Vegan / Vegetarian

Over a year ago, my daughter decided to go vegetarian. For her, it was an animal rights thing. If it has 4 feet and a tail (or 2 feet and wings), it does not belong on your dinner plate. She's not fanatical about it. It's about ethics.

My take on health and eating is more about weight management and a healthy body. I don't buy all this 'gluten is bad for you', 'cow's milk is bad for you' stuff. Humans have survived for centuries by including both in their diets, and I'm not planning to quit now. I do, however, see wisdom in 'clean' eating - avoiding overly processed stuff in favour of 'whole' foods. Which brings me to Gwyneth's book.

It's a fun read. The recipes make sense. While the men in my house put their noses up over the Kale and Almond Smoothie (pg 207), it's taste was ok, even if the grainy texture took some getting used to. Many of the ingredients in the book are not things I already have in my cupboards. Yesterday, E & I journeyed to Whole Foods to hunt for obscure ingredients (like Miso paste which I still haven't found). Today, I discovered that we could have saved ourselves the trip because No Frills carries at least half of them at lower prices. Regardless, we will be celebrating Canada Day with Cauliflower and Chick Peas with Mustard and Parsley (pg 173). Tuesday will be Vegan Shepherd's Pie (pg 240). Not all the recipes in the book are vegan. They're just all about unprocessed tasty food, and my plan for July is to cook my way through as many of them as I can.

So where is my stream-of-consciousness going? Back to the idea of healthy eating. Going Vegan doesn't appear (to me anyway) to be at all related to weight loss. In fact, I think it could be quite the opposite. Tonight, we ate dinner at a super place in Toronto called the Hogtown Vegan. We'd seen it profiled on "You Gotta Eat Here" and I thought it would be a treat for our vegetarian. The flavours were good, the portions were good, the prices were good. I would go back. But if a vegan is trading high-in-iron-low-in-fat beef for wheat-meat seitan (a bread-like product which mimics the flavour and texture of beef), he's gaining calories, but not necessarily an equal complement of vitamins and minerals. I think I'll stick with beef.

So here's to my summer project: avoiding overly processed stuff (just say no to iced caps and choc chip frapps) and choosing instead fruit and veg and lean protein. I'll experiment with the no gluten thing and see if my body notices a positive difference. It already knows it doesn't like McDs or hotdogs or chips anymore. And if anyone knows where I can find miso paste, please point me in the right direction - I'd be grateful.

finishing touch

The chairs are the final touch. While I wouldn't recommend the store I bought them from, they are exactly what we wanted. The upholstery is coffee bags from various countries: Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. This is the new favourite homework spot, but it's equally good for enjoying coffee and the comics.

and... we're back!

 We're back. Kitchen has been reloaded, and we're adjusting to the new locations for everything. Dining room is done (great blue, isn't it?). As you can see, Salem is glad to have his bench back where it belongs. He's had to hunt all over the house for it since demo started on Valentine's Day.
It's been a huge undertaking, but well worth it. We waited years to do this, and now we have a kitchen that suits our lovely house.

Day 28

We're almost done. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day. 7 weeks later...

Day 25

Thursday, the panels for the fridge, freezer, and dishwasher were installed. They really look
good. The door on the fridge has some crazy suction, which is a good thing, except that opening the door takes work. We haven't figured out how my mother is going to get the door open all by herself to get the milk for her tea if it takes all of us a couple of good tugs or yanks to get it open. E thinks we should get a bell, then if someone needs help opening the door, they can ring for assistance.
Saturday night was a great night for the kitchen - we had a party! I was making chicken cupcakes to take to Easter lunch at my parents and E came up to keep me company. Tunes were rockin', sugar was flying. There was much dancing around the island. I love the island / peninsula. It's an enormous work space. Counter tops are traditionally 36" high, but ours is 37" to the bottom and 381/2" to the top, so it's a little higher and I like that.
The mess continues. P is spending his weekend painting the diningroom. The green had to go - it clashed with the cupboards - and after moving the door, we had to repaint anyway. So the new colour is called 'Bonsoir' from Home Hardware. It's a deep, rich, blue, the colour the sky goes after the sun has set but before the sky goes black. There's an elegance to it. With the white trim, chandelier, and dark hardwood, it should be spectacular.
Moving back in to the kitchen is happening v-e-r-y  s-l-o-w-l-y. Last night, I relocated the liquor cabinet. Doesn't sound like much, but given that it had lived on a shelf in my office, having it in its own proper cupboard is a treat. The pots are starting to migrate into the pot drawer, as is all the Tupperware-type stuff.
The next hurdle is the new chairs. We've found the ones we want, but like the spoondeliers, it is going to take some effort to actually get them.

Day 22

Not much to report, other than that I'm starting to use parts of the kitchen, even if she isn't all done yet.
• After weeks of washing the dishes in the laundry tub, I've tried the new sink. Glad to be back to a double sink, but the sides seem smaller than I remember the old sink being. Maybe it's just the contrast from the laundry tub.
• I've used the new oven twice now. 3 racks instead of 2. Can't imagine what I'll need 3 racks for, but there you are.
• The cooktop. Bone of contention. I like electric coils - no hassle, no fuss. They don't care whether the pot you put on them is enamel-based, copper-based, or plain old aluminum. The new ceramic cooktop does, apparently. So much for my favourite element-to-oven enamel stewing pot. What about the glass pots I found lurking in the basement? I used to love those. Remember that brand - Visions by Corning? After having read the instructions (use this; don't use that), I think I now understand what happened to the cooktop in Sweden. When I thought the base of my (enamel-based) pot had melted into the cooktop, well, it had. That's why when I yanked it off, a chunk of the glass cooktop came too, just like rock candy. According to the instruction manual, "enamel-based pots can meld into the cooktop at very high heat, causing damage". Unfortunately, after having cooked out at the outdoor kitchen (aka bbq) on the gas element, I now prefer gas. Oops too late. Of course, my fear of extending the gas line through the house causing the entire house to blow up knocked out any possibility of a gas stove instead of an electric. It's probably more prudent to be able to sleep at night because there isn't an extension of the gas line through the house, and just be extra fussy about pots.
With all this wait-time, I should have planned out exactly what will go where when we reload the kitchen, but I haven't. There's no rule that says you can only arrange a kitchen once. I'd just rather not have to do it again because cupboards and drawers were not allocated wisely the first time.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Rumour has it the panels for appliances are in, and there seem to be only finishing touches left after that.

Day 19

Good day.
The fridge is now boxed in. Oven, microwave, dishwasher, and fridge are plugged in and ready for action. Problem with the not-so-retractable faucet has been fixed. Tile grouted. And... spoondeliers are up! I think they're perfect. And and and - Cambria sent us a present! They sent a cheeseboard made of the same Bellingham quartz as our counter. That was an unexpected treat!

Now we're in another holding pattern until the end of next week, waiting for the fridge and freezer panels, a couple of cupboard inserts, and the glass for the glass-front cabinets.