VeganMofo

Still feeling pretty new in this amazing world of blogging, I didn't feel that I had what it takes to commit to VeganMofo, a month-long celebration of vegan food.

VeganMofo is Vegan Month of Food. 

Bloggers from all over the world will spend the month of September writing as much as they can about recipes, dishes they love, vegan food items they love and places they love to go to get amazing vegan food. Now this is not the official definition of Vegan Mofo but I think this is the general idea.

I didn't sign up for this because with work, home, etc I can barely get two blog posts out a week. But starting September 1st, I am going to give it a shot. I'm going to try to write as often as I can about what to me is the best part of being vegan: vegan food.

If you would like to know more about VeganMofo, check out this link:  http://www.veganmofo.com/about/ On this same page you can connect with all of the bloggers writing for VeganMofo.

I am super excited!

Thanks for reading!

My first recipe! My favorite tofu scramble

Yes, you are on the right blog. This is The Gay Vegans. I am not a food blogger and am super excited about this! This is my first recipe, and I am super stoked to share it with you!

Lately I have been making tofu scramble on Sundays for breakfast, and making enough so I can make tofu scramble burritos for breakfast throughout the week. Today I realized that after using so many recipes and a lot of tastes by trial, the recipe I now use is completely my own, and one I would like to share with you.

Here is what you need:
1 chopped onion
A splash of olive oil
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 bag of frozen hash browns
salt and pepper to taste (I love a lot of pepper)
A box of tofu, extra firm (I think this is 1 lb)
Some fresh chopped garlic (to taste)
1 tsp of Tumeric
1 tsp of Cumin
1/2 tsp of Cayenne Pepper (if you want, you can make this 1 tsp!)
2 cups or so of chopped kale or spinach
One chopped avocado

Additions that I like but are not necessary for a scrumptious scramble:

A vegan sausage, crumbled
An additional green like Swiss chard
Daiya cheese shreds

Let's make tofu scramble!

Grab a skillet, put on high heat and add the olive oil and the onion. Once the onion starts sizzling go ahead and turn the heat down to medium. When the onions start to brown, add the tomatoes and then add the frozen has browns. Spread the hash browns out so the whole skillet is covered with them. Add salt and pepper and let the hash browns cook. I usually cover the pan for a few.

Then mix the hash browns and continue to stir them so they cook. When the hash browns are starting to brown add the tofu and spices. Now it's coming together! Keep mixing and stirring. When the tofu and hash browns look all cooked (and the tofu is yellow), go ahead and add the greens and avocado.

Note: If you're adding vegan sausage, add it before the veggies. If you're adding an additional green, add it with the greens. Cheese can be added with the veggies.

Serve and enjoy. This makes enough for Mike and I for breakfast with leftovers. Add some Dave's Killer Bread toasted with soy butter!

You can make breakfast burritos with the leftovers, wrap in foil and put in the fridge for a quick breakfast another day.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I love it! Please let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

Rock is improving with acupuncture - Dr. Nancy Tharp

Rock, our schmeagle beagle, with Suga in the background.

I am happy to report that since my last post about Rock, he has had a couple weeks of continued acupuncture and cold laser therapy and he seems to be feeling better.

I have very seldom used our blog to recommend a person (I stick to restaurants!) but I just have to let you all know about Rock's acupuncturist, Dr. Nancy Tharp. For a couple of reasons. First, many of our readers asked. Also, she has totally changed Rock's direction from being close to euthanasia to walking around and in a lot less pain.

For those of you who are reading about Rock for the first time, he is the senior of our family, almost 18 years old. When we got back from vacation he was struggling to walk. Our vet highly recommended Dr. Tharp and a few days later she was in our living room giving Rock treatments.

She does house calls!

Yes, we are still living in the reality that Rock is an old guy. With Dr. Tharp's treatments, I honestly think we can keep Rock in a lot less pain, with the ability to walk, as he lives his last months or year (years would be wonderful of course!).

For those of you in the Denver area who asked, here is Dr. Tharp's information:

Nancy Tharp, DVM, CVA
720.244.2198
vethealingarts@gmail.com
veterinaryhealingarts.com

She does acupuncture and Class IV Laser Therapy. Rock is getting both.

We have really been grateful to Dr. Tharp, and we both very much like her. If you have a companion animal in a similar situation as our Rock is and are in the Denver area, give her a ring.

Thanks for reading, and thank you so much to all of you who have sent love to Rock!

A simple request can help animals

Our lives are so busy and sometimes it can be easy to forget that in this crazy world, a simple request can help animals.

I have been thinking of this for a couple of days now.

In my day job I am a fundraiser for an agency that serves homeless youth. A local group wanted to do a fundraiser for us, in the form of a fashion show. I was thrilled. Who doesn't love a fashion show? Awesome music, great fashion and underwear models!

I wasn't even thinking of the animal cruelty aspect. At least in Denver, most fashion shows are pretty archaic and backwards, and include fur. Real fur. From tortured animals who lived their entire lives in fear and pain.

I didn't want to be any part of a fashion show from the 19th century.

This event was being planned by friends of the agency I work for, not by me directly. I asked to have a conversation with the person inviting designers and models, not knowing how that would go.

In the conversation, with the planners present, I brought up my personal feelings around fur and why I would be thrilled if our fashion show did not include fur.

No problem.

At all.

We get it.

I know the folks planning the event so I was not surprised at all. Just thrilled.

There are times when it is easy to get overwhelmed by all of the horrible things happening around the world, in the US, in our own communities. It can also be easy to forget that seemingly small, simple conversations or actions can have a huge affect, an affect that can go on and on.

Thanks for reading!