Vegan Cuts FeedYourFace Caramels

Have you signed up for Vegan Cuts yet?  Started by a vegan couple, it's a site (similar to Groupon and LivingSocial) providing discounts on vegan products to help consumers discover new cruelty-free companies.  In addition to daily deals, Vegan Cuts offers a marketplace featuring deals on vegan food, fashion, and body care. 

Vegan Cuts approached me a couple weeks ago to review a new line of coconut milk-based caramels by Etsy store FeedYourFace.  Being the caramel-loving vegan I am, I happily accepted and received a package containing a huge variety of delicious caramels.  When I say "variety," I'm not whistling Dixie.  Check out this list of flavors:
Hawaiian red sea salt
dark chocolate Hawaiian red sea salt
vanilla
espresso
pumpkin spice
dark chocolate pumpkin spice
double ginger
lavender brown sugar
lemongrass coconut
blood orange
spicy mango
pomegranate balsamic
green tea chai
spicy (cinnamon/chipotle) dark chocolate
vanilla-orange creamsicle
carrot cake
dark chocolate orange
maple
mocha
limited edition mulled apple cider

The caramels are soft and each one has a distinct essence.  The simple vanilla caramel delivers just as much flavor as the exotic spicy mango.  A note on the FeedYourFace site indicates that the caramels hold up well in the fridge and freezer, so they're easy to store for a sweets fix. 

FeedYourFace is also an eco-friendly company, packaging the caramels in biodegradable, compostable bags and wrappers and filling the shipping box with recycled and recyclable shredded paper.

Vegan Cuts is now offering a discount on this caramel sampler that brings the price down from $22 to $14.99.  It's a great opportunity to support one vegan company, through another vegan company while also getting something delicious to eat!  To take it one step further, Vegan Cuts is offering Hugger Food readers an additional 10% off your order (not including shipping) through Halloween 2012 by using the code BLOGFRIEND at checkout.

The Sexy Vegan

Brian Patton, also known as "The Sexy Vegan," has been getting a lot of attention lately.  He's been featured on The Huffington Post and Compassion Over Killing's website, chosen as one of the Top 10 Books on vegan.com, reviewed on TreeHugger, and countless vegan blogs (recipes included in all these links).   There is also a fantastic Q&A wherein he names LA's own Madeleine Bistro's Red Beet Tartare as the sexiest thing he's ever eaten.

Brian's goal is to educate about veganism through one of the most accessible means possible:  Humor.  His brand of humor is pretty base, which is to be expected from the book's subtitle:  "Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude."  Some of the recipes have ridiculous titles, like his signature dish My Balls (tempeh meatballs) and The Girlfriend's Favorite Salad That She Constantly Asks Me to Make and Won't Shut the Hell Up About, but many have run-of-the-mill titles like Minestrone.  There's something for everyone here, from breakfast dishes to sandwiches to traditional entrees to snacks like Jalapeno Poppers (I can't wait to try these) and alcoholic beverages for those of you who imbibe.  I'm impressed by the depth of this book that's only slightly masked by Brian's signature off-color jokes.

Another important aspect of this book is that it is full of QR Codes, those small black-and-white squares that you can scan with a smart phone if you have one.  Brian's QR Codes link the reader to a video demonstrating the corresponding recipe.  Cool, right?  His website is also full of recipe videos.

I have made two of Brian's dishes so far:  The above-pictured Sambar, a beautifully-spiced Indian-inspired stew, and The Almond Brothers Breakfast Bar, a homemade granola bar that I forgot to photograph.  Each recipe was quick to prepare and full of flavor.  I'm excited to continue cooking my way through this book and encourage you to do the same.     

Brian is making an appearance at WorldFest this Sunday, May 20, if you will be in Los Angeles.  Their website describes WorldFest as "a solar-powered celebration of music, the environment, animals and humanity."  It's always a day of basking in the sun with friends (and family) while enjoying a huge variety of vegan food, listening to empowering speakers, seeing food demos by favorite vegan chefs and cookbook authors.  Please go and take your friends and family with you!

Let Them Eat Vegan!

Dreena Burton's long-awaited new cookbook, Let Them Eat Vegan!, is now available in all its glory.  If you purchased the book between April 30 and May 6, she is even offering a fun contest for prizes!  Just use this link and follow the rules.

Since I was one of the lucky recipe testers for LTEV, I know first hand how wonderful the recipes are.  Check out my VeganMofo posts from November 2010 for tons of photos from my recipe testing for this book.  The above is a refreshing and nourishing Goji Strawberry Smoothie.  LTEV is full of healthy, whole foods recipes that are also delicious and creative.  There are no processed ingredients and many allergen-free recipes to suit all palates.  I've loved these recipes for nearly two years now and am so excited for you to be able to enjoy them, as well!     

I Am Sustained & Immortal

You'll often find me at Cafe Gratitude for lunch or dinner, but it's uncommon that I'll treat myself to breakfast. Today was an exception and I began my day with a phenomenal bowl of I Am Sustained (steamed quinoa with fresh strawberries, bananas, apples, goji berries, cinnamon, maple syrup, and coconut milk) and a nice warm cup of I Am Immortal (Immune system enhancing, consciousness expanding, ancient tonifying elixir made from Reishi, Shilajit and Ormus. Served hot with coconut milk and raw honey (I order it without the honey.)).

I'm always so taken with simple preparation of food that truly showcases its freshness and natural vibrancy. After savoring every bite of I Am Sustained, I decided I will start making myself similar breakfasts as regularly as possible. I eat both breakfast and lunch at work Monday through Friday and it would be easy for me to create a breakfast grain bowl to eat at my desk. I love when a restaurant meal inspires me in my daily life!



I also took home a wonderful raw quinoa crispy treat called I Am Truth (quinoa, coconut flakes, dates, coconut butter, vanilla, lucuma, and salt), which is one of the best desserts I've ever had at Cafe Gratitude (and I've tried almost all of them).

Celebrate Vegan

When Dynise Balcavage's new book, Celebrate Vegan: 200 Life-Affirming Recipes for Occasions Big and Small, arrived in my mailbox, I read through it trying to decide which of her featured occasions I should celebrate first. Would it be my birthday, Cinco de Mayo? What about Nowruz or Festivus or the recent St. Patrick's Day or Tea Time? With so many marvelous options, I was having difficulty choosing. Then, an extremely persistent upper respiratory virus permeated the armor of my self-proclaimed immune system of steel. I've been steadfastly battling this virus, which seems to be compounded with a very bad allergy attack, for well over a week now.



I've barely eaten anything other than toast in the past week, but last night, I wanted soup. I started flipping through this cookbook and found that one of Dynise's celebrations is none other than...Sick Day! The Sick Day menu is three-fold: Ginger Tea, Minimal Pastina with Spinach (soup), and Baked Apples. I made all three and enjoyed warming comfort food in under 20 minutes.



Dynise is a very gifted story-teller and each of Celebrate Vegan's recipes is introduced with an anecdote. The menus are thoughtfully and creatively put together with two indexes that make navigating the book a dream. I've bookmarked many other recipes and the only question remaining is what should I celebrate next?

Manifest Vegan Recipe Testing

Last year, I was fortunate to be able to test recipes for Allyson Kramer's (of Manifest Vegan fame) upcoming cookbook, Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats. Since my mom has Celiac disease, I was able to share a lot of these treats with her. Here's a preview of what to expect from this fantastic volume.

Spicy Sesame Noodles

Chocolate Muffins (My mom has repeatedly requested these since I first made them.)

Stuffed Cabbage

Banana Bread Scones

Roasted Cauliflower
(with a secret ingredient!)

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Kasha Breakfast Bars

Almond Butter Cups

Mochaccino Milkshake

Lemon Biscotti

Pumpkin Chili

Cherry Vanilla Bean Pancakes

Sweetheart Cookies

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Coconut Rice with Peaches & Rum Raisins

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mac 'n' Cabbage Polenaise

I'm missing photographs for the Minted Green Pea Bisque, Cashew Cream, Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, Tofu Feta Crumbles, Butterscotch Amaretti, and Creamsicle Smoothie. The book is due to be published on July 1, 2012, but Allyson has just posted several sneak peek recipes to tide us over in the meantime.

Sinfully Vegan

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.