Living the Vegan Lifestyle
First, Download our PDF Pizza Packet file below
THEN PRINT IT
NEXT, Take to your favorite Italian Restaurant or Pizza Place
So then you can start sharing far and wide!
BECAUSE PIZZA!!
Correction- VEGAN PIZZA!!!
You can already enjoy vegan pizza at Pazzo’s in Wading River and Umberto’s in Sayville!
©2017-2023 thehamptonsvegan all rights reserved.
Why do you need a snack cake?
Okay, so you’re finished with dinner and you sit down in front of the TV to watch your favorite show. You’re in your comfy clothes and you’re cuddled up in your comfy chair. But you just need a little somethin’ somethin’ for the perfect comfy, cozy finish to your day. And, you want somethin’ chocolate.
So here you go!
…
Banana cake is great because you can make it any time of the year. There’s no special season you must wait for to enjoy this confection. And bananas are available all year long. Bangin banana cake is a beautiful thing. But the only thing that makes it difficult to make this treat, is if you have someone at home that eats bananas like they are going out of style!
So, yes, Zack eats bananas every day.
I used to have an excuse to make banana bread and banana muffins and my favorite, banana cake. You know when bananas start to turn brown they’re in the perfect condition to make a treat!
But my bunch of bananas never has a chance to turn brown anymore! They get eaten before they make it to the brown banana dessert level.
But Zack always meets the challenge and just eats more bananas! He has them on cereal or for smoothies or peanut butter sandwiches. And mostly, he just eats them as is.
Last week, I tried wrapping up a couple of bananas, setting them apart from the rest of the bunch. When I returned to make the banana dessert, all that was left was the banana skin tops… Wrapped back up! Sigh… Maybe someday I’ll make a banana cake again.
So if your family eats a normal amount of bananas like most of the rest of the population, and you have some that make it to the brown-speckled stage, rejoice! You now have the best part of the ingredients for a bangin’ banana cake of your own!
I hope you try this recipe because it’s so good. And if you do, can I come over for a piece? I don’t know if I’ll ever see another speckled banana in my house again.
Here’s a recipe I highly recommend to top this cake: Bougie Brown Sugar Frosting.
But you could also make the Better Buttercream Frosting for a quicker yet just as yummy topping!
And, if you make the frosting, and you find there’s a lot left over, you could then make Especially Espresso Chocolate Cake.
And then we’ll all probably need a cleanse or a purging of the sugar from our cupboards or something besides dessert…until tomorrow?!
(For inspiration, cleanses, recipes, and great advice, I like to read Kris Carr‘s riveting words to help get back on track.)
Or fill up on a bountiful bowl of veggies to take the sugar guilts away with our Miraculous Minestrone Soup! There you go!
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
But if no one liked this pie, except me, I’d be fine with that. I LOVE pumpkin pie. And I will eat yours if you don’t want it. 😉
It took me a while, after transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, to find a pumpkin pie I could embrace. To say I was feeling quite panicked would be an understatement. I wait all summer to get to fall (and I love summer) so I can finally eat pumpkin pie legally. You know, during the proper pumpkin pie-eating season.
So to abandon a perfect pumpkin pie recipe, that I used for years, was difficult but necessary. My food, no matter how much I enjoyed it, could not involve suffering from another being. I stayed focused on the task at hand. I must now find an equal, to my beloved pie, but without the dairy.
With conviction and passion, I set out on my quest. I tried so many paltry pumpkin pie recipes. Most ended up too liquidy and sad. It was pretty depressing, to say the least.
I received half-hearted encouragement from the family. They tried to console me and convince me that the pies I’d made were good enough. But I knew better. And I wasn’t going to give up.
One particular day, over four years ago, and just in time for the upcoming pumpkin season, I tried yet another recipe. I tried to temper my excitement when the pleasing aroma of all the provocative spices started wafting through the house.
Now normally, I like a lot of my pies still warm from the oven like apple, cherry, blueberry, peach, and one of my old favorite store-bought pies, Marie Callender’s Razzleberry Pie.
But pumpkin pie, I like to eat cold. However, this time I could not wait. I had a good feeling this was a winner, so I dug in straight from the oven.
Well, I wasn’t disappointed. It was a precious moment when time stood still. I closed my eyes and inhaled that lovely pumped pumpkin pie. And the flavor was perfect. The consistency was on point. So I am now pumped for pumpkin pie again. And don’t you love it when it all works out?
Now if there was ever a career I’d aspire to, it would definitely be the pumpkin pie police. If that ever becomes a thing ( we can’t have people eating pumpkin pie in the off seasons), then sign me up! I’d happily confiscate the illegal pies and squirrel them away. I could partake of their precious scent any time I liked. Then, when the time came to release the pies back into the world when it was allowed again, I’d exchange all those pies with my vegan pumpkin pies and nobody would know the difference. And nobody would get hurt. Then all would be right with the world. But perhaps I’m a bit too enamored with pumpkin pie?
Anyway, I have a better idea! Why don’t we get a little badass and make pumpkin a year-round treat? Not just one time of year but all the time! No long lines queuing up for a pumpkin latte, no more Instagram pushes of all things pumpkin at the start of autumn, and no sad long faces when the pumpkin season ends far too soon!
We don’t do that to tomatoes, corn, or potatoes! Why the exclusion of pumpkin? I’m here to defend the super squash! I vote for pumpkin all year long!! Who’s with me?!
So whatever happens with our pumpkin love plan may I suggest we start with the making of the pumped pumpkin pie recipe? It will make you smile with joy at the first scent of those irresistible spices.
And if you find you crave a slice during the heart of the summer, never fear!
If I am on the pumpkin police squad and you have made our vegan version of the pie, I will look the other way.
P.S. If you want to enjoy a little whipped topping on your perfect pie, I recommend So Delicious Cocowhip.
P.P.S. To help avoid cracks in your pie (like the one above), try using a deep dish pie pan, and don’t overbake. If using a store-bought pre-formed pie crust, just transfer it to a deep dish pan from the tin it came in, for best results. Cracks do not affect the taste though! 🙂
One more thing! If you find yourself without any pumpkin, but a desire for pie, try our Scrumptious Strawberry Pie
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
This eggplant parmesan recipe is a keeper. My son Zack (another home-grown Hamptons Vegan) requests this recipe often. He follows a vegan eating plan that also omits bread and pasta more often than not so this is a good choice for him.
This is just straight-up good food with so much flavor. It’s simple AND elegant all at the same time. And that’s a beautiful thing.
So pair this with a big green salad and all is right with the world, my friend. Vegan eating in one of its finest forms.
To make this elegant eggplant parmesan entrée you can easily incorporate our recipes for Perfect Parmesan-vegan style,
and Ricotta Replica.
Then just add the eggplant!
Because they all come together so elegantly and easily in this recipe. Hence, the name. 🙂
So, sometimes (or all the time, I don’t judge) we all like to go out to eat. It’s nice to take a break from cooking! And it’s also nice to go out for a date night or a celebration.
Or because there’s nothing to eat in the house and now it’s too late to go to the store to pick up ingredients and it will be 11:00 p.m. if we did so we just need to go get food to stop the hangry. (This may or may not be from personal experience).
Then, if you find yourself in one of those situations, we have a recommendation for you!
We tried Centro Trattoria and Bar in Hampton Bays! It’s a hopping place! We had a great time, too. We went on the one day this summer when we had a huge downpour. Shoulda, coulda, woulda brought an umbrella, but I did not.
Oh well, no matter, it was dry and inviting inside (just like the yummy martini I had from the bar)! We felt fortunate to find an open table next to the bar since we didn’t have a reservation.
Next, I naturally asked about vegan options because that is my assignment for the summer and I take it seriously! Thankfully, they were able to oblige. I have a feeling they don’t get that request too often because when they brought out the Aglio E Olio pasta with greens, it also contained some kind of meat. (sigh).
Happily, they made it right and returned soon after with the corrected entrée and an appreciated apology. (And I apologize for the blurry photo. I blame the cocktail 😉
And happily again, it was very good! I think they broke my heart a little bit when they said their marinara sauce wasn’t vegan, though. Ah, well, Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say, so it’s a process. And in the infamous words of Ahnold…”I’ll be back!”
So, be ready, Centro. There will be more vegan requests headed your way. Looking forward to our return, soon!
P.S.
If you’ve enjoyed your dinner but are now craving dessert, make our Scrumptious Strawberry Pie!
Or how about our Happy Half Moon cookies?
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017- 2025 All rights reserved.
and add a little olive oil, basil, and salt… Voila! Bruschetta
Bada-Bing-Bada-Boom Bruschetta couldn’t be simpler to make. It’s the amazing burst of flavor that astonishes such a simple dish. Fresh from the garden, farmers market, or any market tomatoes are always in abundance at the mid to end of summer here on Long Island. So one of our favorite ways to enjoy them is a simple but robustly delicious bruschetta.
And there are so many ways to enhance this little gem! But I suggest you start with the basic recipe and then make it your own. It’s perfect when you have too many tomatoes and a day-old baguette. The makings of bruschetta are calling your name! So it’s a problem turned into a plan! And lemons into lemonade! You get my drift.
I still remember the first time I had this lovely treat. It was at my brother and sister-in-law’s house in Corning, NY.
Jackie, my sister-in-law, took out a container of bruschetta from her fridge. Then she toasted up the baguette and spooned on the bright red mixture. The aroma from the oven was heavenly. Soon, after the first bite, my Mom and I and our family were blown away. And how had we never had this amazing taste creation? It was difficult to modestly eat one or two. Because we seriously could have polished off the entire baguette of blissfulness.
We talked about it on the drive back to Mom’s house in Binghamton, that night. And we knew this new-found food would definitely be added to our menu rotations. We laughed about how we would’ve eaten it with a spoon straight out of the bowl but didn’t want to shock my dear sister-in-law, Jackie 🙂
Our bruschetta love continues. Ans although our first encounter was fifteen or twenty years ago, it is still enjoyed here at our Hamptons Vegan home. I make it for Sunday football games and whenever we want an appetizer. Also good for book clubs, or when the kids had sleepovers. And make it for a light lunch, New Year’s Eve, summer picnics, parties, and potlucks, too.
And, I incorporate it into my Magnificent Marinara Sauce, as well! It’s fantastic and we love it so much. So, thank you, Jackie! And, thank you Italy, the original creator! Also, one more muchas gracias to a restaurant in Varadero, Cuba (the restaurant name escapes me, I’ll keep thinking and let you know!) Because they had one of the best bruschetta appetizers I’ve ever eaten. So good in fact that I made it my dinner entrée that night!
Also, for a creamy cheesiness add some Violife Feta on top! AAHHHmazing!
So Italian food is a favorite around here! Therefore, we have some other good specialties we think you’ll like as well!
Try our Lovely, Luscious Vegan Lasagna for an easy but filling comfort food dish.
Another good Italian classic is our Elegant Eggplant Parmesan
And for cheesy additions to compliment your Bada-Bing-Bada-Boom Bruschetta,
make our Perfect Parmesan, our Posh Pesto, and our Ricotta Replica to top it all off!
And that’s Amore!
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
So, very vegan vanilla cupcakes have been an elusive and almost impossible dream. They had to pass the test of our family. Everyone tasted samples until we got THE ONE.
We may or may not have woken certain people up from a deep sleep in order to subject them to yet another taste test. ( Sorry, Zookie!)
It was challenging and brutal. (Nah, it was fun). Anyway, we have finally found it!
We all came to the same conclusion and are here to present to you the vegan vanilla cupcake that came out on top. And this recipe is a hands-down winner.
Birthdays, holidays, and special occasion celebrations will need this cupcake for sure. It is the perfect base for any and all icing and topping. These are delicious, don’t sink in the middle, and have a tight/light crumb. Best, these very vegan vanilla cupcakes are dairy-free and vegan/plant-based. So, more people can enjoy them.
This cupcake recipe is our number one winner but we sampled many other recipes on the web. Some of our other favorites included the minimalist baker version here. We also liked it doesn’t taste like chicken‘s vanilla cupcake here. More cupcakes, more happiness!
After fifteen minutes of mixing it up and then 25 minutes in the oven, you will have twelve very vegan vanilla cupcakes for yourself! Or you could share, that’s up to you.
Now make our better buttercream frosting recipe to complete the cupcakes.
Then use this recipe to make our Summer Sunflower Cupcakes!
We hope you enjoy your very own vegan vanilla cupcakes as much as our family does! xoxo
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
Well, the solar eclipse of 2017 has passed but these half-moon cookies will always stay relevant! …
So, let’s celebrate!
Half-moon cookies! That’s what they’re called. They’re half-moon cookies and I don’t care what you say. Well, I do care what you say, but I have to agree to disagree on what you call black-and-white cookies and what I call half-moon cookies.
The big cake-like cookie with equal parts white and chocolate frosting was always my favorite.
Full disclosure: I was born in Binghamton, NY. I’m an upstate girl. But I’ve been living the last twenty-plus years, in the Hamptons.
My confectionary dreams as a child consisted of half-moon cookies. I also loved my Aunt Bonnie’s penuche fudge but that was only available on Christmas day when we gathered at my Great Grandma’s house (insert wistful sigh here).
But I always just called them moon cookies. I lost the “half” somewhere along the line.
There was no favorite side. I’d go back and forth taking bites of the chocolate side then bites of the vanilla. I loved them both so much. Double the pleasure was a bite right in the middle where the two flavors meet. Whoa, just whoa.
Then I grew up, married my prince charming, aka the big guy, and moved far, far away to live happily ever after. With a pit stop along the way to Virginia Beach, VA for about 4 years (fond memories), we landed more permanently on the Eastern End of Long Island, NY.
While raising four little Hampton Vegans into adulthood, we lived a busy life. And when treats were in order, the Beach Bakery played a big part if I didn’t have time to make any homemade treats like our Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies or the Perfect and Easy Peanut Butter Cookie.
The Beach Bakery in the center of Main Street, Westhampton Beach was where our family spent many days, picking up fresh-baked bread, amazing jelly-filled croissants with a sugary coating, key lime pie, chocolate mousse cake, and my favorite- those cookies.
Everyone in our family knew, that in a box of Beach Bakery treats, the moon cookies were mine. I never really noticed what they called them at the Beach Bakery but as the years went by and our family would venture into the city (NYC), it began to sink in, after many “moon cookie” purchases at various bakeries and delis, that in this neck of the woods, they’re called black-and-white cookies.
So much time had passed since I’d eaten a cookie officially called a half-moon cookie, that I started to believe this was a childhood name I gave them. It felt like I was the only one that called those cookies by that name.
Then I decided to google it.
Eureka! There it was. Finally, the answer was right on the World Wide Web! I found my people. The half-moon cookie lived in upstate and New England traditions. Wicked cool. (My Upstate NY/New England people know what I’m talking about).
According to some websites, it was invented at a bakery called Hemstrought’s in Utica, NY back in the early 1900s. Other sites claim the credit goes to Zaro’s in NYC around 1940. Yet another claim they came from Europe with Dutch immigration. I’ve read that in Germany, these cookies are called Amerikaners! American cookies!
Whichever source you believe, does it matter where they came from or what you call them as long as you can eat them?! I think not!
So today, in honor of the solar eclipse by the moon (appearing on August 21, 2017), I dedicate these cookies to it.
And to all those, like me, who will indeed be gazing with our eclipse glasses at the solar-lunar-earthly alignment (partial for Long Island) and thinking, Mmmmm moon cookies. Or is that just me?
Because a member of our crew-a Hamptons Vegan, living in Austin, Texas will be traveling to witness the solar eclipse in a prime spot in Missouri, I want to send my best wishes for a sunny day, a cloudless sky and lots and lots of lunar love to her, her partner, and to all those watching the skies on August 21.
Now make a batch of these Happy half-moon cookies for this stellar occasion!
P.S. You want to know why they’re “Happy” half-moon cookies? Because they’re vegan, of course!
P.P.S.
The original recipe from the Hemstrought bakery in Utica, NY appeared in Sauveur magazine. It featured a chocolate cake bottom. Get that recipe here.
To veganize Hemstrought’s recipe, just change the margarine to vegan margarine, the 2 eggs to 2 Tablespoon ground flax-seed mixed with 6 tablespoons water (let gel for 5 minutes), and the milk to non-dairy milk like soy or almond. Then frost with vanilla and chocolate icing.
Additionally, you could try the original fudge icing from Hemstrought’s. I loved it but just be careful! Because that frosting is hot if your hands get dripped on. So consider yourself warned.
It makes enough for 30 cookies so you’ll need to halve the recipe unless you want a lot of leftover fudge frosting. And there’s nothing wrong with some extra fudge frosting! But to veganize that recipe, switch out the butter for vegan butter.
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
Quicky Quality Queso A.K.A. Quick Equality Queso!
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Now say it out loud three times. Yes, it’s both: A quicky, quality queso, and a quick, equality queso. It’s quick. It’s quality. And it’s equality for vegans who can now have their queso too! So for the love of cheese, people, you must make this one!
So how about this:
It’s the perfect dip for your tortilla chips, for sure! Also, it’s great drizzled on your enchiladas, your vegan hotdogs, mixed into rice, a top your baked potato, a dip for your veggies, and on your hot pretzels. And the possibilities are endless! So this is the cheesy-tasting dip you’ve been waiting for!
This sauce goes to many of our potlucks and meetups and we always have requests for the recipe. This queso is a keeper and I’m happy to share it with you.
This dip will be seeing a lot of action for the upcoming football season snack menu. And it’s perfect for sleepover snacks and after-school treats, too. Because it’s so easy and crowd-pleasing. And we’re just getting started!
Yes, even breakfast. First of all, your breakfast home fries would love a drizzle and your tofu scramble says “Si, por favor!”
Next, lunchtime tomato soup is requesting a dollop and your plain jane pasta feels naked without it!
Then, dinnertime quinoa is a perfect match… quicky quality queso quinoa, anybody? With a side of black beans, please.
Finally, dessert is great …but I’ve got nothing. Sorry. Maybe quicky quality queso isn’t a good fit for dessert. Oh well.
Now if you have an idea for a queso dessert, be sure to let us know!
But when you need a dessert that doesn’t involve that, how about our scrumptious strawberry pie?
And our summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes are also pretty and delicious
But our chocolate chip cookies are pretty delicious too!
copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
