I know that some folks have had problems accessing this blog, and that it has “looked funny” when it has appeared. The problem seems to be with Powweb, the company with whom this site is hosted, but it may be with WordPress too.
At Feministe, not one but two long and interesting discussions about female genital mutilation and male circumcision, and the particular penchant of some folks in the men’s rights community to sugggest that the latter is comparable to the former. I stand by what I wrote on that subject last year. My own perspective is perhaps a bit better informed by personal experience than that of many who are weighing in.
We’re getting ready to go up to Northern California for a couple of days for the Independence Day holiday. The fact that I have relatively little patriotism in my heart has never stopped me from embracing with enthusiasm all of the outer trappings of jingoism; I will swathe myself in red, white, and blue tomorrow and join with many friends and family for a glorious celebration.
For sixty years, my family has made banana ice cream on the Fourth of July (a tradition that began in the 1930s, so far back that no living soul remembers exactly why and how banana was chosen). For the first time in my life, I won’t be eating that ice cream tomorrow. A year ago, I was still vegetarian with a willingness to eat dairy; I have gone full vegan since. It is at holidays — with the strong connectedness to traditions and foods — that being fully vegan is most challenging.
But I’ll take my turn cranking the ice cream maker, and pouring on the rock salt and the ice. My participation in the production of at least some non-vegan foods will continue. My family also raises chickens at our place up north; they are well-treated, and they lay eggs that need to be collected each morning. I no longer eat the eggs, but happily take my turn at niffling up to the barn to visit the hens, their rooster, and to gather their gifts in a little carrier for others to enjoy. I grew up around chickens, and we have a lot to say to each other.
No posting until Monday, July 9.
http://www.goodbaker.com/free-recipes-icecream.html
A [benign] tradition that old…cool!
I ws going to suggest seeking out some vegan banana ice-cream or rather ice-soymilk or ice-whatever recipes, but it looks like someone scooped me…
Happy 4th!
If the chickens are well cared for, and they are going to lay eggs anyway, what is your objection to eating them (the eggs, not the chickens), if the eggs don’t contain embryos, and you are 100% certain of their origin and laying conditions?
Soy. Blek.
Since I’m lactose intolerant, I am sparing on dairy so let me give you a suggestion:
Almond Milk.
And not that crap you buy in the store. Make some almond milk yourself. It has enough of a fat content you can actually make butter from it. It’ll cream up nicely if you make banana ice cream from it.
The Gonzman is quite correct about this, and I don’t even like almonds.
I’m not completely lactose intolerant like Gonz, but I have a mild reaction to soy milk-like products(i.e, let’s just say my system flushes it out almost too quickly), and since I’m not full vegan I usually go with whey protein or rice milk.
And like Gonz and djw, the almond milk can be pretty good if you need a substitute.
Rice milk is my usual go-to, but I have to say, vanilla almond milk is sweet and tasty — even the store bought stuff! Just don’t put it in coffee (like soy, it’ll curdle). Rice is best to put in your coffee!
>If the chickens are well cared for, and they are going to lay eggs anyway, what is your objection to eating them (the eggs, not the chickens), if the eggs don’t contain embryos, and you are 100% certain of their origin and laying conditions?
I was wondering about this myself, wondering why he wouldn’t be willing to eat the eggs of well-cared for chickens…..and then I thought of this: Hugo, you mention visiting the hens and *their* rooster.
When hens have babies it’s pretty much 50/50 male/female. (I know this from having chickens myself) so the question would be what happened to all those baby roosters?
Anyways….interesting….I was a vegetarian from age 6 but haven’t been lately….have only recently thought that maybe veganism is something I could try…