Celeb-vegan

My favoriate fashion magazine, Elle, had an article a few months ago on The Veronicas as part of their music issue. In the article, "The Veronicas Eat L.A.,"Elle takes the Veronicas to hot eateries in L.A., including a MexiCali-Korean food truck, where they taste all the new vegan-eatin' the city has to offer. Props to Elle for featuring fun new artists (they always write about cool new indie bands and singers that I always end up looking up on iTunes and then, without a doubt, end up buying some songs) plus detailing the vegan adventures of these artists.

On another note, Philly is food-truck heaven, particularly University City. One of the best is Magic Carpet, is the best for veggies.

Brussel Sprouts Like to Live, Too?

Please read: Sorry, Vegans: Brussel Sprouts Like to Live, Too

Now, tell me what you think.

Sarcasm? Heartfelt ode to plants' struggles? Other side of the argument? Attempt to recover some of the moral ground surrounding ethical vegans' reasons for their lifestyle?

I honestly don't know enough about the language of ethical veganism to defend their viewpoint in relation to this article, but it still seems to me something is missing from the "ode to the vegetable" Ms. Angier puts forth. Something about animals' inclusion in the category "sentient being" (a technical Buddhist term very broadly used to define beings with consciousness) alongside humans appears to have been left out.

At the end of the day, veganism is a choice that each person makes for him or herself, just as meat-eating is. It's just about understanding each person's choices, learning from them and allowing them to be what they are. I no more want Ms. Angier to tell me to eat meat than she wants me to tell her not to eat meat.

Moving on now....

More veg info than you'll ever need....

One of the best sources around for being connected to all things veg is VegNews. I used to subscribe but when it expired I found that I could rely on the website and an email subscription to get all the veg news I needed.

I love this magazine. Not only has it hooked me up with amazing restaurants in random locations in its travel section(Rishikesh, India, for example), but it also has great recipes so I can be an inspired veg chef all on my on. Info on veg providers ranging from travel locations to retail stores are invaluable. The VegNews online store is also excellent, offering books, snacks and other merchandise with no shipping! Stay tuned for an update on some choco-treats I recently ordered...

Hot hot hot!

Two of the hottest shoes of the season in vegan versions. Both are Cri de Croeur (trans. "cry from the heart," def. "an impassioned outcry, appeal,protest or entreaty"),

I first spotted these shoes at Cow Jones Industrials, a vegan boutique in Chatham, NY. Find eco-conscious shoes, bags, accessories and clothing here, but really, it's all about the great vegan shoes. For the Philly vegan, see what you can find at Anthropologie. They carry the line.

More high-fashion vegan shoes soon...

Mission: Vegan Dessert

How annoying is it to go out with your friends for ice cream, gelato, etc. etc.? Well, I for one am sick of it! Never a non-dairy dessert to be found from your average seller of sweets. For as long as I have been vegan I have wondered why ice cream parlours don't offer at least one non-dairy option beyond your boring, flavorless sorbet. What about the rich desserts? Why can't we eat them, too?

My favorite dessert after dark chocolate covered pretzels and maybe my mom's tofu pumpkin pie is vegan ice cream. I like it all: soy-based, rice-based, coconut-milk based. As long as it is not a fruit flavor, I'm all about it. Well, now our vegan dreams (or potentially just mine) have been answered! A purely vegan ice cream store. In my vegan eats reading I came across a review of Stogo, a non-dairy organic ice cream shop in the East Village. (Of course New York City has everything a vegan could want to eat--on the East Coast at least--and that includes ice cream.) Flavors include chocolate, chocolate chip cookie, toasted almond joy, oatmeal raisin cookie, and of course some fruit flavors for those of you who are not all about decadent, sweet 'n savory tastes like me. I envision a delicious bowl of chocolate, chocolate chip cookie and peanut butter fudge with some kind of vegan chocolate topping to polish it off. So delish!

When not in NYC and without any soy-based ice cream outside of the pint variety to be found (except I have heard Gianna's down near South Street has vegan soft serve, though I've yet to try it), I'm a pretty big fan of Turtle Mountain's Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag.

If you are as big a fan as I am of the choco-peanut butter combo, then you might want to try out this recipe for chocolate peanut butter pie.

In my laziness, though, I usually just head over to Last Drop Cafe at 13th and Pine and pick up a peanut butter cup brownie made by Vegan Treats. The actual bakery is in Bethlehem, PA but thank goodness they sell their decadent cakes, doughnuts, brownies and cookies throughout Philly.

Stogo, here I come. But please, when will you come to Philly?

Tonight I'm trying to convince my friends that vegan really can be tasty...hopefully this Tofu Provencal proves that you don't really have to eat meat at every meal.

Tomatoes, red pepper, onion, black olives, tofu, capers plus saffron and oregano. Tofu plus a side of couscous should be convincing!

Nothing glorious about this morning

Last weekend I went out to brunch to celebrate one of my good friend's finish of the Philly marathon. In Philly, brunch is big...maybe not as big as New York, but there are some neighborhoods where you just for brunch. Not much else there but good brekkie food.

Morning Glory is not one of those places, at least not for vegans. The only vegan option on the menu was a tofu scramble, which looked deceptively good...


until I ate it. The tofu was bland, soft, watery--undercooked! Overall, it was completely lacking in spices, and they definitely were stingy with the vegetables. We all know that tofu is what you flavor it. It can be spicy, sweet, sour and, of course, bland if you don't season it enough. The best part of the meal was the grits, which isnt' saying much considering their bland reputation.

I'm usually pretty good about eating out. I don't drag all my friends to vegan restaurants (although I do always suggest it!) but rather manage to find something mildy interesting on the menu. Lately, though, I've been really frustrated with the vegan options. Please, give me more than salad, pasta and flavorless tofu.

To make up for this awful brunch experience last weekend, I decided to make my own tofu scramble for a few friends this weekend. I'd love to be able to post a picture, but we finished it all before I even had a chance to take out the camera!

I was at Barnes and Noble today reading Johnathan Safran Foer's new Omnivore's Dilemma-like book, Eating Animals. With multiple book reviews in the New York Times, The Huffington Post and other sites, I thought it was worth a read. Omnivore's Dilemma taught me a lot about how our modern society thinks about food, and Foer's new book questions whether we think about it at all. He argues most of us tend to have an uneasy relationship with the meat on our plates, realizing that it is somehow inherently wrong but not digging deep enough into the issue to parse out the reasons why. Factory farming and the industrialization of our food supply are the likely answers, but it seems he will go even farther to say that meat in itself should not be part of our diets, and "locally farmed" animals are no better than the factory farmed versions.

I'm not sure how I feel about "no meat for everyone." I obviously don't want meat on my plate, but many people do, and I'm not in the business of telling others how to eat since I certainly don't want them telling me. Perhaps by the end of the book I'll feel differently, but today I take the approach of sharing my veganism with others through the food I cook and the things I buy. It's a part of my life, so, naturally, it's a part of all my relationships.

Is that an easy way out of this difficult, societal conversation? Should the debate on the ethics of eating be debated on the Senate floor in much the same way as health care is today? Foer argues that what we need is "a way that brings meat to the center of the public discussion in much the same way it is often at teh center of our plates." Importantly, "this doesn't require that we pretend we are going to have collective agreement." We will not agree, he says, so what do we do with this "inevitable reality? Drop the conversation, or find a way to reframe it?"

I need to read more. I need to finish this book and others to present a well-rounded, informed view. But I have been thinking about it now more than ever before.

Ironically, when I was at the bookstore I happened to sit in the vegetarian cook book section because the cafe was full. A couple, perhaps parents of a teen or 20-something, were browsing. The mother picked up a vegetarian cook book, saying, "Maybe we should get this for her?" Father: "No, don't encourage her! I'd like to see some meat on my plate every once in awhile." Right, wrong, odd? At a minimum just a reminder of the role vegetarianism occupies for many people. It's more of a "why?" than an "ok." Still more of a catalyst for questions rather than an easy acceptance. I guess we're all still trying to figure this one out.

Faux shoes can be fabulous!

While perusing for more faux fashion, I came across a WSJ article on how far vegan shoes have come. True, not all look like hippie shoes, but a lot of the brands I've seen still seem to have a dated, old-school, kinda offbeat vegan in mind. Today's vegan isn't focused on setting herself apart with her vegan fashion, but rather integrates her beliefs into her everyday fashion sensibilities. She doesn't want to look or act different but simply goes about living her life, incorporating her beliefs into her decisions every day. Her beliefs inform her, not define her. A far cry from the hippie who wore shoes simply because they were vegan. Today vegan shoes have to fit a sense of style, too!
Every once in awhile there's a cool, hip designer who appreciates fashion and and keeps not only her principles but the trends in mind. Check out this shoe from the olsen Haus Fall '09 collection. Finally something Stella-cool for a regular price. Can't you picture yourself dancing in these?!

The Holiday Lookbook also has the full collection, including hip, spot-on shbooties in a textured brown faux. Check it out.

Vegan Fashion Challenge

A no-leather wardrobe is my greatest vegan lifestyle challenge. Eating is easy, skin care more difficult, but no leather boots? No leather jackets? I can't afford the Stella McCartney vegan shoes and clothes, but I have been able to find random jackets and leggings at regular stores. I'm slowly incorporating vegan fashion into my closet, and this blue faux leather jacket is currently my best vegan piece (the pleather leggings come second!).

I bought this jacket in Milan this past summer at Bershka. After checking out the Duomo, I decided to take (one of many) shopping breaks, and I found this excellent, soft, smooth, stylish jacket. It has a great fit and detail: a zipper at the collar, buttons on the pockets and an elastic band around the waist for a fitted look. The shade of blue is unique--much lighter than navy--a combination of cornflower blue and purple. Who knew?! An affordable vegan jacket that fits and looks better than that leather one I bought five years ago! Now to find some shoes.....

Let the veganism begin!

As a child my dad called me Beana--Gina Beana Fagiolina. Fitting name considering I would grow up to become a vegetarian! Today I'm more of a vegan than a vegetarian, and I not only try to eat vegan but to do everything else vegan as well.

The former is fairly easy, the latter much harder. Finding great vegan fashion, shoes and bags can be challenging, but I am persistent! It takes time to find good items, but it's well worth it. My goal is to find the best vegan options--in food as well as other products--and this blog will be the beginning of my mission to do just that.

Look forward to vegan food, skin care products, clothes, shoes, bags and more...and feel free to send ideas, too!