On Being 'A Good Vegan'...

A new job, for me, always heralds the arrival of a new coffee mug.

Some folks get a whole new wardrobe. Some a new computer. Me, I get a coffee mug. But hang the expense...sometimes I use it for tea too!

This is my latest acquisition in action:





It's from Compassionate Cooks and is easily the best mug I have bought in several jobs. Capacious with a large, palm-friendly handle, this mug is going to hold all the coffee or tea I can drink on the job and then some. And it spreads the message without me having to say a word: "Be kind to animals - Don't Eat Them". Nice and simple - a philosophy you can take to the bank!

Which brings me onto the topic I was mulling over this morning - practical veganism. I'm currently reading Joanne Stepaniak's book 'Being Vegan' in which she emphasises the difference between veganism and vegetarianism. One is a way of life, the other a way of eating. And I think this is the first time I have seen that distinction set out so clearly. Within the vegan community, I get the sense that vegetarians are considered 'pre-vegans' or maybe 'not-quite vegans', but Joanne draws a very firm line between the two and I think I'm tending towards agreeing with her.

The difference is fundamental and goes a long way to explaining how vegetarians can continue to eat animal products - eggs and dairy, specifically - wear leather and use products which are tested on animals, such as big label cosmetics and detergents. I had always been unable to reconcile this apparent incongruity, unable to understand 'selective compassion'.

But what I'm learning from Stepaniak's work is that vegetarianism really is about diet, whereas veganism is a whole lifestyle founded in compassion and active harmlessness. I particularly like this last part - active harmlessness - as it moves veganism out of the realm of passive avoidance (of animal bodies and secretions in 'food', of animal skins as clothing etc) and into an active realm of making life better - for animals and human animals alike.

I have always felt strongly that it is not sufficient to simply switch from a ground up cow burger to a veggie burger, but that I had to do more. I have to spread the message, to show folks how their actions - like mine - affect others around them. To be a good vegan and to make a difference.

And so, I came upon a post by Agnes, the high priestess of homemade vegan ice cream and was saddened to learn that she's received flak about a recent recipe. Apparently the Guinness in her Guinness ice cream is not vegan and some people have slammed her for being a 'bad vegan'. Since she's disabled comments on her blog, I hope she's able to get to this open letter.

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

Dear Agnes,

I am a fan of your blog - I guess that goes without saying. And I was sad to read your latest post as it's obvious that you feel pretty bad right now. Your 'Mea Culpa' is wholly unnecessary and here's why...

Veganism, to me, is not about 100% purity - it's about minimizing suffering and exploitation. It's about making big choices every day to step outside of the meat-eating culture and refuse to support the institutionalised torture of the sentient beings whith whom we share this living experience. It's about doing the maximum we can to make life better for animals - human or non-human.

It is not about obsessing over minute ingredients.

It is not about alienating those who might otherwise be drawn to veganism by being the difficult diner, the scourge of waitstaff, the sotto voce grumbler or whiner.

And it's not about being holier-than-thou and judgemental.

It's about showing people that the vegan lifestyle is fun, expansive, fulfilling, easy and healthy. That what we put in our mouths very literally becomes part of us. And if that food is full of life and energy then we become different people than if we 'nourish' ourselves with the results of pain, torture, terror and death.

It looks like you've felt forced to hold up your hands and admit to being 'a bad vegan', but that's ridiculous. You obviously spend a great deal of time on your blog and who knows how many people that has inspired to **at least try** a cruelty-free option. You are 'walking the walk' and doing immeasurably more than all of the the critical label-readers and nit-pickers out there.

OK folks, so Guinness may not be vegan. Let's move on. Give everyone credit where it's due and don't let's slam each other for perceived infractions of a code. Because that kind of reaction is decidedly Not Vegan!

Take heart, Agnes, and keep up the good work!

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

And Stay Vegan, Friends!

One Chapter Ends and Another Begins...

Today was my final day at work. On Thursday I start my new job, so today entailed a lot of leaving. It took me pretty much the entire morning to do so in fact. And some of yesterday too.

There is always a get-together. A small celebration of someone's time with the organization, so I half-expected a few words and a glass of something slightly less caffeinated than my usual beverage of choice at work....

....a full-blown vegan extravaganza, however, I did **not** see coming.

Yes, you read that right!

The folks at my (now former) company catered a full vegan meal and it was lovely. Just lovely.

I hope they won't mind me sharing some of the pix....

This is my former boss, smiling so happily. I miss you already, Tom!



And see how wide people grin when there's great cruelty-free food on the table!



This is some of the spread, sadly I didn't get any close-ups as I was in a state of overwhelmed confusion at the whole thing and not quite in my right mind.





It's an odd fact that you really only learn how truly good people can be at certain, defining moments. Yesterday was one of those moments. Everyone at my organization is busy and overstretched, but still they took time to do something for me. Some people cooked at home and brought food in, others special-ordered 2 vegan cakes (I am usually the baker, and I would have made my own cake if I'd thought about it!!!), and still others brought a heart appetite and made it a really fun and relaxing lunch. And I am feeling humbled and grateful and sad to be leaving and excited to begin the next chapter of my life....all at once.

And perhaps becoming vegan has helped me in that regard too. I feel it's made me humbler, more open to seeing the compassion in others, quicker to offer kindness and more able to accept it from others.

And I really like that.

Tom, Rachel, Suzette, Chris, Jennifer, Tim, Humera, Katie, Angela, Bhavin...everyone...I will miss you all!



Stay Vegan, Friends!

Happy Cow

There is a great little website I've joined called HappyCow.net which is basically a vegetarian and vegan guide to the world! Places to eat, recipes, humour, personalities, a forum and a blog... So now, whenever I stumble across a good veg/vegan place, I'm going to list them at HappyCow - and you can too!

Stay Vegan, Friends!

Still Hungry for a Burger?

It's not unusual to read these kinds of stories.
But each one saddens and outrages me just the same...

Meet your Meat!

From Yahoo News:

'LOS ANGELES - An undercover video showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with
forklifts has led to the largest beef recall in the United States and a scramble to find out if any of the meat is still destined for school children's lunches.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation.

The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., the federal agency said. The company provided meat to various federal programs.

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said his department has evidence that Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle became non-ambulatory after passing inspection, violating health regulations.

"Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall," Schafer said in a statement.

A phone message left for Westland president Steve Mendell was not returned Sunday.

Agriculture officials said the massive recall surpasses a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats. No illnesses have been linked to the newly recalled meat, and officials said the health threat was likely small.

Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat probably has already been eaten.

"We don't know how much product is out there right now. We don't think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action," said Dr. Dick Raymond, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety.

Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover video from the Humane Society of the United States surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.

Two former employees were charged Friday. Five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanors were filed against a pen manager. Three misdemeanor counts — illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal — were filed against an employee who worked under that manager. Both were fired.

Authorities said the video showed workers kicking, shocking and otherwise abusing "downer" animals that were apparently too sick or injured to walk into the slaughterhouse. Some animals had water forced down their throats, San Bernardino County prosecutor Michael Ramos said.

No charges have been filed against Westland, but an investigation by federal authorities continues.

About 150 school districts around the nation have stopped using ground beef from Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which is associated with Westland. Two fast-food chains, Jack-In-the-Box and In-N-Out, said they would not use beef from Westland/Hallmark.

Most of the beef was sent to distribution centers in bulk packages. The USDA said it will work with distributors to determine how much meat remains.

Federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease since they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak.

Upon learning about the recall, some legislators criticized the USDA, saying the federal agency should conduct more thorough inspections to ensure tainted beef doesn't get to the public.

"Today marks the largest beef recall in U.S. history, and it involves the national school lunch program and other federal food and nutrition programs," said U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. "This begs the question: How much longer will we continue to test our luck with weak enforcement of federal food safety regulations?"

Advocacy groups also weighed in, noting the problems at Westland wouldn't have been revealed had it not been for animal right activists.

"On the one hand, I'm glad that the recall is taking place. On the other, it's somewhat disturbing, given that obviously much of this food has already been eaten," said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union. "It's really closing the barn door after the cows left."'

To see this story at Yahoo, click here.

Stay Vegan, Friends.

The Moment of Truth...

...and the camera batteries died!

Oh well, here it is - as far as I managed to capture it in glorious technocolour....

Humphrey, relaxing unsuspecting in his favourite spot by the fire:




The boys together - Humphrey and his older brother, Darwin - enjoying 'a moment'...




And now, the moment of truth...



Waiting for the 'OK!'....





And then the batteries gave out and the camera closed itself down.

:(

Stay vegan (and recharged!), Friends!

Humphrey's First Birthday Cake - Not Before Time!

And now for something completely different!

Fans of this blog (yes, I know you are legion!) are accustomed to my ramblings about food I'm preparing for My Beloved and I, potlucks, various friends' dinners etc etc. But here is a first!

Deep breath!

The promised vegan doggie birthday cake!!!

I have adapted a recipe found in The Everything Cooking for Dogs - a nice little publication, but one which is not overtly animal-friendly if you don't happen to be canine, calling as it does for ground up turkeys and chickens' eggs. Not to worry, I thought, this can be veganized! And so I went to work....

Step 1:





Pour yourself a nice glass of wine! It's Sunday afternoon (in this case) and you are baking a cake for your canine companion - you deserve a nice glass of something!!

Step 2:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and then assemble the ingredients. You will need the following:

1 cup canned beets
2 bananas
1 cup canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/4 cup of soy crumbles (cooked)
1/4 cup non-dairy milk

In this recipe, the bananas replace the 4 eggs you would have used and the soy crumbles replace the ground up turkey flesh of the original recipe. Think of it this way: no cholesterol for your beloved pooch and no-one - not man or beast - gets hurt in the creation of that special little gift for your beloved four-legged friend.  

Step 3:

In a food processor, blitz the beets thus:




Then add the oil and bananas and blitz until smooth, thus:




The mixture is now thick and creamy, mainly due to the mashing of the bananas.

Step 4:

In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together and form a well in the center.



Pour in the pink beet mix and stir until combined.




Step 5:

Stir in the grated carrots and the cooked soy crumbles. If you are unsure about the soy crumbles, this is what I used:




And it looked like this:







Step 6: 

The mixture is likely to be very thick, so now is the moment to thin it down a little with a scant 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk. I used soymilk, but ricemilk is equally good!

Step 7:

Lightly oil 2 8-inch pans and coat with flour and divide the mix between the pans.



Bake for approx. 30 minutes, or until a toothpicks comes out clean.


Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave until completely cool.





To finish the job, I creamed together some vegan cream cheese, a little powdered sugar, some additional grated carrots and a hint of non-dairy milk, sandwiching the cakes together like this:




And here is the almost finished result:



A close-up of that yummy beety-fake sausage-y mix...




I must say, it was a particularly odd thing to bake insofar as the kitchen smelled disturbingly like roasting pork. I have no idea to what I can attribute this happening - no pigs were involved directly or indirectly in the creation of this celebration. My Beloved was dog-proofing our last floor-level cupboard when he noticed it, and dragged me in to confirm he was not, in fact, completely losing his marbles. No, I verified, that really smells like pork crackling...

So if anyone out there in Blogland can explain this phenomenon to me, I would be especially grateful!

Humphrey and his brother Darwin are currently eating their dinner, after which they'll have a slice of cake. I'll document that as it happens, but for now...

Stay vegan, Friends!

 

Happy Birthday, Humphrey!

This weekend marks the anniversary (aka 'birthday') of Humphrey, the Min-Pin/Dachshund doglet, coming to live with us - My Beloved, Darwin the Beagle - his older brother - and myself. Rescued from a kill shelter in Tennessee and brought up north by the incredible volunteers who make up the FACES network, 'Gus' as he was called then was always a happy-go-lucky little guy. No-one is too sure about his real background, but the official story was that a woman turned him in to the shelter after seeing him hanging around her apartment for a week. He is now a whole 15lbs - and that's after 3 years with us - so you can imagine what kind of shape he was in after living alone on the unforgiving Tennessee streets...

These days, however, he is a very contented and loving little guy and this year - although he does not yet know it - he is going to have a birthday cake. And a vegan doggie cake at that! I have a recipe that I'm going to have a crack at veganizing tomorrow, using mainly a base carrot cake with Gimme Lean 'sausage-style meat'. The original calls for ground up turkeys - and that ain't going to happen! - so let's see how the soy-meat performs....

I'll definitely post some pix and the recipe (in the 'Eat Me!' section) but in the meantime why not try out the Pumpkin Spice Dog Cookies...for your own four-legged bundle of love!

Stay vegan, Friends! :)

On Being The Vegan in the Room

You may, or may not, know that I am a member of Curves. Well, our club recently changed ownership and the new owner, Bonnie, held a potluck today as a way of getting the members together and celebrating our new start. So, accompanied by My Beloved (yes, spouses were specifically invited), I went armed with some great vegan offerings. The general theme, being so close to Valentine's Day, was Romance - with a capital 'R'!

So, having taken this to heart - ho ho! , we sped up to Northampton with a vegan heart-shaped pizza, topped with heart-shaped peppers of various colours, egglant, tomoatoes ('love apples'!) and no cheese...well, that's heart-healthy! And three trays of quinoa with eggplant, peppers, onions, green and yellow squash, corn and edamame. OK, I'll hold my hand up and admit that I somewhat overdid it on the amount of quinoa, but I hate worrying about there not being enough. Especially when I'm being 'the vegan in the room' if you know what I mean! Oh, the pressure to perform....!

Anyway, to finish it all off, there was also a blueberry and orange bundt cake - the second one I've made this week, as it happens and it met the self-same fate as its predecessor. Of course, this was from The Joy of Vegan Baking and was - without any shadow of a doubt - the very highlight of the potluck. If I was asked once, I was asked a couple of dozen times what was in it and how the heck it could be so good if it was 'vee-gun'.

I just smiled and explained how the silken tofu took the place of the eggs, bypassing all of the cholesterol and battery chicken hell. The sweetly seductive scent of freshly squeezed oranges, 
the still warm pop of the whole blueberries, the lightly moist crumb, the fine dusting of powdered sugar....Suffice to say, not a single slice came home with us! 

Naturally, having spent so much time baking and cooking (I was at it at 08:30 this morning, and as you know I am not a 'morning person' - especially not at the weekend!!!!), no photos exist of this bacchanalia. I left My Beloved in charge of the camera and he was waaaaay more interested in slicing the pizza than in performing his 'documentary' duties. So I guess you'll simply have to take my word that these wonderous things happened.

But they did. Oh yes, indeedy!

Stay Vegan, Friends!

Veganism Means Saying Yes!

As I was driving up to work today, I was listening to a podcast by my favourite vegan activist, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, on 'Defining Vegan'. Although I would love everyone to check out her work directly, the synopsis is as follows....In essence, she seeks to reposition emphasis on the expansiveness of the vegan lifestyle, rather than upon perceived restrictions. Her basic tenet is that - from the outside - veganism is seen as a way of life that revolves around the word 'No'. 

'No' to meat, 'no' to milk, 'no' to eggs...etc etc etc. Whereas those of us who are fortunate enough to be living the vegan life see it as quite the opposite. It's a way to say 'Yes' to everything we believe and everything for which we stand. 'Yes' to compassion; 'yes' to living our own truth in the world; 'yes' to standing up for our principles, and 'yes' to living free from hypocrisy. Plus, of course, saying yes to the myriad new foods that do not center around the mutilated body parts of animals.

And, as I was listening, I reflected on how this manifests daily in my own life. Last night, for dinner for example, we made a risotto. In my pre-vegan days, I would have sauteed off some chicken's breast and grated a ton of cheese into the mix. OK, so there would have been onions and mushrooms in there too, but the main point would have been the chicken, or maybe some shrimp. Last night, however, the feast included leeks, onions, garlic, eggplant, fire-roasted red pepper (which I roasted myself!), sun-dried tomatoes (which I assuredly did not dry myself!!), portabello mushrooms, zuccini and a handful of mixed herbs. The result was a feast for the eyes, the nose and the tastebuds!

And the really incredible thing is how much stronger and more individual these vegetables taste. How I can pick out the salty tang of the tomatoes, the dusky smoke of the eggplant lightly dredged with Hungarian paprika, the basil-scented olive oil...The textures are different too - the still-crisp snap of the zuccini skin, the soft melt of the diced eggplant, the silky ribbons of roasted red pepper, and the pop and chew of the barley I used instead of rice.

Everything felt like it was in a perfect balance with no single element dominating another. Which is, of course, the very definition of harmony.

And, as you see, harmony tastes awfully good!

Cel-e-brate Good Times...Come On!

Once upon a time there was a cake:



It was a cake I made for my friend Rachel and her husband Robert who have graciously asked My Beloved and I over for dinner tonight. And - despite being meat-eaters - they're going to cook vegan for us! They are truly nice people! And so to honour that, and to celebrate the fact that they are 'expecting', I made a vegan chocolate-spice cake with vanilla 'buttercream' and fresh blueberries.

I figure that the antioxidant health benefits of the blueberries coupled with the vitamins in the prunes (used instead of eggs) will offset the whole 'oooohhh, I shouldn't be eating chocolate!' thing.....OK, so pregnancy is a time for watching what goes into the mouth, but the lack of eggs and cows' milk makes this treat sooooooooo much better for all concerned!

Anyways, I am also celebrating.

I

Have

A

New

Job.

:-D

HURRAH!!!!!

More on that later, but for now, some more food porn!

Cake:



and



and also some homemade vegan doggie cookies (pumpkin pie) for the 'mountain curr', Bert, who lives with our hosts!


Bone appetit!

(OK, it's an oldie but goldie!!)