Mehitable Days: animal rights

Showing posts with label animal rights. Show all posts

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Celebrate a Year of (and for) the Rabbit!

Happy Chinese New Year!

~ Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit ~

Said to be more tranquil than the tumultuous Year of the Tiger we just left behind, this Rabbit Year is predicted to be a year of refinement and taste that will make it good for the arts and culture, while its peaceful, congenial qualities should make it a good year for relationships and world diplomacy (let us hope!)

While Chinese astrologers are forecasting a year that's quiet, positive, inspiring and lanquid, my bunny friend demonstrates the quiet, languid part...

:-)

Rabbit Years are considered one of the luckiest in the 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar.

While we wait for all this good luck to come our way, we can welcome and celebrate the Year of the Rabbit by bringing some good fortune to the rabbits themselves, since so many of them are anything but lucky. Slaughtered for their flesh and fur and horribly maimed and abused for cosmetic, drug, and other testing, you can read more about rabbits and their plights here...

The Anti-Vivisection Society's Spring Ahead: Creating a Better World for Rabbits

and then spread a little luck to rabbits (and other critters) by signing the Leaping Bunny Pledge, downloading their cruelty-free shopping guide, and checking out their other resources:

www.LeapingbunnyPledge.org Take the Leap to Cruelty-Free Products

You can also find and donate to charities that don't fund animal testing by visiting the Council on Humane Giving's Humane Charity web site...

May we all enjoy a peaceful, lucky and happy year!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Listening to animals (with the ear of your heart)

Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.

~Saint Benedict

I've had this post in the works since last summer when I found a wonderful A.A. Milne quote about listening to animals. I knew I wanted to build a post around it, and got most of it done but never got around to finishing it. (I have several posts like that, I'm afraid!) But this morning as I was doing the dishes, I heard on the radio that A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh, was born on this date in 1882. So I thought, what better day to finish and share this post? :-)

I've added a song that I think makes a great accompaniment to the photos...

Whether you choose to listen to it or not, darling Piglet and I do hope you'll still listen to the animals - all animals - with the ear of your heart! :-)

Lots of people talk to animals.

Not that many listen though.

That's the problem.

~Piglet (A.A. Milne)

But some do...

Judy Woods of Pigs Peace listens to Bailey the blind pig

(photo by Harley Soltes)

My friend Robyn listens to the Peaceful Prairie goats

Joan Jett listens to Will on her visit to Farm Sanctuary
(Joan rocks!)

Someone who listens - and really relates - to a chicken pal!

BW listens with intense focus to Willow's secrets

(while a butterfly eavesdrops overhead!)

And I always listen to the deer's requests for treats. :-)

Without a doubt, this is the most adorable photo of someone listening to someone else that I have ever seen...

I am committed to cultivating loving speech

and deep listening

in order to bring joy and happiness to others

and relieve others of their suffering.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

My choice of the song, "When You Say Nothing at All" was completely inspired by Ashley, a lovely young woman I got to know in January 2008 during an online competition to raise money for charity, while we were competing on behalf of Farm Sanctuary. Ashley had interned at their Orland, California sanctuary that summer and shared a video (posted below) that she'd made of her experience. I thought her choice of "When You Say Nothing at All" was perfect, and remembered it as I was finishing this post. So thanks for the inspiration, Ashley!

If you've been playing the song, don't forget to hit the pause button on the playlist at the top of this post before starting the video below. :-)

By the way, Ashley won a VegNews Giveaway contest later that January when she replied to the question, "How do you show your veggie pride?" by submitting this video. And I found a comment her mom left last month on the FARM Blog, sharing a link to this video along with the news that a year after she first posted it, Ashley moved from Minnesota to California to work as a full-time Farm Sanctuary animal caregiver! No surprise, really ~ I remember Ashley as a devoted animal-lover and vegan who was clearly deeply affected by her animal friends and experience there ~ but wonderful news to read just the same! I wish I had a photo of Ashley listening to the animals to include on this post, but you'll get to see several in her beautiful, heartwarming video...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Tempeh Salad

Yikes, it's been a really squirrely week in every way, and this post's a few days later than I'd intended. After two days with a migraine and two long days of appointments and errands in town (one of the migraine days was also one of the town days, which was really jolly), I'm behind on everything, and Vegan MoFo waits for no one! I've been unable to keep up with all the participating blogs I follow and hope to catch up over the weekend. (Thank goodness I didn't sign up, but am just posting a few recipes from the sidelines!) So speaking of recipes, it's time for me to share another one (if Blogger doesn't eat it first, since Blogger is being really squirrely too, at least with this post!)...

BW, who always takes his lunch to work, used to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every single day. He never seemed to get tired of eating them, but I sure got tired of fixing them! So I started to make three different vegan "sandwich salads," which we alternate. Now when I ask him what kind of sandwich he wants during the week, the answer is never "peanut butter and jelly" anymore! :-)

I hope to share all three recipes during the remainder of Vegan MoFo, along with some information that helps explain why we no longer eat their non-vegan versions.

I'll start with BW's favorite of the three, Tempeh Salad. Loosely based on a "Mock Chicken Salad" recipe in Tofu Quick and Easy by Louise Hagler, we stopped calling it "mock" anything a long time ago, preferring to call it what it is. :-) Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake, is a traditional staple in southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. Its firm texture, mild nutty taste, ability to absorb flavors, easy digestibility, and high fiber, protein, and vitamin/mineral content make it a nutritious, versatile, and easy to prepare alternative to animal flesh. You can find tempeh in different varieties in health or natural food stores or Asian markets. I strongly recommend getting organic tempeh.

See those pretty broccoli sprouts? Grew 'em meself! :-)

Tempeh Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg organic tempeh, cut into small (1/4" inch) cubes

• 3 stalks organic celery, diced

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

• 1/4 cup organic green onion (about 2 onions), minced

• Several dill pickle slices, chopped

• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 tsp dill pickle juice

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 tsp celery salt

• SCANT 1/2 tsp celery seed (too much makes it bitter)

• Fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

Toast the slivered almonds by baking them on a non-stick cookie sheet at 400ºF for a few minutes, until medium brown. Allow to cool.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Blend together with:

Vegan Sour Cream (recipe below)

Chill and serve. The tempeh will absorb some of the sour cream, so you may wish to add more the next day. It's much tastier if you allow the flavors to blend for a few hours or overnight before serving.

Tofu Sour Cream

• 1 14-ounce package organic firm tofu (we use Nasoya)

• 1 1/2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 TBSP organic apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 - 1 tsp organic evaporated cane juice (to taste)

• 1/2 - 1 tsp sea salt (to taste)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor till smooth and creamy. Store in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator. Use as you would sour cream.

This salad is great in pita pockets or on toasted whole grain bread, with lettuce or spinach, tomato and/or avocado slices, sprouts, and dill pickles or relish.

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Here are a few other tempeh "mock chicken" style salad recipes, in case you'd like to try a different one or use some of their ingredient ideas in mine...

Goodbaker's Coronation Tempeh Salad Sandwich

The Veggie Queen's Tempeh Mock Chicken Salad

Vegan Cooking School's Tempeh Chicken Salad

Earthen Feast's Happy "Chicken" Tempeh Salad

VegWeb's Tempeh Salad

You'll notice that most of these recipes call for steaming the tempeh first. This softens it and makes it absorb more of the dressing/marinade/sauce/whatever. I used to do that with this recipe, but found it didn't improve the tempeh's texture and made it absorb too much of the sour cream. So I skip that step.

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Please click on any of these images to learn about the lives and deaths of chickens (and turkeys) who are bred and raised for slaughter, and for some more resources for compassionate alternatives...