WOW Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes you find a recipe winner in the least likeliest of places.

Like here, for example: I was running low on sugar and happened to be in Ocean State Job Lot, a local discount store here in Rhode Island, that has one of the most extensive selections of Bob's Red Mill Products I think I've ever seen.  I grabbed a small bag of evaporated cane juice to get me through until my next trip to the big grocery store. On the back of the package was this cookie recipe that really caught my eye:

See? And it was already vegan. I even cut it off the back, and stuck it to the fridge so I wouldn't forget! 

Fast forward several months later... We were craving something sweet and I looked over and remembered my little clipping!

For those of you that can't read the microscopic iPhone photo, a web version of the recipe can be found here, along with a very interesting article on the milling of white vs. whole wheat flour.

I thought WOW Cookies was an appropriate name because WOW, they tasted great, were made with whole grain flour and oats, and they were just the right amount of sweet.  Next time I might try using coconut oil in place of the margarine.  And, WOW as in Bob's recipe says "make 2 dozen cookies" but in reality made closer to FOUR.  We had cookies coming out of our ears... Which meant: all the more to share with my co-workers! ^_^

First time in Portland for Vida Vegan Con!

Portland, Oregon.  A city most vegans only dream about.  Where nutritional yeast is sprinkled liberally on everything, (even sushi), where seitan hot wings and vegan ranch adorn the menu of most pubs and bars, and where vegan doughnuts can be found 24-hours a day, and melt in your mouth like some magical spell.

It is here we set the stage for the second annual Vida Vegan Con, Vegan Lifestyle and Blogger conference.  A place where vegans from around the globe come to meet, greet, and devour all the fabulous vegan food the city of Portland has to offer.  Oh, and attend some pretty kick @$$ classes and seminars, too!  When the announcement was made that the 2013 conference was going to be held in May, rather than the end of August, I jumped at the change to purchase my ticket. I would be traveling alone, and I had never met a single person going to the event (not in real life, anyway), but I was so thrilled to see the conference being held at a time that wasn't my black-out time at work, that I jumped at the chance to go this year.  So, if the powers that be read this, here is one enthusiastic blogger's vote to NOT have the next conference during the last week of August!

Now, because it takes almost an entire day to fly to Portland from the East Coast, I decided to give myself an extra day on either end of the conference. I flew in to LAX on Wednesday, and got to Portland late Wednesday night.  I wanted to have the better part of Thursday free to go explore the sites of the city. I was sad to see it was pouring rain when I landed, but that did not get me down. Armed with my trusty iPhone app, PDX Bus, I went from train, to bus, to motel in about 50 minutes, where I promptly crashed after a long day of travel.

PDX Bus iPhone App

Day 1.

Thursday morning, I awoke with doughnuts on my mind.  It was still raining, so I hopped on the bus, which brought me about a block away from Voodoo Doughnuts!

Now it's been a while since I've even had a doughnut, so I was eagerly anticipating this monumentus occasion! There was a minimal line (which I hear, is RARE). The lines at Voodoo Doughnut have been known the snake right out the door, and there were ropes where customers should form a line just to prove it. 

I entered and was blown away by the atmosphere and decor, and eclectic explosion of crazy pink fun!

So, if a vegan gal is to choose only ONE of all the fabulous vegan doughnuts on the "This Level is All Vegan" display, I would go head-first, balls to the walls with this glorious item below.

Behold, The Dirty Old Bastard:

This is a raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreos, and peanut butter. (Whoa!)  I must say, I have never in my LIFE tasted any sort of vegan baked good that even compared the this. The doughnut itself was light and airy, yet rich and decadent.  It literally melted in my mouth.  And the toppings... chocolate, OREO, drizzled with peanut butter... I can't even...  It honestly took me about an hour to get through half of this monster, and I enjoyed every, over-the-top, delicious bite.

Rewind a bit:  There was no indoor seating in Voodoo Doughnuts, so I quickly paid for my treat, (cash only, please), carefully slipped my doughnut into my bag, and went out in search for a warm dry place to sit and partake of my breakfast.

A few doors down was Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which, I had never heard of, despite being an avid coffee drinker (go figure?!?)

This is my poor excuse of a panoramic shot of this cool, sleek and modern coffee shop.

I really loved the exposed brick as well as the super long service counter.  And, here is the perfect accompaniment to my Voodoo Doughnut.  A perfectly topped soy double latte:

I'm already enjoying every moment of this trip, and it's only Day 1! ^_^

When Life Gives you Zucchinis, Make Zucchini Bread

Another Summer, another beautiful garden in Uncle Bob's back yard.  And once again, the zucchinis are a-plenty...  and huge.  I have already sautéed and juiced my way through one giant zucchini, so I thought I'd try something different.

Zucchini Bread Mini Loaves
(adapted from Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau)

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbs ground flax seed

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened

1 Tbs white distilled vinegar

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 325. 
• Lightly grease 4 mini loaf pans.
• I was tempted to use my Kitchen Aid for this, but didn’t feel like hauling it out of the closet.
• So, In a large mixing bowl, vigorously whisk the flax meal and water until thick and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the apple sauce, oil, vinegar, sugar, and stir. 
• Next, add in the zucchini and vanilla.
• In a smaller bowl, combine the all purpose and wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 
• Whisk to combine. Add in the nuts and raisins.  
• Stir the dry mixture into the zucchini mixture. 
• Divide the batter evenly into the 4 mini loaf pans and bake 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These loaves were moist, and full of flavor, with just the right amount of sweet.  I did cut way back on the sugar from the original recipe.  I halved the amount of oil and replaced it with half unsweetened applesauce.  I also thought I'd try replacing some of the white flour with a bit of whole wheat pastry instead.  The results were great.  I found I had to cook my mini loaves much longer than the original time stated in Colleen's directions, so I adjusted it a bit in my directions above.

Liquid Sunshine!

Start your morning off with some Liquid Sunshine:  
Pineapple, Mango, Carrot, Apple & Ginger 

~For a moment, I thought I had left the bowels of good ol' Woonsocket, RI and was instantly beamed to a remote and breezy tropical get-away...  Well, not quite... but it was pretty close.

If you'd like to re-create this luscious experience at home, I invite you to give this juice combo a shot!

Liquid Sunshine
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 mango, peeled and cut away from the seed (tips for cutting mango here)
3 carrots
1 small apple
1" piece of ginger

I used a lot of Soft Fruits in the particular blend, which tend to get a bit foamy in our juicer's juicing screen, so I cut my carrots and apple up into 2" chunks, and alternated them between the pineapple and mango.  This worked quite well, and kept the fruit foam to a minimum.

Now, I usually try and go a bit more heavy on the vegetables for juicing.  However, the day prior, I had made a batch of fruit salsa for my buddy, Scott's birthday, and still had quite a bit of pineapple and mango leftover...  

Great stuff, recipe here

So as my sugar began to spike, I decided to read about some of the awesome health benefits of mangos.

Some nutritional highlights: 

• Prevents cancer: the antioxidant compounds found in mangos have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers
• Lowers cholesterol:  thanks to their high fiber, pectin and vitamin C
• Clears the skin: As their color suggests, mangos contain beta-carotene, which is converted by the body into vitamin A.  Pair that with vitamin C, and you have some serious skin repair power.
  
• Healthy for the eyes: 25% daily needed value of vitamin A
• Alkalizes the whole body: Tartaric acid, malice acid and trace citric acid
• Improves digestion: Enzymes
• Boosts the immune system: vitamins A and C in mangos keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Sounds pretty good to me!  And they taste like paradise, so how can you possibly go wrong? ^_^