Walnut Cheeze

Listen guys, I enjoy healthy food as much as one possibly could. I think I eat a pretty healthily, but this week I figured I would push things just way over the edge to make up for my less than stellar week last week. I've been adding to my blogroll recently - and added Choosing Raw which has a lot of healthy raw vegan recipes. Pretty much my first day of subscribing THIS recipe for Raw Vegan Walnut Cheeze. I had ll of the ingredients, so I figured "what the hell?"



The taste is very flavorful, almost like worchestershire sauce is added in. I've been eating it as Gena, the blog author did, as apple and cheeze wraps within romaine lettuce leaves. Oh yes, this is pure raw rabbit food, but surprisingly filling. It hopefully offset the Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Rogue Brothers beer I drank last night. Whoops!



Notice the lunch at my desk - yes, I work while I eat. I have got to graduate!

Creamy Tomato Risotto

Again with the theme of wintry dinners... I'd like to mention again that it is in the 80's here in NC. Last week it was a little chillier- maybe 60's. So we are eating a little heavily this week - and we'll switch to lighter, springier meals next week. Whatever, food is food.

Anyway, I had bookmarked THIS recipe, adapted from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, on Oh She Glows way back in December (I know, about a million years ago). But my cooking hadn't been going very well back then and I am just catching up on old recipes now.

Angela updated the recipe just recently, adding some of the cheese sauce from the Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze for added creaminess and awesomeness. Well, since I planned on making the mac and cheese I figured I may as well go all of the way and make the risotto also! I didn't have any barley, as the original recipe calls for, but I had everything else. I also added in about 2 cups of baby spinach for green-ness. It turned out great- so creamy and delicious!


Check out the ultra creamy recipe HERE.

Now I have to pretend I have been working all morning and get some stuff done!

Black Bean, Zucchini and Olive Tacos & mashed yucca

Whenever I get a new cookbook - I tend to gravitate towards the food portrayed in pictures. I have a hard time picturing how a food will look - especially if it's a little strange - but put it into a photograph, and I want to eat it. For Christmas I received Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz - and have finally gotten around to cooking from it (now that I am actually cooking on a regular basis).

I made the mango BBQ baked beans for a cookout, and they were TO DIE FOR. I didn't get a picture because I was too busy playing Angry Birds, most likely. I will make them again and show them to you.

The other night I made the black bean, zucchini and olive tacos, which came together in no time at all! I paired them with mashed yucca and some guac. My husband did NOT like the mashed yucca - but the latin place by us serves it fried, and he doesn't like that either - so I should have guessed. More for me!And I had just enough left over for one taco for lunch the next day. How delightful!

Black Bean, Zucchini and Olive Tacos
1 Tsp Olive Oil
2 Zucchini, diced
2 jalapenos diced ( I left seeds in)
1/4 tsp Na++
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
6 oz. salsa verde
16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sliced scallions
8 corn tortillas (I used 6 small flour... 6 because my husband put so much filling into his two they were impossible to eat)

Heat oil, and saute zucchini and jalapeno with the 1/4 tsp salt for about 7 minutes over medium heat. When the zucchini is nicely browned, add the garlic, olives, cumin, coriander and saute for two more minutes. Add salsa and black beans and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve with tortillas (obviously) scallions, and guacamole.

Mashed Yucca with Lime and Cilantro
2 pounds yucca, chopped into chunks (use potatoes if you can't find any)
2 Tbsp lime juice (from limes, not a bottle)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Na++

The yucca comes looking like a sweet potato covered in leather. I had no problem peeling it with my nice peeler and chopping it with my nice wusthof knife. If I had used my cheaper stuff, I'm not sure how smoothly it would have went. Peel and chop the yucca, cover with salted water and boil for about 20 minutes.

Strain the Yuca over some sort of mug or measuring cup so that you can catch about a cup of the starchy water - which you will add back in (rather than using oil or cream). Add yuca back to pot, add lime, cilantro, oil and salt. Mash and then add the hot water bit by bit. I used maybe 1.2 cup. It is like gloppy mashed potatoes, with a less earthy taste. I love yuca and you will too.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze

When I arrived home from China Sunday night, I was obviously wide awake. It was 11:30 PM in North Carolina, but 10:30 am in China. When I arrived in Beijing, I was easily able to adopt the new schedule, and had no problems sleeping whatsoever. However, it was a different case back in the U.S. This first night I was up until 3 or 4 in the morning, thinking I could sleep until noon and head into work.

I was very ambitious Sunday night. I made my workout schedule for the week, and a schedule of healthy meals breakfast-dinner for all the days of the week. Well, little did I know the sleep deprivation ahead of me. I had no control over my body or my brain. I slept 4 hours a night, waking up at 3am. I would force myself to stay awake as late as possible, so that I may sleep in.. but alas... the latest I slept in was 5am. I went to the gym Monday morning at 5:30 and worked out, because what else do you do that early? The rest of the week I could barely move. My head felt such an intense pressure, it was if I were deep-sea diving. I couldn't function, let alone concentrate at work, work out and get home to make dinner. Instead I was a zombie all week.

I finally felt all right on Saturday morning, after a nice dinner with my husband and half of a bottle of wine. I was able to sleep ten whole hours!

Well, now it's a new week, and last week's recipes have become this week's recipes. I started this dish Sunday I think, which seemed a little cold-weather appropriate juxtaposed with our glorious 80 degree weather here. I've always wanted to try a vegan macaroni and cheeze recipe, but never did anything about it. When I saw THIS recipe I knew it was time to give vegan mac and cheeze a try once and for all. And let me tell you what --- I'm glad I did! The dish turned out great! Even my husband loved it, and even took most of it to work for lunch the next day (hence my tiny portion in the photo) he's helping me diet I think.


Check out the original recipe HERE on Oh She Glows. I made the straight outta the pot version. My husband won't wait on baking things. He often makes me abort dinners because he has gotten so hungry he needs to go out to eat right then (which basically takes the same amount of time as just waiting for me to finish).

Day 8 – The final “F You”

There was an earthquake and tsunami in Japan the day before we are set to depart – causing many delays in China. When I check in, it says my flight is delayed – but by the time I get to the airport the 1 hour delay becomes 3 hours, and I have to be re-routed to an airport 2 hours from my house.

Luckily my husband doesn’t care and agrees to pick me up there. Aside from the delay, the flights are no problem. The steward gives me a hard time when I ask for my third glass of wine but I insist he bring it to me or else. It helps me sleep 9 hours and then, a full day later, I am home. Go USA.

Day 7- Back to Beijing

I awake around 7am to the strong smell of urine. The Chinese man who is sleeping opposite of me gets up really quickly and goes to change. I am sure he is the culprit of the pee-pee smell. I read for a little until the strewardess type woman comes to wake us up to prepare for arrival. I notice I am a little itchy and find some bites on my hands. I go look in the mirror and find bites, large ones, covering my face. Someone had brought fleas onto the sleeper car and I am covered in large, red welts, as well as a large hive on the left eyelid that eventually prevents my eye from opening completely. I soldier on, get dressed, and ready for our entry into Beijing.

Our train arrives around 9am, and we get off to catch a taxi and get to our hotel. The hotel is located down a side alley in a Hutong, which if viewed at the start of the trip I would have vetoed.

Now however, it seems like the cutest little place.

We try to check in but it is too early. We drop our luggage and go walk around our Hutong, which is a great tourist area. There were great little shops and a DELICIOUS Japanese reataurant right down the street from us. We go back after lunch and I can finally shower and wash any leftover bugs off of me. I am so thankful.

We plan to go to the Beijing zoo, to see the Pandas. As soon as we arrive we know that it probably will be a distressing experience. The zoo is in terrible condition, and the animals are all dirty and singly housed. The signs clearly say: “do not feed animas,” but since there are no workers or zoologists, or anyone who would remotely be concerned for animal welfare around, people bring bags of vegetables and stick their hands through the fences and feed the animals. I am amazed as I see full-grown adults reaching in to feed zebras. They animals appear very stressed and unhappy. The indoor exhibit that houses the noctornal animals is filled with many loud humans, and people walk by and bang on the glass to wake the animals up, though all it does is stress them further. They are the tiniest enclosures I’ve ever seen and we leave without seeing the Penguins, who are an extra 12 Yuen to see.

It seems to me, that all of the little guidelines that make life easier and people in order (waiting in line, not pushing, not elbowing others when they walk by, letting people of out elevators/doors/subway before you go in, not feeding zoo animals) just do not exist in Beijing in any way.

After the zoo we take an hour long to the Summer Palace. Our cab driver drops us off, and just as we try and enter – the guards inform us that the palace closes at five. Really? As if he knew… the cab driver waited for us. and takes us on a 1.5 hour (!!!!!) ride back to our cute little hotel. I am truly defeated by this point… covered in flea bites and wearing uncomfortable shoes.

We take respite at the hotel for a few, then head out to a Korean bistro, which is by far the most glorious meal we have eaten while in China. We have a few beers, and toast our last night. We head to bed early – sharing the single daybed included in a “standard room.”

Day 6- Get your kicks… and get the hell out

This morning we wake up early and decide to get a Western breakfast at the hotel. Unfortunately, our guide is meeting us at 9:30 and we end up not having enough time to make that dream come true. Instead, we grab some Starbucks and meet our guide. He is to take us to the Terra Cotta warriors- but first takes us to some lame dig site that contain nothing of interest or importance, and also a FACTORY that makes terra cotta warrior recreations. Ingrid is pissed and thinks the guide is only taking us to the factory.

Once back in our van, the English speaking guide bails, telling us he lives nearby and is going. “Good luck with the rest of your day” he says. The Chinese speaking man takes us to lunch at someone’s house, which happens to be the best meal (sauteed bok choy and trumpet mushrooms, fried rice, tofu in black bean sauce, and scallion pancakes. Umm yum) since we have arrived In China. Also, their dog Toto looks like a Teddy bear and lets me pet him for a long time, making this the best stop ever.

The terra cotta warriors are very, very cool. Not all of them have been excavated, but the ones that are really amaze me. However, they have staged some "archeologists" though out the pits, who really are just confused looking old ladies who keep poking the ground with sticks. After being swindled so much by China in general, I start to question whether or not these are even real, or if history in general has been rewritten for some extra tourism money to a small town. Regardless of my doubts, the trip is amazing and I thoroughly enjoy myself.

We are taken to the train station ... always an adventure

But we are three hours early. We walk the streets looking for liquor and are unsuccessful.

Our train car is not so bad as the first day, but does have us rooming with two random Chinese guys. They stare at us as we play UNO and drink two bottles of wine as quickly as humanly possible.

In the morning we will again be in Beijing, the city of wonderment and despair.