I like a quick and easy vegetarian chili cheese dip just as much as everyone else, but I also love to create dishes that are a work of art in themselves. New Year's is the perfect time to try something new and to get creative with some party appetizers and munchies. If you're throwing a New Year's eve party, here are some elegant vegetarian and vegan appetizers and hors d'oeuvres to really impress your friends. After all, you'll need something to mop up all those champagne cocktails!

Pictured: Chickpea and pesto dip.

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Here are the top 10 most popular vegetarian and vegan popular recipes of 2009, according to you! Of the over 1000 recipes on the About.com Vegetarian site, these are the ten that are the most popular. If you've been wondering what everyone else has searching for, cooking up and eating this year, here it is! Once again, vegan cookies are quite popular, and, this year, along with soup and chili, Indian dishes were especially popular. I'm happy to see some of my personal favorites also top the list! My readers (that's you!) have very good taste!

Link: Top Ten Vegetarian Recipes of 2009
See also: Top Ten Vegetarian Recipes of 2008
Highest User-Rated Vegetarian Recipes

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The optimist in me is really loving this one! VegNews magazine has put together their picks for the top ten milestones affecting vegetarians and vegans this past decade. The list includes historical changes in the way our culture relates to the food on our plates, such as the passage of Prop 2 in California and recognizes the influence that business leaders, pop culture, and celebrity icons have on shaping public consumption and our collective dinner plates. A terrific example of why VegNews is recognized as one of the fifty best magazines, and of course, it's also one of my favorite vegetarian magazines.

I'm so excited that included Ellen going vegan made the list (regular About.com readers will know what a huge Ellen fan I am!), but it's too bad they didn't make room for another super-huge celeb who went vegan this decade, if only for a few weeks. Paris Hilton even claimed to be vegetarian this decade. No word on if it lasted longer than five minutes, though.

And although it may not be the most important, one recent announcement certainly gets my vote for the most fun milestone of the decade. I'm talking, of course, about the Tofurkey flavored soda by Jones soda company.

What do you think is in store for the next decade? I'm guessing (well, hoping, at least) KFC will add veggie chicken sandwiches to all their menus, not just in Canada, and that we'll soon see a huge public debate about the pros and cons of in vitro meat.

I'm also hoping for a vegan president and UN Secretary General. Hey, it could happen. Happy new year, everyone!

Link: VegNews' Top Veg News of the Decade

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Paris Hilton photo courtesy of GNU Free Documentation License.

Yes, I know, Christmas is coming up, too! But Kwanzaa is much more complex, in deciding what to eat, if you are a vegetarian who happens to celebrate Kwanzaa, that is.

Kwanzaa is a fairly new holiday celebration that has spread beyond the African American community in our multicultural United States. As a celebration of the unique traditions, culture and arts of African and African American culture, food plays an important part! Although there's no traditional Kwanzaa meal (such as a Thanksgiving turkey), a themed feast of African, Cajun and Creole, or Southern foods is central to the festivities. That means there's plenty for us vegetarians to indulge in! Try out this African-inspired peanut butter and greens soup (pictured above, left), whip up a quick healthy side dish of creamed mustard greens (pictured, right), or, scroll through this collection of vegetarian Kwanzaa recipe ideas.

Do you celebrate Kwanzaa? I'd love to know what you're eating! Email me your favorite vegetarian Kwanzaa recipes or leave a comment below, and I will post them to the website.

Link: Vegetarian Kwanzaa menu ideas
See also: Learn more about Kwanzaa

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