vegansaurus!

Events! We got ‘em! No time to dilly dally, let’s dive into the fray and get this party started and mix more metaphors and be grammatically insane forever!

Wednesday, Sept. 19 (that’s tomorrow! It might be too late for this one but you should try to get in anyway and then find out if they’ll be having more upcoming events and then email me about them and do my job for me thanks!)

A mind-blowing all-vegan three-course dinner prepared by the lovely and talented Ashley of Barefoot and in the Kitchen (the AWESOME new vegan cookbook!) and Fat Bottom Bakery fame. The meal will come from recipes in the cookbook so you can taste for yourself how delicious it is. And then buy several copies and give them as holiday gifts to me and others you care about less than me. It’s 6 to 8 p.m. at University Press Books (2430 Bancroft Way, Berkeley) and costs $25. It’s RSVP-only, seating is limited. For students and starving artists, there’s a discounted rate. Awww. For reservations and questions, email them!

A fundraiser for Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals at Saturn Cafe in Berkeley! Starts at 6pm, info and tickets here. Apparently a vegan feast is involved so if you can’t get into Ashley’s event, this could be a great second choice. Or a first choice. Do what you want, it’s your life!!

Saturday, Sept. 22

Music in the Meadow at Animal Place in Grass Valley! It’s a drive but it’s also beauuuutiful! And there will be pigs to play with! And OCD Sweets to consume! And John Robbins to harass! You can always stay in this awesome Airbnb house and enjoy not using your asthma inhaler because the air is too damn clean and gorge yourself on caramels and cuddle pigs until you just can’t take it anymore and you have to head home to the dirty, caramel-less, pig-less, terrible Bay Area. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., pre-order your tickets and get a goody bag filled with treats! Goody bags are where it’s at.

B12: Bomb Vegan Brunch. We went last time, it was hella good, definitely go eat everything. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bissap Baobab (3372 19th St. between Capp and Mission, S.F.) Also on Sunday!

Sunday, Sept. 23
Millennium is having a nightshades and bloody mary cooking class! Girrrrrl, that sounds TASTY. If there are two things I love, it’s mushrooms and alcohol. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with an option to join Eric Tucker at the Ferry Building Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 to 11 a.m.). Normally $150 but it’s $125 if you say you’re with Vegansaurus! The pink dino’s got the HOOK UP, Y’ALL. (Sometimes, mainly he just needs to borrow some cash.) (can I borrow some cash?) Call the lovely Alison at (415) 345-3900, ext. 13 to book. Learn how to cook from a true master and eat an amazing meal and drink bloody marys on Sunday, which was what god intended when he/she/it/them created the universe and everything in it. Also, I am probably going to this so come just to hang out with me because I’m a LAUGH A MINUTE (read: I will glare at you from a darkened corner) (sexily).

Farm Sanctuary’s Compassionate Communities campaign is leafletting and needs your help! The day starts with a light lunch (FREE FOOD!) and workshop on effective animal advocacy (very educational! We should all go to this and become better at doing what we do so the animal army doesn’t eventually rise up and eat us!) (We’ll have deserved it) before hitting the streets to leaflet at Market and Powell. Meet at 1 p.m. at 371 10th St. (the S.F. office of Beyond Eggs/Hampton Creek Foods). 

B12: Bomb Vegan Brunch. We went last time, it was hella good, definitely go eat everything. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Bissap Baobab (3372 19th St. between Capp and Mission, S.F.) Also on Saturday!

Monday, Sept. 24
More Farm Sanctuary veg leafletting, this time at U.C. Berkeley. Meet at Sather Gate (enter campus from Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Street; walk north through campus along Sather Road, which is a pedestrian walkway, about one block until you reach Sather Gate) from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

And you can leaflet on Market Street (meet on the walkway between the corner of Market and Steuart street and the entrance to the Ferry Building Marketplace) from 4 to 6 p.m. Email activist@farmsanctuary.org or call (484) 904-6004 if you have questions about any of the Farm Sanctuary events. 

I think that’s it on the events front for this week—or maybe I’m missing something!? What am I missing?? Underwear! That’s it! You’re welcome!

This Sat, Sep 22, thousands of people will gather at Yards Park from 11am-6pm to celebrate compassionate and delicious living at the D.C. VegFest! It’s free, it’s dog friendly, there are awesome speakers (Jane Velez Mitchell! Rich Roll! Terry Hope Romero!), tasty cooking demos (BEYOND MEAT!), fun stuff for kids to do so they’ll leave you alone with the FREE FOOD, a BEER AND WINE GARDEN (my favorite words together ever, with the exception of “pan gravy” and “FREE FOOD”), and perhaps most importantly, A CUPCAKE EATING COMPETITION. If a Vegansaurus reader doesn’t win that, I don’t want to know this site ever again. And I mean that. This site better not even fucking LOOK at me if one of us doesn’t win that damn thing.

Compassion Over Killing and the Vegetarian Society of D.C., it looks to be hella fun, and the only reason to be anywhere near our nation’s capital ever. Seriously, D.C. is SO WEIRD! Everyone there dresses in business suits and talks about politics like they can actually do something good. The last time I was there, I saw people carrying BRIEF CASES. It was like, WHERE AM I? The opening scene of Joe Vs. the Volcano?? Someone give me a case of brain cloud and take me away from this misery! JK JK but seriously folks, there’s some very good food there, and a few non-profits (like COK!) who are fighting the good fight, and um… weather? There’s that. Oh, and the Spy Museum, that place is dope. Alan Turing 4 eva.

Yay! It’s the next giveaway for Vegansaurus Giveaway Week! Check every day this week for more prizes!

Think Pretty is a lovely vegan line of “beauty elixirs,” which are antioxidant, nutrient-rich facial serums. They make seven different elixirs; I tried You Make Me Feel So Young. The ingredients are definitely exciting!: Olive Squalane, Olive Leaf Extract, Red and White Tea Extract, Açai Berry Extract, Blackerry Seed Oil, Coenzyme Q-10, Immortelle Oil, Orchid Extract. Oh my! That sounds hella healthy!

After trying this, my official word is that I very much like the stuff! The results weren’t super-drastic, but the elixir went on nicely, absorbed well, and my skin was soft and dewy. I love dewy skin!

So, my little friends, just for you guys we are holding a giveaway, AND I’ve got a discount code for you!

Giveaway: To enter to win your own bottle of Think Pretty beauty elixir, leave a comment on this post telling me why natural skincare products are the bomb. I will pick a winner next Tuesday!

Discount: To get 25 percent off all Think Pretty products, enter “AutumnPretty25” (not case specific) when purchasing. This code is active now until Oct. 31!

OK, get your vegan, organic skincare on!

Vegan Moroccan Stuffed Squash, one of many recipes on Justin’s site.

The Lotus and the Artichoke is a vegan food blog inspired by the world travels of Justin P. Moore. Now, Justin wants to take his recipes and make a whole vegan cookbook! He’s started a Kickstarter campaign to fund its publication, and now is your chance to donate. The perks look nice!

Here are a few recipes the cookbook promises to have:

• Gobi Tikka (North India)
• Persian Eggplant (Iran/Germany)
• Orange Tempeh Teriyaki (Hawaii/Japan)
• Mushroom-Tofu Stroganoff (Germany/Russia)
• Knödel & Rotkohl (Germany)
• Broccoli Quiche (France/USA)
• Cashew Mushroom Risotto Deluxe (Italy/Germany)
• Ginger Lemon Chickpea Sprouts (India/USA)
• San Francisco Savory Crepes (USA)

Yeah, that sounds pretty yummy. The book also promises 50-plus full-page pictures. I am so down with this! I can’t handle cookbooks without pictures. I want to see what the stuff looks like!

If this all sounds good to you, make your way over to Kickstarter and chip in. 

One of our favorite commenters, Mandy Brown, is participating in Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals! But that’s not all: Anyone who donates $10 or more on Mandy’s page will get a dozen homemade vegan cakeballs. That’s right! I’m so happy that cakeballs are a thing now, right? 

Above are last week’s chocolate-banana cakeballs. What’s this week’s flavor, you ask? Well, the first person to donate this week will get to pick the flavor! The first person of the week to donate $10 or more gets to decide the cakeball flavor for everyone. FUN!

Bonus: the sugar will be organic and vegan, the chocolate will be fair-trade, and Mandy’s kitchen is gluten-free, so they’re celiac safe. Yay!

To donate, check out Mandy’s page. There’s a pic of a cute baby pig!

It’s the first giveaway from Vegansaurus Giveaway Week! This one is just for women-type people who will be in the L.A. area this weekend. But we’ll have plenty more prizes this week for everybody!

Hey ladies! Remember when Chef Ayinde Howell’s vegan pop-up Wildflower was in S.F.? Now it’s coming to L.A.! This Saturday, Sept. 22, Chef Ayinde will be cooking a five-course meal, JUST for ladies. And Vegansaurus is giving away two free tickets! To enter to win, leave a comment on this post explaining why L.A. is a vegan food wonderland.

More details:

Wildflower, the one-of-a-kind crowd-funded vegan pop-up phenomenon that debuted last year to sold-out crowds of New York foodies, will be bringing its artisanal plant-based creations to Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 22. Chef Ayinde Howell will be curating the first of the brand’s “Good Living” sessions—a festive dinner party, with cocktails and a chef demo. This is a ladies-only event, and guests will receive special gift bags filled with goodies.

Why woman-only? Women are the last minority in America to rise, and their power years are just in their infancy. Managing stress, work, success, family and a healthy diet can be hard to balance. Chef Ayinde is here to show you how it can be done.

Wildfllower Good Living will be a night of good food, fun and education. Just like the short-lived beauty of blossoming annuals in the field, Wildflower is here today and gone tomorrow. But this experience is designed to keep on giving. Complementing the ever-growing trend of food trucks and pop-up restaurants, Wildflower is a culinary experience with a purpose. Tickets can be purchased here.

Menu:
Amuse: Scalloped Mushrooms with Sea-Sciutto
Mac & Yease
Cesar Howell Salad
Ayinde’s Jambalaya
Gran Marnier Bananas Foster

Who’s ready? Ladies, let me hear you say “yeah!” I’m SO jealous. I went to the pop-up in NYC and it was SO good. SO SO SO good. For all you L.A. people, now’s your chance! I will pick a winner on Thursday morning—leave your comment before then!

You can also skip the contest and buy tickets online. Up to you! Or buy tickets online and then win two more and then have a big party! It’s ladies’ night! The feeling’s right!

Here ye, here ye! Every day this week, we will host a different giveaway for an awesome prize! Rules are the same as usual, just leave a comment on the giveaway post answering whatever genius question we’ve presented.* We will read the comments, pick winners and then email them when the giveaway closes. You could be a winner! Well, you’re all winners to us. But now you could be a winner with some dope free shit!

Spoiler alert: prizes include yummy fake meats, lovely vegan skincare products, and we’ve lined up something extra special for the rescue pooch in your life! So make sure you come back and enter every day. I’ll be posting today’s giveaway shortly. I’m so excited! Happy Giveaway Week!

*Update: sorry if this is unclear, this post is not giving anything away, it’s announcing there will be giveaways all week! When a giveaway post goes up, it will detail how to enter. But they will all be the same as usual—leave a comment answering the question in that specific post.

It’s Animal News You Can Use from Paul Shapiro! Yay, Paul! Yay, Animals!

Huge news this week: Big agribusiness lost another round in its continued assault on Prop 2, the ballot measure we waged four years ago in California to ban various factory farming practices. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled in HSUS’s favor and threw out a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.

Also big news is that meat consumption is in significant decline in the US. Here’s a new piece from me looking at the trend and the reasons behind it. And here’s a nice segment from the ABC San Francisco TV affiliate about HSUS helping a local school district implement Meatless Monday.

Speaking of big, my friend Big Bruce Friedrich has a good new essay about how the pork industry’s leadership is both anti-science and anti-animal.

P.S. Video of the week: Man apologizes to cat by building him an amazing gift.

We love the SF SPCA and we love adopted animals,* which makes this weekend’s Homecoming Adoptathon an ideal even for those of us—you, me, everyone else—without a companion animal to find one, already, and fill that hole our hearts we are currently stuffing artisan vegan cheese into with a furry creature who really will love us back. Fuck a human friend, what you want is an animal. Dogs don’t think you drink too much! Cats maybe are a little concerned with your “professional” wardrobe but they would never say so. And bunnies are never too tired to greet after another endless workday with a full minute of I-love-you hops.

The SF SPCA is ready to help you remedy that forever alone situation this weekend, with two days of adoptathon fun. On Friday, Sept. 14, get down with free booze and free adoptions, plus food from Voodoo Van, which appears to have one vegan option (though you’ll be in the Mission, legit snacks won’t be far off); adoptions are on from 1 to 8 p.m., reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Then on Saturday, Sept. 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., continue wooing the animal companion of your dreams with free adoptions, plus a foster care bake sale, and Q&A with a trainer. You know you have to train your dog if you adopt one, right? An untrained dog is an unhappy dog! Plus you can’t take it to the park to play with the other dogs if s/he never learned to socialize. The adoptathon continues on Sunday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with more free adoptions and more bake sale.

Are you ready for a furry best friend of your very own? Maybe a dog small enough to put in a large bag, who loves to catch (soft!) frisbees and curl up behind your knees for an afternoon nap? Or someone with big paws and jaws to wrestle with? Someone to call your “four-legged child” because you and your partner aren’t into human kids? The SF SPCA wants to make those dreams come true this weekend. So get over there and make yourself and a lonely animal happy.

For more information, visit the SF SPCA online.

*Yes, Vegansaurus is built on relentless, hyperbolic enthusiasm, but we really do love you.

Hello, Turn Down Chukka QT

The New York Times’ International Herald Tribune did a little feature on Unstitched Utilities, a vegan shoe company that uses Tyvek to make sustainable, theoretically recyclable shoes. And they are kinda hot, you guys.

The totally vegan Hang Up Slip On, in a sunshiny yellow

What I particularly love is that not only are Unstitched Utilities shoes totally vegan and eco-friendly, they are waterproof. This means you can pop out of the house in your cheery yellow slip-ons, get caught in a freak rainstorm, and still have happy, dry feet! Because as much as I love a rainboot, I don’t always want to commit to full-on wellingtons. These are casual and charming and just weird-looking enough. And the men’s shoes are absolutely great, vegan dudes.

Read more about Unstitched Utilities at their site. Wearing stylish, eco-friendly vegan shoes increases your sexual attractiveness by 20 percent, guaranteed.

East Bay Ethiopian 5EVER. Will this be on the menu? Buy a ticket to find out, we have no idea.

Dishcrawl, the eating event for people who mean Serious Business about their food intake, is doing an all-vegan event in Berkeley next week! They’re keeping the restaurants secret, but tickets are $39, there are eight left, and do you have a better way to spend a weeknight than with a bunch of hungry East Bay vegans? Don’t even act like you’re popular; what you want to do is attend this Dishcrawl and make some friends on your side of the bay!

This Berkeley vegan Dishcrawl starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18. Contact the organizer, Sarah, with questions, and get ready to get down. Will it be all Ethiopian and Flacos and spicy legumes? Or maybe it’ll be a pizza-and-cinnamon-roll extravaganza! You know we love Berkeley and its many vegan options; the only question is how you will get home after devouring the neighborhood. Is there a special taxi for vegans too full of food to walk? Probably there should be.

[photo by selena hoy via Flickr]

Sumatran rhino, Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, Kalimantan and Sumatra, Indonesia: 250 mature individuals left

The Guardian, a top newspaper for people with brains, has a gallery of the 100 most endangered species, as listed by the IUCN and Zoological Society of London. It’s depressing! Even more depressing, it’s part of a series called The Sixth Extinction: How humans are driving animals and plants to extinction, which includes articles on how endangered wildlife is being (illegally) traded on the internet, and on Ecuador’s Yasuni Park, “the most biodiverse region on Earth,” where people want to drill for oil because what else do you do with all that wildlife?

Spoon-billed sandpiper, Russia, Bangladesh and Myanmar: 100 breeding pairs left

I had this conversation the other day about how, as a disgruntled, in-it-for-the-ethics vegan, it’s hard not to wonder if the world would be better off if whatever apocalyptic event happens and wipes out humanity; you know, end humanity, end humanity’s nonstop abuse of animals (among a million other things). Counterpoint: Hoping for the apocalypse is just another way of expressing depression; it’s our responsibility to not be jerks—not contributing to the exploitation of people/animals/the environment, being kind to other people, living well and appreciating how good we have it, and trying to help everyone have it better. Read all the books about the post-societal gangs of rapist cannibal murderers, while striving for utopia.

Coral tree, Namatimbili-Ngarama Forest, Tanzania: 50 individuals left

These 100 species are considered the most endangered not only because there are so terribly few of them left, but because “they have no obvious benefits for humans.” So cool! What do we even do about this? What does it matter if we cause the death of the greater bamboo lemur, or the Amsterdam albatross? They’re not curing our cancer or assembling our shoes or inventing personal electronic devices; fuck ‘em. We won the evolutionary race, we get to decide who lives and dies from now on. Right?

[photos, from top: ZSL/IUCN; Baz Scampion/ZSL/IUCN; ZSL/IUCN all via the Guardian]

[link via The Editors’ Desk]

Look for this ad on your BART car!

Remember back in April when we asked you to vote for some worthy causes to win ad space on BART, via BART Blue Sky? Duh of course you do, you hang on our every word. Well, if you voted for our pals at the Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (formerly the Coalition to Fight Factory Farming), get ready to pat yourself on the back for a couple of clicks well-placed, because they won second place! And good old Earthjustice came in third! Hooray!

Our pal, FFAC President and founder Katie Cantrell, sent us previews of their onboard and station ads. They’re pretty friendly, right? Just, hey, it sucks to be an animal on a factory farm; ensure fewer of them suffer by observing Meatless Monday. Money quote from the FFAC press release:

We know BART riders are concerned about the environment, yet many people don’t realize that animal agribusiness is responsible for 18 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire transportation sector. … If we really want to spare the air, we should all eat more plant-based meals. We can start by participating in Meatless Monday.

See this ad in BART stations! 

These ads will run throughout September, so maybe look up from reading that thoroughly engrossing novel/Dlisted on your phone (I SEE YOU) (me) and check out the ads you voted for! Your eyeballs deserve to look at something besides that dour girl in a severe haircut and native California plants.

You heard it! Blossom is coming out with a vegan cookbook. As she said last week on her blog:

My next book will be a plant-based (vegan!) family cookbook. Yay! It’s meant for vegan and non-vegan alike! I intend to include all of the Jewish recipes I’ve veganized as well as all of our family’s standard beloved recipes.

I’m into this! I like Jewish food and Blossom was my jam. Remember her boyfriend? What was his name, Vinny? He was the hotness. And Six was so great in those Lifetime movies later in her career. 

So, is there vegan matzo brei in my future?!

Here’s a sweet story. This couple, Melanie and Eddie, had their dream wedding all set to go when they found out their adopted pit bull Koda was sick. He had a liver shunt and needed expensive surgery to save his life. The couple, having been turned down by their pet insurance and with no other money draw from, spent their wedding fund to save Koda’s life. Here’s the best part:

Upon hearing what Melanie and Eddie did for Koda, the Halifax Humane Society felt they had to help. They approached local vendors and soon had a catering company provide food and a lovely receiption facility for the couple and their guests. Other vendors soon joined in to help, arranging for flowers, music and all of the other necessary arrangements to throw the couple their dream wedding on Saturday, September 8, 2012. 

OMG don’t cry! How great is that? There’s got to be a screenplay in here, right? Or at least a series finale. Also: hello, nurses! I wonder if this couple is into threesomes. And how adorable is Koda? Ridic.

Via Ecorazzi

I don’t know what really happened but the awesome animal sanctuary my lover Somerhalder is planning was in danger! Luckily for us, Ecorazzi has been following the story via Twitter. The land Somerhalder wanted for his sanctuary was possibly going to be “turned into a business park and transfer station.” Whatever the eff that means. But it looks like my super-hot future husband* was able to reach a deal and can now move forward with his super-awesome sanctuary. This is good news! Let’s save the animals and the kiddies!

*JK, marriage is for suckers! Born alone, die alone—that’s what I always say.