I recently returned from a visit to Tampa, FL, where I spent a long weekend with my sister and her husband. About 90 minutes north of Tampa is a small town called Ocala, and outside Ocala is a wonderful place that I’ve now had the pleasure of visiting twice: Kindred Spirits Sanctuary. Kindred Spirits is a non-profit farm animal sanctuary that helps neglected, abused, unwanted, or displaced farm animals. They have about 150 animal residents living on 36 acres.
Going to farm sanctuaries always fills me with a sense of peace and joy. I love seeing these beautiful, amazing animals living outdoors on pasture, enjoying the sunshine, being well-fed, and given medical treatment when needed. I love interacting with them and getting to know them. This time around, I brought treats: bags of apples and carrots, and boy did it ever make me more popular with the animals! Although the pigs did get a little mad when we left their area and moved on to the horses and donkeys – they followed us and “complained” (made lots of noises indicating their displeasure, according to the tour guide). Despite having brought what I thought was a pretty generous amount of produce, I wish I had brought much more – I could have fed them by hand all day long it was so fun!
Here are some of my photos from the visit. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend going. The owners are so friendly and welcoming, and the animals were so fun to play with. Check out the photos and Kindred Spirits’ website, and donate if you can!
Two posts in one day?! I know I just posted earlier, but I wanted to create a separate entry to let everyone know about this great organization that Mindy told me about. (I’m sure she’d blog about it herself, but she’s currently in Florida visiting her sister & hanging out with rescued farm animals at a sanctuary!)
Of course we’ve all heard about the earthquake devastation in Haiti. It’s heartbreaking, and we all want to do what we can to help. If you’re like me, it can feel a little overwhelming trying to choose which charity to donate to. After all, we want to make sure we’re supporting an effective charity where the majority of donated funds actually goes toward helping the people who need it. And bonus if the org is vegan, right?
Well, Food for Life is a non-profit organization that brings vegetarian & vegan food to hungry people around the world. They’re active in over 60 countries, and currently setting up operations in the Dominican Republic, where they will store food supplies to support their vegan food relief program in Haiti. They accept donations in any amount, and even just $25 will supply 100 vegan meals to those who desperately need it!
We just wanted to pass this on in case any of you are still trying to decide how to help people in Haiti.
As I’ve mentioned before, I really, really love tempeh bacon (recipe here). (Quick sidenote: Despite the fact that my last post was about tofu quiche & this post is about tempeh bacon, I actually don’t eat a whole lot of soy. I don’t really make a point to avoid it, per se, but it’s my opinion that too much of any one thing isn’t the healthiest way to eat, and there are so many delicious plant-based foods out there that I don’t need to rely on soy!) So, that said, I’m more than willing to make some room in my diet for this tempeh bacon every now & then.
I have grown to love salads, and I love to keep them interesting. When trying to decide what to have for dinner a few weeks back, I settled on a TLT (Tempeh, Lettuce, and Tomato) Salad using my tempeh bacon recipe. I was very pleased with the results, so I wanted to share the idea. It’s just a bunch of leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, mixed spring greens, or even kale), some cherry or grape tomatoes, some cubed avocado, a sprinkle of hemp seeds (optional), some tempeh bacon crumbled on top, and then everything gets a nice, generous drizzle of this Raw Cashew Ranch dressing, courtesy of the Sunny Raw Kitchen. (I reduced the olive oil & salt, and added a bunch of fresh cracked pepper.) My mouth was very happy while eating this! It is interesting, delicious, and full of fiber, healthy fats & protein. It has become a dinner (and lunch) staple for me. Who needs a BLT sandwich when you can pack so much goodness into a salad?!
Happy New Year, everyone! (I know it’s over a week into 2010, but this is our first post since December, so I’m saying it, anyway!) Hope everyone had a healthy & happy holiday season! Now it’s back to “real life,” with no more three-day weekends until… Memorial Day weekend in May?! Hmph. That’s sad.
Anywaaaaaay.
Back in my pregan (pre-vegan 
) days, I loved quiche. Luckily for me (and for all the egg-laying hens out there), vegan quiches are just as delicious as those of the egg variety – perhaps even moreso.
This quiche was inspired by the Broccoli Quiche recipe in Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, but as usual, I made some tweaks to suit my tastes & the ingredients I had on hand. I didn’t have enough broccoli for the whole pie, so I chopped up what I had, and also included extra onion, about a cup of sliced mushrooms, and a couple cups of spinach. I also added ½ c. nutritional yeast, and used my black salt instead of regular sea salt for a little extra “eggy” taste. Oh! And I reduced the cashews from ½ c. to ¼ c. For the crust, I used the recipe for the Basic Pastry Crust in Veganomicon (I like that one better than the one in Vegan Brunch) – but I used almost all whole wheat pastry flour, and reduced the sugar to 1 tsp., since this was for a savory pie.
All in all, it was very easy & took less than an hour from the time I started chopping veggies to the time I took the quiche out of the oven (not including the time needed to chill the dough for the crust). A very easy, filling, and warming dinner, which was perfect for this insanely cold January we’ve had so far!
My friend Lindsay, more widely known as Happy Herbivore, is working on a cookbook and I have been lucky enough to be a tester for her recipes. Of course I can’t share any of the actual recipes, but I wanted to give her a shout out for one of my favorite recipes so far: Baked Chimichangas! They’re low fat, healthy, and still crispy on the outside like the deep-friend kind. In short, delicious! Check out her blog for more information about when the cookbook will be available – and you can find lots of yummy FREE recipes there to tide you over too!
The four winners for our A Scent of Scandal candle giveaway are:
- Mary of Vegan Wheekers
- Jessie of Vegan-Minded
- Patricia A.
- Melisser of The Urban Housewife
Congrats, ladies!!! Thank you so much to everyone who entered! I wish we could send a candle to all of you, but since we can’t, feel free to head on over to the A Scent of Scandal website & purchase a little holiday treat for yourself (or loved ones) if you feel so inclined. If you buy 6 candles or more, the coupon code BIGSPENDER will get you free shipping.
For Mary, Jessie, Patricia, and Melisser – email me at vegoutwithjessica(at)gmail(dot)com with your full name & address. We’ll get your candles sent out early next week!
Thanks again, everyone!
Minnesota has had a pretty wonderful fall. We had gorgeous colors on the trees and the “warm” weather lasted until this past Tuesday. (Mind you, “warm” is relative, but for the end of November/beginning of December, 50 degrees is quite the heatwave here.)
Aaaaanyway, a couple days ago, the weather turned & it was suddenly winter. It’s definitely colder outside, and the snow has started falling as of this morning. So last night for dinner, I was craving something warm & comforting (yet still healthy, of course). I referred back to this recipe for Walnut-Pecan Balls by Dreena Burton. I made these about a year ago & thought they were good, but they didn’t quite blow me away. This time, I decided to tweak them a little, and I have to say that I was quite impressed! They’re crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and packed with flavor & healthy fats. I also decided to bake them instead of frying to avoid all that extra oil. Most of the credit for this deliciousness goes to Dreena, of course, but I do really like my modifications. (Original recipe is available through the above link, and my modified recipe is below.)
Ingredients:
- ½ Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 c. red onion, chopped (one medium-large onion)
- 2 celery stalks (leaves included), chopped
- 2-3 tsp. Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Approx. 2 Tbsp. red wine or balsamic vinegar (quick splash)
- Heaping ¼ tsp. sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ c. pecans
- ½ c. walnuts
- 1 c. oats
- ¼ c. fresh basil
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
- 1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten (can be omitted, but the balls will not be as firm. Is it bad that I laughed typing that phrase? Yes, I am 8 years old, apparently.)
- 1 Tbsp. low-sodium tamari
- ½ Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- ¾ c. bread crumbs (preferably panko, as they are the crispiest)
Directions:
- In a skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, celery, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions and celery soften and are golden brown. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and a splash of wine (or balsamic vinegar), and cook for about 2 additional minutes.
- Once onions and celery have softened, add them to a food processor with the remaining ingredients (except bread crumbs), and process until the mixture becomes crumbly, and then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process again to incorporate any larger pieces, and just as mixture becomes sticky and/or forms a ball, stop processor.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (chilling will make the mixture firmer and easier to form into balls).
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray.
- Put breadcrumbs in a bowl or on a plate.
- Take small spoonfuls of the meatball mixture (about 1 Tbsp.) and form into balls with your hands. Roll each ball in breadcrumbs & place on cookie sheet. You’ll get about 25 balls.
- Bake for 15 minutes or so to start, and continue until balls are golden brown. I turned the heat up to 475ºF for about 5 extra minutes to get a really nice color on them.
- Remove, and serve warm with pasta and tomato sauce, or with dipping sauce of choice.
Yield: 25 balls
I served these over a bed of spiralized zucchini & carrot “noodles,” along with some raw marinara sauce & vegan Parmesan (1/2 c. almonds, 1/2 c. walnuts, 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1 tsp. miso, and ¼ tsp. sea salt. Whirl in food processor & voila!). It was quite a delicious meal, if I do say so myself, and I’m looking forward to the leftovers today! These balls could also be eaten in a sandwich, as a finger food dipped in marinara or mushroom sauce, or even atop a salad.
Reminder: Don’t forget to enter our A Scent of Scandal candle giveaway! It closes tonight & winners will be announced tomorrow!
Hi all! We hope everyone had a wonderful, delicious, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend.
Believe it or not, now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it is now officially the “holiday season”… (How did that come up so quickly?!) So, in honor of that, we’re doing another giveaway!
Veg Out with Us! is proud to partner with A Scent of Scandal to give away not one, not two, not three – but FOUR vegan candles. We’re giving one candle each to four lucky readers. From the ASoS website: Our uniquely eco-friendly soy candle line offers more than forty scents ranging from cheeky to the truly scandalous! We use only the finest fragrance oils and hand-pour each candle using 100% soy wax and completely metal-free all-cotton wicks, resulting in an incredible scent throw with the cleanest burn possible.
I have been a huge fan of A Scent of Scandal for a couple years now, and all of their candles are truly amazing. Plus, the candle names are hilarious! Cruelty-free, environmentally friendly, and clever? What’s not to love? (And they really smell divine.)
The scents to win are:
- Santa’s Pole (Candy Cane) – A sweet blend of fresh peppermint and vanilla sugar
- Challahback Girl (Challah Bread) – Everyone’s Friday night favorite! Sweet egg bread with hints of cinnamon and raisin
- Oh Snap! (Gingersnap) – Just like the cookie, top notes of ginger rounded out by sugar
- Kiss My Ash (Incense) – A warm, inviting blend of frankincense and yucca
To win, we won’t make you tweet the giveaway or sign up for a newsletter or promise us your first born or anything obnoxious like that. 
All you have to do is leave a comment with your name, and watch for the winners this Friday, 12/4. The contest is open to everyone in the U.S. (sorry, other friends!) – just be sure to leave your comment by 11:59 p.m. (CST) this Thursday, 12/3. We’ll announce all four winners on Friday! (Normally, we’d leave the contest open a little longer, but since some of these are holiday-themed scents, we want to give the winners time to enjoy them!)
Good luck!
In May of 2007, just a month after going vegan, I made a trip to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY. It is an absolutely magical, picturesque place, and I don’t even care how corny that sounds. If my decision to go vegan hadn’t been cemented yet, after that trip it certainly was. It was so amazing to be able to connect to the animals I had committed to help three times a day when I sat down to eat.
As Thanksgiving is a mere 2 days away, I thought it might be fun to post some photos of the beautiful turkeys I met on that trip, and compare their luxurious digs with those of factory farmed turkeys. So, let’s level set – here’s how factory farmed turkeys live. First, they hatch in incubators, and get loaded up in tiny crates to be shipped off to factory farms:
They’ll spend about 5 months living crammed into warehouses like this:
Then they get loaded into tiny crates again and sent to slaughter. You can read more about the process from birth to slaughter, none of which is natural or pleasant, here.
Places like Farm Sanctuary, however, are safe havens for these birds. They live outdoors in flocks, where they can forage and enjoy the fresh air and sunlight. They have comfortable shelter full of hay where they can sleep or stay warm when it’s cold out. Have you ever seen anything so idyllic?
Male turkeys, called Toms, are the ones with the back feathers that stand up straight – what most Americans think of when they picture a turkey. The female’s feathers lay straight back, and are not as colorful as the male’s. Of course, today’s farmed turkeys are all white – bred that way to produce white meat.
A turkey’s carancle, the fleshy skin on his head and neck, can change colors depending on his mood. This skin is incredibly soft, and the turkey pictured here LOVED to have it stroked. He was quite a flirt – he would strut around and come up to us to get a little love from us. Notice how his carancle is both dark red and bright blue – so pretty, isn’t it??
Today’s factory farmed turkeys look nothing like their wild ancestors, whose feathers are dark brown and black, allowing them to better blend in with their natural habitat. Then again, humans have taken away pretty much everything natural about a turkey’s short life. And that’s part of why I choose not to give thanks by eating one!
If you want to leave turkey off your plate this year, check out our earlier posts about what we’ll be serving for Thanksgiving!
My boyfriend loves waffles. A while ago I made him Peanut Butter waffles from the Vegan Brunch cookbook. He liked them a lot, but I thought they were too rich for breakfast, so I tried another recipe from the same book: Old Fashioned Chelsea Waffles. These really hit the spot! I made some changes to the recipe partly because I didn’t have all the suggested ingredients, and partly because I wanted to lower the fat a bit. So, here is the adapted recipe:
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups lowfat soy milk (or other nondairy milk)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 T canola oil
- 2 T unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 T agave nectar
- 1 T blackstrap molasses
- 1-3/4 c all-purpose flour
- 1/4 c cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 T baking powder
- 1 T cornstarch
- cooking spray for waffle iron
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, vinegar, oil, apple sauce, agave nectar, and molasses vigorously until well mixed.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix together until batter is smooth. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray before placing batter on iron every time.
Makes 6 round 6″ waffles.
These waffles aren’t really crispy on the outside like some waffles. They’re more dense and a little softer on the outside. However, this weekend I made some for Jeff that he could freeze and then toast in the mornings. He said they toasted up really nicely. In fact, the exact text message I got from him was: “Toasted waffles = NOMNOMNOM.”
These are great with Earth Balance and maple syrup OR you can add whipped cream and blueberries like I did (the whipped cream basically negated the “I’m going to make lower fat waffles” idea – whoops – but it WAS delicious). Also, the whipped cream recipe I linked to here is FANTASTIC. It does have a little coconut taste to it (more so on Day 2), but I don’t mind that at all. Oh, and I use more like 1/2 c powdered sugar instead of the recommended 1/3. What can I say, I like the sweetness! Enjoy!
Mindy
Jessica
