Vegan Bake Sale

On April 21-22, we hosted a vegan bake sale in the Auraria Campus Spring Fling as part of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale week.  The sale was funded by VegFund, and donations benefitted Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary for rescued farm animals.  We received donated baked goods from Beet Box Bakery and WaterCourse Bakery, and about 15 volunteers donated homamade baked goodies as well.  We had volunteers from the Auraria Students for the Humane Treatment of Animals, Vegan Outreach, Plants & Animals Denver, VegFund, and the Denver and Boulder vegan meetup groups.

Everyone who helped with the same deserves HUGE props and thanks.  It was an enormous success - we gave out a ton of vegan baked goods and vegan literature.  We talked to around 500 people over both days, including some seasoned vegans, some vegetarians turning toward veganism, some open-minded omnivores, and some people who had no idea what being vegan meant before they came to our table.  We sent a lot of people on their way with vegan starter kits and food for thought.  Despite the hurricane-like weather we endured Thursday (we stuck it out, because vegans are hardcore like that), the sale was a ton of fun, and hugely successful.  Thanks to everyone involved!  I really enjoyed meeting all of you.

Without further ado, photos of the event!  All pictures are © Alexis DeCook 2010.  If you're not in any of the photos, it's because you weren't there when Alexis was taking pictures.  Nothing personal - we like your face, promise.

Veg*n Nutrition

Really, Vitamin Cottage?  Why's it gotta be like that?

I recently got some information about veg*n nutrition from a nutritionist at my local Vitamin Cottage.  Yeah, I know - nutritionists aren't doctors, might not even have any medical training, don't necessarily know anything about physiology, etc.  But the existing health literature surrounding veg*anism is unfortunately very enmeshed in ideological controversey, and thus extremely contradictory, so I always assume the best bet is to get information from as many different sources as possible, and take everything with a grain of salt.  It is very important to me to eat a vegan diet, so I want to make sure I am able to maintain it in good health for my entire life.

Initially, I was seriously put off by the literature they distribute.  The primary source of their medical information is an article called "The Myths of Vegetarianism" by Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP.  There are many, many problems with using Byrnes as a medical authority, the first of which being that he is not an MD.  Additionally, the article is published in the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, which is not a peer-reviewed medical journal, meaning his claims have not been substantiated by a group of peers, unlike the published research articles he criticizes.  The article was published in 2000 - it's not totally antiquated, but it's by no means the most cutting-edge information available.  He does not publish references but states they're available upon request, however I discovered that the website he lists (the only contact information published) does not exists.  Upon further investigation, I've discovered that Byrnes died from a stroke in 2004 (not diet-related), so I have no idea how to find these references.

And if you can't tell from the title, the letter has a pretty obvious anti-veg*n bias, illustrated right off the bat by this tragic anecdote of a woman who had a miscarriage due to... gasp! ... her vegetarian diet!  (As a side note, this woman wasn't actually vegetarian: she ate milk, eggs, and for some reason, liver.)  As a scientist myself, the presence of an emotional anecdote in a supposedly scientific piece of literature is a travesty: anecdotes are NOT science, folks, and their sole purpose is to detract from objective scientific inquiry by "poisoning the well" of human opinion from the start.  Byrnes uses many other fallacies throughout the work, including a repeated confusion of causation and correlation (admittedly a drawback of much pro-veg literature, too), and use of the same rationale to both discredit pro-veg studies and credit anti-veg ones.

Byrnes identifies 15 "myths" about vegetarianism, including issues of health impact, environmental impact, humanity toward animals, and spirituality.  Right off the bat, I can say with certainty that he is simply wrong about issues of the environment and humane treatment: he ignores the pollutive impact of livestock entirely, uses faulty reasoning and incomplete facts to conclude that raising meat is more efficient than growing plants, displays unbelievable arrogance in questioning people's spiritual beliefs, and wrongly states that no animals are killed in the process of dairy and egg production.  I am not familiar enough with the biochemistry and physiology of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in the body to immediately discount his claims about the deficiencies present in a veg*n diet; however, I can say that it directly contradicts a lot of the information I've read from other scientists and doctors, and I have no reason to believe Byrnes over the others.

Lastly, the only other medical authority they cite is Dr. Joseph Mercola.  Indeed, Byrnes has been often quoted and promoted on Dr. Mercola's website.  I can't say for sure that we should assume that Byrnes is a crackpot of Mercola's ilk, but it's a possibility that certainly warrants consideration.  These gentlemen are best described as naturopaths gone astray.  They both uphold a completely unreasonable idea that the mainstream media is part of some vegetarian-controlled conspiracy to smear the image of noble meat-based agriculture, despite the fact that vegetarians make up somewhere between 2% and 10% of the population depending on who's being polled, and vegans comprise about a fourth of that - we are nowhere near a majority of anything, and if we had control of the media, you can bet your ass that we wouldn't be seeing KFC commercials any more.  Besides, the vast majority of agricultural income currently comes from animal flesh farming and crops (corn and soybeans, mostly) grown for animal feed, so there really isn't a financial incentive for the media to promote vegetarianism, either.

Ok, so by this point, I'm seriously pissed off.  I come to these people for health advice, and they give me propaganda - and only one side of it, mind you.  (For an intelligent refutation of some of Byrnes' points in this article, see http://www.energygrid.com/health/2002/06ap-stephenbyrnes.html - it's not written by doctors, and doesn't cite very many references - so in other words, it's on even footing with Byrnes' article.)  I'm definitely rethinking my loyalty to Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocers.

The Actual Information, Finally

Eventually, I got to the actual information.  There are a lot of important things to consider when restricting all animal products from our diets.  It is a scientific fact that humans have evolved to be omnivores (though I do NOT believe that includes dairy, one of the most unnatural foods humans eat).  So when we choose to exclude animal products from our diets - which, don't get me wrong, is the right thing to do for many reasons - we need to plan it well in order to be able to sustain it over time without any adverse health effects.  None of us wants to be the sad case who just has to eat meat because we became anemic or something.

Like most vegans, I get plenty of vegetables (duh) and complex carbohydrates in my diet.  Like most Americans, I eat way too much sugar.  I need to eat a little more protein and fat.  But I came up with some more specific changes I need to make to my diet, and I think they're pretty universal, at least for a lot of the veg*ns I know.

• Supplement B12 and L-carnitine.  It's extremely difficult to eat enough plant sources of these nutrients.  L-carnitine is not found in plants at all; it can be manufactured by the body, but requires high levels of vitamins C and B6, niacin, iron, and L-lysine, and is pretty inefficient.  It's good to hedge your bets with a supplement of each of these.

• Supplement calcium and Vitamin D.  This is not unique to veg*ns: due to depletion of nutrients in our soil, and destruction of our ozone layer which requires us to block the sun's UV-B rays so our bodies can't produce enough Vitamin D on their own, all Americans should supplement these two nutrients, in addition to consuming products fortified with them, like orange juice.  Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, so you should supplement both.

• Increase intake of protein and low-carbohydrate vegetables.  Especially in the winter, we tend to eat a lot of starchy vegetables like potatoes, yams, and squashes.  Low-carb vegetables tend to have more nutrients, but can get neglected in favor of the starches.  Americans don't need as much protein as most people believe, but most of us could stand to raise our intake of a balanced variety of whole grain and legume proteins a bit.

• Lower consumption of grains.  This is also a common pitfall of veg*n diets: it's really easy for us to eat a lot of cereal grains like wheat, rice, and corn.  These are not great sources of nutrients, so our calories are better obtained from vegetables than grains.  Additionally, too many grains in the diet, even whole grains, can contribute to glucose (blood sugar) swings that can mess with our hunger cycles, energy levels, and insulin responsiveness.

• Increase consumption of fats, especially essential fatty acids.  The low-fat diet craze has been pretty solidly debunked, and most of us veggies need more fat in our diets.  We are not at the same risk for diet-related cardiovascular disease as meat-eaters, so we can afford to eat more fatty foods rich in LNAs (an essential fatty acid), like flax oil, walnuts, grains, and green veggies.  I will start snacking on nuts, and adding flax to pretty much everything I bake or cook.  Additionally, I am going to supplement a marine algae-derived source of DHA, a non-essential fatty acid that is made from LNAs but has an inefficient conversion from plant sources of LNA in our bodies.

• Soak and/or sprout grains, legumes, and nuts before consumption.  Anything that grows as a seed contains phytic acid in the hull.  Phytic acid is called an anti-nutrient because it binds with nutrients - specifically, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc - in the digestive tract, making it impossible for our bodies to absorb them.  So even if we're taking in adequate calcium and iron, we can still suffer from deficiencies if we're also eating foods containing phytic acid.  Luckily, it can be neutralized by soaking and sprouting grains and legumes before eating them.  Sprouting also turns those little grains into tiny nutrient bombs: they are a whole food, a complete protein, and contain a wide variety of nutrients.  So I'll buy only sprouted-grain breads and tortillas (Ezekiel 4:9 is the only brand available in stores that I know of), and sprout my own grains and legumes before making hummus, lentil, rice, quinoa, etc.  (BTW, if you want to eat raw, sprouting is a great alternative to cooking: to make raw hummus, for example, just soak and sprout dry chickpeas before grinding the little buggers up.)

So that pretty much covers it.  If anyone has any other advice or input, I'd love to hear it!  Good luck staying healthy, folks.

True Protein

Today, I am a happy girl.  It is one of those rare occasions that I get everything I want, and moreover, it's easy to do and doesn't cost me my firstborn child.

I recently began a pretty intense workout regimen (P90X, for those of you who enjoy late-night infomercials), and as most programs like this do, it recommends drinking a recovery drink afterward - both to make the workout as effective and possible, and to prevent some of the ow ow ow the following day.  Problem is, most recovery drinks have amino acids and extracts and supplements that are pretty much taken willy-nilly from whatever source they feel like, and so in no way can they be trusted to be vegan.

At first, I had sort of given up on the recovery drink idea, and was looking online for good balanced vegan protein shake mixes to use instead.  I stumbled upon www.trueprotein.com, and discovered their "Build a Custom Blend" feature.  I played with it for probably close to 2 hours.  True Protein is a new company out of California, and they have a completely genius method for letting athletes control their own nutrition.

Not only can you choose a custom blend of vegan protein sources - they have non-GMO soy, gemma pea, rice, and hemp to choose from - you can also add in supplements, electrolytes, carbohydrates, antioxidants, etc.  You can choose from an enormous variety of flavors, and you can select either to leave them unsweetened or to sweeten them with stevia, to avoid that nasty artificial sweetener taste (say NO to aspartame, people!).

But best of all, in the description of each product, it clearly states whether the product is vegan safe, and they'll even specify whether there are animal products used in the processing of the product.  I called customer service to verify, and these people actually understand what it means to be vegan, recognize its importance to us, are knowledgeable about their own products, and are happy to help figure out the best options for vegans.  You get none of the unhelpful judgmental-ness you encounter at most supplement stores.  Plus, for my custom mix including 3 kinds of vegan proteins, creatine, dextrose, and electrolytes, I paid about half of what I have paid for a jug of plain soy protein mix at certain name-brand health stores, and that includes shipping.  Yowza.

I ordered four different flavors to try: chocolate, tropical blend, fruit punch, and mixed berry.  I'll let you know how well I like each one.  But for now, I am one happy customer.

Butternut Squash Spinach Ravioli

Just in time for St. Patrick's day, I give you green ravioli!


This turned out really, really well.  My (non-vegan) mom shushed me while she tried it so that she could enjoy it in peace.  The pasta dough is made with silken tofu and puréed spinach, adding some nutritional value and turning it a lovely shade of green.  The filling is a lovely combination of creamy, crunchy, and nutty.  The sauce, though, is la pièce de résistance, a delicious combination of leeks, mushrooms, green apples, and white wine.


This is all made by hand and from scratch, so it takes a bit of time.  You could save time at any point by substituting store-bought pasta dough (good luck finding vegan ravioli dough, though), or by using a pasta roller or ravioli press.  But what fun is that?

---

Butternut Squash Spinach Ravioli

Adapted from both Lola's Vegan Blog and Savory Seattle

Ingredients


Pasta

• 1 small bunch spinach, de-stemmed
• 4 oz. silken tofu (about a third of a package of Mori-Nu)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1 medium-sized butternut squash
• olive oil, for sautéing
• 1 c. onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped cashews
• 1 tbsp. dried sage
• salt and pepper, to taste

Sauce

• 1 c. Earth Balance
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 green apple, cut into eighths and thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. white wine
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Wash the spinach and shake it to get most, but not all, of the water off.  Steam it by cooking, covered, over medium-low heat in a nonstick pan.  Stir occasionally, until all the spinach is very soft.
3. Lightly purée the cooked spinach in a blender or food processor.  Add the tofu, olive oil, water, and salt, and blend until perfectly smooth and creamy, scraping the sides often.
4. Sift the flour evenly over a clean countertop.  Pour the tofu-spinach mixture over the flour, and use a rubber spatula to fold it together.  When it's mostly mixed, use your hands to knead a few times until you have a firm, elastic, homogenous dough.  If it's sticky, add a pinch more flour; if it's too stiff, add a few drops of water.  Let the dough rest at room temperature for about an hour, covered with plastic wrap or wax paper.
5. While the dough is resting, roast the butternut squash.  Cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and pulp, and place the halves cut-side down on a lightly oiled pan.  Roast the squash for 45-50 minutes, until it's very tender and easily pierced with a fork.
6. While the squash is roasting, chop all the veggies needed for the filling and sauce.
7. After the squash is done, let it cool for a few minutes, then scrape out the pulp with a spoon and mash it with a fork.  Set it aside until needed.
8. Heat a little oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Cook the onions until soft, then add the garlic and cashews and cook a few minutes more.  Add the sage, and cook until fragrant.  Mix in the mashed squash.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the filling from the heat, and set it aside.
9. After the pasta dough has rested, roll it out onto a lightly floured countertop.  You want it to be no more than 1/8" thick.  Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut circles, about 3-4" diameter, out of the dough.  Pull up the rest of the dough and ball up to roll out again later.  If the dough circles have bunched up, use the rolling pin to flatten them again.
10. Get a small glass of water.  Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of each dough circle.  Dip your finger in the water and wet the edge of half of the dough circle; then fold the dough over, and press the edges with your fingertip.  You should have a nice scalloped half-moon, with a tight seal.
11. Roll out the rest of the dough, and repeat until you've used all the dough and all the filling.
12. Heat a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat in a nonstick pan.  Briefly fry each ravioli on both sides to get a bit of texture to the dough.  Set the fried ravioli aside.
13. Now make the sauce.  In the same pan, melt the Earth Balance and olive oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped leeks, and sauté until just soft.  Add the mushrooms; cook until both the mushrooms and leeks are very tender, about 8 minutes.  Turn up the heat to medium-high.  Add the apple slices and the white wine, and cook for a minute or two, until the alcohol has evaporated.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
14. Toss the ravioli in the sauce, making sure to top each ravioli in lots of yummy veggies.  Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Makes about 6 servings.

---

This is best served fresh, but it will keep in the fridge and reheat just fine.


Happy eating.

Leek and Potato Cassoulet

I don't usually cook things with unfamiliar words in the name - I'm just not a confit or crudité kind of girl - but I made an exception because this cassoulet sounded so, so yummy.  A cassoulet, for those not in the know, is traditionally a meat and bean stew.  This one, from Veganomicon, is made with potatoes, leeks, kale, white beans, and seitan, with a homemade biscuit crust baked right on top.  It's like a supercomfort food: a stew and pot pie all in one.

This is one of the very few dishes I make that really needs to be made fresh and eaten immediately.  You can eat it a day or two after, but the biscuitty top does get a bit soggy and it's not quite as outrageously tasty.

I made mine in these adorable little single-serving casserole dishes from Le Creuset, but if you don't feel like dropping $20 a piece for your cookware, you can make this in an oven-safe cast iron pan or a regular casserole dish.

Also, this recipe calls for boiling the potatoes.  That works fine and is probably the quickest method, but for extra flavor, try roasting them.

---

Leek and Potato Cassoulet

Adapted from Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits, in Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Ingredients

For the stew:

• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
• olive oil, for sautéing
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2-3 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. finely chopped kale (stems removed)
• 1 heaping tbsp. fresh thyme (or substitute 1 tsp. dried)
• 6 c. vegetable broth
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1-1/2 c. chopped seitan (bite-sized pieces)
• 1-1/2 c. white beans
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the biscuits:

• 3/4 c. plain nondairy milk
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. chilled vegetable shortening (do your body a solid and get non-hydrogenated)

Directions

1. Boil the diced potatoes in salted water, until just tender enough to be pierced with a fork.  Don't overcook them, and drain them immediately.
2. While your potatoes are cooking, chop the remaining veggies.  In a large soup pot (or a really big cast-iron one if you have one and want to bake the stew in that), heat some olive oil over medium-high heat, and sauté the leeks, onions, and carrots until just browned.  Be careful not to burn them.
3. Add the garlic, kale, thyme, and a bit of salt and pepper, and sauté a minute more.
4. By this point, your potatoes should be done.  Add them to the pot.
5. Mix the cornstarch into a cup or two of the vegetable broth.  Pour it into the pot, along with the remaining vegetable broth.
6. Bring the stew to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.  Turn on your oven now, and preheat to 425°F.
7. While the stew is simmering, heat oil over high heat in a sauté pan, and sauté the chopped seitan until nice and browned.  Add the browned seitan and the white beans to the stew toward the end of its simmering time.
8. Also while the stew is simmering, mix together your biscuits.  Stir the apple cider vinegar into your nondairy milk, and set it aside to curdle for about 5 minutes.
9. In a mixing bowl, mix 1-1/2 c. of the flour with the baking powder and salt.
10. Add the chilled shortening to the flour mixture in slivers, and crumble it in with your fingers.  Don't worry about getting it perfectly smooth; it should be clumpy.
11. Drizzle in the milk mixture, and stir the dough together with a fork.  Don't overmix it.  Wash your hands, then lightly flour them and knead the dough a few times in the bowl.  Add more flour a little at a time until it's not quite so sticky.
12. The stew should definitely be done simmering by now, so transfer it into your baking dish(es) - either the big cast iron skillet, a casserole dish, or individual casseroles.  Pull off palm-sized balls of dough, roll them into balls, then flatten them and place them on top of the stew.  You don't need to cover the whole thing.
13. If the stew nearly fills your baking dish, put the dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spillover.  Bake the stew at 425°F for 15 minutes or so, until the biscuit topping is cooked through and browned on top.  Try not to drool as you watch this bake.

Serve hot out of the oven.  Serves about 8.

---

If this doesn't just make your tummy ridiculously happy, there's something wrong with you.

Happy eating.

Required Reading: Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer

Whenever books like Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer, are released, they're always accompanied by the same carnivore vs. herbivore debates.  We've heard all the arguments before: you need to eat meat to be healthy; animals exist for people to eat them; animals don't have feelings like people do; conditions for animals aren't really that bad; I buy free range cows/chickens so my meat is fine; I don't care that animals suffer because I love bacon.

Now, I've come up with my own educated opinions on the points above, as have all vegans: we've decided that none of the reasons for eating meat justify the sacrifices made by animals, the environment, and our bodies in order to make eating meat possible in today's world.  However, I think I'm fairly unique in the vegan community because I have no problem with people who make an educated decision that eating meat IS worth it, despite the negative consequences.  Animals are not the same as people, and you are under no obligation to care for them as such.  You have every right to decide that animal suffering is okay as long as it produces food.  That does not make you a bad person, it just means you place a different value on animal life than I do.  And that's okay.

What I can't abide, though, is the "don't preach at me" argument, also known as the "your diet choice is your own, so leave me alone about mine" argument.  Let me be clear: being vegan is NOT a diet choice.  It is an ethical choice.  Yes, there certainly are health components to the choice, and the primary venue through which the choice is enacted is in our diets.  But it is not the same as eating gluten-free, or low-carb, or raw.  It is a choice made based on moral principles, because we believe eating animals violates some non-negotiable ethical standards.

So we have a choice, as vegans.  We can keep our mouths shut, be quietly vegan, and try not to cause too much inconvenience to those around us.  But let's pretend that instead of animal rights, we're talking about a direct violation of human rights.  If you knew for a fact that an activity everyone around you participates in every day was the direct cause of the torture, suffering, and death of thousands of human beings, wouldn't you want to do something about it?  Wouldn't you want to tell your friends about this connection, because you're sure that if they knew the consequences of their actions, they wouldn't want to continue to be the cause of such suffering?

Now, walking around and screaming at everyone that they're murderers isn't respectful of your fellow humans, and more importantly, it isn't going to accomplish anything.  So what would you do?  You would try to educate people.  You would provide information, start discussions, make suggestions, about this horrible situation.  You would try to show people the face of this unpleasant reality, and you would hope that their consciences would lead them to the same decision yours has.

This is what vegans do.  Almost none of us were born into veganism; we made this choice for ourselves after someone else showed us the reality to which we had previously been ignorant.  Books like Foer's elucidate the truths of the meat industry, and beg you to align your actions with your conscience.  They eliminate the ignorance that allows people to chomp a hamburger without a second thought, and they demand that we reconcile our personal values with our choices.  If you can read or watch information about the meat industry, or even better, visit a real slaughterhouse or factory farm, and still have the stomach to eat meat, then I respect your decision to do so.  All I ask is that you understand what goes in to the choices you make, and take responsibility for their consequences.

But the willful ignorance that most people cling to when it comes to issues of animal welfare is entirely unacceptable.  Failing to educate yourself about the ethical choices you make in life is lazy, selfish, and downright immoral.  So when we try to make it really, really easy for you to understand this choice by providing books, pamphlets, videos, and discussions about what it means to eat animals, don't you dare accuse us of preaching.

You have a responsibility as a self-aware, cognizant human being to understand the consequences of your actions, and to align your choices with your principles.  Whatever decision you make is perfectly acceptable, as long as you understand it.  The greatest ethical crime you can commit is to remain ignorant of the effects of your behavior, especially when that information is made so readily available to you.  Educate yourself, and make your own decision.  Ignorance is not an option.

Vindaloo Curry

Vindaloo was my next foray into the Savory Spice curry sets I got for Christmas.  It's quite spicy, tangy, a little sweet, and totally awesome.  It's the kind of dish that tastes a little weird in the first bite, and then suddenly you're licking the bowl clean.

This is a really hearty curry, chock full of potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots.  These sweeter winter veggies help temper the spice a bit, and make this warm you right up on these bitter cold nights.  Feel free to use whatever veggies you like: I expect sweet potatoes and other types of winter squash would be delicious in this as well, and I'd even try cauliflower, garbanzo beans, or plantains if you're feeling really crazy.  Mine was a little too chunky for my tastes with all those veggies, so I added more tomatoes and a little vegetable broth, shown in the recipe below.  I also added a splash of almond milk (any nondairy milk or cream would work - try coconut for extra sweetness) although that's not traditional for vindaloo, as I understand it.  I served this with naan (a traditional Indian bread) and spooned it over some brown rice, which adds a lovely texture and mellows out the heat a bit.

This is adapted from Isa's Vegan with a Vengeance (you need to buy this book, for reals), and she lists all the spices and seeds you need to make a vindaloo curry from scratch.  I was lazy and wanted to use my vindaloo mix.  I'm not a curry expert, and I have no idea how "authentic" Savory's vindaloo is, but this sure was tasty.

---

Vindaloo Curry with Butternut Squash, Potatoes, and Carrots

Adapted from Butternut Vindaloo in Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Ingredients

• olive oil, for sautéing
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tbsp. vindaloo curry spice
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
• 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
• 2 medium carrots, chopped into bite-size chunks
• 3 tbsp. plain nondairy milk
• 2 tsp. agave nectar or other sweetener
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a large pot over medium-high heat.  Sauté the onions until soft.  Add the garlic, and sauté a few minutes more.
2. Stir in the curry spice, and fry for a minute or so, until the spices become fragrant.
3. Mix in the red wine vinegar, red wine, crushed tomatoes, and veggie broth.
4. Add the potatoes, squash, and carrots.  Stir everything really well.
5. Bring everything to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until veggies are tender, about 25-30 mintues, stirring frequently.  Be careful to not burn the curry on the bottom of the pan.
6. Uncover and stir in the nondairy milk, agave nectar, and lemon juice.  Taste, and add salt as needed - don't be shy with the salt.  Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the curry has your desired thickness.

Makes about 6 servings.  Serve with naan or over rice.

---

Eat this on a cold winter night, and blow a big ol' raspberry at the stupid weather.  Yum.

Happy eating.