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.

I convinced my husband to test one of the recipes from it. He made a batch of cookies from the “fancy cookies” section called Lazy Samoas. Then he, my 10-year-old nephew, and I tested the cookies. They were fabulous!

We will continue to test recipes from the cookbook, but I wanted to give Soapbox readers a heads-up that this book is now available in stores and that so far, the cookies produced from the book are fantastically delicious.

This cookbook would make a nice holiday gift alone or in combination with a gift basket full of vegan cookie baking supplies like flour, sugar, vegan chocolate chips, flax seeds, baking powder, etc.

Link to Counter: http://www.counternyc.com/

This was a crowd full of children and animal-lovers: an ideal target audience for a pro-vegan message. The group that I help run, Vegas Veg, arranged for a booth at the event where we gave out free vegan cookies and pamphlets.

Ed Miller (my husband) lays out the free vegan cookies he baked the night before.

The cookies are pumpkin, chocolate chip, and peanut butter.

We gave out over 400 home-made vegan cookies (and then switched to store-bought vegan cookies for the last 50 or so). Want the recipes? Go here >>

Each cookie came with a little comment about how vegan food is better for animals, the planet, and people, too. Some cookies came with discussions about Ener-G egg replacer powder, some came with discussions about Ed’s improved heart health on a plant-based diet, some came with an animal-friendly sticker for the kids…

…and most cookies came with a “Why Vegan” pamphlet.

Because our organization is seriously grassroots, it doesn’t have membership dues, nonprofit status, and we don’t do any real fund-raising. So we found funding from VegFund. We submitted an application with them and received approval. My husband and I fronted the money to pay for the booth and the food expenses (to be reimbursed by VegFund). We obtained vegan and animal rights literature from Vegan Outreach, FARM, and PETA among others. Another local animal rights organization, Nevada Political Action for Animals, let us borrow some posters made by Farm Sanctuary and Mercy for Animals.

Our booth was staffed by a rotating group of 10 Vegas Veg members who handed out leaflets, answered questions, and re-stocked the cookie trays. Because of that, it wasn’t purely vegan outreach, this was also a fun, social event.

The event was a success! We convinced a slew of people that vegan food tastes good, that vegans can be friendly and social, and that animals and the planet deserve consideration.

Check out VegFund to learn more about how you can take your culinary skills to the streets to make a difference for animals, the planet, and human health >>

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp chocolate extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Drop spoonfuls onto lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Bake for about 15 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe adapted from Where’s The Revolution?

Go to www.elanaspantry.com to download this free recipe and other gluten free, vegan organic wholesome recipes.

For more recipes, try doing a recipe search here at Vegan Soapbox >>