Tales of a Real Life Lusbian

Posted in: chubby, frustration, weight gain on Thursday, July 03, 2008 at at 8:04 AM 2 comments  

On Saturday, we continued my awesome birthday weekend with a visit to St. Clements Island. We took the boat out to the island and realized that we were the only ones there and it was just so cool. We had a picnic lunch (of sushi that I'd made earlier-he got salmon and unagi, and I had avocado rolls) and then napped under a tree by the water. Then we noticed our awesome island was no longer ours and some other boats came out. We swam in the water for a little bit and then we were invited to join the opening day of the St. Clements Island lighthouse, which is so new I can't find anything on the web about it. It was pretty neat but the pictures were doing something weird so I only have these. And one that I'll share in another post.

This cross is HUGE...not as big as Mt. Soledad, but still cool. In October there is a pretty cool even on the island too. It's called "the blessing of the fleet" and a priest blesses the boats that come to the river for the blessing. Very cool!

Posted in: birthday on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 at at 8:00 AM 2 comments  

Posted in: birthday, happiness on Monday, June 30, 2008 at at 8:18 AM 2 comments  

I bet this is pretty decent for other people. At my crappy little podunk Subway on base where they basically throw the food at you, I had a different experience. Now I knew the veggie sub wouldn't be all that thrilling, I grant you this. I wanted a sub on wheat bread with spinach, tomatoes, and black olives...with a little oil and vinegar on top to "gel" it all together. I got exactly that, but it's the quanities that were a little warped. I counted, believe me, I counted. 8 leaves a spinach, 3 slices tomato (1.5 in diameter) 15 black olive slices and a little bit of oil and vinegar (he definitely had that amount correct, but not for the ratio of other veggies he provided me. I ate the sandwich in approximately 2 minutes (so sad) because it was basically just slightly oily bread...but it was good, and I was hungry and if I can somehow convey that I want more veggies that would be great. I knew I should have gone off base, but you know, if I hadn't packed a disgusting lunch I wouldn't have gone anywhere, thereby saving gas, and for the greater good-the environment.

So the sub is good, just not at that Subway.

Posted in: food review, subway, vegan on Monday, June 23, 2008 at at 11:35 AM 3 comments  

Mexican Mashed Potatoes

In an attempt to make potato taquitos, I created these spicy mashed potatoes that I thought were awesome. They work really well as a filling for the taquitos, but I’m still working on perfecting my use of corn tortillas.

Ingredients:

2 red potatoes, skins on, boiled
2 baking potatoes, skins on, boiled
Cumin (to taste, approximately 1 TBSP)
Cilantro (to taste, approximately 1 TBSP)
Garlic Powder (to taste, about 1 tsp)
Sea Salt (to taste)
Chili powder (to taste, about 1 tsp)
Earth Balance: I used about a TBSP of this as well

Directions:


Boil potatoes, mash with skins on. Add all the other ingredients to taste (hey, that’s how real people cook, I try to guide you but you just have to find out what you like) and allow flavors to marry for a little while. For the taquitos, spoon into corn tortillas, roll, spray with PAM and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until browned. The taquitos need some work, so if anyone tries this, let me know how your taquitos turned out.

**I bet this would be good with some sour cream and cheese, but as you know, I do not partake in either of those.

Posted in: 30 day vegan, mexican, potatoes, Recipe Thursday on Thursday, June 19, 2008 at at 8:09 AM 0 comments  

Mircea and I have been watching Euro 2008 because Romania was playing, attempting to get into the quarterfinals. I have never watched a game of soccer in my entire life, and had some trouble with the rules (I still really don't understand off-sides) but I do love that it is commerical free, fast-paced, and kind of fun. We watched the first game, Romania vs. France, and it was pretty fun and a great way to spend the afternoon. On Sunday, Mircea said, "hey sweetie, will you find out when Romania plays again?" and so I went to Comcast and got on ESPN2 and looked for the airing of the game. I said "2 am on Wednesday morning" and he said "oh we'll get up for that." So we did. Our alarm went of at 2 am this morning. We got up, took our pillows and blanket to the couch, and watched the game on the big screen with the kitties (who were very confused but happy to cuddle). The first half of the game goes by. Then half time. And at 70 minutes, one of the commentators said "tonight at 8 we'll find out if Boston won the NBA title" to which I said "$*#@! this isn't live" and we went on the Internet and saw that the game had already happened and Romania had already lost. Son of a gun! We laughed and turned off the tv and went back to bed. That alarm came pretty quickly and we both had some trouble getting up, but it was totally worth it. Oh well, the World Cup is in 2 years I believe, so we'll hopefully be back and ready in 2010!

A side note: I have a sports crush on Adrian Mutu. Though I just read he tested positive for cocaine several years ago, which I'm not a big fan of, I guess I like how Romanian he is. Apparently I have a thing for those guys!

Posted in: euro 2008, Romanian Easter, silly on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at at 11:10 AM 3 comments  

My trip to San Diego was a symphony of flavors and taste sensations. Best of all, I was able to eat vegan at every restaurant that I went to, and there were only limited menu modifications that I had to request. It was wonderful to be able to walk into any establishment and know that I would be served a great vegan meal. I only had one terrible meal in SD, and it was at the convention so it isn't San Diego's fault by any means. I will now share some food reviews, chronologically, of the lovely downtown San Diego restaurants. I know that most of my friends don't live there, but if you are ever visiting, these places are totally worth it. I have eaten a lot of food in San Diego over the years and this trip gets the top prize for awesome food. And it was vegan, let's not forget that folks!

The Yard House: Corner of 4th and Broadway

This place is a dream come true. First of all, they have over a 100 beers on tap, and the two I ordered were delicious. Of course I can't remember the name of the best one, but the other one was Hoegaarden White, and it was a wonderful, citrusy brew. I ordered the edamame for an appetizer which we all shared (and the omnis LOVED) and I had the lettuce wraps with tofu and mushrooms for my main course. It was so delicious and wonderful, with its smoky tofu and tasty dipping sauces. One of the other ladies (Julie) got the same thing, and she loved it as well. Shelly enjoyed the four cheese pizza, and it did look delicious. We were all so happy after this meal and returned to the hotel completely content.

Sogno Divino: 1607 India Street, Little Italy

Not only did this place offer Italian eye/ear candy, the menu items were delicious as well. Although the menu options were very limited for me, I ordered the Endive and Celery salad, and was very happy with the choice. The endive was so good, and the mustard vinegarette was divine. I happily scarfed that up and was only slightly envious of my dinner companion's meals. Tim got a very yummy antipasta plate, Shelly enjoyed the Quattro Frommagio Panini (notice a trend) and Julie had the Panini al Bosco. The best part of the meal was the wine that we enjoyed. I am hoping to find it here, and have a call in to our local speciality wine shop in the hope of enjoying some for my birthday. Note: I am not a red wine fan and this was stellar!

Pappalecco Gelato: Corner of Cedar & State, Little Italy

I've already reviewed the gelato, but I had to mention it again. This place was so good that I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. We all loved it so much and the owners were just so great and wonderful. All the fruit flavors are vegan, and from what my fellow gelato lovers said, their flavors were wonderful as well. It was reasonably priced and so delicious. It was a perfect end to our Italian dinner and it was even worth the long walk back two days later from my hotel. They also serve sandwiches and salads that looked delectable. Unfortunately their website isn't complete, but if you google it you can get more info. Don't worry, it's so worth it!

W Hotel Beach Bar: West B Street

Their drinks were spectacular. But their "sexy fries" were so freakin' sexy I couldn't believe it. I feel that it is necessary to order these delightfully sinful items, even if you aren't three sheets to the wind at 1 am. The fries are very simple. They your standard french fry, but they are seasoned with garlic and sea salt. TO DIE FOR. My friends went back a second time for them, but I didn't have any room left in my belly for french fries. I tried so hard, but I just couldn't hack it. I was elected as the one who had to duplicate this recipe, so I will be sharing some french fry recipes over the next couple weeks and hopefully I will get this flavor down perfectly. And hopefully I won't get too fat in the process. (I realize that the fries may have been fried in oil that had animal residue in it, but it doesn't appear that the W has a lot of fried chicken or stuff like that so maybe there was a chance. Living in Southern Maryland, you don't get a lot of options other than fried, so I've had to look the other way on that a little bit.)

Sushi Deli 2: 339 West Broadway (near Horton Plaza)

They don't have a website and I went by myself at the suggestion of several locals, but this place was good. And it was dirt cheap and there was a huge line to get in, but since I was a party of one, it wasn't too long a wait. The service wasn't all that great, but my avacado rolls were excellent and everyone in the place seemed to love their meals. I talked to the lady next to me and she said that this was her favorite sushi place in town, and it seemed like others thought the same thing. They have a great happy hour with 99 cent sake and 1/2 price hand rolls, so this is a necessary stop before an evening on the town.

Posted in: food reviews, san diego, vegan on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at at 12:31 PM 4 comments