Homemade Twix Bars and 100 Other Vegan Delights

While I can't honestly say I'm giving serious thought to going completely vegan, I am the first to admit that I think we should treat the food we eat from animals with greater reverence. It's all too easy to forget about the messy process that comes before that hunk of flesh (or butter or cheese) hits the table, and that's the way most people like it, frankly.

For those who know the truth and have given it some thought though, it's more complicated. If we can't hand feed our own pigs or milk our own cows, the best we can do is buy the most conscientiously prepared animal products we can find and make more room in our diets for non-animal based foods. I've heard Mark Bittman's personal system is to eat vegan for breakfast and lunch. Michael Pollan's tells us to "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," and Jonathan Safran Foer has a new book out called "Eating Animals," wherein he says of my generation: "We are the ones who will be asked, what did you do when you learned the truth about eating animals?"

Personally, I struggle with this quite a bit. I was brought up in a family where meat was the centerpiece of every meal, three times a day. It's a hard habit to break. I keep telling myself that there are plenty of delicious things out there that don't involve animal products, but I sometimes have trouble remembering what they are. In an effort to remind myself that vegan food can be "craveable," as those terrible chain restaurants like to say, I set out to make a list of 100 Vegan foods - both dishes and ingredients, that are utterly delicious. I listed things that satisfy me in the same way that butter, cheese and burgers do. Things that I am thrilled to eat. That I, ok, crave.

I thought someone else wondering about or struggling with the same thing might want to see it, so here it is:

1. Granola with Almond Milk
2. Fried Zucchini
3. Watermelon
4. Crusty French Bread
5. A pot of Rancho Gordo Beans
6. Ma Po Tofu (made with mushrooms)
7. Caramelized Roasted Root Vegetables
8. Fried Shallots
9. Avocado Sandwiches
10. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
11. Dark Chocolate
12. Garbanzo Bean Curry
13. Jasmine Rice
14. French Potato Salad
15. Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches
16. Humphry Slocombe Jesus Juice sorbet
17. Alesmith Old Numbskull Barleywine
18. Eggplant Stir Fried with Garlic, Ginger, Soy and Mirin
19. Falafel
20. Pico de Gallo
21. Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
22. Lucques olives
23. Tapenade
24. Roasted Garlic
25. Pickled Vegetables
26. Hummus
27. Tortillas and Tortilla Chips
28. Patatas Bravas
29. Daal
30. Tomatillo Salsa
31. Corn on the Cob
32. Steel Cut Oatmeal with brown sugar, golden raisins and cashew or almond milk
33. Dried Mango Slices
34. Oven Dried Tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and basil
35. Champagne
36. Mary Jane candies (molasses taffy filled with peanut butter)
37. Black Truffles
38. Maitake Mushrooms
39. Black Trumpet Mushrooms
40. Curried Pumpkin (or any other squash) Soup
41. Caramel Corn (most is without butter)
42. Braised Kale with Garlic, Pine Nuts and Raisins
43. Pommes Frites with ketchup
44. Peanut Coleslaw with Asian Vinaigrette
45. French Lentil Soup
46. Roasted Chestnuts
47. Forked Avocado on Toast
48. Peppadew peppers
49. Radishes with olive oil and salt
50. Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches and Balsamic Vinaigrette
51. Hot Chocolate made with dark chocolate, coconut milk and almond milk
52. Churros
53. Fried green tomatoes
54. Spiced pecans
55. Polenta
56. Risotto (made with vegetable broth)
57. Lentil Berbere stew
58. Edamame
59. Baba Ghanouj
60. Roasted Chickpeas
61. Braised Leeks
62. Carrot Ginger Soup
63. Preserved Lemons
64. Crisp, Juicy Apples
65. Orange Blossom Honey
66. A Perfect Espresso
67. Cold Sesame (or Peanut) Noodles
68. Lotus Root Chips
69. Smoothies made with soy protein, frozen banana, almond milk and almond butter
70. Panzanella salad
71. Fried Sage Leaves
72. Spicy Pan-Roasted Cauliflower
73. Asian Grilled Green Beans
74. Chimichurri Sauce
75. Poached Pears
76. A glass of Tokaji
77. Carrot and Edamame salad
78. Pan-roasted Brussel Sprouts
79. An Ice Cold Vodka Tonic with Lime
80. Pomegranate seeds
81. Mint Chutney
82. Dark chocolate covered frozen bananas rolled in chopped peanuts
83. Chocolate Pudding pie made with almond milk in a graham cracker crust, topped with Whipped Coconut Cream
84. Roasted Beets with olive oil, thyme, garlic and orange zest.
85. Thick Cut Potato Chips
86. Sangria loaded with fruit
87. Glenmorangie Scotch - aged in port barrels
88. Green Papaya salad (made with vegetarian fish sauce)
89. Cippolini Onions
90. African Peanut Soup
91. Warm Chickpea Salad on a bed of Arugula
92. Kettle Corn
93. Japanese Hot Pot with Mushrooms
94. Fava Beans
95. Pea Tendrils
96. Oreos
97. Sweet Potato Fries
98. Biscuits (made with shortening)
99. Fresh-squeezed lemonade
100. Heirloom tomataoes off the vine

The Twix bars are not on the list, but they certainly could be. Some good friends of ours recently went vegan, and I was challenged with making an indulgent dessert when we had them over for dinner last week - on Halloween to be exact. (Hence the candy - get it?)

I bastardized the recipe based on Sherry Yard's recipe in her cookbook and a vegan caramel recipe I found online. They wouldn't fool you for the real thing, but they were very, very, good. There is quite a bit to be said about the recipe, so I will post it separately.

Sorry to be such a tease, but you won't have to wait long. I promise!