This comes by way of the wonderful Empty Cages Collective based out of NYC.  Snapping turtles in NY state are in trouble.  Here’s the release from ECC:

Urgent! New Yorkers Please Help Stop Horrific Abuse & Killing of Turtles!

The New York State Legislature has introduced a destructive bill (A2490) legalizing the capture and killing of snapping turtles by hand, hook, spear, clubbing, and hoop trapping. Snapping turtles have few protections under current law and these changes will dramatically increase the danger to these vulnerable animals, and enshrine yet another form of animal cruelty into New York Law. This ugly legislation could result in thousands of more turtles being cruelly killed in the state of New York.

The bill has passed the Senate and is currently in the Assembly Codes Committee. This proposed legislation is inhumane and based on bad science. Turtles are already vulnerable to an existing multitude of threats such as loss of habitat, mortality rates of pregnant females crossing roadways, high hatchling death rates etc. Killing snapping turtles by traps and by clubbing them to death will only increase their population loss and increase the suffering these unfortunate animals already endure. Turtles need to be protected, not killed!

Would you please make a 30 second call ( simply leave a message with the receptionist) and email to the following legislators asking them to defeat A2490!

1. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - (518) 455- 3791. Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us

2. Assemblyman Joseph Lentol Chair of Codes – (518) 455-4100 LentolJ@assembly.state.ny.us

Help Empty Cages Collective protect New York State’s Reptile! Please share the information with your turtle loving friends and family.

The Cinnamon Snail will debuting new menu items as of TOMORROW May 14. This is exciting news for all of us Snail lovers. Not because we dislike the other menu items, but more because we know how freaking delicious everything this truck puts out truly tastes! So, without further adieu, here is their official press release! Don’t forget Jersey City peeps – Snaily comes back to Chilltown starting this THURSDAY at the HDSID Farmer’s Market at the Grove St. PATH plaza.

Monday May 13
For Immediate Release:

It’s that time of year again! The Cinnamon Snail food truck is debuting a new menu TOMORROW (Tuesday May 14) in the Financial District on Wall St. and Water.
I am really confident about this incarnation of our menu, and I think this is going to be the best selection our truck has ever had.These new items are in addition to our really large breakfast and lunch menu. The full menu is available on our website www.cinnamonsnail.com

Here are the new menu items, donuts, and other special stuff:

NEW MENU ITEMS:

Thai BBQ tempeh with pickled onions and Thai basil, arugula, smoked chili roasted peanuts, and sriracha mayonnaise on grilled spelt bread

Red plum pancakes with chamomile blood orange syrup, cardamom butter, smoked almonds and candied lemon rind

Seitan al pastor with beer battered jalapeños, greens, grilled pineapple and chipotle mayonnaise on grilled baguette

Basil pesto grilled tofu with white truffle cashew cheese, kalamata olive tapenade, arugula, and caramelized onions on garlic grilled baguette

Fiery black sesame tempeh salad with kale, arugula, kimchi and spiced cashews

New Seasonal Donuts:

-Toasted pistachio donuts with cardamom glaze
-Coffee Ice cream Sunday Donuts (chocolate cake donut with coffee glaze, espresso beans, ground dark chocolate and smashed sugar cones)
-Meyer Lemon Twists
-Brown Sugar Beer Glazed

NEW ICED COFFEES:
Star anise coconut milk iced coffee
Salted caramel dutch cocoa iced coffee
EXCITING NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE AVOIDING GLUTEN:
We now offer really nice gluten-free millet-flax bread! The following sandwiches can be made completely gluten-free if you ask for them on the new bread: Creole grilled tofu, Thai bbq tempeh, maple mustard tempeh, and basil pesto tofu. Gluten free bread is available for an extra dollar.

GREAT NEWS FOR JERSEY CITY:
Starting this Thursday May 16, we will also be serving dinner every Thursday at the Grove St. Farmers Market in Jersey City.

OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE:
Mondays- 48th and 6th (but sometimes we visit Dumbo or Varick st. on this day)
Tuesdays- Wall st. and Water
Wednesdays- Broadway between 55th and 56th
Thursdays- 21st and 5th (11:00-3:00), Jersey City Farmers Market (4:00-8:00)
Fridays- Park ave. between 46th and 47th
Saturdays- Various Locations
Sundays- Red Bank, NJ

Fans track our daily location, specials, and event updates on twitter: @veganLunchTruck or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/theCinnamonSnail

Awards, Info and Accolades of the Cinnamon Snail:

We are the country’s first organic vegan food truck, started in February 2010.
The Cinnamon Snail won the 2012 People’s Choice Vendy Award
The Cinnamon Snail is a 2010, 2011, and 2012 Vendy award nominee
The Cinnamon Snail won the 2011 Vendy award for their vanilla bourbon creme brulee donuts
Listed in the New York Post’s top trends of 2012
Highly rated on the New York Magazine Approval Matrix
Full 5 star Yelp rating with over 400 reviews
Winner of Mobile Cuisine Magazine’s “America’s Favorite Vegetarian Food Truck” in 2012
Named “The Best Food Truck in NYC” by Gothamist
We were named the #1 vegetarian street food in America by PETA 2011
We were awarded a 2011 Libby award for best east coast food truck
Named as one of the top ten food trucks in the country by Yahoo.com in 2010
Winner of the 2012 VegNews Veggie Award for best vegetarian food truck in America
Featured on the Food Network, Cooking Channel, New York Times, Time Out NY, Vegetarian Times, Veg News, New York Magazine, and New York Post.

Make heed and get thee to the Snaily ASAP!

Jimmmy’s “official” photo from Animal Care & Control

We had always hesitated about fostering cats in the past.  After all, we’ve already got four, two of which don’t get along very well.  However, when faced with death or coming to stay with us, we have to choose the latter!  After we agreed, it was arranged that Jimmmy would be delivered Friday night after I got home from work.  As a solution for possible disagreements between cats, and for Jimmmy’s safety, we purchased a large kennel crate.  I set it up with a litter box, a cozy towel bed, food and water and a little toy.  (Big shout out to Fussy Friends of Jersey City!  When I was purchasing the crate and told the owner what I was doing, he generously donated a bag full of cat food samples as well as a little toy for Jimmmy.  Big high fives to them!)

Jimmmy’s cozy set up

Jimmmy was delivered around 6:15pm, by the Wheels of Hope.  I caught a glimpse of him briefly before he was transferred to my carrier… a sweet black kitty with glowing yellow eyes, chatting away.  I learned from the driver that he had been on quite the adventure that day, accompanying some dogs that were being delivered to a rescue in Pennsylvania.  I quickly brought him upstairs thinking he’d need to use the potty!  I set him down in front of the crate and opened the door.  My breath was taken away at my first full sight of him – the poor thing was so incredibly thin.

I could feel all of his ribs and bones… poor guy.

I tried not to let this get to me too much, but made a vow right then and there that we would try and fatten him up nice and good!  (But not *too* fat!)  At this point, Tuggie (our most dominant cat) has run up to the top of the loft in the bedroom to hide (he does this when we dog sit our neighbor’s dog, Benson).  For being such a fierce little thing he sure is a scaredy!  Jack was also hiding at this point.  Cricket did surprisingly well – she and Tuggie are the two that don’t get a along.  Jack of course was just being typical Jack, hiding under the bed.  Nugget hid for a good while… but then he slinked out from the bedroom and approached the crate.  They touched noses with no  bad reaction!   This all was a very hopeful sight for me – maybe we can open our home to more cats in the future!

Nugget says hi to Jimmmy

Melissa got home around seven, bringing with her a hammock (meant for ferrets) that we hung up in his crate for him.  He was so not aggressive that I had to just let him out of the cage for a while.  Tuggie was still hiding and the other cats didn’t have much of an adverse reaction to him, so letting him out supervised should be fine, right?  Right I was!  He followed both Melissa and I around, looking up and letting out some cute little meows.  I brought him over to the couch where he made himself quite comfortable and snuggled down and got cozy.  My heart burst with warmth and love to see that he was safe and sound and happy.

Fast asleep… he sleeps with his eye open!

It’s been two days now since Jimmmy’s arrival, and while Tuggie is still being a brat, all else is going really well.  He spends the night in his crate without complaining.  He eats in his crate as well.  And we let him out supervised for several hours at a time.  Yesterday, he even managed to claim the most coveted spot in the apartment for a while – the moving platform/dolly underneath the dining room table!  That is one of Jack’s favorite spots… when he isn’t under the bed he’s on the moving platform/dolly.  You might ask why a moving platform, well, it is a cat person thing… once a cat has laid down on something and repeatedly goes to it, we can’t take it away!  (Whole Foods bags with their handles cut off is another thing that lasts long in this house!)

Jimmmy on the coveted platform

My hope from posting this story is that it inspires at least ONE of my readers to start fostering.  I’m telling you, if we can do it in our crazy cat house, YOU can do it.  This cat is perfectly wonderful and is going to make a super companion to someone or a family… I cannot believe he would have died on Wednesday if Empty Cages hadn’t stepped in… I simply can’t believe it.  So please, get in touch with your local rescue organizations and volunteer to open your heart and home to a foster.  Their lives *literally* depend on it.  <3  If you can’t foster, for whatever reason, please consider making a donation to a rescue to support their efforts.

If you are interested in ADOPTING Jimmmy, please get in touch with Empty Cages Collective (Jimmmy on Petfinder)

Here are some great rescues that are always looking for fosters:

Empty Cages Collective (NYC)

Liberty Humane Society (Jersey City)

Hudson County Animal League (Jersey City)

If you can’t foster, please donate!

A fostered cat is a happy cat!

Name:  Bud Burdick

Bud, vegan 6 years

Where do you live?  Brooklyn, NY

How long have you been vegan?  ”Almost 6 years”

What inspired you to take on a plant-based (vegan/vegetarian) diet?  ”My move toward a plant-based diet began a little over eight years ago.  I was at a hardcore show and the Syracuse Animal Rights Organization was tabling, offering pamphlets and leaflets, and showing videos portraying the plight of animals.  I later watched the film Meet Your Meat by PETA and was convinced that I needed to change.  I immediately stopped consuming most animal products with exception to “cage free”, organic eggs and shrimp.  Two and a half years later, after having eaten shrimp that smelled like bleach at a restaurant and looking more into the “cage free” industry, I decided to become vegan.”

What do you love most about being vegan?  ”I love knowing that I do no harm to others.  I love trying new foods, exploring those I am familiar with, and being part of an awesome community of caring, thoughtful individuals.  I love the fast recovery I experience after exercising, and the fast recovery following my chemotherapy treatments as I am currently battling leukemia.”

What three items do you always have in your pantry?

“1) Peanut Butter – a staple for sandwiches and smoothies.

2) Oatmeal – often used in smoothies as well, or eaten hot or cold with dried fruit

3) Whole Wheat Pita – great with hummus, I buy the varieties with the fewest ingredients.”

What is your favorite vegan comfort food?  “Foodswings” (Vegan restaurant in Brooklyn)

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about taking on a plant-based (vegan) diet?  “It is important to be open to try new things.  Many vegan foods are different from the standard American diet.  Explore the produce aisle, the internet, and local book stores for more options and ideas.  Seek out like-minded people through Meetup.com groups or local vegetarian groups, and be prepared to answer questions.  This means knowing why you are making this decision, and speaking on things that you know to be true.  You will be questioned by friends, family, and many people you meet as to why you made the change.  If you ever end up in a situation in which you feel “outnumbered” and are being lambasted with questions from non-vegans, offer to take down emails and send information at a later time.”

Do you find anything difficult about being vegan?  “I do not.”

Any other comments you or words of wisdom you would like to add?  “I have recently experienced life changing events and have documented much of my journey into veganism and through these times in my blog. I feel I have some good things to say and this is my outlet. Check it out:  budburdick.com “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it” -Chinese Proverb”

Thank you so much, Bud, for sharing your story.  I highly suggest visiting his website, as I believe he offers a unique outlook as a vegan, and someone who has been dealt some pretty serious challenges… best of all, he does it with a smile.  It can serve as inspiration to anyone – vegan or otherwise – to truly love and experience your life to the fullest.  Thank you for such an inspirational perspective, Bud!  Let’s high-five at the next Vegan Drinks, ok?  

I recently was asked to guest-blog for the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival!  Click the image below to check it out.

I’ll be attending this year’s festival as well, volunteering for the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary‘s table.  Hope to see you there!

(Photo: BettyTurbo on etsy.com)

For the Nooch lover (aren’t we all?!)… need I say any more?  Quite possibly the perfect Valentine’s Day card.  (Vegan Macaroni Valentine by BettyTurbo, $4.00)

Pucker up!

Nothing says Valentine quite like a kiss!  Sweeten up your pout with a new lip balm.  I’m a big fan of LUSH cosmetics, and their new lip gloss The Kiss will do just the trick!  Slightly tinted and full of goodness, it’s sure to leave a delicious mark on your lover (or kitty cat). (Lush Cosmetics, $7.50, Newport Mall, Jersey City)

(Photo: The Cinnamon Snail Facebook page)

If you’re local to Jersey City/NYC, you most certainly have heard of The Cinnamon Snail vegan food truck.  If you haven’t, you need to really get out more because the Snaily is where it’s AT!  They are offering a full Valentine’s Day goodie menu – everything from donuts (I must recommend the Hulk Hogan Fudgie Wudgie!) to chocolate to cheesecake!  Must order by February 10th in order to pick up your order on February 14th in Red Bank, NJ or Manhattan.  (Assorted, $3-34.00)

The Scent of the Wilderness

For those who enjoy the outdoors (or just the smell of them), Juniper Ridge makes a lovely line of bath and body products amongst other Wilderness inspired products.  With scents such as Sierra Summer Pine and Red Rock Canyon, you’ll be smelling like the Great Outdoors from the comfort of your 3rd floor walk up. Added bonus:  portions of the proceeds are donated to Wilderness preservation organizations.  (Sierra Summer Pine Bar Soap, $12.00, online)

(Photo: Christy Robinson Design)

Wear your support around your neck with beautifully designed vegan-inspired jewelry by Christy Robinson Design.  Featuring a variety of jewelry (for men and women) and is offering a special Valentine’s Day collection where you are sure to find a lovely bauble for your vegan honey.  I’ve been eyeing her pieces for quite some time!  (Vegan Heart Necklace, $35.00, online)

(Photo: Kayt Hester society6.com)

For the art lover, Jersey City artist Kayt Hester has some wonderful animal-inspired prints (as well as iPhone cases, pillows and stationary) available online.  Her medium is masking tape (Yes! Masking tape!) and quite often does art shows to benefit local Jersey City animal rescues.  She also is available for commissioned works (can you say pet portraits?!).  (Kayt Hester Tape, Prints starting at $12.48 / Commissions starting at $250.00, online).

Love is sponsoring a rescued farm animal!

Feel good the whole year through by sponsoring an animal in honor of your true love.  Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary offers a range of sponsorship levels, and you’ll know a little critter is well-fed for the entire year.  Commemorate your sponsorship by spending the day with your special critter and volunteer for a day… you could even make that a monthly event, too!  The couple that volunteers together, stays together… plus what could be more romantic than slinging pig poo for the day?  (WFAS Sponsorship Package, $10-50.00/month, online)

And for those who are all about the kink, you can find vegan-friendly boudoir accessories at The Vegan Sex Shop… enjoy!

In all its vegan, gooey, cheesy glory!

Your mouth is probably watering after viewing that photo, so I’ll save you the written oozy goodness about this recipe and cut right to the chase.  I just want to say that this recipe is ENTIRELY original, not an improvisation on another recipe, but one that Melissa came up with all her own.  I’m insanely proud of her!

Melissa’s Mac Un-Cheeze (Serves 6-8)

Ingredients

1. Pre-heat oven to 425F
2. Cook and drain pasta, set aside.
3. Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan on low heat.  Add the flour, quickly whisk together with the butter.  Add soy milk, turn heat up to medium.  Add nutritional yeast, whisk together.
4. Add the Daiya vegan shreds, stir.  Cook on low/medium until the shreds melt and forms a somewhat thick sauce, but not too thick. Watch the heat so it doesn’t burn or boil.
5. Once the sauce is ready (forming a melted and thickened sauce), remove from heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Mix the pasta and sauce together in a 9×9 baking dish and add some more shreds as you go along.  Use a generous amount of cheddar shreds on top, as well as a generous amount of panko bread crumbs.  No real measurements on this part, depends on how much melty and crunchy goodness you like!  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.
7. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bread crumbs are golden.  Let cool and enjoy!

Tonight the Mac Un-Cheeze was served with some yummy crispy tofu cutlets and collard greens.  Talk about comfort food to the extreme!  Perfect for the sub-zero temperatures we have been experiencing here in Jersey City!

I mean, really now. I just can’t.

Name:  Lisa Drapkin

Lisa D., vegan 1 & 1/2 years

Where do you live?  Ditmas Park, Brooklyn

How long have you been vegan?  ”1 and a half years”

What inspired you to take on a plant-based (vegan/vegetarian) diet?  ”

“My journey to veganism started when I stumbled upon the Mercy for Animals web site.  On their homepage was a video of an undercover investigation (http://www.mercyforanimals.org/calves/) they had recently done on a dairy farm in Texas.  It was devastating, and showed calves being tortured.  I had never even thought of calves being associated with dairy, and it was very clear to me from that point on how consuming dairy products directly related to this cruelty.  I immediately stopped doing so entirely, and soon after became aware of how horrible animals were treated in the meat and egg industries as well.  Before this I had no idea what factory farms were and the horrors they inflict upon so many innocent, helpless creatures.  This information affected me greatly.  However, my transition from here was kind of a weird one.  I decided to try not eating any animal products at all anymore, but didn’t express to anyone what I was doing because I wasn’t really sure myself.  At the time, I didn’t know anyone vegan, and had the idea in my head that it would be too hard.

After a couple of weeks, I was already giving up, as I wasn’t fully invested in the idea of being vegan yet, and so hadn’t even tried researching all the amazing vegan food options I now know to exist.  Instead, I started looking into “humane” farms.  I decided I was ok with the idea of an animal being killed for food as long as they lived a good life.  Though I knew I didn’t want them to be abused, I didn’t think that unnecessarily killing a chicken or cow for human consumption was wrong because in my mind they were in a separate category of animals than the dogs or cats I had known.  I researched all the different “humane” farm labels, and only one – Animal Welfare Approved – held any even remotely significant standards relating to the welfare of animals.  They accounted for LESS than one percent of farms in the U.S., and it happened that a venue in a nearby Farmer’s Market sold their products.  So for about a month, I was in this kind of limbo period in which the only animal products I was consuming at all were from this stand.

Either way, what I had learned about the abuse of farmed animals was something I couldn’t get out of my mind.  I wanted to become involved in some kind of activism for this cause but I had no idea how.  I decided to call a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long time, one who I knew was an activist for many causes.  This person had always been someone who I found to be incredibly intelligent, inspiring, and who I respected greatly.  Though at the time I contacted him, I didn’t know he had himself become vegan a few months back.  When we met one day, I started off by saying that I had recently been informed of the suffering of billions of animals, and felt deeply disturbed by it.  The first thing he said excitedly, was, “are you vegan now too?” And I told him yes, I was.  I knew at once it would appear ultra-hypocritical to tell him the truth that no, here I was asking him how to help resolve my pain that came along with empathy for these animals, while still contributing to their exploitation myself.  So, from that moment on the lie that I told my friend became a truth, but I proclaimed it with the intention of that happening.

From then, I let my heart open fully.  My perception of the world completely altered, and my psyche evolved into who I have become over this past year and a half.  I now realize how crazy it was that I wanted animals to live a good life, but then didn’t care if they were violently killed for my consumption.  I now understand that eating animals and their secretions is far from being a personal choice, because the animals didn’t have a choice but to be confined, mutilated, and slaughtered.  I began to see all animals as individuals who deserve to be free from harm and suffering, and how warped society causes our minds to be in the way in which we feel only certain animals should be treated with compassion.  However, I know fully that I never would have even come close to comprehending this had I not stopped contributing to their exploitation.  I had to first take that step back and see things from a different perspective.  I now recognize the cruelty that lies behind every facet of our society, and am aware that animal exploitation is absolutely everywhere.  Although, despite the sadness that occurs when that veil of ignorance is lifted, I wouldn’t go back to my blindness for anything in the world.”

What do you love most about being vegan?  ”What I love most by far is the fellow vegans that I’ve become connected with just through our shared beliefs, and the community of like-minded people I now have in my life.  I’ve met some of the greatest people I’ve ever known over this time, especially those I’ve met from doing advocacy work together.”

What three items do you always have in your pantry?  “Peanut Butter – always a great source of quick protein, especially when I’m broke:)

Nutritional Yeast – used to think it was a weird food item but now I LOVE sprinkling it on pasta

Olive oil – always using it to cook”

What is your favorite vegan comfort food?  “The all-vegan Champs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is my go-to place for vegan comfort food and pretty much everything I’ve gotten from there is amazing – whether it’s chili, pancakes, burritos, cheese fries, nachos, or apple pie – for vegans that love having those items we thought we would miss (but don’t have to) –  Champs is a great place to go.”

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about taking on a plant-based (vegan) diet?  “I would say, start reading, and learn all the facts for yourself.  Know why you are doing it.  If to you, the reason means something, than it will be much easier to do, and to stick with.  Start substituting foods you like with vegan options, like soy milk and veggie meatballs.  Go at the pace that works for you.  The more foods you find and like, the easier it will be.  If there’s one thing you can’t seem to give up right away, then give up everything but that!”

Do you find anything difficult about being vegan?  “What I find difficult is the absurdity of living in a world where we (vegans) have to justify and are considered abnormal for thinking it’s wrong to inflict suffering onto powerless beings for the mere fact that we can.  I don’t know how that part will ever get easier, unless more and more people start to wake up to the truth, but besides for that, everything about it is wonderful.  The food part is the easiest because you start to learn just how many amazing options there are that you never would have tried previously.”

Any other comments you or words of wisdom you would like to add?  “If you’re vegan and you’d like to help educate others learn about the cruelty behind animal products, a great way to do so is through leafleting.  Vegan Outreach is an organization that provides wonderful leaflets to distribute to students on college campuses, or in busy areas.  Go to VeganOutreach.org to learn more, or contact Emily for my information if you’d like to help me leaflet at a school in the NYC/NJ area in spring 2013!”

I can’t even begin to tell you what an awesome advocate Lisa D. is in the AR world!  I met Lisa last year when we were both volunteering at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s rooftop benefit in Brooklyn… she told us about Vegan Drinks, marching in the NYC Pride Parade with Mercy For Animals, and we see each other at countless AR/Vegan events around the NYC area.  Her story is compelling and I’m so grateful to have her share it here on Jersey City Vegan.  Thank you Lisa, for all you do for the vegan movement, animal rights and most of all, the animals.  

How it works:  First, the participant sends me the recipe of their favorite meal.  Perhaps it’s a comfort food, or maybe a traditional family meal.  I’ll take that recipe and vegan-ize it, provide you a shopping list, and modify the recipe method to account for any cooking changes that might need to happen with the vegan-ized ingredients.  Then the participant cooks and documents their process, fills out a short questionnaire and cost sheet.  Last, I post about it!  If you would like to participate, please feel free to get in touch with me.  If you’re an omnivore looking to add more meatless options, a vegetarian, or a new vegan, this project is for you!

Sarah chose a recipe featuring steak, served with a Korean-style sauce.  I suggested she substitute seitan, tofu or Portobello mushroom.  That was the only ingredient that needed to be vegan-ized.  She chose to prepare the recipe with seitan.

Name:  Sarah Pascarella

Location:  Somerville, MA

How would you describe your diet?

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Omnivore

What dish did you prepare?  Grilled Korean-Style Seitan with Spicy Cilantro Sauce

How easy was it to find the ingredients for the recipe?  

• Totally Easy
• Sort of easy, I had to go to a few places
• Really difficult
• I could not find the ingredients

Was preparing the dish more difficult or easier with the vegan ingredients?

• Much easier
• Sort of easier
• Kind of harder
• Totally hard

How did the vegan-ized version of the dish taste?  “The vegan-ized version was quite delicious! The primary differences from the original steak recipe were in texture and presentation, not taste. Regarding texture, the seitan was a bit chewier than a steak would be, but we were not turned off by the difference. Regarding presentation, as the seitan comes in strips, the final version we prepared looked more like a stir-fry, rather than a filet of steak. (This could be easily resolved, however, if we go with a portobello mushroom or tofu next time.)

As for taste, the primary flavors were the same, and we didn’t miss the steak. In this recipe, the marinade and cilantro sauce are so delicious that they take center stage, regardless of which protein is being used. We did cut back on the soy in both the marinade and cilantro sauce, though, as we saw the seitan already had soy in it. I’m sure the salt content in this meal was a bit high — another argument for using the portobello next time.”

Did you serve the dish to anyone besides yourself?  Who?  What did they think?  ”I ate this dish with my husband, Andy. I prepped the sauces and the seitan, and Andy grilled it and served it over rice. We both enjoyed it and are curious to try it again with the other types of protein Emily suggested!”

How likely are you to always prepare this dish vegan-ized?

• Very likely (I will always prepare it vegan)
• Somewhat likely (I will sometimes prepare it vegan)
• Not at all likely (I will never prepare it vegan)

Please share any further thoughts you might have about your experience.  ”Because the steak is secondary to the sauces, I think in the future I’ll avoid using meat with this recipe. Why go with meat when it’s just a conduit for sauce? Seems a bit silly (and less healthy) when other options exist.”

Cost breakdown:

Vegan Ingredients

Seitan (2 boxes) $7.38
Cilantro $2.99
Limes (2) $1.38
Habanero pepper $0.79

Total $12.54 

Non-Vegan Ingredients

Flank Steak $8.99
Cilantro $2.99
Limes (2) $1.38
Habanero pepper $0.79

Total $14.15

Seitan instead of steak

Marinating the seitan

Grilling the seitan in the grill pan

Dinner is served!