Sunday, October 31, 2010

Vegan Mofo: Halloween Recap

Halloween will be over in 15 minutes, but the Day of the Dead, World Vegan Day, and the first day of Vegan Mofo are right around the corner. In fact, by the time most of you are reading this, it will officially be November 1st. I'll be posting every weekday in November as part of Mofo with the exception of November 3rd through the 8th, when I'll be on a cruise from New Orleans to Mexico. But more on that later.

For now, I'd like to look back for a minute at Halloween weekend. Friday night, I went to my friend Shara's Halloween party. I dressed as a Crazy Cat Lady, which isn't too far off from real life since I have six cats.

I had cat toys in my messed-up hair and faux cat scratches and kitty paws on my face. And I pinned stuffed kitties to my clothes. I wore a Cat Lady Pride tee and an embroidered cat vest. Oh, and I had cat earrings and a cat necklace.

On Saturday, I judged the Monster Ball costume contest at Push Nightclub at Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. We dined at the Jack Binion casino steakhouse, and I actually found lots of yummy veggies on the menu — steamed asparagus, sauteed green beans, wild mushroom ragout with brandy, and a big ole plate of steak fries. The staff was really accommodating about my vegan-ness. I didn't take photos though since it was kinda fancy in there and really, really dim.

Today — on actual Halloween — I went to my Me-Maw's for our annual family Halloween party. My Me-Maw LOVES Halloween and she decorates everything in her house with ghosts, witches, pumpkins, bats, and goblins. So kitsch and fab! Here's Me-Maw and me in front of her Halloween tree (like a Xmas tree but with spooky decor):

As per tradition, we had Chili Dogs and Chips:

Mine was a Light Life Smart Dog with Hormel Vegetarian Chili, mustard, and chopped onion. My mom grilled regular meat dogs for everybody else, but I'm special. :-)

Question: What did you do for Halloween? Did you dress up?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

"I Organize a Vegan Crunk Night"

Not a whole lot to say tonight, but I do have a yummy picture of my dinner to share — Creamy Cashew Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Brussels Pecan Saute:

Both are testers for my Southern vegan cookbook, and I'm sure some of you have seen them before. I've made the macaroni like 500 times or something, just trying to get it right. Its finally there. I'm a perfectionist, so I make everything over and over, tweaking it every time.

Since I don't post on weekends, it'll be the start of Vegan Mofo when I return. In case you don't know, Vegan Mofo stands for "Vegan Month of Food." It's a tradition that started over on the PPK several years ago in which vegan food bloggers post as often as possible for a month. Usually, Vegan Mofo happens in October, but this year, it's in November.

Nearly 450 bloggers have signed up so far. If you're interested in joining the vegan Internet revolution, click here. Or just stop by the Vegan Mofo Headquarters to see who's participating and make an effort to follow as many blogs as you can. Lots of folks come out of their cupboards for Mofo.

I'm gonna leave y'all with a catchy little dubstep sample called "Vegan Crunk Night" that I stumbled upon when googling my blog title. It appears to be an offshoot of the "Being a Dickhead's Cool" YouTube video that I posted last week.

A little background: The "Being a Dickhead's Cool" song/video is a hilarious jab at hipsters, and at the very end, a bespectacled hipster with a comb-over says, "I organize a vegan crunk night." Crazy. It's British, and I'm not sure if it's a reference to my blog or just some crazy coincidence. Click here to watch that video. Below is a short dupstep sample that I'm guessing may have been inspired by the Dickhead video. Who knows? I just found it while googling!

Dubstep, by the way, is a genre of electronica characterized by heavy bass and drum lines. It's pretty big in Memphis right now, although I believe it rose to popularity in Europe a long time ago.

VEGAN CRUNK NIGHT (mix) by Spare

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Datsun Is a V-Dog!

My puppy Datsun is eight years old, and though I've been vegan for most of that time, he's remained an omni until very recently. At first, I simply couldn't afford vegan dog food. In fact, he was a baby when I was still in college and I could only afford less-than-desirable kibble. But that was years ago. For the past several years or so, Datsun's dined on Newman's Own Organics dog food and a few other "natural" but not vegan dog foods.

But as of about a month ago, Datsun is now a mostly-vegan* dog thanks to V-Dog Crunchy Nuggets:

Datsun loves his crunchy nuggets! I even tasted one out of curiousity (hey, they're vegan right?). Not bad for dog food. But I think I'll stick with my people food, thank you very much.

Why did I put my pup on a vegan diet after all these years? I'd actually been wanting to make the switch for Datsun for some time, but I incorrectly assumed that I wouldn't be able to afford V-Dog. It has to be mail-ordered, and I imagined shipping costs would be through the roof for a bag large enough to fee my 90-pound mutt. But turns out V-Dog actually offers free shipping! And the product costs less than what I was paying for Newman's Own at Whole Foods.

I did go through a phase where I'd decided to cook vegan meals for Datsun everyday, using the recipes from the Simple Little Vegan Dog Book. But Datsun was picky and only liked some homemade dishes. I'd make a big batch of something, only to have him turn his nose up.

I finally decided to give V-Dog a try when Datsun developed colitis a few months ago. That's an inflammation or irritation of the large intestine, and it caused Datsun to have bloody poo. Ew! The vet ruled out a parasite (the number one cause of colitis) and suggested that his problem may be diet-related. He prescribed some pills and told me to check back if the problem persisted.

Datsun took his pills and the icky poo seemed to clear up, but as soon as the pills were gone, the problem was back. I knew if I told the vet, he'd prescribe some vet-recommended food like Science Diet, which is filled with horrible ingredients and by-products (likely leftovers from the slaughterhouse floor). No thanks.

I read that V-Dog could help with digestion, and that it contained flax seed (for omega 3's) and taurine and L-Carnitene, two amino acids essential for several large breed dogs to prevent the possibility of cardiomyopathy. So I purchased two 20-pound bags.

One month later, Datsun's poop issues seem to have cleared up, and he loves the dog food so much more than the Newman's Own stuff, which would often sit untouched in his bowl for hours. He always gobbles the V-Dog right up.

Of course, the colitis remedy might also have something to do with Datsun's other new favorite food — pumpkin!

Ozzy the cat really wants in on Datsun's precious pumpkin puree, but Datsun's not having that. Look at him snarling his nose at Ozzy!

A co-worker suggested feeding my dog a little pumpkin puree everyday since the fiber helps aid digestion. I looked it up and found lots of information on pumpkin and helping pets have normal bowel movements. So he's been eating one half-cup serving everyday. He thinks it's a treat!

Anyway, I'm hoping that Datsun continues his good health on the V-Dog. Not only do I feel like my dog is healthier on a vegan diet, but I also feel better about contributing less to animal suffering by buying a cruelty-free kibble.

As for my six cats, well, they'll remain carnivores. Unlike dogs and people, cats are natural meat-eaters so I'll continue to purchase meaty cat food for them. Although it can be done, I'm not cool with switching cats over to a vegan diet.

* Earlier I said Datsun was "mostly vegan" because his grandparents (my parents) still like to slip him non-vegan contraband foods when I'm not around.

Question: Do you have a dog? Is he or she vegan?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Happy New Year! (Yes, I Know It's October)

I have until the beginning of January to finish my cookbook manuscript, and as many of you regular readers know, that means I'm busy testing my stuff over and over. Oh, and editing but that part is so not sexy.

Testing seasonal and holiday recipes out-of-season isn't ideal, but I'm working with like two months here so a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. I typically make my Hoppin' John Sausage & Brown Rice Bowl on New Year's Day, but I had test it this week:

In case you didn't know, Hoppin' John is a Southern New Year's tradition. The black-eyed peas represent prosperity for the new year and the cabbage (or other greens) are said to bring money. Though it's still months until New Year's Day, the pagan new year — Samhain or Halloween — is right around the corner. So we'll just pretend I did this on purpose, alright?

Question: Do you have special traditional foods that you eat every year at a certain time?

Monday, October 25, 2010

All Hail the Great Vaughan!

On Saturday, a group of mostly vegans and vegetarians got together to honor our dear friend Vaughan, a diehard animal rights activist/comedian/patron of the arts/scientist/culture guru. That description really doesn't even do Vaughan justice, but he's so awesome that he's a little hard to describe. Everyone loves Vaughan so much that we thought he deserved a surprise Halloween-themed roast. We tricked him to the party and made him wear a viking crown:

If it weren't for Vaughan, we wouldn't have a local vegetarian society, Food Awareness. I (and many of my friends) wouldn't have seen nearly as many live theater productions, movies, and comedy shows. He's paid my way into things I couldn't afford more times than I can count. Vaughan is also the dude responsible for throwing me the best 30th birthday party a girl could ask for last weekend.

We all gathered around Vaughan's makeshift throne and went around the circle, offering words of thanks, praise, and a few fun jabs (it was a roast, after all). But before all of that, we pigged out since the party was also a vegan potluck.

I brought a Hash Brown Casserole, a veganized family favorite that's going in my cookbook:

Nic's Pina Colada Pasta sounded a little weird, but tasted really, really good. It's spaghetti with Tofurky Beer Brats, pineapple, and some veggies:

Ward brought some mighty flavorful Muhammara (a roasted red pepper and walnut spread) with fresh, toasted pita:

Grace, the party host, shaped a skull out of her yummy Raw Almond Pate. I had to take a picture without a flash so the skull would show through:

I don't remember who brought this homemade Black Bean Salsa, but it was a delicious topping for tortilla chips:

For dessert, I made a batch of my Tar Tarts (converted from Granny's Tar Heel Pie):

This was a cookbook experiment, but they're not quite right yet. Tasty, but they sank in the center. I think I may have overfilled my tarts, and next time I'm using white flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour. Pastry flour always sinks my cakes, and now it's sinking my tarts too.

I also brought this Peanut Butter Cup Cake from Sweet Utopia:

Several bloggers have made this cake, and every time I see a post about it, I always drool all over myself. There is nothing more heavenly than peanut butter and chocolate, and I knew this cake would be fantastic. I was right! So, so good. The frosting tastes exactly like Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter, and I probably ate a good 1/4 cup of it out of the mixing bowl with a spoon before ever icing the cake. Oops.

Here's an inside shot. God, I wish I had some of this cake left:

In fact, this Peanut Butter Cup cake can be yours if you enter the Farm Book Publishing Company's "Luscious Dessert" cookbook giveaway. They'll be giving out one of their vegan dessert cookbooks at the end of the month (which is really soon!), and Sweet Utopia is on the list. Click the "Luscious Vegan" dessert button on the right sidebar of this page or click on the link above to enter.

After dinner, we moved outside for the roast. Here's a fun group shot (it was a costume party by the way ... I was some kind of late 90s goth girl):

Sunday, October 24, 2010

My New Favorite Thing: Mung Bean Pasta

I did a vegan care package swap in September with Megan from Vegan Whore. She filled my package with all sorts of new items that I'd never noticed on the shelves of my Whole Foods, including this Explore Asian Mung Bean Fettucini:

I've got nothing against wheat, but I like it to mix it up sometimes with alternative gluten-free pastas. I was so excited to try these green-hued noodles, and lucky me, Sarah Kramer's October recipe in the 2010 Go Vegan wall calendar was the perfect opportunity — Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta with Kalamata Olives and Capers:

The tomatoes are mixed with olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes and roasted in the oven. Then the tomatoes are tossed with cooked pasta, kalamata olives, and capers. Simple and delicious. The recipe is also in La Dolce Vegan if you don't have the calendar. This recipe also gave me a chance to try my new fancy Vino Olives Fig Balsamic Vinegar from the Raimondo Family Winery in Arkansas — a birthday gift from my friend Misti.

As usual, Sarah Kramer's recipe of the month didn't disappoint, but it was doubly delicious with the addition of the mung bean fettucini. The flat noodles have a tender, yet chewy texture that's too magical for words. I like my pasta a little chewy, but also kind of melt-in-your-mouth tender. Does that even make sense? Anyway, I certainly hope I can procure some more mung bean pasta at my local Whole Foods because this stuff is about to become a household staple at the Haus of Crunk.

I also tried Steamed Okra as my side dish:

I used this recipe from the Food Network website. On my birthday celebration with my family, my Granny brought me a bag of fresh okra. I knew I had to use it right away, and I considered roasting some pods. But I'd always wondered if okra could be steamed, so I googled it resulting in the above recipe from from the Food Network — simply steam for about 10 minutes, toss with Earth Balance and salt, and voila. The texture is a little gooey-slimy, but that's what I love about okra. Definitely not one for the okra haters though.

Question: What's your favorite "alternative" pasta?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Tofu Love

So I haven't been cooking much this week as its been packed with after-work meetings, dinner outings, and other crap that keeps me out of the kitchen. But I did find time on Tuesday — in between work and a public forum on LGBT teen bullying — to whip up my legendary (at least in my mind) Tofu Deviled "Eggy" Bites:

These faux deviled eggs taste EXACTLY like the kind that comes out of a chicken's lady parts. Except there are no lady parts involved. Nothing against lady parts, but I don't want my food coming out of there! The texture of the tofu and the black salt in the recipe combine to create a very convincing veganized deviled "egg." They're an appetizer in my cookbook, but when I first developed them, I couldn't wait a year to share the recipe. So I've posted it here. Enjoy!

I've made these a few times in the past, but this time, the plain white tofu base was more egg-like in texture than ever before thanks to this crazy medieval torture device-lookin' contraption — the Tofu Xpress!

My BFF Sheridan gave it to me for my birthday and this was my first chance to put it to use. I left the block of extra firm tofu in the press overnight and it pushed so much water out that the block shrank by about half. While this did mean less tofu to work with (I got 12 "eggs" rather than my usual 24), the pieces were nearly identical to the firm texture of a boiled egg. I *heart* my Tofu Xpress!

For the tofu itself, I used Nasoya Tofu Plus Extra Firm. Nasoya sent me a few coupons to review their new line of vitamin-enriched 'fu. This stuff is supposedly designed to meet the nutritional needs of a low-meat/no-meat diet by supplying vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, and calcium.

I'm a big fan of B vitamins, especially B12. I take a B supplement and a calcium pill daily. I also get a monthly B12 shot. But getting those vitamins in my tofu is way tastier. The taste is no different from Nasoya's other firm tofu products, and although my review 'fu was free, the price tag on the shelf wasn't any higher than the regular Naosya stuff. I typically buy Whole Foods brand tofu because I'm cheap, but I do prefer the firmer texture of Nasoya's products. I might splurge on this stuff every once in awhile because I like it better.

By the way, if you go to the Nasoya website, they've added a new feature where you can play ToPlinko ... like the Plinko game on the Price Is Right but with cubes of tofu. Super fun when you're really bored. They've also added a new Tofu U section to help tofu newbies learn how to cook with tofu through videos and lots of recipes.

Question: Do you take a vitamin supplement? If so, what do you take and why?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Eatin' Vegan at On the Border

I don't usually opt for chain restaurants, especially since Memphis is packed with decent veg-friendly indie restaurant options. But sometimes you just find yourself inside a chain joint — either for a work function, a family birthday, whatever. I first found myself at On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina after my boyfriend Paul got a job there months ago.

I wanted to be supportive and try the food where he worked. Plus, my parents were in town and they adore Mexican whether it comes from a chain or not. In the small Arkansas town where my parents live, chain restaurants far outnumber indie-owned places anyway. They don't think much of chain versus mom-and-pop. As long as the food tastes good, they're happy.

When we got to On the Border, my boyfriend (a server at the time, now a bartender there) told his manager that I was vegan. And lo and behold, the manager produced this "secret" vegetarian menu!

Sorry for the blurry photo, but I took it with my iPhone. As you can see, most of the options are vegetarian rather than vegan. But cheese can be left off most of these dishes with no problem (like the burrito, veggie enchiladas, nachos, veggie chimichanga, and the fajitas and fajitas salad). On the Border even has special animal-free Cilantro Lime Rice and Black Beans as an alternative to their non-vegan Mexican rice and refried beans:

The Veggie Fajitas are out of this world with portabella mushrooms, squash, onions, peppers, guacamole, salsa, and homemade flour tortillas (Yes, they're vegan! And they make 'em fresh in a tortilla press in the kitchen):

My all-time favorite dish, though, is the Grilled Avocado Enchiladas, which I had tonight at a birthday dinner with my girlfriends:

These normally come with cheese, but it's easy to omit. Avocados are nature's cheese anyway! The sliced avos are topped with ranchero sauce (also vegan) and rolled into grilled tortillas.

Of course, no Mexican meal is complete without guacamole and On the Border offers Guacamole Live — fresh dip made right at your table with real avocados and all the fixins. Here's the boyfriend workin' that guacamole magic:

And I wouldn't dream of eating at a Mexican place without a margarita! OTB offers a Skinny Margarita with only 100 calories! That definitely beats the typical 400 to 500 calorie regular margs:

So all this is to say, don't knock the corporate joints until you've scoped out their veg options. A friend of mine years ago warned me to never eat at On the Border because they didn't have anything for vegetarians. Boy was she wrong! I'd still prefer independently-owned restaurants for most of my dining-out experiences, but I make exception for OTB thanks to its' awesome options.

Question: Do you ever eat at chain restaurants? If so, where and what do you typically order?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Tasty Bite Review #1

I don't typically buy prepared convenience foods. It's not like I'm some health guru who shuns packaged foods. I'm just really, really cheap. And vegan convenience foods tend to be pricey for the quantity of servings. I can make a big ole batch of soup or chili and freeze portions for quick lunches and dinners to save some dough. That being said, I'll never turn down free convenience foods to review!

Tasty Bite, maker of 10-ounce shelf-stable microwavable Indian meals, offered me samples of three entrees, some basmati rice, and an Indian simmer sauce. I'm breaking the reviews into three posts (peppered over a few weeks) so I can try items at my convenience. Last night, I tried the Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes and Basmati Rice:

The Bombay Potatoes are slow-cooked with chickpeas and spices in a tomato-based sauce:

They were so, so yummy served over the pre-cooked rice, and dinner was on the table in less than three minutes! The cubed potatoes reminded me a little of the taters in military MREs (meals-ready-to-eat), which I ate during an ROTC Hiking and Backpacking class trip in college. I know it sounds weird, but I LOVED the texture of those potatoes.

The texture of rice was no different than if the rice had been cooked on my stovetop, yet I only had to microwave the package for 90 seconds! Although Tasty Bite makes packaged foods, the ingredients are really simple with no preservatives. The Bombay Potatoes ingredient list reads: Water, potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, sunflower oil, salt, ginger, garlic, cornstarch, coriander, chilies, cumin, and spices. All ingredients that I can pronounce!

Today for lunch, I tried the Punjab Eggplant:

I only used half my basmati rice last night, so I ate the rest with this braised eggplant dish simmered with aromatic Indian spices:

I hate eggplant skin, and I'm often not a fan of packaged foods with eggplant because the skin is sometimes left on. But this eggplant dish is pureed into a stew perfect for serving over rice. No skin involved.

The boxes of Tasty Bite say they serve two, but I'm a hungry girl. I only got one serving from each package. But they're fairly low in calories and fat even if you eat the whole thing.

My one complaint? Not enough heat. One thing I love about Indian food is the spicy-spice, and the Tasty Bite meals seem to be seasoned for less hardcore palettes. But that's no biggie. I can always add hot sauce!

I doubt an unsuspecting eater would even know these dinners were pre-packaged, especially with the eggplant dish and rice. But I'll probably only buy Tasty Bite for quick travel meals since they're a little on the pricey side at Whole Foods. Or maybe I'll buy some when I get a serious craving for Indian food and I'm too cheap to go to a restaurant.

Question: Are there any vegan convenience foods that you can't live without? What packaged items are you willing to splurge on?

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Day After My 30th Birthday (or Happy Birthday: Part Two)

Birthdays always last at least a week in my world. There's the party night with friends, the party day with family, and the random meet-ups throughout the week before or after my birthday with friends who can't make it to the actual birthday celebration.

Sunday, the day after my 30th birthday, was the family birthday party. But the day started at my friend Vaughan's house for brunch. Vaughan threw me a sweet-ass birthday party on Saturday, and my friends Sheridan and Drew, Greg, and my boyfriend Paul and I spent the night. The next morning, Vaughan's girlfriend Barbara cooked up Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Waffles with Fresh Blueberries:

After brunch, I made the hour drive to my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas to eat more cake and open more presents with my Mama, Daddy, Granny, Pa, Me-maw, and my cousin Sarah.

My family LOVES Mexican food, so tacos with soy crumbles and Daiya cheddar seemed like a natural choice:

On the side, my mom made her fantastic Mexican salad with kidney beans, black olives, corn chips, lettuce, more Daiya, and French dressing. We know French dressing is not Mexican, but that's how we do in Arkansas:

Mama also made some homemade guacamole:

And some tasty Spanish rice:

We all stuffed ourselves silly with little room left for cake or pie. But that didn't matter because two of the most delicious desserts ever were waiting to be consumed. I requested my mom make me a vegan ice cream cake. She'd never made an ice cream cake, but you couldn't tell after a bite (or 10 bites) of this tasty Chocolate Cake with So Delicious Coconut Almond Chip Ice Cream and Chocolate Ganache:

Granny brought over her cocoa-licious Tar Heel Pie:

I'm converting this pie into tarts for my cookbook, so you'll be seeing more of this soon. It's super yummy.

Gifts from the family ranged from the complete My So-Called Life DVD series, a badass mosaic skull box, a kitty wall clock, a peace sign ring, clothes, and Hello Kitty PJ pants. Plus, Granny hooked me up with a stockpile of home-canned pickled okra, regular not-pickled okra, and combo jars of okra, corn, and tomatoes:

Though he didn't get to enjoy any cake or pie, my doggie Datsun also thoroughly enjoyed himself. My dad bought him a new ball, so it was kinda like his birthday too:

Question: How do you celebrate birthdays? Do you drag it out as long as possible? Or do you keep your birthday a secret?

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Happy 30th Birthday to Me!! (Part One)

So I finally made it to 30 ... crazy. Not that I thought I wouldn't make it that far, but damn. I'm 30. I hit the "big 3-0" on Saturday, and I feel like I've reached a milestone. I guess I'm, like, a grown-up or something now. But rather than celebrate like a grown-up, I chose to party like it was 1996. I went with a "Sweet 16" theme for my party, and all the guests had to dress like they did when they were 16.

That was 1996 for me, which meant Airwalks, dog collars, and anything punk rock and kinda crazy. Honestly, I haven't changed much. I wore a punk rock prom dress, some Airwalks with skulls on 'em, a tiara (because it was my Sweet 16 party, right?), and a crazy green, purple, and yellow wig. I always wanted to dye my hair crazy colors when I was 16, but my mom wouldn't let me:

Stephanie (Poopie Bitch) told me she'd make my cake, a huge honor since she's a pro cake decorator and all. I told her to surprise me with the design, and look what she did!

She said the first thing she thinks of when she thinks of me is rainbows and unicorns, and well, that pretty much sums me up. She nailed it. The cake itself was vanilla with the most delicious, fluffy buttercream frosting in the world. The unicorns were made of white chocolate. Can you really think of anything more magical that a freakin' white chocolate unicorn?

Stephanie also made cupcakes with funfetti sprinkles inside:

My friends Vaughan and Barbara hosted the party at their place. I've always thrown my own parties, so it was sooooo wonderful having someone else do all the work! They ordered a ton of cheeseless veggie pizzas from the Memphis Pizza Cafe and we added Tofurkey sausage and Daiya cheese. We also had chips and salsa, kale salad, and stuffed mushrooms:

Here's a close-up of those scrumptious mushrooms, a gift from my pal Chef Timothy (a local vegan personal chef):

And the raw kale salad, loaded with all kinds of goodness (edammame, red cabbage, avocado):

So many people showed up to celebrate with me, some in costume and some not. Barbara said she counted about 35 people throughout the night. I didn't even know I had that many friends!

My 30th birthday party was by far the best party I've ever had! The entire day went off without a hitch. The cake was beautiful and amazing. Vaughan and Barbara threw a badass party. My BFF Sheridan came in from out of town. There was pizza. I got awesome gifts (a Tofu Xpress press, a zombie cross stitch kit, vintage dishes, faery Tarot cards, a flask, a skull purse, and so much more). I pretty much have the best friends in the world.

I spent today (the day after my birthday) with my family, and I'll post all the food and details from that get-together in tomorrow night's post.

Until then, I do wanna share one awesome link with y'all. An anonymous commenter left a comment on my last post instructing me to Google "I Love My Life as a Dickhead." I was, like, what? But I did it. Check out this video! It's a funny song poking fun at hipsters (love that!) and it mentions "vegan crunk" about 2 minutes and 25 seconds in. Ha! That's crazy. Love, love, love it!