I finally upgraded my Wordpress and so far I’m loving it. The new dashboard design is very useful as most things are but one click away. I really hate having to go to two other pages to find what it is I want! Aside from this brief examination I have not explored much else, yet.

Christmas is only four days away! How insane is that? This year has gone so fast for me and I keep thinking about how it seems like only six months ago we celebrated Christmas. I have been wishing for that childhood state where time just goes on and on and nothing seems to fly by you.

Anyway, this year is my first Christmas being properly vegan, so I am having to plan a bit better what I will actually be eating. Side dishes are usually fine as there are plenty of salads, vegetables (the joys of a Summer Christmas are easy BBQs and lots of salad), breads, etc. made without animal ingredients. However, main dishes are a little different, obviously, because I wont be stuffing myself with any meat.

My family have done a lunch with my mother’s family and dinner with my father’s for years. Since the grandparents are getting older, this year it’s lunch at our place and dinner at my eldest sister’s. So I have two mains to think about and have decided on a nut loaf for lunch (I’ve never had one, but they look easy to make and good for a lunch meal) and cous cous stuffed field mushrooms for dinner. I want to re-create that gorgeous stuffed mushroom I had at a restaurant awhile back — it was just that good! I hope there wasn’t some secret ingredient that the dish can’t be without, or I’ll be, well, screwed.

For dessert I’m making two apple pies, with The Worlds Most Awesome Pastry Recipe, that can be found in Tatiana’s Table by Paullina Simons (Pie Crust 1). No, seriously, it’s the best.

If you celebrate Christmas, or another holiday at this time of year, what are the traditions your family has? What foods do you eat? I would love to know!

christmas, Food, paullina simons 5 Comments

Dinner on Thursday night was lovely. I had spoken to the restaurant ahead of time to let them know I’m vegan and to check if they had any options for me. They were wonderful and I ended up ordering mushrooms (I’m not sure of the variety, but they were large) stuffed with a mix of couscous, red capsicum, cashews and pineapple. On the side were two roasted tomato halves and under the mushrooms was a lovely roasted red capsicum. The mushrooms also came with crispy julienne potato stack on top.

It was the best meal I’ve had out in a very long time, with wonderful service from the staff. I don’t like being a nuisance to people because of my personal ethical, and thus dietary, choices* and sometimes it can still be a bit daunting to go and say “Ok, I don’t eat this, this, this, this or this, or anything container those things. But make me something divine, ‘k?” Some restaurants are not at all accommodating and don’t even want to try. I’ve even been somewhere where I felt like I was being grilled about these choices, which was rude and totally uncalled for. Serve me my food, shut the hell up and go away!

In other news, yesterday I finally managed to create a new design for Bubblegum Fangirl and get that up and running. I spent the first half of today trying to finish The Bridge To Holy Cross by Paullina Simons as it’s due back at the library, but my eyes are having trouble seeing clearly, so I’m on a “break”. Because reading on the computer is oh so much easier and better for my sight, obviously…

It’s raining and seems so dreary, but it’s nice to look out my window and see the cars go by, the rain fall through the leaves and hear the distant rumbling of thunder. A hot chocolate may me necessary soon.

Now I’m about to attempt upgrading Wordpress, so I hope that goes well…

*Even though I shouldn’t feel that way. It’s none of their business a part of whether or not they are able to serve me anything I consider edible. If not, I take my money elsewhere.

books: the bridge to holy cross, fanlistings, paullina simons, reading, restaurants, weather No Comments

This month is my one-month “veganiversary”: one month of being vegan. I don’t have a definite date though, but I know it was some time during the week after September 7. I wish I had a definite date, but I’ll just have to make the whole month of September ‘Veganiversary Month’ from now on (hey, why not, right?)

It feels a lot of longer however, as if I’ve always been vegan and that there was no time before then. This is a common feeling, according to other vegans. It really is amazing how the way you think and do things changes so suddenly and, for me, without much thought or deliberate effort to change. In fact, I found it much easier to be totally vegan, diet-wise, after I stopped being concious of making the changes. I just let them happen and it became easier as I let everything flow as opposed to being forced.

Something in me snapped on Father’s Day (September 7)—I told myself I was going to have an all-vegan day and I had prepared vegan dishes to take to our family lunch, but I ended up giving in and having some flavoured sour cream dip, one of my old favourites. I tried it but I didn’t like it, and that thought stuck with me over the following week and one day I just realised “Holy crap, all the food I’m consuming is vegan! What the hell, when did this happen? Hell yeah!”

So, happy one-month veganiversary to me! May every month be a vegan one until I die a very old woman.

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