True, full-length video recipes are The Sexy Vegan's specialty, however the odd time he gives you a bit of a bonus and posts videos that are either half-assed shorter cooking instructionals or  clips that aren't even necessarily related to food. These include a musical number he likes to call "Seriously, You Shouldn't Eat Meat", as well as tribute to Rick Springfield, in which The Sexy Vegan displays a distubing in-depth knowlege of the "Jesse's Girl" singer's work.  

You'll also get to see the recipe for Banizzle (yes, it's a real thing!), a gooey campfire alternative to s'mores featuring chocolate, bananas and peanut butter, and finally The Arnold Bomber. Half of the video is comprised of humorous golf shots, while the other portion is the making of an alternative drink to The Arnold Palmer, featuring lemons, iced tea, vodka, triple sec, gin and cola . If that isn't enough to intrigue you, how about learning that The Arnold Bomber video features a hot, sweaty man known as "Double Dip Chip?"

We had you at "hot and sweaty" didn't we?

Enjoy!

» The Sexy Vegan

Okay, maybe calling this a "best of" is flagrant false advertising since we're posting all of The Sexy Vegan's recipes - but that's just because it's too difficult to pick our favorites. And besides, admit it: your Saturday was in desperate need of a big dosage of his raw sexiness and this really just made your day. Don't worry, we won't judge you.

This time around, we have his New England Blam Chowder (clam-less clam chowder), a savory version of his cornmeal pancakes, a breakfast burrito made while on the road, and a fake tuna salad sandwich (complete with light-saber action)

Additional bonuses include an ass-shaped rock, crotch-less pants and a Pearl Jam sing-along - now there's something Gordon Ramsay and Emeril Lagasse won't provide.

For this round, you'll need to gather some bacon-style tempeh, onion, oyster or shitake mushrooms, carrots, celery, unsalted cashews, unsweetened almond milk, nori seaweed, corn, scallions, black beans, cilantro, tofu, red onion, kidney beans, avocado, tortilla shells, red onion, capers, lemon, chickpeas, veganaise, seaweed powder, bread, and this time around, wine (in lieu of the usual gin and tonic) You'll also aid from a hand immersion blender, a light saber and more wine.

Seriouisly folks, you can't make this stuff up - watch the videos below if you don't believe me. And if you do believe me, well, watch them anyway!

» The Sexy Vegan

 As we continue with The Sexy Vegan day on Ecollo, this time we're shown how to make some delicious-looking risotto using beets (the sexiest vegetable of all according to the cook), shallots, more asparagus, and arborio rice; a recipe for pumpkin soup featuring pumpkin (duh!), leeks, argula and even cinnamon sticks. In a tribute to his Canadian friends, he also whips up some poutine with fresh potatoes, onion, garlic, soy sauce, vegetable stock and a cheese alternative, while his version of pizza foregoes the traditional pepperoni in favor of butternut squash, red onion and a cornmeal crust (all set to an original pizza song) . And in our favorite of all his videos, The Sexy Vegan creates a fantastic Solstice Slaw on behalf of....moi! Back when I gave the vegan diet a try, he was more than willing to put together a new recipe for me to try out, this one with some carrots, celery root, golden beets, apple, as well as some nutmeg and vegan-aise for creaminess. Finally, a soba noodle salad offers you two Sexy Vegans (one is a miniature version who proceeds to taunt the life-size one throughout), as well as green soba noodles, tofu, shitake mushrooms, miso, agave, sesame oil, and if you're not a big fat *ahem* wuss (hint: not his exact choice of name) chili flakes.

Once you've watched all these videos, plus the ones we posted earlier, we guarantee you'll be writing to the Food Network and petitioning them to give this guy his own show. Our letter is in the mail!

» The Sexy Vegan

Welcome to Sexy Vegan day on Ecollo! If you haven't yet taken the time to meet the sexiest vegan on the block, allow us to introduce you. The Sexy Vegan (which is actually what all his friends call him - true story) knows his way around a kitchen and consistantly shares his wisdom and love of food (not to mention, his love of "adult beverages") in cooking videos, many of which we've shared with you in the past. However, we decided to consildate the sexiness into a full day dedicated to the hottest non-meat-eater we know!

For the first few recipes, you'll need a wide assortment of ingredients including avocados, chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, which you may also know them as), onion, cilantro, jalapeno, pitas, bell peppers, sesame tahini, bean or rice noodles, shredded lettuce, shredded carrots, garlic, potatoes, tofu, tomatoes, lentils, soy sauce, blueberries, corn meal, and of course, the obligatory gin and tonic (which is not used for a recipe per se, but as fuel for the chef).

Check out the videos below for The Sexy Vegan's take on guacamole, hummus, spring rolls, breakfast, asparagus pasta and blueberry pancakes!

» The Sexy Vegan

A couple weeks ago I noticed a news story relating to saving water by peeing in the shower. The story was based off a recent eco campaign in Brazil by environmental group, SOS Mata Atlantica.

It is a Brazilian non-profit private organization, with no political or religious affiliations, which works for the protection of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlantica), one of the richest sets of ecosystems in terms of biodiversity, and also considered one of the most threatened with extinction on the planet.

They’ve run a clever advertisement to promote peeing in the shower seen below. If you can’t understand Portuguese it’s still entertaining and you’ll be able to pick up on the underlying message that you can save 4,380 litres a year by peeing in the shower once a day. Check it out.

After reading the article and watching the commercial it got me thinking about my own household water use.  With a household of four people and an average flush volume of 1.6 gallons or 6 litres per flush over a year my household would flush 8,760 if we only went pee once a day. Wow, and that’s if you have a low flow toilet installed. With an older toilet you could be needlessly flushing 3 times as much drinking water.

(4 people) X (6 litres per flush) X (365 days) = 8,760 litres per year

In fact, one third to one half of all domestic water goes down the toilet. This is the same water that would otherwise end up as drinking or cooking water in your kitchen sink. Even though I don’t have a water shortage where I live the fact that perfectly good drinking water is getting flushed down the toilet is arguably more disgusting than what we should be flushing.

So what’s the big deal with peeing in the shower? I did some research and found out that urine is actually 95% water and is virtually sterile. If you’re worried about getting a little pee on your feet in the shower, there is nothing to worry about, I’ve even seen ‘Man vs. Wild’ Bear Grylls drink his own pee during a drought stricken episode. Drinking urine has been used in ancient cultures for medicinal purposes and survival and is known as Urophagia. But as a survival hydration technique urine can only be recycled up to three times before the water levels sink too low and the urine becomes toxic.

Here are a few extra tips for saving toilet water in your own home.

a.       Number one of course is pee in the shower when you get the chance. It won’t hurt you and the drain is going the same place as the toilet water anyways.

b.      If its yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down. Try and limit your flushing by leaving the urine in the toilet for the day and flushing at night. This means your toilet is going to need cleaning more often but you’ll save a ton of water.

c.       Replace your old 5 gallon toilet with a 1.6 gallon. This is going to save you thousands of gallons of water over the course of a year.

d.      Pee in your compost pile. This is supposed to increase nitrogen levels in the soil making it even better for your favorite garden perennials.

» SOS Mata Atlantica

Proving just how easy a cobbler is to make, Chef Shane and his farmers' market accomplice Jody of the Argenta market in Arkansas, take some delicious in-season blueberries and hit the kitchen. However, before assembling the cobbler, they're kind enough to tell you what to look for in good blueberries (hint: you want a nice indigo blue color).

Cobbler is a great dessert if you want to impress your spouse/friends/dinner guests, but aren't quite motivated or culinary-inclined enough to actually bake a pie. While a crust isn't mandatory, this recipe has one (no rolling or fussing necessary!), as well as the obligatory buttery, sugary topping.

Check out the video below for a visual demonstration of how to make the perfect cobbler from your locally-grown blueberies.

» YouTube