Merry Christmas

Snow has fallen, ugly sweaters have been worn, and I am soooo glad I won't have to hear anymore Christmas music. Merry Christmas from Whitney and Joseph and Zdzislaw!

...These are a few of my favorite things

Word to the wise, if you get a holiday retail job, you will be driven insane by the constant Christmas music. It has officially crossed the line from annoying me to making me want to gauge my ears out with candy canes. The combination of a certain overplayed song (which I'm still not sure how it is related to Christmas) and the end of the year lists that I love reading, has led me to create of things I have come to adore in 2010.

1. Salty Chocolate

Like a Jeff Bridge's western, it has managed to combine two things I love and make it more awesome. Chocolove's Sea Salt and Almond Dark Chocolate and Chuao Chocolatier Cafe's Sea Salt and Panko are my favorites. Both feed my cravings for sweet and salty, and I figure that the heart-healthy benefits of dark chocolate balance the badness of salt (Kinda like Spark's without the whole "kills college freshmen" side effects).

2. NPR

I can't believe people are trying to shut it down. Modern media and life can be so mind numbing, its refreshing to learn things other than which psuedo-celebutante in in rehab. I love Science Friday, The Splendid Table, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and This American Life. It's free and commercial free, if that is "left wing" and wrong, I don't want to be right.

3. Not being constantly plugged in.

I don't have a SmartPhone, leave my cell phone at home and hate texting, and have never gotten cable. And that's the way I plan to keep it. Though I love the Internet for all the lovely podcasts, music, blogs, and recipes it supplies me (not to mention using google to prove I'm right in petty arguments), I feel like the constant flood of social networking and shiny images make peoples insensitive and less grateful for knowledge. PS: IPads can stuff it.

4. Moustaches

I don't know, I just like 'em.

5. Soup

Soup is good anytime, but in Midwestern winters, it's a necessity. Super easy to make and there are no shortage of yummy veggie varieties. Just mix spices, veggies, grains, veg broth, and sometimes fruit. Saute this, puree that, and you have a solid, hearty meal. Soup is the true working man's food.

6. Secondhand books

Fifty cent books are a gateway drug for authors I have been sceptical about before. A ten or fifty cent risk at Goodwill or the library has paid off by introducing me to Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, and Jonathan Franzen. Way cheaper and less soul sucking than chain bookstores.

Other things people should unconditionally love: Turkish pistachios, nutritional yeast, Community, Paul Newman, peppermint tea, black cardigans, Bobbi Brown, and composition notebooks.

We are going to Chicago to eat and have fun for a few days. I am so excited and am totally gonna stalk Oprah and climb the Sears Tower.

mofo survery #1

What's your favorite spice or spice blend?

Is it boring if I say cumin? either that or... actually I can't think of a rival.

You have $20 to spend on fresh groceries and produce for the whole week (with a fairly well stocked pantry of dry goods, legumes, grains, and spices). What do you buy?

Knowing me, I'd prolly waste it all on cereal and almond milk. If I was being good, I'd stock up on sweet potatos, onions, garlic, brocolli, spinach, and kale. Out here that would take up the whole 20 dolares.

What's your favorite way to make tofu?
Mmmm. marinated in soy sauce and white wine, coated in corn starch and flour, fried, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. I said I was vegan, I never said I was a saint.

Vegan guilty pleasure?

Ranch dressing-style dip made with dill and Vegenaise, then Snap Pea Crisps for dipping.

If you could make anyone vegan, who would it be?

Ted Nugent... lol

If you could only read one other vegan blog, what would it be?

PPK or cuteanddelicous

Were you always interested in cooking, or did veganism change the way you saw and interacted with food?

I was always super picky and lame with food. I didn't have a burrito until I went vegan at 18! I was the diet coke and pop-tart kinda girl. Veganism introduced me to cooking and being connected with my body and food.

Excluding analogues, what new things have you tried that you probably wouldn't have as an omni?

I hated mayo. Now I love Vegenaise, I guess thats's an analogue tho. I hated most sauces and toppings (ketchup, mustard, gravy).

What is the one vegan staple that everyone seems to love, but you can't get behind?

Pickles! I know they are not a vegan thing, but everyone seems to love them. Josef is the only vegan I know who shares my hatred of pickles, and that, my friends, is true love.

What was your first "wow, I'm such a stereotypical vegan" moment?

The time I got in a screaming arguement with an ex-vegan about "righteous soy" and hot dogs. Ha ha. Or when I ate toast sprinkled with nooch for dinner all week.

First recipe you veganized?

Eggplant parm, I learned to make it at the Italian restruarant I worked at, then veganized it for my boyfriend at the time.

What would you like to veganize, but haven't yet?

Creme Brulee, corn souffle, bread pudding.

Favorite kitchen utensil/appliance?

It used to be my magic bullet, until it was lost to the universe. Now, I guess its the waffle iron my sister gave me.

Most disastrous kitchen failure?

My first time using tofu, I read that I should freeze it to get a meaty texture, so I froze but didn't know to fully defrost. It had the constistency of dog food, blehhh, I think it really put my family off to the whole vegan thing for awhile.

First vegan cookbook?

How it all Vegan, it was my how-to manual when I first changed. I love the PB Cups still.

What question about being vegan do you HATE answering?

What do you eat?! Like the food world consists of eggs, meat, and dairy. I usually respond saying "There are about ten things I don't eat, and a whole universe of things that I do."

If you could tell the world one thing about vegans, what would it be?

We are not elitists or snobs. This isn't a diet trend and being vegan can be easy and fun. I'm with Isa when she says that veganism should be the lifestyle of the people.

Funniest vegetable?

??? Sweet potatos, I guess, because they kinda look like wangs.

What is a family recipe you have veganized?

Our no-bake cookies with oatmeal, peanut butter, and cocoa. And Sonoran Enchiladas. Not much to veganize. It was a shake and bake kinda family.

Weirdest food combination ?

Anything+ potato chips.

Is there something you wish you could veganize, but can't/couldn't?

The only thing I wish for right now is a fully equiped, stocked kitchen, so I could have an answer to that question.

Favorite ways to prepare tofu, seitan, tempeh, any other vegan proteins?

Stirfry when I'm being healthy. Pan-fried and breaded when I am being Whitney.

Are your pets vegan? if so, what do you feed them?

Mostly, I feed him Nature's Recipe Vegetarian Canine Formula and make him dog treats out of peanut butter. Idk, tho, does poop count as vegan? Cause he eats a lot of that when I leave him unattended.

Favorite non-dairy milk?

Almond Breeze Vanilla. Its the cheapest and healthiest avialable out here. Rice Dream is good for a treat, tho.

What’s one “vegan myth” you’d like to squash?

Where do you get your protein? lol. Protein is not hard to get. I also hate that veganism gets a rap for making ppl sick.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I made stuffed mushrooms for the first time! I usually leave that task to Joseph because he always makes delicious faux-sausage stuffed baby bellas. However, I was craving some super bad and he was working late. After running back and forth a couple times asking for cooking tips, I finally threw together:



Roasted Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms



...and they were delectable



First:



Roast one bulb of garlic (remove most of skin, drizzle with a lil oil, wrap in aluminum foil, cook at 400 for 35 minutes)



Then:



1 container baby bella mushrooms, stems removed and reserved



1/2 onion, diced



Marinate the mushroom caps in a 1:1 balsamic vinegar and olive oil mix. Saute the mushroom stems and onion until onion is translucent. Set both aside.



Toast 1/3 cup walnuts. Pulse in a food processor until crumbly. Once onion mixture is cooled, add to food processor and pulse. Squeeze the delicious innards of the roasted garlic into the f.p. and pulse.



Mix in 1/2 cup bread crumbs Season with salt and pepper. Remove mushroom caps from marinade and stuff with walnut/onion/garlic concoction. Place in a lightly oil baking dish and cook at 350 for 15 minutes.

I made these with a sheperds pie and they paired well. We ate 'em all and let god sort them out.

Vegan's Guide to Phoenix, from a Phoenican at large

When I tell people out here that I'm from Phoenix, they give me a twangy "Well, you're a long way from home. Why are you here?" Like I was blown here in a tornado. The Midwest has its good points. The beautiful Autumns, first snowfalls, the trees everywhere, delicious veggies in the spring, my bunny friends, the lady next to me at a stoplight drinking a Bud light... well maybe not the last part.

Abundant in veganism, or animal rights, it is not. I'd like to think the scarcity of a decent, fast meal makes me appreciate food more, but that point is really hard to hold onto when it is 10pm, Joseph and I are driving around looking for something, ANYTHING, to quench our ravenous hunger. "Remember the vegan crab puffs at Green?" I say, like a reminiscent junkie. "Remember being able to get falafal at every street corner?"

I lived in Phoenix for twenty years, three as a vegan, and learned many things: Phoenix is fickle, Phoenix is fleeting, one day you will have discovered the perfect vegan brunch and the next month it is closed down (Coughs, Mandolin Tea Room, Coughs). Or they used to be vegan; then they sold out and now their only vegan option is a pb and j sandwich (Three Roots).

But I am here not to discuss what is no longer. I am here to discuss the everlasting present.

Green is prolly the most popular, and one of the few strictly vegan, eateries. They do an all-American, fast foodie take on veganism. Some of it is on the richer side, like the Spicy G Po' Boy (Joseph's favorite) or the BBQ Chicken Sandwich (My favorite and winner of some national award). The sides are yummy, like the aforementioned crab puffs, buffalo wings, and the thyme fries. They also do salads and Tsoynamis, which are like Blizzards and oatmeal cookies, which are like Lil Debbies. The staff was always friendly and the setting is casual, with bike spokes and Daniel Jonston (sp?) lyrics posted on the walls.

Mediterranean food is available practically everywhere in the Valley. Skip the chains like Extreme Pita and the Pita Pit, their falafal is bland and crumbly. The best spots are the mom and pop places like Haji Baba by ASU. Just be wary of the sun-crinkled, hungover co-eds.

The Blue Nile, an Ethiopian cafe in Tempe, has decent falafal, but their combo platters, which you pick from choices including stewed eggplant, squash and spicy peas, then sop up with injera, are their strength. They also do raw food Sundays and have (creamy!) vegan orange cake.

I have only been to Chakra 4 Herb and Tea House once, but would have gone more had it been closer and if I had one of those jobs that pays you a lot. Everything was out of my price range, but they had inventive tea selections (chai!), artisan chocolates, and raw options, especially dips. It has funky daytime hours, like Inn Season Deli (vegan tamales on Mill Ave.), so they are hard to catch.

The only vegan buffet I've ever been to in Udupi Cafe in Tempe, a vegetarian Indian spot just down the street from Green. The lunch buffet is worth catching and gorging on, but I preferred getting an appetizer platter with samosas and pakoras, and splitting a huge entree with Joseph.

I don't know what weird conspiracy/cult thing they have going on at The Loving Hut, formerly the Vegetarian House, but I do know four things: 1) Their banana cake sucks. 2) Their lemongrass chicken most certainly does not suck. I can never get enough of those little crispy things. 3) Ditto that for the sweet and sour pork, which my very much carnivorous brother-in-law recommended to me. 4) Their rosewater lemonade was the best lemonade I've ever had.

I also have the guilty-pleasure chains that I miss, like Chipotle and P.F. Chang's. I remember going veg and being all "Aw this is so fun, being vegan is easy", then eating a burrito the size of a small baby. Grocery stores don't carry tofu out here, if they do it's 4 bucks a pop. In Phoenix, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Sunflower Markets are bountiful. You can snork nooch, get vegan cookies, and get tofu for a buck. Here, I have to drive 100 miles to get that delicious fairy dust known as nutritional yeast.

Yes, the middle of nowhere has its draw backs, but travelling has introduced me to the random vegan yumminess strung throughout the country...

Holy Snaps, It's Vegan MoFo

What with all this hub-bub over Halloween, and the elections (which are almost as rowdy as Halloween, seeing as the shop is next to a Democrat Party stronghold/headquaters), I forgot it was the Vegan Month of Food.

Fail! But seeing as the vegan moto is partially, "at first you don't succeed, put down the cheese and try again", I will try to be more diligent in my postings.

Incidentally, this is the first year I know what Vegan MoFo actually means. I've just spent the pass few years thinking vegan bloggers were super badass and gnarly, like they would take a shot of scotch and slap you in the face with Gardien if you insulted tofu. ANYWAYS...

Seeing as the Midwest, my current basecamp, is less than veggie-friendly, I used the shop Halloween Party to stage a level one vegan infiltration:

Cupcakes

I baked the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes and Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World topped with Fluffy Buttercream Frosting then splattered raspberry syrup on the tops to match my zombie costume. Since becoming vegan, I've fallen into the habit of buying people's love and acceptance with baking. It's a slippery slope, because now every birthday/holiday I end up having the role of cupcake lady. In fact, I was even tempted to bake something for the Democrats next door, like maybe some black and orange cupcakes for Christine McDonnell that have leftover witch toppers on it. Instead I just sacrificed a chocolate chip scone to an effigy of Abraham Lincoln and called it a day.

Good news is that everyone from devout hunters to hockey moms were into the cupcakes, even after they found out they were vegan. Sage's dad even suggested I open up a cafe, seeing as the healthiest place to eat in Yankton is a place at the mall that also sells wigs too. Yuck.

Sugar-free Posts for Mum

My mum is giving sugar for the days leading up the the Shun the Sun Marathon that she organizes. (Yeah, my mom is more metal than your mom, don't be jealous).
I decided to dedicate some recipes for her that are both refined sugar free and things that we both enjoyed when I was a kid. I didn't grow up in one of those "make everything from scratch" families. I frequently ate Pop-Tarts for both breakfast and lunch. Sunday night dessert was white cake mix dumped over canned fruit. Now, there is a time and place for such things in life (except for the Pop-Tarts, bleech), therefore these recipes easy to whip up without have to whip out the blender and oven.

Mayan Hot Chocolate

Spicy, Low-Cal, but still decadent

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

3 tbs. cocoa powder

1 tsp. cinnamon
Tiny pinch of cayanne pepper

Dash of salt

2 Tbs. Agave Nector
or
3 tbs. Truvia (stevia powder)



Mix spices, cocoa, and agave. Add almond milk. Heat over low on stove or zap in microwave for

90 seconds. Tops with Ricemellow Creme if desired.


Pumpkin Easecake
Yeah, That's Right, Clever Vegan Wordplay

1 can pumpkin
1 tbs. cinnamon
1/2 tps. nutmeg
Pinch Salt
2 tbs. agave
or
2 tbs. Truvia


Mix in bowl. Heat for two minutes in microwave. Serve warm or chill in freezer for 20 minutes.
Top With:
6 oz. vegan Tofutti plain cream cheese
3 tbs. Agave
1/2 tps. vanilla extract

Mix until homogenous. Chill if desired.

Poor Kid Brunch

This Morning's Brunch for two was brought to you by the following circumstances:
1) Limited food supplies
2) Only a microwave and toaster oven for appliances
3) A pie tin, pyrex measuring cup, and smith-wesson knife for utensils.
Some might consider this dismaying, I consider it a challange. Bring it.

Roasted HomeFries
2 Red Potatos, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
5 mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs. cumin
1/2 tbs. salt
1 tbs. oil
1/2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
Preheat Toaster (hey-hey) oven to 425. Toss veggies with seasonings and oil in the pie tin. Roast for 30 minutes until tender.

Whilst cooking, make BisQuick BisCuits
1 1/2 cup bisquick mix
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup milk
Mix until doughey and drop biscuit-y. If you are me, you have to wait until the taters are out of the oven to make the biscuits on the pie tin. Represent! Cook for 8-10 minutes at 450.

Pair with So Easy Your Brain Will Hurt Gravy
1 Veggie Bouliion cubes dissolve in 2 cups water
or
2 cups veggie broth
1 tbs. cold water + tps. cornstarch mixed in a slurry.
Heat veggie broth in microwave. Add cornstarch slurry and mix until dissolved. Heat in microwave at 45 sec intervals until homogenous.
Plate up taters and bisquits. Smother in gravy and hot sauce. Repeat.
Not the healthiest, I know. And I doubt many of y'all will be put in such weird circustances. I just wanted to show that a tastey, homey meal can be made with limited resources.

Cheap, Hot, and Green

My goal this year is to be cruelty-free and eco-friendly in my beauty and hygiene products. NOT by sucking on the corporate teat and consuming so-called green products. I could go on and on about the green revolution of consumer goods. It's a sticky issue because it is just another scan to get us to buy more crap. However, dollars are the best way to vote and use your power. Environmentally friendly products are definitely preferable over their counterparts and buying them will tell the corporations that there is money in caring about the planet.
Ultimately, the best thing for the planet, animals, and your pocketbook is to make your own beauty and cleaning products at home using simple ingredients and reusable containers.
That being said, this is something I've been sucking at. Being on the road, I've been using whatever is cheapest and most convenient because you never know, for example, the high altitude of the Rockies will cause your shampoo bottle to explode all over your car warranty papers so now every time you go in to get your car worked on they smell like patchouli and the mechanics look at you super weird, not that that happened to me, its just an example...
Anyway, sick of trying to find a vegan shampoo at Hy-Vee, shelling out 20 bucks for it, and using it up in a month, I decided to use an at-home recipe I found in Bust and altered for my taste.
The recipe is as follows:
Shampoo:
1 Tbs. Baking soda mixed with enough water to make a paste (1 tsp?)
Conditioner:
4 Tbs. Apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups water.
(fyi: the original recipe is 2 tbs. for 1 cup if you don't feel like being a rebel. I use more because I have dirty hair and lots of it).
Step 1: Get in shower. Once baking soda is in a paste, massage into wet hair. Start from the back, massage each section at the roots. It stimulates your scalp and makes your hair grow faster. Rinse out thoroughly or you will be able to shake white powder from your head like the girl from the breakfast club. Pour the apple cider mixture over your hair, emphasizing on your roots, leave on for one minute then rinse out. Scent with a few drops of essential oil (lemongrass, peppermint, and tea tree are my favorite) and use coconut or olive oil if your ends are dry. Naturemoms.com recommends using honey or leaving the baking soda on for less time if your hair gets dry.
The results (I've been shampoo-less for a month): I love it. Number one, I went from spending 20 bucks a month on shampoo to spending about 1.50 on baking soda and vinegar, which I use for baking too. Secondly, commercial shampoo is full of crappy ingredients like Sodium lauryl sulfate that destroy your hair and its pH balance, not to mention being tested on animals and packaged in plastic. Even that natural crap from Aveda that I love so much has an arm's length of unpronounceable ingredients. My hair is in the best condition its ever been (its less Jack White from the mug shot and more Jack White circa the Raconteurs now). Its growing faster and stronger. Its going to the Olympics and will beat everything and everyone, even Russia.
My next adventure: homemade deodorant. I was inspired by www.vanillaandlace.blogspot.com, new favorite blog. Abi is supercute and my new role model. The recipe is directly ripped off her, so go to her blog to find more about it.
Lemongrass Deodorant
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder (go for the bulk bins or online)
4 tbs. coconut oil, in liquid form
10 drops of lemongrass (or any essential oil, such as peppermint, tea tree, or lavender).
Mix baking soda and arrowroot, add oils until it is smooth. Store in sealed container and melt slightly in your fingers before using.
Next quest: homemade shaving lotion.
Question of the day: What can baking soda not do? Seriously that stuff is like powdered magic.

Quick Dishes

Yes, cooking elaborate dishes from Veganomicon and spending half my paycheck and my day on a dish has its merits (Pumkin Baked Ziti, droools), but working and trying top save money while still being healthy is much more fun because you have to be creative. Its like the DaVinci Code (kinda but not really).

Black Bean Soup

1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs. oil
2 cans or 3 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, sliced
1 lime, half juiced, other half sliced
Tortilla chips (garnish)
Tofu sour creme (optional, garnish)

Saute 3/4 of the onion (reserve other 1/4 for garnish) in the oil over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes (watch to make sure the garlic doesn't burn. Lower the heat to medium-low and add black beans. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add half cilantro and the lime juice. Serve with raw onion, avocado, cilantro, tortilla chips, and faux sour creme. Enjoy.

Eggplant a la McCarthy (aka eggplant Parmesan)

1 Eggplant, sliced crosswise in 1/4 in.
Oil (Canola, corn, peanut, veggie) for frying

First Bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. pepper

Second Bowl:
2 cups almond, soy, or rice milk or creamer (preferably unsweetened, but I have been known to use vanilla and it still tastes awesome.)

Third Bowl:
2 cups panko, vegan breadcrumbs, or cornflake crumbs
1 tbs. oregano or Italian seasoning

To serve:
2 cups Tomato Sauce, preferably Salerno's, Newman's Own, or your homemade sauce.

Heat oil over medium/high heat, mix ingredients in respective bowls. I first coat all the eggplant in the flour mixture and then do the other two bowls in batches (about 5 slices) once the oil is heated. Test the oil by dropping some crumbs in it and seeing if it bubbles up.
I use one hand to drop the slices in the milk and drop it in the crumbs, and the other to pick it out of the crumbs, lest i end up wearing a thick crumb glove.
Once a batch is coated drop it in the oil and cook on each side 2-3 minutes until browned. (the crispier the better in my opinion). Drain on a paper towel. Start the other batches and keep slices warm in a 300 degree oven in a single layer. Serve immediately smothered in sauce.


Summer Pizza
A healthier, easy take on pizza

Crust:
Confession I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Pizza crust and added rice milk and ground flax seeds to replace the milk and eggs. It's nice because I don't have a rolling pin or a decent amount of counter space to roll out a pizza. I just press it into the pan and cook. I said I was a wizard, I never said I was powerful.
*Anyway* Whatever crust you use, cook until lightly browned and let cook. Turn off the oven, you're done with it and it's summer.

Toppings (Mere suggestions, use whatever is looking sultry at the market):
8 asparagus spears, ends trims, and sliced in one inch lengths
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups spinach
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

Heat skillet over medium heat. add olive oil, and saute onion for five minutes. Add asparagus, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook until tender. Toss in spinach and balsamic vinegar and wilt the spinach. Set aside.

While the toppings are finishing up, make:
Avocado Base
3 avocados
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Juice from one lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Mash everything together until smooth with a few chunks. Spread on pizza crust. Top with sauteed veggies. Garnish with more lemon slices and cilantro.

Dairy Free Tips

This post is dedicated to michelle who asked for some dairy-free recipes. Giving up dairy was prolly the hardest part of going vegan (other than having to give up my bison-hunting addiction). Having lived in a household where Got Milk? ads were hung up like Joey Lawrence pin-up posters, I always equated milk with calcium and strong bones. I ignored the fact that trying to chug the recommended 3 glasses a day made me want to yakk until i gave it up and haven't really missed it since. Certainly not milk, there so many alternatives that taste waaaay better and don't make me feel funny.
My faves are almond, rice, coconut, hemp, and soy milk.
Some of the best brands are Almond Breeze and Silk Almond, Rice Dream and Trader Joe's rice milk, Turtle Island coconut milk, and Silk soy milk (especially chocolate). I personally think almond milk takes the cake. It tastes the best, is lower in calories than skim milk, and has protein, calcium, and vitamins.
Soy and coconut milk yogurt are also way delicious. They come pretty cheap, have probiotics, and make a great breakfeast or snack. Also, in breads and cakes they can replace eggs. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Butter is super easy to replace too. Earth balance is by far the best (and im not just saying that because we are friends on facebook, but I have been known to use Smart Balance (lite!) in a snap because it is cheaper and at pretty much every supermarket.
When I went veg, I had pretty much resigned myself to never having a decent cheese substitute. Through the wonders of technology, the vegan underground, and joaquin phoenix's good looks, we now have Daiya, Follow your Heart, Cheezly, and Teese. They are available at whole food and sprouts. The mozzarella flavor is always the best, so get that and make pizzas and lasagna.
As for mayo, get vegenase (sp?) and 'better than sour creme' instead of sour cream.
Sorry if it seems like I am brand dropping a lot, but when I was going veg, I ended up buying some sucky things cause i didn't know better.
Speaking of which, do NOT get rice or soy dream ice cream. They are the suck. Stick with Turtle Mountain coconut or soy ice cream. So Delicous is okay, but i think it needs dressing up as a shake or sundae.
Just be sure to shop around a bit. Some places charge you out of the butt for things just because they can.
Other tips for calcium: dark-green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, collard greens, and kale), almonds, sesame tahini, calcium-fortified soy or rice milk, some brands of tofu, and calcium-fortified orange juice
I'll post some recipes tomorrow (maybe!)

Good Morning from the Heart of America

The bowl of peanut butter captn crunch for midnight dinner was a mistake. I'll just say that. It is one of those bad decisions that lead up to this point, in which it is five am, I haven't gotten a wink of sleep, i am listening to iron and wine, and i am googling savannah, georgia, and t. rex aprons.
Kids, let this be a lesson on the dangers of sugary cereal.
We are leaving for former home (and much-maligned, news item) Arizona on Tuesday. Excited all around. Zdizislaw can't wait to meet his extended family. The millienum falcon (our new passat wagon) is excited (we are telling him Arizona is Tatooine). I am excited to:
1) Not wake up to air that is 90% water, 5% residual meat stank, and 5% bad karma.
2) Drink a vat of Salerno's tomato sauce. Drools.
3) Nosh on some vegan food at green and (hopefully) mint.
and most importantly:
4) See all our friends and family that we have missed so much.
See y'all in 4-5 business days.
PS Posting some of my Glenwood Springs, CO picks. My summer vacation that was much too short. I took the Amtrack down to Glenwood, through the canyons and amber waves of grains, for my grandparents 50th anniversary. Everyone in my family was there (plus what im pretty sure were "anniversary crashers").
Pic 1: Me and nephew Luke writing in the sand of the roaring fork river, one of my favorite places when I was little

new (unnamed) puppy

All right... My second post for all my eager fans. Big news in Wospephville: new puppy. He is a miniature daschund and after much deliberation and a few false starts his name is zdzislaw as in zdzislaw beksinski, the polish-german agoraphobic painter who is now deceased. He is one of Joseph's and mine favorite painters. For those of you who are not polish-german, his name is pronounced "deesh-daw". My baby boy is the new joy of my life. How is it that I got the cutest boyfriend and the cutest dog?I am not being concieted or anything (haters back down), I am just being right.
He is wicked smart and mostly potty-trained (except when he is not). He can sit and go to his bed. He is also a wicked snuggler. He curls up in my lap when I read and sleeps in between me and joseph like a baby. Weird facts too: he loves water and snow. He jumps in the shower and plays in the water when I am showering.
I want to raise him to be vegan but for now I am playing it safe and giving him puppy food. He loves veggies and peanut butter. I am starting to sound like a crazy new mommy so I am going to leave the fawning to that. Oh yeah... and cute heart melting pics...