We’re busy, busy little worker bees in PETA’s Marketing Department, and nobody is busier than everybody’s second favorite PETA blogger, Amy “I think I’m so smart cuz I can make vegan cupcakes” Cook, who, in addition to running the Veg Cooking blog, coordinates most of the vegetarian-focused content that goes up on PETA’s websites. Well, in her unquenchable enthusiasm for the Holiday Season, our Amy coordinated so much Christmas content that we’re having trouble keeping up with it, which is a shame, because it really is very good. So the point is, even though she runs a rival PETA blog and is thus my evil arch-nemesis, I do want to highlight some of the exciting stuff she’s been working on for the Holidays. Check it all out, and be sure to congratulate her on the great work.

1. PETA has teamed up with Cherrybrook Kitchen, for a mouthwatering giveaway featuring mixes for vegan chocolate chip and sugar cookies, yellow cakes, pancakes and brownies. If you have a sweet tooth, you can check that bad boy out here:
2. I told my mom that if she forgets to load up on tofurkey this year while I’m home for Christmas, she can forget about getting any gifts from me. There are, however, more polite ways of accomplishing these goals, and PETA’s Ask Your Family for a Vegan Christmas feature can help you out with that.
3. You may also want to check out these tips and tricks to make vegan holiday baking easy.
4. And if baking’s not your thing, there are about a million other vegan holiday-specific foods you can prepare, so have a look at those here.

Amy has managed to exhaust her lifetime quota of favors from me by also asking me to talk about the variety of Christmas recipes she’s going to be posting on her blog in the next week, so be sure to check those out too. I hate to say it, but her first Christmas-themed entry does actually look pretty delicious. Feel free to scan her blog for a little while, but don’t forget to come back here, otherwise I shall be hurt and sulky. Enjoy!

I am very, very excited about the fact that it's finally summertime and, by extension, barbeque season. My roommate and I kicked off the season a couple of weeks ago with a Memorial Day barbeque to end all Memorial Day barbeques—Boca burgers, chick'n patties, grilled portabella mushrooms, vegan potato salad, veggie bratwurst, veggie dogs, and pretty much every other fake meat you can think of. Doubtless inspired by our legendary cookout, the folks in PETA's Vegan Campaigns Department have cooked up a little BBQ recipe contest of their own, with a sweet-ass portable grill as first prize and some other cool stuff, including a cookbook and some barbeque sauces, for the runners-up.

Anyway, if, like me, you have an unbeatable vegetarian recipe for a summertime barbeque, you should enter that bad boy here—the winners will be featured on VegCooking.com and PETA.org, so even if the portable grill isn't enough of an incentive for you, you may enjoy that opportunity for instant Internet celebrity. Also, if you have any cool vegan BBQ recipes that you'd like to share, feel free to post them. Barbeque king though I may be, I'm not above learning something new every now and then.

By now, most people in the country, and certainly everyone in the blogosphere, have heard about the letter we sent Al Gore urging him to face the reality that while the steps he asks people to take in An Inconvenient Truth are certainly important, the most effective way to stop climate change is through diet change. So, for Big Al (oh and by the way, vegetarians weigh, on average, 10 percent less than their meat eating-counterparts … I'm just saying) we want to make the veg thing easy by offering to cook him food and giving him recipes.

The story has been covered all over the world, but my favorite by far is the Fox News piece that starts with “Can Al Gore be a meat-eating environmentalist? PETA says no… and is offering to cook the following meal for the former vice president to prove it!” and goes on to list the vegan recipes we are offering to cook for him. Brit Hume also talked about the issue on his show last night, which is pretty cool too.

Anyway, since this whole thing made the news, we’ve been getting tons of requests for the recipes, so here you go. Have fun!

Fried 'Chicken'
(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups unbleached white flour
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 lb. soy chicken (Morningstar farms chicken strips)
3 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Method:
Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl.
In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water.
Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir. Add the baking powder to the dry flour mixture and mix.
Dip chunks of the soy chicken into the mustard batter, then drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of "crust."
Fry the chunks in hot oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer until crispy and golden brown, turning as needed.

Slow-Cooked Collard Greens
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:
4 bunches collard greens
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 medium onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, minced
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 chipotle peppers
Salt, to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and the garlic cloves. Sauté until the onions are soft.
Add the collard greens, carrots, and vegetable stock. Cook until tender.
Season with the salt.

Cornbread
(Makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients
6 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
Walnut halves, optional

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish.
Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground flax seed and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 3 minutes, or until thickened.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, Florida Crystals, baking powder, and salt.
Add the flax seed mixture, soy milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Combine just until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and place the walnut halves on top. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes
(Makes 4 to 5 servings)

Ingredients:
5 large potatoes, diced
1 cup liquid nondairy creamer (try Silk brand)
2 Tbsp. margarine
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.
Serve hot.

Chicken-less Gravy
(Makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
Onion salt, to taste
Unbleached all-purpose flour

Method:
In a large saucepan, simmer all ingredients except the flour for approximately 5 minutes.
Slowly add the flour by tablespoons, whisking after each addition, until the desired thickness is reached.
Keep warm.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

All-American Apple Pie
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients for the Crust:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

Ingredients for the Filling:
1 3/4 lbs. Golden Delicious apples, thinly sliced
1 3/4 lbs. Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. unbleached flour

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance margarine, diced
1 Tbsp. soy milk
1 Tbsp. Florida Crystals sugar
Large pinch of ground cinnamon

Method for the Crust:
In a bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Mix the water with 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to make a paste. Set aside.
With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the vegetable shortening into the remaining flour mixture until the texture is "pebbly." Add the paste and mix well. Shape into a ball and divide into 2 parts.
Lightly flour a clean countertop and rolling pin. Roll 1 portion of the dough at a time. Roll from the center out, lifting the roller at the end of the dough (rather than rolling back and forth). Roll to a 1/8-inch thickness.
Have an 8- or 9-inch pie pan ready. The rolled dough should be at least 2 inches larger than your pie pan. Loosen from the rolling surface, fold in half, and place in the center of the pie pan. Unfold and gently work into the pan, pressing lightly. Trim any excess dough with a knife.

Method for the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Let stand for approximately 15 minutes, or until juices form. Add the flour and mix.

To Assemble:
Spoon the filling into the bottom crust and dot with margarine.
Roll out the second ball of dough to form a 13-inch round circle. Drape over the filling.
Seal the top and bottom crust edges together and trim any excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under and crimp decoratively with a greased fork.
Brush the pie with the soy milk. Combine the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the pie.
Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven.
Immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake for approximately 2 hours, or until the crust is golden brown, the apples are tender, and the filling is thick and bubbling. If the edges are browning too quickly, cover with foil.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

And if you’ve read this far, chances are you’d like some more ozone-friendly vegan recipes, so here you go.