Moving!

Just a quick update! I currently live in Maine/New Hampshire (I live in Kittery, but the cruddier part, so I spend most of my time in Portsmouth) and am now in the process of moving to North Carolina - specifically Ft. Bragg (the husband is in the Army). I am quite afraid I'm going to be a very lonely vegan. Whenever I tell vegan friends I'm moving to NC, they tell me how great Asheville is. And I'm sure it is, but it's 5 hours away, so I don't think I'll go there much.

Right now I'm staying in a hotel room that is almost as big as the house I'm moving out of. Sad comment on the house, hurray for the hotel! So time here, then time on the road (14 hours with a toddler in a car!), time in a hotel on post, then our new house! Whee!!

A meh green smoothie and more Raw

I was a little slow on the real food train today. Started with pumpkin spice coffee (mmmm) and got back from the "veggie store" about 15 minutes ago. Am drinking a green smoothie that I am suffering to get through. 2 small kale leaves, 2 medium celery stalks, a golden delicious apple, an overripe banana and some cinnamon. It's not bad, it's just MEH.

In a little bit I will start on making Alissa Cohen's pesto stuffed mushrooms, some raw onion bread (needless to say I haven't picked a recipe), and for T.V. we're going to make some seitan (V'Con!) and mashed blue potatoes.

Pics later!

Okay, it's later. I didn't take pics. I wasn't planning well today so whenever food was ready, I was starving.

Today's eats:

• UNRAW - coffee, silk creamer, unrefined sugar (bad me, but migraine avoidance!)
• green smoothie - kale, celery, apple, cinnamon, banana, hemp seeds - MEH
  
• milkshake - raw almond milk, frozen bananas, cacao nibs
• apple with almond butter and this hempseed spread
• mushrooms w/ pesto
• salad w/ dijon dressing (from Raw Food Revolution Diet - this dressing was okay, but the other dressings I've tried from the book so far are AWESOME)
• UNRAW - 1 sea salt multigrain chip
• banana fig pudding (also from raw food revolution diet)

As you can imagine from that list, my tummy does feel a bit confused, and my head feels a bit wonky, but other than that I'm doing okay. Oh, and I did feel a bit cranky earlier.

Salt and books!

Today I got a visit from FedEx - always a nice surprise! My delivery was my win from Mitten Machen's salt giveaway, and here's a picture of my goods!





More $.50 and $1.00 books - exciting! Today's haul included these 2 books:



Yesterday's green smoothie was 2 medium/small size collard leaves, some frozen strawberries, 2 small bananas, some flax seed, and some lemony chia gel. Today's was papaya, bananas, celery, flax seed.

And because it JUST NOW showed up, my replacement actually BPA free Sigg bottle is here! The Reduce/Reuse/Recycle one, of course.

And here's a pic of T.V. eating an everything bagel with tofu cream cheese on our way to go apple picking.

New Books!!

I'm a bad MoFo'er, bad! My husband was in Iraq and he just came home last week so that's why I've been away. Bad me!

Anyway, he bought me books! Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian" which is huge and has so many recipes that I don't even care that it's vegetarian and not vegan; Jae Steele's "Get It Ripe"; and the third book I got is the subject of much PPK debate and animosity, the book that must not be named (no negative comments/angry debating allowed). I was just looking at the books at Barnes & Noble and he picked them up and bought them - awesome!! Anyway, I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the new recipes right now - recommendations on specific recipes accepted!!

I am happy to report that Teese is now available at Rising Tide Health Foods in Kittery, ME (you're welcome - it was ALL ME (and Karyn!!) to get it there! I shared a sample of some teese the awesome KarynMC sent me) and Portsmouth HFS has dandies! Cool.

Okay, I'm off to watch Biggest Loser - why does it always make me hungry?

Green Smoothie of the Day & a Bargain!

Today's green smoothie: Overripe pineapple, banana, apple, goji berries, celery, kale, flax seeds, hemp seeds. 48oz. I may have gone overboard. But it's yummy!! Mmm. I took a pic, but it's ugly (I drink them out of mason jars) so I'm not sharing.

Breakfast was tofu scramble (the YRR mix but with lemon juice and nooch a la VwaV) on an ezekiel tortilla with reduced fat vegenaise, sriracha, and some sauteed kale. Yummy! I was still a bit hungry so I ate more scrambled 'fu, and then I was stuffed. Alas.

Lunch was some of my mom's rawified gazpacho (recipe below) and a milkshake (bananas, raw brazil nut milk, cinnamon).

Mom's Gazpacho Recipe (truth be told, I don't know where she got this from, but she's been making it for years) -

2 lg. tomatoes, peeled
1 lg cucumber, pared
1 med. onion
1 med. green pepper
12 oz tomato juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed and split

1. In blender, combine 1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 onion, 1/4 green pepper and 1/2 c. tomato juice. Blend to puree.

2. In large bowl mix pureed veggies with the remaining tomato juice, 1/4 c. olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

3. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until chilled.

Okay, so how do I do it? I start by blending enough tomatoes to get to 12oz. THEN I follow the directions. No canned tomato juice, whee!! And I'm sure, if you wanted, you could use some good ACV. But I need the red wine vinegar to make it authentically mom.

So, my bargain? I've been kinda wanting to buy Prevention's Flat Belly Diet book, but didn't. Until today, at the library. Cause it was $1!!!! I haven't read much yet, but it seems okay so far because it advocates eating healthy fats. Phew!

Moshe, How I Miss Thee

From September 2005 until April 2008, I lived in Brooklyn. For awhile I was working a temp job for RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) on 6th near 46th (In case you're interested, while working there, I once ran into Geraldo at the Au Bon Pain in the lobby - I have the lamest celebrity sightings). It was at that point I discovered Moshe's falafel cart.

For less than $5, I got a nice sized pita with these golden falafels, tons of veggies, and these cool pickles. And I haven't had a falafel I've liked as much since. I was just googling Moshe and some people seem to think there's cornmeal in these falafel, but they didn't seem to taste corn-y. I'm not buying it. Anyone know? A picture of said falafel is here and here's a shot of the cart and the whole sandwich.

I once walked like 40 blocks, round trip, just to get a sandwich.

My other lame celebrity sighting? Seinfeld at the Triangle Town Mall in Raleigh, NC. My coolest celeb sighting? Morgan Spurlock's fiance, vegan chef Alex Jamieson! I think it was her - I walked by her in the city somewhere.

My tiny fridge may explode

1. I am sick of having a fridge that isn't full size.
2. My current stock of produce:

• 1 lb. string beans
• 6 cucumbers
• 1 zucchini
• 4-5 summer squash
• 3-5 lbs potatoes, including blue and fingerlings
• radishes
• 5 tomatoes
• 8 ears corn
• 2 bunches kale
• broccoli
• 2 lbs. carrots
• 3 shallots
• sweet potato
• 2 heads romaine
• asparagus
• eggplant
• avocado

I am at a loss of what to do with it all before it goes bad. I have a few ideas - like minestrone and bulgur eggplant pilaf - but that's it. Oh, and juice.

Today's eats:

• Breakfast: Banana; blueberry coffee w/ sugar and soy milk
  
• Lunch: eggplant/zucc bulgur pilaf
• Snack: smoothie: kale, celery, banana, raspberries, flax seed, mekabu (unsoaked)
• Snack: 1/4 pita w/ e.b.
• Dinner: baked falafel (i'll seek out the blog I got it from) on a huge salad w/ tahini dressing (i just stir together tahini, lemon juice, water, salt, pepper, paprika)

I'm almost sure there was something else, but I don't know what.