Birthday, Collabs, Updates, and Goodbyes

Welcome back, readers. So many updates, so little time.

One personal item on the agenda: it’s my birthday weekend! You know it’s going to be filled with vegan foodie goodness! Vegan brunch, homemade vegan chiles rellenos, and a vegan potluck!

There’s a lot of updates in this newsletter. Please be sure to read to the end.

Small Vegan Business News

Mother’s Day

Chef Mercado’s Kitchen, known for their quality catering and viral TikTok cakes, has posted their extensive Mother’s Day menu. Be sure to click on the post to see the full menu of starters, mains, and desserts.

Ruby’s Baking Co., the one and only vegan and allergen-friendly bakery in Rockwall, has posted their Mother’s Day menu filled with delicious baked goodies!

Collaborations

  • CHOKE (Creating Her Own Kinetic Energy) is collaborating with Chaitanya’s Delights and Revolution Vegan Cuisine in the upcoming months, so be on the lookout for updates from either vendors. I am excited. Tea lovers, rejoice! Get your pinkies ready for those tea cups.

  • Mamasan’s Happea Vegans, the famous San Antonio-based business known for their artisan vegan meats, will be collaborating with Lewisville-based Beyond the Bun! Details to come, but we may expect it in the next month similar to their collaboration with Chaitanya’s Delights with their malai meatball sandwich.

Brick & Mortars

  • Vida Cafe in Fort Worth is doing Pink Tuesdays: $10 pastas and 15% off paninis

  • Pizza Verde has a few events left for the end of the month. Click on their post for more details for each event:

Earth Day is Every Day: AI and Its Impact

The official Earth Day may have come and gone before this newsletter was delivered, but every day is Earth Day. As vegans and plant-based eaters, we not only actively prevent harm to animals, but we are reducing our global footprint because of it. But with the rise of AI and its tempting use for many for seemingly throwaway things like generating a the trending stolen art style of Studio Ghibli, or helping you type an email, or compiling incredibly inaccurate results when you search on Google—one time it said a product wasn’t vegan because it contained celery—it’s important to know just how much energy it takes to generate things like this that caused more harm than good.

AI can be a powerful and useful tool, no argument there, especially when it comes to computing and scripting, but certain things like viral trends and quick and easy IG videos, or generated art is something to reconsider at times.

A good video as food for thought:

Did you know that you can avoid the AI generated response in Google by typing “-u” at the end of your search phrase?

DVI Recap

Beyond the Bar

For those who aren’t on Instagram or Facebook often, I made a video recap of my experience at Beyond the Bar, a zero proof and non-alcoholic cocktail bar in Richardson, which hosts monthly karaoke! Be sure to check them as the first alcohol-free vendor at Taste Addison.

Calendar (Without the Bells & Whistles)

Pop-Up

Sat Apr 26

It's Food, Pizza Verde @ Magnolia Open Streets

12-6 PM

Fort Worth

Event

Wed Apr 30

Dream Boards + Plant Bites @ Everyday Works

5:30-7:30 PM

Oak Cliff 

Group

Sat May 03

The Veggie Outers @ Prince Lebanese Grill

6 PM

Arlington

Event

Sun May 04

Fort Worth VegFest

12-5

Fort Worth

Pop-Up

Sat May 10

Twistastic Bakes @ Dandelion 16's Cozy Market

9-1 PM

Fort Worth

Event

Sun May 11

Chaitanya's Delights: Indian Fusion Mother's Day Brunch

11:30-1:30 PM

Swirled Peace

Charlie and Porky Cross the Rainbow Bridge 🌈

There was heartbreaking news from Cloven Heart Farm Sanctuary this week. Charlie, their sweet and beautiful 20-year old cow and ambassador of “Charlie’s Hay Angels” at the sanctuary, passed away on Monday due to health complications. He lived a wonderful and safe life there since 2018. He and Hope, another cow at the sanctuary, raised their daughter together, Faith. His best friend, Ava, a sheep who was always by his side, along with Faith and Hope were with him until the end. Our hearts go out to Charlie.

Cloven Heart is hosting a couple of fundraiser for Charlie’s rainbow bridge expenses, along with funds for the sanctuary. Here is their GoFundMe. You can read the official announcement and his story here:

Sadly, there was similar news from North Texas Wildlife Center. Porky, an opossum that was rehabilitated at the center, also passed away on Monday, according to his caretaker. With his memorable grin and presence, it is yet another hard loss for those who followed his journey. With the dedicated support by Rebecca’s team and donations from the public, he was able to live one year longer.

The center is asking for donations in his honor. They are still raising funds for a new facility that will allow them to treat more wildlife. Donations will be matched up to 20k. You can find multiple ways to donate here. You can read the official announcement here: