My name’s America and I’m a toy addict

Even I, a toy collector, was surprised by what this infographic indicates are Americans’ priorities. And yes, I found a way to tie this to food. See what you think of the numbers and meet me below for further thoughts.

Okay, first of all, I never would’ve thought that America spent more on toys than on movies and music combined. Second, my collection is pretty testosterone heavy and I count on Mattel for their line of DC Comics superhero action figures. Toys directed at girls are well off my radar so I was surprised to see that their Barbie dolls & gear make up over half their sales. I’d certainly never heard of Rapunzel Barbie who made the list of Top 10 Bestselling Toys in several countries.

Boys’ toys didn’t totally get left in the lurch, though. My purchases of Hasbro’s Marvel superhero action figures, along with their lines of Transformers and GI Joe, made up for 1/3 of the sales for the second biggest toy company. Hasbro is also lucky enough to have the Star Wars license, the bestselling boy’s toy license 3 years in a row! People who only know Star Wars from the movie theater should take note: the merchandise goliath that started way back in 1977 is still raking in the dough. But three times more money from toys than the box office? Wow.

Since this site is at least half about food, the serious point to be made is that Americans saved money in 2010 by spending .5% less on food but thought it was okay to spend 2% more on toys. Hey, I’ll go a long way to insure I don’t have to pass up Mattel’s 89th version of Batman, but not at the expense of a healthy (and compassionate) diet. It’s not like there’s anything shocking here, except that 2010 was the low point in the “great recession.” C’mon, it’s not like you can eat that new Darth Vader figure is it? Well, if I had to, at least it’s vegan.

Thanks to Jason over at

Sh*t toy collecting vegans say

Normally, I resist the temptation to join the latest internet meme. But I’m not made of stone. If you can think of any, I’d love to see ’em in the comments.

“Please sign my petition for the new Baron Zemo figure to be made with a fake fur collar.”

“I can’t believe the convention center doesn’t have a smoothie stand inside it!”

“These organic almonds have to soak for five hours. That’s just enough time to dust my display shelves.”

“Yes, I’ll chip in for a pizza delivery during the Twilight Zone marathon, but I want my own cheese-less pizza. Your cheese got on my half last year.”

“I’ll trade you this mint vinyl cape Jawa for your gently used Vitamix Turboblend 5000.”

“Let’s get lunch at the Whole Foods next to the Toys R Us.”

“I’m gonna be late for my Dr Who cosplay weekend if I can’t find any vegan jelly babies!”

“Don’t be mad that I just spent 7 hours on eBay, honey. I use GoodSearch so that every time I look up vintage Mego dolls, it donates money to the local farm animal sanctuary.”

“Do you think that Admiral Ackbar is allergic to shellfish?”

“I’m on the fence about whether or not to add Mr Spock to my collection; it’s well-known that Vulcans are vegetarians, but there’s no proof that they’re vegan.”

God of lies says “You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me!”

Today’s guest post is by Loki, the Norse god of lies.

Well, well, well – I doubt that even Odin could have foreseen the day when the mischief of Loki would be shamed by the scope of mortal trickery. Truly, people of Midgard, thou hast taught me the true meaning of deceit and deception. I have witnessed the ways in which you convince yourselves that meat & dairy foodstuffs do not originate from soulful creatures – creatures that like you have two eyes and a heart. These illusions you choose to believe are more powerful than any spell I could ever hope to weave.
Observe: an amusing “viral video” appeared upon your “worldwide web” this past week. It was a lark, a trifle – but it served to illustrate the heights to which you have fooled yourselves about the origin of foods you consume. Sadly, my Asgardian powers do not include the ability to translate Portuguese, but you’ll get the gist of it.

Verily, my knee glows red from the vigorous slapping that video segment did bring about. It begs the question, did any of the shoppers then go on to eat any pork products later that day? That week, that month? What is the expiration date for such sudden indignation?
But lo, the online world had another lesson for me – this time in regards to bovine milk. It appears that the California Milk Processor Board would have you believe that drinking almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk is akin to communing with Surtur. If this musing is the worst they can conjure up about alternative milks, then their argument is surely desperate.
Got production values?

By the gaze of Heimdall, don’t make me shake my beverage container one more time! Bwah-ha-ha-ha!! You people of Earth really are most bewildering. I must learn how it is that you can remember such trivia to concern yourselves with, while at the same time you are able to unknow the loss of life that fills a T.G.I.Friday’s menu. With that power, I could conquer Thor himself!

The best Best of 2011 list (because it’s action figures and food!)

We weren’t about to let PWMF’s first full year go by without a “Best of” round-up! (Even if it is *ahem* a week late.) My staff got together and elected the top 5 action figures who joined our ranks in 2011. And they picked the best vegan food – that’s “food”, singular.
Here they are, in no particular order – Hey! You Jawas in the back – no crying! There are no small parts, only small action figures.

• Black Widow – This Russian hussy made the cut for a buncha reasons. No, not those. There’s only been one BW made in this scale before, and she was hampered by bad articulation and a hairdo that looked like, well, a spider’s nest. We liked that this version has a unique, feminine face without going all Barbie. Hasbro could’ve gotten away with a simple black paint job for her jumpsuit, but they gave it a metallic finish for that extra oomf. Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah, she’s a she! You non-action figure collectors have no idea how hard it is to get companies to make women characters for toy lines that are traditionally aimed at boys. When they are produced, it’s in small quantities and with poor design.
Now before you accuse us of choosing winners based on their bust size, be assured that we brought some beefcake, too –

• Catman – Lame name, totally bad-ass character. This furball came on the scene as a D-list Batman villain. Then in 2005, he was re-invented as a member of the supervillain team, the Secret Six. A bad guy with a heart of gold and a penchant for protecting endangered animals, he was a shoe-in for our best of. We just never thought an action figure of him would actually get made. Mattel captured his costume purrrfectly, but the physique is a little too super-human. This guy has no super powers. Unless you count being awesome.



• Jabba the Hut – We’ve lost count of how many versions of everybody’s favorite Huttese gangster have been produced. But when this version showed up, we knew they broke the mold. (literally – ba-dumDUM!) This naughty alien’s got it where it counts: great paint apps, proper scale with other Star Wars figures, just enough articulation to find his way around a length of chain, and talk about attention to detail! He comes with pillows, people. Pillows! This guy really knows how to show a slave girl a good time.

• Justice Society 3 pack – We’re huge fans of the toy line based on the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. The simple, stream-lined look of the show really lends itself to three-dimensional design. So it was that much more of a nerdgasm to get 3 classic DC superheroes from the Golden Age of comics in JLU style. The original Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Flash have never shown up on the cartoon, but Mattel was smart enough to imagine them as they would have appeared and serve ’em up as an exclusive online release.

• Leela – Dr Who fans will remember 2011 as the year we finally got an action figure of a companion from Tom Baker’s era in the 70s. Leela is certainly one of our all-time favorite companions from the show, and the episodes that featured her were some of the very best stories. Like Black Widow, Leela scores points for being a female sculpt that’s true to the character. The British toy company, Character Options, isn’t known for amazing articulation, but Leela does okay. This is one savage we’re happy to have on staff – just watch out for any stray Janis thorns.

Well, that does it for the action figure selection. We’re sure you’re all wondering what the big surprise is for the best vegan food of 2011. We can’t keep it a secret any longer – ladies and gentlemen, for the 39th year in a row, the winner and still champion – call it a fruit, call it a vegetable, it still makes a sauce that’s boss – the bottle that you love to squeeze – KETCHUP!!

We’re not shy about it, we put ketchup on our ketchup. Always vegan, always will be. And just when you thought they couldn’t reinvent the wheel, here comes organic ketchup. Whether it’s Heinz or *ahem* something else, we’re thrilled to find the organic styles tend to be thicker and less sugary. Tomato, tomato – there’s always tomato. Getchyer stinkin’ french fries outta my ketchup – don’t call it catsup! – and the sun’ll come out tomato.

Spider-Turkey and Green Gobbler save Thanksgiving

We had to call in the big guns to help us prepare for our Thanksgiving meal with the family of omnivores. So Spider-Turkey, Green Gobbler, and some of their feathered friends swooped in with a few choice dishes. The main one being this Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute from the fine folks at Field Roast. I’m blatantly ripping off their photo of it cause we ate the whole thing before I could snap a picture. I was thankful that it’s stuffed with Field Roast’s sausages, crystallized ginger, cranberries, and apples. This is the best of the prepared turkey or roast veggie products I’ve discovered. Great pastry shell. Just the right combo of nutty & fruity bite to the stuffing. The consistency wasn’t too dense the way some of ’em can be. Highly recommended by this turkey, that’s for sure!

Green Gobbler didn’t waste any time getting to dessert. Once we slapped a brown sugar glaze on these pumpkin muffins, they didn’t last long. Holey-moley! Too, too delish.
We started preparing food Wednesday evening. But long after I got wrapped up in the world of tiny turkey costumes, Laurie’s assembly line of amazing delectables was still going strong. Not the least of which were some pumpkin cheddar biscuits. Warmed up with some Earth Balance Spread on ’em – Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I couldn’t wait to sop up some gravy with ’em at the big meal so I ended up having a couple for breakfast that morning.

This was my first truly vegan, big holiday meal. I wasn’t eating meat last Thanksgiving, but the absence of dairy products this year meant a little more resourcefulness and skill was required to fill those plates. I’m thankful for my wife who has those qualities in spades! Sadly, there are no photos of her crowning achievement in this meal. The Fig-Pecan Stuffed Acorn Squash she made ensured that I will always remember my first vegan Thanksgiving. The figs and pecans were mixed with Earth Balance, agave nectar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A little sweet for an entrée? Yes, but if fit with all the other different flavors and was a perfect fall dish.

Play With My Food is approaching its one year anniversary and I’m very, very thankful for all of the support I’ve gotten from so many of you. I never thought the site would have this many subscribers at all, let alone in the first year. I’d love to get comments from each of you at some point before the New Year about your experience with a vegan lifestyle.

Bear witness to these vegan chocolate pumpkin muffins

Chocolate and pumpkin is about as unlikely a combination as action figures and elderly clergymen. But we’ve got a couple of awesome examples right here. Meet Norman McCay, narrator and guide in the DC Comics landmark series, Kingdom Come. Pastor McCay is a wonderfully real and human character, juxtaposed against a future overrun with super humans, both good and evil. He’s chosen by the Spectre to bear witness to the impending Armageddon that the battling super forces will bring about. Heavy stuff? Yeah, Kingdom Come is all kinds of heavy. Upon its release in 1996, it was immensely successful with fans and critics alike. Both for the story, and for the jaw-dropping art painted by Alex Ross. The book cemented Ross’s place as one of the leading modern-day comic book artists. He works from live models most of the time, even when it comes to characters in masks and spandex. McCay is based on Ross’s father, right down to the sweater.
The book holds a special place for me because it’s responsible for bringing me back into the fold after a 4+ year hiatus from comic books while I was in college. Little time and less money meant that I hadn’t picked up a book in quite a while. But flip open Kingdom Come to any page, and you’ll see why Norman McCay and all the other characters sucked me right in! There are a handful of books that I take off the shelf and read about once a year. Watchmen, Daredevil: Born Again, Preacher, and Kingdom Come are among them.

This recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf is from ye olde Post Punk Kitchen. We took Isa’s suggestion and did it as muffins (the better to eat ’em by the handful!) The pumpkin makes the chocolate very smooth, almost like a chocolate cheesecake.
1/4 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons boiling water, divided
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar (we used vegan cane sugar from Whole Foods)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (again, vegan WF brand)

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8 inch loaf pan or muffin tins. Also, boil some water in a tea kettle (no need to measure yet.)
Put applesauce, coconut oil and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.
Measure out 1/3 cup boiling water and pour into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce. Add pumpkin, sugar and vanilla and mix well.

Dump about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir again. Now add the rest of the flour mixture and another tablespoon of boiling water and stir just until smooth. Take care not to overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan or muffin tins.
Bake for 55 minutes to an hour if you’re doing the loaf pan, but when we did the muffins, they only took about 20 minutes.
We’ve been eating these after dinner every night this week. They’re really light and it’s easy to gobble up more than one if yer not careful. We’re thinkin’ this’ll be the next dessert we make for a holiday get-together with the omnivore family members.
What dessert dishes do you have planned for the holidays?

Solomon Grundy & the Maestro may be bitter, but this eggplant isn’t!

I don’t get it. In 102 posts, we’ve talked about Batman, Captain Kirk, Spider-Man, Doctor Who, Superman, and lots of other big name heroes from the worlds of comic books and sci-fi. But the two names that turn up at the top of terms most-serched-for? Solomon Grundy and the Maestro! A third-rate DC Comics villain and a little-known, evil version of the Hulk. Granted, as much as I try to understand SEO, I doubt I’ll ever grasp the finer points. But my guess is there are plenty of sites that feature those bigger players, so we end up getting mostly searches there are for the more esoteric names. Hmmm, maybe you should expect to see a lot more recipes featuring some realllllly obscure characters – like the Fantastic Four’s mailman. (Seriously, look it up.)
This is all to say, Hey – if you’re one of those people who found this ’cause you were looking for either of these grumpy-pusses, leave us a comment. Let us know what’s up and what you were hoping to find – enquiring action figures wanna know.

This cold front that snuck up on us finished off what was left of the garden. But not before we ventured out in the dark after work Thursday night and rescued some green peppers and eggplant. Well, not “some” – there was a veritable metropolis of green peppers thriving under the over-grown vines. What you see in these pics was about a quarter (!) of the total haul. So it was a great chance to make these peppers stuffed with eggplant and parmesan “cheese” again – they’re so good!!

1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese (see below)
1 large eggplant
3 cloves garlic
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup fresh basil – chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley – chopped
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella
4 peppers – cut in half, length wise
2 tbls canola oil (originally it was olive oil, but that doesn’t do so well in heat for this long)

Make the parm first – we used this recipe from Spark Recipes. It totally tastes like real parmesan cheese!
1 oz (25g) nutritional yeast flakes
½ oz (12½g) blanched almonds
1 tsp salt
Grind all ingredients in coffee grinder or food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Now, saute the eggplant (peeled & cubed) with garlic in canola oil until soft, 20-30 mins. Historically, I never liked eggplant – between the rubbery skin and the bitter taste, I didn’t even like it in stuff. But one trick I learned (other than peeling it – duh), is to salt it after cutting it up, but before you do anything else. The salt sweats out the bitterness! Who knew? (Well, Laurie did – thanks!) Stir in your bread crumbs until it’s all moist. Add remaining ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste. Fill each pepper with stuffing. Place in baking pan with 1/2 cup water. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. When cooked, drizzle with olive oil or your favorite tomato sauce.

Cereal Lad joins the Legion of Super-heroes

This post is a good example of one reason I started PWMF. I doubt that many Legion of Super-heroes fans or action figure collectors are vegan. But I wanted to demonstrate to everyone that eating vegan is not an extreme commitment that requires cooking skills or fancy grocery stores. So today’s meal is a simple breakfast that I’ve been enjoying every morning for a while now.

A super hero team, action figure style, sold in one package? Sure, it’s been done before. But not in this scale. Mattel just released a 12-member set of the Legion of Super-heroes, saving certain aficionados the trouble of hunting down individual figures.
What’s that? You’ve never heard of the Legion of Super-heroes? No surprise – the group is rarely seen outside of its own book and there’s never been any of the mass market licensing that would get them exposure outside the comic store. There have been so many legionnaires over the years that no one member has managed to stand apart from the team. So I’m guessing it’s harder to market a group of people when you don’t even know which personalities to feature.


They’ve been around since 1958 when they first appeared in Adventure Comics #247. For a long time, the LOSH was closely associated with Superboy. Eventually they gained prominence on their own, but the book’s mainstream success suffered from multiple reboots. There’ve been at least 4 incarnations of the Legion. Nevertheless, fans of the team are diehard and Mattel responded with this amazing collection. Many of these characters are getting the plastic mold treatment for the first time!
I’ve never followed their exploits religiously, but I love the time-travelling aspect to LOSH stories and the costume designs. They look like the myriad of costumes that I would invent in my high school sketchbook. (Uh, that’s a compliment – I was alluding to starry-eyed, adolescent imagination.) Most of all, ya gotta love the names – many of them with the suffix “Boy,” “Girl”, “Lad”, or “Lass.” Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Matter-Eater Lad, Lightning Lad, and Chameleon Boy, just to name a few that are included in this set.

You can probably find this, or another brand, of puffed rice cereal in the “health food” section of your local supermarket. A lot of people will say that the honey means it’s not truly vegan. I’m still on the fence about that. I try to be conscious about my honey intake, but have yet to decide if insects suffer the way that mammals, fish, and birds do. The soy milk goes great with the flavors of the cereal and the banana. And it keeps me going for quite a while before I’m hungry for lunch. Give it a try, and if you’re not in favor of eating honey, they have other varieties as well.
Long live the Legion! And long live breakfast!

Five things every vegan going to New York Comic Con should know

Tomorrow is the start of the New York Comic Con. This is not your typical comic book convention at the local Holiday Inn. It’s the second largest comic book and pop culture gathering in the country. A four-day nonstop nerdgasm of guest stars, special screenings, exhibits, merchandise, and people pretending it’s okay to go out in public dressed as Jar Jar Binks.
The only one bigger is the San Diego Comic Con, which I’ve been to twice – in 1999 and in 2009. I needed 10 years to recover. Back then, I ate meat so this will be my first convention without the aid of corndogs, nachos, and Big Gulp cups full of pulled pork.
With over 96,000 attendees expected, I thought these tips might be of use to someone.

#1 You and I will be the only vegans there. Search me out – there’s strength in numbers. I’ll be wearing this nifty, new PWMF T-shirt so I’ll be easy to find.

#2 For the love of Jor-El, bring food! There will be no animal-free refuge there. If you tell your fellow attendees that you’re a vegan, they’ll think you’re claiming to be from the planet Vega. I enlisted some of our newest staff to show off some snack ideas. You can throw together some trail con mix with dates, walnuts, craisins, and almonds. But be careful – don’t fill up on nuts cause they’re fattening and may slow you down when you’re trying to beat that 8-year old from Boise to a mint copy of Howard the Duck #17.

Most vegans already know that Oreos are animal friendly. But they’re still full of chemicals. Besides, sometimes you just need a break from ’em. The Newman’s brand is a tad more natural and I think they taste fresher. You’re also contributing to a great organization whenever you purchase their products. I’m packin’ a few bags of Newman-Os to calm the ol’ sweet tooth while I’m waiting in line for 2 1/2 hours to get an autograph from the guy who played “henchman #5” in the Batman TV episode, “Catwoman Goes to College.”

#3 When your food reserves are expired, meet me at the Food Depot Gourmet Deli. The neighborhood around the Javits Center is void of places to eat, unless you consider McDonald’s a place to eat. So this deli was recommended to me because of its sandwich counter, salad bar, hot food bar, veggie sushi options, and a selection of nuts & dried fruits. There’s even beer in the back! It’s at 460 W 34th Street.

#4 Be ready to stand in line. A lot. In fact, you’ll probably be able get thru Great Expectations, balancing your checkbook, 58 games of Hangman, and a phone call to your Cosplayers Anonymous sponsor while you’re waiting just to get into the exhibit hall.

#5 Be grateful it’s only 3 days. Well, four for me ’cause I get a press pass so I’ll be at the Thursday preview. But come Sunday morning, omnivores and vegans alike will all be crying for their Aunt May to come take ’em home. Your finger tips will be riddled with paper cuts from digging thru $1 comic boxes, determined to find every issue of Jughead’s Double Digest. Your feet will hurt from walking more in 3 days than you have in your entire life. And you’ll smell like that guy dressed as Thor with a Mountain Dew in his hand who put his arm around you and said, “What say you of more grog, mortal?”

This Spider-Man villain is Kraven vegan pizza.

If that pun left a bad taste in your mouth, don’t worry. This pizza is gonna make you forget all about it. First, let’s talk about nature boy up there. I’ve been wanting to do a Kraven post for some time because he’s the perfect comic book villain for a vegan food blog. A guy who’s schtick is hunting animals for sport? You better believe he’s a bad guy! Sergei Kravinoff first appeared in 1964’s Amazing Spider-Man #15. He becomes fixated on the idea of hunting Spider-Man, who he declares is the world’s greatest prey. Sure, ’cause lions and elephants are cool an’ all, but bagging a guy in a spider costume – that’s how ya get the ladies! Thru the years, Spidey puts Kraven thru the paces, with one embarrassing defeat after another in typical comic book villain fashion. But in 1987, there was a very different story called “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” written by J. M. DeMatteis. The art is by one of my all time favorites, Mike Zeck at the top of his game. For a Spider-Man story, it’s a little out of place for me – a tad too psychological and dark for the hero, but a good read nonetheless. Let’s just say that there’s nothing standard about the outcome of this particular face-off.


We’ve done DIY vegan pizza before, but this one had a few twists that put it over the top for me. We started by frying up some onions, peppers, and garlic for the sauce. The missus comes from a big Italian family and doesn’t follow any recipes, so there’s a lot of “to taste” in these instructions. We added those ingredients to two 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes and two cans of 14.5oz diced tomatoes. A little salt & pepper along with some chopped basil and parsley fresh outta the garden and left it to simmer.
One of our secret weapons this time ’round was carmalized onions. Really easy to make – we fried ’em with some olive oil and TA-DAA! brown sugar. Just a little, tho’. Yum!
We often use Whole Foods own brand of organic pizza dough. This time we tried their black bean variety and I think that made a difference.

The toppings were artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives (eww, on her half, not mine!) and sweet roasted peppers. To me, the greatest prey in the world of pizza toppings is pineapple! We had an almost-empty bag of the frozen variety hiding in the freezer and just threw it on there as-is.

We went with our favorite vegan cheese from Daiya, but also added some of Follow Your Heart’s gourmet cheddar. We couldn’t get over how well it turned out, especially considering how easy it was. Let me tell ya, when one of the best pizzas you’ve ever had is one that you made in your own home – well, there’s not much else that’s as satisfying as that!