I've been lurking for a while without introducing myself; it's time to do so.

I suspect I'm one of the more recent vegetarians coming to the congress

I became a Vegan in February of this year, inspired by my betrothed's example. The health aspects have kept me there, and the thought of treading more lightly upon the planet appeals to me. I love to cook, and this change in diet has spawned many new recipies. Here's an original that I just cooked for lunch:

Dumpling stew with Soba and Wakame (serves two)

• 2 quarts water
• 1 single-serving package Wakame seaweed soup mix
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed (I'll touch on this in a separate message)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 8 oz (one bundle) of japanese Soba (buckwheat) noodles
• 16 frozen vegetarian dumplings (Assi brand Korean chive dumplings)

Add the Soba noodles and the dumplings, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, turning the heat down as needed to prevent overboiling.

Since 1995, I have been running a free community Internet project called "The Obscure Organization". Obscure provides Internet resources, including web page space, email accounts, and limited dialup capacity to its members and the surrounding community. Through this project, I have learned much about the power that the Internet has for binding together communities.

Richard Bullington
Fearless Leader of The Obscure Organization