Mmmm….. Applesauce cake

August 25th, 2010
Mmmmm......

Close up of applesauce cake with sliced pears on top

On Tuesday afternoon, I took this cake and a second version with a few minor changes in the recipe, to the offices of Friends of Animals in Connecticut.  The cake was meant to speak for me and my recipe submissions to the second edition of Dining with Friends.

I met with Priscilla Feral and taste tested the two versions.  We were in agreement that, the first version was good and would be a fine recipe to include in the book.  If only we hadn’t tasted the second version….  This recipe and several others will be tested next week.  Here is hoping they can be replicated by another baker.

As Priscilla said on twitter “Chef Gonepie’s 8-9 NEW, scrumptuous #glutenfree #vegan recipes in ~Dining With Friend’s~2nd edition are secret until book’s out!”

Ingredients: organic applesauce, glutenfree flours (organic sorghum flour, organic millet flour, organic coconut flour, organic brown rice flour, garfava flour, potato flour, tapioca flour),organic sour cream, organic maple syrup, organic vegan sugar, organic safflower oil, organic coconut oil, baking powder, baking soda, spices, xanthan gum, sea salt.

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, gluten-free, uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Vegan and glutenfree oatmeal raisin cookies

August 19th, 2010

vegan glutenfree oatmeal raisin cookies

OK. I love these cookies. We have taste tested and tweaked and perfected this recipe. All that remains is to submit it for the cookbook…. And add some chips and make it our monthly special
(let’s all be polite and not mention that the term monthly when applied to our specials is blatantly inaccurate! Periodic specials sounds weird! Doesn’t it?)

Ingredients: glutenfree oats, organic raisins,organic buckwheat flour, sorghum flour, walnuts, canolaoil, tapioca flour, organic teff flour, organic quinoa flour, organic coconut flour, organic coconut oil, spices, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt.

So order the deluxe version now. Or wait for the cookbook and make your own. Either way, please let us know what you think!

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Posted in Friends of Animals, gluten-free | 1 Comment »

Vegan sour cream recipe Gone Pie stylee

August 18th, 2010

I have been kind of obsessed with making our own vegan alternatives to commercial products lately. As I mentioned in a previous post we have been making sour cream and cream cheese to use in our recipes at the bakery. This was motivated by the so-so taste of the commercially available products, as well as their use of palm oil. I was pretty much working off a standard, functional internet vegan sour cream recipe.  Yesterday I decided to see if I could make a tasty condiment as well as a functional baking ingredient.

The internet recipes I have tried taste a lot like tofu, as does the Tofutti product “Better than Sour Cream”. The Tofutti product was also really, really firm and kind of unpleasant tasting on its own, although fine to bake and cook with. It is much whiter than what I came up with. I tried to select my ingredients with the goal of producing something as close to white as one expects sour cream to be. Alas, it is a tiny bit beige. But let’s focus on the flavor, which I think is quite good.

behold the "sour cream"

I am hoping this recipe will be included in the updated “Dining With Friends”, as it is featured in a couple of the recipes Gone Pie has contributed to the book.


Vegan Tofu Sour Cream

1 pound organic soft tofu
2T fresh organic lemon juice
2-3T organic brown rice vinegar
2T organic brown rice syrup
1/2 t sea salt
1-2T organic coconut oil
1 T mild organic vegetable oil
1/4 t xanthan gum

Gather your ingredients. Put them in your food processor and whirl away until you have a super smooth final product. I let it go several minutes. Patience in the processing will serve you in the final product. The longer you process the tofu etc., the smoother, lighter and better the final product. I definitely recommend letting the sour cream sit over night so the flavors can coalesce.

I used the maximum amount of vinegar and coconut oil. It was nice and sour and I think the coconut oil gave it a nice finished taste. You can definitely use all vegetable oil to replace the coconut oil, if you prefer. I am pretty sure the sour cream will have a hint of tofu flavor if you do that. The brown rice syrup is very mildly sweet and adds a nice sheen. Trust me on the salt and xanthan gum. The recipe really works out well once everything blends together.

I haven’t had non-vegan sour cream in over 20 years, so I am totally not sure if this tastes like the item it is based on. It definitely tastes better than the Tofutti product or the sour creams I made using on-line recipes.  As I taste tested it during the day for texture and flavor, I found myself enjoying it more than I expected. It even had a nearly dairy after taste, although I am not sure if that is a good thing!

I was pretty pleased. Hope you will be too!

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Recipes, palm oil, vegan baking, vegan cooking | 9 Comments »

Veggie Conquest celebrates one year!

August 15th, 2010

The secret ingredient is basil!

I can’t believe it is one year since I went to the first Veggie Conquest.  I have tasted some pretty amazing food at these fun competitions. Honestly Veggie Conquest doesn’t seem particularly competitive at all.  There are prizes and there are winners, but overall, I would say the events are more of a celebration of vegan food and the wide variety of creative/energetic folks that are out there making it! It seems to me, that everyone that attends one of these events is a winner.

It has been amazing to watch Jessica Mahady, the event’s organizer, and her dedicated crew of volunteers make each event better than the one before. Veggie Conquest has an amazingly devoted following and sells out almost instantly. I believe this time, the taster tickets sold out in 10 minutes.

At VC5, we will all be treated to a variety of entrees, each of which will feature basil in it’s creation. I am also delighted to be participating in this event as a judge along with Kevin Archer and Wendy Roberts I have to say, as a timid and less than adventurous eater, these events have been mind and palate expanding. I am definitely relieved that the ingredient being featured this time is one I actively like!

Once again, as at the first event, Gone Pie will be donating glutenfree chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I am also pleased that Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral, the author of two vegan cookbooks, has given me a couple of her cookbooks to contribute as prizes. Priscilla is quite a cook and I am pleased to be working with her on the next edition of “Dining With Friends”.

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Veggie Conquest, vegan cooking, veganism | 1 Comment »

No more palm oil please – Can’t we have true vegan alternatives?

August 11th, 2010
Chocolate

Chocolate sour cream cupcake with rich dark chocolate frosting

The negative effects of palm oil on our environment and the habitats of local populations of humans and non-humans in palm producing regions is detailed in many places.  Like here and  here.  As a May 2010 piece in The Atlantic concludes, palm oil is”… wreaking havoc on the environment.”

As responsible consumers, we have a decision to make – do we or don’t we consume products containing palm oil.  I see this as very unfair.  Why should we take on this burden. Those of use that are vegan  find ourselves faced with a particularly tough choice.  The most popular, palatable and healthy options to dairy products available in stores contain palm.  Having chosen to reduce our impact on the environment and respect all life, we have elected a vegan lifestyle.  We have gotten used to the joys of vegan alternatives and now we are learning many of them are not so vegan after all.

So what are we going to do?  I think it is important that we let these manufacturers know that we can no longer support their products if they do not come up with new products that respect our vegan values.  We need to support companies that do not use palm in their products.  Our beloved Daiya cheese heard our concerns and took the palm out of their products. Wayfare Foods provides some good palm free options and is discussing a new margarine that will be palm free.  Now we’re talking!

We need to continue to let the manufacturers of palm containing (so-called) vegan products know that we will no longer ignore their use of palm.  We need to come together and make a statement.  We need to use our voices to create a popular movement to make this issue the manufacturer’s responsibility, not ours.

Earth Balance is the most popular “vegan” butter alternative on the market. The manufacturers of Earth Balance have offered us a product they say contains palm oil that is responsibly sourced.  The comments section of this post contains a few very crucial points that expose the inaccuracies of Earth Balance’s claims. It appears Earth Balance is trying, just not hard enough.

I have written to Earth Balance with my concerns. I used this email address, hello@earthbalance.net, which Earth Balance gave me via twitter when I asked them if they had any products without palm oil in them. I asked politely and received no reply.

It is time for us to put down the Earth Balance – and other palm containing products – until they respond to our concerns with a truly vegan product.  We will no longer be complicit in their use of ingredients that we as responsible consumers think are inappropriate. We know that if they put their creative processes to work, they can come up with a tasty palm free alternative.

There are several really nice “cream cheese” (one example) and “sour cream” (one example) recipes available on the internet. This is surely no where near as convenient as running to the store.  At Gone Pie we have been making “sour cream” and “cream cheese” for our products for a while now.  This makes sense.  We are a bakery and have all day to do this kind of prep work.  It may seem daunting to folks at home to do the same.  Please look at these recipes.  They are so easy.  And you will find it is SO much cheaper to make your own! Using home made versions just requires a little planning ahead.

There are also margarine recipes I have found on the internet,  but none I am willing to recommend.  I am maybe two steps away from fine tuning mine and I will publish it here when I do.  It has a strong coconut taste and is no where near as neutral as Earth Balance in flavor.  It works for our purposes in baking, but isn’t nearly as good a solution as the public deserves.  And, in all fairness, I must admit I have never made a margarine based frosting in my life, so I have no idea how it will work in frosting recipes.

What about frosting?!?!    I didn’t make butter cream before I was vegan, and I don’t make the vegan counter part now.  But if your tastes are a bit more normal than mine, you crave it!  There are several recipes out there for coconut oil based frostings.  If you want some frosting, you can make it happen!  Check out “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World” for a good coconut based frosting.  I’m sure there are others out there.

The point of all this is to say, we need an option and we need the companies that claim to cater to us to realize we are serious. Come on folks. What do you say? Let’s speak up for what we want! And until these companies respond positively, we will work around their products and continue to create fantastic and tasty cruelty free food. These companies need us far more than we need them!

And now I am going to have a palm free chocolate sour cream cupcake and a cup of tea….

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Posted in palm oil, vegan baking | 9 Comments »

The Law of Pie Must Be Obeyed

August 3rd, 2010
photo by Kathy Patalsky

photo by Kathy Patalsky

We get a lot of emails. Interesting emails. Do you ship here? I have an allergy to this ingredient, can you leave it out of this product? We try to be accommodating whenever possible.

This here email is nothing like that and it is just too great not to share. I love a bit of Americana. That’s what this is I guess — Bible thumping, pie loving Americana. This little letter truly is just a little slice of light!

AUTHOR: Ernest Slyman (Queens, NY)
TITLE: The Law of Pie
Source: Tall Tales of The Bible Belt

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ErnestSlyman

In the Bible Belt, there is the law of pie. If you caught drunk driving in the Bible Belt, you’ve got to recite Bible verses and you can’t eat pie for two weeks. If you rob a bank, and kill two tellers, you can’t eat pie for six years. If you cheat on your taxes you can’t have pie for six months. And if you and your wife fuss and fight over nothing, like who shot the dog. You stop making love. One of you uglier than the other. Here’s some pie. You need it.

If you go to church you deserve a piece of pie. If you dressed up nice and your shoes is shined, you get pie. But if you don’t pray or read your Bible, if you use the Lord’s name in vain, if you womanizing, drunk, gambling, cussing, you ain’t getting no pie. Don’t even ask.

Everything in the Bible Belt are governed by pie. We got the law of pie. If you caught drunk driving in the Bible Belt, you got to recite Bible verses and you can’t eat pie for two weeks. Not a single bite. If you rob a bank, and shoot two tellers, you can’t eat pie for six years. If you cheat on your taxes you can’t have pie for six months. And if you and your wife fuss and fight over nothing, like who shot the dog. You stop making love. One of you acting and talking uglier than the other. Here’s some pie. You need it.

If you go to church you deserve a piece of pie. If you dressed up nice and your shoes is shined, you get pie. You do a good deed, like help an old lady cross the street, or open the door for someone carrying grocery bags, here’s a pie. Help yourself. You deserve it. You are pie-certified. If you jump in the lake and save a child from drowning you get free pie from every restaurant. If you shoot a grizzly bear about to eat somebody, you have won yourself a pie.

The bakery down on West State Street has a sign in the window that says, “Free Pie To Anybody Who Sings A Hymn.” They got a line down there a mile-long. People stand outside the bakery, hoping nobody runs out of pie before they can walk in a sing a gospel song. Yesterday it was blueberry, tomorrow it’s apple, and don’t you know the whole Southeast is excited about it.

If you can pray real good, I mean really pray like Billy Bible, that famous child evangelist who everybody loves, you will receive more pies than you can eat. More pies than it’s humanly possible to consume.

But if you don’t pray or read your Bible, if you use the Lord’s name in vain, if you womanizing, drunk, gambling, cussing, you ain’t getting no pie. Don’t even ask. Don’t whine about it. Don’t smack your lips and point at your open mouth and rub your stomach. You ain’t getting no pie no how no time. The Law of Pie was enacted in 1934, by the then governor of Tennessee, Hoyt Sallerby, of Bristol, Tennessee. He had a vision that if society was governed by who was allowed to eat pie, punishing undesirable behavior by denying people the right to eat pie, we could arrive a state of utopia.

And that’s what has happened. We want to eat pie so bad that we have changed. Criminals who have robbed banks would not think of doing it again. Because they have paid the price. Anyone who sells illegal drugs cannot have pie. Can’t buy a pie. Their lips will never touch a lemon meringue or apple or cherry or pecan or pumpkin pie. Same goes for pickpockets, embezzlers, kidnappers, rapists, burglars and arsonists.

Failure to pay your rent or utility bills in the state of Tennessee will get you on the No Pie List. Use profanity and you go right to the top of the list. And if you smoke or drink too much or gamble or get into a brawl at the local pub, your pie privileges will be suspended indefinitely. If you get caught speeding in your car, if you run a stop sign, if you tailgate or use your cell-phone while driving, what do you think will happen? That’s right. No pie.

Of course, for good god-fearing people, the Law of Pie is easy as pie. But there are those who can’t find it within themselves to obey the law. And for them, the Law of Pie is tyrannical, unforgiving and all encompassing. It’s one dessert that governs us, teaches us how to live within the Law of Pie.

For them that live outside the Law of Pie, you’ll know them because they will be sickly and scrawny. Not eating pie robs the body of nutrients and minerals. Let this be a warning to renegades and ill-mannered folks. Pie has spoken.

Ernest Slyman
eslyman@nyc.rr.com

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ErnestSlyman

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Posted in pie | 3 Comments »

Meet Neville the macaque

July 22nd, 2010
This is Neville. Former Lab Research Animal 29202.

This is Neville. Former Lab Research Animal 29202.

“It’s an extraordinary rescue situation with many young primates, multiple destinations, unprecedented collaborations, and new enclosures being built and fitted quickly at four sites,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Primarily Primates. “We call it Operation Monkey Trek.”

Meet Neville the macaque.  Neville is one of 55 monkeys that had been housed in the Aniclin Preclinical Services lab owned by Azopharma until the lab went into receivership and a court ordered the monkeys released to sanctuaries.  After a life of subjugation in animal experiments, Neville and 54 other macaques will be finding sanctuary in one of four sanctuaries that are making sure these formerly abused animals will be living the best life they can.  Read more details of this triumphant story here!

As Stephen Tello, executive director at Primarily Primates said about the macaques: “These naturally tree-dwelling monkeys would normally be found in coastal forests and rainforests in Southeast Asia, feasting on fruits and seeds.  We’ll be helping these youngsters make the transition to a life and diet as similar as possible to what they’d seek in habitat.”

I have been following the progress of the young macaques on twitter, as Stephen and the crew at Primarily Primates worked to socialize these former lab animals into their new world.  Here are some of the tweets:

Operation Monkey Trek: Theo, 1 macaque was agitated 2 leave steel holding cage until Buzbee, new friend, entered + they walked out together.

Toxicology researchers learned -O- about macaques that benefits our health. Observing released monkeys’ resilience now tells more.

Several macaques who arrived yesterday at Primarily Primates sat in outside enclosure, holding each other, bewildered+wide-eyed as day unfolded.

We expected the deprivation,+ toxicology tests would enhance possibility for male Java macaques to be combative w/each other.So far, no.

It’s the end of Monday here at PPI… all 25 macaques we just rescued from a NJ lab are outside doing great… in awe and bewilderment.

We are getting ready to burn the 25 wooden lab crates they arrived in… just to remind us it’s over – and a now a new beginning for them!

Tweet Request: If you think you have a unique name for 1 of the unnamed macaques freed from research – tweet it! We’ll pick top choices!

That last tweet inspired me.  What better way to honor the life of my pal Neville!  I made up my mind that whether or not Neville was selected as a name, I needed to sponsor one of these macaques.  The work that Primarily Primates does is so important.  I am not sure why it took me so long to get off my butt and support this great sanctuary.

Hand in hand with working to oppose animal experimentation, comes the need to support the sanctuaries that house the victims of this horrifying industry.  If animals like Neville can be released from their tortured pasts, it is incumbent upon the activist community to spread the word and help these facilities receive the support they need.

Happily, Neville was selected as a name for one of the macaques. Two rescued animals share one great name. One happy family is tearfully smiling and supporting this great work.

Please visit the site for Primarily Primates and consider supporting their fine work.

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Posted in Friends of Animals, Neville, Primarily Primates | 3 Comments »

Gluten-free tasting event at Integral Yoga — Wednesday (July 14, 2010)

July 10th, 2010
Integral Yoga Natural Foods | 229 West 13th Street | New York, NY 10011 | 212.243.2642

Integral Yoga Natural Foods | 229 West 13th Street | New York, NY 10011 | 212.243.2642

If you are a fan of Gone Pie, you know that we love Integral Yoga Natural Foods on 13th Street in Manhattan.  We work closely with them and have been featured at many of their weekly tasting events.  We have another tasting event coming up on July 14th.

This morning, I was scouring their site, looking for something new to say about them.  Would you believe I found something.  Check out their product standards! Sure, I wish they were vegan.  But in this day, when large chain stores promote the illusions of “Happy Meat” and “Cage-free eggs” as acceptable,  it is inspiring to see a store develop a philosophy and stick to it.  Chain stores have chained the face of health food stores in NYC, selling many products of dubious integrity.  In spite of that, Integral Yoga has stuck to their beliefs. Yay Integral!

This Wednesday, come by Integral and check out Integral Yoga and sample some Gone Pie goodies from 3 – 6 pm.

Available in the deli that day we will have the following gluten-free items:

  • brownies (with and without nuts)
  • fig  bars
  • lemon poppy loaves
  • blueberry cheesecake
  • and a new recipe we are still working on….

So stop by, have a taste and check out Integral Yoga!

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Posted in Integral Yoga, gluten-free | 1 Comment »

A letter to Neville

July 5th, 2010

Never happier than when waiting for a treat! (June 29, 2010)

Dear Neville-

From the moment you first came into our lives, you have been a creature of unfailing spirit.  As your potential new adoptive family stood over you bickering about your name and negotiating your future, you peed on the wall, wagged your tail and barked REALLY REALLY loud.  It seemed you were saying “Let’s get this party started.”

Our connection started that day.  As our parents tried to select a name for you, I looked at your Welsh Corgi like build and blurted out lets name him Neville (after a friend we had of Welsh extraction).  The discussion ended and off we all walked.  We have been a happy family for 15 years now.

Your spirit and nearly annoying ways have been our constant joy. With a crazy big head and a crazy big heart, you blessed us.  How many times did I chase you as you ran away?  You would force your way out the front door and run as fast as your little legs could carry you.  Eventually I would catch you.  Apparently this was great fun!  You were always so happy to be caught and so happy to run the next time.  In fact, you were always so happy.

I have a couple of  favorite run away stories Neville.  I think none surpasses the time we took you to meet the person Neville.  So many people making such a fuss over you.  So much love and attention and FOOD.  And what did you do?  You took off  for a wintery run.  Several adults on your heels, hell bent on safely coralling you -  until you (gasp) ran on a frozen pond.  I felt certain you were mocking our fear as you lightly ran across the frozen water that so scared us.  One of your doting  Aunties rounded you up and got you inside to warm up.  You seemed unfazed  and slightly amused.  We were, less so….

And when our beloved friend Billie was ill, you were her constant companion.  You lay next to her and I until her time was up. When she was gone, you paid tribute to her by peeing around the circumference of her bed!

I would say that peeing was your celebration and punctuation of nearly everything.  That and a REALLY REALLY loud bark.

You barked at me a lot!  I always had a treat for you and you were impatient to get it.  Some say I spoiled you.  I hope so!

We sure had a lot of good times.  Remember that picnic at Peg Leg Bates upstate (you ran away there too)?  Remember all those walks over the foot bridge? Remember all those treats?  Remember you are loved!

Doesn’t seem you have much left my friend.  Each day is harder.  Today you are barely yourself. I want to thank for your companionship.  you have been a great pal.  My heart will mourn you, but I hope in a little time, I will remember you in your better days.  For now I am content to spoil you just a little more.

Say hi to Billie for me.  And give them hell wherever you go.  Bark REALLY REALLY  loud. Run really fast.  And be free.

I love you forever……

Neville relaxing (July 3,2010)

Neville relaxing (July 3,2010)

Neville left us on July 11th, 2010.  He is currently running really really fast, barking really really loud and, most importantly, he is free.  He was and is well loved.

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Posted in Neville | 13 Comments »

Tasting Event at Integral Yoga – June 23rd,2010

June 21st, 2010
Integral Yoga Natural Foods | 229 West 13th Street | New York, NY 10011 | 212.243.2642

Integral Yoga Natural Foods | 229 West 13th Street | New York, NY 10011 | 212.243.2642

This Wednesday, June 23rd, Integral Yoga will be hosting a tasting event at their 13th Street store in Manhattan.  The focus of the event is local vendors. Gone Pie is proud to be part of this event.

Integral has placed an order, so the deli with be stocked with our usual favorites, including:

  • brownies – with and without nuts (glutenfree)
  • lemon poppy loaves (glutenfree)
  • pumpkin cheesecake (barley/oat)
  • peanut butter cups (glutenfree)
  • coconut brownies (glutenfree)

I am not sure what exactly will be offered for tasting.  But they say there will be plenty of  FREE STUFF!

So stop by Integral Yoga between 2 and 6 on Wednesday.  And enjoy!

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Posted in Integral Yoga | 1 Comment »

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