Farewell for now!

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by the blog these past few years! For awhile now the blog has not been my focus. This past weekend, I was walking along the Elk River and realized that it was time to set it aside. I have a tendency to change my mind, so who knows? You may see me pop up again in a month or a year or five years or never. Right now my focus is on local vegan activism, community building, and sustainability. I recently read the Moneyless Man and have a strong interest in freeconomy, the Transition Movement, and ecovillages.

Want to stay in touch? I will still post links, quotes, and bits of life on twitter and will occasionally load photos to flickr.
Feel free to e-mail me at aveganfox[at]gmail[dot]com
I'm always happy to chat!

Always inspired by something or someone, I have to leave you with some of my current favorites!

The Freeconomy Community - all about connecting locally and sharing skills and resources.

vegan.com - still my number one source for vegan information and news.

Transition Network - develop projects within your community to work toward a better future.

Jack Norris, RD AND The Vegan RD (Ginny Messina) - great sources for information on vegan health.

Vegan Outreach - if you want to take your veganism to the next level, they can provide you the tools!

Budgeting with the Bushmans - an awesome friend of mine has taken her frugal and sustainable lifestyle to the next level (she was recently interviewed for a show on TLC!).

A Whimsical Melody - my neice's awesome blog filled with bits of inspiration, diy, NEDA awareness, and more.

Dancing Rabbit - an awesome ecovillage in NE Missouri ~ I've been there and we canned!!

Also be sure to check out the blogs in the right column!

One last thing, I never made my henna post, but still wanted to share the results with you: RED hair!

I'm on the right ;)

Spring Rolls, Udon Noodles, & Tamari Roasted Almonds

I was recently inspired by a photo posted by my friend Ann on facebook featuring udon noodles and spring rolls. As my mouth watered, I wondered why I had not yet attempted spring rolls. They are a little intimidating, especially when your only experience is from ordering them at Chinese and Thai restaurants.

Never fear! They are not very difficult and rice paper is incredibly inexpensive!

The rice paper will come dry in the package. To rehydrate, fill a large bowl or dish with water and add a piece of rice paper. When it softens and goes limp, remove the paper, add your filling, tuck in two ends, and roll. That's it! My first few were not very pretty, but that didn't effect the taste. ;)

Spring Rolls: napa cabbage, spinach, carrot, green onion, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes
For a dipping sauce, we used a pre-made hoisin sauce.

Udon Noodles: mirin (a new favorite!), brown rice vinegar, tamari, and sesame oil
After cooking the noodles according to package directions, I added the other ingredients to taste. Top with sesame seeds and green onions.

Roasted Almonds: tamari, chili powder, ginger, and sesame oil (enough to coat almonds)
Coat almonds by mixing all ingredients by hand. Place coated almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for about 10 min. at 350 F.

Test Kitchen: Soy Curls and Spicy Nothings Curry Sauce

Soy Curls + Spicy & Tangy Curry Simmer Sauce = One Lethally Tasty Combo

A couple of months ago I added a package of Butler Soy Curls to our bulk order. I've been curious about these for awhile now, but none of our local stores carry them. When I discovered that these were available through Azure Standard, my wait was over! We put in a bulk order through Azure about once a month through a local buying co-op. It helps us to save money on things like organic raw nuts, beans, and rice. (It's been awhile since I've posted one of our orders, so I will try to do one for April or May ;)

The Mighty Soy Curl

I'm a curious gal, so I had a taste fresh out of the package. Nothing special at this point, just flavorless and crunchy.

For those who are unfamiliar with Soy Curls, they are a dehydrated product (like TVP) made from whole soybeans. After re-hydrating, you can add them to a stir-fry or favorite recipe.

Mama Jean's (our local Natural Foods Market) carries a line of Spicy Nothings curry sauces. Though it's great fun and tasty to make a sauce from scratch, we like to have some things like this on hand for those nights when I want something fresh at home that takes a little less time and effort.

While waiting for the soy curls to re-hydrate, I chopped and stir-fried some fresh veggies (5-7 min.). I removed the veggies, added a little oil and the soy curls to my skillet. Once they were lightly browned (~10 min.), I added the simmer sauce and about 1/2 c. water. I left it on for 15-20 min. before adding the veggies back in. We served ours immediately over rice because we like the veggies still a little crisp. You could easily mix them in and leave the whole thing to heat for about 5 more min. before serving.

This is definitely a meal worth repeating! The sauce is decently thick and flavorful (even better if you add some extra chili pepper powder or hot sauce) and the soy curl texture is excellent (tender and slightly chewy when lightly browned).

Happy St. Pat's! (and Guinness Extra Stout)

Celebrating St. Patty's this weekend? Although most Guinness varieties are not vegan, Barnivore informed me that the Extra Stout IS vegan. It is made by Moosehead, who do not use isinglass. Always good news to hear that a popular beer is vegan!

For anyone who likes to indulge in an alcoholic beverage from time to time, I definitely recommend checking out the Barnivore website. It is a great resource and well organized. And if you don't find your drink listed, they have an excellent letter that you can send to your company of choice.

What am I doing tonight? Drinking a Mother's Winter Grind (local beer), making scrambled tofu (which we will eat on a bed of spinach and topped with guacumole!) and then heading out to see this month's Buffy reader's theater episode :)

Black Bean Brownies...bleh

A year ago we tried a black bean brownie recipe that we found online. They were awful! It could be that we substituted something that didn't work out. They were gooey...not in the good way. So many bloggers were singing odes to black bean brownies, but I was no longer interested.

We've been trying out different recipes in The Vegan Slow Cooker. Low and behold, a recipe for black bean brownies! We decided that it was worth a shot and made them. What did I discover? Nothing spectacular. These are protein-dense with a dominant banana flavor. The texture is nothing delightful. I'd much rather make a loaf of banana bread!

What about you? Has anyone had any success with a black bean recipe? (Horror stories welcome too!) 

Meatout!

Do you know about Meatout?
From the website:
What is Meatout?
Meatout is the world's largest grassroots diet education campaign. On (or around) March 20, thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries encourage their friends, families, and communities to "kick the meat habit” and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The 2012 goal of Meatout is to distribute free vegan food samples to 30,000 people!

It is an awesome way to spread the word locally. 
Haven’t planned anything or short on time? No problem! There are so many things that you can do to celebrate and spread the word. (Be sure to check out the website for more information and for vegan literature & samples to share!)

You could:
* Bake cookies for coworkers
* Make dinner for a friend
* Write down a favorite recipe and share it with someone
* Hand out leaflets one afternoon at a nearby college or park
* Wear a vegan-inspired t-shirt
* Tell someone why you are vegan

Remember that no matter what you do, you are a making difference. So spread the word!

Not vegan? No problem! You can still celebrate :) Try Meatout Mondays or a new meat-free recipe. Check out some of the great blogs in the right column or grab a book from your local library. I encourage you to spend a little time this month exploring the vegan lifestyle. (If you’re reading this, you’re clearly on your way ;)

Back to Blogging

March is here and it's time for me to start blogging again! Woohoo! I'm psyched! Blogging and blog reading can be very time consuming for me, but it's something I want to incorporate back into my life. Kala, on VeganCraftastic, talked about balance recently. Isn't that something we always strive for, the right balance? We readjust ourselves and our lives, as something is ALWAYS changing, to find new balance. And that's just fine! In my current balancing act, I am reintroducing myself to blogging, so feel free to join in!

My neice, Tori, inspired the photo above. She recently started a blog Sia felice. Sia forte. Appartenga. She is AMAZING and this week has been promoting NEDAwareness week (National Eating Disorders Awareness) on her campus and facebook page. She's always taking fun photos with words written on cards or scraps of paper and I love it!

Stay tuned...there is more to come...

Coming soon...

Hi everyone! Today is the day for the talk. I plan to pick up the pace a bit after that and thought I would give you a taste of what is coming up. ;)

I plan to post recipes and photos of some of our current favorite things to eat, including a tempeh potpie!

Is anyone interested in a swap? I know that December can be a little rough for many people, but perhaps we could do a simple holiday card exchange, homemade or store-bought. Either way, we will definitely get the ball rolling in January!

There is a lot of great vegan literature out there! I have been reading bits and pieces of things to prepare for the talk. I will post some of my recommendations very soon! If you have read anything wonderful, please post about it in the comments! You can also check my Twitter profile (bird icon on the left) to see a few quotes from my readings.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful December so far!

November is here and so am I

Hello out there!! Sorry for dropping off the blog-world for another month. It will happen ;) Lately I've been feeding my new obsession: swap-bot. It's so great to send out happy bits of mail and find some in my box in return! Speaking of, if you would like a bit of happiness let me know or e-mail me with your snail mail addy and I would be happy to send a note or bit of mail art your way. It might be a few weeks (as I will discuss in a minute), but I'd be happy to do it. I'll be loading some photos up to Flickr soon and will be sure to post a link here.

In other news, next month I am giving a talk on vegetarianism, veganism and the in-between. The program is titled "Demystifing Vegetarianism." Isn't that an awesome title? A branch manager for one of the other library branches in town asked if I would be interested in hosting this and I had to say yes. I'm very nervous about it, but I am so excited for the opportunity to share some ideas with the community and promote any changes that people are willing to make (or consider)! I'm definitely a team player and value others thoughts and ideas, so if you have given a similar talk or have any helpful tips or thoughts please send them my way! The vegan blog community is AMAZING and I would love to hear your thoughts! If you're not a vegan, what sorts of things would you want to hear about? I will keep you updated with anything interesting that comes along in the process. 

We have a winner...

Congratulations to ikkinlala!!

This book had been banned by the Republic school system, very close to where I live. The Springfield-Greene County library system received a grant allowing Sarah Ockler, the author, to come and speak in the area. It was an amazing opportunity for the community and I'm so happy to be able to celebrate and pass on the love of banned books! For the curious, here's my previous blog entry about the giveaway. To learn more about the book here's a link to goodreads.

Yo swappers! Want a sweet treat in the mail?

Vegan MoFo Swap 2: Sweet Treats

 

**This swap has been postponed until further notice. Please feel free to comment or contact me if you are interested and I can let you know when it happens :)

Did I mention that we are having two swaps this month? Well, that was no lie!

Sweet Treats Swap:

* You will send a package with one sweet item (regular sized candy bar, large cookie, etc.) to one other person! Feel free to send a sample of smaller chocolates or sweets, as long as they are equal in value to a regular sized item it is fine ;) You are welcome to send more, but this is all that is expected ;) Sweets may be store-bought or homemade!

* To sign up, leave a comment below or send me an e-mail. Please contact me if you have any dietary restrictions, allergies or general dislikes (people who don't like chocolate do exist! strange, I know!). I will pass that information on to your partner, but do not let this keep you from signing up!

* Sign-ups close on Mon., Oct. 31. You will receive your swap partner's information sometime the next day.

* Swaps should be sent out by Fri., Nov. 11. If you are unable to send it at that time, please send early or do not sign up.

* If you are a first time swapper, please send your snail mail info. to me at aveganfox[at]gmail[dot]com

* Questions or thoughts? E-mail me or comment below!

This is just a fun way to send a little sweetness in the mail :)

By the way, I am getting very excited about mail swaps, mail art, postcards, etc.! If you are interested in doing a separate, one-on-one swap please e-mail me and we will set something up!

VeganMoFo: Pumpkin Harvest Curry

A few days left for the Banned Book Giveaway!

Last night I met up with an awesome group of vegans, vegetarians and anyone else interested! We have a group set up on Facebook for anyone in the area to join. This was our first meet-up and around 15 people showed up! Next month we're going to have a vegan Thanksgiving potluck and I'm psyched!

Over the past year I've become very intrigued by mail art and mail correspondence in general. I've mentioned the bookmark exchanges on goodreads before and these have really added to my interest. A week or so ago I signed up for swap-bot. If you like receiving and sending mail you should definitely check it out! Feel free to look me up and give a shout ;)

Here's a package I sent out this morning (my first bit of mail art; before postage):

There's an awesome crew of vegan bloggers in the Vegan Cooking and Cookbooks group on goodreads. In honor of Vegan MoFo we decided to hold a cooking challenge! Each of will make a pumpkin dish and post about it on our blogs. I will list links to each of their entries at the end!

For this challenge I decided to use fresh pumpkin. I've only cooked with the canned stuff and pumpkin seeds in the past, so I thought this would be interesting :) I picked out a leaning medium pumpkin that I took fancy to at a local produce stand, but from what I've read since you might want a smaller pumpkin. Evidently, smaller pumpkins are ideal for cooking as they will have more flavor. In the end, we were pleased with the results, so no complaints from this house!

Pumpkin Harvest Curry 

I just threw in spices that appealed to me in the process so please adjust and experiment to suit your tastes!

The Goods:
1/2 med. pumpkin
1 pkg tempeh
1 zucchini
2 sm. or 1 lrg. red pepper
1/2 red onion
1 can coconut milk
1 c. water (add more as needed)
sesame oil
tamari or other soy sauce
curry spice mix
cinnamon
coriander (freshly ground)
garam masala spice mix
ginger
lemon juice
pinch of salt (if needed)

Pumpkin:
Divide the pumpkin into eighths and roast at 350 F for 30-45 min. Set aside.

Zucchini, pepper, and onion:
Slice and fry at medium-high heat in a dry skillet (I use cast-iron) for 1-3 minutes. You want these to stay crisp to add a little variety to the textures in the dish.

Tempeh:
Add a little sesame oil to the skillet. The skillet should already be warm from the veggies. Toss in tempeh and splash a little tamari or soy sauce on top. Once brown, set to the side. 

Curry Sauce:
Add sesame oil to the skillet. Add all spices and stir around for 30 seconds or so. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and mix with spices. Let this sit for a minute or so. This is the base of your sauce, like using a curry paste. Add the coconut milk and cup of water and mix thoroughly. Then let the sauce simmer over medium low or medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Putting it all together:
Mix everything into the sauce, add a splash of lemon juice, and let simmer for a few minutes. You want everything to absorb a little of the flavor of the sauce without losing the crispness of the veggies.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Cooking Challenge!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Squares ~ Plenty Sweet Enough

Pumpkin Curry with Lentils ~ A Cowhugger's Life
Vegan Baked Pumpkin-Bourbon French Toast with Pepita Caramel Syrup ~ The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Lasagna ~ Carrot Top Vegan

Liebster Award ~ Thanks Farrah!

Thanks Farrah! Farrah's a new vegan who has an awesome blog that you should definitely check out ~ Carrot Top Vegan.
 

"Liebster" is German for 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea behind this award is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers and show some support.

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

I am so honored to receive this award a second time :) Especially because it means that I get to share the love! Once again it is so freakin' hard to choose! For this round I have chosen some of my fav's over 100, but still under the 200 follower mark (last time I tried to stay under 100) and some newer fav's. Once again these are all AMAZING blogs that you should check them out!:

*Vegan Flower*

 *Coffee & Sunshine*

*Vegan CineGrub*

*VegSpinz*

*Bread Without Butter*

Liebster Award ~ Thanks Val!

Thank you so much Val! Please check out her blog, A Cowhugger's Life. As some of you know I'm a huge fan of goodreads. We have a great vegan group on goodreads with awesome bloggers, like A Cowhugger's Life ;) In the past I've been really bad about award posts, so I'm posting this asap before it gets left behind!

"Liebster" is German for 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea behind this award is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers and show some support.

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

It is NOT at all easy to pick, but all of these bloggers deserve it! They are all awesome and you should check them out!:

*Zombie Cats Eating Plants*

*Vegan and so Forth*

*Dandelion Vegan Blog*

*lovinlivinvegan*

*Budgeting with the Bushmans*

Want to get in on the action?:
* Recipe Swap ~ sign-up by Oct. 15
* Book Giveaway ~ sign-up by Oct. 18

Banned Book Giveaway: Twenty Boy Summer

Congratulations to commenter 5: book_pusher!!

*Giveaway now closed*

During Banned Books Week the Springfield-Green County Library system (Missouri) held a series of events. The headliner this year was a visit from Sarah Ockler whose book Twenty Boy Summer was banned from the Republic school system and later made available to students with parental permission. You can view more links and read some of my ramblings about it here. The Republic Monitor recently published an interview with Ockler, taken after a Read-Out at the Republic Branch Public Library. -link-

GIVEAWAY: A signed copy of Twenty Boy Summer :)

To Enter:

* Leave a message in the comments telling me about a banned or challenged book that you have read or would like to read. There are tons of books out there to choose from! (You'd be surprised at some of the books that have been banned: The Giver, Call of the Wild, The Great Gatsby, Slaughterhouse Five, Little Women, A Wrinkle in Time, Merriam-Webster Dictionary...)

* Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you (if your e-mail is attached to your profile, that works).

* Giveaway will be open until October 18. I will randomly choose the winner the next morning.

Vegan MoFo: Weekly Wrap-up

There is so much awesome food floating around on the blogosphere during Vegan MoFo that I decided to take a cue from Scissors & Spice and create a Pinterest board to keep track of some of the awesome food finds. Have you checked out Pinterest yet? I found about it while at work one day and decided to use it to tag ideas for teen programs. It's like have tons of virtual cork-boards to view. And yes, it can be quite addicting!

I'm just starting to catch up on some of this week's feed, so much of this is from the last day or two. Here's a screen shot with some of this week's selection. It's quite small because I haven't quite figured out the best way to do this. BUT it's here and if you click it you'll see the bigger picture:

And now for some Shout-outs to some awesome bloggers. Check them out!:
*Molly ~ Vegan Flower ~ Especially made my week because I got lucky and won her giveaway!
*Amber ~ Zombie Cats Eating Plants
* Jenny ~ Vegan and so forth
* Rose ~ Dandelion Vegan Blog
* Michelle ~ lovinlivinvegan
* Carissa ~ Coffee & Sunshine
* Bobbie ~ Budgeting with the Bushmans
* Val ~ A Cowhugger's Life
* Lee ~ Plenty Sweet Enough
* Farah ~ Carrot Top Vegan
* Betsy ~ The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes
* Kathy ~ Healthy Slow Cooking

Vegan MoFo: Coconut bacon, Avocado, & Tomato on Focaccia

In the trend of trying new things in the kitchen, I made focaccia! I used the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Next time I will make adjustments so that it is thick enough to slice through the middle for sandwiches.

A few years ago I worked as a cook in a coffee shop in Columbia, MO. We made huge cookie sheets of focaccia that we had to slice through for paninis. Initially it was so intimidating! Here you are, faced with a huge sheet of bread, and you're expected to cut through it - no mistakes. But you get the hang of it by starting slowly. By the fourth or fifth pan you'll feel like a pro ;)

I filled this bad boy with coconut bacon, avocado, tomato, fresh sprouts, zucchini, and veganaise. Served up with burrito leftovers (beans, rice and Daiya).

Inside shot:

It's been quite fun (and a bit challenging!) posting every day this week. I was planning to aim for the whole month, but I'm going to change it up a bit. Part of the fun of Vegan MoFo for me is previewing the awesome things everyone else is doing and discovering new blogs. This week I haven't done nearly as much of that as I would like! I would rather make more time for blog reading than fretting about posting daily. So, my current goal will be 3-4 a week during October. Considering I didn't post for nearly two months before that I think it's a good goal ;)

Check back soon for the Banned Books Giveaway!

I'm Sprouting!

Ever since my sister told me how easy it is to sprout I've been meaning to do it. Well, I'm a bit of a procrastinator and a few years have passed. But Sunday I took charge and started soaking some beans.

The beginning of my sprout revolution:

And success! We now have homegrown sprouts :)

Vegan Mofo: Big Fat Burrito

First I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend Bobbie who just started blogging! Her new blog, Budgeting with the Bushmans, is awesome and you should definitely check it out! Bobbie and her family recently moved to a small town in Northwest Missouri near an awesome eco-village, Dancing Rabbit (read about my visit last year here: part 1 and part 2).

Craving a burrito? Here's what we put in ours:

The Beans: After cooking dry pinto beans, I left enough "bean juice" (the water they cooked in) to cover beans, and added: tamari, garlic, roasted red bell pepper, lime juice, chili powder, and salsa.
I usually add cumin, but was out. These tasted great regardless! Black beans always work well too.

The Rice: After cooking I added tomato paste, broth (I used "Better than Bouillon"), lime juice, smoked paprika, green onion and garlic.

Everything else: Kale (from our garden :), green bell pepper, Daiya, and salsa.

This definitely hit the spot!

If you like getting mail and swapping join in on the VFS Recipe Swap!

Vegan Mofo SWAP! 1: Recipe Swap

*Swap is now closed*

Hey, hey, hey! We are long overdue for a swap my friends. If you haven't swapped before don't let that stop you! For VFS swaps we aim for inexpensive, small swaps. Just a happy little something for those of us who like to get "snail" mail ;)

In celebration of Vegan Mofo there will be two swaps this month! For swap one you will share three recipes with three people and for swap two...well you'll just have to wait and see!

Recipe swap rules:

* For this swap you will have three partners (crazy, I know). The people you send to will not necessarily be the people sending recipes to you (it'll be a surprise!). As you might have guessed, you will receive recipes from three different people for a total of three pieces of mail and nine recipes ;)

* Send three recipes to each of your partners. You may send the same recipes to each person. These do not have to be your original recipes. Feel free to choose recipes that have been posted on your blog. The choice is yours ;)

* Recipe design is completely up to you! A few design ideas: zine or mini-cookbook, index cards, written on stationary, bookmarks, anything goes! Keep in mind that this shouldn't cost more than a stamp or two.

* Sign-ups will end on October 15. You may sign-up in the comments or by sending an e-mail to the address listed below. (If you are new see the note below)

* On Sunday, Oct. 16 you will be e-mailed your swap partners' information from me and should send the recipes out by Friday, Oct. 28. If you can not send your recipes out by this date please do not sign-up.  

* If you are new to VFS swaps please send your mailing info. to me at aveganfox*at*gmail*dot*com

* As always feel free to leave ideas for this swap or future swap in the comments :)

Participants:

Amber

Aya

Theresa

me