Can you imagine anything more exciting than the aroma of cookies and brownies when you open up your mailbox? Well, sure, I guess there are things more exciting than that, but not mail related!

The awesome Emma from Courser [...]]]> I have a tasty deal for the Treat of the Week this week…

Can you imagine anything more exciting than the aroma of cookies and brownies when you open up your mailbox? Well, sure, I guess there are things more exciting than that, but not mail related!

The awesome Emma from Courser Farm Kitchen sent me a box of goodies to try. Courser Farm Kitchen is a awesome little business out of New Hampshire, baking up indulgent goodies that are both vegan AND gluten-free. Now, I think I have more blog readers than New Hampshire has residents, but never fear. They ship! And you lovely people get a special deal!

I was lucky enough to try a handful of treats. Here’s the rundown (clockwise from top right):

The Double Chocolate Brownie was dense, moist and fudgy (my favorite kind of brownie!). It was truly double chocolatey (not at all like the weak cocoa-flavored brownies you find sometimes) and it even had the elusive layer of brownie crust on top. Yum!

The Chocolate Chip Cookie was simple and delicious– all that you want from such a classic treat. Perfect with a cold glass of almond milk (or chocolate almond milk!).

The Molasses Cookie was soft and delicious. It reminded me of these super soft molasses cookies my dad always used to buy when I was a kid. There’s a hint of spice, making it almost like a little gingerbread cake. My first taste of fall. <3

Last, and certainly not least, the Peanut Butter Blondies. Okay, seriously, it was obvious that the famous combo was going to be my weak point, but truly, these were amazing. Moist, soft and buttery, with just the right amount of PB inside, topped with chocolate chips and peanuts. I believe in peace, but I would fight someone for the last one of these.

I tend to be critical of a lot of gluten-free goods (they’ll have a strange texture, they’ll crumble at first touch, they’ll leave that weird guar/xanthan gum aftertaste in your mouth) but there is none of that going with CFK’s goods. They are definitely at the top of my list for gluten-free goods.

So what’s the magic deal? Because you guys are rad and because Emma is rad and her baked goods are rad, she’s offering a deal for you guys– order 2 dozen treats and you’ll get an additional 1/2 dozen (of the same treat you ordered) for free! I assure you that you will chow down through them quickly (especially if you’re forced to share!) so the extra 1/2 dozen will be essential.

When I think back to when I started blogging 6 years ago, I can’t even think of where you would have found a recipe for vegan and gluten-free cookies– and you can order them from the comfort of your sweatpants. Awesomesauce.

Happy Friday!

A couple of weeks ago, Megan, the owner, contacted me to let me know they were open and to see if I’d stop by the next time we [...]]]> This week’s Treat of the Week is the sweetest of treats. It’s a little photographic trip to a lovely new bakery in Seattle named Bouteloua Bakery.

A couple of weeks ago, Megan, the owner, contacted me to let me know they were open and to see if I’d stop by the next time we were up in Seattle. Uh, yeah. You better believe it. You had me at vegan bakery.

Not only was Megan kind enough to invite me to her beautiful new space… she also had a special surprise waiting for me.

The original nom! cats, from days of yore…

This is, without a doubt, the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me. How rad are these cookies?!

So freaking cool!

The noms didn’t stop there, because it was time to load up.

Lemon rolls, sticky buns, rhubarb cake and chocolate chip cookies

OMG, everything was excellent, but the lemon rolls ruled my world. I adore citrus and this was better than I could have imagined.

The best gluten-free cupcake I’ve ever had. Amazingly fluffy and moist!

Megan, the baking goddess herself!

If you’re in or near Seattle, do yourself and favor and make sure you stop by Bouteloua! Being in the PacNW, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy lots of vegan bakeries and Megan’s place is brand new and already at the top of my list. Seriously, Seattle’s got a vegan virtuoso in its midst, so eat up! Thanks for the invite, Megan, and super thanks for the fabulous nom cookies!

Raw chocolate.

Rich, creamy, coconut sweetened raw chocolate.

A few weeks ago I discovered Lulu’s Chocolate Alchemy when the lovely Luna brought some bars to our yoga immersion, for our post-practice prasad. Wowza! It was the richest, smoothest chocolate I’d ever had [...]]]> I want to share something decadent with you.

Raw chocolate.

Rich, creamy, coconut sweetened raw chocolate.

A few weeks ago I discovered Lulu’s Chocolate Alchemy when the lovely Luna brought some bars to our yoga immersion, for our post-practice prasad. Wowza! It was the richest, smoothest chocolate I’d ever had and you all know what a chocolate hound I am! I was shocked to learn that it was raw and sweetened with coconut sugar.

Two weeks ago, Daily Gourmet (it’s like Groupon but for foodies and is very vegan friendly) had an offer for a pack of 6 Lulu’s chocolate bars for $12. Uh, yes please!

This particular pack includes one bar of each of their flavors like Coconut Cin Bar, a Green Maca Bar (that has spirulina in it!) and your standard raw chocolate. If you can get this at your local health food store or just want to order, this chocolate gets two noms up from me!

*For sake of the blogger police, I was not paid to write this or given any sort of incentive, only driven by my love of all things cacao.

For most people from other parts of the country, the idea of eating out of an old airstream, a renovated [...]]]> Portland is known as the land of food carts. You literally can’t pass an unused parking lot or street corner without tripping over one. You think it would get old– I think it’s heaven.

For most people from other parts of the country, the idea of eating out of an old airstream, a renovated Roach Coach or a bus sounds unappealing. That is, until you eat food made by amazing chefs with good sense– the overhead is low, they are still held to the same health code standards as standard restaurants and they are much easier to start up, and from there decide if they really want to have a restaurant. The food carts in Portland are so amazing, I literally would be content if I never stepped foot in a regular restaurant again (with the exception of my beloved BL, of course).

The food carts I’m featuring here aren’t neccesarily new to the Portland scene, quite the contrary in most cases, but they are some of my favorites and I had pictures of their food on my phone. So there.

Best “Dutch burrito”- Flavour Spot

Flavour Spot not only wins for having an awesome vegan waffle sandwich (a crisp waffle stuffed with vegan sausage and schmeared with maple cream), they get extra points for spelling “flavour” with a “u”. They have three locations in Portland, with their Old Town location having night time hours. Excellent.

Best tofu from a truck– Los Gorditos

Los Gorditos, the famed Portland Mexican food truck (and now a brick and mortar restaurant as well), with an exhaustive vegan menu, has the best Mexican food I’ve ever had. My favorite item is the Tofu Bowl, which is actually a large plate (go figure), full of seasoned tofu chunks, creamy refried beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, soy sour cream and avocado. It’s served with piping hot corn tortillas to use to scoop up the magic mix. They also do things with soy curls that make your eyes roll in the back of your head with pleasure.

Most mouth-gasm inducing meal– Wolf & Bear’s

If you think you like falafel, you don’t know anything until you’ve had Wolf & Bear’s. This cart is run by two folks of Israeli descent. I’ve never been to the Middle East, but I have heard from many a credible source that this falafel is the best they’ve ever had in the US. Everything about it is mind-blowing– from the flavorful falafel patty (which is flat rather than in round balls, making it much easier to eat and allowing for falafel-maximizing bites), the fresh pita, the hummus, the tahini, the caramelized onions and grilled pepper and eggplant to the little mix of olives and Israeli pickles (cured in salt brine, not vinegar) on the side. When eating at Wolf & Bear’s, I can’t even speak, I am so intoxicated with my food. Sadly, the cart owners close down for the soggy winter months, alas, there will be no falafel until next spring. Bummer, but worth the wait.

Best health-infused meal from a cheekily-named cart– Lucille’s Balls

Lucille’s is a newer cart in Portland, in the Good Food Here pod (a pod is a congregation of carts, like an outdoor food court but much more delicious). While the vegan options are limited, they are awesome. This is food cart food you can feel good about eating. The idea is this: pick your balls, pick your sauce, with your base and chow down. I like the sweet potato/spinach balls with coconut curry sauce over polenta. SO GOOD. It’s also served up with a little side salad, which has a tasty vinaigrette with a little kick to it. Also in the Good Food Here pod is Kitchen Dances, which is run by Piper, formerly of Proper Eats. They also have great food (including raw options!), but alas I have no pictures.

What are other people’s favorite food carts? I realize I didn’t add Whiffies or Potato Champion, which are good and enormously popular, but I’m just not much of a fried food person.

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And now, for this week’s MoFo winner– the post I picked from was my post on healthy baking and winner was lucky commentor #5, Lizzie! Lizzie, in honor of my fun interview with the fabulous Celine, you win a copy of 500 Vegan Recipes!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

So, restaurant posts seem like a bit of a cop-out. Which they are. But, if [...]]]> Wow, so the first week of Vegan MoFo is rolling to a close. So far, so good! There has been lots of amazing food to look at and I’m discovering so many new-to-me blogs! That’s what it’s all about, right?

So, restaurant posts seem like a bit of a cop-out. Which they are. But, if you want someone’s opinion on a restaurant, it’s really nice to read blog reviews, right? Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures, as my camera on my phone is less-than-spectacular.

First stop is Dick’s Kitchen, in SE Portland. This is a newer restaurant that has cropped up in the space next to Laughing Planet, a space that is owned and operated by Laughing Planet, but has cycled through four different eating establishments in the past 4 years. It’s got a mod-retro diner feel and specializes in burgers. I’m usually pretty “meh” about that sort of thing, but a friend mentioned that they serve vegan milkshakes. Veggie burgers, fries AND vegan milkshakes? Okay, I had to go.

the aforementioned crappy cell phone pic.

I had a tempeh burger with BBQ sauce, some fries and a chocolate milkshake, which was made with Coconut Bliss, an extra special treat. I wasn’t entirely won over, but I will go back and try something else on their menu. My particular meal was good, but not overwhelmingly so, although I love the fact that they make everything from scratch. Any by everything, I mean everything. Ketchup, pickles, BBQ sauce, etc. Very cool.

Although this makes me come back to a point that I’ve often wondered: is it possible to get a vegan milkshake that’s actually thick? Like straining-to-suck-through-the-straw thick? They are always so runny and smoothie-like. Sip does a pretty good job, but when I see vegan milkshakes on the menu, I am often let down.

Moving on to other noms: Back to Eden. If you’re a Portlander, BtE is now a Portland staple, fa ormer wholesale bakery turned NE Portland bakeshop/cafe. We stopped in for a bite on Halloween night and ended up with these beauties.

A gluten-free chocolate cupcake with orange cream frosting. One of the things I love about their buttercream (a thing I am notoriously picky about) is that it’s just right. Not crunchy with an overkill of sugary sweetness, but not bland, leaving an oil slick in your mouth (I’m talking to you, Saint Cupcake). Smooth and sweet, the way buttercream should be.

A butterscotch pudding tart. Don’t you love the little chocolate spider’s web? This was phenomenal and had Jim and I fork sparring for the last bite. Yum.

And now, for the Vegan MoFo week 1 giveaway winner! Each week I’m picking a random post and giving away a random prize to a random commentor. This week I happened to pick the post that has the prize in it: the garlic post! The winner is, none other than our lovely, preggers Leigh! Leigh, you pick whether you want the rubber peeler or the Zoom and it’s yours, baby mama.

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you here next week for more MoFo!

For years, I primarily used jarred garlic. And you know what? I still have [...]]]> I have a dirty little secret. One of those things that foodie people mock loudly and then all their groupies join in, laughing, while some of us awkwardly chuckle as our eyes dart around, nervously, to see if we’ve been found.

For years, I primarily used jarred garlic. And you know what? I still have a jar in my fridge.

Sure, fresh garlic is cheap and tastes better. But getting those pesky skins off each clove was making me nuts! Then my fingers would stink for days, no matter how many times I ran cold water over my fingers while rubbing them over the back of a spoon or using lemon juice. Real garlic only got pulled out for company and jarred was good enough for us.

And then, last year, this little friend arrived in my stocking:

Sure, I’d seen these at the store before, but always thought, “Seriously? What a gimmick!” I mean, come on, a rubber tube? What good would that going to do? I thought it was sweet that Jim tried to get me a new gadget, even thought it wasn’t going to work. Right?

Oh boy, little rubber tube + fresh garlic = WIN! All it takes is a couple of seconds of rocking and rolling on the counter and the skins just shed off. Perfecto!

But now, to mince. Again, I don’t want stinky hands. Enter:

The GarlicZoom. It looks stupid, but works really, really well. Between the tube and the Zoom, I have freshly minced garlic in under 1 minute, no joke.

Now, you may have noticed that I said that I still have a jar of garlic. Sometimes I’m out of fresh or I’m really just that lazy. But I have to give it to these little, vampire-repellent tools of the trade. They rock.

*I just want to note that I was not paid or asked by either company to promote these products. I just has a luv.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. That good thing right [...]]]> *The winners are: Abby, Tracy, Hope, Aimee and Amanda! I discovered I had 5 coupons, all good for 1 free Nasoya item so yay for you guys! Email me your addresses and I’ll pop them in the mail!*

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. That good thing right now is cake.

Oy.

With cooler weather on its way and the desire eat heartier foods pulling at me, I’m also feeling the need to take a step back and freshen up my palette. My recipe for recalibration = fruits and veggies, and lots of ‘em!

Breakfasts have consisted of monster green smoothies which easily stick to my ribs and tide me over until lunch with a little scoop of hemp seeds. Lunch varies between salads, soups, stews and veggie chili. Dinner, we’ve been keeping light with yummies such as this:

Mexican spiced beans with sauteed bell pepper and onion and a healthy blob of guac in a crisp leaf of lettuce. Oh, guacamole-topped-anything, how I love thee.

When I don’t feel like cooking, one of my favorite places to eat (besides Blossoming Lotus, for whom my heart burns bright), I journey across the river to Prasad, which shares the Yoga in the Pearl space which BL once held. “Prasad” is a Sanskrit word meaning “holy food” and this place pretty much nails it on the head. They have that whole natural-meets-gourmet thing well worked out and some of my favorite dishes to turn to are of the raw pasta variety. If you’ve never had raw pasta before, behold:

Above is my favorite, the Love Pasta. Zucchini noodles, adorned with hemp pesto, some greens, tomatoes, carrots and a cashew cream sauce that is mouthwateringly fabulous. They even cap it off with a darling carrot heart. Aw…

Above is the Sea Ceasar Pasta, zucchini noodles coated in a seaweed spiked Ceasar dressing, with some cucumbers, raw kale and carrots tie it all together. Creamy and delicious, Prasad knows their raw pastas. Sorry that the pictures don’t do more justice to the food, as they were from my phone.

I HAVE to get one of those spiral cutters for zucchini, it’s just amazing the kind of noodles it makes! I am experiencing some serious raw food envy, between the amazing food that I get here and my raw foodie co-worker, who is always telling me about her latest adventures with her dehydrator. Ah, vegan eating… And people think we’re deprived…

What kinds of things do you like to eat when you’re trying to clean up your act? Or if you’re just a raw/whole foods lover (as I suspect most of you are), what are your favorite treats or meals? The fine folks at Nasoya have gifted me with some coupons for 1 free item and they have some yummy products to tickle your tastebuds. On Friday I’ll randomly pick 3 lucky people to get these coupons (US only again, sorry), so leave a note with your healthy eating suggestions!

Chocolate almond milk has always been staple in our house. It’s just SO good! When stocking up last week, I noticed something new– chocolate hazelnut milk! Pacific has also started carrying their own hemp milk, so we decided to have a nut milk showdown. The judges were: myself and my little brother Alec.

I adore Portland. I love it so much that even thought Seattle has superior Asian cuisine and Mighty O Donuts, I am still always happy to see the Portland skyline when we arrive back in town, home of my beloved Blossoming Lotus, Proper Eats, Black Sheep and many, many [...]]]> I’m in love.

I adore Portland. I love it so much that even thought Seattle has superior Asian cuisine and Mighty O Donuts, I am still always happy to see the Portland skyline when we arrive back in town, home of my beloved Blossoming Lotus, Proper Eats, Black Sheep and many, many others.

Enter Thrive, a newish (1 year old, maybe?) vegan restaurant in Seattle, conveniently located in our family’s neighborhood. It’s primarily a raw restaurant, with it’s only cooked food being some grains included in some recipes. The decor is warm and inviting. You can purchase some of the ingredients in bulk while you’re there. The service is incredible, so friendly and warm you’d think the workers were on something.

And they are! They are on their incredible, crave-inducing food that almost created an embarrassing When Harry Met Sally scene, as I had to keep shushing Jim as he exclaimed and made yummy noises with concerning gusto. It’s that simple kind of food, healthy and whole foods based, that explodes in your mouth upon contact. Lots of places can make food healthy, but to make a nutritious meal borderline (food)pornographic takes talent and they’ve got it at Thrive.

The pictures aren’t so hot, as I was more concerned with stuffing my face than photographing the food, but you’ll get the drift.

Boutenko’s Best smoothie– not quite as green as it normally is (I’ve had it twice now) as they were out of kale, but SO delicious and refreshing. Made, of course, in a Vita-Mix. Vita-Mix represent!

This is the Awaken Bowl, a base of Bhutanese red rice and quinoa with raw zucchini, carrots, scallions, veggies, marinated spinach, avocado and nori with a side of sesame-ginger sauce. This meal is so amazingly satisfying and complex, it blows my mind.

Okay, I know this picture is terrible, but we got dessert to-go and it was taken under the dome light of a 24-year-old car. So all things considered, it’s a great photo.

This dessert… there are no words. Jim likes really traditional desserts, a piece of cake or a cookie. He’s not much a “fancy” dessert person. This is a slice of chocolate strawberry swirl mousse pie. All raw. MIND-BLOWING. I don’t normally like to share desserts, but the slice was generous and very rich, so I was happy to split it with Jim, who was eagerly spoon-fed as he tried to keep it cool while consuming said mousse pie while driving and keep us on the road. This was literally one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Period.

So while Portland is where my heart is, Thrive has lodged itself firmly in there and I’m gladly making space.

And in other news… I’m going to be on TV next week! A local morning show, AM Northwest on KATU news, will be featuring little ol’ me on a morning segment next Tuesday on vegan baking as a New Year’s resolution to a healthier and friendlier lifestyle. I will post the link to the show once it’s up. Horray for vegan baking!