Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Vegan Treats...For Dinner!











 I really was planning on having leftovers for dinner: collard greens and black-eyed peas cooked with coconut milk, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Healthy, fibrous, sweet and spicy; it would have made a fine dinner.
But then I was unexpectedly gifted Vegan Treats...who could expect me to resist?

Donuts (top to bottom, left to right)
chocolate glazed
sprinkled chocolate glazed
sprinkled vanilla glazed
boston creme
oreo cookie cream
toasted coconut cream (never had this one before: YUM!)
oops, is that another boston creme? How'd that get in there?
Cookies
chocolate chip
cowboy: pecan, chocolate chip, & coconut
banana chocolate chip (new flavor: super moist & ultra delicious)

Unfortunately, my sweet meal was served along with some disappointing news. Apparently Vegan Treats is no longer offering soft-serve ice cream in the shoppe. And it doesn't seem like this decision is temporary, as the soft-serve machine is gone! Vegan Treats, what happened? Your varied soft serve flavors were a big (and tasty) part of my visits: strawberry, chocolate cake batter, hazelnut, peanut butter, and my favorite: blueberry (to name a few). I even liked your vanilla, and that's saying a lot from this chocoholic. Any chance the soft-serve machine is taking a vacation?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Behold the Vegan Pignoli Cookie!


Mom, meet Isa & Terry: discuss.

The latest good/evil to come out of my vegetarian Mom's kitchen is the coveted, but elusive, pignoli nut cookie. Thanks to VCIYCJ and a mom who loves pignoli cookies but feels bad that her vegan daughter can't have them, the recipe was tried and conquered this weekend.

The good: YUM; I haven't had these cookies in a really long time.

The evil: I am going to burst I am so full of these delicious cookies.
(and I was still stuffed from the struffoli from last week!)

Two notes on the recipe:

1) Follow it exactly, i.e., "softened" margarine doesn't mean frozen, then half melted from the microwave (I blame this oversight for my flattened-- but still perfectly tasty-- cookies).

2) Squash as many pignolis as you can onto the cookie!

Also, note to Isa & Terry: ever think of starting a line of perfume? Because I can't stop sniffing these scrumptious smelling cookies any more than I can stop eating them.