Saturday, October 27, 2007

Year of the Dog


If you like dogs, or any animal, really, may I please recommend Mike White's film Year of the Dog. I heard it was Mike White's apology for not being vegan. Anyway, it's a sweet story of Peggy (Molly Shannon) and her beloved dog, Pencil. When Pencil dies unexpectedly, Peggy's life takes many other unexpected turns: she gets into animal rights, goes vegan, and starts saving animals left and right. Those of us who are already will likely identify with Peggy during scenes with her uncomprehending family, and her coworkers who are afraid to eat her vegan cupcakes. Those who aren't yet vegan will appreciate the humor and humility of the film--it's not preachy, I swear!


It does seem, though, that Peggy goes through a bit of everything, almost becoming a hoarder and the stereotypical "crazy dog lady" at one point, but that's not necessarily a low point: we do see that hoarding is wrong and that we need to only take in as many companion animals as we can care for.


And anyway, with a writer/director like Mike White, and actors like Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard, and John C. Reilly (who walked out of a stupid Lars Von Trier film in protest over a donkey being killed on set), you can't go wrong!

Red Lentils, Indian Style (Masoor Dhaal)


This lentil dish was one of the first dishes I made for my partner. He hates lentils, yet we're still together after 8 years. It must be that good.


Red lentils Indian style
(Masoor Dhaal with vegetables)

½ onion, chopped
3 green chiles, chopped (I used 2 fresh jalapeno peppers)
6 whole curry leaves (if you have them—if not, don’t worry!)
1.5 t ground coriander
1 t grated ginger or ginger pulp
1 t garlic pulp, or about 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Some cayenne pepper, to your spice level
1.5 t salt
2 T oil

½ C red lentils
1 potato, coarsely diced

3 T chopped fresh cilantro
Some tomatoes, chopped (however many you want. The recipe called for 3, I used 3 cherry tomatoes and that was just fine.)
3 T lemon juice

Prepare all the ingredients (up to 2 T oil), and sautee them in the 2 T oil in a large saucepan on medium heat until the onion is at least translucent.

Chop the potato and wash the red lentils. Add them to the spices along with enough water to cover the ingredients. If I had to specify, I’d say at least 2 C water, because you definitely want to make sure those lentils cook all the way through. Bring to a low boil on medium heat, or lower heat if you need to. Cook for about, I don’t know, 20 minutes, until the lentils and the potato are done.

If you want to cook your cilantro, add it now. If not, just add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice, and then add the cilantro as a topping to your final dish. I prefer fresh, not cooked, cilantro, so I added mine once I plated it.

I served this dish with some potatoes and cauliflower Indian style, as well as some brown rice cooked with a stick of cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, and 2 whole cloves. (Do take those out before serving, though!)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Georgia Sea Turtle Center


Georgia now has a center devoted to the care of sick and injured sea turtles on Jekyll Island. Opening in June 2007, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center works to promote the conservation of sea turtles through rehabilitation, research, and education. Next time you are at the coast you should stop by and visit! More info on their blog about their activities.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Cage-Free Egg Campaign


The egg industry is one of the worst examples of animal cruelty in agribusiness. Millions of hens spend their lives in small battery cages packed so full that they cannot even stretch their wings, let alone engage in any other natural activity, such as nesting or foraging. Factory farm hen houses are made up of rows upon rows of these battery cages stacked one on top of the other. This set up results in waste from the chickens above falling on those below. These horrible conditions leave the hens in very poor health with hardly any veterinary care.

Cage-free facilities remove the cages and allow the hens to move about on the ground. The quality of life for these hens is so much better than those stuck in battery cages. They have more space to run around and socialize. Battery cages are so awful that the countries in the European Union, such as Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden are completely banning them. A few cities in the U.S., such as Cambridge, MA, West Palm Beach and New Port Richey, FL, are following suit. Big companies like Whole Foods, Earth Fare, and Ben&Jerry's have switched to exclusively using cage-free eggs. Over 160 universities are now serving cage-free eggs in their campus dining facilities.

SOS is trying to convince the University of Georgia Dining Services stop supporting the torture of these chickens in battery cages and switch to cage-free eggs. There are many things you can do to help: write a letter or an article for the Red&Black supporting cage-free eggs, write an email to the director of Dining Services J. Michael Floyd (mfloyd@uga.edu) requesting cage-free eggs or make the request on a Dining Services comment card located at all four campus dining halls. Also, you can make the switch in your own kitchen. Stop buying eggs that are the result of an inhumane practice. If there is a larger demand for cage-free eggs, battery-cage facilities will be phased out in favor of cage-free ones. We really can make a difference.

For more information on the Cage-Free Egg Campaign led by the Humane Society of the United States, go to http://www.hsus.org/farm/camp/nbe/