#3 Spotting the brown snake snoozing on the doorstep before I (or one of the kids) stepped on it. Move on buddy!

About the vegan cookbook – I agree with erosan and Jacquelyn to a large degree that mimicking meat dishes is kind of unnecessary for someone with vegan goals. However, I can think of two reasons why a few meat-like recipes would be handy in a beginners cookbook.

Firstly, beginners are transitioning still so being able to eat dishes that are similar to meat may be somewhat comforting and help ameliorate any cravings.

Secondly, when you want to prepare vegan dishes but some of the other people in your family are non-vegan you can sometimes get away with it more easily if they feel there’s a central ingredient that’s substituting for their meat. (I know this may be considered pandering, but I tellya, when my Dad is visiting I have to get creative.)

Along those lines, can you please pass this suggestion on to your friend in case she’s interested in using it…. I make a taco/burrito filling using adzuki beans that has a meaty texture and is very filling and satisfying.

Adzuki filling recipe

1 cup adzuki beans
2 cups water
1 spanish onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup vegetable stock (or one cube dissolved in a cup of water)
1 can tomatoes

Soak adzuki beans in water overnight. Finely chop onion and garlic. Fry onion and garlic until light brown. Drain and rinse adzuki beans then add them to the pot. Add vegetable stock and tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the beans are completely soft.

If you like you can simmer the beans in the veggie stock only and add the tomatoes for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Apparently the acid in the tomatoes inhibits the absorption of liquid into the adzuki beans, so adding the tomatoes at the end probably makes the softening happen faster. I just throw both in at once so I can leave the pot to do its thing while I do mine.

p.s. Waits is looking SUPER cute! I like the scarf trick. I used to zip my babies up inside my over-size coat when I had them in the baby carrier.

Also, thanks to those of you who spoke up in my defense. You do well to keep me humble, so filled with gratitude to have such awesome friends online. Thank you all my dears!

@K (and @Sayward):
To say Sayward is not humble could not be farther from the truth. If there is one thing she is, it is realistic and practical. Nothing good comes without effort and all the baking bread and fermenting vegetables are things we all aspire to and learn to incorporate into our busy schedules. It certainly does not happen overnight. You are reading WAY to much into the links: as a blogger, when you mention something you’ve talked about previously, you link back to it as a courtesy to the reader. If I’ve just discovered Sayward’s blog I might think, “Oh, I’d like to see her recipe for homemade bread!” And instead of having to search through the archives there’s a handy little link. It has nothing to do with pride and everything to do with thoughtful attention to detail.

I also think if you don’t realize the sarcasm of “*gasp horror*” you clearly haven’t been here long. That’s testament to a realistic attitude and the understanding that we will always been busy and have to give on things occasionally, and that’s ok.

All in all though, I’m afraid your comment shows that you have fallen into the comparison game. DON’T DON’T DON’T measure yourself against other people… you are only putting yourself down. Create goals and work toward them, and when you slip up, oh well – it happens. Put it behind you and keep going. That’s what we all have to do. If a 6 month vegan decides to compare themselves to a 6 year vegan (or whatever), well, that’s obviously unfair. Just keep on keeping on. I have a friend who homeschools her four very busy/active kids, is a midwife, teaches classes, is heavily involved in church activities and who knows what else and STILL grinds her own grain to make her own bread (as in, they don’t buy bread at all) and does a ton of other things along those lines as well. I have no kids, and it makes my inability to make stock once a month look rather pathetic, you know? Rather than being offended by that I’m inspired… seriously? She’s my hero. And I just described her as Superwoman or something, but really? She was just telling me this weekend how bad she feels that the kids have been eating so much box/processed stuff lately because they’ve been so busy. See? Don’t take yourself too seriously man. Just keep working at it.

—

Sayward I think you are awesome, humble, realistic, communicate clearly, teach us new tips and tricks and help us all get better at this thing every day, and you have NEVER come across as being “better than your readers” ;)

—

And I HAVE been away for awhile – @erosan – congratulations!!

- recipes that don’t depend exclusively on expensive vegan “replacement” foods.
-simple recipes, not necessarily quick ones but ones with smaller ingredient lists are nice

for example, I love simple spiced bean and rice recipes over tofu dishes that feature too many ingredients and would love to expand my repertoire!

Love list:
1. All things Christmas! Music, lights, cookies, tree, presents.
2. A great week of working out…finally! 3 days of jogging. 3 days of yoga. Hoping to repeat it this week.
3. Not living paycheck to paycheck…finally!

As far as the bloodwork/vitamins discussion goes, there are many differing opinions on how exactly to manage our health and diet, but let’s remember too that food is a wonderful thing to be enjoyed, not just a vessel for delivering nutrients into our bodies.

My love list:
1. Sarcasm is awesome!
2. Just passed my VRS test and am now a fire fighter!
3. I’ve got a date with a purty girl this week!