crack the plates

So it turns out that those pesky little stomach cramps I mentioned in my last post developed into something way more awful—full-blown flu! I’ll spare you further yucchy details; just know that I’ve been stuck in bed, drinking gallons of tea and catching up on all my New Yorkers (when I’ve not been simply asleep). As I’m finally—if just barely—to the point where I can sit up long enough to write emails, I figured I might as well give a quick blog post a try. (I’m also just really lonely…being sick stinks.) HOWEVER, I make no promises as to the coherence, focus or readability of this post!

Getting the flu has really derailed the No More Costly Food (NoMoCoFo) blogging project I started this month, as I’ve had to rely on a lot of (expensive!) pre-packaged stuff for sustenance. Bless my sweetie’s heart—he tries, but he’s just not a very seasoned cook. Besides, he’s had his hands plenty full just making me dozens of cups of tea a day.

On that note, I know you’ve probably heard this a million times, but seriously–the best thing you can do for yourself when sick is drink an insane amount of fluids. Tea, water, soymilk, juices, veggie broth…you name it, you drink it. I honestly believe I have skimmed at least a day off my illness just by staying laughably hydrated. (Laughably? Bathroom every half hour.) Mainly I’ve been drinking Traditional Medicinals and Celestial Seasonings bagged teas. When in good health, Nate and I drink loose-leaf tea (from Adagio.com) pretty much exclusively. But when you’re drinking as much tea as an illness requires, and you want the convenience of drinking different things without a lot of effort, bagged teas are worth the expense. (Thankfully, we had all but one of these already in stock.) My favorites have been:

From Traditional Medicinals:

• Organic Throat Coat: So deliciously licoricey in a way even licorice despisers can love.
• Herba Tussin
• Gypsy Cold Care
• Organic, Fair-Trade Sourced Nighty Night: Because when you’re sick, you sleep better with some herbal depressants on your side.

From Celestial Seasonings:

• Candy Cane Lane One of my favorite bagged teas ever, I stock up around the holidays so that I can enjoy it year-round. It was recently called “transcendent” by some first-timers.
• Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai
• County Peach Passion
• Honey Vanilla Chamomile Tastes remarkably like a Thai jasmine-infused tea I purchased once but was never able to find again. (Yaaaaaay, B&D!)
• Echinacea “Koala Bear” Complete Care Everybody loves this one; I’m sure the adorable koala bear on the front has something to do with it. Too bad Celestial Seasonings is changing the freaking cover art! *scowl*

Apart from the fact that the flu often acts as an appetite suppressant, it also often comes with a sore, scratchy throat that further discourages you from wanting to put anything down it. Yet the warmth or coolness of soft foods has helped my aching throat. I’ve tried to keep my diet pretty diverse to help the healing process, making sure not to drop the ball on protein, fiber, or B-vitamins in favor of just eating lots and lots of Vitamin C (a common route for sick people). Since Friday, I’ve been eating:

• chilled organic applesauce
• grits prepared with nutritional yeast (for B vitamins, yeah!)
• watermelon (more Vitamin C per serving than citrus, and non-acidic!)
• kiwifruits
• vegan pudding or Nasoya chocolate silken tofu (for protein and smiles)
• chocolate soymilk (again, protein & giggles)
• Annie Chun’s Udon Noodle bowl Fried tofu, green onions, bok choy and big ol soft udon noodles
• vegetable potstickers with tofu: In Atlanta, I’d totally go for Chef Liu’s on Buford Highway, but here I make due with the Ling-Ling brand found in the freezer case of the natural foods section at Kroger.
• Imagine Organic tetra-pak Soups: I’ve got the corn (not very nutritionally-dense, but tasty) and the sweet potato (TBD, but it has almost 200%-DV Vitamin A per serving!

So there you have it, some ideas as to how this vegan’s getting by with the flu. That said–sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Because I went to bed last night and woke up this morning with some severe stomach cramps, I decided to take today easy with light meals. No-chix noodle takes a little bit of effort, but I figured it was worth it to make my favorite soup on a day when I’m feeling so crummy. It always lifts my spirits and doesn’t cost all that much to make–especially considering what it yields. (And besides, I couldn’t very well go buy a can of Amy’s at nearly $3 a pop during NoMoCoFo, now could I?)

Ardent readers will re-call an earlier post devoted to this dish; tonight’s recipe probably wasn’t much different. Since I didn’t do the world’s best job explaining how I made it then, here’s a little guidance in the event you’d like to re-create it:

• Chop a bunch of onions, garlic, carrots and celery
• Sautee these vegetables in your cast-iron skillet with some organic herbs of choice (I pinch dried Frontier marjoram, basil, oregano, and thyme. Mostly marjoram and thyme.)
• Prepare a big pot of broth (about half-full to accomodate all the add-ins); put the burner on high to get it boiling
• Add the vegetables to the broth; bring to a boil; add a couple cups of frozen cooked chickpeas and a couple ounces of soba noodles, broken into small bits
• Meanwhile, have some large-chunk TVP reconstituting in broth in your microwave; it takes about 7 minutes in mine; check half-way to make sure there’s plenty of broth to do the job
• Once the TVP has cooled, chop it into bite-sized pieces; dump it into your hot skillet and season with tamari or Bragg’s and about a 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• Dump seasoned TVP into pot, bring up to temperature
• Serve and enjoy!

Of course, I’m always up for questions if you do find you need help.

For dessert we mined a pomegranate for its bizarre corn-like jewels. Nate’s first time = adorable bewilderment.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the proper way to eat a pomegranate is decadently, i.e., by the handful.

To my precious and exceedingly thoughtful friend, Monica:

Because of these:

you have my eternal love and gratitude.

Owly,

me

(Note, because the picture doesn’t do them justice: they’re full-size hand-hooked rugs made by Monica’s darling grandmother. It took less than an hour in their new location for Unix to claim them as her own–she’s still trying to figure out how to sit on both of them at once.)

NoMoCoFo: an absurdity characterised by the long o, or the new theme for this month’s blogging adventures? If you guessed both, then you are correct–welcome to November, the Month of No-Mo’(re) Costly Food! (Technically NoMoNoMoCoFo, but I’m cutting myself a break.)

My November blogging project concerns itself with reigning in my (and my household’s) food expenditures. Whether this comes as a result of relying more heavily on pantry and freezer stores, or by taking up offers to potlucks more frequently, or by not eating out, or through a combination of these and others, I’m setting out to save money this month and I want to keep you updated re: what I encounter and learn.

As a practical note, we’re closing in on day six now–which means I’ve got a bit of backtracking to do. I’m going to start by describing tonight’s dinner and then move on to writing some new, yet back-dated, entries on what I’ve been up to for the past couple days. (If you’re interested in good vegan eats in Chicago, be sure to scroll down a bit further, as I’ll be highlighting a great Indian buffet as well as panning another place.) This’ll be a slow game of catch-up, but it will happen–so check back.

Tonight I turned to one of my most favorite cookery books, The Grit Restaurant Cookbook, for their “Spicy Thai Noodles” salad. It wasn’t very spicy at all (owing, I think, to subbing chili oil for the chili paste) but it was packed with flavor. Whether they sing in the butterbeans or zing in the collards or ding in the noodle dishes, flavors in Grit recipes hold their own. There’s not a lot of room for subtlety–but then again, I like that. This recipe doesn’t call for it, but I punched up the protienaciousness with a block of tofu and added some peppers for color:

This dish was cheap, in part, because I relied on noodles I bought at the B&D for 80 cents, noodles that were just languishing in the cupboard. I had all the materials for the sauce on hand, too.

Come to think of it, there’s not a cookbook that I’d recommend more highly than The Grit’s. (No, not even VWaV, though it is definitely up there.) Many of my “signature” recipes–for gravy, chocolate cake, southern-style vegetables–have been adapted from the ones in this book. Over half of the recipes are vegan and many of those that aren’t can be easily veganised–think subbing Earth Balance (eBal) for butter. The Mock-Cream of Chicken Soup is a divine wonder of vegan trickery; the “Ted Bread” and Old-time Grit Buns always come out perfect; the “Chicken” Salad will earn you instant celebrity at any Fourth of July picnic.

Not to mention this: the first time my momma (think Steel Magnolias) ever ate the butterbeans (“Baby Lima Beans” in the book, but I use fordhooks), she swore up and down that there must’ve been a hambone in there. Well, perhaps not quite that dramatic–but she was astounded at the depth of rich flavor…and had a second helping. If that doesn’t convince you that you need The Grit’s cookbook, I have no idea what will.

Available at Amazon.com and BetterWorldBooks.com.

Here are some pictures of my cat Unix, variously called Katzerole, Unixera, Ra-Ra, Ra-Ra type, baby cat, sweetsera, wickidera, wicked beast. Behold!:

I has a foot.

How to keep a Ra-Ra type from escaping through the bedroom window. Here, she is particularly incensed with Weasel-friend, her dearest enemy.

Sleepy sweetserole.

Tonight I test-drove Gardein “Meat-free Chicken-style filets,” a surprisingly tasty product composed of non-GMO soy protein, wheat gluten, and ancient grains(R) shaped into chicken breasts. With 11 grams of protein and 20% DV of iron per serving (2 per pack) it’s a nutritional powerhouse for just two ounces of food. If I could continue to get the product on Manager’s Special at $2.19, as opposed to regular price–$4.39–I might consider these more often. As it is…I’ll stick to my cheap, reconstituted TVP.

Fresh from two minutes in the microwave:

Available at Kroger; more info at www.gardein.com.

Tonight’s dinner has a decidedly unglamorous name: TVP & peppers. I came up with this recipe last fall when I wanted something warming, packed with protein, and with the potential for general appeal. TVP & Peppers succeeds on all counts. It was created in my former Zoomie’s wok (RIP) but it easily re-created in my all-purpose cast-iron skillet. To make,

• reconstitute some TVP in veggie broth. As I’ve mentioned before, I like Dixie Diner’s chick’n NOT! strips. We purchase a 10-lb bag about twice a year.
• heat a little oil in the skillet, add an onion, cook, add peppers, cook, add garlic, cook
• Add a little high-quality cinnamon, some cayenne pepper, a bit of ground ginger; cook
• Add reconstituted TVP to the pan, sautee over med-high heat to get a bit of a sear; add tamari (or soy sauce) and some vegan Worchestershire sauce (most store brands are vegan, particularly Kroger’s) to taste
• Add in several tablespoons of good-quality garam masala; mix briefly
• Incorporate a 14.5oz can of chopped tomatoes, kind of drained, into the mix
• Let simmer and thicken for a few minutes; serve!

TVP & peppers and acorn squash with a little salt and Michigan maple syrup

This recipe was born at brunchtime but is great for any time of day. The ingredients have natural warming properties to keep you glowing from the inside on the chilly days. Bonus: It is, in my experience, extraordinarily omni-friendly: in the winter months, this is my favorite to take to pot-lucks. You could also use the dish as a kind of filling in soft-tacos for an Indian Mexican fusion main course.

Let me know if you try it or if you have any questions!

You know it, I know it; best of all, Hobbitses know it: taters are cheap, delicious eats. For the inaugural dinner of VeganNoMoCoFo, Nate & I scrubbed, chopped, boiled and bludgeoned some beautiful heirloom potatoes from the Saturday morning farmer’s market. Beauty:

Beast!

Your eyes aren’t fooling–that’s purple potato soup! Apparently Nate gave his co-workers quite a fright when he brought it in for lunch the next day.

Based off of a potato soup recipe in The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook by Louise Hagler and Dorothy Bates–another one of my favorites and a recommended addition to any vegan’s bookshelf.