JJ's Sweets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.