My first vegan baking experience, which I suppose was technically a failure because I didn’t know the sugar I bought was processed with animal bones. Aside from that, they didn’t suck! They didn’t get all golden like cookies made with butter do, so I stuck them under the broiler to “brown” some of them. That was stupid. That batch just looked like cookie toast.

I have had no problem going a week without eating meat, which is as I expected. A friend loaned me “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer, which I recommend reading even if you aren’t looking to stop eating meat. I didn’t know a whole lot about how we farm animals in America, so it was certainly enlightening, to say the least. I’ve also amended my previous approach to eating – I will not be eating fish. I’ve also been slow-going at only consuming non-factory farm dairy and eggs, mostly because I didn’t realize how much of my existing food has milk in it, but that’s still my overall goal. I’m pretty sure I’m off meat for good at this point, but giving my pantry a total overhaul is going to take some time.

In other news, the weather here taken a turn for the obscenely cold, so if you don’t hear from me for a while, I’m hiding in the fleece fortress that is my bed.

After doing some reading and watching one too many internet videos of the horrible things that happen to baby pigs, cows and chickens in factories, I’ve decided to eat…differently…for a month. And then evaluate. I’m cutting out meat completely (not hard since I don’t currently eat much) and trying to cut out animal by-products, which is going to be 82947298347923874 times more difficult than the no meat thing.

I love cheese. I love cheese a lot. I’m fine swapping my half and half for almond milk in my coffee every morning. Almond milk is tasty. Fake cheese? Not tasty. Doesn’t melt right, doesn’t have the right texture, does’t taste like sharp white cheddar. Cheese and I have had a long, happy life together, but I’ve found out some things about it that make me question our relationship. And so I’m taking steps to move on.

I’m trying to be realistic here, however, and there’s no way I’m quitting something I love so deeply cold turkey. So for this month, my goals are:
1. No animal flesh. Nada. None.
2. No mass-produced dairy or eggs. In other words, cheese will only be acceptable if it is from a local farm and not a dairy factory that milks its cows to the point of being unable to walk.
3. Figure out how I feel about seafood/shellfish. This month I’ll continue to eat shellfish and other fishies, but look more into how they are farmed. If eating spicy tuna rolls means I’m also contributing to the rape of the planet, I could be convinced to re-think eating them. Maybe.

I’m thinking this is a pretty reasonable place to start, but that’s easy to say when my belly is still full of these cheese-and-egg covered breakfast pizzas I made over the weekend for a brunch tailgate:

(Thanks for the picture Nicole!)

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was full of good company and good food – mine was pretty stellar. Except for the part where my dog peed all over the living room carpet in a desperate plea for attention. That was embarrassing.