I should say right of the bat that the URL I chose- vegan on days that end in y- was a tongue in cheek jab at the various diet memes that seem to be floating around our culture these days. From Treehugger's "Weekday Vegetarian" to Mark Bittman's "Vegan Before 6 p.m." to "Meatless Mondays" there seem to be more and more ways of getting very specific about one's diet, and the restrictions it entails. My partner, Bobby, and I moved to veganism from vegetarianism in September of 2009, and it has been a learning experience for both of us as we experimented with what we wanted to eat. Neither of us are 100% strict vegans at this point, but we eat a whole foods vegetarian diet that is very close to being vegan, because both of us feel better in a variety of ways when we do so.
I suppose this is the part where I say that although I hold strong opinions when it comes to the ethics of food, this blog is not about being vegan- it's not even about being vegetarian. It's also not about animal rights, animal abolition, or PETA politics. There are plenty of passionate people all over the web who have interesting websites dedicated to such topics, and forums abound for debate and discussion. However, I want this blog to be a place where people who are looking to incorporate more meat free and plant based meals can come to get ideas on how to do so. The people that stumble upon this blog may be a diverse group- some may happily eat meat, some may be ardent, lifelong vegetarians, others may be vegan animal rights activists. All are welcome, but in the end, I want this to remain firmly in the realm of a cooking and food blog. To that end I'd like this space to remain free of comments containing judgments of food choices and the perceived morality that results from such choices. Let's be honest- has anyone ever changed your mind by mocking, judging, or putting down who you are? I'm sure the answer is no. Dogma is useful to those already following it, but I find it doesn't do much for convincing others.
So in this little corner of the internet I just want to talk about good, plant based food- making it and eating it :)
