Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Track Is Over

Track is over, yoohoo! I love it, but I have more free time now.
I still have tons of studying to do. Finals are approaching. I'm having trouble sitting still. It is so hot out!

Once the middle of June comes around, I will be out of school and have few obligations (I might work at the new Mexican restaurant in town, food looks pretty good!)

I just found out today that I have to get all my wisdom teeth pulled out... Grrr. But it will help get my braces off sooner, so yippee! (If you cannot tell, the heat is making me a bit loopey)

Monday, May 29, 2006

Busy Week!

I was so busy these past 6 days. Track meet after track meet, extra practices, shopping, homework, visiting, etc.

We had the State Meet on Saturday, I placed 10th in the 400m and 800m!!

Tomorrow is the last day of track, so after I should have more time to be here.

I also need to lose a bit of gut... Track made me so damn hungry and the snacks piled 3 lbs of pure gut on me. But a week without practice should calm my appetite and get it off. Vegans rock, you can never truly gain a ton of weight unless you eat complete garbage!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

A Big Thank You

I'd like give everyone a big "Thanks!"

I was looking through my stats, when I saw just how many people I get here everyday. The numbers are totally astounding.

Even though this blog has a theme, it is still a personal blog. Most personal blogs generate 5-10 unique visitors a day average.

This blog gets about 40 if I'm active, and around 30 if I'm not. That's a hell of a lot.

Especially for some random 14 year old in the middle of nowhere, those numbers are DAMN good.

I've gotten tons of great comments, and I've had a lot of fun. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has helped this website to grow.

I've done TONS of websites and blogs before. This is the only one that has actually survived over 3 months.

Thanks, and Peace Out
Allie

Monday, May 22, 2006

Random Questions

What's the most bizzare or random question you've been asked about veganism?

Here are my two favorites:

1) Don't cows explode if you don't milk them?

2) Do you eat beefsteak tomatoes?

Sunday, May 21, 2006

20 Reasons To Go Vegan

1) Vegans on average live 6 years longer than non-vegans.
2) The average vegan total cholesterol level is 128. The lowest level for a heart attack is 150.
3) Milk consuption has been linked to cholic, ear infections, asthma, and a whole slew of other diseases.
4) Cholesterol can cause impotence
5) Vegans dont consume any cholesterol
6) Vegans dont smoke, and smoking is one of the leading causes of death
7) 33% percent of Americans are OBESE, while only 2% of vegans are
8) Tofu is a lot cheaper than steak
9) Fur has formeldahyde in it, which has been known to cause cancers and etc
10) Charred meats contain carcinogens that can cause cancers
11) Fast food meats like those at McDonald's have thousands of additives that are not only addictive, they can cause you to gain weight and mess up your whole body
12) The USFDA recognizes vegetarian and vegan diets as the healthiest diets.
13) Veal calves are often stillborn or unborn.
14) Veal calves that are born are raises in crates where they cant even turn around, and are fed only a diet of milk for 16 weeks before they are slaughtered.
15) Dairy cows on average live for 5-7 years, where as they are able to live to 20 years or more!
16) Pigs are more intelligent than dogs, and have the intelligence of a 3-year old.
17) Egg-laying hens are kept without water and food for 14 days at a time to force their bodies into another egg-laying cycle
18) It takes 7 cows to furnish a leather interior Mercedes-Benz
19) Milk is known to cause acne breakouts
20) MEAT IS DEAD FLESH

How many more reasons do you need?

The Pie is FLIPPIN' SWEET!!!

I made that pie last night. It was A-MAZIN'!!!
Normally I've heard to use silken or soft tofu, but it always turns out more like pudding and will never congeal.

So this time I used firm tofu. It solidified perfectly! It was actually solid within 5 mins (but a little longer is better though).

It has a real fudgy texture, so you could also forgo the crust, put in a pan, add more chocolate (or maybe some soymilk) and have fudge!

My aunt was raving over it (I printed out the post for her), and my grandfather said it was very good (he's the most anti-tofu person I have ever met!)

I forgot to mention, that you can also take a few tablespoons of melted chocolate, and with the back of the spoon smear it on the top of the pie filling. It was give it a thin shell of chocolate and looks very pretty.

Bon appetit!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Tofu Chocolate Pie

It's taken me a while to perfect this recipe. The amounts are not exact, depending on your tastes.

Ingredients:
1 vegan premade pie crust (grahan cracker or wheat)
15 oz firm tofu
2 bags of Gharadelli Semi-Sweet chocolate chips (my favorite brand, you can use any other)
Water (if needed)

1) Cook the pie crust if needed (most no-bake recipes require brushing with sugar/water solution and baking for 5 mins at 375F.
2) In a toaster oven, or microwave, or double boiler melt the chocolate chips.
3) In a food processor, process the tofu until smooth (little granules are fine). Then add the melted chips and process until creamy.
4) If needed, add a few teaspoons of water. It should be creamy but not liquidy.
5) Put mixture in pie crust, and refrigerate until solid. While it's best to wait for 1 hour to set, 1/2 hour should be fine.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Irish Supper (Classic Sandwich, Roasted Potatoes, and Boiled Cabbage)

Lately, my life has been outrageously hectic. So, time for me to chow down on some comfort food, which for me, means classic Irish stuff.

These recipes aren't the most exact, its mostly "taste-and-revise" style cooking...

It's a 3 piece meal, with Classic Sandwich, Roasted Potatoes, and Boiled Cabbage.

CLASSIC SANDWICH
Ingredients:
3 or 4 slices of your favorite mock sandwich meat (ham is best, or bologna)
2 slices of bread (artisan white is the typical Irish bread)
Butter Replacement (either EarthBalance, Soy Garden, or ORGANIC SmartBalance with do, etc)
Mustard (if you choose not to use mustard, use extra butter)

1) Spread butter on both pieces of bread.
2) With the butter side up, place the mock meat on top.
3) Then add mustard, and put on the top piece of bread, butter side down.

For the Irish, butter/margerine is their mayonaise. It doesnt go bad in your lunch pail, and tastes great. (Many people think butter is disgusting before they actually try it. When I was in Ireland, I wondered why my sandwiches there tasted better. I was quite shocked when I realised the butter was giving it the yummyness)

ROASTED POTATOES
Ingredients:
Potatoes (how many as you like, peeled)
Oil (olive or olive/canola blend)
Salt
Pepper
Minced garlic
Spices (Rosemary, thyme, etc [use whatever you like])

1) Preheat oven to 350F. While oven is preheating, peel potatoes. If using large or medium potatoes, cut into smaller chunks.
2) Put into glass pan...
FOR LOW FAT:
Rub potatoes completely with oil, and put a thin coating on pan
FOR ORIGINAl (moister)
Rub potatoes liberally with oil, and put 1/2 inch of oil in pan
3) Add minced garlic and spices. Cook for approximately 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours(until golden and skin is crisp. Make sure to turn the potatoes every so often so they will not dry out. If using low fat version, you may need to drizzle the potatoes with oil every 20 minutes or so or else they will dry out.

This is a great side dish. It complements just about everything.

BOILED CABBAGE
Ingredients:
Cabbage leaves (Raw leaves make only about 1/2 or 1/4 of the original amount
Butter replacement

1) Wash cabbage leaves and put into a pot of boiling water.
2) Stir. Some leaves may float to the top, so push them down with the spoon. They will get softer and condense.
3) Cabbage is done when soft (latex-y feel), and a bit squishy (around 20-35 mins). Drain, and add butter.

I've found that many people like to eat the cabbage at room temperature, cool, or plain warm. The butter and the cabbage complement each other best when not piping hot.

Voila! You've got some of the world's greatest comfort food! If you decide to make all 3 parts, here is a prep order:

Prepare the roasted potatoes. Once they are in the oven start boiling the water for the cabbage. By the time the cabbage is done, they will be able to cool off because the potatoes should have another 15-30 minutes left. 5 minutes before the potatoes are done, make the sandwich.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Hey y'all...

Sorry I wasnt on last night, again I was extremely busy. Running for class president, track, Bones Season Finale, American Idol...

Unfortunately, I am STILL extremely busy... Sorry!

Monday, May 15, 2006

PETA2 threads

Every so often PETA2 threads pop up that are really useful or are just really interesting. Here's a collection of some I've seen today that you may find interesting:

- Questions About Tofu
- Vegan Chocolate Banana Brownie Cake (recipe)
- Dolphins Name Themselves With Whistles
- Age of Street Team Members
- New message boards and Street Team are just ONE MONTH away!



* I will continue this list tomorrow and more to it... I'm extremely busy tonight...

I'm back... again! - Mothers Day

I went away this weekend to CT so I wasnt able to get on. Dont worry, my internet is working just fine!

This Mother's Day was a bit hectic this year... I went away to CT b'cause my mum's boyfriend lives there. They were making french toast, so I was SUPPOSED to make my own vegan version by using soymilk, sans egg. But the bread his mother baked was milk bread, and all the other stuff had honey in it. SO... I found some chocolate instant pudding mix that was VEGAN! It was the JELLO brand! I couldnt believe it, but it was completely vegan, so I used soymilk instead of moo juice, and put fresh strawberry slices in it.

Oh yeah, then I got me mum some apple blossoms from our backyard.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Pictures!!!

I have some pictures of my dogs to post! They are so cute!!! I'm also including biographies, incase you are wondering what they are like! They have tons of nicknames, which I use when playing around since certain sounds make them jumpy and excited.

Both my dogs are fixed, and get their shots reguarly. I love my puppies too much to let bad things happen to them!

This is Oreo. She's a girl! We named her that because she is jet black with a white stripe down her middle (she also has white on the tips of her paws). We got her when she was 8 weeks old. Apparently her mother wasnt spayed, and she got pregnant by accident. From what we heard, she and the other puppies were going to be shot if they didnt get homes (however, they made a huge effort to find homes, and they all got homes) She's about 2 1/2, and has tons of energy. She also enjoys sleeping on the couch (like right now). She's about 80 lbs, and quite lean. We know her mother is a black labrador, the father is unknown. Guessing from her fur and her dewclaws, it seems apparent that it may be great Pyrenees. She has TONS of nicknames, including Roo, RooRoo (thats the destinct sound of her bark), Puppyroo, and Baby.


This is Sebastian. He's 5 years old. He is a purebreed black Lab. We got him this November. His previous guardian had too much going on in her life (her son started school, and she then needed to get a full-time job) , and gave him up for free so that he would get the life he deserved. He's short, about 85 lbs, and extremely muscular. (In the winter, he pulls me down icy dirt roads on my sled with ease!) He's always hyper, and can jump really high! He loves to lick anything (like my keyboard), and it always full of love to give. His nicknames are Seb, Sebby, Sebbawoo, and Sebbwastian!

8th Continent Soymilk IS vegan!

Its been vegan for a while, but there is still some controversy I am trying to clear it up.

For those of you who dont know, 8th Continent Soymilk used to contain Vitamin D3, which is NOT vegan (its either lanolin [wool fat] or fish oil). It is now vegan, with Vitamin D2.

People are still telling others not to use it, but it is VEGAN. Spread the news. 8th Continent is one of the cheaper, tastier soymilks and available in most supermarkets.

ADDITION AS OF 14 OCT 2007

People have been saying that the FAQ of the company says it is not vegan. That is OUTDATED. The current website has this to say:
Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that avoids using animals and animal products for food, clothing and other purposes. There are no animal components in the ingredients of 8th Continent soymilk.

See for yourself here. The website doesnt even have an FAQ, you have to go under "Health Benefits - Other Benefits" to get that information.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Peta2 Sexiest Vegetarian Competition!!!

We wait around all year for this! (Okay, maybe not all of us...)
Anyway, the Competition is on! (Remember its the PETA2, not the PETA competition, this one has more rock band people and etc)

All you have to do is click the woman and man you think are the best, and click ok!

There werent the greatest people this year. They had tons of guys, but none were that great.

They didnt have Derek Whibley (Sum 41)!!!! He's hot (teenage antics coming out!)
I was pretty disapointed. I went for Joel Madden, he's pretty cute, and I dont believe he's won before.
Naturally, I went for Avril Lavigne (all my other favorites have won in the past, so I'm trying to spread it around).

The actual PETA competition is much better, with pictures and a wider selection. But this is still cool, so vote!

The url is: http://www.peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-sexyveg06.asp

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

School Project (Comments Needed!)

For English and Social Studies, I have to research an aspect of local history as my final exam... I also have to make some kind of visual to represent the project.

I have that covered... The co-op supports local farmers, so I am going to cook something for about 40 people, that is made from only local foods. Of course, its going to be vegan.

So I need to know... What is a great vegan snack (or meals or side-dishes)that can be made big, and that most omnivorous teenagers will each. (Eliminates tofu and other things hard to pronounce). It also needs to be made from fresh produce. I have a few ideas, like portobello burgers, mashed potatoes with chives, mashed yams with sauteed zuchinni and scallions and some others. I would really appreciate your input, and hopefully I can show some of my classmates that vegan food rocks!

T-R-A-C-K

So far, veganism is proving to do athletes good! I just beat two of my personal bests today at the meet at People Academy (Moretown). I got 2:56.3 in the 800m, and 75 sec in the 400m. Both are really good for junior high girls. I also did the Long Jump, but it was right after both my runs, so we legs were already weak (10' 1").

Luna bars are proving to be my savior, and so are pasta and carrots...

I'M BACK!!!!

I couldn't resist the caps...

But its true!! I'm finally back!

To make a long story short, I moved and the internet people didnt come when they said they would (service in VT is sucky). So finally (after the track meet today) my aunt was lovely and got me a wireless card!!!! So now I have internet!!!!! I'm back!!!! Going for 3 weeks without internet is the PITS. Luckily I had track to keep my mind off of everything...

Now about the site...
I cant believe how many hits I got when I was away. Consistently about 15-20 a day, sometimes more! Amazing! Blogs usually do not get ANY hits when there havent been any new posts in 1 week! Thanks a bunch. I didnt get too many comments, but thats actually better since I didnt have to reply to any of them. You can keep em coming now!

I have SO MUCH stuff to post about, I'll be running my keyboard flat!

Anyway, American Idol is on now, I will be back as soon as its over!!!

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