The Easter Bunny’s buddies

Did the Easter Bunny come to your house last night?

He dropped by our place and left us enough chocolate to make sure we have been thoroughly ill for the day.

He’s very kind to people—it’s a pity humans aren’t always so kind to rabbits.

If factory farms are hell…

We were lucky enough to visit Edgar’s Mission yesterday to see all the animals…oh, and pick up their poo!

Edgar’s Mission is a sanctuary farm, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne, where rescued animals can live out their lives free from fear and cruelty.

We decided that if factory farms are hell, then Edgar’s Mission must be heaven!

Down with down!

Clever headline, eh? Well, I know I’m probably not the first to use it, but I couldn’t pass it up. (Unfortunately, this post is not even remotely amusing…)

I thought that after watching Earthlings*, and lots of other horrifying factory farming videos on YouTube, that I’d seen pretty much every kind of industrial cruelty inflicted on animals, so I was sickened the other day when I found ANOTHER one!

And unfortunately, this was yet ANOTHER opportunity for me to feel ridiculous and embarrassed about my ignorance.

Vegan grog

Unfortunately, only the Cooper’s is on the vegan list . The other 2 aren’t on the list, but I can tell you that the Vasse Felix wine label says it contains traces of milk products. Looks like I’m sticking with Cooper’s for a while.

When I stopped consuming animal products, the last thing I was thinking about was checking which alcoholic drinks I could consume.

I was focused on avoiding eggs, dairy, honey, even gelatine, but the thought that bits of animals’ bodies could be used to manufacture my glass of wine was not even on my radar. I’d heard that that kind of thing had gone on once upon a time, but assumed it would be something that had died out years ago.

But just like so many of the cruel, unnecessary practices we inflict upon animals, this one still goes on.

Vegetarian butcher?

I did a double take when I read about Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher on Where’s the Beef? recently.

They were set up like an old fashioned butcher, with fake grass on the ‘meat’ trays, and a model of a cow’s head on the wall. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, firstly because of the reference to meat, and secondly, because my past experience of mock meats is not very pleasant. I’ve usually found them unpleasantly meaty in texture and taste (well, that’s the whole idea, I suppose), and the ingredient lists look like something from the periodic table.

Celebrity enlightenment

Just re-read the title of this article – don’t worry, it’s not about religion, it’s about a TV show!

There is a show called Can of Worms on Channel 10, where from what I can tell, they have a panel of 3 celebrities who give their opinions on ethical dilemmas. At least, that’s what’s happened in the 2 segments I’ve seen in the past.

When we heard that last week’s dilemma was going to be “To truly appreciate the meat we eat, should we all be expected to kill the animals that end up on our dinner plates?” we thought we’d better watch it. After all, if anyone we knew had seen it, they were likely to ask our opinion about it. We thought it was best to be prepared.

Chilli beans and cheesecake

I’ve got a lanky 19-year-old son who runs about 16 kms several times a week, and rides a bike everywhere. Trying to keep him fed is ridiculous. He is ALWAYS hungry and appreciates filling, healthy food…and chocolate.

Last night he actually made it home for dinner, so we had dinner AND dessert, and I think I succeeded in filling him up…well, he did have multiple serves of the chilli beans.

Condensed (soy) milk

My daughter and I have a thing for condensed milk.

We used to buy it as a special treat, and if we were using it in a recipe we’d fight over scraping out the can and licking the spoon. She’s even scored a tube of condensed milk in her Christmas stocking on occasion.

I blame my own mother, of course! When I was a kid we occasionally shared a sneaky tin of the sticky deliciousness while the rest of the family was out at school and work. (Oh god, we’ll be in trouble if they read this!) 😛

Powerbean balls

The meal I made for dinner tonight was bloody BEAUTIFUL…even if I do say so myself. 🙂

I can highly recommend Powerbean Balls and Rainbow Salad. Everyone liked it, and it was perfect for a hot and sweaty day like today.

Easter eggs

Very pleased to find this little beauty at Leo’s supermarket the other day!

It’s a Fairtrade vegan Easter egg from Chocolatier. I know it’s early, but I thought I’d better grab a few of these while they were there—I suspect they won’t last very long.

I must admit, I thought I’d have to search a bit further afield than my regular supermarket to find something we’d eat this year, so this was a really great surprise. We’ll probably need more chocolate than this to get our fix though.