Ask A Vegan Pt. 10

Number ten? Already? I cannot believe ten weeks have gone by this quickly. I have been so busy, I have had so much to plan, so much to bake and so much coffee to drink that it is hard for my teeny walnut shaped brain to fathom how the summer has been flying by. Which when you live in the hot hot heat of the desert is truly a good thing. We had our very first monsoon storm last night and although there wasn't an insane amount of rain or "trailer tippin" gusts of wind there was enough lightning to please my greenish eyes. I am now filled with so much joy I am almost bursting at the seams which makes introducing my new Vegan of the week the icing on my happiness cake. Some of you may not know, but i have this unhealthy obsession with food porn. I will turn on my computer and waste hours of my day looking at photos of cupcakes, ice cream, pies, green beans, whatever as long as it is food, it is Vegan and it will fit in my mouth it has my attention.

This brings me to Evelyn one fine day I was looking at photos on Flickr of yummy food stuffs and I came across a photo of a raw mixed berry pie that had me drooling on my laptop to the point of near electrocution. I wanted this pie, and I wanted to be friends with whomever made this pie a reality. This is when I befriended Brown Betty (Evelyn) and I have been enjoying her posts ever since. In the last few months her posts had switched from food to still shots of a movie she was making and it caught my eye. The topic of the film is something that many of us have had to deal with, infidelity. It isn't pretty and it is one of the most painful things that can happen in a person's life and her film takes an honest look at one woman's devotion to her family and her struggles with a cheating spouse. I am proud to share this strong Vegan woman with you and also share her film that many of us can relate to.

Name: Evelyn S. Oliver
Age: mid 20's
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Website: the testimony of a devotee



How long have you been Vegan? About 2 to 3 years


What made you decide to go Vegan? My health and how animal products were effecting it. And of course animal cruelty!


How do you feel health wise with this diet choice? Great!!!


Are you open about your Veganism? Yes but at times people just don't understand.

If so, are you involved in any activism i.e. protests, leafleting etc? At Veggie Pride or potlucks.


What does your family, friends, co-workers think about your diet? They respect it but still joke about it sometimes.


What advice would you give those interested in becoming Vegan? I would say take it slow, there are many recipes out there & useful info. Your health is your wealth


Would you eat at Mc Donald’s if they carried a Vegan burger? I would but they would have to change how they cook it & what they put in it. I'm a peeky fast food eater!!!


What is your least favorite question that you are asked about your diet? Don't you miss meat?


What is your favorite dish? There are so many. . .I would say "Quinoa Tomato with Spinach".


What do you typically eat at Thanksgiving? Sides like vegan stuffing, veggies, pumpkin & sweet potato pie.


If I could make you any flavor cupcake in the world what would it be? Red Velvet


Please share your favorite Vegan recipe:

Vegan Pumpkin Pie
1¼ hours 10 min prep

1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 (12 ounce) package soft tofu, processed in blender until smooth
1 9 inch pie shell

Cream pumpkin and sugar.
Add salt, spices, and tofu.
Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then at 350 for 40 minutes.
Chill and serve.


check out the trailer here

Taking on the V-Con Pt. 5

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango



Today was a very busy day. I had to take my kitty Simon to the vet, clean the house, pick up Timmy from work and this evening take photos for two very lovely ladies. I will post photos later when I give them the loving Rikki finishing touches. I thought ahead to make the quinoa, but then was rushing around to get other things done that I ended up chopping and tossing the ingredients for tonight's dish into a bowl, mixing it and stuffing it into my hungry face so fast I feel I did not give it the ample love the recipe deserves. Now, this recipe is an easy one and is not time consuming at all, but I feel the simple elegant flavors deserve more from me than being shoveled down my esophagus. That being said allow me to share the Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango.


Ingredients:
2 cups Quinoa
1 Mango chopped
1 Can of Black Beans
1 cup Scallions
2T. Red Wine Vinegar
2T. Grapeseed Oil
Salt
1 Bell Pepper
1 cup chopped Cilantro

As I said earlier chop and toss. Put it all in a bowl together and mix. How easy is that? The only prep work needed is the making of the quinoa.


looks like it could use some avocado huh?


just needs the black beans

I didn't have the scallions in my house, nor did I have onions or leeks or anything of that pungent sweet nature, but the dish was still yummy without that sharp onion goodness. Next time I want to add garlic, onions of course and jalapeno peppers, and possibly more tropical fruits in there as well.

Ask A Vegan Pt. 9

I have never felt so lucky in my life. I have a wonderful little home, a beautiful fast and awesome bike, I have a chihuahua who eats poop and licks my face (yuck, but cute lil' girl nonetheless) I have creative freedom to be who I want, act however I want and say most anything that comes to my head without any judgement, and I have all of this because of Timmy. I mention him in my blog...A LOT, but with good reason. He is the peanut butter to my jelly, the Ron to my Hermoine (yeah, I went THERE) and he is the coconut cream in my coffee. I love this boy/man like crazy. One thing I think about a lot is that I am o fortunate to have a man who is Vegan, I have dated other dudes who were always trying to get me to eat a steak, would make fun of my food choices and would get pissed off because I wouldn't want to eat at certain restaurants because they served bunny or foie gras, but not my Timmy. He makes me dinner, he encourages my choices and he backs up my beliefs. It is a relief to share in this with him because when you think about it, eating is something we do every four hours or so. Imagine getting ridiculed by someone you liked every four hours, not so fun huh? I feel good with him, he is funny, likes good music (except for hi weird British 80's pop phase he is currently in) he loves my cats even though he is allergic, he picks me up from work when it is too hot to bike and he even goes to concerts with me even though he is the oldest one there. (: So enough mushy mush stuff, here is the real Timmy...

Name: Timmy
Age: 39
Location: Tempe,AZ
Website: none



How long have you been Vegan?
This time, for about 2 years ( I was vegan from 1992-2000, then I got lazy and started eating cheese again). I have been vegetarian for 20 years, 2010 is a cool year, because it means, I have now been vegetarian/and or vegan for more of my life than not.

What made you decide to go Vegan?
I originally became interested in vegetarianism because a lot of hardcore bands I was into were veggie/vegan and would put pro-veggie literature in their albums. At the time I was mostly interested for health reasons, animal rights and the environment were minor concerns. I had never heard of factory farming (hey this was 1991 after all). A (vegan)friend loaned me “Diet for a New America”, BY John Robbins. After reading it, I really felt like there was no choice, but to go vegan (I found the chapter “America the poisoned” to be especially disturbing).

How do you feel health wise with this diet choice?
I feel great. More energy, less allergies.


busted wing

Are you open about your Veganism?
Sure, but as I get older I am less inclined to argue with anyone about it. I generally have a good memory for facts and figures, and if someone is genuinely interested I have no problem sharing this information.

If so, are you involved in any activism i.e. protests, leafleting etc…
I think some of these types of activism end up as either Preaching to the choir, or annoying those not interested. I don’t like people trying to push their beliefs on me and I certainly don’t want to do that to other people. I think living by a positive example does much more to interest people. Veganism is great because it encompasses a compassionate lifestyle, it is also earth friendly and healthy, and people may be attracted to it for any of those reasons.

What does your family, friends, co-workers think about your diet?
I have always been the weird one in the family, so they are used to it, and I am lucky to a few vegan co-workers to share food with. (Notice he didn't mention his super awesome girlfriend...sigh)


Timmy and friends

What advice would you give those interested in becoming Vegan?
Take it slow, get some vegan cookbooks, connect with other vegans and don’t beat yourself up if something nonvegan slips by you.

Would you eat at Mc Donald’s if they carried a Vegan burger?
Short answer is NO. Long answer is more complicated. I'm not really sure which I dislike more; the amount of dead animal they serve, or the business of making cheap chemically processed foods devoid of any nutritional value. I like cooking, and I guess I am lucky that I don't really have any reason to seek out or eat fast food, not everyone is lucky though. I think a lot of younger Vegans, people newer to Veganism or people living in small town with n other Vegan options would be interested in Vegan burger from McDonald's.(Do a Google search, there are a lot of people looking for Vegan fast food options). So while I have no personal interest in the Mc Vegan, I'm not completely opposed to it either.


Ignore the bad word

What is your least favorite question that you are asked about your diet?
“Where do you get your protein?”

What is your favorite dish?
I love pizza, and anything I can put barbecue sauce on.


hummus pizza

What do you typically eat at Thanksgiving?
Usually Tofurkey. Last year we had field roast from Whole Foods.

If I could make you any flavor cupcake in the world what would it be?
MMM, chocolate filled chocolate covered chocolate.


kissy kissy

Please share your favorite Vegan recipe.
I don’t have a recipe cause Jon is a lazy bastard and he already used my Barbecue Tofu recipe on here a few weeks ago.

The World is a Beautiful Place

I am so overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness from complete st angers who attended our Vegan Bake sale yesterday. We earned 976 dollars for the Raven House and my heart is filled with pride knowing how many gracious people live in Arizona. I made new friends, had great conversations and brought the smile to the face of a little girl with both celiacs and a soy allergy, she was able to enjoy a gluten free coconut brownie that I made and that just reaffirmed why I want to open a bakery. I want to provide cruelty free goodies to everyone, this includes people with allergies and issues with certain foods. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, made wonderful treat, purchased these wonderful treat and spread the word. There was a lot of networking going down for this bake sale and word of mouth made all of this possible. OK, enough of this, bring on the photos!




these are just a few items I made, to see more check out my flickr

the donated goodies from a few awesome others, this is not all of the photos, but I didn't want to inundate everyone with photos of yummy goodness

Taking on the V-Con pt. 4

Hello coconut. Hello pie. I love you. I have eaten 3 slices of you and I loved every bite. I wish you could be there for me always, but alas you are dwindling down to nothingness. Timmy and I will share in our memories of you often. "Remember when Pie was so sweet to us?" Timmy will ask and I will reply, "Of course, Pie was the sweetest." and we will rejoice in thoughts of you.

This week the recipe in the Veganomicon sent my heart all a flutter. As you may have gathered I love desserts, I love making them, decorating them and most of all eating them. I do not have one sweet tooth but twenty-eight. The recipe: Lost Coconut Custard Pie. Are you drooling yet? I am. I was so very anxious to make this thing that I failed at taking photos for every step of the process but the recipe is not hard to follow and is pretty versatile, so you can really add or change the basic ingredients.


ingredients: coconut milk, non-dairy milk, arrowroot, agar agar, vanilla extract, coconut shreds, strawberries and lemon.

Arrowroot is very similar to cornstarch and is used in this recipe to thicken the milks, and agar agar is a seaweed that when heated with a liquid makes it gelatinous. I like that word, gelatinous. Beside the baking of the pie crust the recipe is made on the stove top which pleased me immensely in this 110 degree heat.


baked pie crust and warm custard ready for some refrigerator action

I fear I did not chill my little pie long enough but I was pacing the kitchen like a maniac waiting for dessert. I had some the next day and I think the flavor was more intense and yummy, so if you make this, make it a day ahead.


I made a crumbled chocolate cookie crust and topped the pie with fresh strawberries and melted chocolate.


Okay, I am going to eat another slice right now. I hope you enjoy the photos enough to go out and but the Veganomicon, make this recipe and share your results with me.

Vegan Bake Sale

I have been a busy girl shopping, plotting, networking and I kinda spaced on my Ask A Vegan feature but that is OK because (insert super cool hero themed music here) the wonderful Tracy at Strawberry Hedgehog has been working tirelessly for the last month or so planning a Vegan Bake sale that is going to be of epic proportions. As per our usual the bake sale profit will be going to a charity/non-profit organization and this sale is for The Raven House in Arizona. The Raven House has 90 plus animals on it's farm that need our help to get them clean water, food and health care. If you live in AZ and will be in Tempe I highly suggest you check this benefit out. Tracy, Kenike, Katie and a few more that have been featured on my blog will all be there with beautiful and tasty baked goods. Stop by, say hello and enjoy a treat or two...or heck even three! (:

Love,
Rikki Cupcake

Blog Awards

First and foremost I would like to thank little baby Jesus for making all of this possible, I would like to thank my moms, and oh wait, this is not that kind of award...woopsie! Ha! Little baby Jesus, I love saying that. I was nominated by two very lovely ladies Courtney and Beckie. I am sure you know them both, but if not I suggest you check out their blogs and make some new hip friends. There are some rules that come with this award (a few little strings attached, but kinda a fun thing.) rule 1: thank the person who nominated you.

1. I will thank Courtney first, because she awarded my blog yesterday but I was too lazy to post about it until just now. (: Courtney is awesome and I have a bit of a girl crush on her, but don't tell her OK? Then there is Beckie who could be my style twin, she is cute, clever and fun to email.

Rule #2 Share 7 things about yourself

1. I used to work at a porno store. Yep almost 10 years ago I was in the biz. I just told Josh and Katie this last night and Josh thought I was making up stories when I told them about things that happened while I worked there and the movies I saw during my employment there. I worked there for about a year and then quit with like seven other employees. It was fun and crazy and sometimes really creepy working there. The god thing is that job taught me how to stick up for myself. I was confronted with many an uncomfortable situation but handled all of them with strength and confidence.



2. I have a band tattoo. I am that loser with a band logo tattooed on her forearm. I am a walking billboard. The only problem, this band is not my favorite band and in fact I really haven't liked their last three or four albums. I did go to one of their shows recently and thought they were starting to look old, they were sloppy and everyone else at the show was 16. I will say though when I look at my tattoo I remember being 17 and sitting in my bedroom singing along to all of their songs and feeling like for the first time in my life someone else felt the same as I did in that moment of my life. And for that I will be forever grateful.



3. My sister, my friends Ryan and Jeremiah and ex-husband all have the same band tattoo. You may have noticed something in that last sentence. So number three... I was married before. I am a divorcee. But it is cool. Just like having tall bangs in the eighties it is something I wish I hadn't done, but it makes me who I am today.



4. I like Courtney, do not EVER want to have children. I have no patience for children. They are cute and silly but they are cuter when admired from a distance, a very far distance. I do have friends who have wonderful children and their kids love me, but I think that i because I am a child myself. This is not something that will change when I get older. My grandmother has come to accept this, so she calls Addie and the others her furry grandchildren.

5. Speaking of my grandma, I was raised by my grandparents. My sister and I both went into their custody when our mom died, I was three and my sister ten. So, if I ever say ice box or davenport, you know why. Grandparents have the funniest slang.

6. I love chocolate. I could eat it everyday, all day. I also love coffee. I could bathe in it while eating a chocolate bar. Yummy!



7. I am tall for a girl. I am not a giant but all of my girl friends are smaller than I am. I have large feet too. ugh...I have a hard time finding cute shoes that fit me.


ok, I am not THAT tall


Now I have to award 15 other blogs...so here it goes

1. Unkamama
2. Getthewordsout
3. Chicos and Beans
4. Cupcake Kitteh
5. she waits for whispers
6. strumpet's crumpets
7. Tea Talk
8. The Vegan Mouse
9. the wardrobe diaries
10. Time for tea, love
11. Vegan Conversion Challenge
12. Kim-Anh Nguyen Art
13. Stuff You'll Love
14. Poppytalk
15. Go Vegan Meow

Get ready ladies...