Sunday, August 03, 2008

Sweet Eats, Recipe Post, & VegNews Awards!

Time to return to some sweets. As I say in ed&bv, "sugar 'n spice and all things nice, that's what vegan desserts are made of". Not regular desserts. Only vegan, since all things nice do not include dairy or eggs. Not nice for us, not nice for the animals. We've all got that now, right?!

Ok, so I start with a repeat. Last week my good friend's hubby had a birthday, and I decided to whip up a batch of Double Chocolate Almond Explosion Cookies from Vive. He has always loved these cookies, and so I wanted to surprise him with these goodies. He was pretty excited and said "cool, my favorite cookies... I don't know if they'll last more than a day". I said "hey, it's your birthday!" No limits on birthdays!! And... in case you don't have Vive, I wanted to share this recipe with you, so here it is! Enjoy! :)

And now I have a new sweet. This is Carob Cashew Pudding. The pic is a bit bright, but hopefully you get the idea of how luscious, creamy, and rich this pudding is. I think I have this one just about finished, I plan to test it again with chocolate instead of carob, just to see if the substitution works out just as nicely... sometimes chocolate and carob aren't quite as interchangeable as one might like, but since I like to give options for folks, I want to offer a chocolate as well as a carob version.

And, back to an oldie. These are Energy Cookies from Vive. Any of you that own Vive will notice that these cookies are NOT in the desserts section. They are found in the muffins & on-the-go snacks section. Why? Well, because, while these are certainly cookies in the manner of preparation, they aren't the type of cookie I'd 'finish a meal' with. These energy cookies aren't as sweet as other cookies you'll find in my books, and because they are meant to be 'energizing' cookies to have mid-morning or afternoon, or during an outing or trip, they are made without sugar (only maple syrup), and with wholesome ingredients including whole-grain flours, sunflower/hemp/pumpkin seeds, and raisins to help give your energy a boost! So, enjoy these cookies at any time, but please don't expect them to be a sweet dessert.

Before I sign off, I have 'awards' news... I have been nominated for two VegNews Veggie Awards for 2008. I have been nominated in the categories of "Favorite Cookbook Author" and also "Favorite VegBlog"!

I know the odds are stacked against me in both categories, but hey, why not be an optimist, hey? So, if you enjoy my cookbooks and my blog, then please show the love and vote, vote, vote! And, since I probably need only about, oh, 15 or 20 thousand votes or so, you can recruit your friends, co-workers, neighbours, children, spouse and family to vote too! ;) Don't forget that there are prizes, including "a New York City Urban Getaway, a Glam Girl Goodie Bag, a Marshmallow Madness Gift Pack, and a Vegan Cookie Smorgasbord". Get voting, the polls close on August 31st!

Oh, and one final note. For those of you that missed my radio interview with Dr. Melissa West, you can listen at your convenience here. (and I've also provided a link on the sidebar).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend my lovelies!

15 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

CAROB-cashew pudding??? Say no more, I'm sold!!

You know who I'll vote for! :0)

Animal-Friendly said...

All of these sweet treats looks great! And I can definitely tell how creamy and luscious that pudding is from the picture. I cannot wait for that recipe!

Don't worry, I've already voted for you in the VegNews survey :)

Everyday Superhero said...

Already voted. Best wishes.

Is the pudding made with silken tofu? It looks so luscious.

Judy said...

Yum, yum and yum!

I made the Chickpea Sensation Patties today....mmmmmmmmmm

nora said...

everything looks AMAZING..
i clicked the link to vote (of course i'll vote for you!), but as I was taking the survey I noticed the question on the best vegan health supplement, and I realized that the multivitamin I've been taking is one that I got as a vegetarian before I was vegan, so I would like to get a new one. You seem like one of the healthiest vegans around, so which one do you recommend? I'm looking for a daily kind of all-in-one vitamin that provides everything--B 12, etc..thanks dreena! hope you win the vegnews awards!!

Dreena said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dreena said...

Thanks for the votes guys... xo, I'd love to win!!!

Eleanor, the multivitamin that I've used for years is "Living Multi". I'm not familiar with some of the other brands in the VegNews survey, but the Living Multi is a high-quality vitamin made from concentrated whole foods that are in a formulation which makes the nutrients easier for our bodies to absorb and use. It's a pricey vitamin, but is certainly a high-quality one. You might want to ask some folks working in the supplement areas of health food stores, and/or naturopaths to get their opinions too - I've done so myself, and this Living Multi brand is always highly regarded. Hope that helps. :)

Anonymous said...

Yum, yum! These dishes look awesome!

Dreena said...

vegnextdoor, whoops, forgot to answer your q... nope, no silken tofu in there - in fact it's soy free, and I've used a good portion of almond milk in the mix - though of course, soy milk could be subbed in for the almond milk.

aTxVegn said...

I love both of those cookies and that pudding sounds delicious.

I voted for you!

Everyday Superhero said...

Can't wait to try it. Yum!

I'm making the tortilla lasagna tonight.

Carrie™ said...

I've never been a carob fan so I'm hoping the chocolate version works because I'm a big pudding fan.
It's been a while since I've made those cookies. They are one of my faves too. Hmmm....maybe I should get baking a batch.
Votes have been cast. GOOD LUCK!!!

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Anonymous said...

I've never been a carob fan so I'm hoping the chocolate version works because I'm a big pudding fan.
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I cannot wait for that recipe!