Snowy weekend shenanigans

A massive blizzard struck H-burg this weekend...not. We got a good 6 or so inches of snow, though. Apparently, that is enough to turn this city into a ghost town. Friday night I went out with some friends and all anybody could talk about was the impending storm...and honestly, I didn't leave my apartment once until today, when the overwhelming desire to go to the grocery store struck me right in the very soul. I was running out of spinach, almond milk, and flour (crisis!!)--so I ventured out to my snowy car and started to scrape it. After about 30 seconds I determined that the effort was futile thanks to a very large pile of snow behind my tires (thanks, snow plow) and being without a shovel, I kicked at the snow for a minute or two before giving up. It was too cold and I was too lazy. Ever notice how laziness breeds more laziness? Sheesh. I'm honestly a little horrified at myself. Fortunately, my brave roommate managed to wheel her car out of the lot and we went to the store, so the crisis was averted. It was a tense two hours, though. I mean, really.

Seriously, though. I had an incredibly lazy weekend. Lots of reading, watching TV and not a whole lot else. I did develop some funky food concoctions, like a blood-orange/soy sauce stir fry which had the potential to be delicious, but wasn't. Actually, it was kind of gross and I had to dump a bunch of salsa on it in order to make the dish palatable. I also baked some tasty tasty banana bread with a couple of seriously sad-looking frozen bananas. I heavily modified the PPK's recipe because I wanted it to be healthier...Actually, that's a total lie. I heavily modified the recipe because I ran out of many key ingredients and duh, it was like totally a blizzard outside so I couldn't go to the store. Either way, despite the health/convenience issues, it still turned out really good! So, here's the recipe I used:

1/2 cups white sugar (GASP REAL SUGAR? Yeah. Don't judge)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup whole-grain "milk", mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
A bunch of cinnamon, dumped in

Mix everything together, pour into a cake pan because here we don't believe in bread pans. Bake for 350 for about 35 minutes and then devour.

Tonight's dessert was a bowl of homemade applesauce, with a drizzle of PBU (ok, more than a drizzle), topped with a toasted piece of bananaer bread. It was de-lish! My family always judges me for eating peanut butter on my applesauce, but it is SO good. Go out and try it. I dare you.


Um, yum.

After all, tomorrow is another day!

Yes well, this week has shaped up to be pretty much a crapfest. Too much information to post here, but suffice it to say, I was not a happy camper for a few days. Nevertheless, I'm taking a Scarlett O'Hara view of life and keeping my chin up!

I consider myself to be something of a bad-day expert, and there are a few good ways to cure a bad day:

1. Go to University gym. Stare unashamedly at the good looking young fellas while they sweat.
2. Take a mental health day. Not that I advocate this on the reg, people. Only once or twice a semester! Use it wisely.
3. Take a nap.
4. Make the following 5 minute microwave soup (hey, its better for you than ramen!):

1 medium-sized redskin potato (baked in microwave for 4 minutes)
1 cup of spinach, washed and chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup of unsweetened milk of choice (I used TJ's Whole Grain Milk)
2 tsp. miso paste
Garlic powder, onion powder
Nutritional Yeast, to taste (I probably used a tablespoon)
Enough sriacha chili sauce to make grown men cry

Mix it all together, mush the potatoes up, and then microwave it for a minute!

Sorry no pic, but you can imagine that it didn't look particularly exciting.

So, by applying each of these steps, in no particular order, you may come to realize that your day isn't as bad as you think. Or maybe it will still suck, but at least you can fool yourself into thinking that its better for a little bit!

This evening, after said workout, I was famished for some good eats (since it had been like 7 hours since lunch, sheesh! I never go that long without food!) and since I've been reading lots of praise about Mae's pizza and cheese concoctions, I decided to create something using her ideas. Sort of.


Please notice my Shakespeare anthology, which is roughly the size of a small child, and weighs about the same. I LOVE lugging that sucker around campus! So does my poor, achy back!

Here's a close up of this bad boy for your viewing pleasure,



I took 2 slices of Ezekiel bread, smothered 'em with crushed tomatoes, piled them high with spinach and green peppers, sprinkled them with black beans and then topped it off with some humnut cheese, which is steadily becoming one of my most favorite things. Then I stuck them in the oven and baked at 45o until the cheese was brown and the spinach was wilty. After removing them, I once again slathered the whole shebang in enough sriacha sauce to make a grown man cry. I love this stuff! I am addicted to it, for serious. Anyone else ever notice that I'm addicted to a lot of things? Sriacha sauce, nooch, miso paste, peanut butter (preferably all at once!)...without any of these things I would be a basket case. I realize that this probably sounds revolting to a lot of people, but it was SO GOOD! I mean, I devoured that thing. Trying to take a picture of it was so depressing because I knew that it was getting colder as I aimed for a decent shot. Which I never actually got because in the end, I was too hungry to care! And yes, I do regularly eat my meals on my bed. Don't get freaked out by that.

Anyway, I just watched this fine looking young couple do their thaang on TV


Oh how I love thee, Booth. You are beautiful.

And now I'm going to go bake something and maybe snuggle up to my Shakespeare book. Not a bad ending to a bad day!

--Monica

Over the rainbow

So, I'm sitting in my living room with my roommate Erin and she all of a sudden shouts, "OH MY GOD A RAINBOW" and lo and behold, I adjust my position and take a gander at the biggest rainbow I've ever seen right outside. Seriously, we could see both ends of it--stretching all the way down to the street! And then another one showed up, and it was like a rainbow party over here. I like to think that this is a sign that Spring is finallly on its way. That and the fact that I saw 6 burgundy cars in a row just now--which is obviously a sign. Right? I'm pretty sick of cloudy and cold weather (like every other person on the planet), so I'll look for signs wherever I can. Where is that freakin groundhog, anyway? He is facing some serious loathing from me if he doesn't see his shadow on Feb. 2!

Anyway, that story is totally irrelevant to this post. I just thought that the rainbow was super awesome.

So, I went home this weekend, under the guise of visiting my parents, but really I just wanted to go to Trader Joe's...kidding! That was just an added bonus ;) Right. So. I think that the only reason my parents tell me to come home all the time is because I cook for them. Actually, I don't think that, I know it because they tell me. Harsh, no? Geez. I didn't snap pictures of everything I made, but here are a few bits of photographic evidence in case you were concerned.
Fudge babies! I turned these suckers into a dessert by adding a bit of almond extract, a generous spoonful of dark chocolate cocoa powder, coconut and rolling them in more cocoa powder...and drizzling some melty cocoa on top...so good. I love making them at home because my parents actually have a food processor, which means I don't have to dig out date goop from the evil clutches of my crappy blender's blade. That usually ends up with at lease one fudge baby stuck in the bottom, and me trying to fish it out with my fingers (I wouldn't advise this)--not a pretty sight.
Also, applesauce. FOR AN ARMY. That pot on the left is the size of your average, everyday stock pot. The behemoth on the right is roughly the size of a small house. The third one in the back is just a regular ol' pot...and all of them were filled to the brim with apples. I think we spent about $27 on apples, and they were $.69 a pound so you do the math. That is a LOT of apples to peel and core. But fortunately, once you do that, the work is practically done. All they require is some time and a bit of cinnamon and you have enough applesauce to feed my family for at least the next six months. We thought about canning it, but ultimately decided to bag it and freeze it, though I think next time we should opt for the canning because it lasts forever and there's no need to thaw.

While home, I also exposed my parents to the awesomeness that is to be found in a big bowl of blended oatmeal for breakfast. I think they thought I was crazy (surprise, surprise) but it is seriously my favorite way to start the day. Don't you dare judge me!

So now I'm back in my cozy apartment and procrastinating working out/reading Shakespeare and noshing on this yummy-licious delight...

A green apple (from the international foods store at home where they are dirt cheap, so I stocked up) mixed with some PBU made from my favorite Trader Joe's peanut butter (creamy, unsalted) and some chocolate Almond Breeze. Did I mention that Trader Joe's is the happiest place on earth? Because it is. I got loads of peanut butter, a jar of their raw almond butter, whole grain milk (never heard of this before, so I'm hoping it will be awesome) and tons of other awesome things.

Now that I've spent waaay too long doing this, I should probably go do something productive now. Like make dinner.

Wannabe

So tell me whatchu want, whatchu really really want...


What I really really want is to magically wake up one day and be a "runner"--if only that were possible. My list of excuses grows with each and every day, but I'm going to ignore the little voice in my head that says "you can't do this" from now on. I'm trying to get on a more regular running schedule, and now that the weather is finally starting to warm up, I'm more likely to head outside in the mornings instead of attempting to motivate my ass to get to the gym. A lot of times I feel pretty dumb when I'm passed by all the marathoners and svelte young college students as I slowly trod along the side of the road, half walking and half jogging. But, once I get past that pathetic feeling, I actually start to feel good about myself. Of course, having a killer soundtrack is another significant part of the battle...today's playlist was the GLEE soundtrack, and if you judge me I'll hurt you. I friggin love running to " Keep Holding On"--so cheesey, but I love it. Also on rotation is a little Lady Gaga...Crap, is this turning into an embarrassing music-appreciation post? Let's just say that I have fairly decent taste in music, but that I retain a fond love of cheesey pop music. So shut your yapper, you know you like some trashy music too!

Naturally, a post-run snacky snack is always essential, so after this mornings 3.5 mile run/walk I decided on something that would satisfy my cravings for chocolate and almond butter but that would also give me a boost for the rest of the day...and BEHOLD some epic Brownie Batter Protein Pancakes!

The recipe I used was based off of the Brownie Batter Pancakes that Miss CCV introduced to the world...but as per usual, I modified mine. It is pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to be missing an essential ingredient whenever I use a recipe, so I just accept it and attempt a substitution. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Today, it did! Yay!

Here's my version:

.25 cup white flour (had no whole wheat? wtf?)
.25 cup oats
1 scoop Vanilla Hemp Protein Powder (Katie calls for AmazinGrass powder but I don't own any, and I wanted some protein after my run!)
1 heaping tablespoon Dark Chocolate cocoa powder
A splash of Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Dream
A dash of vanilla
A generous squeeze of Agave
A BIG tablespoon of ABU
A pinch of salt
A dash of baking powder (also all out of baking soda. Sheesh. I need to get to the grocery store, stat.)
Enough water to make the batter...batter-y

Makes about 6 smallish pancakes, if you can stop licking the spoon for the batter. I ate 3 liberally slathered with more ABU. Obviously. I can't get enough of the stuff. I literally made this the minute I got home from my run, so please excuse the icky picture (taken with my handy webcam, since I left my camera at home, naturally.)



Anyway, I've been gleaning a lot of inspiration from Katie, for her chocolate-covered and seriously fun attitude for all things running AND vegan! In fact, while I was at home during Xmas break, I had so much fun making her Fudge Babies. I brought some to work every day for a tasty little snack, but many a person gave me funny looks for eating them--apparently they don't look too appetizing when they've been squashed inside my lunch bag...they don't know what they're missing, yo. Anyway, she's a fab blogger--so fab, that she's holding a giveaway for a VITA MIX!

I've been lusting after these kitchen gadgets for practically ever, but their $500 price tag really got me down. Now I'll have a chance to win one, and thus be as cool as all the bloggers who have one :)

Have a lovely MLK Day, friends.

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality."
---Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Resolutions, Shmezolutions.

I got a lot of flack during Christmas break about my cessation of blogging...Apparently my family members enjoy reading Shenanvegans, which makes me pretty happy because I like the attention. So, to recap (for my 4 readers out there), here is a list of the Very Important Events of 2009 (after August, because I can't remember anything before that!)

1) Baby Hudson
2) Baby Anabelle
--I'm an AUNT x2?! Crazy talk. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm the least maternal person ever. Which is why some friends were shocked to see this picture on facebook... No, seriously. I never hold children, thanks to a margarine-fingers tendency I have to drop things, but I made an exception for these cute little nuggets :)

ps: like the Christmas sweater? Ultra rad.

3) Bernadette's wedding! The highlight of last semester was definitely getting the chance to hang out with my whole family while noshing on some glorious Indian food at my dear sister's wedding in November. To the sadness of all, my eldest sis Elizabeth couldn't attend...because she had to like give birth or something...but we'll forgive her that minor indiscretion just this once.
It was still very fun doing bridesmaid duties with my two other sisters, Victoria and Erin.

What else did I do with my 2009? I took a bunch of English classes, and whoever said that being an English major was easy has clearly been deluding themselves, because it was one of the most intense semesters of my college career. In the last two weeks of classes, I had some brilliant technological failures, which left me sobbing in my professor's office begging for term-paper extensions since I lost all of my work. Fortunately, it all worked out and I now sit at a brand-spanking new laptop that I bought with some cashola brought to me by Mommy Claus :)

I rang in the New Year with my bbfls by watching a few choice episodes of Criminal Minds, because that's just how we roll.

Whats up for Miss Shenanvegan in the new decade? (whats that you say? I should stop referring to myself in the third person? NEVER.)

Welp, for starters, I'm trying to kick my nasty Jif habit. Apparently, the stuff is full of these newfangled things like trans fat and hydrogenated oil which aren't too good for keeping the Shenanvegan's girlish figure. So, I've been heavily munching on some MaraNatha Almond Butter from Costco of all places, especially in the form of ABU--which I learned about while stalking some old posts of Heather's from Heather Eats Almond Butter. BEST IDEA EVAR. I feel like this calls for an old Xzibit macro (ever seen Pimp My Ride? If not, you will not get this at all.)

AND I'm trying to stop eating refined sugar, and trying to focus on naturally sweetening things with dates, agave and stevia. This has generally been working out quite well, except for the totally awesome cookies my roommates got for me today (its my half birthday and we love any excuse to celebrate!) from my favorite place in the world, The Little Grill. Their vegan cookies are so awesomely glorious that I gave up my sugar-sabbatical temporarily just so I could nosh on one.

I'm also taking an Environmental Literature class this semester...with an entire section on animal ethics. And we're doing an entire segment on animal ethics in a philosophy class as well! I don't think many people get excited about that, but I do :)

Continue reading, dear friends, as I hope to update a bit more frequently in 2010.