Guacamole

Recently, I had a run-in with Cheesecake Factory and their "made-to-order" guacamole. Namely that it's not made to order at all--the two ingredients are avocado and pico de gallo, which means any food sensitivity needs will leave you with a bowl of mashed avo. Seriously. No salt, no lime juice, not even on the side.

When we got home that day, my mom decided to procure some avocado of our own. They were on sale--10 for $10--so naturally she walked away with 10 avos.

Today was that magical day when avocados decide to be edible for a whole 12 hours, so I scooped those puppies and made my own guacamole.

I used to put some tomato in there, but obvs that won't work anymore.

Stupid solanines.

Nothing to see here. Except, of course, for divine guac. 

Notcher Supermarket Guac
serves 2-4

2 avocados, pitted and smashed
1/2 small sweet onion or red onion, minced
1 small clove garlic
juice of 1 small lime
chopped cilantro to taste unless you were cursed with the soapy-cilantro gene, in which case I haz a sad for you

Throw all this in a bowl, salt it to taste, and you haz guac. It's stupid easy to do and whips up in no time. How much cilantro you use is up to you. For a single-double serving like this, I'll pull a couple of stalks away from the bunch and chop those up to the point that the leaves stop on the stalk. In the case of the gigantic bowl I made with 10 avos, I used the whole bunch and might have used more if I could (I lurves the cilantros).

I used to eat homemade salsa for a meal, so the guac will have to suffice from now on. Le sigh.

Cracker FAIL

I shouldn't experiment. It's dangerous.

Just to see what would happen, I randomly threw together water, chia seeds (about 2:1), sesame seeds, ground flax, a bit of spelt, dehydrated garlic, Italian seasonings, and a *thpt* of Bragg's. I tossed it in the oven and warmed it for about six or seven hours at 170 degrees, the lowest my oven goes.

*urp*

I love the sesame flavor. That's a definite win. But the crackers have this strange flavor at the back of my nose that's like something went bad, and there's this weird texture that, even though it's all crackery and shit, seems slimy. I'm going to try again and actually use someone's real recipe. The only problem is I don't have a dehydrator, and every chia cracker recipe I've found is raw. Bummer!

I'll report later.

What was paved with good intentions? Freeways?

Good intention: to use the new books I just purchased during our cross-country road trip, as well as some prepared tasty bits from those books.

I was just diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and though I have doubts that my condition is actually full-blown and permanent (I've had a two-year-long allergic reaction-and related illnesses-to our current location, resulting in asthma, high blood pressure, three months' worth of pneumonia at one point, and a few crazy instances of eyes so swollen, my eyelids looked like they were ready to crawl off my face). I'm pretty sure moving away from here is going to do my body absolute wonders. In the meantime, I've done quite a bit of research to find out how I can keep from exacerbating my multiple issues.

What I've found is that I should swear off wheat for a while, and I should go very raw. I'm totally addicted to hot food (it's fucking cold here, yo), so I can't guarantee 100% raw, but I can aim that direction at least.

To aid in my endeavors, I purchased Erin McKenna's Babycakes, Jennifer Katzinger's The Flying Apron's Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book, and Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen on ebook. I have them stored on my happenin' Sony and will have them available when we stop to visit family.

Family who are notoriously not vegan. No BBQ? Perish the thought.

I hope when we get to Virginia that I'll be able to afford a Vita-Mix. I've been ogling them for a couple years now, but I'm starting to jones at this point. I think that would aid in my soupy addiction and in my desire to drink fibrous juice.

Anyway.

I'll report on those baked goods and some of the raw stuff I try to make and store in a cooler. I have no idea how long they'll last, if they'll be worth the work, etc. But I'm determined to find travel-safe foods that will sustain a hungry vegan for longer than a measly flying day through various metropolitan airports. Ahem.

I do know having the ereader is going to be immensely helpful. I usually don't like to read cookbookson the ereader because of its black and white screen, but since I can see the purty photos in color on my computer, I feel better about having only black and white on the actual reader. And all I'll really need, I hope, is access to better than the local Stop-n-Go in the teensy town where my in-laws live.

IN the meantime, my fellow travelers, remember that the best raw travel foods come in their own packages: bananas, oranges, avocados and kiwis (slice in half, scoop with a spoon). Some grocery stores carry eco-savage but terribly convenient fruit/veggie wipes, so you can take a handful of those with your cukes, apples, pears, etc. Just be aware of any produce checkpoints and the rules they might have. Don't go carrying a pallet of cukes, in other words, or else they might be confiscated, and that would be full of suck and woe.

Healthy Airline Travel

I thought this video from Kardena's Kitchen was a handy primer for airplane options.



I've heard that JetBlue has vegan options, but I've never traveled with them, so I haven't seen this firsthand.

Also, since I'd rather not drop a paycheck at the local health food store or deal with random chemicals in mass-produced "health" products, I try to find recipes for things I might otherwise buy pre-packed. I found a flax seed cracker recipe, which I'll try and report back here. Hopefully it'll be as awesome as everyone claims.