Ramble On

A short paragraph in which I blab about what is to come: It's crazy, but for a little while there I thought that maybe I was done with this whole blogging thing. Seriously. It probably won't continue forever, but I'm not quite done with it yet. I have decided to branch out a bit. I'm still vegan. I cook food and eat it. But lately I'm focused on other things, like books, music, enjoying the outdoors before it gets cold, and many other things. What this means for the blog is that I will be writing about other things if I start posting more often. I tried starting another blog, but wasn't really attached and as some of you know, it's hectic trying to keep up with more than one. Kudos to those of you who do so successfully!

Did you know that it's Banned Books Week here in the U.S.? It's true! So stop in to your local library or bookstore today and show your support by picking one up! (I should mention that I started this entry several days ago, but just because it's the end of the week doesn't mean you have to stop celebrating banned/challenged books!) I recently read Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. If you're interested, you can read my review here. I also read Slaughterhouse Five, which I highly recommend! These books were recently banned in Republic, MO. Book banning frustrates me, but having this happen so close to home really pissed me off. It all started with a man by the name of Scroggins who discovered "filthy" books disgracing the local school libraries. You can read what he had to say in this link. So the Republic school board listening and decided that these books were not appropriate. I would like to mention that, to my knowledge, the board did not read the books before voting. It's hard for me to not go into a long rant over this. So, to keep it short, the books are now available, but only accessible to students with parental permission. The Springfield-Greene County library system is doing amazing things to celebrate Banned Books Week this year! Sarah Ockler is presenting tonight and tomorrow here in Springfield! There are several other events happening that you can read about here. You should also check out Ockler's blog! 

Yes this was a rambler. No, I won't wait so long to post again. To prove it, these entries will be up in the next week (since I've taken so long to get them up!):
*SWAP! Information for the next swap will be posted in the next week. As always, you are welcome to leave suggestions in the comments or e-mail me with your ideas.
*Coconut Bacon - I will post this soon. I've actually had the recipe sitting by the computer for several weeks...
*Stayed tuned: Sometime soon there will be a GIVEAWAY!!

Surprise!

BOO! I'm back! Right now I'm working on offline pursuits, so blogging may be a little sparse for a time, but I plan to make more time for it! I can't believe it's been over two months!!

The Vancouver trip was amazing and I will post more pics and discuss some of the incredible food we had very soon! Here's a sneak peak:

In September there will be a SWAP! (That's a promise Amber!) I miss swapping with you guys. I haven't decided on a theme yet, so if there are any requests feel free to let me know!

Taking Flight!

Early tomorrow morning we're flying to Vancouver! I'm psyched! Unless something crazy happens, like breaking an arm or a camera, I should have some pics to share when I return :)

Coming up (after June 14):
* Vancouver pics - of course!
* Next swap!
* Coconut Bacon
* Vegan Advocacy tips
* A surprise post (if you're lucky ;)

'Til then I wish you all a wonderful week and look forward to catching up on your blogs when I return!

Review: Chocolate Inspirations

English Toffee via website

Chocolate Inspirations, Inc. was kind enough to send me a wonderful sample pack of their vegan confections last fall. Now that I'm on a roll with posting more regularly I thought it was about time to pull this one from the vault! Though it has been some time since my tasting I took notes regarding my thoughts. Overall these were a little sweet for me. I am so used to using things like coconut crystals and dates that sweets loaded with cane sugar are not as thrilling as they used to be. But for those who regularly use sugar you might be interested in their variety of vegan options.

Cashew Brittle: Toffee-caramel taste with a semi-sweet chocolate coating, and a crunchy-chewy texture. This is not as crisp as the brittle I grew up with, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Caramel Latte Pretzel Bites: These were very sugary-sweet, not much more to the flavor than that. The pretzel seemed stale. I noticed this to be the case with most of the pretzel bites. I know that due to weather it took a bit to get the package and this may have been the issue. I didn't notice a lot of difference in flavors between the pretzel bites. All featured a sweet coating and pretzel.

*Caramel Cup: Sweetly satisfying :) One of the best things I tasted from the selection! A thin chocolate layer on the top and bottom of a chunk of caramel. The caramel had a fudgy texture which I found very satisfying!

English Toffee: A tasty, soft-textured toffee.

Coconut Brittle: Chocolate covered crisp brittle with a hint of toasted coconut. Not certain if the coconut was toasted, but it tasted like it.

*Granola Bark: Very tasty! Mixed with dried fruit and topped with a layer of chocolate. The texture was somewhere between a granola bar and a no-bake cookie, quite nice!

Cinnamon Toast English Toffee: Good taste and was exactly what I expected from the title: loads of cinnamon and sugar flavor accompanied by a crisp, caramelly flavored toffee covered in chocolate.

Granola Bark w/chocolate via website

This link will take you directly to the vegan selection: link.

Quickie

Cameron - the legless cat wonder

For any new folks stopping by, Cameron does have legs. He just has special powers that allow him to make them disappear whenever he likes;)

If you like making raw food or want to try there is an awesome contest you should check out at Vegan On the Go's blog.

Blogroll...I've been updating again. Twitter is a crazy new land that I have entered. Within I have discovered even more fantastic vegan bloggers and I've added a few to the list. I removed blogs that haven't posted in 6 months or more. For now I want to feature bloggers that post fairly regularly. If you do not see your blog listed and would like it to be so, please tell me! Recently I've noticed several missing that I thought I had listed ages ago.

I enjoyed a lovely weekend! Yesterday Madi, my niece, and I spent most of the day together geocaching, drawing by a lake, and running around.

If you are interested in regular updates regarding recipes, bits of information, and some randomness you can join me on Twitter via the little birdy at the top of the right column ;)

Smile Time - Donut Style

Happy donut face

Recently I borrowed Babycakes Covers the Classics.  Scanning the recipes I thought to myself, "What haven't I tried since I started baking with coconut crystals?"  DONUTS! Since my wonderful mom bought me a mini-donut pan to match the regular pan (also from her ;), I had to use both.  For this round I made the "Agave-sweetened Plain Donuts" with coconut crystals.

Before

After

And how did they turn out?  Pretty tasty, but a little sweet for my tastes. They actually reminded me of a fluffy vanilla wafer (must admit that I used to have a weakness for those).  These babies were loaded with vanilla (a whole 1/4 c!).  Next time I'll try them with a little less vanilla and sugar.

Slightly blurry inside shot

No smile Cam - he didn't get a doughnut

Mini Strawberry Face :)

Trivia Question:  What inspired this entry title?

Local: Pizza at the Grotto

 

We borrowed Adam's Mom's camera for the Vancouver trip in June.  I took this opportunity to slip the small traveler into my purse and snap shots of local restaurant eats as promised ;)

The Grotto is a local joint in Springfield, MO that serves pizza, sandwiches and salads.  A vegan menu is available at request, which makes the experience even better.  The most exciting thing about the Grotto is vegan cheese!  I could hardly believe it when a friend told me about this place last year.

We went out for a girls' lunch since Hannah (sister) was in town for Tori's (niece) graduation.  The crew included Mom, Hannah, Tori, Madi (niece) and me.  

First up, appetizers!  Homestyle chips seasoned with rosemary and thyme, and hummus with herbed focaccia.

The chips were slightly crisp and had a nice delicate herby flavor.  The hummus was decent, but pretty average.  I was happy to see the extra oil on top :)  It was a little more oil than necessary, but since it's been dry on previous occasions it was a welcome sight.  Their focaccia was quite nice; flatbread sprinkled with herbs and sea salt and slightly crisp.

Did I mention how enticing it looked?

We ordered two large pizzas.  Hannah and I decided that it was important to have plenty of food and had no fear of taking home leftovers if necessary ;)

The Vegan Veggie Medley features a light marinera with roma tomatoes, grilled squash, red onions, portabello mushrooms, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers and fresh herbs.

Nicely loaded with veggies and very satisfying.  Check out the huge slice on my plate!

Our second pizza was a classic Vegan Margherita.  Also very pleasing.

A very satisfying meal :)  Adam and I enjoyed the leftovers cold.  It was definitely just as good the second time around ;)

Almost forgot photos of happy people!

Hannah, Tori, and Madi = 3 lovely ladies!

My lovely Mom :)