Go Veg Week: bake sale recipes!

We've had a big week here at the Oxy Veg Club! It was Go Veg Week this week, and in addition to having about 50 students pledge to go veg for the week, we had a total of nine different events throughout the week to engage the community and spread the word! We've had a lot of recipe requests from last Monday's Gentle Barn bake sale fundraiser, so without further ado:

Cranberry-pistachio cookies: (adapted from here)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup ground pistachios
1/4-1/2 cup coconut oil,
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 "vegg" (vegan egg from Compassion over Killing) mixed with water
Optional: more coconut!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet in another.
Mix everything together.
Put large spoonfuls of the dough on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

No-bake pecan date bars:
Recipe here

Chocolate chip peanut butter bars:
Recipe here

Enjoy!

Brazilian food!

The lovely Isadora Zanon co-hosted yesterday's Brazilian veg dinner! This marks our 22nd dinner and our 12th geographic area-- we've experimented with Southern US, Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Afghan, Indian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and now Brazilian cuisine! Isadora and I visited Supermercado Brasil in Culver City, and picked up the rest of the stuff we needed at Organix on Colorado Blvd, or favorite neighborhood store! Our menu included sweet mate tea, suco de maracuja e mango (passionfruit and mango juice), salada, polenta topped with quibe de abóbora (squash), feijoada com arroz, farofa de banana, and acai and banana smoothies with pineapple, coconut, and granola for dessert. Many thanks to everyone for a great night!

Our faculty dinner!

Yesterday, Wednesday April 17th, we hosted a community dinner for faculty and students alike! We hoped to engage key members of the faculty and our peers in a conversation about the role of food— how health, the environment, ethics, and culture intersect on our plates. Professors Heldman, Dirks, Morrissey, and Sabo joined us and we all discussed our personal philosophies of food. Vegheads hopes to strengthen the community around food awareness here at Occidental and bring sustainability, rights, and public health into the focus of the Oxy community. Our (almost entirely local, seaonal, and organic) menu included: spinach salad with pecans, strawberries, and blackberry fig vinaigrette; bruschetta with sauteed onions and mushrooms; stir-fried zucchini with fenugreek seeds; asparagus and cannellini bean risotto; and an orange, grapefruit, mango, and pineapple smoothie to finish. Funding for the dinner was provided the ASOC. Many thanks to the students and professors who joined us for this event!

Afghan food!

Last Saturday, April 13th we had our Afghan dinner! We hope that by coming together over a cruelty-free meal and learning a little bit about Afghan culture we can contribute to spreading the message of peace. Our menu: Afghan chai spiced tea, salaata, maash pulao (rice dish), burani bonjon, vegetable qorma, and vanilla ice cream with pistachios and rosewater poached pears. Thanks to everyone who joined us for one of the best dinners this year!

SoCal Activist Empowerment Conference

On April 6th, we hosted our first Activist Empowerment Conference! Brandilyn Tebo, our club's founder, planned the entire event. The event drew approximately 70 attendees from all over the L.A. area, and featured speakers, workshops, and tons of vegan food. Best of all it was free!

Speakers included (P: presentation):
Brandilyn Tebo- Oxy Veg Club founder and event organizer. Introduction.
John Pierre- personal trainer and nutrition coach. P: The health benefits of plant based diets
Clair Morrissey- professor of philosophy, Occidental College. P: Animal ethics.
Kim Dreher- VegFund Programs Director. P: Effective forms of communication and advocacy.
Charlotte Cressey- yoga instructor and animal rights activist. P: Feminism, the body, and animal rights.
Prabhat Gautam- Animal Advocacy Museum creator. P: Networking
Dave Rutan- Vegan Toastmasters. P: Public speaking and constructing persuasive arguments.
Ryan Flegal- animal rights activist and community organizer. P: Activism and solidarity.
Alec Pederson- filmmaker involved with "The Cove." Previews of films "Unity," and "The Heist."
Nathan Runkle- Mercy for Animals founder. P: Media and politics in the animal rights movement.

Lunch was generously provided by VeggieGrill and the incredible Chef Rawsheed catered dinner.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for the event! We'll contact you about future public events like this, and meanwhile let's keep the conversation going to make sure that our important work keeps moving forward!