Monday, January 9, 2012

Quick and easy breakfast? Don't mind if I do!

I made a huge crockpot of Hoppin' John for my ungrateful coworkers last week, and realized last night that I had a good amount of collards left over. I hate that I always buy more greens than I need and avoid using them due to the mistaken belief that it's too much work. In fact. washing, rolling, and shredding with a knife before quickly sautéing is a lot quicker than waiting for water to boil (and then waiting for said water to cook pasta).

That said, I made a very quick and easy plate of sausage (Gimme Lean; also leftovers) and sautéed greens with mushrooms and cayenne for breakfast. I ended up making a sandwich out of it with those Bagel Thins. Quick, packed with protein, iron, and calcium for a Monday, and delicious.

sausagecollards 001

Easy as Hell Sausages and Greens
Serves 1 or 2

1 tsp olive oil
5 or 6 crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 package of Gimme Lean sausage
dash smoked salt
dash cayenne pepper or hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot; and I sure do put that shit on everything)
3 large collard leaves (cut away the tough stem), rolled and sliced into shreds
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the mushrooms, garlic, and sausage in oil. Stir and scrape often. When browned, add greens and a little water. Cook until wilted. Add lemon juice and stir around until evaporated. Serve with toast, rice, or quinoa.

Hey, I said I was going to post more. These aren't all going to be big productions.

Friday, January 6, 2012

2012 Resolutions, Updates, and Pictures

Midnight came and went with hardly an acknowledgment from myself on Sunday. I think this is the first New Year in many, many years that I awakened without a hangover. I had a nasty cold, but that's never stopped me before; alcohol is the Great Alleviator.

One thing I will not forgo is making resolutions. I've made them before and had them stick (quitting smoking, losing weight), with or without stumbling and relapsing. This year, I resolve to blog more often. With that comes creating, experimenting, and experiencing. I also resolve to make more of an effort as an activist. Any lazy sonofabitch can share links on Facebook, but it takes some sacrifice and schedule shuffling to hand out leaflets and talk to people about what it means to be vegan, especially when people just want to fight with you. 2011 was very trying for me in the activist regard; I lost a friend over it, but it made me realize that this is not just something that will eventually pass with me. It's the barometer by which I make any decision. After six years, it's the one thing I've stuck to without a known slip-up; probably because sneaking a cigarette outside a bar or eating an entire pizza after losing 40 pounds only hurts me.

Anyway, here's some pictures I cleaned out of my camera today.

From the night of Paranormal Activity and chocolate-cherry-cheesecake, Aaron's Pumpkin-Pie-in-a-Pumpkin:

thxgiving2011 001

From Thanksgiving Day at Dallas & Brandon's:

Wild Mushroom & Walnut Paté (Dallas hates shiitake mushrooms with the fury of a thousand ninjas, but looooved this).

thxgiving2011 003

The Beast made another appearance.

thxgiving2011 005

Maple glazed carrots.

thxgiving2011 006

Creamed spinach and parsnips. This didn't turn out as good as I wanted (but it was much better as leftovers). I'll try it again next Thanksgiving, but now I know how to make it better.

thxgiving2011 007

Autumn Latkes from Veganomicon. Props to Brandon for doing all that peeling and shredding. My arthritic hands thank you!

thxgiving2011 008

I forgot to take pictures of dessert, which was eggnog pumpkin pie and apple-pear crumble. That just means I need to make them again!

Aaron and Kevin showed up for dessert that day, and showed us a piece from the news that night.

Rescued beagles get normal homes

Then they told us that they were adopting one of the beagles! Meet Kevin Junior:

Kevinbig eyes

Junior is still a little scared of stuff, especially doorways. I promised him that whenever I come through a door, I will always have hugs and treats.

That's it for now, but expect more soon. I hope I can keep my word on that.