Last month, Compassionate Action for Animals announced the first annual Twin Cities Veggie Awards, a new program that acknowledges the best of the best of veg-friendly businesses in the Twin Cities.

For this first round of awards, we gathered a panel of five of our community members to choose the five winners. Each of the recipients received acknowledgement on our blog and a framed certificate.

Here they are:

• French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
• Hard Times Cafe
• The Herbivorous Butcher
• Milkjam Creamery
• Reverie Cafe + Bar

  

The blog also lists all of the thirteen businesses in the Twin Cities that offer only vegan products as well as a list of eleven of the finalists, veg-friendly businesses that offer a great selection of outstanding vegan options. Though these finalists didn’t win the award, we wanted to be sure people know about them and support them.

Of course, the real winner is our community. This shift toward having more vegan options in the marketplace is undeniably gaining momentum, and we take it as a sign of great things to come. This consumer demand for more vegan products means fewer animal products being purchased and, ultimately, fewer animals suffering.

We can feel like we’re winning in that regard, for sure! And if you’d like to celebrate, I hope you’ll join us for our next festive event, Summer Soirée: A Benefit for Twin Cities Veg Fest on Wednesday, July 27 from 7 to 10pm at the award-winning Reverie Cafe + Bar. This is a great way to support Twin Cities Veg Fest, celebrate with the community, and enjoy all the amazing vegan nosh that Reverie has to offer. Reserve your tickets today!

Best wishes,

Justin Leaf

Communications & Events Coordinator

Check it out! This fantastic animation was created by Sydney Terwey, Cade Isaacs, and Hai Lo, who were all students at The Art Institutes International of Minnesota. They used their time and talents to share their enthusiasm for Twin Cities Veg Fest, and we love what they came up with.

After helping to create this animation, Sydney went on to intern with us at CAA in the spring of 2016. We’re very grateful for all that she contributed to the organization during that time.

Twin Cities Veg Fest 2016 will take place on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, from 11am to 4pm each day. Share this video and let your friends that they can now save the dates for this fun festival!

A shorter version of this article was included in the most recent edition of Twin Cities Veg Living, the CAA magazine. Here is the complete version, with even more tips on egg-free baking.

Did you know that often you can simply leave eggs out of a recipe and have great results? Not ready to try that just yet? We’ve got you covered. Consider this a primer on egg replacement for vegan baking. You can search online for endless resources giving you greater detail. It’s easy to veganize a recipe once you understand why the eggs are used.

1.     They add moisture and richness.
2.     They work as a leavening agent.
3.     They work as a binder.

Each of these plant-based foods replaces one egg:

•     1 tablespoon to ¼ cup applesauce
•     1 ripe banana, mashed
•     1 tablespoon ground chia seeds with 3 tablespoons boiling water
•     1 tablespoon EnerG Egg Replacer mixed with ¼ cup boiling water
•     1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds with 2 to 4 tablespoons of boiling water
•     ¼ cup mashed potatoes
•     ¼ cup blended prunes
•     ¼ cup cooked blended pumpkin
•     ¼ cup mashed silken tofu
•     1 tablespoon vinegar or 2 tablespoons lemon juice with 1 teaspoon baking soda

Now let’s test-drive your new skills. Try this recipe as it is and then try it again using another egg replacement option. Let the tasty fun begin!

Chedda Jalapeño Muffins

Yields 12 muffins

These delicious muffins offer up a great combo of nondairy cheese and heat. You will find “chedda cheeze” and jalapeños through and through with every bite. Either eaten alone, with a robust salad, or with a hearty vegan chili, these muffins land just right on the palate.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon EnerG Egg Replacer ¼ cup boiling water ¼ cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup unrefined sugar 1 cup nondairy milk, plus more as needed 1 ½ cup shredded nondairy cheddar cheese shreds ½ cup minced canned or fresh jalapeño chile

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin tin.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and into a medium bowl and set aside.

Put 2 tablespoons of the boiling water and the egg replacer in a small bowl and whisk until the mixture is thick and gelatinous. Add additional water as necessary. Set aside.

Mix the oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg replacer and continue to mix until well combined.

Alternating in small amounts, add the dry mixture and the nondairy milk to the wet mixture, stirring continuously until all of the dry mixture and nondairy milk have been added and a batter has been formed. If the mixture is too dry or thick, add up to 1/3 cup additional nondairy milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. The batter will be thick. Add the nondairy cheese and chile and mix until incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Let the muffins rest in the muffin tin for about 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Sit back and enjoy alone or with friends. These muffins will stay fresh up to 1 week when stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Variation For even more flavor, replace the unbleached all-purpose flour with 1 cup spelt flour, 1 cup oat flour, and 1 cup rice flour.

AmyLeo Barankovich, a passionate vegan chef, began cooking for a family of ten at the age of 13 and has since been delighting family, friends, and colleagues with creative, delicious wholesome food. She founded The Vegan Pantry: Where Taste Meets Grace, offering private and public cooking classes, personal chef services, vegan coaching, and restaurant consulting. Learn more at veganaffairsmn.com.

Our 2016 Annual Banquet was popular for many reasons, but perhaps the most drool-worthy aspect of this yearly fundraiser was the gourmet meal.

The menu had an Italian theme and was created by volunteer Jared Rolsky. Many additional volunteers helped with food preparation, and by the end of the night lots of people were talking about how good and filling the food was.

You are certainly welcome to try your hand at making these plant-based dishes at home. Here are the recipes:

• Vegan Stuffed Shells
• Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
• Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Thanks again to all of our volunteers who helped to prepare the food and to The Herbivorous Butcher who sponsored the event by donating their vegan Italian sausage and nondairy mozzarella.

Thursday, April 28 is the 22nd annual Dining Out for Life event in Minnesota. When you dine at one of the 200 participating restaurants on that day, a portion of the proceeds benefits The Aliveness Project, an organization that serves HIV-positive Minnesotans with a comprehensive array of programs.

Here’s a list of some of our favorite participating restaurants that offer good vegan options. We’ve included what percentage of proceeds will be donated to the Aliveness Project, which mealtimes apply, and what the restaurants have to offer.

• Pizza Nea
  • 50%
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • Authentic Italian cuisine featuring pizza made with vegan meats and cheeses from The Herbivorous Butcher
• Birchwood Cafe
  • 35%
  • Dinner
  • Fresh food with down-home appeal
• Moto-I
  • 35%
  • Dinner
  • Ramen and sake house offering Japanese cuisine with many vegan options
• Pizza Luce (all locations; dine in only)
  •  35%
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • Vegan pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and more
• The Wedge Table
  • 35%
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Cooperative cafe and market with lots of vegan options
• May Day Cafe
  • 25%
  • Breakfast, Lunch
  • Cozy cafe with awesome vegan scones, cookies, burritos, and more
• Vo’s Vietnamese Restaurant
  • 25%
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • Vietnamese cuisine with very vegan-friendly menu
• Ginger Hop Restaurant
  • 20%
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • Asian cuisine in swanky setting
• Galactic Pizza
  • 20%
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • Vegan pizza and nondairy cheesecake
• Hard Times Cafe
  • 20%
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Collectively owned diner with lots of vegan comfort food

Dining Out for Life offers a fantastic opportunity to support people in Minnesota living with HIV and to make compassionate meal choices at the same time. With 200 restaurants participating in Minnesota, you’re sure to find excellent vegan options on many of the menus. Use your dollars to make a difference!