Coco-Roons: vegan macaroons

Remember when I made those decadent chocolate coconut cupcakes with hazelnut cocoa spread icing? 

Well, I made them again- only this time I had the ingenious idea to garnish them with the most appropriate garnish ever: Coco-Roons! For those who don't know, a Coco-roon is an organic, live [raw], gluten-free, vegan, paleo macaroon (macarOOn...not to be confused with macaron). Like typical macaroons, Coco-roons are made with coconut.

From the company:

"The Original Superfood Cookie We think that says it all!  Sweetened with pure, organic, maple syrup, Coco-Roons are decadent enough for dessert, yet wholesome enough for breakfast.  Have them with your morning coffee or take them on your next adventure.  Share with your friends or keep them all to yourself.  However you choose to indulge, we're sure you'll love these tasty treats!"

 

So, this combination came to fruition because Coco-roons was kind enough to send me two flavors to sample: brownie and vanilla maple. I had no idea how I was going to make the best use of them...until I found myself daydreaming about said cupcakes. Shown here: the rich and chocolatey brownie flavor on the chocolate coconut cupcake.

But don't get me wrong, you don't always have a coconut cupcake lying around upon which to rest your Coco-roon. Sometimes you just have to eat them plain. It's a hardship.

Showcased here: the light and sweet vanilla maple.

Rest assured: with or without a corresponding cupcake, these bites are decadent, flavorful, and filling.
And, if these aren't your favorite flavors, Coco-roons has you covered; they have 15 varieties to choose from.

89iversary X 4!

We recently celebrated our 89iversary, i.e., the anniversary of when 89 became a part of our family. Some people call it an adoptiversary, or "gotcha day;" we use 89iversary BECAUSE WE CAN.

 

Our celebration consisted of the usual fare. First, cookies!

 

 

From For the Love of Dog Biscuits, I made the summertime blueberry pumpkin biscuits. You can read more about the cookbook on Vegansaurus.

 

89 also had plenty of her other favorite foods, including watermelon. Video here for full chomping effect.

 

Next up: fun!
Because it's summer, we're hot, and we have a lifetime pool membership...we swam.

Ok, she mostly floated and posed, but there's actual swimming footage on IG.

And, finally: presents!

 

Who wouldn't want a box of poop? Come on, they're cute and you know it. Poop emoji toys for days. No, literally: days. 89 eviscerates her toys.

And, some more outfits to add to her collection of duds. That little white dog from The Secret Life of Pets makes very similar facial expressions to 89.

 No one is more deserving of a celebration than 89; I hope she enjoyed as much as I did.

Melt Organic Vegan Butter

Melt contacted me a while back to offer product coupons for their newly vegan buttery spread (aka vegan butter). It took me longer than I'd anticipated to find it in my area, but now it seems to be popping up all over.

The soy free, virgin coconut oil version I found in a tub also comes in a stick version. Their other two butter offerings- honey and chocolate, are not vegan.

The first thing I tried Melt on was a baked potato. I was coming off a gross bout with the stomach flu (not that there's any other kind), after which I ate solely crackers and vegetable broth for a week. As a result, this potato was one of the most glorious things I'd ever eaten and, frankly, didn't need any accoutrements. But, I thought I'd give the Melt a first try. The texture was spot on: appropriately solid and melty when met with outside elements such as heat and fork mashing, there was just one taste that didn't seem to go: the coconut. A few days later I tested it on corn on the cob and had the same opinion.

But, I was not to be deterred; next I made a slice of toast. Again I was impressed with the buttery characteristics, but since the coconut was not competing with any innate sweet or savory element, I enjoyed it much more.

My next step was to make a toasted jalapeno bagel for VM and let her weigh in. She loved it. Kind of more than anyone should love a buttered bagel. In fact, almost as much as she loved this, which was kind of disheartening. Point being- it was a huge hit.

Many more bagels have been had since, but I thought the coconut taste would really soar in a sweet breakfast.

Of course I was right. I didn't love these frozen waffles the first time I'd had them, but the trifecta of the blueberries, maple syrup, and Melt made them pretty darn delicious.

So, I decided that in order to really take advantage of the coconut flavor that I'd found ill-fitting as a savory dish condiment, I needed to use it for sweet. Obviously that meant I should take it one step further and use it in a dessert. I didn't necessarily need any baked goods in my life, but this was for RESEARCH. So, I pulled out the familiar chocolate chip cookie recipe from Chloe's Kitchen and set to work.

 

The butter worked tremendously in the cookies although, rather ironically, it did not have any discernible coconut taste in the finished baked good. Here I'd hoped the cookies would benefit from the coconut flavor and there was none. Still, the Melt offered terrific texture.

VM can use it for toast; I'll be baking with Melt from now on.

Cruelty-Free Holiday BBQ

Because this is America, the Fourth of July has become quite the eating spectacle. Because we are vegan, it's as good a time as any to show that vegan celebrations include everything you need for a fantastic BBQ. 

grill marks courtesy of OD

 Mine also had lots of 89. Or, I don't know, the usual amount.

The whole plate.
I'm all about the Field Roast franks these days.

 

An auxilliary burger because you shouldn't have to choose. This one was Amy's black bean veggie burger and it was not good. At all. No taste, little substance, and looked anemically unappetizing. Not only wouldn't we buy again, but we've agreed to ditch what's left in the box.

Here's my extraordinarily disappointing potato salad. Peacefood used to make my favorite potato salad, but Terri stole the crown a few years ago because they make the best potato salad in all the land. I think this will henceforth fall into the category of not worth trying when others do it so well.

 

Thank goodness VM found me these Deep River sea salt & vinegar chips so that I was able to enjoy one potato product this weekend.

Oh, and cookies: chocolate chip (with pecans) from Chloe's Kitchen.

More 89.

She ate plenty too. Video documentation on our shared IG.

She's smiling on the inside.

NoMoo VEGAN Cookies

NoMoo is a traditionally dairy-free company that recently added EIGHT vegan cookies to their repertoire! They were kind enough to send me a box of their vegan assortment for review; each cookie comes individually wrapped.

Since I was reviewing along with the esteemed tasting panel (one vegan, one vegetarian, one omnivore), I decided to start with what seemed to be the more classic flavors.

 

In order:

vanilla bean dream: "Every vanilla lover's dream! Made with Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean paste blended in a sweet sugar batter generously topped with dark, rich vanilla bean."
The (vanilla bean) dust was really unappetizing looking and didn't seem to add any significant vanilla flavor. The prominent flavor and texture was buttery with an extremely light and pleasant vanilla taste.

sugah cinnayum: "A sweet sugar cookie made with pure vanilla bean and sprinkled with sugar and spice and everything nice. It will make you say Yum."
I love cinnamon sugar more than is appropriate, but I have no idea why it was necessary to insult this stellar combination with intentional misspelling. To add to the insult, it was neither sugary or cinnamony enough. I can't be the only one that wants the sweet taste of cinnamon toast out of a cinnamon sugar cookie. Sadly, I didn't get it.

classic chipper: "Dark Belgian chocolate chips and real vanilla bean, a classic chocolate chip cookie gone vegan."
Thank goodness this cookie was very chippy and therefore most redeeming. I really liked it, which was a relief. I don't like not liking cookies!

loco for coco: "A soft, decadent cookie made with real cocoa and rich Belgium chocolate chips topped with flakes of sea salt. It's guaranteed to drive you crazy.....good!"
Hold up, I liked this one even more. As much as I love chocolate, double chocolate cookies don't usually do it for me. But, this one was my jam: really rich and really chocolatey.

Next up:
oatmeal choco-chip: "Dark Belgium chocolate chunks, tangy orange zest and rich molasses make up this spicy vegan oatmeal cookie."
While most of the cookies were thin and medium palm-size, the oatmeal was somewhat thicker, significantly denser, and quite a bit smaller in diameter. Normally I wouldn't touch an oatmeal cookie with a 99 1/2-foot pole, but since this cookie wisely substituted chocolate chips for raisins, I made an exception. It was still an oatmeal cookie, but the chips made it palatable.

citrus appeal: "A buttery citrus cookie topped with a sweet almond glaze and decorated with a fresh candied orange peel. It's bound to appeal to your taste buds."
I don't know how one goes about adhering candied orange pieces to a pre-packaged cookie, but NoMoo did and it WORKED! I would not normally reach for an orange cookie, but this was the bomb.com.

chocolate chills: "Dark, decadent French cocoa with a cool hit of peppermint."
The photo of this cookie on the website and packaging shows crushed candy canes atop, but this cookie was naked. Not only would the canes add pleasant crunch to an otherwise mushy cookie, but the added appeal would have gone a long way. Definitely nowhere near as yummy as the loco for coco.

raspberry bliss: "A blissfully sweet cookie blended with fresh, dried raspberries topped with raspberry powder."
This cookie was possibly more unappealing looking than the vanilla- perhaps because of the red dust. Unlike the vanilla cookie, there was no discernible raspberry taste whatsoever.

Overall, I'm always happy for more vegan cookies on the market, but- in my opinion, NoMoo has a little more work to do with aesthetic and flavor in many cases. To recap, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up my favorites: classic chipper, loco for coco, and citrus appeal. Let me know if you agree/disagree...go eat some cookies!!

Galentine's and Valentine's Daze

Galentine's Day coincided with a Vegan Shop-up this year; WHAT COULD BE GRANDER?

Because I'm a Vegan Shop-up professional, I generally arrive at Pine Box and try to buy as much as possible before I hand my card over to the bartender for the day and commandeer a stool amongst my pals.

First pass-through: a coveted chocolate raspberry cake from Sweet Maresa, new subway rider handwash from The Fanciful Fox, and mudslide numero uno (highly recommend).

For breakfast, I started off with a rainbow cookie macaron, also from Sweet Maresa: rainbow cookie professional. I expected it to be amazing, but it was actually astounding.

Next up, my Gone Pie buffet.

It was hard to decide, so I chose a couple of things that I'm sure you'll agree were irresistible.

For starters, this:

Nope, I'm not kidding. That's a real, edible, vegan, "loaded Valentine brownie heart." Gluten-free fudge brownie filled with marshmallows and salted peanuts, topped with peanut butter fudge frosting with a layer of pretzels, dry roasted peanuts, more vegan marsmallows, more frosting, and chocolate hearts. #veganscanteatanything

Also snagged a Gone Pie Mexican hot chocolate brownie topped with marshmallow and hearts...

And, finally, a Gone Pie nut buster pecan cluster.

 

I also picked up this chocolate/strawberry heart specialty from PonyCakesNYC because it's one of VM's favorite combinations.

 

And just like that it was time for lunch! Thankfully, Sean was there repping Riverdel Cheese. He made me this phenomenal sandwich that a certain numbered dog thought was for her. Then she stole her pal's orange garnish to wash it down.

 

Pic of said garnish alongside mudslide #2 before it was stolen:

Unpictured, the Freakin Vegans broccoli cheddar empanada and mac & cheese 89 and I devoured per usual.

She conked out somewhere around  mudslide #3.

And then it was Valentine's Day!

Candy! Rose City Chocolates all hazelnut collection:

Flowers! Sterling roses.

This nerd.

Aaaaand, more grub.
Here's that beautifully wrapped Sweet Maresa cake- even more gorgeous up close. 89 thought this was for her as well.

Also:

Some poorly lit, but delicious Vegan Treats cookies.

Aaaaaaaand, more cake. I have no idea what specific flavors they were, I can only tell you they were beautiful and chocolatey delicious: both.

For dinner, we went out for more Ethiopian food at Desta where I finally had some of their lentil sambusas and they were the best I've ever had.

Entree one:

Entree two:

 

I shared a little.

Of course I brought some injera home for 89.

She got a V-day present.

Aaaaaand, tried to eat my candy. What else is new?

Here's hoping your Gal/Val weekend was great!