KISS – Keep It Simple Silly

Big news, I had my first article posted on another blog site! My current employer The Chopping Block, has given me the opportunity to write a monthly article. Want to know what organic foods you should by, check out The Organic Debate.

Well the Holidays are in full force and I found it easy to slip back into my hosting routine. The changes I do see are that while I like to come up with elaborate food events in my head based on budget and lack of time the mantra “KISS” has to be repeated over and over… Keep It Simply Silly (made some change to make it positive). While keeping it simple definitely limits the stress and maximizes my socializing time, it does take work to stay on track. With that in mind I thought I would start posting some easy fun Thanksgiving Food options for those who may need an extra side dish or some Vegan alternatives.

Our simple menu for my Halloween dinner party consisted of:

 – Roasted Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

– Arugula Salad with Apples and Celery

– Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our simple menu for the Bi-Election Party consisted of: 

– Italian Comfort Popcorn (not vegan, but it one the vote that night, its simple – plain popcorn, olive oil, salt, fresh ground pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese, it one in a landslide) 

– Coconut Curry Carmel Corn 

– Mama Emmy Lou’s Special Spaghetti Sauce (it’s a secret for now)

– Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Carmel Frosting (this recipe is still a work in progress)

Stay tuned for some Thanksgiving specialties and if you have any requests I’m up for a cooking challenge.

Voices In My Head

***Hi All, so there will be more Vietnam to come, I can’t not tell you how I may have gone a little over board when having clothes made for me in Hoi An or how a woman shoved meat skewers into my mouth, vegan doesn’t translate in Vietnamese. But I thought I would get some up to date blogs posted. So stay tuned.

Voices were pounding in my head, news feed after news feed all the reporter could do was talk of death, remembrance of those we had lost and constant cut ins with presidential address updates. More images, the President speaks, and then we jump back to the morning news show and some man is jumping around with the newest dance moves, while everyone else is painfully trying to imitate him. My head was spinning; this was my introduction back into US news and television. I’d been home for a week but my assimilation process was a slow one. When I walked off the plane in Los Angeles and through customs I wanted to kiss the ground, what can I say being abroad has both negative and positive affects on your beliefs of you own country. But reading the customs sign Thank You and Welcome to the United States had me brimming with joy. When the customs agent asked, “why were you traveling in India, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam?” I smiled and said, “I was trying to figure out my life.” Ok yes the smile held a hint of sarcasm and my response earned me a confused look, but then he said, “welcome home,” and it felt so right.

So after the tearful embrace and love from my parents and Lulu I was whisked home where I enjoyed a veggie meal and after 30 hours of travel and very little sleep I fell into bed ready to crash for what I had hopped would be about two days worth of shuteye. Lying in bed wide-awake at 3 am I realized it was going to take time to adjust. So after a week of very little interaction with the outside world I decided to watch my favorite morning news show, Good Morning America with my favorite morning news anchor, Josh Elliott, he is just so dreamy, gotta love those really tall men. Dreamy-ness aside, I was overwhelmed by the images, sounds and entertainment. As I tried to process the fact that my travels had sealed me in a bubble of protection from all things US, my protective layer was now popped. First realization, I’ve missed a lot; see, I used to have a reputation of being the entertainment queen, ask me a question about Hollywood I could tell you who, where and when. Now I was at a loss, but the weird part was I wasn’t that concerned about getting caught up. Instead I became completely overwhelmed with questions of my own unsteady future, as well as images, media reports and social media updates of injustices of the present. While abroad there were many behaviors I experienced that I had to accept because this was “their” culture. Well honey not anymore this is my culture and I was blatantly aware that everything was wrong. All of this culminated into a completely irrational battle of wills in my head. As I drove along trying to process all of these emotions and thoughts I realized I was surrounded by silence, there was no honking, no chaos, and no people. I realized that I while the chaos of the streets, sounds and experiences of South East Asia were gone, I now was facing a new chaos. While the world around me was no longer new and unknown, the chaos was now in my mind and I didn’t know if there was anyway to be free of it.

At that very thought, I realized that the chaos in my mind was all self induced. A major theme in the yoga philosophy is to gain purification through the mind with the right attitude. In yoga attitude is acceptance, and a major part of acceptance is that we need to understand and accept what we can and cannot control. I cannot change the world around me; I cannot change the way that my neighbors treat their neighbors (figuratively). All I can change and control is myself. So first things first, maybe limit my television news time. While I can’t become ignorant to what is happening in this world, I can be more particular about where I get my information from. Second, I can take a breath, relax, and maybe take another breath, and then smile, because I’m home.

 

Quick Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Risotto

As the saying goes “time flies when you having fun,” for me and my lack of blogging the excuse would be, time flies when your life is consumed with work, training for a half marathon, friends, family and traveling. Obviously nothing that I could ever complain about, but when I wake up in April with piles of clothing and unpacked suitcases surrounding my bed I start to wonder how four months have passed in the blink of an eye. My biggest complaint about a hectic schedule is that I find it hard to cook and eat healthy. I will admit that the Thai food delivery guy knows me pretty well. But no more! I will find quick easy ways to cook satisfying meals even when I am struggling to find clean undergarments because I can’t remember the last time I did laundry!

For my first speedy meal my taste buds were inspired or craving risotto. A warm hearty meal that is categorized as one of the most time consuming dishes to make. Well with a little help from Lundberg Florentine Risotto we are going to have a satisfying meal in 30 minutes!

Quick Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Risotto 

What you’ll need is the following:

Lundberg Florentine Vegan Risotto (I normally buy this at Whole Foods)

Olive Oil

Nutritional Yeast: nutritional yeast is a vegan wonder, it can be found at some health food grocery stores, but I buy it on amazon.com, two containers at a time to stock up. Nutritional Yeast is an inactive yeast that is yellow in color. It can be bought in a powder or flake form, although I have only used the powder form. It has a nutty, cheesy flavor and therefore is a great substitute for parmesan cheese which could be added to this recipe. It is a great source for protein, vitamins and B-12.

3-4 cloves Garlic – chopped

8 to 12 ounces mushrooms (I like crimini, but I have also done a mix of cimini and shitake or any other type of mushroom) – roughly chopped

2 to 3 handfuls of Spinach – roughly chopped

Ground Pepper and Salt to taste

1. Follow the directions on the box for the vegan risotto

2. In a sauté pan add the chopped garlic, the chopped mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté. Keep on a medium temperature so that the garlic does not burn. Cook until the mushrooms juicy and soft.

3. Add the chopped spinach to the cooked mushroom mixture, mix together and then add about five grinds of pepper.

4. Stir the risotto carefully, check to make sure the rice is not crunchy (if you have seen Top Chef you know this is a Risotto nightmare), once the water is absorbed, turn off the heat and add 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (base this off your flavor pallet and preference, if you want a stronger creamy flavor add more). Stir until well combined and then add the risotto to the mushroom/spinach mixture.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

I’ve been craving mushrooms lately so I like to take portabella mushroom caps drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and the add a scoop of the risotto mix to the top. Then place in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Once the mushroom caps and cooked take out and enjoy.