The daily life of veg*ns.

Community Cooking Bingo

2026-04-02T03:52:38Z

Posted by: gothfvck

Inspired by tally, let's nominate bunches of foods to eat this month. Let's see who can get the most done.

Whoever eats 'em all wins... nothing because I don't have time for that. 😅 I dunno. Maybe if you're lucky I can put together a cool TFC-VL User Icon for you or something. Definitely, we'll be keeping track so you'll go down in herstory.

4x6 card = 24 boxes. That's new item almost every day of the week with a few extra days off.

Everybody name a few things. Next time, we'll plan this ahead so it's ready at the beginning of the month, eh?
Open to suggestions on how to run this, as well. ;P

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2603 Monthly Post

2026-04-02T03:41:37Z

Posted by: gothfvck

The garden was mostly dormant last month. Here's a quick recap.

sprouts by ysabetwordsmith

cooking bingo by tally

What have you been cooking or planting?
What adjustments to your diet or shopping habits have there been?
What animal rights headlines have you spotted?

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Cooking Bingo!

2026-04-01T02:15:07Z

Posted by: tally

Last quarter I started a cooking bingo, and it worked so well I'm doing it again! It's to help me remember to cook something other than the same three things over and over. xD Here's what it looks like in my journal, but it's hard to read in a photo so I'll just type out the bingo prompts below!

Here's what I put on there! Everything is a vegan version. ♥

homemade pizza
from a cookbook
YT shorts recipe
nachos
pasta
mac and cheese
from Nora Cooks
sheet pan gnocchi
stuffed pepper skillet
meatloaf
something spicy
sliders
something with leeks
a reddit recipe
a dreamwidth recipe
potato burritos
something with beets
something seasonal
a stew
burgers
Moroccan sweet potatoes
crispy tofu
fandom inspired
something I've never had before
random roll

Last time I did a 4x4 and this time I'm trying a 5x5, which might be too much, but we'll see!

What has everybody been cooking lately?? And do y'all have any techniques or strats you use to get more variety in your diet?

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Sprouts

2026-03-24T16:18:43Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

A friend and I got to talking about bean and pea sprouts. If you can't garden outside, just want to save money, or wish for more variety, then check out these resources...

( Read more... )

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Monthly Post for March

2026-03-01T22:14:16Z

Posted by: gothfvck

This is the March community post for veg_life.

What standout meals/snacks/drinks have you made?
What new foods have you tried? Conversely, what have you begun abstaining from?
Have you tended to any plants?
Have you attended any animal rights or environmental activist events?
What were your other Veg-Life activities during February? What plans do you have for March?

February anchor posts include:

poem: Dairy

gardening

youtube shorts recipe!

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poem: Dairy

2026-02-27T06:47:13Z

Posted by: beavertech

written by: ysabetwordsmith

During the coldest days
and the darkest nights,

the cows and goats
and sheep give birth.

Calves and kids and
lambs totter to their feet,

and the milk begins to flow
in rivers that taste of hope.

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Gardening

2026-02-20T00:12:43Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

I thought it would be fun to make a list of weird vegetables you can grow. Watch for odd vegetables in garden catalogs, nurseries, and home/garden stores. Depending on the type you may find seeds, young plants, roots, etc. Enjoy having friends say, "What the fuck is that?" when they see your garden!

( Read more... )

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Youtube shorts recipe!

2026-02-19T19:22:44Z

Posted by: tally

Y'all, I made this and it was soooo good. Bean-based recipe with coconut milk and stuff.

I immediately sent it to all my friends right after making it. ⋆˚꩜｡

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Warming Spices

2026-01-25T02:42:13Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Warming spices have hot, aromatic qualities. They encourage body heat; they go well with other thermogenic foods. Their scent evokes warmth and comfort. That makes them ideal for cold days. Browse a list of warming spices; you probably have some in your cabinet already. Here is a FAQ list. Screw winter, make something redolent.

All of the spices are plants, so almost all of the spice blends are vegan. Other recipes vary.

( Read more... )

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Recipe: "Apple Topping"

2026-01-24T06:22:53Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Today I made apple topping. A slight tactical error: all we have to pour it over is vanilla ice cream, and the weather is currently subzero. 0_o Perhaps tomorrow I'll make something else to go with it.

Ingredients:

1 Pink apple, diced (about 2 cups)
splash of lemon juice
1/8 cup minced candied ginger
1/3 cup RW Knudsen Lemon Ginger Echinacea Juice
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons tapioca starch
water

( Read more... )

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Poem: "A Palette of Appetizers"

2025-12-29T11:21:49Z

Posted by: gothfvck

Commissioned poem written by ysabetwordsmith:

Appetizers are color-coded
for the holidays, for the seasons --

yellow and brown for Thanksgiving,
like the turning leaves of autumn

red and green for Christmas, for
the evergreens and berries of winter

pale pink and green for Easter,
the flowers and leaves of spring

Yellow, orange, and red for Midsummer,
vivid as the farmer's market produce.

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Veganuary

2025-12-28T02:54:05Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This January, don't change who you are, just try vegan

New Delhi [India], December 9: Veganuary -- the global campaign to try vegan for January and beyond - is today launching its 2026 campaign, titled "New Year, Same You". Since launching in India in 2022, Veganuary has had wide success, and more than 140,000 Indians have already signed up for the 2026 campaign.

With "New Year, Same You", Veganuary is flipping the usual New Year narrative on its head. Instead of pushing people to become someone "better", Veganuary reminds people that taking part does not require changing who they are - just making a few simple swaps that naturally fit into their everyday lives

Get the prompt list. It should also work for vegetarians, flexitarians, climatarians,etc. if you treat it as a "one vegan meal per day" challenge.

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Recipe: "Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Onions"

2025-12-15T01:30:14Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Today I made this soup, based on a similar recipe from Stock the Crock page 24. I wanted to write down my version so I don't forget it.

( Read more... )

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Food

2025-12-14T21:01:49Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Scientists find dark chocolate ingredient that slows aging

Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between dark chocolate and slower aging. A natural cocoa compound called theobromine was found in higher levels among people who appeared biologically younger than their real age.

Well, that's good news! :D

Watch for clinical-grade chocolate with a high level of cocoa solids (dark or the higher end of milk), preferably organic and environmentally friendly. Cocoa powder and cacao nibs are commonly vegan with no animal products, but look for vegan certification if trace contamination concerns you. Chocolate candy (bars, chips, etc.) and hot chocolate mixes are typically vegetarian with dairy products, but vegan versions also exist.

Enjoy a vegetarian (not vegan, with eggs) recipe. Vegans may wish to try it with an egg substitute such as flax eggs.
Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Spread

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poem: Pan de Muertos

2025-11-13T00:35:46Z

Posted by: gothfvck

written by the acclaimed ysabetwordsmith

The bread of the dead is bittersweet,
flavored with anise and oranges,
its golden crust glazed with sugar,
almost the color of marigolds.

The round loaf represen'
the circle of life and death.

On top, extra dough shapes
the skull and crossbones,
reminding us of the death
that waits under our living skin.

To taste the bread is to weep for
what has been lost, yet hope
for what is still to come.

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Food

2025-11-04T19:10:10Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Sunflowers may be the future of "vegan meat"

Sunflower flour emerges as a sustainable, nutrient-packed, and surprisingly meat-like plant protein innovation.

A collaboration between Brazilian and German researchers has led to a sunflower-based meat substitute that’s high in protein and minerals. The new ingredient, made from refined sunflower flour, delivers excellent nutritional value and a mild flavor. Tests showed strong texture and healthy fat content, suggesting great potential for use in the growing plant-based food sector.

( Read more... )

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Recipe: "Pigeon Peas Stew"

2025-10-01T02:12:52Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

We made an omnivore version of this tonight. Below is a vegan recipe.

( Read more... )

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Pigeon Pea Recipes

2025-09-27T03:54:36Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

We found a new international grocery store in Charleston, Amelica & Louky Market. Among the things they had were bags of dry pigeon peas, which I recognized but hadn't seen before. They're similar to black-eyed peas but instead of white or ivory these are light gray or putty-colored. Pigeon peas appear in African, Caribbean, and East Indian cuisines. So I thought I'd look up some recipes for dry pigeon peas. Note that Rastafarian / ital recipes are traditionally vegetarian.

... aaaaand now I'm hungry again. O.O

( Read more... )

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Pumpkins

2025-09-24T02:34:07Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Pumpkins, squash, and gourds come in many varieties and the "winter" types are ripening now. These typically have thick rind and long storage potential. There are sweet and savory cultivars in a huge range of sizes, shapes, and colors. There are also all kinds of gnarly ones for fall decor. Watch for them at farmer's markets or grocery stores. In particular, if you enjoy a squash that you buy, you can save its seeds, or note its cultivar to buy seeds, and try to grow them in spring.

Some of the recipe lists are all vegetarian or vegan. Others are a mix of omnivore and vegetarian or vegan recipes. Squash recipes tend to convert very well to vegetarian or vegan even if they contain animal products -- you can usually replace meat, dairy, etc. with plant-based alternatives. With winter squash (or sweet potato) halva makes a splendid swap for butter. Replace honey with maple syrup. Also, medium to large squashes such as butternut make an excellent replacement for a meat roast, if you're not into ultraprocessed meat substitutes but you want something that looks like a roast. A few giants, such as crenshaw / cushaw, could stand in for a ham or a turkey!

( Read more... )

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Corncob Broth

2025-09-19T04:53:23Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

I finished making the corncob broth. \o/ It tastes delicious -- delicate, slightly sweet, summery, sunny, with notes of corn and grass. This is sooo much better than regular vegetable broth! If you dislike vegetable broth, this is well worth a try. I now regret every corncob that I tossed straight onto the compost pile. Also I'm annoyed that I only discovered this at the end of the season. Conversely, I am amused that this extremely frugal version tastes so much better than the standard kind.

I started with this recipe for inspiration. This time I used the 6 corncobs that I had, some dried onion chips, about 1/4 teaspoon white peppercorns, and three large sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.

Anyhow, I filled a tray of large ice cubes because I want to try this in stir-fry sauce to add volume. I got three cartons that are about 1 1/2 cup each, plus a big one that is probably about 4 cups and suited for crockpot use. I expect it will work anywhere I would normally use regular vegetable broth, and could possibly also replace chicken broth.

Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will make it in a large crockpot as usual. I'll use a quartered onion, and I might throw in something else. I suspect that lemongrass would work great, and celery or celery leaves might. Broths are flexible; you can toss in whatever you have or like, including clean scraps such as carrot peels or celery stubs. With a large crockpot I can get a great deal of broth with minimal effort.

This recipe is vegan.

Tonight's other recipe, for which I cut off the corn kernels, was Three Sisters Succotash. It can be made vegan / vegetarian or pescatarian if you replace the bacon with various other things.

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Low-Carb Meatloaf Recipes

2025-09-13T02:34:51Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

I made a post on low-carb meatloaf recipes which includes a whole "eatloaf" section for vegetarian and vegan recipes. There are also lists of fillers, binders, and low-carb vegetables in case you want to experiment on your own. Some recipes are free of other things that people may wish to avoid. There are even a few that serve well as a holiday roast.

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Mint

2025-08-25T04:42:49Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

A friend mentioned having lots of mint and not knowing much to do with it. So here are some vegetarian / vegan ideas...

* It goes well in most agua fresca recipes (e.g. honeydew-mint, lime-mint).

* It also works in many salads or salad dressings, the kind of cold flavors you want on a hot day.

* Cucumber-mint sorbet makes a great palate cleanser anytime or a summer picnic alternative to side salad. You literally shove cucumbers and mint into a blender until smooth, then pour into your ice cream maker.

* You can candy the leaves and use them to decorate sweets such as cakes or cookies.

* Mint simple syrup is great for mixing beverages or drizzling over fruit or ice cream.

* Mint extract can be used to flavor many things such as candy or salad dressing.

* If you like spicy food, you cannot beat mint raita for a fire extinguisher. Also useful if you prefer savory yogurt and find most commercial brands too sweet. This should work with plant-based yogurts.

* Mint appears in various sauces.

* It works in many smoothies, like a green smoothie or chocolate mint.

https://sabrinacurrie.com/25-best-fresh-mint-recipes/

https://www.purewow.com/food/mint-recipes

https://neighborfoodblog.com/fresh-mint-recipes-for-summer/

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Food

2025-08-24T22:29:23Z

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

5 Ways to Use Freshly Roasted Hatch Chiles While They’re in Season

Once late August or early September rolls around, in-season Hatch chiles can be found at specialty grocery stores across the country. They are easiest to come by in the Southwest, but now savvy customers are asking for them far and wide. Whole Foods is frequently a reliable resource. You might find them raw or roasted for your convenience.

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favorite nondairy yogurts?

2025-07-07T15:33:28Z

Posted by: reeby10

I've gotten really into making chia pudding for breakfast the past few months and the recipe I use calls for yogurt. My favorite yogurt to use is the Oui nondairy vanilla (it's coconut based), but I only get two servings of chia pudding out of each container, so it gets expensive to use every day. So I'm looking for some good alternatives, particularly ones that are available in larger sized containers.

What are your favorite brands of nondairy yogurt?

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TFC: Dark Gardens

2025-06-13T17:59:45Z

Posted by: gothfvck

ysabetwordsmith wrote an entry in thefreaksclub entitled Photos: Dark Gardening you guys might be interested in!

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