Farm Sanctuary!

By Monica on October 27th, 2007

At long last, here is the Farm Sanctuary Critter Post! It was terribly hard to narrow down my favorite pictures so please forgive me if this takes forever to load!

Before we get started, here’s my “Iz it can be time go to Farm Sankuary now?” picture. This is Boone, of cat helmet notoriety.

Having never been there, we stopped at Niagara Falls on the way to FS. I’ve been disappointed in a lot of US tourist attractions in the past (cough*StatueOfLiberty*cough), so I was skeptical of this silly waterfall business. However, I quickly changed my mind when we could already see the mist hovering over the city still about a mile away! It was stunningly beautiful and we ended up spending quite a bit of time there getting soaked by the mist and hiking through the state park.

From Niagara, it was only a couple hour drive to FS and admittedly, I drove like a mad woman I was so excited. The scenery along the way rivaled any fall colors I’ve seen anywhere else in the world. It became comical at a point; anywhere you looked could be a postcard. This is a shot of Seneca Lake in Watkins Glen, a few miles from FS.

We finally arrived and checked in. The cabins are adorable and a lot more spacious than you’d think. Of course, pictures of the residents adorned the walls and FS made sure to provide lots of literature on factory farming for guests to read. There was also a journal inside that guests were asked to contribute to. It was touching to read how other guests have been moved by meeting some residents, and entire families pledging their devotion to veganism. Ray drew a picture of his favorite critter and I wrote my journal page on the last morning there while I watched the sun come up over a pasture full of grazing pigs.

But, without further ado, let me introduce you to some of the FS residents we met!

Upon entering the sanctuary, the first critters you meet are the cows. I was quite pleased to have met Maxine and a few others I had read about, but the legendary Annie Dodge was in a distant pasture and unavailable for ear scratching. The ambassador of the special needs cattle herd is Opie, and he was all about ear scratching! I was floored by how big Opie is, easily standing 6 feet at the shoulders and weighing 2300 pounds. Apparently that’s about average for his breed!

Opie was destined for veal, but I think this life suits him a little better.

This is the beautiful Penelope, who was ever so kind to lay still while we petted, kissed, and told her what a nice cow she was. Penelope’s head was soaking wet from being groomed by another cow, but that was not about to stop my niece and I from loving on her.

From there we headed up to the sheep hill. Most visitors don’t go up here because it’s quite the climb, but our tour guide rocked and took pity on me when I mentioned that I didn’t get to see any sheep the day prior. This is the view of the farm from atop the sheep hill.

And here’s one of the critters who grazes atop the hill all day long before coming down for chow time each night. Isn’t he amazing? We also met Dino the goat up here.

Coming down from the sheep hill, our next stop were the goats. I have so much fun with goats; I just love their personality and spunk.

Ray and I have been talking of adopting a couple of goats for years, this may have been the nail in our coffin.

Below is Zoop, Ray’s favorite FS critter. Like all the residents of FS, Zoop has a story on how she came to be there and despite having lost one of her legs, Zoop has an indomitable spirit and even rammed us all a few times in play.

The next stop is the turkey barn. We were greeted by none other than Chicky, who is terribly sweet and affectionate! If you haven’t heard it before, turkeys make the coolest noises!

Across from the turkey barn is the bunny house. The bunnies have a deluxe set-up with bales of straw inside to hide in, and a big grassy enclosure outside. A lot of these rabbits were rescued from the ‘live markets’ in NYC.

Everywhere along our route were chickens, too. This guy liked to hang out underneath an apple tree near the turkeys and was especially photogenic.

From here we got another unexpected bonus from our tour guide. FS had just taken in a piglet, only two weeks old. Rarely does FS get them that young, so this little guy was very special and he was in the hospital room being nursed round the clock. Our tour guide indulged us in a quick visit.

Next up was the duck and goose habitat. They have the best views of any resident, overlooking their own pond and miles of the Finger Lake region.

And then there’s the pig barn, where we probably spent most of our time. My first impression of the pigs: OMG are they huge! We’re told the big girls are about 700lbs.

As it turns out, even these great big pigs are lovers. Amazingly sweet and gentle, we could go right up to them and they would immediately flop over so you could rub their bellies!

They are ever so gentle, and very aware of their size. We were able to snuggle right up with them, and honestly I’m not sure if we enjoyed it more, or if they did. My niece is a pig fanatic and we nearly had to pry her off the pigs when it was time to leave. She chose Truffles as her favorite resident, who alongside her brother Rudy, had fallen off a slaughterhouse transport truck and escaped to freedom.

So those were just a few of the critters we met. Coming away from my first trip here, I am struck by a number of things:

First, they should call this place Human Sanctuary. What a healing experience to be in the company of such inspiring people who work and volunteer here, to be among these amazing creatures in one place on earth where no cruelty exists. I awoke one morning and looked out the cabin window to see all the pigs outside in a pasture grazing and rolling in mud. A simple thought suddenly dawned on me - these pigs weren’t going be slaughtered, ever. They were going to wallow in mud, sleep in deep straw piles, be cared for and loved until their natural lives cease. It was a feeling of calm and peace that I’ve scarcely experienced before.

Second, I was humbled by the ability these animals have to forgive. Mankind has done terrible, cruel, things to them - inflicted pain that I cannot even fathom. Yet they want to meet me. They approach me. They want to be scratched and loved. I only wish I had that capacity inside me, but in that respect, these creatures are far my superior.

Lastly, let it never be said that we cannot make a difference in this world. Farm Sanctuary was a great reminder of that for me. Whatever your cause is, whatever you can do, do something because it does make a difference. These animals are a testament to that.

How to gain 10lbs in 3 days

By Monica on October 23rd, 2007

We’re back from Farm Sanctuary!  While I haven’t had time to go through the 700 pictures we took on the farm, I can muster up pics from the amazing vegan vittles we found in the Finger Lakes region of NY.

Living where we do, a vegan-friendly establishment is really exciting to us. It’s hard to refrain from ordering every item on the menu in a gluttonous “OMG I can eat ALL of this” frenzy.  No side dishes or iceberg lettuce for us this weekend, baby!

Friday night we went to Jerlando’s in Watkins Glen.  Farm Sanctuary said they’d be happy to make us a vegan pizza, and indeed, they were.  Three of us ate the entire thing, after we cheekily decided that eating it all would be more environmentally friendly than using a take-out container.  Here’s their cheeseless veggie pizza, which was delicious:

Despite being stuffed, we waddled ourselves over to the Great Escape Ice Cream Parlor because one is never too full for vegan ice cream.  They had mocha and Oreo vegan flavors, both were fabulous, and their staff was well versed in which cones and toppings were vegan.

Saturday we went to the Crooked Rooster Pub & Wildflower Cafe for lunch.   I wish I could say it was as great as everything else we had this weekend, but it really paled in comparison to the other options in the tiny town of Watkins Glen.  I had the ‘Pasta with Beer & Good Stuff’, which was essentially fettuccine with canned artichokes, canned peppers, and beer poured over it.  Strangely sour, I abandoned it mid-meal to eat some left over chips on my niece’s platter.  She had the ‘Moonrose Ribs’ which turned out to be a plain Gardenburger Riblet thrown onto French bread.  Ray had an average portobella burger and the lunch meal for 3 of us, with two small beers, was $70.00.  Yeah….

Determined not to let that ruin our jolly times, we went back to the ice cream parlor and feasted upon some vegan sundaes which they topped with hot apple cinnamon sauce.

Sunday we ventured into Ithaca due to the rave reviews of Pizza Aroma, who has the only soy cheese pizza in the area.   I had an amazing calzone, aptly called “The Vegan” which was absolutely brimming with spinach, eggplant, garlic, FYH mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and other good stuffs.  $6.50 well spent!

Ray and Rachel split the “Veggie Pizza” complete with FYH soy cheese and it was equally delicious.  We took about half of it home and ate it all the way back to Illinois, the tantalizing smell of garlic wafting through the a/c vents for 700 miles.

Without exaggerating, there were about 30 vegan friendly restaurants to pick from between the tiny rural town of Watkins Glen and Ithaca.  Between all the great eats, the splendor of Upstate NY in the fall, and the haven that is Farm Sanctuary, I think this is about as close to vegan heaven as I’ve ever been.  More to come on the FS critters soon!

Apple Fritters

By Monica on October 18th, 2007

I’m a sucker for anything battered and anything with liquor in it. With apples being so abundant right now and with liquor in my pantry, I set out to make something sweet, fried, and guaranteed to make the whole house smell good.

2-3 large apples, peeled and cored
2t sugar, divided
4T brandy, rum, or your favorite hooch, divided
Egg replacer for 2 eggs (I used Ener-G)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 soy or rice milk
1t vanilla
1T agave nectar
pinch of salt
vegetable oil
powdered sugar and/or soy whip cream

Peel and core apples, then cut them into 1/4″ rings. Put them into a bowl, sprinkle with 1t of the sugar, and 2T of the liquor. Mix well and let them marinate while you prepare the batter.

In a large bowl, add your egg replacer, remaining sugar, remaining liquor, vanilla, salt, non-dairy milk, and agave nectar, mix well. Slowly add the flour until you have a fairly thick batter. Add the apple slices and gently mix.

Heat 2T of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apple rings and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Add more oil as needed. Once apples have cooled slightly, dust with powdered sugar and top with whip cream if you’re feeling saucy.

Oh no, look out - the bear is after them! (Ok, that was bad…) You could also add some cinnamon or cloves if you want a more seasonal taste.

In other news, Ray and I leave for Farm Sanctuary tomorrow. We’re going to the NY shelter and staying on the farm in the B&B cabins to celebrate our anniversary. Expect a post full of cow hugging, pig snout kissing pictures next week!

My Wieners, Let me show you them.

By Monica on October 16th, 2007

So Joni posted this recipe for seitan wieners just in time for Oktoberfest.  Smothered in kraut and mustard, they look amazing!  While my experience with wieners is subject for another blog entirely, my experience making gluten flour into edible food items is very limited.  At the risk of sounding like a vegan newb, I was amazed at how the gluten turned into a rubbery mass almost before my eyes, like some sort of mutant, delicious silly-putty.  So much fun, I can’t wait to experiment more!

To be expected, Joni’s professional wieners turned out much prettier than my amateur wieners.  I don’t know if I didn’t wrap them tightly enough in foil or what, but my wieners grew quite sizeable in the oven.  I know wieners often have a mind of their own and are prone to doing all sorts of undesirable things, but two of my wieners came bursting out of their foil wrappers in the oven and became massive super-wieners about 4″ thick!

The rest of the wieners did not break their protective foil barriers, but they were still impressive in girth.  They barely fit into a bun, but I stuffed them in anyway and covered them up in saurkraut and mustard.  A credit to Joni’s recipe, they tasted fantastic despite whatever error I made to make the wieners swell up like they did.

And what could be more appropriate to serve with Oktoberfest wieners than a side of German Potato Salad from La Dolce Vegan?