All schools in Portland were closed on Monday (due to some ice on the roads), for the first day after winter break. My 11-year-old son got up early, cheering and ran to the hill near our house with a sled. My 13-year-old daughter slept until approximately noon, disappointed she couldn’t see her school friends. They have very different personalities.
This was another day I was grateful to work from home! I tried making a new “egg” sandwich using hempfu. Found this in Whole Foods on sale. It resembles tofu, but made out of hemp and came already pre-seasoned with chimichurri.
My son and I liked it, husband really didn’t like it, daughter wouldn’t try it. We probably won’t be buying it again. For lunch I made a hearty vegetable minestrone using all the vegetables I had practically, even some green pepper (not listed). I cook my noodles separately so they don’t absorb too much of the broth. For dinner there were Morningstar griller burgers. I really like these, and they are easy. Once you add lettuce, tomato, relish, mustard, mayo and ketchup as I do, it tastes even better. We try to eat a majority of plant-based rather than processed foods, but the kids really like the veggie meats.
Sunday was a special day because I actually planned and made recipes from a vegan cookbook. We invited friends over, and I thought I should make something special. I used Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Brunch for inspiration. It had a new vegan cinnamon roll recipe, roasted potato variation using curry powder, and the main course was tempeh sausage puffs. We had fruit salad as well. Although it turned out well, I wouldn’t use whole wheat flour again for the cinnamon rolls. I’m still looking for a “go-to” favorite recipe, but it was fun to try these.
I wrote about Yumm bowls last September, always a hit. There is a theme of eating a lot of chocolate lately. I think I am almost through all the chocolate. Eating the last lollipop as I write this post. Fortunately, cutting out chocolate is not not one of my New Year’s resolutions.
Happy New Year! I’m kicking off the new year by reviving the food sketches. I’ve been thinking about doing them again for fun and drawing practice, and a friend told me she enjoyed them. More than anything, it gives some insight for those wanting to eat a plant-based diet some idea of what they could actually eat.
I’m just posting since I haven’t done it every day and I want to stick to a habit. The new habit is going to need to be posting in the morning, because at night I am way too tired! This weekend was fun and exhausting. We went out to a client’s beautiful property where they grow grapes, olives and lavendar. It was amazing vistas in every direction, and beautiful weather. I really would like living out there. It takes an hour to get there, and is not on the way to the beach or anywhere else we go, so we don’t go too often!
Sunday we had my older child’s birthday party. I think it was a success, but planning was very poor and last-minute! Luckily kids don’t seem to mind.
And why is this post related to veganism? Well, my client, who I really like a lot, mentioned in an offhand way that they might possibly do charcuterie in the future as they have some pigs. I’ve been getting very close to lines I am uncomfortable with in my work lately. One of my wine companies needed photos of turkeys for Thanksgiving, and then I was doing illustrations of ham, turkey, prime rib… I find it is harder to do industry dinners since most are focused on meat since that pairs well with red wine especially.
For me to research images of turkey and not find any of them appetizing at all is probably not ideal for the job. At some point soon, I think I will have something come up that I will not be able to do in good conscience.
