Why am I vegan?

Every time I cuddle with my beloved pit bull Buster or hang out with my lemon yellow bird Sparky, I am reminded of why I am vegan. They are my companions. They are a special and beautiful part of my life. They make me happy and I feel that life is so much more peaceful with them around. And it's also hard to deny that they too seek happiness and comfort in their lives. I don't see any difference between them and cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, lamb, ie. animals that are raised for food. I believe they deserve to be protected and deserve to live a good life just like my Buster and my Sparky. It's that simple for me. I don't see living creatures as food anymore. I wish I would have had this sense of clarity a long time ago but unfortunately I didn't want to see them as having any connection with the food that I ate everyday.

About 15 years ago when I was in high school, I went vegetarian for about 6 months after my English teacher showed us the "Diet for a New America" video in class. I remember just feeling sick to my stomach that all the suffering and sickness in factory farming was directly related to what I ate everyday. It really opened my eyes as to how it affected our health, our animals and the Earth. I came home from school and announced to my parents that I was going vegetarian. I decided to cut out meat from my diet and see if I could do it. It didn't last very long. I was so uninformed about the right foods to eat so I relied on plain salads, lots of carb heavy foods and junk food like chips, french fries and sweets. I didn't know about whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds or soy foods, let alone appetizing ways to prepare them. This "inconvenience" is what made me go back to eating meat-centric meals and fast food. This continued for the rest of my teen years to early adult life. I don't know why it took 15 years for me to start thinking about going veg again. Aside from thinking vegetarianism was difficult, I think I was ignoring what I really knew about where my food came from, just living with my head turned the other way, refusing to see what was there. Like many others, I pushed that knowledge out of my head while I enjoyed my steaks, fried chicken and Thanksgiving turkeys. I figured if I don't think about it, it won't hurt me (or the animals?). Then one day many many many years later, I woke up.

I decided to go vegan on January 1, 2007 after seeing a few videos of factory farming on the internet. I remembered again what it felt like when I sat in my high school classroom watching the same thing. I was sad that I never stuck with my transition to vegetarianism at that time and I thought if I'm going to do it, I should do it now. I knew I was ready for it and was ready to learn more about it. I didn't even bother starting as a vegetarian and working my way to vegan. I figured if I'm going to omit animal meat from my diet, I should eliminate their by-products too. At first it was intimidating. I thought: "So meat's out. Eggs and dairy too...What's left?" I didn't know where to begin. A book called 'The Food Revolution' gave me information about what was in the animal foods I was eating. Also looking at various information websites like Choose Veg, Vegan Outreach and vegan recipe sites like Vegweb and The Post Punk Kitchen, I was able to get so much information that would help me transition very quickly. Luckily I love to cook and always have since I was young, so buying a variety of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks helped me explore different recipe ideas. It got me very excited to be vegan. It's been over a year and it's only gotten easier and easier for me to be vegan. I no longer worry about what I'm going to eat everyday and whether I'm getting the right amount of nutrients. I still get very excited about food and I'm able to enjoy what I eat and share with others that animal free food can be delicious too!

Not only are there yummy foods that I can enjoy now, I've also had other benefits from being vegan. The first year I lost about 10 pounds and my husband who only ate vegan 70% of the time lost 30! Cutting out animal protein and dairy reduced the amount of bad fat we ate so naturally we lost weight. Also introducing more whole grains and a variety of vegetables helped very much. I can't say I lost any more weight since then as vegan cupcakes have taken over my life, but I still feel very healthy. My cholesterol levels are excellent, my digestion is impeccable and I still weigh less than I did when I ate meat a year and a half ago. Food is celebration to me and is abundance. I don't feel like I'm restricting myself. When people ask me if I miss eating chicken or steak or (enter other animal food here), I just tell them that as I no longer view chickens, cows, pigs etc. as food, I'm not missing anything. I have so many other choices that fulfill me and make me feel satisfied about my food choices. I love knowing that everything I eat and enjoy did not come from any suffering and pain. I love knowing that everything I eat is delicious and pleasing to me as well.

I didn't start this blog to try and "convert" anyone to veganism, I just want to share my passion for the kind of food that I love to eat. If anyone finds inspiration here to add a little more veggie friendly foods to their life, that's wonderful. I hope you enjoy it!
~Kim

My inspirational animals:


Buster Brown, the huckleberry hound.


Sparky, the Lemon "Chicken".

My Dinner Frittata.

Normally I would make something like this for breakfast to go alongside pancakes oozing with margarine and maple syrup and some smoky tempeh bacon. But when dinner came around I had no idea what to do and wanted something light and easy so I decided to make this. A frittata is kind of a cross between an omelette and a quiche. I don't miss eggs at all but if I wanted something egg-like, I can always make it with tofu. This is one of those recipes that works. The recipe is from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. I like to play around with the filling. Tonight's frittata has onions, garlic, scallions, potatoes, spinach and white squash. I added sliced tomatoes on top for prettiness. Mmmm, mmm, mmm. I served it with a dollop of mock hollandaise which is pretty much a sauce made with vegan mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice and salt and pepper mixed together. I like to squirt some ketchup in it too to give it a little sweetness as well as color.







If you want this recipe, leave a comment with your email and I'll be happy to share it with you!

Tamale Pie and Mock Guacamole.

This was my first time making tamale pie and I'm so glad I did. I found a recipe posted at the PPK forums by 'sneaky' and it was quick, easy and consisted of things I already had in my kitchen. I wanted to make guacamole but didn't have any avocados so I made a mock guac with frozen peas. Came out pretty good! Recipes are below the pics.


Out of the oven. That is polenta on top.


Plated with mock guac.

Tamale Pie

Bean Filling:
1 onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 (15 oz) can refried beans
1 (15 oz) diced tomatoes w/liquid
1 (15 oz) black beans (you can also use garbanzo, pinto or kidney beans)
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Polenta topping

3 cups water
1 cup polenta
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350`
In a medium pot on medium heat, add the vegetables and cook until soft. Add the rest of the bean filling and cook while you get the polenta going.
Boil the water, add the polenta and cook until quite firm, but not stiff.
In a large square dish, place the bean mixture and spread evenly. Top with the polenta and spread to cover. Bake for 25-30 minutes.




Mock Guacamole

2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 large clove garlic
juice of 1-1/2 limes
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 small tomato, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Puree peas in a blender with the lime juice and garlic. Pour into bowl and add the rest of ingredients. Stir to combine and chill.

Vegan Desserts.

Yes, it can be done. A luscious pie, a sweet piece of cake or chewy cookie made without eggs, butter or milk! I'm not much of a baker but I realized I have to be friends with my oven when it comes to dessert. Being a vegan, I can't always go to any market or restaurant and buy or order dessert. I have to make my own or go to a store that specializes in vegan baked goods (Mani's Bakery in L.A. have vegan desserts.) But I don't mind having to bake because making your own means you can share with the ones you love or even have a whole cake to yourself, which is what I've done on occassion. ;)

These are just a sampling of vegan desserts I've made over the past year and a half.


Cherry Crumble Pie. I think this is one of the first vegan desserts I've ever made. I made sure to use a store bought pie crust that had no animal ingredients in it. A good one is Marie Callenders brand that you can find in your grocer's freezer. Recipe here.


Dulce Sin Leche cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. These are gorgeous. A moist cupcake with a coconut-caramely flavor and a coconut buttercream topping.


Rum Raisin Cake with Rummy Buttercream. This recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as well. I just doubled the recipe and made a cake from it.


Mini Cake Donuts. These are unbelievable. Recipe here.


Almond Rosewater Cookies. So soft and chewy and buttery! I veganized a recipe I found here. I substituted Earth Balance margarine for the butter and added sugar for sweetness.


Chocolate Chip Cookies. Gotta have these in your cookie jar at all times.


Peanut Butter Mousse pie with gobs of peanut butter, pretzel pieces and chocolate ganache drizzle. Pie recipe here.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. I've posted about these before but because they are so amazing I had to share these again. Recipe here.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

I love pesto and as much as I love traditional pesto made with basil and pine nuts, I like to try other variations too. I've made pesto with broccoli before and it was awesome on pizza. I had a giant bunch of cilantro in my fridge that I thought would be good to use up in one go via a pesto sauce. This was amazing. It has a nice bright flavor with citrus undertone from the lime. Try it on spaghetti!

Cilantro Lime Pesto

1 big bunch of cilantro leaves (discard stems)
1/4 C slivered almonds
juice of one large lime
2 cloves (or more) of garlic
2 TB nutritional yeast (optional)
olive oil
water
salt and pepper to taste

Put the cilantro, almonds, lime juice, garlic and nutritional yeast (if using) in a blender or food processor. Process until all ingredients are broken down. Start adding the olive oil and process until it is the consistency you want it. You may add a bit of water too if you want to cut back on the oil. Just add it a tablespoon at a time so it won't be too thin. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Here's mine. My blender really blitzed my pesto into smooth cream. You can gently process yours so that it has more texture than this.


Tossed with hot spaghetti and pine nuts. Delicious!

Vegan Junk Food

A lot of my friends and family think that I can't eat things like chocolate, cookies, chips and other kinds of everyday junk food. Not true! Though it's true I can't indulge in a milk chocolate Hershey bar anymore, or scoff a whole bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles, there are other options for me when it comes to junk! You can find most of these at your local grocery store.

So yes, I can have chocolate...as long as it doesn't contain milk, milk solids or butterfat. Here are two that I indulge in most often:


This is so delicious. Sweet and almondy marzipan covered in dark chocolate. Mmm.


Chocolove has a few flavors I like. This one's my favorite.

Other notable mentions: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate w/ Raisins and Pecans, Trader Joes's 70% Dark Chocolate, Ghirardelli Twilight Delight, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Cocoa Pete's Berry Berry Dangerous

When it comes to chips I like these best. They don't contain any cheese, milk or whey like a lot of flavored chips do:




These are equivalent to Cheetos and are soooo tasty!


The perfect salty treats. No cheese or sour cream necessary! Well maybe a really good vegan spinach dip!

Other notable mentions: Original Sun Chips, Whole Foods brand Veggie Chips

Cookies and Crackers!



And yes, Oreos are vegan. :)

Other notable mentions: Vons Safeway brand Fudge Mint cookies, Lorna Doone Shortbread, Nutter Butter


And surprisingly Ritz do not contain milk or butter. They do have hydrogenated oil though which isn't good for anybody but when I want a nice buttery tasting cracker for topping with mock tuna salad or dips, I like these a lot.

Ice cream! Since I don't eat dairy I go for these amazing dairy free ice creams.



For a list of vegan items you can find at your local grocery, go here.

Another fishy idea: Mock Tuna Salad

Since my last post was about making faux fish, I thought I'd try a different faux fish recipe today. I didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight so I made the 'Tuna Free Sandwich Filling' from Robin Robertson's book Vegan Planet. It reminds me a lot of the mock "chicken" salad I make which basically consists of mashed chickpeas (garbanzo beans), celery, garlic and onion powder, mustard and mayo. This one though has almonds and kelp powder in it which is supposed to lend a fishy flavor. I did not have kelp powder so I substituted flaked seaweed (see note below) which worked very well. I also added sweet relish because it is what my mom always put in my tuna sandwiches (which was pretty much the only kind of fish I liked) as a kid. This makes a very delicious mock tuna salad and I don't miss eating real tuna at all.


First I tried it on crackers. Yum...


Then I made a sandwich with extra mayo and sliced cucumber. Double yum!

Note: To make flaked seaweed, take a nori sheet and pulverize it in the blender!