An entry not at all related to being vegan

I rarely post anything here that is unrelated to veganism, but I thought you might be amused by my misfortune this morning. And, if the F-word upsets you, stop reading now.

I woke up this morning and it was pouring rain. It was really coming down. So, when I left the house I grabbed an unbrella in addition to my raincoat and opened the umbrella just to get to my car (about 15 feet from the door) - that's how hard it was raining. I get to the car (the nice Audi, btw) and sit down in the front seat and close the umbrella and my seat was wet. I said to myself, "What the fuck?" And then I was even more confused by the fact that I was in my car and was still getting rained on. I looked up and realized that I left the sunroof open overnight. Then my brain said "Oh fuck" and a second later as comprehension really set in, "OH FUCK". I'm not just cursing for your benefit, this really is what my brain said. I turned on the car and closed the sunroof and then went back into the house for an armload of towels. I dried off the inside, but the ceiling was so wet that it continued to drip on me the whole time I was driving. I think I managed to get most of the liquid out of the seats (and the 1" puddle in my armrest console) and out of the ceiling by the time I got to work. I guess the windows will have to sit open all day Saturday to dry it out. Luckily my iPod was spared from the wetness.

Did I mention that I am trying to trade this car in next week?? I hope I don't have watermarks on the ceiling.

Lentil Salad with Baby Romaine and Hummus

Tonight we made a great lentil salad from a recipe posted on Eat Air. When I make this again, I think I would leave out the olives. I am not a big fan of olives, but I thought if I chopped them fine that I wouldn't notice them. Dinner was still really yummy, despite the olives. I made the lentil salad as specified on Eat Air (except I used sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar... it is just what I had). I REALLY liked the avocado in this. I tossed some baby romaine with a tad bit of olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar, and some salt and pepper. I served the lentils with the baby salad greens, some hummus, and some whole wheat pita.



Oh, and this makes enough to serve an army. Consider cutting it in half. Just so you can see how much, here is a pic of the lentil salad in my largest bowl (actually a large popcorn bowl):



This looks a bit more nutritious than peanuts and beer!

What's a vegan to eat at Fenway Park?

Last night I got a last minute ticket to the Sox game [1]. My friend, Chris, had an extra and needed someone to go with. There wasn't much time between work and the game. I needed to catch the 5:15 commuter rail in so that I could get there in time. I raced home and fed the cats and changed clothes. I didn't worry too much about dinner. I thought I'd find something: "Surely there would be a salad somewhere at the park!". My brain even tried to convince me that Fenway might have gotten veggie dogs in the last year. Well, the only thing vegan at Fenway park is beer and peanuts. That was my dinner last night (not that peanuts and beer tasted bad!).

Next time I will take the extra few minutes to throw a PB&J in my pocket to eat on the train. The weather was so nice and warm last night that even though the game was not a great one, it was still really nice to sit and drink beer at Fenway in the outdoors.



[1] -against Toronto - Sox lost.

Grilled Vegetable Burritos

It was almost 80 degrees here in Boston today. After working on the yard all day, cleaning up the winter cruft, we grilled out some fresh vegetables and wrapped them in a tortilla with some black beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo.



Grilled Vegetable Burritos
2 small zucchini, sliced into small planks
1 red bell pepper, cut into large slices
1 red onion, 1/4 finely minced, and the rest chopped into 1" pieces
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tablespoon, plus 1 tsp olive oil
2 heirloom or 4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 jalepeno, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
guacamole
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
salt

Pico de gallo - Mix tomatoes, jalepeno, minced red onion, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add about 1 tsp olive oil and salt to taste.



Place the black beans in a small pot and cover with water. Add garlic, and 1/4 tsp cumin (if desired). Heat on low while grilling vegetables.

Coat the remaining red onion, red bell peppers, and zucchini with olive oil and toss with oregan and cumin.



Grill vegetables in a grill basket till desired doneness.



Wrap the tortillas in paper towels, sprinkle with water, and microwave for about 40 seconds.

Assemble: flour tortillas, black beans, vegetables, pico, guacamole. Try to wrap them up, and then eat.

Beware the SoyJoy Bars - Throw them away

I don't know why I got a box of free SoyJoy bars in the mail today. But, in case you do too, do NOT eat them. They contain all kinds of nasty ingredients that are definitely not vegan.



The "Raisin Almond flavor has: Butter (from milk), Frozen Egg, Parmesan Cheese (from skim milk), Natural Flavors???, ...

The "Mango Coconut" flavor has: Butter (from milk), Frozen Egg...

The "Apple" has: Butter (from milk), Frozen Egg, Parmesan Cheese (from skim milk), Natural Flavors???,...

and the "Berry" flavor has: Butter (from milk), Frozen Egg, Natural Flavors???.

I can't figure out why in hell 3 of the bar flavors (or any of them for that matter) need parmesan cheese. That's ridiculous. And what's up with frozen eggs? And thanks, SoyJoy, for the butter in the seemingly healthy snack - at least they'd like you to believe that they are healthy. Throw these away if you get them in the mail. Thank god I looked at the ingredients.

Baked "Cheesy" Pasta with Vegetables and Baked Tofu

I don't normally like frozen dinners, but there is one Amy's bowl used to love in my pre-vegan days, Country Cheddar Bowl. I was thinking about it the other day and decided to recreate it as a vegan meal. I used Jo Stephaniak's "Amazing Mac 'N Cheez Sauce" (from the Uncheese Cookbook) as the base. Here is my version:

Baked Cheesy Pasta with Vegetables
10 oz. Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta
10 baby red potatoes, halved
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tbs Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 small Carrot, cut into matchsticks.
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into short narrow strips
2 cups Broccoli florets
1/4 cup white wine or water
1 Tbs tamari
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 lb. Baked Tofu (Wildwood savory style or White Wave, italian style), cut into 3/4" pieces
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9x11 casserole with olive oil spray.
Cook Rotini Pasta according to package directions. Drain, Rinse, set aside.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment. Coat with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside.
MEANWHILE, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until they just start to turn brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly. Add the carrots and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add bell pepper and broccoli along with 1/4 cup wine or water and 1 Tbs tamari. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes, until broccoli is tender, but still crisp. Set aside.
To make the sauce, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in the soy milk, olive oil, and mustard. Cook over medium heat until it thickens and is smooth and bubbly.
In a large bowl (or the pot used to boil the pasta), mix the pasta, tofu, potaotes, vegetables, and "cheese sauce". Pour into the casserole and cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Are comments working?

I was having problems with comments a couple of weeks ago, so if you try to leave me a comment and it doesn't work, please send me an email: kristin at beansandgreens dot net.

Time's Global Warming Survival Guide: Go Vegetarian!

From Time's article on 51 things you can do to save the enviroment:

Skip the Steak:

Which is responsible for more global warming: your BMW or your Big Mac? Believe it or not, it's the burger. The international meat industry generates roughly 18% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions—even more than transportation—according to a report last year from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Much of that comes from the nitrous oxide in manure and the methane that is, as the New York Times delicately put it, "the natural result of bovine digestion." Methane has a warming effect that is 23 times as great as that of carbon, while nitrous oxide is 296 times as great.
There are 1.5 billion cattle and buffalo on the planet, along with 1.7 billion sheep and goats. Their populations are rising fast, especially in the developing world. Global meat production is expected to double between 2001 and 2050. Given the amount of energy consumed raising, shipping and selling livestock, a 16-oz.T-bone is like a Hummer on a plate.

If you switch to vegetarianism, you can shrink your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to research by the University of Chicago. Trading a standard car for a hybrid cuts only about one ton—and isn't as tasty.

Another easy tip from the article: skip the plastic bags. We bought these reusable bags a year ago and they are great!

The whole article is pretty good, so go check it out. You will have to click 51 times though.

Tacos Tacos Tacos

My friend Chris accused me of never posting anything. In my own defense, I have been out of town taking care of some family business. But, here's a post! Tonight we made quick tacos. Here is the recipe. You will have several pots to manage. Make the various parts and assemble. This looked great on the plate, but I forgot to take a picture.

Tacos (serves 4)
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~ 10 soft corn tortillas
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1 package of mexican flavored baked tofu (pre-baked, seasoned), chopped in 1/2" pieces
1 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 bunch collard greens, destemmed and chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, or red wine garlic vinegar
pepper
guacamole (I like the Whole Foods store made kind that is found in the produce section)
salsa
chips
1 tomato, chopped
olive oil

Black Beans: Put the black beans in a small pot with the garlic and cover with water. Heat while working on other items.

Peppers and Onions: Add 1/2 tbs olive oil in a skillet and cook red onion and pepper until soft and browned. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Greens: Heat 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot. Add the greens and about 1 tbsp water. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and pepper to taste and remove from heat. Move greens to a bowl.

Tofu: Heat tofu in the skillet and then move to a bowl.

Tortillas: Wrap 5 or 6 tortillas in a paper towel a sprinkle with water. Microwave for about 45 seconds. Heat more in a seperate batch if needed.

Assemble tacos to contain black beans, greens, peppers & onions, tofu, tomatoes, and guacamole and eat. Serve with chips and salsa.