flashback: bake sale

Well, the temperatures are still cool and the heater is still on (*drats*) so I figured I might as well do a flashback post. Back in February, I decided to do a little baking to contribute to a bake sale being held by SARO- the Syracuse Animal Rights Organization. I don't do a lot of high-volume baking, so this was a good learning experience.

First, it was time once and for all to address the frosting issue that I've had. Does the above look familiar to you? This is a cupcake that I baked back in the Fall of 2006. I always have a vision of the picture-perfect cupcake with a perfect dollop of frosting on the top, but even after using my biggest pastry tip, the results always looked a bit more like toothpaste!

Sensing my frustration, Daiku went to the kitchen supply store and found the most ridiculously large pastry tip he could find and brought it back home. At first, I was a little skeptical- the thing was huge! But guess what- I finally got the perfect-looking frosting mound that I'd always dreamed of!

Here are some of the baked goods cooling- I baked several miniature banana bread loaves and several batches of cupcakes. To keep things simple, I stuck to straight-forward and tried-and-tested recipes- vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. Someone left a comment here once asking me about my cooling rack- yes, it's just a kitchen rack that usually stores produce, but I often use it for the purpose of cooling baked goods. I don't have enough surface area in my kitchen for cooling racks otherwise!

Another thing I don't have enough room for- cool cupcake transportation contraptions. But these roasting pans from the supermarket did a great job- the plastic tops were high enough to not disturb the frosting. I finished baking and decorating late at night and ran the finished results over on a cold and snowy night. I wish the snow was a distant memory, but it's not. Afterwards, SARO told me that the goodies were snapped up at the bake sale- success!

Ok, now that I have your attention with some goodies, could I please ask you to visit SARO's webpage? They do a lot of really good work on behalf of animals and it would be great if some of their campaigns could be publicized, especially for those of you with connections to Upstate New York. One issue that is especially pressing right now is an adoption drive for a large number of rescued laboratory rats down in the Philadelphia area. Any of these rats that don't find homes by late June will be euthanized with carbon monoxide.

rats for adoption- please help!

Aren't they adorable? Is the little guy on the right giggling?? They've already overcome one hurdle by getting to leave their lab rat days behind- now they need good homes to go to. If you or anyone you know is looking to adopt a cute new pet, please consider these rats. Thank you!

flashback: bake sale

quite timely, actually

Ok, so in my last post I talked about how long it often takes me to try recipes, right? Well I take it back- today I bring you a case of a recipe that looked too good to delay making. And I am so glad we got to eat this!

Tofu Mom posted her recipe for tofu fish on her blog, and I made it and ate it on Wednesday. I needed a quick lunch because I was running off to class, and realized that I had all the ingredients called for, with a few exceptions. I replaced the almonds with an almond/pine nut/pepita mixture from Trader Joe's, used furikake (a mixture of nori strips, sesame seeds, salt, and sugar) instead of the kelp granules, oat bran and flax meal instead of wheat germ, panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) instead of cornflakes, and lime instead of lemon. These changes did not make any real difference to the awesomeness of this recipe, though! These tofu fish fillets were a breeze to whip up (adding lemon/lime juice to the soymilk is ingenious, because in addition to adding flavor, the acid thickens up the soymilk, thus making it coat the tofu very well, key for breading) and fry in the cast iron skillet. We ate these with some rice and a side salad- so tasty! Trust me, make these as soon as you can, you don't want to wait on this one!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and Daiku and I celebrated by giving our love to ducks. Specifically, ducks whose tortured lives are given to the production of fois gras. These poor ducks are overfed by having metal rods shoved down their throats, to the extent that their livers expand under the weight of too much food. These diseased livers are the delicacy known as fois gras - 900 calories (per 1/2 cup serving) of cruelty. Fois gras is so beyond the realm of comprehension- and many people agree. Its production and sale are banned in several countries (including many that border France, where it originated), the state of California, and several cities including Chicago. In addition, many more cities are currently considering banning it, including Philadelphia and New York.

The Syracuse Animal Rights Organization decided to picket L'Adour, the only restaurant in Syracuse that still serves fois gras. Hundreds of restaurants, including ones run by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck have signed a pledge to stop serving fois gras, and we want L'Adour to follow suit.

Won't you consider writing L'Adour and letting them know your feelings about fois gras, the cruelty inherent in its production, and the folly of its consumption? You don't have to be vegetarian to be repulsed by this kind of culinary ignorance.

Attn: Yann Guigné and Alexia Falcone, chefs
L'Adour Restaurant
110 Montgomery St
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 475-7653

quite timely, actually

Buy Nothing Day!

I have always liked Thanksgiving, ever since I was a kid. When we first moved to the U.S. and I got a 4-day weekend for the holiday, I thought that was the best thing. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, on that Saturday night, "wow! I've been out of school for three days already and there is a whole other day off left- this holiday rules!" I have a lot of traditions that I maintain for Thanksgiving, some old, and some new. In this post, I want to share some of these traditions with you.

The first is Buy Nothing Day, brought to you by the fine folks at Adbusters. Basically, this event, now in its 15th year, is a way to give the tradition of "Black Friday" a big fat finger. I don't know about you, but the increasing media attention paid every year to throngs of people rushing to the shops the day after Thanksgiving gives me the serious creeps. When did we become lemmings, completely internalizing the idea that we have to wake up early and hit the shops on this day?

And when you think about it, one of the biggest aspects of veganism is a rejection of overconsumption. It's not good to eat without a thought to the impact of your food on the environment, just like it's not good to buy, without a thought to the impact of commercialization and just plain stuff on our mental and physical environment.

What if the corporations threw this pathetic party and nobody went? What if we all decided that the Friday after Thanksgiving was a day for relaxing? exercising? spending time with friends or loved ones? volunteering? doing schoolwork? meditating? participating in activism? making art? knitting? organizing? grooming our pets? making out? raking leaves? sleeping? fixing our bikes? winter-proofing our homes? backing up our files? mending our socks? planting bulbs? writing letters? calling old friends? giving someone a hand? cutting up credit cards?

Daiku and I have been participating in Buy Nothing Day for longer than I can remember- at least 6 or 7 years. I can honestly say that I haven't bought anything on the Friday after Thanksgiving - not a pack of gum, not a piece of fruit, not a used book on Amazon.com - nor have I gone window-shopping - physically or on-line - in all this time, and it rocks! When you don't participate in an event, you get a really good vantage point from which to observe it, and frankly see the insanity in the whole thing. So, check out the BND and Adbusters websites, see if there's an organized event taking place near you to celebrate this event. Find something fun to do this Friday, something that doesn't involve consumption - of anything except Thanksgiving leftovers.

Ahem. So allow me to climb onto my soapbox for just a moment... Brothers and sisters unite! You have nothing to lose but your tired feet from rushing mall-goers stepping on your toes, and your credit card debts! Are you with me?? Buy nothing this Friday!

Whisper as a baby (top left) and all grown-up at Farm Sanctuary in July 2007

The second tradition is the idea of adopting a turkey from Farm Sanctuary instead of eating one. As many of you know, we adopted Whisper last Thanksgiving (we got word the day before the holiday that the adoption had gone through!), and were lucky enough to get to visit her this past summer. She is gorgeous, and our dinner table on Thursday won't be complete without her photo. You can go to http://www.adoptaturkey.org/adopt.htm to find out more about adopting a turkey yourself - it only costs $20! It is such a life-affirming, satisfying thing to do, and much like Buy Nothing Day, it is a great way to just say no to an unappealing aspect of the holiday. (By the way, you can adopt animals all year along, costs vary from $10/month for chickens and $15/month for turkeys, all the way up to over $100/month for a larger animal like a sheep or a cow - look into it if you have been looking for a good charitable cause!)

The final tradition, one that we started seriously paying attention to last year, was the idea of a local Thanksgiving Feast. As some of you might remember, I participated in Treehugger.com's 100-mile Thanksgiving Contest - and won! How cool that a vegan meal placed first, right? But even better was learning how easy it is to discover wonderful sources of food right in my own backyard- I still get food from some of the same producers and farmers that I discovered in designing a 100-mile Thanksgiving meal last year. This year, as you plan your meal, pay close attention to where your ingredients are coming from, and try to be as local and seasonal as you can- your food will taste more delicious that way, anyway!

Here's our local Thanksgiving entry to Treehugger.com last year
Here's last year's Thanksgiving meal post
And here's our other Thanksgiving meal from last year
Here's the post about adopting Whisper
Here's last year's Buy Nothing Day post

I'll post our Thanksgiving Menu tomorrow. Wow- we're VeganMoFo-ing right along! I've never posted this many times in a month- and there's a way to go! I don't even know if anyone will be reading blogs on Thanksgiving, but I will post and we will see!

Buy Nothing Day!

...in which the New Yorker helps me write about Thanksgiving

November 19, 2007 issue of The New Yorker magazine

It's so fitting that VeganMoFo should fall in November, because Thanksgiving, as it's celebrated in North America, is such a significant holiday in the lives of most vegans. Love it or hate it, celebrate it alone, with friends, or family, embrace or boycott it, you are nevertheless reacting to it on some level. After the positive reaction to Nipplegate 2007™ , I bring you my meditations on Thanksgiving, helped out completely by the latest copy of the New Yorker. The entire issue was like one big pot of faux chicken soup for the vegan's soul- nourishing, thought-provoking, full of morsels to chew on. Shall we? (Click on photos to see bigger versions with clearer text)

This ad greets you on the inside of the front cover. I normally would have overlooked it, since I try to avoid all Thanksgiving ads, especially those featuring turkey, but something caught my eye. The "turkey" was unnaturally bright and shiny. Upon closer inspection, one learns that the hostess says "it was my first tofurkey and I wanted it to be just right."

Wait, wait. Let's just pause right there. Why is there this huge cultural misconception that vegans and vegetarians eat A HUGE BLOCK OF TOFU IN THE SHAPE OF A TURKEY for Thanksgiving?? Ok, ok, I'll admit, the name "tofurky" is a bit misleading. So as a public service, I want to show everyone not familiar with it what an actual Tofurky looks like:

photo courtesy of http://www.tofurky.com/

See, it's a roast-shaped thing. And while it does contain tofu, it also contains wheat gluten (seitan), beans, vegetables, and a host of other ingredients. And no, all vegans don't eat this for the big day- take me, for instance- I've never (gasp!) tried it!

Back to the ad- the weird turkey-like substance aside, it's a good sentiment, right?

Reading the copy on the next page, we note that it's a Citibank ad with the phrase "All the trimmings All in the family" intended to give you the warm fuzzies. The ad reads, "Well, my son Jack went and married a vegetarian. So I grabbed my Citi card and went to the store. I picked up the old favorites like cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, and turnips. (Bazu says: "yay!") As well as 15 pounds of 'turkey' tofu. (Bazu says: "sigh.") The dinner was a hit. Alice knows she's already more like a daughter than an in-law. And all aroud, our family was feeling a lot of love. (Bazu says "awwww. I don't care that you're a big bad corporation. I love the fantasy of an in-law that would serve 'turkey tofu' for Thanksgiving, whatever that imaginary thing is.)

But wait! It goes on!

"... My husband Steve especially loved that I made a small turkey for him to eat later." (Bazu says: "D'OH! Fooled by the corporate machine again!")

Later in the magazine, there is a review of the book "My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals" in which the author asked chefs to describe their fantasy meals. The article mentioned that truffles of all sorts figured prominently in the chefs' responses, as well as foie gras. (Bazu: :'-( ) So it was a little life affirming to read Tyler Florence's response, pictured above. "No frou-frou French. No snout-to-tail. No fucking foie gras." (Bazu: yayyyy! down with foie gras! I never thought I'd say anything positive about Tyler Florence!)

Thankfully, the article touches on the rather macabre underpinnings about such a question about a "final" meal- the implicit understanding that your final meal precedes your death. I think the connection between not just food and life, but food and death is something that is too often glossed over.

Which is why the above quote, by a scholar of the death penalty, is really thought-provoking. As you know, inmates on death row are allowed to order whatever food they want before they die. "The taking of a human life is too daunting a prospect to accept on its own, so we surround it with a lot of ritual." I am most decidedly against the death penalty, and arcane rituals like the last meal really horrify me, the way that the condemned is given a last hurrah before being brutally put to death. ...Which in my vegan mind is a short leap to the horrible rituals against the killing and eating of animals. We do all kinds of things to turn our faces collectively against the death that is contained in the consuming of flesh, just as we do our best to shroud the killing of humans behind closed doors and intricate rituals, bringing together food, law, religion, and the state in an awkward dance.

Which leads us to this cartoon, also in this latest issue of the New Yorker. (I told you the issue was a cornucopia of potential veganica, didn't I?)

Here we have a turkey with a sad and resigned look on her or his face, strapped down to a gurney. The farmer, a blank expression on his face, holds up a needle, and we are meant to infer that this turkey is about to receive a lethal injection, akin to how the vast majority of executions in this country are carried out. The cartoon most likely is meant to be a "lighthearted" play on the fact that millions of turkeys are on death row this month, awaiting execution. (Not for any crime they committed, it should be added.) But it is hard for a viewer to find the image of this turkey, splayed as if on a crucifix, all that funny. The fact that the syringe filled with poison could just as easily be the syringe with which so many will be "injecting flavor" into their sacrificial turkeys this coming Thursday underscores this uneasy connection between Thanksgiving and death. The death of the Native Americans that was precipitated by the coming of the Pilgrims to this continent. The death of millions of slaves on the backs of whom this country was founded. The death of the animals on whom we feed. The death of those who are put to death, but not before being offered one last fancy meal. You know, the fancy meals that don't mean anything because the person feeding you is about to kill you? Kind of like those meals that farm animals, especially those raised "humanely" get up to the moment they are led to the chopping block or the slaughterhouse.

In the coming week, I'll be posting about Thanksgiving. I don't celebrate the holiday's history of death and carnage, both historical and contemporary. But I do plan to celebrate Thanksgiving as a meditation on food, and how the simple acts of eating and breaking bread can have such deep political, historical, and social implications. More to come.

...in which the New Yorker helps me write about Thanksgiving

Maxine's Mexican casserole

A few weeks ago, I heard about Maxine, a cow that escaped slaughter in Queens, New York, and made news because she was found running through the streets of the city. Fortunately, this cow's story had a happy ending- she was captured by animal control, and sent to live out her days in Farm Sanctuary. Like the other animals there, many of whom have similarly escaped slaughter, she reminds us that animals are sentient creatures and have a strong will to live. They don't want to die, period.

Since VeganMoFo in a lot of ways is about getting back to basics, I want to make sure I visit the "why vegan" issue. Veganism is great for health, great for the budget, great for the environment, great for learning to cook, hell, it's even done wonders for my skin. But the real reason that I went vegan is because of animals like Maxine. One look in any animal's eye, one day spent with any animal, is enough proof that they don't want to be your dinner. They don't care if they're grass-fed, open-pasture, super duper happy humanely raised animals. They still don't want to be your dinner.

Today I saw this video about Maxine on the Luminous Vegans blog. It literally made me cry. This is the reason for going veg. This is the reason for VeganMoFo.



Of course because it's VeganMoFo, I will tie this back to food. Here's a dish that could easily have beef in it. But it can just as easily have no beef (or dairy, or any other animal products) in it. The taste is there, the texture, the nutrition, the looks. Why eat beef when you just plain don't have to?

Maxine's Mexican Casserole

serves 4 (I am not going to give a recipe with exact measurements, because this is flexible and actually a great way to use up what you have or what you prefer, so just mix it up as you see fit)

Take:

• a bunch of corn tortillas (even better if they're stale, because smothering and baking them makes them delicious)
• some leftover tomato sauce or enchilada sauce or any red sauce. or green sauce. just sauce, ok? (we used leftover pasta sauce, the flavor was just fine)
  
• a bunch of black beans, or whatever beans you have in your kitchen
• a bunch of tofu, tofu feta, tofu ricotta, or whatever seasoned tofu crumbles you have
• some lightly steamed kale (or any greens, perhaps leftovers from last night's dinner?)
• some chopped onions or scallions
• other assorted goodies- we used pickled jalapenos, but you can use olives, corn, whatever sounds good for some added crunch and flavor
  
• some hot sauce and/or chili paste
• some seasonings- we used cumin, coriander, oregano, black pepper, chili powder, and dried jalapeno pieces

Then get to work layering them in a small, deep casserole dish while your oven pre-heats to 375 degrees. (Our dish was about 6 or 7 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep)
Start with the tortillas, then layer in beans, sauce, and greens to your liking. We made about 4 generous layers. Top your final layer with remaining tortillas, a bit of sauce, and some chunks of your tofu cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Take the foil off for the last 5-10 minutes to the the top nice and crunchy.
Serve topped with tofu sour cream or whatever you like.
Eat, and raise your glass in honor of Maxine and all of her brothers and sisters who weren't as lucky.

P.S. I'm working on downloading and sorting NYC photos - I'll post about my trip soon, I promise!

Maxine's Mexican casserole

a walk in Ithaca

On Sunday, we woke up with great excitement, looking forward to traveling to Ithaca for the Farm Sanctuary Walk for Farm Animals.

We signed in, grabbed our signs, and set off.

Just like last year, we were joined by this cow...

... and this chicken.

Unfortunately, our walk route did not go through the crowded Ithaca Commons mall, but that didn't matter.

We got to see cool stuff like this anyway.

It was a small group, but it felt good to walk around, hand out pamphlets, and have cars honk in support and passers-by join in. I noticed a few of the same participants from last year, especially some of the cute and enthusiastic kids.

Afterward, we headed to the ABC cafe for some brunch. Over a hot organic coffee (Daiku) and a homemade (and very strong) soy chai latte (me),

We listened to some folk music and waited for our food. (No, I promise you the guitar player is NOT flipping us the bird! He was really nice- and vegan too! He's just changing chords, ok?)

I ordered the tofu scramble with spinach, mushrooms, and red peppers with a side of home fries. Sometimes, I'm afraid to order tofu scramble, because it is not very good unless it is made really well, but this was made extraordinarily well. Lovely spices, lovely veggies, lovely flavor.

Daiku ordered one of the day's specials, vegan French toast. Again, we were afraid that it wouldn't live up to our snooty expectations, but it was excellent. Fluffy, sweet, with just a hint of cinnamon, and the little dishes of maple syrup and Earth Balance so you could add as little or as much as you want. The portions at the ABC were awesome and insane. Lovely!

The brunch was really enjoyable, and hit the spot after a long morning. On the way out, I snapped this photo- this is what I want to see in all restaurant kitchens- big boxes of vegan egg replacer!

We couldn't leave Ithaca without visiting my mothership, a.k.a. the Greenstar Co-op. Look at these local "crazy giant squash" on display! Aren't they beautiful? To give a sense of the size of the biggest ones, let me just tell you that the little green pumpkin in front was huge.

I love the market and picked up a whole bunch of fun bulk items to bring home, but I saw one thing that disappointed me a little. I'd never seen these Annie's brand bottles before. Don't you think it's in really bad taste to put a scallion-chewing cow on your "steak marinade" and cute little cows and chickens on your BBQ sauce? Blegh- I certainly wouldn't buy this, and Daiku gave his omni opinion that it was a total turn-off for him, too. Bad move, Annie's.

Restaurant Information: the ABC Cafe, 306 Stewart Ave., Ithaca, (607) 277-4770
Market Information: Greenstar Co-op, 701 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca, (607) 273-9392

Coming up soon, a post about an... interesting talk given by Alice Waters and Judy Wicks about their take on sustainable food reform and "revolution"...

One year ago today (almost): on 10 October 2006, I blogged about last year's Farm Sanctuary Walk!

a walk in Ithaca

2 days to go...

Thank you to everyone who has generously donated money and given support for my upcoming participation in Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals! The walk is coming up this Sunday (how time flies!), and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll report everything from Ithaca after the walk. The residents of Farm Sanctuary want to say "thank you" as well. Cheers!

2 days to go...

Walk for Farm Animals

Ithaca Walk for Farm Animals, October 2006

I can't believe it has already been a year since Daiku and I participated in Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals last October. Well, the time has come to register for this year's walk! In case you are interested, there are walks happening all over the country that you too can participate in. Click here to find the walk nearest you.

This year, I have created a fund-raising page with firstgiving.com, to allow me to raise even more money for my walk. You can see the firstgiving logo to the right on the blog's sidebar, or you can go directly to my page to donate here: http://www.firstgiving.com/bazu

Please consider donating to my walk, or participating in a walk of your own! Every dollar you donate is greatly appreciated by all the farm animals that Farm Sanctuary rescues and houses.

Thank you so much!

See my previous posts on the Walk here and here

More information on Farm Sanctuary: http://farmsanctuary.org/

One year ago today: What I was blogging about on 13 September 2006

Walk for Farm Animals

2 memes and 1 plea

A big thanks to Jackie from The Vegan Diet who bestowed the title "Creative Blogger" on me. This was totally unexpected, and I'm very thankful. Now I'm supposed to tag creative fellow bloggers. The two names that immediately come to mind are:

Peggy the Veggie (of Vegan Teen Cuisine) - this talented chef is literally half my age, and already more fearless with cooking than I am. Homemade injera, anyone?

Hannah (of BitterSweet) - I recently discovered this blog, and I love it! A double threat: talented crafter *and* talented cook- vegan meringue anyone?!

The next meme comes to me courtesy of Hannah herself:

Curious to learn more about me?

Here are the “official” rules:

# Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of your first or middle name.
# When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.
# At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.
# Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them ,they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
# If I’ve tagged YOU, please join in on the fun!

I think I will use "Bazu" because while it isn't my real name, it is a nickname and now a word I identify with deeply. So here goes...

B - Basic. Our family's first computer was a crazy Samsung. There wasn't much fun to be had on it, but you could listen to a song about... computer programming. Sung to the tune of "La Cucaracha" it went something like this: "La cucaracha, la cucaracha, Archie is a friend of mine. La cucaracha, la cucaracha, a finer friend you'll never find! If software bugs you, if software bugs you, you can give yourself a break. Use Structured Basic, use Structured Basic, do it right for heaven's sake!"

A - Anywhere. I want to travel, and there are a lot of places I want to visit, experience, and even live in. Anywhere means I'm not choosy- if you want to give me a ticket to Nigeria or Laos or Chile, or a place closer to home like Maine, I will not decline!

Z - Zanesville, Ohio. One of the scariest places I have ever spent the night. However, this also makes me think of my love of road trips and travel, and how it's worth it to stay in a few creepy places because of all the possibilities and discoveries that getting in a car without a map or a plan allow.

U - United Nations. Ever since I was very little, I've had a fascination with the U.N. My dad used to go to conferences there and bring me back t-shirts with the logo. If I could pick any fantasy career outside my chosen field, I would choose to work at the United Nations. I believe in the ideals that it represents, and that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the closest humanity's come to real justice. In a cool twist of fate, I ended up living right across the East River from the U.N. and got to look at it from my window every day for almost 2 years.

Bazu, 1984


View from Bazu's apartment, 2002 (The U.N. building is the flat blue one in the center)

For this meme I tag:

Emmie of VegBitch
Jackie of the Vegan Diet
Vegan_Noodle of Walking the Vegan Line
Veganista of Veganista

* * *

Finally, a plea. I went to see a talk by a wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator last night, and she said one of the biggest problems facing wildlife today is... house cats! She gave us a statistic that astounded me- how many birds do you think are killed by house cats in the United States every day?

(a) 2,300
(b) 23,000
(c) 230,000
(d) 2,300,000


If you guessed (d) 2.3 million birds a day, you are right! Isn't that horrible? The speaker said that cat owners are being urged to keep their cats indoors at all times. Not only does this save all those millions of birds from being needlessly tortured and killed, but it extends the life and health of our cats too.

Now before you say that it's "natural" for domestic cats to hunt and kill, consider that there is nothing natural about cats being kept as pets. They are safe, well-fed, and long-lived. They do not need to hunt to survive, and indeed, they don't really eat the birds and rodents they kill. To me, that argument is akin to saying that it's "natural" to milk cows. As vegans, we should know better than anyone that there is no "natural" when it comes to our interactions with animals, and that it is our responsibility to decrease suffering wherever we can. If you have a kitten or young cat, please train it to stay indoors. The little birdies will thank you!

P.S. Here is an added incentive. I don't know about other states, but in New York, there is a law on the books that says that any cat caught killing (or even stalking) a protected species can be put down! Now, obviously, this law isn't put into practice very often, but wouldn't it be horrible if this happened to your beloved kitty?

2 memes and 1 plea

We met Whisper!!

Some of you might remember Whisper, the Thanksgiving miracle turkey that we adopted back in the Fall. Well, we finally got to meet her at Farm Sanctuary this week! (Look how she's grown up, awww.)

Words can not express my love of this little bird and all of her companions that live here. So I'll just let pictures do most of the talking!

My favorite picture of Whisper and me. The turkeys love being rubbed under their wings. I really dig the blissed out expression on her face!

The turkeys were so playful and friendly on this day! You haven't lived until you've touched a turkey's wattle (the red fleshy skin under their neck). I was shocked at how incredibly soft it was- softer than a baby's finger!

This turkey is preening the way a male turkey would. The male turkey is kept separate from the female turkeys, and some of the female turkeys in turn take on male behaviors such as this.

And now, some animals other than turkeys that we got to meet and play with!

If you ever have the chance to visit a farm sanctuary, you should do it. There is something so profoundly peaceful about hanging out with calm, contented farm animals living a happy life. As vegans, we too often associate farm animals with the suffering that the majority of them go through, so it's nice to be able to see what is possible, in a better world.

Oh, and if you visit Farm Sanctuary, you better come visit me in Syracuse!

Last but not least, a vegan ice cream cone from Great Escape ice cream shop in Watkins Glen. This was the only vegan flavor left the day we went (black raspberry), but I didn't mind- it was super creamy and delicious.

To read about our last visit to Farm Sanctuary, click here.

P.S. A special thanks to Dan at Farm Sanctuary, who led us on a leisurely tour and made sure to know which one Whisper was, even though we showed up too late for regular tour hours!

We met Whisper!!