It's Better To Give ...

In Crunk news, Vegan Mofo is doing a Cookin' Crunk giveaway! Get over there and get your name in that hat, kids. And it just so happens to fall on my birthday!!

Yep, by the time most of you are reading this, it will be my 32nd birthday (October 16th). And that seems like an appropriate time to talk about my favorite kind of gifts — food gifts!! I mean, don't get me wrong. I like Vitamixes and iPads and wafflemakers (hint, hint), but there's something extra special about receiving a gift that was made with love (not that Vitamixes aren't made with love ... I'm sure they are).

Anyway, all this is leading into a review of my favorite new cookbook — Vegan Food Gifts by Joni Marie Newman:

I've been eagerly awaiting this one for so long. Every year, as we head into Xmas season, I have to get all creative and figure out what to make my friends. And this book makes that decision a piece of cake — literally. Or a muffin or brownie mix.

There are chapters for every kind of food gift — baked goods, those cute little jars of layered cake or cookie mixes, gift baskets, jams and jellies, and, my personal fave, homemade booze and booze accessories. I can't give away too many favorites because my friends might be reading this, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. But I'll just say that if anyone wants to make me the following for Xmas, I'd be a happy girl: Bloody Mary Mix, Gramma Nan's Homemade Kalua, Infused Olive Oils, Lavender Lemon Curd, Spicy Popcorn Nacho Topper, or Instant Macaroni & Cheese Mix. Oh, and let's not forget Classic Lime Margarita Mix and Lime Salt.

Oh, and that crafty Joni even includes a chapter with patterns for making your own gift boxes, bags, and labels. Cuteness!

But Xmas is still two months away. Thank goddess. Of course, most of these gifts would work anytime of year, for birthdays and other such celebrations. My friend Autumn's birthday was this past weekend, so I took the opportunity to make the very October-ish Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf:

Lucky for me, this recipe makes two loaves. So I kept one as my own personal tester. And it is amazing, y'all. My picky eater partner Paul even liked it! He's eaten more than half the loaf in two days! The bread is moist and pumpkin-y in all the right places. And the chocolate chips are so perfect in this. Pumpkin and chocolate just might have PB and chocolate beat for best dessert combo. There. I said it.

I wrapped Autumn's loaf in a cellophane gift bag and made a color copy of one of the labels Joni provides. Cuteness, huh?

Anyway, get this book now. If you start early, you'll have plenty of time to plan and make gifts for the holidays. And who wants a stress-free holiday? Yep, thought so.

On another note, Cookin' Crunk and yours truly are featured in the latest issue of Global Looking Glass Magazine! It's a new e-zine with a ton of great articles. There's also one on Dynise Balcavage of Urban Vegan and another on the Bake & Destroy lady. Plus, there are lots of recipes (including one from me!). It's free! Check it out.

Two More Cookin' Crunk Signings

I held my last two Memphis Cookin' Crunk booksignings over the weekend. Next, I will be demo-ing and signing at Atlanta VegFest (Nov. 10th) and at the Green Corner Store in Little Rock (Nov. 17th).

It was a busy, busy weekend with my local signings though. On Friday afternoon, I signed books at Whole Foods. They set me up outside by the front entrance, that way everyone who entered the store had to walk past me:

I sold quite a few books to people who hadn't previously heard of it, and I sold some to long-time blog readers and friends:

It helped that Sir Terry, Whole Foods' most animated demo specialist, was outside with me, serving up samples of my Tempeh Gumbo and Vegan Pimento Cheese (both from the book, of course):

On Saturday morning, I did a cooking demo and signing at Easy Way Produce Store on Cooper. Easy Way is a Memphis produce chain that's been around for 80 years! It's locally owned and awesome. They mostly specialize in produce, but they also sell jams and jellies, Amish popcorn, and other treats. They also have a dairy section, which I'm standing in front of (but just pretend that's not there, vegan friends):

Easy Way doesn't have a heat source or stove to use, so I made three salads from Cookin' Crunk. First, I whipped up a simple Broccoli Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette:

And then I made some Southwestern Corn Salad (corn, peppers, onions, and a balsamic vinaigrette):

Finally, I made my Tofu Olive Eggless Salad:

This stuff really blew some people away, mostly because of the black salt. The people at this demo mostly weren't vegans, and most had never heard of black salt. I passed the bag around, and people were amazed by how much it smells like eggs! Black salt is magic.

Chow Mein Burger

This may seem like a loose interpretation of my Mofo sandwich theme, but the dish I'm about to show you came from a book dedicated to holiest of all sandwiches — the burger. And even though this sandwich is bun-less, I think the fact that it's a burger means it's still a sandwich. Right?

So I give you the Chow Mein Burger from The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet by Joni Marie Newman:

Crazy, huh? Oh, yea, crazy good. Let me tell ya about it. The burger patty is made from cooked chow mein noodles, stir-fried broccoli and carrots, cashew butter, cashew pieces, ginger, tofu, and sesame oil. It's all mushed together and fried in oil. Then it's served over steamed cabbage and more noodles. And of course, it's topped with sriracha. OMG! I haven't anything this wickedly delicious in a while!

I must admit, though, I had a little confusion over the "chow mein" part of the recipe. You see, in the eastern half of the U.S., chow mein are those crunchy noodle bits that are used as a topping and not cooked. So I bought those, but then I read the recipe and realized it called for the noodles to be boiled.

I didn't really know there was a regional difference until I Wikipedia-ed "chow mein." Apparently, what we call "lo mein" around here is what West Coast folks call "chow mein." Of course, the "lo mein" that I'm familiar with — those long stringy, flat noodles — is typically made with egg. But I located some egg-free lo mein at the Asian market by my house. Once I had the right noodles, the recipe came together with ease.

This is actually the first thing I've made from Joni's burger book. But holy crap! This full-color book is filled with delicious and totally unique burgers. You'll see plenty more here over the coming weeks.

On a final note, I have two booksignings for Cookin' Crunk this weekend. One is tomorrow (Friday) at Whole Foods from 4 to 7 p.m. And the other is a cooking demo and signing at the Easy Way produce market on Cooper on Saturday at 11 a.m. If you're in town, I hope to see you at one.

Favorite Sandwiches at Imagine Vegan Cafe

I said I'd give you sandwiches this Vegan Mofo, and boy, do I have a bunch for you tonight! Every Wednesday night, my friends and I have dinner at Imagine Vegan Cafe. We've been doing so since the all-vegan comfort food joint opened over a year and a half ago. Sure, we've missed a few Wednesdays here and there. But for the most part, all or some of us are there each week.

Needless to say, most of us have had everything on their massive menu. And we all have faves and go-tos. Imagine has a great selection of entrees, like "chicken" fried steak with gravy, red beans and rice with Tofurky sausage, chili cheese fries, vegan cheesesticks, and fried eggplant parm. But there's also a huge sandwich menu!

I asked all my friends to order sandwiches tonight for the sake of this post. And because they are awesome, they all agreed. I ordered my all-time fave — The French Dip Sub:

I have to admit, when I gave up meat in 1994, I was most sad about never getting to eat a French dip sub again. Roast beef was my favorite meat, and it was years before I had a vegan version. This one is, by far, the best vegan French dip sub I've had. They use a tender seitan steak and a salty, "beefy" dipping sauce. Vegan cheese and sauteed onions and peppers are available by request.

All sandwiches come with one side item, and although they have great fries, I usually opt for a veggie so I won't feel too guilty for dessert. This time, I went with sauteed spinach.

My friend Mike also loves the French Dip Sub, but I told him he couldn't order one because I needed another sandwich for my blog. So he chose something he'd never had before, the Chicken Bacon Melt:

I've had this before, and it is superb. They use Gardein chicken and Smart Bacon, and the sandwich is topped with creamy vegan cheese. It's so good! Here's what Mike had to say: "It was really good. I thought the tenderness of the chicken complemented the crunchiness of the bacon very well."

My friend Shay went with her go-to Fried Chicken Sandwich:

This is so simple and delicious — fried Gardein tenders, Vegenaise, tomato, lettuce, and pickles. That's it. No cheese. No frills. I like this sandwich with a side of Imagine's creamy vegan mac & cheese, but Shay opted for steamed broccoli. Here's what she had to say: "I love it because fake chicken is better than the real thing, and the Vegenaise is definitely better than the real thing. And the pickles just make everything better."

Stephanie (a.k.a. Poopie Bitch) ordered something new to her too. She ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich:

It's similar to the Fried Chicken Sandwich but with the addition of buffalo sauce and vegan ranch! It's so good and spicy. And just because she could, she ordered hush puppies on the side. Here's what Stephanie had to say about her sandwich: "I love anything covered in buffalo sauce. It has a nice level of spice. I got the hush puppies because anything deep-fried is a good choice for a side dish."

And if all that sandwich madness wasn't enough, dig this. So Stephanie bakes all the desserts that Imagine sells through her home-based vegan baking company, Swell Baked Goods. Tonight, she brought a selection of pumpkin latte cupcakes, pumpkin cream cheese blondies, Kalua chocolate cake, and more. But unlike some weeks, she wasn't planning on bringing any cookie sandwiches.

But when I told her about my planned Imagine sandwich post, she made a cookie sandwich JUST for me! She already had Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for sale there, so she stuck two together with vegan buttercream and put it behind the counter, reserved for me. Isn't that awesome? I really have the best friends ever.

Look at that! OMG! The cookies were so moist and chewy, just like a perfect cookie should be. And the buttercream was just the right level of sweet. YUMMY!

Crunch Time

I know I've promised a month of sandwiches for Mofo, but as I mentioned at the beginning of the month, I will occasionally deviate from my theme to fulfill my duties as a vegan product and cookbook reviewer (which is sort of what I've become, although definitely by happy accident).

Tonight, I want to tell you about an awesome new snack — Guiltless Gourmet Crunches! Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with the Guiltless Gourmet line of tortilla chips. They're baked, not fried, so you can eat about double the amount of what you can eat in regular chips without the guilt.

Now, Guiltless Gourmet has introduced a line of sweet 'n' salty nutty snacks. They sent me three flavors to sample. First, I opened the Guiltless Gourmet Crunches Nuts and Berries Nut Crunch:

These crunchy nut clusters are made with almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, dried cranberries, and dried cherries. And they're all held together with pure cane sugar and brown rice syrup. I'm not a dried fruit fan, unless that fruit is mixed with nuts. And then I love it! These were the perfect trail mix-like mid-morning pick-me-up.

Next, I tried the Guiltless Gourmet Crunches Roasted Cashew Crunch:

I was certain the fruity mix would be my fave of the bunch, but not so. I LOVED these! The salted, roasted cashews are held together with cane sugar and tapioca syrup, and they're just delicious.

Finally, I opened the Guiltless Gourmet Crunches Toasted Almond Crunch:

Ha ha! What was supposed to be a bag of tiny nut clusters was actually one giant cluster! I guess the product got too hot when shipping or something. But that's okay. I just tore off small pieces. These were also delicious, but I think I like the cashew kind the best. That's probably just because I prefer cashews over almonds. But all are amazing.

Breakfast Sandwiches Are the Most Important Meal of the Day

I love breakfast. It's probably my favorite meal of the day. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I'm usually excited to wake up because it means I get to eat again. And eating is all I really care about. Especially eating delicious breakfast sandwiches.

In keeping with my Mofo theme, I give you the most awesome-est breakfast sandwich I've had in a while — the Country Sausage Sandwich from Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day:

There's homemade tempeh sausage, hash browns, spinach, and a secret sauce made with red peppers and Vegenaise (okay, now that you know, it's not so secret). It's all stuffed in an English muffin and toasted in a panini press. It's so different from the typical tofu-egg and sausage sandwich (which I also love). As suggested in the book, I enjoyed this sandwich with a bowl of fresh fruit (oranges, kiwi, strawberries, honeydew, and plums),

Now I'll hold off on a full-out review of this beautiful cookbook from Celine Steen and Tami Noyes because I'm part of their blog book tour later this month. But since we're talking breakfast, I'll give you a little look into the breakfast sandwich chapter.

Wow. I could die a happy girl if I could eat all of these breakfast sandwiches for the rest of my life. There's a Mexican Chick-Un Waffle Sandwich (with gravy!!!!), a green smoothie-like Incredible Green Sandwich (avocado, scallions, spinach, sprouts, and jalapeno on a bagel), a Monte Cristo made with French Toast Bagels (!!!!!), and Berry-Stuffed French Bread Pockets. Plus, there are lovely colorful pics scattered throughout the chapter (and the whole book).

Pinterest Eats

Back in the dark days before Pinterest, I printed out hundreds of recipes from other people's blogs and crammed them into an overstuffed binder. At one time, the recipes were organized by meal or type of dish. But eventually, I gave up and just threw them all in wherever they'd fit. Even though the recipes were mixed up and it was always hard to find what I was looking for, I often turned to that binder when planning meals.

But since Pinterest came along, I no longer have to find places to stash those recipe printouts. I just pin them and put them in different folders. You'd think that would make me more likely to cook from my online collection, but to be honest, since I started my Pinterest account, I have not made a single recipe that I've pinned (until this weekend). It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm always having to review cookbooks or working on my own. But still, I'm a little disappointed that it's taken me so long to make something I've pinned.

Anyway, I finally made some stuff from my Pinterest page! Two recipes! I just had to try this Rockin' Cheezy Kale from To Kale With Love:

You can't see the cheese, but it's there. I used Follow Your Heart Mozzarella because Whole Foods was out of Daiya Mozzarella. And the FYH totally liquidized and became one with the kale. But it still has that cheesy taste. I actually think I like the mozzarella taste of FYH a tad better than Daiya (but Daiya is the clear winner with the cheddar).

Anyway, besides cheese, this recipe has sauteed tofu and balsamic vinegar. It was unlike any other kale preparation I've had, and I really liked it.

On the side, I made Beer Battered Oven Fries from Green Vegan Living:

I saw these awhile back on the GVL blog, and I thought it was such a novel idea! The hand-cut potatoes are soaked in beer for several hours and then tossed with olive oil, garlic, and salt. Then they're baked, not fried. You can really taste the beer (I used PBR), but it's not overpowering. Food is always better with beer in it.