Pancakes are very special to me. They are the first thing I ever cooked on my own. When I was around 7 years old, one morning my mom asked me what I wanted for breakfast and I said, “Pancakes.” She said, “OK,” got out the New York Times cookbook, opened it to page 468 and said, “here you go.” She supervised, but I did all the work myself. That was how I got my start in cooking. Since then, that recipe was my go to for pancakes. However, it used eggs and milk, so when I became vegan, I had to find something new. At first I thought I could just replace the milk and eggs and be fine. Replacing the milk was easy. Replacing the eggs took some work. I initially tried a mix of flax seeds and water and it was pretty good. However, I wasn’t thrilled. Then
Tofu scrambles are one of those things that we wildly differ on and our difference has it’s origins back in our pre-vegan days. Tofu scrambles are the original vegan response to scrambles eggs and omelettes. Ethan used to like his eggs firmer while Michael only liked them softer. It’s no wonder that most tofu scrambles do not work for Michael, as he only likes them made with silken tofu. Ethan, on the other hand, will order a tofu scramble over pancakes, French toast or any other breakfast item, that’s how much he likes them. It’s taken Ethan years of refining, adding and subtracting various ingredients to get this recipe just right but he finally struck gold. This is a savory tofu scramble so serve it with your favorite vegan breakfast sausages, with toast or on a bagel. This scramble goes well with just about any breakfast item you might
I love oatmeal. It’s warm, hearty, filling, stick-to-your-ribs delicious plant-based eating. For years, I’ve been making a breakfast oatmeal that I call “warm apple pie oatmeal”. It is the base for this recipe and is utterly delicious on it’s own. Recently, I’ve been adding a bunch of extras to my oatmeal to load it up with fiber, Omega-3’s and lots of other important nutrients and minerals. I’m so excited to share this new and improved version of one of my breakfast faves with you. One note on preparation; I do make these in the microwave because mornings in our household it a bit of a mad rush to get to the gym and workout, get dressed and ready for work, walk and feed the dogs, etc… in order to make the 7:30 AM train. If you’re averse to using a microwave, you can totally make this on a
Mushroom duxelle is a fancy way of saying, “mushrooms, shallots and herbs made into a paste.” I came up with this recipe when I was creating a vegan Beef Wellington now known as Beefless Wellington. Once made you can add the duxelle to soups or stews for extra flavor. You can also serve it on its own as a spread for crackers. The first time I made this I was shocked at how much liquid there is in mushrooms. You are going to be squeezing most of it out, so have a non terrycloth dishtowel ready that you won’t mind staining. Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Yield: about 1/2 cup Ingredients: 8 ounces Cremini mushrooms, cleaned 2 TBL vegan butter, divided 1 shallot, minced 1/2 tsp dried thyme Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup vermouth or white wine Directions: 1. Put the mushrooms in a food
Yesterday, we went to Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary for its “ThanksLiving” celebration. This was our first time at this annual event. We had heard so many wonderful things about this event and were really looking forward to it. Happily, the event did not disappoint and we enjoyed a spectacular day in a uniquely wonderful place. Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary is located in upstate New York just a few miles from Woodstock. Started in 2004 by Jenny Brown and Doug Abel, the sanctuary takes in refugee farm animals from a wide variety of backgrounds of neglect, abandonment and abuse. Located in a big open field nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, the sanctuary now has over 400 residents. We arrived early at the sanctuary because we wanted to have some time to interact with the animals. We had visited for a day about four months ago and we were
I sometimes get discouraged by the unwillingness of other people to show their support for those who need it most. I encounter this as both and animal rights advocate and LGBT advocate. Recently Ethan and I attended a kick off event for the Week of Respect as part of National Bullying Awareness Month. Part of the evening included a screening of the documentary, Bullied. At this event there were a total of 17 attendees not counting members of the various organizations who were there as part of a panel. During the event I had several eye opening, soul stirring moments. Our town, where the event took place, is considered very liberal and open. In fact, 20 percent of the families have either 2 moms or 2 dads. Nevertheless, we couldn’t get members of the LGBT community to show up for an anti-bullying discussion. I am choosing to ignore the lack
A few years ago, Ethan and I were not going to be able to see my mother for Mother’s Day because of a wedding we had to attend on Mother’s Day. So, rather than miss seeing her at all, we had dinner with my parents the night before. We went to an Italian restaurant they like, that is very happy to work with people with differing dietary requirements, be it vegan, low salt, whatever. I called an spoke with them ahead of time and the only thing they asked was for us to bring our own dried pasta. They made their pasta fresh and it contains eggs, and they knew we couldn’t have it. When we arrived at the restaurant and were seated, the server came over and asked us how we would like the pasta prepared. We told him a red sauce would be fine. He then asked if
The sweetness of the sweet potatoes and corn get together for our Sweet Potato Corn Chowder. This is so hearty, it is a meal in itself.
We are both huge fans of Our Hen House and the amazing work they do to change the world for animals. We’re also huge fans of Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan personally, and we’re honored to call them our friends. You can imagine how totally psyched we were when they called us and asked us to do a review for their podcast of a new cookbook, Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small that Redefine Vegetable Cooking, by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, owners of the famous world-class vegan restaurant, Vedge, in Philadelphia. We have been wanting to get to Philly to eat at Vedge for such a long time but haven’t had a chance in the past two years. We know– pathetic, right? Well, this was perfect; Our Hen House was sending The Vedge to us! We attacked the book when we got it, pouring through the pages of outrageously tantalizing recipes
On October 25, 2006, the Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously ruled in Lewis v. Harris that the “unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our State Constitution.” With the Harris decision, same-sex couples were granted the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as heterosexual couples with respect to their relationships. The court left it up the state legislature to decide how to implement the law. On December 14, 2006, the New Jersey Legislature passed a Civil Unions bill that Governor Corzine signed into law on December 21, 2006. New Jersey’s civil union law took effect on February 19, 2007. Over the next 5 years, multiple studies were conducted and found that despite the requirement set by SCNJ, Civil Unions did not provide equality to same sex couples. In 2011, the state legislature passed a bill that would change Civil Unions to
