Vegan MoFo is upon us! Vegan friendly relief good items: Vegan MoFo #1

Hey bloggers and readers! Last year I blogged every weekday of October in celebration of Vegan MoFo, or Vegan Month of Food. I had a blast and it really gave me the push I needed to be a frequent blogger.

What's Vegan MoFo, you ask? I quote from The Post Punk Kitchen's website:
"The idea is to write as much as you can for the month of October about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu - you get the idea. There is no strict guideline for how much you have to write, but we shoot for about 20 times a month, or every weekday."

Vegan MoFo is a blog event celebrated around the world in celebration and promotion of vegan food. If you're a local reader, excuse me when I sound like I'm talking to the international community.

I would have loved to start off MoFo #1 with something home-cooked or home-baked but maybe this post will be something completely different from what other Vegan MoFo bloggers would blog about. If you haven't heard the news, my beloved country, the Philippines, was hit by massive Typhoon Ondoy over last weekend, leaving 80% of Metro Manila completely flooded and half a million people displaced. I believe the death toll is 246, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Floods have reached over 10 feet high and they have not receded in some areas. People say that Ondoy is worse than Hurricane Katrina.

The great thing about the Filipino spirit is that we want to help out in any way we can. To be a Filipino in this state of calamity means giving your all for your fellow countrymen. No dependence on the government for us, nosiree (that's a whole different rant). Everyone has and is chipping in -- whether it's through donating relief goods, cash, or time to volunteer at packing centers or evacuation centers. Classes have been called off for the week and even the kids are helping out.

Flood refugees are in immediate need of food, and fast. The usual food care package a refugee and his/her family receive is composed of rice, canned goods (usually sardines, corned beef, and / or luncheon meat), instant noodles, and water. I'm not about to get on my high horse and say they shouldn't be eating meat. When you've lost your home and are struggling to survive and get your life on track, you definitely don't have the luxury of choosing what goes in your mouth.

But if you're someone who wants to donate to disaster victims and would like to give something different, let me enlighten you: give something vegan. Not only are vegan items more nutritious than their meat counterpart, they give you more bang for your buck.

Here are some food ideas one can donate to a refugee's care package:

1. Rice -- always a staple grain in Filipino cuisine and something that easily fills you up. White rice is of course more preferable, as it cooks more quickly than the brown or red varieties.
2. Mongo beans -- this local legume is absolutely cheaper than meat and has a long shelf life. It's a good source of protein and fiber, which canned meat lacks. Best to get cracked mongo beans so they cook quicker. True, dried mongo beans need to be cooked and not all victims have access to cooking utensils, a makeshift stove, and drinking water for that matter. Perhaps soup kitchens that are popping up everyone should consider making mongo guisado over arroz caldo with chicken. Cheaper, more nutritious.
3. Canned beans -- beans in tomato sauce are usually available in most supermarkets and there are always the kind packed in salted water. True, beans-in-water isn't as tasty as anything floating in sauce, but when you're a refugee, I'd think you'd take whatever you can get. Oh and, these are cheaper than canned meat.
   
4. Crackers -- something that also fills you up cheaply. I am partial to the regular Skyflakes kind because it doesn't have milk (their wholewheat is not vegan).
5. Peanut butter -- who doesn't love peanut butter, aside from those allergic to it? My favorite brand is Lily's because it doesn't contain additional oil and high fructose corn syrup. Made from local peanuts too, so you support local peanut farmers. Peanut butter is a quick source of protein, fat, and fiber, and easily goes with crackers and bread which are cheap. I've actually once eaten rice with peanut butter once, when I didn't have access to more palatable vegan food. Not the worst thing.
   
6. Bread -- I like Olsen's over Gardenia because [a] it's cheaper, [b] it's vegan, and [c] it doesn't have an ingredients list that requires you to major in Chemistry.
7. Soymilk -- I know I know, some brands are pretty expensive, but I love the brand Soyfresh because it's in the same price line as cow's milk. Aside from 1-liter tetra packs, Soyfresh comes in individual-sized drink boxes. Something for the kids, who need as much calcium as they can get.
8. Sugar -- Most refugee parents would like to get sugar in their care packages because they mix this with water and feed it to their kids. I can't pull up a site right now but I think it's got something to do with dextrose. Or even blood sugar. Not only is brown sugar "healthier" than white, it's cheaper too.
9. last but not the least... Water.

I hope this post enlightened you.

Hey international readers! If you'd like to help us out, please visit Google's site on Help for Typhoon Ondoy victims. Scroll down to "credit card / paypal donations" if you'd like to make a monetary donation. Scroll down to "US-based drop off points" if you'd like to make a donation in kind. Sorry, I don't see any other drop off point for other countries. You can check Google's site frequently for updates. What's urgent right now is monetary donations because these will reach us faster.

If you're wandering what's happening to the non-human flood victims, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society is spearheading rescue efforts in Marikina, one of the most devastated cities in the metro. They currently have 16 animal refugees. More information on and pictures of the flood rescues here. Anyone can also drop off their pets in the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center here, while he/she attends to his/her survival. If you would like to make a monetary donation, view their instructions here. If you prefer in kind, view instructions here. Find out what they really need here. For the international readers, best to donate money.

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Best effort to do a Vegan MoFo post every weekday in October but given that we're in a state of calamity, I'll do my best :)

A day for the animals, a hearty Indian-ish dinner, an attempt at homemade vegan cheese

A day for the animals
















Photos by my coworker, Jeanette Mactal

So I finally got to visit the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center in Quezon City 2 Saturdays ago with a couple of coworkers, bringing gifts of food for the shelter dogs and cats. After the feeding activity, Anna Cabrera, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society Program Director, gave us an orientation and tour of the facilities. Let me just tell you, WOW. It's really amazing what PAWS does to help the plight of Pinoy dogs and cats, also known as askals (street dogs) and puskals (street cats). The place was brimming with 36 dogs and 184 cats (as of September 5), all looking for their forever homes. The feline quarantine area was full of days and weeks old kittens. The canine quarantine area had its own fair share of sadness. The guy up there was rescued from the dog meat trade. A lot of them were abused and abandoned by their former owners. The rehabilitation PARC gives them is amazing. It's really different when you're sitting pretty at work and at home with theoretical veganism, and when you see animal cruelty staring at you literally in the face. Hearing their rescue and rehab stories truly is a testament to the philosophy of living compassion and non-violence in one's life.

Anyway, the day-for-the-animals was made complete when my vegan brother (who tagged along at this office volunteer activity) and I stopped for awesome practically-fast food veggie burgers at Good Burger in Pasig, across Tiendesitas. It's sooo nice to be able to eat vegan fast food! Good Burger sells veggie burgers with the option to remove non-vegan items, such as mayo and cheese. They also sell chicken burgers, which is insane... I mean, I would think meat eaters would go for beef rather than chicken when it comes to burgers. I seriously doubt their chicken burgers were any good... Oh, and after the Good Burger lunch, my brother and I spent the afternoon making:


Julie Hasson's Spicy Italian Sausages, recipe here.

Excellent excellent day. We hung out with the shelter dogs and cats, scarfed down veggie burgers, and made a ton of veggie sausages.


Indian-ish dinner
On the Tuesday after the PARC visit (2 Tuesdays ago), it was so nice to sit down and have a hot hearty meal after a grueling day at the office. I was supposed to ride home with my brother on that day but it was pretty traffic from his office to mine -- he ended up arriving at my workplace at around 7:30. So we headed to the nearby mall, specifically Powerplant, for a satisfying dinner at a restaurant, particularly Wild Ginger.



Wild Ginger is one of the few restaurants in Powerplant that has good vegan options, and I'm not even talking about tomato sauce + noodles. They have legumes! I've eaten there several times but it was my first time to try their dal and spinach chapati sandwich, which was really good. I call it an Indian-ish dinner because I'm not certain Indians would use 2 chapatis to make a sandwich. It looked more like a no-cheese quesadilla. It usually comes with a yogurt dip which is easily do-withoutable. It was topped with basil, but I think it would've been better if topped with cilantro. The cumin and (I think) coriander really shone, and the dal wasn't dry at all.

I also had the Asian tomato soup -- awesome as well. It was flavored with lemongrass, a pleasant surprise, chili, and cilantro.

Soup and sandwich -- such a Western meal, yet it was Indian.


An attempt at homemade vegan cheese


Eek, I know, what a crap looking photo.

With the success at making vegan sausages under my belt, I decided to venture out and make my first vegan cheese. "Mostarella", to be exact, from the pages of The Uncheese Cookbook. I'm glad that it doesn't taste like dairy cheese. It has cheese-like qualities -- it's savoury, slightly sour, and it melts. The sourness can be attributed to my addition of tahini and a combination of lemon and calamansi juice. I'm glad I finally experimented, although the results were just alright. I guess I don't miss cheese that much that I'd want to scarf down the fake stuff. It is a nice alternative topping on toast, which I usually have it on in accompaniment to a bowl of beans for breakfast. It actually does spectularly in vegan lasagna, together with Veganomicon's tofu ricotta. By the way, that tofu ricotta is pretty good stuff in Italian-inspired dishes.

Shelter dogs and cats deserve your love too

Nothing much up in veganland, I'm just really excited to visited the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center, or PARC this Saturday with some officemates. For all my vegan exclamations I have not yet set foot in an animal shelter. One day I hope to put one up near where I live, but it sure is a vocation that needs a lot of dedication, hardwork, and of course, money. A farm animal sanctuary would be heaven too... I live in Southern Manila and PARC is all the way in the north -- one of the reasons why I haven't been to a shelter. While the country is brimming full of unwanted dogs and cats, we only have pretty much 1 shelter (does anyone else know of a shelter?).

Just wanted to blog about that bit... Now if you're thinking of buying a pet, I highly encourage that you think of all the unwanted dogs and cats for a moment. These all deserve a good home just as much as that pet you're about to buy. Only that by adopting a shelter dog or cat, you're doing both of yourselves a favor. Buying a pet kills a shelter animal people, please believe me. You buy a pet, a shelter animal wallows away. Another reason why sometimes I feel like I'm about to explode when people can't understand this concept and decide to buy anyway... Or God forbid, have their female pets get pregnant and sell the babies...

Fine, a post on cake + The lone female kitten in the house (last post on cats, I semi-promise)

Good grief I know this is supposed to be a blog about veganism or vegan food but I (kinda) swear, this is the last time I'll be making blog posts on each of my cats. Unless something big comes up, I may mention them here and there amidst talking about food. 

Actually, the cats have played a big role in my veganism -- everyday I am reminded that all animals think and feel exactly like how my cats think and feel. It's not right that we put "pet animals" on pedestals, that we label them as "not food" (unless you live in Northern Luzon or some parts of China) while other animals -- i.e. cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, fish, other sea animals -- are "food animals". The stories about how they came into my life -- poor defenseless creatures, abandoned by their mothers and shunned by humans -- are things that I will always hold dear. Everyday as I am about to enter my home I am truly thankful to God that my eyes have been opened to the plight of animals and that He has spared these three cats from a terrible life.

More fluff to come about cat #2, aka Velma, but I want to distract you for a little bit.

I made this Almond Rosewater Tea Cake for my mom which she gave to this Indian-Malaysian lady that rents our old house in Pasig. Apparently the lady is vegetarian and is very pro-vegan, particularly vegan desserts. Getting new clients and discovering existing ones never cease to amaze me. For example, last week I organized an employee volunteerism fair at my real workplace and of course invited PAWS. One of the two PAWS volunteers was vegetarian (I made it a point to ask because we had to feed them merienda) and we gabbed about their animal shelter, rescued dogs and cats, and of course food. I mentioned that I was vegan and that I baked vegan desserts, and they both said they were once given a box of vegan cupcakes and cake for Christmas from PETA. I mentioned my baking company's name (Kitchen Revolution FYI) and yes, it was my cake and cupcakes that they ate! I was so tickled. I love that my food gets around and that the word's (a bit) out that there's a vegan baking company out in Manila.

Sorry for the lack of posts on food. I was able to cook for myself (not for sale! how refreshing!) last weekend, it was very relaxing. I experimented with a lemon pound cake, hummus, and my first vegan mac and cheese based on a recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook subbing dijon mustard for the mustard powder, whole wheat flour for the flour, and orecchiette for the macaroni; instead of using typical bread crumbs, I used the only bag of crumbs in the house: a bag of communion host wafer crumbs. Short story: my mom bought the bag of crumbs from some Opus Dei center which makes communion hosts for mass; the remnants are bagged and marketed as bread crumbs. Needless to say that stuff is NOT good for mac and cheese. I was supposed to top the mac and cheese with bread crumbs and stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. Crumbs were supposed to turn golden brown, the host wafer crumbs stayed white. You can almost imagine it looks like shredded white cheese except it stuck to the roof of your mouth and tasted like... holy communion.

My weekend was very relaxing because I did not go out at all. I stuck around the Alabang area, hung around the house, finally got to watch some TV, and baby-sat the cats. Last Saturday was probably the most time I spent with the cats. I let them explore the garden and get up close with nature which was exactly what they needed since they've been cooped up in the laundry area because of my brother's allergies.

Cat face off!

So, on to Velma. I love all my cats, but Velma I hold close to my heart (don't tell the others!) partly because she's the lone girl cat and partly because she's such a fighter. She is much tinier than Lucky though they are the same age (she is about the same size as Francis, but she's 10 months old while he's about 5 months old) but she is stronger, faster, healthier, and I'll have to admit it -- smarter. Lucky if you're reading this, I'm sorry but it's true!

Velma came into our lives sometime end-April / beginning of May 2008. By that time we only had Lucky who was a few weeks old. This was also back when half my family lived in my lolo's (grandfather's) house while the other half lived in my tita's (aunt's) house as my house was being renovated. My lolo had a stray gray and white adult male cat living in his garage named Muning, Tagalog for "kitten" (pronounced moo-ning but with a short "oo"). Now Muning loved sleeping on top of the laundry machine in the garage which was right beside the kitchen door entrance. He was completely feral but was friendly with the tenants of the house. Often times Muning would leave his abode and stroll around the block (and perhaps the village?); one day he arrived home with this little calico cat in tow. Muning being the territorial spoiled cat forbade Little Calico Cat from eating his food or drinking his water; he didn't even share his laundry machine space! Poor Little Calico Cat was forced to hide around the corner where Muning couldn't see her. He would hiss and bare his teeth whenever she popped her head out, looking pitifully for some food. It's a wonder that she never left us despite mean Muning.

Now just as with Francis, I did not immediately take a liking to Little Calico Cat. I was busy being a mother to Lucky (my brothers and I were completely new at kitten parenthood) and busy at work. However it was my two brothers (again! they have such big hearts) who fell in love with her and would often bring Lucky out -- then an infant -- to play with her. Back then Little Calico Cat was very affectionate and very friendly. When she'd see you sit down on the lawn chair she would quickly hop on over to you and let you scratch her ears. Sometimes she'd hop back on the floor and rub her ears on your ankles.

Finally I warmed up to her, took her to the vet and had her checked out. Actually back then we all thought she was a he and I wanted to name her Sam, as in Samwise Gamgee. Brother #5 wanted to name him Vladimir, as in Dracula. The vet informed us she was a girl, so Vladimir was transformed into Velma.

Velma is a special cat because she only uses three legs. Her right arm is bum and we have no idea what caused that to happen. There are two schools of thought: [1] she was born with that congenital defect (and she's a runt) or [2] she was hit by something and her arm never healed. Her lacking a fourth leg never stopped her from doing what she wanted though. When wrestling with Lucky she always wins. She runs faster than him and jumps higher. It's almost as if her bum leg has given her extra feline powers of strength.

I'm quite glad that Lucky has Velma because Lucky would've been one spoiled cat if not for his female counterpart. They are almost like husband and wife, or maybe it's brother and sister? They are a perfect pair. Up to now Lucky doesn't know how to cover his poop in the litter box and it's Velma who gets in the box and cleans up his mess. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of cleaning out the box she hops back in and covers the poop up, as if embarrassed about it! When Lucky's feeling extra naughty he jumps and wrestles her but she oh-so-calmly wrestles back and pins him to the ground with one paw. Sometimes she's the mastermind of their naughtiness -- she opens closed doors with her left arm and lets Lucky through before she goes in. They are so sweet together though! At times I catch them sleeping together in one cat bed, Lucky usually lying against her leg, kinda like how a mom would allow her child to sleep on her lap.

Back when we first let her in the house she immediately became un-affectionate and pretty much suspicious of us. It was only after a few attempts when she'd let us catch her and pick her up. She seems to be content that she isn't the cat that everyone fawns over -- I wonder what goes through her head when she sees us baby Lucky. She is such an observant cat, very quiet and very shy. She's a quick learner too -- one time she discovered marbles being kept in a bowl in the living room. Often she would pick one from the pile (with her mouth), drop it on the floor, and proceed to play football with it. With only three legs. I think she also returned the marbles when she was done.

I don't have much stories to share about her only because she's a very private cat. She and Lucky are the best of friends but for some reason, she despises Francis. I don't know what it is... is it because Francis is un-neutered (he'll be neutered in a few days)? Francis has an outdoorsy smell to him? Every time they see each other she hisses at him.

We haven't had Velma spayed yet even though she's reached puberty and is in heat every other two weeks. I'm getting her blood test results tomorrow to see if her little body is strong enough to take the invasive surgery and the anesthesia. Apparently her bum leg may be a symptom of a weaker system. It breaks my heart whenever she yowls and screams because her body is telling her to mate while she's stuck in the house with neutered Lucky... She rubs herself on everyone and everything, and it's upsetting that she can't help that she does those things and can't control it at all. It's like she's writhing in pain and I can't do anything to stop it! Oh well, I hope the test comes out well, I really don't want her accidentally getting out into the wild and getting pregnant...

Oh yes, in another display of her awesome feline strength... Back when I got the cats collars two weekends ago, she was the only one who was able to semi-rip the collar in half after one day of wearing it. The collar holds on to dear life around her neck to this day while the collars on Francis and Lucky are still good as new.

Pho Hoa's Veg Options + PAWS takes over Eastwood: Vegan MoFo #2

Today I had the opportunity to have lunch at Eastwood, Libis, which is like my 3rd time to go to this place (I'm a sheltered Southerner, so sue me). On the way to the restaurant I saw this:

It's things like this and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society's beauty beyond breed public service announcements that warm my vegan heart and give me hope that the Philippines is becoming more humane to animals. I'm especially loving this PSA because the cat in the ad looks like my Lucky. Here's another pet-friendly poster right outside Pho Hoa:

How come there isn't any PAWS propaganda in the Alabang area, or in Serendra, or anywhere else? PAWS, please come to Alabang!

Anyway, it's pretty sad that most Southeast Asian food is vegetarian and vegan friendly while Filipino food always is meat-centric. Pho Hoa's menu didn't just have leaves (aka salad) for the veg option; it had pho soup, spring rolls, fried tofu, stir-fried vegetables, etc. Great thing about it too is that it costs about P300 or less to get a full meal.

Last time I ate at Pho I got the vegetarian pho, which is essentially boiled salted water over vegetables, mushrooms, a piece of tofu, and rice noodles. The fresh togue (mung bean sprouts) gave the crunch and fresh basil leaves gave the flavor to the broth.

This time I ordered the fresh spring rolls with hoisin-peanut sauce and the fried tofu with a bell-pepper mushroom sauce.

The rice paper rolls were made of rice noodles, tofu, carrots, cucumber, and basil and cilantro leaves. Semi-tasteless on its own but was outstanding with the sauce. The basil and cilantro was a nice addition, giving it a fresher, cleaner taste. I'm glad they used herbs for the greens instead of tasteless salad leaves.

The batter of the fried tofu usually has egg in it but the server was able to have the dish made egg-free. It was akin to Japanese agedashi tofu with a golden panko breadcrumb crust, smothered in a Vietnamese gravy of red peppers and mushrooms.


It would've been perfect with steamed rice and stir fried vegetables with the tofu but it was good on its own. I ate this with hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce.

Phoa Hoa Philippine branches can be found here. I hope that restaurants in the area become more and more veg friendly.