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Month: September 2014

VeganMoFo 2014 – Pour Some Sugar On Me

VeganMoFo 2014 – Pour Some Sugar On Me

Wowzers, what a month! I feel like it’s gone super fast and I know that me and the rest of the team over at MoFo HQ have been loving every moment. We’re currently deliberating over the MoFies, watching your entries to the Beyond Meat giveaway rolling in and catching up on the blog posts we missed throughout the month. I’m sure I’ll be going on a commenting spree this week now that I don’t have posts to cook for, write and post.

I felt like I should end the month the way I like to end any meal, with dessert of course, and I’m going to start with this stunning Chocolate Mousse Torte from VGNGF = Vegan, GlutenFree, Delicious. This light, delicious looking cake is one Liane’s made countless times, including right at the beginning of VeganMoFo 2013, and I can see why. I totally want to make this cake all the time too.

chocolate-mousse-cake-8Continuing the cake theme we’ll hop over to Sprouts & Chocolate where I spotted this totally stunning Decadent Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache. As well as thinking the cake itself looks uh-mazing I adore the styling of this shot, the single candle, the paper tassel bunting, the MoFo tag. Perfect.

DSC_0007-800x756Cat from Cat & Ju also whipped up a wonderful looking cake to help a friend celebrate their birthday. This Celebration au Chocolat not only has chocolate cake and chocolate ganache but also crumbled Oreo’s and rice milk white chocolate. Can I get a hell yeah?

IMG_4596Moving on from cake but sticking with the chocolatey theme My Darling Vegan ended MoFo 2014 and celebrated the beginning of her ninth year of veganism with these Vegan Zucchini Brownies. It took me a long time to come around to vegetables in my dessert but I’m totally on board with zucchini (or courgette as we call it on this side of the pond) these days.

zucchinibrowniesIf you’re not into chocolate (I’m okay with that, more for me) maybe these Maple Walnut Sandwich Cookies would be more up your street? Killer Bunnies Inc has posted about cookies every single day this month and I for one have been loving it.

Maple-Walnut-Sandwich-Cookies-2-940x624Whilst we’re talking cookies, these Peanut Cookies from Of Vegan Cuisine Desires and Other Things… look ridiculously delicious. I would totally eat a whole batch of these bite sized treats!

Erdnuss-Cookies1_blogLastly, whilst I was wondering what the best thing to munch on whilst perusing the MoFo blogroll for the final time would be, this popcorn popped up in my reader! This Vegan Candy Bar Caramel Popcorn from Fork and Beans to be specific. It’s outa control. There are Twilight bars and Cocomels in there for gawds sake. It’s brilliant, nice one Cara! What a rad way to end MoFo.

Vegan-Candy-Bar-Caramel-Popcorn-682x10242014 has been a total blast and I want to thank every single one of you for putting in the effort to participate. I hope we’ll see you all back here next year for more MoFo fun.

PS – Don’t forget to check back on the 7th, 8th and 9th for our three part MoFie award ceremony, it’s gonna be great!

Year Supply of Beyond Meat Final MoFo Giveaway

Year Supply of Beyond Meat Final MoFo Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED

It’s the last official day of Vegan MoFo 2014 but things aren’t finished here at MoFo headquarters. Stay tuned for the upcoming Mofie Awards in the next few days. And stay tuned for the giveaway we have today! Beyond Meat has offered to give away a year supply of their product to one lucky winner!

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You’ve probably seen and sampled Beyond Meat chicken free strips and their newer product, the beef free crumbles, at your local natural foods grocers. They’ve also had a big presence at recent food conventions such as Expo West that was all the rage on twitter and instagram this past year.

 

bm1If you haven’t yet tried them this is the chance! The year supply will be 52 free coupons for one lucky winner! I’ll also choose 2 second place winners who will receive 10 free coupons each. With such a large prize, I decided that we should take Vegan MoFo 2014 out with a fun treasure hunt!

Hopefully you have been reading and commenting on blogs for the entire month. Below is a list of questions about posts different bloggers have made throughout this past month for Vegan MoFo. Your mission, if you should choose to accept it, is to find the answer to each question by checking out the main MoFo blogroll. All questions are pulled from blogs listed on this blog roll and all questions come only from blogs or tumblrs. I know a few Facebook or Livejournal pages accidentally made it onto the list, but they are not included in this treasure hunt.

You have until Friday, October 3, at 8 AM PDT. Send your list of answers and the links to the blog post to veganmofoblog at gmail dot com. DO NOT post your answers in the comments section here. I will choose the winners after the deadline. If no one finds all the answers I’ll go through the numbers and choose from those who have the most right answers. One entry per household please. This is for US residents only. The questions are as follow….

1) What type of sandwiches did Jojo and Sal make that fit into the themes of both their blogs?

2) Which blogger made tofu scramble for the first time and also knitted her daughter a scarf in the very same post?

3)Who wrote a farewell post to Dough Bakery in Atlanta, which closed this month?

4) What kind of tea did Tea and Sympatico use to make a fruitcake for MoFo?

5) What blogger made chili as a part of a week of MoFo Mystery Box Challenges?

6)  What blogger had the best meal she ever ate with her mom in Munich, and what did she eat?

7) Who featured a cat named George every Thursday?

8) Whose blog taught us about Finnish coffee culture all month?

9) What is the Humpit Classic and who ate it?

10)  What are the four steps to cooking on a fire?

11) Who scored and photographed a large box of Ronald’s donuts during MoFo?

12)  Who made broccoli gribbiche this MoFo?

13) Which 2 vegan candies were found and photographed in Honeydukes and who found them?

14) Who made a tiny 3 layer yellow cake with quarter for size comparison?

15) What was the special bean found in one blogger’s meal at Bullrito’s and who found it?

16) Who blames the Golden Girls for her cheesecake penchant in her early 20s?

17)  What dessert should you eat while watching Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I?

18) How do Wes and Jessica repurpose their leftover mac and cheeze?

19) What is french curry called and who made it?

20) What unusual berry made it into oat breakfast bars in one blogger’s breakfast post?

Vegan MoFo 2014: Blue Monday Round-Up

Vegan MoFo 2014: Blue Monday Round-Up

I can’t believe it, MoFo is over tomorrow. September flew by like it was nothing! Props to everyone who participated in Vegan MoFo this year. I hope you got to blog about everything you wanted to. And if not, there’s always next year! Let’s see what the chosen few have selected to blog about today…

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Well, let’s start off with DONUT MUFFINS! Yes! Vegan Mos has a mouthwatering recipe for these bad boys. Sign me up, cause they look gooood.

6913505_origLaughfrodisiac has the lead on one of the best Chinese restaurants in Philly and maybe the country, Han Dynasty. Tons of Vegan selection, I wanna try everything!

chickpea scramble in a bunI love my chickpeas, so I took a double take at Green Gormet Giraffe’s Chickpea Scramble Sandwich. What a yummy looking sandwich! Feed me! Please.

fern-buffalo-cauliflowerVegCharlotte is spotlighting Fern, a Vegan friendly restaurant out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Above is some Buffalo Cauliflower that looks right up my alley! Yums.

gladcow cheezishVegan Chai whipped up some Cheezish Macaroni from The Glad Cow Cookbook that looks cheezy-rific. Even her puppy Maia loves it!

So that’s it from me this year! Keep spreading the word of Veganism and have fun while you do it 🙂

 

Premium Chocolatiers Giveaway

Premium Chocolatiers Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

For our final Vegan MoFo giveaway of 2014 we’re thrilled to have a gift pack from Premium Chocolatiers!

chocolate_heavenPremium Chocolatiers is an online retailer that makes a variety of specialty chocolates and truffles. You may have heard of their Kickstarter campaign several months ago to bring about the NoNo’s Milk Like Chocolate Candies. Similar to an M&M, the NoNo has a candy layer over a thin layer of chocoalte but with a marshmallow inside. According to the Laziest Vegans, they are “melt in your mouth”.

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But they also make other bagged candies like their mini peanut butter cups and No Wheys, which are caramel and peanut nougut squares encased in milkless chocolate. You can even order straight bars of their milkless chocolate.

Premium Chocolatiers has kindly donated a bag each of NoNos, Peanut Butter Minis, and No Wheys! for us to give away to one lucky winner!

To enter, you just need to leave a comment below about which of the Premium Chocolatiers products you’re looking forward to trying the most. We’ll select a winner  at 8 am PDT on September 30th. This giveaway is open to US residents only. You’ve got 24 hours to enter! One entry per person please.

 

Last Sunday Round-Up of Vegan MoFo 2014

Last Sunday Round-Up of Vegan MoFo 2014

It has been nothing less than fun! All you Mo-Foers, we are in the final lap of Vegan MoFo 2014, and the end is so very near! Last week I came down with a nasty bug, which put a huge dent into my personal MoFo blogging, but believe it or not, I’ll be able to make all my burger posts, which goes to show that tribulations can stall the MoFo, but it doesn’t have to completely halt it.

Take heart, and even if you’ve had some personal issues this month, the last lap is happening now, so stick with it and get those posts done.

This is my final MoFo Round-up. It has been a blast and I have loved seeing all the wonderful and really mouth-watering offerings you have all shareed. It makes me feel secure in the fact that veganism is not just here to stay, but is flourishing midst all the creative juices that flow among you amazing vegans (and those cooking vegan this month – keep it up!)

With that in mind, and a bit of a party atmosphere that I’m sensing on the brink, let’s see what you have had to share today:

Firstly is the list maniacs of The Food Duo who have made it their mission to regale us with lists every single day this month. Today they are sharing their list of their favorite adventures for Part II of their Veg Fest UK 2014.

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This just makes it very clear that I do NOT attend as many veg fests as I should. In fact, I think the last one was in Austin more than a decade ago! Anyone know if San Diego is getting one any time soon?

Next up is House Vegan. This post really had me in turmoil as to which picture to feature from it… Halloween…Cadry’s Card Swap…Peanut Butter & Co. ..or kitties! the dilemma! Spare me, won’t you and just go check it out?

In the end, I chose the Trader Joe’s Halloween cookies because my kids have been dragging out the Halloween decorations. It is their opinion that as soon as Autumn Equinox happens, it is officially Halloween season. Not Fall. Halloween season. Officially renamed, take note.

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Now I feel bad. I didn’t choose the kitty. No worries, because East Meets West Veg has a photo series of adorable Chewy stalking and attacking her Amy’s Veggie Loaf dinner. Took that company a bit too long to make it vegan, but when they did…man oh! man! Delish! Can’t blame Chewy for wanting some of that!

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Getting back to fall- themes, Adventures in Vegan Bento runs down how to make Crockpot Apple Butter. With the apple season right here and now (or around the corner for the warmer states), no better time to get to your local organic orchard for some apple picking. That alone is cause for a party! Bring on the cinnamon!

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Finally, bringing it all full circle, it is party time! Freude am Kochen put on this super amazing looking vegan dinner party. I want to be invited to her next bash, please! She has a full series of photos delighting us with all the spectacular pomp and circumstance. Even if Google translate fails you, those photos are worth a thousand words.

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That does it for me, folks! I’m outta here and back to my own blog to finish up my last few MoFo posts. I’m looking forward to the following weeks when I will be ubber busy commenting on all your posts that I missed doing during the actual fun-and-crazy time that us vegans have come to affectionately term Vegan MoFo.

Vegan Hugs to all,

Zsu

Giveaway – Animal Rescue Bar

Giveaway – Animal Rescue Bar

This competition is now closed. Congrat’s to Bobbie!

We have a great giveaway for you today from compassionate vegan company Animal Rescue Bar who’ve teamed up with us to offer you the chance to win a whole box of their nutritious peanut crunch bars.

The people behind Animal Rescue Bar donate 50% of their profits to non-profit animal rescue organisations including Compassion Over Killing, Mercy For Animals and The Pig Preserve which we think is super cool. They’re a great company and you can buy their delicious sounding bars online from Vegan Essentials.

unnamed (1)To enter leave a comment below before 6pm EST tomorrow telling us what your favourite non-profit animal rescue organisation is. Please be sure to leave a valid contact e-mail address so that we can contact you if you win. The winners will be randomly selected and announced after the giveaway has ended. This competition is open to anyone living in the US of A.

Roundin’ up Saturday: cats, eats, fields, kimchi, fall (the best things in life)

Roundin’ up Saturday: cats, eats, fields, kimchi, fall (the best things in life)

Somehow, tragically, the last time I posted a round up on Caturday I forgot to post cats. My cats Lenny and Puddy have pledged at least one visit to the litterbox each every day in September—can we please get a round of applause for Madame Puddington and Leonard (Lenny) Cohen for not a day missed!

Lenny has not slain Puddy; Lenny just prefers the dark side.

Cool. Back to MoFo.

If you are lucky—Saturdays might be a day for farmers’ markets visits and possible a meal out. Even though I was working, I was lucky enough to experience both today. The vegan poutine I was able to procure (at Heartwood in Halifax, NS) has me dying to replicate its deliciousness. Thanks to Tofu Mom, I have a gravy to start with. (PS: photos of gravy are not boring if there is the promise of marmite, a must, in the gravy).

Marmite lava bubbles in cashew savoury goodness.

Oh to be eating Venezuelan food with Abracaposus at Kaxapa Factory in Playa Del Carmen! Seriously, does it get any better?

This is what a Kaxapa looks like.

My personal favourite:

Arepas! Possibly the best sammich invented?

There should always be time to be in the fields on Saturdays, right? Especially for events such as the Norwich FarmShare that just happened to have Dearly Beloved Bakery on hand with its vegan cakes.

Do you ship to Canada?

Ooh la la! Olives for Dinner made these delectable kimchi-stuffed sausages from Vegan Finger Foods (a formidable book, get it!).

Kimchi stuffed in everything forever man. And yeah, I’m talking in donuts, your morning coffee, your car’s glove compartment, in your sock drawer. Don’t ever stray too far away from some kimchi (so you can stuff it in something). Kimchi should know no bounds.

LOOK AT IT. Look at the scallion artistry. The perfectly scattered black and white sesame seeds. The ying and yang telling of the promise of kimchi settled resplendently into a vegan sausage.

Popcorn and Nooch takes charming inspiration from The Four Seasons with this gorgeous fall salad with ingredients from all of the seasons.

When you fall, in the fall you’ll see. September can be heavenly!

Have a lovely Sunday tomorrow. I hope you are able to take a walk outside wearing a scarf because I am still boiling to death here so I shall live vicariously through those of you enjoying my favourite season! Keep posting! Home stretch! Many people (such as myself) are still reading as voraciously as ever.

Cookbook Giveaway Straight From the Earth

Cookbook Giveaway Straight From the Earth

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED

As we round out our fourth week of Vegan MoFo 2014 I’m pleased to bring you another cookbook giveaway for Straight From the Earth by Marea Goodman, published by Chronicle Books.

-1Straight From the Earth is written by the woman who founded Earthbound Farms and is a vegan cookbook that focuses on using fresh produce. With recipes like Mixed Chicory Salad with Avocado, Garlic Croutons, and Pine Nuts and Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower with Carrots, it is an excellent cookbook to have on hand to use up some of those never-used-it-before veggies you get in your CSA box.

It’s not just veggies, though, as there are also recipes such as Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies and Very Chocolatey Chocolate Brownies for your sweet tooth. With 100 recipes covering breakfast to dessert, this would be an excellent cookbook for someone who is veggie curious and looking to expand their diet. And what seasoned vegan can’t use more creative recipes for a perfect vegetable potluck dish?

Chronicle books has kindly donated one copy of Straight From The Earth for us to give away today.

To enter, you just need to leave a comment below about your favorite fresh vegetable. We’ll select a winner at 8 am PDT on September 28th. This giveaway is open to US residents only. You’ve got 24 hours to enter! One entry per person please.

Let’s Celebrate: Friday MoFo Round-Up

Let’s Celebrate: Friday MoFo Round-Up

Can you believe it? It’s the last Friday of MoFo! Have you met your MoFo goals? Exceeded them? Have some, um, room for improvement next year? Regardless, let’s have a toast as we kick off the final weekend of Vegan MoFo 2014.

Apple Pie ShrubI can’t think of anything better to celebrate with than this Apple Pie Shrub from Becky at Glue & Glitter. This spiced apple pie soda can be made either with or without rum, depending on your inclinations.   If your fall weekend plans involve hitting up the apple orchard, definitely snag a few extras for the applesauce needed for this delightful fall drink.

Vegan Lemon Meringue PieNeed another reason to celebrate? Kari at Bite-sized Thoughts has done the impossible – a vegan lemon meringue pie. I know, I know, I’d always heard that it couldn’t happen, but this picture says it all. Lemon meringue used to be one of my favorite pies. I can hardly wait to welcome it back into my life.

Awesome tips for traveling while veganAfter your sweet tooth has been sated, head over to The Vegan Word where Caitlin has been talking wanderlust hungerlust all month. She’s shown that vegans can eat well anywhere, and today she’s featuring Jojo, the intrepid traveler. Jojo always seems to be heading off on some far-flung adventure, and today she’s spilling the beans on her insider secrets.

Miso glazed Brussels sproutsSpeaking of insider secrets, Lazy Smurf is letting us in on her secret ingredients, and today she’s sharing the merits of miso. For gravy, dressing, vegan cheeses, and these miso glazed Brussels sprouts, miso is a must.

Layered saladFinally, what would a month of vegan food be without that beloved canister – the Mason jar. It can hold smoothies, iced coffee, dried beans & grains, and oh, yeah, it can be used for canning. Plus, it can be used as a receptacle for layered salads. Bianca waded the waters of the layered salad and tells about it on Vegan Crunk.

This will be my final round-up for this year’s MoFo! It’s been such a blast!

All the best, Cadry

Thursday MoFo Round-up!

Thursday MoFo Round-up!

Oh MoFo’ers… the randomofo.com feed is like a field of broken MoFo dreams right about now… And yet, there are the brave few who forge on – either after an occasional fall off the horse, or with an unbroken current of blogging enthusiasm. If you’re one of the bloggers who has lost some steam – either give it a go and make a final push, or commit to participating by continuing to comment on the blogs that are still going strong.

I have had so much fun with randomofo.com this year – I’ve already got about 20 new-to-me blogs that I plan on adding to my blog roll. It’s so fun to discover the variety of voices and styles and recipes that still exist in the vegan blogosphere. I love MoFo!

Here are a few of the posts that caught my eye so far today:

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Vegetarian Snob made these  Healthy Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal, and I think it looks pretty yum. She makes it more on the savory side of things, but suggests that you can add a little sweetener if you like. I just discovered baked oatmeal in the last year, and I loved it! I’m still in autumn-denial mode, but once I make peace with reality, I’ll be back for this recipe.

 

french bread 1The blog New Orleans in Green has been celebrating New Orleans food all month – with everything from famous brands of NOLA goodies to this week’s explorations of culinary influences on NOLA cuisine. Today’s post is about the lasting legacy of the French in NOLA… including some damned fine looking bread!

 

hibachi-dressingVeg Fiend made this super maximus colorful Carrot Ginger Hibachi Sauce & 3-Bean Salad. The colors are so beautiful! I can’t believe that neon orange dressing – vegetables are so amazing! I’d never heard of Hibachi Sauce, but I think this salad looks great. Plus, three cheers to VegFiend for being a non-vegan who is embracing VeganMoFo and doing a great job!

kalesoup1I’ve really been loving Vegga‘s “Where Do You Get Your Protein?” nutrition theme this month. Her blog is doing a most excellent job of demonstrating that eating vegan food can be nutritious, beautiful, and super delicious. Check out this beautiful Kale and White Bean Soup – it’s bursting at the seams with veggie goodness! I’ve already bookmarked a bunch of the recipes from this blog so far. Looks like I’m gonna have a lot of post-MoFo bookmarks to revisit.

Piccata Milanese2From Veggie To Vegan has been doing beautiful posts featuring recipes from different regions of Italy every day this month. They are so amazing, plus the blog is in German and English – so even more vegans can enjoy these blog posts and recipes. Today’s post is a recipe for Piccata Milanese, from the Lombardy Region of Italy. Doesn’t this picture just make you want to start eating your computer screen?

purplepestoRock My Vegan Socks (fun blog name!) used purple basil to make Purple Pesto!!  I love doing fun and playful things with veggies and this looks so fun. Plus, I have my annual Rainbow Potluck on the horizon, and those purple foods are always a challenge.

cherry4So, now let’s move on to dessert! Little Vegan Bear has been rockin’ it with a really excellent “Music for Your Mouth” mofo theme – with foods inspired by music. Don’t these Eagle Eye Cherry / Wild Cherry bonbons look delicious? Plus, you get at least one awesome music video every day LVB’s site!

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Lisa’s Project: Vegan has been doing daily round-ups on her own favorite recipes, and today’s recipe round-up is all about coooooookies! I am a cookie monster, so this is right up my alley. Plus, I am putting on an event this weekend, so I will be baking cookies all day tomorrow. These Lace Cookies look especially lovely to me.