Going nuts in the kitchen

I did a lot of cooking today. First, I made the "cow pies" from La Dolce Vegan! and then I made cinnamon donut holes. The donut holes sort of collapsed while cooking, so they aren't very pretty, but they are really, really yummy. I wonder if it's because I couldn't fill the pan all the way or because I used Willow Run margarine instead of the shortening the recipe called for.

For dinner, I made BBQ pomegranate tofu and millet polenta from Vegan With a Vengeance. The barbecue sauce turned out nice and thick, but there wasn't much pomegranate flavor. I might use a little more pomegranate molasses next time. Still, it was very tasty. Pomegranate molasses, by the way, is just thickened pomegranate juice. I found a bottle at the local Whole Foods in the syrups/molasses/honey/baking stuff section. The millet polenta is supposed to be served with a sun-dried tomato pesto, but since I didn't have all the ingredients and it would have been very difficult in my tiny kitchen with everything else going on, I just drizzled a little BBQ sauce on it. I probably should have fried it up more, but it was still very tasty.

Earlier this morning, I did a little leafleting near the Verizon Center (formerly known as the MCI Center) because the circus is in town. Groan. There is something wrong about making wild animals do tricks for people's amusement. The animals are horribly abused and live in tiny, cramped cages. Sadly, many of the families passing by did not seem particularly receptive to our attempts to inform them of the slavery and brutality that is inherent in every animal circus. When elephants freak out and go on a rampage, it's indicative they've had enough of being someone's entertainment. Or perhaps this cartoon says it best. If you are going to go to a circus, go to one where all the performers are willing participants and are paid for their work.