A Disaster of a Dish

The first time I try a new recipe, I try to follow it as closely as written as possible. Then, if successful, I like to play with the recipe a bit and see if I can create something new and fabulous...Last night was NOT one of those nights...

I'd read quite some time ago on Vegan Dad's blog how he goes about creating his own "meats," and he noted how it was really all about the spices. Well, I love MorningStar sausage crumbles, so I thought maybe I'd try my hand at creating something with the same flavors, but without the sodium. I found a sausage seasonings recipe online, mixed up the spices in my mini-chopper along with some olive oil, marinated cubed tofu in it, then stirred it all up with cooked brown rice. It was truly delicious!

Last night, I thought I'd try to jazz up some quick-cooking barley with the same spice and olive oil mixture. I threw all the spices into my mini-chopper (along with some red pepper flake, which I didn't have on hand for my first stab at the recipe). Then, I thought about adding something sweet to the mix. Brown sugar? No. Maple syrup? Nah. Molasses!! Yeah, that'll add some good flavor, right? Um...wrong.

First, the mixture had the color and consistency of used motor oil. I stirred it into my hot barley and hoped for the best. It didn't look or smell any more appetizing. Then, I took a bite...Hmmm...interesting. I could definitely taste the fennel seed, and it was nice and spicy from the red pepper flake...but YUCK! I tried a few more bites, but just couldn't finish it. And I threw away the rest of the barley because I knew it wouldn't get better with age.

What a waste...all that food in the trash. Next time, I'll stick with the recipe and maybe add a drizzle of maple syrup onto an individual serving to see if it's any good.

(BTW - Despite my kitchen disaster, it was a nice Valentine's Day. Cute cards from Kids and Husband, and Husband bought a Whitman's sampler of chocolates like he does for me every year. Not vegan, of course, but I ate quite a bit of it, nonetheless - and he was super sweet to get it for me. Of course, then the floodgates were opened and I had a little more chocolate later in the day, some string cheese, and cheese popcorn. I did more than fall off the vegan wagon - I threw myself under the bus!! Oh, well. I've been pretty good for the last 1 1/2 months, so I was probably due for a binge...)

Steakhouse Success

My second big lunch meeting since going vegan, and the challenge was a little daunting...Lone Star Steakhouse. I'd only been there once before, when Husband and I were dating. The food was delicious (this was WAY before I went veg), but the waitress sat down at our table to take our order (always a restaurant turn-off, in my opinion) and the service was slower than slow. So I was looking forward to seeing if I'd have a better experience the second time around and how I would fare.

It was easier than I thought. When we sat down, they had little buckets of peanuts in the shell set out for snacking. Protein - check! For lunch I ordered a dinner salad minus the cheese with balsamic vinaigrette and a plain baked sweet potato. Success! At a steakhouse, even!

Out of Commission

Sunday morning, I bent over to pick up a laundry basket. When I tried to stand up with it...I couldn't. I threw out my back. I've never been in so much pain, and I've given birth to two children. I've also never thrown out my back, so I didn't know what had happened. Luckily, Husband was home (he's thrown out his back a few times) and was able to watch the kids for the rest of the day while I lay in the bedroom dreading having to get up and go potty. When I needed to get up, I either pulled myself along the furniture and walls with my upper body at almost 90 degrees to my legs because I couldn't straighten up, or I crawled on my hands and knees.

I called in sick yesterday, because while the pain was much improved, I stilled walked around like Groucho Marx. The doctor prescribed a muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory. Today, I woke up and could actually stand up straight, so I got ready for work. But as the morning wore on, my back started hurting more, so after debating with myself for about an hour and on Husband's advice, I took another day off. I hated to do it, because I'm going to be really far behind at work, but I think I would've had to leave early if I'd gone. Tomorrow, I plan to go to work and see how long I last, even if I have to move slowly.