vegansaurus!

Holy cute-balls, Batman, Switzerland rules! Apparently they have a LAW saying that, because guinea pigs are social creatures, you are full-on NOT ALLOWED to keep one alone. NO LONELY GUINEA PIGS.

But what if your penultimate guinea pigs dies, g-d forbid? Suddenly you’re a law-breaking scumbag, and the only solution is to acquire a new guinea pig you may or may not want. Woe!

But wait! Priska Küng to the rescue! This lady has 80 little guinea-critters of her own, and for the low fee of around $55, she’ll let you borrow one for as long as you want! Then you can give it back to her and she’ll give you back half your money! No longer are the poor Swiss citizens locked in an endless cycle of guinea pig adoption!

“It’s important that none of the rental guinea pigs just keep getting passed on,” Küng told der Spiegel. “If an animal has been hired out once, it either stays with me for the rest of its life or it moves somewhere else for good.”

[Top photo: Tequila, Jacky, and Campari by photon_de, second photo by WOAW, via Flickr. Story via Kristina Bjoran]

[P.S. Have you bought your super-sexy Vegansaurus shirt yet? They’re going fast!]

I know I’m a little late reporting but I just have to put in a good word for this online shop, Compassion Couture. It’s adorbs. It was started by two sisters who I’m guessing are adorbs too. They don’t have a ton of stuff but it’s well curated so what they do have is dope. I’m into these Olsen Haus shoes. I couldn’t wear them because I get cranky if the heels are over two inches. But if you wear them, I’ll totally hit on you.

Of course we all know Olsen Haus but they also have some brands I’ve never seen, especially in the purse department. Have you guys heard of Dialog? Well I hadn’t. Kind of wacky but I’m into it. They also have those Reveal iPad cases that I want! Why does no one think I’m important enough to have an iPad? Damn it! I need one! Angry Birds is so tiny on my iPhone!

[P.S. Have you bought your super-sexy Vegansaurus shirt yet? They’re going fast!]

HOLY CRAP, THEY’RE HERE! We’re (obviously) very excited to announce that we’re selling our first ever Vegansaurus shirts! I’ll copy and paste the info from our shirts! page below, but we’re selling a limited quantity and only through Friday, Oct. 14 (that’s only TWO WEEKS!) so you should probably get up on this as soon as you get paid. Arg! I cannot tell you how excited/proud we are that you’ll hopefully be sensually sporting these all over town. 

Here’s how it’ll work:

1) You choose your favorite size and style of shirt(s). There’s either mens/unisex (s-xxxl) or fitted lady (s-xl).
2) You let us know your shirt style selection when you pay. There are two ways to do that! Either via the Amazon button on the shirts page. So easy, the future! Or, you can use PayPal—just send $25 to laura AT vegansaurus DOT com!
3) Once we shut down ordering, we’ll get to printing (silk-screened right here in San Francisco by vegan artists The Lords of Print)! Then we’ll get to shipping! So it’ll take about a month to get your shirt but then you will be so sexy! 

From the shirts! page:
The official Vegansaurus t-shirt has landed from planet Great Stuff! It’s the pink dino (designed by Jonas Madden-Connor) in sexy silhouette. So sexy, so you. Limited time, limited quantity, fully awesome.

The shirt is printed on non-sweatshoppy shirts right here in San Francisco by vegan artists, The Lords of Print. It’s $25, which includes shipping (!!!) in the United States (email us if you live somewhere exotic and fresh and we’ll work it out), and 30 percent of the profits from each sale goes to the wonderful Harvest Home Sanctuary. The rest of the money will be reinvested into future Vegansaurus artistic endeavors (we’ve got big plans!). And maybe we’ll buy some cupcakes or illegal fireworks or something else really great.

About the actual shirts: They’re Alternative Apparel basic tee in asphalt grey in either mens/unisex (s-xxxl) or fitted lady (s-xl) so you know they’re 1) hella cute and 2) not sewn from children’s tears and/or Dov Charney’s penis’ ego.

Order before Friday, Oct. 14 and give pink dino shirts to everyone you know for the holidays. Hell, if your family is used to getting copies of Meet Your Meat, this gift is a step toward re-kindling relationships!

Finally, I like to pretend the above animated .gif is of the same person, first slouching and then, BAM: boobs a-popping. Fun!

This is basically copied from my post at SF Weekly but TIME IS MONEY and we’ve got a very big announcement in just a minute(ish) so deal with it! Okay so, the 12th Annual World Vegetarian Festival at the San Francisco County Fair Building on THIS Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1 & 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. It’s $8 suggested donation, but free if you’re a student/senior/have any disabilities, were born on a Tuesday, etc. 

Gather round, ye hippies and bleeding hearts, it’s time for the World Vegetarian Fest! Actually, it’s also for people who like to gorge themselves on deliciousness, because there will be samples galore, including OCD’s Caramel ‘Not’ Corn, the official treat selection of the Academy Awards. Yes, you too can dine on the same thing that George Clooney will be stuffing into his gorgeous maw. And you can do it months and months before that asshole. You’re the real winner! Also, we LOVE OCD Sweets and with one taste, you will, too. AND we have a very exciting announcement that may or may not involve one of us (me) attending an enormous awards show (the motherfucking oscars) with the lovely Melodi of OCD Sweets as her bodyguard/vegan press. I will interview and make love on so many famous people, I’ll probably be arrested. So excited!

Now, please stare at some of OCD’s Caramel ‘Not’ Corn (MADE WITH MARSHMALLOWS AND INDIA PALE ALE) and imagine how much of it you’ll be stuffing down your gullet this weekend:

[Picture by the lovely and talented Tamara Palmer!] 

OMG is right. Our dear reader Tim alerted me to this like 80 months ago and I’m like, Tim! You can’t tell me about things 80 months in advance! Because I forget! But! I actually remembered. Hopefully there are still tickets left. “Tickets for what?” you ask? A vegan pizza bus tour! 

Apparently, October is pizza month. Scott’s Pizza Tours is celebrating in style every Saturday! And first up is this vegan pizza tour: 

October 1 - Learning to Love Your Vegan

Visit pizzerias that will satisfy both vegans and the omnivores alike. Just leave the leather jacket at home. 
Purchase Tickets

Where they are going, I do not know. I’m guessing they are going places that have vegan pizza. That’s what I would do. 

Tim adds: “if I had to guess, I would say it’s probably going to be the dopemobile. I took a spin on the Scott’s Pizza tour bus (a while back in pre-vegan days) and it’s probably the best pizza-centric experience I’ve had since I was 8 and I learned you can even make pizza AT HOME!” He also says Scott is super nice. So, in the words of Spike Lee, get on the bus!

That crazy bro who’s coming to get you is not your regular psycho, that’s Roger Feely, the madman genius behind Soul Cocina! His meals were the best but then he moved to Chicago and we were all sad BUT NOW he’s back for a one night only( Thursday, October 6th) delicious feast of magic! And you’re invited! I mean, for money, but still. 

The entire mega-meal is vegan, or you can add stupid meat for extra money. It makes me happy that the vegan selection is cheaper than the meat meaty death one. That’s how that shit should be, and so often isn’t. So kudos to Soul Cocina and for doing it up right. And kudos to Roger for posing for and publishing that crazy-ass picture. 

Get your tickets now because this is (again) one night only and that means SOLD THE FUCK OUT. 

[Scoop & pic via the Feast!]

This is big-ish news for the vegan fatties of San Francisco. Via Tablehopper, which I will copy and paste below:

 There’s also a cart from Portland that has now made its way to the 415, the ~TREATMACHINE~, which the owner tells me is “a made-from-scratch vegan taco moped food cart (it’s a trike).” Look for $2 vegan tacos, featuring handmade tortillas, avocado, mango, yam, plantain, homemade sauces, and black beans. Follow its whereabouts in the Mission on Twitter.

Sounds good! I’ll happily play Sloppy Seconds to Portland for a delicious vegan taco. It looks like TREATMachine is mainly selling it on the corner of 19th and Valencia streets, and you can find out their exact schedule via Twitter. And, uh, if you show up and they’re not there, you can get vegan tacos in about 15 places within a block, so no skin off your back. TACOS TACOS TACOS.

Here’s what the thing looks like, in case you’re wondering (or wandering the streets looking for it. I don’t know, ignore me.):

Why all the ginger hate? Growing up, I had crushes on the ruddy-haired boys in my grade. I used to dream of being a redhead myself, even going so far as to dye my hair red in high school (bad choice) and again in college (even redder, even worse choice). Thus I cannot understand why even seals cannot tolerate this hue: A pod shunned its own pup because he was born with reddish-brown fur and blue eyes.

Look at those peepers! And they can’t see you because he’s mostly blind! Poor guy’s got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one! Anyway, he was adopted by a human much nicer than those jerkface seals who spawned him. It’s unlikely he’ll have as much success being reintegrated with his family as the featherless penguin, but at least he’ll have someone who loves him! And a Twitter account, which *ahem* is following moi. Seriously, though, what’s up with ginger hate? Anyone?? [Photo credit: Caters News Agency]

This is how I’ve felt for the past week. I pretty much had the plague, yo, but today I finally left the house after about a week in seclusion and had no excuse not to write another edition of Ask a Vegansaur.

Lenore asks: My vet told me that unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores and cannot survive or be healthy on a vegan diet. Do you know if this is true? Do most vegans who have cats feed them a vegan diet? Thank you.

Thank YOU, Lenore, for being so polite! This is a controversial subject. For my part, I feed my cat a very fishy diet because that’s precisely what our veterinarian said. Every vegan I know who provides for a cat does the same. According to some sources, a vegetarian or vegan diet fails to provide the nutrients cats need while the makers of vegan cat foods tend to disagree. Interests on the food companies’ side are obvious, and only anecdotal evidence supports the hypothesis that cats can be healthy on veg diets. I suggest following your vet’s instructions to keep your kitty healthy. Although the process of making carnivorous cat food is no better than that of harvesting meat for human consumption, once you sign on to take care of another animal, he or she should be your priority above the other animals in the world. Not to say that anyone should ignore them, but I think you get the point. On the other hand, dogs can be vegetarian, and rabbits, guinea pigs, and the like are veg by nature. If you’re considering adopting a furbaby but don’t want to feed him or her meat, consider these choices.

Nicole asks: I recently transitioned from vegetarian to vegan. I am having trouble finding products other than food that are vegan (i.e., makeup, chapstick, body/face washes) and was wondering if you could lend me a hand? Thanks!

Sure thing, Nicole! Here’s a list of companies that don’t test on animals, and here’s a list of companies that do. Looking for a specific company? Use this tool to search for it. If you’re not sure, take a gander at the list of ingredients on your current products. Watch out for these ingredients. Does that seem overwhelming? Take a deep breath! You’ll be fine! You’re just starting, so you’ll get more practice in identifying vegan and non-vegan items as time goes on. Beauty tip: Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One soap works for my shower, cleaning, and even (in a pinch) toothbrushing needs, and Tom’s of Maine makes good toothpaste and deodorant. Finally, How It All Vegan! contains a variety of recipes for homemade cruelty-free beauty products.

Amanda asks: I think I accidentally ate meat at a restaurant outside of the U.S. Am I still a vegetarian?

Only if you want to be! Seriously, people should not be punished for true accidents — that is, incidents that result from no fault of their own. You’re away from home, and you’re starving. You do your best to ask what’s in your food, but the local language might not be your native one. You take a bite, you’re not sure, you eat it anyway because it’s food and it’s there. I can’t hate on you for that. Even the purest, most perfect vegans make mistakes. How you recover from them is most important.

Want to Ask a Vegansaur a question? Email me, and try not to be a jerk!

[Photo credit: Rex Features]

Who else wants to work at Vegetarian Times?

“This year, VT staffers spent many an afternoon sipping, slurping, and nibbling our way down the aisles, sampling foods and ingredients old and new. We then nominated 114 products in 26 categories for our annual Foodie Awards, and asked you, our readers, to choose your favorites.”

Nice gig, right? (Full disclosure: I actually do work for the same company that owns the mag, but I ain’t getting awesome food at work.)

Bottom line: VT has a big ol’ list of fancy food for you to blow your savings on. The only bummer, besides the ridiculousness of some of the categories, is that a lot of the choices aren’t vegan. Sigh.

Some highlights:

• Finishing Salts (wtf?): Himalania Himalayan Pink Salt ”Mineral-rich salt that’s almost too pretty to eat.” No seriously though - why?
• Rooibos Teas (why just rooibos? Because it’s snobbier and fancier?): The Republic of Tea Natural Organic Raw Green Bush Tea ”Minimally processed to preserve antioxidants and impart delicate, grassy flavor.” Mmm, grass.
• Soft cheeses: Galaxy’s new vegan cream cheese and Tofutti cream cheese are 2 runners up, go vegans! 
• Stocks & Broths (because that’s an actually useful category): Pacific Organic Mushroom Broth “Earthy flavor booster for risottos, soups, and stews.”

Peruse at your leisure, then make a spendy shopping list. Prize goes to anyone who makes/imagines a meal using all the (vegan) winners!

The September installment of SF vegan drinks has been announced! You will be there on the 29, right? Cause Sarah M. Smart and I like to go to each table and introduce ourselves/make friends with everyone there. Actually, she is much better at it than me. I went back to our table after meeting about three people. It’s just so strenuous!

As usual, it’s at Martuni’s (corner of Market and Valencia). The veg drink special will be Pirate Punch — what it contains I cannot tell you, but there is not a doubt in my mind that it will be delicious. AND STRONG. Now you know why I keep going back.
See you there!

There’s a new dougnut (donut?) shop in Sacramento. It’s called Doughbot and they have many vegan varieties! Woohoo! They specialize in crazy flavors that people lose their shit for. Like, you know how regular ice cream tastes delicious and everyone is like, “Ice cream, woo!” and then Humphrey Slocombe and Bi-Rite Creamery opened up and started putting shit like old batteries and blood pudding in ice cream and everyone was all, “ICE CREAM GIVE IT TO ME I WILL WAIT IN LINE FOR SEVEN DAYS FOR A SCOOP OF VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH CORN FLAKES AND HOBO URINE IT’S SO PRECIOUS AND UNIQUE.”

Remember that!? Doughbot is bringing the nutso flavors and lucky for us vegans, we can eat lots of them. Since I’m a spoiled American who is tired of stupid old vanilla and chocolate and must have all sorts of shit stuffed into everything I eat, I’ll probably indulge in the bood orange glazed and Mounds of Joy varieties because they sound fucking delicioso. Anyone been? Can you confirm or deny?

Other than that, check out their super cute splash page and logo:

You can follow them on Twitter for constant doughnut updates. Don’t mind if I do! Sacramento, I ain’t mad at you!

I’m really sorry you’re not me right now, because I’m eating this amazing bread AS I TYPE and you just get to look at a photo of it. And then make your own.

I’ve been on a bread-baking kick lately because I’m both cheap and domestic. It makes the house smell so good! And everyone is so impressed with you! Your friends and family will love you more and maybe not kick you out.

For today’s bread, I adapted a super-non-vegan recipe and you know what, fuck those guys, the vegan version rocks. It’s chewy, a little sweet, has a great texture, and in the hour since it’s cooled I’ve eaten half a loaf.

I am blessed with a KitchenAid mixer that I let do all the hard work for me, but you could make this without one, you’d just have to feel a bit more like a kitchen wench.

Oatmeal “honey” bread
makes 2ish loaves

Ingredients
5 to 6 1/2 cups flour (I used bread flour, but all-purpose would be fine)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp. salt
2 (1/4 oz.) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup honey substitute (I used Bee Free Honee made from apples, review of that product coming eventually but let me say it worked great in this bread)
1/2 cup Earth Balance
replacement for 2 eggs (I used 1 Tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbsp. warm water; flax seeds and water would probably work great too)
1 Tbsp. soymilk
oat meal

Instructions
Mix 5 cups flour, oats, salt, and yeast in a bowl. In a small saucepan, combine water, honey-alternative, and Earth Balance. Heat to 120°F to 130°F (right when it starts getting steamy). Slowly add warm liquids to flour mixture, mixing for about 1 minute on speed 2 of your mixer, or until blended if you’re a sucker mixing by hand. Add egg substitute; mix an additional 1 minute.

Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough clings to hook (spoon) and cleans sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. I only needed a little more flour for this. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. 


Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf by rolling it out flat on a cutting board with a rolling pin, then rolling it up into a cylinder like a jelly roll. Place each loaf into a greased bread pan (8.5” x 4.5” x 2.5”, or whatever you have really). Cover; let rise in warm place till doubled, about an hour.


Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush tops of loaves with soymilk. Sprinkle with oat meal. Bake 40 minutes, until browned and hollow-sounding when you rap on them.

Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. THEN EAT UNTIL YOU PUKE, OM NOM NOM NOM NOM.

Cara from hipsterfood (we love them!) started a community vegan online magazine called Chickpea (GOOD NAME) and their first issue just released yesterday. It’s really pretty, with some great looking food photos and recipes, which is not surprising because hipsterfood is so fucking cute and delicious! It’s also free, so no skin off your back to check it out, Scrooge McDuck. There’s more than recipes, too. We’re so lucky! Fall product guides, vegan journey stories, how to pack your own vegan lunch, and other really fantastic stuff that will cause you to read it instead of doing stupid work.

So, that makes two vegan online mags that I know of, this and T.O.F.U., right? Are there more? If so, let me know so I can read them all immediately. Well, right after I watch Community and Parks & Rec and the entire second season of Breaking Bad again. Also, I gotta clean the kitchen and do some Kettle Bell exercises (SEXY) but RIGHT AFTER THAT. And in conclusion, make me this from Chickpea’s first issue: