This is just cruel

According to StatCounter, someone found my blog with the google search, "slowest running dog". I am going on the record, here and now. We DO run slow. But it is because of me. I am slow. Cosmo is NOT slow!

There.

Sarah Kramer

Tuesday night Bridg and I attended a presentation by Sarah Kramer of Garden of Eden, La Dolce Vegan and How It All Vegan cookbook fame. To my everlasting shame, I must admit, I don't have any of these cookbooks, but Bridget does and I have eaten great meals she has cooked from them and I have stolen a few recipes out of them. To my redeeming value though, they are on my 'To Get' list and I will have them one day. Ok, obligatory disclaimer is out of the way. The event was sponsored by SARO (Syracuse Animal Rights Organization) and the Commitee on Women and Art. There was a HUGE crowd. Like I mean HUGE. Easily well over 100 people, maybe even close to 150. Sarah demonstrated a cream of tomato soup cake from one of her cookbooks and then took questions from the audience. She was very relaxed (especially for someone whose luggage was lost by the airlines!), charming, funny and irreverent.

Bridget and Sarah:

Two random thoughts:

1)My pics don't do her justice, but Sarah Kramer is gorgeous! I mean, gorgeous! Small and petite, absolutely beautiful skin. And her hair......her hair.....I have some serious hair envy going on. I felt like a huge, frizzy haired, zitty, behemoth next to her LOL

2)Someone bought some cupcakes made from the same recipe that Sarah demonstrated and those college kids scarfed all them up before we could even make our way to the table!

It was a great night and a great event. Kudos to SARO! It was well worth venturing up to the campus and fighting for a parking space. LOL

A Hunch about my Lunch

The title doesn't mean anything, I just like the rhyme.

With no further ado, and because I know the demand for this information is great (read this as sarcastic - I am fully aware that my lunch posts are extremely self indulgent), this is what I ate this week:

Homemade chili, grapefruit sections, applesauce and some coconut rice with peas.

Sloppy Jane sandwich, made by Bridg from La Dolce Vegan. I have never been a fan of sloppy joe sandwiches. They were my least favorite (least favorite as in I would rather go hungry) meal as a kid, right there with stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage. These, however, were pretty good, if I do say so myself. The lunch is rounded out with some homemade vegan chili, a salad (there are other veggies hidden under all that romaine) and applesauce.

Leftover pad thai from Appethaizing, homemade inari, applesauce and celery, baby carrots and cashew butter to dip them in.

Homemade corn chowder (very delish, from La Dolce Vegan cookbook), a roll with Earth Balance, applesauce and to round out the meal, carrots and celery with cashew butter.

Could I eat any more applesauce? Note to self: Branch out. Get off of the applesauce wagon!

Thank you

To everyone who has linked me! Gracias!

Since I embedded statcounter on my blog, it has become very clear that a lot of traffic is driven my way from other blogs. So I would like to just throw out some appreciation to all of you who have linked me :-) Shout out to:
Bridg
Jen
Bahar
Veganruthie (I know her name is just Ruthie but Veganruthie just rolls off the tongue!)
Kleo
Candi
Yurippe in Italy. I might not understand what you are writing, but your photos speak to me! Squisito!
Meesh
Lindylou - damn, this girl always cracks me up. A rough day calls for a visit to her blog.
VKO

I know I left people out. Sorry, it's not you, it's me. I just suck. :-\

Oh, and that person who found my blog with the google search 'Dog in pain and going crazy'.....Honey, you aren't going to find any answers to deal with that situation on my blog. Take your dog to the vet. Please.

I love it when....

people tell me how delicious their food/meat is. And trust me, when someone finds out your diet deviates from the SAD, all of a sudden *everything* is about food. I especially love the 'food police'. You know....the ones that feel the need to question what you eat and inspect your food. I don't know if they do it out of concern, as if we might slip up and accidently eat something non-vegan or if they are hoping we will so they can 'catch' us. A close second to the 'food police', is the 'food describer'. "Man, you should have seen the steak we had last night, it was so juicy and rare, it melted in our mouth". "Oh, you don't know what you are missing, you should try *fill in the blank*" I got news for them. I do know what I am missing. I have eaten meat and excretions from animals. I chose not to eat it now. I have made a choice. What have you done? Followed along, lemming-like, with your upbringing, the social norm, until you go cascading off a heart attack/stroke cliff? Don't tell me I don't know what I am missing and I just need to try whatever. I know what I am missing and frankly, I am not missing it all that much. Do *you* know what *you* are missing?

Post Run Pup

Cosmo after our 3+ mile hill run with Sue. He looked so cute with his jowl hanging down!

It seemed to have warmed up a little today so I was really looking forward to running. When we got there, well, Mother it was cold! I really thought it might have been too cold for Momo so I watched him closely but he trotted along nicely and warm in his bro. We did the hill loop 4 times, 2 times each way.

First time around, all I could think of was why is it still so hard to run when I have been doing it almost 4 years on and off? It was brutal. If Sue hadn't been there, I would have stopped. As it was, I could barely keep up with her. And she is talking the whole time! Second and third loops were better. Sherry joined us late at the start of our last loop. It was great because we hadn't seen her in a while and she was able to talk through that last loop which made it go by faster. We stopped and she continued on. I briefly thought about continuing with her so she wouldn't be running alone but I didn't want to push it. I felt decent at the end and wanted to keep that feeling. I felt a little bad but then I thought, 'eh, she is a better and faster runner than I am anyways, she doesn't need me. I would only slow her down!' LOL

Calcium, protein and fiber

When people hear I maintain a vegan diet, I can almost guarantee what their next question will be (after 'what do you eat'?) It will almost always be some varient of "Where do you get your protein/and or/calcium"? My usual smart ass answer is to ask them just how much protein/calcium they think a person needs and where do they get theirs? Of course, not once in my 8+ years of eating vegan or 13 years eating vegetarian, has one meat eater been able to tell what the protein and calcium amounts recommended for the average American are.

Tonight, I came home from the Monday hill run (which is an epic story in itself) to find dinner made by the husb.

Dinner consisted of adzuki beans with nori (he couldn't find the konbu in the cupboard) he cooked in the slowcooker, over quinoa with a salad. I sauteed up a tofurkey beer brat to go along with my dinner. You just know that Franks went over those beans very liberally! LOL Here is the breakdown of calcium, protein and fiber for this meal. I am omitting the salad because I couldn't eat it after eating all the other food. All percents are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

quinoa - 1.5 cups cooked

calcium: 15%

protein: 33 grams

fiber: 15 grams

adzuki beans - 1 cup cooked

calcium: 24%

protein: 44 grams

fiber: 24 grams

Kale - 1 cup cooked

calcium: 18%

protein: 4 grams

fiber: 2 grams

Tofurkey Beer Brat sausage - 1 link

calcium: 4%

protein: 24 grams

fiber: 5 grams

The totals for my meal:

calcium: 61% of the daily requirement

protein: 105 grams

fiber: 46 grams

61% of my calcium from one meal.

The average 140 lb woman needs 90 grams of protein. I got 105 grams from one vegan meal, which puts me in good company because Americans eat too much protein. And it isn't do y'all any good! Why do you think you need all that fortified calcium crap? To replace the calcium your kidneys are leaching from your bones to neutralize the excessive protein you are shoving in your mouth!

Recommended amount of daily fiber? Between 25 and 30 grams. Got it from one vegan meal.

Anyways, these figures are very easy to find on reputable sites on the internet. I am too lazy and too tired to link them all.

Oh, and the salad? It will be part of my lunch tomorrow. Along with some Sloppy Janes from La Dolce Vegan (I think) that Bridg made. We met up at the Y before the run and she gave them to me. I remarked to her that I would stop at the store and pick up some rolls and she said she had already included them! Gotta love meeting up with a friend and being handed dinner and the next day's lunch! And all because she can't stand to eat leftovers. I am a lucky girl! LOL

GWC Walk

Our weather has been unpredictable so we kind of called off the walk yesterday. I still went out, as I don't live too far from the Erie Canal Camillus Park, so if we got there and couldn't walk, it wouldn't mean a whole lot of travel time for me lost. On our way there, the weather fluctuated from sunny and gorgeous to snow flurries. Don't worry, I took the picture below just by holding up the camera and snapping. I am surprised it came out :-)







I had Cosmo and Angus with me and we decided to walk even though we were the only greyhound walkers there. There was plenty of folks there though, cross country skiers, hikers, even a runner! We had a nice walk, the boys enjoyed it.





When we got home, the husb had Mally ready with his coat and booties on and we switched dogs. Mal and I went on a little jaunt through the neighborhood, I let him choose the way.


The two boys in their new ride!


It was a good day for dog walks!

Last post for tonight

It has been quite the busy week so there hasn't been much posting. Our weather has stunk - lots of snow, lake effect was pounding us.



The week started very nicely with a great vegan potluck on Sunday night. It was hosted by SARO. I joked to Bridg that we were probably the oldest ones there. It was our first time at an SARO hosted event and they did a great job. We stayed until 8:30, even though the potluck was still going strong. Hey, we are old and we were tired! LOL We had a great time, met some great people - especially Bazu and Daiku! It was great to meet them as I feel like I know them already from her blog :-) Check it out - Where's the Revolution, great writing, great pictures, great people......

Then came Valentine's Day........hmmmm.....I am usually not a fan of the 'holiday'. It is very contrived and commercial. That being said, the husb has done very well last year and this year. Last year, I went to bed only to find an Ipod Nano under my pillow. It was a very very nice and thoughtful present, I love to listen to it while running.

This year.....well, I wasn't expecting anything really. Last year was great, but I didn't think it would be a recurring event - we really aren't big on surprise presents. Or at least I *thought* we weren't.

The husb called me Wednesday afternoon because he left something in my car and needed me to get it. I wasn't happy about having to trudge out in the snow but I did and long story short - my car wasn't in the parking lot where I left it. What was there?




Yeah. A brand new 2007 Tango Red 4wd Honda Element. Some surprise, huh? I gotta say the guy is the master of the grand gesture. LOL He really, really is wonderful :-)

New product

A local store, Natur-tyme has started carrying this new product.
I picked up a few boxes, thinking these would be great to have on hand to fill the bento on those uninspired mornings. So what do I do? Well, of course I crack into them first thing Monday :-)
One thing I really like was the back label explaining the product. I really like when I am told something is vegan and I don't have to guess.

I tried the Thai Lime rice and Bombay Potato. Both were very good. The Bombay Potato was not quite as jampacked with Potatos and chickpeas as the front depicts. But it was very, very good. Just the right amount of spice - enough to make me sweat but not cause pain :-) The rice was good but not good enough to justify the price.

Oh, just for a cuteness factor:

The world's best sous chef. Every morning, he awaits to scarf up any dropped bits.

Time to eat.....

Monday:
See above post. Thai Lime Rice with potato and chickpea curry.
Some whole wheat chocolate chip cookies courtesy of Bridg, recipe via YTVS. Delish! Lunch is finished off with a salad and Bragg's Healthy Vinegarette.

Tuesday: Rice, lentil/spinach soup, salad, applesauce, dressing and Franks for the soup. Ehhhh *shrugs*


Wednesday:
Fake Chicken patty kept nicely hot in the thermal container, red lentil soup by Bridg, baby carrots and romaine lettuce for the sandwich and applesauce. Also, Franks and veganaise for the sandwich. Couldn't eat hardly any of it. Hmmmmm, there might be a story behind that. It was Valentine's Day, after all :-)

Best lunch of the week - Thursday: Inari, with tamari sauce, applesauce, baby carrots and some vegan store brand oreo type cookies. No lunch on Friday. Because of a local lake effect storm, I didn't get into work until 11:30.

What a difference a run makes

Cosmo and I ran most of the Tipp Hill race course this morning. He was so happy to be out. He hasn't run lately but it didn't seem to bother him. This is a very hilly course. We were able to run all the hills with one exception. They weren't easy and we (really *I*) had to stop at the top of most of them but we did make it up them. The last hill was the killer - it comes after a long gradual incline. I could see the stop sign where we were to stop but I just couldn't make it.

So, long story short, I do feel positive about this race. It won't be easy and I will probably be very slow but I do think it is do-able. We have 4 weeks to the race. My plan is to run the course the next three weeks.

Oh, in reference to the title - I have been pretty miserable lately for lots of reasons - weather, lousy job interview, etc. Well, after my run, my mood has done a real 180. Guess exercise does work.

New Restaurant Review

I only wish it was a good one.......

King David's Middle Eastern Restaurant, Marshall Street, Syracuse

Lunch time

I didn't realize until now that I used only the Mr. Bento this week. Poor Femmio Valentino and Goldfishes!



Above is homemade vegan cream of tomato soup from epicurious.com. I also took some naan (I bought a big package this week and had to work hard to eat it all - it will show up numerous times in my lunches - good thing I like it!). Lunch is rounded out with triscuits, peanut butter and an unremarkable salad save for the avocado.


Samosas, triscuits, applesauce and some potato, yellow pea and cauliflower curry. This recipe is from 125 best vegetarian slow cooker recipes. It was really good the night before but after a few hours in Mr. Bento, it morphed into something grayish brown and inedible. Nasty, nasty! Good thing I packed numerous samosas!


More vegan cream of tomato soup, some leftover babaganouch, pita, and applesauce.

My vote for best lunch of the week! Top right is some vegan corn chowder from Bridget. Absolutely fab! Naan (again!), applesauce and chocolate teddy grahams with nuts and craisins.

Sauteed tofu, naan (again! but it is finally all gone), salad with redeeming avocado, and teddy grahams with craisins and nuts.

I think I will have to make a concerted effort to get Femmio Valentino and the fishies out next week.

All I want

is just a few days with the temps 30 or above. That's it.

Bentos!

The lunches stunk this week. They were so boring, I could barely stand to eat them. It was the end of the month and all the grocery budget money was long gone.
Monday: a tofu and dill salad sandwich with triscuits and chocolate teddy grahams. The peanut butter is for the triscuits.

Tuesday: Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, grapefruit sections and the usual triscuits and teddy grahams.

Wednesday: Boring iceberg salad, some kind of rice and black bean dish I made, some red lentil and coconut milk soup dredged in desperation from the bottom of the freezer, and chocolate teddy grahams (I never get tired of them!)

Thursday: Pierogies, some Health is Wealth fake chick'n nuggets, baby carrots, canned green beans sprinkled with gomasio and woo hooo, chocolate teddy grahams.

Friday I didn't take lunch because I went into work late. This coming week should be better. Right off the bat, I have some corn chowder from Bridget that is in my fridge for tomorrow. Can't wait!!!

Race Report

Today dawned cold and clear for the Mid Winter Blues 5k race. This was to be Jen's first official race. I haven't run in two weeks, trying to give my knee some time to heal, but I was determined to run in this race. First off, I had to deal with an hysterical dog the whole time I was getting ready. I tried to be nonchalent and lowkey. I didn't want to rub it in his face - "ha ha, I am going running and you aren't". But somehow he knew and he was beside himself.

It was very cold. 9 degrees at start time to be exact.
Below is a picture I took of the car's information screen right before the race. Check out the upper right corner where the temperature is.

Of course there was a very small turnout, only about 70 or so. But you know they were all the hardcore, diehards.

The race started fine. It was pretty slow going. I never felt bad but I never felt good. I never had that mid race 'Man, I can pick it up, I am feeling good, I am glad I am alive' feeling that I usually get (if only for a quarter mile of so LOL). The roads had some slush on them so the effect was as if we were running in sand. It was an out and back route with moderate hills. First off, I thought they were a little more than moderate. Second of all, when we turned around, we went right into the wind.....brrrrr! It was one of those circumstances where my eyes were watering, my nose was running and I was drooling at one point, because I couldn't feel my face!

My time was 36:47. I think that is my slowest 5k time ever. I am not too distraught over it though, considering the two week break and all. Just is a reminder that time off is literally time lost. The irony is Jen has been telling us that she has been plodding along on the treadmill at a 14 m/m pace. I had a discussion with Bridget about running with her or just going out and running my own race. I knew I could do faster than 14 and was hoping for the low 11's in an ideal world. I decided even if I thought I could pick it up, I would still stay with her to take it easy on my knee. Jen's time was in the 33's. She toasted me like I was a slice of stale whole wheat bread :-). It was a slow race overall, I think the cold and the road conditions added time onto everyone but it was nice. The sun was shining (I was regretting no sunglasses about two minutes into the race), the fellow runners were great. Jen had a great time and a great race and can't wait to repeat the experience.

Pre race Jen:

The two of us, postrace:

From the depths of depression, part deux

Take a dog.

A dog that loves to run.

Have him run upwards of 15 miles a week.

With a group - his own little running 'pack'. (He is the only dog in this 'pack' so he gets lots of attention)

Take some typical CNY winter weather - lots of cold and snow. Too cold and too much salt on the roads for the above dog to run in.

What do you have?

A depressed dog.

Molly Ivins

Just read that she died at the age of 62 from breast cancer. Damn..........gonna miss that gal's writing.......