I have a sweet tooth

I'm not impervious to chocolate. I can't just bid adieu to my wheat, barley, rye, oats, meat, dairy AND processed sugar all at once...can I? If I say no to milk chocolate or the occasional soda, I WILL go insane with sugar withdrawals. Lie. Found a chocolate bar (well my roomate, rather) last night at an organic grocer. She handed it to me and the lable was like music to my.....eyes (?)... it said: no added sugar, gluten free. OH MAN. It's also dairy free as it's not milk chocolate, but instead dark chocolate with almonds. The brand is "Simply Lite" and I found it at Trader Joe's, but I'm sure it's sold elsewhere. It's actually GOOD; as in, I think about eating it even when I have "put it away". So for anyone looking for a chocolate fix that comes with less guilt than normal......enjoy!

brownies {ugly, but yummy}

There is a specific reason I post the photos below the blog. While some people have mastered the art of making their food look absolutely wonderful and everything, I haven't (hence why I think you non-chefs will relate here). So I really decided to test the boundaries of my newly gained vegan-gluten-free knowledge and bake something of confectionary delight....BROWNIES. I actually purchased a gluten free brownie mix, deciding to wait on getting my hands messy in almond flour and xangthan gum. Trader Joe's had a great mix, and I merely substituted the egg with 1/3 cup of un-sweetened apple sauce. The flavor was spot on, but the texture slightly chewy. It didn't throw off the overall goodness of the brownie, but it did make them pretty ugly. And the Pan was pretty hard to clean.

Bean mill, Potato, Onion and Cabbage Soup

Although the title is enough to gag any first grader, or person (like myself) accustomed to consuming mass quantities of meat and cheese (this recipe lacks both) it was actually....dare I say...delicious. Half-hazardly strolling through an organic grocery store one day, I picked up a pack of bean-mill, a rather un-appetizing bag of dried beans. You have to soak these little legumes for about an hour in boiling water, or over night in luke warm water (the bag will contain directions) but being the impatient and hungry person I am, I went for the hour long option. I tend to be a "dash of this, pinch of that" seasoner, which for your sake I will try to adjust to actual measurements, but I added a "pinch" of red cayenne pepper, a copius ammount of garlic salt, and a few tablespoons of chicken bouillion (for your sake I will say around 4, but adjust to tase). I let the beans boil for a few minutes as I cut up a few red- potatos (2 to be exact) and added some red onion and cabbage. It turned out really well. For those of you not ready to bid adieu to carbs altogether, I have recently purchased inerja flat bread. This little lifesaver is an ethiopian style flatbread containg teff as opposed to wheat, and it just so happens to be packed full of nutrients and gluten free and vegan. It tastes a bit like a sourdough flatbread, it's very soft and surprisingly moist. Anyway, officially created a recipe I am happy to share with the world. Here you are.

For those of you just wanting me to cut to the chase and give you the ingredients here:

1/2 bag of bean mill (apx 2 cups)
apx 6 cups of boiling water (drain a bit once the water gets boiling, the ammount helps the beans to soften)
3 tbs of chicken bouillon
2 tbs of garlic salt
1 tsp of red cayenne pepper
2 red potatos
1/4 chopped red onion
1 cup of shredded cabbage
Simmer for about 1 hr.

Why such the bother?

As I have recently endeavored to "clean-out" my diet, I have found that it takes some serious will-power to deny that donut or look away from the dairy isle. I have decided to go gluten-free and "vegan" for the time being. I don't actually consider myself a vegan, but for argument's sake, we'll just go right along with that since, this blog is dedicated to creating eatable food of that category. Due to different moral convictions, I am for the time being giving up meat and dairy mostly in response to animal treatment on factory farms. I have also decided that due to a suspicious array of un-pleasant symptoms, I may be gluten-intolerant. Alas, here I am, standing here (perverbially) telling the world that even I, the culinarily un-inclined CAN have a happy relationship with this genre of food. Though I may never quite stop lamenting that last loaf of french bread, and I may always choose to complain over the hardships of passing up a good wheat beer,  I am here to lament and complain with you fellow particular dieters. I am going to simply post up the good, bad and ugly adventures in my new palette exploration so that you can learn from my successes and failures. Wish me luck, and enjoy.