Vegan/Vegetarian Thanksgiving Survival

The holidays are often stressful, but being a vegan/vegetarian at Thanksgiving, traditionally an orgy of animal foods, can be miserable if you don't have a supportive family. Here are a few suggestions on how to make it more enjoyable:

Discuss your diet with the person or people cooking in advance. Explain that you can't eat stuffing that was inside the turkey or vegetables cooked with meat. Something as simple as leaving the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes or the ham out of the collard greens might open up several more options for your meal, and your host may be happy to oblige. For vegans, see if it's too much to ask for mashed potatoes or squash to be made with non-dairy milk and butter.

If your host won't oblige these requests or you still feel your options will be too limited, bring your own food to the party. Offer to be in charge of the vegetable dishes to take some of the pressure off the cook. Suggestions include butternut or acorn squash baked at 350 with Earth Balance, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of sugar; potatoes mashed with Earth Balance, almond milk, and fresh dill; collard greens or kale sauteed in olive oil and garlic; baked yams; barbecue blackeyed peas; homemade bread; lentil walnut pate... The possibilities are endless and chances are, your guests will not miss the dairy or meat traditionally in these dishes after gorging themselves on turkey and gravy. You'll actually be performing a public service. Too lazy to cook? Check out Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for a host of premade vegan foods, or go super gourmet with The Cinnamon Snail's Thanksgiving menu. Most health food stores also carry vegan pies and pastries.

Finally, have a discussion with someone you're close to who will be at the gathering and explain that being singled out as The Vegan or having your diet critiqued or analyzed makes you uncomfortable and unable to enjoy the celebration. Announcing to the whole room "These green beans are for Suzie because she's A VEGAN" is not nice, nor is saying "come on, just eat the pie, it's Thanksgiving, it won't kill you," nor is getting all huffy because Suzie won't eat the nice souffle Grandma spent all day making, nor is asking where you get your protein, etc etc etc. You are going to politely refrain from talking about the miserable life and death of the poor turkey and how high everybody else's cholesterol probably is, so everyone else can refrain from making you a pariah or a conversation piece. Enlist supportive family and friends to intervene on your behalf if these remarks come up. Or you can just send people this article.

Finally, if you aren't obligated to go to someone else's house, consider hosting your own plant-based Thanksgiving and inviting others to join in the feast!

Vegan Pate

Pate is one of those fancy foods it seems one will never eat again after going vegan. When I discovered something called Faux Gras, a vegan version made from lentils and walnuts, in the health food store, I was hooked, but deterred from buying it frequently as a tiny container is about 6 bucks. One day after making too many lentils, I invented this extremely simple recipe and discovered I could make an equally delicious version for pennies at home! This scrumptious pate is great with crackers, bread, raw veggies, or apple slices. Bon appetit!

4 cups cooked lentils w bay leaf + garlic
2 cups walnuts
Juice of 2 lemons
1 package of dry miso
Splash vinegar (apple cider or balsamic)
Splash tamari or soy sauce

Blend on high for about 5 min. Pate!

Vegan Food Truck With A Big Heart

I recently had the pleasure of eating at The Cinnamon Snail, a gourmet-ish vegan food truck which serves in a different neighborhood every day! Part of the fun is finding the truck. The best way to stay in the loop as to its whereabouts is to subscribe to its facebook page where daily updates are provided. The truck serves in Midtown, Queens, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. The day I went, I got there about 30 minutes before it closed and was disappointed to see many of its treats were sold out. I had been very much looking forward to sampling a bourbon creme brulee vegan donut and a lavendar pear turnover, but alas, they were all gone. I ordered a maple pumpkin glazed seitan with spiced roasted pecans, marinated kale & dark beer whole grain mustard on grilled baguette and a ginger cookie and was THRILLED. I vowed I would begin making weekly visits to this delectable truck.

And then the hurricane hit. The truck was out of commission for a few days, and then its owners decided they would get back on the road-- only they would be going to some of New York's hardest hit areas and serve people for free. They are now doing this indefinitely. Obviously, this makes me like them even more. They are requesting donations to support this effort to their paypal: thecinnamonsnail@gmail.com

After seeing many instances where people were subsiding for days on hastily made PBJs, cold food out of cans, or nothing, I think it is amazing that this truck is enabling people to get hot, fresh, gourmet vegan food for free. I'm sure it's lifting a lot of spirits as well as filling a lot of bellies. And I will certainly be patronizing this truck whenever it returns to normal service!

Finally, if you are interested in sampling their food for Thanksgiving, they have a special menu here where you can pre-order their delicacies and then pick it up Thanksgiving day. 

Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I can actually take credit for having invented this recipe! Once again, nutritional yeast takes the place of cheese to create the same rich, velvety flavor but substituting the cholesterol for a wallop of B vitamins.

1 large potato, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup non-dairy milk (unsweetened)-- I used almond
1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until soft, then add the potato chunks and stir for another 3 minutes. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer on low about 20 min or until all chunks are very soft.

Two Simple Blackeyed Pea Recipes

Two Simple Blackeyed Pea Recipes

Blackeyed peas are nutrition-packed: high in calcium, thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate and manganese. When I first was introduced to them I was unsure what to make with them, but they actually are very versatile. Here are two extremely easy recipes:

BBQ Blackeyed Peas, Southern style
First, cook beans using soak and cook method here.
Saute 1 onion and 1 garlic clove, chopped, in olive or other veg oil, about 5 min
Add 2 c cooked blackeyed peas, 1/4 c chopped parsley, 1/4 c chopped cilantro, with a little water from the beans
Simmer 2-3 min
Add 2 c barbecue sauce (I like Annie's Naturals, or you can make your own)
Add a little more water from the beans, around 1/4 c
Simmer covered on low heat for 15 min.

I recommend pairing with a thick, whole grain bread and a salad.

Peanut Butter Blackeyed Peas, Ghanian styleSaute 1 onion, chopped, in peanut oil, about 5 min
Add 3 c cooked blackeyed peas
Add 4 tbsp natural peanut butter
Add a little water from the beans, about 2-3 tbsp
Simmer on low 5 min
Add 2 large tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Simmer on low another 10 min

I recommend this one paired with buckwheat groats (kasha), although brown rice would also do, and a side of fall squash such as acorn or butternut.

Both have a nice, hearty comfort food quality with a high level of nutrition!

Potato Latkes, Applesauce, and Cashew Sour Cream

Latkes were always one of my favorites around Jewish holidays. This recipe with all the fixings plus a bonus dessert is 100 percent from scratch, totally vegan, and delish!

Latkes
3 lbs potatoes, grated (I used red and didn't peel)
1 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Ener-G egg replacers (can be found in health food store)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
Mix well, then let congeal in the fridge for an hour or two.
Heat vegetable oil (safflower is my recommendation, avoid soy or canola) over medium heat in a large frying pan. Drop in tablespoons of potato mixture and flatten slightly with a spoon. Cook 3-5 min on each side. You will know it's time to flip when the spatula slides underneath easily. Makes about a dozen.

Applesauce
Cut 4 apples into chunks. (I used Macintosh, did not peel.)
Put in small pot, add 3/4 c water
Add a tsp of cinnamon
Add a pinch of salt
Bring to a boil, simmer on low 20 min. 

Cashew Sour Cream
Soak 2 c raw cashew nuts in cold water overnight in the fridge.
Drain and rinse.
Add:
3/4 c water
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
Blend in food processor until smooth.

What I did was then halve the cream, and add to one-half:
1 tbsp agave (maple would work too)
1 tsp vanilla extract
And blend again. I then used the sweet cream to make:

Peach Parfait
Layer crumbled Graham crackers (ok one thing wasn't from scratch), chopped peaches, and sweet cashew cream in individual parfait dishes. Depending on the size and shape of your cups amounts will differ. For my cups, which are conical, I did:
1 graham cracker square
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp peach
2 graham cracker squares
1.5 tbsp cream
2 tbsp peach

Cool in fridge a few hours, then gleefully devour.

To Soy or Not to Soy?

One of the debates I sometimes have with other food-conscious friends is about soy. Is it good for you or bad for you? On one hand, soy is high in protein, low in cholesterol, high in iron, phosphorus, and magnesium, vitamin B6, and fiber, usually calcium-enriched, and extremely versatile. On the other hand, there are arguments such as this one:

"Soybeans are also high in phytates, an organic acids which blocks the uptake of calcium, magnesium, iron, and especially zinc and contributes to widespread mineral deficiencies. In fact there are more phytates in soybeans than in any other grain, bean, or plant studied and these phytates are remarkably resistant to reduction techniques. Only a long period of fermentation will significantly reduce the phytate content of soybeans. The phytates and other anti-nutrients in soybeans are only partially deactivated during ordinary cooking and can produce gas, reduce protein digestion, and create chronic deficiencies in children."
To read this entire informative article, click here

If you look at traditional Asian diets which tend to use soy, they usually use either fermented soy, in the form of miso, tempeh, or tamari; or tofu, which is unfermented, but usually paired with sea vegetables such as seaweed, which effectively counteracts the anti-nutrition qualities listed above. Even the most passionate anti-soy articles I've come across seem to agree that fermented soy is fine, at least in moderation. The problem lies in two places, one obvious and one more insidious:

The obvious issue is those who take on a vegan diet and start replacing almost every food they used to eat with soy. Soy burgers, soy hot dogs, soy ice cream, soy cheese, soy milk... Most of these foods, aside from not meeting the aforementioned fermentation standards for maximum soy safety, are processed foods, where the original soybean has been transmogrified beyond recognition. Usually if there's that much science involved in any food, it's no longer that phenomenal for you.

The more insidious way that soy creeps into our diets is through processed food. Read the label of just about any food in a package-- bread, crackers, cookies, cereal, candy, nuts, TV dinner, whatever-- and I will bet the vast majority of them contain soy. Soybean oil, soy lecithin, soy protein isolate, soy flour-- these ingredients are totally ubiquitous in processed food. I would actually bet that as a vegan who occasionally eats soy junk food such as tofu hot dogs but besides that essentially buys NOTHING pre-packaged, I eat less soy than the average American omnivore who wouldn't know a brick of tofu if she tripped over it but eats mostly processed food. Additionally, if the adage that you are what you eat eats adheres, then those who consume meat, milk, and eggs are probably getting some soy residue, as it is routinely fed to livestock.

If you google "soy benefits," a zillion pages written by seemingly reputable sources (MDs, PhDs) pop up. If you google "soy dangers," an equal number of pages pop up. The same exact thing occurs if you replace the word "soy" in your search engine with the word "dairy." Why might this be? I suspect very strongly that it is because both of those foods are inextricably mixed up in politics, i.e. foods subsidized by the US government and foods distributed by industries which lobby in Washington. At best, both should be consumed in moderation only. I feel there is compelling enough evidence against dairy for me to eschew it from my diet completely, I also don't feel well physically when I eat it. This article here is one of hundreds I've read from a variety of sources which basically say the same thing about why dairy isn't good for you. The potential that the cows were mistreated and the possibility they were given hormones or antibiotics seals the deal for me: no milk in my kitchen. I choose to eat a small amount of soy because I don't feel bad from eating it and every once in a while, I really like a tofu hot dog. Let's face it, no one should be eating a "real" hot dog, made of parts of an animal most of us would prefer not to know about and ridden with salt, nitrates, and additives either. I don't look at the occasional (read-- less than once a month) tofu dog as a health food, nor would I start eating one every day.

I don't think that the potential hazards of soy are any reason at all to give up on a plant-based or 100% vegan diet. It doesn't seem that we really need dairy OR soy to eat well. There's yet to be a study I'm aware of warning us off of lentils or kale. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits, veggies, and things made from these ingredients WITHOUT a bunch of additives seem to be our best bet for optimum health. And for those comfort foods we just can't live without, here are some suggestions:

Milk can be replaced with almond milk, rice milk, hemp milk, oat milk, coconut milk, or hazelnut milk.
Non-dairy ice cream can be made or obtained using any of those above-mentioned milks, fruit sorbet is also an option.
Raw cashews or macadamia nuts can be made into a host of delicious creams for desserts and garnishes.
Olive oil can be used in many recipes in place of butter, Earth Balance nondairy spread also offers a soy-free option.
Portabella mushrooms can be added to recipes to give that chewy, "meaty" texture often gained by adding soy products.
Veggie burgers can be made from beans, grains, and vegetables.
Seitan, or wheat gluten, while not a super healthy food, also makes a delicious meat substitute and is soy-free. It is often listed as "vegetarian duck" in Thai restaurants.
Daiya cheese, while also a processed food, is made from tapioca and is soy-free. It melts well in recipes.

Whatever your choices regarding soy, I think the lesson to be learned here is, as usual, avoid processed foods, and when possible, choose foods which don't have a label at all.

Quick and Easy Homemade Bread

I got this recipe from a fellow dancer. It is a no-knead, no-rise bread without yeast. It literally took about 3 minutes to put together and was very tasty with some non-dairy butter spread, dipped in miso soup, and used to sop up barbecued black eyed peas!

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine:
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp thyme (any dried herb can be substituted--I'm going to try with fresh herbs too)
1/4 tsp sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Add:
1 1/2 c water
1/4 c olive oil

Mix well, I kneaded lightly with damp hands as it was too thick for a spoon.

Put into loaf baking pan and bake for 40 min. Cool a bit before trying to remove from pan.

Vegan Lasagna

I never like lasagna as a kid, and the ricotta cheese always upset my stomach. This recipe is a hybrid of several I found, and it is tres delicious and much lighter than its dairy equivalent.

Tofu Ricotta:
2 14 oz packages of firm tofu, drained and squeezed for excess water
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp olive oil
1tsp sea salt

Combine the above ingredients in a food processor and blend til smooth.

Vegetable Tomato Sauce
4 cups of fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup of basil leaves, chopped
1/3 cup water
Sea salt to taste

Combine the above ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat about 15 min. Cool, transfer contents to the food processor and blend til smooth. Return to saucepan and add:

1 lb mushrooms, chopped
1 lb spinach, chopped

Simmer another 10 min over low heat.

Pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a dash of salt and add 12 strips of whole wheat lasagna. Simmer uncovered for 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 350.
Use a 13" x 9" baking pan. Your layering should go like this:
Sauce
3 strips Pasta
Cheese
3 strips Pasta
Sauce
3 strips Pasta
Cheese
3 strips Pasta
Sauce

Bake in the oven for 45 min and then let set for at least another 30 min before serving. Serves about 6, or 3 days of meals for 2. Goes great with a spinach salad!

Vegan Sources of Calcium

Recently a friend of mine who is pregnant mentioned a dilemma she had: while not officially a vegan, she had never eaten much dairy as she felt it had a negative affect on her sinuses and digestion and she disliked the taste. However, she knew it was important to get adequate calcium during her pregnancy. With milk being one of the most common food allergies, she is far from the only person who has a conundrum of this sort. Other reasons to eschew milk products are the high fat and cholesterol levels in whole milk and cheese, the cruelty towards dairy cows in factory farms, the frequent use of hormones to induce milk production, and the fact that no other species consumes the milk of a different species. The dairy industry would have us believe that milk is the only viable source of calcium, but this simply is not true. If you consider many Eastern cultures which consume no dairy whatsoever, it becomes logical to imagine that it is possible to get plenty of calcium, even during pregnancy, without milk.

A cup of milk contains about 300 mg of calcium. Below is a list of other calcium-rich foods and their calcium amounts. When researching this, I found quite a stupendous amount of plant-based foods which have calcium, I stuck to those which have 100mg or more for this list.*

 Green Veggies
Collard greens: 1 cup: 350 mg
Turnip greens: 1 cup: 250 mg
Kale: 1 cup: 180 mg
Okra: 1 cup: 170
Bok choy: 1 cup: 160 mg
Mustard greens: 1 cup: 150 mg

Nuts and Seeds
Tahini: 2 tbsp: 130 mg
Almonds: 1/4 cup: 90 mg

Beans and Legumes
Black-eyed peas: 1 cup: 210 mg
Tempeh: 1 cup: 215 mg**
Navy beans: 1 cup: 125 mg

Etc
Blackstrap molasses: 2 tbsp: 400 mg (wow!! this rich sweetener is also super high in iron!)
Various dried fruits such as figs and apricots also have some calcium

Additionally, all non-dairy milks such as almond, rice, hemp, and soy are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D to bring them to levels equal  to or greater than that of milk. Calcium fortified cereals and orange juice also abound. I wanted to point out, however, that all of the aforementioned foods are whole foods with nothing added to them, so one need not rely on synthetic supplementation to get plenty of calcium daily.

* I searched and cross referenced multiple internet sources for this information and the amounts listed were consistent. Interestingly, when I came across a website which had USDA information on calcium, among the foods listed as sources of calcium were tacos, cheeseburgers, pizza, eggnog, and onion rings. Actually it is difficult to identify any actual foods in their list. I wish I were kidding. These are the SAME PEOPLE telling us we will crumble to the ground with paper bones if we don't drink milk. In any event, as with any source, please DO cross-check my information for your own edification!

** Among the info I found, many soy products including soybeans, tofu, and soymilk were listed as high sources of calcium. I included only tempeh in this list because of various controversies around soy products as related to reproductive health. Because tempeh is fermented it is supposed to be safer to eat. Obviously, it is not necessary to eat soy OR dairy in order to get adequate nutrition, but tempeh is protein-packed and yummy.

Vegan Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of the things I missed a great deal when going vegan. This tofu-based alternative recipe is light, fluffy, creamy, easy to make, and not nearly as caloric.

Preheat oven to 375.

For the crust:
Crumble 1.5 cups Graham crackers (about 2 sleeves)
Pour directly into a 9" pie or cake dish
Add 3 tbsp veg oil and 3 tbsp water
Mix until a thick paste forms, roll into a ball in the center of the pan. Use your fingers to spread and press until pan is covered (covering the sides not essential.)

For the filling:
2 14 oz packages of medium firm tofu, drained
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c veg oil
1/2 c agave syrup
1/4 c sugar

Put the above ingredients in the food processor and blend til smooth. Pour into baking pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. It will appear slightly risen on the edges but not in the center. It will look fairly firm but is still going to be soft, so be careful.

Allow it to cool a few minutes and then optionally top with fresh fruit (strawberries with the bottoms dipped in agave are a good choice.) Chill in the fridge overnight. Serves about 6.

The World's Best Vegan Pancake Recipe

This is an adaptation of the Candle 79 recipe, which calls for white flour, a substance banned in my kitchen. My use of whole wheat did not detract from these pancakes awesome fluffiness. I also opted for a soy-free version.

Combine:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinammon
1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer (dry, not combined with water)

Mix well, then add:
1/4 cup Earth Balance spread, melted**
2 cups almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Use a whisk to fold ingredients together until fully combined into a thick batter.

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray over medium heat. Wait a minute or two for pan to heat up, then ladle a nice healthy dollop of batter into the pan. You can do huge IHOP style pancakes or several smaller silver-dollar type. You will know it is time to flip when bubbles have formed and then popped around the edges: about 2-3 min per side.

Enjoy topped with maple or agave syrup and fresh fruits.

** I use the Soy Free variety of this excellent, chemical-free and hydrogynated oil-free brand. You could use any butter substitute but try to avoid those laden with chemicals. I melt mine in a little dish in the toaster oven.

Raw Vegan Lasagna

This "lasagna," another recipe adapted from the Candle 79 Cookbook, does not require pasta-- or cooking! It does require a food processor, and nutritional yeast, which creates a cheese flavor and also is a massive powerhouse of B vitamins. Also, all of the vegetables are currently in season and came from the farmer's market!

The Parts:
Cashew Cheese
Soak 3 cups of raw cashews in water for 6-8 hours. Rinse and drain.
Add:
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
Process in food processor until smooth (it will take a while.)
Add:
6 basil leaves and a tbsp parsley, chopped fine, mix well

Tomato Sauce
2 large tomatoes
1/4 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 basil leaf
Salt and pepper
Cut the veggies into large chunks and pulse 3-4 times in the food processor

Pesto
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup pine nuts**
Place all in food processor and puree.
** I couldn't find pine nuts in my neighborhood so I used a melange of raw sunflower seeds and raw pumpkin seeds, about a half cup total, and it didn't seem to detract in the slightest.

Raw Vegetables
2-3 big tomatoes, sliced
2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, halved and sliced very thin length-wise
1/2 onion, chopped, and soaked in a tbsp of olive oil and a juice of half a lemon, with a dash of salt and pepper
(The original recipe calls also for sliced mushrooms but I had none so I skipped it.)

The process:
Create a tower:
Spoon of tomato sauce
3 slices squash
Dollop (heaping tbsp)  of cashew cheese
Slice of tomato
Spoon of onion
Repeat once.
Top with another spoon of tomato sauce and a healthy dollop of pesto.

One squash and one large tomato makes about 2 "lasagne" servings. I had enough "cheese" and pesto for 4 servings total. The towers will be probably be a little messy and precarious.

This seems complicated but in actuality it took maybe 25 min because basically all of the "cooking" consists of using the food processor. It was even yummier the next day.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

This is another one from the Candle 79 Cookbook, which is super simple and quite decadent. In my usual fashion, I didn't totally stick to the recipe.

The original recipe calls for:
2.5 cups semisweet dark chocolate chips
1 cup soy milk
1 lb silken tofu
3/4 cup maple syrup

I used:
1 70-percent cocoa chocolate bar (about a cup of chocolate)
1 cup soy mlik
1 14-oz package of silken tofu
1/2 cup agave

Either way, what you do is dissolve the chocolate in the soy milk over a double boiler. Add the mixture to the tofu and sweetener, blend in the blender for about 3 min. Pour into cups and chill in the fridge overnight.

The whole process takes about 20 min, tops, and the result is a super-yummy and relatively low-fat dessert!

Black Bean Burgers

This dish is from the Candle 79 cookbook, which contains recipes made at the very upscale vegan restaurant Candle 79. Most of the recipes in this book either A. Would take me all day to make or B. Involve ingredients which are difficult to find and probably expensive. This was one of the simpler recipes (still much more time-consuming than my usual cooking), and the only things I omitted were a piece of kombu (sea vegetable) and I used regular chile powder instead of chipotle. 

It requires:
1.5 cups dried black beans
1.5 cups brown rice
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 onion
Paprika, chili powder, olive oil, salt

Soak the beans overnight, drain, re-cover with water, and add a tsp of chili powder, 1 chopped onion, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook 1.5 hrs in a regular pot or about 15 min in the pressure cooker.

Meanwhile add 3 c water and a pinch of salt to the brown rice, cook 45 min in a regular pot or about 20 in the pressure cooker.

Saute the pumpkin seeds in olive oil , pinch of salt, and a tsp of paprika (the recipe called for "smoked paprika" so I added a splash of liquid smoke flavor) about 5 min on medium heat until browned.

Combine these 3 ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Take half of the mixture and puree it in the food processor, then mix it again. You should now have a not-too-goopy mix you can form into patties. Make patties about 3 inches wide and one inch thick and fry in olive oil, about 2 min on each side. Baking is also an option: grease a pan with olive oil and bake at 350, 15 min per side.

I served these initially on whole wheat buns with the traditional lettuce and ketchup. A more interesting choice would be to top them with salsa and avocado.

Vegan Marshmallows

Stumbling home in the blistering heat on Sun night, a sight on Lexington Avenue in the mid-50s stopped me in my tracks: Sweet and Sara vegan marshmallows were visibly apparent through the store window from the street. Like a moth to a flame, I followed them in, and purchased a vegan s'more (vegan marshmallow on a super-rich homemade graham cracker enrobed in thin, rich dark chocolate) which I inhaled immediately, a vegan rice crispy treat made from organic brown rice, and a variety pack of marshmallows, whose flavors include vanilla, strawberry, and coconut.

Those blissfully unaware might want to skip the rest of this post, but, newsflash: marshmallows are made from meat. So are Starburst, Skittles, Gummy Bears, Jell-O, and a host of pudding and pie fillings. Gelatin, the offending ingredient which gives these treats their chewy texture, is made from cow or pig bones, hooves, skin, gristle, and other undesireable parts. Gelatin has absolutely no nutritional value and is made from parts of the animal which would otherwise be thrown out.

For marshmallow lovers who are also veggies, however, there is an answer. I had not eaten a marshmallow in 20 years (and had NEVER HAD a rice crispie treat) before I was turned on to Sweet and Sara, a tiny, single-female owned local business in Long Island City which almost exclusively makes vegan marshmallows. Their brand has rapidly branched out from solely being available online (my favorite mode of purchase as they often have special discounts) to being available in a host of local health food stores (albeit, in my experience, at a substantial markup from their online prices) to now becoming available, unbelievably enough, at a corporate chain such as Duane Reade which normally I would systematically avoid, and at VERY reasonable prices!

Now, I would not go so far as to call S+S a health food, and I will give this caveat: you may become horribly addicted, order 60 bucks worth of marshmallows at a time, eat all of them with your husband in 3 sittings, and gain 5 lbs. Not that anyone I know would do such a thing. S+S mallows are mostly sugar and contain corn syrup, but to their credit they don't have any super-weird chemical additives, preservatives, or artificial colors or flavors. And let's face it, traditional marshmallows are a junk food, so at worst you're replacing something already bad for you with another junk food which is not contributing to animal suffering (not to mention supporting a sole proprietorship run by an innovative young woman, which is a noble cause in and of itself.)

I am shocked that a corporate company like Duane Reade would carry a specialty item by a local artisan, delighted that it is, very happy for Ms. Sara, hopeful that this may spark more vegan awareness, and grateful that this favorite treat of mine has become more readily and affordably available.

Chickpea Meatless Balls

 This is a yummy and healthy alternative to the traditional spaghetti and meatballs.

Put 2 slices of whole wheat toast, a pinch of salt, and a liberal sprinkle of Italian herbs in the food processor. Blend until bread crumbs are produced. (You could use packaged crumbs, but why, when this is cheaper, healthier, and takes 15 seconds.) Pour crumbs into bowl.

Put 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained, (save the water) in the food processor and blend until a crumbly texture is achieved. Combine with bread crumbs, mix well. 

Add 2 Ener-G egg replacers or 2 beaten eggs to the mix, mix well.

Place entire contents back into the food processor, add water from  chickpeas a tbsp at a time while blending until a thick paste is formed. (Err on the side of less water, if it becomes liquidy all hope is lost.)

Form the paste into meatball-sized balls.

In a large saucepan, saute 1 onion and 1 garlic clove in olive oil until soft. Add the remaining water from the chickpeas, a quarter cup ketchup*, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, another generous sprinkle of Italian herbs, and a tbsp of nutritional yeast**. Stir well, then drop the balls in carefully. They should be about half covered, if there is too little gravy add a bit more water.

Simmer on low heat for about 25 min. Periodically gently turn the balls over with a spoon. They are not going to become hard, but should somewhat congeal.

Serve over pasta or alone.

*This is a recipe which as far as I know was invented by my father, who due to having lived through WWII has certain poverty foods he is attached to, such as pasta sauce made with ketchup and baked beans on toast. Having grown up eating these dishes made by him, there is a comfort-food factor in the flavor of a ketchup-based sauce for me. If you find the idea of seasoning with ketchup unbearable this dish would probably also be fine if the balls were cooked in tomato sauce.

** Nutritional yeast, which is not used in my father's version, gives the sauce a rich, cheesy flavor and is also chock-full of Vitamin B12.

Vegan Blueberry Pancakes

 This is a very simple, quick, and low-fat recipe.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 c soymilk or almond milk
3 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 2 tbsp warm water**
Blueberries

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in wet ingredients until a batter is formed. Add about a cup of blueberries and mix well. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan and drop in clumps of batter by the heaping tablespoon. This batter is thicker and less liquidy than normal pancake batter and the pancakes will come out more like very soft biscuits. Fry each side on medium heat for about 5 min or until brown and crispy. Top with real maple syrup or agave and Earth Balance vegetable oil spread.

** There may be other ways to replace the eggs in the standard pancake recipe, such as silken tofu, but I find this brand, which is made from potato starch and calcium carbonate, thickens up nicely and is very inexpensive. You can find it at most health-food stores.

Vegan Ice Cream

Nothing refreshes like a creamy cup or cone of ice cream on a hot summer's day, but what to do if you are avoiding dairy? Fortunately, options abound, and we vegans are not limited to sorbet or FrozFruit (although those, too, are viable options, as are Italian Ices and CocoMango icies.)

Several vegan ice cream parlors exist in the city. The best of these three is Stogo in the East Village, across the street from St. Mark's Church. They have almost as many flavor options as a Baskin Robbins, and I haven't yet found one I didn't like. Soy, coconut milk, and hemp milk based ice creams as well as sorbets are available. One can also have an ice cream sandwich made-to-order with vegan cookies.

Another option is Lulu's Sweet Apothecary, which I don't go to that often because it's way over on Avenue B and 6th street, but the ice cream is very good. This place is kitschy and designed like an old time sweet shop, and along with a host of flavors (some gluten-free, as well) they have a zillion toppings, sundaes, malted milkshake, etc. Some of their ice cream is also offered at Sustainable NYC, which is on 9th and A and is a little less of a schlepp.

I was delighted to discover that a vegan ice cream option also exists in Midtown! Kyotofu, an Asian restaurant on 48th and 9th Ave, has soymilk soft serve which will fool even the most diehard Mr. Softee fan. 2 flavors are available daily and a small comes with a free topping, most of which are vegan. I sampled the green tea and black sesame flavors recently and they were terrific.

Additionally, most vegan restaurants serve vegan ice cream, although generally not to take out. Most health food stores sell a variety of vegan ice creams as well. Tofutti is a well-known brand which has been around for years, primarily to serve the Jewish Kosher community who can't have a dairy dessert after a meat meal. I don't particularly advocate this brand because, despite being quite tasty, it has a lot of chemicals. Other options have sprung up, however including Soy Delicious, which offers soy and coconut milk ice creams with a minimum of additives, Tempt, which is made from hemp milk, and Rice Dream, which is made from rice milk and is very light. I also highly recommend Ciao Bella's Blackberry Cabernet sorbet.

Even if you are not a vegan, if you are lactose intolerant or watching your weight or cholesterol, these various vegan treats are superior to their dairy counterparts, and you will not be missing anything taste-wise.

Roasted Beet and Fennel Melange

I made this with everything fresh from the farmer's market:

3 beets, peeled and cut into chunks
2 apples, cored and cut into chunks
3 fennel bulbs, sliced thin
3 carrots, cut into chunks

Marinated in:
2 tbsps olive oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Bake at 400 degrees in a roasting pan until beets are soft (took about 1.5 hours)