Easy Recipe: Vikka Masala

(No picture because I ate it all already. It was delicious!)

So I love Indian food.  And lucky for me, a lot of it is vegetarian, and if you can avoid the dairy, it is also easy to get it vegan as well! You should know by now that I barely ever cook.  Ever. So when I manage to make something I like to parade it around like it's a huge revelation.  I'm really proud of this one! And this was SO EASY! It's made mostly of things that people have around.

A note: I don't put quantities or times on anything, because once a friend's Taiwanese grandmother tried to teach us how to make dumplings and the whole time she was like "if you like X, add more X, mix this and that till it looks right, cook it till it's done" etc etc.

Ingredients:

• An onion. The more you like onion, use a bigger the onion
• Garlic.  The more you like garlic, use more garlic (duh!)
• Rice.  In my case, it's leftover rice from the last time I ordered delivery. Those restaurants are always delivering too much rice! You can make fresh rice if you're up for it. 
• Marinara Sauce. A simple one is good, mostly tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt. I had half a jar leftover from when I made spaghetti the other day (also a major event!). 
• A ton of spices.  I added curry powder and lemon pepper from Trader Joe's, coriander (I don't even know what this really tastes like, it was just in the cabinet), and some chili pepper. Basically add in whatever you've got, the more the merrier. Depending on what's in there, this will end up somewhere on the Tikka Masala/Tomato Risotto spectrum.  
• Olive oil.

Chop up the onion and garlic. Sautee the onion in olive oil on medium heat until it gets browned. Add in the garlic, stir that around too. Mmmm, enjoy the smell. Dump a ton of spices on top of the onion and garlic, and stir that round too, adding a little more olive oil if you feel like it.  Dump the rice in, stir that around.  Dump in some pasta sauce. Stir that all around, add a little water if it's too thick. Add more spices.  Eat it straight out of the pot with your spatula, but be sure to put a trivet on the table first.

You're welcome!

Saturday June 28 is Vegan Pizza Day

So says Facebook and PETA.  And as much as I realize this is a made-up holiday (aren't they all?), it reminded me of the frozen vegan pizza binge I went on a few weeks (months?) ago.

I bought every frozen vegan pizza in the store to do a taste comparison! I meant to post a detailed illustrated comparison of each one (I think I bought 5 different ones, I don't remember all of them and I don't know where the photos went), but I overcooked several of them (our oven has a replacement knob and the temperature numbers on the knob don't reflect the actual temperature, so I had to keep tweaking it up and down) and regardless I ended up just gobbling them all down and then lounging around, as pizza eating often induces.  Here are my hazy, time delayed notes:

The first thing I realized was that just because a pizza is using non-dairy cheese, it DOESN'T mean it is vegan!  Some of those frozen pizzas were implied they were vegan, even though they were not.  Amy's Soy Cheese pizza "Contains wheat, soy and milk protein" so be aware!  Amy's Vegan Margherita Pizza is vegan though, and I recall it being pretty good.

Another one was Daiya's Cheeze Lover's Pizza, and that was pretty good too (sorry it's so vague, it was a while ago).  I think I had two different varieties of Daiya frozen pizza.  Daiya seems to be the gold standard of vegan cheese, and I hear people gush about it all the time but my mother-in-law (who doesn't do dairy) prefers some other kind, I'll have to ask her to remind me what it is.

The Tofurky ones were OK, it's been too long for me to remember specifics, sorry. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm writing this post because I don't eat dairy frozen pizza normally.  BUT I DO EAT HOT FRESH LOCAL PIZZERIA PIZZA! Which brings me to....

My top pick: Go to Two Boots (so many locations now! Even outside of NY!) and get a V for Vegan pizza, which is "Daiya non-dairy cheese with artichokes, shiitake mushrooms, red onions and criss-cross of basil and red pepper pestos."  There's a Two Boots in my neighborhood and when I want a pizza fix, that is my go-to place! If you prefer delivery, they don't list it on their website, but the V for Vegan pizza shows up when you order via Seamless. That's one of the reasons why New Yorkers live in New York, right? So we can make a few clicks online and a hot vegan pizza shows up at our door.

PS since we're on the topic of pizza which naturally leads to cheese, I found a BuzzFeed called 14 Vegan Cheeses That Will Make You Forget About The Real Thing. It's mostly recipes so don't hold your breath waiting for me to make one and tell you how it is, but if you want one leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Some Recreational Reading, Sci Fi Edition

Photo via http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

My husband I were talking about extra-terrestrial intelligence, and I wondered aloud why we put so much effort into looking as far as human and technologically possible for signs of intelligent life, while we hesitate to acknowledge that the animals we share the Earth with are intelligent and sensitive creatures.  I have actually had conversations with philosophy professors about whether or not my dog has feelings (duh! PS it's been proven)!   

  

Anyway, I have often heard joke, "If G_d didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?" Well, here's a fictional account of an alien discussion about.... us!  My husband read it a long time ago and thought it was appropriate to the topic, it could explain why we have get to get a response from any of the signals we've been sending out into the universe.  

THEY'RE MADE OUT OF MEAT by Terry Bisson 

"They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"Meat. They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in that sector and they're made out of meat."
"Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"
"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads, like the weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
"No brain?"
"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"So ... what does the thinking?"
"You're not understanding, are you? You're refusing to deal with what I'm telling you. The brain does the thinking. The meat."
"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal!  Are you beginning to get the picture or do I have to start all over?"
"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
"Thank you. Finally. Yes. They are indeed made out of meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
"Omigod. So what does this meat have in mind?"
"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the Universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas and information. The usual."
"We're supposed to talk to meat."
"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there. Anybody home.' That sort of thing."
"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?"
"Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."
"I thought you just told me they used radio."
"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
"Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe, without prejudice, fear or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."
"I was hoping you would say that."
"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say? 'Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"
"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they can only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."
"So we just pretend there's no one home in the Universe."
"That's it."
"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you probed? You're sure they won't remember?"
"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."
"And we marked the entire sector unoccupied."
"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"
"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again."
"They always come around."
"And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the Universe would be if one were all alone ..."

Back to the Start

I'm still alive!  I wasn't sure I would be at one point though, I was really sick (likely the flu, although I never tested positive for it).  Anyway, I was a hot hot mess, and I'm just now finally getting back to my full potential.  It's been hard with the cold, I think just being exposed to the elements really drains a lot of my energy.

So anyway, I just started another meditation course, so it means I'm back to the East Village once a week, which is chock full of great places for wannabegans to eat!

Last night was our first night of level 2 meditation class, and we went to the same place where we went on the first night of level 1 mediation class, ANGELIKA KITCHEN!  I have such affection for this place, because back when I was a wee young wannabegan (... let's just say over a DECADE AGO), I worked in the takeout/juice bar section of the restauruant (apologies to all the people that I messed up their orders).  I loved it though!  Actually, the reason why I applied for a job there was because I loved the food so much, but as a scrappy young thing I didn't have enough $$ to eat there as often as I wanted to.  When I worked there, I got a meal every shift!  I was SO HEALTHY and energetic and fit back then (partially due to youth), random people would comment that my skin looked amazing (true!) and overall I was probably the closest to ideal health I've ever been.

OK, enough reminiscing.  Last night was COLD, and I wanted nothing more to warm up with a hot meal!  To start off the meal, we ordered the CURRIED CASHEW SPREAD (all raw) and KOMBU VEGETABLE BOUILLON. I love that boulion - definitely warming. For entrees, my husband and I both ordered the DASHI AND NOODLES.  We almost never order the same thing because we like to sample as many things as possible from the menu then share, but we both wanted the exact same thing and it's so good, we did it even though it didn't make sense to. Also super warming, and we both love that dish so much!  We had finished our meal but we had a teeny bit of time to kill before our class started so we went ahead and also ordered my favorite, favorite tea which is nearly impossible to find in stores: MU 16 TEA!!  My husband has a sweet tooth so for a dessert we got a MAPLE TOFU WHIP, which is kind of like whipped cream or vanilla pudding, which Hubby loved.  I was pretty full, or else I would have gotten the Kanten Parfait, which is layered cookie bits, nut cream, and kind of a fruit pie filling.  For some reason I love the parfaits, and I generally love Angelika Kitchen, but I have to agree with my husband that their one weak spot is their cookies.  On their own, they just taste like what I imagine cookies taste like during war time or the great depression.  Mixed up in the parfait, they are great!

So anyway, it was another great meal at a place full of nostalgia for me.  I definitely recommend coming here if you want something hearty, warming, and comforting in the middle of winter.  (They also have juice and lighter fare, but we can talk about that once the trees have leaves on them again.) Also I love being able to order ANYTHING off the menu and not think about if it is vegan or not.

(Follow me on Foursquare if you want to know what and where I'm eating wannabegan!)

Not Beef

This morning I had a slow morning and I had some tea, but really I wanted something savory and warming too. Soup is one of my favorite foods and I usually keep some bouillon or something in the fridge for when I want a hot cup of broth (is that weird?). I bought this on a whim a long time ago, so I expected a rock-hard cube of salt, but what came out instead was such a pleasant surprise!  

So I took one of the cubes and broke it into a few pieces before pouring boiled water over it (I used a pint glass with a thermal sleeve, so 16 oz) which I think is the recommended ratio. The cube dissolved surprisingly fast, and the the best part was ...(is this weird?) it created a thin oil layer on top of the broth, which I love!  It just makes they soup so much heartier, it feels like real soup not just salty brown water.  It tasted like Pho broth to me, with a rich and complex flavor (that could have just been the photo on the box suggesting the idea to my brain.)  I was thinking, this broth plus plain rice noodles, DINNER=DONE.  Seriously, the broth is so delicious it really doesn't need anything else. What if I had broth for breakfast every morning??  

Anyway, having my Not-Beef broth reminded me of this video about dairy cows and how happy they looked to be set free in a pasture.  Have a cup of Not-Beef instead of normal beef broth and imagine that you made this happen!