Friday, June 20, 2008

Lemon Garlic and Mushroom Spaghetti

This is very similar to Lemon Butter Pasta With Mushrooms & Tofettes. But this version is much better. The Tofettes are nice, I used them mostly for an extra protein source, but it tastes better sans Tofettes. Also, with a few ingredient changes, this recipe tastes much more grown-up and refined.
Ingredients:
1 box of spaghetti (cappellini and angel hair are also acceptable)
1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 cups sliced white mushrooms (or baby bella)
2 cloves garlic, crushed/diced/minced
1 small onion (or 1/2 of a large), chopped
2 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine (I used a white vermouth that was made for cooking)
Salt, to taste (my wine had salt added)
Dried parsley (garnish)

1. Boil pasta until al dente. Continue with the other steps. When pasta is done, drain it and put in a large bowl.
2. Melt margarine in a medium size frying pan.
3. Add garlic and onions, saute over medium until onions are mostly translucent.
4. Add mushrooms, and saute until they have lost some water. If the mushrooms absorb all of the margarine and the bottom of the pan is too dry to saute, add another tablespoon.
5. Add the white wine, stir, and allow most of the alcohol to simmer off. (Do a taste test, it should not taste too alcohol-y)
6. Add lemon juice, stir, and taste again. If it needs more lemon, you can add it. You shouldn't be able to taste anything more than a hint of alcohol, unless you prefer it that way. You should have a lot of liquid in the pan, because this is the sauce for the pasta.
7. Add the contents of the saucepan to the bowl of drained pasta, and stir. Garnish with a few flakes of parsley.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Veganism is HOT

I just happened to come across this while surfing the web:

According to MSN.com, Veganism is a hot topic, nice!
With all these celebs being vegan, the status is certainly well merited. Here are just a few famous vegans:
  • Albert Einstein
  • Alicia Silverstone
  • Andre 3000 (rapper, of OutKast)
  • Elijah Wood (Frodo!)
  • Joaquin Phoenix
  • Natalie Portman
  • Tobey Maguire (Spiderman!)
  • Pat Thetic (drummer of Anti-Flag)
  • Tim McIlrath (personal hero, singer of Rise Against)
  • Weird Al Yankovic
  • Emily Deschanel (Bones!)

I'm actually wicked excited about this because I never knew Emily Deschanel was vegan, and I am completely OBSESSED with the show Bones. She is like my complete role model and t.v. twin. And she happened to play a minor part in Spiderman 2 with Tobey Maguire. With a (tv) scientist, Frodo, Spiderman, the best punk singer ever, and Weird Al, vegans are quite hot! (Tim McIlrath and Tobey Maguire are also quite the sexy beasts!)

Oh the wondrous useless facts that brighten my life that I find through blogging! :)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Ahhhh Exams!!!!

I just finished my track season, the girls had a 7-6 record so we kept it above .500, which is good for a really small school. I also made varsity, and competed in the state meet, so I think I did pretty well. Vegan power!
But now that the fun is over exams are starting on Friday. Of course, I have two of the hardest on the first day, with French III and US History. Then on Monday I have the worst possible combination; Chemistry and World Literature. Then its not so bad on Tuesday because I have by itself (but the exam will be horrible, its cumulative) and on Wednesday I just have Spanish II and then I'm free!
This summer is already starting to look packed. I'm working a lot, doing driver's ed, going to soccer camp with the team, and then going to Ireland for 2 or 3 weeks to see my Dad and my cousins there. And every couple of weekends or so I'm going to Vermont to see my boyfriend. So I'm pretty excited, but it doesn't leave as much time for volunteering and reading as I'd have liked.

Google Search!