Take You Out of Your Funk Cookies...Really!

You know the days when you just need something sweet and delicious and everything will be alright? These cookies were my answer to one of those days. : )


Take You Out of Your Funk Cookies


1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoon water and set aside
1/4 cup non-dairy milk of your choice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup old fashion oats
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
10 to 12 crushed up Newman's Own cookies (your choice of which variety - I used the oreo type ones)


Preheat oven to 375f.

Cream margarine, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add flax mixture, milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

Add remaining ingredients to creamed mixture and mix until well combined. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking sheet and cook for 13 to 15 minutes.

Rounded tablespoons will make 2 dozen cookies...drop by smaller amounts to make more cookies and adjust cooking times.

Makes: 2 - 3 dozen depending on the size of the cookie,

Yum, Vegan Meatballs!

I love vegan meatballs. You can pair them with pasta, sweet and sour or bar-b-que sauce, or place them in a sub sandwich with tomato sauce and maybe some veggie cheese. Yum. How could anyone resist?

These meatballs are easy and quick to prepare, with only a half hour cooking time, hold together perfectly and taste great. My bonus daughter thinks they taste like they have ricotta cheese inside. If you try them let me know what you think. : )

Vegan Meatballs

1 lb extra firm tofu
1 medium onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 t basil
1 t parsley
1/2 t oregano
2 T tamari
2 t vegan Worcestershire sauce ( Annie's make a vegan one)
olive oil

preheat oven to 400f
oil a large baking sheet

Drain and pat dry the tofu. Squish tofu between your fingers to make a ricotta cheese like texture. Put tofu and all remaining ingredients (except for oil) into a med. bowl. Mix with your hands until everything is well combined. Shape mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches and place on the oiled baking sheet. Brush meatballs lightly with some additional olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

I think these would be great with a little nutritional yeast and maybe some chopped mushroom added as well...but since Dh can't eat the yeast or mushrooms I didn't add them.

Fresh and Delicious Date Syrup

You can use this Date Syrup in any recipe that calls for a liquid sweetener, such as honey, maple syrup or agave nectar.

3 cups soft fresh dates
enough water to cover
1/4 t vanilla extract


Place your water and dates in a medium narrow pan. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes then lower heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes. If your dates are soft and fresh it should be closer to the 30 minute time, if they are hard you will probably need to simmer for 60 minutes. The dates should be very soft and mushy when done.

Let the mixture cool. Once cooled pour into a blender and add vanilla extract. Blend until the mixture is very smooth. If your blender is unable to make it completely smooth you will want to strain it through a mesh strainer.

It is now ready to enjoy. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

You can experiment with different flavored extracts or none at all if you like. I like to add a bit more vanilla and some cinnamon to use to top pancakes. : )

Get the Scoop on Sugar: Vegan - Not Vegan

I think that most vegans know that some sugar is not vegan but an omni will almost always ask "why on earth is sugar not vegan?!" So for those of you new to veganism or those of you ready to convert here is the information straight from the mouth (so to speak) of PETA.

Bone char, made from the bones of cows, is at times used to whiten sugar. Some sugar companies use it in filters to de-colorize their sugar. Other types of filters involve granular carbon or an ion exchange ion exchange system rather than bone char.

The following sugar companies DO NOT use bone-char filters:



Florida Crystals Refinery
P.O. Box 86
South Bay, FL 33493
407-996-9072
Labels: Florida Crystals

Refined Sugars Incorporated
One Federal St.
Yonkers, NY 10702
914-963-2400
Labels: Jack FrostJack Frost, Country Cane, 4# Flow-Sweet

Pillsbury
Makes powdered brown sugar
Supreme Sugar Company (subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland)
P.O. Box 56009
New Orleans, LA 70156
504-831-0901
Labels: Supreme, Southern Bell, Rouse's Markets


The following sugar companies DO use bone-char filters:

Domino
1114 Ave. of the Americas
25th Fl.
New York, NY 10036
212-789-9700

Savannah Foods
P.O. Box 335
Savannah, GA 31402
912-234-1261

California & Hawaiian Sugar Company (with the exception of its Washed Raw Sugar)
830 Loring Ave.
Crockett, CA 94525-1104
510-787-2121

Supermarket brands of sugar (e.g., Giant, Townhouse, etc.) buy their sugar from several different refineries, so there is no way of knowing whether it is vegan at any given time.

Brown sugar is generally made by adding molasses to refined sugar, so sugar companies that use bone char in the production of their regular sugar will also use it in the production of their brown sugar. Confectioner's sugar (refined sugar mixed with cornstarch) made by such companies also involves the use of bone char. Fructose may, but does not typically involve a bone-char filter.

If you want to avoid all refined sugars, we recommend alternatives such as Sucanat and turbinado sugar. Neither of these sweeteners are ever filtered with bone char. Additionally, beet sugar--though normally refined--never involves the use of bone char.


So now you have the "official" scoop on sugar. ; )

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