Living Vegan
Non-vegans often frame a vegan diet in terms "going without" -- meaning vegans choose NOT to consume meat, milk, honey or any other animal products. But to Vegans, the experience is about celebrating the taste and versatility of nature's bounty, along with possible ethical, environmental, or health benefits of eating only plants and vegetables. We discuss what veganism is, what it isn't, and why it seems to be growing in popularity.
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Recipes
Courtesy Emily Mainquist
Peach Biscuits
Makes 10
My mom always made peach biscuits for summer barbecues when I was a kid. We picked peaches from a peach farm in Pennsylvania and, when we got home, I helped her cut the biscuits and dip them into the butter and cinnamon sugar. So delicious on a hot summer day, these biscuits are great served for brunch or dessert.
Biscuits
2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter substitute
3/4 cup soy milk
Fruit Topping
4 large peaches
3 tablespoons apricot preserves
1 tablespoon water
Coating
1 cup evaporated cane juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
11/2 cups butter substitute
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
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First make the biscuits: Using a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt on medium speed. With the motor still running, add the butter substitute 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting 5 seconds after each addition. Add the soy milk and beat the dough on medium speed until a soft dough has formed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly fl oured work surface, and roll
to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 4-inch round cookie cutter. Take any remaining biscuit dough and roll out and cut until you can’t cut any more biscuits. Set aside. -
Wash and dry the peaches and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.
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To make the coating, mix the cane juice and cinnamon in a
medium bowl. Melt the butter substitute in a microwave-safe
bowl for 1 minute. Dip the biscuits into the melted butter, then in the cinnamon sugar, and place on a 10 x 15-inch cookie tray. -
Create a well in each biscuit. Arrange the sliced peaches, slightly overlapping, in each well. Sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar.
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Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the apricot preserves with the water in a microwave-safe dish for 20 seconds, then spread onto the still-warm biscuits before serving.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Squares
When I was growing up, my Aunt Trisha would often make this sweet bread. Her secret was to add lots of chocolate chips. I've adapted her recipe to make it both vegan and gluten free. This bread is still as moist and delicious as my Aunt Trisha's and now everyone can enjoy it.
Serves 8
4 tablespoons butter substitute, at
room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup finely shredded zucchini,
drained
1 and 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer, whisked
with 2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup gluten-free chocolate chips
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 x 8-inch baking pan.
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In a stand mixer, beat the butter substitute with the brown sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Stop and scrape down the sides of bowl then add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, walnuts, and zucchini.Mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides of bowl. Add the egg replacer mixture and chocolate chips and mix for another 30 seconds.
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Spread the batter onto the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.
Comments
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Kojo,
Your show with Vegan author Tracye McQuirter sometime ago was fantastic.
Her book By Any Greens Necessary is great. I hope you have her on your show to answer questions.
We are Enjoying this show! Having had a veg household for 40 years --including raising three daughters, we applaud the many helpful comments. We would add that Sunflower Restaurant (Vienna and Falls Church locations) is a great place for vegans, too.
Bracha Laster
Unfortunately a lot of soy is grown in the Amazon, and land there is razed to plant soy instead. There are definitely some issues to consider (some of which callers brought up but which were not addressed) when deciding what the most ethical way of living is. It's not all sunshine and daisies after you make the decision to go vegan. To simply remove yourself from the problem is not enough--you should continue to question your choices every day.
Humans thrive on low protein -- high protein contributes to cancer, osteoporosis, kidney disease and other diseases. Unfortunately the meat industry has been very effective in convincing people that we need a high protein diet. Vegan athletes abound and thrive! Seba Johnson, vegan since birth, is a two-time Olympiad. Carl Lewis said his performance improved when he switched to a vegan diet. Scott Jurek dominated the ultramarathon! Vegans do not need soy or protein-dense foods, but they are a tasty and nutritious addition.
Becoming vegan is important for human and nonhuman animals. Every nonhuman wants to live and every nonhuman suffers when they are controlled and dominated by humans, and when their lives are cut short. Every human can live happier and healthier by letting nonhumans live their lives for them, not for us.
Beazors, soy is grown in the Amazon to feed cattle, not humans. If humans stopped eating cows then there would be no reason to chop down the forests. In fact, most land can be re-forested because growing plants for humans takes 1/10th the land needed compared to growing plants for cows and other animals.
It was sunshine and daisies for me after I became vegan, and every day I am grateful for this decision. I no longer kill other sentient, sensitive lives for me to live. Killing is violence. All of society benefits when we remove violence. My health has also improved. I used to get horrible colds, bronchitis, and other dairy-aggravated sicknesses. Now, I rarely get colds and they are always mild. I had a hernia surgery and the surgeon told me that I heal well. I had my first prostate exam this year and my doctor said I was in perfect health. I became vegan for peaceful reasons and my health has been an extra, welcomed benefit.
Most of it is, that's true. I don't know where the primary stats come from but around 20% is unaccounted for after cattlefeed.
My point about everything not being sunshine and daisies is just meant to point out that, in my opinion, being vegan is not enough. It's a difficult thing for many people to do but I do not believe it's sufficient to just eliminate animal products from your diet. People need to know where their produce comes from, how it's grown and harvested, and more importantly whether or not it's in season and how long it had to travel to get there.
Much of the environmental damage caused by the transportation of produce from all over the globe is seldom discussed. It's important to eat a varied vegan diet but we must recognize the cost of all the variety we have in this country, year-round. It's better to eat what's in season, and what is grown locally.
I should add that I have not eaten meat for around 8 years and was vegan for several of those years--unfortunately my health did not abound like yours did. My athletic performance dropped, and there was no change in my allergies. My biggest problem (which I still face today) is anemia. After years of veganism my blood heme count was about 30% of the lower threshold for normal, and my doctor was alarmed. I don't believe in taking pills but you have to eat very large amounts of leafy greens and lentils to get a lot of veggie iron.
Have been a vegetarian for 30 years. Happy to see greater food consciousness.
See this movie:
www.forksoverknives.com
Thanks for letting all your listeners know that being vegan and having a vegan household is an easy and healthy choice. My five and eight year old boys are thriving and developing as vegans.
Thehousedaddy.com