Recipes, projects & products that don’t suck.

Can you imagine writing an entire vegan cookbook in which every single recipe contains BEANS? I can’t. But Kathy Hester pulled it off beautifully. And it’s not all soups and side dishes, either. From breakfast to dessert, Kathy covers it all. You won’t believe all the creative uses for all kinds of beans. What’s so great about beans? For one, they’re cheap. Plus they’re packed with protein and fiber while being low in fat. And, as Kathy proves in her cookbook titled The Great Vegan Bean Book, beans are versatile. When Kathy invited me to participate in a blog book tour to launch her new cookbook, I jumped at the chance. After all, this isn’t her first rodeo–she also wrote one of my favorite vegan…

Over the weekend, I was talking to a friend who I hadn’t seen in a while. She was asking how the “vegan thing” was going and I was commenting on how much more energy I have now. Looking back on the past week, it’s crazy how much I’ve managed to get done. So much more than I ever used to. I wish I was disciplined enough to keep a journal. It would be interesting to take a look back at a few years ago. To compare notes on how I felt then compared to now. It’s easy to forget. People ask me all the time if I plan on sticking with this. It’s been over a year and right now, and I see no reason…

Remember our friends, J & A? And the baby shower I threw for them back in November? Well they’ve barely been in their new home for four weeks and guess who decided to make his way into the world two weeks early? Yep, their baby BOY! Isn’t he so cute?! Everyone is healthy and happy and doing great. Under his little cap is a full head of blonde hair. Just look at those cheeks! Congratulations, J & A! Nice work ;) Even though the flu has been going around like CRAZY, Hubs and I have managed to steer clear of the bug. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten to hold that sweet baby! I haven’t even had a sinus infection or a cold. Last year was…

In my last post, I wrote about the vegan Artichoke Spinach Dip I was going to bring to a holiday party. We went to the party on Saturday and no one there knew I was vegan or that I brought a vegan dish. They must have liked the dip because there was barely any left at the end of the night! I also went to a holiday party on Friday night and brought vegan, gluten-free banana bread. This, too, went over very well. Personally, I LOVED it. I found the recipe on Gluten-Free-Vegan-Girl, a blog written by a very smart, beautiful 17-year-old girl in Norway whose English is far better than most Americans’. Solveig just started her blog in June of this year (same as me!)…

I swear it was Monday, then I blinked and it was Friday. The days fly by so fast. I can never ever seem to get caught up with my giant to-do list. Things get added faster than I can cross them off. I managed to order my Christmas cards a couple of weeks ago. They arrived last week. And I haven’t mailed a single one yet. I did buy stamps today, though… so that counts for something, right? Nonetheless, the weekend is nearly here and I’m looking forward to attending a couple of holiday parties! For both parties, guests have been asked to bring a dish to pass. Today, I decided to do a trial run on Dreena Burton’s Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip (without all…