Welcome to the Compassionate Cooks Community

"Eating Animals" author on Ellen Degeneres

shepherdgal — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:44:28 GMT

I only caught the last part of Ellen yesterday and I don't think it was a re-run so forgive me if this has already been covered here. I haven't read that book but the show was very positive for the animals. I loved what Ellen said about animals and her personal journey and her plea for people to think about what they are doing. She talked about the suffering of the animals. She said she had been a vegetarian for about 2 years and how much better she felt. If anyone taped it be sure to watch it. I am going to write her and tell her how much I appreciated what she did. I hope others will too if you saw the show. I'm not sure but I think they were only speaking of vegetarianism, not veganism (I only caught a few minutes of the show and know nothing about the book), so we still have lots of work to do but it is a great start! I was very excited to see something like that on Ellen. She's a great example and looks so healthy. Even if it got one person to think, it was great!

Forum: Advocacy & Activism

In need of some support

nicoledgraziano — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:25:44 GMT

I need some support as I am going through a rough time concerning my most recent foster dog. He has latched on to my and my boyfriend's arms quite a few times in the 4 days we have had him here. When he does it, he breaks skin sometimes and will not let go. It happened to me when i was alone with him, and it was very scary. I had to report it to the organization that I am fostering for in order to protect the safety of potential adopters. His bio says that he is great with kids...this is clearly not the case. He comes from NY and was surrendered at 1 year old by his former owners. I want desperately to help him, but upon hearing this, the organization said that they might have to put him to sleep. the other option is for them to send him for intensive training. I am now filled with guilt for reporting it. I have sent them numerous emails telling them that I don't feel that his behavior is malicious and that i think he just considers us as toys and doesn't know the strength of his bite. I am supposed to hear today what they want to do with him. It's just killing me. He is a sweet dog that probably never got what he needed as a puppy.

I am considering funding his training if the organization decides that they can't pay for it. I just don't know what else to do.

Forum: General Discussion Area

Suggestions/Information Needed

nicoledgraziano — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:18:44 GMT

A co-worker has asked me about the health benefits of being vegan. Does anyone have a good internet link I can send to him that is concise and informative and shows what unhealthy and unsavory things can be found in animal products? We have little time to talk at work, and I wanted to provide a good resource. I can help him with meal planning, but need some help on this end.

Another co-worker and I have met a couple times, and she has now been vegan for 2 weeks. She's lost 10 lbs. and feels great.

Forum: General Discussion Area

Coconut Oil for skin

vegissexy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:20:20 GMT

Has anyone used coconut oil as a face moisturizer? I recently tried a new toner that made my skin go crazy, my nose and cheeks almost feel burned. Now they are super dry and it hurts to put lotion on so tonight I used coconut oil...please let me know if you have had any success/disaster stories!

Thank you!

http://www.vegissexy.com

Forum: Vegan Fashion & Personal Care

Freezing Meals

Dawley82 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:34:33 GMT

I am wondering if any of you have suggestions for meals that would freeze well. I am pregnant and due in about 4 weeks and have been told by many people that I should cook a bunch of meals and freeze them so I don't have to worry about cooking every day. Anyone have any good ideas of foods that freeze well? Better yet, foods from Colleen's cookbooks?

Forum: General Discussion Area

VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE video

ThatFirstKiss — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:40:48 GMT

Hey everybody! I have 2 new cooking videos up. The most recent is for a simple, fast baked tofu that can be used in stir-frys, on salads, or just eaten as a snack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcQCQlPTeD4

The one before that is for..... the BEST VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE EVER. For real. And, it only takes 3 ingredients! I'm not kidding!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7vwRJFaywE

You can see more information and recipes on my blog, Save the Kales!

http://www.savethekales.wordpress.com

Forum: General Discussion Area

The Blood of the Beasts

elisa — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:22:52 GMT

I came upon this 20-minute 1949 documentary called 'The Blood of the Beasts' because it is included on the Netflix DVD of the 1959 horror flick 'Eyes Without a Face' (thanks to Colleen and her movie list!). I noticed that it is also on U Tube in its entirety.

All I can say is wow. Reminds me of Earthlings. Yes, because of the graphic nature. No, because this was a documentary film all it's own and not undercover footage.

A couple things struck me- on the one hand it demonstrates a (fairly) 'humane' slaughter of a horse and a cow. Back in the days before mechanization of the slaughtering process. Very labor intensive for the men. Yet, it still made me think, "If this is humane slaughter, then I still want no part of it."

Then I was hit with the killing scenes of veal calves and sheep. Especially gruesome, and not at all a humane death in my eyes.

Anyway, it is morbidly fascinating to me how things were done one way in the mid-20th century and so differently now, but at the end of the day, killing is killing. It's all gruesome, it's all disgusting, it's all just wrong. There is just no way to kill and butcher an animal nicely, cleanly, neatly. And it's why I'm vegan. For life.

Forum: Conscious Cinema

Autumn (Winter) Tempeh Salad p. 186

ChristineSG — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:01:05 GMT

Couldn't decide what to have for dinner tonight. This sounded yummy and I happened to have all the necessary ingredients.

It turned out wonderfully. I loved the combination of flavors. The sage especially gives it a nice savory touch.

It's definitely going in my recipe file. I'll make it again and again, I'm sure.

Forum: The Vegan Table

Un-Cheese

Grey — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:45:07 GMT

My Mom is visiting and she brought with her this cook book which we have only made one recipe so far but I am really excited.
It is called The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, by Jo Stepaniak.
We made this recipe:
Onion, Dill and Horseradish Cheez
Lightly oil a 3-cup storage container and set aside.
Combine 1 1/2 cups of water and 5 tablespoons agar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir until agar is completely disolved (we used 1 package of liquid pectin because we could not find agar, added it at the end instead and stirred for 3 min worked great).
Transfer to a blender and add 1/2 cup raw cashews, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons tahini, 2 tablespoons white horseradish, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder. Process until smooth, Stir in 3 tablespoons onion flakes and 2 teaspoons dillweed. Pour into the prepared container and store in the refrigerator overnight. Tastes great on some homemade bread or on crackers! lasts 5-7 days but we ate it up in one day!

Forum: Share Vegan Recipes

Our new ballot initiative

Cujosdad — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:37:47 GMT

In case it got missed above

The counterstrike is here.

Last year Big Agriculture managed to get a ballot initiative passed by convincing Ohio voters that they were voting to improve the lives of farm animals. In reality what the voters approved (issue 2) set up a "livestock care standards board" which is most likely going to be run by cronies of major factory farming interests. This was an attempt to dodge the bullet that Big Ag knew was coming after the passage of prop 2 in California (which bans several types of "intensive confinement"/torture such as battery cages and gestation crates) and passage of similar measures in other states.

The new initiative being backed by HSUS, Farm Sanctuary, Mercy For Animals and many other local and national AR organizations is even more aggressive than Calfornia's prop 2 in it's intent and, will address "downer" animals and euthanasia issues as well as intensive confinement practices.

We have a big task ahead of us in getting this issue passed and need all the help we can get.....the signature gathering phase is just getting under way now...after we get the 600,000 or so signatures we still have to get people to vote for it. So, if you know anyone in Ohio who might be willing to help, give them a call. And, if you live here, come and join us.

http://www.ohiohumane.com/

Forum: Podcast Listeners in Ohio

New Ballot Initiative in Ohio

Cujosdad — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:35:47 GMT

The counterstrike is here.

Last year Big Agriculture managed to get a ballot initiative passed by convincing Ohio voters that they were voting to improve the lives of farm animals. In reality what the voters approved (issue 2) set up a "livestock care standards board" which is most likely going to be run by cronies of major factory farming interests. This was an attempt to dodge the bullet that Big Ag knew was coming after the passage of prop 2 in California (which bans several types of "intensive confinement"/torture such as battery cages and gestation crates) and passage of similar measures in other states.

The new initiative being backed by HSUS, Farm Sanctuary, Mercy For Animals and many other local and national AR organizations is even more aggressive than Calfornia's prop 2 in it's intent and, will address "downer" animals and euthanasia issues as well as intensive confinement practices.

We have a big task ahead of us in getting this issue passed and need all the help we can get.....the signature gathering phase is just getting under way now...after we get the 600,000 or so signatures we still have to get people to vote for it. So, if you know anyone in Ohio who might be willing to help, give them a call. And, if you live here, come and join us.

http://www.ohiohumane.com/

Forum: Advocacy & Activism

Favorite Podcast Moments?

vegcooking — Thur, 25 Feb 2010 16:53:44 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a 3-minute "sizzle reel" that will be a series of quickly edited clips of me speaking, cooking, doing my thing. The friend creating this thinks it would also be great to have audio clips from the podcast. I couldn't possible go over the hundreds of hours of audio I have, and I thought since you all listen to the podcast more than I do maybe you have some favorite moments you could share with me.

Are there favorite moments you think would be awesome to highlight - like if you could pick out your favorite moments that a total stranger would hear and be moved by/inspired by, etc?

I'd need the name of the episode, the approximate time stamp (where in minutes and seconds it appears), and just a couple lines so I know what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Best,
Colleen

Forum: General Discussion Area

Favorite Podcast Clips?

vegcooking — Thur, 25 Feb 2010 16:51:22 GMT

Forum: Messages/Announcements from Compassionate Cooks

Nutritional Yeast question

YogaGirl — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:28:33 GMT

Hi there,

I was wondering if someone could tell me if nutritional yeast can be frozen and, if not, how long is the shelf life?

Thanks
Andrea

Forum: Share Vegan Recipes

Our foster dog Rex

nicoledgraziano — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:41:42 GMT

I just wanted to share the story of Rex, our wonderful foster dog. He is our second foster (we have 2 rescue dogs of our own). Rex was surrendered by his family before his 2nd birthday and was boarding in a kennel before we took him in. During our week with him, he has run daily in our great neighborhood dog park. He is off to his forever home this week, and we are confident that his new guardians will give him a great life. It has really been a pleasure getting to know him and taking care of him during the foster period. He's brought us nothing but joy and laughter. We're looking forward to fostering again soon.

Forum: A Place to Gush...About Our Companion Animals