It's been kind of nice having a freezer and pantry full of home preserved goodies. I made a big pan of black beans and rice today, using a jar of black beans my aunt canned for me and corn my mom and brother froze this summer. I usually use tomato sauce or a bit of tomato paste for a tomato base, but instead took a can of diced tomatoes and ran them through the belnder for a bit. It was just long enough break down the peices more, but to leave some pieces through it. Topped with a sprinkling of shredded cheese and sliced black olives, served along side a handful of tortilla chips it was a very nice lunch. In honor of celebrating my family's canning and freezing, I even thought about pulling out a bag of frozen raspberries and using them to make some raspberry pina coladas later. (Yum yum!)



There is already a plan set for next year's canning as far as what we need to make more of. For instance, this year two batches of homemade salsa were made, and the plan is to at least double that for next year.

"It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb becuase it is dumb to his dull perceptions." - Mark Twain

Another day, another meal

So, I'm fighting a bit of a cold. One of my brothers started with it and everyone in the house has had it to some point or another. I'm dealing with it and with the fact that I really do not feel like cooking. Tonight I raided the leftovers I had in the refridgerator. I cooked some noodles and heated up a container of bulgar chili I had in the freezer, topped with some peices of swiss cheese from the refridgerator. Hearty and simple. Depending on the pasta I usually add and toppings (cheese in this case) the chili itself is vegan; full of onion, garlic, a mixture of different kinds of beans, spices, and bulgar. Mine tends to be on the spicy side.

"Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain." ~Mark Twain

Food TV

There are a lot of people who believe that watching the cooks on TV work their culinary magic can have a calming effect. It seems to be something about watching someone prepare food. I have an uncle in a higher stress career that watches it to “veg” after work and grandparents who are HUGE fans of cooking and food shows. I’m a huge fan, even back to the days before an entire network and channel was created for it. I still sometimes catch episodes of Julia Child on public television. I guess for me part of it and extension of watching my family members cook in their home kitchens and being a part of it. This love that has continued from childhood is not always easy when you don’t eat meat, don’t cook meat, and don’t like the sight or smell of meat. I still watch the cooking shows- I just tend to look towards the side dishes and ways to adapt recipes to a meat-free mindset (sometimes that is as simple as using a vegetable broth or stock instead of chicken, beef, or such). I have been known to channel surf during things I would rather not see, such as roasts, steaks, etc.

There always seem to be reminders that we are a part of the few… that we, the vegetarians and vegans, are the minority. If restaurants and the meat counters at our local grocers were not enough, TV is yet another one of the ever-present reminders. On the plus side there is a growing awareness about the existence and growing numbers of people like me, the average (more or less) Americans who choose a meat-free lifestyle. While watching the food and cooking shows there are more and more meat-free meal ideas or even suggestions for cooking for vegetarian friends and family. It is slow, but positive.

http://www.vegtv.com/
(Traveling Vegetarian) http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=travelingvegetarian (or check out on my listed favorites)
http://www.delicioustv.com/aboutdelicioustv.shtml

"I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't.... The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further." ~Mark Twain

It's another day in my veggie paradise (or as near to paradise as I have so far found) and my entire family seems in a tizzy about the upcoming weeding this weekend. There seem to be a number of weddings this weekend, involving both family and friends. To top off the excitement I am in the wedding party of the cousin's wedding that is this Saturday and I am the only known vegetarian. The wedding food wasn't much of an issue (I was told), but the real "excitement" came when I asked my aunt about the menu for the rehearsal dinner (a mixture of simple curiousity and thought process about bringing something for me). As she went through the menu she started to come to the realization that there wasn't really anything for me... once again the token vegetarian as this family event. She was planning on calling the restaurant who is doing the catering for the rehearsal dinner and have something ordered for me. I hate adding extra work to people when it comes to stuff like that and I try to not only be especially appreciative when they do make special plans for me, but also to be willing to adjust as needed without giving up my ideals. (Much of the wedding dinner is being made by family members and my mom is making seperate pasta salad for me, minus the pepperoni she put in the pepperoni she put in the rest.)

In other news I ran across some interesting news on Oprah. If you get a chance check out her 21 day Cleanse blog and about how she's doing vegan. http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_main.jhtml

"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot." ~Mark Twain, What Is Man, 1906