Recipes I need to master: 1) Wheat wheat bread 2) Satisfying veggie burger 3) Red velvet, chocolate, and carrot cake recipes 4) Healthified cookies 5) Tofu
That is it for now…we’ll see how long that keeps me occupied.
Last week I decided to break my sweet-fast and made a German Chocolate Cake for my roommate’s birthday one day…and a cookie cake the next.
I was really good while making the cake-I only sampled once it was made, versus my normal baking which entails eating half the dough before I’m done.
It wasn’t until another roommate asked me to make a cookie cake for her that the shit hit the fan. I made my peanut butter (now faux) cream cheese frosting to decorate. That stuff is lethal it’s so good. I still need to work with the proportions now that I’m trying to get away from super processed peanut butter and working with Tofutti. But when I get there…it’s about to get real.
The cake looked really pretty. I think it may be one of the prettiest cakes I’ve ever made. While (per usual) others were all about it, it was a little dry for me. Looks like May is about to be a baking extravaganza again, because I’m pretty sure I volunteered to make mini-cupcakes for my sister’s graduation party.
German Chocolate Cake
The cookie cake ended up coming out really well, which I was super anxious about. Not gonna lie, my cookie recipe was really good. So needless to say, veganizing a really good thing made me uneasy. Next time I am going to try to replace eggs with flax or bananas, though this time I used egg replacer. Also, for the decorations, use any kind of vegan frosting you like (mine was just powdered sugar, soy milk, earth balance and vanilla).
Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 375.
1) Whisk together:
2.5 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1t. salt
2) In a separate bowl, cream together:
1 c. Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine)
.75 c. brown sugar
.75 c. white sugar
3) Add to sugar:
2 egg equivalents
1 T vanilla
4) Add in flour mix to wet ingredients.
5) Mix in 1 package vegan chocolate chips (check out Trader Joe’s Semi-sweet!).
Either roll dough into tablespoons and bake individual cookies or press dough onto a cookie sheet and make a cake!
Tips: If you can let the dough rest in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before baking, the cookies come out better.
-Feel free to get creative with mix-ins. I love chocolate chips with pecans and dried cherries!
Cookie cake for study group!
I read Eating Animals for my animal and society class. The book is well-written and extremely convincing.
My initial attraction to Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer was that it would provide me with a well-written perspective on the meat industry. I didn’t really care if he ate meat (like Michael Pollan) or took a utilitarian view toward suffering (like Peter Singer); I was most concerned with finally delving into a book on animals that was entertaining to read. At this point I have read too much rational literature on meat.
Foer began writing the book when he discovered that he was going to have a child. Impending fatherhood was the catalyst for his journey to discovering “what meat is” (12). While I initially assumed that the book would be a crusade for vegetarianism, it was more a comprehensive dissection of the American meat industry, without preaching one diet or another. From factory operations to small family farms, fish to cows, and personal reflections to descriptive definitions, Foer provides readers with a witty, brutally honest depiction of one of the most debilitated industries in America.
One technique that Foer uses throughout the novel is that of storytelling. He begins and ends Animals with personal anecdotes, making him seem like a more relatable and convincing writer. Foer lets readers know that him and his wife “maintain[ed] a diet of conscientious inconsistency…vegetarians who from time to time ate meat” (9). Humanizing himself by including personal omnivore struggles created a common ground that isn’t as clearly forged with the less compassionate Tom Regan and Peter Singer.
The title page of each chapter features an abstract visual and accompanying statistic related to animal consumption. Each fact is shocking in its own right, but the use of art to convey the message is something unique to Foer. The most gripping statistic and graphic combination is the seemingly simple black box that spans two pages of the novel. In small print Foer states, “in the typical cage for egg-laying hens, each bird has 67 square inches of space-the size of the rectangle above” (79). By making statistics relative (67 square inches means nothing out of context), Foer makes his argument more easily understood. This technique of putting numbers in context is what differentiates a decent journalist (and writer) from a great one.
Another visual argument that he makes is repeating the words “Influence/Speechlessness,” over and over, for five pages. Each letter represents “the equivalent of 21,000 entire animals” (121) that the average American eats in a lifetime. Even someone who doesn’t have the time or wont to inform himself or herself about the meat industry, can be impacted by the art argument.
A major section of Animals is dedicated to words thrown around by the meat industry, vegans and American citizens alike. It is called “words/meaning” and dictionary-style, Foer takes a few dozen words and defines them. This was one of the more unique sections of the book, since it really created an equal ground for readers. For those that may be very unfamiliar with the lingo of the industry, this section serves as a reference. For instance, Foer describes anthropocentrism as “conviction that humans are the pinnacle of evolution, the appropriate yardstick by which to measure the lives of other animals” (46). Converse to that, Barbara Noske defines the idea as “humanity is and should be the measure of all things” (Noske 78). While the difference between these definitions is slight, Foer’s metaphorical yardstick makes his description more engaging. He also uses the “words/meaning” section to take seemingly simple ideas and things like “cruelty” and “animal” and make them more complicated. He takes bycatch (which he initially defines as sea creatures accidentally caught by fishing) and turns it into a shame-inducing description of the modern seafood industry. “Among the other 145 species regularly killed-gratuitously-while killing tuna,” (49-50) Foer begins. What follows is a list of all 145 aquatic creatures that are regularly killed to produce canned tuna fish. The list is about one page long; enough to stop anyone from considering fish an acceptable form of meat to be eaten.
During his research, Foer spent time investigating factory farming through various first- and second-hand methods. After Tyson continually ignored his requests to visit one of their farms, he met up with C, an animal rights activist who frequently infiltrates factory farms and rescues animals from poor conditions. Foer and C went into a barn full of turkey chicks that Foer only recognized as largely sick after careful inspection. Feeling rather helpless, Foer stood by as C euthanized the sickest of the small animals. Similar to the supporters of open-admission shelters, C sees death as preferable to the suffering that the animals faced in the factory barn. Maybe even more powerful was C’s personal narrative on her campaign. She is not a killer, and has only euthanized four animals that were too sick to make it to a vet. She used to be a backup killer in a factory farm, and years later is still affected by the torture and mechanization of all of it. “You lose track of everything: where you are, what you’re doing, how long you’ve been doing it, what the animals are, what you are,” (90) she recalls.
Halfway through Animals Foer gives a short history of how the meat industry turned into the beast that it is today. The lesson begins with “The First Chicken” and weaves through “The First Forgetting” and “The First Line Worker” to end with “The First Factory Farm.” The storytelling begins by placing readers in the perspective of the first chickens that are not “something that could be possessed or owned” (98). He walks us through what it is like for us as chickens when, “no one has thought of you as something that could be possessed or owned” (98). As the teaching of evolution from wild rooster to chicken-of-the-future occurs, the perspective shifts as well. By the time Foer gets to describe the factory farm, the point-of-view changes. Readers are no longer in the driver’s seat, but watching helplessly as we shift into an industry nation. His shift in perspective models the shift in the meat industry from the freedom of any animal over another, to the current oppressive meat industry.
The impact of humans on non-human animals is juxtaposed with the impact of non-human animals on humans. Foer investigates the impact of various animal-influenced sicknesses that humans have faced, ranging from influenza to antibiotic contamination in factory farms.
Some of the most powerful sections of Foer’s book come from his actual visits to factory and family farms. While Pollan shows readers how cows make their way to the slaughterhouse in Omnivore’s Dilemma, he does not begin to mention what actually happens during the conversion from cows to beef. Foer does not leave readers so blissfully ignorant, by providing deeply intense reflections on slaughter by former slaughterhouse employees. At the same time, he also depicts vivid first-hand descriptions of the holding facilities (for animals prior to slaughter) that he witnessed on a tour with Mario from Paradise Locker Meats.
Throughout the novel, Foer dabs in accounts from people involved in different facets of the industry, from a vegan who builds slaughterhouses, to a cattle rancher. These stories enhance the unbiased nature of the novel, since they put a face on professions that so many Americans attempt to dehumanize. By hearing the motives of a vegetarian to raise cattle for slaughter (“Their lives are taken for a purpose,” (207)) and the last poultry farmer around (“I do it [slaughter] right from beginning to end,” (113)), readers are forced to recognize that their meat must come from somewhere. If nothing else, Foer wants us to understand that.
It isn’t until the last fifth of the book that Foer writes that he did in fact become a committed vegetarian after finishing the book. This choice was not without internal debate and bargaining over whether removing meat from his diet was worth the inconvenience. “This decision will help prevent deforestation, curb global warming, reduce pollution, save oil reserves, lessen the burden on rural America, decrease human rights abuses, improve public health, and help eliminate the most systematic animal abuse in world history,” (257) yet some people are still concerned about how it will impact us. Foer also notes the influence of individualistic choices in the context of grander social change in the parallel Civil Rights and United Farm Workers movements.
Foer’s mixture of anecdotal narrative and outsider stories mixed with his creative and informative use of factual evidence (he has 30 pages of references and three years of research), makes Eating Animals one of the most convincing arguments not for vegetarianism, but against factory farming, presented in recent decades. While he is not (nor does he try to be) completely unbiased and emotionless, his novel is more powerful that way. “Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit and identity,” (263) he says. The irrationality is what makes our current crossroads so interesting. People can purchase factory-farmed meat just as easily as they can refrain from doing so. After reading this novel, hopefully the choice to eat animals is not without guilt, irrationality, and careful consideration.
I will be 21 in T minus 10 days! There are a few things that I want/need.
1) Someone to make me a vegan meal on (or around) my birthday. Challenge your culinary abilities folks.
2) A kitchen scale, a large food processor, a KitchenAid Mixer (these items get incrementally expensive).
3) Vegan cookbooks.
4) Some kind of delicious vegan cake or dessert for the big day.
5) Toothpaste (a girl’s got needs).
6) New dairy-free recipes to try/blogs to check out!
I have been vegan for one month. It’s weird because it feels like it’s been forever just as much as it feels like I started this experiment yesterday.
Part of me is over getting the mad judgment from people.
You’revegan?!
Whataboutgoatcheese.
Animalsdon’thavefeelings.
Youcan’teatthat.
Youwillcrack.
Lucky for them they’ve got this great blindfold on that prevents them from knowing all of the disgusting, horrible, gritty details that I do at this point. My blinders are gone, and I’m content with that at this point. Where the future will lead is to be determined.
I feel like I have a million thoughts in my head right now about the role of non-human animals in society, and it will take me longer than a month to figure them out.
I am going to stay vegan, but am open to having conversations about it. Most days I love having dialogue over this kind of thing, and I think that only with real debate can our culture collectively move toward a more sustainable food system. For me, right now, veganism is the best choice. Environmentally, healthwise, economically and morally, I don’t think that I can jump back.
Thank goodness spring vegetables are coming because I need some new foodspiration.
Every Friday for the past 8 months (holy crap that’s a long time), I have risen at 5:25am to go to Selma Cafe. I have missed one time, and it was because I was out of the state (and normally I wouldn’t even consider that a good excuse). Selma is something that I have a really hard time describing, because it is this kind of experience that is difficult to capture in words.
In early 2009, Lisa Gottlieb and Jeff McCabe opened up their home one Friday morning for breakfast with a few close friends. Just over two years later, the crowd has greatly surpassed their initial breakfast gathering (at 189 people served a few weeks ago). The meal is staffed by all volunteers; from local chefs to waitresses and dishwashers, Selma has 30+ that come to help out each week. The food is all local (which can prove difficult during the winter in Michigan), which just adds to my constant admiration of Jeff and Lisa. There is also basically no waste (the edible compostables go to the chickens and the meat/egg shells are just for regular compost).
We ask for $12-$15 per meal, but there is no set price or menu. That’s kind of pricey (you’re thinking). But for a little added guilt trip, I tell you where the funds go.
About 1/3 of the cost of the breakfast goes to continuing breakfast each week, while the rest goes toward the Farmer Fund that has helped to build over 10 hoop houses in the area. What the hell is a hoop house (you’re wondering)? It is basically a less permanent green house that allows farmers to grow great food year-round!
Each week a different local chef comes to cook, and through Selma I have basically met almost all of the chefs in Ann Arbor (at least all the ones that are hip enough to know that Selma is the place to be). A recent development is Lisa’s Vegan Granola that is packed with nuts, seeds, and oats! Served with some baby-blues from the freezer and some soy milk…you can’t beat it! I usually end up coercing the chef to whip me up some vegan side as well (this past week that was some garlic sauteed kale).
We serve from 6:30am-10am, at 722 Soule! You may have to wait a bit if you come by, but it’s well worth it.
Vegan Granola with Blueberries and Soy Milk
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Gandhi
I love breakfast. Seriously, I could probably eat it for every meal of the day. Vegan breakfast in Ann Arbor broke my heart this past weekend, and I am about to take the rejection no longer.
It’s not like I didn’t give it a real shot-I went in to both Afternoon Delight and Broken Egg to find that my options were pretty limited. All I have to say is thank goodness that coffee is vegan, or it would have been a breakfast of toast…and more toast. Afternoon Delight at least offered bagels, though bagels without cream cheese (or in my case Tofutti) is a sad state of affairs. Their wheat toast was good, but nothing to really rave about. I did appreciate that I was able to get soymilk with my coffee, and that the jam on the table came sans High Fructose Corn Syrup. Overall, it was as good as it could be for being toast and coffee. Gotta say…this may have been the first time I could’ve gone for an omlette since going vegan.
I thought that Afternoon Delight was bad…and then I went to the Broken Egg. I knew going in that my choices were probably dismal, but when I sheepishly asked the waitress what they had for a vegan (sometimes I feel this shame that I am in the wrong for even asking if they have dishes without dairy), she was more off-putting than any waitress I have had thus far. Her response? “I don’t even know what that is, I’m not a vegan.” Okay it doesn’t sound that sassy now…but it was all about the tone. She basically gave me my option of toast or…toast.
So I chose toast. It ended up that the hashbrowns were butter free, but she neglected to mention that until I asked (ex post facto of course). The next greasy diner foul (mind you I enjoy a greasy diner as much as the next person) was when my coffee mug became empty. Petpeevepetpeevepetpeeve. All you have without dairy is toast and coffee, at least do that right.
I forgot about Seva from a few weeks ago! In the past, Seva has bored the shit out of me. It was usually bland and definitely paled in comparison to my Ann Arbor favorites. Lucky for me, this time around was a great improvement. I had a tofu veggie wild rice scramble (not breakfast per se) that came with grapes. It was light and flavorful. Maybe I’m mildly biased now that my options are more limited…but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Seva’s scramble.
Keeping that in mind, the newest ranking:
1) Jolly Pumpkin
2) Seva
3) Cafe Zola
4) Grizzly Peak
5) Afternoon Delight
6) Broken Egg
Last summer I went to Brazil with a trip through school. Brazil was this fantastic catalyst in my undergraduate life that physically exerted the shit out of me, but also mentally freed me more than anything else I’ve experienced in the last three years. It also pushed my comfort zone of cooking, because the kitchen we used:
1) Had no temperature dial on the oven- so much for accurate baking!
2) Was devoid of measuring cups. Welcome to using shot glasses and coffee mugs for consistancy.
3) Had only oregano as a spice (okay now this pained me…so much for variation…or so I thought, which leads me to point 4).
4) Was flowing with Sazon-the Brazilian version of Mrs.Dash featuring crowd pleasers like Sazon do Sul (Southern Sazon) -which meant that everything tasted kind of the same, even though it probably shouldn’t have.
And other things…but it did have my main man Miltao (pronouced Milton by us language-butchering Americans), who let me cook with him everyday.
I’m pretty sure my sugar addiction was really born in Brazil, where there was dessert at every meal (boxed cakes with sweetened condensed milk for breakfast much?). Sure, I could’ve avoided dessert…but there is no fun in that. Let me tell you…I miss me some sweetened condensed milk (however, coconut milk+ soymilk seems to be a decent replacement-more on that when I post about German Chocolate Cake).
Anyway, I had a reunion with some of my travel compatriots, and was kind of nervous approaching a potluck as a vegan. And for not the first time, I found it easier to be vegan than I thought. My girl Mindy made a great salad and Brazilian Rice and Beans (I cannot express to you how much I have missed them upon returning home). Alli made some lentils with squash and carrots, and Beautiful Julie brought some olives. I made a quinoa salad that had roasted butternut squash, chard stems and onions, tossed with a tofu-chard vinaigrette.
Vegan food right on.
After dinner it was time for dreaded dessert-my vice in Brazil, and the little devil on my shoulder back in the US. I was kind of bummed when the dessert was non-vegan, but so is the norm. Much to my delight, Mindy supplied a Toffuti ice cream sandwich… and I found myself digging on another Toffuti product.
Toffuti Ice Cream Sandwich?!
For more about my Brazilian Foodventure check out Wolverine CuiZine, a culinary blog that I write for every so often.
