Teenage Health Nut

Chickpea Sandwich and Stirfry

2008-06-27T14:05:00.004-05:00

A few days ago I made a delicious chickpea sandwich for lunch. I took half a large Ezikiel tortilla and filled it with lettuce, cold chickpeas, and alfalfa sprouts. It was simple, but very satisfying. The picture sucks, I know.

I also made a tasty stirfry using some eggplant and zucchini from the farmer's market. Here is the recipe:

Cherry's Zucchini Eggplant Stirfry

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 eggplant, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
3-4 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 15 oz can baby corn, drained and rinsed
1 cup of liquid of choice(water/broth/stock/vegetable steaming water)
1 T arrowroot powder or corn starch
1 T bragg's or soy sauce
.5 tsp. crush red pepper
7-8 oz tofu, cut into small trangles

Saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of liquid until onion is translucent. Then add eggplant, carrot, mushrooms, zucchini and baby corn and cook until carrots are easily pierced with a fork, about 10-20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the liquid of choice with the arrowroot, bragg's and crushed red pepper. When the vegetables are done, add this mixture as well as the tofu to the pan and cook a few minutes until tofu is warm and the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve with quinoa or other grain, if desired.

Yesterday I went to the Rec Center for the first time and worked out in the fitness room. I didn't do too much, I mainly wanted to see what equipment they have. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it! I will try to go there and strength train at least 2-3 times a week, in addition to my walk/jogs.

One Wild Chick Soup!

2008-06-23T10:23:00.005-05:00

I finally got my hands on Eat Drink and Be Vegan by borrowing it from the library. Yesterday I made my first recipe from it: One Wild Chick Soup! It had chickpeas, wild rice, carrots, celery and herbs. It was a little bit on the bland side(maybe because I left out to salt), but in a good, comforting way, not in a disgusting tasteless way, if that makes any sense. I can't wait to try more recipes from this book!

A few days ago my family join the Pflugerville Rec Center. It has a weight room and an indoor(air conditioned!) track, and a basketball court. I've been wanting to start doing some strength training, so this is a great way to start. I've been doing pretty good with my walking and jogging, but what I really need is to tone and strengthen my muscles. And maybe it will help me get rid of the weight I've put on in the last 6 months. I'm not overweight, but I'm not thin like I used to be, and I have no muscle tone. I want to get in better shape.

Farmer's Market and Steamed Vegetables

2008-06-20T10:49:00.005-05:00

Every Tuesday for the past month and a half, the Pflugerville Farmer's Market has been open. I was so excited about this because now are going there almost every week; before, when we had to drive all the way to Austin for a farmer's market, it happened much less often, only a few times a year. They have lots of delicious produce- berries, Fredericksburg peaches(which are THE BEST PEACHES, no contest), squash, tomatoes, peppers, and more. They have delicious herbal teas, live music, and VEGAN BAKED GOODS from Happy Vegan Bakery. When I first saw this, I couldn't believe it. Fresh vegan baked goods in Pflugerville? You mean I don't have to go all the way to Dhaba Joy? Sweet! The baker is a really sweet young woman from South Africa. She offers cupcakes, brownies, oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and recently, bread, all vegan. This past Tuesday, I bought a Banana Carmel Cupcake, which was fantastic.

Last night I made a recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch called Steamed Vegetables and Tofu with Brown Rice. But instead of the sauce they suggest making for it, I just seasoned it with a tiny bit of Bragg's and left out the pine nuts, since I didn't have any. Also, I used a yellow squash from the farmer's market instead of the broccoli, since we also had broccoli on the side(which I ate before taking the picture). I really like this recipe because it was really simple and really healthy, and the Bragg's gave it just enough extra flavor, but not too much.

Today is the first day of summer. HA! It's been 100 degrees for the past month or longer here.

My first tag post!

2008-06-18T10:32:00.003-05:00

I can't believe I've never done a meme before! Paulina of Veggie Delight was kind enough to tag me with this meme.

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE? I seriously can't remember, I don't go to the theater much, I'd rather just wait to rent them because I'm cheap like that. The last movie I rented was The Golden Compass. Not as good as the book, but still a great movie.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING? Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America by Nathan Winograd.

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? Chinese Checkers

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? National Geographic

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS? Cinnamon, cedar and pine trees and fresh bread

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS? My favorite songs, cats purring, and really, really hard rain

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Not realizing you've made a stupid mistake until immediately after it's too late to do anything about it

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE? Trying to get out the door for my run/walk before it gets too hot

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE? Ewww, no thanks, I don't eat that junk.

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? I don't want to have children, but if I change my mind probably Marina for a girl and Joshua for a boy.

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D...Use some to pay for college, give some to my parents and brothers, buy only organic food, travel all over the world, and give the rest to charities that I believe in.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST? No

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? No

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Mostly cool, except tornadoes and hurricanes

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? I don't have a car yet.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Water, of course.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…Go to the humane society more often.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes, I love broccoli stems.

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Black or something weird like blue or green.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN? I lived in Austin, TX until I was 3, since then I've lived in Pflugerville, which is just outside of Austin. How boring!

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I don't like sports.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Paulina seems very smart and friendly and determined to achieve her goals.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED? Dust bunnies and the carpet

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? No, that would be boring. I would want to be a different person or even a non-human animal.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Morning person, I'm always up before 7:00.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? I didn't even like eggs before I was vegan!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX? At my computer.

28) FAVOURITE PIE? I don't like pie, so I've never tried to make a vegan pie.

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR? Vanilla Oatscream

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST? Probably aTxVegn, she updates her blog pretty often.

I tag:
Ruby Red Vegan of Ruby Red Vegan
Peggy the Veggie of Vegan Teen Cuisine
Freedom of The Raw Vegan Princess
aTxVegn of eat'n veg'n vegan food and recipes
Veg-a-Nut of Life on the Vegan Highway is Good!

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

2008-06-17T11:23:00.003-05:00

On Sunday night, I made Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry from Veganomicon. It was very tasty and healthy, but it's one of those recipes that tastes better the next day. I ate leftovers last night, and they were much more flavorful, and the red lentils had thickened up a little more. It was mostly cauliflower, red lentils, onions and parsnips with various spices, including my favorite, cinnamon. I haven't had parsnips since I made this a year and a half ago, but really liked them in this dish. They have a starchy taste and texture and are slightly sweet, like a sweet potato, but white instead of orange, and probably less calories than a sweet potato.

Yesterday was my first day volunteering at the library. It was pretty fun, I helped out with this program for teens in the summer reading program, and then cleaned children's tapes. I'm going to volunteer there every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Have a great day everyone!

No more high school!

2008-06-14T09:18:00.007-05:00

A week before yesterday (June 6), I graduated from high school! My grandma came down from Connecticut on the Wednesday before it, and left three days ago. It was pretty
exciting! I have been waiting for high school to be over since I was a freshman, and now it finally is! Because my grandma was here, we ate out a lot. After picking her up on Wednesday, we lunch ate at Mother's, and on Friday after my graduation, we ate at Kerby Lane, since my older brother was with us. Then for dinner, we ate at Casa de Luz. I had never been there before, even though it's the only 100% vegan restaurant in Austin. The food was very tasty, but it was pretty expensive and it was a little confusing. It is sort of buffet style. You get your own soup and salad and can eat as much as you want, but everything else comes on a plate. We weren't sure if we were supposed to have more than one of these plates. Over the weekend, I stayed home with my brother while my parents and my grandma went to see some boring painted churches. I was happy to have some time away from my grandma, who likes to complain and b**** about everything. I was sick of her telling me to "do something with your hair" and saying that vegan food is gross and a million other things. When they came back on Monday, I cooked some scrambled tofu and pancakes for dinner. My brother didn't even try them, but my grandma liked them, even though they're vegan. On Tuesday, we went to San Antonio to go to the SAS shoe store and then we went to Green again, for lunch. I bought something for dinner too because on the way back, we were going to stop in San Marcos to eat with my other brother (he's 23), and the only vegan friendly restaurant there is Thai Thai Cafe, which my brother eats at all the time. For lunch at Green, I ordered cece's stir fry with brown rice and sweet potato fries. This was very delicious, with lots of sauce and lots of veggies and some crispy, breaded tofu. I ordered the Raw Deal Wrap with fruit salad and kale salad to save for dinner. The kale salad was kind of weird(too salty maybe), but the wrap was pretty good. The next day, my grandma finally left.

A few days before my grandma came, I made Brussel Sprouts Go Asian from FatFree Vegan Kitchen and served it on Tofu Shirataki noodles with steamed broccoli. This was my first time trying both brussel sprouts and Tofu Shirataki noodles. The brussel sprouts were okay, but some of the bigger ones were a little bitter. The tofu noodles had a weird taste and texture, but they were good enough. Other than that, this was a pretty tasty dish.

Last night and the night before, I had Creamy Curried Veggies from How it all Vegan. This was very delicious and healthy, after a week of eating out too much. I subbed unsweetened almond milk for the coconut milk to make it healthier. I've been wanting to make Indian food lately; I can't remember the last time I cooked an Indian dish.

While my grandma was here, I more or less stopped exercising, so now I have to get back into the routine and start where I left off, with walking 4 minutes and running 1 and repeating for an hour. I want to also do some strength training, because I'm weak and not toned at all, and I want to change that.

School's Almost Over!

2008-05-24T11:36:00.005-05:00

I just have one 4 day week of school left, and we're not really going to do any really work. Everyone has major Senioritis, so it would be pointless. And I don't have to take any of my finals because my school has this policy where you don't have to take finals in each class that you have an average of 80 or above and less than 3 absences. But my actual graduation isn't until a week after the last day of school. So I'm pretty much done with high school now, forever!

A lot has happened in the last 2 months. First of all, I know where I'm going to college-UT. I got rejected from both Stanford and UC-Berkeley, so I basically have no other choice. I was upset, but maybe it's for the best. I'll be able to come home whenever I want, and I'll be more familiar with the area. And UT's a great school too. And I'm going to live in Royal Co-op! Also, I did very well at the District and Regional UIL competitions, and made it to State in science! If you make it to state, you're eligible for hundreds of scholarships, with about a 50% chance of getting one! I won't know until July what, if anything, I will receive. I do already have $30,000 worth of scholarships from two different scholarships, but it would be great to get more.

I also finished all my AP tests about a week ago, all 6 of them- BC Calculus, Physics C Mechanics, Physics C E&M, English Literature, US Government and Macroeconomics. Calculus, Government and Macroeconomics weren't too hard at all, but both Physics exams and the Lit exam were brutal. I'm hoping to get 5's on everything except Lit, and a 4 on Lit.

Sorry that there's no pictures in this post, I having been cooking much at all lately, up until this past Wednesday, my life has been pretty hectic. After I was done with my AP tests, I had to work on this really stupid Scrapbook project that my English teacher made us do. So I had to work on that all last weekend and until Wednesday when it was due.

Last Saturday morning, I started a 10 day raw food cleanse. Not only am I eating only raw, unprocessed food, but I am also eating no high fat foods, like nuts, seeds, avocado, etc, and no dried fruits. So basically, that leaves fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. I've actually had little trouble doing this. I've been tracking my consumption on Nutrition Data, and I've been able to get at least 100% of the daily value of all vitamins and all but a few minerals(Iron and Selenium, and some days Phosphorus). My protein has been only slightly on the low side(31-46 g). Since this is only temporary, it's fine to be slightly low. So far, I've also lost 7 of the 12 pounds that I've gained since January(!), mostly by binging very often. The cleanse ends Monday night. I will end the cleanse gradually by eating some raw nuts on Monday night, then add in steamed vegetables on Tuesday, then add beans on Wednesday, and after that any other foods I have been avoiding(grains, bread, etc.).

I've been enjoying the simple, delicious foods that the start of summer brings-fresh, raw corn, ripe tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, cherries.

Also, I'm going to be volunteering at the Library this summer, as well as volunteering more often at the Humane Society. I will probably get a job too, and start exercising more often. Today a went on a 55 minute walk/jog, and then did an hour of yoga. I'm going to gradually increase the percentage of jog I do during the walk/jog.

Edit:
I almost forgot to mention, on April 17, I turned 18! I'm finally an adult.

That's all for now. Hopefully now that it's summer, I can update more often.

Back From California!

2008-03-23T10:35:00.007-05:00

It's been nearly two months since my last post. Oh my! But this time I'm not going to apologize because I've been busy with things that are more important than keeping up with this blog. These past two months sure have been eventful. I don't even know where to start!

Well, I finished all my financial aid stuff for college in February. I went to the two dinners required for the House of Commons co-op. I think I prefer Royal co-op, but if I apply to both I have a back up in case Royal is too full. I'm not even sure if I'm even going to UT yet, so I can't reserve a spot in either co-op until I decide, which could take until mid-April. By then Royal might be full since it can only take 17 people. I've also gotten two rejection letters. One was from the UT Engineering Honors program and the other was from MIT. The rejection from the honors program was very disappointing because I thought it was pretty much a given that I would get in. But apparently it's very competitive, especially for chemical engineering, which I applied to. And it seems to me that their decision is about 90% based on SAT scores. You basically have to 1500 or more (math+reading). I was not the least bit surprise about the rejection from MIT. However, a girl in my class got in and another guy was put on the wait list. The girl has a lower gpa and class rank than me, less extracurriculars(as far as I know), similar or possible slightly lower or higher SATs. I think the reason she got in, while I wasn't even waitlisted was that she's Hispanic. Oh well. Where I really want to go is UC Berkeley. I will find out if I get in there on March 27 (this Thursday!). Then on April 1, I will hear from Stanford. I'm not too optimistic about Stanford after my rejection from MIT, since Stanford has an even lower admission rate.

I've also been busy with school work and UIL. The first six weeks of the semester ended three weeks ago(1 week before spring break). I was surprised when I got my report card, because I literally got a 100 in every class. I always make good grades, but never perfect in every class! I've gone to two UIL competitions since my last post, one on Feb. 9 at Wimberly and one on Feb. 23 at Westwood, and district is next Saturday. At Wimberly, I really cleaned up! Our school got 1st place team in Mathematics, Calculator and Science. I got 4th place in Science, 1st in Calculator, and 2nd in Mathematics. Then at Westwood, which was a larger tournament with 5A schools, our team got 1st in Science and 2nd or 3rd in Calculator(I don't remember which). I also got 1st in Science and 3rd in Mathematics, with a 300 and 214, respectively, which are both personal records! I didn't do so hot in Calculator, though, only 143. I usually get around 170's or 180's in Calculator. At school, I recently met two sophomores at lunch that are vegetarians and would be vegans if their parents would approve. One of them notice that I was wearing a vegan freak t-shirt one day. Now I eat lunch with them everyday. It's so awesome!

On this past Tuesday, I came back from my trip to California. I went there on Tuesday the 11th, which was during my spring break, and had to miss Monday and Tuesday after spring break. California was wonderful! I saw Berkeley and Stanford and even visited some of the co-ops at Berkeley. I think I fell in love with Berkeley, both the school itself and the town. I really hope I get in and can afford to go there! The out of state fees make it quite expensive, especially compared to UT. In addition to seeing the schools, we also explored San Fransisco and went to Golden Gate Park, Muir Woods and Point Reyes. It was very hard to park and get around San Fransico. While there, we went to their amazing farmer's market and ate at Herbivore. I can't remember if we did much else there...most of our time was spent looking for parking! Herbivore was pretty good, but I was hard to enjoy it when we felt so rushed, since our parking meter had a 1 hour limit, including walking several blocks between the car and the restaurant. I ordered vegetable kabobs with soy chikin and quinoa and soy ice cream for dessert. Other than that, we didn't go to any restaurants because we wanted to save money. We ate hummus and pita for lunches and sometimes dinner, and we made a simple lentil dish that lasted for two dinners. We also ate lunch at one of the dining halls at Berkeley, where they had almost as many vegan options as omni options! Vegan pizza with vegan cheese, vegan hot dogs, vegan sloppy joes, vegan tacos,a nice salad bar, even a daily vegan dessert! The Whole Foods in Berkeley sold a variety of vegan cakes, vegan donuts, vegan donut holes and huge chocolate vegan cupcakes. I tried each one of these on the trip.

We weren't at Golden Gate park long, but we did see the Golden Gate bridge:

We saw a coyote at Point Reyes:

Here is a lighthouse at Point Reyes:

We also saw elephant seals:

Elk, but you can barely see them:

Deer:

Here's a picture from Muir Woods:

It was a pretty awesome trip!

Now here's a few food picture's I've taken.

This is a soup a made at the beginning of February. Sorry, I don't remember what it was!

These muffins are Susan's Berry and Spice Muffins. I made a few changes. I used date sugar in the topping and omitted the margarine, used all whole wheat pastry flour, and used an equal amount of agave nectar for the sugar. I also used unsweetened almond milk instead of soymilk. I asked Susan whether agave nectar could be substituted for the sugar, and she thought this might solve the dryness problem she had. It did! These were moist enough, but not too moist, and very delicious!

I made pancakes! I've never made pancakes before! These are the Banana Pecan Pancakes from VWAV. I used all w/w pastry flour, almond milk, omit the 1 T of oil, and used walnuts instead of pecans. I topped it with sliced bananas and pure maple syrup. My dad thought these were better than omni pancakes! At first I had trouble making these, but after the first few a got the hang of it.

I got Veganomicon from my mom for a valentines gift. I don't usually get valentines gifts, it was really just an excuse for her to get me this book since she knew I wanted it. I made the chickpea cutlets that everyone's been raving about and made a sandwich with Ezikel bread, lettuce, hummus, tomato, and a cutlet. I baked them it the oven. I really liked them, but my mom didn't because they were very chewy.

One Friday, I went to a Whole Foods "Eat-up" with the Vegans Rock Austin group. I've gone to one other meet up with them in January, to Mr. Natural. We ate at the flagship Wholefoods downtown this time. They have a buffet type area where you can get several different types of food and pay $7.99/lb. for all of it. I also got a sorbet and a slice of vegan Nutty Monkey Cake, and my Dad bought me Clif Nectar bars and a 365 brand vegan dark chocolate bar for Easter. Only my dad and I went, since my mom is very shy. Most of the members of the group are in their 20's or early thirties, so they were all older than me and younger than my dad. Despite the age difference, we still had a great time. It's great to meet other vegans in my area!
Well, I really have more to say, but I'll probably post about it later today or tomorrow morning before school. Have a great day everyone!

Rockport, a Few Meals and Other Happenings

2008-01-28T20:17:00.000-06:00

My trip to Rockport was okay. We left on Friday the 18th and came back on Sunday. I had last Monday off and we were planning to stay until Monday, but by then we were ready to go home. The main reason was that it was too cold and wet to do anything other than sit in our tiny cabin and read. The first night we got there was rather unpleasant. We arrived pretty late, and the heaters in the place weren't working. We finally had to tell one of the managers about it. It turns out that the circuit was tripped. He was able to get them running. Meanwhile, it was pouring outside.

Saturday was a little better. It was still pretty cold, but it stopped raining. We went to a wildlife preserve and saw whooping cranes and armadillos. There were supposed to be alligators there too, but it was too cold for them to be out. On Sunday, we went home, but not without stopping at Green! It was so delicious (but not too healthy!). I ordered sesame chikin with brown rice and a salad. My dad had zucchini enchiladas, brown rice and sweet potato fries and my mom had the popcorn tofu po boy with french fires. My dish was fantastic! The brown rice was great also, and had lentils in it. I tried the sweet potato fries, french fries and tofu po boy, which were also great, though the tofu po boy was a little too salty for me. I did not try my dad's zucchini enchilada(dairy cheese!). I also got a soft serve soy ice cream for dessert, which wasn't very good. I prefer oatscreme from Dhaba Joy!

While we were there, we made Chickpea Ratatouille from Vive Le Vegan using Chickpeas we cooked in the crockpot. I didn't realize beforehand that it had to be baked, so we didn't have anything to cover it with, but it still cooked in the right amount of time. I left out the vinegar and oil. It was very tasty and we had leftovers that we had to haul home in our cooler.

A day or two after we got back, since we still had some chickpeas (we cooked two pounds!) and some spinach that was getting old, we made Chickpea and Spinach Curry from Vegan with a Vengance. My parents enjoyed it, but I found it rather bland and the spinach had a slimy texture. Maybe one reason for this was that the recipe called for 2 TB of fresh ginger, and we barely had 1 TB.

After that, we STILL had some chickpeas, so we made Curried Garbanzo Beans . If I was forced to pick a favorite recipe, it would have to be this one. I have made this recipe several times. It can be a lifesaver when I'm short on time but demand something flavorful. It can't get much simpler than this-heat some spices and garlic, add chickpeas, mash, cook for twenty minutes, cut up some lemon, cilantro and tomato while wait, then mix them in when it's done cooking; serve. That's it. You can even leave out the lemon, cilantro and/or tomato if you really need to. The spices make it very flavorful, and it has a nice, thick and mushy texture, sort of like a thick dal. After we finish all the chickpeas, we made Chipotle Corn and Black Bean soup again.

On Saturday, I had my first UIL competition of the year! Our team actually went to two before this, one in November and one in December, but I had to take the SAT 1 and SAT 2 and had to miss both of them! This meet had very difficult tests, and we had to compete against 5A schools. Normally we only compete against other 4A schools. I didn't place in any of my math events, but I got 4th place in Science. In fact, I tied with the 3rd place winner, but there was a tiebreaker. I have another competition in two weeks. There will be less schools, and no 5A schools, so hopefully I will do better.

Last night I had dinner with the members of Royal Co-op. Having dinner with them is part of their application process. If I go to UT next year, I definitely want to live either in this co-op or the House of Commons. It is a great alternative to the dorms. Most of the dorms don't even have a kitchen, and you're required to buy a meal plan if you live in the dorms. Plus, the co-ops are about $2000-$3000 cheaper a year, even if you have your own room! And, these two serve only vegan food! The only catch is you have to do 5-6 hours of housework a week. But that can include helping cook the meals, which I actually enjoy.

I was pretty nervous about the dinner, but it went well. I'm pretty shy. They seemed like friendly people, and since most of them are vegetarian or vegan, they probably have many of the same interests as I do. Plus, several of them are science majors! The meal served was delicious and pretty healthy- gumbo from Veganomicon, salad, brown rice. For dessert, they had pineapple upside down cake.

Soup!

2008-01-18T07:58:00.000-06:00

Despite the cold weather, I haven't had soup in a long time. Until now! The day before yesterday I made a lentil soup recipe from one of my mom's magazines. I would post the recipe, but I can't find it right now! The original recipe called for ham (yuck) and celery, which we didn't have, so I left these two ingredients out. It also had carrots (which I doubled due to lack of celery), onions, garlic, spices, spinach, and a dried chipotle pepper. I thought I was going to be bland, but I was quite tasty.

Last night I made the Chipotle Corn Black Bean soup from Vive Le Vegan. Although the recipe said to blend it with a hand blend, I didn't do that because I like chunky soups. I liked it, and I especially liked the lime wedges squeezed over it. If you make this, don't leave that out!

At around noon today, after my mom gets out of work, my parents and I are going to Rockport. We'll be back Monday afternoon. See you then!

Lunch "Bowl" and Update on my Vacation

2008-01-15T13:42:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, I made a "bowl" for lunch, inspired by Veggiegirl's bowl-meals. It had quinoa cooked with onions, garlic, cumin, italian seasoning, tomato paste and a little bit of pinto beans and topped with steamed brocoli and kale, raw carrots, and grilled eggplant. I didn't actually make the eggplant from scratch. At HEB they sell frozen grilled eggplant, so I heated some of that up in the toaster oven.

I liked the "bowl," but it it took longer to make than I expected, and I nearly burned the quinoa because my b(r)other wouldn't leave me alone and I was trying to make a one-serving portion of it. There was a layer of quinoa stuck on the bottom, just barely starting to burn, but the rest was fine.

I have a update on my California trip: we postponed it until spring break in March. The reason we wanted to go in January in the first place was that we got great deals on the plane tickets ($99/person each way!) and it wasn't available during spring break when we bought the tickets. But then my dad thought it might not be a good idea to go now because there are some pretty bad storms in California right now. So then we looked and saw that they now have tickets available for the same price during spring break, so we changed our tickets. And we can go for a few extra days now, since it will be during spring break.

So now what are we doing over the 5 day weekend coming up? We are going to stay in the HEB cabins in Rockport! It's free since my dad works at HEB.

Back To School

2008-01-07T08:23:00.000-06:00

Today, in less than an hour, I have to go back to school. These past two weeks have gone by way, way too fast. Oh well, before I know it I'll be in California!

A few nights ago I made the Tomato-Olive Rice Bake from The Everyday Vegan. I left out the olives because I hate olives and the soy parmesan. It was tasty, but it was too watery and the top didn't brown, even after cooking it longer than it said to. Afterwards, I looked at the recipe and realized that I was supposed to drained the can of tomatoes it called for. Oh well. The next day we had leftovers, and when we reheated it, it wasn't watery anymore. This is definately one of those recipes that taste better the next day.

Last night, I made the Sweet and Simple Grain Pilaf from The Everyday Vegan. This was so easy to make! The recipe itself was flavorful, with lots of spices and sweet raisins. I used millet as the grain. I have never tried millet before. It was okay, but I prefer quinoa. I didn't really like the texture of the millet, it was kind of thick and sticky. But it only takes 20 minutes to cook, less time than brown rice.

Today is my brother's 20th birthday. I can't believe it! Now I'm the only teenager left in the family! Unfortunately, I'm not making him a vegan cake. He wouldn't touch it!

Happy 2008 From the World's Worst Blogger!

2008-01-03T10:21:00.000-06:00

Wow, so I haven't updated for 5 months. Sorry about that. Things have been kind of hectic. I stopped updating in august because the computer wasn't working. Then, around august 26ish, it was fixed, just a few days before school started. I had a lot of pictures that it had been planning to post about once the computer was fixed, but by then, there were so many that I was too lazy to do it. Plus, the school year was about to begin...and not just any school year...my senior year! Yeah! Finally! So, there has been a lot of crap to keep me busy and not cooking, like SAT 1's and SAT 2's and college applications and essays and scholarship applications, my UIL stuff, and schoolwork. I only have 5 classes this year, but it sure doesn't seem like it! Especially with AP Physics C. Oh how I long for AP Chem! So much easier and more fun than Physics.
Anyway, as of December 31, I was officially done with all my college apps. I applied to UT-Austin, MIT, UC-Berkeley and Stanford. I was all set on applying to Rice too, but I thought it over and realized that I would not choose it over UT if I had to choose between those two, and I've already been accepted to UT (they have rolling admission, plus if you're in the top 10% of your class, which I am, and you live in Texas, they automatically accept you). Since I can only go to one school, I'll eventually have to narrow it down anyway, so might as well start now and save my $60 application fee. Unless, of course, none of the other schools accept me...which is quite possible with that list. Honestly, it is extremely unlikely that I'll get into MIT or Stanford. Berkeley...maybe. Anyway, maybe I'll be able to cook and blog about what I cook much more often now that I'm done with that. I'll try to blog at least once a week from now on!
And guess where I'm going on January 16th, after midterms? California! Since there is a good possibility that I will get accepted to Berkeley, and I am also applying to Stanford, my parents and I decided that I should go and see those schools. Since I have Friday and Monday off, no midterms on Thursday, and can take a "campus day" on Tuesday, we will have almost a week to be there! It's going to be so much fun! I promise to take pictures and post them here! By the way, anyone have any good restaurant recomendations in the bay area? (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Palo Alto)
I do have a few pictures from the past few days. One New Years day, I made some Blackeyed peas with onions, garlic, chipotle powder and freshly ground pepper. It was pretty good, not fantastic or anything. I don't like blackeyed peas that much. Here it is with some steamed kale:

Yesterday, I made some cupcakes! I've never made vegan cupcakes before. When I was little, I probably helped my mom make some omni ones though. I used the Vanilla Agave Cupcakes recipe from VCTOTW. I used almond milk instead of soymilk and replaced the oil with applesauce and used WW Pastry flour. I only made a 1/2 batch because I do not want 12 cupcakes that only I will eat sitting around! (each of my parents would probably eat one, then I would be left to eat the other 10!) It actually only made 5 cupcakes instead of 6. I made some delcious frosting by mixing together 2 T of almond butter with 1 T of maple syrup. It made enough to frost 4 cupcakes, with a little bit left over for the other one. Here they are fresh out of the oven:

And after frosting:

And here's some with the wrapper off:

Here's one I took using the new camera I got for Christmas in "food" mode:

And this is my new camera!

My parents got me a camera for Christmas because next year when I go off to college, I can't just take theirs! They also got me a spatula and umbrella for the same reason. I haven't gotten my laptop yet, though. But sometime between now and august I will buy my very own laptop!

I will leave you with a picture of my dog Maggie taking a nap. (in "pet" mode on the camera!)

That's all for now, I guess. I wish you all a happy and healthy 2008!

Quinoa and Wild Rice, Black Beans and Rice

2007-08-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago, I made Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. However, I made quite a few adjustments. I omitted the bouillion cube, margarine and scallions and instead added a chopped zucchini, a can of pinto beans that needed to be used up, and some cumin(one of my favorite spices), dried rosemary and thyme. Very simple, yet delicious.

Then, I made a Black Beans and Rice recipe I invented. I was great! Here it is topped with some storebought salsa.

And here is the recipe:

Cherry's Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups dry black beans
1 strip kombu
enough water to cook black beans

1 cup long grain brown rice
2 zucchini, chopped
1 ear corn, cut of the cob
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. paprika

Soak the black beans overnight. Then, in the morning, place the water, black beans and kombu in a crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours. Then, turn to low and continue cooking until the beans are done and the kombu has disintegrated. Or, you can cook it on low all day if you're not going to be home to watch it.

Drain the water from the beans into a glass measuring cup and set the beans in a bowl. Add enough water to the drained bean liquid to make 2.5 cups of liquid. Pour this into a pot, add rice, bring to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the zucchini and cut the corn off the cob. After the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add the corn, zucchini and seasonings and continue cooking until rice is done, about 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When rice is done, add the beans, mix well, and cook for 5 more minutes.

Stirfry Success!

2007-07-29T09:35:00.000-05:00

Last night I made a different, simplier stirfry than the one a couple of days ago. Despite it's simplicity, it was much tastier! It had onions, garlic, fresh ginger, cremini mushrooms, carrots, 3 baby bok choy, zucchini, snow peas, and this wheat roast I bought at Wheatsville. The wheat roast is similar to seitan, since the main ingredient is wheat gluten, but it is much firmer and denser, and also has peanut butter, tamari and nutritional yeast. It is so good! I also used a tablespoon of this stirfry spice mixture, which has seasame seeds and various spices, and made a sauce out of vegetable steaming liquid, bragg's, and arrowroot powder(although much less arrowroot than the last strifry!) based on the Basic Chinese Sauce from Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. So now I see that you can have a very tasty stirfry without globs of agave nectar and arrowroot powder!

Chickpeas and Barley, Stirfry and Bowtie Pasta

2007-07-28T10:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted for nearly a week. I was so busy reading some awesome books! I finished Food for Life a day or two after my last post, and since then I have been reading Beyond the 120 Year Diet, which I am now about halfway through. I really am enjoying both books, although at points I get annoyed that Roy Walford in Beyond the 120 Year Diet puts like to no emphasis or importance to vegetarianism, much less veganism. I think if you're planning to live a long life, going vegan is the first change in diet you should consider! Oh well...

Anyway, here's what I've been up to in the kitchen. First, I made Chickpeas and Barley in Red Lentil and Eggplant Sauce from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I used basil instead of the mint, which seemed to work well. I don't really like mint, especially after a particular experience a year ago, when I made a quinoa salad that had way, way, way too much mint. Anyway, this was very good. I think I made this recipe before and it was bland, but this time it was tasty. Maybe it's the basil?

Next, I made a stirfry. It had 3(!) baby bok choy, some snow peas, carrots, celery, cremini mushrooms, onions and garlic, as well as Sweet and Sour Tofu from VeganYumYum. I doubled the sauce since I was adding vegetables. Add I made several changes to the sauce: I used lemon juice instead of vinegar, agave nectar for sugar and molasses and reduced the amount, left out the ketchup and salt, and used fresh ginger. I also didn't use the eggreplacer and just used the moisture on the outside of the tofu to make the cornstarch stick. Also, instead of frying the tofu, I added it to the dry pan, adding very little water as necessary to keep the tofu from sticking and to help form that sticky coating. This recipe was okay, but it didn't turn out how I was hoping it would. There was WAY too much cornstarch, forming this great stick mess, hardly resembling a good stirfry, and the vegetables were a little over cooked, and the sauce didn't really coat the tofu like it should have. And the flavor of the sauce wasn't spectacular either. But don't let that discorage you from trying this recipe. I think I just screwed up a good recipe. I made a similar recipe before, Tangerine Seitan, except with tofu and no oil, and it comes out very delicious! I first made it in March and have made it at least three times since then. It is much more flavorful than this was, so from now on when I want tofu with that sticky coating, I'll just stick with this one!

After that, I made my own creation, and it was a success! I didn't really measure anything or keep track of how long it took for different parts to cook, but here's a general recipe:

Bowtie Pasta with Chickpeas and Vegetables

Ingredients:
5 oz. whole wheat bowtie pasta
water to cook pasta
about 1.5 cups of chickpeas
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, sliced
a handful of cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
a few handfuls of grape tomatoes
1 TB. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
large handful of spinach

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, put a very tiny amount of water into a pot and add the garlic, and cook on high for about 2 minutes, stirring often and adding more water if neccessary to prevent sticking. Then, add mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, italian seasoning, lemon pepper and crushed red pepper, stir to mix, add a little water if neccessary, and cook over medium-high until zucchini and carrots are tender. Add tomatoes, cook for about 2 minutes, then add chickpeas and spinach and cook for about 5 more minutes, until chickpeas are warmed. Drain pasta when it's done and add to the chickpeas and vegetables. Turn of heat and mix the pasta in well.

This was really great. I used to wonder how to come up with recipes of my own, but lately it's come so easily to me, and been pretty successful! I guess all it takes is some cooking experience and knowledge of different foods.

Vegetarian Harira

2007-07-22T15:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made Vegetarian Harira from the June issue of Cooking Light. I increased the amount of onions, cinnamon and fresh ginger because you can never have too much ginger and cinnamon. It was pretty good.

I've been reading Food for Life, and I'm really enjoying it, even though I already know most of the information presented in it. It's interesting to read books from slightly different perspectives confirming the value of a healthful vegan diet.

That's all for now. Have a good day everyone!

Black Beans and Yet Another Curry

2007-07-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago I made Lentil Chili, which makes a huge amount (enough that my parents and I ate it three nights in a row and still had a good amount left over to freeze). Unfortunately, my camera still wasn't working, so I didn't get a picture.

I still don't know what was wrong with the camera, but it finally start working again two days ago, when I made yet another curry from Real Vegetarian Thai. This time I made Panaeng Curry with Wheatballs and Wild Lime Leaves, except I used tofu instead of the wheatballs because I'm lazy, and almonds instead of peanuts because we didn't have any peanuts. I used a little more curry paste than the recipe called for, maybe 1/2-1 tablespoon extra because that was all we had left and we wanted to use it up. BIG MISTAKE! This curry was way, way, way too HOT! It probably would have been flavorful, but it's hard to enjoy even a flavorful dish when your mouth and throat are on fire. I had to drink so much water during and after this meal. We also had some wild rice along with the curry. I forgot how much better wild rice tastes than regular brown rice. We had this bag of wild rice sitting in the cabinet and wanted to use it up since it has been there for who knows how long.

Fortunately, there were no leftovers from the curry, so last night we made a black bean recipe from the newspaper. The original recipe called for Cotija cheese, whatever that is, but we left it out. Also, we cooked the beans in the crockpot instead of the stovetop, and used some of the cooking liquid from the black beans to saute the onions instead of oil, and we made 1.5 of the recipe. It was pretty good, although it was a little bit too watery. I like my beans nice and dry and thick. It will probably taste better tonight and be thicker. Here's the recipe, with my adaptions:

Ingredients:
3 cups dry black beans
enough water to cook black beans
3 medium onions, chopped
2 T cumin
2 tsp chili powder
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1.5 cups cilantro, finely chopped

Cook the black beans how you would normally cook them, either on the stove or in a crockpot, whichever you prefer, or use an equivalent amount of canned black beans. Then, drain a little liquid out of the beans (about a tablespoon or two, just enough to keep the onions from burning), pour it into a large pot, and add to onions and cook them until translucent. Then, add the cumin and chili powder, mix and cook for two minutes, then add the cooked black beans and cook with the lid off for at least ten minutes, or until the bean reach the thickness and moisture level you prefer. Turn off the heat and garnish with the tomatoes and cilantro.

Yesterday I went to Half Price Books and bought Beyond the 120 Year Diet by Roy Walford and The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas, and I checked out Food for Life by Neal Barnard at the library. So I have a lot of read to do! And pretty soon I should probably start reading my summer reading book, The Poisonwood Bible, too.

Spanish Rice and Carob Fudge Cake

2007-07-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, I made Spanish Rice with Fresh Cilantro from Mother Nature's Garden by Florence Bienenfeld, and Sauteed Green Beans with Mushrooms from VwaV. One of my mom's coworkers brought vegetables from his garden to work to share, so my mom took some of his green beans. I didn't know what to do with them, so we decided to make the green beans and mushrooms because we also had some mushrooms. I just left out the wine and used more vegetable broth. Both dishes were pretty good.

On Friday I also baked this Carob Fudge Cake from the All Creatures website. Oh my god... this cake is so delicious! It tastes like it is so bad for you! But guess what? It's not! It has no refined sugar, oil or white flour! It's sweetened with bananas and dates, and the only fat comes from the peanut butter in the frosting. The only bad thing about it is that it's very hard to stop eating it! I finished it this morning. Fortunately I didn't eat the whole thing myself! I had help from my parents, who thoughly enjoyed it. If you make it, only make half of the frosting though. I only had about 3/4 cup of carob powder, so I only made half the frosting, and there was plenty of frosting. I'm glad I didn't make the full amount because that would have been way too much! I didn't get a picture of the inside of the cake after it was cut because my camera suddenly stopped working correctly, but there's a picture on the All Creatures website.

More Curry and Muffins

2007-07-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

Last night for dinner, I made another lovely, spicy curry from Real Vegetarian Thai. It was the Red Curry with Eggplant and Sweet Peppers. It had much more flavor and variety than the other curry I made from this book, but the other curry was good in it's own way too. My mom didn't like it too much because it was too spicy for her. She really hates spicy food. It had lime leaves in them, which have a real strong flavor, so maybe that was too much for her too, but I liked it.

I also made the Banana Date Walnut Muffins from the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog. I knew about these muffins since Susan first blogged about them, but I never considered actually making them until I read about how much VeggieGirl enjoyed them. So, yesterday afternoon, when there was yet another pile of brown bananas sitting on the table threatening to ferment, I decided to make the highly rated muffins. I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe: I used all whole wheat pastry flour, I used unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 tsp vanilla instead of vanilla soymilk, and used 1/3 cup of date sugar instead of 1/2 cup of white sugar. Even with these modifications, they turned out wonderful! They were so moist and sweet, and the tops seemed to rise more than most of my previous attemps at making muffins have. The only problem was at first the muffins stuck to the paper muffin cups I used. However, I had one today and for the most part, I was able to get the paper off without parts of the muffin stick to the paper. I think the muffins just needed to sit and firm up more.

Today I finished my first week of my ACC class, and I am so glad it's over. I'm so sore! I bet I'll get used to it though. Have a great day everyone.

Scrambled Tofu!

2007-07-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah, the title's working again!

Last night, I finally tried scrambled tofu for the first time ever. I'm probably the only vegan in the world who waited for 2 years and 7 and a half months after becoming vegan to make scrambled tofu. I never knew what I was missing! This stuff is so delicious, and very healthy too. I used the recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, and added some tomatoes and spinach in addition to the mushrooms, carrots, onions and garlic already in the recipe. It was great, but next time I make it I'm going to add some Bragg's, because I think that would really perk it up and greatly improve the flavor. Also, I might put it on a tortilla, maybe with some salsa. Still, it was great, and really quick and easy to make. I bet it would be great on a weeknight during the school year!

I guess that's all I have to say for now, but tonight I will be making yet another curry from Real Vegetarian Thai, and soon I think I will make muffins too, so I will probably post again tonight or tomorrow about that. Have a great day everyone!

2007-07-09T19:44:00.000-05:00

First, before I tell about the curry we had tonight, I have some wonderful news. Today I finally got my AP scores! I've been waiting so long for them, worrying that I would score as well as I expected. Well, I had absolutely nothing to worry about! I scored exactly what I had expected and wanted to score! I got a 5 (the highest you can score) in Chemistry and US History, and a 4 in English Language and Composition! I was so happy and relieved, but really, deep down I always knew I scored well. I worked hard all year and studied, and all that effort payed off.

Also, today I start my 5 and a half week Stretching and Flexiblity class at Austin Community College. This class is just what I need to get into shape. I already walk and or jog for about an hour nearly every day, but I don't do any strength training or stretching, which is what I really need, so this class is perfect. But, the class is nearly two hours long for four days a week, so I may be really tired afterwards. Also, I need another half credit of P.E. in order to graduate next year, and this class counts as a P.E. equivalent, and it's only fourty dollars. This way, I can have just 5 classes this year, and two off periods, and avoid the horrors of high school P.E. as a senior.

Anyway, here was what we had for dinner tonight: Red Curry With Tofu, Sweet Red Peppers and Snow Peas. We used unsweetened Almond Breeze instead of coconut milk. Even with almond milk, it was still great. It was very light and fresh, with the peppers and snow peas still delightfully crunchy, yet flavorful and spicy at the same time. I got the recipe from Real Thai Vegetarian by Nancie McDermott.

2007-07-07T21:27:00.000-05:00

For dinner tonight, I made Spicy Garlic Toss from How It All Vegan!. Along with it, we had whole wheat linguine, cooked lima beans, and grilled zucchini from the farmer's market last Saturday. I've never grilled zucchini before, and it didn't get any black grill marks or get really dry. In fact, it just barely got brown. I put it on a piece of foil because I really don't want to put it directly on the grill, since the grill is also used to grill meat for my brother (not at the same time, but still, it grosses me out). It still tasted pretty good, though. The garlic toss was very flavorful too. Overall, it was a very quick and easy meal to make, and pretty tasty.

For some reason it won't let me make a title. I don't know why. Anyone else having this problem?

Lentil Vegetable Pasta

2007-07-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

For dinner tonight, I made a recipe of my own, making it up as I went along. I was trying to use up a lot of odds and ends in the frig, especially the HUGE zucchinis we bought at the farmer's market. It didn't really come out how I had wanted it to, but it still tasted great. Here is the recipe:

Lentil Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:

For Lentils:

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 tsp. each: cumin, bragg's, and garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne

For Vegetables:

1/2 a large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp bragg's
1 tsp each: dried basil, oregano, thyme, ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup diced sweet potato
1 very large zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 handful cherry or pear tomatoes

8 oz. spaghetti or other pasta
water to cook pasta

Mix all ingredients for the lentils in a pot, bring to a boil, them simmer for 30-45 minutes, until lentils are tender. When lentils are done, drain them over a sauce pan so all the excess liquid goes into the pan, and set the lentils aside. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, and drain when finished.

Add onion, garlic, ginger and celery to the sauce pan that you just filled with liquid and cook on medium-high for a few minutes. Then, add tomato paste, bragg's, and seasonings, mix in the pan for a minute or two, then add the sweet potato, zucchini and corn. Stir to mix together, then put the lid on and cook over medium for 10 minutes, until sweet potato is tender. Then, add tomatoes and cooked lentils, place the lid back on and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add pasta to lentil-vegetable mixture and mix well to combine.

Variation: to make it quicker and less "stew-like," use canned chickpeas instead of lentils, or leave out completely.

Banana Bread and Stuffed Pattypan Squash

2007-07-04T19:07:00.000-05:00

Remember those bananas? Well, yesterday we had a few left (about 10 or so), so I stuck some in the freezer and used the rest for this banana bread because there was no way they were going to make it any longer without fermenting. So, I made the Banana Bread from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, using agave nectar for the sugar/honey called for. The result was out of this world! It was so moist and sweet, and had a lovely aroma!

And then for dinner tonight I stuffed the pattypan squash I got at the farmer's market on Saturday. I used Susan's recipe as a guide. However, instead of using her stuffing, I stuffed it with Kieran's Favorite Rice from How it All Vegan, which is a great big, messy but tasty mixture of rice, vegetables, beans, seasonings and tofu, and added in some of the scooped out squash. Here it is with the flesh scooped out and ready for the stuffing:

Now with the stuffing, before baking:

And here it is after baking:

It came out really tasty! I really enjoyed the squash itself, and the filling was great too. Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Spicy Thai Stew

2007-07-02T20:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made Spicy Thai Stew from The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton. Now I know the picture doesn't look great. However, the picture does not do this stew justice. This stew is delicious! It tastes very rich and creamy, but is very nutritious and filled with a colorful variety of vegetables- red and yellow peppers, orange sweet potatoes, green celery, green and red swiss chard. It could have been a little more spicy, but that in no way took away from the overall appeal of this tasty stew. I used cashew butter instead of the almond butter called for, and it worked perfectly. I suppose the nut butter is intended to imitate coconut milk, but with much less saturated fat.

Banana and Mango Parfaits

2007-07-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning my dad and I went to the farmer's market and bought lots of luscious, local produce. In the picture above are organic cantaloupe, zucchini, red tomatoes, yellow pineapple heirloom tomatoes, organic red and yellow pear tomatoes, white pattypan squash, and peaches. In addition to what's in the picture, we also bought organic red and yellow and green peppers, organic cucumbers, and blackberries, but I was too lazy to take them out of the frig for this picture.

Where did I get so many bananas? Well, at the HEB closest to my house, whenever they have a lot of single bananas or they start to get a little bit too brown for the average customer, they fill a big, brown paper bag with them and sell the whole bag for $2! The bag probably has 15 pounds worth of bananas! So, of course, my father, who can never pass up a great deal, has to buy one whenever they have them! What you see in this picture is probably about half of what was originally there. So what to do with them?

Make banana sorbet, of course! To make the banana sorbet, first you have to peel ripe bananas, break them into 2-3 inch chunks, and freeze them for at least 24 hours. Then, you put the chunks in the food processor with some kind of liquid. Usually I use fresh orange juice, but this time, I put a few chunks of cantaloupe in the processor first, process, then add the banana chunks. This really worked well, making the sorbet creamier than it ever was with the orange juice. I made the mango sorbet in the same way, except I bought a bag of frozen mango instead of freezing fresh mango. The banana sorbet was delicious, although the mango sorbet was only so-so. It was not as sweet or creamy as the banana. To make these parfaits, I alternated layers of banana and mango sorbet and fresh sliced strawberries. Then, I put a fresh cherry on the very top. Yum!

Sweet and Sour Seitan and Vacation Pictures

2007-06-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight I made Seitan Baked in Sweet and Sour Orange Sauce from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. This is so delicious! I used the extra sauce to make a delicious stirfry of onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, cremini mushrooms, bok choy and zucchini. I subbed lemon juice for the vinegar, arrowroot powder for the corn starch, and chipotle powder for the chili sauce. I also left out the sesame oil. Yum!

Now, here are some lovely vacation pictures:

Here is a picture of our first glimpse of the ocean.

Now here are a few from various places in Olimpic National Park:

And here is a very brave deer. This deer let us get about 5 feet from her without even flinching.

And here is a banana slug. Banana slugs are only found in Olimpic National Park!

One last thing before I end this post: ever time I try to log in to my blog, I have to reset my password because for some reason my old password will not work. Has anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions would be welcome.

No, I didn't give up on this blog...

2007-06-28T21:46:00.000-05:00

I've just been really busy as well as lazy these last few months. Now there's so much to blog about! I worked really hard this last semester, but it really paid off! I finished the school year with excellent grades in all of my classes and completed my service hour requirements for NHS. In UIL, I made it to district and regional and came so close to making state in Science. At district, I got 5th place in Calculator and 2nd in Science, and at Regional, I got 5th in Science. If I had just got to 3rd place, I could have gone to state! Oh well, next year I will surely go to state! I also took three AP tests. I haven't gotten the scores yet, but I feel pretty confident that I did well, especially in Chemistry.

I have been out of school since May 25th. A few days after school ended, my parents, my oldest brother and I went on a three week long vacation to the Washington/Oregon area. My other brother stayed home with the animals. Not that he minded- he hates vacations! Too much driving! It was great, and I literally have hundreds of pictures, which I will probably post some of tomorrow. We saw Seattle, Portland, Olympic National Park, Orcas Island, and numerous beaches. It was a great vacation, but maybe it was a little too long. By the end we were all getting on each other's nerves.

Then, I came back to Texas. It has been raining and raining and raining ever since I came back! When my dad and I went to volunteer at the humane society today to find out that the dog area had flood with a foot of water last night! At least the rain has kept it much cooler than usual though. The highs have been only in the 80's since we came back, which is very unusual.

Also, guess what else? In April, my parents went vegetarian! They did this in honor of my 17th birthday and have been vegetarian even since! Unfortunately, they are not vegan. I honestly don't think my mother could ever be vegan. She really enjoys chocolate and candy and store-bought baked goods, as well as cheese, and doesn't like soy milk on her cereal. My dad might be able to though. Just have to wait and see...

I've recently bough three vegan cookbooks: Vegan with a Vengence, The Everyday Vegan, and Vegan Lunchbox! I also checked out six cookbooks from the library, so be prepared to see a lot of recipes from cookbooks in the next few weeks. Here are three recipes I have made over the last few days:

First up, Red Curry Vegetable Stir-Fry from Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott.

Very good and very spicy. Tofu, green beans, japanese eggplant, basil, red pepper, curry paste. I also added add handful of bean sprouts, though it was not called for in the original recipe. Served with steamed kale.

Next, Auntie Bonnie's Lively Lentil Stew from How it All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer.

This soup is really delicious. I really like lentil soups, and this one was no exception! I used several handfuls of spinach, rather than the half cup called for, and added in a few green beans we had layng around in the fridge.

And last but not least.... Lentils Rice Balls with Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce from Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann.

These balls came together so well. They were easy to form and held their shape so well. And they were so delicious. The sauce was so flavorful! I used a can of crushed tomatoes instead of the tomato paste and whole canned tomatoes called for. I served the Lentil-rice Balls and Tomato Sauce along with some steamed broccoli for a lovely, delicious meal.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I will post tomorrow with more about the vacation as well as a delicious recipe.

Dal Soup and Raw Truffles

2007-01-27T08:28:00.000-06:00

A few nights ago I made Chunky Red Dal Soup from the January/Febuary 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It has onions, garlic, ginger, paprika, cumin, red lentils, chickpeas, canned tomatoes, lemon juice, and chipotle powder. The original called for harissa, but I used the chipotle powder instead. Very good, especially coming from a magazine like that.

Yesterday my parents went to Central Market and bought a lot of dates, so I decided to make Raw Carob Truffles from Raw Pleasure. Here is the recipe:

Easy Recipe for Carob Truffles

Ingredients

1 cup almonds
½ cup dates (pitted)
1 tablespoon raw carob powder
2.5 tablespoons filtered water
Coconut to roll truffles in

Put almonds into food processor and process until crumbs
Add dates 1 at a time until mixed in
Add in carob powder and process again
Add water and process
Roll into balls and roll in coconut and keep in fridge or freezer

I rolled them in more carob instead of coconut. Very good, and very easy.

Red Beans and Sweet Potato Curry

2007-01-23T21:34:00.000-06:00

Here we have Red Bean and Sweet Potato Curry from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson. It's pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but good enough. That's all there is to say for now. The picture's not so great, but there are leftovers, so maybe I can take a better one tomorrow when I eat the leftovers and post it. Have a good day everyone!

Just Like Fish Without the Cruelty or Mercury

2007-01-21T19:11:00.000-06:00

Well, the ice storm lasted longer than I expected. We didn't have to go to school Wednesday, and we went to school 2 hours later than usual Thursday! Wow, this was the shortest week of school ever.

Anyway, these past few days I have been eating leftovers, and on Friday we made another batch of lentil soup, this time using green lentils because we didn't have any french lentils left, and we made the whole recipe instead of half. Today, however we made what you see in the lovely picture above. This is Tofu Fish Sticks from Zenpawn. This was so good. The texture was perfect. The tofu was pressed under a heavy pan, then frozen overnight and defrosted, which improved the texture and made it soak up the marinade like a sponge! Now, I don't know if it really tastes like fish sticks because I (fortunately) have never tried real fish sticks. All I know is they're good! Behind the tofu sticks are sweet potato fries. Well, not fries, since they're not fried...hmm...bakes, maybe? To make them, just cut a sweet potato into strips, spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, (no spray needed if you use parchemnt paper), and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for 15 more.

A few days ago I discovered the Vegan Freaks podcast. If you haven't already, you should check it out. The online radio show discusses various issues related to veganism, from complaining about people's ignorance about veganism to teaching new vegans how to give up certain foods like cheese. It's a great show.

Quick and Spicy Quinoa and Black Beans

2007-01-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed my ice day today. There was a little snow, so I gathered all the snow on my porch and sidewalk and tried to make a snowman with it, but it wouldn't stick together! I guess it wasn't powdery enough. There will probably be school tomorrow, though. I am dreading having to go back to school, but if we don't go tomorrow, we will have to make it up after the last day of school in May.

Tonight I made the recipe pictured above- without following someone else's recipe like I usually do. It was excellent. I could have been a little hotter, but I had to go easy on the spices because my mom is a spice wimp. The jalapeno peppers really added a nice flavor to it. Also, it's very quick and easy, great for when you need to get dinner ready quick!

Quick and Spicy Quinoa and Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
half of a medium red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced very small
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. cumin
.5 tsp. coriander
.5 tsp. paprika
1 TB salt-free tomato paste
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
2 cups cooked black beans
chipotle powder, to taste

Put a little water in a pot so the bottom is just barely covered. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic and spices and saute until onions are soft, then add the red peppers and saute for a few more minutes. Then, add water, quinoa and tomato paste and cook covered for 15 minutes. Then, add black beans and cook uncovered until most of the liquid evaporates, leaving and thick, stick mass, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle on desired amount of chipotle powder and serve.

Two Soups

2007-01-15T19:57:00.000-06:00

I just found out that school is cancelled tomorrow! Yeah! (Of coarse, now we will have to make it up on the Friday before Easter) There wasn't a lot of ice today, just a little in the early morning that never melted because it stayed below freezing all day. Tomorrow, however, it's supposed to be much worse.

Today I made two different soups. I wanted to cook a lot of things this weekend and freeze some of them so I would have a quick, easy meal for nights when I have a lot of homework or don't want to cook. One was great, and the other was terrible! The former is pictured above. It is French Lentil and Portabella Stew from Fat Free Vegan. My adaptions: I halved it because I only had half a cup of lentils, water instead of broth, crimini mushrooms instead of portabella, left out the celery, used Yukon gold potatoes, and didn't use the wine.

Now for the terrible soup. I took a picture, but the picture is so horrible I didn't want to post it. It is called January Out-Of-The-Cupboard Lima Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Soup from the Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. With a name like that, I thought it would be the perfect soup for a cold, icy January day like today. But I was wrong. It was edible, but just barely. The main problem was it was way too salty. I guess the su-dried tomatoes I used had more salt in them than I thought. I usually don't use salt or eat processed food that has a lot of salt in it, so I'm not used to salty food. This recipe might actually be tasty if fresh or unsalted tomatoes were used.

UIL, Squash, and "Burgers"

2007-01-14T20:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I went to a UIL competition and competed in Calculator Applications and Mathematics. UIL stands for University Interscholastic League. It consists of various academic competitions, including speech, history, writing, and math. I did ok on the Calculator. I got a 103. In the calculator competition, you have to do very complex operations on the calculator. In the Mathematics, however, I did extremely well, the best I've ever done! I got a 180, and ranked 9th place. If I had answered just one more (correctly, of course), I would have gotten a 186 and ranked 6th or better, which would have gotten me an award! Oh well, I did well anyway. Maybe next time I'll get an award!

It is really cold here! Tomorrow it is very likely there will be ice or snow. We don't have school tomorrow anyway, but school might get canceled Tuesday if the weather turns out how they predict. We don't get this kind of weather very often, so when we do, even the tiniest bit of ice will get school canceled.

Tonight I cooked Red Bean-Chipotle Burgers. I didn't bother taking a picture because Susan already has a picture that is way better than my picture would be if I took one. These burgers stayed together very well! These are the first veggies burgers I have made that haven't fallen apart. We ate 4 and have 2 left over, which I'm going to try freezing for those days when I'm too swamped with school work to cook. To go along with the burgers, I made the squash you see above. This is adapted from Nuts and Bolts Squash from Dr. Fuhrman. I only had one acorn squash, so I only made half of it. Also, I used almonds instead of pecans, and added one nice, big, juicy Medjool date. I didn't use the orange juice either, and I the squash alone for 45 minutes (without water in the pan), then put the fruit/nut mixture in the squash and baked for 10 more minutes. It was really good, the dried fruit and nuts really seemed to compliment the sweet and creamy squash.

That's all for now. I hope I can post again tomorrow!

Spinach, Potatoes and Black Beans, Costa Rican Style

2007-01-12T20:25:00.000-06:00

Hey, I'm back. I've been real busy with school this week, and had no time to cook anything interesting or blog. Fortunately, I have Monday off, so I get a 3 day weekend. Tomorrow I have to go to a UIL tourament, though. Anyway, tonight I made Spinach, Potatoes and Black Beans, Costa Rican Style from the All God's Creatures Website. I'm not at all religious (in fact I'm an athiest), but this site has some great recipes on it. Next to it are some baked zucchini slices. I also had this salad:

It has romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red and green peppers, jicama, red cabbage, and tomato. I eat a salad similar to this one every day, either with lunch or dinner. Simple, but delicious.

Ethiopian Soup and Sorbet

2007-01-05T21:44:00.000-06:00

I'm so glad it's Friday! I'm already sick of school after only 3 days back! Anyway, today I made two things. The first was Ethiopian-Inspired Red Lentil Soup from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen for dinner. It was delicious, and pretty simple to make.

For desert, I made Persimmon Sorbet from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. To make it, chop up persimmons into chunks (the recipe calls for 4, but I only used 2). Place in the freezer until solid, which could take 3-4 hours. Then, process in a food processor with as little fresh orange juice as needed to blend. That's it. You have to use hachiya persimmons for this. They are large and acorn shaped. The other kind, Fuyu persimmons, are small and tomato shaped. They also have to be very ripe. They will be very soft all over when ripe, and will fall apart when you cut into them. This sorbet is so good and has a taste and texture similar to soft-serve ice cream (or at least how I remember it-it's been so long since I've eaten it!)

Welcome

2007-01-04T21:14:00.000-06:00

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my first post. I was planning to start this days ago, but my computer wasn't functioning. So, I have many pictures to post. I am a 16 year old vegan who lives in Texas. I am a junior in high school. Yesterday was my first day back to school after winter break. I am very health conscious, and I care about the environment and animals. When I go to college, I think I will study biology or chemistry.

I love to cook, and that will probably be the main focus of this blog. Sometimes, though, I am too busy with schoolwork, UIL math competetions, and volunteering to cook interesting things, so I just have plain beans or grains and raw or steamed veggies. Here are some things I have made the past couple of days. I know, I'm not a great photographer.

This is a stirfry I made. I thought it would be great, but it was just ok. It had a sauce made of fresh orange juice, Bragg's, garlic, ginger, kombu, and thai chiles. The tofu was marinated in this and then baked. The veggies were onions, carrots, lemon grass, zucchini, more garlic, mushrooms, and a pound of mixed frozen vegetables.

This is a raw apple pie I made from Delights of the Garden by Imar Hutchins. The crust is made of unsweetened dried bananas, dried pineapple, and dates. The filling is apples, dried pinapple, lemon juice, and apple pie spice. It was delicious, even though it was made with nasty, mealy apples. My omnivore parents loved it too.

This is Spiced and Roasted Winter Vegetables from a flyer from Whole Foods. This photo is aweful, but this is so delicious! Here is the recipe:

2 winter squash, sliced in wedges

2 parsnips, sliced in 1 inch pieces

2 sweet potatoes, cut in wedges

2 carrots, sliced

2 red onions, cut in wedges

3 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into wedges

8 cloves garlic, peeled

1 teaspoon pepper

4 cinnamon sticks

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

6 whole star anise

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large mixing bowl, mix the vegetables and pepper. Put in a roasting pan covered with a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Add last 3 ingredients and bake for 10-15 more minutes until vegetables are tender.

The original recipe called for salt, oil, sugar, and butter, but I left these out. This is so good it doesn't need any of that unhealthy stuff! If you make the amount in the recipe, this makes a HUGE amount. I only made half and it was still a lot. What you see in the photo is probably less than a quarter of the amount I made, after making half.

There was another recipe I took a picture of, but the picture isn't so pretty, this post is already long, and I want to go to bed, so that's all for now. I will try to post again tomorrow.