Day 140 - Temptation

I was sitting on the couch watching TV and thinking happily about my curret vegan eating and how proud I am about going through this for almost five months already. I was especially noting how I have not had that many cravings except for eggs at first, and then for shrimp, but it goes away....

Next thing I know, Chili's has a commercial on and they are showing a big, juicy steak. I used to love Chili's steak. Mmmmm. They put a little pat of butter on it and it melts as they bring it to your table. Yum...My mouth started to water...  I couldn't believe it.  All of a sudden, I was remembering how good Matamoros beef tacos taste and how good Mexican fajitas taste.  Even right now, as I am writing about beef, my mouth is watering.  What is wrong with me?  Is one ever able to forget those flavors or is this a life-long struggle?  I am committed to doing this vegan lifestyle for a year, but I think my will is not strong enough to continue it indefinitely. 

Besides, I've come to the conclusion that eating a little meat here and there is not bad as long as one is sure the meat was raised in an environmentally-responsible way and that the animals have been treated humanely.  So once my year is over, I will go back to eating good meat occasionally.  So there.  I feel better now.  :)

Day 131: Spring Rolls

I have been getting in a rut lately with meals so I decided to use the two cookbooks I mentioned below and come up with a new recipe: Spring Rolls.  It was well worth the time I spent making them.  My husband loved them and they got eaten so quickly that I didn't have time to take a picture (yeah, yeah).

Spring Rolls

1/3 of a cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, shredded or julienned
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon tamari

1/2 bag of thin rice noodles
8 spring roll wrappers

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup water

For the rolls:  Mix first 8 ingredients.  Set aside.  Cook noodles for 1 minute in boiling water.  Drain and set aside.  Take 1 spring roll wrapper dip in hot water for 15 seconds or until pliable.  Place a handful of noodles in the center and handful of the cilantro mix over the noodles.  Wrap somewhat tightly.  Continue assembling all 8 rolls.

For the dipping sauce: Combine all ingredients in small pot over medium heat until it starts to thicken.  Process until smooth.

Enjoy!

Day 128: Best Vegan Cookbooks Ever

I go to the library at least once a week.  Every time I go, I pick up a new cook book.  In our last visit , I picked up two books that are just amazing.  One of them is Toni Fiore''s, Totally Vegetarian.  She makes no claims to be a product of a culinary school.  She basically loves to cook and share her creations with people.  Her recipes are so easy and accessible.  I love, love her recipe for Tomato and Basil Bruschetta.  Most of the recipes in here have cheese as an optional ingredient so it is perfect for vegans, too!   Her explanations of herbs, grains, vegetables, and what the best way to cook them is outstanding.  I also really liked the last section of her book that has a list of things non-vegetarians eat, and what vegetarian entree you can use that tastes kind of like it.  This is the perfect book for someone just trying to make the transition to vegetarian. 

The other book I also highly recommend is Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet.  The recipes in here sound delicious.  I love how she is able to take every day ingredients and turn them into delicious food. She also has a blog: http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/ which I recently discovered also has really good and fast recipes. The specific reason I picked up this book is because she doesn't necessarily try to take regular food and make it vegan.  Instead she looks at world cuisines and finds food that is already vegan and makes it even better. I can't wait to try her lettuce wraps soon!