A Slight Diversion

Happy holidays!  Some of you might know I am a published author elsewhere (poetry, fiction, and articles).  Anyway, I recently had a poem published in a print journal (The Final Note, Volume 3), and a couple of my friends asked to see it.  So here it is.  If you're not here for poetry, please feel free to skip this post.  :)  Also, just a quick disclaimer--I am a notorious rewriter, and this version is slightly altered from the published version (but I like this one much better!)

Luggage
Cindy Jones-Shoeman

I have two bags.

One is full of regrets, like
the time I chided my mother, telling
her the email she sent me was
racist, or that time in high school when
that cute boy I had a crush
on put his arm around
me and I just stood there
slouching.

The other is a lot bigger.  It’s

full of guilt, guilt for not sitting on
the floor longer with my daughter, playing
that boring building game; for not
visiting my grandma more often that last
summer, newborn in tow or not; for things said
and unsaid, done and not done, for glares and
sighs, for coldness and anger.

At various mile markers, I stop and
look through the bags, pulling out a few
items while realizing they’re fuller than last
time.  They get heavy.  Once in a while, I
set them by the side of the road, done with
them once and for all, but just a few yards
away, I run back for them.

I guess I’ll never know who I could
be without my luggage.

Huge Inspiration!

Okay...so over the last few weeks, many of us vegheads have watched Forks over Knives (which I recommend).  It's inspired many of my old friends (no, they're not old--I've just known them a long time!!) to convert to veganism or close.  That is AWESOME!  So, in spite of computer problems throughout the summer and then lack of inspiration, I'm inspired again.  I'll finish my 52-week project; it'll just be a little delayed.  :)  I know I still have some readers out there who haven't given up on me.  Thanks!

Update on the garden:  It's been okay, but I'm still building up the soil to be self-sustaining.  I now have two humongous compost piles, and they'll be part of the garden next year.  So my fingers are crossed.

So stick around.  I'm back!

Vegan Menu for Week Twenty-Six

Another celebration! This week's post marks half a year of menu ideas. 

This will be my last week going crazy with soup.  Good idea since spring is right around the corner.  But I'm really loving soup right now!

Sunday

• Vegan ramen soup
• Biscuits

Monday

• Seitan piccata
• Garlic bread
• Garden salad

Tuesday
Italian

• Ribollita soup
• Breadsticks

Wednesday

• Tempeh chili
• Tortillas

Thursday

• French onion soup (made with wine and vegetable stock instead of beef stock--and no cheese!)
• French bread

Friday
Chinese

• Vegetables Delight
• Vegan stir-fried rice

Saturday

• Cream of broccoli soup
• Crackers

Breakfast of the Week

• Vegan frittata (use vegan "bacon" and substitute tofu for eggs)

Dessert of the Week

• Vegan ambrosia

Week Thirteen Menu

This post brings about a celebration of sorts! This is the Week Thirteen menu, which means I have now posted three months (one third of a year) of unique vegan meal ideas! I hope you've enjoyed the journey with me. Here's to doing it three more times to meet my challenge!

Sunday
Quick and easy

• Morningstar Farms Hickory BBQ Riblet
• Baked potato
• Vegan baked beans (Bush's makes good vegetarian baked beans without high fructose corn syrup!)
• Garden salad with vegan Ranch dressing (PETA has a good recipe)

Monday

• Seitan steaks (shape seitan into patties and sear in frying pan with a little olive oil and vegan Worcestershire or tamari and your favorite savory spices, like sage, thyme, oregano, etc.)
• Mashed potatoes
• Green salad
• Glazed carrots

Tuesday

• Ratatouille
• Quinoa and bean salad
• Garden salad

Wednesday
Chinese

• General Tao's Tofu (this recipe can be found on VegWeb.com)
• Steamed rice

Thursday
Mexican

• Spicy Mexican Squash Stew (got this yummy recipe from Moosewood Restaurant)
• Warm flour tortillas

Friday
Chinese

• Kung Pao "Chicken" (there's a good recipe on FatFree Vegan)
• Steamed rice

Saturday
Mexican

• Tacos (use black or pinto beans)
• Spanish rice
• Calabacitas

Breakfast of the Week

• Blueberry scones

Dessert of the Week

• Vegan cinnamon rolls

Happy eating!

I Made It!

Whew!  Wow.  I made it through the month of NaBloWriMo.  I hesitated making the commitment, wondering if I could keep up with a blog post a month, but I did it.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.  I intend to do it next year as well.

So now I'll probably go back to my regular posting schedule--one week's menu, followed (possibly) by any notes or pictures that go with.  Thank you to all the friends I've made along the way.  Happy eating!

The NaBloWriMo Challenge

Okay...I have officially joined the NaBloWriMo challenge, which is basically just a commitment, as a blog writer, to write a post a day for the entire month of October.  So, that means that in addition to the weekly menus, I'll write a few posts on organic eating/living, vegan and vegetarian dieting, more recipes, and other fun stuff.  For any other bloggers who are interested in joining, there is a link on the right hand side of the page.

The Challenge

I've been a vegetarian for a year and a half and have been gradually becoming a vegan.  I have now made the commitment to becoming entirely vegan.  My family, though, are meat eaters and will eat vegan when I'm cooking.  So, my challenge is to show my family (and anyone else) that eating vegan can be exciting and delicious. 

I plan to create a dinner menu for every day of the year that is full of variety and nutrition, that is tasty, delicious, and mouth watering.  You see, I've had a difficult time over the last year with coming up with recipes that continue to satisfy my carniverous family.  I've managed to create a few hits.

Part of the challenge came from converting my old favorites.  Most of my old dishes utilized some form of meat base.  While not using meat for flavor was hard at first, I've adapted.  And a lot of my old favorites are my new favorites in different form.  Another part of the challenge was finding dishes that emphasized flavor.  I bought a vegetarian cookbook, but some of the ingredients were too exotic or the dishes too bland.  But more than that, just planning a meal was hard.

Not anymore.  But I still meet lots of people who refuse to even try vegetarianism because it seems so boring.  Well, it's not.  And giving up dairy isn't too big a problem either once you have some ideas about what to make.

Part of my inspiration came from Women's Day magazine.  I used to read that magazine a lot when I was first married, and one thing I liked was the monthly menu they included.  It gave ideas for dinner meals every day of the month, sometimes even having dinners as "planned-overs," using food left over from the day before.  I would like to do that too, only these menus will be vegan.  My goal is to give you 365 menus with no repeats.  By "no repeats," I mean no dinner will every be exactly the same.  They might be similar (maybe you'll have the same salad twice, for example, but the rest of the meal will be completely different).  I'll also include an occasional breakfast and lunch here and there in addition to the menu.  I might even list a dessert here and there.

My goal for now is to write out a weekly menu.  I'll include recipes (or links to recipes) when and where I can or at least give you the basics.  Let's see just how many dinner ideas I can come up with.  Happy reading (and eating)!