Hi, ok, so, sorry for not posting this last night, C's just got his 'puter up and running again, so mucho L4D had to be played ; ) This post comes to you courtesy of my smartphone!
Anws, a couple of nights ago, we watched a really superb film from 1941 called The Lady Eve with Henry Fonda from 12 Angry Men (seriously, if you haven't seen it, go now and find it!!!) and Barbara Stanwyk. It's a rom-com from waaaay before rom-coms and is a brilliant, moving, lovely, witty, fast paced fabulous film! (I think rom-com may be a bit harsh actually!) I'm really lucky that C has loads of brilliant films, now I'm just gonna have to work on trusting him when he says a film is gonna be awesome - I can't believe I actually gave up the chance to watch Cary Grant films a million times over before I finally acquiesed - and Cary Grant may actually be the perfect man! The message is - trust C! : ) Anyway, I'm off track... You can see the trailer for The Lady Eve right here and then try and find it - it's really worth a watch! : )
In other news, we have also been watching a lot of Seinfeld! C's friend at work very kindly lent us a few series on DVD and I'm finally coming around to the idea that it is pretty great. I mean, it's in no way on the level of Frasier or even Friends in my view, however, it's easy watching, the characters are pretty well written and it's really starting to grow on me. If you haven't seen it, this clip from Scrubs will enlighten you as to the popular view of Jerry's stand-up aka "What's the deal with..." : ) I love youtube and of course Scrubs! Doesn't everyone have J.D. style fantasties or is that just me? Hmmmmm...
BTW, now that I know how to put youtube clips on here! I'm gonna be doing a loooot more of that! : )
Now, on to the PPP - oh man! : ) Pita Potato Pizza from the awesomeness that is Vegan a go go! : ) Gotta love the Sarah Kramer!
C and I decided to have pizza for dinner last night(it's almost a weekly ritual : ) Actually, I suggested it cos I wanted to try out this recipe really, but shhhhh ; ) and at first it sounded weird I mean, no soy cheese, no tomato sauce even, just garlic, potato, rosemary, onion, olive oil and pepper... C decided to stick with his usual style of pizza, and I don't blame him, like I say, weird right? But gotta say - yum! It was definitely different, and really starchy, I could have done with a salad to go with it, but it worked. The flavours were there and yeah, pretty yum! Seriously EVERY recipe I have tried of hers so far has been great! Please go visit her blog and buy at least one of her cookbooks, you won't regret it! : )
For those of you who don't know the Sarah Kramer, here's a clip of her talking about her book Vegan a go go : )
Peace and much love for now
C
Showing posts with label Vegan a go go. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegan a go go. Show all posts
Monday, 27 September 2010
Friday, 24 September 2010
Sarah Kramer and her ass kicking burritos!
Hi, at the end of my last post, I was super excited to go off to make sweet potato and black bean burritos for dinner from the cookbook vegan a go go... Can I just say wow!!!! So yummy and delish! Made 2 huge portions, although they could have been divided more equally eh C? ; ) The only adjustment I made was adding spring onions instead of soy cheese to them, and it added that bit of extra kick the burritos needed. They were awesome! : ) Plus, there was just enough black bean sauce and spring onions to go over the salad! Yay!!! I'd advise all of you to check out Sarah Kramer's blog, as one of her other many blog readers have said, it's become my soap opera! : ) She is just so cool, and such a brill example of what a vegan should be.
In the last 4 weeks I've been a vegan (so not long I know...) and as I go down this road, I find I'm learning more and more about my positions on various vegan issues such as - welfarism vs abolitionism, use old non vegan goods or give/throw them away and many other aspects of veganism. On some, I've changed my view from 4 weeks ago, and on others not so much, what I'm trying to say is that you can't be definite and stuck in one mode for the sake of it. I mean obviously you have to figure out what it is you stand for and what you won't compromise on, but be willing to learn as you go and be flexible in other areas. I know in my heart that eating any animal product, or consuming any part of an animal is wrong. It is animal flesh, an animal died to make the cheese, milk, leather, beef etc that you consume, and for that reason, I know that I could not willingly consume these products again. The more flexible areas are maybe where you stand on vegan education, or the value of supporting a campaign for free range eggs when you totally disagree with eggs altogether just because it might make that animal's life that little bit better... I've learnt that veganism isn't just something that you do, or just about the way you eat, but it's something you feel in your heart, it becomes a big part of who you are. It's changed my views on the world around us, I want to be more earth friendly, I want to take cloth shopping bags rather than use plastic, I want to read non-fiction books and educate myself about not just animal rights but women's rights as well. Veganism has made me more curious about the world and about myself. I'm finding out what I will and won't stand for, what veganism is doing for me personally, and it's changing my outlook on my life.
The temptation, and this is what I didn't understand before I went vegan, is to make it them vs us, to cut yourself off as a vegan and be prepared to go head to head and fight over your belief. At first, I was willing to do that, but now, while I say "omnis", it's as a way of distinguishing people who eat meat and those who don't. When I first become vegan, it's because I felt so passionate about what I'd learned and so angry about the cruelty that goes on and that went on in my name, unnecessaily for my happiness. Reading about or seeing examples of this cruelty makes me cry and while I still am angry about the cruelty that happens, while I still want the whole world to be vegan and while I still am so frustrated that the whole world doesn't think the way I do, I feel more encompassing as a vegan now, and funnily enough less willing to fight. If you want a heart to heart, proper discussion about why I am a vegan, or why I know that I will always be this way, or why I think it's ethically wrong to consume another animal product, then here I am, but if you want to be aggressive, or defensive, or fight for the sake of it, I'm not interested. It isn't them vs us, it's all of us, every human being who can make the world that bit better through the decisions they make every day. None of us are perfect, and while I won't stop trying to convince people that veganism is easy and a pretty awesome way to live your life, I won't be quite so aggressive in the way I talk about it, but I will be no less passionate. : )
Coming back to Sarah Kramer, one of the reasons I like her so much is because she is such an awesome role model for the movement; she is out there promoting vegan cookbooks, and just in the way she lives her life, she shows that being vegan is no big deal, it is easy, it is fun, and it's healthy. That's what I wanted to do with this blog, show people that vegans eat great food, that it is easy being a vegan.
What I'm saying is - focus on what veganism means to you, show the world that far from being denied what the normal idea of pleasure is, in the form of chocolate or steak, that you get just as much pleasure from the way you live your life. Don't be a martyr and say how hard it is, or how much of a struggle it is, if you truly believe in your veganism, then you know you're doing the right thing. Work out what your limits are, what you will and won't do, and then just be a happy, healthy, consistent and awesome vegan and all will be well! : )
Peace, love and happy veganism : )
C
In the last 4 weeks I've been a vegan (so not long I know...) and as I go down this road, I find I'm learning more and more about my positions on various vegan issues such as - welfarism vs abolitionism, use old non vegan goods or give/throw them away and many other aspects of veganism. On some, I've changed my view from 4 weeks ago, and on others not so much, what I'm trying to say is that you can't be definite and stuck in one mode for the sake of it. I mean obviously you have to figure out what it is you stand for and what you won't compromise on, but be willing to learn as you go and be flexible in other areas. I know in my heart that eating any animal product, or consuming any part of an animal is wrong. It is animal flesh, an animal died to make the cheese, milk, leather, beef etc that you consume, and for that reason, I know that I could not willingly consume these products again. The more flexible areas are maybe where you stand on vegan education, or the value of supporting a campaign for free range eggs when you totally disagree with eggs altogether just because it might make that animal's life that little bit better... I've learnt that veganism isn't just something that you do, or just about the way you eat, but it's something you feel in your heart, it becomes a big part of who you are. It's changed my views on the world around us, I want to be more earth friendly, I want to take cloth shopping bags rather than use plastic, I want to read non-fiction books and educate myself about not just animal rights but women's rights as well. Veganism has made me more curious about the world and about myself. I'm finding out what I will and won't stand for, what veganism is doing for me personally, and it's changing my outlook on my life.
The temptation, and this is what I didn't understand before I went vegan, is to make it them vs us, to cut yourself off as a vegan and be prepared to go head to head and fight over your belief. At first, I was willing to do that, but now, while I say "omnis", it's as a way of distinguishing people who eat meat and those who don't. When I first become vegan, it's because I felt so passionate about what I'd learned and so angry about the cruelty that goes on and that went on in my name, unnecessaily for my happiness. Reading about or seeing examples of this cruelty makes me cry and while I still am angry about the cruelty that happens, while I still want the whole world to be vegan and while I still am so frustrated that the whole world doesn't think the way I do, I feel more encompassing as a vegan now, and funnily enough less willing to fight. If you want a heart to heart, proper discussion about why I am a vegan, or why I know that I will always be this way, or why I think it's ethically wrong to consume another animal product, then here I am, but if you want to be aggressive, or defensive, or fight for the sake of it, I'm not interested. It isn't them vs us, it's all of us, every human being who can make the world that bit better through the decisions they make every day. None of us are perfect, and while I won't stop trying to convince people that veganism is easy and a pretty awesome way to live your life, I won't be quite so aggressive in the way I talk about it, but I will be no less passionate. : )
Coming back to Sarah Kramer, one of the reasons I like her so much is because she is such an awesome role model for the movement; she is out there promoting vegan cookbooks, and just in the way she lives her life, she shows that being vegan is no big deal, it is easy, it is fun, and it's healthy. That's what I wanted to do with this blog, show people that vegans eat great food, that it is easy being a vegan.
What I'm saying is - focus on what veganism means to you, show the world that far from being denied what the normal idea of pleasure is, in the form of chocolate or steak, that you get just as much pleasure from the way you live your life. Don't be a martyr and say how hard it is, or how much of a struggle it is, if you truly believe in your veganism, then you know you're doing the right thing. Work out what your limits are, what you will and won't do, and then just be a happy, healthy, consistent and awesome vegan and all will be well! : )
Peace, love and happy veganism : )
C
Thursday, 23 September 2010
More film watching, and risotto!!!
Haven't posted for a while purely because been feeling really under the weather... Today feeling a bit better and so will give you a wee update as to what I've been up to : )
You'll remember from my last post that I really wanted to watch My Neighbour Totoro by the same guys who did Spirited Away. Well, I convinced C and we watched it together while recovering from our illnesses a couple days ago. It was so lovely! A lot more directed towards children than Spirited was, but was beautiful and just a really sweet storyline. It ended too abruptly for me and it felt like it didn't reach a satisfying conclusion, but I guess that just shows how into it we were really! : ) Suffice it to say I loved it. You can check the trailer out here.
Also in the last couple days, I marshalled my strength enough to make lemon and pea risotto from 'nomicon, the fabulous massive cookbook by Isa. I got it as a gift from C a few weeks ago as a well done for going vegan pressie, v. sweet and have been searching through it to find dishes that aren't too scary to make. Back when I was omni, paella used to be one of my fave things to have C make on birthdays or just when I wasn't feeling so great. I loved it, just rich and creamy and lemony and delish. The reason I always got C to make it was because I always figured that risottos were just too time consuming, I mean all that stirring... gee... So whenever I made a risotto, it got chucked in the oven instead and generally turned out ok.
However, when I first went vegan and tried my own risotto by veganising an old recipe, it sucked big time... Like awful!!!! So I was a little gun shy. But when making this risotto by Isa, oh man, it was amazing, and made properly on the stove!!!! It has all the tastes of summer, the lemon and fresh peas, (I really am not convinced it's autumn although the falling leaves and dark afternoons/rainy weather should be tipping me off right?) and it's just sublime. It's got easy to find ingredients and lasts the two of us for two days. I can't believe the way I used to think a risotto had to be, with tons of cheese chucked in to make it creamy. Ugh, thinking about it makes me ill really. This was just so creamy and tangy on it's own and is def a favourite vegan recipe that could be served to everyone no matter what dietary preference they have. Best of all, it's the perfect substitute for the paella I used to love. It has the same heartiness and the same flavours but is cruelty free. I now realise that when making a risotto, you need to take care of it rather than just whack it in the oven and leave it...
'Nomicon is an awesome cookbook and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone. When I facebooked my intention to make this, a vegan friend said she'd been a bit wary of cooking from 'nomicon cos of all the american ingredients lists. Looking through it, it's a lot more accessible than some cookbooks I've seen and tbh, a lot of the recipes involve things you can just pick up at the local supermarket... I can't wait to try some more recipes from it! : )
Tonight am making Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos from Vegan a go go, a book with a compilation of recipes from the fabulous Sarah Kramer's books - How It All Vegan, Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan... Will let you know how it goes later on! : )
For now, peace, love and happy cooking,
C
You'll remember from my last post that I really wanted to watch My Neighbour Totoro by the same guys who did Spirited Away. Well, I convinced C and we watched it together while recovering from our illnesses a couple days ago. It was so lovely! A lot more directed towards children than Spirited was, but was beautiful and just a really sweet storyline. It ended too abruptly for me and it felt like it didn't reach a satisfying conclusion, but I guess that just shows how into it we were really! : ) Suffice it to say I loved it. You can check the trailer out here.
Also in the last couple days, I marshalled my strength enough to make lemon and pea risotto from 'nomicon, the fabulous massive cookbook by Isa. I got it as a gift from C a few weeks ago as a well done for going vegan pressie, v. sweet and have been searching through it to find dishes that aren't too scary to make. Back when I was omni, paella used to be one of my fave things to have C make on birthdays or just when I wasn't feeling so great. I loved it, just rich and creamy and lemony and delish. The reason I always got C to make it was because I always figured that risottos were just too time consuming, I mean all that stirring... gee... So whenever I made a risotto, it got chucked in the oven instead and generally turned out ok.
However, when I first went vegan and tried my own risotto by veganising an old recipe, it sucked big time... Like awful!!!! So I was a little gun shy. But when making this risotto by Isa, oh man, it was amazing, and made properly on the stove!!!! It has all the tastes of summer, the lemon and fresh peas, (I really am not convinced it's autumn although the falling leaves and dark afternoons/rainy weather should be tipping me off right?) and it's just sublime. It's got easy to find ingredients and lasts the two of us for two days. I can't believe the way I used to think a risotto had to be, with tons of cheese chucked in to make it creamy. Ugh, thinking about it makes me ill really. This was just so creamy and tangy on it's own and is def a favourite vegan recipe that could be served to everyone no matter what dietary preference they have. Best of all, it's the perfect substitute for the paella I used to love. It has the same heartiness and the same flavours but is cruelty free. I now realise that when making a risotto, you need to take care of it rather than just whack it in the oven and leave it...
'Nomicon is an awesome cookbook and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone. When I facebooked my intention to make this, a vegan friend said she'd been a bit wary of cooking from 'nomicon cos of all the american ingredients lists. Looking through it, it's a lot more accessible than some cookbooks I've seen and tbh, a lot of the recipes involve things you can just pick up at the local supermarket... I can't wait to try some more recipes from it! : )
Tonight am making Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos from Vegan a go go, a book with a compilation of recipes from the fabulous Sarah Kramer's books - How It All Vegan, Garden of Vegan and La Dolce Vegan... Will let you know how it goes later on! : )
For now, peace, love and happy cooking,
C
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