Dirty Rice and Beans, and a Rancho Gordo Desert Island Sampler Giveaway!

You know sometimes how you make a recipe and it knocks your socks off? You're puttering along and you think you're making something tasty, and then you take a bite and think Holy Cats? How did those ingredients come together to make this? That happened to me today. Above you see a tester recipe for Robin Robertson's latest cookbook endeavor. It's dirty rice and beans, and it's not just tasty, it's stellar! Also, it really is true, brown food is the best.

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You know that dirty rice and beans recipe up there? The only way it could have been improved would have been if I had used these beans. Today's giveaway comes from Steve Sando and the other lovely people at Rancho Gordo. Have you had these beans? They are the best beans you have ever had, hands down. Today I have for you a very generous giveaway: it's the Desert Island Sampler! The winner will receive a pound each of Steve's beans he couldn't live without: runner cannellini, cranberry, Rio Zape, brown teppary, and Christmas lima beans will all be yours!


To enter, please leave a comment below. Tell me about your favorite legumes, or your favorite human bean (get it?), or anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only, but tomorrow's giveaway and others this month will be open to everybody everywhere. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you have won a giveaway from this blog, please consider being kind and not entering further bigger giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

The winner of yesterday's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar giveaway is choirqueer! Congratulations! Please send your name and address to me at miso...@yahoo.com. (Be sure to click on the . . . to get the rest of the email address. Alternatively, you could use your best thinking skills and possibly figure it out.)

Uwajimaya Follow Up and a Giveaway for The 30 Day Vegan Challenge!

Of course I couldn't go to Uwajimaya and leave empty-handed. I picked up some seaweed snacks, and these beautiful lime leaves. If anyone has an idea what to do with them, please tell me!

This is myoga. I had a hard time remembering the word until I looked at it as m'yoga. m-yoga. Now I have it down. These are flower buds, a delicacy in Japan, and they are beautiful, right? You can shred and use them raw. They are crispy and have a taste reminiscent of ginger, but more herbal, maybe.

On the right in the back are smooth oval fruits called tamarillos. They are from New Zealand.

Beautiful inside shot. These are weird. The orange flesh is sort of like mango or peach flesh but tart, and the gelatinous seed part is also tart.

Chinese jujube dates, about the size of walnuts. Inside shot on the right. I don't understand these either. They tasted like compressed, slightly sweetened styrofoam.

And the longan. Who looks so quiet and unassuming here. Don't believe it.

This is a half-peeled longan. These are slightly larger than acorns in the shell. Do you see how the fruit is kind of translucent and . . . bouncy?

Fully peeled longan. Do you see the ridges in the flesh?

This is what happens when you bite into a longan. There is hard black seed in the middle. Does this remind you of anything? Brr. I couldn't eat more than one even if I wanted to. Creepy longan. I would love to hear the honey badger guy's rendition of the longan.

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To clear your mind in case you need it like I do, here is a bonus shot of something that has absolutely nothing to do with the post thus far: the most amazing capital-letter-worthy RAW CANNOLI from People's Coop next to the Sip juice cart I blogged about before. Does this not look like the best dessert ever? It was.

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Let's get to the giveaway. Today Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has graciously offered up a 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."

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me a challenge you struggled with when going vegan, or somewhere you're going, 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!

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I am announcing two winners today.

The winner of yesterday's Vegan for Life giveaway is Vegan for the Win! Congratulations!

The winner of the Tofu XPress is Katie! 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.)

Tofu Mom, Taco Ring, and a Giveaway from Uncle Eddie's Vegan Cookies!

You know how sometimes you find a blog and the sun comes out and everything about it makes you happy even though it's been nothing but raining for days? I love Tofu Mom. Her recipes are the kind of comfort food I always want to eat. And for the second year in a row, she's MoFo blogging all month about gravy!


Case in point: someone earlier this year at the PPK posted about Tofu Mom's taco ring. I was curious. I read the blog entry and had to make it immediately, drop everything, that night. It is the best kind of I-can't-be-eating-this-but-it's-amazing-but-the-processed-but-the-taste guilty pleasure. Yes, that is refrigerator crescent roll dough. This is the kind of Midwestern food that my hometown makes. Veganized! I hope you'll visit her blog if you haven't already, and try some yum.

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You know what else people like in my hometown? What people like in every town? Cookies, of course. Uncle Eddie's makes vegan cookies, and they are super delicious! And that is my giveaway for you today: Uncle Eddie's will send one winner a box of four bags of cookies, one each of chocolate chip walnut, oatmeal raisin, trail mix, and peanut butter. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me something you love about Tofu Mom's blog, tell me about your favorite comfort food, tell me about your favorite cookies, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to US residents only, but others this month will be open to everybody everywhere. The winner will be chosen by 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!

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The giveaway for the Tofu XPress continues here!

The winner of The Blooming Platter is Cee! 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.)

Fresh Pistachios and a Tofu XPress Giveaway!

Look: these are fresh pistachios that I purchased at Barbur World Foods. The outer covering is soft and wrinkly (obviously wrinkly). You pull it off to reveal a pale shell. The shells separate pretty easily to reveal the gorgeous nut inside. So fresh pistachios taste pistachio-ey, but really intensely so, and they are kind of soft. I love them. I can imagine making an Indian pilau and scattering fresh pistachios over it. For me for now, though, they are lovely on their own.

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My post is pretty short today because I want to get to the awesome giveaway! I have for you, in my possession and ready to send out . . . a Tofu XPress! No longer will you require makeshift presses of cast iron pans and heavy canned goods. The Tofu XPress presses excess water out in less than an hour, is easy to clean, is dishwasher safe, and doubles as a marinating dish. It can also be used to press other foods such as tomatoes or eggplant.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below, and Tofu XPress would also ask that you either like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, or sign up for their newsletter. Tell me what you'd make with your shiny Tofu XPress, im-press me with some vegan knowledge, or just tell me you'd like to win! This giveaway is open to residents of the US. Others throughout the month will be open to everyone everywhere. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and posted in one week's time below that day's giveaway. Yes, that's a full week to enter this 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!

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The winner of yesterday's Thrive Foods giveaway is Lorelei! 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.)

Vegan MoFo Giveaway Winners, Take Note!

Almost everything has been sent, and my apologies for the delay. I have forgotten what pain there can be at the end of the semester in grad school.

• Kitteh: I need your address so I can send you your book!
• Sin Dawg winners, you'll be receiving your packages this week. The delay is my fault, not the fault of the fantastic people at DKB, so I do apologize!
• Amey, Islaborg, Haymarket8, and stealth package to Burnaby, your packages went out yesterday.
• Primal Strips winners and GoMaxGo winners, your packages finally went out earlier in the week.
• Overseas winners, it seems customs is taking their sweet time. I apologize for the delay. If anything is returned to me, I will be in touch with you individually, but I hope not to have this problem!
  

I'll be delving into new cookbooks soon, and will be posting. Many thanks to Vegan Cookies for hosting a giveaway that I won (for Tamasin Noyes's American Vegan Kitchen!). I've also got a new camera and a new slow cooker to play with. If anyone has recipe ideas for the slow cooker, I would love to hear!

Goodbye Vegan Mofo, and The Winners of the GoMaxGo Giveaway!

Goodbye MoFo, till next year! I had a great time, and now I have 800,000 assignments to finish in about two weeks.

The last winners of the month are VeggieAmanda and Mandi! Congratulations to you both, yay! Please send your full 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.)

In Which We Reach the End of MoFo, and a Giveaway from GoMaxGo!

How sweet it is! We've reached the very last day of the month, and I'm happy to say I managed to post a blog entry every day for MoFo. Today I'm a bit lame, because I'm nursing a cold and have to drive four hours and get on two planes and get in at who knows what time and still get up for a 9:30 class tomorrow. Woe. So my post will be a bit short. But still sweet!

I'm a fairly new Portland transplant, and I'm not much of a sweets person. Save for a few exceptions that is. I thought that in case you're a Portland resident or perhaps visiting vegan Mecca, you might like to know what my few choices are if I do get a sweet craving.

Sweet Pea Baking (next to Food Fight!) has a great peanut butter brownie that I am never sorry to eat. Piece of Cake, while not entirely vegan, has absolutely killer vegan cupcakes. I prefer the German chocolate. Dave's Killer Bread makes a ridiculously good Sin Dawg; you may have seen me review this a few days ago. And finally, if I want a frozen treat, it's definitely going to be Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss ice cream--probably Cherry Amaretto. I have yet to head out to VooDoo Doughnut, but it's on the list!

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Today, for my last giveaway of the month, I want to offer two of you something similarly sweet: a full range of GoMaxGo candy bars: Mahalo, Buccaneer, Jokerz, and Twilight! This giveaway is open to everybody everywhere, so please enter if you like candy bars! To enter, please leave a post on this blog entry. Tell me your favorite joke, or tell me a pirate story, or tell me anything at all. The two winners will be chosen by random number generator and posted here tomorrow.

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Well, huh! The winner of the PPK Extravaganza giveaway is none other than Ameyfm. She wished to be named someone's favorite PPKer, and over at the PPK, she was so named. Also at the PPK, she wished to win this giveaway, and . . . she did so win. What super powers does she have that we don't know about?! Congratulations, Amey! Please send your full 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.)

Birthday Cake, Plus My Favorite Giveaway, Starring PPKers

There is lots to celebrate at my parents' home these days. Over the course of the week: their granddaughter (my niece!) visiting, Thanksgiving, the fact that the granddaughter just might remember Thanksgiving this year, my father's birthday, my parents' anniversary, and the first day of Hanukkah. Most of these occasions, if not all, call for celebratory desserts. The dessert above is the cake I made for my father's birthday, a raspberry blackout cake with ganache frosting from Vegan With a Vengeance. I would say this went over well. In fact, my mother sat on the kitchen floor for some time scraping leftover ganache from the pan with a spatula. It was kind of awesome . . . as was seeing my niece eat chocolate cake for the first time ever.

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Today is my favorite giveaway of the month, because it's starring the PPK. First I want to plug the stars' websites and etsy shops, because they are working hard and putting out great products and I hope you'll support them. First up, Soyfucker quarterly comic zine created by vegan writers and artists. These are awesome and you'll want every issue. Next please head over to the home of friendly monsters and tofu pirates at Panda with Cookie. You will want to feast your eyes on the delicious cookies at the companion shop Panda with Cookie Bakes. You may need them in your stomach, especially if you have a hungry monster or pirate to feed. Since you are already on etsy, you must check out the lovely cards at Chirp Cards. More great cards and art can be found at ilikeapplejuice.

So now let me tell you what the winner will win today. I have for you:

• killer Soyfucker Zine volumes one and two from Erica Soyfucker and friends
• pandaful tofu pirate pin and and panda pin from the fantastic panda with cookie
• adorable hedgehog card from Tahinitoo
• fabulous Heartkite and Saints and Sinners cards plus two great stickers from ilikeapplejuice

supplemented with: one smiling Oregon cloud magnet (you know you love rain), one package Butlers Soy Curls, six Primal Strips in different flavors, two coupons for free Turtle Island/Tofurky products, one coupon for a free Earth Balance product, one cute Amy's blue tote bag, one Amy's pen, and cents off coupons for Tofutti, Follow Your Heart, and Bubbies products.

Interested? The giveaway is open to everyone everywhere, from Philadelphia to Graz to Manila and all points in between. To enter, tell me about a PPKer you like, or a PPKer's art/craft project/recipe/whathaveyou that stuck with you, or tell me anything at all. Note: This does not mean pick your favorite PPKer. Who wants to do that? Not me. There are lots of nice ones. Tell me about one of them. The winner will be chosen by random number generator and posted on tomorrow's blog post. If the giveaway is won by an overseas entrant, I'll choose a US winner for the coupons by random number generator and post the second winner tomorrow as well.

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The winner of yesterday's Animal Camp giveaway is Mandee! 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.)

Khichari, Plus a Daiya Giveaway

This is a bowl of khichari, which I think of as the Indian equivalent of pure comfort food. And it's naturally vegan! In India, if you are ill or unwell, this is what you will eat. It's meant to be simple and soothing and easy to digest. It's basically a porridge made of rice simmered with some type of lentil, bean, or split pea in a fair amount of water, so the whole thing goes to mush. Sometimes vegetables are added. A spiced oil is stirred in, and the whole thing is finished off with cilantro. The version I made can be found in a book called Heaven's Banquet, but there are variations available everywhere. The bowl above is pretty simple, and you could make it without a recipe easily: basmati rice, red lentils, more water than you would for regular rice, cook it to mush and season it. My spiced oil contains a number of Indian spices, turmeric for color, lots of fresh ginger, and a pinch of asafoetida/hing (often used in place of onions and garlic in Indian cooking). I've fed this to omnis before and they have loved it. I hope you find a recipe and try it!

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Today's giveaway is brought to you by the generous people at Daiya! I have a coupon for a free package for you. To enter, please leave a post below, and tell me how you pronounce Daiya, or about a day in your life, or about something you've dyed, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Daiya products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Daiya where you live!

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The winner of yesterday's Coconut Bliss giveaway is Monique a.k.a Mo. 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.)

I'm so full. Are you so full? Plus a giveaway from Coconut Bliss!

I don't know that I can even muster a photo after today's Thanksgiving feast. I went through two airports yesterday, flew halfway across the country, and drove 3 1/2 hours to make sure I could see my niece before she slept. Today I woke up at 8:00 am and was cooking by 8:30. I didn't really plan ahead. My family is incredibly omni. I had managed to throw vwg (vital wheat gluten) and a celeriac into my suitcase, along with a number of tiny bags of spices and condiments I had packed previously for traveling. I knew that my mother had bought me a cauliflower. I knew I wanted stuffed and mashed potatoes and gravy, that I wanted to lighten the potatoes with the cauliflower, and that I would like a main course seitan if possible. I knew that there would be vegetables that I could eat where my sister and her family, who were hosting, would be staying. Everybody else who would be there would be decidedly omni. I knew that I wasn't going to enjoy that it was omni and that nobody was too interested in what I was going to make. I also knew that it was my Thanksgiving too. Even if my dishes were not good enough to be on the main table with all the omni dishes.

Somehow, at 8:00 in the morning, I got ambitious. I made a list of seven items:

• vegetable stock
• white seitan
• stuffing
• chickpea gravy
• mushroom and red wine gravy
• mashed cauliflower/potatoes
• celeriac and olive puree

My mother added another:

• pumpkin pie

I cooked all day. The vegetable stock is one I make loosely, and I've posted about that earlier this MoFo. I grabbed everything my mother could spare out of the fridge and cupboard and went to town: onion, tomato, eggplant, potato peelings, mushroom stem, dried shiitakes, lentils, celeriac peelings, filtered water, a glug of tamari, all simmer-boiled for an hour and a half. This was used as a base flavor for the remainder of my ingredients. I knew I wanted to try the white seitan from Viva Vegan, as I have heard nothing but raves about it. Instead of steaming it, I patted it into a rectangle and spread a recipe of my mother's stuffing, veganized, over the rectangle. I then rolled it up the long way to make a roulade. Chickpea gravy and caulipots are tester recipes from the upcoming Appetite for Reduction, so that decision was easy. I wanted another gravy for the roulade, so I went with one similar to my mother's, but veganized. At the end, I decided to add in a bit of balsamic vinegar to brighten it. Finally, celeriac and black olive puree is similar to one I first read about in Marcella Cucina. Oh, and the pumpkin pie was one I made for my parents a couple of years ago, and it's a recipe they loved from VegWeb.

I had some missteps along the way for sure. I oversalted the stuffing and had to increase the bread by a third. I pretty much ran out of stock. I overthickened one of the gravies. Damage control and then damage control. And yet.

Everything was really good. Everyone tried all of it. One omni said that she would have happily eaten my food and nothing else for Thanksgiving. Excuse my language for this following sentence. I have heard that Terry's white seitan is unfuckupable. It's true. It's the best seitan I've ever made. Everyone at the table thought it was delicious, from the omni food afficianado who has never tasted seitan, down to the three year-old who won't eat brown food but ate this brown food. It looked gorgeous with the stuffing spiraling through it. It felt and looked like festive food, and it was easy to make. The caulipots and gravy were yummy, and smoked paprika made them special. The celeriac puree was unusual and a combination of flavors that rolled all over your tongue. Cranberry sauce, arugula salad, green beans, and my sister's homemade walnut whole wheat bread based on this recipe rounded out the meal.

And I never got around to dessert. I was too full. I am told they liked it.

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Even though I was too full for dessert, I know that for most of you this is not possible. Especially for vegan ice cream. Especially if it's the divine Coconut Bliss. Today I have for you a coupon for a pint of delicious Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss ice cream. To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about your favorite coconut treat, or a nutty friend of yours, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Coconut Bliss products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Coconut Bliss where you live!

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The winners of the awesome DKB Sin Dawg giveaway are Noelle, radioactivevegan, and joyfulgirl415. Congratulations to you all! 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.)

Happy Thanksgiving! Plus Dave's Killer Bread, and a Sin Dawg Giveaway!

Happy happy Thanksgiving! Above, you'll see a meal I made earlier in the month as a trial run in preparation for Thanksgiving. Roasted cauliflower steaks with a QueenV tester gravy, roasted Brussels sprouts, and a QueenV tester, individual stuffings, that you can also find on her blog. I hope your dinner is similarly delicious.

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And a review! Or four, actually. Today's giveaway comes from Dave's Killer Bread, and they asked me to do a review in conjunction with the giveaway. Their bread really is killer, so of course I was happy to oblige. They sent me a Sin Dawg, plus their three newest varieties of bread, and I trekked them back to the murky Midwest to share with my parents tonight. I am happy to say we love them all.

First up is DKB 21 Grain Light. This is a sweet, flavorful, chewy loaf. My mother commented that it had quite a lot of texture for a light bread, and I agree. This would make an awesome PBJ, or hold up well against a capery, veggie-filled tofu salad. Next we tried DKB Good Seed Light. I loved this, and so did my father. It's less sweet and more nutty than the 21 Grain. I'd love to use this for a vegan BLT or grilled cheeze. Our third bread was the Robust Raisin. Wow, we all agreed this one is just delicious raisin bread, dense and a bit nutty/seedy. It would be perfect breakfast toast, and I could see it as Fronch toast.

And then the Sin Dawg, which sent us all swooning. Here is the thing. They look healthy. They ARE healthy. And from the first bite, you will never believe it. Each time I buy one, I cut myself a slice of Sin Dawg take a bite, and am floored. Next bite the same thing. Each bite. They are so cinnamony and gooey and chewy and seedy. We were all in heaven. Believe it!

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Would you like to try your own? Of course you would. That is the segway to today’s giveaway! Dave’s Killer Bread will happily ship out a Sin Dawg, plus a DKB t-shirt and fun coloring book, to three lucky winners anywhere in the US. To enter, simply comment on this post. DKB would be grateful if you’d consider joining their email list or fanning them on FaceBook, but it’s not mandatory. And if you don't win, have a look at the recipe demonstrated by Dave himself on Everyday Dish. They are that good.

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The winners of yesterday's Primal Strips giveaway are phoenixdreaming, allicia, sara, Deanna G., Lizzie Bordello, motherbeck, greenveggies, and Tea and Sympatico. Congratulations to you all! 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.)

Unusual Citrus, and a Primal Strips Giveaway

My grocery store has interesting citrus lately, trucked up from the next state down, California, where everything grows. Above you will see Kaffir limes. If you like Indian and South Asian food, this might ring a bell, because Kaffir lime leaves get used a lot. I didn't have access to those, so I brought these how to play with. They are very acid, and as such not generally used in cooking. In South-East Asia, the zest is used in cooking. They're normal lime-size, but you can see they have a bumpy rind rather than the smooth one I'm more used to. These are destined for lime-ade


These little orangies are calamondin, and they are related to the kumquat. You can eat them whole. The rind is sweet and the interior is tart, and they are really delicious. I read that you can freeze them whole and use them as ice cubes in your drink, so I froze them to try.

Some floated, some sank, and the green you're seeing is calamondin leaves. This was pretty cute to look at and would be fun in the summer. I'm not sure if they are in season in the summer, though. Hmm.


This great big guy is a citron. You may have seen them candied, for use in baked goods. There is almost no juice in a citron--it's all rind and pith. In South-East Asia, I believe they make a picke out of the rind. The fruit smells heavenly, like a sweet strong lemon, and the scent stays on your skin after handling.


Here's the interior of a citron, along with my beginning of the zesting process. I'll freeze it in tablespoons for later use in baked goods, Joanna nuggets, etc.

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Today's giveaway is brought to you by Primal Strips! Eight of you will win a gift pack containing six different flavors for you to sample! What will you choose first? I like the hot and spicy. This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere, from Memphis to Halifax to Tokyo and all points in between. To enter, leave a comment on this post, telling me about your favorite flavor Primal Strip, whether you're interested in the Sunset Strip, or anything at all. The winners will be chosen by random number generator and posted on the blog tomorrow. Please remember to check back! Also please note there will be a one-week delay in shipping as I will be away from home.

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The winners of yesterday's Bubbies coupon giveaway is MachoPineapple! 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.)

Carbonara, and a Giveaway from Lightlife

Is it getting cooler where you live? Do you need some comfort food on this dreary November day? Let me make you some carbonara. I should say that when creating this recipe, I used a carbonara recipe from The Urban Vegan as a starting point, but it's now significantly different. For the bacon component, I used a package of Smart Bacon, diced into about 1/3-inch pieces. It really tightened up and had a practically ground beef consistency.

Pasta Carbonara

1 T. arrowroot
1 1/2 c. unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used hemp milk)

2/3 lb. pasta (I used penne)

6 oz. package of vegan bacon, diced
olive oil
1/2 c. white wine
1/3 c. vegan butter
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 c. green peas
Black salt and black pepper to taste
vegan parmesan or additional nutritional yeast for serving.

Heat a large pot of water on the stove--do this first so it can come to a boil as you make the sauce. Whisk the arrowroot with the milk and set it aside.

Heat a bit of olive oil, say half a teaspoon, in a saucepan. Cook it till it's nicely browned, about five or six minutes. Don't worry if some of it sticks and browns, because you're going to deglaze the pan now by adding the wine. Stir and scrape up the browned bits, and continue cooking till the wine is absorbed, an additional five minutes. Remove the bacon to a side bowl or plate. By now, your water should be boiling, so throw in some black salt, add the pasta, and keep an eye on it while you make the sauce.

In the same saucepan, melt your butter. Add the nutritional yeast and non-dairy milk-arrowroot mixture, making sure that the arrowroot is fully dissolved. Stir to combine, and simmer until thickened, about five minutes. Add the bacon and continue cooking for three minutes. Now add the peas, and cook an additional two minutes. Remove from heat.

Your pasta should be done by now, so drain it, return it to the pot, and toss it with the sauce. Taste it for salt and pepper. The black salt is important, as it is the secret to lending the carbonara a traditional eggy flavor.

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Because I happened to make the carbonara with Smart Bacon, let's have today's giveaway be from Lightlife! I have two coupons, each good for a free Lightlife product. To enter, please leave a post below, telling me your about a light in your life, or a lamp next to you, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to anyone who can get Lightlife products. The coupons do not specify where they can be used, so enter if you can buy Lightlife where you live! If you're just meandering over here for the first time, please know that these giveaways are happening every day of Vegan MoFo, and each of them lasts one day. Please note also that if you're not checking back to see if you have won and don't have a visible profile enabled, I may have no way to contact you if you win!

The winners of yesterday's Soy Curls giveaway are Seglare, seitanismymotor, HayMarket8, panda with cookie, and K! Congratulations to you all! 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.)

Ode to Soy Curls, and a Soy Curls Giveaway!

I wish this was my recipe for sweet and sour Soy Curls, but it isn't, and I don't think I could improve upon it, so I will suggest that you try this recipe. I scattered a bit of scallion over mine and served it with broccoli, sprinkled my basmati with toasted black sesame seeds, and gave the whole plate a douse of sriracha. I think the trick to working with Soy Curls is to really press the water out. I've used them with great success in Taymer Mason's creole spaghetti recipe in Caribbean Vegan. There is a great article in the Oregonian about Soy Curls with a recipe by Julie Hasson that I want to try next. Anyway hurrah for Soy Curls--they are delicious!

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And on to the giveaway! Five of you will receive your own package of Soy Curls! To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to use Soy Curls, or whether you like curly fries, or write an ode to Vegan MoFo. This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere, from Chico to Glasgow to Istanbul and all points in between. If you're just meandering over here for the first time, please know that these giveaways are happening every day of Vegan MoFo, and each of them lasts one day. Please note also that if you're not checking back to see if you have won and don't have a visible profile enabled, I may have no way to contact you if you win!

The winner of yesterday's Vegan Cookie Connoisseur giveaway is ellieheartscrafts! Congratulations! You will love it! 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.)

Tea Tasting, and a Giveaway for The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

On my very first blog of MoFo, some of you might remember I did a giveaway for a little teapot and a variety of tea from Rishi Tea. I asked them if they would donate because they have always seemed like a lovely company. And they didn't disappoint me! On top of that, they actually thanked me for hosting the giveaway and sent me some tea! Not to review, just as a thank you. I'm excited about this, I am exhausted, and I wanted some comfort tonight. So tonight I will do a little tea tasting for you. I have four varieties of loose tea to try, all organic: Wuyi, an oolong tea; Cinnamon Plum, an herbal blend; Rishi Masala Chai black tea blend; and Green Tea Mint.

This tea is special. Each bag directs you to steep at a certain temperature for a certain number of minutes for optimal results. Cinnamon Plum and Masala Chai are best with boiling water, Wuyi just slightly less at 200 degrees, and Green Tea Mint at 195. So my plan is: boil my filtered water in my shiny silver kettle, steep the herbal tea and chai at the same time, let the water cool down just slightly, then try the Wuyi, and finally do the same with the Green Tea Mint. You get to hear about each as it happens: tea blogged Cosell-style. Let's begin.

Cinnamon Plum is lovely. Inhaling into the bag, it smells complex and deep and sweet. I can see from the ingredients list that I'm smelling currants. Once steeped, the tea is a pinky-red in color. I can taste the hibiscus (which I love!). It's a big tangy, and the cinnamon is mild. My very favorite Rishi tea has always been Tangerine Ginger, but this gives that one a real run for its money, especially in cool weather. This is wonderful.

The Masala Chai smells like, well, spicy chai, but there is a freshness that I don't usually experience with chai--it's usually kind of heavy-smelling, if that makes sense. The ingredients include a lot of cardamom, and that could be it. The directions say to add milk and sweeten to taste, so I splashed in some hemp milk and agave and sipped. It's really light and flavorful. This is a chai you could drink in the summer or the winter and be happy.


Wuyi smells grassy, sort of like a good green tea. It isn't my favorite of the four, but it's my favorite to look at--the tea leaves are huge and beautiful. I may have ruined my tongue from the spices in the others, because I can't taste the elements of it as well as I would like. There is complexity there, but maybe I am just not subtle tonight. I'll try this tomorrow for breakfast. I think it could be a nice tea to wake up to.

Green Tea Mint. The peppermint is unusual--it smells amazing. Lady Marmalade would like you to know that she prefers the smell of this one. (It appears that she prefers the smell of my scalp over the tea though.) I usually think green tea is a bit grassy tasting, but I like this! The peppermint makes it refreshing and I am thinking less about the grassiness. I am thinking it would be good iced in the summer.

And so concludes my tea tasting.

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I am holding, in my hands, a copy of a book. It is a vegan cookbook. It is a vegan cookie book. It is . . . adorable, and it's courtesy of the very generous Skyhorse Publishing. The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur is a square little hardback book, and you can see from the cover that it's charming. The entire book is popping with color and flourish. There is a gorgeous color photo for almost every recipe, and some of them take up the whole page. You might actually wish you owned two copies , so you could keep the one you can't live without all dough-stained and vanilla-dripped in your kitchen, and one that you showcase in the living room because it's just so pretty. Here are three recipes I opened to at random: Cashew Cappuccino Nanaimo Bars, Glazed Lime Cookies, and Chocolate Jam Thumbprints. OK, here's another: Sticky Coconut Chocolate Chip Oat Bars.

Interested? I thought so. To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. Tell me if you consider yourself a connoisseur, or tell me where you got the best cookie you have ever eaten, or anything at all. This giveaway is open to everyone everywhere, from Milwaukee to Edmonton to Munich and all points in between. If you're just meandering over here for the first time, I should tell you that these giveaways are happening every day of the month of Vegan MoFo, and each of them lasts one day. Please note also that if you're not checking back to see if you have won and don't have a visible profile enabled, I may have no way to contact you if you win!

The winner of yesterday's Turtle Island/Tofurky giveaways are supercarrot, Heyitsbeth, kelly g, and dolmadez! Congratulations to you all! 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.)