The Vegan Police

After browsing around some websites & forums for new recipes I have been reminded of the existence of a certain type of people; The Vegan Police.

(Found here, from Scott Pilgrim VS The World)

Like The Breastfeeding Police, The Immunisation Police, The Recycling Police & The Exercise Police, The Vegan Police are full of their own importance & drunk with the “knowledge” that they are right.

The Vegan Police take it upon themselves to educate you about what is & isn’t vegan. The Vegan Police like to chastise you for knowingly or unknowingly ingesting something “wrong”. The Vegan Police award themselves medals of honour depending on how long they have been “hard-core” vegans for (“20 years? That’s NOTHING! I was vegan since before I was even born. Since before my MOTHER WAS BORN MAN.”). The Vegan Police, in simple terms, are dicks who don’t do anything to promote the vegan cause but everything to harm it, put succinctly in this piece from veganoutreach.org;

“It is imperative for us to realize that if our veganism is a statement for animal liberation, veganism cannot be an exclusive, ego-boosting club. Rather, we must become the mainstream. Fostering the impression that “it’s so hard to be vegan – animal products are in everything,” and emphasizing animal products where the connection to animal suffering is tenuous, works against this by allowing most to ignore us and causing others to give up the whole process out of frustration.

The way veganism is presented to a potential vegan is of major importance. The attractive idea behind being a “vegan” is reducing one’s contribution to animal exploitation. Buying meat, eggs, and/or dairy creates animal suffering – animals will be raised and slaughtered specifically for these products. But if the by-products are not sold, they will be thrown out or given away. As more people stop eating animals, the by-products will naturally fade, so there is no real reason to force other people to worry about them in order to call themselves “vegan.”

We want a vegan world, not a vegan club.”

I don’t ever want to be a member of The Vegan Police, but at the same time, since something about them seems so clearly unhinged, I don’t want to piss them off too much either, which is why I hereby revise my dietary status from “Vegan” to “Vegetarian”. “Already?” I hear you ask, obviously bemused. “Already.” I solemnly reply, & here is why;

Yesterday, I was asked a question that I was never asked in all my time as a “hard-core” vegan, & it was whether or not I would eat eggs from pet chickens, not only pet chickens which I had seen with my own eyes, as well as their pen & the way they are kept, but chickens that we used to keep ourselves. Our very own chooks which we had to rehome when we moved, their new owner had swapped the Mr some eggs for some Spinach, Broccoli & whatnot.

Of course I would. My whole argument for a vegan diet is not to eat things that I wouldn’t be willing to go out & get for myself, so saying I wouldn’t eat eggs from the very same chooks that I used to take Punk out to see while we collected their eggs… that wouldn’t make much sense, would it? But that would make me a vegetarian, not a vegan, & an ovo-vegetarian at that. I don’t like that term in the slightest, it seems a bit perverted to me somehow, so I am going to say, as I read here, that I am a vegetarian that eats a mostly vegan diet, vegan ‘cept for those damn eggs from 5 lovely chickens, living out on a farm nearby.

So there you are, Vegan Police. I have admitted my sinful thoughts & am resigning from the ranks of The Vegan Army. I will not perturb you by saying I am “…mostly vegan” or “vegan except for…” & in return, you can’t arrest me or kick me in the head with your pleather stomping boots when I make a veggie frittata.

Om Nom Nom.

One piece of internet speak (or is it lolcatz speak? Or Cookie Monster speak…?) that has made it into my real life vocabulary is “Om Nom Nom”. I say it when I see something yummy I want to eat or if Suspence is chowing down on a banana, I’m not necessarily proud of this, but it’s how it is. It’s a fact.

Another fact, is that these fritters I made last night are the business & assuredly om nom nom.

Zucchini & corn fritters with tomato & avocado salsa:

 

1 cup corn kernels (I just used a 310g tin)

1 medium zucchini, ends cut off, grated & squeezed to remove excess moisture.

1/4 of a red capsicum, finely chopped

5-6 shallots, chopped

2 tbs parsley, chopped

1 tsp smoked paprika

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup of flour

1/2 tsp bicarb soda (can use self-raising flour in place of plain with bi-carb)

2/3 cup of water

Oil for frying

“Salsa”; Tomato & avocado chopped, drizzle with lemon juice.

 

Mix flour, salt & pepper, paprika & bicarb in a large bowl, add water & mix well. Add more water if required to create a nice smooth batter.

Add vegetables & parsley & combine.

Heat enough vegetable oil in a pan to fry; coat the bottom of the pan.

Fry in batches, using a heaped tablespoon of mixture for each fritter, then drain on kitchen towel.

Top with salsa & serve!

Om. Nom. Nom.

Vegan, begin again.

Two days ago I woke up & decided to be vegan. Does that sound rash, or absurd? It probably does, but it really isn’t, not to me.

I don’t doubt that the seed was planted after reading about Cath giving up sugar. I thought “Could I do that?” & decided that I probably couldn’t – or more accurately, I didn’t particularly want to. I probably do consume too much hidden sugar – I would suggest most of us do, but I don’t find it to be an issue for me. What I do find to be an issue is eating things that I wouldn’t eat if I had to go & get it myself. Like a cow. There is no way, no how, I would be able to go out in a field, kill a cow, do whatever needs to be done to it & butcher it. No way. I wouldn’t even be able to deal with watching it being done. Yet, for a while, I would happily dig in to a steak while blissfully “not thinking about it”.

That’s my simple reason for going vegan. It’s not a hugely ethical or moral decision like some people – I’m not doing it to save the world (although that’s a bonus); selfishly, I’m doing it to feel better about my own choices. I’ve always wished I was one of those vegans that can’t stand the sight, smell or taste of meat – wouldn’t that make things easier…! But alas, I am partial to a BBQ or a baked dinner (so don’t expect me to be one of those vegans that preaches at you, I’m just too lazy to be self righteous… & did I mention my Love is a butcher…?! His cutting up carcasses pays for my tofu. True.), so for me, it takes a little bit of extra willpower sometimes.

I think I’ve said before that I was vegan for 3 years before I was pregnant with The Punk, & veggo before that. With pregnancy came massive cravings for dairy – so bad that I gorged on cheese & milk before I even knew I was pregnant & felt incredibly guilty about it. When I did find out it was actually a relief & I gave myself permission to eat whatever I really wanted, thinking rightly or wrongly that if my body wanted it so much I must need it. I felt okay with that decision, telling myself that I’d “get back on the wagon” after she was born… but no.

Finally though I’m feeling it. I remember how I felt when I was vegan – it’s all starting to come back to me. Honestly I never felt better, mentally or physically. I wasn’t thin – there is some law against me being thing – but I felt GOOD. I was very rarely sick & would bounce around work while some other people were battling their third or fourth cold of the season. I had fun baking vegan things & forcing them upon people, waiting until they nodded approvingly with their mouths full before declaring “IT’S VEGAN!”, & finding new & weird vegan substitutes in Asian grocery stores.

Shopping yesterday brought it home that “We’re not in Sydney anymore, Toto”. I couldn’t find any of the things I used to use to veganise things, like faux sour cream or the mayo that still tastes like mayo & not just blended tofu. Seitan? Isn’t that like… the devil?

So, I’ll either have to travel further afield to find some ready-made staples or find some kick ass recipes to make them (it’s not like I don’t have enough cook books…), but I will, because the switch is flipped again. I’m vegan.

(all DELICIOUS LOOKING images except the last from hoveringdog on flickr)

Dinner...

Even though there was a cool change this afternoon our house was still stifling when it came time for dinner, especially in the kitchen. I wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in the kitchen so it had to be pasta (it would have been salad but I was informed that the lettuce had seen better days...).


I didn't think to take a photo so this one is from when I posted this recipe to VegWeb quite a while ago. It's so simple, fast & tasty. Punky loves pasta, especially the part where she tips the entire contents of her bowl on the floor. Apparently, you've not tasted pasta until you've tasted it "straight from the rug".

Broccoli and Mushroom Fettuccine

1 head broccoli
5 larger sized button mushrooms
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup vegetable stock
500g cooked fettuccine

Cut broccoli into small pieces. Blanch in boiling water until bright green (up to a minute), drain and set aside. Heat oil over medium heat, add garlic, chili and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are tender. Add broccoli and vegetable stock, then pasta. Combine well and when pasta is heated through, season with salt and serve. It's "supposed" to serve 4-6, but if you have anybody in your house like The Boy, well... it just won't.

That's not really a recipe in my opinion... more a suggestion, I think a recipe is more something that needs to be written down, something you can't figure out for yourself. Chucking some veg in a pan with some pasta isn't exactly brain surgery, but it's yummy all the same.

Before dinner the news was saturated with pictures from the bush fires that are wreaking havoc around Victoria. I was moved to tears watching a reporter who had lost contact with his wife while she was on their property in the midst of a blaze. It was heart wrenching. Luckily she was fine, but it was then found that a neighbour was missing, I hope with all my heart that that neighbour has also been found safe. 14 people are confirmed dead so far, with fears of the death toll rising.

Victoria police confirmed the deaths tonight and say they fear the figure may reach into the 40s.
At least 100 homes have been destroyed as nine major blazes burnt out of control across Victoria in the worst fire conditions in the state's history.

- Telstra BigPond News

Pretty much every fire I saw on the news had been deliberately lit.

I don't think I can even articulate the disgust I feel for someone who would commit such an act.