To roast, or not to roast...

Thanksgiving 2009. Last Thanksgiving we tried a Tofurkey. Well...it was tolerable in very small bites. I figured that there is soooo much else with Thanksgiving dinner, that I would be happy to forgo faux meat and enjoy all the other goodies on the table. You know, stuffing muffins, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted veggies, etc.

This year a sweet surprise arose. Kristin's sister took the order for specialty items to be brought from Minneapolis and she threw in a Celebration Roast from the Field Roast Grain Meat Company. Kristin and I already knew about the Celebration Roast and loooooooove every FRGMCo product that we've tried, but after the Tofurkey...we'd lost faith.

OK, I cannot give the Celebration Roast enough praise. It was deliscious!!! Hot = yum, cold = yum. We unwrapped it yesterday and sliced off a few pieces to try it out. Marvelous. I then got into trouble because I kept taking slices when no one was looking and during those long hours waiting for everyone else's carcass to bake in the oven.

My advice, don't be afraid of the Celebration Roast! Its a keeper for sure.

Minneapolis Eating Tour 2008

It was time for the bi-annual Minneapolis pilgrimage. We really wanted to see Cracked Pepper announce at a North Star Roller Girls bout. As new vegans, the opportunity to dive into vegan friendly restaurants was just too thrilling!

What?! EVERYTHING here is vegan?!

What?! The menu is plainly marked whether items are vegan or can be made vegan....without dirty looks...

(insert angelic chanting sounds and warm, glowing light here)

So, after exhaustive research from the internets with our bums firmly planted on the couch....the following are the joints that we ended up stuffing our faces at. There are other places that we just couldn't fit in on this trip :-( If you get to or live in the Twin Cities area, I would recommend all of these good eats.

Most of the couch-bound ressearch came from here:
VegGuide Twin Cities
Happy Cow Vegetarian Restaurant Guide

4/24/2008 one rainy day -------------------

Seward Café (breakfast)

What we had:

• Mexicali ( tofu on corn tortillas with pinto beans, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, rancheros sauce & melted soy cheese)

• Vegan French Toast ( thickly sliced, house-made whole wheat bread dipped in flax & soymilk batter) + maple syrup + soy margerine + blackberries + vegan sausage

• Iced Chai (Home Brewed Chai, served hot or iced) w/ soy
• Nice cold glass of Soy Milk

*bonus* there is the Seward Community Co-op store next door and thus commenced our shopping spree…

*tip* bring cash, fill out your own order and pay for it at the counter - menus and order forms are near the counter, ride a bike - there is ample bicycle parking on the side!

Evergreen Chinese Restaurant (runch)

What we had:

• Sweet & Sour Mock Chicken (Battered mock chicken with green peppers, onion, and pineapple in sweet and sour sauce)
• Wheat Gluten with Pickled Vegetables (Sliced wheat gluten roll, similar to, but not the same as mock duck cooked with hot peppers and pickled vegetables)
• Vegetarian Rolls ( Deep fried spring rolls filled with vegetables)
• Mango Soy Milkshake
• Jasmine Tea

*bonus* authentic Taiwanese with many mock-meat options throughout menu. The food made me want to eat my weight in mock chicken! I was so happy with the food I wanted to kiss the owner….with my tongue….all over him….and his wife….rolled in pickled cabbage….or not.

*tip* keep your eyes peeled looking for this one. there is parking in the back - otherwise you'll have to find a spot on the street. walk into building and look to your right - go down stairs to the restaurant. leave your victorian eating etiquette at home - YOU ARE GOING TO SNARF AND SNORGLE UP DELISCIOUS FOOD!

Pizza Luce’ (dinner)

What we had:

• Bruschetta w/ Rinotta (rinotta UNcheese, contains nuts)
• Lil Gracie Pizza (Veggie sausage, phony pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, black olives and soy cheese on red sauce) -black olives +pineapple
• Cream Soda
• Beer *burp*
  

*bonus* they’ve got vegan brushetta n cheesy garlic toast, amongst other things. Our pizza was tip-top and devoured.

*tip* i've made plenty of deliscious vegan pizzas at home but must admit that having one baked in a big ol' pizza oven with love from Pizza Luce' was simply scrumptious - try a pie!

4/25/2008 another rainy day --------------------

Namaste’ Café (lunch)

What we had:

• Mamacha (6 pieces of delicious dumplings filled with tofu, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, & a delicate blend of spices. Served with freshly prepared sesame sauce)
• Kwati (A variety of sprouted beans and flat pieces of dough cooked in a thick soup with cumin, cayenne, ginger, garam masala, & bay leaves over a serving of rice)
• Namaste Special Curry (House curry prepared with tumeric, ginger, onions, garlic, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, & fresh scallions over a serving of rice)
• Masala Chai (1 hot, 1 iced)
  

*bonus* another meal that I had to activate my impulse control to keep from licking all of the goodness off of the bowls. My first nepali eating experience and I want another one now!

*tip* their chai was rated #1 for 2008 in the Best of Pages, so, order one up! Also, our service was very slow, I don't know why, perhaps a fluke - just in case, plan for a long lunch :-)

Falafel King (snickety snack)

What we had:

• Falafel King Combo (Hummus, tabouli and falafel with pita bread, 22 oz. pop)
  

*bonus* for middle eastern fast food, you can’t beat the falafel king! What a treat for fast food! Ha!

*tip* there are many locations - we tried the one on Lake St. and you'll have to maneuver around road construction for a few more months, but it is worth it! look for a big, gold crown on the corner of a building and you've found goodness within...

Midori’s Floating World Café (dinner)

What we had:

• Edamame (boiled & salted soy beans in the shell)
• Vegetable Gyoza (vegetable dumplings with dipping sauce)
• Vegetable Tempura (deep fried vegetables in light batter)
• Kaiso Salad (marinated sea vegetable assortment)
• Veggie Tempura Roll (asparagus, sweet potato, avocado)
• Rishi Fairy Flower Tea (The tea buds are tied into a ball and are highly scented with fresh Jasmine flowers. The balls not only give a fragrant aroma, but also a surprise when
  a row of hidden flowers open in hot water.)
• House Sake *hic*
  

*bonus* very very very very tasteeee food here. Period. We tempura’d our asses off here….NOMNOMNOMNOM

*tip* this little joint gets BUSY! cuz it is that good. if you are planning to go there during peak hours, call for a reservation!

4/26/2008 whoa nelly! a snowy day --------------------

French Meadow Bakery & Café (breakfast)

What we had:

• Sweet Corn Arepas (Corn cakes layered with vegan sausage, fresh organic spinach, sautéed red peppers and balsamic reduction)
• Vegan Black Bean Chili (Organic black beans, ancho and chipotle peppers, corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions)
• Grilled Tempeh Reuben (Marinated and grilled organic tempeh with sauerkraut
  and spiced tomato-soy aioli on organic rye bread)
  

*bonus* yet another NOMNOMNOM type of joint. We pick’em that way as we are certifiable foodies…..if you are into *not vegan alert* sweet rolls, holy moly, this place serves a cake size of a sweet roll….you’d have to be a sweet roll loving mo' fo' for sure. *end not vegan alert* As I am not, I chose some sweet corn arepas that knocked my socks off. I must add that Kristin didn't really like her Reuben because it wasn't zippy enough. We like Reubens that make your eyes go wide when you bite in 'em :-)

*tip* this place is packed during peak hours, be patient and pick out a seat before you jump in line - turn over of the tables are pretty fast so keep your eyes peeled & jump on one when it becomes free!

Hard Times Café (lunch)

What we had:

• Vegan Gyro
• Some Asian Sammich thing - sorry can't remember the name of it :-(
  

No website, so here is a review from someone else that I feel nails it on the head..

Hard Times is the ultimate punk-rock all-night vegetaria

n cafe and restaurant. At any given moment expect to see intellectual punkers, hobos with coffee, and everyday folks playing chess. The atmosphere is pure 1970s grunge, with a kick. The music is a bit too loud, but tolerable; the food is well-priced and tasty, with various comfort-foods, gyros, tacos, burgers, hummus and desserts. They can make pretty much anything vegan and everything is vegetarian. Waits for food are long and the service isn't the friendliest, but it's crisp and mostly efficient. Come to Hard Times for the food and the vibe. It's a Minneapolis institution.

*tip* bring cash, menu is at counter with order sheets - fill one out and pay right there, bus your table when done, wonder over to Cedar St. and shop at the little world market store across the street - if you are lucky, the lady's dog will be awake and you can pet her!

Ecopolitan (dinner)

What we had:

• Flaxseed Tostadas (Two flaxseed-sunflower shells topped with spiced lentil mix,
  marinated mushrooms, olives, onions, cashew “sour cream”,
  hot sauce & cilantro, served with salsa & guacamole)
• Casheese Roll (Rolled in sun-dried tomatoes, basil and olives, topped with
  balsamic onions and reduction, served with flaxseed crackers)
• Jasmine Green Tea
  

*bonus* there is nothing at all to feel guilty about when you eat here…and it all was so damn tasteeeeeee. We knew that it would be good….but how good can raw vegan food be….i’ll tell you, REALLY GOOD!

*tip* wonder into the back down the hall to peruse some neat books.

The King & Thai (more dinner, cuz ur on vacycay n feel decadent....pass the body glitter)

What we had:

• Vegetables with Sriracha Sauce
• Indian Curry Fried Rice with Tofu
• Mock Duck Curry Puffs
  

*bonus* it is thai food. Thai food is always a bonus ;-P this was a suggestion for downtown faire. It was pricey but they understood what we wanted when we said vegan so it was all good.

4/27/2008 gorgeous sunny day in tie for us to leave, damnit -----

Seward Café (brunch)

What we had:

• Mexicali ( tofu on corn tortillas with black beans, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, rancheros sauce)
• Hashbrown Supreme ( hashbrowns topped with grilled onion, green peppers, mushroom, tomatoes)
  

*bonus* it is just that good here….

*tip* don't forget to do some shopping next door at the co-op store!

In the end, we left Minneapolis very satisfied and the car loaded down with food n kitchen stuffs. That can be mentioned in another blog. Kristin's favorite meal was the first trip to Seward Cafe for Mexicali and my favorite was Namaste Curry at Namaste Cafe.

The end.

~elli

Burger Goodness

Dinner tonight was Chipotle Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries. I bought a case of Gardenburger Black Bean Chipotle burgers from work, good price and they are fully vegan. And fully tasty. And in the future they will be put to use in fajitas, tacos and other Mexican fare. Served them up on a bun with chipotle vegainaise, onion, tomato and leaf lettuce. Julienned some sweet potato, tossed with roasted garlic oil, cumin and salt. I loved the burger, but the fries could have been better. Crispier with more salt and cumin.

I will be attempting to cook with tempeh for the 2nd time tonight. I made some gawdawful chili a few weeks ago with it. I did not cook the tempeh long enough and it was bitter. I hope to make some tempeh salad for sandwiches for lunch. I have been looking longingly at people's sandwiches at lunch.

Vegan Snacking, oh, my.

I snacked on veggeroni (fake pepperoni seitan) tonight. And I really enjoyed it. Oh, my.

Good Golly Gee Wizzz

What a busy day it has been. Kristin has been whipping up so tastee vittles left and right....I am the lucky taste tester :-) I've got our vegan friendly ETSY shop fired up and ready to list. We've decided to give a whirl with soapmaking, bath salts, and home products initially.

Today, I listed the inagural item in our shop, a magazine bowl. An upcycled Real Simple magazine that is pining to find a new home now. The inspiration came from A Little Hut's blog tutorial. I had been searching for a way to upcycle old phone books and this seemed to be a perfect fit! Though this one isn't a phone book, you get the idea. Tomorrow I'll post a phone book bowlie.

Anywho, swing on by our ETSY shop, Marge & Vina, as new vegan goodness will be added as often as we can crank it out! Some of you all might know me from Oso Azul Design where I sell me arts. No worries, I am still selling the arts over there....I am just working with Kristin to sell some homey goodness over here! Wanna check out my art bloggy....click here. nitey nite.

~elli

"Sour Cream Chick'n" Enchiladas, bitches!

I made these tonight. If I do say so myself, they were excellent. And being newly vegan, I think I especially appreciate that I could not tell the difference between these and omni enchiladas. I think I enjoyed them more, as I tasted the different veggies more, as they were not loaded down with sour cream, or cheese. My mother loved them. Dad didn't have any, wasn't feeling well. But I bet he will. Yes, indeedy. His opinion is the one I really wanted, as he is more of a meat-and-potatoes kinda person.

First, this recipe would actually make two pans of enchiladas. But I love the filling so much, that I made 1 pan enchiladas, and I am going to use the rest of the filling for quesadillas, and a tasty southwest chicken salad. Roasting or grilling the vegetables is a bit of extra work well worth the time. It gives them so much more flavor. The amount of poblanos depends on how spicy they are, or how much heat you like. The same goes for the chipotle. I made these for a dinner with the parents so I wanted them mild.

"SOUR CREAM CHICKEN" ENCHILADAS

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz. package "chik'n strips" (I used Morningstar brand) , or equivalent frozen, thawed and drained tofu (not silken!)
  


• 1-2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and diced
  


• 1 zucchini, diced
  


• 1 medium onion, chopped
  


• 1 15 1/4 oz. can corn, or small bag frozen
  


• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  


• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
  


• 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes , drained (I only used half a can), or fresh diced
  


• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  


• 1 tsp. oregano leaf
  


• 6-12 oz. Tofutti "Better Than Sour Cream", depending on how much "dairy" you like. I used 9 oz. or 3/4 of a container
  


• 1-2 T. chipotle in adobo, pureed or mashed
  


• salt to taste
  


• 1 16 o. can green enchilada sauce, or homemade if you aren't lazy like me!
  


• about 9 6" corn tortillas

1. Thaw "chik'n" or tofu. If using tofu, squeeze out all water. Dice it up.

2. Drain canned corn or thaw frozen. Toss corn, onion and diced zucchini with a very small amount of oil (just enough to barely coat veggies), broil or roast in oven at 500 degrees until onions start to brown. I actually like mine a bit burnt. You could also grill them.

3. Mix "chik'n" or tofu, chiles, onions, corn, zucchini, drained tomatoes, cumin, cilantro, beans, cumin, oregano, chipotle and salt to taste. At this point you could just leave out the "sour cream" if you want a less fatty enchilada.

4. Heat up a very small amount of oil in a pan and quickly saute each side of the corn tortillas, just heating through. If you do not want the added oil, you could just cover the tortillas with a damp paper towel and put them in the microwave.

5. Dip the tortillas in the enchilada sauce, stuff and put them in a lightly oiled pan. Top with more sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. I topped mine with fresh tomato and green onion when they came out of the oven.

I used what I had at my house. Certainly fresh or frozen corn would be better. Fresh tomatoes, dried black beans and homemade enchilada sauce would also be good. But, HOT DAMN, these turned out swell. I am new to the vegan thing, but have cooked professionally for years and am happy for that. I think I know a few more tricks, and such. Elli is just finishing up the dog's new vegan muesli, wit

h some TVP, shredded carrots, parsley and celery. So far he approves of the sample he was given. Oh, and above is a picture of the tastee brownies Elli made. My mom snarfed them down. -Kristin

Cooking adventures

So, this whole vegan thing has really inspired me to really cook again. Last week I came home and baked bread. I have never done that at home before. My vegan ranch turned out swell. I roasted five pounds of garlic. That almost killed us. Once I took the foil off the top of the pan to check it our home was filled with garlic fumes that made our eyes tear up and burn like the dickens. I made hummus yesterday. I need to pay more attention when I make it next time, because it is very tasty, if I do say so myself. When I do I will post it. I just took my first batch of seitan ("veggaroni") out of the oven and it is cooling on the porch. It will top the pizza we are having tonight. Thanks to Fat Free Vegan Kitchen for the recipe! AND I made the filling for what will be tomorrow nights "sour cream-chicken" enchiladas. Hot damn, I think they are going to be good. I believe that they would be tastee without the Chik'n strips, and with more roasted poblanos and chipotle, but they are for dinner with the parents and I need to customize it a bit for them. Tomorrow night I will put up the recipe with a picture.

We have been having some "crap" meals and some healthy ones, as well. By crap I mean tofu dogs with crescent rolls wrapped around them, with fries and frozen broccoli. Or hard shell tacos and taco salad the next day. Chipotle "mayo" topped veggie burgers with tater tots. High sodium, a little more fat, etc. The first week I believe we ate a bit better. I am not going to be too hard on myself, though. Compared to the pure, unadulterated crap I ate before, I am eating much better than I have in my entire life. And as stated earlier, there have been healthy meals, too. I had hummus with veggies and minestrone soup for lunch. Made tofu stir fry Saturday night. I need to have my "crap" meals once in a while. It certainly eases the transition.

We started to watch the documentary "Earthlings" on Google video last night, and after about 30 minutes, I had to turn it off. Just too disturbing to watch all of the way through. I had never heard of it. I think we will maybe watch it in a few more installments, so that we do not completely lose our minds. Watching it really solidified that this is not a diet. This is our life from now on. Forever and ever amen. Neither one of us sees how we can go back after starting on this journey.

That is all. Tomorrow we shall see how the enchiladas turn out. And I am now going to go get the seitan off the porch and try it. I do miss pepperoni on pizza, so here is hoping that it turned out good. -Kristin

Random Title

I feel that I have so much to say about this whole vegan "thing", but am too lazy to sit down and type it all. But suffice it to say right now that I am proud to be vegan for 8 ENTIRE DAYS, without any major cravings or issues. I feel a sense of pride, accomplishment and happiness that compensates for the fact that I cannot ingest mozzarella cheese. Or Funyuns. Oh, suh-weet Funyuns.

And because I am lazy and will keep this brief, what I wanted to impart, to myself, or anyone who deems to read this is this: It is so very crappy that I can be so excited, proud, happy and allofthatthere with becoming vegan, but that if I tell almost anyone, I just face ridicule. Or scorn. I am a chatty bitch. I like to talk too much at times. I like to regale people with boring stories about my daily life. I wanna tell people about the biggest thing I have done EVER, excepting the Flock of Seagulls-esque hairdo I had in high school. I am not pushing this on anyone else, nor am I judging them. Can I not just be happy about it, without the other junk? I have had many instances in my life where people tell me something they are excited about, and I inwardly groan, or cry. Does my father need another record player? Is three not enough? Does the woman I work with really need to purchase a cheap plastic pink mirror with fake lace and roses glued onto theback? I will feign my own excitement. I do it almost every day. Because if something makes someone happy, or proud, who am I to take that away from them? As long as I do not tie anyone down and force tofu down their throats, lemme be happy. Puh-lease. Thanks much.

Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more.

~Franz Kafka, while admiring fish in an aquarium

Spirulina Popcorn, oh, my!

We had popcorn tonight with spirulina and nutritional yeast sprinkled on it. It was a tip from friends. Thank you, Kris and Karen. In case you are not aware of this, "Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It is a simple, one-celled form of algae that thrives in warm, alkaline fresh-water bodies. The name "spirulina" is derived from the Latin word for "helix" or "spiral"; denoting the physical configuration of the organism when it forms swirling, microscopic strands." We used it as a dry powder, and it is green. Very green.

Nutritional Yeast: "Yellow in color and with a nutty cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is a favorite amongst many vegans because of its unique flavor and similarity to cheese when added to foods. " Alrighty then, two foods that I am positive that I would never, ever, ever have put on popcorn. Ever. But it was delicious. And the popcorn was slightly green. Did I mention that it was delicious? That is all.

Beaver butt juice : - (

Here we are, Cyber Monday as it is known now in our spanking, new cyber world. Thanksgiving dinner is done, it was traditional as promised to the family, and I did have a few bites of turkey though I really didn’t want to and I felt bad for the little one….10 lb’er….light weight. Next year, we’ll experience some tofurky which doesn’t sound so absurd to me anymore.

Back to today, this is the designated drop dead *no pun intended* day for finishing/donating or tossing the rest of our animal/animal by-product edibles. On all the other animal stuff, like cleaners, leather, wool, etc, we’ve decided to use until gone or worn out. The decision to continue using certain items, such as the leather furniture that was bought last summer, has a lot to do with the fact that the damage is already done and it isn’t practical to flush these items without having a few thousand extra dollars to replace them immediately. Frankly, we are ok with this decision. I swear to all that matter that I will never ever buy these items again!

On the food front, boy oh boy have we been schooling ourselves on what all this lifestyle change encompasses and how we can fit it into our lives. Honestly, I feel like a need a class or two for certification! Perhaps even an Associates of Applied Science degree would be sufficient to induct one into the world of veganism. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled about the change, I am just a bit overwhelmed by the scope of product used in every-flippin-thing! Good lord! Who came up with this shit to begin with? Beaver butt juice makes a gives a lovely pungent bouquet for food??? WTF??? Who the hell figured that one out? ACK! Ok, I’ll settle down now.

Today I look forward to leaving my meaty and dairy delights behind….as I learn more and more about where they come from…the weight of it all makes them not so delightful after all.

~elli

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.
- Alice Walker, African-American writer & storyteller

Confused, at best.

Veganism (also strict or pure vegetarianism) is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.[1][2] Vegans do not use or consume animal products of any kind.[3] The most popular reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, or human health, and spiritual or religious concerns.[4][5][2] Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.

Here is the definition of vegan on Wikipedia. It pretty much supports any other definition I have seen. I feel like I am, in a way, trying to be one of the "cool kids", if I can fit into the definition of a vegan, and that is confusing, and annoying, as well. I am trying to figure out if I can ever become a true vegan. Elli and I have leather furniture. It makes me sad that we bought it, but it has yet to even be paid off. I own leather shoes. I own wool sweaters. Other things of that nature. A few silk scarves. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda. And I smoke. I saw one site that stated that you can not be a vegan and smoke, as you can not eat and/or use anything that is tested on animals. Well, someday I would like to quit smoking, but giving up all that I am, and readjusting to it all seems like enough to me at this juncture. Can I just smoke Natural American Spirit cigarettes? I am positive that they do not test on animals. I think that might be adhere to the definition anyway. If a vegan can not use anything that was tested on animals, we might have a problem with much of anything.

And now I get to the bones of all of this......Do I really need to worry about if I can define myself as a Vegan or not? Or if someone else can? If I was so worried about keeping up with the Joneses (?) would I even be doing this? I am doing this because I am so repulsed by factory farming. And animal testing. Pretty much anything wherein animals are treated as something less than a creature that feels pain, joy, loss, fear, happiness, etc. Anyone that has ever had a pet knows that animals feel all of these things, and more. And anyone that really looks at what is going on with factory farming would be a liar if they were to tell me that they would not have a problem with their pet being treated in this way, that they are "just animals". So, I do not care if I am one of the "cool kids", I will still smoke, but I will also not eat anything with any animal product in it, to include certain beers, which I now understand to be filtered through BONE CHAR! Holy moly. I will not purchase anything with any animal product in it. I will keep what I have. I will use it til it is gone. Or until it is shabby, in the case of the furniture. I will no longer support the industry that is riding on the backs of animals. But to reiterate ad nauseum, I am keeping what I have. I have not come far enough yet, or am not ready to, or do not have the extra resources to do away with what I have. So be it. I am doing this for animals. Not for others to call me out on not acting or doing as a true vegan. I will have to just label myself as an animal lover.

Also, I have gone to different grocery stores and assorted other places to scope out what food options are open. I have never before spent so much time reading so many labels. And have never realized how much of everything contains animal products. Good Gawd. I will find an item that I love to eat, and I will scroll down the ingredients and I think that I am safe, I can eat this.....YES! And then, at the bottom of the list is something like "whey". Something I would not even have noticed before.....And did I mention the vegetarian cheese made of soy that I thought was safe until I read the ingredients? It is non-dairy cheese but has one little ingredient in it made from milk. Sonofabitchthatmadememad! So, out of the 10 varieties of cheese not made mainly from milk, there are two or three that are actually vegan.

Okay. Here ends the diatribe.

Dinner 12NOV2007

The nightly problem often is..."What's for dinner"

Planning and pre-prep is ideal. Figuring it out at the last minute when you are tired from a days work and HUNGRY is reality sometimes. Last night was one of those nights :-)

What's in the fridge??? Tortillas, onion, tomato, salami needing to go....whip up pizza sauce from tomato paste and tastee spices...grate up some soy cheese....bake on 450 d for 5 minutes....mmmm

This meal was really good and quick! Yay!

~elli

Why are we here? Too.

How in the hell do I think it is even within the realm of possibility that I can go vegan? I have absolutely no self control when it comes to food. That could very well be the reason that I am fat. That is the reason I am fat. Damnit. Here is why I am attempting to become a fine, upstanding vegan:

This is my motivation. This is what makes me sick to my stomach. I will watch this over and over if need be. I have thought a lot about this. This is a HUGE life change. It doesn't just affect what I eat, but how I will have to live. We are going to take this slow. Eat up whatever animal product we have in the house, then wean ourselves a bit, allowing "organic" dairy products, until we cut all of those out as well. I find it hard to trust labels, and that is why it is necessary to cut out all animal products. Just because a cheese is organic, that might mean that the cows were not fed hormones, but were they allowed to roam freely, or where they still penned up?

We had an interesting dinner tonight. Pizzas made with whole wheat tortillas, tomato sauce, onions, tomatoes, soy cheese and........regular, old came-from-a-cow salami. But it was a bit of a breakthrough for me. That is one thing that we can make (albeit without the "real" salami) that is fast and easy and still seems like a treat. Eating vegan takes a lot more work, more chopping, more assembling, more cooking. Eating out will be tough. And when you are hungry you just want to eat something now. Instant gratification. Another reason I am fat. So, along with the time and labor intensive food we will be making, we really need to find some fast, easy and tasty meals.

That being said, though we are doing this mainly for animals, I do hope that along with it all, I lose some weight and feel better. I am positive that this will happen if I can stick with it. Less fatty food, less empty calories. Less crap.

And before I get any guff for it, I am making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and I am going to eat some of it. And hopefully it will be my last. On that note, there are a few food items I am going to have one more time. That is probably dragging it out and not a good idea, but I think it will help me in the long run. I can't excuse myself by thinking that I did not get to enjoy something before it was gone forever. I know how my mind works. Wish us luck. -Schmegan

Why are we here?

We make no claims to innovation or brilliance. We just are taking the journey of becoming vegans. We like food. We love to eat. We even like meat though it doesn't have to be on the plate. We don't like the thought of how animals are cruelly treated from the womb to death in the industry. We don't like the testing. We don't want to give anymore of our dough to to an industry who treats these creatures so poorly. It is really really really disturbing. Also, we don't actually need meat in our diets to survive....though the meat industry pays loads of money to make us believe so. So we've decided to go vegan understanding that it is going to be a difficult learning experience. I mean, there is more to being vegan than meat. I personally LOVE ice cream. Bye-bye ice cream as I've known it. We are journaling it here just cuz...doesn't everybody blog all the random aspects of their lives nowadays? hee hee. There are two of us doing this. Its gonna be good :-) For simplicity and anonymity (sorry stalkers) we are going by the names vegan and schmegan. As I, vegan, have blahblahblah's enough already, I'll turn this post over to schmegan to record her fascinating thoughts now...

~elli