Friday, March 18, 2011

Becoming a Vegan

I became a vegan in 1994. Before that time, I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for many years. I have never looked back. I do not deal well with guilt, and I did not want to contribute to any animal suffering. When I was training to become a health inspector (environmental health specialist) years later, I had to complete a specified number of hours in vector control. Part of that included inspecting egg ranches for proper fly larvae control. The egg ranch was what you would expect, and while it was saddening, I felt better knowing that my money was not financing it through egg purchases and consumption. Unfortunately, most people do not consider where their food comes from, and they do not want you to tell them anything about it. So, I do not push my beliefs on others nor do I tell people that I am vegan when I first meet them. I would like to educate people on the problems associated with eating meat without cramming information down their throats. I just try to prepare really good, familiar looking vegan food for potlucks and for house guests. I think being a good salesman is better than being a bully. By the way, the picture is of a pigeon ("Chicken-Ball & Chain") whose parents decided it could be reared out on the ground in the middle of the desert summer. His name is just Chicken.

I'm going to LA tomorrow for the marathon. My husband is making a list of places to go to while we're there. I'm sure he's going to try to drag me around until I have blisters on my feet and I have problems running on Sunday.

No recipe today. I'm just going to make easy burritos. By the way, when you're in Palm Springs and looking for a good vegan burrito or whatever, you have to visit Native Foods. There is one in Palm Springs an one in Palm Desert off of El Paseo. Check out their website. It rivals Real Food Daily. Really! Did anybody make the Sheep Lover's Shepherd's Pie? Next week.....Red Velvet Cupcakes!!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

What to Cook for Dinner on a Cloudy Day in Paradise

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's cloudy and I want to fix something warm and homey for dinner. In that it is St. Patrick's Day, I think I will make a shepherd's pie. If you would like to give it a try, here's the recipe:


Vegan Sheep Lover's Shepherd's Pie
  • 2 c. seitan in small dice
  • 1 c. veggie broth
  • 1/2 c. finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 c. diced carrot, about 2 carrots
  • 1/2 c. thawed frozen green peas
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 2 1/2 c. potaotes mashed or riced with 1/4 c. plain soy milk and salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/8 tsp. paprika
  • 1 T. vegan Earth Balance or other suitable margarine
  • salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400. Saute onion and carrot in olive oil in saute pan until soft. Stir in garlic and seitan. If you cannot find prepared seitan, you can use soy crumbles or make seitan yourself (which, by the way, is a very arduous process you might want to save for another day). Add broth to veggies and simmer for 20 minutes.

On the marathon front, I ran 5 miles per the training schedule. Tomorrow is a very rare second off day for the week.

Have a great St. Patty's Day. Please do not drink and drive. The homeless animals spared from becoming roadkill thank you!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I'm Running a Marathon on Sunday-OMG!!!

So, the LA Marathon is this Sunday. It is my very first!!! I ran the Surf City half marathon in Huntington Beach last month (awesome) in 1:55:30. I had the worst case of explosive diarrhea at the end! God, I hope I do not have the same problem on Sunday because I am physically incapable of retaining that force for 26.2 miles. Anyway, it is testimonial that vegans are not sickly, anemic weaklings.  I would love to hear from any vegan runners out there.
I need to get going on my garden. I have some left over tomatoes (ah, the joys of being in Palm Springs), and huge heads of lettuce that are going to seed. Mini Cooper doesn't mind. He loves anything home-grown.

I plan on posting vegan recipes, especially those that my omnivore husband enjoys. My favorites are baked goods, but I have developed many of my own recipes, and tweaked those from other people over the many years that I have been cruelty free. I will try to do at least two a week.

Anyway, I must get to the gym. It is way too windy to run outside and I am on a tapered training week. I was just waiting for my lunch to digest (refried beans with habanero salsa do not bounce around well in the tummy), and I decided to start my blog. I hope to help vegans to balance their diets, encourage those with the slightest interest in running a marathon, and maybe entertain a little with the way I look at the world. So, until my next post, love your families, especially the furry ones, be nice to mean people, and save the drowning bees from your swimming pools....