Sick-at-work day.

Um, so I may have made the tactical error of eating curry for lunch when my body is feeling less than 100%. I figured that since my stomach hasn’t been upset by whatever nasty thing has attacked my immune system, I was good to go. So, I brought leftover potato-chickpea-spinach curry and rice to work with me. I love this stuff. Nom nom nom.

My stomach does not love the curry. (Sad panda.) I thought feeling hungry again was a good sign, but it turns out that I’m only hungry for certain, very bland things. Like oatmeal. And bread. And ramen noodles. So while I sit here at my desk trying not to hurl, let me tell you about my love for ramen noodles. I think I need to make it clear that when I say “ramen noodles,” I mean this kind: Definitely not the fancy expensive kind. Certainly not the homemade kind.

When I was a wee sprite of a burnout, my mother called them Chinese noodles. I loved them something fierce and slurped them up with gusto. My favorite part was stirring in the ice cube she added to cool the noodles so I wouldn’t burn my mouth. After childhood, ramen noodles practically disappeared from my life until high school, when I rediscovered their deliciousness. Hell, it may have even been college. When I lived in Boulder, I ate them often because they were cheap. Like, 6 cents each cheap. Eventually, I realized that 1) most of the flavor packets weren’t vegan, and 2) eating that shit regularly wasn’t very good for me. So, I quit buying them. That’s as far as my willpower goes: if I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it. Problem solved.

Periodically I’d go through ramen noodle binges where I’d buy a bunch of packages, eat them over the course of a week or two, then go for several months without thinking of them. Somehow, during the year and a half that I’ve lived with Red, ramen noodles have become my go-to sick food. When I’m feeling gross, like I am now, but I need to eat, that’s all I want. Not the healthiest thing in the world, I admit, but I'm only semi-rational on my best day. All my Googling suggests that Top Ramen Oriental flavor is vegan, so that's what I eat. If it isn’t, I won't make a big deal out of it. Just tell me. But since, as far as I know, it is, here’s how I like to make it:

Boil water and add 2 noodle bricks. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Whatever, they’re ramen noodles. Drain. Add Earth Balance and a few sprinkles of one spice packet. Throw the other spice packet away. Enjoy on the couch while watching Law & Order: SVU and cuddling with the dog.

It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it gets the job done on a sick day. Now if only I had some here at work.

Vegan MoFo: Survey Tuesday.

This is all y'all are getting from me on a sick day. Enjoy. I'm accepting donations of juice, tea, and painkillers. Kisses!

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?

Soy milk. Lately we’ve been buying Organic Valley, but usually Silk. When I was young and broke, I regularly bought this “non-dairy soymilk drink” stuff that was just sad. Anything else is a huge improvement.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?

Spinach-mushroom crepes from 30-Minute Vegan. And some other stuff too, but right now I’m just eating ramen noodles and sorbet.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?

Salt and melted Earth Balance.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?

I tried this sweet-and-sour winter squash once. It smelled like ass and didn’t taste much better. Thanks, New York Times.

5. Favorite pickled item?

Pickles!

6. How do you organize your recipes?

My mom put a bunch in a book for me. And Red and I have a big recipe binder. There are some duplicates. Oh, and there are cookbooks.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?

Mostly compost.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?

Veggie pizza, apples, and chocolate.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?

Making garlicky alphabet pretzels with my mom.

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?

Any kind of sorbet. I’m on a mango kick right now.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?

Electric chopper! Take that, onions!

12. Spice/herb you would die without?

Salt. I’m so lame.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?

Probably this vegetarian cookbook (heavy on the eggs and cheese) from Tuesday Morning. It has pretty pictures.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?

Raspberry.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?

Chickpeas Romesco from Veganomicon. With a side of saffron-almond rice or quinoa. Never fails.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?

Extra-firm tofu. I like Trader Joe’s because you get 19 ounces instead of the normal 16, and I’m cheap like that.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?

Weekends, I guess. No need to rush.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?

Lunch boxes, chips…I know there’s a lot more stuff up there, but I have no energy to go check.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.

Frozen pepper strips, ice cream, coffee.

20. What’s on your grocery list?

I think we need jam.

21. Favorite grocery store?

MOM’s!

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.

Macaroni and cheese. I have issues with nutritional yeast.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?

I really don’t…oh, yes. Voracious Vegan. Otherwise, I try not to ogle food blogs too much. I have too many recipes, and I get camera envy.

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?

Theo dark chocolate. I kept going back for more samples at last year’s Green Fest.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?

Spinach from the farmer’s market. Whoo, it was good.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?

Phyllo dough.

It counts as food.

We had a weird, sleep-deprived weekend. Beastie Girl, who survived her surgery in fine style, chewed off her bandage while we were living it up at a wedding reception. Red’s parents, who had stopped by to check on her, gave us a call, so we split early to go home and fix her. However, I enjoyed a very delicious vegan meal at the reception venue: wild rice and a puff pastry filled with roasted red pepper and other delicious veggies. Weddings can be very hit-and-miss, even when the bride and a bridesmaid are vegetarian, so I was very touched that my friend cared enough to make sure I received a tasty vegan dinner.

After we re-bandaged Lucy, we were so tired we just let her sleep with us. This resulted in half-assed sleep for everyone except Lucy, and Red and I woke up late and groggy. (I napped later, of course. As a matter of fact, so did he.) We did very nearly nothing all day, then ate popcorn and watched three episodes of Mad Men before bed.

Yesterday, I woke up with a scratchy throat and the intense desire to do nothing again. Instead, I made buffalo tofu bites. (I’ll post pictures once we take them.) They were yummy and pretty easy to make, but I would have enjoyed making them much more had I not gotten a nasty oil burn for my trouble. This is why I don’t like frying things. It’s minor, but it hurt like holy hell. I would be more descriptive, but my mother reads this. It hurts worse than being tattooed, that’s for sure. Off we went to our hippie grocery store, where Ellie the health-and-body-care lady fixed me up with some calendula gel. Wikipedia tells me that calendula is a freakin' marigold, so there you go. Once we got home, I (you guessed it) took a nap.

Once I woke up, survived a two-year-old’s birthday party, and realized my throat was still scratchy, I started slamming the Emergen-C. (This is the food/not-food part.) I went double-or-nothing and dissolved two packets instead of one, chasing it with Amy’s Lentil Soup. That’s good stuff, if you didn’t already know. I grabbed half a dozen Emergen-C packets to bring to work, then crawled into bed and passed out while Red and Lucy watched Family Guy.

Long story short, I feel like ass today, so I’m declaring Emergen-C a suitable topic for Vegan MoFo. I spent a tense few minutes this morning Googling its vegan credentials, but it appears to be animal-free. Honestly, I’d probably still take it even if it wasn’t, because I have a whole box of the stuff and need to feel better. Think kindly of me as I suck it down with hot water and a side of “Is it time to go home yet?” I don’t have a fever and I’m not achier than usual, but my ears itch and my throat is grumpy. I’m tired and my head is a little foggy. It could be allergies, or swine flu, or Monday. Stay tuned.

Calendula officinalis photo ripped from Wikipedia. Emergen-C photo ripped from themadeiras.blogspot.com, but don't worry, I'm sure it didn't belong to them either.