Yummy tofu

I love food, love, love, love it. And I am constantly thrilled with
the variety of choices that I find when I go to Trader Joes and Whole
Foods. Today I had a baked terriaki tofu sandwhich on a whole wheat
bun with tomato. Yummy, topped with a little veganaise and hummus.

Guinness

Guinness is doing well in foster care. He has gained weight and filled
out nicely. He sleeps on the couch at night and is crated when I'm
away from home. He's a really nice solid boy. We are very glad we
took the chance on a scraggly dog. His coat is a nice rich mahogany
with slight brindling.

Tug Boat

Isn't there always room for one more? When the animal shelter asked us to consider a couple of dogs that were coming to their end of availablity we had to go check. We met Tug Boat who is is just likehis name suggests. He's a short stocky dog who looks like he could tow a boat. He's actually much smaller than his pictures portray at only about 40-45 lbs. He is about knee high. His coat is SEAL, it is neither brown nor black. It is darker down his back than on his sides. We think he might have a little bit of staffordshire bull terrier mixed in with his pit bull because he looks like someone took a full sized pit bull and put him in the dryer. His face is a little rounder and muzzle a bit shorter and his ears are a little bit smaller. His bone structure is a bit delicate. He's too tall of course to be a staffy but those few characteristics give us an idea there could be a hint there.

Tug has a nice personality. He's very wiggly and happy to meet everyone. He hasn't met a single person that hasn't been his very best friend. He is just a wiggle monster when he's around people. He has been fine with other dogs so far and he has met a few both in the shelter and out. He seems concerned when meeting a new dog as if he is not sure how it's going to go. If the other dogs are friendly he breathes a sigh of relief. He seems like he may have had some negative experiences with other dogs in his past. He was a bit reactive to cats but responsive to correction and easily focused back on his person.

Tug also has a three to four inch scar across the front of his neck where it looks like a collar had begun to grow into his skin. Most likely when he was a puppy and began to outgrow his collar while no- one noticed.

Guinness's progress

He is looking so much better. The hair is growing back on his face,
his body is filling out. He is past his skin infection. He is happy!

Easy Vegan Chili

Super easy to make on a cold day. Get a 2 quart crock pot and
1 can of pinto beans (can use black beans or kidney beans)
1 can of petite diced tomatos
1/2 bag of vegan crumbles
1/2 large sweet onion
Chili powder and red chilis to taste

Cook in the crock pot for several hours until it has a nice
consistency. You can start it in the morning and let it cook all day
until you are ready to eat it later in the afternoon or for dinner.
Stir occasionally to make sure things aren't stuck to the sides.

fearful dogs

Here is a good website for socializing fearful dogs
www.fearfuldogs.com

Real "Russian" Tea

Russian Tea recipe:

3 lemons (about 3/4 cups)
3 oranges (about 1 3/4 cups from juice oranges)
2 slices pineapple
1 teaspoon cloves
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (use beet sugar or evaporated cane juice to make it vegan)
8 cups water
8 regular tea bags

Squeeze lemons and oranges and set juice aside. Boil water and pour
over lemon/orange rinds, pineapple, cloves, sugar and tea (I've also
boiled the water in the pot, added these things and taken it off of
the heat to steep). Let sit for 5 minutes then add juice. Strain to
remove rinds, pulp, cloves and pineapple slices. You can store in the
refrigerator but don't reheat to a boil, just warm and serve.

Cosmo

My crazy cat seems to be doing better. I'm letting the hair grow back on his chin now without keeping it trimmed. He seems to be getting better with his attitude and desire to come around for attention. I think he and Zelda have come to an understanding and it is helping his acne go away.  I've been using the feliway plugin for a few weeks. Who knows if that is working too.

I have finally gotten Zelda to stop scratching the door frame in the bathroom. She doesn't exactly scratch it but she runs up to it and jumps up as high as she can like she's looking for a ledge and drags her claws down the side.  Her nails are trimmed so all it does is make a noise similar to nails down a chalkboard and it is annoying.  I duct taped the door frame so her feet will stick to it if she tries it again. It's working.

Making the Switch!

If you are contemplating making the change to a vegan lifestyle, I
would recommend a gradual change and not going cold turkey. And by
not going cold turkey, I mean finding a suitable substitute and then
eliminating that item. Not going back and forth from item to item.
Once you find a decent "chicken" pattie without chicken, then you can
move to finding one without egg whites.

The Purging Process

I think I introduced Guinness (Nick, Gus, smelly boy) in a previous blog. I'm happy to say that he is doing well. The purging process is gross but he's getting better every day. The purging process is the process that a dog goes through once he leaves the shelter and gets into a home. It is the de-stressing, cleansing and adjusting of his system form his previous life to his new one. While we are just a stop on the road to Guinness's hopeful new home, the process is the same. 

He has an eye infection, ear infection, skin infection, worms, low weight, diarrhea....a sundry of the things a dog gets when running loose. Every dog comes in with a different set of circumstances and "illnesses". Occasionally we will get one that needs minimal care but most require about a month of recovery and detoxification. The first thing that usually happens is a good cleaning - a double bath! and then into a crate with a soft bed to sleep it off. 

The first week home, the dog usually spends a lot of time in the crate adjusting to sights, sounds and smells of a new home. That helps with the stress and also, if a dog is coming from a shelter they normally are very tired and use the time to catch up on sleep. Shelters do the best that they can but it is not a home and during the time there, dogs usually lose sleep just from the stress of their situation. In that first week comes the wormings, vaccinations and the vet visit. Spay/neutering, testing for heartworms, and whatever ailments come with a particular dog. At the end of the first week, there is a slow progression of more time out of the crate so the dog can start to experience life in a home and get the routine.

We are starting on Guinness's second week tomorrow. So far he is doing well.

Our new foster dog

Ol St Nick. Of all the dogs in the shelter, you might be the grossest and definately not the cutest and you might even be the oldest......but damn, you sure are the nicest.  Picking out a foster dogs was a no brainer this day.  Of all the pretty dogs, puppies, purebreds and what not to choose....we chose this guy.  We chose him because in spite of what he looks like on the outside (gooey eyes, bad skin, dirty ears and patchy rough dry coat that is pretty thin) he has a heart of gold.  He is snuggly, wiggly and just super sweet.  I think he will turn out alright once we get him home, cleaned up and vetted.  He's got a nice deep red and chocolatey coat. He has a bomb proof temperament and is just a real gem. He's good with other dogs and appears good with cats. He is a mellow love bug. He is quiet in his crate and responsive to direction. He is learning house manners and leash training and has a few basic commands. He would be a good choice for any home, even a first timer to the breed. He's a fantastic dog.  Just wait until he is feeling and looking good!

Why a vegan blog

I decided to make this vegan blog so that there is another supportive
website out there for vegans. Don't get me wrong, it's not hard to be
vegan and it's becoming easier every day. There are just so many
people out there (most of my family included) who aren't supportive of my lifestyle choice and probably won't be supportive of yours. I want to be supportive of your decision as much as I would want you to be supportive of mine.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. I'm healthy and don't feel
deprived. I'm not 100% vegan yet but I'm working towards it. I'd say
I'm 98% vegan with some slips when I don't read labels carefully
enough. I also have some leather that I haven't replaced with animal
friendly versions. I also use leather leashes when I'm working with
dogs. Until they come up with a animal friendly version that's easy on
the hands like a leather latigo leash to use on an unruly shelter
dog....i'll be using leather.

The best thing about being vegan is that I don't have to deal with
meat. I actually like food more now than I did before making the
change to vegetarian and then to the big V. I always hated dealing
with meat and meat by products and handling raw meat to cook it. It
made cooking a chore and I always had to be concerned with it
spoiling. Now the worst smell I have to deal with is a piece of
rotten fruit if I don't use it in time : )...so much better than
carcass.

Cosmo

Back to crazy Cosmo and our struggles for the past several months with his acne.  I thought it was the bowls. That Zelda was a messy eater and her spit bothered him so I changed bowls to shallow dishes.  I've never used plastic since that can cause acne in some cats.  I've trimmed his chin hair so that it's really short and I can clean it.  I clean it almost every other day.  Generally it isn't as dirty but like most acne, it is red and there is some pus occasionally.  

I have also noticed that he has a little bit of red eye discharge. So I put him back on flea prevention. That seemed to be a tell tail sign that he had a flea.  All of that with the new combination of dirty ears makes me think that it is/was stress.

He could also be depressed.  The new cat has required more attention and is more demanding than he is. She is also getting bigger and may be asserting herself some more.  I just dont' know.  So I went and bought some Feliway plugin and a water additive called "calm down".  I dont know if it has worked but I have only had it going for two days.

He initially seemed a bit playful that night with her and a little more affectionate to me.  But I'm also trying to make sure my attention is going to all of the animals.

Still waiting to see if my depressed crazy cat gets better.

More holiday entertaining

To the previous menu, I forgot to add a selection of cut fruit and a dark chocolate fondue. You could also add little pasta cups of vegan tuna or chicken salad.  And you can make some cowboy caviar - delicious!)

Vegan potato salad with veganaise and better than sour cream.

Whole Foods carries some nice Vegan wines.  I hear as well that kendall jackson and yellow tail whites are vegan but neither winery has confirmed for me.

Holiday entertaining

Holiday entertaining isn't so difficult and time consuming as you might thing.  And making Vegan options is easier and easier every year. There are tons of items you can offer to your vegan friends or take yourself (as I do) to parties that may not be as veg friendly.

Trader Joe's has some edamame dumplings called vegetable sumai (spelling?).  You would have to like Quiche as they are of that consistency, a little spongy.  Good though

Nates Meatless Meatballs!  They come in Savory Mushroom and Zesty Italian. The Zesty Italian is better for party meatballs. Take some Heinz Chili Sauce and some Grape Jelly and you've got a nice sauce.

Hummus is always a favorite, you can get roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, original, garlic and Trader Joe's even has some layered hummus or some edamame hummus

Vegan fudge is super easy to make with coco powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, earth balance and a little rice mellow.

Ghiradelli (sp?) brownie mix is vegan and you can just skip the egg.  If you add applesauce to it (about 1/4 C), it will have a slightly cakier taste and be appropriate for cupcakes.   You can add a little Duncan Hines Classic Vanilla frosting to top it off

Don't forget the mixed nuts along with the chips and salsa and/or brushetta and you've got a nice party going.  You can also make Chex mix with earth balance or soy butter and it will be vegan.

Pillsbury cresent rolls and pizza dough are vegan so you can make little pizza's for your guests too.  Tiny finger sandwhiches with cucumber and veganaise : )

it's all good!

Happy New Year!

This is my third blog that I maintain.  I actually had 4 but I have inactivated one so that I can get a fresh start on new things.  There was lots of turmoil and personal introspection that I'd like to distance myself from in the coming year.  I also would like to share my journey into trying to become vegan. I've been almost vegan for 2 years now and continue to try and improve myself.  Things worth doing are worth doing well.

New Years Day

It's new years day and I slept late, a good start to the new year.  I bathed my cat (wow, that was not fun) and now I'm googling to see if Petsmart is open today. I've decided my cat is stressed out and that's the reason he has some acne on his chin and dirty ears. Nothing else has really changed in the house except for the addition of Zelda - the new kitten- and that is probably stressful for him. Especially now that she is older and starting to assert her role in the home.  That's the only thing I can think of since I've changed the bowls to shallow dishes and swap them out. I've never used plastic (since plastic can be irritating to sensitive skin).  He never goes outside to get dirty but he has always been a sensitive boy.

It's taken me a few weeks to come to this conclusion and a bit of reading about acne on the internet.  I've shaved his chin with a clipper and been washing it with mild soap. I think it is a reaction to stress and I'm off to buy some Feliway plug ins and/or the feliway spray.  I'll post again in a few weeks if it worked.