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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Show and tell

Well, I’ve reached the one-month mark of living vegan and I think I have the hang of it.  I’m really surprised in how great I feel and how easy it is to go vegan.  I haven’t felt deprived at all and I think it is fun try to new recipes.  Eating something that I know is good for me and something that I know did not contribute to the harming animals or the environment is very satisfying and exciting!  I’m always so anxious to share new recipes or restaurant finds with others so that they can experience what being vegan tastes like.  And that is just what I did this weekend.

I just want to say before I get into the food and the pictures, sorry for the poor photo quality. I think there was salt water residue on the lense from the beach. :( Anyway.... after a nice run in Bryant Park and a little R&R at the beach (even though it was super windy and overcast – not exactly what Kait Parker forecasted, but whatever) with my best-training-buddy, Tracy, we headed to my favorite place to eat out, Darbster’s!  Once again they exceeded my expectations and everything was wonderful.  Tracy had the avocado gazpacho (the same one I had last weekend).  Then we split an order of buffalo “wings.”  We were both blown away at how good these were.  They were shaped like chicken nuggets and served with a ranch-style sauce and an AWESOME spicy buffalo sauce.  I wanted to get a to-go container just for that sauce.  It was SO good. 

We also shared a grilled-cheeze sandwich, made of vegan cheese of course.  It was just like the real thing!  I just love taking friends there, especially the more skeptical ones, so that they can see for themselves how good you can eat.
Darbster's uses Daiya brand cheese, which is the brand that Kathy Freston recommended. I haven't purchased any vegan cheeses yet, but I think when I do I will choose the Daiya brand. It was perfectly melty and sharp. Loved it!

Shifting to the vegan diet has been fun and it's even more fun when others join in! I love sharing new recipes and talking about new found products at work. This week, Claudia have me an awesome new cookbook called Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. (Thank you!!) The book is broken down by the different colors of foods. Within each color (chapter) she gives you starters and salads, soups and stews, sides, main dishes, and desserts. There were so many good looking recipes. It was hard to pick just one to start with. I chose one out of the rainbow chapter. I made the confetti macaroni salad. It couldn't be more simple. Just make some macaroni (which most typically does not contain egg) and add some finely chopped bell peppers, scallions, basil, and black olives. The dressing is just Vegenaise (vegan mayo) and some Dijon mustard. Let me just say, I was never a huge fan of regular mayo, but I do like the Vegenaise. Oddly enough it tastes a lot like the real thing, but better. It's a bit tangier and thicker. I thought it was perfect for this recipe.
There are poppy seeds in it. I was going to leave those out because I really do not like poppy seeds at all. I never saw the point and they just get stuck in your teeth. Then, unless you work with or are around some honest people, you will walk around all day with black seeds all stuck in your teeth. Not so cute. But, I wanted to make the recipe as written because I thought there must be a good reason for them to be in there. Turns out, I kind of like poppy seeds! They added a but of a crunch and texture to the pasta salad. They also added a bit of a nutty flavor. But I still think all seeds in general need to be used sparingly. They're not the best thing for your digestive system.

For snacking I have really been enjoying hummus and making different varieties of it. Last week I made a batch of original hummus and then I added a big bunch of spinach to it. It was SO good. I like eating it with veggie chips, like Terra chips, or fresh veggies. Another great snack item I found (I actually ate it for dinner on Saturday night) is mango spring rolls with sweet chili sauce from Whole Foods. It was so fresh and crisp. It was just some leafy greens, rice noodles, mango, and cucumber wrapped up in a rice paper. Nice and light, yet full of great flavor! That's all for now! Have a great week everyone!

1 comment:

  1. i love darbster and Daiya cheese is super good. buy some and have fun! congrats on your new veganism! : )

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