The Covert Vegan

Vegan and Beyoootiful

2009-11-08T15:18:00.013-06:00

One more quick post before I hit the books- what I meant to talk about before I went off on the school tangent. Vegan beauty products. You vegan chicks already know that good ones can be hard to find, and a lot of vegan shampoos leave your hair feeling like straw, while the skin care products may leave you with, shall we say, undesired landscaping. I've tried a lot. Here are my favorites.

Hair Care- Pureology. Wonderful smells, highly concentrated (read: a little goes a long way), and amazing results. It's costly, but a regular size bottle lasts a long time and the stuff just rocks. A cheaper, low-commitment way to find out for yourself is to buy the travel-size bottles and give it a try before splurging on the full-size. I am never going back. Pick it up at Ulta or any place that sells salon quality products.

Speaking of salons, I highly recommend Evolution Salon. I went there for the first time recently and had a wonderful experience. Debbie Naser cut and colored my hair, and let me just say that this woman is delightful and an experience unto herself (book an appointment and see for yourself). She uses Davines products, which are not 100% vegan but are very eco-conscious as far as formulas and packaging goes. The owner of the salon is vegan herself, and Pureology products are sold there, too.

Hair care budget option: Shikai Color Reflect. Pretty darn good. Get it at Whole Foods.

Skin Care- Skin Organics by Ann Webb. Again, somewhat pricey and smallish bottles, but it doesn't take much so you still get your money's worth. Formulas are available for oily, dry, normal, or aging skin. I can't say enough good things about these products- they do what they say they'll do and they smell nice to boot. Bonus: they are made by an esthetician in Austin, so they're fairly local. Skin Organics products are sold at Whole Foods or on the Skin Organics website. Today I bought Citrus Ginger Hand Soap and it smells amazing. They have also introduced a non-scented body lotion, body cream, and an intriguing combination eye and lip balm.

Skin care budget option: Avalon Organics Vitamin C line, also at Whole Foods.

Makeup- Bare Escuentals. Moderately priced, plentiful, and pretty. There are gazillions of color combinations, plus they sell a lot of starter kits in which you get some nice products and a few brushes for a lot less than if you bought them individually. Bonus: Bare Escuentals was just voted favorite makeup of 2009 by VegNews magazine, so if you don't believe me, you can believe all those other people who voted for them too. Bare Escuentals has free-standing stores in major metropolitan areas and are also available at Ulta. If you shop at the Bare Escuentals store, they give you a handy-dandy stamp card that earns you $10 off after you've spent $120, and they give you 10% off on the month of your birthday. Can't beat that.

Body care: Sappo Hill Fragrance-Free Oatmeal Soap. You can get a bar of this stuff at Whole Foods for two bucks. If you want to be fancy about it, get a nice hemp or bamboo washcloth to lather it on. Bonus: You get eco-friendly points for using bar soap, which creates much less waste that liquid soap (one small slip of paper versus a big plastic bottle). Once you're all nice and squeaky clean, treat yourself to Shikai's Hand and Body Lotion. It comes in several scents, but if you're the nostalgic type get Honeysuckle- it smells like childhood.

So, there you have it, my 2 cents worth on how to be the foxiest vegan on the block. Let's face it, some of us still want to be girly-girls even though we're hippies at heart. I've told you where I get all these things, but I'm sure each product's website can give you other retailers if you don't have access to Whole Foods or Ulta. Also, if you have other products that you just love, feel free to add them in the comments section.

Happy grooming!

The Disappearing, Reappearing Vegan

2009-11-08T13:58:00.015-06:00

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In that case, I'm probably going to hell on account of this blog. I think about it often, but it's a rare occasion when I actually sit down to write. I have a list of topics that I promise I'll get around to one day, really. For the moment, I am putting off studying, so I thought I would drop in and talk about a few things.

So yeah, studying. Remember all that free time I was so excited about? Apparently I'm not such a fan after all. Sometime over the summer, I was hit with the idea to go back to school. Being a natural research junkie, I have learned a lot since going vegan about the treatment of animals in the food industry, the health and environmental benefits of veganism, and food and nutrition. Nutrition has always been an interesting and elusive subject for me, and I've said many many times that being vegan has helped me learn how to eat more healthfully than I ever did as an omnivore on the SAD (Standard American Diet). Hell, I grew up on McDonald's and Chef Boyardee, then later graduated to Ramen and Frosted Flakes as nutritional staples. Not healthy.

Early on in this vegan journey, I looked for a vegan dietitian to help me make sure I was getting everything I need to be healthy (as opposed to the junk-food vegetarian I was as a teenager). Um, yeah. Not so easy. I'm sure there are a couple in the area, I mean there have to be, right? Still, I couldn't find them. So I bought a bunch of books and figured it out myself. A lot like I learned how to bake, actually.

Okay, back to this summer. I have no idea what made the thought occur, but I started thinking about going to school for dietetics. A dear friend of mine is a Licensed Professional Counselor who works primarily with eating disorders, so she knows quite a few dietitians. I asked her thoughts, and she was immediately excited about and supportive of the idea. I did some research (naturally). UT Southwestern is beginning a Master of Clinical Nutrition program in the fall of 2010. I contacted an advisor. She looked over my transcripts and told me that I would need to take a pile of science before I could apply: general chemistry I and II, organic chemistry I and II, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, and introductory nutrition. Holy hell. That's a lot of science. I took geology. Oh my.

Well. The Dallas County Community College District offers accelerated general and organic chemistry classes, in which you can take I and II in the same semester. After much frustration and quite a few trips up to the registrar's and science offices, I enrolled in general chemistry I and II as well as an online nutrition class. Apparently I had decided to go through with this. It's not like me to be impulsive.

It's been a helluva semester so far. I just finished chemistry I (got a B!), and am now working on chemistry II. It turns out I love chemistry even though I struggle with it a lot- the work is so hard and frankly I'm not used to being challenged, but it's all so amazing to me that it's darn near spiritual. Already my chemistry studies have already begun to overlap with what I am learning in nutrition, and you'd be totally right to call me a nerd if you knew how excited I get about that. This semester has been tough, but it's probably going to be the least demanding one. I hope to CLEP biology during the winter break (yeah, seriously, I bought a book to learn it on my own), and then take organic chemistry I and II in the spring along with genetics and microbiology, then biochemistry in the spring- all while working 40 hours a week, going to roller derby practice at least four times a month, and finding quality time with the fella. Hoo boy.

All of this I am doing on a leap of faith and the huge assumption that I will be accepted into a brand-new program that will only accept about 16 people a year. I bug the nutrition advisors at UTSW every couple months so they will hopefully remember me as that super-motivated girl who took two years of science in half the time when I apply early next year. If I make it, I will have to quit my job to go to school full-time, and will walk out of the program with all my clinical rotations complete and ready to take the test to become a registered dietitian. I am fortunate to have the Hubster, who is nervous but supportive of my newest endeavor. Plus, being a fitness enthusiast, I'm sure he's down with having a nutritionist in the house.

It was not my intention to write all of this when I sat down, so forgive me my rambling. I am just so excited about the next few years and onward; it's another one of those things that seems to be falling into place as long as I do the legwork (and my homework!). If all goes according to plan, Dallas will have a vegan dietitian in about three years. I hope to go into private practice with a focus on vegan and vegetarian nutrition, eating disorders, and disease prevention. Every single person I've talked to about this has been incredibly supportive, which is so validating. I've been sort of self-conscious about telling people, but I always get the same reaction: "Yep, that makes sense. I can totally see you doing that." It's good to know I'm on the right path- it sure helps me keep going when I am overwhelmed with everything I've crammed into my life, yet again.

Speaking of, I have homework to do. Something about chemical kinetics and equilibrium. Wish me luck!

Help! I need potato salad!

2009-06-30T22:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, foodies, I need a good potato salad recipe, and I'll bet I'm not the only one. This is the audience participation segment of our program: Post your favorites in the comments section- let's see how many we can gather up! Oh yeah, and can you get those to me by Friday? I've been recruited to bring potato salad to the family Fourth of July party...

Yes, I am blatantly using you. In exchange, I will post the recipe (veganized, of course) for my Grandma's cornbread stuffing for you to use at Thanksgiving. It's killer, but without the killing.

Spiral Diner's Dessert Class

2009-06-14T21:42:00.002-05:00

This evening, for the first time, I took one of the Spiral Diner's cooking classes. I've wanted to for a long time, but didn't for a few reasons- no time, schedule conflicts, not wanting to seem like I was there doing recon to steal their recipes... Well, now that I'm not a baker anymore, I saw no harm in taking a class, and truthfully, I've never been able to make a brownie that isn't cakey. I love their brownies. I would've paid the $40 just for that recipe because they nailed it.

Tonight's class focused on desserts- mostly baked goods- taught by Amy and her husband (I'm embarrassed to say I didn't catch his name; someone please add it to the comments if you know it), who were kind enough to come over from Fort Worth to fill us with delicious vegan wisdom. I imagined the class would be hands-on, all of us in the kitchen working together to make the goodies ourselves. In retrospect, that was an unrealistic assumption, since it would be pretty hectic to try to make that much stuff in the two hours we had to do it. So, it was more of a baking demonstration. If you are familiar with baking, not a big deal. For those who aren't, you should still be okay. Just know that this class will teach you the procedure for making these specific items, but not really the basics of baking. Baking is more temperamental than cooking, and there is very little margin for error or experimentation unless you really know what you're doing. However, the class ends with Amy's husband sharing his email address and inviting us to contact him if there are any questions and problems. Additionally, he suggested a few variations and suggestions on some of the recipes, so you can still play a little.

In the end, we learned how to make Spiral Diner's chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cranberry cookies, pie crust, apple and blueberry pie, brownies, and chocolate mousse. Everything was demonstrated up to the point of being ready to go into the oven (except the mousse), and tidbits of baking advice and vegan insights were shared along the way. Like I said, I was there for the brownies, but there were some high points and happy surprises as well. When we arrived, everything was already made and out, and each of the 23 members of the class were invited to try everything. I didn't know that the Spiral Diner made chocolate mousse, and all I can say is DANG. Delicious. Super easy to make. Bonus! Also, it was nice to have the demonstration for making pie crust, which turned out to be seriously less intimidating than most recipes and grandmas make it sound.

Though I was initially disappointed that we wouldn't get to make anything ourselves, in the end I really liked the format of the class. It was nice to be able to relax and learn without having to work, and the recipes alone were worth the cost of the class. I definitely suggest taking one of these classes if you're vegan, vegetarian, considering going vegan or vegetarian, or like food. Next month's class will be Comfort Food. See ya there.

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

2009-05-27T21:31:00.014-05:00

Recently I made the difficult decision to give up Covert Vegan Baking Company. It was not one I came to easily; in fact, it is something that I have been agonizing over for months. Truth be told, I have wanted to do this for some time, but have let myself be talked out of many times, both by myself and others. Though I haven't taken the time over the last year to update the blog, a lot has happened. Many times I wanted to come here and share the good news, but time has been an elusive luxury. Please allow me to explain.

I founded Covert Vegan Baking Company with the hope that I would be able to generate enough business to eventually be able to open my own bakery, and have gained a bit of notoriety in Dallas for it. At the same time, I've also been working at a demanding full-time job, so I've spent the last year really burning the candle at both ends. I had to stop taking orders from individuals because it simply became too much, so I limited the work to making things for Green Spot Eco Mart and Crooked Tree Coffee House (both of whom had picked up Covert Vegan products about a year ago). Even still, that was a lot to juggle along with work, and much of my free time was eaten up in my kitchen (no pun intended. Okay, maybe a little). My hope of drumming up enough business (and subsequent income) was possible, but there are only so many hours in a day, and so many batches of cookies that can fit into each of those hours. I had created a monster, but that monster was still my baby. I was exhausted, but I didn't want to abandon it.

The time had come for me to admit to myself that it was just too much. I've thought about it for some time, talked about it, agonized over it, and all I can say is that I know it's the right thing to do. For the last several months, I have been doing this simply out of obligation, not wanting to let anyone down- those who encouraged me to start in the first place, those who supported me so much, those who liked my stuff and would be sad to see it go, and especially the wonderful people at Crooked Tree. At the same time, though, I was no longer enjoying this thing I used to love, and was spending way too much time and effort getting nowhere. Life is not meant to be all work, so the time came for me to redefine my priorities. My only conflict was that I still wanted vegan baked goods to be available, but happily, that conflict was answered.

My friends Chris and Jennie, who are also vegan professional bakers, have taken the reigns. These two were trying to build their baking business as I was trying to end mine, and the serendipity and synchronicity were too compelling to ignore. It's a win for everyone that I am incredibly grateful for and relieved over. They have the time, the equipment, the space, the know-how, and most importantly, the desire and discipline to make this work. All I had was the recipes, which are now theirs, too. About two weeks ago, I delivered to Crooked Tree for the last time. I cried. A lot. Two days after that, Jennie delivered to Crooked Tree for the first time. Later that day, I hung out there and ate a cinnamon roll I didn't make for the first time in years. It was awesome.

In the last two weeks, I have had more free time than I have in a year. It has been such a tremendous relief. I get to rest, and yummy vegan baked goods are still available in Dallas. Chris and Jennie are already taking things in a wonderful direction under the fantastic new name "Tough Cookie Bakery." As for me, my days of being the Covert Vegan aren't ending; they're simply changing. After a little while longer of sitting around and enjoying my newfound free time, I plan to start writing again here in the sadly neglected Covert Vegan blog. My focus will be on making it easier to be vegan in Dallas- where to eat, what to avoid, things you might not think of, supporting green and vegan-friendly businesses, funny stories, answering common questions, etc. I hope this can become as well known as Covert Vegan the Baker was, but even if it helps just a few people, or maybe entertains someone, that would be nice. Still, do me a favor and subscribe, wouldja?

So, I guess that's about it. As Covert Vegan Baking Company fades into the horizon, Covert Vegan the blogger will start running her mouth. And as for Rachael...she'll be baking only what she wants, when she wants, and that will freaking rock.

~Rachael
The Covert Vegan

As you would expect...

2008-03-18T20:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning, I dropped by Opening Bell Coffee for a fix, as I was feeling a little too lazy to actually make coffee myself. While I was there, I noticed a jar on the counter that said something about vegan. Upon closer examination, the jar held these pre-packaged heart-shaped baked things, I think they were supposed to be something like a Power Bar. On the label, it said in big font that it was vegan. When I asked about it, the barista said they were good but pretty dry, "as you would expect." Because, you know, all vegan food is nasty or, at best, tastes like cardboard.

Well, we'll just see about that. I'm going to take them some cookies soon.

Farewell, Old Friend

2008-03-11T10:59:00.024-05:00

Last week, in the middle of baking, my mixer stopped working. Well, not completely- my little 3-speed hand mixer still worked, but only on full blast. If you've ever used a mixer, you know that means a small explosion of ingredients every time you turn the blasted thing on. Makes sense, it's the cheap mixer I got when I first moved out and has served me well for over ten years. Time for a new one.

Of course, that shouldn't be too big a deal, but for me it was. I blame Walt Disney and, to a lesser extent, Pixar. As a grown-up with no children and an aversion to most things Disney, I don't watch a lot of their movies anymore, but no matter. They got to me at my most impressionable- when I was a child. Remember these movies? The softies reading this already know what I'm talking about- those movies where everything, including animals, insects, toys both broken and intact, clocks, lamps, cars, trees, tables, cups, plates, silverware, and, yes, household appliances, all have complex social structures, lives, feelings, friends, and attachments. Now, I still absolutely believe this about animals and no one is going to talk me out of it (speaking of, check out this article in National Geographic regarding animals' ability to think and feel), so that's not the problem. It's the rest of the stuff. I've always had a hard time replacing, getting rid of, or throwing anything away for this reason. I've been driving for fifteen years and am only on my fourth car, and you can bet that I grieved and cried over each one before. Obviously I know that inanimate objects are not sentient, they're not self-aware, they don't feel, and they're not going to be sad if I have to replace them, but that doesn't stop the nagging guilt that my old mixer's feelings were hurt last night when I came home with a new one. I have to actively tell myself that my mixer really wasn't immediately terrified of going into the garbage when its two most important settings ceased to function, and that the coffee-maker, the spatulas, and the bread machine weren't all trying to help it escape at night rather than see their friend go to the city dump. No more than I believe (okay, should believe) that my old dryer is inconsolable over its missing mate, the recently broken and hauled off washing machine, while it awaits a new home and is taunted by the fancy front-loading washer and dryer that have recently taken their places.

See, now I'm just making myself sad. By the way, does anyone need a dryer? He- I mean it- needs a good home with someone who will be nice to it. And a washer to be friends with.

Anyway, back to the mixer. Following a few days of procrastinating and several shirts (both mine and Hubby's) covered in vegan cookie guts, I sucked it up and got a new mixer yesterday. It's shiny and lovely and I made a cake this morning as an excuse to use it (okay, okay, and as an excuse to eat cake in the morning). I like it, but I don't have the heart to throw the old one away- yet. After all, it is the mixer that started Covert Vegan. Maybe I'll keep it... for posterity.

Dallas, Texas: Green & Vegan?

2008-03-07T13:33:00.009-06:00

I just don't know what to make of all these fantastic new places popping up in Dallas.

Last night, thanks to some bad weather that got me sent home early from the Day Job, Hubby and I went to the Spiral Diner's new Dallas location for the second time. Yummy vegan food minus the 30-mile drive, yay! I had mixed feelings about Spiral coming to Dallas- Spiral Diner and Bakery, that is. Is there room in Dallas for two vegan chicks who bake? I worried that our relationship might be adversarial, which is the last thing I'd want. The place rocks, and I'm contemplating going there once a day until I've had everything on the menu- which would take a while, thanks to their diversity of offerings. But I will admit that I have been known to sneak over to the bakery case and size them up. Truthfully, though, we really do different things, and we can probably even feed off of each other (get it?). Oak Cliff could turn into Vegan Mecca if we play our cards right, and maybe even change the preconceptions a few people have about veganism. That said, I have no idea if they've even heard of Covert Vegan Baking Company. I hope so.

The second unbelievable new Dallas business is- get this- an eco-friendly, vegan-friendly, green gas station in the White Rock Lake area called the Green Spot. Their gas pumps aren't operational yet, but I was actually giddy when I went to check it out today. They sell Tofutti ice cream sandwiches in the freezer section! Their soda cups are made of corn! They sell earth-friendly cleaning products! Everything there is organic and natural and wonderful. I can't even begin to list all the great stuff they had, so I won't try. Instead, go check it out- they're at the corner of Buckner and Northcliff. They don't have a website yet, but hopefully will soon.

Oh, right, and I asked if they'd be interested in selling local vegan cookies instead of those Alternative Baking Company ones they had at the register. Yeah, they're down. More on that as it develops. Covert Vegan fans, promise me you'll go there to buy cookies if they're willing to sell them. In fact, go there anyway. I want to support these guys, both Green Spot and Spiral Diner, in any way possible because I want them to succeed. No reason Dallas can't be plastic and green, right?

The Accidental Baker

2008-03-05T16:22:00.001-06:00

I have existed for just over a month now. Well, that's not entirely true. As Rachael, I've been around for over 31 years, but Covert Vegan Baking Company has existed- officially- since January 23, 2008. That's when I filed the LLC to become an actual company. How crazy that a year ago this was the furthest thing from my mind.

Here's the story: In September 2005, for the second time in my life, I went vegetarian (I spent 3 years veg as a teenager but, sadly, lost my way). As a cheese lover, I'd always sworn I'd never go vegan. However, I'm a research junkie. I wanted to be sure that I ate healthfully, instead of being the junk-food vegetarian I was as a kid. So I learned more about being vegetarian, and as a result, I learned more about the treatment of animals used for food. Within a year I went vegan and haven't looked back. It just made sense. I can no longer reconcile eating dairy and eggs, knowing that the animals bred for this are treated as badly (and often worse) than those bred for producing meat. Additionally, I have since given up honey, silk, leather, wool...if it comes from an animal or an insect, I don't used it. Period.

But that's not the point. The point is, how did the girl once quoted as saying "Why would you make it from scratch if you can buy it in a can?" turn into a baker? The answer is out of necessity. The transition to veganism wasn't that hard, and I don't miss the obvious- meat, eggs, cheese, Steve Madden shoes, etc. What I missed was cookies. Muffins. Croissants. Cinnamon rolls. It all started with cinnamon rolls.

January 2007: Hubby (also vegan) and I were walking through the mall and I got a whiff of...Cinnabon. Heaven. I tried to rationalize it- surely those buttery rolls with the cream cheese icing were dairy-free, right? Hubby looked at me with that look that says, "It's just too sad to point out that you're crazy." I went home that day craving and on a mission. The internet and I went out in search of possibility- is a vegan cinnamon roll possible? Yup. After a few substitutions, this wonderful brand called Tofutti, a couple hours, and a very messy kitchen, hubby and I are digging on some pretty darn convincing cinnamon rolls, "cream cheese" icing and all. Ugly, but delicious.

And thus a monster was created. I started making everything vegan: cookies, pancakes, muffins, cakes, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake, corn bread, whatever. I've always been a marginal cook, but it turned out I was actually good at baking! Proud of my new inventions, I started toting them to work, to friends' houses, to the Urban Bazaar (see www.themakesite.com, you'll be glad you did), everywhere. My coworkers initially treated me with suspicion and acted as though they'd been poisoned when they found out they were eating vegan food, but over time they started looking forward to it. Nice people who actually knew something about baking gave me feedback when I did something wrong. Then, one magical day, my friend Julie said something that I would have never imagined: "What about a vegan bakery?" Yes, Julie, of course. Of course.

The great thing about friends is that they will support you even when you're procrastinating. These wonderful people started telling people I sold vegan baked goods before it was actually true. I started supplying piles of goodies for Make at the First Thursday in Bishop Arts (and haven't missed one since, I might add!). One night while I was hanging out there, a girl came in looking for the vegan baker, and actually gave me money to make her some cookies. WTF? I still have the ten dollar bill she gave me to prove it.

This thing has grown on its own ever since; I'm just following its instructions and doing its bidding. The name, Covert Vegan, comes from the most frequent compliment I get: "I would never have guessed this was vegan!" Going into this, I didn't know that vegan baking was supposed to be nasty, dry, and gritty, so I make things that taste good. I'm not looking to convert anyone, because that's not how I roll, but I do want people to know that being vegan doesn't mean being deprived. But truth be told, I started making stuff because I wanted to eat it. The rest has been the work of friends and serendipity. I am truly, truly grateful.