the christian left

I received my copy of the Veganomicon from the authors of Vegan With a Vengeance and Cupcakes.  I preordered and it arrived EARLY.  This may have never, ever happened to me before, so I am so thrilled.  Also, it is truly the largest vegan cookbook I have ever seen.  It’s like a plaid cookbook for vegans!  So, on with the testing!

May I introduce the black bean burger.  And may I say that it was a phenomenal hit.  The little boy didn’t approve, but what does he know?  He eats stuff off the floor and wears diapers.  The  rest of us, though, thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated it.  The recipe  is easy — it makes 6 burgers, and they are loaded with protein and fiber.  They do require oil for cooking, and I found that it takes a bit of oil to make it work, but it was worth it.  These are not grill-able as they are a little on the delicate side.  You won’t notice it when you’re eating it — you’ll be thankful it isn’t the usual hockey puck that you get at cookouts.  You know what I mean.  Seems like there are two types of veg burger styles at cookouts (of people who are not also veggie) — hockey puck (tough, rubbery, overdone) and “warmed up” (the people that think since there is no meat involved that cooking is also optional as there is no threat of disease).  But, I digress.  This was my first foray into the recipes, and I will let you know as it continues…

On a lighter note, the weekend was packed with fun.  Unfortunately, I have no good photos of my Halloween costume (Alice in Wonderland) but there are a couple of B dressed up as Mark Borchardt from American Movie.  Pretty good stuff.  Then we took the girl to see Dracula at the Belcourt.  It was a play, her first play, and she loved it despite some rather cheesy moments.  It was good fun to have her out for some special attention from us.  Usually we’re dividing our attentions, and it was a treat to have her as an only child.  The boy went to the zoo, so he wasn’t missing us at all…

We are getting ready for the Wednesday festivities.  Come trick or treat chez nous — we  have play doh.  Yeah, that’s right!  Oh, and I’ll probably make cookies, too.