November 2013

Today I have been living as a vegan for four years. Thanksgiving Day is my Veganniversary (vegan anniversary). It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the number four. In so many ways it feels much longer than just four years, but time is funny that way. It also feels like it was just yesterday that I came home from a family gathering where I picked at the sparse vegan-friendly offerings and sat down to my first fully vegan meal, a Thanksgiving Dinner. In the four years since I opened my eyes to the realities of animal mistreatment in the world, I have learned a great many things. Perhaps it is because I’ve had so many new and wonderful experiences in such a relatively short period of time, that it seems hard to believe that it’s only been four years. The biggest surprise to me was that, despite what

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As our week and a half of Thanksgiving recipes comes to an end, we hope we’ve inspired you to enjoy a delicious and compassionate Thanksgiving meal.  Whether you are hosting your own meal or going to someone else’s home, we hope you’ll consider sharing some of these recipes (or ones like them) with your family and guests.  Thanksgiving is truly a time to pause and reflect on the abundance in our lives.  How fitting to do it as a vegan.  Indeed, veganism is a lifestyle of abundance, and our vegan Thanksgiving meal is a reflection of that abundance. We’re putting these recipes together for you here, as a menu, for you to see that there is nothing missing from a vegan Thanksgiving table other than a cruel and confused ritual. Celebrating the abundance of our lives while feasting on the carcass of an oppressed, tortured, and murdered innocent sentient being

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This recipe is a must-have for any Thanksgiving dessert table.  My mother used to make this cake when I was a child. This recipe is actually her mother’s (Bubby of Apple Crisp fame) recipe, but she doesn’t make it anymore.  I have enjoyed this recipe all of my life but it wasn’t until I went vegan that it occurred to me that this was an already-vegan recipe. My mother makes the cake in a round tube pan and covers it with a sweet frosting.  To this day, that  is seriously still my favorite way to have this cake.  However, Michael was not a fan of the icing on it, and we really didn’t need the extra fat and sugar.  In fact, the first time I made this for Michael, he said that his Aunt Carol made almost the exact same cake, but without the icing and it was a staple

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Thanksgiving is extra special for some of us this year because, for the first time since 1888, the Jewish (lunar) calendar syncs up with the Gregorian calendar so that Thanksgiving falls on Hanuukah.  Experts say it won’t happen again for another 77,798 years.  So, we figured we’d better make the most of this once-in-seventy-seven-millenia coincidence. Traditionally on Hanukah to honor the miracle of the oil in the temple, one cooks with oil and make lots of fried foods. Latkes, fried potato pancakes, are the quintessential traditional food of Hanukkah. This year, we decided to infuse them with Thanksgiving flavors and the results were delightful. Traditionally, potato latkes are served with applesauce, sour cream or even ketchup (my father’s and brother’s preferred condiment).  While these work great with all of the above, I strongly suggest using my chipotle aioli recipe or even topping them with some cranberry sauce, to give it

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I love this chipotle aioli dipping sauce.  I originally came up with it as my favorite dip for Michael’s grilled artichokes, but I have found that it works very well with a variety of other recipes and even on some sandwiches.  Making this is so easy, you’ll be making it all of the time… you’ll see! I make this in small quantities when it’s just the two of us.  When there are more people, just double or triple the recipe in order to get the volume of dip you need.  You can make this ahead of time and leave it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just take it out about 15 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature. Prep Time: 2 minutes. Ingredients: ¼ cup of vegan mayo (I prefer Vegenaise reduced fat) 1 tsp chipotle hot sauce 1 tsp

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As a kid, mashed potatoes were only around at holidays or when we would pick up fried chicken and get it as a side dish.  Because of this, I always assumed they were hard to make and took a lot of time. I was wrong. They are very easy to make and don’t require much work at all. These are a great side dish on their own, but a generous helping of gravy makes them even better.  We also use them as a topping for our Shepherdless Pie.  Next time you need some mashed potatoes, and yes, this is a legitimate need, don’t fret, here is your go to recipe. You can easily double or triple this recipe if you are making for a crowd.  You can make these early in the day and just leave them in the pot on the stove, OFF THE HEAT, covered until you want them.

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Often when I want to come up with a recipe, I start with something I used to like as an onmivore and then see how I can make it vegan.  Beef Wellington was something I never made as an omnivore, and in fact only had once. However, I knew this was something that could be made vegan very easily. In fact, there was no trial and error with this one. I got it right on the first try.  This is not a complicated dish to make, but it does take a little advance preparation to make the onions and mushrooms.  If you want serious WOW factor, make this.  Your guest will marvel at you when you bring the golden pastry to the table. A few tips:  This recipe uses Gardein Beefless Tips in place of the meat that Beef Wellington typically has. You will also need puff pastry dough. Usually puff pastry

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Friday morning, Ethan and I loaded the dogs into the car and drove up to Albany, NY to attend Albany VegFest 2013.  We are fortunate that Ethan’s Bubby lives in Albany and we were able to spend the night at her house. Added bonus: she loves our dogs and is thrilled to have them visit.  We made her a fantastic dinner featuring the Gardein Holiday Roast with homemade mushroom gravy, roasted cauliflower and cheesy beer bread.  She loves when we cook for her, and it is always a pleasure to do it. And, it’s one more meal that did not involve the suffering of any animals. Win-win. Saturday morning we got up early, took care of the dogs, got ourselves ready and drove over to the festival. Albany VegFest was held at the Polish Community Center.  We wanted to be there when the doors opened at 10AM, so that we

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Confession time: I had never had beets until the first time I roasted them… I was 38 years old. They were just never in my house growing up, so by the time I got to be an adult, I never even noticed them in the store.  One day, Ethan said he wanted to get some at the store, so we got them. Then there I was left with these dirty looking roots, not sure what to do with them.  Knowing that nothing brings out the sweetness in root vegetable like roasting them, I figured roasting would be a good idea and got to work preparing them. I am so glad I did and so grateful to Ethan for getting them.  For this recipe we bring together beets, onions, garlic and carrots – sort of going back to our roots.  (Sorry.)  Try a variety of carrots if you can them. Carrots come

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When I was a little kid, creamed corn was my favorite side dish. My mom always bought the frozen kind that you had to boil in the plastic pouch. I loved it. I could eat it an entire package by myself. Interestingly, I never tried making from scratch until Ethan went vegan. I never tried to make it any other way than as a vegan dish. This dish is very simple to make and goes great with any BBQ or fried food you might be serving.  You can use either freshly shucked corn or frozen. But which ever you choose, please make sure it is organic, non-GMO corn. I actually prefer using frozen kernels now as I have not had luck finding good, fresh, sweet, non-GMO corn. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients: 6 ears fresh corn (or 3 cups frozen corn kernels) 2 tablespoons

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