Go Raw Cafe Las Vegas

Hey Vegas Lovers! So on my last visit I took a trip off the strip to visit a raw/organic cafe. Holy goodness! The food was packed full of flavor, they mixed soft and crunchy and it is healthy! I had a cracked coconut to drink.

I ordered...
Neat Loaf & “Fries” $13.88
A rich savory mushroom, herb, & nut loaf
served with our house “fries”, veggies, & sprouted bread. (YUM!)

My friend ordered...
“Salmon” Cakes w/ “Fries” & Veggies $13.88
Our chef’s flavorful creation drizzled w/ “tartar sauce”
accompanied by our house “fries”, veggies, & garlic bread. (Also YUM!)

I do recommend any vegan take a ride off the strip and give this place a try!

Examples of some things you can do to help animals

OK people, it's time to think outside the baking box! I wanted to show you small examples of other things you can do for animals, other than eating delish vegan baked goods!

3 Super East examples (you don't even need to leave the computer for some!!!)

1. http://www.peta.org/ Go to their action center (top left), read and sign some petitions! Yes, it is that simple. I sign a couple every week!

2. Pick a cause that really upsets you (ex; the circus, fur, McDonald's, water shortage *saving the animals saves water*, etc) you name it you can find someone giving info to the public. Find people in your community who may want to spend an hour a month giving out leaflets on the subject you are passionate about. This is where having a lot of friends comes in handy, drag them along!

3. Hold a Vegan Potluck! Non Vegans insists all we eat is rabbit food. If you were to WOW them with your seriously amazing cooking skills, they may be willing to take that recipe from you and,get this, make a meat free meal every now and again! Crazy I know! Plus it gives you a chance to hang out with the people you love. Maybe you could even lay out some of those leaflets on a coffee table, 2 plastic birds, one stone!

Oh I thought of one more SUPER easy thing! Wear a sticker or a button! You will be amazed at how many people will look at it throughout the day! You don't even have to say a word!

Ok, now pictures to see just how EASY it is :)

Seriously Stuffed PB and Chocolate Chip Cookies

OK, these cookies may take a little extra time assembling, but it is TOTALLY worth it. I find that they taste best the 2nd day (and a 3rd if they last that long!) I got the recipe from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek. I bought this book months ago on Amazon bc I needed one cheap thing for free shipping and now I am very glad that I did!




The Recipe Follows:
Dough:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix it, it should feel like play-doh. Set aside

Filling:
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. chocolate chips
1/4 tsp salt

Mix. Mine was a little dry, so I added water to help it form into a ball.

The books says take a piece of dough a little smaller than a golf ball and press it flat on wax or parchment paper. I used pretty hefty size balls, maybe a little larger than a golf ball. Press them flat and add a tsp of the filling in the middle. Fold over the sides and flip seam side down. If the dough cracks, just squeeze it back together. Bake on a parchment, 9 min @ 350 was perfect in my oven.

Enjoy!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Hey Ya'll. Sorry I am so bad at this! I wanted to post a great recipe I found for PB cookies! Since turning vegan, I have been very disappointed in the recipes I have tested. Veg Times sent me an email that saved the day!

1 cup PB (your choice)
1/2 Veg Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tbsp Water
1 tsp Van X
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 cup Flour

Mix it, roll it into a ball, roll the ball in sugar, do the fork thing (to make the little squares) then stick it in the oven @ 350* for 13-15 mins.

I hope this helps with all the holiday baking that you may have coming up!

More Cupcakes!

A friend had a b-day and I of course sent some cupcakes to work. I always find out things last minute, so the night before at around 10pm I start whipping something together. I didn't want to write anything on them, or pipe little hats because at 10pm, I am tired. I did my standard Vegan Vanilla and Cream Cheese frosting, filled up a piping bag with a large tip, and piped away. I have a stash of all sorts of sprinkles under my bed (in a nice box) and grabbed the large dots that say "hey look at me it's my birthday". Needless to say, someone at work asked what bakery they had got them from. Which always gets me thinking....some day....

Wedding Cupcakes!

So it has been a crazy summer! I need to get on the ball with this blog thing. Maybe one day I will be serious about it. Until then, bits and pieces here and there. I wanted to post pics of my wedding cupcakes. Maybe they will inspire you on your journey through the crazy seas of wedding planning. I made the stand myself. Very easy, just takes a little bit of time. My colors were black and white, so I decided to stick with the theme and carry it over to the edibles! The cupcakes are vegan. If I didn't tell them no one would have known. All the food we had was! People survived the night without meat and ended up full and happy (crazy I know).

Stand directions:
Buy cake circles in the sizes you want. I had 4 tiers, so I bought 4 different sizes, largest on the bottom. I hot glued 3 on top of each other for thickness. I picked out my wrapping paper and cut the circle for it, and glued that on using a glue stick. I bought the ribbon the width of the circles and hot glued that on the edges. I bought cake dummies to stack in the center, wrapped them in wrapping paper, hot glued those on to the circles. Tada. If you want to put a cake on the top, you will have to have a better support system in the center of the stand. Mine held cupcakes just fine, but would have toppled over with a heavy cake on it.

That is a rough sketch of how to do it. If you need more help you can contact me. It's cheaper than buying a cupcake stand for 80-100 bucks.

Vegan Chapstick

Ok, you may or may not know, but most chap sticks are not vegan. Not talking about the beeswax either, but lanolin. Lanolin [German : from Latin lāna=wool + Latin oleum=oil] also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax, wool fat, anhydrous wool fat or wool grease, is a greasy yellow substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals, with the vast majority of it used by humans coming from domestic sheep.

Gross right??? I found out one of the process of how they get it. *gags*. You are putting sheep sweat on your lips, and eating it!

I found a brand that is vegan, has many flavors, and actually moisturizes :) It is 70% organic. Not bad.

I found it in the Bay Area at local health food stores. Wholefoods by my house did not have it. I bought it in Half Moon Bay @ Oasis Natural Foods Store.

I am only writing this bc it is only recently that I had a hard time finding a vegan chap stick.

You can order this online at http://www.merryhempsters.com/.

If for some reason you know why I should not be using this product, please inform me. It's slim pickins out there!

Vegan Raspberry Chocolate Cake

My friend had a birthday over the weekend and I jumped at the opportunity to make the cake! I wanted to share 2 parts of the cake so that you could make it at home! So here it goes...















Super Moist Chocolate Cake: (this makes 2 8' rounds)
3 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
12 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (3/4 c)
2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
Add:
2 c. Cold Water
1/2 c. Veg Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
4 tsp Vanilla

Grease and flour pan
Bake 25-30 mins 350*
Note: If you cut the recipe in half, it fills a 8x8 pan and is great cover in a dusting of powdered sugar for an easy party dessert.


Now the Ganache Recipe:
3/4 c. Rice Milk
1/4 c. Soy Butter
12 oz. Vegan Chocolate (chips are cheapest to use)

Over a double boiler (put a large bowl over a pan of boiling water), Melt the butter in the milk. When completely melted, add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth.

I doubled the recipe to make this cake. I cooled half the choc mixture and used it as an icing over the cake (a thin layer called a crumb coat) and iced the sides as well as the rosettes on the top. When you pour the ganache over the cake, make sure it is slightly cool, if too hot it will run fast down the sides and not leave a thick even layer over the top.

I am going to keep the filling a secret, being I need something to make this cake "my own". I am sure you will think of a million yummy things to fill this cake with. Have fun, don't be nervous, you can't mess up chocolate!!!

SF Vegan Prom

Last night Vegan Outreach held a vegan prom in SF @ a.Muse gallery on Alabama st. It was so much fun! I love being around like minded people. It's not like your high school prom! No one worried about having a date or what to wear. Everyone came together, bought raffle tickets, drank wine and had tasty desserts. Events like this are great to network, meet new vegans and make new friends! Check out http://www.veganoutreach.org/ to keep an eye out for events and get some awesome recipes and tips!

Vegan Chocolate CHip Cookies

Here goes a recipe!

2 c. All Purpose Flour (GLUTEN FREE: I like RICE flour and the All Purpose GF mixes)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 c. Brown Sugar (this is the key to flavor!)
1/4 c. Maple Syrup (the real stuff)
1/2 c. Veg Oil (I Use a little less)
2 Egg Replacers ( I use NRG Egg Replacer, found at wholefoods and health food stores)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract (alcohol free) (I like using 1/4 of a van bean pod)
1 1/2 c. Chocolate Chips (check for non-dairy!)

What I do to make my life simple is add all the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl (Map Syrp, Veg Oil, Van X, Egg replacer) If using a mixer throw it on low so the oil emulsifies. Sift (or mix with a whisk) the dry ingredients together (not choc chips yet). Add the dry to the wet, mix until combine. Add in the Choc Chips (what you haven't been eating as you mix all the ingredients, I know you!) Mix only for a short time bc the chips will start to break and little choc flecks will color your cookies. I use an ice cream scooper to make sure all my cookies come out round and the same size for even baking! Bake at 350* , check cookies around 9 minutes. All ovens are crazy, so you will have to gauge the time according to yours.

These last a while in a sealed container. (Unless your house is like mine, that means 2 days) Once you make these you will never go back to the evil cookies with the chickens and cows in them! All kidding aside, these are really tasty! If you don't have egg replacer yet and you love baking as a vegan, pick it up! It will not go bad sitting in your cupboard!

Hmm a blog, sure why not

Will anyone ever read this? Who knows. Just another thing to avoid work and take up time in the evening! I guess everyone should be prepared for recipes and photos from my adventures on the left coast