Equal Marriage Rally Brisbane

Today in Brisbane hundreds of people came together for one reason: to demand marriage equality.  Currently, Australia does not allow anyone to get married except heterosexual cis-people.  People of other gender identities and sexual orientations are excluded under the current legislation, so they and their allies came together to rally in Queens Park to show the people of Brisbane that they would not be quiet, would not back down and would not give up until there is full marriage equality.

I unfortunately turned up late and missed all the talks, but was in time for the march itself, which I attended with a few friends.

I marched until my boots fell apart and I had to leave to buy some sneakers.

All in all I had a good time and I hope that marriage will be something for everyone who is in love and wishes to be married.  You can watch a channel 7 video of the rally and join the Equal Love Brisbane group on facebook.

Sausage, Spinach and Onion Quiche

You may have seen my previous attempt at making a quiche here.  This is my latest attempt which, I must admit, is a lot yummier and just better all round haha.

Ingredients:
*1 onion, chopped  
*2 cloves garlic
*4 vegan sausages, chopped
*2 blocks silken tofu (300g each)
*1/4 cup nondairy milk
*~50g fresh spinach, chopped 
*2 tsp basil
*1/2 tsp thyme

*1 tsp turmeric
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/2 cup nutritional yeast

*salt and pepper to taste
*1 sheet of puff pastry

Method:
1.  Fry onion, chopped sausages and garlic in a little oil until the onion is translucent.
2.  Blend tofu (crumble first, might be easier) and nondairy milk.
3.  Put in bowl and mix in nutritional yeast, finely chopped spinach, onions, sausages, garlic, herbs and spices.
4.  Place puff pastry in bottom of a pan and heat in oven for ten minutes
5.  Pour the mix on top and put back in the oven.
6.  Bake at 180C for 20 minutes or until middle has set.

(I forgot to pre-cook the pastry and just cooked the whole lot for 25 minutes, leaving the pastry at the bottom a little undercooked - d'oh!)

Potato and Spinach Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 packet of fresh spinach, chopped
• 4 large potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup of brown rice

Method:

1. Put rice on to boil.
2. Put potatoes on to cook.
3. Fry up onion and garlic in pan.
4. Drain potatoes, add onion and garlic mix, add some water, add herbs and spices, allow to simmer.
5. Add spinach for the last few minutes.
6. Mix in rice and eat.

Jam Filled Donut Muffins

I've yet to find any normal store that makes vegan donuts, so I searched around for recipes and found this one on vegweb.  I fiddled with it a little and you can find the results below:

Ingredients:
Muffins

• 2/3 cup nondairy milk
• 1.5 cups self raising flour
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup Nuttelex (vegan butter)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup raw sugar

Topping

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Filling

• about 6 tbsp of your choice of jam - I use strawberry.

Method:

1. Mix all muffin ingredients together.  You may want to add a little more milk to make it a bit easier to spoon into patties.  You may also want to add more nutmeg if that's how you roll.
2. Spoon into the muffin tray; about 1/4 - 1/3 full.  Make a small hollow in the batter.
3. Spoon some jam into the hollow.
4. Cover with more muffin mix.
5. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes.
6. Mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle on top.

Green Earth Group Bake Sale

Last Saturday I got up at 3:30am to help Green Earth Group with their bake sale at the West End Markets (6am - 2pm Saturdays).  Green Earth Group is a small local organisation that aims to help the environment by showing people how to have less impact through personal choices, such as going vegan, using reusable bags and cups and making green consumer choices.

This bake sale is part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.  I made and donated some strawberry cupcakes and some blueberry cupcakes.  There were a variety of things, like cheesecakes, banana bread, cookies and cream cupcakes, chocolate spiders and more.  I'm still deciding on what to make for this coming weekend.

Come along and join us at the next one.  If you sign up to the mailing list, you have a chance of winning some prizes (including a pig plushie by me!).  There are shirts, fregie sacks and information packs too!  We're nice and friendly and won't bite, I promise!

Green Lentil Curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1 tsp each garam masala, turmeric, cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Optional: add chopped spinach, vegetable stock and/or onion.

If you're prepared, soak your lentil overnight so that you don't have to cook them for as long.

Method:

1. Put lentils, 1 cup of water, spices, coconut milk and garlic in one pot.  You may need to add more water as it cooks.  Cook for about 35-45 minutes, until lentils are tender.
2. Cook rice as per packet instructions.
3. Mix together and nom!

Mac N Cheese

I have never had mac and cheese, due to being lactose intolerant, so I never thought about making a vegan version.  Until now.

It was a bit yellower than this, but my camera is not great :(

Ingredients:

• 250grams pasta
• 2.5 cups nondairy milk
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1.5 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper
• various herbs and spices at your discretion: we added paprika, thyme, ginger and chili powder

Method:

1. Cook pasta in one pot.
2. Combine milk and butter in another pot, turn down to simmer, add soy sauce, garlic and flour.  Try your best to destroy any lumps.  You may want to add more flour to make it thicker.
3. Add cauliflower to the pasta pot for the last five minutes to let it get tender.
4. Drain pasta and cauliflower.
5. Mix in sauce, add herbs and spices.

Garden Pie

Ingredients:

• 5 medium potatoes
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1 broccoli floret, chopped
• 1 cup TVP
• some frozen peas and corn
• paprika, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 cups water 

 Method:

1. Slice potatoes and cook.
2. Mix TVP, water, herbs, spices, carrots, broccoli, onion, peas and corn in a pot and cook until onion is see-through and vegies are at desired softness.  You may need to add more water, but not too much or your base will be too watery in the dish.
3. When potatoes are done, drain and add vegan butter and a dash of nondairy milk to make mashed potato.
4. Turn oven to 180C.  Put TVP mix in dish, spoon potato over the top.
5. Cook until top is golden.

Optional: Add nutritional yeast to potato mix.

Safe Sex - The Vegan Way!

Here I try to list all  most sexual health products and where you can buy vegan ones from in Australia (as much as possible).  Remember that safe sex is the best sex for yourself and your partner/s.  Also remember to ask for consent!

If you want these products to be more easily available, why not contact Woolworths or contact Coles to see if they can stock these products, or if they already do.  Let me know in the comments if you want me to write you up an example letter.

Condoms by robertelyov

Penis Condoms

Condoms are useful in preventing pregnancies and stopping the transmission of STIs and STDs (even if you cannot get pregnant, not getting diseases and infections is pretty rad).  Unfortunately, most condoms on the market contain casein, which is a milk protein.  Where does milk come from?  Poor, suffering cows.

Luckily, there is Glyde!  So if you're the kind of person who wants to use condoms during sexual intercourse, while being animal-friendly, now you can!  You can buy them from The Cruelty Free Shop here or The Green Edge Online here or check out Glyde's website for a list of some of the places that they are stocked at.

BIG Drip by Images by John 'K'

Personal Lubricant

Lubricant is usually produced to help with intercourse, however it is nice to have some on hand in case things aren't going as expected.  Or for stretching your piercings.  Unfortunately, one of the main ingredients in many lubes is glycerin, which can either be from plants or animal fats.

Sylk personal lubricant is completely vegan friendly.  They say that they are available at big Coles and Woolworths stores but they are also available online here.  Glyde has provided again, with some lubricant available here through The Vegan Store. Astroglide is another brand that is vegan friendly and can be purchased online through their website. Yes Organic Lubricant is yet another vegan friendly lube available online here.

With lubricants, ensure that you can use them with condoms, we don't want people getting pregnant by mistake!

Yaz by Stacy Lynn Baum

Oral and Internal Contraceptives

Oral contraceptives are hard to find in vegan form, however the vegan police are hardly liable to come after you for this one; it is better than having an unwanted child.

All vegans must, at times, make compromises because we live in an imperfect world. We need to make the best choices we can based on the world we have inherited, not the society we envision and are trying to create. Making concessions for birth control is not necessarily indicative of hypocrisy. It simply means that you are being realistic, practical, and responsible. - Jo Stepaniak

If you do use non-vegan pills, I suggest you contact the manufacturer and ask them to consider using vegan alternatives.  If enough people ask, maybe we can change them.

There are other forms of contraceptives, including an injection that may be vegan friendly, however I have not been able to find a reliable source of information on that one - yet.  There are also hormonal and copper IUDs that are apparently vegan friendly, though I haven't had a chance to email and check.  I have also discovered the NuvaRing, which may be vegan friendly, but again I haven't as yet had a chance to email.  I will update when I do.  Or, if you have information, please share!

If you are only using these kinds of contraceptives, remember that you can still get STDs and STIs!

Vaginal Condoms

The Femidom is available from The Vegan Store here and is the only vaginal condom I could find that was vegan.

Dams

Dams are used as a barrier when giving oral sex to another person, helping to prevent the spread of STDs and STIs.  Sheer Glyde is a vegan dam that is available here, from The Vegan Store or here from The Sensual Vegan.

Bondage Bear by Ulleskelf

Accessories and Bondage

Vegan Erotica has a range of straps, collars, hitting toys, restraints and more.  If it's outside of your price range or not what you're looking for, there are a range of PVC and faux leather products available on eBay; I personally got a collar from eBay.

If I have missed something, used gendered language, or anything else, let me know and I will update this post!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I was looking for something to make for a good friend of mine who loves white chocolate.  It seems that there are a lot of chocolate-based recipes out there, but less for white chocolate. I found a few different cheesecake ideas for milk chocolate and decided to make a white chocolate version.

I decided to simplify (as I tend to do) and also use measurments based on what packages the foods actually come in here in Australia.

Ingredients:

Crust

*1/2 packet of Nice biscuits (there were 23 biscuits; I used 12)
*1/4 cup vegan butter, melted

Filling
*1 x 350g packs of soft tofu      
*1 x 227g tub of Tofutti cream cheese 
*2/3 cup raw sugar                   
*1 tbsp vanilla
*2 x 100g blocks Sweet Williams white chocolate    
*1/8 cup milk

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 180C.
2.  Blend together tofu and cheese.
3.  Grate/chop white chocolate into a bowl.
4.  Mix tofu, milk, chocolate, vanilla and sugar in bowl.
5.  Make crust, put in pan.
6.  Pour mix on top.
7.  Bake for 55-70 minutes, or until edges are set but centre is soft.  Refridgerate 8-12 hours before serving.

Makes:  Six serves.

Rally to Stop the Hate: Brisbane 22nd March

The media coverage for this event leaves a lot unspoken so I will write what I saw happen here.

At 6pm in King George Square, Brisbane, approximately 400-500 people turned up to stop the "Hate Truck" run by Peter Madden.  He is a self-pronounced 'Christian Activist'.  I didn't get to see the truck, however as you can see on his website, the signs on it say "not my children! not on my watch!" and "the dark side of same-sex marriage. homosexual sex ed for your children".

Before I write about what happened at the event, let me just quickly explain what is wrong with these signs.  Children will not 'become homosexual' (or asexual, bisexual, pansexual or any other sexuality) just by learning about it in class.  Rather, they will just be educated in safe sexual practices that will ensure that they reduce their risk of diseases and health problems in the future. 

Sexual education is not a bad thing.  Learning to be tolerant and accepting of differences is not a bad thing.  Learning that love exists between all sorts of people is not a bad thing.  Making children feel accepted rather than stigmatised for their behaviours is not a bad thing.

Now on to the night!

We stood and chanted from 6pm to 7:30pm.  The majority of the chants were peaceful, however some were a bit problematic for me: "Fuck off, Madden, Fuck off!" and "1, 2, 3 and a bit, Madden is full of shit, 5,6,7, 8, we don't want your hate".  Personal attacks, to me, are not the right way to have a peaceful protest.  Telling them their homophobic views are not welcome is fine, but calling them 'shit' and telling them to 'fuck off' is another thing entirely.  "Hey hey, ho ho, homophobia's got to go" was a good one, as was the "What do we want? Equality! When do we want it? Now!".  Each time there was a truck sighting or an anti-equal-rights-activist sighting, we were told to turn that way and chant some more.  There was even a song with a dance at one point.

There was one sighting of the truck at about 7:00pm-7:15pm and a lot of people ran after it.  They were all hastily recalled and reminded that this was a peaceful protest and to stay away from the truck.  One activist was arrested for standing near the truck.  They were later released without charge.  The police maintained a strong presence throughout the night.

All of a sudden, we were all looking at the top of King George Square (that is only accessible via stairs) and there were about 9-10 middle aged men and one woman (sorry for assuming their gender however, considering they're protesting 'gay marriage'...).  There were police guarding the stairs and the elevator to what I can only assume is an underground carpark where the truck was hidden.

One of the men (I assume Peter Madden) pulled out a guitar and started singing.  Our chanting grew louder.  One of the men leant over the balcony, seeming rather amused at what we were doing.  Then he seemed to start blessing us or praying for us.  I found this insulting and a bad move; you shouldn't interact with either side and this felt like a taunt.  This went on for about 15 minutes then, suddenly, three eggs sailed through the air, one narrowly missing hitting him in the face.  He just smiled and spread out his arms.  The police moved him away from the balcony.  He sat down but as soon as they were gone, stood up again to put his arms out towards us.  The police returned and he didn't do it again.

The egg throwers were not arrested, however I disagree with their tactics.  It makes us look like we're immature and can't be taken seriously (not to mention the animal rights implications of eggs).  It paints us as the bad guys.  Thankfully it was only one or two people who did it from what I can tell (considering only a few eggs were thrown).

The rest of the protest was peaceful; just chanting to drown out any homophobic comments made by the Madden group.  I left at 8pm but it was still going strong then.  I was followed down Queen Street by "Hey hey, ho ho, homophobia's got to go!".  I hope that it has helped to spread the message: equality is something people want and we're not going to stay silent about it.

Pumpkin Chips

It's that part of the week again; there's almost nothing in my fridge.  I decided to make pumpkin chips out of the 1/4 of a pumpkin I had in there.  They're really yummy, but not as firm as the potato chips.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Butternut pumpkin
• 1-2tbsp oil
• 2tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• paprika, oregano, thyme, any other herbs & spices you want to add

Method:

1. Chop up pumpkin.
2. Put in a container with herbs and spices.  Shake until evenly coated.
3. Bake at 220C for 20 minutes.

Fact Sheet: Dairy Cheese

Dairy cheese is made by, basically, allowing milk to curdle and then curing it in a variety of different ways to add different flavours and textures.  This cheese contains a variety of different chemicals and hormones.  It is a concentration of all of the ones found in dairy as it takes about 10 pounds of milk (4.5kg) to make 1 pound of cheese (0.45kg).  One reason that many people find it hard to 'quit cheese' is because of the opiate effect of the casomorphins which are found in milk, but whose affects are exacerbated in cheese.

Cheese by jtuason

Most dairy cheese available commercially in Australia has rennet in it.  Rennet is taken from the stomachs of baby cows and used to help it curdle.  There are a few rennet-free dairy cheeses available, however as we know, the dairy industry supports the deaths of 700,000 calves a year.  These calves are allowed to be starved for 48 hours before being sent off to be killed.

Calf by photogrammer1

 
Dairy cheese is known for not being the most healthy food you could eat; many people only eat small amounts because of this.  It contains a high percentage of fats and cholesterol, both of which people do not need in excess. A person could be led to think that cheese has a lot of things that they can't get anywhere else, however all the vitamins (A, B12 and more) and minerals (calcium, zinc and phosphorous) can be found from other more ethical sources.

Vegetable stand by comprock

If you really do enjoy cheese, why not try some healthy, cruelty-free alternatives?  The Vegan Store has a big range, you can find Tofutti cream cheese and cheese slices at the supermarket or you can try to make your own.  There are more available than I have just listed, feel free to try them all and find a favourite that is better for you and the cows!

Cow by vietor

Please note that I have only discussed the treatment of cows in the dairy industry and the composition of cow cheese.  I have not yet had a chance to research cheese from goats or sheep.

Mung Bean Dahl

The co-op at uni had a sale on mung beans (I got just under a cup for 55c; I'm horrible at guesstimating weights) so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally try some out, after having a delicious mung bean dahl at Vege Rama.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp each turmeric, pepper and cumin
• 1/2 tsp chilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 an onion
• 1 cup dried mung beans
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 2 handfulls spinach
• 1 cube vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cups of water

Method:

1. Put mung beans,water, vegetable stock, herbs and spices into a large pot on high, then turn down to let simmer.  You may need to add more water to keep it nice and liquidy.
2. Put brown rice and water in another pot to cook.
3. Fry onion and garlic in a pan with oil until onion is see-through.  Add to mung bean mix.
4. Take brown rice off heat once cooked.
5. Add finely chopped spinach to mung bean mix once there are 10 minutes to go (should have been cooking for about 25 minutes now, no need to worry about being exact, we only want the spinach to be wilted).
6. Take mung beans off heat, serve with rice.

Chocolate Cake

This is a combination of an altered chocolate cake recipe cobbled together from a few different sites and a chocolate icing recipe that I made up after looking at a few different non-vegan sites.  I made it for a friend's birthday and they really enjoyed it and got lots of positive feedback from all of their friends.  The batter is pretty delicious as well!

Cake Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup Nuttelex
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Icing Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsp warm water
• 2 tsp vegan butter
• 1 tbsp cocoa

Method:

1. Mix cake ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Pour into cake tin.
3. Bake at 180C for ~35 minutes, until knife or skewer comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool for at least an hour or your icing will melt!
5. Make your icing by mixing all ingredients together.  You may need to adjust the amount of liquid to get the right consistency.
6. Serve and eat!

Rio's Rat Rescue

For the month of March, 10% of all sales and all donations from baked goods will be going to Rio's Rat Rescue.  (Let me know what flavour cupcakes you want for the markets on my facebook page!)

'Chess cute rat' by Honey Pie!

Rats are overlooked when it comes to rescues; there are many for cats and dogs (although, still not enough to deal with the amount of animals that are abandonded/neglected).  I am happy that I have finally found a rat rescue as these critters are beautiful!

'Rats are cute too...' by line68

Rio's Rat Rescue is run by a vet nurse in Brisbane.  It is a home run shelter that has only recently started out but is already having an impact.  If you would like to donate some of the items they need (cages, toys, water drippers, etc), please email rio.graham(at)hotmail.com, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!

'rat' by woinska

 If you've been considering adopting a pet, why not take a rat in?  I myself am hoping to soon adopt two (once I hear back from the rental agency).  For information about looking after your rat, check out The Dapper Rat and for information on what to feed them, check out Veganza.

'Feirefiz, rat curieux' by DianeOzdamar

Banana Cupcakes

I was heading off with my friend to go to dinner at one of their friend's houses.  I've been raised to always take something when going to someone's house.  So I desperately scrambled around the kitchen in last minute haste, looking for something I could bake.  I found four bananas and some flour and sugar.  Using the choconana muffin and banana bread recipes, I created banana cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self raising flour
• 4 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup vegan butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinammon
• 1/2 cup non dairy milk

 Method:

1. Mix everything in a bowl.
2. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes.

Split Pea Dahl

My best friend absolutely hates chickpeas (I know, I know, how could you hate them?!) so I had to find something easy and cheap to make for them while they were over.  I found this recipe and modified it a little below, and added the price of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow split peas, uncooked      80c
• 3-4 cups water
• 2 cubes veggie stock                           40c
• 10 mushrooms                                   $2.20
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp Nuttelex
• 1/2 onion, diced                                  30c
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 cloves garlic                                     5c
• dash pepper and salt, to taste
• 1 cup rice                                           90c

Method:

1. Place water, stock, peas, chopped mushrooms and turmeric in a large pot and let simmer for 25 minutes. You may need to continue adding water to ensure it's not too dry.
2. Cook rice in water in seperate pot. 
3. Fry onion, garlic, Nuttelex and cumin.
4. Add onion mix to pea mix.  Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes, until peas are soft.
5. Serve with rice.

Makes: 2-3 serves

Total: $4.65

Movie Review: END:CIV

Today I had the privilege of having the creator of END:CIV, Franklin Lopez, come in and talk to us about the film.  He explained how it was sparked by attending a talk about peak oil.  It was there that he first heard Derrick Jensen speak.  Franklin bought Derrick's books and this movie is a summation or introduction to some of the premises that are outlined within them.

It covers the death of the environmental movement, the greenwashing of products that we are sold and the destruction of the environment.  It forces us to confront the fact that the environment is our responsibility, that we are the ones who need to do something about this, that we must work together to halt the mindless consumption that the world revolves around.

This film is confronting, but it needs to be.  The issues that it covers are not small, are not going to go away and they need something to be done now.

Best Friends Rescue

The charity for the month of February is Best Friends Rescue.

Best Friends Rescue is a no-kill animal shelter that is entirely run by volunteers.  Currently they save cats and dogs from being put down and help to find them forever homes.  Last year (2011) they helped to rehome 300 dogs.

They rely entirely on donations from the public so this month I am holding a raffle, with all money going to help them.  Check it out, tickets are only $1 each and there are a couple of rad prizes.

Show some support for them on their facebook page, send them a donation or sign up to look after an animal while they help find him/her a forever home.

All photos of animals taken from the list of dogs up for adoption on the BFR page.