From the return of Taco Bell potatoes to vegan celebs, the hottest vegan grocery store finds, eye-opening health studies, and monumental legislation, 2021 has been a headline-making year, to say the least. To celebrate the end of this incredible year, and to gear up for a promising vegan future, weve compiled the stories on VegNews.com that kept our readers coming back for more. We present the most talked-about stories of 2021!

Thanks to a new study, we now see the increased risks associated with a keto diet, including heart disease, kidney failure, Alzheimers disease, diabetes, and cancer. Read it here

Hollywood star Olivia Newton-Johnknown best for her starring role as Sandy in classic film Greaseis dabbling in a plant-based diet to help her battle cancer. Read it here

After the release of undercover videos documenting extreme animal abuse at its farms, dairy company Fair Oaks CEO resigns, and its COO and CSO positions are terminated. Read it here

From Fruit by the Foot and Thai-inspired Doritos to old-school cult classics like Swedish Fish and Uncrustables, you can find these accidentally vegan snacks on practically any store shelf whenever a snack attack comes on. Read it here

After turning down an offer of $1 million from ABCs hit show, Deborah Torresfounder of vegan fried chicken company Atlas Monroemaintains 100-percent ownership of her company and has even sold one million pounds of chicken this year with the opening of a new, multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility. Read it here

Musician and entrepreneur Jay-Z is now an investor in plant-based chicken company SIMULATE, which recently raised $50 million to make vegan nuggets and patties. Read it here

Theres a reason vegans flock to this popular grocery store chain. Between the brands offerings of vegan chocolate chip cookies, cashew cheese, frozen novelties, and major finds from Impossible Foods and Miyokos Creamery, this handy guide lists all the must-haves for your next grocery trip. Read it here

According to a new study, eating just one animal-based hot dog shaves minutes off a healthy life. However, eating plant-based foods such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is beneficial for health and the environment. Read it here

How much is too much for seasoning? Vegan influencer Tabitha Brown released her limited-edition Sunshine All Purpose Seasoning with spice brand McCormick, which sold out in minutes. Before a restock could happen, a black market of sorts formed, selling the seasoning for as much as $120. Read it here

Beyond Burgers! Vegan cinnamon rolls! Alpha Foods Mac and Cheese! Our favorite warehouse store continues to add even more vegan goodies. Read it here

A Panda Express and Beyond Meat partnership meant the creation of Beyond The Original Orange Chicken, a fully plant-based chicken entre at the fast-food hotspot. Read it here

As new variants of COVID-19 emerge, could dark chocolate help provide an answer? Read it here

The United Kingdoms welfare laws surrounding lobster, octopuses, and crabs are changing after a new government report found that these beings all experience pain. Read it here

Take all our money, Trader Joes. The grocery retailer released a slew of vegan products this year including Boursin vegan cheese spread, pumpkin oat milk, and pumpkin cashew yogurt. Whats next? Read it here

The popular fast-food chain outraged fans last year for dropping its beloved potatoes from its menu. Luckily, thanks to the national outcry from fans, potatoes are back and even more vegan options are on the horizon. Read it here

World-renowned chef Gordon Ramsay used to be a huge critic of veganism, but hes seen the light and even shared a vegan bacon recipe on his TikTok, stating that hes turning vegan for lunch. Read it here

Forget boring Espresso, Strawberry, and Caramel, weve got all the hacks to make Chocolate Cinnamon Dolce, Rocky Road, and Cake Batter Frappuccinos. Youre welcome. Read it here

Vegan singer Billie Eilish answered questions posed by 23 celebrities during a Vogue interview, unveiling that she learned about the atrocities of the meat and dairy industries at a young age. Read it here

Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen launched his popcorn brand Husk this year, aiming to provide consumers with organic, wholesome, vegan ingredients. Read it here

Yes, the precious potatoes are back, but what else can you eat at the iconic fast-food restaurant? We give you all the hacks. Read it here

For more vegan news, read:Cardi B Wants to Go Vegan. Asks 20 Million Fans for Help. Gelatin-Free Starburst Is Coming Your Way and More Vegan Stories After Three Decades at Tyson, Two Meat Execs Jump Ship to Work for Beyond Meat

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The Top 20 Vegan News Stories of 2021 - VegNews

Its a stretch to say that turkey faces stiff competition from tofu, but when a major supermarket posts an online guide to festive vegan food, you know that Christmas menus are shifting and as more people opt for plants over meat, some of us are left wondering how to feed the guest whos no fan of ham or any other food sourced from animals.

When meat eaters invite vegans over its often like lets just buy some vegan sausages vegan food is an afterthought, says Melbourne-based chef Tobie Puttock. But if you make vegetables shine, you can make vegan food appealing to everyone.

Melbourne-based chef Tobie Puttocks butternut pumpkins stuffed with walnuts, quinoa, cranberries and sage.Credit:Julie Renouf

Each Christmas he feeds a mixed bunch of eaters: his parents and in-laws who all eat meat and his partner and daughter who dont Puttock himself eats meat occasionally. Last year, alongside a roast side of salmon and a small turkey breast, he served butternut pumpkins stuffed with walnuts, quinoa, cranberries and sage baked in the oven a recipe from his book SuperNatural which shows how to create great dishes from plant food alone.

It was the main dish for the vegans, but the meat eaters loved it too, and it highlights some key points about pleasing plant eaters and meat eaters alike. One is that catering for vegans doesnt have to involve pretend meat; the other is that its possible to create a great centrepiece dish without serving a cooked bird or a piece of meat like Puttocks roast cauliflower with Romesco sauce, Neil Perrys vegan paella or Jill Dupleixs warm roast veggie salad with lemony lentils.

Plant-based nibbles also need some thought. What works for someone who doesnt eat cheese especially when COVID makes it tricky to serve communal bowls of nuts? A Mediterranean-ish platter of ready-made falafel, stuffed vine leaves (canned are good) and marinated roast veg from the deli is an easy option, or you could serve crostini with a plant-based pesto. Louise Pfeiffer, Vice-President of the Animal Justice Party, makes this one with artichokes and walnuts and uses vegan fetta to make spinach and cheese triangles with filo pastry.

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And barbecues? Thats where fake meat comes in for those whod rather not eat the real thing. Plant-based meat can be hit and miss but some products are surprisingly meaty: among the better ones in my experience are Birds Eyes Plant-Based Burgers, V2Food Plant-Based Sausages, or Quorn Sausages (these contain egg so are not vegan) although they often benefit from a topping of onions and/or mushrooms sauted in olive oil.

Its one thing for meat eaters to include plant-based dishes for vegan guests but should dedicated plant eaters with strong views about animal welfare, for instance, be expected to provide turkey or ham for meat-eaters? A lot depends on the relationship between host and guests.

Im not a vegan but I cook vegan food at home and if we have friends over for dinner, they know theres likely to be no meat, Tobie Puttock says.

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Festive food for vegans and meat eaters thatll please everyone - Sydney Morning Herald

Youth to the People is known for producing high-performance skincare products that combine premium vegan blends of superfood extracts and science.

Cosmetics giant LOral has acquired Californian skincare brand Youth to the People (YTTP).

The move is another attempt by the cosmetic giant to enter the vegan market. It previously acquired Logocos, another natural vegan cosmetics brand in 2018.

Youth to the People is known for producing high-performance skincare products that combine premium vegan blends of superfood extracts and science.

It was founded by Cousins Greg Gonzalez and Joe Cloyes in 2015, after being inspired by their grandmother who created a similar skincare line 40 years ago.

The brand is marketed through a mix of D2C e-commerce and selective distribution and is currently available in the US, Canada, Australia, and some European countries

Earlier this year, YTTP was named as one of the top 50 emerging startups in the US by LinkedIn. According to LOral, the brand is expected to record more than $50 million in sales in 2021.

Just and sustainable future for all

Commenting on the partnership, Cloyes and Gonzalez said: We founded Youth to the People to continue our familys legacy of making skincare and to inspire and represent our community.

Were beyond excited about this partnership and the opportunity to amplify our shared values of investing in a just and sustainable future for all.

Stphane Rinderknech is Chief Executive Officer of LOral USA. She said: We have been inspired by the passion and vision of the brands two founders, Joe Cloyes and Greg Gonzalez, in bringing the best of the health-conscious, California lifestyle to high performance beauty.

We believe in the potential of this special brand, and we look forward to working with the Youth to the People team to help them realize this potential.

I am thrilled to have Youth to the People join our growing portfolio of American brands on the West Coast.

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L'Oral to target vegans with new brand acquisition - Totally Vegan Buzz

Serving vegan and vegetarian holiday meals is all the rage this season, which makes plant-based cookbooks an excellent gift. With pandemic-fueled interest in veg foods continuing its upward ascent, publishers responded with plenty of new books. Ive sifted through this years tasty vegetarian titles and selected these eight books, which cover a range of interests and abilities, as the best plant-based books of 2021.

Ive divided this collection of books into categories so you can easily find one best suited for cooks who are health conscious, meat lovers, young or food history buffs. As the categories show, vegan meats continue to be a major food trend this year, with many of the books incorporating these ingredients. Meanwhile, those books showcasing whole foods recipes tend to avoid them.

Other continuing cookbook trends this year include the widespread embrace of cauliflower, jackfruit, chickpeas and aquafaba. For 2021, we need to add vegan cheesecake to the list of top plant-based cookbook trends. After the year weve had, I think each of us deserves a slice.

HEALTH CONSCIOUS

The Jane Goodall Institute #EatMeatless, with a foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE. NewSeed. $30.

BEST FOR: Goodall fans, animal protectors, plant-based food eaters

In support of the global conservation nonprofit founded by Jane Goodall, this plant-forward cookbook packs in 75 recipes and numerous nuggets of Goodalls wisdom and history. Goodall began eating meatless 50 years ago and is now a vegan. She writes, We are part of and not separated from the rest of the animal kingdom. And while the environmental outlook seems bleak, Goodall tells us, I do have reasons for hope. The cookbook, which emphasizes whole food ingredients and avoids store-bought vegan meats, highlights many dishes to be hopeful for. Recipes include cauliflower steaks with curry sauce, black bean avocado sopes, broccoli-kale chickpea frittatas and creamy cashew pasta primavera. Breakfast serves up tofu scramble wraps and sweet potatoes with nondairy yogurt, while dessert caps things off with aquafaba chocolate mousse, banana-coconut nice cream, apple cranberry crumble bars and strawberry cheese cake.

The Vegan Athletes Cookbook, by Anita Bean. Bloomsbury Sport. $24.

BEST FOR: Runners, friends with gym memberships, family members training for a triathlon

Former British champion bodybuilder Anita Bean fourth cookbook is all vegan. Bean, a sports and exercise nutritionist, reports shes witnessed a huge rise in interest in vegan diets among athletes in my practice, which prompted her to write the book. It begins with a multi-chapter section devoted to sports nutrition, including Beans vegan athletes plate graphics and charts listing foods with the most calcium, iron and other nutrients. The recipes for such dishes as black bean burgers with guacamole, Thai green curry with crispy tofu balls, falafel with tahini sauce, lentil and mushroom no-meatballs in tomato sauce and cashew apricot sage nut roast are packed with protein, whole carbs and lots of fiber and avoid highly processed ingredients. Sweets range from baked lemon cheesecake with strawberry sauce and protein chocolate mug cakes to chocummus (chocolate hummus) and super seedy bars. Recipes for smoothies and morning meals are also included.

The 5-Minute Vegan Lunchbox, by Alexander Hart. Smith Street Books. $19.95.

BEST FOR: People who pack lunches, veg students, salad lovers

Straight to the point with little chat, this colorful book dishes out more than 50 recipes for salads, wraps, noodle bowls and bento boxes. The recipes emphasize few ingredients and limited prep time and call for shortcuts such as using canned beans along with store-bought vegan meats and dairy products. Those eager to get out the door will appreciate that the book aims for speed, not DIY. For instance, chia seed granola with berries builds upon store-bought granola. Filled with leafy greens and a variety of proteins, the salad-forward recipes include cannellini bean nioise salad, falafel salad, black bean chopped salad, Moroccan-spiced couscous salad, kimchi rice salad, BBQ tempeh coleslaw wraps, curried eggless salad wraps, sort-of dan dan noodles, Vietnamese noodle salad with pickled veg, ranch zoodles, Greek salad bento, and san choy bau bento.

MEAT LOVERS

The Vegan Meat Cookbook, by Miyoko Schinner. Ten Speed Press. $28.

BEST FOR: Miyoko Schinner fans, DIY vegetarians, on-trend meat-eaters

The latest cookbook from the founder of Miyokos Creamery deftly explores the hot topic of vegan meats and begins with an overview of a few dozen of the most readily available store-bought meats. Most of the cookbook is filled with meaty dishes, such as roasted cauliflower steaks, sausage calzones, beer-battered fish, boeuf bourguignon, bouillabaisse, chicken confit, lobster Thermidor, and chicken pad Thai. The recipes call for using store-bought, plant-based meats or making them using the recipes provided, which include steak, ground beef, pork Tenderlove, prosciutto, roasted chicken, and Schinners legendary Unturkey (which involves eight steps using seitan and yuba and was originally published in her 2001 The Now and Zen Epicure cookbook). Vegan lobster meat is made by steaming a mixture of soy protein powder, nori and konnyaku (Japanese mountain yam cake). Not surprisingly, the Queen of Vegan Cheese tosses in recipes for vegan paneer, vegan Buffalo mozzarella and vegan hard Parmesan.

The Vegan Butcher, by Zacchary Bird. Smith Street Books. $40.

BEST FOR: Meat fans who like plants, adventurous non-vegan chefs, lovers of seitan and tofu

The veteran cookbook author is back with a comprehensive guide to making every kind of plant-based meat imaginable. He starts out with the basics how to make seitan, tofu and yuba and then dives into specifics with chapters devoted to vegan poultry, fish, pork, beef, charcuterie and burgers. He proceeds to make well-known dishes vegan, such as Nashville fried chicken, whole turkey, sashimi, fish sticks, grilled shrimp, pork belly, prosciutto, lamb shish kebab and pulled pork burgers. Plus he includes 12 variations for making plant-based bacon. Each recipe is starred from one (easy) to three (advanced), helping readers determine if theyre ready to tackle a complex three-star recipe like maple bourbon fauxducken, a two-star recipe like General Tsos chicken or a one-star recipe such as king oyster mushroom scallops.

YOUNG PEOPLE

Be More Vegan, by Niki Webster. Welbeck Publishing. $16.95.

BEST FOR: Teens, college students, new vegans with limited cooking skills

This hip book speaks to todays well-informed young people with an exploration of vegan conundrums (such as the worldwide spike in demand for quinoa causing price increases for the people whove traditionally eaten it) and responses to common questions asked of vegans (is honey vegan? No.). All the recipes are tailored to new cooks, featuring numbered steps, full-color photos and lots of tips. The book includes DIY recipes for plant-based milk and nut cheese as well as recipes for on-trend eats, such as overnight oats, fancy toasts, nice cream (vegan ice cream) and mug cakes. Among the more than 50 recipes in the book, find banana pancakes, bean chili nachos, tofu stir fry, harissa falafel burgers, corn fritters and hoisin jackfruit burritos. Sweets include millionaires shortbread slices, gooey caramel choc cups and chocolate chip oat cookies.

Omari McQueens Best Bites Cook Book. Scholastic. $18.95.

BEST FOR: School-age chefs, kids curious about cooking, lovers of Caribbean cuisine

This young vegan chef, who has taken the United Kingdom by storm with a cooking show and a dip company, released his first cookbook at the start of the year, and its perfect for kids who like to cook. All of the books 35 recipes are short with numbered instructions and an illustrated list of ingredients, making it easy for inexperienced cooks to follow along. McQueens parents hail from Jamaica and Antigua, giving his recipes a warm, Caribbean flavor. This shines through in dishes such as Jamaican patties, BBQ jackfruit, tropical pizza, chickpea curry, Rasta pasta and rice n peas. Desserts include banana fritters, strawberry coconut cheesecake, cherry brownies and tropical fruit salad. Since this is a British book, know that measurements come in grams rather than cups and be on the lookout for British words, such as biscuits (cookies), courgettes (zucchini) and mince (meat). Look for McQueens next book, Vegan Family Cookbook, due in bookstores in January.

HISTORY BUFFS

Dick Gregorys Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat, by Dick Gregory. Amistad. $17.99.

BEST FOR: Dick Gregory fans, raw foodists, fans of 1970s food history

The late comedian and civil rights activist published this fascinating book in 1973, and it was rereleased this year because of the upsurge in interest in books about plant-based diets and about civil rights. Gregory tackles both. The book isnt a cookbook, although it does contain a handful of recipes (nut milk, apricot butter, banana nut rolls, avocado dressing) and a number of daily menu suggestions. Instead, this slim paperback opens a window onto 1970s food culture (wheat germ, yogurt, brewers yeast) and gives us a glimpse into Gregorys own family and food traditions. Gregory, who spoke at the 1975 World Vegetarian Congress in Orono, rejected the animal-based soul food he grew up eating and eventually embraced a mostly raw food diet with periodic juice fasts, which he did for both personal and political reasons. Gregory even tackles the on-trend topic of making homemade pet foods. Four years after his death, Gregory is still urging us to get our food from Mother Natures own kitchen.

Avery Yale Kamila is a food writer who lives in Portland. She can be reached at [emailprotected]Twitter:AveryYaleKamila

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The best vegan and vegetarian cookbooks of the year - pressherald.com

Its that time of year when you wake up sweating and cant figure out why. Did you accidentally wear your thermals in bed? Do you have tuberculosis? No, dummy, its just that its almost Christmas, its your turn to play host, and the list of things that can go wrong on the 25th is long and wearying.

Can I recommend, before we drill into this list, a quick wisdom stocktake? Last year was the worst Christmas imaginable: every plan was kiboshed at the very last minute; non-essential shops closed before wed done our shopping; people who thought they were going back to their families ended up at home and hadnt bought Baileys and crackers and whatnot; people whod battled solitude for a year were stuck alone; people living on top of each other couldnt catch a break; people expecting guests were buried under surplus pigs in blankets, and beyond our under-or over-decorated front doors, the outside world was fraught with risk and sorrow, as coronavirus declined to mark the birth of the Christ child with any respite from its march of terror. Im not saying it couldnt be as bad as that again just that it couldnt possibly be as surprisingly bad again.

There are some bridges you cant cross until you come to them; but others, you can get a head start on.

The turkeys too big for the oven!How did you let this happen? Its not as though this meal is a surprise. Youre right, I am using a harsh, judgmental tone for a reason. There is a tendency when were around our families to default to a mean, buzzing internal monologue of: Youre useless / hopeless / incompetent, a discordant medley of everyone who ever made you feel bad, a proportion of whom, inevitably, are currently in your living room, expecting to be fed. Try not to do this to yourself. (Sure, easier said than done.)

Now, on to your oven/turkey dilemma: it seems counterintuitive to consult the Guardians Felicity Cloake, creator of How to Cook the Perfect and author of many books, from Perfect to Completely Perfect, on a matter of such complete imperfection. Yet Cloake is ideal, with so many solutions that even to count them will calm you like a breathing exercise.

Cut the legs off! she advises. Theyre usually the thing that gets wedged in the oven element and send my temperature soaring. They should be relatively easy to yank off, but as with everything, theres a YouTube video to help. If its still too big, take the wings off, too. If youve discovered far enough in advance, and its just that you dont have room for the turkey and side dishes together, then roast the turkey first, cover it with foil, then carve it and cover it in hot gravy before serving.

The turkey does fit in the oven but you put it in too late and now everyones starving and its still half raw!Cloake to the rescue again. My first reaction would be: put it back in the oven and give them a few more crisps, she says. But if theyve already started drinking, youre in a danger zone. They might sail past appetite on a sea of sherry, straight into Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

If you need to eat now, Cloake continues, Id advise starting with the breast, which will cook first and which may well be ready even if the legs are still raw. Its always worth double checking the temperature with a meat thermometer as turkey brown meat is quite dark and might look uncooked when its not.

If its not cooked at all, take it out, joint it and roast the constituent parts separately. If youre really desperate, bring a large pan of chicken or vegetable stock to a simmer, then take the meat off the bone and poach it in that. It should only take a few minutes.

Your pesky niece was a vegetarian last week and now, suddenly, shes a vegan, but nobody told you.All those failsafe store cupboard solutions for the emergency veggie the cheese toastie, the omelette are out of the window. In a carnivores kitchen, you will most likely be lacking what a vegan would consider the basics of special-occasion cooking: some kind of meat substitute, such as a burger made of pea protein; or fake cheese.

Always have a dairy-free supermarket puff pastry sheet in they last a long time in the freezer, lend themselves to festive presentation and can be filled with anything any mashed vegetable plus something like a tapenade. If theres no space in your oven, firm tofu in cubes, dusted in cornflour, deep fried, will make a random but delicious turkey substitute for your incredibly thoughtless, but presumably dearly loved, relative.

One of your guests doesnt believe in vaccinations.When we think of anti-vaxxers, especially in an intimate, family setting, were often most comfortable channelling our indignation into the territory of health: that anti-science idiot is endangering my health, or grandmas, ergo they are selfish. Undoubtedly, they are much more likely to have caught Covid, and substantially more likely to pass it on, but if this is a deal-breaker, check ahead that everyones vaxxed and disinvite anyone who isnt.

Otherwise, try this thought experiment: if they couldnt get vaccinated say they had an insurmountable needle-phobia you might be much more worried about them as a Covid victim than as a carrier. So what you could be reacting to might not be the vector transmission but character traits obduracy, narcissism, callousness. You almost need to take yourself out of it, in order to get the temperature down. Theyre not doing this to you. Its just a thing theyre doing.

We tend to think about this as a question of etiquette how can I be kind while making sure my boundaries are respected? But the world of political discourse has much more practical research on how we talk to each other across ideological divides. Ellie Mae OHagan runs the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class) thinktank, and works on public attitudes related to the economy and culture wars. The person whose methodology I like best is Anat Shenker-Osorio, she says, who divides people into base, persuadable and opposition.

Base tends to mean broadly progressive, humane, reasonable. Opposition doesnt mean right or left, but rather, youre the small segment of the population who cannot be moved, whatever the issue is. Youre ideologically hardline, youll probably read a lot of news and take the information that supports your existing view. First, figure out who youre dealing with. A persuadable person is more likely to express uncertainty, more likely to contradict themselves, more likely to draw from their own experience. An opposition mindset will be characterised by a long list of dodgy or diversionary facts and a great deal more certainty.

With a persuadable person, OHagan says: Dont tell them facts. That doesnt work. Dont myth-bust. What that tends to do is strengthen the myth in peoples minds. Start with a shared value and be clear that you see the good in them. I can see that you really care about making sure that people are safe. I also care about that.

The advice on the opposition mindset is not to persuade them, but in a political context to alienate them. If you dont, usually you end up saying something so bland that youre not really saying anything. In an interpersonal context, this really means, just move on: dont deliberately alienate them realistically, youre probably already not that close but dont get involved.

Interestingly, a (nameless by choice) spokesperson for the NHS said something similar they divide vaccine attitudes into four: accepting; hesitant; resistant; hostile. They only communicate with the first three, and dont engage with the fourth.

Your uncle is drunk and itching to tell some home truths.Theres an argument that one person will always be spoiling for a fight, and that its their Christmas, too. Theyve come all this way, so let them say whatever it is and shrug it off. Often, someone who wants to kick off will do it with a big, unsayable thing that Donald Trump wasnt all bad, or Covid is a hoax, or some other conspiracy theory. OHagan says: The one thing thats not discussed enough is that a lot of people who become Covid conspiracy theorists are people who really suffered during lockdown. Theyre seeking explanations for what was going on, because they were frightened and suffering. Try to respond to the hurt rather than the words.

Equally, some people just get eggy when they drink too fast, on which, my core suggestions are: make your first offer not champagne or any fizzy wine, which people always drink too fast because theyre thirsty and excited, a lethal combination. Instead, make some really weak gin and tonics, which theyll also drink too fast but it wont matter. Then, when they move on to their next drink, theyll still be excited but at least they wont be thirsty.

You bought your brother something amazing and he got you something from PoundlandI had a friend who gave her brother a kidney and that Christmas, he gave her some tights from TK Maxx, and she weathered that. True story. So just have a word with yourself, eh?

Your wifi is acting up and youve forgotten how to get away from one another without screens.The reason Christmas is so fraught and occupies such a central place in our hosting anxieties is parking your unique family dynamics twofold. First, catering at scale is unfamiliar to many people. Second, spending hours in company doesnt suit a lot of temperaments. Introverts need downtime; extroverts feel offended. The core family of parents plus adult kids will usually have its own strategies to deal with all this, but add in some in-laws, neighbours, new girlfriends or boyfriends, and youre back to square one.

My family always used to have this enforced walk across a vast and dreary common, which went on for two hours, and when I describe it it sounds awful, but it wasnt, because it enabled us to split into twos and threes and have real conversations, rather than the stilted performances that whole-family groups scare up round a table. The main thing is to make everything optional and have a few options. Charades / snooze / wash up. Poker / TV / walk the dog. Create legitimate escape routes for people who need them, otherwise theyre really going to give you a pain in your butt by about 6pm.

One of your guests is allergic to cats and youve got six. In the old days, you probably wouldnt have got a cat if it meant your brother or best friends boyfriend could no longer visit, but now, sheesh, 18 months with nobody ever visiting you and acres of home time why not have four?

Hoover like a fiend ahead of time; the hair lying about might have much more of an effect than the animal itself padding in and out. Ventilate well, which you should be doing anyway. Make sure you have antihistamines, but also consider asking your guest to take one before they arrive, although not in a tone of voice that makes them feel like a nuisance.

Its way beyond your bedtime and your guests wont leave!On this of all days, its a conversation you can have ahead of time: who needs to stay over, how those who dont stay will get home, whos driving and will need elderflower cordial. All these practical details will give you a good idea of what your entertainment window will look like. However, our social muscles have atrophied somewhat; weve become less good at reading cues and have simply forgotten what time things are supposed to end. Or maybe some of us are overexcited and want to spend more time together than ever. The first time my sister came over after the last lockdown, she left at 3am. Others are taking time to reacclimatise. We all just need radical openness: dont bother with all the Martha Stewart-ey tips, letting the wine run out and turning the lights up. Just say: Im tired, and Im going to bed, and I know this isnt how we used to do things, but it doesnt mean I love you any less.

The couple youve invited cant stand each other any more.This is one of the weirdest things about the pandemic. Not seeing enough of people outside our household, all couples, I mean all of us, have got into quite idiosyncratic registers. I know couples who have become very saccharine in the way they talk to each other, couples who overshare to a degree that would put hairs on your chest, couples whose tone has become very rough and sarcastic, and none of it is immediately legible, so dont overreact. However, these are your guests you know them pretty well or you wouldnt have invited them. And if they really cant stand each other, one or both parties will probably have told you. Im afraid this is just awks and your only strategy is to keep it off the table. Theyll split up when theyre ready, and Christmas Day at your house is nobodys idea of ready.

You realise your kids have crossed over into cynicism and will never experience the magic of Christmas again. Indeed, last year was probably their final true childhood Christmas, but you were too preoccupied to notice.I would normally quote Marge Simpson Take all your bad feelings and push them down, all the way down, past your knees, until youre almost walking on them but her children stayed the same age her entire life, so what does she know? The passing of time is just inherently sad.

Boris Johnson has just cancelled Christmas again!A personal view: after everything thats happened, including but in no way limited to the prime ministers own bogus childcare bubble last Christmas, I find it extremely unlikely that anyone will be asked or expected to celebrate on their own in 2021. However, we may be asked to scale our plans right back, and find ourselves in our nuclear families with excess food mountains, or without any of the right food. If this comes to pass, look back over the things youve been worrying about, and you may find some silver linings.

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Your niece is suddenly vegan! How to survive the 12 disasters of Christmas - The Guardian

At first glance, all wines should be vegan, right? Wine is just made out of grapes and grapes are 100 percent vegan. Trust us, we wish it were that simple. Unfortunately, wines go through a clarifying process called fining to take out sediment molecules like proteins and tannins. The fining agents determine whether the wine is vegan. Traditionally, gelatin, egg whites, casein, and fish bladder protein are used as fining agents.

However, vegan fining agents have hit the market and are becoming more popular. Nowadays, clay-based bentonite and activated charcoal are quite popular. Alternatively, giving the wine enough time to self-stabilize gets rid of the need for fining agents at all.

Here are ten new vegan wines or wine brands to check out for your next wine and (vegan) cheese party!

Founded by Julianne Hough and Nina Dobrev, Fresh Vine Wines is a vegan, low-carb, and low-calorie wine brand. The celebrities launched the wine brand in early 2021 with a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and ros. The grapes are grown throughout California and bottles in Napa Valley. You can buy Fresh Vine Wines in several locations in the United States or on their website.

Founded by Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power, Avaline is a vegan wine company thats also organic and entirely free from colors or concentrates. Instead of using egg whites or gelatin as fining agents, Avaline uses bentonite clay to help filter out their wines. Diaz and Powers recognized that winemakers dont legally have to disclose a lot when it comes to whats in their products, and they wanted to change that.

Originating from South Africa, this is a great winter red wine. Its fruity, woody, medium-bodied, and robust on the palate. The 2020 Syrah has notes of anise, clove, cranberry, and cherry. The wine is sustainably made and uses natural yeast for its fermentation process. We think this would be delicious with a barbeque tempeh or tofu dish.

Founded by model and actress Christie Brinkley, Bellissima sparkling wines are all organic and made from grapes from Treviso, Italy. The brand is dedicated to being environmentally friendlyeven the ink of the packaging is organic! While the wines are new they are newly available on the online market. Ordering wine without leaving the couch? Yes, please!

This vegan-friendly wine is a collaboration between Sarah Jessica Parker and Invivo Wines. The Invivo X, SJP Sauvignon Blanc is from Marlborough, New Zealand. It has a flavor profile of tropical and citrus fruits, with a touch of oak, making it perfect to serve chilled during the warmer months. Invivo X, SJP also has a vegan-friendly Ros.

Another dry and acidic wine, this Sauvignon Blanc from Alma Libre is a scrumptious vegan white wine option. It has notes of melon, pear, guava, citrus, and pineapple. People often associate white wine with seafood, but you can enjoy this wine with a refreshing vegan dish, too. Its best to enjoy this wine chilled.

Moving onto a red wine, this Tempranillo by Wonderful Wine Co. is rich, warm, and slightly earthy. It pairs well with salad, fries, pasta with red sauce, and Thai food. The best way to service this Tempranillo is to chill it then let it warm up in the glass. Wonderful Wine Co.s slogan is Clean Wine for Better Living and all their wines are made from organic grapes and are low-sulfite.

If youre looking for a low-sugar white blend to enjoy with your next meal, this LAtelier du Sud might be a perfect pairing. Its delicate and dry with notes of honey, lychee, lemon, and white flowers. Some wines can be overpowering, but this 2020 White Blend subtly engages the palette. This is a great wine to keep around because it pairs nicely with a variety of dishes from Thai food to pizza.

Made in Minervois, France, Cherries & Rainbows is sustainably farmed and marketed as for the modern wine drinker. The wine was a collaboration between Wincs Ryan Zotovich and winemaker Robert Eden and has quite good reviews. Its more fruity than anything with notes of blackberry, cherry, dried herbs, and vanilla. This is the perfect wine for a pizza and movie night.

This crisp white wine from Austria has been recommended as an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. It has notes of lime zest, melon, pineapple, and white flowers. It has a touch of earthiness to it, but its the fruitiness that really stands out on the palette. There are a lot of great vegan cheeses on the market, and this 2020 Gner Veltliner would pair wonderfully with them.

There are a plethora of delectable and exciting vegan wines on the market and we predict that even more wineries will move towards making their wines vegan-friendly in the future. If youve tried one or more of these wines already, let us know what you thought of them!

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to theOne Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please considersupporting us by donating!

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10 New Vegan Wines on the Market - One Green Planet

The holiday season is here, and no holiday party, no matter how small or intimate, feels complete if there isn't any eggnog. Yes, that age-old creamy sweet concoction, with the right amount of bite and nostalgia for days when the company Christmas party looked like a scene from Mad Men is still as popular today as ever.Despite its name, there is not a single egg in our recipe, which is made without a touch of cream or dairy, so anyone, vegans and non-vegans alike, can now enjoy this classic drink of old.

These days you can even find delicious, egg-free nog in your refrigerator case at the supermarket, and some of the milk carton versions actually do a pretty good job of mimicking that iconic creamy, nutmeg-y taste of everyone's favorite festive winter drink.If you're living theplant-based life, you might even think of having fun making your own batch for friends (you don't even have to tell them it's dairy-free. That's between you and Santa). Here are our favorite store-bought dairy-free eggnogs to help celebrate the holidays.

Almond Breeze isa classic-tasting eggnog that everyone will love for theholidays. Almond Breezemilk alternatives have never failed us. andthe brand'seggnog lives up to all expectations we have to the taste and texture, despite the fact that it's dairy-free. It's one of the most allergen-friendly options. since it's not onlydairy-free but also soy-free, lactose-free, peanut-free, casein-free, egg-free, and gluten-free.

We loved this one served up plain, but we alsothink Almond Breeze is a tasty option for your spiked eggnog. Almond Breeze's nog will fool your non-vegan guests into thinking they're drinking the real deal. Serve it up and then show them the carton after!

Trader Joe's almond-based eggnog was an office favorite and you should run, don't walk, to get your hands on a container. If you don't like overly sweetened eggnog and you are happy with a thinner consistency, this one is the nog for you. A true eggnog lover will search for the spicy and sweet flavors found in traditional eggnogs, but healthier is always our goal so we were thrilled with TJ's formula. The thinner pour makes this the perfect choice for a nog latte.

The office was divided on Califia's Holiday Nog: Some of our coworkers found the spices and taste to resemble the exact taste of the traditional nog they grew up with, whereas others thoughtit tasted too sweet, like liquid candy. This nog is for anyone who lovesnotes of nutmeg and ginger. Califia's is also the creamiest option of the bunch, and makes you feel like you're indulging in a sweet treat but with only 1.5 grams of fat and no saturated fat, it's the kind of plant-based treat that isn't too terrible for you. So enjoy!

Good Karma's Flaxmilk Holiday Nog is perfect for anyone who is nut-free or who doesn't like the taste and consistency of almond milk. This nog is the most allergen-friendly since it is free of the top eight allergens including, gluten, dairy, and nuts. The holiday nog is made with flaxseed oil andmost closely resemblesthe texture of traditional nog.

If you enjoy a creamer on the sweeter side, then you will loveGood Karma's nog. Want to fancy up your morning joe? This "veg-nog" blends perfectly with a cup of strong coffee, creating a sweetened holiday-infused morning beverage. We appreciate the relativelylow carbs (8g per serving), so this is your best betif you're watching your waist and still want to feel like you'recelebrating the holidays in style.

So Delicious is one of those companies that named itself perfectly. Sip their almond milk-eggnog and you want to say the words! The consistency oftheir nog mimicsconventional ones perfectly, witha rich taste and the same creamy thickness as real nog. The coconut flavor adds a nice taste for a holiday bevy, but treat this nog as an indulgence since it has 2 grams of saturated fat and 15 grams of carbs. So what? YOLO and it's the holidays. Add this sweet dairy-free nog to your grocery list.

What can we say? We love Elmhurst, which switched from being a dairy company to a plant-based company back in 2017 (way ahead of its time) and changed the name to Elmhurst 1925. Now it's thefastest-growing plant-based beverage company on the market! You can tell your guests that as you serve them this amazingly homemade tasting eggnog, which is made with oat milk, and just the right amount of sweetness and spice.

Elmhurst 1925's Oat Nog formula is that holy grail of eggnogs: the perfect combination of flavor and sweetness without being too thick or too sweet. It's as good as real without being over the top. Made with only six ingredients, Elmhurst 1925's Oat Nog makes the perfect holiday coffee creamer or mixer for your holiday gathering. Do leave the cartonin view, since it will be a conversation starter among your guests.

Not a fan of store-bought vegan eggnogs? (If you taste our favorites you might change your mind.) But if you prefer to make your holiday treats and beverages from scratch, this recipe will become a family favorite for years to come.

Prep Time: 1 Cook Time: 15 Total Time: 16 minutes (make it 1 to 2 hours ahead to allow it to cool) Yield: 6 1x

For more great product reviews and recommendations of vegan products, including editors' favorites and our ratings out of five for both health and taste, check out The Beet Meters. We review non-dairy creamers, plant-based milks, dairy-free pizzas, non-dairy cheeses and more.

Excerpt from:

Vegan Eggnog: The Best DIY and Store Bought Options - The Beet

Photo courtesy of Askanya Chocolates

Vegan chocolate is the perfect present for a friend or family member who's vegan or has dairy allergies, and these selections would bring the wow factor to any celebration. Recent vegans who miss dairy-based candy bars will love the milk chocolate bars made with almond milk or oat milk. There are lots of dark chocolate choices, too.

With special festive flavors, gorgeous gift packaging and ethically sourced ingredients, many of these chocolates are also perfect for displaying in gift baskets or stuffing in stockings.

Photo courtesy of Lagusta's Luscious

Lagusta's Luscious is a small, charming chocolaterie with a focus on vegan, ethically made artisanal chocolates. Their Winter Wonderland Box showcases the wonderful flavors of the season. It includes cranberry orange caramels, apple caramels, peppermint white chocolate bonbons, hazelnut sugar plum bonbons and more.

They also offer a holiday bark thats 65% chocolate with white chocolate leaves and swirls, tart cherries, mint sugar and candied citrus fruit.

The shop also had a Festival of Lights Collection that included Hanukkah treats such as hand-piped dreidels, gelt and latke bonbons.

Photo courtesy of Vosges Haut-Chocolat

The vegan truffle collection from Vosges Haut-Chocolat offers a fun variety of decadent flavors. Forest Raspberry Rose, I.G.P. Piemonte Hazelnut and Sicilian Blood Orange sound sophisticated, and each one has a one-of-a-kind taste.

Each truffle is made with early-harvest Mediterranean olive oil and 72% cacao dark chocolate. Additionally, the Forest Raspberry Rose has raspberry rose gele, Bulgarian rose water and raspberry powder. Theyre all about pure and delectable ingredients. These gourmet chocolates are made with minimal sugar because fruit is used as a sweetener.

Photo courtesy of Pascha

White chocolate was something that vegans used to just do without if they didnt know how to make plant-based versions at home. Pascha has perfected the vegan white chocolate bar. Its just right for holiday snacking, baking and creating gingerbread houses. It has a rich, creamy flavor, and its made with a rice milk base.

Paschas white chocolate bar is organic, certified vegan and made without the top 8 major food allergens. (Those allergens include nuts, dairy, soy and wheat.) Pascha also makes two rice-based baking chips that go well in many holiday cookie recipes.

Photo courtesy of No Whey! Foods

From their Hanukkah chocolate treats to their Christmas advent calendar with a different chocolate for 24 days, No Whey! brings a lot of joy and chocolate to the holiday season. One of their popular treats is the milkless peppermint bark with its blend of vegan milk chocolate and vivid, refreshing peppermint.

Since No Whey! is a vegan company, all their chocolates are dairy-free. Their holiday signature truffle collection is full of festive flavors like "milk" fudge, Grand Marnier, raspberry, coffee and salted caramel. For stocking stuffers, the Christmas lollipop collection features chocolates on a stick that are shaped like a gingerbread man, a reindeer and Santa Claus.

Photo courtesy of La Maison du Chocolat

Those who love dark chocolate and fruity confections will spark to La Maison du Chocolats vegan gift box. The French chocolate maker is known for its silky, smooth chocolates, and its easy to see why with these treats in five different flavors.

Raspberry, passion fruit, lemon, orange and blackcurrant chocolates are included in this gift box. They have a delectable long fruit finish and a creamy texture. Most have a dash of coconut milk chocolate for added sweetness and softness. The ingredients are simple and the taste is pure.

Photo courtesy of Chocolate Inspirations

Chocolate Inspirations loves to go all out for the holidays. Although the company doesnt exclusively make vegan treats, they bring vegans along for the festive fun. Among their seasonal vegan treats are gourmet vegan chocolate covered caramel corn, a double peppermint bark and truffle bars.

The vegan artisan toffees, brittles and chocolate barks are all beloved treats during the winter months. Their vegan cinnamon toast toffee is perfectly infused with cinnamon and dipped in dark chocolate before being sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar blend. And the cinnamon sugared pecans are salty pecan halves that are coated in the special Chocolate Inspirations cinnamon sugar glaze.

Photo courtesy of Theo Chocolate

The Nutcracker Brittle from Theo Chocolate is a yummy seasonal treat. It has hazelnuts, as well as sweet and crunchy brittle pieces mixed into the 55% dark chocolate bar. Its finished off with a pinch of salt that makes the flavors really pop. Another holiday is the peppermint crunch bar that's a combination of organic peppermint oil, delectable brittle and dark chocolate.

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Photo courtesy of Goodio

Goodio is a chocolate company that aspired to accelerate positive change with its chocolates. Its Winter Glow chocolate is a delightful chocolate bar with 50% cacao thats handmade in Finland. Other pure, simple ingredients include coconut flakes, cinnamon and cranberries. The gourmet chocolate bar is then topped with mulled wine crystals for extra scrumptiousness.

Photo courtesy of Real Mushrooms

You may not think that mushrooms and chocolate are a natural pair, but they go together wonderfully for a treat thats healthy and delicious. This Real Mushrooms chocolate bar is 75% dark chocolate, and it has ingredients to support the immune system. As a plus, this chocolate bar is non-GMO and made from ingredients that are certified organic.

Photo courtesy of Wei of Chocolate

Wei of Chocolate is known for their melt-in-your-mouth chocolate treats in rich, creative flavors. Some of their flavors that are a perfect fit for the holidays include the Peppermint Dark Chocolate bar that is 68% cacao and the Sacred Body Dark Chocolate that is 72% cacao. Their candy is organic and vegan, and its made from ethically sourced cacao.

Photo courtesy of Cocomels

Cocomels vegan caramels are tastier than any traditional ones with dairy. Now the company also makes a variety of delicious chocolates, and their seasonal gift boxes and special flavors are popular presents at the holidays.

Their toffee gift box has crunchy, tasty coconut milk caramel toffee bark pieces that are covered in rich dark chocolate. Their holiday gift box of chocolate-covered caramels is filled with creamy coconut milk caramels that are covered with 70% dark chocolate and then finished with sea salt.

Photo courtesy of That's it.

That's it. recently launched a line of vegan chocolate truffles that are made with minimal, organic ingredients. Their dark chocolate date, dark chocolate fig, dark chocolate banana and dark chocolate raisin flavors are all made from fair trade-certified cacao. Theyre all made from four basic ingredients: fruit, organic unsweetened chocolate, organic sugar and organic cocoa butter.

Photo courtesy of UNREAL

If you love and miss M&Ms, UNREALs dark chocolate crispy gems and dark chocolate peanut gems are great alternatives. UNREAL has a vegan variety pack that includes those in addition to almond butter cups and peanut butter cups.

They come in convenient bags that close easily for quick snacking. The brand is known for not using any sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, and they use 51% less sugar than leading candy brands.

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Photo courtesy of Askanya Chocolates

Askanya Chocolates offers mini dark candy bars that are ideal stocking stuffers. Their beautiful, artful packaging hints at the pure, delicate chocolate taste within. Theyre made with natural and ethically sourced ingredients like cacao, lime, artisanal cane sugar and orange.

Chocolate bar flavors include Minuit, Bouquet Vert (lime chocolate) and Soly (orange chocolate). In addition to being vegan, all their chocolates are gluten-free and soy-free.

Photo courtesy of Charm School Chocolate

The coconut milk chocolates from Charm School Chocolate are creamier and more delicious than any dairy-based milk chocolates. The coconut milk chocolate bars and confections are great as stocking stuffers and gift basket treats. Their vanilla bean white chocolate wows with its flavor that comes from Madagascar vanilla beans, and the caramel malt bar is a creative sweet treat.

Photo courtesy of Gigantic!

The Gigantic! Double Dark Mint candy bar is a special-edition holiday flavor. Its made with fair trade dark chocolate and plant-based coconut milk caramel for an authentically sweet taste. The chocolatey caramel filling and crunchy cacao nibs with refreshing mint flavor notes make a uniquely delicious bar.

Photo courtesy of Taza Chocolate

One thing that new vegans are afraid of sacrificing are good, old-fashioned candy bars. Happily, there are a a lot of milk chocolate alternatives, and its hard to find one thats as delicious as Taza Chocolate's milk chocolate bars that have an almond milk base. Theyre flavorful and fulfilling, and theyre sweetened only with pure coconut sugar.

Taza Chocolate's almond milk chocolate bars come in three flavors: Crunchy Cashew, Quinoa Crunch and Classic. Theyre fun for gift baskets and stockings!

Photo courtesy of Hu Kitchen - Whole Foods

Hu Kitchen makes a variety of chocolates, including a gift collection thats sold exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Some of their festive bars include Hu Kitchen Pumpkin Spice Dark Chocolate and Hu Kitchen Gingerbread Dark Chocolate. Other popular flavors that are also often enjoyed at the holidays are the Cashew Butter + Vanilla Bean and the Hazelnut Butter.

Photo courtesy of Sjaak's

Sjaak's creates a variety of holiday-themed chocolates that are mouthwateringly delicious and fun. Their festive snowballs are made with vegan white chocolate thats filled with almond butter then rolled with coconut flakes. Their Santa-shaped vegan milk chocolate lollipops make ideal stocking stuffers and nobody will miss the dairy when eating this creamy, vegan milk chocolate. The holiday gift boxes of Sjaak's chocolates are great standalone presents, too.

Photo courtesy of photo courtesy of Rabbit Food Grocery

Go Max Go candy bars are a wonderfully indulgent treat for when you miss traditional milk chocolate candy bars. They have artfully recreated (and sometimes improved upon) the candy bars that most of us grew up on. However, all their candy bars are made from plant-based milks and are completely vegan.

If you miss Reeses peanut butter cups, try their Cleos peanut butter cups. Mahalo bars are an easy substitute for Almond Joy candy bars. Similarly, Go Max Gos Jokerz is better than the Snickers bar you remember. Snap! is a creamy rice milk chocolate bar that tastes a lot like a Crunch bar.

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Delicious chocolate treats that make it easy to go vegan this holiday season - USA Today 10Best

When I first encountered Joanne Lee Molinaros cooking videos, I didnt realize she was making food. Tucked between one TikTok dance and an arresting drag queen makeup tutorial, her audio stopped me in my tracks before I even noticed her cooking.

Gorgeous food videos are almost a dime a dozen, and Molinaros sumptuous and romantic TikTok posts are no exception. Think moody lighting catching every wisp of steam, or close-ups of spoons and chopsticks stirring rice or omelets or bowls of noodles, each perfectly imperfect crack or texture exposed. In many cases, Molinaro doesnt even offer a recipe, nary a measurement. Instead, Molinaros gentle and confident voiceover guides viewers through a 60-second story from her life as a daughter of immigrants, a lawyer, cook, and now cookbook author. The food? Stunning, but not the point.

In many ways, Molinaros The Korean Vegan Cookbook is an extension of her poetic and personal social media presence. An exploration of popular and less-traveled dishes from the Korean gastronomical lexicon, its a debut cookbook that I have not been able to put down.

Molinaros lyrical stories about her familys immigrant experience full of family photos and with gorgeous, aesthetic photography gained her millions of TikTok followers over the last year, as people found her on that platform. Her vulnerability and empathy translate to the page, like when she describes her suburban upbringing: ... at the far end of the yard was my grandmothers pride and joy: dozens of tall, graceful stalks of perilla leaves that turn their heart-shaped faces to the sun like a troupe of ballerinas. Throughout the book, she uses her adapted vegan recipes as a bridge to her heritage.

READ MORE: 2 Pennsylvania companies go big on tofu and tempeh as consumers embrace plant-forward diets

Molinaro started a food blog in 2016 with an eye toward sharing vegan versions of Korean recipes while preserving the details that sometimes get stripped in the rush to bring Korean recipes to the masses. She writes early in her book that veganism remains extremely rare in Korean culture ... I was terrified that going vegan meant losing my Korean-ness.

Molinaro cleverly sidesteps non-vegan Korean ingredients by offering easy-to-make versions at home in any international pantry, like an umami-packed fishy sauce that employs mushrooms among other flavorful ingredients, or a rich Korean barbecue sauce that does double-duty as a marinade or stir-fry sauce. A whole chapter on banchan, the bevy of Korean side dishes that are the delightful workhorses of any meal, is stacked with varied, flavorful dishes like dooboo jeon (tofu cakes), braised lions mane mushrooms, and simply roasted-and-glazed onions.

Some standouts include modern takes on non-Korean dishes, like a truly spicy angry penne pasta, an inspired riff on Italian pasta arrabiata that employs gochujang and gochugaru, Korean red pepper paste and flakes, respectively.

The deceptively simple dooboo kimchi, a modestly prepared dish of boiled tofu with a kimchi mix, has proved to be a regular mainstay in my home its the kind of comforting and quick weeknight meal that I love to assemble in under 20 minutes. It is deeply satisfying sustenance in a humble package.

As the nights get longer and colder, there are recipes Ive earmarked for precisely that purpose, like midnight-black jjajangmyun, a dish of noodles lacquered in a glossy black bean sauce made famous by the film Parasite, and gamja tang, a fortifying potato stew.

READ MORE: Our 6 favorite cookbooks for fall and winter 2021

I am not vegan, not by a long shot, but you dont have to be to enjoy the earthy, robust meals in this book.

Even as Molinaro recounts her stories, the flavors Ive encountered in Korean Vegan transport me to another time in my own life: From middle school through high school, my brothers and I would join our childhood friends, who were Korean, for weekly Bible study at their church. Invariably, the most exciting part of those evenings would be fellowship with the other kids and elders, feasting on plates of bulgogi or omelets, rice, mandoo, kimchi of all varieties.

Cooking through this book and tasting the round heat of gochujang or the fermented tang of kimchi remind me of a simpler time, of eating not my grandparents cooking but that of anothers, and the spirit in which we broke bread and shared food. Theres connection in these recipes. Writes Molinaro: What Ive learned by collecting and sharing these recipes is that what really matters isnt whether the food tastes exactly the way your grandmother made it but how it makes you feel ... They remind me of my mothers perseverance, my fathers laughter. They remind me of home.

Buy The Korean Vegan Cookbook on bookshop.org | Borrow it from the Free Library

In The Korean Vegan Cookbook, Joanne Lee Molinaro offers readers a vegan version of the ubiquitous Korean staple, baechu kimchi, made with Napa cabbage and fermented at home. The process may be intimidating for some readers, and when you dont want to wait a week for quality kimchi but instead need a fast meal, subbing in store-bought vegan products like Mother In Laws Kimchi or Mama Os are available in a pinch, online and in grocery stores. Gochujang and gochugaru (Korean red pepper paste and flakes, respectively) are also commonly available in most grocery stores now.

1 16-ounce block medium-firm tofu

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 large trumpet mushrooms, sliced into -inch-thick pieces

Salt

tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

large onion, julienned

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups kimchi, roughly chopped

cup plus 1 tablespoon spicy gochujang dressing (below)

1 scallion, chopped

1 Korean green chili, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Gochujang dressing

cup gochujang

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Make the gochujang dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients. Add 1 tablespoon of water and continue to stir. The sauce should be the consistency of salad dressing. If it is too thick, add another tablespoon of water to thin it out. Gochujang dressing can be stored in a cover container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

In a small pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Add the whole block of tofu gently to the pot. Cook the tofu for 8 to 9 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer and cook until both sides are evenly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Do not cover the mushrooms. Reserve the pan.

Remove the tofu from the boiling water and gently slice the block in half. If the center is still cool to the touch, place both halves back into the boiling water for 2 more minutes. When the tofu is completely cooked, remove from water and pat dry with a clean kitchen or paper towel. Slice the tofu into -inch-thick pieces. Set aside.

Set the reserved pan used to cook the mushrooms over medium heat. Add tablespoon of sesame oil and the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions turn translucent and the garlic starts to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the kimchi and mushrooms to the pan and saute all the contents until the kimchi starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cup of the gochujang dressing to the pan and stir all the ingredients until evenly coated with the sauce. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the scallion and chile, sprinkle with the toasted sesame seed, and drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

To serve, place the sauteed kimchi mixture in the center of a round platter and arrange the tofu slices in a circle along the edge. Drizzle the tofu with the remaining 1 tablespoon gochujang dressing.

1 12-ounce box penne pasta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

cup chopped red onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 Korean red chili or serrano chili, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon gochugaru

1 tablespoon gochujang

Parsley, minced, to garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and begin cooking according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion, garlic, bell pepper, Korean chile, salt, and black pepper and cook until the onions become translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and more salt to the pot and continue stirring occasionally. Add the gochugaru and gochujang and stir until the vegetables are evenly coated. Add cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to the pot and stir.

Remove the vegetable mixture from the heat and blend the contents with an immersion blender (you can also transfer to a regular blender; be careful with the hot contents of the pot).

When the pasta has 1 more minute to go, drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Set the pot over medium heat and add the blended sauce. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Garnish with parsley, if using, and serve.

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Korean Vegan, one of the best cookbooks of the year, is big on flavor and comfort - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The morning after winning the New York City mayors race, in November, Eric Adams stopped for breakfast at Marinellos Gourmet Deli, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Adams will be the citys first vegan mayor. Last year, he published Healthy at Last, a book about his strict plant-based diet, which he credits with reversing a diabetes diagnosis he received in 2016. His campaign platform, which focussed on public safety and fears of crime, also included proposals for food access and equity, which he considers public-health issues. In Bushwick, a specially made vegan sandwich was waiting for him: spinach, red onion, avocado, egg substitute, and a potato-based queso sauce, all wrapped in a tortilla. Heard @eatplantega was on a mission to bring healthy foods to more NYC communities and that they created a wrap in my honor, Adams, who had stayed up late the night before with Ja Rule and Eric Schmidt at the members-only Manhattan night club Zero Bond, tweeted. [S]o naturally I had to stop by on Wednesday and try the Mayors Wrap and fuel back up after a long campaign!

The shoutout was a coup for Plantega, a vegan-sandwich company whose menu is currently offered in fourteen bodegas around town. According to Plantegas C.E.O., Nil Zacharias, New York has somewhere between eight thousand and fourteen thousand bodegas, independently operated catchall stores, open late and frequented by most. Theyre critical infrastructure, Zacharias said. Marinellos, a large corner shop on a busy block across from Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, stocks a typical inventory; Plantega is trying to expand the offerings at the deli counter. Inside the display case, breaded chicken cutlets and hunks of provolone sat beside slabs of plant-based egg, sausage, and fish substitutes. Zacharias, who was born in Mumbai, is a forty-four-year-old former lawyer and digital marketer. He began working in food after adopting a plant-based diet, eleven years ago, and likes to say that his company offers a plant-based menu-in-a-box for everyday stores, where regular people shop. You cant force someone to go from eating a sausage-egg-and-cheese to eating a kale salad, he said. Its all about changing the environment in which people consume food rather than forcing them to change their habits.

Plantegas bright-colored menu was hanging below a Boars Head poster. Launched under the auspices of a social-impact incubator called EFFECT Partners, which is based in Minneapolis, Plantega is a kind of middleman business. It sources plant-based foods from producers around the world, creates recipes that mimic popular deli offerings, and then pitches bodega owners on incorporating its menu into their existing deli counteroffering to train staff, cordinate deliveries, and help with marketing. Its a humbling experience, Zacharias said, of talking to store owners. If theyre a good bodega, the owner is working there, and has no time to talk to youthe biggest challenge is getting their attention. His pitch is simple, he said: I noticed you have a deli counter. Do you have any vegetarian options? And the second question is, Do customers ask for that? And the answer, nine out of ten times, is yes, many of them are asking for it. And then thats a good lead-in for me to show them my menu. It usually takes a few tries before they agree, because they are very skeptical.

Eight Plantega sandwiches were on the menu at Marinellos, each priced under ten dollars, including a sausage-egg-and-cheese made with Beyond Sausage, Just Egg, Follow Your Heart cheeseour flagship product, Zacharias saidand a butter roll made with Miyokos cultured vegan butter that Zacharias deemed classic New York. Two sandwichesa fish burger made with Good Catch breaded fish fillet and a barbecue pulled-pork sandwich made with substitute pork strips produced by a Hong Kong company called Omniwere new to the menu. This would have not been possible two or three years ago, Zacharias said. Because the products that we need to make it possible did not exist.

I ordered a Plantega sausage-egg-and-cheese from one of Marinellos grill guys, Leo Vivar Martinez. You got to be careful how you cook it, Vivar Martinez said. I try to keep a spot on the grill only for vegan products. The cheese is particularly tricky. If you make it too hot, it turns to oil, Zacharias told me. Because its made of oil. According to Vivar Martinez, Marinellos sells about forty Plantega sandwiches a day. Bushwick is a gentrifying neighborhood, with an increasing number of vegans. But non-vegans were ordering the sandwiches, too, including nurses from the hospital across the street. You know, the plant-based thing has a halo of health, Zacharias told me. We get asked the question often, like, is it truly healthier? And it depends what you compare it to, right? From an absolute standpoint, fruits and vegetablesreal foodare the healthiest things to eat. But, relatively speaking, we are definitely healthier. To me, its a degree of health.

When my sandwich was ready, Zacharias and I walked out to the sidewalk, where three Plantega employees were offering samples of the fish burger and the barbecue pulled-pork sandwich to passersby. I took a bite of the breakfast sandwich and then tried the others. The fish burger was soy-protein-based, with some other seasonings, Ava Nadel, one of the employees, said. I think they use an umami blend and different isolates to compound a seafood flavoring.

Probably has kelp in it, Zacharias added. (Good Catch, the maker of the burger, lists its ingredients as a six-legume blend of peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans and navy beans, natural vegan fish flavors derived from seaweed and a blend of spices.)

Like traditional bodega sandwiches, Plantega sandwiches rely on taste and texture contrasts to become more than the sum of their parts. The breakfast sandwich was hot, chewy, salty, rich. The barbecue pulled-pork sandwich was sweet, savory, and pleasingly messy. Many of the pleasures of a deli sandwich are already plant-based: the way a hot kaiser roll will steam and soften when wrapped in foil, the refreshing crunch of shredded lettuce and onions cutting through salt and creaminess. The people trying the samples seemed to like them. You can get them twenty-four hours? one man asked, after being told that they were on sale inside. A man named Richard Thomas, on his way to a medical appointment, took a bite of the barbecue pulled-pork sandwich, and said, thoughtfully, Ive never eaten a vegan sandwich before. It interests me. Fatheh Cheema, a fourth-year medical student at Wyckoff, politely held a hand in front of his mouth as he chewed a fish burger. This one is fish? he asked. It actually has the texture and feel of chicken. Id say its pretty good.

Plantega is not alone in the vegan-sandwich market. Gregorys Coffee, a local chain with thirty-six locations, has started offering a plant-based breakfast sandwich. Vodega, a store on Staten Island, offers its own version of plant-based deli sandwiches. Zacharias said it was a matter of time before major national chains got in on the trend. In the beginning, we were doing a lot of explaining, he said. We used to give people a whole spiel about why you should eat these products. And we realized that just wasnt the right approach. The right approach is make it attractive, make it fun, and incentivize people to try and just because it looks cool, and maybe if they tasted, they would get it.

Last weekend, Eric Adams unveiled the transition team for his incoming mayoralty. Zacharias was listed as a contributor to the food-policy team. As Brooklyn borough president, Adams has pushed to ban bologna and other processed meats from school lunch menustheres absolutely no reason why we should continue poisoning our childrens health with processed foods, he saidand ordered the vending machines at Borough Hall stocked with nuts and protein bars. As mayor, he has said, he will increase funding for the Office of Food Policy, and leverage the citys food-procurement power to shift to a more healthy, sustainable, fair, and humane food system. Zacharias actually first met the Mayor-elect in 2018, when he went to Brooklyn Borough Hall to interview Adams for a podcast he hosted called Eat for the Planet. When I got there, he was baking bread, Zacharias recalled. And I sat down with him and I was like, O.K., hes not faking it.

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The Vegan Bodega Sandwiches That Eric Adams Wants to See in the World - The New Yorker