Thanks to my lovely daughter, we have now discovered tvp - textured vegetable protein. It sounds pretty strange as something to eat - kind of like a pipe or chemical or something. BUT, if you mix it with water, it amazingly has the texture and taste of ground meat. She made us a pasta dish with tvp, spaghetti sauce and spaghetti and it was delicious. We used more of it later in the week to have with tacos. I mostly was using refried and other beans with my Mexican food but the tvp with taco flavoring was so good, it will definitely be a welcome addition. This addition to our menu offerings is especially good because my husband does not like many of the other vegetable protein alternatives like tofu. He has become an avid fan of tvp since even though he doesn't eat much meat, it has been hard finding him other sources of protein.
Eat less meat
It might be a healthy treat
Cholesterol-free and a taste that's neat
Will help your heart and slim your bulky seat
And make you dance to the funky beat!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
I don't really want to talk about Mother's Day because these special days set aside to celebrate a certain person or loved on in our lives are difficult for me. I just think they create pressure and uncertainty on everyone and create the exact emotions that are contrary to the idea of the day. The gestures/words/gifts expressed to an important person in our lives should be genuine and flow out of a true feeling, not a day designated to it. Anyway, that is all I will say about that. However, the up side for me is that I get 3 meals today that I don't have to cook. My husband made me pancakes this morning with soy milk, oat bran (all vegan) with blueberries and real maple syrup from a local sugar house. Actually he does this almost every weekend, but today was a Mother's Day special - very delicious AND he cleaned up. For lunch, my daughter will be here and we will just pull together something simple and she will be making some sort of vegan dessert (she is a great baker so I am sure it will be good AND a surprise as to what it will be). For dinner, the 3 of us will be going out to a Mexican restaurant (craving Mexican). The first item in my mouth will be a tortilla chip with guacamole, the 2nd with salsa and many more where they came from. This restaurant offers a vegetable choice in their Mexican standard choices and they can be ordered without the cheese. And, once again, no cooking or clean up. Even though the weather is a little gray and chilly, it is a great way to spend it. Nothing fancy, just the simple pleasures. We will call my mother-in-law later to wish her a Happy Mother's Day - her gift from us this year was not flowers as we usually do, but a restaurant coupon that she can use for takeout food. She will be 90 years old in June and doesn't get out much any more. My own mother has passed away and I miss her very much. She was probably the most loving person on the planet not only to me but to everyone she met. For someone who started this post with a negative on Mother's Day, I sure found a lot to say about today in the rest of the post. Oh well, I guess that's a mother's privilege? :-O
for my mother
M is for the Memories of your beautiful smile
O is for the Once upon a times you read me before bed
T is for the Triangle Toast you made when I was sick
H is for the Happiness you spread even when you were sad
E is for the Empathy you had for all mankind
R is for the Rebel girl you wanted me to be (I am)
I don't really want to talk about Mother's Day because these special days set aside to celebrate a certain person or loved on in our lives are difficult for me. I just think they create pressure and uncertainty on everyone and create the exact emotions that are contrary to the idea of the day. The gestures/words/gifts expressed to an important person in our lives should be genuine and flow out of a true feeling, not a day designated to it. Anyway, that is all I will say about that. However, the up side for me is that I get 3 meals today that I don't have to cook. My husband made me pancakes this morning with soy milk, oat bran (all vegan) with blueberries and real maple syrup from a local sugar house. Actually he does this almost every weekend, but today was a Mother's Day special - very delicious AND he cleaned up. For lunch, my daughter will be here and we will just pull together something simple and she will be making some sort of vegan dessert (she is a great baker so I am sure it will be good AND a surprise as to what it will be). For dinner, the 3 of us will be going out to a Mexican restaurant (craving Mexican). The first item in my mouth will be a tortilla chip with guacamole, the 2nd with salsa and many more where they came from. This restaurant offers a vegetable choice in their Mexican standard choices and they can be ordered without the cheese. And, once again, no cooking or clean up. Even though the weather is a little gray and chilly, it is a great way to spend it. Nothing fancy, just the simple pleasures. We will call my mother-in-law later to wish her a Happy Mother's Day - her gift from us this year was not flowers as we usually do, but a restaurant coupon that she can use for takeout food. She will be 90 years old in June and doesn't get out much any more. My own mother has passed away and I miss her very much. She was probably the most loving person on the planet not only to me but to everyone she met. For someone who started this post with a negative on Mother's Day, I sure found a lot to say about today in the rest of the post. Oh well, I guess that's a mother's privilege? :-O
for my mother
M is for the Memories of your beautiful smile
O is for the Once upon a times you read me before bed
T is for the Triangle Toast you made when I was sick
H is for the Happiness you spread even when you were sad
E is for the Empathy you had for all mankind
R is for the Rebel girl you wanted me to be (I am)
Monday, May 4, 2009
My daughter's birthday
May 3 was my daugher's birthday. Since she is my healthy eating inspiration, I wanted to make sure I made her something special to eat on her celebration day. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well, so I opted to make her a cake and get take-out for dinner. The cake was coconut lemon bundt cake from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - my Christmas gift from her last year. It had coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, soy milk just to name a few primary ingredients. The recipe calls for a dusting of confectionary sugar, but I wanted to put an actual frosting/glaze on it. So, I mixed confectionary sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon zest to a good consistency, then drizzled it on the top of the cake. On top of the glaze, I sprinkled some more coconut. It was so delicious!!!! This is definitely a keeper and I will make it for friends and relatives. My husband is not a vegan, but tries to eat well and he had 3 pieces!!! The coconut didn't stick too well, however, and when she blew out the candles, the coconut went all over the table. Oh well, there was still some left on the cake.
It was over 20 years yesterday that a girl was born - a new life to be shared with a brother and 2 crazy parents. What a gift it was - a new adventure - with joy and tears - pride and worry - and boundless love to make it all work. Happy Birthday and may you continue to learn and grow and let your parents hang around once in a while. Every day is the first day of the rest of your life. Let it shine.
It was over 20 years yesterday that a girl was born - a new life to be shared with a brother and 2 crazy parents. What a gift it was - a new adventure - with joy and tears - pride and worry - and boundless love to make it all work. Happy Birthday and may you continue to learn and grow and let your parents hang around once in a while. Every day is the first day of the rest of your life. Let it shine.
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