Broiler-fryer – a young, tender chicken about 7 weeks old which
weighs 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds when eviscerated. Cook by any method.

Roaster – an older chicken about 3 to 5 months old which weighs 5 to 7 pounds. It yields more meat per pound than a broiler-fryer. Usually roasted
whole.

Capon – Male chickens about 16 weeks to 8 months old which are surgically unsexed. They weigh about 4 to 7 pounds and have generous quantities of tender, light meat. Usually roasted.

Stewing/Baking Hen – a mature laying hen 10 months to 1 1/2 years old. Since the meat is less tender than young chickens, it’s best used in moist cooking such as stewing.

Note the animals’ ages. For reference, chickens would live 5 to ten years if given half a chance.

In fact, we have a few options. Vegan kids CAN eat mac and cheese! Take a look…

Store-bought vegan mac and ‘cheese’:

• Leahey Gardens Macaroni & Cheese
• Road’s End
  Organics123z n’ Chreese
• Amy’s Rice Macaroni
• Candle Cafe Macaroni & Vegan Cheese

Home-made vegan mac and ‘cheese’ recipes:

• Best Vegan Mac and Cheese in the entire world…seriously
• Easy Macaroni and “Cheeze”
• Vegan Mac and No Cheese
• The Official Vegan Soapbox Mac and Cheese Recipe by Plump Vegan

Do you have other recipes or store-bought versions of vegan mac and cheese? Please share below in the comments!

Classic American Waffles
Makes four waffles

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup sifted unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons vegan sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons egg replacer powder (not mixed with liquid)
1 1/3 cup soy milk (or powdered soy milk and water)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons safflower oil

Directions
Combine all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Combine all wet ingredients into a smaller bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir well.
Heat waffle iron. Mist waffle iron with light coat of vegetable oil.
Spoon batter into center of waffle iron and close waffle iron. Wait a few minutes or until waffle irons stops steaming (follow the directions for your waffle iron).
Remove waffle gently with tongs or a fork.
Enjoy your waffle topped with maple syrup, fresh fruit, soy whipped cream, or any number of other tasty toppings!

* this recipe was modified from The Candle Cafe Cookbook “Diner-Style Pancake” recipe
** you could use another non-dairy milk instead of soy, like rice milk or almond milk
*** you could add almond extract or substitute almond for vanilla extract

Tofurkey!

Kill-A-Man-Jaro!

PETA Pita!

Dethrone the Dairy Queen!

(Can’t see the videos? Go to YouTube here >>)

Cookbook reviews: The Veganopolis Cookbook, Venturesome Vegan Cooking, and Vegan Baking Classics. Read the reviews here >>

Glee star Lea Michele talks about veganism in Harper’s Bazaar. See the article and accomanying photo-shoot video here >>

Ellen has a new website dedicated to all things vegan. The site offers tips like “Soy milk is delicious, but there are also great almond and rice milks worth trying” and “Middle Eastern and Asian cuisine restaurants often have more vegan options on their menu and can be accommodating by using tofu or vegetables instead of meat.” Check it out at http://vegan.ellen.warnerbros.com/

A vegetarian won Germany’s Strongest Man 2011 competition. You can read an article about him at The Discerning Brute >>

This isn’t new news, but it’s still a helpful resource for vegans and nonvegans alike: the USDA offers 10 tips to how to add more veggies to your diet. The tips come in a handy one-page PDF that you can print out and tape to the fridge. Check it out here >>

More vegan dining options to come! The University of North Texas will open the nation’s first strictly vegan cafeteria soon. Read the details here >>

Michael Greger, M.D. has a new website dedicated to helping people learn about vegetarian and vegan nutrition. The website is NutritionFacts.org and you should check it out! Then share it with your veg and nonveg friends!

PaleoVeganology comments about genetic research and engineering: “frivolous at best, cruel at worst.” Read about chickens and fish here >>

CNN has a great article and video about Bill Clinton’s transformation to a plant-based diet. It says “Former President Clinton now considers himself a vegan. He’s dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he’s healthier than ever. His dramatic dietary transformation took almost two decades and came about only after a pair of heart procedures and some advice from a trusted doctor.” Read the piece here >>

Another pet store made the switch from selling breeder’s dogs to encouraging adoptions of rescued dogs. “PJ’s Pets and Pets Unlimited have announced that they will no longer sell puppies in any of their stores. As of September 1st, their focus will be to support pet adoption services in an effort to find homes for thousands of pets in local SPCA’s, Humane Societies, rescue groups and shelters across the country.” See the press release here >>

HRC reports that “more than 9 billion land-based farm animals are slaughtered for food annually” and “an estimated 3.5 million cats and dogs were killed in animal shelters in 2010.” See the other stats here >>

Check out this blog on different speciesist positions >>

Looking to lose weight without deprivation? Check out this post about “the easiest diet plan” at Girly Girl Army >>

The LA Times reports that “More than 70 people in 26 states have fallen ill, and a Californian has died. Officials say the strain of salmonella is resistant to drugs.” Learn more about this huge turkey recall >>

See some examples of what real vegans eat at the Cafe VegNews blog here >>

Got more veg links to share? Add them in the comments below!

To enter the contest, just leave a comment. Leave a comment here describing what you like about vegan baking.

For me, the thing I like most is that the batter is safe to eat. I just love chocolate chip cookie dough. But when it’s made with eggs it’s unsafe to eat raw. Vegan cookie dough, however, is extremely unlikely to be contaminated with salmonella and can be eaten raw (when prepared in a clean kitchen). And then when I’ve had a taste of the dough, I bake them up and enjoy the baked cookies, too!

Why do you like vegan baking? Or what do you expect to enjoy about it?

Like last month, the prize cookbook is My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky.

Submissions are open until the end of June, 2011. July 1st or thereabouts I will randomly choose a winner and mail a cookbook to them. That means this: please use a valid email address when you fill out the comment form below!

Please note:

• The giveaway is currently only open to residents of the US and Canada. This is simply because of shipping costs.
• If you already own this book or if you’ve won a book from Vegan Soapbox in the past, please don’t enter the contest. But please DO tell your friends, family, coworkers, fans, and whoever else you want about this giveaway!
• Do you have a vegan blog or website? A vegan cookbook giveaway is a great, relatively inexpensive way to spread the vegan word and spread the vegan love.

To enter the contest, just leave a comment. Leave a comment here describing why you’d like a free vegan cookbook. Maybe you want a vegan cookbook so you can cook something tasty for your vegan partner. Maybe you want a vegan cookbook so you can try out vegan recipes and cut back your meat consumption. Maybe you want a vegan cookbook because even though you’re vegan, you don’t know how to cook. Whatever the reason, everyone should have a vegan cookbook!

The prize cookbook is My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky.

Submissions are open until the end of May, 2011. June 1st or thereabouts I will randomly choose a winner and mail a cookbook to them. That means this: please use a valid email address when you fill out the comment form below!

Please note:

• The giveaway is currently only open to residents of the US and Canada. This is simply because of shipping costs.
• If you already own this book or if you’ve won a book from Vegan Soapbox in the past, please don’t enter the contest. But please DO tell your friends, family, coworkers, fans, and whoever else you want about this giveaway!
• Do you have a vegan blog or website? A vegan cookbook giveaway is a great, relatively inexpensive way to spread the vegan word and spread the vegan love.

Across the nation people will be cooking up special Mother’s Day breakfasts and brunches for their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, female mentors, teachers, and other women who have played a mothering role in their lives.

To help you cook up a tasty morning meal, here are some vegan recipes:

• Banana Waffles
• Fluffy Coconut Waffles
• Pecan Waffles
• Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Simple Pancakes
• Scrambled Tofu
• Easy Tofu Scramble Breakfast
• Sweet Potato Hash Browns
• Hearty Hash Browns
• Blueberry Muffins
• Carrot Spice Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins

For more vegan recipes, check out the recipe search here at Vegan Soapbox >>

• Dreena’s Holiday Feast Menu: Spiced Mushroom Potato Phyllo Pie, Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Turnip Puree, Roasted Yam Puree, Traditional Cranberyy Sauce, Dressed Squash
• Weekly Vegan Menu: Holiday Seitan Roast, Truffle Green Bean Casserole, Yule Log Cake
• Stop the Carnivore’s raw vegan Christmas Chili
• Holiday “Ham” from Vegan In The Sun
• Reav vegan Coconut-Lime “Let it Snow” Balls from Addicted to Veggies
• Vegan Wiz’s Christmas Ring Cake

Got a favorite holiday recipe you’d like to share? Leave it in the comments below. Or how about a link to a blog post with a great recipe? Sure! Leave a comment with the URL!

This is our first episode: December 2, 2010: Vegan Soapbox Podcast: Vegan Cookie Monster

Here’s the link to the podcast: http://vegansoapbox.com/podcast/01
When you click it, it should open a podcast player and you can listen right now!

Here are the podcast notes…

Vegan Cookie Monster

1. News: Vegan Cookie Thief

“A well-dressed thief with a penchant for vegan savories is wreaking havoc in Chelsea Market — twice attacking a store manager who caught her filching organic cookies before making her getaway on a purple scooter.”
The thief yelled, “F- – - you! I’ll be back every day! You can count on it!”

Link: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cookie_monster_on_loose_0eI7nwX5vwu60Vjl8u1MsI

2. Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields 20 cookies

1 ½ cup white flour
1 ½ tsp. egg replacer powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar (or ½ cup sugar plus 1 ½ tsp. molasses)
½ cup vegan margarine
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 oz. vegan semisweet chocolate chips (about half a standard bag)

Preheat oven to 350F
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, egg replacer, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream together the sugar, brown sugar, margarine, water, and vanilla
3. Stir together the sugar mixture and the flour mixture. You may need to use an electric mixer or food processor
4. Add chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Do not flatten.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

From The Vegan Family Cookbook by Brian P. McCarthy

3. Book: Change of Heart by Nick Cooney
People are more willing to be positively disposed to controversial ideas when they are experiencing pleasure… like cookies!

Book excerpt from page 126 of Change of Heart:

“Studies have shown that people are more willing to help when they’re experiencing pleasurable stimuli like sunshine, delicious aromas, eating a cookie, or listening to a comedian (Wilson 1981; Isen 1970; Isen and Levin 1972; Wilson 1981; Rosenhan, Salovey, and Hargis 1981). In one study, people were more likely to agree with a series of controversial statements when they were given peanuts and soda to snack on (Janis, Kaye, and Kirschner 1965). Other studies have confirmed that participants become fonder of people and things they experienced while eating, which may be part of the reason why lunch meetings are so popular (Razran 1940; Razran 1938). Positive feelings activate the peripheral route to persuasion, causing people to let down their guard and be more generous and sociable.”

4. Homework: Cookie Exchange

The concept is simple: everyone brings cookies to one location and you trade cookies so everyone goes home with a variety. Here is an about.com article about hosting a cookie exchange: http://busycooks.about.com/od/christmas/a/cookiexchange.htm. In addition to the “normal” advice for a cookie exchange, for a vegan cookie exchange it might be helpful to bring some vegan literature to the event for newbie vegans or adventurous eaters who eat vegan part-time. Ed and Elaine recommend literature from Vegan Outreach.

Also mentioned/ related links:

• VegFund – http://vegfund.org/
• Joy of Vegan Baking – a cookbook with plenty of vegan cookie recipes
• Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar – a vegan cookbook exclusively for cookies!
• My Sweet Vegan – a vegan desert cookbook
• Video of Isa Chandra Moskowitz talking about culinary activism at the Let Live conference – http://vimeo.com/2983581
• Our group, Vegas Veg – http://www.vegasveg.com/

Notes:
As this was the first episode, we haven’t developed a theme song or found any sound effects. We hope those will come in the future.

Likewise, we didn’t edit this podcast at all. We just let it flow. We apologize for any lags.

Please let us know what you think of our podcast below in the comments. Or if you’d prefer, you can send Elaine an email at admin @ vegansoapbox.com instead.