Culinary (and other) Adventures of a Veggie Girl

Dinner on a Chilly Night.....

2008-12-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight's Dinner

It's 44 degrees outside right now (remember, it's Arizona), and it's only 7:20 pm. I rode my bike to my parents house today, visited with my aunt and my cousin as well as with my grandfather and my family. We had a really wonderful day talking about old times.

My sweetie wanted to order pizza for dinner, I said no, we have plenty to eat at the house. So I roasted some potatoes and made zucchini, tomato, and rice pilaf from Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman. I also made a dill and mint Greek yogurt sauce to go along with everything and served it with sliced cucumbers. It was a very good.

It's a Chilly Saturday.........

2008-12-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

As of 8:41 am, it is 36 degrees outside. I am contemplating riding my bike this morning to my parents house......I think I will wait a little while for it to warm up. I rode to their house yesterday, and my legs are a little sore this morning. (It's about five miles.) I don't know about anyone else, but I was so stuffed from eating all day Christmas, that I felt like I needed to work some of it off.

We just finished a lovely breakfast of potatoes lightly sauteed in olive oil with garlic and onions. I served it with a side of scrambled eggs garnished with green onions, a roasted green chili and a small bit of cheese. That should keep me fueled for the morning.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Beautiful Sunday

2008-10-12T11:19:00.001-07:00

This morning for breakfast I made omelets. Mine was a two egg omelet with cheese, green onions and tomatoes. It is so gorgeous out today! It is in the low 70's, I took a walk in the neighborhood and am trying to get everyone else out of the house to enjoy this spell of coolness.

Friday Night Taco's

2008-09-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner consisted of potato tacos with sauteed onions, green bell peppers, and yellow corn on an organic yellow corn tortilla. The tacos were topped with homemade guacamole, pinto beans, cilantro and diced red tomatoes. Very quick and delicious.

What have we been up to?

2008-09-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Flower

San Diego Zoo

USS Midway Museum

Disneyland

Saturday afternoon drive to Los Angels, California

Hiking in Prescott, Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona Arboretum

Vegas Baby!

Getting back to life.....

2008-06-24T20:50:00.001-07:00

We were broken into a few weeks back...they pretty much took everything of any value we had. After getting an alarm system, still being scared to come home (I was the one who walked in on it), dealing with the insurance, it's time to get back to food and eating. It could be worse, we could have lost our home like the people in Iowa did.
My sweetie made me dinner tonight. Pasta with marinated home grown squash crusted with garlic salt, pepper, olive oil and Italian seasonings, organic marinara sauce and tofu sausage. A sprig of basil garnishes the plate.
I love good vegetarian food.....Especially when it is made with love.

Provencal Tuesday

2008-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I had some bananas that I needed to use up, so I made the basic muffin recipe from Nava Atlas The Vegetarian Family Cookbook and added chopped banana as my mix in. I had a muffin warm from the oven and it was delicious and dense. I made the vegan version using apple sauce and soy milk. Eating one of these gems should last me through the morning until lunch time.

We are on day five of the no eating out challenge. Tonight's dinner was steamed zucchini, Greek salad with Roma tomato's, sliced red onion, and cucumber. I seasoned the salad with a little garlic pepper and dried basil. The main dish was Provencal Lemon-Herb Rice from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. This rice is not only very easy to make, but it has a wonderful flavor. I added fresh mint at the end which I think makes taste even more special.

Sometimes Simple is Better......

2008-06-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

Home cooked black eyed peas, wild rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, sliced red onion and tomato. Delicious.

A Fine Sunday for Adventure (Culinary and Otherwise)

2008-06-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

My sweetie was feeling much better today, so we took a drive up north to Prescott Valley to see a good friend of ours. We drove past this sign and I had to take a picture as I thought Dawn to Milky Way was a very cool street name. We had a great time target practicing, I hiked around a little bit and took some pictures. It got very warm today, I even got a little sun burnt.

I am still learning this blog thing and my pictures are a little out of order as they were taken with different cameras. This was tonight's dinner, veggie black bean burgers made from a recipe in Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures. The burgers were okay, and may have been better with the salsa mayonnaise that Jeanne suggested to serve with the burgers. (I am trying to do low fat, so I skipped the mayo) I used mustard as my condiment along with sliced red onions, tomato and red leafed lettuce. I also had a problem when cooking these, I got the pan way to hot, and my Sweetie had to help me cool down the pan with water so I would not burn the burgers. (I took them out of the pan first) Once we cooled the pan down enough, we sprayed a little more olive oil cooking spray in the pan and the burgers got toasty crispy on the outside, but were very soft on the inside. I was also thinking that the bread crumbs I used may have been old and they also may have altered the taste of the burger. For my first venture in cooking veggie burgers, I think I did pretty well, and learned that I don't need to have my pan scorching hot, or I will burn the burgers.
I served a side of store bought potato salad with the burger. (Bought for today's picnic up north but never eaten) It was okay, but homemade is so much better!

Okay so we are on day three of the no eating out challenge and I think we have done very well. We ate breakfast at home, took snacks to eat up north, and we managed to make dinner at home (and try out a new recipe). Not bad for such a busy day. It's so hard for me to plan as I never know what we are going to be doing. We are a kind of "fly by the seat of our pants" people. It's always exciting because I never know what we are going to do next.

I figured we were going to be staying home today because my sweetie was sick, but he wanted to go do something as he was going stir crazy.

My Saturday in Photos.....

2008-05-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Breakfast of Nature's Path Organic Mesa Sunrise Cereal with sliced strawberries, sliced banana and milk.

We went to see the new Indiana Jones movie this morning, we were stopped by a train on the way home from the movies. The movie was good. Shhh, we took are own snacks into the movie. I had a small bag filled with Golden Graham cereal with vegan chocolate chips. Yummm......

Don't you just love it when they make faces when you are trying to make their picture?

Squirrel blowing bubbles. My sweetie is still sick and has been running a fever on and off all day. So we hung out and watched TV all afternoon.

Lunch...Whole Wheat bread with melted dill Havarti cheese, and sliced tomatoes.

Cool Refreshing afternoon drink.

Our little Pluto

Squirrel and I playing Sponge Bob Life. Trust me, I would rather be venturing off somewhere, but sometimes, it's nice to just hang out at home.

Friday Night Delight....Day One of No Eating Out Challenge

2008-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight after a rather hectic day at work, I stopped by the grocery store to do the weeks shopping. I really didn't know what I felt like eating for dinner. I walked in the door and my sweetie is lying on the couch telling me he is sick. "Groan" He wants juice, so I make him a glass of juice, put away the groceries and ponder what I am going to make. I decided to make him and Squirrel soup (you know that whole soup makes me feel better thing) and I make me brown rice, okra and red beans loosely based on the recipe in Moosewood Resturant's Low Fat Favorites. It was very good, I finished the dish off with a few splashes of Trappey's Pepper Sauce.
So it is day one of the no eating out challenge. Not only did I not eat out today, but I managed to
make me a low fat dinner which was totally delicious.

No Eating Out Challenge....

2008-05-29T20:49:00.001-07:00

Tonight's dinner was Mexican inspired. Steamed broccoli, creamed corn, homemade guacamole with sliced red onion, diced jalapeno, tomato and lime juice. This was all served with sliced raw cucumbers, baby carrots and cherry tomatoes. It was very good and very filling. I even have leftover guacamole for lunch tomorrow.

I went to lunch today with one of my vendors, and came back with a really bad stomach ache. I spent about three months eating mostly fat-free and wheat-free. I have added more fat back into my diet along with wheat products. I feel like my weight loss is suffering for it, plus I am not feeling very well. I was so tired when I got home, all I wanted to do was lay on the couch.

So, I am giving myself a very important challenge. To eat mostly fat-free and wheat-free again, along with not buying or eating any candy. (Chocolate is so evil....) I also want to see how long I can go with out eating out. I don't know how long the no eating out challenge will go on for, it my not even last one week, but I will try and see how long I can go. (My sweetie loves to eat out.) I just feel better when we eat at home, and I want to continue to lose weight. Plus I have a ton of cookbooks I haven't even cooked out of yet.

......I weighed myself this morning, 143lbs...........

A Little Bit of Everything.....

2008-05-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

Picture of flowers taken at Alamo Lake, Arizona a few weeks back.

Back to work today, you know, it's funny, I was just telling someone that I felt like I needed to make a "change" with my job because it's not challenging anymore....When I walk into work this morning, it's chaos and then the day goes by like a flash.

Nothing exciting cooking wise, ate some leftover Thai fried rice that we drove all over Northern Arizona looking for Sunday afternoon. Word to the wise, don't go to Flagstaff looking for Thai food on a Sunday, nobody is, and I mean nobody is open. So we drove back down through Sedona, waited in a really long line of traffic (two hour wait). Then drove back through Cottonwood, Jerome, then on to Prescott Valley to the old reliable Tara Thai. Now we could have saved gas and ate Thai food here at home, but we wanted to take a small drive, and trust me, it was so worth it. It was so beautiful up north this weekend, and here in town for that matter.

On Monday we got some pineapple with chili and lime, a container of guacamole and some chips from the Ranch Market and my sweetie took me to a park with a beautiful pond to have a small picnic. (I don't know what my thing is with having picnics, but I just love to.)

Hopefully, I will have a tale of more cooking adventures tomorrow........

Summer Time Greek Food

2008-05-27T20:50:00.001-07:00

I spent the day off from work, after an adventurous three day weekend. I slept in until eight thirty (very rare for me) and was awaken by a phone call from my sweetie. Feeling a little guilty, I left my warm cocoon and started my day...... I exercised, watched really bad television and made Greek Food for dinner.
I roasted some baby potatoes, zucchini and onion. I seasoned it with salt pepper and a pinch of dried oregano. I topped it with a lemon yogurt sauce.

I also made a Greek salad with spinach, yellow bell peppers, cucumber, red onion, tomato, peperoncinis and feta cheese. Dinner was yummy and filling, even though we didn't eat until eight thirty at night.

Also, stay tuned for some adventures in low-fat vegetarian cooking........Cookbooks are a wonderful thing......

First BBQ of the Spring...

2008-04-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

We had our first BBQ this afternoon, and all I can say is that it was wonderful! I don't think we have barbecued in about a year. I cut up some veggies including onions, red bell pepper, zucchini and yellow squash. I seasoned them with salt, pepper and some herbs. I brushed them with a little olive oil, then we put them in my non-stick grill basket. They came out so good!

Here is my sweetie grilling us lunch.

I also had an Amy's Texas Veggie Burger which was really good. It had a sweet BBQ flavor that was just perfect. We topped our burgers with lettuce, tomato, red onion and mustard.

We had a pretty lazy day, we ended it with a bike ride around the neighborhood. The weather is still beautiful, for now. I know the heat is just around the corner........

Snow in April.......

2008-04-05T20:12:00.001-07:00

Today we took a Saturday morning drive to Prescott. I packed snacks and we parked and had a really nice picnic. I had roasted garlic hummus with crackers and carrots, it was delicious. We stopped at the New Frontiers Natural Food Market so I could pick some up for lunch on our way up the mountain. After we ate, we took about a mile hike down the Hassayampa River. We couldn't believe that there was still snow on the mountain.

There still is quite a bit of water running in the creeks and springs, but not nearly as much as four weeks ago. We took our girl Pluto with us and she enjoyed walking and drinking of the fresh clean water. We stopped at one point down the creek and while they tried to dam the water, I laid down next to the creek to take in some sun and listen to nature. The weather was cool enough to wear sweatshirts, but I got warm while we were hiking.

There wasn't any flowers blooming, and Mother Nature seemed to be stuck between Autumn and Spring.

Once we were done with our hike, we drove over to the apple trees and ate the apples we brought with us. We took a few pictures, then we decided to leave because someone else came and parked by us. I was disappointed that I didn't get to hike more, so I got out of the truck and they followed me while I walked and jogged 2.7 miles to main road. It took me less than an hour, and I was so tired and sore, but I did it. (Some of this was up hill walking and jogging.) Not bad for a girl who did anything she could to get out of PE.

Lazy Sunday....

2008-03-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

I don't have any adventure pictures this weekend, because we didn't go anywhere. Friday night was black-eyed peas, steamed broccoli and sliced tomatoes. Saturday night was left over lentil soup. Tonight, I made butternut squash chili though I didn't make it very spicy, because my sweetie was going to eat some too, and he thinks I make things too spicy. I cooked up my own combination of beans. Then I added green chili, fire roasted crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, butternut squash, onion and red bell pepper. I then added various spices including ancho and chipotle powder. I also made a spinach salad with tomato, red onion and yellow bell pepper. My dinners were fat free with the exception of the little fat in the saltine crackers I had with my chili tonight. I didn't exercise this weekend either, so it will be interesting to see what the scale will say tomorrow.

Eat'n McDougall Style

2008-03-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was fat free with steamed brussells sprouts, spinach salad topped with salsa and a side of corn. I am going to start eating McDougall style again. I will be doing the MWL (Maximum Weight Loss) with lots of greens and veggies. I have been eating this way on and off for about six months and have lost weight. Almost twenty pounds, but I find that when I eat vegetarian including eggs and cheese that I maintain my weight instead of losing. I weighed in at 146 this morning, and I have a goal of 115, which may be too skinny, but I will have to get down to that weight to see.

I want to use this blog to help keep me accountable, as well as sort of a food journal. I will still have culinary and other adventures, even of the vegetarian type (cheese and eggs included on special occasions). For now, I want to stay vegan and fat free to see if I can get down to my goal. After all, swim suit season is just around the corner....

I don't want to do this just for weight loss, but for health. I have been really overweight most of my adult life, and it would be nice to get back down to a weight that I feel good at.

Fat Tuesday's Leftovers

2008-03-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was leftover Fat Tuesday's Skinny Red Beans from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites over white rice with steamed yellow and zucchini squash and a spinach salad. This recipe was wonderful and flavorful, as well as very filling. I biked around the neighborhood for exercise, as well as walked a mile on my lunch break with one of my co-workers. Once again the weather was beautiful and I didn't want to stay inside.

Weekend in Nature.....

2008-03-09T19:35:00.001-07:00

Saturday afternoon we took a drive up to Prescott and was greeted by snow! It was so beautiful to see the snow on the ground. It was still a bit chilly on the mountain, but in town, it wasn't that bad.

Here is a picture of the snow still on the mountains.

Water was running everywhere, which is a very good thing as we have been in a drought. On our drive up the mountain we could see yellow Mexican Poppies all over the Bradshaw's. I haven't seen this many wild flowers in a very long time.

After dark we decided to go back into town to get dinner. I wanted to stop at the New Frontiers Natural Market place, just to check it out. This ended up being the place I got my dinner from. Unfortunately, it was dark and I didn't get a picture, but they made me the best veggie burger ever. I have never had a homemade veggie burger before, but I think I am going to have to start making them. I think I gushed about that burger the whole way home. :) It was amazing....

We spent our Sunday at the Desert Botanical Garden here in Phoenix. The weather was beautiful, and it was a perfect day to be out. We saw lots of cactus, flowers and even took a hike through their Sonoran Desert Trail.

They had a butterfly exhibit, with thirty two species of butterflies. You can walk through the exhibit and take pictures of the butterflies landing everywhere. I had two land on my head.

Here is another butterfly blending into it's surroundings.

Dinner tonight was very simple. Organic vegetarian ranch beans with steamed asparagus, sliced cucumbers and spinach salad topped with fat free salsa.

Breakfast Smoothies

2008-03-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

For my morning breakfast I have been making chocolate smoothies. I add Nature's First Law raw cocoa, living hemp powder, wild blue green algae, frozen cherries, goji berry powder and oatmeal. I blend this in my vita mix with some raw agave nectar and either almond, soy, rice, or oat milk. This is so yummy, it's like drinking a super chocolate milk!

I also got my shipment from Nature's First Law today. Every time I get a shipment from them it's like Christmas. I got some more things to put in my smoothies including acai powder to put in my berry drinks and some herbs to make tea.

A Cold Bike Ride and Dinner

2008-03-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tonight me and my sweetie went for a bike ride. It has been very warm for the past few days, but when I went to pull my bike out of the garage, I realized that I needed to change into pants and put on a sweater. It was a bit chilly, but at least we rode around the neighborhood for about twenty minutes. I have been riding all week, and my legs are quite sore. I just felt like I couldn't peddle my bike very far, but it got better as we rode on.

When we got back, I made Lemony Couscous with Broccoli from Vegan Express by Nava Atlas. I cut the fat by using the non-oily sun dried tomatoes. I also added swiss chard along with the broccoli. This was good, but I think next time I will add lemon zest to make the lemon flavor more pronounced. For the side, I had some steamed brussels sprouts and a sliced roma tomato. I topped the couscous with a dollop of Greek yogurt, which made this meal a vegetarian meal instead of a vegan meal. I just felt like it needed the yogurt. You know it's just two bad I am the only couscous eater in our family of two.......There are a ton of leftovers.

Soup and Salad Night

2008-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

Tonight I had homemade tomato and fennel soup from The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, along with a spinach salad and steamed broccoli. I was never a fan of tomato soup, but a few months ago I tried some at Whole Foods, and decided that I liked it. So when I saw the recipe, I thought I wanted to try it. I wasn't sure how it would taste with the fennel, but oh my gosh, it was amazing. I am now a confirmed lover of tomato soup.

P.S. Gramps turned 89 years old today, and he is getting his exercise. I am so proud of him.

Big Horn Sheep Sighting, and a Mediterranean Kitchen

2008-03-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today we went on our first boating trip of the year to Lake Pleasant. It was a little cold first thing in the morning, but as the day wore on, it got a little warmer. You can't see them in this picture, but there were yellow poppies all over this little hill. We rested in a little cove with the view of this poppy covered hill. We both napped a little then went trolling around the lake.

This morning I saw the coolest thing ever. I was driving the boat trailer up to park it, and a big horn sheep trotted right in front of me! It was kind of like a slow motion, I can't believe my eyes sort of moment. I reached for my camera, but darn it, it was in the boat. He was such a beautiful animal. I have never seen one in the wild before. He must have come down to the lake to take a drink. This special sighting made the day even more amazing.

Dinner tonight was a Classic Italian Minestrone soup inspired by The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. I used orzo for the pasta and I made it a vegetarian meal by adding Romano and Parmesan cheese as a garnish. I had salad left over from last night on the side. The soup was delicious, and I have a ton left over. I will be freezing half, and eating the other half this week.

Springtime Hiking and Yummy Italian Food

2008-03-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

We went for a three mile hike this morning in the northern part of Phoenix. The weather was beautiful and wildflowers were everywhere. I think we got to the mountain about nine thirty and was done hiking by eleven thirty.

We didn't hike all the way around the mountain, because I forgot the extra water in the truck, but we did hike to the top. You can see the trail we came back on in the picture above.

It was so cool, on the way down, I heard some birds "talking" to each other. I turned around and saw this quail, so I got out my zoom lens and got a shot of this beauty behind the chaparral bush.

After a day of hiking, shopping and visiting my parents, I came home and made my sweetie and Italian meal of angel hair pasta with my homemade tomato sauce. I added garlic, an onion, a zucchini and a yellow bell pepper to two cans of fire roasted tomatoes. This was seasoned with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, oregano and basil. It was really yummy. I also made a spinach salad with yellow tomatoes, red onion, red bell pepper and pine nuts. Dinner was done in thirty minutes. (My kind of dinner!)

Biking is way cool....

2008-02-28T19:47:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to Rocky Point, Mexico. I had the brilliant idea of taking our bikes along so we can get some exercise while saving fuel. I am thinking we are going to go to Old Port and bike back to the house, but no. My boyfriend likes to torture me. We rode all over town, 8.5 miles to be exact. I have never ridden 8.5 miles in my life! Needless to say I was a little saddle sore (for two weeks). It was fun and the weather was beautiful.

Here is a picture of my torturer. See the evil grin on his face?

Once I got over my saddle soreness, we have been biking almost everyday. We bike 1.5 miles to the store and back. Tonight we biked to our local library which is four miles away. I am a little sore, but will try and get back on the bike tomorrow. If not, we are going to take one of our girls hiking.

Cooking wise, (and through the holidays) I have been sticking to as much fat free vegan cooking as possible. The surprising benefit to this diet and lifestyle, is that when I stepped on the scale this morning, I weighed 144lbs. I was so excited! I feel so much better, but I still have a bit to lose, and will keep my new diet and exercise regimen going. ( I will still be having treats from time to time.) I have bought a few new cookbooks, and can't wait to try a few new recipes.

Tonight's dinner was nothing special. Sweetie is doing taxes, and I cooked up some wild rice with peas and sliced up yellow tomatoes. Simple but very yummy.

I'm Back.....

2008-02-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, but I am back..... Went hiking by Mom and Pop's to check out the wild flowers on the mountain.

We brought our little black dog, Pluto. We hiked to the top and watched the sun go down. I had a really bad day at work, but after watching the sun go down on that mountain, I realized, that being at the top of the mountain was more important, than any job I could ever have.

Dinner tonight was left-over lentil and brown rice pilaf (my own recipe), steamed broccoli, and raw tomatoes. From the look of all the food on my plate, I was hungry. (I ate it all....)

White Bean Ragout

2007-10-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a swiss chard and white bean ragout. I sauteed an onion, garlic and mushrooms until soft then I added some Field Roast Italian Grain Meat Sausage. I sauteed the sausage with the veggies until it started to brown. Then I added about a fourth of a cup of white wine, and a can of fire roasted crushed canned tomatoes and a can of drained white beans. I let this simmer together and seasoned with thyme, oregano, pepper, salt and crushed red pepper. I then added some shredded swiss chard and I let it simmer until the chard cooked into the sauce.

I served it with a mixed green salad with red onions, chopped Roma tomato and garnished with pine nuts. I served the ragout over couscous and sprinkled it with nutritional yeast. It was so good. I am going to try and start cutting my portions down. I have to start loosing this weight I am carrying around.

Monday's, Saturday and Sunday Leftover Meal

2007-10-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is not a very good picture, but I had my left over chili from Saturday over my roasted veggies from Sunday. I topped it with nutritional yeast I bought a Whole Foods tonight on the way home. I have never tried this before, and it was really good, kind of cheesy tasting, but not really.

Sunday and Fall Roasted Veggies

2007-10-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is the second time I have ever made Brussels sprouts. The first time I steamed some frozen Brussels sprouts and ate them without anything on them. Needless to say, I did not like them. This morning we went shopping at Whole Foods and I saw some fresh ones, so I decided to try cooking it again.

I washed them and cut them in half, I then steamed them with an onion. In the meantime, I melted some butter and browned a clove of garlic. Then I added the steamed Brussels sprouts and onions along with salt, pepper, oregano and thyme. Oh my goodness, these were so good. I will be making more of this dish in the future.

Fall means root vegetables......So this is what I made for my dinner tonight. I roasted some new potatoes, sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic and a little red bell pepper for color. I seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. I baked at 325 for an hour and a half.

Who says a meal of veggies can't fill you up?

Saturday-Acrosanti, Montezuma's Castle, Fall Foliage

2007-10-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

We decided to go and check out Arcosanti on Saturday. This place was really cool. It is a modern urban and ecology experiment in the middle of the desert.

The Soleri Windbells

Braided Garlic

Montezumas's Castle, this is a Sinauga Indian ruin dated between 1100 and 1400 AD, it is built in a cliff on the side of the mountain. The people got to it by climbing ladders. This place is so cool. There are many ruins along the Verde Valley here in Arizona. Generally most of the ruins are not in as good as shape as the castle, but is is very interesting to learn about how the people lived their lives.

Pretty Yellow Flowers

Me and my Sweetie by Montezuma's Well, this is a natural occurring spring well not to far from the castle. The Sinauga learned from the Hohokahm Indians how to build irrigation ditches so they could farm their food.

Here is where the spring came of the well, and the irrigation ditches started.

After learning about the ancient inhabitants of Arizona, we took a drive up to Flagstaff to take pictures of the aspens changing colors. This is always spectacular.

It was very cold in Flagstaff, well cold for us Phoenicians, we had sweaters on. So being that it was so cold, we decided on the way home to make some chili. I made my veggie chili with black beans, chickpeas, carrots, onions, fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies and corn. Almost a three sister chili as I did not add any squash. I added lots of chili and spices. It was very good. Just what I needed after a day of hiking around the forest and Sinauga Indian ruins.

Bowl of veggie chili

TGIF-Thank Goodness it's Friday

2007-10-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness it's Friday. It has been a very long week. We ended our work week by going to see the Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller. The movie was very funny. Time for sleep as we have a long weekend of fun ahead.

Thursday Night Left Overs

2007-10-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

Rainbow in the sky.......

Storm clouds in the sky....
Tonight's dinner was horrible, I took last nights leftover rice and chutney and used it as my pita filling. I made a cucumber yogurt sauce to go along with this. It just did not taste good as pita filling, so I ate the filling, which was good. I guess you never know how something is going to taste until you try it.

So far we have had very strange weather for an Arizona October. Its been cool, then warm, then humid, then rainy....It rained on me on my way home from work for about a minute, then it quit.

Mango Madness Wednesday

2007-10-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

I had three mangoes in the refrigerator, so for the first time ever, I made mango chutney from a recipe I found online. I also made basmati rice with red lentils, curry powder and fresh ginger. This recipe was based on Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. It was a little bland by itself, but paired with the chutney, it was out of this world. I also made a green salad topped with left over fresh mango chunks. This meal was very good, though total time in the kitchen was over an hour. I got a late start tonight because I had to work late. Just to note, my sweetie did not like the rice, he said it was bland. But the rice recipe I used was meant for croquettes, which I did not feel like making. I have only had Indian food once, and that was at a restaurant, so I will definitely have to experiment some more. I did manage to watch the second episode of the Bionic Women while cooking :) I grew up watching the Bionic Women, so far I really like the new show. (Sorry to get off of food, but I think it is cool.)

Happy Monday it's Veggie Sushi and Tempura Time

2007-10-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well it's October First and Vegetarian Awareness month. So to celebrate we made sushi and veggie tempura with a cilantro dipping sauce.

Well, you can tell I haven't made sushi in quite a while, the rice was really mushy, and I think it did not get cold enough before I rolled it, so they came out a little lopsided. It was still good. The filling was was mashed chickpeas with mayonnaise, dulse, kelp, salt and Sriracha hot chili sauce all mixed together. This was added to cucumber, rice and avocado.

My Sweetie was brave enough to make the tempura veggies. The kitchen was a complete mess when we were done, but it was so worth it, as I have been craving tempura veggies for a while. We cooked up some broccoli, zucchini, onions, and sweet potatoes. The cilantro dipping sauce was from Vegetarian Planet by DiDi Emmons. It was really good, though I subbed the fish sauce with soy sauce and dulse flakes. It's been a while since my sweetie and I cooked together, and it was great fun.

Apple Pancake Sunday

2007-10-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

I tried to post my pictures both Saturday and Sunday, but I couldn't get them to upload. So I am going to catch up..... We decided to make an apple pancake from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. Here are the apples cooking up in the skillet.
Here is my Sweeties little Squirrel mixing up the batter. You had to cook up the apples in a lemon, sugar, and butter mixture. Then you pour on the batter.....
Here is what it looked like after I put it in the oven.
Here is what it looked like after it was cooked. It was nothing like I expected, but it was very good and sweet. The batter was a little strange texturally, not really like a pancake, but I would definitely make this again.
Dinner was a lentil and brown rice pilaf. I cooked up brown rice with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions, a carrot and some spices. I added the left over lentils from the lentil loaf right before it was done. This was very good, even the little Squirrel has seconds. I also made mashed potatoes and canned green beans with a little salt. Sliced raw tomatoes added the right touch to this Sunday evening supper.

Arizona Sunset and Friday Night Veggie Tacos

2007-09-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reasons why we liver here.....we have some of the most awesome sunsets...... I started to make dinner at about six o'clock when I opened the blinds on the kitchen window to look at the puppies in the back yard, that is when I saw that the sky had some beautiful hues to it. So we all jumped into the truck to drive down the street so I could get a few pictures. When we got back from taking the pictures, I started to make dinner.

I was going to make pinto bean tacos for dinner, but my sweetie was thinking about me when he stopped by the store on the way home. He bought me my very own taco "meat" so I wouldn't feel left out. (He is so good to me!) There wasn't really any instructions on the package, so I put it in a pan with some water and heated it up for about fifteen minutes. I added some of my own seasonings, took a taste, and oh my gosh, this was really good!
Here ate my taco shells on a plate, ready to be heated up in the microwave.

I topped the tacos with cheese, lettuce, tomato, green onions and salsa. They were very tasty indeed. Just the thing I needed after a hard days work.

"Meat" Loaf Wednesday

2007-09-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight I decided to make a "meat" loaf, except mine had no "meat" in it at all. I based the recipe loosely on Mom's "meat" loaf. Here is the recipe:

2 cups cooked lentils

1/2lb of Gimme Lean Sausage

1 Onion

1 Egg

Handful of crushed crackers

Garlic Powder

Lawry's Salt

Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Tomato Sauce

This was all mixed together and made into a loaf. Then it was topped with the rest of the tomato sauce, ketchup, and tangy barbecue sauce.

Here it is in the oven.

Here is what my plate looked like. I really wanted peas, but I had none in the pantry so I settled for green beans instead. I also made my garlic mashed potatoes which my sweetie loves. This is my first time making a lentil loaf, and all in all it was very good. I would make a few changes though, I would use one cup of lentils to 1/2 lb of sausage or two cups lentils, to one lb of sausage. I also would only cook this in the oven for forty five minutes instead of an hour. I think this would give it more flavor and make it a little more moist. I am so full right now! It was a very filling meal, and I didn't miss the meat at all.

Dinner in twenty

2007-09-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

What's a girl to cook in twenty? Leftover couscous topped with zucchini, onion, garlic and veggie sausage sauteed in fire roasted tomatoes with very special herbs and spices. Served with a side salad of spinach, baby greens, sliced red onion, orange bell pepper, chopped Roma tomato, pine nuts and feta cheese. We were done with dinner by seven o'clock. Now that is awesome, especially for us.

Supper for the tired.....

2007-09-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

What do you have for supper when you are worn out and don't feel like cooking.......leftover sloppy joe sauce (freezer find) spooned over a soft onion bun. Ahh, at least we were done eating by nine thirty tonight.

Beautiful Sunday

2007-09-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

After sleeping in....We went for a drive. I can not believe how beautiful the weather was today! It was definitely "fall" like weather. It wasn't hot or humid, just very breezy and beautiful. We went to the casino and played a little bit. Then we went out for lunch...... Estrella Mountains in the distance.
We went and had Thai food at a place in Chandler, unfortunately I do not remember the name, and I did not get a menu, but I do remember what I ate. We started with potato and curry filled wantons with a sweet dip. They were okay, not what I was expecting. they were better after I added some chili to the to each bite.
Next we had the veggie spring rolls, these are always yummy......
I had vegetarian Thai fried rice with fried tofu. This was really good too. I had them make this very spicy, a spicy level of four out of five. It was the kind of spicy that you had to keep eating so you don't feel the heat.
After shopping and playing with the puppies, I made what my sweetie likes to call, toothpick dinner, sans the toothpicks. It was actually a veggie relish tray with ranch dressing which is not pictured here. This was very good to munch on after a full day of shopping, driving and casino playing. I look forward to more of these days to come.

Hiking Around Rock Springs on a Rainy Saturday

2007-09-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

We decided to go do some geocaching around Rock Springs today. The weather station said we had a chance for rain, and for once they were right.

Here we are going north on the I-17 up towards Rock Springs. Clouds are looking dark and ominous in the distance.

We are passing through New River, it was raining so hard, we were hydro planning on the freeway, it was a little scary because at one point we could not see the car in front of us.

I love the desert after it rains, it has a certain smell that reminds me of being home, as Arizona is my home.

Here is the cafe that we ate breakfast at.

It started raining again on us, you can barely see the Bradshaw Mountains in the background.

We did a little hiking and a little driving around in the desert. We saw a scorpion, two jackrabbits, one cottontail rabbit, quail, and a lizard. The rain was very nice, but when the sun peeked out, it got a little hot and humid. I sweated when the sun was out, and got a little cold when I got rained on. We had a great time hiking in the desert, It has been so hot, that this is the first weekend we have went out in a long while.

Dinner tonight was a grilled Gardenburger veggieburger on a onion bun with tomato, lettuce, red onion and a little mustard. Steamed broccoli, corn, and sliced tomato made up the sides. It was good, especially since we were so tired from hiking today.

Chickpea Patties Rock

2007-09-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

I had one chickpea pattie left from the other night, so I heated it up and dressed it with the last of the tzatziki sauce. I made another Greek salad with feta, more heirloom tomatoes, red onions and red and yellow bell peppers. I also sprinkled some pine nuts on the salad for good measure. I had a box of Near East Toasted Pine Nut Couscous in the pantry, so I decided to cook that up as a side dish. I took a taste as I was dishing it up and had to go check the box to make sure there was no chicken stock in it. I swore it tasted like my Mom's Thanksgiving stuffing, but it was chicken stock free.

Tonight after work I meet my Mom and my Sister at my old elementary school to see my baby nephew (he's in kindergarten) perform in a little signing program. We still live in the same town we grew up in, not together, but close enough. The children were so cute! It's funny because I ran into a few people I went to elementary school with, that have their children going to the same school. Crazy! It is such a small world. Even though I went to the program, I still came home a made a great meal, and we were done eating with all the dishes done by 8:00. Pretty cool. There was some Chinese food take out discussion, but I said no. We have plenty to eat in the pantry.

Leftover do over and vegan

2007-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

I took last nights leftover beans and made a new dish. I cooked up some brown rice
and steamed some zucchini, red bell pepper, broccoli and corn. I seasoned the vegetables with some fajita seasoning and pepper. I then topped the brown rice with the beans and veggies. I garnished it with leftover chopped tomatoes and green onions. I also made a spinach salad with red onions, red bell pepper and heirloom tomatoes. I then dressed it with salsa that I had in the pantry. This was a very simple and delicious meal. I even got my sweetie to eat the brown rice and beans. Score one for me! This whole meal was vegan as well. I will be trying to do more fat free vegan meals each week.

Yummy chimichangas and vegan cookies

2007-09-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight I got home from work and decided to make some vegan peanut butter cookies. I wrote down a recipe from vegweb (can't remember which one) and got to work. This is the first batch of vegan cookies I have made, and I think they turned out pretty good. I ate some of the dough, so I only made a dozen cookies. Even my sweetie liked them! They did come out a little crumbly, but it could just be me. I used to be a good baker, but it seems as of late, everything I try to bake turns into a disaster. So I am going to say that this was a success.

Here is a picture of my first vegan peanut butter cookies.

One of our girls helping in the kitchen.

I called my sweetie today and asked him what he wanted for dinner, he said chimichangas. (I have only made chimichangas once, and I can't remember how they turned out.) He had meat in his, but mine was a filling made with onions and garlic sauteed in oil. Then I added a can of black beans, Hatch green chili enchilada sauce, and fajita seasoning. Oh my gosh, this was so good! Better than any restaurant! It was topped with cheese, red leafed lettuce, tomatoes and chopped green onions.

Sloppy Joe Monday

2007-09-17T20:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight I felt like a sloppy joe, don't ask why....Just felt like some comfort food. I found a recipe online and followed it pretty closely. This was a bit sweet for me, but won't add as much sugar next time. I used kidney beans in place of the "meat" and served it on an onion bun. My sweetie fried up some potatoes and I mixed some ketchup with Tapatio hot sauce. Sigh, this was good. I haven't had sloppy joes since I lived at home.

Just an average Monday for me, except sweet bf surprised me with lunch. Teriyaki veggies and rice, at least I got my veggies in today. I did order some more cookbooks today. I must confess I read them like novels, but I am still a so so cook. (Will have to work on that.)

Lazy Sunday

2007-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

We had a very lazy Sunday.....Usually we go somewhere every weekend, but this weekend we choose to stay at home, due to the fact that we spent three days in Arkansas this past week. We were both tired. We did get up early and took one of our girls on her first hike. This is Phoebe posing with her Daddy. Aren't they cute?

Since it was Sunday and we were just hanging out at home today, my sweet bf wanted pizza for breakfast. The problem was that it was nine o'clock and none of the pizza places were open. So while he rushed to the store for some sauce and a crust, I prepped the ingredients. I cut up some onion, red and orange bell pepper. We didn't have any olives to add but I did get to try out some Vegetarian Grain Meat Sausage (Italian), I was surprised at how good this was, I sauteed it in a pan and let it cool and this is the chunky stuff on my side of the pizza. My bf is so sweet as he also got me veggie pepperoni from the store. Ahhh love....

My half has the sausage sticking up out of the cheese. Ignore the omni side.......

On our way to feed my Mom and Dad's animals we saw a rain storm, so we decided to chase it....I love the rain......

Wet street and ominous clouds over Phoenix. This is the spot I got out and played in the rain.

Dinner tonight was Greek...I made a salad with mixed greens, red bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, heirloom tomatoes and feta cheese. I also made chickpea patties from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen and tzatziki sauce. I have never made these patties before, and had some trouble getting them turned over without messing up their shape. These were really fun to make and I filled my pita bread with two small patties, lettuce, red onion and tomato. I added the tzatziki sauce as garnish. I also steamed some zucchini as a side dish. This was a very delicious meal.

Catching up.......

2007-09-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while so here are a few pictures from my adventures.....

Sunflower in Flagstaff

Flowers along Flagstaff's Urban Trail

Zinnias and Marigolds at Sharlott Hall Museum in Prescott

Fruit plate, breakfast in Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Sunset over the Sea of Cortez our view while having dinner at Portifino

Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Labor Day Weekend 2007

Fall Like Dinner, but still Summer....

2007-09-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I really felt like having a "fall like dinner" even though it was probably in the high nineties today. So I searched online and found a baked acorn squash recipe, and came up with my own stuffing. It contained apple, orange, dried cranberries, Earth Balance, fresh orange juice, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice all mixed together and stuffed in the cavity of the squash. Yum is all I can say......

I also made a salad with mixed greens, tangerine, dried cranberries, red onions, red bell pepper, blue cheese and walnuts. This was dressed with Newman's Own Lite Raspberry and Walnut dressing.

I also cooked up a box of Seeds of Change 7 grain rice pilaf blend I bought a while back. The box kept calling for me each time I opened the pantry. This was good, kind of chewy. I have to remember that this pilaf was made from whole grains which has sustained much of the world from the beginning of time. Okay so I am being dramatic, but I am going to try and include more whole grains into my diet. This was a great introduction for me.

Vegan Breakfast Experiment and More Hiking

2007-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

I had today off, so I took the opportunity to take another hike. This time I made it up the small hill I had hiked earlier this week, and then I proceeded to hike up the next higher hill. Boy, let me just say that I am very out of shape. I stopped at least ten times going up the hill, and it is not very steep. I have a lot of work to do to get in better shape to conquer the next mountain. Once I got up to the top, I hiked along the range, then back to the dirt road which lead to where I had parked. I think I hiked at least three miles this morning! The picture above is of Four Peaks, which is one of the mountains I would like to hike.

As I was hiking, I was thinking about how low impact it is on the environment. Humans have hiked from the dawn of time, and it is just recently (the last one hundred years) that humans have stopped hiking or walking. It is nothing for us to just jump in our car or truck and drive three blocks to the grocery store (At least it is here in Phoenix), and yes I am just as guilty and out of shape as the next person. This is something I will have to work on.

Here is a picture of the Estrella Mountains from the top of the hill I hiked this morning.

Since today was my last vacation day for the year, (Our company renews at our hiring anniversary date, so I get more vacation time in two weeks) I decided to celebrate by making pancakes. Now, I have made pancakes, only one other time in my life, and if I remember correctly, they were a disaster. So, since this is a culinary adventure blog, I decided to "veganize" buttermilk pancakes. I got the recipe from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. Here is the original recipe list, with my alterations on the side:

Butter Milk Pancakes

1 cup buttermilk (I used vanilla soy milk with 1 TBSP vinegar stirred into it which sat for ten minutes)

1 egg, room temperature ( I used Energ Egg Replacer, this is the first time I have ever used this product, or ever tried to replace an egg with any replacement)

3 TBSP Butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

(Here are my instructions, basically following the recipe instructions as listed in the book)

Combine all the liquids in a mixing bowl (Egg replacer, soymilk, and butter) mix until smooth.

Combine all the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) mix until well combined.

I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, until all the ingredients were moist. The batter was lumpy, but the recipe instructions say to leave it lumpy.

Heat a skillet until hot, grease lightly (I used Earth Balance) I poured 1/4 cup batter into pan and waited for all the little bubbles started to pop at the top (about a minute and a half), then I turned the pancake and cooked the other side about a minute longer.

Here is a blurry picture of my pancake cooking in the pan.

I made three golden pancakes, and refrigerated the rest of the batter to use this weekend. I also microwaved two Boca Meatless Breakfast Links to accompany my soymilk pancakes. I poured a little bit of real maple syrup on to these golden goodies and had a feast. This is my first time with soy sausage, and I think I liked them, I think I will have to get used to the taste.

The rest of the day I rested, then we went to Baja Fresh for dinner. I got the grilled veggie burrito and then we went and saw The Bourne Ultimatum which was very awesome, I think the best movie I have seen this summer.

Organic basil makes another appearance.....

2007-08-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

I am so excited, I "veganized" my first bread recipe! I got the recipe from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. I found a recipe for Whole Wheat Basil Bread, and the title just seemed to jump out at me, as I had another basil inspiration earlier this week. I made the 1 1/2 lb loaf. Here is the original recipe with my alterations listed off to the side.

3/4 cup buttermilk (I used soy milk with about a tablespoon of vinegar stirred into it that sat for ten minutes)
1/3 cup water
2 TBSP butter, cut into pieces (I used Earth Balance butter sticks)
2 TBSP Honey (I used light agave nectar)

3 cups white whole wheat flour (I used stone ground wheat flour, as this is all I had)
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
1 TBSP gluten
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast (I used bread machine yeast)

I put all the ingredients in the machine according to the MFR instructions, and in three hours I had bread! It turned out okay, it was really dense, would make really good stew or chili bread. I think it turned out so dense because I did not use the correct flour that the recipe called for. I still liked it though.

This is my favorite "go-to dinner"......... Wild rice pilaf, black-eyed peas, and sliced tomatoes. Cornbread would have gone really good with this meal, but I didn't have any cornmeal in the pantry. I was really glad I was able to use up the rest of the basil! I hate to waste food.

I had an all vegan diet day..... Here is what I ate for the rest of the day....

Breakfast: microwaved bake potato topped with pinto beans and covered in salsa (No fat breakfast), fresh carrot and peach juice (I have been drinking a form of fresh carrot juice all week, and am glad to see that I don't have an orange hue to my skin yet!)

Snack: Raw cashews, almonds, raw pumpkin seeds, raisins, and vegan chocolate chips all mixed together, organic grapes, and an organic banana

Lunch: Hummus wrap (Hummus and pita bread were left over from last nights Greek Feast) with romaine lettuce, red onions and tomatoes.

I didn't snack when I came home, and I didn't feel like working out either. I don't think I put dinner on the table until nine o'clock tonight.

Greek Feast

2007-08-01T21:43:00.001-07:00

We were going to go out to eat tonight, but instead I decided to make a Greek feast. I was going to make homemade pita bread, but I didn't have any yeast to make the bread. The pita bread was store bought, but I did make the hummus and the tzatziki sauce. Both these dips are recipes I have mixed and matched to make them appeal to my taste. The salad was left over from last night, I added feta cheese to make it Greek . Leftovers are going to make an awesome lunch tomorrow.

Tonight we got a little bit of summer monsoon rain, and a beautiful double rainbow.

Arizona sunsets are so awesome!

Organic Basil and Heirloom Tomato Inspirations.....

2007-07-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

When I was out shopping this weekend, I saw they had organic basil and organic heirloom tomatoes, so of course I had to pick some up. So I was inspired to make basil pesto with a tomato salad. I made the basil pesto with pine nuts, garlic, basil and Parmesan cheese. I dressed some organic garden pasta with the garlicky pesto. I made the tomato salad with the heirloom tomatoes, hot house cucumber, chopped red onion and pine nuts. I dressed it with a balsamic and olive oil dressing.

It all starts here.....

2007-07-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

It all starts today....my journey to a healthier person....No start overs......

I took a small hike today, it was a small hill, but a start. The purpose of this blog is to document my healthy culinary adventures in vegetarian and vegan cooking, my progress in meeting some personal goals, such as loosing forty pounds, getting myself in shape to hike some of the cool trails we have here in Arizona and to document the cool things I like to do in my spare time.

Tuesday July 31, 2007.....Today's weight 161.5.....Goal Weight 120 lbs