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Looking Back at 2013 VeganMoFo Faves

Looking Back at 2013 VeganMoFo Faves

Hi everyone! With the start of the annual Vegan Month of Food aka VeganMoFo  just over a mere week away, I wanted to take this time to reflect on some of our own favorites from 2013.

via Teeny Tiny Tantrums on Etsy (We heart Kelly! You can buy this!)
via Teeny Tiny Tantrums on Etsy (We heart Kelly! You can probably buy this!)

Reading other vegan blogs and being struck by other people’s designs, creations, skills, writing and most importantly, being awed by their vegan culinary endeavors and purchases (all the UK vegan cheese never fails to get to my heart), is such a swell way to draw inspiration for your own projects and bloggin’ shenanigans. It’s an ever-growing, ever-impressive community that’s constantly changing and doing more and more (again, especially with vegan cheese, hello Miyoko-effect <3!).

 

Let’s dig right in…

Franzbroetchen, Seitan is My Motor

One of the most mentioned by my organizer colleagues was the month of jaw-dropping classic German desserts by Mihl at Seitan is my Motor. There were so many bakery-case starring pastries and detailed recipes that you should have a go at!

Here’s a couple more to pique your fancy, trust me:

Slice of Apfelkuchen, Seitan is my Motor

Poppies!

Try out some Tschechischer, Seitan is My Motor

Now, if you’ve been paying attention to the vegan internets this past year, it should come as no surprise that the newsworthy, tortilla-stockpiling TACO CLEANSE out of Austin, TX not only tops my own list of memories from 2013, but everyone else’s at VeganMoFo-land.

Tacos, people. Tacos. Sandwiches are so dumb (IMO, at the moment).

Maria’s Tacos on Taco Cleanse Day 27, Lazy Smurf

The Lazy Smurf breaks down the Hows and Whys on her blog here.

via Lazy Smurf

Now, I’m not really one for leisurely math, but TACO CLEANSE + all their new vegan food carts (including taco carts, of course) + Capital City + Sweet Ritual pretty much cemented Austin’s status as THE VEGAN CITY TO VISIT IN THE USA…AND BEYOND. What other vegan city in the USA is this exciting right now?!

Vegan diners & bloggers from all across Austin (and again, beyond, in honor of this delicious cultural phenomenon) took part in the TACO CLEANSE, which naturally thought to include dessert:

Chocolate Taco special at Sweet Ritual, via Rabbit Food Grocery

As someone who’s liked Austin’s vegan taco scene so much they’ve pushed to help move a certain Vida Vegan Con there for 2015, wanting the TACO CLEANSE to return is an understatement. It’s a way of life, right?

Speaking of Mexican goodness, Cadry of Cadry’s Kitchen took us “Back in Thyme” all month long for an always-creative look back at cooking in her own life, often giving a revamped take on some of her all-time favorite food memories and dishes, including these Puffy Nachos:

Puffy Nachos & Spicy Black Beans, Cadry’s Kitchen

Family-style Taco Joe’s!

Jeremy’s Taco Joe’s, via Vegan Eats & Treats

I can’t quite let tacos go yet…

Another wonderful VeganMoFo spirit comes our friend and fellow organizer Amey. Last year, she took a Noshtalgiac look on her blog, Vegan Eats & Treats!, with drawings, heartfelt stories and just as many appetizing creations. The two featured here come from the tale of family-style Taco Joe’s:

via Vegan Eats & Treats

Okay, another one of my favorite personalities in the vegan community lately is Randi of Laughfrodisiac. She had the charm and zest to do a whole month of Veganizing Friends recipes, I kid you not. One of the most memorable of the month, for both Randi and her readers, was Rachel’s monstrous English Trifle:

Rachel’s English Trifle, via Laughfrodisiac

From the blog: “My main theme for VeganMoFo 2013 is to veganize some of the dishes featured on one of my all-time favorite TV shows, “Friends”. As those of you not living under rocks should know, Monica was a professional chef, so we have some interesting & fancy dishes coming up in the next few weeks. However, I had to start  not with one of Monica’s amazing creations, but with perhaps the most famous dish of the ten years of the series’ run…and perhaps the most famous TV dish of all time (yes I went there): Rachel’s English Trifle, or the Thanksgiving Cockup“.

!!

The thing is, I was just talking about Friends, of all thingswith another vegan pal last night, who I really need to point that way.  Read all about it and get the recipe here!

Moving on, because I’m currently inside a chilled coffee shop, regretting my choice of iced coffee and wishing I had a mug of coffee and these to dip in from Veg-Am:

Apple Butter-Filled Donut Holes, via Veg-Am

All right, I’ve got to bring it back to Mihl for one dessert!

Nougatringe, via Seitan is my Motor

So, keep in mind: If you’re looking for inspiration & great reads, just spend some time checking out the ‘VeganMoFo’ tags on any of these blogs!

And hey, you’ve got three little days left to officially sign up and participate in whatever form you like. See ya there!

Giveaway: Divine Vegan Desserts

Giveaway: Divine Vegan Desserts

Good morning, Australia! It’s giveaway mania this week at Vegan MoFo HQ, but I know as well as the rest of you just how disheartening the words ‘US only’ can be. You’ve earned a reward too, so today’s giveaway is just for the MoFo-ers in the land down under.

While the world of vegan cookbooks often introduces us to some new and super fun American baking traditions (seriously, how many of you had ever made a pumpkin pie before going vegan?), sometimes I want to whip up something a little more familiar and CWA-worthy. Lisa Fabry’s Divine Vegan Desserts is the best of both worlds, with recipes ranging from tiramisu to sticky date pudding. If you’re anything like me, the mere thought of a caramel-filled chocolate almond fudge shortbread recipe will send this book to the top of your ‘must have’ list.

In addition to some impressively creative recipes and beautiful photos, Divine Vegan Desserts also features profiles and recipes from some of the world’s top vegan restaurants- including some of my favourite locals. The sight of Bliss Organic on the pages sure warmed the cockles of my Adelaide-born (and subsequently Canberra-chilled) heart.

divine-vegan-desserts

Thanks to Lisa and Wakefield Press, we have two copies of Divine Vegan Desserts to give away. Just leave a comment below before the end of Vegan MoFo, letting me know your favourite childhood baked treat that you’d love to see veganised. Make sure to leave a valid email address to contact you, and I’ll end on those two sweet words… Australian only!

Monday Mix Up

Monday Mix Up

I hope everyone’s had a good start to the week! My round up has no set theme today, these are just some great things that caught my eye while browsing VeganMoFo posts.

Let’s start with a slice of breakfast pizza made by Kathy at Healthy Slow Cooking. I’d never tried breakfast pizza until Vida Vegan Con 2013, but I’m a total convert now.

Next up a bowl of udon noodles made by Kim Cooks Veg 4U, they look perfect for warm spring weather

Hot Vegan Chick…..Peas! made a tasty looking roast dinner complete with homemade mushroom gravy

And for dessert I’d love some of this maple pecan ice cream made by Shannon at Killer Bunnies Inc. 

 

Sweet Sunday Round Up

Sweet Sunday Round Up

Hey all! I’m filling in for Panda today and thought I’d stick with her sweets on Sunday theme!

First up is a very pretty slice of Shoo Fly Cake made by Angela at Canned Time

And how about a very popular type of cookie: choc chip! These are from Don’t Get Mad, Get Vegan!

These quinoa dough balls made by Juli at Foods and Everything are adorable!

And I’m thinking I need to visit Singapore to visit their first vegan ice cream cafe, Brownice! Serene from Eat Your Rainbows visited and had this lovely looking plate of brownie and ice cream (pumpkin, chocolate, and pb brownie)

Saturday Round Up: Eurotrip!

Saturday Round Up: Eurotrip!

Maybe it’s the continued cold weather we’ve having here (why am I wearing a coat in September? Get it together, Australia), or maybe it’s my German heritage, but sometimes there’s nothing I want more than to load up on delicious European carbs while listening to the rain outside. And with MoFo-ers all over the world, the inspiration is almost endless!

Over at Melon Collies and the Infinite Sandwich (outstanding!), Kara is starting from scratch with her home-fermented sauerkraut. Hilarious descriptions of the process and its odours aside, this looks like the perfect starting point for some serious deliciousness.

sauerkraut

And these sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi from Vegan Kitty Patrol look like the natural choice for that cabbagey goodness.

pierogies

Kyleigh from the Good Karma Kitchen has the perfect hearty follow-up dish, with these tofu schnitzels– with pretzel breading, in true German style!

schnitzels

Over at the Vegan Kitchen of Dr Caligari, Luca has been making some of the most creative cupcakes (sweet and savoury!) that I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but these Sachertorte cupcakes with bitter orange jam and pistachios are calling my name today.

sacher-cupcakes1

Of course, no German round up would be complete without Mihl’s classic German desserts at Seitan is my Motor. It’s not the first time we’ve featured Mihl’s decadent treats, but this theme has to be my favourite this year. Nougatringe were always a staple feature on my German family’s coffee table, so no late night beverages would be complete without trying to cram one of these into an already over-stuffed stomach.

SONY DSC

Mmm, I’m feeling toasty warm and comforted already!

Round Up: Comfort Foodie Friday

Round Up: Comfort Foodie Friday

Check it.  I’ve had a rough month/week/day, so when I went looking for round up goodness…comforting foods just kinda spoke to me.  It all started with this beautiful Moroccan faux-chicken over at VegFusion.  Are you kidding me, son?!  I totally want to buy a clay tagine and make wonderful things in it now.

After seeing that delicious goodness, I found myself gravitating towards another one pot dish with Beedi’s Szechaun stir fry.  Apparently, Gardein aided in this festival of yummy.  Alls I know is that I was drooling and wishing I had all of the ingredients on hand.

As I was clicking through MoFo posts, I came across this loverly post on Fo Reals Life about slow cooker beans.  Now, it’s still 100 degrees here, but I am waiting patiently for the fall to roll in so I can bust out my crock pot and get my bean makin’ on.

And, of course, I’m not tryna talk comfort food without talking about pizza.  I was absolutely giddy when I saw this amazing sweet and spicy pizza from Wholly Vegan.  Are you for serious?  I need that thing in my mouth!

As my final reveal, I want to show this amazing salad from The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado.  Usually, I’d glare real hard like at anybody claiming a salad is comfort food.  But…this right here…this is so close to a taco salad that the Texan in me wanted to shed a single crystallized tear.

That’s all for now, lovely people!  We’ve only got 10 days left.  Let’s make it EPIC!  Happy blogging!

Monday Round Up: Savoury Eats

Monday Round Up: Savoury Eats

I have a super sweet tooth, but these days savoury meals are the ones that I want most! I’d love a bowl of this Carrot and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese made by A Cook in the Making.

And I love the look of this Vegan Beef Curry with Papaya, made by Shaheen at Allotment 2 Kitchen.

This side dish of Roast Rutabaga Salad over at Body by Plants looks almost too good to eat!

And finally Busy Veggie Mama shares this delicious-looking Ethiopian platter

Round Up: Mac and Cheese Mania!

Round Up: Mac and Cheese Mania!

It may seem weird, but for me, mac and cheese is my quintessential vegan food. I’d never eaten it before I went vegan, and living in my opposite-side-of-the-planet bubble, I had no idea of its popularity in North America. But from having a look at my Pinterest or the scraps of printed-out recipe pages floating around my kitchen, you’d think I eat nothing else these days. What can I say- we vegans are just a creative bunch, and I can’t get enough of the different ways to make and eat this staple food.

Isa‘s BLT mac and cheese recipe was one of the first things I saw while checking Facebook on my phone in bed this morning, and part of me wanted to leap right up and get cooking. Eggplant bacon is a breakfast food, right?

BLT mac

Jackie over at Vegan Yack Attack has been cooking up a cheesy storm all month with her all mac, all the time theme. It’s tough to pick a favourite post, but I can’t say no to the glorious love child of two of my favourite foods, in her Mexican mac burrito.

macburrito

Jojo has taken on the very important job of testing new mac and cheese recipes to find a favourite, as part of her Mac ‘n Cheese Mondays at Vegan in Brighton. This mac and shews reminded me that I need to make this one again immediately.

macnshews

Elisa at Guy Gone Vegan is also tackling a month-long mac feast theme, and while I’ve loved every post, I actually let out an excited ‘WHAT?!’ when I saw these mac and cheese-stuffed jalapeno poppers.

macpoppers

Lastly, I was super happy to see one of my favourite themes this MoFo taking on one of my favourite foods. Laughfrodisiac has been veganising food from Friends (and yes, you’d better believe she made the not-so-traditional English trifle), and this time she played it a little safer with Chandler’s righteous mac and cheese. The perfect Thanksgiving food!

Friendsmac

I know what I want for dinner tonight… now to narrow it down to one recipe.

The next best thing to an RSS feed bundle: The VeganMoFo OPML file

The next best thing to an RSS feed bundle: The VeganMoFo OPML file

I’d like to interrupt the regular string of vegan-tastic roundups and giveaways with some special news: this is PRACTICALLY the RSS Feed you’ve been waiting for.

Here’s the thing.

We hear ya.

We wish there was a way to publicize an RSS feed bundle like the good old days of Google Reader (which retired over the summer), but apparently that breaks the internet or something (I’m guessing) and unless anyone out there has stumbled upon another form of this we haven’t yet — and trust me, we’ve all been looking here at VeganMoFo central — there are three primary ways we suggest perusing the epic, VeganMoFo VII blogs:

1) Check the Blogrolls

Go ahead and peruse the breakdowns and categories, bookmark the ones that catch your eye and follow your favorites (whether it’s via blogger, wordpress, or whatever reader service you’re using), etc.

Here’s the gigantic list of everybody who signed up by the deadline.

2) RandoMoFo.com!

This is the random, super appreciated VeganMoFo blog generator cleverly developed by the Tates, the fine folks behind Food for Lovers. Digging what pops up? Again, bookmark, follow, and add it to your own reader or favorites folder.

3) Dum dum dum…Download the brand new OPML file.

Here’s the link. It should open in Google Drive (where we have it stored), which you can then download to your computer.

Really, this is easier than it sounds:

  1. Click download.
  2. Import the file into whatever reader you’re using (I’m personally liking Feedly and The Older Reader, for two quick choices…feel free to share your go-to below!)
  3. Get ready to start reading lots and lots and lots of new blogs.

Here’s the thing: If you happen to notice a non-vegan post in the bunch or don’t like one for whatever reason, you now have the power to delete it from your feeds. You know, as if something like that would ever happen. In the past, your friendly VeganMoFo volunteer organizers did this with the official Google Bundle, but once you download this file, it’s in yours hands. The same goes if you see a blog missing — you are more than welcome and encouraged to add it to your own reader!

So, that’s that.

Please thank VeganMoFo volunteer Mary for her amazing, hard work on devouring spreadsheets and bringing that file to the masses!

Saturday Round Up: Election Edition

Saturday Round Up: Election Edition

No matter where you are, if you’re a politics geek like me then you’ll know that the sun rose on a pretty different Australia this morning. Last night was election night, and no matter how you feel about the outcome, there’s no denying that there have been some pretty major changes. In true Australian style, social media was abuzz- not so much with opinions about our new Prime Minister, but more about which polling station was offering the best cake stall or barbecue. So with the relationship between politics and a free feed in mind, I thought I’d see how some of my favourite blogging locals prepared for their election night.

Kate at The Spade and Spoon got passionate about foreign aid cuts (a girl after my own bleeding heart!) and reflected her views on the candidates by making these vegan devils on horseback appetisers.

devils on horsebackSandy from Vegans Eat Yummy Food Too put my junk food feast to shame with her healthy baked and blistered potato chips, as part of her great vegan bake-off theme. Perfect for watching the votes roll in on TV!

DSC01294Keely has been preparing some amazing-sounding Egyptian food over at Gormandize this month. I’d probably been feeling a bit more chipper this morning if I’d had a pitcher of her orange blossom lemonade last night, rather than a case of beer.

DSC_03171

Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe got deservedly outraged about the lack of vegan and gluten free options at polling booth sausage sizzles, and went home to whip up some sausages that we can all enjoy.

Elections CollageLinda at The Lentil Institution got through election night with the help of some healthy vegan comfort food– lentil burgers, baked potatoes and pumpkin with dukkah, and a rainbow salad… perfectly paired with a Coopers sparkling, of course. The beer helped Linda to look on the bright side, namely the re-election of a couple of great advocates for the ban on live animal export.

election_dinner

Lastly, Vegan in Melbourne embraced the election day sunshine and spring weather and put together these beautiful tofu rice paper rolls. I need to detox after my ‘eating my feelings’ binge last night and I can’t think of anything that looks more perfect than these.

P9075209

Take care today, Australians! I think more than a few of us are feeling a bit delicate (read: hungover), so head outside for a pick-me-up beverage of choice in the sunshine. At least we’ve all still got that, right?