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Freshen up a smelly garbage disposal by running the blades with fresh lemon rinds and water.

Here’s how to clean with salt:

To clean your cast-iron pan, sprinkle it with salt and wipe clean. Doing so helps protect the seasoned surface and ensures a more nonstick surface.

Sprinkle salt on fresh wine stains to absorb most of the color. Wipe clean with a cloth and dab with white vinegar before washing.

Dabbing salt on mosquito bites takes away the itchiness. Just wet the place of the bite and rub some salt in.

Here are some home uses for vinegar:

To deodorize and unblock partially clogged drains, mix together 1/2 cup baking soda with 1/2 cup salt. Pour this mixture into the drain and then pour in 1 cup of white vinegar. A foam will bubble up. After an hour, flush the drain with hot water.

Remove onion or garlic odor from your hands by wiping them with vinegar.

To remove the odor of smoke, paint, vomit, or alcohol, place a bowl of vinegar in the room.

Remove odors from older cars by leaving 2 cups of vinegar in the car overnight. Yes, you have to keep the windows rolled up. Remove the bowl before driving, and repeat as often as necessary.

The Internet has countless “recipes” for making your own cleaning and beauty products from natural ingredients. Annie B. Bond’s classic book Better Basics for the Home (Three Rivers Press) is an encyclopedia of knowledge in these areas and is invaluable for anyone who wants to explore making their own products.

Keeping pests away in a gentle way

Now that you’re beginning to clean out your coat closet of animal products, it’s time to move on to the hall closet. Embracing the vegan lifestyle means holding respect in your heart for all living creatures, even bugs and mice. Rather than using toxic cleaning supplies and bug sprays to keep little critters away, try using these alternatives at home:

Trace an ant column back to the ants’ point of entry. Set any of the following items at the entry area in a small line, which ants will not cross: cayenne pepper, citrus oil (soaked into a piece of string), lemon juice, cinnamon, or coffee grounds.

Purchase clove-, orange-, and mint oil-based repellents from health food stores. Spray these oils at the bugs’ point of entry into your house.

Clean up your kitchen and living areas. Sweep and mop frequently, especially where you prepare and eat food.

Don’t leave any food on the counters.

Block or build out rodents and bugs by sealing any holes and cracks in baseboards, doors, and windows.

Rub topical garlic oil on pets’ ears, paws, and the base of the tail to deter fleas. Add raw or cooked garlic or garlic oil to pet food.

Part IV

Tasting Is Believing: Vegan Recipes

In this part . . .

Eating great food is part of the joy of living a vegan life! New tastes, techniques, and ingredients are waiting to be enjoyed.

These chapters offer a treasure trove of delicious, healthy meals for vegans — and their friends — to enjoy. Everything you need is here: Breakfast recipes for slow, late morning brunches or for get-out-the-door-quick school and workday mornings; lunches for a crowd or for one; and dinner recipes for parties, celebrations, and quiet evenings for two. I introduce a range of cooking methods as well as several gotta-have-’em vegan ingredients.

Chapter 12

Breakfasts of Vegan Champions

In This Chapter

Grabbing a fast vegan breakfast

Preparing savory morning starters

Fixing quick breads for a sweet breakfast

Recipes in This Chapter

Wake-Me-Up-Before-You-Go-Go Breakfast Smoothie

Groggy Grain Breakfast Porridge

Overnight Muesli

Hungry Man (or Woman) Tofu Scramble

Tempeh Hash

>Savory Breakfast Polenta Pizza with Spinach

Better-Than-British Beans on Toast

Cornbread Muffins

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

SOD Scones (Sun-dried Tomatoes, Onion, and Dill)

Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. Starting your day with sugary, caffeine-filled fuel dooms you to a day full of roller coaster