There has never been a better time to go vegan. If you’re thinking about going vegan, do it: for your health, for the animals, for the environment. Do it because there’s no good reason not to go vegan!
Between preparing for this week’s horrendous storm and now picking up after it, I haven’t had time to develop any new Halloween recipes. That’s what’s so great about already having a stash of great tried-and-true ways to celebrate the holiday.
My favorite Holloween menu is this one from one of my personal favorite books – Party Vegan. Every element of this fun menu is done in orange and black such as the tapenade and carrots at the top of this post and the chili (above) — or the cute pumpkin muffins like the one below (photo by Tamasin Noyes):
And, as with all the menus in Party Vegan, you don’t have to make all the recipes at the same time — you can pick and choose. For example, unless we’re having people over, I usually just make the chili and muffins, but if you want to go all out, the entire menu set out on a table makes for a spook-tacular presentation! (sorry, couldn’t help it!)
Here’s the menu for Party Vegan’s Halloween Boo-ffet:
Black Olive Tapenade with Carrot Sticks and Orange Bell Pepper Strips
Black Bean and Butternut Chili
Savory Pumpkin Muffins with Black Sesame Seeds
Black Rice Salad (with grated carrot, diced orange bell pepper, etc.)
Orange-Carrot Cake with Dark Chocolate Icing
Here’s the recipe for the chili:
Black Bean and Butternut Chili
This flavorful chili makes a great centerpiece when served in a large pumpkin shell. You can also serve it in a crock pot on the “keep warm” setting. (This recipe is from Party Vegan by Robin Robertson © 2010, John Wiley and Sons.)
1 small butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 1/2 cups cooked or 3 (15.5-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced
1 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Cut the squash into 1/4-inch dice and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, squash, carrot, and bell pepper, if using. Cover and cook, until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, and chipotle. Stir in the apple juice, chili powder, allspice, sugar, and salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover and simmer about 10 minutes longer. Serve hot.
Happy Halloween! And warm thoughts to those of you still enduring the after-effects of this week’s storm. I hope you find a way to give yourselves a little treat tonight in spite of Sandy’s “tricks”!
HALLOWEEN FUN: Here’s a photo I found of Jon and I taken on a Halloween night back in the early 1980s — sorry for the bad quality of the photo. Can you guess what we are? (answer at the end of post)
ANSWER: We’re “The Old Man and the “C” (“Sea”/”C” — get it?)
It’s time to announce the winner of last week’s cookbook giveaway. I thought I’d better get this posted before the storm’s fury decides to cut off our power!
The winner of Sweet & Easy Vegan by Robin Asbell is #52 – Thomas Bruno!
Congratulations, Thomas. Please e-mail me with your mailing address so that a copy of Robin’s publisher can send a copy of her book out to you.
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. It was fun to read what everyone’s favorite dessert is — they all sound great to me!
I hope that by now everyone in the storm’s path has taken every precaution for themselves and their animal companions. I know we have. And now we wait….
With a potentially extremely dangerous storm looming over the East Coast, Gary wants to remind everyone to make sure their emergency preparations include their companion animals. He asked that I post the following excerpt from Vegan Unplugged with tips on what to do for your animal friends in an emergency:
“Whether you’re staying home or leaving, make sure you plan for your companion animals. Well in advance of any storm, bring your animals indoors—reassure them and help them to remain calm. If at all possible, keep your animals with you during a disaster.
If you need to evacuate, animals should not be left alone in the house. If for some reason you are unable to take your animals with you, try to plan ahead for a safe refuge, such as a specialized animal shelter, a veterinary clinic, or with friends and relatives who live out of harm’s way.
Among the things to assemble for your animals in case of emergency are: proper identification collars and rabies tags, proper identification on all belongings, a carrier or cage, a leash, an ample supply of food and water, and bowls, any necessary medications clearly labeled, newspapers or trash bags, and/or litter and litter box.
FEMA publishes a thorough checklist to plan for your animals in the event of a disaster. It is called “Information for Pet Owners” and some of the important points are listed as follows:
FEMA Disaster Preparedness Checklist for Pets
If you evacuate your home, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS BEHIND! Pets most likely cannot survive on their own. If by some remote chance they do, you may not be able to find them when you return.
Plan for Pet Disaster Needs
• Identifying shelter. For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets. Find out which motels and hotels in the area you plan to evacuate to allow pets—well in advance of needing them. There are also a number of guides that list hotels/motels that permit pets and could serve as a starting point. Include your local animal shelter’s number in your list of emergency numbers—they might be able to provide information concerning pets during a disaster.
• Take pet food, bottled water, medications, veterinary records, cat litter/pan, can opener, food dishes, first aid kit and other supplies with you in case they’re not available later. While the sun is still shining, consider packing a “pet survival” kit which could be easily deployed if disaster hits.
• Make sure identification tags are up to date and securely fastened to your pet’s collar. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site. If your pet gets lost, his tag is his ticket home. Make sure you have a current photo of your pet for identification purposes.
• Make sure you have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness for your pet so that if he panics, he can’t escape.
• If you have no alternative but to leave your pet at home, there are some precautions you must take. Remember that leaving your pet at home alone can place your animal in great danger! Confine your pet to a safe area inside—NEVER leave your pet chained outside!
• Leave them loose inside your home with food and plenty of water. Remove the toilet tank lid, raise the seat and brace the bathroom door open so they can drink. Place a notice outside in a visible area, advising what pets are in the house and where they are located. Provide a phone number where you or a contact can be reached, as well as the name and number of your vet.
During a Disaster
• Bring your pets inside immediately.
• Have newspapers on hand for sanitary purposes. Feed the animals moist or canned food so they will need less water to drink.
• Animals have instincts about severe weather changes and will often isolate themselves if they are afraid. Bringing them inside early can stop them from running away. Never leave a pet outside or tied up during a storm.
• Separate dogs and cats. Even if your dogs and cats normally get along, the anxiety of an emergency situation can cause pets to act irrationally. Keep small pets away from cats and dogs.
After a Disaster
• If after a disaster you have to leave town, take your pets with you. Pets are unlikely to survive on their own.
• In the first few days after the disaster, leash your pets when they go outside. Always maintain close contact. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and your pet may become confused and lost. Also, snakes and other dangerous animals may be brought into the area. Downed power lines are also a hazard.
• The behavior of your pets may change after an emergency. Normally quiet and friendly pets may become aggressive or defensive. Watch animals closely.
(From http://www.Fema.gov/plan/prepare/animals.shtm)
You can find additional information on the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) website. The HSUS Disaster Center has several useful disaster preparedness brochures available for download to help you plan for the needs of your pets, horses, and other animals during an emergency: http://www.hsus. org/web-files/PDF/DIST_DisasterPetBrochure.pdf.”
For more advice on preparing for emergencies, along with recipes that can help you eat well when the power goes out, check out Vegan Unplugged.
Stay safe, everyone!
I know you all must be wondering what else (beside apple pie!) I made with my gorgeous produce haul this week. Well, here’s a peek at some of what I’ve been up to. This dish is kind of a riff on a Nicoise Salad, only it’s not a salad — it’s roasted and there’s no lettuce. Oh, and slabs of roasted cheddar cauliflower are the “star” instead of tuna.
My infamous parenthetical green beans made an appearance, along with the Nicoise-requisite olives and potatoes (those little red potatoes I bought, sliced and roasted to perfection!). So if you’re a true Nicoise afficianado, by now you’re probably wondering, “Where are the tomatoes???” The answer is: in the sauce. Remember those yellow tomatoes I bought? I decided to toss a couple in my Vitamix, add some lemon juice, a little garlic, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. I also added some cooked white beans to boost the protein in this meal. The resulting sauce is the gorgeous Lemon Yellow Tomato Sauce you see cloaking the vegetables. It was phenomenally delicious.
Best of all there were lots of potatoes and cauliflower and sauce leftover to yet another creation to be disclosed in an upcoming post!
Veggies Veritas!
Ever since I move to “apple country” in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, I’ve been a fan of Stayman apples for everything from pies, to crisps, to applesauce, and just eating out of hand. I can’t say enough good things about Stayman apples, so I’ll just show you! At the top of this post is the rustic apple pie I made with a few of the Staymans I bought on Saturday. Almost within minutes of getting the apples in the house, Jon was asking for an apple pie. He prefers old-fashioned double-crust pies, and I always try to go with less crust, so to appease us both, I made this rustic “crust-and-a-half” pie, using just a bottom crust, but folding it up over the apples to make a sort of half-top crust. It seems to have done the trick because, well, the pie is now GONE!
Another one of my favorite ways to use only one crust is to use a bottom crust, and then do a crumble on top. I call it “Apple Compromise Pie” — and I posted the recipe here. This is what it looks like:
I still have a lot of apples left, so I’m sure I’ll be making another pie soon. If Jon has his way, it will have a double-crust like this one:
If you get a chance to buy Stayman apples, do yourself a favor and try some. Be sure you’re getting the “old style” Staymans — they’re smaller and darker than the new variety — and the old-style have a lot more flavor, too!
