I reside in a twenty story retrofitted building from the 70s. Okay, it's an old casino. But, it's an old casino with a fresh coat of paint and many walls busted down and moved to make cute little condos. When I drive home at night, I try not to think as I'm entering the dungeon that is my underground parking garage about the happenings that have no doubt gone on inside my newly refurbished surroundings. I believe it is a real estate law that if the home you are about to purchase housed a drug ring, prostitution outfit, or saw a murder, that you the buyer are entitled to the details. Perhaps this law does not apply after a certain number of these occurrences. Just as the Star Spangled Banner is considered in the public domain so to must be the undeniable truth about where I live. I'm sure had I turned to the real estate agent during the walk through and asked, "So, did a deranged homicidal pimp reside here in the past?" She would have had no problem looking me straight in the eye and saying, "Well, duh!" There are just some things you cannot control.
I've been thinking a lot about this concept lately as we in Reno, NV have experienced some 600 minor to moderate earthquakes in the last month. The last week of which I have felt five. I felt the moderate ones. The first wave came at 3:45 in the afternoon last Thursday. I was home alone with the kitties when what I thought was a strong breeze quickly reveled itself into a nightmarish 4.1 quake. The second wave would hit not seven minutes later as I... was on the toilet- a very fortunate place to be if you are going to pee your pants anyway. Never have I felt such hysteria, such fear. There was nowhere safe to be. I was at the mercy of a force much bigger than myself. This was not the kind of fear I experience when contemplating an afterlife or whether or not that dead hooker stoner might possess me in my sleep, this was something real.
I want us all to think truly and honestly about fear. Think only of the kind, or course, that you can see and feel. Hypothetical situations will not do. When a cow, free range or not, is faced with a human, a force much greater than itself, the fear must be overwhelming. The lack of control must multiply this just as it has for all the people living in this old casino turned luxury condominium for the last thirty plus years.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Cows Can't Have It If We Eat It First!
This evening Justice and I turned on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer while enjoying our homemade rustic crust pizza margarita. A very interesting segment devoted to the rising cost of food began and I had never been happier to be sitting in a meat free zone. It seems that the rise in food cost is related to the rising demand for meat in developing countries such as China. The grains that were going to feed people are now feeding cattle. This results in a more than 75% energy deficit. If we can all just limit our intake of animal products at home, there will be more food to go around or as we Vegans At Home say, "More of everything for everybody".
Stop biting off more food than you can swallow! Eat this instead:
Rustic Crust Pizza Margarita:
For the sauce:
1 15 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can organic tomato sauce
1 yellow onion chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
Combine onion and olive oil in a large sauce pan. Cook until soft. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour.
For the crust:
2-3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp dry active yeast, one package will do nicely too.
1 cup luke warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Stir yeast into water and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Only use 2 cups of the whole wheat flour at this point. If you are blessed with a stand mixer, nows the time to use it. Add the yeast mixture and the oil to the dry mixture and begin to stir. The dough should be sticky but you want it to form a ball. Add more flour during the mixing to achieve the desired dough consistency. Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is shiny, smooth, and elastic. Place the dough in a heavily olive-oiled large bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rise for 1 hour. Punch down the dough and place it on an oiled cookie sheet. Spread the dough out flat so that it almost reaches all the sides. Spoon your tomato mixture on top spreading the tomatoes almost to all the edges of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees.
Stop biting off more food than you can swallow! Eat this instead:
Rustic Crust Pizza Margarita:
For the sauce:
1 15 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can organic tomato sauce
1 yellow onion chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
Combine onion and olive oil in a large sauce pan. Cook until soft. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour.
For the crust:
2-3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp dry active yeast, one package will do nicely too.
1 cup luke warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
Stir yeast into water and let sit 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Only use 2 cups of the whole wheat flour at this point. If you are blessed with a stand mixer, nows the time to use it. Add the yeast mixture and the oil to the dry mixture and begin to stir. The dough should be sticky but you want it to form a ball. Add more flour during the mixing to achieve the desired dough consistency. Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is shiny, smooth, and elastic. Place the dough in a heavily olive-oiled large bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rise for 1 hour. Punch down the dough and place it on an oiled cookie sheet. Spread the dough out flat so that it almost reaches all the sides. Spoon your tomato mixture on top spreading the tomatoes almost to all the edges of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes at 425 degrees.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Hitch up the wagon! We're moving West!
Welcome to a new world of deliciousness! I'm so excited to have this platform to share my recipes and adventures in veganism! Here I hope to insight a pioneering sense into the heart of every free-gan, vegan, or self-proclaimed carnivore.
Vegan cuisine can seem scary if you are used to simply defrosting some chicken on the kitchen counter every morning and your spice cupboard consists of some Old Bay Seasoning and Mr. and Mrs. Pig salt and pepper shakers. Well, you're not that person anymore! And to prove it, you're going to make a Beet Loaf tonight! Here is a simply spiced dish that requires no defrosting and will have you eating cheaper and digesting faster in no time!
Nicole's Beet Loaf:
1 cup uncooked quinoa (and then cook it. If you cook it in broth it eliminates bitterness) Brown rice will do instead, but remember you are forging a new path. Don't be afraid to try a little quinoa.
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 beets raw peeled and then finely minced (this is best done in the food processor)
1 small or half a large white onion finely minced
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp olive oil
Mix everything together and place in well lubricated loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so
Vegan cuisine can seem scary if you are used to simply defrosting some chicken on the kitchen counter every morning and your spice cupboard consists of some Old Bay Seasoning and Mr. and Mrs. Pig salt and pepper shakers. Well, you're not that person anymore! And to prove it, you're going to make a Beet Loaf tonight! Here is a simply spiced dish that requires no defrosting and will have you eating cheaper and digesting faster in no time!
Nicole's Beet Loaf:
1 cup uncooked quinoa (and then cook it. If you cook it in broth it eliminates bitterness) Brown rice will do instead, but remember you are forging a new path. Don't be afraid to try a little quinoa.
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 beets raw peeled and then finely minced (this is best done in the food processor)
1 small or half a large white onion finely minced
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp olive oil
Mix everything together and place in well lubricated loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so
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