vegansaurus!

Buzzfeed kills it with “The 19 Most Annoying Things About Being Vegan”  »

God bless Buzzfeed, amiright? Buzzfeed staffer Jack Shepherd hits the nail on the head with this list of annoying things. You have to read it and tell me if you think it’s as dead-on as I do. Did he miss any? Here are my favorites:

I hate wraps so so much. Bread is why I eat sandwiches.

So true. :(

And of course #19 is the truest annoyance of all: “The comment section for every article ever written about veganism.” And don’t worry, there are plenty of terrible comments on his post. I wish I could shock people through the internet. Just send a few volts per level of obnoxiousness. Disqus should add that feature. 

Top 5 Reasons to do Walk for Farm Animals with Gene Baur  »

Hi everybody! Gene Baur (!) sent us this handy list about Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals. The SF Walk for Farm Animals is October 13th, who’s going to be there? Gene is! You can be there too, there is still time to sign up. I also want you to know that the cow in the picture above is named Meg. Twinsies! 

Top 5 Reasons to Walk for Farm Animals

1. Meet other people who care about animals! The Walk for Farm Animals brings together a compassionate community of individuals who support Farm Sanctuary’s efforts to rescue abused animals and advocate on behalf of millions more.

2. Support Farm Sanctuary—the largest farm animal rescue and protection organization in North America! Every dollar raised directly supports Farm Sanctuary’s life-saving work.

3. Fight factory farming! 96% of Americans oppose cruelty to animals and have no idea that animals are abused on factory farms. The Walk for Farm Animals educates the public about the horrors of industrialized agriculture.

4. Give animals a voice with every step you take! Farm animals can’t speak for themselves—be their voice and advocate on their behalf.

5. Make a difference and have fun! The Walk for Farm Animals features free vegan food, live music, pre-Walk yoga, and much more!

If you can’t make it to the SF one, check the site for when the walk is in your city. It’s in NYC on October 20th! If there isn’t one in your area or you’re a lazy bones, you can participate in the Sleep In for Farm Animals on November 3. That’s my kind of party! 

Which coffee shops don’t charge extra for soy milk? Let’s make a list!  »

Beautiful coconut milk latte made for me by my dear brother. He’s fancy, right? It’s beautiful.

Reader Toshio emailed me the other day:

I was wondering if you’d consider posting a list of the cafes in SF that don’t charge extra for soymilk. The only one I know of is Peace Cafe on Haight Street, but there must be more. I would walk extra blocks just to avoid the charge. Much appreciated!

Let’s ask the readers! Who knows of a coffee shop in S.F. (or beyond) that doesn’t charge extra for soy milk?

Is there a legitimate reason for charging more for soy milk? It’s generally $.50 extra to get soy milk at a coffee shop. I’ve looked at dairy milk and soy milk prices online and it does seem soy milk is a bit more expensive—not more expensive than organic dairy milk, but maybe they are all only getting non-organic. But even non-organic is only like $.40 per gallon more expensive. That’s not nothing, but the cafe isn’t using more than a gallon of soy milk in your latte. If they really want to charge more because the soy milk they buy is more expensive, then it shouldn’t be more than a few cents per coffee, if we’re actually trying to make up the price difference.

Moreover, dairy milk prices seem to fluctuate quite often and kind of drastically. If we are going by this system of milk that costs more for the cafe costs more for you, when dairy milk prices go up, there should be an extra charge, no? But they don’t do that—people wouldn’t put up with it. But we soy milk drinkers don’t have the same kind of options as dairy-drinkers so we’re pretty much stuck with whatever they want to charge us. Bastards! They are exploiting our dietary needs!

I say to you, no more! Screw these extra charges! Next time they charge you $.50, you give them two pennies and say that is all they’re getting! Better yet, we should all walk out of our way to support the non-exploitative establishments! It’s time to RISE UP! Rage against the soy milk surcharges!

How to STAY vegan: 13 tips!  »

Five ways to take your tofu scramble to the next level  »

Is your tofu scramble missing something—flavor, pizazz, less slime? I’m no professional chef, but I did consult her for this article. And I’m sitting on the bench in my tofu scramble game: That means I DON’T PLAY. After complaining about tofu scrambles on restaurant menus, it’s only fair that I help others get on my level. Am I full of myself? You bet! Let’s start:

1. Tofu texture
You’ve got to go with firm or firmer, folks. Soft, medium, or silken tofu? Not gonna work here. I’ve made this mistake before, and it turns your meal all slimy. Go for firm or extra-firm. If your tofu is packed in water (usually accompanied by a hard plastic tray), you should also press it first to expel extra liquid.

2. Herbs ‘n’ spices
This is god-damned crucial. Because tofu is designed to soak up the flavors of what’s around it, you don’t want to end up with a dish that tastes like … tofu. Some important items, not just for cooking a tofu scramble but also for cooking most things in the world: garlic, cumin (gives it that eggy flavor), salt, black salt (makes it even eggier), pepper, paprika, turmeric (makes it yellow, if you’re into that) and thyme. Apply liberally, and thank me in the morning.

3. Cooking time
Cook your tofu in your skillet (ideally cast-iron, but who has time/money for such frivolities?!) till you think it might be burning. Then stir it, because it probably is not burnt. The point is you want your tofu to be done, not still mushy. Here’s my process: I sautee onions and any veggies with a longer cooking time first, then I add garlic and spices, and then the tofu. After adding the tofu, I cook on medium-high heat and stir occasionally for at least 15 to 20 minutes. You want that shit browned, ya heard?

4. Veggies
You can’t just toss onions and peppers on top of cubed tofu and expect it to be any good. You want the tofu to soak up flavors, which is why I recommended in tip #3 to cook a lot of the relevant veggies first. Frozen spinach and potatoes are especially useful in this application. When something is frozen, I add it later, when I add the tofu to the pan.

5. Toppings
This is the final step before serving, right? So don’t scrimp! Hook yourself up with some salsa, Frank’s hot sauce (GOD FRANK’S I WANT TO DRINK YOU), avocado, tortillas, ketchup, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and whatever else you godforsaken heathens like to throw on top of your food. Serve with toast, duh.

If your tofu scrambles are lackluster, try a few of these tips, and let me know how it goes. Or show it to a friend who could really use some help. Whatever, I’m here to serve!

[Photo by Cowomally via Flickr]

The 20 Best Vegan Dishes in the Mission District!?  »

VegNews published this awesome list of their most favorite things to eat in the Mission. How do you feel about it? Agree? Disagree? Yeah, I’m pretty much hella agreeing, except my absolute favorite burrito is still El Farolito and ain’t no amount of Hep C or knife fights gonna change that.  

[Little lighthouse, I love you, forever and ever. I don’t care if you stab me or shank me or that your bathroom is a gas chamber or that I’ve actually had to cross a crime scene to get to you (SEVERAL TIMES), you’re still #1!] [Yelp photo!]

Ask a Vegansaur: Vol. 04  »

This is how I’ve felt for the past week. I pretty much had the plague, yo, but today I finally left the house after about a week in seclusion and had no excuse not to write another edition of Ask a Vegansaur.

Lenore asks: My vet told me that unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores and cannot survive or be healthy on a vegan diet. Do you know if this is true? Do most vegans who have cats feed them a vegan diet? Thank you.

Thank YOU, Lenore, for being so polite! This is a controversial subject. For my part, I feed my cat a very fishy diet because that’s precisely what our veterinarian said. Every vegan I know who provides for a cat does the same. According to some sources, a vegetarian or vegan diet fails to provide the nutrients cats need while the makers of vegan cat foods tend to disagree. Interests on the food companies’ side are obvious, and only anecdotal evidence supports the hypothesis that cats can be healthy on veg diets. I suggest following your vet’s instructions to keep your kitty healthy. Although the process of making carnivorous cat food is no better than that of harvesting meat for human consumption, once you sign on to take care of another animal, he or she should be your priority above the other animals in the world. Not to say that anyone should ignore them, but I think you get the point. On the other hand, dogs can be vegetarian, and rabbits, guinea pigs, and the like are veg by nature. If you’re considering adopting a furbaby but don’t want to feed him or her meat, consider these choices.

Nicole asks: I recently transitioned from vegetarian to vegan. I am having trouble finding products other than food that are vegan (i.e., makeup, chapstick, body/face washes) and was wondering if you could lend me a hand? Thanks!

Sure thing, Nicole! Here’s a list of companies that don’t test on animals, and here’s a list of companies that do. Looking for a specific company? Use this tool to search for it. If you’re not sure, take a gander at the list of ingredients on your current products. Watch out for these ingredients. Does that seem overwhelming? Take a deep breath! You’ll be fine! You’re just starting, so you’ll get more practice in identifying vegan and non-vegan items as time goes on. Beauty tip: Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One soap works for my shower, cleaning, and even (in a pinch) toothbrushing needs, and Tom’s of Maine makes good toothpaste and deodorant. Finally, How It All Vegan! contains a variety of recipes for homemade cruelty-free beauty products.

Amanda asks: I think I accidentally ate meat at a restaurant outside of the U.S. Am I still a vegetarian?

Only if you want to be! Seriously, people should not be punished for true accidents — that is, incidents that result from no fault of their own. You’re away from home, and you’re starving. You do your best to ask what’s in your food, but the local language might not be your native one. You take a bite, you’re not sure, you eat it anyway because it’s food and it’s there. I can’t hate on you for that. Even the purest, most perfect vegans make mistakes. How you recover from them is most important.

Want to Ask a Vegansaur a question? Email me, and try not to be a jerk!

[Photo credit: Rex Features]

Guest Post: Top 10 Vegan Restaurants in Austin!  »

 What comes to mind when you hear about Texas? Greedy republicans, oil industries, and humidity infused gigantic hair, probably. But my town is a bit different. Ahh, Austin. It’s a quirky wonderland of twenty-something hipsters with something (and nothing) to prove, baby boomer hippies who could recall Woodstock as if it were yesterday (and are happy to do so up request), and vegan hotspots that send you into a deep state of food coma-dom (speaking from past experience). 

I’ve picked out the top 10 best vegan restaurants and cafes in the city. Big on flavor and even bigger in heart; these are “musts” for any visiting or resident vegan.

10. Vegan Yacht: How appropriate to start off with a food truck! Nestled in a food trailer park on the uber hip Eastside, Vegan Yacht is a great choice for vegans and omnivores alike. What to try: ‘Freeto’ burrito! Omg so good.

9. Sugar Tooth Bakery: Because even vegans have sugar cravings. What to try: Russian Caravan (almond cake).

8. The Parlor: Admittedly, on of the hardest parts about going vegan was giving up most all pizza. But the Parlor has brought my once favorite dish back to me! What to try: Build your own vegan pizza!

7.  Wheatsville Food Coop: Okay, so this is actually a grocery store. But, I feel it absolutely must be on the list for it’s super awesome and relaxed community feel, and it’s top-notch deli in the back with really great vegan options. What to try: Vegan Saffron Pasta salad, Popcorn tofu. [Ed.: Speaking of THE AMAZING popcorn tofu, did you know that you don’t have to go all the way to Texas to get it?? That’s right, the recipe is available in this great vegan recipe zine that I just bought and that you can buy, too. Aren’t we all so lucky!? I wrote a little about it in my SF Weekly Week in Vegan column and now I will cut and paste that here because I’m the laziest. Since the entire state of Texas is on fire, that means the animals residents of Sunny Day Farms animal sanctuary in Le Coste, Texas are suffering. In response, awesome blogger Lazy Vegan Smurf and friends put together a great zine of delicious vegan recipes, with all proceeds going to Sunny Day Farms. I’ve been eating almost exclusively out of it for the past week and have gotten three compliments on my sweater today. Coincidence? Don’t answer that? Buy it so I don’t have to place a curse on your first-born.]

6. Beets Café: Self proclaimed “upscale raw-food dining experience”, without the pretension. What to try: ELT (eggplant, lettuce and tomato) sandwich

5. Gueros: Rumor has it that this taco bar is where Quentin Tarantino likes to dine when he’s in Austin, so obvi it needs to be on the list. And I suppose another reason is that they have a totally kick ass vegan menu. What to try: Soy Chorizo on a Corn Tortilla Chiquita.

4. Mr. Natural’s: A restaurant, bakery, juice bar and health food store all rolled into one. Here’s to efficiency! What to try: Tofu and Sunflower Seed Tamales

3. Mother’s Café & Garden: Just as the name suggests, the Mother’s experience basically feels like a gigantic hug from beginning to end.  Comfort vegan food. Never leave hungry. Mmmm. What to try: Bueno Burger 

2. G’Raj Mahal: A truly enchanting trailer park dining experience (yes, it IS possible), G’Rah Mahal is a charming Indian cuisine trailer that offers outstanding vegan options. What to try: Coconut Curry, Baingam Bartha. PS: It’s also BYOB if you’re feeling frisky.

1. Counter Culture: Yep, another food trailer. But it’d be unwise to underestimate the beauty in simplistic dining. This place is small but mighty, and bonus points for their creative vegan offerings. What to try: Philly Seitan Sandwich

Stephanie Nahas lives in Austin, TX (obviously), works in the social media industry by day, and writes for her blog/sews for her etsy biz by night! She also spends her time fighting for animal rights, vegan/vegetarian education, and googling REALLY important, high brow things like “were dinosaurs bored during the day?” She blogs at Veggie Stephie and tweets as @veggiestephie. This is her first post for Vegansaurus. Thanks, Stephanie! Popcorn tofu po’ boy photo from Yelp.

Guest post: Captain Marty’s rules for vegan dining in a non-vegan establishment  »

I fly a charter jet for a living and I’m usually in the air 15-plus days a month. Sometimes I fly somewhere, wait for a few hours, and fly home; other times I’m away for a week. Sometimes I spend that week in one place and others I do 14 landings in different cities. I eat out a lot. And I’m a vegan. And the other pilots I fly with and eat with aren’t.

You know when a flight attendant gives that briefing five times a day? That’s the way I feel when I look up into my waitress’ eyes. Well, I might feel some other things too but I hear the same litany in my mind, the one I just gave at lunch and here we are at dinner. Déjà vu all over again. Here’s what I go through to get my vegan victuals while I’m on the road.

I have a few rules:

1. No one knows what you’re talking about.
2. No one cares, really. You’re the freak and the pain in their culinary ass.
3. No one has ever heard of a vegan before. Perhaps the chef read a paragraph about these weird diners he might encounter in culinary school.
4. When you tell your waitperson you don’t eat any animal products they don’t think about the butter, milk, lard, bacon grease, or chicken stock that the chefs use. They just think, “No prime ribs? OK. Got it.”
5. You must be patient.
6. You must be a teacher.
7. You will get what you want most of the time.
8. You have to have faith. If you don’t think the waiter asked the chef then you shouldn’t eat the food. If they tell you no animal products are being served in your food, you have to go with it unless you can prove the opposite. (This means finding chicken pieces in your food).
9. You will with certainty get, “Oh, you know, I never even thought of that!” I’ve learned that this is my fault for not explaining well enough what my restrictions are. (Did you know that Outback Steakhouse cooks their baked potatoes in bacon fat? Now you do).
10. You’ll get the most amazing vegan fare where you least expect it and get served food with hidden animal ingredients where you least expect it. (John Bozeman’s Pub in Bozeman, Mont. served me one of the most amazing vegan dinners. Bozeman, Montana?)
11. If you go south of New Jersey there is bacon grease in everything.
12. If you go south of Virginia there is bacon in everything.
13. If your server doesn’t speak English as a first language and you don’t speak their native tongue as a second language you should have a copy of Veggie Passport on your phone. This has translations for our needs in a bunch of different languages.
14. Assume all soup is not vegan.
15. Read the menu like a proofreader. Sometimes we’re in a hurry and imagine the food is going to come the way we make it at home but you ain’t in Kansas any more—or maybe you actually are! “Who would put butter on THAT?”
16. Veggie burgers always have egg and cheese in them unless you find out otherwise.

I like to tell my server I’m a vegan and ask if they know what that means. Their answer gives me a good indication of how much explaining I have to do. You’ll get good at judging. “OK, so no meat right? But chicken is OK?” is vastly different than, “OK, so no animals or animal products of any kind, including cheese or dairy?” I’ve had both. In the first case you just have to take a breath, dig in, and start from the beginning. “No, no animals. Nothing that was made from anything that came off of or out of an animal, nothing….” In the second case you can skip the primer and start to ask very specific questions such as, “Is the rice made with water or chicken stock?” Most servers don’t really think in the same terms we do. They never even thought that the rice might not be vegan so it’s up to you to explain it.

I go from the general explanation to the specific questions. Take the Mexican burrito. This should be easy. A no-brainer but right off the bat you have to ask:

• Is the tortilla made with lard?
• Is the rice cooked in water or stock?
• Is there lard or pork in the beans?
• Is there bacon in the spinach?
• Is the soy cheese vegan or just vegetarian?
• Are the vegetables sauteed in butter or oil?

You go through all this and send the waiter back into the kitchen four or five times (you had better leave them a good tip. I think if you get a person working that much above and beyond, 20 percent should be the standard vegan tip rate. Plus, isn’t it nice to create an image of vegans who are generous and appreciative? Pay it forward). You finally sit back with your vegan glass of water and eventually the food is put before you.

Two more rules:

1. Re-question. This involves asking almost every question again but this time you get to point to every item on your plate. Is the sour cream vegan? What’s in the BBQ sauce? Are you sure they used the soy cheese? I never ask, “Is this vegan?” That’s too easy to just agree with. I will say, “What’s this?” and let the server say, “Oh, we have a vegan mayonnaise, or we use Earth Balance vegan spread.” Of course, sometimes you just get that look and, “Oh, crap. I’ll have them make it over.”
2. Examine your food like you’re a pathologist looking for a clue on CSI. If you order a veggie burger and they serve the burgers with mayo, guess what you’re going to get with your veggie burger? Yup. Been there, done that and have many t-shirts.

This is by no means a complete list. It’s a good start and if you take nothing else away from the list take this: Until this upside down world changes, if you have a vegan meal in a non-vegan restaurant, they did it right. If you didn’t get what you wanted, just smile, ask for your food to be redone and take away a lesson about how you can do it better in the next place, the next time.

Follow the adventures of vegan pilot Marty on Marty’s Flying Vegan Review!

Five vegan heels I’d wear if I hated my ankles  »

Alternative title: I get cranky in high heels. But dang it, sometimes I just want to dress like a stripper. Every time I try though, I become a total asshole. A taller, hotter asshole but still, you can’t go around being a jerk just because your feet hurt. But if I were capable of tolerating them, these are the crazy high heels I would wear!

I enlisted the help of my kid sister Cally as she knows everything about fashion (and very little about anything else!). She’s such a dear, the poor girl. Ever since I found the “gmail this” bookmarklet, she gets gaggles of emails asking for her opinion on every vegan shoe from here to outer space. She’s always nice when she responds and tells me all the shoes I like are ugly. Now you too can benefit from her fashion expertise as all these shoes are Cally-approved! Let’s start this party:

Sea Peep-toe Pump from olsenHaus. I actually managed to pick this pair out myself! Cally’s thoughts: “I LOVE these ones. Totes cutes. You could wear them with tons of stuff and they would even be cute with tights in the winter.” Totes.

Galaxy Hokkaido Foster Glitter Pumps from Stella McCartney. These are the hotness, or as Cally phrased it, “they are like wham bam.” Wham bam, indeed.

Glamour Pump from Hearts of Darkness by Cri de Coeur at Mooshoes. This pair I picked out too though it’s hard to go wrong with a black pump. But these are hella tall! And with the amount of whiskey I drink, anything over two inches is just irresponsible. Cally’s thoughts: “They are be-a-utiful. Love a good black pump.”
GoMax Ashland 13 from Lulu’s. Now these shoes are only $31 which normally I would think is a great thing but I feel like that means you will DEFINITELY break your ankle. Cally’s thoughts on these: “Pretty shape.” Word.

Nashira from Neuaura at Mooshoes. OK, these are not approved! They are my wild card that Cally officially rejected: “I don’t like the weird colors.” But they remind me of Mondrian and that’s dope. I’d be walking all around like, Check me out, jerks! What? I can’t hear you over how hot I am! Everyone would really like that.

That’s all for today! Let’s all thank Cally for dropping some knowledge.