With our Thursday Journal of the Movement of the World segments, we endeavor modestly, dear reader, to bring you a bit of beauty from the world around us. What with the hubbub and the running around and the What Not to Wear marathons, we’re often finding ourselves looking back on a blur of a year not knowing quite how it all went by so fast. So, hard as it is, we are trying our best to stop and appreciate things more often. Check out that kick-ass bird over there. Look at that kid helping her mom pick out the exact right potatoes at the store. Take a gander at that dog that looks eerily like Lyndon B. Johnson. That kinda thing.

With that in mind, we apply the terribly inaccurate, toy-like magnifying glass that is the blog to the work of photographer, David Goldman—also a native to the great white north, Canada, thus continuing Canada week here at KoR. Full disclosure here: Mr. Goldman is a friend of ours and used to be our neighbor. That said, his work is truly beautiful. Whether the shot is an actual portrait or not, he always seems to convey the function of a portrait—the straight-on honesty of the moment his subject is in.

Keeping up our loosely-established Canada theme this week, we recently sat down with (read: emailed with) Jennifer Vega, the verifiably vibrant Vancouver vegan who calls the shots over at the blog, Sweet On Veg. We talked being vegan in the far northwest, raw ice cream, and the Olympic takeover of late. See?

Kindness of Ravens: Alright, so, first thing’s first—how long have you been veg/vegan?

Jennifer Vega: About 2 years and, before that, on-again, off-again since I was 12, with years of cheeseburgers and steak eating in between.

KoR: What drove you to make that kind of change in your lifestyle?

JV: I’ve always loved animals and felt uncomfortable with the idea of eating them. I tried not to think about where my food was coming from for a long time. About two years ago, I decided to look into how animals were being raised for food. I realized it is unacceptable, and I knew that I could no longer block out what was happening. We can eat delicious and nutritious foods without animal products.

KoR: Totally. Yeah, we both originally made the decision relatively early in our lives based entirely on animal welfare issues. Our reasoning is still based on that and, years and years later (too many, really), our convictions are stronger than ever. That said, as we’ve gotten older, I think our bodies have reaped the benefits of a decision made with them barely in mind at all. Have you also discovered many health benefits along the way?

JV: Yes! I’ve never felt better. I am the weight I was at 16 and I eat whatever I want. I hear so many women still counting calories, and there’s no need to do that when you’re eating a plant-based diet. My skin is so much clearer and brighter too. I spent years running around to dermatologists and spending hundreds of dollars on different face products. When I stopped drinking cow’s milk, my skin completely cleared up.

KoR: Did you find that going vegetarian sort of pushed you into a world of self-reliance as far as cooking for yourself and having to be creative in that sense or were you interested in food and cooking before that?

JV: I decided to start cooking recently because it gave me more variety and control over the ingredients. And there are so many yummy food blogs to get inspiration from!

KoR: Right? I will just tell you, it was NOT like that in the ‘90s. So, like most, I’m sure you know a lot of people who aren’t vegetarian or vegan. What’s your advice to anyone considering going veg?

JV: Be positive and lead by example. I found it helpful to switch over gradually. It’s important to be kind and take it easy on ourselves so that the experience is fun and positive. I eat a much greater variety of dishes now, and I’m even more passionate about food. I recommend spending a little time reading about vegan nutrition. If we eat a diet consisting of white pasta and fake meat, obviously we’d be unhealthy even though we’re vegan. Also, I noticed a big difference in my energy level since I started eating quinoa. I try and replace a lot of the dishes where I would use rice, with quinoa.

KoR: Yeah, we didn’t really discover quinoa until like five or six years ago. Super good and so easy. So, what made you want to start a Sweet On Veg? We know from experience that blogs are a bit of a pain…and ours is often merely held together by bits of Internet tape and twine. So what drives you to keep it going?

JV: I adore food and inspiration. When I realized how unnecessary it was to be eating animal products and how many delicious vegan options there were, I felt I needed to share that with everyone!!

KoR: Well on behalf of everyone, thanks! You tend to post a lot of raw recipes. What do you like about raw foods? I tried going raw for a bit myself and it DID NOT take at all. That said, I enjoy some raw ice cream from time to time and feel like it works for a lot of people.

JV: I just made raw ice cream last night with frozen bananas, raw chocolate and maple syrup! I really love raw desserts, but I could never go without pasta and toast.

KoR: Not together though, right? When you’re not blogging, what do you do?

JV: Hang out with my two dogs, Tibby-Lee & Fifone.

KoR: Working in the world of branding and image, we like to read into names and such. Sweet On Veg seems pretty straightforward as far as how it works. Were any other names in the running?

JV: Sweet On Veg was the one and only!

KoR: Well done then! So, obviously your hometown of Vancouver has very much been in the news lately. Have you lived in Vancouver all your life?

JV: I was born and raised in Vancouver but lived in a few other places like Toronto and England in my early twenties. I enjoyed a few months in your fine city too.

KoR: Oh, well a few months is not NEARLY enough. So, when it was announced however many years ago, how did you and your family and friends react to the news that Vancouver would host the 2010 Winter Olympics? I remember when they were talking about hosting the Olympics in NYC recently, most everyone here was just like, ‘Oh, HELLS to the no!’ Then again, I guess you could rent out your apartment for, what, a bajillion dollars

JV: It’s been a mixed reaction. I wouldn’t have minded renting my apartment out and taking off to Italy for a few weeks of pasta and wine.

KoR: So is your town totally overrun with media and weirdly fit people right now? Have you spotted anyone out and about? Er, oot and aboot?

JV: It’s a different vibe around the city. There is excitement in the air. I haven’t seen anyone famous though. I was hoping to spot Cindy Crawford!

KoR: Hm. I’m not familiar with her. Is she a Canadian skier? Any other favorites that you’re rooting for with the games?

JV: Go Canada Go!!

KoR: Fair enough! I’ve never been to Vancouver myself, but I have to say, I’m pretty impressed by the eastern trinity of Toronto, Montréal, and Quebec. In your opinion, what makes Vancouver awesome?

JV: The ocean, the mountains, delicious local food and the mildest climate in Canada.

KoR: Oh, that sounds like a plus. So, you’re not super far from Seattle, right? Have you ever had Mighty-O’s donuts? Can you mail me some? Like, a baker’s one-hundred dozen? Mmm. Bed of donuts…

JV: I’m overdue for a trip to Seattle. I haven’t been in a couple of years, and it’s only a couple of hours drive from Vancouver. Mighty-O’s will be my first stop!

KoR: And then straight to the post office. Switching scope to fashion, we’re already huge fans of Canadian designer, Dace, who’s based in downtown Vancouver and I believe manufactures everything there locally. Any other local fashion you can clue us in to?

JV: Astrosatchel has some really cute vegan bags!

KoR: Nice. Any word on things to come with you or Sweet on Veg? Plans? World domination through vegan recipes and inspirational quotes?

JV: Continuing the delicious inspiration.

KoR: Alright, time for the lightning round. Best all-around vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver?

JV: Radha.

KoR: Ooh, that does look good. Favorite local singer?

JV: k.d. lang…I think she’s from Alberta, but close enough and wow, she can sing.

KoR: Oh, right, Alberta. We totally saw a great band recently called the Rural Alberta Advantage. They may be onto something… Web site that’s been keeping you from work lately?

JV: stumbleupon.com.

KoR: Favorite TV show?

JV: Ellen

KoR: Favorite recipe of late?

JV: Toasted tomato & avocado (with a bit of olive oil & salt) sandwiches. Best sandwich ever.

Alright, well that abut does it. Be sure to check out Jennifer’s musing and makings over at sweetonveg.com whenever you get chance. Now we’re going to go watch some snowboarding.

Good lord. That Magnum thing has been up for over a week. In other, less Magnum-related news, I can’t stop listening to Owen Pallett‘s debut release under his growns up real name (he used to go by Final Fantasy, and yes, that WAS an awesome video game). It’s definitely one of those ‘sit back and let it sink in’ albums, but the LP, Heartland, will truly leave you reeling, building on Pallett’s background in classical music and his flair for electronic glitch, but taking his song-writing and big-picture musical thinking to the next level. Pallett has already forged a career to be admired—from organizing music festivals, to donating money won from a cell phone company to local Toronto bands, to writing almost an entire album based on the schools of magic in D&D (MAJOR high five)—so I can’t wait to see where he’ll take the unavoidable success of Heartland. Check out our Song of the Week, Lewis Takes Off His Shirt. And take a look at this excellent recording of him playing it live last year at Ontario’s Hillside Festival, just before being forced offstage by a rare Canadian monsoon.

We thought we knew design. We, it turns out, KNOW NOTHING! We give you—Selleck Waterfall Sandwich. A moment of silence to make room for the brilliance that is this thing, please.

Over the past weekend, we took a jaunt up to lovely Beacon, NY to visit our friends Heidi and Jeff. Last fall, they threw off the confines of the modern city for good, moving from their apartment on the upper west side to a charmingly GIGANTIC home just east of the Hudson. Aside from engaging in a major crunch session for last night’s premier of Lost’s final season, we also partook in a superb country-style vegan brunch, thanks to Heidi. Not being the types to show up empty-handed, we brought up our vegan buttermilk biscuits (recipe on our friend Joshua’s site, here). Not to be confused with Heidi and Jeff’s cat, also named Biscuit, also slightly buttery and flakey. The travel didn’t treat them too kindly—maybe we should have used a cat carrier—but they weren’t too much worse for the wear when everything was said and done. In addition to our contribution, the table was graced with garlic kale, a sweet potato-carrot hash, grilled tempeh strips, a very nice tofu-based quiche, and an excellent vegan coffee cake (pictured). Nice, right? I’ve always been a fan of the sweet-but-not-too-sweet desserts like carrot cake and spice cake and coffee cake, so I was understandably excited when Heidi mentioned she’d found the recipe online on a nice little cooking blog called From Scratch. Seems it’s a deft veganization of a Martha Stewart recipe (Note: Kiandra, proprietor of said blog, seems to have another nice blog on quilting and crafting and such). So Heidi passed a slightly altered version of the recipe on to us and we thought it was so good, we’d go ahead and post it. Enjoy!

Coffee Cake Recipe
Crumb Topping
1 c. melted vegan margarine
1 c. packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cake
3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated sugar
5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. egg replacer
4 tbl. warm water
1 c. soy milk
1 tbl + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. canola oil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Oil and flour a standard round spring form pan, set aside.
2. Prepare the crumb topping by first melting the margarine and then setting it aside to cool. In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until throughly combined. Once combined, pour the margarine into the bowl and combine ingredients until sugar mixture is moist and large crumbs form. Set aside.
3. To prepare the cake, mix together your egg replacer in a bowl with the warm water. Blend until throughly thick and lightly foamy. Set aside. In a large bowl sift together (3 c.) flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to throughly mix all ingredients. Set aside. In a second smaller bowl, whisk egg replacer, soy milk, canola oil, and vanilla together. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour wet ingredients into the well. Then stir everything together until just combined, being careful not to over-mix.
4. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly around pan. Top with the crumb mixture, evenly and gently spreading it over the cake batter.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes checking with a toothpick after 50 minutes.
6. Have with coffee. Talk amongst yourselves: “Why the hell is the island underwater now?!”

Below, Biscuit (the cat) about to be attacked by tiny dinosaurs.

When we moved into our new studio in Boerum Hill this past November, we realized we needed to replace some of our old furniture. Things like run-down Ikea desks, found-on-the street weird wrought iron stools, and a multi-function filing cabinet/printer stand/cat sunning station weren’t cutting it any more.

So, we looked into some options and realized, as many sadly do, that our taste in material things and pickiness had far outgrown our actual budget. Boo to that, right? So, we did what any red-blooded American in her or his right mind would do. We wrote Katie’s dad to see if he could help us build some badass desks.

Katie’s dad, Joe, is an accomplished carpenter and we were pretty sure that, with him on board, we’d end up with something that A) looked a lot better than most everything else out there, B) wouldn’t end up as a pile of Scandinavian particle board dust in a year or two, and C) wouldn’t require that we name our first born as a down-payment.

Joe graciously agreed to help us out and we sketched a very primitive schematic up of what we were thinking—simple, yet functional plank top desks made out of solid wood—and started talking materials and timeline. We decided to go with oak wood over pine because, while pine was cheaper and lighter-weight, oak had a really nice density and seemed like it would stand up well to all the nervous tapping, impromptu table-top dance parties, and other design-related ware they were sure to endure over time. We figured, if we were going to make these things, we wanted to make them right. From there, Joe figured out what exactly we would need and how best to construct everything, then, while we were down in Virginia for the holidays, leaning on Joe heavily in figuring out how to do everything, we made ourselves some desks.

Joe had cut the major pieces down for us by the time we got there and even assembled the tops—5 planks each at .75″x6″x60″. He had used biscuits—not the flakey, buttery kind—between the planks to strengthen the table tops and then cut the tops down to the finished width and length, sanding everything down with 120 grit paper. Once we got there, we used a .25″ round-over bit to ease the edges on all sides. And yes, most of this terminology is straight from Joe himself. I barely know what I’m typing here.

We made the legs out of 2.5″x2.5×36″ pieces of oak and cut them down to a length of 29.25″ with a compound miter saw once we figured out about how high we wanted to aprons to sit above our knees. That’s Katie cutting one down there, with her dad making sure limbs stay intact in the process. We then rounded the edges of those with the .25″ round-over bit as well. This was especially important on the bottoms of the legs so, when the desks are moved, for instance, they don’t catch the floor and splinter or anything. We drilled two pilot holes at the top of each leg so that they could each receive 5/16″x2.5″ hanger bolts, which would let us attach the legs to the apron rather than attaching them directly to the top. Then we sanded them down with a 120 grit too. Oh, and if you’ve never used a rotary electric hand sander, you should. It’s like holding a hundred tiny magic sanding elves in the palm of your hand.

The apron itself, which is basically just a box that sits underneath the table top, giving the legs a place to more securely attach, was cut to size from .75″x4″ pieces. To allow for the corner braces that would be holding the legs to the apron, we cut an 1/8″ saw kerf 1.75″ from the end of each apron and an 1/8″ slot cut 1/2″ from the edge of one side. So, basically we cut channels in the wood that would allow the corner braces to fit in snugly. Again, we finished the apron with 120 grit paper. And magic elves. We fastened the corner braces to the hanger bolts using nuts and lock washers and then used pan head screws to fasten the corner braces to the apron. Next, we turned the table top over on the workbench and set the assembled apron and legs on the underside of the it. We inserted table top fastener clips into the apron slot, using four fasteners on each side apron and 2 fasteners on the end apron. Then we carefully marked and drilled anchor holes in the underside of the table top for #8-5/8″ round head wood screws, making sure that the screw lengths weren’t too deep for the top, and installed all the screws, loosely at first, then going back once they were all installed to firm them up. Then we turned the whole thing over, sanded down with 120, and did a lot of cheering.

The next step involved securing the one-way rental of a sizable enough vehicle to get these things back to New York, sitting in a lot of traffic on the New Jersey Expressway, and then a coat of a light Golden Oak finish to give them a more…um…finished look. We waited 24 hours and then applied three coats of a satin water-based polyurethane finish to prevent marking and give them a more durable exterior.

Again, half…if not more than half of what I just wrote, I barely understand…even though I was nearly involved with their making form start to finish. Which is a pretty cool feeling. That said, Katie and I owe a great debt to Joe for giving us some beautiful desks and that old school feeling of making something beautiful and substantial out of a pile of wood. If anyone has any question or would like any clarifications on my likely very rudimentary write up of these, feel free to post. I’ll see if I can get Joe on the line to clear things up. In the meantime, we have to work on our plans for next year: A clockwork gyro-copter!

We’re ceding our posting duties today, first to Joshua over at the lifestyle blog, the Discerning Brute. He just put up a Whistle While You Work piece I’ve been meaning to write for a while on Dan Black and Seitan Daube. Whistle While You Work is a project where I write up a review of a particular musician’s work and then pair that work with a vegan recipe that, in some potentially vague or possibly even offensive way, relates to the music or musician or some such thing. That’s here. Then our friend Cheryl posted on her blog about homemade tamales we made with her and her beau, Justin. Here’s that. Blogorific!!!

A few weeks ago, Katie took me to see Passion Pit play for my birthday. Wait, just to be clear, Passion Pit didn’t play *for* my birthday, they just played around the time of my birthday and Katie, knowing how much I like them, bought us tickets. Alright, that’s straight, so let’s move forward. Points being: A) Passion Pit is in fact amazing, no doubt, and B) We were lucky enough to catch a few songs by the band opening for them, a nice trio out of Toronto called The Rural Alberta Advantage, though they seem to refer to themselves as RAA most times, which is MUCH more fun. So, anyway, RAAAAA came off really well. It’s often hard hearing a band for the first time live, depending on the sound tech, let’s say, or how loudly the seemingly pre-teen couple beside you is making out and taking about how awesome this show is to their friend on the phone…sorry, sorry…breathe, old man, breathe… But, again, back to the point, sometime bands with excellently complex rhythms and tones can just sound like a wall of mess live. RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! didn’t sound like a mess, but I couldn’t quite tell if they were awesome or just eh. Turns out, awesome. Thanks again, Canada. Their songs seem to be based on solid singer-songwriter bits and the main guy—who sings like Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel after eating a bunch of ground up glass—even retains his acoustic on-stage, giving everything a folksy feel, even when he’s strumming his strings like a crazy punk rock jackrabbit and yelling his head off. Build up some keys and nice tight drums around that and you’ve got RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! Their debut full length, Hometowns, came out last summer on Saddle Creek, so I’m a bit behind the times, but, nonetheless, check out “Don’t Haunt This Place”, this week’s Song of the Week.