Life Of A Vegetarian

3/26/2012 This past weekend had been absolutely exhausting. I...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:15:40 -0400

3/26/2012

This past weekend had been absolutely exhausting. I had to work on Saturday. When I got off work I went out with my cousin and a few other people to celebrate his birthday. We got in around 6 in the morning and I was up by 10. We had to move all the furniture in my house because we’re having tile floors installed this week. When I finished that I made this meal which took almost 4 hours. I made Bajan Macaroni Pie with Tofu Cheddar, Vegetable Chow Mein, Sauteed Spinach, and Classic Barbadian Sweet Potato Pie. I was going to make a Rum Cake for desert, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m still tired!

3/25/2012 Forgot to post this one on friday. This meal is...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:47:14 -0400

3/25/2012

Forgot to post this one on friday. This meal is Curried TVP Stew with Coconut Rice. I sauted some bok choy to go with it. This was a simple meal, but it tasted great.

Slipped up at the end.

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:40:17 -0400

3/25/2012

I’m going to start off by saying that I am disappointed in myself, but I understand that mistakes happen. Today is my cousin’s birthday and we decided to celebrate last night. We got together with a few people, enjoyed ourselves, and ended up at Denny’s at like 4 this morning. Somehow I ended up ordering some chicken tenders. I was half way done with my meal before I realized the mistake I had made. Not to make any excuses but I was a little intoxicated and I hadn’t slept in like a day and a half. Minimal sleep and alcohol isn’t the best combination!

3/22/2012 Tamarind Balls. This is the second thing I made today....

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:31:46 -0400

3/22/2012

Tamarind Balls. This is the second thing I made today. These were made by removing the flesh of the tamarind from the shell and then combining it with light brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. The mixture is then rolled into balls, which are then rolled in some more sugar. The tamarinds are very acidic so the sugar and pepper provide a nice contrast. If you have a sweet tooth you would probably love these.

3/22/2012 Pholourie and Cucumber Chutney. This dish was...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:11:14 -0400

3/22/2012

Pholourie and Cucumber Chutney. This dish was requested by my mom and my cousin. This dish is more of an appetizer or a snack. Pholourie is basically split pea fritters, which is usually accompanied by some kind of chutney. Chutney can be used as a dip or as a topping for other dishes. The chutney was made from a finely grated cucumber, grated onion, minced habanero, fresh lime juice, cumin, and salt. This dish took a bit of time to make, but it was well forth it.

3/21/2012 Light Sweat Raisin Bread. This was the first thing...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:45:01 -0400

3/21/2012

Light Sweat Raisin Bread. This was the first thing I started today, but it didn’t finish until this afternoon. I had to knead the flour and let it raise for a few hours. It was then baked for almost an hour. Once it was finished I had to let it cool before I could cut into it. This bread can be eaten plain or with some jam. Either way its delicious!

3/21/2012 Today’s Meal: Breadfruit Chips. Today I kept it...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:31:17 -0400

3/21/2012

Today’s Meal: Breadfruit Chips. Today I kept it light since I have leftovers from last night. I made these from half of a breadfruit which was cut into crescents and fried in a bit of olive oil. Once they were removed from the oil they were sprinkled with a mixture of chili powder, salt, and lime zest.

3/21/2012 Its been a while since I’ve posted anything on...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:36:09 -0400

3/21/2012

Its been a while since I’ve posted anything on here. I took a few days off from making a different dish everyday and I had my fun. I did manage to stay away from the meat. Now its back to business. Since I have some extra time this week I figure I can double up on the dishes to make up for the days I didn’t cook. This is what i made yesterday: Pigeon Pea Rice topped with Yellow Split Pea Dal. The Dal is basically split peas which are cooked in water for almost an hour until it becomes a creamy consistency. The split peas were cooked with curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, garam masala, chopped onion, minced habanero pepper, minced garlic and a little salt. This was a pretty basic dish, but it was very flavorful.

Today I made Curried Rice with sauteed Jerk Sausage and sauteed...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:42:39 -0400

Today I made Curried Rice with sauteed Jerk Sausage and sauteed kale. This was another quick meal. The Jerk Sausage was sauteed with onions, and the kale was sauteed with onions and garlic. this was a simple and delicious meal.

Photo

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:29:52 -0400

Progress Report

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:22:07 -0400

3/14/2012

A little more than half way through this journey and it’s been amazing thus far. I have remained completely vegetarian so far, but I did take a break from cooking a meal everyday because I was pretty exhausted. Other than those two days I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. It’s been pretty easy to maintain my vegetarian status with all of the meat replacements that are included in the the cookbook I’m using. My mom is also thoroughly enjoying this challenge being that she hasn’t had to cook for the past couple of weeks. I can easily see myself sticking with this meat-free way of life.

Today’s Meal: Barbadian Muffins. I have a fridge full of...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:20:51 -0400

Today’s Meal: Barbadian Muffins. I have a fridge full of leftovers right now, so I went with something that I new wouldn’t last. These were supposed to be fried, but I don’t like a lot of fried foods. Since I made Banana Fritters a couple of days ago, I decided to bake these. I guess I took the Bajan out of these because they came out like regular muffins. I drizzled a little honey on them to crave my sweet tooth.

Today’s Meal: Lasagna. I’m on the fence with this...

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:27:51 -0500

Today’s Meal: Lasagna. I’m on the fence with this one. Lasagna has always been one of my favorite dishes, but I’m not sure about this one. This lasagna was made with textured vegetable protein in place of the meat, tofu cheese and marinara sauce. The tofu cheese was made out of tofu, green onions, garlic, cornstarch and oregano. I think the cheese is where I was thrown off. The texture was just off! Make a few tweaks and I could see myself enjoying this meal.

Today’s Meal: Coconut Orange Pancakes. Yesterday I pretty...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:55:54 -0500

Today’s Meal: Coconut Orange Pancakes. Yesterday I pretty much felt like crap the whole day, so I went home and slept until this morning. I woke up feeling completely rejuvenated. I got my workout in and then decided to make breakfast since I was feeling so upbeat. These pancakes pretty much consisted of whole wheat flour, milk, brown sugar, fresh orange juice, and grated fresh coconut. It was topped with a mixture of orange juice, water, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and some agave nectar. I had these with some more Jerk Sausages. They seem to go with everything in this cookbook

Today’s Meal: Banana Fritters. This was a fairly easy...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:53:36 -0500

Today’s Meal: Banana Fritters. This was a fairly easy recipe. I’m not really a big fan of fried food but these were delicious. I had a couple of these with some Jerk Sausages for breakfast. These were made with overripe bananas, flour and a few other added things. They were then fried for about 5 minutes, cooled, and sprinkled with a little sugar. Fried foods make me queasy, so I only had 2.

Today’s meal: Jerk Pizza with Sweet Potato Crust. This is...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:50:14 -0500

Today’s meal: Jerk Pizza with Sweet Potato Crust. This is probably the best tasting meal I’ve made thus far! The crust was made out of sweet potato and flour. The sauce is pizza sauce mixed with molasses, homemade jerk seasoning, brown sugar, curry powder, cayenne pepper, habanero pepper, and a little cornstarch. The toppings are Jerk Sausage, plantain, Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik’n strips, green onions, and some green and red bell peppers. Didn’t even realize it was missing cheese! This is my favorite meal yet.

This is how the Jerk “Sausages” that I made...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:15:00 -0500

This is how the Jerk “Sausages” that I made yesterday came out. Couldn’t even tell these were vegan sausages. On the left is the Jerk “Sausage” after being steamed and on the right is one prepared for pizza topping.

Acknowledgement

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:52:02 -0500

Being that today’s class was based on acknowledgment I felt it was only right to acknowledge my mother. This 1 week that I have been cooking really opened my eyes to what my mother does for my family. Knowing that she works a full time job and then often comes home and cooks a meal, with limited help, kind of upsets me. I’ve only been doing this for a week and I’m feeling it. I must say I have a new appreciation for all mothers that work full time or part time and then come home and take care of their families.

The phrase “working mother” is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

Today I made Jerk “Sausages” and I found out why...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:34:13 -0500

Today I made Jerk “Sausages” and I found out why prepping is so important. I planned on making something else today but I didn’t read the ingredients. I needed these Jerk “Sausages” to make what I wanted to make today. I guess I’ll make that dish tomorrow. I have to let the sausages sit in the foil and cool overnight. I’ll post the finished product tomorrow.

Sunday is when my family gets together and makes a big meal, so...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:34:15 -0500

Sunday is when my family gets together and makes a big meal, so I put a few recipes together and made this meal. This is the Bajan “Beef” Stew with Pigeon Pea Rice, Caribbean Coleslaw, and fried plantain. I’ve never been a big fan of beef stew but my family is so I made this for them. They enjoyed this meal.