Showing Love for Everyday Happy Herbivore

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I have lots of love for Happy Herbivore.  I can’t remember when or how I first stumbled across Lindsay Nixon’s blog, but I have been drooling over and cooking from it ever since. The omni family has loved most of her goodies, too.  I have a well worn copy of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook and received my copy of Everyday Happy Herbivore a couple of weeks ago.  I’m digging it, too.

When Lindsay put out a call for stops on her blog tour, I jumped at the chance to pick her brain a little.


Me:  You’ve mentioned Charleston in both of your books.  How much did the Lowcountry inspire your cooking?  Were you introduced to many new ingredients or techniques?


Lindsay:  I lived in Charleston, SC for four years to attend the College of Charleston (c/o 2004). My husband is a graduate of The Citadel (Hotel, 2000) and he was also raised in Summerville, South Carolina. 
My experience with Southern food and cooking was none before I moved to Charleston. I’d never had or heard of grits or collard greens or she crab soup… so I was constantly dazzled by all these new ingredients and foods when I lived there. Even after we left, my husband was always after me to make low country staples he grew up with — and when we switched to a vegan diet, he insisted I learn how to recreate all these dishes that were traditions in his family and had been staples in our diets. (That’s how they ended up in my cookbooks!)

I have a soft spot for Low Country cuisine — and cajun, too. They’re magnificent and really understand the concept of sticking to the basics, using hot spices and fresh, local foods to make something amazing. 
Was it difficult it find a variety of vegan eats when dining out? 

In Charleston? No. I was actually pleasantly surprised when we went back to visit last November (2010). I contacted the Charleston Vegetarian Group on Facebook before I went for some restaurant recommendations, but some of our friends wanted to go to other places, and I admit I was worried I’d be limited to salads. Boy was I wrong! Every restaurant we went to had something on the menu that was already vegan (not necessarily identified as such — but no dairy, meat, etc) or something that could be made vegan if we left off cheese. I thought FOR SURE when Scott’s friends made us go to Wild Wings I’d starve and I actually had a really delicious meal there!
In Everyday Happy Herbivore, most of the items can be on the table in 30 minutes or less.  Are there any other quick cooking tips that work for you?

I can’t stress the importance of a well stocked pantry and spice rack — that is the secret to fast cooking.

We’ve all had kitchen failures.  My most recent involved misreading a recipe and adding 1/2 cup of agave nectar instead of 1/s TBS to bread.  What was your most memorable kitchen fail?

I once turned my blender on without the top on. Green smoothie EVERYWHERE. Seitan also blew up once and splattered on the wall and ceiling. That was awesome.
The holidays are upon us and omnivore family members sometimes have low expectations of the vegan’s contribution to the family meal.  Should herbies stick with appetizers, entrees, sides, or desserts?  What knockout recipes do you recommend?  Desserts have won over my family 

Desserts are always a safe bet — but I try NOT to bring a vegetable side or a soup because I want to dispel the notion that we only eat the side dish or vegetables only compliment meat. I like to show off how beans and vegetables ARE the meal and not just a side. BUT it’s important to do whats right for your situation — we all know our family and friends pretty well and that can help us decide what to bring. When in doubt, Cake.



While cake helped bring my family on to the herbie train, burgers and fries keep them coming back time and again.  Lindsay shared one of her burger recipes from EHH.  Not only is it quick and easy, it’s pretty cheap, too.  This would make a great quick lunch or dinner on a crazy night. 



Quick Burgers | makes 4 

I developed these burgers in a hotel room: they’re quick, easy and require very few ingredients. (In fact, except for the beans and a seasoning packet, I sourced all the ingredients from the complimentary “breakfast bar”). I make these burgers any time I need a super fast meal or I’m really low on ingredients.

15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp onion powder (granulated)
1 tsp garlic powder (granulated)
1/3 c instant oats

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, mash black beans with a fork until mostly pureed but still some half beans and bean parts are left. Stir in condiments and spices until well combined. Then mix in oats. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into thin patties with your hands. Bake for 7 minutes, carefully flip over and bake for another 7 minutes, or until crusty on the outside. Slap into a bun with extra condiments and eat!

Chef’s note: If you only have rolled oats, chop them up in a food processor or blender so they are smaller and more like instant oats. Rolled oats left whole tend to make the burgers fall apart. 

Per Burger: 109 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 17.6g Carbohydrates, 3g Fiber, 2.2g Sugars, 5g Protein

Thanks again, Lindsay for the inspiration, tips, and fantastic food.  Go Cougars! 

6 Days and Counting

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The big day is almost here!  Well, our big days are almost here, Yule and Christmas.  I’m sort of at a loss because I’m officially on winter break and won’t have an assignment due until January!  W00T!  I still have to work, but I have a backlog of articles and blog posts ready to roll.  I planned ahead and it feels good.

We decided to do a fab feast for Yule dinner and brunch for Christmas morning.  The kitchen will be busy this week and I plan to cook some things ahead of time.  Instead of a table full of the usual heavy, fattier fare, there will be a mix.  Unfortunately, the final menus are still up in the air.  Greens, acorn squash, broccoli, rice, and bake (hubby’s request), and cornbread will be on the table Thursday night, but I’m not sure what else.  The family will want meat (meh), and I want a centerpiece of sorts.  I’m thinking seitan pot roast surrounded by roasted veggies.  I’m torn between the versions in Vegan Diner and Vegan Lunch Box.  

For Christmas brunch, it’s on!  Pancakes, sausage (homemade vegan patties), roasted potatoes and onions, broccoli quiche (vegan), and fruit are going on the table for sure.  Again, the omnis will want meat of some kind, and hubby can cook it.  I won’t.

Regardless of what we eat as the main dish, we will have a lot of produce to choose from.  And we’ll be together.  That’s all we really want, isn’t it, to be with loved ones.  It doesn’t matter if they’re related by blood, marriage, or in spirit, family can be bliss.

And now it’s time to get in a walk.  Peace, all.

Yes, I still hurt.

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I’m trying to get through as best I can, walking more slowly than usual and taking more frequent breaks for stretching when working.  Sitting isn’t as nice when getting up makes you want to scream.

It amazes me, though, just how far I’ve come.  When this level of pain hit before, I’d curl into the fetal position for days.  Now I can move as I need to.  It’s still hurts like crazy, but I’m mobile.  Meditation has made a huge difference.  My patience level is not where it should be, but it’s getting there.  I just need to remember to stop and breathe when the pain-fueled crankies kick in.  

Happier posts are coming.  I just wanted to dip my toes back into the blogging pool.

I admit it. I am chronic pain’s bitch.

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And oh man am I getting my ass kicked right now.  In addition to my usual pain, my clumsy side decided I needed more pain.  I stepped on a dog bone, slipped on my naked floors, and hit hard.  And bounced.  I haven’t bounced before because I can usually catch myself.  My head bounced and I could swear I heard a crack.  No fear, the head and floor are intact.

You know it’s bad when the dogs go silent.  I got up, crawled to the couch, climbed up, and laid there for a couple of hours.

You know how moms try to do everything while trying to keep her issues to herself?  That’s me to a point.  I got up, made dinner, and kept fairly quiet about how much it hurt.  I felt a little better on Saturday and ran errands on Sunday.  That was unwise.  My pain went from 7 to 11 on the 1-10 scale and all I want to to is sleep.  Crying takes too much energy.

I hate being a downer.  Hate it!  I hate being stuck.  I know what happens when I push too hard instead of listening to my body, but I did it anyway.  I do it anyway.  And I end up here yet again; in pain, hating every second of it.

Whine over.

World Vegetarian Day, Vegan MoFo, and a Challenge

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Another Vegan Kickstart has come and gone and so have 4 pounds. Granted they were lost in the first week, but I maintained for the month and that makes me happy.  Counting Points is working for me and I’m saving money in the process, too.  Less junk is coming in the house and less food is being wasted.  It feels good.

It’s almost October and that means another World Vegetarian Day will kick off another Vegetarian Awareness Month.  I’m a giddy girl because it means another Vegan MoFo is upon us.  My procrastinating butt missed the Vegan MoFo signup deadline so I will be sitting on the sidelines again.  But I won’t be completely out.  I’ll be blogging more often and posting pics more often, too.  That will be a challenge in itself because I don’t always post regularly.

Another challenge that I’m going to take on is the Eat-In Challenge from Cook. Vegan. Lover.  Basically I’m going to eat in for every meal, drink, and snack for the month of October.  I am somewhat torn because I have a new job (yay) and wanted to celebrate at The Sprout next week.  The special events are scheduled monthly, but this one is screaming my name.  Other than this meal, I’m going to stick it out.   It’s easier for me to eat at home anyway since I’m the ‘difficult’ one in the family when it comes to eating out.  Difficult according to the omni family, anyway.  :sigh:

Eating in would save us a bundle.  We rarely spend less than $40 when the four of us are together and most of the time the bill pushes $60. I can throw a killer week of meals together for $60.  Hell, I’ve done it with less.  Once the pantry is stocked, I can work magic with $40-50 a week.  I know I can keep on track because I track Points already.  The most difficult part of this challenge will be the hubby and kidos.   Yeah, I’m going to give it a shot.  

On the health front, the headaches continue while the blood pressure continues to fluctuate, but that’s another post.

Until later, peace.

Harmony Valley Mixes and my Food Network Addiction

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You know me.  You know I love to cook and have to please the omni family while making meals healthy, colorful, and veggie.  Because I don’t always have the time to block 1-2 hour cooking sessions, most meals have to be quick.  Harmony Valley Foods helped cut down cooking time and made the omni man and boy happy at dinner and breakfast.  

I was sent two packages of Harmoney Valley to try, and both resuted in kitchen success!  I cannot tell you
how much I enjoyed them.

I am a Food Network Addict.  I freely admit it to anyone who asks.  On weekends, I set my DVR to record my favorite shows so  can catch up during the week.  I don;t always watch all of the shows.  I watch the intros and see if the family or I would be interested in any of the on-screen goodness and to see if I can veganize any of it.  Aarti Parti is one of my favorite shows.  Not only is Aarti a doll, her food looks amazing.  Hubster and I love Indian food, so learning from Aarti’s show is a must see.  Keeping food prep time manageable is also required most days.

A few weeks ago, Aarti made Kheema, a quick-cooking dish with ground beef and peas. While beef is out of the question, vegan beef crumbles are not.  Usually I make my own crumbles by seasoning TVP, but I was out of some of my ‘beef’ stock ingredients.  Harmony Valley Foods’ Hamburger Style mix was perfect.  I added cold water to the mix and threw it in the fridge.  The instructions say to refrigerate for 15 minutes before cooking, but it was much longer than that.  The dogs can be particularly cute when I’m cooking and I was distracted and watched them for a while.

I pulled out the rehydrated mix and went to cooking.  The recipe took 25 minutes from the minute I put
the onions in the skillet and made the house smell yummy. I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish
topped with cilantro because once I tasted it, I was ready to eat.  No need for stinking cilantro.  Cilantro,

baby, I still love you.  It was tender and much more like ground beef than my usual TVP blend. And the bonus was that it took took less time than my usual route.  The Hamburger Mix and Kheema recipes are keepers!

A few days later, the craving for biscuits with sausage gravy made me a mad woman, so I whipped some up.  The biscuits came from The Joy of Vegan Baking, and the sausage gravy was my own recipe with Harmony Valley Sausage Mix instead of my usual Gimmie Lean.  I loved it!  The texture was more like the sausage I loved back in the day, but so much better since it’s cruelty-free.  And the flavor was spot on!  I had it for breakfast, lunch the next day, and breakfast on the third day.  I still have a little waiting for me in the freezer.

Harmoney Valley mixes can be found on the dry goods store shelves (near the rice) and online.  And a Classic Hummus mix is next on tap!  Have I mentioned that one of my first vegan experiments included falafel and hummus mixes?

Anyway, pick up some HV and save some time in the kitchen.  And watch Aarti Party!  I’ll be doing both.

Peace!

Full moon on Monday

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Instead of a new moon – any of my 80s music fans get it?  Dating myself?  I thought as much.

So I’ve been back to counting points and doing what I need to do for one month now.  I lost 4 pounds before the vegan kickstart and 3 pounds in the first week of the kickstart.  7 pounds in a month!  The last time I lost that much, I was working out hardcore without changing my eating plan.  Can you imagine how well I’ll do while eating right?  That’s all I’ve been doing for the most part, just eating right and getting on 2 days of decent exercise.

This WAHM is happy!

I need to get these headaches in check before I kick up the exercise regimen.  I feel like crap when I have one (like today) and cannot function much more than the minimal amount when one is really working me.  But that’s another post.

Dinner is ready to roll – leftovers and the family will deal with it, bread is in the machine, and the first gallon of tea is ready.  Yes, the family takes out 3/4 to a gallon of iced tea a day in addition to water and coffee.  I’m still having just one cup of joe a day.

Is it just me or am I rambling?

Anyway, until next time.

Killer Migraines

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I get them and have one right now.  Hormones are holding me hostage a minimum of six days a month, every month.  This is a new one for me – day four.  Stress is keeping this one active and nothing I’ve done to relax has done much to ease it.  Ugh.

I wish to crawl into a hole, but that’s not possible right now.  I have an assignment to work on and have a project for a client.  The floor replacement has to wait again.  The dishwasher isn’t the culprit – not our dishwasher, anyway.  The one that came with the house wasn’t working and probably caused the problem. That’s a relief, but still a headache until it’s taken care of.

That’s it for now.

Peace!

A fun weekend so far – not really

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Stupid Irene kicked it off.  While she just waved to us as she went on by, she may hurt some people I love and I am not feeling it.  Vibing for you guys!

I’m fired up.  We bought a few things for updating and making over our kitchen and I wanted to jump all over it today.  I wanted to start with the floor because it’s currently covered with a  pretty cheap maple laminate and does not match the hardwood we found under the carpet. And it was starting to warm and curl at the edges.  And we have some nice tile that will work with whatever countertop we eventually choose (but I’m pulling for Blue Pearl or some other silvery solid goodness).

So there I was with a plan.  I pulled up the board with the most curling and discovered that it was damp underneath.  That is not something I wanted to find.  I decided to cut a slit into the underlayment and found a damp subfloor.  We either have a leak or our dogs’ daily water bowl dumps have done damage.  Either way I am not looking forward to what else I find.

Why is this a post for a healthy lifestyle blog?  Because it’s been a day of work!  I got in my sweat time by loading and unloading stuff from the truck and ripping up flooring.   And because my mood over the next few days will be determined by what happens to the floor after I run the dishwasher tonight.  I may not be nice to be around.

Family, friends – you have been warned.  And I apologize now if Angry Sherrie takes over for a few days.

Peace.

Still sore – Could I be Sherrie the human barometer?

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Stupid stormy weather and increased pain seem to be buddies lately.  When a thunderstorm is about to hit, whether reported beforehand or not, I feel it.  A deep throbbing in my bones.  Add that to the regular aches and pains of my semi-broken self and you have a whimpering mess.

Well, not much whimpering comes from me.  The dogs, Big V in particular, whine and whimper when I’m not running about with them.  The nightmares about my legs crumbling as I walk do not help motivate me to move more than I have to.  Creepy dream, eh?  More than once now and it’s freaking me out.

Anyway, I wonder if I am feeling more due to the weather.  If cold can affect people, then surely storms can, too.

So can stepping in a hole and twisting an already aching ankle, but that’s another post.

Man I’m rambling today.  I blame the hurricane.

Be safe, friends.