Two Foodies Make Ice Cream for the World

Unlike Vancouver, New York, or San Fransisco, Boston does not (yet) have the reputation for being a vegan hub.

But things are starting to change. 

In Allston, a young, chic, urban couple decided to open an ice cream shop aptly named Fomu. (Do check out their website.) The ice cream is mostly coconut-based with a couple flavors made from an almond/cashew blend. (Soy soft serve will be arriving shortly.) I will admit that I had my reservations when I first visited last summer. Though I'd read nothing but rave reviews online, I prepared myself for their ice cream being "pretty good." But upon tasting the rich flavors, I actually laughed a bit at the disconnect in my brain, thinking "It isn't possible. This HAS to have dairy in it. It's so creamy!" In fact, the longer I tasted it, the more I came to the conclusion that this ice cream was far superior to any I'd tasted.

Deena Jalal and Hin Tang wouldn't, at first glance, seem like the couple you'd expect to obsess over frozen desserts. Deena had gone into marketing and advertising after school, and Hin was working in finance, which kept him busy consulting and traveling.  They were doing well in their respective careers.

Deena, one of the co-owners

And yet they both had a great fondness for fine dining, agreeably lumping themselves into the foodie category. With Hin's family's experience owning several small restaurants, they were familiar with the many aspects of the food business. Owning an ice cream shop became a dream they'd turn over in their heads. As Deena pointed out, ice cream is such a happy food; everybody loves it. Additionally, they began to question whether their current careers were adding value to the world. (Though Deena was quick to clarify that while both lines of work do provide much value as a whole, they were beginning to think their collective contribution to the world lay elsewhere.)

In the midst of all this consideration, the perfect space in Allston became available. It was just the size they would need, and it abutted two popular vegan joints: Grasshopper (a Chinese restaurant) and Peace o' Pie (a pizza parlor. You must get the barbequed chick'n with onion rings on top. Oy.). They realized, "If we don't do it now, we'll never do it."

And so Deena, nine months pregnant with their first child, and Hin bought the space and immediately went into action transforming it into a hip ice cream shop. A few weeks later, Deena gave birth to their son. And a few weeks after that, on May 30, 2012, they opened their doors for business. (I know. I feel lame too.)

Deena and Hin are not vegans, which may make their decision to open a dairy-free ice cream shop all the more surprising. Both, however, had many friends and family who were were either vegan or allergy-prone. (Though being lactose-intolerant is actually quite normal for adult mammals, but that's a whole other subject.) So their goal, in Deena's words, was to "bring ice cream to everybody!" She went on to confess that they were ice cream snobs, so they played with flavors and ingredients until they felt they had a superior product. (They continually experiment and come up with new flavors.)

Deena pointed out that they don't specifically advertise their ice cream as vegan, because some people shut down when they hear that word. In fact, the majority of their customers are not vegan and often don't realize that the ice cream is dairy-free. For Deena and Hin, though, it should be all about tastes that everybody can enjoy. And yet the vegan community is so strong in Boston, that the word spread immediately and they've had a very loyal following.

By the time Deena and I had sat down to talk about their business, I'd previously eaten at Fomu four times and was familiar with/addicted to many of the flavors. (On my first visit, I got my favorite concoction from childhood -- a mint chocolate sundae with hot fudge and coconut ice cream. All vegan. All to-die-for/I-need-to-be-alone good.) The most obvious question to ask was which flavors were her favorites. Her eyes lit up as she glanced up at the menu on the wall. (It changes often, as they only aim to use only fresh ingredients in season.) After thinking a moment she shared that her current favorites were  Cinnamon Bun, Thai Peanut Chli, and Cherry Amaretto. "Say," she said suddenly, "do you want to try some flavors?"

It was like the ice cream fairy godmother flicked her glittery magic wand.

They put a scoop of each of her favorites into a cup and I sampled each in the name of proper research. The Cinnamon Bun actually had pieces of gooey cinnamon bun inside. I wanted to cry a little bit, it was so good. The Thai Peanut Chili was, at first, just a lovely creamy light peanut flavor (and I normally don't like peanut flavors in ice cream) then suddenly the heat curled in a warm unfurlinglike way around the edges of my tongue. So fun and surprising! And addictive. But there was still one flavor to sample: Cherry Amaretto. This baby was plain naughty. The sustantial chunks of cherry inside made me scoop it all into my mouth an a voracious, unladylike way. (But as Ryan so often points out, "Hey. I married now. I can do what I like.")

This past August, Fomu participated in Boston's Ice Cream Showdown, a fundraiser that showcases local ice cream makers in an effort to raise money to fight hunger. Fomu was the only nondairy ice cream vendor there and initially people only trickled to their booth cautiously. Shortly after, though, the word spread and a long line of ice cream fans waited to sample their flavors. Deena was thrilled to see "an overwhelming response from dairy eaters." An interesting trend many noticed was that after eating Fomu's ice cream, all the traditional dairy ice creams seemed overly sweet.

Fomu is located in Allston, a huge student hub due to the gargantuan amount of colleges and universities. You can't walk two feet without tripping over a university. Here a hungry student gets fueled up before going back to work. (Presumably a student. I'm totally making this up.)

Nice little sitting area. I was there from about 4:30 - 5:30. As I left, the post-dinner crowd started to filter in.

I love the layout of this place. On the left is a freezer full of well-frozen pints to take home. They survived the heated one-hour traffic-ridden ride home on the Pike very well.

Very important to get a hot beverage if you're getting ice cream in winter.

I haven't tried these yet, but I have to believe they are spectacular. 

Fomu's been much talked about in Boston. There have been rave reviews from The Boston Globe, The Boston Pheonix, and VegNews. I even came across this random blog entry which mentioned a BEAR going into the store. I suddenly realized I was there at the same moment the blogger was because I remember seeing that bear last summer! And sure enough, you can see me in the background in one of the pictures, with a black tanktop on. Crazy coincidence! (If you are confused about the bear part, as well you should be, check out the blog entry and scroll down to the pictures.)

Anyhow, if you come through Boston, I hope for your sake that you check this place out. If you truly care about your taste buds, you will head straight over to Fomu. Try the aforementioned flavors plus the Salted Caramel and the Dark and Stormy. Mmm...

Go.

Walk for Farm Animals 2012: Vegan MOFO Post 1

What a day.

And what an evening before! Holy sponsorships!

The Walk for Farm Animals, which takes place each fall in several U.S. and Canadian cities, benefits Farm Sanctuary, which has two locations in California and one in Watkins Glen, New York. As you may remember, Ryan and I took a little trip to the New York sanctuary this past July, and I blogged about it here, here, and here. It's a wonderful refuge for farmed animals who have been rescued from abuse and neglect. Which sounds sad and depressing. But it's surprisingly not. Both the animals and the people are brimming with happiness, and not in a hippy-dippy way. As I'd mentioned earlier, if you happen to eat animal meat and other animal products, you won't feel hated here. Instead, you'll get a chance to connect to animals that so many of us think of as commodities, and you'll find yourself amazed at their varied personalities. Goats will smother you with love and demand head rubs. And then the wheels start turning on their own as you begin to quietly consider ideas that may have lain dormant for years.

Boston's walk was one of the first of many, and I'd been looking for sponsors since early August. By the eve of my walk, I'd received just over $500 in sponsorships from generous friends, family, blog readers, and even super-secret anonymous donors. (I love a good mystery.) But I was only halfway to my goal. I decided to pull out all the stops and sent out massive emails and facebook posts to everyone. And lo and behold, the money kept rolling in. (Any Evita fans can hum along now.) When I woke up early Saturday morning, I was awed to see that the amount donated was exactly $1,000. I skipped into our guest bedroom (we'd been painting our master bedroom) and excitedly told my hubby the news, in the same squeal-y manner of a kid on Christmas morning running into darkened bedrooms, whispering frantically, "Wake up!" 

We arrived at Boston Common a little before 10 am. Though terrible storms (even tornadoes!) were forecast, my raingear was for naught. It was an absolutely lovely, warm and ultimately sunny morning. There were about 80 or so people walking, several of whom brought their dogs along. One of the first people we met had rescued his dog Max from a shelter, after the dog had been living in someone's basement for months as a puppy, with zero company, human or otherwise. Despite this and despite being in the shelter for a long time, Max was an absolute sweetheart. He won over many hearts that day.

Max, ever the happy dog.

I didn't get to meet this adorable dog, but it looks like Ryan did.

 
There were raffle prizes, lots of yummy vegan goodies donated from Whole Foods and other fine establishments, face-painting for the kiddos, lovely music, and a cow and a pig. (Not real, but wonderful nonetheless.)

Pig and cow taking a much needed break. (It was warm out, and those costumes were like extra cozy robes. Not what you want to be wearing in the city on a muggy day.) I love this shot, though. :)

Before walking, walkers from Fitness Together Belmont got everybody warmed up. We got a great video of this which I can't seem to get to load right. I'll add it later if I can figure it out. But the vision of the cow and pig warming up had me snorting.

A delightful surprise was that a friend from high school, Parm, showed up with her daughter Simi. Parm's sister, Tej, and I were close in high school, having long ago bonded over musical tastes and a love of drawing. I hadn't seen Parm since 1988. Wild! (She looks exactly the same, by the way. She and her Tej are gorgeous. And they apparently have a Dorian Gray thing going on.) Simi was probably one of the neatest kids I'd ever met. I desperately want her to meet my nieces, as I think they'd all become fast friends. She's one of those fun kids you can have a really deep discussion with and come away feeling more enlightened. As Dr. Seuss would say, "that kid is going to move mountains." I hope to meet her brother someday too, as I heard he is also spectacular.

Me, Simi, and Parm

Simi goes for the minimalist face-paint look. A classic.

A perfect shirt for the walk! (Isn't she beautiful?)

She was a real lover of animals. I think she may have been discussing her run-in with dolphins here. I can see why her Aunt Tej loves hanging out with her.

The walk itself meandered through many of the historical areas of Boston. I was so wrapped up in chatting with Parm and Simi, though, that I missed people's reactions to the walk. It was fun, though, walking through this part of Boston on a Saturday morning. There's nothing like playing tourist in your own city, is there?

Here is the whole gang of walkers, dogs included! Incidentally, the walk had its own photographer milling about, and he took some great shots. One of the published photos was of the three of us and it became the official photo that Farm Sanctuary sent out to its followers! If you are on Facebook, just look up Boston Walk for Farm Animals, and you can see all the images.

When we got back from the walk, raffle prizes were drawn and I won a $25 gift card to Life Alive in Cambridge! Woo-hoo! Ryan and I will be going some weekend soon to try this vegan eatery out. I've only heard great things.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who sponsored me on the walk! As promised here is my mini-sandwich board, extolling the many virtues of some very cool people. Your generosity has helped many animals currently at Farm Sanctuary enjoy lives without fear, and it will help countless others who are in misery now, not knowing that their lives are about to take a wonderful turn for the better.

A Ridiculously Happy Visit

I'd been wanting to go to this wonderland since I'd learned about its existence last summer. 

Ryan took this one and, in fact, most of the pictures on this post. He's a more skilled photographer than I, plus I was so caught up cuddling with the animals, I had trouble noticing anything else.

Farm Sanctuary has three official locations: Watkins Glen, New York (where we went); Orland, California (where we almost went last year but ran out of time); and Los Angeles, California.  It has three missions: rescue, education, and advocacy. You can learn more about their wonderful work on their website.

We went up midweek last week. My husband Ryan is a musician, so his summer weekends are basically spoken for by one of his three bands, my favorite of which -- Field Trip -- often plays his original tunes. (You can hear a sampling here!) So we've been doing a few mid-week minitrips throughout the summer.

Located in upstate New York, about half an hour from Ithaca, the farm is in the midst of such gorgeous landscape, you almost feel like you're driving in one of those calendars with the pictures that look too majestic to be real.

Our first night there, we stayed at one of their three B&B cabins, which I'll talk more about on the next post. (But they were adorable.) After enjoying a light breakfast the next morning, we went on a tour of the farm with our guide, Ben, a most enthusiastic and friendly fellow. We first met in the "People Barn," where we watched a quick film about Farm Sanctuary. Note the wall of signed photos of famous pretty people who had visited. (My favorite was Ellen DeGeneres's. Everyone else had something deep and meaningful written on theirs, and Ellen's handwritten message read simply. "I'm Ellen.")

The People Barn

Ben walking us through the cow pasture.

First we visited the cow barn. The cows were wonderful and incredibly docile and sweet, despite their initially intimidating size. I'm embarrassed to say I forgot the names and even genders of the animals, but not their lovely natures.

This sweetie kept laying her head on my lap. I just fell in love with her.

Who could harm this baby?

One thing that really stood out to me was how clean everything was on the whole farm. Every barn got completely cleaned with new straw every morning. And there were enormous industrial fans in the upper portion of each barn, circulating the air so that each building was wonderfully comfortable, despite the heat outside. In the evening and throughout the night, the whole farm was humming with fans in a very comforting white-noise way.

Next were the goats. They had just been put out to pasture to have their barn cleaned, so we got to spend a lot of quality time with them outside. They were endlessly affectionate! I started snuggling this sweetheart below, who loved having his neck scratched.

A little more to the right...

That's the stuff. Right there.

The mutual admiration society

 And then another came for his share.

And then I realized I had someone literally leaning into my back. They all wanted love. Immediately.

Is it me, or does it look like I'm officiating a wedding?

Then I thought it would be good to remember my neglected spouse, who'd been snapping photos the whole time.

I can speak from experience that Ryan is a GREAT headscratcher. This goat hit the motherlode.

Goats these days are routinely kept both for their meat and for their milk to make cheese. (Obviously these goats were not subject to such treatment.) Like dairy calves, the babies are taken away from their mothers so as to keep the milk for humans. Some of the girls are raised to become "milkers" themselves, but many of the babies (particularly the males) are sold for meat. I can't imagine doing this anymore than I could imagine selling puppies to be slaughtered. And if you hang out with goats like this, you realize how delightful they are. Here is a baby goat named Fern at Woodstock Sanctuary that was rescued from becoming food: (very sweet video)

Here is some information from Woodstock Sanctuary on the farming of goats today.  And on this link, you'll discover individual stories of both goats and sheep who came to Farm Sanctuary. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit with the sheep on this tour. Next time!

The pigs were busy sleeping off the heat of the day. Again, their area was spotlessly clean, with wonderful-smelling fresh hay for them to snuggle into. Most of them still carried dried mud on them, which keeps their bodies cool and prevents sunburn. Pretty smart! They LOVED getting good scratches, particularly on the belly.

You'll notice how large some of them are. This is because they've been genetically designed to put on weight FAST so that they can be killed when they are only six months young. When they are allowed to live out their lives, they -- like so many other factory-farmed victims -- get to very unnatural weights that cause a variety of health problems. Here is more information from Farm Sanctuary on how pigs fare.

This sweet one woke up and seemed to be appreciating a good scratch.

Then she let out a happy snort. Making a pig happy is most satisfying!

Sweetie fast asleep.

This was right before she rolled over so I could pay proper attention to her belly. It was a very dog-like gesture!

This mama started lifting her front legs up to give me better scratching access.

The turkeys were mesmerizing with all their trilled vocalizations. They can be very curious and affectionate and some of them love cuddling on one's lap. Turkeys are also bred to be unnaturally big with abnormally large breasts. As a result, they are too big to mate with each other. The males can crush the females to death with the effort.  All the turkeys are bred to be white to make their flesh  lighter and thus more pleasing to consumers. Here is more information from Farm Sanctuary on how turkeys are raised in factory farms.

Here are where the girls were kept. The males and females have to be kept separate.

And here is the one male I saw. He was adorable and very into getting attention. When we crouched down next to him to hang out, he stared right into our eyes.

As you'll notice here, turkeys typically have their toes cut off when they are babies. (It is also standard for the industry to burn off the top of their beaks with a hot blade.) No anesthesia is used, despite the amount of nerve endings present. As a result of their malformed feet, they can't walk correctly -- which is hard enough with their abnormal size -- and their toes often get large and infected at the ends. The wonderful folks here do rounds each morning, checking their toes and other previously mutilated parts for trouble.

Chickens. I love chickens. They're so fascinating to watch. Chickens are said to have it worse than any of the factory farmed animals. Here is a post I did on the egg industry and here is some information from Farm Sanctuary. In the United States alone, 287 chickens are killed every second. (This figure is from the USDA.) And perhaps more shocking is that they are bred to grow so fast, that they are typically six to seven weeks young when they are slaughtered. Those animals that we see in the supermarkets, in other words, are still chicks.

Here are some heartwarming stories about some of the chickens at Farm Sanctuary! :)

Is there anything cuter than a chicken's butt? So cute.

Interestingly, I spotted a garter snake in this little area with the chickens. I asked if they bothered the chickens, and learned that the chickens would often surround the offending snake and make their feelings known.

Garter snake. I think.

There were many more lovely animals we met and adored. I could spend weeks at this wonderful place.

Visiting Farm Sanctuary and taking a tour is such an uplifting experience. It gives you a glimpse of what the world could be. And perhaps more important, it puts an individual face to the unfathomable numbers of animals that we kill each year. Almost every animal here was part of the factory farm system, and you see how each animal is so unique. If you've had a number of companion animals throughout your life, you know this to be true. Each of them was different, just as every human animal is different.

If you visit, you won't be beaten over the head with the cruelties these animals faced. Instead it's just a very peaceful yet exciting experience where you can connect with animals individually. After you've scratched a pig's tummy and had her snort with pleasure, bacon loses all allure. When a cow who lost all her babies puts her head in your lap, you start to question if eating cheese is really worth the cost of what she's had to endure. And again, our tour guide never admonished us at any time, saying, "Maybe now you'll think twice about eating eggs, folks!" Rather, he led us through, explaining where the animals had come from, what they liked, how they behaved, etc.  If you eat animal meat, eggs, or dairy, you'll feel very welcomed here and not judged in any way.

Oh! AND I got to meet one of my heroes, quite by surprise! Susie Coston, a powerhouse in the animal sanctuary world and Farm Sanctuary's National Shelter Director, happened to pass by us during our tour. I punched poor Ryan's arm and whispered excitedly, "Do you know who that was??" We saw her later in the cow barn and I went up, completely sappy-eyed, and professed my great admiration for her. Being the sweetheart she is, she gave me a big old bear hug, and Ryan quickly jumped in and asked if she'd mind a picture together. She quickly agreed, laughing, and then confessed that she didn't photograph well. Which I told her was perfect as I always look like a complete dork in pictures.

I. Love. This. Woman. You just meet some people and want them to be your best friend. She was one of those people. Just genuine, energetic, and happy. Who cares about all the Hollywood stars when you've got Susie Coston in the world? I think People magazine should start covering magastars like Susie, who make a positive difference in the world, rather than Tom Cruise, who likes jumping on couches.

It's hard not to look like a dork when you're standing next to your hero.

More to come in the next two posts. I'm dying to show you the cabin we stayed in, a beautiful memorial at Farm Sanctuary, the other Bed and Breakfast we stayed at, our fine dining at a rather well-known restaurant in Ithaca, a pretty gorge, and my sweetie's literal moment in the spotlight.

Before I close, I wanted to let you know that I'm doing the Walk for Farm Animals in Boston on September 8 to raise money for Farm Sanctuary so that they can continue to do this incredible work. There are walks all over the United States and Canada, if you'd like to participate in this as well and raise funds. If your city isn't listed, you can do the Sleep In for Farm Animals.

I'm trying to raise $1,000, and as of this writing have received $325 in online donations with another $50 coming by check. If you'd like to contribute -- and a couple of readers already have! Thank you! -- please go to my page. Any amount -- $1, $5, $1000 -- would be make a huge difference. Thank you!

I'd love to hear back from any of you who have had experience at an animal sanctuary or who are planning on going! (You can comment on other things too, of course!)