Honoring Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Day 18: Honor a human or non-human animal who inspires your veganism.

 

Today is easy for me. My life changed dramatically when I discovered "Vegetarian Food for Thought" podcasts, hosted by the awe-inspiring Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. So today I honor her. I honor the truth she speaks, the encouragement she provides, and the intelligence she uses to teach and guide the vegan curious.

Her podcasts include topics such as: nutrition, animal cruelty, the history of veganism, animals in the arts, and recipes. All episodes are delivered in such a professional and impressive way! I laugh, I cry, I wonder, and I change.

Here's something I learned from her.... and I'm embarrassed to admit it. I never knew that dairy cows must give birth in order to produce milk, just like a human must give birth to produce milk. Dairy cows, therefore, are artificially inseminated over and over again. (This means that semen is forcibly taken from male cows. Ugly image.) The baby cows just keep coming and the milk from the mother cow never goes to their babies. The babies are taken from their mothers immediately after birth. Neither baby or mother likes this. The milk  is then taken and consumed by humans. Where are the baby cows? If they're female, they become dairy cows. If they're male, they become veal or cheap beef.  How could I not have known this? I'm a pretty smart woman, but I was totally blinded by the romantic vision of happy dairy cows blissfully roaming around eating clover, begging to give us their milk. That's not the way it actually works, unfortunately. 

The path to veganism is a wide one, room for all people who are willing to open their minds and eyes and accept the truth of what is actually happening in our food industry. Colleen taught me this and so much more.

Colleen taught me how to become an excellent vegan baker. Her recipes are top notch and not too difficult for beginning cooks. She taught me that veganism is not a new fad - it has, in fact, been around for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Colleen taught me to be aware of what's on my plate and what's happening in the world around me.

So today, I honor and thank Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Check out her website and her amazing work on her website : The Joyful Vegan  . You won't be sorry. 

Two Soups for Teacher

Soba Noodle Soup

Two amazing soups from “The Vegan Table” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Both eaten at my desk at school. Same week. Same pile of papers.  Notice the panda bear coffee cup.

Potato Leek Soup

If you don’t have this cookbook, then I recommend you rush to the library or book store and pick up a copy. Every recipe I have tried has been perfect. I especially love the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake which I’ve made at least 3 times in the past year. Included in the cookbook is Colleen’s famous Garlic and Greens Soup, which I hear is heavenly!

Just photos today – you’ll have to purchase the book to get the details!

Flourless Chocolate Tart (From “The Vegan Table”)

Apparently everyone else has their mind on pumpkin …. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin lattes and so forth. 

 I have my mind on chocolate. I made this for a dessert buffet and it was killer. Gotta plan some sort of dinner party so I can make this again.

I lifted up the tart so you can see the nutty crust. Delish! Look carefully and you
can see my new orange purse in the background....vegan, of course! 

 Thanks to the awesome Colleen Patrick-Goudreau for the recipe from “The Vegan Table.”  

Better-Than-Tuna Salad - Vegan Month of Food

Poesy and Plate
 Vegan Month of Food  2014

(check out the hundreds of VeganMoFo blogs HERE)
My goal: cook and blog about vegan food 20 times
  during the month of September. 
My theme: words and food

One, two, three, four, five
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Then I let it go again.
Why did I let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little finger on the right.

Great little jump-rope thyme for vegans and other fish lovers. Great recipe for EVERYONE! We could not believe how good this is…..actually BETTER than tuna fish salad. It’s natural to crave salt and fat no matter what we eat, and this simple recipe provides both. Don’t be shy with the mayo and be sure to include the celery seeds. (secret ingredient)

A reasonable explanation to avoid eating tuna – please consider all the annual bycatch that is killed when tuna longline fishing occurs. That’s hundreds of thousands of dolphins annually, hundreds of thousands of sharks annually and hundreds of thousands of turtles annually that are carelessly killed just because we want to eat tuna. Don't forget about the hundreds of thousands of albatrosses annually that are also 'non targeted kills.' I don't want to be a part of that ugliness anymore.  Just give the amazing chickpea a chance. You might be surprised – we were. 

No Tuna Tuna Salad (adapted from Colleen Patrick Godreau)
2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 - 3/4 C mayo (Veganaise is the all time best)
1 medium size red bell pepper, minced
2 carrots, peeled and minced or shredded
2 celery stalks, minced
2 T fresh parsley
1 C chopped walnut
1 t celery seed (my addition, and oh so good)
salt
pepper

Here's what you do:
Grind the chickpeas in a food processor until somewhere between whole beans but not  mush. Think small flakes. Use the pulse button. Pour chickpeas in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients - adjusting for taste. Salt and pepper at the end.