Living Without Meat

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In true Suzy Homemaker Sunday tradition, I made a loaf of bread today. It could use a touch more sugar or sweetener (the amount listed is how much I used), but other than that today’s carb creation is delicious!

Whole Wheat Carob Coconut Banana Oat Bread

The name gives away most of this bread’s ingredients. Into your bread machine, add:

1 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. gluten
3 cups flour, any mix of bread flour, white, and wheat
1 cup soy milk
2 large, very ripe, mashed bananas
1/2 cup oats
1 Tbsp. of butter
1 Tbsp. agave nectar

At this point, turn the maker on and select medium. After 15 minutes, when the machine takes the first rising, check the dough. Being a thick dough, mine needed a little hand mixing and then I restarted the machine. When it beeps, at the point when you can add nuts, dried fruit, etc., toss in a little less than 1/2 cup of carob chips and a little more than 1/2 cup of coconut flakes.

Let the machine finish baking. Let the bread cool. Let your taste buds delight in the yumminess!

P.S. Be a true Suzy Homemaker by clicking on the picture of the apron to get a free apron sewing pattern.

Two weeks ago I found a cute sewing tutorial for making your own reusable snack bag with a Velcro closure, a perfect way to tote around your homemade trail mix.

Now I found another great project to make as a lunch=packing accompaniment to your snack baggie: a reusable sandwich wrap.

Betz White shares the how-to directions for this simple project shown here, from her craft book Sewing Green, on Craft Stylish, where she is a contributing blogger.

Place your sandwich in the center of your handmade sandwich wrap, fold the two shorter sides in, then fold in and Velcro shut the other sides, throw it in your bag and you are good to go! With this project and the snack bag, you’ll be well on your way to never using a plastic baggie again. Plus, with a container this cute you’ll be more likely to brown bag your lunch just to show off your awesome creation!

It’s been my experience that vegetarians are crafty people, in the creative way not the sneaky way. We also tend to like eating. Against popular belief, we are not anorexic. We are often rather gluttonous, in fact. And since not everywhere we end up is going to have a good vegan option, we carry snacks in our reusable bags.

So what more perfect craft project for a vegan than this handmade, reusable, super cute, easy to make replacement for a Ziploc bag? So grab yourself some refurbished fabric scraps, and head on over to We Wilsons, where you can find a simple, unique tutorial for making your own reusable snack bags. Then fill it with some homemade trail mix, toss it in your canvas tote, and your good to go!

I can’t explain it, but there is a definite connection between vegetarians/vegans and tattoos. I, personally, have three tattoos (from four sessions), and my most recent tattoo guy was also a vegetarian. If you don’t believe me, ask the next veg*n that you come across how many tattoos they have. Sure, there are probably a few exceptions here and there, but …

MySpace profile “MySpace Vegans [and aspiring vegans]“ has put together a growing collection of tattoos that are directly connected to animal rights or veganism. The photo album is 80+ pictures big with new snapshots added daily. It’s full of simple ones such as the word “vegan” stamped on the wrist, and just as many intricate drawings of animals, St. Francis of Assisi, vegetables, and more. There are colorful ones, all black ones, and even a pure white one.

Add “MySpace Vegans” as your friend and check out the vast array of veg tats … and then submit photos of yours!

Twilight brought about the vegan vampire phenomenon. In the book series and movie, vampires who chose not to suck blood from humans were “vegan.” Granted, they got their fix from animals, so they wasn’t really anything vegan about them, but I digress. The phrase “vegan vampire” became a popular one.

Now, Applehead Factory brings us the award-winning Tofu the Vegan Zombie, a cartoon starring the voices of Ellen Muth of Dead Like Me (of which a movie version was released this week) and Billy West of Futurama.

“Tofu is a friendly zombie, created from a botched experiment in Professor Vost’s laboratory. Monkey #5, one of Vost’s lab animals, stuffed a block of tofu into the zombie boy’s open skull after accidentally losing the brain. As a result, ‘Tofu’ eats only vegetables and grains and has no taste for human meat. However, if ‘Tofu’ ever loses his ‘tofu-brain,’ he turns into a dangerous zombie creature, craving human flesh.”

“Zombie Dearest,” the first Tofu episode, is now available to watch at Tofu the Vegan Zombie’s online home.

This photoshopped picture of a sushi roll made out of a golden retriever pup is making it rounds through cyber space, getting every reaction possible - WTF, LOL, OMG … you know, the usual. At first I was disturbed, but if you think about it, this picture looks suspiciously like something that would compliment PETA’s “I you wouldn’t eat/do this to your dog …” campaigns, which have previously used master photoshop talents to put a dog on a plate, put a pig’s and chicken’s head on a dog and cat; hook a dog with a giant fish hook, and more similar images. Then again, I see a bored college student doing this to be funny and prove their skills.

Regardless of where it originated, this picture makes a strong, valid point: there is no difference between your pet pooch and the fish and seafood that you consume.

Singer Neko Case loves animal, thinks zoos are stupid, and hates PETA. In a recent interview with Spinner, fiery redhead Case shared her feelings:

“Those stories are so depressing,” she told Spinner. “And the animal is always the one who gets murdered at the end. I don’t know why people act so shocked. You got in the cage with the tiger, you were harassing it and then it f*ing killed you. It’s a f*ing tiger. What the f* were you thinking?”

“Then they shoot the tiger. That’s hardly fair. It’s a large predator. Or killer whales in zoos — those things are supposed to swim 200 miles a day. It’s like having a teenager and saying, ‘OK, I’m gonna feed and clothe you, but you have to live in this refrigerator.’ People say [zoos] are for the children, but why would you want your children to see sad, crazy animals?”

And she also talked about the Michael Vick dog-fighting case:

“Best Friends took the Michael Vick dogs,” Case points out. “That’s a big deal because a lot of supposed animal welfare organizations like PETA — who can blow me — said you should euthanize the dogs immediately. But it’s not the dogs’ fault that they were fighting dogs — they’ve been abused. Pit bulls are muscular and big, but they’re not man-eaters.”

So she has a foul mouth, and I have never heard of her or said publication; however, Case was so excited to learn about Best Friends that she talked to her label and worked it out so that anytime someone posts a link to her song, People Gotta Alot Of Nerve, they will donate $5 to the Best Friends Animal Society, now through February 3.

William Blake is one of my favorite poets. Today I discovered a poem of his that I had not read before: “Auguries of Innocence.” Here’s the beginning of this poem; I’m sure you’ll see why I particularly like this one:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all heaven in a Rage.
A dove house fill’d with doves and Pigeons
Shudders Hell thro’ all its regions.
A dog starv’d at his Master’s Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State.
A Horse misus’d upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear.
A Skylark wounded in the wing,
A Cherubim does cease to sing.
The Game Cock clip’d and arm’d for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright.
Every Wolf’s and Lion’s howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul.
The wild deer, wand’ring here and there,
Keeps the Human Soul from Care.
The Lamb misus’d breeds Public strife
And yet forgives the Butcher’s Knife.
The Bat that flits at close of Eve
Has left the Brain that won’t Believe.
The Owl that calls upon the Night
Speaks the Unbeliever’s fright.
He who shall hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belov’d by Men.
He who the Ox to wrath has mov’d
Shall never be by Woman lov’d.
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spider’s enmity.
He who torments the Chafer’s sprite
Weaves a Bower in endless Night.

This is only about half of this poem;
click here to check out the full text of Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence.”

PETA, and all their counterparts and campaigns, pumps out dozens of print ads every month. The ads do a lot of good and clearly make a point. But PETA is not the only animal rights organization that makes creative, vivid pictorial ads.

Web Ecoist recently put together a collection of 29 Disturbingly Creative Ads for the Environment, which included several about animal rights issues such as SAFE’s anti fur/skin campaign that included gorgeous photos of animals with bloody holes in their coat in the shape of a fashion accessory. All of the ads collected by Web Ecoist are good, but SAFE’s “They weren’t born to be worn” ones should not be missed. Shown here is the fox example, there is also a bear and an alligator one.

SAFE is New Zealand’s voice for all animals, check them out for more great campaigns.

When I walked into a Barnes & Noble bookstore on Sunday, I never imagined that I’d be met with two pro-animal setups.

As I entered, I was greeted by a friendly mutt with the face of a Greyhound and the tail end of a collie. Frankie turned out to be an incredibly friendly - and well-behaved - rescue dog who was at the store supporting his shy friend Violet. Violet was a young beagle who had just been released from an animal testing facility. Violet had been destined to have a kidney removed and numerous experiments performed on her to study how she survived with only one kidney. However, Vi got a skin rash and was disqualified from the study. The lucky dog’s rash cleared up after she was rescued, and has never returned.

The dogs were at the bookstore representing two local beagle rescue groups - B.R.E.W. and Cascade. Reps from the groups were offering free gift wrapping, and seemed to be receiving a substantial amount of donations.

Next to the pups was Joe Kulka, a local children’s book author and illustrator. I stopped to say hello and look at his books. I picked up Wolf’s Coming!, despite the mean-looking wolf on the cover. I began reading. The first several pages feature all kinds of animals shouting “run,” “hide,” “Wolf’s coming!” I was prepared to lecture Mr. Kulka … until I turned another page: the animals were running and hiding because they had a surprise party planned for Wolf.

The book is wonderful. Buy it for all the kids in your life … and do it at Barnes & Noble, because apparently they support animals!

The battle of fur as fashion has been going strong lately: Lindsay Lohan gets flour thrown on her and called a “fur hag.” Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow pose with fur, but swear they were tricked and would never wear it. Even more celebs pose for PETA’s anti-fur ads, most recently, Khloe Kardashian. The Humane Society files a lawsuit against companies that falsely label real fur as faux. Kid Rock loves his fur and starts a war with PETA. …

But can’t we debate the topic in a friendlier manner, like maybe a fashion design competition highlighting budding designers that don’t use fur?

Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute and E Magazine have joined forces to do just that!

The contest, fffashion, is a fur-free fashion contest for designers 18 or older, with an April 1, 2009 deadline, and an inexpesive $25 entry fee. Judges include Sophie Uliano, green living guru and author of New York Times bestseller Gorgeously Green; Summer Rayne Oaks, eco-model, activist, spokesperson, and resident expert for Discovery Network’s Planet Green; and Brita Belli, editor of E Magazine. Premier online independent fashion Web site UsTrendy is also supporting the contest.

Learn more about Born Free USA’s stance and believes on their Fight Against Fur campaign page.

There are aspects of leading a vegan lifestyle that you might never realize unless you are a vegan. This weekend, I attended a benefit Masquerade Ball. My ticket cost $75 for dinner and open bar. As I don’t drink and don’t eat meat or cheese, I paid thinking of it as strictly a donation.

In preparing for the event, I looked around at different mask options. Unfortunately, most pre-made decorated masks seem to include feathers. Sure, some of them might have been fake, but they weren’t often labeled either way. Plus, as an outspoken vegan I would get flack even if I wore fake ones.

So making my own mask was the best option. And it was a big hit! I got lots of compliments on how my mask matched my dress. My mask only cost about $5 in total to make, and many other attendees mentioned paying $30 or more for theirs. In the photo here, I am on the right and my roommate - a vegetarian who also made her mask - is on the left.

And as for the food? A vegan girl could not have been more satisfied! There was a carving station, but that was the only meat anywhere. There was a make your own salad table with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, croutons, dressings, parmesan cheese, and more fresh veggies. There was another make your own set-up: a pasta bar. You could select from seven different fresh vegetables - red pepper, onion, olives, asparagus, zucchini, broccoli rabe, mushrooms - and either red sauce or garlic-infused oil, and a chef cooked it for you, tossing it with some penne pasta.

All around the event was fun and extremely vegan friendly. I had a blast!

I’m not one to ever knock someone’s art. It’s a piece of them, an expression of their feelings and beliefs. So to each of these artists and their current galleries and exhibits I simply say: to each his own.

* Currently showing at New York City’s Daneyal Mahmood Gallery is the exhibit “Meat After Meat Joy” where 17 artists have fashioned pieces out of meat. The artwork ranges from carefully sculpted animal flesh to an entire set of male parts hanging on a hook. This comes a follow up to Carolee Schneemann’s 1964 feminist “Meat Joy.”

Participating artist Adam Brandejs said that, “if the flesh disturbs you, then the reality behind the issue would disturb you far more if we opened our eyes long enough to see it.”

“This is not a show about meat as spectacle but about meat as signification,” reads the online description of the show, “precisely because meat does not signify a body but its very annihilation.”

There are definite undertones of animal rights, but the fact is that dozens of animals died for this show.

* The Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill is also on display in New York City and also uses meat. This show, however, specifically sets out to comment on the way we as a society exploit animals. Banksy, the artist behind the Petstore, turned chicken nuggets into baby chicks, an old fur coat into a leopard, and fishsticks into swimming fish in a bowl.

* And the winner for weirdest meat art … the Russians. Six artists got together to celebrate the centenary of a meat-processing factory in southern Russia by recreating historic, well-known paintings (such as the Mona Lisa, which was painted by Da Vinci, who was a vegetarian!) out of edible sausage. Guests of the show were invited to take a bite. Gross. I wish someone were able to sue on behalf of Leonardo.

Read more at Russian Today and see more pictures at English Russia.

For the past few months I have been spending every free moment knitting, sewing, and crafting in preparation for renting an exhibitor’s table at GreenFest Philly… and today was the event!

Two blocks in the city were closed to traffic for the day while environtmentally friendly businesses, organizations, and people set up tables to educate the citizens of Philly. There were companies that would help you “green” you house. There was good vegan food. There were displays on global warming, solar power, and vegetarianism. There were artists like me, and unfortunately, there were a few major businesses giving out tote bags for free when I had a dozen I was trying to sell.

I didn’t make money, but I didn’t lose any either. I would say the day was a great success, though. I met lots of fascinating people, each with their own unique twist on how to reach the public. Plus, I had a blast and got to spend the day with my mom and a good friend who came to help out.

In front of my table, I had a sign with “Living Without Meat” and a clear fact about meat consumption’s impact: “1 lb. of wheat requires 25 gallons of water; 1 lb. of beef requires 5,214 gallons of water.” On the table were bags, hats, jewely, toys, and the bestseller of the day - glass bead magnets.

With the momentum from this event, and the items that didn’t sell, I am finally going to open up an Etsy page to sell my creations! Here are a few previews of items I’ll be selling soon:

Appliqued Canvas Tote Bags

Shopper Bags
I designed these based on a plastic bag - they have double reinforced bottoms, lightweight fabric so they can fold up super small, and the actual shape of a plastic bag, too.

Quilted Bouncy Purses
Everytime I am working on one of these, I begin humming Tigger’s theme song, hence the name.

Lightweight Baby Blanket

Stay tuned for my new Etsy page filled with affordable, handmade goods!