Are you really prepared?

Yesterday the lights went out for about 5 minutes.  I panicked!  I am not prepared in case of an emergency.
I am prepared food wise.
Plenty of snacks and boxed drinks.  Flashlight and extra batteries.  Extra battery for my cell phone.
What I am not prepared is mentally.
I freak out if we have a tiny shake.
Okay not tiny for me.  They are all HUGE to me.
I'm a New Yawker.  The most shaking we ever get is in a train.  I do remember one in 1986 (?).  I remember not being able to sleep at all.  The birds, cats and dogs were especially noisy hours before the quake.  I thought I was going to die.
Mentally I am not prepared for anything disastrous.  I scream and cry.
I really need to get my shit together.  Two out of three of my kids still living at home and they do not need to see me losing my shit because the lights went out or if we have a little shaking going on.
Or if the a/c decides not to turn on.
Seriously.
So, I am going to start calming myself down.
That means not on the verge of tears when the phone rings after 10pm (casting directors, producers, directors?  Please call me early when you need my kids on set.  You will give me a heart attack. :-)   )
Or if I hear rumbling because of an earthquake or if a truck is going by and I think it's an earthquake.  True story.
Staying calm is something I need to practice. Maybe yoga breathing and not hyperventilating breathing.
~~~~~
Over the weekend I decided to tweak my bean stew in the crockpot.  I usually just cook it over the stove but we were really busy this weekend and I wanted to come home to food.  All I had to do was make the rice and dinner was ready 20 minutes after walking in through the door.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic (use less if you're not a fan)
1/4 cup sofrito
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup alcaparrado
2 cans beans (any will do.  I made mine with red kidney beans)
1 tsp adobo

Heat the oil in a saute pan.
Add the sofrito and tomato sauce and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
Transfer to a slow cooker and the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
You can totally double this recipe and freeze half.

Enjoy!

Bought a New Cookbook!!! I think...

I don't recall ordering this cookbook from Amazon but I'm so glad I did. The cookbook is called Vegan Junk Food by Lane Gold.  No meat.  No Dairy. I know right?  She is a vegan chef here in Los Angeles.  I was trying to find out where but I couldn't find that information.
This cookbook has everything from breakfast to deli favorites.  Comfort food to bread.  Vegan party essentials and dips to all kinds of sweet things.  Don't let the title fool you.  Although it is "junk food" I don't know too many junk foods with ingredients like carrots, pumpkins and fresh cilantro and parsley.  Seriously.  Last night I stopped by my local Whole Foods and picked up some ingredients I didn't already have and spent less than $25 for dinner.  I adjusted for my own tastes.

Sloppy Joes

serves 4
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill TVP
2 cups water
3 tsps vegetable bouillon base
1 tsp vegan beef bouillon base
1 tbsp oil
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot (to save time I went to my favorite section and bought already shredded carrot)
1 chopped garlic clove (I used minced so like WHATEV)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsps brown sugar
2 tsps balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Annie's vegan worcestshire sauce
4 tbsps tomato paste
1 cup tomato sauce
Rudi's whole wheat hamburger buns

heat the water and add the vegetable and beef bouillon base to a boil.
add the TVP and stir a little bit and let it rest for 10 minutes
over medium heat, saute onions and carrots in oil until onions are translucent.
adjust the heat so it doesn't burn.
add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
drain the TVP reserving the liquid.  use a wooden spoon or spatula and squeeze out the excess liquid.
add TVP to the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes.
add all other ingredients except the buns and stir.
add 1/2 cup of reserved liquid and bring to a boil.
turn heat down to medium and cook for 10 minutes.

spoon the joes onto your buns and enjoy.

This you can you freeze so go ahead and double the ingredients.  It was so good I wish I had leftovers for lunch.