"My Life as an Undercover Investigator"

Mainly, I witnessed horrific scenes like mother pigs getting beaten with metal rods to force them back into farrowing crates after getting their first chance to walk in months. I watched them roar in helpless despair as their piglets were violently yanked from their teats and castrated in front of their faces. I watched countless egg-laying hens die of thirst, starvation, or trampling after their broken legs or wings became trapped in their cages. And I watched mother cows spend days bellowing for their stolen calves as if this was the first time it had happened. For me, these memories illustrate the tragedy of the modern animal farm. You need only look to see that these intelligent animals are paying an unfathomable cost to satisfy our habit for cheap meat, eggs and dairy. 

My Life as an Undercover Investigator - by Cody Carlson
Full article - http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?catId=5&pageId=4676

(this is what a baby pig and his mommy should be like)

(not 'mass' produced ...)

See LUCENT here

Lucent is a feature-length documentary about the vast yet largely unseen suffering inherent to Australia's pig farming industry.

Vegan Survival Guide for Christmas Dinner

Christmas time... everyone talking about food, most of which unethical meat and eggs covered in cream or cheese. But there is hope and we don't even need obi wan kenobi to rescue us ;) Christmas can be compassionate full of food for vegans too! Rejoice and eat to your heart's content. 

If you are invited to a family gathering start by:

- asking your host to kindly cook side dished with no butter or cream. Suggest for them to replace this with olive oil or soya cream (healthier and everyone can eat from this)
Same goes for your mash potatoes.

- Suggest having at least one vegan dessert or ice cream and help them by choosing an easy recipe of a cake or sweets that is easy to prepare.

- as starter soup remind them not to add butter or cream (or parmesan cheese). Soups are naturally vegan and very tasty even without all the saturated fats and cholesterol.

You can bring:

- your own nut roast (see recipe here)
- buy a ready made nut roast or tofurkey roast
- bring an assortment of dairy free cheeses for people to taste
- buy or make Hummus and cut fresh carrots/celery and get breadstick to dip into the Hummus
- Prepare a nice Olive Tapenade for starter (see recipe here)
- Bake a dessert (such as a spiced banana bread)
- Bring loads of fresh fruit and make a Fruit Salad for everyone (you can top this with a little bit of brandy or port wine for an extra touch of sweetness)
- Bring your own garlic Butter (blend fresh or dry garlic, salt, black pepper and herbs into dairy free butter)
- You can prepare in advance and bring along cold mini-Falafels (Baked falafel recipe here)

At any big dinner the main course is usually centered on a big main centerpiece, such as a turkey for non-vegans at Christmas or Thanksgiving. You can easily replace this by:

- nut roast
- tofurkey roast
- VegDucken (see recipe here)
- Make individual portions of food (such as lasanha, gratins, etc) such as this

Have plenty of sides! 

Remember: protein doesn't make you feel full, it's the carbs that do that. 

Get a load of sides such as: roasted squash and carrots with cinnamon, sauteed greens with pine-nuts, stuffed peppers, roasted pepper salad, mash potatoes, sauteed Brussels-sprouts, cooked shredded cabbage... 

Have a Merry Compassionate Christmas!

Face Reality; Face Morality

Recipe #127 Vegan Roast

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 300 gr fresh white mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium/big onion
• 2 carrots 
• 1 can of green lentils
• salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (or hot paprika)
• 2 garlic gloves
• Herbs (I use 3 tablespoons of frozen coriander)
• 200 gr walnuts (chopped)

You'll need a food processor.

1. Grate the carrots (reserve)
2. Chop the onion and the garlic cloves (reserve)
3. Chop the walnuts (reserve)
4. Process the lentils into a smooth paste (reserve)
5. Chop the mushrooms into tiny pieces (reserve)

In a big saucepan or wok sautee the mushrooms, onion, garlic cloves and carrots in the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper (or hot paprika).

Then add the lentils and the walnuts and stir together. Add the coriander and allow everything to thicken up a bit into a paste. Add the flour (up to 1 + 1/4 of cup) until it is really thick.

Take a 2 lb bread tin (butter the inside or use baking paper) and press the mixture into the tin. It might look like too much but if you press it down firmly it should fill it up to the edge.

Cook for 25 min on 200 oC; after this cover with some aluminum foil and cook for another 25min.

ALLOW TO COOL before cutting; or else it won't be firm enough to get slices off it.
It will make for 10 slices, average for 5 people.

Estimated cost: under 4,50 €

This is a naturally Gluten free Recipe (but check for cross contamination alerts on the packaging of the walnuts and flour). For gluten free result use oat flour or ground almond.

(before cooking)

(cooked and sliced)

Recipe #126 Spiced Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 250gr self raising flour
• 100gr dark muscovado sugar
• 80gr(weight) sunflower oil
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 overripe bananas (medium)
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl place the peeled bananas and mash them with a fork or potato masher. Then add the oil and the bananas into the dry-ingredients' bowl and mix everything very well.

Pre-heat your oven at 200oC. Prepare a bread tin (2lb size) or small cake tin. The way I usually prepare my cake and bread tins is: I spread a teaspoon of butter on the bottom of the tin, then cover this with a piece of baking paper (cut to size) and finish by lightly greasing the sides with another 1-2 teaspoons of butter.

Transfer your banana bread mixture into your tin. Place in the oven at 200oC for 20min, when the time is up cover it with aluminium foil and let it cook another 30min at the same temperature.

By then the cake should be fully cooked (if not let it cook, covered, another 10min).

Being vegan is (not) expensive: Vegetable Curry for Five 3,39€

you'll need

• 2 courgettes/zucchinis
• 300gr fresh mushrooms
• 1 can of chopped carrots
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 onion
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk (pref. chilled overnight)
• make this curry spice mix

Heat 1/2 cup olive or coconut oil in a big saucepan. To this add the onion chopped (and optionally 1 tablespoon of ginger or ginger paste), 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of the masala curry mix. Let the onion cook and add the courgette (diced) and the mushrooms (quarters). Let the mushrooms cook and add the drained carrots and drained chickpeas. Stir everything.
Open the coconut milk can (without shaking) and spoon out the cream of the coconut can (leave the water if possible in the can). Stir in the coconut cream and add 2-3 tablespoons of the masala curry mix.
Serve on a bed of rice, potatoes or with dark bread.

This will serve a big group 4-6 people.

Total cost

• 2 courgettes/zucchinis bought at Lidl for 0,49€
• 300gr fresh mushrooms bought at Tesco for 0,99€
• 1 can of chopped carrots bought at Tesco/Lidl for 0,37€
• 1 can of chickpeas bought at Tesco for 0,59€
• 1 onion 0,06€ (pack of 10 onion bought at Tesco for 0,69€)
• 1 can of full fat coconut milk (pref. chilled overnight) bought at Tesco for 0,89€

Total cost 3,39€ for 5 people.

Being vegan is (not) expensive: Vegetable Pasta for three 2,15€

Main Course: Vegetable Farfalle

1) 200gr dry farfalle (or any other pasta)

1 aubergine

1 medium Onion

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 can of plum tomatoes 
1/2 package of fresh mushrooms
1 green bell pepper
1 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoons of hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, al dente. Drain and reserve.

In a food processor chop the onion with the plum tomatoes.

Add the olive oil to a pan and then the tomato with the chopped onion. When it's hot add one aubergine (diced), the pepper (diced) and the mushrooms (quarters) and stir.
When the vegetables are cooked add the pasta and stir everything together.

Total cost:

1/2 package of mushrooms 0,45 (1 for 0,89€ at Tesco)

1 pepper 0,27€ (5 peppers for 1,39€ at Tesco)

1 aubergine 0,89€ at Tesco

1 medium Onion cost 0,06 € (10 onions for 0,65€ at Tesco)

1/2 can of plum tomatoes 0,19€ (1 can for 0,39€ at Tesco)

200gr Farfalle 0,19€ (500gr 0,49€)

Total 2,15€ for 3 people,

0,71 € per person