meansoybean

It’s amazing how the last post was written in October 2011, but work has been crazy-busy.

The first half of the year was really good, however, mostly focusing on the preparation and execution of my first garden. But my energy for writing was fading. Then I got really discouraged and pissed off at how the winner of a Vida Vegan Con giveaway was chosen without any explanation as to why or how. Shortly after, I finally lost my blogging mojo right at the beginning of Vegan Mofo; a task I half-heartedly took on but knew I wouldn’t complete.

I was hoping to bounce back to blogging after my trip to London but that obviously didn’t happen. I still have photos saved, and will definitely write about that soon. I promise! There’s just too much good stuff to share.

Over the last half of the year, I’ve become dependant on processed convenience foods to quickly cobble together meals. I’ve also been vegging out in my limited free time, not exercising at all. Last week I decided that I couldn’t continue on like that and started juicing again, after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. While I’m in no position to do a juice cleanse, I’m trying very hard to keep things like Yves veggie meats and Daiya non-dairy cheese to a minimum. I’m also finding it difficult keeping myself from baking naughty things like chocolate-chip cookies and cinnamon buns. I try and stave off those cravings with banana & peanut butter smoothies. (Okay, fine, I admit that I slip a tablespoon of chocolate chips in there…) As for exercising, I definitely need to start up again because, physically, I don’t feel ok. I plan on tackling the Couch to 5K program with full force within a month’s time. I must.

Looking further, forward…
I’ve only now just started to decompress and shift my attention back to the blog, starting a bit of theme renovation and re-arranging of content. It’s a slow process since I’m customizing things to my needs, but I’ll be happier blogging in this space once it’s done.

In the meantime, why not have yourself a nice, freshly-made Tonique?

With the leftover puffed pastry dough from the leek & tatsoi tart, I decided to make a special treat that, on the first try, didn’t work out. This time, however, I found success!

This time, I brushed plain soy milk on the formed dough and coated them in granulated sugar before baking. I got the idea from this video (warning, I only watched and didn’t listen to the audio). You can probably skip 2 minutes into it. I tried forming the dough like demonstrated but it didn’t look right. I ended up curling the little V-shapes to look more like a palmier.

In true palmier form, the underside of the cookies were sticky-brown and sugary. This batch turned out really light-textured and crispy too. This is definitely an easy treat to make for guests — they’ll be super impressed when you tell them they’re homemade.

This thing looks fancy but it’s really easy if you’ve got prepared puffed pastry in the freezer. Besides having to think ahead to thaw the pastry, it makes for a fairly quick and light lunch option, or side.

Leek & tatsoi tart
Serves 2 to 4

1/2 package of puff pastry, thawed
6 to 8 skinny leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 large handful of tatsoi, roughly chopped

While rolling out the dough into a square, sauté the leeks in olive oil until soft, translucent and some are browned. Arrange the tatsoi in the middle of the pastry then spread the leeks evenly over top. Fold over the edges as you see fit, to hold it all in. Bake at 450°F, or according to the instructions on the package, until light brown.

One day, if I ever get the courage, I will try my hand at making puffed pastry from scratch. VeganDad’s recipe looks neat.

Oats are actually really good for you, being full of minerals and protein. Besides the occasional nourishing infusions of oat straw, I’m trying to incorporate more oats into my diet. Steel-cut oats to be exact.
But who has 20+ minutes on weekday mornings to make this stuff? Check out The Bitten Word’s 10-minute solution. That’s how I made this bowl of yummy:

The recipe for 10-minute steel-cut oats keeps well in the fridge should give you a good breakfast base for the next several days. Simply scoop out a portion of oats into a bowl, mix in a splash of soy milk and re-heat in the microwave.

At this point you can let your imagination go wild: I set a handful of whole raw cashews and sliced almonds in the toaster oven while cutting up a nectarine from the fridge. Take the warmed bowl and top with the nuts and fruit, drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy.

In all honesty, if you take a look around, you’ll notice that it was a bit quiet here this summer. I’ve had to up the ante at work, got distracted by both my first vegetable garden and making medicines from my herb patch. Regardless, I decided to take on the challenge of VeganMofo this year, but on a limited scale. This will force/ease me into blogging again, about something that’s really important to me: food.

That said, you can expect at least three posts per week from me. Let’s get into what’s to come:

• Week 40 (October 2 – 8): Eating in
  I’ll look at stuff I grew, made from scratch, and more.
• Week 41 (October 9 – 15): Eating out
  Keeping vegan while on the go or travelling abroad.
• Week 42 (October 16 – 22): Organic Week 2011
  I decided to participate in this national Canadian event through the scope of VeganMofo! Read more about it here.
• Week 43 (October 23 – 29): All eyes on the potato
  This week will be dedicated to the lowly root vegetable, and a few (yummy) things you can make with these starchy lumps of comfort.

So there you have it; my commitment to VeganMofo 2011. Looking for ways to keep tabs on me?

• Subscribe to my RSS feed.
• If you’re on Twitter, follow me where I talk about food (& more) in 140 characters or less.
• Don’t have an account but are Twitter-curious? There’s a RSS feed of my tweets!

I’m also super excited to see what all the other VeganMofo’ers are up to — I love reading and discovering new-to-me blogs. Good luck to all the participants!