Author Archives: Jennifer

A Trip to the Highlands Hammock State Park

December 6, 2014

I’ve been so busy with work lately. I’ve started to feel a little stressed. Oddly, since I am stressed I decided to start walking to work again. Which is weird since it cuts out a total of 40 minutes out of my day, but it really just clears my mind. I can think, get a little exercise, and some fresh air. Plus, I haven’t been running lately in part that I don’t have adequate running gear for the winter. *crosses fingers for Christmas* But all that walking cuts into time that would normally be used for the blog.

Since I’ve been in a weird writing funk I haven’t posted anything from my trip to Florida. I visited my Nanna and Pappy for their 60th wedding anniversary. They live in Sebring Florida, which I am sure 99.9% of my readers are going “huh, where?” It is 2 hours south of Orlando, or 2 hours east of Tampa Bay, pretty much in the middle of the state.

There isn’t much in Sebring. It is a pretty small town. There use to be a big botanical garden named Cyprus Gardens but it was bought out and turned into Legoland. I was little sad since I remember loving their winter light displays, and I always wanted to dress up as a Southern Belle. I remember the gardens being particularly cool since it had flowers AND animals.

I know I would go to Disney World with my Grandparents, but oddly I have more vivid memories of Cyprus Gardens, the Everglades, and Hammock State Park. I remember getting on a boat in the Everglades and being terrified about falling out and being eaten by an alligator. My sister and I both got close to a manatee, we just watched him bob in the water.

When I was little, I remember walking around Hammock State Park. Most of the trails are boardwalks that go over swampy areas. At one point I remember having to turn around because there was a mother alligator, and my Nanna thought it wasn’t smart to walk by a mother alligator and her babies, which was probably a smart idea.

Coming back to the park as an adult was pretty exciting. Jon had never been to Florida for anything outside Disney World, so it was fun seeing his reaction to the wild life. The landscape is very different from the deserts of Utah or the temperate forests on the east coast. Jon described it as being in Jurassic Park, which isn’t entirely wrong.

I remember all the citrus when I was little. My Nanna and Pappy pointed out every citrus orchard we passed, and they even had a lemon tree in their backyard. The lemons weren’t smooth like the ones you buy at the grocery store. It was bumpy and huge. As I got older, I learned a lot about citrus (like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit are all the same species) so I was a little perplexed by this citrus plant. It was growing in the park, and makes me wonder if some one planted a tree, or if maybe a seed started to grow. There were two “wild” citrus trees growing in the park.

Jon and I saw this written on the trail, and thought it pretty interesting. It had our initials (I mean how many J + J’s really get together?) and 55 years on it. We were at my Nanna and Pappy’s 60th wedding anniversary, so the numbers were really close.

I don’t think I’ve seen so many spiders in one spot in awhile. It probably makes sense that there would be a large amount of bugs that spiders could catch. Autofocus always tries to focus on the trees and not the spider and it’s web, so I was proud how focused I got them with manual focus.

No alligators this trip, but we did see a bunch of cool lizards and a snowy egret. The lizard just plopped from the sky and down on the leaf while we were admiring the scenery. He didn’t seemed to freaked out about us. Jon and I have seen snowy egrets in New Jersey before, but it was magical seeing it in a totally different surrounding (and not in a backyard). I tried to switch lenses but he flew away before I could get a good snap.

I think convincing my husband to make another trip to Florida won’t be hard. It is beautiful and completely different than what we are use to. I wasn’t thrilled by my photos, so that gives me even more incentive to go back down, maybe to the Everglades.

Posted by Jennifer in Tour Florida, Traveling Tags: florida, hammock state park, lizards, snowy egret, spiders, state park, swamps, Tour FL, Tour Florida, wetlands

Sunday Reading 11-30-14 #13

December 1, 2014

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving- or a good weekend for any non-Americans. My weekend? Has been awful. I mentioned in my last post that I had the world itchiest allergy eye, then got the worst migraine. I laid down in my bed for two and half hours with my eyes closed and my brain feeling like a horn was trying to grow through it. So that’s why my “Sunday Reads” are a little late, and to be honest they might not be happening for the rest of year. You know how it is, retail = super busy. And my weekend might be busy making gingerbread cookies and sneaking in vegan ingredients. “What do you mean? I used butter. You are just miscounting the butter in the fridge!” *hides earth balance and flax seeds*

But I had the joy of finding out that Corey Booker is going vegan for the rest of the year. Which is pretty cool. Alexa and I both are NJ natives and have lots of pride in the state. But I am not going to lie, it does seem a little weird that Booker becomes vegan shortly after Chris Christie vetoes the bill banning gestation crates in NJ. Although his motives are true, but it probably gives me great timing for the public eye.

And I think this just blew Alexa’s and my minds. This beers sounds like a disaster, but we will be riding that train wreck when it happens- vomiting our gingerbread cookies and almond nog. But let’s move to the articles that have a little more substance.

noma-review-7x948

Fun With Food

Part of my struggle with veganism hits a rather funny bone. Sure there are traditions that are hard to change, but I’m not talking about serving turkey for thanksgiving dinner. No what really makes me want to break veganism are the far flung history and practices. I honestly would love to try really old fermented japanese fish. Or even haggis, or black pudding. I still have that “don’t knock it till you try it” attitude about food. I also have a weird fascination with using all the ingredients of an animal (I mean I just mentioned haggis and black pudding)

Well, the article isn’t vegan, but it does talk about ingredients and techniques that are. A bunch of chefs are exploring cooking with the uncookable. Although molds and fermentation are making a comeback, there is still a fair amount of still traditional application to them. Sure we have hempeh, but nothing close to the chimp root, “licorice root, whittled down and brushed with juniper-wood-infused honey, and stuck with herbs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and two types of ants.”

Although the creations might be high end and impractical for daily consumption it might yield some good results. Most artistic movements are from people who were playing around. Some things worked, some didn’t. But it might get one small thing right, which would be borrowed by other artists.

An Introduction To The Beagle Freedom Project & The Cruelty Cutter App!

Veganism with my diet seems to be widely accepted. But when I say I try to avoid wools and animal based beauty products I get a weird look. I think everyone knows that animals are needed for experimentation, but most test animals are for cosmetics and inaccurate testing. Science have proven that mice love getting cancer. (So for the love of god stop citing lab tests where mice get cancer. Know what gives mice cancer? Everything)

Two movements are featured in Sayward’s blog: The Beagle Freedom Project and The Cruelty Cutter App. The Beagle Freedom Project works with and helps test animals and try to find them homes. What animal is being tested on for your eyeshadow? Beagles duh! Most people imagine bunnies and guinea pigs are normal test subjects, and they are more likely to bite and be jerk pets. So when people know that man’s best friend is also man’s best test subject it gets peoples attention.

The Cruelty Cutter App makes finding cruelty free products easier. I love this idea to have something in your hand as you go shopping. I love Logical Harmony since she makes cosmetics easy. Honestly, I just dropped way too many links. Check them all out guys, they are really interesting.

t-hanks-givng

Throw this Party: T.Hanksgiving

Even though I had a wonderful spread, I really don’t like Thanksgiving. People are usually in two parties for Thanksgiving, people who spend their day cooking, and people who watch football. Okay that is an over simplification, but after many year my husband started to understand why Thanksgiving and football are a bad idea. If you are cooking you can’t watch the game. So growing up my family made more a tradition of watching the parade.

So I like this fun idea of having a T.Hanksgiving the day before. Maybe next year there will be Splash showing Wednesday night while serving cheesy shit like octopus dip. Or maybe I can make some vegan dish and call it “Mermaid Purse.” Simple and easy, and everyone can love it.

The Militant Baker: Behind the “Decent” Music Video

There are a few songs appearing that embrace curves or being a big girl. There is something great proclaiming “I’m fat, I love it, and fuck you if you don’t like it” Even my boss in her late 50s loves the song All About That Bass. But I am loving this new song Decent by Elly Kellner. It is less “I’m LOVING MY BODY!” but more about the type of guilt tripping that happens. I recommend watching the video and lyrics and reading the post on The Militant Baker. She has a great story to go with the song, which I think anyone of any size can relate to.

Can Whole Foods Change the Way Poor People Eat?

Eating vegan or healthfully on a budget is a big topic. I hear people saying how they want to eat more healthfully but don’t have the money. I am a firm believer that eating well can be cheaper or about the same cost of junk foods. But the Slate investigates the new Whole Foods that opened in Detroit, one of the poorest cities in America. It goes from it’s noble goals, and benefits it creates for the city.

Then the article goes to the big question- can Whole Foods change the eating habits of the poor? The evidence says no. The article paints the picture of why health is associated with the rich. Reading the article I kept thinking that there were better ways to help the consumer. I am sure most everyone knows how to shop smart, but don’t know healthy and cheap eats.

Overall it saddens me that there is more focus on no-GMOs, organic, and grass-fed cows as being healthy over which fats you eat, and how much sugar is consumed. Perhaps it is because meats, sugar, and dairy can get easily pulled out of our diets and people are trying to find ways to keep them there. Or it is hard to admit that maybe if something is expensive, we just should eat it.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: sunday reading, sunday reads

Thanksgiving 2014

November 30, 2014

cat

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know this post is a little late, but I’ve been busy in the kitchen and busy being sick. My allergies reared a new, ugly head that was both horrible and obnoxious. My eyes swelled up and became horribly itchy. I started to wonder if I was getting pink eye. Wonderful timing as I had to prepare many sides for our Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. Terrified of being contagious, I asked Jon cook most of the sides.

I wanted to share my Thanksgiving, because it was probably the best Thanksgiving I had (well food wise). Every year I almost always break my veganism, because my choices ranged from veggies swimming in butter to veggies playing hide-n-seek between bacon bits and cheese. This year, my Mother-in-law cooked everything vegan with the exception of turkey, gravy, and one side. This gave me the freedom of choice.

before1

My Mother-in-law loves decorating a dinner table. I wish I could put forth such effort in my own home. When I read blog posts for “easy Thanksgiving centerpieces” I always wonder: who has space on their table for centerpieces? Then I think that maybe I could just sucker any future kids I may have into making the centerpiece so I don’t have to think about it. Crafts are fun right? Kids should love making a paper turkey. And no one is going to say how crappy it is, because no one wants to shatter kids’ dreams. Point is that I may have figured out a way to decorate my table without actually doing anything. Sadly though, my husband can’t cut paper in a straight line and is far too old for a poorly made hand turkey to be “endearing.” So instead, his Mom took care of the decorations and made her table stylish.

before2

Jon’s Brother and Sister-in-law drove up from Virginia with their massive black lab, Duke. Duke is the friendliest, most well behaved, and most docile of any labrador that I’ve met. He is also spoiled rotten as he gets home cooked meals ever since being diagnosed with a long list of allergies. I know lots of humans who don’t get daily home cooked meals. I hope this pup knows how lucky he is. He spent most of Thanksgiving day bouncing from person to person in search of attention or just a hug.

duke

As mentioned our spread this year was the best I experienced. There wasn’t a single dish I didn’t enjoy. So I will go food by food providing links (if they exist) to recipes. I hope this spread inspires your future holiday dinners.

stuffedonions

Has anyone heard of stuffed onions before? I hadn’t until this Thanksgiving. This was a recipe from my Mother-in-law’s friend, so there isn’t a link to share. She had to take off the outer shell of the onions, cook it, and stuff in a similar manner as stuffed cabbage. The onions were stuffed with tomatoes, breading, and feta cheese, but she left a few without the cheese for me.

carrotsandgravy

Every year simple boiled carrots make it to the dinner table. It is my Father-in-law’s favorite and is pictured above in the covered dish. Next to it is a turkey-based gravy. I made a mushroom miso gravy for myself, but it didn’t look as nice as it tasted.

cranberrysauce

I am actually not a fan of Cranberry sauce. Is that a little odd? I usually find it too sweet, and may be better as a garnish instead of a side. However, this year’s cranberry sauce seemed to be an exception. The secret? It was cooked with port wine. This gave the sauce a robust and complex flavor. Although I am not sure if it is the same recipe, Cookin’ Canuck has a port wine cranberry sauce that looks pretty good.

stuffing

I have no idea what was in this stuffing. I am not fully even sure what the point of stuffing is. Sure it was bread put into a turkey, but now there are so many recipes that don’t involve the stuffing to be stuffed into something. This is one of them. I can say it tasted amazing with my mushroom miso gravy. It was so good, I am actually thinking about eating some of those leftovers right now.

brusselsprouts

Unfortunately the photos of the actual brussel sprouts didn’t turn out well enough for the blog. They were all blurry. But this was a really tasty dish. They were shredded brussel sprouts that were sautéed with a small amount of apples and apple cider vinegar to give it a little tang.

lentilballs

I made these lentil balls with only one person in mind- me. But it seemed that other people enjoyed the dish, and I was asked to leave some behind for others to take home as leftovers. It is definitely a dish I would make again, but the beauty is that they freeze well. So make it ahead of time, freeze it, and bring it out any day of the week for a meal. The recipe is over at Oh She Glows.

greenbeans

These green beans already made an appearance on the blog, and it didn’t have burn onions on top. I made some last minute changes (like I thought burn onions would be more crispy, right?) by adding some cashews to the mushroom like gravy. I had soaked some cashews with the intention of making “rad whip” but ran out of time. I figured it could only enhance the green beans so I blended them in. It created a very rich and creamy sauce.

sweetpotato

On my green beans post I mentioned how I hated green bean casserole so much, I felt like there had to be a better version out there. The same thing can be said about sweet potato casserole. So many times I had tried making a sweet potato casserole and just found it to be too sweet. So when a recipe was posted on Oh She Glows for a Sweet Potato Casserole, I knew I would give it a try. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll try a different recipe in the future. It made a crispy granola like topping that was perfect to go on top of a lightly sweetened sweet potato.

pecan pumpkin

Then comes dessert. I can safely say that my husband pretty much made the entire pecan pie. I blended a few ingredients together, but nothing else outside of that. We used The Post Punk Kitchen’s Maple Pecan Pie, which is tasty. But I joked it was pretty much a shoo-fly-pie with some pecans in it. There was also a very not vegan pumpkin pie. It is just what my Father-in-law makes every year. He also praises his crust every year, or any time he makes it.

What was the highlight of your Thanksgiving?

Posted by Jennifer in Food Review, Reviews Tags: cranberry sauce, green beans, oh she glows, pecan pie, port, post punk kitchen, pumpkin pie, recipe reviews, sweet potato casserole, thanksgiving

How to Serve a Vegan Guest for Your Holiday Dinner

November 27, 2014

This post today isn’t directed to vegan or vegetarians. No, it is for the hosts who are expecting a guest with a restricted diet to come to their dinner. It could be Thanksgiving, Easter, or a Christmas dinner. I am talking less about what to serve and talking more about how to really make your vegan guests feel welcomed. Anyone who has to restrict their diet knows a thing or two about going to friend’s houses for food. It pretty much involves bringing their own food, and sneaking in a cliff bar.

So I made a list of the less obvious ways to serve an omnivorous dinner for anyone who have food restrictions. These are some of the things that I wish other people would do for me (or stop doing). Some are easy. Some steps are harder. Some break “normal” rules of politeness, but can cause a lot less stress in the end. It is also worth noting that these rules apply to vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or allergy sensitive guests. Since this is a vegan based site, I pretty much just use the word vegan more than any of the others.

turkey

Don’t Apologize for the Turkey

No one is telling you to take away the turkey, or the ham, or the gluten. If your family member or friend is a vegan, they know that you are not one. Any vegan is aware that other people eat meat, and know that dinner time is not the time to start sharing the terrors of factory farming. Pointing out that you are serving food that person can’t eat is sort of like saying “Sorry you can’t eat the better food.”

On the same note, don’t keep asking if the person got enough to eat. Ask once, then let it be. Because let me tell you, there is nothing that is more annoying than being singled out like that. I’ve had many well meaning hosts ask if I had enough to eat, then proceed to list things they could give me. Most of the time those foods are not actually vegan.

Don’t Make Two Versions of a Dish

Many people modify dishes for my dietary needs for family get togethers. That’s nice, except they make one version for themselves and one version for you. Here is an example, at a party a person decided to make an dish which was pretty much eggplant, onions, and feta cheese. They decided to put a small amount of eggplant and onions off to the side, for me, and then tossed the rest with the feta cheese. This situation made me feel like the vegan version was so boring and bland that no one would want it. So I was stuck eating the dish no one wants. The second part of the problem is that I now feel pressured to eat all or most of the dish. Because now everyone can see how much or how little I ate of it. Then the worst thought comes to mind- I might not have enough to eat!

The simple remedy is to just pick some vegan dishes. This might be a challenge but you can find tons of recipes online. Or you can see if you local library has a vegan cookbook. I view it like this- you can either make brussel sprouts and bacon and leave some plain brussel sprouts on the side. Or you could make balsamic vingared roasted brussel sprouts that everyone can eat and enjoy.

Ask Your Guest to Bring Something!

I know this is considered by conventional rules to be rude. But if your guest is vegan or has food allergies, they might understand that you might not know what you are doing. And they might be happy to supply a vegan cake or a protein rich vegan dish. Truthfully, your guest might be relieved and will be happy to bring a dish they know would convince people that vegan food is good food.

If you are afraid of coming off as rude, simple tell your friend that you are afraid that you might mess up, and you would feel more comfortable that they would have a “back up” dish they know they can eat. It is likely that your friend has a go-to dish to bring to dinners.

Do Research and Ask Questions

I kind-of hope when I am invited to parties and dinners people will look up veganism to learn about it. Not many people do. This can be an inconvenience to vegans, but it can be deadly when people have allergies. I have a friend who is allergic to gluten, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and many other foods. Even simple seasonings would contain all of those ingredients. So don’t be afraid to ask about some specifics.

And no one is asking for you to google videos of cows being slaughtered. Nope, just to take a look at lists of forbidden ingredients. Heck, not many people know that veganism isn’t the same of vegetarianism. The easy answer is that a vegan doesn’t eat meat, cheese, or eggs. It might slip your mind that it would include fish, honey, gelatin, or lard.

Your Guest Will Forgive You for Slip Up

No matter what, if you try and make a vegan meal your guest will give you A for effort. You might mess up a step. Fine. You might accidentally grab chocolate chips with milk fat in them. Know what? It happens to vegans all the time, even people who have been doing it for years. We use pretty much everything in animals, and in ways you wouldn’t even think of. Did you know that secretions of beavers are used for vanilla flavoring/scents? Probably didn’t. No, not every bottle of vanilla extract have beaver juices. Some red dyes are from bugs. These are the things I wouldn’t stress about, especially since your Vegan guest might not know about it yet.

Don’t Sneak in Meat to “Prove a Point”

Your vegan guest might be annoying. But it isn’t cool to try and prove that meat is delicious. Or that Katie REALLY isn’t allergic to peanuts. No one is denying that bacon and peanuts are not delicious. They are. But trying to put your guest in a taste test is pretty much wrong. To make things worse is that vegan meat replacements are getting better. Some are obviously different, some are down right near exact.

By sneaking in meat, gluten, or an allergen you could be harming a person, giving them horrible night on the can, or just defying their trust. It is one thing to not know any better, and ignoring someones request.

Plan 3-4 Vegan Sides

Not sure how much to make vegan? Think about making 3 vegan or allergy friendly sides. It is understandable that you might have a hard time finding things, or don’t want to buy too many new ingredients. Generally I find blogs like Oh She Glows really good for recipes with no-fussy ingredients. You don’t need to buy faux cheese or soy meats.

There are even foods call “accidentally vegan.” That means the producers didn’t intend for the products to be marketed to vegans. PETA has a large list of foods, that you could buy and skip having the cook from scratch. Some examples are oreos, Pillsbury original crescent rolls, Sara Lee cherry pie, and more.

An easy way to find foods you need? Certain stores label their brands as gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free etc. And some common allergens will be listed on the back. If you see “may contain traces of…” that means you should be fine, unless your guest tells you otherwise (IE extreme allergies or someone with celiacs)

Enjoy the Night!

We vegans don’t bite. And we really aren’t terrible people. You putting forth the extra efforts to include us in the meal is greatly appreciated. If you want to talk about animal rights, then we will. But if you don’t that’s fine too. We won’t judge and we know not to be preachy. Some stereotypes are true, but some are not.

Posted by Jennifer in Health, The Girls Tags: holidays, non-vegans, thanksgiving, vegan

2 comments

Battle Royaled Jenny

November 24, 2014

jennifer-battle-royale

I’ve been wanting to share this portrait for awhile now. I kept forgetting because I am a terrible person. I love Floral Prints and Common Sense, and I have a link on the side. Rachel has a no fuss blog where she posts her outfits, and talks about (at least currently) about her life out of college. I dig her style since she unapologetic for what she chooses to do- lipstick yes, shaving no.

I also dig her art, so I entered a free portrait contest on her blog, AND WON! I was pretty excited to be transformed into a character of my choosing. I was at first thinking about Sailor Jupiter but then thought, no. I asked Alexa for ideas and she mentioned Battle Royale. I loved the book and the movie. Alexa and I even dressed up as Mitsuko and Chigusa for Otakon. I wanted to be in the film costumes but have the ice pick like Chigusa in the book.

I recommend everyone check out Rachel’s Art Flickr account to see all her different works. She also has an etsy shop where she sells both prints and custom portraits. I don’t see a character portrait option, maybe she stopped doing that. But she has custom couples doodles, blog banners, and solo portraits. Her prints are pretty awesome, my favorite being Robot Babe Eating Floating Pie (cuz that’s the future, floating food).

It is worth noting this is not a paid blog post. I just really want to share my picture with every. single. person. that. I can.

Continue reading →

Posted by Jennifer in The Girls Tags: art, battle royale

Sunday Reading 11-23-14 #12

November 23, 2014

I am super thankful this year that my Mother in Law is doing a mostly vegan Thanksgiving. Yeah, there is a turkey highlighting the evening. But for all the sides she put forth the effort to make all vegan sides. Granted I volunteered for a bunch of sides (1 pie, 1 crumble, lentil balls, 2 casseroles, and vegan gravy) but I would of still have plenty of grub to eat. I am also thankful I don’t have to worry about my husband’s tummy at the end of the night. He is lactose intolerant, but sometimes will have some lactaid. But sometimes, even with the lactaid, too much dairy will hit him hard.

I am also thankful that I have a loving husband who will talk to me for an hour straight about the merits of the Harry Potter books and movies. We talked all morning about the symbolism in the book, and how it can positively effect a kids life. You know, talking about death, puberty, love, family, etc. Some are direct, some are not. The only reason why the conversation ended was because we both had to use the bathroom.

What are you guys thankful for?

Hopefully you are thankful for my Weekend reading posts. We have a lot of Thanksgiving related articles and videos this week. Maybe a little too heavy of the videos. I hope you guys actually watch them. I’ve heard rumors that blog readers don’t like watching videos.

The United States of Thanksgiving

Remember when I mentioned in my Tofurky or Not Tofurky post about how many Italian American Thanksgivings look a lot like an Italian American restaurant? Thanksgiving is different for everyone and New York Times covers it pretty well. They have 52 different recipes that might make it on a Thanksgiving tables with some local flair. Clearly not every Maine local is going to put lobster mac and cheese on their table, but I am sure it isn’t unheard of (I mean I DID see lots of lobster mac and cheese on the menus there).

Booze Before Chews: A Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Drinking Game

I don’t like making gender stereotypes, but most guys tend to watch football while women watch the parade. I was part of the parade watching crowd. I am also all about day drinking so I am all about drinking games for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cookies and Sangria makes a game for the parade, and provides exercise or drinking options. It’s a shame that 1) I need to cook a bunch this year and you know, don’t want chop a finger off, and 2) My sister works all Thanksgiving and being hammered during work is “unprofessional.”

Against the Grain

All the hype around gluten-free foods is starting to get annoying. No, I don’t deny that there are people with celiacs disease, or people who are gluten sensitive. I do have a hard time believing that gluten is overall a health risk to the entire nation. I recently watched an episode of Parenthood, and there was a gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, super healthy dessert made for their father who just had heart surgery. I found the scene annoying since I see no particular reason why a man with heart problems should take gluten out of their diet. It has become a blanket term for “new fangled healthiness.”

But having tons of gluten-free options is a good thing. People with celiacs disease have food they can eat, and it makes it easier to entertain guests with the disease. There are also lots of kids who have temporary wheat allergies, which makes life easier for parents. Overall I think it is just important for everyone else to eat a little bit of everything. Think about what the average American eats? Toast and eggs for breakfast. There’s some wheat. An Italian sub from the local deli. There’s some wheat. For dinner some spaghetti and meatballs. Wheat in the pasta, and probably some wheat in the meatballs. Suddenly we are told that there are other grains, and we should probably start rotating them.

Back in Black – Black Friday and What Black Thursday Protesters Are Doing Wrong

Usually the main person who picks the articles on here is me (Jennifer). But Alexa posted an article on Facebook the other day about Black Friday. The article made the argument that people should shop if they feel like it, and workers should be allowed to work if they want to. Alexa and I both agreed that the person missed the point of the black friday or black thursday protests. I was pretty ticked about the whole article, wrote a whole bunch about inequality. Then Louis Black went on the Daily Show and ranted about Black Friday. Yup. He pretty much got it all right.

Alexa and I have both worked retail and in restaurants, two businesses where you are expected to work during holidays, weekends, and late at night. We both have been blessed that we work at small stores so we don’t work on Thanksgiving, but my sister who is a writer actually has to spend her whole Thanksgiving on the computer posting hot deals for the next day. (and not drinking during the parade with me) She gets an hour off to celebrate Thanksgiving, then hops back on the computer.

I get that people need to work on holidays. There were some occasions where my Mother worked holidays (she’s a nurse). We simply celebrated them on different days. I know people go to restaurants on holidays (which I don’t like, but not going into that), movies, and grab last minute food and drinks for celebrations. It is worth noting there is a difference from Walmart opening up for Thanksgiving day and your local liquor store staying open. Walmart is chaotic, and involves more workers than normal. The local liquor store might only need one or two people working the shop.

And that to me, is where the major problem is. I think I wouldn’t care as a worker to come in, work on a slow day and miss Thanksgiving. But put me in one of the busiest days of the year? And miss a family holiday? And then be told I should be happy that I could work that day? Get out of here. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that most Americans celebrate. When people don’t have family nearby, they celebrate with other people.

Daily Show – Garden Crate + The Great Crate Debate

Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to post so many videos. There was just a really good episode of the Daily Show. Jon Stewart talks about a bill in New Jersey that would outlaw gestation crates. Alexa and I both live in New Jersey so this is something we are really interested in. I posted the video for the first half of the segment, but left a link for a “debate” about gestation crates. Even though Jon Stewart isn’t vegan or vegetarian I think it is great that he is very open about talking where food comes from.

Chris Christie’s veto is really annoying, but we can happily sign a petition to show that we care a lot of about the issue.

Do Vegans Kill More Animals Than Meat-Eaters?

With Thanksgiving coming up, we might find ourselves sitting at a table with our distant Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. We’ve all been there, being grilled by a person trying to get expose the vegan as being a big giant phony. I Fucking Love Science recently posted an article about how a vegan diet actually kills more animals. Although the data might be truthful, it isn’t a realistic display of what people actually eat. It would imply that my vegan meal consists of only grains, and the omnivorous diet is only grass fed beef.

Emily make great points and approaches to topic in a great way. I’ve had friends talk about how they had summer jobs plucking dead mice and snakes from crops. It happens, and there isn’t anyone trying to hide that. Watch Emily, get educated, and you’ll be able to make an great argument at the dinner table.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: black friday, gluten, gluten-free, sunday reading, sunday reads, thanksgiving

Alexa Asks, Jen Answers #6: Telling your family that your vegan

November 21, 2014

Alexa is working toward a vegetarian diet, and is loaded with questions. Jennifer’s got answers. We talk about anything as long as it is vegan. Are tattoos vegan? How do I politely not eat Thanksgiving dinner? How do I order without pissing off the waitress? We know you are dying to ask!

How did people react when you first decided to go vegan as opposed to vegetarian?

I was hesitant to write this post since I can’t say that my family has been incredibly supportive. So I won’t be pointing out anyone in particular and I will be taking examples from both sides of family, my side, and my husbands side. With that said there is only one person I will single out- my husband.

I was a pretty flexible vegan when we first started to date. I pretty much got rid of all animal products from my diet, but I had a hard time being vegan when eating out. I couldn’t accept the idea that I would be forced to eat a salad, and I was pretty bad at asking questions. I am sure there were plenty of times I ate beef broth or ate hidden dairy. So when I announced to my husband that I really wanted to go back to being a strict vegan, he was completely an board. He only asked one question- “So your NEVER going to eat a hotdog ever again?” The question was pretty funny to me, since I don’t even like hot dogs much. I actually like fake dogs better, even when I was omnivorous.

I love how my husband talks about veganism and his cutting back on meat as a positive thing. He talks enthusiastically about where he gets his protein from outside of meat and cheese. He will also boast how happy and healthy he is. One thing I can say is that if your spouse is complaining about how your “veganism” is bringing them down, then you might want to reevaluate that relationship.

As for other family members, their initial reaction was pretty non-existant, which is because my “announcement” was pretty non-existant. Most of the time I came to family functions with my own food. We plate our own food, so most people didn’t question what I ate. No one questioned why, so I never explained (I’m a horrible person, I know).

But I found that when I uttered the word “vegan” a lot of family members start asking “the questions.” Calcium, iron, protein, omega-3, and possibly vitamin B12 get tossed around in the conversation. You REALLY want to be ready for answers. I found that if you don’t have a complete answer people will try to talk you out of veganism.

That said some days it seems that family members are totally stumped and find me as a food road block. I am sure some people think I am going through a phase, or just trying to be different or a pain. Most of my family really love cheese and dairy, which is the biggest no for me. So when family try to think of sides, they think veggies with cheese, bread with cheese, casserole with heavy cream, cheese and crackers, cream cheese based dips, etc. And it seems that they plan one vegan dish, or I am the one bringing the only vegan dish. But, occasionally I found, people prefer the vegan dish. My Nanna asked for my curry pumpkin dish that I made for their 60th wedding anniversary.

On the flip side, I’ve had people bend over backwards for me. I’ve had people make two versions of a dish, one vegan and one omnivorous. This year I am going to a Thanksgiving where the host specifically is making mostly vegan side dishes. Which is a great relief, since this will be the first Thanksgiving that I won’t have to give two craps about what I eat.

That said, I am not the best poster child of educating family members about veganism. Some people I just don’t bother to explain it to, and I never expect people to buy anything specific for a dish (ie fake butter, soy milk, etc) If my Grandma made Jello just for me, I’d probably just eat since I don’t expect her to think about gelatin as a no no. But if other members of the family did that, I would explain it to them.

But overall, as a vegan you might feel ignored. Some family members seem to ignore my eating habits in favor for what they want to do, and I don’t think I am alone. My friend who is vegan is always telling me how she has to fight her family not to go to certain restaurants since their vegan option involves a lot of questions and a salad. I find myself making food that my husband and I only eat. You will get pressured to eat the dessert because you know, it’s a TREAT! People will think it is a phase. People will consider your diet as recommendations. And people will make honest mistakes while catering to your diet, and you can’t get mad about that.

This really isn’t a happy post. Most people have a hard time dealing with family and veganism over friends and veganism. I think it is because these people are so close to you that sometimes they don’t care if they come off rude. It is part of how things go. You can fight and talk about it. Or you don’t. This is something you need to figure out how to handle as an adult.

How does your family respond to your dietary restrictions? Are they supportive? Neutral? Or try and fight you on it?

Posted by Jennifer in Alexa Asks, Health Tags: alexa asks, family, vegan

Vegan Eats World Book Review

November 19, 2014

veganeats

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I start this review on a sad note- my book fell apart. No I didn’t love the book to death, though I do really love it. What did the book in was the binding was crappy construction. This makes me sad since this has NEVER happened to me before. Sure once or twice I might of had a 10 year old cookbook fall apart on me. But never a new one. What makes it more frustrating is that the publishing company has always made solid cookbooks.

And when I say the book was falling apart, I mean the pages were falling out of the glue binding. This usually happens over years, when the glue dries up. So I bought a binder and put each page into protector sleeves. I never really liked the covers so in the end I have the plus of having a sparkly and teal new book.

Am I saying YOUR future copy will fall apart? No. Probably not. As I mentioned before, I have gotten many books from the same publishing company that are very sturdy. But I probably will recommend investing in the hard cover version of the book. In the end it will last you longer anyways. With that gripe out of the way, please read all the GREAT and WONDERFUL things I have to say about Terry Hope Romero’s book.

Spoiler Alert: I think it is staple in a vegan bookshelf

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Posted by Jennifer in Book Review, Reviews Tags: book review, cookbook, cookbook review, ethnic cuisine, review, Terry Hope Romero, vegan, vegan eats world, world

Vegan Thanksgiving: Green Bean Casserole

November 18, 2014

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I remember the first time I had green bean casserole. I didn’t have it until I was in my 20s, it was never a Thanksgiving staple in my family. My brother in law grew up eating it and requested it for the dinner spread. My sister read the can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup, frustrated by the simplicity. Really just a can? What are “french onions”? We all gathered around the table and tasted the dish. My sisters and I all agreed it was a mistake and voted off the dish from future dinners.

I didn’t listen. I couldn’t shake off has a very classic dish could be so bad. This prompted me to make a 100% from scratch version of the dish, and made it vegan. Each year I kept tweaking the recipe, and trying out new methods. This year, as I made a pre-Thanksgiving testers batch, I found the perfect match.

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I debated posting this dish since the photos didn’t turn out so great. I thought I could wait till after Thanksgiving and post it with better photos. I mean, this is a dish you could make for Christmas, right? But then after discussing Thanksgiving dinner with my Mother-in-Law, it seemed that she had plans for her own green bean dish. Posting the dish was a now or never deal.

This is a great dish if you are the guest invited to Thanksgiving. It isn’t hard to make, but it does take some time and planning. First you have to roast the onions, then you have to cook the green beans, then you need to make the sauce, then combine into the casserole dish. So it is great to make, getting all the messy work out of the way of the host. Even better is that it is a vegan dish that doesn’t seem “healthy.”

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The plan is simple. Bread and bake onion rings in the oven. Cook the green beans by boiling them for 5 minutes, or use frozen beans (fresh will give the best results). On a stove top make a mushroom-miso like gravy. Cover the green beans with the “gravy” and top with onions. Heat again in the oven. Simple enough.

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Posted by Jennifer in Recipe Tags: green bean casserole, green beans, miso, mushrooms, onions, peanut-free, thanksgiving

Sunday Reading 11-16-14 #11

November 16, 2014

This weekend has been a little sad. Saturday was the last day my husband and I will be able to pick apples at our local orchard. We go through several pounds a week, and I not sure how we do that. I can say my husband eat at least an apple a day at his work. Then he loves to eat apple pies, apple muffins, and tops his oatmeal with apple chunks. Me? I do make a light green tea and apple drink, apple cereal, and use them in slaws.

Aside from no more organic local apples, our CSA has our last share next Saturday. Then hits Thanksgiving, which means I holiday season starts. My work will now be open 7 days a week (as apposed to 5 days a well, giving me secured Sunday and Monday off). The holiday season is a bittersweet time of the year. I get excited but there are many ways I dred it. But I HAVE already bought two gifts already, so I am ahead of the game right?

Good things about today? My husband and I are going to see Rosewater and baking an apple pie (at home, not in the theater). I plan on watching a full football game and not getting distracted by the kitchen. Making some black bean tacos for dinner while watching a new episode of Once Upon a Time. Which reminds me, shouldn’t Emma be spending more time with her son? Just saying it’s been all about Emma and Hook lately. Just saying.

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Israel is the Vegan Capital of the World & Beyond Hummus and Falafels

The first link is to a very short article about how Israel has the highest population of vegans. When estimating numbers, people hear low numbers like 1% to 2% of the population being vegan. Israel has a whopping 5% vegan population, and an additional 8% vegetarian! Sometimes positive news that a movement is working is all you need to make your day brighter. The second article goes into detail about the hows and whys, which I always find interesting.

I know that since I live next to Philadelphia I have lots of vegan options, including several all vegan bar, all vegan pizza place, and pretty much a vegan option at all restaurants. I tend to forget how frustrating it can be to eat out in other parts of the world. After reading these articles, I recently saw that Emily from This Rawsome Vegan Life started to post a bunch of vegan food from Israel on Instagram. I hope she blogs about it soon!

It’s Time To End The Turkey-Tofurky Thanksgiving Food Fight

NPR writes about how people view the morals for vegans compared to omnivores. To me it makes a lot sense. I’ve had many discussions with people about how they try not “think about where their meat comes from” or how they could never “eat Bambi.” There is definitely guilt associated with animals dying. But vegetarian or not, it doesn’t really show all of the ethics people hold.

The article was a little saddening to read that people believe the stereotypes, as if all vegans are righteous jerks who are going to show PETA videos during dinner time. Although I applaud the people go out there and film and expose what is going on with our “food,” I don’t think it is the way to convert everyone.

The GMO debate: 5 things to stop arguing

This article is neither for and against GMOs, but takes common arguments from both sides. I’ve got a lot of beef with GMOs but I recognize that with overpopulation, we might need them. But the biggest argument against GMOs is that they are unhealthy for people and that isn’t 100% true. Can you make a GMO that is poisonous? Yes. Are there natural foods that are poisonous? Yes, some we even eat (hey there is cyanide in apples, and nicotine in lots of foods, just in very very small doses)

I think the issue is far from black and white. But I do support foods labeling when the use GMOs, and I do think some GMOs do sometimes give too much power to companies. I don’t like the idea that one person or company can own the rights to DNA. There COULD be horrible problems on our environment, less chemicals yes, but what if some of our food becomes a weed? It might be fine for us, but it could hurt one animal, which feeds another, and another. I know some of these arguments are speculation, which is why I am not jumping into any GMO protests.

Lolitas Who Aren’t Asian: Why This Style Is Actually Universal

I use to love the Gothic Lolita style of clothing when I was in high school. I had several copies of Gothic Lolita Bible and I would flip through swooning over Mana’s curly hair and Kana bright color choices. I remember being so excited when I bought my first H. Naoto piece, and then never wore it. (Maybe I’ll make it work and post it?) But I never had the cash to buy such a fancy dress to wear maybe for halloween and possibly a convention like Otakon.

I really liked this small video piece that talks about how the Lolita culture has been popular in Amsterdam. I think if there was a thriving community like that in the US, I might be happy to dress up and grab some tea. But then again, I probably wouldn’t. Let’s be real this style is a fashion and hobby commitment. As Alexa has pointed “kawaii is devotion.” I also like the points the girls make, the clothing choice is less about being sexually appealing to men, which seems to be the biggest assumption about what women choose to wear.

Make Thrift Buy: Seashell Bra Mermaid Top

Annika’s recent episode of Make Thrift Buy really inspired me. I love buying clothing, but I know it isn’t the best thing I can do for the environment. I also know there are tons of animals products in clothing, making it hard to buy reasonably priced sweaters, coats, and shoes of lasting quality. Thrifting is eco friendly and animal friendly since you are not directly supporting industries that use animal parts. But I am pretty bad at thrifting. I hate sifting through all the clothes, and I get annoyed when the fit isn’t perfect.

But unlike some previous make thrift buy episodes, Annika took a super simple shirt, and made something cute and trendy of it. I feel like I could go into any thrift store and pick a shirt that I could use. Is it ground breaking? No. Nothing new here really. But maybe I will visit a thrift store soon to buy some clothing to modify soon.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: clothing, fashion, israel, sunday reading, thanksgiving, Thrift Shop, thrifting, tofurky

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Author Archives: Jennifer

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How did people react when you first decided to go vegan as opposed to vegetarian?

How does your family respond to your dietary restrictions? Are they supportive? Neutral? Or try and fight you on it?

Israel is the Vegan Capital of the World & Beyond Hummus and Falafels

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