Merry Christmas!

From the Petco ad, kitties dressed for a Merry Christmas:





While I'm home for the holidays, I get to see the baby goats born around Thanksgiving. If I ever wonder where I get my crazy cat lady behavior, I'd say it's from my mom. That's her holding a baby goat like a puppy.





Today, I enjoyed some great food and a wonderful present. My vegetarian aunt prepared some tempeh and white bean patties for me at brunch with my grandfather and his wife. (Just noticed that there is a recipe for these in VwaV.) When we moved to my grandma's house, she brought a spicy vegetable soup for me. I asked my mom for a Sun beach cruiser, which is exactly what she bought me. :) I also received some Kitchenaid attachments, a dough press (perfect for pierogies!), The Kind Diet cookbook, and gift cards that I will use to get baking supplies.





I'm still contemplating the lessons I've learned this year and forming my resolutions, so I'll write that up next time.

Secret Santa

Last night, Cristin hosted a Secret Santa party for some of the lady scientists. I felt so special because everyone made vegan dishes, so I got to eat a bunch of different things. It was nice, because I felt so left out earlier in the day because my labmate gave Christmas cookies to everyone but me. [A candy cane or something would have been nice, it's not like I expect everyone to bake vegan stuff just for me but she didn't even acknowledge my existence or the fact that she gave cookies to everyone else.]

Cristin made the tofu ricotta lasagna from Appetite for Reduction. She bought the cookbook recently, so I flipped through it during the night. I think we will be making knock-off (healthy!) Hamburger Helper with tempeh in the near future. My contribution was a strawberry cake. I had never made a cake like this before, I just assumed it would be a yellow cake with mashed strawberries in it. Oh no, it had a banana, coconut milk, vegan jello, and strawberries in it. Crazy! Turned out really well though, so that was a huge relief. The jello only arrived at 4:30 P.M. and the party started at 7! Needless to say, I was freaking out that I'd need to use the unflavored jello I found and more strawberries.





My Secret Santa was Ling. She bought me a spatula, as well as these cat measuring cups. So cute!





In other news, I did a mass edit on my personal blog to make all the entries private. Now that people I don't really know read this blog, I'd be uncomfortable if they found my personal blog maintained under a similar name on another blog site. I am considering switching my photo-hosting to Flickr or something similar, since some of my photos weren't showing up on my phone today. If it continues to happen, then I'll know it's a problem with Photobucket and I'll switch to something else.

Food and Food for Thought

It was finally my turn to cook for the rotating supper club on Tuesday. I made seitan and dumplings from American Vegan Kitchen, a great resource for veganizing American diner classics. I didn't want to cut out biscuits, so I opted for the drop biscuits mentioned at the top of the recipe. However, the recipe does not include altered cooking times for drop biscuits. My biscuits disintegrated! As I tried to skim the biscuit-y layer off the top, it ended up completely falling apart and thickening the soup part. It was tasty, especially since it was a hearty dish when the weather was so cold outside. I didn't photograph the result, because it looked like gravy/vomit. Anyways, the seitan recipe involved rolling the seitan into a cutlet shape, then cooking it in a flavored broth in the oven with foil over the pan. It was a new way to prepare seitan for me. The recipe makes 10 cutlets, but you only need 4 for the dumplings recipe. I decided to pan fry the other cutlets later in the week and serve them with baked potatoes and a green vegetable. Very American.





Jess invited me over for dinner on Thursday. She made curried soup with squash and chickpeas. The recipe (from Vegetarian Slow Cooker) originally called for lentils but she didn't have any. I personally LOVE chickpeas so I enjoyed the substitution. I served my soup over rice.





I had mentioned to Ling that I wanted to grab the Crock-Pot on sale at Costco. She went very early this morning and grabbed me one! I paid her back, but I'm so excited to use it soon. I bought the slow cooker cookbook because I knew I couldn't find a better deal than a Crock-Pot for $40. I finished most of my Christmas shopping today, as well as picking up a few canisters to store my specialty flours with all the 20% coupons I've received from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I'm tired of keeping them sealed in Ziploc bags, so this will allow me to label the canisters for organization and have a pretty cabinet. :) I wish they had another one in the size I bought so I could have one for pasta, but I will look for another one when the next 20% off coupon comes in the mail.





I also finished reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. The first section of the book is about corn. It reminded me of the documentary King Corn. Corn is so cheap due to government subsidies, thus allowing the excess corn to be fed to livestock animals. The cheap, inedible corn serves to fatten up cattle and other animals, as well as getting processed for a variety of food and non-food items. What's crazy is that cows are not even meant to eat corn. It causes acidosis, where their blood pH drops and can make them really sick. The cows are slaughtered before it gets that bad, but it's really strange that we advertise "corn-fed beef" so proudly when cows were never meant to eat corn. The second section is about grass and sustainable farming. Michael Pollan goes to stay at Polyface Farms, owned by Joel Salatin. I'm pretty sure this was the same guy featured in Food, Inc. (I meant the movie, but it's likely Joel Salatin would have contributed to the book as well.) At Polyface Farms, Joel Salatin rotates crops, grows a variety of plants (instead of a monoculture), allows cows to eat a variety of grasses he grows, allows chickens to roam free after the cows graze in a certain patch of grass, and raises other animals. When you buy "free range" chickens or eggs, it is extremely likely that the chicken NEVER went outside. To get the free range label, the only requirement is that there is a door allowing chickens access to the outside. On an industrialized factory farm, the door is only open for about 2 weeks prior to the animals being slaughtered. At the farm, Michael Pollan actually helps slaughter chickens and then is concerned about whether or not he can eat a chicken again. He seems very appreciative of the experience to see animals living freely and to have the chance to decide whether he wants to be involved in killing an animal that he will ultimately eat. The third section of the book is about foraging and hunting. Michael Pollan wanted to gather enough food to make an entire meal on his own. He learned to forage mushrooms, to hunt wild boar, and to gather salt and little mussels from San Fran Bay. He writes about the people who help him learn how to do these tasks, as well as how he thought he'd be repulsed by hunting. He seemed to enjoy the experience, but was again struck by whether or not he could eat the animal. I really respect that Michael Pollan did a stint as a vegetarian and took responsibility for killing an animal he wanted to eat, but I ultimately wish he had taken a vegan stance as an alternative to factory farming. He instead justifies eating animals that are produced in a sustainable way, like on farms similar to Polyface. It was an interesting read.

Living Your Values

I was on fb yesterday when I saw a friend’s status talking about boycotting several brands, including Sabra hummus (who makes the spicy hummus I’m addicted to lately). After running a Google search, I discovered these brands are being boycotted in conjunction with Sabra. The reason for boycotting brands like Motorola, Sabra, and Tribe (another hummus maker) is that they are based in Israel or owned predominantly by Israeli companies. So what’s the deal with boycotting Israeli products, as noted here, here, and here? Given the history of human rights abuses against the Palestinians perpetuated by the Israeli army, the fact that Sabra donates to an elite army unit (the Golani Brigade) with a history of nasty behavior is justification for boycotting the brand. Fair enough. This article points out that Sabra has removed information about donating to the Golani Brigade from its website, as well as saying that caving into the boycotters was a weak move on part of the Strauss Group (the parent company of Sabra).

What should I do? What is the appropriate choice? I'm leaning towards boycotting until I can find out where Sabra now stands on donating to the Golani Brigade with its record of violating human rights. It's better to err on the side of caution. If the donations have stopped, then I see no reason to not buy their products.

I try to live my life in a way that promotes social justice. I’ve boycotted several brands before, so I’ve got some experience on my side. Listed below are some of the companies I have or currently am boycotting, as long as the reasons why.
- Yum Brands: The parent company of Taco Bell and KFC refused to initially reach an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to increase the price paid per bushel of tomatoes to reduce the terrible working conditions of tomato pickers in Immokalee, FL. The situation in Immokalee has been compared to modern day slavery. Several fast food companies (MacDonald’s and Burger King) had reached agreements with the CIW prior to my learning about the situation. This was during my first year of college with the Students United for Peace and Justice (SUPJ), because some of the SUPJ members were really involved in working with the CIW. I rarely eat fast food now because it’s generally not vegan, so when I do it's burritos usually.
- Chipotle: When I read that Chipotle had rejected a proposal from the CIW, I decided to email Chipotle to find out what was going on. Some of the labs at work get together once a month for Chipotle club, so when it was my turn to pick up the food I was boycotting Chipotle until I received a reply about their agreement with the CIW. I went to Moe’s and brought everyone else their burritos from Chipotle. I did finally receive a reply from Chipotle that the company had reached an agreement with the CIW, thereby allowing me to feel good about eating there again. From the reply: "Under the agreement with East Coast Farms, farm workers who pick tomatoes for Chipotle will see their pay go from $.50 for a 32-pound bucket, to $.82 for each 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick. That translates to a 64 percent increase for all of the tomatoes they pick for Chipotle." Yeah, can you believe that's all they get paid?!
- Best Buy: Now that corporations are allowed to donate to political campaigns, Best Buy donated money to Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, claiming the company supports the job creation agenda of the candidate. However, the candidate speaks publicly against gay rights. I can’t support a company that supports an anti-equal rights candidate.
- Target: Same reason as Best Buy - donating to Tom Emmer. What’s sad here is that I love Target and the company actually offers great benefits to same-sex partners of employees.
- Domino’s: Besides their founder starting a Catholic town, I had really terrible service from Domino’s in Baton Rouge one time. My friends were over and I placed an order for a ton of pizza. We waited and waited for delivery. When I called back asking why it was taking so long, they said my friend’s card was declined. They never called us to tell us that our pizza wasn’t coming. How freakin’ rude. We had a dozen people waiting for food. When I tried to get contact information for the managers and owner, I was basically told that the owner never comes into the store so good luck.
- Walmart: I try to avoid shopping there as much as possible due to their terrible history of shortchanging workers of overtime pay, sexual discrimination, and poor health care options for employees. I honestly don’t think I shopped there in my first year of college.
- Whole Foods: I try to avoid shopping here too, unless I absolutely can’t find what I’m looking for in another shop. (I know I can order certain vegan things online, but sometimes I can’t wait.) My issue with Whole Foods has to do with their CEO’s comments about health care, even though Whole Foods prides itself on offering fair trade items so workers are paid a fair wage for their work. After John Mackey's comments angered people, he issued a statement that Whole Foods as a corporation has no opinion on healthcare reform.

Vegan Hot Chocolate for These Chilly Days

Yeah, there are recipes out there to make hot cocoa from soy milk powder, cocoa powder, and what not, but I have a shortcut.

Vanilla soy milk, Green & Black's organic hot chocolate drink, and Sweet & Sarah vanilla marshmallows (they make other flavors, but I didn't want flavored marshmallows in my hot chocolate). See, you really can have anything you want when you're vegan. I bought the soy milk at Costco, the hot chocolate mix at a local health food store, and the marshmallows at Whole Foods. Easy-peasy. :)





Because I'm a crazy cat lady, I served my drink in one of the new cat mugs I bought recently. I bought two different styles, so my roomie and I could both have one. :)

Holiday Party Season

Given that it’s the holiday season, it’s time for holiday parties. So far, there haven’t been any ugly sweater parties. If you’ve never hosted an ugly sweater party, you totally should. Here’s a photo of my Baton Rouge crew (a mix of physicists, bartenders, a mechanic, and a Marine) doing ugly sweater and Secret Santa in 2007.





One of the neuroscience post-docs had an international cuisine potluck on Friday night. I brought this vegan baked mac and cheese as my American dish. I used bread crumbs, instead of making my own. It was completely devoured. I was happy to see that no one complained about its nutritional yeast taste. I tasted it when I finished making the sauce, but the lemon was a bit overpowering. I added another tablespoon of nutritional yeast, since it’s somewhere in the salty/savory spectrum. (Look at that alliteration! S – S – S.) I had some great group shots that I was excited to show Cristin and some photos of the spread, but I lost my camera.

Last night, my workplace had its holiday party. There were absolutely no vegetarian entrees. The catered portion of the meal was ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salad, and rolls. Luckily, people signed up to bring other dishes so I made these amazing red velvet cupcakes. [Again, I modified the recipe to be 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup apple sauce, as well as using original almond milk instead of soy milk.] I had two cupcakes and salad. Not a meal, in my opinion. I left the party a little early to eat some addictive spicy hummus and baked pita crackers before hitting up my next party stop. I had a decent time talking to some of my work friends that I don’t see often, but they were all heading to good ol’ Jumby afterwards.

Cristin and I headed down to Clematis in West Palm Beach. We have a friend who has a nice apartment in that area. He was hosting their social circle’s yearly holiday party. One of the things I love about that social circle is that most of guys work in engineering. It’s nice to talk to SMART people outside of the workplace. I know people complain there aren’t a lot of smart young professionals in this area, but there really are if you look in the right places. An undergrad degree in engineering is demanding and is scheduled to take 5 years at many universities. Anyways, one of the guys mentioned that he was interested in going to law school soon because he is “too young to settle for $100K a year.” He said he’s not making that much yet, but he will be in a couple years, but he thinks that he can do better than a yearly 2-5% raise and sitting at a desk all day. That type of ambition and drive is sexy. He’s a cute guy, but I was really impressed to hear him say that. The best part is that by the end of the night at Cucina on Palm Beach Island, he had untied his tie and was dancing. I love that untied tie look - it allows for some very seductive, flirtatious gestures. We danced a little, but I ended up laughing some when he started to get a little provocative.

One part of the night that I feel the need to rant about is when my friend Jeff told me to gain some weight. (That's us in the photo below. Yes, I have two cups. One is Cristin's. Don't judge.) Normally, when I see these guys, I’m in kickball clothes or jeans and a t-shirt. Real simple look. Because I was going to end up on Palm Beach Island, a super ritzy area, I wanted to wear something classier. I absolutely love the classic 50’s high-waisted skirts – they’re great if you’ve got a nice shape to show off. As Cristin told me recently, I should show off my assets every once and a while.





Recalling Cristin’s advice, I decided to wear the high-waisted pencil skirt that I have. It’s much more form-fitting than anything he’s ever seen me wear and he said, “What’s going on? Looking thin. Gain some weight.” This my NATURAL weight! When I was telling my roomie this morning that it bothered me, she replied with the comment everyone does, “Well, you’re vegan, of course you’d be thin.” I was THINNER than this when I was an omnivore. As a teen, I drank a ton of regular soda (usually a liter bottle by 10 AM), ate more than my fair share of fried foods and pizza, and didn’t do anything resembling exercise (other than walking the half mile to and from my bus stop before I could drive). When I was sick earlier this year and was down to 115 lbs, people were telling me how ill I looked. I was that size when I graduated from high school. My frame is just not built to carry a lot of weight. When I was bigger during my time in Louisiana (about 15 lbs heavier than I am now), it was all gut fat. You could tell that I really liked drinking and eating late night snacks. I had gut fat, the least attractive type of fat; there was no sexy increase in my boobs or butt (I already had 36” hips at that time, so my trademark booty didn’t need to get any bigger). I dropped the 15 lbs in a few months by not drinking as much and not eating cheese (just dietary changes, no exercising), returning to what I consider my normal weight. After dropping down to high school size this March, I’ve managed to gain back most of the mass, although I don’t think I’ll ever get the 2” lost off my hips back. I know people always talk about how we shouldn’t judge fat people for being fat, but a lot of people have negative feelings about being overweight. I feel that there are also negative feelings against people that are very thin. On an average day, I would estimate that I eat 2,000 to 2,500 calories, so I'm definitely not starving. It’s like you just can’t win! If you’re on either end (too thin or too fat), people are judging you (either you have an eating disorder or no self control). Combination of genetics and a healthy lifestyle go a long way. Too bad people don’t think about that before they speak.

This Sucks.

I bought a new camera, an Olympus Stylus Tough 3000. I took it out last night to use it for the first time ever AND LOST IT. My last memory of using it was in Jumby Bay, where I used the wrist strap to put it on my elbow. I don't know if I set it down or dropped it, but I've checked with both bars, mall security, and my friends without any luck of finding it. Someone must have picked it up.





Goodbye, camera. Hopefully you're bringing someone else lots of joy.