when i ate it, i didn't know that in the next twenty minutes, with bagel still stuck in my teeth, i would be saying good-bye to cream cheese for a while.
i went on a shopping trip yesterday to beef up (ha, ha, get it? beef?) on non-dairy foodstuffs. picked up eggplant, asparagus, tomatoes, avocados, onions, beans, corn, limes, soymilk, pita bread, and kale.
kale..........how the hell do you eat kale? i mean, i know you have to cook it....but what then? is it a side dish? do you throw it in pasta? is it just meant to be eaten squished on a fork, drowned in tobasco, with your nose pinched and your eyes squeezed shut? come to think of it, is tobasco vegan??
i'm a little out of my depth here, clearly. i spent some time with my "vegetarian times cookbook" yesterday, to realize that it is not a good aide for the transition from vegetarian to vegan. (although, if you were to go from carnivore to vegetarian, which i would highly recommend--i love being a vegetarian--it is probably your best bet, as far as alternative recipes go). so i decided to wing it.
make that: i decided to call my mom. walking up and down the canned food aisle of the grocery store, she gave me a recipe for a corn and bean salad over the phone.
last night proved to be a good night to start this project, cause it forced me to create a meal to take to will's house for dinner (he made chicken, the bastard). here's what i made (we named it over dinner):
becca's newborn vegan bean salad
1 big can black beans
1 smaller can kidney beans
1 smaller can corn (whole kernels)
red onion, chopped small
green onions, chopped big (yum!)
olive oil
lime (for juice)
salt
drain beans, corn. dump in big bowl. cut onions. dump in same bowl. on the side, whisk together olive oil and lime juice (more oil than juice....i would say 3:2??). dump in bowl. stir. add salt. eat by the spoonful.
i am a culinary genius, people! seriously.
BUT it was not nearly as filling as, say, will's crockpot chicken, dana's tobasco caesar salad, or the doritos i couldn't eat. i was literally staring at them as they ate good food i couldn't have. it was really effing hard not to just reach over and cram a fistful of doritos into my mouth, as charming an image as that presents.
here's the list of foods that were in front of my face yesterday that i would normally have eaten but didn't:
french fries
caesar salad (w egg, cheese, anchovies)
doritos
chocolate
so far, so good.
4 comments:
Hey Bec! I applaud your efforts and here is my "if I were you" suggestion . . . .
My aunt Lea (a fabulous cook) makes black beans that are incredible, but also stupid easy. You can tweak it to your taste.
Empty a 16 oz can (or like size)of black beans in a pot and add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and some chopped onion if you have it. Then add a big can of vegetable stock (on the shelf with the chicken/beef stock) until it covers the beans. Cook on low for a couple of hours and stir periodically. We like them pretty soft. Cook them the way you like them. You can try to cook them at a higher temp to get done faster, but just make sure you keep stiring and checking it. THEN, once you've got the beans cooked down, throw them over rice. YUMMMMMMM. It sounds so stupid, but they are so good. If you discover that tobasco is vegan, add some of that too. Even better! This is a great thing to experiment with different spices and see what you like.
Ted suggested a "super sized" batch of hummus . . . you can smack him the next time you're home.
Bravo! I'm rooting for you.... hahah rooting... have a potato..
Kale is great stuff. It is a bit bitter which is cool. It can be a bit tough if you don't cook it enough. The traditional way is to boil the crap our of it along with smoked bones. Fastforward to real life... I steam it. If you put a little olive oil in the steaming water it adds some nice flavor and smooths out the texture. I usually add some liquid smoke to the steaming water as well.
If you have any left over, add it to veg broth and white beans for kale soup. A little Tabasco improves everything it touches.
Hey Becca!! go you!! :)
I guess there are 2 practical goals when eating vegan food
1) be healthy
2) be full!
if you are baking, apple sauce is a great substitution for eggs.
there is a spread called "tofutti" that isn't exactly healthy but is still way healthier than cream cheese and it's really good!!!
hummus is really tasty and high in protein. can eat it with pita, celery, carrots, etc!
I also always just eat a ton of tofu sauteed with soy sauce, chili sauce and chopped garlic over rice. You can make it in like 5 min, add veggies if you want, and it's pretty filling!
For local shopping in baltimre that has vegan alternatives i'd defintiely suggest "okay natural food store". they have some really delicious things like vegan dumplings etc! :)
hope this helps i'll try to think of more. good luck!!! :)
yay becca! i love cooking vegan. you, caitlin and i should get together for a little feast before school starts up again. i make a mean kale salad. you don't even need to cook it; the whole thing is mostly raw. also, vegan mac and cheese. yessss. shout a holler!
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