My 14 faves of '14: #1

I suppose this is a list.

I have done this before.  A couple of years ago I did a post about my favorite products. I have also written about my favorite women. And men.

This month I had been thinking of all of the wonderful things that have happened in my life this year. I'd like to share them.

These will be in no particular order, except for the post on the 31st which will be my absolute #1 favorite of the year!

So here is my first fave of '14!

Vegan Heartland's Vegan Chicken Pot Pie!

One day at work I pulled up his blog and saw a photo of his Chicken Pot Pie. I salivated all day. On the way home I picked up a couple of products. When I got home I pulled out the recipe and got to work.

Remember, I am not a cook. And I have never made a crust in my life!

A few months later I have made this over a dozen times! Why, because it is easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. For us it makes a great dinner and then an awesome lunch with the leftovers.

You must try this recipe!

Here you go: http://www.vegan-heartland.com/2013/05/vegan-chicken-pot-pie.html

Thanks for reading!

A recipe! Stuffed Peppers

I know. This isn't a food blog. I like to do reviews on vegan food, on restaurants and once in a while on vegan products. I have hardly ever passed along a recipe.

Last week Mike and I weren't sure what we wanted to do for dinner. I had bought green peppers at the farmer's market and thought I would finally try to make stuffed recipes. They came out so good that I just have to share my recipe.

This takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, and then the bake time. And so easy!

This is what you need:

green peppers, cleaned out, as many as you are doing dinner for (I made three)
a little olive oil
tomato paste, one 8oz can
Beyond Meat Chicken strips, cut in pieces (I think you could use the Beyond Meat meat crumbles too)
Daiya cheese shreds, your choice of flavor
Veggies, cut and diced up. You're for the picking. I used broccoli, onions, cabbage, kale and mushrooms
black beans, one bag
quinoa (optional) I thought of this afterwards!
salt
pepper
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
.
Preheat the oven to 350.

In a saute pan or skillet, add all of the ingredients minus the green peppers.  Cook on medium heat and mix well. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne powder, to taste.

Remove from heat and add the mixture to all of the green peppers. Place the stuffed green peppers in a big enough piece of aluminum foil so the pepper can be fully wrapped. I add a little water in the wrapped foil so the pepper can steam.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. You want them to bake enough so the green pepper can be cut with a fork when eating.

Ready to serve. I served this with an arugula salad. The stuffed peppers were delicious. Play around with the spices, and use whatever veggies you like.

You can make this a completely non-processed dish by not using the Beyond Meat and Daiya cheese.

Please let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

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!

VeganMofo Day 16: Vegan fast food

This is Day 16 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts, and this post is about vegan fast food. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

Unless you live in a vegan Mecca like Los Angeles, New York City or Portland, having access to vegan fast food might only be a dream. Of course these days, with the popularity of vegan food and people overall wanting to be healthier, you never know where a vegan fast food joint may pop up. I recently heard that there is a Veggie Grill coming to Boulder, CO, about 45 minutes from us, and that would be awesome.

The type of vegan fast food that I am writing about, however, is vegan fast food in your own kitchen. For people who have just become vegan, and for some of us who have been vegan for years, veganism is such much easier if we become comfortable in our own kitchen. The more comfortable we are in the kitchen the better we are going to eat and probably the healthier too!

My standard go to for quick vegan food is beans and rice. In a skillet I take a can of black beans, add cooked brown rice (you can even use the instant brown rice, and some salt and pepper. I like cayenne pepper so I add a pinch of that. When the beans and rice are hot, I add fresh kale, spinach or Swiss chard. Done.

With leftovers, grab some tortillas and make burritos for later in the week.

Mike's version of fast food is his Chik'n and Dumplings. These are delicious and one day soon I will have recipe. I love coming home on a chilly day to the smell of his Chick'n and Dumplings. He basically throws into a pot mixed veggies, water and bouillon and tops it off with Bisquick dumplings. You can add Beyond Meat strips or not, depending on your taste. I remember bringing these to a non-vegan potluck with over a hundred people and a woman from Texas came over to Mike to tell him that his dumplings were perfect!

 This as leftovers makes a great lunch.

I have gotten to the point where I can whip out a great Tofu Scramble in under ten minutes. I've posted my recipe here and it works great for a quick, healthy breakfast and also for breakfast burritos for later in the week.

On the not so healthy side, grilled cheese sandwiches are awesome. Bread and Daiya cheese and you are good to go. I use soy butter to make them but you could use oil or nothing at all with the right skillet. Add some delish soup and boom, another quick meal.

We try (or I should say that Mike tries!) to make a great, delicious sit-down dinner every night, it just doesn't work out all of the time. Having quick options and a few things in the fridge for a last minute dinner will make life so much easier for you!

Salud!

Thanks for reading!

VeganMofo Day 5: Daily doses of goodness

Welcome to Day 5 of Vegan Mofo, a month of vegan food blog posts. Since I am not a food blogger, most of my posts for Vegan Mofo will not be recipes, rather experiences I have with vegan food and sharing people, places and things that have brought me and continue to bring me amazing vegan food.

I have always felt like being vegan is super easy. It's also easy to forget that food sustains and that it is important to get all of the right foods in you to be healthy. As one who loves sweets, I have to pay particular attention to this.

I'm not a nutritionist. I'm a 47 year old guy who tries to be as healthy as possible. So I read a lot and pay attention to people who are food nutritionists, especially ones who are vegan. ( I have web links to a couple of them on the main page of our blog.)

Here are a few things that Mike and I always have in our fridge and cupboards. They might be for a snack, a full dinner or as a side.

Kale. Yes, we hear all about the goodness of kale and I sure am a believer. Whether it is from our garden, one of the local Farmer's Markets or a grocery store, we buy and consume a lot of kale. I like it in smoothies and lightly sauteed with salt, pepper and garlic. Mike makes kale chips which are delish.

Blueberries. Frozen blueberries to be exact. A constant in smoothies. In season we buy fresh ones for cereal and salads.

Swiss chard. Oh my. This is one of my all-time favorite veggies and another one of those that is uber good for you. In a salad or pasta, smoothie or with garlic as a side dish. Mmmmm.

Vegan yogurts. Vegan yogurt? Yes, there are plenty of choices out there. Great for snacks or for breakfast. I like any peach or dark cherry flavor.

Hummus. No surprise here. Store bought or home made. So good for you and so delish.

East Pastry cookie dough. Vegan cookie dough. In your fridge. Enough said.

This is a very short, just some of my favorites. For people newly vegan or checking veganism out, I hope this helps. For everyone else, I hope there is something here that you are curious about if not already eating a lot of.

Thank you for reading and for supporting my attempt at Vegan Mofo!

Date night -taking care of ourselves

There is a lot going on in our world. Both Mike and I seem really busy with work, civil unions were just passed, the US Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (rulings on both could affect marriage equality) and the list of emails/letters to write in support of animals is endless.

So what do we do?

Date night.

Mike is at his bi-weekly boot camp and I am cooking dinner. The furries have eaten and when Mike gets home we get to enjoy each others company, talk about our days, love on each other.

One of my firm beliefs is that in order to be a strong voice for the voiceless, in order to be a warrior for equality, I need to take care of myself first. That includes eating well, exercising, prayer and meditation, time with friends and definitely date nights with my husband.

When was the last time you had a date night with your other half?

Sometimes it's dinner out. Or a hike. Lately it also includes a run as we both train for our first half marathon. Regardless, it's time alone, just us.

I love it. I highly recommend it.

On date nights we both reinvigorate personally as well as a couple. It's not that we can't do that every day, it's that with the list of things going on that I wrote of above, it's easier to do when the focus is on date night.

Tonight's dinner is simple: blackened tofu with black beans, kale, butternut squash and corn. I tossed in some cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. It's all just cooking together on a low heat. It smells delish.

Of course date night can also include cooking together. That's a blast. When we do that Mike does most of the cooking and I do most of the talking!

We'd love to hear of your date nights!

Take care of yourselves. Make good decisions, ones that are healthy for you, your relationship, the animals and our world.

Thank you for reading!

Can you spare 47 minutes?

Many years ago, in anticipation of gifts and cash that I knew were headed my way for my birthday, I asked family and friends to donate to their local animal shelter or local HIV/AIDS organization rather than gift me anything. I have been thrilled to hear of all of the groups doing great work around the country receiving donations and in fact many of those same family and friends ask for the same thing now.

This year for my birthday I was thinking of the same thing. Now with this blog, and being connected to even more amazing people who want to change the world, I have thought of something different. And to be honest with you I am going to be 47 and asking someone to donate $47.00 is a little different than asking them to donate $25.00.

So this year I am asking people do donate 47 minutes. Everyone is busy, I know. And as I have written many times, 47 minutes can change the world. Will you donate 47 minutes of your day in the coming week to make someones day? To be a voice for the voiceless? To change the world for someone?

I am sure that many who read our blog already donate their time, so the thought process on what to do shouldn't take very long. Here are some ideas just in case:

Walk a dog at your local animal shelter.

Play with a cat at your local animal shelter.

Make a vegan pie for your neighbor.

Read a book at your local elementary school.

Bring vegan muffins or brownies to the staff at your favorite local non-profit.

Drop off dinner at a friends house.

Call someone you love who you haven't spoken to in a long time.

Write a letter to someone serving time in prison.

Go to your local highway intersection and clean up the trash.

Serve a meal at your local homeless shelter.

Gather used blankets from your neighbors and donate them to your local animal sanctuary.

Take a platter of baked deliciousness to the USO Welcome Center at your local airport.

Write a letter to an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience.

 Whew. I should stop. As I write, my wheels are turning and I am imagining all who read this stepping out of their busy, maybe hectic lives and taking 47 minutes in service of others.

You don't have to do this alone. Do something with a group of friends. I promise you that your action will not only make someones day, but add a ton of cheer to your day as well!

Thank you for reading and thank you for being so amazingly supportive of our blog!

Cooking out of my comfort zone

Mike and I have a joke for what most of my meals were like before we got together. My typical dinner was a veggie burger or burrito with tater tots. It was just me so no need to go crazy. I also would make beans and rice once in a while, with instant rice of course. And on a crazy day I might add spinach or kale just to make it a little more nutritious. We refer to this as "a Dan meal". Whenever one of us doesn't want to cook and we really don't want to go out, Mike will say "let's have a Dan meal".

Over the years I have gotten a lot more comfortable in the kitchen. Mike is the main cook in the family but I certainly enjoy it. I also have found that I love to bake.

The other day I was on Twitter and someone I follow had posted a recipe for an African Peanut Stew. I had always wanted to try this type of stew and I had the whole day. What the heck, I thought. The recipe didn't seem too difficult, and we had most of the ingredients in the kitchen. The process to make the stew seemed lengthy, but not too complicated.

Off to the market I went to fetch the ingredients we did not have. When I got home I re-read the recipe and also read all of the comments so I would be as informed as possible while making this.

I seldom take a recipe off of a blog or recipe website and make it. I have thought about it many and usually give up before long.

Not this time. I had the ingredients, I brought my lap top into the kitchen, the dogs were settled, my Colombian Vallenato music was playing and I was good to go.

The recipe ended up being a lot easier to follow than I had first thought. Speaking with folks who have made a lot of recipes from blogs I realized that this is often the case.

Mike was on his way home and it was time to do the finishing touches. I did those and then set the table, lit a candle and I was good to go.

Dinner came out perfectly. It was delicious on many levels. So many flavors. A great comfort meal.

Lesson learned. Getting out of my comfort zone is easy, fun and delicious! Try it. Grab an online recipe and run with it. Let me know how it goes!

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it: http://www.choosingraw.com/vegan-yam-and-peanut-stew-with-kale/

Thank you for reading!

Recipe for my favorite Thanksgiving Day dish!

As you all know, I am not a food blogger. This is only my second blog post with a recipe. There are a ton of vegan food bloggers out there, so don't fret. I even have some of them linked here on my blog for your eating pleasure.

This recipe is from my husband, who grew up with this dish. I love it. In fact I am salivating for it as Thanksgiving Day dinner approaches.

I hope you love it!


Broccoli and Vegan Cheese Casserole
I got this recipe from Idea from my sister Tammy

Ingredients

• 5 Boxes Frozen Broccoli Thawed (I usually use enough fresh Broccoli to fill a 9"x13" baking pan)
• 2 Sleeves Ritz Crackers (or another vegan version)
• 1 Cup Earth Balance margarine (the best tasting margarine in the world and no trans - fat)
• 6 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine (the best tasting margarine in the world and no trans - fat)
• 6 Tbsp Flour
• 3 Cups Unsweetened Vegan Milk of Choice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Cups Shredded Daiya Cheese Cheddar Style (or vegan cheddar cheese of choice. Follow Your Hart works well too)
• 2 tsp dijon mustard

Directions

1. For the Cheese Sauce: In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the 6 Tbsp of Earth Balance. Once the Earth Balance is liquefied, remove from the heat (don't turn off the burner) and add the flour, salt, and pepper; whisk until smooth. Place the saucepan back onto the burner and slowly add 1 cup of vegan milk, whisking constantly until thickening occurs, then add remaining vegan milk 1/2 cup at a time. Cook sauce over medium heat, Whisking constantly until thickened and smooth. Add the vegan cheese and Dijon mustard and cook for an additional 5 minutes, whisking until smooth and well blended (this may take longer than 5 min be patient it will come together).
2. For the topping: Process Ritz Crackers in a food processor until a fine meal. Melt the remaining Earth Balance (1Cup) in a sauce pan. Combine the Ritz Crackers and Melted Earth Balance and stir till combined.
3. Putting it Together: Place the Broccoli in a greased 9"x13" Casserole Dish. Pour the Vegan Cheese Sauce over the top distributing evenly (no need to stir). Cover the top of the Broccoli and Cheese mixture evenly with the Cracker mixture and pat down.
4. Baking: Place in the oven at 350 Degrees for approximately 30-40min until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Vitamin D at 46

This blog isn’t just about Vitamin D or about me being 46.

The main theme is drinking the kool-aide.

As in don’t drink the kool-aide. This is an old reference and it basically means not to blindly follow or believe what someone is saying.

Whether you are at a church or synagogue, a doctor’s office, a vegan conference. Whether you are reading the benefits of eating meat, of not eating meat, the benefits of exercise or which candidate will make YOUR life better.

Don’t do it. Don’t drink the kool-aide. Listen, read, think about it, pray or meditate, talk with your closest friends, and make a decision that is best for YOU.

After 16 years of being vegan and right in the middle of the time in my life when I am consciously trying to be healthier, thanks to a dear friend I learned that there is Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. And I learned that when my soy milk states that it provides 30% of my daily need for Vitamin D, it means D2 not D3.

D3 is tough to get for vegans. Really tough. To be clear, I am still totally learning about this, so please don't take what I am saying as gospel.

I have spent hours researching this. I added Jack Norris' website as a link as he has great info on D3.

The point here is that I had no clue about Vitamin D.

And this of course leads to what other things I may not have a clue about!

Thanks for reading! And please keep me posted on things you are learning about in regards to a vegan diet. You can email me at vegandude@msn.com if you don't want to leave a public comment.

 

Cooking at home

I recently had the honor of speaking with a writer for a national veg magazine about how vegan friendly the Denver-metro are is. By the time I got done telling her about all of my favorite places to eat, I was salivating for a good vegan meal. While walking over to Garbanzo's to get a Laffa filled with hummus and grilled portabello mushrooms, I had other thoughts about the conversation: that none of the places Mike and I go out to eat at are all veg and that as much as we like to go out to eat, we are in bliss when cooking a meal at home just for us or for us and friends.

Although there are a couple of veg-only restaurants in Denver, I haven't been to either one of them in years. Mike and I frequent a couple of places owned by the same guy, Linger and Root Down. I have written about them in the past and they truly serve some of the best vegan food we have ever eaten in an environment that is welcoming and friendly. As we have added other places to our "favorites" list, it's clear to me that when restaurant owners are approached in a friendly manner about the possibility of adding delish vegan food to the menu, great things can happen for you and them.

Mike and I have had success with many restaurant owners in the Lakewood area, a great western suburb of Denver where we live and prefer to dine when going out. Some of them even now have vegan sections of the menus, and others offer mock meats. It's great to watch them get excited about creating new vegan dishes for a clientele that to them did not used to exist.

Yet a perfect meal to both of us is one created in our own home, and enjoyed with just us (and the furries looking on) and other times with friends. Mike loves cooking and I love tasting and together we just have an amazing time. Cooking together or just being together in the kitchen does wonders for a relationship, and a quiet, relaxed meal at home will bring you to a bliss that is not always common in today's busy and rushed world.

If you don't have a few vegan cookbooks to look at for meal choices there are a ton of vegan food blogs that offer incredibly tasty recipes, many of them linked from our blog. Try a meal at home. Relax. Create something tasty and enjoy quiet time with your partner, spouse, friend, or room mate.

And next time you are at a non-veg restaurant and love a dish they serve, chat with the owner or manager about the possibility of a further vegan-friendly menu.

Now I'm hungry again!

Thanks for reading!

An action to help animals

Can you take one action to help animals this week?

Just one?

What action would I like you to take? Well, that's the fun part! I am going to list a whole bunch of options!

Go to your local shelter and walk a dog, play with a cat, or clean a cage.

Participate in Meatless Monday and eat only plant-based dishes on Monday (or another day!).

Clean up trash in a local park, beach or open space.

Bake a vegan dessert for your co-workers.

Go online to your favorite animal sanctuary or animal rights group website and make a donation. $25.00 goes a long way.

Wear a t-shirt that has a supporting statement for animals to the gym or when you are going out.

Post on your Facebook page and/or on Twitter what you are doing to help animals and spread the word (and hopefully the interest for your friends to do the same).

And you thought this would be difficult! No way! It's so easy. And I'm sure every one of our readers could think of several other easy actions to take.

We may not be able to stop all animal suffering but we each have the power to take simple actions and make simple steps in making the world a better, safer, less cruel place for animals.

Thanks so much for reading!

Simply vegan

We have been very fortunate in meeting wonderful people all over the world through this blog, and we frequently receive news from people who are just embarking into the vegan life.

They are usually overwhelmed.

There is a lot out there. A lot of food choices, a lot of definitions around veganism and vegetarianism, a lot of judgment on being abolitionist or animal welfare, and a brand new world filled with love and compassion towards all living beings.

I always try to focus on two things when talking with people who are making the jump into veganism: being vegan is so easy AND we are all on our own path. These two simple ideas can make the whole transition to this amazing way of living a little easier.

In 2012 there are literally hundreds of vegan food blogs. Take your pick. Some of our favorites are listed on our blog site. There are also new vegan cookbooks being published all the time. When Mike and I met my mainstay for dinner was veggie burgers or vegan burritos with tater tots. We lovingly refer to this type of meal as "Dan's meal" and every once in a while Mike will say "Let's have a Dan's meal tonight" to my delight!

It's also very easy to not use processed foods and simply cook up some quinoa and then stir-fry kale, swiss chard, red peppers, and garlic in olive oil and top the quinoa off with that. Delish, and easy, and cheap.

Regarding the "we are all on our own path" part, I find myself a lot happier when I am living in Live and Let Live mode. That doesn't mean I cease being a voice for the voiceless, it means the contrary. That I do all I can to be a voice for the voiceless and then let folks make their own decision. This can be hugely important when someone is newly vegan. I have listened to people who are filled with shame by accidentally thinking a product was vegan when it wasn't. The bigger picture is that they have made a decision to be vegan, usually for animal rights and animal cruelty issues, and they are well on their way to not only living a compassionate life, but one that includes compassion on their dinner plate.

I have been vegan for 16 years and Mike has been vegan for 8 years. For both us it is a wonderful way to live. We will tell people why we are vegan and how wonderful it is for us, the animals, and the environment, and then they can make decisions on how they want to move forward in becoming vegan. Supporting them with delicious food choices and giving them a break as they ease into veganism becomes a huge deal for them!

Thanks for reading!

Cooking at home

We know several people who have decided to explore veganism in 2012 and we want to support them as much as possible. One of the ways we promote veganism is by feeding people amazing vegan food. Many people who are not vegan yet are completely surprised by how delish "our" food is.

One doesn't need to be a chef to create a simple, scrumptious vegan meal. There are many, many vegan recipes out there, and to find some amazing ones just click onto one of the links we have here and check out some of the bloggers we adore who blog about cooking and post recipes. You'll go from WOW to YUM in a matter of minutes as you create their recipes.

I am a great example of one who thought cooking vegan would be tough, but love it. Mike does most of the cooking so me warming up leftovers from his creations is easy. Yet I am pretty good in the kitchen too. One of my favorites is cooking up some fresh kale or swiss chard. It is this easy: heat up a little olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Chop up the kale or swiss chard and add it to the heating olive oil. Add a tiny bit of salt and a nice amount of cayenne pepper and boom, there it is. This is more of a side dish but if you add your favorite bean and maybe some beets it can become a full meal.

We use the cast iron skillet a lot. It's a great tool for cooking.

Another easy dish is a simple scrambled tofu. Most vegan cookbooks have a recipe and they are simple. I love making this on a Sunday morning, just add toast with my favorite mango pepper jam! Scrambled tofu is just firm or extra firm tofu crumbled up in your perfect cast iron skillet with a little olive oil, some onions (I usually saute the onions first, then add the tofu), nutritional yeast, tumeric, some kale or swiss chard, a tiny bit of salt, some pepper and you are on your way. When I want to be decadent I add Daiya cheese. Mmmmm.

Cooking at home is so much fun. I love cooking with Mike. It adds to a perfect date night. And each time you make something you can change the recipe a bit and begin creating a whole new dish.

Try it out and let us know what you made. And we'd love to hear about your favorite vegan recipe. Finally, don't forget to check out some of the vegan cooking blogs linked from our site.

Thank you for reading!

Vegan in the kitchen

Mike and I have a joke regarding one of my popular meals when we first met. Boca burgers and tater tots. 100% vegan of course. Easy. Delish. We refer to it as "Dan's meal". Once in a while we'll have a "Dan's meal" dinner, but not very often. I must say though; the tater tot with the right amount of salt is so, perfect.

When Mike and I met he was not vegan. I was never one to date only vegans. If I had had that rule I would have been looking for a long time. Although there are a few more of us today, back then I knew of no other gay male vegans in Colorado. Plus, I simply fell in love with Mike. He was the guy for me.

I also never asked him to become vegan. I only expressed why I was. I never judged him for not being vegan. I just made sure he knew how loving a vegan could be.

Anyway, for Valentine's Day his gift to me was him becoming vegetarian. A couple of months later his gift to himself for his birthday was to go vegan.

Within weeks of being vegan he was cooking up a vegan storm. I was still wanting "Dan's meals". Over the years I have changed. I cook every once in a while now and love it. I have actually loved it since I bought my first vegan cookbook.

My point here, in kind of following up to the last blog, is that one does not have to start out being a good cook, or liking to cook, when they first become vegan. It's a process. It sort of happens.

Mike can just whip something up. I need to think about it and then go through a cookbook. Cooking together is a blast. It makes for a great date night.

If you are considering going vegan, there are a TON of books, websites, and blogs to give you great ideas about cooking. I suggest just jumping in. And if you'd like to know which vegan cookbooks we use in our home, just ask. Many of the blogs linked from our site here are cooking blogs, so check them out!

Thanks for reading!

Veganism rocks

I was just thinking of this last night while making dinner, a meal I would have most likely never made when I ate meat. Not because I didn't like certain things, there were just so many food items not on my radar screen.

So I took our cast iron skillet, put in olive oil, heated it up. Meanwhile, I boiled some quinoa (so easy). As the skillet heated I added mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. With the quinoa finished, I plated it and topped it off with the veggies. Delish is an understatement, plus I felt WAY healthy.

I have been vegan so long that I don't even remember what it's like to eat meat or any animal product. I remember "testing" my veganism during the 1996 Philadelphia to DC AIDS Ride, which was 270 miles. I figured if I could do that ride as a vegan, and only eating vegan during the ride, then veganism was healthy for me. I did it. It wasn't easy but that had more to me not being inshape than being vegan!

I always go back to why I am vegan, which is because I do not want to be part of the cruelty that a meat-based lifestyle supports. I just can't. It's not who I am on any level. And when it is so easy being vegan, and when it opens so many culinary doors, there is just no reason for me not to be vegan. As the 12 year old daughter of a friend says,"I love animals, and that's why I am veg."

I know that many of our blog readers are not vegan, and I am so glad that we get so much support from those curious about veganism. It is very easy to try, and if you'd like to begin by simply eating vegan one day a week or committing to a specific period of time, there is a ton of support for you. We have several people and groups here on our blog with links to their websites. You can even order a free Veg Starter Kit from Mercy For Animals right here! And if you want to go a little further, Colleen Patrick Goudreau has a new book out titled "The 30 Day Vegan Challenge". I have read through it a couple of times and totally wish it had been around when I first became vegan.

And we'll be by your side every step of the way!

More to come!

Thanks for reading!

Vegan at the Sustainable Living Fair

As many of you know, Mike and I have a little vegan company called Cruelty-Free World. We set up at festivals, farmer's markets, holiday gift markets and fair-trade shows and sell our vegan goods and cookbooks. Then we donate the profit to animal rights and human rights groups. We always try to carry the coolest vegan bags, purses and wallets as well as our favorite vegan cookbooks.

The Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins, Colorado is always one of our best times. This year we came up on Friday to set up early and meet other vendors. We are so grateful to have our dear friends Christa and Dave in Fort Collins, who open their home to us.

We began our Saturday with several wonderful folks from the local vegan group, Fort Vegan, who loved our array of bags and left with several cookbooks. We met April who we had connected with on Twitter (and added her blog, Epicurean Vegan to our resources list) and she brought us vegan cookies! What a great group of people. We especially love selling vegan cookbooks (as opposed to passing our veg starter kits which we do) as when someone buys a cookbook they make an investment and they will most likely use it at least once.

Throughout the weekend we have a lot of conversations around veganism and animal rights, and are able to help people who have never cooked vegan in their lives (on purpose) pick out a cookbook that is best for them. The vegan community is alive and well in Fort Collins, and they were so wonderful to us. On Sunday we even got a plate filled with vegan coffee cake that didn't last long!

We also spend a lot of time with the usual anti-vegan banter. That's where our love shines through. Especially with the guy who told me they were the opposite of where we were as they are chicken farmers. I told him that we all have more in common than not and him and his wife actually hung out for a few minutes. And Mike's great conversation with a cattle rancher, who left with a veg starter kit. My hope is that the way they think about vegans and animal rights people changed for the better and perhaps one day they'll take a good look at their chickens and cows. It is so easy to quickly slam people, yet as a voice for the voiceless I don't like that way.

The vendor food at the Fair this year was better than last year. Several vegan options including vegan sweets! vegan doughnuts on Sunday. On our way to the Fair Sunday morning we dropped by Mugs and they made us AMAZING vegan breakfast burritos with vegan sausage. The people who run this Fair have always been so kind and welcoming to Mike and I, and we have always loved being here.

The best meal we had over the weekend was at Nyala Ethipian Cuisine! WOW! I was blown away by all of the flavors and the owner came out and offered some of what she had made herself for her lunch which was a tasty tofu dish. This is a not-to-miss place whenever in Fort Collins! http://www.nyalafc.com

Local fairs and festivals are great places to promote veganism. More to come on that. We'll see you next year at the 13th Annual Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins!

Thanks for reading!

Vegan Cooking Show by Honey LaBronx!

My friend Christopher in Florida posted this vegan cooking show and I just had to spread the news to all of our blog followers. In this episode, Honey is making seitan. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! This is her first shot at a cooking video and I just have to say KUDOS!