Twelve years ago when I moved in with my husband I came with a list of products I wouldn’t use and companies that I could not support because they tested on animals. He could tell it meant a lot to me, so he became familiar with the list and never bought the items again. He even began referring to some of the companies that did some of the worst testing as “evil” just as I did. This is what he was willing to do for love.
A year later he read, “Mad Cowboy,” by Howard Lyman, and shortly after we decided to go vegetarian. During this time information became more readily available on the internet and though he hated it, I forced hubby to watch films of animal cruelty. The more he watched the more he began to share the information with his omnivore friends and the more he tried to sell vegetarianism to non believers. He wanted to help save the animals for love.
After I started eating a vegan diet he was not ready to give up many things that had dairy or eggs in them. That’s how Don’t Fear The Vegan came to be. I began veganizing recipes he craved. Out of love for my daughter and wanting to be able to nurse her I went vegan. For his love for me and his daughter my hubby went vegan. Our daughter knows no other way to live then to love all creatures, so she is vegan. Now we are all vegan for the love of the animals, the planet and each other.
One of our favorite desserts use to be Creme Brulee. Recently my mom found a recipe for me on Dr. Mcdougall’s website for a vegan Cashew Creme Brulee. I modified this recipe for my Pumpkin Creme Brulee, which I made for hubby.
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
3/4 heavy cashew cream
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp agar flakes
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 oz silken tofu
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
Mix all ingredients in a blender on high until well blended. Pour into a saucepan and cook on low, stirring constantly until all air bubbles are gone, about 15 minutes. Do not let it boil. Pour into 6 ramekins or small pumpkins*. Refrigerate until completely cooled ( I chilled overnight.) To serve sprinkle raw sugar over the top and brown the sugar with a blowtorch. Serve.
* If you choose to use pumpkins as bowls you need three small sugar pumpkins. Cut in half, clean out seeds and pulp, bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes until you can easily poke a fork in it. I put vegan butter, cinnamon & sugar around the inside of my pumpkins prior to baking but no one ate them so I am not sure it is necessary.
Steffi DeRobertis writes the food blog Don’t Fear The Vegan with the help of her husband and daughter. On their blog they share recipes, give out information about vegan places and products, and put some topics out there about the vegan movement too. This is her second post as a guest contributor to Vegan Mainstream’s Vegan MOFO posts.
