Sam Iles's Blog

I bought my copy of 1984 several years ago from a charity shop. (The book also happens to be published in 1984, which is a nice touch.)

This is in the cover. Clever, no? Seems a shame that they got rid of it, but at least I get to blog their droll humour.

If you’ve watched Comedy Central at all lately you may have noticed than when the show ends and they switch to a commercial break, the screen flickers for a split second and a large amount of text is shown. I thought I’d better find out what it was.

It’s genius. And what I’d like to see more of in the world:

(Forgive the pause graphic, but I couldn’t be bothered to get my capture card out…)

Look at this entry in my calendar from last year:

Yeah, that’s right. On the 6th of April 2010 I became vegan after about four years of vegetarianism. And, veganism, oh how I do love you.

It all started when I read a book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. To call it a life changing book would be an understatement. Foer actually made the case for vegetarianism (himself being a vegetarian, not a vegan) but the way in which he described the conditions of chickens and cows kept for eggs and dairy really made me think. A quick Google while reading the book solidified my decision, and, I distinctly remember that the last time I ate any non-vegan-but-vegetarian food was when I turned the very last page of the book. If you haven’t read it, you should.

So thus began the journey. It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. I can say with absolute and total honesty that I did not once want to eat cheese, et al, or relapse or regret my decision. I believe this is because I truly wanted to be vegan. This made it easy. I would suggest anyone else considering it to not consider it, but read their facts, make a decision, and do it. That’s the only way it can work.

Then, the food. Oh, Lordy, the food. To science, it’s known as NOM. I can honestly say that I have never eaten better. If you eat meat, you’re all, “oh, dinner, let’s have meat and potatoes like all nights”. It must get so boring. But, veganism forces you to cook. It forces you to use the best cookbooks out there. It forces you to discover plants and herbs and spices and flavours and cuisines you didn’t know existed before. I just love vegan food. I. Love. Food.

And, then there is the health. I feel healthy. I have plenty of energy. I have – according to a qualified nurse person – iron levels which are firmly “above average”. I have had what amounts to, oh, three spots in the last year (a increasing trend among models is to be the vegan thing to reduce the job ruining spots).

And, then there is the environment. My diet produces far less carbon dioxide. My diet uses far less water. I use less land. I pollute less. I am an anti-global warming device.

And, thirdly we have the little animals. Bless them. How many of your lives have I saved, I wonder? How many of you have not had to die for an industry for which apparently animals do not die. How wonderful.

As to the cookbooks, my favourites are as follows:

• Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The ultimate vegan cookbook. Hundreds of amazing recipes, from soups to “sammiches”, enchiladas to “elephant nori rolls”, it literally is the book of vegan.
• Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by the same as above. 75 cupcake recipes. 75. Never in all my life did I imagine I could love anything as much as I love vegan cupcakes. Such inventive, unimaginable varieties.
• Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by the same as above. 100 cookie recipes. 100 this time! Never in all my life did I imagine I could love anything as much as I love vegan cookies. Serious nom to be had, here.
• Viva Vegan! by one of the above (Terry). 200 recipes from the Latin American countries. Latin American food is now my favourite food. I can’t even express in words the unrivalled awesome of the tastes, the textures, the nom. Buy this book if you are the vegan thing (or if you’re not).
• Vegan Scoop by Wheeler del Torro. 150 recipes for ice cream. But, not just any ice cream – VEGAN ice cream. I mean, vegan ice cream people. Of course, there are vanilla and chocolate (yawn) but things really get exciting when you start talking about curry ice cream and peanut butter ice cream and so many more.

So there. Those are my five favourite vegan cookbooks.

In addition to cookbooks, I should also mention the wonderful ‘Vegan Freak’ by Bob and Jenna Torres. This book really is awesome. They are both vegans and explain why they made the choice, all about being vegan and all manner of wonderful information. This book is a must read for any vegan or anyone thinking of becoming a vegan.

So there you have it. A year of wonderful, healthy, environmentally friendly and compassionate food and a year of vegan books.

I’ve enjoyed it so much and I can honestly say that I never look back and never regret it or wish I could eat a certain vegan food.

So, here’s to another vegan year – and all the rest of them!

It’s November 1974. A fan of the Cleveland Brows (they play the baseball) writes a letter to his favourite team complaining about planes. For those who doubt the authenticity, see here.

First, is the letter the fan sent, and second is the response he received…

Why I want an egg substitute, I want a product which is not an egg. Not a real egg product. Not an egg at all, please.

Just, like, why?

[Via BoingBoing]