The Lazy Vegan

I was down with some sort of virus this week.  I didn’t feel like cooking, but I really wanted a warm bowl of soup.  Luckily, I can make up a quick bowl with a little ingenuity and my microwave.

All I needed was a fresh box of Pacific Vegetable Broth, cooked veggies, fresh garlic, and a rice cake (plain, unsalted preferred).  I poured some broth into my bowl and thinned it with a little water.  Then I added as many vegetables as I wanted.  I chopped up a clove of garlic and added that.  I put the whole mess in the microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds.

After it’s heated, I broke up the rice cake into my bowl.  I mixed it all up and I had a pretty good meal!  It took me less than 10 minutes to put together a good bowl of soup.

I really like turnips, but they always seem to take a long time to boil on the stove.  I found out that they are much easier to cook in the microwave.

I wash the turnips and get rid of any rough spots.  Then I put them in a glass bowl with just a little bit of water so they won’t stick to the bottom.  If they are small, there is no need to cut them in half.  Though, I would cut larger ones in half to cut down on the time.  If you’re cooking them whole, poke a couple of holes with a fork. Put a lid on the top of the bowl, but leave an opening for the steam to escape.

Depending on the size of the turnips, microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes.  They’ll be soft.  You can mash them or cut them up after they are cooked.

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolution because they seem destined to fail.  With the US economy doing so pourly, I have been forced to take a look at some of my own habits.  How can I get the most for my money, where can I cut back?

I noticed a terrible habit that I have.  I buy stuff to eat and then two or three weeks later I find moldy mush in the back of the vegetable drawer.  My intentions are noble, but my forgetfulness is legendary.  Vegetables that sounded good on Monday are forgotten by Wednesday.

I decided that my resolution would be to buy only what I need and only what I plan to use.  If I buy it, I have to finish it.  No throwing away a full bag of potatoes because I forgot they were there or I wasn’t in the mood.  I would attempt to eat everything I buy within reason.  Hey, I’m not eating anything moldy!  LOL

How I am I doing?  I got off to a rocky start.  With my family member in the hospital five days, my mind was on other things.  Then when he was released and brought home, we had some adjustments to make.

But, I reaffirmed myself on February 1st.  Since then I’ve done pretty darn good.  I’m throwing out less.  I get a certain sense of satisfaction when I empty a bag of vegetables.  It taste much better as a sandwich than it does in my garbage can.  It saves me money.  The more I make meals out of and the less I throw out is money saved.  Plus, I don’t feel nearly as guilty.  There are people starving all over the country in this bad economy.  It’s no time to be throwing out perfectly good food.

So that’s my new year’s resolution.  Did you make any food related resolutions this year?

I would like to apologize to all the readers of the Lazy Vegan blog.  I haven’t posted since December.  You know, I am lazy, but this is ridiculous!

A family member was sick at the end of the year and then had to be hospitalized mid-January.  The stress involved ate up all my energy and brain cells.

My family member is doing alot better and things are getting back to normally.  Hopefully, my posting to this blog will too!

Thanks for your patience!