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Ingrid the pitbull is fucking adorable. She also needs to take Viagra daily to continue living. It sounds totally crazy, but it’s true. Ingrid suffers from serious heart problems and the Viagra, along with a host of other medications, is keeping her blood flowing and is helping to regulate her condition.
Unfortunately, Ingrid’s heart conditions come from the fact that she’s spent most of her life being tied to a fence and used as a bait dog in pitbull fights. According to NBC New York, which broke the story earlier this year, Ingrid had 14 pounds of fluid in her abdomen when she was rescued by shelter workers in Huntington, NY. However, she’s recovered steadily and according to workers at the shelter where she is currently housed, she is doing really well and is cheerful and a delight to be around. Despite being so mistreated, Ingrid likes EVERYONE. WHO AMONG US CAN SAY THAT?
WAIT A SECOND! IN A SHELTER? That’s right! Despite the fact that this fucking dog is so fucking adorable that I want to go to New York and feed her Viagra myself, NO ONE HAS STEPPED UP TO BRING HER HOME AND GIVE HER THE LIFE SHE DESERVES! What’s up with that? Are you in New York? ARE YOU GOING TO GET UP ON THIS? Her nickname is “The Love Bunny!” Look at this video of Ingrid being hello cute.
And now that you understand how awesome she is, here is her adoption page, but FAIR WARNING! SHE IS ALSO DRESSED AS A SEVENTIES PIMP IN THESE PICTURES! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THAT? Actually, that may be some kind of “California Girls” get-up, but I prefer the ’70s pimp image. It makes me chuckle!
WHAT AN AWESOME DOG!
Hooray?
I mean, every step is a good step. Unless it’s towards eating a BABY ANIMAL. It’s great that Costco at least acknowledges that the way 99 percent of veal is raised in this country is Slit Your Wrists City, Population: Me, but I find it hard to cheer when people are still butchering BABY ANIMALS so that they can have one mediocre meal. I mean, who the fuck buys veal at Costco anyway?? Who needs value packs of DEAD BABY ANIMAL? This kinda reminds me of when Denny’s in Japan started serving Foie Gras. Move over, Scrooge McDuck. The proletariat want their fancified dead animal too!
Oh well, at least Denny’s is serving a vegan burger now.
Harvest Home Sanctuary has a great blog post up about Tracy, an ex-battery hen. It’s touching in the crying into your keyboard type way. But also inspirational and makes you want to get really upset about shit and change things. I dunno…read it. While you’re at it, Nicholas “is that a toupé?” Kristof has a great piece up in the New York Times about abolishing battery cages. The mainstream heat behind this is building; I hope the momentum keeps up. I want a rallying cry behind the abolition of battery cages that rivals, “DONNA! MARTIN! GRADUATES!” (Happy 90210 Day, btw!). Any ideas???
Vote for a Vegan Food Truck! DO IT! -
The Food Network is bringing it lately with the vegans. The delightful Chloe Coscarelli won an episode of Cupcake Wars; they’re doing their first-ever veg special; AND NOW they’ve got a vegan in the running for most beloved food truck in America! The vegan food truck in question is Homegrown Smoker, a family-owned vegan BBQ truck (JUST LOOK AT THE FAMILY CUTENESS).
Go to Food Network’s fucked-up site* and VOTE for vegans! Besides, their food looks to be fucking amazing (OMG “Oceanic Tofu Fillet, nori breaded and golden fried. On a grilled bun with tartar, slaw, pickles & lemon with a side of russet fries” OMG) and they’ve got Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s vote so heeeeey, do it up!
This whole post was brought to you by a simple stalking of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s twitter feed. If you do not follow her, you do now.
*Seriously, they have more money than God and they can’t get this to look nice or run properly? They need to dock Sandra Lee’s pay (one less tequila slammer/Hungry Man dinner ain’t gonna kill her!) and use a little of those funds to create a website that doesn’t make me want to simultaneously murder and cry.
If there’s anything we learned from the recent posts about ponies and cat models, everyone wants their pet to be a superstar. But they don’t roll out of the SPCA looking like Joe Jonas! It takes training! It takes practice! Luckily, artist Lucy Knisley has created what is basically THE cat modeling bible. Seriously kitties, don’t embarrass yourselves on your next go-see—learn the poses! Be the dream!
(via Pawesome!)
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There are three main reasons I was pumped when I found out that Hodo Soy Beanery in Oakland offers tours of their factory: 1. I eat a lot of tofu, and I like to know how stuff I eat is made; 2. I’ve been playing with the idea of making my own tofu and goma dofu (sesame seed tofu) at home and wanted to see a larger version of the process in action; and 3. My favorite part of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was when he’d go to some factory to see how backpacks or pencils are made—and this was my chance to experience that thrill live! So last Wednesday, my childhood friend from Boston, Ivy, and I headed out to Oakland to see how beans become that curd we all love.
A little background: Hodo was co-founded by a former investment banker, Minh Tsai, and his brother-in-law Dean Ku back in 2004. They noticed a gaping hole in the tofu market: freshness. In Asia, tofu is meant to be eaten the day it’s made—not packaged in shrink wrap and refrigerated for weeks. They sold their homemade soy products at farmers’ markets, became very popular, and decided to open a factory in October 2009. They don’t ship very far to maintain freshness; you can buy it at Whole Foods and Rainbow, and they sell to super-fancy restaurants—like Coi and the Slanted Door—in the Bay Area. Also, John Scharffenberger is the CEO. Um, random.
Our tour started in an adorable little room with one wall covered in curtains, where our group of 10 visitors were greeted by two staff members and tiny espresso cups of warm soy milk. The milk tasted more like liquid tofu and not very much like the Silk or Edensoy we all know. My friend and I weren’t fans (although she did down hers ‘cause she felt bad), but I can see how some may find it soothing and very clean-tasting. We then watched a video narrated by Mr. Tsai explaining the history of the factory and the details of the tofu-making process. Then they opened the curtain to reveal the extremely clean—and surprisingly small—factory floor.
[can’t see the video? watch it at vegansaurus.com!]
I was a little sad that we didn’t get to actually go on the factory floor, but you really could see everything from the windows and I totally get that they don’t want us nasty outsiders sneezing in their tofu. Our very friendly guide, Rachel (who knew all about Vegansaurus!), explained what every part of the factory did, including the “soy milk cow” (gross?) and the yuba station. Apparently, all their machinery was made by one of the oldest tofu equipment manufacturers in China.
Yuba is the skin that forms on top of the milk—and no, it’s not gross like the shit on old pudding or gravy. Hodo meticulously lifts each sheet of yuba and hangs it to dry on a rack (the ones that day were being lifted by a cheerful fellow named Binky, or something equally awesome, who wore giant headphones and jammed to his tunes as he worked). I’d never had yuba before, but my Chinese/Japanese friend remembered her childhood experience of it as “soapy/watered-down tofu” that she would only force down if her parents doused it in soy sauce and chili oil. But she agreed with me that Hodo’s yuba was frickin’ goooood. Delicate but kinda chewy, and very tasty! We got a whole table’s worth of samples to try, and I had to stop myself from being THAT GUEST and snarfing down the whole plate myself.
We also learned about nama yuba, which is apparently like the vegan version of Burrata cheese, and is a fresh, non-dried version of yuba. It’s not able to be mass-produced, so that shit’s only available to fancy people in fancy restaurants.
Our table o’ soy was adorned with everything from curry-marinated fried tofu chunks to braised firm tofu, spicy yuba strips (holy moly SO GOOD), and hijiki tofu salad, among others. Everything was great and totally made up for not being allowed to get all Mister Rogers on them.
There were products that we could purchase, both food and clothing (like t-shirts that said “Who’s your Tofu Master?” and fab hats my friend described as “totally commie Mao with railroad engineer stripes”). We opted for just food and brought home several containers to continue our soy journey later.
While our experience at Hodo was yummy and informative, an aspect of their practices did bug me. The factory produces a massive amount of okara-–bean pulp that’s left over when the soy puree is filtered during the tofu-making process. While some people do eat it in stews or in veggie burgers, the demand is not high enough for Hodo to actually package it for distribution. So they donate it to Magruder Ranch in Mendocino to use as feed. Magruder raises “sustainable” meat in the form of lambs, cows, and heirloom pigs (cause, you know, the fourth most intelligent species on the planet is the same thing as a tomato). They even offer “bucolic weekend getaways” on their death farm, bitchin’ butchering workshops, and “happy” little videos on their Facebook fan page of piglets with their mom-–before they become the subjects of those workshops! SCORE!
I know that Hodo is not a vegan company-–they are just accidentally vegetarian. But I still needed to ask them about their choice of okara beneficiary, since I assume the majority of their customer base is vegetarian, vegan, or at least appreciative of that lifestyle. I asked them why they didn’t donate their feed to a local produce farm for compost instead. They said that they’re in discussion with some farms right now to do that, and that they have so much okara that there is plenty to go around. Perhaps I wimped out, but I didn’t feel that the environment was appropriate to start a heated debate, but I do intend to write to them to encourage them to reconsider their practice, and I think it’d be great if fellow vegans joined me. I understand that to Hodo it’s just waste that they are finding a practical way to dispose of, but it’s also indirectly supporting a meat ranch by helping it spend less money on feed. It would behoove them to consider the demographic that is purchasing their product, and, if nothing else-–even if they don’t care about the ethical implications of their actions—at least see the gesture of giving to a produce farm as a great marketing opportunity. Wouldn’t a vegan or vegetarian feel better about purchasing something without any connection to the meat industry?
I definitely do recommend the tour. I think it’s super-important to know where your food comes from, and having the opportunity to actually see it is pretty rare. Plus, the more vegans that show up and voice their opinion on Hodo’s okara donation practices, the more likely it is they will change them. I don’t believe Hodo is some evil meat-industry supporter—I think that they haven’t looked at what they are doing from a different angle. And what are we vegans good at if not changing someone’s perspective?
Vi Zahajszky left her motherland of Hungary as a child and has spent most of her life in Boston and New York. Two years ago she drove across the country to San Francisco with husband Chris Carlozzi and a rescue pup named The Bandit. Here, among other things, she’s studying fashion design and pattern-making, and has plans to develop a vegan clothing line. Also, she’s enjoying no blizzards. Photo enhancing and video editing by Chris Carlozzi.
If you’re like me, (and since you’re here I’ll assume you’re at least a little like me), you like animals. You’re even more like me if you hate stupid zoos and much prefer viewing creatures in their natural habitat, running free, wind in their fur or reptilian skin or whatever. Where best to do this? Africa! It’s been my dream forEVER to go on safari in Africa, and this summer I finally went. I mean, there are a gazillion animals there, and you don’t even need to get all National Geographic, camping-out-for-days-in-abandoned-rodent-burrows to see them; basically, you just show up. As soon as I booked my flight, however, I heard the voice in my head say, “What are you going to eat, you dummy? They only serve antelope and alligator over there!” And it’s true that they do serve both those things with alarming frequency, I’m happy to report that being vegan in Africa ain’t so hard! I’ll show you.
View of Capetown’s V&A Waterfront from our room at the Cape Grace Hotel.
My first stop on the trip was Capetown, South Africa, which is basically just San Francisco. Seriously, it bears a striking resemblance to my wonderful hometown: the light, the mountains all around, the fog, the bay complete with an old jail on an island—it was just like being at home, except for all the nasty biltong. Yuck. Anyway, should you find yourself within like 500 miles of Capetown you must stay at the Cape Grace Hotel. No room in the budget for such swankiness? At least save up R550 ($75 U.S.) per person for the insanely amazing vegan tasting menu at the hotel’s restaurant, Signal. That’s the price WITH wine, people. You get five courses, plus a sorbet palate cleanser halfway through (can’t have dirty palates, now can we?), and a different, super-yummy South African wine with each course. It was hard to keep up, but somehow I managed (read: got DRUNK). From the beet carpaccio to the miso risotto, I promise your taste buds have never had it so good. And at the end you get this insane chocolate tart for dessert, complete with a sugar orb full of sorbet! What?! Yes.
Pretty sure this dessert is made exclusively of magic.
That dinner at Signal was one of our first meals in Africa, so we set the bar stratospherically high, but the rest of the food was good too! In Capetown, most places know what vegan is and can accommodate you. Plus there are tons of Turkish and Indian and Asian places that always have at least something vegan-by-default on the menu. Outside of South Africa, it’s a little tougher, but not much. If you’re going on safari (hello, that’s why you’re here right?) then just make super-duper sure to let your outfitter know in advance about your awesomeness. When I was researching the trip, not a single company I talked to told me they couldn’t feed me. They were all happy to make it work. You are paying money, after all! In the end, I went with Sanctuary Lodges, staying at two of their camps in Botswana and one in Uganda. All three were ridiculous—animals everywhere, fantastic guides, breathtaking sunsets—and at all three I was very well fed at every meal. The chefs went out of their way to include me, even going so far as to bake special vegan biscuits (using olive oil instead of butter) for afternoon tea. Man, life ruled on vacation.
Tea time treats including olive oil biscuits in the back.
What’s also super-cool is that in Uganda you can see the endangered mountain gorillas. It costs a shitload, but all the money goes to help protect them, which is (DUH) totally important! 
Mountain gorillas have been habituated to humans, but still very much wild.
Uganda also has tons of great Indian food because it used to have tons of people from the Indian subcontinent (before batshit crazy Idi Amin expelled nearly the entire population), which makes eating there pretty easy. Same goes for Kenya, where we stayed with some friends, and which was our penultimate stop on the trip. (Normally I would have just said “second-to-last” but our last stop was so the motherfucking ULTIMATE that it makes sense!) 
Curries like this chickpea version are abundant in Uganda and Kenya.
While in Kenya, we only had time to stay in Nairobi, but just like Capetown and other big cities, there was plenty of ex-pat cuisine with vegan items (pizza sans cheese, salads, hummus, etc) so it was no problem. However, due to my not-so-with-it friends, I also found myself at the most horrific place EVER while in Nairobi: a place no vegan should ever know about, let alone visit: Carnivore, the restaurant. Word on the street is that this monstrosity used to serve zebra and cheetah and other wild animals. Now that such things are frowned upon (um, hooray!) the most exotic dish is ostrich. Still, ugh. But, rather than stay in the car and cry, I decided to see what vegan things Carnivore could dish up. Honestly? They did all right! I had a great salad and some curried veggies with plain rice. It still made me mad. I mean, I know so many people who just think it’s too hard to be vegan where they live, and I had a vegan meal at a restaurant called freakin’ CARNIVORE in the middle of Kenya!
Nothing like a good veggie burger to calm your rage.
Want to know how to alleviate frustration like that? Go lay on the beach for five days at the most insanely wonderful, all-inclusive resort where they bring you your every vegan desire (“Champagne and veggie burgers for lunch today, Mrs. Chari?” Surely! “An Arabic feast, complete with hookah delivered to your bungalow?” Of course!) while you lounge in the Indian Ocean wondering however on this planet you got so goddamn lucky. Yeah, that’s how we ended the trip, at Maya in the Seychelles. I know not everyone can do this and I know how blessed I am to have been able to go. Seriously, if you can get there, you will be renewed, re-energized, and catered to beyond your wildest imaginations. They heard we were vegan, and their response was, basically: OK, tell us what you want to eat every day and we’ll make it. Ahhh.
So there you have it. I managed to spend a month traveling around Africa without missing a single meal. Even better, I got to see the animals I love in their homes, and I met many people who are dedicated to keeping them safe. It was life-changing—and I’m already planning my next trip. Who’s in? I mean, baby elephants are CUTE!!!
See? Cute overload.
Sky Chari hails from NJ, so it’s surprising that she bears no resemblance to Snookie (unless she goes on a carrot juice-bender, in which case Sky too can get a little orange). She enjoys traveling this kick-ass world of ours almost as much as she loves eating good vegan food, but she is also quite content to stick around San Francisco, where she’s lived for 10 years, perfecting the art of trying new restaurants and overstaying her welcome at tried-and-true favorites. Read more about her adventures here.
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