Happy 2011

Now that all the cookies are eaten and a New Year has arrived, I
suppose I should be making a resolution to burn all that off. But
I am no good at sticking to plans like that. If I get into the
habit of things, I'm fine. But nothing makes you feel worse than
failed promises to yourself.

I know a lot of people complain about New Years resolutions
because we shouldn't be only trying to make a change at the beginning
of the year or once a year. The same as how people are only nice
and giving at Christmas instead of all year 'round.

I see it more as a chance to remember what is important in our
behavior and actions. These times are an opportunity to try again
and keep track of our habits. No, this shouldn't be restricted to
one time of year, but it does serve as a good yearly reminder of
what we've done or not done. In fact, my going vegan started as a
New Years Resolution long ago.

Than yes, I'm going to try to get into a better exercise routine, I'm
gonna try to not eat so many goodies, and try to drink more green
smoothies-- or something like that.

Instead my resolutions are a little more general. I'm not worried about
strict pounds, inches or even dress sizes. My New Years Resolution
falls into the range of 'tivities' By that I mean productivity and
creativity. This year I will strive to allot more time to enhance my
productivity and creativity. Planning ahead and indulging in artistic
pastimes is my idea for 2011.

Last year I was resolved to become more sustainable and I did pretty
well. I've restricted my purchasing to products that have less
packaging, I eat out anymore, and produce only 1 gallon of trash every
six months. I've got my cats on a biodegradable litter. I shop at the
farmers market, locally owned shops, and go for organic whenever possible.

I'm starting to sew again and rarely buy anything new. To continue
building on my resolution for last year we are going to build a
container garden in the spring and I'll start doing tons of preserving
and canning.

The Holidays went by much quicker for me than ever before.
Our Christmas got postponed, so I've been playing mental catch-up
for over a week now. I'm back to school on Monday, which means lots
of last minute shopping, ordering of books, and back to riding my
bike late at night in the cold.

On a more positive note... Here is my second and more successful
attempt at the Stained Glass Window Cookies. I did the things I
noted for improvement and came out with a much better product!







The last batch of cookies I made were some fancy Thin Mint
Christmas trees. Very very tasty and cute to boot!



For Christmas I got Monkey-man a cast-iron Panini Press that
he has been coveting. To break it in, we are doing a Panini
series! So stay in touch for some lip-smackin grilled sandwichies!

Everyday is Earth Day

Its been one year since I got to spend a couple days hosting
Paul Watson, Captain of the Sea Shepherd, in Hawaii for an
animal rights group that I led. As I was driving him to the
airport on earthday we had a great conversation about what
earthday really is.

Earthday has become such a greenwashing of corporate
marketing techniques that it is really hard to see through the
crap. Companies brand their products to make you forget the
guilt behind the consumerism and waste that is so prevalent.

"But this microwaveable dinner has organic beans in it!"
"All natural"
"Made with 5% recycled materials"

Should we really be spending one day remember that the
environment is important and then turning around the next
day and going back to our bad habits? You know something
is wrong when earthday events are sponsored by major
corporations like GE or Coke.

I feel that in a small way earthday is good for people that still
don't know any better. Last Earthday, after taking Paul to his
awaiting plane, I went to try and educate faire goers about the
impacts of factory farming, leafleting, and handing out PETA
stickers to little kids.

This year I leafleted down at the Mar Vista Farmers Market for
a while. Then today I attended a green jobs panel at school to get
some more ideas for internships that I could support. However I
couldn't help thinking about everything that has changed in the
last year.

My own life, it has changed alot when it comes to sustainability.
I'm not as able to get to good quality, local, organic food that I
once was. But I can recycle a hell of a lot more than I could in
Hawaii. I don't drive, but rely on public transit or biking every-
where. I don't use paper products (except for TP, which is a hard
vice to give up). Veganism has become second nature to me and my
partner has taken to the lifestyle and all my cooking more than
happily. I'm not a huge consumer. I reuse, recycle, reduce...
Where do I go from here? What more can I do?

When I started studying it-- turns out a lot.

In a way, my solution has been part of my New Years Resolution.
I promised to do whatever I could to become more environmentally
conscious and sustainable. And for the last couple months, I did
what I did with a lot of New Years Resolutions... I got lazy. I didn't
get worse, but I didn't get better.

The last month though, with the coming of spring, I planted my
own garden. Hell, if I can't find a decent farmers market in my
area... I'm just gonna have to grow my own. I've always composted,
but finally got my butt into gear.

My next step is to eliminate plastic almost entirely from my life.
I know this is gonna be hard with alot of vegan products coming
in packaging, etc. But I want to reduce that as much as possible.

I want to start making my own nut milks again and get soymilk a
little less often. I want to try to make my own nondairy 'gurt.
And stop using plastic produce bags. I ALWAYS bring my reusable
bags. I keep at least one in my backpack or purse at all times, its
really not that hard.

I wonder though at certain places they get pissed when I produce
my own bag. Like using a reusable bag makes me self-righteous.
TJ is always happy about the bag thing, but I've found that mexican
markets and big markets like albertsons always sneer at me when I
pull out my own bag... Have you guys had this problem.

Back to the produce bags. I like them because I hate to think of
what has oozed out on to the conveyor belt at the market and putting
my veg on it bare. I use the bags to hold my compost in the kitchen
til I get a chance to take it out to the garden, then I wash and recycle
the bag if its got holes. Now I'm going to take it further and sew my
own mesh bags for produce and bulks. I've seen them sold at whole
foods and whats easier to sew than a freakin bag?

I use recyclable razors, but I want to find and use a straight razor.
After that, I'm gonna try to sew cloth panty liners. Although I use the
ones without plastic, I still hate throwing anything away.

My trash output is about 1 gallon every three months.
(Not including Kitty poooo)

After that? I don't know we'll see. Maybe I can eventually give up
TP, find a decent farmers market, and get a better bike to forsake
public transit. The point is that I am aware and I am trying.
Are you? I challenge you to finally look at one of those habits that
you find yourself burying away to ignore the microguilt. Look at it
closely and ask yourself "is it really worth it", "what can I do
differently and better", and "what benefits come of rejecting my
habits". Consider it self spring cleaning for earthday.

Its not about changing the world by yourself, but really living by
what you believe in. Do you believe in waste, garbage, and
destruction? Than why incorporate that into your life?

Happy Earthday folks...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/19/7-things-you-can-do-for-e_n_541165.html

Vegan Chain on the Rise: Loving Hut

On New Years Day Monkey-man and I were pretty hard pressed to
find anything to do. Through the Holidays were a little over
being super duper lazy. We missed the Rose Parade that morning
and thought there there might have been some kind of after
event (not to do with the floats), but maybe something in town.

Well, there wasn't. But we drove around anyway, which in turn
made us hungry. I whipped out Vegan Steven iphone app and
found a place that isn't even four miles from us: Loving Hut in
Alhambra.



I was surprised that anything was even open on New Years Day,
but there were already a few other people there. It looked
like a family owned franchise and according to some of their
literature, its a growing chain all over the world!



The interior was fun, I can't compare it to where else I've been,
except some Japanese bars.

I ordered an orange juice drink... All of their drinks looked
absolutely beautiful. Check out mine!







A gorgeous presentation, topped with little tiny dried flower
petals. I'm gonna trust they know whats edible or not, hee hee.













Yummy!

Not to completely spoil our dinner, we split a meal.
We ordered a veggie burger and fries. Yeah? Sounds boring,
well it wasn't. It was gear-fab. Plus I am so over Asian
food, you have no idea. I hate Chinese food so so so so so
much and for some reason whenever people try to cook vegan
food they make it Asian. Please, hand me a barf bag and
throw away the teriyaki sauce now. Everything tastes the
same. It is the most boring and uninventive way to cook
and to top it off when people cook like that, they think they
are being super experimental and unusual because its not sold
at a fast food chain.



And it wasn't like a frozen burger out of a box, on the
pan, on the bread, to your face either. The bread
was decent, the filling was good. The patty was awesome.
We went to Green Leaves in Hollywood on Halloween and had
some sort of burger-sandwich and the bun not so good,
very white 'loves-ish'. But this patty was topped with
mushrooms and cripsy!



The Frenchie Fries were pretty tasty too. Tossed with a dry
seasoning. But pretty much your basic fry.





Yup, I'm satisfied. Num num num....

What!?? Vegan Chocolate cake?!



The cake was good, classic, filling. The frosting was a
tofu cream cheese with some cute toppings. I'd hate to really
know what is in those cherries though! I loved everything we
got. I can't wait to go back and try something else!

A funny thing that we noticed while we were there, was one
of the tv stations that was on. They had two screens on either
wall and one had the rose bowl- the other had a weird foreign
station with about fifty different language subtitles scrolling.
With the check they gave us a little piece of literature
describing all the benefits of being vegan and all the
atrocities that are taking place in the environment and against
animals. I thought that was awesome. I've never had a vegan
restaurant actually give me literature before.
It makes excellent sense too, not all of your customers are
going to be entirely veg.

But come to find out the literature and the weird tv station
that we noticed were from this organization (?) called
Suprememastertv.
I don't really find it all that strange. I've since read some
blogs and writings from people that were really freaked out
and calling it cultish, etc. Frankly, its just another
religion, just like any other.

I've gone to a lot of Seventh Day Adventist events to be
honest. They talk about God and Jesus, etc But almost
all of them practiced veganism. So if its not hurting
anybody (including animals!! yay) and it supports delicous
food... than go for it, say I. You don't have to be an initiate
to glean practical advise or information about the benefits
of a vegan lifestyle. Food is food, always without animals.

Munching muffins/ approached by Greenpeace rant

Working on Monkey-man's computer
right now, even more stranded from
all my photos and on-going work than
usual. Still haven't gotten my camera
back... tempted to just go and buy a
new one since the people that have it
are apparently never home.
Absolutely ridiculous... I am really really pissed off about the whole situation.

Another situation that got me miffed was a run in with a
Greenpeace worker. Walking into a bookshop to chill out while
Monkey-man was at work, I got flagged down by a dude with a
Greenpeace shirt. Hey, I'm not totally opposed to Greenpeace
so I stopped and chatted to hear him out. My problem with
Greenpeace though is mostly thoroughly summed up in what
how Paul Watson (The Sea Shepherd Society) described them to me...
"The Girl Scouts of activists" Yeah, basically... they're wusses
in my opinion.

I've seen them back down on important animal and environmental
issues on too many occasions. A lot of the time we need direct
action and they are not willing to walk that line.

So back to this guy. I feel pretty weird because I did end up
giving him my contact info, but not signing up for a donation.
Don't get me wrong, Greenpeace isn't BAD and I wouldn't mind
donating to the cause, BUT! There are organizations that I
would prefer donating to. Ex: one more progressive.

Also, he went off on the wrong plea with me. He started and
initially got me by invoking the need for ocean protection
and preservation. Yet, then went into how Greenpeace is
apparently setting up protected zones or something. Sounds
cool. Like protected habitats that enforce fishing bans,
to mainly ensure the total food chain balance is preserved.
So far, I'm in-- right? I believe this is what he was
selling me, which I am in no way opposed to.

Initially I though it was a sign up for our email list
(maybe donate), but this was a commitment to donating
every month a set amount. Ok, but not for an unemployed
student.

Where did he lose me? The whole time I was nodding and
throwing in agreements with his description of oceanic
destruction until after I had filled out my contact info,
but before I got to pulling out my check card.
This is where I stopped filling out--

"I love eating tuna and I want my children to continue
to enjoy eating tuna for his lifetime."

Me? "well, didn't you yourself just admit that this
damage to the ocean is a result of human ignorance and
over fishing?"

"Yes, absolutely--" (launches in to a description of
trawling and by-catch.

I cut in.
"Wouldn't it be better to just stop supporting that
industry and stop eating fish and seafood?"

Stumbling, "Yes, well.... We need to replete the ocean
reserves and... protect... We've set up reserves to
repopulate. If that's what you want to do, but."

My cheeks got hot. He obviously didn't understand or
maybe even care that a vegan diet is the first and
ultimately best step to throwing a wrench into global
environmental destruction. It was over.

So I asked about maybe volunteering instead of donating
and what you needed to do. He went on about needing
people about Sundays, I was thinking about how they
needed better spokespeople for the environment.

Oh well, not everyone is good with jumping back, holding
good ground, and thinking on their feet like that.
I think I may have caught him off guard after being
blown off by tons of people. But seriously, Girl scouts.
I will continue to support Sea Shepherd, PETA (despite the
lettuce ladys and shmeat), COK, CREDO, Compassionate Cooks,
FARM, and a few others... Not everyone has a clean record.
I do not always support Sierra Club, NRDC, WWF and the League
of Conservation Voters, but they have definitely been involved
in some nasty stuff.

The moral of the story? At least try to practice what you preach.
I've done a LOT of tabling, food demos, and leafleting.
You've got to be ready to bounce back from practically anything.
That is the worst appeal I may have ever heard.

I don't want to totally bash the org because of one individual,
and I am looking for an internship with an environmental agency
for my degree.... HA!

Alright, back in the kitchen-- I've been working on a peanut
butter trail mix muffin... Take a look!



I want to punch up the nut buttery taste, but the trail mix
strudel topping is to die for. Monkey-man said it was the
best muffin he ever tasted.
My response? I think I need to make muffins for him more often!

In Silence Sunday

As I am breaking the week up into a set schedule for my posts

and delineated what topics I will cover or what I want to show

that I've been cooking, I thought it was essential that I designate

a day for the discussion of the plight of non-human animals and

the degradation of or planet. Since Sunday is usually a day off for

me and comes as a holy day for many, I thought it was natural

that I choose this day to open to you all issues that come up

in my week that I feel are particularly pertinent and I can set

a space of time to honor the non-human animal that suffer at the

hand of their fellow earthlings. It is important that we honor who

we fight for and we remain grounded remembering that we're

not alone. In a way, it is honouring the fallen and rediscovering

our passion for life.

Today I came home from a class debate meeting slightly disappointed

in our not covering an angle that I feel is very important.

Our debate is on the effect of illegal immigrant on the economic

and social well-being of the US. It is unfortunate that this narrowed

thesis doesn't seem to allow for a discussion of environmental

well being. Yet, we must acknowledge that without long-lasting

environmental sustainability, you will not have economic

or social well-being. The degradation of our land will not support

the perseverance of any species-- thats the bottom line.

So here is the issue that I was hoping we would be able to outline.

The traffic and discarding of waste by illegal immigrants traveling

up through the US-Mexican border is destroying Southwestern parks,

wildlife refuges, and natural habitats.

The increase in border control near by urban areas has pushed illegal

immigrants into environmentally fragile areas. It would only take

some forethought to protect these areas, as well as their borders.

The main areas that are being affected are the Organ Pipe Cactus

National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge,

which span more than a million acres of natural desert wilderness and

house beautiful creatures such as the Sonoran pronghorn, jaguar,

desert bighorn sheep, Gila Monsters, tropical kingbirds, and desert

tortoise-- and damage inflicted on these areas and these species could

take decades to repair.

In July of 2009 video footage from hidden cameras was put out

showing hundreds of immigrants carving trails though sensitive lands,

leaving behind piles of trash, human waste, clothing, drugs, CARS (!),

and evidence of fires. These roads are destroying vegetarian, wildlife

habitat and force migratory animals to retreat. These immigrants

draw the attention of Border Patrol helicopters that can disturb wildlife

as well as off roading vehicles that damage sensitive regions. The

trash left behind can poison the soil and water, as well as affect natural

erosion.

And what is the response to stop illegal immigrants tromping through

these precious wildness areas? Building huge fences and watch towers

across the borders. These fences are just as destructive to animal habitat

and wildlife patterns. This could be avoided by more innovative designs

for construction projects or more intelligent surveillance equipment

to improve security and reduce the need for fences, since all the fences

do is harm the animals-- they don't impede people. Partnerships could

be struck between environmental conservation groups and government

agencies to work together to protect these desert forests.

Now it has become a war in the government with opponents arguing

that once again environmentalists are impeding the progress of national

security. I read somewhere that there has at least been a decrease

in vehicles used by border control-- replaced by agents on horseback

in attempts to protect the natural wilderness.

If you watch the video (Created by a right wing group surprisingly),

you will be shocked by the disgusting disregard these people have

for this ecosystem. Trash and debris litters the trails in heaps. They

discard their belongings on the last part of the trek before taking off

in packed vehicles, led by coyotes (human traffickers).

Animals are shown frequenting these areas. As a hiker that religiously

abides the ultimate rule (leave only footprints), it makes me sick.

I'm not sure that I have a specific solution, but spreading the knowledge

is more important. Read more become aware.

And always write to your political representatives to make your views

and concerns known, even if they don't always read these things

what do you have to loose? A few minutes?

http://www.life.com/image/57203830

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/5378

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2006/02_01_2006_report_details_environmental_damage_from_illegal_immigration_and_border_enforcement_activities.php

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/16/national-park-service-putting-holes-in-border-secu/