Do you know what’s great about adopting a pet instead of buying one? Litter box training!
I have no idea how to litter train a rabbit (or a dog or a cat). Fortunately, I don’t have to. There are places where they’ll do it for you and all for the price of spaying/neutering and maybe some vaccinations.
Anyways… these two are always up to impossible cuteness.
This is Brent and Christie, signing off!
EatBreatheYogini nominated Turning Veganese for a Very Inspiring Blogger award and we are inspired and flattered. There’s really nothing better than getting some attention from other bloggers whose work has inspired us.
Rules for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award:
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them. (I nominated 7 because I think 15 is too many.)
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.
7 things about me (and Brent) and food:
1. My first phrase was uttered at the supermarket, pointing frantically at broccoli and saying, “Somma dat, mommie! Somma dat!!”
2. I spent a lot of time working on a farm growing up; I ate a lot of vegetables.
3. Brent was vegetarian at various times during high school and college, but was shamed back into eating meat.
4. My first day being vegan I failed miserably and forgot that meatballs were meat.
5. Brent’s favorite vegan food is a giant burrito wrap from a local joint that includes black beans, quinoa, Daiya, soy chorizo and other awesome sauce, smothered in sriracha.
6. My favorite vegan food is pomegranate. It was my favorite food before I was vegan.
7. Brent delights in making tofu with our TofuXpress. He’s a visionary. His kung fu… er tofu is the best.
Nominations:
1. natsukashii details the journeys of a mom, vegan, and just about every other identity a woman can have. It’s compelling stuff and it makes me tear up at times. Two Vegan Girls is a tumblr blog with awesome quickies about veganism. Sometimes they post from natsukashii (a sister blog) and it’s a bigger adventure.
2. Everything Vegan Monologue makes is mouth watering. Definitely give it a look.
3. Live Blissful has already been awarded the Very Inspiring Blogger award but this particular work inspires me. Thank you!
4. Bacon is NOT an Herb always has something fresh to offer. This blog also makes me miss the Northeast.
5. The Cruelty-Free Review is indispensable. Check it out.
6. Girl Sounds focuses on something else I love: art. Sometimes there’s food too… I like food.
7. Canned Time has already been nominated for this award but they inspire me. Deal with it.
Happy Friday!
This is Christie and Brent, signing off!
The holidays are upon us and there’s nothing better than something that’s easy, kid friendly (for your picky nephews), low fat (for your vain body-builder cousin), cholesterol free (for your crotchety aunt), easy (for your peace of mind) and cheap (because you already spent all your money on gifts). This recipe as written will serve 6-8 people as a side dish and doubles easily. It would be great for a departmental potluck.
You’ll need the following:
2 large white potatoes (sliced thin)
2 gigantic yams or sweet potatoes (sliced thin)
Potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams are easy to find for around $1 per pound this time of year so I use them fairly often during the holidays. I cut mine with a big old knife. This is one of those times I wish I wasn’t averse to mandolines. The finger that I partially amputated using one always tingles whenever I think about working with one. If you’ve got a good food processor with a slicing blade, I’d recommend using that for safety’s sake, if you’re a fan of the mandoline, use that and be really really really really careful, otherwise use a knife and be really really really careful. I leave the skin on; you don’t have to.
1 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of flake red pepper
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
12-16 ounces of silken tofu
1 cup of soy or almond milk
4 tbsp almond flour
vegan mozzarella and/or parmesan (optional)
Take the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, flake red pepper, nutritional yeast, tofu and half a cup of milk and blend it all up.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of almond flour on the bottom of a large baking dish and make a layer of white potatoes on it.
Then slather that layer with some of your tofu mixture. Now repeat the process with the yams or sweet potatoes: layer them on top and then add the tofu cream. You should be able to get 5 or 6 layers of potatoes. I then put the remaining milk into the rest of the tofu sauce and mixed it well before pouring it over the top of the potatoes. I added a few slices of Teese mozzarella (any vegan cheese will do) and sprinkled it with the rest of the almond meal and sprinkled it liberally with walnut parmesan.
Bake it for an hour and a half at 400F/200C
You should get a beautiful layered look and a delicious addition to any holiday meal. Hopefully your guests will be too busy enjoying it to notice the orange and white stripes.
This is Christie and Brent, signing off!
I was in North Carolina this past weekend and my cousins took me to an awesome vegan-friendly restaurant called The Spotted Dog. The Spotted Dog is located in Carrboro, which was very clearly a health-conscious town. I was so excited to eat my vegan crab cake sandwich that I forgot to take a photo, but it was tasty and splendid. Two non-vegans also got the vegan crab cake sandwich and loved it! I hope I can go back there again.
I would have loved to spend more time in Carrboro. I was hoping to get coffee from a local spot while I was away from home and The Open Eye Cafe did not disappoint with their soy au lait. I was a little disappointed, though, because they didn’t have any vegan treats while I was there. No problem — we walked about a block to Weaver Street Market and got vegan cookies and muffins which were so yummy. (Sorry, no pic of these, either!)
And now… onto some exciting stuff. We have randomly picked the first winner in our December giveaway! This week’s winner of a Bubble & Bee Lotion Stick is Erica Wollman! Yay, Erica! Everyone, check out Erica’s blog and be sure to enter our giveaway. You still have 3 chances to win a lotion stick and can also enter to win a TofuXpress.
Woohoo! Free stuff!!! –Melissa
So we’ve been throwing ourselves on these TV dinners with reckless abandon. Well, not literally throwing ourselves since they’re in the freezer.
This one is another Indian delight: vegetable korma. This is something I’m used to from a favorite Indian restaurant. This version was much lighter than the restaurant styles I’m used to and I am a fan. The korma was lightly spicy and flavorful. The vegetables had a good texture. The rice was fluffy and the peas were firm. The daal was savory and smooth.
I’d do it again… if I’m feeling lazy.
This is Brent and Christie, signing off!
Parties, especially formal ones, can be pretty tricky for a vegan, but I didn’t have to worry this weekend when my cousin Dan got married. I got hooked up with a dish that was delicious but so freaking simple.
My dinner entree consisted of two blocks of tofu with grilled vegetables including red pepper, portobello mushroom, eggplant, and asparagus, sitting in a tomato sauce. It was filling and tasty and, most importantly, it was vegan! My only concern was making sure not to get sauce on my dress. In addition to the entree, I had a good helping of salad and fruit. The wine and the Yuengling (confirmed to be vegan-friendly) were flowing. And a good time was had by all!
Don’t forget to check out our December giveaways! The first prize will be drawn in two days. –Melissa
More from our favorite pair of vegans. May they be an example to us all!
In today’s thrilling episode, Cassie attacks Albertson-Ames. Pro-Tip : Instead of trashing / recycling phonebooks, remove the glossy pages and covers of a phonebook, give the book to bunnies, subsequently marvel at their destructive power.
From Brent and Christie, peace out my vegans.
Hi, all! It’s Melissa here, writing to tell you that we at Turning Veganese are celebrating our one year anniversary with a month of giveaways! If you had told me when I was writing my first post that I would have stuck with a vegan diet and that Turning Veganese would still be up and running, I don’t think I would have believed you. Much is owed to the awesome vegan blogger community and all their support, creativity, education, and friendship. And I can’t even get into how much I love Christie and Brent and how fortunate I am to have them writing this blog with me.
We have a few giveaways so make sure you read this entire post! But first! Here’s something seriously important: in order to qualify to win any of our prizes, you will need to do at least TWO of the following:
Like and follow our blog (Tip: Follow link is up top if you’re logged in to WordPress and on the bottom right if you’re not.)Now for the fun stuff! Every week in December, we will be giving away a Turning Veganese favorite: a Bubble & Bee Organic Lotion Stick! Pssst… read our review here!
To enter to win a Bubble & Bee Lotion Stick in the scent of your choice, leave us a comment below telling us what vegan-friendly lotions you like to use. Make sure to provide a valid e-mail address so that we can contact you. A random winner will be chosen each week announced every Saturday starting next week.
And now… the big, Grand, UBER GIVEAWAY (and another Turning Veganese favorite)…
A TofuXpress! Yes, that is right, we are giving away a TofuXpress with a side of the opportunity to guest post on Turning Veganese! To enter the TofuXpress giveaway, we are asking you to e-mail us at turningveganese@gmail.com and tell us what you will make with your TofuXpress if you win it. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be invited to write a post for us about your TofuXpress experience!
Some fine print: The TofuXpress giveaway is open only to residents in the U.S. or Canada. The Bubble & Bee giveaway is open to anyone in the world!
I’m really excited about our giveaways but I am even more excited about our second year of Turning Veganese. Yay! –Melissa
Turning Veganese 