Like a lot of orally trained deaf people, I want to know how to say things properly. I've always said vegan as "veg-an" with a hard g? As in vegetarion, not veg out. Carolyn Brick told me her son says "vee-gan". I finally looked it up.
At http://dictionary.reference.com/ I found:
veg‧an [vej-uhn; especially Brit. vee-guhn]
So I guess both are right.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Monday, September 04, 2006
Trying to accept the work
One of the things that I have a hard time with is the work involved in becoming vegan. I can go across the street and get a pizza or cheesesteake or a hamburger, but I can't as easily go out and get a vegan dinner. And while I've always liked cooking, it is the results I really like, more than the actual standing and cooking in itself.
I've been in the habit of planning two, or maybe three, meals a week and just winging everything else. That's harder when you can't grab some deli turkey to make a sandwich, or whip up a cheese omlette. It's hard, too, when you need to satisfy two people's needs for satisfying food.
It's slow going to change my mental habits and accept the work involved in planning and cooking more meals each week. Making that committment is the only way this will work, though.
I've been in the habit of planning two, or maybe three, meals a week and just winging everything else. That's harder when you can't grab some deli turkey to make a sandwich, or whip up a cheese omlette. It's hard, too, when you need to satisfy two people's needs for satisfying food.
It's slow going to change my mental habits and accept the work involved in planning and cooking more meals each week. Making that committment is the only way this will work, though.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Partial success with Ginger Lemon Stir Fry
Last night's dinner had a mixed outcome. I've been cooking a lot of beans lately, so to get away from that I chose to make "Ginger Lemon Stir Fry" from my favorite vegan cookbook, "The Vegan Gourmet." Larry and Carolyn loved it, but Betty didn't like it. The main veggie is supposed to be broccoli, but I prefer cauliflour so I bought a pre-cut mix of the two. Turns out Betty isn't crazy about either of them. The ginger-lemon sauce was great, though. I should try it again with completely different vegetables.
Dinner was rounded out with brown rice, a salad that Larry and Carolyn brought, and vegan cookies.
I made the cookies we had last night (more on those later) but today I was watching TV and found out about Allison's Gourmet (http://www.allisonsgourmet.com/), an online store that ships vegan cookies and browies from their bakery in South Carolina. They have a monthly club too.
Looks like there's a new version of my fav vegan cookbook:
Dinner was rounded out with brown rice, a salad that Larry and Carolyn brought, and vegan cookies.
I made the cookies we had last night (more on those later) but today I was watching TV and found out about Allison's Gourmet (http://www.allisonsgourmet.com/), an online store that ships vegan cookies and browies from their bakery in South Carolina. They have a monthly club too.
Looks like there's a new version of my fav vegan cookbook:
Friday, September 01, 2006
Taking it easy
I've been a vegetarian cook for about 30 years or more. I got started because my roommate in college, Marian, was vegetarian, and we all cooked for each other, so I had to learn if I wanted to feed her. That was back in 1973, and oh the experiments Marian and Mary had to put up with! I had a hard time finding recipies and I remember one tragic loaf -- lentil and oatmeal loaf -- from a meat cookbook that was trying to include some vegetarian info, of course.
I was vegetarian for about three years, but started eating meat again because it was too hard to go out to eat with friends, or go to their house and eat -- especially in Texas! Plus, I have to admit, I like the taste of meat. I just don't think about where it comes from or how it got to my mouth.
I never went back to cooking meat, my partner Betty has to do that. But I'll eat it, or put it in some dishes. But slowly over the years more and more meat made its way into my diet.
What's changed? My friend Larry Brick read a book, "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell and it scared him into a plant-based, low-fat, vegan diet. He and his wife, Carolyn, have eaten well for years, focusing on healthy food, but not vegetarian. This book impressed Larry so much that he's embraced vegan eating with enthusiasm, and they bought the book for me and Betty. Campbell wrote a very compelling book proving through study after study that a plant-based diet can reverse the causes of cancer, heart disease, dementia and probably alzheimers. So, I am easing my way back to how I was eating and cooking 30-some years ago.
Carolyn and Larry seem to have an easier time of it because they both like salads and raw fruits a lot more than Betty and I do. Betty isn't willing to cut out meat. But she read a few pages of "The China Study", the ones focusing on dementia and alz, and agreed to stop eating lunch meat every day. So I'll have to make her beloved turkey sandwiches an occasional part of our dinners when we're in the mood for simple soup and salad suppers. I don't want to give up cheese and eggs yet! But I'll work on reducing my dependence on them for quick meals.
While often through the years I've had vegetarian days or weeks -- no meat, poultry or seafood, but I haven't had a vegan day yet. Every day I've had some cheese, or yoghurt, or something! Today Larry and Carolyn are coming for dinner. When I woke up from an afternoon nap, I decided to have a vegan day. So I had a banana, and some tortilla chips with hummus instead of of sour cream, and some more granola with soy milk when I was still hungry.
Gotta get cooking for dinner!
I was vegetarian for about three years, but started eating meat again because it was too hard to go out to eat with friends, or go to their house and eat -- especially in Texas! Plus, I have to admit, I like the taste of meat. I just don't think about where it comes from or how it got to my mouth.
I never went back to cooking meat, my partner Betty has to do that. But I'll eat it, or put it in some dishes. But slowly over the years more and more meat made its way into my diet.
What's changed? My friend Larry Brick read a book, "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell and it scared him into a plant-based, low-fat, vegan diet. He and his wife, Carolyn, have eaten well for years, focusing on healthy food, but not vegetarian. This book impressed Larry so much that he's embraced vegan eating with enthusiasm, and they bought the book for me and Betty. Campbell wrote a very compelling book proving through study after study that a plant-based diet can reverse the causes of cancer, heart disease, dementia and probably alzheimers. So, I am easing my way back to how I was eating and cooking 30-some years ago.
Carolyn and Larry seem to have an easier time of it because they both like salads and raw fruits a lot more than Betty and I do. Betty isn't willing to cut out meat. But she read a few pages of "The China Study", the ones focusing on dementia and alz, and agreed to stop eating lunch meat every day. So I'll have to make her beloved turkey sandwiches an occasional part of our dinners when we're in the mood for simple soup and salad suppers. I don't want to give up cheese and eggs yet! But I'll work on reducing my dependence on them for quick meals.
While often through the years I've had vegetarian days or weeks -- no meat, poultry or seafood, but I haven't had a vegan day yet. Every day I've had some cheese, or yoghurt, or something! Today Larry and Carolyn are coming for dinner. When I woke up from an afternoon nap, I decided to have a vegan day. So I had a banana, and some tortilla chips with hummus instead of of sour cream, and some more granola with soy milk when I was still hungry.
Gotta get cooking for dinner!
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