Poor, neglected blog: brunch, approaching veganism, and coconut creamer

Little things make my day.

This morning, I woke up to have coffee and steel cut oats with Sam before walking him to work at a local independent bookstore. Houston is having another beautiful, sunny day. I sat and read the style section of the New York Times for about an hour, and then came home to peruse foody blogs over my second cup of coffee. This is pretty much all I need to be happy. (says the yuppy who has the precious leisure time to enjoy these things... I know I'm spoiled.)

Anyway... reading other people's blogs makes me think, "Hey, maybe I should write on mine once in a while." I think part of the reason I stopped writing on it was because of the phenomenon where you can't have a conversation about something because your friends already read about it on your blog. However, I love hearing about my friends jobs, loves, and exciting news via their blogs. I guess I'm concluding that it will not hurt my relationships to share a good scrambled tofu recipe once in a while. I'll be posting more often these days.

For today: scrambled tofu, coconut coffee creamer, and vegan-ish-ness.

I love the idea of holidays being a big-honking-deal with family and fun and sunshine. As a kid, I always hoped that each holiday would turn out to be totally idyllic and Norman Rockwell-like. In a lot of ways, they ended up feeling like any other day. The thing that set them apart was the meal. Instead of a rushed dinner at the crowded kitchen table, my five siblings, my parents, and I would sit at the dining room table. Every holiday had its prescribed meal. I may not be all about my family's traditional Easter meal of baked ham, mashed potatoes, side vegetables, and a huge cherry cheesecake anymore, but I still love the tradition of sharing certain foods to celebrate together.

Sam and I live in Houston now, far away from our Midwestern families. Instead of marking our sort-of holiday with ham, I went for a delightful brunch. I had already checked Isa Moskowitz's Vegan Brunch out from the library and enjoyed sifting through the recipes and pictures. On Easter, I made scrambled tofu for the first time... and it was DELICIOUS! I'm not sure just how healthy it was, but it can't be as heart clogging as ham covered in honey and pineapple. I highly recommend the recipe; just follow the link!

We also tried a new addition to our coffee. I'm inching closer to a vegan version of vegetarianism. I've decided to only buy cheese if it's from a trusted vendor like Pola Artisan at my farmer's market. Milk has been a little more of a struggle- Sam loves to drink a huge glass all at once. Right now, we're trying Promised Land milk, but I'm still looking for a local option. Promised Land tastes great, but I'm not sure how to verify their ethical treatment of animals and the environment. Our vegan baby steps have included trying Earth Balance in cookies instead of butter (and using local farmer's market eggs) and SO Delicious coconut creamer in our coffee. I have to say that neither was better than the real deal. However, both are things that I can enjoy. Right now, I have the hazelnut creamer and it adds more flavor than I'd like. Maybe an unflavored flavor will be more appealing.

This is too long. My goodness.

I'll say goodbye for now and tell you more about my current semi-veganism lifestyle later. I'll also have to tell you about the lovely people I met through a Houston Vegan meet-up group. It was like a friend blind date, but I'm totally glad I went! Have a beautiful Sunday!