Tag Archives: veganism

Event Alert: Wildflower Vegan Super Bowl

7 Feb

Dear Adriana Lima, thank you for making me care about football.

You can always tell how busy I am when I haven’t posted any new food or sex fun on here in a few days. This last week has been slamming me hard, with new projects at work, assignments that need attention  and fun events to attend.  On Super Bowl Sunday my buddy and bossman over at the vegan culture portal  iEatGrass.com, super-chef Ayinde Howell, threw an awesome pop-up event in Brooklyn at The West. Ayinde’s vegan pop-up restaurant brand, Wildflower, has been featured all over, from VegNews to Grub Street. We had a great time on Sunday feeding vegans and football fans alike. Somewhere around 40 people showed up (we got the word out via NYC Vegan EatUP) and the menu included barbeque seitan sammies with ranch coleslaw, loaded quinoa nachos, pizza bagel sliders, his famous Mac N Yease ( triple gasm!) and more. People no joke showed up with Tupperware begging to take left-over Mac N Yease home–it’s that good.

Behind the scenes in the Wildflower Super Bowl Kitchen!

While I could care less about sports, I was happy the Giants won if only because I found myself in Grand Central at midnight, and being surrounded by New Yorkers when their team just lost would have been more terrifying than being tied to a chair in Times Square during the zombie apocalypse.  If you have never checked out iEatGrass, you should! This month marks its 2 year anniversary, which is exciting. While you’re over there, be sure to poke around  my column, The Lusty Vegan. Or don’t.

The first course! BBQ Seitan Sammy. Yeah. I ate that.

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Bloggers Unite: ‘Rain Man’ and Thrice Fried Rice

27 Jan

Look Ma! Teeth!

This is my second Bloggers Unite post, about a blending of blogging between me and my friend Nick, music, film, TV and pop culture enthusiast from The Littlest Winslow. Nick is on an Epic Film Quest to watch every single movie that has ever won a Best Picture award. The way our united blogging occurs is we watch a movie and eat some food and then we both write about it! Last time I wrote about watching the movie Rebecca and eating Green Papaya Salad.

This time, we watched Rain Main and I cooked up a vegan meal of Thrice Fried Rice for Nick (and his lovely fiancé Em tried it, too). You see, Nick is not a vegan but his lady does like to eat healthy, which means he also eats healthy often. We also share a love for spicy food, so we knew our dish had to be kickin’. Nick is sort of skeptical about veganism, which he has admitted he thinks is trendy now. (For once, I got into something two years BEFORE the trend, instead of two years AFTER. ) So, I wanted to hypothetically tear off his pants with the awesomeness of delicious vegan eating. He will be blogging about this, and about his experience with vegan food. You should read his blog post, or else!

While we cooked, we jammed to Bif Naked–super foxyfresh vegan canadian rocker–as a pre-game of sorts because I will be interviewing her next week! Eee! She is so cool and I can’t wait. Nick turned me on to her so I have him to thank. THANKS, NICK.

Here is the recipe for my Thrice Fried Rice. Why thrice? Because I fry the tofu twice before adding it to the rice and refrying. Also, we watched Rain Man. I love Dustin Hoffman but Tom Cruise is basically the worst actor EVER and his performance in this movie was predictably despicable.

Get in me!

Thrice Fried Rice
Serves 4/prep time: 15 minutes/ Cook time: 20-30 minutes

You Will Need:

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 cup peas (frozen is fine!)
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon dried ginger)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons Earth Balance or your favorite vegan spread
oil for frying

Helpful tips:
If you press your tofu first, it will brown quicker.

Cooking your rice the day before (or night before, if you have a rice cooker!) makes this dish take less time.

To Make:

Step one
Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large pan, heat over medium high. Add cubed tofu and brown on all sides, stirring often to keep from burning, 5-8 minutes.

Step two
Remove tofu and put on a plate lined with paper towels.  Blot with more paper towels and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Then, put another tablespoon of oil into wok and repeat step one. In the last minute of frying, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cook, then remove. Tofu will be crisp and golden!

Step two! It's good to look scared while cooking.

Step three
Remove tofu again. Put Earth Balance in wok and add carrots and onion. Sautee until onion is translucent and carrots are just beginning to soften—not mushy! About 3-4 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

Step four
Add mushrooms, peas, garlic and all spices to pan. Cook 2-3 minutes.

Step five
Add rice, tofu, rest of soy sauce and mix well. Cook 5-8 minutes.

Step five. Rice art!

Voila! Swoon to the crooning of Bif Naked.  Enjoy your meal doused in Sriracha or your favorite hot sauce. Watch a good movie with a bad actor in good company.

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Humpday Roundup: Weird Food and Sex News

25 Jan

Celebs Agree, Veganism Makes You Better In Bed
Well, at least one celeb.  Jason Mraz wrote in his blog that he has been a vegan for the past 4 months, and on top of feeling stronger, fitter and more productive, he is also better in bed! Not sure where he is accruing his data or what, exactly, he means by “better” but I would love to get the opinion of his fiancé, Tristan Prettyman (who has a fantastic last name).

Condoms Conquer Porn
It’s finally happened; the LA City Council has given last approval to a city ordinance requiring porn stars to wear condoms while getting freaky on film. This ordinance has been lurking for years, backed by the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation. While safe sex isn’t what you think of when you hear “porn,” hopefully it will help to deter the commonly held POV that if you bleach your asshole you’re impervious to HIV.

Check out Ron Jeremy’s take on it.

“Donkey Punch” Makes Debut as  Answer on Jeopardy
Okay well sort of but not really..

Dry Humping, Otherwise Known as “Sandwich Dancing,” makes way to White House

A funny account from the Onion reported that a “meticulously researched, entirely unrequested report from the Interior Department assessing dry humping as a suitable sex alternative for teenagers,” landed on the desks of  White House officials last week.  Apparently, officials are confused because no one mandated this heavily researched report. Let me tell you, that this is not a new trend. As someone who still FEELS like a teenager, my memories of humping someone’s leg in a basement do not seem so distant. I spewed coffee out of my nose when I read the following about the trend of  ”sandwich dancing.” This activity occurs when two partners interlock legs and grind their genitals together in rhythm with popular music. Read it here.

Bill Gates Says “Embrace GMOs or Starve”
Gates, who has spent millions fighting to end hunger and poverty in Africa and Asia, makes a statement that if countries  do not embrace modern agriculture (ie, genetically modified crops), their citizens will starve. Bummersauce. I’m sure the organic produce industry is thrilled. Gates sort of saves face by addressing that yes, GMOs can be dangerous–and then  he likens them to drugs. Hmmmm.  

“I think the right way to think about GMOs is the same way we think about drugs,” Gates said in an interview. “Whenever someone creates a new drug, you have to have very smart people looking at lots of trial-based data to make sure the benefits far outweigh any of the dangers.

“You can’t be against all drugs, but drugs in general are not safe.”

Read it on Huffington Post.

And just because it’s Wednesday, here is a photo of cupcakes that look like vaginas. No, I did not make them, and no, I doubt they are vegan, but they sure are uhm, creative.

I found these at pantiesupskirtdown.wordpress.com – I am smitten with you, @DangerousLee!

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Breaking Stereotypes: Vegan Athlete Named World’s Toughest Woman

29 Dec

 

...yeah

In an act of impulsivity, a few months back I signed up for the Tough Mudder competition, an insane series of endurance tests designed by the British Special Forces that run somewhere between 10 and 12 miles in length and feature 20-30 ridiculous obstacles along the way. The event, which you sign up for in teams, tests strength and endurance as well as grit and camaraderie. Many of the obstacles cannot be done without the help of your fellow mudders. Obstacles get a bit insane (crawling under live electric wires, anyone?). The event I signed up for is in April and I am currently “training”—how one trains to crawl under electric currents or swim through ice-water, I don’t know.

Tough Mudder events are held all over the country and while I am sure everyone who completes it feels like a bad ass ( I feel bad ass just for signing up…), at the end of the season the top 5 percent from all of the competitions are eligible to compete in the “World’s Toughest Mudder,” the winner of which is crowned the “Toughest Man or Woman on the Planet.”

When most people think of a ‘vegan’ they probably think of some skinny crunchy hemp-wearing hippie stretched out on a yoga mat or rolling in some dirt. Despite the fact that there are tons of super strong vegan athletes, that isn’t the image that comes to the minds of most when you mention that someone is vegan. So you can imagine how happy (and impressed) I was when I learned last week that the female winner of the 2011 World’s Toughest Mudder was not only a vegan, but a vegan in her early 40s. Juliana Sproles, a 43 year old vegan athlete sponsored by Boku foods, won the 24-hour challenge with two frost bitten toes. Way to break stereotypes, and be completely ninja, Sproles!

Sproles, looking like a warrior. No big deal.

The World’s Toughest Mudder is so intense you have to sign a death waiver, and while 800 (half-robot?) athletes started out, only 50 finished.

Watch this video clip taken with 4 hours left to the competition in which Sproles, who is nicknamed “The Shark,” talks about camaraderie and the spirit of Tough Mudder.

 I think this is a victory for vegans all over. Okay, gonna go stick utensils in electrical outlets in preparation. Or maybe just run and lift some weights. That could help, too.

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Fetish Friday: Kimora Klein; Interview with a (Vegan!) Porn Star

23 Dec

What could be more perfect for SexyTofu than an interview with a vegan adult film star? Read on as I dish with Kimora Klein, a half Black, half Asian saucepot who kicked off her porn career on Bang Bros—you know, the one where they drive around in a van looking for girls to bang. Not only is she a dish, but she has brains to boot, and loves to cook! (Stay tuned for a topless vegan cooking show, perhaps?) In the following interview, we talk about her recent near-fatal car accident, and I ask her for her professional opinion on the whole “vegans shouldn’t swallow” plague. Yes plague. Oh, and oral sex tips!

Z: Alright well we can start with food and work our way into juicier stuff from there. How long have you been vegan?
KK: I’ve been vegan since mid-2008.

What made you make that switch?
It’s funny, I didn’t intentionally decide to go vegan. After I moved out of my parents’ house in Miamito school in Chicagomy grocery shopping habits developed. I didn’t know how to cook meat and was kind of grossed out just at the idea of handling raw meat. I never really liked milk, so it didn’t ever cross my mind to buy it. I just naturally developed a vegan diet and after OTHER people started calling me a vegan, I started to fine-tune my diet and cut out less obvious things like gelatin. I educated myself on why someone would intentionally go vegan and it just made sense.

What’s your favorite thing about veganism?
I can honestly say that I get sick less often and that I can eat a lot without feeling weighed down.

Do you think it boosts your sex appeal?
To the veggie demographic, definitely. Otherwise, I haven’t heard from others.

Do you see any correlation between good food and good sex?
I do! It’s true, vegans “taste better.” Pineapple makes a difference, sure, but not eating red meat or lots of dairy makes a HUGE difference.

What’s your favorite thing to cook?
My favorite thing to cook is dumplings. Well, not necessarily “cooking” them but making them. I’m one of those very hands-on people, if you didn’t figure that already.

I bet you are! Okay, changing lanes. You were in an accident not too long ago. Tell me what happened.
I don’t remember anything really. I was told that a work van T-boned me on my driver’s side on the highway. I broke my hips, jaw, collarbone and punctured a lung. Also I lacerated my liver. I had to be incubated for a few days and then I was inpatient in between the ICU and a rehabilitation hospital because I had to learn how to walk, breathe, and talk normally again.

Have things changed since then? Are you fully recovered?
The whole ordeal claimed a good 6 to 7 months of my life and I’ll be dealing with the aftermath (I now have osteoarthritis) for the rest of my life. I still have really random terrible hip pain have metal implants in my jaw which sometimes bother me. I permanently lost feeling in my lower jaw line, chin and bottom lip. If you were to see me on the street, you’d never know anything happened to me unless you saw the incision scar on my neck from surgery though. I’m able to do pretty much everything I used to, just not for too long of a time or too strenuously.

Has it affected your career at all, positively or negatively?
I’d say both. I got the craziest outpouring of love and support when everyone found out what had happened. Because it was a life-changing experience, I’d say positive. There were a couple moments in the first few hours after where they thought I wasn’t going to make it and I had a lot of time to evaluate my life and what I wanted to do with myself. The only negative thing I’d say is just all the stress and physical pain I went though, and probably the fact that it’s going to be a lot harder to find companies that’ll want to shoot a girl with scars like I have.

I know you got into adult entertainment with Bang Bros. But now that you’re established, tell me what attracts you to a job.
Well porn gigs are exactly that when you’re not contracted to work with a specific company. At the time before my accident I was just kind of going for whatever was reputable. My main concern is seeing existing content or website/DVDs, otherwise I usually don’t bother. I especially appreciate more artsy fartsy erotica and hardcore rather than your usual “gonzo” and “reality” stuff.

I’m interested in what your contracts are like; any bizarre or interesting things you have to sign off on? Continue reading →

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Another Awkward Social Situation: Weddings

7 Nov

Few things make me want to sob with joy and vomit simultaneously. Weddings are one of these things.

Awww. (shudder)

The time is upon me—everyone I know is starting to get married. There have already been a few—I was a bridesmaid at my college room-mate’s wedding in June—but within the next 5 years I suspect I will be getting a plethora of lace-trimmed invitations in the mail reminding me that everyone I know is much more advanced in life than I am. And the worst part about the invitations? Aside from the fact that I will again be that weird single friend drinking too much in the corner and sobbing during the ceremony because despite my strange fear of getting married I am a hopeless romantic? The little card that comes with the invitation requiring me to check “chicken” or “fish” (or steak or whatever omnivorous things are being offered).

I went as the “Plus One” to a wedding this past weekend, and despite it being a ton of fun—the (pregnant) bride mooned us, tongued her groom inappropriately at every occasion, and her grandmother did shots of tequila—the food situation was incredibly awkward. A buffet situation is much easier to maneuver than a sit-down dinner, because I would feel uncomfortable making any sort of special request—it’s not my day to wear white and have everyone stare at me. Since I knew this wedding was a pretty fancy schmancy sit-down affair, I assumed I would be able to eat nothing, so I brought a ton of snacks which I ate in the car like a half-starved squirrel. At  dinner, the waiter—who spoke no English, I believe he was some sort of eastern European—asked if I wanted filet mignon or monkfish. I said neither, and nicely explained that I wouldn’t be eating dinner, because I don’t eat meat. He blinked at me a few times and walked away. When he brought me soup—lobster bisque—I again said “no, thank you.” I tried not to be disrespectful; I know it can be offensive when someone doesn’t want to eat your food. Again, I explained I don’t eat meat. Or dairy! We got a bit lost in translation; him gesturing wildly at the empty place setting in front of me, me seriously considering taking my glass of wine and  hibernating under the skirt of the white linen tablecloth until the meal was over. Eventually he asked me if he could bring me some juice…At least I think that is what he said, because I said yes but no juice ever appeared. Just more wine. And champagne. And wine. And…

After watching this awkward exchange of conversation, the friend sitting next to me suggested that perhaps I should learn an obscure language so if I ever find myself in a similar situation again, I can begin babbling in Papiamento so the affronter will leave me alone. And then the dapper gentleman on the other side of me–a complete stranger, mind you–said “so, you’re one of those vegans huh?” Yep, I replied. “Like Hitler…” was his response. Oy Vey! (Also Hitler was a vegetarian not a vegan so hah, I win.)

So tell me your awkward social situations? What kind of food do you keep in your purse/man-purse to eat like a weird socially awkward rodent? Have you ever been to a ceremony where the vows included the line ”I take you, biggest pain in the ass I have ever met…?” I have. Do you cry at weddings? I do I do I do.

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Happy World Vegan Day! (A Rant About Hummus)

1 Nov

Shout out from the New Yorker

Today is world vegan day. I am celebrating tonight by having a hummus party. What does a hummus party consist of, you are wondering? Making a whole lot of hummus, with friends, because my friends also get excited about hummus. We will then dip a plethora of things into the hummus, and eat the hummus while talking about life (boys), family (boys and sex), work (sex and boys) and sex (sex). Really, this has nothing to do with World Vegan Day, I would do this on any given Tuesday, but I had to write SOMETHING now didn’t I? How are you celebrating your veganism today?

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Stuff I Get Off On: Buccaneer Bars

16 Aug

I ate it before I could take a photo..story of my life..

I love sweets—especially when they are free! Recently, I became a member of the VegNews Street Team (oh hey, VegNews!)—a group spreading vegan awareness by distributing issues of VegNews around to local venues, groups, stores and restaurants. Anything to spread some vegany goodness. Anyways to kick off the team, VegNews sent me a care package and in it was this delicious vegan chocolatey nougat bar called a Buccaneer bar.

Super delicious and covered in a rice-milk chocolate coating, it reminded me of a Three Musketeers (coincidental names? I think not!). It was all I could do not to inhale it in one mouthful. Normally I try to avoid processed foods, and this bar—while delicious—is definitely a special treat. Dessert at my desk. Glad they didn’t send me a case, because I may have been tempted to eat the whole thing in one sitting and then would have a serious vegan tummy ache. But really, these bars are the shit.  

These sweet treats are made by Go Max, Go Foods LLC, and I poked around on their site and saw they make a mock Almond Moy bar called a Mahalo. I nearly peed myself. I must find one, asap.

Thanks VegNews and  Go Max, Go Foods , for the yummy bar! Unfortunately more me, the name of it spurred this random memory of a line from the movie Casper (mmmm 14 year old Devon Sawa) and so now I have been wandering around my  office going Buccaneers and buried gold. Whipstaff doth a treasure hold.. Anyone else remember this? No? Just me?

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Veganism; Just Another Way for Me to be Socially Awkward

31 Jul

Everyone else is eating cheese (image by graur razvan ionut)

I am a pretty awkward person. I make awkward jokes and references to things nobody else understands, and then I laugh at them alone. On Friday I was at the bank next to my office where I go to deposit my whopping free-lance checks during lunch, and the teller tried to chat me up. I drool over him every time I go in there, partially because he is a fox (he looks some sort of juicy middle-eastern ethnicity), and because he is rocking a wedding ring so that makes him completely off limits. So he starts making small talk. Probably he was just being friendly, but it made me nervous anyways. “So you work around here?” he said. “yes, do you?” I responded. To THE BANK TELLER. He then looked at me like I had something hanging out of my nose. (I probably did.)

Right before that, as I was heading out to do my bank errands/make an ass out of myself in front of saucy teller, my boss reminded me to be back by 2:30 as we are having Flying Saucers for a coworker’s birthday. “Great, I won’t miss that!” I said. “Even though I will just be standing around awkwardly while you all eat your ice-cream and repetitively ask why I am not partaking!” I continued. “Veganism is so socially awkward sometimes,” I finished. Luckily, my boss laughed (she at least pretends I am funny).

Real talk: Unless I am surrounded by other vegans, I usually feel sort of awkward turning down food. I do it anyways, but usually I feel a bit of judgement coming my way. I have found that veganism makes people nervous, as if I am judging them–I am not, I swear! I don’t sit around saying “DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO PIGS/WHAT IS IN YOUR MILK/HOW MANY BYCATCH SEA CREATURES DIE SO YOU CAN EAT THAT SPICY TUNA ROLL?” so I hate when I hear “but like, how do you get your protein/no wonder you’re so skinny/What about cheese?!”

So, yeah, office food parties are always awkward for me. I have only been here about 4 months, so I wonder what will happen in April when my birthday rolls around–assuming I last that long and don’t get fired because of the contents of my browser history (Friday on my lunch break I spent 40 minutes reading up on gimps and BDSM for my gimp post…). What? I was on lunch!

Any other vegans ever feel awkward about their vegan status? I want to hear your awkward vegan moments! Or just awkward moments in general…I once tried to get a pen out of my purse in class and accidentally flung a tampon at the boy next to me. It hit him in the face.

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Another Veggie Triumph!

26 Jul

an apple a day! (image by 7thsens)

An article in the July Issue of Food Nutrition & Science states that a veg diet can be more nutritious than one containing animal products. The study, conducted by Eastern Michigan University, found that—surprise!—a vegetarian diet can be just as nutrient dense, if not more so, as a meaty meal plan. In fact, the study found vegetarians to have higher levels of fiber, Vitamins A,C and E, folate, calcium and iron (yes! iron!) than non-vegheads.

Founder of Food Nutrition and Science Phil Lempert describes the study results as fascinating, going on to state that only six percent of the population meets their daily goal for vegetables, so even those who aren’t interested in going vegetarian can improve their health by…drum roll please…piling more veggies on their plates.

Veg out, everybody!

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