vegansaurus!

This is Emily (l) and Ruth, the two Asian elephants living at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Mass. They’re playing with their new toys, specifically designed by students in the Toys for Elephants class at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

The class has existed for two years, and was created in conjunction with Buttonwood Zoo Park’s director, Dr. William Langbauer, videographer Christen Goguen, and Vicki Croke. The history of the class, a video of the elephants, and a slideshow of these lovely ladies and their new toys are all at 90.9 WBUR’s site, and it’s all great!

As always, we don’t care for zoos as “places to display animals outside of their natural habits,” but they’re not as bad as they used to be (right?). Dr. Langbauer says, “One of our challenges is to give elephants the same sort of environment that they have in the wild…. They don’t need thousands of acres, they need enough room to be able to be together when they want to be together, and apart when they want to be apart.” That sounds reasonable.

We do love the idea of an artistic-scientific collaboration to keep Emily and Ruth sharp. Humans in retirement communities have activities for similar reasons! Not that we’re comparing elephants and the elderly, exactly (though Emily is 49 and Ruth is 54). The point is, if you’re a student at MassArt, you could make toys for elephants, and then see the elephants enjoy those toys, and that sounds pretty great. Plus the ellies look so happy! As long as they’re in a zoo, they might as well be happy.

[photo by Susan Hagner for WBUR]

And it looks amazing! If you’re anywhere near Madison, you gotta go. The speaker lineup is outstanding, we love the Pacific Northwest (psych, I know it’s the Pacific Midwest!), and the organizers are hilarious and adorable and really fun, so you know the event is gonna be great.

You know how with some events the organizers are out of touch and weirdo mcbeardo, and then the whole event is just you eating melba toast and being depressed about the general state of veganism and maybe crying in the corner? I KNOW YOU KNOW. Anyway, this is the exact opposite, so go! Seriously, if I could go to one event this year and weren’t dying of a cold/crippling depression/lack of snacks, I’d definitely go with you! Live for those who can’t! LIVE, I BEG OF YOU!

I am a big fan pasta dishes and marinara sauce. I am not a fan of eating lots of grains, including wheat, because they hurt my stomach. So when it comes to noodles, I often choose tofu-style! I’ve come up with some tricks to make them extra-super delectable, as they are a little strange right out of the packaging.

First of all, I drain the water and rinse them off. Then, in a pan, I sauté them up with garlic, salt, pepper and a few drizzles of olive or vegetable oil. This helps them firm up a little. Usually I will caramelize an onion too, but if it’s already in my sauce, I’ll skip that step. If I do sauté up an onion, I do that first, then add the pasta, garlic, seasonings. Once the pasta is in the pan, with or without onion, the cook time is about 10 minutes on medium to medium high heat.

Now what are you gonna make!? Last time I made these noodles, my roommate and I made a sauce by sauteing up chopped tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, more garlic, and kale! It was so good! Sometimes I’ll use them in my cheesy eggplant bake or to make macaroni and cheese with cashew cheddar sauce (minus the chili pepper).

In the dark ages, vegans pining for Nutella were sod out of luck (Note: I learned this phrase from watching Lip Service, the UK lesbian semi-vegan friendly—they drink tea! sooo vegan!— show now airing on Hulu and some British channel you’d likely get if you’d finally give in to your landlord’s offer to trade sexting for free sattelite TV).

Fashioned from ground hazelnuts, chocolate, and other evil animal-derived ingredients (yuck!), Nutella figured out a great flavor combo, and for that I am grateful. But this is 2012, and while oppressing animals was always awful and wrong, we’re super fortunate now to get to choose from a bevy of delicious, all-vegan chocolate-nut butter spreads.

The vegan chocolate nut butter market is indeed saturated with options. I’ve tried many of them: Artisana’s Cacao Bliss (which is pretty good, although quite coconut-y and rich!), Justin’s Chocolate Almond, Peanut and Hazelnut, Simple Food Chocolate Soy Nut Butter, Peanut Butter and Co.’s Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Dreams, and a few other companies and brands that weren’t thrilling enough to mention here.

While I have enjoyed several of the aforementioned varieties, the best and most healthful (in my humble opinion!) has always been Rawtella. Relatively new on the scene, Alex Malinsky and the Raw Guru team developed a coconut sugar-sweetened hazelnut butter confection that used the finest quality, ethically sourced raw cacao and lower-glycemic coconut sugar. The result was addictive spreadable bliss. Rawtella has spawned some new varieties, like Rawtella Mint, Rawtella Silk, Rawtella Coffee and Rawtella Crunch. They’re all great, but I recently completely fell in love with the newest Rawtella called “Rawmio,” features almonds instead of hazelnuts. Alex sent me a complimentary jar of Rawmio and I have to say, it’s absolutely my favorite chocolate nut butter on the market. At cold temperatures it’s a solid, and at warmer textures it’s creamy and luscious (isn’t chemistry amazing?!). You can warm it up and spread it on breads, biscuits, crackers, fruit, carrots, your partner, whatever. I even put some in my peach coconut smoothie the other day and wow, what a combo! Rawmio also makes a raw vegan hazelnut and fig chocolate bar that I highly recommend! Get Rawmio online and at health food stores nationwide.

This is Vegansaurus raw correspondent Sarah E. Brown’s latest post! Read more by Sarah on Vegansaurus, and visit her personal blog, Queer Vegan Food.

Pizza party, all the time! Well, at least on Sundays in the Mission. We got a tip from an Escape From New York Pizza employee that their Mission location serves vegan slices from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Get on it, their pizza is yum!

I live next to the Escape From New York in the Upper Haight and I would love to see this happen there, because when I want their Daiya cheese pie, I have to order a WHOLE ONE. The vegan slices at Whole Foods across the street always look kind of nasty, so I end up making a vegan pizza myself, or breaking down and ordering one from EFNY. Then I eat the entire thing because will power is not something I apply to in my life!

When I say “I live next to,” I mean “when I open my bedroom window, the breeze is pizza-scented.” This must be what heaven smells like.

Jo from EFNY in the Mission tells us that she is vegan, so she makes sure the vegan slices are made separately! Thanks for looking out Jo! You just made my life a little brighter. Let’s go get some slices! And beer! See you in Dolores park, hipsters.

Remember, it’s only on Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Mission Escape From New York at 3242 22nd St. (between Mission and Valencia).

Oh no! The Sacramento Press reports that Never Felt Better vegan shop is shutting down, as of yesterday, May 31. They just weren’t getting enough business. The owner says they’d probably have done better as a food shop. Apparently we vegans don’t love to buy animal-friendly goods as much as we love to eat.

They say they might consider relocating to the East Bay, which would be cool. Hopefully next time they’ll add something like a vegan soft serve machine or hot dog cart to lure us in, and then of course we’ll buy some lip balm or handbags or shirts or whatever, too. Plus, Sacramento! That’s just too far! It’s not totally over yet though, you can still buy stuff from their online store. Go do that to soothe your tears! 

Lots of blogs have regular reader challenges, but Vegansaurus rarely (NEVER) does, because we’re incredibly busy/lazy/busy being lazy and don’t have time for things like fancy cooking or travel or whatever. We have IRL jobs! And books to read in the sunshine!

Still, we know lots of you are go-getting action types, and most vegans are into self-betterment as a concept—what is a vegan lifestyle if not an attempt to be a better person—and we like it when you tell us about your vegan lives. We thought, why not try a reader challenge? We didn’t want it to be too expensive, or time-consuming, or super-annoying and impossible to start, because Vegansaurus rolls slowly and easily. Obviously it had to be food-related.

We all get into food ruts, especially during these lean years of low paychecks and high costs of living. I eat the same meals five, maybe six days a week. I must have gone through five pounds of quinoa and black beans in April, and I’ve been eating Dr. McDougall’s oatmeal packets nearly every morning since December. It’s cheap and convenient! But being vegan means inhabiting a world full of culinary possibilities, and although budget and time constrain our food choices, they don’t prevent us from being brave or creative.

What do you think? Should we all try a new food this month? It doesn’t matter what food group, how bizarre or mundane, as long as it’s never been in your mouth before June 2012, it counts. Record your results in the comments, or send me some proof. We’ll feature some of your more interesting foods in future posts, including some of our new foods. What if it turns out one of you has never tried waffles? Or edamame? Or sauerkraut? Once upon a time I had never had churchkhela!

Maybe it’s not a challenge, maybe it’s a dare! We dare you to try a new food. Something that grosses you out? I taught myself to enjoy raw tomatoes! Are you afraid of really spicy food? Or are you food-crazy and need to know it’s OK to eat mashed potatoes with tons of salt and Earth Balance? Whatever it is, you can do it! Just don’t forget to let us know, so we can praise you. Try a new food in June!

[Dragonfruit photo by Alice via Flickr]

We know how much you love the Turlock hens. That’s how we know you’ll be at Harvest Home on Sunday, June 3, for a barn dedication celebration! The Turlock hens got an entirely new barn to live in following their rescue this spring, where they cohabitate with other rescued birds.

Harvest Home wants to thank you for your support in the construction of the barn, as well as show it off, so they’re throwing a little party from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. You’ll eat and drink (vegan-ly, of course), and meet the birds as well as the amazing Harvest Home workers. All ticket sales directly benefit Harvest Home, and this event marks the beginning of the organization’s fundraising campaign for the future “Sanctuary Avian Medical Barn.” Awesome, right? Right!

Buy tickets here, and go party with the birds in their new, wonderful home on Sunday!

[photo courtesy Harvest Home]

Let’s do this, peeps. I’m feeling really confident this week, so maybe I’ll talk to strangers! I think it’s called networking? But I probably won’t; I like people to come to me so I can act awkward and blush a lot, all the while being a little bit overexcited. Winning mix, right? Let’s hang.

SF Vegan Drinks happens tonight, Thursday, May 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, 2323 Mission St. at 19th.

Drink specials are strawberry basil caipirinhas, $3 bottled beer, $4 well drinks, and $5 vegan white Russians! Featured vegan food includes sweet potato tater tots, beer battered onion rings, veggie burgers, and vegan summer sliders. Try not to make the same mistake I did last time and eat all of it in one sitting. The only thing I was acquainted with that night was the toilet.

Confidential to VegLovr: I saw that comment in the last SF Vegan Drinks post, and I think you and I were made for each other, no joke.

Please don’t feed the raccoons.

You guys, the cruising life is not for me. I spent the last week on one of Carnival’s horrific floating frat houses, and between the exciting dinners with my family (not a dry eye or unflipped piece of furniture in the place), the delicious cafeteria food, and the loud people (not to mention children; children everywhere!!!) I feel about as relaxed as if I’d only worked an 80-hour week instead of my usual 60.

I am really glad to be back on dry land. Now that the shaking and rolling that is charmingly referred to as “sea legs” is behind me, and Allen is once again talking to me after being forced to spend a week on the high seas together, things are good again. I was even excited to get back to work and see my coworkers! It doesn’t hurt that there’s a potluck on the first day back and I just ate my body weight in delicious potato and cauliflower curry.

Let’s see what’s going on the internet these days. That’s something else I was excited about, getting back to my websites and catching up on everything Lindsay Lohan did this week (nothing).

Sloths are really in right now, did you know that? After Kristen Bell freaked the fuck out over being near one, people are going crazy for these adorable animals! (Quick question: Are sloths dangerous?) Even Animal Planet is getting in on the act, and running either a web series or a real series (I am not in the habit of watching animal shows, only ladies fighting in pretty houses) on sloths and how awesome they are. They’re even getting them at their most intimate and running clips of baby sloths getting potty-trained, which is awesome because baby animals peeing and pooping is adorable and I love it and they smile an make noises and when I do that I just have to spend a night in jail.

[Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!]

Raccoons are also adorable but I have a feeling i’m the only one that thinks so. And I bet I would also freak out if raccoons were coming into my neighborhood and eating all my Doritos.  Although, I’ve never really liked Doritos. When we first came to the U.S. my mom tried some and declared that they tasted like rat droppings (how she knows this I have no idea. She also claims root beer tastes like bee poison. Life in Russia was hard.). I’ve been off of them ever since. Also, when I was a kid, a raccoon climbed into my aunt’s window and killed her or something (that’s what my aunt tells me, but she is also still alive, so…), and it had little human hands (again, just repeating what I’m told), and I’ve been scared shitless of them since. But they’re cute from afar, right?

Here are some dogs chilling with fans and being all cute. Just the idea of laying on the floor with a fan makes me want to take a nap. Did I mention that everywhere we went in the cruise was super hot? I am surprised I do not get heat stroke. Or maybe I did, and that’s why I’m so excited to be at work. YOU DECIDE!

That’s it for this week! Please send me links for next week and have a Dorito-free Wednesday!

[Photo by Brad Woodard / KHOU 11 News]

Are you sick of kale yet? I’m not! I just keep finding new ways to eat it that are better than the last. My new favorite is the wilted kale salad!

Call me late to the party, because I usually am, but my first experience with the mystical wilted kale salad happened on a trip to LA in January, at Mohawk Bend in Echo Park.

Very tasty! Spiced to perfection and topped with crisp jicama slices!

So, I’ve come up with my own version!

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tsp. olive oil
dash of salt and pepper
juice of one lemon
1 sliced avocado

Instructions
Clean, de-stem and roughly chop the kale. Heat up your pan to about medium-high, with the oil drizzled in. Once it’s hot, put in the kale and keep it constantly moving, cooking between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. You are not sauteing it, but lightly wilting it. The point is, you don’t want it fully cooked, but just heated enough to take some of the bitterness out.

Transfer to a bowl and toss with avocado, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Easy enough, right?

I personally think this salad pairs beautifully with pasta doused in vodka cream sauce!

How do you make your wilted kale salad? Next time, I think I will use strawberries instead of avocado, and balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice!

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics is an absolutely awesome vegan makeup brand! They sent me some free stuff to try and now I will tell you all about it!

From their FAQ:

What’s with the ‘Vegan’ thing?
In a time when many cosmetic companies make the claim that their products are “Cruelty Free” simply because Animal Testing has become unfashionable and less cost-effective, OCC felt it was necessary to raise the bar on this issue. We pledge never to use animal-derived ingredients (including Lanolin, Beeswax, Carmine and more) in our products and accessories. Beyond any personal convictions, we simply believe that it’s unnecessary, especially when there are alternatives that are just as readily available, and equally effective in the formulation of our products. Further, you need not necessarily be aligned with animal rights issues to reap the benefits of a vegan cosmetic line: animal ingredients can be amongst the most allergenic and skin reactive, and prevent makeup from being considered Kosher, Halal or otherwise compliant with various dietary (and sanitary!) regulations.

So great, right? Love it. But besides being vegan, OCC is highly celebrated in the makeup world! My makeup fanatic sister was hella impressed when I told her OCC was sending me free stuff. She said people particularly rave about their lip tar. Here are the shades I tried:

My favorite are the Kava-Kava and the Queen, but I think I am square when it comes to lipstick so those are the most traditional colors I’d say. Well the Kava-Kava is kind of 60s pale, which is right up my 60s-enthusiast alley. It would look AWESOME with some seriously heavy black eye makeup. The Queen is so bright that I did a bare eye to complement. 

The lip tars are pretty amazing. They are renown for their staying power and straight-up heavy pigment and I’d have to agree with both those points. This stuff stays on for like ever. And the colors are BOLD and pretty much lovely. It’s a bit hard to get the color off but I prefer that to having to reapply all day. This stuff literally stays on like three hours longer than regular lipstick.

For the eye colors, here are the shades I tried:

These are great! Again, the colors are bold and lovely. I like the sheer colors but the matte Poison is pretty impressive in just how strong it is. These colors go on smooth and are easy to apply and blend. Love them!

As for nail polish, I hate my funny fingers so I didn’t want to model them for you, but my co-worker Leah was kind enough to volunteer her nails:

She said she liked the colors a lot! I tried the Copperhead on its own and it was very nice. The nail polish was a bit tricky to get off as well, but it certainly didn’t chip. And I don’t really wear nail polish but I’ve been under the impression that it’s hard to find vegan polish? Well, OCC has plenty.

The final product I tried was the tinted moisturizer. I liked this as well. Very moisturizing. It’s super-sheer so if you are looking for more coverage, this may not be for you. But if you want just a bit of coverage, you’ll like this.

So if you can’t tell, I love Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics! I even went to their launch party for their new Garden collection. The Ophelia and Belladonna and many of the colors I tried are in the new collection. The party was well-attended and had Babycakes cupcakes! Don’t you love it when a vegan biz supports a vegan biz? I certainly do. It’s just another reason to love OCC!

Guys, if you didn’t know, I got a new job. Yes, that’s why I haven’t been as prolific lately. But I still love you! So I find you great things like Cat-toure! There’s this funny guy Jeff at my work and my intern BFF was like, “you know he has a cat clothing line, right?” And I was like, “hell no I did not but I’m so ready to make him internet famous!” Which is the natural outcome of all Vegansaurus posts. 

Cat-toure is kind of like American Apparel for your kitty pals. It’s some cute-ass stuff. I love the hoodies like whoa. But my favorite part is the model! Look at this bruiser:

Holy crap, let’s cuddle already! I had to ask Jeff all about her. This tough guy is named Liley! Jeff and his wife rescued her when she was one year old. He says she weighed less than four pounds and “was pretty much bald and had mad shit wrong with her.” Now she’s happy and healthy! She’s a Devon Rex and purportedly “mad friendly and mad chill.” She sleeps on Jeff’s wife’s head every night and can do paw (that Devon Rex link says they hella great at tricks). So cute! My Mitsy can sit for treats but if I tried to teach her paw, she’d be like “LOLZ you are hilar. BRB I just saw some dust move!”

Like I always say when we discuss cat clothes, if your kitty don’t like clothes, don’t make her wear clothes. If she don’t care, no harm no foul. Though I think anybody might want to get Cat-toure’s super cute kitty robe for the post-bath routine. I don’t bathe Mitsy too often but sometimes you just gotta. I’m talking pee. Shit just got real.

This is your brain on pork! Specifically, this is “A human brain overrun with cysts from Taenia solium, a tapeworm that normally inhabits the muscles of pigs.” How do pig-muscle parasites get into human brains? Carl Zimmer at Discover breaks it down: When humans eat undercooked meat from a pig that was infected with the tapeworms, those  tapeworm eggs will hatch in a human’s body, and the bloodstream will whisk the new little tapeworms around and up into the brain, where they thrive, forming cysts and giving the human a grody disease called neurocysticercosis.

Because the symptoms of neurocysticercosis are similar to lots of other diseases—it can cause epilepsy, for one thing—doctors like Theodore Nash of the National Institutes of Health say they can only estimate how many people are suffering from brain tapeworms. Dr. Nash tells Discover that he estimates between 1,500 and 2,000 people in the U.S. have them. And even grosser: “Nash and colleagues published a review of the scientific literature and concluded that somewhere between 11 million and 29 million people have neurocysticercosis in Latin America alone.”

Get over to Discover and read the whole article right now. It’s a totally treatable disease, though of course it’d be much easier not to accidentally become infected with parasites if you weren’t eating the animals that carry them. I really wanted to say this to my dining companions last night, who were eating copious amounts of pig, but not being a complete jerk, I refrained. Still, once you see that brain, it’s hard not to see it every time someone mentions the word “bacon.”

[photo by Theodore E. Nash, M.D., via Discover]