Hugger Food

Sinfully Vegan

2012-01-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Lois Dieterly released a revised and updated version of Sinfully Vegan last year. I've had the original probably since it's 2003 release and it has the distinct honor of containing the recipe that convinced my brother that soy milk is awesome. I made the Orange Creamsicle Smoothie for Mother's Day brunch many years ago and it tasted just like the Orange Julius drinks of our childhood.

One aspect I love about this book is that there are savory recipes in addition to dessert recipes. I definitely plan to make the Peach Salsa with Tortilla Triangles at some point. There are decadent recipes and healthful recipes, classic recipes and nontraditional ones. So far, I've prepared three recipes from the new version and each one has been lovely.

Peaches 'N' Cream Ice Cream (topped with test recipe granola from Dreena Burton's upcoming cookbook Let Them Eat Vegan)

Peanut Butter Balls (these were a gigantic hit at work)

Not pictured is the Rich Hot Cocoa, which is my go-to vegan hot cooca recipe and is omnivore approved. I'm looking forward to trying the many recipes I've marked in this book and to continuing to share the deliciousness.

Appetite for Reduction

2012-01-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

I've been busily cooking from Appetite for Reduction since I received it at the end of 2010. What stopped me from not posting about it until now was that I kept thinking "It doesn't make sense to write about it yet because I still want to make this recipe and this one and this one..." Clearly, that type of logic could go on infinitely with a book this great.

Forty-Clove Chickpeas & Broccoli

Hottie Black-Eyed Peas & Greens

Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie (atop a test recipe for Manifest Vegan's mashed potatoes)

Black Bean, Zucchini, & Olive Tacos

Although I can't find a photo in my archives, I also made the Arabian Lentil & Rice Soup. Each recipe I've prepared from this book has been healthful, satisfying, and flavorful and there are numerous recipes on my want-to-make list. I'm pleased that Isa Chandra Moskowitz took into consideration the desire some people have for low-fat cuisine (in the past, I've always eliminated the oil from the recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance, Veganomicon, and Vegan Brunch) and that she thought to not include a dessert chapter in this book (I love dessert; it just makes sense to not include a dessert chapter in a cookbook of this nature). Her creativity and variety are wonderfully showcased in this volume and I can't wait to taste what's next.

Vegan Dining at the Four Seasons

2011-12-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

In the nick of time for holiday gatherings, the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills has created a diverse vegan menu exclusively for their Windows Lounge. I was privileged to attend an all-vegan tasting of the new menu items before Thanksgiving (all photos in this post were taken at the event and were provided to me by the Four Seasons as my photos were too dark).

Vegan STREAT Menu (Street inspired vegan dishes available from 4:00 PM, created by Executive Chef Ashley James.):

Jicama Tostadas: crispy corn tostada, roasted tomatillo salsa, jicama cilantro slaw, avocado $8

Morelian Gazpacho Salad: jicama, watermelon, papaya, pineapple, cucumber, orange juice, chilli salt $9 (Seen at back of the above photo.)

Real Fries: the best fries in the City, Chef Ashley’s house made ketchup $9

Handmade Quesadilla with Corn and Mushrooms: corn tortilla, soy cheese, charred corn, mushrooms, onion, cilantro, salsa Molcajete $12

Eggplant Coconut Curry: crispy pappadums $12

Young Hollywood Salad: Farmers market greens, strawberries, blueberries, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, hemp seeds, Napa wine vinaigrette. $22 (Seen at left of the middle photo.)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate Mousse (I believe this was a special dessert created for the event only and isn't on the menu.)

Everything was delicious (although I did find the quesadilla a bit greasy) with my favorite dishes being the Morelian Gazpacho Salad and Eggplant Coconut Curry, which I would have served with rice rather than the too-delicate pappadums.

For vegans in LA, having an upscale, mainstream dining option where omnivores will also be happy is quite a coup. If the vegan menu were offered all day rather than only after 4 p.m., I'd most definitely suggest this for our annual office holiday lunch. It would also make a fantastic date location just as easily as it would work for a client or out-of-town family dinner.

I have a couple caveats, one of which is to make sure not to eat the snacks that are available on the bar and tables. Despite the fact that I attended an all-vegan tasting, there were non-vegan bar snacks arranged in dishes on our reserved tables during the cocktail portion of the evening. It was a very unfortunate oversight that was rectified by the removal of the snacks from the tables, but not until after people had partaken. The other is that the Young Hollywood Salad is exhorbitantly priced at $22! All the other menu items seem to have more reasonable prices, but do keep in mind that these are considered small plates akin to tapas and not entrees.

For more gorgeous photos, check out Veggywood's post about the same event.

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
300 S Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90048

I Am Grateful

2011-10-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

It seems fitting to close my month-long ode to Cafe Gratitude with the dish that both defines and sets it apart from every other restaurant I've ever encountered. I Am Grateful is a donation-only bowl consisting of simple, nutrient-dense ingredients: a grain (option of quinoa, brown rice, or a combination), black beans, shredded kale, and the lovely garlic-tahini sauce. While the suggested donation is $7, anyone can order it and pay as little or as much as they're willing and capable. The menu says: "Payment is by donation. No one is turned away. Suggested value is $7. Feed yourself and someone in need for $14." It's a program that allows customers to experience the gifts of giving and receiving, of nourishing someone else and of being nourished by another.

There's a great story of the I Am Grateful bowl in action here.

Recently, Cafe Gratitude LA gathered a crew of community members to feed the Occupy LA participants with I Am Grateful bowls. If it hadn't been on a work day, I would have been right there serving up gratitude with them! The video of that day's experience is here.

If you'd like to donate, but don't live near a Cafe Gratitude location, please check out the Grateful Bowl Program.

I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing and celebrating my favorite restaurant during VeganMoFo this year. I am so grateful for the healthful, delicious food and for the community itself...this community is my family.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What is your secret super power?

I Am Grace, Eternal, & Cool

2011-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Cafe Gratitude LA makes wonderful almond milk-based and coconut milk-based milkshakes to sweeten its meals. Above is I Am Grace, a shake made of young coconut milk, almond butter, dates, and vanilla bean.

Falling under the name I Am Eternal is a foursome of shakes in chocolate (seen above), vanilla, coffee, and strawberry flavors. They each used to have their own name under the previous menu, but the new menu grouped them together. If I had to choose, my favorite is probably the coffee shake, but they're all perfect.

Saving the best for last, my very favorite Cafe Gratitude LA shake is I Am Cool, a mint chocolate chip shake packed with nutrients. Containing VitaMineral Green, a nutrient-dense green "superfood powder," and cacao nibs, which are rich in antioxidants, this milkshake has health benefits and satisfies my mint chocolate chip cravings all in one.

(Not pictured here, but previously featured is I Am Luscious).

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What ignites you?

I Am Juicy

2011-10-27T19:00:00.001-07:00

I'm sure it's no surprise that Cafe Gratitude LA excels at fresh juices. My favorite is I Am Rejuvenated, a blend of wheatgrass, apple, ginger (I pretty much love anything that contains ginger), and lemon juice with sparkling water.

I Am Divine is new to the menu; a sweet and spicy mix of carrot, lemon, and ginger juice.

I Am Healthy is exactly that: a healthful combination of kale, celery, cucumber, and lemon juice (add ginger juice for a kick!).

Another sweet and spicy option is I Am Worthy, the kale, beet, celery, apple, and ginger juice.

I Am Energized is a completely different type of spicy, though. It's an alkalizing green smoothie with kale, cucumber, celery, lemon, cilantro, avocado, and jalapeno. I ordered mine without avocado and I wasn't able to get through much of it. The richness of the avocado would naturally cut the heat of the jalapeno, so if you're an avocado lover, order this on my behalf!

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What are you creating?

I Am Transcending

2011-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

Cafe Gratitude LA really understands Latin American flavors and translates them perfectly into raw and cooked vegan cuisine. I Am Transcending is 2 raw tacos on spinach-flax tortillas with a spicy sunflower seed pate, the infamous chipotle cashew cheese, guacamole, and salsa fresca (I ordered mine without guacamole and salsa fresca, opting instead for the salsa verde from I Am Trusting). The sunflower seed pate has a great texture and definitely is spicy. I love spicy food, so I was very happy and warm after eating this dish.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What are you learning?

I Am Present

2011-10-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

I Am Present is Cafe Gratitude LA's bruschetta appetizer. On the previous menu, it was toasted baguette topped with raw heirloom tomato, cashew mozzarella, basil, and a balsamic-olive oil drizzle. However, with the new menu changes that occurred on October 1st, the tomato was replaced with caramelized butternut squash. I took one scrumptious bite and my eyes widened in awe. Bruschetta should always be topped with caramelized butternut squash from this moment forward.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What motivates you?

I Am Fantastic

2011-10-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

One of the big changes the head chef at Cafe Gratitude LA made when updating the menu was creating exciting new breakfast dishes. Among the 4 new choices, I was most looking forward to I Am Fantastic, a raw banana-chia crepe full of fresh fruit and topped with coconut creme, maple syrup, chopped pecans, and a dash of cinnamon. The crepe is like soft banana fruit leather and mine was stuffed full of beautifully ripe strawberries (the fruit will change upon seasonal availability). The coconut creme is light and lovely, coating each bite along with the pure maple syrup. I Am Fantastic is heavenly!

The online menu says breakfast is only served from 8-11 a.m., but don't be fooled; I confirmed that it's actually served all day! That means, if you can't get to the Cafe at breakfast time, you can order I Am Fantastic for lunch or dinner (or for dessert)!

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What is most important to you?

I Am Whole

2011-10-21T22:49:00.001-07:00

My very favorite go-to dish at Cafe Gratitude LA is I Am Whole. A macrobiotic grain bowl (choice of brown rice or quinoa or both; I always get quinoa), it's composed of homemade kimchi, sea palm, raw kale, shredded carrots, sprouts, the garlic-tahini sauce (also an option for I Am Fortified), and teriyaki almonds. The homemade kimchi is out-of-this-world delicious, spicy and tangy with a perfect texture. I Am Whole is filling, but not heavy, and leaves me feeling thoroughly nourished.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA Question of the Day: What are you great at?

I Am Transformed

2011-10-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

If you're in the mood for tacos, I Am Transformed will satisfy your craving. It's two soft corn tortillas stuffed with black beans, a choice of mashed, caramelized butternut squash or brown rice, the scrumptious chipotle cashew cheese, avocado, and salsa fresca (I order mine without avocado and salsa fresca). The brown rice version is from the original Cafe Gratitude LA menu and butternut squash version is on the new menu. Both are still available, even though the current menu only lists the butternut squash option.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What do you love about the work you do?

I Am Trusting

2011-10-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

I Am Trusting is Cafe Gratitude LA's new seasonal tamale plate. The tamale is filled with zucchini and mushrooms and is served alongside the most perfect black beans I've ever tasted. The spicy salsa verde is not only a delicious accompaniment to the tamale, but it also gave a nice kick to my salad (I tend to eat my salad last).

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What are you proud of?

I Am Liberated

2011-10-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

I Am Liberated is the raw sister of I Am Graceful. This kelp noodle dish is generously sauced with the hemp seed pesto, tossed with huge, beautiful olive halves, spinach, and ripe tomato, and capped off with Brazil nut parmesan and sprouts. I love having the option of kelp noodles with this dish and I Am Terrific; they're phenomenal additions to the Cafe Gratitude LA menu.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What are you looking forward to?

I Am Graceful

2011-10-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed not to try I Am Graceful until this past Wednesday and I've definitely been missing out on a delicious grain bowl. The hemp seed pesto is vibrant with a wonderful, slightly grainy bite to it that mixes perfectly with the kale and quinoa (or brown rice or a combination of the two). I Am Graceful comes with tomatoes, but when I requested that they be left off, my fabulous Cafe Gratitude LA ambassador for the evening asked if I wanted the tomatoes replaced with spinach. How could I pass up an offer like that? Topping off the dish is homemade Brazil nut parmesan and sprouts.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What gives you a sense of peace?

I Am Ecstatic

2011-10-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

I capped off an incredibly fun week with dinner tonight at, of course, Cafe Gratitude! I Am Ecstatic, a lovely plate of maple-miso-glazed Brussels sprouts, paired beautifully with I Am Comforted on this chilly night (akin to my previous favorite combination of I Am Grounded and I Am Vibrant seen here). The savory miso shines through and the Brussels sprouts are roasted to perfection.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA Question of the Day: Who is your hero?

I Am Magical

2011-10-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

I Am Magical is Cafe Gratitude LA's phenomenal homemade burger. I love mine topped with the chipotle-maple coconut bacon that is also the basis for I Am Extraordinary (Cafe Gratitude LA's BLT). It's amazing hot or at room temperature and travels really well; I've taken it with me to the Hollywood Bowl and a baseball game and it's perfect every time.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What makes you laugh?

I Am Awesome

2011-10-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

Another of the new Cafe Gratitude LA menu items is I Am Awesome, an eggplant parmesan sandwich. The eggplant is coated in herbed cornmeal and layered with tomatoes, arugula, basil, and the same marinara and cashew ricotta as I Am Warm-Hearted. It's a sloppy, scrumptious sandwich with flavors that perfectly compliment each other.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA Question of the Day: How are you being fearless?

I Am Warm-Hearted

2011-10-11T23:34:00.001-07:00

A grilled polenta bowl topped with a chunky, fresh marinara/puttanesca sauce, cashew ricotta, and Brazil nut parmesan, I Am Warm-Hearted is an homage to Italy. This is a mild dish and the creamy cashew ricotta easily melds with the tomato-based sauce to make this a lovely choice for a chilly day or night.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA Question of the Day: What is blessed about your day?

I Am Playful

2011-10-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

For kids (or those who are young at heart), Cafe Gratitude LA has a fun children's menu. I Am Playful is a black bean and cashew cheese quesadilla served on sprouted grain tortillas with salsa fresca. It's delicious and perfect for a mild palate and small appetite.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What aspect of community are you inspired by?

I Am Comforted

2011-10-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

For those mourning the removal of I Am Grounded from the Cafe Gratitude LA menu, rest assured that it's been replaced with the sweet, earthy goodness of I Am Comforted. I Am Comforted combines roasted rosemary yams with a choice of the I Am Grounded chipotle cashew cheese or a sweet tamarind sauce (also seen on I Am Humble) for dipping. It's the autumnal sister dish of my previous favorite.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What lights you up?

I Am Terrific

2011-10-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

The new Cafe Gratitude LA menu introduced two kelp noodle dishes to the raw section. I Am Terrific is a raw Pad Thai with kelp noodles, red bell peppers, carrots, shredded kale, cilantro, basil, mint and scallions topped with crumbled teriyaki almonds and sunflower sprouts (description from the menu; I ordered mine without scallions). This dish is a game-changer for me; light kelp noodles tossed with what I believe is the Thai almond sauce, one of my favorite CGLA sauces. It has all my favorite flavors from I Am Fortified, but without the heaviness of the quinoa, so it's a fantastic choice for when I'm not quite as hungry.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What do you believe in?

I Am Fortified

2011-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

A grain bowl (choice of quinoa, brown rice, or both) full of seasonal vegetables and kale and with an option of four different delicious sauces (sesame-ginger, garlic-tahini, Thai almond, and the newly added coconut curry), I Am Fortified is healthful comfort food. It has fortified me more times than I can count (usually with the Thai almond sauce, but they're all perfect) and I can't wait to try it with the coconut curry sauce.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What calms you?

I Am Dazzling

2011-10-04T20:47:00.001-07:00

I Am Dazzling was a garlicky caesar salad topped with avocado and brazil nut parmesan from the previous Cafe Gratitude LA menu (I believe this is the last item I'll be featuring that's not currently available). As much as I know many people will miss the dishes that have been retired (at least for the fall and winter), the new menu is superb!

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day: What do you love about your family?

Thank you to everyone who has answered the Question of the Day in the comments. I love reading your responses; please keep it up!

I Am Complete

2011-10-03T21:51:00.001-07:00

I Am Complete was another favorite from the previous Cafe Gratitude LA menu. A raw mezze platter, it featured dehydrated falafel, garlicky hummus, kalamata olive tapenade, and a salad dressed with tzatziki.

Today's Cafe Gratitude Question of the Day (this one is from the main Cafe Gratitude daily e-mail, not Cafe Gratitude LA): What is your greatest accomplishment?

Ode to Cafe Gratitude LA

2011-10-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

This year, the first day of October brings VeganMoFo and, more importantly, the debut of Cafe Gratitude LA's new menu. In honor of the latter, I dedicate VeganMoFo 2011 exclusively to Cafe Gratitude LA's delectable offerings. Some of what I'll feature this month will be from the previous menu, but I will try to stick to what is currently available.

I make it a practice to dine at CGLA at the very least once per week (generally more) and I see that only a few of my former go-to dishes have been retired (two of them are seen in this post). I'm hoping they will return in the spring, but that being said, the new menu is simply divine.

At top is I Am Grounded, the most delicious roasted potatoes served with spicy nacho cashew cheese, which I always paired with I Am Vibrant, greens (usually kale) perfectly sauteed with garlic and topped with pepitas.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA Question of the Day: When do you feel liberated?

Cafe Gratitude LA: I Am Humble

2011-09-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Cafe Gratitude LA introduced an amazingly delicious special this weekend. I Am Humble is a grain bowl (your choice of quinoa, brown rice, or both) filled with butternut squash [edit: butternut squash has been replaced with yams], spinach, a deeply flavorful curry sauce, and topped with a tamarind drizzle. The brilliant head chef has truly outdone himself this time, so head over there ASAP to try it yourself.

Today's Cafe Gratitude LA question of the day: What do you love about the ocean?

Unprocessed

2011-09-18T21:54:00.001-07:00

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of attending a vegan, whole foods cooking class with Chef AJ. I included links to some of her recipes in the post reviewing that class and she's now released a book titled Unprocessed, so you're able to have all her recipes at your fingertips.

One thing is certain about Chef AJ: She loves sweets! In fact, Unprocessed opens with a sweets chapter (Chef AJ says, "Life is uncertain. Eat DESSERT first.") and closes with another sweets chapter. Not to worry, though, there are plenty of vegetables, including her favorite kale, in between.

Having already highlighted many of the dishes from her book in my previous post about her, I decided to prepare the Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie from the Beverages chapter. Rich and delicious, while low in fat and high in antioxidants, this was the perfect lunch for a hot day in LA.

LA Vegan Happenings

2011-09-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I've been terribly remiss in not mentioning A Moveable Feast, LA's spectacular underground vegan supper club. Perfectly executed and thoughtfully crafted food created by my friends Alix of Cute & Delicious and Kim of C'est la Vegan, enjoyed in an intimate setting at a private residence, makes for a fantastic evening. The Moveable Feasts are thematic (the one I attended was springtime Italian (see photos above and below) and the most recent one was Spanish) and the lucky attendees this Saturday, September 17, will be treated to what promises to be a phenomenal French breakfast for dinner. I so wish I could be there to dine on homemade vegan crepes! To reserve a seat, e-mail: veganfeast@gmail.com.

Two weeks after filling your bellies with gourmet French delicacies, celebrate the book release of Spork-Fed (view the trailer here) by the Spork sisters, Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg. The $20 ticket (part of the proceeds goes to Animal Acres) admits party-goers to a private Hollywood Hills home for a book signing with appetizers and well-stocked goodie bags! So, we can now take Spork classes in LA (and occasionally in San Diego), at Spork Online, and we can cook at home from Spork-Fed; it's a Spork trifecta!

JJ's Sweets

2011-06-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, JJ's Sweets generously sent me samples of their Cocomels, Chocolate-Covered Cocomels, and hard candies. The Fleur de Sel and Original varieties of Cocomels were my favorites of the bunch with their coconut milk-based creaminess and hint of coconut flavor. They were delicious!

For my taste, the dark chocolate overwhelmed the caramels, completely masking their delicate flavor. The hard candies were sweet and lemony and reminded me of old-fashioned ribbon candy. There are some very interesting flavor combinations of the hard candies available on their website that would make lovely gifts, too.

You can order directly from the JJ's website or from Vegan Essentials.

M Cafe de Chaya

2011-06-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

It had been a couple years since I last ate at M Cafe de Chaya, so I was looking forward to having dinner there before a play a couple weeks ago. They used to have this amazing vegan caprese panini (a pressed tomato and vegan mozzarella sandwich that perfectly mimicked my far-gone memory of fresh dairy mozzarella) and I anticipated ordering that. However, that is apparently no longer an option. What I found upon arrival was a meager offering and fairly bare (for their standards) deli case. I had a difficult time deciding what to order because nothing really looked great and I finally settled on the Carolina-Style BBQ Seitan Sandwich with a side of Sesame Soba Noodle Salad.

I must be spoiled by Follow Your Heart's amazing spicy barbecue sauce because this one paled in comparison. It was too sweet, not at all spicy, and just not memorable. On this occasion, the "M" stood for "mediocre."

In fact, my favorite part of the meal was the adorable window-sill-style herb gardens lining the patio. With my favorite Cafe Gratitude only a couple miles down the street from M Cafe, I might not be back.

Madeleine Bistro in Flux

2011-06-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

About six weeks ago, Madeleine Bistro alerted its Facebook followers that it would be shuttering its restaurant doors forever. Mother's Day weekend was chosen as the finale, but an outpouring of protests resulted in a May 22 closing date. I made sure to have one last dinner at the restaurant I've frequented since it opened.

For what I thought was my last Madeleine's meal, I feasted on Cauliflower Bisque.

Followed by half of a Bigger Mack, as I was saving room for dessert.

The chocolate souffle (I abandoned the accompanying vanilla ice cream) is, in my opinion, one of the most memorable vegan desserts available in LA, so it only made sense for me to order it that night.

After this delicious meal, I made peace with the fact that Madeleine's would no longer be open for restaurant dining. But then there was news of an encore weekend. And then a very last-minute brunch offering this past Sunday, for which I was in attendance with my dad and grandpa.

We split a plate of chocolate-dipped donuts (my first donut in at least two years).

I enjoyed a Cajun Caesar Salad with blackened tempeh for lunch.

Still feeling the need for greens, I drank a greens plus ginger juice.

As of right now, Madeleine's future plans are in a hopeful state of flux. However, the restaurant will be open Father's Day weekend for dinner Saturday and brunch and dinner Sunday. Follow them on Facebook for up-to-date (and often last-minute) updates.

Hannah Kaminsky's Vegan Desserts

2011-06-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Very few cookbooks leave me with the desire to make almost every single recipe, but Hannah Kaminsky's newest baking book, Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season, is one of them. I've made three recipes so far and had intended to make one more before writing this review, but found myself lacking an essential four ounces of coconut. Coco-Nut Macaroons will just have to wait, as it's important for this review to be out in the world now.

This gorgeous book features a stunning, full-color photo for each and every recipe, all bound in a hardcover with dust jacket. If you have Kelly Peloza's The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur, you'll recognize the size and shape of this book as it mimics that one (Skyhorse Publishing published both, as well as Melisser Elliott's The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, which I don't have). There are a helpful Ingredients Glossary, Kitchen Tools and Toys, and Troubleshooting sections at the beginning of the book and the back of the book boasts a Food Allergy Index in addition to the regular Index, all of which provide useful information for people new to veganism, new to baking itself, and even for seasoned vegan bakers. The recipes are split into chapters reflecting the flavors of each season, beginning with spring.

My very favorite feature of this book is the chapter titled Components and Accompaniments. Hannah is quite dedicated to making her recipes as accessible as possible, so she set out to create recipes for hard-to-find-vegan ingredients such as Caramel Syrup, Graham Cracker Crumbs, Lady Fingers, Limoncello, and Pumpkin Butter. Now this is how a cookbook should be! I don't have to worry about not having vegan graham crackers on hand because I can just whip up a batch of graham cracker crumbs from the recipe in the book. Hannah has truly thought of everything and we haven't even gotten to the recipes for baked goods yet.

When I was a kid, my mom made meringue cookies often. Far from being vegan, their traditional main ingredient is egg whites, and it's been longer than I can remember since I last tasted one. Naturally, I was immediately drawn to Hannah's recipe for Meringue Kisses and made them first. Being the genius she is, the texture is spot on!

I made the Black Pearl Truffles next, except with regular sesame seeds because I didn't have the black variety. These are spicy, rich, and decadent; such an amazing treat to keep on hand in the freezer for whenever the chocolate desire hits.

Then I baked the Black Cat Cookies (mine are obviously hearts), which were a HUGE hit with the people in my office. They're rich and fudgy, almost brownie-like, and have already been requested again.

On my agenda for sometime soon are too many recipes to list (including the aforementioned Coco-Nut Macaroons), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I tested recipes for this cookbook at the end of 2008. You can find my posts on the Persimmon Blondies here and my post about the Cherry Macaroon Tart (absolutely the best pie I have ever tasted in my life) and Rum Raisin Brownies here.

Vegan Desserts has already become my go-to baking cookbook in the short month that it's been in my kitchen. The recipes are easy to follow, yet incredibly impressive, and are a good mix of traditional and innovative. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pre-heat my oven.

Vegan Cadbury Creme Eggs & a Very Busy Kitchen

2011-04-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Hugger Food kitchen has been humming along this extended weekend. When I thought ahead to what I wanted to do with my 3 1/2 days off, I knew I wanted to spend a lot of time with my friends and a lot of time in the kitchen, so that is exactly the weekend I created.

Having tons of friends requesting my infamous vegan Cadbury Creme Eggs, that was first on my to-do list. For those of you who have been leaving comments on my older Creme Eggs posts requesting the recipe, I do realize that the link no longer works, but it is not my recipe to share, so I have to respect that if the recipe's creator took down the link, it was for a reason. If you'd like to see photos of the Creme Egg-making process, you can find them in this post. I've been quietly distributing these much-desired handmade candies and making friends very happy.

I baked two batches of cookies for a potluck last night: Double Chocolate Chippers* and "Glosette Raisins" Cookies ("glosette raisins" is Canadian for Raisinets). I'm also packaging up a handful of each of these for a co-worker's birthday.

For another co-worker's birthday, I decided to make a batch of Cocoa-Goji Granola. It was shockingly the first time I'd ever made granola from scratch, but it definitely won't be the last. This recipe created perfect granola clusters and is so flavorful.

After hand-making and baking so many sweets, I had to have a salad for lunch yesterday. Dressed perfectly with a Classic Caesar Dressing, it was exactly what I was craving.

Also on the savory side, this hearty French Lentil Soup with Smoked Paprika is on the menu for my lunches this week. I can see making a point of keeping French lentils on hand specifically to make this soup on a regular basis and I'm certain omnivores would love it, too.

I usually make my week's lunches during the weekend, but I don't do the same for my week's dinners. Since I had extra time this weekend, though, I thought I would give myself a head start. Tucked away in the fridge for this week's dinners are Spinach-Herb Pistachio Pesto pasta and Tomato Artichoke Pasta (I always use Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta). That should make for stress-free and healthful weeknights.

*All italicized dishes are test recipes for Dreena Burton's upcoming cookbook.

I Am Elated

2011-03-02T20:36:00.000-08:00

I've lost track of how long I patiently waited for a Cafe Gratitude to open in LA, but I'm here to attest that it was well worth the wait. Today is opening day and I just had to treat myself to dinner tonight after work.

Probably the most wonderful part of Cafe Gratitude to me is seeing so many friends there. I was greeted with amazing hugs and smiles, which truly warmed me on this cold, rainy night. It's all about community.

For my entree, I ordered I Am Elated (from the menu: I AM ELATED-Enchilada in a live spinach tortilla
with sprouted seed filling, topped with spicy mole and cashew sour cream. Served with creamy chipotle coleslaw (not mentioned on the menu is the included side salad)). Spicy and satisfying with a variety of textures and flavors, I Am Elated certainly left me feeling exactly that way.

I couldn't resist the milkshake called I Am Luscious (from the menu: Hazelnut milk, fig, date, raw cacao and vanilla bean smoothie), although they were out of hazelnut milk and subbed almond milk. It was really delicious, with occasional chewy bits of figs and dates. I can't wait to try it again to taste the difference with hazelnut milk. In the background is a gorgeous water bottle by Spoken Glass (a company founded by Conor Gaffney of the Makepeace Brothers and May I Be Frank, both of which I very highly recommend).

I also requested a piece of I Am Adoring raw tiramisu to go. Even though I was full of raw goodness, I took a bite of this light, airy dessert before putting the rest away for another day. It's worth it to order to go just to see the affirmation written on top of the box (see photo above).

My vivacious Cafe Gratitude ambassador gave me the skinny on the LA menu, explaining that it was different than that of the restaurants in the Bay Area. The Bay Area restaurants are supplied with produce from the Cafe Gratitude-owned Be Love Farm, but the Farm is too far from LA to provide the freshest produce possible. Instead, the owners forged relationships with local, organic farms in LA and created a menu based around that local produce. The result is a menu with more cooked entrees than raw and still upholding the integrity of the Cafe Gratitude ethos.

For those of you who are neither in LA nor in the Bay Area, the three items I ordered tonight are all recipes in either of the two Cafe Gratitude cookbooks, I Am Grateful and Sweet Gratitude.

I am so grateful that we finally have a Cafe Gratitude in LA. I will be spending a lot of my time there.

Oscars Sunday

2011-02-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Some people have the Super Bowl; I have the Academy Awards. While I generally don't agree with the Academy, I still enjoy watching the telecast and I like to make something festive to eat during the show. Caramel Popcorn from The Joy of Vegan Baking seemed to fit the bill this year.

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of this cookbook, but there are a couple recipes within it that work, and this is one of them. Your Vegan Mom and I made this together once about a year and a half ago, so I knew what was involved and set aside a little over an hour to prepare it. And, in case you decide to make Caramel Popcorn yourself, let me take the guesswork out of it for you: 1/2 cup of un-popped popcorn equals 14 cups of popped popcorn (I used an air popper). I left out the optional peanuts, but you could leave them in for a Cracker Jack-like confection (Cracker Jack is vegan, by the way).

Since we're on the subject of cookbooks, I tested recipes for two great cookbooks that were just released and I will absolutely vouch for the delicious and creative recipes within: The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon and Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson. Also just released is the innovative and gourmet cookbook Veganize This! by Jenn Shagrin. All three would make wonderful additions to your cookbook library.

Holiday Gift Guide: Xan Confections & Spork

2010-12-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

About 6 1/2 years ago, Tracey Downey experienced a loss in her family and used it as the impetus to make a career change that honored her true interests. She had apprenticed under a French chef at age 17, but upon getting married and having children, had left the culinary world behind. With a renewed dedication to the culinary arts and a request from her new husband to recreate his grandma's homemade caramel, Tracey got to work. She nailed the caramel recipe in three tries, despite not having the recipe. Within a year, she had taken every chocolatier course she could find and developed a product line. She opened a store and was inspired by customers with various allergies and yogis to create a vegan line.

Xan Confections was born in 2009 after her storefront closed and has been thriving with a vegan and an omnivorous line ever since. The vegan chocolates are readily available at Whole Foods either pre-packaged in beautiful assortments or by the piece in the bakery section. It is so exciting to be able to pick up a beautiful assortment of ethical chocolates on a whim! I strongly suggest the delicious Xan Confections for holiday gifts.

Tracey herself was vegetarian as a teenager and resumed her vegetarianism about 3 1/2 years ago, becoming vegan about a year ago. Her new veganism brought her to Spork Foods to learn how to cook to accommodate her new lifestyle. This created a lovely opportunity for the Spork students this past May when Tracey guest-taught a chocolate-making class! I made sure to be one of the first to sign up because I wasn't going to miss the chance to meet Tracey and learn a couple of her secrets.

Enthusiastically knowledgeable about chocolate from its growth to its politics to its history, it was fascinating to listen to Tracey's lecture. The photo above shows her holding a life-size cacao pod replica against a life-size photo of a cacao tree. After the lesson, we were given the chance to make our own chocolates. Tracey demonstrated the making of Vegan Fruit Caramel Ganache (raspberry, I believe, in our case) and then gave us each our own piping bag full to pipe into little chocolate cones.

We also formed Dark Chocolate Swiss Truffles out of malleable chocolate squares, rolling them in cocoa powder, cacao nibs, powdered sugar, and shredded coconut.

I'm overjoyed that I was able to spend a morning with Tracey learning all about chocolate and it was all thanks to Spork Foods for creating the class! Which leads me to the second part of this Holiday Gift Guide post: Spork! There are now two ways to give the gift of Spork. For those who are in LA or who will be visiting LA, Spork Foods offers amazing multi-course meal vegan cooking classes every Saturday and Sunday (except holidays). Each weekend has a different theme with the menus posted on the website so you can choose which appeals most to you. I have my eye on a couple in the coming months. The in-person classes are a really wonderful way to interact with the Spork sisters, meet new friends, and eat delicious food together. Plus, you take the recipes and the knowledge of how to prepare them home with you. You know, treating yourself to a Spork class could really be seen as a gift to your friends and family, too; if you learn how to cook, they'll benefit when you cook for them!

A Spork Online subscription is also an amazing gift. Since I purchased my subscription, I have been watching the high-quality episodes over and over again. You can watch from start to finish or you can watch just the segment with the individual recipe that interests you, depending on how much time you want to devote in the moment. One month is only $7.95, so it's great for a stocking stuffer, and includes access to archived episodes in addition to the episode of the month. Considering that in-person classes cost $65, the online classes are an incredible deal. There are also 6-month and year-long subscriptions for $39.95 and $74.95, respectively. I think you'll find that the person you gift a subscription to will be really grateful!

The moral of the story is that Xan and Spork are two excellent vegan-owned companies to support this holiday season!

Holiday Gift Guide: ResBLENDent

2010-12-05T15:05:00.001-08:00

As the holiday season is upon us, I thought I would highlight a few companies I feel are worthy. I featured a gift guide early this year and some of these companies might be repeats from that post, but believe me, they deserve to be repeated.

Today's fantastic company is Blend Apparel, whose soft, thick hoodie is shown above. I've seen this hoodie look equally great on guys and girls and, I have to be honest, my favorite part is the ampersand (&) zipper pull.

Blend Apparel is vegan owned and operated, eco-friendly (apparel is made with organic cotton and bamboo and the website is wind-powered), and a percentage of each purchase is donated to hand-picked charitable organizations. Supporting Blend Apparel is supporting our vegan community.

On top of all this goodness, Blend is having a huge sale right now, where all apparel is at least $10 off (t-shirts are usually $24.99-29.99 and are now $14.99-19.99 and I paid $54.99 for the hoodie, which is now on sale for $34.99). So, get a gift for yourself and the people you love!

VeganMoFo: Survey & Compassion Over Killing

2010-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where this survey originated because I've seen it on numerous blogs. Since today is the last day of VeganMoFo, I thought I'd give in to the allure of the survey.

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
I honestly didn't think I would miss anything! Occasionally, I miss angel food cake, which was the only cake I ever really loved.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?
Mustard. Oddly enough, I didn't care for it until I started college. There are a lot of foods that would fall into this category, though; I was a very picky eater when I was younger. (See the next question for proof that I am still a little picky.)

What vegan dish or food do you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?
I won't touch avocado. In LA as a vegan, that is apparently sacrilegious. The rest of my "no thank you list" is onions, scallions, shallots, chives, leeks (i.e. anything that tastes like an onion), fishy-tasting sea vegetables, and raw tomato.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?
Water.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?
Vegan Cadbury Creme Eggs (also see here).

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
I do, actually! I would rather that different components of the meal not touch on my plate. Also, I tend to eat in preferential order, consuming what I like least on the plate first and leaving my favorite part for last. Oh, and I usually eat at specific times during the day and don't like eating outside of those times.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
Sweet & Sara Toasted Coconut Marshmallows.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Any baked goods. I've never tasted a store-bought cookie that's as good as homemade.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?
Dark chocolate (photo above is of Xan chocolates). Rejuvenative Foods's raw almond butter. Organic veggies and fruits on the dirty dozen list. Rawk-n-Roll kale chips.

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?
I'm so not a snacker! Sometimes I eat a few snack-type things for dinner, though (maybe similar to tapas-style eating?), in which case, see above re: kale chips.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
Artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, and jalapenos.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?
I seriously love vegetables and fruits, so this is a tough choice. My favorite vegetable is probably kale and my favorite fruit is fresh blueberries.

What is the best salad dressing?
I just like a drizzle of red wine vinegar as salad dressing.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
Dreena Burton's Mellow Lentil Sniffle Soup.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
I might be ex-communicated for this, but I'm not huge on cupcakes. If I had to pick, the Tiramisu cupcakes by Clara's Cakes would win (you can read Clara's blog here)...or maybe her gluten-free vanilla cupcakes with soy-free chocolate icing (in the above photo, Tiramisu is on the right and the GF vanilla with chocolate icing is on the left).

What is your favorite kind of cookie?
My homemade Snickerdoodles.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?
I'm not usually home in time to make dinner on weeknights, but back in the day when I was, my Broccoli-Tofu Stir-Fry and Chili Mac were definite favorites.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
This is not an issue in my household.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?
On an average day, probably a half hour or so, but on the weekends, when I have time to cook, it can be anywhere from an hour to three hours!

In Compassion Over Killing news, there will be a vegan holiday cooking demo led by Chef Gwendolyn Mathers (aka Miss Kitchen Witch) this Saturday, December 4 from noon until 2 p.m. Registration closes tomorrow, so buy your ticket before you miss your chance. Here's the menu:

Appetizers
Savory Twists
Stuffed Dates

Side Dishes
Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Onions
Citrus Twisted Cranberry Relish

Main Dish
Pumpkin Risotto with Crunchy Seitan

Dessert
Cranberry Orange Truffles

The $20 admission fee includes the cooking demo, food samples, and a goody bag containing recipes, COK notecards, coupons, and product samples. Plus, all the proceeds benefit COK!

VeganMoFo: Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

2010-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful to have a magnificent vegan community and am especially grateful to said community for a truly abundant Thanksgiving this year. On Thursday, I was very fortunate to have taken part in the Bold Native family's Thanksgiving potluck where more people than I could count sat down together to enjoy an amazing vegan bounty. I spent time with friends, made new ones, and didn't even sample a third (maybe even a quarter) of the food that was on hand. My contributions were the stuffing (this year, I made it using an entire sourdough baguette that I cubed and dried a day in advance) and Dreena Burton's Chocolate-Pumpkin Pie (better photo of a pie I made from the same recipe here) in the above photo.

Appetizers included these gorgeous savory tarts with aioli, the recipe for which will soon be available on Spork Online:

A tofu-based dip with pita points, veggies and hummus, chips and salsa, and olives:

And a huge bowl of vegan chicken curry salad (this is available at the Whole Foods deli counter and is really delicious):

My plate included (clockwise from top) Brussels sprouts, eggplant parmesan, seitan en croute with a green sauce (I believe this is also from an upcoming Spork Online recipe), spicy cubed pumpkin, my stuffing, the most amazing gingery mashed sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes:

I went back for seconds of the mashed sweet potatoes and spicy pumpkin. I also ate, but did not photograph, kale salad, breaded seitan, and two different versions of homemade cranberry sauce. Among the dishes I didn't try were succotash, ratatouille, many different stuffings, quinoa salad, and so much more that I can't recall and was too stuffed to eat.

For dessert, all I could find room for was this lovely Strawberry Chai Cobbler:

To me, Thanksgiving this year was exactly as it should be; a house absolutely packed with friends, great food, and overflowing with joy. There are hardly words to express how thankful I am to have shared the holiday with this wonderful group of people.

On Friday, I was invited to an ingenious Thanksgiving leftovers potluck at the home of the C'est la Vegan team. What a brilliant way to get leftovers out of the house and spend another day with friends! With leftover stuffing and pie in tow, I joined my hosts and ten other friends, including Miss Alix of Cute and Delicious, Shawn of Little Vegan Planet, and the mastermind behind Alternative Outfitters.

This photo doesn't come close to doing justice to the wonderful kale salad, sweet potato casserole topped with Dandies (another Spork Foods recipe!), and mashed potatoes and gravy I sampled. I didn't photograph dessert because I knew there was already a beautiful picture of the Pumpkin Butterscotch Trifle here.

Yesterday marked another momentous occasion: My cat, who I adopted from my hometown's shelter via a foster when he and his late twin were 6 weeks old, turned 20 yesterday! I have so much for which to be grateful.

VeganMoFo: Follow Your Heart Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

We all know that Follow Your Heart is one of my favorite places to eat and shop. The small, co-op market and cafe is like home to me with its earthy, hippie vibe, delicious food, and other fun things (I bought myself a new pair of earrings there a few weeks ago).

This year, as with last, I went to FYH for the Thanksgiving Feast offered the day before Thanksgiving. The meal came with soup or salad (I opted for salad with a no-oil tahini-dill dressing), seitan turkey, stuffing (this year's stuffing was really good, better than last year's), mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, lemony green beans almondine, cranberry-mandarine orange compote, and spiced sweet potatoes. I was not able to finish everything, but part of the beauty of Thanksgiving is leftovers, right?

VeganMoFo: Blondies and Brownies

2010-11-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hannah Kaminsky is hands-down one of the most innovative, creative, and accurate baking cookbook authors I've encountered. Her recipes can turn something as seemingly simple as a blondie or brownie into a complex, uniquely flavorful and textural dessert suitable for any occasion. She first shared her extraordinary talent with us through her blog, Bittersweet, followed by her cookbook, My Sweet Vegan, and numerous e-cookbooks on a variety of sweet subjects. Her newest e-cookbook, Blondies and Brownies, is unparalleled.

Boasting twelve recipes (six blondies and six brownies) for a mere $5, this e-cookbook is worth every penny. I realize that sentence makes me sound like I'm Hannah's PR agent, but it's really just that I believe in Hannah and I believe in supporting our vegan community. I've found myself relying on Blondies and Brownies when I am baking for a potluck or a bake sale or just when I'm in the mood to bake. In fact, it would provide perfect last-minute recipes to whip up for your Thanksgiving feast tonight! Check out the Turkish Delight Blondies I baked this summer; they were easy to make, used ingredients I already had in my pantry, and were a huge crowd-pleaser.

Happy Thanksgiving!

VeganMoFo: Kaia Foods

2010-11-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Last spring, Kaia Foods generously sent me a selection of their raw foods products (thank you so much, Kaia Foods!). As I was about to embark on an international vacation, these were perfect travel snacks! The sprouted buckwheat granola and kale chips were my favorite of the bunch, but I also enjoyed the flavorful sprouted sunflower seeds and the soft fruit leather. If you've never tried sprouted buckwheat granola, I highly recommend this crunchy, filling cereal. It's good plain or with cold vegan milk!

With Thanksgiving upon us tomorrow, tell me please, for what are you thankful?

VeganMoFo: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

2010-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

Yet another gem from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is packed with cookie-baking tips and recipes from classic to healthful to innovative.

I baked the Roll-and-Cut Sugar Cookies shaped like music notes and holiday dudes and topped them with the book's Confectioner's Icing. These are both great recipes, although you could easily cut the icing recipe in half or even make only a quarter of it and you'd still have plenty.

Banana Everything Cookies

Cherry Almond Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (a variation of Peanut Butter Agave Cookies)

For a real treat (pun intended), head over to the Madcap Cupcake blog where she is dedicating her entire VeganMoFo to baking cookies from this book!

VeganMoFo: Get Healthy, Go Vegan

2010-11-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Dr. Neal Barnard has been one of my vegan heroes since I first went vegetarian over 12 years ago. His book Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight was the second vegan cookbook I ever owned, picking it up at the Barnes & Noble in New York City's Union Square in the winter of 1999. (If you're curious, my first vegan cookbook was Cooking with PETA, which I'd purchased a couple months earlier.)

When I learned that Dr. Barnard was releasing a new cookbook earlier this year, I was really excited to get my hands on it. I was so fortunate that Da Capo Lifelong sent me a review copy of The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook and gave me permission to publish one of the book's recipes (see below)! I quickly made several recipes from the new book (including the Fire-Roasted Tomato Black Bean Chili, Fettuccine with Roasted Peppers and Zucchini, and Curried Chickpea Spread seen in this post), but I also read it cover-to-cover.

Replete with easy-to-understand information about nutrition's impact on overall health and disease (both prevention and reversal), this is a great book to recommend to people who are new to veganism and new to healthful eating. In fact, I suggested it to a friend whose father was just about to embark on a vegan journey (read about his experience here). He loved the book and even wrote my friend an e-mail detailing the delicious Sweet Potato and Black Bean Brunch Burritos he'd made from the book!

I love this book for its quick, easy, and healthful recipes and I love Dr. Barnard for being so committed to promoting health and disease-prevention through nutrition.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Black Bean Chili

1/2 yellow onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, with liquid
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons chipotle powder
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup TVP crumbles (optional)

1. In a large saucepan on high heat, saute the onion in 1/4 cup water until it starts to turn brown.

2. Add 1/4 cup water and stir. Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, beans and their liquid, cumin, chili powders, oregano, salt, and TVP crumbles, if using.

4. Reduce heat to minimum and cook for 10 minutes.

From the book The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard, MD and Robyn Webb. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com Copyright © 2010.

[Notes: I omitted the onion and did not use the TVP crumbles. Also, instead of doing this in 4 steps, I simply added all the ingredients to the pot at once and cooked until heated through. I took it to a 4th of July potluck and it was so delicious that I was asked for the recipe!]

VeganMoFo: Raw Banana Nut Squares with Coconut 'Cream Cheese' Frosting

2010-11-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

Before he left LA for the east coast, I sent I Eat Vegan home with a half batch of Dreena Burton's sweetly satisfying Raw Banana Nut Squares with Coconut 'Cream Cheese' Frosting. The rest froze nicely for an occasional treat.

VeganMoFo: Yellow Sweet Potato Chickpea Pie with Basil

2010-11-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

Coming together easily, Dreena Burton's delicious Yellow Sweet Potato Chickpea Pie with Basil is quick enough for a weeknight meal, yet impressive enough to serve at a dinner party. Leftovers reheat well, too!

VeganMoFo: Coriander Infused Orange-Ginger Red Lentil Soup

2010-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

Most of my favorite Dreena Burton recipes are soups and this Coriander Infused Orange-Ginger Red Lentil Soup is no exception!

VeganMoFo: Lemon-Infused Mediterranean Lentils

2010-11-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

Dreena Burton has managed to make lentils even more addictive with this flavorful test recipe.

VeganMoFo: Olive Oil Almond Muffins

2010-11-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

Muffins tend to be potluck crowd pleasers and these Dreena Burton tester muffins did not disappoint! They were among the first goodies to disappear.

VeganMoFo: Thai Chickpea Almond Curry

2010-11-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Spicy, creamy, and full of legumes and vegetables, this Dreena Burton test recipe was absolutely delicious.

VeganMoFo: Fragrant Kidney Bean Lentil Dahl

2010-11-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

The name of this Dreena Burton test recipe says it all!

VeganMoFo: Almond Roasted Cauliflower

2010-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

Dreena Burton's Almond Roasted Cauliflower has got to be the most delicious cauliflower recipe ever created.

VeganMoFo: Raw Chai Bars

2010-11-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

If I hadn't packaged some of Dreena Burton's Raw Chai Bars to share with friends, I could have easily eaten the entire batch by myself.

VeganMoFo: Moroccan Bean Stew

2010-11-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! This week (and potentially next) is dedicated to test recipes for Dreena Burton's next cookbook. Her Moroccan Bean Stew is full of wonderful spices that come together for a warming, healthful meal.

VeganMoFo: LA Vegan Weekend Happenings

2010-11-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend is rife with opportunities for vegans in LA! On Saturday, Quarrygirl co-presents the LA Vegan Beer Fest, which will feature vegan beer, vegan food, and music by my friends the Makepeace Brothers (they're scheduled to take the stage at 2 p.m.).

Chef AJ's Healthy Taste of LA takes place on Sunday. If you're lucky, she'll bring her rich and decadent German Chocolate Cake to share (see above and below for photos)!

You can also take a Fall French Cuisine class at Spork Foods on either Saturday or Sunday. The menu looks fantastic: Nicoise Salad, Mushroom Bourguignon, Melted Cheese Fondue with Assorted Crostini, and an Apple and Pear Tarte Tatin.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy all that LA has to offer!

VeganMoFo: KindKreme

2010-11-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

We in LA are fortunate to have an almost-entirely-vegan (some flavors contain honey) ice cream shop called KindKreme. A group of friends and I converged on KindKreme Sunday early evening, basically taking over the whole store. Although I tried a couple other flavors, my clear favorite was Fresh, a coconut-based ice cream made from cucumber, kale, lemon, ginger, Himalayan sea salt, and a bit of agave for sweetness. This just might be the most perfect ice cream flavor I've ever tasted.

VeganMoFo: Madeleine Bistro

2010-11-03T07:30:00.001-07:00

For our final meal before he left LA, my buddy and I hunkered down for a gourmet, multi-course meal at Madeleine Bistro. He opted for the Thanksgiving Preview prix fixe meal, consisting of:

Cauliflower bisque with pan-fried cauliflower and parsley oil.

Belgian endive and pear salad with Chardonnay cheese, spring mix, and candied walnuts.

Herb-crusted seitan with savory bread pudding, coconut mashed yams, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry relish. I ordered this a la carte, not having enough appetite for the entire four-course meal. It was a wonderful, holiday-inspired meal, with my favorite components being the sides, especially the coconut mashed yams.

Holiday pie trio: Pumpkin, pecan, and French apple (pumpkin was unavailable that night, so my friend's trio had two slices of pecan and one of French apple). I didn't try the pie, as I ordered my own separate dessert.

Since our meal was a celebration of friendship and the finest of LA vegan dining, I ordered Madeleine's signature dessert, the chocolate souffle (served with vanilla ice creme). If I'm not mistaken, the last time I had this was on my birthday three-and-a-half years ago, and it was just as rich and delicious as I'd remembered.

Madeleine Bistro remains a high-class, innovative, warm vegan restaurant that is so worthy of our support. It is owned and operated by some of the most wonderful people I have the pleasure of knowing and have always been treated with absolute joy and respect there. If you have the opportunity to join them for this holiday meal or any meal, for that matter, please do as soon as possible. Reservations are strongly encouraged, as their hours are currently weekend nights and Sunday brunch only. You'll be rewarded with excellent food and the best service.

VeganMoFo: Spork Foods Online!

2010-11-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

My dear friends at Spork Foods are officially launching their brand-new website today! Spork Online features full-length HD videos of the unique four-course menus that Spork Foods offers in person on a weekly basis.

Membership is available either monthly, semi-annually, or annually and includes: one new HD video vegan cooking class per month, exclusive seasonal and holiday bonus recipes and classes, access to archived episodes, interactive Q&A with the Spork sisters, special events and sneak peeks, and exclusive out-of-the-kitchen adventures with the Spork sisters and their friends. These ladies mix knowledge with an innate sense of joy and they truly make cooking fun. The membership fees are a great deal and I already joined!

I have blogged about Spork Foods classes before, but to give you another sneak peek, I'll tell you about the Spork Foods Homemade Protein Class I attended this spring with one of my fantastic vegetarian friends.

What you see above at right is Maple Mustard Glazed Seitan with Spring Vegetables that was created with Homemade "Chicken Style" Seitan. On the left is Organic Orzo Salad with Lemon, Herbs, and Homemade Tofu. The plate also features the Homemade Tofu on its own in two different densities (more firm at the top of the plate and softer at the bottom of the plate.

Of course, the Spork sisters understand the importance of a balanced meal, so a dessert of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Homemade Almond Milk was also on the menu.

Lest you think it's only about the food, the Spork sisters are also building community through their classes. Attendees sit around the huge island for the classes and then move to the dining room table to share the meal. I can proudly say that I've made friends through Spork Foods. So, if you are in LA, I strongly encourage you to become a member of Spork Online and to take classes in person! Support your local vegan community!

VeganMoFo: Shojin

2010-11-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of my closest vegan friends left LA yesterday, likely not to return again for longer than a visit. In anticipation of that, we made sure to have a couple more vegan dining experiences together. The first was on October 10 at Shojin, a restaurant I hadn't been to since my first time.

While my dining partner ordered a sushi roll (dragon roll, I thought, but I can't find it on the menu), Seitan Pepper Steak, and Milky Almond Jelly with Nut Cookie for dessert, I wasn't quite as hungry and was craving comfort food. The Spicy Miso Ramen (from the menu: Flavorful blend of several miso, corn, vegetables, and garlic chips) with the addition of kale fit the bill perfectly. I'd love to recreate that at home.

Shojin provides computer printed cards and markers (crayons would have been better!) for those who appreciate a side of creativity with their meals. We each colored a card and hand-wrote a message for the Shojin owners to read later.

A Culinary Class with Chef AJ

2010-10-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

Former professional stand-up comedienne Chef AJ now channels her vivacious sense of humor into her entertaining and informative healthy food preparation classes. She is currently the Consulting Chef at Exsalus Health & Wellness Center (featured in the upcoming documentary, Forks Over Knives) and the pastry chef at Sante La Brea. Using only vegan whole foods, she teaches people how to healthfully incorporate more vegetables and fruit into their diets. When she invited me to attend one of her classes at the end of September, I happily accepted her offer.

Chef AJ conducts her cooking classes in her colorfully-decorated home, arranging a demonstration table complete with a BlendTec high-speed blender and a heat source in her living room while busy assistants prep in the kitchen. The dining room table is covered with healthful ingredients ready to be added to recipes while students gather round, seated with a pamphlet of recipes. She peppers her lessons with silly, catchy songs about eating well, but more importantly sits down for a serious half-hour lecture about preventing, fighting, and curing disease through proper nutrition. Her main points are to eat a whole foods, plant-based vegan diet and to avoid the "evil trilogy" of oil, sugar, and salt (Lest you think differently, Chef AJ's recipes are not completely low fat. Many of her recipes contain nuts or nut butter. As she said herself, "This way of eating will not keep me skinny, but it will keep me healthy."). The four-hour class included the following recipes:

It's Easy Being Green Smoothie (see link for video of a similar Chef AJ recipe)
Nutrient Rich Chocolate Smoothie (see link for video with recipe)
Fresh Almond Milk (see link for video and recipe)
Nutrient Rich Smoky Black Bean Soup
Dream of Tomato Soup (see link for video and recipe)
Hail to the Kale Salad
Chocolate FUNdue
Caramel Fakiatto (see link for video and recipe)
Fresh Banana Ice Cream
Raspberry Coulis
Chocolate Peanut Truffles

I was the only vegan in the class, as well as seemingly the only healthful eater. It was so exciting to see an entire room full of people who probably don't even know the definition of vegan being educated about the merits of a whole foods vegan diet. Chef AJ shared her own journey to health and even discussed issues such as eating when not hungry (her favorite motto on the subject: "If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry.").

She also provided an ingenious depiction of calorie density using a chip and dip tray. In each cubby, she portioned out 140 calories of junk food (M&Ms, licorice ropes, potato chips, caramel popcorn, a candy bar, commercial salad dressing) and then unveiled a tray of 140-calorie whole foods, showing how much more whole food you get for 140 calories (a whole box of fresh strawberries or two large bananas or a huge bowl of fresh spinach, etc.). For a group of people who likely think those minuscule 100 calorie snack packs are a good idea and who think Greek yoghurt is healthy simply because the colloquial "they" says so, I found this comparison to be a brilliant educational tool.

I highly recommend Chef AJ's classes if you are looking for more information about transitioning to a whole foods vegan diet and if you would like to encourage your loved ones to do the same. Chef AJ makes the information accessible and understandable, so people who might be nervous about a new lifestyle will be comfortable with her. Her last class of 2010 will be December 5 and she will resume classes in early 2011. For more information and to register, visit her website.

Chef AJ has also organized a plant-based food festival to take place in Redondo Beach on November 7. Healthy Taste of LA will feature "the finest plant-based cuisine from the best restaurant chefs in the Los Angeles area," complete with cooking demonstrations and nutritional science lectures. It promises to be a wonderful celebration of health and plant-based nutrition!

For more reading on the subject of whole foods, plant-based nutrition, I strongly recommend reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard's books, and Dr. McDougall's books. For true beginners, I like to suggest The Engine 2 Diet.

Giveaway!

2010-10-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Using random.org, I got a winning result of the second commenter! Since I requested personal information, I will not be announcing the winner's name, but instead will simply contact the winner directly. Thank you so much for entering and please consider buying a ticket to the event to support this worthy cause.

I've been offered a fantastic giveaway for all of you who will be in the Los Angeles area this Friday, October 22! The World Animal Awareness Society will be holding a Halloween Masquerade Party and you have the opportunity to win two free tickets (which would be $50 in advance or $75 at the door, otherwise).

To enter, please leave a comment with your valid name and email address so you can be added to the guest list (I will not publish personal information in the comments; I will be the only person to see them).

I will choose a winner at random Wednesday night. If you win, I will contact you via email with the address for the party. Below is the rest of the party information:

Tickets are $50 per person in advance or $75 at the door (see below for more info).

Philanthropic entrepreneur Ady Gil, will be the host for the seasons most outrageous masquerade ball. “INTO THE WILD” is the perfect opportunity for people to let their "hair down" and have some fun while supporting the ongoing expeditions of the World Animal Awareness Society. Some special guests will be in attendance. Thos...e attending without a costume will have an opportunity to receive professional creature make-up on-site. We will have a list of animals to be claimed for your evening’s costume. It is our hope to have no more than 2 guests dressed as the same animal.

Special musical guest FAWN will perform throughout the night along with DJ David Dunn.

Special Guests:
Ady Gil
Meggan Alexander

Vegan food & delicious libations for every palate will be served, serious frights, titillating treats and dancing 'til the wee hours, as well as a silent auction, special guests, costume contests, free gifts and other great surprises await you.

Tickets are $50 per person in advance or $75 at the door. Purchase your ticket today by visiting http://www.WA2S.org/, click on the donate button, donate $50/person, and write "INTO THE WILD tickets" in the message section. There are a limited number of tickets available for this unique event at Ady's home in Woodland Hills, so please buy your INTO THE WILD ticket to a wild evening today.

World Animal Awareness Society will be making numerous announcements about special guests, auction items, ticket sales and more over the coming weeks. The announcements will be made via the World Animal Awareness Society event blog here: http://WA2SEvents.blogspot.com/ , as well as through the website and other social networking. Be sure to follow WA2S.org to stay informed. You won’t want to miss this amazing once in a lifetime event.

See our recent press release about this event:
http://prlog.org/10938400

Sponsors/Donors for auction and gift bag include:
Urban Decay Cosmetics http://www.urbandecay.com/
Catalina Adventure Tours http://www.catalinaadventuretours.com/
Madaras Gallery http://www.madaras.com/
Bruce Lehto Artist http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bruce-Lehto/138832828179?ref=ts
Artist Pattie Maney http://www.pattiemaney.com/
Alana Stevenson http://www.alanastevenson.com/
Aqualise http://www.aqualise.com/
Alternative Outfitters http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/
Richard Merrill http://www.richardmerrill.net/
VeginOut http://www.veginout.com/

GOOD LUCK!

Chocolate Orange Cookies

2010-09-20T21:08:00.001-07:00

Recipe testing for Dreena Burton's newest cookbook began a couple weeks ago. As she is one of my absolute favorite cookbook authors and recipe creators, I'm thrilled and honored to be part of the recipe testing process.

These Chocolate Orange Cookies contain healthful ingredients and are full of wonderful flavors. Quick and easy to make, they will certainly become a go-to cookie recipe.

Spotted...

2010-08-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Spotted late this afternoon at my beloved Follow Your Heart, a joyous sign proclaiming the arrival of Dandies vegan marshmallows while simultaneously protecting them from exposure to light!

Fatty's & Co.

2010-08-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

This post has been a very long time coming. Way back in early May, my good friend from I Eat Vegan treated me to a birthday dinner at Fatty's & Co., a vegetarian restaurant in Eagle Rock (I can't help myself; I call it Fraggle Rock). I'd heard tales of Fatty's for quite some time, but the number one reason I wanted to go was their Vegan Chocolate Fondue. Quelle piece de resistance!

I was told that a birthday was cause for indulgence, so we proceeded to order three appetizers to share.

The Far East Spring Rolls (from the menu: veggie ginger chicken, cabbage and carrots served with mango sauce, mildly spicy). This was my least favorite Fatty's dish, as it was very greasy, but the mango sauce was good.

Next up was a dish simply called Oils. It was a trio of Italian white truffle oil, Austrian pumpkin seed oil, and Californian olive oil served with warm artisan bread. We all know that I'm not a fan of oil, but I made an exception for this special treat. Each oil had its own unique flavor, which made the tasting process very interesting. I believe my favorite was the deeply flavorful pumpkin seed oil.

Our final appetizer was the Salts of the Earth with Special Roots (from the menu: hand harvested salts from around the world served with seasonal tubers, extra virgin olive oil and caramelized balsamic reduction). The salts were Italian white truffle, Danish smoked, and French herbed and the "special roots" were Jerusalem artichoke. Of all the appetizers I've had in my life, this definitely was a singular experience. Each salt had a presence that stood on its own, with the Danish smoked being the one I preferred.

Our entrees came with a choice of two sides, so we got one of each and shared.

Carrot soup (I think) with toasted garlic bread.

Raw beet and apple slaw with endive.

I ordered Paella for my main dish (from the menu: Trumpet, oyster mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms, wild rice, corn, hearts of palm, heirloom tomatoes, olives, and sweet peas with saffron). It arrived in a cast iron pan and was very crispy! I enjoyed the varying textures and flavors of this dish.

Mr. I Eat Vegan ordered a dish called Vegan Rissoles or a Cornfield in a Bowl (from the menu: hand cut corn raviolis, fried crisp with a mildly spicy fresh corn puree and tomato and chive relish).

For dessert, there was no question that we'd be sharing the Vegan Chocolate Fondue.

This delicious dark Belgian chocolate fondue was served with crisp red and green apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, and pillowy brownie squares. It was very decadent!

After this wonderful meal, I had set aside the thought of Fatty's as I only consider it a special occasion restaurant. However, months later, I read this Quarrygirl blog post that hinted at Madeleine Bistro taking over Fatty's (I recognized the photo in the post). I immediately e-mailed Mr. I Eat Vegan, asking him to refresh my memory about the flavors of oils and salts so that I could finally write this blog post before Fatty's was gone. In return, he suggested we go to Fatty's for one more pot of chocolate fondue.

We decided to go all out and each ordered a flavored soda (they used to be called "rickies" on the menu). My lavender-vanilla is on the left and Mr. I Eat Vegan's lavender-pomegranate is on the right. They were too sweet for our taste, but fun to try.

We shared the Vegan Potato Tacos (from the menu: Organic potato skins fried crisp and filled with corn, black beans, green chili, red bell peppers, onions, and tomatillo salsa). I removed the avocado from mine and then picked out the onions and these were good, albeit too greasy for my taste.

This was where things got tricky. We wanted to split a pizza with no cheese, but the server said that we were not allowed to do that. Apparently, the chef is so particular that s/he will not veganize anything on the menu except those items marked "vegan option." We asked two different servers and got the same response, which was that there used to be a vegan pizza on the menu, but the chef is reformulating the vegan cheese and would not allow veganized pizzas to leave the kitchen. We were pretty dumbfounded and horrified by this. No vegan pizza at a vegetarian restaurant? Instead, we decided we'd split down the middle the Paella and the Vegan Moussaca (from the menu: A mildly spicy gratin of chickpeas, red lentils, mushrooms, and onions between layers of roasted eggplant, garlic mashed potatoes and a tomato sauce Provencal).

Again, each entree came with a soup or salad. This time, we both opted for the Fresh Pea Soup since the salad option was the same beet and endive salad as the first time. Can you see that my pea soup was giving the peace fingers?

We had a window seat this time and I was able to get a much better shot of the Paella, which was just as good as the first time.

The Moussaca was my favorite savory menu item at Fatty's, hands down. It was light, with many flavors and textures, and a great tomato sauce. I really loved this.

Of course, we ordered the fondue for dessert again! This time, the fruits were Fuji apples, Granny Smith apples, white peaches, strawberries, and bananas, along with the brownie squares.

Besides the pizza issue, there is another persnickety thing about Fatty's. The menu indicates that there is Vegan Cotton Candy available with a caveat: "Pure Vermont maple sugar spun to order [only if Miss Dingle is here because she is the only one who will do it.]. Well, Miss Dingle was there when we were! The table next to ours ordered it and were brought a cotton candy cloud about the size of a standard-issue basketball. I'm not exaggerating. When the customers vacated the table, having left a sizable amount of cotton candy in their stead, my adventurous dining companion got a crafty glint in his eye and asked if I wanted to try the cotton candy for myself. I protested, but next thing I knew, I had a gumball-sized portion of cotton candy in my hand. It tasted just like maple syrup and I'm glad I got to try it.

If you have a chance to dine at Fatty's, I'd highly recommend doing so as soon as you're able. You'll have a couple idiosyncrasies to navigate, but the food is good and diverse. If Madeleine Bistro does decide to take over, I hope they will include a chocolate fondue on the menu (and maybe create a vegan savory fondue or two, as well!).

Speaking of Madeleine Bistro, make sure to head over there right away before they close for "renovations and an expansion plan this fall." You won't regret it!

V.I.P. Spotlight: Clara

2010-07-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

This past January, Follow Your Heart hosted an evening with a prix fixe menu created and prepared by none other than Tal Ronnen, author of The Conscious Cook. I went for the book-signing portion of the event and took a place in line behind a lovely 12-year-old and her equally lovely mother. We started chatting and, in that moment, Clara, her mom, and I became fast friends. Clara, now 13 years old and proprietress of her own baking company (look up Clara's Cakes on Facebook), has been one of my most admired people ever since. With that, I am proud and honored to interview Clara for the very first Hugger Food interview with a V.I.P. (Vegan Important Person).

1. You're very well-known in Los Angeles (and beyond!) for baking innovative vegan treats. Are you working on any new creations at the moment?

I don't know about well known...but, yes, I am working on some new creations. There are some you probably haven't heard of before (at least in a cupcake), like Orange Dreamsicle, Root Beer Float, and a couple more!

2. Those sound fantastic! Besides being an excellent baker, you're quite a skilled chef. What are your top 3 favorite savory recipes?

Why thank you, but my mother does most of the cooking, but I do enjoy cooking! I've been digging the Spanokopita recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance. I love cooking simple things, like ginger tofu and roasted potatoes. My mom makes amazing eggplant parmesan from her own recipe.

3. You have convinced some of your friends to adopt a vegan lifestyle. What has been your most effective tool for advocacy?

Taking them to vegan places or events. Places where there's support or restaurants that have amazing vegan food. Also, my blog helps. Probably the best tool is educating them in a passionate, but not preachy way.

4. There are many people who look up to you as an example of compassion and veganism. Who do you look up to as role models?

Where do I start? Well, of course you, since you were one of the very first vegans I met who motivated me. [Aww, thank you, Clara!] Casey Suchan and Denis Hennelly, they made the amazing movie Bold Native! When you talk to Casey she really pays attention to what you have to say, even if there are a million other people wanting to talk to her! Peter Young, for sure. I think all activists look up to him. Carol Glasser, she's such a smart activist. Shannon Keith, of course; (although, I didn't watch it) it must take a lot to make a film like Skin Trade and I'm so glad she did. Basically all vegans/activists I look up to since they're all so passionate and unique. Chef Chloe Coscarelli! She's so nice! Most importantly, my mother. She inspired me to become vegan and takes me everywhere!

5. Being a teenager is really tough, but you don't seem to be going through the typical teenager malaise. Do you think being vegan has played a part in your graceful transition into your teen years?

Thanks! It definitely has helped. Being a vegan keeps me busy and lets me meet a lot of people so I feel very loved, and I think that's a part of it. And I'm not eating all those hormones that would be in dairy [and other animal products]!

6. Recently, you've attended animal rights-themed film premieres, kicked off the Los Angeles VegWeek, and attended a circus protest. What are your plans for the rest of the summer?

Hanging with my friends, Animal Acres, going to San Francisco/Berkeley, hopefully this music festival that all of my favorite bands are playing, and baking of course!

7. Do you have any final thoughts to share with the Hugger Food readers?

Try my cupcakes!

Thank you, Clara!

Those of you in the L.A. area will have a chance to try Clara's cupcakes at the ARME Shopping Day benefit being held at the Beverly Garland Hotel, 4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood on Sunday, July 25, from noon until 5 p.m. Vendors include Clara's Cakes, raw vegan cuisine, jewelry, clothing, and more.

New Yorkers will have an opportunity to see a screening of Bold Native this Monday, July 26, at 7 p.m. or 9:15 p.m. at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, NYC (details and tickets available here). The first screening will be hosted by Russell Simmons and the filmmakers (with special guests) will be present for both screenings.

A very special thank you to Melissa Schwartz for permission to use the gorgeous photo she took of Clara above!

UPDATE: With sincere apologies for not including the link to Clara's blog from the outset, you can find Clara in Veganland here. Enjoy!

You Know You're Vegan When...

2010-07-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

...your pre-double-feature snack and entertainment looks like this:

Also, please check the 4th of July Giveaway post for the winner!

Finally, Kristen's Raw is currently featuring a giveaway, too!

Los Angeles VegWeek 2010!

2010-07-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Compassion Over Killing is launching Los Angeles VegWeek tomorrow, July 11, with a kick-off party! There will be incredible food provided by Clara's Cakes (Clara is one of my favorite people in the world), Rawsheed's Dinner Club, Chef Tigre, Sun Power Natural Cafe, Veggie Grill, and Perfected Foods. The special guests will include Assemblymembers Pedro Nava and Ted Lieu, celebrity vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli, who recently won an episode of Food Network's Cupcake Wars, and Compassion Over Killing's Executive Director, Erica Meier.

In honor of Los Angeles VegWeek, Assemblymembers Nava and Lieu, as well as Congressman Brad Sherman, have taken a vow of vegetarianism for the entire week! Thank you, gentlemen, for setting an excellent example!

Join the kick-off party tomorrow, July 11, from noon until 2:00 p.m. at Arjay Plaza, 23215 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505.

Other excellent events scheduled for Los Angeles VegWeek are:

July 14: Dinner at Veggie Grill (8000 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA) from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

July 15: Dinner at Pizza Cookery (6209 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91367) from 7:30-9:30 p.m. to celebrate new vegan menu items.

July 17: Vegan Hot Dog Feed-in on the Santa Monica Pier from noon until 1:00 p.m.

Make sure to check the Los Angeles VegWeek website for updates and specials!

(Photo at top features Mint-Chocolate Cupcakes by Clara's Cakes; photo at center is my favorite Chop-Chop Salad from Veggie Grill; and photo at bottom is eggplant, artichoke, and jalapeno pizza with Follow Your Heart mozzarella from Pizza Cookery.)

TofuXpress

2010-07-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

I'm one of those people who LOVES tofu. Have you ever seen the extra-firm, completely pressed plain tofu on the salad bar at Whole Foods (sometimes there's even an herbed version)? That is my favorite. I can eat plain cubes of that dense tofu in droves, but I've never achieved that density on my own. Enter the TofuXpress that the kind people behind the gadget sent me to review.

I wasn't really expecting results beyond what I've accomplished on my own with the traditional method of pressing tofu (wrap the block in two layers of paper towels, place it on a dish, put a second dish on top and weigh down the top plate with a 28-ounce can of tomatoes). I'd thought that Whole Foods-caliber of pressed tofu was beyond my reach. Still, I put a block of extra-firm tofu in the TofuXpress, stuck it in the fridge, and let it work its magic. After an overnight pressing, I poured off about 3 inches of liquid and stuck it back in the fridge because I wasn't ready to use it. Honestly, I don't recall how many more days it took me to go back to that block of tofu that was happily waiting for me in the TofuXpress. What I can tell you is that when I removed it from the fridge tonight, I was overjoyed to find that I had finally attained that Whole Foods pressed tofu density at home. This is a game-changer for me!

I did manage to restrain myself from simply eating this pressed tofu on its own, opting to make Bianca's Cheeze "Eggs" from the Vegan Crunk blog. Sadly, I didn't have celery salt in the pantry, but all the other ingredients in this tofu scramble worked together beautifully for a flavorful dish that I served with a side of organic sauerkraut (I can feel an allergy attack setting in and I wanted to load up on vitamin C). I very rarely eat tofu scramble, but when I do, I like it to be on the dry side and this was perfect due to the extra-dense TofuXpress tofu. It was so great to have a healthful, low-fat dinner that came together in about five minutes and made enough for tomorrow's lunch, too.

4th of July Giveaway!

2010-07-04T17:35:00.001-07:00

UPDATE! The winner of the giveaway is lucky number 3, an anonymous commenter (who left a valid email address in the comments) wanting to try the lavender-scented candle. Congratulations and thank you to all who entered!

The kind people at Soy Candles by Phebes sent me a couple candles to sample and a giveaway for you! I received Vanilla Champagne and Lavender (shhh...don't tell that I was hoping for Chocolate Rain!), which smell lovely and burn very evenly. I'm thrilled with both scents and their pretty packaging; these would make excellent gifts to yourself and others. The candles are hand-crafted with plant-based essential oils and are made domestically in the US.

I'd love for you to win a candle from Phebes so you can experience them for yourself. Please go to their site and leave me a comment telling me which scent you'd like to try. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address in your comment (I promise I will not publish comments with your e-mail addresses, but I must have an e-mail address to forward to Phebes). I will leave the contest open for one week. Good luck!

Happy 4th of July!

UPDATE: My apologies, but I received word from Phebes that they are unable to ship outside of the US for this giveaway. Also, Phebes is offering a special to my readers wherein if you order three candles, you will get a fourth free by simply mentioning "Vegyogini" at checkout.

XIV: Birthday 2010

2010-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I opened the floodgates to the discussion of the birthday I just celebrated on May 5. It's only fitting to continue this series with the sublime birthday dinner I enjoyed at XIV two days later with the wonderful friend to whom I've given a producer credit on two other occasions. He certainly deserves it again here.

I don't know about you, but every once in a while, I find it's best to stow my camera and be present at the dinner table. Although that means a photoless post, it was oh so worth it to just be in the moment.

As soon as the server greeted us, she wished me a happy birthday (thank you, Mr. Producer!) and asked if either of us was interested in the vegetarian menu. When I asked her for the vegan menu, she quickly retrieved it and let me know that she would not be bringing me a portion of bread because it's not vegan. A dining experience is always so much better when the staff is well-informed and eliminates the need for vegan inquiries.

My appetizer that evening was the Fried Green Tomatoes Salad (from the menu: Fried Green Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Mustard Frill, Sherry Emulsion), which was not fried at all. Instead, the plate arrived with very thinly sliced fresh green tomatoes that looked likely to be heirloom, topped with slightly-burst cherry tomatoes, all atop a bed of frisee. It was lightly dressed to allow for the flavors of the tomatoes to shine.

For my entree, I chose what had been my favorite course of the tasting menu I had my first time at XIV, the Charred Broccoli Rabe (from the menu: Charred Broccoli Rabe, Sushi Rice Cake, White Soy Vinaigrette). I loved the textural and color contrast between the tender-but-not-soft, dark green broccoli rabe and the slightly sticky and seasoned rice.

Dessert was a must for this birthday celebration and I ordered the Bitter Chocolate Sorbet (from the menu: Bitter Chocolate Sorbet, Spiced Pecans, Espresso, Cocoa Nib). If you read my Follow Your Heart birthday post, you will know that I was overjoyed when this dessert arrived bearing a lit birthday candle on which I could make a wish. Fortunately, there was no singing involved to draw the attention of other diners (I'm easily embarrassed), but I was incredibly appreciative for the thoughtfulness of the birthday candle.

With excellent conversation and delicious food, this was truly one of the most memorable birthday meals I've ever experienced. I am so grateful!

Follow Your Heart: Birthday 2010

2010-06-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have told you before that Follow Your Heart Market & Cafe is one of my favorite places on earth. A homey, love-filled, 100% vegetarian cafe nestled in the back of an all-vegetarian market where you can purchase almost anything your vegan heart can dream up...well, you can see why I follow my heart there often. Interestingly, though, one of my friends (who surprised me with the revelation that he's read my blog) pointed out Friday that I haven't written many posts about this wonderful place. When I thought about it, I realized that the lack of posts speaks to the fact that I almost always order the exact same thing there: the vegan Reuben with vegan cheese (I'm not a fan of the cottage-style tofu).

Nobody was surprised when I chose to celebrate my birthday (May 5) this year with dinner at Follow Your Heart. Of course, I ordered the vegan Reuben, being my favorite sandwich ever. The menu description states that the Reuben is composed of: Thinly Sliced Wheatmeat, Natural Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Mustard and Vegenaise® on Oversized Rye Bread, Oven-Baked. Served with Dill Pickle and Thousand Island Dressing. Also Available Non-Dairy with Cottage-Style Tofu Instead of Cheese.

Served with crisp carrot chips and a pickle, the Reuben is gigantic (enough for two meals) and flavorful. I love all the different tastes and textures that are packed between two huge pieces of lightly-toasted rye bread and am grateful to this sandwich for introducing me to the deliciousness and healthfulness that is sauerkraut.

Since it was my birthday and all, something sweet was in order and a vegan chocolate mint milkshake fit the bill perfectly. The only sad moment occurred when I started driving home and it hit me that I hadn't blown out a birthday candle! I tore the house apart trying to find one and settled for blowing out a scented soy candle...hopefully my birthday wish will still come true.

There are a couple more birthday posts to come, but each deserves its own mention. For now, if you're in the LA area, follow your heart and hit up my favorite spot!

Bold Native

2010-06-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Bold Native is not a person. It's an idea - that animals are not property. They are not ours to use. They are an end unto themselves. Their freedom is beautiful, and their slavery is a horror.

The above excerpt is from the powerful new narrative film, Bold Native; a film about animal liberation and welfare, about passion and compassion. It's a film that's presented in such an accessible way that those who might otherwise be resistant to a film that would open their eyes to the realities of animal testing will be talking about it for months to come. For those who are already aware, it is a film that will help facilitate conversations with the aforementioned resistant.

Bold Native is poignant, moving, and told by spectacular filmmakers, cast, and crew. Please support the film by attending screenings, purchasing merchandise, and spreading the word.

The red carpet world premiere takes place this Wednesday, June 16, in Los Angeles (details here)! The filmmakers and cast will be present (so will I). I strongly encourage you to come show your support and see this amazing film in an environment where you'll also have the opportunity to speak directly to these talented people. There is a second L.A. screening taking place this Friday, June 18, at Tree People. While the screening is sold out, waiting list spots are still available.

If you live outside of Los Angeles, you'll have a chance to see Bold Native very soon. The filmmakers will be presenting it in Portland on June 24, Seattle on June 29, and Washington D.C. on July 16. They are also planning a college tour this year, so please continue checking the website for details. In the meantime, get a sneak peak by watching the trailer.

We've got some trouble to start.

Teese Challenge (Part 2)

2010-05-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the Teese Challenge I mentioned at the end of March? I was able to create two additional dishes with what the Chicago Soy Dairy folks sent me.

At the end of April, with the contents of my fridge and pantry, I whipped up this unusual pasta dinner. First, I grated half a package of Teese mozzarella. Then, while I cooked a pot of quinoa elbow pasta, I soaked half of a bag of Soy Curls in boiling water. Once the Soy Curls had soaked for about ten minutes, I drained them and sauteed them with about half a bottle of Follow Your Heart Balsamic Spicy Barbecue Sauce over medium heat until heated through. When the pasta was al dente, I drained it, returned it to the pot in which I'd cooked it, then tossed in the Soy Curls and Teese, mixing well. Served very hot, this meal was spicy and creamy; good for an off-the-cuff meal.

The Saturday after my birthday, our vegan friends had a potluck birthday party for me and a fellow vegan Taurus. My contribution was a layered dip using my remaining Teese. In a glass 8"x8" pan, I spread a can of Trader Joe's refried black beans with jalapenos, the second layer was a package of Teese Creamy Cheddar-Style Sauce, the third was two cans of rinsed and drained black beans, the fourth was a package of Mild Nacho-Style Teese Sauce, and I topped it with a package of Teese cheddar that I shredded. I covered the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil to transport it to the party where I put it in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, I removed the foil and returned the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes to melt the top layer of Teese. Served with tortilla chips, this was a fantastic potluck contribution! I will definitely make it again.

Thank you to Chicago Soy Dairy for providing me with Teese for experiments. I understand that there is a new formula of Teese that melts better and stretches. Since one of our local vegan-friendly pizza places carries it, I'm looking forward to trying it soon!

Happy Herbivore Yellow Dahl

2010-05-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

It's the end of May and I have much to share to you, including the vegan fare I enjoyed on the gorgeous island of Jamaica, the vegan extravaganza that was my birthday week, and a couple great classes at Spork Foods. However, I'm feeling like writing a short post tonight about what I whipped up for work lunches the next few days. This is quinoa (simply cooked in water), steamed Southern greens (a Trader Joe's mix of collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and spinach), and Yellow Dahl. The Yellow Dahl is a terrific recipe from the upcoming Happy Herbivore cookbook, which the Amazon pre-order page states is due in January 2011. Trust me when I tell you that this cookbook is full of delicious, healthful recipes with something for everyone.

Cleansed

2010-04-29T21:09:00.001-07:00

For some reason, this has been an extremely difficult post for me to write. Not difficult in the sense that I'm at a loss for words, but something has kept me from writing it way back in early February when I originally intended to do so.

Twice so far this year, I have embarked on month-long entirely whole foods "cleanses" (the second time, I took to calling it a "regime"). The parameters are pretty simple: I ate only vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds (in moderation), with a heavy emphasis on dark leafy greens. I did not eat anything processed (good-bye tofu) and I did not eat anything that included a sweetener of any kind (no sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, etc.). It also goes without saying that I did not consume anything containing oil with the exception of a few times when I ate salads at Hugo's.

My first cleanse month spanned the entire month of January. My main goals were to eat really healthfully and to eat a mainly anti-inflammatory diet (www.nutritiondata.com has an inflammation factor listed for each food item). Having just read the book, I set out to follow many of the principles from Christina Pirello's Glow, including her daily breakfast plan of greens, grains, and wakame-laced miso soup. Knowing that I don't care for sea vegetables (it's the fishy taste that gets me), I decided to suck it up and stocked up on several varieties with the intention of making Pirello's recipes for miso soup and hot, nutrient-dense elixirs. I really thought I could do it, but that wakame was impossible for me to choke down after two days. Also, with my busy schedule, preparing her elixirs were just too time-consuming for me. So, I took some of the knowledge I'd gleaned from Glow and created a plan that worked for me and didn't compromise what I'd set out to achieve.

On work days, my breakfasts consisted of 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa or millet (cooked only in water), about 3/4 cup of steamed greens (usually Trader Joe's Southern Blend of mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, and spinach), and a serving of baby carrots. For me, it's an extremely satisfying meal that's easy on the digestive tract, full of nutrients, and comforting, as well. On weekends, I usually ate fruit or green smoothies for breakfast.

I always take my lunch to work and these usually consisted of big salads, the base of which was always 2/3 cup of thawed frozen corn, about 4 cups of dark greens (either the Southern Blend or spinach), about 3/4 cup of broccoli slaw, about 1/2 cup shredded carrot, and a drizzle of red wine vinegar as a dressing, topped with one teaspoon of ground flax and one teaspoon of hemp seeds (in the second month, I added one teaspoon of nutritional yeast, as well). Additions I made to these salads included shredded raw daikon, finely chopped cauliflower, and sugar snap peas. If I wanted a hot lunch, I would bring a plain baked sweet potato or dry roasted Brussels sprouts, or brown rice and beans and greens. I always follow lunch with a red grapefruit.

Dinner was a little more difficult for me to figure out. I'm usually on the run after work at least three nights of the week and often more, whether it be to a yoga class or another activity. I needed something I could eat on the run that would fuel me through yoga and keep me full, but not too full. At first, I was just eating a banana and I found that I was feeling really weak during class. I decided to eat 14 grams (1/2 serving) of raw almonds along with the banana. That gave me the protein boost I apparently needed to feel strong during class. I'd follow that up with an apple or some vegetables when I got home.

When I wasn't eating dinner on the run, I experimented a little and found that I really love steamed cabbage served over plain cooked quinoa and sprinkled with two teaspoons of hemp seeds. I'm pretty amazed that something so incredibly simple is so delicious, but when I think about it, I've always been just as happy with simple meals than with complex ones.

Another treat I found myself craving repeatedly was a sliced apple sprinkled with ground cinnamon and ground ginger. The two warming spices really take the apple to a new level!

The effects of the January cleanse were interesting. I had really even, consistent energy, without the highs and lows usually associated with eating (i.e. some people get sleepy after meals). My energy level stayed that way even when I hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. It was such a good feeling! That being said, I found myself being far more introverted that month than usual. I chalked it up to my body and mind detoxing. The only foods I missed were my daily breakfast Luna bar and tofu.

The second time around started March 22 and ended April 21 when I left for Jamaica for my brother's wedding. My food intake was essentially the same as it was in January, but I did not experience the introversion I mentioned. I think that could be because I made it a point to consume nutritional yeast, which is loaded with vitamin B12, something present in the Luna bars that I'm used to eating, but that isn't present in vegan whole foods. This is why knowing the nuances of one's one body is so important; I was able to remedy the introversion by simply fortifying my food intake with a little vitamin B12.

For me, eating whole, unprocessed, low-fat foods feels very healthy and feels like excellent fuel. I will obviously continue to indulge in treats occasionally (especially with my birthday being in a week), but I want to also continue eating a mostly whole foods regime. My body thrives on it and so does my mind. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments and I'd be happy to answer.

[P.S. Unfortunately, I can't recommend Glow. While some of the information was interesting, it wasn't presented in an interesting or engaging way. Also, I felt that Pirello ignored the fact that sometimes ones food intake or genetics aren't the only factors of an ailment. For example, wrinkles can be caused by outside factors like spending too much time in the sun without sunscreen, but Pirello fails to recognize that. I feel that her information needs to be coupled with a significant amount of outside knowledge because it's incomplete on its own, so it shouldn't be used as your primary source of information.]

Corn and Kidney Bean Chili

2010-04-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bridal shower and guests were asked to bring a potluck dish plus the recipe to compile a starter cookbook for her. I had three challenges as far as I could tell: to bring something that 1) I could eat on my all whole foods regime; 2) was something easy for a beginner cook; and 3) other people would eat. Since chili is usually a crowd-pleaser, I scoured a couple of my cookbooks for a really easy recipe that would not require me buying extra ingredients. Out of my pantry, I made the following recipe that I adapted from Alex Jamieson's The Great American Detox Diet:

2 1/4 cups frozen corn
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can Muir Glen fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

Add all the ingredients to a 4-quart or larger saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Yield: Approximately 5 cups

Artisana

2010-03-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

While I'm on this entirely whole foods regime, I'm going to try to bring you some reviews of products I tried before embarking on this journey. In mid-February, I got in touch with Artisana to ask if they would kindly send me samples so I could know first-hand why Chocolate-Covered Katie is always raving about them. The fine Artisana people were happy to send me this slew of teeny, tiny samples and I thank them so much for doing so!

Each of these adorable jars holds a mere one tablespoon of raw nut butter or coconut butter goodness. Whenever I have the pleasure of partaking in a spoonful of raw nut butter, I'm so surprised that anyone would want to add chemicals, sweeteners, and salt (I'm looking at you, conventional grocery store nut butters!) to something that is purely sweet and delicious on its own. Have you ever tried raw pecan butter? It's smooth, creamy, and sweet, with just the slightest hint of a bitter note, and is so delicious. Raw macadamia nut butter is creamy, sweet, and decadent. Walnut butter has that characteristic bitterness of the brain-shaped nuts. We make vegan sauces and cheeses with cashews because they have a very creamy quality, so raw cashew butter is very creamy and also a little sweet. Raw almond butter is also sweet and not too thick. I even ate the tahini straight up and found it delicious in its slightly bitter, unadulterated form. Artisana's nut butters taste pure and allow the flavor of the nuts to shine.

Coconut butter is an experience all of its own. I started eating it about a year ago when my aunt (she practices eastern medicine) gave my mom a jar of coconut paste. I stuck a spoon in it one day while I was at my mom's house and fell in love. That same jar is still over half full and I always make a beeline for it with a spoon whenever I visit. However, I didn't realize until trying the Artisana coconut butter that they were the same product with a different name. It's really just a nut butter made of coconut meat, so it's a spoonable, unsweetened paste that tastes like the inside of a young coconut. It gets a bit dry and crumbly in the jar after a while, but I really like when nut butters dry out and would happily do without that oil that pools at the top of the jar, so the dry and crumbly thing doesn't bother me at all.

Cacao Bliss is the aforementioned coconut butter mixed with deep, dark, raw cacao. It's not very sweet, but it is very rich and would satisfy any strong chocolate or sweets craving. In fact, Kristen Suzanne often takes along a tiny jar of Cacao Bliss to restaurants for her dessert. I think she has the right idea!

I have seen Artisana's nut butters at Whole Foods, which means they are accessible to most of us locally, and on Vegan Essentials, as well. They are a little pricey, but that is because they are using organic, raw, high quality ingredients. If you can fit them into your budget, they are absolutely worth the cost.

Looking at the Artisana website now, I see that I missed them at Natural Products Expo West. That is such a shame because I'm sure they were there with new products that I haven't tried yet! I'll look forward to seeing what they debut this year.

Teese Challenge: Mozzarella Sticks

2010-03-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

The nice people at Chicago Soy Dairy recently posed a challenge to vegan bloggers: they would send us a couple packages of Teese vegan cheese if we would come up with creative uses and then blog about them. I received my package about a week ago and came up with my first experiment immediately.

When I was a kid, my parents would take us to a 50s-style diner that served breaded mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce for dipping. As a picky child, that was one of the only items on the menu that I would order. As an adult, I wondered if Teese mozzarella would be able to replicate this childhood treat. Sadly, the Teese simply melted into a giant mess (thank goodness I lined the toaster oven baking sheet with foil first!), but it was fun to try.

Thank you to Dark Faerie for the inspiration to try this! She blogged about a similar experiment in 2008.

Thank you to Chicago Soy Dairy for the Teese and the challenge! I've embarked on an entirely whole foods regime for the next month, so expect my next experiment in May.

Natural Product Expo West

2010-03-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I was very fortunate to attend Natural Product Expo West as a member of Compassion Over Killing. It's difficult to describe how fantastically magnificent this experience was for me. I'd say I was like a kid in a candy store, but it was far beyond that...perhaps I was like a kid at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Before I even set foot on the Expo floor, I was sampling tetra packs of O.N.E. coconut water and new sustainably-sourced water. Robert Cheeke, the vegan bodybuilder about to publish his first book, met me with my badge and a reusable bag already loaded with Vega goodies.

Finally walking onto the Expo floor, well, that was beyond what I could have imagined. Thank goodness I was armed with the reusable bag I'd brought and the Vega one that Robert gave me because I needed both! I don't even recall where I started, so I will just go by memory.

Turtle Mountain was there serving up cups of their So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage, Coconut Milk Kefir (my first kefir ever!), Coconut Milk Yogurt, Purely Decadent ice cream, and one of the most exciting new products of the Expo, coconut water-based sorbet! Most sorbet has a sugar water base, so I'm very excited about sorbet that has the nourishing electrolytes and hydration power of coconut water. I tried the hibiscus (my favorite) and lemon flavors and they were delicious! I can't wait until they are available on the market.

The Nasoya booth was serving up a great tofu egg salad (I had mine on a spoon because the crackers weren't vegan) and chocolate pudding that showcased their Dark Chocolate Silken Style Creations.

I had fun gushing to the folks at the Luna bar and Clif bar table about how much I love Luna bars. They were so appreciative of my devotion that they gifted me a full case of their White Chocolate Macadamia Luna bars! While I was there, I also sampled their new White Chocolate Macadamia Clif Crunch granola bar (be careful; the other three flavors contain honey).

Larabar attended with four not-yet-released flavors: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (those two are based on the existing Peanut Butter and Cashew Cookie flavors, just with chocolate chips added), Chocolate Chip Brownie, and Carrot Cake. I also tried the Peanut Butter and Jelly and Tropical Fruit flavors, which were recently released.

Tofurky brought out the big guns with new frozen pizzas that feature Daiya cheese and vegan meats. The pepperoni was my favorite; so spicy and delicious! The other variety was vegetable and sausage, if I'm not mistaken, and was also quite good. They also had a new Smoky Maple Tempeh Bacon that was amazing! Absolutely keep an eye out at your local stores for these new products.

Lightlife was handing out vegan Smart Dogs with sauerkraut and your choice of condiments. That really hit the spot after I'd been walking around sampling products for a while!

Cool Cups make lunch box size vegan gelatin cups to satisfy your childhood nostalgia. I tried the Peach Mango flavor and it was tasty! These are also re-packaged with Trader Joe's branding at your local Trader Joe's stores. Look for them in the refrigerated aisle.

Also for your lunch box, Eco-Planet was at the Expo with their organic vegan pretzel and cheddar crackers, which I buy if I know I'll be spending time with my nieces and nephews. More exciting than their yummy crackers, though, they now have incredible hot cereal (I tried Maple & Brown Sugar) and toaster pastries (think vegan pop tarts)!

There were many vegan samples of Chocolove to try, including Raspberries in Dark Chocolate.

I was overwhelmed with the massive varieties of tea from Yogi, Stash, and Eden. Check out all the tea bags in the photo of the samples I brought home, not to mention the individual bags of Teechino!

Bach Flower Remedies gave samples of Rescue Remedy, Rescue Sleep, and Rescue Cream. I use Rescue Sleep regularly.

My favorite boxed chocolates company, Sjaaks, had a booth with samples of their Chocolate Mint Bites, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites, and Chocolate Almond Butter Bites. Their newest piece of excitement is vegan chocolate-covered marshmallows (Dandies, I believe) that were so good!

I finally got to try the fabulously tart goldenberries at the Navitas booth.

Daiya, which I now know is pronounced "day-uh," was downstairs, serving up delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and pizzas. Their big news is that they now have cool retail packaging.

Xan Confections chocolates, which are perfection, gave me a sample of two of their vegan flavors: a Strawberry Saintly Sin and a Coconut Pecan Caramel Jewel. These are so amazing! They're sold at select large Whole Foods Markets, so buy some if you see them. Only the Jewel, Saintly Sins, and some of the turtles are vegan, though, so be sure to ask.

I take Vitamineral Green daily, so I was thrilled to visit the Health Force Nutritionals booth. They were distributing samples of their products Vitamineral Green, Earth, ZeoForce, and Warrior Food, all of which I'm eager to try in smoothies or on their own.

Along with all the incredible Vega samples, Brendan Brazier, the amazing vegan triathlete, autographed a copy of his book Thrive Fitness for me. I'm excited to read it!

Follow Your Heart, one of my favorite places on earth, had a booth where they showcased their delicious vegan salad dressings, barbecue sauces, cheesecake, and more! Their big news is a reduced-fat version of Vegenaise (pronounced "vej-eh-nayze"). I had a lovely chat with the brother-in-law of the co-owner and two of my favorite servers were there, too! One of them was kind enough to give me a hot sample of BBQ Chicken-free Chicken and it was so good.

Living Harvest's Tempt hemp milk products were hard to resist, so I sampled the Mint Chip and Chocolate Fudge ice creams and a couple flavors of hemp milk.

I saw and sampled so much more (leave a comment if you have questions about something I didn't highlight) and missed so much, as well. For example, I sadly missed most of the raw food booths, the VegNews booth, and the VBites booth (check out the Quarrygirl post for some of what I missed). Next year, I definitely want to go for at least two full days so I can see everything!

Lemon Chickpea Lentil Soup

2010-03-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

I was especially freezing cold in the office today and all I could think about was making an Indian-spiced soup to bring for lunch tomorrow. When I got home, the first book I pulled off the shelf was Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan, immediately hitting the index in search of soups containing red lentils. I landed on the Lemon Chickpea Lentil Soup, which I'd made once before nearly 2 years ago (sometimes it takes a while to repeat a recipe since I'm only cooking for one).

Dreena blogged about this recipe here, but I made some changes based on my tastes and what ingredients I had on hand. I cut the recipe in half because I only had 1/2 cup of red lentils; omitted the oil; used 4 small garlic cloves; substituted about 2 cups of broccoli slaw in place of the onions, celery, and zucchini/tomato; used one can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed); and pureed the entire soup in my high-speed blender rather than using an immersion blender. My soup is thick and smooth and it's perfect! Nicely spiced with a slight tang from the lemon and I know it'll be perfect for another cold day at the office tomorrow.

If you're not already familiar with Dreena's cookbooks, I highly recommend them (she's provided sample recipes here). She uses healthful ingredients that are easy to find and the results are always wonderful.

Urgent Update: An LA Vegan is Missing

2010-02-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

I learned today that Andrew Koenig, a very sweet, compassionate member of our LA vegan community has been missing since Valentine's Day. Please read his father's message and contact the appropriate authorities if you have any information at all. Thanks so very much.

Valentine's Day at Madeleine Bistro

2010-02-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

Knowing there was a culinary adventure to be had, my friend over at I Eat Vegan and I decided to splurge on the Valentine's Day menu at Madeleine Bistro. It was an ambitious menu, one that originally included a smoked cashew cheese soufflé that I was dying to try but didn't make it to the final menu, and we were eager to taste the results of Chef Dave's newest experiments. The table was beautifully set with a vase of roses and rose petals strewn on the table and the experience was wonderful, enhanced by a delightful conversation with the ever-lovely co-owner, Molly Anderson.

Each of the six courses was comprised of two different dishes to share, which meant twelve dishes total. As this will be a long photo post (the first set of photos are dark and then we figured out a better lighting scheme), I'll simply give the menu descriptions unless embellishment seems necessary.

Forgoing the offered champagne, we opted for sparkling pear cider.

Lemongrass-scented "beef" (Bean sprout salad, rice noodle gâteau, pho broth).

Vietnamese dip ("beef bao) (Bahn chung, pickled green papaya). To the left is a stack of rice fries (similar to polenta fries). There are tiny open-faced faux beef sandwiches on homemade bread circles in the center, each topped with a thin onion ring, and the green papaya salad is to the right.

"Butter"-poached white asparagus salad (Portabella prosciutto, radish, spring mix, passion fruit vinaigrette).

Asparagus wrapped in portabella prosciutto (Braised Yukon gold potato, roasted peppers, lemon marmalade).

Panko-crusted eggplant "steak" (Artichoke tortellini, cauliflower purée, mousseline sauce).

Grilled artichoke a la Greque (Cauliflower dolma, roasted eggplant purée, petite ratatouille).

Grilled shiitake mushroom (Mustard spätzle, pistachio-sunchoke purée, juniper berry sauce).

Pistachio risotto (Shiitake mushrooms and their purée, mustard green froth).

Herb-crusted boursin ("Egg" served sunny-side up, baby arugula, portabella bacon, black truffle vinaigrette). We were very curious about the faux sunny-side up egg, since neither of us had heard of someone attempting a vegan version. The faux yolk was mousse-like and the faux egg white was similar in texture to a tofu omelet. Neither part of the faux egg actually tasted like egg (it was really quite mild in flavor), but it was pleasant and interesting. The boursin was really good; thick, tangy, and edged in delicious fresh herbs.

A duo of spreadable cheeses (Truffled and smoked, shallot marmalade, poached pear salad).

Chocolate-dipped cheesecake "lollipop" (Blood orange creme anglaise and sorbet, candied ginger). There was also a chocolate peanut butter cup on the right and a small piece of cheesecake at center that were not listed on the menu. The cheesecake center of the lollipop and the piece of cheesecake were the same, boasting a lovely caramel flavor (I suspected the use of brown rice syrup, but I couldn't be sure).

Blood orange curd (White chocolate "pudding," candied ginger, almond tuile). Also included was a scrumptious (albeit hard) "Butterfinger" bite at front and a fudgy chocolate rope wrapped around raspberry sorbet at center. The raspberry sorbet sat on an identical almond tuile to the one that garnished the top. Together, the delicious blood orange sorbet and white chocolate "pudding" (I thought this was creme anglaise because it had a thicker texture) created a nostalgic Creamsicle (aka 50/50 bar) effect.

All in all, this was a creatively and thoughtfully prepared meal that I was happy to share with a friend and fellow blogger. We weren't alone in the sentiment, either. We spotted Rory Freedman of Skinny Bitch fame, Emily Deschanel of Bones and her boyfriend, and the owners of Follow Your Heart were there, too. It was an energy-filled, joyous event.

BoHo

2010-02-08T20:20:00.001-08:00

One of these days (hopefully very soon), I will tell you about the whole foods cleanse that I worked on throughout the month of January. In the meantime, I had a wonderful dinner-and-a-movie night with one of my most fantastic friends last night (you may recall that I previously gave him producer credit for our visit to Swingers and he certainly deserves another producer credit for this current evening in question). We saw Crazy Heart (go see it!) and then headed to BoHo without knowing if there would be any vegan options on the menu.

When faced with a seemingly vegan-unfriendly menu, my rule of thumb is to ask the server if there are any veganizable dishes. Our friendly and knowledgeable server pointed out that many of the vegetable sides could easily be made vegan and I quite happily chose the Baked Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts, both of which were delicious!

The cauliflower was cooked until tender and was subtly flavored with garlic. The Brussels sprouts were really special. They were baked with thin slices of Meyer lemon with the peel intact. Since Meyer lemons are a little sweeter than the average lemon, I ate them, peel and all, with the Brussels. The result was tangy and fresh, something that I will certainly attempt at home.

By coincidence, around the time that our food arrived at the table, a couple was seated next to us. The first thing I heard the woman say was, "Is there anything vegan on the menu?" Fortunately for our server, he had my meal to use as a guideline and maybe having two vegans in a row will encourage the chef to add some vegan appetizers, entrees, and desserts to the menu. As it was, though, I had an excellent meal with even better company.

LA Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti TODAY

2010-01-31T10:07:00.001-08:00

I'm bringing these veganized classic Rice Krispies Treats to today's bake sale for Haiti. Made with Chicago Soy Dairy's Dandies, they are exactly like the treats I remember from childhood. All of LA's most accomplished bakers are donating spectacular treats, so please come out to support the relief efforts. All proceeds will go to Doctors without Borders.

Where: Locali, 5825 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles
When: Today, January 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See you there!

Valentine's Day (or Any Day) Gift Guide

2010-01-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

We're now about three weeks from Valentine's Day, the "holiday" people seem to either love or dread. Despite my track record on this day of the year, I've always thoroughly embraced it and approached it with a positive spin. I choose to be love, as some might say, and so I present you with a Hugger Food approved gift guide suitable for this or any occasion.

Late last year, I fell in love with the t-shirts from Blend Apparel. Blend's super-soft, eco-friendly t-shirts are made of organic cotton and bamboo with a percentage of gross revenue contributed to thoughtfully-chosen charitable organizations. All of their designs come in both male and female t-shirt cuts (price range is $24.99-29.99), not to mention the bumper stickers and posters available. I bought myself these three t-shirts (third image obviously borrowed from the website), which arrived with a sweet hand-written, personalized note and business cards to share:

I also really like these Valentine's Day (or any day!) appropriate designs:

One of my favorite hoodies ($40) also fits with the theme of today's post (image borrowed from the To Write Love on Her Arms website):

The To Write Love on Her Arms Mission Statement is truly beautiful and I encourage you to read it in its entirety when you have a moment. For now, I'll excerpt a couple lines so you're aware of their vision: "To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

If chocolate is what you're after, the best vegan chocolate assortment I've tried so far is the Sjaak's Organic Chocolates Nuts & Chews box available at Vegan Essentials, Pangea Vegan Store, Food Fight, and Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe for $8.50-9.99. These online vegan stores also carry a multitude of other chocolates and gift-worthy items.

Xan Confections chocolates seriously rocked my world the time I was lucky enough to sample them. Their Lifestyles Chocolates, which include the Saintly Sins and Jewel Collections (their other collections are NOT vegan, so please read the website carefully) are absolutely delicious, vegan, and gluten free. As a bonus, the Saintly Sins chocolates are also low-calorie, low glycemic, and diabetic friendly!

I'm dying to try these gorgeous Coracao chocolates made from sustainably-grown cacao trees!

Sweet & Sara has heart-shaped, Belgian-chocolate dipped vegan marshmallows for the holiday!

Some like to give luxurious bath and beauty products and you couldn't do better than Strawberry Hedgehog's hand-crafted, 100% vegan, all-natural products. From the inspired and delectable scents of their renowned soaps to the organic raw sugar scrub to customizable bath crystals, you're sure to find many things with which to spoil someone you love.

A Scent of Scandal offers tons of cleverly-named, 100% soy wax, lovely-smelling candles to set any mood you're seeking. There are seasonal Valentine's Day themed scents available now here ("Me So Thorny" rose scent, anyone?) in addition to all the other scents in their five categories.

If you're in the Los Angeles area and you want to spoil someone with lovingly-made and amazing cupcakes, check out Vegan Bake Sale, whose menu is what dreams are made of. Similarly, to spoil those you love with cookies, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, and more, C'est la V Bakeshop offers wonderful treats to satisfy the sweet tooth.

I'm sure you already know your options for incredible Valentine's Day (or any day!) restaurant meals and, of course, there is a plethora of remarkable vegan cookbooks from which to choose. When it comes to the cookbooks, may I suggest buying said cookbook to give as a gift and preparing a meal or a baked good from it as part of the gift?

For those of you who are skilled at baking, cooking, crafts, writing, art, and other creative things, thoughtful, homemade gifts are usually the best gifts! When something, including one's own precious time, is given from the heart, those are the gifts people remember most.

On Valentine's Day this year in Los Angeles, there will be an event benefiting Compassion Over Killing at 2 Headed Horse (1770 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles 90026). The event will run from 7 p.m. to midnight with the $20 ticket covering a drink ticket, delicious vegan food, music, dancing, karaoke, and more. I know it'll be a great event and it benefits a wonderfully worthy cause!

Whatever you decide, I hope you're at least inspired by all the stellar vegan gift options available to us for Valentine's Day, birthdays, holidays, or just any day. Oh, and please don't forget that it's fun to buy little gifts for yourself, too! We should always strive to treat ourselves well.

On an unrelated note, on January 31, we will be holding a Los Angeles vegan bake sale to benefit the relief effort in Haiti. Please see this post for details.

Real Food Daily: The Club

2010-01-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

On the last Wednesday of 2009, I had the pleasure of dining at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood with one of my closest friends. Hours of chatter over dinner at RFD used to be an extremely regular occurrence for us, but hasn't happened in well over a year. In the ensuing time, RFD revamped their menu and increased their prices. They kept all of my favorite menu items, though, so I didn't expect much of a difference.

I started with the Sweet Green Juice (from the menu: cucumber, celery, parsley, spinach with a splash of apple) and added ginger. It was fresh and a tiny bit sweet, but I wished it contained kale for a heartier taste.

With my impending cleanse only days away, I decided to order my very favorite menu item, which is The Club Triple Decker (from the menu: Seitan, tempeh bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, vegenaise, sourdough bread) minus the avocado and tomato and with a Caesar side salad (from the menu: Romaine hearts, capers, wheat-free blue corn croutons, Caesar dressing). I'm sorry to say that what once was a very flavorful sandwich with soft seitan and smoky tempeh bacon was quite bland this time (Real Food Daily, if you happen to be reading this, please reinstate the original version of The Club. Thanks!). The Caesar was crisp and garlicky and I've always loved the touch of capers.

For dessert, we split one of the December specials: White Iced Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake (from the menu: ginger cake, light white icing, toffee sauce). The cake was soft and lightly spiced, but the sweet, thick toffee sauce was the star, in my opinion.

In a fortuitous coincidence, Quarrygirl just wrote a post about Follow Your Heart's vegan club with a plan to review all of the vegan club sandwiches in Los Angeles. I've also tried and enjoyed the FYH club, but it has been so many years that I think I need to order it again!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

Lest the details slip my mind, I'm welcoming 2010 with last night's prix fixe New Year's Eve Tasting Menu at Madeleine Bistro, L.A.'s only all-vegan gourmet restaurant.

With too many friends out of town for me to pull off a New Year's Eve vegan potluck at home, I happily agreed when a friend suggested we celebrate with this tasting menu followed by fireworks in the Hollywood Hills. It turned out to be a fabulous evening that was made even better when I spotted another friend at Madeleine Bistro who graciously agreed to join us. We were there, talking away, for over three hours.

Our 7-course extraveganza began with Dim Sum (from the menu: steamed bun, tempeh "lollipop," crispy wonton). A spicy sesame dipping sauce perfectly complimented this trio of a steamed bun filled with almost-sweet seitan, soft, meatball-like tempeh pierced with a lemongrass stalk, and a fried wonton.

Clam chowder topped with a delicious split biscuit, which I tried to eat before it had a chance to absorb too much liquid, arrived as the second course. Thick, rich, and full of vegetables, this was the only course I wasn't able to finish. While I thought the mushrooms (shiitakes, I believe) were meant to stand in for the clams, our server informed me that the potatoes held that role. Fortunately, all that mattered was that the chowder was good!

The next course was a Chestnut and Apple Salad with pickled pearl onions, fennel puree, and mulled cider vinaigrette. After swiftly transferring my peal onions to one of my dining partners' plates, I dug into this lovely mix of greens. The chestnuts, chopped in a way that initially fooled me into thinking they were walnuts, provided a soft, yet dense texture and mild flavor, while the cooked apples brought a subtle sweetness. The puree to be a wonderful accompaniment to the salad.

The fourth course was Quinoa-crusted Moroccan Seitan with artichoke and chickpea tagine, lemon confit, and harissa emulsion. I don't remember artichokes or a lemon confit in this dish, so that could have been a last-minute change. The seitan was extremely soft, which nicely contrasted the red quinoa crust. It also sat upon a tasty bed of more red quinoa mixed with a small amount of dried fruit. I think, although I'm not sure, that the chickpea tagine also contained eggplant. This was good and festively topped with a smattering of chopped edible flowers. To give it some spicy heat, I ate the tagine with the harissa emulsion.

The fantastically crispy Portabella Chasseur with house-cut arugula tagliatelle and wild mushroom ragout also featured Brussels sprouts and microgreens. The pasta reminded me of tofu shirataki noodles in texture and I didn't detect the bite of arugula, but they were still good. The mushrooms were nothing short of amazing.

Popcorn and Cheese (from the menu: herb-crusted cashew cheese, kettle corn, crackers, popcorn ice cream) greeted us sixth. The homemade crackers tasted of rosemary and had a very crisp bite to them, which was nice with the creaminess of the cashew cheese (I only wasn't 100% sold on the cashew-cheese because I could detect chives, but I generally love the cashew cheese at Madeleine's and specifically their smoked cashew cheese). I enjoyed the gentle sweetness of the kettle corn and, although I didn't taste popcorn in the mildly-flavored and almost dense ice cream, really liked this playful dish.

Dessert was the 3 x 3, a trio of sweets each containing chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel. On the left is a rich dark chocolate disk acting as a crust to a peanut butter mousse and topped with chocolate mousse. A raspberry coulis and peanutty powder garnished the plate. In the center, there are three candies: a peanut butter cup, a Butterfinger-like bite, and a plain caramel (I believe I tasted the delicious brown rice syrup in this caramel). Finally, there was a rope of fudge (which I ate separately) decorating a crispy peanut patty (this did taste like the interior of a Butterfinger) that was topped with caramel. The crispy peanut patty covered in caramel was my favorite part of the dessert plate.

Today, I started a month-long cleanse, but that is a topic for another day so as not to distract from the above.

May 2010 be a peaceful and joyous year for you!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving presented an unfamiliar issue for me: I was shockingly lacking inspiration, motivation, and desire to prepare my vegan feast. My attitude was laissez-faire and I was more than ready to eat cereal with soy milk at the family meal. For once, I just didn't care.

Then, on Friday the 13th, when I woke up to a flat tire (a puncture wound from a screw, no big deal) and spilled 1/3 of a Sigg worth of water on my lap and all over the interior of my car within minutes of beginning my morning commute on a donut tire, my mom called. You see, her best friend, who has been part of my life for the last 23 years, is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer at the moment and the chemo has affected her taste buds to the point that she finds unpleasant many of the foods that she would usually eat on Thanksgiving. So, she asked if she could share my vegan Thanksgiving foods this year. This is the woman who selflessly cared for my mom when she had her first Crohn's disease surgery 18 years ago, while also helping the 15-year-old me through the difficulty of seeing my mom vulnerable for the first time by endlessly working crossword puzzles with me after school. She's a no-nonsense woman with an amazingly sharp wit and she is one of my favorite people in the world. Magically, my inspiration and motivation reappeared. After one 10-minute phone call, I had a full Thanksgiving menu jotted on a sticky note.

We dined on the Traditional Cranberry Sauce that I love from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan, Mashers and Two Pepper Golden Gravy from Julie Hasson's test recipes, Wild Rice Pilaf from Clean Food, Julie Hasson's test recipe for Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and a plain, baked garnet yam.

The test recipes were all delicious and I was happily surprised at how easily they came together. The pilaf was a huge hit and, although it is in the "Spring" section of the book, it has the lovely fall flavors and textures of dried cranberries and slivered almonds. I modified the recipe to eliminate the mushrooms in favor of a drained, rinsed can of chickpeas, used short-grain brown rice instead of brown basmati (that was what I had in my pantry), and omitted the shallots and oil. Baked yams (or sweet potatoes) are among my favorite foods and are so easy to make (scrub well, then prick all over with a fork and place on a foil-lined baking sheet in a pre-heated 400 degree Farenheit oven for 60 minutes or until a fork easily penetrates it).

For dessert, we shared the Baked Pumpkin Pudding from the Joy of Vegan Baking. This had the lovely spices and pumpkin flavor associated with traditional pumpkin pie, except with, in my opinion, a much better texture. Never a pie crust fan and disliking the texture of pumpkin pie, this was a nice way for me to share in the pumpkin pie festivities without actually having to eat pumpkin pie. I had to change the recipe slightly to use a 7"x11" glass casserole dish and bake for about 40 minutes because I don't have 6 oz. ramekins. It turned out perfectly.

While gratitude is a part of my daily life, on this year's Thanksgiving, I was especially thankful to be able to give back by sharing nourishing, home-cooked vegan food with someone who has been such a blessing in my life.

Pre-Thanksgiving Meals

2009-11-25T23:37:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants have been serving up wonderful vegan Thanksgiving-style meals this month. I sampled a couple:

When I first tried the Happy Happy Holiday Feast at Hugo's (from the menu: Two New American Veggie patties (or turkey breast, chicken breast or grilled Organic tofu) with our vegan, gluten-free mushroom gravy. Served with mixed seasonal vegetables, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. (Vegans should substitute rice or roasted potatoes for mashed potatoes)), it was pre-movie take-out. The New American patties were the star of the show, absolutely delicious and the perfect texture. While the side of brown rice, steamed veggies, gravy, and cranberry sauce were good, this meal would be nothing special without those patties.

The Happy Happy Holiday Feast in the restaurant. Since this is a November special, there's still time for you to try it, too, if you are in the L.A. area.

Tonight, one of the most important people in my life, for whom I'm eternally grateful, and I had the Thanksgiving meal at Follow Your Heart. Their seitan turkey is unmatched, in my humble opinion, and paired beautifully with well-prepared mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, roasted green beans, and baked, spiced sweet potatoes (I definitely detected cinnamon). While I didn't care for the stuffing (it was a bit gummy) or the cranberry sauce (surprisingly lacking in flavor), the meal as a whole was extremely comforting and satisfying.

I've also enjoyed several other November specials at Hugo's and they were all great.

My very favorite Hippie Hemp Seed Salad that I wish were a permanent menu item (from the menu: Chopped leafy greens, tossed with Forbidden Rice (the same black heirloom rice that was once grown exclusively for the Emperors of China), carrots, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, dried cherries, mango, celery and a hemp seed dressing. Topped with dry-roasted almonds.).

This Moroccan-Style Stew (from the menu: Butternut squash, carrots, potatoes, green beans, garbanzo beans, garlic and raisins in a slightly spicy, exotically full-flavored Moroccan sauce. Served with a choice of Organic quinoa or brown rice, fresh mint, a side of yogurt, cucumbers and a slightly spicy harissa sauce.) was mildly spiced and hearty without being heavy. Order it without yogurt to ensure it's vegan.

The Mixed Vegetable Curry (from the menu: A blend of peppers, onions, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, squash and celery in a light coconut-mango curry sauce. Served over a blend of Forbidden Black Rice blended with baby spinach.) was perfect in every way.

May your Thanksgiving be full of joy, laughter, warmth, and the comfort of those you love.

Sarah Kramer in L.A.

2009-11-15T21:06:00.001-08:00

Last night, our L.A. vegan community was fortunate to host the incredible Sarah Kramer, author of four fantastic vegan cookbooks and publisher of vegan wall calendars. We held a book signing event to benefit Compassion Over Killing, a multitude of L.A. vegan restaurants contributed food, and fun was had by all.

I was extra lucky to have dinner with Sarah before the event. She suggested Ethiopian food, so I took her to my favorite, Nyala. We each ordered the Vegetarian Combination and savored our food over a mixture of vegan talk and girl talk.

Once at the event, Sarah mingled a bit and then gave an inspiring talk about how she "vegan." A vegetarian since birth due to her mom's vegetarianism, she talked about growing up vegetarian in a not-so-progressive city, and how she eventually found a supportive group of like-minded friends in her late teens. Her first book, How it All Vegan, originated as a zine to give as holiday gifts. It was such a huge hit that she and her writing partner at the time decided to send book proposals to several publishers. Their first choice, Arsenal Pulp Press, immediately and enthusiastically responded and has been publishing Sarah's books ever since.

Not surprisingly, I have copies of all of Sarah's books (I picked up the most recent, Vegan-a-Go-Go, at the event last night). HIAV was published the year after I went vegetarian and I learned so much from it. More importantly, though, Sarah's writing is warm and friendly, making me feel like I had a vegan friend from afar. Through her books, she gave me recipes, eco-friendly housekeeping tips, party ideas, and travel tips. In person, she's just as lovely, friendly, and open.

What a great evening we had! Thank you to all who organized the event, to Compassion Over Killing, and, especially, to Sarah!

Happy Herbivore Strikes Again

2009-11-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

Have you read the news? Did you see that Happy Herbivore is publishing a cookbook with BenBella Book Publishers, home of The China Study?

I've secretly been testing recipes like those you see above, which are Tofu Turkey smothered in Thanksgiving Gravy with a side of Mess O' Greens. I also tested a Chorizo recipe that somehow went unphotographed. There will be many, many test recipes to come!

Rejuvenative Foods

2009-11-04T21:21:00.001-08:00

When I read the Choosing Raw post about Rejuvenative Foods, I was intrigued enough to e-mail them about their products. Roughly a month later, the Rejuvenative team e-mailed me with an offer to send samples and, of course, I accepted!

This adorable jar of raw, organic almond butter just might be the most delicious food to have ever passed my lips. The only ingredient is "organically grown raw almonds," but this doesn't taste like any almond butter I've ever eaten, raw or otherwise. It's like eating the sweetest liquid almonds and I believe that's due to the way the almond butter is processed. According to the jar, "We make our raw almond butter by grinding fresh organic almonds four or more times. Slow, repetitive grinding and cooling keeps the temperature low enough to retain enzymes and life energy. We then refrigerate it immediately to bring you a product that is truly superior, healthful and full of life energy!"

Not only is the almond butter delicious, it also has a very fluid consistency, about the viscosity of brown rice syrup. There is no oil pooling at the top of the jar, no parts that are drier than others; the almond butter is the same from the time it's opened until the time it's empty, no stirring necessary.

While it's very pricey at $22 for an 8 oz. jar, if you can afford it, I highly suggest you splurge on this incredible almond butter. I definitely would if I could.

This was my first experience eating Kim-Chi and I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I simply tried it straight from the jar. It has a really strong flavor that I think would be amazing paired with brown rice. Considering its richness in probiotics and enzymes, maybe I will just continue eating it one bite at a time straight from the jar.

I really love sauerkraut, but I've never had sauerkraut like this one. I'm used to sauerkraut being shredded in thin, semi-long pieces of cabbage, but this sauerkraut is more effervescent, resembling pulverized cauliflower in appearance, and almost fizzy with enzymes and probiotics. It tastes good, but I'll need to get used to the consistency.

Thank you, Rejuvenative Foods, for letting me sample your products!

Happy World Vegan Day 2009!

2009-11-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

I made it through VeganMoFo with daily posting and now it's time to celebrate World Vegan Day! There's an event this evening at a local skating rink, but I'll be celebrating with a day of yoga and cooking vegan food.

I strongly believe in the power of delicious vegan food as the best advocate for veganism. Case in point, my plate from a summer dinner party (roasted Brussels sprouts, corn bread, spicy beans, and salad). Oh, and for dessert, the requisite cupcake. Have a wonderful World Vegan Day!

VeganMoFo: Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Vegan Drinks held its Halloween party Thursday night at the Little Bar and a wonderful time was had by all (the RSVP count was 120!). Those in costumes were rewarded with cupcakes from Jamaica's Cakes, generously provided by our gracious organizers. The Frankenstand, L.A.'s very own vegan hot dog cart, was on hand to provide dinner to the hungry.

While there were three people dressed as pirates (at least three that I counted), there were some unique costumes, including a corporate green-washer, a cow with a sign reading "Thank moo, Animal Acres," Punky Brewster, a shower a la Karate Kid, and my personal favorite, a garden gnome.

On this final day of VeganMoFo, I'm thinking back on all that has happened this month. It has been full of wonderful things that I never would have expected and I can only hope that the magic continues.

Have a very fun and safe Halloween!

VeganMoFo: Rome Apples

2009-10-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

When I saw these perfectly red Rome apples, reminiscent of the poison apple from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I knew I had to relax my rule about avoiding red apples. You see, red apples tend to have a mealy texture and I don't care for that. I knew I was taking a risk, but the Romes were just so pretty that I had to give them a chance. I wish I could tell you that I'd had nothing to worry about, but the Romes I chose were, in fact, mealy despite the fact that they seemed firm. Disappointing, but sometimes its worth it to venture into new territory.

VeganMoFo: Hugo's Tacos (Studio City)

2009-10-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've told you so much about Hugo's Restaurant, but I've yet to disclose my favorites at Hugo's Tacos, which has a clearly-printed list of its vegan menu items and carries Follow Your Heart cheese. I ate quite a few meals there this summer as I was planning my move and top honors go to the dish that is simply called Salad (from the menu: Romaine lettuce, green beans, corn, zucchini, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and vegan spicy caesar dressing.). They swap out the cotija cheese for Follow Your Heart (you can see it in the little container in the foreground) to make it vegan and that's all there is to it. On the particular occasion captured above, I also ordered a tasty side of white beans.

If I'm feeling particularly hungry or indulgent, I'll order a Burrito (from the menu: Flour tortilla with organic spanish rice, organic white beans, choice of filling, choice of salsa, onion & cilantro.). Hugo's Tacos offers two vegan "fillings" to add to its menu items and my preference is for the zucchini, corn, and string bean option. I believe this one contained the soy chorizo, potato, zucchini filling, but I don't care for it, as it contains onions. What I do love, however, is that there's a choice between an all-vegetable vegan filling and a meat-analogue vegan filling to suit everyone's tastes.

If you're in the mood for dessert, Hugo's Tacos delivers with a creamy, cinnamon-laced Rice Pudding to end the meal on a sweet note.

VeganMoFo: End of Summer Bash

2009-10-28T19:41:00.001-07:00

Our Los Angeles Vegan Drinks chapter has grown to epic proportions. At the end of August, well over 100 people came out for a meet-up event at Mama's Tamales in downtown L.A. Mama's Tamales, which has been vegan-friendly (check out the menu!) for quite some time and which introduced Daiya vegan cheese to its menu earlier this year, kindly closed down its regular business to host a fully-catered vegan event with live music.

As the event died down, a choice of savory and sweet tamales were served, but I didn't have a chance to try them because I was already full from this beautiful assortment of dishes:

Daiya-filled pupusas with a pickled vegetable garnish.

Quinoa and cranberry stuffed tomatoes.

Roasted vegetables and olives over polenta.

Daiya enchiladas with choice of salsa.

Also among the goods were Daiya quesadillas, assorted olives, and vegan-friendly libations. There was even a videographer at the event, meaning that you can join in the party, too!

VeganMoFo: Roasted Butternut Squash

2009-10-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Despite our weather being sunny and mid-80s, we're still reaping the benefits of autumn. I've been having squash cravings, so I roasted this small butternut squash at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (it probably could've used another 5 minutes). When it was cool enough to handle, I scooped the flesh out of the skin and ate it plain for lunch. Butternut squash really doesn't need any adornment; it's perfectly sweet and flavorful on its own.

VeganMoFo: The Ginger Man

2009-10-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Although it has been a long while since I was last there, I used to attend screenings of restored classic films through the UCLA Film & Television Archive very often. The best films I saw there were Ernst Lubitsch's The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) and One Hour with You (1932). Oh, how I wish those were available on DVD to watch anytime I'd like.

This is supposed to be about the food, though, and there is a food-related story to tell. At one of these UCLA Archive screenings, I'm going to guess about 8 or 9 years ago, a man sat in a seat a couple down from mine. He had long, unkempt hair and hemp sandals. He pulled out a bulk-bin bag of crystallized ginger and started snacking happily. I thought to myself, "How can he so easily eat all that spicy ginger?"

Fast forward to some point thereafter when I, too, discovered the joys of sugared ginger. Except that I take it so far as to prefer uncrystallized ginger (the Trader Joe's brand), forgoing the extra layer of sugar in favor of an even more intensely spicy and warming ginger bite.

VeganMoFo: Peanut "Better" Cookies

2009-10-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

More often than not, I get the best cookie results by veganizing my childhood favorite recipe. I didn't grow up with one for peanut butter cookies, though, due to my brother's peanut allergy. So, when my assistant repeatedly asked me to bake peanut butter cookies for her, I gave the recipe in Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan a shot.

While I don't usually have high hopes for cookies that contain oil rather than vegan butter, Dreena's Peanut "Better" Cookies live up to their name. The cookies were soft and chewy, unlike some other peanut butter cookie recipes that produce crunchy, crumbly cookies. My assistant, who is not only an omnivore, but an extremely picky one, proclaimed these the best peanut butter cookies she'd ever had and has been begging me to bake them again ever since. Mission accomplished.