sometimes daily musings on writing..

I love bunnies. I love fuzzy chicks that peep until they just can't peep any more. I me some woo-ooooo-oo-ooly little grazing lambs. Speaking of our sheepy little friends, I saw the CUTEST cupcakes EVER, HERE. No animals were harmed in the making of those cupcakes (if you use vegetarian marshmallows)!

But I'd rather not see any of our furry or feathered friends in pieces this early in the day. Well, not ever, but you gotta see it every once in a while, especially if you watch TV. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Easter is right around the corner, it's "Rack of Lamb Day" on The Food Network. Blech. Being a vegetarian, it's sortof (okay, it's gut-turningly) disgusting to see all the bloody, greasy chunks of slaughtered lamb meat being gobbled down by gibbering, salivating chefs on TV.

There's a lady on PBS gleefully slicing chicken sausage that looks like something a dog would upchuck.

I think I'll clean. Or read. Or download music. Or work in my garden.

Or maybe just watch some golf; even if it's a rerun.

Blech.

Yummy Kidney Bean & Veggie Bacon Salad

1 package Morningstar Farms vegetarian bacon strips
2 cans light or dark kidney beans; drained and rinsed
2 stalks celery; rinsed and diced very fine
1/2 medium (depending upon how strong it is) Vidalia, red, or yellow onion; diced fine
1 bell pepper, any color; seeded & stemmed, then diced fine (I've found that the orange or yellow is spectacular)
1/2 cup or so of mayo (or vegan mayo if desired)
pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook veggie bacon strips on medium-low heat in a dry, non-stick skillet, turning to evenly cook both sides. When bacon starts to brown, remove it from the heat to cool. It should be crisp once cooled. (You can also cook bacon in a toaster oven, but make sure to watch it very closely.) Crumble the cooled bacon into a large mixing bowl.

Add the kidneys beans, veggies, and mayo. Mix well.

Add more mayo if desired, but only after thoroughly mixing in the first half cup to gauge how "mayonaissey" it is. Once you get the consistency you prefer, season with a little pepper, if desired.

Add a sprinkle of Parmesan if you like; it doesn't particularly need it, but it does add another dimension of flavor. This salad really doesn't require salt because the beans are salted when canned, the soy bacon contains salt and the celery has a fairly decent level of sodium in it as well.

Diced, fresh tomato would probably be very good in this. So would some green peas (the frozen kind) or even fresh broccoli florets or shredded carrots. But don't get carried away...we want a simple salad, right?

Store it, of course, refrigerated and in an airtight container. It's always better the next day. I make a large batch because it's highly addictive. And partly because I can't control myself on a regular basis.

Bonus: Another highly addictive salad that you've probably already tried...

Holy Moly, This is Good Bacon, Broccoli, and Raisin Salad

1 pkg vegetarian bacon, cooked and crumbled into mixing bowl
1 or 2 large heads of broccoli, florets removed and cut into smaller pieces, add to bacon
1/2 medium red onion, diced fairly small, add to bowl
throw in 1/2 cup (or so) of raisins

Dressing:

In a small bowl, mix together 3/4 cup mayo, a splash of cider vinegar (1 or 2 tablespoons?), and a small amount of sugar or Splenda (1 or 2 teaspoons) until sugar is dissolved. Mixture should be fairly thin. Add this to the bowl and mix well. Store, airtight, in refrigerator.

Shredded cheddar and some rinsed and drained (canned) black beans are TO DIE FOR in this salad. Interestingly enough, a small apple, cored and diced is pretty dang good in it, too.

I walk at night because I don't want anyone to see me.

I sometimes talk myself into eating something that I know is going to push me backwards and ruin the hard work I've done to lose 60 pounds so far.

I don't think enough of myself sometimes to get up and do the extra work I need to do to keep up with my goals.

I have a habit of saying, "I should" instead of "I must" or "I will".

There is nothing that motivates me some days, not even the fact that I could die because of my weight. And I don't know why.

Other days, I have all the motivation I need. Plus some. Like right now, because I am going to quit typing and go outside and do my walk like I told my Mom I was going to do.




Have a great week, everyone.

...and it was grrrrEAT! I capitalize the "EAT" in "great" because that's what I did. But I also played the hell out of some mini-golf, shopped, walked like CRAZY on the beach (where I found a dead shark, tons of shells, tons of trash, and a plastic dinosaur), played the crap out of some Guitar Hero, cooked, took pics, and drank a few G&T's.

I probably gained some of my weight back, but I'm getting back on track starting today. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist crab legs, sushi, hush puppies with honey butter, and that scallop sandwich was to die for!!

I'll post some pics later. Not of me eating or playing golf, but of the beach. Don't be disappointed. You REALLY don't want to see any of those pics but the ones of the beach.

On a completely different note, I found a quote that I thought was TOO magnificent not to share:

"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote;
a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority;
the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities
and the smallest minority on earth is the individual." - Ayn Rand

Hmmmmmmm...

Back to work tomorrow. But it was a great week off.

Yesterday was awesome! It was at LEAST a FOUR STAR DAY because:

I weighed in and found that I'd lost 6.8 pounds in the last WEEK.
I rocked out on "Crazy On You" by Heart on Guitar Hero II. 98%, thank-you-very-much!
I had Hot & Sour soup from my favorite Chinese restaurant.
I finally downloaded songs (from artists like Tool, the Killers, EMF, Limp Bizkit, Etta James, Black Box, Planet Soul, The Police, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, the Eurythmics, Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin, Pearl Jam, DMB, Blues Traveler, Loretta Lynn, Soundgarden, Moby, Blur, and Bowling for Soup) that I've been wanting on my iPod.

How was YOUR day?

On a side note, I hope today doesn't suck. I'm a little weirded out, a little worried, and a little nauseous. I need a drink. In the words of Mike Myers, "Party on, Garth!"