Good Belly 12-Day Challenge, Day One

Today J and I went to see a matinee performance of The Gammage Project today, a harrowing docudrama based on the true events of October 12, 1995, when a black man was stopped by police due to a traffic violation, and ended up dead. It was a great performance, but we needed cheering up when it was over. So we went to Whole Foods, where I got another container of Brad's Raw Leafy Kale. I also picked up a quart of GoodBelly Probiotic juice in cranberry watermelon. 

I'll admit, I didn't read the back label until I got home. I'm not that big of a juice drinker, mostly because of the added calories and sugar, and the serving of this has 100 calories and 24 grams of sugar. I'll drink the juice, of course, but next time I think I'll pick up the Goodbelly Straightshot (no added sugar, and just 30 calories). 

I love the cranberry watermelon flavor. It has a slight yogurt-ish taste to it, but of course it's vegan, so there's no dairy involved.

I also purchased the ingredients to make Cheesy Kale Chips, recipe courtesy of Pride & Vejudice. My food processor went kaput when I was making the cashew/nutritional yeast spread, so I didn't get a very smooth consistency. A few of the chips didn't get that crispy, due to excessive glops of cheesy sauce. I cooked the kale at 200 degrees for 50 minutes; maybe I should have kept in the oven longer. But it didn't matter, because these taste so freaking good! 

J and I ate half a batch. The other half I put away in sandwich baggies to eat tomorrow. Oh, and tomorrow, one day ahead of Fat Tuesday (cause I can never cook elaborate dishes on workdays), I'll be making jumbalaya!

New Kitchen Bling

I finally got one! After years of waiting for soups to cool before ladling them into our blender or food processor, and then laboriously blending in batches, I went to Target and purchased an immersion blender. It isn't the fanciest model, but it has made cooking a whole lot easier. 

Here is my tortilla soup (recipe from The Happy Herbivore) in chunky form. 

And here it is, after the immersion blender did its magic. The process literally took 30 seconds.

Best of all, the immersion blender was easy to clean. I loathe kitchen gadgets that have a lot of intricate nooks and crannies to clean.

Earlier in the week, I made the Baigan Aaloo (aka Eggplant and Potatoes) from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. Sigh. This turned out to be mediocre. I didn't think there were enough spices involved to give this dish a full-flavored taste. The directions were also mystifying. There was no mention of oil, broth or water to saute the onions and garlic in. I went ahead and used broth. 

I then had some difficulty getting to the red potatoes to become tender without having the eggplant mush down to a paste. I ended up fishing the potatoes out and cooking them separately in another pan.

Maybe it was just me having an "off" day in the kitchen, but my Baigan Aaloo didn't compare to the dozen of other recipes I've made from Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.

On an entirely different subject: I am always on the quest for healthy breakfast choices. On Sundays I love to make elaborate spreads with tofu scrambles and pancakes. But for the rest of week, I try to eat conscientiously. I want to eat enough to keep me satisfied until lunch (which means that fruit or non-dairy yogurt isn't really an option), yet minimize the processed, packaged food factor. 

Last night before I went to bed, I made the Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal from healthyslowcooker.com. This is steel-cut oats with the Peanut Butter & Co's white chocolate pb I keep religiously in my pantry.  I cooked it on low for seven hours, but it was starting to burn on the edges, so next time I'll check it at six hours. Even slightly burnt, it was delicious. Here is the before picture; I forgot to take an after one.

 

Do you have a favorite healthy breakfast? 

Comic Book Love

No new single issues for me this week. Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman, both #6, had cover art that appealed to me, but I couldn't find any back issues at the store. Guess this means I have to wait for the trades. I also kept an eye out for Adventure Time #1, based on the Cartoon Network television show, but I heard through the grapevine that it sold out quickly, so I wasn't surprised that my local comic book store didn't have any in stock.

Just an aside, but is there an abbreviation for local comic book store? LYS stands for local yarn store; it seems like there should be an equivalent for your friendly neighborhood comic book store. 

I have been reading amazing trade paperbacks. Sweet Tooth #2, Chew #2, Tiny Titans: Welcome to the Treehouse, and Criminal: The Last of the Innocent. 

God, all of these books were so good.  

Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth: In Captivity gives us a better understanding of its post-apocalyptic landscape through flashbacks from Jepperd. We also find out his motivation for betraying Sweet Tooth in exchange for a mysterious knapsack. In between flashbacks, Dr. Singh hypnotizes Sweet Tooth and makes an alarming discovery about ST's father. Did the man orchestrate the apocalypse? Was Sweet Tooth born, or created? 

I know I mentioned this before, but I just want to emphasize the point: Lemire writes and illustrates this comic. He does everything. Amazing! 

I love Chew: International Flavor, by John Layman and Rob Guillory. Tony Chiu just gets more endearing. This time his investigations takes him to a remote pacific island, where Tony stumbles into murder, civil war, a fruit that tastes exactly like chicken, and possibly the woman of his dreams! This comic is a perfect blend of violence, comedy, and gross-out food moments. I can't recommend it enough. 

Aw yeah Tiny Titans! Tiny Titans: Welcome to the Treehouse is a delightful all-ages series. I love the way superhero culture is subtly made fun of, like a series of panels involving Robin and his panicked decision to rename himself Nightwing.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Criminal: The Last of the Innocent is my first foray into the noir universe of the Criminal editions. The artwork in this volume is stunning, with the protagonist's childhood memories drawn in a bubbly, Archie style. It's an unsettling, stunning read. 

Not a bad book in the bunch. I call that a great comic book week.

Brad's Raw Leafy Kale

I just want to do a quick post about Brad's Raw Leafy Kale. I bought a container of the Nasty Hot flavor when I was shopping at Whole Foods last weekend, and it's incredible. I make kale chips all the time, but I bake them. Brad's Leafy Kale is dehydrated and has a great mixture of nutritional yeast, cashews, and jalapeno sprinkled over them. One 2.5 ounce container was kind of pricey, which makes me think a dehydrator of my own might be a good future investment. I have wanted one for years. In the meantime, I'll pick up another container of this Kale. It was a satisfying and healthy snack. 

Oh, and my household is divided about the spice level of this product. J thinks Nasty Hot is an accurate description, while I only found the kale to be mildly spicy.

Poetry Chapbook!

I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but I'm a writer. I write poetry and fiction, and Finishing Line Press has accepted my poetry chapbook (a chapbook is a smaller version of a full-length book) for publication. Being a small press, they depend on their authors for promoting the books. That being said, they are graciously providing promotional postcards of my upcoming book. So if you're interested in a postcard, email me at wlee@gm.slc.edu. Remember, requesting a postcard does not mean you're obligated to buy a copy!

I Love Trader Joe's

I really do. Today I braved the snow and the wind to get a bagful of lovely vegetables (including romaine lettuce, sweet  potatoes, and red peppers). I also ended up with a few extras in my cart, like these beauties:

Wow. This is one of the best salsas I've ever had. And the fresh is in the description is not a lie -- it tastes like it was made this morning. The guacamole was also out of this world. Both the guacamole and salsa were very reasonably priced, at least two dollars cheaper than what I could get at the other grocery stores. 

Going back in time ... want to know what J and I had for dinner last night? We had this:

It's Skillet Spanish Beef 'N Rice from Pillsbury's Hamburger magazine. This is a dish I used it to make all the time before I changed my diet. J mentioned how much he missed it the other day, and I thought to myself: I can veganize that.

I used Trader Joe's meatless ground beef instead of real hamburger, and added a few chipotles and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to liven up the taste. It's shocking how easy this recipe is, and how, just a few years ago, I thought it was challenging. All in all, it tasted just as I remembered it. J had two helpings! 

Since I'm all about the food (or in this case, the drinks) today, I just wanted to mention that Good Belly, a vegan probiotic drink company, has a 12 Day Challenge on their website. If you sign up, they'll send you coupons! I haven't tried any of their products yet, but the next time I'm at Whole Foods I'll definitely pick up a bottle.

Chew and that Aforementioned Vest

Remember that vest-that-became-a-knitted-tee I mentioned last time? Well, here is a photo:

Pattern: Ms. Marigold by Sarah Moore (you can purchase a copy on Ravelry)
Needle: 5
Yarn: Schulana Sierrra

I really liked this pattern; the yarn, not so much. It was very splitty, and I had a hell of a time weaving in the ends and then keeping the stitches I weaved them under from looking bumpy and obvious. 

Oh, and one obvious alteration to the pattern are the addition of the sleeves. The pattern calls for a crocheted ruffle around the sleeves that looked very cute on other people, but I didn't think it would have been flattering on me. 

And now for a comic book endorsement: Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

Tony Chiu is an FDA agent who is also a cibopath, a rare individual able to solve crimes by tasting the evidence. Tony's world is one in which the FDA rank higher than the police, and chicken is a contraband food, so illegal and coveted that some people will commit crimes to get their hands on it. 

I loved this book! The story is riveting, witty with great pacing, and the art is wonderful. There is a panel where Tony is trying (and failing) to fall asleep that blew me away with its innovativeness. Let's just say that white space was used. I've never seen white space used in a comic book before. 

I also read Alpha Girl #1, which I picked up from the comic book store last week. I'm behind in my reading. 

Anyway, this one seems interesting. The pacing isn't that hot -- I think they could have done a little more with this first issue. But the premise is certainly intriguing. Judith is a teenager living in a world overrun by female zombies. There's a nefarious cosmetic company involved in the outbreak, which we see in detail. What we only get in glimpses is Judith and her brother's sad, sordid past. Her brother is currently locked up in juvenile detention, and I'm assuming Judith will head down there to get him out. 

It wasn't a riveting read, but I'm interested enough to buy a copy of #2 next month.