Tracy Murphy

       For the past year I have had the extreme pleasure of volunteering my time with ASHA.  An animal sanctuary located in Newfane, NY getting ready for it's first rescue of chickens this spring.  I started out just helping to arrange tabling events in the summer but now I have been given the awesome responsibility of being their treasurer.  

    

      The woman who started this whole thing and has worked tirelessly in the past year to make her dream a reality is Tracy Murphy.  A beautiful lady who I am very lucky to call my dear friend.  She is a true inspiration to not only myself but others. I feel incredibly blessed that she has included me in helping her with this amazing adventure as well as witnessing her "baby" come to life. 

    After much thought,  it only seemed logical to interview Tracy so that others could learn about her story and what sparked her interest to start an animal sanctuary: 

1. How long have you been vegan and what made you decide to make this lifestyle change?

    

    I first became a vegan in 2007, but went back and forth with my diet for those first couple of years.  I made the final decision to be completely vegan in 2009 as the only true way to be compassionate toward farmed animals and end their suffering.  I decided to go vegan when I became aware of the horrific suffering in animal agriculture and allowed myself to begin to be emotional connected with the animals.  I strongly believe you can't go vegan just by knowing about the suffering alone.  Many people view animal agriculture as horrific, and it is evidenced when we hear comments like, "I don't want to hear about it."  But there is something magical that happens to people when they emotionally connect with farmed animals.  It becomes real for them - slaughter.  And they don't want to eat the animals anymore.  That's what happened to me.

2. When did you form BVS?

 
    I formed the Buffalo Vegan Society in 2007 when I first learned about animal suffering in cruel farming practices and became a vegan.  Funny thing is I really didn't know I was a vegan - I had not heard of the word yet! I just considered myself a vegetarian that did not eat any animal products.

    The first thing I did was try to find a local support group.  There were none in the area that I could find,  so  I got up the courage to form my own group on meetup.com, and we started as the Buffalo Vegetarian Meetup.  After a while, we voted on a name and became the Buffalo Vegetarian Society. We started with dinner nights out and then began vegan potluck dinners at a local church.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and much support for one another.  After meeting for a while, we decided it was time to do more to help animals and people by reaching out and educating the surrounding community on all the benefits of a plant-based diet.  

  

    In 2010, we began holding lectures featuring well-known medical professionals that included Dr. Michael Greger of the Humane Society of the United States and nutritionfacts.org and Dr. Neal Barnard, Founder and President of the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine.  George Eisman, R.D. and Nutrition Director for the Coalition for Cancer Prevention spoke for BVS several times as well and has been very supportive of our mission to educate our community.  Our events have been very well-received and has brought in non-vegs, vegetarians and vegans.  Our feedback from people has been very positive and they've  told us they have become vegetarian or vegan, transitioned to veganism or greatly reduced animal-based meat consumption as a result of our educational programs.  Many of our BVS friends bring in their non-veg family members as well and look to us for a safe and fun way to introduce veganism to them. 

3. What made you decide to form ASHA sanctuary?

      It was the magic that happens when people meet farmed animals for the first time and see how friendly, emotional and intelligent they are.  As much as we worked hard over the years to educate our community on the cruel treatment of animals in farming practices, we were missing a very important component - the animals!  I founded ASHA to let the animals tell their story - a very simple one of wanting to be loved - they tell their story with a loving kiss, a warm nudge, or just a still look that captures our hearts and changes our minds.

4. Where do you see ASHA in 5 years?

      ASHA will have animals living on our grounds in peace and surrounded by love and will provide a safe place where people can meet the animals, establishing long lasting emotional relationships with them.  We believe these human-animal connections will allow people to see the animals as friends and not food, helping them to make the compassionate decision to go vegan.

    We envision a large pond in the front of ASHA where ducks rescued from horrible and inhumane foie gras facilities can finally be free from suffering and enjoy swimming and life the way nature intended. We picture a large barn for pigs and an area for them to run, play and get wet!  We look forward to having lots of chickens, turkeys, and roosters following volunteers around, basking in the sun or just on patrol watching out for each other. As well as inquistive goats running up to meet our guests with big smiles and kisses. 

    We see ASHA as a safe place for people to enjoy and explore nature by providing hiking trails on our 27 acre preserved forest. We will provide support and encouragement by offering plant-based cooking classes by expert vegan chefs in our historic 1800's house. We anticipate the barns on ASHA grounds being energy efficient by solar or wind energy and a conduit to help educate people in our surrounding community on sustainable living. We look forward to having a community garden to provide much needed revenue for our sanctuary and to serve as a community model in sustainable gardening.

5.  What are your thoughts about the progression of more vegan food options in area businesses throughout WNY?

    When I first started out, Gardein was not around and Daiya and Follow Your Heart Cheese had not made it to the East coast yet - at least not to Buffalo!  There weren't any places I could even order a vegan pizza with cheese!  It is so different now. Pizza Plant, Allentown Pizza and some other venues now offer vegan pizzas, subs and more with melted, vegan mozzarella cheese and even delicious toppings like vegan 'steak' and 'chick'n'!  I live out in the country and even my nearest grocery store has plenty of plant-based options which include ice creams, meats and frozen dinners.  It wasn't like this when I first became vegan.  The demand for compassionate, plant-based food is definitely increasing as our vegan community continues to grow.

Brio Vegan Pizza Night

    Last night Brio Pizzeria located in Lewiston, NY hosted a 'Vegan Pizza Night".  An evening that would allow customers to sample vegan items that would eventually be on their menu permanently.           The event started at 6pm and when my mom, my kids and I arrived, the place was already packed. 

     

      The staff was very friendly when we walked in and it was a pleasure to talk with them about the future of their vegan menu options, as well as the perspective of fundraising events with ASHA sanctuary further down the road. 

      The samples started with chips alongside an array of dips including hummus, guacamole, and salsa con "queso" 

     

      Then they brought out gazpacho, chili and jalapeno poppers, all of which were delicious. 

      Next they served portobello mushroom sandwiches and presented the main event... the pizza!!! 

      It was very yummy!  The crust and the sauce were both fantastic!  In my opinion it was the best vegan pizza that I have ever had.  Each one that came from the kitchen was as tasty as the one before.  I even ordered a pie to bring home for my husband so he could give it a try, and he LOVED it!  

      

      They brought out pasta with alfredo sauce that was also enjoyable,  my only complaint was that the sauce could have been a little thicker.  I did notice that they brought out quesadillas but I was so full from all the food earlier in the evening that I could not bring myself to eat anymore. 

  Desserts were generously donated by kimcakes and Orange Cat Coffee Co.  Which of course were delish as usual.

      I want to thank Danielle, Jen, Jessica and the rest of the staff at Brio for a fantastic evening.  I for one am so pleased that another restaurant has recognized the wish for vegan menu options.  Plus you can't beat it when there's a place around the corner  that delivers vegan pizza! ;) 

Super Delicious Veggie Stew With Dumplings

On a really cold day like today ( is it spring yet?) nothing is yummier that a nice warm bowl of soup.  My entire family loves this recipe, and any mother will tell you, when you can find something that everyone will eat you stick with it!  The greatest thing  is that this doesn't take very long to make at all.  You can have it on your table in about an hour :)


You will need:

8 cups of broth ( I use Better than Bouillon No Beef Base)

1/3 Cup of nutritional yeast

a few dashes of onion powder

1 bag of frozen peas

1 bag of frozen carrots

1 bunch of celery (preferably organic)- chopped

1/2 cup of plain almond milk

1/2 cup of unbleached flour

1/2 cup of water

1 Tablespoon italian herbs

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

For the scrumptious dumplings:

2 cups of unbleached flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of pink salt

1 cup of plain almond milk

2 Tablespoon of olive oil

a few dashes of italian herbs


1. In a large soup pot combine broth, nutritional yeast, onion and celery.  Bring it to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low.  Cover the pot partially and allow to cook for about 20 minutes.

2. While you're waiting for the broth to simmer,  in a bowl mix the milk,  flour and water.  Whisk it until it's smooth.  No lumps!  Then slowly mix into the pot, and keep mixing until the broth starts to get thick. Bring the stew to a simmer again, then add the carrots and peas.

3. While the soup is simmering, it's time to make the dumplings!  In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients and mix with a fork.  Then pour in the milk and olive oil.  Stir together until the batter is lumpy.   Make sure that you don't over mix!

4. Gently plop teaspoons of batter into the soup, cover the pot and reduce the heat.  Cook the dumplings for about 15- 20 minutes.  Only open the lid on the pot if the dumplings look like they are clumping and need to be broken up.

5. Take the lid off so that the soup can cool off for a bit because it's too hot to eat right away.  You can even test a dumpling to make sure that they are done to your liking.

This recipe makes a lot of food.  Our entire family will each eat 2 bowls and we usually have leftovers, which are of course fantastic the next day!

Chickpea Flour 'Omelette'

     Even before becoming vegan I was never a big egg eater, in fact if I wanted some, I always wanted someone else to cook them because I couldn't stand the smell.  Finding an alternative to scrambled eggs was so easy, there is nothing I love more than a  tofu scramble! To me it tastes 100% better than any eggs I ever had in my life, and I happen to be with the man that makes the best scramble ever!
 
      Once in a while however I do miss the idea of an omelette so I was determined to search for something that would be similar. After many internet searches and an experiment this morning,  I found my 'omelette'!

You will need:

° 1/2 Cup Chickpea Flour

°  2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

°  1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

°  1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

°  1/2 teaspoon Tumeric

°  Salt & Pepper to taste

°   2/3 Cup Water

°   Chopped onion

°   Any kind of veggies you'd like to put inside, chopped

°    Vegan cheese if wanted, I used a little bit of shredded cheddar from Daiya

1. First add all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

2.  Next add water and onion, and let the mixture sit for about 10-15 minutes until thick. After that  if needed add more water by the Tablespoon until it resembles pancake batter.

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan, once the pan is hot turn the heat to low and pour half of the mixture into the pan spreading it out with a spoon.

4. Cover tightly with a lid and let cook for about 4 minutes or until the top looks like a pancake does when it's ready to flip.

5. At this point add cheese and veggies, then fold the omelette in half, put the lid back on tightly and cook for another 4 minutes.

After that its finished! The batter makes 2 good sized omelettes. Although I will admit I ate both of them this morning, mostly to conduct the full experiment ;)

There is no doubt this will become a breakfast favorite in my house! Plus the greatest part is that I found a way we can enjoy an "omelette" without any chickens being  harmed! :)

ASHA's Vegan Valentine Celebration

Last Thursday ASHA Sanctuary held it's first ever vegan valentine's celebration at the Red Mill Inn located in Williamsville, NY. The event was a fundraiser to help with the rescue and up keep of our future residents at the sanctuary. The evening featured an amazing vegan meal which included gourmet "cheese", soup & salad and a Mediterranean stuffed "chick'n" breast with an array of delicious sides. 

We also had marvelous desserts charitably donated by Orange Cat Coffee Co. and Wheatberry bake shop as well as an awesome candy donation for our guests upon arrival from Aletheas. Yes their dark chocolate is vegan!!

The whole evening was an amazing experience and we could not thank Red Mill enough for all of their incredible work and accommodations. We can't wait until next year!