The Web Out Loud: What's Worth Paying Attention To This Week?

I've been coming across so many great articles, sites, and other juicy tidbits of info lately that I want to start sharing them! Hence the start of this weekly or bi-weekly column. Here are this week's finds worth paying attention to!

Articles

"Six Ways to Become an Ethical Fashionista", GreenLashesandFashion Blog

"Urban Panning: The 10 Meanest Cities In America", NPR.org

"A Revolution of the Heart", Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach Blog

"10 Ways to Support Charity Through Social Media", Treehugger.com

"Rethinking the Meat Guzzler", NYTimes.com

"Veganism is Too Difficult", ElaineVigneault.com

Activism

peta2's Meat's Not Green Petition- Sign peta2's petition mandate that all meat be labeled with a warning that it is the number one cause of global warming.

Cool Sites

CraftWeasel- Thanks to my pal Cari for sharing this tool! Type in your Etsy username, and Craftweasel will look through your favorites to get an idea of your tastes. Then it searches through all the items that have been listed on Etsy within the last 24 hours and recommends things you might like. Fun!

Butterflies and Moths of North America- For nature lovers, an awesome gallery with information about and photos of every butterfly or moth you might come across.

Other Stuff

Anti-war Medallion- Remember that anti-war phrase from the 60s, "War is not healthy for children and other living things?" Well there's a great necklace/medallion imprinted with the historically significant phrase available on the site of Another Mother for Peace, an organization created "to empower and encourage citizens to take an active role in convincing our elected leaders to work for peace." The medallion is a silver or gold metal mini version of the classic poster for a very affordable $15 (which benefits the organization)- so sweet and so moving!

If you live in "the Burgh" you know how awesome this tee is! The phrase is available on all sorts of tees and sweats by Dirty Jerzey on CafePress.com.

I'm Featured on EtsyVeg!

I'm featured in a treasury on the EtsyVeg blog! EtsyVeg is a fabulous group of Etsy artisans who are all vegan or vegetarian. Everyone is super warm and supportive of one another, and there is so much amazing talent. I am so proud to be team leader of such an extraordinary group! Check out the CraftyVeggie Marketplace of member shops.

Heather of aktie9 is one of those wonderfully supportive members who does loads for the team. She has been so kind as to feature me in a treasury! Visit her shop, 3Am Art Productions for beautiful photography, amazing digital art, and unique polymer clay creations. She donates 10% of all sales to charities of the customer's choice!

Thank you, Heather! Yay! :D

Yay for Treasuries!

Hooray- I've been featured in an Etsy treasury by Carmen of CaramelDiezel, a fellow EtsyVeg member! Thanks so much, Carmen! :)

Baking Out Loud- The Best Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever

These are the best vegan oatmeal cookies I have tried! I have tried a lot of recipes, but this one yielded, hands down, the tastiest one with the best texture. So yummy! :) I came across it on VegWeb, but as I can no longer seem to find it there, I can't credit the author (so sorry). I have a tendency to add variations or make changes while I am writing a recipe down, so who knows what it looked like before that. ;)


I suggest making them the first time exactly like the recipe if you can, then next time trying any variations. A number of times I have substituted applesauce for half of the butter, but the cookies end up not spreading correctly and have turned out very crumbly, breaking apart easily. Using just a little less butter has turned out well, though. There are probably other fat replacements that would lead to better results (banana or tofu?)

Cinnamon is one thing I would add to this recipe- I have put in up to a full teaspoon and ended up with excellent flavor. Adding some semi-sweet chocolate chips or a small handful of nuts is a tasty variation, too! Enjoy!


Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (makes 2 dozen)

Oven to 350 F

1/2c non-dairy margarine (NOT melted)
1/2c firmly-packed brown sugar
1/4c granulated sugar
1 1/2 t Egg Replacer mixed with 2 T water
1/2 t vanilla
3/4c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 1/2c rolled oats
1/2c raisins

1) Cream butter with both sugars in a mixing bowl.

2) Add vanilla and Egg Replacer mixture.

3) Add rest of ingredients slowly to avoid overload in mixer.

4) Add a dash of non-dairy milk, if necessary. Batter will be very thick and sticky, but not dry.

5) Bake 10-12 minutes, and allow to cool a few minutes on cookie sheet.

6) Transfer cookies to wire rack to finish cooling.

Kitty Love- Helping

My Sophie-cat loves often comes to "help" when I am working. She comes to sit right in front of me on top of the keyboard or a painting or whatever else, her large baby blues staring languidly, unflinchingly into my eyes until I look at her and pet and talk to and kiss her. lol Then she usually plops down, preferably into my lap, but usually somewhere more difficult. :) Today I took a few (blurry for some reason) snapshots!