I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so we ate at Suma Veggie last night, which is a vegan Chinese restaurant in Richardson, TX that's really heavy on the salt and even heavier on meat analogues.

I'm not really sure how I feel about mock meats in general. I don't eat them much because they're typically processed beyond all recognition and loaded with sodium and I try to stick to a diet of mostly whole foods, meaning I don't buy outside of the produce aisle, aside from bulk spices, grains, and legumes. A part of me sees an ethical problem with eating something that even resembles meat, especially since I don't crave it or miss it at all, and I certainly don't want to give any omnivores that may be on the fence the impression that they're going to feel deprived if they just give the shit up already. Some vegans have said that they're a good transitional food, and I have to remind myself that, for a lot of people, going vegan isn't as simple as it is for others.

I was at a house party sort of thing last weekend and met an omnivore who said that she would be vegan, except she's poor. What the hell is that? I'd really like to know what, exactly, she's eating, because when I cut out the crap my grocery bill dropped dramatically. As a friend of mine at a New Year's Eve cocktail party said, GET YOURSELF SOME BEANS AND RICE.

I'm really bothered by some people's notion that going vegan is going to cost them more than an omnivorous diet, and I suppose it could, if you're eating crappy, processed food for which you're covering the cost of processing, packaging, and, most likely, refrigeration.

I shop for my groceries once a week, buying food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two people, 90% or better of it organic, for $100 a week or less. That comes out to less than $5 per person per meal. In the summer, when I can buy most of my food at my local farmers market, the cost of a meal drops below $3, and I know that many vegans are able to cover their food bills with even less. This post over at Vegan FAQ even details a weekly grocery list that can cost less than $25 a week!

So...no more whining!

In other news, vegan superhero Jen just made the Fox City Foxz flat track roller derby league. Go show her some love.

So I'm a big fat liar and I forgot to take pictures of the ratatoulli and sesame glazed asparagus that we ate last night until after it had, well, been eaten. So, in lieu of that, go look at Becca's pictures of what we did for New Year's Eve!

Bound and determined

I will cook tonight, a good, nutrient-dense meal, and I will put my heart into it because I, once again, have someone else to cook for. There's so much soul in cooking, but I can never bring myself to take the time to do it only for myself.

I will make a meal for someone else, and I will photograph it with my crapass camera phone (because I lost the decent camera in the breakup), and I will blog it.

I will reclaim my rightful spot in the kitchen.

Back on the wagon, so to speak

I'm fairly certain that no one actually reads this, but I suppose that some sort of explanation for my 3 month absence is warranted.

Things have been crazy, between frequent travel (including a very awesome trip to Vegas with 14 other vegans) and a truly awful and prolonged breakup and the subsequent moving out of my belongings. The last few months have definitely been trying, to say the least, but I feel like I'm finally starting to get my feet back on solid ground, forcing myself to keep a routine even though I really would rather just hide in my bed.

The mess I've found myself in the last few months has weighed so heavily on me that I have, at times, considered checking myself in somewhere, and I probably would have had it not been for the help of my wonderful psychiatrist and truly amazing and supportive friends and family, always ready to rush in and save me from myself when I need them the most. My gratitude to these people is immeasurable as I am fairly certain that I, quite literally, owe them my life many times over.

Getting more to the point, I haven't been able to make blogging much of a priority, and I really regret that and, in the coming months, I fully intend to change that.

Vegans in their natural habitat?

In just a few hours, Dallas vegans are going to descend upon the Texas hillcountry for what promises to be a most fantastic Vegan Freak camping trip.

The car is packed, the food is prepped, and the bike is dis-assembled. By way of a quick trip to the liquor store, the Southern Fried Vegan will be embarking on a particularly fabulous weekend in T-4 hours.

Wish you were here.

Excuses, excuses

I have so much to post!

But I can't. You see, here at the Southern Fried Vegan house, we had a massive computer meltdown a few weeks ago that we have yet to resolve, so in the meantime the camera is collecting dusts and my posts to all the blogs that I contribute to are few and far between since the only internet access I have right now is from my office.

We should be back up and running in the next week or so and I will have just loads of pictures to post.

Busy...like a fox

Things at the Southern Fried Vegan house have gotten a little frantic lately with very late nights and very early mornings, leaving little time for blogging.

Fall gets more than little busy around here, especially this year with both work and play. I'm in the process of organizing the first ever Vegan Freak bowling team and just finished putting together a vegan bake swap. Aside from that I'm trying to get the fruits and veggies from the farmers market that are going out of season prepared and frozen for the winter and attempting to cook our weekday meals ahead so that we have more time for other much neglected things, specifically biking and the ever-growing pile of laundry that's taking over our house.

When things settle down a bit in the next few days I promise I'll have more to post.

In the mean time, I encourage everyone to check out Hidden Kitchens Texas Stories. Parts of the broadcast are pretty damn NOT VEGAN, but it's definitely worth a listen. It's narrated by Willie Nelson and really gets to the heart and soul of food and its significance at the Texas table.