just in case you'd like to dream of a pantry, too

I happened onto this blog, which makes me happy, and fuels my own desire for a large and well organized pantry where I can actually find things! One day.

Daphne and Maggie

We have a new housemate! Maggie joined us the day before yesterday, and made herself right at home. Although she was rescued from the alley behind a hardware store, we think it's pretty obvious that at one time, she had a home and family. She loves being held, for example; it took me several years to convince Daphne, our other kitty, that letting herself be loved was a good thing. Speaking of Daph, she is not so happy about the new cat, but you know how that is, eh? Takes time.

As I had written before, Daph has been quite ill. We see that she is improving, but we also think she may have become permanently deaf, and also that her vision is very bad. We don't know how this happened. Since moving here, poor Daph has had one problem after the other.

First, she was attacked by fire ants (which are particularly bad in Raleigh these past several years, apparently), and may have been allergic to their bites. This caused her to avoid her litter box, and the smart girl decided the HVAC vent in the entryway was a better option (so I had to have the vent replaced).

We'd been using a flea collar, but read they're bad, so ordered some drops online. She developed what appeared to be acne on her chin, and got what we thought were earmites... At the same time, because she is a fearful feral kitty, going to the vet's is a seriously traumatic event, taking several days to recover from. That's why we'd ordered stuff online.

But finally, I took her in, only to find that despite the drops, she was crawling with fleas... and allergic to their bites, perhaps, and several other problems. Nearly $1,000 later, she still was not better.

Finding it unbearable to put her through the trauma of a vet visit in a car, we found a mobile vet, who used anesthesia to put her out, cleaning out her ears very well. Maybe too well.

Because from the time we brought her in, she never really did recover from the anesthetic. She had lost her balance, and was instantly this hyper-fearful, unbalanced kitty who refused to eat for more than a week. The doc kept her with her, hydrating her with subcutaneous fluid, and finally, brought her to us just 2 days before Christmas.

Before this had all happened, though, we had finally decided to find her a companion, so went to a wonderful shelter in the area. We had been waiting 'til Daph was well enough - feeling more sure of her home and her people - to bring home another cat, and so we finally did do that.

That's the saga, so far. Poor little Daphne - we hope so much that Maggie's presence will enliven (but not enrage) her, and that she will emerge from this horrible time all well, loved and with a long life ahead of her.

outrageous behavior

I am vegan for health, but I've been eating this way for over a year now. Curious about the ethics and production aspects surrounding the animal industry, I've read a number of well-known texts to learn more - including the occasional foray to the PETA site. I have not been in sympathy with their sexist marketing tactics, but - no, there is no 'but'. I am not in sympathy with their alienating and offensive tactics. I know all about the theory that shock brings attention, that old end-justifies-means argument that carries no water around this house.

How you live, who you are to your fellows - this counts. Every word you say, smiles, a hand when needed - these things construct your character over a very long time (if you're lucky). Small tradeoffs. Screwing someone over, expeditiously - the little-considered impulse to self defense. We do err. Trite thoughts come to me about repenting at leisure, and other bullshit. We do mess up. But an accretion of poor decisions - slight course adjustments - are capable of altering not only the path of the journey, but the point of arrival.

It is not enough, ever, to trade off human dignity no matter what the ends might ideally be. Today PETA attempted to run an ad following the beheading of a young man on a Greyhound bus. Intentionally, representatives of this organization created an ad modeled on this horrific crime, pointing out the horror of our slaughter of innocent animals. Their justification?

Yesterday, we mentioned an advertisement that we wanted to run in a Canadian newspaper in the wake of a shocking stabbing murder and possible cannibalism in Manitoba. Countless people have contacted us with their concerns, so we'd like to explain why we wanted to run the ad that no newspaper will touch with a 10' pole.

Yes, of course we were horrified (who wouldn't be?) when we heard the details of this barbaric, incomprehensible killing. And obviously, everyone's good thoughts go out to anyone affected by this violent act. That's all a no-brainer. Now, remember, PETA is known for being provocative—that's our job. The animals don't benefit from our silence. So our thought is always: How can we get people to see that despite their feelings about this kind of violence, they are often paying someone to do exactly what was done to the man on the bus, and worse, just so that they can eat a sandwich? Voila, the ad!

We see parallels between acts of violence against humans and cruelty to animals, since both spring from a common root. We understand that such comparisons may be uncomfortable for many people, but they're not inaccurate.

Responding to violence with anger is also natural, but just being angry solves nothing, does it? Real change comes about when we channel anger or sadness into action. (Quoted from here)

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? The exploitation of human pain only increases the pain, regardless of the validity of the objectives.

There is no guarantee that PETA's move will succeed in any way in convincing people that killing animals is wrong. I could not disagree more with PETA. My voice counts too, here in this strange country of blogging.


Meanwhile, my strong feeling is that I would like to send my caring thoughts and support towards the McLean family, who have lost their son, Tim. It is this loss that is even more incomprehensible and unbearable, and no political posturing should obscure the tragedy, or draw attention from it. As a parent I cannot begin to understand this loss, and it is in realizing my inability that I begin to sense the depth of the void that has been created.

Our responsibility to one another: to be kind. Isn't that all we've got?

tortellini with 5-minute sauce

At this point, this is just a fantasy meal. But hey, it's got to start somewhere, right? I'm on the heels of a very frustrating soup-making experience (more about that in a minute) and need something truly delicious to cheer me up.

I found a yummy-sounding 5-minute tomato sauce - simple, pure, and I have all the ingredients on hand. I mean, look at it! If you have any love at all for tomato sauce, it's a must-try. Perfect for topping a simple tortellini (once I make it - I have to do some recipe-hunting, first). I am not satisfied with what I've seen of whole wheat pastas - too thick, too crumbly. Here, I'm a traditionalist: al dente, beautiful smooth semolina-based pasta. And then there's the filling. I'll keep working on this. I'm thinking about: the vegan tofu ricotta I've seen, with basil; the small tin of mushroom Tartex I'd ordered from Food Fight along with other stuff, and haven't opened yet; other ideas (spinach with mushroom).

So, back to my previously mentioned soup dilemma. We had a (very) large bundle of collards that were getting long in the tooth, and thought - hey, soup! So I carmelized several onions, adding in lots of garlic for the last few minutes, and slow-roasted up a bunch of veggies in order to get that wonderful sweetness that only comes that way - carrot, rutabaga, 2 different sorts of squash. Chopped up half the huge batch of collards, and threw it all in my big dutch oven, where I'd just done a large batch of veggie broth, heavy on the leeks.. Added in bay leaves. Simmer simmer simmer simmer (about 2 hours); blend with stick blender. Add Bragg's, tahini (about 1/4 c), hot pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, several tablespoons of brown sugar. It is bitter. The topnotes are delicious, but there is an overwhelming bitter taste and I know it's from the collards. Damn it. Hopefully I can rescue it - there's a lot of it! Pretty frustrating experience. I have learned from it, though - a) old collards can be bitter, and b) old collards, in particular, have a very assertive taste, best used in small amounts as part of something like a soup. I think it would've been a lot better if I'd added 1/3 as much as I did.

I realized when I posted the quinoa salad recipe that it's been far, far too long since I posted here (must be a malady peculiar to bloggers, postus interruptus). It's not as if I haven't been cooking, either! In fact I've made 4 batches of bread from the book I mentioned below, Artisan breads in 5 minutes a day, but for the most part I seem to have found a number of favorites for when I'm super-busy. I managed to use the aforementioned bread recipe to make some wonderful hamburger buns for broiled tofu with backyard bbq sauce (from Veganomicon); just tried crispy sweet and sour tofu (verdict: General Tao's Tofu is miles better for our tastebuds! but it is super easy to make, which is nice. not enough spice, too sweet). And pizzas, cutlets, awesome gravy (love the bechamel!) etc etc etc - a good groove, accompanied by absolute truckloads of kale and collards, as well as buckets of beans.

I am anxiously awaiting delivery of a Soyabella soy milk maker! We appear to go through lots of soy milk, about 2 gallons per week, so this struck me as a good idea on several levels. First is cost, though with the machine racking up over $100, it will take a while to pay for itself (1/2 gal. soy milk = around $3 X 4 = $12 per week, or nearly $50 per month, versus $100 for the machine, 1/4 c soybeans per quart (5lb bag of these cost $6 - I'm too tired to do that particular math!) As well, apparently you can make your own tofu (I'd love to try this) and a byproduct of soy milk prep is okara, which from all reports is a super healthy add to various recipes, having even more nutritional wallop than the soymilk.

So there you go. All that and I haven't even talked about the new grant project, my lit review, or - so much else. Well, hey. This is a vegan food blog, eh? Still, it's been pretty wild. I work part time in Second Life, a virtual community whose participants include thousands of researchers, educators and others (and more than 700 librarians!) - as a consumer health librarian, funded by grants from the National Library of Medicine. One project has just ended, and another began directly on its virtual heels - this one, to mentor people with disabilities and chronic illnesses into Second Life. Along with this I'm mid-lit review, and have been struggling - repeatedly - with issues of self-confidence and motivation, something I think must be quite common. Cooking is a relief from this. Or maybe we can file it under procrastination.

thinking about dinner

goal: simple, tasty, healthy

israeli couscous (larger than 'regular)
garlic
tomato
collard greens
bell pepper
onion
soy curls


Stroganoff


Eggplant and Cauliflower Curry