Let’s spend the afternoon playing dress-up, I know how much you lurve it!*

* For serious, he really does enjoy it! He’s a mama’s boy all the way, and there’s no shame in that! Also, I’d normally take him on a walk, but. Rain. All day. Le sigh.

Here we have the Wyoming state quarter, which on the back features its state motto – “The Equality State” – and, to its left, is the silhouette of a “cowboy” riding a bucking horse.

The website TheUS50 explains:

The bucking horse and rider symbolize Wyoming’s Wild West heritage. “Buffalo Bill” Cody personified this in his traveling Wild West show. First settled by fur trappers, Fort Laramie, Wyoming, later became a popular destination for pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail.

Wyoming was nicknamed the “Equality State” because of its historical role in establishing equal voting rights for women. Wyoming was the first territory to grant “female suffrage” and became the first state in the Nation to allow women to vote, serve on juries and hold public office. In 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman elected Governor of Wyoming. In 1933, Ross became the first woman appointed as the Director of the United States Mint.

As per usual, “equality” by default applies only to human animals; the irony of choosing to feature an image of animal exploitation alongside the state’s nickname was apparently lost on the US Mint. This is hardly surprising, given the speciesist world in which we live. So ubiquitous is our oppression of animals that it’s rendered mostly invisible; like water to a fish. Try as we might, sometimes it can be difficult to recognize it all.

Although this particular quarter was released in 2007, I didn’t catch on to the irony until last winter.* The husband, having taken the dogs walking in a nearby park, accidentally left the car’s lights on, thus draining the batteries. Long story short, I ended up stuck behind the wheel for a half hour while we jumped the battery. Bored to tears, I started rummaging through the car’s various cubbies and compartments and found a few state quarters. Though I’d probably glanced at a Wyoming state quarter countless times by then, for some reason the contradiction struck me; equality for whom? Certainly not the horses imprisoned, enslaved, raped, abused, maimed and killed in rodeos (not to mention other horse-related industries). But nonhumans – much like women before them – simply aren’t deemed worthy of our consideration. I can only hope that history will once again prove us wrong.

* Yes, this is on average how long my posts languish in draft purgatory. Bad blogger, bad.

Image: A smiling, curly-tailed, adorable pink cartoon pig looks up at a checklist that reads:

COPS ARE NOT PIGS

Pigs are our friends
Cops are not

Pigs mind their own business
Cops do not

Pigs have curly tails
Cops have guns

Pigs defecate freely
Cops are anal-retentive

Pigs grunt with joy
Cops grunt with aggression

Pigs are highly intelligent
Cops are mindless clones

HOW DARE YOU INSULT A PERFECTLY GOOD PIG!

By way of disclaimer, obviously I don’t think that all cops are mindless, cruel bullies, more interested in asserting (and abusing) their authority than protecting and serving the public. I’d certainly argue that the system – increasingly militarized in nature and always protective of its own – encourages such behavior; however, in spite of this trend, some cops are perfectly nice people, and remain so throughout their careers!

This graphic simply refers to that subset of cops worthy of insult (and more) – for example, cops who rape vulnerable women and shoot cowering dogs with impunity – with the gentle reminder that such insults must not further marginalize already oppressed groups: animals (pig, cow, rat, jackass, wildebeest, etc.), women (bitch, cunt, pussy, etc.), and people of color (a whole slew of words that I, as person of Italian and German descent, don’t feel comfortable typing here), to name but a few.

Words are powerful – so use them wisely!

(more…)

Sure, so this morning’s thunderstorm brought water gushing (alright, leaking) into the bathroom! And maybe my kitchen appliances are all dying at the same time! And don’t even get me started on these dogs, who I love to death but nevertheless won’t stfu long enough for me to heart myself think! But that’s okay, cause I’ve got a freezer full of ice cream! (Incidentally, the freezer is one of our many ailing appliances, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.) And ice cream makes everything better!

… right?

Vanilla So Delicious & His Dark Materials

Reading the end of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and sobbing into a vat of vanilla So Delicious ice cream. DEAR DOG WILL THE TEARS EVER STOP?!?

No. They will never stop. Ever.

Blueberry Sauce & Vanilla Ice Cream Swirl

Vanilla So Delicious smothered in homemade blueberry sauce!

For the sauce, combine two cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring vigilantly, until the blueberries have burst and the sauce is think and almost jam-like (about 15 minutes). If you’re serving this over ice cream, chill in the freezer for +/- 30 minutes so that it doesn’t melt the ice cream on impact!

This is a great way to use up “borderline” fresh blueberries, fyi. (Frugal vegans don’t waste food!)

Lemonade Ice Cream

Like a party in your mouth! A SEX PARTY. Yeah, I said it.

(more…)

Dashboard cookies!

I made a batch last month – when the mercury was approaching 100 degrees – and completely forgot to post about it! Hopefully it’s still hot enough where you live so you can try it out if your tummy desires. Or maybe not? Hot, humid weather is the worst. But cookies make it more bearable. Especially if you use ‘em to make ice cream sammies!

Anywho, dashboard cookies are exactly what they sound like: cookies baked on the dash of your car. It’s pretty simple; all you need is batch of vegan cookie dough, a sunny day that’s expected to hit at least 95 degrees F, an oven thermometer, some towels and a vehicle (duh!). Park your car directly in the sunlight (preferably first thing in the morning, so it heats up with the day) and, in the early afternoon, pop your cookies in to bake. Keep the car sealed up tight so as not to let any of the heat out and, after two to three hours, all the vegan cookies will be yours!

Sounds weird, but it really does work!

Here’s a nifty little tutorial from howcast;

Snarky Vegan, who first tipped me off to the practice, has a nice how-to guide up, too. (Much more timely than me, she. And with a cleaner car! By which I mean a clean car.)

Last but not least, here’s the recipe I used. In a car or in an oven, it’s delish!

(more…)

…because it’s been entirely too long since our last vegan pizza party!

By the way, I pizza blog in this. In fact, I’m wearing it right now. The more you know.

Now bring out the pizza!

Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza, No. 2!

Another vegan mac & cheese pizza!

This recipe is fairly similar to the original, with one key change: instead of adding the macaroni and cheese to the pizza before it’s baked, we added the mac & cheese after the pizza came out of the oven (and more sparingly, too; this pizza is more like a “regular” pizza and less like a carb pie!). Since it isn’t baked twice, the mac & cheese topping is a little creamier and soupier. There’s also some extra cheddar Daiya and margarine hiding under there – along with bits of Lightlife Smart Bacon – for added moisture. (It’s like a white pizza only orange, yo!) Here’s the recipe, give it a try!

fwiw, this was the scene as we sat down to plates loaded with pizza slices and sides of mac & cheese (we made a full recipe, of course! ALWAYS MAKE A FULL POT OF MAC & CHEESE!):

Me: I AM GOING TO GET PREGNANT WITH THIS MAC & CHEESE!

Shane: [looks of horror and revulsion; not just at the thought of sexy time with cheesy pasta, but also - presumably - because neither of us wants children, to the point that this is a condition in our prenup]

Me: I mean I’m going to eat so much that my belly bloats up to where I look pregnant. YOU KNOW, MY BABY BUMP.

Shane: Oh.

And I did.

Mac & Pepperjack Pizza

Vegan macaroni and cheese pizza #3! “Mac & Pepperjack,” as we nicknamed it, is made with Pepperjack Daiya cheese (duh!) and topped with breadcrumbs, baked mac & cheese styley. Between the pasta and the pizza, this pie is like two meals in one. It took the husband a week to finish off the leftovers, what with the way he loaded the mac & cheese on there. Three inches of cheesy goodness? This bad boy is practically a deep dish!

Kalamata Olive Bread Pizza

Kalamata Olive Bread Pizza, made in the toaster oven! (The pizza, not the bread; you’ll need a bread machine for that!)

This recipe for Kalamata Olive Bread is one of my favorites, and here it’s been improved upon in the only conceivable way one might so polish a masterpiece: ADD DAIYA CHEESE! Immediate success! The tang of the bread complements the mozzarella Daiya and red sauce nicely, and it’s even better when toasted to a lovely brown crisp. I see many more slices in my future. (Also: a kalamata olive pizza crust!)

Of course, you can sub in your own favorite bread recipe; I’ve made quickie toaster pizzas with everything from homemade loafs to french bread to plain old sliced white bread. It’s hard to go wrong when vegan pizza is involved!

(more…)

Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream, y’all! This dish is a mashup of the chocolate ice cream recipe found in Wheeler del Torro’s The Vegan Scoop (with extra chocolaty goodness for the occasion!) and VegWeb’s vegan peanut butter cups, which I got hooked on over the holidays. Basically you just make a quart of chocolate ice cream – you can use the recipe below, or your own favorite version – and, when it’s (almost) done processing, mix in chunks of vegan chocolate and a batch of peanut butter cup filling and – voilà! – Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream!

Tastes every bit as decadent as it sounds, let me tell you. Seriously, three scoops and I was done for the day!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup soy milk, divided
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 cups soy creamer
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar

+/- 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chocolate bark

Directions

Make the chocolate ice cream batter!

1. In a small mug, whisk 1/4 of the soy milk with the arrowroot powder and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the soy milk with the soy creamer, sugar and cocoa powder. Over medium heat, whisk until blended. Add the chocolate chips and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate chips are fully melted. Increase the heat and bring to a slow boil.

3. Once the batter has started to boil, remove from the stove immediately and mix in the arrowroot slurry. Add the vanilla extract, whisking well. Store covered in the fridge for at least four hours (or until chilled) before processing. (I prefer to chill it overnight, just to be safe.)

Make the peanut butter chunks!

4. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Heat on high for 30 seconds and then stir until fully blended, heating the peanut butter in additional 15-second increments as necessary. Add more or less sugar to taste. When done, transfer to a lidded container and store in the fridge for four hours or more. Keep stored in the fridge until ready for use.

Process the ice cream!

5. When you’re ready to make the ice cream, process the chocolate batter according to your ice cream machine’s directions. Toward the end of the cycle, drop in the peanut butter by the spoonful and add the chocolate bark, too. If you don’t have enough room – or would prefer to have more control over the size of the pb and chocolate bits – you can instead mix in the peanut butter and chocolate bark after the chocolate ice cream is done processing. (This is usually how I do it!)

6. Transfer to a lidded container and chill in the freezer for an hour or so before serving. Or enjoy immediately as soft serve. The point is, enjoy!

Suggested variations:

- Omit the peanut butter for a super-rich chocolate ice cream.

- Double the peanut butter for an extra-salty treat.

- Set a little extra peanut butter aside to make toppings for the ice cream; e.g., use little balls of rolled peanut butter goodness in place of maraschino cherries!

- Shaved chocolate or vegan chocolate sprinkles also make for delicious decorations!

Stumbled upon the short film Traffic Warden while surfing the youtubes this afternoon. Shared for those of you who like fishes, Doctor Who, random acts of kindness, whimsy, and/or water fountain kissing.

Me? All of the above!

* Don’t forget to be awesome! (Read the comments!)

Chocolate banana ice cream, no ice cream machine required! Like the banana bread soft serve I made on Ralphie’s adoption day, this version is based on another one of my favorite recipes: the Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from the PPK. The optional almond extract, when paired with the decadent double chocolate, really makes these cookies shine. But not so much here; I wasn’t all that thrilled with the almond flavor next to the strong taste of bananas. To temper it I tossed in a little allspice – which is really starting to grow on me! – and it saved the day! Probably next time I’ll omit the almond extract altogether and just stick with allspice. Cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and ginger might all work well in this recipe, too!

Anyway, try it and be your own decider person!

 
Choco-Almond Banana Soft Serve Ice Cream

Inspired by hipsterfood’s two-ingredient ice cream.

Makes one large serving.

Ingredients

2 overripe bananas, sliced and frozen
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (2 teaspoons if omitting the almond extract)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
a handful of chocolate chips (chocolate bark) and/or almonds (optional)

Directions

Combine the bananas, cocoa powder, vanilla, almond extract, chocolate bark and almonds in a food processor and mix until smoothly blended. Try not to overprocess the batter, as this can result in soupy ice cream. If the soft serve is too much on the soft side, transfer it to a covered container and store in the freezer for an hour or until it’s thickened up a bit.

Enjoy: immediately! often! for breakfast, lunch or dinner! with omnivores! for an audience! but not with dogs, cause chocolate isn’t kind to them, yo! (share this recipe with your canine friends instead!)