vegansaurus!

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

There are many a vegan Kickstarter out there but I’m particularly interested in this cool sounding project from Matt Miner. At the nexus of animal activism and comic book fandom, he’s creating a comic mini-series where animal liberators are coming to wreak havoc on an abusive world. 

A note about the project:

Do you love gritty anti-heroes like Dexter or Batman?  Check out Liberator, featuring a new type of superhero who avenges the torture of animals.  For anybody who ever thought comics could be punk and subversive and maybe even glorify some good old fashioned direct action, this is something unique and worth supporting.

Matt is a big vegan and has done tons of work directly rescuing animals (sometimes he tweets pics of his fosters! Those are great times). He even plans on using proceeds from the comic to help with his pit bull rescue efforts. He also just hopes the comic book will bring new people into the animal rights fold. And while I’m not a huge comic book person, I totes went to NYC ComicCon this year so I’m basically an expert. And in my expert opinion, this comic looks dope! There even seems to be a strong female lead? That’s what I like to see.

I know we hear about Kickstarters a lot, but it is a great way to support the good work vegans do PLUS I love all the limited edition stuff you can get when you pledge. So, check it out!

A panel from the first issue I really like! It’s one of our heros “sharing a moment” with a rescued fighting dog. Those puppy eyes!

When I first got into raw foods in college, I was shocked by the amount of raw desserts that are mostly made of nuts and oil. I’ve got nothing against nuts and oil, especially when they’re high quality—it’s just a very different food experience than, say, fluffy vegan cake or a flaky crusted pie. I think a lot of folks experimenting with raw foodism get excited about raw desserts but end up not loving them due to their overwhelming density.

When Alex Malinsky, mastermind of Rawmio, told me he was coming out with a raw chocolate truffle cake, I was skeptical. Would it be way too dense? Would it go bad after only a few days? Would it have that funky aftertaste so many raw desserts have due to bad flavor combining? Most importantly, how could a raw cake be safely transported through the mail?

Turns out all my worries were completely unfounded—Rawmio Chocolate Truffle Cake is downright epic. It succeeds where so many other raw desserts, especially cakes, fail, because it doesn’t try to defy its nature. It doesn’t pretend to be a cooked vegan cake—it goes straight for the truffle-lover jugular. It is rich and fudgy, and uses only certified organic, vegan, raw, and gluten-free ingredients including stone-ground cacao, coconut flakes, cashews, and low-glycemic coconut crystals. It is rich in antioxidants and nutrients while being completely unprocessed, and—best of all—it lasts six months, even unrefrigerated! Talk about convenient!

You can buy a Rawmio cake and serve it on many occasions, or just eat it by yourself! I plan to share, but I could see a raw food lover or couple savoring this for a looong time. That makes it a superb deal, and would satisfy any raw chocolate cravings, for sure.

How does it taste? The crust (coconut flakes, almonds, currants, cacao) is like a Crunch Bar, super crispy and sweet. The topping, or “filling” (coconut flakes, coconut sugar, cashews, cacao, sea salt) is essentially a raw chocolate bar, and I have started using some of the shavings atop smoothies. I really love this cake, and I think those who love raw chocolate or want to give raw desserts another shot should definitely consider giving this a go! Order online at Raw Guru.

Remember little Chips, the bobcat kitten who was rescued after a fire in the Sierras in August? She was taken to Sierra Wildlife Resuce by firefighters whom she was following around, rubbing against their giant boots. Poor little orphan! Look at how tiny she was!

Now she’s a bigger girl, but she’s also entirely too desensitized to humans to live successfully in the wild. She has to learn how to feed and care for herself, and fear humans, because humans are collectively terrible jerks who will not be kind to a friendly bobcat.

She’s being desensitized with the help of two other rescued bobcats, Tuffy, who was hit by a car, and Sierra, who was abandoned by his mother. The Sacramento Bee reports the trio will be released in the spring. In the meantime, good luck turning into a proper wild animal, Chips! Get mean, you adorable, beautiful fluffball!

[Photos by USDA via Flickr; AP Photo/The Sacramento Bee, Randall Benton via SFist]

Last week, with everyone on vacation and news slow, NPR’s Morning Edition deigned to do a two-part series about veganism. Coverage is coverage!

In part one, Renee Montagne interviewed “wellness expert” Kathy Freston, who explained the reasons to be vegan in a smart, succinct, non-threatening way. Nice work, Kathy!

In part two, chef, cookbook author, food justice advocate, and Oakland resident Bryant Terry represented with recipes. Hollah!

“It isn’t all brown rice and steamed vegetables,” says Renee Montagne. I’m just going to assume she’s pretending to be ignorant for the benefit of her ignorant listeners.

Best part of the interview: two recipes from Bryant’s most recent book, The Inspired Vegan! His black-eyed peas in garlic-ginger-braised mustard greens, and molasses, miso, and maple candied sweet potatoes sound perfect for chilly winter nights. Check them out on the NPR website, or maybe just buy his book, because you know it’s full of good food, and suggestions for excellent literature and music accompaniments.

[photo by Jennifer Martiné/Da Capo Lifelong Books via NPR]

Did you know that since 1987, sea otters were federally banned from going past Point Conception in Santa Barbara County? That’s right, every time you saw a sea otter in the wilds of Southern California (except off San Nicolas Island), it was breaking the law! Are you imagining them in little raccoon-style eye masks now, because I totally am.

It gets more ridiculous: Between 1987 and 2001, authorities actually relocated—as in, physically moved—otters that strayed past the completely arbitrary boundary. And the ones that defied the law by daring to live south of that imaginary border weren’t even granted federal protection as an endangered species, despite being the same species as the otters living in the “acceptable”  area!

As of Dec. 18, 2012, though, our otter pals are officially allowed to roam the California coast at will, and the U.S. government extends endangered species protection to every tricksy sea weasel swimming with us.

Further details at the Santa Cruz Sentinel and The Awl.

[Photo by Mike Baird via Flickr]

You didn’t think we’d let 2013 come at us without a best of list, did you? OF COURSE NOT. So for your reading pleasure, we came up with our very favorite meals of 2012. Let’s do this!

Jenny (that’s me!): My new favorite restaurant of all time is Pura Vida in Las Vegas. I ate so many wonderful meals this year, but Pura Vida topped them all. Chef Mayra is a culinary mastermind—her dishes are vibrantly colorful and packed with so much flavor! Almost every day I think about the breakfast burrito I had about eight months ago, and I cannot wait to to get back to Vegas to hit her up again! I’ve actually planned my entire wedding in Vegas (sans groom) (for now) solely based on Chef Mayra catering the elegant debauchery that will no doubt ensue.

Latin’tude breakfast burrito, I love you!

Megan: ”For me, it was the year of chickpea flour—and more specifically, the Tuscan chickpea frittata. Oh boy did we have some good times this year! I made them every which way from Sunday. So easy and so yummy! And totes versatile. It’s the best!”

Man, that was a lot of fun, when Megan was making all those frittatas! I can’t believe I never tried one myself, but I suppose that will have to be what 2013 is for!

Vegan, gluten-free frittata; so many delicious combinations!

Laura: ”The VegNews all-cheese holiday party, catered by Miyoko Schinner was, in a word, mind blowing! Cheese, cheese, and more cheese!! Giant cheese-stuffed ravioli was maybe the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life (SORRY ABOUT THE PHOTO, I’m too pretty to be good at anything!) and fried croquettes on amazing salad, and so much more. Vegan meringue, too! Holy mother!

“Vegan cheese, you’ve come a long way since your days of gross inedibility! Buy Miyoko’s book IMMEDIATELY!”

Hot dang, that VegNews staff knows how to get down!

Vegan cheese, you HAVE come a long way!

Meave: Of course, sometimes it is impossible to pick just one, so our Meave gives the lowdown on her top five! First, comes Isa’s Maple Pecan Pie, because what holiday is complete without this delectable dessert? (Follow Meave on Instagram to see how her beautiful pie turned out—I was blown away at its loveliness!)

Maple pecan pie, before meeting the oven! 

Next up we have a filling and colorful veg bowl, to which Meave explains, “Angela Liddon, salad genius, made so many of my lunches better with her legume and veg bowls, but my favorite was her Lightened Up Protein Power Goddess Bowl. Meave is quite the salad dressing connoisseur (“I’m picky”), so if this made the list, you know it’s got to be good! Of course we can’t leave out the brunch at Donut Farm, which includes Meave’s personal faves — the winter hash, double-dipped donuts, banana fritters and potato works!

Winter hash forever! Or at least until spring!

Last but certainly not least, Sinto Gourmet kimchi, and for ogling, everything by Tofu666 (“my No. 1 source for food porn”).

Sarah: Keeping up with her title, Sarah dishes out some raw opinions, telling us her favorite dish of 2012 was “Cafe Gratitude’s I Am Whole bowl. Always”. I bet she’s missing that over on the East Coast! Hope you got your fill on your recent L.A. adventure, Sarah!

Sarah’s version of said bowl, via her personal blog queerveganfood.com.

Andrew: “I’m going to have to go with our recent Mexican vegan Christmas dinner menu—homemade refried beans, Spanish rice, homemade mole with tofu, three kinds of homemade tamales (soyrizo, mushroom and mole, and green chile and cheese); margarita pizza with soyrizo (definitely NOT homemade); and horchata made from scratch, which was used for Mexican White Russians. This fed seven of us at dinner and then everyone got some to take home. And we’ve had leftovers for one meal a day since.” I did manage to get myself invited to this magnificent dinner, but alas, Long Beach was just too far away!

Check out this magnificent plate, made complete with a Tecate, of course!

That’s enough about us and our favorites—now it’s your turn to rave about your absolute faves from 2012, so the rest of us can enjoy them in 2013! Happy New Year everybody!

It’s the last Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! of 2012, PLEASE ENJOY! And we’ll see you next year xoxoxoxo!

Remember HSUS’s groundbreaking undercover investigation at a Wyoming pig factory earlier in the year? This past week, a small amount of justice for pigs was delivered when authorities announced they’re charging nine people we caught on tape there, including two managers, with criminal animal cruelty charges based on our investigation.

I have a commentary that aired twice today on the DC NPR affiliate (WAMU) about why listeners should make cutting back on meat consumption their New Year’s resolution. Speaking of NPR, yesterday and today, NPR’s Morning Edition had two (here andhere) major stories on vegan eating.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune—the biggest paper in the third biggest pork production state—editorialized this past week against gestation crates. The paper notes, “The extreme confinement shows such a shocking disregard for animal welfare that they’re banned in nine U.S. states and soon will be in the European Union.” And by soon, they mean really soon. The EU ban takes effect next week!

Video of the week: My friend Adam Frank uploaded this just yesterday—the lion and lamb not really laying together, but more like playing together!

Vegan suit-enthusiasts, perk up! I don’t know how people have been buying suits but it seems hella difficult. Wool wool wool! Well if you want a super-fine suit that’s all vegan, Brave GentleMan is here to outfit you. They are quite expensive but it’s my understanding that well-made suits have always been expensive. And sometimes you pay for quality and the sense of wellbeing you get knowing children didn’t make your clothes.*

As has been pointed out previously, you don’t need to be a “gentleman” to wear these, chicks can wear them too, as can gender neutral peeps and really, anyone with two Gs. 

This is my favorite (besides the tux, obvi), the Convert:

So dope. Nothing like a fancy vegan in a suit, that’s what I always say.

*Brave GentleMan isn’t just vegan, the company is committed to fair-labor and sustainability as well.

Though in the past San Franciso’s Upper Haight may not have been a mecca for vegans, I can assure you that it is most definitely becoming one! Thanks to Whole Foods, I can get my fix of Food For Lovers vegan queso anytime I fancy; Sunrise Deli just opened up and man, they KILL IT with their avocado falafel sandwich; Escape From New York offers Daiya cheese; Picnic Bakery is coming soon; and we also boast one of the cutest specialty boutiques in the city—Buyer’s Best Friend!

Buyer’s Best Friend has been open for a little while now. I think they may have had their grand opening party over the summer. Every time I go in they have new and interesting products, and because they buy straight from the companies, they are able to sample out all their artisan food products! This is incredible news because most of their specialty food items are vegan, even raw! Buyer’s Best Friend also carries housewares, bath and beauty supplies, and cold-pressed Stumptown coffee!

Of course I took some pictures — let’s check it out!

All kinds of interesting, locally made, and beautifully crafted soaps, with creative names to boot!

The sales representatives were most excited to have me try this VEGAN bacon-flavored hot sauce. It was delicious, and completely cruelty-free!

Their shelves are stocked with all kinds of artisan oils, sauces, mustards, and glazes!

VEGAN CARAMEL SAUCE!

Pickled vegetables galore via Emmy’s!

Get yo’ hipster cold-pressed coffee ON.

Or you can get some beans to brew at home.

Raw vegan delights by Just Pure Foods!

Truffle oils and flour!

Before Buyer’s Best Friend opened, I had never had Cocomel’s coconut-milk based caramels. These caramels are definitely one of my most favorite things, ever!

Most of these chocolate delectables are vegan! Some are even raw!

Buyer’s Best Friend is located at 1740 Haight St. in San Francisco, between Cole and Shrader in the Upper Haight!

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

You may be interested in HSUS’s new fully wrapped bus ads rolling around DC and Des Moines with a message that gestation crate defenders are sure not to like, and while you’re at it, here’s the Des Moines Register’s coverage of it.

National Hog Farmer this week lamented the progress we made in 2012 against gestation crates, noting our early successes getting large food companies on “the anti-stall bandwagon [set] in motion for others to hop on, much to the glee of the pork industry’s nemesis — the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)….Even more disturbing is it has empowered HSUS and their ilk to target other common pig management procedures.” (Note: Einstein Bagels and Arby’s this week became the latest companies to announce plans to phase out gestation crates…)

Meat industry analysts (and owner of the Dow Jones Index) CME Group report this week that demand for meat in the US fell again this year, and conclude: “But it is obvious that there have been no banner years for at least the three largest species since 2004.” Perhaps more people are seeing pieces like this one from this week about the benefits of Meatless Monday.

Happy holidays!

P.S. Video of the week: Want to be inspired by some cool things that happened for animals this past year? Check this one out. (Bonus blog of the week: Some cool things specifically for farm animals that happened.)

Lydia is ready to party!

Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary is having its annual year-end celebration fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 22, and you’re invited! Buy your $25 ticket now (or pay $30 at the door) and support a really wonderful rescue group at Saturn Cafe in Berkeley.

Here are the details:

Enjoy cruelty-free appetizers (Grilled veggies, sliders, sweet potato fries and taquitos) at the Bay Area’s popular Saturn Cafe in Berkeley.

The sanctuary’s event will feature a mini-silent auction to benefit the lifesaving work of the sanctuary. At Saturn’s Space Lounge, our no-host bar will include organic beer from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, organic wine from Orleans Hill, and delicious holiday cocktails.

With your ticket purchase, you will sponsor a rescued animal of Harvest Home Sanctuary for the month of December. At the event, you will receive a colorful card featuring a photograph your sponsoree.

The festivities start at 6 p.m. on Saturday and last till midnight at Saturn Cafe, 2175 Allston Way in Berkeley.

I’m always on the lookout for weird and crazy raw food, so when the Raw Chocolate Co. posted a glorious picture of chocolate covered Brussels sprouts on their Facebook, I was like OH DANG, this is my perfect food!

Sadly, it was a hoax, used to promote what they actually offer: raw cacao-coated mulberries.

After corresponding with an employee about why Brussels sprouts really should be doused in chocolate, she sent me their raw chocolate mulberries and they are seriously no joke. While they’re not candy derived from a brassica, which was my momentary life’s wish come true (and maybe still is a little bit), they are completely delicious and unique.

Here’s why: Think of your first experience with chocolate-covered dried fruit. If you didn’t grow up in Berkeley under the roof of hippie parents who raised you on public demonstrations and farmers’ market samples, your first experience with this dual-natured candy was likely in the form of Raisinets scarfed alongside your friends in the back of a movie theater. Raisinets are shitty and unethical and not at all vegan, but most of us learned to expect that chocolate-coated dried fruit would be chock-full of fillers and sickly sweet; the hard chocolate shell had tons of sugar, the raisins were sweet by themselves.

Now that you’re a grown-up and frequently dip into the bulk bins of organic chocolate-covered raisins at the Valencia Whole Foods or Rainbow, you’ve come to expect less child slavery and animal cruelty in the same hard shell/dried fruit format—it’s just how these things go.

Maybe it’s because Raw Chocolate and Co. is a British company, or maybe they’re true revolutionaries on all fronts—whatever the reason, their chocolate-covered mulberries defy any chocolate-covered fruit industry standards of which I’m aware. The mulberries are sprinkled with the cacao coating in a way that manages to preserve the integrity of the shape and texture of the mulberries, rather than masking their identity with uniform hard chocolate shells. The mulberries’ cacao coating is just the right amount of sweet (using really delicious unrefined sweetener coco palm sugar!) and isn’t a hard shell that takes a second to dissolve into its components but rather a melt-in-your mouth delicate glaze that gently gives way to the superior quality dried mulberries within.

The package also includes all kinds of helpful math about what’s in them: 44 percent mulberries, 56 percent chocolate. 74 percent cacao overall, raw cacao solids, cacao mass, coco palm sugar, cacao butter, cacao powder, and all fair trade—yay!

I highly recommend trying these raw vegan chocolate-covered mulberries. They come in the most adorable tin ever and would make perfect gifts for that special raw foodie or candy gourmand in your life. And stay tuned for my in-development recipe for raw chocolate covered-Brussels sprouts!

Carrot cake and cappuccino, so effing delicious

Timeless Coffee, the brand-spankin’-new coffee shop on Piedmont Avenue, is a perfect blend of quality coffee, delicious food and excellent service. It’s hard to expand past a general review of “Yaaaaaaay!” but I’ll do my best. The airy coffee shop has counters full of house-baked pastries and candies and boasts a delightful variety of different coffee roasts, available as a pour-over or quick Fetco-brewed option. My first sip of the Sightglass pour-over called to mind every Dale Cooper quote on the “damn fine” quality of a superb cup of coffee. I drank it black as midnight, and boy was I happy.

As a coffee-loving, Oakland-based vegan, I hadn’t realized what I was missing until I walked into Timeless. Up until this point in my veganism I’d accepted that if I wanted good coffee, the only accompaniments available to me were bagels, Pepple’s donuts, or an elusive Fat Bottom Bakery cookie or scone. No longer. There is something so wonderful about a wide variety of delicious vegan treats right alongside your cup of joe. Violett at Timeless makes a killer selection of biscotti, Hostess-inspired baked goods, cookies, muffins, chocolates, and weekend cinnamon rolls. Having tried the house-made “Twinkie”, the Chocodile, and the carrot cake, I can guarantee that even the mightiest sweet tooth will be satiated. Pre-wrapped to-go items are also available. It took every bit of self-restraint to not stock up my cupboards with peanut butter cups and almond biscotti.

The “Chocodile.” Holy diabetes, this thing was good

Timeless is 100 percent vegan, right down to the barista-quality almond and soy milk used for espresso drinks. But if you show up and don’t see anything listed as “vegan,” don’t fret, it was a purposeful decision to keep the v-word off of the menu. By not branding themselves as a vegan café, Timeless is able to appeal to all walks of life. In regards to opening up the shop in his own neighborhood, RJ said, “I’ve always thought that Piedmont Avenue lacked in the vegan department. … Living here for eight years, it’s very limited, but I love this neighborhood so much. I knew the neighborhood would be open to it.”

His assessment seems to be correct, as he says the vast majority of patrons have been delighted about the vegan menu, even if they didn’t realize their peppermint fudge brownie and espresso combo was cruelty-free until after the fact. “People have been really excited that they’ve had it, and found out later. Their minds kinda changed. That was Violett’s and my approach to it, that it’d be a positive thing.”

A little on the pricier side, but you definitely get what you pay for

Despite only having opened on Dec. 10, Timeless was bustling with patrons when I went this week. Several people already knew RJ by name and seemed to have established Timeless as their regular spot. RJ, along with part-owners Violett and Sam, hopes to expand the menu soon, offering savory accompaniments like bacon-cheddar scones. Ultimately, they’d like to offer a weekend brunch and bi-weekly late dinner service with a fixed menu. RJ, a veteran roaster who helped establish Sightglass, even wants to start roasting beans in-house. This unobtrusive and beautiful coffee shop has already hit all the right notes with me and I’m excited to see what new creations they unveil in the coming months.

Timeless Coffee is located at 4252 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland.

Courtney Flynn lives in Oakland and spends way too much time inventing vegan recipes, reading science fiction, and crocheting hats for her dog, Blender. She sometimes remembers to update her blog, where she likes to write about food, restaurants and products that don’t suck.