Accidentally Vegan...

Vegan.  One little word....but quite a powerful movement.  I've never really liked the word, "vegan."  I think it has some old school stigmas attached to it.  Some words that come to my mind are:  hippie, crunchy-granola, crazy animal-rights activist, extreme liberal, PETA, etc.  You get the picture.  Until recently, I had never considered going vegan.  One of my very best friends just celebrated her one year anniversary of going vegan.  She is a great inspiration and success story to so many women.  After many food documentaries, long late-night conversations, blog reading, recipe sampling...I accidentally turned vegan.

It actually started out as a 'detox' as I'm calling it.  One drunken night (too many hunch punch drinks will come back to bite you!) turned into an even worse Saturday (i.e. hangover from hell)  That day I had  ZERO coffee and barely any food at all.  I spent about 70% of the day wallowing on the couch cursing my previous night's decisions to consume massive amounts of booze, and I was hating my body's internal reaction to my withdrawals.  So...long story short...I made it through that hangover.  The next day, you guessed it- no coffee either.  This may seem like no biggie for many of you.  You are looking at the gal that MUST HAVE a cup of coffee every single morning.  No matter whether I'm on vacation, sick, hungover, on my death bed...whatever.  I was the biggest coffee fiend ever.  So...after I realized I'd gone 2 WHOLE DAYS without caffeine, I was pretty damn proud of myself.  I decided to give something a whirl...hey- let's see if I can go all weekend without coffee.  And sure enough,  I did.  I had a pretty gnarly headache the entire weekend...but that weekend turned into a week.  And that week has now turned into 2 week.  No coffee.  How fabulous?

I'm sure you're wondering how or when the vegan thing comes into play.  On day 2 of no caffeine, I decided- let's keep this up.  Let's just try to get tons of fruit and veggies over the next few days.  Let's get some toxins out and get back on the "healthy horse."  And after a few days of not really missing meat, dairy, or cheese....I thought to myself...I could really do this?!  Let's give it a try.  I immediately began reading a book that a dear friend gave me, Becoming Vegan.  This book gives you the history and background on veganism and vegetarianism.  It's more of a textbook read, but there is a wealth of information in the book.

My next step was to immediately DIVE into vegan food blogs, vegan food recipes, vegan baking recipes etc.  I get the most joy out of baking and cooking yummy food for others.  Could I find the same joy while cooking vegan-friendly foods and goodies?  I was most certainly up to the challenge.  My new favorite vegan chef/author/blogger, Chloe Coscarelli, was my first go-to reference.  Her book, Chloe's Kitchen, just came out and with the help of Amazon...it arrived on my doorstep within 3 days.  I have tried several of the recipes already- and LOVED them!!  My goal is to blog more and share my experiences baking, cooking, testing, and tasting those vegan recipes with you all.

I should probably mention one more (yet very important) detail.  My amazing and supportive husband, Jason.  (see photos on the right!)  Just a few days after my choice to try out the vegan lifestyle, he has decided to give a 30 day trial of vegetarianism.  He wants to support me and my decisions while bettering his health at the same time.  (Could you ask for a better husband...?  No!) So we are both in this together.  I'd say he has the tough role of my recipe taste tester.  It's a very official title.  More salt?  Too spicy?  Is this even edible...??  I am looking forward to many more laughs and trials in our little tiny apartment kitchen.

Well...I hear the timer going off in the oven.  Working on some trial cupcakes for an important bridal shower coming up.  Here's a little teaser for what I'm working on today...and hopefully my next blog post.  

Until next time....

Batter Up...Almost Time for Thanksgiving!

I must say the eve before Thanksgiving eve...I'm getting pretty excited!  I love getting together with friends and family.  I love the smells in the kitchen, I love cooking new recipes for my loved ones to try....I just love all of it!  Some of our dear friends, Greg and Wendy Fry, are coming home with us for Thanksgiving.

The Frys and the Smiths- at our watering hole, Pub 71

Mrs. Wendy Fry is our resident vegan and a foodie just like me!  I've deemed this year's Thanksgiving, "Vegan meets Southern Cooking."  I am bringing two dishes to my mother-in-laws Thanksgiving lunch- both vegan friendly! Recipe 1:  Home made cranberry sauce with walnuts and green apples.  Recipe 2: Roasted brussel sprouts with pomegranates.  Yum.

Recipe Courtesy of Food Network

The original Bobby Flay (loooooove him) recipe calls for Vanilla Pecan Butter to be added at the very end.  While I think the words 'vanilla' and 'butter' sound FABULOUS together, I am going to omit those two and make this a vegan-friendy Wendy-friendly dish

Recipe:

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons EVOO
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 1 lime, finely zested
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Place the Brussels sprouts in a medium roasting pan and toss with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until lightly golden brown, 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven, add the pomegranate molasses and stir to combine. Return to the oven and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes longer.  Transfer the sprouts to a large bowl, add the pomegranate seeds and lime and orange zests. Transfer to a platter and ENJOY! =)

I cannot WAIT to try this. I LOVE the color combination of the red pomegranates and the green Brussels! Very festive..

Recipe courtesy of Food Network

The second recipe I'm planning to make is an old favorite with a new twist!  I used to think that 'cranberry sauce' always came out of a can.  Sometimes my mom would forget to set out the cranberry until right as we were sitting down to eat.  She'd yell, "CRAP- THE CRANBERRY!  Somebody grab a can opener and get it out here!" :)  Last year I made this Barefoot Contessa recipe, and it turned out fabulous! This year I think I'll make 1 or 2 healthy swaps!

Recipe: 

• 1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 orange, zest grated and juiced
• 1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

*I think I will substitute Agave Nectar  for the sugar (sheesh....1.75 cups of sugar??)  Also, I think I will omit the raisins simply to reduce sugar even more.  I prefer my cranberry sauce a little more on the tart side.  As Claire Robinson of 5 Ingredient Fix says, "BYOC."  That means, Be Your Own Chef...make changes, substitute...you are the boss afterall! 

Anyways- here's what you do:  Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts. Let cool, and serve chilled.

This year's recipes along with Wendy's vegan pumpkin pie (stay tuned on a blog post about that later- yum!) and the mother-in-laws fabulous southern cooking....this will definitely be a Thanksgiving to Remember! :)

p.s. Take a look at my friend's blog about taking back control of Thanksgiving!  Great ideas on how to handle the mass amounts of calories: BLOG: Pieces of Me

Gobble gobble....