Believe in Vegan

I have one new reader since I last wrote a post so it seems like I should write to celebrate her.  And I will get back to her in a minute.

I have added a new follow link here on the main page to a very good vegan blog. This blog is written by my former college roommate and longtime friend, Cele. We don't see each other much but as anybody knows, college friends get a free pass, free range, free lunch and free access to come in and out of our lives as suits them or us.  There are no rules except once they're in, they're never out even if they want out.  Like the mafia.  

I post the picture above of my vegan daughter who has sought baking inspiration from Cele's blog. My husband and I have been the beneficiaries of this inspiration. Since living at home again for a few months, she feels it's only fair to contribute to the household with a "weekly breakfast bread." Who am I to argue with this logic? This week's delight has fresh berries and lots of oats and isn't too sweet so can be enjoyed with or without butter and with or without heating. Over the past few months, I have been surprised just how easy it is to adapt many favorite recipes to vegan, substituting nut milks, applesauce and oils for dairy and eggy ingredients we assume baked goods must have. The food tastes different for sure but it never tastes worse and sometimes it tastes better. It almost always tastes like fruit or vegetables and of the earth and I mean that in a good way; in a way that meat never does.

My new reader and funny as hell friend has said say she would disown her kids if they stopped eating meat. Big talk. The universal truth is that our kids begin exercising the muscles of dissension from our parenting pretty early in life, especially if they smell any vested interest by a parent. My daughter reluctantly ate meat as a little kid and as she took charge of feeding herself, she was done with it completely (save the occasional fall off the bacon wagon). This dietary coup was not negotiated with us as parents and we were the ones who had to adapt if we wanted her to sit down to dinner with us. Her blood thirsty sister wasn't too impressed and it was annoying as a busy parent trying to feed one vegetarian in a meat eating household I'm not gonna lie. But these past few months, I'm listening hard to my young adult about what I don't know about living beyond recycling. If not elimination, why not try reduction of eating meat and dairy to improve the environment? As a result of her knowledge and cooking alongside her, I buy meat and milk less frequently these days and try new ways of preparing dishes without animal products. It does actually give me a feeling of some small control over helping fix a big problem and since I love control, it's a win-win for me and the planet.

Notes from a powerful little woman up and coming in the world

So to my new reader and friend, thanks for inspiring me to write again in my blog and I would suggest an easier way to go in the coming years may be celebrating your children's fierce and personal ideals. Otherwise these notes are gonna escalate.