A Brief Hiatus

Hey, kids. Vegan Dad here. Just a wee note to tell you that I will be taking a brief hiatus from the blog for the next month. My professional life is extremely busy with three projects on the go right now that need my attention, combined with a full teaching load. I need a few weeks (four, actually) to get everything in order. I will still post links and pics and the like on the Facebook page to keep in contact with you all, but don't expect any new recipes for a while. When I get back I will start gearing up for the holiday season and the New Year with baked goods and savoury dishes aplenty. So, for now, enjoy this pic I snapped at the cottage and I will see you again soon.

On Food Blogs and Photography

Several people have recently posted comments asking how I take my pictures, advice for a good food blog, etc. So, I thought I would write a wee post addressing just that. First off (you will be disappointed to know), I know absolutely nothing about photography. The only reason my pics are passable is because I invested in a 50mm f 1.4 macro lens for my Canon Digital Rebel camera. In fact, I bought it for a research trip to Philly so I could take snaps of historical documents in low light conditions (they don't allow flashes or tripods at the Historical Society). I like to think I have an eye for what is a good photo, but I have no idea about f-stops, apertures, etc. I try to take pics outdoors so I can get good light, but this gets tricky in the winter when it is dark by the time supper comes around. My style is to get as much food in the frame as possible and to worry less about the surroundings. Occasionally I will tinker with light and saturation in Photoshop, but more often than not I just crop the pic and post it. I have learned a lot over the past (almost) two years. Look back at my first posts--the pics are dreadful. If you want to actually learn about food photography, go to Bittersweet, or Vegan YumYum.

As for food blogging, I think good photos are essential. You may have the tastiest recipe but if it looks dingy and tan in the pic, then people are less likely to try your food. A good photo will draw people into your blog. After that, the content needs to be good as well. Food blogs are free, and sometimes you get what you pay for. Make sure to edit your posts and that the directions are easy to follow. Be honest about how good your food is. Lastly, make your blog personal. Although I have kept my kids' faces and names out of my blog, I do try to work in anecdotes and such into each post. Establish a rapport with your readers. Make sure your blog has a point.

OK, that's it from me. More food coming soon!

Vegan Dad on Facebook

I really like to keep the blog mainly about food and recipes, so I created a group on Facebook to discuss the larger issues surrounding veganism and ethical eating. If you are a Facebook type, search for "Vegan Dad Blog" and join the group!

Regarding Silk Soy Milk

Yesterday I posted a link to the Canadian Silk website for a 75 cent coupon. The reason I did so was because I was confident that Silk was made from organic soy beans and was pretty much OK. In fact, I am sure at one point their carton claimed that 86% of the ingredients in Silk, including the soy beans, were organic. But then I got an email from Michael with this link. Turns out, Silk used to be made with organic soy beans until Dean Foods (the largest milk processor in the US) took it over. I rushed to the fridge and looked at a carton. Sure enough, it said that Silk was made from "natural soybeans" and made no other claims about organic ingredients. I had totally missed the switch. So now I am providing the link to the Canadian Silk site and the American Silk site so we can all write in and tell them they suck. Make Silk organic again!

UPDATE: Not all Silk is affected, only some types. My chocolate Silk says it is organic, my plain Silk is not. Note the very subtle differences in the packages above--from "organic" to "natural." Note as well (sorry for the hastily snapped pic) that the carton on the left says it is made from "natural whole soybeans" while the right says "whole organic soy beans," has an organic certification, and makes the 86% organic claim. Readers from the U.S. have told me that Silk makes an explicitly organic brand for $1 more than the others, but I have not seen it here. Why not make all Silk from organic domestic soybeans, like it once was? And can we in good conscience support Dean Foods?

Vegan Dad Cookbook Contest: Rest of the World Edition

I received many a request from readers outside Canada and the U.S. asking for a chance to win a copy of the Vegan Dad Cookbook. I felt their pain--I know all about blocked content (curse you, Hulu!), residency restrictions, and the ever-frustrating caveat: will not ship to Canada. And, of course, it was the outrageous shipping costs that forced me to limit the last contest to Canada and the U.S. The electronic option eliminates shipping, so here is your chance, everyone else! Up for grabs in this near global competition are 2 e-copies of The Vegan Dad Cookbook (colour or black and white, your choice). I rummaged through my utensil drawer and came up with this handy gadget (half the fun is figuring out what size it is). Here are the rules:

1. Identify the mystery utensil and email your answer to the address listed in the bottom right column of this blog. Title your email "Near Global Cookbook Contest."

2. Correct answers will be entered into a draw to win one of two e-copies of The Vegan Dad Cookbook. Two winners will be chosen via a random number generator.

3. Only one submission per email address, please.

4. Contest is open until July 15, 2009, 10:00 am EST.

5. Contest open to everyone except residents of Canada and the contiguous U.S .

Vegan Dad Cookbook Contest Winners!

Winners? Yes, winners! I was so amazed by the 521 entries that I felt obliged to give away another cookbook. You were all put at the mercy of Random.org which spit out numbers 317 and 117. Congratulations to Jennie and Denise who correctly identified the mystery utensil as a cherry (or olive) pitter! I have sent you emails asking for your address. For those who didn't win, print copies are available through Amazon for $16, and $10 e-books are available for download here.

I really had a blast with this contest. It was rather like everyone who reads the blog leaving a comment on a post. Thanks for all the encouraging words many of you added to your entries. I will definitely do this again--in fact, I already have my next mystery utensil picked out!

Vegan Dad and the 2009 Veggie Awards

Today, my friends, is my 34th birthday. So, if you are inclined to do something nice for the birthday boy, please consider voting for Vegan Dad for Best Blog in the 2009 VegNews Veggie Awards. The competition is pretty stiff this year, I must say, so I will hope for the best. I would also like to thank all of those who wrote me in last year--from what I understand, the votes and write-ins from last year determine the nominees for this year. I wasn't even on the list last year, so thanks to all the loyal readers who made this nomination possible.

If you are interested in voting, go to this link by July 31 and complete the survey (I am about 5 pages in). You don't even have to complete the whole thing (unless you want prizes).

OK, enough pandering for one night.

Happy Father's Day

First off, a big Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially the vegan dads (whether they cook or not). Here's hoping someone is making you a wonderful brunch. If you are interested, Meatout Mondays featured me for Father's Day. You can check it out here. I will warn you, though, they posted my picture. So, if you think of Vegan Dad as some graying and wise older man (something like you own father, perhaps), then prepare to be disappointed.

Sorry, no recipe tonight. With so many people bringing food by I have not had to cook since we got home from the hospital. Some of the dishes have been off my blog, but most have been new and I hope to post them here in the future (the Senegalese Peanut Soup was amazing!). The black bean chili and cornbread pictured here was made by someone who followed my blog and then later found out we lived in the same city and our kids were in the same class. Crazy, right? I like to feel like I contributed to her vegan cooking prowess ("when you can snatch this beansprot from my hand, it will be time for you to go.")

Back soon with recipes. In the meantime, enjoy your families, dads!

Meat: That Stuff Will Kill You

The U.S. National Cancer Institute recently released the largest study ever done on meat consumption. The findings? Those who ate 125 grams of red (beef and pork) and processed meat a day had a 30% greater chance of dying of heart disease and cancer than those who ate 20 grams a day. The study found that potentially carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds are formed in the gut when heme iron from red meat and gut bacteria trigger meat protein to combine with nitrites.

I read about the study in the recent issue of Nutrition Action. The coverage was interesting. According to Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, "if you go from eating meat twice a day to once a week, you can eliminate most of the risk." Most of the risk? Why not eliminate all the risk? Isn't this like recommending smoking one cigarette a day to reduce the risk of cancer? Nutrition Action gets in on the game, too. Even though grilling meat increases your risk of cancer, the editors offer a list of tips for "good grilling" to minimize the risk. And, while they condemn red meat for its environmental impact (55% of the erosion, 37% of pesticides applied, 50% of antibiotics consumed, 32% of nitrogen and 33% of the phosphorous load into the water supply in the U.S.), they let fish and poultry off the hook.

It's time for health advocates to promote veganism and quit this ridiculous charade of minimizing the risk of meat.

Introducing Vegan Daughter

Just a wee post tonight to introduce Vegan Daughter. Sometimes I am sorry I keep things more or less anonymous on this blog because I would love to post a picture of something other than her feet. She is a real cutie (and that's not just dad bias! Ha ha!). Vegan Mom is doing well, but recovering from a C-section takes time. I am able to bring food to her so I have been making batches of veggie broth, vegan Jell-O, and chocolate and tapioca pudding for her to enjoy. And, our neighbours have been dropping off vegan meals for the the kids and my in-laws back at the house. How great are they?!

Food for Thought

The above chart makes me think twice about my notion that buying organic is somehow sticking it to the man or undermining the system.

You should also check out this report on the soy industry.

Snow!

I just wanted to say that it snowed 2 cms today. That's just not right.

The Magic Finger

As a kid I absolutely loved Roald Dahl's book, and I still love them to this day. So, I was really excited when Son#1 took an interest in the Roald Dahl collection on his bookshelf. I thought I had read every one of his books growing up, but the other night I noticed a thin little book called The Magic Finger. Son#1 and I sat down and read it before bedtime. What a surprise! This is a great book for vegan kids, and a a good way to open up a dialogue about cruelty to animals.

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

One of the great things about blogging is that you get to meet all sorts of interesting people. One such person is Ruby Roth, a talented author and illustrator who is publishing a new kids' book, That's Why We Don't Eat Animals. As you can see, the illustrations are fantastic, and the message is spot on. So for all you Vegan Dads and Moms out there, check out her website and the video below.

More Dinners with Artists

Just a quick post tonight. We have continued with our Dinners with Artists, and I really can't recommend them enough to you. Of course, it works best with older kids (Son #1 is 8 and really loves it; Son #2 is 5 and waxes and wanes), but it is such a rewarding activity. Not only do we get to discuss art, we also spend quality time together being creative. It doesn't matter if your pictures turn out great or not, what matters is that you and the kids have fun. It's also amazing how the kids can nail essence of each artist every time in their own pictures, while the adults (who try too hard) end up with trite and stilted pieces.

These are from Picasso Week. Son #1 totally gets it.

As does Son #2.
And here you can see what I mean by trite and stilted.

Here is Monet week. Vegan Mom agrees that her blackberries aren't particulalry Monet-esque, but I think it'a nice piece anyway.

Son #1 and I both did version of a picture I took on one of our hikes along the waterfalls that run in the forest nearby.

Dinner with Van Gogh

As you know, I have three kids. More specifically I have three boys. Three active boys. That often means that dinner time can be utter chaos with everyone talking at once, Vegan Mom and me trying to keep kids in their seats, spilled drinks, etc. So, Vegan Mom came up with a great idea to help focus the dinner conversation. She signed some books about various artists out of the library, and every night each one of us tells the rest of the family what our favourite painting is by the artist of the week, and why. We then all say what we like about the painting, and discuss the elements and principles of art evident in the piece, as well as techniques that define the artist. On the weekend, we all make our own picture in the style of the artist.

It is a lot of fun to see what pieces of art the kids choose as their favourite because they have no preconceptions and don't go for the obvious. And, I have to admit, doing the original artwork is really hard! I loved art in high school and did a few pieces that weren't half bad, but art employs a part of the brain I have not used in a looooong time. I could almost feel my brain creaking and clunking away trying to get my hand to do what I wanted it to. Above is Son #1's interpretation of Van Gogh's self portrait. Below is my attempt at doing this picture a la Van Gogh. Next up: Picasso!

The Vegan Dad Cookbook

"This is the dad you always wanted, only he makes a better meatloaf." -Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Making vegan food the whole family can enjoy seems like a daunting task. No more! The Vegan Dad Cookbook contains over 120 recipes that take kids’ food beyond the veggie dog. From brunch to dinner, Vegan Dad has you covered with dishes from around the world as well as good ol’ fashioned comfort food. This book provides the answer to that daily question, “what’s for dinner?”

Downloads of the cookbook are available at Lulu.com for $10. The book is 144 pages, full colour, indexed (the best I could), and contains selected recipes from my September 2007 to June 2008 blog postings. If you would like to purchase a copy but don't have a credit card, send me an email at the address listed in the bottom right hand column of the blog.

Please note that the .pdf file is formatted for 2-sided printing.

(I decided against the paper copy because it would have cost about $5o.)

Here is a pic of the copies I printed and bound for my family.

Vegan Dad Interview

I recently did an email interview for Vegan Nutritionista. Check it out.

On Feeling Like a Deadbeat Vegan Dad

I really have been neglecting the blog lately what with all my extra time going into finishing up the cookbook. I am starting to feel pangs of guilt, like a negligent parent. I miss the regular postings and interaction with you all. I also feel bad that I have not been offering any ideas for the impending holiday season.

On the cookbook front, things are moving along nicely. I have shown the draft to my inner circle of 7th level vegans, and a friend from grad school is copy editing as I type. I have also received a kind offer for help with the cover photography. More on that later.

Things have been plenty busy around here, even without a book to finish. Much time has been spent shovelling the ludicrous amount of snow that has fallen. *sigh* And to think that winter has not even officially started.

I also baked up a bunch of lemon currant rolls for the Christmas bazaar fundraiser for the boys' school.

Business at the bakery is brisk, and I feel like I am honing my baking craft. I have also been trying to make soy yogurt. No success so far.And, I do have a few recipes to post. I will get to them this week.

The Cookbook is Almost Here!

Good news! I have finally finished the rough draft of the cookbook. I need to do a few edits and all that, but it is almost ready to go on sale. I had no idea it would be so much work!

The book's near completion raises the question of how to sell it. I was planning to integrate Google Checkout into my blog, but it is not available to Canadians (grrr). PayPal looks complicated, so I was thinking of selling it through eBay. It already has a PayPal option, and I can place a posting on both the Canadian and American site. I'm not sure how the whole thing works when you are selling a digital file, so if anyone has some advice I would be much obliged.