1/5/08

New Years Resolutions

I am one of those people who has an ongoing list of self-improvements, house improvements, world-improvements- essentially I am always noting the many ways in which I could make things better, if I ever get around to it. New Years rather cruelly plays on this particular weakness of mine, giving me a deadline by which to start all resolutions simutaneously (start doing yoga everyday! keep nails neat and manicured! drink more green tea! be kinder to siblings! GO!). When it comes to food I usually have a list as well, but these goals are often more attainable then, say, a stringent new exercise routine.

One resolution is to bake more. In college I made a lot of muffins and breads for mornings that were too hectic to for anything else. These days I am more absorbed with stovetop cooking, so I don't have nice things to wake up to. No more! I have obtained The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau, and already tried my first recipe, the cinnamon coffee cake. It was very easy and delicious, definitely the perfect accompanyment to coffee.
The book in general is incredibly thorough and useful, with plenty of conversions and tips. And you know, it is just nice to not have to constantly be conjuring up the best sub when veganizing a recipe. (Bananas or Ener-G? Or just extra baking soda?) Instead, you can just brainlessly throw a recipe together without over-analyzing. Its also sort of an inspirational cookbook, with lots of inserts about factory farming and the dairy industry to keep you sticking to your vegan guns.

My other resolution is to get back to composting. Ever since moving to a new house, I've gotten lazy about it. And honestly, there is no excuse for any vegan or vegetarian not to compost, since a majority of their trash will always be compostable. A problem I've run into at my new house, however, is that living with two dogs makes composting slightly more complicated. They are always eager to get at whatever I'm throwing out. Even rotting carrot peelings are a lure (apparently.) So my little brother and I came up with this design to keep the dogs out and the compost in. So far, its working pretty well. And I'm back on a roll with my resolutions! Now I just need to get to the other 200 things on my list. And oh yeah... law school...

Extra composting tips, for those so inclined.

3 comments:

jd said...

I also have an (annoyingly long) on-going list of self-improvements, world-improvements, etc. Unlike you though, New Year's rarely encourages me to actually start acting on them - but I'm trying!

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying "The Joy of Vegan Baking." It's a truly fantastic book, but is really dangerous if you want to get in shape :)

I actually made the cinnamon coffee cake, too (it's on my blog), but I've also made lost of other delicious desserts from that cookbook - yum! Let me know when you come across some other good ones, & I'll do the same!

PS I love, love, LOVE that yo compost! I've been wanting to forever, but I live in an apt and my bf isn't too keen on the worm composting box I wanted to make!

T said...

Well, I haven't lived in an apartment since college, but I've always had this theory that you might be able to claim a small public space (like say, behind a tree in a parking lot) and make a weekly dump of stuff there, to be covered with dirt. But that would have to be very undercover to work and I've never been able to give it a try.

But I'm moving to an apartment in the near future, so I'll keep thinking about it, let me know if you have any brainflashes!

And yeah, that cookbook is awesome. I'm so excited to try out plenty of the other recipes. :)

Anonymous said...

Ditto on the composting. I've gotten lazy, even though my parents compost all the time, I just end up throwing my scraps in the garbage and feeling super guilty about it. You have inspired me to add it to my resolutions. All the best in the new year!