Veggie Conquest

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!

Posted by: Jessica

I love Trader Joe’s, but I hate the crowds. Here in NYC the TJ on 14th Street is always packed. Often the line wraps around the perimeter of the already small store, making it difficult to actually shop. There is a lot of strategic aisle planning and “can you hand me that, please” going on. Somehow I always keep going back (and apparently everyone else does too). The truth is you really can’t beat the prices, and the quality of the food is great!  You only have about 5 sec to look at a product’s labels before someone is accidentally ramming a cart into your heels or reaching over you to grab the last bag of frozen broccoli before someone else does. In the past this has stifled my desire to try new things at TJ. It is too much of a health hazard, not to mention nerve-racking, to read the labels and ensure everything is vegan while watching to make sure someone isn’t pushing your cart all the way down the aisle out of their way … I would just stick with what I knew was good and likely vegan. That was until they started putting these cool labels on things …

They have labels for gluten free, low sodium, fat free, vegetarian, vegan, heart healthy, quick meal and kosher. You can see the full list and the detailed description of what these mean here, at Trader Joe’s website.

These have changed my shopping experience at Trader Joe’s. I can now quickly scan the shelves and look for this very recognizable vegan label and put whatever it is in my cart, and then while in the forever long line I can more closely read the label and decide if it is something I would like to try (I am not sure I have ever put anything back, I will pretty much try anything once as long as it is vegan). Now it should be noted I have found plenty of vegan things at TJ that do not sport this new vegan label, but this is helpful in discovering new products I might not have picked up otherwise.

For example, These Mint UFOs.

I probably would have passed right by them, but the pretty little V on the bag caught my eye. I quickly grabbed them and throw them in my basket. When I got home and cracked open the bag, the refreshing smell of mint poured out. I was a little surprised they were solid mint chocolate, not like peppermint patties. The mint flavor is very strong and not for the so-so mint likers.

I suddenly realized how many different things I could do with them if I could keep from eating them straight out of the bag. They could be coarsely chopped and put into cookies, ground up into powder and sprinkled over ice cream or cupcakes. There are so many possibilities. I think I am going to try some cookies this weekend …