Vegan Wheekers

VeganMofo #10: Lemongrass seitan

2011-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

If this looks somewhat similar to yesterday's lunch, it's because we had to use up the veggies on Friday so they didn't go bad over the weekend. :-) Today's special item is lemongrass seitan. We use lemongrass that's already minced up in a jar that you can get in the frozen section of the Asian market. Very convenient!

Benny's a complete gentleman to the guinea pigs, knowing he's the newbie in the house. You can see here that he's "bowing" to Bert, who still rumbles at him. They have supervised floor time together and poor Benny is always bullied by the pigs. I hope they will accept him soon enough. At least there aren't any blood drawn! :-)

VeganMofo #9: Pesto Pasta

2011-10-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

My co-worker made this yummy pasta for lunch. It's got veggies and portabella mushroom swimming pesto sauce.

In pet news, Belle had teary eyes and was getting lethargic so we brought her to the vet. The vet confirmed she had early signs of respiratory problems. Glad we caught it early this time. It was time for her teeth trim. Aside from the usual malocclusion problems, she also managed to crack her front top incisor vertically, which the doc couldn't remove. She said it's best to let it grow out, hopefully correctly. *fingers crossed*

VeganMofo #8: Sweet n Sour Tofu + Blissful Chef's Tempeh Fakin' Bacon

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! Thanks for visiting!

Today we bought a fresh pineapple from Whole Foods. Half of it was juiced and the other half ended up in this Sweet n Sour Tofu dish.

The main ingredients were pineapple, bell pepper, onion, and tofu. I can't remember the sauce ingredient because I used a mish mash of what I found online and what I had in the kitchen. I didn't have tomato paste so I used ketchup. There was sugar involved. Cornstarch was called for but I only had tapioca starch, which I don't think was quite right for it, though I've read it was interchangeable (even says so on the box!). In the end, the taste was milder than what I'm used to eating at the restaurants, but it was still good.

I also had a craving for The Blissful Chef's Tempeh Fakin' Bacon so I made a batch of it. Though her recipe called for 1 packet of tempeh it easily worked for one and a half. She also said to marinate the tempeh in the sauce for an hour, but I stuck it right in the oven and it turned out fine. In fact, the sauce was totally absorbed into the tempeh, giving it that extra oomph!

VeganMofo #7: Potato-corn-leek stew

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's another clean-out the fridge day. I had some corn-on-the cobs and a passing-its-prime stick of leek. A Google search for some recipes that contain those two ingredients resulted in some sort of chowder. Not feeling like soup, I used less water and turned it into more like stew that can be spooned over rice.

Ingredients:
2 corn on the cob, kernels removed (or use frozen corn)
1 stick of leek, sliced
1 potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 Field Roast classic meatloaf, cut into chunks
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste (or use soy sauce) (Keep in mind the meatloaf is quite salty so you don't need to add much.)

Fry the leek with water or oil until soft, add the corn, fry for another few minutes. Add the potato and water, bring to a boil and lower heat. Cook for 20 min or so until potato is soft. Add more water if necessary. Add Field Roast and seasoning, cook for another 5-10 minutes so the meatloaf is heated through.

Belle prefers the bunny's pellets. Or maybe she finds it more fun eating out of that bowl?

VeganMofo #6: Banana Bread from the PPK

2011-10-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

I discovered a bunch of overripe bananas that were overlooked in the fridge. I froze half for a future smooth and used the rest in a banana bread recipe by Isa Chandra.

It turned out really nice in the bread machine. I thought it tasted a touch too sweet (1 cup of sugar!!) so next time I'll reduce that.

What do you do with overripe bananas? I'm on the hunt for a cake or cupcake that uses banana as an egg replacer. If you know of any, please share!

VeganMofo #5: "Fried" rice cooked in rice cooker

2011-10-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Did you know you could cook a whole meal in the rice cooker? For the longest time, I've only cooked rice in it. But now I throw veggies in and voila, I've got "fried" rice!

Rice cooker "fried" rice

Just dice any veggies you've got in the fridge and throw it in with the rice and water, add a bit of soy sauce or your choice of seasoning, push the cook button and relax while the machine does the cooking for you. Here I've used cauliflower, onion, corn, and cabbage. When it was ready to serve, I garnished it with cut up nori sheets and a sprinkle of roasted pine nuts. I love that there's no oil needed like in regular fried rice.

VeganMofo #4: Tempeh Burger

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

DH made this quick tempeh burger for dinner a few nights ago. He simply fried the tempeh in some Braggs and vegetable seasoning. Easy peasy!


Tempeh Burger

While we ate, Benny practiced his yoga poses.

VeganMofo #3: Loving Hut Portland

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Passing through Portland last week, we had a chance to stop by the local Loving Hut after a fun day visiting the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge.

Upon being seated, we were served a complimentary bowl of soup. It was a simple soup - cabbage, celery, carrot, tofu - but it was a welcoming touch and greatly appreciated after a chilly and wet outing.

Chow Mein

Say Yes Mapo

Guru Fried Rice and Paradise Salad

Their menu is heavy on the mock meat but it's easy to request that they leave it out. For my salad, they offered to substitute the mock meat with tofu and it was yummy!

If you ever visit Portland, Multnomah Falls is a must see. And hike all the way to the top; I nearly passed out from being so out of shape but it was worth it!

Multnomah Falls

VeganMofo #2: 2-for-1 meals - Prata Pizza & Quinoa Stir Fry

2011-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Vegetarian Times had a feature in their recent issue where the recipe of one meal made for a great leftover dish the next day. It got me thinking on how I could turn one dish into two. So I present to you Prata Pizza and Quinoa "Stir Fry" using a veggie medley as the main shared ingredient.

Veggie Medley ingredients:
1 2.25oz can of sliced olives
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced
handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
(add any other veggies you like)
vegetable seasoning

Instructions:
Cook the ingredients in a pan, adding oil or water as needed, until slightly softened (5-10 min). Split into two portions for the two dishes.

Dish #1: Prata Pizza
Roti prata or paratha is a flour-based pancake, sort of like puff pastry, that we buy frozen in a package of five at the Asian market. DH likes eating it with curry so we always have some in the freezer. My sister showed me it makes for a great pizza base when you don't have time to make regular dough. This is the brand we usually get:

For the Prata Pizza, take 2 frozen roti pratas and bake in the oven for 5 minutes until it poofs up but isn't browned. Take out and spread on pizza sauce or tomato paste. Top with the veggie medley and put it back in the oven to bake for another 5 minutes. And you've got instant pizza!

Dish #2: Quinoa "Stir Fry"
For lunch the next day, I cooked up quinoa in the rice cooker, heated up the veggie medley on a pan, and mixed it with the quinoa when done. Feel free to add more seasoning or a salad to it.

Dish #3: Pita Sandwich
As a bonus recipe, when I brought the quinoa stir fry to work for lunch, my coworker used some to add bulk to his pita bread sandwich. Add salad, avocado, tomato, and we've got a third dish! (Sorry, no pics.)

VeganMofo #1: Soba Noodle Salad

2011-10-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

My co-worker shared with us a tasty soba salad for lunch. It's topped with pesto Gardein Chick'n Strips.

Belle said to wake her when the salad minus the soba was ready.

New Family Member - Introducing Benny the Bunny!

2011-08-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the shelter to visit a pair of guinea pigs. Two days later, we came home with a rabbit. Today, I still smile to DH and whisper, "Guess what? There's a bunny in the house!"

Benny the Bunny

Introducing Benny, a brindle short hair rabbit that won us over with his friendliness. I like to tell people that he chose us because adopting a rabbit was never on our mind - another guinea pig, yes, but a rabbit? Yet, after meeting Benny, we couldn't forget him. We visited him again the second day where he further charmed us and that night, I did some heavy thinking about whether we were ready for such a big change and responsibility. Only after the third day when DH said he was open to the idea that I knew he was coming home with us that evening.

I have much to learn. Aside from their diet, rabbits and guinea pigs have rather different needs. I needed to learn Benny's body language, his likes and dislikes, and observe his normal behavior so I know when he's not well. And since he doesn't have a bunny friend, we have to spend extra time with him to ensure he's emotionally content. We also have much to do to bunny-proof the house. That's for another post!

Benny enjoying some petting

So far we know he's very affectionate. He'd come to us in the morning for some head scratches. He is nearly impossible to hold. Even the vet and nurse had trouble holding him down during his examination and had to do it sitting on the floor. I have not tried picking him up yet and don't know how I'll do so after seeing how much trouble the professionals had. You have to do it right or else they'll kick hard and break their back. Yikes!

And what might Bert and Belle think of him? We've introduced them several times. Bert is a little wary of the new guy. Belle doesn't mind and is happy so long as her share of the veggies remains the same. :-)

*****

In other news, we've hit the jackpot with our zucchini plants and I'm now in a bit of conundrum of how to use them all aside from roasting them. I've tried two recipes:

Savory Zucchini Cakes by Happy-Vegan.com
These were a hit with DH. I realized after the first few cakes that you didn't need much oil to cook them. They really were just like pancakes.

Low-Fat Zucchini Bread by Holy Cow!
These turned out dry and dense the bread machine. I'm starting to learn the bread machine isn't the way to go to bake most of the recipes I find but I'm too darn lazy to do it the normal way! ;-)

Other recipes I've tried were:
Cornbread Biscuits from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
These went well with tofu scrambles.

Mango Muffins by Holy Cow!
This was the first time I baked without using a soymilk/apple cider vinegar mix. It turned out nice and fluffy but no one could tell it was mango. Go figure.

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad by Robin Robertson
I didn't have the sea vegetable flakes and I guess that's what made my version just okay. It made for a nice light lunch though.

What have you been cooking lately? What do you do with zucchinis?

Vegan Brunch: Lemon Muffins

2011-04-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter, everyone!

I'm trying to get my blogging mojo back. I was on a roll last month with Appetite for Reduction until the Japan earthquake hit. The horrifying images of the tsunami shocked me to the core. We even had our own tsunami alert for the California coast the following morning. For the next several weeks, I was glued to the news about the nuclear reactor problems and recovery efforts, then stocked up on emergency supplies. What happened in Japan could very well happen in California!

In April I fought a really bad cold/cough and at the same time, Bert developed a severe head tilt all of a sudden. It caused him to lose balance and topple over when he ran (which he always is, from one safety place to another). The vet said it's either an inner ear infection or brain tumor. "Say what?!" She prescribed antibiotics and we crossed our fingers hoping that would fix him. After a week, his head began to tilt the other way a little. We were flabbergasted. Fortunately, one week later, he was straight as a button and all was right with the guinea pig world for a sweet period...

...until Belle's vet visit next week for her tooth trim. :-)

*****

We noticed that a neighbor whom we've never met has a beautiful big lemon tree just dripping with ripe lemons in his yard. It seemed so wasteful seeing the fruits drop and rot on the ground. This morning we saw the neighbor tending to his garden so I wondered out loud half-jokingly to hubby if he thought the neighbor would sell the lemon to us. Hubby then proceeded to walk over and asked! The neighbor was really nice and invited us to pluck what we wanted for free. Yay! Of course we didn't feel good taking it without giving anything in return, so the moment we returned with our small bucket of lemons, I pulled out Isa's Vegan Brunch to make lemon muffins for him.

Lemon Muffins from "Vegan Brunch"

The original recipes called for poppy seeds, which I didn't have. No matter, the end result was still so good! I don't know if it's the freshly plucked lemons or what, but the muffins were so deliciously fragrant and melt-in-your mouth yummy! (Of course I had to taste test one before giving it to the neighbor. ;-) I love how quick I was able to put it together; the recipe is really very simple and easy. There will definitely be more lemon muffins in my near future!

Cinnaholics Cinnamon Rolls

2011-03-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

The Daily Gourmet recently had a deal featuring Cinnaholic, a local vegan bakery specializing in cinnamon rolls, that was too good to pass. So I ordered. One week later, a box of 12 huge cinnamon rolls arrived in the mail. And I do mean huge. They're the size of my hand with my fingers spread out! The rolls came with four kinds of toppings packaged separately. I added the strawberries myself, so don't blame the company for the looks!

Delicious Cinnaholic rolls. Yum!

*****

Here's another cute guinea pig video I came across recently:

Appetite for Reduction: Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili

2011-03-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

Before learning to cook, I rarely ate beans. I didn't like the taste and texture of it. My first like of beans only happened in college when I bought a veggie burrito with black beans in it. Love! Since then, I bought canned black beans just to replicate that burrito at home.

So it was a departure from my regular eating routine to make Isa's Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili. I can count the number of times I've eaten chili on one hand, usually because they're spicy which I can't take. But I had to use up the leftover black bean from the quinoa salad and this seemed tasty.

For the veggies, I used corn, cauliflower, green bell pepper, carrot, and onion. As I was cooking, DH came over for a peek and commented, "Wow, looks really healthy." That's code for, "I don't think I'll like it that much." DH isn't a bean person at all.

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili

My modifications:
1. I left out the chili powder since I can't take the heat. I guess I can't really call this chili now can I?
2. I didn't have diced tomatoes, canned or fresh, nor tomato paste. But I did have a jar of pasta sauce! Worked out okay, methinks.

Verdict:
I ended up eating the bulk of it since, ahem, someone really doesn't like beans. ;-) This works great in a tortilla wrap too, but then again, what doesn't? As I like to say, everything tastes better in a wrap!

*****
This funny video demonstrates why guinea pigs aren't a good choice for film. Thanks to Papua Piig for sharing!

Appetite for Reduction: Bhutanese Pineapple Rice & Masala Baked Tofu

2011-03-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen pineapple rice served in the shell of a pineapple? The first time I saw it, I was so amazed at the presentation. It's so clever, don't you think? And no dishes to do afterward, bonus! :-)

Though I didn't serve Isa's Bhutanese Pineapple Rice in a pineapple shell, it was nevertheless simple and delicious. The addition of fresh cilantro was a nice touch. I served it with Masala Baked Tofu.

Bhutanese Pineapple Rice & Masala Baked Tofu

My modifications:
1. used white jasmine rice, not Bhutanese red rice (never heard of such a thing!)
2. used curry powder since I was out of red curry paste
3. sauted the pineapple chunks at the beginning with the onion, garlic, and ginger instead of adding it at the end; I like my pineapple a little caramelized.

Verdict:
This is my favorite recipe from the book thus far. DH thinks it's a keeper too.

*****

I've been remiss in telling you about the TofuXpress gadget I won last year and that is not to say I haven't been using it. Quite the opposite! I'd never bothered to press my tofu before I got this handy gadget. Now tofu rarely gets cooked without going into the Tofuxpress first, even if just for a few minutes. The instruction tells you to press the tofu for an hour or more, but five minutes usually squeezes out enough water for my purposes. With the water out, the tofu fries much faster. DH also marveled at the difference it makes. I love this thing! Does anyone else use the TofuXpress?

*****

"Move your butt!"

This is Bert and Belle squeezing for space along the crook of my arm while we cuddled in bed. I usually have just one at a time so they're not used to sharing the space. ;-)

Have a great week ahead!

Appetite for Reduction: Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs

2011-03-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Isa's recipe for Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs seemed similar to how I usually make roasted cauliflower but the bread crumbs were a new twist I had to try!

Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs

Usually when bread crumbs are involved, there's a batter of some sort to make it stick to the food. But nope, not in this recipe! Isa just instructs us to lightly dampen the cauliflower and the bread crumbs would stick just fine. Brilliant!

My modifications:
1. I didn't use any oil or cooking spray.
2. I added onion and garlic powder to season the bread crumbs.

Verdict:
Yum! I brought it to work and a non-vegan said it tasted like there was Parmesan on them because of the seasoned bread crumbs, which surprised me since I didn't even add nooch. Hmm, that's another idea... :-)

Appetite for Reduction: Quinoa Salad w/ Black Beans & Toasted Cumin Seeds + Giveaway Winner!

2011-02-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

For my third recipe from Appetite for Reduction, I chose Quinoa Salad w/ Black Beans & Toasted Cumin Seeds since there was leftover quinoa in the fridge. It was only after it was all put together that I realized how similar it is to how I already eat black bean quinoa salad, minus the cumin seeds. I didn't have cumin seeds so I substituted with regular cumin powder. It did add a little pizazz to the dish; I liked it! How much nicer it might have been with toasted cumin seeds. :-) I served it on tortilla because to me, everything tastes better in a wrap.

Quinoa Salad w/ Black Beans & ~~Toasted~~ Cumin ~~Seeds~~ on Tortilla

Now on to the guinea pig calendar giveaway winner! Thanks to all who entered; I loved reading about your pets. :-) And the winner is...

Shannon! I'll send you an email soon. Congratulations!

Appetite for Reduction: Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette & Raw Kale Salad

2011-02-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

Bert

Happy President's Day! I hereby thank all the Presidents for giving us an excuse for having this day off. It's another glorious day, warm enough to throw open a few windows to let the fresh air flow in. Breathe in and ahhhhhhh...

Today's Appetite for Reduction recipe was chosen to accommodate my sudden craving for raw kale. I chose "Sushi Roll Edamame Salad" thinking I could sub the kale for the romaine lettuce suggested. But I ended up subbing or not having a few key ingredients and now I no longer dare to say I made "Sushi Roll Edamame Salad" for fear of offending Isa. Let's just say I was inspired by it! :-)

I did however make the accompanying "Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette" to the letter.


Sushi kale salad

Not sure if you can see it, but the vinaigrette is a lovely light green color from blending the green onion. The recipe recommended 1-2 cups of chopped green onions; I used one cup (2 stalks). The recipe called for red miso but I used white since that was all I had. Isa did say that was okay though (pg 12).

And the verdict? Whoa. I can say it's not a light tasting salad dressing. I should have known better because when I use miso for soup, I only use 1-2 tablespoons for a big pot of water. This recipe called for 1/4 cup of miso with only half a cup of water. Whoa. So a little of this dressing goes a long way. I usually like my salads smothered with dressing but I couldn't take much of this one. It's also my fault for pairing it with raw kale which is kind of bitter. I shall try it with lettuce next time.

What I do like very much about this meal is adding seaweed to salad. That's a wonderful way to eat more seaweed without making sushi. Yum!

*****

As I was finishing this post, I read about the 6.3 earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand a few hours ago. Living in an earthquake zone and having been through a severe earthquake, I can relate. Very scary stuff. My thoughts are with the people who are affected by this earthquake. May they remain unharmed and recover quickly from the damages.

In related news, there was a sad report yesterday of 107 Pilot Whales that died on a New Zealand beach. I wonder if there's some sort of connection to today's earthquake or is it pure coincidence? Hmm...

Sunday Ramblings

2011-02-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

There was a time when I could happily live on just bread and water alone. I didn't know how to cook; bread was tasty, filling, and most importantly, easy. I could probably still live like that if I had only my own mouth to feed but there are other considerations now.

Food was not in the forefront of my mind until I moved out. Gone were the hands that magically put meals on the table, replaced by an empty kitchen that I had to quickly fill and learn to use. Before, I could open a fridge full of things and find nothing to eat. Now, I could whip up a meal with just one or two ingredients (how good it tastes is another matter). My mother is still amazed and I even more so.

These thoughts came to me as I savored a soft chewy bite of freshly baked bread from Whole Foods today. DH beamed as he came up to me holding the still warm loaf in his hand, saying, "You're going to love this!" He knows me so well. :-) As soon as I came home, I sliced a piece and ate it plain. No butter, no toppings. Just like that. It was so good.

I sometimes wish our meals could be simpler. I sometimes wish I didn't have to think about food all the time. Is it vegan? Are you sure? What do we have in our fridge? What do we have in the fridge at work? (We also cook lunch at work.) What could I make with that? What needs to be used up first? Will he/she like this particular dish? Is it enough? What items do I need to buy?

How simple life would be if we didn't have to eat. Imagine if the kitchen could be replaced with another bedroom or a room to foster rescues. No fridge and storage needed for pots and pans and dishes. And imagine the time we would save. No shopping, no chopping, no cooking, no cleaning. More time for our loved ones or simply to take a moment to rest, breathe.

But alas, this human body demands fuel. And so I cook. I cook to show my love. I cook to make people happy. I cook so that an animal's life is spared. I cook to show that decent food exists without meat. I cook to support humanity's (albeit slow) shift to a vegan lifestyle.

And sometimes, I cook just for myself. :-)

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy good food. And I love reading all the vegan food blogs. And at times I actually enjoy cooking. But now and then, a loaf is bread is all I need.

....

Gosh, just what did Whole Foods put in their bread?! :-D

Sun setting along the highway

It has been a rainy cold week around the Bay Area but today the sun broke through for a glorious day. This is a picture I took of the sun setting as we drove home earlier. I'm sorry I didn't better capture the beauty of the wispy cirrus clouds melting into the blue sky with the majestic stratocumulus clouds below. I can just tell you it was breathtaking.

In guinea pig news, I'm super pleased to have found the perfect laundry basket for the guinea pigs' dirty towels and cuddle cups. Previously it was just dumped in an open plastic storage container that was too small. Then DH spotted this at IKEA:

SKUBB Laundry bag with stand

It doesn't look like much but it fitted all of my criterias: it's lightweight, it's narrow, it's easy to clean, it has two separate compartments, and it has a cover. Yay!

Belle is doing well. She's back to her spirited, please-give-me-food-I-can-empty-the-fridge self. The positive outcome of her illness is that she's no longer grossly overweight. I will endeavor not to submit to her pretty wheeks of demand for food 24/7. :-)

Bert is hanging out with his pal, finding a soft safe haven from those grabbing human hands. After three years with us, he still runs for his life whenever we approach. But once he's on our lap, he immediately settles into a comfy deep sleep, showing his full trust and love. :-)

I've had several slices of bread by now so I think dinner has been taken care of, LOL! I'll be back with more appetizing food in the next post. Thanks for reading and have a beautiful day!

Appetite for Reduction: Curry Laksa

2011-02-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

I've had Isa Chandra's new cookbook Appetite for Reduction for quite some time now and finally got the chance to cook from it. First up: Curry Laksa!

Curry Laksa is a popular spicy coconut curry noodle dish in Singapore and Malaysia. Laksa refers to the herb often used in Southasian cooking. It looks like a slender version of mint and is sometimes called Vietnamese mint or coriander. It can be found in Asian groceries but since not everyone has access to that, Isa replaced it with regular coriander instead.

Curry Laksa

Some things I would do differently next time I make it:
- Add less lime juice. I recommend taste testing as you add when you make it.
- Add more coconut milk. Even though that would make it less of a low fat recipe, I like my broth creamier.
- Make sure not to overcook the the bok choy! That was totally my fault because I didn't prep everything beforehand. Thank goodness I followed Isa's tip of cooking the leaf and stem separately, otherwise I'd have some mushy leaves in my soup.

If you can find the laksa herb in your local market, definitely give it a try in this recipe. And if you ever travel to Singapore, I have it on good authority that the Loving Huts there have really good vegan laksa. :-)

VeganWheeker's First Giveaway!

2011-02-18T23:27:00.000-08:00

Today I've crossed the 1000+ follower mark on Twitter and as promised, I'm having a giveaway to celebrate!

CupcakeKitteh jokingly provided the idea for the prize and then I, by happy chance, came across this and thought it was perfect.

It's a 2011 monthly wall calendar from Orange County Cavy Haven featuring a photo of their rescued guinea pigs each month. OCCH does wonderful work rescuing guinea pigs, rehabilitating them, and then adopting them out. Those that cannot be adopted out due to age or medical concerns are lovingly taken care of for the rest of their life. I greatly admire them and wished I live closer so I could participate in their events. Proceeds from this calendar will benefit their rescue. (Yay, we all win!) To learn more about OCCH, follow them on Twitter @OCCavyHaven or Facebook where they post lots of cute guinea pig pictures. :-)

The giveaway is open to everyone, including my international friends. :-) To enter, simply leave a comment below. Some ideas include stories about your pet, what rescue you support, or your favorite vegan meal. No Twitter account is necessary to enter but be sure to leave an email address so I could contact you. A winner will be chosen Friday, Feb 25th 10pm PST.

Happy Wheekend, everyone!

Guinea pig drama and Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Belle snuggling in my pocket

I hope you all have had a great start to the new year. Our start was all about Belle, who had increasingly lost weight since December. She's usually weighs in the upper 900 grams (overweight in guinea pig terms) but in January dropped below 900, before starting to exhibit lethargy and lack of appetite. And anyone who knows Belle knows this girl can EAT! So when she shunned her favorite lettuce and cucumber, we knew it was past time to send her to the vet.

The vet suspected the malocclusion of her teeth problem returned, which in turn led to breathing problems and bronchitis. She was extremely weak, so the vet prescribed a week of antibiotics to fight the bronchitis before her next appointment where she had to undergo anesthesia to trim her teeth. We also asked the vet to take out an abnormal growth on the side of her thigh to have it tested.

Today, I am happy to report Belle is back in good health and happy (hungry) spirits! The growth on her thigh was removed, which turned out to be Trichofolliculomas, a common benign growth in guinea pigs. Her teeth were the main cause of her lack of appetite; one of the molars had form a pointy-like toothpick sticking into her tongue and one of her front incisors was cracked sending sharp shards into her gum. OUCH! The vet carefully removed the shards and trimmed the pointy tooth. All better! Or so we thought.

Her shaven thigh and stitches

We were in for a surprise when we returned to the vet today to remove the stitches on her thigh and found out that somehow in the two weeks since her surgery, Belle has managed to severely chip off the front incisor that was cracked before. Yikes! The vet said it was no cause for alarm, took her to the back to trim it (no anestheshia required, whew!) and now Belle's back home munching happily away again. Best Valentine's Day gift she could give to her momma!

Of course we didn’t forget about Bert throughout all this. He got plenty of cuddles in bed too!

"I can sleep in any position."

Though it's still winter, we had some weird summery weather in the Bay Area this past month (climate change is real!) and it inspired us to start some seedlings indoors for our vegetable garden.


snow peas "Oregon Giant"

Cucumber. I almost gave up on these since they took so long to sprout!

And one morning, I caught a feral cat digging up the lettuce in our raised bed to do the dirty deed!

He was a such a cutie though, I couldn’t scold him. But he alerted me to the fact that our yard had turned into the pooping party ground of the local feral community. I dug up a whole grocery bag full of poop which they hid under all the mulch. I love the cats, but I do not love cleaning after them...or having them destroy the garden. :-\

Lastly, if you’ve made this far in the post, here was our simple dinner celebration for Valentine’s Day. To me, nothing’s quite as romantic and fun as cooking together, so DH and I whipped up Melisser Elliot’s Pasta with Asparagus in Lemon Cream Sauce from her book, The Vegan Girl’s Guide to Life. We subbed the asparagus with broccoli and the whole meal was quick to whip up!

Paired with candlelight and non-alcoholic cocktail, it was a simple and romantic dinner for two. For dessert, I had made the Chocolate-Orange Cake from FatFree Vegan Kitchen the night before. I love that it’s oil-free and yet still so soft and moist. Delicious!

I hope everyone had a fantastic day with loved ones. Wishing you all happiness and good health!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, is it 2011 already? Seems like Thanksgiving was just yesterday! Well, at least that's where this blog left off, oops!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter holiday and a fantastic start to the new year. I fell short of completing VeganMofo last year but it was fun trying. I loved reading everyone's feedback and finding new inspiration. I've also learned to appreciate all the work it takes to maintain a regular blog. Whew! How do you guys do it?!

After seeing Laloofah's comment on New Year's Eve, I decided to make her suggested dishes at last! I had a butternut squash from Thanksgiving that I hadn't used so it seemed perfect for the mac recipe. I cut it in half and baked it to make the purée the recipe called for.

Here's the Smoky-Freaky-Mac-N-Cheesy with butternut squash as the "cheese". It's a tasty alternative to the cashew and avocado based "cheese" I've made before. I served the mac with Quinoa and ~~Red~~ Green Lentil Cutlets. I didn't have red lentils but aside from the color difference, I think it turned out great! I tossed both the lentils and quinoa into the rice cooker to cook together and that made things easy peasy. Thanks for suggesting the recipes, Laloo!

I had lots of squash puree left so I used it up in a tator tot casserole, subbing the original cashew gravy with the squash puree instead. It made enough for me to freeze two portions for dinner for another day. Yum!

It's been quite cold here but nothing compared to the snowpocalypse the NorthEast experienced. It makes for lots more warm cuddle time with the guinea pigs!

Albert Zzzzzzz

Have you made any New Year resolutions? I shall try budget and meal planning to reduce food wastage as my first resolution. That includes eating up everything in the pantry before buying new stuff. So that's going to make for some interesting meals!

I've also not renewed any of the magazines I subscribed to last year (VegNews, Vegetarian Times, Real Simple, Whole Living). I realized I don't have the time to read them and most of the news/info/interviews they print can already be found online. Instead I love reading vegan blogs, which is more up-to-date and interactive, and there are lots more recipes to choose from. (I still haven't made a dent in the VeganMofo posts in my reader!)

Are any of you planning your spring garden already? I stumbled upon this vegan gardening website Anarchy in the Garden and look forward to perusing all the info to help with our spring garden. Let me know what you're growing!

Happy 2011!

Vegan Mofo Day 15: Thanksgiving Dinner

2010-11-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Is it safe to come out now? *blink blink*

During my blog absence this week, I was planning, cooking, and then recovering from the Thanksgiving dinner I hosted for my immediate family. It was the first time I attempted to cook a formal dinner for them and whoo-whee!, was that an experience I'll not soon forget! I feel like I've been initiated into adulthood, LOL!

So what was on the menu for five adults and one toddler?

1. Tofu pups for the kid. It's vegan hot dog wrapped in pizza crust. I knew he'd eat this if nothing else!

2. Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup - This is the first time I've cooked anything with pumpkin since I'm not a fan of the taste. I thought the coconut milk and bit of curry would make it taste more familiar but it just ended up being weird. Oops. "No [pumpkin] soup for you!" - Seinfeld

3. Mashed potatoes with cashew gravy. I loved the cashew gravy! I added some vegan oyster mushroom sauce and it was perfect.

4. Roasted brussels sprouts - perhaps a little too roasted? ;-)

5. Quinoa salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. The quinoa salad had tomato, corn, and apple. Nice and light to balance out the rest of the meal.

6. Chickpea Cutlet Loaf. My pièce de résistance! I saw a few blogs using Veganomicon's chickpea cutlet for their loaf and I thought it was brilliant! I made a double batch of Isa's Doublebatch Chickpea Cutlet recipe so I could have two loaves. For the stuffings, I grounded up half of a Field Roast Meatloaf and sautéed it with onion, then added cornbread, chopped pecans, and Italian seasoning. I think the stuffing was my favorite part of dinner. So yum!

7. Apple pie - I know pumpkin pie is the norm for Thanksgiving dinner, but since we're already having pumpkin soup, I opted for apple pie. The glaze didn't turn out well, making some parts really dark but otherwise it was delicious.

So that's my 2010 Thanksgiving dinner, whew! How was yours?

Lastly, food aside, I want to express thanks for all the blessings in my life, especially my family, my wheekers, and this big planet we call home. I am also thankful for terrific vegan community on Twitter and the blogs. You guys rock!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Vegan Mofo Day 14: Tofu Burger

2010-11-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

Fact: I can eat burgers and fries any time of the day - breakfast, lunch, or dinner - you name it. I just love this typical fast food staple.

We used to love the frozen burger patties you can buy in the store...until we found out our favorite brand wasn't vegan. I've made chickpea cutlet and black bean burgers from Veganomicon before to substitute, but one day, hubby just fried up a thick slab of seasoned tofu for the burger and it changed our world.

I did not know something so simple could be so delicious. And that's how we've been eating our burger since. Just add a dash of vegetable seasoning, and fry on both side until the outside is slightly crispy.

Here I've added a few slices of Tofurky. The tofu is peaking out underneath there. We didn't make it so thick this time because we wanted a lighter meal.

And burgers aren't the same to me without pickles. I love pickles. It adds the kick that makes the burger extra delish. What's your favorite burger add-ons?

Vegan Mofo Day 13: Thanksgiving Meal Ideas

2010-11-16T23:50:00.001-08:00

We're still finishing up leftovers in the VeganWheekers household so I'll devote today's Vegan Mofo to all the delicious vegan Thanksgiving meal guides that are starting to pop. Here's a list of what I've seen so far. If you have a favorite, please share in the comments!

VegNews & VegWeb: Thanksgiving O-Rama newsletter
Healthy Happy Life: Healthy Happy Feast
Fat Free Vegan: Thanksgiving Menu Planning (scroll down)
Vegan Culinary Experience Holiday Issue [PDF]
Friends of Animals' Thanksgiving Menu
Robin Robertson's A Vegan Holiday Dinner from the Party Vegan
New York Times: Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving (not all vegan, but easy to veganize)
Isa Chandra's Thanksgiving In An Hour
Veganomicon's Chickpea Cutlet recipe (love this!)
C'est La Vegan's Vegan Thanksgiving Ideas

11/18/2010 Additions
Healthy Happy Life: Vegan Thanksgiving Menu Ideas: Cornucopia of Recipes
Oh She Glows's Favourite Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up
Washington Post: Vegan potluck celebrates a meat-free Thanksgiving
Ecomii: A Dozen Delicious Vegan Holiday Dishes

11/19/2010 Additions
The Ellen Degeneres Show: Recipes
Chef Chloe's Vegan Thanksgiving
New York Times: Centerpiece Dishes Without the Turkey

What are you making for the holidays?

Vegan Mofo Day 12: Tater Tot Casserole w/ Cashew Cream

2010-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw SnarkyVegan's White Trash Tator Tot Casserole w/ Daiya, I was absolutely fascinated. What a wondrous creation! I knew immediately this dish would be in my future.

Well, tonight, it's in my tummy. Yum!

I will say this is just about the strangest thing I've cooked yet (I've never made casserole of any kind before) and I wasn't sure how hubz was going to take it. I gently warned him as I was whipping this up that I was making something very different and should it fail, there's still leftover curry in the fridge, LOL!

My hesitation in the success of this dish laid not in SnarkyVegan's recipe but in my modification of it. Instead of using Daiya cheese, I opted for cashew cream because I've never really liked cheese in anything except on pizza. And guess what? I've never made cashew cream before either, hence my apprehension at the success of this meal.

Here's my modified recipe:

Tater Tot Casserole w/ Cashew Cream

Cashew cream:
2 cups soaked raw cashew
1 cup plant-based milk (I used soy milk)
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Casserole:
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup pea
whole head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1 bag of tator tots

Instructions:
1. Blend raw cashew with 1/2 cup of soy milk or as needed for creamy consistency.
2. Heat oil in pan and create roux by adding flour.
3. Add cashew cream to roux. Mix. Add the other 1/2 cup of soy milk. Mix.
4. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. If the cream becomes too thick, add more milk.
5. Arrange the vegetables in the casserole dish and pour the cashew cream over it.
6. Arrange the tator tots in rows on top.
7. Bake at 375 F degrees for half hour (or until the tator tots brown).
(SnarkyVegan baked for an hour but my tots turned really brown at the 30 min mark so I took it out so it wouldn't burn. Luckily the vegetables were well cooked!)

Serves 4-5

In hindsight, I probably didn't need the roux but I'm just writing down what I did for your reference.

The verdict?

We liked it! So much so we went for second helpings and had to stop ourselves from overeating. There's exactly enough for tomorrow's dinner and I can't wait. Woohoo!

Vegan Mofo Day 11: Panang Curry

2010-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!

Brace yourself, this picture is not very flattering for a very yummy dish:

I know it looks like a yellow blob but I promise you there's tofu, cauliflower, and eggplant in there.

Hubz loves curry so here we are with another curry dish. He paid it the highest compliment by saying, "I've eaten many curries but nothing that tasted like this." I had to make sure he wasn't being sarcastic. Indeed he really liked it!

You can use the recipe from Chef Chloe or Epicurious.The only difference in ingredients is the veggies added at the end. Chloe used sweet potato and kale; Epicurious used carrots and red bell pepper. I myself used eggplant and cauliflower. The surprising ingredient was peanut butter; I've never seen peanut butter used in a curry before. It really made the curry extra creamy on top of the coconut milk. Yum!

If you love curry, I highly recommend this recipe (from either source). We'll definitely be making this again!

"Is it Monday already?"

Vegan Mofo Day 10: Raw Kale Salad with Mac & Cheese

2010-11-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

I summoned up the courage and I did it. I ate raw kale.

Yes, you may laugh! But for someone who's hated veggies growing up (they've always tasted bitter to me) and rarely ate raw salads, this was a big step. I've been slowly absorbing information online about the benefits of eating raw and I must have absorbed enough because I woke up this morning and decided to have a raw kale salad. Yes, sirree!

Following some online instructions, I rubbed extra virgin olive oil and salt into the kale leaves to soften it and added a bit of lemon juice and balsamic vinegar for flavoring. While that was marinating, I made mac and cheese. Instead of the usual VeganDad recipe which used tofu and cashew as the base, I tried Eating Consciously's Avocado Mac and "Cheese" which used avocado and white beans instead. This recipe had less ingredients and no oil; a quick spin in the food processor and we're done. For an added touch, I baked it with some Panko bread crumbs before serving.

I served the kale with apple, tomato, and sunflower seeds just to make it more colorful and less daunting.

Verdict: I loved the raw kale salad! So much so that I had second helpings. While I enjoyed the new mac and cheese recipe, hubby said he preferred VeganDad's. He also had to rinse the kale because he said it was too salty (he has a lower salt tolerance than I do).

I'm also trying to be more mindful of how I eat, mostly that I chew my food better and have better posture (I'm a chronic sloucher). I will also try to make a habit of focusing solely on eating at mealtime instead of being distracted by the TV or computer. My brain is always racing and demanding new info (I guess that's why I'm addicted to Twitter) so I've got to learn to slow down and be in the moment.

Just like Bert...

Ommm....

Vegan Mofo Day 9: Curried Pineapple Rice

2010-11-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

With leftover pineapple chunks sitting in the fridge, I knew I found tonight's dinner when I saw ChowVegan's Curried Pineapple Rice. It's a quick, low maintenance meal to whip up; just chop everything and throw them into the rice cooker to cook together with the rice. It's also healthy since there's no oil or frying involved.

I subbed some ingredients from ChowVegan's original: yellow onion instead of green, 1/2 lemon instead of lime, and pine nuts instead of almonds. I also left out mushrooms since I don't like them and raisins which I don't have. I'm sure the original version is much better, LOL! In any case, hubz loved it and we'll be making it again.

Vegan Mofo Day 8: Brussel Sprouts

2010-11-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

I had a fierce craving for brussel sprouts and corn one day so I mixed them together and roasted them with a little olive oil and vegetable seasoning. Served over quinoa, it was the perfect dinner to a long day.

Here's another cute guinea pig video my friend Laloo reminded me of:

They make everything look so yummy!

Vegan Mofo Day 7: Soyaki Tofu, Chard / SFACC Guinea Pigs!

2010-11-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

We break from our regularly scheduled VeganMofo to bring you:

GUINEA PIGS!! Up for adoption at the San Francisco Animal Care & Control:

Tim & Brian

Edgar and Juan

Yolanda and Jasmine

Sasha, Rita, Lucy, and Gretchen

In a perfect world, they'd all come home with me. But in an equally perfect world, they'd all go to loving, forever homes in pairs (elsewhere) and soon!

//end cuteness, cue yumminess//

For lunch, we had tofu marinated in Trader Joe's Soyaki with a side of chard. I was inspired by Jenna over at Good Good Things after a full morning of reading veganmofo blogs. Oh my, there are SO many things to read I barely made a dent in my Google Reader. It's still shows 1000+ unread posts! I've also bookmarked and favorited lots of yummy looking recipes that I can't wait to try.

Tip: If you use Microsoft Office, there's a program called OneNote that acts like a notebook. I use it to store all the recipes that I find online. The cool feature is that when you cut and paste from a website, it automatically pastes the link of the page too, so you'll always know where you got the recipe from in case you need to go back to it or give credit to it when you write about it on your own blog.

How do you store your recipes?

Vegan Mofo Day 6: Vegan Peking "Duck"

2010-11-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

Vegan Peking Duck

I'm breaking out a family recipe for you guys today. Mom was inspired by the Beijing Peking Duck dish and that's why she called it that but hubz assured me it tasted nothing like it. Looks pretty meaty though, doesn't it?

What you need:
Beancurd sheets

You can find this in the frozen section of Asian markets. It's packed folded in half but it's actually a huge circle. Take it out and let it thaw for an hour. Cut the bag on three sides so you can fold it out to use as a table spread. It'll lessen your cleaning time because things are about to get messy!

While you're waiting for it to thaw, mix together the sauce:
1/4 cup organic soy sauce
1/3 cup water (or more if you don't like it too salty)
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp mushroom seasoning (optional)
1 tbsp sugar

You'll also need this for frying later (do not mix with sauce):
3 whole pieces star anise
oil for shallow frying

After it's thawed, separate four bean curd sheets from the pack (keep the rest in a zip lock bag so it doesn't dry out and refreeze). Loosely fold each sheet into four (don't tear it!), so it's easier to handle. In a wide basin filled with lukewarm water, dip each sheet in one at a time and soak for about 30 secs until soft. Then very gently ball the sheet between your hands to squeeze the water out (like how you'd crumple a piece of paper). A few holes or small tears is okay but you want the piece largely in tact.

Carefully unfold the crumpled beancurd sheet onto the plastic bag spread and lay it out flat in its full circle splendor. Pour a few tablespoons of the sauce onto the sheet, and using your hands (or a brush if you don't like to get dirty!), gently pat and spread the sauce all over the sheet. Then fold the sheet using the instructions below. Each time you fold, spread more sauce on that section (which would technically be the bottom of the sheet that hasn't gotten lathered with sauce).

Once done, you're left with an index card sized piece of bean curd sheet. Do the same for the rest of the sheets.

Prepare your steamer and steam them for 10-15 minutes. If you have a small steamer like I do, then do it one by one. Do not stack them in the steamer. You'll know it's done when the skin looks opaque and thicker.

In a frying pan (preferably non-stick), add enough oil to coat the entire bottom and fry the 3 pieces of star anise for about a minute. Then add the folded bean curd sheet (watch out for splattering!) and fry each side for a few minutes until golden.

When done, cut into strips and serve with something bland like rice or quinoa because this thing is salty! Cucumbers complement the dish nicely.

Hope you guys are having a great start to the week!

Vegan Mofo Day 5: Eggplant Parmesan Pasta

2010-11-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, yay! What a week! Chef J was out today so it fell on me to cook lunch for the crew. I thought pasta with broccoli and eggplant parmesan would be a quickie, but I overestimated my skillz a wee bit and it took longer than planned. Oops.

The hungry folks gobbled up the extra large portions so it all worked out in the end!

To start the weekend, I leave you with some cute guinea pigs:

This is Gandalf notifying us that "november is pet your abyssinian correctly month. here's a diagram for you humans to help you pet us properly. "

Follow Gandalf and his friend Voltaire on Twitter for laugh out loud tweets from the guinea pig POV. I always look forward to their tweets during my morning commute and share them with hubz.

And finally:

Too cute!!

Have a great one, y'all!

Vegan Mofo Day 4: SF Giants Parade, Loving Hut

2010-11-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, San Francisco held a huge ticker-tape parade for the SF Giants. Hubs and I played hookie from work to partake in the festivities. I’ve never seen anything like it! The atmosphere in the orange-and-black-color adorned crowd was electric!

This was the man who brought a face to the team and game for me. Cody Ross!

This is the best shot of Brian Wilson I could get. He was walking the parade route instead of riding on the cable car. Watching him close the games was so intense and fun! Fear the Beard!

And it wouldn't be VeganMofo if I didn't include a bit about food, would it? After the parade, we ducked into Westfield Shopping Center's food court for lunch at Loving Hut.

Fried rice, curry, and sweet & sour side dishes from the steam table. Yum!

We headed back to work for the last half of the day and ended it at the movies with a pre-screening of "Unstoppable." It was an action packed movie! I'll never look at trains the same way again.

After such a fun-filled day, I was ready to follow Belle's example:
G'night!

Vegan Mofo Day 3: Cauliflower Tempura

2010-11-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

Today's Vegan Mofo is brought to you by my hubby!

To show his support, he made his special dish for me to share: Cauliflower Tempura

What I love about his tempura is the thickness of the flour. It's totally yummy with the soft veggie inside!

Ingredients:
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
3/4 box of Tempura mix (7.5 oz)
2 tbsp of soy sauce or Bragg's
3 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of water (exactly!)
oil for frying

Directions:
1. Except for the cauliflower, toss the ingredients in a bowl and mix. It should make a thick paste. (Too much water would dilute it and make for a thin layer on the tempura.)
2. Heat oil in pan. Roll cauliflower in mix and deep fry until golden brown.

"Feed me!"

Vegan Mofo Day 2 : suyo, bok choy, red chard

2010-11-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

"Is it safe to come out yet?"

San Francisco is partying hard after the SF Giant's World Series win! Woo! Hubz and I were screaming and jumping in celebration at home after Brian Wilson threw the last strike. The guinea pigs were less enthused. :-)

A quick post to share my vegan lunch at work by Chef J:

suyo cucumber (it's long, curly with ridges) mushroom and bean thread

bok choy with vegan shrimp and tofu-like seitan

red chard and carrots

Random quote of the day: "A simple smile from you could be the validation a total stranger needed to believe that they matter." While I like the positive message that entails, and I'm sure it's true many times, but one time I smiled at a stranger at the farmer's market (sort of in the "excuse me, I can't reach the basil you're blocking" way) and he interpreted my smile as an invitation to preach to me about his religion. Very insistently. I was totally flustered and high tailed out of there without finishing my shopping!

So I hope you have better results wherever you bestow your beautiful smile. :-)

Ok, back to celebrating the SF Giants' win. WOOOOOOOO!!!

Happy World Vegan Day!

2010-10-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's Day One of VeganMofo and fittingly, it's also World Vegan Day! Say hi, guys!

Introducing the VeganWheekers for our new folks. That's Belle on the left and Bert on the right. They're naturally vegan so they don't see the significance of this day. However, they also don't get to eat Lavash Bread Pizza!

I had a craving for pizza but was too tired to make pizza dough from scratch. I did however have Trader Joe's Lavash Bread in the fridge so I improvised (and aren't the best recipes sometimes from improvisation?).

Lavash Bread Pizza
Step One: Spread a layer of Daiya cheese on one side of the bread for a cheese stuffed crust pizza effect.

Step Two: Fold in half so you've got a sturdier base for the pizza and spread on tomato paste. If you have a nice pizza sauce, go for it.
Step Three: Lay on the toppings of your choice! I used onion, red bell pepper, pineapple, and olive with a dash of vegetable seasoning and salt. Then add a bit more Daiya on top of that.

Step Four: Put under broiler for 10-15 mins, watch that it doesn't burn (like mine kinda did!).

I was so hungry, I had already split the pizza in half for hubby and I before I remembered to take a picture. The "crust" is crispy with a nice layer of cheezy goo. So there you have it! Easy pizza under 20 minutes.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday! And it's Nov 1st! Two more months until the new year. Ca-ray-zeee!

Vegan Mofo, Here I Come!

2010-10-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

I did it! I signed up for my first Vegan Mofo. There are 500+ contributors this year and I just had to join the party. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! I can only promise to take better pictures of my meals, but my phone can only do so much, LOL!

Though it's Halloween weekend, I join the City in celebrating a certain orange and black: SF Giants! Those who know me would be surprised because I usually have as much interest in sports as I do in, say, waxing cars. But hubby is totally into it and got me caught up in the excitement. He has patiently answered all the my questions so I know what's going on (apparently it's not as simple as just hitting the ball) and now it's fun to watch. I think I make it quite fun for him too, what with my screams of, "Run, boy, RUN!" when our team hits the ball, or "Catch it! You better CATCH IT!" when the opponent hits a ball.

I can see some of your eyes glazing over. "You're talking about sports? We're here for FOOD!"
Alrighty then!

Lemongrass tofu & chard over rice.

Eggplant tofu claypot

Time to look through some recipes to prepare for Vegan Mofo!

Tofu Noodles, Asparagus Wraps

2010-10-26T22:53:00.001-07:00

I love the mobile post feature! I take a lot of pics on my phone but I get a bit lazy when it comes to uploading it to the computer. This solves the problem! Monday's lunch: stir fried tofu and cabbage over rice noodle. Simple and satisfying! The lighting is horrible but the wrap last week was super duper yummy! The fillings comprised of Tofurky sausage, tomato, baby greens, asparagus, potato, and avocado. So good!

Still here!

2010-10-26T22:35:00.001-07:00

We're still here! Hope you all are doing ok, especially those in the Midwest. Some food posts coming soon. See you!

8/3/10: Veggie Noodle Soup 8/4/10: Salad Roll

2010-08-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we ran out of rice so Chef J improvised and made noodle soup with Monday's leftovers, plus some fresh chopped veggies (cabbage, napa cabbage, zucchini strips) and a bit of thinly sliced seitan.

Today is farmer's market day so we got a bunch of fresh herbs for salad rolls with seitan. It was devoured before I could take any pictures but it was all the different herbs that made it special.

Cost for 5 people:
basil, $0.50
mint, $0.50
cilantro, $0.50
perilla, $0.50
lettuce, $1
tomato, $1
seitan, $6
rice paper, $1
Total: $11 or $2.20/per person

During lunch, news came in that a federal judge struck down the ban on gay marriages (Prop 8). Big celebration will ensue in the city tonight!

8/2/10: Bok Choy, Steamed "Eggs", Winter Melon Claypot

2010-08-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

Much like the VegNews headquarters, I'm lucky to work at a place where it's tradition to have a freshly prepared vegan lunch since the management at the company are vegan. One of our colleagues does the cooking on most days (he's the only one that can cook, really), though lately I've been trying to contribute a dish or two when I have time to prepare it at home the night before. And of course whoever doesn't cook take turns with the dish-washing duties. :-)

What was on the menu today?

Bok Choy quickly blanched to retained crunchiness mixed with a light sauce.

Winter Melon Claypot with bean thread and shiitake mushroom.

Vegan Chinese Steamed "Egg" using silken tofu from ChowVegan's recipe. I doubled the recipe to feed 4, and left out the tempeh/mushroom part. J topped it with soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, cilantro, and black pepper. This recipe is a keeper!

All of the above is served with white rice (colleagues have difficulty consuming brown rice on a daily basis!).

Since there were only three of us eating today, we had some leftovers for tomorrow's lunch!

VeganHope had an excellent post today about food and poverty entitled "21 dollar week challenge" which is the amount you have to spend on a food stamp budget. While I won't be going up for the challenge, it did make me wonder just how much we spend on food, so I'll also include a breakdown of the cost of the main ingredients in our meals, much like EverydayVegan does.

So for today's lunch for 3 people:
bok choy, $0.68
winter melon, $1.79
organic silken tofu (2 boxes), $3.38
cilantro, $0.49
green onion, $0.39
white rice (3 cups), $0.56
Total: $7.29 or $2.43/person

For the white rice, my calculation was:
1 50-lb bag of rice = $30
1 cup of uncooked rice = 5 oz
50 lb = 800 oz = 160 cups of rice = $0.1875/cup of rice

Wow, even I didn't realize how much we save by eating in! Of course it would not be possible if we didn't have J to cook all the time. :-) Thanks, J!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-08-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

We're trying to start an organic garden this year. Hubby is building a wooden container for square foot gardening. We planted some basil, tomato, lettuce seeds a few months ago that are ready for their new home.

Before:

After:

We also bought a small cherry tomato plant and a regular tomato plant at the local nursery a few months ago that are now growing really well. The tomato plant has one red tomato already:

The cherry tomato plant is growing out of control! We've enjoyed picking a batch every weekend. So sweet and delicious!

We added some to an avocado pesto pasta using Chef Chloe's recipe with a side of vegan nuggets.
We thought growing fruits would be fun as well!

This is a dwarf orange tree, still in its container, that has flowered a lot. It's starting to be draped by the cherry tomato.

This dwarf apple tree handled the transplant from container into ground pretty well. We'll have to wait until next season to see how well it fruits.

The Bing cherry tree on the other hand is struggling. The leaves have yellowed and wilted. We're not sure if it's not getting enough sun, getting too much water, or not enough water. Let's see how it fares over the next few weeks. Keeping our fingers crossed and sending loving thoughts its way.

What's growing in your neighborhood?

July Baking Extravaganza

2010-08-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hallo! How have you been? I've been baking up a storm in the kitchen, trying out new recipes.

UFO Choco Chip Cookies

This is my first attempt at making chocolate chip cookies using the recipe from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar." Instead of the white and brown sugar that the recipe called for, which I didn't have, I used 'Sugar in the Raw'. I also missed the fact that it was supposed to make 2 dozen or 16 cookies, which explains how I ended up with 12 jumbo pieces, hence the name "UFO Cookies." I used a mint chocolate chip that I got from Trader Joe's as the centerpiece. The texture of the cookies came out soft, more brownie like than cookie like. Must have been the sugar or the size of the cookie!

The following weekend I was determined to try again so I got the correct type of sugar and made the pieces smaller. It came out crunchy, or at least for the first day! Still not happy with it though but I've had enough chocolate chip cookie for now so I'll wait to try again a while later. :-)

This is the result of my "Saturday Bake Day" where I spent a whole afternoon/evening making what you see above. At the top left is the Chocolate Chip Cookie v.2. Next to it is Lemon Almond Cupcake (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes - I didn't have macadamia so I used almond). Below that is the typical chocolate cupcake from VCTOW but I added a bit of peppermint extract for a change. (And yeah, my cupcakes don't have frosting because of my disastrous first attempt which discouraged me from ever making it again...and also the fact that it uses so much margarine and shortening!) Lastly is a biscuit recipe from Veganomicon because I had a sudden craving for biscuits. Yum!

And for the pièce de résistance, homemade vegan burger buns!

It's so hard to find vegan burger buns in the stores. We found a brand at Trader Joe's, but we don't go there often. So I was determined to try making my own when I saw a recipe for Burger Buns at Vegweb.com. I used 5 cups of flour and 1.5 tablespoons of yeast. I sprinkled sesame on top so it looked like store bought buns. It came out really well! No more store bought buns for me!

So what's been cooking in your kitchen?

Bath time!

2010-05-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Instead of vacation, I've got a nice long to-do list for this weekend, one of which is:

Guinea pig baths! Here's Belle after a good lather of shampoo. She doesn't fuss much during baths, for which I'm so grateful. Bathing Bert, on the other hand, usually requires the assistance of hubby to hold him down while I lather and rinse. Lately though he's been a really good boy and stands still for mommy. Stress free for all!

Well, almost...

Although he's more patient with his baths now, he still hates them. Once I put him down, he'd run to his wooden hut and bite it furiously to show his unhappiness. Still manages to look like an angel though, doesn't he? :-)

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Playtime

2010-04-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

At Izzy's request, here's a video of Belle playing in her favorite tube. :-)

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

2010-04-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night is TV night in the Wheeker household, thanks to LOST on ABC and then The Good Wife on CBS. We got home late and I had about half an hour to prepare dinner before the show started. Here's a quickie if you have a rice cooker: Nasi Lemak! Or at least my version of it. :-)

Nasi Lemak, or coconut rice, is a popular dish in Southeast Asia. Traditional dish is served with anchovies and is spicy. Well, we don't take that here! So here's a veganized, non-spicy version.

Coconut Rice
2 cups rice
1 can of coconut milk (or half if you don't like it so creamy)
add additional water to fully cook rice (depends on the type of rice you're using)
1 pandan leaf tied in a knot
2 thin slices of ginger
a dash of salt

Toss all together in rice cooker to cook.

In the meantime, to substitute the anchovies, I baked seitan seasoned with vegetable seasoning for 15 minutes in the toaster oven. To round off the dish, there's the traditional sliced cucumbers and toasted peanuts. NOT traditional is the boiled asparagus tossed in sesame oil. I needed some veggies and that's all I had in the fridge. :-)

Hubby helped me plate the food and I cracked up when I saw his creation:

Yes, it's been a looong day at work!

Lastly, I leave you with an upside down guinea pig:

Don't ask me why!

Belle Vet Visit Part 2

2010-03-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month, we noticed Belle was doing her mouth gagging thing again. It was exactly two months, just as the vet predicted, since we last brought her in the day after New Year's. We weren't so worried this time since we knew what the problem was, but nonetheless, it's sad to know she has to go through that painful and unpleasant procedure of teeth trimming and anesthesia again. Here she is in her carrier on the way to the vet. I made sure she was nice and comfy for the ordeal with her bed and lots of treats.

She's a plucky little one and recovered quickly but to have to go through this every two months? I feel so bad for the little one! There's gotta be another way...

Here she is giving Bert a kiss. Or rather, "Whatcha eating over here? I want some!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The Wheekers will be celebrating with lots of hay as usual! :-)

Recent Kitchen Creations

2010-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hallo my dears! How are you all? Here are some of the things I'm been trying out in the kitchen in the last month:

Samosa with phyllo pastry dough

Curry stir fry noodles

Hubby tried his hand at making roti prata. This one had daiya cheese folded in the middle. Yum!

My first time making a sweet & sour dish: pineapple, bell pepper, onion, seitan.

I bought the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" book and tried their two most basic recipes, the top being chocolate and the bottom being vanilla. It was easier than I thought!
I couldn't get the frosting right though (hence no picture of that). It just kept melting away off the cupcake! Need to find out where I went wrong! Any tips?

SFACC Shiloh & Pepper

2010-03-01T09:21:00.001-08:00

Say hallo to these cuddly cuties! Shiloh and Pepper are sisters, 1.5 years old.
"Shiloh is the tricolored girl, Pepper the brown girl with red markings- are a bonded pair who must be adopted together. They are sweet and social girls who are looking for a new home and a new life!"

Shiloh markings are quite similar to Belle's! I hope these girls find a loving home soon.

Alfredo Mac

2010-02-28T15:09:00.000-08:00

Izzy over at Whirled Pea posted an easy alfredo sauce recipe that I tried today. I kind of approximated the amount, and added peas and corns as a quick way to get some veggies in. The result was yum!

Bert says "peekaboo!" and to pardon the "beans". ;-)

Bread success!

2010-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

When I first started bread making, I've been kind of frustrated with a basic recipe I found online. The bread always came out a little damper than I liked. Then Rift over at Static8.com posted a bread recipe for me that looked easy enough so I tried it and...voila!

The texture was perfect!

It's just like what we used to buy at Safeway. Here's a guacamole & salsa appetizer I made with the bread.
I've made this successfully quite a few times now. Thanks, rift!

What shall we experiment with next? I think I'll try Vegan French Bread!

SFACC - Cammie

2010-02-28T11:54:00.001-08:00

This wee little darling has been at the shelter for nearly a month.
"Cammie is a red female guinea pig, who is cute and friendly and would do well paired with a same sexed buddy to socialize with!"

Belle was about that size when we adopted her. That didn't last long, LOL!

Let's hope Cammie find her forever home soon too!

Chile Earthquake

2010-02-27T13:08:00.001-08:00

I sit riveted to Twitter and the Hawaii news station kitv.com for the latest news on the Chile earthquake and resulting tsunami. As I write, the tsunami watch is on in Hawaii but fortunately nothing too alarming has happened yet.

Chile has received over 50 major aftershocks (over 5.0 magnitude) since the 8.8 earthquake last night. FIFTY. OVER 5.0. This list on the USGS website is chilling.

I cannot imagine having to experience a constant rumbling of that magnitude, especially after the epically huge one. My heart goes out to the Chilean people and hope they get the help they need soon.

Last night after learning of the earthquake, I went into prep mode for the guinea pigs - packed their carrier with food and water, and ensured nothing could fall on them around their cage. How else do you prepare guinea pigs for an earthquake?

As for the humans in this house, we've got our gallons of water and canned food ready. Hubby doesn't seem worried at all; I think I'm doing enough worrying for the both of us, LOL!

Take care everyone. Make sure you're prepared for natural disasters in your area of the world. A list of resources for review:
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/
http://www.theepicenter.com/howto.html
http://www.redcross.org

Viva Las Vegas!

2010-02-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a week it has been! The Powers That Be kept the punches coming and I'm flat out today. I shall now seek refuge with Emma on TV, a guinea pig on my lap, and a huge bowl of ice cream in hand.

But before I do, here is a recap of my trip last month....

The first week of the new year (after the Belle vet scare) brought me to Las Vegas for the CES tradeshow. I was still anxious over the recovery of my little one, but she was in good hands with my mom and sister.

It was my first time in Sin City and here are some of my impressions:

1. WHOLE FOODS - The three people I was traveling with are all vegans so we shared the same concern for finding vegan food. A wrong turn after taking off with our rental car brought us to the Whole Foods Market in Townsquare, which turned out to be very vegan friendly! Take a look at some of their menu boards:

We've seen the vegan bar at the San Francisco locations like this:
but they didn't have vegan pizza with Daiya cheese like this!

They even had a separate pizza cutter just for the vegan pizza. How cool is that?

We ordered a whole pizza with extra vegetable toppings to split between the four of us. It was huge!

We managed to finish all but two slices. (Yes, we were hungry!)

We came back over several nights to have lunch/dinner here:

...until I spotted the flailing legs of a little green insect stuck in my potato salad, blending in quite well with the peas. EWWWW! I'm so glad I paid attention to what I was eating or else that wouldn't have been a very vegan meal, would it? Needless to say, my love affair with the Whole Foods vegan bar ended there.

2. ROOM SELF-SERVICE - It is possible to have a gourmet instant meal made right in your hotel room without a kitchen, or even a stove. Like so:
This electric kettle and a bit of imagination was all we need to cook up delicious vegan noodle soup with some ingredients we brought from home and bought at Whole Foods. We also made yummy vegan sandwiches with Tofurky and veggies for lunch since there's a serious lack of vegan food at the exhibition. It was yummier than anything we could buy anyways!
Tip: If your hotel room doesn't have a mini-fridge, bring an ice cooler and top it up everyday with ice from the hotel and voila! your own mini-fridge!

3. Sin City is really so. You've got:
- Slot machines everywhere, including the airport and Albertson's supermarket. I'm surprised they didn't have it in the bathroom stalls! I played a few of the 1 cent one arm bandits for the first time and actually won a dollar back! Still net loss though. ;-)
- Sex sells well. There are rows of amigos on busy blocks passing out business cards for "hot babes" and they are quite aggressive at it. My only concern was all the trees going to waste making those cards, which just end up littering the streets.
- Smoking is prevalent. Or maybe it just seems so coming from San Francisco. People smoke in the casinos (ok, no surprise there), in the hotel lobby (eww!), in shopping mall (yucks!), and seemingly right beside me whenever I'm outside on the streets (*cough, cough*). I do believe I've inhaled more secondhand smoke in my one week here than I have in my last 20 years.

And lastly, one lasting impression we got from Vegas was:
- Shock, as in static electric shock. I don't know if it's the desert air or the clothes we wore, but every time we touched metal, be it the car or a door knob, we got zapped. Every. Time. So I learned to kick the car door close with my shoes, push doors open with my sleeve pulled over my hand. Doesn't always work, but it did lessen the "ouch!" curses! Up to now, a month after the trip, I'm still cautious with car doors!

We entertained ourselves after the exhibition by hotel hopping to see all the different styles. Some of my favorites are:

Fountains of Bellagio

Paris Eiffel tower

Le Boulevard at Paris

The Grand Canal Shoppes

Circus Circus Carnival Midway

Let's just say we're thankful Southwest allowed us two free baggages each!

Oh, and because I missed my Wheekers so much, I couldn't resist getting these two fellas when I saw them at the World's Largest Gift Shop.

I named them Circus Circus. :-)

Vegan Crispy Chow Fun

2010-01-25T21:38:00.001-08:00

Crispy Chow Fun is one of my favorite dishes that I copied from a restaurant. It's basically fried rice noodle with vegetables on top in a thick sauce. Not the healthiest dish in the world, but yummy! Here's a general guide on how to make it. (Please don't ask me for precise measurements because I'm just no good at that, LOL!)

Crispy Chow Fun
Ingredients:
thick fresh rice noodles/chow fun noodles (available in Asian markets)
broccoli
zucchini
tofu
onion
carrot
bell pepper
napa cabbage
(whatever other vegetables you have on hand)
vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
soy paste
water
corn starch
salt, black pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Cut tofu into thin pieces and fry them until golden. Set aside.
2. Tear the fresh rice noodle into thinner pieces. Add liberal amount of oil into a flat skillet and fry the rice noodles until crispy on both sides. This part takes a while so you could work on the veggies at the same time.
3. In a large pan (wok is good), cook up all the veggies and then add the tofu.
4. Add a tablespoon of corn starch to 1-2 cups of cold water (depending on how much sauce you like...I like a lot!) and then add that to the veggies.
5. Add a swirl or two each of the vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce and soy paste. Add a little bit of sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the fried noodles on plate and pile the veggies and sauce over it and serve. Voila!

And I leave you with Day 3 of my sprouts progress:

Look how long they've grown already! I'm amazed! This is so fun, I'm so glad Laloofah got me into this. Thanks, girlfriend! :-)

French Bread

2010-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

We finished our first batch of bread yesterday so I tried my hand at making another batch today, this time French Bread. I used the recipe that came in the instruction manual (yes, I read it!) but subbed the oil with apple sauce instead as Laloofah suggested.

It puffed up beautifully until the last hour when I checked it again and saw the middle had caved in. Oops! Where did I go wrong? Perhaps it was because I lifted the lid a few times to scrape the little bits stuck to the side and add more flour? In any case, the bottom still had some flour-y bits as you can see on the bottom.

It's still very edible though. The crust outside was hard and crunchy just like the french bread in the supermarkets so I was quite happy about that! I think next time I'll add more flour and limit the lid lifting to once or twice only.

My sprouts are growing very well (or at least I think they are). I started only yesterday and today I already see little sprout tails! How fun!

And since we've gotten our new juicer, we've been juicing everyday. I feel so healthy, LOL! Here's an orange/apple/strawberry/carrot concoction. You can see the different layers:

Lastly, my guinea pigs remind me this blog is called the VeganWheekers but the "Wheekers" part has been lacking lately so here is a recent pic of Bert enjoying some lap time:

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Hope for Haiti Now

2010-01-22T22:12:00.000-08:00

I just watched "Hope for Haiti Now". It brought back memories of 9/11 when a similar telethon first aired. Tears filled my eyes every time they showed scenes of the devastation in Haiti. Heartbreaking, so heartbreaking.

The star power is awesome but what had me riveted was Beyonce's performance. I was never a fan but she's made me one tonight. So hauntingly beautiful.

May Haiti find the faith, courage, and strength to overcome this tragedy with the help from their neighbors around the world.

Breadmaking and Juicing

2010-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hallo there! Guess what?

The kitchen is still in tact! :-)

I was so excited to use the Oster Expressbake breadmaker last night that I started making a batch at 10pm, thinking it'd be done in 58 minutes as advertised. Well, let this be a lesson for me to read the instruction manual first because I ended up baking at the default setting which takes 3 hours.

I used this simple vegan recipe from Vegweb. (Novice me didn't realize the recipe called for whole wheat flour, while the one I bought was unbleached white bread flour, oops.) There are several stages to the cycle. After you put in the ingredients (wet stuff first, then dry stuff, then yeast while making sure it doesn't touch the wet stuff), you plunk it into the machine and watch it go to work. First it kneads the dough for 10 minutes, then lets it rise for 20 minutes, then it kneads it again for 15 minutes, and then lets it rise again for 20 minutes. At this point, I noticed it didn't get the flour in the right corner of the bin despite all the kneading. I was afraid to open the lid to scoop that part and add it to the rest of the dough in case the cycle reset itself, so I let it be. Next the dough is "punched down" for 30 seconds and then allowed to rise for the final time, which is what you see in the picture above. The bread is then baked for one hour. By this time, I was watching Conan O'Brien with one eye closed.

Now this machine makes much more noise than, say, a rice cooker. It's a little startling when it goes into kneading mode after the silence of the rising mode. Especially when it's near midnight and your body just wants to go hibernate.

At the three hour mark, the bell buzzed and voila!

It baked beautifully, with the exception of that little flour part in the corner that didn't get mixed with the rest of the dough.

And here it is sliced:The next morning (because I went straight to bed once it was done!), hubby toasted it with Earth Balance. It was a little denser than I expected so I will have to tweak the recipe to make it fluffier somehow (any tips?) but overall I'm thrilled that I made my own bread!

He also put our new Breville juicer to work and made pineapple, orange, carrot juice. So fresh and delish! My pics came out blurry so I'll try again next time with a more in depth review of the machine.

Laloofah, my EasySprout arrived yesterday so I just need to get some seeds to get started. I'm checking out my local store today. Will let you know how it goes!

Bread maker

2010-01-20T22:44:00.001-08:00

Well, I've gone and done it.

I've got me this:

Say hallo to the Oster EXPRESSBAKE Breadmaker! I didn't think I'd be getting one so soon, seeing as how I'd hardly done any research. But hubby and I happened to be browsing the aisles at Costco and this caught my eye. It was going for $30 when Amazon sells it for $70! Since I knew nothing about bread making and this one promised to do it under one hour (58 minutes to be exact) I thought, "What could go wrong?"

So here we are. I even bought bread flour. The only thing left to do is look up some simple vegan bread recipes to make. I'll tackle that this weekend!

I'm quite exhausted today so it was a quick stir-fry for dinner. Simple but good!

broccoli, seiten, carrot, cashew, onion

Tomorrow my juicer will arrive, yay! It'll be a weekend of gadgets and food experiments. Let's hope I don't blow up the kitchen, LOL!

Kitchen Gadgets

2010-01-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

One of the first kitchen gadgets we got for the house was a budget Oster blender. It's a heavy thing because the jar is made of glass, but at least I don't have to worry about BPA. In the summer when strawberries were overflowing at the local farmer's market, I made a few strawberry-banana smoothies. Nowadays, it's used mainly to make mac n cheese. The only caveat I have for this blender is that the bottom cap that screws in the blade cracked and broke within 6 months of use and we had to buy a replacement. So if you're in the market for a new blender, check the sturdiness of the cap! If it's thin plastic, move on. And for this novice cook, there's no difference between all the 10-speed buttons on there. I just keep pushing any like a mad scientist until my food is the right texture, LOL!
Next we have the Magic Bullet that we got as a gift from my bro and sis-in-law. I love how small and easy to clean it is compared to the blender and I've made pesto, guacamole, and salsa with it. If you've got any good recipes or tips for using this gadget, do share!

Most recently, we splurged on a juicer that was 40% off at Macys.com. We drink a lot of store bought juice and I've recently read it's not as healthy because it's processed, contains preservatives, artificial sweeteners, etc. Hopefully this will get us in the healthier habit; will report back once it's delivered and used. ;-)

Looks mean, doesn't it?

I'm also in the market for a bread maker. It's so hard to find vegan bread unless you go to a specialty store or Whole Foods, and that's just not convenient or economical all the time. Laloofah has kindly directed me to Consumer Search site to start my research. If anyone has recommendations or tips, please let me know!

Lastly, there's a ice cream maker giveaway over at Ginger is the New Pink. Now wouldn't it be fun to win one of those? I don't know where I'm going to stash all my kitchen gadgets but I'll deal with that problem later. LOL!

SF Animal Care & Control Jan 19, 2009

2010-01-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to introduce these two cuties waiting for their forever home at the San Francisco Animal Care and Control.

"Scooter and Little Scoot are a bonded pair of beautiful guinea pigs and must be adopted together. They love to eat fresh greens and veggies, and fresh hay is also a favorite. These lovely girls need exercise to help them keep their girlish figures, and things to chew on to preserve their pearly whites (or yellowy-oranges to be accurate)."

I have to stop doing this to myself because their cuteness overwhelms me and I just want to bring them home! Here's to hoping they'll find their loving forever home soon!

Ringing in the New Year...at the vet

2010-01-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010, everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA but it's been a crazy start to the new year and this is the first weekend I've had to settle down and digest everything.

Let's backtrack to the last week of 2009. Belle had begun showing some discomfort in her mouth, like something was stuck in her teeth. I thought maybe it was a piece of hay or lettuce, and didn't think much of it; she was still eating and behaving normally. But on New Year's Eve after I came back from work, I saw her discomfort had grown to the point of distracting her from eating. Now if you know my little girl, she is a total piggy when it comes to food and precious little can distract her when lettuce is present.

So with this new development, I was sufficiently alarmed. It didn't help that online research showed guinea pigs with mouth tumors that quickly spread to the rest of their body. It also didn't help that I was leaving on a week-long business trip on the following Monday. I had to find a vet fast.

Naturally, everyone was closed on Friday, New Year's Day. So I spent that day fretting over Belle and making a list of vet to call first thing the next morning to get an appointment. I was hoping to get a particular doctor in mind who's been recommended as a good vet for cavies (not all vets specialize in exotic animals, which guinea pigs are). The hospital originally said no because they were fully booked but after some pleading, they squeezed me in for an emergency appointment. Yay!

So Belle was off to her first vet visit at 9am. Dr. Herman was as great as everyone said and explained the best (teeth problems) and worse (tumor) scenarios. Belle would have to be anesthetized for the x-ray so we were told to leave her there and come back towards closing time when she would have recovered from it.

The doctor called around noon to explain the results of the x-ray, which was as she suspected -- malocclusion, which is the overgrowth of teeth. She trimmed it and that was it! Belle may have to undergo trimming every two months (ouch!) but I'm just relieved it's not tumor or something more serious.

Belle was obviously groggy and in discomfort from the teeth trimming (the doc gave pain meds) but it wasn't long before she was eating like her piggy self. Whew!

Come Monday morning, I left the Wheekers with my mom and sister to take care of and I was off to Vegas. More about that in the next post!

Cooking Roundup

2009-12-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the dishes I've cooked up the last few months:

Veggie Stir-fry: This was just a combo of things I had in the fridge (bell pepper, olive, pineapple, zucchini, onion, tofu, tomato, cashew) and served over quinoa.

Pesto Chik'n Sandwich: I was trying to replicate a Loving Hut sandwich I love. You can see the pesto MorningStar Chik'n at the edge there. For next time, I need to add more seasoning and marinate it longer. I also need to research how Herbivore does it for their shawarma (I'm pretty sure they use MorningStar too, but the way they season it is so good and soft and yummy!)

Vegan Pizza: A trip to Rainbow always means pizza is in our future because we'd pick up Daiya cheese. Woohoo! I use Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza (note: thin crust is vegan but regular crust is not). Toppings include tomato, bell pepper, zucchini, olive, onion, and artichoke hearts. I once tried to use a pre-made dough called Lamonica's that I got at Whole Foods -- big failure! It turned out so tough and nearly made the whole pizza inedible. Nearly. ;-)

Chapati and salsa: I had a craving for a wrap but it's hard to find vegan burrito wraps in store, and even when I do, they come in packs of 10 or 20 and I just can't eat them all before it expires (hubby is not a wrap person). So I thought the next best thing was to make my own and I saw chapatis were relatively easy to make. I must have done something wrong though because it ended up too tough (fire too high?). But it worked for this light meal.

Corn fritters: I had no idea they were so easy to make. Very simple and yummy, but oily. Has anyone tried to bake fritters?

Sloppy Joes: We found vegan burger buns at Trader Joe's (hooray!) and that inspired me to make sloppy joes. I used VeganDad's recipe, and subbed the tempeh with crumbled up Boca Burger. It was a hit! This one is a keeper. :-)

Vegan Lasagne: I used Veganomicon's recipe for basic lasagne. Their Almesan topping made a big difference and made it extra special. Sorry, no picture for this one!'

What shall we cook up next? :-)

Guinea Pig Avatar

2009-12-22T21:35:00.001-08:00

Belle's Avatar

Doggie Goodies!

2009-12-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, a pair of canine siblings entered my life through adoption from an animal rescue group, Shelter Dogs Needing Homes. This wonderful group rescues small dogs from overcrowded shelters in Southern California and then brings them up to Northern California where there's high demand for them.

I wish I could say I adopted these darlings, but the truth of the matter is they belong to close friends (and my guinea pigs would say "thank goodness" to that!). One of the dogs, Sunny, I get to see every day at work when he comes in with his papa and the other, Happy, I get to visit fairly often. I absolutely adore both of them and consider myself their "auntie". And as any good auntie, I take my job seriously to spoil them. ;-)

As we're all vegans, the dogs transitioned to veganism too with Natural Balance Vegetarian Food. One excellent resource if you have a vegan dog is Molly's It's a Vegan Dog's Life. She has vegan recipes and natural, eco-friendly tips for keeping your vegan dog healthy and happy. Molly recently published a book based on all the useful tips on her blog and I was fortunate to win a copy through ecovegandog.com (thanks Molly and Whitney!). I highly recommend it to anyone new to dog parenting, vegan or not, as there really are a lot of things to consider to take good care of your dog. You can order a copy through Etsy. I'll be passing my copy to one of the doggie guardians. :-)

It's been a challenge finding a vegan treat the dogs like. I picked up a box of CloudStar's Buddy Biscuits in Peanut Butter Madness flavor at Whole Foods. Sunny liked it a lot in the beginning but for some reason has stopped eating it after 10 biscuits or so (and we only gave him one a day). Then I learned of Olive, an online store that sells eco-friendly products for our canine friends. They offered a few vegan treats as well so I took advantage of their holiday free shipping special and ordered some in hope they will go over well with "my" dogs.

I love Olive for what they stand for and what they do and I loved them even more when the package arrived.

The products were wrapped so prettily with such care and love, I felt like it was a Christmas present! And there was a note stating that all the packaging used earth-friendly, non-toxic, recyclable materials. Awesome!

Then there's a little brown paper bag with my invoice and a personalized, handwritten note thanking me for my order, and a few sample treats. The awesomeness continues!

Here are the things I got for Sunny and Happy. The Huck and Tux toys were a lot heavier and bigger than I thought so I'm not sure how well they'll fare with my little ones. Hopefully they'll take to them and the treats too and then we can begin some fun training aka Victoria Stilwell style. (I love her show!)

I get to dog-sit Happy tomorrow so she'll be the first tester. We'll see what happens!

12/20 Update:
Happy turned her nose up at both treats and didn't play with any of the toys. Oh dear! Here's to hoping Sunny likes them or else I'm stuck with dog stuff and I don't have a dog! :-D

Tempt Mint Chip Ice Cream

2009-12-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

I love ice cream in any kind of weather so you'll still catch me buying vegan ice cream in the dead of winter if I stop by Rainbow or Whole Foods. It's a luxury I can't resist.

My usual buys are Turtle Mountain's So Delicious or Purely Decadent (I just realized they're from the same company, ha!). They're often on sale and they have great flavors, my favorite being Butter Pecan. They have a line of coconut ice cream too, but since I'm not a fan of coconut, I happily stuck to their soy versions.

That is until I found THIS:

Living Harvest's Tempt non-dairy frozen dessert made with hempmilk. In their words:

"Mint Chip Tempt combines the coolness of mint with chocolaty bits, blended into deliciously smooth Hempmilk - one of nature's most perfect, planet-friendly foods."

Holy moly, I have found the vegan equivalent of my favorite non-vegan ice cream of yesteryears. What won me over? Not that it's mint flavored, which other brands also carry. Not that it's made of hemp, which is definitely unique and yummy. My dears, the magic touch was the chocolate chip flakes that's in every bite. Please note I said "flakes" because that's what makes this different from the chocolate "chunks" in other chocolate chip ice cream. These delicate flakes offer a super chocolately pizazz before melting in your mouth with the ice cream. The taste and texture is heavenly! And there's LOTS of them, so you're guaranteed a burst of chocolate with every bite. Perfect. Just perfect.

Sorry, the ice cream disappeared before I got to take a picture. It happens.

Tempt comes in several other flavors: Vanilla Bean, Coffee Biscotti, Chocolate Fudge, Coconut Lime.

Give it a try if you see it in your market. According to them, hemp contains no known allergens. And it's a nice addition to the soy and coconut options.

Vegan food rules!

12/21/09
Coupon alert! Just found this $0.75 coupon on any Tempt product. Expires 12/31/09.

Coupons: Kikkoman, Santa Cruz Organic

2009-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Santa Cruz Organic® has two coupons:
75¢ off any Santa Cruz Organic® Celebration Beverage
75¢ off Santa Cruz Organic® Peanut Butters

Note: Be sure to put your real name down because it's noted on the coupon: "Check ID: Coupon for use only by the [your name] household."

That's the first time I've seen that!

Kikkoman has a Buy 1 get 1 free deal soy sauce coupon. Click on the top right circle saying "Get your coupon today!"

SF Vegan Bake Sale, take two

2009-12-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday was stuff-your-face day @ the second SF Vegan Bakesale held in front of Ike's, this time to benefit Save a Bunny and the Food Empowerment Project. Thankfully this was before the frostbite weather kicked in and the bunnies were able to be out and about for all of us to ooh and ahh over. I even got to pet them! Hope they found good forever homes.

Hubby once entertained the idea of adopting a rabbit and letting it run around the house, but once I said he'd be in charge of cleaning up after it, he decided two guinea pigs were enough. ;-)

So on to the goodies. Last time I came rather late and missed a lot of stuff so this time I made sure I got there right when it started. And let me just say, WOW! They really outdid themselves!

I happily filled up one box of goodies and thought I was done but while I waited with my friends in line at Ike's, I saw MORE goodies being delivered. Apparently, the bakers were on a schedule to come at a certain time so goodies kept coming and coming...and I walked away with another box! This time it was full of Cinnaholic's cinnamon buns, which was baked on their wedding day and delivered by their best man. Talk about dedication, folks! They offered four flavors, which were teasers for the 30 they have planned for their upcoming storefront. Can't wait!

I'm a bit bummed I missed out on Sugar Beat Sweets (they came after I had gone) cuz I love love love their cupcakes but there's always next time (and a storefront coming soon)!

By the day's end, the bakesale raised $4,200 for the chosen charities. How awesome is that, considering there's a recession with a 10% unemployment rate? Behold the power of vegan baked goods! Mad props to all the dedicated bakers and money pouch ladies with amazing math skills.

Next SF event will be in Feb, but before that, the ladies of Fat Bottom Bakery will be hosting an East Bay Vegan Bakesale on January 9th in Oakland. We shall conquer the world one city at a time, yes indeedy!

Lastly, I'll sign off with this. Laloofah, this one's for you:

Cinnaholic's Smores Cinnamon Bun, aka Heaven-in-your-mouth

Up for Adoption @ SFACC!

2009-12-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

We adopted Bert and Belle from San Francisco's Animal Care & Control. ACC maintains a listing on their website of the cuties that are in need of a home. I like to check the small animals listing every now and then, just because. :-) They always have bunnies, many of whom end up at the Save A Bunny shelter if they're not adopted within a certain period. Sometimes guinea pigs, pigeons, parakeets, and the occasional iguana would show up too.

Here are two pair of guinea pigs available for adoption now:

Do have a home for them? Visit SF Animal Care & Control if you do!

MorningStar $10 coupon booklet

2009-12-08T10:41:00.001-08:00

Had to make a late night run to Safeway to get lettuce for the little munchkins and I saw this posted on the fridge door in front of MorningStar products:

The back of the booklet has 5 coupons worth $2 each for any MorningStar product. Expires 12/31/09. They have several vegan options. I like to marinate their Chik'n Strips in pesto sauce, fry it up, and then stuff it in a sandwich or wrap. Yum!

And if you haven't gotten your $.55 off Silk Soymilk coupon yet, you can still do so HERE. Also expires 12/31/09.

Guinea Pig Massage

2009-12-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the look out to find new ways to interact with my guinea pigs. Aside from lap time and floor time, I was out of ideas. Then I saw on YouTube another guinea pig guardian doing this to their guinea pig so I had to try it for myself. It's called the guinea pig cheek massage, which they apparently enjoyed very much!

This is the side view:

This the front view:

I love the round bottom lip! So cute. :-)

SF Bake Sale

2009-12-04T00:32:00.000-08:00

Guess where I'll be this Saturday?

Eat yummy goodies for the bunnies! Does it get any easier?

In cooking news, I made Pineapple Fried Rice from Eat. Drink. Better. No pictures because it really didn't look pretty (or even funny) but it did taste good! The recipe included all sorts of vegetables (I just included whatever I had in the fridge) and the special touch was the pineapple cubes and cashew, which added a pleasant taste and crunch to the dish. Yum! Try it for yourself!

Let's play...

2009-12-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

...find the guinea pig!

Thanksvegan Day

2009-11-26T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm so full I can barely sit so this will be a short one:

Golden Era's special Thanksgiving vegan dinner

This is what I'll be having tomorrow.

Yes, I said tomorrow. Because I just had this at mom's:

those are vegan shrimps in the hot pot

in addition to this:

mashed pumpkin was so good!

If you knew me, you'd be amazed I could eat so much.

But miracles happen when the food is this good.

So the Golden Era Thanksgiving special was ordered to-go because I don't have the will-power to resist any of their specials (which are really exceptionally special). So I picked it up before heading to mom's so I could have it for tomorrow. Yeah, I'm greedy like that. But good food is good food, and I plan on making the spirit of Thankseating last until Sunday night.

Cheers and Happy Thanksvegan from the VeganWheekers clan!

A peek into their huts

2009-11-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

It's too cold out there!

Is that a treat in your hand?

Vegan Corn Dogs...or not

2009-11-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today I had a craving for vegan corn dogs. I mish mashed recipes from Post Punk Kitchen and Vegweb and I created the Frankenstein of corn dogs.

more like oversize tempura

It's not pretty. I mean, just look at it. It doesn't look like a corn dog. And the "corn" part was crispy instead of fluffy soft like I remember from my elementary school days. I'm not sure where I went wrong. But ya know what? Still tastes good! I used Loma Linda's Big Franks for the hot dog -- it's my fav.

And for the real part of dinner (that was just appetizer!):

Vegan mac and cheese (yes, again) with broccoli, zucchini, and cashew.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

2009-11-21T22:53:00.000-08:00

Holiday officially begins when our local pop station KOIT starts airing Christmas music 24/7, which they did last Wednesday. So now we get to hear a dozen renditions of "Silent Night" and the occasional Mr. Grinch song.

In the mood for some holiday shopping, I went to IKEA today to get a table to set the guinea pig cages on. My hubby had custom built their cage, which is like a chateau compared to what you would find a pet store.

Check out the 2nd floor loft!

At IKEA, we took a break for a drink at their cafe and I saw people eating mashed potato and gravy, which totally got me craving for it too. So while hubby drove to Trader Joe's nearby to pick up ingredients, I quickly searched for vegan gravy recipes on his iPhone. I ended up using a mish mash of ingredients and techniques from VeganDad and VegWeb. Here's the result:

I love lots of gravy and it totally buried the mashed potato in this pic. Also featured are Trader Joe's vegan soy nuggets and grilled brussel sprouts. My craving was definitely satiated. Thanks, IKEA, for the inspiration!

Now we're too full to move, so the guinea pig table setup is going to have to wait...

Vegan Bakery Obsession

2009-11-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

I was not always a cupcake junkie. But when I turned vegan a couple of years ago, suddenly the selection of baked goods shrank considerably. Whenever there was a celebration and a cake was needed, we'd pop by Rainbow for a Black China Bakery cake. While I'm grateful to Black China Bakery for making vegan cakes so readily available everywhere, it was starting to get, well, boring.

Then I chanced upon Sugar Beats Sweets cupcakes at VegFest a year ago and it was like a whole new world. Like, riding-on-a-magic-carpet whole new world. I was hooked. Addicted you could even say. At this year's VegFest, I walked away with one of everything they had on display. Of course I didn't eat it all (I could have, but I didn't). I shared the awesomeness with my loved ones so they too can enjoy the wonder that is vegan baked goods. VEGAN, you hear? No eggs, no dairy. Only cruelty-free yumminess.

So if you're a dessert addict too, I have some good news for you. Sugar Beats Sweets is opening up a storefront in SF. Violet Sweet Shoppe sells goodies to Rainbow Grocery. There are organized vegan bake sales that benefit adorable four-legged furballs. Next sale is on Dec 5th in front of Ike's. I shan't be late this time! At least I got to try the baklava from Fat Bottom Bakery. Here's to hoping they'll make it again. If they do, y'all better save me some!

Now I'm off to enjoy Cinnaholic's cupcake from GreenFest. Cheers!

The Cleopatra of Guinea Pigs

2009-11-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

Meet Belle, my perpetually hungry girl. After a full meal, she would still wheek and beg for food as if she hadn't eaten for days. Watch this spoiled guinea pig eat in style:

Meeting Patrick McDonnell of "MUTTS" at GreenFest

2009-11-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Since young I've loved animals. Growing up, my family had pet mice, hamsters, parakeets, goldfish, and an orange tabby cat (not all at the same time of course). Now I have my darling guinea pigs and can't imagine life without the simple joy that my animal companions bring.

It is that joy that artist Patrick McDonnell captures so well in his daily comic strip "MUTTS". I fell in love with it the moment I saw it in the newspaper (come on, cute cartoon cats and dogs, how can you not love it?). The antics and innocent musings of Mooch the cat and Earl the dog never fail to make me smile, laugh, or reflect on the beauty of nature and life. I quickly amassed a collection of his books (it helped that some crazy person was selling a set of his earlier books on eBay...their loss, my happy gain!). When the figurines came out, I got Earl first and then was given Mooch as a Valentine's gift to make a perfect pair (my guy sure knows the way to my heart, eh?).

a small sampling of my MUTTS collection

Last week, I learned that he would have a book signing for his latest release "Guardians of Being" at GreenFest. "Eeeeek!!," my inner fangirl squealed. So I dashed over there after work, hoping I didn't miss him. I've never been to a book signing before so I didn't know what to expect. What I found was an unassuming man sitting on a foldable chair at the side of the booth with no crowd around him. Had I not recognized him from his pictures in the books, I would have guessed he was just another attendee, not the great comic genius royalty that he is. Where are the balloons, trumpets, and red carpet, people?! He at least deserved a table to write on! Instead, when I presented him with my copy of the book and gushed some gibberish in awe, he proceeded to sign it with the book propped on his lap. This man flew all the way from New Jersey and he has to sign books on his lap. So humble is he!

Look, he drew a little Mooch for me! Squeeee!!

I sure wish there were other people around to chat him up just so I could stand around and absorb his awesomeness. (He's vegetarian and a member of the Board of Directors for both The Humane Society of the United States and the Fund for Animals.) But being the shy, awkward, bumbling girl that I am, I quickly thanked him and dashed off before I gave into the temptation to sit as his feet and ask him to read the book to me (aka kindergarten style). Wouldn't be fun to be escorted out by security, would it?

Before leaving, I stopped by Cinnaholic for some baked goodies (hi Kelly!) and VegNews to sign up for a subscription (hi Liz!). They had a great $5 off promotion and I also wanted to thank them for the free GreenFest tickets.

Now your mission, if you so choose, is to head on over to muttscomics.com and sign up for the daily comic strip emails to get a blast of sunshine in your inbox everyday! Then head to GreenFest to meet Patrick at another book signing on Sunday at 11am!

I wonder if it'd be inappropriate to bring all of my books for him to sign? :-)

Thoughts on Veganism

2009-11-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

The other day I came across a blog post titled "Just because it is vegan...doesn't mean it is healthy." And it made me evaluate my veganism because the first thing I thought after reading it was, "That's so true!"

There are many facts proving that a vegan diet is healthier than a meat diet. But I'll be the first to admit I'm not in the top percentile of healthy people. I'm healthier than I would have been on a meat diet (meat = poison) but I'm not ironman triathlon, yoga bending, jog in the forest daily type of healthy. My main reason for becoming vegetarian and then vegan was more for the love of animals than for health and so my daily meals aren't centered around how much vitamins and protein I'm getting. I'm just happy my meal didn't once have a face or a mother.

I'm also a rather picky eater. That post made me realize why I liked VeganDad's recipes so much: they're catered to his kids. My taste buds are still very much like a kid's. I don't like many types of vegetables (*gasp! a vegan who doesn't like vegetables?!*) and I don't take spice or alcohol (how to substitute wine in recipes?). But I've learned to use new ingredients like nutritional yeast and miso, and that nuts aren't just dry snacks but also cooking ingredients. It's whole new world, man.

I guess I should focus on the health aspect of veganism more...but I just love cupcakes too much. Check out my to-go from Sticky Fingers Bakery on my recent trip to DC. Yummy, yes?

And here's their chik’n quesadillas and melty tuna sandwich with Daiya cheese. Healthy? Mmm, questionable. Lip smacking good? You bet.

Mac and Cheese

2009-11-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

One of the first recipes I learned from VeganDad was his Mac and Cheese. It's so easy and fast to whip up (literally, you just blend the ingredients together) it's our go-to dinner choice on tired nights. When I'm feeling extra fancy, I grill some zucchinis and bell peppers to go on the side. Give it a try!

Deals and Giveaways

2009-11-04T12:28:00.000-08:00

In my circle of friends, we have a "cheapo" ranking for who is the most frugal of us all and they somehow always unanimously agree that I top the list. Perhaps it's because I like to find deals on the Net and to sign up for giveaways. I mean, money saved could be money spent on something better, like animals rescue groups or bake sales supporting animal rescue groups, right? And with websites like dealnews.com, Facebook, and Twitter, it's never been easier to find a deal, especially vegan deals.

The first one I found today is for Silk Soymilk at Coupon Geek. If you guzzle down soymilk as much as I do, you'd appreciate this chance to win a coupon for a free half gallon of Silk Heart Health Soy Milk. They also have a printable coupon for $0.55 off any Silk Soymilk purchase (expires 12/31/09). Print to your heart's content!

A place I visit daily for giveaways is The Bright Side Project which is devotedly run by two lovely gals, Miss B. and Miss K. "The Bright Side Project is here to bring you sunshine every day with themed, daily giveaways. We hope to inspire you to stop for a second and remember life is (still) beautiful and there is goodness in the world." Every month they have a theme and there are all sorts of artsy crafty couture goodies given away fitting that theme (I like to sign up for the vegan ones). All you have to do to enter is answer the thoughtful question of the day and make sure to check back to see if you're a winner. This month's theme is called "The List" to help with your holiday shopping. The contributors are giving two items away, one for you to keep and one to give away. How cool is that?

Speaking of giveaways, I just received two free passes to the Green Festival thanks to VegNews who's a sponsor of the event. It takes place at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco on Nov 13-15. The Green Festival is 100% vegetarian and I hope there are lots of vegan stuff too. Thanks for the tixs, VegNews!

Vegan Craft Samples

2009-11-02T23:38:00.000-08:00

By the time you read this line, they might be gone...

Just kidding -- sorta. Hurry and grab your bag of goodies from Vegan Craft Samples! Artsy folks from around the world sent in all sorts of homemade vegan goodies for inclusion in the Holiday Gift bags. All proceeds benefit the Peaceful Prairie Animal Sanctuary.

There were three bag sizes; I say "were" because the large ones sold out already (I was lucky enough to snag one of them, hehehe). The regular size goes for $25 and the small one for $15. And like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get (but at least you know it's vegan and that's all you really need to know). If you're the share and care type, you could repackage a few items into smaller bags to give to coworkers or friends for Christmas.

Or not.

In any case, it's a win-win for you and the animals, so what are ya waiting for? Order one from Vegan Craft Samples or their Etsy page. I can't wait to get mine!

Vegan Wedding

2009-11-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

Today marks my one month wedding anniversary to my very own "Mr. Darcy". Being a very low key couple, we had opted for a small civil ceremony with family only, followed by a vegan barbecue at our place with a couple of close friends (canines included). Everything turned out beautifully and we couldn't have asked for more.

There's nothing quite like planning for a wedding, however big or small. There are lots and LOTS of wedding blogs and websites and I spent many a nights with glazed eyes pouring over them. Here are the ones I loved the most for their witty advice, warmth, and craziness:
Vegan Bride
The Broke-Ass Bride
A Practical Wedding

Since my family prepared the wedding feast, we didn't have to go through the trouble of finding a caterer and venue, but getting a vegan wedding cake was a whole other story. I contacted a few local vegan bakers but they were all busy with VegFest and were unable to accommodate us. At the last minute, we ordered it from Millennium and it was just perfect. I loved it so much, words cannot express. My insides still squeal when I think about it! If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the market for a vegan wedding cake, other options are Sugar Beats Sweets and Violet Sweet Shoppe. I've tasted their regular baked goodies and they are awesome. Be sure to book early (and not right before a VegFest, LOL!).

Happy One Month, honey!

Happy World Vegan Day and Welcome!

2009-11-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hallo friend! I've been greatly inspired by the witty and informative vegan blogs out there in the blogosphere and wanted to join in on the fun. I'm too late for VeganMoFo so I'll kick this off on World Vegan Day instead, which marks the start of World Vegan Month. Now there's no better month to bring attention to veganism than in November, when in the US more than 45 million lives of a particular type of fowl are slaughtered just for ONE meal.

I've been vegetarian for 14 years and vegan for the past two. I switched to veganism after I saw what they did to dairy cows. It was also around the same time the Prop 2 campaign started in California and I learned more about the horrors of factory farms. Within the next few months, I dedicated myself to purging all animal-derived items from my house (i.e. dairy, honey, wool, leather, products that test on animals) and now habitually scan for vegan and cruelty-free labels when shopping. Lifestyle change? Definitely. Feeling great? Absolutely.

So that's where the "vegan" part of "Vegan Wheekers" comes in. The "Wheekers" refer to the joys of my life, my pet guinea pigs Bert and Belle, who were adopted from the local animal shelter. Guinea pigs are well-known to wheek (a high-pitched squeal/scream) when they hear the fridge door open, but mine already wheek when they hear footsteps approaching the fridge! And yes, they're naturally vegan. :-)

I must confess I'm not much of a cook (I've been spoiled by my family's cooking for much longer than I'd like to admit) but after I moved out to start a new life with my Better Half* earlier this year, I knew I had to start clocking some hours by the stove. I was proficient at collecting recipes online but was never really good about actually putting them into practice. That is until I found VeganDad's homey, easy to make recipes for all my favorite dishes. Score!

Today I'll be making his Cream of Broccoli and Potato Soup because that's what I have an abundance of at home right now. Off to the kitchen I go!

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Scrambled Tofu and Toast

*I love this song by Keith Urban. I also love Keith Urban. But that's another story. ;-)