life eating

Hiatus

2009-07-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Foodie Friends,

Lots of life changes in the midst: moving, starting life as a pastor, and figuring out what/how to eat in a new environment.

From now on their will be a hiatus here on "Life Eating" - I hope to get it going again someday, but in the meantime, I will continue to post daily over at: http://theladypastor.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Em

Cheeze Review

2009-06-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Do you know of any good shredded vegan cheeses? I tried out this one today: Veggie Shreds. I'd give it a 6 on scale of 10. I have a bunch of veggies in the refrigerator, and I thought it would be fun to eat them with a non-dairy cheese (interestingly, Veggie Shreds is still made with soy and some kind of milk protein). It melts reasonably well, and the taste is descent. Any other cheezy recommendations?

Black-Eyed Peas

2009-06-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

YUM! I had a bag of dried black-eyed peas for quite some time, and yesterday I finally soaked and cooked them. I cooked them with a clove of minced garlic for one hour. Today I reheated them with some BBQ sauce on top. SO TASTY! I never knew I liked black-eyed peas. And they are super cheap! Double bonus! Do you eat them? Any good recipes to share?

A Tasty Invention

2009-06-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hello! I created a little something this evening for dinner - it turned out pretty tasty, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil
1 roma tomato
1 cup of arugula
3 pieces of kale
1/2 sweet potato

Steps:
1) Boil the arugula and kale in water for 8 minutes (add salt) and drain
2) Microwave 1/2 sweet potato for about 5-6 minutes (still hard but not too hard)
3) With olive oil in the pan, cook the garlic and tomato until the garlic starts to brown
4) Add the arugula and kale to the tomato & garlic - cook 2 more minutes
5) Add the sweet potato - cook 1 minute (I added a tablespoon of soy sauce at this point)

YUM! Done. :) This is enough to serve one person - maybe two if you served it with rice.

Food Blog Update

2009-06-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I just wanted to share that I will continue updating my other blog (Life Breathing) - on a daily basis. But this vegan/foodie blog will only be updated when something particularly noteworthy pops up: An article, a recipe, and interview, etc.

Feel free to share comments and recommendations at any point!

Thanks for reading!

Cooked a Vegan Meal Tonight!

2009-06-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

http://theladypastor.blogspot.com

Gulp, gulp, gulp!

2009-06-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Lately I am very delighted by beverages! Two favorites this week:

1) Tazo's "Berryblossom White" tea
2) Orange juice!!!!! Why have I not been drinking this tasty treat more often?

What are you drinking these days?

Book Recommendation

2009-06-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

I recently got an Amazon giftcard and purchased a few vegan cookbooks. I really love Vegan Planet! Check it out! And the author, Robin Robertson has a fabulous Blogspot blog! Here's the link: Vegan Planet

Vegan update: It's going quite splendidly. Eating out is still a little tricky, but other than that, I really like being a vegan and hope to stick with it long-term.

The 100 Mile Diet

2009-06-05T07:04:00.001-07:00

Recently came across this fabulous site: The 100 Mile Diet. I'm thinking I might try for a week in July or August! Have you ever eaten food only produced within 100 miles of your home for an extended period of time?

A Trip to the Farmer's Market.

2009-06-04T07:38:00.001-07:00

Yum, yum, yum! To use up some onions I bought this morning at the local Farmer's Market, I whipped up a tasty breakfast. Onions, a gold potato, and all sorts of spices! Delicious.

Interesting. I will say that for sure.

2009-06-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Went to a free informational meeting at Karyn's in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago tonight. I didn't really know what I was getting into; primarily, I am just looking for free things to do in Chicago these next few weeks/months. Karyn has her own restaurants and food line. She's a raw foodist.

It was interesting. I can't say I learned a lot of new material, but it was interesting to see all the people in the meeting. Everyone was asking questions about how to cure their specific medical conditions. Karyn just kept saying the same thing: stop eating cow secretions (all dairy products). I'm not 100% onboard with everything she said, but I will try to eat more fruits and veggies this week.

My new favorite dressing!

2009-06-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

For lunch today, I had a yummy salad of tomatoes and baby greens! And I tried out a new dressing (which is sure to be my new very favorite). It's Brianna's Zesty French. Try it out; so fantastic!

Wednesday night I'm going to a free class at Karyn's Raw in Chicago. I can't wait! Here's a link about her events: CALENDAR. I'm curiously cautious. But it's a free class; hard to turn that down!

Tea Experimentation

2009-05-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been doing a bit of tea experimentation! I just can't get enough of it. I'm especially fond of flowering teas. Here are some pictures of recent tea adventures.

Also, today at the seminary yard sale, I purchased my FIRST EVER casserole dish. I realize that I am almost 26 so this is probably something I should have already had in the pantry. But, alas, at least now I do. I am investigating recipes and hope to create something tomorrow night!

What are you eating lately? Any fun seasonal produce filling your plates?

I am back on track with my food blogging and hope to be writing something for it almost every day from now on. Thanks for sticking with me through the sporadic last few weeks!

Vegan Grill Out

2009-05-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

I went home to Iowa for the weekend. Yesterday, my mom, step-dad, and I whipped up some terrific vegan recipes on the grill! Here's the link: 10 Vegan Recipes.

We tried the banana boats, the grilling marinade, the asparagus, and other roasted veggies. Do you have any yummy vegan grilling recipes to share?

Vegan Update: Magic Chocolate Cake

2009-05-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hey there, fellow foodies! Just a quick vegan update: I'm loving it! Actually, I've felt more passionate in the last few weeks about why I've made this decision about what I put into my body. 3 months ago, this was my 'vegan experiment' but it has definitely turned into a lifestyle. And I'm thankful for this new awareness. But like my friend Karen says, in reality, it's all about balance. Being intentional about eating is helping me achieve a more balanced lifestyle. And yes, now and then, I do drink Diet Mountain Dew. And I enjoy it.

These last few months, I've learned a lot about food systems and food production in the United States. I'd say most of what I've learned disturbs me. But, on the other hand, it's always exciting to see people who've commited to small, local, sustainable farming. And I think it's a growing movement.

I'd say I'm probably a 95% vegan because I've continued to eat baked goods at group gatherings, and I think there are usually eggs in baked goods. HOWEVER, check out THIS fabulous recipe for Magic Chocolate Cake. I watched a cooking DVD this afternoon from Netflix, and it had this great vegan chocolate cake recipe. If you click that link, you'll be connected to the whole segment on how to make it. I want to try it out sometime soon!

Thanks again for joining me on this journey!

Great Podcast

2009-05-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Yesterday I heard a great podcast; it's the most recent episode of "Food for Thought" created by the Compassionate Cooks organization. If you love the meat and dairy industry, you probably won't love this episode. But I found it really informative. A little gross; but informative. Here's a link: PODCAST. You can listen right in the middle of the page by clicking Play.

Salads, Salads, Salads

2009-05-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow eaters! Just thought I'd share my FAVORITE salad recipe lately. I'm gobbling them down twice a day!

A giant pile of baby greens
1/2 cup of corn

1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds
10 wasabi peas
1/2 tomato
Annie's Naturals brand "Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette" dressing (SO SO SO SO GOOD)

Sorry for the neglect.

2009-05-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting my foodie blog. Sorry fellow eaters. Now things should be back to normal. Graduation from seminary is on Sunday: whoo-hoo!

Eating has been going well. I have been minimally cheating on the vegan experiment: mostly when there are eggs or other non-vegan ingredients in baked goods. I feel like it's a lot more awkward to not eat the cake or pie or cookie than to just eat it. I admire people who can stick to their vegan plan 100% of the time, but I'm not at that point yet and I might never be.

But I'm feeling good and that's the main thing! I hope you are feeling good and healthy whatever your eating plan is these days.

Lately I'm still really into different types of greens. They are soooo cheap at the produce market; I love 'em! Another favorite snack: wasabi peas!

What are you munching on these days? Do you garden? If so, do you have plants in the ground yet?

Oh my goodness: A Song for our 'Food of the Week'!

2009-05-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

Hey all! It's Friday! Remember how the 'Food of the Week' this week is the sweet potato? Well, my favorite musical artist lately is Sia. And guess what? She has a song called Sweet Potato. I like the sound of it; you should check it out. It's not actually about sweet potatoes exactly. But they do come up.

A few nice foodie-related blogs you might enjoy:

Eat, Live, Run: This young lady is totally inspiring and has been through a lot in the last two weeks.

The Nutrition Diva's Blog

Eat'n Veg'n

As Seen on 'Today'

2009-05-06T07:50:00.001-07:00

Robyn O'Brien was on the Today show this morning promoting her book. It looks interesting; she was only on for about a 2 minute segment, but she seemed very passionate about food safety issues as they relate to children.

Here's a link to her site: Robyn O'Brien

The Soundtrack of a Meal

2009-05-06T07:33:00.001-07:00

Do you listen to music when you cook? How about during meals? If so, what do you like to listen to? I'm trying to make a few different mixes for my mom for Mother's Day, and I thought one of them could maybe be a 'Dinner Mix' - any suggestions?

Sometimes I like technology!

2009-05-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I posted a link about last weekend's episode of "The Splendid Table" - it featured an interview with eco-chef/food author/social activitst Bryant Terry. Anyway, I twittered and told him well-done. And he wrote back and said, "thank you! glad you liked."

Lately, I am generally annoyed with various aspects of Twitter and Facebook and even my own blogging. But this brightened up my day! It's exciting to have a way to connect with people that inspire.

Thanks for reading, fellow foodies. I have Bryant's cookbook "Vegan Soul Kitchen" on my Amazon wish-list. It looks pretty great! Here's a recipe they mentioned in The Splendid Table; I might try it out this weekend: Citrus Collards with Raisins

Food of the Week: Sweet Potato

2009-05-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

This week's food is: THE SWEET POTATO! Aren't they delicious? I haven't been eating them lately, but I got a few yesterday so I plan to gobble them down in the week ahead. A few sweet potato facts:

-tons and tons and tons of Vitamin A

-loads of fiber

-plenty of Vitamin C

-lots of manganese

I haven't experimented too much with sweet potatoes. I have made sweet potato fries and baked sweet potatoes. How about you?

Listen Up: The Splendid Table

2009-05-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

This week's episode of public radio's 'The Splendid Table' is quite lovely. Bryant Terry was interviewed; he's the author of a new cookbook that sounds very fabulous: Vegan Soul Kitchen. Suzanne Pirret also shares a very personal story relating to a farmer's market.

Enjoy.

Vegan Update: Cheater

2009-05-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I have been a junk foodie for the last 2 days. I'm talking Funyuns, Laffy Taffy, and tons of Diet Mountain Dew. Not to mention a tremendously delicious salted nut roll. I'm not sure why I have been craving such yuckirific foods. I'm eating like the 'Old Emily' again! Potato chips for meals, and candy for breakfast. Ahhhh! :)

I'm starting a new healthy eating chapter tomorrow and jumping back on my plan. Also, I'm going to try to exercise everyday for at least 10 minutes. I know this isn't very much, but it's definitely a lot more than 0 minutes. I better get to the produce market right away tomorrow and load up on veggies and fruits; otherwise I'll be tempted to head back to CVS for more of my favorite toxicly delicious Funyuns.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. I know most of you already exercise more than I do, but if anyone wants to join me for the 10 minutes a day challenge, I'd love an accountability partner.

Eat well and breathe deep.

Sunflower Seeds

2009-04-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hey there, fellow eaters! Do you like seeds or nuts? Recently I've become highly interested in sunflower seeds! They are so delicious on salads. I haven't done any nutrition searching; I suppose they are really high in fat or something. But they are so delicious! Do you have any favorite seeds or nuts to munch on?

As far as an eating update goes, I'm doing alright lately with the vegan experiment. I'm pretty anxious most of the time about what will be happening in my life in the coming months, so I'm probably not eating as well as I could.

I sure do love apples lately! Hope you are well.

Food of the Week

2009-04-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Monday. This week's food is: the turnip! I'm not sure if I've ever eaten one before. But they looked quite adorable at the produce market today, and I just couldn't resist. Do you ever eat turnips? Do you cook them? I'll need to do a little research. I bought two. Here's the more purple of the two.

And here are some turnip facts:
-cultivated for the first time about 4,000 years ago
-a favorite food of the Greeks and Romans back in the day
-contains lots of cancer-fighting nutrients
-high in fiber and vitamin C (and even some calcium)

Enjoy whatever you're eating today! Let me know what your food of the week is for the days ahead!

Fungus Glory

2009-04-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Yummy mushroom goodness! Anyone else love mushrooms? I suddenly remembered this evening while eating them on a potato that they are pure fungus gold!

I think I will pick some up at the grocery store tomorrow. Any tasty mushroom recipes to share? Three cheers for fungus!

Boring Toast Eater

2009-04-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

My main staple food of this week:
1) Whole grain italian bread toasted with vegatable hummus.

2) Or, if I'm feeling really exciting, whole grain italian bread toasted with peanut butter.

I am in a total food rut! Even with a bunch of veggies and beans in the house! Where is my long lost food enthusiasm?

I guess it's just a toast week. Are you in a food rut lately? If so, what are you eating bunches and bunches of?

Vegan Update

2009-04-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there. Hope you are all enjoying lots of radishes this week! I have only had a few so far, but they've been quite delicious.

Just wanted to give a quick vegan update: it has been great. Really normal; I haven't been thinking about it much, and no situations have come up lately where it has been troublesome or awkward.

I'm still figuring out how to answer the question: "So why did you go vegan?"

Yes, it seems like a great and legitmate question, and it totally is. But for some reason, I feel awkward talking about it. While I have a variety of environmental, psychological, ethical, and emotional reasons for doing my vegan experiment, I feel weird to put all my thoughts onto others. So my goal is to come up with a one or two non-offensive sentence answer that I could share with people who directly ask the 'why' question.

Mostly, I just like the whole foods/local foods/holistic eating model. And that can easily incorporate meat and dairy for meat and dairy eaters. So maybe my statement will focus more on those themes.

Which leads me to my question for you: Why do you eat what you eat?

Food of the Week: The Radish

2009-04-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

Little cuties purchased this weekend from Hyde Park Produce

Hey there, fellow eaters. It's Monday! Time for a new 'Food of the Week' - and this week's food is the radish! I think radishes are strange, but I feel like I should give them a try. They are a form of produce, as well as being cheap and cute. And oftentimes, these qualities combine to create a wonderful food.

Radish facts:
-high in Vitamin C

-good source of sulphur and iron
-first cultivated in China thousands of years ago

-made it to Massachusetts by 1629

-super low in calories

-high in fiber

I have no idea what I'm going to do with this bag of radishes. I cut them up in very small pieces and put them on a salad yesterday. It was quite tasty. Any other suggestions?

Enjoy the food of the week! Hope you can find some to gobble down in the next 6 days.

An actually tasty invention!

2009-04-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

I knew it was going to be a good weekend: I think I've invented my first tasty vegan recipe. Whoo-hoo! I figure I should start out extremely simple since I am a bit of a kitchen bozo. Ingredients:

1/4 cup frozen pineapple
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 a banana
1/2 tablespoon water

Put it all in a food processer and....

It turned out quite fluffy and very tasty! Let me know if you have any favorite frozen fruit concoctions. I've had all sorts of frozen fruit in the freezer for awhile but hadn't touched it until yesterday.

Have a yummy Sunday.

Update of the Greens

2009-04-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

In cooked up the mustard greens last night. I tried a little bite of them raw, and they taste just like Grey Poupon brand mustard! Whenever I went to my grandma's as a child, I would toast 2 pieces of bread, grab a slice of Velveeta cheese, and slather one piece of the toast with Grey Poupon. It was my favorite snack to eat at Grandma's house. So it was so fun to be reminded of that when I tried a bite of the mustard greens.

Yesterday I put an onion and 2 cloves of garlic in the food processor and chopped them up finely. Then I cooked them up in olive oil for about 10 minutes. After that I threw in a big handful of the chopped greens. It ended up being pretty tasty. Be beware! Those greens have a REALLY strong flavor. I am going to keep experimenting. I ate them with an avocado yesterday, and that was pretty yummy.

Has anyone tried dandelion greens before? Apparently they are delicious. You are only supposed to pick them from an area that has NOT been treated with chemicals. Next time I'm home in Iowa I think I will try to find some and cook them up. These little guys pictured below are from the courtyard of my building, and I'm pretty sure they have been chemically treated.

Have a delicious weekend!

Fruity Friday

2009-04-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

On Fridays, I am going to start a new feature: Fruit of the Week. Fruits comprise my favorite of the food groups! How about you? What's your favorite food group?

My fruit of the week is: PRUNES! Yes, just call me great-grandma Emily. I love prunes. Only recently have I been reintroduced to their deliciousness. Technically speaing, prunes are actually dried plums. They are a million reasons to add prunes to your daily food intake (other than the wonderfully fiber-licious reason everyone is aware of). My current favorite brand is Newman's Own. Here's the package:

Anybody else enjoy prunes? I'm not sure if prune recipes exist, but if they do, I'd love try them out! Have a great weekend, fellow eaters.

If it isn't tea, it's salsa.

2009-04-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

my current favorite salsa of choice

Newly vegan update: It's going alright. I guess it's been about 5 weeks or so. I've been a pretty lazy eater this week. I didn't cook anything fresh all week. Last night I didn't even make my tasty greens recipe. I think I'll try to do it tomorrow. I am a little cranky and tired in the evenings this week. I don't know what my problem is. Well, yes I do. I'm anxious about the future.

So, anyway, I have not been a particularly healthy or unhealthy vegan this week. I've been eating apples, an avocado here or there, lots of protein california cakes, pita, hummus, prunes, chips, and salsa. I will start doing better tomorrow. I really liked cooking all those fun beans. I'm just being a party pooper this week. That's odd. I don't think I've ever typed the words 'party pooper' before. What a strange phrase.

But, back to the mission: starting tomorrow I am going to get back to cooking and stop wallowing in my own anxiety.

All the salsa eating, though, has reminded me that I love salsa! Tea and salsa = my two favorite things to consume this week. Do you have any favorite salsa varieties? Do you make homemade? Have any recipes to share?

Recipe for Mustard Greens = tonight's din-din

2009-04-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

Mustard Greens
Click that green link above, and you'll be relocated to the recipe I'm going to try out tonight. Hopefully it will be delicious.

Additionally, eating with people is a lot more fun than eating alone. It was nice to have someone to eat with for every meal last week while I was home in Iowa hanging out with my family and friends. So anyway, although this recipe will hopefully be great, it would probably be even more grand if it wasn't just me gobbling it all up. I should have people over for dinner more often. Note to self: have people over for dinner more often.

Have a great night, friends. Thanks for reading.

Waking up in the middle of the night: HUNGRY!

2009-04-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Since going 'mostly' vegan and 'mostly' wine & coffee-free, I have slept 'mostly' through the night! This has been an amazing blessing because I've always been a very light sleeper prone to 3-4 nightly wake-ups.

But for the last 2 weeks, I have been waking up around 1-2am almost every night feeling super-duper hungry. I'm eating plenty of calories throughout the day, so I'm not sure what's going on. I've been grabbing a quarter of one of these monster cookies to tide me over. Probaby not the best choice, but it works.

Here's a link to how to order them. Erin Baker's Breakfast Cookie. They come in a zillion amazing flavors and some of the flavors are vegan. I really like them and it seems like a good company to support.

What's your favorite midnight snack?

Food of the Week

2009-04-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to challenge myself to try one new food a week. This week, the food is: MUSTARD GREENS. I found them today at the produce market. Look how cute they are hanging out in my refrigerator:

I haven't decided what to do with them yet. Any ideas? Here are some fabulous things I just learned about mustard greens:
*1 cup of them (boiled) has 521% of your daily value of Vitamin K
*and 84% of your Vitamin A requirements
*and 59% of your Vitamin C requirements
*There are in the same food family as broccoli, Brussels sprouts (I ALWAYS thought it was spelled 'brussel sprouts' until just now. Wow. I'm kind of shocked about this. Another word I've been spelling wrong my whole life!), and cabbage
*For more facts, check here: http://www.localharvest.org/mustard-greens.jsp

I hope you check mustard greens out this week! Then we can swap 'greens' stories.

all in all: "the experiment" = beneficial

2009-04-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am now back in Chicago after a great week celebrating Easter, babies, and birthdays in Iowa. My vegan experiment went well; I learned a lot. I didn't keep to it 100%. Maybe 85% or so. I had a great time trying out new recipes, and my family was supportive and accommodating. A few of my friends back home think I'm being odd (not necessarily out of the ordinary for me) by cutting out most meat and dairy. And I understand where they are coming from. I tried to just be positive about it and answer people's impassioned inquisition-style questions. :)

My favorite tea of the moment is: Twinings Herbal Unwind. Check it out next time you're buying groceries; it's a good pre-bedtime mellowing tea.
Peace. Happy Easter. I hope the week ahead is filled with all sorts of new life and new recipes.

Dinner Tonight: African Peanut-Potato Stew

2009-04-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Yumzies! You must try this recipe. I made it for dinner tonight and pretty much followed the whole recipe (minus the coriander). It was quite a family success. I served it with cornbread. Out of all the vegan recipes I have tried to so far, this is my favorite.

African Peanut-Potato Stew

Day 3: Success

2009-04-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was fabulous! I took Subway over to a friend's for lunch (I ordered a tasty Veggie Delight with no cheese). And then my mom whipped up a fantastic dinner for Josh's birthday. It was sooooo delicious (Mexican Lasagna from the "Fat Free Vegan" recipe site). She adapted this recipe. It was so good and no one even knew it was vegan.

And SUPER fantastic carrot cake.

I have a lot of groceries and recipes left to make while I'm home! I better get going! :)

Day 2: Not a huge success

2009-04-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not a huge success in the experiment. But it was a lovely day. Mom and I went out for lunch to a local restaurant, and there was nothing vegan on the menu. So I ordered some kind of chicken wrap without the chicken. Then, it ended up having cheese on it even though the menu didn't list it as having cheese. And I really, really, really didn't want to be any more annoying than I'd already been with my 'special order', so I tried to just pick the cheese off.

But because there was shredded cheese throughout the whole thing, before I knew it, I'd pretty much picked the entire wrap apart, and I was just eating a tortilla shell with stinky onions on it. Then, we ordered a dessert which I know wasn't vegan, but I was very, very, very hungry and frustrated with myself and the experiment by that point. So I ate it (rhubarb crisp). It was delicious, but I ended up having a terrible stomach ache for the rest of the day (probably because my stomach wasn't quite prepared for all that adventure). For dinner, we just munched on grapes, chips, and wine.

So, I'm not exactly sure what I learned yesterday. It was a helpful part of the experiment. I'm learning that as long as I am cooking, being vegan is pretty easy. But when it comes to eating out (something I really love to do), it is really hard to maintain a vegan routine in much of the Midwest.

Today is my brother's birthday!!!! So I'm not going to think about the experiment very much today. I'm just going to celebrate my little brother.

Here's a product I love that I ordered and have been eating for a few weeks. They are delicious and very nutritious. http://www.suncakes.com/

Day 1: Success

2009-04-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

Day #1 of the Home Sweet Home Challenge was a...SUCCESS! :)

For lunch, I made some tasty soup:

1 clove garlic
1 can kidney beans
1 cup brown rice
1/2 can crushed tomato
1 cup of my favorite salsa
1 cup corn
enough water to cover the ingredients while they cook

And for dinner, delicious new potatoes with chick peas. Here's a picture of how it turned out and the recipe. The recipe just says "potatoes" - I thought it turned out well with the new potatoes.
http://localfoods.about.com/od/winter/r/PotatoChickpea.htm

Now I just need to find a tasty, easy dessert recipe to try out while I'm home. Recommendations?

The 'Home Sweet Home' Challenge

2009-04-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm in Iowa for the next several days celebrating Easter, friends and their adorable babies, and my brother's birthday. I'm so happy to be here in this great state!

One special adventure I will be engaging in over the next 5 days is the "Can I Stick to the Vegan Experiment Without Making Everyone Feel Awkward?" Plan. So in the hopes of lessening the awkwardness and questions and 'there goes Emily being strange again' attitude, I've offered to cook a bunch of meals and take meals/treats over to friends when I go to visit them.

This morning I went to the grocery store and stocked up on everything I'll need for the recipes. They didn't have everything, but all the fruits, veggies, and beans were available. There were no soy/dairy-alternatives for cheese or yogurt. But I was soooo happy to see ONE dairy-free dessert in the freezer section! So I snatched it. Hopefully it will be a tasty treat. I also saw a recipe where you put canned pineapple in a container and freeze it. Then, after a few hours, you break it apart and put it in a food processor. Apparently it makes pineapple sorbet.

I did not find any vegetable stock, so that was a little annoying because a BUNCH of the recipes I brought home call for it. But I did find some dried veggie recipe mix, so I guess I'll try to use that.

Anyway, now the adventure begins! Hope your week is going great!

Yes, I know these are packaged foods.

2009-04-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

True, I set out on this new eating adventure a few weeks ago with the aspiration of avoiding pre-packaged/prepared foods. But I still eat plenty of foods that come in packages and cans. I'm working on it. Regardless, I have two delicious recommendations for you: Progresso Vegetable Classics Lentil Soup and Trader Joe's Candied Pecans.

Do you have any favorite canned soups? I know it's better to make soup from scratch, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way, and it's always nice to have some good soup on-hand. Also, I fixed the comments feature so now everyone will be able to leave a comment. Thanks for reading! Looking forward to hearing about your soup-ilicious choices.

Salads: who knew?

2009-04-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well guess what? I've discovered one more amazing thing in life that I have been overlooking. SALADS! So that brings my list to 3 things I was missing out on for the first 24 years or so! NPR, PBS, and salads.

Until today, I was uncertain about salads. In fact, I was sort of salad snob; I felt like they were so 'green' and so 'crunchy.' Little did I know, green and crunchy are GREAT food qualities. Really; I mean it. I had such a tasty salad today at the home of two highly beautiful and terrific lady friends of mine. Oh my goodness. Tasty greens, tasty veggies, some seeds and some nuts. And a very delicious raspberry dressing. I am now a true believer in the wonder of salads; which is exciting because this opens up a whole new pantry of possibilities in my eating plan.

If you are a salad-hater, here's my advice: give them another try; you'll probably be surprised by how delicious they can really be.

Michael Pollan

2009-04-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

Hey there! The author of two great food-related books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food is the guest on the NPR show "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" this week.

He's funny and helpful and quite intelligent. Check it out.

This Week I Can't Get Enough Of....

2009-04-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

Asparagus!

Quite delicious. I've been enjoying a bunch I got from the produce market earlier this week. It's unique tasting, but it has really grown on me over the years. Do you have any good recipes? What can't you get enough of this week?

breakfast banana something or others.

2009-04-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to use up my 2 fully ripe bananas and came up with this little breakfast treat. It includes:

2 mashed bananas
a bunch of whole oats
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon peanut butter
sprinkle of cinnamon

Baked at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. They turned out pretty well! Definitely not the same texture as a typical cookie, but tasty nevertheless.

They must be good with something?

2009-04-02T10:00:00.001-07:00

Here are my flax seeds. So far I've incorporated them successfully into oatmeal. But I haven't tried anything else, and I don't have any ideas. Do you? They are apparently quite a fabulous super food, but I don't know how to use them. Any ideas would be HIGHLY appreciated.

tea please.

2009-03-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

A big part of my wholeness/health BNL (each time I have some kind of new awakening, I call it a Brand New Life; they occur maybe once or twice a year) has been the incorporation of all sorts of tea. Delightful! Pictured above is my most recent gadget: a tea press and some loose leaf tea.

I've been enjoyed all sorts of bagged teas lately and plan to continue, but I thought it might be nice to start buying loose leaf in bulk. Any tea-experts out there? Favorite brands of bagged or loose? Favorite flavors? I'd love to hear about your tea-ventures.

yum, yum, yum: turnip greens

2009-03-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

Today's food for thought (I'm still pondering what I think about this quote): "The only way we're going to reduce disease is to go backwards to the diet and lifestyle of our ancestors" by Dr. Denis Burkitt

This I'm adventuring into the world of turnip greens. Apparently they are terrific, and I'm in a phase where I'll try just about anything. A recipe for this week: black beens and turnip greens. Here's the recipe. Hopefully it turns out!

http://boards.fool.com/message.asp?mid=14449460

Also, who knew there were so many places to find IRON to add into one's eating: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

IN PROCESS

2009-03-28T13:11:00.001-07:00

Hey friends. This will be a site all about eating and wholeness. Check back soon.