Vegetarian Cruelty

Have I been hiding under a rock? I just realized recently that there're people who feed their dogs and cats vegetarian or even vegan diets. Why the hell do they do that? I feel so, so sorry for the poor dogs that never have the joy of gnawing on a bone, and the poor cats that eat only tofu and chickpeas. But it's not only a question of enjoyment because cats and dogs are carnivores. If they don't eat meat, they can't get enough/any protein, calcium, vitamin B12 and taurine. Their health would be compromised, they may go blind, and they may even die.

Why do tree huggers feed their dogs or cats only vegetables? Because these nut cases feel that pets, like them, shouldn't eat mass produced, unhealthy meat. Yeah, right. Like mass produced fruits and vegetables aren't chock-a-block full of chemicals as well.

I don't disagree that pets (and humans), ideally, shouldn't eat meat loaded with chemicals. But that's totally different from saying they shouldn't eat all meat. If cheap meat from factory farms bothers the fanatic tree huggers that much, they should buy quality meat for their pets. Or get a gun and go hunting, or raise their own chickens. Can't stand the thought of one animal being another animal's dinner even though that's how nature's set up? Then don't have a dog or cat, for goodness sake. Get a rabbit!

Ethics, ethics and more ethics are all important to the vegetarian nazis. So is it ethical to force their dogmatic beliefs on their pets? Is it ethical, and natural, to feed carnivores a meatless diet, then pump them with synthetic vitamins and minerals that are missing in their food?

Smash through the tofu, brush aside the lentils, and what's underneath is just fascist animal cruelty.

Related links:
http://www.dognutrition.com/vegetarian-diet-for-dogs.html
http://www.vetbalance.com/index.php?/carnivore-vs.-omnivore.html
http://www.vegetarian-society.org/my_forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=6018
http://www.messybeast.com/veggiecat.htm

Check these out:

Please Join Me in Prayer	Cheese is Good for You	The Yoga Rookie	Sexual Object?	Mel's Comfort Food

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Chocolate Chip Cookies – One for the Road

There was an elderly man at home, upstairs, dying in bed.

As his chest barely rose and fell, he caught the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies baking.

I must have one last cookie before I die, he thought.

The old man fell out of bed, crawled to the landing, rolled down the stairs, and crawled into the kitchen, where his wife had left rows and rows of cookies cooling on a rack.

With his last remaining strength, he crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the tray of cookies. As he grasped a warm, moist chocolate chip cookie, his favorite kind, he suddenly remembered something. 'Aaaaargh! I've left my dentures upstairs!'

Alternative ending:

. . . the old man crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the tray of cookies. As he grasped a warm, moist chocolate chip cookie, his favorite kind, his wife came into the kitchen and whacked his hand with a spatula.

Gasping for breath, he asked her, 'Why did you do that?'

'The cookies are for your funeral.'


Check these out:

Lemon Tarts	Almond Toffee	Sesame Balls	Belgian Almond Thins	Crispy Grilled French Toast

Laab Gai . . . Or Laab Cat Food?

I steam chicken for the kitties two to three times a week. The chicken is roughly minced after it's cooked, then mixed with the chicken juices released during steaming.

To . . . er . . . make sure that the chicken is up to stringent feline standards, I have to taste it, right? And I have to taste it again the next day to make sure that it hasn't gone bad.

What's that? I steal cat food? Nooo! Never! Well . . . except once when I was hungry late at night and the only food I could fine was cold minced chicken . . . and cup noodles. Mmm . . . .

Did you know that day-old chicken marinated in its own juices tastes much better than freshly cooked chicken? I'm not sure why though. It's not because the chicken is cold because the improvement doesn't happen as soon as the chicken is chilled. The chicken has to sit in the fridge overnight for the meaty sweetness to 'develop'. Then, as if by magic, the flavour somehow improves without any seasoning. And that's not all. With all of its juices sucked back in, the chicken is very moist even if it's breast meat. Hey, this cat food is better than some human food!

When Laab is made with chicken, it's called Laab Gai. I used to make it with minced chicken freshly cooked in a bit of water, as the people in Thailand and Laos do. But, since discovering how much my homemade cat food improves after spending a night in the fridge, that's what I've been using. Hmm, maybe I should call it Laab Cat Food?

Laab, meaning salad, can be made with any kind of meat. Tossed with lots of herbs, shallots, toasted rice, dried chilli, lime juice and fish sauce, there's no oil at all in the dressing. Isn't that great? If you have any leftover turkey, Laab is a good way to use it up and eat something light post-Christmas, before another culinary orgy in a week's time. Happy 2011, everyone!

Check these out:

Beetroot Soup	Ayam Sioh (Chicken with Assam & Coriander Seeds)	Cold Spinach with Bonito Flakes	Onion Rings

Kacang Putih – White Peanuts

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and for those having a white Christmas – lucky you – keep warm and have fun in the snow! Oh look, there's snow on my peanuts! The snow's melted and turned into ice!

There was an Indian 'Kacang Putih man' in my primary school, and frosted peanuts were my second favouritest amongst the 20 or so items he sold. I loved Kacang Putih but every time I was at the Kacang Putih stand, I looked longingly at the cashew nuts which cost – gasp! – 50 cents! My pocket money at the time was only 30 cents each day . . . . Or was it 40 cents? At 10 cents per cone, Kacang Putih was the wiser and more affordable option. The part I liked best about eating Kacang Putih was unfurling the paper cone at the end and digging out the last peanut hiding in the bottom. The last bite was the sweetest! And it still is, 'cause I still go through the same ritual whenever I eat Kacang Putih.

Kacang Putih, meaning white peanuts, are quite appropriate for Christmas, don't you think? The paper cones are great for serving a big party. They're novel or nostalgic, depending on which era you're from. Whatever you're eating and drinking this Christmas, have a good one!

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Curry Leaf Cashews	Alfajores de Dulce de Leche	Chocolate Tart	Crème Caramel

Basil Eggplant – For the Month of Love

In Italy, a woman who wants to get married may plant a pot of basil on 15 May. If the basil flowers by 24 June, she'll get married the following year.

In Romania, a woman casts a love spell on a man by getting him to take a sprig of basil from her.

In Sicily, a pot of basil on the balcony signals that a woman is seeking a suitor.

In Haiti, basil is thought to belong to the goddess Erzulie, the voodoo goddess of love, and is used in love spells.

In Chienti, central Italy, women wear a sprig of basil as a symbol of chastity.

In Iran, a mixture of dry basil and olives brings love to the person who eats it.

In Vogtland, Germany, a basil plant that withers when held indicates a lack of chastity.

In India, Hindus believe that basil prevents women from becoming widows.

In my kitchen, basil is a symbol of my love . . . for food.

Did you know that more babies are born in September than any other month? That's because December is the month of love! So it's appropriate to share a recipe made with basil, the herb of love, yes?

Check these out:

Chicken Stir-Fry with Apples	Deep Fried Anchovies and Peanuts	Housefly Heads (苍蝇头)	Onion Rings

Feeling Tired?

Sometimes, I feel really, really tired and sleepy. I might be sitting in front of the TV, and I just can't keep my eyes open. Or I might be in the ladies, and I'd take the chance to snooze for a few minutes! Once, in a meeting, I felt so drowsy I had to close my eyes – like Mac (left) – even though the boss was sitting opposite me. Hopefully, I looked like I was listening very intensely!

For years, I thought the bone-deep exhaustion was because of stress and insufficient rest. Or maybe it was part of getting old? Then one day, I turned vegetarian and the fatigue disappeared. A year later, it came back when I started eating meat again. Aaaah, it's the meat! But it wasn't every type of meat because the lack of energy was intermittent rather than all the time. Try as I might, I couldn't see any consistent pattern in the type of meat I ate and my energy level. The puzzle remained unsolved, until recently.

A few weeks ago, I had rice and Thai Basil Chicken for lunch on three days running. I wanted something quick, and Thai Basil Chicken fitted the bill. I felt perfectly fine the first two days but on the third day, within an hour from lunch, I felt like I'd been drugged. I crawled into bed and was dead to the world the whole afternoon.

After I woke up, I thought about what had made me drowsy. The first and second Thai Basil Chicken, made with minced kampong chicken legs, had no effect on me. The third one, made with minced regular chicken breast, made me so drowsy that if I'd been driving, it'd have been downright dangerous. Why was there a difference? I suspected it was due to the different cut or type of chicken. Also, the drowsiness was the worst I'd ever had. Was it because the chicken was minced breast meat which, as far as I can remember, I'd never had before?

Over the next few weeks, I ate chicken every which way – dark, white, kampong, regular, sliced, minced, stir fried, simmered, then repeated to confirm the effects . . . . I tell ya, I had chicken flowing out of my ears! The fowl overload was worth it though, because I've finally figured out what's been making me tired and sleepy all these years.

Kampong chicken was fine in whatever way. So was dark meat from regular chicken, as were breast meat sliced and stock made with bones. The culprit was breast meat minced, or simmered to make stock. Between these two, mince produced a far stronger and faster effect, presumably because it was easily digested and absorbed.

I also tested pork, fish and prawns for good measure, and found that these were ok.

I don't usually eat breast meat but I use it quite often to make stock. The chicken stock is probably what makes me lethargic. And it explains my observation that Mee Hoon Kueh and Yong Tau Foo sometimes, but not always, make me drowsy. I guess those that do have stock made with chicken breasts.

I've figured out the what but I haven't figured out the why. I have no idea why I react to regular chicken but not kampong chicken. And why I react to white meat but not dark meat. What substance in the chicken do I react to? Is it tryptophan which metabolizes into serotonin, a hormone that triggers sleepiness? But the amount of tryptophan doesn't vary much between dark and white meat, or between regular and kampong chicken. And pork, prawns and most fish have similar levels of tryptophan to chicken.

If you often feel tired and sleepy despite getting enough sleep and rest, it might be due to the chicken you eat. You can test by having some minced regular chicken breast (and no other meat), then observing your body's reaction. I tested with about 150 g (boneless) each time, and I weigh about 40 kg. (I've lost weight – yay!) If you weigh more, increase the 'dosage' proportionately. Good luck!

Check these out:

Lion's Heads (清汤狮子头)	Housefly Heads (苍蝇头)	Hakka Yong Tau Foo	Minced Pork & Olive Vegetables Stir-Fry (肉脞炒 乌橄榄菜)	Thai Basil Chicken

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