New Year's Resolution

I have been a bad blogger. I can't even blame it on school since I only took one class last semester, but I can tell you that starting 2008 there will be a new post once a week. I can't guarantee it will be solely about food and my experiences with it, but I will say there will be one. My plan right now is to come up with a month by month menu of what I will be making to post. It isn't that I don't cook all the time, but I always do the same things over and over for myself.

Recently I found out that I am allergic to dairy and meat proteins, and I have a chronic condition that is connected to those proteins. Before I was vegan by choice and now I am vegan by necessity. I won't get into the details, but I can say that I enjoyed being vegan more when it was up to me.

We traveled to Utah to visit friends and family yesterday and tomorrow we will be driving to Idaho to spend Christmas with my husband's mom, grandma, brother, and sister.

Last night we went out to eat with some of the guys he went to college with. We dined at a restaurant called Thai Village. I was worried I wouldn't have any options, but I was wrong. I ate this Papaya Salad. It was spicy and very delicious. I enjoyed the heat during the 20 degree weather while sitting on a covered patio. It was a fun time and we played guitar hero until midnight.

Back to my blog, I am kind of bummed that we traveled for the holidays this year because it means I didn't get to make any holiday type dishes this year. For the month of January, my birth month, I have decided to make some winter/holiday type dishes. I'm thinking about a cheesecake of some sort, a green bean casserole, a dump cake for my birthday week, some stew to warm me in the cold 70 degree weather that is bound to be.

This will be hard to do. I am not saying I will have more time for blogging. On the contrary, I am taking 10 credit hours this year. I am taking Chemistry, Calculus, and Statistics. I will be a very busy woman, but I plan to be a very busy woman with a blog hobby that keeps her sane.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and enjoy your time with those you love.

Potato Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
1 small onion, medium dice
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium potato, medium dice
1 small broccoli head, florets set aside, stem diced
1 medium celery stalk, medium dice
3 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp Sesame Ginger Dressing
1 tsp soy sauce
2 oz tofu, rough dice

Method
1. Dice and chop all ingredients.
2. Put onion in soup pot and saute until beginning to brown.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tofu.
4. Let all the ingredients simmer until the potato and broccoli stalk have softened.
5. Add the tofu and transfer to a blender.
6. Blend to liking.

Chickpea Loaf, Tex-Mex Tofu, and Notes on Diet

It has been a while since I last posted and I will put all the blame on school and travel for Thanksgiving. We left to visit family the day before Thanksgiving and it was definitely a hectic day. The Tuesday before we left I went to Nutrition lab. We had a vegan Thanksgiving feast. Crazy me, I volunteered to do the lentil loaf, which takes the longest and I had not yet packed for the trip.


The department purchaser did not get lentils, so we turned it into a chickpea loaf, which was quite delicious. Chef helped since my partner has Mono. He did a non-vegan version. He put cheddar, mozzarella, egg, garlic, and mushrooms in his. I left mine in it's original form. I used all the seasonings and that was that. I did not feel like getting creative at that moment. I think plane and simple is the way to go on this one though.

Chickpea Loaf

2 cans chickpeas, cooked until mashable
2 med onions
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp sage
1 tsp marjoram
½ tsp rosemary

1.Partially mash the chickpeas.
2.Saute onions, mix with the chickpeas.
3.Add rest of ingredients.
4.Press into oiled loaf pan. Bake 1 hour 350 degrees.

Recipe adapted by Chef Shen Womack

As for the Tex-Mex Tofu, I was craving a salad from Chipotle the other day, so T brought me one home for dinner. It was delicious: Romain lettuce, fajita vegetables, black beans, lime cilantro rice, and lot of salsa. Well, I mean lots of salsa. I had the spicy red salsa left over, so I decided to marinate some extra firm tofu in it and see where that went. Of course, you have to pair it with some refried beans and Spanish style rice. My refried beans are from a can. Yes, as horrible as it sounds, I use the canned variety. They take a lot less time and they have a vegetarian kind now!

Tex-Mex Tofu

1 cup tomato salsa
1 12 oz package extra firm tofu, pressed, sliced into 6
1-1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp oil

1. Marinate the tofu in the salsa over night.
2. Mix all the seasonings into the flour.
3. Coat the tofu with the flour.
4. Coat a pan with the oil over medium-high heat.
5. Once hot, pan fry the tofu in the oil.

Spanish Style Rice

1 cup brown rice
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, small dice
1 small tomato, small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 mild pepper, seeded, diced
2-1/2 cups water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

1. Saute the rice, onion, tomato, and pepper in the oil over medium heat.
2. Saute until the rice smells nutty and the onion begins to brown.
3. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add the seasonings.
4. Add the water and cover the pot.
5. Cook for 45 minutes-1 hour.

Now, for my comments on diet, while on vacation to visit family I would have starved had I not compromised and consumed foods that contained dairy. I should say that I am not vegan simply because I can't stand the idea of eating animals. I have skin problems that are effected by what I eat, and I gain weight if I do eat animal products.

As soon as we returned from visiting family I had a break out of psoriasis. My arms, chest, nails, ribs, and other parts are now covers in a fine white film of skin that is no longer skin. I did some research and found out that animal proteins cause breakouts in people who has psoriasis. The structure of the protein chains does not breakdown properly in the intestine. This causes bacteria to grow. As the bacteria grows the immune system becomes active, but confused and begins attacking the body instead of the bacteria that has grown in the intestine.

Not only do people that have psoriasis have rashes when they eat these foods, they also have G.I. problems. I did not know until recently that these were connected.

For the past year I have not had one rash, and now after eating dairy for 3 days I am covered in rashes that will not stop. Becoming vegan has saved me a lot of grief. If only I had known sooner I would have just starved for those 3 days. At least I would not be itchy now.

So, for anyone who reads this and has psoriasis, please consider this, the only dairy you can consume is whole milk. Animal milk is not made for human consumption. Most countries don't drink milk. Milk is for animals to grow and gain weight. We drink it and we gain weight. That is all. Don't eat or drink dairy. It is not natural to do so.