Windy Corner Market

When my roommate moved back to Lexington , a friend of hers compiled a list of restaurants in Lexington that we put go and try. We decided to go to at least one a month until we tried them all. Unfortunately due to our different schedules we haven't been able to visit many. Since I've been on this vegan diet (which I'm terribly failing, by the way) I found one of the recommended places served many different tofu dishes. The place is called Windy Corner Market. It is way out Bryan Station Road off of New Circle. The drive is beautiful, you pass horse farms and quaint homes on acres of land. There's nothing better than riding through the Kentucky countryside with the windows down. I checked the menu online, printed one out and throughly read it top to bottom. I have a fascination with menus. I want to read every single detail, especially when it's a local spot. Windy Corner Market prides itself on serving local Kentucky products. They are open 7 days a week starting with breakfast.

As Matt and I pulled up to the parking lot, we could see a crowd hovered inside by the main entrance and a full parking lot. My mind was stuck somewhere between "this place must be good" and "we may have to wait awhile"..but Matt pushed me along the lavender fragranced walkway to the entrance and we weaved around the line to the back. The dining room was bustling full of people, some couples, friends eating, large tables of families. I was very comforting . Ordering is done at a front counter and then you sit down and your food is brought out by waitresses. I picked the Tofu Boy for Topher. This Po Boy has "crispy fried tofu in Black Jack Barbeque Sauce stacked with Earth Crunchy Slaw, tomatoes, pickles, and a special sauce." It came on a brioche roll which was fresh and delicious and some potato chips for just $6.95. It was awesome! I wished the tofu had been marinated for more flavor but it was fried perfectly and still delicious. The slaw was killer and so was the BBQ sauce. It was messy but worth it and completely filled me up. I can't wait to try their other dishes. I eyed some fried fish on a woman's plate that I'd like to sink my teeth into next time.

Matt decided on the Bourbon Deluxe hamburger. A 1/3 pound patty, griddled with bourbon and worcestershire with bacon, Black Jack Barbeque sauce, and Bourbon Beer Cheese. He ordered fries as well which we shared and his meal was $7.95. As soon as I saw his burger my eyes got huge and I started thinking about how that might taste. Well, I can't write a good restaurant review without trying out ALL the dishes, so I had a bite of the burger. Oh my gracious! It was a good burger. The beef and bacon were both locally farmed. We washed down our meals with soda for $1.50 each.

This visit and experience was wonderful and I would recommend Windy Corner Market to anyone. Their menu has everything from fried banana peppers, BBQ baskets, fried fish, salads, and sandwiches and even ice cream. I didn't even get to partake in the desserts. They have a small dessert case at the counter as well and I swear a piece of carrot cake was the size of my head. Plus, they also serve alcohol for all of your drinkers. I hope you try it and I hope you tell me all about it. I'm going back for their Shrimp and Grits special on a Tuesday night! I hope you enjoy the photos. Thank you Matt for being such a wonderful partner on my culinary adventures.

Over Halfway There - Week Three of Vegan

Day 17: I’m on the upside of being finished. I have learned a lot along the way. I have ventured into new foods that I would have never tried and I’ve learned some things about my body.

I am ga-ga over Light Life soy bologna. It is so delicious and also fat free. It tastes just like bologna and I have been a big bologna lover since I was a little girl. And my fake bologna sandwich wouldn’t be complete without mayo. Lindsay brought home Follow Your Heart Veganaise with Grapeseed oil. Can I go ga-ga over this too? A sandwich isn’t complete with this creamy mixture and although I try to stay clear of the full fat brands, the veganaise blows Hellman’s out of the water. Grapeseed oil is one of the few natural foods known to raise HDL, the "good" cholesterol. You can’t go wrong with that.

Lindsay gets to bring home lots of free samples and out of date products from Whole Foods and then I get to try them out. One of the condiments listed in many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks talk about nutritional yeast and amino acids. Both of these are made by Bragg’s which is a very old heath product company. Go to their website if you want to check it out. www.bragg.com You can sign up for a free sample bag of so you can try their products. Nutritional yeast contains B-12 which is a great supplement for vegan dieters. Their liquid aminos takes like soy sauce but a little sweeter, I think.

Over the weekend, Matt and I went to Louisville and I already knew that I wouldn’t’ be able to follow a strict vegan diet because we would be dining out and eating at our friend’s house. It’s so hard when you don’t have the resources. But regardless, I realized that when I do eat normally, I eat too much and feel too full. When I am eating vegan, I could eat all day long and not get that stuffed feeling.

Vegan - Week Two

I stopped writing down my food diary. I always do that. I get all into it and motivated and then a few days in I just forget and then as more days pass I just can’t remember all of the food that was crammed into my mouth. At times, I feel like I am eating more than usual on this vegan plan and other times I don’t. I am definitely enjoying more than I thought. Plus, I like that Oreo’s are vegan. I am eating things that I normally wouldn’t eat just because they are “vegan”.

There are so many options and cookbooks and blogs that give great recipes. My roommate has a vegan cookbook called Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and I highly recommend it. We made a recipe on Tuesday night with roasted broccoli, chickpeas, and garlic. Then we added brown rice. So good! There's recipes for buffalo tempeh and cheese sauce. My bestie, Sarah sent me a link to a fun blog called http://peasandthankyou.com/ which was adorable and had a great selection of vegan recipes.

Well, I cheated last night. And when I say cheated, I mean I went all out. The toughest thing about this diet has been dining out. I don’t eat out that often but once a week or so during lunch at work I like to grab fast food and on the weekends Matt and I like to go to a sit-down restaurant. That has proven difficult for me unless I want to eat Chipotle a million times. I worked a different shift yesterday and got off at 7 which in turn just made me not want to cook and start thinking about going out. I also had made Matt some non-vegan chocolate chip cookies and had a bite of cookie dough. Big mistake…I was like WOW! That was so good. Anyway, I cheated and I don’t want to go into details because I already beat myself up enough already and kept talking about it all night to Matt. I guess that just makes me human. I’m back on the vegan trail for now and plan to continue for the remaining 19 days.

Vegan Muffins

Lindsay made these muffins the other night and they were so good. You'll never believe they don't have butter or eggs. They were best hot out of the oven but kept for several days in an airtight container. She mixed in almonds, coconut chips, and banana into hers. Enjoy!


Vegan Muffins

In a large bowl mix:
3 ¾ cups unbleached flour
1 cup sugar
2 skimpy TB baking powder

In a small bowl mix:
½ cup melted margarine
1 ¾ cups soy milk
½ tsp vanilla extract

Mix these separately and then make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour in the wet mixture and fold ingredients together gently. Do not overmix!! That will make tough muffins. Next, add in any ingredients like nuts, dried fruits, or fruit. Bake in muffin tins for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Makes 12-18 medium sized muffins
Recipe courtesy of: Rabbit Food cookbook by Beth Barnett

Day Five, I'm Alive!

So far, I am not craving meat like I thought I would. I really have to think about meals to cook, especially when I am making something for Matt too. My body doesn't feel any different now, still the same as always. I have run into a few mistakes when eating food. I really have to read the labels carefully. Some things you might not think would have dairy in it does. The Barilla pasta that is in the yellow box does contain egg whites. Only whole wheat pasta contains no eggs. I am learning along the way and trying not to make any mistakes.

Last night I told Matt I was already thinking about what I wanted to eat when the 30 days is over and he reminded me that it was only Day Four. Back to reality... On a good note, I made a yummy dinner and dessert last night that was vegan. I made jambalaya rice (from the box) and grilled a Light Life Italian Soy sausage. Then I steamed broccoli and made fried okra. Instead of egg to bind my flour to my okra, I just mixed some warm water with honey and salt. Sounds weird but it worked and I couldn't taste the honey. On Wednesday, I made some vegan chocolate chip cookies with Carob chips and they were not good at all. So on Thursday night at the suggestion of my roommate, I added some Trader Joes peanut butter to the dough and they came out spectacular. Recipe to follow this weekend. I’ve also included some vegan items at the top that I’ve purchased for my 30 day plan.

Day Two

Breakfast:
o 6 oz coffee
o 1/4 cup Silk organic soymilk
o banana

Lunch:
o Leftover black bean taco mix
o 1 whole wheat tortilla
o 1 Boca "chicken" patty
o 1/4 cup Trader Joes salsa
o 1/2 cup yellow rice

Dinner:
o 1 cup Barilla pasta
o 1 cup marinara sauce
o 6 mushrooms, roasted with olive oil

Snacks:

o 1 spoonful Trader Joes peanut butter
o 1/2 grapefruit
o 5 slices of beet


Day Three

Breakfast:
o 1/2 cup 365 Organic peanut butter pows
o 1/2 cup organic unsweetened Silk soy milk

Lunch:
o 6 inch Veggie Delite sub with honey oat bread
o Sun Chips original
o chickpeas

Dinner:
o Boca "chicken" patty on bun
o Alexia red potato fries, baked

Snacks:
o Larabar Apple Pie
o Baked Ruffles
o Vegan Chocolate chip cookies
o Light Life bologna slice on bun with mustard


Day Four

Breakfast:
o 2 vegan banana, almond, and coconut muffins
o 6 ounce coffee with soymilk

Lunch:
o Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake

Dinner:
o LightLife Italian soy sausage
o Fried okra
o Broccoli with vegetable margarine

Snacks:
o Handful dried bing cherries
o Handful roasted peanuts
o Vegan peanut butter cookies
o Trader Joes kalamata olive hummus with Baked Ruffles

A month of being a vegan

Lindsay came home Sunday and told me her co-worker asked her if she’d like to go vegan with her for 30 days. I’ve never had the desire but my mind started wandering and thinking that I needed a new challenge, so I piped in, “Let me know if you do it, I will think about doing it too.” Matt gave me the “Don’t even think about it” eyes, which I would never ask him to, do anyway. But the longer I pondered, the longer I knew this would be fun goal for the month. I did a quick check on my calendar to make sure I didn’t have any scheduled BBQ’s or special events to make me waiver and I didn’t.

Sunday was my time to gorge on meats, cheese, and milk. I had a chicken- stuffed, cheese-covered burrito at Mi Mexico, caramel macchiato creamer with my coffee, and pork dumplings in the evening. And let’s not forget the chocolate chip cookie dough and Reese cup ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins. Whoa. I never eat like this but heck when you’re going all the way, you kind of have to for emotional release. So, I’m going to try my best to blog as much as I can about my vegan journey.

I'll go ahead and list out my food log on my first day. It wasn't hard, I'm not bored yet and today I feel fine too. It just takes some extra time to think about what I am eating and what to throw together for a meal.

Breakfast:

• Whole Foods seeded 6 grain bread


• Trader Joes organic peanut butter


• Trader Joes reduced sugar strawberry preserves


• Strawberries and mango


• Passionfruit juice

Lunch:

• Amy's teriyaki bowl with tofu, brown rice, and vegetables


• Steamed broccoli


• Strawberries and mango


• Water

Dinner:

• Whole wheat tortillas with black beans, orange bell peppers, Trader Joes salsa, and Boca meatless crumbles


• Yellow rice


• Water

Snacks:

• Banana


• Baked Ruffles
  Coca-Cola ( I had a huge sugar craving yesterday, which was unusual for me)


• Lightly salted Peanuts

And fortunately, I'm not starving. Even today I wasn't hungry when I woke up.

Chickpea and feta salad roll-ups

My roommate works at Whole Foods, so I am usually in there about once a week now. This week they had feta salad out for tasting and it was so delish, I had to buy some. The salad was made of: feta cheese, kalamata olives, lime juice, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, dill seed, and a few more ingredients I'm afraid I've forgotten. It was great on crackers but my mind started racing about the possibilities of other combinations.

Lindsay and I bought these humongous whole wheat tortillas from Whole Foods which are about the size of the tortillas from Chipotle, so you can get almost two servings out of one. I warmed up the tortilla then stuffed it with grape tomatoes, chickpeas, romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, and the feta salad. It is so good and great to eat during this hot weather.