Hey friends!

Sorry I'm a bit late on this one. Cutie asked me to write about why I'm vegan and then I realized I don't really know why exactly I'm vegan and then I ran into a brick wall of self-doubt and stuff. So here's what I have so far- if I can afford (mentally/physically/financially) to stay away from animal products, then I will. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 4 years on-and-off before switching to veganism, partly because I really didn't know it was a 'thing' not to consume dairy or eggs. As dumb as it sounds, I didn't realize animals could suffer if they weren't being killed for their meat. It was actually the book Animal Liberation by Peter Singer that ultimately made me stop consuming animal products. I think that one day I might keep a small flock of chickens and use their eggs, or have some kind of milk-producing animal to love and eat grass in my backyard. But until then, I won't eat/wear/use animal products because I want to take full moral responsibility. So I guess that's it. Recipes sooner or later.

Pesto!

Here's a great addition to Cutie's last post since many pesto's have parmesan cheese. Here's a basic vegan pesto recipe.

1 1/2 cups basil (this is a great plant to grow in a pot in a dorm room)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup pine nuts (these can be expensive, any nut should do... maybe I'll try it with peanuts)

5 cloves garlic

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (this stuff is great! I use it as a topping to sprinkle on foods)

3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

Put in a food processor and blend.

You can also try substituting in dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers, just an idea.

This recipe can make a lot, but pesto is fine to freeze and reheat later. I usually freeze it in ice cube trays so that they are thawable in convenient serving sizes.

Fun fact: Neither pine nuts nor peanuts are actually nuts. Pine nuts are a seed and peanuts are legumes. Oh, and coconuts are seeds too.