Veggie Conquest

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Donuts! I think this is a great idea!
Let’s sell this event out to encourage Brooklyn Kitchen Labs (and Gavin Pherson) to have more vegan cooking classes!

Where: The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, 100 Frost St. in Williamsburg
When: Thursday, April 15th, 6:30 pm
Cost: $50

Come join Gavin Pherson, owner and executive chef of the underground, vegan fine dining company Hole & Corner, as we patch the gaping hole in your culinary repertoire with…what else? Perfectly delicate, Vegan Donuts! You will learn how to customize your donuts with a neigh-sacrilegious array of succulent fillings, glazes, and toppings from both the sweet and the savory canon, and we’ll invite your personal creative touch along for the ride. In this class we will also learn to make several donut-friendly accouterments, including Cashew Coffee Cheesecake, to help convert the simple, noble donut into a stately dessert.

Feel free to bring any animal-free topping or filling-related fantasy ingredients your sweet mind may desire.

You can sign up online at The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs website.

I am so happy to announce the next Veggie Conquest! VC4 will be at  5 p.m. Sunday, April 25.

Tickets will be on sale at 10 a.m. EST this Tuesday, March 23. As most of you know, these tickets go fast! VC3 sold out in record time… so please don’t wait to buy your tickets, because they will be gone! You can buy your tickets here.

We have found a wonderful venue that is eco-minded and cute too! The venue is Green Spaces in Chinatown. It is easy to get to from any train.

New and exciting things

VC4 is going to be one to remember! We are very fortunate to have MATCH vegan meats as a sponsor. MATCH is a gourmet-quality vegan protein, beloved by restaurants nationwide, that is now available in New York City stores to buy for your own kitchen. MATCH comes in five flavors: Breakfast “Sausage”, Ground “Pork”, Ground “Beef”, “Crab” and Italian “Sausage”. Each provides the taste, texture and nutrition of meat without the saturated fats, cholesterol, hormones, antibiotics or cruelty! MATCH can be used in all your family recipes and can even please the adamant meat lover in your life. It can be purchased at all D’Agostino grocery stores in NYC.

You will get to taste MATCH for yourself at VC4 during the second course, prepared by volunteers!

MATCH also has a very exciting surprise for the attendees. Trust me, you will NOT want to miss this!!

With MATCH’s sponsorship, we are able to do new and exciting things! Now we will give all competing chefs $25 when they show up at VC with their competing dish. This will encourage chefs to take risks and splurge even more on fantastic ingredients! All chefs may also bring a guest for free to help cheer them along (and help carry food too!). Chefs, after you sign up, we’ll email you to ask who your guest will be. If you are interested in competing, check out the “How it Works” page on our website.

More exciting news

The kind people at Crazy Camel Dessert Hummus are sending all of their flavors (all 6!) for everyone to try. I am so excited to try these!

Once again, the talented and gorgeous Joshua Katcher (www.thediscerningbrute.com) will be our emcee for the night and DJ Lil Ray will be providing us with the tunes! YAY!

Find out more about VC4

You can subscribe to our blog and follow us on Twitter or Facebook to learn more news about VC4, including our really really exciting judges (to be revealed very soon)!

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Want to sharpen your skill in the kitchen before the next Veggie Conquest?

Want to know what to cook for your non-vegan friends to have them begging for more?

NYC,  you have the chance to be taught some cooking tricks and techniques by the “vegan famous” Joshua Katcher himself!

Joshua is Veggie Conquest’s emcee, although we first got to know him as a judge at VC1 and by reading his amazing blog. That’s how we all know that Joshua knows what he is talking about when it comes to food (and fashion)! He is a fabulous cook and an all around swell guy!

Join Joshua on Saturday, March 13, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at Jivamukti Tea Cafe for an interactive cooking workshop where he will be cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner! Make sure to bring your questions. There will be lots of opportunity for Q and A!

The class is $75.  Sign up here on Jivamukti’s website (under the special events tab on the top right).

Sarah Gross and her rescue, Mocha Photo by: Jessica Mahady

Eating Chocolate can now help save animals! Check out the new Brooklyn based vegan and kosher chocolate company called Rescue Chocolate. Not only are their chocolates OMG-good, every single purchase helps to rescue animals. I had the opportunity to ask the lovely and very sweet Sarah Gross, president of Rescue Chocolate, a few questions. She has some VERY exciting new flavors to reveal!

VC: Tell everyone a little about about Rescue Chocolate.

SG: Rescue Chocolate is an all-vegan chocolate company founded with the mission of saving homeless pets. We donate all net proceeds to animal rescue organizations, and each flavor highlights a specific homeless pet issue to spread awareness about these problems and suggest ways to fix them!

VC: How did you come up with the idea of Rescue Chocolate?

SG: I have been deep into the dark/vegan chocolate world as a side hobby for the last several years. Trying every dairy-free brand and flavor I could get my hands on! So I felt qualified to judge a good chocolate and decide on the very best flavors. The way we treat animals has always been very important to me. I’ve been volunteering at animal shelters since I was 9 years old, and I’ve been vegan for over 10 years. To do something meaningful for animals on a large scale has always been what I’ve felt I am meant to do.

VC: What is your history with chocolate?

SG: In addition to tasting all the vegan chocolate that comes before me [wink wink], I have worked at a raw organic chocolate company, Gnosis Chocolate, for over a year. I developed a flavor there, Fleur De Sel, which is now a permanent fixture of the Gnosis line.

Rescue Chocolate's Peanut Butter Pit Bull

VC: Right now your chocolate flavors are Pick Me Pepper, Peanut Butter Pitbull and Bow Wow Bon Bons. Do you have any more flavors planned?

SG: Foster-rific Peppermint is coming in a few days!! Shortly after, we are unveiling a (vegan!) cream-filled Easter egg!! Hold onto your socks.

VC: WHOA! I am very excited! Pre-vegan days, I would get really excited about the cream filled eggs around Easter… They were my favorites!

VC: You sell your Chocolate in pet stores and other non conventional places to buy chocolate… Why did you choose to sell in these places?

SG: These are definitely untapped chocolate markets. But to me, it just makes sense for a pet owner to get a little treat for her- or himself as she/he purchases pet treats. Often one is frazzled by the time they get to a pet store, and chocolate is a perfect release for this feeling.

VC: There is a list on your website (rescuechocolate.com) of all the places that sell Rescue Chocolate in New York City. Where can people who don’t live in New York City get their hands on these wonderful chocolates?

SG: You can order online at RescueChocolate.com. In San Diego, find us at the store All Vegan. And of course, if you know of a store that RC would be perfect for, tell the owner that you want them to carry Rescue Chocolate! We are gratefully expanding to more and more places with your help!

VC: 100% of the net profits from your chocolates go to animal rescue. There are so many wonderful animal rescue organizations out there, how do you choose who to give to? And who are you giving to?

SG: For January and February 2010 all net proceeds are being donated to the Animal Relief Coalition to Haiti. This was in response to the horrific damage caused by last month’s earthquake. It is a group that we felt needed the funds most at this time. Next month, we will be donating to the United Animal Nations, a group with international relief efforts as well, doing very important work. It is our goal to choose groups that we can ensure the money will go directly to the programs that it will impact the most.

VC: Anything else we should know about Rescue Chocolate?

SG: We are open to all wholesale inquiries and would love to get as many rescue organizations carrying Rescue Chocolate as possible. Not only will rescue groups be able to use it as a fundraiser, but they will be educating the public in a fun (and YUMMY) way.  Also, we love to cater parties!

VC: Yumm vegan chocolate party!

At VC3 we had the pleasure of tasting Mike Lieberman’s CranBanApple Parfait. He took home Second Prize! He was kind enough to share the recipe and also give an instructional video on his blog . This completely raw dessert is quite easy to make. I hope you will give it a try! It’s yummy!

Approximate serving size

• 2-3 servings

Machine use
• Vita-Mix or food processor

Ingredients


• 2-3 sweet apples (fuji or honey crisp)
• 1 1/2 cups of cranberries
• 1/2 cup of soaked raisins
• Dash of cinnamon
• 2 really ripe bananas
• 1 pear
• 1 1/2 heaping teaspoons of lucuma powder
• Teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 4-6 soaked dates and soak water
• Sprinkle of cacao nibs

Directions
• If you make this in advance, let each layer sit in its own bowl to settle for an hour or so. This will enhance the flavors and consistency of the dish. If you assemble right away, it will be a bit more runny.
• Cut up apples and add to Vita-Mix or food processor with handful of raisins, 1 cup of cranberries and cinnamon.
• Pulse down into a puree.
• If it’s too liquid, strain off some of the juice and enjoy it on the side.
• Add this layer to your serving dish and press down to pack it in.
• Rinse out Vita-Mix or Food Processor before moving onto the next step.
• Put bananas, pears, vanilla and lucuma powder in Vita-Mix or food processor and blend down until smooth. Add warm water as needed.
• Pour this layer on top and swirl dish to settle the banana mixture.
• Rinse out Vita-Mix or food processor before moving onto the next step.
• Add coconut oil, rest of cranberries, dates and 1/4 cup of the date soak water to the Vita-Mix or Food Processor. Blend down until smooth.
• Place this layer on top and swirl the dish to settle the layer
• Sprinkle cacao nibs on top.

If you were lucky enough to attend VC3, then you know how amazing  Yuko Tonohira’s Rice Crêpes with Ginger-Cranberry Sauce were. She took home First Place and Taster’s Choice!

If you weren’t there, you can check out the recipe below and make them yourself!

Thanks Yuko for sharing this wonderful recipe!!

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup grade B dark maple syrup
2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1/4” thick

Crêpe batter:
1 cup rice flour (I used ‘Joshinko’ rice flour, can be found at Japanese groceries)
1 tsp potato starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp canola oil
1 cup water

Filling:
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/2 tsp cardamom, ground
1/4 tsp dried whole red chili pepper, crushed (do not use seeds!)
1/4 salt
pinch black pepper
1/4 cup agave (dark)

Optional agave syrup for gluing crêpes
Crushed pistachio for garnish (very green Iranian pistachios recommended)

Directions:

Sauce:
1. Put cranberries, sliced ginger and maple syrup in small saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you prefer to mash the berries, that’s fine too.
2. Let cool in room temperature.
3. Take out ginger prior to serving. (these ginger pieces themselves are yummy treats!)

Crêpe batter:
1. Mix rice flour, potato starch, salt, oil and water in a bowl.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over low heat. Lightly oil the skillet and wipe with paper towel. Pour a small amount of the mixture, rotate the skillet to form a thin, nicely round crêpe (about 5 inches in diameter) and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Carefully flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
4. Place the crêpe onto a plate, then place a piece of damp (not too wet) paper towel to avoid sticking and drying.
5. Repeat 2,3,4… NOTE: the rice flour tends to sink to the bottom of the bowl so you should stir the batter frequently.

Nuts:
1. Heat oven to 350F. Oil a baking sheet.
2. Chop walnuts and pistachio with a knife into smaller than 1/4” and mix with sesame seeds. Place nuts on the baking sheet.
3. Mix cardamom, chili, salt and black pepper and sprinkle onto the nut mixture. Stir well.
4. Put the tray into the oven, bake for 5 minutes, take it out, add coconut flakes and mix. Bake for another 5 minutes.
5. Take the tray out of the oven and immediately sprinkle with agave syrup. Mix well so that syrup sticks to the nuts. You will get a nice sticky & heavy texture.

Filling and Finish:
1. Place a small amount of nut mixture onto a crêpe and roll it up like you roll sushi. Use agave syrup as a glue to keep the rice rolled (and to add little more sweetness!) Careful not to break the crêpes – they’re very thin and fragile.
2. Top with a small amount of cranberry sauce and dash of crushed pistachio. Enjoy the color!

Source: Gone Pie

One of our friends, Gone Pie Vegan Bakery, has a new product for this holiday season… vegan crystallized ginger! This can be a hard thing for vegans to find, because of the unknown source of the sugar used in commercial brands. Coupled with Gone Pie’s chocolate frosting, this could make a great gift!

If you are attending VC3, you will be able to taste the crystallized ginger for yourself… Gone Pie will provide samples!!!

Gone Pie makes ordering really easy and can ship anywhere near or far!

You can find out more about Gone Pie and the ginger here.

This recipe was created and cooked by Steven Carpenter for Challenge #2! He won first place and tasters’ choice! Thanks so much, Steven, for sharing this amazing recipe!!

Sara and Sarma Photography

Smoked chili buttercup squash-stuffed zucchini blossoms with pumpkin seed crema

(makes about 20 blossoms)

INGREDIENTS

20 large, very fresh zucchini blossoms, gently rinsed and dried.
10 extra blossoms can be used for garnish if you want to get fancy.

For the squash filling:
1 buttercup squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 of one red bell pepper
1 jalapeño
1 clove of garlic minced
1 tablespoon cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 dried ancho chili
1 dried New Mexico chili

For the wet batter:
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (soaked at least 6 hours in 1 cup water)
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
vanilla

For the dry batter:
2 cups white all purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Canola or safflower oil for frying

For the crema:
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (soaked at least 6 hours in 1 cup water)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
a pinch of mustard powder
a pinch of black pepper
a dash of Mexican hot sauce (I use Valentina brand)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to broil.
2. Broil the whole tomatoes, 1/2 bell pepper (laid flat with skin side up), and jalapeño.  Turn tomatoes and jalapeño frequently, and remove when skin blisters and begins to blacken. Remove red bell pepper when skin has completely blackened.  Set aside to cool.
3. Lower oven to 400º.
4. Cut the buttercup squash in half, brush cut ends with olive oil, and place cut end down on a baking sheet.
5. Roast squash in oven for 40 minutes.
6. While squash is roasting heat a skillet over a high flame.  When hot, toast the ancho and New Mexico chili by pressing the chilies onto the skillet for about 15 seconds per side, they should make a popping sound.  Place in a bowl of cold water and let stand for 30-60 minutes.
7. To prepare the wet batter and crema, drain and rinse the soaking pumpkin seeds.
8. To make the wet batter, combine 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar, and a couple drops of vanilla.  Blend into a smooth liquid. Set aside.
9. To make the crema, combine 1/2 cup of the soaked pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chili, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon agave nectar, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, a pinch of mustard powder, a pinch of black pepper, and a dash of Mexican hot sauce in a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and creamy.  Place in a zip lock bag and set aside in refrigerator.
10. Remove squash from oven and let cool.
11. While squash is cooling, remove the skin from the tomatoes, red pepper, and the skin and seeds from the jalapeño.  Chop the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and 1/2 of the jalapeño (or more to taste).  Place chopped vegetables in a blender or food processor and add the clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon cumin.  Blend until smooth.  Set aside.
12. Remove the flesh of the squash.
13. Add 1/2 of the squash and 1/2 of the spiced roasted vegetables to a food processor.  Blend until very smooth and place in a large mixing bowl.  Repeat with the other 1/2 of the squash and vegetables.
14. Remove the seeds from the the ancho and New Mexico chili.  Place the chilies in a blender  or food processor and blend into a smooth paste.
15. Add 1 small teaspoon of the chili paste at a time to the squash mixture, tasting after each teaspoon, until desired heat is reached (you will have extra chili paste).  Then add the squash mixture to a large zip lock bag (you can use a pastry bag if you have one).
16. To make the dry batter, combine the 2 cups white all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to a large mixing bowl.  Mix until spices are evenly distributed.
17. Cut a small hole in one corner of the squash mixture bag and squeeze 1-3 tablespoons of the squash mixture into each zucchini blossom (depending on the size of the blossom), pinching/twisting the ends closed.
18. In a large wok or pan, heat about 1-1/2 inches of canola or safflower oil to 350-375º.  (You can also pan fry the blossoms in 1/4-1/2 inch of oil in a skillet.
19. Lay out the squash blossoms, wet batter, and dry batter on the counter.  Heat the oven to 200º and place a cooling rack in the oven.
20. Roll the blossoms in the dry batter, shake off excess flour, dip in the wet batter, shake off any excess, then roll again in the dry batter.
21. Gently place as many blossoms as will fit in your wok or pan (leaving at least 1/2 inch between each blossom), and fry for 4-5 minutes, turning after about 3 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
22. Use tongs to gently transfer the fried blossoms to the cooling rack in the oven.
23. Once all the blossoms have been fried, remove from oven, top each with a few zig-zags of the crema, and serve immediately. (For a nice presentation place one of two of the fries blossoms on top of a fresh blossom.)

Some of you might have seen this guy around town …

Photo by Kathryn Somerville

Who is this and what in the world does the big inflatable green couch have to do with us? Well, let me introduce you to Scott Alexander, a.k.a. “free vegan cookie guy.” Scott is musician looking to make more friends. What better way to make new friends than give out free vegan cookies to the masses while sitting on a big inflatable green couch? By the way, he encourages you to sit on the couch too. Scott is an 8-year vegan and has shared his vegan cookies at his musical performances for years, but just started this new adventure of taking his green inflatable couch around NYC and giving out cookies. Wondering how you can find Scott and his cookies? Well, follow him on Twitter or Facebook and wait for him to announce when he is going to be somewhere in the city. Then show up and eat some cookies! That simple.

I ran into Scott and his couch at Union Square a few weeks ago and got to try one of these cookies myself. Let me just tell you they are great! Scott is kind enough to share is recipe with us, too. You can find it on his music website here!

Thanks, Scott, for spreading the vegan love!

Attention NYC vegan Jews… vegan round challahs have been spotted at the Whole Foods Chelsea. They are made by a local bakery called Lilly’s. This is the only time of year they make vegan challahs, so make sure to get one!! They are yummy even if you aren’t a Jew. They have plain ones and the traditional challahs with raisins. You can find them near the checkout lines with all of the other Jewish holiday food.

This is the first vegan challah I’ve seen retailed! If you find vegan challah anywhere else, let us know in the comments!

L’shana Tovah!