The Vegetarian Resource Group is a vegan activist non-profit organization that does outreach all-year-long. For example, VRG participates in different events throughout the USA and also sends literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, offices, etc. Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly, quarterly, or single-time donor to The Vegetarian Resource Group.
Thanks so much for your support. You can make a donation online here: vrg.org/donate
At Verdine, a fully vegan restaurant in Houston, Texas, Anayeli Camacho experiments, expresses her creativity, and learns through decorating cakes. Many factors have to be taken into account for the assembly and decoration of cakes, but there is a central focus on expression for Camacho.
“It’s really just about expression. For a strawberry cake you could put strawberry jam in the middle and then you could put strawberry powder in the buttercream and then assemble it with that and then decorate it. Probably put cut up strawberries on top and you could put the jam on top too. Your creativity really has to just bounce out. In this profession, there’s no holding back from your creativity. You just have to let it out and make colors pop. That’s the main thing with desserts; Usually I make the colors pop. You’ve gotta make the cake pop. Make it ‘wow,’” Camacho said.
In order to complete cake designs, Camacho named multiple key materials and tools, including “the turntable, the offset spatula, [and] the piping bags.” Camacho’s favorite tools are the piping bags and decoration tips that she uses to make florets on cakes. Decoration tips are made in many different sizes and patterns and can be bought at a variety of stores.
“[Materials can be found at] Walmart, Target, and Home Goods and then there’s Ace Mart. It’s a restaurant shop [and has] all the equipment you would need in the kitchen. They have great options for turntables and offset spatulas, and I think they have piping tips. But the stuff that I have for me [to use] I got from Walmart. It was pretty cheap [and] it worked the same.”
In addition to specific materials, certain ingredients are essential for cake decoration. As a vegan cake decorator, there are specific substitute ingredients that Camacho uses to complete her cakes.
“For the buttercream we use Earth Balance, [as] the shortening. And then we make Swiss meringue. We melt sugar with water and we heat that up and while the buttercream and shortening are mixing we add it to that. And then for the cake we use GF (Gluten Free) one to one flour. I like that personally; it’s a good flour. And we use Ener-G, a vegan egg replacer, or we use Just Egg quite a bit for the egg replacer. We like using oat milk, [which is] the best for any dessert just because it’s thicker,” Camacho said.
Camacho also uses ingredients that will incorporate color into her frostings, which she highlights as an important part of cake decoration.
“[Color] makes the cake pop. it gives it a layer. Because the cake is flat and then you put things on top of it and it pops, and the color pops even more. It gives it contrast, it pops out from what the buttercream color is,” Camacho explained.
Besides making use of color to make designs eye-catching, Camacho suggests that anyone who wishes to work with cake decoration experiment throughout the process. Personally, she experiments and practices florets and a dripping effect for her cakes.
“It’s about experimenting, but understanding that when you’re experimenting you’re also making changes to something that probably won’t be able to go back to what it was. Just thinking about all of those factors that come into it and just practicing. Going and trying and then seeing what happens and if it doesn’t come out the way that you wanted then just know that you can try again the next time,” Camacho said.
Nothing beats a hearty salad on a warm day. Here’s some creative summer salad recipes that appeared in previous issues of Vegetarian Journal.
Peggy Rynk’s article “Cool, Crisp Summer Salads” offers these recipes: Chilled Lentil Salad with Spicy Citrus Dressing; Creamy Potato Salad with Scallions and Chives; Tamari-Dressed Jicama Salad; Cherry Tomato, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad; Pineapple-Carrot Salad with Citrus Dressing; and Melon Medley with Lemon Dressing. Read the article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue2/2007_issue2_cool_salads.php
Debra Daniel-Zeller’s piece “Warm Weather Salads Fit to Be Meals” includes recipes for Shiitake Mushroom, Quinoa and Greens with Toasted Cashews; Greens with New Potatoes and Kidney Beans; Spinach and Bean Salad with Mustard Croutons; Lime-Infused Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad; 3-Bean Salad with Sweet Onions and Arugula; Soba Noodles with Marinated Tofu and Baby Kale; and Grilled Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Cashew Dressing. Her article can be found here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue3/2015_issue3_salads_meals.php
There are people in the parking lot who always return their cart, individuals that never return their cart, those that return when it’s convenient, patrons that feel pressured to return the carts if a cart attendant or adjacent car owner is present, and customers with kids who return the carts as if it’s a game when the children ride in the carts.
Certainly this is like vegans. There are those that will never buy vegan food, people who always buy vegan food, those that buy when it’s convenient, customers who feel peer pressure to eat vegan meals sometimes when being watched, and vegans who see it as a fun game to explore new foods and restaurants and take others there. Which are you?
The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php
To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate
Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide (Note: Due to the coronavirus pandemic many are doing take-out and/or delivery now):
Dear Diary Coffeehouse, 1212 Chicon St. #103, Austin, TX 78702
Looking for a vegan coffee shop? Dear Diary Coffeehouse is your one-stop shop if you’re in the mood for a coffee or quick bite to eat. They offer a 100% plant-based menu, as well as options for the sweet tooth. Try Cranberry Pepita Kale, Bistro Vonish Potato Taco, Lil Nonna’s Pizza, and more. They also sell beer and wine! Whether you’re looking for a morning or afternoon pick-me-up or snack, or are craving something a little stronger, Dear Diary Coffeehouse is the place to go!
Flourish Plant-Based Eatery, 222 S. Red Bank Rd., Ste. L, Evansville, IN 47712
Flourish Plant-Based Eatery offers a variety of vegan items that provide a perfect balance between healthy and tasty. In addition, none of their food is deep fried. Enjoy smoothies, fresh juices, salads, wraps, sandwiches, and bowls. Outdoor seating available.
Miami Nice, 2137 E. Burnside, Portland, OR 97232
From munchies to meals, Miami Nice has you covered. Located in East Portland, this vegan eatery is full of Cuban fun and flavors. Start off your meal with savory and harmless ham croquetas or a zucchini and pesto empanada, and move into their popular jackfruit and harmless ham cubanito. Finish off the meal with one of four mouthwatering flan flavors or a guava puff pastry. Miami Nice offers online ordering for takeout and payments via card or popular payment apps like Venmo and CashApp.
Pura Vita Pizzeria, 8274 Santa Monica Blvd. West, West Hollywood, CA 90046
This female-owned business with timely service offers everything from appetizers like vegan mozzarella sticks to pizzas with white or red sauce, salads, and sweet treats. If you’re a fan of garlic, you’ll adore the Amelia pizza and the Cesare salad, and if you don’t, well, you’ll like just about anything else.
Sipz Vegetarian Kitchen, 613 Pearl St., La Jolla, CA 92037
Customer favorites include the Crab Rangoon, Tangy Orange Bowl, Spicy Basil Bowl, and Chow Mein. Those looking for some spice should try the Japanese Fire Noodelz, a bowl that combines udon noodles, pan fried vegetables, and their very own Chef’s spicy house sauce. Save room for dessert and try any one of their Ube desserts. This vegetable gives their cakes, cupcakes, and cheesecakes a beautiful purple color that looks as good as it tastes!
The Loaded Bowl, 1211 SW 2nd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73108
The owners of The Loaded Bowl food truck have reached their goal of making vegan food more affordable and more widely available with their brick and mortar bar and restaurant near Midtown Oklahoma City. Their bowls are loaded with Cashew Mac & Cheese and bbq, enchiladas, lasagna, and more. If you’re looking for something on the sweeter side, they offer a wholesale menu for their bakery with custom sweets like donuts, assorted pastries, cheesecakes, cookies, and full-size cakes.
The VTree Hollywood, 1999 N. Sycamore Ave., Angeles, CA 90068
The VTree Hollywood is an exciting vegan restaurant located at the historical Yamashiro. They operate with completely vegan and gluten-free ingredients. The restaurant serves soul food with a twist and the menu changes daily with new Southern classics every day. Be sure to check out their Mac n’ Cheeze and cornbread.
Veganos Kitchen, 3149 N. Rancho Dr. #C, Las Vegas, NV 89130
With service from the owner, Jose, when you enter Veganos you will feel the love, see the vibrant colors, and smell the delicious Mexican American food. Veganos offers classic Mexican dishes like Chile Relleno and pozole veganized! As well as options like burger with fries, nachos, and burritos with a vegan twist to them. If you are looking for a family owned affordable place to eat vegan food you won’t be disappointed at Veganos!
– Someone posted: My family and myself are new to plant-based eating and have a toddler. While we are reading and watching his kids shows I’ve noticed that eating animal products is the “norm” so I’m curious about books and kids shows that talk about the alternative. Any things good to start the conversation early.
-Individuals shared cooking videos they created including a vegan “egg” dish.
-Group member posted: Does anyone have a suggestion of a cookbook for baby to toddler food? Baby is turning 1 and having less interest in milk but I’m tired of making steamed veggies and pasta. Also looking for ideas to ensure she is getting enough b 12.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids/ is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.
Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.
Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.
Karina Carrillo-Juarez, who also goes by Karina Rose, is one vegan who likes to show the world that vegan baking can be unlimited and delicious! As someone who was vegan throughout her high school culinary program and continues to bake vegan foods today, Karina has gained many useful tactics and tips.
“Just because ingredients such as eggs, butter, and dairy milk have been used for many years – doesn’t mean that foods can’t be good without it. Even though there are certain ingredients vegan bakers have to avoid, there is no limit to the foods they can create,” Karina said.
Eggs are one ingredient that are used in a wide variety of ways for different baking recipes. This means that eggs have multiple kinds of replacements in vegan cooking. While vegan egg replacement powders exist, another alternative includes aquafaba (canned chickpea liquid).
Clare Broud, a vegan baker who has worked with a local market to sell vegan goods, recommends a variety of vegan egg replacements depending on the recipe.
“Egg replacement powder (I use Bob’s Red Mill) is very convenient to have on hand, and I find it works in almost every recipe. Mashed banana and applesauce are egg replacements that are often already in anyone’s pantry, but just keep in mind that they will add a banana or applesauce flavor to your baked good. Another good egg replacement is either chia seeds, flax seeds, or baking soda mixed with water. I use these egg replacements most often because I can use each one of these ingredients for other purposes in other recipes. If you are veganizing a recipe, be cautious of trying to replace more than three eggs because that can mess with the chemistry of the recipe,” Broud said.
Additionally, Broud stated that she has used aquafaba as an “egg wash” and in French toast, and that aquafaba is useful for vegan marshmallows and desserts that “have an airy, fluffy quality, like macaroons, cake, or mousse.” Overall, Broud recognized several ingredients that are good to have on hand when baking.
“It’s important to have the substitutes you need on hand: your choice of non-dairy milk, vegan butter (I use Earth Balance) or coconut oil, and a couple of egg substitutes. I also always have non-dairy vegan chocolate chips on hand, because chocolate makes everything better. Agave or maple syrup is also a great alternative to honey that’s great to have on hand. Cashews and Dates are also important for raw vegan desserts especially.”
Another ingredient that is substituted in vegan bakes is sweetened condensed milk, which is traditionally used in recipes like tres leches cake, or ‘three milk’ cake.
“I have used canned coconut milk or non-dairy creamer as a substitute before, but there are many recipes on the internet that use soymilk powder to create a substitute for those who don’t like the coconut taste,” Broud said.
Not only does Broud use fruit when baking, but she also utilizes vegetables like sweet potatoes. Her favorite vegan recipe to make is “purple sweet potato granola bars with oats, vegan chocolate chips, purple sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and some other mix ins!”
“From carrot cake, sweet potato pancakes, chocolate zucchini bread, and pumpkin sugar cookies, vegetables are super easy to sneak into your baked goods for more nutrition and great taste! It may seem strange or unappetizing, but when done right, your desserts will be even more delicious than before. I also love the color vegetables give to baked goods,” Broud said.
While Broud is excited to recreate a vegan King Cake from scratch in the future, as it is an annual tradition for Mardi Gras, a Cajun holiday, Karina Rose often works with Latin American recipes. When working on Latinx or Mexican recipes she becomes excited because “it’s something I already know and feel comfortable with,” Karina said.
A suggestion Karina has for all bakers is to try using Mexican vanilla in place of typical vanilla to achieve what she finds to be a sweeter flavor. Along with Mexican vanilla, Karina counts flour as a staple ingredient in her baking. Flour is crucial in several of the recipes Karina recommends for beginner bakers as well.
“I will say, ALWAYS be stocked on flour. That ingredient runs out so fast, and you never want to run out of flour in the middle of baking,” Karina said. “For beginners, I recommend starting with cakes, galettes, and bread! Bread is one of the easiest things to make; it just takes a lot of time. But also, never be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone. In baking, the only way you’ll get better is by figuring it out and practicing. So, take on a challenge every now and then,” she suggested.
Additionally, Broud recommends trying out different flavor combinations when baking sweet breads. These include chocolate zucchini and pumpkin pecan. However, for vegan bakers who are seeking out a bigger challenge, one can try baking croissants from scratch. Croissants take several days to accomplish since they are made of laminated dough, which requires dough and vegan butter to be folded neatly many times without the vegan butter melting.
Pie crust can also be a good choice for those who want to challenge their baking skills. Although there are store bought vegan options for pie crusts and pastry puff dough, these can be homemade. Whether basic or challenging, however, Broud noted several technical and non-technical skills that bakers should focus on to accomplish successful bakes.
“While you need the basic baking skills like measuring and careful and proper mixing, with vegan baking, nontechnical skills like patience, perseverance, and improvisation are equally as important. It is important to be patient when waiting for your egg or buttermilk replacement to set or when you wait for dough that’s rising or chilling. Trying a new vegan recipe does not always turn out the way you want it to, but it is important to keep persevering and trying new and different recipes. Improvisation is also important,” Broud stated.
Despite the fact that some recipes are difficult to perfect, Rose encouraged bakers to “let go of the pressure” that can accompany intimidating baking and for bakers to enjoy themselves.
“Cooking seems so intimidating because you feel the need to be precise, but you won’t always be perfect. Food is so much more than just fuel. There is a story behind every dish you make, why it was created, who made it, where it came from, the emotions it holds and even the people you enjoy it with,” Karina Rose said.
The FDA does not intend to object to the food industry making certain temporary and minor formulation changes without making conforming label changes when there are supply disruptions or an ingredient shortage exists as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This does not apply to substitutions that could result in safety concerns without a label change or providing other means to inform consumers, such as the eight major food allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, wheat, fish, and crustacean shellfish), and several other foods (such as sesame, celery, lupin, buckwheat, molluscan shellfish, and mustard) recognized as priority allergens in other parts of the world. During this time, FDA does not intend to object if a manufacturer chooses to substitute a declared natural flavor for another natural flavor.
Though there are some vegetarian and vegan issues here, those with allergies should be especially vigilant.
(Serves 4 for sandwiches or 10 for using with a dip or spread)
In the bread baking craze, don’t forget this wonderful eat-with-your-hands loaf, focaccia! These small, flat loaves come together easily and are ideal for novice bakers. They aren’t as fussy as sandwich or artisan loaves, and it’s easy to mix it up with flavors. Rosemary, basil, or even a spice blend can step in for thyme in this recipe. Serve warm or cool, also great for roasted veggie sandwiches.
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vegan sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons active baker’s yeast
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for topping
1 teaspoon salt
Heat 3/4 cup water to 100-110 degrees, but not warmer. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, this is about wrist-warm, like you’d use to check a baby bottle. Dissolve sugar in warmed water and sprinkle in yeast. Allow to sit and get bubble/foamy for about 7-10 minutes. The yeast will activate and eat the sugar, and there may even be a subtle beer-like or bread-like smell. If nothing happens, the yeast might be dead and you will need to repeat with different yeast.
In a bowl, combine both flours, dried thyme and 1/4 cup olive oil. When yeast is ready, add to flour mixture and combine well. Doughball should stick together and be a true ball, not sticking to the sides. If there is lose dry flour, add water one-tablespoon at a time; if the dough is too wet, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time. Doughball should be smooth and hold its form, even when picked up. Once formed, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then allow to rest and rise in the bowl for about 30 minutes.
While dough rises, prepare a cast iron pan, about 9 to 12 inches in diameter. It doesn’t have to be precise, the dough will work in anything that’s about the right size. Use olive oil to make sure the inside of the cast iron is well-greased. Set aside.
After 30 minutes, punch down the dough and knead an additional 5 to 7 minutes. form into a disc shape and place in cast iron. Work the dough until it fill the bottom of the pan. Lightly brush the top with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a kitchen towel and set side to rise for 45-60 minutes. In the last few minutes of the second rise time, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
If desired, use your thumb or the end of spoon to press dimples into the focaccia before baking. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until baked through, lightly browned, and a hard crust has formed. Allow to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Note: Any salt will work for the top of the focaccia, however smoked salt or flake salt both add something special – if you have access to those varieties! Want to make this focaccia summery? Add zest of one lemon to the dough with the thyme. Bright and delicious!
Create and submit a video relating what you want to tell others about veganism. Some possible topics: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism, water usage and vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights, or other vegan topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made.
Aspects of judging include accuracy and judges wanting to share the video with others. Entrants give permission to The Vegetarian Resource Group to post and share the video, to link to and from the video, and share the video with the media. Deadline to enter this year is July 15, 2020.
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on veganism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger. We have been helping health professionals, food services, businesses, educators, students, vegans, and vegetarians since 1982. In addition to publishing the Vegan Journal, VRG produces and sells a number of books.
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