tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64809261719326141542024-03-13T02:34:06.464-07:00Generation Vfor youthful youths and vegan vegansClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-17441004128469445562011-04-14T22:32:00.000-07:002011-04-14T22:32:51.004-07:00Some news...Hey folks! I have two announcements. One: THE SECOND EDITION OF MY BOOK IS COMING OUT! Hip hip hurrah! So, originally Generation V was published on Tofu Hound Press by my friends Bob and Jenna. Tofu Hound started from nothing and became the publishing end of an amazing vegan media empire, Vegan Freak. Recently, Tofu Hound became a part of the broader radical small press, PM Press, who wanted to reissue Tofu Hound's titles under their press, including mine. What a perfect opportunity to get my act together and update some things I've long wanted to update! The second edition now has many more recipes, a part about college (I'm not a teenage vegan anymore!), a new preface, and various other little updates throughout. I feel much more like it's something I, as a 20-year-old instead of a 15-year-old, can get behind. But beyond that it'll be nice to have the book in print again. For some reason this and not last year is the year a lot of opportunities and events (readings and whatnot) have come up and it's awkward to say "Hey, here's this book I wrote. Read it. Except you can't right now. Uh. Thanks anyway." I am happy. You can buy the new edition <a href="http://www.pmpress.org/content/article.php?story=ClaireAskew">at PM Press's website. </a><br />
<br />
That said, I also don't think I'm going to be updating this blog any longer, or at least very rarely. In addition to just being busy with other projects and life-things, I'm taking a step back from the vegan community for a while. I will always be vegan, and I value the friends, discoveries, and memories I've made through this community, but there are just other issues and questions on my mind and heart of late. I wouldn't say I'm burnt out, because to me that phrase is really negative - it implies some kind of breakdown or conflict, something not really chosen, bitterness. My identity as a 'vegan activist' is an identity I no longer feel like I occupy to the best of my abilities or the fullest of my spirit. I'm voluntarily bowing out of full participation in a movement to focus on other things that need my time and attention. I never want to not be vegan, and I would rather gracefully slip out of a movement for a time and live a life of veganism than burn out. I also don't want to devote myself to something my heart isn't in - veganism deserves to be advocated by people who are passionate for it, and it's not as if the community lacks for those. In my 5+ years of veganism, I'm glad I've learned that veganism is something that grows and changes as you do as a person. I know this will continue to be a part of my life, but my growth now is away from the community. I hope to return someday.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-87256337590218644072010-09-20T19:03:00.000-07:002010-09-20T19:03:10.360-07:00Brownies and back to schoolHello, fair interwebs! After a long summer hiatus from blogging, I am back and will be updating more frequently. The year is off to a really good start. For one thing, my school's dining hall, which has always been really vegan-friendly, now has one station that's entirely vegan and serves things like hazelnut pesto pasta and mock beef fajitas. I like being well-fed. And beyond food-related, it's just good to be back. Most of my classes are creative writing and it's good to have all my friends around again. And I have an internship with a reproductive rights organization and my roommate and I are going to have a radio show through the school...busy but good. Anyway, I've been meaning to post this recipe for a while. Over the summer I was staying at some friends' house for a week or so and wanted to bake something really awesome to thank them. After being frustrated that most of Vegweb's brownie recipes called for weird ingredients like tofu (okay, I understand that tofu is a very versatile food, but it should never go in baked goods. That just seems weird to me, and I wouldn't want anything I made to ever be able to be called 'tofu cookies'. Why. Ugh.) I finally found <a href="http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=18512.0">this recipe</a> and modified it based on what ingredients were in the house. The result: amazing. When they came out of the oven, only two other people were in the house, but we ate about half the pan within an hour. Yum. The secret: self-rising flour! Halfway through measuring out the flour, I ran out, and self-rising was the only other option. I was worried they would explode in the pan, but they became incredibly light and fluffy, which works surprisingly well in a brownie.<br />
<br />
Fluffy Brownies<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1 cup all purpose flour</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">1 cup self-rising flour</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1/2 c. sugar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1/2 cup brown sugar</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 3/4 cup cocoa</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1 teaspoon baking powder</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1/2 teaspoon salt</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1/2 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1 teaspoon vanilla</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1/2 cup vegetable oil</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> 1 1/2 cups water</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in another, and add the wet to the dry. Stir well, pour into greased 9 x 13 pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWc3X29aLfVXH3yirFFnS-JFbmapk5wvfXW45NDw0ZBT_DyIo6a3bH2SnECZeDs2fx_6BvKh4MxNrszAeUxeeatMVTZxrYtxgxqp5aRBne7k_vPcyKnFgQthCOM7P7YTPwK8LpxMHay2Ty/s1600/IMG_1466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWc3X29aLfVXH3yirFFnS-JFbmapk5wvfXW45NDw0ZBT_DyIo6a3bH2SnECZeDs2fx_6BvKh4MxNrszAeUxeeatMVTZxrYtxgxqp5aRBne7k_vPcyKnFgQthCOM7P7YTPwK8LpxMHay2Ty/s320/IMG_1466.JPG" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-6869359063518049742010-06-19T20:43:00.000-07:002010-06-19T20:43:20.710-07:00i'm alive!Hello interwebs. I am still alive and still blogging, but have been traveling a lot lately and have been somewhat low in time/Internet connection. But! Something really exciting and Generation V-related is happening soon. Yippee. You'll see. I am finally back home in Portland and have had a happy day being love-tackled by friends at airports, writing and walking with other friends, and generally feeling warm and fuzzy over the life I have in this beautiful, rainbow-making city. Something vegan related to make this an actual post: food pr0n from recently!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRp11SST0kUmKCEI4gFuaK7p_80exA1KVu0bsz-LYJGyKsZOBf569rSTvuxCPRwgGJIOYkdsa0hwBcfIeIAlyy7sZehNSh0sNg8w4deYf84LvEAn4nKFK_sAVdcZcd1EVBxpkRbTkR2AV/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRp11SST0kUmKCEI4gFuaK7p_80exA1KVu0bsz-LYJGyKsZOBf569rSTvuxCPRwgGJIOYkdsa0hwBcfIeIAlyy7sZehNSh0sNg8w4deYf84LvEAn4nKFK_sAVdcZcd1EVBxpkRbTkR2AV/s320/IMG_1354.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">curry-coconut udon noodles from Herbivore in San Francisco</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoC2Ea9yQw22dwST3xsMSU3_Omh5xoLTLjQRkGJtuvooRC2YGV7coqiqW3csoRy5NOh9djWREXsRvrch2NlMWcS6ceiNbeyqukNK9-joh3U9TevHXkrZnlj07LrlA4UIdA0rFjPPMHNHH/s1600/IMG_1126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoC2Ea9yQw22dwST3xsMSU3_Omh5xoLTLjQRkGJtuvooRC2YGV7coqiqW3csoRy5NOh9djWREXsRvrch2NlMWcS6ceiNbeyqukNK9-joh3U9TevHXkrZnlj07LrlA4UIdA0rFjPPMHNHH/s320/IMG_1126.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">roasted chickpeas for a picnic in Kansas City: mix a can of chickpeas with enough oil to lightly coat, some salt and pepper and garlic, and bake at 450 for around 20 or 25 minutes. Delicious!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHYWYzKn0uL1o-ui3ApA7a_kjeKVUSS_D8EPwT-WAZhkBpErGw_yhf1vzCncQVWWvQQ2FZJga91e7Lsr_dlNS-9DU4GTi-4aHFekBW3FhfODDpNRLmQEYtUYNyt6X7urcsnvIUl8eFBGz/s1600/IMG_1079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHYWYzKn0uL1o-ui3ApA7a_kjeKVUSS_D8EPwT-WAZhkBpErGw_yhf1vzCncQVWWvQQ2FZJga91e7Lsr_dlNS-9DU4GTi-4aHFekBW3FhfODDpNRLmQEYtUYNyt6X7urcsnvIUl8eFBGz/s320/IMG_1079.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the breakfast of all breakfasts. yum. Grill veggies one night, throw the leftovers in tofu scrambler the next morning, enjoy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love food. I promised a good dinner recipe for the house tonight but we forgot to get most of the ingredients while we were at the grocery. I've no idea. Pasta!</div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-69683366234651223082010-06-01T11:36:00.000-07:002010-06-01T11:36:23.330-07:00Rep. Jared Polis rewards veg school lunchesUsually when my local paper mentions the v-word, it's either talking about someone I know or something that's been done in KC's small-but-fervent activist population or meaning to poke fun at liberals, picky eaters, etc. But the other day it cropped up in the news section! What? There was a news brief similar to <a href="http://thehill.com/component/content/article/705-the-story-behind-the-bill/87477-for-rep-jared-polis-vegetarian-meals-would-be-healthy-alternative-to-fatty-school-lunches">this article</a> and I am so excited about it. Colorado rep Jared Polis introduced a bill back in March that increases vegetarian and vegan options in school lunches and rewards schools that offer such meals to at least 2/3 of its students. Polis isn't a vegan, but he's doing this for the obvious reasons - childhood obesity and its accompanying health problems are skyrocketing. I'm not optimistic about its passage, but the fact that it's even been introduced is telling. It's interesting how much of an impact the fact that Polis <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">isn't</span> vegan is having on the way the media is talking about this. Every article I've read on this is generally positive and coming at it from an entirely reasonable, health-based angle. I feel like that wouldn't be the case if Dennis Kucinich (who is vegan) were this bill's creator. Being vegan in itself makes (some) non-vegans skeptical of you, your motives, your legitimacy. You're "one of those." You're not an individual who happens to be vegan, just a vegan. A friend of mine, if he ever has to call a restaurant or company to ask about vegan options/products or lack thereof, pretends he's someone considering going vegan, just asking for future reference. He does this to show that there are people in the world who are considering going vegan, that vegans aren't a special breed of people destined from birth to be wackos. This is why all the articles about Polis' bill are so positive and focused on health: Polis sees that plant foods are healthy, which is all well and good, but isn't one of those crazies who only eats those things. I think I'm going to write more about this later, it just says so much about so many things. But regardless of all that other stuff, this is exciting! If nothing else, even if it doesn't get passed, I think it could pave the way for better regulations about what's in school meals. We shall see!Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-71789260737516269842010-05-20T19:35:00.000-07:002010-05-20T19:35:47.526-07:00pesto with Daiya!For some reason, I have always felt like I am never good at making pesto. Which is strange, because isn't pesto always the same very few ingredients? Hummus is hummus and some is better than others, but it's almost almost always good. PBJ is PBJ. Spaghetti is spaghetti. Etc. Shouldn't the simple combination of basil and olive oil and pepper and pine nuts and maybe a little garlic be intrinsically good? I've made pesto countless times and never had it blow my mind.....until the other night. Everything went into the food processor as usual, but I also threw in some Daiya (mozzarella Daiya, which I had never had before) and woahmygod. Magic. Observe:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_qylddd3YkMmGcsz1KesyQhBfIqoJ46FiBIWTGIHGWNOebWRlKxFOqsz0b5bWsAa6C7HHFsUdNe0irjrMbDTiFrAum7csH7bIgaQW10riD6BQ2pyA2Evx1gt2Ivtizt5J6RQDfwgY0tH/s1600/IMG_0928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_qylddd3YkMmGcsz1KesyQhBfIqoJ46FiBIWTGIHGWNOebWRlKxFOqsz0b5bWsAa6C7HHFsUdNe0irjrMbDTiFrAum7csH7bIgaQW10riD6BQ2pyA2Evx1gt2Ivtizt5J6RQDfwgY0tH/s320/IMG_0928.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So delicious. It retained all the freshness and summery delight of the basil and spices with all the sheer om nom nom deliciousness of revolutionary cheese. It also got the Omni Friends stamp of approval. I didn't measure anything, so I don't really have a recipe to offer other than put all the above ingredients in a food processor until it becomes delicious pesto. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lessons learned:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">1) Not making something successfully dozens of times does not mean you never will.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) While sometimes it is wonderful for the natural goodness of herbs and pulses and spices and whatnot to shine through (Hi <a href="http://altveg.blogspot.com/">Dino</a>), sometimes an omni sub is dish's saving grace.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2.5) Daiya is always an appropriate addition to a food</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) Fresh basil makes your whole kitchen smell good!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yum. I had the leftovers for dinner tonight. What delicious things have you made or eaten recently?</div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-20408416015602855572010-05-16T13:34:00.000-07:002010-05-16T13:34:58.249-07:00summertime is chocolate banana smoothie time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWld_dYs6BpKpEfmP_gztgD9li_tpf3wVfR1Y6-D0PTq5_L0QRXX9BuYDamq4fOT6Qz_SYhDFoNQR2dUYBep_ywig0Mq1FskNNhS1SmJqJtIVieUsKMoG5kUVh4iE8CmholYjtahimzDZC/s1600/IMG_0874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWld_dYs6BpKpEfmP_gztgD9li_tpf3wVfR1Y6-D0PTq5_L0QRXX9BuYDamq4fOT6Qz_SYhDFoNQR2dUYBep_ywig0Mq1FskNNhS1SmJqJtIVieUsKMoG5kUVh4iE8CmholYjtahimzDZC/s320/IMG_0874.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know it's summer and I'm at home when I have one of these almost every morning. It's really pretty good for you but tastes decadent and is surprisingly filling. Basically, freeze a banana and throw it in the blender with some chocolate soymilk. The variations are endless: a little peanut butter, a little cinnamon, different kinds of milk, etc. If you've never frozen banana before, you are missing out. It tastes like vanilla ice cream! Pro tip: slice bananas before you freeze them. It's easier on the blender if you're making a smoothie, and more fun if you're eating them plain. Happy summer!</div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-55986329072051407382010-05-12T10:01:00.001-07:002010-05-12T21:42:18.937-07:00(Portland) vegan airport guideToday I leave the land of ironic hipster mullets for the land of sincere ones, so what better time to post about eating vegan in the airport than while I'm actually in one? This post is primarily about the Portland airport, but as there are a lot of chains here that are in a lot of other airports as well, hopefully this can be helpful to you regardless of where you're flying.<br />
<br />
PDX may be in Portland, but it is still an airport, not a promised land of vegan delights. Here are your best bets:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Jamba Juice</span> was my saving grace this morning. In addition to a wide array of vegan smoothies (my favorite is the Five Fruit Frenzy), they have oatmeal made with soymilk (but the brown sugar crumbles contain milk, so order without). You can also get hot chocolate with soymilk, a wrap with hummus and quinoa and veggies, and an apple cinnamon pretzel. Their <a href="http://jambajuice.com/menu">website</a> is very helpful as it has an entire section listing everything on their menu that is vegan.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Flying Elephant Delicatessen </span>is a recent addition to PDX. Other than the usual chips, fruit salad, etc. they have a sandwich with vegan cream cheese (WTF? In an airport?), eggplant, and arugula. They also sell Kettleman's bagels, if you don't mind a dry bagel. (Why do they only sell vegan cream cheese on the sandwich?)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Riverfront Cafe</span> has hummus and pita!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quizno's</span> has a veggie sub that is vegan when you order it on white or wheat with no cheese and no dressing.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Big Town Hero</span> has multiple veggie subs, including one with avocado, that are vegan if you order without various dairy nonsense.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Wendy's</span> French fries are vegan.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Pizzicato<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">'</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">s <a href="http://pizzicatopizza.com/menus/Airportmenu.pdf">airport menu</a> drops the v-word. You can order any of their pizzas without cheese, and they also have hummus and foccacia and peanut sauce.</span></span><br />
I know <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Good Dog Bad Dog</span> has a veggie sausage, but I don't know if it's vegan. Ask. Anyone reading this know one way or the other?<br />
<br />
That's PDX. The key to being vegan in an airport, or anywhere, is being crafty (if you have time). All things considered, pack your own food if you can. A Luna bar or pack of trail mix doesn't take up much space in a bag, doesn't go bad, and can be the most delicious food on earth when you're tired and jet-lagged and starving. But beyond that, you might often be surprised. For example, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Denver</span>'s airport sells <a href="http://www.nanascookiecompany.com/">Nana's</a> vegan cookies (in the nondescript Hudson News places), <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Newark</span> has a few little natural-themed kiosks with Odwalla bars and Naked juices and the like, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Minneapolis </span>has an Asian place with tofu noodle soup, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Seattle </span>has a cafe (Kathy Casey Dish D'Lish) with a couscous dish. Those are all just off the top of my head, and all were surprises to me. You never know what you might find, and often a quick Google search of the airport(s) you'll be at can lead you to a list of restaurants there, which, combined with the powers of the interwebs, can give you a head start on finding vegan food. Happy travels!Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-87708701777514425142010-05-03T18:28:00.000-07:002010-05-03T20:52:27.654-07:00soymilk, bali shag!<div>It's finals week. My brain is dead. I saw this a few months ago and it is gold. </div><object height="295" style="background-image: url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/qc4O6v74obs/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qc4O6v74obs&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qc4O6v74obs&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br />
<div>That is a typical day in Portland, yes. </div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-85584962522256115032010-04-26T17:01:00.000-07:002010-04-26T17:03:56.226-07:00Silk almondmilk and vegan milk thoughtsSo, the long-established standard of soymilk, <a href="http://www.silkpurealmond.com/">Silk, now makes almond milk</a> . I'm excited about trying it, but not being much of an almond milk person, I am more excited to see if Silk ever makes more non-dairy milks and what this does for overall perception of vegan milks.<br />
<br />
I think it's safe to say that everybody knows what soymilk is. But few people (few non-vegan people, that is) know that there is a whole world of vegan food and drink - even among those vegan foods and drinks that explicitly try to replicate or replace non-vegan foods - beyond soy. Soy is a versatile thing, but it's not the pinnacle of vegan food science (e.g. the <a href="http://genvegan.blogspot.com/2010/03/daiya-love-and-sweetpea-love.html">only vegan cheese that strings</a>, Daiya, is soy-free) and, speaking for this vegan, I wouldn't call it a staple of my diet. And especially in vegan milks are there so many options beyond soy - rice, hemp, almond, coconut, oat and more. I do love soymilk, but I never cook with it because ricemilk has a cleaner taste (though ricemilk tastes too much like cow's milk to me, so I don't drink it), and chocolate almond milk is practically dessert. One question - why has no one made a cashew milk? Cashew is the magical ingredient of so much good vegan dairy, so it surprises me that there isn't one. What is your favorite vegan milk?Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-70071978544602165062010-04-22T12:20:00.000-07:002010-04-22T12:22:50.325-07:001.5 tons more carbon per year<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Earth Day! It's cheesy but true to say that every day is Earth day. It's Earth Day if you're on Earth and getting anything - e.g. food, water, air, a place to live - from her. If you live on Earth, you have an obligation to take care of her as she cares for you. And there is simply no way that eating animals fits into that. According to </span><a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18825304.800-its-better-to-green-your-diet-than-your-car.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Scientist and researchers at the University of Chicago</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #7d7f78; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">going from an omnivorous diet to a vegan one does more for the environment than going from a gas-guzzler to a Prius. "The typical US diet, about 28 per cent of which comes from animal sources, generates the equivalent of nearly <b>1.5 tonnes</b></span><span style="color: #7d7f78; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> more carbon dioxide per person per year than a vegan diet with the same number of calories." 3000 pounds per year! The bottom line is that the animal agriculture industry is wasteful and inefficient. The majority of grain grown in the US is not fed to humans but to animals, and because it takes around 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat, this is a really wasteful use of land, water, and fossil fuel. Think about it: you could grow plants, send them to a processor (if you must), and then to the grocery. Or you could grow plants, send them to feed mills, send the feed to factory farms, send the animals from the factory farms to slaughter, send the slaughtered animals to processing plants, and then send the meat to the grocery. Each of those additional steps requires enormously more amounts of fossil fuel, land, and water, not to mention the fact that animals produce methane and "the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture. Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (</span><a href="http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">source</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<!--StartFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are serious about climate change and protecting the Earth, you have to stop eating animal products. This is not about superiority. I am a vegan and I am not the savior of all the earth. But the science is there. To ignore it is selfishness. Yeah, you want to eat meat. But don't you also want to take long showers? And wouldn't it be more convenient to drive somewhere than bike or walk? Local food is sometimes harder to find than non-local, right? If you're reading this, chances are you're already making other sacrifices in your life to protect the Earth. Giving up meat is no different.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want more info, I encourage you to check out the UN's report "</span><a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestock's Long Shadow</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">."</span>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-80102954116131567492010-04-19T21:16:00.000-07:002010-04-19T21:16:39.669-07:00Starbucks to offer vegan frappucinos!What an exciting year to be vegan! Starting May 5, Starbucks will offer a soymilk-based blend for their frappucinos. Apparently it's already being offered in LA and I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case in other major cities as well.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quarrygirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/starbucks-soy-570x532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://www.quarrygirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/starbucks-soy-570x532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Now, inevitably there will be some noise about whether this is really a good thing, since it's Starbucks, after all. But as I see it, pretty much every food you eat can eventually be traced back to some evil corporation. Obviously it would be ideal to only eat local, organic food that's 100% ethically sound, but I think it's the lesser evil to buy something vegan from a huge corporation than to just give up. But this is a post about the excitement of a giant corporation responding to demand for vegan items and being able to have a delightful vegan frappucino at any Starbucks in the land, so I'll stop there for today. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but hey, the more (vegan stuff) the merrier (the world).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee; text-decoration: underline;"><br />
</span></div><a href="http://www.quarrygirl.com/2010/04/19/starbucks-vegan-frappucinos/">Thanks to Quarrygirl for the news and the picture.</a>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-44762214029065147232010-04-13T12:45:00.000-07:002010-04-13T12:45:27.924-07:00oysters & consistencyA friend of mine recently shared <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2248998?obref=obinsite">this article from Slate</a> with me. The author, Christopher Cox, says that he doesn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs, but that he does eat oysters. His reasoning is that oyster farming is environmentally friendly and there's much question about what oysters can feel, as they have no central nervous system the way we and other animals do. Cox seems to believe that any vegan who wouldn't eat oysters is just being nitpicky. "Eating ethically is not a purity pissing contest, and the more vegans or vegetarians pretend that it is, the more their diets start to resemble mere fashion - and thus risk being dismissed as such." I agree wholeheartedly. Being vegan isn't about a checklist of foods you can and can't eat, and you don't get a gold star for thinking you're the purest of the pure. But Cox implies that all vegans who don't eat oysters (which, sorry Cox, is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">all vegans</span>) are taking part in this "purity pissing contest", and that is where I find real fault. To be vegan, you have to embrace the fact that it simply isn't possible to never, ever, ever use animal products in some way (however indirect). There are animal products in tires (yes, really), and even harvesting plants is going to kill some worms or mice. Such is life. Veganism is not being pure or obeying a set of dietary laws, it's about doing what is possible and practical to end oppression. It isn't really possible in our world today to not use tires somehow, it's not possible to not use medications tested on animals, it's not possible to harvest plants without killing some insects, and that's just how it is.<br />
<br />
It is, however, <br />
<a name='more'></a> possible to live and thrive without eating meat, dairy, or eggs, without wearing leather or fur, et cetera. And this is my problem with Cox's article. Oysters may not have central nervous systems, and farming them may be more environmentally friendly than farming other animals, but eating them - even at the exclusion of all other animal products - is still buying into speciesism, to the belief that "Well, I'm a human, and I want to eat this other animal, so I'm just going to because it's yummy." You don't have to eat oysters to live or thrive. You eat oysters because you want to and because they're there. When it comes to ethics, isn't it better to err on the side of caution? Doing so is not being an ascetic. It's being consistent. In my mind, making exceptions for oysters because it's so environmentally friendly to farm them starts one down on the slippery slope of other exceptions, other particular cases that hinge on technicalities but come down to the fact that something tastes good and is convenient for you.<br />
<br />
And really - if you have reasons for consistency other than consistency's sake (like the fact that when you eat a consistently herbivorous diet, there's a very convenient word to describe it, and you don't have to deal with spoilsports like me and the other 571 people who have thus far commented on Cox's article lampooning his personal choices) why not just be consistent? I feel about oysters as I do about honey. It may not be as big of an issue as meat, dairy, or eggs, but you're already cutting so much out of your diet, is it really that big of a problem in your life to not eat it??Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-58813950209207163002010-04-09T14:38:00.000-07:002010-04-09T14:38:42.887-07:00wtf PETA, vol. 48459375<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9br7jYfgLoXQ6oFUfMuRDEsuufGlqbQpjnaY1tpk1Gbu1K8vN2YwXBlRLe5UM1PFql_QO7C74yixeX6B6GDNgXV_XlHpo2nXdCTL6Uesc6jH9hZdFWhUBBBbP5oTlrd-HxGi_5KH0W8l/s1600/peta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9br7jYfgLoXQ6oFUfMuRDEsuufGlqbQpjnaY1tpk1Gbu1K8vN2YwXBlRLe5UM1PFql_QO7C74yixeX6B6GDNgXV_XlHpo2nXdCTL6Uesc6jH9hZdFWhUBBBbP5oTlrd-HxGi_5KH0W8l/s320/peta.jpg" /></a></div>Last week, <a href="http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4795893">PETA wanted to advertise</a> on teeter-totters at a playground at a public elementary school in Frankfort, Kentucky. The proposed advertisements would read "Tot teetering on obesity? Go vegan!" and have the PETA logo. In addition to the ads, the school would also get thousands of free veggie burgers in their cafeteria. Not surprisingly, the school turned the offer down on the grounds that the students are too young to understand or interpret such direct advertising. Good for them. Why does everything PETA does still surprise me? I mean, PETA does have a lot of <a href="http://www.vegcooking.com/">great</a> <a href="http://www.goveg.com/">resources</a> and they are very well-connected. But why do they stoop to such ridiculous levels? (Or kill animals? Or promote welfarism? Or focus on winnable campaigns that don't really effect change? Different posts for different days...) This is an organization that <a href="http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/12/go_out_in_style.php">has literally made coffins</a> emblazoned with their logo and an animal-rights message. Classy, classy folks. But even beyond the laughability of such a campaign, it just doesn't make sense. If a kid is young enough to be using a teeter-totter, and if that kid is already anywhere near obese, there are way more problems in his/her life than can be untangled by their/their parents' seeing an advertisement like that. Thanks for continuing to make all vegans look utterly ridiculous, PETA.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-63108582159349392492010-03-31T16:14:00.000-07:002010-03-31T16:14:31.382-07:00quick hit: Whole Foods carrying Daiya starting tomorrow!<a href="http://www.mfablog.org/2010/03/award-winning-daiya-vegan-cheese-hits-whole-foods-april-1st.html">BIG NEWS</a>, vegans! Starting April 1st (that's tomorrow!), Whole Foods stores nationwide will carry Daiya. Daiya is the best vegan cheese <a href="http://genvegan.blogspot.com/2010/03/daiya-love-and-sweetpea-love.html">I have ever eaten</a>, hands down. It tastes delicious, melts, and even strings the way dairy cheese does. If you haven't had the chance to try it, you are in for a treat. I am so excited to be able to get it when I'm home this summer! Look at the fancy new packaging, too!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4_SCSGoIHvTvdEwzm4GW6hC9iAU96WVxtANX_zu6xerch3OL8_h33LBKe2rvUw6T07yxgEt6LBLx5yx3bQIUfQzZbwMsJdJ588rB43hQvqHiOwAZn0SzXlNpZIt3PZmcwI0UrDzCYIxM/s1600/daiya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-4_SCSGoIHvTvdEwzm4GW6hC9iAU96WVxtANX_zu6xerch3OL8_h33LBKe2rvUw6T07yxgEt6LBLx5yx3bQIUfQzZbwMsJdJ588rB43hQvqHiOwAZn0SzXlNpZIt3PZmcwI0UrDzCYIxM/s320/daiya.jpg" /></a></div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-52862129237542504342010-03-25T19:16:00.000-07:002010-03-25T19:19:14.957-07:00camp for vegan/activist kids<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you're in Portland you've probably heard about this already, but did you know that there is a summer camp for young activists? How awesome is that? </span></span><a href="http://www.yeacamp.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Youth Empowered Action camp</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is in the Portland and Santa Cruz areas this summer and kids 11-15 will get to go and learn how to change the world and continue being awesome. I wish this had been around when I was that age. I went vegetarian when I was fourteen, vegan at fifteen, and let me be the first to tell you, it can get lonely at that age being the "weird" kid who actually cares about something other than themselves. I can't imagine how it must be to be </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">eleven years old </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and be an activist, about veganism or anything else. It doesn't look like YEA has been around for long, but I hope it keeps going and keeps letting kids know "No, you aren't weird, you are on the path to becoming an awesome person and making the world more awesome as well." The environment of any summer camp can be so nurturing and reassuring. I was raised in the Christian church and went to church camp for several summers in elementary/middle school, and when I was sixteen I went to a summer writing workshop for high schoolers that was the best time of my life. In both cases it was like "WOAHMYGOD there are others?? This is okay?!?" So good. Summer is such a potent time, and the opportunity to live, for once in your life, surrounded by people who get you and support you is just amazing. YEA's</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> website has a page with testimonials from kids who went last year, and they warm the cockles of my heart. "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This camp is about being yourself and being who you are." "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You can't usually talk about these things in schools. This camp is really peaceful and beautiful; just amazing." </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Winner: "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Everyone was super happy and laughing and that's what our world could be." </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If that doesn't make you hopeful about the next generation I don't know what will!</span></span></span></span></span></span>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-32258733256859179152010-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:002010-03-23T21:23:41.724-07:00ingenuity in cheese and chipsFood science, especially when something vegan is involved, will never cease to amaze me. They can make mock snails from wheat (seitan) and ice cream from hemp and that's all well and good, but now they can make cheese out of oatmeal! OATMEAL. WTF. It's made of oatmeal and it's really good and tastes cheesy! My parents didn't raise a liar.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5m8FLrKolc31vKGpVdhANaeR_gAxC_z7riFHNK1V6rUA3tiGCXyUTMEEr3n5NC7LyDhsp1v4ra-f1gYPJUcA08VdT-kbCwYvnCElec1rucExaWYQbwe__f-vQqUn7CwZLLXnFJejguHvz/s1600-h/IMG_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5m8FLrKolc31vKGpVdhANaeR_gAxC_z7riFHNK1V6rUA3tiGCXyUTMEEr3n5NC7LyDhsp1v4ra-f1gYPJUcA08VdT-kbCwYvnCElec1rucExaWYQbwe__f-vQqUn7CwZLLXnFJejguHvz/s320/IMG_0474.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I heard about We Can't Say It's Cheese a few months ago, but, honestly, there are so many brands of vegan cheese out there, a name like that just doesn't cause one to drop the Daiya/Cheezly/etc. The other night I was at the grocery, planning to make quesadillas and not being able to find vegan sour cream (boo Market of Choice, boo). Near the regular sour cream was this fine product. Oh! Recognition! Intrigue! "Mexi-Cheddar"! Sounded like it would go equally well with quesadillas, so that was that. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This stuff is really good! It is a little thicker and milder than non-vegan jarred queso dip, but overall it's very similar and has a good flavor. It reminded me of a queso-style dip someone made at a vegan potluck a few years ago from Jo Stepaniak's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook</span>, if that means anything to you. Overall I can't think of any way to improve it without veering too far into territory of "This tastes so much like what it's a vegan version of, it's kinda gross" (e.g. ricemilk tastes too much like cow's milk to me, so I hate the taste). Hooray oatmeal cheese!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8c0CKn9vP7VrjTIPJiPsM6TuEjfZpDYj1wV8m0EZug6kUUNTMghc6j1BVz7_hl96oF1kNltDBEHNETYsw7QoA7W6iLn80iyPjXMXDCtEdv14n51me54d0BwM3cZg2sTtrrNJbiOEKHCI/s1600-h/IMG_0539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8c0CKn9vP7VrjTIPJiPsM6TuEjfZpDYj1wV8m0EZug6kUUNTMghc6j1BVz7_hl96oF1kNltDBEHNETYsw7QoA7W6iLn80iyPjXMXDCtEdv14n51me54d0BwM3cZg2sTtrrNJbiOEKHCI/s320/IMG_0539.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">WCSIC (oh, name it something else) in the bowl, being tasty</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7nIFRJqFjuDx_zQkNwaQLp5vaF02xoMaRzGNYtczLsqoCt_fcWHcVf9RjuHB7qupVRm78XKK6Wwl6xeDnMpAAVWMMNToH4NalbCNG1jlwZRLs9_3dupOjMWH1wpVPh8PUJ4gwFtNd2pV/s1600-h/IMG_0543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7nIFRJqFjuDx_zQkNwaQLp5vaF02xoMaRzGNYtczLsqoCt_fcWHcVf9RjuHB7qupVRm78XKK6Wwl6xeDnMpAAVWMMNToH4NalbCNG1jlwZRLs9_3dupOjMWH1wpVPh8PUJ4gwFtNd2pV/s320/IMG_0543.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">yum! A segway into the other part of this post.....make your own tortilla chips! You don't need a deep fryer or anything fancy (other than yourself). Cut a tortilla into eighths, spray a cookie sheet with baking spray, and put it in a 350F oven for ten minutes or so. So much healthier than fried, probably cheaper than buying bagged tortilla chips, and they have better flavor. DO IT. </div>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-15944293013401302822010-03-21T19:38:00.000-07:002010-03-21T19:38:33.086-07:00quick tip: makeshift salad dressingThis is something I learned a few years ago, and it can be a lifesaver: salad dressing doesn't have to be from a bottle, nor does it have to have more than two ingredients. Oil & balsamic vinegar is the obvious go-to when you either have no "real" salad dressing, are at the house of someone who doesn't have any vegan, or are feeling too lazy to make one more complex than that. But my favorite makeshift dressing is...hummus! Hummus is the food of the gods and goes with almost everything. I mean, breathe if you love hummus. Exactly. But did you know that you can easily make hummus into salad dressing? Just put a few globs of hummus in a small dish and add a few spoonfuls of water. Use either a small whisk or the back of a spoon to stir until the water is fully incorporated and it has a dressing-like consistency. Feast. So yummy and easy and good for you!Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-67086410635532053912010-03-11T11:09:00.000-08:002010-03-11T22:17:39.646-08:00abortion and veganismand a whole lot more, too...<br />
<br />
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to widespread acceptance of abolitionist veganism is the rift between progressive vegans and progressive omnivores (yes, conservative vegans exist, but that's the shortest story ever written). The fact of the matter is that welfarism, "happy meat" and cage-free free-range hoof-massaged bedtime-storied animal agriculture are en vogue in a major way. Walk into any grocery store, be it Wal-Mart or the mom & pop hippie co-op, and there's going to be a laser beam show around a display of "free-range" crap and a picture book you can buy to show your children where your eggs, wanting factory farms, actually come from and blah blah blah.<br />
<br />
This is not news to anyone reading this, and I think it should be easily understandable why this is the case. It's shiny! It's trendy! It's meat! It doesn't actually require ethics! I have no problems with laser beams. I have no problems with picture books. While I do have very serious problems with welfarism/"happy meat"/etc., that is another topic for another day, and believe you me, on that day, it's gonna be long. But briefly, both welfarism and abolitionism seek to answer the problem of animal oppression. Welfarism calls for regulation of animal agriculture, while abolitionism calls to end it entirely. Bigger cages versus no cages. With me? (For more, <a href="http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Abolition">Gary Francione's outline</a>)<br />
<br />
Welfarism has taken over the hearts and wallets of many a progressive soul. At this point, I'm not sure if more progressives eat happy meat than are simply happy to eat any meat, regardless of how it was produced, but either way, I believe and will argue that consumption of animal products is directly at odds with the values and ideals of the progressive movement. I do not think you can call yourself progressive if you eat any kind of animal product, be it a McDonald's hamburger or the milk of your pet goat. Likewise, I do not think you can call yourself vegan if you are not progressive.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The issue of veganism and abortion comes up surprisingly frequently - I know to any vegan blogger that's a cliche, but it really does surprise me. The jist of it is that vegans don't want to kill innocent animals, so why would they want to kill innocent fetuses? If pigs and chickens deserve to live, don't blastulae? Or something like that. I won't give too much space to the whole "animals have sentience in the same way humans do, fetuses do not" thing. It's dumb. I am not dumb. You are not dumb. The issue of veganism is not life itself - if that were the case every vegan would be anti-choice, anti-death penalty, anti-war, and pro-having a dozen babies per person (and damn, we'd be the most consistent movement ever). The issue of veganism is personhood - the idea that all sentient beings, human or non, deserve at the very, very least the right to belong to themselves and no other, to be in control of their lives and happiness - and here is the link between veganism and progressivism that can't be ignored.<br />
<br />
Why do women deserve the rights to abortion access? Because a woman is a sentient being. She can make her own decisions and deserves being able to control her own reproductive life. A fetus is not a person and therefore does not have rights. The true issue, I think, is not just that abortions be legal and safe - abortion access is only how the woman's rights as a person manifest themselves. A woman who wants to give birth deserves quality medical care for herself and her child, her child deserves quality education, and a couple deserves the right to make their own decisions <i>just</i> as much and for the exact same reasons - they are all people, all sentient beings, and all therefore worthy of ethical consideration.<br />
<br />
Likewise, why do all people deserve the rights to marry? Because, gay or straight, all couples are sentient beings. They all belong to themselves, and if they want to get married, great. That doesn't harm anyone else. Abortion doesn't harm anyone else. If someone wants to get married, have a baby, not have a baby, dance naked in their backyard or anything else that doesn't harm anyone else, fiddle-dee-dee. They're all sentient beings and deserve a shot at their own happiness and well-being, without interference from anyone else (as long as they're not harming anyone else).<br />
<br />
This is the principle behind all progressive causes. Why do workers deserve living wages and decent working conditions? Because workers are sentient beings and thus have the rights to a decent life, and money is not sentient. If one is to believe in any of these causes - reproductive rights, marriage equality, worker rights, suffrage, whatever - one must understand that the root is that all sentient beings deserve life, not just to be alive but to have control over their own happiness and to not be the property or pawn of any other person. This applies regardless of someone's being male or female, gay or straight, rich or poor, white or brown. When it comes to fundamental rights like these, they're all equal. They're sentient beings all, and holding the arbitrary specifics of race, gender, class and so on as means of value or worth constitutes racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression, respectively.<br />
<br />
We've established that ethical consideration hinges on the most fundamental element of being human, sentience, rather than on arbitrary characteristics like race. This is why you'll meet so many progressives who simply say that they believe in "human rights" as an umbrella term covering all manner of more specific issues, and why the Human Rights Campaign is called exactly that and not Same-Sex Marriage Campaign or even Equality Campaign or what have you. We can all think of some speaker for some progressive issue crying out "We are all human!" as a way of furthering their cause, because whatever their cause is depends on what we have in common as people.<br />
<br />
But what about what we have in common as earthlings and sentient beings? As I said before, most progressives don't see animals as categorically worthy of ethical consideration, or if they do, they're still on another level than humans. I'm not saying that humans and animals are the same. There's no point to giving chickens the right to marry, or pigs the right to vote, for example, any more than there is point to giving men the right to safe abortion. Such rights have nothing to do with the one basic right to not be another's property, the way the same rights do when applied to gays and lesbians, adults, and women. The rights to vote and marry extend across all humanity because we all deserve to be heard, loved, and protected. Shouldn't the right to not be killed for another's gain extend across all animalkind, humans included? Don't we all deserve, before anything else, to just live and be our own?<br />
<br />
If you say no, why? Because non-human animals are a different species than us? Species is an arbitrary characteristic, like race, and someone being a different race doesn't mean you can take away their right to vote, so if you think racism is wrong, speciesism should be wrong in your mind as well. Is it because animals are less intelligent than us? Intelligence (or at least the capacity for it) is also an arbitrary characteristic. Unless you are also in favor of testing cleaning supplies on babies and mentally retarded people, intelligence should be out. So is it because it's just the natural order of things or the way things have always been? According to many people in many points in time, it's the natural order and tradition for women to be inferior to men. You should be convinced of that if you're convinced that tradition is sufficient justification for animal exploitation.<br />
<br />
Progressivism is about universal rights and rejects holding specifics like sexual orientation or nationality as markers for worth. Why, then, does something <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">about</span> universal rights not <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">apply</span> universally? Why are specifics like race not okay, but specifics like species are? Progressivism, if veganism is not part of it, does not agree with itself.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-28006637368663385622010-03-04T10:47:00.000-08:002010-03-04T10:50:40.055-08:00Daiya love and Sweetpea loveI had heard the rumors. The myths. The, dare I say, legend.<br />
Of Daiya.<br />
If you haven't, Daiya is a vegan cheese that not only melts and tastes amazing (which some, if not all, vegan cheeses do) but it's the only vegan cheese that STRINGS the way cow's milk cheese does. And it is a thing of beauty.<br />
<br />
The other weekend I was at Sweetpea Vegan Bakery with friends and simply wanted a grilled cheese. I had no idea that Sweetpea used Daiya. When my sandwich came, I took a bite and tasted the deepest richest most cheddary flavor I've tasted in years. Like Cheezly but more American-tasting. All well and good, but when that bite was done and I looked at it...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvPYjxF_b2rrtwej4X26jTnef39wjMA8H9LvKdnMtB_s7IchZQ-VUBZT7_HjoOkLmaVtr5gewJ7NLl7ioz0E-jPmR_WXCL-j26l6RXQDbKjkFo7jN-McWxKKgitRGk7AkMHyqqdWKAhDr/s1600-h/IMG_0375.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444299922694589714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigvPYjxF_b2rrtwej4X26jTnef39wjMA8H9LvKdnMtB_s7IchZQ-VUBZT7_HjoOkLmaVtr5gewJ7NLl7ioz0E-jPmR_WXCL-j26l6RXQDbKjkFo7jN-McWxKKgitRGk7AkMHyqqdWKAhDr/s400/IMG_0375.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<br />
Look at that! Look how stringy and perfect! And it's vegan! Food science, I love you.<br />
<br />
Because here's the thing about vegan cheese: <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
the good stuff is very good, the bad stuff is very bad. It must be said that we vegans don't crave cheese the way omnis and vegetarians do. Cheese from animals contains substances called casomorphines which are structurally similar to morphine. Like morphine, they make you feel good and you really can get mildly addicted to them. They are present in cheese because they are present in milk, and they are present in milk so that a calf will be drawn back to his/her mother's udder and keep eating and getting big and healthy. So when people say "I could never be vegan because I love cheese too much" or "I could give up everything but cheese" it's not just that cheese is the Best Food Ever In The World. If you've been eating something all your life and it contains chemicals designed to keep you eating it, yeah, it's gonna seem hard. But it takes three weeks for you to learn a new habit, and like I said, longtime vegans are living proof that the craving goes away. (We weren't born vegan, after all.) But that doesn't mean that cheesy things don't taste good. While some vegan cheeses, I will be the first to say, taste like plastic and vomit and I wouldn't wish them on anyone, some are seriously good. My older omni brother has had Cheesly and agreed that it tastes good. But DAIYA. Oh my. I want to make pizza with it. I want to make pizza with it and walk around my dorm pulling slices up stringily and saying "God I hate being vegan. Look at this crap I have to eat."<br />
<br />
Also, for the millionth time, I am so happy I live in Portland now. I love the vegan minimall. Spring is sprouting in Portland, and it's such a joy to sit outside a vegan minimall on a February Saturday eating delicious vegan food (I had a bite of a friend's seitan au jus - YES, vegan au jus! - sandwich and it was as delicious as mine) and bumping into people like Josh Herbivore.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-63317227821998105232010-02-28T20:59:00.001-08:002010-02-28T21:42:12.688-08:00sweet chile tofu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpuUZB6L74xYHdzAHDFZlsWZebbnfa2ocwrgScqA4zJ2T1Q35t6VTwQZxZSA7CRgmlS5nupPMnh9xVlcItvVaqrKl4VUEo5oK1_une7PL5tHGp6h1BtzW5B44x1BWNW6y5SnhOtsAPEao/s1600-h/IMG_0370.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpuUZB6L74xYHdzAHDFZlsWZebbnfa2ocwrgScqA4zJ2T1Q35t6VTwQZxZSA7CRgmlS5nupPMnh9xVlcItvVaqrKl4VUEo5oK1_une7PL5tHGp6h1BtzW5B44x1BWNW6y5SnhOtsAPEao/s320/IMG_0370.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443525840273933346" /></a><br /><br />my roommate and i are addicted to sweet chile sauce. At our dining hall, it seems they have something Asian at nearly every meal, which is where our addiction started, but we have discovered that it's good on everything from pizza to sandwiches. As such, she bought a bottle of the stuff the other week and we marinated tofu in it. Because we live such Busy College Lives it ended up marinating for....several days. Oh well! The result was delicious and so simple I feel it's almost overkill to actually post the recipe, but..<br /><br />Sweet Chile Tofu<br />One block extra-firm tofu<br />Around half a bottle of sweet chile sauce<br />A little oil for cooking<br /><br />Press the water out of the tofu and cut into bite-size pieces. Put in a bowl or a flat baking-style dish and pour over enough sweet chile sauce to cover. Marinate for at least an hour. Coat a saute pan in a few tsp. or so of oil and heat on medium. Cook the tofu until it's golden-brown and crispy. Feel free to pour the leftover sauce from marinating over the tofu as you're cooking it, but be warned that if you use too much in cooking you will get little black chunks of cooked sauce because it won't all be able to be on the tofu, so save a little for serving. EAT. Serves 2-3. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJzYmAmV87EhyaxlpG6SBtVwur7zsDumxd1ph0GZskNs_zm1gGTfbvJmjT2E_xdvNPawuCTVXOZs_eNxSBooEAJAGGn95a0tIRHZ8wrRJ87BeWVKraOGy6mfwmCTWtT_VCHIhpJ-eit4c/s1600-h/IMG_0366.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJzYmAmV87EhyaxlpG6SBtVwur7zsDumxd1ph0GZskNs_zm1gGTfbvJmjT2E_xdvNPawuCTVXOZs_eNxSBooEAJAGGn95a0tIRHZ8wrRJ87BeWVKraOGy6mfwmCTWtT_VCHIhpJ-eit4c/s320/IMG_0366.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443529940570780226" /></a><br />it has been sauced.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqVuj34bzVT78wITPvjtScvwlfayo6MpaRFTPQY6qyc4WqxQFnX6lV8i3HCi9WeOCk6ykY3KmbtrxbNBeSfnBX6TLAwpVcBcBI-SmUVMw6DHdmoK0R-ZJFwGJb7gkk4mvqLdcjNbYWgp8/s1600-h/IMG_0369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqVuj34bzVT78wITPvjtScvwlfayo6MpaRFTPQY6qyc4WqxQFnX6lV8i3HCi9WeOCk6ykY3KmbtrxbNBeSfnBX6TLAwpVcBcBI-SmUVMw6DHdmoK0R-ZJFwGJb7gkk4mvqLdcjNbYWgp8/s320/IMG_0369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443536367576806674" /></a><br />my happy tofu friends<br /><br />Also, do any Portland people know of local tofu? Surely some exists. The tofu local to my hometown was always so much better and firmer than any big brand.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-33397059750546466722010-02-20T14:02:00.000-08:002010-02-20T14:05:24.049-08:00a few of my favorite thingsLately, I've been enjoying:<br /><br />1) Clif Kids <a href="http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_clif_kid_twisted_fruit/1318">fruit twist things</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.clifbar.com/uploads/product/TF-Pineapple.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 243px;" src="http://www.clifbar.com/uploads/product/TF-Pineapple.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I had never seen these before first semester, but my roommate loves them and always has them around. She loves them because the three-year-old she babysits back home loves them, but this is a case of all paths to enlightenment being valid. They are like beef jerky, if beef jerky tasted like fruit instead of dead animal, if it had a texture between fresh and candy instead of greasy, if it were associated with the children of food-conscious parents and not fourteen-year-old boys.<br />It's shaped like beef jerky. Anyway, they are really good and come in flavors from Strawberry to Tropical and apparently one is a full serving of fruit. These have been tossed into my backpack many a time this semester.<br /><br />2) Tao of Tea Moroccan Mint<br /><br />Tao of Tea is a tea house here in Portland, and my school's dining hall has two of their teas. This is my go-to beverage when the soymilk machine is broken. It is a green tea with a full body and a very mellow, refreshing, not overwhelming mint flavor. I've not yet made it out to the tea house itself, but I want to. Now I am thirsty.<br /><br />3) the banjo<br />So this isn't vegan-related, but being vegan makes me happy, as does the banjo. Connection made. More and more people who play the banjo have been coming into my life lately. I love the instrument! I have been realizing over the past year or so how much I really do like music with twang. More from the folk end (e.g. early Dar Williams) than country, but twang nonetheless. Last night I was hanging out with my friend Leah, who is teaching herself the banjo, and she taught me a few cords. 1) Playing the open strings is a chord on the banjo. 2) It's so much smaller than the guitar and you don't feel like you have this massive block of wood demanding that beautiful noises be produced from it immediately when you play it. 3) It's so much fun just to pick. I love music but my brain is just formatted to be literary. I am amazed at people who can jam, who can just flow into things that they make up and that sound good. But it's fun just to mess around and to sing. When I had a car in high school I would sing all the time, but now that I don't I've been realizing how little I do and how I wish I did more. An old friend had a bumper sticker on his car that said 'The more I sing, the better I feel' - very true. I think this summer when I have more time to learn I'm going to try to find a used banjo on craigslist and see what comes of it. <br /><br />4) Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dacapopresscookbooks.com/images/covers_large/9781600940484.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 337px; height: 363px;" src="http://www.dacapopresscookbooks.com/images/covers_large/9781600940484.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I've blogged before about <a href="http://genvegan.blogspot.com/2010/01/ooey-gooey-pumpkin-pie-brownies.html">the pumpkin brownies from this book</a>, but last night I used the sugar cookie recipe in it to make cookies for the Vagina Monologues here on campus. Finally! A vegan sugar cutout cookie recipe that works! One Christmas my mom was making holiday cookies and I just gave her the first sugar cookie recipe I found from VegWeb. Now, I adore VegWeb and some of my favorite recipes are there, but for some reason these were just - weird. But Isa&Terry's were, as everything from their cookbooks, reliably delicious.<br /><br />What have you been eating/drinking/using/reading/enjoying lately?Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-16166218482231215442010-02-09T15:34:00.000-08:002010-02-09T15:43:12.093-08:00quick hit: grilling pita<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHva-REEU81KJQxe98otbQAh3XyoqSii5RDtFVC5LT4YfPx_7eFAFpPKfTPFgeqx3fkCFJcjA-8iwV0A7o6KCerzIv-QBXwNmQfaSaPh6_VKJGmR55bsJez5oirsTA41A8vEyR3Gh55khS/s1600-h/IMG_0247.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHva-REEU81KJQxe98otbQAh3XyoqSii5RDtFVC5LT4YfPx_7eFAFpPKfTPFgeqx3fkCFJcjA-8iwV0A7o6KCerzIv-QBXwNmQfaSaPh6_VKJGmR55bsJez5oirsTA41A8vEyR3Gh55khS/s320/IMG_0247.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436391621611360386" /></a><br />There, doesn't that look delicious? One of my favorite tips: always grill your pita bread. The effort to deliciousness ratio is ridiculous. Pita bread on its own is just fine, but when you grill it it stands out as a food on its own, not just a vehicle for hummus, and it's so quick and easy. Brush both sides of a pita with olive oil - I've found it easiest to put a little in a pan (which you need to do anyway) and then dip a paper towel (before turning on the stove, mind you) in it and use that to spread the oil more evenly/directly on the pita. Cook on medium-high heat, flipping often enough to keep good watch on both sides, until it's golden brown with little brown patches of crisp deliciousness, should take around five minutes. So much better than dry, cold pita. So little effort. Never underestimate the value of proper food presentation and little steps that make a big difference.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-30403671865519027292010-02-02T20:24:00.000-08:002010-02-02T20:45:31.303-08:00vegan bake sale for Haiti / I love PortlandThis Sunday was Portland's vegan bake sale for Haiti and it was awesome! Portland's alone made $3000 for MercyCorps, which brings the national total to $25K. Twenty-five THOUSAND dollars! Vegan treats are a force to be reckoned with. I wasn't there for long, but it was a madhouse, cookies and money just flying around everywhere.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94OuoTorOLJfDbEOqLu3IHnu6SQnF9jmy4tiNL6DpczjwdW3eRGhJVY2NCahtl4YLas7qBaU3aqQpzEDituyixIAuz6T8vFfsyj3zAHdPPDVPj3CqCJ7gcqMyIP9YxIjw8hkM7KqFvX_W/s1600-h/IMG_0255.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94OuoTorOLJfDbEOqLu3IHnu6SQnF9jmy4tiNL6DpczjwdW3eRGhJVY2NCahtl4YLas7qBaU3aqQpzEDituyixIAuz6T8vFfsyj3zAHdPPDVPj3CqCJ7gcqMyIP9YxIjw8hkM7KqFvX_W/s320/IMG_0255.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433873673168212690" /></a> Some of the people<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimo_5b4UYELxZKwD-xsLwGkuZ_a6p_WS2_fLTh5rreb72y_-XGyy5HscxapSp-uPa4ngAb2pIw-srY03j5q9tqGMrivA18U6asZyIJ1wj1JZGVu5Njtg7ys3pHja-YqMSlc-S-WwlVmEyT/s1600-h/IMG_0256.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimo_5b4UYELxZKwD-xsLwGkuZ_a6p_WS2_fLTh5rreb72y_-XGyy5HscxapSp-uPa4ngAb2pIw-srY03j5q9tqGMrivA18U6asZyIJ1wj1JZGVu5Njtg7ys3pHja-YqMSlc-S-WwlVmEyT/s320/IMG_0256.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433869807968345970" /></a> one of four tables, and that's Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who organized everything, on the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTshAM9_At7-BppsJ3BJiQ1RQ8iUnar0cQVOrE_ukrKplsKspWDVIRYPgK5Z4xNFIoQpL8IZPMoV_O4PZgsk2vfeVIA48Xy26j5w0BiA7CNsZwc8fCIYVwfEmCo1uQTIf11_S27igKffuo/s1600-h/IMG_0258.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTshAM9_At7-BppsJ3BJiQ1RQ8iUnar0cQVOrE_ukrKplsKspWDVIRYPgK5Z4xNFIoQpL8IZPMoV_O4PZgsk2vfeVIA48Xy26j5w0BiA7CNsZwc8fCIYVwfEmCo1uQTIf11_S27igKffuo/s320/IMG_0258.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433870250899860002" /></a> monkey bread! I had never had vegan monkey bread before.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRk2tzy2rp139j0ubf-YRbtG3cTJNmSh505qNH2I98J7jvH1D132f0ENpvyQ0V_zT4kUgc5Po5hx2vkCliEOH0YblGbFuurWAD9B-yTVi6aZW2I_OZb1tH2UFE74Pniwlwx3ST07eSV9Xv/s1600-h/IMG_0260.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRk2tzy2rp139j0ubf-YRbtG3cTJNmSh505qNH2I98J7jvH1D132f0ENpvyQ0V_zT4kUgc5Po5hx2vkCliEOH0YblGbFuurWAD9B-yTVi6aZW2I_OZb1tH2UFE74Pniwlwx3ST07eSV9Xv/s320/IMG_0260.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433870654798821714" /></a> made with real monkeys<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-2MUm6sH0BysAPt84sg_cvDDjd0bGvQztX86hi_VYmx2LqI9u3mC51dpGsNpQyi6ijIFm1T2z5p0U3FgEGlDSnEFLZjT7VWH1X4oyfmAeCFiDubgNTvwhUUV143ej1V0CVJtmtFy0_Ha/s1600-h/IMG_0262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-2MUm6sH0BysAPt84sg_cvDDjd0bGvQztX86hi_VYmx2LqI9u3mC51dpGsNpQyi6ijIFm1T2z5p0U3FgEGlDSnEFLZjT7VWH1X4oyfmAeCFiDubgNTvwhUUV143ej1V0CVJtmtFy0_Ha/s320/IMG_0262.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433870894105933058" /></a> everything my friend Erin got...some cookie dough bites, green tea cupcake, blueberry muffin, some other cupcake, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin bread<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhcTu90dozz6FXmT-ATnG4AF0bSfdBplOPytEYG44vYg6T2La4cGcMlvKIRt3cgWT_XEM-xPCi_zomAG_smQAtrO7pyMzg9pQNOttRUdsNvy_pSjbIAvKzlBKY024Gg4ycXHcJbT7igZe/s1600-h/IMG_0263.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhcTu90dozz6FXmT-ATnG4AF0bSfdBplOPytEYG44vYg6T2La4cGcMlvKIRt3cgWT_XEM-xPCi_zomAG_smQAtrO7pyMzg9pQNOttRUdsNvy_pSjbIAvKzlBKY024Gg4ycXHcJbT7igZe/s320/IMG_0263.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433871154540907714" /></a> Erin eats a cookie pop<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWgVE41KI46cV3G9YWskS7v0JOz89l8_TFdDGuKDrjmVGzMVzPqFK8zIjMnXwYNnk2bbjiUcCN7e6q-jfw5UsJZw63WX_v-X78R9sObyukRCC6l0nfAceQb-atmRJS02P26usHjMQOdUH/s1600-h/IMG_0276.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWgVE41KI46cV3G9YWskS7v0JOz89l8_TFdDGuKDrjmVGzMVzPqFK8zIjMnXwYNnk2bbjiUcCN7e6q-jfw5UsJZw63WX_v-X78R9sObyukRCC6l0nfAceQb-atmRJS02P26usHjMQOdUH/s320/IMG_0276.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433871351256757106" /></a> Red pepper/tofu/Teese quiche. Oh my god, so good. I want to find who made this and do their taxes.....or something.<br /><br />I love Portland so much. I love that there are people here who DO things like this, that there are people enough for things like this to be amazing successes. I was talking to a vegan friend of mine at the bake sale who has lived here for a while, and she said she always expects to know everyone at events like these and never does. There are too many vegans here for one person to know! And everyone here is so friendly. The last two times I have been off-campus (the bake sale and today having lunch at a food cart) random people have just struck up conversations with me to the tune of "Isn't Portland awesome? Isn't being vegan awesome?" Yes, kind stranger, yes. Such things do not occur in my hometown. It tickles me. Portland, I'm yours.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-42982592822625896792010-01-27T23:00:00.000-08:002010-01-27T00:38:02.659-08:00vegan sloppy joes!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPjTbV_cpsoKqABMZZ7ijT-WSWN8u82wX3oNKxUfHfaT2mQ6wLpg3AaU-s-qmKJGpawx09gzK66_T57edFTJCSt4qWWL8Dxd-5cp_Q17oOBNoII-zUxtoR5GO7rvxZVZN-0iz7V2oO4EF/s1600-h/IMG_0106.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPjTbV_cpsoKqABMZZ7ijT-WSWN8u82wX3oNKxUfHfaT2mQ6wLpg3AaU-s-qmKJGpawx09gzK66_T57edFTJCSt4qWWL8Dxd-5cp_Q17oOBNoII-zUxtoR5GO7rvxZVZN-0iz7V2oO4EF/s320/IMG_0106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431333572223200354" /></a><br />Finally, a recipe that's actually mine! This is one of my favorites. I made these over winter break and my omni dad was so cute about them. "What else do you use this vegetable texture protein stuff in?" "If I ate this and didn't know what it was, I'd think they were the real thing!" Heehee. If I ever do a second edition of Generation V, I want to add a lot more recipes, but this is one that's in the book already. If you've never cooked with TVP...do! It looks like gerbil food when you buy it and sounds like a disease, but fear not. It's pure protein so it has a very meaty texture, and like tofu, it just absorbs the flavor of whatever you cook it with. It's also good for chili, burger patties...I bet it would be good on nachos, too. But this is my favorite. Enjoy!<br /><br />Sloppy Joes<br />1 c. TVP<br />1 ½ c. water<br />2 T. liquid smoke<br />1 T. garlic powder<br />1 T. onion powder<br />1 T. apple juice and/or 1 T. brown sugar (optional, but so good)<br />3 T. ketchup (or tomato paste/sauce)<br />½ c. barbeque sauce<br /><br />Combine TVP and water in a medium-sized pan. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cook until the TVP has absorbed almost all of the liquid and is tender and reddish-brown. Feel free to add more of any ingredient to taste; as long as you have enough water for the TVP and aren't using 20 parts barbeque sauce per 1 part TVP you can't screw these up. Serves 4 or so.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6480926171932614154.post-28891066448326090132010-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:002010-01-19T18:27:32.911-08:00vegan yum yum doughnut adventures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybe7OfU2MIa_B-VD5l0J4qd1XWDJDIRAADRT-u1vj_rwUWRtN2T658C9Q8TY76PDNumqZu4emIBKh2Y2z9r7B0U1TPonpclLznxJIawts8_cog4b3rptHf-bfrgL2tn9nEyaiJ9EFqZdd/s1600-h/IMG_0116.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybe7OfU2MIa_B-VD5l0J4qd1XWDJDIRAADRT-u1vj_rwUWRtN2T658C9Q8TY76PDNumqZu4emIBKh2Y2z9r7B0U1TPonpclLznxJIawts8_cog4b3rptHf-bfrgL2tn9nEyaiJ9EFqZdd/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428642275423025250" /></a><br />As I said in my previous post, I just got Lauren Ulm's cookbook _Vegan Yum Yum_ and can't get enough of it. It has a recipe for vegan doughnuts...that you bake! All the deliciousness of a doughnut, but so much easier and less unhealthy (I don't think any doughnut, vegan or non, can really be said to be 'better' for you than something else...) than you'd expect. Recipe originally <a href="http://veganyumyum.com/2007/02/mini-donut-test-kitchen/">here</a>. I didn't have a doughnut pan (why would I) before I found this recipe, but it was around $15 and so worth it for how fun these were to make and share and eat.<br /><br />Vegan Yum Yum Mini Doughnuts<br /><br />Dry Ingredients:<br />1 Cup All Purpose Flour<br />1/2 Cup Sugar<br />1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder<br />1/4 tsp Salt<br />1/4 tsp (scant) Nutmeg<br />1 tiny pinch or shake Cinnamon<br /><br />Wet Ingredients:<br />1/2 Cup Soymilk<br />1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar<br />1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract<br />Egg Replacer for 1 Egg<br />4 Tbs Earth Balance<br /><br />Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. Combine the wet ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the EB is just melted. The wet mixture should be just slightly warm, not hot. If it gets too hot while the EB is melting let it sit for a minute or two, stir, and see if you can stick a finger in it comfortably. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed. It should form something that's too thick to be a batter and too thin/soft to be a dough. Spray your doughnut pan with nonstick spray (the original recipe said not to, but I had better luck when I did) and drop in by the tablespoonful. Use your finger to spread it around evenly and err on the side of underfilling or else you'll have doughnuts with little muffin tops. Bake for 12-14 minutes until they just barely start to (golden)brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Invert on a wire cooling rack or plate and then decorate to your heart's content. If you are going to roll any in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, do so when they're still hot, for anything else wait until they've cooled off. Makes 20.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPmorl7if_O7gp0RfmTx4aDt3a3FgBjcUCLc-Oo1MlE01HIHAxx_ZdcabToDGriRZrtZGUZDSAGvRkVZ5gfbiP8RhGdNJ-t4aQrNPnqCRdlk9d1ItqtFCdLtne8KfM2vS9uS4ZtIhlsUr/s1600-h/IMG_0113.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPmorl7if_O7gp0RfmTx4aDt3a3FgBjcUCLc-Oo1MlE01HIHAxx_ZdcabToDGriRZrtZGUZDSAGvRkVZ5gfbiP8RhGdNJ-t4aQrNPnqCRdlk9d1ItqtFCdLtne8KfM2vS9uS4ZtIhlsUr/s320/IMG_0113.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428641909477777874" /></a><br />doughnuts hot out of the oven<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ga5sNXRjdSQBAvxaUh_1i8ewUD2ZZ7FqUgL_IeqP7LSiMB58wc_wQfdnqYTipbPi-VtONfQaskUZW1V55sFCQXlEv9ZigsYIUNiwSMeYPH6-GkV1I5NmnsF4LcCTF19GoxAJ0ku1Gf1L/s1600-h/IMG_0119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ga5sNXRjdSQBAvxaUh_1i8ewUD2ZZ7FqUgL_IeqP7LSiMB58wc_wQfdnqYTipbPi-VtONfQaskUZW1V55sFCQXlEv9ZigsYIUNiwSMeYPH6-GkV1I5NmnsF4LcCTF19GoxAJ0ku1Gf1L/s320/IMG_0119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428641695523840114" /></a><br />cinnamon sugar, chocolate sprinkle, white chocolate (yes, vegan white chocolate exists) coconut, powdered sugarClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07436883589251504249noreply@blogger.com2