joelbct

Good point. I suppose I wasn't clear, I meant return the remaining 8 cups of mushroom stock to boiling, while you are separately whisking the miso together with 2 cups of the mushroom stock that you poured into a separate mixing bowl. From what I understand, you don't want to simmer the seaweed or the miso for very long, else you will lose flavor and nutrients- -Joel

The bible and Christianity have been politicized to the core... see Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire for some sharp insight into the early church and how from nearly the beginning, Christianity was molded to the liking of the political and intellectual powers of the day. As for using the bible to condone cruelty to animals, many Biblical passages condone practices we would find totally abhorrent today, including slavery, treating women as chattel, the punishment of death by stoning for adultery, and blood sacrifices. Society evolves.

I heard a ruffle on the porch, and noticed we had an inquisitive friend in our potted plants- http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/joelbct/visitor2.jpg http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/joelbct/visitor.jpg He or she rather enjoyed being photographed, and was not particularly intent on leaving in any great hurry. -Joel

I made Miso Soup with tofu, shitake mushrooms, and nori and wakame seaweed yesterday. Went to an Asian Supermarket, which is apparently the best place to find dried asian mushrooms, seaweed, good miso, and tofu at reasonable prices. I used Hanamaruki Red Miso and Dae Han tofu. 10 cups of water 1 cup Red Miso (or more or less, to taste) 20 dried shitake mushrooms 1 package firm tofu 5 strips nori seaweed 10 teaspoons wakame seaweed 2 tablespoons soy sauce (optional) Heat the water to lukewarm temperature, turn off heat, and let mushrooms soak 25 minutes. Remove mushrooms from water, and chop them. Separate 2 cups or so of the mushroom stock into a mixing bowl, add miso and whisk until Miso amalgamates. Return remaining 8 cups of mushroom stock to boiling, reduce to simmer. Dice tofu into small cubes. Shred nori seaweed strips, add to mushroom stock with wakame. Be careful not to simmer the seaweed more than 5 minutes or it will lose some of its seaweedy flavor. Add miso, soy sauce, and diced tofu. Turn off heat, and serve. (serves 10) I will take a picture next time, this was fantastic! -Joel

Hey, welcome! -Joel

I gradually replaced all my leather products. I just can't reconcile wearing dead animal skin. Try NYC-based http://www.mooshoes.com/ for excellent nonleather leather-like shoes and belts. I bought the Vegan Ware Henry shoe, which is fantastic and very sharp looking, and am planning on ordering another pair. They were featured in a GQ article, I hear. I do have a wool suit and a couple wool sweaters from J Crew, who I hear stopped using Australian wool because of the cruelty, they basically shear off the sheep's skin as well as the wool. So wool is not in general cruelty free, and my next suit would definitely be a high quality synthetic or plant-based material, and I don't plan on buying anymore wool... -Joel

Hey, welcome- And here's to breaking down those misconceptions and lies about plant-based diets- -Joel

Hey, if anyone is in Eugene Oregon or the vicinity, I see there is a vegan potluck every third friday of the month here. I'm thinking of checking it out. PM me or post a reply if anyone wants to meet up! -Joel PS. I suppose I could have posted this in the meetups section, but I didn't know if anyone would see it...

Hey- I am in eugene at the moment, moved here 2 months ago, nice town so far! -Joel

Only vicariously, you might say.... -Joel

Hey So I am going to a gym now (conveniently located in the building where I work), and they have a bench that inclines down, and one of those attachments you wrap your knees around and put your feet under, for leverage or something. Anyway, the incline crunches in this setup rather hurt my back, and don't seem to work. What is a good way to do crunches with added resistance/incline, etc, that is safe? I didn't really see this specifically in the ab thread below... Thanks, Joel

Yeah, I thought about that too. In a way, I have him to thank for this board's inspiring me to go vegan... Causality is complex, huh?! -JB

Wait, so you do pullups with a metal chain around your waist? Sounds masochistic

No, that's definitely not natural... Honestly, I don't find that physique aesthetically pleasing, it's just a bit too much. But you do have to respect the work ethic. Although just think of all the animals that have gone into that body...

As the bill is worded, we would have to prove to the court that an animal = a person for the bill to make factory farming illegal... Maybe one day, I hope and pray...

I think large government is wasteful and dangerous, probably more so than large corporations... In fact government is like the supercorporation that can write its own laws, enact its own taxes and more and more taxes, and has a virtual monopoly, no competitors but other nations... And here in the States, the Republicans were avowedly the party of limited government, until they gained control of the Senate, House, and the Presidency, and now they have unleashed a monstrosity upon us, which most people are all too unaware of... HUGE spending increases, ever increasing government payroll, MORE and more regulation, this atrocious war, and a prescription drug plan with an unfunded liabililty of 70 trillion dollars over the next century... So that's why I plan to move to Canada, as soon as global warming makes it feasible... -Joel

House Resolution 4239, Senate Bill 3880, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act http://www.theorator.com/bills109/s3880.html How ironic... They are seeking severe punishments against people who cause serious bodily injury to individuals involved in "animal enterprises" that cause serious bodily injury to animals. Do our alleged leaders not see the hypocrisy in this stance? -Joel " (5) the term `serious bodily injury' means-- `(A) injury posing a substantial risk of death; `(B) extreme physical pain; `© protracted and obvious disfigurement; or `(D) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; and `(6) the term `substantial bodily injury' means-- `(A) deep cuts and serious burns or abrasions; `(B) short-term or nonobvious disfigurement; `© fractured or dislocated bones, or torn members of the body; `(D) significant physical pain; `(E) illness; `(F) short-term loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or `(G) any other significant injury to the body. "

I was on vacation in Long Island, by the beach, and found these two books. The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat is hilarious and poignant, a classic. Mutiny on the Bounty was the best adventure story I have ever read, and based on true events. I recommend both- -Joel

Spice up beans and brown rice with lots of extra virgin olive oil (or other oil, but even EVOO is cheap if you buy it in the big metal cans), fresh green peppers, mushrooms, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, curry powder or its component spices such as corriander, cumin, turmeric, and other things I can't remember (though probably not all these spices at once . When I started doing this, rice and beans started becoming awesome, and totally filling. And find good beans too, try different brands/varieties. Also, a good skillet is essential, I prefer cast Iron... This is making me hungry... -Joel

I think it is creepy, and might make people think. Of course, a typical response I hear to this sort of thing is "You are comparing me to an animal, that is horribly offensive..." It is hard to have a meaningful dialogue with people who view humans as gods compared to other animals. -Joel

Some good points here... I do know non-vegetarians who eat veggie burgers for their health, etc. And I do actually like some veggie-"burgers" a lot, though they certainly aren't "beef flavored" and really taste nothing like meat... And I do remember having soy bacon that was pretty good too.... oh well!

Loveliberate- I am certainly against oppression, as well as the iraq war, detention without fair trials, and the whole monolithic "us" vs "them" mentality, in fact I have participated in several anti-war rallies and marches this past year. I am horrified by the deaths of countless innocent Iraqi's and the way the US newsmedia minimizes and ignores their tragedy. That said, I don't think this dude was being oppressed. They asked him to change his T-shirt for 5 hours, and he's acting like he was brutalized. The constitution does not say that you can wear whatever you want on a private airplane, despite his frequent references to the constitution. I wouldn't blame the airline. This is like 2 days after a bunch of people of arabian descent were arrested for nearly blowing up an airplane, and the guy is wearing a shirt with arabic text and the words "we will not be silent." I wouldn't interpret this message as belligerent, but I could see how some would. The airline employees were merely doing their best to keep 100 passengers calm, on a cramped plane hurtling 35,000 feet above the sea at 500 miles per hour. -Joel

Saw a post asking what to do with apples. I made dried apple rings/slices for the first time last weekend and they turned out great. Used a Nesco Dehydrator. Dehydrators are best apparentlly, but you can search for other methods on the internet. Cored, peeled, and sliced the apples 3/8-inch thick directly into a Vitamin C solution to stop browning (2 teaspoons vit. c powder per cup of water), then dehydrated at 135 degrees for 14 hours. -Joel[/url]

I think this article was supposed to be funny, but it comes off as mere ignorance. I for one hate those fake meat products. Why would I want my pure, clean plant-based food to taste like a rotting corpse? You can post a comment on the article- http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,71775-0.html?tw=wn_index_4 "Beef-flavored soybeans Judging from the 400 varieties of non-meat meatlike items in your average California supermarket, the one thing vegetarians want most is the great taste of flesh. If we could just go ahead and make a soybean that tastes like top sirloin right off the vine or branch or whatever soybeans grow on, then we could cut out any number of middlepersons. Or, alternatively, couldn't we genetically modify cows just enough so they're technically plant life? Like, get some xylem and phloem in there. Maybe some chlorophyll, just enough so that they taste the same but they move over to the "vegetable" column. That would be a crime against nature that would make everyone happy!?"

You have good taste. I love this forum- -Joel