Made my first sale for the bulls! :)

A very kindhearted person just made a large purchase at my Veganosaurus store to help save the bulls. She purchased:

The Pokey Gang


Angelica Piggy


Snaizel Hazel


and

Tomatoey


I had stated yesterday that 50% of all sales at my Veganosaurus store until the 13th of Feb 2010 would be going towards this cause. But I wanted to donate in more from this sale. So I just sent $50 to Jodi.

It's heartening to see those numbers in the chip in widget increasing. Within one day, more than 10% has been raised. We are extremely grateful for this incredible generosity shown by everyone and are confident that the goal will be reached and the 3 beautiful boys saved. :) Please keep chipping in, in any way that you can.

Help Save 3 Bulls from Being Slaughtered

My friend Jodi of This Is It! Creations just found out that the 3 bulls who graze on their land were scheduled to be slaughtered today. They asked the owner if he would consider selling them the bulls instead and he has agreed. But he needs them to pay the full amount of $3600 in just under two weeks time.

These three are amazing animals. They have been named Pooka Cow (the brown one), Spotty Friend, and Less Spotty Friend. They are only 2 years old and have many more years of happy lives to live.



I will be donating 50% of all sales from my Veganosaurus store on etsy until 13th Feb 2010 towards these beautiful creatures.



Please help Jodi and her family save these boys through donations, networking and getting the word out to everyone you know.

Donate here:



Also, if you would rather mail a check, please send it to:

This Is IT! Creations
P.O. Box 1252
Jacksonville, OR 97530

Future of these animals? Jodi says, "We've been asked where the cows will go if we do raise enough money to save them - they will stay here, at least for the short term. We have 11 acres of land, a barn, and a stream. We are planning to create a line of products where all of the profits will go toward their care (hay, vet bills, fence mending, etc.) If we can find a loving family with enough land to adopt them, we are definitely open to that as well. :)"

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Baked Potatoes, a post eclipse feast. :)

We had a long annular solar eclipse today. From start to finish it lasted for about 4 hours. Here in Bangalore, the eclipse started around quarter past 11 am and ended at a little past 3 pm. It hit its peak of approximately 84% at 1:23 pm.

Traditionally we believe that during an eclipse, the stomach should be completely empty. And after the eclipse is entirely done, we bathe and then cook something fresh to eat. Any previously cooked food that's been lying around during an eclipse is chucked away, never to meet a mouth or a tummy.

This practice stems from a mythological story about the Demon-God, Rahu, swallowing the Sun (or the Moon, depending on his mood), making any eclipse a very inauspicious period of time. Hmm so why doesn't the Sun (or the Moon) stay swallowed beyond a few hours, you ask? Well that's because Rahu is a severed head (his body being considered a whole other Demon-God, Ketu, the history of which I might narrate to you on another day) with a large gaping hole at the end of his neck, through which the chosen celestial body escapes.

The scientific explanation given to us is slightly simpler. Something to do with the rays of the sun and bacteria. Well whatever the reason, I believe that some traditions are meant to be followed. Even if it's simply because I've grown up with these practices as part of my culture. And by me following them, no one's getting harmed in any way.

So I had my breakfast a little before 9 am hoping that it would be digested (well most of it at least) by the time the eclipse started and peaked. Now normally, I go without eating for hours in the afternoon without even realizing it. But today of course, since I couldn't eat, that was pretty much all I did want to do!

I was fine for the first couple of hours. I even meditated a bit during the peak eclipse time and it felt awesome! Then at a little past 2 pm, the thought of chocolates floated into my head, immediately followed by a sudden craving for potatoes. One of my friends on Facebook had mentioned earlier that he ate masala dosa, crepes stuffed with a savory potato mixture, for breakfast. My oatmeal, though I had it with mom's scrumptious mixed veggie Sankranthi sambar from yesterday, had paled in comparison. So those potatoes from the dosa must've stayed somewhere at the back of my head all along and then suddenly popped out shouting, "look at me! look at me!" with all their might when my tummy awoke from its calm reverie at the word "chocolate".

You might agree that the thought of potatoes is a hard thing to get off the brain. Especially if every time you nearly shake it off, your tummy ominously rumbles it right back into place! I'd soon forgotten all about the chocolate and was holding on to one single image... delicious baked potatoes. I tried to distract myself for the remaining hour of the eclipse (thank goodness there was only an hour left!) by watching the latest episode of House MD. It was a mostly successful attempt... except for that one moment where I could've sworn that Eric Foreman's whole head morphed into a potato and said, "the phrase 'Who's Your Daddy?' comes to mind".

At 3:11 pm, I shot out of bed like hot coals had stung my rear end and zipped to the bathroom. In such a hurry was I to get done with that bath that I considered not conditioning my hair *gasp* but I overcame that temptation.

Then I ate a yelakki banana to soothe my tummy and finally got down to my cooking! :)

Et Voila! Here is the result...



Whole wheat and flax chapatis, piled with herbed baked potatoes, topped with fresh tomato salad. I still can't believe I mustered up the will power to actually take pictures of the feast before wolfing it down!

Herbed Baked Potatoes

Small to medium sized potatoes
Sea Salt
Pepper
Turmeric Powder
Sambar Powder (or Red Chilli Powder if that's more accessible to you)
Dried Herbs - Thyme, Dill, Chives
Dry dessicated coconut powder
Coconut oil
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Lime Juice

Wash and scrub the potatoes along with the peel.

Boil water in a large pot and add a little sea salt.

Toss in the potatoes whole and boil for about 15 minutes.

Take the potatoes out with a slotted spoon, cut them in half and place in a microwave safe baking dish.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except nutritional yeast and lime juice) adjusting quantities according to your taste and toss until all the potatoes are coated.

Place in the microwave oven and bake covered under the micro option for 5 minutes. Uncover and bake with the micro-grill combination option for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and lime juice and toss again.

Finally bake in the grill option for 5 more minutes.

(You could also just bake in a regular oven for about half an hour instead of using the microwave).

Taste to make sure that the top layer is slightly crunchy and the insides are soft and well cooked. Bake a little more if required.

Serve hot.

Fresh Tomato Salad

Diced fresh tomatoes
Chopped fresh basil and mint
Lime juice
Green chilli paste or crushed green chillies
Black salt
Balsamic vinegar
Parma! - vegan Parmesan

Put everything into a bowl and mix with your hand, gently squeezing the tomatoes to merge the flavors together.

Enjoy with a satisfied smile! :)

December's EtsyVeg Challenge Entries - My Frostwind is in it.

Each month EtsyVeg team holds a challenge for its members. Based on the month's theme, we create an item and submit it. At the beginning of the following month, a poll is held on the Etsyveg blog where anyone (even non-members) can drop by, admire all the gorgeous submissions and vote for their favorite item.

December's theme was "Winter Daydreams". Please take a moment to stop by the EtsyVeg team's December Challenge Blog post and vote for your favorite entry. It's got a lot of gorgeous creations by the artists of the EtsyVeg team and believe me when I say it is not easy to pick just one favorite!

Of course, I'd be very grateful if you'd vote for my Frostwind - Exquisite Fine Silver Wire and Swarovski Crystal Pearl Brooch Pin that's part of this challenge.

Also January's challenge theme is "Fresh Start" as we kick off a brand new year and a "fresh" opportunity to set intentions, renew, recharge, and move forward (maybe in new directions)! To find all the items submitted for January, please do a search on Etsy for "FreshStart EtsyVeg team". Members will be submitting new items all through the month.

Vegan Southern-style Tofu Fry (Super-Quick Party Snack)

This recipe recently got published in a local mag Time Out Bengaluru.

They wanted a Vegan recipe that was quick and easy to make with easily available ingredients. Something to serve along with cocktails. And most importantly, something original. So this is what I came up with...

Vegan Southern-style Tofu Fry.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 packet of Firm Tofu
¼- ½ tsp Sambar Powder
Salt to taste

Method
Gently press the block of tofu to squeeze out any excess water. Cube the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Heat oil in a pan and add the tofu. Gently stir till the cubes are lightly browned. Sprinkle on the salt and sambar powder. Alternatively, pepper or red chilli powder can be used instead (but then it won't be very Southern :oP). Stir fry for another minute. Pierce the cubes with toothpicks and serve.



P.S: The best Sambar Powder is the homemade kind but if you're feeling lazy or don't know how to make any, it's easily available at Indian Stores. A well known brand is MTR.