GREAT article in yesterday’s Washington Post about Ellen DeGeneres’s vegan transition. I love that she doesn’t pull any punches about how difficult it was for her. It’s an extremely relatable and realistic position and one that is ultimately super useful for average American eaters.

However, I think the best info in the article comes from her personal chef, Roberto Martin (author of a new vegan cookbook):

…the key to helping people make the switch – or even simply reducing their consumption of animal products – is to think about creative substitutions. Break a recipe down into protein, acids, liquids and fat. Substitute plant products for the animal products like meat or milk or butter, then apply good technique, such as stir-frying or sauteing to produce deep flavors.

Right on, brother!

Although it probably wouldn’t please Alicia Silverstone (whom I adore), this is much more my style of vegan cooking – especially considering that my husband isn’t vegan – and I find it’s far more appealing to a mass audience to boot.

Housekeeping Note: I’m not dead!

But seriously, sorry for the continual unannounced blackouts here. Life has gotten busy, etc., etc.

I don’t know when I’ll pick back up with daily posting on a regular basis, but I do know that I’m not finished here so check back every now and again, k?

Now on to the topic at hand: There’s a new networking group around these parts and it’s for VEGANS!!! Clearly, I’m a little excited about that.

St. Louis vegans is an offshoot of “Vegan Drinks,” a group that holds monthly social networking events for people interested in promoting vegansim and advocating for animal rights. The original group was formed in New York but the idea has since spread out to a variety of additional cities, now including St. Louis!

The very first event in St. Louis is TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 25th at 7pm at HandleBar in the Grove. There will be a variety of vegan-food options available, including vegan pizza made exclusively for the event. A list of vegan-friendly beers and wines will also be on hand. In addition to chatting up fellow, local vegans, there will also be vegan trivia for prizes.

Seeing as how I just found out about it, I am super sorry to say that I can’t make it to tomorrow’s inaugural event. Now that I’ve joined the St. Louis Vegans Facebook group though, I should be able to find out when the next gathering is well enough in advance to attend. I absolutely love the idea of having an opportunity to meet up with other local vegans, so I hope this catches on!

If you’re able to go tomorrow, be sure to give me the scoop!