IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Recipes’

The star this week : Taco Salad

A few months ago, I saw the movie Julie & Julia. Being an armchair chef, it’s surprising it took us so long to see a movie that starred food. I mean – we love food, movies, books about food that are turned into movies – so what took us so long? I admit I was charmed at first. I mean, here was a devoted, vintage-clothing-wearing, amateur foodie who wore pearls in the kitchen – one of my own personal dreams,  although in my dream, the pearls would be fake just like my “meat”. I was intrigued by finding someone who, on the surface, was a little like me.  But as you can imagine, she lost me at the infamous  “Lobster Killer” scene and I never really bounced back.

Yes, after years of meeting and knowing literally thousands of vegans from all over the world, and working at the largest animal advocacy agencies on the planet, including IDA, I can say with complete confidence that no one in the world loves food the way vegans do. We think about food constantly. We read labels with a Christmas Morning eagerness, searching for those deal breaker words: Whey, Egg Whites, Skim Milk Protein, Casein. We sit around talking about food like the gals in Sex in The City talk about shoes. We send emails to all our friends and family telling them about new products with an eagerness that can only be compared to Beatle Mania . . . or these days Bieber Mania. We love food almost as much as we love saving animals and the planet. So why not find a way to make everything vegan? All those casseroles that feed a family of four for a week, or those childhood favorites you think about from time to time when you think about mom… My husband and I are making them vegan. For as long as it takes,  we’ll be veganizing every recipe in The Betty Crocker Cookbook and sharing our tips and secrets with you. We’ve always said we can make anything fat and vegan … now we’re putting this claim to the test! Thank you, Lobster Killer, for inspiring a project that I suspect you would hate. . .

On the menuthis week : Butterscotch Brownies, Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables, Taco Salad, Clams in White Sauce, Caramel Sticky Rolls

Some Highlights Thus Far : Garlic Cheesy Biscuits, Osso Bucco, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Turtle Cheesecake, Stuffed Crust Pizza, Cheeseburger Pie, Tuna Casserole

Please know we have kept the original names for the recipes so you can follow along in The Betty Crocker Cookbook if you would like and that all recipes are 100% Vegan! For more recipes and to follow this vegan venture, check out MeetTheShannons.net and keep checking back here at IDA’s blog. . . we’ll be sharing tips and recipes here as well!

Sweet & Sara's Vegan Peeps

Every year, millions of people dress up in their best clothes, get together with their families and friends to give out baskets of treats, hunt Easter eggs and enjoy a big meal. It is a beautiful time of year, with the flowers blooming and trees turning green again. It is easy to see why people would love Easter and now it is easier than ever to celebrate with compassion. Here are some easy tips:

• Use Colorful Plastic Eggs filled with Vegan candy for your Easter Hunt! Not only will the hidden candy be more popular with your kids by avoiding using real eggs – you are not supporting an industry that remains indifferent to the unthinkable cruelties that have become common practice on their farms- including debeaking and confinement in filthy wire battery cages so small they can’t even spread their wings.
  
• Make your Easter Basket Kid & Animal friendly! Here are just a few suggestions of Vegan alternatives to classic Easter candy favorites:
  

Peeps
Creme Eggs
Chocolate Eggs
Jelly Beans
The Chocolate Bunnies
Gummy Bunnies ( OK not a classic BUT a must try )
Caramel Eggs

• Skip the Ham this Easter! Here’s a great compassionate alternative for Easter Dinner courtesy of Turtle Island Foods.:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced very thin
1 cup dried sour cherries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons apple cider
1 Tofurky roast

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, cherries, brown sugar and vinegar and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in mustard and apple cider, and simmer for two more minutes.
Place Tofurky roast on sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, and spread with the onion mixture. Wrap roast snugly with the foil. Place in roasting pan, and place on center rack of oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover roast for last 10 minutes of baking. Slice roast, and serve with some of the pan juices spooned over it.

For more Vegan recipes – Order a FREE Vegan Starter Kit!

Vegan Seder Plate

We all know the classic Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston, and the lyrics to Swing Low Sweet Chariot. But you may not know what those things have to do with the Jewish holiday Passover. Passover is the Jewish celebration of when God spared the Jews from the curse of the first born and freed them from slavery in Egypt. The traditions behind this 7 day celebration of unleavened bread and freedom have gone on for thousands of years, reminding Jews that God doesn’t approve of oppression and exploitation. So it’s about time we celebrated new school style!

So let’s break it down . . .

Can you really celebrate the end of slavery with eggs and meat on your plate?

The Passover meal and accompanying celebration is called the Sedar. The traditional Sedar plate includes an egg (Beitzah) – some say this represents a sacrifice others say it represents a new beginning. No matter why you have the egg on the plate, there is no disputing that egg laying hens suffer unthinkable cruelty – including intense confinement, debeaking and a short life in ammonia-filled sheds. I like to replace the Beitzah with an avocado. Not only does it replace the egg aesthetically – the seed inside reflects the sentiment behind this place on the plate without contributing to an industry that is completely indifferent to the suffering they profit from.

Of course there is also the roasted shank bone ( Z’roa ) – to represent the lamb who was sacrificed and eaten at the Temple of Jerusalem and also the blood that was used to mark the doors of the Israelites . . . but just like Jews have come to embrace technology like airplanes and running water . . . embracing advancements like more compassionate alternatives to meat truly reflects the spirit behind Passover. I use a piece of TVP for my plate. . . but I’ve heard of people using a beet ( which gets a big thumbs up from the Talmud ). Whatever you use – the facts are that today’s factory farms are hell on Earth for animals and even certified Kosher slaughterhouses have been exposed as being careless and wantonly inhumane, and their by-products are about as far as you can get from a celebration of freedom.

I hope you’ll consider making your Sedar vegan this year. To help, here’s just a few of my favorite recipe sites:

Post Punk Kitchen Forum
heebnvegan
Veg Source Passover Menu

And here’s an Old School Passover recipe for the traditionalists :

The Old School Sweet Potato Kugel

• 6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
• 3 apples, peeled and grated
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup matzo meal
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 cup water

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Use a food processor to grate the sweet potatoes and apples. Combine all ingredients together.
Gently press into a baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until lightly crisp on top.

Shalom!