Yogi Potluck

This past weekend was my December Yoga Teacher Training weekend. On Sunday, we decided to bring in a dish to share for lunch. We had so much yummy food including a broccoli "cheese" soup, cornbread, fresh veggies, apple cake and cupcakes. I brought tofu salad sandwiches with peppers, onions and celery. There was also hummus and bread with a oil and herb mix for dipping.




The Lucky 13 Yogis (love you all!)

Before we ate, we held hands and chanted together appreciating each other and the food that was made with love. We sat in a circle sharing our food and conversation. This is an awesome group of people going through an incredible experience together.

Colorful veggies from Mara



Lori's broccoli "cheese" soup

 

We are 5 months into our 12 month training. We have started teaching each other during our weekends together and are teaching friends and family outside of the training. Everyone is doing so well. I feel very fortunate to be a part of something so special.



Rebecca's plate full of OMazing food

An important part of our training is to learn and live ahimsa or the practice of causing no harm to oneself, other beings and the Earth. We have compassionate cooking classes learning to make vegan meals that are tastier versions of their harmful counterparts.

Now for dessert, Lauren's cupcakes...

and Diane's apple cake
 

What do yogis in training do on lunch break after they are full??

They hoop and study!

Namaste Lucky 13,
Christy 

Secret Santa Vegan Style

We decided to draw names for Secret Santas at work. We would buy three little gifts over 10 days and later exchange a bigger gift. Drew, our team "party planner" asked that we include a few suggestions for the little gifts. I think this may have been because everyone would have been freaked out if they drew the vegan's name. This might not have been the reason but I would bet on it. I listed candy canes, pretzels and vegan chocolate. I thought this would be pretty easy for most people to find. My secret Santa first left me candy canes, then chocolate and finally a big bag of pretzels. Thanks Secret Santa! My secret Santa turned out to be Josh who admitted he was a little nervous to have the vegan but he did a fantastic job.

Drew, our party planner

Josh, my secret Santa
 

In addition to the gift exchange, we had a food day. I don't look forward to food days because I can be stuck with very little to eat. Our theme was a barbeque so I decided to make baked beans. I was surprised to find out that Tony was making sure his pasta salad was vegan and Larry was making vegan brownies and curry rice. Very cool. A day or two after the party, Rob brought me tofu wraps. My team rocks!



Quinoa salad, pasta salad, baked beans and curry rice!

My meal didn't contain veggies but that's ok. I eat a ton of veggies every day. The gesture from the team was super cool however next time I think I will bring in a small veggie tray to make sure we all get some veggies.


Tony and Derrick

 

Tamiki and Larry (his vegan brownies were awesome)



Better picture of Tamiki and Angela



Kelli (in the front) and Angela (in the back)

 

Rob with an odd look on his face

 

I was hoping for a group photo but that didn't work out. I will definitely get a picture when our week vegan challenge kicks off. It has been delayed until after the holidays. We spend more time with our coworkers than our families. I am lucky to have a group of quirky, funny and caring people to work with all day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Team Stewart!
Christy

Grandpa's Vegan Birthday Chili

Elena and her Grandpa Thierbach have a few days between their birthdays so we always celebrate them together.  Grandpa Thierbach offered to make a vegan meal for Elena for her birthday. He made a wonderful, hearty chili and a salad and we brought a homemade chocolate cake and vanilla icing. He made me a copy of the recipe but I left it however I do remember a few of the ingredients: tomatos, onions, peppers, bourbon, chickpeas, ginger and vegan meat crumbles.

Grandpa's Vegan Chili

Elena and Grandpa's Birthday Cake

Elena received a cardboard castle to color that stands over 7 feet tall. It is awesome and will take weeks to color completely. I bought a new pack of markers and we work on it a little each night.
Grandpa received a few vinyl albums.

Happy Birthday Elena and Grandpa!

To many more vegan birthdays!!
Christy

Cheese and Sausage Nightmare

I had a dream last night that I was eating a sandwich with cheese and sausage. I was horrified but I kept eating it anyway. What the heck does that mean??!!

Good thing it wasn't real! I loved my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast, salad and potato wedges for lunch and faux chicken patty, pasta and garlic bread for dinner.

To sweet vegan dreams,
Christy

Tempeh Bacon and Subpar Pumpkin Pancakes

I have been wanting to make pumpkin pancakes and tempeh bacon for months now. I typically wake up early and go into work on the weekends so I haven't had the opportunity to do this. If I didn't go to work then I was out of pumpkin or tempeh. I purposely stayed home yesterday morning to make pumpkin pancakes and tempeh bacon. The bacon was pretty tasty however the pancakes were reminiscent of a crappy pie I made a few weeks ago...subpar.

marinating tempeh...(new band name??)

The bacon...
I will start with the bacon because I was proud of how this turned out. I bought Lightlife Soy Tempeh
and cut in small, thin strips. I added it to a pan with olive oil, liquid smoke, tamari, garlic and pepper. I let the tempeh and marinade hang out for a bit and turned the tempeh over a few times to allow both sides to be coated.  Once the pancakes were declared a disaster, the same griddle was scraped off in preparation to cook the bacon. I poured a lil olive oil on the griddle and placed the bacon strips on the griddle about 3 minutes on each side. It crisped right up, just like bacon without the fear, death, misery or saturated fat (if you need a personal reason to refrain from killing animals for food when it isn't necessary).

tempeh bacon with tolerable pancake

We loved the bacon so much that we enjoyed it again for dinner in a sauteed veggie sandwich. I added kale, green onions, mustard greens, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, garlic and then lemon juice and zest to a pan. Once mixed and warm, we placed on toasted bread with tempeh bacon. Damn that was a good sandwich. No pictures, I ate it too fast.

The pancakes...
The pancakes were made from a box mix (first mistake). I asked Elena to prepare the flax egg that she KNOWS is one tablespoon of flax seed and 4 tablespoons of hot water. I am not sure what she was thinking though because her flax egg was a some flax and some cold water. Oh well, I used it anyway (second mistake). I added canned pumpkin to this mix which changed the consistency so I added more milk to thin it out (third mistake). Needless to say, I should have made the pancake batter from scratch instead of saving time with a mix. For some odd reason, two or three of them turned out while the remainder made a huge globby mess.

Big globby pancake mess

Jason was incredibly supportive as I beat myself up over crappy pancakes. Thanks cutie! I will just have to try again if I can ever stay home again on the weekend.

To experimenting and trying again,
Christy

New Family Traditions

Last year at Thanksgiving, we refrained from turkey and ham however dined on dishes containing butter, eggs and cheese. We were learning more and thinking about the impact of our decisions however we were not there yet. The holidays and family gatherings were the most difficult for me to refuse food I didn't want because I was afraid to offend loved ones. I wasn't comfortable enough yet to defend my preferences and found it easier to just give in. Many times Elena and I took food and then put it back when no one was looking.

This year we had our first Thanksgiving with vegan dishes. My mother in law embraced it calling it our new family tradition. She made turkey for the meat eaters and Jason bought a Trader Joe's turkey free roast for us. We brought vegan mac and cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Linda made vegan spicy squash and onions and sweet potatoes. We took Earth Balance with us and everyone used it!



Linda, Elena and I on Thanksgiving

 

Dinner was wonderful. Jason's stuffing was the best I have ever enjoyed before! Everyone ate lots of food including the vegan dishes. Vegan Thanksgiving with the family was a success!

Loaded vegan plate...YUM



Spicy squash and onions with love

We all had a great time and made sure to remember family that were not able to be with us or those we have lost. We drank a toast to Brenda, Hop and those that are out of town with a wonderful wine made specifically in Aunt Brenda's honor.



Cheers!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is about appreciating what you have and spending time with loved ones.

Gobble gobble,
Christy


 

 

Jason's Shells and Cheese

Jason has been cooking more due to my yoga teacher training weekends and a particularly yucky project at work. One evening after an exhausting yoga weekend (we were in plank for long periods of time while trying to transition each other into other positions), I came home to a dinner of falafel burgers, mac and cheese (YUM) and roasted potato pieces. I have made quasi mac and cheese here and there using vegan parmesan, Earth Balance and a splash of milk but I have not yet tried to go all out and make real vegan mac and cheese. Jason went all out.



Jason's shells and cheese with a panko crust topping

He used whole wheat shells, Daiya cheese, Earth Balance, diced red pepper pieces, almond milk, nutritional yeast, veggie broth and garlic. Elena and I loved it! We have asked him to make another pan for Thanksgiving. He is thinking about adding broccoli and cauliflower next time. The potatoes are a staple at the Thierbach dinner table. We roast onions and sweet potato pieces as well. The burgers were made from Fantastic Foods Falafel mix. Everything was very tasty and I so appreciate my husband making dinner so often anymore, not to mention the laundry, dishes, etc. Thanks Jason!



My vegan family
 

To an awesome and supportive family,
Christy