Fire Damage

Jane and I were out and about today, running errands, as we usually do on Saturdays. We talked about lunch and decided to eat at Grassroots in South Pasadena. Grassroots has rapidly become our favorite restaurant. We've eaten there three times in the past three weeks. The food is delicious and they're less than ten minutes from home. You can't beat that.

Grassroots is actually a health food store, with a small prepared-food service counter inside. They serve healthy, organic meals. And although they're not exclusively vegetarian, you can always get a great vegan meal there, not a feat easily accomplished so close to home.

On the way over, Jane was reading the menu out loud and we were discussing the merits of our various choices. Would I have the Cuban Bowl again, or would I try the one of their wraps? Or maybe a Vegan Plate with their entree du jour. Jane was thinking the Taco Salad.

We turned into the empty parking lot and looked at each other with panic in our eyes. Wire fencing barricaded us from the storefronts in the strip mall where Grassroots lives. Apparently there was a fire last week and our beloved restaurant is closed indefinitely. Jane spent the next two hours grieving the loss of this restaurant. I kept reminding her that the owner's losses were greater than our own - and of course, we feel very badly for them. Hopefully they've got sufficient insurance and will be able to re-open and soon.

In the meantime, now where will we eat?

Peach Cobbler

Jane often gets the urge to bake when it cools down. Our vegan diet has kept that pretty much in check. The first week we were vegans she made the chocolate cake out of the Real Food Daily cookbook. It's amazing what you can do with tofu.

Anyway, the cake cost about $20 to make (and that's not including electricity), and Jane didn't love it, so we haven't had much in the way of prepared desserts. It's mostly been cut up fruit and the occasional soy dessert from Trader Joe's. Nice summer desserts that we really enjoy.

But it's been unseasonably cold here. We're actually experiencing autumn! OK, not a real New England type of Autumn, but there's been a nip in the air and it's great to crawl into bed at night - perfect sleeping weather. So tonight, Jane broke out the vegan cookbooks and made a pear cobbler. Normally I love her cobbler. She's always having to dole it out so I don't eat the whole thing in one night. But I've got to say, this wasn't spectacular. I missed the butter. Or maybe I didn't care for the ginger in this recipe. In any event, this one wasn't a winner, although it looks good!

Woo Hoo - I've Lost 14 Pounds

That's 14 pounds, gone without really trying.

Sometime in June Jane, my wife, decided we were going vegan. Since we're not billionaires, we decided that we'd finish off all the animal product in the house first. We also had a trip planned for the end of June, and didn't want to start our new lifestyle on the road. Nor did we want to have struggle with a new way of eating upon first coming home, so we settled on 7-7-7 -- an auspicious date.

I have to admit, I was a little reluctant, although I didn't say much since Jane is the primary food preparer in our household. And she said the literature promised all kinds of health benefits, which sounds great when you're middle aged. (I mean really, who cares when you're 20's, a bag of Doritos and a few beers makes a great dinner then.)

We've been doing OK, there are the occasional moments when one of us will look at the other and say "I could really go for a _____ right about now." But it not too often. Cheese and desserts are the toughest things. But we're doing OK being vegan.

So, this morning when I weighed myself and realized -- I've lost 14 pounds, without doing a thing!!!! -- I proudly proclaimed myself a vegan. I'm still the couch potato I've been for the last few years. I didn't take any magic pills or have any surgery. And half of the weight I wanted to lose just fell off all by itself. The vegan diet is magic!

Woo hoo!

Lane

Hearty Winter Fare

So, we went from brutal summer heat to winter overnight. We even had over an inch of rain (that's slightly less rain than we had all of last year!), which is highly unusual in that we normally don't have rain between April and October.

It's been like winter here. That was enough for us to break out the flannel house-pants and hearty winter recipes. Jane made a recipe called Lebanese Style Lentils with Pasta for dinner the other night. It's from the Dr. Neal Barnard Book on being a vegan. The pasta seems a little weird to me, but it all tasted yummy. It's got lentils and spinach and onions, etc. Next time, Jane said she'll skip the pasta and have a loaf of some crusty whole grain bread along with the dish.

Maybe We'll Just Stick to Breakfast at Home

Jane has a friend who works in Hollywood. This woman, Kay, is so busy she only surfaces every few weeks or so, and then we only just manage to meet for breakfast. It's been a long standing thing with us, and we all seem to really enjoy it.

Yesterday was our first breakfast with Kay since we've been doing the vegan thing. Well, I can only say that I am not looking forward to future breakfasts out. The only items on the menu were oatmeal or cream of wheat. And it's not that I don't enjoy a good bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. But that's just not what I want to eat when i go out.

Kay was outwardly sympathetic to our plight, as she plowed into her steak and eggs, but somehow I don't think our shining example of vegan happiness and healthiness is going to convert her any time soon!

End of "Summer"

We live in Southern California, and because of that, we have "Summer" sometimes through November! But that doesn't seem to be the case this year. We had a brutal heat wave last week, but that's a distant memory. High temps of "only" 70 with HEAVY rain the past couple of days.... You can feel an autumnal nip in the air....

Since it's just about Autumn, we're trying to make sure we stock up on all of our Summer favorites before they're gone.

We picked up a bunch of okra at the farmer's market this weekend and Jane made her signature vegan recipe for dinner last night. We discovered okra last Summer. It's great, you just have to make sure not to overcook it or it will get slimy. But this is one of my favorite vegan dinners.

Palak Tofu

In the past, Jane and I have truly enjoyed Indian cuisine. However, being vegan, we are a little reluctant to even try our favorite restaurants. Chicken Tikka Masala is not a vegan dish! And most of the dishes we most enjoy, even though they could be adapted with tofu, contain ghee and/or cream. Alas.

Jane recently bought "The Accidental Vegan" by Devra Gartenstein, and made our first vegan Indian dish, Palak Tofu.


Yum! I knew I was in for a treat when I smelled the aromatic spices as I stepped out of my car.

This is another one for our rotation.