VegInDC

  In honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day, we had a delicious meal using foods from the Americas. We made the meal with ingredients we already had in the house, but next time we will be more mindful to have succotash and maybe something including pumpkin! We also realize that the finished picture should have had some tomatoes from our garden on top for color. Everything is a work in progress. Three bean chili (with peppers, pinto, kidney and black beans.) Yellow grits with vegan butter and skillet cornbread. The skillet cornbread recipe is below, it's my new favorite way to make cornbread. 

Tonight my wife and I attended a Zoom lecture for Tu B'Shvat by Jewish Veg ( Jewishveg.org ) on "Modern Eco-Kashrut:Ethical Eating for Today's World". It was informative both historically and interesting to hear people's questions about veganism. Anne became vegan in 2005 and I became vegan in 2013, our dogs eat a vegan diet and we love sharing vegan cooking and illuminating kind choices for animals whenever we have the opportunity. While on the Zoom call, we realized how we need to update this space more! So, thank you to Jewish Veg, our friend, Sibyl Kleiner for hosting, and to our new blog friends - we will be updating things more here with not only traditional Jewish recipes, but things that are working their way into our rotation. Meanwhile - new favourite cookie to try: Siete Mexican Wedding Cookies - both gluten free and vegan ... but addictive!

Our most recent fosters are ready to be adopted! Parker was rescued from the NYC pound in early January 2014. He is a dog-cat (cat who acts like a dog) and loves snuggles and pets at all times. He does well with dogs, cats, and humans of all ages. Parker is approximately 2 years old, neutered and current on all shots. Parker would prefer to be in a home with Shifra, his best friend. Parker is with Staten Island New Hope Rescue and his adoption fee is $65. Shifra is approximately two years old. She is a beautiful tortie who enjoys admiring her good looks in anything reflective! Seriously! She is sweet and loves pets, and is spayed and up to date on shots. She gets along well with dogs and cats and would be the perfect (and beautiful) addition to your family! She and Parker would like to be in a home together as they are best friends.

Tomorrow (June 1) people from all over the DelMarVa area will be attending the inaugural  Rehoboth Beach VegFest  (Epworth United Methodist Church, 9285 Holland Glade Rd., Rehoboth Beach, DE). This outdoor festival features engaging speakers, cooking demonstrations, vegetarian food, exhibitors, a kids’ area, a cupcake eating contest (yum) and more. If you have been to the DC or Baltimore VegFest, you can expect something similar up in Rehoboth Beach.

VegWeek 2013 is well underway, and there are some awesome deals to be had at local restaurants in Maryland and DC. It's especially exciting to see places not necessarily known for the veg-friendliness to be getting in on the game.

I find myself consuming less and less dairy these days. Part of that is easily explainable--my wife is a vegan and so our home has no diary products. I cook and bake sans-dairy, and rarely eat it when I am out of the house.  Prior to my vegetarian days, I was aware of the health risks of consuming too much dairy and the issues around hormones and anti-biotics in milk. Recently, I was shown this info-graphic and thought it encapsulated some reasons why we might want to consume less dairy.

Anne has been rescuing animals for many, many years. While she started in the dog rescue world, she has recently taken on working in cat rescue as well. We have a bunch of sweet, wonderful kittens for adoption. If you are interested in any of these little guys, let us know!

This Saturday is DC VegFest at Yards Park at the Navy Yard. VegInDC is proud to be a sponsor of this year's event. Be sure to get to VegFest early and pick up your free bag (which contains a small token from us at VegInDC.) Last year we enjoyed a ton of free vegan samples as well as some awesome vendors. We will be sure to check out Vegan Treats  for some awesome doughnuts. Our dogs love Max & Ruffy's dog treats, a local company that makes organic and vegan dog treats.

The DC VegFest is an awesome and amazing outdoor festival celebrating the many wonderful opportunities to explore vegan cuisine in and around DC. This year VegFest is being held on Saturday, September 22 at Yards Park, 10 Water St., SE. VegInDC is excited to be taking part (check your swag bag) and we hope to see you there! In advance of the festival, DC VegFest is giving away an awesome looking vegan gift bag. You can be sure I have entered the contest and you should too ! Good luck!

Last night, Anne and I said goodbye to our little cat Laila. Laila first came to us in February 2011 when we found her on the porch of a house in Petworth. She was cold and meow-y, and Anne did what she does best, she rescued her. We never intended to keep her. In fact we had a couple interested in adopting her right away. They ended up not taking her because she showed too much affection to the guy, and the girl was the one who really wanted her.

Anne's birthday is coming up on July 17th, and for her birthday, she would love for you to support her campaign to help close a USDA loophole which currently is very bad news for puppies. As an active member of the rescue community, Anne has seen the effects of puppy mills first hand and would appreciate your support. She will be submitting this petition to the USDA so please sign by or on July 16 when the comments are due - if not please just keep on signing and sharing to show the continued interest in this issue! The problem is that right now many puppy breeding facilities that sell puppies are not licensed or regularly inspected for basic humane treatment of animals. These places sell online, on the phone, or through the mail without even giving people a chance to see the animal like you would in a regular, inspected and licensed store.