In a Real (Dill) Pickle

Since I have an abundance of fresh veggies and fruits as I mentioned a few days ago, I have been on some kind of a crazy food preservation kick- but I’m still lazy. I have an over-abundance of lemon cucumbers, but had a problem with them having a thick skin. After some thought, I decided to make refrigerator pickles with them, choosing the refrigerator options to avoid the extra steps involved in a water bath. I peeled the skins and placed them in a mostly white vinegar brine with dill and garlic, Himalayan salt and cracked pepper.  I made a small jar with apple cider vinegar just because. Easily some of the ugliest pickles I’ve ever made. I hope these little bastards taste better than they look. 

Today's Vegan Lunch- Roasted Spaghetti Squash and Kale

Roasted Spaghetti Squash and Kale

Adapted from The Pioneer Wife

Ingredients
1 small whole Spaghetti Squash
Olive Oil
Salt And Pepper
1 bunch of Kale, Stalks Removed And Torn Into Pieces
½  Onion, Diced
Tony Chachere's, Salt and Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

With a sharp knife, VERY CAREFULLY cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. (Stick the knife into the center of the squash, then cut down. Again—be careful!) Scoop out the seeds and pulp in the center and discard. Place the squash, cut side up, on a large baking sheet. Rub a little olive oil over the cut surface, then place the pan in the oven for 1 hour or until a fork is easily inserted into the squash.

While the squash is cooking, saute the kale: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until starting to turn color. Throw in the kale, sprinkle in some Tony Chachere's, salt, and pepper, and stir to saute until the onions are golden about the kale is partly cooked, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

When the squash is cooked, use a fork to scrape the stringy squash out of the shell. Add the squash to a bowl. Mix together 1 tablespoon olive oil with the balsamic vinegar. Drizzle it over the squash, sprinkle with Tony Chachere's, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.

Add the squash to individual bowls, then top with a good amount of sauteed kale.

(Or, you can toss all the kale and half the squash together.)

Taa Daa! And it's done! Easy and healthy.

Veganomicon- The Review

In an attempt to broaden my food horizons and to ween myself off of processed, prepackaged vegan and vegetarian foods I ordered two cookbooks, Veganomicon, as suggested by my friend Christi Gregurich, and Appetite For Reduction: 125 Fast and Low Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes just because the sheer number of positive reviews caught my eye. I didn't realize until the books were delivered into my hot little hands that these books shared an author- Veganomicon was composed by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, while Appetite for Reduction was written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I have yet to make anything in either of these books because I haven't been grocery shopping since I've gotten them, but I've had a chance to thumb through them and here's my first impressions of Veganomicon. My impressions of Appetite For Reduction is coming tomorrow, y'all!

One of the first things I noticed about Veganomicon was the vast variety of recipes. There are over 250 recipes organized into !seventeen! different categories-
1: Snacks, Appetizers, Little Meals, Dips and Spreads
2: Brunch
3: Salads and Dressings
4: Dressings
5: Sammiches
6: Vegetables
7: Grains
8: Beans
9: Tofu, Tempeh and Seitan
10: Soups
11: Casseroles
12: One-pot Meals and Stove-Top Specialties
13: Pasta, Noodles and Risotto
14: Sauces and Fillings
15: Breads, Muffins and Scones
16: Cookies and Bars
17: Desserts

Woo, that's a mouthful. Also included are guides for lower-fat cooking, how to cook a vegetable,a grain and a bean, cooking and prepping terminology, menus, and pantry staples. There's something in this massive cookbook for everyone, and is ripe with information for the beginning vegan. Besides- its name is inspired by Evil Dead 2- what's not to love? There's a wide range of cuisines represented in this cookbook, and I'm pleased that they don't depend on synthetic meats, which totally ick me out. No mature way to say it. Fake meats suck. So far my first impression has been overwhelmingly positive- but we haven't put this cookbook to the real test yet. I'm looking forward to testing out some of these recipes in the upcoming weeks.

My Vegetarian Staples

Let me tell you, it is NOT EASY being a vegetarian in the booming metropolis of Baton Rouge, LA. I am generally either at work or on the go, so my diet sadly consists of a lot of processed food- but even vegetarian processed food isn't always easy to come across in Baton Rouge. We recently got a new Trader Joe's here in Baton Rouge, so my work diet consists of their prepackaged salads and frozen Mexican TV dinners. When I'm out eating if I'm lucky I'm stuck with a black bean burger or garden sandwich, but often I'm stuck with ordering items off the side menu- French fries, steamed veggies, and lettuce and a cherry tomato in a condiment bowl, anyone? When I do have time to prepare my food in advance I'm a creature of habit and find myself making the same things almost every time. I make tons of salads topped with olives, corn, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and anything else you could imagine putting on a salad that didn't previously have eyes. I also make simple black bean salads consisting of a can of rinsed black beans, a can of rinsed corn, a can of drained rotel tomatoes, lime, and whatever seasoning I feel like putting in there. Sometimes I get all fancy and add quinoa or tvp cooked taco filling style, use fresh ingredients in lieu of canned, top with cheese or Greek yogurt (an excellent sour cream substitute, by the way), and add other veggies like chopped bell peppers and purple onions.
The TVP  I speak of is super easy to make- I heat two cups of water to boiling and remove from heat, and mix in half a cup of TVP and a packet of taco seasoning. Some people add a tablespoon of soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos but I find that to be unnecessary. Wait about 10 minutes and kazam! Taco filling that's much better than the "ground beef substitute" they try to hock in the freezer section. Seriously, who do they think they're trying to fool with that nasty crap? Use it as a burrito filling or put in a taco shell with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese or faux cheese, you're golden.
I also snack on these "real food bars", whatever they mean by that. The brand is called Barre and I love the spirulina and the cinnamon pecan flavors. They're excellent to keep in your purse for when you're stuck on the road with nothing but snickers bars and potato chips in sight.
So that's pretty much my diet in a nutshell. The lack of variety may be unhealthy but it's delicious, so things even out. So what do you other vegetarians/vegans out there exist on? Let's swap recipes, I obviously need to mix it up some.