vegan chai

three times in one week

i have been a cupcake machine this week. well, not really, i'm sure there are lots of you out there who have made lots more than me, but three batches in six days is a lot for me. they've all been pumpkin chocolate chip, with cinnamon icing (from VCTOTW). i think they're my favorites. they're definitely my sister's favorites. a friend of mine at school loves them too. i made them for both of the thanksgivings (once for thursday, once for saturday), and tonight i got the random idea to go ahead and make a third batch to take to school tomorrow. scrumptious!

also, for future reference: two cans of pumpkin, and two batches of icing, is enough for three dozen cupcakes.  

trying some new polish

back in spring, i asked about the "veganity" of nail polish, and whether i should keep buying OPI after the bottles i had in my cupboard finally ran out. i got several comments suggesting new brands to try, but then i never actually found any of them. here we are six months later already, but i finally have news to report: i ordered some SpaRitual stuff! i was randomly reminded of the brand, decided to get to googling, and found that there is still only one place in my whole city listed who carries it (a salon in a hotel downtown). but, i ended up finding it to buy online (at skinstore.com), and they had free shipping and also a black friday discount going on, so it was a pretty good deal. i bought three colors (hypnotic, shrewd, and mood), a quick-dry topcoat, and a small bottle of remover. i'll let you know how i like it once it all arrives!

two thanksgivings completed

every year i attend two thanksgivings, one on thursday and one on saturday. every year i contemplate the idea of not going, but go anyway. i wonder if maybe i should start this process more than a few days ahead, so that i can really think it through and come up with a plan. i'm just really sick of the whole "get together mainly to eat a dead bird" aspect of the holiday. and i *super* hate that, like most families, they always seem to have waaaay more than they end up eating. meh.

death on a factory farm

it took me about nine months, but i finally got around to watching death on a factory farm. i recorded it when it first aired on HBO in march, but i have to psych myself up to watch stuff like this. (also, i always secretly hope a certain someone will watch them with me, but he never wants to, so eventually i give up and watch myself.) aaaanyhow, i finally watched the other day. it features the same undercover investigator as dealing dogs, and it was interesting to see him in a second undercover operation. this one occurred at a large hog farm in the midwest, and focused a lot on the trial (in addition to the undercover footage), which was equal parts boring/slow and interesting, since it's not typical for 'us' to see what happens in the courtroom after initial complaints have been filed. anyhow, if you haven't seen it i do recommend it. there are parts that are very hard to watch, but the documentary is well-done and it has an important message. it will be airing again on HBO starting next week.

happy thanksgiving

i'm a ball of mixed feelings today. last year, due to a bunch of weird circumstances we were suddenly able to host thanksgiving at our house, which meant an all-vegan feast (which everyone loved, by the way). it was my happiest thanksgiving in years and years, no lie. this year, we are back to "normal," kind of, which means back at my grandpa's for the usual turkey & stuffing. i don't have to say how bummed out this makes me, so i won't belabor the point. anyhow, the upshot is that there will be nine people in attendance, and guess how many will be eating the "regular" turkey & stuffing? three. which means that the rest of us have to bring our own food (and also our own milk/butter for our own mashed potatoes). something in this equation doesn't make sense to me. i think once we have such a majority rule, vegan thanksgiving should be the natural result.

i'm very thankful for my husband, because he spent this morning preparing "vegan thanksgiving to go," so that we and my sister's family will have delicious (and cruelty-free) food to enjoy today. he's pretty awesome.

do i want a kindle?

i am fascinated with the idea of a kindle, and then i think things like, "do i really need a computer to read a book?" but then i think things like, "but then i wouldn't have to buy books!" and then i go straight to, "that's what the library is for, dummy." i downloaded the kindle app on my iPhone (it's free!) and i've been playing around with it by downloading the free samples you can get (i.e., the first chapter or two of most books). i like the idea of being able to store a bunch of books on one small/light device, and i like feeling that it might facilitate reading more. i'm just not sure if it's true. also, i have never used a kindle proper. i saw one at the gym once, and it looked cool, but that's as close as i've gotten.

i'm supposed to give a christmas list to my mom tomorrow, and if i really think i want a kindle then i don't want to put "real" books on my list (except for the obligatory vegan cookies invade your cookie jar, which will be on my list no matter what). decisions, decisions. perhaps apathy will make this decision for me. 

the future of food

we screened the future of food on campus tonight, and i have to say, it's not something i would have really searched out on my own, but i'm glad i watched it. it definitely made me happy that we've shifted to LOTS more organic food over the past year, and it also makes me feel more committed to that option. monsanto (and other corporations like them) is scary and irritating and even infuriating. i definitely recommend it if you've never seen it... it's 5 years old, but still relevant. (and apparently they're coming out with a new version sometime soon-ish.)

unlikely companions

yesterday i was driving through a somewhat marshy area on the outskirts(-ish) of town, and i suddenly saw the familiar silhouette of a great blue heron ahead. he was standing very near the side of the road, maybe about 4 or 5 feet away, at the edge of some tall bronze grasses. i love herons and i love being able to see one so close, so i was really excited--especially since it was in kind of a strange spot. i was less than .25 miles away from a major intersection where things turn city-fied again, but apparently that was just fine by him. 

anyhow, as i got closer, i slowed a bit so i could gawk at him, and then i suddenly realized that there was a gigantic red-tailed hawk standing with him! he was also about 4 feet from the road, maybe about 4 or 5 feet closer to me. i was totally gobsmacked, and i quickly checked my rear-view mirror to make sure i wouldn't get rear-ended for slamming on the brakes. it was all clear, so i went ahead and ground to a halt right in the middle of the road so i could watch them for a few minutes. the heron didn't seem to mind me so much, but the hawk was very curious about my stopping, and he kept shifting his head to examine my car. 

suddenly remembering that i could, i started struggling to get my iPhone out so i could snap a picture, but before i could get organized the hawk decided that he'd had enough of me, and he up and flew away. the heron then cocked his head and considered me more carefully, but stayed put. i told him he was gorgeous, and decided to leave him alone. i felt a little bad that i freaked out the hawk, but i suppose that's the way it goes.

afterward, of course, i wondered what the heck they were doing together... whether it was just a coincidence, or what. i hope there was nothing icky going on. anyhow, they were soooo pretty, and it was such an unexpected surprise, i was excited for the next 20 minutes. 

sweet potato doughnuts

this morning i woke up to the sounds of my sweetie bustling in the kitchen. when i asked, "what're you building?" he said i'd find out in a few minutes. when i went downstairs to check it out, i squealed for joy: from-scratch vegan doughnuts! holy smokes!

 he found the recipe here, and it's originally from here. the texture is sort of a hybrid between a yeast doughnut and a cake doughnut; the flavor is mildly sweet and the cinnamon sugar topping is deelish. highly recommend!

thanks, aveda!

today i had to pick up a variety of aveda products (my hair is an aveda snob), and while i was there i started poking through the lip products in that just-in-case style so many vegans are familiar with. as long as i've ever looked, aveda lip stuff has always contained beeswax, but there was a new-ish (to me) line there that i'd never checked out, so i grabbed a box and started reading. lo and behold, no beeswax! i was stunned, and i honestly stood there forever, reading the ingredients list over and over to be sure. eventually i asked, and the girl went to get The Big Product Book just to be double-certain, and she couldn't find beeswax in the list either. hooray! the product in question is their lip glaze, which comes in a variety of colors that appear to change at the company's whim. i've done a bit of googling and it seems like there are lots of colors that don't exist anymore, so i'm not sure if they change seasonally, or what. i went with the wineberry, which two different girls said was a huge seller for them, so here's hoping that if i fall in love with it, it won't be discontinued by the next time, har har. 

what i did today

slept in, showered, snuggled the animals, checked kitty's adoption profile (still available), went to get a mani/pedi (woo!), snuggled the animals again. checked kitty's adoption profile (still available). watched some teevy while waiting for husband to get out of meetings. checked kitty's adoption profile (still available). went out to late lunch with husband. ate a cup of vegetable barley soup with a roll (delicious!), a black bean burrito with guac and chips & salsa (amazing!), and part of a slice of peanut-butter-chocolate cake (divine!). drove home quickly and then left immediately to babysit nieces. socialized with sister and brother-in-law while convincing nieces to finish eating dinner. struck a deal with a 22-month-old involving noodles eaten for chocolate milk prepared. snuggled nieces. put the baby to bed and then snuggled the 5 year old on her own. talked for awhile with sister and brother-in-law after they came home, then drove back home to eat the rest of that piece of chocolate-peanut-butter cake (woo!). watched some teevy with husband, snuggled the animals, cleaned the litter box. checked kitty's adoption profile (still available).

welp, it has happened once again

i know this isn't the first time, and i imagine it won't be the last... but i've fallen in love with a kitty at the humane society. he's been in the guest lodging area for the past six weeks or so, being treated for an eye condition, and i loved him instantly. he is a light grey/cream tabby with medium-length hair and cream eyeliner. he is a total pistol; he loooves attention and being held, and he's playful & feisty. he gives hugs. he meows loudly. in short, he'd fit right in (hee). every monday i went straight to his kennel, last row, all the way at the end, number 41. and every week he would see me, hop up with a big meow, start purring, and rub his face against the bars until i would scoop him out for a snuggle. oh, how i love him. and today, i discovered him on the adoption page, and my reaction was a perfect mixture of excited and disappointed. i'm entertaining daydreams of scurrying over and adopting him, and feeling sad about the fact that he won't be there to greet me on monday. sniff, poor me. i really want to be a crazy cat lady, is that so wrong?

happy day

this post has nothing to do with veganism, but it's the big event of my day so i'm writing about it. anyone who's been reading awhile will remember that my little sister was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of breast cancer at the end of february (although i didn't talk about it here until april). the past nine months have been a roller coaster in every sense; lots of ups and downs and surprise twists and stomach aches... but now, the sense of relief that comes when you're at the end. after a 12-week round of chemo, a double-mastectomy over the summer, some beginning stages of reconstructive surgery, a terrible MRSA infection, and another 12-week round of (a different) chemo, my sister officially completed her treatments today. YAY! she's done, done, done and we couldn't possibly be happier. she has some reconstruction work yet to do, but no more medicine and no more cancer. we all held our breath as she waited for her labs today, to get the official word that she could go ahead with chemo this afternoon, and when the "yes" came it was so exciting! she's been waiting for this day for nine months, and i'm so proud of her. the doctors say that she should feel back to her old self in a couple of months, so here's to an amazing 2010. we are all so done with 2009.

vegan thanksgiving decorations

today i took a giant pile of exams over to our campus testing center to have them scored and analyzed, and while i was waiting on my paperwork, i noticed that they had decorated their office for thanksgiving. nothing too fancy, just a few cartoon turkeys and stuff. but then i noticed that there was also a magic-marker-colored tofurkey ad hung up with the decorations. ha! i commented on it, and the girl behind the counter said it was one of her co-workers' handiwork. i had a giggle and i told her i really liked it (and i copped to being vegan). she laughed and said she'd let her co-worker know that it made someone else happy. i'm so easily pleased.

dr. oz is annoying

let me begin by saying that dr. oz has always bugged me. he's a hugely enormous gigantic proponent of (and participant in) vivisection, which automatically makes him a massive tool in my humble opinion. and it drives me bonkers that he's held up as this wonderful amazing "doctor for the people" and that everyone thinks his word is gospel. ugh. 

so imagine my surprise when i saw (via someone's facebook last week) that he had some guy on his show adopt a vegan diet for 28 days in order to improve his health. the guy in question is "rocco the cowboy," and i watched a 10-minute segment that showed rocco's transformation and apparent adoption of a vegan diet, and by all accounts it sounds like he's planning to stick with it. yay for rocco. of course, it probably doesn't even need to be said that dr. oz never once mentions animals; this is entirely a health-based argument, so we already know he's not necessarily on my team here.

after watching rocco's segment, i clicked through to check out dr. oz's "go vegan" page, and let's just say it's sorely lacking in awesome. 

first, he totally misuses the term 'vegan' when he explains that "many vegans also choose not to purchase items made from leather or that have been tested on animals, but the commitment that you bring to veganism is your own." um, wrong. ALL vegans choose not to do those things, or they wouldn't actually be vegans, duh. 

second, in his "action plan," he outlines a four-week process to going vegan. in week one, he implies that vegans need to take multivitamins and B12 in order to get protein. what? good one, doctor. in week two, he advocates substituting all meat products with soy products. seriously, has he ever heard of beans, or  peanut butter? i know that doctors get next to no nutritional training, but seriously.

and in what is perhaps my favorite part of the whole charade, dr. oz's week four of his "go vegan" plan is that you don't actually go vegan. what the eff? he honest-to-christ suggests that you re-introduce eggs and meet (sic) into your diet in week four, because veganism "isn't a reality or even an ideal." wow, i feel healthier already.

mmm, brunch

we capped off our convention visit to chicago by stopping at karyn's cooked for brunch (we had karyn's the first night for dinner, too... bookends!). we'd never been there for brunch before, but there were tons of great options. i had another smoothie (peach-banana this time), an order of banana french toast, and my husband and i split an order of potato pancakes (in addition to his scramble/skillet breakfast). everything was really tasty! we left feeling full, but not uncomfortable. i also snagged a gigantic cookie for the train ride home. thank you, chicago, for feeding us so well!

only two more meal posts, i promise

i know i just keep blogging about what i ate today, but i can't help it! i'm gorging myself on delicious vegan restaurant food and i feel compelled to share. ;) tonight, we decided to head back to the diner for another go. we had some "convention parties" to attend tonight (our own department's, as well as our alma mater's), so we headed over for a really early dinner before the parties started. i had the country fried steak, which comes with mashed potatoes, and i also had a little side of mac and cheese. ha! a side of starch with your starch, miss? the server didn't even bat an eye, and in fact he said with very good humor, "well it's not like people come here to eat health food!" awesome. i then, of course, had a pumpkin shake for dessert. that thing is seriously the best shake on the planet, no exceptions, no lie. 

tomorrow morning we have brunch in store, so i'll blab about that once it's been eaten, but then i promise to stop my obsessive meal-blogging. 

almost exploded from food

holy smokes did i ever overdo it tonight. yikes. after another day of near-fasting (i ate an apple cider muffin and a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast and snack, respectively--both procured from the diner last night), we headed out to a new (to us) place for dinner. we finally got to handlebar after hearing about it from all sorts of people, and it did not disappoint. it was busy, but we were seated right away, and our server was very friendly and helpful. we ordered an appetizer of samosas, and then we both ordered the vegan chicken buffalo wrap. i had a side of garlic mashed potatoes, husband had a salad (he's such a good boy). 

we realized right after our entrees arrived that our samosas had never shown up, and i should have listened to my instincts and just let it be, but instead i asked the server to bring them anyway. ugh, what a mistake. there was So Much Food i thought i would die. the buffalo wraps were *super* tasty, spicy and ranchy all at once. we both loved them. the garlic mashed potatoes were heavy on the garlic (yay) and really really good, and the samosas were good as well, but i really thought i was going to explode and we had to make ourselves stop before we regretted it. we left without dessert, and attempted to walk off some calories. urp.

more chicago eating!

yummers, we just went to the diner for dinner! we took the el and the place was jammed when we got there, but eventually a massive party left and everyone who had been waiting outside got to come in and sit down. i had a meatball sub with a side of sweet potato fries. the sub was a little unwieldy, so i just poured the marinara sauce all over it and kinfe-and-forked my way through it. the sweet potato fries were ridiculously awesome. after i crammed all of that in my mouth, i had to order the pumpkin shake, which is one of my very favorite things at the chicago diner EVER. they put chocolate sauce on the inside of the glass before filling it up with pumpkin shake, and then they top it with vegan whipped cream and a heavy sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg or summat. lovery.

sore feet, full belly

almost every nablopomo, i end up going to a convention and blogging from the hilton. this year is no exception! i also usually have at least one post cursing the hilton, because the internet dies right in the middle of my posting and i have to re-up and i get all cranky. but that won't happen this time, because this time our national organization sprung for free wifi in the rooms. woo hoo!

anyhow, we're in chicago for the next four days, and that means one thing: seeking out the vegan restaurants. tonight we headed to karyn's cooked, a place we've visited several times before. we walked about two miles, and halfway there i bought squishy gel insoles for my boots because my heels were killing me (they're crappy cheapo boots), but once we made it there, a lot of delicious food was waiting for us. 

i decided to order a strawberry-banana smoothie because it just sounded good, and i was not disappointed. it was perfect. the soup of the day was creamy sweet potato (omg! it's like they knew i was coming!), so of course i had a cup of that. it was amazingly good; i could have eaten it forever. and it comes with a side of cornbread, yum. for dinner i hemmed and hawed for quite awhile (it's always a blessing and a curse to be able to order anything off the menu), but eventually settled on the flautas. they came with a side of refried black beans, a side of guacamole, and some super-delicious tomatillo sauce. i also asked if they would bring me a side of their cheesy sauce, which they did. i pretty much cut up the flautas and mixed everything else in and went nuts. it was fabulous and i thought i would explode by the time i was done.

we walked the two miles back to our hotel, hopefully walking off some of the calories in the process, and now i'm being a slug in the hotel room. i'm not sure where we'll go next, but i'm pretty sure a trip to the diner is in store, and we'd also really like to check out handlebar. mmm, chicago food.

friendly face in the crowd

today after class, one of my students came down to the front of class to talk to me. my lecture is pretty big (260+ students), so i don't really get to know the vast majority of my students. usually, if they come to talk to me (rather than just going straight to their TA), it's either because they want to complain about a grade or they want to tell me a funny story that they thought of during lecture. (guess which one of those i prefer? heh.)

so anyhow, today as i'm packing up my laptop i hear a friendly girl say my name, and when i look up, she's handing me a piece of folded up paper. she said, "i thought you might be interested in this... it's for a vegan thanksgiving here in town?" i was a little surprised, because i never talk about veganism in class (although, to be fair, i have a "go vegan" message in my email sig file, and one of my TAs has talked about my veganism with her discussion sections, so i'm not exactly closeted, either). 

anyhow, based on what she said i think she saw it on my facebook page (i'm listed as the faculty advisor for a vegan outreach group on campus). i thought it was so cute and sweet of her to bring me the flyer for vegan thanksgiving! i thanked her, and asked if she was... "vegetarian, or...?" i went for the conservative guess because i didn't want to make her feel weird if all she was doing was bringing something to my attention, you know? she immediately smiled and said she was vegan. squee! i got all excited and said, "oh yay! i kind of want to hug you right now! can i hug you right now?" and she said yes and gave me a big hug. I AM SUCH A HUGE DORK. thank goodness there are people out there who indulge my dorkiness. 

i encouraged her to get involved in the campus vegan outreach group, and i'm going to make a point to tell her about meetup too. isn't it silly (but awesome) how we feel an instant connection when we find a random vegan? yay! 

bittersweet as usual

i really love volunteering at the humane society every monday, but i really see my share of crap, and it makes me hate (some) people sometimes. today, for instance, i met one of the cutest little puppies ever. she's probably about 3 or 4 months old, a black pit bull mix with adorable white markings, and she's friendly as all get-out. she's lovey-dovey and gives kisses and is everyone's friend. she is also horrifyingly skinny. and are you ready for the kicker? she arrived yesterday, covered in lighter fluid. some assface kids had poured it all over her, and were picking on her, and calling her "pit bull bait," when a woman who does TNR saw them and rescued her. this sweet little puppy, who was probably wagging her tail while they tormented her. it makes me want to vomit. all i can do now is keep reminding myself that she's in the right place, and now she'll have a chance to get healthy and go to a wonderful home... but wow, it's hard to focus on the positive sometimes.

bringing it to the masses

i have always loved ellen degeneres, but here is why i love her today: 

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/thoughts/ 

 that is all.

isa's cookie book

i'm pretty much chomping at the bit to get isa's new cookbook, vegan cookies invade your cookie jar. when the cupcake book came out, i became completely obsessed with cupcakes (like a zillion other people), and while i generally buy anything with isa's name on it with knee-jerk quickness... at first i thought i might not be a "cookie person." don't get me wrong, i looooove to eat cookies, but i don't typically bake cookies. i'm more of a cakes/cupcakes/bars/brownies type of girl. (the only exception is the veganized version of my grandma's chocolate chip cookies, which are delicious and i am always happy to make.) well anyhow, that has all changed. i recently made one of the recipes from isa's new cookie book after she gave a little preview on her blog (the mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles, if yer curious), and they were SO delicious (and so easy!) that i made them twice in two days. i think i might just become a cookie person after all.

adopt a turkey!

i should have included this link in last night's post when i was whining, but for some reason i didn't. whoops. if you would like to sponsor a turkey, farm sanctuary makes it really easy (and affordable!) every year around this time. i've been sponsoring a turkey every year since i went vegan. this year, i'm going to sponsor gideon, i think. or hawthorn. i'm torn, but i will decide very soon.

turkey time of year

it's that time again, peeps! everyone thinking of thanksgiving and saying "gobble gobble" and "happy turkey day" and all that nonsense. meh. last year, we hosted a vegan thanksgiving(!!) at our house (due to a series of coincidences that allowed us to offer), but it looks like this year we'll be back at the grandparental home, with meat. i'm sad. my mom is preparing "only" breast meat, because she "can't handle" an entire bird, but it's really all the same difference. plus, that side of the family also puts sausage in the stuffing. :sad face:

yesterday, i got an email from our adorable tiny neighborhood co-op, and it included the following paragraph:

The co-op's also offering special order pies for the holiday season- we're stepping it up with five kinds this year: Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Strawberry Coconut Custard, Cranberry Raspberry, Dutch Apple and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream.  All are vegan and made with organic ingredients- just stop in the cafe and ask about ordering one.  We're also giving members the chance to order local, organic turkeys again- just ask for an order form at the checkout counter.  I've met these turkeys the last couple years, they're well-kept and what you'd picture when you think free range.

the first two sentences made me go "oh! yay!" but then the next two sentences immediately bummed me out.

i guess this means it's time for me to adopt my farm sanctuary turkey.

brushing cat teeth

so, one of our kitties had to have a dental cleaning today. this was my first experience ever with such an ordeal, and it was a little stressful. the kitty in question, finley, had to be anesthetized for the procedure, and i'm a worrywart so of course i cried after we left him at the vet this morning. in happier news, our vet is awesome and she called me as soon as his cleaning was done to let me know that everything went well, and that i could "stop worrying." she knows me.

anyhow, of our three animals, finley is the only one with not-so-great teeth. our other kitty is 4 years older, and his look great! and our greyhound's teeth are awesome (which is atypical for greyhounds) because my husband is a rock star about brushing hers. so... now that finley has had his dental cleaning, we're going to make a much better point of maintaining his dental health. 

our vet recommended using the dental wipes that you can get at pet supply stores, so we're planning to give that a try. does anyone have experience with those? can anyone give recommendations or other input about how to pick a wipe, or how to do the actual brushing? finley is a very docile and sweet boy, but he does "spook" sometimes, and any tips on keeping a cat calm and floppy for cleaning-time would be much appreciated. 

watching the mail once again

my new backpack (that i blabbed about a few days ago) is due to arrive tomorrow, and i also got word that my new blue peacoat from vaute couture is ready to be shipped. woo hoo! i'm going to be like a kid in a candy shop when my loot gets here. i'll probably put on the coat and the backpack together and just walk around the house to see how it all fits. i'm such a nerd about stuff like that.

did anyone else order a fancy-pants coat from vaute couture? my dear friend jen did, and she picked hers up already (she got the peacoat as well, but in ivory). she said that she LOVES it (her emphasis, not mine). yay!

seasonal soymilks are back!

a couple of days ago, my husband surprised me by bringing home some pumpkin silk, a couple of weeks earlier than we found it last year. hooray! snuggly autumn chai, coming right up! he said that the silk nog was also in stock, so start checking around if you're into the seasonal goodness.

of course, this also reminded me of the travesty that awaits this winter: with vitasoy no longer selling their wares in the united states, it appears that we will all have to go without their delicious nectar of peppermint chocolate soymilk. boooooo!! (i know that westsoy or someone makes one as well, but in my opinion the vitasoy was far superior, and will be dearly missed.)

happy world vegan day!

it's world vegan day, everyone! i actually have no idea what that means (is there a party somewhere? do we get presents?), but i'm happy to say it anyway, because i'm happy that it's a 'thing.' whee, vegans!

i've decided to participate in nablopomo again this year, to give me a kickstart. in other words, you'll be seeing a lot more of me this month. lucky you.