Tom Little ~ Santa Fe, New Mexico
These pages were created in response to a collaborative project in which a group of us share what we really eat over the course of a week, and offer our thoughts on the vegetarian experience. This is my contribution.
My of my thoughts on vegetarian eating:
Here's my food log. If you wonder why the same ingredients appear over and over, it's not because they're the only thing I eat, but because I usually buy more of something than I need for a single recipe, then think of ways to use it up over the next day or two. On some other week, the particular ingredients would have been different, but the pattern of overlap from day to day would mostly like still be apparent.
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I was in a hurry this morning and didn't have breakfast. We were interviewing a job candidate at work today, and part of the deal was taking him out to lunch. So we went to a popular Chinese buffet here in town. I had:
When I got home, I had a cocktail and a handful of mixed nuts. I needed to make a salad for a potluck lunch tomorrow, so I made one of my improvised mediterranean pasta salads (recipe to the right). I ate just a little of it (still being kind of full from lunch), and put the rest in the fridge to take with me tomorrow. |
Mediterranean Pasta Salad 16 oz. tricolor pasta (I love cute shapes and different colors) 8 oz. sliced mushrooms 2 large yellow bell peppers ~ 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives 12 fresh basil leaves salt to taste dressing: 2 oz. olive oil 2 oz. balsamic vinegar ~ 5 cloves garlic crushed red pepper to taste Cook the pasta (don't overcook; it should be on the firm side). Sautee mushrooms in some olive oil. Chop peppers into smallish chunks. Slice olives in half lengthwise. Slice basil leaves into narrow strips. Blend dressing ingredients together (I have a cute little kitchen gadget that chops and blends small quantities.) When the pasta is done, stir everything together and enjoy! Less than 30 minutes, easy, yummy and vegan. |
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I had a church committee retreat from 8:30 to 4:00 today. Breakfast was provided (bagels and assorted things to put on them). I had one bagel dry, and a second one with light servings of cream cheese and hummus. I was tempted by the lox, but didn't have any. I drank coffee and fruit juice. Lunch was a potluck. I had brought my own pasta salad. There were cold cuts and cheese for making sandwiches, which I didn't eat. I did have a couple slices of bread, lots of my own salad, and some fruit salad that one of the other people had brought. (It was really good: mostly grapes, with canteloupes and apples and lots of mint leaves.) There were also some fruit chunks. I had watermelon and a little pineapple. Later in the afternoon, I had just a few blue corn & sesame tortilla chips. Lots of my pasta salad was left over, so I will be emjoying in coming days. When I got home, I heated up a portion of vegan posole I had made a couple weeks ago and frozen in individual servings. I had it with a warm flour tortilla. (Posole is very well known dish here in New Mexico. It is dry kernels of hominy corn slow-cooked with red chile (and traditionally pork). |
Vegan Posole I cook mine in a crock pot, which means planning ahead, but the actual labor is minimal. 1 package (32 oz.) posole 1 cup dry pinto beans 1 14-oz. container of frozen red chile (I use Bueno brand - you could substitute a couple cups of red chile powder if the frozen fresh chile is not available.) 1 large white onion 1 bulb of garlic 3 fresh poblano peppers (Anaheim chiles can be substituted) several cans of vegetable broth canola oil liquid smoke salt The morning of the day before, set the beans to soak in a large bowl of water. That evening, put the beans and posole in the crock pot, fill with vegetable broth until they are covered with an inch or more of liquid (but be sure to leave room in the crock pot - the stuff expands as it coooks). You can fill out with water if you run out of broth. Add the red chile. Chop the onion into coarse pieces, and sautee in a bit of canola oil. Separate the garlic into cloves, peel, and slice into fairly thick chunks. When the onions are golden brown, add in the garlic and continuee to sautee. Get the onions just as brown as you possibly can without actually burning them. Add to the crock pot. There will be some brown residue in the frying pan. Blend it with a little water and pour it in too. Add a couple splashes of liquid smoke. Put the crock pot on low and cover. The next morning, check the crock pot and add more water if needed. The next evening, broil the poblano peppers until the skins blacken and blister. Peel them (as best you can, this may feel a little frustrating if you've never done it before. I've been peeling chiles for 25 years. Just relax into it and remove as much skin as you can without making it an ordeal.). Chop them into chunky pieces and add to the crockpot. Let it all cook together for an hour or so, then salt to taste and serve. Very hearty and flavorful, very little labor spread over two days. |
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For breakfast I had a poached egg on toast. I get locally baked ":Nativo" bread, which is crusty and hearty, unsliced. For toast, I cut off a slice about 3/4 inch thick, spray it with butter-flavored cooking spray, and put it under the broiler until it turns golden brown on top. Then the egg goes on, and a little freshly cracked black pepper. For lunch, I had a serving of the pasta salad from yesterday, and fresh peaches. For an afternoon snack I had a bagel, toasted like the breakfast bread, without toppings. For dinner, I made a portabella mushroom sandwich. |
Portabella Mushroom and Mozarella Sandwich Portabella mushroom, sliced 1/2 inch thick high quality bread, sliced thick mozarella cheese, a few thin slices (I got fresh mozarella at the Whole Foods store here) horseradish mustard garlic powder chile powder cooking spray Fry the mushroom slices in cooking spray over medium heat, turning occasionally, until brown and juicy. (I sprinkle a little garlic powder and chile powder on them as they cook.). Toast the bread very ligthly under the broiler. remove one slice of bread, spread with mustard, and arrange mushroom slices on it. Turn over the other slice of bread, add mozarella slices and continue to broil until the mozarrella just starts to melt (don't scorch it). Take it out and put in cheese-down onto the mushrooms to make a sandwich. About 15 minutes, practically no labor. |
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Breakfast: toasted bagel (no toppings), orange juice Lunch: the pasta salad, peaches (a friend of mine brought me a bunch of peaches Wednesday night, it you are wondering why I eat them so often) Snack: Doritos, then I actually got a cone of sherbet at Baskin-Robbins (which I visit only once in a blue moon!) Dinner: I heated up some locally made vegan tamales (the filling is yummy things like kernels of corn and bits of bell pepper - check them out at www.tamalemolly.com), ate them with some flame-roasted salsa, and had some peanuts while the tamales were steaming. |
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Breakfast: orange juice Lunch: I ate with a friend of mine at a Japanese restaurant. I had miso soup, green salad, and sushi: 8 pieces of California roll, and one each octopus, salmon, yellowtail, and tuna. (As mentioned in my introductory words, I do eat some fish or seafood, usually about one serving per week.) Dinner: I made a big pot of my spicy mushroom soup (I ate one serving and put the rest in the fridge), and also had remaining pasta salad. A few mixed nuts before dinnertime, |
Hot Mushroom Soup 1 or 2 cups cubed portabella mushrooms 1 or 2 cups oyster mushroom, sliced into large chunks 6 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 6 cups mushroom broth 2 serrano peppers (I like it spicy, you might try one only), sliced into very thin disks 1 carrot, sliced into thin strips 5 green onions, cut into 1/4-rings at the white base, gradually increasing to 2-inch segments at green end canola oil (I also add a shake or two of sesame oil) dash or liquid smoke soy sauce to taste (try 1 tablespoon) Sautee the mushrooms and garlic in the oil until the mushrooms get juicy. Add the mushroom broth and increase heat to bring back to a boil. Add carots, peppers, liquid smoke, soy sauce, and the white slices of the green onions. Simmer, covered, over low heat for at least 15 minutes (20-25 is better). Add in the green slices of the green onion and simmer, uncovered, for another 5 minutes or so. This involves some prep work on all the veggies, and a little time for simmering, but I'm still eating less than an hour after walking in the door. This is a nice dish to make for company, with something else (like rice and vegetables) as a "main course." |
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Breakfast: a breakfast burrito from Chile Works in Los Alamos (hashbrowns, egg, cheese, and lots of green chile!), grapefruit juice. Lunch: vegetarian sub at Subway, no chips, root beer to drink. Dinner: this is the first day of my monthly week with my daughter, so I made pizza (her favorite dinner). I had a nectarine for desert. |
Pizza! I use Jiffy pizza mix - inexpensive and works great. Follow the directions on the box to make the dough. Set aside in a glass bowl, coated with olive oil. Preheat over to 450. I use a baking stone for my pizza, so it preheats in the oven. The toppings: portabella mushroom, sliced about 1/4 inch thick fresh mozarella, sliced thinly (the fresh stuff tends to fragment when sliced, but that's OK) 8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into narrow strips. 1 small (8-oz) can tomato sauce pizza seasoning (a commercial blend, mostly pepper flakes, garlic, and oregano) After all the toppings are prepared, spread the pizza dough out to the right size (If you are using a cookie sheet, oil the cooking sheet first. A little corn meal sprinkled on also helps the pizza from sticking and makes the crust crispier.) I spread out the pizza dough on foil, and then transfer it to the heated stone. Add mozarella and basil first (the other ingredients help protect them from drying or scalding), then mushrooms, and finally tomato sauce and seasoning to taste. Bake at 400 or so until the crust browns nicely. 30-40 minutes, including baking time. Easy and really yummy. |
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breakfast: fried potatoes and eggs, grapefruit juice My daughter and went hiking this morning, and didn't get back until 4:00. So we went to Whole Foods and had a major meal at the salad bar (mine was romaine lettuce, green peas, cherry tomatoes, cold fettucine with spinach and grated parmesan, a tofu-and-green-bean dish with a flavorful sesame sauce, stuffed grape leaves, quinoa, croutons. Later that night I went to an event at churches, where I had some cookies and lemonade. |
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