Yes, it's all about me. Suck it up and get on with your life.

Just the normal (and abnormal) everyday stuff of my life. See something you don't like? Be sure to leave your phone number, and I promise I'll call you if I ever start giving half a flying rat's ass what you think about me. Just don't wait up by the phone, dearie.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

$17 Farmers Market Haul

For a measly $17:

8 tomatoes (medium to small)
2 large cumcumbers
6 ears bi-corn
8 Jonathan apples
1 loaf basil-sun dried tomato bread

Some of the corn will go into a raw curried corn salad; some will go into a raw corn, tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad.

The rest of the tomatoes will go into a raw soup (haven't decided yet if I want to do a gazpacho, or something else). I'm considering juicing a few with some cucumber and celery.

The apples and the rest of the cucumbers will be eaten as-is. I might make David's Favorite Dessert with a few apples (diced apples, chopped raw walnuts, raw honey, cinnamon--mix and eat).

The good word is--my daughter and son-in-law are moving out!! I love them dearly, but the thought of having a meat-free refrigerator (not to mention more space for watermelon!) is sweeter than Tupelo honey!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Average Joe on the Raw

An excellent movie showing the ups and downs of an "average Joe" who goes raw vegan for 60 days. It can be purchased for download or "rented" to watch online, for very reasonable prices.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Another $19 Haul

Another Saturday, another trip to Granny's and the BCFM!

2 heirloom tomatoes
4 peaches
2 red bell peppers
1 medium (but very heavy) watermelon
1 onion
3 ghost chilis
3 ears bi-color corn
1 loaf of basil-sundried tomato bread
about 10 small apples

The Farmers Market was offering free samples (only 2 vegan, though) and giving away reuseable grocery bags. Yay!! The free samples are actually a good idea--"try before you buy." I tasted a salsa that I probably wouldn't have considered buying before, but it was really tasty.

"So, Miz, what do you DO with all this produce?"

The watermelon will be juiced (blended, actually) along with fresh ginger to make a bracing morning drink. I'm guessing I'll get about 4 days out of it. The rinds will be a juicy treat for my pet pig, Angeles. (Seriously, didn't you read my profile? The part about making an airplane out of a sock because my pig would eat the banana peel? Did you really think I made that UP??)

One of the tomatoes was already used in my sprout salad this afternoon; the other will be used in raw marinara sauce (along with a good part of the onion).

One of the bell peppers will go into my raw vegan "cheez" dip tomorrow; the other will be part of my raw pasta dish (the "pasta" will be one of last week's zucchinis).

Some of the peaches will be eaten out of hand, and others will be diced and mixed with strawberries and balsamic vinegar for a refreshing fruit salad. Apples will be eaten out of hand, or used for my apple-walnut salad; a few might go to the horse and the pig. (Yes, I have a horse too. And 3 dogs, 2 cats, a rabbit, and a hermit crab. Let's just get the shock out of the way first thing, shall we?)

Haven't yet decided what to do with the corn, and I'm a bit sorry now that I didn't spend the last $1 and get more. I LOVE raw corn on the cob. But, I also have a recipe for a really good raw curried corn salad (the extra buck will go to buy organic cilantro at the grocery). But I'm also dying to try those ghost chilis, so I was thinking of creating some other type of raw/cold corn salad with those.

Decisions, decisions!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

$19 Vegan Haul

I admit, I love farmers markets and local family farms. Love, love, LOVE.

I am a high-raw vegan. That means that most of the food I eat is raw, but I do eat some cooked vegan foods. Now that summer is in full swing, seasonal produce is *fairly* cheap and abundant (droughts have affected us, unfortunately) and the sweltering temperatures make raw juicy foods the perfect choice for any meal.

I took $20 in cash with me Saturday to buy some goodies for the week. First stop was Granny's Garden in Burlington, a family-owned farm that sells their produce directly on premises. Five juicy peaches, two large heirloom tomatoes, and two zucchinis as long and thick as my forearm for $9. The peaches will be eaten out of hand, one of the zucchinis will be dehydrated as chips and the other will be sliced and left raw as dippers for guacamole. Tomatoes will be eaten as-is or added to a sprout salad.

Next it was off to the Boone County farmers market. A very heavy Sugar Baby watermelon (enough for 4 meals), and a loaf of vegan bread (apricot-craisin) for $10. If I had gone all raw, I could have had several ears of corn, an eggplant, onions, and some bell peppers instead of the bread. Which is exactly what I'll do next time; the bread lasted a little over 24 hours, but for the same cost I could have bought enough produce for the week. I don't often splurge, but I already had some produce at home and the bread looked fantastic (and did not disappoint taste-wise).

Sadly, our farmers market is relatively small and doesn't offer a whole lot of variety. I've thought of challenging myself to eat only from the farmers market and Granny's each week, with whatever I can buy for $20. I might give it a go next week!