The Reality Sets In

So, okay, it's been nearly three months sans land animal products. And it's felt relatively easy to date.

But this weekend? There were a lot of Wendy's Baconator commercials on during the last few days of the Olympics. (Um, what? I know.) And, yeah, ew, right? But I've always loved a bacon cheeseburger. Salty. Melty. Delish. And then the reality set in: not only will I never, ever have a burger again, I'll never have a steak. I'll never have a lamb chop with mint sauce. I'll never have a glass of milk with ice cubes in it to accompany my tuna sandwich. I'll never have a cheesy, creamy omelette. I'll never have my beloved nachos.

I miss food. I am feeling all worn out and slightly queasy - I think mostly because I've been pushing too hard again and am maybe not getting enough iron (have had iron issues in the past, will be making an appointment with doctor and nutritionist this week) - and... I would really just like some ham with scalloped potatoes. Hah.

Anyway. I'm really just feeling rather sorry for myself. I googled reluctant vegetarian and found this. The recipes look great, but the person doesn't seem particularly reluctant. Do you know anyone who's made such wholesale change with reluctance? I tried hunting for message boards or anything of the sort tonight, but found only an assortment of hardcore veggie snobs who would hate that I still eat fish, and people whose posts I could barely understand (yeah, that's the snob in me talking).

I don't even know what the point of today's post is. I am just feeling rather sorry for myself and am not much for complaining out loud. No need to respond, this is pure vent!

Laptop Bag Stalking

Okay, so I may or may not have mentioned my obsession with my new MacBook Air. It's so slim and darling! In any case, I am bored with my current laptop bag and searching for a (few) new fun one(s). So what will house my adorable new friend?

I am thinking perhaps this cutie or its cousin for everyday use?

Or perhaps this little gorgeous glamourama in grey?

Or maybe this little fashion plate in plural fossil?

Help!

PS: Have you seen this? LOVE. Talk about fueling my stalkery.

Vegenaise!

I am not kidding.

This stuff is golden. I would never, ever have known it wasn't the real deal.

I can have tuna salad again!

Seven Weeks Down

So it's been that long since I've had meat, eggs, and dairy.

It's weird to me.

Last night I went out with some ladies for gossip on a patio. There were nachos and a platter of delicious appetizers on the table. The only thing I could consume was the calamari. Strangely, it didn't entirely bother me, though I did make up for it later in the evening with plain tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole.

But this does kind of surprise me. I thought going out would be the toughest part, and it's actually pretty easy.

Any favourite non-land-animal-product foods when you're out and about?

The Starbucks Experience

So I remain endlessly disgruntled that Starbucks doesn't do a soy version of the Frappucino. I mean, Frappucinos are one of my favourite summer snacks, and what is a trip to Starbucks without them?

No matter, I've been stuck with the iced green tea soy latte.

So what is with the fact that this is never made properly? So I don't get the whipped cream on top and I don't mix it with green tea liquer as pictured (hah), but I have never seen one look remotely like this!

Every second sip I take involves clumps of that green tea stuff. And it's never frothy, instead just being randomly stirred with a metal stick for a few seconds.

I like the general taste when it joins forces in my mouth, but the inability of the baristas to actually make it taste like a consolidated beverage rather than a combination of green tea bits, soy milk, and ice or the inability of Starbucks to put together a method of production that is a little less difficult for said staff? So very unfortunate.

Perhaps I should just switch to iced coffees for good.

Some Updates

Hey! There apparently is a word for what I'm doing: pescetarian. Who'd have thought?

In any case, things have been fabulous since we got our barbecued. I grilled tuna steaks for Dave's birthday with lemon and fresh herbs. I've been making some delectable salads, and am particularly re-loving my baked homemade french fries (curried is best). I've even started having soymilk on my cereal without a problem.

You know what I don't like, though?

At the cottage last weekend, I was a little forlorn at the lack of steak action, but veggie burgers with steak spice helped me out. However! When Dave was having his amazing Italian sausages, I decided to try out some veggie dogs. Now, I hadn't had veggie dogs in probably ten years, and when I had them, I completely hated them. But my sister swore to me they were great again, and I gave 'em a shot.

Dave called them Not Dogs and said they looked like Tootsie Rolls.

They were sick. Sick. I couldn't even finish a single one and hated them so much that I actually threw them in the garbage.

Nonetheless, when I found soy chicken nugget looking things and soy chicken strips, I still bought 'em. Sigh.

Amy's Organic Veggie Burgers

These are yummy.


I barbecued mine and Dave had a regular burger. Made some guacamole and topped heavily. Threw a side spinach salad alongside it.

Delish!

Baking is My Favourite

No real time to post with the family visiting, but lookie what I made today. Golden vanilla cupcakes with coconut pecan frosting, another from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Pure vegan, baby.

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Chicken

So tonight, I made my first foray into the world of cooking with tofu. And you know what? It was freaking great!

I am a huge fan of Indian food and have been craving it madly lately. Naturally, my favourite dish is butter chicken, and I was totally forlorn that I could no longer have it. But with Dave requesting mini-pizzas for dinner (ugh, I know), I decided to grab some tofu and coconut milk and give something new a shot. Et voila! My very own recipe. And, no, GroupRecipes won't do apostrophes in recipe names, which is why the contraction was expanded there.

I added spinach for kicks, as I tend to think it tastes good in everything, but you obviously don't have to.

Tonight, I'm going for a new batch of vegan cupcakes - I'd intended to last night, but after my food processor kind of crapped out due to the peanut butter experiment and I didn't make it to Williams-Sonoma today, I'm going to go with a new standard. I will make two dozen so the work people can share in my giddiness.

I should be sainted. Honestly.

Summertime...

And the eating is fresh!

I don't yet have the KitchenAid pasta-making attachments, but I nonetheless bought a package of Olivieri fettucine tonight and opted for fresh with this recipe for Summer Splendor Pasta.

The only variations I went for were as follows:

1. Pan fried the zucchini with a little oil instead of boiling it.
2. Cooked the sauce with a little oil instead of using water.
   
3. Skipped the wine (none in the house, booo).
4. Added a sprinkle of oregano.
5. Added a teaspoon or so of sugar.

I haven't made zucchini... um, I don't think ever. I always get things with zucchini in them at restaurants, but for some reason it's never occurred to me to make it myself. Silly. In any case, it added serious fresh flavour (appropriate, given the name) and I was super happy. Didn't feel like I had any diet restrictions whatsoever.

Next up, I made bunnyrock's homemade peanut butter. I added about a quarter cup of agave syrup to this, as I'm still getting used to sweet-free nut butters. And I don't know if my blender is just giving me crap or what, but I'm having a tough time getting it to a texture similar to hers in this picture. Why? It's a GE! Don't fail me now, Jack Welch/Jack Donaghy! (Either way, I used pumpkin pie spice - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves - and it tastes damn delicious.)

I will be giving the raw vegan brownies from 28 Cooks a shot once I figure out if my blender can handle them.