Friday, October 29, 2010

Susan Nichole Bags- Animal and Earth Friendly Fashion

If you know me at all, you know that giving up my Louis Vuitton handbags was not easy.  If there was one thing my mother instilled in me, it was a love of quality purses.  One of the things that I have struggled with is finding quality vegan handbags that don't look cheap.  Until today!

Until now, I lived with three purses: my Vera Bradley Black Work Bag which is big, my brown Lulu's satchel and a small black Kate Spade canvass purse that is about a million years old.  Yeah, not too many options.  I first read about Susan Nichole handbags in a magazine somewhere, but I was in a rush and didn't really give it a thought.  Then about a week ago, I saw an ad on Facebook for buy 1 get 1 free Susan Nichole handbags.  How could I not indulge?

I was a little skeptical given what I had seen of vegan purses, but when they arrived today, I have to say I was blown away.  I love Susan Nichole's motto of animal and earth friendly fashion, but even more importantly, her products are really quality.  I bought the Natasha in Black and got the Trinity in camel and gold for free.


They came in gorgeous dust bags, just like my Louis Vuittons of days past.  My colleague and I were just looking at them and it is hard to believe that they are not leather and that they are so well made.  Let's just say I am hooked.  Speaking of hooked, each bag came with a signature Susan Nichole purse hook to use when you are out so you don't ever have to put your bag on the ground. Bonus!


Susan Nichole's philosophies are great, you should read up on her website.  The buy 1 get 1 free sale is still going on, so go buy some purses today:  http://susannichole.com/store/handbags-c-52.html.  Plus, there is free shipping, so no excuses!  Remember, vegan can be fashionable and you should wear things that you look fabulous in, but feel good about wearing.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Broth

As a vegan, I cook with vegetable broth a lot.  I used to use (and sometimes still do in a pinch) store broth, but I always find two things: the broth is either really high in sodium or has no taste.  That is no good in my book. 

I recently starting making my own vegetable broth every Sunday.  This is good for several reasons:

  1. I think that mine tastes better and I know that their is less sodium
  2. It allows me to clean out my refrigerator (bonus!)
  3. Since I have no where to donate soil from composting, I have started saving my vegetable scraps and using them in the broth (no waste!)
  4. I can portion out broth to use throughout the week
There is no science to this, every week it is a little different.  Throughout the week, I store left over vegetable scraps in a large glass container in my refrigerator.  On Sunday, I pull everything the out plus any vegetables that have seen better days or I don't plan to use soon.  When making broth, it is less about the quality of the vegetables and more about the variations.  Needless to say, every week this broth is a little different based on what veggies I use, but every time I still find it better than store bought broth.

This week, here are the veggies I used:

  • Mushrooms
  • Peppers: Green and Red
  • Whole White Onion
  • Carrots
  • Yellow Squash
  • Asparagus
  • Green Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Red Potatoes
  • Sweet Potato
  • Celery (leave the leafs on!  They hold all the flavor)
  • Leeks
I start by adding a little EVOO to a large pot.  I then wash all the veggies really well and then cut them up, but not too much.  I also don't peel them since most of the flavor and nutrients are held in the skin of the veggies.  I throw them all into the pot as I am cutting them up with the scraps that I have accumulated from the week and sautee them on low heat to begin releasing some of the flavors.  At this time, I also add about 1/3 cup of a dry white wine.


I then rough cut A LOT of parsley and throw it into the pot with 3 gloves of chopped garlic.  I add a bunch of spices including salt, black pepper, red pepper, oregano, tarragon, and bay leaves.  Get creative and use anything you love!  I next add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 2-3 spoonfuls of tomato paste and 1 gallon of water (that is why you need a BIG pot).



Give it a good stir and bring it to a hard boil.  Once the water comes to a rolling boil reduce the meat to medium-low and cover.  Stir occasionally as it simmers for 1 hour.  I add a little more salt as I am cooking, but in all I probably only use about 3-4 tablespoons of salt ( I use coarse kosher salt).

After an hour, remove the pot from the heat.  In your sink, place another large pot under a fine colander.  You want to make sure to use a colander with very small holes for fine sifting.  I have one of the ones that just goes over the sink so I don't have to hold it. 

Strain the broth into the new pot.  I usually end up eating a bunch of the veggies that cooked in the broth.  For instance, last night I ate the carrots and potatoes...yum!  I toss the rest of the veggies.  I then split up the broth.  I start by laddling it into an ice cube tray.  I freeze many things this way including sauces and pestos.  Think of it as portion control for the single lady ;)



The portion of the ice cube size is perfect the amount of broth I would use for cooking a stir fry or other meals during the week.  Once I am done with that I separate it out into a couple of containers.  I freeze some for the week and put some in the refrigerator if I plan to make soup in the next few days (i.e. tonight I plan to make potato and leek soup...stay tuned!)

The result is a rich and delicious homemade veggie broth that is great for cooking with or for just adding some veggies and rice or pasta for a meal during the week! 

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lemon and Vanilla Scones

One of the things I have missed as a vegan are scones.  Typical scones consist of a lot of butter, so I thought there was no way to veganize them.  But tonight, I decided to give it a go!

What I ended up with are yummy scones with vanilla frosting.  They are good, but I think without the frosting they would be a little dry.  I also would probably use a little less sugar in the frosting next time.  In any case, they turned out way better than I expected!

Lemon and Vanilla Scones


Ingredients:

1 Cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 Cup of Almond Flour
1/4 Cup of Earth Balance
3 Tbs of Baking Powder
1/2 Cup of Rice Milk
1/2 Cup of Applesauce
1 Tbs of Vanilla Extract
1 Tbs Agave Nectar
1 Tbs Lemon Juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease two baking sheets.  In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients; flour, salt and baking powder.  Add in the vegan butter and mix really well (I let the vegan butter soften a little bit first).

Next add the wet ingredients; rice milk, vanilla extract, agave, applesauce and lemon juice.  Mix well, but be careful not to over mix.  Scones are best when they have a little texture to them.

Spoon them onto the cookie sheets, leaving a little room for them to expand so that they don't stick together.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until they brown on top.  Use a toothpick to make sure that they are cooked in the middle and let them cool.


While they are cooling, make the frosting.  In a food processor, combine 2 cups of sugar (the finer the better) and 1/2 cup of cornstarch.  If doing this again, I would probably only use 1.5 cups of sugar.  Blend for 1-2 minutes until they are mixed well.  Add 1/2 cup of Earth Balance and 1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk.  Then add 1 Tbs of vanilla extract and 1 Tbs of Tofutti cream cheese.  Blend again until smooth.

Once you are done with this process, transfer the scone to a platter and drizzle with the frosting while it is still liquidy.  Then refrigerate the scones for 1 hour to allow the frosting to harden.  You can store the extra frosting in an airtight container.

Voila!


Thursday, October 14, 2010

Clover Food Lab

I work not far from Dewey Square near South Station.  Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dewey Square boasts a small farmer's market with local produce and some great vendors who sell everything from granola to hummus.  One day while walking through the market on my lunch break, my co-worker and I noticed a sign for vegan BLT's.  At first we couldn't figure out where, but then we found the Clover Food Lab truck.



We decided to do some research.  After googling Clover Food Lab, I learned that this was no ordinary food truck.  The Clover truck makes quality, vegetarian fast food.  You heard me right!  Their food is fresh and local and plain awesome.  They are great about answering questions and can make almost all of their options vegan.  I have loved everything I have tried from this food truck!

Some of their options include fried chick pea (essentially falafel), egg and eggplant (I had a vegan version today with no egg), BBQ seitan and BLT (vegetarian).  They also have great sides like their rosemary french fries and delicious salads that change daily.  One of today's salads was wild rice and apple.  They also had surf and turf salad which looked amazing.  It was seaweed and cucumber salad with radish garnish.


Clover also offers great drinks. Today they had hot mulled cider and basil lemonade just to name a few.  I  had a soup special that was awesome, it was parsnip and pear.  It was a rich flavor which was very distinctive and creamy.  Clover also offers a 3:00 special most days and it changes every week.  Some recent specials include corn fritters and fried pickles.  Like I said, this is a vegetarian truck, but they are surely happy to accommodate vegans!



Clover has two locations: Dewey Square (near South Station) and at MIT (near the Kendall T Stop).  They are open 8-7 at both locations and offer breakfast and lunch/dinner.  Ayr and Rolando will also be opening up a vegetarian fast food restaurant which is not a truck soon (in Harvard Square!).  I will keep you posted.  In the meantime, get to Clover!  You won't be sorry.

You can visit Clover online at www.cloverfoodlab.com for daily specials and to subscribe to their daily feed about specials.  Plus you can watch their adventures in opening up a restaurant.  Very cool.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Last weekend Meredith and I went apple and pumpkin picking at Smolak Farms (http://www.smolakfarms.com/) in North Andover. If you haven't been been to this place and live in MA, you should go.  Smolak Farms also has a great country store where you can purchase all kinds of great products from soy candles to fresh jams.  I got the Heavenly Jam...it's, well, heavenly.

Depending on the season, you can do strawberries, rasberries, tomatoes, apples, pumpkins and so much more.  While venturing around the property we came across green heirloom tomatoes and decided to give fried green tomatoes a try.

Having never really made fried green tomatoes, I kind of winged it.  Here is what I came up with:


Fried Green Tomatoes

Green Tomatoes (as many as you want) cut 1/4 of inch thick.
(Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and ground black pepper and set aside.)

1/2 cup rice milk

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (seasoned however you like.  I use italian seasoning and a little black pepper)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup of Panko

1/2 cup of Safflower Oil

Place the rice milk, flour, cornmeal, and Panko each in four separate bowls.

Coat the pan in Safflower Oil (make sure you have a good amount) and heat it up at a low temperature.

Dredge each slice of tomato in the soymilk, then the flour, then the cornmeal and finally the panko, and place into the warmed pan.  Once you have filled the pan with tomatoes, turn up the heat to medium and cover.

I covered the pan while the tomatoes were frying to make sure that they were cooked all the way through. It's your call though.  Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil, and sprinkle with some more salt and pepper while still hot.  I did about two batches and layered them with papertowels on the plate.

That's it! Pretty easy right?  These were delicious and a really interesting flavor that was a little sweet.  I think that the Panko added a nice crunch, but you could totally skip it and just got with the cornmeal (that is the traditional way to make fried green tomatoes).



I served these with some awesome mashed potatoes.  I basically boiled red potatoes and then mashed them with 1 tbs of garlic, 3 tbs of Earth Balance, 1/2 of a cup of scallions and fake bacon bits.  I added a little salt and pepper to taste.

I also made Meredith's garlic bread which she has graciously veganized for me...recipe to come.

Oh!  And we also carved our pumpkins!  What do you think?

Mine (I went free hand!):


Meredith's:





I love coffee

There are many things that give me satisfaction in life, but none more so than my daily cup of coffee. There are starting to be more coffee shops that have soy milk as an option, but here in Boston, if you want a good vegan coffee you have to do a mom and pop shop or Starbucks.

Starbucks poses a moral dilemma for me. Part of my loves my venti soy capp with an extra shot of expresso. No better way to start my day. By Starbucks is bad. Only 1.6 percent of Starbucks coffee is fair-trade certified. According to Global Exchange, only 20 percent of fair trade coffee is sold at fair trade prices the rest is sold at the market price.


That means that with corporate giants like Kraft, the market price often comes in below the production costs for many farmers. BUT if market giants like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts were to throw their weight around , this issue could virtually disappear.  Hear that Starbucks, it's time to step up!

Another thing about Starbucks that drives me absolutely crazy is their cups. Did you know that Starbucks's cups are not recyclable? How crazy is that? Starbucks makes two arguments about this: 1) they are not willing to substitute quality of the cups and 2) the current cups only produce 10% consumer waste. My response: 10% of 2 billion cups per year is still alot going into our landfills. Just sayin.

Enter the Starbucks ceramic cup:

I love this cup.  I use it when I make coffee at home and when I go to Starbucks.  It keeps my coffee hot and is good for the environment and at prices from $10.95-$15.95 it is an affordable solution for enjoying the coffee I love without the guilt of using a non-recyclable cup

Starbucks isn't all bad either. Starbucks now offers vegan friendly frappuccinos and vegan cookies. Vegan frappuccinos were introduced this past May and they are delicious. Starbucks also sells Lucy's Cookies which are a great vegan option. Also, the Starbucks by my work had a vegan happy hour around the time they began offering vegan frappuccinos.  That was awesome. There are not a ton of vegan options here in Boston, so it is always nice to be able to grab Starbucks where I have options and not be "that girl who doesn't eat anything" with the folks at work.
While I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks, I try to stick to my local coffee place as often as possible. Boston Common Coffee is fantastic. With tons of vegan drink options and great food with vegan choices, this place wins my heart. I can often be found here on a Sunday morning with my coffee and a bagel with hummus. That's right, all their bagels are vegan friendly (except the egg bagel).  There are two locations in Boston (North End and Downtown Crossing) and owner Pete can often be found behind the counter of the North End shop. Check them out, you won't be sorry.



Tuesday, October 12, 2010

La Vanila Deodorant

La Vanila is one of my favorite product lines.  Co-Founders Danielle Raynor and Laura DiGirolamo's mission is to provide beautiful and luxurious products that are 100% good for you. 

And guess what? Their products are also cruelty free. Win Win!

La Vanila was one of the first great vegan product lines that I found and I use everything from their perfume to their body wash and lotions to their lip balm.  Needless to say I am a fan.

I play sports and sweat...ALOT.  When changing my lifestyle I had a really hard time finding a deodorant that stood up to my overstimulated sweat glands.  I tried Crystal Essence which is vegan and cruelty free, but I felt like had to re-apply every hour. No bueno.

Then one day at Sephora I saw that La Vanila made deodorant!  WHOA!  I already loved their other products, but would La Vanila's deodorant make the grade?

Mission accomplished.  This deodorant rocks. I love it and guess what? I only have to apply twice a day! Once in the morning and once after practice. 

I will tell you that it is not cheap, but at $18 it is totally worth it.  These deodorants come in 4 scents: Vanilla Lavendar, Pure Vanilla, Vanilla Coconut and Vanilla Grapefruit.  These all smell heavenly, but I have the Pure Vanilla.

And what's more, these deordorants are actually not only effective at keeping your pits smelling fresh, but they are actually good for you!  There are no  petrochemicals, no parabens, no phthalates, no mineral oils, no silicon, no sulfates and no synthetic dyes.  Good for you body, the environment and the animals.  It doesn't get better than that!

You can buy La Vanila products online at www.lavanila.com or at www.sephora.com.  Or you can but them at any Sephora store. 

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Vaute Couture: Fashion with a Conscience

One of the biggest myths I have heard in our fine city is the vegan fashion isn't fashionable.  I have two words, YEAH RIGHT!

Not only is vegan fashionable, it is fashion with a conscience.  I don't know about you, but I am not a fan of strutting around in dead carcus.  Call me crazy, but I was more repulsed then impressed by Lady Gaga's dress at the VMA's.  Can you imagine how much she must have stunk until all those lights...just sayin.

I digress.  As I have said, I am a girl about the town.  And when I step out on the town, I like to look fashionable and feel good about what I am wearing.  Enter Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, founder of Vaute Couture (did you catch the play on words?).






Leanne's clothes, most notably her jackets, are stylish and, even more importantly, sensible.  Not only are her gaments vegan friendly and cruelty free, workers who produce her line are paid a "fair wage".  How's that for revolutionary!









Vaute Couture's line uses revolutionary fabrics that are pushing the industry towards using more eco-friendly fabrics.  Wait, you mean I can look good and make a difference? YES!!!



Her products are quality, kind and revolutionary.  I know I will be proud to strut my stuff on the street of Boston in my new Vaute Coat which I just ordered in Luxe Grey. 



You can order all her unique fashions online at http://www.vautecouture.com/.  You won't be sorry.  Plus, you will be fashionable and warm this winter.  Take that skeptics.

P.S.
I also really want Upcycled Windigo Breaker


Condoms for the Modern Girl

So think your guy's favorite condoms are vegan friendly? Probably not.  Think they are cruelty free? Not a chance. 

How can condoms not be vegan friendly you may ask?  Well as it turns out, condoms are manufactured using casein which is a dairy derivative.  Gross right?  Do you really want a dairy derivative near your lady parts?  I know I don't.

Want to know how your condoms measure up?  Check out the chart at http://www.vegancondoms.com/

As it turns out the use of casein is unnecessary and can be substituted with a vegitable extract taken from the thistle family with out comprimising the manufacturing process.

As one of two vegan friendly sexual health products, Glyde condoms are my fav.  They feel no different than you good old Trojans, and they are actually better for you.


You can buy them online at The Sensual Vegan (http://www.thesensualvegan.com/).  Be sure to check out other products at The Sensual Vegan.  They have everything a girl could ask for or need! Happy shopping ;)

Quick and Easy Vegetable and Wild Rice Soup

Being a single girl, I often need to whip up something quick and easy on the go.  When that is the case, this is one of my go-to recipes. Its healthy and simple and you will even have leftovers for lunch.  Score!

Ingredients

  1. 2 Vegetable Boullion Cubes
  2. 4 cups of Water
  3. 1 Green Pepper
  4. 1 Red Pepper
  5. 1 Small Onion (I use yellow onion)
  6. 2 Celery Stalks
  7. 1 Large Carrot
  8. 4 Button Mushrooms
  9. 1/2 of Zuchinni
  10. 1 Cup of Dry Basmati Rice (or you can use instant)
  11. 1/4 Cup of Dry Wild Rice Grains
  12. Scallions for Garnish


Bring 1 3/4 cup of water, a dah os sea salt and a splash of EVOO and bring to a boil.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the basmati and wild rice to the pot and cover for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover rice and fluff with a fork.

In a seperate pot, combine the boullione and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Dissolve the boullione cubes completely.  Chop all of the ingredients up and add them to the pot.  Cover and cook for 25 minutes on medium-low heat.

Spoon some of the rice into a bowl and then laddle the soup on top.  Use a spoon to mix everything together.  I keep the rice and soup seperate when refridgerating because the rice will absorb most of the broth.  It's pretty yummy and easy!  Enjoy!


Lulu's Shoes and Accessories: Affordable and Stylish!

As I may have mentioned before, I am a little bit obsessed with shoes (and purses).  Giving up my Steve Madden leather riding boots and Louis Vuitton bags was more painful than I care to remember.  So whenever I find great vegan accessories I am psyched.

I am hopeleslly obsessed with celebrity gossip (silly, I know).  One day I was reading my daily dose of Perez Hilton when I saw an ad on the sidebar for these really hot shoes.  I figured that they were probably leather and almost didn't click through.  Boy, am I glad that I did.

Enter Lulu's.  Lulu's has a huge selection of cruelty free shoes and purses.  Jackpot!  And to make my life even easier, they have created a filter on their page to show just vegan shoes!  No more clicking on every shoe to see if they are made from man made materials, only to be let down when they have suede uppers.
  
My shoe collection has been replenished!  Now I can still rock the style I love and not hurt any cute animals in the process.  I bought these shoes recently:



How hot are they? 5" stillettos that are 100% man made materials and at a price tag of only $31 (plus $6 shipping).  Pretty friggin awesome.

I stop by Lulu's weekly because their shoes change that often.  I am just about to order some new boots now!  The shoes are quality and look like they cost alot. 

So now you can be cruetly free and strut your stuff in hot heels!

Panko Crusted Eggplant with Pesto Spinach Fettuccine





Ingredients

  1. 3 Italian Eggplants
  2. 1 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
  3. 1-2 Cups of Pank Bread Crumbs
  4. 1 Cup of Rice Milk
  5. 1/2 Cup of EVOO
  6. 1/4 Cup of Pine Nuts
  7.  3 Cups fresh basil leaves
  8. 6 Tablespoons walnuts(almonds can be used if you have no walnuts)
  9. 4 Tloves garlic
  10. 3/4 Teaspoons course sea salt
  11. 6 Tablespoons additional good quality olive oil
  12. 1 Package of Spinach Fettuccine
Cook the fettuccine in water with splash of table salt and some EVOO.  While pasta is cooking, start the eggplant.  Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick pieces, leave the skin on.  Coat a skillet with EVOO, make sure that there is a decent amount of oil in the pan.  Turn the heat on the pan to low so that it starts to warm up.

You will need three bowls:

  • 1 with the 1 Cup of Rice Milk
  • 1 with the Panko Bread Crumbs
  • 1 with the Whole Wheat Flour
You will want to use these like an assembly line.  In the bowl with the wheat flour, add your favorite spices and mix well.  I usually use oregano, basil, parsley, and black pepper (use dry spices).  Mix this well.

Take the first piece of eggplant and dip it into the rice milk.  Make sure you coat it well and then transfer it to the whole wheat flour/spice mixture bowl.  Coat well and transfer it to the Panko bowl.  Again, coast well (in the Panko bowl make sure you press the eggplant firmly.  Repeat this process for all of the eggplant.

Lay the coated eggplant slices in the greased skillet and cover to prevent splatter.  Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until brown.  Take a plate and place a papertowel on it.  As the eggplant pieces finish cooking place them on the papertowel to drain off the extra EVOO.  I usually have like two layers off eggplant when it is all done.  You will have to cook the eggplant in shifts because it won't all fit in the pan at once.

While the eggplant is cooking, start to prepare the pesto.  Put the basil, nuts, 4 gloves garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt into a food processor, you can use a blender if you don't have a food processor.  Process until all the ingredients are finely chopped. Add the 6 tablespoons of EVOO gradually as you process the ingredients until smooth.

Drain the fettuccine and put it back into the pot.  Add the pesto and mix well.  Add some of the pine nuts while you are doing this.  Put the fettuccine onto plates and then top with eggplant and garnish with a little fresh basil and pine nuts.  You can add some vegan parmesan cheese for garnish.

Crockpot Vegan Chilli and Corn Bread

Chilli and corn bread is perfect for fall!  I love this recipe because you can throw it all in the crockpot and it's ready to go when you  home. 

You can use canned beans if you want (and that is certainly a little easier), but I buy dried beans (which are cheaper and healthier).  I use three kinds of beans; black, red kidney and white kidney.  If you use dried beans you have will have to soak them for at least 6 hours (I do mine overnight).

Dried Beans

Soak each of the different kinds of beans in seperate containers.  Make sure before you add water her look through the beans to make sure there are no stones (sometimes there are in dried beans).  Submerge the beans completely with water.  Soak for 6+ hours our overnight.

When you are getting ready to put everything in the crockpot, rinse the beans in a colander.

Ingredients

  1. 1 Large Diced Sweet Potato
  2. 1 Large Red Potato
  3. 1 Medium Sized Zuchinni
  4. 1 Large Carrot
  5. 1 Medium Red Onion
  6. 1 Green Pepper
  7. 1 Cup of Chopped Celery
  8. 1-2 Jalepenos (depending on spicy you like it)
  9. 1 Can of Kernal Corn, Drained
  10. 3 Gloves of Garlic
  11. 2 Small Cans of Tomato Paste
  12. 1 Cup Each of Dried Red Kidney, White Kidney and Black beans (measure when dry)
  13. 2.5 Cups of Water
  14. 1-2 Tsp of Chili
  15. 1/4 Tsp of Salt
  16. 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
  17. 1/4 Tsp Red Pepper
  18. 1/3 Tsp Soy Sauce
Chop up all ingredients and combine in the crockpot.  Stir well to assure that all the ingredients are mixed well.

Cook on low of 8 hours or on high form 4 hours.  Stir well before serving.  You can throw some vegan cheddar on top too!



Cornbread

Ingredients

Ingredients

  1. 1/2 cup cornmeal
  2. 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  3. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  5. 1/2 cup applesauce
  6. 1/2 cup soy milk
  7. 1/4 cup agave nectar
  8. 2 tablespoons canola oil (safflower works well to)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 X 10 pan. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir in the applesauce, soy milk, and agave nectar. Slowly add the oil while stirring. Pour the mixture into the greased pan. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick or small knife inserted in the crown of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

Both of these recipes are really quick and easy.  Prepare is the most time consuming of both.  I love to make this when I have company coming over because non-vegans love it!  My ex once told me that the cornbread was better than his mothers!  It's great to make salsa and guacamole from scratch to serve with chips for this meal too.