After most of the day in my cramped cubicle (doesn't working in New York City sound glamorous?), a cup of tea (I went for Tazo's Awake this time) and a slice of cake lifted the spirits.
Non-vegan crumb cake was also offered. Veganize it with help from VeganYumYum.
I cannot imagine my life without something a little sweet. I have no desire to a) be a size 2, b) live to be 110, or c) deprive myself of one of life's greatest pleasures – soul-nourishing food.
I go back to what Michael Pollen said about the French associating chocolate cake with celebration and Americans associating it with guilt. I guess I'm a Frenchie at heart.
Find vegan baking tips at Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, including endless recipe ideas. It often just involves a few swap-outs and ta-dah...it's vegan.
Vegan has a stigma. It shouldn't. Eggs from chickens in battery cages don't seem to have a stigma. Those should. Eggs should not cost 99 cents a carton (that's 8.25 cents per egg). Those low prices come at a very high cost to living, sentient beings.
One of my favorite chocolate cake recipes is vegan. I started making it when I was vegan and just never stopped! I love it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding the 99 cent eggs. I really cringe when I see people's grocery posts where they've purchased chicken for .69/lb or eggs for $1/carton. Ick.
I really can't stand the association of food to guilt, but it's part of the whole fattie hating brigade. Oy. Don't get me started on that.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I'm going to have to set aside a special time to read your blog, because it always leaves me wanting something delicious!
Thank you both for the comments!
ReplyDeleteThe psychology of food choices is fascinating. Why are people so concerned with tap water (and willing to pay a premium for bottled), but not about how the eggs and meat they consume regularly is produced (growth hormones, antibiotics, genetic manipulation, unhealthy conditions for the animals).
I love that there are many frugal bloggers and don't expect everyone to be a vegan or vegetarian, but just to consider why their animal products (which many display) are so cheap. Animals are not machines.
Kathy, the baker of that yummy cake, is not a vegan or vegetarian. Swap out products in baking are a great way to reduce animal consumption. The cake was a hit and was completely devoured.
Catherine, I wonder at a great many choices that folks make. Although this is a bit off topic, I remember reading that parents were taking their lead-laden toys made in China during the last scare to homeless shelters. My jaw hit the floor. So, it's not ok for your kids to have dangerous toys, but poor children should welcome them? WTF? Or parents who scream about how their children need healthy childhoods but will gladly plop down $5 for a Wal-Mart shirt without considering how it's made or why it's so cheap? Hello, child labor.
ReplyDeleteSo, um, yeah. Bottled water and feedlot pigs. Nuts.
I'm sadly not surprised by that story. When I volunteered for a day at a food pantry sorting donations, I was mortified at the food people donated that were years beyond expiration. One apple juice carton was a decade old. Twenty percent went in the garbage. The volunteer coordinator said that's the norm.
ReplyDeleteIn Philip Hensher's The Northern Clemency, one character said of another that she "had shaped reality to suit her." I think this is very much what many people do - shape the world to what suits them and not consider the reality and the impact their actions have on others.
My boyfriend blames the marketers and tells me they trained Americans to be this way. I see a worship of things over life, and a mass media that promotes excessive materialism. How much do they make our economy's survival based on people going to Costco and Wal-Mart and buying things they don't need?
That's almost the exact same recipe I've been using for 20 years! It was given to me by a friend as "Mexican chocolate cake," and she got it from a lowfat recipe book or magazine. It uses no eggs and water and oil instead of butter. Both the consistency and flavor are incredible, and it's always a hit. The best part is that it takes about five minutes to mix up. It's so funny, because just last week I put it in my notebook to put the recipe for that up on my blog.
ReplyDeleteAngela, those were Kathy's words too: she said she couldn't believe it took her about six minutes to put it together. Who knew I would get such great vegan baking tips from a non-vegetarian!
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