NEWSFLASH! I'm baaaaaaack. Now lettuce shoot the salad.

hi everyone! so to answer the million dollar question of, "where in the hell has that pain in the ass vegan gone for the past two months?" well the answer is.....

PREGNANTVILLE! population me. well, me and and a fetus. i'm about 15 weeks along and due at the beginning of december. now, i was late for my last kid, so i'm banking on being late again which means i'll have a baby with my latkes this year for chanukkah.

so if anyone knows anything about being pregnant, then you know that there's morning sickness. no--not the crapola you see on t.v. when someone gets sick a couple of times then happily basks in the glow of knocked upness for the rest of the day. i'm talking violently ill from the time i got up until the time i crashed every night for about 8-9 weeks. i'm just now feeling better.

during this sickness i didn't want to cook or eat. and i didn't want to eat the things i loved most: veggies and soy products. the thought of consuming any vegetable, smelling any onions, garlic, cinnamon, coffee, or anything with a potent aroma made me vomit. i was so sick, i actually have lost--not gained weight. this sickness meant no kitchen duty for me. i didn't even want to look at food porn. how depressing is that?

this also meant i wasn't (confession time!) vegan. i had to eat whatever i could keep down. some of this is stuff that is so gross, i'd rather not mention. ever had ensure? the most disgusting stuff on earth. soooooo, if you want to be a vegan douchebag and judge me for my shortcomings because of something completely out of my control and a force of biology, then fuck you. read no further. i don't think vegan douchebags really read this blog anyway, but i thought i'd place that disclaimer just in case i have lurkers. my non-vegan eating was and has been a very dark time for me that i'm not proud of. if you ask my spouse, he'll tell you i've cried more than once about this and have beat myself up over having to be flexible. this was something i wasn't prepared to deal with. some women can have completely vegan pregnancies-(which i tried to do) good for them. i was someone who couldn't do it.

but i'm back, transitioning slowly--testing what my body can take. pictured above is a taco salad i made on sunday. it is super easy to make and the perfect summer dish. here's what i did:

• different kinds of lettuces (i used some store bought and some from my garden)
• chopped carrots
• cuke slices
• a chili-type topping: i used a mixture of a can of red kidney beans, some left over vegan chili, cumin, chili powder, garlic granules, and a dash of liquid smoke
• on top of mount chili i added some salsa and guac
• served with corn chips

now below is a picture topped with some creamy vegan cilantro dressing:
the dressing
1/3 c. veganaise
1/2 c. tofutti cr. cheese
1/2 c. water
2T apple cider vinegar
1T lime juice
some shakes of ms. dash chipotle flavor
some onion salt
1/2 c. fresh chopped cilantro

put in a blender until smooth. use within 4 days. this recipe def. needs some tweaking, as i found it to be too runny.

glad to be back, everyone. i've REALLY MISSED YOU ALL.
what's your favorite kind of salad to eat? i need quick summer meal ideas.