Sushi and Cupcakes

I got an urge to make sushi last night, so I tried out the spicy tempeh rolls from V’con. Except mine weren’t spicy at all because I didn’t have any chili-sesame oil and my attempts to substitute it didn’t work. It was a bit bland, but still good. And I even made some inside-out ones successfully!

I also felt like making cupcakes, so I made the chocolate mint ones from Vegan Cupcakes. The icing didn’t hold up the way I thought it would, based on the picture in the book. Mine just kind of spread out and didn’t hold the piping shape. Regardless, it was still delicious, and Billy loved these! There are none left today, except for one that I’m keeping for a friend. I have two pictures, I couldn’t decide between the two

Popularity: unranked [?]

Almost Raw “Almond Joy” Tasting Bars

I got a pound of dried dates from my co-op and had no idea what to do with them. After a small amount of research, I found out that they make good raw food bars. So, I created these tasty, and rich ones that ended up tasting just like almond joy candy bars.. only vegan… and healthy.

1 lb dried dates
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 Tbs Cocoa powder

In a food processor combine all ingredients until everything starts to stick together looks like dough. Press into a bread pan, and chill in the fridge to set.

I love that these are so sweet, but with no added sugar. These are sure to impress your whole family, and are super easy to make!

—-

By the way, we are leaving for vacation to Southern California all this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some yummy veggie restaurants to showcase on my blog. I know it’s been a while since my last post, but now that school is out things should be back to normal!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Bad pictures, but good food

Well, after a hectic, busy and sleepless month…I’m finally done school! I am now a teacher. Woot! While I did cook a bit, I didn’t always take pictures, but I’ll show what I do have. Billy turned 25 last month so we had a big party with lots of good food.
I made Billy’s favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe from Vive le Vegan, and then also made a gluten free batch for our friend with Celiac’s. The gluten free ones were so good!!


I also made him a wheat free carrot cake with cream cheese icing from Sinfully Vegan, but I forgot to take a picture. It was delicious, and I’m glad he really enjoyed it. I also made a standard chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I can’t remember for sure, but I think the chocolate cake recipe was from How It All Vegan, and everyone loved it.

I also had a hummus platter with veggies and mini pitas, as well as some kick butt spinach dip from 125 Best Vegan Recipes. It never lasts long.

Meals were kept pretty simple during my teaching placement. For example, from Vegan Italiano, I made a quick broccoli pasta sauce. It was very tasty.

Last night, for game 7 against the Flames and the Sharks, I made chocolate gluten freedom cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes for all our friends to eat. They were surprisingly moist. It was my first time cooking with quinoa and tapioca flour, and it was well worth the 12 dollar flour!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Vegan Crab Cakes

I’ve been toying around with this for a couple of weeks, and these are definitely taste sensations!

2 slices of bread (any type)
2 Tbsp non-dairy milk
1 Tbsp vegan mayo
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (copy-cat recipe)
1 lb firm tofu, drained & pressed
salt to taste (no more than 1/4 tsp)

1. In a mixing bowl, tear up the bread into small pieces. Add the milk to moisten the bread. It will be a little sticky.

2. Except for the salt, add & mix the remaining ingredients, crumbling the tofu. Now add the salt to taste.

3. Mix with your hands to make sure the tofu is really crumbled up and everything is all stuck together.

4. Heat a frying pan on medium heat, with just a little bit of oil.

5. Form the mix into (about) 10 patties. Pat them with pressure to make sure the air is out, and that they will stick together.
*Note: Make a thinner, normal sized patty as compared to the very thick normal crab cakes. They are easier to handle, cook better, and have more lovely golden crunch.

6. Fry until golden brown (just a few minutes). Be gentle when flipping the patties.

Avoid fattie patties like the one in the back! Keep them thin!

7. Eat! Enjoy any way you please. On their own with a little mayo, in a sandwich, in a salad, etc.
Makes 10 patties on average.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Should Fundraising Have a Vegan Message?

I get a lot of mail and email asking me for money. While I sometimes find the amount of paper mail I toss into the recycling to be on the wasteful side, all this fund raising is nothing new. In fact, in my younger days it had quite an impact on me.

When I was in teens and bundled up some cash from my babysitting and mailed it to PeTA to stop animal cruelty I was only beginning to consider vegetarianism (something I viewed as a temporary boycott of cruel practices) and had not even heard of veganism. PETA then bombarded me with mailing after mailing, always asking for more donations, but always insisting that the primary way I could help animals was to become vegan. In fact the message was more or less: if you aren’t vegan, you aren’t helping animals. And finally that sunk in for me.

Now I get emails from PETA all the time. I got on this email list by signing online petitions via the PeTA website. I think most of the petitions I signed were on fairly non-controversial issues, like urging prosecutors to hold the abusers of companion animals accountable. So I figure that many of the email addresses trapped through these petitions belong to people who care about animals, especially companion animals, but might not necessarily be vegetarian or vegan.

However the fund raising materials from PETA no longer mention that we can help animals by not eating them and not eating the eggs and milk that they are forced to produce. I’ve read a lot of them and not one mentions veganism or even vegetarianism.

I recently got this email about pigs, as an example.

From: “Ingrid Newkirk”
To: “Neva”
Subject: Is there something you don’t know about pigs?
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:31:26 GMT

Dear Neva,

You can help end the abuse of pigs on factory farms today with your gift to PETA.
[http://getactive.peta.org/ct/613Nb2S1dEcc/]

Do you know how pigs in the U.S. live their lives?

Fact #1: In the U.S., more than 97 percent of pigs-smart, social, interesting animals-are raised on factory farms. They spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy warehouses, where they never see the sun or breathe fresh air. Because of their hideous living conditions, more than 70 percent of the pigs have pneumonia by the time they are kicked and prodded onto trucks bound for slaughterhouses. As piglets, they are ripped away from their mothers when they are less than 1 month old and dosed with antibiotics, and they have their tails, teeth, and testicles cut off-all without any pain relief. But even that’s not all that they go through.

Breeding sows are imprisoned (there’s really no other word for it) in metal gestation crates so small that they can’t even turn around or take a single step-many develop painful sores and bruises from being immobilized on a hard surface. Shortly after giving birth, they are forcibly impregnated again. This cycle continues for years until their bodies finally give out and the animals are sent to slaughter. After enduring these hellish conditions for years, squealing pigs are poked, kicked, and dragged onto trucks so that they can be sent to slaughter.

Fact #2: It doesn’t have to be this way. PETA is taking on the world’s biggest pork producers and reducing the abuse of these poor animals. Your urgent support will help PETA make major changes in this cruel industry and reduce the suffering of millions of farmed pigs.
[http://getactive.peta.org/ct/613Nb2S1dEcc/]

Your generosity today will be used to help PETA reduce the pain and suffering of myriad pigs, cows, fish, chickens, and other animals on massive factory farms-each one an individual who needs help.

Please know this: PETA’s work gets results! We’ve already successfully pressured giants in the industry to make important changes with regard to how they breed, confine, and kill animals:

Following more than 100 PETA demonstrations across North America and negotiations with PETA, Safeway became the first Fortune 500 company to make dramatic improvements in the living and dying conditions of farmed animals, including making unannounced audits of its suppliers, establishing a purchasing preference for suppliers that don’t use gestation crates, and immediately purchasing a significant portion of its pig flesh from existing farms that do not confine animals to tiny cages. Safeway credited PETA with “turn[ing] on the light of an issue we need to address.”

PETA’s influence over its customers, including fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, convinced Smithfield Foods-the largest pig-flesh supplier in the world-to agree to phase out all gestation crates on its company-owned factory farms within a decade. Currently, at any given minute, more than 1 million mother pigs are confined by Smithfield to these hideous crates.

Just a few days later, Maple Leaf Foods, the largest pig flesh-producer in Canada, announced that it would follow suit. Then, almost immediately afterward, another massive pig-flesh supplier-Cargill Foods-agreed to stop using gestation crates on
half its farms immediately.

These decisions significantly reduce the suffering of pigs and have sent shockwaves through the entire meat industry. But we have much more to do, which is why we very much need your help.

PETA’s high-profile protests and media outreach, consumer boycotts, and undercover investigations are doing what no one thought was possible: getting the world’s worst abusers of animals to clean up their acts. And none of this would be possible without your caring support.

Please make a generous donation to PETA online right now. [http://getactive.peta.org/ct/613Nb2S1dEcc/] Your gift will help sustain our relentless defense of pigs and other animals who are, even as I write this, being abused, exploited, and killed.

Thank you for showing, once again, that all animals deserve our compassion.

Kind regards,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

P.S. Pigs are exceptionally intelligent, sensitive animals and are often compared to dogs for being smart, friendly, loyal, and playful. They’re also naturally very clean and go out of their way to avoid soiling their living areas, which is impossible in factory-farm conditions. Pigs love to spend hours socializing and exploring their surroundings. Few will ever get the chance to do so. With your support, [http://getactive.peta.org/ct/613Nb2S1dEcc/] we can help stop the very worst abuses of these animals. Thank you for all you do.

This message was sent to “Neva”. To modify your e-mail communication preferences or update your personal profile, visit your subscription management page at:

http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/smp.tcl?nkey=8ekdb6w407w763i3&

To stop ALL e-mail from PETA’s Online Community, reply via e-mail with “remove” in the subject line, or use the following link:

http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/remove-domain-direct.tcl?ctx=center&nkey=8ekdb6w407w763i3&

This e-mail was sent by:

PETA
501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510
United States

I’m including the entire email here because I think that many of you, on reading this whole long message, will be as perplexed as I am, as to why PeTA could not manage even one sentence in there urging the reader to stop eating pigs, or to go vegetarian, or even a link to vegan information. But when I clicked on the links that used to be here (copying and pasting seems to have messed them up) they only took me to an on-line donation form urging me support their efforts to fight the worst abuses of factory farming. Further on the donation page I saw no further links that might take me to specifically vegan information. There was a link that took me to the main PeTA webpage and from there I could presumably seek out vegan information. But there wasn’t even a tricky little “click here to learn more about how to help pigs” that linked to vegan BBQ recipes.

I understand the need to raise money, I’m not taking issue with that. However, I think that we always need to keep as on message as possible. A lot of people get these messages, hopefully at least some of those people read them. Since the emails will go out asking for money anyway, shouldn’t there also be a vegan message put in there, somewhere?

Popularity: unranked [?]

Mock Tuna Spread

This is from The Mcdougall Quick and Easy Cookbook (which I highly recommend) and by golly if it doesn’t really taste like tuna salad. Great for a snack on a warm day!

1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 C finely chopped onion
1/4 C finely chpped green onions
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 C tofu mayonnaise

Place beans in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped OR mash with a bean masher. Don’t over process to a smooth consistency.

Place in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Chill at least one hour to blend the flavors.

Recipe Hint: Add 2 tablespoons of pickle relish to thie spread to jazz it up. We like this spread oncrackers or toasted fat-free crumpets.

Makes 2 cups. Prep time: 15 min. Chilling time: 1 hour.

I highly recommend adding the relish. I also add a shake of paprika. Sometimes I eat it by itself, other times I serve it on toasted whole grain bread with lettuce and avocado.

The Mcdougall Quick and Easy Cookbook: Over 300 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes You Can Prepare in Fifteen Minutes or Less

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $25.00

Amazon Price: $16.50

Popularity: unranked [?]

Feeling Unheard

After the trial last December I ended up becoming really depressed. The trial felt like an example in miniature of the issues that ran through the rest of my life. I felt like I had been punished for trying to protect myself. I felt like I’d been accused of horrible things and never given a chance to tell my side of the story. I felt like I’d tried to do the right thing and ended up being dismissed, not listened to, not believed. And if the trial were my only concern I guess I could have gotten past that more quickly, but I felt these same themes kept cropping up elsewhere.

Around this same time I’d been engaged in the seemingly endless and largely pointless debate over the viewpoint dubbed “animal welfare” and the one we call “abolition.” If you read this blog, then you kind of know how I am. I make mistakes, I sometimes say stuff that I realize later was stupid, but most of the time I just bleed emotions all over the page and I’m more or less the same way when I say something to someone face to face. I strive toward honesty, both in terms of factual honesty and honesty about how I’m feeling and why.

And just to note: while some find the overly emotional approach a little self-indulgent, it’s not something I do without thought. I feel like I’d rather say to someone “I’m upset and this, this and this are why I’m upset” instead of pretending that I’m totally emotionless and impartial, all the while still having those same emotions color my understanding of events and arguments. A lot of the time I’m admitting to myself how I feel so I can do that little sanity check “Am I angry over the situation itself or how it’s being handled?” “Am I over-reacting because this reminds me of past situations where I was angry?” “Am I letting other stuff in my life come too much into this situation?” Because I don’t think pretending to be impartial works, but I do sometimes think that those who believe themselves impartial can cut themselves off from understanding their own viewpoint, and so are also cut off from understanding the viewpoint of others.

So, to sum up, I bleed emotions all over the page…

When someone accuses me of something I have to take a step back and consider: 1) what is the other person really saying? And 2) is this possibly true? So it messed with me a tad to be accused at various times during this debate of being “anti-animal,” of being a “dogmatic extremist” and so on. Emotions are high and I know to take these comments with a grain of salt. But still, it all felt a little unfair for me to be accused of such terrible motives or such defects of character, when from my viewpoint I was pouring my heart out trying to explain why I find myself taking this stance. And I do—I’ve poured my heart out on this blog, on message boards, in private email exchanges, and on list serves. I try very hard not to ever say “you’re wrong….” Or “you’re not thinking…” or “you’re being dogmatic….” Or whatever. I try to say “when I was up to my elbows in blood and pus, trying to save these animals, it struck me that I’d be doing triage like this the rest of my life, and others will do it after I’m gone, unless we could start trying to change the basic relationship we have with animals, and the more I read about this, the more convinced I became that concentrating on teaching veganism, as a philosophy, as a way of life, should be our primary focus.”

I’m over simplifying, but that’s more or less it. I’ve tried a lot of different types of activism, and I’m totally willing to admit that a lot of those efforts were dismal failures on my part. I don’t want to insult anyone else or take away from the very good work they put in for animals, but I also think that I’m saying what I’m saying out of some hard-fought experience and lessons learned from mistakes. But I found that most of the responses I got accused me of being some animal-industry plant, of secretly hating animals and wanting them to suffer, of not being intelligent enough to form my own thoughts, of not having even one valid point.

I think this is when I started not wanting to blog anymore. When I saw so plainly how other people might twist my words around, when I saw that for many it didn’t matter what I said because they were already determined not to read or listen, from their foregone conclusion I could have nothing worth saying… Well, then why bother?

So I trapped and rescued cats. The winter was spent on sick family members, various emergencies, and cats. And that has some good news. Sean and I managed to trap most of the cats in our neighborhood and rescue some more of the tame ones, and we’re starting to feel, for the first time in years, like there is actually some hope for this really terrible cat situation. But I didn’t blog and I didn’t talk to other activists, because I felt on some level that if nobody was going to even listen, then why I should put the effort in?

Listening, by the way, doesn’t automatically mean agreeing. And agreeing doesn’t automatically mean agreeing on all points. But as general rule, if I can’t paraphrase what the other person said, and have the speaker more or less agree “yeah, that’s what I said,” if I can’t do that, I haven’t really listened. The email and online debates convinced me that most people weren’t listening, maybe didn’t even want to listen. When it kept deteriorating to me saying “that’s not at all what I said” and the other person more or less repeating “did too” then there’s no communication of any kind going on there.

That, on top of living day in and out with the real possibility of the death of someone close hanging over us. Thinking about death while needing to give a peaceful death to a sick animal. Thinking about death while force-feeding an animal so starved that she wouldn’t eat on her own. That was the kind of winter I had. I know these are common experiences. I know we all confront death and living in our own lives in our own ways. I know everyone eventually faces those questions of when is it time to give up and welcome death and when is it right to fight with all we have toward life. I know we all fall down and then get back up and lick our wounds and move on. But even knowing the universal nature of these issues, I still felt powerless to speak of them.

I skipped the United Poultry Concerns Conference that was supposed to help us sort out once and for all the Welfare Vs. Abolition debate. I kind of figured that I had heard most of the same arguments before, and I was still haunted by that idea that nobody was listening. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe some people do listen. But I just had this feeling that no matter what people were saying, in private they said and thought that the other side had nothing valid to say at all. I know that’s unfair, each person speaking there is an individual and I am not a mind reader so I have no idea what they thought privately. It’s just that discouragement in me speaking up, urging me to assume that nobody is willing to consider any point of view but their own.

Anyway, I’m trying to stay a little more positive than I’ve been lately. I’ve had a number of activists tell me that my actual problem isn’t that nobody listens, but that DC is a mean town. They’ll tell me how much better they feel not living in city that encourages lies, interpersonal politics, and character assassination as a way of life. Well, I’m not moving any time soon. I’m still looking for my own ways to feel effective. A few people had asked why I haven’t been posting, so this is sort of where I’ve been for some time now.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Sticky Toffee Pudding

I never had sticky toffee pudding in the UK. Mama Ronin did however, and was absolutely ga-ga over the stuff.. and after making this, you will be too!
This vegan version will rival any traditional sticky toffee pudding recipe. Hands down. Seriously worth the effort.

Possible confusion note: STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING IS NOT ACTUALLY PUDDING! It’s a wonderful, sponge cake soaked in syrup.

The original recipe is HERE from The Vegetarian Cookery School. So my metric friends can use that link directly to make it.

Here is the recipe converted to standard:

Ingredients for sponge cake

1 1/8 C soy milk
6 Tbsp water
1 1/2 C dates
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C (=8 Tbsp) vegan margarine
3/4 C soft brown sugar (loose, not packed)
1 1/3 C white self raising flour
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for toffee sauce

5 Tbsp golden syrup
1 1/4 C soft brown sugar (loose, not packed)
1/2 C + 2 Tbsp (= 10Tbsp) vegan margarine
6 Tbsp soy creamer
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F-190C-Gas5.

2. Line a 8″ x 8″ (20cmx 20cm) shallow cake tin with baking parchment.

3. Chop the dates in half & put them in a small saucepan and cover with the soy milk & water & simmer until the dates are soft.

4. Take off the heat & stir in the baking soda, which will froth as you add it to the date mixture. Leave to cool.

5. Beat together the margarine & sugar until pale & creamy.

6. Add the date mixture & stir in.

7. Mix the spices into the flour. Sieve the flour & fold into the sponge mixture.

8. Spoon the sponge mixture into the prepared tin.

9. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30minutes or until cooked & the sponge bounces back when pressed.

10. To make the sauce: melt the syrup, margarine, sugar & vanilla essence in a small saucepan & simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. Leave to cool slightly & then stir in the soy creamer.

11. Prick the pudding all over & pour half the hot toffee sauce over the pudding. Serve the rest of the sauce with the pudding & if you like a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream.

This stuff is definitely for special occasions. It’s so good you’ll gain 5 lbs just looking at it!!!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Coconut Bliss: A Review

I heard about Larry and Luna’s Coconut Bliss from a reader quite some time ago, but I didn’t purchase any until recently. My husband found it at our local co-op, and it was on sale. Normally this runs about five or six dollars a pint–yikes! Since it was on sale, though, he picked some up for us to review. Our sample: Cherry Amaretto.

The verdict: I adore that I can recognize all the elements on the label: natural coconut milk, natural agave syrup, natural cherries, natural vanilla extract, natural almond extract. Awesome. (They’re also gluten-free, that is excellent for all those with allergies.) Also, the texture was very creamy, although it does freeze quite difficult. The label says to let it sit at room temperature for 5 to ten minutes prior to serving. I’m as well impatient and would just microwave it for several seconds to soften it up. And, most importantly, it was yummy. I believe my husband polished off the whole pint in about four days.

Regrettably, this brand is not obtainable nationwide yet. Their web site says you are able to verify shops in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. If your nearby Entire Foods or other health/natural food shop does not carry it, you are able to usually request that they attempt carrying it!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Taco Casserole

At first, “Taco Casserole” kinda seems like one of those dishes that comes from one of those families who make cheeseburger-roni with tater tots on top…
But let me tell you, this is pretty tasty and you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like!

You will need:

3 cups meat substitute such as:
-vegetarian beef crumbles
-TVP (small crumbles)
-tofu
-choice of beans
(or a combination of any)

Taco seasoning
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 1/2 C biscuit mix (DIY recipe)
1 C non-dairy milk

Any optional toppings you want such as:
Tomatoes, chopped
Lettuce
Black olives, sliced
Chili peppers
Avocados
Salsa
Vegan cheese
Vegan sour cream
Etc.

1. Heat oven to 400F (200C) and grease an 8″ baking dish.

2. Follow the taco seasoning directions and mix with any or all meat substitute combinations. Stir in kidney beans.

I used tofu and TVP

3. Once everything is combined and seasoned, put the delicious bean mixture into the baking dish. (If using vegan cheese, sprinkle this on top now).

I added a can of chilis on top

4. In a bowl, combine the biscuit mix and non-dairy milk. One mixed, pour over top the mixture.

5.Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

As an afterthought, I decided to add a little Tofutti cheese

6. Add toppings and serve!

Tomato, avocado, salsa verde, lettuce.

This makes about 6-8 delicious portions.

500 Vegan Recipes: An Amazing Variety of Delicious Recipes, From Chilis and Casseroles to Crumbles, Crisps, and Cookies

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500 Vegan Recipes: An Amazing Variety of Delicious Recipes, From Chilis and Casseroles to Crumbles, Crisps, and Cookies

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Skinny Vegetarian Entrees: Over 110 Delicious, Low-Fat, Quick-and-Easy Meatless Main Dishes from Soups, Stews, Casseroles, and Ethnic Specialties (Skinny Cooking)

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175 Slow Cooker Vegetarian Recipes: A collection of delicious slow-cooked one-pot recipes, including casseroles, stews, soups, puddings and desserts

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The Ultimate Collection of Tasty Vegetable Recipes

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Popularity: 1% [?]