Happy July 4th!

I have been trying to get a new post up for about a week now, forgive me for my vanishing act. With my nephew on summer vacation from school, I haven’t had much peace and quiet. I was going to post about my birthday and include a bunch of pictures of yummy food, but now that that has been a month ago, I figure I’ll just move on from there. I think that many vegetarians/vegans can agree that summer months can be a bit challenging with cookouts and such. During the summer, my family gathers for a cookout at least twice a month. Since my family isn’t too keen on helping me out with my way of eating, I’m generally on my own with getting food I can actually eat.

A big problem with cookouts involving carnivores….THE GRILL!!!! DUN DUN DUNNN!!!
I had this problem just yesterday at a family gathering. Most non veggie people don’t understand that it’s not just avoiding the consumption of meat...but any sort of food interaction with meat. I brought two veggie protein links to cook up, and since I wasn’t messing with the grill, I checked out the scene first. My links were not placed on an area where meat had been sitting….but there were burgers a few inches away. I had a problem with that. But I didn’t say anything. In my family, if I would have brought the issue up...things probably would have gotten a little heated. BE INFORMED. I ate the thinks, but I wasn’t happy in doing so. I try not to rock the family boat as much as possible since issues escalade very quickly with them.

Family cookouts are the only time I eat anything off of the grill. At home, when the parentals grill, I opt out. I just don’t feel right with the whole grilling thing. Maybe I’ll devote a whole post to the all mighty grill. Hmmm.

Anywho, yesterday I made a quinoa salad for everyone. I think maybe three people tried it...but I was very pleased! I just threw some things together and it turned out quite yummy. I made an entire box of quinoa, threw in a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), some peas, sauteed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes sliced in half and some basil. I then drizzled some vegan champagne salad dressing over it and let it chill in the fridge. Very refreshing!

What challenges do you face when at social gatherings?
Any summer recipes you’d like to share?

On a non food note. I would like to just take a moment to say how happy I am for New York on passing gay marriage. It’s true, most states still do not support gay marriage, or gay anything, but this IS a step forward.

Check out this great project, get involved!
And yes...that still image before starting the video is in fact my lesbian wife Tegan Quin

Self Evident Truths from Self Evident Truths on Vimeo.