Okay.  Apologies first (I write these far too often).  I have been a horrible blogger recently.  But!  I have been busy doing a LOT of exciting things which now will hopefully make for a flood of action packed posts.

One of the reasons I’ve been so absent lately is that I’ve been fortunate enough to be welcomed into the incredibly hospitable, always exciting, compassionate souled vegan community of Los Angeles.  I hate to brag to those vegans out there who aren’t fortunate enough to live in a city in which animal and environment lovers are so prevalent, but you should know that it at least exists somewhere!  And if you do happen to be reading this from, I don’t know, Des Moines, Iowa or Houston, Texas, and you are feeling alone in your community, hopefully this will inspire you to do some research into local groups of like-minded, kind-hearted people. Because let me tell you, it’s such a breath of fresh air to know that you aren’t alone and that there are thousands of people out there working and living just as peacefully and progressively as you are (or as you try to).  Here’s a brief recap of a couple vegan social events of late.

1) Launch Party for the LA Vegan Society:

Hands down, one of the most amazing parties I’ve ever been to.  The event was hosted by Ady Gil, who is known most famously for donating the funds for Sea Shepherd’s fastest boat (the “Ady Gil”).  He opened his home to hundreds of Los Angeles vegans to celebrate the start of the very necessary LA Vegan Society.  Because we had to sign up for the society at the door, a line started to form, so Ady himself came outside to pour tequila shots for everyone so as to guarantee we were already having a good time.  To say that the night got progressively wilder from that point on is an understatement.  Here are some photos from the event, so you can get to know a few of the faces:

2) Ady Gil’s Into the Wild Halloween Party
Ady Gil’s house, once again.  The only rule was that you had to dress like an animal.  If you didn’t, there were face painters there to help you out.  There was an abundance of vegan pizza and wine to be consumed.  There was also a stripper pole.



(That’s me with the ladybug wings.  And that’s ALF badass Peter Young on the far right.  Trust me, you want to know who he is)



My best friend Ashley and I



So so many Animal Rights heroes are here in this photo.  That’s PETA champion Christina Cho in the Tigger suit.

3) Vegan Beer Fest

Hosted by Tony’s Darts Away (a very vegan-friendly, beer-loving bar) and Quarrygirl.com (THE #1 vegan blog), LA’s first Vegan Beer Fest was a HUGE success.  The live music was incredible, the beers were delicious (I fell in love with a coconut stout that I can still taste), and the food trucks were the best of the best.  This event brought in a very different crowd of vegans than I’ve gotten to know on other occasions, so it was a great opportunity to widen the circle and meet some new people.  Word on the street (okay, on Twitter) is that they’re trying to have one every three months, which I think is a pretty fantastic idea.








So there you have it- vegans have more fun.  If you don’t believe me- well- come to the next event!  What I love about being a Los Angeles vegan is that you’re able to create your own personal cocktail of activism/social life.  You can attend only protests, only potlucks, only beer fests, or all of the above, and you are still accepted with 100% of everyone’s love, compassion, and enthusiasm.  It’s rad. So, who’s moving to LA?

Even in Los Angeles, the leaves are changing color and beginning to crunch beneath our feet, there’s a distinct chill in the air (even though we’re still struggling to erase the recent 114 degree days from our memories), colleges students are stressing about this year’s Halloween costume, and facebook statuses about football have consumed our newsfeeds.  There’s no use denying it, autumn has arrived.

This fact becomes ever so apparent with a quick trip to the organic produce section of your local grocery store/market, as summer melons and berries have been replaced by fall gourds, squashes, and other terrifying yet fascinating looking items.  After a quick trip to my local Whole Foods and Bristol Farms today, I ended up with this lovely selection of oddball squashes (that’s the plural of squash, right?  It seems too easy…are we sure it’s not squaish? squashae?)

The handsome gentleman on the right is the subject of today’s discussion.  I happened to be at Native Foods Cafe for lunch today (inhaling my 3rd vegan Reuben ((!!!)) in the past week), and discovered a Chef Tanya recipe in the October newsletter for the “Stuffed Turban Squash”.  Of course, as I am always looking for ways to procrastinate my work-related-work, I decided to take this squash-insprired adventure as a challenge.  It turned out quite well, so I thought I’d share it with you.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 Turban Squash (I found mine at Bristol Farms- they didn’t seem to have any at Whole Foods, so you may have to go on a hunt.  I originally bought a Kabocha squash (at Whole Foods, before I ventured to Bristol), which is the green fellow pictured above, and was intending to try the recipe with that.  I’ll have to use it for something new and creative tomorrow.  Tanya’s recipe says you can probably find a Turban Squash at your local farmer’s market)
• Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup (I used 3, because I have a sweet tooth)
• 1 cup Crimini Mushrooms, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Ezekial bread, but Tanya wasn’t specific so any kind of crumbled up bread should be fine)
• 8 oz cooked chestnuts
• 1 cup dried apricots or cranberries

(This was the original list from the newsletter, but due to a lack of grocery options I replaced the chestnuts with chopped walnuts…and I went with the cranberries because I think they’re more autumny…but go with your instincts.)

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Brush the squash lightly with olive oil and bake it for 30-35 minutes (I took it out at 30, but I suggest 35 because I think it needed to be slightly softer).  Allow the squash to cool.  Cut the top off, remove the seeds, then scoop out a decent amount of squash and set it aside.  Chop it up into manageable pieces.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and sauté the mushrooms with salt & pepper until lightly browned.  I actually added a couple tablespoons of Earth Balance vegan butter here, because I though it would add some richness to the final mixture.  Add celery, shallots (word to the wise, be careful to not let the onion juice squirt in your eye…just trust me, I’m still in pain), and garlic.  Sauté again until lightly browned. 

Mix in the bread crumbs, chestnuts (or walnuts), apricots (or cranberries), maple syrup, and the squash you scooped out earlier.  

Stuff this beautiful mixture back into the squash, cover it again with the top, and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

If you don’t run into any major disasters, you should end up with something like this:

So, so, so delicious.  And filling too!  I ate about 2/3 of it for dinner and am still full three hours later.  It’s relatively healthy too, compared to some of the rich, creamy (and occasionally processed-foods-based) recipes I often post.  I’m thrilled to have discovered this in time to perfect it for my family Thanksgiving.  My mother, brother and I are going to try to prepare as many vegan Thanksgiving dishes as we can this year to impress the rest of the extended family.  We’ll see how that goes…