Vegan Treats Carnival

You guys, I love Vegan Treats; I can't help it. Everything is just so purty and delicious...and there's so much to choose from! This weekend VM, 89, and I hightailed it over to Bethlehem because the Vegan Treats instagram was blowing up with all kinds of carnival craziness and I am not one to pass up things like vegan funnel cake and cotton candy.

 

But, let's start at the very beginning. The typical, stunning array of cakes, pastries, brownies, donuts, cookies, and cannolis were out in standard force.

In addition was this carnival-esque spread of yumminess. Yes; those funfetti cupcakes are decorated with circus peanuts; this is the level of detail you find at Vegan Treats.

It's no secret that I hate apples, but even I was mesmerized by this gorgeous display. After all, candy apples are a whole other food group.

VM was all about this monkey bread: a dense, cinnamony nub-bread with a drizzle of icing.

I'm more of a donut gal myself. It's been a while since I've had one of Vegan Treats' French silk- filled confections, this time it was in a powdered sugar donut.

But, we were just getting started. Funnel cake time!

Made to order, these funnel cakes were generous, created with flair, and cooked to perfection.

We even got an extra one to-go and are happy to report that with a little extra powdered sugar, you can reheat in a 350 degree oven for ~ 6 minutes to (almost) perfection.

As fate would have it, one of the ice cream flavors of the day was speculoos, which happens to be one of my Vegan Treats faves. They make the best soft serve I've come across and their rotating list of flavors is as impressive as the flavors themselves.

Aaaaaand, 89 received another one of the coveted mini-cones, so everyone was ecstatic- including the entertained onlooker who took one look at her "Hello, my name is 89" tag and said it couldn't be. Oh, but it is.

In order to keep up with my high standards for personal sugar content, I followed it all up with this beauteous wand of pink, vanilla cotton candy.

 

89 wasn't really sure what to make of it, so she mostly just rubbed her face on it.

While I'm generally a woman of principle, in the interest of full disclosure I must admit that I did get both a caramel apple (dipped in peanuts) and a candy apple to go. In my own defense, I maintain that when coated with candy it ceases to be considered an apple- particularly because I pretty much just lick off the candy and throw the apple away.

The caramel and peanuts were delicious, of course, but the apple was as gross as ever. The red shell on the candy apple, however, was much more conducive to eating with the smallest bit of apple possible, so that's definitely my preference for future carnivals.

It's hard to pinpoint my favorite confection at Vegan Treats, but aside from them being 100% ethically vegan, one of the things I appreciate the most about them is that they're always doing something new. And, if anyone is keeping track, the carnival treats have been some of my favorites!

Eve Eve Eve: V-Note and Biscoff Chocolates

In an attempt to surpass the previous year's Eve Eve festivities, this year we celebrated on Eve Eve Eve!  This time, my good friend coordinated a group to celebrate the holidays at V-Note on the upper east side.  I'd never been, but I was anxious to try someplace new whose menu was so similar to Blossom's (without actually being Blossom).

It all started out on a pretty amazing (v-) note when I noticed bilberry juice on the menu.

And you'll never guess what happened: I ordered it, and it was served!

Well what do you know?  Some places can actually deliver bilberry juice instead of making a federal case of it (see here and here)!

I couldn't decide between two appetizers, so luckily my pal agreed to split them with me to save me from making the wrong choice.  First up, my favorite appetizer of all time, the black-eyed pea cake: crispy cake of Yukon gold potatoes and black-eyed pease with a chipotle aioli.  Different restaurants serve this dish different ways: either one large cake or two small.  While he prefers the small, I do believe I prefer the large.  But I would like to stress that I wouldn't turn one down in any form.

the all-important cross-section

Second, the lentil rings: french lentils and root vegetables in a phyllo crust with pistachio mustard.  Interestingly, not actually rings at all, but totally delicious and reminded me of the phyllo roulade entree that I love at Blossom, albeit with a completely different sauce.

For an entree, I chose the feijoadinha (Brazilian stew): smokey tempeh, chayote, sweet potato, chick peas, lotus root and black beans, served with rice.  Since the menu was very seitan-heavy, I was glad to have a tempeh option; I'd probably order this again (although VM ate the leftovers and dubbed it "too beany."

Two (almost 3) friends chose the the crispy pinenut and basil seitan: pine nut and basil crusted seitan cutlets in a creamy white wine sauce with slivered artichoke hearts, roasted potatoes and cherry tomatoes, topped with grilled fig.  The portion was extremely generous and enjoyed by both, but no telling why the slice of pineapple came into play.

admittedly, this angle is not the best representation of this dish

The seitan piccata: seitan cutlets in white wine lemon-caper sauce with mashed potatoes and grilled escarole was definitely the most enviable plate at the table.

And the mushroom risotto: creamy tomato risotto, porcini, cremini, trumpet and lobster mushrooms, seaweed and basil looked absolutely decadent-  another hit.

Photographer Thumb

The salads all sounded really appealing, so I was glad this one came out looking and was reported as tasting as good as the expectation: Caesar salad: crisp romaine, soy chicken, toasted capers, herbed croutons tossed in our Caesar dressing sprinkled with gomashio.  

V-Note also offers an entree option of a vegetable plate: choose 3 or 4 sides; two of my table mates went with sautéed kale, spiced quinoa, brown rice, and black beans.

Professor Thumb

The medallions au poivre: seitan medallions in a French peppercorn sauce, served with potato-cauliflower puree and roasted asparagus looked positively succulent and was another dish of significant size.

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I think I can speak for everyone in our party when I say that V-Note now has a slew of new fans (plus 1 or 2 repeat fans).  The food was terrific, the dining room was pretty, and our waitress was unfailingly friendly, patient, and pleasant.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn't mention that I felt strongly that some aspects of the service were not befitting the upscale restaurant.  The food runner assisting our waitress consistently stood on one side of the table, announced the dish he was holding, and then handed the plates to be passed amongst those of us dining.  This happened during both serving and clearing of dishes and was annoying and unnecessary, but would be very easily remedied.

Finally, inspired by Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking, I'd purchased these chocolate moulds a while back and finally decided to try them out for Eve Eve Eve.

Pressed for time and thinking of Biscoff, I simply melted dark chocolate, mixed in Biscoff spread, moulded, and chilled.

They certainly didn't turn out perfect, but they were yummy.

Plus, who can resist the snowmen?

Coincidentally, on the walk from the restaurant to the train I thought I'd spied Andrea walking in the same direction.  This was unexpected, as she lives on the other side of the country (although I knew she'd recently been visiting Philadelphia).  I called her name and there was no response, but it was possible that the wind had prevented her from hearing me.  We all wound up on the same subway platform so I asked; it wasn't her.  Almost, Andrea!  Or, more honestly, not even close.

Thank you to my friends for such a nice Eve X 3; see you on Eve Eve Eve Eve 2013.

Potluck Cakewich!

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending a fantastic potluck (my first) thrown by my good friend, BYOL.  In addition to his other more obvious talents, he apparently has a penchant for potlucks; I have never known anyone to have that many plates, bowls, mugs, cutlery, and cloth napkins on hand.

The potluck was in honor of another good friend who just happened to be celebrating a ridiculous amount of milestones occurring within a relatively short time span.  Any excuse for a party, I say.  And so, for this momentous occasion, I decided to finally bust out the Cakewich!

Don't be fooled; the preparation wasn't all fun and games.  For starters, my kitchen looked like my pantry had exploded!

It took a couple of experiments with different recipes to settle on the best tasting and looking cake.  The winner: Veganomicon's vanilla-yogurt pound cake.  Unfortunately, it contained a lot of ingredients I prefer not to bake with.  Well, I suppose the yogurt's not so bad.

But the silken tofu made me gag; the look and smell would scare any non-vegan away!  I'm sure you all have someone in your family who thinks vegans lap this up straight outta the package.  Some of you may have even been lucky enough to have been served some at a family function!

It looked less ominous once blended (thank you, Magic Bullet).

But I did get to use the hand mixer, which I really enjoy.  Batter before:

Batter after (note VM's no-mess, anti-drip technique in action):

Going in:

Coming out:

You're going to slice off the top dome of the cake and then slice the cake in half horizontally.  I'd recommend flipping the top layer so that you wind up with the nicest possible side of the slice facing up, as it will be the top of your finished cake.

The guest of honor is a fellow Biscoff fan, so the "peanut butter" was actually Biscoff spread (one jar).  I keep my Biscoff in the panty, but remember that it melts quickly.  Even though I let the cake cool completely before spreading, it got a little runny during preparation just from being in the still-warm-from-the-oven kitchen.  Refrigerate the cake quickly and consistently until ready to serve.  I don't recommend for outdoor affairs in the warm weather, but it was the perfect consistency when served indoors on a relatively cool evening.

It wasn't until I was finished that I realized I'd missed the opportunity to create a giant Biscoff fluffernutter.  Next time!  It looked pretty hilarious just as it was.

Funny at any angle!

All of the contributions to the potluck were smashing and a good time was had by all; congrats to both the successful party organizer*, and the honoree!

*You may have read recently that BYOL is my nemesis.  We do disagree on a lot of things that I happen to be right about.  For instance, I ALWAYS prefer kale over collards.  I would never do aisle push-ups on a long airplane flight.  I also happen to have a special affinity for the Magic Bullet, while he dotes on his VitaMix (in the interest of privacy I won't mention it here, but she even has a name); this particular rivalry began the first day we met.  And so this is why myself and my merry band of mischief-makers (along with a generous dose of wine) decided that Ms. VitaMix had to sleep with the fishes on Saturday night.  And by fishes I mean whey protein (non-vegan roommate).

photo courtesy of MVG

Beware the headless VitaMix!

photo courtesy of MVG

As it turns out, they're not as close as he'd intimated.  A full 24 hours later and he hasn't mentioned anything "missing".  I'll bet dollars to donuts that a home-wrecking Magic Bullet is somehow involved.

Happy potluck Cake-wiching to all!

Mini Cupcakes: Rosewater Pistachio & Biscoff Double Chocolate Chip

I am the only vegan at work, so I like to bake for the non-vegans; it's easy activism.  The results can run the gamut from silent, perplexed enjoyment to earnest (albeit odd) inquiries.  I do my best to maintain my patience, but it never fails to surprise me how many people underestimate vegan ethics: assuming that they only go so far as your own kitchen.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to explain that I don't use eggs- even when I'm baking for others.  The effort is made worthwhile, though, by the people who ask for recipes and promise not to substitute anything.  Having an unapologetic omnivore ask you if it's better to use soy or rice milk is priceless.

Vegan food or non, I have a problem when lunchroom goodies wind up crumbled all over the counter, carpet, door (yes, really) simply because of an annoying breed of people who "only want a taste" or a "sliver", or whatever other excuse will have them coming back to create ever more crumbs until they have eaten the equivalent of 38 shares of dessert and I am left sitting at my desk calculating how long it will take an army of ants to make it from ground level to my top floor of the building.

But I digress.  On this particular occasion, the cupcakes were in celebration of someone I greatly admire, so I wanted none of my own idiosyncrasies to spoil the well-intentioned offering.  The solution?  Mini-cupcakes.  Now I'm sure there is someone out there who would dare halve a mini-cupcake in an effort to cut back, but luckily no one meeting this description chose to do so in my office, on this day, on my watch.

Biscoff Double Chocolate Chip mini-cupcakes

I used your basic chocolate cupcake recipe from VCTOTW (p. 37-40), adding scrumptious Sweet Earth chocolate chips to the batter.  Then I iced with Biscoff spread and garnished with chips.  Since the cupcakes were minis, I originally used one.

When I realized they looked like boobs I added another.  Baking is hard!

Rosewater Pistachio mini-cupcakes

Also from VCTOTW, I followed this recipe (p. 116-118) almost to the letter.  I did omit the chopped pistachios from the cake; initially this was because that step is missing from the directions, but ultimately I decided this cupcake should be smooth.  I used whole pistachios for garnish.

Both cupcakes went over extremely well and the size was not only effectual in preventing a cupcake melee, but adorable to boot.