Still OneVegan

I’ve taken a leave of absence from this blog that was more extended than I had initially anticipated. I’m just getting back to a normal routine and don’t want to overwhelm myself with too many projects. My posting from now on will be intermittent but I remain one vegan on a mission.

From Texas with Love: Part I

Ok I know. I have totally been slacking on my post lately. I spent the weekend in the state capitol. Austin is one of the MOST vegan friendly cities in the land of cattle. So if you are planning on heading deep to the heart of Texas these are some fabulous places to get a some first class eats. This is part I of my extended weekend in ATX.

Austin ,Texas: A food odyssey


The Jade Leaves Tea house

Located just a stones throw from the University of Texas the Jade Leaves Tea house is a great place to have lunch, dinner and to simply mull over a good book while sipping black tea. Jade Leaves has a wide selection of teas and your server can assist you in selecting one which will complement your meal. Vegan items are clearly noted on the menu.

My friend B and I shared the

Green Tea Egg Rolls
Jade Samosa Rolls ,The chutney accompanying the roll was awesome!
Yellow Curry
Green Rooibos Tea and Moroccan Mint

I had the Mango Acai sorbet while B selected the Raw Blueberry Almond Mousse for desert.

Bananarchy:Revolutionary Desserts

Those familiar with the show Arrested Development will chuckle a bit when they here the name Bananrchy. B and I had a frozen chocolate dipped banana rolled in walnuts. Vive le revolution!

The Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse

Bouldin is my hipster oasis in a world of slings and arrows. I make a consiocious effort to make at least one trip to Bouldin when I'm in town. If you love the nooch, aka nutritional yeast, order the Bouldin Creek Omelet, specify vegan. It is sublime when paired with a side of tomatoes and a potato cake.

Recommendations: Oatmeal sandwich cookies, Bananaberry smoothie and the Veggie Royal

Rhythm and blues

I'm still here.
After a whirlwind weekend of food,fun and existentialism I'm back in town.

A Dietary Tune Up

Every once in a while I like to reevaluate my diet. Following the last diet shake down I began incorporating more lentils and beans. So far this round my focus is to cutting back on the things that aren't "good" for me. I love coffee but caffeine is not my friend. I love the smell of fresh ground beans in the morning. I love to watch as I pour the black elixir in to my hot almond milk. Not drinking coffee is not an option which has lead me to decaffeinated beans. I can have my coffee time without the unnecessary buzz. It's one small step towards a more balanced me.

Q & A

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Unsweetened Vanilla Soymilk. I’m a rebel. Next would be Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

Aloo Gobi
3 bean Chili and corn bread
Tofu Scramble and “sausage”

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Good Olive Oil, a dash of sugar and kosher salt. I haven’t jumped on the Nutritional Yeast train just yet. .

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

Vanilla cupcakes. I swear I can bake just about anything but vanilla cupcakes are always epic fail. .

5. Favorite pickled item?

Relish, but I don’t have it in the house. I don’t think I’ve eaten relish in at least three years.

6. How do you organize your recipes?

My mum gave me a recipe binder for Christmas but honestly I think I have written in it only a couple of times.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

I would love to compost, I garbage disposal. I don’t have much trash.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?

I’d take chocolate chip cookies, hummus and kale.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

Breakfast with dad in my K-12 days. We were and are early birds so it was all about pre dawn Malto meal, or rice weekdays and donuts or pastries weekends.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Soy Delicious PB and Chocolate.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

It’s a tie between the blender and coffee maker.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

Cilantro

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

San Francisco A la Carte and Vegan Planet

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Black Currant

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Quinoa salad ( It is a punk version of a Mexican tabouli.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tofu is king in my crib.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Mid mornings

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

A houseplant and bottled water

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Sliced mangos, blood orange sorbet and gimme lean sausage.

20. What's on your grocery list?

So far, mint, onions, potatoes, currants

21. Favorite grocery store?

Locally, Natural Grocers, awesome produce section, which is 100% organic. I get most of my staple items there. I do go to Whole Foods on occasion.

22.Name a recipe you'd love to veganize, but haven't yet.

My mum’s “White Enchiladas.” I know its possible but it seriously the amount of fat in them would make a cardiologist freak.

23. Food blog you read the most. Or maybe the top 3?

Dallas Vegan
Vegan Yum Yum
Lonestar Vegan

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Dark chocolate with almonds and cranberries, or espresso beans.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

? Oogave Soda, again I’m a rebel :P

26. What foods are you embarrassed about liking?

Hmm can’t think of anything really. .

Your turn!

Vegan Pantry

I will make a shopping list.
I will come home with more than Perrier, mangoes and chocolate.
I will actually plan next weeks dinner menu.

My mom’s is better

I live in Texas the land of Tex-Mex, Southern style BBQ and Miscellaneous Fried things. I was taking a back by the differences between by Northern California culinary background and the standard Texas mélange. I’ve been to good restaurants and bad restaurants since returning to the land of my forbearers, however there are just some things that consistently come up short in the culinary department.

Everyone loves Mexican American cuisine. It’s everywhere. I can’t throw a rock without hitting a Mexican restaurant. 9 times out of 10 I leave a Mexican Restaurant whispering these words, “my mom’s is better.” I’m not being overly loyal or sappy, like my mom’s tofu casserole beats your mum’s tofu casserole, not in the least. It is an absolute truth that my mom’s better. I'm going to call my mom later and find out what she puts in her tomatillo sauce.

The Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast the most important meal of the day is also my favorite meal. Today I had plain soy yogurt, cranberry almond granola sliced banana,apple and agave drizzled on top.

What's in your cart?

Last night while at the Whole Paycheque

2 bottles of mineral Water
Edamame
Extra Dark Chocolate bar
Multi Grain bread
Caffine Free Green Plum Yogi tea



What almost made it in to the cart:

Lemongrass scented deordorant
Leapin' Lemurs Peanut butter chocolate cereal
Amy's Cheeseless Pizza

'Cus I'm a Lunch Rock Star

I see you there eying my plate of delightful veggies and grains. Yes I'm a lunch rock star.

You ask: "What do you eat?" Me: " A plant based diet."

On this episode of Lunch Rock Star

A G brings tofu teriyaki.

Coworkers: " Wow, you made that?"

G: "Yes, Yes I did." ( because hello I'm a rockstar)

Sending Love in the Mail

This month I sent ma copine Melissa some treats. I thought I’d go with a most beloved VWAV recipe for peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They are a perfect mix of sweet, earth balancy, crunchy goodness. Melissa wasn’t the only one to get in on the cookie goodness. I also took a dozen or so in to work on Monday and they quickly disappeared.

Next month I’m going to totally try to sort out a recipe for the ultimate trail mix cookie. Possible ultimate trailmix cookie ingredients: Dark Chocolate chunks, White chocolate chunks, coconut, almonds, cranberries, golden raisins, cashews, pistachios, oats, pumpkin seeds and maybe papaya. Hmm or maybe I'll make my mothers Congo squares which are the queen of all chocolate chip squares. *

It is a bummer that I don’t live near a coffee house that carries fresh baked vegan treats. Everyone has a day when they need a sweet treat with their soy latte and NYTimes.

* I need to bake for a living. There are far to many people in this world eating subpar sweets.

Health Food /Smeath Food

In the day to day I try to eat whole grains,unsaturated fats, dark leafy greens, fruits and avoid refined sugars, but today is not one of those days, at least not totally. For Sunday dinner I'm having smart dogs on whole wheat buns topped with onions and mustard, Asian slaw, baked home fries and a butter pecan shake. Earlier today I had cornbread, a berry banana smoothie and coffee for breakfast, and sweet potato, dinosaur kale, dahl and wheat berries for lunch.

Lately I've felt myself slipping back into some disordered eating patterns that I thought I was past. So far this year I've been doing ok in regards to eating to meet my nutritional needs. In the past my diet was so inflexible that I set myself up to fail. I need to rededicate myself to healing whatever causes me to act out my rituals.


* I'll probably always be rather general about what my rituals consist of because its just not something I'm particularly comfortable sharing. I also wouldn't my post to become a step by step ed guide.

The Lemon Journey

I never made lemon bars in my pre-vegan days so I went in to it with few expectations. The first time round I followed the recipe. They were good but far too sweet and I wanted more filling. The second batch I :increased the tofu to 1 cup, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and added a 1 tbsp of powder sugar. The changes increased the baking time by approx 15 mins. I was happier with this batch because the ratio of crust to filling was better. The first batch was 1:1 and the second 1:2.