these are a few of my favorite things!

I am such a bad blogger, bad face-booker and emailer too.... It seems I get so busy living life, that I forget to check in with my "virtual" life tools. As a result it has been a month since my last post!

The key lesson I seem to be working on right now is balance! Just like we should balance our diets, we have to balance our lives... and it's that balancing act that can often push people over the edge. So while I realize that my new year's resolution was to be a better blogger, I hope everyone will understand that that is a resolution in progress.

Moving on, here are a few of the things that I am most in love with right now (in no particular order).



Baltimore Vegan Drinks- I know I have mentioned this group/ activity before and there is another event coming up on March 5th! The guys at Dionysus have come up with a great vegan food AND drink menu, so if you are free check it out. Last time I totally fell in love with their organic tomato vodka cocktail. Yum!







Larabars- Recently I picked up one of these little bars, after reading about them on several blogs and even in an old copy of veg news. I honestly didn't believe that they would be so awesome but... they were! The ingredients are all real food, they are 100% vegan, 100% raw and tasty. Man are they tasty, as in ADDICTIVE!!! Plus the one I picked up was very helpful in one of those "emergency" situations we vegans sometimes find ourselves in. You know the one where the non-vegan carefully plans a vegan meal for you (as a guest). They kindly and carefully omit all animal ingredients, but you are left with about 75 calories worth of salad/ steamed veggies. They really meant well and most likely don't realize their gaff. Without some sort of snack I am left hungry AND exceedingly cranky in those situations... with it I am able to remember my social graces.




Chia Seeds- As an alternative to flax seed, these little crunch seeds provided much needed omega 3's and delightful in almost anything associated with breakfast, including smoothies, soy yogurts, and even oatmeal. I have even eaten some straight out of a teaspoon a few times!


and finally I am loathe to admit that I have begun drinking the most fluorescent concoction on earth, GATORADE on all of my runs that last more than 30 minutes. Although I don't exactly love the taste, eight ounces mixed 50/50 with water seems to help with both hydration and fatigue for the next day. And before you swear that its all in my head, you should know that I swore by watered down juice for years on hikes and during hot yoga. But there is something about the makeup of Gatorade that seems to work better when I am running. Better than the juice, better than the various homemade concoctions that are on the net, better than everything except well... Gatorade. Do I like it? NO Is it cheap? NO Is it natural/organic? CERTAINLY NOT.... SO if anyone has a tried and true organic alternative let me know but until then, I guess I am drinking the stuff.


Oh and then some good foods! First from Iowa Girl Eats, I veganized her recipe for Crockpot Baked Potato Soup by 1) replacing broth with "not chicken" and reducing to two cups 2) replacing the milk with 6 ounces of almond milk 3) omitting the bacon and butter (it was already rich enough) 4) substituting DAIYA cheese It was unbelievably tasty! And although not vegan, she has many great tips and recipes which can be modified. She is a great blogger AND much more consistent than me!

And then, I found a recipe for veggie lomein in an old newspaper clipping. It took some revisions to veganize and make it taste good, but here is what I ended up with. This makes two generous servings, quickly!

Vegan Veggie Lomein

Ingredients:

4	ounces dry somen noodles
Sauce:
1/4	cup vegetable broth (or use "not chicken" if you prefer)
2	tbs red wine or sherry
1	tbs oyster sauce ( I found a vegetarian one at a local asian mart)
1	tbs cornstarch
1/2	tsp cayenne
1/2	tsp 5 spice powder
3	tsp sesame oil (divided)
Veggies:
3/4	cup onion
1/2	cup carrot
1/2	cup celery
4	tbs garlic
1	tbs ginger
4	ounces pea pods
1/2	red bell pepper
1/2	cup frozen spinach
1	cup frozen chopped broccoli

Method:

1. Prepare all vegetables by chopping into equal sized pieces (mince garlic and ginger)
   
   
2. Put a pot of water onto boil.
   
   
3. While waiting on water combine sauce ingredients in a small container and stir or shake well.
   
4. Add noodles to boiling water, after 3 minutes turn off heat and drain.
   
   
5. Heat a large wok or non-stick skillet and add 2 TBS of the oil. Stir fry the veggies in this order: Onions, carrots & celery, frozen broccoli, pea pods & bell pepper, garlic and ginger and finally the frozen spinach.
   
   
6. Add the strained noodles and stir to combine.
   
   
7. Pour in the sauce and combine everything, stirring for 2-3 minutes.
   

Man am I cheesing out!

Last night, prior to my blog-a-thon, I went to my second Baltimore Vegan Drinks which was very fun. Obviously I was jazzed about trying my new vegan cheese DAIYA and my lunch experience with rice cheese so of course cheese came up, AGAIN. In the process, I learned that Baltimore's own BOP (that's Brick Oven Pizza to non Baltimorons) serves pizza with a vegan cheese option. Although, I think I had heard this before, I had never gone in.

A long time ago, prior to moving to Baltimore, prior to being a vegan and prior to really even being an adult someone had told me that BOP had the "best pizza in Baltimore". This was another fact that I stored away without using.

Since I seem to be on a vegan cheese kick AND since I had a hair appointment in neighboring Canton and would be walking past the place, a lunchtime visit seemed like the perfect plan. BOP was amazing. They have over 58 toppings and many of them are actually vegetables. When I went to the counter and told the nice employee I was a vegan, she actually seemed happy to be accommodating and answered all of my questions. You can even get vegan pizza by the slice with your choice of toppings here!! (And unless you are really and truly starving or travel with a small posse trailing in your wake, this is what I would recommend. Wait until you see how big the slices are!)



The pizza was great! In fact it was so great that I am taking my husband back this evening. Its no hardship to eat this pizza twice in a day and I think he will love the place! The restaurant is casual and the walls are covered with posters and accolades. In addition to pizza, they serve salads, subs and pasta; so it is a good place to take a mixed group of people as their is likely to be something for everyone.

Veggie Stroganoff

Tonight I was craving something creamy and had a big bag of mushrooms so I decided to try to make some vegan stroganoff. I happen to own a TON of cookbooks both old and new so I flipped through a few to look for the flavor profile that was unique to stroganoff. What I found was this.... they are all different! The only things that are unique to stroganoff besides mushrooms were non-vegan flavors: sour cream, beef, egg noodles. Beyond that trinity it seemed to be an "anything-goes" sort of dish. Some used basil-oregano-garlic, some used a thyme-rosemary combo. One version even called for ketchup!

Since there seems to be a laissez faire attitude towards a "proper" stroganoff, it should be the perfect dish to veganize! I created my own flavor profile. In the version in the picture I used firm tofu. This was the only misstep I feel I made. It didn't absorb the flavors well and was too heavy in the dish. I ended up eating around it and picking it out of the leftovers. The recipe below omits it.

Veggie Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 cup silken tofu
2 TBS rice vinegar (or other mild vinegar)
2 TBS earth balance or other vegan "butter"
1 TBS olive oil
3 sun dried tomatoes, drained of any oil and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot sliced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crushed
red pepper and salt, to taste
3 TBS flour
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
1 "not beef" vegan bouillon cube
1 cup frozen green peas
1 tsp browning sauce *

pasta or rice, to serve

Method:

• First make a simple vegan sour cream by combining silken tofu and vinegar in a food processor or blender and blending well. Put aside until later.
• In a 3 quart sauce pan heat oil and earth balance. Once EB is melted, saute sun dried tomatoes, onions and carrots
• When onions are soft, add the mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf.
  
• Cook until mushrooms have given off most of their water, then add garlic. Stir carefully and watch the garlic so it does not burn.
• After a few seconds add the salt, pepper and flour. Stir constantly and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the wine and water and bring to a boil.
• Once water is boiling, add bouillon cube and browning sauce*. Stir until bouillon dissolves and liquid is reduced and thick.
• Stir in the frozen peas.
• Once the peas are heated, turn down the flame and add the vegan sour cream. The mixture does not need to boil again.
  
• Serve over rice or "buttered" pasta.

* Browning Sauce is usually near the gravies and gravy making ingredients at the grocery store. Read the ingredients carefully as they are not all vegan but I was able to find one that was made of only root vegetables. If you cannot find one, leave it out. The meal will still taste good!

By the way.... if you live in the Baltimore area: check out Baltimore Vegan Drinks. Their last event was last night at Dionysus in Mount Vernon and had a great turn out. Even though I was exhausted from work I went and had a blast. It was very nice to meet lots of other area vegans and get together for a few drinks.