Cookbook Club: Book #2 Appetite For Reduction

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  • Important Dates
    • Start Date: February 20, 2011
    • End Date: March 19, 2011
    • Post By Date: March 26, 2011

When doing your final review of each months cookbook each of us will address the topics in our blog post: Layout

  • Is the layout clear?
  • Are you able to easily tell the ingredients apart for the instructions and the notes?
  • Are the instructions easy to follow?
  • Are the recipes numbered or is the section labeled?

Aesthetics

  • Does the cookbook feature photos?
  • If yes, is there a photo for every recipe?
  • Do the photos of the recipes look like the actual results?
  • What kind of paper is the book printed on?
  • How is the quality of the photos?

Recipes

  • How many recipes are in the cookbook?
  • What kinds of recipes will you find in this cookbook?
  • Is there a theme to the recipes?
  • Are the recipes complex or simple? would they be good for seasoned cooks and/or beginners?

Ingredients and supplies

  • Are the recipe ingredients easy to find?
  • Are there any items that stand out as being expensive or specialty?
  • Are there particular appliances that will be required such as blenders, juicers, dehydrators, ect?
  • Information
  • Does this cookbook provide additional useful information?
  • What additional information beyond recipes does this cookbook include? Is it easy to follow?

Other important Information

  • You need to make the recipes! Yes, to get an accurate representation of the cookbook you need to try out at least 3-5 recipes. Additionally when you right your review you should make sure to include your experience while cooking the recipe:
  • How did the recipe turn out? How did it taste?
  • Was the recipe easy to follow?
  • Be honest when discussing the recipes you tried- if you didn’t like it then explain why.

Okay now that you know what this is all about are you interested in participating? If you answered yes then please email me your name, twitter handle (optional) and blog URL to lindsay@cookingforaveganlover.com by February 20, 2011 put “Cookbook Club” in the subject line. If you did not participate last month and/or did not send your list of your top 5 vegetarian/vegan cookbook choices please send these as well.  Also remember you are not required participate every month pick the books that interest you!

This months participants:

Twitter hash tag: #vegancookbookclub

Go Nuts Dough Nuts!

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The first time I ever went to Babycakes NYC I was disappointed by the cupcakes, finding them dry and just not as exciting as I had hoped they would be.  Since then I haven’t had much of an interest in visiting Babycakes until I heard about their donuts.  Since  you don’t come across vegan donuts everyday the Hubz and I decided since we were already in the neighbourhood that we would stop in and try a few.

After much debate and a little help from the girl behind the counter we decided on the french toast and the salted caramel along with one their heart shaped chocolate covered coconut mound.  Immediately after we walked out the door we decided to dive right in and started with the french toast donut.  The donut was out of this world! It tasted just like french toast! It was warm and mapley and caramely and oh so good.  Next we tried the salted caramel which was also super sticky and delicious.  We both agreed though that the french toast was the better of the two.

We held out on the chocolate coconut mound until the next day after a three hour trip to Ikea.  It was the perfect treat after a crazy shopping trip.  It honestly tasted just like a Mounds Bar but better. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo, oh well.

All in all Babycakes redeemed themselves and we will be back!

Product Review: Enjoy Life Foods Soft Baked Cookies

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Enjoy Life Foods contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in doing a product review for them.  I have always enjoyed the various products of theirs that I have tired so I said yes and a few days later I received 3 boxes of their Soft Baked Cookies which are described as “Soft, chewy and totally yummy, it’s hard to believe our cookies are gluten-free and allergy-friendly. Made with natural ingredients, unrefined sweeteners, no trans fats and nothing artificial, they’re a real hit among kids big and small.”

The first of the cookies that the Hubz and I tried were the Snickerdoodle; an all time favorite cookie of the Hubz.  Well my first impression was that the cookie looked good and had a great cinnamon flavor but it was just too sugary for me.  I honestly have not gone back for one of these after my initial trial of them. These were my least favorite of all of them and I would say the Hubz least favorite too.

The Double Chocolate Brownie were a huge improvement over the Snickerdoodles.  They actually tasted just like chocolate chip brownies and were soft and yummy.  I loved the addition of the chocolate chips it was great.

The Lively Lemon were my favorite and reminded me of my Girl Scout days.  They tasted just like those lemon sandwich cookies that I used to hate as a child but grew to love as I got older.  I have to say these ones are yummy for adults but I would say just like the lemon sandwiches would probably not be as popular among the kiddlets.

Overall I really liked these cookies and I appreciate they are lower in sugar, fat and calories per serving than most vegan cookies.  They are also nut and gluten free so they are perfect for people with allergies to these items. So two out of three were tasty but of course there a bunch of other flavors that such as the gingerbread and “no oats” oatmeal that I’d like to try out.

Disclaimer: Enjoy Life Foods provided me with a free sample of their soft baked cookies for a product to review. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose; nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.

Teany Brunch

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On Saturday morning after a rocky start at the hotel we finally got to the train in Stamford and headed into the city for the day. We debated over just getting bagels for breakfast but then decided that we wanted to find a nice place to sit down and enjoy the morning together. We headed to the Lower East Side and decided to give Teany a try since they have a weekend brunch. We arrived and headed into the restaurant which was surprisingly “teany” but luckily there was only one other group there so it wasn’t so crowded. We took a look over the brunch menu and I was disappointed that the vegan options were really limited; I guess I assumed that since Moby is vegan and one of the owners that there would be a number of vegan options- but there weren’t compared to the vegetarian. I also was surprised that there was no real kitchen but rather just a small counter and a microwave and toaster.
Although apprehensive we decided to just enjoy ourselves and the nice window seat that we had acquired. We started with morning cocktails, hey it’s brunch! as well as a small pot of tea each (both included in the brunch). For our meals I ordered the Vegan BLT and Neil got the Tofu Scramble and “steak” both with greens.
Overall I thought that the meal was meh, just okay. I mean it was Fakin’ Bacon on really good bread with tomato and vegan mayo and Neil’s was warm tofu with heated up packaged seitan steak. I thought that although a nice spot I couldn’t imagine trying to go there when it was busy, you would basically be sitting on top of other people. As for the cost you are basically paying for nice tea and a drink with the brunch, the meal was pretty lame but at least it tasted fine. Needless to say we won’t return except for maybe a quick tea to go.

I’ve Died and Gone to Sushi Heaven

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The Hubz and I started our weekend with a trip to Miya’s Sushi in New Haven CT. I just happened to find out on Friday morning that my friend Lisa is 105 Academy right now with Bun the owner of Miya’s. Well she must have put in a good word because when we arrived at the restaurant later that evening for dinner they rolled out the red carpet.  We were spoiled rotten with amazing food and drinks all night.  I honestly can’t tell you everything we ate because there was so much that I forget.  However I did photograph it all so you can see all the beautiful amazing food we ate.  One of the items that was our favorite that you can see in the first row of photos is the vegan Toyko Fro- it’s these yummy fried potatoes with a creamy sauce on top – it was to die for.  Also yummy was the pumpkin miso soup; I had never experienced anything like it and if I was able to I’d eat it everyday.

As for the sushi, we were treated to a number of small samples of different rolls and they were all absolutely amazing and unfortunately I can’t remember all the names.  I do however know that I was in love with all of the ones with roasted garlic it was a yummy surprise in every bite. You really can’t go wrong ordering any of the vegan sushi at Miya’s because it is all delicious and super inventive.  Now that I know Bun is at raw school at 105 Degrees I will be curious to see if he adds any raw vegan dishes/sushi to his menu.

If you haven’t already figured it out Miya’s is the best sushi I have ever had and I would gladly move to New Haven just to eat there everyday. I encourage anyone visiting, passing through or if you just live within a 5 hour radius to jump in their car and go there now and get yourself some amazing sushi.

Happy Valentines Day!

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I want to thank everyone who participated in the 1st Annual Vegan Valentine Contest; thank you for the time and effort you put into creating wonderful recipes.  I also want to to thank everyone who visited the blog and voted for their favorite recipes, thank you.  Now onto the winners of each category:

Appetizer

Kaycee’s Jalapeno Poppers– WINNER!!!

With no other entries Kaycee has won the appetizer category! Congrats!

Entree

The Perfect Pizza – Shane’s Red Hot, Heart-Shaped Pizza

Noelle’s Spicy Tomato Alfredo Pasta

This was a very close race but with 55% of the votes Noelle’s pasta won- Congratulations!

Dessert

Nicole’s Chili Cheesecake in the raw

Nicole’s Chili Cheesecake in the raw is the winner with 62% of the votes

Recipe that Most Embraced the themes

This category is based on the recipe that most embraced the themes of fiery, Valentine’s Day and of course vegan.  I felt that there were a few recipes that really stood out to me that had the potential to be the recipe that most embraced the themes but there was one that stood out the most to me.  I also asked you to help me out and tell me your favorite overall recipe that embraced the themes and we came to the same conclusion. And the Winner is:

Nicole’s Chili Cheesecake in the raw

New Category- Husband’s Choice

The Hubz fought hard for this to win the overall since the recipe was not only runner up for best dessert but also for best overall (and because it is his favorite) I decided to let him have a Husband’s Choice Category which will be included in future contest because without him this blog wouldn’t be the same. So Congrats!

Kaycee’s Fiery Chili Chocolate Red Velvet Cake Pops