Monday, October 31, 2011

Giveaway Winners, I am Looking at You!

The winner of Caribbean Vegan is joyfulgirl415! Congratulations! and . . .

The winner of the PPK swag and loot giveaway is Rachell37. Congratulations! And . . .

Rachell37 has graciously said in her comment that she'd like to share her coupons with someone in the USA, and . . . that person is PeanuttyPrincess! Congratulations! You will receive coupons and some loot from Amy's. And . . .

I'm still waiting to hear from Sarah C., who won a copy of the upcoming The Inspired Vegan, and Carolyn, who won a copy of the Sunny Days fundraising cook zine. If I don't hear from you, I will choose another winner. So . . .

Please all four of you send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (Be sure to click on the ellipses for the rest of the email address, or alternatively use your intuition!)

Happy Vegan MoFo! Finis.

Giveaway: Caribbean Vegan!

Today is the last day of MoFo, and so I have saved my personal favorite for last. Today is a giveaway for Taymer Mason's Caribbean Vegan! I was a tester for this cookbook so I have lots of photos.


Made and loved: Island burger on salt bread with sauce chien, fried plantains, sweet potato fries, and coleslaw. I actually want to eat this right now.


Made and loved: Creole spaghetti.


Made and loved: Caribbean potato salad.


Made and loved: To-fish.


Made and super-double-puffy-heart loved: Trinidadian doubles! You have here layered bara (my bara breads are not supposed to have a greenish cast--I used green split pea flour instead of yellow. Don't tell Taymer I put this photo up.) covered with curried chick peas covered with layers of cucumber chutney and mango chutney. This is Trinidadian street food. You buy it just like above except rolled in waxed paper with the ends twisted. You can sort of see the rolled up one in the background.


Made and loved: split pea soup made with Taymer's amazing everyday vegan ham and wet Bajan seasoning (that is the wet seasoning below).


Made and loved and you will have to imagine it: hearts of palm and tofu scramble, christophenes farci, Caribbean pilau, basil tea, thyme tea, and peanut punch. There were only two or three recipes in this book that I've tried that were not stand-outs for me, and they are beloved by everyone else, so I think it's just a personal preference thing.

Want to make, to start: banana bread, sorrel drink, mashed green bananas, lentil patties, and Bajan stew with dumplings.

Seriously, I love this cookbook. I love the way Taymer thinks and writes about food. I love how she can execute. Have you seen her blog Vegan in the Sun (currently on hiatus, but hopefully more to come)? She can do Caribbean and she can do French, and she is really, really talented. The flavor profile of the everyday vegan ham is spot on in my opinion. This past summer she was experimenting with different vegan ice cream bases, and they were stunning.

Besides fantastic recipes throughout, Tay is funny and spends a lot of time giving you a real feel for the islands. The photos are gorgeous. There's no vegan cookbook like this one. So, obviously you need your own copy. And you're in luck, because The Experiment has been kind enough to provide a copy for the very last day of MoFo! Thank you, Molly and the rest of the company!


To enter, please leave a comment below. Tell me which recipe you might try first, or where you've been or want to go in the Caribbean, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow.

* * *

The winner of yesterday's giveaway for the upcoming Inspired Vegan is Sarah C!
Congratulations to you! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (Be sure to click on the ellipses for the rest of the email address, or alternatively use your intuition!)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Giveaway: Bryant Terry's Upcoming Cookbook The Inspired Vegan!


Today I have for you a giveaway for Bryant Terry's upcoming cookbook, The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus! I am very pleased that Bryant Terry and Perseus Books have provided a promise for a copy of this soon-to-be-released title. The winner will receive their copy upon the cookbook's release in late January 2012. Thank you so much to both Bryant Terry and Perseus for their generosity!

An excerpt from the back cover: Marking his 10-year anniversary working to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system, Bryant Terry offers more than just a collection of recipes. In the spirit of jazz jam sessions and hip hop ciphers, The Inspired Vegan presents a collage of food, storytelling, music, and art. Bryant shares his favorite preparation / cooking techniques and simple recipes—basics to help strengthen your foundation for home cooking and equip you with tools for culinary improvisation and kitchen creativity. He also invites us to his table to enjoy seasonal menus inspired by family memories, social movements, unsung radical heroes, and visions for the future. Ultimately, The Inspired Vegan will help you become proficient in creating satisfying meals that use whole, fresh, seasonal ingredients and are nutritionally balanced—and full of surprising, mouthwatering flavor combinations. With Recipes For Savory Grits with Sautéed Broad Beans, and Roasted Fennel, Rustic Johnny Cakes with Caramelized Onion Relish, Jerk Tempeh with Cilantro Sauce, Café Brulot Lace Cookies, Molasses, Miso, and Maple Candied Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Winter Vegetable Jambalaya, and more.

I'm sold. I am totally sold. I love Bryant Terry's cooking style, I love the sound of all of these, and I want to try the savory grits with sautéed broad beans right this minute!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me what inspires you, or tell me which of the above recipes you'd like to make first, or tell me anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only. The very lucky winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway.

* * *

The Super-Special PPKer Giveaway is still going strong. If you PPK, please enter here!

* * *

The winners of yesterday's Vegucated giveaway is Amey! Congratulations! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.) Remember, you'll receive this DVD in December upon store opening!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Super-Special PPK Swag and Loot Giveaway!


This is an extra giveaway for PPKers, because it features some beautiful things made by PPKers! Feast your eyes on a deliciously enticing Sunny Days cook zine (with recipes by lazysmurf, mollyjade, mo, ctate, inmypies, and many more) awesome issue three of Soyfucker by erica soyfucker, fantastic Tofu Pirate zine and buttons by the loveliest Panda With Cookie, three beautiful cards and a button made by Vegan Eats and Treats herself, and an adorable sleepy hedgehog keychain made by Vegancraftastic. There are also stickers from Food Fight, a cute patch from Vaute Couture, a coloring book from Dave's Killer Bread, free product coupons (from Earth Balance, Ethnic Gourmet, and Tempt), and chocolate and vanilla Protein Energizer powders (from the generous folks at Rainbow Light) for your smoothies. Not pictured but also included is a super-cute pair of bunny-covered chopsticks. I will also be sending in box tops to Amy's for you, so you will receive a gift pack from them containing free product coupons and other goodies. Loot for you! Do you want to win? I want you to win. Yes, you!

Have you already entered a giveaway this month? No problem. Please enter if you like.
Are your products featured above? No problem. Please enter if you like. If you win, I'll send your product to a second winner.

To enter the giveaway, be a PPKer and leave a comment below. Please make sure to tell me who you are on the boards if it's not obvious. Tell me a thing you love about the PPK, or talk about PPKers' products you love, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to PPKers everywhere, whether you are in Seoul, San Diego, or Sydney! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted on October 31st.

Giveaway: Vegucated Documentary!





I've told you before about my lovely August. Because of the Cosmopolitan Hour duo, I was able to attend Vida Vegan Con, which was wonderful. Tied to the conference was a pre-screening of a new vegan documentary film, Vegucated. And it too is wonderful. The multi-award-winning documentary follows three decidedly omnivorous New Yorkers as they give up their standard diet and do a six-week vegan challenge, learning more about benefits of veganism along the way. The documentary is nothing short of fantastic. It's funny, compelling, and accessible. It's not preachy or overstated or holier-than-thou. The director Marissa Miller Wolfson is in the movie throughout, coaching the three on shopping, teaching them about factory farming, visiting a farm animal sanctuary, and providing support. I loved it. Everyone else at the screening loved it. It keeps winning awards (most recently best documentary at the Toronto Independent Film Festival, so I think it's safe to say it's generally loved. If you haven't had the pleasure of watching it yet, and even if you have, you probably want it. Imagine the possibilities for outreach!

(Oh, and you definitely want the t-shirt, designed by Vaute Couture's Leanne Hilgart!)


One way to see it is to attend a screening; check the website or their Facebook page to check out whether the tour is coming to your neck of the woods. Another way to see it is to keep an eye on their online store, set to go live in December. Another way is to enter a giveaway for it right here! The lovely people behind Vegucated would like to provide one code for a free copy of Vegucated from their online store, available upon store launch next month! I'm excited. Are you excited? Of course you are.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Tell me who you would most like to vegucate, or tell me something you liked about the trailer above, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only, but others this month are open to everybody everywhere. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you win a giveaway on this blog at some point this month, please be kind and don't enter further giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

* * *

The winner of yesterday's 30-Day Vegan Challenge is Kim! Congratulations to you! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)

Friday, October 28, 2011

Giveaway: The 30 Day Vegan Challenge!


Today Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has graciously offered up a second copy of The Thirty Day Vegan Challenge! Says The Chicago Examiner, "[Patrick-Goudreau] excels in demystifying something that feels unobtainable to many people--vegan living--and...distills it into practical steps and information without dumbing it down. Colleen is like your best friend: supporting you but also encouraging you to live up to your potential....I recommend [this book] for anyone who has struggled with trying to go vegan in the past, or would like to try it for the first time. For those of us who are tried-and-true vegans, I also recommend the book for its...common sense approach to...compassionate living. Plus, recipes! Get this book as a gift for yourself, your friends, and family." I have seen this book, and I think it's beautiful, like all of her books. I wish I could be the winner!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me a challenge you struggled with, or when you went vegan, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to everybody everywhere, whether you are in Seoul, San Diego, or Sydney! The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you win a giveaway on this blog at some point this month, please be kind and don't enter further giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

* * *

The winner of yesterday's Five Paw Collection giveaway from Rescue Chocolates is tammywarber! Congratulations! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Giveaway! The Five Paw Collection from Rescue Chocolate!



I have for you today a sweet sweet giveaway. It's the Five Paw Collection from Rescue Chocolate! Do you know about this wonderful company? They give all net profits to animal rescue, and the chocolate is divine. Have a look here to see who they have donated to and who they partner with, and then come back here, because one lucky winner will get five chocolate bars, namely:
  • 1 Peanut Butter Pit Bull
  • 1 Mission Feral Fig
  • 1 Foster-iffic Peppermint
  • 1 Pick Me! Pepper
  • 1 The Fix
Thank you so much to Rescue Chocolate for your generosity. f you don't win, I suggest you visit the online shop directly!


To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. Tell me which of the five chocolate bars is calling your name, or which animal aid organization is dearest to your heart, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only, but others this month are open to everybody everywhere. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you win a giveaway on this blog at some point this month, please be kind and don't enter further giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

* * *

The winner of yesterday's American Vegan Kitchen giveaway is Babette! Congratulations to you! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)