Happy Birthday to Me!

I had such a great birthday this year! I got up and out of the house early and headed over to Starbucks and got my favorite latte (decaf, soy, cinnamon dolce). While they were making my coffee I was chatting with the barista about getting an early start to the day, Christmas shopping, stuff like that, and I mentioned that I was going to try to shop for myself because it was my birthday. He gave me my coffee for free! It was totally unexpected, and was such a nice start to the day.

Then I got to the mall at about 9:30 and it was pouring rain. Of course I didn't bring an umbrella. You'd think I would know better living in this town! So I drove around the lot looking for a parking spot that was close to the entrance because it is hard to waddle quickly when you have a huge lump attached to your stomach. I wasn't looking forward to being drenched by the time I made it into the mall. And there, right beside the wheelchair parking, was a spot made especially for me.

I guess I must have made some good karma recently. Can't think of when though. I yelled at a rude customer at Starbucks last week and even called him an asshole to his face...the other patrons thanked me, but I was sure it would come back to haunt me. I guess he really deserved it, because the universe seems to have rewarded me for it! Thanks :)

Fish Sticks!

No, it's not really fish. I thought I would try something new, since I just mentioned the other day that this is something I've never attempted. And they were a total success, thanks to a recipe from my favorite vegan mom over at Vegan Lunch Box.

I guess it's more like a breaded tofu than actual fish , but so what. I loved it, and it went great with an organic salad that I threw together. Mmmm! I think the baby liked it too :)

What Goes Around Comes Around

Everyone else seems to be posting this quiz on thier blog so I'll cave and post it on mine too. And then later or maybe tomorrow I will post about my vacation to Hawai'i.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
I think I have pretty much tried them all at some point. My all time fave is Almond Breeze - their chocolate is to die for! Yummm. I also really like Silk soymilk because it's organic and doesn't have a chalky or beany taste like so many other non-dairy milks.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

I don't have anything specific in mind at the moment but after eating out for pretty much the past 2 weeks and going from sunny hot to freezing cold weather I think I'll end up cooking some kind of soup/stew, tempeh, and salad.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Garlic and dill. Or melted earth balance with smoked garlic chipotle salt.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

I tried to make a veganized lime cheesecake once. Let's just say I should have tried it first before serving it to friends!

5. Favorite pickled item?

I've made pickled rosemary carrots, picked peppers, pickled mushrooms - yummm! But can't think of anything that tastes better than regular dill pickes. Exept maybe yum-yum pickles.

6. How do you organize your recipes?

Ummm..are they supposed to be organized? I have them on scraps of paper, all over the place on my computer, sticky notes in cookbooks, some are just in my head. Maybe one day I'll organize them but not today. And not tomorrow.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

I have never had a compost, but I'm a big fan of recycling and using the garbage disposal.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

Dark chocolate, hummus and naan bread.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

This is a tough one because so much of it was not veg friendly. Corn on the cob?

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Chocolate tofulatti from Mario's Gelati.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

I love my George Foreman-esque counter top grill.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

I'm gonna have to say it's my uncle's smoked garlic chipotle salt. If you want some you have to catch him at the market. I put it in pretty much everything I cook.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

It's one about potatoes but at the moment it's packed in a box somewhere so I can't do it any justice by saying who it is written by or even the title.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Right now I'm loving Crofter's organic blackberry.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

My chickpea salad is pretty popular ;)

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Tofu. I always have some in the fridge. Since becoming pregnant I haven't really been digging firm tofu for some reason. Hopefully that will pass soon...cuz I really would love some Salt Spring Island Smoked tofu.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Definatley Dinner. I have never been big on breakfasts, and lunch is so casual. Call me weird, but I acutally enjoy slaving in the kitchen to make a yummy dinner.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

I like to keep a basket on top of the fridge with snacks in it, like crackers, nuts, chips...

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

It's pretty boring: Peas, tempeh patties and edamame. So lame...

20. What’s on your grocery list?

Pretty much everything because I just got back last night from Hawai'i and the fridge & cupboards are bare. Soymilk, tofu, cereal, hummus and naan bread to name a few.

21. Favorite grocery store?

Planet Organic followed closely by Choices.

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

It's already been done, but something I've never tried making is veganized chicken fingers or fish sticks.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it every day). Or maybe the top 3?

Vegan Lunchbox. Even though she doesn't blog every day like she used to, it is definatley my all time favourite. I also like Vegan Yum Yum and Urban Vegan.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Ritter Sport - Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut. Mmmmmm.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

I don't know if it counts as a food "item" per se, but the Thai lettuce wraps at the Cheesecake Factory in Hawai'i were fabulous. I subbed portabello mushrooms for chicken and it was exquisite!

26. What was your favorite food BEFORE becoming veg*n?

I don't remember, it's been 15 years...probably zoodles or something like that.

The Game

I went to the hockey game last night (Vancouver vs. Nashville). I have to be honest, I don't follow hockey at all, in fact I could only name one player on our team - Trevor Linden. I have a hard time watching it because I don't understand what is happening, or why they do things a certain way.

For example, how do they determine which red dot to use for the the face-off? Does the captain have radio communication in his helmet with the coach like the quarterback does in football? What is offside? How do you get to be one of those ice bunnies who skate around with snow shovels and scoop up the loose ice? I had more questions, but I think this will give you an idea of my level of understanding.

Vancouver lost 3-0 and though they spilled thier own blood twice during the game (literally), they didn't seem to be making much of an effort. They skated slowly to get to the puck when it was open for the taking, thus handing the puck to Nashville on a silver platter. They passed the puck to thin air more than to their team mates and they got alot of penalties. This is the team that almost won the Stanley cup not so long ago? I think not...

Oh yeah, and it would have been nice if they told people that the game started at 8pm rather than the 7pm printed on the ticket!!!

I was glad to go to the game though, I've been to Nashville and seen the stadium where their team plays. I went inside, but at the time it was set up for some indoor sports game - soccer on trampolines or something weird like that.

One last observation about last night. Near the end of the game, alot of people just got up and left. None of them saw the 3rd goal because it happened in the last 10 seconds of the game. Why did they all get up and leave? Were they so disgusted with the Canucks that they couldn't bear to stay and show thier support? I don't think so - if that was the case, then how have the past 180-something games been complete sell out crowds? I think they all wanted to rush to their cars and try to beat the parking lot mayhem and skytrain line-ups.

Once again, people are in such a rush to save time, or get ahead that they miss the big picture. Did any of them stop to think about how lucky they are to have the money to spend hundreds of dollars on tickets to the game, and the $4.00 cup of water and $5.00 handful of nachos? That they have someone in their life to go to the game with?

They were more concerned with getting home before everyone else so they could go to sleep and get back to their regular routine tomorrow. Go to work, eat, sleep, for another X amount of days until they have the opportunity to go to another game and leave before it's over.

I think I was one of the last people out of there. And there was no traffic on the way home.

Can a girl get a f-ing pumpkin on Halloween? Nope!

Here is a photo of my Halloween pumpkin. What's that? You can't see it? Well I guess that's because I don't have one. I got gyped. There is not a pumpkin to be found anywhere. Not even a little gourd.

It feels like the stores are full of Christmas cheer already, and Halloween has been somehow cast aside before it even happened. If I didn't know it was October 31st today, I might have thought it was December 25th. There were pine trees with gold ribbons and glittering red balls. Wrapping paper, and greeting cards that say "Happy Holiday". But no pumpkins. Not even a fake cardboard pumpkin. Nothing...

I thought about buying some pumpkins a few days ago but I didn't want to get them too early and have them rot before thier big day. Why is everyone in such a hurry to do things before they need to be done? Can't we just live in the now? Everyone is trying to get ahead, like they are living in a future that hasn't even happened yet. This is what I escaped from when I lived in the Dominican Republic and I guess I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon here, or with such force.

I guess I'll head over to Starbucks and have a pumpkin spice latte with soy milk and try to capture the Halloween spirit somehow.

The Long Road Home

I went to Quesnel for a few days to visit some relatives last weekend. It's nice to escape city life and just relax in the mountains. While I was there, I baked some delicious organic whole wheat bread and watched reruns of CSI on tv.

The only drawback to visiting such a remote place is the 7 hour drive to get there. And the 7 hours to get back to Vancouver. And it really drags on when all you have in the car is a tape deck and no cassettes. So we raided my dad's tape collection so at least we could listen to something on the way home. Hello old school music. Nothing like the soundtrack from the Empire Strikes Back to make the drive more exciting...yeah...that and Flashdance. I need a cd player.

Spanish Eggs

They say the baby can hear now, so i thought I would start reading to it. Ummm can I call the baby "it?" Well, "it" is mine, so I guess I can call "it" what I like, right? I'm sure my parents had some colorful names for me during my teenage years, even though I may have never heard them spoken aloud. Anyways, I doubt "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is very interesting for the baby so I bought some books on Amazon.ca. In spanish of course! Whee!

The First Post...

Well, my Caribbean days are over for now, and in the past few weeks I have noticed that I really miss blogging. Now that I have my little bun baking in the oven, it seems like the perfect time to begin La Vida Vegan.

And since this is the first post, here's the first photo of the little one too.

xoxo

j