Carl's Food Experiment

Sorry!!!

2011-10-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted. Things went batshit crazy here last week. I'll be back in a day or so.

It's a Cookbook Thing

2011-10-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Made this for dinner on Saturday. Sunday is always a "figure it out for yourself" night.

The recipe for this Saffron Scented Risotto all Millanese came from Donna Klein's The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, with the small exception of the peas which I had in the fridge so I threw 'em on in there. This cookbook is one of my favorites.

I think there's a few must haves in the vegan cooking world. Here's a couple more.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Veganomicon. The immediate reference for all vegan food questions and ideas. If you need to know it, it's in here.

And Lindsay Nixon's Happy Herbivore. Even though here name isn't as much fun to say as "Isa Chandra Moskowitz," the book is still quite solid.

I know I'm not breaking ground here and I haven't found anything that every vegan in the world didn't already know about, but for any nonvegans who read this and may be interested, for me these books are like the red and white Better Homes New Cook Book that almost every home in America has somewhere in its kitchen. In addition, there are diet vegan cookbooks, Moskowitz has one of those as well (actually, she is one of the more proflic vegan writers with a number of books on a number of subjects including cupcakes) called Appetite for Reduction. Also, there are vegan cookbooks that cover almost any style of cooking.

Those of you who are part of the choir, I doing this for a friend who is not so cut me some slack on being too obvious.

Y'all know I love ya.

Let's Get It On!

2011-10-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

Back to the VeganMoFo!

Haven't been on this blog for a bit, mostly because I've been on other writing projects and I find I have a finite amount of writing energy, but thank God for the MoFo!

Quick bio: I am a foodie. A few years back, I started reading about veganism and decided to give it a shot, the process is posted on this blog, probably down in the "older posts" area now. The idea was to give it 30 days but at the end I was hooked. I have three kids and I live in North Carolina though I am a transplanted (and still think of myself as a) Californian. As a foodie, simply making food vegan isn't enough, its got to be good. By trade, I am a pastry chef.

For me, recipes that take a food item that was designed around an animal product and finding some way to convert it always fall short, even approaching yucky. For example, mac and cheese. That said, one of my favorite foods from my prevegan days was picadillo, ground beef with spices, some dried fruit, and onions. I tried to recreate this with some ground beef substitute from Trader Joes and was very happy with the results. I used it to fill roasted acorn squash halves. Didn't get a pic, but I will for future recipes. The amount of picadillo will probably fill 4 squash halves, but if you cut it with rice, I used a wild rice blend, it will go as far as you like. This recipe is adapted from Eating Well, though the squash and rice parts of it are just me.

Ingredients:

Acorn Squash

Rice or Rice Blend (cooked according to pkg directions)

Ground Beef Sub. equivalent to 1lb (mine was a 12oz)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided (I used yellow onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup golden raisins (or whatever dried fruit is lurking in your pantry)
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives (I used kalamata because I had them)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For the squash: Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds and place on a sprayed, foil-lined, cookie sheet cut side down. Roast 30 minutes. Will not be tender. When cool enough to touch, scoop out some of the flesh to make a larger pocket but don't go overboard. Leave a half inch or so all the way around.

For the Picadillo: Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add chili powder, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne, mix and cook for about 1 min. Add remaining ingreients, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix with desired amount of rice and mound into the squash halves. Place the filled squash halves back on the cookie sheets, cover with foil, and bake for another 30 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes. Serve with something cool, like a late summer melon or sliced fall fruit. I think cold Pinot Grigio pairs pretty good though a really cold dark beer also works.

I'm so happy that VeganMoFo is back.

Y'all know I love ya.

Cherry Quinoa

2010-05-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

How many times have you looked around the kitchen and thought, “Man, I’ve got a bag of cherries, some quinoa, and some extra-firm tofu, plus a few common pantry ingredients; I should be able to make a badass vegan meal out of these seemingly unrelated items, but what?” Wonder no more. I came across this recipe at the farmer’s market this last weekend and made a couple changes to veganize it and subbed jalapeno for the Anaheim chile simply because I had a jalapeno but didn’t have the other thing. All in all, I was pleased with the results and recommend it enough to throw it on my blog.

Cherry Quinoa
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth (I used Vegetable broth)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped Anaheim pepper (or jalapeno)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups pitted fresh sweet Bing cherries
8 ounces small cooked peeled shrimp (well pressed extra-firm tofu)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Prepared salsa, optional

Cooking Instructions:
Sauté onion and garlic in oil; add broth, quinoa, Anaheim pepper, salt, and ground pepper. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 12 to 18 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff mixture with a fork and gently stir in cherries, shrimp(tofu), and parsley. Serve with salsa, if desired.

Serves: 4
Calories Per Serving: 215
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Give it a whirl. Cherries here in CA are pretty rockin’ right now and the tofu can be cut into very small bits or not, depending on you level of tofu appreciation. Mine is really quite low.

The whole vegan thing may be a bit much, but we are going vegetarian as much as possible.

Y’all know I love ya.

Carl

© Carl Mealie, 2010

Oooh, This Looks Like a Comfy Spot on the Wagon With Some Salsa

2010-05-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

Golly it's been a while, August or September I think was the last time I posted here. So here's the deal: I stopped the vegan thing, ate a bunch of crap, gained some weight, I feel yucky, and now I'm back. Simple enough? Except this time there's no experiment; I'm just going with it and we'll see where it goes.

I'll try to remember to post here on occasion but doing so tends to sap my writing time and energy and I have other projects that need that T&E. I do enjoy this though, so I'll try to get back here sometimes. The other blogs may languish for a while unless something hits me and I feel compelled to inflict my opinion on all of you.

So, Cherie's division had a salsa contest on Cinco de Mayo. There were thirteen entries and mine won second. Here's the recipe for any of you who would like it.

Y'all know I love ya.

Carl and Cherie's Three Pepper Salsa

Roasting the peppers intensifies the flavors while the Chipotle chiles bring a deep, earthy, slow heat. Canned tomatoes will work, but a little flavor will be lost in translation. Careful, this one can sneak up on ya, though it does go especially well with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and most other cold beer varietals.

1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 Anaheim Pepper
20 oz. Roma Tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
¼ White Onion, small, coarsely chopped
1 tsp Salt
1-2 Chipotle Chiles depending on taste
1 Tbsp Adobo Sauce from the Chipotles
Handful fresh Cilantro leaves, no stems!

1. Roast the Jalapeno and Anaheim peppers under the broiler until charred on all sides. Remove from broiler and allow to cool. When possible, rub off the charred peels. A little charring may remain and that is fine. Removing the seeds from the peppers will reduce the heat slightly.

2. Combine peppers and remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process to desired consistency.

3. Place salsa in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. The salsa will settle and the flavors develop as it cools.

(c) Carl Mealie, 2010

2009-10-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, almost the end of the month already and as such, nearly the end of Vegan MoFo. Gosh this month folded quickly. I didn’t make nearly as many entries as I would have like as the month ended up being more a bear than I expected. So sorry vegan friends, I had intended to do better, but there’s always next year.

Tonight is a pre-shopping trip dinner. That means I need to try and use up as much as I can from the last trip. Here’s more or less what I was working with tonight:
Potatoes, a sugar pumpkin, cranberries, a few apples and oranges, spinach, three green onions, and a reasonably well stocked pantry with bits an pieces from other recipes, half a bag of quinoa, for example.

So here’s the menu. Quinoa with roasted vegetables; Sautéed Spinach with orange zest; and a Cran-Apple spiced compote. Incoherent items that don’t go together, you say? Maybe, maybe not, but who gives two turds, says I.

The recipes:

The Quinoa Thing
1 small sugar pumpkin cleaned out and cut into cubes
3 potatoes cut into cubes
1 yellow onion cut into whatever shape suits you. Rings are fine, as are squares or strips
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Tamari
Salt and Pepper

1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Veg. Stock

Preheat oven to 400°. Place veggies on a foil covered baking sheet and toss with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Roast 20-30 minutes checking and tossing occasionally.

Meanwhile, bring stock to a boil, add quinoa. Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 until liquid is absorbed.

When everything is done, combine in a large bowl and toss gently. Check and adjust seasoning. Garnish with green onion slices if desired.

Cranberry Relish
12 oz bag of cranberries
¾ Cup Sugar
2 1” strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into brunoise (small dice)

Put sugar in a med. saucepan with 1 Cup water and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and boil 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate if desired.

Spinach Saute
2 10oz bags of baby spinach (use whatever spinach you got, just make sure it’s clean and stemmed)
Olive oil
Orange Zest (I link to take strips and cut them into very thin julienne, but whatever is good)

Add oil to pan and heat. Add orange zest and sautee for about a minute then add spinach. Cook until wilted but still bright green.

That’s it. All you have to do now is convince the kids to eat it. But at least it’s colorful and seasonal.

Y’all know I love ya.

Carl

© Carl Mealie, 2009

Yay, Pancakes!

2009-10-23T11:15:00.001-07:00

I got up this morning with a craving for some pancakes which I haven't had since going vegan. I got the two older kids off to school and looked up a vegan pancake recipe when I got home. Shortly afterward, my youngest partner in crime, commonly called Jelly, and I were enjoying some very yummy blueberry pancakes.

I really did like the pancakes with a little Earth Balance butter and pure maple syrup. The only issue was the smell while cooking which wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I typically associate with pancakes. A small trade off all in all.

Special bonus, Jelly liked them too and that has been a really big challenge. The kids in general have not been enthralled with veganism so it's nice to find something that at least one of them likes.

Y'all know I love ya.

Carl

2009-10-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

All in all, it's been a pretty run of the mill day. This makes me happy things have been a little wacky lately. For dinner tonight, I made Spinach and Chickpea Curry from V with a V and I was really happy with it. Again it was a good use of a lot of stuff I already had. Like most of you who cook, I have a cabinet full of spices and this recipe made use of many of them. I served the curry with white rice and pineapple. What I like a lot about this was that it was 40 min. start to plate, which works well. To be honest, I don't feel like cooking as the night gets longer and after soccer spending time in the kitchen is not appealing so quick is everything. Also, leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Question for y'all, what's on your menus for Thanksgiving? We host and cook every year and this is our first year as vegans so we're (wife and I) looking for suggestions.

Y'all know I love ya.

Carl

Okay, back on track

2009-10-20T06:39:00.001-07:00

Okay, last week ended up being a real bear. The kids were sick, the wife was out of town, we had a huge storm that KO'd the power for about 12 hours after a series of brown outs and surges which fried the A/C adapter to our router, so our internet was down for a bit. Anyway, we're getting back into our routine now. Those of you with soccer, girl scouts, guitar lessons, ballet, and every other doggone thing know that day-to-day can be pretty hectic as well. I'm not bitching, I am blessed beyond reason and I love my life; sometimes it's just a little hard to catch up with is all.

I live in California so please let that temper my comments when I talk about weather and seasons. If I say "fall," I of course mean California fall where it gets down to the low 60's or high 50's and will rain a little. That said, I love the fall. In fact, I'd have to say that this is my favorite season and I have pretty seasonal menu planned. Those of you who have Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance will recognize most of it but:

Monday- Persian-style Multi-Bean Noodle Soup

Tuesday- Pumpkin and Tofu (from V with a V)

Wednesday-Chickpea and Spinach Curry

Thursday- Pasta w/ tomato sauce (This is our late soccer night)

Friday- Horseradish and Coriander Tofu

Saturday- Fend for Yourself

Sunday- Pumpkin Saag

The Persain soup was pretty good. About an hour to prepare, a long list of ingredients but mostly pantry stock. It was satisfying if not overly flavorful. It can be found in The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen pg 49. Definitely be willing to use a little salt on this though.

So, there have been times since going V that I've faltered. During those times, I notice a couple things. First, I become posessed with a great degree of moodiness. By that I mean that I will get angry quickly or even become depressed for no real reason. Neither are like me. For those of you who have seen the movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase, I am a lot like Yellow Dog. For those of you who haven't, suffice to say, I'm a laid back, even keel type of guy. Throw a little meat in me though, and I lose that. Second, I don't sleep worth a crud. I'm up all night shifting around and all kinds of nonsense. When vegan, I sleep like a rock.

Why do you think this is? My best guess is that it's related to the hormones given to the animals, or that it's related to adrenaline naturally occurring in the animal prior to slaughter, maybe both. Either way, I'm not a big fan but it's hard to walk away from the stuff sometimes. Not for any good reason either. More out of convenience and laziness than anything else.

Anyway, I'm going to be adding this link to my posts between now and Christmas. Target started their Christmas push last month, I don't see why I should have to wait. This will have a larger appeal to Christians, but even if you're not one, check it out and watch the video clip. At least it'll make you think a little. Don't worry, it's not an attempt to convert you. I hate that stuff and would never put it on my blog.

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

Y'all know I love ya.

Carl

All Sick but One

2009-10-12T08:07:00.001-07:00

Everybody in the house is sick, except for me and the wife who's in San Francisco on business. Long and short of it is, I don't have much blogging time at the moment but will be back in a few days.

Y'all know I love ya.

Carl

2009-10-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

The kids have been sick here for most of the week, some stomach bug that's been running through their school and I caught a cold as well so I haven't been cooking much the last few days. Everybody seems to be more more or less back on track now though. The one thing I was able to make was some blueberry coffee cake from Vegan with a Vengeance, a piece of which can be seen below.

One of my biggest challenges is getting past the pastry counter at the coffee shops I frequent here in town and in an effort to overcome this, I made this recipe. All in all, it's a pretty good one, moist and flavorful, as good as any of the stuff in the case.

In general I want to start moving away from refined stuff like white sugar, and A.P. flour and get back into more whole grains and such, so that's really my goal for the rest of the month. Well, the rest of the month after this week since I already have this week's meals outlined.

Y'all know I love ya, see ya tomorrow.

Carl

(c) Carl Mealie, 2009

2009-10-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

All right, It looks like I'll be able to get an entry in today after all, just under the wire though, nearly 11pm here in California. The weekend was good, just hectic. I ate a lot of hummus which is my go to food of choice.

Monday's are usually difficult for me. The kids get out of school and there's ballet at 5 and soccer at 6 so not much time. What I ended up doing was making the Asian Tofu from Vegan with a Vengeance and serving it with udon noodles. As a sauce for the noodles, I made an extra batch of the Asian marinade and tossed it with the cooled udon. After the tofu came off the grill, I threw on a few slices of pineapple just to get those cool markings and a little char. Then a little sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and green onions.

The dish was really well received though the kids weren't all that hot on it. "Why do we have to be vegans just because you are?" Shut up and eat your vegetables.

As a chef, a pastry chef actually (mostly on sabbatical now), I work in butter and cream. Learning to cook vegan is exciting for me and sometimes challenging. Tofu is a great example. I hated tofu until I read that it should be pressed before being marinated and cooked. Totally changed my opinion of the white block. A note on cooking: reading some of these blogs can be intimidating for a newcomer to veganism. The trick is in not being afraid to imitate others. All the chefs I've ever met, some of whom are quite good, began by imitating others until the mimicry gradually morphed into an individual style.

Anyway, It's been a long day. See y'all tomorrow, and y'all know I love ya.

Carl

Bit of an Ugh Day

2009-10-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Gotta be honest here, kinda struggling this morning. I’m tired, the day won’t be an easy one, soccer tomorrow, practice tonight, in fact, one of the kids practices almost every night so I’m having a hard time cooking. That’s a problem I need to solve, right there, meals when there’s a schedule crunch. In general, we don’t have much in the line of leftovers and what we do have is typically used for lunches, couple that with the fact that most vegan stuff requires a bit more prep and cooking time and scheduling can be an issue. I’ll figure it out, I almost always can figure out food problems, but any suggestions would be awesome. I’m still somewhat new to veganism, only like a month under my belt, so on days like this it almost feels too easy to grab a latte and an almond croissant from the local coffee house. I didn’t, but I was damn tempted.

Anyway, the wife is playing bunco tonight so I need to get something made for her to take along. I was thinking stuffed mushrooms but the garlic content runs a little high for a social gathering. Usually, I would go with an heirloom tomato bruschetta, but I think I did that the last time so I’m leaning towards corn fritters now. I want to try them anyway and this provides a good excuse. My wife just became a vegan so I want to make sure she has at least one dish there that she can eat. We live in a small, still kinda rural town and there aren’t many vegans around here so the chances of anyone else taking something to bunco that she can eat are pretty low.

Feeling better now; writing is cathartic for me, and reading some of the other blogs has been helpful and entertaining. I need to try some cupcakes this weekend and I’m thinking something lemony. I’ve been promising my daughter she could help me make cupcakes for a couple weeks now and I’ve got a feeling that note is coming due.

Y’all know I love ya, MoFo’s and all.

Carl

© Carl Mealie, 2009

2009-10-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

So on the first day of VeganMoFo, I thought it would be useful to talk about why I’ve chose to adopt a vegan diet and maybe to answer the question I get most now that I have adopted it.

Most other vegans and vegetarians that I know are driven by the animal cause, but for me that’s kind of a side note. I eat this way because I believe it’s healthier, more responsible, and I feel a greater connection to God (don’t let that freak you out; I’m not one of them). I initially started eating vegan a couple of months ago primarily as an experiment. If you read further down the blog, or if you’ve been reading since the start, you’ll know what I mean and see the results of it there. After the first month I reverted, at least partially, back to my old eating habits and nearly immediately felt like crud so here I am back on and intending to stay.

Here’s why I think it made me feel like crud. The notion of farmer Jones out there milking his cows while his wife feeds the chickens and the kids collect eggs is storybook cute, but I think we all recognize that it’s false. The overwhelming majority of our meat comes from CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) where a 6 x 8’ room can house 1,152 chickens. If this sounds insane, I would tend to agree. These animals live a high stress life and disease can run rampant in those conditions. To combat that, animal feed contains antibiotics. About 75% of the antibiotic drugs produced in the U.S. are used in CAFO’s. Additionally, chemicals are sprayed on the outsides for the animals to kill other pests. That’s doesn’t even begin to touch on the growth hormone side of things which causes chickens to produce breasts so large that they are unable to stand or walk. Finally, all CAFO animals are slaughtered in an assembly line fashion. The first guy in line is the only one who’s surprised by the whole thing. The rest of them can see the animals in front of them panicking and hear others in distress. If you were in the situation, you’d be generating adrenaline as fast as possible, so are they. So here’s all this crap in the meat, growth hormone, antibiotics, pesticides, a grip or adrenaline, and who know what else; I don’t want to eat that. Neither does most of the world, in fact, a large number of countries refuse to import meat from the U.S.

One has to wonder why CAFO’s exist but the answer is pretty obvious, the demand is there. A family could easily consume four chicken breasts at dinner, not to mention sandwich meat, butter, eggs, milk, and all that. In order to meet that kind of demand, CAFO’s are necessary, unless we change the way we look at food, and that’s where the responsibility aspect comes into play for me. There are too many of us to be eating meat three times a day. If we consume meat responsibly, ultimately we end up healthier, more humane, and less polluted. I read an article that said a family going vegetarian one or two nights a week would go further environmentally than that same family trading in their Hummer for a Prius. The environmental crowd has recognized that this fact is so unpopular that they don’t pitch it. People would rather lose the Hummer than give up MacD’s. At some point, we as Americans are going to need to look at food production in the same way we’re looking at healthcare and social security because our food production practices are just as unsustainable and pose many of the same problems. I hope we can do this sooner rather than waiting for the crisis.

If you’re interested in the closer to God, aspect of this thing, then read the blog before this one. It’s a difficult thing to explain and it was hard enough the first time.

The question I get asked the most, and this is understandable since I am a pastry chef by trade and formerly a carnivore, is: “So what do you eat?” This question is generally asked in such a way that the asker seems to expect a reply that involves food they’ve never heard of but is clearly gross, and, an element of conspiracy is assumed. I feel like my answer should be “Well, for lunch I had a refreshing bowl of flickabooger and for dinner I’m having roast proctological root since I have to hurry out the door in order to get to the secret vegan meeting on time where we’re planning to overthrow the government and enslave the meat eating population.” They seem almost let down when I say that for lunch I had some hummus with homemade pita and watermelon.

Just rereading this blog it seems kind of heavy which is generally not my style but once in a while it’s okay. Also, seems like I did a bit of preaching to the choir. Ah well, tomorrow’s will be different. As an aside, I made the Macadamia Blondies with Caramel-Maple Topping from Vegan with a Vengeance and am hella digging them. Snaps to Isa Chandra on that one.

I’m out, y’all know I love ya.

Carl

© Carl Mealie, 2009

A Little Existential

2009-09-10T13:32:00.001-07:00

At the risk of putting some of you off, I’d like to talk about religion for a few. Please don’t stop reading, I’m not going to try and convert anybody or anything like that, in fact, I think evangelism as it’s currently thought of is a complete failure and a waste of time. I’m a Christian, and nothing makes my skin crawl like someone coming up to me and saying “I’d like to talk to you about Jesus.” Really, is there anybody out there who, in all seriousness, says “Great! I’ve been waiting for somebody to tell me what’s up with Jesus.”

To be honest, I have a real problem with a lot of what Christians do and judging by the response I get when I get into blogs on the subject, they have a problem with my opinions as well. Can I give a little background here? Indulge me for a moment if you will.
I was raised a Roman Catholic which led to a rather emphatic atheism by the time I was in my twenties. Later, when Cherie and I got married my opinion started to change a little but I had no idea what to do (that’s quite a woman to get a man beleivin’ in God without even tryin’). When we moved here, we thought we should find a church and I of course went straight back to the Roman church. Cherie, in her wisdom, was opposed to this and we eventually settled on the Episcopal Church. A few years later, I’m thinking of ditching all of it. What was the point, really? As far as I could tell, being a Christian meant roughly three things: (1), I’m essentially an evil sinner and if I acknowledge that fact and beg God for forgiveness then I will be forgiven, which (2), qualifies me for participation in the rapture (when God calls all the believers to him at the start of the end times) a concept that still scares the snot of me. Seriously, it does. I used to hear people talking about what a glorious day that would be and people I knew had bumper stickers that said something like “In the event of rapture this vehicle will be unoccupied.” I was never, ever able to identify with that. Oh and (3), congratulations, you’re a republican. Should you disagree with the republicans, not only are you unpatriotic, buy you’re clearly a heretic as well.
I was unable to handle this set of rules. Strangely, I have no problem with creation or any of the other stuff in the Bible. I’m a rational person, but I recognize that some things have to be taken on faith. I’m okay with that (faith and science are not incompatible for me), but the notion that the whole thing, meaning the Christian faith, was about forgiveness and separating the Godly from the ungodly didn’t jive for me. Would an all powerful, all loving, supremely compassionate, omnipotent, and omniscient God, be so trivial and arbitrary? Also, a lot of what I was being told in church and through other Christian outlets didn’t mesh with what I was reading in the Bible. There was either more to it, or it wasn’t worth being a Christian at all. Now, understand, this was not garden variety doubt. I’m still occasionally crushed by doubt. All Christians are whether they admit it or not, and it’s okay. That’s another thing that was a problem for me. The Christians I was supposed to look up to were always talking about ridding your heart of doubt. I never could, still can’t. Oh, and don’t even get me started on their version of prayer, how unappealing was that? Verbal self flagellation followed by a plea for forgiveness and hopefully an arbitrary miracle here and there; wow, sign me up. (Sorry for the tangent.) Anyway, this was a serious evaluation about whether or not being a Christian was something worthwhile.
Then one day (cliché transition intentional), my boss asked if I wanted to go to Promise Keepers. Hoping that this would clarify things for me, I went. PK is exactly what you’d expect and really a lot more of the same I’d been hearing but in a festive, concert like atmosphere. But, I saw a video called “Dust” and it absolutely shook me, hard. It was all I could do to keep from breaking down in front of my boss, a crap load of co-workers, and a whole group of others that I was at least acquainted with. I’m not going to go into this any further because I don’t want this to be preachy, but starting with the video and some lengthy study afterwards that goes on to this day, I found a God and a Christianity that was worth it, that I’m excited to be a part of, and that truly speaks to my heart.

Now why do I bring all this up? Mostly to provide some context for other things I want to say. If I wanted to talk about same-sex marriage, or war, or veganism, or whatever, my theology plays a part in what I think since everything is spiritual.

So about veganism, I started to wonder why I started the thing to begin with. Yeah, health was a big part of it, but one can be healthy without being vegan, yes? I think a lot of us go through our lives and on some degree feel like we’re missing something. I’m a happily married man and I have a wonderful family. I have a faith that motivates and comforts me. I have wonderful friends (this means you), a reasonably good single-A ball club, and in general life is pretty good. At the same time, something feels off occasionally.
There’s a rhythm to nature. Stating that may seem obvious, but it’s not. The reason it seems obvious is that our ancestors counted on this rhythm. They used it to live. It told them when to plant, when to move, even when to get up, when to go to bed, when to have children, all that. Nature had a rhythm. Humans have a rhythm as well in how our bodies and minds work. Think about this for a second. For hundreds of years, people got up with the sun and went to bed when the sun set. They planted with the seasons and ate what grew at specific times of the year. They worked with that rhythm to ensure they had food when nothing grew and so that food grew every year. Let’s just go all the way with the music analogy, nature put down a beat so humans grabbed a bass and complemented that beat with a mad, funky bass line, or a guitar riff, or something equally badass on whatever instrument they chose to play. The point is the rhythms matched and there was, harmony. At least in part. Theologically there are still some issues, but y’all get where I’m going here.
Then, not so long ago, people got the idea that they could control, or at least overcome, nature. In fact, they did pretty well. We don’t need sunlight to work or stay warm and we can produce whatever food we want, whenever we want. Asparagus and strawberries at 2a.m. in the middle of a January blizzard, no problem. We got so good, that we no longer hear that beat that nature is still putting down for us. Many people will deny the beat exists. “We have no need for a beat,” they will say. “That’s all old world stuff, no need for beats even if it was ever there.” As you might guess, I see the divine involved here, but if you don’t, the point remains. We are detached from the world around us and quite frankly each other. We play to our own rhythms, and if anybody chooses to play along, that’s fine, but otherwise…
So here we all are, playing our tunes and thinking that there should be something more but what we’re looking for is so buried that we don’t even know where to look for it. For some reason though, this vague notion that this beat is there somewhere persists, though we wouldn’t know it if we found it, but we keep trying and sometimes we find a bit of it, which totally rocks or world. Even if it’s only for a short time, we reach a bit of harmony before we lose it again.

Being vegan for a month (and now more) forced me to eat a different range of foods. Different foods made me look at all food differently and I had to eat more produce. More produce leads to a localized, seasonal food link and that taps into that wicked, amazing, glorious beat that’s been thumping away since the earth cooled and in a small, incomplete way, the rhythms match allowing an inkling of the harmony that is possible. Scoff if you will; I don’t care, but I don’t want to let go of it either. I feel different, in more than physical ways. I started the thing with an experiment in healthy eating mindset, really I did, but now I love noticing that the fruit at the farmer’s market isn’t as sweet but the fall squashes are taking shape. It’s just different.
Now, don’t be a h8r. I’m no guru, monk, shaman, or any other such thing. Nor am I saying “Brothers and Sisters, I have found the secret! Follow me, for I am the example of a harmonious relationship with the universe!” Y’all know me too well for all of that. I’m the same over-thinking, foul mouthed, dirty minded, lazy ass that I’ve always been. I just got the smallest, very smallest, taste or something…better.

A Few Quick Notes
I love being a vegan, but humans are really designed to be omnivores. It’s a question of doing this responsibly. There are better options to supermarket meat. It may take a little searching but true free range beef, pork, and poultry are available. It may not be entirely local, but it’s an improvement.

Along the same lines, most produce in the market is there because it was the breed that travelled best, not because it tasted the best or was the most nutritious. Better stuff can be found but it ain’t easy, though it’s worth the effort.

Officially, vegan experiment is over. Though the diet remains so I’ll still post here. I want to do a blog entry with just recipes but this won’t happen for a couple of weeks. If you’re interested though, stay tuned.

Y’all know I love ya. Grace and Peace.

Carl

© Carl Mealie, 2009

That's a Vegan Wrap, pt 1

2009-09-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

So that’s a month, now give me a damn steak! Just kidding. Really. I don’t want the steak, for two reasons: 1) I’m afraid that kind of extreme, sudden meat consumption would lead to vomiting, and 2) I just don’t want it. That really begs the question of what do I eat now.

It’s been a great month, I’m down about 13 pounds and I feel better than I have in years. I have no food cravings, but there are a few things I want, more because I enjoy them than anything else and they are specifically pastries and sushi. Let’s take a quick run through some of the more common foods that I thought I’d miss.
Pizza. Don’t miss it, don’t want it. In Seattle, we plan on going to Serious Pie which I guess is a high-end pizza place (one from their menu: roasted mushroom and truffle cheese pizza) so that doesn’t really count. Y’all know what I’m talking about here. Domino’s, Round Table, Mountain Mike’s, or even the better ones with thick, gooey, over-cheesed slices that you need two hands to eat. Just typing that made me almost as yucky as watching that damn zit video that April posted. I just don’t want it. I remember how I felt afterward and I don’t want to feel that way.
Steak. Same, same. Likewise with chicken, pork, or whatever else. It’s a turnoff for me right now and in a bit way too.
Lattes, mochas, etc. I tried soy versions and couldn’t get into them. This morning Cherie was running late and in my never ending quest to make her happy, thereby separating her from her pants, I went to fill her car up with gas and get some Starbucks while she got ready for work. I got, and this is a seasonal favorite of mine, a pumpkin spice latte. The dairy made me feel icky and the caffeine wired me all to shit. For the last month, I’ve been waking up and feeling calm, relaxed, clear headed, generally the way I think I should feel in the morning. We make pretty weak coffee in this house so sometimes I would have a cup but usually not. This morning sucked by comparison, so did crashing off the caffeine 90 minutes later. I’m done with those things. Maybe one here or there. I need to try the place Jen recommended in Seattle and again maybe now and again, but other than that, they’re outta here.
Dairy, and this includes all that crap that I make professionally. I’m not overly interested there either. Quick fact: Humans are born with certain enzymes that digest milk, but by the time we’re 2, the overwhelming majority of them are gone. We’re not designed to ingest that crap and there’s nothing nutritionally there that isn’t already part of a solid diet. Eat spinach and other greens, lay off that white crap. Milk marketers have been amazing with that mustache shit and the whole “Got Milk?” thing. In reality the response to that question should be “No, why?”
Fish. I do want some swimmy things so long and they’re not covered in all that other crap.
Hot dogs and all other fast food. Grody to the max, with the one exception of hot dogs that are eaten while at a baseball game.

Let’s just cut to the chase with all of this. I’m a foodie and if nothing else, I can’t be a vegan for that reason alone. Also, I have a pretty busy existence at the moment and all household indicators are showing a severe uptick on the frazzle meter in the near and mid-term future. I need to be able to have a little flexibility in my diet and being a vegan is about as inflexible as it gets. I’m sorry it just is. All that said, here are some nonvegan foods that don’t make me gag right now:
Duck (always my favorite protein but not widely available)
Fishies
Scones
Maybe a little bacon
But truth be told noting else appeals to me. Have I made that point clear? Sorry about the repetition.

Vegan food is somewhat more labor intensive, but I have found it to be all the more creative and complex. Ratatouille is amazing! I make this stuff and I wonder if I could make a spring or fall, or maybe even a winter version. It’s truly incredible comfort food. Indian food, badass as all get out. Creative, yet simple and flavor in spades. Same with some of the Middle Eastern stuff like hummus, baba ghanouj and bolani. Just amazing.
Look at Rick Bayless’s recipes and some of the others from Top Chef Masters when they had a vegan challenge. Just beautiful stuff and Rick Bayless is an absolute genius. His passion for food is inspiring. I don’t believe in converting people to something just because I think it’s a good idea, but try some of this vegan stuff, not for the “political” reasons or even for your health, but try it because it’s enjoyable. It tastes good.
Last night was a soccer night. Michael’s practice ended at 6:30 and we want the kids in bed by 8:30 or 9:00 so there’s not a lot of time for cooking. Homework, some chillax TV time, all that needs to be crammed in there as well. I made Cherie and the kids Hamburger Helper. I don’t know exactly what is in HH, much less where it comes from. I ate pitas that I baked, with hummus and baba ghanouj (I made both but don’t know where most of the hummus ingredients came from or the flour for pitas. The eggplant in the baba ghanouj was locally grown and the olive oil was organic Italian.) I put locally grown baby spinach on top of the pastes along with locally grown heirloom tomatoes. On the side I had cubed watermelon and dark purple grapes, both from the farmer’s market. So in all of that, the pitas, the hummus, and some of the baba ghanouj have mysterious origins. The rest was grown within probably 20 miles of me. The stuff that was a little more uncertain, I at least made, so I know what’s in it, if not necessarily where it came from. That is my go to dinner of choice. I keep pitas frozen and defrost 5-6 at time and I can put the meal together pretty quickly, though the fruit rotates, sometime peaches and plums (farmer’s market) etc and it is so good. Heirloom tomatoes are incredible, the fruit pops, not just with flavor but literally. The stuff is so juicy that some of the peaches can only be eaten over the sink. Now, I’m not bashing Mrs. Crocker or that stupid talking glove from the commercials, but why would I ever choose the Hamburger Helper over the other stuff? For that matter, why would I want some piece of meat? It’s a downgrade in terms of food enjoyment. If you look at some of the really incredible vegan stuff out there, there’s no contest at all.
Let’s talk about grilled Portobello mushroom caps topped with an heirloom tomato pico de gallo on a bed of vegetable quinoa (not local by any stretch I’ll grant) with grilled asparagus and halved peaches with a little raw sugar sprinkled on them and then grilled lightly so that the sugar caramelizes and the peach chars just a little, giving you the most amazing contrast for dessert. All you need at that point is a bottle of wine. In that meal, there is pretty much everything one would need nutritionally. Quinoa is a “super food” which means that it is a complete protein and a complete carbohydrate. The word “quinoa” is Incan for “the mother grain,” it’s almost the perfect food. It’s also very adaptable, in that it can be used in a wide variety of ways. It’s really just starting to make its way onto supermarket shelves so keep an eye out for it. Except for the quinoa and maybe the mushrooms (I don’t know where those are grown exactly) everything is local, seasonal, cheap, and delicious. What do I need meat for? Again, I like meat, and I plan on eating it, much less of it, but still, I just don’t see it as a necessity in my diet anymore.

Okay, this is already long, but I have this whole other thing I want to talk about. But, I don’t have time right now and this is already long, like I said. So how about a 2-parter? You guys will come back for part 2, won’t you? Please? It’s gonna be my favorite part and I really wanna share so please come back.

Y’all know I love ya.

© Carl Mealie, 2009

Week 3, In the Can

2009-08-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

So, I gotta own it, I blew it for one meal this week. I’ll give you the deets here real quick, not as an excuse or anything but if I share the effects that eating vegan has on my GI system then I can certainly share why I fell off the wagon for a meal, and it was only one meal. As carefree and happy, happy as we Mealie’s may seem our lives are not quite so idyllic. Our schedules are packed with all kinds of crap from doctor appointments to soccer practices to yoga classes, Nuts games and on and on. It’s not that some of these things aren’t enjoyable or that we didn’t volunteer for several of them, but that’s life and occasionally it can be overwhelming. Also, we’re not Oprah rich here and sometimes there aren’t enough digits in the bank account; especially if there is screw up on a paycheck here and there. Lemme tell ya folks, the wheels at some companies turn slowly and if they fix a mistake within two months, they think they were all over it and got it done quickly. Meanwhile you’re in the deep end of the pool with your hands and feet tied trying to float enough to catch a breath. The combination of these things can be a bitch sometimes and on the rare, extremely rare, occasion, Cherie and I will squabble, nothing big as far as squabbles go, but still. Anyway, we had such a tiff this last weekend and after soccer pictures we had a chance to run a couple errands without the kids (a break we desperately needed) and in the midst of errands we stopped at Chili’s for a quick bite. I’ve bitched about Chili’s on here before due to their lack of vegetarian options and if you look at the 2 for $20 menu there are no options at all. At the same time, I was worn out and I just wanted to relax with Cherie so I had the mushroom-swiss burger and we shared a chocolate lava cake (or whatever Chili’s calls it) for dessert. Per the rules I set out before starting, I did get right back on the wagon, but at the time, it was just one less thing to stress about.
Truth be told, the time was well spent. An hour to slow down and people watch with Cherie (one of our favorite pastimes) was wonderful. The burger however felt like a big pile of toxic crud in my stomach. I was actually more than happy to get back on hummus with some veggies and whole wheat pita later on that night. I didn’t feel sick, but I didn’t feel good either. This little episode really made me think about what I’d be eating after the 3rd when this little experiment ends, but that topic is for next week.

This week I wanted to talk about food. Not that I just wasn’t talking about food, but in a different way. It’s a little unfortunate that I started this vegan venture when I did. With the kids starting soccer and school it has been difficult to do much food experimenting and now is really the time to be doing it. Late summer and everything is available. The farmer’s market last week had some of the most amazing heirloom tomatoes, just incredible. So I get these things home and I’m wondering what to do with them and of course the best answer is: nothing. Ultimately I sliced them thick and sprinkled them with a pinch of pepper and kosher salt then a light drizzle of olive oil. Just wonderful they were, even (and this is big) the kids ate them.
That’s really the key to the food issue right there, keep it simple, the food doesn’t need much help, much less than meat. I hear all the time, “I just love a good steak.” Me too. If you order steak in a restaurant though, especially one that specializes in steaks, you might be surprised. A couple restaurants I’ve been in dry age steaks themselves. Now, “dry aged” sounds cool, but it really means letting it sit in the corner of the walk-in refrigerator until it comes close to turning bad. Lemme tell ya, these things will get a bit pungent from time to time. Then the cooks cut it, season the hell out it, mark it on the grill and throw it in a 500ºF oven until it hit the right level of doneness. Then they put it on a cutting board and let it rest while they make the sauce which is ALWAYS a high percentage of butter, manufacturing cream (heavy, heavy cream, like 40% fat minimum), or both along with whatever flavoring is specified for the menu item. Rarely is there a straight demi sauce without cream, but sometimes. Even if you order a steak without sauce, it’s most likely buttered. The butter gives it a rich taste and makes it shiny as the server carries it through the dining room at eye level for everyone to see before they put it in front of you. By the way, that’s in a higher end restaurant, your local mini-mall, national chain, family eatery may be using cheaper cuts of beef that have been injected (just like on the infomercial) and premarked on the grill. That’s how they get the food out so quickly when there are 150 people in the dining room. It’s a volume business for them and quite frankly, it’s what we as consumers expect. Be honest, if Applebee’s took 30 min. to get your food out, you’d bitch.
I didn’t go through all that to discourage anyone from eating a steak, but to show that a relatively simple meat dish goes through a lot of preparation and still doesn’t stand on its own. Vegan meals have a much simpler feel for me. Absolutely there’s some prep work and of course I use seasoning, but still. Here are some of my favorites so far:
Hummus-pureed chickpeas with a much debated list of flavorings, but nothing bizarre.
Watermelon-sometimes kicked up with some minced Serrano peppers and lime juice.
Tabbouleh-Middle Eastern bulgur salad with parsley and tomatoes.
Grilled Portobello caps brushed with a little olive oil, garlic, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
Oatmeal with orange juice, pecans, and a little raw sugar.
Babaganoush-a Middle Eastern eggplant concoction
Spinach dhal-Indian lentil stew with spinach served with flat bread, totally badass.
Vegan dishes can be made complicated of course; look at the stuff they did on Top Chef Masters, absolutely amazing.

Seasons by the way, are wonderful even here in most California where we don’t really have a winter. I can’t wait until fall sets in with all those amazing squashes, and apples and all that yumminess. Now, I’m going back to eating meat. We have a vacation planned and part of it is a ball game in Seattle; home of the Ichi-roll, Ichi-dog, and all kinds of nummy things that I plan on enjoying in my Ichi-seat. Not to mention Serious Pizza and whatever Pike’s market has in store for me. That said, I am not eating meat like before again. Now this is going to sound like some New Age, hippie commune, Zen, weirdo, Yoga, dye-free crap, but truth be told, I feel more in touch with my body, more clear minded, and more in touch with…the earth, I guess, than I had previously. Spend some time walking around a farmer’s market and you start to notice a difference as the weeks go by in what’s available, what’s at it’s peak, and what’s coming next as the seasons change and the cycle starts over again and that my explain the “earth” comment above. I’m not out hugging trees or licking frogs or anything like that.

Anyway, no fuck you’s this week. Just one prop, to my family for tolerating this whole thing without breakin’ my balls about it too much. Love you guys, you rock!

No recipe this week, but try something you’ve never have preferably from the farmer’s market or at least from a part of the produce section you’ve never entered before, some strange looking melon or whatnot.

© Carl Mealie, 2009

2009-08-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

That’s two weeks of veganism, at least dietary veganism, down with two more to go. I guess what you might call a honeymoon period is really ending and the whole thing is a little more challenging and at the same time more bearable. I don’t really know how to explain that entirely, but what I more or less mean is that I’m not getting busted by unforeseen challenges as much as I am by old routines. Couple of examples: ordered pizza for the kids last week, that was a bitch. Last night we were going to a baseball game and Cherie had been up late the night before, we both had been actually (minds out of the gutter, one of the kids was feeling sick) so we hit the Starbucks drive thru before getting on the freeway and just smelling that mocha was tough. Really the worst was the baseball game itself. The only things on the menu I found I could eat were soft pretzels, peanuts, and maybe the plain fries. Baseball without hot dogs for me just ain’t the same. It was a great game, I had a great time, and ate a few soft pretzels, but I would have loved a hot dog. By the way, I order a pretzel, they ask if I want cheese, I say no, but when they give me the pretzel they still set two warm, melted cheese containers in front of me. C’mon, work with me here, people! Just as an aside here, the first two weeks to a month you spend in the culinary academy is in food safety classes and learning about all the various ways food can kill people. Needless to say, when I’m out and about, I notice yucky food situations. At the game, they had a container of sauerkraut sitting out on a table where all the other condiments are. Now I don’t know for sure, but keeping sauerkraut outside when it’s 97°F seems like a bad idea, but maybe that’s just me.

That said, I didn't blow it this week at all as far as I can tell. I feel really good and I've lost about seven pounds so far. The best change for me is that I feel so much more clear minded. Well, that and gas. Flatulence is fun! Go fiber! (This was worse at first but it's getting better as my body adapts to the new diet. I'm not entirely gross, just having a bit of fun here.)

I’ve said before that compassion for animals wouldn’t be enough to make me stop eating meat and I stick by that, but I think there is reason to at least cut back on meat consumption that is not entirely cruelty related, but is more health related. The things we do to animals bred for consumption in this country are remarkable. In that I’m referring to the chemistry involved in the industry. In general, I, and I imagine most of us, tend to think that our regulatory agencies do their jobs and make sure that the products we consume are safe and that being the United States, the most developed country in the world, we would be the leaders in that respect. That’s why I guess it struck me that the overwhelming majority of other countries refuse to import meat and poultry from the U.S. Apparently the chemicals we use as pesticides, which are sprayed directly onto animals, and the stuff we use to make animals grow faster and stay hopefully healthy in incredibly cramped conditions are really super duper bad for us, and have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and just about every other nasty illness known to medicine, including impotence, I might add. This shouldn’t really be news to anyone. In the back of our minds, we have to be as aware of this as we are of what has to happen in a slaughterhouse. Consider how many chickens have to be raised and slaughtered annually. We have chicken a couple times a week, and we’re just one family. Just to throw the numbers out there, we’re talking about 8 billion or so chickens and 270 million turkeys (USDA, 2003). The notion of Farmer John throwing feed to his chickens can’t possible hold up. Regulatory agencies are largely staffed by people from the industry who tend to move on to high paying jobs back in the industry after leaving the regulating body. Can you say “conflict of interest?” I don’t want to change anybody’s mind and quite frankly, after the 3rd I’m going to be eating meat again myself, though in reduced amounts for sure, but the bottom line here is that nobody is looking out for you except you in this regard so be aware of what you’re eating. Don’t buy into the “free range” crap either; it so isn’t what you think. Anyway…

So last week, I issued a number of “fuck you’s” to a number of entities and I’m going to do so again, but first a couple props.

Props to Luna’s in Sacramento for having vegan options and for knowing exactly what is, and what is not vegan on their menu. That’s not as easy as it sounds when you consider items like tortillas, so props there.

Props to Baja Fresh for doing a better job than Rubio’s.

Props to Sunchips. The ingredient list is very short, which is good and I couldn’t find any animal products, plus they’re yummy.

Fuck you to Mercy for Animals. I went to this website which was supposed to have some good vegan recipes and the sidebar says something like “click here for your free vegetarian starter kit.” Okay, so I ordered my “kit.” The kit is actually a 30-page pamphlet, the first 10 pages of which are filled with pictures from slaughterhouses, dairies, and other unpleasant spots. Hey, douche bags, I’m requesting the starter kit, I’m already on board, save the crap for people requesting an “informational kit.” Also, a pamphlet is not a “kit.” Fuck you guys, you suck.

Fuck you to Chili’s. Now I like Chili’s too, but simply having a black bean burger on the menu is pretty sad. How about some Portobello and asparagus fajitas? How bout fuckin’ anything? Uncreative bitches.

Recipe of the Week

1 Whole Wheat Pita
Hummus
Tomato
Spinach
Any other veggies that interest you

Smear hummus on pita, top with spinach and then everything else. Fold and try to eat with making too big of a mess. Try a peach for dessert.

By the way, I’m searching for the perfect hummus recipe, will share when I find it.

Grace, peace, and love to all y’all.

© Carl Mealie, 2009

2009-08-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

Alright, so that’s one week as a fledgling vegan in the books. I wish I could say that I pulled it off clean, but I can’t . Let’s just take a look at the scorecard really quickly:

I didn’t intentionally consume any animal products, but
On one occasion, Rubio’s slipped a little sour cream into my roasted veggie burrito even though I was clear about my requirements. There was a bit of a language barrier going on there but still. If I say “I’ll have the Roasted Vegetable Burrito, no cheese, no sour cream,” then the guy taking my order should be able to handle that.
I ordered soup and salad at the Olive Garden thinking it was my best option but as it turned out, there is parmesan cheese in the salad dressing.
This one I should have known better because I have been known to make my own pasta on occasion and I know that there are eggs in it, but for some reason, and this was purely unintentional, this fact skipped my mind and I had pasta dishes on 2 occasions, once at home, and again at the Olive Garden with little shells in my minestrone soup (noted on the menu as a “vegetarian classic,” by the way).

All in all, I’d say not bad for a first week. I definitely want to give some props to the real vegans out there. It ain’t easy and all I’m doing is food. I wouldn’t want to have to worry about things like clothes and baseball gloves and all kinds of other crap. My vegetarian brother has told me in the past that he’s never met a happy vegan and I can understand why, it’s a pain in the ass. Aside from the examples above where I stepped on a couple animal product landmines, let me just throw this example out at you, and this happened to me on Saturday.

It’s been a hectic day. Kids have soccer practice, I’m trying to get in contact with the parents of the other team that I’m coaching to schedule practice, talking to the other coach to make sure we’re on the same page, and I have a 20-page term paper due the following Monday. Cherie has a busy day scheduled as well with community arts board meetings, personal trainer appointment, vehicle service appointment, and counting votes for the Bean Queen (seriously). I need a quick dinner, I don’t have time for chopping and all that other crap. So I run to Safeway and grab this huge take and bake pizza for the family which costs $7.49. Did I mention we’re on a pretty tight budget at the moment? Anyway, so the kids are taken care of with the pizza and Cherie will be eating with the girls later on, so I just need something for myself and again, something I can make quickly. Ultimately my choices boil down to an Annie’s no cheese, roasted vegetable pizza which is personal size at $12.95, or a package of two frozen vegetable spring rolls that are marked “vegan” at the low, low price of $7.95. Ultimately I said “fuck it” and came home and had some whole wheat toast with almond butter and a drizzle of honey.

All that said, I feel pretty good. I had a headache for a few days but that went away and I have more energy than I’ve had in a while, plus my head feels a little more clear. I’ll weigh in on Thursday to see how that aspect of things is going but I don’t feel hungry at all hardly. One thing, at this is a little…tacky I guess, but when nature calls, the call must be heeded most rikki tik. Consuming veggies and beans means really a lot of fiber, so be sure and hang out in places with clean, functioning bathrooms. I’m just sayin.’

Alright, a couple fuck you’s:
Fuck you to Rubio’s for putting sour cream on my burrito when I asked you not to.

Fuck you to the food industry for giving me nothing. Is it too much to ask for one option? I mean really.

And even though I’m using one of their recipes as my recipe of the week, fuck you to Moosewood, and quite frankly, all the other so-called vegetarian or vegan cookbook makers. Candle Café, get your damn proportions correct! I’m a chef bitches, I can look at the recipe and know it won’t work. Moosewood, can you add just a little more butter or dairy to your recipes maybe? And for crying out loud, use a font like everybody else! I don’t find your handwritten cookbook charming. Give me some recipes that actually celebrate the food. Fruit and vegetables and grains and legumes are amazing, let’s try to be a little original with them instead of just converting traditional recipes by using soy milk and cheese. Which reminds me: fuck you to soy cheese. I am convinced that when it comes to texture, meltability, smell, and taste, that the only differences between soy cheese and shredded racquetball bits is a little food coloring.

Seriously, if you want to find some worthwhile recipes, look in cookbooks from cultures that have a vegan tradition such as Indian, some Asian, and even some Mediterranean although the latter usually contains some kind of cheese.

Alright I’m done. Here’s a recipe from Moosewood and my favorite of the week.
Reprinted without permission. Seriously I didn’t ask and I’m not sure if I should.

Tart and Tangy Baked Beans
Serves 6-8

3 cups dry pinto beans soaked for at least 4 hrs
4 cups chopped onions
Olive oil
1 ½ -2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Cumin
1 ½ tsp dry mustard
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
3-4 Tbsp Molasses
Black Pepper to taste
Pinch crushed Red Pepper
3 medium Granny Smith or other tart apples cut into medium-sized chunks
4 medium sized ripe tomatoes

Place presoaked beans in a pot and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours, adding water if needed. Drain any excess water after cooking.

Saute onions in oil over and add garlic, sauté for a few more minutes (do not burn the garlic) then add salt, chili powder, cumin, and mustard and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add this sauté to the beans along with the remaining ingredients and combine.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Transfer bean mixture to a deep casserole or 9” by 13” baking pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour.

Serve with rice or tortillas.

The Experiment

2009-07-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading a bit lately about the benefits of a vegan diet and I gotta say, it’s not an unconvincing argument. Just to get this out of the way, part of that argument centers on the conditions in which animals that are grown for their meat live and the means by which they are slaughtered along with the cleanliness of the slaughter houses. I’m not unsympathetic to these claims, nor do I think they are false. All one has to do is look at the meat industry’s reply to charges of inhumane treatment of animals that, for the most part, are along the lines of “Well, we do our best.” There’s no doubt in my mind that the conditions are horrendous, but that wouldn’t stop me from eating meat. Sorry, it just won’t. The whole vegan lifestyle will never be mine whether I eat meat or not. My interest in a vegan diet is primarily a health issue. I’m not going to go into all the arguments here since others already have and it’s not really the point of this thing. The point of this thing is the experiment.

So the experiment is: can I do it for a month, and if I can, would it make a difference? One month is not a huge amount of time but anybody who has seen Super Size Me (if you haven’t, do so) will recall that 30 days of nothing but McDonalds did a huge amount of damage to an otherwise healthy guy. Aside from sort of being the opposite of that, my experiment will not have a whole heck of a lot in common with his. I’m an otherwise unhealthy guy (no diseases like cancer or anything, but anybody who sees me would think I’m unhealthy) and I’m not going to take physicals or have frequent medical tests or anything of that. This is strictly about whether or not I can follow the diet since I’m a foodie and I enjoy good food. I can’t eat just anything, I have to enjoy it. Throwing soybeans at me isn’t going to work. Also, as I stated earlier, does it make me feel better.

I understand the “feeling better” thing isn’t exactly a scientific term. It’s just based on my perception. For the record, I feel yucky now. There’s an equally scientific term for ya, “yucky.” In general, I’m tired. Beyond the normal tired that comes from a busy routine, I feel fatigued. Also, parts of my body just randomly hurt. I don’t sleep through the night because my back and shoulders hurt. In general, I feel crummy which is the same as yucky but I’m trying to work in a different adjective.

While this isn’t going to be a scientific experiment, there have to be some rules.
1. No animal based food to include dairy, butter, and broth, and of course (gulp) bacon.
2. In order to be fair, I can’t change the way I live and generally eat. For example, I can’t all of a sudden develop a strict workout regimen. I go to the gym periodically now and I’ll continue to do so. Also, if would have seconds, I’ll have seconds, no sudden portion controls. In short, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing just changing what I eat.
3. What I eat, has to be logged, otherwise I won’t remember.
4. If I fall off the wagon I have to immediately get back on. I have a habit of doing the “Well I blew it so I might as well wait until Monday to restart” thing even though it’s like, Thursday. I’m not planning to fail but there has to be a rule just in case.

I had thought that maybe I should go a month first just tracking what I’m doing now so that I would have a baseline for comparison and then I could also add food costing to the experiment, but I decided against it. I’ve had the last 40 years for a baseline and if I have to bail on the experiment because for budgetary reasons then I need to rework what I’m eating and start again. I tend to believe that diets all cost more or less the same and it really comes down to choices.

Anyway, so that’s it. I just need a start date. I was thinking 8/1 but that’s not reasonable right now but for sure within the next 2 weeks. Will keep ya posted, assuming anybody read this. I’ll write anyway, just may not be keeping anyone posted.