Running!!!!!!

I ran my first 5K of the season this morning and scored a personal record for me, 28:15, which was second place for women ages 30-34. Ok it's not great, but it's 25 seconds faster than my best time before that. I'm very excited about it because I've been working on my speed this winter.

I was hoping to break 28 minutes. And, if it weren't 50 degrees this morning and my Indian food from last night wasn't giving me serious gastrointestinal problems, I'll bet I would have been faster.

This picture is from a year ago, a different 5K. If you weren't wiser, you'd think with my goofy grin that I had won the thing, but I was just muggin' it up for the camera.

My Gardenburger

I made mine on whole wheat bread with sweet potato, ketchup, and Vegenaise.

Stop Darfur Genocide

I volunteered at a rally this evening in Rochester to call awareness to the genocide in Darfur. In the Darfur region of Sudan, 400,000 civillians have been murdered, 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes, and 3.5 million are living in starvation. 10,000 more are murdered each week.

You have the power to stop this genocide. Go to Save Darfur.org and sign a postcard to President Bush to take action. These postcards will be delivered to President Bush on April 30 during the Rally to Stop Genocide in Washington D.C.

As a Jewish American, this especially hits home, as many of my ancestors were murdered in the Holocaust. We all have the responsibility to take action. We cannot sit by idly while genocide occurs.

A Rewarding Patient Encounter

Some days, I feel like I might as well have a conversation with the wall than tell my patients what they need to do to be healthy -- exercise, lose weight, watch what you eat, and take your pills. Because, when I tell them to do those things, I see them again in 3 months, they're 10 pounds heavier, their cholesterol numbers stink, and they haven't "had time" to start exercising.

Then, every so often, I do find a patient who follows my advice. I saw one such patient today in my clinic. I met him 2 years ago when he had his heart attack. He was overweight, smoking, sedentary, and ate horribly. I gave him my usual advice that I give to most patients. Since then, he lost about 30 pounds and is a normal healthy weight. He quit smoking. He changed his diet dramatically, cutting out a lot of meat and dairy.

To this day, his heart health is terrific. He probably has no idea how thrilled I am to see him do so well, but it absolutely brightens my day.

Scrambled Tofu and Pancakes

These are Bisquick Light pancakes. I made them as instructed on the box, but instead of egg used Ener-G Egg Replacer and soy milk instead of cow milk.

The tofu scramble is made from extra-firm tofu that is crumbled, with some onion, spinach, and tomato, and a drop of canola oil. I cooked this up on the same griddle as the pancakes. The spices definitely made this creation delicious -- my choices are turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, sea salt, and a little pepper.

Mock Tuna Sandwich

Okay, so I gave up fish at age 11 when I grew attached to my fishtank friends, so I truly have no concept of what tuna should taste like. This is a recipe out of this month's Vegetarian Journal. It makes for a terrific, filling sandwich.

Mock 'Tuna' Salad
(Serves 3)
1 cup canned chickpeas
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 small onion, firmly chopped
3 Tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (I used 2)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mash chickpeas in a small bowl. Ad remaining ingredients and mix well.

Wegmans Cruelty

Wegmans is our big local grocery chain. They're progressive in that they carry a variety of vegetarian and vegan staple foods, sell organic produce, and stock many cruelty-free cosmetics and toiletries. However, they are in the dark ages when it comes to egg production. Learn more at wegmanscruelty.com, and do your part by either not buying eggs or buying only cage-free eggs.

Stuff to Make out of Basmati Rice

I'm moving in 2 months, so it's getting to be time to use up some bulk ingredients that are taking up space in the cabinets.

Tonight was Basmati Rice. I steamed some baby bok choy, mushrooms, and peppers to go with the rice. And, with the leftover rice, I made rice pudding with soy milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins. The picture of the rice pudding came out terrible, so no picture, sorry.

Why is it....

..... that non-veg people can get so weird when you ask about their recipes?

One friend was talking about a matzah lasagna recipe. I was curious, because I'm always looking for cool things to cook. So I asked, "What vegetables are in it?"

She replied, "It had portobello mushrooms, and sauce, and spinach, and.... oh you won't like this.... it had meat in it too."

I know that she, like most people in this country, eats meat. And I find it gross, but I accept it. But, I ask about the recipe because it sounds like something that I could make, and with a few minor adjustments it could be vegan, not to judge people.

Matza Pasta

So, I've got some mushrooms and eggplant sauteed in olive oil, then added some marginally-acceptable kosher for passover tomato pasta sauce and matza farfel.

I could really go for a bagel right now. But, I'll wait 3 more days.

Amazing Chocolate Spread!

My mom found this kosher for Passover chocolate spread in her quest for what to feed me, her vegan daughter. This is from the kosher grocery store in the Detroit area, One Stop Kosher. Not that I need the extra calories as I'm trying to shape up before my upcoming trip to Israel, but this stuff is incredible on matzah!

Eggplant and Matzo Meal Pancakes

I made these eggplant pancakes from a recipe in Nancy Berkoff's Vegan Passover Recipes. Boil small cubes of eggplant in water, then put in food processor with matzo meal (mushrooms were part of the recipe, but I didn't have them), a little bit of vegetable broth, and some spices. Then, form into pancakes and either fry in a pan for three minutes on each side or place in the oven for 15-20 minutes for less oily pancakes. Either way, they taste great with a little tomato sauce on them

Sweet Potato Kugel

I love this stuff -- sweet potatoes, apples, raisins, matzah meal, and a little grape juice and walnuts.

Passover Seder

This is my veggie loaf.

It's Passover Time!

I know there are a few Jewish folks who read this blog.

My immediate family (Mom, Dad, Kevin, Mary Ruth, and little Samantha) are all lacto-ovo vegetarians. So, our seder dinners, where we eat lots of food and retell the story of the Jews leaving slavery in Egypt, are vegetarian.

Last Passover was my first as a vegan, and occurred only a month after I became a vegan. As the eight day Passover diet restricts grains, rice, corn, and legumes, it's always been a challenge to me, since I eat a lot of soy. However, with excluding eggs and dairy from my diet, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get through all eight days without absolutely losing it.

I prepared. I made a vegetable nut loaf and a sweet potato and apple dish for seder, and they were delicious. I tried a recipe for matzah balls without eggs and they were a complete disaster. But, most importantly, unlike any previous Passover when in frustration I'd unhealthily gorge myself on eggs and dairy, I was prepared.

And, it was my easiest Passover ever.

I highly recommend Chef Nancy Berkoff's Vegan Passover Recipes and Roberta Kalechofsky's The Vegetarian Pesach Cookbook. Also, the Vegetarian Resource Group has some great recipes, including a Sweet Potato Kugel, which I convinced Hadassah to send the recipe to all of its new members, but that's another odd story.

So, to those of you who celebrate Passover, have a wonderful holiday.

Pasta..... lazy

This weekend, I moonlighted at a small hospital about 45 minutes away. Moonlighting means taking additional shifts to make extra money, and since physician-in-training salaries are low, working the extra hours is very tempting.

I definitely worked hard for my money this weekend, a full 12 hours on both Saturday and Sunday, without much break, and even got called in in the middle of the night on Saturday night. So, tonight I wasn't in the mood to cook much. Hence this very lazy pasta dish that has some nutritional value: whole wheat penne pasta with Prego and a fresh hydroponic orange pepper sauteed in canola oil, salt, and pepper.

I wolfed down my dinner so fast that I didn't take the picture until after dinner. This picture is of my leftovers in tupperware for lunch tomorrow.

Melissa the Dog -- May, 1992 - April 7, 2006

My family's dear dog Melissa crossed the rainbow bridge today.

Back in high school, my brother really wanted a dog. I didn't -- I thought dogs were too much effort. Kevin picked out Melissa from our local Humane Society shelter. She was a hyper little girl at first, and we all grew to love her. Her birthdays were celebrated at Taco Bell and Dairy Queen. Ok, they weren't celebrated in those restaurants, but we'd all get in the car and go for a drive to get dinner for us and her.

She mellowed out as she got older. Then, at age 9, she was found to have a mass in her spleen. We were told it was probably cancer and that she would die soon. Her spleen was removed urgently, the mass was no more than a bruise, and she recovered. A year later, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and her body nearly shut down. With medications, lots of loving care, and occasional fluid injections, she was nursed back to health, and lived a happy three more years.

As the years passed, her hearing and vision deteriorated. Her joints became sore. She still wagged her tail for us, but she slowed down quite a bit. Today, my parents came home to find that she had passed away.

Dogs are wonderful creatures, full of personality, and give us unconditional love. Melissa was a part of our family, and she will be forever missed.

Steamed Veggies

One of the many reasons that I love shopping at Wegmans is their cooking demonstrations. Very often they have something vegan, or something that can be made vegan easily. I love to chat up the chef and learn how he prepares different foods. This past weekend, the chef was steaming vegetables, and the final product was delicious! So, I bought a steaming basket set.

Tonight, I steamed red and yellow peppers, baby bok choy, and sweet peas in pods with some salt and pepper. On top of the veggies, I layered some Morningstar Farms Steak Strips, and drizzled the dish with my favorite sesame garlic sauce.

Pita Sandwich

I decided to take advantage of the delicious whole wheat pita that I bought yesterday. As I was daydreaming in the cath lab today, this is the sandwich I came up with: hummus, avocado, sweet potato, and seitan. Yum!

Midweek Munchies!

Midweek Munchies: What Vegan Doc is contributing for the week I took a trip to Lori's Natural Foods today with the intention of picking up just a few things, but as expected, brought home more than I had planned. Earlier in the week I bought fruits and veggies, and today I picked up some less honest items: Gardenburger Chicken Wings -- spicy, with weird texture. I don't recommend them. Soy Dream Organic French Vanilla -- less fat and fewer calories than their Decadent line, but still delicious Edamame Whole wheat pita bread A pre-made pinto bean, basmati rice, and avocado wrap -- for dinner for a vegan girl on the go! A few Amy's Indian Meal dinners -- these make for great lunches at work Check out Harmonia's blog for other Midweek Munchies sites!

Click here for the Midweek Munchies code
Click here for Vegan Doc's blog

Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
Technorati Tag: Midweek Munchies

A special thanks to Running2Ks and Rift for all of their help with coding, graphics, and encouragement for this project.

PURPOSE of Midweek Munchies: Put together by a small group of Veg Women, we hope to spread the word about healthy vegetarianism while obtaining idea starters for meals, recipes, learn about new products, and meet other female veg*n bloggers. Visiting and commenting on other participants lists are encouraged but not required. Have fun and Go Veg!

Sloppy Joes

I made a sloppy joe sandwich on a whole wheat bun. I sauteed one cooking onion, along with chopped red and yellow peppers (hydroponic peppers, no less!), then added some Annie's barbecue sauce and Boca Burger Crumbles.

Good Karma Vegan House in San Jose

Whenever I travel, I go out of my way to dine at at least one vegan or vegetarian restaurant.

I just got back from a trip for work to San Jose. I ditched my group during the lunch session, as they're not really into veg cuisine, to "go find my peeps" at a local vegan restaurant. The Good Karma Vegan House was absolutely amazing! For $7.75, I got a heaping plate with brown rice, indian tofu, "lemon chicken", stir-fried vegetables, and a drumstick, and for dessert some tapioca pudding. If I ever get back to San Jose, I'm definitely going back to Good Karma!