I had hoped to feature reviews of Sistah Vegan, Eaarth and Diet for a Hot Planet in the final days of VeganMoFo IV, but…no such luck! Between holiday decorating, dog pampering and workworkwork, I didn’t quite accomplish all of my mofo goals. That’s okay, though; there’s always tomorrow, yes?

Until then, I have plenty of “leftovers” to share. Cue: all the mofo miscellany that passed under the radar…until now!

Frozen Thanksgiving Feasts

Yes, the husband and I really did have frozen Tofurky pizza and apple pie for Thanksgiving! Neither of us was in the mood to cook, so this plan worked out nicely. Instead of spending the day toiling in the kitchen, I slept in, did some yoga, hung out with the dogs and read a few chapters of The Vegan Revolution… with Zombies. At night, we caught up on The Walking Dead (awesomeness!) and finished off the last three episodes of Battlestar Galactica (waaaay better than Lost‘s final, convoluted season!).

A Tofurky Cheese Pizza with extra toppings, namely Lightlife Smart Pepperoni, black olives and sundried tomatoes. One pizza is roughly the size of my dinner plate.
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I’ve seen a number of vegan bloggers review the newish frozen Tofurky pizzas this month, with mixed results. Personally, I like ‘em; so far I’ve tried both the plain cheese and sausage varieties, and I’d nom on either of them again. The crust, though definitely on the thin side, crisps up nicely when baked. Eaten on its own, I found the sausage to be a little spicy for my tastes, but this is tempered by the crust, sauce and cheese. And of course you can’t go wrong with Daiya!

On the downside, these pizzas are definitely pricey. I’m trapped under a dog at the moment and thus unable to dig up the necessary receipts, but I think they cost upwards of $7 each at Whole Foods. According to the packaging, each pizza is supposed to serve two people, but, um, not so much. The husband and I can easily polish off a pizza apiece, with plenty of room left for dessert.

For dessert: apple pie topped with a copious amount of vanilla So Delicious ice cream.
Quoth the husband: “You gonna have some pie with that ice cream?”
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(Apple pie with vanilla So delicious, can I get a hells yes!)

At best, they make for a nice luxury purchase – but unless it’s a special occasion, I’ll stick to my homemade pita pizzas, thankyouverymuch.

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On Friday, I cooked up a massive, steaming pot of my all-time favorite soup – “Spicy” Three Bean Soup* – letting it simmer and marinate throughout the day, checking in occasionally during the start of my weekend-long CriFSMas decorating marathon. (Pictures of the deliciousness thus far!) After a long day spent cursing the x-mas tree lights (3 out of 4 strands were on the fritz, each dying in the exact same place – imagine that!), a warm bowl of comfort food was, well, comforting. Bonus: the dishes were the husband’s problem.

Looking back on the original recipe – which I blogged almost three years ago to the day! – I realized what a frakking mess it is. Like, why on earth did I feel the need to write a novella-length backstory – in the body of the recipe itself? 2007 Kelly boggles 2010 Kelly’s mind. It’s no wonder I never make this soup the same way twice. No more! What follows is a cleaned-up version of the recipe, complete with suggested modifications listed separately at the end.

Feel free to share your own, mkay?

“Spicy” Three Bean Soup,* Redux

“Spicy” Three Bean Soup: with a deep red, tomato-vegetable broth, and lots of veggies chunks, including four types of beans, Italian cut green beans, white potatoes and carrots. In the background: a bag of extremely nom-worthy, store-bought VEGAN breadsticks. Now that I’m hooked, it’ll be a few short months before they add whey or honey, just you wait and see!
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There’s Vegan Dad and (Your) Vegan Mom – not to mention Red Hot Vegan Momma, Mom’s Vegan Kitchen, Busy Vegan Mama, et al. – but what about vegan kids? Have you ever wondered where all the pint-sized vegan foodies are at?

Granted, most kids – even “kids these days” – are too busy with school and sports and friends and other assorted forms of child’s play to worry about boring adult stuff like baking and blogging and blogging about one’s baking. Nope, that’s what the ‘rents are for. (Cue: childhood nostalgia.) Still, there are a few intrepid activists-in-the-making on the interwebs – and they’re the subject of today’s veganmofo post.

Regular readers know that I’m no stranger to pop culture analysis. (In fact, I watch so much television that it’s only a matter of time before I start to resemble the potato above. But at least it’s sweet!) Well, for my next VeganMoFo trick, watch while I dissect the above advertisement – and then refute it with some super-hot vegan food (not-)porn action. Shall we?

A large, rather symmetrical sweet potato (Seriously, when’s the last time you’ve seen such a beautifully proportioned sweet potato? I would love to peel the hell out of that baby!) occupies most of the real estate in the ad above. The potato is dissected into six discrete pieces by a cartoon-like, white dotted line that’s been superimposed over it, thus evoking the look and feel of old-timey butchers’ posters. You know the kind: hanging in Sam the Butcher’s storefront, such posters helpfully illustrate the different “cuts” of meat one can obtain from the body of a murdered and dismembered nonhuman animal. (Google, for example, “cuts of beef”. This is an image that PETA seems fond of mimicking/parodying, with debatable success. But I digress, and dangerously so!) Other images in the series depict a zucchini and eggplant carved up similarly.

Because every “cut” of the sweet potato is identical to the others, the ad seems to be suggesting that such visual analogies are ridiculous; humorous, even. Compared to “meat,” plant-based foods are boring. Monotonous. Lacking in variety or diversity. Undifferentiated masses of blah. In other words, being a vegan/vegetarian sucks balls.

The most interesting aspect of this ad series is that it’s promoting – wait for it! – vegetarian food (!). Specifically, Fry’s Vegetarian Foods, which specializes in meals heavy in mock “meat.” Though I’m disappointed to see a vegetarian company engage in the negative stereotyping of plant-based foods, I can’t exactly say that I’m shocked, given the context.

I know, I know; it’s all in good fun, right? Except when it’s not. The consumption of animal flesh and secretions is largely a choice in Western cultures – and one category of “reasons” (excuses, really) that carnists commonly use to justify their dietary choices involves societal mythconceptions and prejudices concerning cruelty-free options, i.e., that any foodstuffs that do not contain animal by-/products are necessarily boring, bland and monotonous. Rather than cater to these harmful stereotypes, we should actively challenge them.

Which brings me to the VeganMoFo Photo Essay portion of this post. What follows are twelve gorgeous, creative, yummy dishes that incorporate sweet potatoes as a primary ingredient. (I might have just as easily executed this project with zucchini or eggplant, but hey, ’tis the season, am I right?) The tip of the proverbial iceberg, these photos and recipes demonstrate that vegan foods are anything but boring.

Now grab a knife, fork and potato peeler and dig in, MoFo-ers!

1. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Black Beans and Chili Dressing:

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As the day after Thanksgiving, today begins the annual FSMas decorating marathon at the Garbato-Brady house! The primary goal is to assemble and decorate the tree as quickly as possible, so we can get the holiday cards shot, designed and printed ASAP. Then comes all the other festive stuff: stockings, garland, lights, gold doubloons, pirate gear – and sparkly red, green, gold and silver monsters as far as the eye can see. Beyond this, you’re likely to find me making extra pipe cleaner flying spaghetti monsters right up ’til the 24th (which is when the husband and I celebrate FSMas).

Anyhow, since today also marks the first day of the x-mas shopping season, I thought it might be fitting to post my own holiday wish list. You know, just in case an anonymous admirer/fairy dogmother is out there, lurking and looking to unload some gifts on a certain lucky vegan blogger. (Me, me, me, pick me! ETA: I also accept cash and PayPal transfers. For your convenience, of course.)

A (Stainless Steel?) Cookware Set:

Cuisinart MCP-12 MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set.
Image via Cuisineart.
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I’m still cooking with the same set of pots and pans that I bought when I moved out of my parents’ house. Ten years ago. I’d say that the peeling Teflon – or whatever that gunk is, who can tell anymore? – was the first indication that the set needed to be replaced…only I can’t remember a time when the set wasn’t flake-free. I know, healthy right?

Problem is, there are so many options out there, and I’m not really sure which is right for me. I’m leaning toward stainless steel because of its durability, but am worried that some foods will stick to it. Copper sounds ideal, but is way over my budget. Thoughts?

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In this someecard, a woman sits at a dining table, seemingly ashamed as two older men berate her. The remnants of the night’s meal, including what looks like a bird corpse, scatter the tabletop. The caption reads, “Your Tufurkey has brought shame to this family.”
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As with several holidays past (most notably, Mother’s Day), I spent some of yesterday sending out Thanksgiving-related tweets. Most of these focused on the 45-48 million turkeys who were enslaved, slaughtered, dismembered and consumed in order to “show thanks” for [insert your irony here: friends? family? freedom? life?]. A few also addressed the racist and colonialist origins of the holiday. (Such a Debbie Downer, I am. Errr, make that Kelly Killjoy.)

For those of you who don’t follow me on twitter, I’ve included a digest of yesterday’s tweets. There’s lots of interesting reading there – some of which I linked to in yesterday’s edition of Friday Food – so enjoy!

Perhaps you’ll join me in tweeting the next problematic holiday or observance? It’s a surprisingly satisfying – and relatively simple – form of protest, though I’m not sure whether it has any practical effect beyond the personal. But hey, it made me feel a teensy bit better. That counts for something, right?

Oh, and at the end of the digest is a snarky little video from Sarah Silverman and the folks at Funny or Die: Sarah Silverman’s ThanksKILLING Special. “God bless America, and its greedy, self-righteous heritage.” Definitely check it out, even if you’re already familiar with the story of how Silverman became a vegetarian.

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Friday Food…on a Thursday, you ask? Yes, ma’am! I shall be too busy chowing down on frozen pizza and pie – not to mention catching up on The Walking Dead – to bother with a “real” post today. And it’s the veganmofo Friday Food Season Finale, at that. How exciting!

(Seriously, the husband and I are opting/lazing out of the traditional Tofurky and mashed potato feast this year. But feel free to visit ghosts of meals past, mkay? See, e.g., 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.)

Whether you choose to observe the holiday or not, may your Thanksgiving day be a gentle one, friends.

Feed the Turkeys ceremony at Animal Acres Thanksgiving!
They got pies, salad, and stuffed squash!
CC image via Flickr user prideandvegudice.
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Food, delicious food!

Caramel Apple Pie from Apryl Knight @ Vegan Etsy

Vegan Lemon Bars from I Eat Trees

Chocolate Chestnut Tart from The New Vegan Table

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips from Manifest Vegan

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers from Cooking at the Pacific Outpost

Cornbread Casserole, Dirty Dumpling Soup and Coconut Fudge from bite me, I’m vegan.

Smokey Maple BBQ Beans from Vegan Guinea Pig

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Sweet Treats and Vegan Eats

Hindbærsnitter from Seglare in Copenhagen

Lentil Walnut Pate Lettuce Wraps from thefrenchvegan

Garlic-Glazed Green Beans and Candied Sweet Potatoes from the vegan crew

Thousand Island Dressing from Our Veggie Kitchen

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Two holiday-themed Bizarro strips.
In the first, a group of turkeys looks on in horror and disgust as a farmer, clad in the requisite red flannel, hauls two of their terrified brethren from the barn, seemingly for slaughter. Two turkeys in the foreground discuss this all-too-predictable turn of events: “This is all about ‘thanks.’ Next month, the massacre starts all over again in the name of ‘peace on Earth.’”
The second strip shows a turkey angel visiting with a reindeer, who looks a little mopey despite the festive bells slung around his neck. The wizened turkey advises, “I’m just saying, WATCH YOUR BACK. I was a holiday icon too, & look what happened to me.
Images copyright Dan Piraro.
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I realize that a review of an animal rights book isn’t wholly in keeping with the theme of veganmofo; so, to compensate, I’ve included a number of yummy, egg- and bird-free recipes at the bottom of this post. Hopefully this will help drive home that point that the atrocities described in Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs are 1000% unnecessary while also placating the veganmofo goddesses! (No smiting of my person, mkay? Nevermind that I also have a blog named Smite Me!)

Out of respect for my fellow mofo’ers, I’ve purposefully omitted any visual representations of animal exploitation from this post, so you can scroll through without worry.

Or, if you’d rather not read the review, you can jump straight to the recipes!

Book Review: Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An inside look at the modern poultry industry by Karen Davis (1996; revised 2009)

[FYI: you can download a pdf copy of the first edition here. Also, by way of disclaimer, I received a free review copy of this book from the the publisher, The Book Publishing Company. As in, nearly a year ago. Slow, who me?]

In the United States, nearly 10 billion chickens are slaughtered every year; worldwide, the number is 40 billion and growing, as agribiz continues to export America’s extremely unhealthy, meat-laden diet – as well as its industrialized method of animal “farming” – to developing nations. At any given time, 5 billion hens “live” in battery cages on American “farms,” so that their bodies may be exploited for eggs. Because male chicks are an unwanted byproduct of this system, 250 million of them are discarded – suffocated, gassed, ground up or merely thrown out, alive – annually.

While chickens – hens, roosters and chicks; mothers, fathers and children – represent the single most exploited species of farmed animals, they receive perhaps the least consideration. More chickens are enslaved and slaughtered per year than cows, pigs, sheeps and goats combined – and yet, along with cold-blooded mammals such as reptiles, chickens and other birds are not even considered “animals” under the U.S. Animal Welfare Act. (Granted, animals farmed for food and fiber are also not covered under the AWA, but this is perhaps small consolation, as they still fall under the rubric of “animals.”) Perhaps it’s their “alien” faces, what with rigid beaks where expressive mouths “should” be, but humans seem to have more trouble empathizing with chickens and birds than other farmed animal species, such as pigs and cows (who, of course, receive less consideration than “pet” species, such as dogs and cats).

In the intro to Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs, Karen Davis – founder and director of United Poultry Concerns (UPC) – reports that, when she first became involved in advocating on behalf of chickens in the late 1980s, these beautiful and abused creatures were largely overlooked in animal welfare and rights campaigns:

I was told by some that people weren’t “ready” for chickens. This proved to be false. The point, in any case, was to make people ready.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of folks like Davis, chickens are now central to the vegan and anti-factory farming movements. Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs – first published in 1996 and revised in 2009 – provides an accessible and compressive, if horrifying and hard-to-read, overview of industrialized chicken egg and “meat” production. (Something similar is sorely needed for fishes and other “seafood,” who seem to be the chickens and birds of this decade. But I digress.)

What with a 19-page reference list and copious quotations culled from industry publications and decades-old news clippings, Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs is meticulously researched and brimming with information. I’d hoped to include a list of talking points or key facts, but the sheer breadth and detail makes this nearly impossible. (That, and I’m not exactly about brevity, as regular readers well know!) Instead, let’s take this summary chapter by chapter, shall we?

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In this black and white double exposure, we see a photo of some sidewalk graffiti juxtaposed with the image of two people walking together, arm in arm, along a city street. The graffiti is a stencil of the bespectacled, top-hatted Monopoly millionaire – now bearing wings as well – flying out of an opened bird cage; freedom! Underneath this image is the slogan “Invest in Sharing.” A lovely pairing of words, I think. CC image via Flickr user beeteeoh.
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I admit it; I so did not come up with the title of this week’s “frugal vegans” post by my lonesome. Prior to finding multiple examples of the totally awesome “Invest in Sharing” stencil (pictured above) on Flickr, this tip was to be called “frugal vegans share with others.” Meh, how boring. I don’t even think such a title is fit to grace a Sesame Street skit.

So what, pray tell, do I mean by “invest in sharing” in the context of frugality? Well, it’s simple, really. If you’re anything like me, you own multiple kitchen appliances, utensils and assorted gadgets that rarely, if ever, see the light of day. Possibly you purchased them new – or even second-hand – and with every intention of getting your money’s worth. Perhaps you do use some of these items as often as is reasonable – but reason only requires occasional or seasonal use. Whatever the case, your kitchen – indeed, your entire house – is most likely packed with consumer goods that are not in use 99% of the time.

Why not save money – and the environment – by splitting the cost and custody of these items with like-minded friends?

By way of illustration, let’s say that both you and your BFF are jonesing for a shiny new ice cream maker. Neither of you can afford to buy a nice electric model on your own. But if you pool your resources, what was an out-of-reach luxury purchase suddenly becomes do-able (albeit possibly still a luxury). At most, you might churn a batch or two of ice cream a month; the rest of the time, the machine would sit on a shelf in your pantry, unused and totally bored. Rotating the ice cream maker between two households on a weekly basis, then, won’t really affect the amount of use and enjoyment that each party can get out of it. Just plan ahead and make a little extra ice cream for your “off” week when it is your turn to use the ice cream maker.

This “shared cost, shared custody” arrangement could work with a number of kitchen items – depending, of course, on personal use and preferences:

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Shane’s Super Awesome Vegan Bananer Bread

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Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Chocolate Almond Banana Bread

Need I say more?

Nah, I didn’t think so. Recipe after the jump.

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