Wordless Wednesday: Stir Fry and Bread

Special Soup

Thank you all for your concern! I did eventually heal, it just took a little longer than I would’ve liked. Was it the flu? Who knows… Folk wisdom says that if there’s no fever, and your stomach is ok, then it’s just a cold. But, whatever you want to call it, it had me in its throes for about 2 weeks, which was flu enough for me.

I need to go back to the health food store and re-find the cough syrup I used to take years ago. This time around, the illness came so suddenly that I was just scrambling for whatever was around. So, I ended up trying just about anything and everything, depending on where I was and what was happening with my body. I *hate* cough syrup. So much. But, I drank it because I felt that lousy. There used to be a natural cough syrup out there that tasted good and worked. I have no idea what this mystery product was, or who made it, but I’m hoping I can recognize it by sight. Is this too much to ask years later? Possibly. But, I figure it’s worth trying.

When I thought I was well enough, I did (what was supposed to be) a little grocery shopping. Of course, I came back with what felt like half the store, and I completely over-exerted myself before I was ready. Yeah, that thing about medicine masking symptoms? True. Soup didn’t happen that day, needless to say. But, the next day, I just took my time and tried my memory, and made my special soup.

I am especially picky when it comes to soup, or rather, my stomach is extremely sensitive when it comes to soup. Commercial soups make me sick. I suspect it’s the preservatives, but it may also be the high sodium content. When I make soup for myself, it’s completely from scratch. Pre-packaged broth generally does not sit well. So, insofar as the general public goes, my soups are probably a little bland. But, for me, they’re perfect.

There’s no recipe for my special soup. I make it depending on what I am in the mood for, or what I have around. This time, there was a smidge of kale, a potato, some carrot shreds, some celery, some squash, some onion, some nutritional yeast, and probably a few other things that I’m forgetting. A perfect veggie counterpart to the traditional chicken soup.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Bowtie Pasta

Have you ever been so sick that cooking was just not an option? Well, that was last week for me. By the end of it, I was craving veggies like you wouldn’t believe, but was still not up to a trip to the grocery store. Solution? This quick and easy pasta.

1/2 box pasta, diced mozzarella, some garlic, olive oil, and spices, with steam in the bag veggies. It took maybe 20 minutes, tops, to make, and there was enough for several days.

Pasta in Progress

This recipe is not yet perfected, but that’s the fun of it. I wanted pasta. I did not want to shop. So, I made this.

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I used:

1/2 box of penne

1 bag of frozen steam in the microwave vegetables

nutritional yeast

rice milk

1/4 stick of cheese

ground pepper

pecorino romano

stovetop and pots, mixing bowl, and food processor

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I was trying to make a pseudo-alfredo with the nutritional yeast, cheese, and rice milk. I am lacto-ovo, but my stomach can’t take real alfredo (milk/cream issues), and I’m allergic to the most common vegetarian/vegan substitutes (soy/nut issues), so I was trying to make a version I can actually eat.

I steamed the veggies and then processed them, and added them to the sauce. No problem there. If the sauce had been cheesier, this would’ve been even better. So, it’s almost there, but not quite. Because of the veggies and high quantity of nutritional yeast, this felt like good fuel. Plus, I had enough for days, which is always nice.

This was a lot of fun for me- one of those puzzles that requires ingenuity.

I can’t wait to figure this one out!

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Wordless Wednesday: Mozzarella Bagel

Wordless Wednesday: Red Peppers

Celebration Roast

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently was lucky enough to catch this nifty product on sale. I’m sure my readers also know by now that my wee little blog does not receive sponsorship of any kind, and if this ever changes, I’ll be forthright about it. Funny thing about Field Roast, though, I’m not sure they actually *would* request my opinion on their own.

I recently read an interview where they claimed they’re not actually positioning their products for vegetarians, but rather, for those omnivores who just like to switch it up. (At least, that’s what I got from reading it). In this interview, they also said they’d never make faux bacon, which broke my little seitan-loving heart, since I’m allergic to the soy based crap, er, products, that Morningstar produces. The justification for the omnivorous approach is their correct assumption that most vegetarians are interested in the health aspects of what they eat. They state with a refreshing honesty that their products are not particularly healthy, but taste good.

As someone who was formerly teased for being the most unhealthy vegetarian on the planet, I can say while that while many vegetarians go for the healthy approach, not all do, and not all the time. Some vegetarians have trouble figuring out the ins and outs of the diet at first. In my opinion, better to offer them seitan than have them eating cheese fries every night.

This time of year, I don’t always have the time to linger in the kitchen, or even to prep food ahead of time like I usually do. Having a little seitan around keeps me from reverting to the frozen pizza option, and actually offers some protein my body can use. I discovered Field Roast right before my camping trip this summer, and so we ended up taking the faux hot dogs, the faux Italian sausage, and the faux lunchmeat slices (the reddish ones, I forget the flavor). All three were the perfect compliment to my partner’s meat-based selections, and we were easily able to share the rest of the sandwich components like bread, lettuce, and the like. It was also fantastic to have this protein in my system for a very active vacation. I was kayaking, walking, swimming, and I even tried a short zipline! Knowing that I get easily tuckered out without a proper diet, we consciously made an effort to ensure I had enough protein in my system to enjoy myself. When I returned home, I tried the mushroom slices, and then, the Celebration Roast pictured above. Everything I’ve tried, I’ve liked so far.

I first microwaved the Celebration Roast. It’s fine microwaved, because, as they state, it’s already cooked, you are essentially reheating it. Once I got mid-loaf (about midweek), I tried frying it, and obviously, I enjoyed that even more. It’s also fine right out of the fridge. The closer it got to Xmas, the more I needed quick but good, and this fit the bill. And now that the Celebration Roast is finished, it’s time to celebrate!

Happy Holidays!

Wordless Wednesday: Mystery Soup

I made this soup last winter and forgot to take notes. I’m hoping the photo will help me remember…

Processing

Plenty of good food was eaten on vacation, and among these yummy foods were new selections that fall under the heading, “processed”. Prior to this, I’d been limiting my processed food intake. With summer comes the quick and easy availability of all sorts of yummy veggies. So, rocking the fresh food was pretty simple.

For vacation, though, I really wanted to have that stereotypical camping experience, and that experience included grilled veggiedogs. Just a few years ago, this would have been impossible, since I’m allergic to soy dogs. I discovered the seitan ones a couple of weeks prior, and I just knew I wanted to try them. They were good for that purpose, and I was happy. I also ended up trying the seitan Italian style sausage and seitan slices. Yes! We did all kinds of outdoorsy activities on vacation: hiking, zipline, paddling, and swimming, so keeping my protein levels up was especially important. But, once I got home, I couldn’t get off the processed seitan wagon.

Was the overconsumption of processed food responsible for the weirdness last week? I really don’t know. I bought some OTC stuff, guessing in the dark, but so far, it’s worked. I do think, however, that the diet change has affected my available energy. And so, yes, a little coffee now and then has kept me perky enough to interact with the world. I know overconsumption of coffee gives me problems, so I try really hard not to have it every day, even though sometimes I’d like to.

But, this is not a woe-is-me post. Instead, I offer last night’s transitory dinner: a mixture of fresh mater with canned asparagus & whole wheat pasta. Not perfect, but a nice way to get back into the rhythm. Evoo, garlic, some crushed pepper, and Italian herbs rounded it out. Pretty tasty!

Wordless Wednesday: Seitan Nachos