Awakening the inner vegan in all of us

By Barb Randall

The Lake Oswego Review, Jun 26, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (4 Reader comments)

Kristen Forbes

Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes.

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My friend Emily Pepe with Northwest VEG (Vegetarian Education and Empowerment Group) e-mailed to make sure I had heard that Oprah Winfrey – you know, the talk show host? – was going vegan for 21 days as part of her promotion of a new book, “Quantum Wellness,” written by vegan self-help author Kathy Freston.

“Because of Oprah, thousands of loyal viewers around the country are exploring veganism right now and following Oprah’s dietary musings on her official blog,” she wrote.

Vegans do not consume animal products of any kind – that means no meat, milk products, eggs or even honey. They feel that just like humans, animals think and feel pain.

Emily noted that she is seeing more people try veganism as part of their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint.

Better health is another reason people become vegans. Many doctors, including the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) agree that a diet rich in plant-based foods is the most beneficial. They contend that a plant-based diet can not only prevent heart disease, but has been shown to actually reverse some forms of heart disease.

Emily told me about a group of activists who were organizing Try Vegan Pdx, a week-long event to encourage omnivores like me to try out the vegan diet.

As locavores (omnivores eating locally grown foods), my husband Mark and I eat vegetarian cuisine frequently; I thought it would be a snap to be vegan for a week. Always game for a unique experience, Mark volunteered to join in the fun.

It was my good fortune that the Try Vegan PDX folks assigned Chelsea Lincoln to be my mentor. Chelsea is a recipe developer for Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods in Milwaukie and a walking wealth of knowledge about creative vegan cuisine.

Chelsea introduced me to a number of foods I had not tried, like flageolet beans, kamut berries, almond milk and silken tofu.

This is a sampling of what we ate during our seven day vegan test run:

Breakfasts were cereal with vanilla soy milk and fruit. We were encouraged to try rice milk and almond milk, and Martin Forbes, Review editor, turned me onto chocolate soy milk for my coffee.

Lunches were either salads with kidney or garbanzo beans or wrap sandwiches filled with hummus or tofu paté and crunchy cucumbers, mushrooms, lettuce and spinach, tomatoes, avocado, shredded carrot, etc.

For dinner we ate spinach lasagna made with silken tofu and soy cheese, lentils dressed with a garlicky lemon vinaigrette wrapped in spinach leaves, pasta with basil and roasted red bell peppers, eggplant mozzarella. We ate Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burgers, but I have to tell you, Burgerville’s Oregon Harvest Burger (made by Lake Oswego’s Marie Osmunson and her Chez Gourmet by Marie) is out of this world! (We can buy them in the frozen case at Wizer’s Lake Grove store.)

At the end of the week I felt healthy and lighter. Mark felt no differently physically, but was aware that he didn’t need to eat as much meat as he had been before the try.

Some people regard veganism as restrictive, but we actually found it opened options for us. We ate foods we had previously ignored, like grains and legumes. I know we will return to our omnivorous ways, but as much more conscious eaters, and with a stronger slant to the vegetarian side.

If you want to learn more about veganism, visit Chelsea’s blog at www.flavorvegan.blogspot.com/ or www.nwveg.org or read Oprah’s blog on her Web site, www.oprah.com .

Bon Appetit! Try something new!

Kristen Forbes, freelance writer and daughter of Review Editor Martin Forbes, makes vegan cupcakes every Wednes-day evening and sent a couple in for us to try during our Try Vegan PDX event. They were delicious! She shared a recipe with us.

The Five:30 recipe is Chelsea’s yummy Cashew Spread – try it in a pita or wrap.

Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes

From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Mokowitz and Terry Hope Romero

You will need one batch of each Golden Vanilla Cupcakes, Vanilla Vegan Pastry Créme and Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes)

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cornstarch

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (increase salt to 1/2 tsp if you’re using oil instead of margarine)

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened, or 1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract, caramel extract, or more vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to get good and curdled.

3. If using margarine: Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.

4. In a separate large bowl, use a handheld mixer at medium speed to cream the margarine and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy, but don’t beat past two minutes. Beat in the vanilla and other extract, if using, then alternate beating in the soy milk mixture and dry ingredients, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times.

5. If using oil: Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla and other extracts, if using, in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until no large lumps remain.

6. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes till done. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

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