Le Petit Cochon: Vegan weblogs

An online search of “vegan blog” turns up 423,000 results. For those of us with limited pocket money, the Internet is the next best thing to a real bookstore. You can find a number of interesting online journals brimming with everything from ambitious food photography to ultra-liberal opinions about animal rights, and my personal favorite – fancy and delicious vegetarian recipes yanked from cookbooks I covet but can’t afford.

Vegan and vegetarian blogs such as “The Village Vegan,” “Vegan Lunch Box,” and “The Student Stomach” have been steadily growing in popularity this year and making a splash on Blogger, a free blog website that now hosts a multitude of fabulous and award-winning veggie-minded sites.

November has been dubbed “VeganMoFo,” or more appropriately “Vegan Month of Food,” by cheeky blogsters who’ve challenged each other to post as much as possible about vegan food. For the entire month, over one hundred vegan and vegetarian bloggers will be posting new recipes, cherished memories, favorite cookbooks, and funny stories about interesting culinary experiences in order to raise awareness about the vegetarian lifestyle.

One of the most successful blogs in the VeganMoFo movement is the “Fat Free Vegan Kitchen,” which boasts an archive of nearly two hundred “sinlessly delicious” recipes and recently won the VegNews 2007 Veggie Award for “Favorite Veggie Blog.” Fat Free Vegan Kitchen is operated by Susan V. of Jackson, Miss., a self-proclaimed “health-conscious vegan” who has been meat-free for 19 years.
“My recipes are all about tasting good while keeping the fat, sugar, salt, and processed ingredients to a minimum,” she writes.

Although the idea of “fat free vegan cuisine” may sound bland and boring, her recipes are visually appealing, full of bold and creative flavors, and best of all – they’re healthy for you! These recipes are easy enough to make any night of the week and the recipe archive presents itself in a manner that is not intimidating to the casual cook or aimlessly browsing blogger.

The recipes’ simple preparation and minimal ingredients are the perfect antidote to my feeble wallet; I can afford all the ingredients for a delicious meal for less than it would take to purchase a real cookbook. Thanks VeganMoFo!