I’m done, done, done with my work project and I’m two weeks early! This means that I should be able to get back to blogging like normal again. I’ve even cast on a new project already, The Proverbial Cap from the Fall 2010 Interweave Knits. I’m using some gray Wool of the Andes that I have leftover from my Minimalist Cardigan and US4/3.5mm needles. It’s dark and rainy right now so there is no way I would be able to take a picture of it, and I’m only three rows in so it’s much to look at yet anyway.
This week for me has been all about food. I mentioned in my last post that I want to eat healthier and stop eating dairy (again) and I’ve done a so-so job. At least I’m eating better, anyway. Sunday I made some mock tuna salad and I’ve been eating on that all week. It’s very tasty, much more so than it sounds. You just rinse a can of chickpeas and mash them (you can do it in a blender or food processor, I used a potato masher-thing that you use to make mashed potatoes, it didn’t work too good) and add a couple tablespoons of mayo and relish and some celery salt and then I chopped a half a red and half a yellow bell pepper and mixed it all together. It made a great sandwich on toast and last night I had a little on crackers. It had the same basic flavor and texture as real tuna salad. Then last night I had a black bean burrito (I’ll put the recipe for the filling below) and it was really tasty. Tuesday we had Dominos pizza and it wasn’t all that great, too greasy and I don’t really like their new sauce, it gave me a terrible stomach ache. For breakfast I’ve been having a small smoothy (just frozen mixed berries tossed in the blender with a cup or so of almond milk and a teaspoon of raw honey) and one frozen waffle with a dab of peanut butter. And I haven’t been snacking at all (except for the crackers last night, forgot about those). I really haven’t been very hungry except at meal time which is great since I’m a snacker who has a crazy sweet tooth, and that sweet tooth is getting to me.
I have been trying to think of something sweet that I could have a little bit of in the evening as a treat. I’ve been thinking of either some ice cream, pie or muffins. I found a recipe for a crust less vegan peanut butter pie (can’t find it right now but I wrote it on a post-it and it’s around here somewhere) that looks pretty good but I always worry about vegan baked goods, my experiences haven’t been very good with them. I also have a recipe for vegan peanut butter ice cream with Oreos and I really want to try that (since I made a non-vegan version not too long ago and I want to compare them) and I have everything I need to make it except the Oreos. And there are thousand vegan muffin recipes so I’ll have to look in to them before I decide on one.
It is so much easier to be vegan now than it was when I did it before. There are so many more websites with recipes and advice now, thousands of cookbooks and just so many more vegans. Not to mention all the fake meats and cheeses that there are now, I don’t really like them myself, I originally went vegetarian because I just quit liking meat (I always thought it was kind of gross so I wouldn’t cook it anyway, it was pretty easy for me to be vegetarian) and then I got food poisoning and that sealed the deal. The fake meat to me is just too real and it makes me gag, I can’t do it.
I think this has gone on enough, I’ll try to have some more vegan/vegetarian related posts in the future but for right now, here’s the black bean salad recipe. I’ve just been wrapping this in a tortilla and eating it like a burrito, it’s messy. I think it would be good over rice, too, like a Spanish rice. A friend of my mom’s gave me the recipe and she got it from someone she knows at Weight Watchers.
Shoepeg Corn and Black Bean Salad
- 1 16oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 16oz can Shoepeg Corn, drained and I rinsed it too
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper, diced
- 8 Green Onions, sliced thin
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1/2 c fresh cilantro (optional)
Mix everything in a bowl and chill. If you’re on Weight Watchers (I’m not), 1/2 cup is one point. Tasty!
