The sounds of the zydeco band didnt so much drift from the corner of the North Hollywood strip mall as stampede out of it. The good times began to roll at Krimseys Cajun Kitchen in early 2017, with live music, raucous annual Mardi Gras parties, po boys, beads, jambalaya, craft nights, hush puppies, fried okra and other Looziana fare, all of it vegan. But three years later, those good times came to an end.

Chef-owner Krimsey Lilleth (ne Ramsey) closed her namesake spot, canceled a planned second location in Silver Lake, and eventually left Los Angeles due to the pandemic. These days, the Baton Rouge native is more likely to forage for mushrooms in the Snoqualmie Valley than serve anyone a pot of chicory coffee, but you dont need to track her down in the hills of Washington state to learn the secrets of her plant-based restaurant. Shes written them all down for you.

In late November, Lilleth released The Cajun Vegan Cookbook, with more than 130 recipes for sauces, stews, salads, sandwiches, sips, sweets and entres, all pulled from her Louisiana upbringing but made meat- and dairy-free. Vegetables, she says, take to spice and hearty seasoning, and when it comes to the bayous own blend of African, French and Spanish cuisines, the spice flows.

I think with a lot of cooking thats based in some sort of old tradition or culture, we always have some sort of spice base or flavor profile that isnt meat-based. Its what you put on the meat or marinate the meat in, and thats super true for Cajun food, she said. When people think about Cajun food, a lot of times the holy trinity comes up: celery, [bell] pepper and onion. Thats in almost every single classic or Cajun-Creole dish and Cajun spice. I think its a great foundation for whatever you want to do with it.

Lilleth is already writing another plant-based cookbook, one focused on whole foods and simple preparation.

(Jess Joy)

She uses her own Cajun spice blend of white pepper, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and cracked black pepper to bring heat to the Cajun ranch dressing (one of Lilleths most-requested recipes) and to main dishes like the blackened tempeh, and uses the holy trinity to add depth to the nori-tinged touffe and to the green gumbo packed with chard, mustard greens, collards, kale and turnip greens.

Everyone whos gone vegan can point to a deciding moment or era, she says. For some, its a kind of a slow build; for Lilleth, now 34, it was like a switch. At the age of 20, after stumbling upon a YouTube video on the mistreatment of animals in factory farms, her brain looped on the topic; 24 hours later she was heavy into researching and decided to make the change. Now, she says its a little more selfish: She simply likes the way eating vegan makes her feel, and she feels less guilt about her dining choices.

She immediately realized there were no all-plant-based Cajun restaurants nearby, even in Baton Rouge, which meant the petroleum engineer would need to pick up some cooking skill. Her home meals started humbly: Some nights, it meant microwaving a russet potato and topping it with frozen broccoli. Eventually, she began to incorporate familiar spices and draw from Creole inspiration to lay the foundation for what would become Krimseys years later, nearly 2,000 miles away.

I used to joke about opening a Cajun vegan restaurant, and it really was a joke at that time because we were like, No one would eat there, she said. I didnt envision it being anywhere in Louisiana, but of course it worked in L.A. I think it could even work in Louisiana right now. If I had stayed in the game, I think this would be a great time to open a Cajun vegan spot there.

A few years later she would get her chance to open that restaurant in L.A., but not before leaving her career in fossil fuels, divorcing her husband and heading west for a new start in 2015. She found it in food.

I came to L.A. thinking I would probably like to do something in the vegan scene but had no idea it would be food-specific, Lilleth said. I dont know what I imagined but I didnt imagine owning my own restaurant.

To Lilleth, Krimseys Cajun Kitchen felt like building community. She closed the restaurant in summer of 2020.

(Krimsey Lilleth)

She began with a cookbook, writing and developing 50 vegan Cajun recipes; her sister designed it, and they self-published the spiral-bound collection, a sort of precursor to what would be served at Krimseys, though she didnt realize it at the time. Lilleth began packaging her own dry mixes corn breads, jambalayas, brownies and selling them at farmers markets. That evolved into selling hot food at farmers markets, pop-ups and festivals, and amid the constant assembly and teardown of her food stall before and after these events, she realized it could be a restaurant of its own, a home base.

She opened Krimseys Cajun Kitchen in February 2017 for what she believed was an underserved vegan community. She already had a customer base built through pop-ups, but in the first few months, Lilleth was worried about reaching new audiences. Then animal-advocacy nonprofit Mercy for Animals featured the restaurant in a video on social media, and Krimseys exploded almost overnight. Lilleth had to hire more people and, eventually, move from one space in the strip mall to the larger corner spot.

For three years guests passed under the hanging wooden sign that yelled, BONJOUR, VEGANS! for a taste of plant-based bayou specialties. Musicians set up on a small stage area in a corner for live-music nights. Pride specials, Mardi Gras parties, fundraisers and other events kept the crowds coming back for more too. It was, she says, all about building community.

Lilleth was about to begin construction on the new location in Silver Lake when COVID hit. She asked her team to wait a week to see how the pandemic would play out but quickly realized the restaurant industry might never be the same. Already wavering in her role as a restaurateur she was feeling the fatigue of running the day-to-day operations she pulled out of both leases.

In Lilleths green gumbo, Cajun cuisines holy trinity forms the base of the verdant stew to build flavor.

(Krimsey Lilleth)

As remembrances poured in over social media, so did an offer: A publishing company wanted to know if Lilleth might consider writing a cookbook. For several months, Lilleth revisited her Krimseys recipes in Los Angeles, but also in a rented home in Utah with a large test kitchen to focus on writing and photographing the dishes, sometimes for 12 or 14 hours a day.

Every recipe that I went back and perfected for the cookbook or made suitable for the reader, there was always some memory associated with it or a story, she said. Each one along the way was like closing a chapter, one recipe at a time.

Krimseys, she says, might never come back. If it does, or if she takes up selling food again in any form, it might be in the Snoqualmie Valley to serve a smaller and tighter community, which Lilleth admits shes been missing. For now, shes already begun working on another cookbook one more focused on whole foods, packed with legumes and greens and grains, the way she tends to cook at home and rewriting Henry David Thoreaus Walden for the modern era. Shes foraging and hiking, but shes not forgetting Krimseys. Shes hoping that The Cajun Vegan Cookbook will keep those good times rolling.

Read the rest here:

The pandemic closed Krimsey's Cajun Kitchen, but its recipes live on in 'The Cajun Vegan Cookbook' - Los Angeles Times

McDonalds may expand its meatless McPlant burger to more locations across the United States sooner than previously expected, according to several analysts. On November 3, the fast-food chain added the McPlant burgerits first meatless burger which it developed in partnership with vegan brand Beyond Meatto the menu for a limited time at eight test locations McDonalds locations in Irving, TX; Carrollton, TX; Cedar Falls, IA; Jennings, LA; Lake Charles, LA; Manhattan Beach, CA; and El Segundo, CA.

The meatless burgers feature a plant-based patty made from peas, potatoes, and rice that comes topped with tomato, lettuce, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and a slice of American cheese. Both the mayonnaise and cheese are not vegan and the burgers patty is cooked on a shared surface with animal products. This particular test will help us understand how offering a burger with a plant-based patty impacts the kitchens in our restaurants, McDonalds stated in November. [The McPlant] has the iconic taste of a McDonalds burger, because it is one.

After a little more than one month on the menu, Wall Street analysts have speculated that a national launch may happen sooner than expected, due primarily to the McPlant hitting its sales targets of 70 burgers per day at each of the eight test locations. Analyst Michael Lavery, from investment banking company Piper Sandler, believes that a national rollout of the McPlant to McDonalds more than 13,600 US restaurants can occur as early as the end of the first quarter of 2022. Analyst Peter Saleh, of global finances firm BTIG, is a bit more conservative with his prediction, stating that he expects the meatless burger to hit an additional 700 test locations by February or March 2022 before it rolls out nationwide sometime in 2023.

VegNews has reached out to Beyond Meat and McDonalds for more details about the national launch of the McPlant across the US.

In 2019, McDonalds tested the meatless P.L.T. (which stood for Plant, Lettuce, and Tomato) burger made with Beyond Meats Beyond Burger patty at 28 locations in Ontario, Canada. The test resulted in a three-year development deal between the vegan brand and fast-food giant to create the McPlant platform that will result in a global roll-out of region-specific plant-based items. While the partnership has thus far resulted in the launch of the McPlant burger, additional itemsfrom plant-based chicken to breakfast optionsare also in the works.

The McPlant burger made its debut earlier this year in several European countries, including in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria. Last month, a fully vegan version of the McPlantfeaturing vegan mayonnaise and cheese and cooked on a separate grilllanded at 250 locations across the United Kingdom with a full national rollout expected next year. In the UK and Ireland, McDonalds aims to become a category leader in the plant-based space to help it become a net-zero business in the region by 2040 and globally by 2050.

In 2016, when Beyond Meat Founder and CEO Ethan Brown initially launched the Beyond Burger, the entrepreneur already had his sights set on McDonalds. Ive set a goal for the company and for myself, and it is very personal to me, Brown told Fortune that year. By the time my kids are 16they are 11 and 12 todaythey should be able to walk into a McDonalds or Burger King and be able to buy a Beyond Burger. Browns children have now hit that age and his goal of them ordering a Beyond Burger at McDonalds anywhere in the country might soon become a reality.

We are proud to enter into this strategic global agreement with McDonalds, an exciting milestone for Beyond Meat, and look forward to serving McDonalds as they bring expanded choice to menus globally, Brown told VegNews in November. We will combine the power of Beyond Meats rapid and relentless approach to innovation with the strength of McDonalds global brand to introduce craveable, new plant-based menu items that consumers will love.

Earlier this month, Beyond Meat brought on board two new executives, Bernie Adcock and Doug Ramsey, each with decades of experience working for meat giant Tyson. Ramseywho previously oversaw Tysons McDonalds businessis now Beyond Meats COO and will help the company navigate its expansion plans with McDonalds.

For more about plant-based at McDonalds, read:

How To Eat Vegan At McDonaldsBefore The McPlant258 McDonalds Serve the McPlant Plus Everything Else You Need to Know McDonalds UK Announces Goal to Become Leader in Vegan Fast Food

Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.

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The McPlant Test Is Going Well. Will McDonald's Expand the Meatless Burger to All 13600 US Locations? - VegNews

As one of the fastest-growing social movements in history, more Americans than ever plan to eat vegan in 2022. YouGov recently conducted a survey that concluded 32% of Americans are planning to eat more vegan foods next year! Veganuarythe global movement that encourages and aids people in going vegan each Januaryhas just launched its 2022 campaign and is up to the task of helping that 32% make a successful transition.

The survey conducted by YouGov found that 31% of Americans are interested in eating a fully vegan diet but have several reservations, including affordability, perceived inability to stick with it, and a desire to find meal plans and recipes to help the transition.

The survey also indicated that 30% of Americans have admitted that their perceptions of a vegan diet have changed for the better over the last two yearssince Veganuary originally launched in the US.

Veganuary launched in the UK in 2014 and has since amassed more than 1 million pledges of people committing to going vegan for the month of January. In 2020, 400,000 people signed up for the pledge, followed by 582,000 people in 2021. Veganuary just initiated its 2022 campaign and is expecting more people than ever to sign up for the 31-day pledge.

When registering for the Veganuary pledge, youre provided with support designed to help mitigate the previously mentioned reservations, helping to ease the vegan transition and create a longer lasting dietary change. You will be given a free celebrity e-cookbook filled with plant-based recipes by vegan celebrities, such as Evanna Lynch, Mayim Bialik, and Chris Smalling. Youll also receive an Official Veganuary Starter kit as well as daily recipes, meal plans, tips on eating out, nutrition trackers, and daily support via an email series that lasts for the entire month. Additionally, Veganuary has partnered with a variety of restaurants, brands, and retailers to provide special offers and discounts throughout the month to participants.

Visit Veganuary.com for more information or to sign the pledge!

Cayla is an event planner, copywriter, catering manager, and vegan foodie. If shes not working, shes probably catching one of her favorite composers in concert, riding her bike to the movies, watching a gorgeous sunset at the bluff in Long Beach, or convincing her girlfriend to go out to eat at another vegan restaurant again.

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More Americans Than Ever Plan to Eat Vegan in 2022 - VegOut Magazine

I enjoy the rather simplistic naming of the Thai curries: yellow, red and green. Straightforward names for complex dishes is a genius bit of marketing that has made their journey to westerners plates all the easier. Ive already written recipes for green and red in this column, which I think (in short) are defined by their corresponding chillies: the green is fresh, sweet and light; the red warmer and richer. The yellow, however, is not characterised by chilli at all, but instead by the coming together of a great lineup of aromatics that includes lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, makrut lime, cumin and coriander.

You can buy makrut lime leaves fresh or frozen; the dried ones, however, are, in my opinion, a bit useless. Ive recommended using a waxy potato in this over a starchy one, so it soaks up less of the sauce and leaves you with a better sauce-to-potato ratio, but use whatever you have at home. Youll need a blender to make this, incidentally.

Prep 15 min Cook 30 min Serves 4

1 large banana shallot (or 2 small ones), peeled and roughly chopped 1 whole garlic head (about 15 cloves), separated and peeled 2 sticks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, the rest bruised and chopped 4cm x 4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped 4 birds-eye chillies, chopped (remove and discard the pith and seeds if you prefer less heat) 4 makrut lime leaves 1 tsp ground turmeric tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp fine sea salt 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk 600g waxy potatoes (such as charlottes), quartered 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 400g green beans, tailed Steamed rice, to serve

First make the curry paste. Put all the ingredients apart from the coconut milk, potatoes, oil and beans in a blender, add four or five tablespoons of coconut milk, and blitz for a minute or so, until you have a nice, smooth paste. Put to one side.

Bring a pan of water to a boil, carefully lower in the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes, until a knife slips easily in and out. Drain and set aside while you start on the curry.

Put the oil in a wide saucepan for which you have a lid, set it over a medium heat and, once its hot, stir-fry the curry paste for five minutes, until it starts to darken slightly in colour and turn noticeably fragrant.

When the paste starts to look a little oily as the fat splits out of it thats a good sign, by the way, so dont be alarmed add the rest of the coconut milk and 200ml water, and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked potatoes and the green beans, bring everything back up to a simmer, cover and cook for five to six minutes longer, until the beans are cooked and the curry has reduced and thickened slightly. Serve with steamed plain rice.

Read the original:

Meera Sodhas vegan recipe for Thai yellow curry with green beans and potatoes - The Guardian

It's that time of year when Trader Joe'stransforms intoa festive wonderland, and shelves are stocked with cheerful seasonal items that you can only enjoy for a few months. Thanks to an increase in plant-based product releases in the last few years, there is a well-rounded selection of vegan items this time of year. Here are the 8 best vegan baked goods, hot drinks, and candiesthat you should add to your list this winter tocelebrate the holiday season in a totally plant-based way. For our favorite year-round products at TJ's, visit this handy guide.

If I were to recommend one item on this list as a must-try, it's this dairy-free gingerbread loaf.Moist, festive, and topped with crystallized sugar which gives it a very welcome crunch in contrast to the soft spicy bread, this is one of those 'bet you can't just have one slice' items, and I've capped off many a night devouring the entire thing. Toast a slice, smother it in some plant-based butter, and you have yourself a holiday treat that will hit with anyone.

Why not make even the mundane festive? TJ's Wintry Blend coffee amps up your morning cup of joe with spices like clove, cinnamon, and peppercorn. Get this fan-favorite soon because it will only be on shelves during the winter months, and sells out fast.

To add to TJ's roster of dairy-free delights, these Mint & Chip Bon Bons are completelyvegan and marry two of the best flavors for a wintry treat: Dark chocolate and mint. Find these in thefrozen aisle.

Trader Joe's is one of the few trusty places where you're able to find gelatin-free marshmallows. During the holiday season, they bulk up their offerings with these peppermint-flavored mini marshmallows which are the perfect topping on a steaming cup of cocoa.

TJ's is an expert at taking traditionally animal-based items and making them accidentally vegan, such as these gummies which trade gelatin for tapioca syrup and cornstarch and get their colors from natural sources like turmeric, spirulina, and vegetable extracts.

While we're spicing up your coffee, could we interest you in some Candy Cane Green Tea to get into the spirit of the season? Similar to peppermint tea, this holiday tea also boasts notes of vanilla and is a great decaffeinated option to accompany your vegan dessert.

If you love the syrupy sweetness of egg nog, why not trade in the traditional recipe for a dairy-free version made from oats? Equally as delicious, this plant-based beverage is great alongside cookies or can be used as a creamer in your morning cup of coffee.

What would the holidays be without a good punch? TJ's Winter Wassail Punch is a fan favorite for a reason. The brand describes the taste as a "sweetened blend of black currant, apple, and lemon juices, with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and orange peel." Add slices of citrus and rosemary fora beautifulgarnish, this punch is a great alcohol-free beverage option for guests, and can also be infused with whatever liquor you please, but we'd recommend a woodsy Bourbon.

TJ's well-loved copycat Oreo cookies get a holiday makeover with a candy cane flavor. If you love chocolate and peppermint, pick up a box of these vegan cookies and you'll discover that the dairy-free creamy filling is freckled with bits of candy cane pieces for extra cheer.

Read the original:

The 9 Best Vegan Holiday Products to Buy at Trader Joe's - The Beet

Vegan accessory brand Matt + Nat recently launched its first handbag collection featuring a new bio-based vegan leather made from the waste recovered from the fruit juice industry. After an abundance of research, sweat, and tears, its finally here The collection of all collections One that is like no other and will blow your mind, Matt + Nat President and CEO Manny Kohli posted on Instagram. Discover a collection that pushes all boundaries and takes an apple a day to a whole other level.

The vegan leather, called AppleSkin, is an innovative material patented by Italy-based company Frumat. Made in Italy from apples grown in Bolzano, a city in the countrys northern region, AppleSkin is produced by recovering the mushy pulpmade up of cellulose fibers from the skin and coreleftover from juicing apples on an industrial scale, which would otherwise be discarded.

Though the precise process of making AppleSkin is a trade secret, we do know that the cellulose is made into a powder and used to reduce the amount of virgin materials required to create the vegan leather. The resulting AppleSkin is approximately 20 to 30 percent apple. Fewer virgin materials means fewer natural resources are extracted from the planet, and lower emissions and energy consumption across the entire supply chain.

Matt + Nat partnered with Frumat to create its new Studio 901 collection which features handbags with an AppleSkin outer body andas with all Matt + Nat bagsinterior linings made from 100-percent recycled water bottles. The collection features 12 handbags, including a backpack, mini satchel, bucket bag, and tote bag in black, brown, and green hues and gold detailing such as chain shoulder straps and V closures.

In recent years, more and more fashion and furniture brands are upping their sustainability efforts by making products using textiles from upcycled or recycled plants and materials. While companies are using plant-based options using cactus, pineapple, and mushrooms, apple-based vegan leather is a versatile material that has been used in a number of industries.

Last year, Canadian furniture designer Gus* Modern featured couches and lounge chairs made with innovative vegan AppleSkin in its Fall 2020 collection. This new bio-based material saves apple peels and cores from going to landfills and is a harmonious addition to our other eco-friendly options [such as] Forest Stewardship Council-Certified wood and cushion fill made from recycled plastic bottles, Anthony Santino, Vice President of Sales at Gus* Design Group, said in a statement.

That same year, actress and vegan activist Pamela Anderson partnered with French fashion brand Ashoka Paris to release a line of handbags made from AppleSkin in a variety of colors and styles. The collection was conceived by Anderson and designer David Mateo over a period of 16 months, and each bag is embossed with a message that reads, Resiste! (Resist). Inside every beautiful person is an activist wanting to defend the planet.

Additionally, in 2019, German automobile company Volkswagen announced an electric SUV concept car featuring a 100-percent vegan leather interior made from apples. The full-size, zero-emission ID Roomzz, which was expected to be sold in China, was first unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show.

For more about sustainable fashion, read: Louis Vuittons First Sustainable Shoe Is Made With Vegan Corn LeatherVegan Mushroom Leather Handbag Hits the Runway For the First Time Old Navy Is Making Plant-Based Sandals From Sugarcane

Nicole Axworthy is the News Editor at VegNews and author of the cookbook DIY Vegan.

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Matt + Nat Makes Vegan Leather Handbags From Apple Waste for the First Time - VegNews

Black-eyed peas contain calcium, folate, protein, fiber and vitamin A, among other nutrients, and have less than 200 calories per cup.

Eating Hoppin John on the New Year is said to bring prosperity and good luck. Stock up on your black-eyed peas and get ready to prepare a feast to welcome 2022.

The dish Hoppin John originated in South Carolina. Variations of the dish appear in cookbooks dating back to the mid-1800s, although enslaved people in the south ate the mixture of black-eyed peas, rice and pork before then. Although it is traditional to cook Hoppin John with an animal product, the dish is delicious loaded with vegetables. Some vegan bacon crumbles would make a nice addition.

Ingredients:

Saute green pepper, red pepper, onion, celery and garlic until soft. Stir in seasoning and saute for another 30 seconds. Add black-eyed peas and rice. Stir together and serve with hot sauce on the side.

Sometimes I roll my Hoppin John in blanched collard leaves.

Quick Hoppin John in blanched collard leaves. Contributed / Susan Alexander

Salad ingredients:

Marinade:

Combine salad ingredients in a bowl. Place marinade ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil for a minute, then pour into the bowl with the salad ingredients. Let marinate for a few hours or overnight, then serve.

Black-eyed Pea Salad. Contributed / Susan Alexander

Ingredients:

Mix everything together except canola oil. Roll into 10 sausages or patties, fry in a skillet in a little canola oil, and serve hot.

Plantains look like large bananas, but unlike bananas, they cannot be eaten raw. Although plantains can be eaten at any stage of ripeness, I find them most palatable, and sweetest, when the skin is black. Plantains are delicious fried, but much more healthful when steamed. (If you dont have a steaming basket, the plantains can be boiled in an inch of water.) The texture is like that of a potato, but the flesh is sweeter.

This recipe is adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen cookbook:

Ingredients:

Peel plantains, slice in half, and steam them for about 5 minutes. The plantains should look plump and bright yellow after being steamed. Set the plantains aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute onion and peppers until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Add curry powder, cinnamon and thyme, and saute for another minute to wake up the spices. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly for about five minutes.

Remove the anise and bay leaves. Slice the plantain and mix in. Serve on a bed of rice or other grain. This would also be good served in a bowl with slices of toasted naan to dip into the sauce.

Black-eyed Pea Curry with Plantains. Contributed / Susan Alexander

Heres a weird combination of ingredients that makes a delicious bean dish. The mandarin oranges break down and create an entree with little flecks of orange throughout.

Ingredients:

Heat all the ingredients in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes. Serve warm with rice or naan.

Spicy Mandarin Black-eyed Peas. Contributed / Susan Alexander

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the oil and onion to a pan and saut over medium heat until the onion begins to caramelize (about 15-20 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and saut for a couple more minutes. Then add in the collard greens and cook until the greens are softened. Add in the spices and stir well.

Using a fork, roughly mash in the skinned boiled potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste, then let the mixture cool.

Place mixture in a food processor with the can of black-eyed peas. Pulse until everything is roughly chopped.

Add the breadcrumbs to a plate and soy milk to another plate. Roll spoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Dip balls in milk then bread crumbs till all the mixture is used up.

Place the croquette balls on an oiled sheet pan, flatten the balls slightly, and spray with a little canola oil. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake the croquettes about 15 minutes per side until crisp and golden.

Croquettes. Contributed / Susan Alexander

If you want to make pie crust from scratch, go right ahead. The prepared pie crusts in the refrigerator section of your local grocery store work very well for this delicious quiche.

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened, 8-10 minutes.

Place remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the same skillet. Add the onion and cook until transparent and soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chorizo sausage, and cook until evenly browned and cooked through. Mix in the poblano pepper, and cook until soft, 2-4 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

In a food processor, blend the vegan cream with tofu until creamy. Add the spinach, 1 1/2 cups of the black-eyed peas, Monterey Jack cheese and cayenne pepper. Process until well mixed, but still chunky. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Line a 10-inch pie plate with one pie crust. Spoon the sausage mixture into the pie shell. Layer with the mushrooms, then the spinach mixture, and the remaining black-eyed peas. Cover the filling with the remaining pastry. Fold and crimp the edges to seal top and bottom pastry.

Bake in a preheated oven until the top is golden brown, 45-60 minutes. Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Black-eyed Pea Quiche. Contributed / Susan Alexander

A slice of Black-eyed Pea Quiche. Contributed / Susan Alexander

Susan Alexander is food columnist for the Duluth News Tribune. She loves gardening, farmers markets and creating delicious meals consisting of whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits.

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Vegan cooking: Versatile black-eyed peas packed with protein, vitamins - PostBulletin.com

Vegans get a pretty bad reputation in the United States. Plenty of people scoff and roll their eyes at vegans. If you want people to instantly write you off as a hippie tree-hugger, tell them youre vegan. With that said, there are plenty of scientifically-backed reasons to go vegan. In fact, veganism could very well be an inevitable trend. Before we look at particular vegan stocks to buy based on this trend, let me explain a little bit further.

For the purposes of this argument, Im going to expand veganism to vegetarianism. Remember, vegetarianism is a vegetables-only diet. Veganism is a diet with no animal products at all (milk, cheese, dairy, etc.)

Todays society is facing two major problems. The first problem is the task of feeding an exponentially increasing population. The second problem is cooling off a rapidly warming planet. Veganism actually addresses both of these problems.

Many people dont quite realize how inefficient the meat industry is from an energy consumption perspective. This isnt because meat companies are poorly run. Its just science. For example, a full-grown bull weighs about 1,100-2,200 lbs. A bull also takes five years to reach full size. It requires a massive amount of grain, water, energy, labor, and physical land to produce one bull. On the other hand, vegetables and grains require just a fraction of the water and land. They also can be grown to full-size within one year. On average, it requires about 100 times more water to produce a pound of animal protein than grain protein.

Each year, the U.S. livestock population eats seven times as much grain as the American population does. As the human population continues to increase exponentially, food producers will need to get more efficient in how they use their limited land and resources.

As far as fighting climate change, cattle are the top contributor to greenhouse gases. According to Stanford Magazine, cattle produce about 18% of the worlds methane. This is more than all of the worlds planes, cars and trains put together.

Livestock just require too much land, food and water. So why arent there more vegans?

In general, most people dont want to go vegetarian due to the lack of options. Going vegetarian use to imply switching from juicy, delicious steak to lettuce. Who would ever want to do that? This is no longer the case though.

In the past few years, there has been a surge of alternative meat companies. These companies produce meatless meat products that taste near identical to their counterparts. Over the coming years, traditional meat companies will face growing backlash. This backlash will come from both consumers and politicians.

The whole scenario is similar to whats currently unfolding in the electric vehicle industry. At first, consumers rejected the idea of electric cars. This was mainly because there was no viable option on the market. Tesla changed this. Now, consumers pretty much love Tesla. Additionally, the government is investing heavily to make electric vehicles the norm.

Right now, there isnt necessarily a Tesla of Vegan Stocks. But there are a few companies that come close. With that out of the way, its time to finally talk about how we can make some money.

Lets dive into the five best vegan stocks to buy.

NOTE: Im not a financial advisor and am just offering information and commentary. Please do your own due diligence before making any decisions.

In general, its a great time to consider investing in vegan stocks. Over the past few years, there were lots of high-profile IPOs. The entire industry may have gotten overhyped. Since then, prices have come crashing back down.

For example, Beyond Meat was an incredibly talked-about IPO. This vegan stock surged as high as 250% on the day it went public. Since that day, it is down over 70%. Even though the stock has fallen from its all-time high, that doesnt mean that business is slowing. In fact, sales were up every single quarter in 2021 on a year-over-year basis.

On average, Beyond Meats sales have grown 136% annually since 2017. It also has one of the strongest brands of any alternate meat company. This has helped it land partnerships with McDonalds and Yum Brands! (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell).

Beyond Meats stock is down 48% year-to-date (YTD). Its down 3% since it went public in 2019.

Oatly is mainly known for its oat-based alternative dairy drinks. It was another vegan stock that recently went public in a highly-anticipated listing. The stock rose almost 30% initially but has since fallen 70%.

Despite this, Oatlys business still appears to be doing well. In 2021, its quarterly sales have risen from $140.05 million to $146.15 million to $171.06 million. These are year-over-year quarterly increases of 66%, 53% and 49% respectively.

Oatly is another company that has an incredibly strong brand. On its website, it listed 10-holiday sweaters for sale at $125 a pop. As I write this, every single one is sold out.

Since it went public, Oatlys stock is down about 60%.

The next vegan stock to consider investing in isnt as well-known as Beyond Meat or Oatly. Tattooed Chef is another plant-based food company. A few products on its menu are ready-to-cook bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, acai and smoothie bowls and cauliflower pizza crusts.

Tattooed Chef is yet another great example of an overhyped vegan stock. After going public in 2020, its stock surged 170% in a few months. Since its all-time high, the stock has fallen about 40%. With that said, sales still seem to be doing just fine. In fact, Tattooed Chef just reported record revenue of $58.78 million in Q3 2021. This was a 43.9% increase from the previous year.

Tattooed Chefs stock is down 30% so far in 2021. Its up about 60% since going public in 2020.

Very Good Food Company is a Canadian-based alternative food company. It is yet another example on this list of vegan stocks that has slumped from its all-time high. Very Good went public in 2020 and has fallen over 80% from its all-time high. The company got its start in 2018 when it appeared on Dragons Den, the Canadian version of Shark Tank. Afterward, it raised $600,000 through the crowdfunding platform FrontFundr.

Very Good has posted a few huge losses that might be making investors nervous. In 2020, it reported revenue of just $4.64 million and a net loss of $13.86 million. The first three quarters of 2021 werent much better. It posted net losses of $15.02 million, $12.50 million, and $13.70 million. However, there is some good news.

This vegan stock is in the process of aggressively entering the U.S. market. It is currently on the shelves of 600 U.S. stores. It plans to almost double this number to 1,125 stores by Q1 2022. So far, Very Good products seem to be selling well. In October 2021, it reported record revenue of $1.5 million. It generated this revenue from both retail and eCommerce channels.

Very Goods stock is down almost 80% so far in 2021.

Im cheating a little bit by including Natural Order Acquisition Corp. on a list of vegan stocks to buy. Thats because this is a SPAC that has not made a final decision yet on which company to buy. However, according to its website, it is our intention to pursue prospective targets that are focused on technologies and products related to sustainable plant-based food and beverages, alternative protein, and ingredients.

This company could end up taking another plant-based food company public. Notably, one of the largest players in the market, Impossible Foods, is still private.

I hope that youve found this article valuable when it comes to learning a few of the best vegan stocks to buy. Please base all investment decisions on your own due diligence and risk tolerance.

A University of Miami grad, Teddy studied marketing and finance while also playing four years on the football team. Hes always had a passion for business and used his experience from a few personal projects to become one of the top-rated business writers on Fiverr.com. When hes not hammering words onto paper, you can find him hammering notes on the piano or traveling to some place random.

The rest is here:

5 Vegan Stocks That Will Whet Your Appetite - Investment U

Weve long been used to playing games; artificial intelligence holds the promise of games that play along with us.

Artificial intelligence (AI for short) is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics of the last few years. From facial recognition to high-powered finance applications, it is quickly embedding itself throughout all the layers of our lives, and our societies.

Video gaming, a particularly tech-savvy domain, is no stranger to AI, either. So what can we expect to see in the future?

Maybe one of the most exciting prospects regarding the use of AI in our games is the possibilities it opens up in regards to interactions between the player and the software being played. AI systems can be deployed inside games to study and learn the patterns of individual players, and then deliver a tailored response to improve their experience. In other words, just like youre learning to play against the game, the game may be learning how to play against you.

One telling example is Monoliths use of AI elements in their Middle-Earth series. Dubbed Nemesis AI, this algorithm was designed to allow opponents throughout the game to learn the players particular combat patterns and style, as well as the instances when they fought. These opponents re-appear at various points throughout the game, recounting their encounters with the player and providing more difficult (and, developers hope, more entertaining) fights.

An arguably simpler but not less powerful example of AI in gaming is AI Dungeon: this text-based dungeon adventure uses GPT-3, OpenAIs natural language modeler, to create ongoing narratives for the players to enjoy.

Its easy to let the final product of the video game development process steal the spotlight. And although it all runs seamlessly on screen, there is a lot of work that goes into creating them. Any well-coded and well-thought-out game requires a lot of time, effort, and love to create which, in practical terms, translates into costs.

AI can help in this regard as well. Tools such as procedural generation can help automate some of the more time- and effort-intensive parts of game development, such as asset production. Knowing that more run-of-the-mill processes can be handled well by software helpers can free human artists and developers to focus on more important details of their games.

Automating asset production can also open the way to games that are completely new freshly-generated maps or characters, for example every time you play them.

For now, AI is still limited in the quality of writing it can output, which is definitely a limitation in this regard; after all, great games are always built on great ideas or great narratives.

Better graphics has long been a rallying cry of the gaming industry, and for good reason we all enjoy a good show. But AI can help push the limits of what is possible today in this regard.

For starters, machine learning can be used to develop completely new textures, on the fly, for almost no cost. With enough processing power, it can even be done in real-time, as a player journeys through their digital world. Lighting and reflections can also be handled more realistically and altered to be more fantastic by AI systems than simple scripted code.

Facial expressions are another area where AI can help. With enough data, an automated system can produce and animate very life-like human faces. This would also save us the trouble of recording and storing gigabytes worth of facial animations beforehand.

The most significant potential of AI systems in this area, however, is in interactivity. Although graphics today are quite sophisticated and we do not lack eye candy, interactivity is still limited to what a programmer can anticipate and code. AI systems can learn and adapt to players while they are immersed in the game, opening the way to some truly incredible graphical displays.

AI has already made its way into the world of gaming. The case of Alpha Go and Alpha Zero showcase just how powerful such systems can be in a game. And although video games have seen some AI implementation, there is still a long way to go.

For starters, AIs are only as good as the data you train them with and they need tons and tons of data. The gaming industry needs to produce, source, and store large quantities of reliable data in order to train their AIs before they can be used inside a game. Theres also the question of how exactly to code and train them, and what level of sophistication is best for software that is meant to be playable on most personal computers out there.

With that being said, there is no doubt that AI will continue to be mixed into our video games. Its very likely that in the not-so-distant future, the idea that such a game would not include AI would be considered quite brave and exotic.

Original post:

How AI is impacting the video game industry - ZME Science

Accelerating advances in quantum computing are serving as powerful reminders that the technology is rapidly advancing toward commercial viability. In just the past few months, for example, a research center in Japan announced a breakthrough in entangling qubits (the basic unit of information in quantum, akin to bits in conventional computers) that could improve error correction in quantum systems and potentially make large-scale quantum computers possible. And one company in Australia has developed software that has shown in experiments to improve the performance of any quantum-computing hardware.

As breakthroughs accelerate, investment dollars are pouring in, and quantum-computing start-ups are proliferating. Major technology companies continue to develop their quantum capabilities as well: companies such as Alibaba, Amazon, IBM, Google, and Microsoft have already launched commercial quantum-computing cloud services.

Of course, all this activity does not necessarily translate into commercial results. While quantum computing promises to help businesses solve problems that are beyond the reach and speed of conventional high-performance computers, use cases are largely experimental and hypothetical at this early stage. Indeed, experts are still debating the most foundational topics for the field (for more on these open questions, see sidebar, Debates in quantum computing).

Still, the activity suggests that chief information officers and other leaders who have been keeping an eye out for quantum-computing news can no longer be mere bystanders. Leaders should start to formulate their quantum-computing strategies, especially in industries, such as pharmaceuticals, that may reap the early benefits of commercial quantum computing. Change may come as early as 2030, as several companies predict they will launch usable quantum systems by that time.

To help leaders start planning, we conducted extensive research and interviewed 47 experts around the globe about quantum hardware, software, and applications; the emerging quantum-computing ecosystem; possible business use cases; and the most important drivers of the quantum-computing market. In the report Quantum computing: An emerging ecosystem and industry use cases, we discuss the evolution of the quantum-computing industry and dive into the technologys possible commercial uses in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive, and financefields that may derive significant value from quantum computing in the near term. We then outline a path forward and how industry decision makers can start their efforts in quantum computing.

An ecosystem that can sustain a quantum-computing industry has begun to unfold. Our research indicates that the value at stake for quantum-computing players is nearly $80 billion (not to be confused with the value that quantum-computing use cases could generate).

Because quantum computing is still a young field, the majority of funding for basic research in the area still comes from public sources (Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1

However, private funding is increasing rapidly. In 2021 alone, announced investments in quantum-computing start-ups have surpassed $1.7 billion, more than double the amount raised in 2020 (Exhibit 2). We expect private funding to continue increasing significantly as quantum-computing commercialization gains traction.

Exhibit 2

Hardware is a significant bottleneck in the ecosystem. The challenge is both technical and structural. First, there is the matter of scaling the number of qubits in a quantum computer while achieving a sufficient level of qubit quality. Hardware also has a high barrier to entry because it requires a rare combination of capital, experience in experimental and theoretical quantum physics, and deep knowledgeespecially domain knowledge of the relevant options for implementation.

Multiple quantum-computing hardware platforms are under development. The most important milestone will be the achievement of fully error-corrected, fault-tolerant quantum computing, without which a quantum computer cannot provide exact, mathematically accurate results (Exhibit 3).

Exhibit 3

Experts disagree on whether quantum computers can create significant business value before they are fully fault tolerant. However, many say that imperfect fault tolerance does not necessarily make quantum-computing systems unusable.

When might we reach fault tolerance? Most hardware players are hesitant to reveal their development road maps, but a few have publicly shared their plans. Five manufacturers have announced plans to have fault-tolerant quantum-computing hardware by 2030. If this timeline holds, the industry will likely establish a clear quantum advantage for many use cases by then.

The number of software-focused start-ups is increasing faster than any other segment of the quantum-computing value chain. In software, industry participants currently offer customized services and aim to develop turnkey services when the industry is more mature. As quantum-computing software continues to develop, organizations will be able to upgrade their software tools and eventually use fully quantum tools. In the meantime, quantum computing requires a new programming paradigmand software stack. To build communities of developers around their offerings, the larger industry participants often provide their software-development kits free of charge.

In the end, cloud-based quantum-computing services may become the most valuable part of the ecosystem and can create outsize rewards to those who control them. Most providers of cloud-computing services now offer access to quantum computers on their platforms, which allows potential users to experiment with the technology. Since personal or mobile quantum computing is unlikely this decade, the cloud may be the main way for early users to experience the technology until the larger ecosystem matures.

Most known use cases fit into four archetypes: quantum simulation, quantum linear algebra for AI and machine learning, quantum optimization and search, and quantum factorization. We describe these fully in the report, as well as outline questions leaders should consider as they evaluate potential use cases.

We focus on potential use cases in a few industries that research suggests could reap the greatest short-term benefits from the technology: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive, and finance. Collectively (and conservatively), the value at stake for these industries could be between roughly $300 billion and $700 billion (Exhibit 4).

Exhibit 4

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize the research and development of molecular structures in the biopharmaceuticals industry as well as provide value in production and further down the value chain. In R&D, for example, new drugs take an average of $2 billion and more than ten years to reach the market after discovery. Quantum computing could make R&D dramatically faster and more targeted and precise by making target identification, drug design, and toxicity testing less dependent on trial and error and therefore more efficient. A faster R&D timeline could get products to the right patients more quickly and more efficientlyin short, it would improve more patients quality of life. Production, logistics, and supply chain could also benefit from quantum computing. While it is difficult to estimate how much revenue or patient impact such advances could create, in a $1.5 trillion industry with average margins in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 16 percent (by our calculations), even a 1 to 5 percent revenue increase would result in $15 billion to $75 billion of additional revenues and $2 billion to $12 billion in EBIT.

Quantum computing can improve R&D, production, and supply-chain optimization in chemicals. Consider that quantum computing can be used in production to improve catalyst designs. New and improved catalysts, for example, could enable energy savings on existing production processesa single catalyst can produce up to 15 percent in efficiency gainsand innovative catalysts may enable the replacement of petrochemicals by more sustainable feedstock or the breakdown of carbon for CO2 usage. In the context of the chemicals industry, which spends $800 billion on production every year (half of which relies on catalysis), a realistic 5 to 10 percent efficiency gain would mean a gain of $20 billion to $40 billion in value.

The automotive industry can benefit from quantum computing in its R&D, product design, supply-chain management, production, and mobility and traffic management. The technology could, for example, be applied to decrease manufacturing processrelated costs and shorten cycle times by optimizing elements such as path planning in complex multirobot processes (the path a robot follows to complete a task) including welding, gluing, and painting. Even a 2 to 5 percent productivity gainin the context of an industry that spends $500 billion per year on manufacturing costswould create $10 billion to $25 billion of value per year.

Finally, quantum-computing use cases in finance are a bit further in the future, and the advantages of possible short-term uses are speculative. However, we believe that the most promising use cases of quantum computing in finance are in portfolio and risk management. For example, efficiently quantum-optimized loan portfolios that focus on collateral could allow lenders to improve their offerings, possibly lowering interest rates and freeing up capital. It is earlyand complicatedto estimate the value potential of quantum computingenhanced collateral management, but as of 2021, the global lending market stands at $6.9 trillion, which suggests significant potential impact from quantum optimization.

In the meantime, business leaders in every sector should prepare for the maturation of quantum computing.

Until about 2030, we believe that quantum-computing use cases will have a hybrid operating model that is a cross between quantum and conventional high-performance computing. For example, conventional high-performance computers may benefit from quantum-inspired algorithms.

Beyond 2030, intense ongoing research by private companies and public institutions will remain vital to improve quantum hardware and enable moreand more complexuse cases. Six key factorsfunding, accessibility, standardization, industry consortia, talent, and digital infrastructurewill determine the technologys path to commercialization.

Leaders outside the quantum-computing industry can take five concrete steps to prepare for the maturation of quantum computing:

Leaders in every industry have an uncommon opportunity to stay alert to a generation-defining technology. Strategic insights and soaring business value could be the prize.

Excerpt from:

Quantum computing use cases are getting real--what you need to know - McKinsey