Good morning! I slept in today and it was delightful! Why so tired? I had an action-packed Saturday! I went to the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival.
It’s going on today (Sunday), too, so if you’re in NYC get on over there!
This year I bought a VIP ticket to avoid the long line and waltzed right in- $20 well-spent! My first order of business was to find Gena for some girlfriend time. We grabbed two chairs, found a fairly quiet corner and got all caught up. Later, I wandered the aisles (I didn’t take pictures – bad blogger!) and gobbled up some treats, including an empanada from V-Spot, marshmallows from Sweet and Sara (I finally met Sara after years of following each other on Facebook and Twitter) and I bought a $13 jar Dark Chocolate Almond Butter with Dried Cherries from Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. Worth. It. I spent most of my time chatting with my WFAS friends at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and Jill and John at the Vegan Cuts table. Good times.
I organized an informal east-coast dinner meet-up for Vida Vegan Con bloggers who were attending the Fest: Esther, Fran, John and Jill, Jenn, Kate, and Kelly. We had hoped to check out the new Blossom Bakery (formerly Cocoa V) but it does not open until next week (contrary to a March 3 opening reported on the New York Times.com). Boo! Quick thinkers, we opted for a vegan field trip to Lifethyme Natural Market.
It was my first visit and I am in love. I picked up two flavors of Dr. Cow nut-based cheese, Faux Gras (which I sampled at the Fest), raw, live and dried BBQ Kale Chips and Kale Granola (oh. yes. I. did.) made at Lifethyme, and a Tollbooth cookie from Lifethyme’s all-vegan bakery. Plant-based delights!
From there we walked to Soy and Sake for a big meal. I started with a collard green (with soy “ham”) vegetable roll.
Followed by the Classic BLT
Vegan tempeh bacon, lettuce and tomato on whole grain bread with vegan mayo
Another great meal at Soy and Sake! I think everyone was pleased with the huge variety on the menu. It was fantastic to see some of my favorite bloggers in person again (Vida Vegan Con feels like a lifetime ago!) and to enjoy such a fun evening.
Now, for the news!
This week’s Vegan Links and News
- I read this from Mercy for Animals, Friday night: “Iowa has enacted the nation’s first ag-gag law — which seeks to outlaw undercover investigations exposing animal cruelty on factory farms.” Hey, Iowa, if you’re proud of what you do to animals, why not allow cameras in to share with the world?
- Have you subscribed to James McWilliam’s Eating Plants blog? Great stuff, including these two thought-provoking pieces posted this week: Can Violence Against Animals Lead to Violence Against People? and Cheap Eggs and SNAP: A Brutally Honest Admission of Not Caring.
- Chicago’s local ABC news network ran a a piece on Growing up Vegan. The Chicago Vegan Family Network sounds like a terrific resource for vegan parents and children
- For those of us who have children of the feline-variety, this Q&A – Is a vegan diet safe for my cat? - pretty much confirms that I will continue to feed my cats animal-based food.
- Speaking of cat food, I have to share this video. I’m not plugging Whiskas and I don’t even use it, but dang, it makes me laugh every time I see it.
- This week on CNN.com’s Eatocracy the piece Love is a cattle field: When diets divide relationships takes on the challenges of mixed-diet relationships and offers up some pretty good advice:
Respect: Regardless the reason for the choice – religion, ethical conviction, medical – it is critical that one person not mock or otherwise ridicule or put down the choices of another partner. That runs both ways: If one person is a committed vegan, he or she may need to get off his/her high horse and not make it a moral indictment of the partner who does not choose to eat that way, because that is a choice that may not be amenable to that partner. Find ways to voice preferences that are not disrespectful.
Communicate: Such different choices only work if there is clear communication about grocery shopping (perhaps one person will not buy meat for the other), meal planning, restaurant choices etc.
Compromise: If the person with more restrictions also does the bulk of the cooking, then there may need to be a way to meet halfway so one doesn’t feel there is no choice but vegetarian, etc. It may also require both parties to step up to the plate and cook together.
Meet halfway: Cook together or surprise each other with a restaurant choice that suits the preferences of the other.
Be an opportunist: If the husband is a card-carrying vegetarian and finds it hard to go to places where steaks are the “thing” on the menu, but the wife loves her steaks, then a great time for the wife to eat her beloved steak is on a girls’ night or at lunch.
Create space: In some dietary restrictions (like kashruth), there should not even be proximity of one food to utensils, pans, etc. Create zones in the kitchen that respect those choices.
This week on the blogs
JL goes Vegan
- MONDAY: Vegan 101: Smoothies for quick and easy vegan indulgence. Also on Monday, y Tofu Tacos made the Fiesta Foods with a Latin Vibe issue of DailyBuzz Healthy Living.
- WEDNESDAY: Sacred Chow, NYC
- THURSDAY: Vegan Cuts Market!
- FRIDAY: Butternut Squash Breakfast Salad
- SATURDAY: Soy Curls in Spinach, Mushroom and Tomato Sauce
Stop Chasing Skinny
- WEDNESDAY: Ilana’s Story {Pursuing health instead of chasing skinny}. Elsewhere Wednesday, my post Handle with Care made the Kindness to Oneself issue of DailyBuzz Healthy Living.
This week we surpassed my fundraising goal for the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary!
At 111% of the goal we are now at $810. There are 18 more days in this fundraiser and a generous donor will match the total raised by 50%. What a huge gift to the animals! You can still donate (and thank you)!
I’ll see you tomorrow with a basic recipe that has become a staple in my cooking. Have a great Sunday!
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