Eating Consciously

What a busy time of year! I just realized today how quickly the holidays are approaching. I really can't believe I haven't had the time to notice any of it. One thing I like to do this time of year is enjoy vegan baking. I recently starting looking through my favorite vegan baking book, My Sweet Vegan , to pick out what recipes I'll be whipping up this year. I'm going to be making her Mocha Devastation Cake, Self-Frosting Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Butterscotch Blondies, and of course Canine Cakes for Luna and Chico! Vegan baking, or any baking, can be a little scary without a road map. Luckily, Hannah Kaminsky does all the experimenting for us and churns out the most creative and delicious vegan sweets around. You can catch a glimpse of what Hannah's currently confecting by checking out her blog, BitterSweet . I recently asked my Twitter followers and Facebook friends what questions they had concerning vegan baking. I got a ton of great questions, but had ...

Busy, busy, busy with my hands in many projects right now, but I had time to whip up this new Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe last night. This uses mostly store-bought ingredients, so it's really quick to make. It's the perfect texture and has just the right level of sweetness to offset the tartness of the sour cream. I also got around to marinating a Tofurkey in beer and making a delicious beer gravy with it too! I will try my best to get the recipe for that soon so you can make the best Tofurkey ever this holiday ;) I have to run, but here's the recipe for that tasty Pumpkin Cheesecake: Pumpkin Cheesecake 1- 12 oz container vegan sour cream 1- 8 oz container vegan cream cheese 1- 15 oz can pureed pumpkin 1/2 C sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ener-g egg replacer 1 store-bought 9" vegan graham cracker pie crust In a food processor, blend together all ingredients except the crust! Pour mixture ...

Time is ticking away! Thanksgiving is now a mere few days away. I usually go all out on Thanksgiving with entrees, side dishes, desserts, and drinks, but this year I plan on taking it easy. I'm fortunate enough to be attending a vegan Thanksgiving feast at a local vegan restaurant. So much for cooking! I'll be heading to visit my parents after dinner for wine and maybe some vegan dessert :) It will be nice to take a break from having to do all the work to prepare for Thanksgiving this year, as I have a ton of other projects keeping my occupied. This time of year can be tough for those of use who view animals as moral members of our society. Just the simple fact that people plan their entire day around a roasted carcass is disturbing to say the least. I did a little research and discovered that these "traditions" we follow on Thanksgiving really have little relevance to the original Thanksgiving. Did you know Thanksgiving wasn't even declared a holiday unt...

Okay, so I admit that split pea soup isn't very photogenic, but I assure you that this is so very delicious! I made this last night for dinner and just had to get it up ASAP because it's so yummy. In fact, I'm going to serve it as part of my Thanksgiving menu. This is such a great dish to prepare for carnists to show them how comforting and tasty vegan food can be. And who would have known you could make the best split pea soup ever without using a slaughtered pig bone? The secret? Vegan ham! On with the recipe!! Split Pea Soup 1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 TBS olive oil 1 package (8 slices) vegan ham, diced (I used Yves brand) 1 TBS dried ground sage 1 TBS dried thyme 1 TBS dried oregano 1 tsp black pepper 1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube 2 C unsweetened soy milk 2 C dried split peas, pre-soaked overnight 6 C water 1 TBS salt 2 TBS Earth Balance In a large pot, over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, olive oil, and vegan ham for several minutes until...

It's official! This school term is more than half over and I should be able to breathe a little easier come mid-December. In the meantime, I didn't want you to have to wait too long for another post. So, here it is! I was recently featured in the November issue of GRID, a sustainable magazine here in Philadelphia. I wrote about how to cook dried beans and gave a recipe for some spicy Black Bean and Quinoa Chili. Perfect to warm you up on these cold Autumn days! You can go to their website and check out the latest issue now. I'm on page 10. While you're there, don't miss the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake from my friend and fellow Philadelphia vegan blogger, Dynise Balcavage. She's on page 25. You may remember my interview with Dynise, A.K.A. Urban Vegan, a few months back. In case you haven't picked it up yet, her new cookbook is finally out too! If you're more visually inclined, you might be interested in checking out some of the latest videos ...

Since I've been running short on time lately, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to invite a guest blogger on board. You might remember I interviewed Melanie back in August on Eating Consciously Podcast #13 . I've read the book and I give it five stars all the way! If you haven't pre-ordered it yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. Make sure you get a copy not only for yourself, but copies for the carnists in your life as well. Since this is a bit of a lengthy post, I won't take up too much more of your reading time, but I wanted to point out that you might be interested in watching this new two-minute video about the book: and now I'll let Melanie tell you a bit more about the book herself... Like most people, I grew up eating meat. I also grew up with a dog, who was my best friend throughout my childhood. And like most people, I didn’t think about how I could love my dog yet eat other animals daily without thinking about what I was doing or why. ...

I promised I'd upload my American Vegan spread as soon as I could scan it to a PDF for you and here it is! Thanks to the new Snow Leopard update, my scanner is no longer cooperating with me, but I now have a PDF copy to share with you thanks to a generous reader. Her name is Jodie Richeal and she is the owner of a bookkeeping business called, Office Manager For Rent . Thanks, Jodie! ;) I also wanted to share an exciting offer with all of you! To celebrate the latest release of American Vegan Magazine, with Eating Consciously as the feature, I am pleased to offer you a half-price yearly membership to American Vegan. That's only $10 per year, or $5 for students and those with low-income!! To join: By Mail: Send name and mailing address with check or credit card information to: American Vegan Society P.O. Box 369 Malaga, NJ 08328 Use credit card and join by Phone (856) 694-2887 or Fax (856) 694-2288 Be sure to mention Ed Coffin from Eating Consciously to get the...