Veggie Conquest

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!

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.

I am so happy to introduce Fran Costigan, “the Diva of Dairy-Free Desserts,” as a judge for Veggie Conquest #3!

Fran is a nationally recognized pastry chef and instructor, cookbook author and consultant.

Her second cookbook, “More Great Good Dairy-free Desserts”, has  recipes from cookies to cakes to pies to sauces to confections, plus conversion charts and tips on getting started and organizing your kitchen.

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!

(Source: harborcandy.com)

Posted by: Jessica

This post on Craigslist makes me really happy! A vegan chocolate shop/bakery coming soon to NYC? Run by an award-winning vegan restaurant? So people … I beg you help this restaurant out and tell any super-talented chocolatiers you know to apply!

Here’s the ad:

“Award winning Vegan restaurant seeks a person with solid chocolatier experience to create an exceptional vegan chocolate line for our soon to open chocolate shop/bakery. We are looking for someone who is well versed with tempering, molding and decorating skills. You should be proficient with creating numerous fillings such as caramel, nougat, ganache, creme, etc..

“Passion, speed, a strong work ethic and an artistic quality are a must. At least 3 years experience is necessary.

“Please send your resume along with a cover letter for immediate interview. We look forward to hearing from you!

“Thank you.”

Respond to the Craigslist post here.

Thanks to Demetrius at Vegan EatUp for the news tip!

Posted by: Jessica

Just confirmed a tip I heard from a guy at Vegan Drinks that the Upper East Side pizzeria Slice now serves Daiya Vegan Cheese by request on its pizza. Slice also sells Daiya by the half-pound bag for $6.99.

Also, Candle 79 is using Daiya in its Caesar salad, nachos, burrito and some nightly specials, and Candle Cafe is serving it too planning to serve it too (see comment below).

I’ll update this post as I learn about more places that carry Daiya in NYC. You can also check Daiya’s locations page here.

We are so happy to announce our third and final judge for the first Veggie Conquest Challenge is Kathy Patalsky!

Kathy, a self-taught vegan chef, created the Lunchbox Bunch product line and book series, featuring veggie characters who teach kids about healthy food choices.

Kathy is no stranger to giving her opinion on all things vegan. Her blog, Healthy. Happy. Life., has hundreds of vegan recipes, product and restaurant reviews, and health tips.

Kathy joins Joshua Katcher and Brian Preston-Campbell to complete our fabulous panel of judges for the first Veggie Conquest challenge. The event is at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, in Chelsea, Manhattan. See you there!

(photo by Ryan Pfluger for Olsen Haus)

Many of you know and love him ….
You consult his blog before spending your hard-earned cash on new threads …
You tune in to see his latest interviews …
You are inspired by his mouth-watering recipes …
and now you are going to hear what he thinks about YOUR recipes!

We are so excited to announce that Joshua Katcher of TheDiscerningBrute.com is going to be a judge for the first Veggie Conquest Challenge on Aug. 22!