Gotta Read Fast, I Got a Fast Read--Here's Dinner!

Okay Blog. I will write you a bit, but then back to my book.

I never get the bloody Fast Reads from the bibliotheque because the only time I can read uninterrupted is in the bathroom and you can only pretend to go to the bathroom so many times a day before the family starts getting worried and then suspicious and then you have a 2 year old and a 7 year old sitting at your feet even when it’s the real deal and that’s just mentally scarring for everybody.

I also have a steadfast and elitist rule to avoid books that are movies at all costs, but the internets assured me that the author of this puppy was thoroughly peeved about the casting choices and the plot seemed intriguing, so I bit the bullet and now here I am, a mere 167 pages into the 541 page beast and only 4 days to go! $1.50/day if I don’t finish in time, oh the humanity!

As an aside, is there anyone who doesn’t find it humiliating to be seen reading a book with movie stars plastered across the cover? Probably. But you’re wrong not to be embarrassed. I am so judging you.

So I don’t feel like writing, I don’t feel like answering emails (even REALLY good ones that I am VERY excited about that I WILL acknowledge first thing in the morning’a’saurus) and I didn’t much feel like feeding my hungry family. But their grumbly-tumblys were interfering with my silent reading time, so I made them this. It is very fast. Make it when you want people to leave you alone.

Very Fast Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch knob ginger, minced OR 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 large head of broccoli, chopped (stalks peeled and diced too)
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, or to taste
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup + water for stir frying

Method

1. In a wok over med-high heat, stir fry onions in water 2-3 minutes until they start to become translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for additional 2 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients (including the 1/4 cup water), cover and cook until broccoli is tender (about 3 minutes).
3. Serve over brown rice or udon noodles.

And because I want my people to grow up big and strong, I also heated up some Yves Asian Ground Round and let the peeps make Asian-style tacos, which entails rolling said round up in lovely, crispy lettuce leaves.

Okay, this post for sure cost me like $3. I really must depart…NOW

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Vinegar and Baking Soda Ain't Never Peeked at my Undercarriage

For some reason it took me awhile to get on the natural cleaning bandwagon. I mean it’s not like I’m a real clean freak or anything (laundry’s cool once a month, no?), but when I do clean, I clean for keeps. Picture me 10 months pregnant bleaching the baseboards with a toothbrush—I’m that thorough. But kids lick everything, really just get right into the crevices with some deep tongue action every time you turn your head. When there’s 3 of them at it, you simply must resign yourself to believe we are symbiotic with dirt and the dried out piece of pear the baby is eating out of Raggedy Andy’s overalls is just nature’s own sweet gift.

Bottom line: bleach and the other thousands of harsh chemicals found in conventional cleaners will do way more damage to baby innards than a fuzzy pear or two could ever inflict. Rather than slowly poisoning your kin, try mixing together equal parts plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, which works to disinfect everything from mirrors, to counters, to toilets, tubs and floors. Extra tough stains? Sprinkle the mess with baking soda first and then spray the whole deal with your vinegar/water solution and scrub away. I’m not s-ing you people: this shiz even gets bright yellow baby back-side “magic” out of area rugs and it’s super fun watching it fizz.

Don’t enjoy the pickle-y smell? Try the anti-bacterial and sweet smelling lovlieness of essential oils: mix 2 cups water with 25 drops Tea Tree Oil and 25 drops of Lavender Oil for a more fragrant germ buster.

So stop letting those nasty bubbles check out your fancy bits-go natural instead.

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I'm All Sick and Stuff

Hiding from H1N1 has weakened our tender little immune systems and now the smallest of the people and I are wallowing in our own muccii.

Cooking sucks when you are sick. No matter how hard I try to make like a 2nd grader and hack into my elbow pit, I just know my family is getting a little bit of DNA with every bite. Not to mention that my spice to other ingredient ratio is completely out of whack on account of my having no discernible nostrils at the moment. I made Happy Herbivore’s African Kale and Yam Soup, but I made it spicy, like triple the chilli flakes and a hefty dose of Louisiana hot sauce spicy. Burn out your ear drums spicy. I thought it was perfect, ecstasy in a bowl, but I’m the only one who had seconds, so either the rest of my household is a bunch of pansies or I grossly miscalculated the difference between happy spice and scary spice.

Happy Spice does not wear leopard print wrestling boots, that’s how you can tell the difference.

At any rate, I’m staying out of the kitchen today, camping on the couch with the middle child and becoming one with Yo Gabba Gabba, the show that was made for the mushroom addict lurking deep inside all of us.

Now, somebody order me some Green Cuisine take-out…NOW!

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Baba Ganoush is a Funny Name

Ridiculous, really, but I forgive it because it is such a dang tasty spread, yummy on crackers, pitas, veggies, toast, in sam-iches, you name it. Not cereal though, that would be disgusting.

I wanted fat free Baba Ganoush, because that’s how I roll, so I made some. And then I learned something, which is all we can really hope for, right?

I learned that, Baba Ganoush, unlike most things, improves with age. It does not become crotchety and scared of technology, telling the same stories thrice times an hour; instead it becomes more flavourful and delicious on sour dough rye toast.

(photo courteousy of http://www.me3dia.com)

Maybe Tomorrow, Babe, I’m Just Not That Into It Tonight Baba Ganoush

Ingredients

• 1 bulb garlic
• 1 medium-large eggplant
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1/4 light silken tofu or low fat vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• juice of one lemon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut eggplant in half length wise and make three, deep, diagonal slits in the fleshy bits, down the length of each half. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and spritz with cooking spray.
2. Remove the papery outer layer from garlic and slice off at least the top 1/2 centimeter of the bulb to expose cloves. Spray lightly with cooking spray and wrap entire bulb loosely in aluminum foil.
3. Lay eggplant halves sliced side up on a parchment lined cookie sheet along with garlic package. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the fleshy bits of each vegetable are super soft. Allow veggies to stand until they are cool enough to handle.
4. Removes seeds from eggplant (they get scared from the heat and bunch right up, making them easy to scoop out).
5. Scrape the flesh from both halves of the eggplant into the bowl of a food processor or blender, along with 2-4 cloves of roasted garlic*, tofu, salt and lemon juice. Puree until smooth.
6. Refrigerate overnight for a rollicking good eat or, for those of you with no self control (pick me!) eat it right away for instant gratification, but mediocre performance. Serve with fresh cut veggies, pitas, not cereal.

*Use the rest of the head of garlic for tasty toasts: mash it up with some rosemary and rock salt to taste and spread it on your favourite crusty bread for a fat free take on traditionally fatty garlic bread.

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I Dream of Curry

Single-Mom-ing-it-up for the next couple days. Kids have a lot to say, whether they can “talk” or not. Once those whipper-snappers are in bed, though, that’s when I hit productivity overdrive: I watch Days of Our Lives online and write helpful, evergreen articles about pertinent topics for numerous publications under various pseudonyms. And I wash sheets, because Pull-ups are for suckers.

I also think about food. Alot.

But if if I’m not cooking for manfriend, I’m a lazy toad. I fed the munchkins good stuff, no worries there. But as for me, today I ate an entire loaf of Bubby Rose’s Farmhouse Sourdough and not much else. Now I feel nutrient depleted and I dream of this:

I put batteries in my camera and this is the the spicier than usual curry I yummed about last week. And I want it now. So brightly flavoured, multi-textured and full of healthful goodness. And yet I’m too weak from bread to cook. For shame!

I also want CNN to go back to normal. Ever since that redesign their reporting has become infused with a melodramatic flare that would be more appropriate on Days of Our Lives. Did I mention I’m watching Days right now. It’s really bad. But my curry is good and I don’t feel like writing about allergy-free lunches right now. Will you do it for me?

Tomorrow: high-protein vegan breakfasts. I promise I’ll be less scattered. And if you’re reading this, please leave me a comment with your favourite high-protein vegan breakfast. I want it so bad. I may even give you something for it….

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Thanks, Mofos

Look at this knitted masterpiece! Walking the Vegan Line is talented on a number of levels.

Well, technically I suppose this is the last day of Vegan MoFo 2009. It’s been real!

I super enjoyed reading all the other luscious vegan blogs out there and gathered many a new recipe to add to the arsenal. But, by far, the best thing I got out of this exercise was focus.

I have been passionate about food for more than half my life now, and, since having kids, that passion has evolved into a vehement belief that our bodies need, nay, deserve only the very best nourishment that our beautiful Earth has to offer. (Holy crap, am I ever a hippie—somebody douse me in Patch and bury my razor). Since eliminating almost all artificial substances from my diet, I feel so dang good, so much lighter and unburdened by crud. My manfriend joined me on the “dark side” almost a year and a half ago, after spending the majority of his formative years gorging on fast-food and double (triple? quadruple?) helpings of meat. The result? Two weeks in, he tried an A&W Veggie Swiss Delux and it all came out again. And again and again and again. There have been at least three similar incidences involving deep fried “treats” and yet my sensitive bear cannot fully let go of all vestiges of his past. And that’s cool—just wipe the rim when you’re done.

But doesn’t that tell you that our bodies weren’t meant to process heavily processed junk? My poor sheltered babes, how beautiful and unsullied their organs must be, only ever (and by “ever”, I mean in this house—I’m not a total a-hole all the time) having to deal with naturally occurring substances.

But, I digress. VeganMofo 2009 gave me the focus I needed to decide what I want my whole deal to be about: sustainable health on an individual and global level. Please stay tuned. This Mofo’s got somethin’ great a brewin’ (and there will be “ing”s in it. I promise.)

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