Always Read Your Labels...

So this weekend I learned a lesson about label reading the hard way.  As some of you may know, I am a HUGE fan of Tofutti products.  Their sour cream, cream cheese, and ice cream are hands down the best vegan susbtitutes I have had from any company.  I had alway's wanted to try one of their more obscure products, Mintz's Blintzes.  I had seen them on the tofutti website, but never in person, until recently.  On a trip to Trader Joe's I was thrilled to finally see them in person, and didn't hesitate to snap up two boxes.  This is what they look like:

As I suspected, they were wonderful.  I love blintze's, but these dairy free beauties were the best I had ever had.  I was so excited!  They were beyond easy to prepare too.  I just lightly fried them in some canola oil, and topped with fresh strawberries and bluberries and soy whip.  O.....M.....G.....

The crepe part was light and crispy, the faux cheese filling was creamy, lightly sweet and delicious.... the whole combination was so good I wanted to lick the plate.  I was so excited, I couldn't wait to blog about it.  I giddily grabbed the box just to check the nutrition info and calories, so I could brag about how much healthier they were than real cheese blintzes, when I noticed something startling... they contain EGG WHITES!! Noooooooooo!  I haven't been this disappointed in years. :(  I thought all tofutti products were vegan, but I should have read lables instead of assuming.  I should have thought of the fact that this company makes dairy free products primarily to help people keep kosher, and egg whites are kosher, no matter how UN-vegan they may  be.  This is an important lesson in being vegan, you can never assume something is vegan without reading the label.  I guess we all learn the hard way! 

I suppose that since they only contain a little egg white, they technically fall under the category of Very Nearly Vegan, but I will still (at least mostly) avoid them in the future.  If you are only vegetarian, I would definitely recommend them, on a deliciousness scale.  They certainly made for an awesome Sunday brunch before I knew about the egg whites, I must say!

Twitter-pated

Ok, so I have resisted it as long as I could.  I have finally signed up for a Twitter account. 

I know, I know, so many people (celebrities, really) who use it seem douche-y (I'm talking to you, Ashton Kucther) with their smarmy posts and pandering for followers, but I think it would be a nice little way to connect with readers without having to do a full blown post.  This is inspired by a little something I like to call.... laziness.  I love blogging, (even though my posts are few and far between) but that requires me to actually cook something note worthy, photograph it, and then find something witty to say about it.  Time consuming, and effort requiring.   So I am thinking that a twitter account would be a nice way to be able to post my random thoughts, and see comments and posts of whatever random thoughts my readers are thinking as well.  Twitter just seems to maybe be a bit more personal than my blog, more give and take if you will. 

Anyway, if you have a twitter account, I certainly hope you will follow me, and I will follow you.  My twitter name is VeryNearlyVegan, natch, and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say, in 140 characters or less.

And since I think all posts are better with a picture, here is a random photo of my pooch:

What's Your Curry?

I thought today I would try to curry favor with you (ba-dum ching!) by sharing a super easy and yummy recipe.  I think a little curry is just what this weekend needs.  It doesn't hurt that it's a nice warm meal, and here in Jersey we are suffering through a mini-ice-age, ugh!

I like Indian curry ok, but I really prefer Thai curry.  I have NO idea if I am making authentic Thai curry here, I just added coconut oil, and some coconut milk, and it tasted like Thai curry to me. 

You will need:

Brown rice, cooked
Canned veggies of your choosing (I picked tomatoes, corn, and green beans)
Tofu (I like this brand, companion, because it is braised, yum!)
chopped onion
curry powder (follow the instructions on your container)
coconut oil (3 heaping tbs)
and coconut milk (just put it in a bit at a time, until the color looks good to you)


This recipe is SO easy.
Just toss the onion and coconut oil in a pan, and let it saute' a little.  Then throw in the rest of your veggies, all drained except for the tomatoes.  Add the curry/water mixture.  Let it cook down a bit, then add some coconut milk, and serve over brown rice.  YUM.

The finished product should look a little something like this:

This is the perfect winter evening meal.  Hot, filling, and actually quite nutritious.  Doesn't hurt that it only takes about a half an hour to make from start to finish, too.  The quicker you can finsish cooking, the quicker you can get back on the couch under a warm blanket, in my opinion! :) Stay warm folks, and happy cooking! 

The Cookie Story

This past weekend I had an interesting vegan baking experience.  Kind of an emergency baking experience, if you will.  I don't know if my readers are familiar with church services, but my church has a segment each week called Children's Story.  This is a part of the service where the children come up to the front for a special time geared towards them and their interests.  Every week there is a volunteer who gives the story.  This past weekend, that volunteer was me! 

Now this isn't too big of a deal.  I have given the story on many occasions and enjoy it.  The challenge this week was that I had just had foot surgery the week before.  Not too big of a deal I guess (You don't really need your foot to tell a story...), but the problem was that I always bring the children a prize and I was unable to drive or shop because of my foot.

Well, I really didn't want to disappoint the kids, so I tried to figure out what I could make them at home, that would also tie into a story.  That's when I remembered the Cookie Story!!  I love this story, so I will share it with you here:

The Cookie Story

A young lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a big airport. Her plane wasn’t leaving for a long time, so she decided to buy a book and a bag of cookies to pass the time.
She sat down in a chair in the waiting room to rest and read while enjoying her snack. Beside the armchair where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opened his magazine and started reading. When the lady took her first cookie, the man took one also.

The lady felt annoyed, but said nothing. She just thought, "Wow, this man has a lot of nerve! If I was bigger, I would punch him in the nose for that!" As mad as she was, the man didn’t seem to notice.  In fact for every cookie the lady took, the man took a cookie too! The lady was so mad she could barely keep quiet, but she didn't want to cause a scene in the airport. Finally, when only one cookie remained, she thought: "Ah ha! What's this terrible man going to do now?"

The man silently picked up the last cookie, broke it in half and handed the lady one of the pieces. That was too much! The lady was much too angry now! In a huff, she snatched up her book and purse and stormed off to board the plane. When the lady was finally settled down in her seat inside the plane, she looked in her purse to get her glasses, and, to her surprise, what do you think she found in her purse? There was her package of cookies untouched and unopened.

Now the ladies anger melted away.  Instead she now felt so ashamed. She had been wrong about the man. The whole time she had forgotten that she had put her cookies in her purse. The man had not been terrible at all; he had been being kind to her.  He had shared his cookies with her without saying a word, getting angry or mean, he didn’t even sigh or roll his eyes....while the whole time she had been very angry. The lady felt very sad now, because it was too late to explain to the man why she took his cookies, or to say she was sorry.

Do you know why I shared this story with you children?  I am sharing it because it is very easy to get angry at people, and sometimes pretty difficult to be kind.  Sometimes it’s even harder to share, especially something yummy like cookies.  In every situation it’s important to remember that we might not know the whole story, and that Jesus wants us to always be kind, no matter what!

I don't know who the original author is, and I don't want to infringe on anyone, so just know the original author is NOT me, lol!  But anyway, the kids loved the story, but they loved these even better:

I was a little worried that some of the kids wouldn't like vegan cookies, but I used one of Claire Gosse's recipes from "Are you sure that's vegan?" so you really couldn't tell! I won't post the recipe out of respect for her and her book, but you can purchase it here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453648135/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
You NEED this book if you love vegan goodies! :)
The only change I made from her recipe is two tbs of ground flax and a little water instead of egg replacer.  SO yummy, the kids were thrilled. 

Delusions of Grandeur

I am so excited right now. I just discovered someone wrote a blog post, about MY mac and cheese recipe!  I am ridiculously happy about this.  Sometimes I feel that my ramblings are only reaching my dear friends and family who feel obligated to read them, but it appears people I don't know are drinking my very-nearly-vegan kool aid too, hurray!  Another blogger posted my mac-and-cheese recipe (with a few of her own substitutions, natch!) and a link to my page, which I find absolutely flattering and I am deeply grateful for!  Please do me a favor and check out her super awesome blog too. 

http://creditcardhell.blogspot.com/2010/11/vegan-mac-n-cheese.html

Thanks again for the shout out, Allison!

As you can see here, I am basking in the warm glow of your recognition:

A mention on someone else's blog?  Can fame and fortune really be that far behind?  Ahhh, goodnight folks, can you tell I am up too late? :)

The Devil(ed potatoes) and Mrs. James

So over the holidays I totally fell off the wagon and ate dairy and eggs.  Sorry readers!  It was terrible of me, but don't worry, I paid the price. Heavily!  I gained five pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Yikes!  So that pretty much settles the debate on whether or not vegan food is better for you or not, at least in my book anyway! On Christmas day I had some really, truly awesome deviled eggs.  They were so good, I can't even tell you.  Mmmm.  But the fact that they were good is no excuse!  Just like anything else, there is an AWESOME vegan substitute.  Really, I'm not kidding.  You will never miss deviled eggs as long as you have the recipe for..... are you ready for this?? 

Deviled Potatoes!  Yes, it's real.  The love child of deviled eggs and potato salad you've always wished existed!  Even if you didn't.... aren't you glad there is one?  They are pretty easy to make, too, so bonus!

You will need:
1 bag baby dutch potatoes (these are the best because they are egg shaped and thin-skinned, but really any potato of small size will do)
Plenty of Vegenaise
Sweet Relish (I use two tablespoons)
Hot sauce (just two dashes)
Minced onion (I use the dried kind, once again 2 tbs)
MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT: Liberal dose of Indian Black Salt, also known as Kala Namak.  Don't have this?  Don't bother making them. 
(You can buy it on Amazon if you can't find it at a store near you)
Squirt of mustard
2 dashes of turmeric, for color
Paprika

Instructions:

Boil potatoes till a fork can penetrate them.  Remove and run under cool water till they have cooled off.  Cut potatoes in half and scoop the centers out with a teaspoon.  Just make a nice divet.  Scoop the extra potato innards into a mixing bowl.  Add all the rest of the ingredients to taste (I, for instance like a lot of vegenaise, but not everyone does.), except for the paprika.  Mix well.  Reinsert into the divets you made into the potatoes, and sprinkle liberally with paprika.  I like to eat them instantaneously, but some people prefer them chilled.  I'll leave it up to your discretion. ;)

Your finished product should look something like this:

Aren't they cute?  They taste even better. :)  Enjoy!

Holidaze

Ok, so you might notice I have been MIA since Thanksgiving.  My apologies.  I hosted both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, while simultaneously finishing the semester for school so sadly my blog was put on the back burner for a time.  But I plan to make it a priority again, starting now! 

I thought today I would start back up by sharing a fun vegan fact.  Anyone familiar with the Old Spice guy?  Also known by his real name as Isaiah Mustafa?  Turns out he's a vegan!  He had a blurb in a recent issue of People magazine where he mentioned it.  Isn't that cool?  Maybe a picture would help convince you:

Does this guy look like he isn't getting enough protein?  I think not. :)  Looks to me like a vegan diet has done his body good!  Show this to your family and friends the next time they question you.  It should be a short converstion. ;)