Birthdays…This is How We Roll

The number one question people ask a vegan is “What do you eat?”  Many are surprised to learn there is a lot more for us to eat than lettuce and tofu.  The past few VFT nights have been birthday celebrations, all 3 of us obviously Capricorns and all 3 of us vegans, as well.  For my birthday, we went out for sushi.  Lots of great choices for vegans there, from gorgeous veggie roll boats, to my favorite sushi indulgence, vegetable udon (noodles).  The ginger salad that everyone (vegans and non) loves (we swear it has crack or something in the dressing) and the edamame are naturally vegan.  The following week we hit Sublime for Derek’s birthday.  That is the one restaurant that we have way too many choices at.  I challenge ANYONE to  taste that chocolate nirvana cake and still suggest we on plant-based diets deprive ourselves.

Tonight we celebrate (not at all) mean Pete’s birthday, which was Monday.  Tonight we eat at home because Pete loves a Shepherds pie and has dubbed my version (which is actually based on a recipe from the book Quantum Wellness)  as “Off the Chain,” which is apparently a compliment.  I am sure the recipe is somewhere on the site, if you are interested.  It’s relatively easy, relatively inexpensive but definitely not “diet,” unless you have the willpower to leave the mashed potato topping on your plate.  I’ll be making a salad with a base of lettuce from the garden.  Last night I made a pot of split pea soup, which always gets better as the days pass, so we didn’t even have any last night…which was perfect because we still had vegetable soup from Sunday.  Soup is a perfect way to start a meal as it is filling and proven to reduce the amount of calories one will eat at their meal!  Needless to say, it’s also a great way to warm up one’s hands and bellies on a cold day or night.

While I have to admit that I use Google much more than cookbooks these days,  I did read in this morning’s paper about a new vegan cookbook called Big Vegan by Robin Asbell.  It looks a little fancy for my style of cooking, as she talks about reduction and caramelization, words foreign to me, but maybe not to you!

Veganism…it’s so much more than lettuce leaves and tofu.

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• You Don’t Have to be Vegan to Eat Vegan Food (eatdrinkbetter.com)