I always find it the conversations that one can get into when others learn that you are vegan. Yesterday, an old family friend, who I hadn’t seen since becoming vegan, asked if I still don’t eat pork. I said I don’t eat any meat or dairy. He stated “Are you like a vegan or something?” I said yes. Then he lauches into a very long winded dialogue about how many vegans become vegan because they want to eat healthier and because of the way the animals are treated, but they really aren’t healthier. He made the claim that fruits and vegetables are just as unclean as animal foods. He even tried to claim that eating fruits and vegetables requires more land than eating meat. Sometimes in life, it is just best not to say anything. I patiently listened to him go on and on, partly because I know that when people do as he was doing, it is because they feel that their own lifestyle is being judged. Now I am not so altruistic as to believe that a vegan diet is the cure all for everything in the world. It is certainly just one step in the right direction, but won’t cure the damage we have done to this planet. There are many other steps to be taken, such as energy conservation, reducing our usage of oil, walking inside of driving places, supplimenting our power with solar power, reducing our use of chemicals in the home and on our crops, and of course, changing our perspective of viewing everything as if it is disposable. Different people become vegan for different reasons. My peronal reasons were because I will not support an industry that propogates such cruelty on another species. It is one thing to swiftly kill an animal out of need to feed and cloth yourself (you know, hundreds of years ago) and quite another to torcher that animal for his or her entire life prior to dying. The other reason I became vegan is because I want to work towards a more sustainable lifestyle. The earth is sick and I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I still have a ways to go. Our only car is a full size SUV, though both my husband and I work at home, and I walk to do as many of my errands as I can, but when we drive we make up for it in the amount of energy it takes to power our vehicle. We are currently looking for something smaller and will be car shopping this weekend. I had some guilt about using our window air conditioners until my son got sick. Then I realized some things are just necessity. Once it get over a hundred degrees, which means it is even hotter in our house, I am using the air conditioner. Though I try to use it as little as possible up until that point. I have my little organic garden, next year I will grow more so that I have to rely on the grocery store less. We vegans still consume our fair share of processed foods, which take a lot of energy and chemicals to bring to our plates. I cook as much as I can, but still rely on a good old boca burger at times. We all have our faults and none of us are perfect, but I think that if every put a little effort into doing the best that he or she can do, we could make a huge difference.

Today is Friday and I love to post recipes on Friday. Since it is Friday, I thought I would go with some nice “Happy Hour” style munchies. Though I don’t drink, these munchies are great for an afternoon snack, an impromptu after work get together, or as appetizers on the weekend. So here are today’s recipes:

Bruschetta

1 French bread or sour dough bread baguette
4-5 Roma tomatoes
1/8 cup fresh chopped basil
8 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut baguette into slices. Brush baguette slices oil from first four tbsp of olive oil and rub with half of one garlic. Place in the oven and cook until it begins to brown. Cut up tomatoes and place in a bowl. Add chopped basil, chopped garlic, salt and 4 tbsp olive oil and mix together. Top toasted baguette slices with tomato mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Place in oven until cheese has melted.

White Bean Bruschetta

White Bean Topping
1 16oz can Canellini Beans
4-5 Fresh Basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
A pinch of Salt
3 tbsp olive oil

Toasted Baguette Slices
1 baguette, sliced thinly
3 tbsp olive oil
A pinch of salt
1 clove garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put olive oil for baguettes in a small bowl with salt and garlic. Slice baguette thinly and brush with olive oil mixture. Toast in the oven for about 4-5 minutes. When tops begin to become golden remove from the oven. Put all ingredients for white bean topping in a blender and pulsate briefly 2-3 times. Do not puree mixture, but make it a chunky. Smooth mixture on toasted sour dough or French bread baguette slices.

Sour Dough Bread with Olive Oil Dip

1 cup olive oil
2 sprigs fresh oregano chopped up
4-5 fresh leaves of basil chopped up
1 small pinch kosher salt
1 baguette

In a small bowl mix olive oil, oregano, basil and salt. Cut baguette up into slices and serve on a platter with olive oil mix.