Category Archives: Day to Day

Last night, my wife and I met up with good friends at the posh, people-watching mecca that is Lincoln Road on Miami Beach. We decided to go out for dim sum at Miss Yipps Cafe, assuming they would have some vegetarian options for me. We were in luck! I was able to order a vegetable stir fry, vegetable dumplings and even some vegetable wantons. This was one of those moments where I had to assume I was eating within the vegan limits, but there was no way to be absolutely sure. Dinner was delicious and the company was even better. Continue reading →

Ok, dinner was nothing to rave over, just leftovers from the night before. What is interesting is what I found at the grocery store that gave me pause and caused me to take a second glance… canned chorizo! Yep, that’s right, you read correctly! I was blown away. I had never seen it before. There is Spam and a host of other canned meat bits, sure, but chorizo? WTF? What’s next, canned steak?
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I’ve said it before and I will say it again, ‘simple is almost always better.’ Last night’s dinner was no exception. It was a long day of work, interviews and even a little surf to blow off some steam. I was in no mood to sit in front of a stove slaving away at a complex or new dish. What could be quicker than a simple angel hair pasta with garlic, oil, basil and salt, accompanied by a cooked-to-perfection group of asparagus with soy and ginger? “Not much” is the answer. Its dishes like these that make us forget that we eat vegetarian all the time, and most of the time don’t even realize it. So, before you go reaching for that red meat sauce, before you go chopping up a sausage in tube form, think SIMPLE. It’s almost always better.
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If you don’t know how to spell Falafel, then you’ve probably never made it either. Though we’ve enjoyed this tasty ball of spices and herb-y goodness many times at various Mediterranean restaurants, I’ve never actually made them. I suppose, if you want to argue semantics, I still haven’t. No, these babies were conceived in a box and born in a frying pan. Toss a little couscous on the side and you have a meal that is not only tasty, but one your two year old daughter will dig in to with both hands… literally.
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In my continued quest to find faux foods that I can work with, I set off on a trip to the boarder with a Mexican style dish that incorporated a ‘ground soy’ (ground beef substitute) substance that had more in common with shards of cardboard than actual beef. Once again, I am finding myself wishing not only that turkey would quit trying to be hotdogs and bacon, but now that soy would stop trying to be the vegetarian equivalent. In the words of the late Mitch Hedberg, Soy..”just be yourself, you’re delicious just the way you are!” Continue reading →

After a long afternoon of shooting footage for the movie, sitting in the hot Miami sun and fighting the onslaught of marauding mosquitoes, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was cook. Luckily for me, I have the most incredible wife imaginable. Not only did she cook for me, but she made an amazing meal! The pasta was perfectly cooked, slightly al dente, with a sweet basil homemade sauce. The spinach salad was absolutely fantastic! Chopped spinach marinaded in a balsamic vinegar, drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The tart lemon flavor married with the sweet balsamic flavor made this my new favorite summertime salad. I fell deeper in love with my dear wife with every savory bite. Sappy, I know…
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I will say very little about this meal, aside from it was uninspired and filling. When you haven’t made it to the market and the cupboards are bare, you begin to reach for just about anything you can come across. A suitable parring is not always possible. Thus, we get this experiment akin to something Dr. Frankenstein would have built in his lab; Tofurkey Italian Sausage and Potato and Onion Pierogies. Can you say, bland?
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When I think of delicious comfort food, I almost immediately turn to some form of tapas. Mediterranean dishes are often perfectly suited for this type of meal as well. Which is why when we had friends over for the second night in a row, I went with the old standby that I knew would be a crowd pleaser. A simple arrangement of almond stuffed olives, spinach and artichoke hummus, grape-leaves and pita was a perfect start to a meal where conversation and good company would be the main course. I was able to score two bottles of vegan wine after a 20 minute, less than pleasing, excursion to find vegan wine. It was all worth it in the end, but not an optimal scenario for a simple task such as choosing a bottle of wine for dinner. Continue reading →

Tonight, my wife and I cooked dinner for some very dear old friends of ours. They popped in from New York on their way to visit family in central Florida, and will circle back this way to spend a weekend with us before heading back. These are the same people we used to BBQ with quite frequently when they lived here. In fact, I think John and I were both on the Atkins diet around the same time, though I could be mistaken. Needless to say, we shared a love of beef, burgers and anything that sizzeled on an open flame. However, tonight, we spent some quality time catching up over tofu instead of tenderloin. Continue reading →

Today is a pinnacle moment for a couple of reasons. First, it is the end of the first 2/3 of my journey, which means I only have 30 more days to go. It is a milestone that sometimes felt like it would never arrive. Second, tonight is day 2 of my week long cooking safari. I am committed to cooking something new, never tried or never cooked each day this week. After last night’s disastrous Indian dinner, I have found redemption in the form of portobello mushrooms. Continue reading →