Day 14, or "Rejuvenation"

After the strong feeling of deprivation I experienced on Sunday, I'm proud to report that things are back on track. Yesterday I knew I needed an attitude readjustment, or else the next two weeks were going to be pretty miserable. So to solve my problem, I went back to the source of original motivation and reread Skinny Bitch in almost its entirety (skipping the gross parts about how animals are treated - I think last week's film illustrated that quite well enough). The book had the desired effect: I remembered immediately why it is that I wanted to try this out in the first place. Health. Cleansing. Curiosity. And if I'm honest with myself, I feel really good. Probably better than ever. It's a clean kind of feeling, and I can see where it could become addictive. After the second reading of the book, I feel like I should at least try out being vegan for three months. But I don't want to get ahead of myself. Let's take this one meal at a time. . .

Reading Skinny Bitch again was helpful not only because it rejuvenated my lagging morale, but also because it gave me a better idea of what to eat, and when. For example, they suggest that breakfast should be three pieces of fruit, eaten slowly and spread out over about thirty minutes. They also suggest that lunch be as raw as possible - a big salad, preferably. Easy enough! So with my new arsenal of information and techniques, I'm confident that the next two weeks are going to be vegan-tastic. Yeah, I said it. Vegan-tastic.

Day 13, or "Ugghh"

Today was just not a good day for being vegan. Don't get me wrong - I still did it - but I wasn't happy about it. It started out right, with strawberries and cornflakes for breakfast and Mediterranean pitas for lunch. Actually, I want to discuss these pitas in detail before I start complaining about the rest of the day. 

I love pretty much all things Mediterranean (minus bell peppers and eggplant, which I am allergic to). And I'm happy to report that it is entirely possible to enjoy a whole wheat pita bread bursting at the seams with vegan filling - right down to the 'yogurt' sauce! Here's a quick recipe (it's really more like 'assembly instructions' but we won't be too picky). 

Vegan Mediterranean Stuffed Pitas

Ingredients:

Diced firm tofu, pan-fried in a bit of olive oil (I bought this already diced and cooked, so all I had to do was warm it up in a skillet. Very easy.)

Thinly sliced cucumber

Thinly sliced tomato

Lettuce

Pitted olives, any variety (I used black Spanish olives, but Kalamata would probably be more appropriate)

Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

One package dairy-free plain 'yogurt' (cleverly called "Yofu")

Dried oregano, black pepper, and any other seasonings you want to put into the yogurt sauce

Chopped fresh mint or other fresh herb (I used basil because that was all I had)

Pita bread, toasted or warmed in the oven

Assembly: In a small bowl, mix the herbs and spices in with the yogurt. Spread yogurt on the inside of the pitas, and fill with tofu, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Have a stack of napkins on standby. This meal is messy. . .

The 'yofu' sauce didn't taste any different from regular yogurt sauce (much to my surprise and delight) and even Claudiu agreed. 

After lunch, we went downtown for the last day of Bürgerfest. We saw three bands perform, at opposite ends of the city. This means we did a lot of walking, which is of course no problem. Except that the entire population of Regensburg was also lining the streets, doing one of several activities: eating bratwurst, selling bratwurst, eating a steak sandwich, yelling"STEAK SANDWICHHHH," eating gourmet cheese on freshly baked pretzels or baguettes, selling said gourmet cheese, pretzels, or baguettes, savoring a nice, cold gelato in the sun, selling said gelato. . . okay, you get the picture. It got worse when four out of the six people I was with decided to have steak sandwiches for dinner. Oh, woe is me. . .

Last night I learned that it can be hard to concentrate on animal rights ("Meat is murder!") when the intoxicating smell of a summer barbeque is wafting straight at you from all corners of the Earth (or at least all corners of Regensburg, land of sausages). I'm proud to say that I stuck it out until we got home and had Mediterranean pita breads, round two. But I wasn't exactly happy about it. I'm not sure what this means for life after the thirty day challenge, but at least now I know that I can tough it out for my month of veganism, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Yes!

Day 12, or "Who Knew Leftovers Could Be So Good?"

This isn't going to be a very long post, because most of what I ate yesterday was not interesting (fruit, nuts, blueberry muffins...) but I did have a spectacular lunch using the leftover steamed vegetables and pasta that we made for the curry. I chopped up a couple of cherry tomatoes, tore up some fresh basil, drizzled the whole thing with a bit of olive oil, and added some salt and pepper. The result? A perfect summer pasta salad:

And it's a good thing I packed a lunch, because the kids I babysat for yesterday were having hot dogs!

Day 11, or "First Try at Baking"

On Friday, Claudiu and I had what my mom would call a "cooking festival." There was slicing, dicing, baking, sautéing, whisking, mincing, stirring, boiling, chopping, you name it. Also, there was eating. 

Due to the fact that my kitchen appeared to have been visited by the spaghetti-with-red-sauce tornado-monster (my roommate had two friends staying at our place for the weekend and thus, no time to do dishes) and also due to the fact that I don't have an oven, I headed over to Claudiu's place for this 'festival' around one in the afternoon, carrying a bag of groceries that probably weighed at least 382.09 pounds. On the day's menu: Vegetable Curry Pasta and Vegan Blueberry Muffins, recipes I found at Madhuram's Eggless Cooking. The following is a detailed account of the afternoon's proceedings, complete with adapted recipes. . .

It was lunchtime, so naturally we started with the curry. We began by dicing a whole lot of fresh vegetables for the steamer:

While the vegetables were steaming, we started on the sauce. Claudiu saw my lame work with the crushed red pepper grinder and promptly took over, resulting in a fiery flavor I'm sure I would have been too timid to create had I been cooking alone. 

Once the sauce had thickened and while the pasta was cooking, we combined the steamed vegetables with the curry:

It smelled so good! And now, the how-to you've all been waiting for, adapted from this recipe.

Vegetable Curry with Whole Wheat Pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetables of your choice (I used fresh carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms), steamed 8-10 minutes if frozen, 6-8 minutes if fresh.

1 cup of whole wheat pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (cilantro has not yet made its way into Germany, apparently, so I was forced to omit this)

salt and pepper, to taste

Curry Sauce:

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or chili powder

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp cornstarch (we needed a little extra)

1/4 cup dry white wine or water (I used water, but I would suggest trying it with the wine)

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauteé garlic and onions in olive oil in a medium skillet, 2-3 minutes. Add flour, curry powder, and chili/cayenne, stirring 1 minute. Add broth and heat to boiling. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water or wine until the starch is completely dissolved. Add to the sauce, bring to a boil, and stir until thickened, at least one minute. Season with salt and pepper. 

Prepare pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is nearly finished, combine the vegetables with the sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro, if using. Plate, and enjoy!

After all that hard work (cooking and eating), we took a break to watch Youtube videos and listen to several versions of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" (live and studio). I did my best not to play air guitar or sing along to the shredding guitar solos - I mean, I don't want to impress this guy too much. Around four, we went to the grocery store to buy more bubble water and sugar. Claudiu pointed out something hilarious on the bottled water:

Yes. The water has a "vegan" label. Yikes.

I should probably admit at this point that I forgot to put the blueberries back in the freezer right away when I got to Claudiu's, so they may have gotten a little warm before refreezing. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. However, the blueberry juice had an interesting effect on the muffin batter:

Yes, that is purple batter. While Claudiu would love to blame this on my veganism, the only logical explanation I can come up with is that the unfrozen blueberry juice had a hay day in the mixing bowl. At this point, I considered changing the name of the muffins to "Kaci's Psychedelic Muffins," but I quickly reconsidered, not wanting to give people the wrong impression as to the 'special' ingredient in these muffins (Apple Cider Vinegar). 

I have to admit, though, before going into the oven, they did look unlike any blueberry muffins I've ever made:

We were extremely skeptical during the 22 minutes they were baking, partially due to the color, and partially due to the fact that our measurements were slightly less than precise. First of all, the recipe I was using naturally had all measurements in cups and tablespoons (instead of grams and milliliters, standard for Europe). Second of all, Claudiu's kitchen, while extremely well-equipped (far more so than my own), lacked any measuring tools other than a scale of questionable accuracy. So we did a lot of eyeballing, which can be dangerous when baking. But when they came out of the oven, the muffins looked, well, normal:

For the recipe, check out this page. For the milk, I used soy. I also omitted the lemon extract, and found that with the zest, they were lemony enough. As if this wasn't enough approximation, I also didn't have any baking soda. So I did what any good cook does - I googled how to substitute baking powder: double however much baking soda is required and omit the salt. I think they turned out rather nicely. . .

With the leftover batter, we made two ramekin-muffins, which also turned out well:

And thus came our cooking festival to a delicious end. Mmm!

Day 10, or "A Vegan Goes to Munich"

Today I went to Munich to meet up with a friend from high school for the afternoon. Still thinking about the Saftladen's "vegan sushi," I suggested we go to Japanese for lunch, since it's nearly impossible to find any good sushi in Regensburg. Against my better judgment, I admitted to him that I'm trying to be vegan at the moment. He actually thought my thirty day trial is a pretty good idea, but vehemently hopes that I will at least tone it down to "will only eat organic, free-range meat products," after thirty days, which is still a possibility, I suppose. If that ends up being the case, I will really only eat meat I cook myself, and dairy products I buy myself. Or, as Chris pointed out, I could also eat at those "hippie restaurants" that say on the menu that the chicken is free-range and the produce locally grown. 

Chris also felt it necessary to point out that one of my bracelets is made of leather. This presents a dilemma. I really like this bracelet, and I already own it (as well as a small collection of other leather items - a purse, a few pairs of shoes). I think at this point, I will just have to move forward with a refusal to add any new items to the leather crew. Thanks to my mother, who is disgusted by the very idea, I don't own anything with fur. I also want to be more careful about what kinds of soaps, shampoos, and make-up I buy. I might actually take the "This Product Not Tested On Animals" label seriously from now on.

The sushi restaurant we found had a pretty decent array of vegetarian options, and I got a delectable spinach roll, which is something I'd never had before. I'm still not crazy about seaweed salad, but I did my best to enjoy the sliminess (I had to put on a good face to the still-dubious, beef-donburi-ordering Chris). 

Tonight I'm going to have the leftover salad from last night for dinner, and look up recipes for the vegan cooking and baking afternoon Claudiu and I have planned for tomorrow. *Sigh.*

Day 9, or "Animal Rights Activist?"

Day 9 was definitely a landmark day in my newfound veganism. Wednesdays are always difficult because of my class schedule - 12:15 until 1:45, and then 3:15 until 6. I'm never sure where lunch falls in there, so I usually just end up eating a series of snacks in between classes. Previously, these snacks involved whatever was looking good in the cafeteria (chocolate muffin, granola bar, yogurt) but now I have to think ahead and pack myself some good stuff. Today, I packed half of a veggie sandwich with cucumber, lettuce, and sun-dried tomatoes (leftover from the pasta the night before). 

On my way to class, I passed the "Saftladen" (juice stand) like I do every day. Once I bought some chocolate covered strawberries there, but other than that I usually don't pay it much attention. But today it certainly caught my eye:

The sign reads, "Fresh-Pressed Juices, Vegan Sushi, Gazpacho." I bet you can guess what got me so excited. . . Unfortunately, I didn't have any money with me, so I had to settle for my sandwich, which, also unfortunately, ended up as kind of a disaster: 

It still tasted great, but I think I'm going to have to continue the search for a better vegan sandwich bread. Something a little thicker and less crumbly, I would imagine. 

In the evening, Claudiu and I went to see a documentary [click here to learn more - you can even watch it online for free!] about animal rights called Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix (I know him as the guy who plays Mel Gibson's brother in Signs). We had picked up a flier advertising it at the same tent I got my über-alternative Veganarchist pin at the music festival over the weekend. Though I cannot recommend the film as a great 'third-date' movie (unless you find cringing repeatedly, frequent gagging, and wanting to yell, "Make it stop!!!" at the screen a romantic experience, in which case you should potentially consider seeking professional help), I can recommend it to everyone who as ever even considered the idea of becoming vegan and needs a helpful nudge through the door, or to anyone who is simply curious as to just where, exactly, the animal products we buy in stores come from. 

Claudiu and I agree that although in and of itself, the film is not enough to "convert" someone to veganism, it is a powerful instrument in at least forcing us to think about where our food and clothing come from and the cruelty of using other living creatures as sources of entertainment or science experiments. The central idea of the documentary - that animals suffer physically and psychologically because of humans, and that this is fundamentally wrong - is extremely powerful when supported by the images of slaughterhouses, puppy mills, circuses, laboratories, and leather factories. It might just have made me into a life-long vegan. Animal rights is not something I've ever given much thought to; I've been known to use the line "Don't tell me, you'll spoil my dinner" just as much as the next person. But as the documentary explains, that's the ultimate reason why things aren't changing. We don't want to know. 

Well, now I know. And though it was hard to be hungry after the movie, it was almost nine o'clock and neither of us had eaten yet. I think I actually swooned a little bit when Claudiu suggested we go home and make a big salad for dinner. And that's exactly what we did:

And finally, a picture with something other than food in it. . . Claudiu reacting to his vegetarian dinner. Or maybe it was my hyperactive insistence on photographing everything that went on in the kitchen. Either way, he's a keeper for putting up with my utter ridiculousness. Thank you!

Day 8, or "1 Week!"

Yep, it's official: I've been vegan for an entire week. You don't look impressed. Fine. Check back in another three.

And even more great news: I've had my box of cornflakes now for three days, and it looks like it's going to make the jump into four days quite easily. (But after that, I can't make any promises.) So now I can eat cereal for breakfast whenever I want! I sound like a little kid. . .

Breakfast (cereal) and lunch (salad) were pretty standard on Day 8, so in this post I'd like to share with you one of my favorite vegan snack options - half a banana with peanut butter. It's a little high in calories, but still very nutritious:

Yesterday I actually was feeling a little under the weather (maybe just to spite the Skinny Bitches, who promised that I wouldn't get any more colds or allergies). I had to give a huge presentation at 6 pm, and I was just feeling like I didn't have the energy. So I did what I would have done in the 'old days' - I bought myself a diet coke. Here's the funny thing: I used to drink diet cokes pretty regularly, maybe not every day but several times a week. But I took one sip of it yesterday and literally poured the rest down the sink. It tasted awful! This is kind of hilarious, because I have never found a diet coke anything but satisfying. So maybe my taste buds are changing. . . A change I like! Oh, and by the way, I'm feeling 100% better today. I think my immune system is running in full gear.

To celebrate my healthiest week ever (and I was healthy before, so this is definitely saying something), I decided to cook dinner for Claudiu, who generously offered to come even though he knew it would be a vegan meal. I wanted to try a recipe I read on VeganYumYum for Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli. It turned out pretty well, but not my best work. The "Lemon Pepper" part was unfortunately non-existent - next time I'll have to add a lot more of those two flavors. The amounts indicated in the recipe were definitely not enough.

For dessert, I served "ice cream" with sliced peaches and cinnamon. Over all, I'd say it was a success, but that next time will most assuredly be even better.