vegan lifestyle

Recipe Sunday – Sheet Pan Tofu with Spring Vegetables

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Happy Sunday, beauties! The past week has been so busy, managed to see a dear friend and the weather was so lovely we went for a walk and then for a delicious lunch at the local vegan cafe. But I’ve also felt overwhelmed at work as I had 2 meetings and a training day where I had to deliver a short presentation: at the time I felt like I maybe put too much stuff on my plate, but then I look at my colleague, she’s always meeting existing or potential partners, always organising events, delivering talks etc. and she seems so serene and calm. And I thought that I should try to be more relaxed with my work-life: I do my job and at the latest meeting with my manager he clearly said that I do even more than what my work entails. So, why am I taking things so personally? Like, I am way too involved with my work stuff. Yesterday was my Saturday on, and I wasn’t feeling well, almost the beginning of a cold – then all these thoughts came into my mind and I stopped, paused while I was creating the graphics for an event, and I started breathing in and out, mindfully. I spent 5 minutes, just trying to clear my head. Then I came back home for lunch and since it was sunny, I spent the break in the garden, doing nothing, just enjoying that time. Before going back to work, I made myself a lemon and ginger tea with a splash of apple cider vinegar to sip while I was finishing work. After work, I had a quick 20 minutes nap and decided to not do anything but rest. Made a quick dinner and had some green tea, then went to sleep. I kid you not, this morning I woke up quite rested but mostly no signs of a cold! I know, I probably am not telling you anything new, but maybe you forgot to “take it easy” and be more compassionate to yourself so this is just a reminder – you are doing great, you are doing your best, and even if your best is just getting out of bed, this is enough! You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.

That’s way too much chit-chat! So I leave you with a simple but nutritious recipe for those days where you can’t be bothered to cook but still want something tasty: Sheet Pan Tofu with Spring Vegetables by FromMyBowl.

Ingredients 

 

For the Lemon Garlic Tofu:

  • 14-16 ounces extra firm tofu pressed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Vegetables:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bunch asparagus ends trimmed and cut into 2” pieces
  • 8.5 ounces canned artichoke hearts drained, rinsed, and cut in half
  • 4 ounces radishes ends trimmed and cut in half
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • Lemon Pepper Orzo or cooked rice for serving (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 415F. Set a large baking sheet aside and line with a silicone baking mat if it is not nonstick.
  2. Cut the tofu into small triangles and place in the bottom of a small container. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to a small jar and shake until emulsified. Pour the marinade over the tofu and gently toss the container until the tofu is coated. Let marinate for 15 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator for a stronger flavor.
  3. Transfer the tofu to a large baking sheet, leaving about 2” between each piece. (Note: discard the extra marinade behind or save it for drizzling on the tofu just before serving, if desired). Bake in the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes.
  4. In a medium bowl whisk the oil, mustard, garlic powder, pepper, and salt together. Add the asparagus, artichoke hearts, and radishes and mix well. Set aside.
  5. Take the tofu out of the oven, flip it, and scoot it all over to one third of the baking sheet. Transfer the vegetables to the baking sheet and spread them across the remaining two thirds. Return to the top rack of the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven and top with fresh dill.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Wild Rice and Watercress Salad

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Hello beautiful kittens! How are you? It’s the Spring Bank Holiday, meaning that many in the UK had a Monday off: I’m one of those lucky people and it’s been lovely being able to have a little rest, mostly reading and spending some time in the garden (but not too long because it’s really warm). And I didn’t post yesterday, but I’m here to propose a Recipe-Sunday-on-a-Monday! As the weather has been really sunny, I have been eating more fruit and salads, so here is one recipe I love making, a Wild Rice and Watercress Salad by TheVegSpace.

Wild Rice and Watercress Salad by TheVegSpace

Ingredients  

  • 250 g pack microwaveable Long Grain & Wild Rice
  • 8 asparagus spears cut into two pieces
  • 5 radishes finely sliced
  • 1 spring onion finely sliced
  • 60 g watercress
  • 25 g parsley finely chopped
  • 1 lemon juice only
  • 3 tablespoon french dressing
  • 2 tablespoon pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

Method 

  1. Cook the rice according to packet instructions, then tip into a large bowl and spread around to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, and add the asparagus. Cook for 3 minutes until just turning tender. Drain and add to the bowl with the rice.
  3. Add all the remaining ingredients, and toss together until everything is fully coated with the dressing. Taste and season with a little salt if required.
  4. Divide between two plates and serve immediately. (NB. If you are preparing this in advance, eg, to take to work in a lunchbox, leave the lemon juice and dressing off until you are about to eat it, or else the watercress will turn soggy and unpleasant).

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Love,

TVCL xx

Happy Easter, Ramadan and Passover!

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Happy Easter, Ramadan and Passover to all of you, kittens! I hope you are enjoying a lovely day, doing what makes you happier and if not, I hope you’ll be able to do that as soon as possible – I know you deserve it!

I also hope you are having some nice vegan food and are avoiding putting dead, innocent animals on your plates for these holidays.

A Special Year

This year is a particular one as the three Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) are all celebrating and observing main holidays in the same 2-week period with Ramadan started on the 22nd March, Passover started on the 5th April and Easter on the 9th April. The amazing fact is that these religions have many common points, from worshipping one God to having sacrifice and hope and love as their main teachings. Also, people following these religions have been (or are still being) persecuted in different parts of the world.

The holidays are always a way to celebrate life and that’s what these three religions do teach in their own way: for Christians it’s the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being dead for three days, for Muslims it’s celebrating the end of the fasting period with three days of prayers and special food, and for the Jewish is the celebration of the end of the enslavement of the Hebrew people.

And all this seems so hopeful and beautiful! However, the preferred way to celebrate rebirth, end of fasting and the end of enslavement is to…kill. And who to kill? The most innocent lives on this Earth, the true symbol of innocence – lambs.

Is this the real way to celebrate? It is baffling how millions of people can all think that yes, this is the way to do it.

Need For Change

Following, are three reasons why these religions should leave animals out of their rituals:

  1. So we have that in these religions, people are taught that lambs are a symbol of innocence and purity and that makes sense to kill them and eat them as a way to celebrate God. If you are killing the symbol of innocence, even symbolically, aren’t you like killing that virtue?
  2. If the killing of animals is in the Sacred Books, this probably was meant to be as a means to provide food for the people. In 2023, this cannot be the case anymore: we produce so much food and even more food is grown to feed the animals that are then going to be killed. There is no reason to keep killing animals.
  3. Killing animals is cruel and it’s even more cruel if it is done for religious reasons. Christianity, Islam and Judaism all have huge followings, all over the world and the leaders of said religions should give a much better example of compassion to all animals, humans and non-humans.

And a very wise man once said

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1913

Recipes For A More Compassionate Easter, Ramadan and Passover

A couple of years ago, I shared “The All-Vegan Easter Menu” with ideas for starters, main courses, soups and desserts.

During Ramadan and for Eid, there are many vegan halal recipes: the VeganMuslimInitiative website gives some ideas for soups, but also the Cauliflower with Mushroom dish is an easy and tasty one. Also the Malfouf (Lebanese Cabbage Rolls) recipe by PlantBasedFolk

And the Vegan Shawarma

Atayef (Middle Eastern Stuffed Pancakes)

I did also share the Potatoes Arrabbiata for Pesach, which are absolutely divine! Other Passover recipes are

Burgundy Broccoli Sumac with Lemon and Pistachio – For Pesach

Mushroom and walnut gardener’s pie with butternut squash topping for Pesach

Pesach recipe: Vegan banana choc chip loaf

Have a great day!

Love,

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies

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Hello beauties! Just a very short post today. We’re having an unusual mild weather at the moment, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t make some delicious comforting food. So here’s the recipe for Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies by Elavegan: you won’t believe how delectable they are…and without flour!

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies by Elavegan

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 tbsp ground chia seeds + 1/4 cup (60 g) water
  • 1 scant cup (100 g) ground sunflower seeds or almond flour
  • 3/8 cups (75 g) date sugar or organic cane sugar
  • 5 tbsp (30 g) cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp espresso powder (optional, but recommended)
  • 3 1/2 tbsp (50 g) nut/seed butter of choice
  • 1 1/2 tbsp (18 g)coconut oil melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup (60 g) dairy-free chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (or both)

Instructions

  1. 1 To a small bowl add ground chia seeds (or ground flax seeds) and 1/4 cup water. Stir to combine and set aside. Also, preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. To a medium-sized bowl (or food processor) add ground sunflower seeds (or almond flour), cane sugar (or granulated sugar of choice), cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder. Mix until there are no lumps.
  3. Add nut/seed butter of choice, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and the chia seed mixture. Stir (or blend, if using a food processor) until combined.
  4. Finally, add the dairy-free chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) and mix with your hands until you have a smooth dough.
  5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each weighing about 50 grams / or make 10 smaller ones) and roll each piece with your hands into a ball. You can also use an ice cream scoop.
  6. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared parchment paper and flatten them with your hand. Bake in the oven for 14-16 minutes. They will be still soft when you take them out but firm up once cooled. Enjoy!

You won’t regret making them and probably eating them as soon as they get out of the oven!

Love,

TVCL xx

The “Big Brands” Issue

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Hello my beautiful kittens! How are you? Are you enjoying the winter weather, with long walks in the cold air, or are you more of a hibernating creature? Here I do enjoy a bit of both. Especially with the increase in bills, to spend less it would be better to go for walks at the weekend to avoid consuming too much electricity and gas. But how good is it to get all nice and comfy, with loads of hot tea, under the blankies and by watching your favourite TV shows?! Love both.

But talking about the “cost of living crisis” (I feel we’ll get a new acronym for this too) there is much advertisement about how to cope with this.

One of these methods would be for consumers to switch to the so-called “value brands”, which usually means buying store-owned brands: in the United Kingdom it would be Tesco, Morrisons, M&S etc instead of the “Big Brands”. This seems to be such a big sacrifice for people because they have always given so much trust to these bespoken companies: true they are more expensive, but you get quality. In theory. So it makes sense that people are disappointed that they won’t be able to afford what they used to. But we should actually be happy that this is happening (not the prices rising, but people buying less of these brands).

Who are the “Big Brands”?

When we talk about these Big Brands, we are talking of the likes of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Mars, Johnson&Johnson, etc. We’ve already talked about how these are just evil incarnate previously, but if this is the first time you’re reading this blog please check this post and this one too.

The main examples I see around, are Heinz beans and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. These are staple foods in most of the kitchens probably around the world: who hasn’t heard about Heinz or Kellogg’s? Or what about Mars bars?

Historical Work

Everybody knows them, most of these brands have been around for a hundred years. And how much advertisement has been done in all this time? In my work, I sometimes have to search old newspapers, from the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s: they are filled with ads from these brands. You wouldn’t believe how many Bovril advertisements are in each issue of the newspapers I have to inspect: and to add to this, they also had fairly long articles sharing the *supposed* benefits of such foods, writing that they were the very best of the best, top-notch quality so every household should have them because these brands can really be trusted.

In the past decades, they managed to create customer trust that it is difficult to undermine: people will always prefer asking for a “coke” meaning that they want a soda by Coca-Cola or Pepsi. They will ask for “Heinz beans” or “Heinz ketchup”. They will go for Kellogg’s cereals, thinking that they’ll be making a safer choice.

Quaker advert in 1950s newspapers
Mras advert in 1950s newspapers

But these brands have become so comfortable that while their products *might* have been decent in the past, now they now put all the different chemicals, extra refined sugar (yes, the beans too), palm-oil and more. Because they know that people wouldn’t even look into the ingredients, consumers will just buy them because of the name.

Changing behaviours

It seems that in the past years, there has been a fair change in consumers’ behaviours, with more people opting for a vegetarian or vegan diet or also just more interest in how the food is made, checking the ingredients and being more aware of what the food they want to buy contains.

There has also been a boom in small independent businesses, producing handmade vegetarian and vegan food that doesn’t use harmful ingredients. Because of how this is made, it is more expensive than the “big brands” products.

With the rising costs of bills and groceries, people are becoming more concerned about what they can spend their money on and they have to make choices about where to cut their expenses. The more expensive stuff will have to go: good offers on food are now very tempting. People are going to buy groceries at value retailer shops like B&M, which are fully stocked with Nestle, Mars, Kraft etc.

But choosing the Big Brands means that your health will be really compromised: the amount of sugar, palm oil and chemicals used to make these products, eaten in large quantities, will have an impact on your health.

Not only that. Their labour and environmental policies are appalling (see the linked posts above).

How to avoid them

It is difficult, I won’t deny it. They are everywhere, at convenience stores you’ll only find these brands and they can look like the better budget solution.

However, supermarkets like Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s make their own products: they are cheaper and usually have better ingredients and quality controls than the big brands.

The other solution, is to look into the special offers from the vegan independent businesses: the 3×2 or when products are close to the use-by date, you can buy in bulk and freeze the surplus.

For cupboard items like legumes, you can buy them dried: make a big batch once every 2-4 weeks to use for stews and soups and freeze the rest to use in future dishes.

Conclusion

The “Big Brands” worked hard to gain people’s trust through heavy advertisements to convince the public opinion that they are “good for you”, but they are actually full of food additives and chemicals. If you want to avoid them, you can by purchasing supermarkets’ own brands or buying dry items.

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now!

Love,

TVCL xx

Vegan Christmas Menu Ideas

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We’re so close to Christmas! Do you have everything ready for this holiday? If yes, I’m absolutely happy for you and kudos for your organisational skills. Here, we’re not 100% ready but. I know what I would like for my Christmas dinner! So, I’m sharing with you the recipes

Appetisers

My Vegan and Gluten-Free Bruschetta is always a hoot! It’s flavourful and you’ll find it very easy to make.

Plate of bruschettas.

Other appetisers can be the Air Fryer Vegan Spring Rolls by KiipFit and the Vegan Puff Pastries with Spinach and Ricotta by Tasty, Thrift, Timely (on BestOfVegan).

Soups

There are many Christmassy soups that are going to make for a very festive dinner! The Vegan Carrot Soup by LovingItVegan is one of these, as well as the Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup by TheStingyVegan.

Main Course

To me, lasagna is THE Christmas main course par excellence: there is just something about the whole mix of ingredients in the lasagna that screams “festivities”. And just to give a twist to the traditional recipe, the Vegan Lasagna Rolls with Tofu Ricotta by Shane&Simple is the perfect main course recipe for your Christmas dinner. Another delicious recipe for the occasion is the Wild Garlic and Asparagus Risotto by LovelyJubley.

Wild Garlic and Asparagus Risotto by LovelyJubley

Childhood memories of roasted dishes and savoury tarts won’t be disappointed with the Vegan Roast Beef by TheHiddenVeggies and the Vegan Asparagus Potato Tart by HolyCow.

Sides

Two side dishes by the LazyCatKitchen are the Maple Roasted Carrots with Cranberries and the Roasted Green Beans with Almond Bacon.

Desserts

To finish, I propose to you a cake, Cookies and a traditional Christmas pudding. TheVegSpace has the recipe for a scrumptious Vegan Christmas Cake, while the Hazelnut Cookies by Elavegan will be perfect for those who want something sweet but don’t have space in the belly for the cake.
But we can’t end the dessert section of a Christmas dinner without a Traditional Vegan Christmas Pudding by the VeganFamilyHouse.

Conclusion

I hope you’ll have a great time during these holidays and you’ll manage to also get some rest. And I hope you’ll enjoy some of these delicious dishes! If you make any of these, let me know what you think 🙂

Love,

TVCL xx

How to Have a More Sustainable Christmas

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Hello beauties! Christmas is approaching. This is a time of celebration, of visiting your family and friends and spending time together with loved ones. But it can also bring up some anxiety as we want to find the right presents for these people. In addition to this, there might be concerns about how all this shopping might have a negative environmental impact on our beloved planet. Also considering that during this period it seems that the big companies monopolise the holidays’ scene.

Despair no more! There are many solutions for a more ethical, sustainable Christmas shopping without sacrificing originality, affordability and personality.

Gifts

DIY

Probably one of the best ways for more sustainable Christmas gifts, are those made by you: from knitting to potpourri and wreaths and much more! There are so many things that you can make yourself and gift to your family and friends and it’ll show how much you care for them because you spent time making these creations. If you want to start your journey in the Christmas DIY, APieceOfRainbow really got you covered! ThePioneerWoman is another brilliant place that you can visit to get some more ideas, as well as TheSpruce.

Support Local Artists

Second in the list, I put local artists: look around your area, artists are everywhere and with all sorts of skills! There are painters and illustrators, sculptors and jewellers, just look around you and you’ll find a different world.

For example, in the town where I live, there is a place that hosts creations by local artists on a regular basis. And in another couple of towns not far from where I live, there are similar places.

You can find many artists on Instagram, ArtFire and Folksy.

Small Businesses

Local artists have also small businesses where they sell their art. But there are other categories of small businesses that you can support: an example, artisanal food producers – jams, marmalades, chocolates, liqueurs etc. You can find small businesses that make vegan products and are handmade. True, they’re going to be more expensive compared to similar products by the bigger companies, but they usually also have smaller items for sale that would make for perfect gifts.

Last year, I got some sets of lovely handmade soaps for my relatives, while this year I got some handmade candles from a small business I follow on Instagram.

Many lovely small businesses put their stuff up on Etsy.

Sustainable Clothing

Good On You is a website that reviews clothing and accessories companies, rating them on a scale from 1 (“We avoid”) to 5 (“Great”) for “Planet”, “Animals” and “People”. While the obvious fast-fashion brands like H&M and Primark are rated “We avoid”, there are so many others that are rated “Great” and “Good” and are also affordable!

Adoption and Sponsor Packages

Probably one of the best gift ideas is adoption packages from animal charities. From the RSPCA/SSPCA, to the Cats Protection and all the different sanctuaries, you can find different adoption and sponsor packages: they usually provide a card with all the details of the adopted/sponsored animal, with a picture and sometimes a little gift such as a keychain or puppet.

Subscriptions to magazines

The Ethical Consumer is the perfect magazine for the person that wants to find out more about sustainable brands and ways to live a more ethical life.

Food

Go Vegan!

If you are not vegan yet, this is the right time to try out some vegan dishes. If you don’t have time to make your own food, there are many brands that are making delicious vegan food that is also affordable.

Make your own food…and share it!

True, as said above, there are more and more brands making ready food for Christmas. But it’s so nice to make your own food. And yes, it takes time and effort, but there are many recipes that are easy and quick with great results. For example, this “50 Vegan Christmas Dinner Recipes That Impress” by Nutriciously article provides a number of easy, quick and delicious recipes for a brilliant Christmas!

Conclusion

Despite the fact that at Christmas you might find it difficult to be sustainable, I hope that this post

showed that this is easily achievable even during this stressful time. There are ideas for everyone!

Let me know what you think, and if you have other ways for more sustainable holidays.

Love,

TVCL xx

Huntingdon Facility & Vivisection

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Hey there! How is it in your neck of the woods? Here all good, just avoiding burnout by taking it a bit easier at work and meditating more.

You might have noticed in the past months a petition started by Cruelty-Free International asking for the closure of Vivotecnia, “an independent European toxicology contract research organisation based in Madrid, Spain. Since 2000, it has offered services to support pharmaceutical and biotech, cosmetic, chemical and agrochemical industries. Its customers include companies from Spain, Europe (including the UK), Central America, Japan, Korea and the USA.”

Similarly, Animal Freedom Movement started a similar petition to the UK Parliament asking for the “phases out all animal testing and importation of animal-tested products by 2025.”

These are just two of the petitions asking for governments to ban vivisection (especially for beauty products). It would appear that more and more people realise that experimenting on live animals is just barbaric, considering that there is so much research confirming the uselessness of these practices.

To be honest, I have only a little bit of hope that these petitions will be successful because the experiments are usually required by the main pharmaceutical and beauty multinationals. And this brings me to the Huntingdon issue in the UK.

Huntingdon and MBR Acres Ltd.

Maybe you have heard or maybe not, that during the years people have been protesting what is happening at the MBR Acres Ltd facilities in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England (just to give you an idea, one of the latest protests was this May). But if you don’t have a clear idea of what I am talking about, here are some facts about Huntingdon (Huntingdon Life Sciences Group plc.):

  • it’s a contract research organisation, privately owned
  • founded in 1951
  • had an initial focus on focused on nutrition, veterinary, and biochemical research
  • their research uses animals, both wildlife imported from other countries and “local”
  • it went on researching pharmaceuticals, food additives, industrial and consumer chemicals
  • in 1996, a member of PETA went undercover as an employee of the organisation and recorded the treatment of the animals in Huntingdon’s facilities
  • the tape sparked rage amongst animal rights activists and PETA was sued by HLS. HLS managed to win.
  • the buildings in Huntingdon have been the subject of numerous protests by animal activists.

The MBR Acres actually grows mostly dogs of the breed Beagle because they are small and docile.

I shouldn’t be stating the obvious, but any form of experimentation on animals is just wrong. It wouldn’t be justifiable even if what they are testing was the cure for cancer. And they are not experimenting on that. In the 2000s they stated that they were very close to a breakthrough in xenotransplants, organ transplants from animal to human. Pigs and primates were the main subjects of these experiments: the non-human animals were grown to then harvest their organs and then put them in humans. The longest a human has survived after such a transplant is three months. THREE MONTHS.

The suffering that this practice brings is twofold: it causes much pain to the animals that are grown for the sole purpose of taking their organs and the people into which these organs are implanted.

What is vivisection

Depending on the dictionary one uses, one will get a slightly different definition of what this practice is. From Merriam-Webster, vivisection is

: the cutting of or operation on a living animal usually for physiological or pathological investigation
broadly : animal experimentation especially if considered to cause distress to the subjectMerriam-Webster Dictionary

While Cambridge Dictionary offers that vivisection is

the use of living animals in tests that are intended to increase human knowledge of human diseases and the effects of using particular drugs.Cambridge Dictionary

Contradictions of vivisection

The main contradiction is that the promoters of such practice will say that they use such and such animal species because they will get similar reactions as if it were human, but when they’ll be asked if they’re concerned about the feelings and emotions and pain that these species will have to endure, the vivisectors will say that although similar in bodies to humans, they really don’t feel the same as them.

Without even going into the philosophical aspects of the ethics behind this practice, the mind is part of the body: pain receptors ARE pain receptors, which means that they are telling the brain that that thing is painful and the non-human or human animal is feeling pain.

All animals, humans and non-humans, when they are enclosed in small spaces, hearing screams or seeing their fellows being taken away and then taken back wounded and hurt, are going to feel fear, being afraid.

So, if someone is telling you that live non-human animals are good for testing because of their similarities with humans, but not to worry because they don’t feel the same as humans do, call BS on them.

The Alternatives

There are alternatives to animal testing. It’s 2022, we went to the moon and around space. We keep finding ever smaller particles. We do have ways to avoid the use of animals in research: from cell culture to computer simulation, there really are viable alternatives. Companies who don’t use non-human animals in their testing are known as cruelty-free.

The problem is in the money.

The whole animal business brings a lot of money to all the parties involved: those who grow the animals, those who are capturing the animals, those who create licences and regulations, etc. While investing in alternatives would take away a big slice of the cake from many of these parties.

Money makes the world go round, right?

If you want to read a bit more about the alternatives to animal testing, you can find some more here and here (2 Wikipedia pages, to get you started).

Conclusion

Huntingdon Life Sciences and MBR Acres are just two of the many organisations around the world that are using live animals to test on. If you think that animal testing is wrong, there are quite a lot of websites that are providing you with lists of brands that conduct this kind of testing, as well as those that are in the process of becoming cruelty-free. Keeping on testing on animals, with money spent on this instead of investing in alternatives just extends the suffering of both human and nonhuman animals.



If you want to read more:





Recipe Sunday – Mayim Bialik’s Sufganiyot

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Happy Sunday, dearest! We’re getting into Autumn, my second favourite season, with the leaves turning from green to yellow and orange and all the different tones of these colours, the air becoming less and less hot perfect for snuggling under a blanket on the sofa with a warm mega-mug of tea. Yes, I love Autumn. And with this season we can finally bake and make all that food that heats up your kitchen. So I feel that today is a good time to share this recipe for vegan sufganiyot that I found ages ago, tried and loved it. It’s unclear why I haven’t shared this with you earlier!

Mayim Bialik’s recipe for Vegan Sufganiyot

I found the recipe by chance, don’t even remember how the search went, but I’m glad I found Mayim Bialik’s recipe for Vegan Sufganiyot because it’s easy to make and oh my goodness! So. Delicious. I didn’t know about sufganiyot (and various other spellings): they are basically Jewish doughnuts made usually for Hannukah. And for those of you who don’t know her, Mayim Bialik used to play Amy in The Big Bang Theory and she also acts and is the executive producer of the sitcom Call Me Kat. On top of this, she has a PhD in neuroscience! And she’s vegan. Really difficult not to like her!

So, here is this delicious recipe!

Ingredients

  • 0.25-oz. envelope active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. warm (about 110°F) soy, rice, or almond milk
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
  • Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted vegan margarine, melted and cooled
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
  • Icing sugar, for sprinkling
  • About 2 cups raspberry jam (optional)

Method

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of the warm nondairy milk in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 8 minutes.

2. Whisk together the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture, egg replacer, and margarine, and beat until the dough is soft but not sticky, about 3 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough a few times, and roll out to 1/4-inch thick. Cover with a clean dish towel, and let rest for 5 minutes.

5. Using a 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out rounds and transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps, and cut out the remaining dough. Cover the rounds with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 375°F.

7. Place a wire rack on top of parchment paper or on a baking sheet, and line with paper towels or brown paper bags. Working in batches of four or five, add the doughnuts to the hot oil and fry, turning once, until golden and puffed, about 1 minute per side. Using a slotted spoon, place the doughnuts on the paper towels to cool.

8. Sprinkle with icing sugar. You can also make some jam-filled doughnuts, by spooning jam into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 3/8-inch tip. Pierce a hole in the side of a doughnut with the tip, and squeeze in jam to fill (the filled doughnut will feel heavy). Note: Be sure to drain well before serving and enjoy!

You will love them, trust me!

TVCL xx

Recipe Sunday – Super Easy Vegan Biscoff Tiramisu

/ thevegancatlibrarian / 3 Comments

Hello, hello, beautiful cats! I hope you’re enjoying your weekend! A few days ago was my birthday and nothing scream “birthday” to me as tiramisu. It has been the dessert that my aunt used to make for all my birthdays and although my mom would make a delicious cake for my birthday parties, my auntie’s tiramisu has always been a favourite.

This year, I decided to make it myself but with a twist and this Super Easy Vegan Biscoff Tiramisu by TheVietVegan was perfect for the purpose.

Super Easy Vegan Biscoff Tiramisu by TheVietVegan

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients

Method

  1. In a heat-safe bowl, combine instant coffee granules, sugar, and boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let come to room temperature. Take out the Cocowhip from the freezer and let sit out at room temperature to soften while the coffee mixture cools down.
  2. Fully dip your Biscoff cookies, one cookie at a time, into the sweetened coffee mixture and layer in a flat and shallow container (I used a 3.2 cup Rubbermaid [affiliate link] container). Work quickly as the cookies start to disintegrate fairly quickly once soaked.
  3. Then add a layer of Cocowhip on top of the soaked cookies, about 1/3 cup per layer.
  4. You’ll be adding 3 layers of soaked Biscoff cookies, and 3 layers of cocowhip. I did 6 cookies per layer, with a thin layer of Cocowhip between each layer.
  5. I like to add an extra thick layer of Cocowhip on top, then dust with a coating of cocoa powder to finish. I dust using a fine mesh sieve to create a light, even layer of cocoa powder.
  6. Cover and let it set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

I hope you’ll make it and enjoy it!

Love,

TVCL xx