Usually Rudy writes our "Recipe Tuesday" posts, but he had some computer problems today (and a he has a gig tonight--you should go!) So we put out an emergency call on Twitter. We got a number of worthy responses, but I let my second brain pick whatever it was most excited by. And the winner is @RickiHeller's New Age Vegan Pasta Carbonara. I would seriously love to eat this right now, but instead I'm gonna have to settle for a peanut butter sandwich.

New Age Vegan Pasta Carbonara
This recipe originally appeared on Ricki Heller's site, "Diet, Dessert and Dogs." (And you should go read it there for the fun origin story and reactions.)

I don’t drink water. It doesn’t have any flavor. It isn’t fruit-colored and it doesn’t have tiny bubbles up all in it. Frankly, it would be better with a little bit of sugar in it. Or Aspartame. Now that’s delicious!

Okay, okay, I’m joking. I love water. And, being from New York City: I love our tap water. It’s tasty. I was actually drinking some when I ran into this on Gizmodo:

"You Swallow These Invisible Shrimp With Every Gulp of NYC Tap Water."

New York's water is delicious—and filled with tiny crustaceans called "copepods". (Making it possibly not kosher)

So. Like. Dude. If there’s little shrimpies in the water, does it mean that it’s not vegan?

Should I stick to Diet Wild Cherry Berry Dr. Pepper Max with a Hint of Lime from now on?

Remember when you learned about new music through those little booklets called "zines"? You read a short paragraph review of a record, took a gamble on it by sending your well-concealed cash to the distro, and a few weeks later the United States Postal Service delivered the record to your door? Well, South By Southwest (SXSW) has been around since those halcyon days, too, but it doesn't mope around and wax nostalgic about the golden years prior to the Internet Revolution. Nowadays, it still organizes a bazillion live shows, as well as a film festival and a surprisingly diverse interactive portion that plays host to a slew of panels, such as those featuring bloggers who want to talk about blogging to other bloggers! Futuristic stuff!

Our pal Stephanie of The Lazy Smurf's Guide to Life has envisioned a panel for vegans to call their very own at the next SXSW in March 2011. Here's the official description of "Internet Activism Vegan Bloggers Take Over the World":

A surge of vegan bloggers has been using the internet to make change in the way people think about animals through new forms of activism. VeganMoFo (the vegan month of food) and worldwide Vegan Bakesales to raise money for causes and promote veganism are just some of the ways that we are breaking out of the stereotypes of the past and creating a revolution. Learn creative ways to promote your message and engage your community on & off the web and more about food activism and using your culinary skills to promote compassion.

SXSW panels are decided by crowd-sourcing, so please vote if you want to see SXSW get more vegan-friendly next year! Voting was originally scheduled to close last night, but it's been extended through this weekend, so cast your vegan vote by 11:59 CST Sunday, August 29th, and your vote shall be counted!

Do you know Puppets in South Park Slope? There's a lot to like about the place: a very vegan-friendly menu, full bar, back yard, late hours, and--most unusually for a veg restaurant--excellent music.

Seriously, live music at veggie restaurants tends to be pretty lousy, right? But Puppets puts the music first, while also providing real good eats. (And don't get me started on the chicken-finger-and-cobb-salad filled menus at typical jazz clubs!)

Anyways, Puppets is going through some tough economic times and they've declaring this weekend "Help Save Puppet's Jazz Bar Fundraiser." If you happen to see this post tonight and can make it over before 3am, go for it. Otherwise, head over on Saturday the 28th between 5pm and 3am (happy hour til 8! backyard til 11!) and have burger or hot dog or salad or guacamole (hell, read their whole menu yourself; it's short). And give them some money. They're waiving all cover charges during the fundraiser and instead just asking for you to give what you can.

Even if you're not a real jazzhead, I bet you'll have a good time. Let's do our part to keep this place open!

Puppets is located at 481 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Whoa! You'd think we were giving away the recipe to Vegan Treats' Peanut Butter Bomb by the amount of folks who turned out for last night's Vegan Drinks. There were a bunch of you there (familiar and unfamiliar faces!), as well as a winning softball team. (Go, Team Crush Management!)

You're reading this because you want to know who made shout outs last night, right? Well let's get to it, in easy to read list format:

I need chocolate chip cookies by the truck-full to live, medically speaking. But now I can't have just any chocolate chip cookie, thanks to this life-sucking gluten intolerance (life is so hard for little Sam!). And who wants those cheater gluten-free cookies held together with eggs that probably have salmonella, am I right?! So this post is for you, you vegan celiac troopers! Chocolate chip cookies in NYC, what what!

Babycakes
$1.50
Coconot oil, plus vanilla, plus a variety of g-f flours and flaxseed meal make for a complex, slightly nutty cookie. This guy's a crowd-pleaser, soft on the inside and crispy around the edges with small-to-medium chips, and he's of considerable size, too, about the same as an ice cream sandwich's chocolate chip cookie. You can make this cookie your very own for pretty cheap, or, to save some dough (ha!), bake it at home using the recipe from the Babycakes cookbook. Babycakes also sells a cookie sandwich that squishes their delicious icing between two of these cookies ($5). Eat it frozen, and: Ooooh yes. Height of indulgence.

We here at the Recipe Tuesday department of the SuperVegan offices like to take it easy once in a while. We don’t freak out when we haven’t had the time to spend in the SV test kitchen to both analyze and prepare the dishes we present to you on a weekly basis. We stay calm and look to others to help us out in our time of need.

We don’t like to leave you hanging y’know.

So. To celebrate National Waffle Day we’ve rounded up some of our favorite Waffle Recipes from around the Web for your brunches in bunches or super sweet lunches.

Your Basic Vegan Waffle
Vegan Yum Yum’s Blueberry Waffles with Lemon Icing
The PPK’s delicious Apple Waffles
Coconut Waffles
Vegan Bannana Waffles

And, seriously, what’s a vegan waffle party without a Vegan Waffle Facebook group?

* And, by "our" I mean my favorite vegan vegan waffle recipes.

Oh what horrific fingernails-against-a-chalkboard-type-tomfoolery you’ll find hiding behind salacious headlines. Whether it’s the assertion that “Soy Makes You Gay” or that “Oysters are Vegan” - sometimes an article is little more than a headline.

Case in Point: Salon’s Life Stories piece entitled “I Was Tricked Into Eating Meat (and I liked it)”

The story is simple: Vegetarian girl meets boy. Boy eats meat. Boy tricks girl into eating foie fras. Girl has “orgasm in her mouth”.

Obviously deeper issues are at play here. The story is less about “being tricked into eating meat” than it is about control, body image and personal convictions. Way to go Salon!

Seriously though, who gets “tricked” into eating meat?

Don't miss the last Vegan Drinks of the super humid months! Show up at 7pm on Thursday, August 26th, order a drink (or two or three) and meet some new friends!

As always Vegan Drinks NYC takes place at Angels & Kings Bar in the East Village. The drink specials are CHEAP: $2 off everything until 8pm and then it's $1 off draft beers and well drinks from 8pm to 9pm. Folks who don't drink alcohol are also quite welcome, but you do have to be 21 to get in.

We'll turn down the music around 8:15pm and encourage people to promote themselves, their groups and/or causes for 30 seconds. If you represent a veg*n or animal rights group, come prepared with your (very short!) spiel and literature.

Do you fancy yourself a decent photographer? Or, do you, at least, own a very nice camera capable of taking very good photos? If so, bring it with you on Thursday. Shoot a bunch of pictures. Upload them to our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/vegandrinks.

Check out our map of restaurants near Angels & Kings where you can grab a bite after the event. And if you haven't already, link up with Vegan Drinks on Facebook and MySpace.

Vegan Drinks is held from 7pm to 9pm at Angels & Kings, 500 East 11th Street (btw Ave A & Ave B), New York, NY 10009.

It's a rare day when I don't start it off with two bananas, three frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup of soymilk, a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Smoothies are my vice.

It was hard not to be skeptical of the Vega Shake & Go Smoothie based on its packaging alone: "Just add water, shake & go!" Just add water? Hrmmm. But, I do have some positive history with Vega. I've been using the Vega Sport Performance Optimizer for a couple of months to give me some pep and keep me from getting excessively thirsty on my runs. It's easy to make: add a scoop to a cup of water and stir! Drink it down. Wait thirty or so minutes (or longer if your digestive tract requires) and go outside and run the crap out of the streets! The flavor isn't too sweet and not too earthy. It isn't difficult to drink, but it's not something I crave. I don't drink it for its taste.