Vegan Thanksgiving Traditions~Adopt-A-Turkey Project

It's been a while since my last post. There's lots I'd like to catch up on, here. About the hurricane/Halloween, about my move...yes, I moved! More about that soon.

To be honest, I hadn't been in the mood to blog for a while. The hurricane was a great reason for me to take what was a much-needed pause. I was always go, go, go..with a full calendar. So I stopped. And embraced it. Even now, I'm a little reticent, but gradually coming out of my cave.

I thought it was important to peep my head out for a bit to make this post. And then I'll stick my head back in. Thanksgiving is around the corner! Yes, folks. Is it just me, or has the Hurricane Sandy haze distracted us from the fact that the holiday is near? Well it is! And in the last few years, I've formed some traditions around it. One is that I host a vegan Thanksgiving feast for my friends every year. The other is that I sponsor a turkey. Yup!

Hosting my first vegan Thanksgiving in 2010

Now, I'm not one to vegangelize, but...I don't know. I guess turkeys have a particular place in my heart? They're kind of funny-looking, it's true-but in such an adorable way! And I love how they coo!

Also, I read these excerpts from 'Eating Animals' by Johnathan Safran Foer, and they left an impression on me:
"Today's turkeys are natural insectavores fed a grossly unnatural diet, which can include 'meat, sawdust, leather tannery by-products', and other things whose mention, while widely documented, would probably push your belief too far. Given their vulnerability to disease, turkeys are perhaps the worst fit of any animal for the factory model. So they are given more antibiotics than any other farmed animals. Which encourages antibiotic resistance. Which makes these indispensable drugs less effective for humans. In a perfectly direct way, the turkeys on our tables are making it harder to cure human illness..."

" 'Not a single turkey you can buy in a supermarket could walk normally, much less fly. Did you know that? They can't even have sex. Not the antibiotic-free, or organic, or free-range, or anything. They all have the same foolish genetics, and their bodies won't allow for it anymore. Every turkey sold in every store in every restaurant was the product of artificial insemination. If it were only for  efficiency, that would be one thing, but these animals literally can't reproduce naturally. Tell me what could be sustainable about that?' "

Farm Sanctuary has an annual Adopt-A-Turkey Project, where one could sponsor a turkey of their choice. In 2010, I allowed the sanctuary to choose a turkey for me and I sponsored Kima, who likes cherries and chard, according to her bio. Last year I chose Elizabeth, because we share the same name and she was described as shy-like me! Although, some would say that's not true...This year, I'm sponsoring Victoria, pictured below...

Victoria.

How noble she looks!

 

Every year I request an Adoption Certificate from the sanctuary. It displays a bio of the turkey, and I proudly post it on my fridge. It's a tradition that I've come to enjoy and prefer.

 

So, um, I'm posting about my tradition in the hopes that you will consider doing the same (in case you don't already!). It's such a joyous way to celebrate the holiday. As my girl Michelle said during last year's dinner, "No animals were harmed in the making of this feast!". And how satisfying is that?! So satisfying! And trust me. Delicious.

 

 Last year's vegan Thanksgiving. A potluck of fun and amazing food.

 

If you'd like to read more on this topic, I'd strongly recommend checking out this excellent blog post by Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute: Thanks, But No Thanksgiving. 

 

To "adopt" a turkey, please go to this site: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/giving/adopt-a-turkey/

 

 

With gratitude and love...

xo,

Ellie

Walk For Farm Animals

This past weekend I joined the Walk for Farm Animals in Central Park. I raised about 80 dollars (not much, but better than nothing, eh?), and walked to raise awareness about Farm Sanctuary, factory farming, and the animals that suffer. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the event was full of good energy and good people.
 

There was an incredible raffle that included such great prizes as a Pink Vaute Couture Coat, and gift certificates to some awesome restaurants, like Pure Food and Wine, Franchia and Angelica Kitchen...

There was also some amazing face painting that was offered. Look at this cutie!

 

 

We kicked off the event with some yoga, led by Derek Goodwin-and assisted by Miss Piggy!

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned before, the event was full of good energy and good people! A lot of people brought their children and dogs...

Like this guy!

 

The owner of the dog above wore this sticker, which I loved!

 

I also loved this one...

 

 

I walked with the Veg Strong Team.

We held up these posters and handed out pamphlets to passersby who were curious about what we were doing.

 

 

After the walk, we munched on some eats from Terri and Blossom Du Jour.

I opted for a Smokey Avocado Wrap from Blossom Du Jour.

 It's probably my favorite thing to eat there!

 

Mmmm... smoky tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato and a nice chipotle aioli.

 

Jane Velez-Mitchell spoke, with her dogs in tow. She is so lively and sweet!

 

Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary.

 

 

Dan and Matt Mims of the band HERE played an excellent set of their songs.

 

 

 

And that concluded the event! Before I end this post, here are some pictures from last year's walk, which was also amazing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Till next time! 

xo,

Ellie

Labor Day Weekend~Farm Sanctuary

Hey everyone! Yes, that's me getting my stomach licked by a cow at Farm Sanctuary. He was an eager little fella! I spent my Labor Day Weekend there with David, Sophia and Shaliga. It was my first visit!

But let me backtrack, and start from the beginning: We began our weekend by rallying at Sophia's place, and having some of her famous pancakes before hitting the road. She made blueberry ones. As usual, they were amazing!

On our first night, we went to a vineyard in the area and enjoyed their event that had live music and fireworks. Yes, I was dancing to retro 50's tunes with the older folks!

The next day, we met the animals at Farm Sanctuary...

The pigs look so happy when they sleep! And some of them are HUGE! They love to get their bellies rubbed...

Turkey lurkey! I caught a candid of this gal mid-gobble.

 

This is Antoinette. She's a unique girl, because she's the only one at the sanctuary who likes to be massaged. See? She's spreading herself out, getting comfy for some more rubbing!

 

Piglets!

 

 

Hello, beautiful!

 

This guy was my favorite of all the animals in the sanctuary. I loved his eyes, and his energy. As Shaliga said, sheeps are so chill. She liked hanging with them, too.

 

 

 

At the gift shop (where they give out free vegan ice cream!).

The tee-shirt says 'Factory Farming Hurts Everyone'.

 

One of the adorable cats at the sanctuary, dozing on a haystack.

 

We later hiked in Watkins Glen State Park, then had dinner at Stonecat Cafe. The food there was amazing! And their wine selection was great, too.

 

We started our meal sharing their Olivada appetizer-olive tapenade with slices of fresh foccacia bread. It was delicious! For dinner, we had their Smoked Maple Cured Tofu, and it was amazing! Highly recommended...

 

For breakfast, we had bagels, pastries, oatmeal and fruit that is offered to guests at Farm Sanctuary. One of the things I loved was the raisin oat bars from their local spot, Glen Mountain Bakery & Market.

 

Glen Market was our go-to for lunch. They have great seitan sandwiches, but I got their Jackson's Revenge-housemade tofu burger with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mustard and toast...

 

My friends got the Healthy Hoagie (made with flavored seitan, bacon mushroom, and sundried tomato...

 

And the Sanctuary Special (seitan, l.t.s., olive oil and vinegar, spicy mustard, on a fresh baguette).

 

 

 

 

We spent one day in Ithaca. We swam and hiked a gorgeous trail at Robert H.Treman State Park.

 But before that, we ate lunch at Viva Taqueria. We had tacos and burritos there vegan-style. The staff was so friendly!

 

After our hike, we were ravenous! So back to the town of Ithaca we went! We grabbed some Mediterranean eats at Aladdin's...

 

A huge Babaganoush Pita that Sophia ordered!

 

I ordered their Veggie Combo-I chose their babaganoush,hummus, taboulee salad, and sauteed spinach with whole wheat pita. And I ate it all!

 

We then went to Purity to top off our evening with some ice cream..

They carry delicious vegan ice cream from Chicago Soy. We got their Cookie Dough. It was delish! 

Whew! I think that about covers all the things we enjoyed during our trip! I leave you all now with  some pics from our hiking excursions-and Lake Seneca! Enjoy!

At Robert Treman State Park

Swimming at Robert Treman. The water was so cold!

With all the peeps on our hike.

Lake Seneca

Watkins Glen State Park

xo,
Ellie