contest winner!

I'm out of town, so a short winner post is in order for my contest ending yesterday. Anna wins! Anna, please contact me so (my email is linked in my profile) with your address so that I can contact the people from Food, Inc., and get you your books! Congratulations!

Food, Inc. Book Giveaway Contest!

As vegans (or people who are close to vegans or are just interested in veganism), I imagine that most of you are interested in food, where your food comes from, and the impact of the food industry on health and the environment. Because food has now become an 'industry'. Well, for those of you that are interested in all of these matters, there is a new movie opening Friday, June 12 in select cities (and expanding throughout June and July) that will most likely tickle your pickle: Food, Inc.

'go see this movie!  moo!'

Not only will you, most likely more informed and lovely people who read my blog, find this movie intriguing, but I hope that it opens the eyes of others to the travesty that has become what most people in our nation have come to think of as 'food'.  

In light of all this awesomeness, the movie's PR lady, Janeal, asked if my readers would like a chance to win the companion book for Food, Inc. and Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser.  I responded with a resounding 'heck yes!' or something of that nature.  I know that you all like to be informed and smart, and these books will get you one step closer to ultimate awesomeness.  Therefore, if you'd like to enter this contest, you must do one of 3 things:

1. Twitter - 

2. Post on Facebook - 

or

3. Blog - 

--- about Food, Inc. with a link to their webpage, so as to get the word out to those who may not yet know about it.  Then come back here with the link to what you posted, and leave it in the comments section.  Normally, I wouldn't require anything so strenuous (ha) of you, but I really, really want people to know about this movie.  So go spread the word!

If your blogger profile does not link to your email, make sure also that you leave your email address in the comment.  If you do not have a valid email address that I can access, I'll have to disqualify you.  (Sorry!  But last time I had a contest, the winner never left their email and I ended up having to choose someone new, anyway.)  Contest ends next Thursday, June 18th, and I will use a random number generator to pick one winner.  Get going and report back, go go go!   

a new winner

Ok, so after many failed attempts to get in contact with the first winner for the Earth Shoes gift certificate, I've decided to choose a new winner, via our friend, the random number generator. It's been about 10 days since the last drawing, and I've heard nothing, so I think it's time that someone wins, fair and square, before the opportunity to collect the certificate falls by the wayside. Our interweb buddies at random.org chose commentor #......


1! That's Jes of the ever illustrious Cupcake Punk!

Jes, send me an email (linked in my profile page) with your first and last name so that I can send your info over to the lovely people at Onlineshoes.com.

Congratulations!

we have a winner! + some foodz

So I don't know how to copy the random number generator thingie into my blog, so you're just going to have to trust me on this one.  Our winner is commentor #66 who just happens to be:

ckwebgrrl    

who also just happens to be new to veganism, so this is a deserving winner indeed.  I certainly hope that this makes your transition to veganism slightly easier (not that it's THAT hard).  I need you to email me asap with your first name, last name, and email address so that I can forward it on to the peeps at Onlineshoes.com and they can get you your gift certificate!  (find a link to my email addy on my profile page, buddy, and step to it, because I'm not sure if there's a time limit on this.)

.....lag time.....

Sorry, took a break there to shoot a couple emails, haha...  Easily distracted, I suppose.  Anywho, with all the sadness of my contest being over, allow me to cheer you up with some food.

This is what I had for dinner last night!

rotelle w/spicy tempeh and broccoli rabe* from Vcon

*Except I used rotini because I got the wrong box and regular broccoli because broccoli rabe does not exist in the minds of the people of Huntington, WV.  So sad.  Still, this was mighty tasty!  And with Michael's help, it came together quickly.  My only complaint is that it's dry.  I thought I used enough oil, but since I'm still slowly getting over my oil phobia, this might not be the case.  Who knows.  Anyway, the flavor was awesome.  I love tempeh more and more.  And I'm always looking for an excuse to put broccoli in stuff.  I wish I just liked it steamed as a side veggie...  But alas, it is destined only to be incorporated into things here.

I served this with these bad boys:

the best bread product i have ever produced

Michael's grandparents gifted us their breadmaker because his grandma prefers to just bake bread.  Or so she told me!  I think the honest to goodness truth is that the breadmaker is crazy!  See, while it was kneading my dough (just plain old white bread as a test batch - but done with bread flour), it kept shaking and shimmying all over the counter.  Which didn't seem quite right, but...who knows.  So at one point it had shimmied itself sideways so Michael moved it back and the damned thing shut itself off.  Jerk machine!  It wouldn't just start again where it was.  And I didn't want it to just start over, for fear of overkneading.  After much huffiness on my part (I do mope at times, I swear I can't help it), I let the stupid dough rise in the oven and made rolls out of it, not having much hope for any success. 

Wrong!  They turned out beautifully.  So...um...bread flour must make a difference?  The question is this:  is it worth it to spend $4 on bread flour when I can get regular flour (but shitty bread) with $1 flour?  I'm not sure yet.  The other problem is this:  my store does not have any whole wheat bread flour.  Only white.  And I've been trying to eliminate as much white flour from my diet as possible.  Does anyone know if I add wheat gluten to my dough, will it help?  Because I bought a freaking oven thermometer thinking that my oven was screwy, but it's spot on.  It has to be a flour problem.  

Whatever, until I find the answers to these mystical questions, let us revel in the happiness that is this:

fluffy, fantastic bread

I was in a cooking mood yesterday.  Before I attempted the bread, I made this stuff for lunch:

that's buckwheat!

My last trip to the health food store, I bought buckwheat accidentally instead of barley.  Hey, same first letter, gimme a break.  Anyway, I had no idea what to do with the stuff.  But I was in the mood for a grain/pilaf type lunch yesterday, so I tried it out (lunches can fail with less disappointment than dinners, imho).  It's awesome!  Very creamy and tender and totally easy to cook.  I cooked it with some fire roasted tomatoes, black olives, and lime juice, then added cumin, smoked paprika, garlic & onion powder, more lime juice, salt & pepper when it was done.  And Michael added in some tamari, which somehow made it just perfect.  Topped with cool and creamy avocado, this lunch was smooth on the palate and kept me full for hours and hours.  Seriously, I ate this around noon and wasn't hungry again until after 7, which is unheard of for me.

And finally, upon my request, Michael made this for my lunch today:

chickn parmesan openfaced sammie

This is basically exactly the same as our vday pizza, but on a much smaller scale.  It was the perfect lunch today.  Savory and slightly sweet, filling, but not so huge that I felt all bloated and sleepy when I got back to work.  Which to me is the perfect lunch.  And aren't we all just living our lives to find the perfect lunch?

Earth Shoes Gift Certificate Contest!

I was recently contacted by Onlineshoes.com to run a contest on my blog to promote their line of Earth Shoes!  These shoes are 100% vegan, containing absolutely no animal products, which we all know is difficult to find from time to time, and can be pricey!  Well, if you need a new pair of awesome shoes and are possibly hurtin' for cash (like so many of us are these days), this is your chance to win a $50 gift certificate for Earth Shoes!  This is a really amazing deal, and the shoes are super cool.  Not only are they stylish and sporty-looking, the heels are designed to change your posture so that you burn calories while wearing them (obviously, you'll need to be walking, lazybones!).  They look nice and comfy, and I would love to own a pair of these.  (can i enter my own contest?  jk haha...)  Plus, this isn't only for the ladies, they have a full line of men's shoes as well, so everyone is happy.  There are all styles from sneakers to sandals, fancy to casual.  For proof, click on the respective ladies and gents links to see the full line.  

There is only one stipulation:  you must reside in the United States to enter (sorry international folks...).  If you're interested, leave me a comment on this post and I will use a random number generator to pick a winner on February 16.  I will then contact you and get your info.  50 free dollars towards totally rad and planet-friendly shoes just for being cool and reading my blog.  You guys are so lucky. 

Good luck everyone!  I'm so excited, are you?