Pleasant surprise

I have been pleasantly surprised by people's reaction to our going vegan. With a few exceptions, people have been very supportive and understanding and respectful, and some have even considered going vegan themselves, and one friend on Facebook, has, I'm sure not just through my influence, but an accumulation of insights and knowledge.

There is the primitive desire to be with ones own, a tribal feeling of safety with those who think similarly to oneself. Running the guest house obviously brings this kinship, and sites such as Volentia, and going to the Animal Aid Fayre in Exeter last weekend do too. The fayre made me feel quite emotional, at home, all warm, no need to explain anything, ah, except i did feel i wanted to explain to everyone why I am still wearing leather shoes, although I doubt anyone even noticed! i may do a separate blog entry about my thoughts on this.

Vegan cupcakes

Vegan Chocolate Cupcake Recipe


Makes: 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
8fl oz - 1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar - or any vinegar, I used wine vinegar
5 oz - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 fl oz - 1/3 cup canola oil - I used sunflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
4 oz - 1 cup all-purpose flour - plain flour
1 and a half oz - 1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda - bicarbonate of soda we call it in UK!
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt


INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F 175c and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

icing -

3oz vegan margarine
half tsp vanilla essence
6oz sieved icing sugar
2 oz sieved cocoa pdr.

mix thoroughly and swirl or otherwise decorate the cakes with this. Yum


Anglicised from
From: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World , by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

A pig

When I see a pig, as I did recently on our holiday, a lucky pig with a lovely field to dig up and a shelter to retreat to, I see a pink animal whom I know is intelligent, and with whom I may be able to spend a few moments of quality time, scratching it's ears and grunting together. I also imagine it waiting in the abattoir, smelling death, hearing death, but I try not to dwell on this. I do not think of what it tastes like. I do not know what it tastes like, as I have never tasted pig. When I see a row of peas, an artichoke, a peach, I imagine what they taste like. I know others imagine the taste of bacon when they see a pig. I am so happy that I do not.

Vegan household!

Simon has today announced that he too has become vegan. I realise that I am currently a dietary vegan only, as there are many products around the house which will have been tested on animals, many may have animal products in, I am still making felt from wool, I am still wearing leather shoes, albeit only old ones and second hand ones, etc. We have a long way to go, and will probably never get there fully. And, we must consider getting the dogs onto a vegan diet.

I so want to get making the vegan cup cakes I had the other day. So yummy, maybe I could adapt them into a dessert?

Bees

I just read that the average honey bee produces around half a teaspoon of honey in it's lifetime. One morsal for us, a life's work for another.

counter

I have just added this counter thing, but I find it so upsetting, please let me know if you have any thoughts and are reading this. Is it helpful, or just so shocking that it is a distraction?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebCr0E-oRg&feature=player_embedded

Coming out

I have been blogging a little in my craft blog about going vegan, I thought it was time I had a blog largely devoted to the process! I will copy those posts into here and start blogging about crafts once more in that blog!

It is a strange process telling people I am vegan. I have been vegan - more or less- for around six weeks. I started suddenly, didn't even tell anyone at first. I felt a bit of a fraud, vulnerable to being easily persuaded back to being vegetarian. I feel stronger now, comfortable with my choice, but it still feels strange to tell people what I am doing. In this quiet Cornish village, even being vegetarian is considered unusual, so being vegan raises eyebrows! I have been reticent in telling people locally, but am beginning to do so now, and we have had several meals out, and I have had a some good food, as long as we tell the pub/restaurant in advance.

Being vegan has nothing to do with self discipline at present for me. I have terrible self discipline! I cannot diet for long, although I need to. Being vegan is not about my health, although any weight loss (sadly not much yet) and health benefits will be an added bonus! It is purely about animal welfare and the realisation of the intimate link between the meat and dairy industries. If I were ever to feel a bit of a wobbly about being vegan, I can just look at some of the images I have previously managed to avoid for so many years but finally forced myself to look at. Being vegetarian, I have always been vegetarian, is not enough.