Vegan-versary! And Other Strange Tales From Cook-land

I was convinced (for whatever reason) that my one-year anniversary of being vegan was December 12th (today!!!).  However, I looked back at a 2007 calendar and now I’m not so sure.  I know it happened on a Saturday/Sunday, but December 12, 2007 was a Wednesday.  Haha…so it had to have either been Sunday the 9th or Sunday the 16th.  I’m leaning toward the 16th, but I guess I’ll never know 😦   Either way, the 12th is right in between those two so I’m sticking with it!  Happy vegan-versary to me!!!   Last year around this time, I was 100% omnivore, and within two days made the switch to vegan.  It’s been an awesome year, and I have no regrets. 

I realize I have not posted for months, but I don’t feel I need to apologize because the only person who is hurt by this is myself!  I miss blogging so much, and more than that I miss reading and commenting other people’s blogs, but keeping up is nearly impossible during law school.   And the sad, horrible truth is, I have spent most of the semester mourning the loss of my dearly beloved digital camera, whose lens cracked in two places after some drunk idiot dropped it at a school event in September.  (I was literally bawling.)  Clearly, I cannot afford another one, especially not one of the same quality.  Hence, there is at least some sort of “excuse” for my lack of posting. 

HOWEVER, last Friday I made a vegan pie for a dinner get-together that was so amazing, I bit the bullet and asked someone else to take a picture of it!  So here she is in all her glory, SMLOVE PIE from Veganomicon:

The pie is made of the following components: a graham cracker crust with a chocolate filling (made with silken tofu), and the toppings are peanut butter caramel, candied pecans, and a dark chocolate drizzle.  Yes…yes.  It is not an easy pie to make, as it requires many steps as well as many idle hours.  I was home studying all day for my Contracts final (which I think went well!) so it was no biggie for me, but I just figure people considering making this pie would want to recognize the labor that goes into it. 

The description with this recipe advises that this is what Paula Deen would make if she were vegan.  Yeeeeah. I did a little calculation and figured out that this pie, if divided into 8 slices, is 671 calories and 45g of fat per slice.  YIKES.  (I actually made a mistake and didn’t factor in the 3 oz. or so of vegan chocolate chips that got added into the chocolate drizzle topping, so the calorie/fat content is actually slightly higher per slice.)  However, it’s amaaaaazing, and to be honest, it’s very difficult to eat a whole slice.  It’s incredibly filling! 

I always get really nervous when serving my cooking/baking to others, especially non-vegans, because I put so much effort into and take so much pride in the food I make.  The problem with preparing pies is that there is no opportunity to taste-test before serving (a problem which doesn’t exist with cookies, cakes, and savory dishes)!  Luckily it turned out good and everyone enjoyed it.  Success!

I thought today, as it marks a special day in the history of my eating patterns, would be an appropriate time to throw out that I am considering transitioning to a high-raw and eventually an all-raw diet.  Unfortunately 100% raw is almost totally impractical for a law student, not least because of budget concerns.  (For example, I cannot afford a dehydrator, let alone a really good quality juicer.)  However for the past few days I’ve been eating all raw except for my dinners, and I already feel a difference in my body and mind.  I’m in the middle of finals: stress levels are sky-high and I’m spending 10-12 hours a day in the library, so it’s crucial to try to maintain quality in my diet!  Anyway just throwing it out there…if I get a new camera for the holidays and transition to raw, I might have to change the theme of the blog! (An Un-Cook in the Making?) 🙂

Hopefully it will be less than 4 months before my next post…