But one of the key players in the Philadelphia Phillies’ dominance in recent years has been the scruffy, scrappy, underrated — and I think it’s now fair to say, underappreciated — Jayson Werth.

Werth epitomizes Philadelphia baseball. He’s a player whose love of the game is made evident by his willingness to give 110% every time he steps on the field, no matter the situation, no matter the game’s significance. He’s a fan favorite – and with Philadelphia’s standards – that’s no small accomplishment. It’s testament to the kind of player Werth is. Philly fans don’t just hand out respect cards. Athletes play hard to earn that stamp of approval and Jayson Werth played hard every single day.

photo credit: MissChatter via flickr

So why then didn’t GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. do more to keep the beloved right fielder? Tis a question many of my Philly brothers and sisters are pondering today, all the while using their #28 jerseys to wipe away the tears.

So I give to you the top five reasons Philadelphia should’ve done more to keep Jayson and why he’s “werth” every penny he’s getting from the Nationals:

1 – Jayson Werth is Philly at heart.

Werth may have been born in Illinois, but he’s definitely a Philly kinda guy. Let me put it to you this way, he’s an ever-so-slightly more slender version of John Kruk. For all the athletic reasons I’m about to list, accompanied by the fact Werth is a guy you’d feel comfortable approaching at a bar and having a beer with, he fit perfectly into the blue-collar City of Brotherly Love.

2 – Dominic Brown isn’t ready to take over in right field.

There’s no doubt Brown will play a key role in Philadelphia’s future, but as of late, it seems pretty clear that “future” is more likely further down the road than the Phillies would like. The 23-year-old was named the top prospect in all of Major League Baseball in 2010 by Baseball America, but Brown earned very little playing time in this year’s playoffs and was recently brought home early from his Dominic league team after being described as “tired and sluggish.” In nine games in the league, Brown hit a below measly .069.

3 – Werth’s right-handed bat was much needed relief in the Phils’ lefty-heavy lineup.

Aside from Werth and catcher Carlos Ruiz, there were no other solid righties in the power-packed lineup last season. And Werth’s very important 5 spot in the batting order, where he hit just four points shy of .300 last season and boasted an incredible .921 OPS, certainly helped Ryan Howard see more worthy at-bats than he would have had another, less-fearful hitter been in the on-deck circle. And let’s face it, Werth knows how to get on base. Now that he’s DC-bound, who’s going to fill that void?

4 – You never, ever want to lose speed.

With the exodus of base running guru Davey Lopes, this is a truly shitty time to lose a player like Werth, who’s masterful on the bases. He’s got speed, guts and intelligence. Rather than helping impart his base running wisdom to new, young Phillies, he’ll be teaching his skills to Bryce Harper in a couple of years.

5 – His defense was as underrated as his bat.

Jayson Werth will very likely earn a Gold Glove at some point in his career. His speed allows him to cover a ton of ground in the outfield and he more than adequately filled in for centerfielder Shane Victorino when he was out nursing an oblique in August. And then there’s his arm. Werth’s arm was ranked third best in the NL last year thanks not only to its strength, but also its impeccable accuracy.

I’m so very sad to see Jayson Werth headin’ out of town. Turns out it’s not always so sunny in Philadelphia after all.

If you’re in desperate need of a pick-me-up to get through those mid-week blahs, then you fools are in luck. This is, hands down, the single cutest kit kat video I have ever seen in my life.

If it doesn’t make you giggle uncontrollably, then you’re an undeniable lost cause. There’s just no hope for you. My only advice–go hide under your comforter and wait for the weekend. 

The only way to possibly up the cute factor would be if Kingston or Monroe played the leading role. Unfortunately I don’t see either of them recreating this scene anytime soon.  

xxoo
v

November 28th is National French Toast Day, people! What a glorious holiday, just glorious indeed.

v's vegan french toast!

I could kiss the brilliant soul who decided French toast was so grand it deserved its own day of recognition. I wholeheartedly agree!

Even though I’m still stuffed to the brim with Tofurkey and all the yummy vegan sides, I felt compelled to honor today’s holiday. I mean, I really don’t see that I had a choice in the matter. In order to celebrate this national day appropriately, I was practically forced to make French toast…veganized, but of course. 

And as luck would have it, the secret ingredient for making extra-deelish French toast is plenty available this time of year. Because it’s the holiday season, you can find Soy Nog  just about everywhere. And let me just tell you, Soy Nog isn’t just for chilly nights by the fire. It’s the absolute best way to seriously fancy up some French toast.

Here’s my recipe. And as are all of lil miss vegan’s recipes, I promise it’s nearly foolproof. Trust the biggest kitchen fool of them all…yours truly.

xxoo
v

What you’ll need to make 3 slices of vegan French toast:

• 3 slices of multi-grain bread
• 1/2 cup of Silk Nog
• 1/4 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
• organic canola oil for the pan

Mix soy nog, vanilla, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Soak bread in mixture and add to the canola lined pan. Be extra careful because the oil will splatter. Cook each side of the bread until golden brown.

Add your favorite syrup and enjoy!

My nonvegan friends and family always seem especially concerned for my taste buds this time of year. The regular ole everyday questions are replaced with ones more seasonally appropriate, such as “If you don’t eat turkey, what do you do on Thanksgiving?”

Well here, my curious friends, is the precise meal upon which I stuffed my face today:

• Many people who’ve never even seen a Tofurkey assume it tastes like shit. Well kids, we all know what assuming does, now don’t we? I assure you, Tofurkey is absolutely dee-lish! I crave it so badly sometimes that I have to go buy one and make a feast for no reason at all. It’s just that damn good!

tofurkey, tofurkey, tofurkey!

• And we crazy vegans enjoy all the same yummy sides as the rest of you, just minus the insurmountable fat, calories and animal suffering. Here’s my plate full of faves: tofurkey and stuffing with mushroom gravy, mac ‘n “cheese,” baked corn and extra-yummy cranberry-filled dumplings. 

The whole spankin' plate of vegan goodness.

• And if you know me, you know my obsession for anything and everything sweet…and chocolatey. I make one hell of a non-dairy chocolate cheesecake, but this time I got all wild and crazy and strayed from the recipe. With my ridiculous lack of food prep skills, any improv on my part is quite risky behavior. But I decided to live dangerously today. I made my very first chocolate/raspberry cheesecake. And the result, you ask? I know you’re dying of anticipation. Well, my lovelies, it was pretty much heaven. The pic definitely doesn’t do it justice…

One cheesecake. Two people. And nearly half of it's gone.

Thanks to a lovely friend’s recipe for pumpkin/cranberry cheesecake, I also gave that a shot. To my utter surprise, I was hittin’ 2 for 2 today and this one turned out oh-so-yummy, as well. But as with the choc/rasp cheesecake, appearance is certainly not my forte. If it’s edible, I’m happy. Screw what it looks like. I gave up on trying to capture a usable image for the pumpkin cheesecake so you’ll just have to take my word for it. It didn’t look great, but was truly scrumptious. Thanks, Sarah! <3

Happy Tofurkey Day!

or

Happy ThanksVegan!

Whichever you darlings prefer.

xxoo
v

**If anyone would like any of the recipes, just let me know. I’ll be happy to share.**

In celebration of my birthday, my favorite holiday (All Hallow’s Eve), and this special vegan day, I decided to work my magic (or in my case, lack there of) in the kitchen. I’m one of just a handful of vegans I know who doesn’t enjoy cooking or baking, but it’s an undeniable fact. And just to clarify, not only do I not enjoy cooking, I’m not good at it. Not good at all.

vegan butterscotch chip pumpkin cookies

However, a lovely friend of mine recently mentioned on Facebook that she was enjoying a fresh batch of pumpkin butterscotch chip cookies she had just made. I instantly fell in love. I just had to try them out and dear Francesca was sweet enough to send me the recipe. And to make my life easier, she informed me Price Chopper brand butterscotch chips are vegan! Such a grand find, Francesca, grand find indeed.

Despite how much I despise being in the kitchen, the sound of pumpkin and butterscotch together was just too dee-lish to pass by. So this weekend I tried my hand at baking the cookies, hoping it wouldn’t be a decision I later regretted. To my great surprise–and utter relief–not only was the baking process painless, the cookies actually turned out edible! And not just edible, my dear friends, they turned out freakin’ fantastic…if I do say so myself.

And if you’re not inclined to take my word for it, I’ll have you know I tried them out on a number of friends, all of whom are non-vegan. And the reaction? They adored them as much as I did. Well…they said they did at least.

The recipe is below, with some tweaks of my own to make the cookies a tad bit healthier. And if you don’t live near a Price Chopper market, Food Lion brand butterscotch chips are also vegan, as are Liebers.

Enjoy!

xxoo
v

Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups of organic whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. of baking soda
• 1 tsp. of baking powder
• 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1 1/2 cups organic whole cane sugar
• 1/2 cup Smart Balance “butter”
• 1 cup of pumpkin
• 1/2 cup of applesauce (I used cinnamon applesauce for even more flavor.)
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup vegan butterscotch chips

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Beat sugar and Smart Balance (or your own butter substitute of choice) in a mixer bowl until well blended. Mix in pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla extract until smooth. Slowly add flour mixture.

lilmissvegan note: I don’t have the traditional mixing bowl, so I used my food processor to beat and blend ingredients. It worked perfectly.

BAKE cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, but keep a close eye on them. Because of their coloring, you have to forgo the “until golden brown” measuring tool. Cookies will be incredibly moist with a consistency reminding you more of cake than a cookie…just the way I like ‘em!

lilmissvegan note: I’m also a huge chocolate lover so I always, always, always try to find a way to add chocolate to any dessert recipe. In one of the batches of pumpkin cookies, I tossed in a few choc chips, along with the butterscotch chips. Because cookies+chocolate can NEVER be a bad thing, they were still yummy. But I have to say, the chocolate did take a bit away from the butterscotch/pumpkin combo. Still, if you crave chocolate like I do, give it a shot.

The reason it jumped out at me is because one of my bff”s, Cody, is absolutely obsessed with Pugs and can’t wait til he’s settled enough to adopt one. Yes, that’s right…ADOPT one. Because Cody’s much too smart–well in this case anyway–to ever, ever buy an animal. Haha, c’mon, that lil jab was damn funny!

In all seriousness though, there’s just absolutely, positively no reason to ever buy from a pet store or breeder, whether you insist upon having a purebred or not. Always adopt!

Okay, that was my plug. Now watch this cute-as-all-hell Pug.

Damn, I’m on a roll today! Ha.

Miss you, Cody!

xxoo
v

It’s a story about four lil ducks whose curiosity landed them stuck in a drain.

And it’s a story of the caring people who didn’t give up on the idea of reuniting the babies with their very distraught mum. 

After hearing of all the evil, hateful abuses animals suffer at the hands of people, it’s refreshing to hear the good stories every once in awhile.

Check the story and video here.

xxoo
v

thanx, Dimitri P, via flickr, for the great crazy Jean image

My stunned silence has since passed and I’m now able to say Canadian Governor General Michaelle Jean is utterly disgusting and her actions earlier this week are beyond comprehension.

I’ll start by setting the background. See, the European Parliament understands the annual Canadian Seal Hunt is vicious and cruel. As a result, they voted earlier this month to implement a ban on the selling of some seal products. The EU ban prohibits large scale trading of seal fur and other products throughout Europe. It’s set to be signed into law in late June. 

This ruling apparently did not go over too well with Jean. In her attempt to show support for Canadian seal hunters, the governor general decided to go crazy hardcore…crazy being the operative word here. During a community festival on Monday, Jean allegedly knelt in front of a number of seal carcasses, sliced into one of the animals and then, doing her best Hannibal Lecter impersonation, asked the woman next to her, ”Could I try the heart?”

Yes, that’s right people, Jean then proceeded to swallow the raw seal’s heart whole! And animal rights activists are called extreme…really?!

I’m envisioning Jean eating the heart, licking her lips and then asking for a glass of Chianti.

xxoo
v

And if you’re wondering whether or not the seal hunt is cruel, watch this video and decide for yourself.

Well thankfully the brilliant ”directors” behind the first video documenting this torrid love affair, chose to release a sequel.

And for all you haters out there–and let me just tell ya, lilmissvegan is one of ‘em–this vid proves that true love really does exist…well for rats and cats at least.

Enjoy!

xxoo
v

playin the suck up game later in the day

Because he gets whatever the hell he wants, whenever he wants it, he becomes infuriated when things don’t go his way. Our morning routine consists of him patting me in the face with his paw until I get up and feed him. If that doesn’t work, he ups it a notch. He resorts to digging his claws into my scalp, cheek, lip or whatever he sees appropriate at the time. I envision him saying, “Bitch, get your ass up now! I’m fucking hungry.”

After a few minutes, I fold. I find it’s easier to just get up and feed the lil man rather than put up a fight…a fight that I’m going to lose every time. 

I foolishly chose to fight the inevitable yesterday. And Kingston was more than happy with the challenge.

I wouldn’t get up and he got pissed…really pissed. He jumped off the bed and I heard the chewing begin. By the time I realized what was happening, within 30 seconds, the lil monster had chewed completely through the chord to my iPhone charger. I took it away from him, he flashed a total don’t mess with me, bitch look and off he walked to the kitchen. He sat his newly content self next to his dish and awaited my arrival.

xxoo
v