This posting is about how much I absolutely love my mother. She is being as supportive and angelic as can be! She took me to two bookstores to search out veg*n cookbooks, and even bought one for me (Yes, I finally own Vegan with a Vengeance!) and helped me find the other (Vegan Planet, about which I’ve heard mixed reviews, but which seems to have a lot of information on planning a nutritionally sound diet).

She helped me scour Trader Joe’s for happy, healthy foods, as well, but in our frenzy, I took home two non-vegan items. One contains butter (how did we miss that?!) and the other whey, which had slipped my mind when reading labels. Properly checking ingredients is something I’m going to have to really practice doing. In the past, I’ve read mainly for calorie/carbs/fat/protein/fiber/vitamins and minerals, as well as refined sugars and hydrogenated slimy goo. However, now that I’ve realized my mistake, I can avoid doing it again in the future. ☺

As for the books?

I can already tell that I absolutely love Vegan with a Vengeance and I want to make just about every recipe in the book! I’ve gone through it and scrawled down a [page long] list of things I want to make and I’m fairly certain the Revolutionary Spanish Omelet with Saffron and Roasted Red Pepper-Almond Sauce (page 184) is going to be whipped up in the very near future because it contains just about everything I love (saffron, onions, potatoes, red peppers, almonds and garlic). When I read the instructions, I was expecting something with freakish amounts of fat and calories. This, however, does not appear to be the case…I need a cast iron skillet. STAT!

Vegan Planet looks like it will live up to the reviews: good to have and a decent resource with passable recipes, some of which are rather bland and need to be spiced up. I haven’t, however, delved into the recipe section, so I could be in for a happy surprise. I also am of the belief that every recipe needs at least double the spices called for, so, um, I could be a bit skewed in my tastings.

Seeing as I’m cooking for one right now, I freeze just about everything I make in individual serving sizes (I’m anal about it. I’ll post pictures some time!) and most recipes last me about a week. And, I have no veg*n pals in the area, yet, so, it really is just me! And now I have several lists of delicious things I want to make. I am going to be at this forever! Hooray.

But, first! FALAFEL!. I have been craving falafel for nearly a week and a half now, and, damn it, I’m going to make it!