For fun.
In the past, I would sometimes wonder what it would be like to start and run a blog. Today, I felt would be a good day to try it out. For fun.
Also, because I felt like it, here’s a gratuitous picture of my best friend’s cat, Gaston:
Eventually, I was able to finish all of it.
My mom kindly offered to prepare that smoothie I wanted to make because she wanted my brother to consume more fruits and vegetables. He often goes rogue when on trips. On my request, she combined three pitted dates, an apple, mixed berries and blueberries, grapes, spinach and mixed greens in the blender. She also added three tablespoons each of chia and flax seeds as well as two tablespoons each of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. The Vitamix was furious.
When she served me a glass of the concoction, it had a brownish purple, somewhat gray color. The greens and blended fibers had silenced any sweetness from the fruit. Only sour and bitter notes came through. I decided I wanted to experiment with a smoothie bowl. I recently purchased steel cut oats and had five dried figs I had chopped up. The end result was a rocky miasma. HAHAHAHA! I took a picture for fun:
Once I realized that the oats had the texture of chewy gravel, I combined everything together so that they could absorb some liquid. The figs added some needed sweetness to the muck. Eventually, I was able to finish all of it. I actually want some more; maybe ripe banana slices would make it better.
Time to feast!
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical professional. What I write about are my thoughts on my own subjective experiences, not health advice for other people. I like to try new things as I seek to improve my health, and I encourage others to check different reputable sources before implementing any “radical” lifestyle changes. Whether it be adopting a vegan diet or experimenting with fasting protocols, please proceed at your own risk. Contact your trusted healthcare provider if you need further guidance. For now, that is all.
I have to admit that the reduced need for sleep while fasting at first seemed like a positive. Steady energy levels, okay focus and attention span, a calm mood, and an improved ability to snap out of a trance induced by spending hours surfing the web if I so desired were nice perks.
Nonetheless, I also felt somewhat tired. It’s similar to when you have been doing a bunch of menial errands or chores all day and then take a break for a couple of hours. You are not so tired that you need to take a three hour nap on the spot, but you might hesitate driving more than 75 minutes round-trip to hang out with relatives and/or friends. I don’t know, maybe that’s just my experience.
Since my sleep schedule is somewhat off, I remembered extremely early in the AM on Saturday that I should probably take some electrolytes since this was technically 96+ hour fast. I decided I could make an unsweetened turmeric, black pepper, and clove powder tea and a small amount of minerals. I placed the kettle filled with water on the stove and waited for it to boil. I mixed the spices and a heaping teaspoon of this in a tall mug:
I got this on Amazon when I started experimenting with fasts that lasted more than two days. Apparently, some people excrete too much potassium through their urine and sweat while fasting for extended periods of time. As such, they become susceptible to heart complications and nerve tremors. I personally have only ever had slight, fleeting headaches that last a second or two after fasting for more than 72 hours, and they have gone away when I drink water. I got this as a precaution as well as this pouch:
This latter potassium bicarbonate pouch was hidden (between cereal boxes because my mom loves to move things around), so I did not include it with the spiced beverage. I proceeded with my day by surfing the web and chatting with friends, but then I felt sleepy and decided to turn off all of the electronics. I also closed the blackout curtains and snuggled under the blankets in my cold room. I slept for over 10 hours and laid in bed after waking for another hour. The magnesium may have acted as a muscle relaxant. I felt rested, but oversleeping also made me tired. Two steps forward, and one step back.
Once midnight came and went, my brain and stomach conspired against me. I started feeling hungry. It wasn’t “FEED ME, SEYMOUR!!!” bad, but it was persistent. I held out for an hour until the images of food slowly faded in my mind. On a whim, I decided to leave my laptop and go downstairs for some water. I saw a bag of clementines and a canister of crispy fried onions and caved. Time to feast!
I ate a lot over the next three hours. I devoured: a total of five clementines (the Cuties from California you get at Kroger); a small carton of blackberries; half of those crispy fried onions (the ones you use on green bean casseroles); the leftover black bean noodles (very tasty, but I hate how microwaves cook food unevenly); half of a roasted camote (also called batata, boniato, or white yam, depending on where you are from) my mom left behind; about 9 slices of organic sprouted bread (one of those multigrain ones) from Kroger that I toasted in the air fryer; and half of the jar of Meditalia Basil Pesto (it’s okay for a vegan tapenade, but real pesto is ten times better) I had left in the fridge, see below:
Needless to say, I showed no more self-restraint, but that’s what I do on a regular basis. Oh, I also did the soybean paste test comparison (Doenjang vs Red Miso) I talked about in my earlier post. Surprisingly, I didn’t have much of an upset stomach. I fortunately don’t have persistent heartburn that often anymore since I started cutting back on heavily processed foods. The citrus and bread and Doenjang at first did not seem to get along in my digestive tract, but they thankfully decided to ignore each other on the way down.
TMI: My stool was loose and watery until Monday morning, but I expect that by now when fasting.
My next meal was not until Sunday night. My brother returned from NYC and generously got me my usual vegan pie from MOD pizza. I wanted to ask him about his trip, but he insisted I go eat first because he was tired from the shuttle trip and didn’t want to deal with stairs. When I came back, he was already turning off the lights to go to bed. Oh, bother.
When hunger returned, I decided to make tofu because I still need to buy some more ingredients before I attempt Jjigae (i.e. mushrooms, zucchini, etc.). I proceeded to cut a block of firm tofu, but I instantly regretted it because the extra firm block was hidden in the back of the refrigerator. For me, the firm tofu still contains too much liquid, even after pressing between paper towels. Whatever, I started browning one side of the quadrilateral prisms -they were not really cubes- in olive oil with a couple of squirts of Bragg Liquid Aminos seasoning and black pepper. (This all happened in the large skillet because I don’t deviate from what works when I’m trying to prepare a quick meal.)
For the sauce, I combined three-quarters of a teaspoon of Doenjang (for the umami punch and saltiness), a teaspoon of gochujang, a tablespoon and change of molasses, two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, black pepper, some grated ginger, and four minced garlic cloves in a bowl. I thinned out the goo with water because the pastes were not mixing readily.
I flipped the tofu and cooked it some more before adding the sauce. Once I became impatient and realized no think crunchy crust was forming, I dumped the sauce into the skillet so that it coated all of the tofu slices. I let the sauce reduce, and it became more of a glaze. The Doenjang and gochujang made the kitchen smell funky, but that passed as sauce cooked some more. The lid went on top of the skillet for two minutes because I didn’t want the food to dry out too much, but I worried for nothing. I noticed some of the garlic and tofu was charring, so I took the skillet off the heat and got this:
The contents of the flowery plate were redder and less gross in real life, but I did not want to eat them on their own. So, I decided to get mixed greens (the organic 50/50 blend from Kroger) and toast bread in the air fryer to make lazy tofu sandwiches:
Putting the greens on an even layer without massive spilling was a challenge (I don’t usually eat sandwiches at home if that was not abundantly clear, HAHAHA), but I made it work, sort of:
I made the second sandwich with even more greens piled on top of the tofu because I wanted all of that chlorophyll and other photosynthetic pigments inside of me.
The taste of the tofu was nice. And there was no funk from the Doenjang. Overall, it was very slightly salty (in a pleasant way), good kick from the ginger, and the garlic and molasses added a wonderful flavor. There was some residual heat that started to build up from the gochujang, but it was extinguished by the bread and mixed greens. I enjoyed it.
I made another block of tofu the same way, but I roasted the extra firm tofu slices for 8 minutes at 370 ºF in the air fryer. As expected, they maintained their shape better and were not as soggy. I didn’t get that crispy outside I wanted, so I will experiment with tapioca starch because that has worked in the past (it’s messy, though). I ate it with sesame seeds and mixed greens since I ran out of bread. It was an interesting salad. For those taking notes, I think it would be infinitely better if the tofu pieces were left marinating in the sauce (raw liquid or cooked until reduced, I wonder which would yield better results?) overnight. Otherwise, the insides never fully absorb the exterior flavors. Also, I forgot to caramelize the sauce (I was too focused on preventing the tofu from charring), so I can still feel some of the funk of the Doenjang between my teeth. It’s like eating stinky cheese.
I drank some water to wash it all down. For dessert, I ate two small crates of raspberries. I’m full, not stuffed, as I type this. In a bit, I’ll get or make a refreshing smoothie.
Before tasting it, I was hit by the smell.
So, as I mentioned before, I wanted to taste the two fermented soybean pastes and compare them. (I already broke my fast, by the way. More on that later.)
Firstly, this is a plain taste test. I will compare them in prepared dishes in the near future. Also, if you’re curious, I got these both online on Amazon, but always check out other online and physical stores for the best price. Many other sites provide nice discounts as well as free shipping once you order a minimum. Anyway, let’s start with the miso paste.
This is the Genmai miso from the Eden brand. It contains organic whole soybeans, organic brown rice, water, sea salt, and Koji Aspergillus oryzae. So far, so good. The packaging involves a pouch within a pouch, as seen here:
The texture reminds me of a smoother version of the fig paste within the Fig Newton’s cookies (I haven’t had those in forever…I wonder if they are vegan). There are some microscopic grainy crystals in there, but it all dissolves in my mouth in seconds. The taste reminds me of that sharp bite from Kikkoman soy sauce. The smell is also very reminiscent of the taste of Kikkoman. This might be one of the closest things to that brand of soy sauce in paste form. I like it, but I’ve been using white or yellow miso in the last year.
Doenjang is significantly different. Let’s go over the appearance:
The contents of the plastic jar have a creamier consistency than the miso pouch. Some portions remind me of baby food. It seems to contain more moisture than the miso, so it’s slightly runnier. The packaging says Wholly Doenjang (manufactured by Q-Rapha Food, LLC), and the ingredients are soybeans, water and salt.
Before tasting it, I was hit by the smell. It’s that foul, salty and acrid smell I associate with dumpsters and dirty streets of the open-air wholesale markets of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela from over a decade ago. Not as bad as when you accidentally let brown rice with onions spoil in the refrigerator, but still intense. The more the aroma lingers, the more reminiscent it is of the taste of real Parmesan cheese. Yes, specifically, the Parmigiano Reggiano I used to covertly snatch from my parents’ freezer and eat in the middle of the night. I guess the fermentation process broke down some proteins and gave it an umami scent. As for the taste, it is incredibly salty (miso is more restrained, if that makes sense), and it coats your mouth with that fermented gunk aftertaste. I’m sure it’s not meant to be consumed in its raw form, so I’m still eager to try it out in a few dishes.
Let’s see what I make later today.
The kitchen will be very messy tomorrow.
I’ve already fasted for three days, and today is the last day. As per usual for me, hunger tapers off after the first day. By that I mean that the ravenous hunger I would normally experience between meals on those days when I eat on three separate occasions is now more subdued. It’s easier to ignore cravings when I see pictures of food or my mom’s treats lying around as the days pass. Even so, I’ve been taking the MRM Vitamin D capsules and Bloom Algae Omega-3 supplements as well as the cyanocobalamin Vitamin B12 powder (from the Bulk Supplement brand); as such, I am not 100% fasting with just water.
Fortunately, I haven’t developed a keto rash this time around. Perhaps it’s more of an issue when the ambient temperature is warmer. I only have slept for 4 hours for each of the past two days. It’s a bit annoying. I am alert enough and don’t feel the exhaustion of being sleep deprived, but I am not jumping up and down with tons of energy either. It’s easier to focus on typing, though. Snapping out of YouTube marathons is also more manageable.
Anyway, I received this in the mail:
According to Koreans, Doenjang has a stronger flavor than miso. I still have red miso in the fridge, so I’ll compare them. I am going to search for some Korean cooking videos to see what I can make. I remember some YouTubers making Jjigae, and I still have gochujang. Next time, I need to get kombu or kelp powder. The kitchen will be very messy tomorrow. 😀
I spent my evening thinking about what to include on my couchsurfing.com profile. Then after midnight, I finally started typing. It took forever!!! I am too tired to decide if it reads okay. I’m going to crash soon. I’ll edit later.
I really needed the fresh air.
The outside temperature finally rose above freezing. I took the opportunity to take a gelid shower, put on some comfortable sweatpants and the red hooded sweater, and go for a walk with my mom. It was great! It was also the first time we took a stroll around the neighborhood together this new year. The snow mostly melted, the breeze was brisk, and the brown grass served as contrast for the sublime half-clear sky. The scene reminded us of late fall.
I really needed the fresh air. My mom had burned something last night when she was boiling tubers, and the ground floor still reeks of singed starches. Her WhatsApp group chats and cooking don’t mix.
By the way, there won’t be any new kitchen experiments until Sunday. I am fasting to get the benefits of autophagy, and to avoid washing dishes. Naturally. One of my friends was showing me a fully vegetarian (possibly vegan) meal of his, and my stomach started to grumble in protest. One of my other friends, this one from college (I owe her a visit), sent me a picture of my brother and her after eating dinner in NYC. They somehow know when I start a fast and cannot wait to rub it in, don’t they? HAHAHAHA!
I am looking forward to cooking on Sunday. Hopefully, it will be lecker.
(It seems that I am developing a cooking routine.)
After eating the refried beans last night, I wanted to try out a slightly different recipe. I took two cans of organic beans (three bean blend and black beans, respectively) I got at Kroger and placed their contents in a large strainer. The canned beans were cheap, and I was not willing to spend three hours boiling dried beans from scratch tonight after dealing with an extended warranty agent for 75 minutes. The dryer’s drum sounds like it got loose, so a service call is needed. I don’t know…
Anyway, I caramelized two onions, sauteed some garlic and ginger in olive oil, and dumped the rinsed beans into the large skillet. (It seems that I am developing a cooking routine.) Some salt, pepper, coriander, oregano, and Bragg Liquid Amino seasoning went in. I also added garlic and onion powder because I could. The beans picked up some flavor, but they were a bit dry. So, I dissolved a vegan stock cube in water and added Mrs. Dash seasoning because my mom kept saying to add it. The slurry turned the beans into a sloppy mess. No matter. I decided that blackstrap molasses needed to make a comeback for sweetness.
The cream of bean was fine, but some elements were missing. I scoured the boxes of miscellaneous stuff next to the counter that serve as my personal pantry and found one of the things I needed. Rice noodles! Hey, this may not yield vegan Jjajangmen Chajang Noodles because I am not using textured soy protein and fermented black soybean paste, but I will definitely eat this “healthy sludge.”
I took the last three remaining packets of Thai Kitchen’s Spring Onion Instant Noodle Soup and did the unspeakable. I took only the delicate strands of processed rice; the seasoning packs went into the trash with the wrapper (for some reason the spices give me hiccups, if not heartburn… maybe it’s the soybean oil with the red chili pepper). Nonetheless, the ratio of rice noodles to beans was rather low. Fortunately, I found Wakame and Brown Rice Ramen noodles from Lotus Foods. I did incorporate this product’s seasoning packet for the boost in umami flavor. HAHAHA! I’m biased.
Next, I stirred a few times for the noodles to absorb some of the excess liquid from the makeshift stock. Sriracha also went in to add some kick. Then I covered the skillet with the glass lid and put a timer for two minutes. I figured the steam would cook the noodles.
Effectively, the noodles quickly softened in the moist heat. After I removed the lid, they were pleasantly chewy. There is some evidence of what I claim pictured below:
Now that I study the photo, I am reminded of moujadara. I am also tempted to try making vegan koshari. Probably later in the week, though… I need to fast.
It’s always better when we can chat uninterrupted.
Today was a slow day. I wasted a couple of hours with the merchant dispute department of one of my credit cards. Going forward, I know not to even consider relying on them and to slowly and carefully read the fine print on anything related to airlines. In fact, a renewed personal moratorium on airplane travel for the next 7 years and more research into possibly sailing around the world sounds ever more appealing. And cheaper too…
Also, I was reminded that venting with some of my friends is just the same as talking with my mom. They’ll mean well but come off as dismissive. Yes, I am indeed impulsive at times and am highly tempted by extremes, but don’t give me the standard conformist responses. I can infer all of what you have to say from the boilerplate and assurances of customer service agents, thanks. I am looking for solutions or alternatives for the present, not for what I should have done differently in the past when I had incomplete information (if it wasn’t clear, I have already taken notes in that regard). To me, soft chiding is often isomorphic to a strong reprimand; both can be equally repellent.
That being said, I wonder why I think that way. I probably have very low enthusiasm and high anxiety. If something that involves a modicum of effort on my end goes slightly awry (past a certain threshold that is dependent on the situation), I will get pissed, become disheartened, and/or shut down. In the end, I will go through the motions, counting the minutes for the new ordeal to be over. My first instinct is to avoid similar situations in the future like the plague, whenever -or as much as- possible. Otherwise, I know that I will not be as pleasant to be around as I am bad at hiding my irritation.
Perhaps, I do need a cooling-off period in isolation before telling others of my troubles. I would probably be less volatile. I could also try to analyze my reactions from a different perspective and not dwell on things that have gone wrong in such a negative light. But from past experiences, if I try to do so immediately, I become incensed. At this stage, it’s easier to observe what things upset me and explore why they have such an effect on my mood. (In previous years, I would have stewed in my own anger or simply have an outburst, so progress is slowly gaining momentum.) Comprehensive behavior modification can wait until I have a better understanding of my own thought patterns.
Anyway, tonight’s menu:
I heated up some blue corn taco shells in the air fryer and split them in half for dipping. Some mixed greens and extra spinach served as the green fodder. I also took the leftover beans from the other night from the fridge, pureed them in the Vitamix, and made refried beans. They needed some salt (and Braggs and pepper and olive oil) because I had to thin them out with water; the Vitamix is getting grumpy in its later years. My mom and I made some guacamole with five ripe avocados, garlic, tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro, shallots, pepper, and salt. Overall, they were tasty. I would like to include seasoned rice and a taco meat substitute in future iterations, though.
Although the start of the evening was not what I would call fun, catching up with my mom and showing her pictures of my recent trip were indeed enjoyable activities. I appreciate her company a lot more when she’s not hysterically doing chores or entranced by her WhatsApp group texts. It’s always better when we can chat uninterrupted.
The frosting was really good.
In a couple of hours, we went to get Mediterranean food (falafel, hummus, tabouleh, lentil soup, etc.), vegan cake from Whole Foods (I didn’t know they had a selection to choose from on the spot), and pizza (regular cheese since my cousins are a tad picky), cookies (from Enjoy Life) and ice cream (So Delicious Cashewmilk Salted Caramel Cluster) for dinner. The cake frosting was really good. The cake dough was a bit dry, however.
Here’s another shot:
We played video games on the Wii. It was fun. I crushed them at Super Smash Bros Brawl, and after they swept the floor with me for most of the Mario Party 6 challenge, I finally won a mini-game and achieved a new time record. I was also not above using an orb to get a star, hahahaha. I am thankful for being blessed with my relatives on my mom’s side of the family. All of them are really nice and merry in general, including my uncles and cousins in NYC.
Things do change with time, eventually.
It’s funny that my mom arrived late last night from NYC and that my brother left early this morning for the Bronx. The changing of the guard, hehe.
I woke up feeling much better today. The nice messages from friends and family on my phone cheered me up too. I chatted with my sisters and aunts on the phone for a while and texted some good friends from the Caribbean. I also spoke with a few cousins. There was no big, loud party like when we were younger. The frozen scenery outside was also peaceful. Things do change with time, eventually.
My mom and I went to get some more produce from Kroger. My car’s trunk door did not want to accept (nor relinquish) our groceries, though. It’s the type of vehicle that gets nippy with the cold.
Eventually, we got some vegan pies from MOD pizza with the works (i.e. dairy-free cheese, all non-animal toppings, fig balsamic glaze, and a BBQ swirl). See here:
All in all, turning 31 was quietly pleasant. There may be carrot cake tomorrow if my other cousins visit. Let’s wait and see what the future holds.
I hope I feel better tomorrow.
I spent most of the day sleeping off the beginning of a bad cold. From the moment I first woke up until now, I have been clearing my throat and coughing. Tired… I must have been snoring badly as my throat feels raw. My nose is partially stuffed too. Fortunately, I don’t have a fever. Salt gargles have helped, but I also discovered foul tonsilloliths. How do I get rid of those?
This is the third weekend in a row in which I start getting sick from something. A flu, a stomach virus, and now a cold… My immune system does not like drastic changes in temperature. In any case, I hope I feel better tomorrow.
Not too shabby, I think…
I woke up late today… Walking up the stairs over twenty times too many, cooking and prepping, and a cold shower all lead to me crashing in bed exhausted last night.
I did not want to cook when I finally brushed my teeth. And yet, I eventually grew hungry and needed to get ready. Also, my brother had work today, so I didn’t have the advantage of a food taster and “sous-chef.” Whatever, black beans and rice couldn’t be that hard, right? I was aggressively wrong… In any case, I wanted the fiber, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and calcium.
I had left black beans soaking the night before. After draining them and discarding the foamy water, I rinsed them under the faucet and then placed them in a stock pot I recently got at Walmart. I called my mom to see what she used (my best friend didn’t remember her family’s recipe off the top of her head and was at work… no worries, though). It would be the first time I attempted to cook these legumes, but my mom said to throw in the usual suspects: garlic, onions, oregano, diced peppers, coriander seeds, bay leaves, cilantro leaves and stems, parsley, etc.
Well, I knew I was going to face some difficulty because I had used up all of the cilantro on the pico de gallo and the tofu from yesterday. That was not going to stop me, but I momentarily wished that it wasn’t below zero outside and that the cilantro plants in the raised beds would sprout a few weeks early. I scoured the kitchen for the spices and herbs and anything else I was going to use. No bay leaves, hmm. Moving on.
Ginger, coriander seeds (which I crushed into dust with the mortar and pestle), garlic (sauteed with the ginger and with Bragg Liquid Amino seasoning), oregano, three white onions (slightly browned), peppercorn medley, all spice, olive oil, and even blackstrap molasses went into the stockpot. I dissolved a vegan stock cube too because I knew I was going to add more stuff later. I also heated up two jalapeños, minus the seeds and “ribs,” and incorporated them into the mix. I also added some salt and Mrs. Dash seasoning because my mom insisted. Finally, I remembered that my mom and my best friend’s family both incorporated squash of some type to add sweetness. There was no way I was leaving the house to go to Kroger, so I salvaged two-thirds of a large sweet potato that was sprouting on one end and turning dark brown on the other and tossed it in, skin and all, for good measure. Would you call what you see below appetizing?
I left that concoction boiling for more than ninety minutes; I was ravenous. Fortunately, I found some brown basmati rice I bought at Sam’s Club a few months ago. I rinsed two cups of the grass seeds in a large fine-mesh strainer under faucet and cooked it in briny water. My goal was to prepare it like pasta as supposedly this alternative method leaches away most of the arsenic that rice can so effectively extract from the soil. I added some of the Mrs. Dash seasoning while I left it simmering, but even though the rice came out nice and fluffy as advertised on YouTube and Google searches, it needed something else. I grabbed the skillet and cooked some garlic in olive oil. Just before the garlic started to brown, I added the rice and chopped parsley. Not too shabby, I think…
It tasted fine, but I wanted more complexity, so I added the juice of a lime. The tang of citrus went well with the cooling, salty grains and cut the richness of the olive oil. The pieces of garlic were nice and sweet. But I needed more! I was kicking myself thinking of what I had forgotten. Some crunch would have been nice, so I added sesame seeds. That was not an ideal pairing (good but not great), but I had forgotten about the sunflower and pumpkin seeds that were sitting on the counter. I should have experimented first. (I need cashews and pistachios too.) God willing, next time will be a different story. Also, I realized I wanted heat. I added some sriracha; it gave the rice a fruity flavor with the lime, which was nice and spicy. On a different occasion, however, I will try crushed red pepper flakes.
Finally, I was exasperated with the beans. I had eaten all of the rice by itself. I checked, and the beans were still somewhat hard. I added a cup and a quarter of rinsed red lentils, the remaining the chopped parsley, and the four leftover tomato slices from yesterday I had saved in the fridge. I also threw in more garlic cloves because I could. Later I saw that the lentils soaked up too much of the remaining liquid and noticed some of the brown sludge was sticking to the bottom, so I added more water and a bit more sea salt. If it burned, I was going to be livid. I waited some more and left a timer for thirty minutes.
Fortunately, I had already washed red kale in cold saltwater and rinsed it. I removed the stems and chopped the leaves and left the kale on standby while I resumed watching YouTube videos. When the timer went off, I removed the stockpot from the heat and folded in the kale. I put on another timer for five minutes.
It came out pretty tasty, but I almost scorched my tongue because it was still too hot. The individual black beans were still a tad too firm for my liking, but each spoonful was subtly sweet and savory. The kale was not even bitter at all as I had expected. The disintegrated lentils and sweet potatoes made the “stew” creamy. I’ll ask my brother what he thinks of it when he gets back home, but he’ll probably berate me for eating all of the rice. HAHAHAHA!
If I get another chance, I will experiment with a pressure cooker or boil the beans for much longer before adding the extra stuff.
Behold!
Today, I decided to break my fast before I got another annoying keto rash. I had not eaten anything the past few days other than B-12 and mineral powders as well as algal Omega-3 tablets, and my friends and my brother kept talking about food, which was aggravating. Water was no longer cutting it.
I decided I was going to make more of the modified pico de gallo my best friend made while I was staying with her and her family. I substituted the bell peppers with jalapeños (the latter taste much better, to me) and used shallots instead of onions (to minimize the eye sting). Some chopped tomatoes and cilantro got mixed in with the other veggies. I seasoned the melange with salt, pepper, and lime juice. It was simple, fairly quick, and tasty. But I needed something else. That is, other than the dehydrated beets (if you try these, don’t be alarmed later… you’ll know what I mean…) I was snacking on.
I noticed a box of couscous from the Near East brand lying around. I read the cooking instructions, which were pretty straightforward. Temptation overwhelmed me. In a large skillet, I dissolved a vegan stock cube in two cups of water with a tablespoon of olive oil (I used the bottled one from Trader Joe’s). Once the water boiled, I added the couscous, removed the skillet from the heat, and waited five minutes before fluffing up the grains. I added the pico de gallo and some chopped Romaine lettuce. Behold!
When I noticed my brother walking downstairs, I offered him some after going over the ingredients. He didn’t hate it, and he said: “I wouldn’t be mad if you made this again.” Success!
I decided I wanted to start preparing a second lunch in order to avoid a heavy dinner later. With my brother’s reluctant help, I started to prep the other things we would need. We made some air-fried red potatoes with garlic and onion powder, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I chopped onions, garlic, and jalapeños and grated ginger to prepare a Teriyaki tofu stir-fry. (Side note: the garlic shake-to-peel trick works, but you need to smash the bulb against the counter and violently shake the cloves in a sealed container, preferably made out of metal or some other hard material, not soft plastic.) I have to admit that I cheated because I had bought Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce to avoid blender cleanup if I made the sauce from scratch. Most of the preliminary preparations were done.
Aromatics went into the hot skillet with some olive oil. First, the onions with a sprinkle of salt and pepper for six minutes. I told my brother to stir them and to later put them to one side of the skillet. Once the timer beeped, garlic and ginger followed on the cleared side with an extra drizzle of olive oil. He tossed them around until the garlic started to get a nice golden color. At that point, I added a few drops of Bragg Liquid Amino seasoning to the garlic and ginger mixture. Then, I incorporated the chopped jalapeños (I made sure to also remove the seeds and white membranes, or ribs). Next, I proceeded to cube the tofu while my brother continued to stir everything else. We combined the tofu with the aromatics, and I added the sauce to one side of the skillet to heat it up slightly before it coated the cubes. It was tasty as is, but I added sesame seeds and chopped cilantro for garnish.
I also seasoned a few tomatoes with salt and dried oregano powder. More chopped Romaine lettuce, and we got this:
Here’s a better look:
That red sauce on the potatoes is a delicious (to us, at least) organic sriracha by Natural Value:
I kept asking my brother though how we could have improved it. He did not like the mushy texture of the tofu, so I added chopped almonds to his portion, and he enjoyed it much better with the crunch. I would personally add cashews, maybe peanuts, but we ran out of those.
I was full, yet not stuffed, for a few hours. Hunger came back eventually, regardless. Since I wanted more antioxidants for kicks, I made a matcha, turmeric, black pepper, and clove tea with molasses. The hot, dark water steamed gently in my mug. Who needs coffee when you have this? Just kidding. (I need to get Reishi mushrooms.)
There was still the issue of what was next. Nonetheless, I had told my best friend that I wasn’t going to eat anything past 7:30 P.M. Around 6:15 P.M., I decided I wanted something easy. A container of Israeli pearl couscous surprised me inside a cupboard. I didn’t want an exact duplicate of my earlier meal, though. In the basement freezer, I found a bag of frozen mixed veggies. In the other freezer, half a bag of frozen corn caught my eye. I heated the large skillet I keep washing over and over. Olive oil and chopped garlic came next. A sprinkle of sea salt (I need to keep track and maintain it below 2 grams per day) and black pepper coalesced with golden garlic. Later came the vegetables and two cups of water. I also dissolved another vegan stock cube, and when the watery mess boiled, I put the lid on it for a couple of minutes. Last, but not least, the couscous went in for 9 minutes. I stirred a couple of times, and yet some of it almost burned… HAHAHAHA! Anyway, it came out colorful:
Tomorrow, I need black beans and kale. The legumes are soaking overnight as we speak.
But it was not as seamless as all that.
I got two full hours of German review done yesterday, so that’s an initial win. I need to work some more today and continue to build momentum.
Yesterday, I also bought my plane ticket to Germany via Norwegian Air. But it was not as seamless as all that. I hope next time goes better.
First, I needed to be burned by Justfly.com’s sneaky cancellation processing fee. When I realized that WOW Airlines charges for a carry-on bag made everything more expensive, I knew I had made a grave mistake. Flying with Lufthansa or British Airways would have at least allowed me a checked bag for the same price. I was pissed and spent a while on the phone trying to get Justfly.com’s surprise $75 cancellation processing fee waived, but the best they could offer was $40. Seriously, not even 25 minutes had elapsed since I had booked my flight and called customer service.😒
I had forgotten the golden rule of not booking tickets through an unknown third-party site. Searching for deals, yes; paying for airfare other than through the airline’s website, no. Justfly.com visibly advertised a full refund of the ticket within 24 hours, but any mention of the extra charge was not at all in plain view when I was booking my initial flight. Lesson learned: one must navigate through Skyscanner and Kayak’s partner sites very carefully.
Anyway, I can now look forward to a total travel time between the Midwest and Germany of 48 hours. Why do layovers need to be so long?! Hahahaha, whatever, I’ll bring a book and granola bars. I need to also book a weeklong trip out of the Schengen area toward the end of May since my ticket exceeds the arbitrary 90-day limit within a 6-month window. Would London be sunny by then? Ireland is another option. I wonder what I’ll do…
As long as I put in the work, I should be fine.
After spending most of my waking hours doing chores, I’m finally going to sit down and resume my Assimil lessons. It’s funny how I am more likely to tidy up and clean up my messes if I’m procrastinating on something else that’s more important.
As long as I put in the work, I should be fine. Consistency is something that I will slowly, yet surely, improve upon. Time to study…
Because I simply wanted to.
I was casually watching a YouTube video from Jordan Shrinks (my recommended feed is all over the place since I started watching vegan videos), and she mentioned in her “7 TIPS ON HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED DURING WEIGHT LOSS” story how she wrote a list of reasons for why she started her weight loss journey. I had seen and heard similar advice in other random productivity and good habit videos recently, so I am stealing that idea outright.😂
Specifically, I am tweaking it for German. Why? Because I simply wanted to.
The list is not exhaustive, and the order of importance for any given reason will change with my mood, but this is a start.
A Time to Try New Things 