Before I was vegan, chicken was my favorite food and Buffalo wings were my obsession. Whenever I would go out to eat, I ordered Buffalo wings as an appetizer. Sometimes I would go out with friends after work to the local “wing joint” and we would order a platter of 40 or 60 wings. Did […]
Today is The “V” Word’s 4th birthday and it has been given the best gift EVER! A new home! Dave and Sian Graham of Vegan Web Design created and designed this beautiful web site for me. It was a lot of work especially working with someone like me who understood practically nothing about web design. […]
It’s getting near that time when people who are lucky enough to have vegetable gardens are overrun with squash and zucchini. Sadly, I’m not one of those people. However, I recently got a bunch of these adorable crock bowls with handles and I keep trying to think of different ways to use them. So far […]
You know how lots of people say they didn’t/don’t think they could live without cheese? Not me. Other than mozzarella and grated parmesan, cheese didn’t factor into my life that much. When I used to dream of becoming a vegetarian, I thought I couldn’t live without chicken, my favorite food. Wrong again. Turns out the […]
It has been 5 years since I began cooking vegan food and this is the first time I have ever used TVP. I had a bag of it sitting on the shelf but for some reason, I never tried it. So the other day I opened the bag and created one of the best burgers […]
Sugar snap peas are one of those vegetables I buy and then I’m not sure what to do with them other than putting them in a stir-fry or just munching them raw. They are a cute little bunch of pods and they hold up really well to cooking, keeping their crunch. Tom brought me home […]
I only tasted scallops once and they tasted like rubber. So I figured I didn’t like them. After watching many cooks make them on TV and screw them up, I realized that the one I had tasted wasn’t cooked well. Oh well… I made these vegan scallops for a friend who asked for a vegan version of […]
It has been 5 years since I stopped eating meat. Five years ago my freezer was filled with meat, my refrigerator held various cheeses and milk and eating out always meant meat-filled dishes. Five years ago I didn’t know one vegetarian and I had never even heard of the word “vegan.” So much […]
Today is the hottest day of the year so far, says the TV weatherman. I wouldn’t know except that Benny came back from his walk with his tongue hanging down by his feet. Now he is laying on the floor beside me, already asleep after his very short walk. Days like today call for meals […]
Here is the deal: I like the filling of pot pies better than the filling of Shepherd’s Pies. Shepherd’s pies usually have a ground “meat” filling. I made one of these using tempeh for my meaty filling in my Peaceful Shepherd’s Pie. Pot pies, on the other hand, usually have chunkier fillings of meat and […]
Chinese food is delicious. BBQ food is delicious. Here you get double the deliciousness because this is a Chinese BBQ burger. The burger is protein packed, nutty and flavorful topped with grilled veggies and a spicy sesame sauce. Just don’t try to eat it with chopsticks. Hoisin Black Bean Burgers with Spicy Sesame Sauce […]
The first time I ever had Indian food left quite an impression upon me. Not the food, but the experience. There was this amazing restaurant in Manhattan. It was called Nirvana and for me, at the tender age of 20 or so, it seemed just that. Nirvana was located across the street from Central Park. […]
Hi loyal “V”-Gang! I have a surprise for you! You all know that I have been working on my cookbook and you also know it’s been taking me a long time. Between my normal full-time job, being ill and trying not to get too down from my handful of rejections from publishers and agents, I […]
Today is Benny’s 8th birthday and he wanted to share his homemade Peanut Butter Biscuits with everyone as a special gift. There aren’t many dog biscuits available that are vegan and filled with healthy ingredients. Making your own is so easy and getting to choose your own ingredients is priceless. Benny loves these little biscuits. […]
Beets are one of those foods that I always had “rules” for. When I was a kid, I loved beets…out of a can. They had to be cold; I would not eat them warm. Yuck! And it was best if they were whole, not sliced. Sliced was ok but whole was more fun. My mother […]
Two years ago I felt really lucky. I got to try this new product at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s ThanksLiving event. The new product: Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips. They were incredible and even more incredible was that the dinner was prepared by the amazing Terry Hope Romero. Beyond Meat was not available for purchase then […]
Mmmm…nothing tastes like BBQ. But for vegans, barbeques can be really hard to deal with. No longer does the smell of the BBQ mean a delicious meal is on the way. For vegans, the smell is associated with the suffering and death of animals. Well, we can change that. Vegans can enjoy delicious BBQ too. […]
It may be Memorial Day Weekend and everyone is looking forward to a cookout but the weather is a washout. It’s pouring here and it’s cold!! It’s definitely a soup day. This soup is more like a meal. It’s filled with delicious veggies – celery, carrots, green beans, tomatoes and cabbage. It also has black […]
Orange chicken and duck are popular Chinese dishes. Here it gets a compassionate spin with tofu and lots of vegetables. I never stop having cravings for Chinese food and I still miss having a place to get it on every block. But even if there were places to get it near me, it wouldn’t be […]
I love onion rings! Whenever I was eating in a diner, I had trouble deciding between fries and onion rings – so I’d get both. It’s easier to do that when you are with someone else so you can order the fries and the other person can order the rings and you split them. Trying […]
The search for delicious vegan cheese feels like it’s never-ending, especially if you want one that isn’t filled with chemicals, palm oil, xanthan gum or carrageenan. Well, now the search is over because there is a new brand that meets all those needs. Treeline Cheese is artisan-made in the Catskill region of upstate New York and luckily, […]
I used to love eggs. Not all kinds of eggs. In fact, hardly any kind. I liked scrambled eggs and omelets. That’s pretty much it. Not a lot of variety but I really loved eggs in those 2 ways. Eggs were the last animal food I eliminated when I became vegan. For me, cheese was […]
When the potato chip commercial says “Bet you can’t eat just one,” they are definitely talking to me. And by “one,” they mean one BAG, not one chip. Potato chips are one of my weaknesses. Salty, greasy, crunchy and fried – all my favorite food groups. In the old days whenever Tom and I sat […]
Now I have yet another reason to miss the city. Last October I wrote a post about actress Jennifer Esposito and her mission to bring awareness and education about celiac disease and gluten-free living to the public. Through her organization, The Jennifer’s Way Foundation for Celiac Education (JWF), Jennifer is a tireless advocate for people […]
