Vegan Candy

As it is Halloween, I find myself in a moral dilemma.  I want to give the neighborhood trick or treaters candy, but I don't want to be a hypocrite.  Luckily PETA has compiled a list of vegan friendly candy and snacks.  If you also suffer this dilemma, or are just curious check out the list here.

PETA - Vegan Candy


Also on the same page you find a list of hidden non-vegan ingredients and what they are


Tofu Scramble, Hash Browns, and Cinnamon Raisin Bread

11:15 AM by Missy Coppage 0 comments
Yesterday we slept in late and I decided when we woke up that I wanted a super yummy breakfast.  It is rare that we sleep in and ever rarer that I can get William to eat breakfast with me.  So I went all out for this one.  We had (all homemade) cinnamon raisin toast, tofu scramble, and hashbrowns.  We also had fruit, coffee, and orange juice.  It was glorious.  I had some leftovers of it for breakfast today as well and it was still just as good the next day.  The cinnamon raisin bread I made the night before using our bread machine.  If you choose to add it to your menu it takes about 3 hours in the machine so plan accordingly.

Saturday Morning Brunch

Tofu Scramble:
1 Block Extra Firm Tofu, drained
1 Roma Tomato, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
6-8 Baby Portobella Mushrooms, sliced
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
Sprinkle of Bragg's Organic Sprinkle Seasonings

*Sautee all veggies with water until mostly cooked over med-high heat
*Put all seasonings on top of tofu block in a medium size bowl.  Then mash with a fork, combining seasonings as you mash.
*Add tofu mixture to cooked veggies in the pan
*Continue to cook over medium to med-high heat. Do not stir, just flip with a spatula.  Cook about 6-8 minutes.

Hasbrowns:
3 medium or 2 large potatoes
2-3 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter
Sprinkle of Bragg's Organic Sprinkle Seasonings (optional)
Sprinkle of Sea Salt (optional)

*Wash, peel and shred potatoes
*But Butter in pan over medium-high heat.  Once butter melts, add shredded potatoes spreading out evenly over pan. Add seasonings on top if you like.
*Do not mix around as it will end up mashing your potatoes.  Flip with a spatula once potatoes are golden on one side.  Cook 7-10 minutes on each side.  

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (with machine)
1 Cup Warm Water
2 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter
2 3/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Wheat Gluten
3 Tbsp Raw Sugar or Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp Rapid Rising Yeast
1 Cup Raisins

*Add all ingredient to machine except for raisins.
*Use sweet bread setting
*Add raisins when the machine beeps for add-ins
*After machine stops let rest inside machine for 10 minutes but not longer.  The 10 minutes allows the moisture to sink in, but longer can result in mushy bread.
*Remove from machine, let cool, and cover to store.  


William's Mexican Pizza

10:29 AM by Missy Coppage 0 comments
This came from one night my darling husband wanted to cook for me.  I made a pizza crust earlier in the day for him to use, but you can just as easily get a store bought one if you can find one that is Vegan.  We do have a bread machine, which makes it a little easier to make breads and doughs when we want them, but you can make them at home by hand pretty easily too, it just takes a little more time.  I put the recipe at the bottom that I used for the crust.

Mexican Pizza


Mexican Pizza Ingredients
1 Can  Vegan Refried Beans
1/4 - 1/2 Cup Taco Sauce
1 can   Rotel,  drained
1/2  Red Onion,  sliced
Handful of Olive, Jalapenos, or whatever other veggies you like

*Spread all ingredients onto pizza crust in order listed.
*Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes
*Remove from oven and let cool slightlty 
*Next add whatever cold ingredients you enjoy like those suggested below.  Enjoy!!



For after cooking:
Shredded Lettuce
Guacamole
Salsa
Tofutti Sour Cream

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (with bread machine)
2 1/4 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Wheat Gluten
1 package or 2 1/4 tsp Rapid Rising Yeast
1 tsp Raw Sugar
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 1/4 Cups Hot Water

*Put all ingredients in machine in order listed
*Use dough setting
*Stop after 1st kneading
*Let dough rest 15 minutes
*(If you are making it in advance as I did, coat a bowl with a little olive oil.  But dough ball inside bowl and roll around to coat.  Cover and place in fridge until ready to use.  You may need to punch it down before removing it from the bowl as it may have risen and gases formed inside.)
*Spread out onto pizza pan





Excuses, Excuses

10:11 AM by Missy Coppage 0 comments
Sorry there has been a little gap since my last post.  I have been cooking and so has William and we have been compiling pictures and recipes to put on here, but at the same time, it is mid-term in the semester and we have both been a little busy with school work, so Vegan in Louisiana had to go on the back burner for a bit.

 I was so pumped when the 2 page article came out in Thrive Magazine and I have gained a few new followers since.  I have also had several people email me with questions about where to find some of this stuff in our area.  For anyone who is unsure of the answer to this, I shop mostly at the Kroger on the corner of McNeese and Ryan.  I also buy a lot of my products at Vita-Mart on Prien Lake Road where they have 20% off everything in the store on Thursday.  Even though Pure Foods decided to get out of the market, Vita-Mart is growing.  They have new products every time I go in there and I have noticed they recently got bulk bins.  They are not filled as of yet, but should be very soon.  I have recently learned that the Kroger in Sulphur has an amazing produce department.  I have not ventured over the bridge as of yet to check it out, but I soon will and I will let you know what I discover.

I have also been busy getting back to my true love which is sewing.  It kind of got pushed aside when I decided to go back to school.  Every time I would sit down in front of my machine and think about making something I would remember the assignments/projects/papers I should be spending time on instead.  But this past weekend I got back to it and made this jacket.
I am currently working on a little brown and white dress and am hoping to continue on from there finding enough time for school, sewing, and cooking.

So anyways, just wanted to do a little update to let everyone, especially my new followers know why I haven't been as active as I should on the blog.  But many more recipes will be coming in the next week.  

Happy Halloween everyone!!!!   Missy

Baking with non-dairy milk



My husband found this article and shared it with me.  I found it really interesting and thought I should share it with you all.  In general I am a fan of soy milk for baking.  We use either the Naturally Preferred Organic Plain Soymilk or the Soy Dream Enriched Plain Soymilk for everything.  The Naturally Preferred kind curdles less in your coffee, so usually we use that one, but as far as taste goes, I think the Soy Dream is the best.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of some of the top brands and types of non-dairy milks done by

Tofu Bacon

This is a really tasty recipe for Tofu Bacon.  William loves it when we get to make BLTs so I tried this new recipe for him.  I have done Tempeh bacon before which is delicious, but I think I like this one better...

Tofu Bacon

Ingredients:
1 package Extra Firm Tofu
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke

Oil for Frying

Directions:
*Pat the Tofu dry and shave it into long thin slices with a cheese slicer
*Mix All ingredients except oil in a shallow container.
*Carefully add tofu slices to marinade making sure all pieces are covered.
*Marinade for 8 hours--up to 2 days

*Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat.
*Add about 1/2 tablespoon of oil to the skilled and swirl to cover bottom of pan
*Add slices, do not overlap.  May take a few batches to finish.
*Cook until golden brown and a little crispy.

*Place on a plate covered by a paper towel to cool and drain oil.  


Thrive Magazine

Recently I was interviewed about becoming a Vegan in Southwest Louisiana.  This month I am featured in Thrive Magazine pages 50-51 in a 2 page spread.  So excited.  This is my first recognition for the website.  The magazine just came out so right now online they only have the cover available to view, but later in the month they will put the whole thing online so you can view the article.  Keep checking back often to see it.  Until then, here is a picture of the article.

*Update:  It is available online now at
                  http://issuu.com/thrive/docs/thrive_oct2010_web

A great big Thank You to Erin Cormier for taking an interest and writing a great article.  

Vegan in Louisiana on Facebook

Today I started a Facebook site for the blog.  Go there and "like" me for even more updates, pictures, and recipes.

Protein in the Vegan Diet

This is a great article I just read about protein.  That is always my not vegan friend's concern for my diet.  How do you get your protein?  I think they just don't understand that meat and eggs are not the only foods that contains protein.  This article gives a good breakdown for calculating how much protein a person needs for their weight.

Lazy Samoas

9:11 AM by Missy Coppage 0 comments
These were always my family's favorite Girl Scout cookies.  We had to buy like 4 boxes of them and they were gone in a matter of days.  I got this recipe from the cookbook Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.  I made a couple of changes to accommodate what I had on hand. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but I used Whole Wheat Instead and I did not have coconut oil so I used Safflower Oil. They turned out so delicious and so similar to the real thing.

Lazy Samoas


Ingredients:
2 Cups Grated Unsweetened Coconut
1/3 Cup Unrefined Coconut Oil (or any neutral tasting oil; safflower,vegetable, etc.)
3/4 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Nondairy Milk
1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seeds
1 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Chocolate Coating:
1 Cup Vegan Chocolate Chips 
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil (or neutral oil again)

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

*Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

*Toast coconut on stove in a large skillet over med-low heat.  Stir occasionally and toast until light golden brown.  (8-10 minutes)  Remove from heat and stir occasionally as it cools.

*In a large mixing bowl combine oil, sugar, milk, flax, and vanilla until smooth.  Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix to form thick bater.  Fold in Coconut.

*Scoop onto baking sheet about 1 Tbsp at a time, 2 inches apart.  (They will rise a little) 

*Flatten each cookie with the back of a measuring cup or your fingers.  Use your fingertip to make a small hole in the center of each cookie.

*Bake for 8 minutes until edges are golden

*Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer onto a cutting board or cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

*While they are cooling, melt chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler. (I use a pot with a couple of inches of boiling water and a metal mixing bowl on top)


*Stir continuously until all chips are melted.  Next add oil and stir.

*Let cool for 5 minutes to thicken slightly.  Dip cookie bottoms in chocolate then place on wax paper.  Once all bottoms are covered use a fork to drizzle remaining chocolate over cookies.  Place in refrigerator and let cool for about 30 minutes to firm the chocolate.

*Store cookies in a loosely covered container in a very cool place. 


No More Plastic Bags

The following article helps to explain what happens to plastic bags after they are disposed of and the effects on our environment.  Everyone should do their part and use some form of reusable shopping bag.  There are also reusable produce bags that everyone should consider purchasing.  Many stores such as Target and Kroger carry them in the store for purchase, or you can order some at Ecobags.com

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)