Do good.

Looking to do something good today? Please help us find a bone marrow donor for Vinay. I feel I have to help for several reasons:

*Vinay suffers from AML, acute myeloid leukemia, the same cancer my best friend fought -- and beat -- in 2003-2004. This disease has touched my life in a way I'll never forget. It especially touched my best friend's life in a way that continues to reverberate even today as she still deals with after-effects of chemotherapy.

*Vinay is a friend of a friend, and we have to help each other!

*Vinay is from my hometown of Fremont, California.

*I didn't know until today how few South Asians are registered bone marrow donors willing to go through the donor process. The South Asian community badly needs more donors to help people like Vinay, who needs his bone marrow transplant IMMEDIATELY.

So please pass this message on, pass on his website, and keep Vinay in your prayers.

http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php

Thank you!

This counts as your good deed for the day.

July 4 Cooking Demos For Vegans!

I know! This never happens. It's about time. Just got this in an e-mail from PETA:

On the Fourth of July from 12 noon to 3 p.m., Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico will host an Independence Day extravaganza. The festivities will include cooking demonstrations and showcase these Garden Protein International vegan delights: Gardein Veggie Chicken Skewers, Gardein Veggie Beef Skewers, Gardein Veggie Beef Burgers, and Gardein Veggie Chicken Breasts.

Garden Protein’s delicious new vegan beef skewers, vegan chicken skewers, vegan beef burgers, and vegan chicken breasts are unlike any other vegan products on the market today. They have all the flavor and texture of the “real” thing but with none of the cholesterol and saturated fat found in animal products. Garden Protein’s vegan products—which are sure to get rave reviews from vegetarians and nonvegetarians alike—can be found at Whole Foods’ deli counter. The Gardein Veggie Chicken Salad and Gardein Veggie Stuffed Turkey Roast are also available at the deli counter.

So celebrate the Fourth of July in style and visit the following participating store for the vegan barbecue extravaganza!


Phoenix (Paradise Valley)
10810 N. Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85028
602-569-7600

Recipe: 3-GasX Vegan Chili

Here's my recipe for what I like to call "3-GasX Vegan Chili" because after you eat it, it will take three Gas-X pills for you to go out in public and around people again. I made it special for my Better Half, as the way to his heart is through his stomach. The quickest way there is with the largest quantity of fresh garlic one can muster.

Ingredients:

Vegan chili mix from Sprouts
(Follow directions that come with the mix. The mix is in the store’s bulk containers).
Kidney beans (I use 30 oz but you can follow the Sprouts directions if you wish)
Diced Tomatoes (I use 30 oz but you can follow the Sprouts directions if you wish)
Tomato Sauce (Whichever size can was handy at the time)
Tomato Paste (one little can)
2 bulbs of fresh garlic
1 onion
1 container of pre-sliced mushrooms
1 package of what we call “fmeat” or fake ground meat (there seems to already be TVP in the Sprouts mix)
1 big squirt of Braggs to season
*GasX pills for later!

Make sure your cat is watching because if your cat is like ours, he won’t want to miss out on a cooking presentation.

Now throw it all together and simmer on low for an hour. Yup. It’s that easy. If anything were complicated around here, it would never get done.

The chili is orgasmic because it’s thick, hearty, and full of garlic. I serve it with the “easy biscuits” from Sarah Kramer’s “How It All Vegan.” I also serve the Better Half some corn to really make it “super colon blow” as he calls it. So you really get a free colon cleanse with this meal too.

Now that is what I call "Om with a kick!"

Happy Summer Solstice!

Ok, it was yesterday, but Happy Solstice anyway. I managed to fit in a few sun salutations at the end of the day and then slept quite well. But for me the longest day of the year was hell. My upstairs neighbor decided to party all night and I probably got 4 hours of sleep for the whole day because of it. I struggled to get done with work I had to turn in on deadline. It's amazing how important sleep is! It's also amazing how the cops will never show up when you need them.