tonight the wife made some curried flavored "all the veggies". i guess thats what we called it ha. some good stuff in there like beets, red peps, green peps, yellow peps, onion, broccoli, red potatoes, fresh garlic,carots, corn, squash, zuchini, eggplant, chick peas, and couscous. seasoned with cumin, tumeric, curry powder, olive oil, bay leaf, basil, garlic powda, garlic salt, chilli powder, veg boulion, and a little salt and pep. leftovers forever!!!

eggplant sengwich

i dont think this will be just a food blog but damn food rules.. quick night tonight. spicy bbq eggplant sandwiches with fake cheese on breadbaskets 5 grain bread.

backlog of food

a small backlog of food photos. no exerpts because most of these are from months agocabbage and beets

summer veggies and couscous with gardien chix
eggplant no parm

vegan alfredo
summer stirfry
wraps
sweet potato and cabbage /\ and a volcano \/

went weekly food shopping today. sometimes i feel like routines are needed to get motivated cooking wise and in general. me wife and baby have for the third week in a row gone down to the saratoga farmers market and replenished our pantry of local veggies. also while we were down there i swung by 4 seasons to pick up some lovely daiya cheese and other essentials. i have been reading little more into different grains and protiens that can be incorporated into the average meal and decided that the fam is going to try somehting new. Quinoa. super delicious, cooks just like rice and is kindof similar to couscous. so heres what i came up with once we got homecrappy cellphone pic but.. first time cooking with quinoa and also first time making seitan. ive had "wheat meat" at restaurants and from a package, but never dove in and tried it for myself. dish turned out very well for an amateur with training wheels. more seitan to be made in the future now that i know that flavoring and making it is super easy.

ps. you cant always cook for presentation...sometimes its all about taste. dont knock my crappy plating

toga

wednesday is food shopping day and this week was no exception.

it all started when for a small fare and 30 minute drive.. me, the wife, my mom and my son went out to enjoy the bread basket bakery/deli. bread basket is an awesome little place in saratoga that can make anything taste good. i would eat there everyday if i was able but alas, some things are better in moderation. and in this case not eating there all the time makes everything more enjoyable. i had my favorite called the spit and spat. its a great mix of hummus, avocado, red peps, sprouts and cucs for some crunch. mind you i am no cucumber guy. i think there flavor just doesnt fly with my palette, but they really work well with this sandwich. forgot to mention it all comes on their 5 grain homade bread which really just brings everything together.

after the bread basket we hit up johnnys italian ice on broadway for some vegan icecream. that place is awesome, real laid back environment and run by real people.

then we walked down to the farmers market on high rock. we scored up some great local/organic veggies at below super market price. loved the selection the vendors/farms had and got everything i can imagine one could cook in a week..(including a watermelon that i just cut up tonight and flavors right up there with the best of em.)

its a little late for this summer but i have also been reading up on a couple of farms that do a sharing program for veggies and i think it might be a beneficial idea. i do like to "spread the wealth" when it comes to buying things so im still thinking about it.

then we left and headed to the ol 4 seasons to pick up some daiya cheese. many people i know have been raving about this stuff for so long now that i had to bring it into my kitchen. i have eaten it before at little anthonys in albany and big guys in schenect also at 4 seasons but sometimes i think the tlc of ones own kitchen works wonders for flavor.

so at any rate on the way home we swung by hannaford to pick up some spices and cooking supplies. i found a good recipe for vegan cornbeef so i think im going to try it this upcoming week. these were the main spice ingredients i had to pickup. seems simple but thats always the case before you start a project. we shall see how that turns out as it will be my first time actually making seitan.

after returning home. my wife whipped up a parsnip/corn/carrot/taco salad with a sprinkle of the daiya on top and i was sold....and full..

shes a better chef than me..but ill never admit it...ever..

so we filled up the fridge for the week, got a good 2 mile walk in and went to sleep full.

dietary confinement

so these past few years ive made a more conscious effort to adjust my lifestyle and diet to suit a more ethical outlook. i stopped eating meat all together 4 years ago and havent looked back.. like many other choices in my life i constructed a plan/goal to go veg and havent looked back. i def believe that my middle ground stance has kept me afloat and not even wanting to look back. with meat i often joke that i did 20 years on so now im taking 20 years off.. and i think it might be more like 50 years off if i make it..

however i am certain that being vegetarian is the means for me to have a succesful diet both nutritional and ethical. some of my friends have ventured down the vegan road. some very succesful at promoting/eating an all around vegan lifestyle... and some people i have encountered have been very unsuccessful (see everyone that eats meat again after being so passionate about animal rights)

my main reasoning that i have never jumped into veganism or raw food is that i am concernd that my diet will get stale and i dont want to create ethical paradoxes. yeah i cook vegan sometimes but i mix

so in general my decision and general outlook and goal is this:

cook at home 6 nights a week (7 in limbo)

mix it up by eating different flavor palettes

eat and buy local produce when possible

eat fast food lunch or dinner once or twice a week (french fries or pizza)

limit amounts of high cholesterol dairy/salt

eat as little genetically altered or modified soy as possible

limit processed foods

whole grains instead of bleached when avoidable

no fluoride toothpaste!

research out and avoid byproducts like rennet and gelatin

if i do not have the heart to kill a certain animal i will not eat it.

and above all, if i find a positive change to my plan...i give it an honest shot

as of late..

this blog is to become a reference to what i see and experience. i tried making a blog very unsuccessfully called seenthrough4eyes and alas lasik eye surgury happened and extended a slap in the face to that name.. so a little simple subtraction(goodbye glasses) and here we are. i hpe to post twice a week but time will tell as it always does.