BBQ Chickpeas

Nope...you don't need to fill up the propane tank...there isn't a BBQ involved with this one...not even BBQ sauce!

I got this recipe from PETA, I think. I know it off by heart, easy peasy, so I'm not sure what recipe book it's in...off the top of my head.

ingredients

2 cups pasta sauce

1/8 cup molasses, to taste, perhaps a tad more

1 small onion finely chopped

1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed

method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together.

3. Lightly spray oil the sides and bottom of a casserole dish.

4. Put the mixture in the casserole dish and cover.

5. Bake for an hour.

This is great as a side dish served with a baked potato or on a bed of rice. I make this one quite a bit. Very easy. Tasty.

Read the Labels

When my husband and I began our veggie way of living we didn't know much about the foods we were eating. At the time there wasn't much in the way of vegetarian foods available in Brantford. I worked in Hamilton/Ancaster at the time and we soon discovered a store in Hamilton called Goodness Me! This store still exists, one on the mountain, the other downtown Hamilton. I've not been in the one downtown. The one on the mountain is on Upper Gage. They carry a variety of foods including organic fruits and vegetables. The store is not vegan or vegetarian as it does sell dairy and meat products. It does, however, carry vegan and vegetarian food items as well as cruelty free products. One of the first purchases we made at Goodness Me! was a copy of Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst. Google Goodness Me! for other store locations. Another great store to check out is WholeFoods in Oakville - it can be a little pricey but has a great deli and a assortment of vegetarian and vegan foods and products.

Food Lover's Companion - The version I have is an older publication from the one pictured here on my blog. I noticed that Chapters in the Meadowlands in Ancaster carries it. You can also purchase it online.

The books purports to be contain comprehensive definitions of over 3000 food, wine and culinary terms. It delivers.

When you read a food label some animal products are easy to identify. Others....not so much. I had a conversion today with a guy I know who thought that all margarine was dairy free. Not so! Most margarines contain whey. That's where this handy dandy book comes in. Whey comes from milk. Fleishman's and Earth Balance (see natural food section) are dairy free.

Book excerpt:

whey (HWAY; WAY) The watery liquid that separates from the solids (curds) in cheesemaking.

If you want to be vegan, knowing what's in your food is half the battle. Once you get a hang of it you start to know what foods might contain animal products. This helps when out at restaurants or when you're a dinner guest in someone's home.

Read labels often. Even if it's a product you've purchased before. Companies sometimes change their ingredients.

As a vegan, I also don't eat honey. That's for the bees. They make it 'cause they need it. Look for honey in breads, crackers, cereals...

Strangely enough, dill pickle chips often contain animal products (modified milk ingredients) and roast chicken flavoured chips do not. Go figure.

Ingredients/foods to remember:

albumen = egg white

albumin = protein from egg white

lactose = milk sugar

gelatin = protein derived from beef/veal bones, cartilage, tendons and other tissue

lard = pig fat

If you don't have this reference guide...always check out ingredients by using Google or you can look them up on the dictionary site of www.m-w.com. Educate yourself. You'd be amazed at some of the stuff we put in our mouths without even looking at a label!

Yes, many of us like jelly deserts like Jello. Jello contains gelatin (see above). Every now and again I come across a vegan version of this giggly food. It's better than eating the results of boiled animal bones.

Many vegan products in the natural foods section of the store contain organic ingredients and none of these things with long names that you couldn't possibly pronounce or even begin to know what they are!

You don't have to shop in just the natural food section, though. Have a look about the whole store. I find, sometimes, that the less expensive a product is, the less likely it is to contain animals products - see cookies for instance!

Speaking of cookies -when I bake I use an egg replacer. It's a powder that contains things like guar gum and corn starch. The brand I use is Paneriso's Kingsmill Egg Replacer. Baked goods often contain eggs as an ingredient to hold everything together. This powder does the trick. I can use this powder in any baked good recipe...cookies, banana bread, cake...With Paneriso's you just mix 1 tsp of the replacer with 2 tbsp of water...that's it...that's your 'egg'. Another egg replacer is soy lecithin but I find that it can change the flavour of your final product and it's kinda gooey to deal with.

I'm not a vegetarian for health reasons. That's why I'm not super skinny. That's also why these recipes are what they are - comfort foods! I do it for the animals. I come second. I tell ya though, when I became a vegan, man oh man, did I feel better! I recommend it to anyone!

Vegan Stuffed Jumbo Shells

This is a family favourite. It's pretty easy to make too!

ingredients

20-25 cooked jumbo shells (drain, rinse in cold water)
oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 pkg (1.5 cups) finely chopped veggie chicken strips
1 pkg tofu, sliced into small cubes (optional)
1/2 cup tofu sour cream (homemade or Tofutti's Sour Supreme)
Italiano Seasoning
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped small
pasta sauce

method

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Fry together the onion and broccoli until softened. Add mushrooms and veggie chicken, tofu (if desired). Heat through.

2. Add Italiano seasoning to taste. PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Remove this mixture from the pan and place into a large bowl. Add the tofu sour cream and mix well.

4. Put a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.

5. Start stuffing the mixture into the shells with a spoon.

6. Place the stuffed shells into the baking dish.

7. Pour more pasta sauce over the shells. It doesn't need to be a lot, you just need to cover the exposed pasta, otherwise it will get dry and hard in the oven.

8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Sometimes I find that my shells bust apart while cooking. I end up with too much of the stuffing mixture. The other day this happened to me. I cooked up some spiral pasta. Once it was drained and rinsed, I added the leftover stuffing and some pasta sauce. I put it in the fridge. The next day, for lunch, we reheated this new casserole and it was tasty yum!

Serve this meal up with a lovely warmed bread and a large garden salad!

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

I got this recipe from:

http://yvesveggie.ca/index.php/recipes#shepherds_pie

ingredients

1.5 lbs of potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp margarine

2 tsp canola oil

1 pkg Yves Veggie Ground Round

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp flour

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup combined frozen peas/carrots/corn

method

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender, drain and mash with margarine

2. Over medium heat fry in oil: Ground Round, garlic for about 5 minutes. Add flour, stir and cook for about another minute.

3. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

4. Add mixed vegetables.

5. Spread mixture in a suitable vessel (like an 8"x8" casserole).

6. Spread the mashed potatoes on top.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

I sometimes add diced onions and sliced mushrooms.

Note that once it cooks the potatoes seem to explode (get really puffy) and the veggie meat/vegetable mixture seems to shrink.

Vegan Living

A book by Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano called The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living is a great reference. It contains all of the information I've learned over the years since I became a vegan. I purchased the book to have as a quick reference guide for when I get inundated with questions about my diet choice.

The format makes it really easy to read. It's not longwinded. The book is set up in the typical Idiot's Guide format.

The book is set up in 7 parts. Each part contains chapters. Here are the part titles:

1 - Compassion for All

2 - Clearing Up the Misconceptions

3 - A Vegan Survival Guide

4 - Veggin' It: Tips for Maintaining a Vegan Lifestyle

5 - Substitution Is the Mother of Invention

6 - Vegan Food for the Soul

7 - Vegan Lifestyle Choices

This book contains recipes. Nutrition info. Animal info.

From the book:

Is Vegan Living for You?

If you're wondering if living a vegan lifestyle might be for you, ask yourself the following questions:

- do you love animals?

- do you oppose the use of animals in entertainment?

- do you feel sad seeing animals in pet store windows?

- do you sometimes find eating meat or dairy unappetizing?

- do you find yourself gravitating toward the veggie side dishes on your place first?

- does your leather coat ever suddenly seem unappealing?

- do you have any health concerns that may be diet-related?

- do you suffer from any food allergies or sensitivites?

- does the knowledge that your lotion or mascara was tested on an animal make you think twice about using it?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could be a potential vegan in the making, and this book is certainly for you.

One of the questions that I get asked all the time is "Where do you get your protein?" In general, North Americans eat far too much protein. Diets high in protein affect calcium absorption which can lead to osteoporosis.

The thing is...even if you aren't vegan 24/7 you can make a difference. Try being vegetarian for a day. Then a couple of days...then maybe try vegan. The lives you can save by being vegan for one day a week is incredible. Imagine what you can do for the animals and the earth if you really put your mind to it!

Check this book out. I first read it by borrowing it from the Brantford Public Library. It was such a good reference that I bought it on-line.

Thanking the Monkey- Rethinking The Way We Treat Animals

Karen Dawn put together an amazing book titled Thanking the Monkey, Rethinking The Way We Treat Animals.


The great thing about this book is it's format. Very easy to read. Lots of pictures and cartoons for those of us who like that sort of thing!


For a taste, here are the chapter titles:


one - welcome to the world of animal rights
two - slaves to love
three - all the world's a cage
four - fashion victims
five - desconstructing dinner
six - animals anonymous
seven - the greenies
eight - compassion in action


You can find the author, Karen Dawn, on http://www.facebook.com/. Take a looky loo at http://www.thankingthemonkey.com/. This book can be purchased online or even at Chapters in Ancaster (providing it's not sold out!).


Karen is currently working on another book and I am eager to read it once it's published.

Let's Talk Turkey

With Thanksgiving approaching this weekend I can't help but think about the cruelty to turkeys everywhere. If you're ever driving along the 403 from Brantford to Ancaster you might see the wild turkeys in the fields and forests that line that stretch of highway. They are the big, dark, long-necked beings hanging out in a group. Sadly, the great majority of turkeys do not live this wild existence...thanks to man.

The excerpt below is from http://www.farmsanctuary.com/:

Record numbers of chickens and turkeys are being raised and killed for meat in the U.S. every year. Nearly ten billion chickens and over a quarter billion turkeys are hatched in the U.S. annually. These birds are typically crowded by the thousands into huge, factory-like warehouses where they can barely move. Each chicken is given less than half a square foot of space, while turkeys are each given less than three square feet. Shortly after hatching, both chickens and turkeys have the ends of their beaks cut off, and turkeys also have the ends of their toes clipped off. These mutilations are performed without anesthesia, ostensibly to reduce injuries that result when stressed birds are driven to fighting.

While driving in the country on a lovely Sunday you might find a field occupied by a herd of cows or sheep. When is the last time you saw turkeys? Did you know that the turkeys that humans consume aren't those pretty brown ones depicted on the thanksgiving holiday serviettes? Nope. The ones people eat are white. Do you know why? Humans decided that they didn't want to eat freckled flesh so they genetically altered the turkeys. Turkeys also need to be artificially inseminated in order for farmers to have them reproduce because they've been altered to grow quickly...the males simply are so heavy that if they were to mount the females they could crush them or break their legs because of their weight.

Turkeys are amazing animals. I've had the privilege of visiting animal sanctuaries and have spent time loving the turkeys. They really like attention and like to be petted. The males tend to show off their plumage. Also, the colours on their heads is fantastic when they strut around!

Don't be fooled by the term free range either. The laws are so lax that it's easy to label foods as free range. Groups like Farm Sanctuary are reviewing laws such as these in the United States. They are working towards changing the laws....whatever it takes until people stop eating animals. Eating animals is unhealthy, not just for us, but for the environment. Farm Sanctuary has recently recruited assistance in Canada to review our laws in order to work towards a better life for our food animals.


I would never condone the eating of animals. I know that the recipes which I have posted so far are vegan versions of what some might call traditional North American meals, but that's because these recipes can be used as a stepping stone, a way to move away from eating animals.


I am vegan for the protection of the animals. By choosing this diet I am helping the animals, myself and the environment.

I was raised as a meat eater. I am 43 years old. I became vegan at about 26 years of age. Yes, I am healthy. I have no protein worries. My iron level is fine.

A couple of good, easy reads:


The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living by Beverly Lynn Bennett and Ray Sammartano


Thanking the Monkey by Karen Dawn


This thanksgiving, my family (including non vegetarian family members who will be joining us) will partake in a home cooked vegan dinner. We will have Tofurky, peas, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushroom gravy, maybe a squash and vegan pumpkin pie for dessert.

TOFURKY

The wonderful folks at Turtle Island Foods in Oregon, USA produce a seitan (vital wheat gluten) turkey roast. The Tofurky is like a turkey roll filled with a wild rice stuffing. You can purchase the roast on it's own or it is also sold in a box as a 'feast' with dumplings, gravy and wish stix. You will find Tofurky not only at natural food stores in the frozen section, but also, in Brantford, at Zehrs and Metro (formerly A&P). Check out the natural foods sections of these grocery stores. Instructions on how to cook the Tofurky are on the package. Don't fret if you can't get the 'feast' because there is a recipe for mushroon gravy on the side of the 'roast' box. We just buy the 'roast' as we find the dumplings to be a bit heavy. We make our own gravy or I have seen Tofurky Mushroom Gravy at Goodness Me in Hamilton. The cooking instructions shown on the box are for an oven cooked roast. Even though the box says not to cook the Tofurky in the microwave, it is doable. When we camp on Thanksgiving weekend we take a 'roast' with us. We don't have an oven in our tent trailer, but we do have a microwave. Using instructions obtained from http://www.tofurky.com/ we learned that it's easy to cook the 'roast' in the microwave when an oven isn't available. We simply slice the thawed roast and arrange it on a microwave safe plate. We pour gravy over the top. Cover with a microwave safe lid and cook on high for about 2 minutes. Voila!


As far as the pumpkin pie goes....I make it just like anyone would, but instead of using a dairy product, I use Silk's soy creamer available at Zehrs and Metro (A&P). My husband likes to use it in his tea sometimes. I also use it in my veggie chicken pot pie - recipe already on this site. By the way, my pie crust doesn't have lard...I use all vegetable shortening.

Turtle Island Foods makes other seitan delights...look for them at your grocer too!

Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from Table for Two by Joanne Stepaniak. Joanne has many great vegan cookbooks. I had the pleasure of meeting her many years ago when my husband and I volunteered to run a table at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair for Farm Sanctuary. At the time we were selling at the Farm Sanctuary table Vegan Vittles, one of her cookbooks, and she was there and hung out with us for a bit and autographed books. Wonderful lady!

This is a very easy recipe...honestly...5 ingredients. If you don't want the chocolate chips...4 ingredients.

This recipe makes a little over 2 dozen cookies.

ingredients

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup crunchy (or smooth) peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

chocolate chips (vegan - read the label)

1 cup pastry flour (whole wheat if you like)

method

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray

3. put the pure maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer. Cream them together this way.

4. stir in the flour to form a stiff dough.

5. add a whack of chocolate chips (I don't know...about 1/2 to 1 cup). mix thoroughly.

6. form the dough into walnut size balls and put them on the baking sheet.

7. I didn't flatten the cookies with a fork...you might want to. whatever.

8. bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes...mine only took 8 minutes...maybe it's my oven. beats me. bake'm 'til the bottoms are lightly browned.

9. once your buzzer goes off, remove them from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet for a minute. transfer them to a cooling rack. once they are completely cool, if you haven't eaten them all already, store them.

I stick a piece of bread in the the storage box with the cookies. It will keep the cookies fresh. when the bread is rock solid, switch it out for another piece. (I use the ends of the bread 'cause pretty nobody wants to eat them anyway).

Slow Cooker Fiesta Soup

I got this recipe from a book I bought at Farm Sanctuary this summer - The Simple Little Vegan Slow Cooker (by Michelle Rivera). I've altered it only slightly.

I made it yesterday. Very spicy. Super to dip fresh bread in!

ingredients

4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) drained, rinsed black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 tbsp chili powder (this is what makes it killer spicy - if spicy is not your thing...reduce)
2 tsp chopped garlic in oil

method

Mix all of the above into your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with veggie cheddar cheese, soy sour cream, fresh bread....whatever!

Veggie Chicken Pot Pie

Before becoming a vegetarian I don't think I ever had chicken pot pie. Now I make vegan chicken pot pie. I assume it tastes like the meat version...doesn't matter anyway...it's not that I necessarily want to eat non-meat versions of old meat recipes anyway!

This one takes some time. About an hour to prep and an hour in the oven. It takes less time if you cook with a friend! Also, you need to make pie crust, unless you are able to buy a suitable vegan one at your grocer.

I'll start with the contents of the inside of the pie first, then the recipe for the pie crust.

This recipe basically has the filling go directly into the casserole dish with a pie crust only on the top.

THE INSIDES

ingredients

sauce

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup Silk soy creamer

vegetables etc.

4 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1/2 to 1 cup diced or sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 large diced onion
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 pkg Yves Veggie ground chicken (+ 1 pkg veggie chicken strips cut into chunks-optional)

method

1. Boil the potatoes until al dente, drain, set aside.

2. Steam the carrots (if sliced), until almost done, set aside. If using diced (small bits), no need to precook.

3. Saute onions and mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil, set aside.

4. Create the sauce - over medium heat in a large pot stir the following until it bubbles:
1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup flour and 1/4 tsp sea salt.

5. Add the vegetable stock to the sauce slowly and whisk vigourously to eliminate any lumps. Whisk in the Silk creamer. Turn off the heat.

6. Add to the pot of sauce: potatoes, carrots, peas, onions/mushrooms and veggie ground chicken. Mix well.

7. Spray a casserole dish (I use an 8"x12" lasagna type glass dish) with a non-stick spray.

8. Put the mixture created above in the casserole dish evenly.

PIE CRUST

ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
5 to 7 tbsp ice water

**it works best if your shortening has been in the fridge for a bit (like for the time it takes to make the 'insides')

method

1. In a medium bowl combine flour and salt. Mix well.

2. With a knife/fork blend in the shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Sprinkle with ice water 1 tbsp at a time. Add water until dough is just moist enough to form a ball when lightly pressed together.

4. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten on a floured surface - roll to about a 1/4" thickness - to size of casserole dish.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

PUTTING THE PIE CRUST ON THE CASSEROLE DISH

1. Put pie crust on top of the mixture in the casserole dish.

2. Trim the edges of the pie crust to even them up so that they are the size of the casserole (like when making pie).

3. Poke holes in the crust to allow steam to escape.

4. COOK one hour until crust is golden brown and the contents are bubbling. This has a tendancy to boil over so prepare your oven accordingly (tin foil or something to catch the drips).

5. After cooking one hour...eat it up! Yum!

Veggie Chicken & Portabellos on Rice

Alot of the recipes you'll find me posting are no-brainers. It's no secret...I'm not a cook...by any stretch! So, for now, I'll just post some easy stuff for those just figuring out what to make vegan with some cheats like premade veggie meats.

Local grocery stores are now carrying meat analogs which are helpful when you don't know where to start, you don't have time to cook...yada yada yada.

This recipe uses Blue Menu frozen veggie chicken breasts. I got them at Zehrs in the frozen section. Look for the blue box!

*I also use these veggie chicken breasts to make veggie chicken parmagiana.

ingredients

2 Blue Menu veggie chicken breasts, thawed in the microwave (not too long, you'll dry them out), chopped into bite size pieces

4 portabello mushrooms, chopped bite size pieces

1 small onion sliced

1 small green pepper, cored, sliced

3 large tomatoes, chunked

Italiano seasoning to taste

cayenne pepper powder to taste

oil

1 cup basmati rice (cooks to become 4 cups)

method

1. Get the rice cookin' - I like to use the microwave. The basmati rice package has directions.

2. Put about 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Heat on medium high.

3. Put the onion, pepper and tomatoes in the frying pan. Fry 'til onion and peppers are getting soft. Add Italiano and cayenne to taste. By now this smells really good, right?

4. Add the veggie chicken and mushrooms. Heat through.

5. Serve on bed of rice, or if you're more into pasta - serve over cous cous, fettucine or quinoa.

I didn't take a pic. Sorry. I don't think about it when I'm cooking. Whatever.

Add other veggies to this too, like maybe zucchini and other mushroom types.

animal sanctuaries

To learn more about food industry animals and to vist those that have been rescued why not visit a sanctuary?





We just returned from a trip to New York State where we visited 3 sanctuaries.





For many years we have travelled to Farm Sanctuary in beautiful Watkins Glen, NY. Farm Sanctuary has a second farm in Orland, CA. Please visit their site at http://www.farmsanctuary.org/.





Farm Sanctuary does so much for farm animals - they are incredible! Farm Sanctuary co-founder, Gene Baur, will be speaking at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair this year. Jump in the car, take the train, whatever, get to the Food Fair this September. Google it.



Annually Farm Sanctuary has a Hoe Down at each of it's locations. The NY Hoe Down takes place on the Canadian long weekend in August. You can also visit them other times...see their website for details on tours and their B&B cabins.

This year, after we departed the Hoe Down we drove to Saugerties, NY. There we camped 30 mins from one sanctuary and 15 mins from another! Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (woodstockfas.org) is a lovely sanctuary in Willow, NY just outside of hippie Woodstock. After our tour of the sanctuary, we went into Woodstock...checked out some shops and ate a vegan dinner at Garden Cafe.

The following day we drove 15 mins from our campground to Catskill Animal Sanctuary in Saugerties, NY. I've always been a big fan of pigs so I was very pleased to visit with their farm roaming pot bellied pigs! They are just like dogs! Catskill Animal Sanctuary (casanctuary.org) also takes in horses and donkeys.

We had hoped to travel to West Virginia also to Pigs, A Sanctuary (pigs.org). We had visited them years ago when their shelter was in PA. We contacted them prior to visiting and were advised that, for the safety of their animals, they are not doing tours at this time (H1N1). The pigs at the sanctuary are perfectly healthy...they don't want humans to make them sick. I totally understand. In the future we shall travel to WV to see my porcine friends!

These sanctuaries promote animal friendly lifestyles...vegan living. They rescue and rehabilitate these wonderful creatures. They adopt out some of their rescues to suitable farms/owners. The animals are rescued from stockyards, slaughterhouses, abandonment, floods, hurrianes, abuse...each animal has a story. The sanctuaries name their critters. The animals are never exploited and never eaten. They live their natural lives...much longer than man would allow them in the cruel food industry.

There are sanctuaries all over. Look for them. Visit them.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Dairy is sometimes a tough product to emulate in the vegan world. The natural food companies are giving it their all these days with super alternatives out there! Seems everyone has a new beverage out there whether it's made with soy, rice, hemp, almonds, oats...you name it! I personally like Natura original and Silk's chocolate. Both are soy.

Anyway, I found a vegan alfredo sauce that I must share. Alfredo was never one of my favourites in my prevegan days, however, this one is sure to please your non vegan friends and family.

ingredients

1/2 cup vegan butter or margarine
2 cups plain soy milk
1 pkg extra firm Mori-Nu silken tofu (349g)
2 tbsp white cooking wine
2 tbsp onion powder
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
3 - 4 tbsp of cornstarch

method

Combine all ingredients except corn starch in a food processor. Blend until creamy smoothe. Put it in a sauce pan on the stove to heat it up. Bit by bit add the cornstarch while whisking to obtain desired thickness/consistency. Don't make it too thick.

Serve over pasta with steamed broccoli (& salad/bread) - OR - serve over rice with fried mushrooms and peas.

**FYI - I bought non alcoholic white wine at the grocery store. Since this recipe only calls for 2 tbsp, I froze the rest in ice cube trays in the freezer. They freeze 'cause there is no alcohol! Woo hoo! The ice cube tray sections hold 2 tbsp. Fabulous. I have placed them in a labelled bag in the freezer. They are ready to go anytime I'm cooking and need white wine.

Vegan Mac'n'Cheeze (from Veg News)

If you haven't had an opportunity to pick up a Veg News magazine, please do so. Great magazine. They also have a website. I'm not sure if the magazine is available in Brantford, I have purchased it a Chapters and in natural food stores. I found this recipe using Google and it just happened to be from Veg News. You'll want a food processor for this one unless you have a super blender.

I think this dish, used as a meal or as a side, will be enjoyed by your dairy loving friends and family. It is not Kraft's box mac'n'cheese, it's more like a homemade baked mac'n'cheese.

Enjoy!

ingredients

8 oz of macaroni noodles (weight before cooking)
1 cup peeled, finely chopped potatoes
1/4 cup peeled, finely chopped carrots
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup of water
1/4 cup cashews (unsalted, natural)
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp minced garlic (or minced garlic in oil)
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1/3 cup margarine
bread crumbs (purchased/homemade)
paprika to garnish
chopped up veggie ham slices (optional)

- I made this once with Yves Veggie veggie ham in it. It was tasty. I basically took about 4 slices of it and added it at the end just before it all went in the oven.

method

1. Cook macaroni noodles, drain, rinse and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Put the following in a pot on the stove: potatoes, carrots, onions and 1 cup of water. The water is very important. Measure it. Cook the vegetables in the water until they are soft. Make sure that the water doesn't boil away 'cause you're gonna use it. So, basically, bring the water to a boil, put a lid on it and then simmer.

4. In a food processor (or great blender) process the following until creamy: cashews, margarine, sea salt, minced garlic, dijon mustard, lemon juice, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

5. Once the potatoes/carrots/onions are done, add them, with their water to the food processor and process everything together until really smoothe.

6. In a large bowl mix together the macaroni noodles and contents of the food processor. If you want to add veggie ham, now is the time to do it. Mix together until noodles completely coated.

7. Place the mixture into a suitable casserole dish.

There are two ways to finish this off before putting it in the oven. You can put a lid on it now, as it. OR you can top it with breadcrumbs & paprika and forget about the lid altogether.

Breadcrumbs = yummy

You can use store bought breadcrumbs or make your own in the food processor/blender.

To make your own breadcrumbs:
pulverize 2 slices of bread with 1 tbsp of margarine to a medium-fine texture in a food processor/blender

8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheeze sauce is bubbly and the top is golden brown (if you don't use bread crumbs and choose the lid method - it will not be golden brown)

Stew Casserole

Although this is a cool weather favourite at our house...it doesn't take long to make so it won't heat up the kitchen too much in the summer.

ingredients

4 large potatoes, skin on, chunked
2 large onions, chunked
4 large carrots, peeled, cut into coins
4 veggie burgers, cut into small chunks
1 lb. pkg (454 g) tofu, cut into small chunks
1 1/4 cups Bisto veggie beef gravy
Garlic Plus seasoning
wee bit of oil or vegan margarine

-use organic items where available for added goodness
- Bisto veggie gravy is available at most grocery stores (just add boiling water)
- I buy Fleishman's salt free margarine, have also purchased Earth Balance vegan butter
- I have made this recipe with Lick's brand nature burgers as well as Yves Veggie veggie burgers
- add more potatoes or carrots if you like...I sometimes add frozen peas too
- sometimes I add Yves Veggie ground round

method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cook potatoes until tender in water (either on the stove top or in the microwave)

3. While potatoes are cooking, in a frying pan, fry the onion 'til soft in oil or margarine

4. Add the veggie burger chunks and tofu chunks to the frying pan and heat through.

If you're not sure about tofu just yet, omit it from the recipe or cut the chunks very small.

5. Cook the carrots until tender in water (either on the stove top or in the microwave) OR steam them to retain more nutrients.

6. Find a suitable casserole dish in your cupboard, lid required.

7. Place the fried onions/burgers/tofu in the casserole dish.

8. Drain and place the potatoes in the frying pan which was just used for the onions/burgers/tofu. Sprinkle the potatoes with Garlic Plus seasoning. Fry 'til crispy a bit on the outside.

9. While this is going on, put the kettle on to boil so that you can make the Bisto gravy.

10. Pour the made gravy over top of the onions/burgers/tofu in the casserole dish. There should be enough to cover them.

11. Drain carrots, place in casserole dish.

12. Place potatoes on top of carrots.

13. Put lid on the casserole.

14. Heat in oven about 20 minutes

15. Serve with garden salad and fresh bread.

Easy Vegan

The above title can be taken more than one way...you decide!

I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination...so what I do cook is easy. Hence Easy Vegan.

Many years ago I learned about the cruelty to animals in the food industry. I had no idea. I had never made the connection that beef = cow and pork = pig....Many people know so little about the food animal industry...we are kept ignorant by the big food producers. When you learn about the cruelty, unless you're heartless, I don't know how you can't become vegan. I don't eat animals (including honey) and I don't wear animals (leather, silk, wool....)

I encourage people to attend the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair. It is held annually (usually 2nd weekend in September) at Queens Quay (harbourfront), Toronto. Google Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair or Toronto Vegetarian Association for more info. There are guest speakers, food tables, book tables, cooking supplies, food court tent, animal rights group tables, demonstrations...If you go, take a bag with you to carry the hand outs, flyers and items you purchase. It's a great way to try vegetarian/vegan food. Lovely location. The Fair takes place on a Friday evening and then the following Saturday and Sunday.

I don't eat anything that had a face or came from something with a face.

I encourage people to read labels and to know what they are eating. I have a book called The Food Lover's Companion. It is basically a dictionary of food terms. Awesome.

Being vegan is easy. It really is. For those of you who don't know where to start, maybe I can help. I have created some 'old recipe favourites' vegan style which I will post here. Comfort food, if you will.

I will also post some other vegan favourites.

For quick, easy reading on the subject, why not go to the Brantford Public Library to sign out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living. Lots of great info in there. There are tons of books and websites on the subject.

For my friends who are curious about veganism or for those who truly want to convert - please enjoy this blog. I will post pictures, hopefully, as I make the recipes so that you can see what they look like.

Brantford Vegan.