More cookies... sort of

I'm continuing to try out the recipes from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar... but lately, I've also been feeling awkward to realise the word "biscuit" has been steadily declining in my vocabulary. I'm not a language purist (well okay — I am a bit), but I've been trying to ease up on the "cookies" in favour of "biscuits" and — to keep it really authentic — the occasional reference to "bikkies". And so I present these lemon biscuits or bikkies (originally the roll-and-cut sugar cookies from VCIYCJ, with some lemon zest thrown in) that I made this afternoon.

November Week of Veganness (A round-up, much too late)

Gah! Missed out on all of October. Curses.

Anyhoo, November brings with it the annual Melbourne Cup, and a focus on the alleged "entertainment" that is horseracing. Media coverage is near-total, a huge amount of money is spent on outfits and gambling, some animals are raced along a track for our "enjoyment" — hell, in Victoria, it's a public holiday. Somewhere amongst it all are those of us who hate seeing animals used in this way, or indeed find the whole thing quite ridiculous (summed up nicely in this excellent piece by Marieke Hardy — has any Australian vegan not read this by now?).

This year, some lovely souls at the University of Sydney Animal Welfare Society hosted the first Not-the-Melbourne-Cup, and a group of us gathered in a beautiful courtyard under a just-blossoming jacaranda tree, ate vegan food, mingled, toasted the horses (all horses) and just generally had the pleasure of avoiding any footage of the race itself, Fashions on the Field, office sweeps, or associated goings-on. Congratulations to the AWS, and may there be more of these in future years.



A few days later on Saturday 6th, our final Sydney Vegan Bake Sale of the year was for Charlie's Angels Horse Rescue in Queensland. Sadly, we were rained out. We made a handful of sales, but by 9:00am, with water pooling at our feet and on the table, and soaking our clothes, we made the tough call. Happily, to add to those few sales, a few customers at Naked Espresso also stepped in to buy some things, and we at least had $361 to pass on; some people made a point of donating directly to Charlie's online, too. Thanks all.

With the weather so bad, we didn't really get photos of our table (it was mostly just the tops of unopened plastic carriers, anyway) but I took some of my own offerings once I was home. I had lemon cupcakes, peanut butter chocolate pillows and peanut butter blondies from my recently-acquired copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, and chocolate cupcakes, plus lemon and chocolate minis.




Since I was seeing some family members at an event that night, I took a lot of pleasure in putting together two care packages of yummy baked goods for them to scoff. Both of these had a layer of the PB blondies underneath. Look how pretty — anyone want to put something like this together for me one day?



Finally, the rain cleared in time for the Cruelty Free Festival in Belmore Park on Sunday. I'd gone along in 2008 and the atmosphere was as lovely as I remembered; the weather gradually improved to gloriously blue-skyed, and my friends and I mostly wandered around picking up a few supplies (Twilight bars, some Angel Food marshmallow mix, and two cans of non-Nestle condensed soy milk for me), signing up and watching and reading and generally informing ourselves, and stuffing ourselves silly with great vegan food... including but not limited to vegan gözleme with a choice of five different fillings! I had the potato-tomato-shallots (scallions/spring onions) variety, and it was delicious.



People were raving about the "cheesecakes"/cheezecakes from a still-newish business based in the Blue Mountains and supplying to cafes there. They're called Rubyfruit and I'm sure we all hope to see their vegan baked wares gracing the counters of some places in Sydney before long. They don't have a website yet, but you can follow them on Facebook. I didn't get around to trying anything myself (full of gözleme, I guess) but the photo speaks for itself, I think...



All in all, a lovely week full of great food, great people, and a reminder of what a vegan-friendly place Sydney can be.

Big Cakes

I've been trying to satisfy my urge to make full-size cakes for a change. Also, I thought I'd better return to a couple of somewhat neglected vegan cookbooks on my shelf... And so, I decided to try my hand at a choc-raspberry hazelnut cake from The New Vegan by Amanda Grant. A couple of weeks ago, it turned out slightly undercooked, and with all the raspberries and hazelnuts having sunk to the bottom of the pan. Second time round, today, I just mixed those ingredients into the top after I poured the mixture into the cake tin, and made the oven that little bit hotter (and I'd added some extra cocoa to crank up the chocolate factor a little). It turned out a lot better...



But still, what I really want is a really rich, dense fudgy chocolate cake. I hear good things about the Chocolate Raspberry Blackout cake from Vegan With a Vengeance, so that's on my list. Any other recommendations?

Political party

Ah, federal elections. As uninspired and even disgusting as much of the campaigning can be, the results coverage in the evening never fails to bring out my would-be political geek side. On Saturday night, I was at home alone, but in touch with family and friends through about five different methods of calling/texting/messaging/chatting. What an unexpectedly absorbing election it's turned out to be, now that we have a hung parliament and probably two weeks of final counting and negotiations to get through. But the good news was the result for the Greens — an increase in their primary vote, almost a doubling in the number of Greens senators, and of course, the first Green elected to our House of Representatives in a general election.

I had my own green theme going on, between some apple schnapps and some choc-mint cupcakes.



While we're all waiting to find out which of the major parties will have the pleasure of disappointing us for the next term, why not read the Greens' policies on animals if you haven't already.

Mealy good

I'd been wanting to make the VCTOTW apricot-glazed almond cupcakes for a long time, and even had the almond meal and apricot jam ready and waiting in the cupboard. I finally got around to baking a batch this afternoon, and yes, they are delightful. I might put in more vanilla extract next time in place of some or all of the almond; also, next time I won't have the four-pack of Kingland soy yoghurt in the fridge for a month, eat the other three flavours, then realise that the remaining one expires the next day, and use that tub of blueberry-mulberry soy yoghurt in making cupcakes that are supposed to contain neither blueberry nor mulberry. Well, I don't think you can tell from the flavour... but I know, y'know?



P.S. Gorgeous cupcake tea towel was a gift.

Happy Happy

Sydney had its first Vegan Happy Hour on Thursday night, hosted by vegaroo! and Inner West Live. I supplied the mini cupcakes to help soak up some of the alcohol. As some of us noted on the night, cupcakes are not the best companion for a glass of cider, but all the same we managed to get through 67 of the things, in lemon and chocolate flavours. It was, as always, great to catch up with friends and meet some new faces, and it's fantastic to see the Sydney Vegan Happy Hour concept off to a flying start.

Let's Make

This little cupcake kitchen timer was a birthday gift last month.



He's terribly cute and reliable (good qualities in anyone, right?), and was a big help in creating the mini cuppers for our June Sydney Vegan Bake Sale (we made $994.45 in four hours this time!); they need only five or six minutes, so this little guy means no more hovering in front of the oven for me.



Not timer-related, but timely given the end of the FIFA World Cup on the weekend: I thought I'd post a pic of the vuvuzelas I made from fondant to top the World Cup Cakes for our bake sale. Making twenty-four of these suckers (plus a few spares) after dying the fondant was more time-consuming than I had anticipated, but they got a few laughs, and most things are worth doing for the sake of a laugh.

East Coast United States — A Vegan Odyssey Part Two

So, where was I? Right — Washington, D.C. If there was one place to check out while there, it was of course Sticky Fingers, the all-vegan bakery and cafe. I only visited once but made it count, sampling the completely delicious s'mores cupcake with a soy chai latte, taking in the adorable laminated tabletops and glittery fuchsia-pink vinyl upholstery.




I bought a couple of things to take with me, including a slice of their vegan lasagna to heat back at my accommodation. It was a big slab of the stuff (I certainly wasn't planning to cram any salad or veggies onto the plate) and honestly, I found the vegan cheese made the whole thing a bit too creamy for my tastes. In my years as a vegan, I've generally not been one for lots of dairy substitutes, and that seems still to be true.

Possibly my favourite single meal of the entire trip was... well, a salad. On my last day in D.C. I happened upon a place called Chop't, offering choose-your-own-combo salads, with the ingredients chopped (see?) with a mezzaluna in front of you at the counter. I chose mesclun leaves, cherry tomatoes, edamame, corn chips, avocado and corn, with olive oil and lemon juice. It was the perfect light but filling lunch, capped off with a fresh lemonade. And only now, linking to the website, do I realise they have locations in New York, too. Oh well.



Having had a healthy (and late) lunch, I made up for it by having nothing for dinner except a cup of tea and the brownie I bought from Sticky Fingers the previous day. Yes.



So, after saying goodbye to Abraham Lincoln I went back to New York for a final few days. I stopped at Babycakes in lower Manhattan, and had their banana cupcake with strawberry frosting — it was... pleasant... but it's fair to say I'm not a convert. Very cute shop, though.



I stopped off at 'sNice (Manhattan location) one morning and picked up a tempeh Reuben sandwich for brunch, and a blondie that I enjoyed as a late-afternoon treat.



Travelling alone and trying to stick to a modest budget, I figured this wasn't the trip to be going to Candle 79 or Blossom, but I couldn't miss the chance to try a 4 Course Vegan dinner. Run by chef Matteo from his own place in Brooklyn and now in its seventh year, it's a weekly vegan dinner for up to thirty people for $40 per person. I reserved a spot well in advance (as recommended) and took myself along and was thoroughly impressed. The strangers I was surrounded by, charming company though they were, regrettably were not bloggers or PPKers or otherwise of an inclination to take photographs of food, and so I wimped out myself. Sorry, no pics — but I do have the menu, at least.

Spring Leek Bisque with
Toasted Sesame and Crispy Taro

Seared Portobello Salad with
Fresh Chickpeas and Horseradish Cream

Sunflower Croquette with
Roasted Parsnip and Sweet Chile Sauce

Chocolate Mousse Tart with
Meyer Lemon and Almond Date Crust

I don't know whether I can even imagine a venture like 4CV getting off the ground in Sydney, much less lasting for seven years with (apparently) a constant supply of new and return customers; but a vegan can dream, right?

May Day Picnic

Well, it's more accurate to say that it was simply a picnic with friends, which happened to fall on 1st May. There were no morris dancers, no maypoles, no workers' rallies... but we did have the cupcakes I took along: chocolate with coffee icing and vegan choc chips.



Yes, I think that is a stray piece of grass just in front of the cupcake.

East Coast United States — A Vegan Odyssey Part One

I recently spent three weeks in the US, travelling through New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York again; of course, this presented many an opportunity for trying out some of the local vegan options, of which there really are (even proportionately) quite a few more. The main difference to me seemed to be in the fast food-esque dishes that were available in vegan versions. There definitely are more options in mid-range and high-end places and non-Asian food compared to Sydney, but I was travelling alone and on the cheap (...ish). I was sometimes a bit shy about whipping out the camera, but I have quite a little set of pics on Flickr, and am going to pick out a few highlights here.

The vegan black bean burger with vegan bacon from Good Health Burgers, E 53rd Street, New York. Delicious but for the fact that I have not eaten fake bacon before (just other meat subs) and found it alarmingly salty and bacon-y. It was just a strip of the stuff, though, on an otherwise very tasty and filling burger with nice fresh salad components... and hey, maybe vegan bacon is your thing.




Okay, a mobile phone pic. This was at Spike's Junkyard Dogs on Boylston Street in Boston — they serve up hot dogs and burgers with various toppings, but customers can ask for the veggie (and vegan) dog at no extra cost. I ordered the veggie Junkyard Dog, with hot peppers, sliced tomato, pickles, scallions (er, spring onions) and of course mustard. It was actually very flavourful and definitely several cuts above just a dog in a bun. Oh, and the drink is fresh lemonade, which was also rather good. Around $7 all up.




I wasn't going to miss the chance to have Maoz falafel again. It's a Dutch chain, and I'd sampled their stuff in Germany some years ago. They're yet to reach Sydney, but have quite a number of outlets in the States (this was in Walnut Street, Philadelphia). Customers can order a pita pocket with falafel and hummus, and eggplant if they wish, and then help themselves to salad fillings and sauces from the salad bar alongside the register. It really is some of the best, herbed green, soft-yet-crunchy falafel you can find, and the choose-your-own-salads aspect is appealing (and fresh and flavoursome). The Coke was... eh, you know.



Last pic for this post: my first night in D.C. I stopped by one of the Chipotle chain's stores and picked up a black bean fajita burrito, with fried onion and peppers-as-in-capsicum, beans and rice, guacamole and salsa (just have them leave off the cheese and sour cream, and presto!) So filling, so good, and made we wish we had more Mexican or Tex-Mex food in Sydney — but also, determined to try more of the stuff we do have.



More to follow in Part Two...

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale 2010

Poor blog. I'm here again. March came and went without so much as a batch of Golden Vanilla, and then I went to the States and only just came back (more on that particular vegan food odyssey in another post very soon), but I was off the plane and sufficiently caught up on sleep to help out at the Sydney branch of the 2010 Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale; we held ours at the top of the week, on Saturday 24th at our usual spot in Newtown. It was another grand day, full of good spirits, bright-eyed little Sydney vegans, and funds to the tune of $940 about to make their way to the wonderful Edgar's Mission in Victoria. Sadly, their founding animal Edgar Alan Pig passed away just last week in the days before the sale, so our thoughts on the day were very much with those who knew him well, and plenty of people who hadn't met him (I still haven't been there myself) knew exactly who he was.

As always, more of my photos on Flickr, and all the write-up at the Sydney Vegan Bake Sale blog.

Another packet mix OR It's still too hot to feel much like baking.

Farewell, February. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather, to jackets and more bake sales (yes!) and in-season fresh oranges and wearing tights. Still, I saw out February with brunch yesterday at Naked followed by a brief stint of baking in the afternoon. During the week I'd picked up a box of Rowie's Cake Mix from the supermarket; their range is gluten- and dairy-free, and the cake mix requires no eggs. I don't keep a gluten-free diet and haven't (yet) stocked the cupboard with items for gluten-free baking. This was almost ridiculously easy: put contents of (the single) packet into a bowl, add oil, then water. Pour. Bake. Oh, and I added some berries on top. The cinnamon in the cake definitely begs for apple, but the frozen berries were what I had on hand and when it comes to baking I'm rarely one for careful planning. The result was pleasantly cake-y and crumb-y (not crummy!)

Loving it

Loving Eden opened in Glebe in 2009, and a group of us went to try it out yesterday (or return for more, as was the case for some). It serves vegan Vietnamese food in a simple setting (the furniture and the colour of the walls reminded me a little of Peace Harmony — vegan Thai — in the city). As always with these lunches, the great company alone was worth the trip, but I think all of us also enjoyed the food. Entrees are all around the $8 mark, and mains mostly around $14 to 15.50 (one at $13.50, a few at $18, and the chef's special at $25) — a bit more than comparable places (like Peace Harmony, for instance), but we shared four entrees between eight of us and enjoyed a main dish each, threw in some coconut drinks, and paid about $23 each. The food was really fresh and tasty, and I especially liked the rice paper rolls. The mains are huge servings, and I wasn't the only one to have a bit left on my plate at the end. All in all, Loving Eden is a very worthy addition to the vegan scene in Sydney.

More details and the menu are at Urbanspoon or on Loving Eden's Facebook page.


The Go Green rice paper rolls, my favourite of the entrees we tried:




My main, the Purple Queen (rice with beetroot and tofu):




And in case that's not enough to tempt you...

Third Festival First Night

I love the Sydney Festival, and I am a huge fan of the Festival First Night introduced by previous festival director Fergus Linehan. This year it ran for the third time, and I went along for the third time, yesterday, setting up in the Domain with friends. Unashamed dork that I am, I took along some mini cupcakes in bright yellow to match the official colour of the festival in 2010; that was all the excuse I needed to make them lemon-flavoured to boot.

Sparkling and New

Oh, it appears to be January again. I was reunited with my camera today, so am only now posting this, the results of some baking on NYE afternoon, taken on New Years Day.



I'm very much looking forward to a year of more bake sales, meeting even more happy vegan folk, trying Dandies marshmallows at some stage, getting the hang of multi-coloured icing (the photo above is the evidence of my first, rather mediocre attempt), and trying to be healthier and at least a little fitter. Hope it's a good one for you, too.