Have Gone Vegan

quick blogging note

Hello peeps! Just wanted to let you know that this blog will continue to be inactive for a while as I'm likely moving* this spring. It's a daunting prospect, but exciting too. See you when I get back! Oh, here's a quote I bet many vegans can relate to, snort.

Everyone who makes a joke about a dwarf's height thinks he's the only person to ever make a joke about a dwarf's height.

TYRION LANNISTER (character in the TV series Game of Thrones)

*I'm moving for a variety of reasons; one of them being the discovery that our new landlords are the same folk who tore down a beautifully-treed lot next door 3 years ago to put up an office building. They've now decided that the gorgeous wild garden in the back of our century-plus-old house (and huge shed) need to make way (cue Joni Mitchell music here) for a 25-spot paved parking lot to accommodate commercial clients next door. Ugh, no thanks.

 

 

how to get through Thanksgiving without killing anyone ;)

Obviously, most readers (all, one would hope) of this blog are already down with not killing turkeys or geese or ducks or chickens or any other sentient being in the perverse tradition (yay, we're so thankful, let's go kill something!) that this holiday is usually celebrated in, but this year it may be a tad more difficult to get through the occasion without harbouring thoughts of perhaps doing in your table-mates. Well, it would be for me if I lived in a particular country right now. I don't, and luckily in Canada Thanks-taking is already behind us, but if the situation were different...

I'm referring, of course, to the polarizing US election in which a certain doofus was deigned to be fit for the most important position of the land by about half of its voters. Clearly, I believe their vision and decision was murky at best and catastrophic at worst, and am still upset by what happened. So I can well imagine how folk who actually have to live with the wannabe autocrat in their midst, and the voters who put him into this seat of power, feel. 

Now, I'm NOT advocating for violence (cuz that wouldn't be the vegan thing to do), but given that I'm probably more short-tempered and less forgiving than most, I thought I'd let you read a post that made me laugh, and may just help American compatriots who aren't looking forward to supping with certain others tomorrow. :)

Here are some wise words on how to survive this year's Thanksgiving by Marla Rose, the Vegan Feminist Agitator: post-election advice for Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

my vegan cookbook confessions :)

Faithful readers will likely know where I'm headed with this post, snort, but suffice it to say I've always had a love/hate relationship with food. Sure, like everyone else I have to eat and have my own set of regular recipes I don't mind making, but that's where it ends. As mentioned before on this blog, I regard the preparing of food more of a chore than a pleasure. Dropping the shopping and chopping would please me to no end, but unfortunately, until I can hire someone to do those things for me (I also, by the way, would get them to dust), chopping and shopping will continue.

So why, if I really don't like to cook or bake, do I have all these books instructing me on how to do both? Not that I have hundreds of them, but even the 30 or so seem excessive given my distaste for the subject matter. Likely, it's because at heart, I'm a collector. A hoarder even, if I didn't lack the space and money. Part of it I suppose is that I want to support vegan authors, but I suspect it's more of a wish to be seduced. Maybe all those glorious photographs and recipes will entice me to pay more attention to the craft of cooking, and turn me into a vegan who's proud to share her this-dish-is-destined-to-convert-any-carnivore skills. Alas, that's unlikely to happen. In the meantime, it IS handy to see what ingredients I have in my fridge, quickly thumb through a few books, and come up with something edible for dinner.

But a real love of cooking? No, I'm just not that interested. And sometimes I wonder if vegans put too much emphasis on food anyway. As someone in a comment on another post stated, we should eat to live, not live to eat. Enjoying food is one thing, but worshipping it is quite another. Gustatory overdrive even by vegans can lead to the very commodification we're working so hard to eradicate, so let's stop being hoity-toity when it comes to what we eat. After all, you don't see other animals turning simple food into items of status, right?

Getting back to cookbooks though, some favourites include Vegan Casseroles (cooking is way better when you can just throw everything into one pot), Eat Vegan on $4 a Day (food shouldn't be expensive or complicated), The Oats, Peas, Beans & Barley Cookbook (apparently named after an old children's song and written back in 1974 before vegan was an almost household word), and my favourite in spirit, Peg Bracken's The I Hate To Cook Book. Nope, completely not vegan, but never have I laughed so hard reading about something I dislike so much. And if any book should be veganized (like Betty Goes Vegan), this one is it. Not because the recipes are fantastic (they're not, and having first been published in 1960, they're all animal-product centric), but because of the author's attitude, sass and humour.

I mean, who can resist an introduction that starts like this:

Some women, it is said, like to cook.
This book is not for them.
This book is for those of us who hate to, who have learned, through hard experience, that some activities become no less painful through repetition: childbearing, paying taxes, cooking. This book is for those of us who want to fold our big dishwasher hands around a dry Martini instead of a wet flounder, come the end of a long day.

Or which continues a page later:

Oh, you keep on buying cookbooks, the way a homely woman buys hat after hat in the vain hope that this one will do it. And, heaven knows, the choice is wide, from the haute cuisine cookbook that is so haute it requires a pressurized kitchen, through Aunt Em's Down-on-the-Farm Book of Cornmeal Cookery, all the way to the exotic little foreign recipe book, which is the last thing you want when you hate to cook. Not only are there pleasanter ways to shorten your life, but, more important, your husband won't take you out for enchiladas if he knows he can get good enchiladas at home.

Not me. I inhaled and guffawed through the outdated and politically incorrect intro and first chapter (putting stickies on recipes that wouldn't be too hard to convert), and then put it aside for a spell. I've pulled it off the shelf again though, and intend to read it as a humour book. But the book I REALLY would like to see join the other poor neglected ones is called: Fast, Easy, Tasty, Healthy, Cheap and Filling Recipes for Vegans who More Than Hate to Cook. I'm just waiting for someone to write it. :)

 

recipe for yummy kid soup

Just in time for Monday's Thanksgiving (or Columbus Day for those in the States), here's a recipe for yummy kid soup as a lovely side dish. It's quite simple really -- take a big-sized pot, fill with water or stock of some kind, carrots, onions, celery, leeks (or whatever else you have in the fridge), and one small to medium-sized kid. The younger the better, as its flesh will be more tender and tasty. Bring liquid to a boil, insert kid, and simmer for at least two hours to enhance flavour. Serves 4-6.

A couple of notes for those a bit squeamish. Just as when you toss live lobsters into hot water, the thrashing around is nothing more than a reflex response. Please do not anthropomorphize and ascribe pain, as these creatures can't process pain given their lack of a complex nervous system. And as observed hundreds of years ago by the father of modern philosophy René Descartes (1596-1650), without thought, reason, speech or soul, animals are little more than organic machines, thus we needn't worry about how they're treated unless it affects other humans.

If you're still concerned, keep in mind that it's just "one bad day", and as long as a kid had a happy enough life for its first 20 weeks or so, then your responsibility is absolved. Plus, in keeping with rising consumer demand, you can now acquire kids that have been raised humanely. That is, they've been given a little bit of sunshine (but not too much as paler flesh tastes better), a little bit of room to move around, and an artificial milk-based formula to fatten these tykes up in record time. Also, organic, antibiotic-free kids are now widely available as well.

And if you're still uneasy, use humane stunning methods to ease your conscience. Better yet, get someone else to do the work for you and obtain a kid de-haired and pre-chopped. Much easier, less messy, more convenient. 

Oh, another tip. Make enough in one batch to have leftovers, because boy is this soup even more delicious the next day. So get cooking, and enjoy! ;)

the world's a strange place indeed

And an ever-changing one at that. A family situation has come up that will require even more of my time and attention, so I'll be taking a brief blogging break. Hope to be back by no later than the end of summer -- yikes, only about four more weeks! In the meantime, keep cool, keep calm, and vegan on. 

Oh, a couple of thoughts, and one more it's-a-strange-world-indeed graphic. Enjoy, and see you soon.

Every successful social-change movement has involved a multiplicity of people using a multiplicity of tactics to approach a problem from a multiplicity of angles. Some people push against the bad things while others pull for the good alternatives. Some people work to undermine destructive systems from within while others are knocking down the walls from without. We all need to recognize that and find our place within a multifaceted struggle, being sure to be generous and appreciative of those who are working towards the same goal using different tactics. -- pattrice jones

Because I’ve discovered the secret to the best kind of activism – it’s whatever kind you actually do. -- Cassandra Greenwald

p.s. one last strange, sad and cautionary tale of how even some vegans can get it all wrong...

2 easy lazy ways to eat more kale

Confession: found this half-started post in my drafts folder dated 09/13, so if that ain't proof of laziness...

We all know that kale is good for us, right? But the stuff can taste a tad bitter, and worse, take a bit of work to prepare from scratch. And who wants to work just to eat? Well, many people don't seem to mind, but not this lazy vegan. So I thought I'd share the two ways yours truly gets her kale. And no, chips are not involved. ;)

The first tip is illustrated in the photo above, but before I start I want to tell you about a recent realization I find quite amusing: apparently I've been eating kale my whole life without even knowing it! You see, kale has been a staple of Dutch cuisine for, well, almost forever, but I never connected the Dutch name boerenkool (literally translated as "farmer's cabbage") to the English word kale until I started buying the canned version. 

The dish in the photo is a variation of the traditional Dutch boerenkool stamppot recipe, without of course, cruelty to animals, and the easy lazy part is the canned kale. Yep, available in any Dutch store (oodles of them in Ontario, Canada), all you have to do is heat. No chopping, no washing, no rinsing, no resentment of the time involved, just heat and go. For the dish itself I just boil a whole bunch of potatoes, mash them using a bit of vegan Becel, mash in the warmed up can of kale, and vegan beef crumbles if I have them. Oh, add a bit of Bragg liquid soy seasoning for more flavour, and you're good to go. The nutrient label on the can indicates that per 1/2 cup you get 100% daily value of vitamin A, 45% daily value of vitamin C, 20% calcium and 8% iron. That's a lot of value methinks. Another way to add value is to make enough in one go so that you don't have to cook again for a few days. :)

The other easy lazy way I eat more kale is by adding it to a smoothie. Now I can hear you protesting already that you do that as well, but I bet you're not as lazy about it as I am. Remember those Dutch stores I mentioned? Well, the one I go to sells kale in dry form, so there's no muss and fuss in chopping your own. Sprinkle in as many flakes as you want, and presto, you're kaling yourself to better health.

Update #1: am reading a book right now called "Xenophobe's Guide to the Dutch: a frank and funny look at what makes the Dutch DUTCH" and have to admit that the author hit the nail on the head when he observed that: 

The Belgians fry, the Germans pickle, the English boil, and the Dutch mash -- cabbages and potatoes especially, but also endives and peas all end up pounded together in a stolid stamppot. Usually greyish-white in hue, with green flecks and the consistency of partially set concrete.... Not even salads escape the masher. A Dutch salad is 90% potato and mayonnaise, and 10% something else that gives it a name rather than a flavour. pp. 56-7

Ha ha, guilty as charged! We Dutchies DO like to mash (but think how ready we'll be if all we can eat as incapacitated seniors is purees) and I myself have mashed in spinach, broccoli, endives, red cabbage, kale, and sauerkraut with pineapple. The latter this very week in fact.  

Update #2: just found an even more sneering (but funny) take on the Dutch love affair with mashing, but all scoffing aside, it's a hearty and not too unhealthy way to get your veggies I say, so mash away!

p.s. I've noticed in the past year that many food stores now sell kale pre-chopped, so there's no excuse anymore for anyone to be kale-shy :)

who says vegans don't have a sense of humour?

When I saw the comic below (many moons ago now), I burst out laughing.

Funny thing is, it was posted on a decidedly non-vegan site whose author used this to illustrate the folly and error of vegan ways. Kinda backfired methinks, because when you show the absurdity of one concept (quick rule of thumb for the "but plants have feelings too!" folk -- if a carrot doesn't scream when you lop its top off, it likely can't feel pain), it can actually strengthen the argument for another. In this case, the idea of showing solidarity for farmed animals in the many animal walks now common in numerous cities and countries. Not quite sure if the illustrator was also trying to poke fun at us, but hey, we should all (vegans and non-vegans alike) be able to see the humour in whatever it is that we do. The stereotype though, that vegans are unable to do this, is one that's gotta go. Plus it's one of the cop-out ways to try and discredit a group or movement. Cuz you know, all those feminists don't have a sense of humour either. Or anyone who doesn't laugh at a rape joke. Humour can be a double-edged sword: used wisely it can educate while entertain, cutting through bullshit in mere seconds, but sadly can also be used to keep tired myths and progressive groups in place.

Something else that made me laugh a while back even though it maybe wasn't supposed to, was a comment made by a character on Coronation Street, the world's longest-running TV soap and one of the few shows I won't have interrupted. I can't quite remember the context (although I believe it was Kylie talking about food allergies), and I'm paraphrasing here, but basically the line went something like this: Some people can't eat cows, some can't eat pork, others can't eat shellfish, and don't even get me started on vegans. I'm not sure why this prompted a loud guffaw on my part, but I suspect it was the unexpected -- hearing the word "vegan" on a television show, even in a derogatory way, is still novel enough that it pleases me enormously. Veganism has become mainstream enough to be made fun of (remember that humour can be a defense mechanism and non-vegans have a lot to be defensive about), so like it or not, vegan jokes are here to stay. Until of course the tipping point is reached and what is currently considered a minority stance becomes a majority one. But until then, let 'em laugh, because you know the old saying, she who laughs last... ;)

a few double standards I don't understand

Actually, there are a number of them, but here are four examples.

Why is it assumed that when vegans get sick it's because of what they don't eat, yet when non-vegans get sick it's not assumed to be because of what they DO eat?

Why are vegans often asked if they support abortion, yet pro-life folk are rarely asked if they support ALL life? A surprising number of anti-choice proponents favour capital punishment, for example, yet this isn't often thought to be hypocritical even though the hypocrisy charge is lobbed against pro-choice vegans all the time.

Why are humans murdered while other animals are killed -- it's the same action with the same consequence is it not?

And lastly, why are vegans routinely accused of being judgmental, but non-vegans who judge the lives of other animals as less important every time they stuff them in their mouths are not? Eh, tell me that! 

I stole the awesome cartoon above (don't remember from where now), but it's from the talented Vegan Sidekick who also has his own website where you can find images in categories (how cool is that?), and books (which I may just have to buy), so go give him some love! Seriously, right now. No point in waiting. ;)

a vegan obituary

No no, not mine (at least, not yet, snort) or anyone we know, or even of this blog (although I can't blame you for wondering where I've been -- this post was first drafted nearly a month ago!), so let me explain.

Not to sound morose or anything, but this concept has actually gotten me quite excited. I mentioned obituaries in my last post and how when you reach a certain age you both read and understand their appeal a bit more. I've even had to write one myself a few years ago (for my step-dad), but when I read the one published for my own dad this past summer I was disappointed at how generic and bland it was. This is it?, I wondered. A couple of lines indicating age and relatives left behind are all you get for having lived almost 88 years? It seemed unnecessarily sparse, and gave no indication as to who and what this man was all about.

But it got me thinking as to how I want my own life represented once I leave this earth for good. (And hopefully I will have left Earth a bit better then when I arrived.) I want it to capture not so much what I have done, but an idea of who I was. I would love for it to read something like; our sister/partner/friend (depending on who does the writing) was smart, funny, creative, kind and generous. She was also sassy, strong-willed, opinionated, and could be a real pain in the ass. And she would completely agree with this assessment if she were able to read it! More importantly though, I would want it to mention what I was most passionate about -- veganism. 

In fact, I want it to be more than just a mention. What I really envision my eventual obituary being is a public statement and declaration of my vegan beliefs. Wouldn't it be great to have the last written words about you (unless you're famous I would imagine these would be the last) be a testimony about what was most important to you, and an appeal for others to go vegan as well? So, being a bit of a control freak, I intend to draft at least the vegan portion of my obit and indicate in my personal effects containing my will that I want this included. My last wish, if you will. 

And why not? In other obituaries you see requests for donations to certain charities (why not request that they go to your favourite vegan/animal rights organization?), Bible quotes (why not an animal rights quote that has great meaning for you?) or work, sports, and other extracurricular activities. So why not a powerful statement about what you stood for, and what you hope future generations may achieve that so far we have not? Yes, make your obit count! Let's start a new trend and let your vegan voice speak from beyond the grave, boo haha. 

p.s. I waffle between thinking there may or may not be life after our bodies give up the fight (what happens to that all former energy otherwise?), but IF my dad still exists somehow on some plane or another, I could see him shaking his head and uttering one of his favourite Dutch proverbs Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg, which roughly translated means, "Just act normal, that's crazy enough" -- sorry Dad, no can do! ;)

# throwback thursday with a twist begins! :)

Because I don't have as much time as I'd like these days but still want to keep posting on a somewhat regular basis, I thought I'd jump on the popular #ThrowbackThursday bandwagon and hitch a ride myself, snort. After all, why not recycle and reuse some of the material I've written over the past five years while I work on new stuff? Besides, it might be fun to look back and see what still resonates.

The twist? Well, not really a twist, but instead of republishing the entire post, I'll likely just link back to it and perhaps provide some additional commentary. This post, for example, will deal with the advantages of being an older vegan. Okay, maybe some of the disadvantages as well. Like this:

But before you read the holy-crap-that-was-written-back-in-2011? post (and yes, it IS true that when you get older time flies by even faster), I want to add a couple of things. First, while I still agree that reaching out to younger people makes sense and is a good idea, I believe even more strongly that discounting the power and influence of the boomer generation is a bad mistake. For better AND worse, this population demographic still has a big say in how our society operates (for example, they're not willing to think of themselves as old the way previous generations may have, and quite a few of them don't even want to retire), so if we can get this group to say no to animal use and abuse while they still have the political and economic power to make a difference, then we should encourage that as much as possible.

Second, when you get to a certain age, obituaries start to become more interesting and you finally begin to understand why older folk find them so fascinating. You also start to think more in terms of what you've done with your life so far, and what is important for you to accomplish still before kicking that proverbial bucket. And if you're lucky, and finances permit, you may even start planning what vegan and animal rights organizations will inherit whatever you have left. Another reason, I would think, for agencies not to discount the older vegan.

Thirdly, whatever happened with CarpeVegan? They're linked in the original post, but it felt to me that while they started out with a bang, they more or less sputtered out. They still publish occasionally, but the site really didn't take off as I thought it would. Pity.

Finally, I want to take the opportunity here to introduce you to another delightful older vegan (yep, we're everywhere) who is proof that blinders can be removed at any age, and that much good can come of older-generation-vegans spreading the word. So, please say hello to my friend Vegan Grammie Annie!

And, finally finally, it occurred to me during the prepping of this throwback post that revamping old posts can be just as much work and just as time-consuming as composing new material, but hey, anything to get me writing, right? ;)

p.s. in all the excitement don't forget to (re)read all the marvelous and wonderful advantages of being an older vegan

five new Esther-the-Wonder-Pig-inspired words

As y'all know, I love Esther, and her two dads, and the fine job the three of them are doing in raising awareness. "The Esther effect" has proven to be strong and far-reaching, and what I particularly like is the positive and joyful approach this trio embodies. One heart at a time is their strategy, and I think it's a smart one. With all the misery that animals face and activists are witness to, it's easy to forget that being vegan should also be fun and life affirming, so it's nice to have Esther and her dads remind us of that. Plus, saying Yes (to life, compassion, love) is, in my opinion, a stronger way to get folk to stay vegan rather than just focusing on the No (to cruelty, suffering, death) in getting them to go vegan. 

But what some of you may not know, is that I also like making up words -- as the animal industrial complex shows, language can be manipulated to hide all sorts of evil, and one of our tasks as vegans is to strip away the veil (notice how evil and veil are almost identical) of words that make cruelty invisible -- and Esther has been a rich source of inspiration. Thus, here (in no particular order) are my top favourite five new Esther-inspired words and definitions:

• Estheresque: similar to statuesque (as in being striking, majestic, magnificent) Estheresque takes it one step further to include any quality that matches her impact on human consciousness
• Estherapy: better than booze, massage, and perhaps even chocolate, a visit to Esther's Facebook page is bound to lift your spirits and make you smile
• Esthercise: okay, this one I didn't make up myself (saw it in a FB comment), but the word brought to mind images of brief spurts of running at top speed, sandwiched in between bouts of napping and eating, and somehow, this exercise regime seems appealing even to me
• Estherache: pain brought on by not having at least a daily dose of Estherapy
• Estherology: future scholarly study of Esther and "The Esther effect" leading to countless Sociology, Psychology, and Anthropology courses featuring this life-changing porcine loveliness

One of my all-time favourite adjectives though is one coined by Esther's dads themselves: Esther-approved (what a creative and gentle way to describe a better way of eating and living!) and confirms for me that these two men deserve all the respect, admiration and attention that they're receiving. May these sweet Canucks stay humble and gracious, and continue to inspire and effect change. Campbellville, here I come! :)

the 10 rules of vegan living

Ready? Please read, memorize, or print out a copy and put within easy reach.

1. Don't eat, drink, wear or use anything that comes from another animal
2. Eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains
3. Drink lots of water -- preferably with or before every meal
4. Be kind to everyone -- even vegans you disagree with
5. Get out of your vegan bubble once in a while i.e. explore other interests
6. Buy, beg, borrow or steal an additional sense of humour (or two or three)
7. Donate 10% (think of it as vegan tithing) to animal rights organizations
8. Educate (both yourself and others) and (re)evaluate (y)our vegan goals and strategies on a regular basis
9. Be kind to everyone -- this is worth repeating because if you're at all like me (a self-confessed former pessimist and misanthrope), this can be a bit (or a lot depending on the day) difficult
10. Read 10 Difficult Questions Every Animal Advocate Should Ask Themselves -- they're very good, and again, if you're anything like me, the answers will make you a tad uncomfortable, but that's not a bad thing
11. Throw out all the rules above except for #1 and #10

So, why did I make you read and then discard these lovely rules? Well, essentially, rules schmules! With the exception of rule #10, which I think is helpful enough that maybe it should be required reading for all vegans, I don't normally like articles that feature 7 Steps or 13 Rules or 16 Days or 22 Ways because they tend to be gimmicky, or promise easy solutions to things that are probably fairly complex. 

Fourthly (why start with first, second or third?), while all of the above do-and-don't rules are perfectly fine (I try to follow most of them), I know that readers are smart, capable, and more than equipped to come up with their own guidelines for living the vegan life. As long as you stick to the principle of not consuming other sentient beings (rule #1), I trust you'll be able to figure out on your own the best way for you (uniquely wonderful you!) to be the most fabulous vegan you can possibly be. Yes? No?

vegan vilification

Because I've got far more time on my hands than I know what to do with (um, NOT), and because I tend to procrastinate when I've said what I'll be writing about next (I hate being told what to do even if I'm the one doing the telling, snort), I thought it'd be fun (not sure why but let's go with it) to compile a list of all the names and adjectives used to describe vegans that are supposed to be insulting. I'm sure I've missed a bunch, so please add yours in the comments. Ready, set, go! 

• self-righteous
• smug
• radical
• extremist
• illogical
• Nazi (seriously?)
• annoying (okay, maybe, sometimes, LOL)
• unreasonable
• unhealthy
• skinny
• pale
• weak
• vile
• eco-terrorist
• domestic terrorist
• animal worshipper (not making that one up)
• crazy
• unrealistic
• irrational
• imperfect
• hippies
• hypocrites
• lefties
• anarchists
• misguided
• guilty of anthropomorphism
• guilty of acting morally superior
• guilty of not being at least 110% vegan 
• idiots
• freaks
• weirdos
• criminals
• stupid
• brainwashed (what was that about a black kettle and pot? )

Ha, I knew I'd missed a few! From the comments below, here are some more:

• sissy (contributed by veganelder)
• loon (Bea)
• agenda-driven (Bea) -- as if the meat industries don't have one!
• idealistic (Tom)
• sad, hungry, angry (Tom)
• pushy (Krissa)
• which reminded me of preachy -- thanks everyone! :)

But in their defense, many folk are genuinely baffled when it comes to vegans. Why do we consider animals to be as or more important than people? Why are we not fighting as hard for the unborn? (Some vegans are pro-life by the way.) Those are two questions I see asked a fair bit. And I'm sure they're just as frustrated by us as we are by them. Both vegans and nonvegans genuinely believe that they have the right take on things, and that if only the "other" side would use their heads/open their hearts/see clearly then the question of animal use would be resolved. I have no answer of course, but I do find it interesting that some of the complaints we have about each other are not always all that different. And what did I just do in this paragraph? I us/we'd them, tsk, tsk. ;) 

p.s. now how in the hell did I forget humourless? Snort.

what Christmas is all about

That's some (modified) speech, snort. Have to admit that A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favourite shows of the season, and the one I make sure not to miss. As relevant now as it was in '65 (though hard to imagine that commercialization was as rampant back then), it offers a great message no matter what your beliefs.

Veganism, for most vegans I hope, is about fighting commodification of sentient beings. We disagree with the notion that other species (including our own) are objects for human animals to use, own or destroy. And at a time of year when consumption as celebration is all around us, it seems even more fitting to remember that consuming other animals in whatever form is wrong no matter what month we happen to be in.

It's always a good time though to put into practice what Linus (reciting the Gospel of Luke Ch2 v14) said at the end: "...and on earth peace and goodwill towards men [sic] [recte ALL]."

May peace and goodwill to all rule all of our hearts and actions.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

mac-and-cheese monday for VeganMoFo

Nope, didn't sign up for this year's VeganMoFo, and regular readers will know that apart from the political implications and real suffering involved, I'm actually not that interested in food per se. But, even I have to feed myself and I DO have some favourites, so in honour of VeganMoFo I thought I'd throw in a few food-oriented posts this month. 

Before becoming vegan, macaroni and cheese was one of my favourite meals to make. Not original I know, but hey, comfort food rarely is. Sadly though, I didn't make it for a couple of years because I just didn't like any of the vegan cheeses available. Not a biggie as such, and I didn't have as hard a time giving up cheese as maybe other vegans did, but I WAS a bit nostalgic when it came to mac-and-cheese. Then, Daiya answered the cheese prayer I didn't even know I had, and now my favourite yummy meal has become a staple again. Thanks Daiya! Here's the informal easy peasy recipe (which in my book = 5 ingredients or less, and no more than 15 minutes to make) for the mac-and-cheese dish above made by yours truly:

1. 2 cups elbow pasta 
2. about 1/3 bag Daiya cheese 
3. enough soymilk to make sauce
4. about 2+ tablespoons flour 
5. about 2+ tablespoons vegan Becel
6. an unsensible amount of ketchup, but that's a condiment and not a real ingredient, so it doesn't actually count as #6, right? 

As you'll have noticed, I'm a rebel when it comes to precise measurements. They annoy me, which is one of the many reasons why I don't like baking. Other than the two cups pasta (my way of ensuring that I don't have to cook again the next day, snort), I tend to just throw in what I think I need. Make this meal a few times and you'll instinctively know how much of the ingredients will make a smooth sauce in the consistency you like. But for now, put "butter" (Earth Balance works well too) in a good-sized pot over low heat and let melt, gradually blend in flour, and then slowly start adding soymilk (or other "milk" product) until it makes a nice sauce. Add cheese (after a while you'll know how much is right for you), and keep stirring until it gets velvety smooth. Oh, I tend to make my sauce after the water has boiled for my pasta. Pasta takes no more than 10 minutes, and that's about the time it takes to make the sauce. Place noodles into the sauce when done and stir. Some folk will get all fancy and pour the sauce over the pasta separately, but why not make it easy and throw it into the sauce pan right away? There, easy peasy macaroni. Cook, eat, nuke the next day. Hmmm, wonder how many cookbooks I could sell if all the recipes were written up this way....

And lastly, any meal ALWAYS tastes better in Pyrex, especially orange or red Pyrex, and no, I'm not making that up ;)

and now for something completely different

Remember how I mentioned in the vegan blog heaven post back in July that I still have a few other abandoned blogs floating around? Well, someone commented the other day on a humour piece I posted four years ago about being unemployed (yes, my brain is wacky enough to joke about being out of work), which was totally cool since I forgot I even wrote the darn thing! Written back in 1998 (yep, you read that right, 15 years ago), I reread it just now and have to admit that parts of it still made me laugh. So I figured why not inflict it on share it with my readers? ;)

And you know, if I wrote something like that today I'd probably try to self-publish, or at least put in more of an effort to get it published somewhere. With the addition of a few stick figures (I can't draw to save my life), I still think it would have made a cute little book. Or zine, or something.

Anyhoo, if interested, here's: You Know You've Been Unemployed Too Long When... Oh, because it came to life 10 years before I saw the vegan light, it still contains a few animal product references. Ignore. And enjoy the rest. :)

being vegan means only one thing

What? I can already hear you say.

Didn't I write being vegan means many things just three posts ago? Yep. But we're vegans right? Which means we're smart cookies comfortable with paradox (I have 2 more to add to the series) and contradiction. (In other words, we're Walt Whitman-esque. See the great quote Tom provided in the first comment here.)

Yes, even though we're all the things mentioned in the post above, what being vegan really boils down to is giving voice to the voiceless. In a way, you're a reporter. So, time to brush up on the Five Ws? ;)

nifty new meat-eater beater ;)

Think this is just an old vintage rug beater that I gleefully picked up at a garage sale? Think again. 

Guests crossing my threshold will now get a friendly yet firm whack on their backside with my nifty new meat-eater beater if they're not repentant of their carnist ways, snort.

earth hour

One hour. One measly little hour. This one hour translates to 1/24th of your day, 1/168th of your week, and 1/8760th of your year (if my calculations are correct, snort). Earth Hour will be celebrated from 8:30 to 9:30pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Please take this time to show a little love for this lovely planet we're allowed to live on, the ultimate mother of us all, in a way. Think about how we treat our hostess, all her other guests, and give thought as to whether our manners could improve. ;)

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. --WILLIAM JAMES

"you're in here for life"

This cartoon amused me greatly as I happened to be finishing my sociology degree a little over a quarter century ago (why does that sound a lot longer than 25 years?), and it has graced more than one refrigerator. At the time I didn't give much thought to the quite literal prison sentences served by sentient beings in zoos, circuses, laboratories (I hadn't even heard of the term factory farms yet) and all other manner of places, although I could relate to questioning the usefulness of this particular degree. And to be fair, I haven't reaped the economic benefits that post-secondary education usually confers, although that was totally through my own doing.

But I like to think that my relatively useless degree HAS contributed greatly to my "I'm in here for life" vegan journey. I initially wanted to major in psychology as I was interested in what made people tick (although to be honest I bet most psych majors, myself included, enter the field trying to figure out what the hell makes them tick, snort), but soon realized that examining why groups of people behave as they do is even more interesting. My education and on-again off-again career in non-profit community research helped me to develop critical thinking skills (I hope), a healthy disdain of academic jargon, life-long impatience with committees and meetings, an awareness that statistics can be manipulated any which way you like, and if nothing else, shaped how I view pretty much every issue, including veganism. In other words, I'm hopelessly sociologically bent. ;)

p.s. Don't forget that my vegan giveaway contest ends tonight. I'm working tomorrow, so plan to draw and post the results late afternoon or early evening. See you then!

p.p.s. In order to make it easier for drawing purposes I did not respond to any comments in the giveaway post, but would like to thank everyone for participating. Good luck to all! :)