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, 2: The Urban Vegan

Welcome to the 2nd installment of this week's 5-part cookbook review series! As I mentioned last night, I will be reviewing a new vegan cookbook (and 1 zine!) every day of this week. Tonight, I have The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine, by Dynise Balcavage of the Urban Vegan blog.

True story: Urban Vegan was the 2nd vegan blog I discovered, way back in the summer of 2006, and it was one of my main inspirations to start this blog. As anyone who reads her work knew, it wasn't if, but when Dynise would come out with a cookbook. I love the way she distills the essence of urbanity into her recipes- diverse, edgy, cosmopolitan, unexpected, but ultimately, homey. If like me, you are an urban person at heart (whether or not you live in a metropolis like Philadelphia), you have to pick up this book. What I love is how the recipes are inspired by Dynise's travels to all corners of the world, but somehow fit together very nicely. Check out some of my favorite recipes:


alternative granola - Peruvian influence, a use I'd never imagined for quinoa!


spätzle- you don't need any special tools for this Central European comfort food


chickpea paprikash- daiku's favorite recipe from the book- the paprika taste is so deep and rich, it'll blow your mind


Havana beans and rice- a little taste of Cuba, right in your kitchen


punka pie- I never even liked pumpkin pie before this!


blue mosque ayran- a refreshing and minty drink from the Middle East, perfect for hot summer days

crème brûlée - yes, you heard me!


tiramisu- oh man, possibly my favorite recipe from this book. boozy and decadent and coffee-y- wow!


portobello burger- so simple, yet so good


Here's the tiramisu that Luciana and I made for our recent Halloween party. We called it "fetalmisu"- get it? Ok, even if fetus humor isn't your thing, you have got to get your hands on this book!

Stay tuned for installments 3, 4, and 5. In the meantime, check out my first cookbook review from last night, 500 Vegan Recipes.

5 cookbooks in 5 days, 2: The Urban Vegan

what was I eating this time last year...?

Just a flashback post from the archives tonight... If you remember, Daiku and I were living in England last Fall, and by the end of October, we'd established a pretty good food routine and were trying to eat like the locals.

Breakfast might be some delicious scones with margarine and jam.

Dinner might be sampling a vegan entrée from Sainsburys supermarket, such as the steak above, with some mashed potatoes with greens, and some local Kent apples on the side.

I even started making proper puddings! The one above was made with some stewed and spiced sour cherries, topped with Bird's custard (made with soya milk), and some crumbled ginger biscuits on top. I was proud of myself!

And tea. Lots of tea. Always tea. Long live tea.

what was I eating this time last year...?

cappuccino cuppers win at life

If you've ever made cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, you know that they are all good. But most of you probably have a favorite from there. Or at least a top-3 list. Or... top-5? Well, the cappuccino cupcakes are definitely on my top-3 list from that book. If you like coffee you have to make these RIGHT NOW. They have an almost shocking pop of flavor, and such a moist and lovely texture. The recipe comes with an espresso filling that is really good, but these cuppers have so much flavor that you really don't even need a filling.

They're good with just s sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.

Or, you can go fancy-pants and make a little cream cheese icing...

... maybe a few cacao nibs on top?

NOM!

cappuccino cuppers win at life

vegan cakelove

sometimes love can best be expressed in the form of... vegan cake! like when my cousin brought me this vegan cupcake- she found a store in the mall (in Northern Virginia) that sells vegan cupcakes and thought of me! awwww.

I also know how to return cakelove. My aunt's boss is very interested in healthy living and vegan eating, and the people at the office sometimes poke fun at him for that. Well, I decided to show them- I made him this Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting (from Vegan with a Vengeance). He loved it- and grudgingly shared it with the rest of the office. Somehow, they don't make SO much fun of vegan food any more... make this cake! share vegan cakelove!

vegan cakelove

trying to decide what candy to give out on Halloween?

how about 2 oldie but goodie vegan options? Chick-O-Sticks (taste kind of like the inside of a Butterfinger Bar, but with a coconut twist) and Peanut Chews (caramel-y chocolate-y peanuts). There are also Mary Janes, old-fashioned peanut butter toffees. Or how about something newer? Did you know that Skittles are no longer made with gelatin? Yay for tasting the rainbow!

trying to decide what candy to give out on Halloween?

joe-joe cuppos

If you are lucky enough to live by a Trader Joe's, you might be familiar with this seasonal treat: peppermint candy cane Joe Joes. These are rich chocolate cookies with a creamy minty filling that is chock full of crushed candy canes. An awesome winter treat. Like some other vegans I know, I stockpile these limited-time treats every year. Then, in the summer, I can make the cupcakes you see above- chocolate mint cuppers, mint buttercream frosting, and a piece of cookie on top! I loved this spin on the cookies 'n cream cupcakes, and so did my friend for whose birthday I baked them. Mmmm.

joe-joe cuppos

ani phyo's raw desserts review and give-away!!

I was so excited to get a chance to review Ani Phyo's newest cookbook, Ani's Raw Food Desserts. This is the perfect time of the year to dive into a world of fresh, raw desserts while taking advantage of all the gorgeous produce on hand. While this book contains many simple recipes that shine the spotlight on a single ingredient such as watermelons or peaches, Ani Phyo's fans know that there is going to be much more. There are recipes for cupcakes, cheesecakes, even tiramisu. I was introduced to new ingredients (such as mesquite powder and lecithin), and also enjoyed reading Ani's tips for health, beauty, and green living throughout the book. There are even recipes using wine- Ani is a chef after my own heart!

So far, my favorite recipe that I've made from this book is the strawberry kream cheezecake (p. 57) (I subbed fresh blueberries for the strawberry sauce). Raw or not, vegan or not, this is by far my favorite cheesecake ever! Daiku and I are obsessed with it- it is creamy and tangy and has just the right texture and taste. I can't wait to try variations of it... hmmm, I went strawberry picking today...

Thanks to the generosity of the publisher, I have a copy of Ani's Raw Food Desserts to give away! If you'd like a chance to win this book, just leave a comment here. I will randomly pick one winner from all the commenters. Deadline for comments: Thursday, 9 July 2009, 11 p.m. EST. Winner announced: Friday morning. Good luck!

ani phyo's raw desserts review and give-away!!

jojo visits!

Ok, ok, I promised cute animals, so I'll start with the post that will give you all the cute critters you can handle! Back in May, Daiku and I were so happy to have a visit from Jojo. She and I met when we visited Brighton back in November, a meet-up I wrote about here. When Jojo decided to come visit New York, I decided to try and lure her up to Syracuse with milkshakes. It worked!



The first night, I decided to go for a home-cooked comfort meal of mac&cheese with cut-up hot dogs. (New Farm mac&cheese recipe). As you can see, we tried to "health up" the meal with some peas and tomatoes.



Of course, no trip to Syracuse is complete without a visit (or 2) to Strong Hearts Cafe. Above, you have Jojo's chocolate/mint cupcake- how gorgeous is that?



Milkshakes, of course.



A favorite of both of us, the Egg Trick Muffin. This little sandwich is so savory and satisfying- a nutritional yeasty tofu egg, melted Teese mozarella, and sausage, all on a toasted english muffin. Yum.



One of my new favorites from the Strong Hearts menu- on the outside it looks like a huge but innocent stack of french toast.



Only to reveal peanut butter, jelly, and bananas hidden on the inside! So good, and enough for 2 people, seriously.

We took a road trip to Farm Sanctuary. We saw lots of cute animals there! But wait, just a little more food first, ok?



We went to ABC Cafe in Ithaca, where Jojo and Daiku ordered veggie burgers, above.



I went for the tempeh arizona sandwich, grilled marinated tempeh topped with heaps of avocado and a fabulous lemon-tahini sauce.



Somehow, we managed to save room for dessert! Above, you have Jojo's brownie, full of yummy walnuts. It was dense and fudgey, and she prefers a more cake-like brownie... which means yours truly scored a bunch of leftovers! ;-)



Daiku and I shared this gigantic slice of carrot cake. It was so moist and full of carrots and raisins, and the frosting was a pleasant surprise- coconutty and sticky and mmmmm.

All in all, Jojo and I got to enjoy several days of vegan heaven- and Daiku and I miss her! Ok, if you've read this far, you deserve some animal photos as a reward! Here are some of the residents of Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. Enjoy!

jojo visits!