Compassionate Art

Etsy artists are leading the way in the campaign to save the bulls in Oregon. According to Jodi from This Is It! Creations, this is a current listing of the Vegan Etsy artists who are donating all or part of their sales or profits to the fund to save Pooka Cow, Spotty Friend and Less Spotty Friend from slaughter.

Jodi herself is donating 100% of sales tomorrow and again the following Wed. from her main shop www.thisisit.etsy.com.

Heather, from Holistically Heather, is very graciously donating 100% of profits in her shop www.holisticallyheather.etsy.com from now until 2/13.

Susmitha, from Veganosaurus, is graciously donating 50% of her sales from now until 2/15 in her shop www.veganosaurus.etsy.com

Michele, from mvegan5, is graciously donating 10% of her sales from now until 2/15 in her shop www.mvegan5.etsy.com

Another Heather, from 3AM Art Productions, is graciously donating 100% of her sales from now until 2/13 in her shop www.aktie9.etsy.com

Lynn, from Lola Lynn's ACEOs To Go, is donating proceeds from her bracelets at www.lolalynn.etsy.com

Kimba from Kimba's Critters
www.kimbascritters.etsy.com will be donating 50% of sales through 2/11 to these 3 bulls.

Kelly from Lean Dog Pottery will be donating 20% of her sales from now until the 13th! www.leandogpottery.etsy.com

Sooooo...if you were considering making a purchase of great, hand-crafted stuff from vegan artists...now is the time to do it!

Jodi has written to Alicia Silverstone (tweeted and posted a blog on her site) to see if she can get some celeb help and I can only cross my fingers that she succeeds.

Remember, even if you don't buy online or don't shop at Etsy, checks are always acceptable! :) Here's the mailing address again:

This Is IT! Creations
P.O. Box 1252
Jacksonville, OR 97530

Thanks and stay vegan, friends! :)

Another chance to do 'just one thing'....

Picking up the thread once again from a couple of posts ago on doing 'just one thing' to help an animal, here's an opportunity to help three. A Facebook friend of mine has just started a campaign to raise funds to save 3 bulls from slaughter - she has 2 weeks and needs to raise $3600 to 'purchase' these animals, who she will house, at least temporarily, on her own 11-acre property in Oregon. These babies are only 2 years old and she has come to regard them as friends - they have a lot of living ahead of them but only if we can raise the money to save them from slaughter.

Learn more about the rescue by clicking here.

You can donate online via that Chip-In site link or mail a check to the following address:

This Is IT! Creations
P.O. Box 1252
Jacksonville, OR 97530

Please take a moment to learn about Pooka Cow (the brown one), Spotty Friend, and Less Spotty Friend and consider donating to help secure their future.



Thanks and stay vegan, friends! :)

Sometimes I struggle...

Sometimes I struggle with how enormous the problem is. How invisible the animals' suffering remains in a society determined, by and large, to stay blind, deaf and indifferent. And I struggle particularly with the last of these, which is by far the worst: indifference. Even when people, individually, carefully and with compassion, are shown the truth and see how easy it is to prevent the pain, suffering and death of others, they turn their faces away and shrug their indifference:

But it TASTES so good!
But I can't live without MY cheese!
But I WANT it!

I want; I want; I WANT!!!

Sometimes this kind of casual, unthinking selfishness just rips me apart. Some days I really can't take the despair, the powerlessness, the knowledge.

Today is one of those days. It's a day in which I can't seem to see much redeemable in humankind.

I discovered a piece of writing by Jim Willis and could not help but think of my own two dogs. Both boys were both brought home from a shelter or a pound - society's cast-offs - and, in each case, I could not want for a more loving and loyal companion.

**************************

"How Could You?"

"When I was a puppy I entertained you with my antics and made you laugh. You called me your child and despite a number of chewed shoes and a couple of murdered throw pillows, I became your best friend. Whenever I was "bad," you'd shake your finger at me and ask "How could you?" - but then you'd relent and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housetraining took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed, listening to your confidences and secret dreams, and I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, stops for ice cream (I only got the cone because "ice cream is bad for dogs," you said), and I took long naps in the sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work and on your career, and more time searching for a human mate. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never chided you about bad decisions, and romped with glee at your homecomings, and when you fell in love.

She, now your wife, is not a "dog person" - still I welcomed her into our home, tried to show her affection, and obeyed her. I was happy because you were happy. Then the human babies came along and I shared your excitement. I was fascinated by their pinkness, how they smelled, and I wanted to mother them, too. Only she and you worried that I might hurt them, and I spent most of my time banished to another room, or to a dog crate. Oh, how I wanted to love them, but I became a "prisoner of love."

As they began to grow, I became their friend. They clung to my fur and pulled themselves up on wobbly legs, poked fingers in my eyes, investigated my ears and gave me kisses on my nose. I loved everything about them, especially their touch - because your touch was now so infrequent - and I would have defended them with my life if need be.

I would sneak into their beds and listen to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time, when others asked you if you had a dog, that you produced a photo of me from your wallet and told them stories about me. These past few years, you just answered "yes" and changed the subject. I had gone from being your dog to "just a dog," and you resented every expenditure on my behalf.

Now you have a new career opportunity in another city and you and they will be moving to an apartment that does not allow pets. You've made the right decision for your "family," but there was a time when I was your only family.

I was excited about the car ride until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of dogs and cats, of fear, of hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said "I know you will find a good home for her." They shrugged and gave you a pained look. They understand the realities facing a middle-aged dog or cat, even one with "papers."

You had to pry your son's fingers loose from my collar as he screamed "No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog!" And I worried for him and what lessons you had just taught him about friendship and loyalty, about love and responsibility, and about respect for all life. You gave me a goodbye pat on the head, avoided my eyes, and politely refused to take my collar and leash with you. You had a deadline to meet and now I have one, too.

After you left, the two nice ladies said you probably knew about your upcoming move months ago and made no attempt to find me another good home. They shook their heads and asked "How could you?"

They are as attentive to us here in the shelter as their busy schedules allow. They feed us, of course, but I lost my appetite days ago. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping it was you - that you had changed your mind - that this was all a bad dream...or I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, anyone who might save me. When I realized I could not compete with the frolicking for attention of happy puppies, oblivious to their own fate, I retreated to a far corner and waited.

I heard her footsteps as she came for me at the end of the day and I padded along the aisle after her to a separate room. A blissfully quiet room. She placed me on the table, rubbed my ears and told me not to worry. My heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come, but there was also a sense of relief. The prisoner of love had run out of days. As is my nature, I was more concerned about her. The burden which she bears weighs heavily on her and I know that, the same way I knew your every mood.

She gently placed a tourniquet around my foreleg as a tear ran down her cheek. I licked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you so many years ago. She expertly slid the hypodermic needle into my vein. As I felt the sting and the cool liquid coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and murmured "How could you?"

Perhaps because she understood my dogspeak, she said "I'm so sorry." She hugged me and hurriedly explained it was her job to make sure I went to a better place, where I wouldn't be ignored or abused or abandoned, or have to fend for myself - a place of love and light so very different from this earthly place. With my last bit of energy, I tried to convey to her with a thump of my tail that my "How could you?" was not meant for her. It was you, My Beloved Master, I was thinking of. I will think of you and wait for you forever.

May everyone in your life continue to show you so much loyalty."

~ Jim Willis, 2001

**************************


By nature, I guess I am not exactly an optimist. I would win no prizes in the 'Person Most Likely to See the Bright Side' Awards - hell, I wouldn't even be placed! But then I also read this, and it helped me breathe:


“The Animals’ Savior”

'I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society.
I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal.
And I was angry.

"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"

God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.

"I have done something," He replied.
"I created you.” '

~ Jim Willis, 1999


Find something to help you breathe, and be well, vegan friends.

Yeah, I made cookies...so bite me!

There are three wonderful men in my life - one human and two non-human. Today I baked cookies for them all - well, everyone needs a cookie now and again. So the pups got a batch of 'Peanut Butter Bite-Me' cookies which are a slight adaptation from a recipe in K-9 Nation Biscuit Book (as featured a couple of posts ago). They are basically a PB & J for pups and this is how they go....

You will need:

1.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 cups wholewheat flour
3/4 cup rolled barley
1 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp jam - I like strawberry
2 tbsp fruit juice

OK, let's bake!

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flours and the rolled barley
3. In a measuring jug combine the water, olive oil and the peanut butter. I popped mine in the microwave for about a minute to warm the peanut butter a little and make it easier to combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently.
5. Add the jam of your choice and the fruit juice and mix until a supple dough forms.
6. Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden-brown and firm to the touch.


The oddest thing happened - when they emerged from the oven, some of the cookies were pre-tasted, ready-nibbled you might say, as this close up quite clearly indicates...




Hmmm....hence I dubbed them 'Bite Me' cookies!





Moving on....the cookies for My Beloved were also a slightly adapted recipe, this time from Isa's new book, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. Since My Beloved is not partial to nuts, I switched out the macadamia requirement of the Macadamia-Ginger Crunch Drops (in the 'Drop Cookies' section - page 57, I think) and substituted vegan white chocolate chips instead.

Here's how they looked right out of the oven:





You have to let them cool 5 mins on the baking tray before transferring them to a cooling rack so I had time to get a shot. Then, once completely cooled, I managed to snap a few close-ups - well, you gotta have cookie close-ups, right?




More? More!




White chocolate and ginger-y goodness...what's not to love?

Stay vegan, friends! :)

Old Fashioned People-Food

I realize it's been a while since I wrote a good, down-home post about yummy food - not fancy, hip-widening baked goods or even arty-farty doggie cookies, but good, honest, nourishing people-food. So it's about time I rectified that with a few musings on soup: split-pea soup, to be exact.

I live in New England and, given that January is not traditionally the warmest month of the year, I decided that tonight was the perfect night for stick-to-your-ribs green pea soup from none other than Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan Table



Now, for the price of a few split peas, onions, potatoes, veg stock, sundry herbs and an hour of your time, you end up with this:





To achieve this effect here's what you need and what you do...

You will need:

2 cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
6-7 cups vegetable stock
2 creamy potatoes, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp liquid smoke

salt and pepper to taste


What you do:

This is simplicity itself!
Put everything, apart from the salt and pepper, into a large soup pot and cook for about an hour. Serve.


I had mine with a fresh salad and I'll confess that I think it's absolutely the best vegan 'pea and ham soup' (as we knew it back in Ole Blighty) I've ever had!




Try it - you'll see what I mean!

Stay vegan, friends!

K-9 Nation Biscuit Book

Boy, do I miss baking. I mean, take a look back at posts in this blog and you will see that they were overwhelmingly focused on food and especially on baking. I love to eat food so I also love to create it and, since becoming vegan, baking has brought me the most joy of all. Cupcakes, birthday cakes, scones, pastries, cookies, chocolate confections...you name it, I've baked it. My bookshelf is groaning with all of the titles any respectable vegan baker needs to own: The Joy of Vegan Baking, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar, The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes, BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery, My Sweet Vegan....and that's just the titles devoted solely to baking and desserts!

So, given my new drive to lose some weight, now that I have sworn off such temptations, how do I channel my energies? I am not sufficiently selfless to be happy making a batch of cupcakes and not partaking of one or two and I know that if I whip up a tray of scones, I will simply have to indulge - if only for quality control purposes, you understand?!?!

However, while pondering this dilemma during an unusually tedious moment at work, I hit upon the solution: more baking for doggies. Yes, Darwin and Humphrey - my two 'recycled pups' - are thriving on a vegan diet of Natural Balance, fresh vegetables and fruits and homebaked treats. The occasional shipment of Boston Baked Bonz also helps to make their day super-special! I first moved the boys away from a conventional meat-based diet because it was more consistent with my own values: if I refused to eat the flesh of tortured animals, why would I feed it to my own animal companions? I spent some time researching the subject and, when I learned specifically what goes in to the commercially available dog food, I never looked back. The 4-Ds sealed it for me: dead, dying, diseased and downer animals are what ends up in your can of (name the brand of your choice) dog food. Cancerous tumors, parts of heads, feet, viscera of all kinds are earmarked for Fido's dinner...yes, probably even ears, yum!

So I settled on Natural Balance ('vegetarian formula' which is actually vegan) because it's a good formula and is widely available. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the boys love it! Personally, I would prefer to support V-Dog as it's an out-and-proud vegan food but am leery of opting for a brand I cannot get locally - being sufficiently organized to purchase the boys' food online in a timely manner is not something I feel completely confident about, so until an East Coast store picks it up, I guess I'll stick with NB.

But getting back on track...although my decision was initially based on my own ethics, I am very encouraged to see how the diet's affecting the pups. Darwin, the beagle boy, came to us via a municipal pound and is around 11 or 12 years of age. Like us all, he has his 'creaky days' but in general he has abundant energy. On off-leash walks he is frequently mistaken for a puppy - his bounding gait, wide grin, lolling tongue and fierce tail-wagging reinforce his youthful appearance and 'Hello Pretty Puppy!' is the greeting most often overheard from his 'new friends'. Humphrey, the dachs/minpin mix, is considerably younger so has been vegan for proportionally more of his life. He is superby fit with not an ounce of fat on him, has the brightest eyes and glossiest coat of any dog I've ever known, and he can run, jump and play for hours. I think he also holds the local record for the High Speed Tail Wag (2009).

In short, both dogs really are thriving. Snacks are now composed of carrots, celery, strawberries, melon, cucumber slices, fresh blueberries, apple wedges and the like. And it's amazing to see just how well they will behave to get their chops around a humble chunk of freshly peeled carrot! I guess the sweetness delights them and the dramatic crunch which sprays orange splinters around the room must be pretty satisfying too. According to their veterinarian they are both very healthy - albeit Darwin could stand to lose a pound or two - so I think we're on the right track.

Vegan dog cookies, however, are always welcome, so today - to quell my desire to Bake Something - I whipped up a batch of Peanut Butter-Brown Sugar treats from a new cookbook I got 'from Darwin and Humphrey' for Christmas. This one:



Nope, it's not vegan, but it was a snap to veganize the recipe and it goes like this...

Here's what you need:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup nondairy milk (I used coconut milk)
1 flax 'egg' (1 tbsp ground flax seeds whisked with 3 tbsp water until thick and foamy)
veg stock for basting

Here's what you do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2.In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda and the sugar.
3. Mix the non-dairy milk with the peanut butter so that it disperses easily (I popped it in the microwave for a minute or so to soften the peanut butter)
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flax seed with the water until foamy.
5. Add the flax 'egg' and the milk/peanut butter to the dry ingredients and mix until you get a stiff dough. If you need to add a splash more milk, it's ok.
6. Flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and then use a pizza wheel to cut into cubes.
7. Bake for 10 mins, then remove and turn oven down to 375 degrees.
8. Brush the cookies liberally with the veg stock and put back into the oven for another 15 mins.
9. Baste the cookies again and then bake for another 15 mins. Repeat until the cookies are completely baked through. Mine needed about 45-50 mins total, but I think my oven's not calibrated correctly so yours might take less time.

Once they're cooled, this is what you'll get:



A stack o' cookies...

And perhaps your own versions of these too:


Humphrey doing a powerful 'leave it'.


Darwin: "Can I just eat already???????

Happy Baking and stay vegan, friends!

Kindness Uplifts the World: Turtle

A few weeks ago, on the evening of December 14th, a call came in to the Animal Rescue League of Boston about a dog who'd been found lying in a wooded area Hyde Park, MA. She was covered in bites, scars, open and infected wounds, and was severely emaciated. She was also suffering from compression fractures - from repeated bite wounds - and there was evidence of partially healed fractures in addition.

Her name is Turtle and this is how she looked on that evening:


(Photo courtesy of Amelia Hughes)

She had lived her life as a 'bait dog' - an individual singled out usually because they are of gentle disposition and not suited for fighting. They then become the live practice animal for training fighting dogs. And when they are no longer useful in their role, they are usually killed or - as in Turtle's case - just dumped and left to die.

She was taken to Tufts Veterinary Hospital and is making an incredible recovery. But she's also accumulated quite a debt ($10,000 so far) and hence the reason for this post. I saw this video and wanted to share it with you: it's only 3.5 minutes in length and I imagine Turtle would really appreciate your attention for just that long...



Turtle's full story is available to read here on the Animal Rescue League of Boston's website. Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty is hosting a "spinning" fundraiser to help support Turtle next Saturday - January 16th - at Wellesley's Spynergy Spinning Studio. More information about it is available here. If you are in the Boston area, please do consider attending this great event - great for Turtle's health and great for yours! Or, if you are not in the Boston area, Merry Perry Design of Quincy has created this cute t-shirt:




(front view)




(back view)

The $15 cost per shirt will be donated toward her care and you can place an order - as I will - by emailing HelpTurtleDog at this address: helpturtledog@yahoo.com.

Donations can also be made through the ARL's secure site here.

Remember my earlier post about 'just one thing'? Well, here's an opportunity to do just one thing to help just one animal who really needs it. Turtle.

Thanks, friends.
:)

Food Glorious Food!

Food: it's a tricky subject. Not just because vegans never get tired of hearing the, often incredulous and high-pitched, question 'But what do you eat????' but also because - to be honest - this vegan eats way too much of it.

Waaaaay.

Toooo.

Much.


I will confess: I am a foodaholic. I just love it, and it loves me. It must do because even the merest caress of a cupcake and it's with me forever. At my side, on my hips, for all eternity. And so this year I am taking myself in hand and am going to eat more healthily: not just healthy for the animals, but healthy for me too!

Under the gentle guidance of my friend, C, (you know who you are!) I am refocusing my diet to eat more whole foods and fewer processed things. I really need to drop about 40 or 50lbs so I see a whole heap more beans and vegetables in my future and am kicking the cookies and cupcakes to the curb. Yikes, that's the plan anyhow! :)

So, here was my start yesterday - my delish brunch at my favorite hangout in all the world: The Green Bean.






It's their signature 'Greens, Beans and (brown) Rice' and not only did I feel virtuous in choosing it, I also radiated health and energy all day. Well, perhaps I am making that last part up for dramatic effect, but I honestly certainly enjoyed it! See:





Yeah, it's clear I really had to force that down, right!?!?


Get healthy, get happy and stay vegan, friends! :)

Do just one thing

Imagine if we all did just one thing.


Just one thing to help someone who really needed it.






Imagine how many we could save. If we all just did one thing.


Imagine.

:)

Taking Compassion Seriously

Courtesy of Vincent Guihan over at We Other Animals.