Everybody Loves Cake

Last night we celebrated a friend's birthday with a dinner party and finished up with cake and plenty of wine and good conversation at our place. The friend is thinking more and more about veganism (she is very passionate about her two rescued dogs and helping any that she finds on the streets) so I thought, what better way to help her get a step closer than showing her that vegans can still enjoy traditional foods, such as the birthday cake! I made the Super Moist Chocolate Cake and topped it with Coconut Pecan Frosting, both from vegweb. They came highly recommended from the website so I wasn't nervous about it turning out bad. Now I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've iced a cake, so I'm a novice at best. Even though many said the recipe was enough for a two-layer cake, I didn't seem to have enough for the sides. Oh well .... I took the icing that remained and balled it up on top of the cake as a candle stand. The cake was deliciously moist and chocolatey, and how can you not love icing with pecans, coconut, and a not-so-healthy dose of sugar? I served the cake up with some So Delicious Vanilla soy ice cream. Everyone was impressed, the birthday girl even took some home (thank goodness! otherwise I would have eaten it all).

Prior to the cake, we dined at ones of my favorite non-vegan/vegetarian places in midtown Houston; Tafia. I have been there a handful of times, and the food has always been excellent. Last night I started off with a Champassion cocktail and a bowl of curried squash soup. The cocktail, as always, was excellent. The soup had a nice flavor (corn broth based), but it was mostly broth and not much squash, and I didn't even get a hint of spicy curry. It was quite busy last night, so between our appetizer and main course, there were mini-bread rolls that were unfortunately not vegan. Instead of going with my usual baked tofu and portobello mushroom entree (the mushroom is wonderful, the tofu mediocre) and a side, I decided that since there would be cake later, I would go light and eat two vegetable side dishes instead. I had curried cauliflower and pan-roasted carrots with dukkah. The cauliflower was good, but again, no hint of spicy curry and they were a little stingy on the cauliflower. The carrots were awesome, it was my second time having them there. I will be sad to see them leave the menu (it changes seasonally). Dukkah, in case you didn't know (I had to ask the first time) is an Egyptian spice blend. I found a recipe on the web that calls for sesame seeds, roasted chickpeas, hazelnuts, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, salt, and black peppercorn. I don't know if that's what they used but I'm definitely going to try it out at home. The atmosphere at Tafia is always upbeat and busy, which I enjoy. Plus they also value locally sourced ingredients. The downside to Tafia is that the menu is somewhat limited for vegans as far as entrees go. Although they change out the seasonal meat entrees, the standard tofu and mushrooms is always there. Their alcoholic beverages are also waaaayyyyy overpriced. I appreciate that they serve Texas wine and all, but c'mon, $9 a glass?!? If you're ever in the midtown area though, I do suggest trying it. I've never seen a dead restaurant there, so make reservations!

Earlier this week I used the eggplants and some squash from the farmer's market to make pitas stuffed with eggplant salad from Mediterranean Vegan. We also stuffed some fresh spinach and hummus into the pita. In the background are cherries (expensive but soooo good) and a piece of grilled sweet chili tofu from Whole Foods. A fresh, simple meal that made plenty of good leftovers for lunch.

Even Fruit Flies Have Free Will

Check out this article about fruit flies. Basically some researchers tested fruit flies (which is not vegan by the way) by placing them in a white box with no visual stimuli and recorded their flight movements. Complex mathematical modeling showed that the flight paths of the flies were not random, which implies that the fruit flies decided their own path based on free will. Pretty interesting I thought....

More later today on a simple dinner, a quick Houston-area restaurant review, and some yummy birthday cake!

Does Sex Sell Animal Welfare?

Attention all concerned parents! Cover your children's eyes, PeTA is coming to town! This afternoon PeTA representatives are here in Houston to lead a demonstration against Kentucky Fried Chicken wearing a skimpy yellow bikini and holding a sign that says "KFC tortures chicks" as part of their Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign. Several months ago, PeTA was also in Houston for their "Rather go naked than wear fur campaign", again with nearly naked women leading the way. Do I see a trend here? I know Houston is a hot place in the summer, but is it really necessary to keep taking your clothes off?

Okay so seriously .... I am certainly not the first person to question PeTA's tactics. Check out other blogs and websites such as The Starting Point , Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach, and No Status Quo for a more in depth assessment. What strikes me is that PeTA is objectifying women much like big advertising agencies that sell soft drinks, alcohol, and cigarettes do. I simply don't understand why PeTA chooses to run such blatantly sexist campaigns. Now I'm not what I would call a feminist, that is not my agenda here. But I do find their demonstrations and ads offensive. Not only that, but more importantly for the sake of the animals, I find them ineffective. The animal rights movement (of which PeTA isn't even really a part of) should be appealing to people's hearts and minds, not other body parts. Check out PeTA's "State of the Union" address (warning: not suitable for those under 18), which is more like a striptease. For some reason it's hard to focus on the word's coming out of the young woman's mouth (mostly about the "victories" in reducing battery cages and sow crates, not promoting veganism) when she is busy taking off her clothes and the camera is zooming in and out on her breasts. Then of course they have celebrities starring in campaigns who are not even vegan themselves.

So, while PeTA protesters are getting baked in the Texas sun and honked at by dirty old men who could care less about animal welfare or rights, I will be holding my own form of demonstration.....telling people about veganism and how it is the only way to end animal suffering and ownership.

Yay for Moms and a Vegan Food Photo Montage

Happy Mother's Day to all (especially my wonderful mom)!! Last night my parents came over to our place for a mom's birthday/mom's day dinner. Dinner was wonderful and filling (we had mom's homemade bread, sweet potatoes, sauteed squash medley with pesto, spinach salad with mango, strawberry, and blueberries, and pecan crusted seitan), and we barely had room to try my first Vegan Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake, recipe courtesy of Urban Vegan. Although I don't think it would fool any omnivores, it was creamy and light and delicious! Plus I discovered the joys of using a springform pan....what fun!

Earlier on Saturday we went to the farmer's market and picked up plenty of fresh veggies, fruit, and some locally grown flowers for the dinner table. Here is a photo of the spread including: eggplant, cucumber, pattypan, zucchini, and yellow squash, peaches, green bell peppers, green beans, and blueberries.

And here's some more food photos from the past two weeks.....

Seitan and Mushroom Stroganoff from VWAV. I usually put in way more mushrooms and peas than the recipe calls for. It is creamy and way better than the stroganoff I remember from childhood (sorry mom!). My first time eating broccolini, very tasty!

Here's our quick dinner night (ironically we had this on a Sunday, when I actually do have time and energy to cook....) Gardenburger Grilled Chikn Burger with whole grain mustard and avocado. Sauteed some oyster mushrooms with parsley alongside my favorite spring-time vegetable, roasted asparagus (I could eat this every day, really).

This was a quick and tasty salad....Tantalizing Thai Slaw from Compassionate Cooks. Loved the crunchyness of the peanuts and cabbage. Quick and easy to make too. I left out the onions because I don't like raw onion breath.

And finally a Rainbow Vegetable Curry, modified from Vegan Chef, served over brown rice. I added kale and some red lentils, as well as a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Usually we don't eat our curries with coconut milk, but this time we splurged (with the light variety of course).

Spring Cleaning and a Spring Salad

Since becoming a vegan, I have made every effort to eliminate the use of all animal products wherever possible (supposedly tires for your car and even books aren't truly vegan due to the glue they use in the binding!). The food has been the easiest part, I can't even count how many new recipes I've tried over the past 9 months since going vegan!
One thing that I have held on to a bit longer from my previously not-animal friendly life, are non-vegan clothing, shoes, and other random accessories. I only recently (~2 years) joined the business dress workforce, and when I did I went a little bit nuts on shopping. It was one of those times where I thought clothes would make me happier in what I thought to be a less than ideal situation (moving from Boulder, CO to Houston , TX was heartbreaking). Turns out I found my place here in Houston after all, but the result was a closet full of wool and silk pants and knit tops and plenty of leather pointed-toe heels, which now sadden me to think about the animals that had to suffer and die to produce them. After making the move to veganism, I tried to wear these clothes less and less and have slowly been trying to replace them. All the while though, they have been sitting in my closet.
Since it is "spring cleaning" season, and work was having a clothes drive today, I figured it was time to finally get rid of them. So, last night I packed up a few boxes of about 15 pairs of shoes, 25 tops, 10 pairs of pants, 4 skirts, and 2 handbags (the closet photo shows non-vegan work clothes separated on the right, please don't laugh at my fashion choices!). At times I was a little nostalgic, folding up my first real suit, or packing a pair of heels that I had especially loved. It's strange how you can get attached to your clothing (maybe this is more of a girl trait?). My more practical side also was a little frustrated at the money I had poured into purchasing these things, only to get rid of them a year or two later. But after the boxes were packed, sealed, and labeled, I started to feel really good. I know these clothes won't be going to waste, they will be distributed to a women's center and maybe give someone else the confidence to land their first job. For me, it was a form of catharsis. I am not fully there yet, I held onto to a few pairs of shoes (some more sensible flats) and a few wool sweaters that have some sentimental value. Eventually I'd like to get rid of my leather couch as well, but this was a good step. And after all, this gives me a reason to treat myself to a little something new, vegan of course!

On an unrelated note, my food obsession lately has been with mangoes....I think I've had them every day this week. Last night for dinner we dined on a Mango Tomato Salad modified from the Vegetarian Times cookbook. My boyfriend continuously begs for salads, so I was happy to appease him with this one. I added avocado and toasted pepitas, as well as replaced some olive oil in the dressing with flax oil. To share, we also gave the Gardenburger BBQ Riblets a try for the first time. I though the texture was nice and the bbq sauce was quite tasty. A quick and easy way to get some additional protein (since we vegans are sooooo deprived of it....ha!). This weekend I am planning on posting a food log from the past week or two, plus my first attempt at vegan cheesecake for mother's day!

HSUS: The Rolex of animal welfare activist groups?

Since the release of the HSUS's "Humane Index" (read my previous blog about how Houston ranked), the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has responded by labeling the HSUS as "basically PETA with a nicer wristwatch." Their press release is quite angering, even for someone like myself who does not really agree with the animal welfare approach (check out Gary Francione's recent blog post on the problems with animal welfare). They also have links on their website for "PETA Kills Animals" and "Animal Scam". The CCF seems to think it should be every American's right to try foie gras and that no matter how much factory farms try to treat animals humanely, the animal movement will never be satisfied (at least they've got that right). Of course, this group is funded by the food and restaurant industry, so their bias is apparent. Still, these types of campaigns are the reason that the animals rights movement needs to truly mobilize efforts towards promoting veganism, not cage-free eggs, not free range chicken, not organic milk, just veganism. The public gets mixed messages when words like animal welfare and animal rights are used interchangeably. Making animal products more "humane" will only provide people with a false sense of morality. How many ex-vegetarians and vegans have you heard say that now that can enjoy a glass of hormone free organic milk or a free range piece of chicken without feeling guilty that animals suffered?

Vegan Marshmallows Exposed!

I just found a link to this CNBC story (through Food Fight) about the quest to find make a vegan marshmallow. Like most of us, I have fond memories of sitting around a fire at Girl Scout camp making Smores and telling ghost stories. And of course there are Rice Krispie treats, a long-time favorite. Although I can't say I've eaten too many marshmallows in my adult life, I do remember making the connection when I went vegan that this was a product I would no longer be consuming due to the presence of gelatin. The story describes two vegans who separately started a quest to make the perfectly gooey vegan marshmallow. Both of their paths led to one ingredient: Emes Jel, a supposedly animal-free kosher gelatin replacement. Turns out that Emes Jel was not so kosher after a series of independent tests. I can't imagine how many vegans consumed their products thinking it was safe! Luckily, one of the marshmallow pioneers continued her quest, and finally got it right. Sweet and Sara marshmallows were named product of the year by VegNews and finding them on the shelves these days is apparently quite difficult. I haven't tried them yet, but as soon as I can I want to get a hold of some of the delectable treats, I have my eye on the Mexican Chocolate Marshmallows. I will report back with my findings (could take a little while, because everywhere I checked they were sold out!!) Be sure to watch the two-part series below!

Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Down here in Texas, Cinco de Mayo is a cause for celebration. Mainly it gives us an excuse to slam down margaritas and devour Mexican food, which really goes on year round here, but is especially out of control today. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the May 5, 1862 victory of the Mexicans over the French army in the Battle of Puebla, not actually the day of Mexican independence as many people assume (which is Sept. 16, 1862). It seems as if today is even more of a celebrated holiday than Texas Independence from Mexico, which occurred on March 2, 1836. But, regardless, it is a fun day to be living in Houston.
To celebrate, my boyfriend and I attended my first Houston Vegan MeetUp at Azteca's Margarita Bar and Grill. I am always a bit nervous meeting new people for the first time, so it was nice to have him along as well. The restaurant was a bit rowdy when we arrived, a group near our table had apparently been there most of the day and several of the girls were actually chasing each other around the tables. The wait staff was slow to respond.... I ordered a mango margarita to start off with and tried my best to avoid the chips and yummy salsa. The margarita was very sweet and I could barely taste any alcohol. As we got more comfortable with the crowd, we found out a bit about the history of the meetup group, a couple's trip to Farm Sanctuary in New York, and shared our frustration and hunger in not getting food for over an hour after we ordered it!! This is a Mexican place, usually they just have everything cooked and just send it through the heaters! I suspect that we threw them off since we ordered from the vegan menu (a separate small piece of paper), the waiter admited he'd never taken an order from it before. When the food finally did arrive, it was pretty reasonable. My bf had mushroom soft tacos and I got black bean enchiladas. We decided that although we may not be going back to Azteca's that we would definitely try out another vegan meetup. We had to split pretty quickly after the food in order to make it to our next Cinco de Mayo party....


I spent most of the afternoon making empanadas modified from a vegweb recipe and Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. For the empanadas, instead of using frozen dough, I made my own crust from the Vegan Lunch Box (I also use this for pizza and calzones). For the filling, I sauteed some Field Roast Chipotle Sausage with shallots, red pepper, and some canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce. After removing from the heat I added some black beans to the filling. These were hugely popular at the party....people were just getting drunk enough to start having the munchies, and the food from their earlier dinner spread (pork and beef fajitas, glad I missed that) was long gone. They were all gone in less than half an hour, several people admitted to having at least three. Needless to say I will be making these again.

After a not so successful first try with Vegan Cupcakes, I took another shot with what I thought would be appropriate for Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes. I splurged and bought full fat coconut milk. Healthy cupcakes these are not, but the batter was yummy and they filled the house with such an amazing aroma. It was truly a test of self-control not to eat one before the party. I topped them with powdered sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. After arriving at the party the first thing I did was try one. They were delicate, a bit crumbly, and heavenly chocolatey with just a hint of cayenne pepper at the back of your mouth. Although there were some left at the end of the night (yay, more for me!), the ladies (and a few guys) gave their compliments.

After all that eating yesterday, we ran this morning and took a walk in the ever-increasing Texas heat. The normally large brunch crowd seems absent, maybe they all had too many margaritas last night (not the ones I had though!) Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A Vegan Nightmare

I am not usually the kind of person who dreams a lot, but when I do, they seem to last all night long and I barely feel as if I've slept the next morning. Bad dreams are even rarer. But last night I had several, and the final and most vivid dream I had was the kind of dream only a vegan could find scary.....
I was on a field trip with a large group of people (no one that looked familiar to me) and it was our first night together. For some reason, the activity that night was a cooking contest, and everyone was given two ingredients and 30 seconds (yes, I know, a crazy short amount of time) to come up with the tastiest looking dish. I looked down at the plate that was in front of me and there was a pile of seitan cutlets and strips of tempeh. With such a short amount of time to prepare, I simply cut up the fake meat products and tried to arrange them in a fun way as quickly as I could. I remember red lights flashing and buzzers going off signaling that time was nearly up. I was frantic, but finished with a degree of moderate satisfaction given the task.
Then the judges started making their rounds. I felt nervous as I was approached with by a stern-looking woman with a clipboard and pencil. She glanced down at what I had prepared. In order to demostrate the merits of my dish, I picked up a piece of the seitan and ate it, remarking how delicious it was (although, this was not a dream where I could taste, actually I don't think I've ever had a dream where I could.....is that possible?). She jotted down a few words on her clipboard and walked away. We all anxiously awaited the announcement of the winner. Finally, they walked over to a girl who had used a tortilla (hey, where did she get that? that wasn't one of the ingredients) to make a wrap of.....did they say chicken strips and bacon?!? I looked down at my plate in horror realizing that I had just eaten chicken. My stomach began to ache and I looked desperately around the room trying to figure out what to do. I saw a man run towards the bathroom with his hand over his mouth....apparently he thought it was seitan too.
The dream ended with me in my hotel room, trying to figure out how to get out of this field trip that was supposed to last for two weeks. These cooking challenges were going to be daily occurences and before getting to my room I learned that they would all involve meat. I called my boyfriend and told him I had to figure out a way to get on the next flight home.....

If I had to analyze my own dream, I would say that this dream is related to my fear of being fed animal products when I am not in control of the food. Everytime I go out to eat I am a little nervous. Like the rest of you, I've had bacon tossed in my salad, cheese melted on my pasta, and butter drowning my vegetables. The scariest thing is when you don't know, but are only suspicious and can't prove anything. A friend of mine told me her boyfriend knowingly lied to several vegetarian friends, saying that the soup was fine for them to eat at a dinner party when it was made with chicken stock! At least you can wake up from a bad dream.....

Meat and Republicans.....Hand in Mouth

The results are in ..... Republicans love their meat. Presidential hopefuls were asked by the Associated Press about what type of foods they like to cook. Six out of the seven Republicans chose some kind of animal flesh. Of the Democrats, 3 of the 7 chose meat or another definitively non-vegan item (scrambled eggs).....others may be left to some interpretation (milkshake made with soy milk? vegan chili or pasta?). Only 7% of all the candidates made an undoubtedly vegan choice (okay, so that's only 1 out of 14 and we all know it was Dennis Kucinich). Unfortunately, I don't think these results will have a major influence on voters when election year rolls around. At least none of the candidates chose a cute little (and alive)kitten as their prey of choice. So maybe America is moving in the right direction....

Speaking of meat eaters, this weekend our townhome association had a resident cookout potluck. Although this included the usual hamburgers, whole-roasted chicken on a spit, mayo-drowned potato salad, and cheese-laden three bean dip.....I had more vegan options than anticipated. This included a yummy red cabbage salad (brought by a neighbor who owns a restaurant in downtown Houston, Dharma Cafe), vegetarian baked fava beans, plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, and some pineapple, mango, and red pepper kabobs that my boyfriend made especially for me (such a sweetheart). I made a quinoa salad based on a recipe from my mom with black beans, corn, red pepper, avocado, and plenty of cilantro. Many of our neighbors were curious as to what quinoa was and liked the taste...what an awesome little grain. I also made two kinds of cookies, my tried-and-true Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and a test of the Gigantoid Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan with a Vengeance (except I made mine normal-sized instead of gigantoid). They both came out delicious, but I made way too many. Brought them to work the next day, posted with a sign that said "Have a homemade Vegan Cookie :-)" and they were gone within a few hours (I think the word vegan caused a little hesitancy at first, food does not last long at work). And to my delight, someone wrote me a note asking for the recipe! A small vegan victory.....