Disqus - Latest Comments for qspawn

Re: Best macaroni and cheese in the whole world ever

qspawn — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:01:11 -0000

Yep - old skool New Farm - I've been loving on this recipe for years. My tweaks are to replace the turmeric with a couple tbsps mustard, and use a light veggie stock instead of the water, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs (and then the paprika) before baking.

But for 'anonymous' I'd recommend crushing up some Pringles instead of the breadcrumbs...and leave in the extra 1/4C oil.

Re: Holy Dr. Cow!

qspawn — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:10:01 -0000

Thanks for the FYI, Mark. As I am about it fry up some latkes in about 10 metric tons of olive oil straight from Sicily where the average nonagenarian will kick Dean Ornish's ass for suggesting she cut back on fat, I call bullshit.

But she'd agree with you on the faux cheeses. As far as I'm concerned, there's still no good vegan cheez, peeps. When you get the craving, and you don't want to just eat some actual cheese (because if you want some cheese maybe you should just have some cheese because you've embraced your imperfection or harm reduction veganism), try just smelling some. It's surprisingly effective in quelling my Cow Girls Creamery 'Humboldt Fog' cravings.

Happy hanuka!

Re: vegansaurus! · San Francisco Vegan Guide, IT'S AWESOME.

qspawn — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:25:55 -0000

It was the best thing in it's day...and I'll always be grateful to local vegan entrepreneur and author Miyoko Schinner who created and marketed many innovative vegan treats. When she had her restaurant in japantown, Now and Zen, I was too-newly-minted-vegan to really appreciate all the house-made proteiny things - I dismissed them as "too meaty. If I wanted to eat meat, I wouldn't be vegan." Ah, youth.

If you make it, skip the yuba skin - that was always really creepy.

And I'm curious to know if the gravy turns out good - it always tasted like it had gone bad to me (although not to my housemates in our queer vegan collective - ah, youth.) One Thanksgiving I even went to her factory in what we now call Dog Patch (I'm sure somebody called it than in the mid 90's, but they didn't tell any of the rest of us) to buy several straight from Ms. Schinner, and the gravy still tasted like it'd gone bad to me.

Re: Parents Raising Free-Range Vegans: You'll Eat That Nugget, and Like It?

qspawn — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:15:38 -0000

I've got the reverse issue - After I became vegan, my mom followed suit.

Sounds great you say? Hellz no. She had already-slightly-neurotic-food-issues that she had previously dealt with by just feeding herself. But once she joined my bandwagon, she started expecting me to accommodate her, and gets pissy when I don't (like I imagine many vegans do at their parents' table.)

sigh.

Re: Coming Out: Six Reasons to Be a Vegan (and why we should love them all.)

qspawn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:06:43 -0000

Clearly we disagree. My understanding is that you see veganism as a belief system based on compassion for animals.

I think that's one, totally valid kind of veganism.

I tend to see it as an identity based on not consuming (in the broader sense of consumption) animal products. For whatever reason - religious, cuz you were raised that way, environmental, animal rights, habit, whatever.

How about we lay this to (a down-free) bed?

Re: Coming Out: Six Reasons to Be a Vegan (and why we should love them all.)

qspawn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:20:56 -0000

My nitpicking had a point - that no one owns the definition or identity of 'vegan'.

By insisting that "those who are vegan for the SOLE purpose of protecting the environment or their own health do not have the motivation to actually be vegan" I think you do veganism, and animals, a disservice. Like the author said, there's lots of reason to be vegan and we should love them all.

The chicken doesn't care about why it wasn't deep fried.

And too many once-upon-a-time vegans now eat meat because of the all-or-nothing approach to veganism.

Re: Coming Out: Six Reasons to Be a Vegan (and why we should love them all.)

qspawn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:14:28 -0000

There's the vegan po po! I was starting to wonder if any would come out to play. Thanks for telling me what vegans do and don't do.

I actually knew several vegans (few of whom are vegan anymore - partly b/c of vegan police making it f-ing unfun) who believe that purchasing used wool or leather creates a secondary market for those products and thus adds value to them - supporting their production, and thus are not vegan.

I personally believe that almost all organic fruits and vegetables, in that they create an enormous market for the by-products of animal and fish slaughter as fertilizers, are not vegan. Nor are nearly all cash crops which exploit the labor of their human producers. (No more Ritual coffee for you, hipster vegans!)

But I eat organic veggies. I love me some chocolate. Last month, I even had an apple fritter, and last year I had a slice of cheese pizza! And I'm still vegan.

It's a complicated world, isn't it?

PS -
On behalf of all the gay men who've slept with women and dykes who like to play around with boys, I hope you don't play for our team - we've got enough umpires already.

Re: Coming Out: Six Reasons to Be a Vegan (and why we should love them all.)

qspawn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:24:03 -0000

So do you draw a box around who is vegan and anyone wearing leather shoes is on the outside of the box? What about a wool sweater? What about the folks who don't ask if there's ghee in their food at an indian restaurant? Eat organic carrots fertilized with fish emulsion?

By my way of thinking, vegan is more an identity than a lifestyle (although just like the 'gay lifestyle' the identity implies certain behavior). It has somewhat fluid boundaries (which some vegans are compelled to police) and since identity is in the eye of the self-identified, there's plenty of room for vegans without 'compassion'.

Re: Coming Out: Six Reasons to Be a Vegan (and why we should love them all.)

qspawn — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:11:27 -0000

Sounds like you've had some trauma around not identifying as a Cher Horowitz and getting flack from the vegan police? That bites - sorry to hear it.

Even the Cher Horowitz's of the world draw the line somewhere short of perfection, if perfection to them means "no animals were harmed in the facilitation of your life" so when vegans throw stones there's always a lot of glass to pick up.

Re: Vegan Food Bar at Las Vegas Whole Foods!

qspawn — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:04:40 -0000

I haven't been to las vegas for years because it was a food wasteland. Did some mafia kingpin have a heart attack and go all McDougall?

Re: Vegan gardening, by Ben

qspawn — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:05:51 -0000

Yay botanical bounty. As to purslane, many Latino produce stores sell it - in SF check out Casa Lucas on 24th St. which often has it (albeit a bit wilty).

But how do you GROW the stuff vegan? I've seen 'Vegan' organic fertilizer made from alfalfa seeds...anyone know if it actually works? How much blood meal, bone meal, and fish emulsion do I 'consume' as a vegan who eats organic? I bet you a whole hecka lot more animals than the bone char that's used to filter refined sugar that a lot of vegans won't eat. I have yet to meet a vegan who won't eat organic because it's grown with animal products. BTW - is manure an animal product? Compost from omni restaurants?

I want me some radish pod salad now please.

Re: Breakroom Cafe!

qspawn — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:55:01 -0000

Once it's served, it's consumed. It sucks, but damage done.

Re: One body is the same as another

qspawn — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:49:55 -0000

I do like a 'deep muscular bulging quarter' as much as the next person.

Re: vegansaurus! · San Francisco Vegan Guide, IT'S AWESOME.

qspawn — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:45:15 -0000

single issue activism FAIL.