Santa's Little Helper

Apologies for missing my usual Monday afternoon post, but this past Monday I was on a jet plane, rocketing across the country. As far as vegan things, there really wasn't a lot to report on. We found some mediocre falafel at the Chicago airport and slurped down some gin and tonics on the plane, to celebrate our 1.5 year wedding anniversary. So, now we are home, celebrating our first vegan Christmas!!

This year my parents lost both of their dogs. One was expected, but the other was sudden and came as a complete surprise. After leaving the Little Dog overnight at the vet, for some monitoring and tests, with the expectation of picking her up in the morning, they received a call at 3:00am to tell them that Little Dog had passed on.

The holidays just wouldn't be the same without dogs running around! My parents, like many dog owners, are particular on what breed they choose. They love German Shepherds and they always have lady dogs. It appears that someone somewhere had a master plan, and a friend found a young German Shepherd female outside her work. By the time I got in touch with her, she was taking the pup to Animal Humane. So I took down her ID number and about a week later, we got to take her home. So, in homage to the episode of the Simpson's where Homer brings home the little abandoned greyhound on Christmas Eve, I like to call her Santa's Little Helper.

Animal Humane estimates her to be about a year old, but she's already given birth to a litter of puppies, who are estimated to have been weaned about 5 weeks ago. No one knows where they are now. She is the scrawniest dog I have ever seen, she's a bit reminiscent of photos of dogs in third world countries. You can count every rib, and see her hip bones sticking up from across the room. Despite however unpleasant her past must be, she is the sweetest, calmest dog that I have ever met.

Apparently during her time at the shelter she picked up a respiratory infection and a UTI and is also recovering from being spayed. She's working on sleeping it all off right now. We just have to finish her course of antibiotics, get her cough to go away, and fatten her up just a bit. Even though she's recovering from her spotty past, she almost lights up the house more than the tree itself!

So what should her name be? The shelter named her Stella, which I like, because sometimes she looks like a bat, and so far we have discovered that she very much enjoys pears, oranges, butternut squash, and carrots. She pretty much could pass for an overgrown Stella Luna from the children's book.

Anyways, just thought I'd take a moment to make a plug for adopting dogs, rather than supporting breeders. Every day, thousands of dogs and cats are needlessly euthanized. These animals come from patchy pasts, but the neat thing about animals is their resilience and their capacity for forgiveness and love. When you support breeders and puppy mills you support adding to the surplus population of cats and dogs, rather than taking care of the ones that are already here, now.

Also, spay and neuter! I had no idea that females are able to have their first litter between six to eight months of age! Somewhere there are a bunch of little puppies that may or may not have homes or futures. If a responsible human had just spayed this pup, this world of misery could have been totally prevented!

Anyways, I would now like to shift the discussion to a topic a little more uplifting, which is my super juvenile addiction to Peppermint Schnapps. The stuff brings back some very fond memories. From our hot chocolate at the Balloon Fiesta back as a junior in college, to mixing it with Hershey's syrup at many Christmas parties (doesn't that sound awful?). Now it seems that its not Christmas without it. So this year I came up with a new cocktail with it! I call it the White Nutcracker.

White Nutcracker
2 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
Soy or coconut creamer, or cashew cream, to taste

On the rocks! Stir and enjoy!




For dinner we made Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli. And then watched my favorite Christmas movie, Elf, by the fire. I slowly slipped into a Christmas Coma.

So here are the recipes for the pasta, the filling, winter salad, and vegan "cheese." I know these recipes are pretty complex. It takes a lot of time to make the pasta, filling, and cashew products. However, make it into a party! Get your favorite people together, give everyone a job, and then pour them a drink. It beats rotting your brain in front of the television any day.

Eggless Pasta
2 cups semolina flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tb olive oil.

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Add warm water and oil and stir to make a stiff dough. If it seems dry, add some more water.

Kneed the dough for about 10 minutes on a floured surface, and then let rest for 20 minutes.

Butternut Squash Filling, Sauce, and Making Raviolis
Serves 4- about 6 raviolis each

2 cups butternut squash- either roasted at home or canned
1/3 cup diced shallots
10 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
6 tablespoons cashew cream (see below)
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
12 fresh sage leaves, minced
1 recipe eggless pasta

Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in skillet. Saute shallots for one minute. Add butternut squash and saute until dried somewhat. Add cashew cream, stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in nutritional yeast and nutmeg.

Cut dough into two equal pieces. Roll into two flat squares, as thin as you can without going overboard. Once done with the filling, drop by teaspoons into a evenly spaced grid on just one of the pieces. Lay the other piece on top of the filling and press the two layers of pasta together with your fingers, securing the filling into little pockets. With a knife, cut in between the pockets, making little raviolis. If you have a ravioli-making contraption, just follow the directions on the package.

Boil water. Add the raviolis and cook until they all float, and the dough tastes cooked. While raviolis are cooking, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons margarine in a pan. Add the sage and and saute until the margarine starts to brown.

Strain pasta, allocate into bowls, spoon sage sauce over raviolis and enjoy!

Winter Salad

No quantities! Make yourself happy! Here's what was in my salad.

spinach
toasted pecans
dried cranberries
pears
vegan cashew cheese
dressing was 2/3 oil and 1/3 balsamic vinegar

Vegan Cashew Cheese
3/4 cup raw cashews
water
juice from half a lemon
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
4 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Put cashews in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave on high for about two minutes, until the water boils. Let cool slightly, rinse with water, strain, and put in food processor.

Add garlic, lemon juice, and rosemary. Blend until a paste forms and no large cashew bits remain. Add water by the tablespoon until the consistency of goat cheese is attained.

Drop by little clumps into the winter salad, or spread onto crackers!

Cashew Cream
This will make about a cup, and you can add it anywhere you would add cream, such as soups, filling, coffee, and white nutcrackers.

1 cup raw cashews
water

Put cashews in a microwave safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave on high for about two minutes, until the water boils. Let cool slightly, rinse with water, strain, and put in food processor. 

Add enough water to cover the cashews. Blend until mostly homogenized, then assess the consistency. Keep adding water until the liquid has the consistency of cream.

Why Cashews?

Because soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, or any other vegetarian milk, has virtually no fat. Whatever you add it to is going to end up watery and unsatisfying. 

Cashew cream has roughly the same fat content of regular cream. BUT it has fat that is GOOD FOR YOU, but not much saturated fat, if any. Contrary to everything you have heard, you absolutely do need fat in your diet. But you need the fats that come from olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc. The most important thing that you should avoid in any diet is the saturated fat that is associated with animal products. That is the stuff that will clog your arteries and make your heart stop beating.

Well, that's all for now.

Hope you have a happy holiday!

Addendum to Afore Mentioned Gift Guide

Sorry! How could I possibly have forgotten this? 

Give thanks and be merry. 

Vegan Holiday Gift Guide

This is for all you procrastinators out there- like myself. Still stumped on what to get your snippy vegan friends? Or are you a vegan who wants to ooh and ahh all your non-vegan friends with your too-cool-for-cruel and good for the community gifts? Or just looking for some really awesome gift ideas?

You're in the right place! What you will find below is a guide to holiday gift-giving unlike any other. All of these companies have something unique to offer. By supporting them, you not only flip the bird to Walmart, department stores, and Corporate Christmas, you support small businesses with unique and innovative ideas. These items are never tested on animals (as much as I really would love to see a bunny wearing a bowtie- but you know that I mean this only where applicable) and have no animal ingredients- no wool, silk, leather, or animal fat. In addition, these companies do shocking and new things like using recycled tires or bottles and manufacturing their products in the US of A or overseas using fair labor practices!

What better way to spread holiday cheer than promoting economic competition, small businesses, ethical manufacturing processes and green designs!

Stocking Stuffers
For men, try one of these classy non-silk ties, or for you hipsters out there, bow-ties. Each style comes at a hefty price of $100. The upside? They are handmade using fair labor practices in New York City. You pay the price for it to not come from China and to support jobs at home. They can be found at Brave Gentleman.






















For women, try nailposhes and cosmetics. Tarte's vegan eye primer and tinted moisturizer are great, especially because their main competitor (Urban Decay) has a wonderful eye primer that is NOT vegan. The tinted moisturizer is wonderful because of its SPF 20. I was wary of the SPF in makeup until one summer day on the harbor islands when I burned the back of my neck awfully but was wearing this stuff and my face was completely fine!

I have to say, however, that Urban Decay has an overall funner product line. They are a bit more flashy and appealing. I love their eyeshadows ($17) and lip glosses ($19) (although not all shades are vegan, so look for the paw print online or at Sephora!) and they carry one of the very few quality vegan mascaras out there.

For nailpolish, check out Scotch Naturals. Not only are they amazing because they carry vegan nailpolish ($14.99 each) and nailpolish remover ($11.99), but also because they use cute names such as On The Rocks Topcoat ($14.99). They carry a hue for any day or season.















Gifts Under $60
Anyone loves a new cookbook! A few fun ones such as "Vegan Pie in the Sky," "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar" and "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World"- and they just might! If you didn't already know, vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli recently took home the first place prize on the Food Network's series Cupcake Wars. Don't believe me? Check out the article here. Anyways, these books are sure to please. All of these, including my personal favorite cookbook, "Veganomion," can be found on Amazon, for less than $15.





For men, a pair of Simple shoes may "foot" the bill. Not only does this brand carry a line of vegan shoes, but the upper is made of hemp, and the soles are made with recycled tires. It's a really great idea, but unfortunately, since the time that I started writing this post, the company has gone on a temporary hiatus. Zappos is keeping some of their shoes for sale ($38!!) but get them fast because there's no guarantee that they will be coming back.

Alternatively, you could get your man something to keep him warm this winter- and what I'm sure what he would really appreciate is a warm knit hat from Vaute Couture. It's made out of bamboo and hand knit to order in New York City for $54. 

For the ladies, Vaute Couture carries faux fur earmuffs ($60). Sure to keep you warm!

Also, check out Matt and Nat, a vegan leather company. They make beautiful handbags, wallets, and belts. The linings of their products are made with recycled water bottles- on average 21 bottles per bag. Additionally, they are based out of Montreal and help out the community by donating their bags to women's shelters and feeding vegetarian meals to the homeless. Supporting a small company like this should definitely help you spread some holiday cheer!

And for the big spenders:

For guys:

Well, I guess that in this price range, your guy is going to be wanting things that aren't usually made with animal products- like watches, electronics, or, in my case, bike stuff. So, aside from the fact that Vaute Couture does make men's coats, I don't really have much to add here!

For ladies, once again, I have to recommend Vaute Couture. Their coats are fabulous! As afore mentioned, they are made in NYC, but the really neat thing about these coats is that instead of wool or down they are made out of Polartec fabric. They are designed to withstand the cold winters of New York, Chicago, or Boston in a way that those wool pea coats from Express could never dream to. The downside is that they are hella pricy, but you get what you pay for! They're phenomenal! Pictured below is the Alicia in emerald ($398). Also below are some of their knit pieces for women: a scood ($146) and hat ($88). 

"What about shoes?"you say? Can't imagine being confined to a life of canvas sneakers forever as a vegan? Well, good news! There's some totally awesome vegan shoes to be had. Of my favorites are Cri De Coeur's Hearts of Darkness (Hearts of Darkness is the more affordable line by Cri De Coeur). They manufacture their shoes in ethical factories in China. Below are Sentiment Offset Platform Pump in forest ($120) and Rugged Flat Buckle Boot in gray ($150).

Another vegan shoe company is Neuaura.  Below is their Cedar in Washed Sand ($120).

For purses? Once again Matt and Nat. Below is Ritual in yellow (currently on sale for $117).

For more great vegan shoe and purse companies, you can always go to MooShoes when in NYC or online or Sudo Shoes in Boston and soon to be online!

And finally, if you're really on a budget, no one will ever complain about receiving some homemade Rum-nog Pecan cookies and a homemade card! Just use 2 1/2 cups flour in the cookies- I think there may have been a typo in the recipe!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!! 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Test Run

Mondays are my Sundays, and I had a wonderful day. Started with a five mile run, cleaned the house, and  listened to Christmas carols as I gave the Post Punk Kitchen's Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe a whirl, before I attempt to make it for Christmas. More about that below. Also, please check back soon because I'm currently working on a Vegan Christmas Shopping Guide that will point out some really neat vegan brands- everything from nail polish and cosmetics to cute boots and hipster bow ties!

The cheesecake came out really good. I think I may have went a little heavy on the orange zest but I also think it works well to give the cheesecake a more Christmas-y feel rather than Thanksgiving-y! So, what exactly goes into a vegan cheesecake? Well, there are two ways to go about it. You can use vegan cream cheese, which costs about $5 a pop and you would need about 5 cartons to make a cheesecake, which is obviously outrageous. Not to mention that I'm afraid of excessive quantities of any processed foods, vegan or not. The other way to do it is to use silken tofu and flavor the heck out of it. Scary? Yes. Can you taste the tofu? Absolutely not. The cheesecake ends up having the exact same consistency as any non-vegan cheesecake.

A friend recently mentioned to me that I should talk about the benefits of vegan cooking a bit more. So here it goes! This cheesecake was made with coconut oil, which has some benefits for you but also a lot of saturated fat, which is bad. A regular cheesecake would have a ton of saturated fat and cholesterol from the butter and cream cheese too, so I think they're roughly equal on that level, although the vegan cheesecake probably has less fat overall. This cheesecake is also made with a normal amount of sugar for a cheesecake, which is a lot, so that doesn't really make this cheesecake healthier than a non-vegan one either.

HOWEVER. The filling, despite having sugar and a bit of coconut oil, is made of tofu, a banana, and cashews. All of these things are very good for you. Cashews have a lot of "good" fats and substituting the tofu for the cream cheese has a lot of benefits. Tofu has virtually no fat, and is chock full of complete proteins. Cream cheese is basically fat with a bit of protein. So that's great news! The fabulous thing about vegan cooking is that often, when substituting for a dairy product that is full of saturated fat, you end up using something that actually has a lot of protein and often the results are just as, if not more, delicious! It's a win-win situation for all! Healthier you, healthier planet, happier cows!

A quick note about the recipe- Graham crackers are not vegan. Depending on how stringent you are, they contain honey, and there's no way to know where that honey came from. With the recent findings that most generic honeys like CVS brand have been altered to hide their origin you might as well try to find some vegan ones, which is difficult. I couldn't find any. I ended up getting some ginger snaps instead and they were delicious!

Here is the link to the recipe, and good luck!!