The juicer has landed.

I guess it was my lucky day.  After finding the best online price for the Omega 330vrtHD juicer I placed an order for $30 less and free shipping.  We'll get to that in a moment.  I have to rant first....hang on

When I first ordered online the business GUARANTEED next day delivery.  3 days later they call saying they were out of stock (like everyone else) and tried to get me to switch juicers.   Hmmmmm, I seem to recall 'bait and switch' is illegal.    The owner, Linda, tried to say shipping from China was 'out of her control'.   That statement is as irrelevant as it is true.   Showing stock on hand when it isnt IS under her control, accepting orders with out showing the item as backordered IS under her control, calling the customer and trying to talk them into a different item IS under her control.
The heck with it, I'm going to post a link to her business site.  If you do buy from her - caveat emptor. 

Ok.  Back to the good news.  A 20% off coupon arrived in the mail from Bed Bath and Beyond.  I had one for online purchases too.  I went online and they had the juicer I wanted but they added TAX AND SHIPPING.

So, time to head to store.   Talked to fellow on floor and he said they dont carry the one I wanted in the store due to limited space.   After a bit of negotiation he became 'kind' or just wanted to get rid of me.  Either way he accepted the 20% coupon AND waived shipping.  I saved about $60.


The best news!  I got the juicer in 3 days.   Fantastic turnaround time.


The juicer has been cranking out fruit and vegetable juices 2-3 times a day since we got it.


Large amounts of organic veggies is budget busting expensive.   So, in the short run I am relying heavily on carrots in each batch and then adding.


This morning we had carrot & orange juice with a bit of ginger root.   We added a bit of cinnamon to the glass and yum!  


Juice, coffee, and steel cut organics oats (with a TBS of crunchy peanut butter mixed in).


I'm ready to go!




Peace out,


bob

OK......I admit it......I'm CONFUSED

I'm convinced, at the moment, that meat, dairy, eggs, etc are no longer for me.

So, I went vegan and started a multi vitamin supplement.  Why a vitamin pill?  Easy, we had some here at the house and I read vegetarian/vegan presents 'issues'.

OK.  I have been reading about which items are not readily available in a VEGAN diet.  Like Omega 3s, B12, etc.    BUT, that got me reading about recommended daily allowances for EVERYTHING.


Now I am trying to figure out how to build a balanced daily menu.  YIKES!!


Someone tell me there is a program out there that will accept your ingredients and calculate totals of each item.


Right now i am using the USDA Nutrient Laboratory data.    It will look up one ingredient at a time and give it back in a text/table format. 

THEN, I'd have to take each set of numbers, enter them into a spreadsheet or database and add them up for each recipe.

Once I have it for the recipe decide how many servings it makes and divide.    HOLY COW!  A lot of work to see IF the meal you'd like to prepare is 'HEALTHY'

THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY!

PANCAKES ANYONE?

Who likes pancakes?  OK.   Who doesn't like them?


A chef and fellow foodie friend of mine, Carey Wise, just told me about an exciting variation.   He suggested I try my pancakes with almond milk and almond butter.


I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds delicious.   Gluten free too.


Here's another tip from Carey for spaghetti squash:


- cut in half
- remove seeds
- pour some white wine into the cavity and bake 
          i bake @ 375 for about 40-45 min
- when removing the stringy yummy strands add some ranch seasoning


Here's a vegan recipe to make your own dry ranch seasoning


1 teaspoon dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 tsp dill

Veggie smoothie

"Nuthin' to it, just do it"

 During my post college wanderlust I ended up  Durham North Carolina.  My car broke down and I had a friend kind enough to take me in while it was being repaired.  A restaurant job seemed in order since they had food and I found myself in need of the same.   The cook was a great big burly ex golden gloves black man named PJ.  PJ, I asked?   What kind of name is PJ?   Primrose Jones, he replied.  Unthinking (my main character trait) I laughed at the notion of a boy being named Primrose.   It was then that I learned of his Golden Glove skills.   On more than one occasion I considered naming one of my boys Primrose as a peace offering to Karma.

I later posed a more reasonable and safer question to PJ.  Who taught you how to cook PJ?   "Nuthin too it it, just do it" he said.   It was one of his primary beliefs and one that I have come to embrace late in life.  In honor of the late Primrose Jones, it has become my PJ approach to cooking.

So how am I to learn the art of making veggie smoothies? "nuthin to it.........."

So, here we go.   What's in the kitchen?

fresh limes, tomatoes, apples, a cucumber, baby carrots, broccoli (oooops, it's too old to use), potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and spices.

As monk would say "Here's what happened"

The following was tossed, chucked, added or otherwise placed in a blender:

* 5-6 roma tomatoes    why?    had to start somewhere

* a handful of baby carrots 

* the juice of one lime?   (just a guess)

* a red apple    (a 'sweet' component so it wasn't just tomato juice)

* a cucumber   why?   why not?

I pulsated it a few times and added filtered water just to make it a bit more drinkable.   ouch.....I forgot Connie bought soy milk last night.   I could have used that.  Oh well.......no regrets.   Next time it's soy milk  :)

taste test.     Good!  Not great though.   Time for some hot sauce.  Better!    I bet some ancho or cayenne pepper would be a good addition.    Bottom line - I like it.   

Result:   this will become a part of my daily diet.   Probably as follows:

breakfast:    steel cut oats with cinnamon & a fruit smoothy

lunch:  veggie smoothy with a side of toasted nuts, seeds, or vegan bread

dinner: a hot vegan meal.  I'm trying to figure out good dinner combos.  I.E.  green salad, lightly steamed veggies,   beans with rice or pasta, some roots like sweet potato, etc.   Dinner is the confusing one for me.   Any suggestions?  

SMOOTHIES

Enough beans already!!!    LOL.   I recently learned that 8 cups of dried beans makes a LOT of beans.  Too many.   It's time for a change.   It's time for fruit and some raw veggies.   But how?   I'm in a "don't feel like cooking" funk at the moment.  What to do?

Fruit Smoothies!

  
There's a bowl of fruit in the fridge from my last trip to the farmer's market.   So, I took my new hand blender, chucked a bunch (not very precise, eh?) of banana, plum, apple, and kiwi into a glass and started to blend away.

Ooops.  Too thick to blend.   Recipes call for milk but I went vegan so that's a no-no.   Well, why not water?   A little water did the trick.  It blended up except for that one chunk of apple that somehow escaped my blade.   Reblend?  nah, I just had a little chewy stowaway that added texture.      Loved it!   Now, all that's left is to see how long before I'm hungry again.   
I wonder what else I can add to my fruit smoothy?   Wheat germ?  Soy yogurt?   oh, how about something crunchy like toaster walnuts or almonds.   I'm going to have to think about that.  Drinking an almond could be problematic.  Maybe as a side item?  Yeah, that should do it.

Veggie Smoothies

A high school buddy recently mentioned his daily fruit and veggie smoothies.   Veggie?   Really?   As long as I don't have to invest in any new blenders I may have to check a few veggie cocktails.  Thanks John.

a Vegan Thanksgiving? Really? How?

I found this site by searching for Vegan Thanksgiving.    One page of the site is dedicated to the subject.

A surprise gift from George & Heather! THANK YOU

This showed up at my door and just made my day.
No more ladling hot liquid into the blender.   More importantly no more spewing hot liquids down the front of cabinets and onto floor.   shhhhhhhh.   The wife doesn't know about that stuff

Indian food - WOW! This needs to be explored!

Connie and I dined at Saravanaa Bhavan last night.  She had Poori and Masala Dosa, while I enjoyed some Channa Batura & Samosa

The full menu is only available on weekends so we couldn't get any Naan.  I guess we have to go back.   oh darn  :)


The fried bread isn't something I want to add to my vegan diet but the dips, sauces, and Channa have me curious and excited.   Anyone know of Indian foodie sites with good Channa & sauce recipes?


I think the sauces could be used for almost anything.  How about a dip for raw veggies, or as a steamed veggie topping?  What about soup?  My last soup was on the bland side so one of these might make a great last minute flavor filled addition.  

My new quest!   Make Naan and a few Indian sauces.   Kitchen beware, I'm on my way!

Saltine crackers - vegan?

I wanted something crunchy with my last bowl of white bean potato soup.  There were some saltine crackers on the counter and guess what?  They are vegan!

A great compliment to my soup.    I found a few saltine cracker recipes if you are interested.   

Steel Cut Organic Oatmeal anyone?

Steel cut organic oats from Whole Foods

Want a nutritious, filling, quick,  inexpensive, tasty and simple breakfast?  Yes?

Here's one of my favorite secrets.
 
....buy steel cut organic oats by the 30 lb bag from Whole Foods & use a slow cooker to prepare a weeks worth of oatmeal....

I love my morning oatmeal.   Thick, loaded with lots of cinnamon, a tbs of crunchy peanut butter, and fresh fruit.   Banana is my go to fruit but I'll use any fresh fruit that's available. Well maybe no coconut or pineapple.  (hmmmm, now that I said that I'm curious to know how they'd actually taste)


OK.  I promised a lot in the first sentence.  It's time to deliver:

• Nutritious - high fiber, complex carbohydrate, not 'processed'
• Filing - trust me on this one.  I'm struggling to finish my bowl right now
• Quick - I prepare 4 cups of oats with 9 cups of water in my slow cooker (over night on low).   Flake oats from the store don't keep.   STEEL CUT oats do keep in the fridge!  I just pop a bowl in the microwave and am ready to go.
• Inexpensive  - buying in bulk reduces your cost (of course).  having a friend that works there makes it even better  :)   I suggest you buy a 3 or 5 gallon food grade storage bucket for your oats.  They last, and last, and last......
• Tasty -  steel cut oats have a slight crunchy nutty flavor, even after reheating.   oatmeal flakes - forget it.  Once you go steel cut you wont go back - I promise.
• Simple  - once heated I stir in a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter and top with some sliced fruit and cinnamon.  takes less than a minute.

So, a 30lb bag you say?   Maybe AFTER you try it a few times.   In the meantime you can get some good oats from McCann's.   You'll appreciate the dramatic drop in price when you buy in bulk compared to the McCann's can.

***********

Some live to eat, others eat to live. I live to annoy them.  

What is "Italian seasoning" anyway?

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your favorite spice blend?  You've never been that bored?  Welcome to my world.

I read my Italian seasoning label and guess what?  It's marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage & basil.  The list varies slightly by brand.  Why?  No idea.   There's nothing magically 'Italian' about that processed, flaked, salted, preservative filled  bottle of dried leaves and powder.


Armed with my new found knowledge I set off on a quest to make my own Italian seasoning.   No salt, preservatives, and whatever the heck the additive they use so the seasoning will come out of the little holes.   I kid you not - one of my blend bottles had this mysterious unidentified ingredient.  Could be powdered WD40 for all I know.  Anyway, after a quick trip to my local Penzeys store  I was ready. 

When I cook I just toss in each spice and 'oila  I R cooking Italian.(well, sort of maybe).   OK, so maybe it doesn't make my dishes real Italian but my home made spice blend does make a HUGE difference in the taste compared to the store mix.


 I use home made 'Italian' mixture on everything right now but it's getting boring.     

bored with my seasoning

Anyone have suggestions which spice(s) I should try next?  What do you like? 

**********

Once again I feel more like I did yesterday than I do now.

Well, if a rat can fix it I can - maybe

Ratatouille anybody?

White bean potato soup

How about a hearty  soup for a chilly Fall day?

Vegan books all talk about beans.   Beans, beans, and more beans.   Ok.  I get it.    We need to eat beans.  But how do we go about it?   Can't it just be simple?   Actually, yes. 

Recipes confuse & frustrate me.  Why am I adding this or that?  Why does the order matter?   What's the difference between roasting and baking?   Maybe this will pass with time, but for now, recipes don't motivate or inspire me.  
 

So, without a recipe (step by step 'do this' set of instructions), here's how the soup happened.

Me:  "I have these nice white beans, but they are hard as rocks"

miniMe: "go google how to prepare white beans"

Me: "ahhhh, you have to soak them overnight. ok"

next morning

Me: beans look good, now what?

miniMe: What else you got to add to the beans?

Me: potatoes, onions, spices, garlic, walnuts, rice, etc etc

miniMe: pick a couple, toss them in pot, add spice and heat.  What could go wrong?

That's basically how it happened and the soup was GREAT!   I  knew to saute my garlic before adding it and I  knew I liked my home made blend of Italian spices.  

Here's what happened (in best Monk voice):

Toss these in your stock pot:

 - Cubed potatoes (i should have peeled them)

- white beans

- spices from Penzeys (oregano, rosemary, basil, marjoram, & some red pepper flakes)

- saute an entire bulb of garlic and toss in pot (a little olive oil medium heat for about a minute )
- add water (of course)

- was going to add chopped onion - but I forgot.  (next time)

I made my stock thick by ladling the hot mixture into a blender.  Blend some, then just pour it back into pot.  Not thick enough?  Fish out more whole beans and potatoes and repeat.

Like it?   YES!   Good...you are done.  
Like it?  No.     oh oh.   It needs 'something' else added.
Now what?

oh no, it needs 'something' else

No need to panic - just add something.   You don't have to KNOW it's the right thing to add before you do it. After all.....we are new to this, right?  Just put some soup in a bowl and experiment with it.  Once you like the results do the same thing to the rest of your soup.

And there you go. 

You now have a white bean potato soup for a chilly Fall day

p.s.    I had these nice Walnuts so I toasted them in my small toaster oven.  In they went and they toasted until one started to darken in a rather menacing manner.  Tossed those and some chives from Penzeys  on top as a garnish and YUM!
 

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

Initial ramblings........coherent thoughts to follow....maybe.....

Have you ever wanted to try a Vegan Diet?
What is a vegan?
How do you start?
Should you buy cookbooks? 
read blogs? 
google veganism? 
Visit a nutritionist? 
Search for local vegan groups to find a mentor?


I'm lost and would love some company trying to find my way around.

This blog is an effort to share my confusion and to find companions along this journey.

Tag along, who knows how it might turn out?