Who Wants VegNews Magazines?

Okay, you Vegan Denverites who wants some free VegNews magazines? I've got almost 2 years worth but some are missing and I am ready to part with them all.

Leave me a comment about your favorite thing about being vegan and I'll pick by random draw (actually Keller will do this out of his hat) and you could be the winner of these great magazines (please come and pick them up).

Rock on!

Compost

For the past year we have been composting in a homemade bin made with chicken wire and wooden posts. It was a big circular bin which made it difficult to turn the compost. Steve got a great idea to build a new 3 compartment bin.

It took 1 day to make and 2 days to get the compost back in (we got busy with other things).

We hope to be better about turning it more often and I think we will. Now, that we have 2 extra bins to dump it and mix it in it should go smoother. Right now it's kind of stinky, not terrible, but you do get a whiff of something unpleasant as you walk by.

Keller thinks composting is pretty cool and was singing a song about it today at our yard sale.

"Buy a bag, buy a bag,

To make your compost.

Compost is healthier for the soil."

Watercourse and City O' City Rant

We live in a smaller city and while there are some vegetarian/vegan restaurants there are not many. Two of them are owned by the same people and we have been customers since we moved out here 7 years ago. Watercourse has been around for ages and is in all intent and purposed the "vegetarian and vegan" meca of Denver and City O' City sits in the old Watercourse location.

"Oh, you're vegan? have you been to Watercourse yet?" This is a phrase that is heard quite often when our eating preferences are discussed. I hate bursting people's bubble but I usually tell them that yes I have been there and while it's nice the overall quality is terrible. It's like family, I say. You go and visit too often and things just turn sour, you only visit once a year and you leave on good terms. But it shouldn't be like this for a veggie restaurant. Right?

We have been complaining about the service, the inconsistency in food quality and taste, the servers attitudes, the inconsistency in food quality (it needs to be mentioned twice) for years and years and years. We have begged and pleased for them to make changes. We have written letters and we have even declared a total ban and stayed away for up to a year. We've had friends say the same thing. Every time we say something to the manager we get the same story. "We're so sorry, we've been trying to work it all out, we have a new chef" they say and say and say.

But sadly nothing ever changes. And it stinks. We are vegan, we want to eat at a restaurant that caters to us but when we do more than once in a year we are so sadly disappointed. And it's not like its a sleazy diner where the prices are cheap. Watercourse is expensive and I'm sick of paying lots of money for boxed mashed potatoes (this happened just last week) and boiled kale.

Trust me, I'll pay high prices for great food. But I want to know that it will be the same quality every time I go.

The sad thing is is that I think they simply don't care. I think that they know they have all the vegans in town by the cajones (if you will) because they are the only veg joint in town.

I'm boycotting them again and until I change my mind and decide to go back I'm stuck eating at Chipotle which is fine by me. They are the Starbucks of fast food.

Tempeh, Mmmmm

I've been missing my Tempeh! To try and cut down on our food bill we haven't been buying Tempeh or other processed products lately. This morning I got an email from a high school friend. She was asking me if I would consider catering a small vegan dinner party for her and some work friends when she is out here for a conference.

Right away I started planning the menu in my head and I instantly thought of the Hot Sauce Glazed Tempeh from Veganomicon. Then my mouth started to water and I thought that Butternut Squash Ravioli with Garlicky Breadcrumbs and Kale would be a great dish to serve with that. Then I wasn't able to enjoy what we had for dinner (home rolled sushi) because I was craving the Tempeh. Even though hot sauce is used a lot in the recipe it isn't too hot for Keller to eat.

My favorite is the Three Grain Tempeh by Lightlife. Nothing compares in my book. I'm just waiting for Costco to start selling tempeh like they sell tofu. It would make our lives much happier.

It's Happened

Well, it has happened. I've finally found a sweet treat that was just too sweet for me and the irony is that there was hardly any sugar in it at all!

The other day my copy of BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free & (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes came in at the library and I was thrilled. I've never been to the bakery in NYC (but I'm hoping to go this summer when I visit my very best friend). I am just a vegan baked goods fiend and the fact that they are gluten-free and mostly sugar-free was intriguing and exciting.

I got to work right away and decided to make chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, since both Steve and Keller love, love, love chocolate chip cookies. What I noticed about all of the recipes is how much they use the much beloved, but not so well known, Coconut Oil. So, after making the frosting I stuck that in the fridge and we headed out for a Mother's Day hike. When we got home I made the cookies. It took all of Keller's will and determination not to eat the cookies as they cooled. At one point I even found him standing at the counter sticking his tongue out trying to lick a cookie. Needless to say that one went to him!

I assembled the cookie sandwiches and we oh-so gladly sat down to eat them. Wow. I wasn't expecting them to be so coconutty and sweet since the only sugar used was 1 cup of evaporated cane sugar, but I think it's the coconut oil. Don't get me wrong they were very good but so sweet that I couldn't, well, can't think of eating another one anytime soon. Maybe this is a good thing! You know for a week or so...

You have got to check out this book if you have any hesitancy about vegan or gluten-free cooking! And if you live in NYC you need to go and give them your business. They are giving away 5 free books if you post on their site and get chosen. Check it out here. In the 4 years that we have been vegan and the 4 year prior that we were vegetarian I am amazed at how creative people are getting with vegan food! This cookbooks isn't like any that I have or have seen. It's creative and it's use of healthy (and healthier) products makes the recipes delicious. This will be a book that I recommend to anyone looking to bake healthier.

I checked out this cookbook from the library, Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson and really liked it. It is NOT a vegan cookbook but it is vegetarian. But everything I made I was able to substitute with a vegan item, like egg replacer powder for eggs (you could also use ground flax seeds or ground Chia seeds with water) and soy milk mixed with a teaspoon of vinegar for Buttermilk.

The book is beautiful and very earthy but the recipes are delightful. I made the Wild Rice Pancakes for a monthly brunch that we attend with great friends. These were a hit with both adults and kids. I heard Keller's best buddy tell his mom "I really love these pancakes." It was a fun recipe to make. The only change I made was to the addition of the wile rice. You are supposed to put the wild rice in the pan first and then pour the batter on top. I poured the batter and then sprinkled the wild rice on top. Worked just as well.

I also made the Sprouted Garbanzo Burgers (pictured at the top). These were easy and delicious, in fact they were very tasty. Ground up chickpeas with egg replacer, cilantro, sprouts, bread crumbs, and a few other ingredients. We didn't serve them on buns because we didn't have them.

Popsicles made with coconut blueberry yogurt (by So Delicious) and a blended smoothie made with Acai, banana, grapefruit juice, and mango were a huge hit with Keller. He loved these and so did we. We ate them on a rather chilly day but they were good and I can see up making these a lot this summer. I really enjoyed the yogurt frozen in the popsicle it had a nice consistency.

There are many new vegan cookbooks that are already out and coming out soon that I can't wait to try!

Snausage and Swiss Chard Sandwich

This is a meal we love. Lightlife sausage cut up into patties and cooked in a pan. Sauteed swiss chard with garlic and onions on top of a piece of Italian bread and drizzled with a little maple syrup. Mmmm mmmm. We will be having this again this week but I will be crushing up white beans into a puree to slather on top of the bread.

Simple Dinner

Tonight we made Sushi Bowls.

I soaked 2 Cups of short grain brown rice in 3.5 Cups of water for about 2 hours. Then I out a lid on it and turned it to high, brought it to a boil, then lowered the heat to medium and cooked it for 25 minutes. After that I lowered the heat again to low and cooked for another 25 minutes. After it was done cooking I turned off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.

While the rice was cooking I chopped up

- red pepper

- broccoli

- carrot

- cucumber

- nori

- scallions

- mushrooms

and put them into small bowls. I also had sesame seeds and some wasabi paste on hand.

To top it off I made a dressing with 2 T toasted sesame oil, 1/4 Cup Braggs, 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar, juice of 1/2 lime, 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 clove garlic chopped, 1/2 tsp ginger chopped. I put this into a glass jar and shook it till it was mixed.

It was a fun meal because everything including the rice was put onto the table and we each got our own serving spoons to make our dinner how we wanted. Keller loaded his bowl up with veggies, rice, and lots of Nori. I made mine super spicy with wasabi, and Steve really liked his with a little dressing. And, we ate the Sushi Bowls with chopsticks, well, except for Keller. He tried in the beginning but then said "why would they make these chopsticks, don't they know it's easier for me to eat this with my spoon!"