Vegan Exchange Numero Uno

One of my favorite kids and I signed up for The Verdant Life's Vegan Food Exchange. We were paired to send a box to Vegan Princess in an Omni Kingdom and we received an awesome, awesome box from Esther at A,B,C Vegan!

Esther emailed me ahead of time to check in and to ask if we had any particular likes or dislikes. I told her we like a lot of healthy foods but we LOVE chocolate. Man, did she hit the nail on the head with the box that she sent to us!!

1. She sent us brownies from one of our family's favorite bakeries of all time, Sticky Fingers. YES!

2. We also got a fabulous chocolate bar - Sea Salt and Nibs from Madecasse. I highly recommend!

3. She made us chocolate dipped macaroons, which were heaven in a bite. I love chocolate and coconut together.

4. In the healthier category, she sent us Pizza Flavored Flax Snax which are delicious. I've had them before and they are a great healthy, on-the-go snack. She also sent Kaia Food's Garlic and Sea Salt Sprouted Sunflower Seeds. We've enjoyed snacking on these and I also made a yummy kale pesto using them as a base as well.

5. Esther also sent us a very cool card which she made herself! It reflects many of her great attributes: sunny and inspirational.

Are you swooning? I was.

Thank you so much, Esther, for the wonderful package, and thank you to Cat for coordinating this fun swap. It is a great, fun project. Check out some other swaps that went on this month. We're looking forward to next month!

Interested in swappin'?  Then hop on over here and sign up!

Checking In!

Vegan Ice Cream at Go Lightly!

Hello, hello!! We've missed you when we aren't being REALLY busy. Since we've been away, we've been so happy to have been featured on Our Hen House -- thanks, Jasmin and Mariann!

Our official meal share is on a hiatus right now, while we put energy into other projects. Besides the variety of ice cream that she offers, Jen C. has vastly expanded the vegan lunch offerings at Go Lightly, which have become a hit with vegans, veggies and omnivores alike. Watching her business grow and thrive is wonderful. Her food is fabulous, so please come check her out (an easy and fun trip from Manhattan, or check out how close she is to you, Jersey folks!).

In the meantime, Jen G. has been having a series of monthly vegan potlucks for friends of all eating persuasions. Each month has been a fun and yummy experience (and no two alike) and they all tend to feature freshly baked bread. Stay tuned for some photos, updates and tips about hosting a series of vegan potlucks.

Finally, in the spirit of communal vegan delights, I wanted to point you to this great sounding opportunity: Cat at The Verdant Life is starting up a vegan food swap. Click on over if you would like to sign up. Who knows, maybe we'll become vegan swap buddies?

Chana Saag, Brown Basmati Rice and Two Chutneys

Date:  10/28/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu: Chana Saag (Indian Greens with Chickpeas), Brown Basmati Rice, Green Chutney and Sweet Carrot Chutney

The Vegan Slow Cooker continues to be a great resource. Tonight I made Chana Saag (with kale) and served it with brown rice and two chutneys: a green chutney and a sweet carrot chutney. It was my first time making both-- I'd add some salt to the green chutney next time, and less sugar to the carrot chutney. Heaped in a bowl all together, it was a delicious meal.

I delivered the goods to Jen at one of our local bookstores, where we gathered around Terry Hope Romero, who was swinging by our fair town to talk about baking, pie, Thanksgiving, life and stuff like that. Oh. I have a new book about making pies. Yes. Vegan Pie in the Sky.

There is a Boston creme pie calling my name.

Mushroom Hot Pot

Date:  10/24/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: Mushroom Hot Pot with Black Pepper Grilled Tofu

Jen cooked up a delicious mushroom hot pot, inspired by today's post on the PPK. It was another instance of me feeling very grateful for meal group since I had a long and unpleasant day, including driving for 6 hours and eating lunch at what some people refer to as the world's worst restaurant (without hyperbole). Living in such a vegan-friendly place, one does get a little accustomed to restauranteurs taking veg*ns into account.

Jen's soupy meal was deliciously flavored and added much needed warmth and flavor to my day. It was eaten so quickly that there is no photographic evidence of it's existence.

Mushroom Soup. Scallion and Corn Cornbread.

Date:  10/20/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu:  Mushroom Soup, Fresh Corn and Scallion Cornbread, Pumpkin Puff Cookies

Every once in a while I enjoy a good mug of mushroom soup. I like the recipe found in La Dolce Vegan although I'm not all that picky. I paired it with the Fresh Corn and Scallion Cornbread from Appetite for Reduction which was tasty though somewhat lacking in loft.

For dessert I made Pumpkin Puff Cookies, also from La Dolce Vegan. We shared them freely and widely and they proved to be very popular with everyone (or else I just know really polite people). I loved them and justified eating a large number of them because they are totally healthy because they have pumpkin in them. I excel in justifying things like that to myself.

Slightly flat but very good cornbread full of scallions and kernels of corn.

Popular pumpkin puff cookies .

Gnocchi Soup

Date:  10/17/2011
Cook:  Jen C.
Menu: SOUP! With GNOCCHI!

Jen and I had shared a lunch of leftovers together this afternoon but she still provided us with a soup for dinner (pictured here with a piece of bread from yet another loaf of No Knead Bread). With autumn in full swing, the chilly weather makes soup eating even more important.

Burritos Filled With Potatoes

Now this is an autumnal meal I can appreciate.

Date:  10/20/2011
Cook:  Jen G.
Menu: Mashed Potato and Edamame Burritos with Quinoa; Tortilla Soup

Mashed Potato and Edamame Burrito Filling from The Vegan Slow Cooker intrigued me and I must say...it was delicious! It was really simple and makes a very tasty eating time experience. I made Tortilla Soup from La Dolce Vegan and it was chock full of black beans and corn and brothy and good. I also cooked up a pot of quinoa to throw into the mix.

I had two regrets about this meal. One was that I left the burrito filling in the slow cooker for waaaaaay too long and the condensation from the process caused the filling to become more watered down than was probably warranted. I hasten to add that it was still delicious. The other concern was that my tortilla chips for the soup were hella stale, dude. Learn from my errors, friends.

Jen C. and I got to have this meal in each other's presence because she came over to make felt flowers as favors for a shower we were planning. Mashed potato burritos and craft night...heavenly.