Sherry Monahan writes:

Hello, I’m the marketing coordinator for Mindful Medley. We’re a new start-up company who prepares pre-portioned meatless meal ingredients to homes. We deliver to D.C., Virginia, and North and South Carolina. We can customize for vegan, gluten-free, and more. We were hoping you might share this.

Our website with all the details is: http://www.mindfulmedley.com

Whether it’s an office party, family gathering, or other festive event, finger foods are the perfect item to serve. Zel Allen’s recent Vegetarian Journal article offers recipes for Overstuffed Spuds, Almond and Olive-Stuffed Brussels Sprouts, Red Light Stuffed Mushrooms, Spanish Tapenade Stuffed Tomatoes, Teriyaki Tempeh Bites, Pickled Vegetables, Smoky Garlic-Stuffed Endive, Tahini Peanut Confections, and Choco Caramel Confections.

For the complete article, see: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue4/2015_issue4_finger_foods.php

To Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/

Also, Zel Allen is author of several vegan cookbooks including Vegan for the Holidays, which you can purchase from The Vegetarian Resource Group: http://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=91

RelayFoods.com, an online grocery store with a mission to make eating quality, healthy, sustainable food simple is offering a discount for you. Shop their catalog of Vegan and Vegetarian Products https://www.relayfoods.com/search?q=tag=6WX

Also, see recipes at: https://www.relayfoods.com/meals/dishes?f=vegan

Be sure to use coupon code VRG20 to save $20 off your first $50 order through 12/31/2016. Offering online ordering for local, organic, and everyday groceries, and home delivery or free pick up.

Reader Erb Cooper sent this information from Trader Joe’s:

“Thank you for your emails and patience as we researched your inquiry for our Sliced Muenster. We do appreciate your feedback regarding our Soy Chorizo and it does appear there is some confusion. Our current selection of our Soy Chorizo is a vegan selection and no longer just vegetarian. This product should still also include our Vegan logo and do hope you’ll check it out on your next visit.

Our Sliced Muenster Cheese is a vegetarian selection. The rennet used is microbial as noted on our label, and we have confirmed that the enzymes listed are also non-animal, microbial based. We hope this is helpful.”

Sincerely,
Trader Joe’s
Customer Relations

Editor’s Note: Trader Joe’s offers Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds in their produce section.

Oil plays a significant role in the Chanukah story—a small jug of oil miraculously provided fuel for the Temple Menorah for eight days. As a result, Jews traditionally eat oily foods on Chanukah. Among the most popular Chanukah dishes are potato latkes (pancakes). Here are two vegan recipes you might want to try this year.

Potato Pancakes (from Meatless Meals for Working People)
Serves 6

3 cups cooked white potatoes, mashed
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons oil

Mix the mashed potatoes, onion, and seasonings together. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Pour pancakes onto heated pan and fry on each side until light brown (about 8 minutes per side). Serve warm alone or with applesauce.

Quinoa/Sweet Potato Patties (from Conveniently Vegan)
Makes 8

1½ cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups water
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons oil

Place sweet potatoes in a medium-size pot with 4 cups water over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook 35 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Drain and mash potatoes.

Meanwhile, place the quinoa and 2 cups water in a separate medium-size pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes.

Mix mashed sweet potatoes and cooked quinoa together along with the cinnamon. Form 8 patties and place in a lightly oiled large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes on each side and serve warm.

Now that December has arrived, you may be in the mood for some delicious vegan soups. Chef Nancy Berkoff shares recipes for making vegetable stock at home, as well as Mushroom Broth. She also offers festive soups including Black and White Bean Soup, Spinach and Pasta Soup, Holiday Chowder, and Latke Soup (great for Chanukah, which starts this Sunday night).

See: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2015issue4/2015_issue4_holiday_soups.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit: http://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

Each year, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is known as Giving Tuesday, a day set aside to donate to non-profit organizations doing good work all year long. The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) would greatly appreciate your support. Visit: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some of the ways your donation will be used throughout the year to come:

$25 Sponsors sending Vegetarian Journal for a year to a Vegetarian or Animal Rights Group located overseas in a poor country.

$50 Would go towards reprinting copies of Vegan Diets in a Nutshell. See: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

$100 The cost to send a box of vegan literature to a student vegetarian/animal rights/environmental organization for outreach on their campus.

$200 Allows VRG to send Vegetarian Journal for a year to 20 high school students applying to the Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship.

$300 To print VRG Banners to use at outreach tables throughout the USA.

$500 Will enable us to give runner-up scholarships to high school seniors who promote veganism

$1,000 So we can reprint our Spanish coloring book. See: El Arco Iris Vegetariano

We received the following note from Michael Briscoe:

Dear Vegetarian Resource Group,

I am a sociology graduate student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs conducting a study on the experience of vegetarians.

I am writing you to ask for your help in the distribution of a survey designed to better understand the experience of your readers, as many of them may be vegetarians.

Here is a link to the survey for your readers:
http://goo.gl/forms/JX4kRNxvrR

Reader Carolyn Stephens wanted everyone to know about the cartoon Mutts and all its animal rights themes, but especially the quotes from Pope Francis it featured.

“It would also be mistaken to view other living beings as mere objects subjected to arbitrary human domination.” (The cartoonist had a picture of a dog chained up.)

“Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.” (Pictures of many animals holding paws and flippers)

See: http://catholicherald.com/stories/Mutts-comic-strip-features-a-weeks-worth-of-quotes-from-Pope-Francis,30058

The Vegetarian Resource Group will be exhibiting at The Vegetarian Society of DC’s Annual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. If you’re attending this meal, please stop by the VRG booth and say hello. Happy Thanksgiving!