First Lady’s Nutrition Labeling Announcement Expected To Anger Industry: First lady Michelle Obama is slated to announce the most sweeping update to nutrition labeling on food packages in more than two decades on Thursday — and Americans are in for a…

Barley and mushrooms combine with warm spices and maple syrup to make a wonderfully delicious vegan version of a French Canadian classic.  Barley gives structure to the filling and complements the mushrooms’ taste and texture.  You can make the filling the day before to let the flavours really blend together, and to save you some time on baking day.

INGREDIENTS
Makes a 10″ pie
– pie crust
– 2 tbsp oil
– 2 onions, diced
– 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 2 tsp ground fennel
– 1 tsp thyme
– 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
– 1/2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/4 tsp cloves
– 1/4 tsp coriander
– pinch nutmeg
– 8 cups chopped assorted mushrooms (I used oyster, cremini, and portabello)
– 1 tbsp light soy sauce
– 2 tbsp maple syrup
– 1/3 cup vegetable stock
– 1/2 cup red wine (or more vegetable stock)
– 2 cups cooked pot barley (cooked in vegetable broth is best)
– 1.5 cups diced potato, boiled for 3-5 mins, until slightly tender
– salt and papper to taste
– plain soy milk for brushing

METHOD
1. Make your pastry, chill, etc.
2. Cook the barley according to the directions on the bag.  Generally, 1 cup of uncooked barley will yield almost 4 cups of cooked barley.  I like to have extra on hand to throw into soups and the like throughout the week.
3. Boil your potatoes while the barley is simmering.  Rinse with cold water and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Sauté onions and celery for 5-7 mins, until softened.  Add garlic and spices and cook for 1 min more.
5. Add mushrooms, soy sauce, maple syrup and stock.  Mix well and cook for about 5 mins, stirring regularly, until mushrooms have released their water and have cooked down.
6. Add red wine and cook for 5 mins.  Add barley and potato and mix well.  Cook for another 5 mins or so, stirring very regularly.  The mixture should be moist but not soupy.  When you drag your stirring utensil along the bottom of the pot, liquid should not immediately fill the void.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Adjust spices as needed.
8. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the fridge to cool down.
9. Make the pie as per usual.  Brush the top crust with plain soy milk and place in the fridge.
10. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the bottom third of the oven.  When oven is up to temperature, brush the top crust once more with soy milk.  Bake for about 50 minutes, or until top crust is golden brown.

VEGAN DAILY RECIPE: Caramelized Onion And Carrot Soup

“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

– VEGAN DAILY QUOTE: Francis of Assisi

Why Vegans Have Better Blood:

A plant-based diet can lower your blood pressure, according to research released today in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association. The meta-analysis confirmed a very promising health benefit of being a vegetarian: an enviably lower blood pressure than your omnivorous friends.

“If you’re eating animal fat, your blood is actually thicker and has a hard time circulating. So the heart has to push harder to get the blood to flow. If you’re not eating meat, your blood viscosity drops and your blood pressure drops. We think that’s the more important reason.”