The perfect Christmas gift for a vegan

The perfect Christmas gift for a vegan! My daughter gave me "Skinny Bitch - Ultimate Everyday Cookbook" by Kim Barnouin. The caption on the front states "crazy delicious recipes that are good to the earth and great for your bod" and they are all vegan. When I first got it, I decided to approach it kind of like a textbook (without the annoying yellow highlighter of course). Although I am very satisfied with being a vegan, I find myself repeating the same recipes and not venturing out to try to make more robust and healthier and more interesting recipes. I saw this as an opportunity to remedy this state of affairs. My hopes for the info in this book were not misplaced. It starts with a chapter on sustainability and the relationship to how we grow, process, distribute and eat our food. I especially took note of the types of produce that might be more likely to be pumped with pesticides and where an organic choice might be better. The next chapter provides descriptions of those foods that are part of the 'processed' group, the types of sweeteners and all the alternative protein options. Another preliminary section is now a place I check before I go grocery shopping - the book's "8 pantry staples" and a "skinny bitch" shopping list. I could go on, but let's just say, my enthusiasm for this book makes me want to do a "Julie & Julia" and go through the book from beginning to end, make the item, then blog about it. Since I don't seem to have the time to do that, I am determined to consult the book on a regular basis to get out of my vegan rut. In fact, I have already made 2 of the recipes with incredible results. The first recipe I tried was the Tangy Spinach and Strawberry Salad with a champagne vinagrette dressing. It was one of my contribution's to a New Year's Eve get-together at a friend's house. Just from the name of it, the wonderful ingredients, I had a hunch it would be good. However, it exceeded my expectations and it got rave reviews from my friends (and from me, of course). I have made it again since then because now I kind of crave it??? The other recipe I tried about a week ago was 'corn chowder' which used vegetable broth and almond milk instead of some of the regular ingredients. It was flavored with thyme, dill, salt and pepper with a creamy but light texture - so delicious. I made enough to last for at least a couple of meals, but on a cold snowy night, the whole panful was gobbled up. In addition to this book, my son gave me a tofu water expeller device. I guess my kids really know what I need and like. This cute little device will make my classic tofu stir-fry with broccoli and all the new tofu recipes I will try from the book so much easier to get started with. Getting all the moisture out of the tofu is so important so that the tofu can absorb the flavor profile of the the recipe. So, let's just say I had a great Christmas and got everything I need to have a great 2013 with lots of new exciting meals. Happy holiday to all and Happy New Year.

Trip to Canada

Went to a major city in Canada to visit a family member. Had a weekend of ups and downs in visiting our interesting neighbor to the North. First bump in the road (won't go into details) but at the border, had to go to "THE BUILDING" for interrogation and was mildly threatened with arrest. Wow - what happened to the friendly country I used to know!!!! It was all eventually straightened out and we made it to our destination. We spent the remaining part of the first day helping our loved one move from one apt to another. The process was stressful, but well-executed and ultimately successful. That night we visited downtown and looked for a vegan restaurant. The one we tried to get in had a 1 hour and 1/2 WAIT. YAY for a place that a vegan restaurant needs a reservation. (unfortunately for us) But we found a Mexican restaurant right down the street where our waitress turned out to be a vegan and steered us to the right stuff on the menu. There were 4 of us - 2 vegans and 1 semi-vegan and 1 carnivore. Since the menu had something for everyone and we got a chance to laugh, relax and visit - great fun. The next day we went back downtown to a funky marketplace sort of place - it was cold, but the sun was beaming down on us. We found a real vegan restaurant (see foto for sign outside the cafe). I had a sweet potato and millet curry with tons of other veggies and spices. So delicious!!!! Canada is back in my good graces - it won me over once again with it's diversity, laid back friendliness and unique architecture.