reika

RESUMED
One Piece 1/14 ep 386-421

NEW
Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card 01-04
Dagashi Kashi 2 01-02
Fune wo Amu 01-09
Gakuen Babysitters 01-02
Grancrest Senki 01-04
After the Rain 01-03
Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san 01-03
Yuru Camp 01-04
Sanrio Danshi 01-03
Darling in the FrankXX 01-03
Beatless 01-03

COMPLETED
Love is Like a Cocktail
Shokugeki no Souma s3

What I've learned about being vegan for a week:

1) Get ready to do a lot of reading. Between looking up vegan recipes for the food that I wanted to eat as well as reading ingredient labels in the supermarket, there's a surprising amount of reading for this lifestyle. I have to look up whether certain brands of bread or yogurt were considered vegan (since it's not specified on the label but a quick look-through of the ingredients confirmed that all of them were plant-based), so I've even had to read message boards (shudder) and r/vegan (double shudder)

2) Unless you want to pay a lot of money for pre-made and highly processed vegan meals, be sure to have enough time for meal-prep and actual cooking. This past week, I made a lot of food at home, which is the optimal situation for a baby vegan, I think. While the actual recipes aren't difficult, there's a lot of pre-cooking preparation that needs to be done, such as peeling and cutting vegetables, soaking beans and grains, etc.

For me, what helped was that when I realized this was the situation, I just went ahead and made a big batch of that recipe so that I could eat it for several meals. Like, when I prepped the butternut squash for the pasta sauce, I peeled and cut the entire thing, roasted all of them in the oven and then separated the squash for portions for the sauce and another portion just to eat as roasted vegetables. The nice thing about this procedure is that the vegetables actually stay okay in the refrigerator for a few days (and could even be put in the freezer for future use) and actually taste better the day or two after they're cooked.

3) Learn to love different spices and condiments. I have a new affinity for nutritional yeast. Before this week, I've only used it in popcorn but I've since learned that it's an acceptable cheese replacement. So, each time I made pasta with a vegan sauce, I would top it with a good handful of nutritional yeast and just be so happy.

4) The blender will become your friend. Between making sauces and smoothies, I think I use my blender several times a day.

4a) A smoothie is a great way to load up on greens. Add more vegetables than fruits to your smoothie otherwise you're just consuming liquid sugar calories.

5) Most vegan food looks gross but is actually far more delicious than its non-vegan equivalent.

6) Carbs will be your friend. I love pasta and bread but I think to get the optimal outcomes from the vegan lifestyle, I need to moderate the amount of carbohydrates I consume. I should really pile on the salads and grains a lot more.

7) A lot of vegan food and ingredients can be pricey, so be prudent in the grocery and don't buy every single thing if you don't need it at the moment or don't know how to use it or if you don't know if you'll like it.

7a) Try at least one new vegan product each time you go food shopping so you'll get a sense of what you like and what you don't. For me, the So Delicious coconut yogurt is a NO, but the Silk yogurt (despite not being certified vegan) is a big fat yes.

Combining two things that I love.

As it is, there’s not a lot of English-licensed food manga out there. Thus, at the least, I’d like people to start from Oishinbo and head on from there. Those who have other titles and other food manga experiences in mind will be welcomed as well!

But what makes food manga? Simply put, it’s a manga that’s centered around food. It may have a running story line but at the end of the day the people are either talking mostly about how food is made or how a particular restaurant dish tastes like. It’s still a small genre in English but we’re hoping, after this MMF, we can inspire more people to appreciate food manga.

More details here.

Mindful eating is not a diet, or about giving up anything at all. It’s about experiencing food more intensely — especially the pleasure of it. You can eat a cheeseburger mindfully, if you wish. You might enjoy it a lot more. Or you might decide, halfway through, that your body has had enough. Or that it really needs some salad.

The NYTimes writes up mindful eating, and quotes one of the speakers whom I heard at SPSP two weeks ago. I know this entire practice sounds so hippie, but I actually think it's v. interesting.

The NYTimes writes up Downton Abbey viewing parties.

The last dinner served to first-class passengers on the Titanic inspired a party to be held this Sunday in Brooklyn, hosted by Liz Kingman, 31, the membership manager at the American Folk Art Museum. For dessert, Ms. Kingman plans to make the apple charlotte requested in one episode by a suitor of Lady Mary Crawley. “Fancy dress and hats will be strongly encouraged,” she said, “as will scheming and marrying for money.”

First look at Talde - I think Dale Talde is a little cocky for his own good, but I am curious about the food at his new place. It's not too far from my apartment so maybe when I'm in a chef-f--kery mood, I'll drag the boy along to try it.

One of the habits that I'd like to develop this year is to get used bringing my lunch into work. Buying lunch takes out a considerable bite out of my budget, and generally, I've found myself getting bored of the food options around the office. I know that I won't be able to stop eating out entirely, but for now, I'd like to dial it back to only once a week. Let's see how successful I'll be with this goal.

Monday - bagel with egg & cheese
Wednesday - leftover pasta puttanesca
Thursday - garlic eggplant with rice
Friday - romaine, munster cheese and avocado sandwich, cinnamon sugar pita chips

Village Voice review of Maharlika

Only in the Philippines can something like this receive so much acclaim

The restaurant opens and closes unexpectedly and its elusiveness has added to its buzz.

According to him, cooking is therapeutic, and he uses the menu to share what he calls his “bipolar diet.” Ingredients include ones that he says affect mood, such as salmon, honey, cabbage, nuts and tea, which evolved into recipes and dishes.

- One of the greengrocers was selling papayas for cheap (since it was already quite overripe); bought one and made papaya milk. I was immediately brought back to my childhood back home when papaya milk was a special summer treat.

- Needed to use up the last of my sweet potatoes, so I decided to make a puree soup with the sweet potatoes, carrots, and some butternut squash. Mixed it up with the immersion blender, and added some coconut milk and chicken broth. I decided not to add any spices to it other than a little bit of salt since I wanted the taste of the vegetables to come through. Though I'm sure cumin or maybe a little bit of curry would be nice. I also prefer to eat things a little blander than what most people prefer.

It gets easier, especially if I am conscious that Monday is no-meat day, and if I also prepare food during the weekend. Both the oatmeal and the curry were prepared in my trusty crockpot, which has made preparing certain dishes so foolproof and easy.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with rice milk & brown sugar
Lunch: Thai vegetarian curry with white rice
Snack: peppermint latte & banana
Dinner: same as lunch

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I'm thinking of raising the bar for myself; instead of just going meatless on Mondays, how about going meatless for most of the week? I remember Mark Bittman proposing not eating meat during the day (ie., breakfast & lunch) and then, if necessary, eating meat for dinner. I think I can do that...?