The Green Eyed Monster

Ginger's Long Nap

2007-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

circa 1985 - January 25, 2007

A long life (100+ in human years) is to be celebrated. Her little body finally gave out, but her beautiful spirit would have gone on another 21+ years.

We are going to miss you Ginger kitten.

Even a Redneck can do it

2007-01-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

I love the review that my Polenta Scramble recipe received on Vegweb. LOL. I am glad my vegan cuisine creations are simple enough that even rednecks can understand them ;-)

Another day in Paradise

2007-01-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

Don't ya love it when you find something new. I clicked through to this site from reading the newsletter for the Simple Living Network.

This station not only has no commercials, it is Anti-commercial. Beats the hell out of any commercial Radio I have heard in years. Check it out.

My Birthday - Celebrating another trip around the sun

2007-01-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

My Birthday was on Friday. I love birthdays. I am about 7 years old when it comes to birthdays. Among other things I received this lovely azalea plant. My plan for the evening was originally to go to Bo Kong, a Buddhist Vegetarian restaurant. But since the kids were with us, I went more with the majority rule. So we decided that we would go to Red Robin instead! I had a veggie burger, and we split one of their towers of onion rings. Onion rings were great, burger only so-so. I figure I can go to Bo Kong anytime as it is in my neighbourhood. Although I haven't been there in years, except to get takeout veggie Wonton Soup. I will have to go soon.

Kim and Julie Christmas

2006-12-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

I will be getting on my flight to Toronto for the holiday season shortly. While there, I have been invited to "Kim & Julie Christmas" which occurs next Saturday. You see, Kim is my sister, and Julie is her roommate who also happens to be a vegetarian chef (or at least she has those talents). I think she likes to stretch her "vegan cooking muscles" and I am happy to be fodder for that. So I have been promised a vegan feast with lots of wine. I will report back!

I went to a youth production of "If the Shoe Fits" last night, a funny semi-modernization of the Cinderella story. I was there to see my young cousins (age 11 & 9) perform. The show was in North Vancouver, so we saw the show without power or heat (they brought in a generator for the vital stage lighting, etc). We drove there dodging all the fallen trees outside the church hall where the festivities were held. It was definitely an example of "the show must go on", and they did an amazing job with what they had.

I also found out last night that the 11 year old is a neophyte drummer in a rock band! Can't believe I didn't hear this before, as I am the only other one in the family who can lay claim to being in a band. I will post the link to his band website when I have it. My cousin has done a lot of the design for the site, and it is really cute.

Look Quick!

2006-12-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Possibly the only "handmade" gift I will make this year. I used to have a big thing for unicorns as a kid. I remember drawing purple, sparkly unicorns, circa grade 6, and enthusiastically framing the drawings for my wall. I guess I haven't totally outgrown it. I have had an old unicorn calendar in my papers from 1988! So I cut out one of the prettier pictures and put it in a frame to give to my 9 year old cousin. Shh, don't tell her.

Brain Traffic

2006-12-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas. Toronto Trip soon. Presents, wrapping, running, charging (pant, pant) Xmas exploded in my living room, complete w/guitar/drumkit for bf's kids. Paper everywhere, recycled trimmings litter the place. Still vegan, still freaky (99.98%, will never be that person who always asks about the dinner rolls all the time. Just sometimes. Hard to resist the occasional cookie baked with love) Carol of the Bells playing, I said I wouldn't get caught up in this crap this year. Simplicity is my ideal, sometimes feel like we are the last family that still goes the whole 9 yards. I just get so excited, and a wee bit carried away.

Other people I know are ordering pizza and sleeping in for Christmas. I will be experiencing the glory that is Pearson Airport during the festive season.

At least I now know better than to be in a musical in December. Apparently I had to figure that out the hard way. I almost signed up for another musical this year, called ironically "The Church of Pointless Consumerism". I would have only been in the choir for this one, last year they had me acting and dancing too, and I probably to this day still give the choreographer nightmares. Yet I almost could not resist this new project. But then I gave my head a shake.

After that, the task will be packing to move onto my boyfriend's boat, target date Feb 1st. I think that story will be for another day. Soon my good days might be days where nothing breaks, gains water, or sinks, and no tempers flare :-) Weeeee, can't wait!

(JK, boat people reading this)

(photo courtesy of Dave's Pics)

2006-11-12T00:49:00.000-08:00

K-os Flypaper Fan-Music video

Dear USA

2006-11-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

I hope you voted already. Early & often. I know you know what I am talking about.

Signed with love,

The rest of the free world.

(hint: the hand is pointing in the wrong direction)

Love and miss you, Grandpa

2006-11-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

This would have been my Grandfather's 91st birthday, born Nov 5, 1915 in Laval des Rapides, Quebec. He passed away in 2002 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's. I feel his presence and influence in my life yet.

Like others of his time, the Depression and the World Wars had a profound impact on him. He was always very disappointed that he did not serve in World War II. Due to health reasons that existed at the time, he was rejected for service. I remember my innocent question to him in my preteen years when I realized that he would had been a young man in the World War II years. He answered my question about his service as if he had rehearsed it for a long time, and had been waiting for that moment. As a matter of pride he did not want his decendants to think that he had shirked his duty. His father served in WWI when he was a toddler. Our family still has the numerous postcards sent home to his wife and young boys, marked "Somewhere in France", and written mostly in French, a language that none of his close living relatives now speak.

My grandfather had an inborn passion for recordkeeping that I believe was intensified by the fact that it was during the Depression that he would have been at the age where most of us learn our lessons in how to manage money. How many people do you know who keep a meticulous personal automotive log, detailing mileage to the gallon for every single gallon of gas purchased? My grandparents did. I remember being on a road trip with them as a child, and they had made the decision ahead of time that they would need gas at this particular point, but would not stop at any station that was selling gas over 41 cents a litre. This type of discipline seems dreadfully old fashioned now to a lot of us, but in the age of instant gratification and record setting personal debt, maybe we all should be a little more circumspect. I am at present learning frugality skills such as he embodied, using as a framework the system Your Money or Your Life. I like to think that he is helping me achieve these skill of record keeping and a certain amount of discipline and consciousness, as it certainly doesn't come as easily to me as it did for him!

He was a person who was very meticulous and took pride in his work as an estimator. When they finally allowed him to retire, quite a few years after he was planning to retire, it took 3 workers to replace him. That is no exaggeration. Retirement was hard on someone like him who thrives on industry, and his physical and mental decline was rapid after retirement, in the absense of something to focus on which really required his attention. After almost a decade, he finally needed full time care to deal with now-advanced Alzheimers disease.

On my last visit with him during Christmas 2001 when I was visiting Ontario, he was having a good day. By this point, he was normally constrained into attempting to join a conversation with one word responses, some of which would not make a lot of sense. When we noticed that he was attempting to join a conversation, all the rest of us in the room would be quiet, as if waiting for an oracle to speak. At first he would not believe that I was there to visit him, as I did not live in the area anymore (which was heartbreaking to hear). However, he seemed to believe my airplane story :-). Then he floored us all by asking about how his other grandchildren, also in Vancouver, were doing. This was quite a leap of logic for him by this time (not to mention the recent past such as the advent of my schoolage cousins was probably harder for him to remember), and we felt so lucky that he was having a good day on this visit, which ended up being the last time I saw him. Before I left, I saw that the movie "Gone with the Wind" was on TV. I knew he was a fan, so I offered to put in on for him, which he was happy about. In years past, he had given me his 1934 original version of the book, as I had wanted to read it. It is a prized part of my book collection.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

There's plenty of...oh, wait a moment

2006-11-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency visited my humble blog a couple days ago! Crazy. Hopefully they already knew about the seafood :-)

It occurred to me that along with other, much more sinister effects, dating will never be the same with the crash of the fish "stocks". Remember how good (sometimes) it felt when your friends would tell you that "there is plently of other fish in the sea". "I Will Survive" or something equally kickass would start playing in your head, and whatisface or herface would be almost forgotten. (maybe)

Now try, as a supportive friend in these new times, using that line. I predict that there will be a long silence, then said friend, still trying to be supportive, will weakly continue "weeelll there are other people you could be dating". Name one. It just doesn't have the same ring.

Seafood no more

2006-11-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Just watched a segment on the news that stated given current trends, there will be no seafood species left on this planet by 2048. In other words, likely in the lifetime of you and I there would be no natural fish in the sea anywhere, at least of the popular species which humans currently eat. This is not an inevitable decline yet, but it will become inevitable if current trends don't change.

Given that we can get our protein and omega 3 fatty acids in a more healthy (and tasty) manner from plant sources, I respectfully suggest the time has come for humans to restrain themselves from eating fish. I propose this even given the long maritime heritage of my family, as fishermen off the coast of Canso, Nova Scotia going back 6 or 7 generations. This was a sustainable and perhaps bountiful living in the past. Now it is not. We must adapt to our changing realities, or humans might be next to take steps towards extinction in the short term, given our poor choices. It is not too late to change, but soon it will be.

Have you had a proper chastizing today?

2006-10-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Too big for your britches? Think you're all that, huh? Your ego will shrink to its proper size once you have been subjected to a round of bunny disapproval

You can thank me later.

In Praise of "Fungus"

2006-10-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

These were a find during a recent neighbourhood shopping trip. These bags are huge. Just to give you some idea of scale, that's a 20 lb + pumpkin that the bags are leaning up against. And the smaller bag was only $2!!

I bought some dried mushrooms from the organic seller at the Farmer's Market this summer which I will put to good use, but the recipes in Moosewood Cookbook (one of my favourites, I must say) have got me using Chinese Dried mushrooms instead. The mushrooms go a long way, as once reconstitued you can use particularly the black ones both as mushrooms, and as a quick, rich soup broth.

Tune in next time, when I will show you what I have created.

Fall Foliage

2006-10-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Picture of Fall colours and Grouse Mountain off my balcony. Please ignore the telephone wires!

Trinidad Doubles

2006-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Doubles are traditionally served as a snack, and can be bought from roadside vendors in Trinidad. They are delicious and sustaining. The recipe I have worked from can be found here (http://caribbeanavenue.com/kitchen/recipes/doubles024.shtml). The recipe is adapted to make use of ingredients that are more readily available to North Americans. I have not been to Trinidad, but know people who have! ;-)

Find out why I find Doubles so fabulous here

This recipe is not as finicky as it looks, and regardless the results are well worth it!

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cooking Time: 25 Min
To Serve: 10 as Snack, or 3 – 4 as meal. Makes approximately 10+ doubles.

Ingredients:

Curried Chick Pea (Channa) Filling:

3 cans (each 19 oz/540 mL) chick peas, including liquid
2 tbsp vegetable oil (30 mL)
1 tbsp curry powder (15 mL)
5 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (15 mL)
1-1/2 tsp toasted ground cumin (7 mL)
Salt to taste

Barrah (dough patties):

3 cups warm water 750 mL
1 tsp saffron powder 5 mL (or few threads saffron sat for about 20 min in 1 Tbsp warm water)
1 tsp each baking powder and salt 5 mL
7 cups (approx.) all-purpose flour
some Vegetable oil to work dough and moderately grease baking sheet

Condiment: Hot pepper sauces

Method

Channa Filling

In large pot over medium-high heat, bring chick peas and liquid to boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.
Meanwhile, in separate saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook curry powder, onions, garlic and thyme, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup (125 mL) water and bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until mixture is thickened and forms a paste. Stir in an equal amount of the reserved chick pea liquid. Stir in chick peas and cumin. Season with salt to taste. Keep warm.

Barrah (the dough, or the Doubles patties)

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees. Moderately grease a baking sheet with oil.
In large bowl, whisk together water, saffron, baking powder and salt. Whisk in about half of the flour to make a smooth paste. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dipping hands in oil to prevent sticking and adding more oil as necessary, knead dough until smooth.

Sprinkle work surface with flour and then with oil. Keeping hands oiled, break off pieces of dough the size of a walnut. With tips of fingers, flatten each piece into a very thin circle, about 4-inches (10 cm) in diameter, or bigger if can be managed. (Canuck girl’s cheating tip: A floured rolling pin might make things easier)

Place barrah on the moderately greased baking sheet and bake for 6 – 10 minutes at 375F.

Ideally when the barrah is baked it does not become too crunchy, which helps in the assembly stage. All is not lost if the barrah does become crunchy, the finished double will still be as good, but the barrah will not be able to be used as a wrap.

Assembly: Place one barrah on plate and top with a loving spoonful of Channa Filling, season with hot pepper sauce and top with another barrah. Alternatively, use 1 larger, thinner barrah for each double, and wrap the Channa in the barrah. Makes about 10+ "doubles".

**Karen’s note: The original recipe calls for deep frying the barrah, which I don’t feel is authentic based on my experiences. The double should not end up being greasy in any way. I have tried baking the barrah with minimal oil instead. I would welcome comments from those who have more experience in making breads, as ideally the Barrah should become a soft wrap to wrap the channa in.

Quiet Vegetarian?

2006-10-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

You scored as quiet vegetarian. You are a quiet vegetarian! You might be unsure of yourself, simply shy, or in a fairly hostile environment. You tend not to express your views or minimize them when asked. You don't have the "veggie gear" (buttons, shirts, stickers), and you're not an activist. You don't try to convert others to vegetarianism, although you may want to. You might fear criticism in general. www.goveg.com

quiet vegetarian

73%

health-conscious vegetarian

67%

militant vegan

67%

vegan vixen

67%

welfarist vegetarian

45%

lazy vegetarian

39%

new veggie

28%

What type of vegetarian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

I don't think I am a "quiet vegetarian" per se, regardless of this quiz says. Even though I am new at it, I am not afraid to state my preferences when I feel it is necessary. I am the lady that marched into the Keg Steakhouse last week with eight of her coworkers and asked for a vegan meal. Pretty ballsy thing to do in a steakhouse, not to mention that it brought on a lot of questioning at the table. The cook made me up a great Portabello Fajita that was not on the menu, so I hope my boss tipped them well. The server was very considerate.

I feel that actions speak louder than words. I am a vegan mostly for ethical reasons, and when indivduals make an ethical choice, they want to be able to own their choice. They are not going to rearrange their lives because so-and-so told them to do something or nagged them into it. You can talk and sloganeer until you are blue in the face and maybe not make change, or worse create resistance and resentment. Being the change that you want to see in the world sometimes appears to be an underrated route to take. Maybe not everybody notices, but people do notice.

Going vegan represents a shift of consciousness in our current society. Eating meat and other animal products is an unconscious choice for many people. These people might act differently if they sat and thought about what eating meat represents, and thought about if they have a choice. I feel people's actions help affect the consciousness of the world. I was not completely ready for vegetarian talk and discussion until I had made this shift in consciousness myself, which was a very personal, private thing for me.

Well, maybe that makes me quiet after all.

Or maybe the quiz labelled me "quiet" because I did not value a bra made out of lettuce very highly. Is that a sign of being a vegetarian prude?

Just had to share...

2006-10-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Go here, and click on the song "FlyPaper" by K-os. I happened here today by chance, and I can't listen to this particular song without getting up and dancing like no one's watching.

My apologies if this link expires quickly, as I don't think they will have the whole album posted in its entirety for long.

The Preservator 3000

2006-10-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Act NOW! Supplies (unfortunately) are not limited.

Watch the movie....

The Doubles are coming! The Doubles are coming!

2006-10-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

(Heh). Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Vegan with a Vengeance, told a story about a well loved restaurant in her neighbourhood that suddenly closed down, and left her with her face planted against the glass, hoping against hope it would open again. The moment I read that, it took me back to a similar moment of my own. Roti Bistro on West 4th closed down a few years ago. Even though it was replaced by a perfectly respectatable (even though yuppified) vegetarian restaurant, I was quite disappointed.

Back when I was a Karate-Ka, I belonged to a Karate School that is based in Trinidad (and has a couple schools in Vancouver), Don Jitsu-Ryu. After class on Saturdays, as often as not we would go to Roti Bistro (a Trinidadian/Caribbean restaurant) for something to eat, because that was the day that Roti Bistro made doubles. Doubles on Saturday was not just what was on special. For us Karate students it was a Happening. Their Doubles were this absolutely delicious spicy chickpea concoction wrapped in this soft, yellow bread. And when they were sold out, that was it until next week. If you came too late, you were out of luck. Thinking back, I remembered that one of my instructors, who was Vegan, would dig in with similar gusto as the rest of us. So today I had a brainwave: I was going to try to make doubles myself.

It was not too easy to find on the internet as it is an extremely regional recipe apparently. Also the name of the bread "Bara" seems to be similar to some sort of sexual saying (what, I don't know), as for a while I was hitting more porn sites than food sites in my quest (eeek).

But I think I have a recipe figured out. I made doubles tonight, and they were delicious. Not to Roti Bistro standard, but pretty darn good. I would have taken a picture, but I ate them way too fast as I was so excited to test them. I am going to experiment with the bread a little more tomorrow, and then post the recipe.

Vegan Freak with a Vengeance

2006-09-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Got my two new books today! They are Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World. I dare you to find the theme! I am going to sit down, read and enjoy them this afternoon. In particular, I think Vegan with a Vengenance is a cookbook that is intended to be in my life.

I had to order them from the evil empire, as my library and discount bookhouses did not have them and Bookwarehouse couldn't even order Vegan Freak.

Then the moratorium on Vegan and Cookbook buying begins. They have become my gazingus pins. I always feel compelled to buy and read more of them.

Unchicken Soup Sickie

2006-09-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing much besides working and sleeping the past few days. Not only is it quarter end at work, but I have a fairly miserable cold. In good news, I have a much huskier singing voice at the moment! I am trying to recover while eating Amy's "No Chicken Noodle" canned soup. I recomend chopping up a leaf of chard, and adding it to the soup at the last moment to make it heartier. Almost as warming as a hug.

Geesh my last post was long. I should have made it a weeklong series or something. Hope nobody sustained any injuries from their head crashing against the keyboard when they fell asleep trying to read it. I'm worse than a reformed smoker with my verbosity.

Vegan Navel Gazing: A Three Month Retrospective

2006-09-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

So what's it like to go from entrenched semi-vegetarian to completely vegan "cold tofu"? I started off on this adventure 3 months ago, with no particular pre-conceived notion of what it would be like. I thought that veganism would be an ideal way to eat and live in theory, but had only some idea of what to expect in practice. Until I tried it, I didn't know how it would affect me.

Well here is my "highly scientific" list of effects, and observations:

I found the changes I needed to make to embrace veganism a lot easier to implement than I would have thought, for the most part. For my own cooking there was just some simple substitutions to make. I was adept at "veganizing" my favourite recipes immediately. Really, a lot of it is a "no brainer", like subsituting soy milk for cow's milk or veggie broth for meat broth. This works for most cooking. For baking, you need a little more expertise, but with a good vegan cookbook by my side I have had no problem with simple recipes.
I've noticed being (on average) a little more clear headed, slightly more energetic, and more easygoing about stressful situations recently. The amount of stress I have experienced has been about the same as always, but it has rolled off me just a little easier, and my mind is more free to problem solve, rather than being caught in a rut worrying about the situation. I'll attribute this improvement to veganism because the difference has been noticeable. This was not an effect I was expecting.
My average weight has been about 7 lbs less than before veganism, starting shortly after I switched my eating. I don't believe in the concept of dieting at all, my belief is that if you work at being healthy and being kind to yourself, then your body sorts itself out, and you stay in your own personal version of "fighting trim". It works for me, anyway. That said, it is nice to get the compliments. I have been looking very svelte and healthy lately, with less effort than I normally have to put into it. And NOT because I am hungry or am denying myself something. I had Mushroom Barley Stew and homemade "easy biscuits" this evening (recipes courtesy of How it all Vegan), and I don't think I could eat anything more tonight if you paid me (well maybe if the pay was reeeal good)
It has been easy to keep vegan at home (starting with eating). My personal belongings still include leather, etc. as most people's do, but I am trying to make all new acquisitions fit vegan standards as well. For example, I passed up buying a beautiful sweater a few weeks ago because it contained wool. But not to worry, in this consumerist culture there is always another sweater around the corner, and the next one(s) will suit my specs. It is getting easier to narrow down the endless choices that we have.
Not always so easy is eating out, and I'll admit I have not had a perfect score on this point in the past few months. My particular downfall has been a few baked goods with whom I have had a "don't ask, don't tell" relationship, especially when I have been too busy (or maybe that should read too disorganized) to plan or to go get a proper snack for myself. Thus I have room for improvement to reach the standard I want to hit. But I have done pretty good. Previous to this change, I would buy my lunch almost every day. With my increased cooking, there has more often been tempting leftovers for me to bring for lunch (saving money), but I still eat out for lunch often, and I have more vegan choices near work than you would think. And more servers and sales clerks have been savvy to my questions about animal products than I would have thought. Then again, I live in a town with a lot of veggie people.
You would think there would be cravings for particular types of food because I am "denying myself". I can't say I have particularly experienced this, with the exception of the aforementioned baked goods, which were really more about convenience than cravings. The only thing I have wanted that I have not yet created a substitute for is stuffed pasta (i.e. ravioli or something similar). The ones that you see premade always contain eggs, and often cheese. My chiropractor suggested I just get a pasta maker and make my own ravioli "shells" without eggs, and stuff them with squash, pumpkin, or, his favourite, pureed peas (I had never even heard of that possibility). I just might do so (although it sounds like a lot of work & equipment), or I might find a recipe that's even easier one day.
Can't say that I have craved cheese, which seems to be a commonly cited reason why vegetarians don't want to go vegan My tastes are changing, as they do when I try something new. Cheese really is a weird, goopy substance if you think about it. Just imagine smearing it directly on your arteries, yummmm! I bought some vegan "tofutti" brand cheese, it is ok for once in a while, but not too exciting.
My cravings have been more about information. I have had a really interesting time doing research on veganism, and reading all that I can. I have had to impose a moratorim on buying more cookbooks, as I am so enthusiastic about the subject I want to read and/or try recipes from every book that looks good or comes recommended.
In my first post on this subject, I was wondering how my diet would affect my meditation practise. Well I will have to continue to wonder a while longer, as I have not been disciplined enough to have a daily meditation practise (bad Kareno BAD!). But I can't beat myself up about it too much, as overall I have accomplished a lot in these past few months.
And I can't forget to mention the support I have received online. I had expected to be going this alone as this is a highly personal change to make. But it hasn't felt like that. Thanks too all who have either helped show the way and/or shown support.

This is not every change that I have experienced, but just a few that are at the top of my head at the moment.

Ginger's Gruelling Monday Morning Commute

2006-09-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

While everybody is rushing to work, just though I would show you the hell my cat goes through on a Monday morning.

Then again, I hope my Monday mornings will be a little more like this, when I am one hundred and eleventy in human years like she is now.

Dating the Non-Vegan

2006-09-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

I would describe the guy I am seeing as an incorrigible meat-eater. He is about twice my size, and of Viking heritage, so he comes by it natually I guess. He is very respectful of my new Vegan lifestyle, but as of yet he has to try my Vegetarian cooking. I am a good cook (really!). We are currently getting more serious, and working towards the day that we will move in together. I would be moving onto his boat, thus technically "his turf". So all this makes me very circumspect. He thinks that my cooking will probably make him healthier. But I don't think he will ever give up eating meat. And I am not naive enough to think that you can necessarily change people that easily, or that you should even try. I will think optimistically and hope that I am a positive influence.

I don't mind being around meat all that much, but I would rather leave behind the feeling of obligation that I have to prepare it for somebody. If it is my turn to cook, I want to be preparing a vegan meal, and will stick to my guns. Still, I hope that my meals are well received, are filling enough, and don't seem too strange to those around me in general. Cooking for myself, I have been free to experiment (and sometimes the experiments are not exactly what could be termed an unqualified success). I cook whatever is vegan and appeals to me, and haven't yet had to consider anyone else's opinion about whether it constitutes a good meal.

On the typical weekend, if he is over we will tend to go to the same restaurant and order the same thing every time. On his side of the table: Hamburger and fries. On my side: Tofu Scramble (really good!). Well, this is not the only area in which we differ (sigh). Must be love.

Some good posts on the same subject:

Urban Vegan - Are you living in a mixed marriage?

Everyday Feminism - Blogging the Relationship