Archive for July, 2010

How to Make Delicious 4th of July Vegan Desserts

Make this 4th of July memorable with vegan desserts that are new yet traditional.  While vegans do not typically eat white cane sugar due to the animal remains used in the refining process, there are many other sweeteners vegans can use to make yummy desserts.  Many vegans will eat beet sugar since its manufacturing process does not involve animal remains.  Some other alternative sweeteners for vegans include brown rice syrup, yacon syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup, stevia, Sucanat, and evaporated cane juice. For delicious 4th of July vegan desserts, try some of these ideas. 1. Patriotic Parfait In parfait cups, wine glasses, or other clear cups, layer blueberries, strawberries, and unsweetened flaked coconut for a red, white and blue dessert.  Drizzle agave nectar over each layer if you like.  As a variation, try using sliced bananas instead of coconut, blackberries instead of blueberries, and cherries instead of strawberries. 2. Cocoa-nut Balls Grind 1 cup of raw, unsalted almonds in a blender or food processor until fine.  To the ground almonds, add: 1/4 cup safflower oil 1/4 cup coconut oil Blend well. Then add: 2 cups of cocoa powder 1/3 cup agave nectar (adjust to taste) 1/4 tsp. salt Blend these ingredients until a stiff dough forms.  Form into balls and roll in ...

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Vegetarian Fourth of July Party Ideas

The great American Fourth of July picnic, with its traditional foods like grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and fried chicken, is something vegetarians can enjoy participating in, too.  Here are some ideas for making your Fourth of July very vegetarian. The Grill The outdoor grill is actually very conducive to preparing vegetarian fare.  There is quite an array of pre-prepared, frozen burgers made from vegetable protein available in grocery stores.  There are also hot dogs made from soy protein.  Perhaps even more satisfying is making your own veggie burger patties and grilling them outside.  There are many recipes online and in vegetarian (and conventional) cookbooks.  Home-made black bean burgers are especially good on the grill. Grilled vegetables are versatile and tasty.  Corn, zucchini, summer squash, onions, and bell peppers are all in season around July 4th, so use them liberally.  You can prepare the vegetables simply by brushing them with olive oil as they grill and sprinkling on salt and pepper to taste, or get more elaborate and marinate sliced vegetables for a few hours before grilling. Sandwiches Some vegetarians eat eggs.  If that describes you, why not make egg salad sandwiches for your party?  If you don't eat eggs, consider substituting firm tofu, chopped, for ...

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