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!