Do not be afraid - of the kitchen!

"Veganomicon" is a great cookbook to help you get comfortable in the kitchen.

If where if you live is anything like the Denver metro area, restaurants are serving more and more delicious vegan items. Mike and I love going out, and as I have written in several posts, we have our favorites for sure. (Note to reader: you can check out our favorite local places to eat by clicking the tab from the main page.)

Although vegan food options are becoming even more amazing in restaurants, I still believe that the best vegan food can come right from the kitchen.

Your kitchen.

I know, I'm sure some of you are like I used to be and are probably rolling your eyes. Many years ago the normal dinner at my place was a couple of Amy's burritos and tater tots. When a met Mike, that type f meal became known as a Dan meal.

Once in a while we decide on a Dan meal for dinner. Life is busy. We both give it our all at our jobs so when we come home a Dans' meal is an easy choice. But for me, things have certainly changed in the kitchen.

I am no longer afraid.

You don't have to be either.

Here's an example. Back in January of last year during the time I was laid off, I decided to use that time and make delicious dinners for Mike. One day I found this amazing recipe for African Peanut Stew. It looked complicated, but I wanted to give it a go. So I jumped in. I went to the market and got the ingredients, came home and read the recipe a couple of times, and then started to create. With my favorite Latino music playing and the dogs eagerly waiting in the kitchen, I rocked it.

Of course the test is if other people like it, and Mike loved it. Such an amazing dish.

There are so many vegan cookbooks out there that I have to believe there is one just for you. Check them out. And some of the links on our main page will lead you to some great recipes. Also, many cookbooks have introductions before the recipes to let you know what you will need to have great experiences with their recipes.

You don't have to be afraid of the kitchen anymore! You can create delicious vegan meals right in your own kitchen!

So grab a vegan cookbook, throw an apron on, and rock it! Oh, and then tell me what you made!

Thanks for reading!

Create a vegan pop up market where you live!

It's the third Sunday of the month and in Denver that means Neat Market day.

I think it's been over a year since a group of people who were already serving a monthly vegan dinner decided to create the Neat Market. Vegan vendors of all varieties come to sell their goods. Well, everything is a suggested donation. Hundreds of people come. Everyone leaves happy. Some of us leave stuffed because we not only shop, we eat.

Imagine being able to meet friends, grab the newest vegan drink with a great sweet and maybe even lunch. Then go meet the person who is selling vegan cheese right next to the guy who has just started a tempeh company. Vegan marshmallows dipped in chocolate, of course!

I love the Neat Market. And every time we go I think that this is something that could be happening in any city where there is a vegan community.

It can be some work: finding a place, spreading the word, finding enough vendors that make it worth the trip, etc. Yet it is a wonderful way to build community and spread the message of vegan awesomeness. We have met incredible people doing incredible things. Oh, and every month there is a non-profit that can raise money and awareness for their cause.

We are all about building community as a way to be a strong voice for the voiceless. This is a perfect way to that. It's like having a mini veg fest every month. The bonus is that every time we go we get to try something we hadn't tried before. And we get to watch vegan businesses grow and thrive.

I have planned a lot of events. They take time and commitment. And when you're working on an event that can do so much good like a vegan market, it seems a little easier.

You don't have to live a big city. You need to know some other vegans, hopefully a few that have been creating delish vegan food or awesome vegan products. That's really it. The rest will come about with your passion and compassion.

We would love to hear about vegan pop up markets where you live.

Saying goodbye to Cruelty-Free World

It started with not being able to find a vegan belt.
Then in May of 2006 we "opened" at the Boulder Creek Festival and the journey began. Cruelty-Free World allowed us to sell vegan belts, bags, purses and wallets. We would set up our tent, Mike would make sure the products looked perfect, and then we would welcome anyone who swung by to a completely cruelty-free world.
We have a ton of stories to tell and one day we will. Probably here. In six years of selling vegan goods at markets and festivals, we have had more than ten thousand (much more!)  people in our booth/tent.
Not all liked the idea that we were vegan. Or gay. Some got in our face. It didn't work. After six years we have heard it all, believe me.
Many asked questions about veganism. Many would start a conversation with "We don't have a lot in common because I _________ (fill in the blank with eat meat, hunt, like cheese, etc). Little did they know that they could not be more wrong.
We tried to welcome every person into our booth without judgement. Regardless of what they said to us. For the most part we accomplished this.
We brought veganism to people who had no clue. I loved watching Mike, surrounded by a group of women from the suburbs while he was talking about his favorite cookbook, and then watching all of the women leave with their first vegan cookbook tucked under their arm.
I have a zillion stories like that. Most of them include conversations with people who just wanted to learn about veganism in a non-threatening, non-judgemental environment. 
We sold over a thousand vegan cookbooks, many to people who were not vegan at the time. We also, thanks to PCRM, Mercy For Animals, PETA and Vegan Outreach, were able to pass out several thousand booklets about veganism. Special thanks to Cliff at Splaff, Albert at Hempys and the whole crew at Queen Bee for always creating awesome vegan belts, wallets, bags and purses and allowing us to show the world that beautiful accessories can be found without the cruelty involved.
Mike and I will always be grateful for all of the wonderful people we met while at our booth or in our tent. Our lives have been filled by people that, without Cruelty-Free World, we would have never met.
We are also totally grateful to everyone who ever bought something from us, as because of you we have been able to donate thousands and thousands of dollars to animal rights and human rights groups throughout the country. From big national groups to tiny animal shelters we have discovered on road trips, so many groups received donations because of the success we had with Cruelty-Free World.
The gratitude continues to our friends and family who supported our efforts. We found that 90% of our customers were not vegan or involved with animal rights when we first met them, and some times it felt that we could get only a little support from our own community. But our core friends and family were always there to encourage us and remind us why we were doing this.
After six years we have decided to look at new projects. This blog has taken off and we'd like to put more energy into it. The options are many and we are super excited to what else we can do to help make the world a better place for all living beings and be a voice for the voiceless.
This weekend will be our last show. One of our favorites. The annual World Gift Market at First Universalist in Denver. This has been our best year ever and we are ending our six year run with a bang. 
Stay tuned to The Gay Vegans blog. And you still might see us at your local festival or Farmer's Market. You never know!
Thanks everyone! Thanks to those who have supported CFW.
And thank you for reading!

Our vegan business

Long before The Gay Vegans blog, Mike and I created our vegan business, Cruelty-Free World. We did this as a result of always having to buy vegan products, like belts or bags, online. Our goal was to show people that they could purchase awesome bags, belts, wallets and purses without harm to animals or humans (everything we sell is sweatshop free too) as well as offer the same products in their own community.

We decided that we didn't want a bricks and mortar place, but instead would go to festivals and farmers markets and sell our vegan products. We connected with companies already making amazing vegan products, like Splaff, Hempys and Queen Bee, ordered our favorite vegan cookbooks, bought a tent, and in May of 2006 did our first festival.

Our second goal became to raise money for animal rights and human rights groups. Cruelty-Free World generates direct support for groups making the world a better place for all living beings as we donate 100% of the profit from Cruelty-Free World to non-profits. Yep, 100%.

The best thing about all of this is that we have a blast, and we get to meet so many wonderful people that we might not have met had we not done this. We also get to talk with people about veganism, why we are vegan, and about the groups we support. Cruelty-Free World has become a wonderful way for us to introduce veganism to thousands. I love talking about my favorite vegan recipe or the latest amazing vegan meal we had at a local restaurant. The one on one conversations with people brings a lot of fun for us.

I love watching Mike talk about one of the cookbooks we sell, surrounded by folks who have never bought a vegan cookbook, with all of them getting more and more excited. We also pass out free PCRM veg starter kits, but if we can sell someone a vegan cookbook, there is a great chance that they will go home and experience for themselves how good vegan food is and how easy it is to prepare.

Recently we have been at the Neat Markets here in Denver, a monthly vegan pop-up shop. Our next festival is the annual Boulder Creek Festival coming up on Memorial Day weekend in Boulder, CO. If you're around that weekend come and say hi.

Thanks for reading!