new year, new blog

Happy new year and new decade, everybody! 2009 was a year of great change, and surprise in my life, and so I know that 2010 will be very different. Those differences will also be reflected in this blog- look for a new address, a new design, and new directions for Where's the Revolution? in the next few weeks. I hope that you'll join me for a new journey!

and now, my new year's resolutions, 10 for 2010:

• learn to make sprouted grain bread like Ezekiel
• make injera
• read 200 books (inspired by Elizabeth)
  
• keep a journal (including dream journal)
• visit 10 cities I've never visited
• get a job, pay off credit card debt
• be better than I've been lately about drinking water and taking my vitamins
  
• write, create writing portfolio, send out articles for publication
• keep in touch better with friends- letters, emails, cards, care packages, phone calls
  
• revamp this blog!
  

new year, new blog

baby, it's cold outside

... and I hate it!

In the midst of the snow and cold and damp and grey and dark, I'd rather deal by having a flashback. Let's flash back to July and some blueberry picking, shall we?

can you just feel the warm sunshine?

can you just smell the green freshness all around?

can you see all those bursts of blue juiciness?

can you see those flies Japanese beetles doing naughty fly Japanese beetle things?

can you see Daiku picking away?

can you taste the fresh, fruity, plump and tangy blueberries?

can you feel your fingertips beginning to thaw just a bit?

baby, it's cold outside

the winners!

That's right, winnerS. I've decided to pick 2 people to send the Swell zine to! (Here's the original post describing the zine) Lucky numbers 15 and 37, Amey and Hase! Send me your mailing addresses at wherestherevolution@gmail.com and I'll put Swell in the mail for you!

Thanks for playing everyone, and keep watching for more giveaways!

the winners!

swell giveaway!

When A-K, of the swell vegan blog, put out a zine, I just knew I had to have a copy. I mean, you've seen her blog, right? She makes the most beautiful and healthy recipes. I've had the Swell zine for a few months now, and have loved all the recipes I've tried from it. I share a love of spicy foods with A-K, and so have loved the chipotle black bean tahini dip, the spicy tahini stew, and the lentil bolognese. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can never go wrong with chipotle chilis, tahini, or lentils, so I might be biased! This little zine is packed with 15 inventive recipes, including some interesting, not-too-sweet desserts- you have to try Great Aunt Betty's Oatmeal Bundt Cake!

I've decided to give one of these zines away, so if you'd like a chance to win one, just leave a comment in this post. I will announce a winner Wednesday morning, 9 December 2009. Spread the word... and good luck!

swell giveaway!

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 5: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Whew- we have come to the final chapter of our 5 cookbook reviews in 5 days. I'm ending the series with a little book called Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Remember a little book about vegan cupcakes that came out a few years ago? And now we can't imagine a world without cupcakes? Well, it's time for cookies to get the same treatment. From the simple and old-fashioned, to the innovative, this book has tons and tons of recipes. There's even a section for wholesome cookies! I mean, come ON.

These have been all the talk with the kids these days- Mexican chocolate snickerdoodles. You think they'll be good. Then they turn out even better than that.


Lazy samoas. The Girl Scout recipe, simplified, veganized, and awesomerized.


Agave trailblazers- chock full of nuts and other goodies, but not too sweet.


And finally, these Irish Creme Kisses, delicious cookies that get a kick from just a hint of Irish whiskey. When I lived in the U.K., I may or may not have developed a thing for Irish whiskey...



And it may or may not have gotten a little out of hand...

Anyway... you can go here to get some sample recipes from the book- including the Mexican Snickerdoodles!

And, check out the other 4 cookbook reviews from this past week:
11/16 - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
11/17 - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
11/18 - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught
11/19 - The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek

Happy cooking and baking!

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 5: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 4: 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

We are on a roll! Tonight we have the 4th installment of this week's 5 cookbook reviews. When I heard that The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek of the nom! nom! nom! blog was coming out, I knew that I would have to get my hands on it. Why? Because Kris was the author of The Damn Tasty! Vegan Baking Guide. Those of you that were lucky enough to get your hands already know how good the recipes in that book were. That book is no longer in print, but fear not! Some of its best recipes are included in the new book.

If you've spent more than 5 minutes with me, you've heard me go on and on about THE banana bread recipe. It's the best one ever. I've tried a couple of other ones, only to come back to this- it makes a perfect, moist, flavorful banana bread and you won't believe how simple the ingredients are. It's also adaptable- I switch up the flours and add in crazy ingredients all the time, and it's never failed.


Here's another amazing recipe from the book- Boston Creme Pie! I never imagined I'd be able to make this fancy treat at home, but this recipe is awesome and it'll make you see that it is quite do-able.


This week I decided to make carrot cake. Don't laugh- my cake decorating skills are not that great!


But you can see from this inside shot that this cake is too good to care about my shoddy frosting job. A delicious spicy cake with carrots, raisins, nuts, and plenty of cream cheese frosting. It's so good. I'm not ashamed to admit that Daiku and I have been having slices of this for breakfast for the last couple of days...

Some helpful features of 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes:

• very thorough ingredient and substitution guides
• a huge range of recipes from sweet to savory, simple to fancy
• a guide to let you know exactly how difficult each recipe is, in addition to tips on how to increase efficiency while baking
  

Don't miss out- this is a reference guide that you'll go back to again and again! Except for THE banana bread- you'll memorize that one pretty quickly...

Check out this week's previous cookbook reviews:

11/16 - 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman
11/17 - The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage
11/18 - Potluck Mania by Joanna Vaught

And stay tuned for my final review tomorrow:

11/20- Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 4: 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 3: Potluck Mania

Tonight's cookbook up for review is actually a zine, Potluck Mania: Issue #1 Baby, It's Cold Outside. But it's bigger than most zines, and comes with a load of recipes that have been thoroughly tested and vetted to be really good. So really what's going on is that you have the depth and quality of a full-blown cookbook, for the price of a zine. Win-win.

It comes to you courtesy of Joanna Vaught, who you may recognize from her first cookbook, Yellow Rose Recipes. Much like YRR, this zine is full of recipes that reflect Joanna's southern roots. However, these dishes all have a little twist that takes them from good to extraordinary. You will be impressed with the quality of these recipes- taste, texture, and balance, it's all here. Here are some of my favorite dishes from the zine:

corn muffins- these have the perfect texture, and a delicate topping that kicks them up a notch


ginger maple tempeh strips- perfect balance of sweet, smoky, and awesome.


coconut sweet potatoes- just when I thought my love of sweet potatoes couldn't go any farther


last, but not least, we have us a crazy little breakfast treat that some friends and I invented one day. Before I go any farther, let me just say that Joanna is NOT responsible for this monstrosity! Her recipe is for these excellent breakfast sausages. We just happened to take those innocent sausages and... cook and wrap them in pancakes and top with maple syrup and whipped cream. I'm in no way saying you are obligated to do these with these sweet breakfast sausages, just... putting it out there.

Check out Monday's cookbook review, 500 Vegan Recipes
Check out Tuesday's cookbook review, The Urban Vegan

and stay tuned for review #4, tomorrow!

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 3: Potluck Mania