Pizza Break

I am not posting so much these days, sorry! The last couple of weeks have been super busy, and the next couple will be super busy as well. Thus, my posts will continue to be a little more sparse than every other day. Or at least shorter - like this one!

The above picture is of a vegan pizza slice from The Parlour on 43rd and Guadalupe. Back in the day a friend and I had a mutual guilty pleasure of pineapple and pepperoni pizza from Papa Murphy's, and turns out the vegan version is as delicious. This here has vegan pepperoni, pineapple and vegan cheese. It still makes my tummy hurt, but, man, it seems worth it at the time. With beer, this really hits the spot after a long day. The location itself is pretty rad, too. Currently they are displaying the art from a recent pizza box art competition they had. Some neat and impressive stuff is up (like a sculptured robot!), so you should check it out if you can.

There's at least corn and mashed potatoes...

Every now and then (and this happens more often these days now that I am living near family), I am in a situation where I am hungry and in a restaurant where there is either nothing appetizing or remotely healthy that I would care to eat. What do I do? In Texas at least, I can always count on corn and mashed potatoes. Not necessarily vegetarian, but edible. It's hard to mess up corn and mashed potatoes, and I quite enjoy the taste (especially the texture) when mixed up.


I don't know why, but my family loves Furr's and Luby's. I know of no difference between the two, but I guess some do. They are both cafeteria style restaurants, with your general, run of the mill, "family dining" fare - comfort food and lots of meat that's all probably been sitting out for a little while. I used to eat at these places with no problem, but since I left Texas for college about 7 years ago, I have been incredibly averse to everything I've had there (except the corn and mashed potatoes). I don't know what happened; I suppose I could have snobbed up to it, having exposed my taste buds to tasty northwest cuisine. Regardless, I kind of cringe a little when I hear my mom say we're meeting relatives at Furr's. This last time I was there was pretty interesting. There weren't a lot of people there, but there was a lone clown at the front making balloon animals...but for whom?

I was happy to have my standby of corn and mashed potatoes at least. In fact, I found myself eating a lot of corn and mashed potatoes during my family lunches/dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do you have any standbys at awkward dinners or strange restaurants? The garden salad? Soup? Do you find an appetizer? Chips and salsa perhaps? That is one nice thing about most restaurants in Texas. You can count on there being either corn and mashed potatoes or chips and salsa. One or the other is almost guaranteed to be on the menu.

Two Meals Out

While my parents were in town for Thanksgiving weekend, they took Nathan and me out for lunch. Unfortunately, our first choice of restaurant was closed (I’ve been wanting to try Foodheads for awhile now. It beckons me.), so we went to another place I’d been curious about, New World Deli. The spelling of the name at their location is NeWorlDeli, which I hate, but I’d heard that they had decent sandwiches. And at this point I hadn’t had bread in so long, I was craving a sammich.

My dad was very happy with his meal. I believe he had a tuna sandwich. Oh, no, it was a curried chicken salad sandwich. I didn’t try it, but he looked pretty content with it. Nathan had a Reuben, my mom had a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, and I had a turkey and havarti sandwich. I went all out, what can I say. I think Nathan’s Reuben was the star of the lunch, if not also the greasiest. My mom’s sandwich was pretty good, too. I wanted to get that one myself, but couldn’t get over the fact that I could make something like that at home pretty easily. Same thing with my sandwich, though. It was just okay. I should have gotten it toasted. All in all, New World Deli was pretty good. Next time I will have a better idea of what to get (and to get it toasted!), though I don’t see myself coming here often. Price-wise, it wasn’t too expensive, but not so cheap.


The other meal I had out was later that day, for dinner! Woo! Nathan and I went to Amaya’s, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants here, but also so, so bad for me. They have some knock-your-socks-off tacos, though. Their tortillas are home-made and fried up for their special crispy, “Village Tacos”. Yum, and way better than your run of the mill corn tortillas. Plus, the tacos are stuffed with super tender chicken, crunchy iceberg lettuce and a TON of jack and American cheese. It’s so bad, and so, so yum. Their beans and rice are also pretty tasty, their chips are fresh, salsa good, and the service is spot-on. Tummy-ache is inevitable, though, so I don’t think I’ll be going to this place much at all, but I will tell everyone I know with a tougher tum all about it. AMAYA’S TACOS ARE DELICIOUSLY BAD FOR YOU.

Currently I've been super into breakfast tacos, eating way too many eggs. My mom went to Juan in a Million the other day, a place I've been meaning to try for awhile now, and she loved it. So many places to try...mmm. There really are a TON of taco stands and restaurants in town. Not a lot of veggie options, but more than you'd think for a Texas town.

You can find Amaya’s at Village Capital Plaza 5405 N. IH-35. Austin, TX 78723.

Thanksgiving Post (Finally)

I’ve been trying to catch up on these pictures I have back-logged, so I’m just now getting to my Thanksgiving dinner, which was incredibly traditional. This was my first Thanksgiving spent with family in 7 years! And, boy, dinners with family are pretty different from those with friends. Especially if that family is a traditional Mexican-American family in central Texas, and the friends a misfit and lovable bunch of ex-hippies, ex-goths, and ex-ravers in Portland, Oregon. I love them both, but it’s really like night and day, these Thanksgiving suppers. For example, both holiday settings have good food and end with a full tummy, though I end up painfully (and happily) stuffed when celebrating with friends. Eating with the fam, I was restrained and sober, which translates here to very much not stuffed. Here's an incredibly unattractive picture of my plate:


I really just couldn’t eat so much with my family because so much of the food had a meat or dairy substance. I did indulge and have some mashed potatoes and turkey. Other than that I had a bit of my mediocre vegan contribution of lasagna. More people ate it than I thought, and I got some compliments, but I was not impressed. I’ve made it a couple of times and this dish was not nearly as nice as others before. I tried to make it gluten-free and messed up the noodles.

I know what I could have done differently, so I’m going to try this recipe again sometime when I have money to burn on good ingredients. I guess I didn’t soak the noodles enough. It’s lame, because I remember when I was cooking all of the various parts of the lasagna filling I was super excited because each individual element was so freaking delicious. I made an AMAZING stir-fry with Gimmee Lean sausage (NOT gluten-free at all, heh) and hella spices and veggies. That alone would have been a hit. Also, I made, for the first time without any help from the recipe creator, my own vegan ricotta, which was also AMAZING. I was dipping my finger in there for an awful lot of tastes, it was so good. I had a good store-bought sauce, a decent vegan cheese topping, everything seemed in control. But the effin’ noodles. I popped (heh, accidently typed “poop” at first there) the lasagna into the oven an hour or so before we had to head out and up to the last minute the noodles still didn’t look done. Yeah, not soaked enough. Oh well, a lot of people actually complimented me on the dish, because I guess the lasagna was pretty decent if you had managed to avoid the way too al dente top layer. Uck.


My big success was the pie. Seriously, I have been making this pie nonstop since Thanksgiving, still. In fact I’m making it AGAIN tonight. It’s so ridiculously easy, and maybe the best pumpkin pie I have had. You’ll find the recipe here, at Karina's Kitchen, an awesome gluten-free blog, and let me tell you, this recipe does not play. And if you add even more spices than the recipe calls for, it would officially fail P.E., because this pie DOES NOT PLAY. MMMM!

I have had food on the brain so much these days. Maybe it’s starting the blog…maybe it’s just getting hired (finally! I am employed!) in a natural food store…maybe it’s talking food with buds. Either way, it’s pretty neat.

I’m obnoxiously happy these days.

Have You Had Migas Yet? Really?

Texture means a lot to me in a meal. I’m always a fan of a successful combination of chewy and crunch. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of biting into a taco or sandwich or cookie or whatever when it manages to successfully combine the two qualities. Maybe it’s the Libra in me, but, dammit, the balance is divine.

In elementary school (and many times after), I used to squish chips into my sandwiches. When Taco Bell came out with their Double Decker, a hard taco INSIDE a soft taco, it was a glorious day for my stoner high school days. Sober, turned out that taco was effin’ disgusting, as the hard taco would get all soft and gooey from the crappy refried beans smashed around the taco shell, but since then I’ve moved on to much better things (Thankfully, NOT this.). Things like: Soft cookies with crunchy pecans inside! Carrots dipped in hummus! Eggs scrambled with crunchy corn tortillas! Woot!

As soon as we got to Texas, I introduced Nathan to migas – a concoction, essentially, of eggs and (usually) tortilla chips, scrambled (usually) with onions, bell peppers, salsa, whatever. I’d never had migas in a restaurant actually until I was living in Portland, Oregon. A restaurant near my house at the time had it on the menu, as chilaquiles, and I was hit with nostalgia and so much salivation. The description was just what I remembered migas to be – corn chips scrambled with eggs and other stuff. Growing up, my mom would make me migas on special days, and basically whenever I wanted, because she’s awesome. Her way was with fresh corn tortillas, torn into little pieces, sautéed with oil on the stovetop until they were crunchy, and then scrambled with eggs. At the time I hated onions AND tomatoes (I know, crazy), so my migas were pretty plain, but I loved LOVED them. Turns out chilaquiles are not quite the same thing. From wikipedia:

Chilaquiles:
Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of fried or dried tortilla chips, bathed in green or red salsa or mole, and broiled or grilled with a cheese topping. Sometimes chicken strips are mixed into the sauce, or the dish can be served with a fried egg on top or a strip of meat alongside.

They are most commonly eaten at breakfast time, served alongside with fried or scrambled eggs or a Mexican style grilled beef. Moreover, chilaquiles are often lauded as a cure for la cruda--the common hangover.

Unlike nachos, which are served as a crispy snack, chilaquiles are a main dish and are not served until the tortilla chips are thoroughly soaked and softened by the salsa. This makes them a popular recipe for stale chips, or those with a bad taste, as the other flavors mask that of the chips'.

Migas:
In Texas, migas (also known as migajas) is a traditional breakfast dish in Tex-Mex cuisine. Originally eaten during Lent, this meatless dish consists of egg scrambled and sauteed together in butter or oil with torn strips of corn tortillas, diced onions, sliced chile peppers, diced fresh tomatoes, and cheese, plus various spices and condiments (e.g. salsa, pico de gallo). Migas are typically served with refried beans, and corn or flour tortillas are used to enfold all of the ingredients into delicious migas tacos. The traditional Mexican main-course dish chilaquiles is similar to migas in some respects.
---
I am biased towards Migas, I have to say. And I have yet to find a migas dish in a restaurant that even comes close to the migas I can throw together myself. Nathan liked the dish a lot at the restaurants we went to when we first got to Texas. Since I’ve made it for him at the house, he halfway demands it on some mornings. This stuff is so easy though, it’s nice for a lazy evening when you don’t feel like a full-blown supper and all you have in the refrigerator is a dozen eggs and that 100-count bag of corn tortillas you’ve barely put a dent in. Plus, this dish is so freaking delicious. It is a match of chewy and crunchy made in heaven. (Drool….)

Now this is definitely not the healthiest thing ever, and it’s obviously not vegan. But it is cheap and yummy, and, for me, that’s okay sometimes.
________________________________________________________________________
Poor Man’s Migas

Serves two hungry people

6 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces, about 1 inch x 1 inch or smaller
1 small onion, chopped
1 (maybe 2?) tablespoon canola oil
6 eggs
Salt, to taste
Salsa, or just a tasty hot sauce
I had some feta and cilantro laying around, they go nicely with this

Heat the oil on a large sauté pan with medium-high heat. When oil is hot, but not smoky, add the tortillas, stirring to coat in oil. Try to use all of the surface area of the pan, and stir every now and then to alternate sides of the tortilla pieces. If they are burning and/or look pretty dry still, either add more oil or turn down the heat. You want them to get crunchy, not blackened. It’s not a big deal though, it’ll be delicious either way. This takes about 5-6 minutes. When nice and crunchy, put aside on paper towel to soak up any extra oil if you got oil-happy.

In same pan, now that the tortilla pieces have been placed aside, reheat pan and (making sure there is enough oil still on the pan), sauté the onions until translucent. Lower the heat to medium and n a small bowl, break eggs and stir, adding salt, and spices if you are feeling fancy. Once that’s all mixed together, pour into pan with onions and stir. Once eggs start to cook a bit, about halfway, add crunchy tortilla pieces. If you add them too soon they will get soggy and you will have failed! (Just kidding, it will still be good.) At this point if you have feta, I highly recommend crumbling some of that into the scramble. Once the eggs are cooked, turn off heat and serve asap. Garnish with cilantro and you can either scramble in the salsa or put it on the table for others to add at their leisure.
________________________________________________________________________

Hope that makes sense. I’m not so seasoned (no pun intended) with writing recipes. And this was a super basic one. It’s super open and you can add all sorts of things to it, depending on what you have around the kitchen, like chopped tomatoes, cumin, paprika, coriander, avocado, peppers, or heat up some flour tortillas and make migas tacos! WHOA.

Again, it’s not the healthiest meal, so you don’t want to make this all the time, every day. But it’s a nice treat and impresses visiting friends and lovers. And, for me, it’s nostalgic yumminess that takes me back to those wonderful days when mom could make everything better and I was blissfully ignorant of my own egotism. Awww. Actually, those things may still be the case.

Wow, I wrote a lot.

Sweet Tooth

I have been with a bit of a sweet tooth lately. After the detox, it came with a vengeance once I started eating sweeter things again. I have been treating myself a lot lately, and I think it has to do with my unemployment more than anything. Settling back into the states has been a lot harder than I had anticipated. When I left, I left a good paying job (that I was not at all personally invested in), amazing friends, a healthy social life, and a dream house with dream housemates. I left and traveled around the states and then moved to Argentina for nine months. It was an amazing experience, and I don’t regret any of it, but, man, being in a new town without any job prospects and only a handful of friends, there are definitely times when I pine for familiarity. Eesh, I need a cookie. Having your own troubles in our crappy economy? Maybe you need a cookie, too.


I currently have some very special cookies in my pantry. When in Argentina one of my favorite mid-day mate snacks were these Frutigran cookies. Really, my interest began with just spotting the package in a store one day and LOVING the name. It’s crazy adorable, especially with the Argentine accent. Once I finally got a package, though, I was hooked. They have a super satisfying crunch and are not too sweet at all. It’s kind of funny actually, I guess I proselytized the deliciousness of these cookies so much to friends that people I knew in Argentina now associate their memories of me with these cookies. Twice so far I have been the recipient of packages of Frutigran from friends who have either come back to the states and towed some over with me in mind, or sent packages along with another to hand over to me. I have no shame in this. In fact, I’m down to one package left, and if anyone out there happens to be in Argentina or anywhere that has access to Frutigran, pass ‘em along! Too many of these does make my tum hurt, but two or three with some almond milk or tea is blissful.


This package of cookies Nathan and I did NOT eat all in one night, and I was very proud of us, because they are good. This was my find in Wheatsville Co-op when I was looking for a gluten-free cookie (thanks to Wheatsville's neon-green "gluten-free" labels). They turned out to be very high in the yum-factor. Soft and chewy, with a satisfying texture. You can definitely taste the almonds. I highly recommend these cookies, but watch out. They are small enough to eat quite a few and by the time you know it – a full and aching tummy.

I haven't been eating so many cookies these days and I take that as a good thing. Plus, I only have one more Frutigran pack!

Now to take a nap!

Convenience Food Guilty Pleasures

What else are we going to have as our dinner default than tacos? We’re in Austin – the taco mecca. Plus, we got a 100-count package of corn tortillas from Fiesta the other day and we have some taco-making to do. I will find other things to do with the tortillas, no doubt, depending on how inspired I feel. I’m thinking it would be nice to make my own tortilla chips one of these days.

These tacos had pretty much the basics – Morningstar Crumbles, avocados, tomatoes, cilantro and Valentina sauce. We were out of onions unfortunately, but they were delicious regardless. It’s hard to stray from something so consistently good. Still, I think I’m going to make my own taco filling next time. The meat crumbles are nice (and Nathan is addicted to them), but expensive. Plus it’s weird that the only place I can find them is at Target. Why? Oh, I guess I haven’t looked at Central Market, but they are probably more expensive there! Still, I don’t like buying food at Target. It doesn’t feel right, if that makes any sense.


BUT, speaking of Target, for about a week Nathan and I have been going through these Simply Limeades like they was water (very aware of my grammar discrepancies, thankyouverymuch). Seriously. And we can’t find them any cheaper than in Target. So there you go. We actually have gone on two trips to Target where we only purchased Morningstar Crumbles and Limeade. Thankfully, the Limeade phase has passed, but I make no promises once I have more spending money. Times are too tough for Limeade and Morningstar sprees. Next time I will not only make my own tortilla chips, but I WILL make my own vegan taco filling! Poverty is inspiring the DIY'er in my lazy cooking. Yay. I'm going to go learn a new origami fold now and think about decorating the apartment!

Mind in the Gutter

Nathan was kind enough to cook dinner this night. I do love how he puts in the effort to make his dishes presentable, but I was a bit hesitant to post this one up, mostly because my mind is in the gutter 24/7 and I can't get away from how vaginal his presentation came out. Heehee. Now I will talk about the food.

Suffice to say, it was delicious. We've been really into red quinoa ever since we tried it in this, so we decided to make a salad with it. We decided, but Nathan ended up doing all of the work. I don't even remember all of the goodies that were in this dish (other than what you see in the pic), but mixed all together we had an incredibly scrumptious and healthy meal, if also vaginal. *Giggle*

For dessert, Nathan shined again. He's got a lot of delicious tricks up his sleeves, and tonight he brought out a family favorite - Baked Apples!! Again, I'm not sure what all he put in the apple, but I know that he cored it up and stuffed it with cinnamon, cloves and other yummy spices.

All in all a very comforting meal, especially since it was not made by me.

Grocery Store Finds

I got this Nasi Goreng (Oriental Fried Rice anyone?) package randomly from Fiesta the other day. The ingredients didn't look too scary, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Plus, it was like 80 cents and I was already on a grocery store high. This was my first time going to the 24 hour Fiesta Mart near I-35. It was a religious experience. I went alone, which was perfect because I could peruse the aisles one section at a time. Their produce section is inspiring - not a lot of organic stuff, but a HUGE array of vegetables and fruit, a lot of which I'd never heard of, and won't even try to remember. The most exciting area of the store (though the section for work pants, cowboy hats and belts is pretty awesome) is the International section. There's an aisle for Indian, Thai, Chinese, but also Caribbean, Columbian, Russian, and more! They even had a tiny Argentine section I was happy to find, with cheap mate and all. This place is amazing. So by the time I got to the last aisle of the International section, I wanted to try something, and I wanted it to be cheap, so I spontaneously picked this up. We had some leftover brown rice at the house anyways.

The packet is harmless enough, but it looks kind of gross before you mix it in:

I threw in some chopped carrots, peas, some cayenne and a little bit of light sesame oil, what I fried the rice in before adding the Nasi Goreng package. Once mixed in, it looked much, much better and tasted quite nice. I added some avocado.

It's hard to mess up fried rice, though I accomplished just that plenty of time in my early cooking days (less than two years ago I was just beginning to cook for myself for realz). This package, for anyone who can find it or has access to Fiesta, is not bad and really nice for a lazy supper. The ingredients aren't horrifying either, here they are: Shallots, Tomato, Soy sauce, Vegetable oil, Salt, Chili, Garlic, Herbs, Sugar, Flavor enhancer (yeast extract), Antioxidant (Tocopherol).

For dessert, I treated myself to a piece of vegan Chocolate Ginger Cake from Wheatsville Co-op. My god, was this decadent like nothing I'd had in awhile. I can't believe I ate the whole thing, but I did. It was a night of total indulgence, and it was heavenly. I took a long hot bath and read for a long time. Then I realized I was getting light-headed and dehydrated and luckily right then Nathan got home from his improv classes just in time to catch me giggling, goofy and near faint and he helped me to bed. The End.


Look at that cake. Isn't it just so seductive? That little flap of cream coming off the edge in its little come-hither stance. It's actually kind of adorable.

Vegan Tex-Mex Bowl

This bowl puts together some of my all-time favorites in the tex-mex food genre: avocados, corn, brown rice, tomatoes, cilantro, those damn Morningstar Crumbles, lime and corn tortillas. I also had chips and salsa with this. Delicious. You know, it was incredibly simple to put this together. Really, not much needs to be done. Just chop the veggies, heat up the fake meat (I've never heated it in the microwave because I like making it just a tiny bit crispy on the stovetop), and cook the beans and corn. Nice to put some spices in with the beans, like paprika, salt, cumin, garlic powder. And Valentina sauce at the end! And warm the tortillas. Always warm the tortillas. It is ALWAYS worth the effort.

That is all from me. I just got home from an incredibly intoxicating Thai dinner (Titaya's - way better than Thai Kitchen), treated by Nathan. I'm going to go eat some pie now and veg like I have never vegged.

Delicious Beer, How I Love Thee, How You Hurt Me

It’s so sad. New Belgium’s Mothership Wit, my body can’t deal with you anymore. You hurt me. Where did I go wrong? In Portland, we got along so well. Things were good, right? But something happened, hm?

A friend brought over a 12 pack sampler of New Belgium beers. Our favorite by far was the Giddy Up!, with lemon peel and espresso – YUM. My standby was the Mothership Wit (an organic wheat beer), because I tend to enjoy wheat beers in general; I haven’t met one I didn’t like, but apparently it’s not about liking it or not liking it in this case. My body hated it. Oh man, it was baaaad. I had two beers all in all, and there was nothing new in the food I ate. My stomach felt horrible! There were seriously moments when I could barely move, the cramps were SO bad. It felt like how I imagine it feels to be stabbed in the stomach.

I think I’m going to have to stop drinking beer. After this night, I went to the Alamo Drafthouse (best theater ever) and got the Real Ale’s Coffee Porter (Texas, represent!). Oh man, I am a sucker for coffee/espresso beers, and it was great. Again, though, my stomach was hurting a ton by the end of the movie. So I haven’t had beer in about a week now, and I’m guessing that the cravings will go away eventually – that’s pretty much what is happening with my cravings for cheese, something I thought impossible. Yet, the sadness lingers. I am breaking up with beer; it’s really happening. I’m sure I’ll be getting sips from friends’ drinks (though beer has not been so agreeable with Nathan), but it’s not the same! Ugh, well, at least I’m not in Portland anymore. This would sting more if I was in Portland.

A Lazy Kamut Salad with Feta

Oh, wow, this was good. I had some kamut leftover from the salad I made awhile back, and decided to whip up an on-the-spot mix right before a potluck I was hosting. This was a totally different experience - a little oily-er, not as much texture variation, and not vegan, but, really, it was effin' good. ESPECIALLY accompanied with delicious hummous and some tasty, toasted bread.


Both of the above brands are fairly expensive for someone as cheap as I, but when friends bring these guys over to the potluck, let me tell you, they are delicious. Not gluten-free, but that is not my concern here, obviously. Anyways, this hummous is gluten-free at least, and it is one of the smoothest, tastiest store-bought hummous I've had. I actually had it for the first time when visiting friends in Los Angeles this summer. Nathan's friend got this stuff from a local grocery store in Santa Monica, and for some reason I just assumed it was one of those brands specific to tiny grocery stores, unknown to the masses, but a staple for those "in the know." Apparently I was totally wrong. Sabra (watch out for music if you click on that link) can be found here in Austin, at HEB and Central Market, at least.

So with the hummous and kamut salad, wrapped in some o' that naan (which, honestly, I would only have if someone else brought it; it's super expensive), we were making some nutritious and tasty tasty wraps. So good. Let me give you that salad recipe, because just alone this stuff is worth making. Measurements are approximate.

__________________________________________________________________
Kamut Salad with Feta

4 cups cooked kamut
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 of a medium red onion, chopped
4-5 marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (a nice pantry item for just such spontaneous salads, or you could make your own)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons herbed oil (I used the oil from the artichoke marinade)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Some olives, chopped
Hella cilantro, chopped
Salt, to taste
Crumbled feta

Mix everything with the kamut. Adjust to taste.
__________________________________________________________________

There you go, a nice lazy salad for those occasions when you are hosting a potluck and don't feel like cooking anything. =)

Recovering From Thanksgiving

I posted this picture because this is the best representation of my Thanksgiving Weekend (thank you Argentine graffiti artist(s)).

Read it as you will. I ate leftovers today and my tummy hurts.

I Did Not Have Tacos For Thanksgiving

Hi. How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was excellent. Easily my favorite holiday, though I had to work a little harder to make this one as delicious as could be (for someone as anti-suburban Thanksgivings as I). The last 7 years I've been having Thanksgiving away from my family, with friends, which, I have to say, is a whole lot more delicious and vegetarian-friendly. I love my family, and I had a great time yesterday, but as far as the food they eat...it's just a different world from what my taste buds ("taste bud" is such a cute word) have come to love and appreciate. Well, I'll talk more about that in a week. I still have some pictures on my camera to catch up on.

Nathan and I have been eating a lot of tacos since we've been in Austin.

I had to put this second picture in just because I think both pictures look sooo delectable. Like, that second picture is downright sexy, no? That crispy (but not burnt) corn tortilla, the innocently curled and haphazardly chopped cilantro...the fresh tomatoes...smooth avocado slices...mmmm...*drool* I want one now! Can you tell I haven't eaten dinner yet?

The "meat" is Morningstar's Veggie Crumbles. I've been into them since I first became vegetarian when I was a naive little high-schooler and didn't know any better. Really, I had no idea what I was doing. I ate way too many meat substitutes, not enough vegetables, and too much starchy stuff. I felt horrible physically but proud of my anti-meat stance in a very meat-centric city. But I digress - these "crumbles" are effin' good. There are few meat substitutes I stand by, but these are tasty in and of themselves. I've gotten Nathan slightly obsessed with them. Unfortunately, they are one of the many things I'll have to give up if it turns out I'm gluten intolerant. I read somewhere that some people are intolerant only to certain amounts of gluten...I have to make sure about that. These tacos didn't make me feel bad at all, but if I ate a bagel or had a beer, I would have killer cramps shortly after. These are things to note.

Oh, and we are having a BLAST with the access to cheap avocados we're having here. Jeebus - this particular week at Fiesta avocados were three for a dollar! THREE for a dollar! The store should have had those wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man things waving out in front, cuz that was just crazy.

And these tacos were mos definitely topped with Valentina sauce.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a random photo!

Avocado and Nutritional Yeast Open-Faced Sammich

I am not feeling so well today, so I'm not going to be saying much. I had a job interview this morning - I felt fine for that (in fact, I feel pretty good about it) - but once I got home I crashed. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, woke up, and felt like I could sleep a couple of hours more. Nathan felt pretty lethargic as well, so we indulged our laziness and stayed in bed for awhile playing on our respective laptops - him playing with Django stuff, me looking up tasty treats to make for thanksgiving. I've landed on this. Looks great, doesn't it? It will be my first time baking in a looong, long time, so I'm excited. It's distracting me from feeling so crappy. I've been sleeping off and on all day. Bah.
So, this open-faced sandwich I made was absolutely delicious. With some tasty tortilla chips, it really hit the spot. The sandwich itself is simple - once upon a time I ate this kind of sandwich with a fried egg on top. Yum. Oh, that's nutritional yeast on the top there. I know, it looks gross, but it's one of my favorite toppings. I put it on everything - popcorn, stir-fry, sammiches, eggs, whatever. Apparently there are some brands that have gluten; I just learned this. Jeez.
The bread was INCREDIBLE. I had forgotten how effin' perfect bread was. Such texture, such flexibility, mmmm. The bread I had specifically for this sandwich was Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame Bread. If I don't have access to Dave's Killer Bread, I'll usually go for this one. It's not as tasty, but it is healthier. And, by the way, I felt completely cramp-free the day I ate this. Harumph.

Time for rest.

Introducing Gluten

Going through this process of re-introducing different kinds of foodstuffs into my system has been really good in actually introducing, for the first time, some grains and whatnots I hadn’t really cooked with or, in the case of kamut, had ever heard of. It was time at this point in my regimen, to introduce gluten, and see how that felt. So I did a little research into kamut, and then found the following recipe online. Then it’s just to get cooking.

Kamut is a type of wheat that has a only a very small amount of gluten. It is very similar to durum wheat and is one of those grains that have to be simmered for about an hour to cook (so cook a lot!). It is reputed as being tolerable by those who are allergic to wheat, but still off-limits for those who can’t deal with gluten. So it’s a good start when you want to check for a wheat allergy.

From how I felt later that night, I don’t think I am allergic to wheat, which, really, I’d much rather have as the case. What is the difference, really? Well, according to the INTERNET, a wheat allergy is the body's response to the specific grain, wheat, whereas a gluten intolerance is not an allergy, but an autoimmune disease, where the body attacks itself! Whoa! The reason why it's more annoying than a wheat allergy, is because with a gluten intolerance, one is to avoid gluten entirely - all gluten products, which include such yummy things as wheat bread, many pastas, delicious cakes and cookies, malt vinegar, vegetable protein (morningstar crumbles! NOOO!), soy sauce, etc.

So, I'm sure I'll be talking about this quite a bit in the next coming days, as I'll be starting my wheat introduction shortly. Here's the recipe I tried (it is super good, really, really good):

Oh, I found the recipe here.
__________________________________________________________________

1 lb. kamut, steamed with 1 tablespoon garam masala spice mix
or 1 t. each cinnamon, ground cloves and ground coriander
(Recipe uses 4 cups of the cooked kamut; leftovers make great salads)
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
1/2 cup bouillon
4 cups cooked kamut -- see note above
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 can pink beans or light red kidney beans
pinch cayenne, or to taste
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 vine-ripened tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or Italian parsley leaves

Bring the onion, green pepper, carrots and ginger root and 1/2 cup of
bouillon to a boil and simmer, covered, until the carrots are tender,
about 15 minutes. Stir the cooked kamut, raisins and beans into the
vegetable mixture and add the cayenne to taste. Just before serving,
stir in the peas, tomatoes and cilantro or parsley leaves. (EASY!!!)

8-10 servings (between three hungry people, we just almost ate the whole dish)
__________________________________________________________________

The kamut was awesome, scrumptious, even. It had a super satisfying texture - like rice on steroids! The dish itself had a great variety of texture; the peas, carrots, beans and raisins in particular created a nice little bite medley, and it's very pretty when cut up and put into little bowls.
Now, when I had this (nervous laughter here...), it was also my first night with beer, so that in itself kind of messed up any speculations into whether I was allergic to wheat or intolerant of gluten or not. Whoops. I can say, though, that the beer definitely messed with me. My stomach was killing me after I had just one bottle. Since then I’ve been unable to handle beer without my stomach hurting a ton (cramps, at one point it felt like I was being stabbed in the intestines). It's the same reaction I have had to bagels. It’s not looking good. As I’m typing this my stomach is hurting, and I know I haven’t been avoiding gluten very well. It’s a bit childish, I know, but I may take awhile to admit defeat and just give up gluten altogether.

Sooo Delicious

At about 10:30 pm, a little after dinner, I wanted a treat. So much did I want a treat, that I totally wasted gas (though at $1.69/gal, how could I not? (just kidding!!)) and drove a measly six blocks to Wheatsville, Co-op to look for ice cream, specifically, a dairy-free Neapolitan ice cream.

Oh, I remember – Nathan had gotten a huge gallon tub of Bluebell’s Neapolitan flavor. Oh my god, Bluebell, Texas’ “best ice cream in the country,” and, dude, I haven’t found better. I mean, it’s a whole different category of ice cream – just super rich and creamy, very distinct from gelato and so much better than any other ice cream I’ve had. Horrible ingredients; really, don’t look at the ingredient list. When I was a kid I remember stopping by the Bluebell Ice Creamery in Brenham, Texas. My parents enjoyed very much recycled vacations, so we went there about three times in my childhood, at least (and the State Capital four times, the LBJ museum and the Alamo also four times…four times). I credit these experiences when it comes to my high tolerance for repetitive actions. What can I say, they meant well.

So, Nathan got a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream and pulled it out that night. I’m sure he was pretty happy to not share (really, this ice cream is tasty), but seeing him indulge was too much, and I ran out to see what dairy-free treats I could find. Luckily, there is a soy version of Neapolitan ice cream by So Delicious. And it was good! I’ve never really liked the texture of soy ice creams, but this particular one really got it. The strawberry and chocolate flavors were the superstars in the trio. Definitely recommend it. Once I was savoring this, without the stomach-ache I would have gotten from a dairy ice cream, I didn’t miss Blue Bell so much. And Nathan was pretty happy about that for a number of reasons.

Austin Cookin'

I ate eggs and it did not kill me. I was craving them; I’ll be honest. Nathan had bought some for himself, and I caved. I have a feeling I will have these moments in my vegan-hood where I break down and eat a breakfast taco. It’s hard not to when I’m in a breakfast taco paradise (For example, see here, here, or here).

Such a paradise, that is, that with bought ingredients you can easily make them at home, and they will be delicious (and cheaper). The ticket is a good, fresh tortilla. I’m still not eating flour tortillas (still avoiding gluten), but that’s fine. Corn tortillas are tasty. Man, though, I am eating a lot of corn. So much corn.

I made a simple scramble with bok choy and eggs. Heated up the tortilla on the stove until it was just starting to brown (I like it a little crunchy), and then added some Valentina sauce on the top of the taco.

I want to talk a little more about Valentina sauce. I’ve been in love with this stuff since college, when my housemate at the time added it to her guacamole, and my mind was blown. She had brought it over from her visit in Mexico, and it was difficult to acquire in Portland. Fortunately, the bottle sizes are HUGE, so one trip near the ‘burbs for a bottle, and I was set. I was sauce-less in Argentina (though Nathan had stocked up in his last US trip three huge bottles of that rooster sauce), and now, in Texas, Valentina sauce is easy as pie to get. And it’s super cheap! I have a 1L bottle (it was the only size available) of the “Muy Picante” black label version (the black label means it doesn't play) that I got for 99 cents (or was it $1.99? I don’t remember). Either way, it was a pretty sweet deal. One liter! I like the flavor to this sauce a lot, but I could see it not appealing to everyone…I guess.

Here are the ingredients:
Water, Chili Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)

So the ingredients aren’t so bad, especially for the price. Sodium benzoate doesn’t have the best reputation, but I know this list at least passes one friend's hot sauce standards – vinegar is not the first ingredient. Hmph.

Healthy and Delicious

My parents were in town this weekend. Since I’ve been living in Texas, they’ve come down to Austin from Huntsville (a three-hour drive…a three-hour drive…heehee) EVERY weekend. And, I’ll tell the truth, it’s actually kind of nice. I haven’t lived near my parents in almost 7 years, and I missed them. They are very nice people. I like having them around. So there.

There are a lot of superficial differences between my family and me, one of those differences being what we eat. And this doesn’t usually bother me so much; I tend to be un-involved in others’ choices of what they choose to eat. Irrational food-prejudices annoy me, but I don’t really care when someone wants to eat a ton of meat in front of me, especially if it’s tasty. I am a big advocate of taste. Still, I guess in general I do enjoy sharing healthy AND delicious food; some people really don’t think healthy food can be tasty, and they need the enlightenment. So that’s one of my goals in living near my family. I want to influence the way they eat, at least a little. They don’t have a ton of healthy influences in their lives, and why not bring a little Portland food love to Huntsville, Texas?

Anyways, I know they like my cooking – at least, they are very convincing in their “Mmm’s.”

I wanted to cook something nice for my parents, but also easy. Usually that means I’m making a quinoa salad. Quinoa is one of my favorite grains ever (did you know it’s actually a seed? Hmm.), and I was intrigued by the following recipe because it uses red quinoa. I had never had red quinoa before, and I liked all of the other ingredients (avocados!!! cherry tomatoes!! avocados!!!), so I gave it a try. I found the recipe online, from the blog, AlmostFit. I pasted the recipe below, and put in parentheses my little changes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ingredients

1 cup uncooked red quinoa
2 cups water
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, diced
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted (I used walnuts instead)
2 tablespoons of capers, to taste (Did not use capers)

Caramelized onions:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 thinly sliced red onion

Basic vinaigrette dressing:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, with zest
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Bring the quinoa and water to boil. When the water boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes. When cooked, quinoa has a texture similar to perfectly cooked pasta, or rice. Strain and rinse well under cold water.

While the quinoa is cooking, in a skillet heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions until transparent.

Prepare the vinaigrette by combining the ingredients and whisking.

In a large salad bowl, toss all of the ingredients together, including caramelized onions and the vinaigrette.

Serve cold or at room temperature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This meal was SUPER easy to make and effin’ DELICIOUS. Seriously. I have been missing out. Nathan thought it was the best quinoa salad I’d made (better than the quinoa paella? No way; that’s just crazy talk), but I think that was the just the out-of-detox-everything-tastes-amazing talking. In any case, it was tasty, if not also a liiittle too oily. Also, we had Nut Thins as a gluten-free accompaniment to the salad, along with some steamed kale with lemon juice. Yum. I felt great.

Dressed to Kill, Get It?

I came home from running errands and there was a delicious, scrumptious salad waiting for me. Nathan whipped it together from random things we had in the fridge. He got a little happy with the dressing, but, my god, can that boy make a salad dressing. He took so much pride in the montage of ingredients that he wouldn’t tell me all of them. I didn’t care so much. I was happy to be eating it, especially as I had just arrived home from about two hours of dazed grocery shopping. I went to the 24-hour Fiesta Mart, and it was just almost a religious experience. There are aisles and aisles of exotic and hard-to-find ingredients, super cheap, and I spent a lot of time dreaming about future cooking exploits. By the time I got home, I was starving.

Luckily I had an amazing salad all prepped and ready to eat! Mmmm, I’m getting giddy just thinking about it again. I know there were tomatoes, walnuts, avocados, Flax Seed Oil, nutritional yeast, artichoke hearts, celery, carrots, and I can’t think of what else. For some crunch, I had these Pecan Nut-Thins, by Blue Diamond. I’m still denying myself of wheat and gluten, so I’ve been eating a LOT of these crackers. They are super good, salty and with an excellent crunch, but unfortunately $2.19 a box (and we go through a box easily in one sitting).


I also found a baba ganouj version from Wheatsville that was slightly cheaper than the Tom’s Tabooley brand. Nathan liked it better. I think I prefer the Tom’s version, but both are pretty delicious. They are both pretty freakin’ fresh. Unfortunately, with unemployment still looming, I can’t get used to fancy-pants snacks.

"Tijuana Tempeh"

One of the foods I craved the most when in South America was tempeh. I had plenty of access to tofu (yay China Town!), but it’s not the same, at all. As soon as I could, I looked online for some tempeh stir-fry inspiration. At this point I was still in the corn, etc., phase of my food re-introduction program (see bottom of this post). I think I’ve been eating corn chips every day; that’s not good, but other than that my diet has been pretty freaking healthy.

I found this recipe from the website In A Vegetarian Kitchen with Nava Atlas. I spent a lot of time reading the recipes; they look pretty tasty. Also, I was colored impressed by the array of cookbooks this lady had published. She has a ton of vegan and vegetarian books, some of which I’ve seen at friends’ houses (and they have great taste). Here’s the recipe I went with:

Tijuana Tempeh

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
. 3/4 cup vegetable stock
. 2 tablespoons shoyu or natural soy sauce (I used Bragg’s, I bet it's better with soy sauce)
. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
. 4 teaspoons light sesame oil
. 8-ounce package tempeh
. 2 medium-sized red or yellow onions, sliced thin
. 6 to 8 large cloves garlic, minced
. 1 jalapeño or serrano chile, seeded and minced, or to taste
. 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
. 4 small zucchini, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
. 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
. 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced (optional)

Whisk together the stock, shoyu, and lime juice.

Set a wok or stir-fry pan over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil and the tempeh, turning it to coat both sides. Brown the tempeh on both sides. Remove it from the wok and cut it into strips about 1/2 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long; set aside.

Reheat the wok over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, swirling it to coat the sides of the pan. Add the onions and stir-fry for two to three minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic, chile, and red bell peppers and continue stir-frying for tow minutes more.

Add the zucchini and tempeh and stir-fry about one minute. Add the liquid seasoning mixture. Cover the wok and cook for several minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is almost absorbed. Serve immediately, garnished with the cilantro, and avocado if desired.
________________________________________________

If you try this, I recommend throwing in some guacamole (homemade or Trader Joe’s version) on the side. Chips help to fill in the serious absence of crunch, especially as the texture in this stir-fry can be a bit mushy (crunchy tempeh would have been better).

Really quickly, I will write down the gist of my guacamole recipe. It is always good.

4 ripe avocados
1/4 cup diced red onions
4-6 cloves garlic (I like garlic)
1 tomato, diced
a LOT of chopped cilantro, like, definitely more than half a cup, maybe even a whole cup (I love cilantro)
Tbsp of hot sauce (my preference is Valentina Salsa)
salt, to taste
lime juice, to taste

That's basically it. If it's not incredibly delicious, usually adding more salt or lime juice helps.

I thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers of the "Tijuana Tempeh" (silly name, hm?) more than the first meal, especially when I added more lime juice and salt (see? It helps.). All in all this meal was okayyy the first time out, better and better as leftovers. I'm sure I'll be happier with this the next time I make it.

Chau.

Ouch

Times have not been the easiest lately, and I’m writing less as a result. It should probably be the other way around. I would like it to be the other way around someday…working on that. Anyways, I hurt my back pushing myself too hard while doing yoga in my bedroom. It was stupid, and I’m paying for it now. My back’s at least healing, and a lesson has been learned. So, happy ending…I guess. Regardless, that, and the fact that our new apartment still has no internet, all contributes to the stalling of my blog posts. I’m going to continue updating as much as I can, but it will keep in its stilted-ness until I am getting a steady supply of Inter-power.

I have too much Deadwood on the brain…I can't write tonight...must watch more Deadwood.

Oh, and my boyfriend just made an AMAZING dinner of butternut squash soup. Yum!

Back, Back to Texas, Texas

So I took a little break. Let’s say the first few entries were a bit of a test run for myself. The last month has been pretty hectic, but I see the semblances of settling a’happening, and I want to get back into writing. I like food a lot. I’m planning on sticking around here for a bit, so now’s as good a time as any to get into this new little groove I’ve set for myself.

I’m in Austin now, after a drawn-out reintro to the United States via a road trip. Adjusting to the food here has been the hardest part of being back. Bagels, pizza, chips and rich, rich food made my tummy hurt almost every day. I needed a readjustment and decided to go through a brown rice detox once Nathan and I stopped all the couch-surfing. I’ve gone through a couple detoxes and each time learned a ton about my body and its cravings.

Still, depriving yourself of something your body has accustomed itself to is a difficult process. Once your body regulates itself to certain chemical compositions, it can be hard to let go. I’m not crazy about coffee, but I often find myself tied to sugar (sweet, lovely sugar). It’s crazy feeling the withdrawals of that; when I’m consciously avoiding sweet, but every part of me wants it sooo bad. These detoxes can do some amazing things though (Science!). I was pretty impressed after my first one. I had brown rice, soy sauce, gomasio, and occasionally steamed broccoli for ten days. My first two days I had only fresh juice (all praise the heavy duty juicer) and then it was rice, rice, rice. I felt alright the first day, horrible the second and had an all-out breakdown by the fourth day. It was intense, like epiphany that I should break up with my then boyfriend intense. I realized then how much I look to food as a crutch in my life, as a distraction from problems at hand. I took to writing, felt better, and continued eating brown rice. I made it through completely readjusted; I had seriously no desire for non-food food. Tortilla chips (once one of my favorite foods), french fries, etc., looked completely inedible. I craved real food and it was awesome. I was super happy, like, genuinely happy; I felt great. Then I drank beer one night and it all went down-hill from there. I did another detox one year later and have been doing these about once a year since.

With this latest one (which I ended this Sunday) I wanted to do a better job re-introducing foods into my system. I want to test my body a bit once I have a clean slate, so to speak. Before I started the detox, I had my last meal in my new apartment (above picture). We went to Central Market, a healthier, more organic and “natural”-friendly supermarket than its parent-store, H-E-B. H-E-B is a corporation found only in Texas, as far as I know, and they have an amazing tortilla making machine. Woo. Anyways, Central Market is a nice alternative to Whole Foods, if you’re into that. We (boyfriend and I) are into that. So we headed over and spent some dough on pre-made stuff. The salad we made ourselves in a lazy fashion (mixed greens from bulk, carrots, artichoke hearts, avocado, tomatoes, Annie’s Ginger Vinaigrette Dressing), the chips we got from Fiesta Supermarket (that place deserves its own posting someday, god bless ’em), and Central Market provided the rest: whole grain bread, bulk salsa, butternut squash soup, and wine. I’ve forgotten the name of the wine, but we’ll get it again. Whatever. After this meal...it's RICE! RICE! RICE!


Okay! So the general plan for the next seven days was as follows (the routine I kind of just put together after reading around about various brown rice detoxes and nutrition reports):

BREAKFAST: A green juice and a glass of water with lemon juice. (Sometimes I mixed them together, sometimes I had one and not the other.)

LUNCH: Brown rice with chopped celery.

SNACK (or whenever hungry really): Brown rice with chopped or grated carrots.

DINNER: Brown rice with steamed veggies. One kiwi for dessert.

Some notes: I made sure to exercise a bit everyday and drink lots of water. I tried to stick with high alkaloid foods, and less acidic foods, as high alkaloid foods are a little kinder to the stomach. The veggies I ate on a regular basis were celery, carrots, broccoli, and kale. I threw in parsley for its “chemo-protective” qualities. For seasoning, I stuck to Braggs Liquid Aminos and nutritional yeast. Our meals were actually quite delicious, and I think I’ll even make this on normal, eat-whatever-I-want nights. Yum.

So I felt a bit sick after the first day, like I was actually getting sick. I felt lethargic and had aching headaches (the headache part might have been from me getting sloppy in keeping up with my water-intake). After the third day, however, I felt awesome, physically. I had a lot of energy, but emotionally I felt a bit all over the place. I didn’t like that I couldn’t have certain things, especially when I was out toting my Tupperware of brown rice. That made me grumpy sometimes, but I got over it. On my last day, though, I was downright giddy. I even insisted on sharing some my diet with my parents when I heard they were swinging by for lunch, if for nothing but to proselytize the Word on health food. Hmph.

Hm, I suppose it’s interesting to mention I was reading The China Study whilst detoxing. I had been meaning to read it for a couple of years now, and had actually bought a copy for my dad awhile back. I picked it up and actually had a lot of fun thinking about nutrition and the food industry and just making a whole nutrition theme for my detox week. I just finished the book today and I’m pretty excited about watching the documentary, The Future of Food soon.


This is the first thing Nathan and I ate once we officially ended the detox – Rice Chips and baba ganouj. We were pretty freaking excited about it. Just to have that little bit of diversity on my palette was so...exotic. It was also my first experience with Tom’s Tabooley, a local provider of Mediterranean goodies. The baba ganouj was delicious, if also expensive. After that snack I cooked a mediocre Tempeh Coconut Curry. I put too much coriander and there just wasn’t as much love, I admit it. It’s been awhile since I’ve cooked with these ingredients and I gotta get back in a cooking mode, for sure. I’ll put the recipe up when I’ve made it better.

I found a random document online that talked a bit about re-introducing foods into the system after a brown rice detox. I have to admit, I didn’t look much farther than this little guideline. I was tired, and, okay, anyways I’m not following it sooo much. The basic idea is that I’m re-introducing various foods slowly back into my diet, noting how my body reacts to them, and moving on. Nathan and I tweaked the whole thing a bit, and this was the outcome:

Days 1-4: Add corn, corn oil, bananas, dried fruit, mushrooms, tomato sauce, avocados, wheat-free/gluten-free bread, rice pasta/rice noodles, dairy-free ice-cream, millet, amaranth, quinoa, canola oil, and sesame oil. No hydrogenated oils.

Days 5-7: Add walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, tahini, almonds. (No peanuts, cashews, or pistachios).

Days 8-11: Add barley, buckwheat, oats, kamut, lentils, chickpeas, split peas, black-eyed peas, beans.

Days 12-13: Add yogurt and feta cheese.

Day 14: Add whole grain products.

Day 15: Add rennet-free whole raw mild cheese.

After that day I’ll add peanuts, etc. I don’t imagine it’s supposed to be a get-it-all-in-before-the-last-day kind of thing. We’ll see how it goes. I decided awhile back that after this detox I’d go vegan, and I’m sticking to that plan. I won’t be a super strict vegan, but I want my diet to be primarily dairy and meat free. Reading The China Study kind of scared me straight. Heart problems run in both sides of my family and I’d like to avoid that route as much as possible. That, and it would just be nice to have some possibility of a life in old age that I can enjoy. I will eat some bad food every now and then, but sparingly. Cheese is so good. Especially in the form of queso.

An Orange and Coconut Water in Golden Gate Park

More specifically, I was in the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, in Golden Gate Park. They were beautiful, even on a cloudy day. I didn't have much time to spend there, as I am not a very seasoned visitor to San Fran and forgot to bring an extra layer. I got too cold and left early.

Anyways, I picked up the coconut water at an over-priced natural food store right near the park, on Carl Street. I walked about 4 miles from the house I was staying at, in Bernal Heights, to the entrance I was told I must use, Lincoln Way and 9th Avenue (I also highly recommend that area, as you are led straight to the entrance to the Botanical Gardens). I was pretty thirsty by the end of that, so finding the natural food store was nice. I have been slightly obsessed with coconut water ever since my last trip to New York. It's a great drink; not only is it coco-licious, it's actually incredibly healthy for you. It's got a ton of potassium and minerals, natural isotopes and is super hydrating (it's a naturally isotonic beverage). Heh...and check out this crazy long list of benefits I just found online (now it's starting to remind me of kombucha...mmm...kombucha):

• Low in Carbohydrates
• 99% Fat Free - Contains No Cholesterol
• Low in natural occurring sugar
• Contains organic compounds possessing growth promoting properties
• Cures Malnourishment
• Effective in the treatment of kidney and urethral Stones
  
  
• Natural drink for feeding infants suffering from intestinal disturbances
• Excellent oral re-hydration medium, an all natural isotonic for all ages
• Re-hydrate naturally, free of added sugars or chemicals
• More hydrating to the body then water
• Lower arterial pressure
• Relieve spasms and stomach pain
• Ease burns
• Natural diuretic
  
  
• Presence of saline and albumen makes it an excellent drink in cholera cases
• Maintains the human body's natural fluid levels
• Can be injected intravenously in emergency cases
• Helps in carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells
• Eliminate swelling in hands and feet
  
• Normalize the intestinal function and raise metabolism
• Heal damage induced by antibiotics and toxins in the digestive tract
• Boost poor circulation

Wow! Well, I don't know about all of this stuff, but it is damn tasty and definitely makes me feel pretty good after drinking it. It accompanied my orange quite well (man, and it had been such a long time since I had had an orange), though I was pretty starving by the time I had a chance to eat dinner, which was no where near as healthy as this lunch-time snack ... uck.

UPDATE ON BAGEL SANDWICH...and then some Thai food!

Oh man...this is not good, not good at all. I have been in a constant state of pain for the last...hm...5 hours. It was the bagel; I'm pretty sure it was the bagel. I remember this pain. When I was in New York three weeks ago I felt this constantly and I was on a horrible diet of pizza and bagels almost every day then (whoops). Stomach crampings, achings, just bad, really bad. Tonight it caused me to skip out on any beer for the evening (I've already learned my lesson with that), and I just couldn't fully enjoy the rest of my night at all, much less the tasty Thai food I had for dinner. Ugh. I'm still in pain as I write this. I just had some kefir milk (which I was just introduced to two weeks ago) and am drinking a hot ginger tea, for digestion, and because it's nice.

Ugh. That bagel absolutely KILLED me. I found myself spacing out a lot during drinks and dinner just to try to zen out on the pain. Poo.

Okay. So I've done some research and now I'm a little paranoid I may have celiac disease. I don't tend to just think I have a disease...really. I just read this article though and it freaked me out (thanks internet!). Ack! But I really might have something like this. I've always been super sensitive to food, and growing up I've really just seen stomach pains as a daily part of life. I used to think everyone else maybe felt pain, too, and I hated to feel whiny about it. Yeah, it's a bit effed up. I went on a detox the year after I graduated college and it was the first time in my life I didn't have pain. It was amazing. It's actually quite interesting to think of how different my life would be if I had figured out my food sensitivities at an early age (I'm also suspicious that I'm lactose intolerant). Totally different. It's very possible that I am unable to digest wheat...whoa.

So I learned from that article I linked to above that about 1 in 133 Americans are said to have celiac disease, but only 1 in 2000 knows it. Crazy, but believable. I'm sure a lot of people have all kinds of issues that go undiagnosed. And something that causes such a range of stomach pains seems like something super easy to ignore and/or just excuse away. I've been doing that as long as I can remember, and the pain can be pretty debilitating at times. So that cranky cashier or neighbor or whoever? Maybe they just have celiac disease and are in horrible pain alllll the time. I'm not excusing anyone here, just wondering how much happier of a world we'd have if people felt better physically. If we were more aware of our food peculiarities and sensitivities. Hm (trying to resist making a joke about food for thought...).

But...I'll probably still eat wheat until I know for sure. Heh. Just not bagels for now. Err..that's so hard to write. This will be an experiment (yay!). No more bagels. I just can't take it. I'm still in pain six hours later. I don't remember being this sensitive to bagels. I used to eat them every day during college, but I guess my immune system was pretty different then. Who knows what's happened in the meantime with my body chemistry. Or maybe I'm just more aware of my body (or just care more) since meditating and doing detoxes every now and then. Who knows. I just know my tummy hurts. Really, really bad.

And Now For Thai Food!


Alright, so for dinner we went to a fancy-pants Thai restaurant in the Mission District, Osha. I was pretty excited, mostly because I was starving, but the menu is motivating, and fun to read regardless.

We got quite a spread. For appetizers: Tom Yum soup (From the menu: Hot & sour soup, lemon grass, galanga, kaffir lime leaf, mushrooms, tomatoes), and a mussels dish that I can't actually find in the online menu. Both of these dishes were A-MAZING. Wow. Even with a horrible stomach-ache, I was distracted enough by the deliciousness that I could once again be social. The Tom Yum soup (usually I go for the Tom Kha, which comes with coconut soup..mmm) was crazy good. It had a ton of lime juice and a perfect amount of green onions. Perfect amount of spicyness. Perfect. The mussels were equally satisfying, with a thick (super) gingery sauce I couldn't get enough of. I was incredibly excited about the sauce. Out of this world.



Unfortunately, with such an intense appetizer experience, my expectations were pretty high for the entrees, which didn't pull through quite so much. They were good, definitely. But having lived in Portland, my Thai standards can be pretty high. This place was expensive, too, with dinners ranging from $11 to $16 and more. Some of the best Thai in Portland can be found easily in the $7 and up range (my favorite in this range is Baan-Thai), and my faaavorite place by a bit more (Khun Pic's Bahn Thai - Go there), is an experience in and of itself, and in a similar price range as Osha. Osha unfortunately couldn't hold a candle to Khun Pic's, but not many places could. I was spoiled in Portland, and now I guess I'm a bit of a Thai food snob as a result. Everyone else loved our entrees, if also agreeing it was a bit over-priced. I was underwhelmed and left the restaurant still dreaming of our starters.



We ordered the Volcanic Beef, a Pumpkin Curry, Pad Khee Mao, and a ginger rice and brown rice on the side. The ginger rice was tasty and subtle. Both rices were a really good texture. I guess of the entrees the Volcanic Beef took the cake. Aside from being well displayed, it had a yummy sauce, tender meat and onion rings! Onion rings! The rest was okay.



So my stomach pains are dulling away and I'm getting sleepy now. I think the ginger tea helped? Or the kefir?

Goodnight now.

At the Coffeeshop

The Veg-Hed Bagel Sandwich
...is what I got at Nervous Dog Coffee, a comfy cafe in Bernal Heights (near the Mission District) in San Francisco. Nathan and I are staying in this area with his brother and I'm spending the day doing what I've been aching to do since arriving back in the states three weeks ago - staying cooped up in a cafe with my laptop, playing around on the internet...all day. It's privileged and luxurious, yes, and quite wonderful.

I was hoping this place would have food, and it does! And it's tasty!! And with vegetables!!! Exclamation points!!!! The sandwich was very satisfying, one of about four of their special sandwiches (though you can build your own, too). The bagel was toasted (they had run out of a lot of their bagels by one, when I arrived, but thank god there were still some Everythings left), and the sammich was piled with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, spring lettuce, and maybe some other stuff. It had a lemony hummous that was pretty yummy, and some cream cheese, which was a nice touch. I was surprised it wasn't messier. I am notorious for being a mess with certain foods (tacos, give me a stack of napkins. A STACK.), but sandwiches can be hit or miss in the messy department, you know? But this sandwich was prepared with a clear consciousness for the consumer - stacked thicker in the middle and thinner around the rims to help facilitate pinching the sammich at its borders in order to keep the innards contained. Genius! The handling of such a sandwich is a sweet trick I learned from a master sammich-eater (who only showed me the trick because of how much I was grossing him out), and clearly this good samaritan preparer was trying to nudge customers in the right direction, as well. Fortunately I was already in the know, but it was nice to see a sandwich taken seriously. For once! (I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

The Kettle chips I got were totally unnecessary, but it's so hard to resist the crunch factor they provide when sandwich-munching. I'm a sucker for the crunch factor, and Kettle chips do provide a good crunch.

The chai was suuuper good. It had a great name - Pirate's Chai! Argh! I'm not sure why it was named Pirate's Chai, but I loved it. It was a green tea chai, not too sweet, a cool green color, and the same price as the regular boring chai. Too bad I don't live in this area; I would totally frequent this place.

They also had some yummy looking egg breakfast sandwiches (you could get it with a bagel or english muffin), and some breakfast turnovers and lunchy quiches, none of which I actually had. The drink selection looked pretty good, and the prices were not quite as expensive as what I've been seeing in the area, well, not as expensive as the one other coffee shop I've been to since in San Fran at least. Meh.

All in all it was pretty darn good.

My First Post (Almost) EVER

My first actual blog post ever was here.

So I'm not so much for putting myself all over the net (I prefer vomiting in the toilet), but deep down inside I think I knew I was going to be giving in at some point, and that point came when I found myself thinking so friggin' much about food...and how delicious it can be. Mmmm. I already take pictures of almost everything I eat these days, and I love giving restaurant recommendations to friends and family, so setting up a site where I can share my food appreciation seemed appropriate. Also, I've been cooking a lot more (and better) and it will be nice to have an outlet for that as well.

I am fairly sensitive to food in general (sugar makes me loopy, caffeine makes me way too jittery, etc.), and I'll try to keep an account of my reactions and moods...cuz they have a lot to do with the food I'm eating. I think a lot has to do with the food I'm eating actually. It's disturbing how little people in the Western mainstream (and its margins) think about the things (food and otherwise) they put in their bodies. Not that I'm super conscious all the time of how I'm polluting or fueling myself, but this blog will hopefully help in that. Or at least help in guilt-tripping me into caring more, like the good ex-Catholic that I am.

This is one of those things I have been meaning to do for a long time now, but here goes.