So I recently ate seafood again - as sort of a re-evaluation of the vegan thing. Why? I just wanted to. You're supposed to doubt everything, right?
It was very consistent with my memory - same texture, taste, mouth-feel that I remembered. But it didn't produce the same feeling of comfort, same 'mmm this is the stuff' or 'tastes like home'. I didn't crave it anymore.
So I'm going to keep eating vegan food. Meat and cheese doesn't produce the same excitement it used to do for me, and I've now discovered that seafood, my once all-time-favorite, doesn't do that either.
I am quite happy with the fact that I was comfortable enough to question and re-evaluate the vegan decision. It's like I am able to keep in touch with myself and always know who I am, not who I chose to be.
What have you questioned lately?
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
A random update??
It's been almost a year since my last post - so why am I doing one now?
Good question.
You see, I had a little bit of an epiphany today. To make a long story short, I lost my purse with some very important belongings in it last night. Upon waking this morning and realizing that it was gone, I got to start the fun process of retracing my steps, going to the police station, calling all the cabs in the area on other people's phones, calling the rental car company, trying to prove who I am without a drivers license, trying to order a new DL without debit or credit cards, etc.
I am very lucky.
I have friends that will help me look, friends that will feed me when I can't buy food, friends that will drive me places, friends that will help me call, friends that will let me use their phones, and friends that have friends that will also help me do these things even though I met them yesterday.
So even though I am in the middle of what some have referred to as a 'crisis', I feel great! Sure I can live without a cell phone - I'll just make people call the hotel and be transferred to my room! Sure I can live without a rental car - I can take public transport for the rest of my trip! Sure I can live without my credit/debit cards (for a little while) - since I'm on a business trip, I'll just get my coworkers to use their comapny cards to cover my business travel expenses! Sure I can live without a license - I have my passport in my hotel room, so I can use that as my ID for getting on the plane home!
Now, I will be re-ordering all of these things, make no mistake (especially a new medical insurance card, I definitely will need that). But I think I am so incredibly lucky to do this at a time / place where I can get away with it, and going without a phone, car, etc for a few days will probably be a good experience for me.
Good question.
You see, I had a little bit of an epiphany today. To make a long story short, I lost my purse with some very important belongings in it last night. Upon waking this morning and realizing that it was gone, I got to start the fun process of retracing my steps, going to the police station, calling all the cabs in the area on other people's phones, calling the rental car company, trying to prove who I am without a drivers license, trying to order a new DL without debit or credit cards, etc.
I am very lucky.
I have friends that will help me look, friends that will feed me when I can't buy food, friends that will drive me places, friends that will help me call, friends that will let me use their phones, and friends that have friends that will also help me do these things even though I met them yesterday.
So even though I am in the middle of what some have referred to as a 'crisis', I feel great! Sure I can live without a cell phone - I'll just make people call the hotel and be transferred to my room! Sure I can live without a rental car - I can take public transport for the rest of my trip! Sure I can live without my credit/debit cards (for a little while) - since I'm on a business trip, I'll just get my coworkers to use their comapny cards to cover my business travel expenses! Sure I can live without a license - I have my passport in my hotel room, so I can use that as my ID for getting on the plane home!
Now, I will be re-ordering all of these things, make no mistake (especially a new medical insurance card, I definitely will need that). But I think I am so incredibly lucky to do this at a time / place where I can get away with it, and going without a phone, car, etc for a few days will probably be a good experience for me.
Friday, December 23, 2011
December 23, 2011 2:13 PM
A lot of my recent posts have been food-related (understandably, food is #1 on my list of priorities), so I thought I'd switch it up a little bit this week.
At work, I've been learning not only a lot about manufacturing, the food industry, and federal regulations, but also things like how to manage people and stay valuable in a company that may not decide you are worth the paycheck. I've started compiling a notebook of these things, in hopes I can share them with other people who may be hired on in a similar position.
Many of the notes I've taken apply to other industries, so I thought I'd share a few:
- If you are organized (not just your office, but also all of your documents/drives), your coworkers will rely on you more. And your IT person will be much more willing to upgrade your software... much more....
- Get some certifications from outside companies that relate to your business. Your resume always needs to look current and up-to-date, or else you run a higher risk of being let go.
- Look at what you are doing and think, "How do we know if this isn't working properly, and what would we do if it wasn't?" Easy way to improve current practices and make sure everything that heads out your door is thorough and something you stand behind.
- If your product is cans, make sure to have working can openers. Just sayin'.
- Have a notepad/whiteboard set up where people can write down what needs to be reordered - from lab equipment to coffee creamer - and the administrative assistant will love you.
- If the policy/etc pertains to more than one department, don't make the final call. Just because you are reliable and you know you are right does not mean you have the authority to make that sort of decision. You don't want to be the name that gets cut when things go wrong.
- You are going to go through stages when you want your name on every piece of paper to show you were a part of this meeting, this program, this development. But you will also have stages when you will regret your name on that paper, whether your site had a security breach or you simply misspelled your boss's name. Be prepared for this and examine each document for the little things that will make you look bad.
- If you send a ton of emails that are very similar, consider making a template that you can just stick in, with formal phrases like "Per your request", "Attached is the following", and "Best Regards". Customers aren't going to compare your emails to see how thoughtful you were - they just want your data.
- If you are doing something for another department, make them initial/sign off on it so they know what the changes are. And tell them that they owe you one - you aren't here to do their job for them.
- Sign/inital and date everything, just in case.
- Instead of printing out everything, keep the number of hard copies to a minimum. Not only does this save paper, but it also prevents out-of-date materials from circulating and ending up in the wrong places.
- Yes, there are federal guidelines on how to make a proper flowchart. Live with it.
- If you ever email a customer, always include the customer service rep that is in charge of that order.
- 10 people in a meeting that lasts a half an hour = 5 hours of paid work. Use meetings to exchange information, generate new ideas, make decisions, solve problems, and formulate plans. Otherwise, don't make it a meeting - make it a memo or a phone call.
- Take good notes and be willing to share - instant way to be valuable to others and get favors!
- Meetings fail without purpose, focus, preparation, too many/not the right people, poor/distracted leadership, or no follow-up.
- For each meeting, write an agenda distributed in advance, so everyone knows what the meeting is about and why/how they will contribute.
- Always start meetings on time. Don't waste other people's time just because someone got caught up on a phone call or woke up late.
- Start winding up 5 minutes early so you can end on time. People get antsy if meetings go over, and you want to be that person that consistently ends on time. You can always schedule a follow-up meeting or continue the conversation in an email.
- Don't work during your vacation. People will notice that and come to rely on you to answer them even if your out-of-office message states you won't respond until you return.
And a personal tip from me - Always have something that others can tease you about (like a mad addiction to coffee)! If they can make you blush or act flustered, even for a second, they are more likely to talk to you in person (about work, among other things) than avoid you and send emails when a discussion really should have taken place.
It's the holiday season, so watch out for all drivers - they don't know what they are doing. No one is focusing 100% on the road right now.
Don't drive and drive - and call me from jail!
At work, I've been learning not only a lot about manufacturing, the food industry, and federal regulations, but also things like how to manage people and stay valuable in a company that may not decide you are worth the paycheck. I've started compiling a notebook of these things, in hopes I can share them with other people who may be hired on in a similar position.
Many of the notes I've taken apply to other industries, so I thought I'd share a few:
- If you are organized (not just your office, but also all of your documents/drives), your coworkers will rely on you more. And your IT person will be much more willing to upgrade your software... much more....
- Get some certifications from outside companies that relate to your business. Your resume always needs to look current and up-to-date, or else you run a higher risk of being let go.
- Look at what you are doing and think, "How do we know if this isn't working properly, and what would we do if it wasn't?" Easy way to improve current practices and make sure everything that heads out your door is thorough and something you stand behind.
- If your product is cans, make sure to have working can openers. Just sayin'.
- Have a notepad/whiteboard set up where people can write down what needs to be reordered - from lab equipment to coffee creamer - and the administrative assistant will love you.
- If the policy/etc pertains to more than one department, don't make the final call. Just because you are reliable and you know you are right does not mean you have the authority to make that sort of decision. You don't want to be the name that gets cut when things go wrong.
- You are going to go through stages when you want your name on every piece of paper to show you were a part of this meeting, this program, this development. But you will also have stages when you will regret your name on that paper, whether your site had a security breach or you simply misspelled your boss's name. Be prepared for this and examine each document for the little things that will make you look bad.
- If you send a ton of emails that are very similar, consider making a template that you can just stick in, with formal phrases like "Per your request", "Attached is the following", and "Best Regards". Customers aren't going to compare your emails to see how thoughtful you were - they just want your data.
- If you are doing something for another department, make them initial/sign off on it so they know what the changes are. And tell them that they owe you one - you aren't here to do their job for them.
- Sign/inital and date everything, just in case.
- Instead of printing out everything, keep the number of hard copies to a minimum. Not only does this save paper, but it also prevents out-of-date materials from circulating and ending up in the wrong places.
- Yes, there are federal guidelines on how to make a proper flowchart. Live with it.
- If you ever email a customer, always include the customer service rep that is in charge of that order.
- 10 people in a meeting that lasts a half an hour = 5 hours of paid work. Use meetings to exchange information, generate new ideas, make decisions, solve problems, and formulate plans. Otherwise, don't make it a meeting - make it a memo or a phone call.
- Take good notes and be willing to share - instant way to be valuable to others and get favors!
- Meetings fail without purpose, focus, preparation, too many/not the right people, poor/distracted leadership, or no follow-up.
- For each meeting, write an agenda distributed in advance, so everyone knows what the meeting is about and why/how they will contribute.
- Always start meetings on time. Don't waste other people's time just because someone got caught up on a phone call or woke up late.
- Start winding up 5 minutes early so you can end on time. People get antsy if meetings go over, and you want to be that person that consistently ends on time. You can always schedule a follow-up meeting or continue the conversation in an email.
- Don't work during your vacation. People will notice that and come to rely on you to answer them even if your out-of-office message states you won't respond until you return.
And a personal tip from me - Always have something that others can tease you about (like a mad addiction to coffee)! If they can make you blush or act flustered, even for a second, they are more likely to talk to you in person (about work, among other things) than avoid you and send emails when a discussion really should have taken place.
It's the holiday season, so watch out for all drivers - they don't know what they are doing. No one is focusing 100% on the road right now.
Don't drive and drive - and call me from jail!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday December 8, 2011 8:48 PM
Guilty Confession of the Day: I have recently become addicted to the dairy-free bean tacos at Taco Bell (2 of them + one small drink + tax = $3.50). They are really good with the green sauce packets, and I only feel shame after I throw away the wrappers.
If they put more veggies in it, I would be obsessed. As it is, I'm wishing Taco Bell was further away and my job didn't have days where I eat while working at my desk or just skip lunch.
So, what do you do when faced with a fast-food/junk-food addiction? Especially when it is super cheap!
Please don't dye your hair half-red and half-green for the holiday season - that does not look good.....
If they put more veggies in it, I would be obsessed. As it is, I'm wishing Taco Bell was further away and my job didn't have days where I eat while working at my desk or just skip lunch.
So, what do you do when faced with a fast-food/junk-food addiction? Especially when it is super cheap!
Please don't dye your hair half-red and half-green for the holiday season - that does not look good.....
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011 8:00 PM
Sorry - it's been over a month since my last post!
I've tried out three new fake meat products - a fake burger, fake bacon, and fake beef tips.
First up - Gardein Beefless Tips, made from wheat and other grains.
I browned them in a pan with olive oil, onions, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.
The packaging had a recipe for Asian style teriyaki beef.
When the beef seemed ready, I tossed in some pasta and plated it on a tomato sauce heavily flavored with extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Very simple preparation.
The finished product was good - the 'meat' had browned nicely and had a bit of a sponge-y consistency. The taste was similar to meatloaf, and it wasn't overly salty like other fake meats. Would I buy it again? Yes, but not on a regular basis (fake meat is more of a curiosity for me than a staple).
Next up - fake bacon, made from tempeh.
I decided to go with the traditional American breakfast - 'eggs and bacon'. I scrambled up crumbled tofu with tumeric, rubbed sage, cayenne, zucchini, and mushrooms. Then I browned the bacon in the same pan after plating the tofu. I also baked some tater tots (not pictured).
The tempeh had greasy sections in it like bacon, and the texture was like partially hydrated beans squished up against each other (a bit crunchy and mushy at once). The taste was very similar to bacon, though a bit salty (I'm not sure if all bacon is that salty - I might just be out of touch with the original). Would I buy it again? No, the texture was very unappealing, and I had trouble finishing the package (2 servings) in three meals (kept pushing it to the side of my plate).
Finally - the rice burger - I got the Jerkin' Spicy.
I browned the burgers like the instructions said. Then I took some old rice, turnip greens, wild rice, and mushrooms in a pan with the burgers and made something similar to dirty rice.
I am not a fan of fake burgers, but I had really been missing Jamaican jerk flavors. I had high hopes for this baby, and luckily it did not disappoint. My only complaint - too salty. But everything else fell in place. OK, so it didn't taste like meat, but it was satisfying and flavorful. Maybe if I had eaten it on bread like an actual burger, it might not have come across so salty. Would I buy it again? Yes, but again, fake meat isn't a staple in my apartment. So it would be more frequently in my place than other fake meats, and one of the few kinds that would be a repeat visitor. But I'd rather test out other kinds and see what crazy foods are emerging in the health-centered world of chemicals and natural flavorings!
I've tried out three new fake meat products - a fake burger, fake bacon, and fake beef tips.
First up - Gardein Beefless Tips, made from wheat and other grains.
I browned them in a pan with olive oil, onions, and a sprinkle of lemon juice.
The packaging had a recipe for Asian style teriyaki beef.
When the beef seemed ready, I tossed in some pasta and plated it on a tomato sauce heavily flavored with extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Very simple preparation.
The finished product was good - the 'meat' had browned nicely and had a bit of a sponge-y consistency. The taste was similar to meatloaf, and it wasn't overly salty like other fake meats. Would I buy it again? Yes, but not on a regular basis (fake meat is more of a curiosity for me than a staple).Next up - fake bacon, made from tempeh.
I decided to go with the traditional American breakfast - 'eggs and bacon'. I scrambled up crumbled tofu with tumeric, rubbed sage, cayenne, zucchini, and mushrooms. Then I browned the bacon in the same pan after plating the tofu. I also baked some tater tots (not pictured).
The tempeh had greasy sections in it like bacon, and the texture was like partially hydrated beans squished up against each other (a bit crunchy and mushy at once). The taste was very similar to bacon, though a bit salty (I'm not sure if all bacon is that salty - I might just be out of touch with the original). Would I buy it again? No, the texture was very unappealing, and I had trouble finishing the package (2 servings) in three meals (kept pushing it to the side of my plate).
Finally - the rice burger - I got the Jerkin' Spicy.
I browned the burgers like the instructions said. Then I took some old rice, turnip greens, wild rice, and mushrooms in a pan with the burgers and made something similar to dirty rice.
I am not a fan of fake burgers, but I had really been missing Jamaican jerk flavors. I had high hopes for this baby, and luckily it did not disappoint. My only complaint - too salty. But everything else fell in place. OK, so it didn't taste like meat, but it was satisfying and flavorful. Maybe if I had eaten it on bread like an actual burger, it might not have come across so salty. Would I buy it again? Yes, but again, fake meat isn't a staple in my apartment. So it would be more frequently in my place than other fake meats, and one of the few kinds that would be a repeat visitor. But I'd rather test out other kinds and see what crazy foods are emerging in the health-centered world of chemicals and natural flavorings!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
September 21, 2011 9:24 PM
Here's a short follow-up to last week's post:
Mac & Bean
- I did not have enough kidney beans
- Nor enough tomatoes
- Nor the right kind of tomatoes
- I didn't add water
- Nor parsley
- Nor thyme
- Nor black pepper
- Too much pasta
- No garlic
- AKA everything was slightly incorrect (at the very least)
Optional Spices
- I had the basil!
- No oregano
- No red pepper
- No salt
And I put everything in the pot at once. Hmmm... No wonder this went wrong. Thanks to VegAnn for mailing me the real recipe (I'll test it out eventually, promise!) and some delicious cookies WITH PRETZELS IN THEM!!!
Nothing gives a soft cookie more attitude than pretzel bits! These are some fantastic cookies, and I wish I could share the recipe with you but I don't know it and that's what her blog is for (hint hint, you should post the recipe on your blog)
I really want to do another giveaway, but I need to acquire quirky, out-of-this-world stuff to offer! So I'll try to hit up some second-hand shops and find some ties made out of shoelaces or something. Or just buy a bunch of old shoelaces and try to figure that one out myself...
If you ever plan on filling a cup with espresso and drinking it straight (like I did), please make sure to take a long walk or something before getting into your car. Because 4 shots of espresso = amazing + the jitters. And add ice if its too hot outside because you are gonna sweat like a crying banshee.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday September 15, 2011 7:23 PM
Congrats to VegAnn for winning/taking that free chocolate that was offered up with last week's blog! This post is dedicated to you, in a strange sort of way.
Before I go into this post, here's a little background: I really love my best friend VegAnn. She is sweet, kind, and always super chill with whatever weird things I say or do that catch the rest of humanity off-guard. VegAnn is awesome, and her theme song should be "Feeling Groovy" because she always rolls with everything I do and always has something nice to say.
Now that I am no longer living with VegAnn, I miss her a lot. But, like all things after time, my brain twisted my image of her, the one person on the planet that I would listen to if I broke down and started slaughtering the masses, into someone I should listen to - aka my conscious. So now, whenever I get that nagging notion, 'oh hey you probably should check your phone for messages before you go to lunch', it has VegAnn's face and voice.
And now that I am no longer living with her, I don't get to eat her delicious cooking either, which is where the real story begins.
VegAnn and her family have this thing, well I guess its a tradition, where they all eat the same meal on Wednesday nights. Because everyone in the family is so picky (like vegan vs non-vegan) and has different schedules, Wednesday is the one day where they sit down together (if they can) and eat "Macaroni and Bean". When I lived with them, I took part in this ritual, and I came to know Wednesdays as Mac and Bean nights.
However, I do not have the recipe, and now that I am living away from them, I wished to continue the tradition. And here is where my antagonistic and quite critical conscious, dressed as VegAnn, stepped in to argue with me over what goes into the pot.
Me: Uhhh, it's a Thursday, but.... it's not like I only have to make this on Wednesdays or something. Mac and Bean can be any night of the week.
Fake VegAnn: WRONG. OFF TO A BAD START ALREADY!
Me: I have this pot - it's the biggest I have. That should work fine.
Fake VegAnn: OH GOD NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT??!!!!
Me: I'm not quite sure what goes into Mac and Bean - I know it has kidney beans, tomatoes, and macaroni.
Fake VegAnn: YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE PROPORTIONS ARE OF EACH!! AND VEGANN USES WHOLE WHEAT MACARONI AND CHUNKS OF TOMATOES, NOT CRUSHED!!!!
Me: Well, sometimes Mac and Bean is made with tomatoes that have been pulsed in the blender for a while. And I couldn't find vegan whole wheat macaroni!
Fake VegAnn: SHE ONLY PULSES HALF OF THE TOMATOES IN THE BLENDER, STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOUR FAILURE!!!!
Me: I know she puts herbs in it too, but I really only have dried basil. I'll put a lot of that in.
Fake VegAnn: I DON'T EVEN THINK THAT WENT INTO THE ORIGINAL MAC AND BEAN!!!
Me: You don't even know? I thought you were VegAnn?
Fake VegAnn: SHUT UP!
Me: Well, I don't want to eat just pasta, tomatoes, and beans, so I'll put in some vegetables. I think onion goes into the pot.
Fake VegAnn: BROCCOLI DEFINITELY DOES NOT GO IN THERE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!!?!?!?!?!?!
Me: Chopping up the squash in the fridge - it can't hurt.
Fake VegAnn: YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN VEGANN COOK WITH BRUSSEL SPROUTS, WHY ARE THOSE GOING INTO THE POT?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!
Me: Oh, and I've got to take out the trash, so I'll just put that on simmer for a while.
Fake VegAnn: DON'T LEAVE THE APARTMENT WITH THE STOVE ON, YOU NIMWIT!!!
Me: Relax, I'm just going twenty feet to the trash can. I'll be right back.
Fake VegAnn: This is not going to end well..........
Me: Uh, I think I put the macaroni in too early, it's all mushy...
Fake VegAnn: You didn't even put the garlic in AND YOU EVEN HAD FRESH GARLIC LIKE SHE USES, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!??!!
Me: Whatever, it's probably still edible.
And yes, it was still edible. But it does not look like Mac and Bean, other than the fact that you can see the macaroni and at least one kidney bean. And the funny thing is, in reality, VegAnn would have corrected the order of putting things in the pot, been a little fussy about whole wheat pasta, and been thrilled to put in extra vegetables.
As it is, my conscious stopped pretending to be VegAnn, and I adopted her attitude for a quick "que sera, sera" before digging into my imperfect Mac and Bean.
Happy Wednesday, err, Thursday!
P.S. I think parsley goes into it too? I'm not sure, but I definitely didn't put that in there...
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