Are You Still a Vegetarian?

August has hit & New Year's Resolutions have been long forgotten by many. Except me. I have this pesky habit of seeing my resolutions through until the end of the year. The question "Are you still a vegetarian?" has been asked a lot in the eighth month. My answer, "Yup. But I'm not going to stay this way!"

What I've learned a lot from this journey thus far:

Lesson #1: I miss Brats
Grilling out boca burgers is just not the same. For this fact alone I do not want to keep meat out of my diet forever.

Lesson #2:  CSAs are Amazing
A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is offered by local farmers to the buyer for a set amount per share. We bought a half share from Tomahnous Farm in Mahomet for $200. Every Tuesday for 16 weeks I go & pick up a bag of in-season produce. Lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, onions, strawberries, blueberries, pears, celery, kohlrabi, okra & more. This simple addition to our household has made the vegetarian diet easy during the summer months. You can learn more about CSAs here.

Lesson #3 Traveling as a Vegetarian Can Be Difficult
This one is especially true when you go to Wisconsin every other weekend where cheese, brats & beer are the staples. Granted I can have two of those three options, but it isn't the most wholesome diet. And picking a dish off most restaurant menus is tricky. I have been learning from other vegetarian friends during the year to make this easier. Burger King has a veggie burger on their menu. Who knew?

Lesson #4 Protein Comes in More than Meat 
Nuts, peanut butter, veggies & black beans are just a few. I will admit I can tell when my diet isn't balanced more now than before taking meat out of my diet.

Lesson #5 Don't be Afraid to Try New Recipes
Even if it means you start your kitchen on fire. For real. I was trying to make Fried Okra with Crispy Parmesan Coating & the oil must have gotten too hot. I took the lid off, oxygen was added to the hot oil & suddenly there were flames! Jarrod & I both acted quickly & only ruined dinner. If you would like to try some of the new recipes I have this year check out February, March & June's recipes on jessiemariestudio.com.

Create: Space

Branches on Hill Street

Space intrigues me in both art & life. You have positive space in art, like the tree branches in the above photo. And positive space in life, like the work you need to do when you are done reading this post. The counterpart is negative space, such as the blue sky above or time for rest throughout your week. 

The balance between positive & negative space is one of the things that makes a photo or painting successful. I have found the same to be true in life. The balance of work & play brings a calming rhythm to your life, even when the work part is hectic & stressful. 

Interact with Space

#1 This week grab your camera and take photos that represent interesting negative space (such as the one I took above). I always find it an interesting exercise to focus on the negative space rather than the subject you are photographing. 

#2 I also challenge you to attempt the Soul Training exercise from chapter six of The Good & Beautiful God, by James Bryan Smith. He states, "We add so much to our schedules that we have no "margin," no space for leisure and rest and family and God and health." 

 This week try to do one of the following:

• Get up ten minutes earlier & create a space for silence before you begin your day.

• Cut out unnecessary entertainment activities.

• Explore scaling back some of your commitments by asking, "Is it essential?"

• If you do something often (for example, spending time with a friend), consider reducing the frequency without cutting that person out of your life.

{Day 80: EIGHTY! wow. I'm not going to lie I've been craving a brat off the grill like mad with the beautiful spring like weather here in Champaign. I really don't know if I'll be able to make it all summer...}

Salty

After 46 days of being Vegetarian my new eating habits have become normal. Smoothies, nuts, extra fruit & salads have all become daily occurrences. It really would have been harder to give up chocolate than meat. 

Even though I decided to go Vegetarian for 2011, Jarrod & Cadence did not. To accommodate the different eating habits we will make a meat meal one night & then a veggie meal the next. On the meat nights I'll eat leftovers or a salad. It seems that this set up is creating more leftovers in general.

I got a bit salty about this predicament a couple nights ago. Jarrod & Cadence got to hear me go on & on about how I hate to waste food. And they need to eat the meat infested food. Well, that night Jarrod had made his Mom's BBQ. Cadence didn't want anything to do with it. This left Jarrod with a pound of BBQ to eat all on his lonesome. Jarrod isn't usually a leftover fan - unless it is a meal he loves - which his Mom's BBQ is. The next day he packed his bag with a leftover container & a bunch of buns. He figured he would eat some of it & share the rest with his co-workers.

Once Jarrod got to work he went to put the BBQ in the fridge. On the way to the fridge he was marveling how none of it had leaked out during his bus ride. And then he realized the lid was loose. He opened the mock tupperware & to his dismay there was a large red onion inside! No BBQ. Needless-to-say his boss bought him a sandwich for lunch & he ate most of the BBQ for lunch & dinner today.

Speaking of lunch. For four days straight last week I ate an Avocado Reuben. Freakin' delicious. I don't think I've ever had a normal Reuben so I couldn't compare it. I wanted to share the recipe with you. It is actually a Vegan recipe, but I used normal mayonnaise. Enjoy!

Avocado Reuben - Makes 1 sandwich
Give beef the boot and try our take on the classic Reuben sandwich—made with creamy avocado and our tangy, easy-to-make Thousand Island Dressing.

2 slices whole-wheat bread
Thousand Island Dressing (see recipe below)

Mustard (I used honey mustard)
1⁄2 avocado, pitted, peeled, and mashed
1⁄4 cup sauerkraut
• Spread the mustard on one slice of the bread and spread the Thousand Island Dressing on the other slice.
• Place dry side down in a lightly oiled skillet. Top one slice with the avocado. Top the other slice with the sauerkraut.
• Over medium heat, grill for approximately 5 minutes, until lightly browned and hot. Put the sandwich halves together and enjoy!

Vegan Thousand Island Dressing - Makes 2 cups
It has all of the zing of the original without the fat and cholesterol.

1 cup vegan mayonnaise
1⁄3 cup ketchup
1⁄2 tsp. onion powder
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄8 tsp. garlic powder
3 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
2 Tbsp. minced stuffed green olives
 

• Blend all the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl or a blender.

Whole Food, Not Whole Paycheck

What I learned in one hour at the Champaign Public Library from the general manager, Jacqueline Hannah, of the Common Ground Food CO-OP in Urbana, IL:

ONE

Processed foods are not your friend.

Bulk bins, your new best friend.

Many people will complain that eating organic is too expensive to do. Jacqueline addressed this & said when shopping at a natural foods store you need to veer towards the bulk bins instead of buying the organic processed foods. Her two examples were:

Can of Organic Black Beans: $2.67

Same Amount of Bulk Black Beans: $0.28

Switch your carbs from Bread to Rice:

2 slices of organic bread: $0.73

1 c. organic rice: $0.45 (+ 1/2 the calories & no sugar)

TWO

Cook It Yourself

Example: Two Servings of Lentil Soup

Campbell's Lentil Soup: $1.69 (on sale!)

Large Cup of Lentil Soup from Deli: $3.49

Homemade & Organic from your kitchen: $0.79

Jacqueline addressed the fact that not everyone is comfortable in the kitchen. If you live in the CU area you can check out the full version of Healthy Eating on a Budget for FREE on either Wednesday, February 23rd from 10AM-1130AM or Saturday, March 26th from 1030AM-Noon. Call 217.352.3347 to register.

THREE

Cook in Bulk

 • Learn the restaurant rule 

when you triple a recipe or more you save time making it... especially soups

• Package easy to use portions

• Label everything well

• Keep track of what you have on the outside of your freezer

FOUR

"Like a Condiment"

• Use less of the expensive favorable  organic ingredients: ie cheese, meat & nuts

• Cut the amount of cheese a recipe calls for in half (WHAT?!)

• Buy Triple S farms meat & only use 1/2 in stews & soups. You won't even miss it since the flavor is so much better than store bought meat.

• And finally with nuts, add or eat 1/2 as much as you normally would & your expensive snack will last longer.

FIVE

Beans & Whole Grains

Add them to your diet. They are cheap & good for you.

And finally, I picked about five Food For All recipes to try out in the next two weeks to put some of these things I learned into practice. Here is the one I'm the most excited about. I will be making the black bean burgers, but not the millet. I'll write out the whole recipe in case anyone wants to try it. And if you do, please let me know!

Black Bean Burgers & Southwest Millet

These black bean burgers are so delicious and they freeze well, so think about doubling or tripling the batch. They're perfect with flavorful Southwest Millet, a healthful & economical alternative to wheat buns. About $1.15 per serving.

Ingredients:

Southwest Millet

2 tsp veggie "Better than Bouillon"

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

2 tbsp canola oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced fine

1 c. millet

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Black Bean Burger

2 1/4 c. cooked black beans

3/4 c. quick oats, bulk

1 medium yellow onion, minced

1 tbsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 cloves garlic

1/2 bunch cilantro

2 tbsp Woodstock Farms applesauce

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

For cooking

4 tbsp cornmeal

Canola oil

Preparation

Millet

Mix the broth concentrate with 2 cups boiling water. Stir in the tomato paste, spices, and salt.

In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add onion. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft & translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add millet & garlic, stir to coat, and saute for about 4-6 minutes longer.

Pour the liquid over the millet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover & cook for 20-25 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow it to sit, covered, for about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and fluff with a fork.

Burgers

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or with a potato masher until well mixed, but not a paste. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Spread a little cornmeal on your hands and try shaping a small handful of the burger mix into a ball. If it's not holding together well, process or mash just a bit more. Form into four large, flat patties, or eight smaller ones (smaller are easier to handle when cooking).

Spread cornmeal on a small plate and dredge the burgers. Oil a frying pan as lightly as possible with canola oil and heat over medium-high temperature. Once hot, place your burgers in the pan. Fry until browned on both sides, turning gently with a thing metal spatula.

Serving

Pile each plate with a quarter of the millet & center the burgers on top.

Delicious Additions:

1 avocado, diced

Mildly Sassy salsa

Retreats at the Lake House

Make Art Retreat: November 13th - 15th

The Make Art Retreat brought Jessie Marie Studio's beliefs to life: creativity, harmony & relationships. Five women participated including myself. None of these women had met each other before, but all knew me. Therefore, most of them have heard about one another which helped in people bringing certain questions for certain people. ie. one women used to work at a camera shop so my other girlfriend brought her camera with questions since she is starting up a side business of taking wedding/family photos. All had projects that they were working on that they needed guidance, brainstorming &/or an outside view. We were able to talk art, make art & eat awesome vegetarian food during the weekend. We made these portabella muschroom sandwiches on focaccia bread that were AMAZING! 

I personally worked on my Acadia Children's book & was able to get another illustration done over the two days. I think it is the best one to date. Each women critiqued what I had already completed as well - which was nice. We kept the following loose schedule:

Loose Schedule of Make Art Retreat

Saturday, November 13th - weather forecast: RAIN/44º high

Jessie & Leslie arrive mid-afternoon

Unpack. Set up studios if need be.

Between 6PM & 8PM Dinner

Chit Chat. Make Art.

Sunday, November 14th - weather forecast: PARTLY SUNNY/42º

Early Morning - (if awake) Leisurely Breakfast

Morning - Take in Art. Chit Chat.

11AMish Pack Lunches & head over to Calumet County Park for a hike/nature photo shoot (weather permitting)

Afternoon - Make Art. Chit Chat.

Between 6PM & 8PM Dinner

Chit Chat. Relax.

Monday, November 15th

Clean up. Gather our Art.

Return Home.

The hike got axed since it was sleeting all day Sunday. All in all I really hope to make this a yearly or bi-yearly event. It was refreshing in a geeky art kind of way :)

Fat Camp 2011: January 28th - 30th

The Four Blonde Crew enjoying their fond due.

A group of four of us from high school get together annually at what we fondly call Fat Camp. It is a time of eating good food, catching up & maybe even going for a winter hike or doing an exercise dvd inside. We met much farther south this year at my parent's cabin on Lake Winneabago rather than in Upper Michigan. There was a comment that it wasn't remote enough since we had internet & cell phone reception. The best take away from the weekend: when grumpy put on some high heels & make up. You are sure to feel better.

And for you foodies out there a review of the menu.

MENU
Friday Night
A pot of Italian vegetable soup will be on the stove for you to enjoy when you arrive. Along with a side salad & bread. Matched with a Merlot.

Saturday Breakfast
A light breakfast of fruit, chocolate chip bagels, tea & juice

Saturday Lunch
Leftovers from Friday night.

Saturday Dinner
Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches with Tomato & Basil Tortellini Soup. (Check out Whole Food Recipe App for this one!)

Sunday Breakfast
Brunch style. Omlets, toast, sausage & fruit.

Snack Ideas
Snickers Bar Fondue with wine as afternoon or late night snack. Matched with a Muscat (white dessert wine).

baked chips and / or whole grain goldfish
cheese & sausage tray with a local brew.

ACTIVITIES
Bring winter gear if we want to go out. Bring workout gear if we want to stay in. Bring only pajamas if you just want to sit on the couch all weekend!

Create: Line

Over the next eight to ten weeks Jessie Marie Studio is going to present the following Elements of Design: Line, Form, Value, Space, Balance, Shape, Color and Texture here on Cause to Gleam.  These Elements are the basic building blocks of art & design.

During this series you will have a chance to interact with the Elements of Design through short exercises. If you decide to participate please pass along your work & it will posted with the Element it represents. Enjoy & have fun!

Line

Line is the continuous movement of a point along a surface, such as by a pencil or brush on paper or canvas. The edges of shapes and forms also create lines, such as the edge of your computer screen. Line is the most basic of the elements of design. It creates the shapes and forms you see on a two-dimensional surface. Every line has length, thickness, and direction. There are curve, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag, wavy, parallel, dash, and dotted lines. When you use these different kinds of line you can create different feelings on the paper. Dark, thick lines can convey intensity whereas light thin lines can convey a tenderness to the viewer.

Watch the professionals at the typefoundry House Industries represent the element of line is a variety of ways in the below video:

Interact with Line

Collect a couple objects from your kitchen, such as a whisk, a couple bowls & an apple. Arrange them on your table. Create 3 to 5 sketches of your still life. Challenge yourself to have some of the images be the outline of the objects while others show inner detail. Try to represent different feelings of the objects through your line quality.

{Day 25: I made this amazing Creamy Quinoa Primavera for dinner last night & wanted to share!}

Happy Birthday to You!

January's trifecta of birthday celebrating: Grandpa Scheunemann, Grandma Rieder & Cadence!

Cadence's 2nd Birthday Party was held this past Saturday. We had over 20 people in our cute, little house. The menu for the day included: make your own english muffin pizzas, garlic bread, fancy raspberry-peach jell-o (made by the jell-o queen, Grandma Rieder), a mixed salad, carrot cake, angel food cake & a lemon pudding pie that was to die for.

Cadence enjoyed opening the gifts with a puppy-kitty theme. We had given Cadence multiple choice options of how she wanted to celebrate her birthday & the winner was her partnering up with the Champaign County Humane Society. The guests brought gifts for the animals at the shelter in lieu of getting Cadence a gift. And then on Sunday, Mommy & the birthday girl went over & dropped off the gifts & visited the animals. During our visit she even got to feed a pot-bellied pig!

Make your own english muffin pizzas were a hit! And I didn't even have to deprive my guests of having meat.

Learning new tricks in the kitchen.

{ Day 20 & 21: Egg Whites
I have never beat egg whites into stiff peaks before. And if it wasn't for my mom being in my kitchen on Saturday morning while I was attempting the to-die-for lemon pudding pie it would have been a failure. And then, the next morning I made my first recipe from the Vegetarian cookbook I got from Emily, Cottage Cheese & Nutmeg Pancakes. And when the recipe called for the egg whites to be beat into stiff peaks I knew what to do! The pancakes were alright. If I make them again I think I would put in cinnamon rather than the nutmeg. The nutmeg was a bit over-powering. }

It's Budget Time!

Each year during the month of December or January Jarrod will sit down & review our finances from the year before. One part of this exercise is to see how "on budget" we were the year before.

In January 2010 the numbers told us otherwise. We were depleting our savings rapidly. The fact was Cadence was born, Jarrod had gone back to school, we moved into a more expensive rental & we hadn't changed our spending habits from our Glory Days in Oshkosh. While in Oshkosh we each had well paying jobs, a super cheap apartment & no kid. Luckily we had saved a lot of money during those Glory Days. The damage had affected our savings account - not our credit cards. Others have always come to us for advice - and now we were failing ourselves.

We came up with a plan (more communication between the two of us), a new budget (putting limits on travel & extras) & went to work.

This year when Jarrod came to me, the numbers were much easier to swallow. We had made it. On average we had spent what we made on monthly expenses. We did gather some extra & dipped into savings to donate more, travel out to Wyoming again & go to many concerts (um, embarrassingly our concert spending was up over $800! Guess we should watch that).

However, after looking at this year's numbers we thought to ourselves "We can do better." We have now started to implement some of Dave Ramsey's tips & tricks that we've heard on his podcast. And we purchased iBank 4 for Jarrod's mac so we can pay closer attention to our spending habits.

{Day 12: 

Jessie: "It's Girl Scout Cookie time!" 

Jarrod: "It's Budget time!"

Jessie: "Come on Girl Scout Cookie's only come around once a year."

Jarrod: "Girl Scout Cookies have meat in them."}

At the Water Cooler

Day 10: I had an interesting conversation with a coworker while getting my tea this morning.

coworker: "How has the New Year been treating you?"
me: "Good. I started a fun New Year's resolution."
c: "What's that?"
m: "I'm going to be vegetarian for the year."
c: "WHAT?! Not eat meat the whole year! But you have to eat meat."
m: "No you don't. You can get protein other ways - like from nuts."
c: "You are telling me you would rather eat nuts than a steak grilled to perfection?"
m: "I really don't like red meat."
c: "Ok, a piece of chicken grilled to perfection?"
m: "Um, you have a point. I like chicken. It's only a year."
c (after a long pause): "I would die if I didn't eat meat."

Outside Supporter

Day 8: In the mail today I received Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison as motivation for the year from my friend, Emily. What a great gift! The intro says that Deborah is to vegetarian cooking what Julia Child is to gourmet cooking. Hmmmm... do I dare start making a recipe a day out of this new book?

Beans to Greens

Vegetarian 2011 has been entertaining to say the least. I had a minor meltdown on Day 5 when I attempted to make the first family meal that had to accommodate our different eating habits, Chicken & Black-Bean Stuffed Burritos:

I replaced the chicken with portabella mushrooms in mine. I thought they were delicious; however, Jarrod & Cadence didn't like them - so now the ones filled with chicken are still sitting in our fridge. So sad.

Day 6: Made our first Mommy-is-eating-Vegetarian grocery shopping trip. We spent under $100 for two weeks! And that was with some extra fruits & veggies from the produce department. That night I made my Homemade Pizza for dinner. Mmmmmm yummy.

Day 7: Attempted my first green smoothie, Kale & Banana. Lets just say it wasn't as yummy as the pizza the night before. I'm thinking that my blender isn't powerful enough to handle chopping up greens. I may need a vita-mix by the end of the year!

Mail Call

I always love getting my cardboard wrapped Communications Arts in the mail. Opening it up is like opening a Christmas present. And this one was extra special: Communication Arts First Typography Annual! Oh the eye-candy to enjoy. I've attached three of my favs after my first flip through:

1. Advertising Series: Wisconsin Cheese

Check out the calligrapher, Holly Dickens & the advertising agency, Shine Advertising Co. for this project.

2. New Font: Carrosserie Fat 

Check out the entire typeface here on myfonts.com.

3. Packaging: Honey & Mackie's Ice Cream Shop

Check out all of the packaging & the story about the shop here on thedieline.com.

***
Hmmmm anyone know why my links are showing up in different colors? Or are they fine for you?

{Day 4: The most delicious salad for lunch: lettuce, shredded 4 cheese, tomatoes, green peppers, pecans, croutons, raspberry vinaigrette dressing.}

Happy 2011!

Many of you know I have practiced a New Year's Resolution or two in the past & this year is no different. I am going to be a Vegetarian for 2011! I have always thought of myself as a wanna-be vegetarian/vegan & I have decided to put my food where my mouth is this year.

Start Date: Monday, January 3rd

Day One: threw a package of sun-dried tomato turkey lunch meat at my mom
Day Two: Jarrod surprised me with two full crispers of veggies to make my favorite portabella sandwich. mmmmmm
Day Three: I made turkey bacon for Jarrod & Cadence for breakfast & didn't sneak a piece

Portobello Mushroom Club

I got this recipe from my Whole Foods Recipes App. So-o-o Yummy!

The king of mushrooms really makes its presence known in this royal club. The oregano- and garlic-infused mushroom cap has a beefy texture that is complemented by sweet pepper and sharp provolone cheese. The crown of arugula adds a nutty aftertaste. Feel free to substitute fresh spinach for the arugula. Serves 2.

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
3 slices provolone cheese
1 (6- x 6-inch) piece focaccia bread, halved
3 jarred roasted red peppers, drained
Handful of arugula leaves

Directions 

Whisk together oil, vinegar, rosemary, parsley, Italian herbs, pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Arrange mushrooms in a wide, shallow dish and pour about 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette over the top. Turn to coat all over and set aside to let marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes. Grill mushrooms over hot coals or on a gas grill over medium heat for 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned. (Alternately, broil the mushrooms 3 inches from the broiling element of your oven for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until lightly browned.) Cut mushrooms into 1-inch thick slices.

Arrange cheese on one piece of the bread, then top with mushrooms. Top with peppers and arugula. If you like, sprinkle a little of the remaining vinaigrette over the arugula, then top with remaining piece of bread. Cut sandwich in half, transfer to 2 plates and serve.