Hannah Kaminsky, My Sweet Vegan ~ Its official: The final frontier of veganism has been reached.  Dairy and casein-free cheese, that illusive substance that has typically tasted like burnt plastic at best, is now just as good, if not better than the original animal product.  And this time, it really melts- Not just sort of, if you coddle it and sing it sweet songs while it stews for an hour- But throw it under a broiler and it becomes gooey, creamy, and everything one could hope for in any sort of cheese.  Teese, the newest kid on the “cheese”-making block, has taken the vegan world by storm, showing up in innumerable commercial restaurants and homes alike.  I’m actually a bit late to this party, as you can find reviews of this stuff all over the place, but I just had to check it out for myself anyways ...

Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ Thanks to growing demand, food allergies are triggering more than allergic reactions, they are also causing a surge in the specialty food industry.  According to Packaged Facts, a New York research firm, the market for food allergy and intolerance products in the U.S. is expected to reach $3.9 billion this year. Yes, billion. The gluten-free food and beverage sector alone is expected to hit $1.3 billion by 2010, up from $700 million in 2006, according to another research firm, Mintel ...

Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ When Vegan.com selected Hannah Kaminsky’s first cookbook, My Sweet Vegan, as one of the ten best vegan cookbooks, the talented young author was flabbergasted.  Joining the ranks of seasoned authors such as Isa Moskowitz and Dreena Burton was something she had dreamed of, but never expected so early in her career.  So when asked to choose her favorite recipe from My Sweet Vegan, it seemed only fitting to pick the very recipe that began it all, her Root Beer Float Cupcakes …

Foods Matter, June 2008 ~ Two studies by Elvira de Mejia, associate professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, show that fermenting soy dramatically reduces its potential allergenicity by as much a 99%, and increases the number of essential amino acids in the soya. These results were achieved when the blood plasma of persons allergic to soy was challenged with protein extracts from both fermented and unfermented soy products ...

Hood River, OR - Like all of you, when the Tofurky Feast is over and everyone’s appetite is satisfied, we don’t waste our leftover Tofurky Roast. We chop it, pull it, shred it and turn it into something delicious and comforting. The call for leftover Tofurky recipes was answered by about 40 Tofurky Chefs. We started chopping, stirring, sautéing, pureeing and tasting. Our panel of six Tofurky Tasters did a marvelous job of eating Leftover Tofurky in every imaginable form, and our list of winner and 5 runners-up represents a beautiful array of ways to enjoy the remains of the feast. The grand prize winner of a Apple iphone was Laureen Pittman of California with her Curried Tofurky® Orzo Salad with Cranberries and Almonds ...