Simply Suzanne Granola

Yesterday, we were at Whole Foods stocking up on snacks for our upcoming trip to India on Tuesday and I saw this on an end cap: Simply Suzanne's Lotsa Chocolate Granola. It is vegan, nut-free, and really tasty! It's also made in my home state of Michigan. The ingredient list is simple and includes things like cinnamon and black pepper in addition to the chocolate, brown sugar, and maple syrup for a great balance of sweet and savory. They have a few other flavors listed on their website that I will be interested to try, but this chocolate is pretty darn good!

(For some reason, the Lotsa Chocolate flavor is not listed as vegan on their website, though it appears to be totally vegan based on the ingredient list.)

Caveman Foods Water Kefir

We are currently at ExpoWest, which is turning out to be the most magical place in the world both for discovering awesome vegan products and also for business expansion possibilities (which is the real reason why I'm here... no really!). We've had a lot of awesome people visit our booth including today's visit from George of Caveman Foods. George is a vegan dude from Philadelphia who now makes and distributes a kombucha-like fermented water kefir drink in five flavors. He brought over one of each and I decided to start with the original flavor (rose!). I haven't tried the others yet, but with flavors like tarragon, vanilla, and black pepper, they sound pretty promising. One of my favorite things about their brand is that all of their products are flavored naturally with things like real vanilla beans and not with "natural flavors." These taste very strongly fermented (stronger than most kombuchas) and are very refreshing and have a number of health benefits. Check out their website (which is very informative)!

Isabella's V-Chip Cookies

I am currently in Southern California for Natural Products ExpoWest and stopped by Santa Monica's Co-Opportunity Natural Foods store today for a snack. I was in the mood for something sweet and didn't see anything nut-free in the cooler case with all of the raw vegan desserts where my co-travelers were looking, so I asked an employee if they could recommend any local vegan baked goods. She had a few tasty-looking suggestions, but none looked as exciting as these chocolate chip cookies from Isabella's Cookie Company. I shared these with my travel companions and they were winners all around. These tasty vegan chocolate chip cookies are sweetened without refined sugar. They reminded us of the Soft Batch cookies of years past (remember when those were vegan?!).  A must-try if you find them in your area!! They also have an option to order online if you are so inclined. They are definitely worth the effort!

(Very exciting - I now have a laptop and can make these updates on the road instead of storing up pictures until I get back home!)

Olive & Sinclair Double Chocolate Nibs Bar

The other night in Chicago was BEAUTIFUL. Dan and I were at the MCA where we got some hotly-contested seats for the presentations from some of the top five architectural team finalists in the running to redesign Navy Pier. After the Q&A, we decided to go for a walk (it was too nice to go straight home) and ended up over at Fox & Obel where were enjoyed an olive ciabatta, some mediocre hummus, and this delicious Olive & Sinclair Double Chocolate Nibs bar.

Neither of us had ever tried this particular brand of chocolate, but between the packaging, the nibs, and "brown sugar" in the ingredients list, I was sold! Dan was less sure, but the more he ate, the surer he became. This 67% dark bar had a great sweetness (maybe the brown sugar?) that I'm not used to in dark bars that also contain cocoa nibs. Overall, I give it two thumbs up. Check out their (well-designed!) website for more information (and free shipping on orders over $50). Just in time for Valentine's Day?

2011 - A Travel Recap

I've wanted to compile this list for a while and here it is! A list of everywhere (outside of the Chicago metro area) that we (Dan and I) visited (and ate) in 2011! Most of these were for seitan-related work, but a few also included yoga-teaching work.

January
Minneapolis/St Paul (driving from Chicago, so we stopped at a number of co-ops along the way there and back including a stop in Madison, WI)

February
Peoria, IL

March
Tokyo
Detroit, MI (Veg MI Fest)

April
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA (drove up from LA... amazing!)

May
Oregon, IL (Yoga and Vegan Cooking Retreat)

June
Portland, OR
Madison, WI (Mad City Veg Fest)

July
Madison, WI (Willy Street Co-op Member Party)
Lake Geneva, WI (Yoga Journal Conference to practice with my teacher, Dharma)
Portland, OR (Vegan Iron Chef)

August
Portland, OR (Vida Vegan Con)
Seattle, WA

September
Portland, OR (VegFest)

October
Dallas, TX (TX State Veggie Fair)
Austin, TX

2012 is already promising to be equally exciting. In the first 6 months we are slated to visit Los Angeles, India, Dallas, Detroit, New Orleans, and Portland! I hope to find many more Vegan Things I Like on these upcoming adventures!

Kabul House

Recently, I had the pleasure of my first Afghani meal at Kabul House in Skokie, IL (do not judge them solely on the many gross meat photos on their main page). Kabul House is a restaurant that was open in Skokie for a number of years, closed down, and has reopened sort of recently. They have a small menu that includes a delicious Vegetarian Platter. The platter comes with soup (tomato lentil or noodle vegetable, both of which can be served vegan with no yogurt on top) and contains four different dishes which are served with rice. The rice is long-grain and includes shredded carrots and raisins. The dishes are a sort-of curry, though they are differently seasoned than Indian-style cooking, and also a bit lighter overall. They included cauliflower, pumpkin, eggplant, and spinach. I loved all of these dishes, and when combined with the rice, they were even better. My favorite was the cauliflower with the eggplant coming in a close second. The spinach and the pumpkin, which was much sweeter than expected, were also good. If you ever have occasion to head to Skokie, I recommend stopping into Kabul House and ordering up some of this vegan good stuff. Just remember to order everything with no yogurt and none of the chutney-type sauce they bring to the table (it has a small amount of yogurt as well - but the bread is okay) and you'll be good to go!

My Sweet Vegan

The night before New Year's Eve we had an awesome vegan dessert party at our house. While I am not the cook in our house, I do really enjoy baking and the party gave me an excuse to whip out my still unused copy of My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky that I acquired at Vida Vegan Con where Hannah was a presenter.

I made two different things from this book: A crumb-topped brownie and a lemon/lime bundt. I had actually planned to make more, but two days before the party, my cat bit me on the hand leading to a serious infection and two days visiting the emergency room for treatment and IV antibiotics. So, two things it was since I was baking one-handed. Fortunately, our friends brought lots of their own contributions and the dessert table overflowed! The brownies filled with chocolate chips and topped with a cocoa crumble were super delicious. The brownie texture was right on and not too cakey or light. I really recommend these! The bundt was also a winner and for at least a few guests, the unsuspecting star of the table! The recipe called for lemon and lime soy yogurt to be included, but TJ's only had strawberry, so the bundt was flavored with strawberry soy yogurt and lemon/lime juice and zest. It was DELICIOUS and came out of the pan perfectly. A great addition.

So far, my experience with the recipes in My Sweet Vegan have been great. I love the full color photos that help to decide what you want to try and the recipes laid out on one spread, so you don't have to fuss around with the book while trying to make anything. Also, I recommend inviting all of your friends over for a fun vegan dessert party! We had a blast!