Vegan guide for Creating Change activists coming to Denver!

Creating Change is an annual conference of LGBTQ activists sponsored by The National Gay and lesbian Task Force. This year it is in Denver and brings 3,000+ activists from all over.

I am super excited to be going, and to be presenting a session on fundraising.

I wanted to offer a list of places to eat vegan near the host hotel for activists attending.

The host hotel is at the Sheraton, on the east side of downtown Denver.

Right in the hotel is the Yard House, which uses Gardein chicken for any of their dishes. Just make sure the rest of the dish is vegan!

Two blocks up 16th Street Mall, in the Denver Pavilions, is Native Foods. All vegan and one of our favorites. They serve lunch and dinner. By the way, I have a stack of $5.00 coupons if you'd like one. That takes care of half of most entrees and I'd be thrilled to give you one.

Right across from the Pavilions at 16th and Welton is Appaloosa Grill. They have an awesome tofu Philly with a bunch of other vegan options. Also a bar.

Within walking distance (a longer walk) are City, O' City (vegetarian) and WaterCourse Foods (all vegan). Part of the Denver food scene for over 15 year WaterCourse recently went all vegan. They also have a delivery service and you can get their food, and vegan milkshakes, brought right to your room (for a cost of course!).

Wanna try some creative and delicious vegan sushi, check out Blue Sushi Sake Grill. Love their sushi. Just hop on the 16th Street Mall shuttle and get off at Wazee. Blue is between Wazee and Wynkoop on the south side of 16th Street.

If you want an incredible dining experience and would like to check out our favorite restaurant in town, go to Linger. Probably an $8.00 cab ride but you can also take the 16th Street Mall Shuttle all the way west and then walk. It would be a great adventure through downtown Denver. Make sure you make a reservation. Not a vegan place, but amazing vegan food!

About 1 1/2 miles south on Broadway is Sweet Action ice cream. They always have two vegan flavors. And then around the corner from them is Nooch Vegan Market!

Links:

Native Foods

City O' City

WaterCourse Foods

Blue Sushi Sake Grill

Linger

Sweet Action Ice Cream

Nooch Vegan Market

My 14 faves of '14: #11

I must admit that I have finished a whole box of these. All by myself. I keep telling Mike that they must be putting less into a box.

I love these crackers. Definitely one of my faves for '14.

They are making their way around but I'm not sure if they are everywhere yet. If you have a chance, buy them.

In the Denver area we buy then at Nooch Vegan Market.

Enjoy.

And thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #10

Looking at my list I see food all over the place. And restaurants.

This summer I had the chance to dine at Detroit Vegan Soul and I will never be the same. If you ever get the chance to go, go! Take your time. Try things that you normally wouldn't.

I was blown away by the food at Detroit Vegan Soul. The service was perfect and I fell in love with the owners.

So many positive things are happening in Detroit, and this place tops the list in my opinion.

Many times since my visit I find myself thinking about their food, or wanting to check flights to see if I could make it for dinner.

Even if you think you don't like soul food, go!

http://detroitvegansoul.com/

My 14 faves of '14: #9

Field Roast came out with new sliced cheeses this year and they are unbelievable!

I must admit that I have only used them for grilled cheese sandwiches and for tofu scramble, yet I have eaten a lot them and they are definitely one of the best new vegan products I have tried this year!

The flavors are: Creamy Original, Tomato Cayenne and Coconut Herb with Black Pepper.

My favorite of the three is the one with black pepper but they all rock.

If you can find them where you live, I highly recommend trying them!

In the Denver area you kind find them at Nooch Vegan Market.

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #8

No surprise here.

Linger.

Linger is our favorite restaurant in Denver. Sister restaurant to Root Down a few blocks away and to the Root Down at the Denver airport.

They nail it with what is important to me at a restaurant: amazing service and incredible vegan food.

The menu changes, but my current favorite is the falafel. A true journey of flavors!

And the sweet potato waffle fries!

Make a reservation.

A night out with friends or a night with your special person.

Linger is part of what makes Denver such a great city for dining!

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #7

Legal marriage makes my list of my faves for '14!

2014 was an AMAZING year for marriage equality!

Check this out!

This about says it all. There still is not national marriage equality, yet more than half of the population in the US live where there is marriage equality.

And right at the kickoff of the new year, the first week of January, marriage equality will come to Florida!

Please continue to be the voice for justice and equality. As so many of us can get married, we still have to fight ignorance, intolerance, and hate.

Thanks for reading!

My 14 faves of '14: #5

I am vegan because of animals. I love animals, and do all I can in my life to do no harm to them and to create a safer, more kind and compassionate world for them.

This year I met, via Facebook, Lucy the pig.

Lucy is my #5 fave of 2014.

This photo is Lucy now. After a few months of being loved and nurtured back to health by the wonderful folks at Rooterville sanctuary in Florida. I met Lucy through my sweet friend at Indiana Pig Save and for me it was love at first site. This next photo is how I first saw Lucy.

She was in super bad shape. Brought to Rooterville after being found, whoever brought her knew what they were doing and saved Lucy's precious life. It has not been an easy road this this sweet being, but with the folks at Rooterville being her voice and loving on her so much, she has a chance that most farmed animals will never even come close to.

For more information on Rooterville or to donate to their crazy awesome work, go here: www.rooterville.org

Thanks for reading!

My faves of '14: #4

Next is Modern Love restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska!

Many times in conversation with restaurant owners I talk about how vegan cuisine has just gone crazy. Modern Love is the best example of this.

Courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and an amazing staff, Modern Love blew my mind this past August when I had the chance to dine there. Every dish I tried was a flavor journey.

If you are ever even close to Omaha or need an excuse for a road trip, go! You will love that you did!

For more information, check out their website: http://www.modernloveomaha.com/

My 14 faves of '14: #2

My next fave of 2014 is Native Food's Soul Bowl.

Native Foods has gone crazy in Colorado, which is awesome for us! Just in the last year three more locations have opened, including in our hometown of Lakewood and in downtown Denver, which is where I work.

I have loved the Soul Bowl for many years. It's on this list because it is truly one of my all-time favorite dishes, and this year I have been able to have it many times.

The Soul Bowl is packed with a variety of veggies, which cover beans and rice, and then is topped off with Native Food's vegan chicken. Before it is served ranch dressing and barbecue sauce is added. I like to ask with an extra side of the barbecue sauce. Oh, and it comes with cornbread!

And when I write that it is packed with veggies, I mean. I would guess there are at least two servings of veggies in the Soul Bowl.

Give it a try. Native Foods is amazing, and I am guessing there might be one near you soon.

Thanks for reading.

No gifts, thank you.

I am super grateful to all of my family who, for years now, have donated to a local animal shelter or HIV/AIDS organization instead of getting us a Christmas gift. It's been at least ten years since my parents started doing this, and every time we are back in Michigan we get to see the results. The animal shelter in Bay City where my mom donates in our name even has a brick for me and Mike!

So many amazing organizations doing so much good work.

Every year around this time I like to write about this. It's pretty simple. We have the power to make an intense amount of change by asking our friends and family to donate to an organization we would support rather than get us a gift. I have altered that for some folks who insist on a gift as it's "what they want to do" to say that if you get us a gift, please make a donation of equal value.

Our friends and family have loved this. So have the small, local HIV/AIDS organizations and animal shelters.

Everybody gets a gift. Plus, those who love us get the chance to know us on a deeper level by being a part of supporting groups we support. And they get to learn why we support these groups.

Thanks for reading!

A few tips to political folks

So much is being written about this past election, as if one party had never controlled both the US House and US Senate, ever. We know this is not the case. As a progressive, I remember that, in not so distant time, both chambers and the presidency were controlled by Republicans and we got through it. Yes, it might have sucked and yes there were some bad things that happened, but we got through it.

After spending a lot of time helping candidates I support get elected, and hanging out at election parties, I was reminded that I have always wanted to write a note to those in politics in regards to my thoughts on what they could do better. This goes to folks in all political parties.

Here you go:

When in public, be kind. Don't be arrogant. This goes for your staff too. Nothing is worse than running into arrogance-filled staff members at events. Anyone representing you or your campaign should be rocking it for you in public.

If you were part of something good, talk about it. Even if it means talking positive about someone who is not popular. For example, the economy seems much better off than it was two or four years ago. Certainly better than six years, no matter who is talking about it. Sure someone who hates the President will tell you, when talking about better unemployment numbers, that this number doesn't include folks who stopped looking for employment, but they never have. Never. So it is still apples to apples.

If you like something, admit it. Don't bs us. I firmly believe that folks will respect someone who sticks to their beliefs, even if those folks don't agree with those beliefs.

Thank people. Yes, you won. It was close. Thank those who took their personal time and decided to do what they could to help get you elected or re-elected rather than spend time with their family, go for a run, or volunteer for a non-profit.

Show up. Nothing sucks more than to see ads with you being attacked for not being present at work. This doesn't fly for most of us, nor should it for you. If you have missed a bunch of work, in any capacity, tell us why.

If you lost an election, don't stop. If it is a four year term that is a bit tougher, but for two year terms run again. And again. If you firmly believe that you are a better candidate and would support the citizens better than the other person, keep going. Rock it in between elections and run again.

Give a shit. This is crucial, although many folks get elected who don't. Many folks in politics want to be mayor or governor or president. If that is the only reason you are running for state house or some other position, please don't tell me that. I want to believe that you actually care about the people who you are asking to vote for you. I get that folks aspire to a higher office, and I also want someone who represents me on any level to give a shit.

And my regular readers would be shocked if I didn't include this part. If you want to make change but do not want to get into politics, the least you can do is vote.

Thanks for reading.

Be nice today

So many terrible things were said during this past election. I thought I had heard/read it all.

Until the President's speech last night.

Holy cow.

I started reading comments on Facebook and Twitter. Then I went to newspapers and TV websites. I have watched horrible things be said about our President and have always shook my head. What I have read in the last 24 hours just baffles me.

So much vile. So much hate. So many terrible words not only about the President but about immigrants, liberals, and anyone who might support anything the writer disagrees with.

I disagree with many when it comes to politics. And I agree with many. Those I disagree with I choose not to hate or demonize.

I'm much more about finding what we have in common and building bridges. Having a conversation. Debating our thoughts, ideas and solutions.

So I am going to be nice to those I disagree with. I am not going to become a person filled with negativity, judgment and hate.

I am just as powerful of an activist while filled with kindness.

Thanks for reading!

What an election!

I have always believed that all politics is local.

As I watched the returns on election night from the Jefferson County Dems party, I was once again reminded that the work I do to support local candidates pays off, while at the same time I have little control over whether or not a bigot is elected in Iowa.

To be fair, bigots were also elected in Colorado.

Election night was good locally as both my state rep and my state senator, two men I really like, were re-elected. My state senator was only ahead by some 400 votes, a count that went higher as votes were counted.

My former state senator, whose district we are no longer in due to boundary changes, won by 190 votes.

Talk about close. And about how each vote is vital. There were actually a bunch of close elections in Colorado.

The best part of election day is that we got the vote out in Jefferson County. Our favorite for State Board of Education, who represents our Congressional district, won 89,000+ votes. She was running against a "reformist", tea party candidate, like the three county school board members we have that won election last year. What this election showed me is that people voted. With all of the crap coming from our school board, people have gotten pissed off and have started voting. This is huge as our two amazing county school board members are up for re-election next year.

The point here is to vote. To get active in a local campaign. Get to know the candidates and choose one. If there isn't a good candidate, one that you can support, consider running yourself. I'm not talking about for US Senate. I am totally talking about city council, state rep, county positions and local school board.

If you are dismayed about what happened election night, do something.

Thanks for reading!

Happy World Vegan Day

I had no idea today was World Vegan Day!

I started the day by making brunch for friends, including my favorite French toast recipe and sausage. Then later today Mike is making his famous enchiladas as we have a couple of friends coming over for dinner.

My favorite things about being vegan are that I contribute less to suffering on this earth and that I get to eat incredibly delicious food.

There's a lot to celebrate. And the more I read about World Vegan Day the more I learn. Like, this is even World Vegan Month!

So spread the word. Have a potluck. Or a small dinner party. Let friends and family know why you're vegan. Bring a vegan delight to the office.

We are becoming a huge, diverse community. Let's embrace it. And let's celebrate.

I wish you a very happy World Vegan Day!

Thanks for reading!

The JeffCo School Board fiasco Part III

This is Part III of a series of posts I am writing about our county school board.

As schools closed and students began walking out in protest of a proposed curriculum committee, all of a sudden Jefferson County Public Schools was in the news across the country.

The curriculum committee would be a form of censorship.

The board is not transparent.

The student's walking out of class are pawns of their teachers and the ever-powerful union.

Students are being manipulated.

This is all really about the teacher's union.

There are certainly no shortage of opinions. Those who have always supported public schools are voicing their opinion. Those who have always disliked teacher unions are voicing theirs.

Some are going hard core. Ross Kaminsky, an apparent conservative who does not care for teacher unions, wrote this in a recent note to our local paper: "But truth is the first casualty of war, and so it was in Jefferson County as the unions implemented their plan to use students as human shields while assailing the school board with misinformation." This was in response to a part of his note in which he wrote that the school board was really fighting censorship.

The student human shields have a lot at stake. Pawns as they might be, AP History is important to them as they can get college credit for it. (I am still learning more about AP topics so will write more in another post.)

As I watched students leaving class in protest and listened to the nationwide name calling against students in JeffCo schools, some coming from our own school board members, my first thought was that all of these name callers have never met a teenager. Pawn? Easily manipulated? Seriously?

Those who support our "reformist" school board say it's all about the money. And union power. My challenges about our new board have indeed included issues about the money. The $80,000 for an additional lawyer just for the three "reformist" board members. The huge increase in pay for the new school superintendent, especially when so many conservatives complained about the pay of our former school superintendent. $300,000 for a charter school that is struggling and money had not helped before.

And one of the semi-funny issues is the pay of the new superintendent. I listened to many folks complaining about how much our past superintendent was paid. These folks are supportive of our current board majority. Yet I didn't hear any complaining when the new superintendent was hired at a salary of about $80,000 more than the past one. 

As the new superintendent said this week, "the past week has been quiet". Indeed it has. I'm curious to see what the next steps are. I'm also looking forward to our local elections to see if tea party candidates are affected in JeffCo based on the support of the board majority. I want to see if more people start voting based on what the board is doing.  

Thanks for reading. 

Have you heard of Kate Kelly?

Until last month, Kate Kelly was a Mormon.

I just started learning about Kate Kelly when we were recently in Salt Lake City.  Mrs. Kelly is the founder of Ordain Women, a group of Mormon women seeking equality and priesthood.

In June she was excommunicated from the Mormon Church, a church led by men. Only men.

This post is not an anti-Mormon post. It is a post to let our readers know about this atrocity, an atrocity that is common in many religions where only men have real power.

I do not know Kate Kelly, yet she seems to be a woman of devout faith, devoted to her church, to Jesus and to God.

As far as I can tell, the only problem is that she thinks women should be able to be priests in the Mormon church, that they should be equal to the men of the church. Imagine that.

We live in the United States of America. Doesn't that mean that women can freely express their opinions when it comes to religion?

Hardly.

I am not Mormon. I do not know much about the Mormon church. The most I know about the Mormon church I learned during the Prop 8 vote in California, when the Mormon church poured millions of dollars into the campaign that would make gay marriage illegal.

The Mormon church can do whatever they want to their members.

Excommunication seems a bit harsh. Their spokeswoman (women can be spokespeople in the Mormon church) said that there are right ways to disagree with the church and that there are wrong ways.

I haven't read the official verdict from the church, the one that made the excommunication of Mrs. Kelly official.

What is said in it doesn't matter to me. I disagree with what they have done to Kate Kelly.

I think Kate Kelly is incredibly courageous. And faithful.

I imagine that those men in power at the Mormon church are frightened of people like Kate Kelly. Just as they are frightened of so many in their churches getting disgusted with the way the church has treated gays.

If you would like more information on Ordain Women, click here: http://ordainwomen.org/

Thanks for reading.

Restaurant review - Gracias Madre

Los Angeles is one of our go-to places for vegan cuisine. Since we go to San Diego often, we have gotten used to going to Los Angeles before or after a trip to San Diego. This summer is no different. The difference this trip has been being able to check out new places, new to us at least.

Meet Gracias Madre. "Our menu is vegan and 100% organic. Our mission is to celebrate and serve the presence of the mother which resides above us, within our hearts, within the earth, and in all those who nurture us. We serve cuisine inspired by the kitchens of Mexico sourced from locally organic ingredients. Welcome to a seat at love's table."

This is how you are greeted at Gracias Madre. Well actually, you are first welcomed by a smiling host and when you are seated you get a menu with the warm welcome quoted above.

Soon our server arrived and offered us drinks. Mike loves the smokey margarita. I tried one of the fresh pressed juices and also the horchata. Both were delicious. If you like beer, wine and/or tequila you have plenty of options.

Order a drink and also order the cauliflower starter. Don't even think about it, just order it. You will love us for this recommendation. We loved this creative appetizer and it was a wonderful way to start our dining experience.

For dinner, I ordered El Plato and Mike ordered Flautas de Comote. The second night I ordered the Enchiladas con Mole and Mike ordered the flautas again. Mike loved the flautas. Similar to a taquito and filled with sweet potatoes and carmelized onions, the flautas wil make you very happy. I enjoyed both my dishes, loving the mole but thinking the enchiladas were too filling, yet delicious.

While eating our meals we felt relaxed and very comfortable on the patio. Gracias Madre is gorgeous, and both times we were seated on the patio and that added to our already perfect experience.

Before we knew it we had finished our meals and it was time for desert. One word: flan. Yes, vegan flan. I ordered this both nights. The first night the flan was so creamy I couldn't believe it. The second night it was a little gritty but still delicious. Mike ordered the fudge brownie and finished it with a smile, loving the salted mezcal caramel and the orange coconut whipped cream.

The fire is going in the fireplace that is centered on the patio. It's darker out and the patio lights are on. It is just so beautiful and relaxing. Again, the perfect environment.

As we have been telling friends since our first night at Gracias Madre, we had one of the best dining experiences ever. Ever.

A few additional bits of information: We parked a few blocks away but there is valet parking. Make a reservation. Ask to be seated on the patio. I know the restaurant might not like this but the ambiance on the patio is simply the best.

Gracias Madre is perfect for a date night (like the two times we were there) or for a night out with friends. You might even make new friends there as we did.

I also want to say that on our second visit we had the HUGE pleasure of meeting Executive Chef Chanda Gilbert! She is amazing, and it was perfect to meet the woman whose dream came true with the opening of Gracias Madre.

Finally, and I just now thought of this, Gracias Madre is all vegan and it is packed! I know, this is Los Angeles, but still!

Thanks for reading!

Vegan (and gay friendly) Salt Lake City!

Our summer road trip took us in a different direction as we wanted to visit family on the way to California. So we ended up with a night in Salt Lake City and I am so glad we did!

When you think of Salt Like City, what do you think of?

Mormons?

Anti-gay people?

Well, we love Salt Lake City. If you ever have an opportunity to visit, I highly encourage you to take advantage of that and do it.

We stayed at the lovely Hotel Monaco. One of our favorite hotels in Denver, we wanted to give this one a try. It is right downtown, and convenient to several vegan dining options. They are dog friendly and Suga loves how she is pampered at a Hotel Monaco. We were not disappointed in the least. Great room, great service and the location rocks.

The Hotel Monaco also has bikes! Perfect. We rode them to our first meal, at Sage's Cafe.

In our short time in the city we had food from Sage's and their sister restaurant, Vertical Diner. At Sage's we both ordered the special, explained to us as carrot cake pancakes. It ended up being a carrot cake muffin lightly grilled.Quite tasty but not what we were thinking when we ordered. The menu is filled with items that looked tempting, but one can only order so much!

Back at the hotel we were able to order food from Vertical Diner and have it delivered to the hotel! Score! So we ordered the Chicken Biscuit, similar to a pot pie. We both loved this dish and have talked about it a lot since eating it. If you ever get to Vertical Diner I highly recommend it.

Any review of vegan food in Salt Lake City would not be complete without mentioning City Cakes bakery. Oh my. We went twice. Mike had three different scones and loved them all. I loved the cinnamon roll. We both really enjoyed the sausage potato burrito. The entire staff was so kind and friendly, and we especially enjoyed our conversations with Olivia. Definitely check out City Cakes!

Two places we did not make it to but heard very good things about are House of Tibet and Zest Kitchen and Bar. We will definitely check these two out next time.

Great food, great hospitality, a very friendly downtown and an overall progressive feel. Try Salt Lake City if you ever get the chance.

Thanks for reading!

Three years of The Gay Vegans blog

It was June 16, 2011, my first blog post for The Gay Vegans.

I wanted to create a blog separate from the one I did for my work as a fundraiser, and The Gay Vegans was born.

As it says on the main page, this blog was created to build bridges amongst communities, to be a voice for the voiceless and to share our experiences being gay and vegan in the burbs.

The blog has become so much than that, thanks to those who have found it interesting, who read it regularly and who take action when we ask our readers to do something that we think will make the world a better place for all living beings.

Thank you so much!

I love corresponding with folks who write me about a blog post or folks who are considering going vegan. I love hearing back from people who registered to vote for the first time or who came out to an elected official, whether the coming out was about their sexuality of the fact that they are vegan and wanted to elected official to know.

Most of all, I love the hundreds of stories that have been shared with me about the actions of one person who decided that they wanted to make a difference, and they did!

I am sending thanks to everyone who has ever read a blog post and to all of you out there who have supported The Gay Vegans. I am super stoked when I think of what more I can do with this blog, and how much more fun all of us can have as we become a stronger voice for the voiceless and continue making this world a better, safer place for all living beings.

Let's do it!

Thanks for reading!

Be kind to animals

Videos of animal cruelty are a dime a dozen these days.

So are videos of the aftermath of such cruelty.

Even if one takes out the inevitable maltreatment of animals that become food, that are used in entertainment and that are tested on, horrific acts against animals happen so frequently that it can become overwhelming when I think about it.

And then I see a video like I recently saw.

No need to go into it. It was from overseas. I suppose it doesn't even matter where the video was from. It could have easily been from here in the U.S.

I was disgusted.

There is no way the question "why" can be answered. I have no clue why people torture animals. Perhaps it's because they can. They have the power.

It's easy to feel powerless. Yet allowing so much cruelty to make us powerless does no good for anyone, certainly not the animals.

We can promote simple kindness to animals. We can speak out against cruelty towards animals.

We can teach our children to be kind to animals.

We can make animal cruelty so unacceptable that people begin to think twice about inflicting harm on an animal.

Kindness rules. Just as I write about being kind to other humans, we can take the lead on getting more and more people to think about animal cruelty.

The more noise we make against cruelty to animals, the more change happens.

The animals in those videos can't be saved. The once about to be video taped tomorrow can.

Thanks for reading!