July 19, 2015
Animals, Arts & Crafts, Beautiful Places Close By, Box-free Baking, Eating Out, Pies, Tarts, & Parfaits, Product Reviews
Dad & Sister coconut whip, blueberry, strawberry chocolate cake parfaits. Happy July Birthdays! Fluff keeping cool in the shade. Collaborative craft for a special Momma. 5 people are better than 1! Symmetry is a kind of beauty. This salad is from The Purple Elephant in Northport, Long Island. This Buffalo Read more…
January 18, 2015
How beautiful, a coconut. In each part and in all its forms. The meat of a coconut–rich, buttery in a way that no other plant food is. And what a wonderful idea to make jerky from that hearty, nutrient-packed coconut flesh. Thankfully CocoBurg, a Brooklyn-based maker of three varieties of raw, vegan, Read more…
December 22, 2014
Sometimes the green skin of a vegetable dumpling is comforting. It says, “there’s definitely not pork in here.” And the bamboo server says, “I’m a superior dumpling.” SunSpire is the maker of this delicious bar, a long time no need to pack it in the grocery bag favorite. And I Read more…
November 28, 2014
Though packaged is generally a turn-off, I sometimes makes an exception for Field Roast. For one, its deli slices and sausages are seitan-based, less processed (and scary) than that soy protein isolate stuff. Field Roast is not secretly ConAgra, like that popular brand of meat analogs. They’re a nice company from Seattle. And they even Read more…
August 11, 2014
After a particularly gluttonous summer so far, I needed to take it down a few notches with a grain-free cleanse–2 days of raw food and juice. I also wanted to take this opportunity to try out some products that I’ve had on my radar in the grocery store, as a Read more…
July 15, 2014
I think I love the fact that there are vegan macarons more than I love eating vegan macarons. Having been vegan for 17 years, I would have never imagined vegan options would come so far. It is a spectacular thing. That being said, I certainly do love eating these delicate Read more…
June 25, 2014
I used pretty Chef Chloe‘s Beach Bar recipe to turnover some pantry items before some summer travel!First was a bunch of different chocolates from Mast Brothers and Sunspire. Date Lady date syrup from my most recent VeganCuts box. If I don’t use this thing now, I’d lose it.I ground up Read more…
June 8, 2014
The week is easier with sweet snacks.A baby vegan cupcake from Sprinkles… And a bag of almond cookies from High Hopes Vegan Bakery, the ridic-delish Etsy shop based out of my own Long Island. Besides being the type of gal who orders herself a bag of scratch-made vegan cookies for no Read more…
June 2, 2014
Hu Kitchen‘s cinnamon-caramelized pineapple drenched in cashew cream, quinoa, and market veggies. Some of my snacks for the 5th grade overnight: Abe’s golden cornbread from Pearl River Pastry, an $8.59 chocolate bar from Mast Brothers, Sweet & Sara vanilla marshmallows, Blossom du Jour double chocolate brownie bites, Mamma Chia squeezes, some bars Read more…
May 17, 2014
It’s odd to be old enough to’ve had about 20 years of adult experiences… friendships that span decades… and so many years to draw from with all their embedded wisdom. And to have been vegan so long–watching food options evolve. 2008 being 6 years ago is also kind of weird (!) but… time Read more…
February 15, 2014
Did you know that vegan Girl Scout cookies exist? Yes! Four varieties, too. Here is the scoop on vegan Girl Scout cookies. ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers are the only two licensed Girls Scout bakers in the country. Little Brownie supplies most of the east. None of the Little Read more…
January 11, 2014
Every now and again I make an order from Vegan Essentials. When there are enough new sweet, packaged treats I want to try. Here is my latest order’s goodies: Desiderio makes vegan treats in Grand Rapids, Michigan, though the branding and packaging seems European. That’s because the founder and chocolatier is from Read more…
November 30, 2013
My white and regular pumpkin puree layer cake with vanilla buttercream and cinnamon glaze. Jay Astafa‘s amazing cashew cheese wheel… and his Thanksgiving meal, though my re-plating killed his presentation. Pecan-crusted seitan, parsnip puree, creamed corn and sauteed kale. Amazing. An impromptu trip to Chelsea Market: Lunch at Beyond Sushi Read more…
October 27, 2013
I go nutso for vegan marshmallows. Maybe because I’ve always gone nutso for marshmallows. In my youth, a new bag of jet-puffed marshmallow was a heavenly exercise in eating. I peeled the chocolate off Mallomars and discarded the cookie. I shoved my finger in boxes of chocolate searching for the white and Read more…
October 21, 2013
It’s my birthday and I didn’t have to make my own cake! This is kind of a first. Thanks to The Electrician and Sweet to Lick, Long Island’s all-vegan bakery, I need not spend my day baking my cake. It’s orange creamsicle. And it’s spectacular, as those gorgeous little pipings Read more…
September 23, 2013
Marshmallows have always been one of my favorite confections. As a kid, I remember biting into my favorite marshmallow sandwich cookie and admiring the porous texture, the cross-section of the cookie crumbles my teeth pushed into the bouyant marshmallow. I’ve long been reporting on vegan marshmallows (see posts here for posts from Read more…
August 14, 2013
I brought back some German cat treats for the kitties… …and de Rit Organics hazelnut and white chocolate spread for me! In my absence there was some great growth in my garden. Big fat eggplants blooming!Plum tomatoes taking shape…Stark white blooms. The Electrician picked me up some goodies at the farmers Read more…
August 6, 2013
Today was a special occasion for my friend’s family… so we made a vegan cake! I was excited to use Biovegan’s Zuckerstreusel on top which I had picked up at Bio Bio. We used a coconut-rice milk with the only vinegar in the pantry, white vinegar, in make the “buttermilk” for Read more…
August 3, 2013
Day 4 in Germany was designated a relax day. I am not staying at a hotel, after all. I am invading a family. Laundry must be done, food shopping, etc. Today I spent the day the day hanging about Kemnath. Starting with a walk to the recycling bin. This is Read more…
July 30, 2013
You can be tossed an awful lot of bad variables on a long flight. Luckily, my fight with Brussels Airlines was perfect–I had plenty of space with an empty seta next to me, a hot vegan meal, and plenty of mindless movies to lull my brain into a stupor. Sure, I really Read more…
July 26, 2013
Having gone vegan when I was a teenager who had terrible taste in food, I’ve never had a proper macaron. But boy, have I looked. Petite, pastel crisp and creamy sandwiches–delicate and dainty, I was waiting for some great vegan baker to get on veganizing these. I knew it was Read more…
June 22, 2013
A young vegan in 1997. The majority of my vegan years went down in the pre-internet days. And yet I managed to find sustenance. As “vegan” becomes more and more mainstream through the years, I thought it apt to take a look back. This is Retro Vegan, Part 1. I Read more…
June 8, 2013
That’s Obsessive Confection Disorder, “kinder, gentler sweets” that are all-vegan and all-delicious. I ordered a sampler from VeganCuts. The sale price sealed the deal. As did that words: “Vanilla Bean Caramel with Sweet & Sara Vanilla Mallows tucked inside, then covered with dark chocolate.” Yes. The sampler included 2 twist-tied Read more…
May 6, 2013
I have never baked gluten-free before… but I like baking challenges! I decided to try out both a ‘from scratch’ recipe (from the tried and trusted VCTOTW) and Cherrybrook Kitchen‘s yellow cake mix. On the left, the Cherrybrook Kitchen’s mix. Batter was very sweet (the ingredients list both cane sugar Read more…
Go to: Vegan Cuts I was delighted to get a full-sized Teese heat n’ serve cheese in my April box from Vegan Cuts! I remember the first time I tasted Teese, Chicago Vegan Foods‘ vegan cheese, at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival in 2008 (see here). It was vegan cheese satisfaction pre-Daiya. Read more…
January 27, 2013
Rainbow Boba’s January VeganCuts box. (I’ve since picked up another bag of Beanfields.) Eli’s treasure bar. I’ve had one of these before… but this one was so very fresh and delicious. A world of difference! I had to experiment with the freekeh right away. I made panelle for this week’s Read more…