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I’m tired of…
What are you tired of? The cause I chose to be tired of is animal cruelty. What the heck am I talking about you ask? Check out
Each $10 bracelet you buy, $5 goes to the cause that you chose. These bracelets are eco-friendly and the straps are made from used tires. That’s right! You read right. Tires. Like those round things on your cars and bikes.
Find your cause and donate at the same time.
Here is my bracelet. I hope it’s not too blurry.
Also along the lines of eco-friendly fashion. I was shopping at TJ Maxx today and ‘lo and behold I found socks that were made from sustainable material AND approved by The Vegan Society. I didn’t get them because they weren’t any my size but I wanted to pass along the good word that you can get eco-friendly socks and other clothing (you have to search through the racks) at TJ Maxx. Who knew?!
The Perfect Pizza
I decided last Thursday to start 2009 off right… with pizza! I was never really into soy cheese or meat substitutes in the past, but at some point, every vegan needs pizza. So what’s a Washingtonian to do? Hit up one of the many pizzerias that serves soy cheese, of course!
On Thursday I was going to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind in Chinatown, so I decided to try Ella’s for the first time, since I recently sent a vegan friend there on the recommendation of VegDC. And hey, it’s across the street from the Gallery Place Metro, so how much easier could it be? We had the melanzane and the bosco pizzas with soy cheese (they use Follow Your Heart here). I can never get FYH to melt like that at home, but it was perfect; even my lacto-ovo dining partner was impressed. The crust was fabulous, thin, slightly crisp, but delicate– Neapolitan-style, says the menu. Didn’t try any of the small plates or beers, but you can check out the menu online to see the other offerings.
I’ve also had some tasty offerings at Moroni & Brothers, which I found cruising through Petworth last spring just by happenstance. And what luck! They serve Teese on any pizza or panini on the menu (and interestingly enough, they also serve traditional Salvadorean food, so I wonder if they’d make a vegan quesadilla or pupusa). Their pizzas are great, with a thin crust and several nice veggie combinations– I had the parma last time I was there with eggplant and sweet peppers. Their website says soy cheese coming soon, but I promise it’s already there! If you haven’t tried Teese yet, you must! It’s a great melty soy cheese (the pic above is Teese).
Lastly, I can’t neglect to mention Pizzeria Paradiso. The Georgetown location is a pain to get to (and a bigger pain to park, if you drive), but the ambiance is nicer than the Dupont Circle location. Still, the food and drink is great at both, although the Dupont location’s beverage menu is not nearly as extensive as the Birreria in Georgetown. Their specials are often vegetarian (and vegan, if you substitute the soy mozzarella, obviously– they also use Follow Your Heart soy cheese), or you can choose from a few good options on the regular menu. As expensive as some of those beers are, the prices on their pizzas are right about in line with the other restaurants I mentioned above.
Next up, I’m going to hit Pete’s APizza (I love that name!) in Columbia Heights, since I spend practically all my time there these days. I don’t know what the heck New Haven style pizza is, but I love the look of their a la carte toppings and their happy hour specials. These pizzas are large 18″ pizzas, not individual pies, so bring a troupe of your vegan friends to share with you.
Do you recommend any other delicious pizzas in the area that I should trek to try? I’ve experimented with my own homemade pizzas with varying success, but I’ve never tried any of the commercially-available vegan pizzas out there. Any honorable mentions?
2009 Resolutions and other stuff
I usually don’t make resolutions for the new year, and this year isn’t really any different, at least right now. Maybe if I think of something later Ill make it my resolution. But I know a lot of people do and I know some of you out there did, so lets here them. If you didn’t make one, what did you do for new years? We just ended up staying at home watching a movie this year, it was our first new years with the little guy.
This is going to be a big year for DC Vegan:
DC Vegan Drinks first event (of many) will be January 8th (thats this coming Thursday) at the Science Club, check out the website for more info. And don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list to be notified of future events.
We also now have DC Vegan Apparel, just one design right now, but there will be more to come in 2009.
We also have a new contributor to start off the new year as well, Sonya Harway, you probably already read her posts below but if you haven’t check them out.
Hope everyone has a awesome New Year!
Out with the old, in with the new
Hello 2009, goodbye holiday leftovers! Hopefully you’ve already eaten all the Tofurkey sandwiches and made shepherd’s pie with your excess mashed potatoes, but what to do with all those random pantry staples from the holiday season? You bought pumpkin puree with the intention of making pumpkin pie, cranberries for a homemade sauce but ended up going for canned, maybe puff pastry for some fancy appetizer but just tossed it in the freezer… you get the picture (you lazy vegan, you!).
So what do you do with all these items after Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed? I personally could eat my mom’s cranberry sauce year-round, but most normal people pass a threshold around January 1st and prefer to eschew the holiday fare for the next 10 months. So here are a couple ideas to use up those random ingredients, so that they don’t sit in your cupboard and collect dust until next season’s food drive.
Mahammar: Red-Pepper Walnut Dip with Pomegranate
Pumpkin Puree
Tomato-Pumpkin sauce for pasta
Moroccan Tagine of Pumpkin and Lentils
Pumpkin Pie Brownie (oh drool)
Walnuts (or other nuts)
Vegetable-Walnut Pate
Mahammar
Lentil Walnut Dip
Fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries
Cranberry Scones
Cranberry-Orange Muffins
Cranberry-Mushroom Creamy Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Baked Sweet Potato Chips
Sweet Potato Dal
Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
Sweet Potato Chips:
What else is sitting in your cupboard? Bonus points if it’s been there since 2007…
who the heck is sonya harway?
As a new contributor to DC*Vegan, I wanted to tell you a little about myself, since by reading this blog you’ll periodically be subjected to my ramblings. I have been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old. I went vegan at 14, fell off the wagon in my early 20s and returned to ovo-lacto, but then came back around to veganism about 2 years ago. Why am I vegan? A vegan diet is the healthiest diet I have ever followed. I eat whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains, minimally processed foods– and I have never been healthier. And veganism is easy! Soy cheese has gotten a lot better since the mid-90s, and it’s much easier to find tempeh and quinoa these days in Washington DC (as opposed to rural Virginia, where I grew up). Veganism is really important for me. After several years of consuming eggs and dairy, I had to face the fact that the dairy industry supports the meat industry, and the egg industry supports the chicken industry. And I do not support those industries, period. Finally, as environmental awareness spreads across our country and the globe, veganism just makes sense.
Okay, I’m preaching to the choir.
So who the heck am I? Apart from being a vegan, I am a teacher, a musician, a
world traveler, an animal-lover, an optimist, and an environmentalist. If you’re looking for me, you can usually find me at my piano, in the kitchen, or outside on my bike.
DC Vegan Apparel
We have our first line of t-shirst available for sale. We have a variety of styles and colors available. All shirts feature our WWW logo which includes the DC Vegan logo and web address. To see the full line and purchase click here.
Get 20% OFF if you order by December 31st, use coupon code ZTSHIRTS2008
Take 20.09% OFF all shirts. Use code: ZTSHIRTS2009
Your favorite vegan holiday gift?
Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! I wanted to share one of my favorite gifts that I received this year, its a belt made from recycled bicycle tubes, not only is it green but vegan too! I have been needing a new belt for a while and this was perfect, thanks Megan. So what was your favorite holiday gift you received this year?
i would like to introduce…
The newest member of our family, adopted from WARL, Jennifer! Jennifer is very very sweet and loves to lick, she is a 3 year old Pitbull. She has been with us for about a week and is getting along well with the rest of the gang, and she loves Ben. We had to get her a coat, she was getting cold on her walks.
delicious vegan holiday drinks
from the examiner.com…
As we enter into the thick of this holiday season, we see people out an about, warming the cockles of the hearts with Pumpkin Chai Lattes, and enjoying the thick and creamy goodness of Eggnog.
But what about those of us who stay away from lactose and and eggs? How are we supposed to enjoy the drinkable goodness that is so indicative of the holiday season?
share your favorite vegan holiday drink with us
