vegansaurus!

Silly animal-friendly April Fools Day jokes  »

I kind of hate April Fools Day. Some stuff is fun, like when Google or whatever plans something elaborate. But I hate when you are working on a deadline and you get “zany” “emergency” emails and it’s like, OK, can you just tell me if this is real or not so I can get back to work? Yes. I’m a ball of fun. But! I have to admit, some of these animal-centered April Fools are funny. Come on, admit it.

Up top is an ad from ASPCA about their new anti-puppymill campaign. It’s pretty dang cute. Corresponding video:

Don’t worry, cats can join in on the protest as well.

Ug, I hate stores that sell dogs! Monster Pets in Philly does and I hate them. Boycott them! But a lot of pet stores are hip to adoption and don’t sell pups and kitties. If only we could get them to stop selling hamsters and those other little guys! But pups and kitties is a start. 

Vegan-friendly online store Ethical Ocean made a pretty funny site, Unethical Ocean. You get where it’s going but this basketball net offer is just really funny:

It’s all in the details! Like in the FAQ for Warby Parker’s new line Warby Barker: 

Can my dog ride in the car with his head out the window while wearing Warby Barker glasses?

Yes. Each pair is constructed from exceptionally durable materials.

Not an animal org, I know, but this silly page links to HSUS. And besides, DOG-OCLE. 

Other jokes: PETA said they’d release meat-allergy-inducing ticks, Sony had a cute thing, Grubhub’s Kibblehub is kind of hilar, and Care2 had a petition from a cow asking for more visibility on the site.

In crappy April Fools attemps, Whole Foods disappoints with a joke about a cam that promises to let you “watch what your meat eats,” because all animals are “your meat” and isn’t that funny. Um, fuck you. And it appears even the Army has a sense of humor? Too bad they do actually send dogs off to get PTSD or die (the Army may have a sense of humor, but I still don’t!). And wait, is this Ostrich pillow from Fab real? Ug, I hate April Fools Day.

Nevermind Eggs, Throw an Easter Beer Hunt!  »

I don’t usually celebrate Easter, but this brilliant idea has me pondering a party. It’s apparently a THING in Europe: Sending your buddies all over the yard/park/house in search of pastel-painted delicious adult beverages. Not only is this much more vegan-friendly than hiding eggs (assuming you pick your beers well; barnivore.com), it’s also SO MUCH TASTIER. Beer, people! On a Sunday morning! With pastels!

You can get fancy and invent rules, winners, blind taste-tests, etc. Or you can be lazy and just hide cans of PBR in your roommate’s bathrobe. Whatever you do, tell us about it! Get the full scoop on Food Republic.

Photo by Shawn Allen on flickr.com

Celebrate vegan Passover with the Girlie Girl Army!  »

Vegan powerhouse Chloe Jo Davis does an annual guide to an animal-friendly Passover, and this year she’s got brand-new recipes for Passover Pizza, matzoh chocolate brittle, and Harriet’s charoset (recommended usage: ice cream topping!). 

Are you observing Passover this year? If you are, surely you know it begins at sundown today and lasts seven nights. How vegan will your table be?

[photo by mollyjade via Flickr]

Celebrate Valentine’s Day the Farm Sanctuary way!  »

Farm Sanctuary has two genius ideas for showing your honey (there’s an agave joke in there somewhere…) you care this Valentine’s Day. 

Gift idea #1: 

“Farm Sanctuary’s beautifully-packaged, delectable, organic, fair trade Vegan “Milk” Chocolate Heart, which opens up to reveal even more vegan sweet treats inside! Made from rice/almond “milk” chocolate, it’s the perfect expression of love and compassion this Valentine’s Day. Price: $18.00. Available for Pre-Order. All proceeds go to support Farm Sanctuary’s work on behalf of abused and neglected farm animals.”

Gift idea #2:

“Skip the flowers and Adopt A Farm Animal instead! Sponsoring a rescued cow, pig, sheep, goat, or chicken who resides at one of Farm Sanctuary’s three shelters in NY and CA is a cute, original way to show you care. Gift recipients receive an adorable adoption certificate complete with a color photograph, adoption card, and an invitation to schedule a VIP tour to meet their adopted friend!”

So there you have it, two genius gift ideas that help animals! Also, can we talk about that calf and her/his funny expression? Hilar.

Best present practices: Vegan food gifts, from Vegan Food Gifts!  »

This is what you need to know:

1. Joni Marie Newman’s recipes are perfect, basically foolproof instructions for making incredibly delicious food everyone will love.

2. Food gifts are very excellent gifts.

3. Joni’s written a new book, Vegan Food Gifts, perfect to use to make your own gifts, or to give as a meta-present!

4. She’s giving away a copy of Vegan Food Gifts right now on her blog, along with the instructions for making this lovely jar of soup mix/recipe for this actual soup.

So what are you waiting for? The deadline is to win the book is Friday, Nov. 30, so enter already! Or buy the book! Make vegan food gifts for everyone you want to give presents to this year! Obligate them to have you over for dinner! “Oh, this soup? I made it from your mix. Happy holidays in February!”

[photo by Celine Steen for Vegan Food Gifts]

How to make an Unturkey! (Seriously, do this for Thanksgiving)  »

OK, so Thanksgiving is almost here. I think. It’s next week, right? To prepare for the main event, your Vegansaurus took one for the team and made a motherfucking UNTURKEY. I made it the original Unturkey way and I made one the new Miyoko Schinner one (she’s the original creator of the Unturkey and has made some alterations since the recipe was originally printed). 

They were both DELICIOUS, with the original way being slightly juicier, and the Miyoko way being easier to make and work with. However, you really can’t lose, especially with that tasty-ass, crispy yuba skin that takes so much like actual turkey skin, WHICH I KNOW GROSS RIGHT, but also: YUMMMM. Let’s not front, most of us don’t eat meat because it tastes disgusting, most of us don’t eat meat because that shit is a DEAD ANIMAL, and a tortured dead animal, at that, and that shit is hella sad. 

Just a few notes:

• It’s much easier than it looks, so don’t be intimidated by either recipe. Just read through so you get the gist, and just have fun with it! (I’m saying that with a flip of the hair, it’s very sassy!)
• If you can afford it, get the Hodo Soy Beanery yuba! It’s perfection when crispy-fied, and realllllly easy to work with! I bought it at Berkeley Bowl West, where they also have the dried yuba, which is much cheaper, but not organic and harder to work with. So, depending on budget, your call!
• If you don’t want to make the “Light Nutritional Yeast Flavoring,” 1) YOU REALLY SHOULD, it’s not hard! and 2) You can use a vegan chicken broth in its place (they sell it in bulk at places like Rainbow and Berkeley Bowl)
• This is outrageously tasty times, but if you have omnis who are dead set on eating actual dead turkey (WHY? EVERYONE KNOWS IT’S THE LEAST DELICIOUS OF ALL MEATS) and will complain about anything “fake,” then you might want to also have some non-traditional vegan centerpiece dishes too, the VegNews newsletter has mad ideas for this! But srsly, the Unturkey might switch ‘em, so force them to eat some of it, too!

Okay, so here’s what the inside looks like:

Here’s before I baked a massive one:

Here’s after I baked a massive one (THAT SHIT LOOKS LIKE TURKEY RIGHT? TASTES LIKE IT TOO):

Here are some other photos for your enjoyment, as well. Jonas made unturkey noodle soup! That shit was bananas! Or, that soup was hella tasty!

Happy unturkeying fools!

SF SPCA’s holiday window display of adoptable animals debuts Friday at Macy’s!  »

Catch the unveiling of the SF SPCA’s annual holiday window display of adorable, adoptable animals at Macy’s Union Square on Friday! Beat back your case of Seasonal Affective Disorder with an eyeful of baby animals who want to be your best friend! 

Last year this display led to more than 325 animals finding forever homes, and almost $80,000 for the SF SPCA! Awesome. Also of note:

The SF SPCA needs volunteers to help spread the holiday cheer at Windows by greeting the public, collecting donations, and directing visitors to the SF SPCA pop-up adoption center inside Macy’s. The 2-hour shifts do not require special training. Groups are welcome, and children are invited to volunteer alongside their parents. For details or to sign up, visit sfspca.org/holiday-volunteer or call (415) 554-3008.

Each holiday window will be equipped with a video camera that streams images to sfspca.org/holiday, so you can watch the kittens and puppies from your computer.

…

For those who can’t make it to Macy’s, the SF SPCA will be waiving the adoption fee on  adult animals adopted from the permanent SF SPCA Adoption Center at 250 Florida St. [from] Nov. 16 to Jan. 1, 2013.

Check out the window unveiling at 5 p.m. on Friday at Macy’s Union Square, at the corner of Stockton and O’Farrell streets in San Francisco. Yes, the darkness encroaches as the winter solstice draws nearer, but an animal companion warms your heart (and lap) even on the coldest nights.

[Photos by Jennifer Jamieson for the SF SPCA]

Robin Robertson has got vegan Thanksgiving help for you!  »

You guys know that Vegansaurus loves Thanksgiving. Eatin’ and loved ones and time off work and more eatin’—no gifts, no religion, just good food and better company (or vice versa!).

Unfortunately, preparing a big, multi-dish meal for often mixed-diet company often causes loads of stress, which can put even the best-dispositioned of us entirely off Thanksgiving. But don’t fret! Vegan chef and author Robin Robertson is here for us! On Monday, she announced the opening of her holiday hotline, a series of posts full of her (very valuable!) holiday success advice. She also announced a contest to win a copy of Party Vegan, which you should totally enter.

Yesterday, she posted three example holiday menus, all the recipes on the first of which are available here! For more immediate help, VegNews is hosting a vegan Holiday Hotline on Twitter tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 6 PST/9 EST. The participants will include Robin, and her esteemed vegan food colleagues Nava Atlas, Ayinde Howell, Hannah Kaminsky, and Allyson Kramer. Check it out tonight at hashtag #vegnewschat. With their help, you could make Thanksgiving 2012 the fanciest ever! Or the least stressful! Whichever is more appealing/realistic!

[photo by Robin Robertson]