My sister is a vegetarian bordering on vegan. Through her, we've had some fun exploration into the world of meatless dishes. I rather enjoy it and look forward to the new recipes that she finds and brings to the table.
This year for Mother's Day, we tried to come up with a meal we could put together without Mom having to do any work. My sister introduced us to a vegan potato salad recipe a year or two ago. I knew Mom had it here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Mom couldn't come up with it either. When I asked my sister for it, she dropped off a cookbook with a different potato salad recipe bookmarked. She said it was really good. What the heck - I tried it! I thought it was great! Those vegetarians are so sneaky and inventive with their use of tofu!
The cookbook remained in the house after Mother's Day - my sister didn't remember to take it home with her. I perused the recipes on several occasions and only found one that didn't appeal to me. In fact, when I was asked to provide a salad for our Relay for Life team meeting this past Saturday, I ended up making two from this cookbook! I was slightly concerned about how they would be accepted by the group, but as Nanny often said, "What odds!" If they like it, they like it. If they don't, they don't! Guess what . . . they loved it! There was only a serving or two left to bring home! He he he That always makes me chuckle.
Now note that I didn't bring to anyone's attention that the salads were vegan.
Do you think it would have made a difference if I had?
The rice and bean salad was so good...it looked beautiful, smelled awesome, and tasted fabulous. I just couldn't get over it (and couldn't believe that I hadn't realized it was one that my sister had made and brought over to the house before!)
The cookbook is How it all Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. Check out the website www.govegan.net
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3 comments:
Here she is - the freaky vegan-esque one!
You know, this makes me incredibly happy! Trying to "eat vegan" is a very difficult thing to do. First you have to inform all of your family, friends and workmates of this new diet - which inevitably brings on all kinds of responses, both positive and negative, the questions and concerns, and most frustratingly the critics and know-it-alls who try with all their might to point you out as total nutcase and reform you back to carnivorism...
Vent...breathe...release...I'm good!
I chose a Vegetarian diet on my 16th birthday, and have never looked back. I chose to stop eating meat out of compassion for animals - I don't like the thought of being able to look my meal in the eye before I eat it - I can't do it. And though I wish that everyone in the world was a Vegetarian and shared my compassion for other living beings, I know that's just my own animal-friendly utopia.
My sister (your blogger) and my Mom have been incredibly supportive throughout my experimentation with Veganism - and their interest in making vegan foods has been so gratifying for me - like, finally someone is listening to me! Vegan food is good! It really is good!
To answer Tracy's question, would it have made a difference if she had mentioned to the group that the salad was Vegan - I'd like to answer no. But here's the thing - as delicious as the salad is, once the word Vegan is mentioned people will start to slow down their chewing, moving the food around in their mouths trying to detect the tofu, or nutitional yeast, or the wheat germ, or whatever strange ingredient this crazy person is trying to get them to eat against their will! Kind of like I do when I'm at a new restaurant and I don't exactly have a lot of confidence in the waiter/waitress that they understand what "no meat" means!! ;-)P
Check out Tracy's link to the Go Vegan site - if you're non-vegan, or even non-vegetarian you should check out the book - you can eat everything in it. And you'll probably even like it!
my food philosophy is don't knock it till you've tried it! i love veggies, grains, fruit i also happen to love meat and dairy. . but i think that rice milk is delicious and though i would love to eat soy-based foods, i cannot due to allergy. . i think that veganism is really stepping back in time to what i would imagine the human diet to be way back when. . I have found even Biblical support that not only humans were designed to be vegetarians, but also the animals. . meat eating came about after 'the fall'. . . interesting!
good blog topics, Tracy! i'm glad you stopped by my blog, or i wouldn't have been able to visit yours!!! i'll have to visit Krista's too!
ta ta for now!!!
Hey you guys have even got me eating things I thought I would never ever touch in a million years.
Baked Tofu, ground soy, weird salads, and many others I just cant't remember them all.
But to be totally honest they all have been things I have enjoyed and even gone home and tried for myself.
It has helped for me to make some healthier choices and hopefully I will continue to.
Thanks for some of the cool new dishes.
Alexis
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