i ate meat

friday night, my boss gave us a certificate for a free dinner for two at fogo de chao (brazilian steakhouse - http://www.fogodechao.com/). we went for dinner on friday night - it was a date! it was a fun new way to dine. the first course is the salad bar, which was a large spread of all things salad. yummy! when you finish your salad, you then flip over you token from the red side to the green side which indicates, "bring on the meat gauchos!" the gauchos walk up to the table with the huge skewers of meat and offer you their choice of meat. the meat eater in me (who is not completely dead) got very excited by this. i got a few pieces of filet mignon and went to town. my tastes buds were instantly excited and my teeth did a happy dance as they tore through the muscle. it was a treat! about 10 minutes later i had to put my fork down. not from being full, but because i was so nauseous. as much as i enjoyed tasting the meat, digesting the meat was a different ball game. luckily, the wine was still edible :-)

recipe: vegan mac and no cheese

this is one of the best recipes i have stumble upon since becoming vegetarian/almost vegan. it really does taste and smell like cheese. it is very filling.

vegan mac and no cheese (from all recipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 half medium onion, chopped
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/3 cups water
salt to taste
1/3 cup canola oil
4 ounces roasted red peppers, drained
6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Transfer to a medium baking dish.

- Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until tender and lightly browned. Gently mix with the macaroni.

- In a blender or food processor, mix cashews, lemon juice, water, and salt. Gradually blend in canola oil, roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and onion powder. Blend until smooth. Thoroughly mix with the macaroni and onions.

- Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

bonus to being a vegetarian/almost vegan

yesterday, while putzing around in the kitchen i realized a huge benefit to being a vegetarian/almost vegan. i don't have to worry about contamination. no more keeping track of which knife touched the chicken and washing my hands repeatedly.

another benefit occurred to me this morning while watching the news. they were airing a story about a beef recall. my first instinct was to go into alert mode and determine what type of beef it is and if we have any of it. my second thought was, "wait! you don't eat meat. this does not concern you*."

*brian is not a vegetarian so there is meat in the house, and the recall does concern me. however, i am only buying him fish and chicken so we are not affected by the recall.

cooking list

here is what i cooked in the past 6 days:

spiced almonds
sweet potatoes
whole wheat rolls
cranberry sauce
green bean & artichoke casserole
more sweet potatoes
braised fennel
glazed carrots
chicken (for brian)
cranberry orange whole wheat bread
more chicken
blueberry pear bread
blueberry pear whole wheat bread
more sweet potatoes
kale
tempeh strips
brown rice
black beans
vegan mac and no cheese

happy thanksgiving!

the turkey trot rocked! my favorite race this year. prior to the race, i was a bit concerned considering the cold front that blew through the night before. knowing that the front was coming, i stopped at rei on my way home from work and got a really neat north face running jacket/top and warm headband. (got to have the right gear for the sport.) it was flippin' cold the morning of the turkey trot and the idea of just going and getting my t-shirt and then crawling back into bed sounded like the best idea ever...but i had all this new cool gear to wear, so i got dressed and headed out to brave the cold. brian and i found a great parking spot and got our shirts, numbers, & chips and were ready to go. problem was, so was everyone else. we ended up very far back in the chute. it took us almost 7 mins just to cross the start line and the first mile or so was spent dodging people. however, it was a *really* quick five mile run. (my new gear totally rocked!) i ended the race feeling great! total time was 44:33 (8:52/M).

brian and quickly headed back to the truck and raced home to the warmth of our house. a few hours later we headed over to my parents' house and enjoyed and really nice meal with my whole family (prepared in my mom's new kitchen). it was a great thanksgiving!

chateau moncontour, vouvray demi sec - 2005 - $15.49

last night i attended a wine class at central market with my good friend doran. we had a lovely time sipping on 11 different wines and eating some delicious appetizers (vegetarian diet was put aside for the evening). of the eleven wines, i found another great love. chateau moncontour's vouvray. this was my first time to (knowingly) taste a vouvray. vouvray comes from the loire valley in france and comes in three styles: dry (sec), medium dry (demi-sec), or sweet (moelleux). this wine is a demi-sec. it's straw-like yellow color has a hint of green to it. the nose on this wine is fruity and earthy. tasting this wine was heavenly. it was full of fruit, apples and pears, but there were also tastes of almonds and vanilla. overall, a great balance between sweetness and acidity.

my absence - an explanation

i have not been posting as frequently as i have in the past and i feel i owe you an explanation. all (ok, not all but definitely most) of my free time has been dedicated to reading "the china study." i am only 3 chapters in, but i highly recommend this book. to anyone and everyone. get it. read it. it is mind blowing.

don't rush christmas

granted, time is flying by this year, but i was shocked this weekend when i went to starbucks and found christmas had beaten me there and had already thrown up all over the store. there were ornaments, garland, christmas music & the red christmas coffee cups everywhere. i passed this event off as the starbucks marketers trying to get ahead of the holiday rush and maximize profits (how you maximize profits by decorating your stores early i am not sure, but let's go with it for now). later than night we were driving to dinner at vespaio with our dear friend trevor (thanks again, trev!), and congress already had the traditional metallic garland things (i am not sure what they are or their official name) hanging across the road. it is way too early for christmas. christmas is about tradition, and tradition dictates that christmas does not start until the day after thanksgiving. not the night of thanksgiving, but friday morning.

having typed this entry, i noticed that thanksgiving is next week....time flys!

ps-for those of you offended by my use of the word christmas rather than the pc word holidays: i have great respect for all different types of holiday celebrations that occur this time of year. however, as an american i celebrate thanksgiving and as a catholic i celebrate christmas.

the beaujolais are coming! the beaujolais are coming!

by far, my favorite element of the fall season is the release of the beaujolais. for those of you not familiar, beaujolais nouveau is red wine made from gamay grapes in the beaujolias region of france. this wine is a purple-pink color and is a very lightweight wine. the wine is only fermented for a few weeks before release. this method of production means very little tannin and the wine tends to be very fruity. they are considered to be a sample of the wines to come. the beaujolais are likened to eating cookie dough - if the dough is good, then the cookies will turn out well. the opposing viewpoint is that you are tasting cookie dough - the uncooked version of the end product. the wines are released on the 15th of november, creating the wine world equivalent of valentine's day hype.

the beaujolais are coming! the beaujolais are coming! (and i can't wait!)

i love brian!

my holiday wine tasting

normally, we host our holiday wine tasting sometime in the december month. however, this year i think i am going to move it to january. the holidays are crowded enough for everyone. my only hesitataion is that by january are we all "partied out?" have we had enough of the parties and events? i am looking at the 12th of january....

as for the wines, this year i want to taste tempranillos, malbecs, and grenache. with all the fantastic, well priced spanish wines hitting the shelves (and i love them!) i thought these three grapes would compliment each other well.

i went to central market last night and registered for all of the wines. i can't wait for the party now!

komen race

after the wurst fest ride, we went to bed at 8:30 that night. luckily day light savings time yielded us an extra hour of sleep before we had to wake up to run the komen race for the cure on sunday morning. as i woke on sunday, i realized that i was pretty sore from the ride. we got out the door on time and made it to the race site with little trouble (i love living in central austin) we parked in our secret parking spot (do these races often enough and you will find your own secret spot too) and were off for the race. my legs felt like they were cinder blocks joined by an over-used knee. i completed the race in 26 mins and 35 seconds (8:31 M). it was a really nice race. they had tons of people on the side of the route cheering everyone along. and the expo after the race and lots of free goodies. sunday night we were in bed at 9.

11.3.07 - wurst ride - team 4:20

rode the wurst ride today. 62 miles from austin to new braunfels with beer at the end. awesome, fantastic, great ride! loved it! going to sleep now. komen 5K run in the morning...must recover from long ride and beer.

vampire cabernet 2005

i could not resist the purchase. vampire wine for halloween - perfect! the label that is... of course it is blood red, with smells of berry and spice. this light bodied wine is anything but a great bottle of wine. however, it is sufficient to get you through a night of trick or treaters at the door.

the holidays: bringing back the joy

the holiday season will officially be upon us tomorrow morning. with the conclusion of halloween, comes the start of the lists, commitments, and all around chaos. this year, i want to implement a shift - i want to focus on the joy of the season and not on making everyone else happy. this year, i will try to sidestep the modern commercial frenzy that consumes me every year. i want to fully engage with the season by focusing on the original meaning for the celebration. this year my gifts will be of sentimental value. above all I am going to give thanks for my family and all the wonderful people in my life.

the bike vs. spouse test

a very uncomfortable test in this month's issue of bicycling magazine:

who do you love?

circle either spouse or bike after every line. if you are not married, spouse can be substituted for girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.

1. i will never forget the first time i saw you
bike spouse

2. i wanted you instantly
bike spouse

3. i often find myself daydreaming about you
bike spouse

4. there is more than one photo of us together on my desk
bike spouse

5. i love showing you off to my friends
bike spouse

6. my friends often remark how attractive you are
bike spouse

7. in a typical week, we spend five or more hours of quality time together
bike spouse

8. when you're around, i often look at you with admiration and longing
bike spouse

9. in the last three months i've spent more than $250 on you
bike spouse

10. i desperately want to take you to italy
bike spouse

11. our last ride lasted more than an hour
bike spouse

12. it's thrilling how you respond beneath me
bike spouse

13. i would never let anyone else ride you
bike spouse

14. you make my heart beat faster
bike spouse

15. you make me feel young
bike spouse

16. you have taken me places and shown me things i never thought i would see
bike spouse

17. when i'm alone with you, i am at peace with the world
bike spouse

18. you were made for me
bike spouse

19. i can't live without you
bike spouse

20. i will never upgrade to a newer model
bike spouse

now that you have revealed something very troubling, hide these pages from everyone - except your biking buddies

taco soup recipe

today i am making the first pot of taco soup for this winter season. loved by all! here is the recipe if you wish to make some. start early - the longer it simmers the better it tastes!

taco soup
ingredients*:
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 can white kidney beans beans
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 bottle beer
2 (10 oz) cans rotel
1 package taco seasoning
3 or 4 chicken breasts

optional
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
finely chopped green onions
tortilla strips

directions:
1. drain beans and corn
2. combine onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, rotel, and taco seasoning in crock pot. cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
3. cook chicken breasts (on grill if possible) & then cool. shred the chicken and add to crock pot.
4. continue cooking on low for another 2-3 hours.
5. serve over rice or fritos, with sour cream, cheese, & green onions on top

*considering the amount of can goods used in this recipe, the sodium can be very high. i have found a few brands of canned beans that have very little sodium - compare labels for a few minutes when buying ingredients

don't harass me - just let me run

argh! today i was running town lake...er....lady bird lake and enjoying this fantastic fall that austin is experiencing. at one point, i was passing a dad (i am assuming) pushing his daughter while she was on her bike. i noted to myself how cute this moment was as i ran by. at the same time i was passing an older gentleman (being polite here) who was running a bit slower. and as i passed, this guy found it necessary to comment to me that if this little girl didn't start pedaling her bike there was no way she was going to grow up and be as good looking as me. a stranger felt compelled to say this to me! why? if i was at a bar somewhere, maybe i would not be so offended given the much more appropriate location. gentlemen, i beg of you, don't harass me while i run. just let me run my run.

castillo de monseran garnacha 2005

another tasty spanish red $8.99

easy fruity red. great for the end of work days on a crisp fall evening. smells of cinnamon and berry. very fruity upfront with a nice tangy tannin to finish. light bodied and delicate. would hold well with bbq. another great bargain red. (wishing i had grabbed a few more bottles)

new tasty $6 red - protocolo tinto 2004

protocolo tinto (spain) 2004
$5.99 - central market

tasty tempranillo, medium bodied, light on the nose, short finish but a good balance. tastes of dark cherry and spice. goes great alone, but could hold up to some fall comfort food. my new favorite value priced red.