What's the Deal with Organics?

This is one of the first posts that I began writing back when I initially started Veggie Terrain. At that time, I was just beginning to fully appreciate the importance of "organics," but was also aware of many of the questions and much of the confusion surrounding organic food. As a result, I began writing this comprehensive article, which I'm finally posting - just in time for summer's abundance of fresh, organic fruit and produce!

image borrowed from bbc.co.uk

There's been a lot of talk about buying organic over the past few months. People seem to be going crazy for Whole Foods, and there's lots of whispering about people incorporating "organics" into their "green lifestyles."

But what exactly does "organic" mean, and what are the benefits of going organic? Furthermore, when is it important to spend the extra money on organic produce, and when is it okay to skip organics all together?

Well, if you've been wondering about any of these issues, you're in luck! Read on to find the answers to these, and many more questions, below.

Edamame + Black Bean Summer Salad

As much as I hate to do it, I'm planning to start posting shorter blog entries during the next couple of months. Tomorrow is the official start of my Bar Exam prep classes, which means that things are about to get a little crazy around here.

Vegetarian Myths, Debunked

Imagine my surprise this evening, when an email with the following subject line appeared in my inbox:

"Meatless Like Me."

"Hmm..." I thought. "Could this be from someone who reads my blog? Or maybe it's from a family member or friend who decided to become a vegetarian. How weird."

Well, I was wrong.

It wasn't from anyone who I knew, nor was it from one of you fantastic bloggers. Instead, it was an article from www.slate.com, which is an on-line mostly politically-based "magazine," and is honestly one of the last places that I'd expected to read about vegetarianism.

Thus, I began reading the article, fully expecting to encounter a tirade against vegetarianism - "Humans are meant to eat meat! Vegetarians have such a superiority complex! It's impossible to get enough protein if you're eating like that!" Etc.

Crunchy Blue Corn Chickpea Tacos + Homemade Taco Seasoning

Feel like having something healthy?
Flavorful?
Simple?
Spicy?
Just plain pretty?

Well, get ready to say "Hello, Delicious!" because these Chickpea Tacos are INSANELY fantastic! They're one of the few meals that I could probably eat every single day and never get sick of (see also: Spicoli Burgers and Black Beans + Rice w/ Sweet Potato Cubes)!

Veggie Terrain Update

Don't worry - I'm still here. I've just been working "behind the scenes" of Veggie Terrain a little bit more...

Basically, I've started adding a few additional features to my blog, in an attempt to make it more user-friendly, and to add a bit of spice, if you will. In light of that, I figured I'd go ahead and publish a quick post about what I've added recently.

So, the following 3 things are new:

1. The "printer-friendly" versions of Veggie Terrain recipes. I've started adding these because I thought they'd be nice for those of you who want to quickly/easily print my recipes. Sometimes I hate having to highlight everything or cut + paste everything that I want to print, so this is my way of helping to reduce that necessity for you!
1. Note: Apparently I haven't been able to perfect these yet - they'll be fixed asap!
1. Consider the print-friendly links fixed! Yay!
   
2. The recommendation links. I've been working on adding links to other recipes on my site that you might like, based upon whichever recipe you happen to be viewing. In other words, what that means is that certain recipes will now: lead you to similar recipes; suggest different things that you might like; or assist you with additional ways to utilize the specific recipe, itself. Hopefully you'll find these things useful!
   
3. The "Twitter" updater. This is just a fun little sidebar that lets you know what I'm doing at the moment - as if you're actually interested - whenever I get around to updating it. The question that it poses is: "Whatcha doing JD?" While I do admit that it's really more of a social-networking application, I decided to add it here since I don't do the whole MySpace/Friendster thing.

That's all for right now, but I plan to post another entry soon.

And it'll have food, I promise!

Brighten Your Day Salad + Vegan Poppy Seed Dressing

You know how sometimes when you're feeling down, just seeing something that's bright and sunny can make you feel a little bit better? Well, as silly as it might sound, that's exactly what creating this salad did for me...

Last night, my mom called to tell me that she had finally decided to put our cat, Natasha, to sleep. We've had Natasha (or "Tashie," as we liked to call her) ever since she was a kitten and I was about 8 or 9 years old. She was a Seal Point Siamese cat, with blue eyes, beautiful white fur, and the typical black legs/ears/face that're associated with Siamese cats.

Tashie was a sweet and affectionate, yet calm and sophisticated pet. She was the kind of cat who could even make sworn "non-cat people" want to pet her, and was the envy of my friends when I was growing up.

Spicoli Burgers, Potato Squashers, & Thyme Roasted Tomatoes

Sorry for the gap in posting! Lately, the days seem to be running together... Mondays quickly give way to Fridays, while Saturday AMs covertly turn into Sunday PMs in the blink of an eye. I suppose it doesn't help that my schedule is jam-packed with a disproportionate amount of law school annoyances, but really - where has the time gone?!

Between classes, work, and weekend-long Bar review courses, I'm practically ready to invoke the insanity defense, myself. Not only do I have a major (mock) trial to prepare for my final Trial Advocacy class, but I'm also attempting to plan my graduation festivities, which is turning out to be a bit harder than expected. On top of that, people are failing the Bar and dropping dead left and right in my practice Bar Exam questions, which isn't exactly a morale booster...

Portland: Food & Sights + The Inside Scoop

Hello everyone! As you can tell, CH and I have finally returned from our AMAZING Portland trip (boo hoo!), and I can't wait to share all of the details with you...

First of all, let me just say that Portland was so laid-back and vegan-friendly that I felt like I was on another planet. Almost every restaurant and pub had at least one vegetarian option on its menu, and there were tons of places that were exclusively veg!

The coolest thing was that it actually seemed as though veganism/vegetarianism were completely accepted there (unlike in the Midwest), which made me feel right at home. I highly suggest visiting Portland if you haven't already - even if you're not vegan or vegetarian - it's worth it for the food alone!

Anyway, I have tons of pictures (of course), so I'll try to keep this post about food as much as possible, but please don't hate me too much if I stray from it a bit...

Apple Chowder with Maple Cashew Butter

JD (of Veggie Terrain) and CH will be on vacation in Portland, OR for the next week. Their flight leaves early tomorrow AM, so they'll be out of touch for a bit. However, they will be sampling lots of beer and veggie meals - and are planning to share the tasty details (and visit your blogs!) when they return.
Dear reader, let me introduce you to the most fabulous breakfast that you'll ever meet. His name is Apple Chowder, and I have no doubt that once you see him in person, it'll be love at first sight.

Now, I know what you're thinking:

"I worked so hard to snag Mr. Popularity (aka: "Johnny Cereal"), and now that our "routine" is down to just 5 mins, why in God's name would I wanna leave him?"

or

"But Old Reliable (aka: "Oatie Oatmeal") and I have been kickin' it since the days of middle school, and he's always been so good to my heart - I'm not taking a chance on someone who might break it!"

Don't worry, I completely understand. You and your breakfast already have a great relationship going, right? I mean, it's not like you get hungry before noon is it? And you're certainly not getting tired of having the same thing over and over again, are you?

Lemon Garlic Pasta

Pasta and I have been good friends for a very, very long time. (See Exhibit A: my ever-expanding waistline). In fact, I'm so in love with pasta that one of my uncles has been calling me "Noodles" since I was around 11 or 12 years old. (Back then, my favorite meal to make was a gigantic tower of spinach-flavored spaghetti, slathered with butter and garlic salt - eh.)

Despite my remaining affection for the nickname Noodles, I do like to think that my pasta tastes have matured a bit since I was little. These days, I tend to stick to a handful of my favorite sauces (aglio e olio & pesto) and types of pasta (penne & spaghetti). However, I do like to throw something new into the mix occasionally, just to keep things interesting.