Watermelon Slushy by Gnewvegan

With the summer time here the one thing I enjoy making is slushy's and smoothies. Especially on those hot days or mornings when you are too hot to drink coffee. I made a very nice smoothie today with protein powder but I forgot to measure the quantity. I was too in a rush to drink it. :) So that will be for next time. Today I am posting my recipe for a watermelon slushy. I drank the whole thing but it can be for two people as well, 1 cup each. Here's to the beginning of summer.

Watermelon Slushy
2 servings (1 cup each)

1 cup chopped watermelon (seedless or remove seeds)
1/2 teaspoon powdered lemonade mix
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 and 1/4 cup ice

Blend together and enjoy.


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Gnewvegan

Fresh Herbs from the garden

One thing about the summer approaching that I look forward to is planting some herbs and flowers. There is nothing like fresh herbs to give your food a wholesome flavor to it.. In the winter I have to rely on store bought but I love going to my garden and picking my own freshly grown herbs.. I also like to plant some flowers as well. In the pictures below you will see everything I planted except the tomato plant. That is in a container as well. The tomato plant is called "patio" container plant and hopefully cherry tomato's will grow. Last year was the first time I planted a tomato plant in a container. Only two grew because I learned the container was too small. This year I bought a nice size pot so we will see what happens.

Thyme and Oregano



Parsley, Chives and dill

Dahlia's

Petunia's

Mint and Basil

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Gnewvegan

Vegan French Toast by Gnewvegan

On the weekends I enjoy spending a little more time on breakfast because during the week it is usually not possible. French toast is one of those recipes I enjoy. Here is my recipe for veganized French Toast. Treat yourself to a tasty breakfast treat. You can serve this with fruit, vegan breakfast sausage or bacon..

French Toast

Serves one

Ingredients

2 slices whole wheat toast
1 Tablespoon apple sauce (not chunky)
4 Tablespoons plain soy milk
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vegan margarine (or more if needed)
Ground cinnamon, desired amount. (optional)

Directions

1- In a breading pan (or dish) combine the apple sauce, soy milk, water, and cinnamon if using. Mix well to have a smooth mixture.
2- Preheat a non- stick griddle for about one minute. Melt margarine in pan, spread over pan with spatula.
3- Dip each slice of bread in apple/ soy mixture and coat both sides well. (* see G note)
4- Place on griddle and brown both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes each side, until desired level of brown. (* see G note) Serve as desired.

G Note - * When coating the bread sometimes I find you have to take a fork and smear some parts of the bread that may not have been fully coated.
* When browning the bread I find that 4 to 5 minutes is the general time of browning I like. Sometimes it may take 3 minutes when doing the second side due to increase heat on the griddle . My suggestion is to lift up one side of the bread with a spatula and see if there is a nice even coating of brown.

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Gnewvegan

Vegan eats at a Caribbean Restaurant

A few friends of mine and I went to eat at a Caribbean restaurant. I was not sure that they would have something to eat that I could have but to my surprise they had a few vegetarian items. I inquired about what was in one of them and was happy to find out I could eat it. They had a jerked spice tofu, a vegetable chop suey, I forgot one of them and the rasta pasta... I was in the mood for pasta that night so the rasta pasta it was.. I had penne style and it had a vegetable like spinach (I can not remember the name), red, green, yellow peppers and a wonderful flavor to it.. I have a picture to follow. The music and atmosphere were wonderful. It was great to sit and eat while listening to jamming Caribbean music played by a two man band. It is really a nice surprise when you go to a restaurant that you did not expect to find a dish you can eat and see some nice options on the menu. I am finding more places seem to be expanding their menu to suit a variety of dietary types. Happy vegan eating. I will definitely go back and inquire about the other vegetarian dishes for some more Caribbean dining.






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Gnewvegan

Veggie Pride Parade

On May 18, 2008 the first veggie pride parade in America was held in Greenwich Village, New York City. I was very excited to have been able to be a part of this day. I have never marched in a parade in New York City and this was a wonderful experience. Some people were dressed in costumes such as banana's, peppers, pea pod, and a pig to name a few. Various signs showing support for the vegetarian, vegan, and going green lifestyle where soaring for all eyes to see. One guy was ringing a bell from his window as we walked by. We marched through the streets and onlookers were taking pictures and smiling. What a feeling actually walking in the street as traffic had to be diverted or wait for us to pass by... It really was an amazing feeling.. The march ended at Washington Square park where there were various booths and a performance by the Cheryl Hill band. Even when it started raining the pride in this day could not be dampened. Below are some pictures of the the first veggie pride parade..



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The chant of the day was be green, go veggie!!!



Gnewvegan

Interesting vegan websites

While I was on the internet I came across the vegan society web site and a hospital catering book that they made.. I looked at it and it is interesting. It has information on what vegan is, why people become vegan, vegan foods, and some recipes. I thought it would be interesting to share. I am also posting another website that has useful information on being vegan, substitutes, etc.

http://www.vegansociety.com/images/HospitalCateringBooklet.pdf

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/

http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/foods.html

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My Vegan Chit Chat :)

This is just a post for chit chat. As I have written about before I enjoy trying new things more now since I became vegan. It is a nice feeling to add a new addition of food style to my food choices. When I was not vegan and I would have something with cheese I never like pieces of cheese, only melted or in a ravioli for example. So when I eat tofu I prefer thin or small pieces. I had not tried tofu scramble before and thought it was time. I was reading a blog that talked about options for tofu scramble. A seasoning packet made for tofu scramble was mentioned (I can not remember the name) and Amy’s frozen entrees was also mentioned. She has a tofu scramble entree. I had mentioned Amy’s entrees before in a previous post. Once in a while I may use a frozen entree and it was nice to find good tasting, vegan, frozen entrees. So, I decided to try Amy’s tofu scramble before I start trying other’s recipes and then making my own variety.. Well, it was filling and very tasty. Of course it does not taste like scrambled egg’s but It hits the spot.. I will now be trying recipes and a creation of my own will be in the works.. :)
One of the last restaurants that I went out to was an Indian restaurant. And there I experienced the dosa.. I had never heard of a dosa and when I first saw it I could not imagine eating it all. But I did and it was yummy.. It looked like a giant crepe in the shape of a log. In it you can have choices such as potatoes with spices and rice mixtures . It is served with varieties of chutney. I believe I had coconut, lentil, and I forget the third type of chutney. I folded the dosa in half as I saw others do and broke off pieces dipping it into the chutney. It was yummy. Some of the chutney was spicy to me so I had plenty of water.. But it was worth it... Chatting that night I learned that Southern Indian food is usually vegan. You have to just make sure there is no Ghee in your food which is a form of dairy. So now I know to ask for no ghee in my food when I go to an Indian rest. Here is a website that tells you about ghee.
http://www.food-india.com/ingredients/i001_i025/i007.htm
Next time I will take a picture of my dosa but here is a website which shows you a picture of a dosa.
http://www.top-indian-recipes.com/indian-dosa-recipes.htm
Some time ago I wrote about another Indian restaurant I had went to where they had a buffet and one half the buffet was vegetarian and the other vegan. I am really enjoying my taste of Indian food and experimenting at home. I also find it very interesting to go into an Indian grocery store. There are so many varieties of spices and foods.. And it is there I found ready made dough in various forms without egg. I had been looking for that and was so glad to have found that. It is really nice to add different cultures into my eating habits as it opens up new doors of food enjoyment.
And on a sweet note , one night I wanted a sweet treat and remembered a post on a blog I read "A vegan life" (It is on my list of blog’s I read). The author showed a picture of a french twist vegan treat and gave the website to the products. Here is the website:
http://barrysbakery.com/
Well, I went into the grocery store and saw french twists in two flavors and they said non- dairy, no eggs.... I read the ingredients and happily bought them because they were vegan.. It was the store brand not the one posted on the latter blog site.. But I thank Allie for that post because my craving was fulfilled. Happy Vegan eating...



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Gnewvegan