Mega Update - 30 day Vegetarian trial post-mortem, miscellaneous updates

It's been quite some time since I've updated my blog. I apologize for my lack of updates. It's been a very busy couple of weeks - I have some major projects going on at work which have rigid deadlines.

Right now, I'm comfortably lounging on my couch while my wife is busy exercising to EA Active. It's a lot of fun and it keeps you from getting bored by varying the routine. You can also customize your workout. It's nice to see a workout program that doesn't emphasize what your weight on the scale is. Instead, it keeps an eye towards building your fitness. Focus on the keyword "building" - it doesn't start you out in a Biggest Loser-style kick-your-butt-to-Mars workout pattern. You slowly progress to more demanding exercises.

My status update for my 30 day Vegetarian trial is also overdue. For that I apologize as well. I did very well with the trial and I am planning on continuing with Vegetarian lifestyle. The major obstacle has been divining the inspiration for preparing varied meals. I haven't quite found my menu planning groove yet, but I'm getting there. A major difficulty I am running into is what I can only interpret as a lack of adventurousness in the kitchen. I look at the fruits and vegetables in the fridge, then I look at the beans, rice, and canned goods in the pantry and I find myself wondering what I can prepare with those ingredients. Infrequenty, I am overwhelmed with several ideas, none of which has an evident appeal over any other. This greatly adds to the complexity of meal time. If anyone has a strategy they use for planning meals, I would love to hear about it.

This brings me to another object of contention. Tofu. It is so insanely flexible, promising and endless array of possibilities. So what is my problem with it? I have not mastered the block of bean curd. I learned a decent method of draining the block of tofu from VeganYumYum (a blog I follow) which involves wrapping the tofu in a couple of layers of paper towel and then in a terrycloth, and THEN placing a heavy object like a cast iron skillet on top for 15 minutes or so.

Treating the tofu in this way yielded better results than what I did the first couple of times I handled the curd; I just wrapped it in paper towels and pressed it by hand. Not terribly efficient. Like I said, I am a total tofu n00b. If anyone has tried and true methods for draining and seasoning tofu, I would be most grateful to hear about them.

I also recently acquired a Chicago Cutlery santoku for $15 at Wal-Mart. Oh marvel of marvels! I never knew slicing and dicing could be so miraculously easy. I always watched the way hibachi chefs sliced through steaks like they were warm sticks of butter and having a sense of awe come over me. Now I have that same sense of awe as I watch the blade pass through the object of my cutting like silk. Pure delight. That was, of course, until I foolishly tried to use the santoku to cut the stem off of a tomato using it like a pearing knife.

Big mistake.

The knife glided its way through the flesh of the tomato and into the flesh of my thumb. Fantastic, clean cut. It was such a clean cut that it soaked through two layers of bandages within seconds so I had to be find something to use as a styptic. Yahoo answers to the rescue! I found a post by a veterinary assistant suggesting that corn starch will do in a pinch. It worked like a charm. I am pleased to say that the cut has healed nicely.

I'm glad I took the time to make this update, and I am glad you took the time to read it.

Until next time,
Charles

Vegetarian Tasty Bean Burrito recipe

I dashed this one off at lunch today because I was hungry and it sounded good. The veggies come out with a delicious sweet flavor, owing to the use of a sweet onion and a well-ripened green bell pepper. In all, this is a well balanced meal. Hearty and satisfying.

Tasty Bean Burrito:

1 can Old El Paso vegetarian refried beans
1 vine ripened tomato
1 well-ripened green bell pepper (should start turning orange)
1/2 sweet yellow onion
2 Tbsp olive oil (for sautee)
4 of your favorite tortillas (I used Mission Life Balance whole wheat)
dried cilantro
dried powdered cumin
dried basil
dried parsley flakes
Tostitos salsa con queso, to taste (optional)
Low-fat plain yogurt, to taste (optional)

Directions:
Dice the tomatoes and combine the dice with basil, cilantro, and parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.

Chop the onion and set aside. Cut pepper into slices, removing pulpy white inside and seeds. Cut slices in half. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a sautee pan on medium heat. Add onion and pepper chunks to pan. Sautee until onions are nearly translucent. Remove from heat.

Heat tortillas in a large skillet until warmed.

Heat the refried beans in a microwave-safe container for one minute on high. Mix in cilantro and cumin to taste, return to microwave for another minute on high. Stir mixture thoroughly.

Serve prepared bean burritos or, if you prefer, serve family style from your favorite decorative dishes. Sure to please the family!

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This recipe © 2009 Charles Scheidecker

Day 13 - almost halfway through the vegetarian experiment

13 days! That must be some kind of lucky number. Yeah, I know what you're thinking - 13 is bad luck. 13 has always been a good number for me. As a matter of fact, we are still trucking along with our vegetarian diet. No meat has been eaten for 13 days, and it has honestly not been difficult for me to stick to that. Why is that? I pay little heed to meat. I do not need it.

Today's menu included some tasty eggplant parmesan. It was my first attempt at making that dish and it turned out pretty decent. Now that I have a good baseline, I can add more seasoning to the batter to get more flavor. I got the batter recipe from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. Good stuff.

Lunch was a BK Veggie Burger (MorningStar Farms) with a value-sized fries. The sizing of the fries and drinks at fast food restaurants deeply disturbs me. I can't believe a 16oz drink passes for a small, and that the current value size fry used to be the small fry. The medium drink is 32 ounces! Crazy! Honestly, you're probably better off not eating at fast food joints if you can help it.

Today was also quite a productive day. I fit in the time to finish painting the ceiling in our spare room and got a new ceiling fan installed in there as well. It looks great. The room is a vibrant green with a dark chocolate ceiling. Think of it like an upside-down tree. It's very soothing and will also provide a great office environment at home.

As a side note, I have been reading The Secret
and I am finding it quite fascinating. It is a book about the Law of Attraction, which relies on the power of positive thought to alter your life circumstances. If any of you have experiences with the Law of Attraction, I'd like to hear about it.

Signing off for now,
Charles