Okay. I'm going to just come out and say it. I am growing vegetables in my living room. I know a lot of people out there are starting to do more gardening. It makes sense because food costs are going up, people are being more environmental, and if you like to eat organic, there is no better way to do it.

It's hard for me to admit that I am doing this because I am afraid I will fail. I am not a nature girl, which always surprises people. I LOVE organic, vegetarian food, I live in Colorado, and I practice yoga regularly. But I do not love dirt, or bugs, or worms or camping. I am a city girl. I'd rather go to an opera or a jazz club or museum or just watch a good movie classic than spend a day hiking through the woods. I love sunshine and the ocean, but I enjoy them much more if they are followed with the amenities of a nice hotel.

I decided after years of wavering to just try gardening this year. Starting to eat more raw foods and juicing every day is what nudged me over the edge. I'm starting small, and indoors on purpose.

Luckily, our house is entirely windows on the south side, so my living room plants are getting a lot of sunshine. I am having an INCREDIBLE amount of success with basil. If everything else fails, I will at least have succeeded with that.

I have some romaine that is not looking so good. But I suspect my cat Ellis has been sitting in the pot. I caught him jumping into it today. Weirdo.

Anyway, I had to just finally come out and say it - I am now responsible for some pretty important plants and I'm trying to be good to them, but it's a little scary and a huge learning process for me. So we'll see how it goes. Will the romaine live to see another day? Will the heirloom tomatoes actually produce edible fruit? Will I ever use Thai Chili peppers if they happen to actually grow? Will I learn to like dirt?

Time will tell.

Some people immediately dismiss Valentine's Day as the "Hallmark Holiday." They say it's all about the money and think they are being pressured to show love by consumerism. I completely disagree.

This is the one holiday that pretty much every person can celebrate, no matter what their religion or background, and it has one message: "I love you." In order to celebrate it, you do not HAVE to buy cards or gifts or candy. I would even argue that you are less obligated to spend money on these things on Valentine's day than you are on Christmas. You don't get Valentine's day wish lists like you do on Christmas - you don't even have a list of people that you HAVE to wish a Happy Valentine's Day. It is entirely up to you how big or how little you want the day to be - and that is a beautiful thing.

Even more beautiful, is that you can freely show your love (fraternal of course) on this day without expecting anything back and without making the other person feel bad for not getting something for you. You can freely express your love and appreciation for other people without it being weird or uncomfortable. You can say "Happy Valentine's Day" to a barista while getting your morning coffee and it just sends a little love out into the world. No big deal. The barista won't say, "I don't believe in Valentine's Day." And your next conversation won't even have to be, "So how was your Valentine's Day?"

It is a day that can be celebrated completely, entirely in one day and then completely and entirely forgotten. It is a day that you can celebrate with other people who aren't even celebrating it and both parties will be happy.

And because it is not an obligatory holiday, if someone chooses to think of you on Valentine's Day, in whatever small or big way, you feel all the more loved.

It's such a human, normal, understandable concept and you can express it in any way you want. You can just say "I love you." Or you can just spend time with the people you love. So simple. So wonderful. And it has always been my favorite holiday.

I had the chance recently to meet a lot of veg restaurant owners and managers on my recent trip to the East Coast. It was incredible to hear the stories they have to tell.

Anita at Ahimsa in Connecticut talked about how it is very difficult to find fast food if you are Vegan. Simply put, she hopes her restaurant makes it easier for Vegans to eat out, and she definitely succeeds. The menu at Ahimsa is Vegan, but also has plenty of raw options, and it is incredible how the spices stand out. I asked her about this, and she actually grows, grinds, and in non-raw dishes, roasts her own spices. This attention to detail and care and concern for the smallest element of the food is only found in veg restaurants.

We went to Grezzo for dinner in Boston, and again were impressed with the energy and happiness of everyone there - only to be found in a raw restaurant. It isn’t just about health, which is a big benefit. It isn’t just about peace, which is also important. It’s about taste. And these people are highly attuned to good taste. And the cool thing about raw food, even more than the energy you feel, is that you get full faster. With raw foods, everything is nourishing and your body recognizes that right away. You end up easily feeling full without even finishing your plate. We barreled through though because we were looking forward to the special dessert of the night, a raw pumpkin pie gelato. It was pretty incredible. Raw food is the ultimate in the slow food movement too. Each dish can take hours and days of preparation, and at Grezzo, it’s all presented elegantly and thoughtfully.

We stopped by Wheeler’s Frozen Desserts, the vegan ice cream shop too. It was difficult to choose which ice cream to try because the flavors are pretty inventive...everything from your basic vanilla to "red bull cranberry vodka sorbet." Luckily we were given a few samples and settled on the cherry chocolate ice cream. We were not disappointed. I have never been into chocolate ice cream, but this was so rich and creamy and nothing like anything I’d ever tasted before. It’s a very good thing I don’t live nearby.

In New York, we had a chance to visit Candle Café and try a lot of new dishes. We had incredible Seitan Chimichurri Skewers, Mexican timbale, and more. We brought along a meat-eater, and he was so blown away by the taste that he couldn’t comprehend how it was possible to have vegan food taste so good. He grabbed the cookbook to see what the ingredients were. We didn’t have a chance to get to Candle 79, but Frank Bruni of the New York Times did, and they got a review in the paper! To celebrate, in the October issue of the VegProject Newsletter and on our VegProject Web site, we’ve chosen Candle as the featured restaurant.

We also got to have lunch at Zen Burger, a really interesting fast food concept from the people who own Zen Palate. I had my first chicken sandwich ever, and also tried a bacon cheeseburger. We got to talk to the manager and understand the concept of meeting people where they live. Their restaurants are meant to be familiar to meat-eaters, and not intimidating with weird-sounding ingredients and expensive items. They have actually had customers come in and not know they are not eating meat. We all agreed that if you can take a meat-eater out of the conveyer belt of animal eating for just one meal, you are doing great things for the world. And getting people familiar with the veg concept without scaring them is so important in getting them to take the next steps for trying more veg foods, for their health, and for the environment.

One of our most romantic dinners was spent in Counter in the East Village. We learned from the manager there that they grow their own herbs and participate with local farms in the farmer’s market nearby.  All of the dishes were delicious of course, but the most unexpected delight was a panini. It had a walnut-lentil pate, rennet free goat cheese and an incredibly delicious rosemary aioli sauce on cibatta bread. Someday we will save room for dessert!

It was so good to get a chance to meet all the people who are out there, passionate about delicious food. There is a beautiful, peaceful camaraderie among people who love animals and love food. No sacrifice in taste has to be made, and these people are the ones who are showing that to the rest of the world.

I can’t wait to get out there and meet more VegProject members!

Sincerely,
Kindle Fahlenkamp-Morell
www.VegProject.org

I just got back from Boston and I can't believe all the great vegan stuff that's popping up. I was there this time last year, and we only found Original Buddha's Delight. That was with help from Happy Cow and the Boston Vegetarian Society.

This year, two great vegan places opened up, Grezzo and Wheeler's. Grezzo was my first raw restaurant experience and you will not believe the incredible food. I will be posting pics and a review to the veggietrip Web site soon. Talk about instant gratification! I slept great after that dinner and was running around with a clear head and lots of energy the next morning.

Wheeler's is a vegan ice cream shop, right near the Boston Pops, and it was in it's first stages of opening. I'll be talking about that on veggietrip very soon too. Let me tell you, the ice cream is SO creamy and delicious. It's a real treat to get fresh soy- and coconut-based ice cream on a sunny day in Boston. Much better than something you find in the grocery store. It's so exciting to see that Boston is becoming more vegan-friendly.

That being said, for newcomers to Boston, please don't make the same mistake I did by staying near the Freedom Trail. One of the best things you can do to find veg food in a new place is to look near universities and yoga studios. Harvard, in Cambridge, is no different. I got to check out vegan pizza at Veggie Planet, and a lot of restaurants in Harvard Square have both vegan and vegetarian items on the menu.

Cambridge is not far away on the T (the subway system). It was kind of hard for me to get my head around the idea that every city around Boston is so accessible. Everything is kind of grouped into circles and the T system is super simple, and you can really get anywhere you want to go in no time.

So here's a toast to Boston! It's headed in the right direction. Check my Web site soon for the updates, and a special announcement coming June 18th.

So I thought I would catch the audience up on my 30 days of veganism, which ended quite a long time ago. I stopped blogging about it because it became second nature to avoid dairy products. I think I actually went about 45 days.

One thing that really invigorated me was attending the first ever Denver Veg Fest. The Fest was full of incredible veg food, products and speakers. It was something I never expected in my life. I left with a new Vegan bag from Ahimsa, a sample of Sheese in my stomach, and a lot more pride in being veg for 24 years of my life.

Another big trick for me was being prepared. I spent my Sundays making two or three divine dishes to take with me to work during the week. I have so many vegan cookbooks that it's kind of crazy I never tried this before! I loved having the variety and being prepared definitely kept me from starving.

So why did I break my streak? Basically, because I wanted to see what my addiction to cheese and dairy felt like after so many days without. And you know what? I am a completely different person.

Before going completely vegan, I loved pizza, nachos, popcorn with cheese, and cheese with cheese. My first venture back to vegetarianism was at a pizza party. I took a slice of pizza (normally I need at least three pieces) and the cheese really kind of grossed me out. It was just way too much cheese.

So am I vegetarian or vegan now? Well, I am vegan at home, and I'll be vegan whenever possible when I am not cooking for myself. It is very difficult to figure out if a restaurant is serving you food with whey from milk, or wine that was processed with fish, or sugar that was refined with animal bone. A lot of people do it, but it is very hard. And I will do my best to be vegan whenever possible. Because when the food is under my own control, it is SO easy and delicious and satisfying.

Even though I love organics (they taste so much better), and I knew they were better for the environment, I had never even thought of the effects of pesticides on the animal world. A New York Times article Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird? says that one application of pesticides to a field can kill seven to 25 songbirds per acre. PER ACRE!

The article says consumers should be particularly wary of fruits and vegetables from Latin America, where they are three times more likely to exceed EPA standards for pesticide residues as the same foods grown in the U.S. To be a fine-feathered friend, buy these foods organic:

• Coffee
• Bananas
• Melons
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Bell peppers
• Strawberries

Denver vegans have a reason to celebrate! Denver will have the first ever Veg Fest & Health Expo on April 12th. This festival is meant to bring people with common veg values together and celebrate a healthy, environmentally responsible lifestyle. There will be food tasting, and it's only $10 a ticket. I am really excited to go and check out all the different vendors and speakers, and I'll definitely be reporting back to the blog with pictures.

Speaking of pictures, to your left you will see the result of my first craving for pizza since going vegan. City O' City serves pizzas with cheese, vegan mozzarella or cashew ricotta. We chose the cashew ricotta, and wow. I have to say I did not miss the cheese at all. I am really beginning to think I may have made the switch to vegan for good. It is really limiting my ability to eat on the fly, but in my case that's exactly what I need right now. I'm losing weight because I'm planning my food better and I'm forced to look at healthier comfort foods.

Speaking of comfort foods, our pizza was followed by an incredibly delicious vegan mint ho-ho cupcake. Mint and chocolate is my all time favorite flavor combination so this was a real treat. I am really looking forward to checking out more great vegan foods at Veg Fest. Of course, I forgot to pick up my tickets last night (they're at Watercourse or City O' City) so I guess I'll have to go back sometime in the next few days. Which is maybe something I was planning subconsciously anyway!

This week has been great! I’ve had so much more energy, been less grumpy, and I am better able to handle stress. Nothing about going from vegetarian to vegan has been very difficult so far except for one thing - treats.

By treats I mean all those “evil” things you really shouldn’t indulge in because they are peripheral to what you need to survive. Things like alcohol and chocolate. They are not the healthiest things to focus on, but I have learned a lot about them this week. I haven’t been indulging in ANYTHING without checking the label. Here’s what I’ve found out:

Alcohol
Many alcohol drinks are filtered with animal products like isinglass (derived from fish) or bone char. And if you are drinking a glass of wine that has hints of chicken or beef, you may not be imagining it. Some companies put these things in their drinks for flavoring, and they aren’t required to list it. Some common ingredients include gelatin, egg albumin and other proteins.

Here’s a great Web site I found to help vegans navigate the liquor store: http://www.tastebetter.com/features/booze

Chocolate
There are a lot of vegan chocolates out there, especially if you have a Whole Foods nearby. What I’ve found is that a lot of them won’t claim to be vegan because they are processed in plants where milk chocolate is made. If they make dark chocolate near the milk chocolate, they always say that “traces of milk may be found.” If you are vegan because you don’t support the use of ANY animal products, you have to only buy your chocolate from a place that doesn’t also sell milk chocolate. Today I found a brand that says it doesn’t have any dairy on site: Tropical Source.
There’s great information on chocolate and dairy on the Chocolove Web site: http://www.chocolove.com/faq_product.htm#vegan

I have to sign off now because we are about to try vegan cheese nachos for the first time!

One of the first things I noticed today was that Honey Bunches of Oats contains whey. Wah. I have officially begun my 30 day challenge of going from vegetarian to vegan.

Luckily, I am well prepared. I had fruit for breakfast, and Drew and I went to Wild Foods last night to buy ingredients. I always thought I was just a few slices of cheese and a milk chocolate bar from being vegan, but now I’m not so sure.

As a vegetarian, I cringe when people say they are vegetarians and they eat fish. So I want to do this vegan thing right. I am reading every ingredient on everything I buy. And I was definitely suprised by a few things I saw.

Amy’s soy cheeze pizza has milk protein. Some bittersweet chocolates “contain trace amounts of milk,” and even some fake cheeses have milk proteins.

My question to vegans out there: As a new vegan, what are some products I should watch out for that are suprisingly NOT VEGAN?

Today’s answer to the question, “what do you eat anyway?

• Fruit
• Green Goddess Salad (from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!))
• Seitan Enchiladas with Mole Sauce (from The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant)

Amazon.com Widgets

I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life, but the only dairy I consume has been organic cheese, non-vegan dessert and the occasional half-and-half. I could easily give dairy up completely if it weren’t for the cheese. After reading Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and Kim Bornouin, I finally got the inspiration I need to try to go vegan.

The book says that dairy is actually and truly addictive. What a simple way to make me realize that I don’t just love cheese, I am an addict! As they say, admitting the problem is the first step in the road to recovery.

Every time I return from New York, having eaten at any of the city’s hundreds of 100% vegan restaurants, I think I could go vegan. We eat these incredibly delicious meals, I am fully satisfied and cheese doesn’t even enter my mind. But then at home, with no vegan chef to entice me with wonderful culinary creations I fall back on cheese because it’s tasty, comforting and easy.

What a weight off my shoulders to know that it isn’t my poor convictions or lack of willpower that keep bringing me back to cheese. It is just that dairy contains naturally occuring addictive chemicals. It makes so much sense to me now.

It helps too that the book talks about how the whole purpose of cow’s milk is to help baby cows gain weight and get big. Baby cows are 90 lbs, and in two years they grow to 2,000 lbs. As someone who needs to shed some pounds I do not need to be eating food that calorie-dense!

I feel so fortunate that these days vegetarians and vegans have SO many choices and resources compared to just a decade ago! It has been a good five years since I tried a vegan cheese, but I will try again! Stay tuned to see what I find out!