Sunday 26 June 2011

Dresses!



Over the past few weeks I have been busy sew sew sewing. I am planning on opening my own little etsy shop sometime soon. I plan on using mainly recycled fabrics, with a focus on the environment and sustainability. There will be floral fabric, lace and peter pan collars a-plenty! Yay! Hopefully it will be up and running in the next few weeks!

Wednesday 22 June 2011

live exports



While there has been no solution to the live exports debate, media coverage seems to have died down a bit recently. Articles which are being published seem to mainly focus on the situation for farmers and people who work in the industry.

If anything, I’ve been kind of surprised by the public outcry over the Four Corners footage. 90% of Australians eat meat. I’ve always kind of imagined that people just don’t really think animals have feelings, or if they do, they just don’t care. The public response was amazing. I think it’s a really great sign and it gives me hope for animal rights in the future. I didn’t actually see the program. I knew it was on, but I chose not to watch it. I guess I didn’t really see the point – it’s a subject I already feel strongly about and would only get upset by.

Personally, I think the immediate suspension of live exports was the right step to take. Sure it’s not particularly rational or well thought out, but it sends such a clear and direct message that unnecessary animal cruelty is not okay. I just hope it’s a serious sign of a commitment to end the cruelty to Australian exported animals, not just a way to quieten down an issue until it’s forgotten by the general public.

I think, if anything, it’s the response to the suspension that has upset me most. Immediately, media started focusing on the conditions for cattle being held in pens, at the docks, with nowhere to go. It was depicted as being some kind of act of cruelty that cows were being kept in terrible conditions, without adequate water, feed or room to move. Of course it is cruel and horrible, but to suggest that such a situation is worse than being kept in similar conditions while being exported, and then tortured to death, is ridiculous.

We soon started hearing about the farmers and their families who would be affected by a ban on live exports. Of course some people will suffer financially from such a ban and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But, I do think that when you breed and raise animals, you have a kind of duty of care for their wellbeing. The general response seems to have been, “we didn’t know this was happening”. I’m sure they didn’t know, but surely it wouldn’t have been too hard to find out that Indonesia just doesn’t have laws regarding animal cruelty. I feel like it should have been their responsibility to find out what happened to their animals after they were loaded onto boats. As far as I’m aware, the majority of animals go to markets, where they can be bought either privately, or by an abattoir. In a country without laws to protect animal rights, this in itself is irresponsible.

I know live exports is a huge industry. It’s worth about $1.8 billion to the Australian economy. But I think that this issue is much more important than that. If Australia believes that the economy is more important than ending unnecessary, repeated pain and suffering, I think it’s time we reassessed our priorities.

Monday 20 June 2011

Peter Pan!






Recently, I have been trying to be a more ethical shopper! I've been buying handmade presents and all my clothes second hand. But oh my allll these Topshop peter pan collars are a little hard to resist!

Friday 17 June 2011

oh my gosh yum...



Yesterday I made these raw brownies from the blog My New Roots. What an excellent blog, and what amazing brownies! They are made from nothing but nuts, dates and cacao! It's amazing that something so healthy can taste do decadent and delicious! They're sweet and chewy, as all good brownies are!

I have loved fresh dates forever. Fresh medjol dates are so sweet syrupy! They've always reminded me of caramel or something. I'd never thought of using them as a sweetener though! Such a good idea.





These brownies would be so great for vegans, raw vegans and the gluten intolerant.



My poor ol' blender didn't do too well with the mixture though. I would recommend dividing the mixture into two and doing them separately if your blender is not the best.

If anything I think these brownies are a little too full on. I think next time I might put in a few less dates and not as much cacao.

On the whole though, AMAZING! Such a decadent and amazing treat!



xxx

Thursday 16 June 2011

a perfect day for...



HAHA! Today is a rainy old day, with lots of wind and frequent sprinkles of sunshine! I am excited to spend the day sewing, reading and making vegan chocolate brownies. I might pop on my gumbies this afternoon and head out on a long walk too!

xox

Peachy!

Recently, I have been craving all things peachy. Sadly, it’s the beginning of winter, so fresh peaches are not easy to come by! I’ve been satisfying my craving with Schweppes “Peachee” soft drink. Yum! And last night I thought I’d have a shot at making my own vegan peach cupcakes!



I was a little disappointed that they weren’t quite as peachy as I was hoping. BUT they were still delish! The mashed peach makes them more moist and dense which is ratherrrr nice.

I got my original basic cupcake recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Such a great book! I changed it a little too. And this time, I peachified it!



Peach Cupcakes

2 cups soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ cups plain flour
4 table spoons cornflour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup of neutral tasting oil
1 ½ cups of sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 whole peaches

Pop the soy milk and vinegar in a mixing bowl together. Give them a good whisk with a fork and set them aside. The mixture will go all stinky and curdly, but don’t worry, this is meant to happen. Then beat in the oil, sugar and vanilla extracts. Now pop your peaches in a blender, til they’re nice and smooth. They should be somewhere between juice and puree. Mix the peaches into the mixture. Then sift the dry ingredients in and mix it all together. Line your muffin tray with patty pan liners; I didn’t do this as I’d run out, so you can just grease the tray if need be. Fill them up to about ¾ full and pop them into a moderate oven. It should take between 20 and 25 minutes for them to be ready.

Peach Icing

2 cups of icing sugar
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
½ peach

Pop the peach in the blender (or do it along with the cupcake peaches, then put it aside). Beat the margarine while slowly adding the sugar. Then add the peaches sporadically until the icing is the right consistency.

When the cupcakes have cooled, stick the icing on top of the cakes and enjoy!

xox