The Sentience of Animals

"Evidence is growing that animals have far more cognitive abilities than has traditionally been believed - they are sentient creatures."- http://www.animalsentience.com/


Centuries ago, the philosopher Rene Descartes argued that all nonhuman animals are automatons that cannot feel pain. He and his followers believed that animals, therefore, could be experimented on without anaesthesia.

Modern science tells us differently. Scientists have found that humans and nonhumans share a similar nervous systems and other organs, and that there is every reason to think that humans share a similar mental and emotional life with other animal species. In the words of Peter Singer, "in suffering, the animals are our equals."

I believe the fundamental principle of the animal rights movement, "nonhuman animals deserve to live according to their own natures, free from harm, abuse, and exploitation." This is why I live a vegan lifestyle.

For more on Animal Rights issues, please go to www.animal-rights.com/arpage.htm .




HONEYBEES NEVER FORGET A FACE

This information was found at http://www.animalsentience.com/

Honeybees can recognize the difference between human faces. Can you tell the difference between honeybees?

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have shown that honeybees have the ability to recognize human faces.

Adrian Dyer and his colleagues trained honeybees to associate a sucrose drink with a photograph of a particular face. The insects were then presented with a picture of this face and three others not associated with the drink.

Of the seven bees tested, five were able to identify the target face in more than 80 per cent of trials, even though the reward had been removed. Some bees had formed a long-term memory and were able to remember the face two days later. How’s that for a creature with a brain no larger than a pinhead?

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"Humans--who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals--have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and "animals" is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them--without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeeling toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us."-
Dr. Carl Sagan & Dr. Ann Druyan, SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS, 1992"

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Vegan Orange Seitan

I began a challenge to myself yesterday to try one new vegan recipe a day. Yesterday, the first day of my challenge, I wanted to try yuba (bean curd skin) which I had bought at a Chinese grocery store. I made Buddha’s "Chicken" from Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen, by Bryanna Clark Grogan. It was really good. Bryanna has lots of good vegan recipes on her blog, http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/ and in her books (She’s written 8). I want to experiment more with yuba, so I’ll write more about it later.

Today I made a recipe using Seitan. Seitan (pronounced "SAY-tan" is a protein-rich food made from wheat gluten.

In 7th century China, vegetarian Buddhist monks, looking for ways to make vegetarian protein which would be close to the flavors of traditional Chinese cuisine, invented tofu. Then they looked for something with a texture more like that of the meat so that they could serve their guests what they were used to eating. They discovered that when they kneaded wheat dough in a tub full of cold water, the starch dissolved into the water. What finally remained was a chewy substance that was almost pure protein or "gluten", from which they made seitan. Wheat gluten is the protein from wheat with the starch removed. Seitan is gluten which has been cooked in a broth, usually with soy sauce.

Make Your Own Seitan

Many of the "mock meats" that are served in some Asian restaurants or are sold in some Asian food stores are made from seitan. Prepared seitan is available at health-food stores and Asian markets, but I think it is a little expensive. You can make gluten from scratch using wheat flour, but the process is involved, but it is very easy make seitan from vital wheat gluten which is available inexpensively at natural food stores and many supermarkets (People sometimes add it to bread dough to make high-gluten bread). Do not confuse this with high gluten flour which would not work in these recipes.

This is a basic recipe for gluten. Gluten by itself, can be bland, but it is delicious used in other recipes. It that can be used to replace meat many recipes.

BASIC GLUTEN

Makes 4 servings
1 and 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup water
6 cups vegetable stock

Stir together in a bowl, the vital wheat gluten and 1 cup water or vegetable stock.

Knead a minute to blend. Divide into about 20 balls, stretching and pressing to flatten into cutlets.

Drop the gluten cutlets into 6 cups vegetable stock.

Cover the pan and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the cutlets gently for about 50 minutes. Drain and cool before using.

Vegan Orange Seitan
serves 6

Here is the recipe I made today. I thought it was great, and I think it will be even better tomorrow, after the sauce has more of a chance to soak into the seitan. I’ll let you know.
The recipe is from Cooking with Gluten and Seitan, by Dorothy R. Bates and Colby Wingate, published by The Book Publishing Company, Summertown, Tennessee, p.77.



Zest from 1 large navel orange*
1 cup orange juice
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons arrowroot (I didn’t have arrowroot, so I used 2 tablespoons of corn starch, which seemed to work better that 1 tablespoon.)
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons agave nectar (a cactus derived sweetener, available at natural food stores)**
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups Seitan, cut into thin strips

Place all of the ingredients except the Seitan in a saucepan. Whisk and simmer until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat. You can stir in one tablespoon soy margarine for extra richness if you wish.

Heat the Seitan by wrapping in foil and heating 10 minutes in an oven or toaster oven.

Add the Seitan to the sauce. Serve over brown rice and arrange orange slices on top.


*Use a zester or a grater to remove the zest from the orange. Be careful not to get any of the white membrane. Later you can remove the white membrane from the orange and slice the orange for garnish.

**The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of honey, instead of agave.

Orange Seitan

I began a challenge to myself yesterday to try one new recipe a day. Yesterday, the first day of my challenge, I wanted to try yuba (bean curd skin) which I had bought at a Chinese grocery store. I made Buddha’s "Chicken" from Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen, by Bryanna Clark Grogan. It was really good. Bryanna has lots of good recipes on her blog, http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/ and in her books (She’s written 8). I want to experiment more with yuba, so I’ll write more about it later.

Today I made a recipe using Seitan. Seitan (pronounced "SAY-tan" is a protein-rich food made from wheat gluten.

In 7th century China, vegetarian Buddhist monks, looking for ways to make vegetarian protein which would be close to the flavors of traditional Chinese cuisine, invented tofu. Then they looked for something with a texture more like that of the meat so that they could serve their guests what they were used to eating. They discovered that when they kneaded wheat dough in a tub full of cold water, the starch dissolved into the water. What finally remained was a chewy substance that was almost pure protein or "gluten", from which they made seitan. Wheat gluten is the protein from wheat with the starch removed. Seitan is gluten which has been cooked in a broth, usually with soy sauce.

Make Your Own Seitan

Many of the "mock meats" that are served in some Asian restaurants or are sold in some Asian food stores are made from seitan. Prepared seitan is available at health-food stores and Asian markets, but I think it is a little expensive. You can make gluten from scratch using wheat flour, but the process is involved, but it is very easy make seitan from vital wheat gluten which is available inexpensively at natural food stores and many supermarkets (People sometimes add it to bread dough to make high-gluten bread). Do not confuse this with high gluten flour which would not work in these recipes.

This is a basic recipe for gluten. Gluten by itself, can be bland, but it is delicious used in other recipes. It that can be used to replace meat many recipes.

BASIC GLUTEN

Makes 4 servings
1 and 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup water
6 cups vegetable stock

Stir together in a bowl, the vital wheat gluten and 1 cup water or vegetable stock.

Knead a minute to blend. Divide into about 20 balls, stretching and pressing to flatten into cutlets.

Drop the gluten cutlets into 6 cups vegetable stock.

Cover the pan and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the cutlets gently for about 50 minutes. Drain and cool before using.

Orange Seitan
serves 6

Here is the recipe I made today. I thought it was great, and I think it will be even better tomorrow, after the sauce has more of a chance to soak into the seitan. I’ll let you know.
The recipe is from Cooking with Gluten and Seitan, by Dorothy R. Bates and Colby Wingate, published by The Book Publishing Company, Summertown, Tennessee, p.77.



Zest from 1 large navel orange*
1 cup orange juice
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons arrowroot (I didn’t have arrowroot, so I used 2 tablespoons of corn starch, which seemed to work better that 1 tablespoon.)
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons agave nectar (a cactus derived sweetener, available at natural food stores)**
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups Seitan, cut into thin strips

Place all of the ingredients except the Seitan in a saucepan. Whisk and simmer until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat. You can stir in one tablespoon soy margarine for extra richness if you wish.

Heat the Seitan by wrapping in foil and heating 10 minutes in an oven or toaster oven.

Add the Seitan to the sauce. Serve over brown rice and arrange orange slices on top.


*Use a zester or a grater to remove the zest from the orange. Be careful not to get any of the white membrane. Later you can remove the white membrane from the orange and slice the orange for garnish.

**The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of honey, instead of agave.