is hurled after me: “FAT!”
… My instinct is to kick and scratch and scream, but since I’m running and I don’t really want to stop, I settle for an impressively loud “FUCK YOU!” after the car. Not that I can be sure he heard me, but I know every four-year-old in the neighborhood has learned a new vocabulary word. I buck up, I keep running. I want to make it around the corner and up the first part of the next hill before I give in to the tired calves and pounding heart. Leo mutters under his breath a few times. “What assholes.”
We slow to a walk to wind down as we approach the house, and I have nothing to do but to think of that one guy and what he decided to do with his evening. And it got to me. I walked home with a lump in my throat and tears threatening to surface. I look up at the sky, at the trees and their blue-green leaves in the darkness. I listen to the cicadas and wonder, is it really that obvious? Am I so hideously huge that people can’t help but notice and comment as I foolishly attempt to waddle by at a quick pace? I become keenly aware of the feel of the fat wrapped around my body jiggling with each step. I feel myself mentally transforming into jello. I slowly, painfully forget all of the self confidence I thought I had gained as I let some guy in a car define who I am.
I’d like to end this post with something uplifting, a part where I say, “but I realized I’m better than that! I am out there consciously improving my life and he is holding on to his judgment and negativity! I am strong, I am happy, I am confident!” But I can’t do that, because it wouldn’t be honest. It bothers me, to be singled out like that. It makes me wonder if it’s worth it – if 25lbs can’t change the way people see me, the way I see me through their eyes, what will 30 do? 50? 70? The best I can hope for is that tomorrow, or even Wednesday, I am able to get out there and go at it again. To pretend it didn’t happen, to accept that there are idiots who will never grow up and they are not worth my time.
I don’t make any guarantees. I just hope I don’t let that man ruin the next seven years of my life, too.
These are the best things ever. I am absolutely convinced they belong in their own food group, they are so awesome. This is the second time in a week I’ve made them, since the recipe only calls for 1/2 of a butternut squash so I oh-so-conveniently had another half to deal with.
The recipe is from fatfreevegan.com, again – I think I should get advertising money from them or something, pretty much everything I make nowadays is from over there! I promise I’ll start branching out soon but there are just so many good things there. Mine tonight were served with a quick tomato-avocado salad with basil, EVOO, and balsamic vinegar.
Anyhow, they are super simple to make. Dice up 1/2 a butternut squash and toss em in a pan with chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and lemon pepper, or whatever strikes your fancy. Cook til tender but not mushy. Take them out and put a can of black beans in the pan, drained, mush them up a little, add a bunch of lime juice and a healthy bit of cayenne, heat. Take taco shell, stick in squash, cover with bean, top with salsa. Consume, but try to consume at a moderate pace, not the frenzy these things will provoke.
I am not over exaggerating. They are awesome. If you try them and are not satisfied, I will mail you a dollar.
Another winner from fatfreevegan.com. This recipe is super quick to whip up and tasty to boot! I absolutely love the citrus/bean flavor combination, so the orange and lime and mango in this one were perfect for me. The cayenne set off the sweetness of the mango perfectly. And it’s so pretty to look at! (And yes, that is glorious fragrant steam you see wafting about above the dish!)
Tropical Black Beans and Rice
non-stick spray
1/2 cup(s) red onion(s), chopped
1/2 cup(s) orange juice
1/3 cup(s) fresh lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 medium sweet red pepper(s), chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium mango(es), diced
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup(s) cooked brown rice, kept hot
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add all ingredients except beans and rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in beans. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Yields about 3/4 cup rice and 1 cup bean mixture per serving.
