Vegan Diner!

So if you follow me on Twitter  then you already know that I am testing for Julie Hasson’s  new book, Vegan Diner. All I can say is these cinnamon rolls are worth the price of admission alone!

Cinnamon Orange Rolls!

They are gooey, sticky sweet perfection!

Rising Buns!

This next one is homemade biscuits, hollandaise sauce, breakfast sausages – Julie’s version of Benedict rocks!

Breakfast Benedict

And last but not least are theses Mocha Muffins:

Morning Mocha Muffins

This sampling barely scratches the surface, this book is gonna rock your vegan comfort foods socks off!

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Baja Style Tofu Tacos!

So I’m not sure of it’s a Cali thing but on a hot, sunny day all I want is some cervezas and Baja Style Fish Tacos! I have been missing these immensely so I decided to take matters into my own hands! First, get your hands on some good mexican beer – I prefer Pacifico Clara – light, crisp, and delicious. Side note: if you wanna know if your alcohol is vegan check out Barnivore.  Take a pound of extra firm tofu (I use Wildwood brand)  and press it for about half an hour, pat it dry and cut roughly into “fish stick” sized pieces. Marinate it in 1 1/2 cups of beer for about another half an hour. In the meantime, mix together 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of cornmeal, 1 tsp. of cumin and oregano, 1/2 tsp. of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne or some other type of chili powder, or cheat and use your favorite cajun style spice mix, and salt & pepper to taste. Once your tofu has sat in the beer for awhile go ahead and pour that beer into the dry mixture. Mix well until it has a thick pancake like consistency. You might need to add a little more beer to get the right consistency (if you still have any left at this point). Coat your tofu pieces in the batter and in a cast iron skillet or deep frying pan add enough of your favorite oil ( I use canola) to completely submerge the tofu pieces and fry them until golden brown. They should look like this:

Beer Battered Tofu

I used shredded cabbage and carrots, avocado, and I made some “cheater” sauces. I took a cup of Tofutti Sour Cream   and added about a cup of chopped cilantro and 1 tbs. of lime juice. Then I took another cup of the sour cream and added 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (seeded and finely minced) and a bit of the sauce until it was just the right amount of spicy. Assemble your tacos on corn tortillas, add some limes and your favorite hot sauce and you’re set!

Baja Style Tacos

If I may say so myself, these tacos turned out fantasic! Just like the fish tacos I remember but cruelty-free!

Beer Battered Tofu Tacos

So get your cervezas ready amigos and have yourself a feast!

Oh Locali, How I Love Thee!

So if you live in Los Angeles and you have not visited Locali yet, what are you waiting for? Not only does this “convenience” store carry some great products (Teese!), have fantastic prepared foods, a super friendly staff, they now carry C’est La V baked goods! Additionally, you can follow them on Twitter and always be “in the know” about what they have! Check out their ExtraVeganza sandwich:

ExtraVeganza!

Grilled veggies, spinach, and artichoke tapenade on herb bread – delicious!

Now on to the C’est La V baked goods I scored at Locali! I am so glad I can jump in the car for a 5 min ride to get a sweet vegan fix!

C'est La V

Locali had quite the selection but I settled on a brownie and some chocolate crackles. All I can say is that I was definitely not disappointed!

Brownie

The brownie is rich, dense, and pure chocolate heaven!

Chocolate Crackles

These Chocolate Crackles should just be called crack because they are highly addictive! Soft gooey chocolate on the inside with powdered sugar on the outside. Too bad I ate them all already because looking at the picture is making me crave them again!

So please, let me once again urge you to head on over to Locali, you won’t be disappointed!

Veggie Thing!

If you are here it’s safe to assume that you like reading vegan food blogs. You need to go check out Citysearch’s new website Veggie Thing! They’ve gathered some of the hippest vegan bloggers ( I am humbly included) to go around their cities and review some of the tastiest vegan food around.

Veggie Thing

So be sure and visit the website, you won’t be disappointed!

Dandies! Vegan Marshmallows

So if you follow me on Twitter then you’ll already know how excited I was a couple of days ago when I received my Dandies vegan marshmallows from VeganEssentials!  Everything I can tell you about them won’t really do them justice – you just gotta try them for yourself.

Dandies!

They are made by Chicago Soy Dairy, who also make the fantastic Teese. We vegans now have nothing to be envious about on the marshmallow front – these little pillows taste better than anything I’ve ever had – straight outta the bag, in a S’more, and my favorite, Rice Krispies Treats! I followed the recipe from the Kellogg’s website and subbed with Earth Balance.

Rice Krispies Treats

Dandies are still a bit hard to procure but I highly recommend you keep your eyes out for these, not only because they are delicious but also because we need to support vegan companies like Chicago Soy Dairy. Their products rival any non-vegan versions and supporting them will secure that they will be around for a long time!

Dandies Rice Krispies Treats!

Hooray for Dandies!