Bragg's Factory Diner, Phoenix, AZ

Bragg's Factory Diner's Flatiron Front Door

Bragg's Factory Diner is the latest of the all-vegetarian restaurants to hit Phoenix. Located off Grand Avenue in a one story flat-iron building, this cute diner itself is pretty dang small, but there is plenty of parking. So keep in mind, peak diner hours might include a little wait if you hit the rush. That said, I was there on a Sunday during brunch with a couple of friends and we were seated right away.

The diner is full of fun kitschy salt and pepper shakers and mismatched vintage dinnerware, which gives it a cozy and welcoming vibe. The art on the walls is a nod to the history of Phoenix, with lots of old photos from residents and a giant painting near the registers featuring some of our more famous icons and residents.

clockwise from front left: Frank Lloyd Bite, Koo-Koo-Pancakes, The Classic, Side Biscuit & Gravy (part of Frank Lloyd Bite)

Bragg's is a vegetarian diner serving breakfast (all day) and lunch. Breakfast includes entrees like coconut curry waffles, cinnamon ginger French toast, banana pancakes, scrambles, soyrizo breakfast burritos, and hash browns. And lunch includes tasties like the eggplant "bacon', lettuce and tomato; the portabello reuben, the beet burger, and a kale salad. But they all have much more clever names like the Frank Lloyd Bite, which is what I had (two pancakes, hash browns, eggplant "bacon", & a side biscuit & gravy).

Frank Lloyd Bite (minus the Side Biscuit & Gravy)

I really liked the pancakes, they so hit the spot. I dislike eggplant, but I wanted to try it anyway because it sounded so interesting. It was okay, very edible for eggplant. The one person in our party who liked eggplant enjoyed it. The hash browns were hash browns, so nothing fancy there, but delicious as usual. I'm not big on biscuits and gravy, this one had a poblano gravy, but I think if you like those things you would really like these. I'd eat it again, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Side Biscuit & Gravy (smaller version of Bwiscuits & Gravy entrée)

I sampled the Koo-Koo Bananas Pancakes that my friend order and it was really good. The side of fruit that came with it was fresh and ripe which I really appreciated even though it wasn't even my meal! I begged some forkfuls of another friend's Classic scramble which was pretty good but not my favorite entrée that day.

Koo-Koo Bananas Pancakes with Side of Fruit

The Classic

My friends agreed they would come back and make this place a part of their regular rotation. And I am definitely going back because I want to try those coconut curry waffles that I hear such good things about and the French toast which is one of my favorite foods.

And of course they serve PIE, they are a diner and housed in the old Bragg's Pie Factory building afterall. Plus donuts and other pastries, and they all rotate in a little display case as any proper diner would host.

Diner Seating and Dessert/Pastry Spinner

Alright, so give this place a try and let me know what you think! Check out Bragg's Instagram for a deeper look at their goodies.


EDITED TO ADD:
They now serve dinner and have extended hours which have been updated below.


Bragg's Factory Diner
Ranking: ****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bragg's Factory Diner
1301 NW Grand Ave (Grand Ave runs diagonally across the Phoenix grid)
Phoenix, AZ 85007
 602-733-8076
http://braggsdiner.com

Hours
Tuesday - Thursday 7am to 9pm
Friday - Saturday 7am to 10pm
Sunday 7am to 2pm

Bragg's Factory Diner from the Parking Lot

Girl and Foxes Mural (on a nearby building)

Recycle Mural in Bragg's Factory Diner Parking Lot

Recipe Round-Up: Une Bûche de Noël Végétalienne / Vegan Yule Log

A couple nights ago my sister emailed this video of the Vegan Black Metal Chef with his recipe for a Vegan Yule Log Cake and asked me to make one for our family dinner. Here's the PC version of the video which was presented by CHOW.com.



As you can see, VBMC's version is super easy to make with a vegan cake box mix, some egg replacer, and a couple jars of store-bought icing and frosting. Simple. But it looks like a glorified German Chocolate Cake to me. And if I'm going to make one of these Yule Logs, I'm going to try something a little more traditional and a little less chocolatey.

I've seen recipes for Yule Logs before but it's been awhile, and to be honest, I was never interested because these things tend to be designed for chocoholics. I like my chocolate in moderation and usually it has to have nuts or crunchies in it.

So I did some google-digging. Bûche de Noël or the Yule Log Cake is a traditional French dessert served around Christmas.

And apparently there are two types of bûche de noël or yule log cakes, a génoise and buttercream version or a frozen yule log. The génoise is like a rolled-up sponge cake layered with icing and topped with a ganache and designed to look like firewood.

The frozen yule log, on the other hand, appears to be a far more complicated French version shaped like a bread pan with layers of biscuit, mousse, ganache, pralines, creme brulee, and icing.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a génoise cake, and most of the recipes I found were for that style, but I was able to provide some recipe ideas on the frozen yule log for those of you interested in that one.

Génoise-style
~The Gluttonous Vegan's Christmas Yule Log

~Vegan Good Things' Orange Spice Bûche de Noël with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting & Chocolate Ganache

~Sweet Vegan's Yule Log

~Hasta La Vegan's Chocolate Yule Log

~Végéta-Löu's Bûche Pâtissière/Yule Log (Pear/Chai/Chocolate) (in French and English)

~My Paper Crane's Vegan Peppermint Icebox Yule Log Cake

~The Healthy Voyager's Holiday Yule Log

~Fuck Yeah Vegan Recipes' version of Bryanna Clark Grogan's Basic Holiday Roll

~Inhabitots' Vegan Yule Log Cake

~BORO Magazine's Raw Vegan Yule Log

~Vegan Peace's Yule Log Cookies


Frozen-style
The original non-vegan Yule Log recipe modified by the vegan Daring Bakers.

And here are some of the vegan bloggers that participate in Daring Bakers, their versions, and how the modifications they made.
~Madcap Cupcake
~Vegan Bits
~Musings From the Fishbowl
~Cooking at the Pacific Outpost


If you decide to make a Yule Log, post a comment and link to any photos and tell us about it!

Recipe Round-up: Vegan Thanksgiving Goodies

Every year more and more vegan holiday recipes are shared. Below is a link to my previous Thanksgiving Recipe Round-up, and after that, the rest are links to goodies being talked about this year.

2010 Thanksliving Menu Round-Up

[And if there is one dish I could personally recommend for Thanksgiving, it's the Sage- and Pumpkin Seed- Encrusted Seitan with Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Sauce, it's a fantastic main dish.]

Moving on to the new stuff...

~Chef Chloe is well-represented over at the New York Times Vegetarian Thanksgiving section with her Chocolate Pumpkin Bread Pudding, Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Hazelnuts, Harvest-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Coconut Mashed Yams with Currants, Southern Skillet Black-Eyed Peas and Cauliflower, and Quick Biscuits with Maple Butter.

~Oh She Glows blogger, Angela Liddon has some healthy recipes featured at Veg News: Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sumptuous Shepherd's Stew, and Sinless Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding.

~Cornmeal Buttermilk Biscuits, Coconut Butternut Squash Soup, Herbed Cream Collards, and Fourless  Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream from several awesome vegan chefs via VegNews.

~Dreena Burton's Plant Powered Kitchen has a whole bunch of Vegan Thanksgiving and Christmas Recipes...too many to give you the details, just check out her post.

~And of course, The Post Punk Kitchen has an entire category of recipes perfect for Thanksgiving.

Let me know what you plan on making!

Charity Vegan Bakesale- Coming Soon!

VEGAN BAKE SALE
Saturday, April 14th       11am-6pm

Baked Goods ** Raffles **  Handmade Vegan Soaps

This is going to be pure sweet tooth satisfaction! Local artists, bakersm and individuals are donating their time and goodies to make this one amazing bake sale! Help us help the planet, feel free to bring your own take home container.

RAIN OR SHINE
All proceeds go to Autism Speaks

Please Bring Cash!
Location: Strawberry Hedgehog Headquarters
526 W. Mariposa St.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
http://strawberryhedgehog.com

Recipe Round-up: Vegan Fruit Cake

You may remember that in June I posted about Emily Dickinson. She liked to bake and  the Library of America recorded her recipe for Black Cake (aka Fruit Cake). It inspired me to do a recipe round-up for fruit cake, but of course, I really needed to wait til December since it's more of a seasonal holiday treat. And here we are.  I've never made a fruit cake before, but I'd like to try one of these.

The first two recipes were the ones that seemed the closest vegan recipes to Emily's Black Cake. The rest are the various vegan or easily veganizable takes on fruitcake that I have seen online. A couple of the below recipes just need vegan margarine and non-dairy milks, which are simple substitutions. You'll have to convert from British measurements and terminology on a couple of them as well.

~Bryanna's Low-Fat Vegan Carrot Fruitcake at the Vegan Feast Kitchen

~Vegan and Demanding's Fruitcake

~The Fruit Cake and Fruity Marmalade Cake over at The Vegan Society

~ About.com's Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake

~Vegan Christmas Fruitcake from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking

~Nom!Nom!Nom!'s Vegan Fruitcake Delight

~Parsley Soup's Fruit Cake

~Christmas Cake at Vegan Village

~Fruit and Nut "War" Cake from Jugalbandi

~Veggies.Co.Uk's Maggie's Falling Down Fruit Cake

~Suburban Yogini's Spiced Vegan Fruitcake,  and Christmas Cake with Marizpan and Icing

~1940s Experiment's Eggless Fruit Cake and Eggless Xmas Cake

~Cake's Eggless Fruit Cake

~Aayi's Recipes Eggless Fruit Cake

~Food in the Main's Eggless Fruit Cake

~Ina Garten's Dried Fruit Cookies - They look like Fruitcake Cookies to me! You'll want agave nectar instead of honey, and egg replacer for 1 egg.

Colombian Raw Vegan Fruitcake with Coconut Milk
(In Spanish with Subtitles)

Taste Test: Mint Chocolate Non-Dairy Beverages!

So Delicious Coconut Milk Mint Chocolate vs. Silk Mint Chocolate

Another So Delicious / Silk face-off. Let's dive in.
The So Delicious Coconut Milk Mint Chocolate really isn't any thicker than the Silk Mint Chocolate, though that was the case with the Nogs. And the color is quite similar. In fact, there wasn't much difference between these two drinks, except the So Delicious does have a slight coconut taste.

Overall, I'm not really a fan of either. This is definitely a taste preference on my part. I pretty much figured this would be the case going in, as I have had the Silk in the past. I've never much liked chocolate milks (except for chocolate almond milk), and I definitely don't care for the mint added to chocolate 'milk' beverages. I'll drink them, but I won't buy them. This is the case for just about anything mint chocolate, I'll eat it...because...but it's not something I put in my "Like Column".

That said, I DO think people who like mint chocolate flavors would enjoy these drinks. In fact, I know quite a few people that like the Silk Mint Chocolate (they tried it in years past, but have not yet tried the So Delicious brand to determine a preference).

If I were to purchase one for guests, it would be the Silk, only because that slight coconut taste is distracting from the mint chocolate. But ultimately, I rated them the same.



So Delicious Coconut Milk Mint Chocolate
Rating: **

Silk Mint Chocolate
Rating: **

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

[You can find both of these Mint Chocolate beverages at Whole Foods. The So Delicious is a new product so I'm not sure who else will be carrying it, but the Silk is usually found at Sprouts and some of the supermarkets that carry Silk regularly.]

Cookies From Home

Cookies From Home, Lemon Pecan

Recently I visited AJ's Fine Foods in search of preserved lemons, and while AJ's focuses on upscale, specialty, and imported foods which makes them minimally vegan-friendly, I did stumble across some vegan Lemon Pecan Cookies from Tempe-based business, Cookies from Home.

I really liked the lemon pecan cookies. They're small cookies, maybe a little bigger than an Oreo, with 4 in a package. I think they were some of the best packaged vegan cookies I have had. So I went to their website to check them out and found they have a whole vegan category and they even offer some great tins of vegan cookies and brownies, perfect for gifts. Looks like they also have gluten-free options. I can't tell if all of their vegan cookies are also gluten-free, but the website kinda implies this.

Cookies From Home Gift Tin

And they've got a retail gift shop in Tempe. How cool is that!? At some point I'd like to visit their retail gift shop and see if I can taste-test some more of the vegan cookie and brownie options. The only thing missing from their website is a list of the vegan flavors, so I'm not sure what else they offer. Just a note, I don't know if Cookies From Home always offers vegan options in their retail gift shops, many times in places like this vegan options are considered special order items, so you might consider calling ahead to check.


Rating: ****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

[You can find the small packaged cookies at AJ's Fine Foods. I'm not sure what other flavors are available, nor if they are carried at any other local shops. But you can find more options at their retail gift shop and order them online.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Cookies From Home
Retail Gift Shop
1605 W. University Dr. Unit 106
Tempe, AZ 85281
(800) 543-8133
http://www.cookiesfromhome.com/

Hours
Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm
Saturday, 10am to 4pm
Closed Sunday

7th Annual Thankful Veghead Menu

Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad

Sigh. I just cannot remember to take photos or delegate the photos to others sometimes. But I did manage to borrow from a guest who snapped a couple with her iphone. Here is the menu with recipe links for the Thankful Veghead Dinner. A very small and cozy affair this year.

Entrees
*Tofurky Roast w/ Savory Baste and Savory 'Giblet' Gravy
*Sage and Pumpkin Seed Encrusted Seitan w/ Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Sauce
*Almost Beef Wellington with Madeira Sauce


Sides
*Creamy Scalloped Potatoes (I added 2 tbl minced onion, 1 tbl minced parsley, & black pepper to taste to the sauce.)
*Green Bean Casserole (Native Foods)
*Tangerine Cranberry Sauce (Vegan Yum Yum)
*Wheatberry Waldorf Salad (Native Foods Cookbook)

*Christmas Kale Chopped Salad

*Spaghetti Squash (My sister made this and added Daiya mozzarella shreds, sage, and thyme to the squash.)
*White Chili (A guest brought this, I don't have the recipe.)


Christmas Kale Salad

 Dessert
*Boston Cream Pie Cake (Vegan Pie In the Sky)
*Apple Pie (My sister made this and subbed in vegan margarine and shortening & skipped the grains of paradise.) with Apple Cider Caramel Sauce
*Red Velvet Soda [Cup]Cake[s] with Pomegranate Spread and Buttercream Frosting [My sister made this as well, and added 1/2 cup margarine and more powdered sugar for proper consistency of the frosting.)

A photo of last year's dinner. This year's dinner looked a fair bit like this, though the actual recipes were different. Haha.



6th Annual Thankful Veghead Dinner (November 2010)

Nog Taste Test!

The Nog Taste Test!

Earth Balance Soy Nog vs. So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog vs. Silk Nog

What a rumble!

First a few words about each.

The Earth Balance Soy Nog has the typical nog flavoring of nutmegy cinnamon... at first. Then the aftertaste is like a weird return to bland, plain soy milk. It's kinda strange, actually.

The So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog is the creamiest and thickest of the three by far which was kind of nice. You can see the actual spices speckling the Nog, which you don't see in the others. But there is a slight coconut taste that distracts from the nog.

The Silk Nog is rather thin, and you can't tell in this photo so much, but's rather a yellow looking milk. Other than this, it has the requisite nog spices. (You can see my past review of all the Silk seasonal beverages here.)

Overall, I like the Silk best and would pick this one out of the bunch. But I would drink any of the others if they were available. Now I'd like some Nog pancakes. And suddenly, the word "nog" is the strangest word ever.

Ok, now for the ratings.

Earth Balance Soy Nog
Rating: **1/2

So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog
Rating: ***

Silk Nog
Rating: ****


***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.


[You can find all of these Nogs at Whole Foods. The Earth Balance and the So Delicious are new products so I'm not sure who else will be carrying them, but the Silk is also usually found at Sprouts and some of the supermarkets that carry Silk regularly.]

Apple of My Eye

back row, left to right: Empire, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Rome
middle row, left to right: Cripps Pink Lady, Fuji, Jonathan, McIntosh
front row, left to right: Gala, Jonagold, Braeburn, Jazz

One of my best first grade memories is sitting in a circle on the floor with my classmates and taste testing 10 or so different apple varieties. Such a simple activity and yet so fun and adventurous. Earlier this year, I was inspired by that memory and taste-tested different kinds of tangerines. Well, now it's apple season!

As I was trolling the fruit aisle at Sprouts I saw an abundance of apples and decided to get one of each variety. Well, mostly. I skipped the Red Delicious, Green Delicious, and Granny Smiths. They tend to be the most common ones, so I thought I'd just try the others. And really, twelve varieties was PLENTY. Though apparently there are over 7500 cultivars of apples in the world. One could make it a life mission to sample them all. Not me though, thanks.

Here are the ones I did get and what Wiki has to say about each:

**
Empire- (New York) Empire apples are red, juicy, firm, crunchy and sweet. Good for eating.

Honeycrisp- (Minnesota) Mottled red and yellow colour. Good crunch when in prime condition. Juicy. Hybrid of Keepsake and Unknown. Good for eating.

Cortland-  (New York) Pale crisp flesh. Classic red coloration, nice crunch. Cross between McIntosh and Ben Davis. Good for eating.

 Rome- (Ohio) Rounded, all red, and very glossy. Flavour develops when cooked. Good for cooking.

Cripps Pink Lady- (Australia) Crisp, very sweet and slightly tart. Light red, pink and light yellow-green striped skin. Good for cooking and eating.

Fuji- (Japan) Sweet, crisp, dense flesh. Very long shelf life, even without refrigeration. Japan's predominant eating apple. Good for eating.
 Jonathan- (New York) Tart taste. Mostly red apple with patches of lime green. Does well in cooler areas; some frost resistance. Good for eating and cooking.

McIntosh- (Ontario, Canada) A popular, cold-tolerant, pocket-sized eating apple in Canada and northeastern US. Favorite of children. Used alot in applesauce. Good for cooking and eating.

Gala- (New Zealand) Thinner skin. Very soft eating apple, well-suited for denture wearers. Good for eating.

Jazz- (New Zealand) Bright red round apple with subtle yellow under-striping. Tart to sweet, dense and very crunchy with effervescent texture. Good for eating.

Jonagold- (New York) Popular in Europe and land of origin. A very large apple. Several highly coloured strains are available. Good for eating and cooking.

Braeburn- (New Zealand)  Firm to the touch with a red/orange vertical streaky appearance on a yellow/green background. Dense apple, and becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Good for eating.
**

back row, left to right: Empire, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Rome middle row, left to right: Cripps Pink Lady, Fuji, Jonathan, McIntosh
front row, left to right: Gala, Jonagold, Braeburn, Jazz

Alright, now for the ratings!

Eating Experience+

Key
***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** hey, this is pretty dang good.
*** not bad at all.
** eh.
* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.



Empire **1/2
Honeycrisp ****
Cortland ****
Rome ***1/2
Cripps Pink Lady ***
Fuji ***
Jonathan **1/2
McIntosh **1/2
Gala ***
Jazz ***1/2
Jonagold **1/2
Braeburn ***



OVERALL
I like apples, but they are by no means my favorite fruit. And I have to say that 'apples' tend to taste like 'apples' to me. Not a huge difference in taste, though some are a little sweeter and some a little tangier. There can be, however, a significant difference in texture, crispness, and firmness. But this can even run from apple to apple, not just across varieties.

Red Delicious used to be my favorite apples when I was a kid. But in recent years, Red Delicious have had a watered down taste, very bland. I think farmers and scientists have messed with them too much.

Anyway, in this taste test, Rome was by far the prettiest of the apples with its deep red hue. Unfortunately, they were slightly soft. But Cortland was the big surprise, with an interesting, slightly tangy flavor. I liked it best for taste.
I highly recommend the Cortland and Honeycrisp for eating raw. In the past I have really liked the Fuji, though it didn't test as well this time, just average.

Even if you get a less than stellar batch of apples, all is not lost. Make PIE! Or cider, or applesauce, or juice, or Cinnamon Baked Apples. These days I like apple pies with a mix of different apple varieties. In yesterday's post you'll see the Garam Masala Apple Pie I made. It was really good.  I had the Rome, Braeburn, Jazz, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, and Gala in it, I think. And not that long ago I made a Dutch Apple Pie, so check that oen out too. For a future pie, I will consider mixing the Rome with Granny Smith and Cortland.

~~~~

+Keep in mind that each single fruit is a completely different experience which also depends on where we are in the season. In other words, my results may be different from yours based on fruit condition, ripeness, etc.

Super Top Secret

I started my recipe testing for Terrry Hope Romero this past weekend. A look at some of the ingredients and final products. 

Some Salad Ingredients...notice the bright red pomegranates! ::LUST::

Preserved Lemon (not cheap, but was a time saver)

Preserved lemon smells SO. GOOD.

Kale Salad with Preserved Lemon and Pomegranate

Crispy Eggplant and Skordalia

This Garam Masala Apple Pie is not-so top secret. Terry posted the recipe on her blog months ago, I guess it didn't make it into the new pie cookbook. But it was so very intriguing to me, in the end I made this one. I still haven't made anything from Vegan Pie in the Sky. haha. Also, this is one ugly textured pie, but I totally short-cutted it by using two frozen ready-made bottom pie crusts. Vegan Pie in the Sky tells you how to make one of the crusts into a top. It worked good enough for me! I really like this pie. It has a nice warm kick. Highly recommended.

Garam Masala Apple Pie

Alright, it's the end of Vegan MoFo. I was gonna try to squeeze in one more post, but it's been a long month and I'm ready for November.

Odds and Ends

I would be rockin' Vegan Mofo if I wasn't dealing with crappy health these past couple weeks. Considering the circumstances, I feel pretty good about my level of participation. A big bummer is I haven't gotten to explore the other blogs participating in Vegan Mofo very much.

Alright, moving on.

I just got my Vegan Pie in the Sky cookbook today. Whee! I need to make something with apples this weekend...maybe Apple Crisp, Cosmos Apple Pie, Apple Hand Pies, French Toast Apple Cobbler, Apple Frangipane Tart, or some kind of hybrid Salted Apple Caramel Tart thing based on two other recipes. I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Have you made any of the pie book recipes yet?

Also, I am an official tester for Terry Hope Romero's new global vegan cookbook. :: EXCITED ::
So, over the next few months I will be teasing you with photos of things I have made from her super top secret recipes. I'm hoping to get to a couple recipes this weekend. The first ones will involve pomegranate, eggplant, and Chinese 5 Spice....not necessarily in the same recipe. And I believe I will even be making my very first seitan from scratch. That'll be an adventure.

Alright, that's it from me now. Over and out.

Tofutti Yours Truly Cones....(translation: Vegan Dessert Drumsticks!)

Tofutti Yours Truly Cones

I LOVE these. The End.

Wait, I do have a request for Tofutti. Please make some with peanuts on top and with vegan caramel in the middle. These ones have crunchy cookies on top, and that's yummy, but not ideal. Thank you. Also, sometimes the cones are soft and sometimes they are crunchy. It's random, but not unlike what I remember for non-vegan drumsticks. Nature of the frozenated cone.

The End. For real this time.

Mmmmm! When they talk about visions of sugar plums dancing in heads, they really meant visions of sugar cones.

Tofutti Yours Truly Cones

Tofutti Yours Truly Cones
Rating: **** 3/4

***** awesome! Highly recommended.

**** hey, this is pretty dang good.

*** not bad at all.

** eh.

* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

[Sprouts definitely has these. Fry's Marketplace and Whole Foods might as well.]

Laughing Giraffe Organics Goji Cacao & Maca Snackaroons

Laughing Giraffe Organics Snackaroons

Occasionally, I like to dabble in raw vegan foods. I'd probably eat more premade, storebought raw food snacks, but they're just usually a little more expensive than I prefer. Plus, it's like playing Battleship. Miss, Miss, Hit, Miss.

Well, friends, the Laughing Giraffe Organics Goji Cacao & Maca Snackaroons are serious hits. These delicious nuggets are made from: unsweetened coconut, agave nectar, almonds, extra virgin coconut oil, vanilla extract, cacao, goji berries, maca, and Himalayan pink salt. No more, no less.


Laughing Giraffe Organics Snackaroons



Mmm. What else to say about them? They're little macaroon balls of gluten-free sweetness. But not too sweet, and one little snowball is  quite satisfying. I'm gonna have to try some of the other flavors.




Laughing Giraffe Organics Goji Cacao & Maca Snackaroons
Rating: ****

***** awesome! Highly recommended.
**** This is pretty dang good.

*** not bad at all.

** eh.

* bad. Keep looking for alternatives.

[So far, I've only seen these at Whole Foods.]

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

These quiet, unassuming, regular looking chocolate chip cookies have a devastating secret; they are made with mesquite flour. Which, I have to say gives them a very interesting taste. The recipe is based on Isa and Terry's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I had read somewhere that you shouldn't replace more than 1/4 of the flour in a recipe with mesquite flour. It doesn't have gluten so it doesn't bind. And the flavor is fairly strong, so no more than that is even needed.

Anyway, in my head this translated to 1/4 cup of mesquite flour replacing the regular flour for these cookies. My omniveore taste-testers who like the regular version of these cookies, also thought the mesquite version was good. I think they are good, but there is this unmistakable, indescribable taste that comes from the added mesquite. I can't even think how to describe it. Give it a try.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup mesquite flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets, or use parchment paper on baking sheets. I swear by parchment paper.

Mix together sugars, oil, almond milk and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.

Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flours. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stuff so use your hands to really work them in.

Makes two dozen two inch cookies or about 16 three inch cookies.

For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes – no more than 9 – until they are just a little browned around the edges. I usually get 16 out of these so I do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

For 2 dozen two inch cookies roll dough into walnut sized balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches and bake for only six minutes.

Recipe Round-Up: Mesquite Flour

As promised, vegan (or veganizable) recipes that use mesquite flour. Gotta say, raw foodists are really representing with the mesquite flour recipes. I'm gonna make some cookies and the raw caramel apple dip to start,  what about you?

Raw Vegan
~Hungry Vegan's Carob-Mesquite Dream Smoothie
~Raw Food Recipes' Bring on the Heat Raw Vegan Chili

~Raw Sacramento's Tahitian Vanilla Crème Parfait with Tropical Fruit Compote, Candied Walnuts, and Sweet Ginger Corn Cakes

~Jamie Abrams' Ginger Mesquite'en Me Crazy Balls and Sunny Ice Cream

~Marisa's Healthy Kitchen- Butterscotch Smoothie, Banana and Avocado Sweet Snack, Banana Ice Cream Love, Superfood Smoothie

~Durian Coconut Delite via Recipe Puppy

~Raw Beets' Sweet and Creamy Caramel Apple Dip (video below)



Vegan
~Free Range Cookies' Mesquite Date Muffins

~Tusconivore's Mesquite Flour Tortillas

~Peace Love Bagels' Vegan Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

~Aprovechar's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan=non-ghee)

~Affairs of Living's Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe with Crunchy Crust and Cashew Whipped Cream

~No Knead Mesquite Bread via Craftzine

~Mohave Mesquite Bread

~Mesquite Bean Jelly- requires vegan gelling agent like agar maybe?

~Jack Keller's Mesquite Bean Wine

~Desert Harvesters' Simple Mesquite Drink, Pinole, Mesquite Margaritas, Mesquite Carob Tortillas, Hearty Mesquite Bread . The Neighborhood Mesquite Holiday Bars just require using agave nectar and vegan margarine, the Basic Yellow Mesquite Cake just needs non-dairy milk and vegan margarine, and the Mesquite Shortbread and Kukukadoo Solar Cookies just need vegan margarine. All of the pancake recipes require egg replacement egg replacement and non-dairy milks.

~Mighty Foods' Mesquite Cornbread- This one requires some veganizing, but it looks fairly easy. First, replace the butter with vegan margarine (like Earth Balance). Then sub the egg with egg replacer (like Ener-G Egg Replacer or the flaxseed/water combo). Change the honey to agave nectar. And finally, replace the buttermilk with 1 cup of non-dairy milk plus 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (mix those two in a small bowl and let sit for a couple of minutes before adding.)

~Mesquite Margarine: Mix half a stick of softened vegan margarine with 1/2 teaspoon of mesquite flour to create a smokey, nutty, slightly sweet spread.

Vegan Etsy: Fall/Halloween

Vegan Etsy: The results of a seasonal search. A little bit of everything. Even some food items for Vegan Month of Food. Huzzah!

Severed Finger Catnip Toy

Dirty Pumpkins Soap

Chunky Neck Warmer/Cowl/Scarf/Wrap

Horrorshow Soap- GLOWS in the Dark- TRUE BLOOD- Eric Northman- Dragons Blood Scent

Feathers Necklace, Black Pleather, Vegan

Halloween Silver Chain, Lampworked Glass

Gothic Boney Necklace

Black Pepper Bubble Gum Berry BOOLAS BOO-licious Vegan Smoochalicious Lip Conditioner

Vegan Pumpkin Cookie Sandwiches

Bloodbath Vegan SOLID PERFUME Patchouli Vanilla

Pumpkin Baby Beanies

Skull and Crossbones Vegan Wallet

Skulls Knitting Stitch Markers

BLOOD MOON collection, EyeShadow & EyeLiner, Vegan Mineral Makeup

Caramel Apple Chocolate, Raw, Organic, Vegan

Vegan Hazelnut Pumpkin Smile Chocolate Cheesecake

Jack Skellington Jester Stick

Blue Fox Hat