I just read about something that sounds like my version of heaven. It is the Bristol Vegan Fayre at the Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square in Bristol on June 9th and 10th.

All the vegan food you can eat, vegan food demos, entertainment, tearooms, a cruelty-free fashion show, guest speakers, kids activities and more. This is the ultimate vegan dream. To be able to go to a fair and know that everything is cruelty-free. To be able to taste all of the food that you wish to try and do some vegan shopping. I can’t think of anything that would be better than this. Unfortunately, I doubt I will be able to attend this year, but since they do it every year, it is definitely on my list of things to do before I die.

Rarely when I make fried potatoes do they turn out looking almost perfect, crispy on the outside tender on the inside. So I had to have my husband take a picture of these, because they will probably never turn out this perfect again. I did so a couple of things different than I normally do. I used my really big iron skillet (iron skillets are a must when making fried potatoes), then I poured in the olive oil and heated for a few minutes before adding the potatoes. Once I put the potatoes in I added the salt and pepper and made sure to coat all the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I let them sit for a while undisturbed (about 10 minutes), flipped them once and cooked them on a low temp. Once they began to soften I turned the temperature up to make the outsides nice and crispy and added sliced yellow onion. I cooked until the onions began to caramelize and the potatoes had a nice crispy, golden brown appearance. I am so proud.

With my potatoes, I made vegan cornbread. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I put in one cup of cornmeal, one cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup agave syrup, equivalent to one prepared egg of Energ Egg replacer, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 cup rice milk, 1/3 cup olive oil. Then I mix all the dry ingredients, then add the oil and mix well. Then I add the egg replacer, agave syrup and rice milk. Mix well and pour into a greased glass baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. You know they are ready when the top begins to lightly brown.

This is my traditional “cowboy” meal served with Native American Beans. I love the simplicity.

You guys will not believe what I finally have for you. That’s right, Christmas dinner pics. I finally got my hubbie to download them off of the camera for me.

The first picture I have is of my precious baby boy on Christmas Eve.

Note: We thought the earth deserved a present too, so we bought a live tree to give back later this year.

Doesn’t he look handsome? He had so much fun on Christmas. The great part was we actually did things a little mellower this year and I think it was more enjoyable all the way around.

Next, we have a picture of my garlic mashed potatoes. They were delicious. Of course, I love mashed potatoes and could probably eat them everyday.

Next, my absolutely favorite food for Thanksgiving and Christmas, Vegan Green Bean Casserole. When I was pregnant that was all I wanted to eat.

Another family staple every holiday is this creamy and delicious Sweet Potato Casserole. I use natural sweetener so, for the most part, it is pretty healthy. My family uses it as a side dish, but when it is just my husband, my son, and myself, we actually treat it like a dessert.

Now for the main course, spinach pie, of which I forgot to take a picture of until after we ate it, but it still looks good. I love spinach pie. I really love it with hummus drizzled on top. So delicious.

To get the recipes for any of these dishes, click the link below:

Vegan Christmas Dinner

I know it is a bit belated, but once again, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year.

I want to take the opportunity to say congratulations to vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz on her article in The New York Times, Strict Vegan Ethics, Frosted with Hedonism. This article was so awesome. Isa is author of Vegan with a Vengence and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. You can also find her at The Post Punk Kitchen.

Veganism has been getting a lot of positive press from The New York Times lately, Go Veg. The article on Isa is a wonderful piece. I love it when Isa says “vegans should stop whining about what they can and can’t eat, and start cooking. When someone invites you to dinner, bring something delicious, and share it. I totally agree with her. That has been my philosophy from the very beginning when becoming vegan. It has been such a wonderful thing, filled with great experiences. I have learned great creativity in the kitchen and feel great about the food I put into my body. I also love sharing my vegan creations with others and hope someday to be able to set up vegan cooking demos at some of the local festivals and farmer’s markets, where I can show people that vegan food is delicious and not strange. That is also a lot of the purpose behind the Vegan Fashion Blog. I want to show people that vegans are diverse. We come from all walks of life and can be just like everyone else, except we choose not to harm animals. Some people get annoyed with the girliness of the blog. But it is exactly this girliness that is the point. I want people to know that vegan fashion can be fun. That you can be vegan and dressed fashionably for the boardroom or the courtroom. I also think that people put a lot into how others are dressed, and that vegan activists may be heard by more people when dressed in a way that positively commands attention. When we dress differently, and adamently try to push our beliefs on others, people will dismiss us as freaks. I truly believe the saying that you catch my flies with honey. Educating others about factory farming without judgement upon them, dressing in a way that is elegant and demands attention, and providing people with the best that veganism has to offer, I feel is the best way to introduce them to a cruelty-free lifestyle.

This past weekend was my baby boy’s fifth birthday. It was exciting and sad at the same time. I can’t believe how big he is getting. Even in the past 6 months he has changed so much and grown. I didn’t have time to make him a cake from scratch, so we had to buy one from the store. So no cake for me, which I will never do again. It was so hard to smell the icing and cake and not have something for me to eat. From now on I will make the time to make a cake.

I have found a new job. Hopefully I will be starting next week. I am hoping to be able to keep up with my blogs, but bear with me if I am a bit erratic in my posts over the next couple of weeks, while I settle into my new schedule. Which is really early because I will be working 5:30-2pm. It is early, but I like the hours because I will be home early enough to spend time with my son and get things done around the house. I will be managing an addictions treatment program and am quite excited about it. It will be a different position for me. I have worked with addictions before, but this time I will be doing more of the program development, community education and politicing.

This week I made the best broccoli ever. I sauteed garlic, red pepper flake, salt and pepper in olive oil, then I added frozen broccoli and sauteed for about 2 minutes. Then I added about a cup of vegetable broth, put the lid on and let the broccoli steam in vegetable broth for about 5 minutes. It is so absolutely delicious, you’ll never want anything else for lunch. My dh and I are definitely hooked. I will have to cook it up and put into a stainless steel thermos and take for lunch at the new job.

This will be the first time that I have worked out of the house while being vegan. We will probably be doing a lot more soups, because they are easy to pack up and take for lunch. We don’t use microwaves, which makes reheating food not really an option. So I have to bring foods that taste good luke warm or pack easily into a thermos. Lifes about to get busy, but I enjoy being busy. So it will be good. I am still waiting for my dh to upload pics for me of food that we took last week. Hopefully I will have them for tomorrow.

If you all want to read something that you will probably get a big kick out of, I suggest you read the article Soy is making kids ‘gay.’ Hmmm, does he mean happy? Because a vegan diet with some soy supplimentation certainly makes me happy.Though I do agree with the author of the article, that soy should be consumed in moderation, because like everything else it is often processed, I think he goes a bit overboard suggesting that it will demasculize our children. Anyway, it does make for an interesting, if slightly amusing read, with a shread of sound information taking out of context.

More evidence that a vegan diet is superior, to a nonvegan diet in treating diabetes. Dr. Neal Barnard has just released a new book, Dr. Neal Barnard’s Book on Reversing Diabetes, about how a lowfat vegan diet can eliminate the need for medications in those with Type 2 diabetes. Just another reason to be vegan, you won’t have to worry about Type 2 diabetes.

Speaking of Dr. Barnard’s book, The Center for Consumer Freedom is attacking Dr. Barnard’s dietary advice. Why? Hmmm, maybe because they are just a front for such companies as Philip Morris, to propogate junk food and an unhealthy lifestyle. Check out “Consumer” Group Promotes Sugar, Fat, Meat, Alcohol and Tobacco. Next time you come across a study stating that something you know is not healthy, actually is, check out the source, the Center for Consumer Freedom is probably behind it.

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. We have been having a lot of financial problems lately and it has caused a lot of stress. My cooking has been pretty uninspired and made of the most inexpensive ingredients that I can find. Still totally vegan, but vegetable soup with rice over and over again just isn’t too exciting. Luckily I am vegan, because you can cook pretty cheap on a vegan diet.

I am currently in the process of looking for a job outside of the home, since I am just not making enough working at home. I truly dislike looking for a job, it can be extremely depressing. I sent out several resumes and applications to the state and county this week, so keep your fingers crossed. I have a Masters in Counseling, but in California that just means the wrong degree, because I can’t get licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist without taking an additional six or seven classes, which are incongruent with my PhD program so they would have had to be taken in addition to my doctoral workload. Not happening.

Anyway, enough whining, just wanted to let you all know that I am still around and still vegan, just lacking a bit of motivation lately. On the bright side I did get some pics of my Christmas dinner so long ago. As soon as my hubbie downloads them, I will post. We had a great Christmas. I hope everyone else did too.

I will post again very soon in between trying my best make a little money and find a job.

Love to all of you!