as of late

I've been too busy to cook anything! This last weekend, we went out of town, returned with about an hour to spare, and bailed again to intercept an old friend and see his new documentary film Urbanized. It's fantastic, please go see it, he's touring with it around the country. It may be in your city tonight!
Anyway- though I did not cook, I did eat some good food this weekend all in Encinitas. Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria and Union Kitchen and Tap. Here are some pics.

Fresh salad, with blue cheese, vinaigrette, sliced peaches and crostini

Delicious artisan pizza from B.R.A.P. 

The Union is now open for brunch! They really celebrate bacon here (see it pictured in the Bloody Mary), but they also had three vegan options on the menu. Equal opportunity!

watts towers

Instead of cooking this weekend, I spent some time with family, went to my nephews' soccer games, caught the Saturday night fight, and took the train up to Watts for a photo workshop. I ate big lunches out, and came home exhausted and not hungry (my usual motivation for cooking). Anyway- here are some photos from the shoot... 

Last night's amped up rice and beans dinner doused in magic sauce and rooster hot sauce

accomplished

Well, I successfully made all but one of the above list. It was many hours of cooking, but kind of nice on a Sunday to start up a pot of beans for example, then have a seat, watch a little football. Get up and turn on the oven, make a marinade, throw veggies into the oven, then watch a little football until the timer goes off, etc. So, hours went by, but I had all elements of dinner ready by the time we were ready to eat. The one dish that didn't photograph too well, but still tasted pretty good was the Pinto Bean/Plantain Stew. I'm not sure I understand how you call this stew, unless I didn't do it right. Regardless, I will throw it over rice throughout the week, and it will be a new spin on my ol' favorite Rice and Beans. Funny, this recipe is from a cookbook called Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Another dish I made from that cookbook a couple years ago had a really snappy name: Seitanic Red and White Beans Jambalaya. It too had the same mush/mash consistency. Maybe that's what they're going for. Anyway, here are some pics...

Kale and Farro salad with sesame oil

Lemony roasted potatoes

Roasted portobello mushroom over
spicy mustard vinaigrette-dressed greens

Plantain and pinto stew

Big plans

Here are a couple of dishes I plan on making in the next couple of days:
Roasted portobello mushrooms over spicy mustard vinaigrette-dressed greens
Lemony roasted potatoes
Plantain and pinto stew
Marinated lentil salad
Kale and farro salad with toasted coconut and sesame oil
Steel cut Irish oatmeal sweetened with apple juice, topped with walnuts
A cocktail

Wish me luck

Potato Gratin with Asparagus and Saffron

...vegan style, with soy milk. this photo is before the oven. too hungry to snap a photo afterward..

What I've been living on.. black beans, rice and salad

watching reading listening looking

watching- LA Ink. What am I going to watch when this trainwreck comes to a close in only a few short episodes?!
reading- Sookie Stackhouse -book 11- Dead Reckoning
listening- to You Am I, seeing them live tonight
looking- planning on seeing the Tim Burton exhibit
cooking- gluten-free, sugar-free, animal-free (for now)

Half way, güey

I am exactly half way through a 21-day cleanse. And a holiday weekend is coming up. Time for a recap, reevaluation, some new goal setting, etc. Two issues: 1) Food and 2) beverage.

I feel proud and accomplished on the food tip. I feel pretty good -not perfect- on the beverage tip. It's difficult.

It turns out: abstaining from gluten, sugar and animal product- NOT as difficult as abstaining from alcohol and caffeine. I KNOW it's difficult not to drink, especially because I like to. And I have befriended many like-minded folks who feel the same way. Thus social situations are a challenge. This weekend, I'm thinking that I would like a cocktail or two, to relax and enjoy and to celebrate some much needed time off. Hell it's summer in SoCal- I think a margarita is just a basic human NEED!

My plan: Keep the gluten, sugar and animal product out still, but enjoy a beverage maybe 2 out of 3 days this weekend. Then resume the whole darned program Tuesday. That should keep me in check (enough).