Some of you know I have been a vegetarian since the 70’s when, just before Thanksgiving (think pumpkin cheesecake), my husband announced he was going vegan. My first inclination was, “Okay, good luck. You’re on your own.” But after the initial shock wore off I found myself adapting to the challenge of making food all of us could enjoy. Often it would take the form of simply omitting cheese in the vegan version of a particular dish and other times it meant making two separate versions of the same meal. With the addition of a vegan son-in-law our multi-dish fate was sealed.

And it made cooking an adventure again as I worked my way adapting regular vegetarian dishes (read cheese/eggs/butter/cow’s milk) into those that didn’t involve any animal input. It has been another step in the food revolution in our extended household and I find myself embracing this way of eating.

When I found myself feeling the urge to educate others on the joys of vegan cooking I created The Vegan Test Kitchen - introduced as an adult education cooking class where we made three eggless versions of chocolate chip cookies. We moved onto burgers in the subsequent class and were about to launch into lasagna when COVID hit and that class went down. Now it’s all about teaching a cooking class virtually, which I find more of a challenge than converting recipes to reflect a vegan sensibility.

So, reluctant no more as I embrace this way of eating. Personally, I haven’t made that final leap to total veganism as I still eat a commercial treat now and again and find I use cheese less and less, but I can easily foresee a time when these too are gone from my diet.

   

I first made this coffee cake during the summer using a mixture of berries when they could be had wonderfully fresh and readily available. With Thanksgiving approaching those fresh berries aren’t to be found (at least not berries that taste like real, fresh berries). But I do have a bag of locally grown cranberries and want a coffee cake to help make this frigid Maine morning more tolerable. I’m attempting a third adaptation of a coffee cake recipe I found and it can be found below.


Ingredients: 
Streusel Topping: 
•   1/4 cup all purpose flour
•   1 cup chopped walnuts
•   1/2 cup brown sugar (organic & vegan) 
•   1 tsp. cinnamon
•   few scrapes of nutmeg
•   3 Tbsp. organic virgin coconut oil, melted
Cake: 
•   1 cup all purpose flour
•   1 cup ww pastry flour
•   1/2 cup raw sugar (organic & vegan)
•   1 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
•   1 tsp. baking soda
•   1/2 tsp. salt
•   1 cup unsweetened almond milk
•   1/2 cup canola oil
•   1 Tbsp. organic apple cider vinegar
•   2 cups cranberries, rinsed & tossed with sugar

Preparation: 
Streusel: 
In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, coconut chips, sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Add coconut oil & toss with two forks until it appears crumbly (crumbs should be the size of small peas). 
Cake: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan. 
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, & salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together almond milk, coconut oil, vinegar & vanilla. 
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture & whisk until just combined (do not over mix!). Gently fold in the berries. 
Fill the prepared pan with batter & evenly sprinkle the streusel topping. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered, then cover with foil & bake another 10 minutes. Let cool, slice, & serve.

Adapted  from Vegenista via Chloe’s Vegan Desserts

My husband and I have been vegetarians for many years, way back when the revolutionary vegetarian cookbook, Diet for a Small Planet, first came into being. So it’s been a long time. We were both raised on the typical American Baby Boomer diet of canned everything, processed-to-nutritional-death quick foods, meat at all meals and Jello. The beginnings were interesting, to say the least, but after all the years we definitely have it down and raised our three kids that way. We didn’t eat animal flesh but included dairy and eggs.

It didn’t come as a big shock when my husband told me (just before Thanksgiving, mind you) that he was turning vegan. My initial reaction was, “Okay, but you’re on your own.” I was, and still am, the chief cook in this house and the thought of adapting our diet, when I was feeling more and more like I wanted to be out of the kitchen, was not one I welcomed. And what about birthday cakes, special holiday dinner roles, cookies and pancakes? How do those work without butter, milk and eggs? Argh!

Adapting a vegetarian entrée to a vegan one is pretty simple for most meals. Just keep out the cheese and a non-vegan spread replaces the butter and the milk easily subbed by most non-dairy versions. But the eggs? How the heck do I bake without eggs?

What follows is my journey into veganism. All of it isn’t pretty as I flounder about trying to create a meal (and dessert!) that satisfies the vegans (now two in the family) and my lacto-ova vegetarian self. And as I share my trials and errors, I would love to hear of the successes of other explorers into the world of totally ‘no animal products what so ever’.

I know you’re out there!