Need some good vegan recipes, has anyone tried? - Page 2

The old boxes of Softasilk have an OU on the front at the bottom. That is a U with an O around it. Ut just says "contains wheat" under the ingredients. The newer boxes have an OU followed by a D which stands for dairy. Those are the ones which say they may contain nuts, soy, and dairy. (Since I didn't want dairy flour, I didnt' buy any, so it says whatever you said it says) Check what symbol is on the box you have.

Actually, for something to be pareve, it shouldn't be produced on shared equipment, or sometimes the cerifying agency may allow that if the equipment is thoroughly steam-cleaned in between runs. Generally, if something is produced on shared equipment it has a designation of DE which means dairy equipment.

If it were true that equipment could be just and shared, I wouldn't have to have two sets of everything including dish drainers and towels at my house, to separate meat and milk, plus a separte set of things to use for pareve.

Well, since the FDA does not regulate kosher status - it is merely trying to regulate ingredient components for public safety now that allergies are on the rise - kosher labels are not always up to date/accurate and different kosher certification authorities have different standards for kosher items. Oreo cookies may or may not contain dairy - it depends on which plant manufactured them - but the kosher label is the same on both packages. Somewhere on the web I saw a kosher recall list - it may turn up if you google for it - but these products are still on the shelves everywhere. Earth Balance will admit when you call them that their product is run on shared equipment, cleaned under supervision, with allergen testing - and it is labeled Parve and 100% vegan. The trace amounts of dairy from shared equipment are not a matter of life and death for people following kosher/vegan diets - unless they have a severe allergy and carry an Epipen. I think the shared equipment situation is really a matter of economics - and not really trying to deceive anyone (some rabbi said it way okay somewhere along the line) - just offering more choices of kosher products and having them available in the more places since the number of dedicated-line parve products would be far fewer. What is interesting is that the new allergen labelling will bring this all out in the open. Parve status will be easier to identify and more closely scrutinized by those who follow strict kosher diets. Special diet restrictions are tough enough to follow no matter what angle you are approaching them from.

I just posted my favorite vegan cake recipe so I would sugest trying it and email me if you have any questions. soygurl19@yahoo.com
For icing I use buttercream made with 1/4 Earth Balance Margirine and 3/4 Spectrum non-hydrogonated shortning. If she's strict about vegan sugar you have to use one of the organic brands that states that they are vegan. Beware that the PS might not be as fine as you are used to so test it out, and maybe put it in your food processor for a while. Fordia cystals claims to be 10x (the finest gound you can get) but I haven't tried them yet.
Here are two web sites that might help: http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/hain-organic-powdered-sugar.htm

http://www.floridacrystals.com/ingredients/ingredient_partner_line.asp

For other cake recipies and other helpful stuff go to www.vegweb.com its a great site.