I'm Back In Time For the Storm!

I'm back from my long weekend with my parents and we had a blast! We went down to Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park (this is in Florida, btw). On the way down we went past these funky stilt "houses" and had dolphins swimming with the boat! This is not uncommon in the area we were in, but it's always magical!

Lilly did great on her first boat trip. She didn't get sea sick and LOVED the water, which I'm so relieved about! She floated, ran on a sand bar, and even took herself for a swim off a beach. 9 times out of 10 we are able to get the dogs to land in the dinghy to go potty, but we taught her to go on the front of the boat, just in case. Turned out to be a good thing because one night there were 3 foot waves in the cove where we were anchored and there was no way in hell we were taking the dogs in, at night, in a little boat. She would only go when my mom took her out there though. If I was there she'd just sit at my feet. Overall she had a blast, and she was so cute and unafraid, and, I'm afraid, a little depressed to be back home ;)

My "treats" were, of course, a huge hit! We gobbled down ever last piece and mom and I both had to swear of sweets for a while. I think we put on 5 lbs this weekend, but it was well worth it! The Date Bars were the overall favorite, but I liked the Blueberry Bundles too, but they were definitely better toasted.

One night we cooked Pasta with Rosemary Seasoned Tofu Balls from Vive le Vegan! I was a little worried how this would be received, since I have a very tofu-phobic family. But I shouldn't have worried. Of course everyone loved it! They really were delicious and certainly better than any meatball I've ever had. I just love not having to worry if something is undercooked, which I was always so obsessive about with meat.

Another night Mom and I had leftover Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole We made a little extra sauce using curry paste, curry powder, onions, and some vegetable broth. We also added peas and it was absolutely delicious served over brown rice.

We ended up eating the casserole because I had a failed attempt at Pumpkin Seed-Coated Lentil Patties also from Vive. I followed the direction but it didn't seem like the lentils cooked enough so I added more water and cooked them for longer, but I think maybe they were to "wet. I refrigerated the mixture over night but they were pure mush and unusable. I ended up chucking it overboard, which made mom a little mad because she thought they were tasty anyway. And I guess i shouldn't have wasted it, but I honestly didn't know how to salvage it.

Now I'm back at awaiting the imminent arrival of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Ernesto. You'd think it was the storm of the century the way everyone's getting all hysterical and buying up every available bottle of water and cooked food in the store. And of course, it's the only thing on TV. *sigh* People get silly. Which is not to say it shouldn't be taken seriously. I've lived here for 8 years and I've been through my fair share. It's no fun and I always seem to lose power at the mere mention of high winds. I'm also only a mile from the ocean, and therefore in a 2nd level mandatory evacuation zone, which I never heed. Mom is coming down with her dog to spent the night with me (I swear my building is a bunker, it's solid concrete), but Dad is going to stay on the boat. This is normal for him, especially for a tropical storm/low level hurricane. They actually stayed during Wilma last year, which was a bit stupid in hindsight, but they were ok. So.... If you don't hear from me for a couple days, please don't worry. It's just because I lost power and therefore internet access as well. It's not going to be a bad storm though. I swear ;)

I'm Going Away & Taking My Treats With Me!

But it's only for the weekend :)

I've been swept up in a baking frenzy! I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go anchor out with my parents in the Keys (my parents live on a boat). Mom requested more Apple-Hemp Muffins, but I've made them twice already and I've been itching for a change. So I've made: Blueberry Bounty Buns, Apricot-Almond Loaf, & Delish Date Squares. They're all from Vive le Vegan! (What? You expected a different cookbook? Puhlease!)

It might sound excessive, but we'll be gone 4 days. There's no stores anywhere, so you only have what you take with you, and there are three of us (counting my father who can't stop eating my delicious vegan treats despite his hesitations!)

The Blueberry Bounty Buns weren't quite what I expected, although I really like them. I thought they'd be more scone-ish, but they're more like really soft muffin tops. Which is still fantastic... and they really are "just" sweet enough. I used blueberries that I had frozen about a month ago and they worked great in the recipe.

The Apricot-Almond Loaf was pretty much exactly what I expected. It's moist and crunchy and I'm sure it will be perfect as a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea! I think next time I will only put the almonds on the top and not in the loaf as well. And maybe more apricots too. Overall though... it's awesome!

I had a few problems with the Delish Date Squares. I didn't read the directions all the way through first, and when to add the lemon rind threw me off. Picture me picking the zest out of a pot of cut up dates and lemon juice. *sigh*. Then the oat mixture/crust was way too dry so I added in some more maple syrup and oil and it still seemed dry, but I was worried I would over do it, so I put it together and baked it. In the end, it actually seemed to hold together pretty good. I think I used too big a lemon though (they all seemed slightly monstrous in size at WFM today), because it was very lemon-y. Very! But still tasty!


I'm not sure yet what we'll be cooking while we're out there, but I'll be bringing my tool box and I'll be sure to update everyone when I get back on Sunday night! Have a good weekend everyone!

Melissa Rocked! & More Yummy Goodness

I had an awesome weekend! On Saturday night I went to see Melissa Etheridge in concert. She was playing at a small outdoor amphitheater up in Boca Raton. I don't know which genius decided that an outdoor concert, in mid August, in South Florida, in an amphitheater surrounded by buildings (and hence no breeze), was a brilliant idea, but half way through everyone's deodorant simultaneously failed. This was superseded only by the fact that ME played for 2 1/2 solid hours. If you like her music and have never seen her live - Go! She's absolutely fantastic! And if you're not familiar with her, check out her greatest hits album: The Road Less Traveled.

Sunday I went to South Beach and had lunch with a friend down on Lincoln Road Mall (a huge outdoor pedestrian mall). We took this fun photo at the Apple store (I'm on the right):


Last night I took my tool bag over to my parents and cooked dinner for them there.

I made Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole with Brown Rice and Coconut Lime Cookies for dessert, from Vive le Vegan! of course!

We ended up adding a little corn starch to the liquid in the casserole pan to make a thicker curry sauce, and I think next time I would add a little more curry paste and a little less mustard seed. And maybe some peas to add a little color. And maybe some tofu. Oh the possibilities are endless really! I highly recommend this dish though... It's amazingly fragrant with the sweet potatoes!

My cookies came out very... flat. Maybe I added a little too much oil... but they were so delicious, it really didn't matter! Yet another keeper!

My dad whined about another vegan meal, but he happily ate every bite, and 4 of the cookies! So it gets the Omni star of approval too!

In other news... Lilly has recovered fully from the Spay surgery and is rapidly loosing all of her baby teeth to boot!

Adzuki & Rice Cakes

I drove my Mom to Hialeah again today so that she could buy some more pills from the Iridologist I wrote about in a previous post. She must have asked me 10 times what I was going to make for dinner tonight and to be honest, I had planned on left overs. She finally won me over though, and to be honest, it's so nice to finally be able to cook for her after she has cooked for me for the last 34 years.

We decided on Celebrity Adzuki Bean and Rice Cakes with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce, both from Vive le Vegan!. I think it's one of the prettiest dishes I've made so far, and we both loved it! It looks freakishly like ground beef after everything's gone through the food processor, which threw me off for a second. It has a really mild taste, and nice mouth feel - not too grainy or mushy. The Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce gave it a really nice, bright flavor, but I think I put in a little too much water, because it was a little thinner than I would have liked. It does make about 10 small cakes, and we ate 1.5 each and then I sent 2 home for Dad. I froze the other 5 patties uncooked, but one of these days I have to remember to start cutting recipes in half!

Product Reviews:

So Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter: Rich Rich Rich but oh so delicious!





Odwalla PomaGrand: This is newest find. It's a suitable replacement for Pom Wonderful, since they're evil and test on animals. Pomegranate juice for crying out loud! It's not like they're testing for the cure for HIV!





Veggie Munchees: I actually found these at my local market. I cooked them in the toaster oven and they were delicious with a side of Tamari. Perfect for a snack or as an appetizer.



Pie-Oh-My: I couldn't find a website for this one, but it's amazing! It's a single serving frozen apple pie. Vegan of course. I cooked it in the toaster oven and it took about 10 minutes. Thank goodness it's a single serving and I only bought one. It was delicious.

That's about it in my world. Tomorrow I'm going to see Melissa Etheridge (she's the only artist I will actually pay money to see) and I'm very excited! Lilly is recovering nicely from her spay surgery and without that name cone around her neck!

And finally... I just thought I'd share this absolutely beautiful sunset with you all:

Impromptu Cooking

For the last few months I have been helping my parents sort through their 1400 square foot storage unit. You see, 12 years ago, my parents packed up their house in Dallas (and subsequently my grandparents house in Denmark as well) and put everything in storage. They sold their house, moved to Florida, and bought a boat that they have lived on ever since. As wonderful as that is, their stuff has been languishing in storage ever since. They finally moved everything to a storage facility here that's as big as my condo and I swear, it's packed in their floor to ceiling. It's insane. So, like I said, I've been helping them sort through stuff. Mom and I have spent weeks opening box after box, unwrapping everything in it, and then repacking it. The goal: check for damage, and try to remember what the hell was in their to begin with to determine if anything is missing. Which of course, there is, to both. The up side is that I've been given a ton of hand-me-downs, which is awesome because they're all stuff from my childhood. Sometimes it seems like I go through things so quickly and I'm always buying new, but the old holds all the memories and it's nice to have some of the things back. Of course, now every time they come over they want everything back, but I don't think they're serious.

Today I came home with an office chair that weighed a ton, so they followed me home to help me unload it and decided to stay for dinner. I had to run to the store anyhow because I was out of wine for them and I picked up some veggies to make dinner and some salmon for my dad. He wasn't thrilled about another vegan dinner and you can't always win all the battles. I decided to make Vicki's Hummus-Quinoa Casserole from Vive le Vegan! which I have been hearing so much about. But first I had to make the Hummus (I tripled the garlic and added more lemon juice). Everyone said it was better than any store bought Hummus they'd ever had, and I left them to snack on some of it (and nap!) while I cooked dinner:

The photo doesn't even begin to do it justice! I love the lightness of the quinoa paired with the creaminess of the hummus. I have no clue how Dreena ever decided to layer all these ingredients, but I'm so glad she did! Even my dad (who proclaimed he didn't like hummus or quinoa) ate the huge helping I gave him!

For dessert I just had to make the Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had really been craving something sweet and chocolatey and the other day I picked up some vegan chocolate chips at WFM... just in case. The cookies were fantastic, easy, and very very dangerous to have on hand! Dad (of all people) came up with the good idea to make little balls of the dough and freeze it so I can cook up one cookie at a time in the future. Good thinking Dad!


I also found out today that one of my neighbors died last night. I actually knew his wife because our dogs are friends. He had been sick for a long time, but it's still so sad and I know she has a ton of people coming in from out of town for the service. I baked some Carrot-Raisin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance to take over to her tomorrow and I'll also bring over the Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup I made the other day. The muffins tasted delicious, but they never... rose, which is weird I thought. Any ideas on what I did wrong?


Product Reviews:

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips: I love any product that clearly states "Vegan", which is how this brand ended up in my shopping cart. And they're super tasty too!

Back To Nature Organic Stoneground Wheats: These are made with flaxseeds as well and they are divine. Salty and crunchy and good for you too! These are my new favorite cracker! They're good with hummus, nut butters, jam, or, just plain!




Scandinavian Delights Wild Blueberry Fruit Spread: I usually find this at TJ Maxx or Marshalls for about $3.99. They also have it at Cost Plus World Market, if you're lucky enough to have one near you. It's absolutely authentic Danish jam and yummy!

Family Dinner Night

I've instituted Family Dinner Night with my parents at my house. It gives me an opportunity to cook some new dishes and get honest feedback. Now that my dad's home from his little vacation, I have a devoted omni to please as well. I have to say that they're both being strangely supportive of my veganism, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am actually cooking for the first time in my life.

Tonight I made Chipotle Veggie-Bean Burritos (c'mon, you already know what cookbook it's from!). I pre-prepared the burrito stuffing and rice this morning, so by the time they arrived I just had to re-heat the rice, cook the asparagus, and put the burritos in the oven to heat through.

I started everyone off with a sample of my Apple-Hemp Nut Muffins (they loved them and took 4 home), and then an appetizer of the Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup, which everyone really enjoyed, but we all agreed it had too much cumin in it. I topped the burritos with salsa and Toffuti Better Than Sour Cream, which Dad said didn't resemble Sour Cream in the slightest, but mom and I both thought it was great. Sometimes if Dad knows it's tofu based he instinctively doesn't like it. The other hit of the night was my rice. It was just organic long grain brown rice, but I cooked it with a tsp. of VegeBase in the water and the results were fantastic!

Product Reviews:

Toffuti Better Than Sour Cream: The texture is fantastic, and it adds just the right amount of tang and moisture to dishes.



Amy's Medium Salsa: This is my all time favorite salsa. It has a nice thick consistency and the medium has heat, but it's not too overpowering. I also love that it's chunky.






VegeBase: I've tried a lot of different bouillon brands in the past and I've always found them either too weak or too salty. This one is perfect (and it makes delicious rice)!


In other news:

My little girl was spade on Thursday. I'm so grateful my vet is into lasers, so her incision is tiny. She had to spend the night at the vet though, and now she's scared when we get in the car and she follows me everywhere even more than normal. She's also supposed to wear a collar/cone so she can't lick the incision site, but I only have the heart to put it on her at night or when she's alone. Here's a pic of her looking exceptionally sweet earlier tonight.

When she has the cone on, she can barely walk because she tends to walk with her head down and it bashes into everything. Since I'm home or with her most of the time, I've decided to leave it off and just keep an extra close eye on her.

Help Needed & More Soup & Muffins

Hey Everyone! I need a little help from all the seasoned vegans out there. I have a vegetarian friend who is getting ready to start a family. He's actually thinking of eating meat again, but has been inspired to perhaps go vegan instead. He's got the usual health concerns about veganism and pregnancy and babies, so if you have some information or websites to suggest, please do so in my comments section. He lives in Russia, so websites would be preferable over buying books. Thanks!

I suppose one of these days I will have to move on to another cookbook, but until then, my Vive le Vegan! love affair continues! It may be 95 degrees and 100% sticky humidity but I can't seem to stay away from soup and muffins. Tonight I made Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup. I like the texture of the pureed soup with the chunky bits of corn, but I think 4 tsp's of cumin is a bit much for my taste. It doesn't rank as one of my top 10 soups, but it's a nice change from the standard lentil soup I seem to always make.

I also made Apple-Hemp Muffins. I was a little unsure about the Hemp Seed Nuts, as I have never tried hemp before, and I'm not overly crazy about "nuts" in muffins, but I thought I'd be daring and give it a try anyway. For the record, hemp seed nuts, aren't actually like nut, they're more like the size of sesame seeds and the taste of sunflower seeds... sort of. They really give the muffins a wonderful texture.


Product Reviews:

Hemp Seed Nuts: I used the Manitoba Harvest brand. It was the only one I could find at my local WFM (Whole Foods Market), so I can't comment on whether or not it is better or worse than any other brands. They're a little on the pricey side, about $9 for an 8 oz bag, but, Hemp is an amazing food. From a nutritional perspective, it's high in complete Protein (11g in 2 tbsp) and it's high in omega-3 & 6 oils. You can read more about hemp here: Uses for Hemp and Hemp Seed Nutrition. For the record, whole hemp is a form of cannabis, it is grown with very low levels of cannabinoids (THC), and therefore, won't make you high. Hemp can also be used to make: paper, textiles, building materials, food, medicine, paint, detergent, varnish, oil, ink, and fuel. It can be grown in most locations and climates with only moderate water and fertilizer requirements and it's an environmentally friendly crop. Kind of makes you wonder why there isn't more it doesn't it? Here's a very interesting article about Industrial Hemp and how it's different from marijuana and why it's not produced more (tyvm US Government).

Amy's Indian Samosa Wrap: Lightly spiced organic potatoes, peas and tofu and wrapped them in a wheat tortilla and baked. I really do think it's best to make your own food, since processed foods are so high in sodium and unnecessary fat. That said, sometimes I just don't feel like cooking or even assembling, and throwing a box in the microwave is all I can handle. I'm a big fan of Amy's, although a lot of their stuff is surprisingly not vegan. But these are... and they're delicious!

Purely Decadent Turtle Trails: I fed this soy "ice cream" to 3 omnivores, and they all thought is was Hagen Daaz. It's divine and so worth the few extra pennies and fat!

Dinner Guests & More Vive Recipes

My mom and her friend Romi came over for dinner tonight. One of the things that sucks about living alone is not having anyone to share my cooking experiments with. I started them both off with some of the Lentil Stew and Orange-Poppy Seed Muffins from the last post. Both were a huge hit and I sent some muffins home with them for tomorrow morning. They all agreed they were the best muffins I've made so far.


For dinner I consulted my new favorite cookbook: Vive le Vegan! I made Sunflower Lentil Pie drizzled with Balsamic-Garlic-Flax Oil, Mellow Millet-Quinoa Pilaf (with a little added curry powder), and Haricot Verts. The picture really doesn't do the Sunflower Lentil Pie justice. It was absolutely delicious (especially after it had sat for a little while). The outside was crunchy and it was so full of flavor. The Millet-Quinoa Pilaf had a surprising texture (and I actually got the millet to cook this time!). It was creamy and denser than I expected, more like... a mashed potato almost. And the curry powder was yummy with it. Oh... and the Balsamic-Garlic-Flax Oil: phenomenal! I'm definitely serving it with every meal!


I don't know how many different ways to encourage you, but it you haven't already: Go buy this cookbook! Vegan or not, the recipes are so fantastic! Even my omni mom (who's sworn off buying new cookbooks) is going to buy this one!

And speaking of vegan or not: I went out to the PETA website to watch the video: Meet Your Meat. I had been hearing a lot about it from various places and thought I'd check it out. I made it through the first 5 or so minutes and then I simply could not stomach any more. It's not so much that it was anything I didn't know on some level or another, but I had definitely been pretending it wasn't true.

If you're my friend, and you're wondering why I've become vegan: Watch this movie. If you're thinking of being vegan, curious about veganism, or are a vegetarian: Watch this movie. If you watch it, and still decide to eat meat & dairy, well... at least you are doing it with your eyes wide open. Maybe one day I'll be able to stomach watching the rest of the video, but until then, no animal product will pass through my lips or be purchased by me. I simply cannot be a part of the gross acts of injustice and inhumane treatments that are being committed upon these animals. We might not identify with them like we do our dogs/cats/birds/etc, but they are no different than them, and we should all be outraged. Factory farms truly are one of humanity's cruelest inventions. I can't believe it's legal to treat animals like this, and I can't believe more people aren't outraged. I hope my friends will watch this video; although I suspect almost all of them took one look at my blog and ran away.

With that in mind it's been about a month since I made the vegan switch and I'm surprised by how easy it's been. Every so often, I miss stuff (like Take 5's when I'm in line at the grocery store), but it's also been so much easier than I ever in a million years expected. It's been exciting discovering new foods and recipes and realizing that I actually enjoy cooking. Physically I feel better than I have in a while, I've lost weight (6 lbs so far), and I don't feel deprived at all, which, truth be told, I'm surprised by. I'm sure there will still be obstacles, but honestly, I quit smoking last year and nothing will ever be as hard to give up as that was :-)

So... go watch the video and go buy Dreena's book. Make yourself an animal safe meal and feel good with every mouthful you take!

A Cooking Comeback & Iridology

First of all, thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support. There's nothing like having a virtual cheerleading section to help you like your wounds and try again! Which is precisely why I dragged myself away from the TiVo (I've had a bit of a relapse today), and went to both Publix AND Whole Foods to embark on today's cooking adventure.

I wasn't ready to get too rambunctious with my menu selection, so I picked 2 things from Vive le Vegan that seemed tasty and relatively easy: Orange-Poppy Seed Muffins and Earthy Lentil Soup. But first, I just have to take a minute to write about how much I love this cookbook. I really love it! I love it because so many of the recipes are comprised of "normal" food, normal combinations of food, and hearty foods. I don't feel like I have to have acquired my super special vegan taste buds to enjoy her cookbook. Sometimes I feel that way with Vegan with a Vengeance recipes and some other vegan cookbooks I have. But 9 times out of 10, I can pick up Vive le Vegan, and I can put together a recipe from what I have in my cupboards, which is simply awesome! Dreena - I LOVE your cookbook!

Ok... that said: I started off chopping the stuff for the Lentil Soup. I actually make Lentil soup all the time, but I'm not well versed in spices/herbs, so I turned to VLV for guidance and I finally got to break open my new bottle of Blackstrap Molasses as well (damn, it is thick stuff!). Normally my lentil soup is more a stew and pretty bland, so I was a little leery of all the ingredients in this recipe (tamari and blackstrap molasses??? Crazy!) I did improvise a little with kernels from 2 cobbs of corn (I love fresh corn) and some diced up new red potatoes. I let it get a little thicker than a standard soup, and oh... my... it is... fantastic. It's savory and comforting and absolutely amazing.

Next I turned to the Orange-Poppy Seed Muffins. I haven't been overly thrilled with my previous attempts because the texture of them has been a little rubbery/chewy. My 1st bite, I was a tad disappointed because they seemed so... healthy. More like a bran muffin. Then I took another bite, and got hit with the orange zest. And then another bite... and then 3 mini muffins were gone, and I was hooked. The texture is spot-on, they're not too sweet, and they're just crunchy enough. This one is a definite keeper.


Product Review: I picked up some Mint Marble Fudge So Delicious "ice cream". Not so great compared with the Purely Decadent line the same company makes. It's not as rich, and it's also more "soy" tasting. I'm the type of person who can take a spoonful or two at a time of ice cream, so in the future, I think I'll stick with the smaller, more decadent line.

So last week, I went to see an Iridologist with my Mom. She's been having some thyroid/weight/insomnia issues and she's pretty anti mainstream medicine, and this Dr. was recommended by a friend. Mom had been to an Iridologist in Toronto about 22 years ago, with great success, but I'm a bit of a skeptic, and even more so because the Dr.'s office was in Hialeah and they barely spoke any English (and in fact, they didn't even have any literature in English either), but that's Hialeah for you (for all you non-Floridians... Hialeah is probably 99% Cuban). Oh, Iridologists look at your eyes as a barometer for what is going on in your body. There are a lot of quakes out there, and a lot of Dr.'s completely write it off as fraudulent. i was trying to have any open mind though because it was important to my Mom.

Anyway, we got to the office at 3:30 (our appointment time) and we didn't actually go in to see him till 5:45. Yeah. I'm not a very patient person either. When I finally did get in to see him, he nailed my personality - it was a bit freaky actually: Friendly but I keep my distance. Sensible and emotionally disciplined. Calm on the outside, but harboring some inner tension. High expectations of myself and others. Physically, all my readings came back pretty good, except that he said that although I eat healthy, my body doesn't metabolize the nutrients of food effectively, so I have to be very conscious that I am getting enough nutrients. Oh... and spend $120 on pills and powders and come back in a month. Mom paid for the visit and the pills and powders, and I suppose I went along with it, but I doubt I'll go back. i know I'm healthy ;) Hopefully it will work for Mom though.

Cooking Disaster 101

Sheesh! I don't know where the week has gone! We have a family friend visiting from Montreal and I haven't been home a whole lot this past week. I did however, have time to learn something new and to make my first kitchen disaster. Go figure that it involved my 1st zucchini dish. Oh the irony!

My mom and our friend were planning to come to my house for lunch on Thursday and I wanted to do something nice and show of my new-found cooking passion. I decided to make the Pineapple Coffee Cake from FatFree Vegan. Enter lesson #1: Always grind salt before adding to recipes. I thought it might sort of dissolve in the batter while it was cooking. Not so. It was like biting into granules of salt. Yuck! Needless to say the First batch went down the garbage disposal, but my 2nd batch came out yummy and was a real hit. A little chewier than a regular coffee cake, but not too sweet which I liked.


With that disaster averted, I tried my hand at my first Zucchini recipe: Olive, Tomato, and Millet Stuffed Zucchini from Vegan with a Vengeance. I thought I'd make the stuffing the night before so all I would have to do was bake it the next morning. So I chopped and measured and followed the directions precisely like any new cook. It was supposed to simmer for about 25 minutes in total. An hour later, the millet was still hard and crunchy. I don't know what I did wrong! I finally had to come to the sad conclusion that it was following the 1st Pineapple Coffee Cake down the garbage disposal, and I know had nothing to serve for lunch. And it was 3 am.


I collapsed into bed, my heart heavy from my 1st failure, and I figured I would wing it somehow the next morning. It turns out that the sleep helped a little and I settled on a mish mash for lunch the next morning. Oh the love for leftovers and frozen foods!

We started of with Homemade Gazpacho that I had in the freezer (I can't remember all the ingredients, since it's a wing it kind of recipe, but next time I'll write it down and post it).


Next was a plate of Eggplant Hummus with Pita Bread, Falafel with Tahini Dressing from Vegan with a Vengeance. And followed, of course, with the Pineapple Coffee Cake. Overall, it was a yummy lunch even though it was all thrown together at the last minute.


So, my 1st blogged-about cooking fiasco wasn't a complete disaster. Lunch was still ok, and maybe one day, I'll have the courage to try my hand at millet again. Maybe if I cook the millet separately 1st...

Stay tuned for the next blog post later tonight and I'll tell you all about my trip to an iridologist :)