You know, today should have been a horrible day. But it wasn't - and it wasn't for all the reasons that it should have been.
I'm writing in riddles.
A month ago I had to give up all alcohol to start a medication for my eye. I tried not to complain because, honestly, that's stupid. Yes, let's whine about the fact that I can't have wine. Because that's a REAL problem.
My friends commiserated and tried to tell me that it was okay to be sad about it. I appreciated their support, but I really felt like I just needed to suck it up and move on. There were bigger concerns in the world, in my own life - heck there are bigger concerns about this MEDICATION than the fact that I had to give up alcohol.
Today was a tough day complete with a mentally exhausting exam. The mentally exhausting exam didn't go as well as I had hoped, partially (I felt) due to unfair questions. So, not only was I maxed - I was mad and maxed. Mad, maxed, and now alcohol free.
A month ago I would have crawled home, poured myself a giant glass of wine, and sacked out on the couch. I would have skipped my yoga class AND drank. And probably ate a bunch of feel good foods (that don't feel so good the next day). But today? I came home, packed up, and went to yoga.
And at the end of it all...I realized something...my no good day turned into a great one. I turned all my frustration into a really great yoga practice. My headache is GONE. I am so ready to go to sleep - having left all my frustration in a pool of sweat next to my mat (I do HOT yoga!) The funny part is, had I drank the wine, my no good day would have ended as a no good day. The wine would have calmed my nerves, sure, but it wouldn't have helped me process the frustration. The yoga, however, helped me process it and turn it into something productive.
So then, I came home, and had my bowl of tomato soup. With no bread. The bread (my favorite) is sitting in the kitchen. I had none.
I'm actually a little bit thankful for the wine moratorium.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Hello vino my old friend...
Monday, February 18, 2013
Time to blow the cobwebs off...
May 9, 2009.
That's the date of my last blog post.
To say "a lot has happened" might be the understatement of the century.
Let's see if I can summarize it quickly.
Quit job. Found new job teaching college mathematics. Loved job. Decided to pursue teaching college full time. Started prerequisites to get MS in mathematics. Decided to lose weight. Started Weight Watchers. Started Zumba. Lost weight, gained fitness. Started Pilates. Tried spin (yuck). Went back to Pilates. Started running. Ran. A lot. Lost more weight. Pilates instructor left, gave up Pilates, started yoga. Fell in love with yoga. Hit massive plateau after losing 75 pounds. Kept running. Started weightlifting. Kept doing yoga.
Now we're up to 2012.
Eye started acting up. Went to doctor. Random eye issue. Treated with Prednisone. Continued to run. Ran. Lifted. Ran a 10K. On and off Prednisone, and when off, eye issue came back. Saw a multiple specialists. Decided specialists were full of baloney. Drove my happy behind to Miami to see "the best" doctor. Diagnosed with Multifocal Choroiditis. Was told I needed to be on auto-immune therapy to save my eye. Went to Europe, drank a lot of German beer. Came home. Went back to doctor, started medication.
And that is pretty much where we sit. The cycles of Prednisone packed about 10 pounds back on me - I am happy to be tapering down. The stress of the year, the diagnosis, and graduate-level mathematics, have all chipped into my workout routine and eating habits. The medication I am on has serious risks - but is generally well tolerated. It forced me into 100% sobriety, though - no more wine for this wino. I will be on it for 2 years and, we hope, then be in remission and lead a normal life.
However, the "we hope" part is the part that I couldn't accept without stacking the cards in my favor.
There has been an onslaught of movies that have hit regarding diet and health. The main theme in most of these trendy films is that a plant-based diet can cure all your ills. Especially if you have something that is auto-immune, which is where I sit.
I have a few things that could be causing this. One, I do believe it's hormonal. I am hoping that as I age and shift closer into menopause (I sit at 33 right now), that things will simmer down. Two, and this plays into the hormones, I find it very interesting that this all came on at the end of a 75 pound weight loss. So, perhaps, this is just my body adjusting. Thirdly, my eyes took a turn in July of 2011 - when my son brought home a viral pink eye. They were problematic since that virus, and then issues exploded 6 months later. Perhaps the auto-immune reset will help. Finally, I have a history of granuloma annulare, another auto-immune thing. The good news is that this WAS hormonal, and DID go away as I drifted away from puberty. I am hoping that this will bode well for me in the future. (Of course, this is all speculative. Since no one seems to know very much about the disease, though, speculative seems to be very appropriate).
Given all that, I can't help but feel that if I'm really GOOD to my body - I will be able to cure myself. So, we are shifting into a plant-strong diet + fish including eliminating all dairy, and we're working on flour and sugar. I figure, also, if I'm not allowed to drink...and I'm having my coffee sugar/cream free...this is the PERFECT opportunity to lose the Prednisone weight and the last 10 that I just couldn't seem to trim off.
So, why the blog? Well. I decided I needed a diary to record my thoughts. I discuss them with my husband...but then they disappear into oblivion. I also wanted a place where I admitted my failures, successes, and hopefully hold myself more accountable. I am good 75% of the time - the last 25%? Not so good. Lastly, I needed a place to record my "invented" recipes and food ideas. I was going to start a whole NEW blog. When I came to blogger, I saw this link and thought "wait, I'll just fire this up!" Looking at some of the deliciousness I used to post...well...this will be a different sort of blog now! But none the less, the direction (green, healthy, planet-loving) is the same.
So. There is the re-introduction and manifesto. Now, to make good on it!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Great Starts..
I'm fairly certain my husband and I fell in love over breakfast. Not a particular breakfast...just breakfasts in general.
You see, there are many people out there who skip breakfast. Maybe they are short on time, or cutting calories, or just can't eat a big meal first thing. My husband and I do NOT fall into that category. I will happily eat carrot sticks and salad for dinner and lunch, so long as I started the day with a hearty breakfast. While many couples start their relationship on fancy dinners, the husband and I found ourselves at Denny's. And no, this wasn't after some late-night rendezvous (get your head out of the gutter). It's just something about the meal that started a perfect day.
In the early period of our relationship and marriage, we also ate meat. A typical "good" breakfast usually included bacon or sausage. I learned to make a pretty mean gravy, too. You can imagine that breakfast lost some of the luster when we swore off meat over a year ago.
Several weekends back, I wanted to make something different for breakfast. Pancakes are great, but I was looking for hearty and savory. I got the idea to re-create a gravy using vegetarian ingredients - basically making a white sauce with the right herbs. As it turns out, it hit all the right notes.
The Biscuits.
I used the recipe here, but substituted butter for shortening. What I LOVE about this recipe is how quick and easy it is. No kneading, rolling and cutting. And really, if you're just smothering it with gravy - who cares how uniform it is?
The Gravy:
1/2 a stick of butter
3 heaping tablespoons of flour
about a 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated on a micro-plane
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Milk to thin
Salt and pepper to taste
If desired: Morning star crumbles (for a more "sausage like" consistency)
1. Melt butter in heavy bottomed pan, add onions, and saute until translucent
2. Add garlic, sage, and thyme and saute for about a minute more.
3. Add flour, and with a whisk, saute until it turns lightly golden and bubbly.
4. Add milk to desired consistency. Add crumbles (if desired) and heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
To serve - crack the biscuits in half and smother with gravy. If the potatoes look good to you, I just chopped up some red potatoes, tossed with some olive oil and grated garlic, and baked in the same oven as the biscuits (450 for 20-30 minutes). Salt when done.
Friday, May 8, 2009
One of the two kids has a birthday.
I am one of those lucky people who has exactly one boy and one girl. It is SO MUCH FUN to have one of each - as I get to experience the joys of raising both genders.
One of their most favorite things to do is pour through my cupcake cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The bright pictures and mouth watering cupcakes are better than any Dr. Suess book we have. About a month ago, they had managed to find the book (again) and go through the pictures one-by-one. Knowing that little bit boy's birthday was coming, little bit girl told me that her brother wanted the "cookie cupcakes" for his birthday. What a nice older sister she is.
Sure enough, little bit boy agreed. However, he ALSO told me he wanted BLUE cupcakes. So, I settled on two batches: "cookie" cupcakes for the family and "blue" cupcakes for the kids where he plays during the day. Thankfully, with the most diverse and complete cupcake cookbook ever - I was covered!
All recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over The World.
Basic Vegan Fluffy Buttercream
You'll use this for both recipes
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons extract (usually vanilla - but GO WILD!)
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer
1. Cream butter and shortening together.
2. Add in a cup of flower, beat steadily by hand - or even better with hand or stand mixer.
3. Add in the extract, beat well.
4. Add in the rest of the sugar, slowly, mix well.
5. Add in the soy milk or creamer, and beat until smooth and fluffy.
For little bit boy's "blue" cupcakes
1. Mix soy milk and vinegar, set aside for curdling (basically, you're making butter milk)
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tin with liners
3. Mix liquid ingredients and sugar together.
4. Place dry ingredients in sifter and sift into wet ingredients. Mix until just barely incorporated and no large clumps remain.
5. Divide into cupcake tin evenly, bake immediately for 20 - 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool completely and top with butter cream. For "blue" I used cake decorator's coloring, but you can use food coloring or natural dyes (blueberry). I've made "pink" cupcakes using strawberries. I bought the Wall-E decorations at Target.
Chocolate Cookie Cupcakes1 cup coarsly chopped chocolate sandwich cookies (like Newman-Os)
1. Whisk soy milk and vinegar together, set aside (again, buttermilk)
2. Preheat oven to 350 and line the cupcake pan.
3. Add sugar, oil, and extract to milk mixture and whisk until foamy.
4. Sift cocoa powder, soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into batter in two batches.
5. Fold in chopped cookies, pour into cupcake liners evenly, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.
6. After cooling completely, frost with the vegan butter cream frosting mixed with another 1/2 cup to one cup of crushed cookies (depending on taste). These sort of go on like clouds, so you can't expect even perfection. Top with 1/2 of a cookie for garnish.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Ina's Mac and Cheese.
So, I was home with a pseudo sick kiddo on Friday, and found myself watching all my favorite gals mid afternoon: Ina, Rachel, Giada, Sandra, and Paula. Watching these five makes for a great day - because you get such a wide perspective of styles: French gourmet, fast yet stylish, fresh and light Italian, an emphasis on entertaining, and good-old-fashioned-home-style. Awesome. It totally got the foodie juices flowing.
Ina's episode was about a housewarming party she was cooking for. In it, she made this wonderful mac and cheese. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I LOVE macaroni and cheese. It's really one of my all-time favorite foods. And when I say "mac and cheese" - I mean GOOD HOMEMADE mac and cheese. None of this box stuff will do. Ina's recipe made me want to jump through the TV and join the party. When they spooned it up, you could see the stringy melted cheese goodness.
So, clearly, I went to the store that afternoon and bought all the ingredients!
Ina Garten's take on Macaroni and Cheese
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 quart milk (That's four cups!)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided (only 6 T if you take my suggestion below)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Boil the noodles as directed in a pot with olive oil and salt. Drain and set aside.
Heat the milk on low in a sauce pan. DO NOT boil it! Scorching = nasty milk.
In yet ANOTHER pan (yes, this makes three, and yes, it's worth it), melt 6 Tablespoons of butter. When melted, add the flour, and whisk steadily while cooking over low for two minutes (if you let up - the butter could burn!)
Once the flour/butter is cooked, add the milk (still whisking), and cook until it's thickened up. It'll just turn into a heavy cream consistency - don't expect gravy! Add a tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat.
If you have a food processor, now is the time to use it to grate the cheese. If not, you can do it by hand. If it's by hand, I would recommend grating it before you start (as it will take a bit!). In my case, the Gruyere was too small, but I had plenty of cheddar, so I just went for an overall volume of cheese (6 cups). My mac and cheese was probably a little less pungent, but that was probably better for the kiddos. Now, for those of you put off completely by the Gruyere (I am generally not a fan) - it does not overpower in the dish! It just adds a smoky flavor. If you're nervous about it (as I was) - I would flip the proportions and put in more cheddar than Gruyere.
When the cheese is grated and ready to go, add it to the milk mixture. Do not expect (nor try to force) the cheese to melt. It will do so in the bake.
Place in a 3-quart baking dish. Cover with tomatoes. For the breadcrumbs, this is what Ina says to do:
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.
I omitted this step, and just sprinkled packaged breadcrumbs. I also topped with paprika for color.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cheese is all bubbly and the top is turning brown. While eating, try not to turn into a 5 year old again while you're children are watching. 
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
How about an easy week night dinner?
Because that's what you've got here! 
Take some French or Italian Bread, and place it in a 450 degree oven to toast. Sprinkle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil for added flavor and golden color.
Once all nice and toasty, "scrape" a peeled garlic clove across the top (the crusty consistency will grate the garlic for you). Layer with thinly sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with some basil, and then add the cheese on the top. Some salt for flavor, maybe some cracked pepper for oomph. Return to the oven, melt the cheese, and VOILA! Dinner! Make as much or as little as you need!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sauteed Potatoes with or without eggs.
Psst...is anyone out there?
Another all too-long blog hiatus for me. I really don't have an excuse this time. Life has gotten easier as this time of year is generally more relaxed. No holidays to contend with, a break in the requirements of teaching, and a necessary hiatus in spending usually means more time at home. For whatever reason, however, I have not been feeling the blogging mojo. I think part of it was the fact that I've been eating really yummy healthy unprocessed stuff. But it's nothing gourmet. Carrots and hummus pretty much rock, but I don't want to do a blog post about it. Maybe I'll just start taking pictures of it all...and post the pictures! At least then you'd have something to drool over.
One thing we have been doing is planning our annual trip out to Portland, Oregon. This has got me thinking about Mother's Bistro, a fabulous little restauraunt right in downtown. Trust me when I say that this place is on the list of "must dos" while out west.
Until we get there, however, I wanted to share a recipe adapted from a dish at Mother's. It works wonderfully for breakfast or brunch, but has a stewy-feel that would work for dinner too. 
Red Potatoes and "Gravy" (Serves a really hungry 2-3, maybe can be stretched to 4 with sides)
4- 5 red potatoes cut in bite-sized, even, pieces
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup Morning Star starters crumbles (can be omitted) - just makes it a bit more filling
pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 cup nutritional yeas flakes
soy or regular milk. 1/2 cup.
In hot skillet, throw down around a tablespoon of EVOO. Sautee peppers and onions with 1-2 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed) and some salt.
When cooked and transluscent (don't burn the garlic!), toss in potatoes, thyme, seasoning salt, and sage, then cover. The extra liquid in the vegitables should help steam the potatoes. Turn down heat so has not to evaporate liquid.
When potatoes are nearly cooked through, add in the crumbles (if desired) and nutritional yeast flakes. When the crumbles are heated, add in the milk. If the "gravy" formed by the potatoes and milk looks too thick, feel free to add more milk.
In a new skillet (preferably non-stick), break eggs after oiling. When the whites turn opaque, add a tablespoon of water and cover. Let the eggs cook over, leaving the yokes looking opaque but still very runny. Remove from heat and plate: potatoes underneath the runny eggs.
This can be easily veganized, as the eggs aren't necessary. I also think it's better with soy milk!