Oy

I've been losing faith in my veganish diet lately. For a couple reasons.
1. I don't have any money to go grocery shopping and my roomies are all meat eaters so really the only food in the house that's me-friendly is pbj and pasta with red sauce. ugh.
2. Pizza smells amazing.
3. even though I enjoy cooking once I actually do it, I have to plan it ahead of time and that's annoying. So I've been living on burritos. Laughing planet, burrito boy, mucho gusto...all of the above. all delicious. But seriously, I don't think my diet is very balanced

But, the thought of eating meat actually grosses me out, which is a good thing. And I know that even a little bit of dairy would be a very slippery slope. And seriously, that stuff is terrible for you.

I began wading through vegan blogs again today. I found vegan dad. And he has restored my enthusiasm. I find myself adding every single one of his recipes to my 'must try' list. They all look so easy and are not based on mushrooms. Too much vegan food relies on mushrooms (including gardenburgers, apparently the only kind of veggie burger that restaurant chains recognize. sick. THERE ARE OTHERS. Give me some boca for goodness sakes. oh my gatitos negros) which I find disgusting. Vegan dad specializes in kid-friendly vegan, healthy food. And kid friendly food is mary friendly food.

sunshine

The sun has graced us with its presence, however breifly. Sunshine means smoothies, less clothing, more reading, hookah, blankets on the grass, and obscenely wonderful sunglasses.
A lovely lady that lived in my hall freshmen year wrote in my signature book, "you look beautiful in the sunshine. I hope the sun follows you." It's one of my favorite things anyone has ever said to me.

Box, Jason and I have a home for next year. It is in springfield, but it's lovely. We'll just have to find a way to get home from the bars. :)

but seriously though

I know the food posts are getting a little out of hand, but seriously though...
I made the most amazing sloppy joes for lunch today. Better than any sloppy joe I have ever encountered. This is going to be the meal I make for people who are used to eating meat because it's so damn tasty.
Basic ingredients are fake ground beef, onions, green peppers, nutritional yeast, garlic, soy sauce, ketchup of course, dijon mustard, vinegar, and plenty of cholula. I also decided to put some shredded cabbage on mine. It was so damn good.
But seriously though...check this out.

love love love it

How pretty/creative/simple. It's going in my idea book.
You can find more pretty things here

nah nah nah nah

I freaking love the lyrics to this song. Sugarland. I'm seeing them in July with all my ladies:)
Snake oil and roses. Pockets of dirt.
Hands of a fortune teller's son
Young love shaking the earth, like a heart shot out of a gun.
Lips like gravity pull me under. Wreckless weather on his breath.
Smells like rain, it hits like thunder.
A storm is coming, I got nothing left.

So we run... Yeah Yeah Yeah, we run.
Come undone like a string on a sweater, that you pull but you know better,
But doing what you shouldn'ts half the fun.
So we run.

Fire and laughter. Fence posts flying.
Feel the fever in the air.
Can't remember what came before him, and what after I don't care.
Hands are tremblin'. I Swore I wouldn't.
One more look and I'll give in.
Hundred reasons why I shouldn't.
But I lost my heart and wanted him to win.

So we run... Yeah Yeah Yeah, we run.
Come undone like a string on a sweater, old enough and should know better
But doin' what you shouldn'ts half the fun.
So we fun.

Nah Nah Nah Nah
Nah Nah Nah Nah
Nah Nah Nah Nah

I hear the lever on his voice. It's a calling not a choice,
And I can't keep myself from following the sound.
Yeah you may never know, how fast that you can go,
Till someone lifts your feet up off the ground.

successful cooking adventure!

I made delicious nutritious fajitas last night. For others this may seem like a small victory but I am by no means a cook. I took pictures of my tasty dish.
This is the recipe I used. I didn't add the spices, instead I used cholula. Next time I will use even more cholula. And I added corn.I mixed cholula with follow your heart brand fake sour cream. I'm a dipper. I like to have something to dip my food in.
This is my bowl of fajita mix, full of peppers, onions,corn, chilis and tofu. This was my first time ever cooking with tofu and it was super duper easy.Okay, I'm done bragging now. But seriously, go me. :)

rant number two.

So i basically grew up in restaurants. When I wasn't working in a restaurant i was working in retail. It is my firm belief that the world (or at least the US) would be a happier place if everyone had to work in a restaurant and in retail at least once in their life. It is incredible the lack of common decency and perspective that I see on a day to day basis. A few notes:
-If you order something, and you don't like it, that isn't our fault. If it's cooked wrong or there's hair in it, by all means let us know. But if it's just not your personal preference, don't order it next time. Restaurants make specific dishes in specific ways. If you want your meatloaf to taste the same as it does when you make it...then make yourself some damn meatloaf.
-NEVER. EVER. snap your fingers to get your server's attention.
-If you drink a cup of coffee in 30 seconds flat, do not expect me to keep it full. slow the fuck down.
-Unless the restaurant is empty, chances are that you are not your server's only table. Give her a break. Yes, servers should always give the best service possible, but we're human.
-COUPONS ARE A PRIVILEGE NOT A RIGHT. Free food is never ever your right as a customer. If you are upset by the idea of actually paying for your meal then please leave.
-If you don't have enough money to tip, please eat at home or go to McDonalds. I don't get paid enough to dodge your 8 bratty children and refill your diet soda 13 times if you're not going to tip me.
-When your server comes up to your table, dammit stop talking. Your conversation will be there when she leaves. She's got shit to do.
-If your server forgets something you asked for, ask again. politely. Don't keep quiet and hold a grudge through the whole meal. Think about how many times in a day you forget small things. And yes, the lemon for your water is a small thing.
-If you are out to eat and your 80 year old grandparents are paying, check the tip. They probably left five dollars, regardless of the ticket amount. Be a nice person and throw in some money for a proper tip.
-15% is baseline. If my server is shit I leave her 10%. If she's a total bag of vaginas I leave her change. But if your server is decent leave her 15-20%. If she's working her ass off, and you can afford it, make her week and leave a fatty tip.

That's it for now. I'll add as I come across infuriating situations.

Also- If you are rolled into the restaurant in a wheel chair because you are so obese that you can't walk and you order cherry a la mode for an appetizer and country fried steak with extra gravy for dinner, I'm judging you. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar or they're just as fucking stupid as you are.
-

vegan is a four letter word

Since I decided to change my eating habits, I've been using the word 'vegan' because I find that its the easiest way to explain that I'm avoiding meat and dairy products. It's a recognizable word. However, I'm not technically vegan, I don't think. There are actually lots of different perceptions of exactly what being vegan means. Some vegans don't eat honey because bees make it. I eat honey often. Some vegans won't eat sugar that's been processed using a system that includes charred animal bones. I am not nearly this intense. I am avoiding meat and dairy. I've been known to eat chips with whey and chicken fat in the ingredients. I had clam chowder at Mo's(and it wasn't very good). But for the most part I am being good. I'm trying to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other shitty ingredients.
Anyways, the point of this rant is that once people hear the word vegan or even vegetarian they feel as though they need to help you monitor what you're eating. I'm not allergic to meat. I'm not gonna die if I eat dairy. It's just a choice I'm making. I'm choosing to change the things I'm eating.So, I don't need food police. So dammit, i'm not a vegan. So please, don't feel the need to tell me that my meal isn't totally vegan. I probably already know. And I don't care.
Okay, I feel better.
I made asparagus last night my favorite way, which is drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with seasoning salt and baked till soft. I ate a lot of it and then this morning I put it on an onion bagel with follow your heart fake cream cheese. It was freaking delicious. I was going to take a picture but I really needed to put it in my body. so, maybe next time.
Tonight I'm making tofu fajitas and I'm stoked about it.