I Speak Vegan

Resolutions And Kale…Such a Winning Combination!!!

Greetings veganistas!!! So sorry for another time lag.  I sustained quite a lovely injury to my shoulder, and was in a great deal of pain, and typing was seriously excruciating.  So I decided to do the right thing, and stay off of my laptop for a few days.  It was actually a post-reaction to an anti-inflammatory medication I had to take for the cough, and I have truly made minimizing medication a goal for 2012, especially if I can increase my immune system through healthy eating.   My shoulder is feeling passably better now, not perfect, and patience is not one of my strengths.  Hey, there’s a new year’s resolution for you. More patience.   Naaa.  I sometimes rather enjoy lack of patience.  Haaaaa!!  Did you notice, only one exclamation point there? I don’t know if I’m liking that. We’ll have to wait and see!!!!!!!! 

Anyway, onward and upward to more resolutions!!  I am definitely on board with cooking healthier food.  My vegan daughters have been extoling the healthy virtues of kale for some time, so I decided to re-incorporate it into my healthier diet.  I cooked some yesterday;  in my giant non-stick pan starting off with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, then an addition of a splash or two of  organic vegetable broth so it won’t burn, and some garlic powder and kosher salt.  At the last minute, I added in a half a bag of baby spinach that I had in the refrigerator, so as not to waste it.  That’s the way to cook!! (That so did deserve an exclamation point!).  And I served it on a pretty platter, with mashed dairy free sweet potatoes, and awesome oven roasted red potatoes.  It was a picture I tell ya!   If only I had a Himalayan salt board to serve it on…if you’ve read my previous posts, you know where I’m going with that… But it is my commitment to prepare and serve much more leafy green vegetables, and I am glad that I made and enjoyed the kale yesterday.   

Kale actually has a pretty interesting history.  It was a huge food source during the Middle Ages and some food historians eve trace varieties of kale all the way back to the Roman Empire.  I remember my late mother-in-law telling me about the victory gardens of WW11 and how everybody planted kale because it was abundant and easy to grow, to say nothing of the nutritious value.   When I was really little, I actually remember my own grandmother, who was born and raised as a child in Scotland, referring to my sister’s refusal to eat her dinner as ‘her kale being off’.  Grandma had a few weird expressions anyway,   I really didn’t understand what she was saying at the time, but later on she told me that because kale was so abundant in Scotland,  the actual word ‘kale’ was just a reference to food and appetite. Go figure!!   And in talking about kale, I would be totally remiss if I did not mention colcannon and my intention to prepare it for dinner  this St. Patrick’s Day.  Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made with kale and mashed potatoes mixed together.  I actually made it quite a few years ago on St. Patrick’s Day.  My small children and my Italian husband actually stared at it on their plates it then glared at at me like I had seven heads or something.  Well, times have changed baby, and they’re getting it again!!  And I can guarantee you, with their new found food maturity, they will absolutely love it this time.  

The final thing I will say about kale is just how ridiculously healthy it is for you.  It is truly a super-food, chocked so very full of essential vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin K, Carotenoids (which provide Vitamin A), magnesium, iron, calcium, etc.  The list goes on and on.   So good for you and so very delicious.   And by the way, it’s also quite economical.  If it’s not on your 2012 grocery list already, make an effort to try kale.  You will be so very glad you did.  And next week, I will be on to my next adventure—kale chips!!!  I will let you know how they come out!!

 So as we segue into 2012, I am totally committed into leaning into veganism.  With two committed meat eaters in the house, I am often at a crossroads preparing meals.  My biggest challenge is my youngest daughter, who is a meat eater.  But she does not really realize that her meat meals are becoming less and less, and the amount of meat she is consuming has been cut down sizably.  For example, the other night I wanted to prepare meatless chili, but she ragged on and on about how she wanted meat in her chili.  So I caved, but I used half the meat I would have used in the past, and doubled the beans.  She loved it, and was none the wiser.  This is a kid who eats absolutely no junk food, does not drink cow’s milk, eats healthy salads at lunch, loves her kale, etc. so I feel that in small doses, she is leaning into a plant based diet, and I am okay with that.  I am all about people making their own food choices.  And if I keep introducing healthy food choices to her, even better, right??

Some of my resolutions do not concern food, but rather, behavior.  After careful resolution consideration,   I decided that I wanted to try and be a bit more sensitive to people, especially dopey ones.   And I was doing okay for a few days, really I was, when that ship sailed big time.   You see, I incurred a bona-fide idiot in the supermarket.   Seriously.   A real live idiot.  I was looking for quinoa, and did not see it, so I politely asked this bona-fide idiot/stock person, who rolled his eyes at me, and brusquely said “Whattt?”  So I repeated myself, and when I saw that he was not understanding me, I spelled q-u-i-n-o-a.   He rolls his eyes at me again, and says, in a duh way, “You want kwinoah. Oh my God!”   He was just a kid, so I politely informed him of the correct pronunciation, and instead of being enlightened or saying a quick thanks, he thrusts the box at me and walks away, so I said, “Why, thanks so, so, so, so much”  in a semi-sarcastic, loud voice so he could hear me. Sorry, but sensitivity from me is not in the cards for a dolt like this!!  But I did get my box of quinoa, and I shall be writing about that quite soon, so not all was lost!!  And I will return to my sensitivity resolution, but will have to rewrite it a bit.  Sensitivity should be for the well-mannered.  The ill-mannered are on their own!!!   And they absolutely cannot have any of my kale!!!!!

Have a great weekend everybody!!  I do so love all my veganish friends!!

Laura!!!!!!!