Lot's of things have been going down in the Whoseph collective. Most excitedly, the end of the long, slow cigarette drag in hell that our stay in Yankton has been. The stay wasn't that bad: Joseph had the opportunity to put together some amazing pieces (check out his tattoos
here), I got a nice job I can transfer with, and we got to enjoy a beautiful fall. HOWEVER, the bitter winter, lack of decent food, and drunk bozos yelling from cars have left us eager to hit the ground running. Next up is Colorado!
A house in Colorado... with a backyard and basement and most importantly a kitchen. That word is so beautiful to me right now. A kitchen, not a kitchenette. I no longer have to try to make healthy, tasty meals with just a toaster, mini fridge, and microwave. Just the simple fact that I will be able to saute almost makes me cry. My name is Whitney and I like food.
Because of this impending move, we are trying to concurrently save money and clean out the fridge. What I've really taken away from our stay is being creative and cheap with food. Lessons learned: You can't use analogs like Vegenaise and cheez all the time. You can't follow recipes to the T. But you CAN learn to caramelize onions in a toaster oven, hooray!
I'm frustrated by the lack of frugal vegan cook books (except
Vegan on the Cheap, which I am totally gonna go out and buy once this money saving pays off). Maybe there's not much of a market; I feel like foodie-ism is almost escapism. People pour over Top Chef and
Gourmet whilst eating Wendy's. Veganism also has an elitist tag that it can't seem to shake. People give me the look when I tell them I'm vegan that I used to give to the guy at Starbuck's who ordered a 190 degree-xtra foam-20 packets of Equal-3 dashes of cinnamon-half coffee-breve-3 shots of espresso-and 2 pumps of vanilla syrup. (Seriously, he got one everyday)
Veganism should be the diet of the people, not the uppercrust. I won't stop the revolution until I no longer have to answer "Where do you get your protein?" and the phrase "rice and beans" replaces "burger and fries".
A lot of vegan authors guilt me with the "Your body is your most important asset, so you should put the most money into healthy, organic, raw, unrefined foods." Which I guess would be valid to me if I was blowing money on 300 dollhair shoes and frivolous things like haircuts. Alas, Joseph and I are determined to be debt free. That means saving and scrimping and as our guilty pleasure-guru Dave Ramsey saves "Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else." Meaning, we have to make sacrifices and not eat the "best" foods now so later on we can hopefully eat organic, unprocessed everything. I believe debt is human slavery just as the meat/dairy industry is animal slavery.
Sorry to be getting hotheaded and wordy, this argument has been bouncing around in my head for sometime. Getting out of my bubble and into the world has opened my eyes on a lot of issues. It's easier to stay up in an ivory tower/ soap box and preach than it is to make an impact and do something. I would prefer the latter. Maybe that means writing a Cheapskate Vegan cookbook or maybe it means throwing a Molotov cocktail at something, anything. (Jk, Homeland Security, please don't put me on the no-fly list).
That being said, here is my last dinner at the 3rd St. digs. It is a caramelized onion pizza with flaxseed dough. And I think it cost a buck fifty to make ; ).
Step One:
Caramelize a thinly sliced sweet onion. If you have a stove, than means cook covered with a tablespoon of olive oil on low heat for 20 minutes, then uncovered on medium heat for 10.
or
Crank your toaster oven up to 425 and leave it on. Heat up a little oil in the pie-tin you use as a baking sheet. (I know this situation might not apply to everyone) Add the onion and cover with an oven safe plate. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove coverplate, stir, and cooked uncovered for 15 minutes.
Caramelized onions should be dark brown and soft. They will taste sweet, which I sometimes balance with a dash of salt and balsamic vinegar. They are also yummy and should be put on everything.
Set onions aside and get crackin on your pizza dough.
1/2 hot tap water
1 Tbs. flaxseed
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1 tbs. olive oil
Whisk flax seeds and water until combined. Drizzle in oil. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sage. Combine flour mixture with water until you can form it into a ball. Press into a oiled dish.
NOTE: The flax seed is completely optional. I grind a bunch in my coffee grinder (when its clean)and store it in my freezer. It's good for adding fiber, omegas, and binds the dough.
Top with 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, and whatever veggies you have in your fridge. Cook for 15 minutes until brown then top with nutritional yeast. The pizza was soft and sweet like focaccia. Last time I whipped some up, I had some leftover stuffed mushroom filling made from fresh bread crumbs, sauteed mushrooms, walnuts, and lemon juice. I formed them into little sausage balls to top the pizza with. It was delicious and way better than the expensive faux stuff.
P.S. Wanna see one of the cutest things ever?
He's not dead and stuffed, just wicked playful.
