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After a lover’s spat I made this peace offering for hubby. Perfect excuse to take my new 6-inch baking pans for a tasty test spin.

For the cake, I made the Golden Vanilla recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World (by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero) and iced it with the very delish Thick Chocolate Fudgey Frostin’ - my favourite frosting in that awesome little book, so far. I used the full recipe (for 12 cupcakes) and it fit the two 6-inch pans perfectly.

I am willing to give peace a chance - especially when it tastes this good.

In my last post I wrote about my Mmm…Canada, savoury submission, Montreal Bagels. Today it’s all about the sweet things in life.

As I said in yesterday’s post, I received an invitation from Jasmine, The Cardamom Addict to take part in a blogging event that she is co-hosting with The Domestic Goddess called Mmm…Canada.

The Mmmm…Canada event is being held to coincide with Canada Day on July 1st. I am both a Canuck and a lover of food so there was no arm twisting required to get me to take part. The Cardamom Addict is handling all things savoury while The Domestic Goddess is looking after the sweet side of Canadian life. The idea behind the event is for a bunch of Canucks, and honourary Canucks, to present delectable submissions of either the sweet or savoury variety that are quintessentially Canadian. Given my love of food I decided to do both. Yesterday it was all about Montreal Bagels for my savoury submission. Today, it’s all about the sweet stuff: Nanaimo Bars.

The history that I remember about Nanaimo Bars is that they were the winning submission made by a Nanaimo (British Columbia) housewife in the 50’s, in response to a dessert bar contest. Or something along those lines. They are ubiquitous in Canada. There isn’t a single grocery store that doesn’t carry a mass-produced version - homemade is always best, of course. They are so popular in fact that I’d be surprised if mine were the only submission in this event. Nanaimo Bars are a three layer bar style dessert. The bottom layer is a chocolatey, nutty, coconut graham crumb base. This is topped with a vanilla custard-like buttercream layer. Finally, it is topped with a chocolate glaze layer. Voila, Nanaimo Bars.

Since I was really short on time, Nanaimo Bars were the perfect choice for this project. They are e-a-s-y to make, no baking required. All they need is a little chilling and before you know it you’re enjoying a diabolically sweet treat. And I mean diabolical. If you have a sweet tooth, this is your dream come true.

Warning: Nanaimo Bars are dangerous to have around. Resistance is futile.

Actually, I was rather cross with hubby yesterday. I had given him very specific instructions to take the entire batch of Nanaimo Bars to work with him for sharing. Imagine my chagrin when I opened the fridge and found them all there. Calling me. What ensued was a torturous exercise in temptation and will power. I was most displeased.

I found a recipe that had originally appeared in the Vancouver Sun newspaper and set about veganizing it. Nanaimo Bars are a cinch to veganize. Earth Balance (vegan buttery margarine) replaces butter, flax meal and water replace egg, plain soy milk replaces milk. This is my adapted recipe:

Nanaimo Bars:

Bottom layer

1/2 cup earth balance (or other vegan margarine)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp flax meal
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups crushed graham crackers or crumbs
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Middle layer

1/4 cup earth balance (or other vegan margarine)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp vanilla custard powder *
3 tbsp plain soy milk

* easy to find in Canada but sometimes difficult to find in the U.S. - instant vanilla pudding powder can be substituted.

Top layer

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp earth balance (or other vegan margarine)

Assembly:

• To make bottom layer: Grease a 9-inch square cake pan. I lined the bottom with parchment that stuck out the top so I could lift everything out after - this makes cutting the bars easier (I didn’t want to scratch up my nice pan)
• In a small bowl, beat flax meal and water together until frothy, set aside.
• In a sauce pan over low heat, combine 1/2 cup earth balance, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla . Add flax mixture and stir constantly until mixture thickens.
• Add graham crackers crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts, stirring to combine.
• Press the mixture into the greased pan.

• To make middle layer: In a large bowl, beat together 1/4 cup earth balance, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla custard powder, and soy milk until creamy.
• Spread custard mixture over graham cracker base in pan. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

• To make top layer: Melt semi-sweet chocolate and 1 tbsp earth balance. Pour over chilled bars and spread over top. Return to refrigerator to chill until firm (at least 1 hour).

• I recommend checking in on the squares after maybe ten minutes of this final chilling phase - or as soon as the chocolate topping begins to set a bit enough to score. While it’s still soft, score just the top chocolate layer with the lines you will cut along later. This way you will be able to cut the squares cleanly afterward when the chocolate is fully set, without cracking the tops (like I did).
• Serves 9-16, depending on how you divide them.

Here’s to wishing you a sweet Canada Day!

Since we’re a bit early, promise to check back on July 1st and click on the Mmm…Canada logo at the top of this post which will take you to The Domestic Goddess’ sweet Canadian roundup.

By now I’ve dabbled with rice squares several times, each time with different results. I’ve changed up the nut butters and done them with or without chocolate. The critical variable for me (if a rice square can have a critical variable) has been the amount of brown rice syrup.

I am not a huge brown rice syrup fan. Okay, I am a fan in the sense that it is an all-natural sweetener, low GI, etc, all good things, yada yada yada. I am just not totally and completely in love with the taste straight up. This means that, for me, the syrup should never be the primary flavour in any given recipe. This is not a huge issue with the rice squares since the nut butter features strongly, particularly if peanut butter is used, but I digress - back to the rice syrup amount.

When I first tried my hand at making vegan rice squares I followed a recipe. I mis-transcribed the amount of brown rice syrup required and ended up making the squares using 3/4 cup instead of the 1-3/4 cups called for. At first I thought this was disastrous - my squares were a tad on the dry side and crumbled a bit when bitten into. I eventually remade the squares with the full 1-3/4 cups brown rice syrup. In a word, yuck. They were way too sweet and they didn’t stick together all that well at all.

So my initial error was actually a happy accident. I don’t like things too sweet so I immediately knew that the lesser amount of brown rice syrup was the way to go for me.

I recently remade the squares using 1 cup of brown rice syrup - more than enough. I would say that, based on your tastes, you could use either 3/4 cup or 1 cup. Using 1 cup will give you slightly softer, chewier, slightly sweeter results. Using 3/4 cup will give you crispier, not as sweet results.

The nut butter is completely interchangeable. Use whatever you love and have on hand. I’ve tried peanut, almond, and hazelnut so far. The hazelnut is particularly good with chocolate. I will soon give cashew and macadamia a whirl. You can make the squares with rice cereal alone or you can add extras in as you see fit.

For this batch I used organic crisped riced cereal, a 2:1 ratio of organic peanut to organic almond butter and a 1/2 cup of organic vegan chocolate chips. Instead of chocolate you could use carob, nuts or dried fruit. You can also increase the volume of these extras to a cup or more. Anything goes really. I’ve used almond slivers and rolled oats in the past with sweet results.

It’s a rice square free for all.

Crispy Rice Squares, version 37 (and counting):

• 1 box crispy brown rice cereal (regular sized box, approx. 7 cups)
• 3/4 cup or 1 cup brown rice syrup (more for softer, chewier - less for crispier)
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup nut butter (this batch is 2:1 ratio of peanut to almond)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup something extra, e.g. chocolate chips, carob chips, nuts, oats, dried fruit, ad infinitum (this batch includes 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

1. lightly grease a 9x 13-inch pan or casserole dish with earth balance, oil, or cooking spray.
2. warm brown rice syrup and salt in skillet on medium heat until liquefied - stir in nut butter until combined, remove from heat.
3. place rice cereal in a large bowl - pour melted rice syrup and nut butter mixture over top.
4. use a large wooden spoon, or other firm utensil, and stir until combined.
5. if adding extras such as chocolate chips or nuts, add now to mixture and combine.
6. press mixture into prepared pan or dish and allow to cool approximately 1 hour.
7. cut into squares.

Black & White cookies hold a special place in my heart. They take me back to my time in NY, arguably some of the happiest years ever spent. Countless times I’d pick up a giant example of this hallowed dessert from too many bakeries in each and every borough to list off here (not to mention street vendors). They are decadent - and they are big. Whatever sweet craving you’ve got - these babies will satisfy.

I was so happy, joyous really, to see a vegan recipe for the majestic Black & White included in Hannah Kaminsky’s My Sweet Vegan, which only just arrived at my house last week. I get to indulge in one of my all-time favourite treats and it’s dairy-free, egg free and vegan all the way baby. My initial indecision at which tasty treat to try first upon the book’s arrival, so overwhelmed was I by all the fabulous possibilities contained therein, caused my vote to be forfeit - hubby then cast the tiebreaker in favour of Peanut Butter Bombs. Those turned out really fantastic. I knew what my second foray into the book would have to be - the Black & White.

After getting the batter together I placed generous fluffy dollops on prepared baking sheets. They looked like ethereal little clouds before going into the oven.

I might have left them in a minute too long - ok I did leave them in too long - I was distracted by a cat, but I think they were none the worse for wear.

These were really fun to make. The taste of the batter, which I sampled repeatedly, immediately took me back to being four years old when I used to steal cake batter when my great grand mother wasn’t looking and then she’d chase me around the kitchen with a wooden spoon until I dove under the table for cover. I was safe there because she couldn’t bend too well. Sorry nägy.

Great tasting batter aside, the assembly is where the true fun comes in - all that painting of the two glazes, reminiscent of finger painting. Delightful.

One thing I quickly realized was that in using organic confectioner’s sugar I was not going to get a true snow white for the white side of my cookies, rather mine would be a slight cream - against the dark chocolate glaze they look white enough though.

I even broke out my coveted Endangered Species dark chocolate baking rounds, which I’d been hording for some time.

The chocolate is so darn tasty I was tempted to slather it all over the entire cookie but I resisted. Next time perhaps.

Worth noting is that, if you work slowly like myself, you may need to nuke the chocolate glaze for ten seconds to soften it up again or you may find it start to seize up on you. We want our cookies to have perfectly smooth little Black & White tuxes thank you very much.

Et voilà! - c’est magnifiqe. I love them - so sweet and decadent and, most importantly, delicious. I enjoyed more than one with an equally humongous mug of coffee - and we’re two for two.

Now what to try next…

I recently received my copy of Hannah Kaminsky’s first cookbook, My Sweet Vegan.

My goodness, this is one great book - I really can’t say enough good things about it. One thing I should admit to is the fact that I have an incredible weakness for books of all sorts, shapes and sizes. It’s somewhat of a sickness really. My latest obsession within the obsession is cookbooks, vegan cookbooks specifically. And I have acquired many of them - each having something awesome to offer in their own right.

That said, Hannah’s creation is the closest and most perfect representation of my culinary tastes that I have ever come across. My Sweet Vegan is truly a collection of unusual and amazing desserts. There’s a lot of chocolate. This is good. But there’s also pretty much each and every favourite thing I’ve ever eaten represented in perfect vegan form.

There’s Golden Glazed Donuts. I love donuts. There’s Graham Flour Fig Scones. I love figs. French Toast - breakfast is my favourite meal. There are 77 recipes in total - some of my favourites: Black Bottom Blondies, Whoopie Pies, Marshmallow Mud Cake, Mexican Chocolate Tart, Coconut Custard Pie, Orangettes (dark chocolate covered orange peel), and Root Beer Float Cupcakes - the latter being recently honoured as one of Vegan.com’s Top 10 Recipes, 2008.

My heart smiled with nostalgic glee when I came across Hannah’s inclusion of Pfefferneuse. I nearly wept with joy at spotting the Black & White cookies - those NY classics. Ah New York, how I miss you.

But the proof is in the pudding right? It’s one thing to look at pretty pictures - and they are pretty, snapped by Hannah herself - but it’s another to have a recipe that actually delivers the goods. Based on my first foray into Hannah’s baking world, I’m pretty confident you won’t be disappointed. You can imagine how difficult it was for me to choose which tasty morsel to try first. Ultimately, hubby had to choose for me and he put his vote in for Peanut Butter Bombs.

As I write this I’m enjoying several of them with a giant mug of coffee. A symphony of chocolate and peanut butter, these bombs do not disappoint. Hannah’s instructions are very straightforward and easy to understand, the book is beautifully laid out, and each recipe is accompanied by a fabulous photograph that shows you exactly what you are aiming for.

To quote hubby, ‘MMMMmmmmm.’

Be sure to check out Hannah’s blog, Bittersweet. Luckily for us, this vegan is as generous as she is talented and shares eloquently penned tips, recipes, and crafts on a regular basis.

I’ve always enjoyed pudding. Since transitioning to a vegan diet, I hadn’t had any pudding - until yesterday.

Yesterday I set about hatching some kitchen experiments with pudding in mind. It goes without saying that I’ve always loved chocolate so this seemed like the logical flavour to go for.

I have tried many a vegan recipe for ‘cream’ topping, the pale, tofu-based sort, meant to approximate cool whip or whipped cream. I have always embarked on making these with great anticipation but, regretfully, have always been disappointed. It’s the tofu I think - it’s just not neutral enough of a base for me for such delicate flavours. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a big tofu fan - it just falls short in this area in the humble opinion of my palate. I have tried blanching the tofu to remove some of its inherent beaniness but I still find that subtle flavours are not adequate enough to supersede the tofu-ness.

So I was thinking something like tapioca might make a great pudding base, which could then be flavoured with chocolate or something else. Tapioca has its own flavour of course, lovely as it is - and I’ll take the taste of tapioca in my dessert over tofu any day. Tapioca was nowhere to be found in my pantry however so what to do in its stead? I had an awful lot of tofu in the fridge. Hmmm. I grabbed a package of silken tofu (drained) and blanched it for 5 minutes for good measure. After letting it cool I tossed it in the food processor.

Time to put the thinking cap on.

I had my heart set on chocolate. I had no actual chocolate on hand but I did have cocoa so out of the pantry it came. Normally I’d aim to sweeten this concoction with maple syrup or agave nectar - but fearing an expensive culinary failure I opted for plain old sugar (bone char free). A little pulse here, a dash of that there. Oh tofu, you still want to make your presence known. When I had made the mélange as chocolatey as it could possibly be I knew I still needed something more to add to the mix. What compliments chocolate and has a good strong flavour of its own?…my gaze wandered about the kitchen…aha, banana. I tossed my last banana into the processor with the chocolate tofu and blended until very smooth and creamy.

I turned the pudding into some glass bowls and tossed them into the fridge to cool. An hour later I had some decent chocolate pudding, who knew? Next time around I’ll try melting some actual chocolate in lieu of cocoa and try sweetening with maple syrup. I’m still determined to figure out how to make a delicately flavoured vegan cool whip.

I’ll get back to you with that one.

A good while back I came across a recipe for Crispy Brown Rice Squares on Rachael Ray’s site, offered up by celebrity vegan Alicia Silverstone. They looked healthy, simple and interesting so I jotted the recipe down and put it aside ages ago. This lazy Sunday I finally got around to giving it a try.

I used organic brown rice cereal, organic brown rice syrup, organic peanut butter and a pinch of sea salt. These simple four ingredients comprise the recipe, with the option to add carob chips. I didn’t have carob chips on hand but I did have organic vegan chocolate chips so I used them instead.

The recipe was a cinch to throw together - so much so that I didn’t even bat an eye when I discovered that I was one cup of cereal short. I simply subbed one cup of rolled oats to make up the dry volume. At first, as I was liquefying the rice syrup and peanut butter on the stove, I wasn’t expecting that I’d like the end result - I didn’t much care for the scent that was wafting up from these two elements warming together.

I pressed on.

After combining the wet ingredients with the dry it was time to press the mixture into the pan. I panicked briefly when I realized that I’d forgotten to grease the pan first, but the squares still came out without a hitch after cooling. I used a glass pan so perhaps that helped matters.

The squares were a teensy bit crumbly as I was cutting them. At first I thought this was due to my not so clever choice of a butter knife to do the cutting. On closer inspection of the recipe however I realized that I had made somewhat of a transcription boo boo - notably my measure of 3/4 cup brown rice syrup in lieu of the 1 3/4 cups called for.

Good grief, no wonder the squares didn’t stick to the pan.

Given that error I’m amazed the squares stuck together as well as they did. Next time around I’ll increase the rice syrup but I think I might reduce the amount called for just a bit and find a happier medium - I think I can get away with using less.

Despite my on the fly substitutions and transcription mayhem the squares turned out great. Very tasty and filling - I will definitely make these again. I’m not sure how carob would feature against the very prominent peanut-iness, but the chocolate complemented it quite nicely. Is it possible to go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter? I think not. One thing is certain - hubby will be brown bagging crispy brown rice square snacks for the next few days.

Update: I’ve since remade the squares, this time using the full 1-3/4 cup brown rice syrup called for (I had initially misread the recipe and used only 3/4 cup). Well, I prefer my mess-up - with less rice syrup. 1-3/4 cups was way too sweet and gooey for my taste. I’m thinking no more than 1 cup rice syrup would be more than adequate - I’m currently experimenting on my own variation and will post when done.

This afternoon I enjoyed a lovely snack of coffee and cake - and not just any cake. A gorgeous, chocolate, dairy-free, vegan slice of heaven.

During a recent jaunt to the city I made sure to visit Whole Foods Market, my personal mecca of vegan and vegetarian tasty treats. This time I remembered to pick up their vegan chocolate cake. It’s marketed as ‘Dairy Free Chocolate Cake’ yet the organic ingredient list is clearly devoid of eggs - in other words the scary V-word is nowhere to be found but vegan it is.

The cake is moist, rich and unabashedly decadent to be sure. It is adorned with a fabulously smooth and satisfying chocolate ganache. One day my own dairy-free ganache will be as good as this - mine has a habit of solidifying on me, whereas this ganache remains pleasantly moist.

Ah, chocolate - you have no equal. I will forever be your servant.

The rich chocolatey goodness of this fine cake got me thinking about vegan chocolate in general, particularly the fine, handmade variety. Around me it seems to be somewhat of a scarcity. I’m not referring to vegan chocolate in bar form, which is quite plentiful - I am no stranger to Green & Black’s Organic Maya Gold (such sweet heaven and fair trade). I’m thinking of artisan chocolates - those very fine, invariably expensive sweet delights referred to as chocolate truffles.

I’ve heard rumours here and there of fine vegan chocolate that can be had far, far away (Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates, for example), but alas - none in my immediate Torontonian vicinity. Vegan’s aren’t the only ones who might appreciate some fine chocolate - I have many a lactose intolerant friend who would embrace some fine dairy-free chocolate goodness.

I made a few enquiries and found that the following chocolate makers offer some dairy-free, vegan options - all of which are available in Canada:

Kerstin’s Chocolates - Dark chocolate is vegan.

Teuscher - Swiss chocolate legend - select dark chocolate is vegan.

Lagusta’s Luscious - Often raved about, these American chocolate artisans don’t ship outside of the US, but Canadian buyers can get them through The Vegan Store.

Dolphin Natural Chocolate - this Canadian chocolatier contributes a percentage of their profits to the Environmental defense Fund. Check out their Vegan Mix, a selection of chocolates including Mint Crisp, Organic Peanut Butter, Roasted Almond and Solid Dark.

There are a few more chocolate artists from whom I am waiting to hear back - will update when I do.

In the mean time, if anyone has a favourite vegan chocolatier, please share with this addict.

It was time to break out Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World again for a second shot at making some vegan cupcakes. Today, let there be chocolate.

Since I’m a vegan baking novice I decided to go for Your Basic Chocolate Cupcakes adorned with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Well actually, I wanted to go for the S’mores Cupcakes but there was no soy yogurt to be found in the fridge. Probably best to keep things simple at this point anyway. Note to self - buy a yogurt maker.

Now I had been less than pleased with my first foray into vegan cupcake land - the basic Golden Vanilla Cupcakes. They came out a tad too moist for my liking. Let’s face it, they were wet. I did discover, after the fact, that my oven rack was one position lower than the absolute middle which may have been the culprit. I embarked on the chocolate cupcakes with renewed enthusiasm.

Yay! The cupcakes rose a little higher than their vanilla counterparts, despite the three minute shorter baking time. I also ran the oven slightly hotter, about a needle’s width, than the 350 degrees called for - and I left them in for the full 20 minutes allowed. While the cupcakes were cooling I went about making the frosting.

I used Earth Balance brand vegan margarine and shortening. I had never used the shortening before so I was more than a bit curious to see what it would be like to work with. I didn’t have an overabundance of experience making buttercream frosting before I decided to go vegan but I have a fair amount of experience eating it under my belt. I was more than pleased with how easy it was to make this frosting and how nice it looked on the cupcakes. Most importantly, it tasted good. I really wanted to experiment with piping the frosting on but decided to keep it simple for this first foray and opted to spread it on the tops instead.

Verdict? Success! The cupcakes were moist, but not too moist. They were tasty. They look delightful - even gift worthy. Newfound confidence in tow, I can now tackle the aforementioned S’mores Cupcakes, the Tiramisù Cupcakes, Mucho Margarita Cupcakes, Dulce Sin Leche Cupcakes, Chocolate Stout Cupcakes, Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes, Hazelnut Cupcakes filled with Mocha Hazelnut Mousse Filling, Cappucino Cupcakes filled with Espresso Crème - ah hell, I’m going to make the whole book.

The second of two important birthdays is now behind me. After some very poor planning for my husband’s birthday, and the resulting debacle cake wise, I was determined to plan my sister’s dessert in advance. I was also feeling a bit gun-shy about trying another cake so I decided to go for birthday cupcakes. My sister had requested something in the way of vanilla cake with chocolate icing so I chose the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

I decided to make them the day before, just in case.

This recipe was very straightforward - not a lot of ingredients. Excellent. I chose to use canola oil in place of margarine where given the option. So far, so good. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World is a very well laid out little book. Excellent layout and typography, great photographs and, most importantly, really useful culinary information - particularly with respect to the nuances of vegan specific ingredients. I found it to be most informative.

I wanted to spell out a Happy Birthday message on the cupcakes so I figured I’d need to make two dozen. I made them in two separate batches just in case things did not go as planned.

I monitored the internal oven thermometer readout like a hawk - the instructions state the baking time to be between 20 to 22 minutes and strictly caution against opening the oven before at least the minimum baking time has elapsed. At 20 minutes I poked one with a toothpick. It came out clean so I removed the cupcakes and set them to cool as directed - first in the pan, then remove and cool completely on the rack so they don’t get soggy bottoms.

No one wants a soggy-bottomed cupcake.

After the first batch of cupcakes was completely cooled I thought some testing was in order. Tasty but not fantastic. Very moist. A bit on the dense side. Perhaps they could have done with the full 22 minutes of baking time - noted for the second batch.

As the 22 minute mark rolled around for the second batch I sussed up the cupcakes through the oven door. They weren’t turning at all golden so I thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to add an extra minute to the baking time. I let them cook for 23 minutes, baking rebel that I am.

The second batch looked and tasted exactly the same as the first, despite the extra 3 minutes baking time. Hmmm. Maybe that’s just how they’re meant to be. Very moist and slightly dense. The canola oil option was supposed to encourage a lighter cupcake to materialize. My baking powder, baking soda, cider vinegar, etc, is all brand spanking new. It could simply be something my vegan baking newbie head doesn’t yet get.

I decided to make the Chocolate Ganache icing from More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts, by Fran Costigan. I halved the recipe because I knew I wouldn’t be using all of the 3-cup yield. I chose to try Fran’s recipe because it seemed to bare the closest resemblance to traditional ganache - cream and chocolate (Fran’s recipe calls for Soy creamer of course). Everything went smoothly until the cooling stage. For a reason unbeknownst to me the ganache kept solidifying in the bowl as I was trying to ice the cupcakes. This was remedied by occasionally returning to the stove to remelt it as I was working. Slightly irritating but not disastrous. The cupcakes tasted great in concert with the ganache. Awesome.

While each cupcake was still wet with ganache, I dropped silver dragees in place to spell out my birthday message. Sister was thrilled. Behold the happy results.

My mom uses that exclamation in place of an expletive when she is suddenly surprised by something unpleasant and becomes displeased. It seems particularly apropos to me today. I had recently heard about Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates, a California confectioner that makes a line of scrumptious vegan chocolates (too bad they don’t ship internationally) and was reading up on their vegan line when, through no fault of theirs, I happened upon a rather unsavoury tidbit (emphasis mine):

Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates creates a large variety of vegan products,including chocolate bars, gift boxes and Holiday treats. This means theycontain no animal ingredients, such as milk, butter, eggs, and gelatin. The sugar that we use is non bone char.

It was the last line that caught my attention. There are bones in sugar? Sugar? I had no idea. On a side note, I find it extremely frustrating that so many animal products are insinuated into foods you would never dream they would touch.

Naturally, after doing a little research, I inevitably discover that using bone char to ‘whiten’ sugar is not the only way it can be done and indeed there are several big sugar companies that use other non-animal product methods. I found a list of American sugar companies through Peta - since we have our own sugar refineries here in Canada it will take some looking into. I’m not a fan of white sugar as a rule but I’d use it occasionally for baking, particularly confectioner’s sugar, so I’d like to find a safe one. I use turbinado sugar, sucanat, or stevia as table sweeteners and, according to Peta, turbinado sugar, sucanat, and beet sugar are never processed using bone char. So yay for that - and kudos to Sjaak’s for enlightening me. There’s another good reason to stay away from the refined stuff. Sugar!

I spent yesterday in the city with hubby. Well, we headed down together then he went to his meeting at the cool new studio and I went to the salon for some colour first aid. Afterwards, I had too much fun trolling through the isles of Whole Foods Market. Only I could get that excited browsing through a supermarket. They do have some very nice organic and healthy merchandise though. I’m still kicking myself for not bringing one of their vegan chocolate cakes home. Their bakery is to die for. Ah, I’ve only myself to blame. Stupid, stupid, stupid me.

I did pick up a beautiful bag that I’d been looking for. It’s a lovely spacious green organic cotton bag with orange Koi fish printed on the side - I’ve been coveting it since first laying eyes on it online at Heart on Your Sleeve. Very cool. I also picked up some EFA oil from Vega that I’d been meaning to pick up for some time. Gotta get those essential fatty acids in. Green & Black organic hot chocolate, organic almonds, organic figs. Organic seems to be the theme of the day. The almonds are magnificent - full, plump, sweet, just gorgeous. I didn’t do too bad. Met up with an old friend and had a good laugh over cappuccino, three actually, while we waited for hubby to join us after his meeting. Good times. By the time we arrived home I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get off my feet.

I’ve been known to extol the virtues of what I like to call the Breakfast of Champions (quinoa & steel cut oat porridge with almond milk). Today I tried a variation - 3 to 1 oat to quinoa ratio (instead of half and half) and the full dose of cinnamon and raisins (I’d cut back on those the last time around). Didn’t turn out too differently. Hubby hated it but he ate it anyway at my urging. I’m committed to making more of an effort to prepare good food. On that note my new books arrived today, two of which are vegan cookbooks: Veganomicon and Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. Dreena Burton, who wrote ED&BV, has kindly pointed me in the direction of her Flickr gallery to navigate the book and try to pick something wonderful to start with. So I’m looking forward to some serious good food. Another friend and fellow foody, Ryan, posted some absolutely awesome pics on FB of some dishes he had recently prepared and kindly shared the recipes with me. I also really want to try Clotilde’s recently posted Carottes et Betteraves Râpées (shredded carrot and beet salad). Coincidently, beets are also featured in one of Ryan’s recipes - also in a salad but this time cooked. Lots of inspiring things to choose from. Time to get cooking.