A vegan superstar is selling teal cats to help cat rescue programs make ends meet!

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is one of my cooking heroes, no question. I’ve been following her since I bought a DVD of her public access cooking show, The Post Punk Kitchen, and I own almost every single one of her vegan cookbooks. She’s an amazing cook, and now you can add that she’s an amazing fundraiser to her list of achievements!

What is the Teal Cat Project?(. . .)
Click here to read on!

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Post tags: animal rights, cat rescue, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, teal cat project, vegan, veganism

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/11/11/the-teal-cat-project/feed/ 0 http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/10/24/vegan-mofo-quote-of-the-day/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/10/24/vegan-mofo-quote-of-the-day/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:41:54 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5799

The amazing folks at Vegan Mainstream put this on their Facebook page this morning, and it really struck me:

(. . .)Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2011. | Permalink | Comment Post tags: Food, vegan, [...]]]>

The amazing folks at Vegan Mainstream put this on their Facebook page this morning, and it really struck me:

(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2011. | Permalink | Comment
Post tags: Food, vegan, Vegan Mofo, vegan mofo 2011, veganism, veganmofo

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/10/24/vegan-mofo-quote-of-the-day/feed/ 0 http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/09/21/vegan-crafting/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/09/21/vegan-crafting/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:00:05 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5728

So, before I headed out on vacation, I shared those awesome vegan feathers. Vegan crafting is something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. So much, in fact, that I wrote a whole series on vegan crafting for Crafting a Green World. While I firmly believe that a vegan lifestyle [...]]]>

So, before I headed out on vacation, I shared those awesome vegan feathers. Vegan crafting is something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. So much, in fact, that I wrote a whole series on vegan crafting for Crafting a Green World. While I firmly believe that a vegan lifestyle is better for the planet than one that relies on animal products, I think it’s also important to understand that vegan doesn’t automatically mean eco-friendly.

Sure, fresh fruits and veggies are lower impact than meat products, and they’re definitely lighter on the animal cruelty. The same goes for something like organic cotton when you compare the impact (and cruelty) to leather. Like with vegan food, though, things get a little bit dicey when you start talking about substitutions for animal products. Here are a couple of examples and some rules of thumb for making green choices when working around animal products in your crafting.

Wool Felt vs. Synthetic Felt

If you’re staying away from animal products, wool felt is on the no-fly list, but what’s a vegan crafter to do instead? The easiest answer is to use synthetic felt, but synthetic felt is a petroleum product. That means it’s basically plastic. There are a couple of options for a vegan crafter that wants to keep it green without supporting the wool industry:

1. Recycled felt. Kunin makes eco-fi felt that’s created by recycling plastic soda bottles. I have had a hard time finding this stuff in stores, but Felt-o-Rama and Create for Less both stock a nice range of colors. I’ve bought from both companies, and they both ship quickly and have great customer service.
2. Reused felt. This one might not be an option, depending on why veganism is important to you, but! If it’s about the wool industry for you, you might be OK with felting wool sweaters from the thrift store. Technically, your goodies are not going to be vegan, but some vegans are OK with second hand leather and wool. I tend to avoid all animal products when I’m crafting, but I wanted to throw this out there as an option, for folks who are comfortable with it.

Leather vs. Vinyl

Leather is a no-no if you’re a vegan crafter, and the trouble with vinyl is the same as the problem with synthetic felt: it’s essentially a sheet of plastic. That’s no good, if you’re trying to keep things eco-friendly! Honestly, my solution to the leather problem has been to just focus on crafts that don’t call for leather. If you’re determined, reclaimed leather is one option. Like with reclaimed wool, though, this isn’t really vegan crafting, and it depends on your comfort level and why you chose veganism.

Some googling turned up a few vinyl producers claiming that their product is green, but I haven’t found any that I’m crazy about. If anyone has suggestions for eco-friendly vinyl alternatives, I’d love to hear them!

Vegan Crafting

In my experience, the best workaround when it comes to animal products in crafting has been to just focus on crafts that don’t call for them. If you’re looking for a substitution for animal products, I think it’s important to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How was this produced? Was the process toxic?
2. What is this product made of?
3. What will happen to this material when it’s outlived its usefulness?

Really, I think those are the three questions that any green crafter lives by, and it’s no different for vegan crafters.

I’d love to hear from the vegan crafters out there! What do you guys do to keep it green? Have you found any eco-friendly substitutions for animal products in crafting? Share away!

Related Posts:

• Anatomy of a Vegan
• Why Green Crafting?
• The Teal Cat Project

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Post tags: going green, green crafting, green crafts, vegan, vegan crafting, veganism

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/09/21/vegan-crafting/feed/ 0 http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/29/vegan-feathers/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/29/vegan-feathers/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:00:58 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5696 I love all of the pretty feather imagery out in crafty land lately, but since feathers come from birds, they’re not a vegan craft supply. I shared a tutorial last week at Green Upgrader on how to make your own vegan feathers for craft projects, and I just stumbled upon [...]]]> I love all of the pretty feather imagery out in crafty land lately, but since feathers come from birds, they’re not a vegan craft supply. I shared a tutorial last week at Green Upgrader on how to make your own vegan feathers for craft projects, and I just stumbled upon these awesome paper feathers from Todolwen that are rocking my socks! She’s got a great tutorial showing you how to make your own paper feathers. She used pages from a hymnal, a dictionary, and a very old German text to make hers, but you could play around with all sorts of reclaimed paper for some really fun effects.

These would be lovely on a dream catcher, as part of a table centerpiece, or maybe even just framed in a shadow box and hung up on the wall!

Have you guys run across any other DIY vegan feathers? Sometimes, I really enjoy finding the vegan workaround for animal products, and with feathers there seem to be lots of cool handmade options out there for making vegan feathers!

Related Posts:

• How to Make a Fabric Scrap PomPom
• Is Vegan Crafting Always Green?
• Unusual Planters Made From Everyday Items

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Post tags: crafty reuse, feathers, paper crafts, repurposed, upcycled, vegan, vegan crafting, vegan crafts, vegan feathers

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/29/vegan-feathers/feed/ 0 http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/08/tomato-jam/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/08/tomato-jam/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:30:56 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5637

A friend pointed me to Mark Bittman’s tomato jam recipe, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. We’ve been getting beautiful tomatoes from Vegetable Husband, and Margie, the owner, was even kind enough to spare me a few extras last week, since my sister was in town. When those beautiful heirlooms landed on my [...]]]>

A friend pointed me to Mark Bittman’s tomato jam recipe, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. We’ve been getting beautiful tomatoes from Vegetable Husband, and Margie, the owner, was even kind enough to spare me a few extras last week, since my sister was in town. When those beautiful heirlooms landed on my doorstep, it was ON.

Normally, I’d have sliced those beauties up and eaten tomato sandwiches for a week, but this time I decided to go a different route. The only change I made to the Bittman recipe was using brown sugar instead of white, since we didn’t have any white sugar in the house.

Making and Eating Tomato Jam

Special thank you to my little sister for helping with the jam making! There’s a lot of stirring involved, and it was nice to be able to take turns minding the pot.

This was my first time making jam, and now that I know how easy it is, I want to make everything into jam! Basically, you chop everything up, dump it in the pot, and simmer for an hour or so. The trick I learned this go-round was to stir constantly once the jam starts to really thicken up, or it will stick to the sides and bottom of the pan. You don’t want to lose all of that jammy goodness!

I used it for the first time on a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich, and it was mind-blowing. The sandwich was super simple:

• whole grain bun
• Veganaise
• grilled mushroom cap
• tomato jam

Some friends came by on Tuesday, and we ate some more with crackers and Tofutti cream cheese. YUM!

Do you guys have any other ideas on how to serve tomato jam?

More Jam Adventures!

I picked up what I’m told was the last bag of peaches for the season at the Decatur Farmer’s Market last weekend, and I might try my hand at making some kind of peach and basil jam. Or maybe peach and pineapple sage? What do you guys think would be more fun? This is also assuming that I can refrain from devouring all of the peaches as-is…

The word is that our CSA basket might include figs sometime soon, and I just may try making jam out of that. Maybe with a little bit of ginger for good measure.

Have you guys done any jam-making? I’d love to hear what’s cooking!

Related Posts:

• Moroccan Preserved Meyer Lemons
• Peach Salsa with Cucumber and Mint
• Easy Dinner Idea: Vegan Hobo Dinner

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: jam, making jam, preserving food, tomato jam, vegan, vegan recipe

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]]> http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/08/08/tomato-jam/feed/ 4 http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/07/25/peach-salsa-with-cucumber-and-mint/ http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/2011/07/25/peach-salsa-with-cucumber-and-mint/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:13 +0000 Becky Striepe http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/?p=5596 Do you ever have one of those moments where you’re wanting to whip up a snack and you’d also really like to use some of the things in the fridge that are nearing [...]]]> Peach salsa is so refreshing in the summer, and adding cucumber and mint to the mix ups the cooling power even more!

Do you ever have one of those moments where you’re wanting to whip up a snack and you’d also really like to use some of the things in the fridge that are nearing the end of their days? This happened to me last week, and the results were super delicious!

I served up my peach salsa with chips for dipping, but I think it would be great over rice and veggies or alongside a spicy tofu dish.

Related Posts:

• Breaking: Tomato Jam is Delicious
• Easy Dinner Idea: Vegan Hobo Dinner
• Smoky Bean and Rice Casserole

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post tags: fruit salsa, mint recipe, peach salsa, peach salsa recipe, vegan, vegan recipe

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