Hey Guys,

For all of you who need to steer clear of eggs and milk. Have you tried looking up Vegan Cooking on the web, or Vegan Cookbooks out of the library? My nephew and his fiancee are vegans. They don't eat any animal ingredients. That means all of their muffins, pancakes, cakes, etc., use no dairy or eggs.

I am going vegan myself and have found that for the most part, the vegan items taste really good. The muffins might not be as pretty, but if they taste good, and are safe to eat...I have a friend with a child with dairy allergies and a child with nut allergies. They all eat meat, but use the vegan cookbook for ideas on sides, breakfast items, and baked goods.

Here are two recipes that I have found to be well liked by our family. I hope that they work for you!

Here is a recipe that I have made for my 3 year olds playgroup. All of the kids loved them and ate seconds. Even ones who are very picky.
Zucchini-Raisin Muffins
Makes one dozen

This is one of our favorite instead-of-a-sandwich muffins. Good accompaniments are a small container of yogurt or a wedge of cheese, plus some fresh fruit. If you won't be using the whole batch within a couple of days, pop some in the freezer for later use. make these simple muffins in the evening, and what a pleasure it is to know that you need only put them in the lunchbox in the morning, instead of making sandwiches!
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup organic vanilla low-fat yogurt or soy yogurt
2 tablespoons light vegetable oil
1 cup firmly packed grated zucchini
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the first 6 (dry) ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the yogurt and oil. Stir together until smoothly combined. Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and optional walnuts.

Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a small knife inserted in the center of a muffin tests clean. Cool on a rack.

I got it off of this website: http://vegkitchen.com

She also has a dairy free alfredo sauce that even O ate and asked for seconds for last night. It really did taste very good! It is not very thick, but it is easy, fast, and yummy. Here it is:

Alfredo Sauce (from the vegetarian family cookbook)
12 ounces of dry pasta

2 tbs. nonhydrogenated margarine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 12.3 ounce vacuum packed silken tofu (firm tofu will make a thicker sauce, I used soft last night)
1/2 cup plain unsweetened rice or soy milk
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Parmesan Style Soy "Cheese", optional

Cook the pasta according to directions on package. While it is cooking, put margarine into a small saucepan, melt over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it is light tan. Remove from heat. Place garlic margarine, tofu, soy/rice milk, salt, and pepper into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Drain cooked pasta and return to pot. Toss in the sauce. Let sit a minute or two until it is warmed through. Put in serving bowls and top with soy cheese if you want.

Annie