SuperVegan: Vegan Blog and New York City Restaurant Guide

NO Whey! Light Chocolate Delights

(Jesse Oldham) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:20:48 EST

One of the rare things I’ve found missing from my life as vegan is “milk” chocolate.�I run into a lot of “accidentally-vegan” dark chocolate that has certainly widened my scope of chocolate-eating, but not very many people are tackling a vegan chocolate for those of us who, well, aren’t that into dark chocolate to begin with. So, when I heard there was a box of vegan milk chocolate (or “light chocolate” as NO Whey! is calling it) to be reviewed, I got excited.� And when I saw it was a Valentines assortment, my heart sang and angels appeared.� One of my great past loves was those heart-shaped box Valentines Day assortments. The boxes almost made up for the dumb holiday.

The NO Whey! Candies Valentines assortment is a sampler of heart-shaped chocolate in a tasteful (non-heart shaped) brown-striped box with white, pink and red (recyclable!) paper ribbon, accompanied by a candy menu with ingredient listings in red print. The box sparked memories of chocolates of yore (my pre-vegan days) as visions of Chunkys and Cadbury cr�me eggs popped into my head. The light chocolate, used for most of the varieties in the box, is very sweet and creamy.

I’ll start with the varieties that aren’t normally my favorites:

The Cream-Filled Hearts stood out as surprisingly on-target for that type of candy. The Cherries & Cream reminded me of the cherry/raspberry confections you’d stumble upon in the assortment box, but better as they weren’t cloyingly sweet (I actually finished this one instead of casting it aside). The Coffee Cream's creamy coffee-flavored filling was a nicely sweet coffee-in-candy alternative compared to the ubiquitous dark chocolate covered espresso beans you find everywhere (that are more coffee than candy).�Remarkably, the chocolate covered cherry, My Cherry Amour, didn’t leak goo all over as I bit into the nice mound of sweet milk chocolate to reveal a perfectly respectable maraschino nestled in its creamy interior.

Then I got down to business with the chocolates I was most looking forward to, and for which I had the highest expectations!

The Vegan Sweet Heart Cashew Cranberry was a combination of darker semi-sweet chocolate with fruit and nuts.� One of the things that bums me out about dark chocolate and fruit options is that they’re often way too acidic, even with nuts to balance it out.�This version let the fruit take over in the tartness category while the chocolate wasn’t too sweet or too dark--it reminded me of a Chunky bar (one of my most favorite jams when I was a kid despite my friends’ mockery for not picking something “cooler”). The Crispy Crunch Heart was exactly what you’d expect for a “krispy” treat in milk chocolate.� The Chocolate Covered Marshmallow was in the shape of a heart, which threw me. The marshmallow wasn’t an airy smooshy marshmallow but more of a sticky Cadbury-inspired condensed goo that reminded me of fresher, softer, tastier Charleston Chew.�My favorite chocolate option is always always the peanut butter cup so I’d saved the Peanut Butter Hearts for the finale. The peanut butter filling was sweet but nutty and went well with the light chocolate. It reminded me of the peanut butter-filled chocolates my family bought for Valentine’s Day and Easter from our local family-run chocolatier, Bromilow Chocolates. I'm glad I didn't have to share this one with anyone!� ��

The only (minor) turn-off during the whole experience was grammatical errors in NO Whey!'s ingredients list and their lack of branding--nothing a spell-check and a once-over by a graphics person wouldn’t fix right quick!�Considering how much I enjoyed eating their light chocolate assortment, this is something I’d be able to overlook while placing an order.

So, if you’re burned out on dark chocolate and you’re hankering for some sweet light chocolate or you want to recreate the experience of a heart-shaped box filled with assorted (surprise!) chocolates, this NO Whey! gift box is for you!�Or for your stupid Valentine.�

Editor's Note: NO Whey! does make light chocolate covered espresso beans. We'll be reviewing those separately.

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Sea Shepherd Shuts Down Antarctic Whaling

tod@supervegan.com (Tod Emko) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:49:28 EST

[The Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker, blocking the slipway of the Nisshin Maru]

Our friends aboard the Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker have found the whaling fleet, and caught up to the Nisshin Maru factory ship. The Bob Barker is blocking the slipway of the factory ship, which means the Nisshin Maru won't be able to take on or process any whales. This means that despite the attacks against Sea Shepherd ships by the massive and government-funded Japanese whaling fleet in the past couple months, the unarmed Bob Barker and its tiny crew of volunteer vegans have still managed to stop this year's Antarctic whaling operations.

Four other whaling harpoon vessels are surrounding the Bob Barker, including the Shonan Maru #2, which rammed and sunk the SSCS vessel the Ady Gil. But as long as the Bob Barker is blocking the slipway of the whaling factory ship, the harpoon vessels and their arsenals won't be able to continue whaling operations.

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Nasturtium: New Vegan Dinner Party Blossoms in Brooklyn!

olivia@supervegan.com (Olivia Lane) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:09:32 EST

[Winegard gives turnips the gourmet treatment.]

If you are growing bored of anonymously eating the same dishes at the same old restaurants, Nasturtium might be for you. Nasturtium is the newest vegan dinner party in town. Hosted by Chef Scott Winegard, a friendly six-foot-something hardcore guy who has worked in the kitchens of various restaurants including Pure Food and Wine, Broadway East (back when it was veg), and Angelica Kitchen, the dinner party aims to bring his signature fresh twist to vegan dining and socializing. As a gardener does with the spicy, carefree edible flowers which inspired its name, Winegard plants seeds in the form of a delicious meal made of seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients and hopes that friendships and a colorful evening will grow.

The first Nasturtium was thrown back in December and the menu featured handmade chestnut-sage ravioli and Bubble & Squeak (yum!), but those of us who missed it won't have to wait long for the next. There will be a second on February 20th at a secret location in Greenpoint. The five-course, four-hour dinner party is $50, BYOB, and features desserts by Elena Balletta who is Counter's current pastry chef and another Pure Food and Wine alum.

Check out the Facebook Group to see pictures of the December party, RSVP for the February party, stay informed of future events. If you don't live in NYC, Nasturtium might just come to your city— Winegard's been invited by friends to host dinner parties in LA, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and even Berlin!

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Photos of the 2009-2010 Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign So Far

tod@supervegan.com (Tod Emko) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:27:00 EST

[The SSCS ship the Bob Barker, surrounded by whaling ships (Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur)]

AR photographer Jo-Anne McArthur has been documenting the Sea Shepherd Antarctic campaign this year, and many of her pics are now up at her website.

She's been taking photos from Sea Shepherd's heretofore secret ship, the Bob Barker. So you'll see a lot in these photos that you haven't been able to follow just from the press releases of the campaign.

You'll see things that happened to the Bob Barker well before its existence was made public. You'll see the crew getting the ship ready for the campaign, you'll see the ship getting surrounded by whaling ships, and you'll watch the Bob Barker crew rescuing the crew of the Ady Gil after the Shonan Maru #2 rammed the Ady.

If you're like me and some of your best friends are on those ships, these pics will seriously brighten your day.

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Microwave 101: A Review of PETA's Vegan College Cookbook

olivia@supervegan.com (Olivia Lane) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:02:38 EST

[Cute, tattooed co-eds throw down in the kitchen!]

PETA's Vegan College Cookbook: 275 Easy, Cheap, and Delicious Recipes to Keep You Vegan at School is aimed at students living in dorms, an experience I am a decade removed from. Still, I remain a fan of tasty food made cheaply and easily so this book excites me. Yes, nearly all the recipes are carb heavy, many are of questionable nutritional value, and most involve very few fresh vegetables beyond onions, but that's how college is. Shit is real! You don't have time to be sprouting mung beans and basting turducken. You've got books to read and beer to drink!

Frankly, I'm amazed at all the things you can make in a microwave (including cake!). So far I've only made spaghetti and meat sauce. While the sauce—thick with Gimme Lean—was deliciously seasoned, the pasta was a mushy nightmare I am loath to revisit. Though preparing a meal in a microwave is more like a science experiment than cooking, there is fun to be had, and possibly even a tasty cake or two to be eaten. I can't wait to start nuking more things! I think every microwave should come with a copy of this animal-friendly book.

Try some of the recipes now on PETA2.com!

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Vegan Drinks XXI: We Raised $1,450 for Animals in Haiti!

info@vegandrinks.org (Deborah Diamant) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:03:37 EST

["Show me what Vegan Drinks looks like!" "This is what Vegan Drinks looks like!" (More photos by Matthew Mitchell and Jason Das available on Flickr.)]

Thank you, New York City. On Thursday, January 28th, in a little over two hours, we sold $1,450 worth of sweet and savory treats at our Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti! Not too shabby for a little bake sale in the corner of a bar on a frigid winter night. Sodopreca and Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) will receive their checks soon!

Extra special, cherry-on-top thanks to those of you who baked! We had the most fantastic line-up of treats -- Hostess-style cupcakes, personal pizzas, gourmet chocolates (thanks, Lauren at Sweet Compassion), spinach pies, brownies and cookies of all sorts, doggy- and heart-shaped gingerbread cookies (courtesy of Patti at Baked Ideas), more cupcakes (thanks to everyone who made cupcakes and Allison at Minor Treat) and even bagels!

This week's Vegan Drinks marked our 21st event in NYC. (Vegan Drinks is now in 19 cities! Welcome, Nashville!) To celebrate, we gave away Sambazon, Alex Jamieson's new book, Living Vegan for Dummies, and a couple of sets of the "Cookin' with My Crawdaddy" vegan cajun cookzines. (Thanks for the donations, everyone!) DJ Lil Ray kept the standing-room-only crowd happy with the good tunes as everyone patiently waited for their chance to order a drink or devour an apple cider donut.

Lisa, one of the organizers of the MASSIVE Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti this Sunday (January 31st) at MooShoes kicked off the "Shout Outs". She told the crowd about the awesome prizes (including gift certificates to MooShoes, Candle 79 and Lula's, to name a few) that will be raffled off at Sunday's bake sale. Timothy introduced us to his work with the WorkSong Community Acupuncture Clinic in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The multi-talented Jasmin encouraged everyone to visit the recently launched Our Hen House site to get active for animals. David announced that Farm Sanctuary members are hosting house parties to support the organization this Sunday, January 31st from 6:00-8:00pm. Patrick asked folks to attend the 2010 New York State Humane Lobby Day on Wednesday, March 24th. (You can register here to catch the bus from NYC to Albany.) Val greeted the crowd with an invite to the next VegOut LGBT-friendly potluck at the Center on February 21st. Also saying a quick hello were Leinana of the Vegan Good Things blog, Sarah of the 4th Street Food Coop, Lauren of Sweet Compassion truffles, Jeff of Veg Social NYC and Demetrius of NYC Vegan EatUP.

If you would like to get in touch with any of the folks mentioned above, please email info@vegandrinks.org.

Extra special thanks to Jesse the Bartender (as assisted by Dennis), Jac the Raffle Ticket Giver I, David the Raffle Ticket Giver II, Matthew the Photographer, and Sam, Susan and Tod for keeping the line moving at the bake sale!

The next Vegan Drinks NYC is Thursday, February 25th, at Angels & Kings Bar from 7pm to 9pm. Get on our mailing list! See y'all soon!

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Bring Small Bills! Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti at Vegan Drinks NYC on Thursday, January 28!

info@vegandrinks.org (Deborah Diamant) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:55:33 EST

We're hosting a vegan bake sale for Haiti at this week's Vegan Drinks NYC on Thursday, January 28 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at Angels & Kings bar! More than 30 talented bakers want to sell you amazing sweet and savory baked treats. Please come with small bills and big to-go containers and buy, buy, buy! All proceeds will be donated to Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) and the Dominican animal rescue group Sodopreca. Angels & Kings will also be donating a portion of its sales to the Haiti relief effort.

This month's Vegan Drinks marks our 21st event! DJ Lil Ray will be present to rock your world. Sambazon is bringing some of their a�a� juice by for drink specials and giveaways. And, we'll give an autographed copy of Alex Jamieson's new book, Living Vegan for Dummies, to one very lucky winner. (Thanks, Sambazon and Alex!)

As always, the drinks are cheap ($3 domestics, $4 imports and $1 off well drinks) and the crowd is cool.

We'll turn down the music around 8pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm-9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.

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Vegan Foodies Take Note, Mercy for Animals Gala’s Delectable Fare

patrick@supervegan.com (Patrick Kwan) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:23:23 EST

[Yes, VeganTreats mini-cakes will be there! Don't miss this Sat 1/23's Mercy For Animals Celebrating Compassion gala!]

The main reason you should be getting your tickets right now to this Saturday, January 23rd's Mercy for Animals Celebrating Compassion gala is of course to support the grassroots group's amazing work on behalf of animals. But another great reason is the gala's exciting and mouth-watering menu featuring vegan foodie heavyweights like Match premium meat alternatives, VeganTreats pastries, Daiya cheese, So Delicious ice creams, and Frey Vineyards organic wines!

A few exciting highlights: chicken vol au vent, crab thermidor, and chicken-stuffed zucchini using Match and a baked lasagna with Match Italian sausage and Daiya cheese. (Yes, there are options for you silly folks who don't do fake meats too!) Catered by the Queens-based, all-vegetarian company Natural Delights, the gala will use local produce, 80 percent organic ingredients, and fresh herbs. Check out the full-menu after the jump.

Get your tickets now!

Beverages:
Frey Vineyards Organic Wine
Alcohol Free Pina Colada Served In Fountain
Alcohol Free Mimosas Served In Punch Bowl
(Peach Cider Ginger Fizz & Fresh Strawberries)

Hors D'oeuvres:
Veggie Chicken Vole Au Vent (Match Foods)
Assorted Vegetarian Sushi Nori Platter With Wasabi
Assorted Canap� Platter
Potato/Petit Pois Samosas With Tamarind Sauce
Veggie Pork Balls With Sweet Mango Dipping Sauce (Match Foods)
Red New Potatoes In Spicy Walnut Sauce

Dinner
Veggie Crab Thermidor (Match Foods)
Baked Lasagna Carbonara (Match Foods Italian Sausage)
Stuffed Zucchini (Match Foods Veggie Chicken)
Stuffed Baby Eggplant (Match Foods Chopped Beef)
Assorted Vegetable Pakoras With Tomato Chutney
Brussels Sprouts With Nutritional Yeast Gravy
Sweet Potatoes Braised In Orange Glazing
Steamed Basmati Rice

Salad Bar:
Garden Salad
Waldorf Salad
(Celery, Apples, Walnuts, Raisins In Tofu Dressing)

Desserts:
VeganTreats pastries
So Delicious ice creams

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Events up the wazoo

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:48:37 EST

ATTENTION, EVERYONE: We've updated the shiitake out of our NYC events calendar, where we post all the super duper vegan events in and around NYC, notices of book and movie releases, announcements of restaurant openings, and all sorts of stuff you care about. Our calendar can be your calendar; click! and it's in iCal, or select the event on the calendar page and add it to your Google calendar. You can also receive updates via RSS (my fav!) or e-mail, and be alerted the very minute we add an event. Lots of ways for you to be an instant vegan event know-it-all/socialite/activist!

FOR EXAMPLE: If you subscribed to our calendar, you would know that this Saturday, January 23, is going to be insanely jamity packed with events--MFA's Celebrating Compassion Gala, 4 Course Vegan's seven-year anniversary, and author Mickey Z. speaking at Bluestockings. All three events are at basically the same time, so if you want to enjoy all of them, you'll have to bring a change of clothes and pay off a cab driver to taxi you back and forth and not peek at your hot body in the rearview mirror as you change, and you need to plan ahead for that, so, see, you NEED this calendar!

Besides pimping Bluestockings, 4CV, and MFA events, we've got goings on at Farm Sanctuary, NYC Vegan EatUP and NYC Vegetarian Meetup, NYC Animal Advocacy Network, and bizillions of vegan cookbook releases coming this spring. If the calendar is missing anything, hit us up!

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Vegan Pineapple Fried Rice!

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:40:58 EST

This recipe is my very best rip-off of Dao Palate's pineapple fried rice, which I think is the shizzle (but EXTRA shizzle if you replace the lettuce with peas and soy powder with flaxseeds!). I made it as easily as possible, using frozen veggies and canned pineapple, cause when I get home from work I feel more like watching videos of fat cats than waiting in the KILL ME long lines at Pathmark/heading southward to Natural Land. You can totally make it with fresh veggies, though!

The whole she-bang takes about 20 minutes + rice cooking time = 1 hour, 5 minutes, not accounting for tofu-baking time because I used pre-baked tofu. If you have leftover rice, you can save 45 minutes of your life, with which you should make cupcakes for the bake sale to support animals in Haiti. (You KNOW I'm going to work that into every post until January 28 so save yourself the second-guessing and make those cupcakes!)

Pineapple Fried Rice
makes 3 servings

3 tbsp peanut oil
1 shallot, diced
1 red onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 15-ounce can pineapple chunks, well-drained
8 ounces of baked tofu cut into 1/4-inch dice. You can buy the pre-baked kind or prepare it yourself with these handy directions from Isa.
1 c frozen peas, heated using package instructions
1 c frozen broccoli, heated using package instructions
3 c cooked brown rice
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds

1. Heat peanut oil in a large frying pan. Once it's hot enough to make a piece of onion sizzle, add the shallot, red onion, and garlic and cook on medium heat (a 5-6 out of 10) for about 3 minutes, or until they are fragrant and start to pop.

2. Add red pepper and pineapple. Cook another 3-4 minutes, or until pineapple starts to caramelize.

3. Add the tofu, peas, broccoli, brown rice, and sunflower seeds. Continue to fry and turn/mix frequently so you don't don't burn all the goodness out of it.

4. Once rice is brown, and, you know, fried, about 10 minutes later, turn off the heat and add salt to taste.

5. Serve with avocado slices on top and flaxseeds artfully sprinkled over the avocado and your guests will think you went through the trouble of flying to Brooklyn faster than a speeding bullet to get their dinner. Sweet! You're Superman!

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Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti -- We Need Your Help!

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:32:32 EST

Like Isa, we're tired of sitting on our asses tipity-typing away our concerns for Haiti, so we're holding a VEGAN BAKE SALE to support Haiti during Vegan Drinks on Thursday, January 28, 7-9 p.m. at Angels & Kings. WE NEED YOUR HELP, NY VEGANS!! I know many of you have crazy vegan baking skillz (Mattie!), and we want you to put those superpowers to work on behalf of the critters of Haiti.

We'll donate proceeds from the sale to Sodopreca, a group of veterinarians from the Dominican Republic who seem to have their shit together; they're going over specifically to help animals, and they have a real, live departure date. Lots of groups are having trouble traveling via plane; the Port-au-Prince Airport is chaos. Sodopreca, because they're in the Dominican Republic, can get there by land, so we think they're the surest thing right now.

If you can bake for the sale, e-mail me right this second! Let me know what you'd like to bake and how much of it and what you propose we charge for each one, and send a list of ingredients. If you need ideas or recipes, e-mail me for that, too. Obvs, everything should be v-e-g-a-n. Vegan bake sales are totally going to save the world, so let's get to it!!

Oh, and before we quit -- there's another NYC vegan bake sale for Haiti, and it's at Mooshoes on Sunday, January 31. Proceeds for this one will go to Doctors Without Borders. Message those folks via Facebook if you want to contribute.

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Animal Relief in Haiti

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:30:37 EST

Headlines flashing about the death tolls in Haiti report crazy high numbers of casualties, and those just account for human lives. If you're thinking what we're thinking, you're wondering WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS?? We've compiled a list of groups that are helping domestic and feral animals and wildlife post-quake. We haven't evaluated all of them but we wanted to let you know what's up, right here, right now. If you know of other groups aiding animals, or if you come across more animal-related quake news, please comment or e-mail. We'll update this post as we find out more.

Groups helping animals in Haiti

Sodopreca (Spanish)
This is the only Dominican animal group going to Haiti specifically to rescue animals. Want to go with? E-mail Marco fast; they leave for Haiti on Friday.
International Fund for Animal Welfare
It looks like they're focusing on human needs first and animals second. They say on their website, "After ... immediate human needs are met, IFAW's Emergency Response team will be ready to assist the animal victims in any way that we can. In the meantime, please keep the people and animals of Haiti in your thoughts."
Christian Veterinary Mission
Veterinarians Without Borders
They haven't mentioned Haiti yet, but we hope they'll get involved!
UPDATE: We are having a bake sale! Proceeds go to Sodopreca. It'll be at Vegan Drinks on Thursday, January 28, 7 to 9 p.m. Help us by baking and/or emptying your wallets for cupcakes!
And so are these guys, Mooshoes, Saturday, January 31, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Can you make it/bake it for both?

Animal-related news on Haiti

You can find the Humane Society of the United States' statement here. HSUS says, "Humane Society International and The Humane Society of the United States are working with other animal welfare and humanitarian organizations to determine how best to assist animals and people affected by the disaster. We have offered our support in providing care to affected animals and�will post updates as they become available."
The World Society for the Protection of Animals is keeping tabs on their Animals in Disasters blog. With the IFAW, the WSPA will be working on ground-level relief for animals. You can donate at the blog.
Best Friends Animal Society is delivering updates via Facebook.

UPDATE, 1/21:

People seem to be using this animalsinhaiti tag to refer to animal-related quake news on Twitter.
You can find a list of resources on animals in Haiti, not unlike the one you're reading now, here at Easy Vegan.
International Food For Life will be providing vegan meals for people in Haiti. How cool is that?? They're setting up a "vegan food relief base camp." Wow, awesome. If you want to volunteer with them, go here. If you want to donate to them, that's here.

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D Is for Delicious

daniellekonyaismyhero@supervegan.com (Andrea Wachner) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:17:31 EST

There are so many things that are just not right about Los Angeles. It's 80 degrees in January, bars close at 2 a.m., and rush hour starts at 2:30 in the afternoon. BUT! Then there are other things that are trying for good, they really are, but they just aren't quite making it -- carpool lanes that trap you inside like a high-security prison; a public transportation system that goes from nowhere to nowhere because Beverly Hills, which is smack dab in the middle, wouldn't let us regular people ride through it; and a restaurant grading system with a curve that looks like a ride at Six Flags.

I know what you're thinking, "Did you say restaurant grading system?" Yes, yes I did. Thanks to the LA County Department of Public Health, restaurants are assigned a letter grade based on their inspection, and then are legally required to post said letter grade, in the form of a 12" sign in their front window. Here's the thing though, pretty much every restaurant you see gets an A; there are no Ds or Fs (in open facilities), so how reliable is it? If most places are getting As, what does that say about a B? That it's really kind of like a C-? It passes, but you KNOW there is definitely stuff they're doing wrong. And a C? That's probably akin to an F; you're risking your life by eating there and what's on the plate is anybody's guess.

What if this program existed in New York? My guess: there would be no restaurants and the city's inhabitants would die of malnutrition. It's sort of an unspoken understanding that when you eat food in NYC, it's at least a little bit dirty. My palette has even acquired this taste because to me, B stands for Better in LA cuisine.

Well guess what, East Coast folks, prepare to have your minds blown and your stomachs turned. (WARNING: This is not for the faint of heart.) Go to this website, type in the name of your favorite eatery, and behold their abysmal score (lower is better). You too can know whether your regular lunch spot has mice infestations, rat infestations, or both! And lest you think that vegan restaurants aren't prey due to their lack of meaty supplies to be fed upon, think again. Some of my favorite spots are just one (1!) point away from having to spin their OPEN signs around.

What did you find? Comment!

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Our Login System Is Down

jason@supervegan.com (Jason Das) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:50:31 EST

SuperVegan's forum was attacked yesterday by a malicious script kiddie. Since our forum didn't get much traffic (and a lot of what it did get was spammy) we decided to just delete it. Maybe we'll launch a new forum at some point in the future.

The bigger problem is that the user accounts which allow readers to comment on blog posts and leave restaurant reviews relied on the forum software.

We are in the process of implementing a new account/login system, but in the meantime users will not be able to log in to leave reviews or comments.

Readers can (and should!) still leave blog comments without logging in, but you'll have to enter your name each time.

We're reasonably certain that usernames and passwords will remain the same, and that no user-related data will be lost. Also, we're fairly sure that the attacker did not access any passwords.

We apologize for the inconvenience and are working hard on getting the new login system working as soon as we can!

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Sun In Bloom's Eric Levinson makes vegan burritos on Good Day NY

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:05:38 EST

Eric of Sun In Bloom was on Good Day NY on Tuesday making vegan western burritos! He provides the how-to in the video, and the ingredients are below. Before you watch, I just want to say:

1. I ate these. They are delicious.
2. I'm sorry to make you watch Fox!
3. I'm double-triple sorry for the sloppy eating noises Greg Kelly makes while downing this tasty wrap. Not judging or anything, Greg, but you're miked! Keep it down!
4. Eric is probably replacing some horrible inane news. Yay!

Vegan western burrito
1-1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds
1/4 cup onion
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup peppers
Seasonings
Ranch dressing
Fresh salsa
Shredded cabbage
Zucchini
Avocado
Sprouts
Ezekiel sprouted wrap

P.S., guys, I know you're wondering, since when is SuperVegan the Sun In Bloom Show?? Since SIB is GETTING SHIT DONE! (Also since they're reporting Gyllenhaal sightings on the weekend. You heard it here!)

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MFA's Celebrating Compassion Gala tickets on sale NOW

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:08:00 EST

It's TIME. Time to get tickets for MFA's Celebrating Compassion Gala, Saturday, January 23, 7 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $75 (c'mon, I know you spend that much on ice cream every month!) and they buy you a chance to get all fancy shmancy and accidentally totally on purpose bump butts with Dan Piraro, Peter Max, Jane Velez-Mitchell, GirlieGirl Army's Chloe Joe Davis, Discerning Brute Joshua Katcher, Nellie McKay, and a bunch of other awesome vegans and animal supporters. And of course it's another opportunity to EAT. There will be vegan hors d'oeuvres from Natural Delights and Match meats, desserts provided by Vegan Treats and SO Delicious, and booze! Also a silent auction and an awards ceremony, all to benefit MFA's efforts to help other animals.

So that's Prince George Ballroom, 15 E. 27th St., January 23 at 7 p.m. MFA has the deets. E-mail questions about volunteering your pretty face and bankrolling MFA to Matt Rice.

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Japanese Whalers Ram the SSCS Vessel the Ady Gil, Which Is Now Sinking. However, We Secretly Got Another Ship that Rescued the Crew and Caught the Japanese Fleet. Smirk.

tod@supervegan.com (Tod Emko) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:50:55 EST

[The Ady Gil]

The Sea Shepherd fleet has been chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctica for about a month now, continually fighting off attacks from the harpoon vessel the Shonan Maru No. 2. Yesterday revealed quite a bit about the players on both sides of the conflict.

The Japanese harpoon ship Shonan Maru No. 2 rammed the tiny Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil. The attack ripped about eight feet of the Ady Gil's bow completely off the ship. The Ady Gil is sinking and will, most likely, be unsalvageable. As the Ady Gil lurched during the ramming and the crew struggled to keep from falling overboard, the Shonan Maru No. 2 fired high-powered water cannons at the teetering Sea Shepherd members while shooting their LRAD at the Ady Gil. View video of the attack here.

At first the Japanese did not acknowledge the Ady Gil's post-attack distress signal. The Nisshin Maru finally acknowledged the signal without offering assistance to the ship sinking in Antarctica.

This behavior is getting a bit lethal for even the Japanese Antarctic crew. Even when they chucked grenades at my friends and I on the Steve Irwin two years ago, they weren't quite so brazen about trying to cause fatalities. New attacks like these suggest they're more malevolent towards humans than even we thought.

Luckily, the Japanese didn't know that Sea Shepherd has secretly acquired a third ship for the fleet this year, which has now caught up with the Japanese fleet and rescued the six crew members of the sinking Ady Gil. I'm personally quite glad my friends are now safe and not sinking alone in Antarctica.

Perhaps understandably, the people of Australia are a tad annoyed that their federal government is letting the Japanese sink a ship full of Australians with impunity.

The Australian people and the Green Party of Australia have been wonderful, level-headed supporters of Sea Shepherd, and we think they have a right to be miffed about the Australian aid given to the Japanese whalers to help them attack Australians.

Update: This post at first stated that the Ady Gil wasn't moving when the Shonan Maru No. 2 rammed and dragged the Ady's bow before ripping it off. I since removed that statement because the debate of "was it moving?" became everyone's sole focus of the attack. I'm keeping that statement off since the rest of the post seems to go unread if that statement is in, even though I stand by Captain Chuck Swift. But in case people are still curious to see if the Shonan Maru No. 2 actually did swerve to hit the Ady, here's video of the ramming from the point of view of the vessel the Bob Barker.

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The SuperVegan Round-Up, January 4: Restaurant openings, Food, Inc. free online, John Mackey profiled, bunnies burned, and more

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:14:47 EST

Guys, so much happened this week, I don't know where to begin. So let's just start with restaurant openings, yes?

Sun in Bloom opened Saturday, January 2 and, because I am a man of my word, I went for brunch. It was good. Really good. I mean, check out that loaded burrito -- avocado, beans, tofu scramble, and all sorts of tastiness up in that bitch. And no nutritional yeast, thank you.
On that same magical day, Vinnie's Pizza in Greenpoint opened. Almost makes you want to move back to Greenpoint, doesn't it? (Actually, no, Pizza Plus is right here and I'm laaaazy.)
Babycakes opened its LA location Sunday, January 3. I know, you're in NYC and you can't do a thing about it except drool. Well, drool on this!
And in restaurant closings, Red Bamboo Brooklyn closed.
The New Yorker profiled Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey.
Food, Inc. is online and free, so no more excuses.
Hospitals in the UK's publicly funded healthcare system will take meat off the menu to cut carbon emissions and costs, The Guardian reports. Yes, less pollution AND less expense! ALL SIGNS POINT TO NOT EATING ANIMALS.
Sweden is using bunnies as fuel. They are shooting bunnies, "deep freezing" them, burning them, and then calling it biofuel! COME ON. BUNNIES, NOT BIOFUEL.

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Vegan Shoes for Your Dancing Feet!

(Sarah Gallogly) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:15:03 EST

[The Mouse King, played here by Willie Anderson, is about to get a ballet shoe in the face. Image via Ballet San Jose.]

It happens every year — well, it could. Cast as little Clara or Marie in the Nutcracker, every night you have to take off one of your shoes and hurl it at the Mouse King to deter him from devouring your precious Nutcracker. But you're concerned about this stage direction, key plot point though it is. Is this violent action reconcilable with the vegan way?

At the very least, you can make sure the shoe you throw is a vegan shoe. Before choreographer and animal activist Cynthia King — an alumna of The Boston Conservatory, The Ailey School, and The Rod Rodgers Dance Company — opened her Brooklyn dance studio in 2002, a canvas shoe with a leather sole was the concerned dancer's only option. I confirmed this after purchasing a bizarre pink plastic pair of something that came to a point in the middle and molded to the arch with all the flexibility of a flip-flop. Whatever it was, it was not a dancing shoe.

Cynthia's ballet shoes
are available at her
studio in Brooklyn.

The decision to betray my principles and buy real, foot-shaped ballet slippers was traumatic and confusing, and none of you will have to make it, thanks to Cynthia. In 2003 she worked with a local shoemaker to develop gorgeous, durable, and affordable ($24.95 per pair) split-sole canvas shoes, using vinyl instead of suede on the bottom (your feet won't know the difference!), that hug the foot like a sock and create a more flattering shape than any of the Capezios, Sanshas, or Blochs of the pre-vegan past. So even though I'm told that Capezio can now do a special-order vegan slipper with a six- to eight-week waiting period (if so, they keep it quiet on their website), I'm sticking with Cynthia's. They're available immediately from her website and from Karmavore in Canada, and are simply the best slippers you're going to find.

If you're having a more iconoclastic winter season, perhaps as one of Mark Morris's snowflakes, you probably know about Dance Paws, an accidentally vegan product made with synthetic suede, for the modern, belly, or other barefoot dancer who wants a little protection from the stage or floor. Lovetoknow.com lists Alternative Stores, Discount Dance Supply, and Ethical Wares as sources for a limited selection of vegan jazz, tap, and ballroom shoes, and you'll want to stay tuned for the jazz shoe Cynthia King is developing, too.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be in a position any time soon to review the special-order vegan pointe shoes the site indicates are available from Grishko, because pointe is a whole other thing, or at least it feels that way if you try stuffing your feet into a pair after you've let a few years go by, but word has it that the Maya and 2007 models are available in animal-free versions. (Where are the paper-soled Sansha Recitals I wore once upon a time? Those were cool! I've asked the company's USA general manager, and she's not talking.)

And if you come across a vegan baroque or character shoe, will you let me know about it, please? After all, why shouldn't every minuet be a vegan minuet? I'll just leave you with that bit of holiday inspiration.

UPDATE: The comfortable and long-lasting Sansha Recital, with the cellulose sole, is still readily available; it’s just not listed on the company’s website. (Apparently the site represents their international outlets, which don’t carry this model.) After you’ve found the right fit at the Sansha store on Eighth Avenue at 53rd Street, if you need to order a pair from outside New York you can find one at New York Dance Store. Thanks to Cynthia King and the Sansha staff for this good news.

Sarah Gallogly has spent more time in ballet slippers than some of you have been alive. This is her first post for SuperVegan and we can't wait for more!

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Root Vegetable Soup will keep you warm all night long

sam@supervegan.com (Samantha Cohen) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:59:58 EST

So as of, what, yesterday? my mom is a vegan cooking MANIAC. Christmas was ta-ta-ta-tasty this year! And the zenith of tasty was this winter root vegetable soup she made. It has quickly replaced veggie split pea as my favorite vegan soup, it is that good. It also happens to be gluten- and soy-free, so, soup for everyone! Even those of us who ruin everything, 'cause this soup is easy-peasy. If you get it right, and you WILL get it right, the soup will taste chowdery and look the color of pumpkin. Mmmm.

There's an hour-ish of down-time in this recipe where you're just waiting for vegetables to soften, so you might like to, say, write some New Year resolutions, or you can do what I did, which is watch Julie & Julia, because it's pretty awesome and inspiring and Meryl Streep is perfect as Julia Child. That is, if you can look past the animal-cooking (difficult, even for this movie) and the fact that real-life Julie Powell is an unapologetic butcher.

ANYWHO. Let's make some soup.

Pureed Chickpea and Root Vegetable Soup
makes 8-10 servings

2 small sweet potatoes or one large one
1 yellow squash
2 turnips
1 parsnip
1/2 a large yellow onion
3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
2 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1. In a large pot place soaked chickpeas and cover in water, enough to fill the pot about 2/3 of the way. Bring to a boil and cook chickpeas on medium heat for a half hour.

2. Meanwhile, wash and cube the veggies into half-inch pieces.

3. After the chickpeas have been cooking for a half hour, add the veggies. Cook for another hour, or until everything is soft but not falling apart.

4. Pour as much soup as will fit into a blender, and blend till smooth. Do this till all the soup is blended. if you have an immersion blender, use that instead, fortunate soup-maker.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is enough soup in which to bathe a small child, so you'll want to add more than you think is necessary.

6. Eat! And let us know what you think or if you come up with any improvements to the recipe. If you just love it as it is, you can thank my mom. Bon appetit!

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