Happy New Year!

Hello 2013!  So nice to see you!  2012 marked my first full calendar year as vegan and the year I started this very blog.  I couldn’t be more proud of both of those accomplishments.  2012 was a banner year in the vegan world for gaining some major mainstream attention and I suspect 2013 to be no different.  We’re here, we’re vegan, and you soon will be too if you aren’t already!  (I wish!)

I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz about the internets regarding folks resolving/intending/wanting to add more meatless meals to their diets this year, and/or desires to go completely vegan.  As it is part of my mission to aid in this process for anyone who might need or want the encouragement, I thought it might be a great idea to offer my top five tips and words of wisdom to encourage the wannabe vegan.

1.  Lean into it.  Not everyone can make this transition overnight.  I speak from experience in that adding something new or changing my routine is one of the hardest things for me.  Kathy Freston has perfected this message – she even wrote a book about it.  I so wish I could take credit for this!  It is seriously good advice, particularly if you want to make a change but are feeling overwhelmed.  Leaning into it can be something as simple as switching out your cow milk for soy or almond milk.  Swap out the ground beef and replace with Boca Ground Crumbles or season your own TVP.  Set an intention to change something new every week, every two weeks, month or whatever makes you the most comfortable and stick to it as best you can.

2.  Stock your pantry.  This one goes along with number one.  Replacing non-vegan items with their vegan counterpart.  You might not believe it, but there is seriously a vegan replacement for everything.  EVERYTHING!  Here is proof of that:

Vegan egg yolks. That’s right, vegan egg yolks!

For further reference, here is my recommended list for The Vegan Pantry.

3.  It’s not about perfection, it’s about intention.  Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has a great podcast on this topic.  She has a gift of eloquence, and presents topics on veganism in a way that just makes sense.  I will always recommend her podcasts to anyone who is vegan or looking to take on a more compassionate lifestyle.  But she’s right… no one can ever be perfect.  And veganism isn’t about perfection.  It’s about living our lives in the most compassionate way that we can, seeking to do no harm to other living creatures.  So you ate a piece of cheese.  Pick yourself, wipe yourself off, and move on.

4.  Veganize your favorite meal.  This is one of the quickest ways to get yourself going and keep on the vegan path.  It is also a great way to experiment and learn new things in the kitchen.  Having been vegan for over a year now, I’ve had vegan version of pretty much all my favorite meals.  Even my grandmother’s world famous Stuffed Cabbage – my absolute favorite.  Thanks to the internet, all you have to do is Google “vegan ______” and you’re sure to find a recipe… or ten!

5.  Find a community.  This.  Is.  The.  Best.  Thing.  Ever.  I can’t tell you how much I am grateful for my new community of vegan friends.  I met Stacy & Keith of Vegan Fatty Boombalatty through my blog and we now do semi-regular dinners or brunches.  I (try to!) go to the monthly Vegan Drinks NYC.  Join (or start!) a vegan Meet Up in your city or town.  Find an online community.  Go volunteer with a vegan-inspired organization or farm sanctuary.  These people will be your comrades, the ones who will listen and offer support, your dinner buddies, and best of all, your friends.  They are the ones who understand what it’s like to be vegan living in an omnivore world.  They are invaluable!

So there you have it!  Jersey City Vegan’s top five tips and words of wisdom on going vegan in 2013.  If you’re a new reader, I also have a feature on the blog called Vegan Like Me that profiles fellow vegans from all around the world offering their tips and perspectives.  If you would like further words of wisdom or encouragement, or just need some support in your journey, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.  I’m not kidding!  I’m always willing to offer a helping hand or answer questions for anyone who is looking to start (or continue) living a compassionate life.

The Seed: A Vegan Experience

I had the distinct pleasure of attending The Seed: A Vegan Experience this past weekend.  As you might remember, earlier this year I attended the Vegetarian Food Festival, which was fantastic.  However, the idea of an entirely VEGAN expo really tickled me.  I must say, a lot of my excitement came from the fantastic job that the organizers did in building anticipation via different social media outlets.  They really exemplified prime use of social media in order to promote their event.  In the days and weeks leading up to the event, they announced vendors, speakers, movie screenings and more and it really built up the anticipation.  Well done.

My first red carpet pic! (Does it count if it was taken by your partner?)

The main draw for me to this event was that Colleen Patrick-Goudreau would be speaking.  She is from the West Coast, and produces a podcast that I love called Vegetarian Food For Thought. She presents veganism in such a positive, inspiring way that it often is very re-affirming and helpful to have a listen, particularly when I’m feeling down and/or defeated.  She didn’t let me down, either.  Her talk left me feeling great!  Afterwards, I was able to get her to sign my  copy of Vegan’s Daily Companion as well as snap a photo together.

Another great speaker, one that always moves me (and I quite often refer to like being at vegan church), was my friend Jenny Brown, co-founder of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.  Both she and Kathy Stevens (of Catskill Animal Sanctuary) told personal stories of these animals as individuals.  They are all sentient beings, with personality quirks and preferences, and hearing some personal anecdotes was so wonderful.  Jenny’s talk, however, took it a step further and was exactly what this conference needed — someone who isn’t afraid to address the issue of what actually happens to these animals in this industry.  Sure, the talks about all the health benefits are great, and people skirt around the topic or gently word what actually happens to these animals, but Jenny was the only one to put it out there, right in front of you and told you what it is for what it is.  I believe this is necessary.  One of the biggest reasons why so many vegans become vegans IS because of the animals.  Yet for some reason, people want to shy away from the truth of it, they’re either afraid to offend, to alienate, to frighten.  Yes, it is graphic.  Yes, it is upsetting.  But it is the reality for the over 300 billion farmed animals in this world.  I always think of the now infamous Gretchen Wyler quote – “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.”  Thank you, Jenny, for being brave and sharing the truth.

There was a great panel on effective vegan blogging, moderated by friend of WFAS and Jersey City Vegan, JL Fields.  Her fantastic blog, JL Goes Vegan, is such a source of inspiration for me.  I related to her experience as a blogger the most, her story of the how and the why she got into it, and that it ended up leading to more opportunities for her.  She is a great blogging role model and I am grateful for her contributions to the vegan community.

That’s JL on the left in the blue KALE shirt!

 The food at this event was also of the highest quality.  While most were ones I was familiar with, I was introduced for the first time to Foodswings who have a restaurant in Brooklyn.  They were selling these delectable vegan chickun wings – complete with hot sauce AND bleu cheeze!  Talk about yum to the tenth power!  I coulda had several more of these things, but refrained due to the fact that they were deep fried.  Another new yum?  All the way from Miami came the Mac’n Food Truck.  They were parked outside along with The Cinnamon Snail (whom I LOVE!) and are up in NYC for the summer.  Since the Snail had lines pretty much out to Chicago, and partly because we’ve had the Snail many of times, we decided to give Mac’n a try.  Oh boy.  Ohhhh boy.  Well, let’s just show you what the food looked like…

Frannie’s Southern Fried Tofu Sammie

Garden Mac’n Cheeze

Holy vegan gods can you please send me to vegan food truck heaven?!  Between these two food trucks, I could eat well for the rest of my life.  The mac n cheeze was creamy and delicious.  The breaded tofu spicy sammie (served on a killer wrap, cause they ran out of buns) is probably in my top three vegan sandwiches that I’ve ever had.  I loved it so much, I had it the second day of the festival as well (and served on that wrap, even though they had buns!).  Other notable foodstuffs from this event?  Ella, The Regal Vegan herself (of Faux Gras fame!), shared her new spread called Basilicotta, a cashew-based ricotta-like creamy spread.  They were selling vegan banh-mi made with the Faux Gras and oh man was that good.  Anyone who knows anything about banh-mi knows that traditionally, it is made with pate.  There has not been a vegan version of that kind of banh-mi – until now!  A round of applause for Ella and her vegan pate and creamy spread.

The second day of the festival I was lucky enough to be able to table for the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.  If I ever had an opportunity to gush all day long about my beloved friends there, this was it!  All day long I talked about Star, my chicken buddies, the sweet piggies, everyone.  I was all talked out by the end of the day.  But it was a blast and I look forward to more opportunities to do this for them.

All in all, I think most were in consensus that this event was superb.  I raise my glass to the founders of the event, the organizers, the volunteers and anyone who made it possible.  My only suggestion?  More please!!!

Vegan-ize It: Tofu Scallops

Before I went vegan, I used to go crazy for a perfectly pan-seared sea scallop.  Anytime I went out to a restaurant and scallops were on the menu, I need not look any further.  My parents always had scallops for me when I would go visit.  I was the scallop girl!  I “Excuse-itarian’ed” (Colleen Patrick-Goudreau coined this term and I love it!) my way around consuming scallops for quite a while — “They don’t have a face!” was my perfect reasoning.  When I connected the dots about the problems with industrial fishing and factory fish farms, I preferred that those little tender fleshy morsels stayed in their cute little shells in the sea and not in my belly.  If you haven’t learned about the downside to the seafood industry, you can get a little snapshot about it here, here, and here.

My ever-creative amateur chef (and partner of 6 years) Melissa came up with a brilliant solution to satisfy my scallop cravings — make them out of tofu!  After all, it is the seasonings, sauces and marinades that have us so attached to eating flesh anyway.  We aren’t like tigers and lions who eat flesh raw, no problemo.  Here is her brilliant recipe… my mouth waters just thinking about it!

Tofu Scallops

Ingredients

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1 lemon
• 2-4 tablespoons vegan butter (I recommend Earth Balance)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• salt & pepper, to taste

Tools

• Small cookie cutter or juice glass with a small diameter

Directions

1. Press the tofu.  See Tofu Isn’t Scary for more detailed instructions on pressing tofu.
2. Cut thickness of tofu in half.  
3. Use cookie cutter or juice glass to cut circles out of tofu.  Season tofu scallops with the Old Bay and salt and pepper.
4. Heat pan with 1 tbsp (approx.) of olive oil on medium/high heat.
5. Place tofu scallops in pan, allowing them to get golden brown on each side.  Remove from pan and set tofu scallops aside.
6. Turn heat to low and melt 2-4 tbsp of vegan butter in the pan.  Use more butter if you are making more scallops.
7. Squeeze half the lemon into the pan with the melted butter, stir to incorporate.  Add dill.  Stir and turn heat off.
8. Plate tofu scallops and drizzle/spoon lemon dill sauce over scallops.  Serve with your favorite veggies and sides.  Pictured with a mix of quinoa and kale.

I hope you enjoy this recipe — its one of my favorites!  Do you have a favorite vegan-ized recipe?