An interview with Laura Beck

Today’s interview is with Laura Beck, the creator of Vegansaurus. I met Laura at a San Francisco Vegan Bakesale at the beginning of the year, then saw her in SF again on my way to Vida Vegan Con in August where I saw her yet AGAIN! Triple the fun! She also gave me a tempting offer to drop out of school and move in with her! Can you imagine how much fun that would be?! Laura is an amazing person, a fantastic writer, and the most hilarious person ever! She doesn’t hold back when she has something to say! I’m so lucky I get to feature Laura in my interview series. Woo!

Follow @mrpenguino and @vegansaurus on Twitter, but first read the interview!

How did you get started with Vegansaurus, and was it always a community blog? How did you decide on a pink dinosaur?
I got started with Vegansaurus in 2008 when I saw there was no SF Bay Area vegan guide and wanted that to change. I asked my friend Meave Gallagher if she’d be into it, and she was, so we got help from Maria Diaz and Jonas Madden-Connor and started a blog! The pink dino was all Jonas! Well, we knew we wanted a dino, and I love pink shit, and he had to have a knife and fork because he’s hungry and wants some damn food!

What are your top 5 favorite meals in the Bay Area?
So hard, and always changing! Right now, I am into the Toasty Crispy at Souley Vegan, the Plant Burger at The Plant Cafe, any of the desserts at Source, the 3-course veg prix fixe at Saha, and um… anything eggplant from Minako!

What is the menu at your as many courses as you want dream dinner party? Guest list (I better be on it!)?
Hahaha! Okay, if I’m making it, it will involve lasagna. That much I know. I’d try to recreate the warm spinach salad from Millennium, some kind of vegan chicken noodle soup (I need a good recipe! I want it to taste just like shit at Fresh Choice! Classy!), LASAGNA (I love this recipe from VegWeb SO MUCH), tons of Ethiopian food (like a giant veggie combo from Cafe Colucci), a mashed potato bar, make your own sushi station. Okay, this is just turning into a straight buffet. For dessert? Yellow cake with chocolate frosting, rice pudding, vegan soft serve, and maybe cinnamon buns?? Would you make a cookie bar?? And those Rosewater Lemon Cupcakes you made at Vida Vegan Con? HOLY SHIT SO GOOD. As far as people, I only like to invite good eaters to dinner parties, because it’s so awful if people can’t throw down! Kelly, I’ve seen you in action, you’re definitely invited!

Do you still encounter people who think vegans can’t be fat? Come on, people! It’s 2011 and there’s million vegan bakeries nowadays, not to mention food has existed this whole time! In what ways are you involved in spreading the word about fat positivity?
I know, those people are crazy! Going vegan isn’t a weight loss diet, it’s a lifestyle choice. And it’s extremely delicious! Even if you’re eating strictly healthy whole foods, they still have calories! I absolutely think that it’s easier to be healthy as a vegan, and your cholesterol is most likely the best your doctor’s ever seen, but that doesn’t mean you’re automatically gonna be skinny. And that’s rad! People are meant to be all shapes and sizes, and whatever you are, it’s good. I just try to do my part so spread that message, and if I ever see any weight shaming in the vegan community, I try to speak up. Also, we will never, ever talk about dieting for weight loss on Vegansaurus, or any of that bullshit.

You published Fat Zine last year. What can we find inside? And how much glitter are we talking? Do you have plans for another issue?
Fat Zine was so much fun! I mainly did it because my boyfriend has all these zine and comics events that I like to attend, so I thought it would be fun to have something. When I do things I go big or go home, so tons of glitter and insanity was a must. Inside there’s stories, not-terrible poetry, pictures, and drawings! Oh! And artist Jen Oaks, who drew a babe named Kitty Bon Bon for the back cover, just put out a chubby babes calendar that everyone needs to own.

If I had a million dollars, I would hire you to narrate my life so I could fall on my ass laughing all day. Also, you gave me the idea that in this dream life Isa and John, you, and I would all be neighbors and our houses would be connected by skywalks. How does that sound? What is in your dream life?
Yeah, that sounds pretty damn good! I’m in! I think my dream life would involve all of that, plus I’d make a decent living writing, and get to go on lots of vacations. I don’t have to have lots of material items, but I totally want an Infinity Pool. Also, a flying car. The future is gonna rule! Also, if you ever get a million dollars, I will totally narrate your life. I can be bought!

Do you have any new upcoming projects?
I’m just rolling along, but I am working on writing a screenplay with a friend. I actually majored in Film & TV and got sidetracked when I graduated. Anyway, I’d love to write for TV or movies! Which is kinda crazy, but you never know. I am not really super great at following my dreams, I mainly just go with the flow. But Kelly, maybe this interview will change that! I am ready for whatever is next!

Thanks Laura!!

Interview with Hannah West of Mad City Vegan Fest

Today’s interviewee is Hannah West, one of the organizers of the first annual Mad City Vegan Fest in Madison, WI where I met Hannah for the first time! The fest had a huge turnout-over 1,300 people! Everyone there was incredibly kind and it was obvious that the event was organized by a group of dedicated, amazing people driven by ethics and the desire to create a really great, approachable event.

Let’s talk to Hannah! You can also find her on Twitter.

What was the inspiration for Mad City Vegan Fest and how did you decide to make it happen?
I spent two years at a college in Portland, OR, and the second year I was there, I stumbled upon the Portland Veg Fest. I thought it was the best thing in the world. At the end of my sophomore year, I was home for the summer and happened to find out about the Naperville Veggie Fest. Between those two experiences, and my perception of Portland and Madison as sister cities, I thought “Madison should have a veg fest.”

I came across Alliance for Animals through a google search, and emailed them this thought. The co-director, Lynn, wrote me back and we set up a coffee date. We met, she was interested, I was all excited about it, and some time in the next few days, I realized that I needed to take a year off from college. Some time in the next few days, Lynn realized that Alliance couldn’t take on the responsibility of organizing such an event. So I took the helm. What better use of a year off, right? Alliance supported this event financially from the very beginning, but the Vegan Fest planning committee started with pretty much just me bouncing ideas off of Lynn and doing massive, massive amounts of research.

Very few vegfests are specifically advertised as vegan. That obviously didn’t hinder the turn out at Madison! What was the response to vegan fest in Madison, and from non-vegans who attended?
At our first meeting, Lynn said that we needed to call it a vegan fest in order for Alliance to support it. I was scared about people being turned off by the word “vegan,” but I really shouldn’t have been. Non-vegans were intrigued by the novelty, and 2011 also happened to be the year of veganism in the media: Oprah, Dr. Oz, and Martha Stewart all did shows about vegan and plant based diets.

But here is the most important reason: I am very lucky to be a Madison resident, where the groceries are bountifully stocked with vegan items and the restaurants offer vegan dishes. That is not the case in smaller cities in Wisconsin. We got a lot of feedback from more isolated vegans about how grateful they were to have this Wisconsin vegan community. I don’t think it would have had the same impact if we’d called it a veg fest.

If you’re considering starting a vegan fest in your city, I recommend you call it what it is. Practically speaking, it sets the fest apart. There are only a handful of vegan festivals that I know of – Brighton, Italy, Chicago and Madison. It gets the word “vegan” out into the public. And it’s an honest statement that veganism is the ethical ideal we should be attempting – not just humane meat or vegetarianism. Not many people arrive at veganism overnight, but once veganism is placed as the goal, people know where they’re going. And the fest plays a part in helping them get there.

What was the planning process like? Did you approach people to get involved, or did volunteers contact you?
I’d just moved back to Madison, and this was my first time engaging with the vegan community, so I knew pretty much no one. Lynn recruited some of her friends for our first meeting. Soon after, my brother and his girlfriend made a website, and people contacted us through the website. One of the people who contacted me became my wonderful co-organizer, Courtney Mayhew. Though a number of volunteers were involved peripherally, we had a core group of 8 – 10 volunteers who cared as much as I did, and who truly put in the time and effort. And Courtney put in about ten times as much effort as anyone else.

I want to emphasize that I had never organized an event like this before. I had never organized such a large group of people before. I had never even done any vegan activism! But we had a shared dream, and we were willing to put in the work. The Mad City Veg Fest started that way, the Portland Veg Fest started that way, the NOLA Veg Fest started that way, and yours will too.

What advice would you give to a group of vegans interested in starting a vegfest in their city?
You should do it! Seriously. It doesn’t take as much money as you think it does. It doesn’t take as much skill as you think it does. It takes hard work and time, and it requires a small group of dedicated volunteers.

At some point, I’d like to put a DIY vegan fest page up on the website, but I’m not organized enough to have made it yet. So for now, you should just email me and we will set up a time to talk. You can do it! You can organize a vegan fest! And it will be the best experience of your life.

What other vegan-related projects and organizations are you involved in?
Remember Lynn, the co-director of Alliance for Animals? Actually, she just hired me this September as their Vegan Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator. So I have a part time job doing activism! My life is the best! I’m still organizing Vegan Fest 2012, but looking to hand off the reins soon so I can be a more conscientious college student. And I’m a member of the UW Animal Rights Society, a new group full of vegans and animal rights activists my own age!

Really all I do is music (I’m a music ed major at UW) and vegan stuff. But those are the things I love, and I consider myself very lucky to spend all my time doing what I love.

What are your favorite restaurants and meals to cook at home?
Such a hard question! I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite restaurants that might not be as well known as the others – Thai Noodles in Fitchburg. Every time I’m home, I get their Panang Curry with tofu, and it’s the best. I’m so happy just thinking about it!

My favorite go to recipes are my brother’s hummus, marinated tofu from one of the Moosewood cookbooks, and my mother’s pesto. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with tempeh bacon from Vegan Brunch, and my mom and I have been playing around with gluten free baking. My favorite meal, however, is quinoa with roasted vegetables. I like simple foods.

Thank you, Hannah! Can’t wait for Mad City Vegan Fest 2012!

University Thursday: Louzilla, and a call to help out for the Animals Sanctuary!

It’s University Thursday! Last week it was young vegan Thursday. I’m not really sure what the official name of MoFo Thursday is around here, but I’ll let it be known that all these interviewees are either matriculating, preschool age, or somewhere in between. It’s very specific.

Today’s interviewee is Louzilla Ryan! She’s a professional writing major at Kutztown University and the president of her school’s Vegetarian Education Group. She was a live-in caregiver briefly at the Watkin’s Glen Farm Sanctuary and is now on the board of for the Animals Sanctuary in Blairstown, NJ. Louzilla also teaches dance classes and has some mad hoop dancing skills.

I met Louzilla over 5 years ago on the PPK Forums and we’ve been seeing each other in real life 1-3 times a year since then, most recently at Vida Vegan Con! She blogs over on Louzilla Lovegood Letters, and you can find her on Twitter.

Molly kisses!

What is your favorite restaurant meal ever? Favorite dessert?
There are so many awesome vegan-friendly restaurants out there, it’s hard to choose! I’m going to have to say the garbage plate pizza at Stronghearts in Syracuse, NY. It has a super thick crust topped with french fries, “sausage” crumbles, mac and cheese, and tons of Daiya. This of course gets washed down with a super thick milkshake… so unhealthy, but so good!

Of course my favorite dessert is anything from Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, PA! I have to say that because it’s close by and all, but it’s also true. Just don’t try to make me pick one favorite from there, everything is amazing!

When and why did you become vegan? Was it a challenge being young and the only vegan in your family?
Well, I went vegetarian when I was 14, simply because I didn’t like meat. I then found out about the Post Punk Kitchen community, where I learned all about the horrors of how animals are treated in the dairy and egg industries, and went vegan in about a year and a half. It was a bit of a challenge, but right from the time I told my mom I was going vegetarian she told me I had to cook my own meals… luckily I found out I love to cook!

The hardest part for me was making the commitment to being fully vegan. I was transitioning for quite a while, and kept saying I would be vegan sometime in the future, when I went away for college or something and wouldn’t have to deal with family. Finally I realized I was just being a hypocrite, making bullshit excuses for myself, and decided I could no longer do that. I’m very lucky to have an extremely supportive nuclear family as well as the community on PPK that has become a family to me.

What is your style of activism? What advice would you give to someone interested in getting involved in activism and doesn’t know where to begin?
I don’t think I have one style of activism, I’m all over the place. Sanctuary work has definitely become my biggest form of activism recently though. There are a number of sanctuaries that rescue animals from the food industry and let them live out their lives happily, and so many smaller sanctuaries (such as for the Animals, where I work) don’t get much love for all the hard work they do. Not only do they rescue and rehabilitate animals, but they provide an amazing educational resource. They teach others about the cruelties of the industry and let them connect firsthand with farm animals.

[Hint, hint, the donating instructions at the end of this post are great forms of activism!]

When I first got into activism, I did a lot of work with Humane Teen (now HSUS Student Outreach). They had a lot of resources and projects to help me find how to get involved. Though PETA and HSUS aren’t for me, I definitely recommend them as starting points if you’re interested in getting involved and don’t know where to begin. I also learned a lot from the PPK community about effective activism, getting involved, DIY, and how not to be a shitty vegan.

What kind of advice would you give to other students interested in starting a vegan group at their school? What is your job as president and what kind of events does the group present?
Probably the most important advice I could give other students is to expect to do most of the work yourself. And running a successful group is a lot of work! A lot of times you’ll find many people who are interested in joining the group, but when it comes down to needing help with things they flake on you. High school and college students are really rather apathetic, or too worried about getting their schoolwork done.

As president of VEG I’m highly involved in planning and setting up of events, leading weekly meetings, networking with other on- and off-campus groups, and representing VEG as the vegetarian/vegan voice at Kutztown. Our group does a lot of vegan bake sales and movie nights as well as bringing in some speakers to talk about different aspects of veg*nism. We also participate in local on- and off-campus events such as Earth Day in April and Love Your Body Day in October.

Is VEG advertised as an animal rights group? What factors affect the type of audience you draw in?
We are not advertised as an animal rights group, but a large part of our focus is on animal rights. Since there are no other veg groups on our meat-loving campus, we try to be a unifying voice for all vegetarians and vegans at the university. As such, our events and campaigns cover a wide variety of topics related to a plant-based diet such as health, environment, and human welfare in addition to animal rights. That said, we are pretty involved in helping stop pigeon shoots in PA, which is an issue that is very local and I feel very pertinent to the group.

What kinds of upcoming (or future) vegan-related projects do you have planned right now?
Right now I’m working on a number of things for for the Animals Sanctuary, because one of their cofounders just left, causing a major financial crisis for the sanctuary. I’m in the middle of putting together a vegan cookzine to raise money for them. I’ve also been working on a VEG guide to Kutztown to advertise the good food options local restaurants have to offer and show the campus and local community that there are good meatless options.

Thanks, Louzilla!

There are several ways to help out for the Animals Sanctuary right now:

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is currently running a charity auction for the Sanctuary with PPK Aprons, and there is a rumor she’ll be auctioning the Crass shirt she wore on the cover of Vegan with a Vengeance. There’s a little over a day left to bid on the aprons, so GO BID.
You could be the proud owner of that very same apron John McDevitt is wearing!

A straight up donation to for the Animals on their website.

Organize an emergency bake sale in your community. Here and here are some great bake sale tips.

If you live near Blairstown, NJ, you can attend their visiting days or work parties.

If you can’t donate (this one is the easiest, quickest, and can be just as effective), use Twitter, Facebook, and blogging to spread the word! People will see your message, pass it on, and it will reach more people than if you didn’t say anything because you couldn’t donate. What to say in your post? I think Louzilla worded it perfectly in her answer:

“one of their cofounders just left, causing a major financial crisis for the sanctuary”

Pull out your wallets and get your typing fingers ready! I’m going to try and resist ranting about people on Kickstarter and their vacuous attempts to con people into funding their vacations and shit when they could be using some of that money to give to charities and organizations that need it like THIS ONE, but…oops. Don’t let my anger sway your actions.
Donate to for the Animals Sanctuary!

Vegan Baker Wednesday: Jess of Compassionate Cake

It’s Vegan Baker Wednesday!

Today’s vegan baker is Jess of Compassionate Cake, a new business based in Milwaukee. I met Jess after finding her cupcakes at a bake sale earlier this year. She has been making consistently amazing and impressive baked goods and I’ve been lucky enough to try lots of them! Jess provides cupcakes for a local, volunteer-run coffee shop on the East Side, Brewing Grounds for Change. Together, they just launched a Kickstarter to raise money for a commercial oven so Compassionate Cake can have a storefront! Please consider donating! The fundraising will run through October and there are t-shirts, free cupcakes, and more in it for contributors. Help a great cause-starting up an amazing vegan bakery in Milwaukee! Instead of, you know, funding someone’s vacation or burning desire to own a Vitamix. But let’s not derail the introduction to such a wonderful person. Jess makes beautiful baked goods and she also has a kind heart.

I mean, look:

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust. And it was my birthday cake!

Look at even more photos!

Now let’s talk to Jess!

What was your experience going to culinary school and how has working with food influenced your decision to be a vegan baker?
Culinary school was pretty tough! I was a vegetarian at the time (in the mid 90′s) and being so caused some eyebrows to be raised and some evil looks. Even though I graduated with good marks, I did fail exams due to the fact that my chicken wasn’t seasoned enough or that the beef tenderloin was cooked to the wrong temp. I even remember there was a field trip to the slaughterhouse! Needless to say, I was absent that day! I never backed down on my morals on animals and how I feel about them. Sticking to my guns was what pulled me through.
I have always known that I wanted to be a chef from early on. Maybe it was too many re-runs of Three’s Company with Jack Tripper being a chef! I would read cookbooks like they were novels. First, It was The Joy of Cooking, next I read all of Julia Child’s books, soon it was vintage cookbooks found at rummage sales. My Grandma would renew my subscription to Bon Appetite every year for Christmas. Even though these books and magazines taught you how to cook and prepare meat, there was still a lot of other great information in them that didn’t pertain to meat.

Were you involved in art before cake decorating and how did you become so skillful at what you do?
That’s very nice of you to say:) My parents were always involving art in mine and my sister’s life. I remember us being in a lot of art classes growing up. Both my parents are really crafty. My mom is a great crafter and embroiderer and my dad does beautiful stained glass work. My sister is an excellent drawer. Instead of going out a lot as a kid, I would buy a container of Betty Crocker canned frosting and practice decorating over and over day after day. I remember it took me forever to master a shell border! When most kids were outside playing after school, I would beg my mom if I could make cookies or petite fours and I would play with marzipan like it was play-doh. I was a weird kid!

In addition to making cupcakes and cakes, you are working on French pastry. And you have sparkly Marie Antoinette business cards! What kinds of recipes are you creating and how did you become inspired by European-style bakery?
I have always been interested in France. I am French and Belgium on my mother’s side so maybe that’s where the fascination comes from. It is known that I have ancestors who ran a bakery in Belgium and the King and Queen used to send their servants there daily for their bakery. That’s where the Marie Antoinette business cards come in! As a nod to my ancestors. Baking is in my blood! I like to do European style bakery because it is not usually vegan friendly. I guess it is my way of proving that anything can be made vegan! I love to make Greek Baklava, Italian Pizzelle cookies, French Macaroons, etc. I worked forever on the right pate a choux for creme puffs and eclairs. I currently am trying to master the French Madeline and Ladyfingers. Those have been a little rough!

You bake for Brewing Grounds for Change, a cooperative coffee shop in Milwaukee. What is that experience like and what opportunities have come out of it so far?
Brewing Grounds has been AMAZING to me! I cannot even begin to tell you how kind they have been. They are so open to ideas and give me complete creative free will. They truly are a joy to work with! Every one of them! Right now, we just launched a Kickstarter program that is raising money to help buy an oven. That way I can bake right there in the shop. I am hoping to bring in vegan baked goods that you do not normally see such as gourmet cheezecakes, rice krispie squares, cakes by the slice, and maybe some artisan chocolates. Also, personalized special occasion cakes and wedding cakes.

What has the process of creating your business been like? What are your core objectives and values?
I am proud that I stand behind an all vegan based business. I have had a few inquires about if I did anything that was non vegan or that I was willing to. My reply is no. I feel that there are too many food businesses out there that offer maybe 1 or 2 items that are vegan. I like to have everything vegan so that there is no guessing. It makes vegans happy and animals happy too:)

What is the vegan scene like in Milwaukee and what are your favorite vegan food spots?
I think the vegan scene in Milwaukee is awesome! I have had the pleasure in meeting some wonderful people! You, Colleen, (from Vegan Milwaukee) Steph, (from Milwaukee Vegan Bake Sale) and Lindsay are some of the nicest I have met in a long time! As far as the food goes in Milwaukee, it is no secret that I LOVE The Comet!!! It is my was my first and still is my favorite! I also really love Bel Air Cantina! Anodyne makes a mean soy latte. Brewing Grounds for Change makes the best Dirty Chai. Through Vegan Milwaukee I found the little gem known as Babe’s for the Espresso Oreo Soy ice cream.

Thank you, Jess!
Please follow Compassionate Cake on Facebook, and donate to help open the storefront at Brewing Grounds!

Mo Buffy Tuesday

Welcome to week two of Buffy Tuesday! I present you with Mo of Mo Betta Vegan! She always does the greatest MoFo posts: this year, it’s Mandy Moore Movie Monday, and last year, a series of cooking shows called Mo Betta Vegan with the best opening credits ever. We finally met in person at Vida Vegan Con this summer, where she was one of the creators of Vegan Battle Royale, game show extraordinaire. Needless to say, Mo is super cool and a lot of fun! She also loves Buffy!

Buffy Update: I’m in the middle of season 5.

Onward to the questions!

Where do you live now? What are the vegan options like?
I live in Southern California, about 30 minutes south of Palm Springs. There are two Native Foods, a few veggie cafes, and a decent amount of vegan friendly grocery stores. Oh, and a gang of Trader Joe’s, but the closest Whole Foods is 100 miles away. I suppose it’s not so bad. My husband and I have driven to LA for really good vegan sushi before which is something I never did back home.

What is your typical week of cooking?
A typical week of cooking varies for us. I always love myself some Tex Mex (barbecue, tacos, fajitas, soul food), but we eat a lot of international cuisine otherwise. I get into these modes where all I want is Ethiopian, Caribbean, or Indian. I especially love anything that contains garlic and cilantro.

Name your Buffy favorites: season, episodes, main and secondary characters, quotes.
Hands down, season two is my favorite! It has it all: Angelus, epic romance, murder, revenge, and Kendra “Call Me Now for Your Free Tarot Readin’” the Vampire Slayer. I cannot pick a single favorite episode, but I love Once More with Feeling, The Zeppo, Hush, The Body, Passion, and Band Candy. As for characters, my love for Xander knows no bounds!!! He’s the funniest character to me and the most human. He is just an average guy who says bonehead things sometimes, but he has the best intentions…mostly. I think the quote I say most often from the show is, “You’re not wrong.” Also, any time I want to change the subject as somebody enters the room I say, “That’s a very interesting point about trout…”

If you were to create a four-course (or as many courses as you want!) Buffy-themed dinner party, what would be on the menu?
Roasted garlic soup with cross croutons. The Harvest Salad (spinach, pear, micro greens, pepitas, and blood red beet vinaigrette). They-Got-The-Mustard-Out Cutlets and Buffy’s Whipped Potatoes. Band Candy Cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with Jokerz piece baked in, vanilla buttercream, salted caramel drizzle, chopped roasted peanuts).

What inspired Mo Betta Vegan, the cooking show you started during MoFo last year? Any plans to continue it?
MoFo inspires me to do things that scare the fork outta me. Doing a show is something I wanted to do for a long time, but I never had the ovaries to do before. I am a procrastinating fool, so I never got around to doing more episodes. I kinda realized doing a show was harder than I initially thought. I’m hoping to do some episodes this MoFo season, but we’ll see how it goes.

What Buffy character do you most relate to and why?
I think of myself as a cross between Spike and Buffy. I have the soul of a poet, much like Spike. He is just very emotionally open and brutally honest. He knows what he wants in life and fears very little. Then, I have this other side that is a bit closed off and protective of myself, much like Buffy. She’s a fighter and has such a great amount of pressure on her, which I find completely relatable. I’ve always walked this balance of being fierce and fragile. My family, mostly, just calls it being a Gemini. Ha!

Thanks, Mo! Buffy Tuesday is so exciting. I really need to continue it after MoFo.

Midwest Monday: Colleen of Vegan Milwaukee

Midwest Monday continues with the first Milwaukee Monday! Today’s interview is with Colleen, the creator of Vegan Milwaukee. I met Colleen at a vegan meetup last year, and just last weekend we ate at Palomino and shared a Tiki Love Bowl at At Random, for my birthday with our own little meetup group. Colleen also attended Vida Vegan Con in August.

Follow Colleen on Twitter, and Facebook, where she posts all of the current vegan-related news in Milwaukee.

Questions? Questions!

How long have you been vegan in Milwaukee? What is your favorite meal and dessert here?
I’ve been vegan since 2004, vegetarian since 1998 and lived in the Milwaukee area my whole life. I’ve had some great meals here and my favorites are always changing, but I’ll always have a place in my heart for the vegan Reuben from Comet Café—that was one of those sandwiches I was trying to veganize years ago and never got quite right. Then, in about 2005 or 2006, I discovered their version with Field Roast and it satisfied that craving I had for so long. As for dessert, the Raspberry Nebula Soy or Espresso Oreo Soy at Babe’s Ice Cream is one of my favorite summer desserts. My other favorites are all the delicious cupcakes and cookies made by my awesome vegan baker friends!

What is Vegan Milwaukee and why did you create it?
VeganMilwaukee.com is a website I put together to gather all the vegan-friendly elements of the Milwaukee area. Over the years I had made a list of restaurants and stores that made my (vegan) life easier and I wanted to share that with everyone. In addition, there are several vegan and animal rights organizations doing great things in the community and I wanted to put those all in one place so that like-minded people could find them and get involved. One excellent side-effect of my efforts was that local restaurants, stores, salons and other businesses are starting to see how many potential vegan customers there are in Milwaukee and they’re actually reaching out to us for ideas on what they can offer to gain some loyal vegan customers.

What was your involvement in the Milwaukee vegan community before Vegan Milwaukee and how has it changed since you started the website?
Before I created Vegan Milwaukee I had attended several Meetups and the yearly M.A.R.V. Vegan Thanksgivings, but never got too involved. I did meet a handful of really great people, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do from there. Once I started getting active with the website and social media, I was overwhelmed by how many vegans there were in the city and how many of them never went to any of the organized events, for whatever reason. I was excited to be able to communicate with them and share ideas even though we didn’t see each other face-to-face. I’m hoping that by having this central point for all things vegan that the community in Milwaukee will become tighter and more people will want to come out and experience great food and make some new friends. I think it’s inspiring that there are vegans of all ages, backgrounds, and interests in our area and it’s really beneficial for us to put our heads together and continue making Milwaukee a great place for vegans.

Veganism has gone through some drastic changes recently. What new vegan options and opportunities have become available in Milwaukee in the past few years?
In 2004 (when I went vegan), there were very few restaurants that had any vegan offering. Essentially I only went to ethnic places where I knew I could order something that was “naturally” vegan. Although Fuel, Comet Café and Beans & Barley had some options, they were still very few…and then, Palomino arrived on the scene. Suddenly I could go out for sandwiches and fried food that I never experienced as a vegan before. Since then Comet expanded from a small café to a full restaurant and many other local restaurants have expanded their vegan options as well. I think it’s amazing that Milwaukee has four places where you can get vegan biscuits and gravy (one of my favorite brunch items), five places you can get vegan pizza WITH vegan cheese, one officially vegan bakery and tons of other local vegan bakers, and as I mentioned before…vegan ice cream! Milwaukee has really come a long way in 7 years and it just keeps getting easier and easier to find great vegan food. [I've only lived here for a little over 2 years, so it's great to hear about the strides veganism has made before that!]

What is the involvement of social media in Vegan Milwaukee?
Social media has really expanded my vegan horizons overall, so when I started the website, I knew that both Facebook and Twitter were going to be a big part of the effort. Twitter has been a great place to connect with people. I have a search set up that allows me to see anyone asking the Twitterverse where they can find vegan food in Milwaukee. I try to answer as promptly as I can and give recommendations when asked. It has been exciting to talk to all kinds of visitors to the area including bands, artists, and other great vegan folks. Facebook has been an excellent resource for sharing posts from other animal-rights/vegan organizations and for posting all those photos of vegan food from local restaurants. It’s a good way to have impromptu discussions as well.

You were just recently at Vida Vegan Con. What kinds of ideas did you bring back from the conference, and vegan-related traveling in general?
Vida Vegan Con was amazing—to see all these sincere, like-minded people in one place makes you feel like veganism is really growing.

One of the main areas I’m hoping to expand is my restaurant listing. Currently it’s just a list with a few comments on what’s available, but not a lot of opinions or reviews. It was really interesting to hear how some of the other vegan city websites address doing restaurant reviews and how it can be challenging to deal with a bad experience. I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to approach it, but I’m hoping to make the restaurant listings more robust by the end of the year. Ideas are welcomed!

Thank you, Colleen! Now come visit us, everyone! Midwest Monday will continue next week, and Buffy Tuesday is tomorrow, woooo!

Interview with Kristen Blackmore of Treewool Vegan Knitwear

On Fridays, I’ll be talking to the people behind your favorite vegan products, and vegan small businesses!

Based in San Francisco, Kristen Blackmore is the creator of Treewool Vegan Knitwear. After recently launching her business, Kristen has been traveling to vegfests with her beautiful work. She also has a blog entirely devoted to mac n cheese, The Noochy Noodle.

How did Treewool begin? Did you start the blog in anticipation of creating a knitwear line or did the project evolve from it?

I started my knitting blog by the same name, Treewool, after graduating from college and finding myself unemployed, broke, and bored. I was knitting by hand nonstop and decided I wanted to share my projects with the world, and help make a resource for other vegan knitters out there. I did have the idea at the time of writing and designing patterns for hand knitters and publishing them on the blog, but that project never came to fruition. I went back to college for knitwear design where I learned machine knitting, and when I decided to start my little line it just seemed to make sense to keep the name I had grown rather fond of and just sort of segway my blog into being more focused on the line.

How did art and fashion design school facilitate your progress with Treewool?

Something I say a lot lately is “school is exactly like real life”. Which is actually an understatement. Since starting Treewool I’m still working right up against deadlines, breaking down in tears from the stress, pulling all-nighters to finish projects, and I don’t have much of a social life to speak of. I thought I would be done with that when I graduated, but no. Besides stamina, I think college ultimately gave me the tools to organize projects efficiently, and an appreciation and respect for professionalism that is invaluable.

Where have you showcased your work so far (online and in person)? What has the experience been like?
I constantly feel like I am so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community of like-minded folks supporting me from the very beginning. I really can’t believe the success my little, handmade business has had so far. Putting your work out in the world is definitely scary, but also rewarding. It is disappointing when things don’t work out like you think they will, and it’s hard not to take it personally, but I’m learning to step back and say, “okay, that didn’t work, what’s next?”.

What kinds of questions do people ask you about Treewool? What about people who aren’t vegan?

Not many folks use knitting machines these days, so people don’t really understand what exactly goes into making my pieces. I am proud to say everything I create is entirely handmade. My knitting machine is entirely manually operated, does not have any sort of electronics, or a motor, it’s really more of a knitting loom. I have to put a lot of physical exertion into each project!

Folks who aren’t vegan are really into it because they love that my business is eco-concious and handmade. People love the fibers I use, and I’m pretty sure touching a scarf made entirely of bamboo for the first time is something akin to a religious experience.

In your opinion, what is the method for making the best mac n cheese at home?
I like anything with cashews, potatoes, and carrots involved. Oh, plus lots of nutrional yeast! To me the cashews gives the sauce a great flavor and the potatoes and carrots do wonders for the texture. There are a handful of recipes I make repeatedly like the New Farm recipe, because I’m secretly a 1970′s hippie vegan at heart, or the Vegan Diner recipe, but I love trying out everything I can get my hands on.

Name your top three restaurant mac n cheese dishes.
Homegrown Smoker in Portland is my top choice, without a doubt. I dream about it at night. I also love the Smoked Macaroni and Cheese from Sage Vegan Bistro in LA, and the Vegan Mac from Homeroom in Oakland.

What do you like to do when you’re not knitting and eating mac n cheese?
Not a lot! That’s my life. I am trapped in a prison of noodles and yarn. Just kidding, sort of. I like to pet my adorable kitties, and take long walks around San Francisco, and read. I’m also a budding animal rights activist and try and to get involved in whatever is going on in the Bay Area whenever I have time.

Thanks, Kristen!

An Interview with The Corinne

I’m kicking off college student/young vegan Thursdays with a very young vegan, Corinne!

Corinne is a vegan living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s three and a half years old and the coolest kid ever. She’s absolutely hilarious, so much fun to hang out with, and even has her own Twitter account, @corinnisms.

Corinne rolling down hills on the UC Berkeley campus sporting a Panda with Cookie shirt, when I spent the afternoon with her and her mom and dad:

What is your favorite restaurant to eat at?
Metasushi (which doesn’t exist, her real favorite is Natures Express).

If you could be any animal, what would you want to be?
A cow. Because I want to eat like a cow.

What’s your favorite food? Favorite cupcake?
Noodles! Chocolate Cupcakes!

Why are you vegan?
Because I love being vegan. I love the bock bock chickens.

Tell me a story about unicorns.
Oh yea. One day a unicorn came here and someday it was died. Then I tiptoed into the forest and saw a died unicorn with a magic horn. Then, clip clop, then when the skeleton came. Then it was magic. Magic magic magic. It was magic with me and mommy and daddy.

If you could put anything in the world on top of a pancake, what would it be?
CHOCOLATE!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A firefighter. A butterfly.

Thank you, Corinne (and Wayne)! I really like your answers! Tomorrow’s interviewee also resides in the Bay Area…who could it be?

Vegan Baker Wednesday: Brian and Sandi of Canary Confectionery

It’s Vegan Baker Wednesday! My first interviewees are Sandi and Brian of Canary Confectionery, a baking company based in Chicago’s west suburbs. I met them at Mad City Vegan Fest in June, then we met up in Chicago a few times after that throughout the summer. They started selling their baked goods because there is almost nowhere to get vegan treats without going to bigger cities and they wanted to change that. Sandi and Brian visited Milwaukee over the weekend and we went to Palomino Bar for some delicious deep fried food: hush puppies, onion rings, fried pickles, wingz, BBQ seitan, mmmmm. They also brought me a bunny cake for my birthday! Needless to say, they are amazing! They will be at Chicago VeganMania next month selling sweet treats, and Brian will be on a fitness panel because he’s a baker AND a vegan bodybuilder. How cool is that?!

Vegan baker cake and tea party.

With local vegans there is the option for video interviews, so here’s the first one of the month!

Thanks Brian and Sandi! Find Canary Confectionery on Facebook and check out Brian’s vegan bodybuilding site, Strong Vegan. I’ll continue Vegan Baker Wednesday next week, but what will tomorrow bring? Oooooh!

Buffy Tuesday: Katie

I’d like to introduce Tuesday’s theme…vegans who like Buffy! The first interview of this series is with the best possible person for this series, my friend Katie! In fact, it was her idea. I needed a new TV show to watch last month and Katie and a bunch of other vegans really love Buffy, so I just started watching last month. I’m only on season 4 (near the very end of it, if that counts for anything!), so maybe this theme is a little bit cheating, but WHATEVER. I’ve been powering through episodes and neglecting other parts of my life instead.

Katie writes the blog Don’t Eat Off The Sidewalk and the (now defunct) cookzines of the same name, in which you can find the famous Tempeh Wingz and Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. I met her several years ago on The PPK forums. Now we’re sisters according to Facebook and she’s one of my favorite people ever, so of course I wanted to interview her in her element, Buffy!
Katie’s favorite main character is Anya and her favorite secondary character is Andrew. And on favorite episodes, she says “for laughs, Something Blue (season 4), for sadness, The Body (season 5)”.

Find Katie over at her blog and follow her on Twitter. Onward, to the questions!

What are your favorite meals and desserts to make?
My favorite meals to make and things to bake are the kind that take awhile to cook, but not a lot of active effort, like stews or quick breads. A stew that has simmered for two hours while I watch a movie, or banana bread that bakes while I clean up the kitchen is the best. I think you get a lot of payoff for your effort, and since you already had time to clean up, you can just eat and then fall into a food coma.

What would be your ultimate Buffy-inspired vegan dinner menu?
I have a whole list and I am seriously considering starting a Whedon food blog after the craziness of MoFo has died down! Off the top of my head, things that are easy would be Yummy Sushi, cookie dough, and Ted’s mini pizzas, don’t forget to pan-fry the crust in olive oil and herbs!

Veganize some episodes! I’ll go first: Bad Egg Replacers
Go Fish Free
The Butter Replacement
Once More, With Peeling Garlic
Seeing Red Dye #4, Ew!

Do you have a collection of Buffy memorabilia?
Oh boy, do I! I have a huge box of comics, action figures (and the library playset to display them in), plushes, statuettes a few books…I even have a custom made wooden purse and an evil baby that is based on Lorne (from Angel) that were presents from my friend, Felicia. I put my vampire Angel figure on top of my Christmas tree, every year.

Sadly, I don’t have a place to display anything right now so pretty much everything is in storage.

How did you get started with the zines? What is writing a zine like?
When I first went vegan five years ago, blogs didn’t come with cookbook deals yet, so most of the vegan books I could buy were zines. I thought it was something that would be fun to do, so for the first one I took a bunch of recipes that I had been making for years as a vegetarian and veganized them. The tempeh wingz in there were new, and it makes me happy that even one thing I ever made up is so well-liked.

Even though there are a lot of vegan books now, I still think there is a place for zines. With a zine, you have no publisher telling you what you should name it, or that you can’t cuss. I rarely write recipes, but when I do, I want them to be funny and I like to say ‘fuck’ and ‘shit’ a lot. It’s a lot of fun and it’s very freeing to make something all on your own. I stopped writing zines because I got tired of the part where I had to deal with Kinkos and the post office, but I would still encourage anyone else to make one.

You just did a raffle on your blog to raise money for Ride to Light. What is your take on activism? What kinds of activism can everyone can get involved in?
I think shy people need to realize that they can be activists too! You don’t have to hand out flyers, or collect signatures, or talk to people. Did you know that most animal shelters consider cat socializing a form of volunteering? My husband and I do that sometimes, I used to take pictures of the cats so the main cat lady knows me, and I usually end up asking for a brush and I just spend an hour letting cats wander in and out of my lap, brushing them.

Another simple form of activism: share other people’s fundraisers. One of the most frustrating things about trying to raise money isn’t that people won’t donate $5 for whatever reason (it’s a close second), it’s that they won’t even retweet your link or share it on facebook! It literally takes a minute, costs you absolutely nothing, and if a single person donates because of it, you did help.

Speaking of which, Carrie from Vegan Coupons, along with her husband, are currently taking donations for their yearly raffle to benefit Child’s Play, which provides toys and games to sick children in hospitals. Every dollar gets you a raffle ticket to win video games and other nerdy delights, and every dime goes straight to the charity.

What are the best/worst uses of Kickstarter you’ve seen?
I think tricking strangers on the internet into funding your road trip is GENIUS.

But seriously, I have no problem with Kickstarter, as long as donors truly get something out of it. There’s a similar site just for musicians, and they usually have anything from a pre-order of the album, t-shirts, etc. Juliana Hatfield offered to write songs for people to raise money for her album (among a zillion other things), and she ended up raising 400% of her goal. Saying that if I give you $5 to achieve your dream will get me warm fuzzies does nothing for me. I would rather put that $5 into the hands of an animal shelter.

Oh, and since this is Buffy Tuesday, I will leave you with: It eats you, starting with your bottom.

Thank you, Katie! Tune in next week for the second installment of Buffy Tuesday. The theme for tomorrow could be one of two things, depending on how big of a fight I get into with iMovie tonight!