Thursday, February 14, 2008

mmm... ginger pear waffles taste better in heart-shapes

Happy Valentine's everybody!

I wish I had time to make more heart-shaped food, some part of me loves a useless holiday that embraces little more than a funny symbol. Hehe. When I was in high school I used to treat it kind of like Halloween for softies, and dress up in pink and white taffeta and striped red stockings and give out chocolates to my friends and anyone in the halls who looked like they wouldn't be offended by an overly friendly "happy valentines!!" and a little dark chocolate square. Today I don't have time, and I don't know how amenable the militantly awkward art school kids would be towards pure fluff and hallmark celebration (maybe they would get the irony?). So I'm off to paint two brazilian men kissing, and then I'll buy pecans for the smlove so I can make a big wonderful pie for my family when I go home for reading week tomorrow.

On an unrelated note: I listen to CBC radio every morning while eating my breakfast (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and this is the second day in a row that they've had an extensive discussion on veganism! Yesterday they hosted Rory Friedman (the author of Skinny Bitch), and then a reaction interview with Debbie Rasmusen (the publisher of Portland's Bitch Magazine) and Annahid Dashgaardt (the Executive Director of Anima Leadership, a Toronto-based organization dedicated to community building). I'm not the biggest fan of the Skinny Bitch book, but there were some interesting points brought up - like the fact that the information on farming and animal rights in the book is actually somewhat sound, and that it's the first mainstream piece of vegan literature to be embraced in popular culture. I can't wait to hear what they talk about today. I do have to say... Rory kind of rubbed me the wrong way in how she almost greasily sidestepped direct questions about the so-called "healthiness" of the diet proposed in the book (it's a diet book! IT IS A DIET BOOK! and not a good one). And Debbie and Annahid thankfully made a strong argument for healthy body image and rejection of (even vegan) fad diets. Ideal solution being intelligent integration of the information offered in the book and ignoration of the idea that we all stand around hating the thinnest girl in the room? Could take a lot more social change than we'll see in our lifetimes...
They even brought up the racism factor - by flat-out demonizing meat and cheese, the book is creating guilt on a cultural front, too! Oh god, I hope I'm not getting preachy. Ha ha ha. Does it help that I don't know exactly where I stand with all this and so really can't be preaching at all? It was interesting to listen to, I know that.

I propose a day in the garden and a rainbow-bright spread of veggies and grains for alllll the skinny bitches (people of all sizes and temperaments) of the world. Or maybe a square of dark chocolate and a flurry of fuschia lace. La la la la! This bitch is off to go paint...

15 comments:

Vegan_Noodle said...

Love the waffles. I like making my food in heart shapes this time of year. Seems the only acceptable time to do it.

I read skinny bitch and have their cookbook (just recently tried my first recipe) and I do think it's good to get the vegan message out to the mainstream... I'm just not sure it's the perfect message.

Oh well, have fun painting! Wish I could be doing something as creative right now!

Rural Vegan said...

I haven't read Skinny Bitch so I can't comment extensively, but I do love seeing the V-word in mainstream media so often lately.

Yay for heartshaped waffles!

Cakespy said...

I love it when you get preachy. And those waffles...why is everything heart shaped so damn cute?? I am a sucker for it.

Ruby Red said...

Happy V-Day!

I don't know how I feel about this Skinny Bitch business. I still haven't taken a look at the book, but I hear about it almost every day. I'll have to go to Borders and flip through it or something...

Your Ginger Pear Pancakes look AWESOME! Did you adjust any of the ingredients to convert them into pancakes (b/c it's a waffle recipe)? I was so going to make peach pancakes yesterday, and I got out my brand new peach only to find that it already had mold growing ALL OVER it! Stupid rotten grocery store. But yeah, I definitely think your heart-shaped pancakes are loverly.

Anonymous said...

Lovely pancakes! I would totally fall for anyone who made me a breakfast like this, so it sounds like a prefect Valentine's treat to me!

Theresa said...

Rainbow brite spread of veggies... I used to have Rainbow Brite toys and watch the Rainbow Brite show :)

I've only read the first few chapters of Skinny Bitch, so I'm undecided on the whole argument myself, but I do love listening to talk radio!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I knew PB would be good in that ice cream! I'm so glad you tried it. I can't wait to get home to the leftovers tonight. :)

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

i think everything tastes better heart shaped!

Happy Valentine's Day!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Haha what a fun idea to dress up; Halloween is one of my favorite hoildays, so having another one in February sounds like a good idea to me! Your breakfast is beautiful! It makes my cereal breakfast today look pathetic LOL.

Happy Valentine's Day, dear friend! Eat lots of vegan chocolate (I know I have!)

Anonymous said...

Your waffles are so pretty! I think it's best that heart shaped things come less often, that way they're more special.

I'm disappointed that I missed those interviews on CBC. I usually listen to it in the morning or on the way to class, but I have been busy the past few days. I haven't read Skinny Bitch, so I don't have an opinion, but I can say that whatever makes people think about what's going on in the world, especially with animal abuse, and slaughter, is a good thing.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Could those pancakes be any more scrumptious-looking, especially heart-shaped? I think not - you mastered it! Haha, that's great that you used to dress up - totally festive!

I haven't read Skinny Bitch, but I hear that there are as many hilarious parts as there are insightful/brutally honest parts - sounds like an, uh, interesting balance of "writing tones," haha. Don't worry, you're not being preachy :0)

aTxVegn said...

The pancakes are beautiful and I'm sure they tasted really yummy.

I haven't read Skinny Bitch and probably won't, as I'm not a fan of that style of writing. I would have enjoyed the interview though.

Your high school valentine celebration sounds like fun!

Monika K said...

It seemed to me like Skinny Bitch was basically an advertisement for vegan eating, which should be more of a "do this every day" sort of thing, not just a "quick fix." But honestly, I don't think it hurts anyone (namely omnis) to give up meat and dairy, even if it is only for a few weeks. (And who wouldn't want to be vegan when ginger pear waffles are on the menu?!)

Dreena said...

First, your blog is adorable. :)

Secondly, thanks for mentioning the CBC story. Impressive that they ran more than a 20-min segment on the topic! I wonder if they have the archives online... will have to check so I can have a listen-loo!

Happy vegan cooking! :)

Ashasarala said...

The waffles look delicious! That's so cute that they're heart shaped and all puffy and yummy. :)

It's an odd coincidence that you bring up 'Skinny Bitch'. I just borrowed it from someone and intend on reading it.

I have read through some parts and it seems to me like what they're saying makes a lot of sense. They use humour and foul language to get most of American culture interested in what they have to say and I kinda like that. They also mention that counting calories, sugar grams, carbs, fat and all that is unnecessary and what is important is reading ingredients (staying away from chemicals and processed crap) and NEVER starving yourself. Always have natural food handy. I agree with that stuff too.

But maybe I have to read the whole book to see where you're coming from.