Good Times at Eat Mobile, Portland's Food Cart Festival!

I am extremely envious of PDX vegans. Yesterday I learned that there are some 500 food carts in Portland. I find that astounding, and I couldn't quite wrap my brain around that figure. But according to Oregon Business, as of January 2010, there were 461 mobile food carts registered in Multnomah County, with 33 applications pending. And lots more have sprouted up since then. Many of these delightful little bargain eating establishments are super vegan-friendly, and a dozen or more are completely vegan. Portland's food cart businesses are so ubiquitous and have become such a large part of Portland's food scene, that there's even a entire blog devoted to this gastronomic subculture and an annual Food Cart Festival sponsored by Willamette Week.



Well, living in Eugene does have its privileges. I am only a two-hour drive from Portland, where the International Assocation of Culinary Professionals Conference was held this past week. Vegan chef goddesses Fran Costigan, Bryanna Clark Grogan, and Julie Hasson were in attendance, and as part of the conference, were invited to attend the Food Cart Festival. So when Fran said she was coming to Portland, I was excited to have the chance to see my longtime friend, and when she mentioned the Food Cart Festival, I thought it sounded like great fun!

But fun doesn't even begin to describe this culinary adventure. After Fran introduced me to Bryanna and Julie, we set out by foot to find the festival, which was taking place beneath the Morrison Street Bridge. It took us a bit of a while to figure out that it was on the east side of the bridge, so we walked quite a way (roundabout, I might add—as we were searching for it), 'til we found it. The weather was gloriously sunny with a bit of a crisp chill in the air that felt considerably warmer as we walked over the Morrison Street Bridge.

When we arrived, there were very few people there yet, as IACP attendees were given a one-hour advance opportunity to enjoy all the offerings before the 1,200 plus ticket-holders were admitted. So we scurried around sampling all the vegan goodies we could get our hands on before the floodgates opened. Here you can see Julie with hands full of yumminess.



Julie and husband Jay recently opened their own food cart, Native Bowl, which features healthy vegan fast food made from scratch. The entire menu sounds enticing, and I cannot wait to try her Couch Bowl made with grilled tofu, sesame bean sprouts, Kochujang sweet and spicy sauce, jasmine rice, organic lettuce, carrots, scallions and toasted sesame seeds, the next time I'm in town.

Our first stop at the festival was at Mono Malo Tapas. ("Mono Malo" means "Bad Monkey" in Spanish.) Their vegan-friendly food cart features Montaditos, bite-sized toasted bread slices with various savory toppings. When all was said and done, their grilled garlic and herb portabello with romesco sauce turned out to be one of my festival favorites. After my first taste, I went back for several more.



The friendly folks at Sawasdee Thai Food offered up tasty samples of vegan fried rice and their Tofu Pad See Ew, a dish made with broad, flat rice noodles, also known as "river noodles."



Asaase Ital Palace, one of only two totally vegan food carts represented at the festival, had little bite-size morsels of their delicious spicy jerk faux chicken.



Always in the mood for Indian Food, I was happy to see the vegetarian food cart Bombay Chaat House at the festival. Their Aloo Channa (potatoes and garbanzo beans with onions and spices), was delicious.



Easily the most dangerous food I tasted was from Whiffies Fried Pies. The name alone was enough to send shivers down my spine. But since they were sampling two vegan pies, I had to give one a try.



Surely fried pies must be an invention of the American South. If deeply fried food is your thing, then Whiffies Fried Pies are sure to please. Although I could only eat one bite of their vegan Peanut Butter Creme pie, I can see how less health-conscious foodies would flock to this food cart. In fact, it's so well-loved, it won this year's People's Choice Award!



The remaining awards were given by a panel of culinary professionals, including StarChefs.com editor-in-chief Antoinette Bruno, Scott Givot, the president of the IACP, chefs Kamal Mouzawak and Brad Farmerie, Jeff Miller, the president of Travel Portland, and writer Deborah Madison. Awards went to Garden State, PBJ's, Moxie RX, and The People's Pig. I'm not sure we tasted anything from any of these carts (I know we didn't have any pork), but a day later, it's all becoming such a blur!

After that shot of sugar and oil I was more than ready for a shot of Tropical Green Smoothie from Sip. Made with kale, spinach, orange, pineapple, coconut oil, agave, and ice, this refreshing beverage alone, was worth the price of admission. I seriously couldn't get my fill.



Julie couldn't wait to show us Potato Champion's cute little Spudnik cart. Touted by many as the best fried potato sticks in Portland, their vegan Belgian frites-style potatoes were served with a tangy homemade gravy that's made with vegetable stock, balsamic vinegar, and onions. Here Fran shows off her dish, which we shared, because neither of us could imagine devouring the whole portion on our own.



The biggest bowl of guacamole I've seen in a long time, (and perhaps ever), belonged to the vegan-friendly Taqueria Los Gorditos, which I've read has just opened a full sit-down restaurant. Their awesomely extensive vegan menu lists gorditas, tacos, tamales, huaraches, nachos, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, enchiladas, mulitas, and empanadas that are made with grilled veggies, Follow Your Heart and Daiya Cheese, Tofutti Sour Cream, Soyrizo, and SoyCurls. We sampled their vegan Sopes along with their tempting guacamole and sassy red sauce.



It was at about this time that the event opened to the public, and hungry foodies quickly started forming lines.



Fortunately, we'd already had our fill of food and fun (mostly food). Well-intentioned plans for dinner were at this point placed permanently on the back burner. Between finding our way to the festival and making our way back to the west side of town, wandering into Peets Coffee and then into Whole Foods, my trusty pedometer said that we clocked more than 12,000 steps. And after all that grazing, I'd say it's a good thing (for me) that we did! I never dreamed there were so many wonderful food carts in Portland. Now more than ever, I look forward to my next excuse to visit the Rose City.


 From left to right: Bryanna Clark Grogan, Julie Hasson, Peter Reinhart (the "Leonardo da Vinci of bread"), Fran Costigan, and me!

Amazake—The Amazing Shake!

I'm a total coconut freak. I'm addicted to So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverages, Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream, and Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Milk Water. I also can't seem to get enough of Cool Coconut Amazake!  This delectable indulgence is like a lusciously creamy, thick, rich milkshake. But it's dairy-free and gluten-free, too! It's made from organic brown rice, and although it is delightfully sweet, amazingly, there's no added sugar of any kind. It's sweetened from the rice, itself. And if that wasn't enough, the label is so vibrantly colorful and impossibly cute that it makes me happy just looking at it!


Cool Coconut Amazake is sensational all by itself, but this morning I decided to make myself an Amazake Colada Smoothie. I just threw some Trader Joe's frozen pineapple chunks and a bottle of Cool Coconut Amazake in the blender ...


And voila! A tropically delicious way to start the day!


After decades of enjoying this delicious beverage, I finally got a chance to visit Grainaissance to see how Amazake is made. I was greeted by the lovely Leah, office manager extraordinaire! I've spoken with her many times and was delighted to meet her face-to-face.


I was immediately overcome with the intensely sweet smell of brown rice cooking, as soon as I entered the production area. Amazake is made by a natural malting process. Whole grain rice and filtered water are brought to a boil, and the rice is cooked until tender. The rice is then cooled and cultured rice (called "koji"), is added, causing enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into simpler sugars. As the mixture incubates, the natural sweetness develops, creating a smooth, creamy, nectar-like beverage. Finally, fruits, nuts, and natural flavors are added to produce a variety of flavors like Chocolate Almond, Vanilla Pecan Pie, and of course, Cool Coconut.


How exciting to see the entire process, and then be able to enjoy a bottle right off the line!


I've heard all kinds of strange pronunciations for Amazake, but the correct way to say it is: ah-mah-zah-kee. But something so completely delicious, rich, and creamy that is also dairy-free and gluten-free* should be called the Amazing Shake! You can find Amazake at most natural food stores, but if yours doesn't carry it, ask them to start. This is an all-natural treat that you'll not only enjoy, but will feel great about giving to your kids. Visit the Grainaissance website for recipe ideas, money-saving coupons, and more information. And you can follow them on twitter. Oh, and did I mention that Grainaissance also makes Mochi? I'll write more about this amazing little gluten-free puff pastry in a future post.

*All flavors are gluten-free except Mocha Java, which contains barley.

Book Review: The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal

I am usually very reluctant to try gluten-free recipes for baked goods. In my experience, the results are often less than spectacular, lacking in both texture and flavor. But with The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, Cybele Pascal has made a believer out of me. In fact, I never knew gluten-free could taste this good!

I first saw Cybele on a recent Martha Stewart show. Cybele prepared her Classic Crumb Cake, which like all of the delicious recipes in this book, is also dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free. (You can view the entire segment and get the recipe here.) It has been decades since I've enjoyed a delicious crumb cake. Those little Hostess Coffee Crumb Cakes and their rival Drakes Coffee Cakes were staples at our house when I was growing up. I adored them, and Martha seemed to be impressed with Cybele's vegan, allergen-free version.

So what a treat to stumble upon a vegan recipe that might bring back so many fond memories! I know how to make a vegan cake taste moist and delicious, but I doubted that a gluten-free vegan cake could be as good. Cybele's secret to making her cakes, cookies, muffins, and pie crusts taste fabulous is her all-purpose gluten-free flour mix: a blend of super-fine brown rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch. Once I made a batch, I was all set to try the Classic Crumb Cake (and all of the other recipes) in her book.

While the cake was baking, the fragrance of cinnamon filled my kitchen with its heady aroma, and I was struck by how gorgeous the cake looked when it came out of oven.


And even more gorgeous was this individual piece served up on a plate!


You can really see how moist, light, and fluffy it is. This vegan gluten-free version tasted very much those beloved little coffee cakes of childhood, even though it was made entirely with cruelty-free, allergen-free ingredients. And apparently, I'm not the only one who thought it was delicious. These cakes quickly found many happy customers!

I couldn't wait to try all of the other recipes in this book, which is filled with stunning, mouth-watering photographs that inspired the baker in me. Since I'm a scone girl, I decided that next I'd try the recipe for Cherry Oat Scones.


At first I made them as directed, but I didn't think they were quite buttery enough. So now is a good time to take note of some of the other ingredient substitutions suggested. Since all of the recipes are soy-free, Cybele steers clear of soy milk, tofu, and butter substitutes like Earth Balance Buttery Spread, instead choosing soy-free ingredients like Living Harvest Hemp Milk, So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt, and Spectrum Organic Shortening. While the Spectrum shortening sufficed in most recipes, I do prefer my scones to taste a bit more buttery. So I asked Cybele why she didn't use the new Earth Balance Soy-free instead of shortening. She explained that it contains pea protein, which can be an allergen for many people with peanut allergies, and that it can also be hard to find. Since I am not allergic to soy, I decided to switch to using Earth Balance after trying her recipe for Cherry Oat Scones. I made the scones again, and they were far more buttery, as you might expect. But it's wonderful for people who are sensitive to pea protein or who can't find the soy-free Earth Balance, to know that they can still enjoy tasty flaky scones and just about any other kind of cake, cookie, bread, or muffin you can imagine.


Among the tempting goodies pictured on the cover of this book are enticing cupcakes, a sumptuous frosted red velvet layer cake, rich fudge brownies, and a selection of sugary cookies. Among them are Linzer Hearts, a twist on the Austrian Linzertorte. Linzer cookies are traditionally made with the same ingredients as a Linzertorte, which of course, includes butter and eggs. Two cookies are sandwiched together around a layer of preserves or jam and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. In the US, raspberry jam is most often used, and the center of the top cookie is cut-out to reveal the brightly colored fruity filling. Linzer cookies were another childhood favorite. (I knew them as "Linzer Tarts.")  As a little girl, I would squeal with delight any time I'd encounter those beautiful, big, round, raspberry-filled cookies with the scalloped edges at our neighborhood German bakery, Walken's. (Owned by actor Christopher Walken's family.) Cybele's allergen-free version is every bit as yummy and sensationally sweet, and the heart shape added an extra loving touch.


As an added bonus, you get all these cute bite-size heart-shaped cookies when you cut out the centers!


The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook is a godsend—not just for people with multiple food sensitivities, but for anyone who loves delicious baked treats. With allergen-free vegan recipes for Irish Soda Bread, Banana Cream Pie, Orange Chiffon Cake with Orange Rum Sauce, and dozens of others, I'll be baking my little heart out for weeks to come. If you or anyone you know has food sensitivities to dairy, eggs, wheat, gluten, soy, nuts, or sesame, this book is sure to delight. And if you are lucky enough to already own it, please tell me what your favorite recipe is. I'm having a hard time deciding what to make next!

Spanish Tortilla with Red Bell Pepper and Peas

This tasty vegan recipe was inspired by a dish from the episode, "Egg Dishes with an Accent" on America's Test Kitchen.

Not to be confused with the flat round bread eaten in Mexico, in Spain, a tortilla refers to a dish very much like an Italian frittata. Traditionally made with eggs, a classic Spanish tortilla can be served warm or at room temperature, as an appetizer or along with a salad as a light entrée. My version was veganized with help from the basic omelet recipe in Vegan Brunch.


This recipe does call for quite a bit of olive oil, so it's definitely not McDougall friendly. But the oil is necessary to make the potatoes very creamy and to keep the tortilla from sticking to the pan when it's time to flip it over. I was having a friend over for dinner and decided it was a good time to try something new. We both agreed that this dish was as delicious as it was colorful. The recipe will serve 4 as a light entrée or 6 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (divided) plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1½ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (3 to 4 medium), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 lb fresh (not asceptically packaged) silken tofu
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp fine black salt (kala namak), plus extra for sprinkling
½ cup chickpea flour
1 Tbs arrowroot or cornstarch
1 red bell peppers, chopped
½ cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions:

Toss 4 tablespoons oil, potatoes, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl until potato slices are thoroughly separated and coated in oil. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium-low, add potato mixture to skillet, and set bowl aside without washing. Cover and cook, stirring with rubber spatula every 5 minutes, until potatoes offer no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife, 22 to 28 minutes (it’s OK if some potato slices break into smaller pieces).

Meanwhile, chop garlic in a food processor, then add the tofu, nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, turmeric and black salt. Puree until smooth. Add the chickpea flour and cornstarch and puree again for about 10 seconds, until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides. Add a bit of water (up to 1/4 cup), if necessary to make the batter pourable.

Pour tofu batter into a large bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold hot potato mixture, red peppers, and peas into tofu batter until combined, making sure to scrape all potato mixture out of skillet. Return skillet to medium-high heat, add remaining teaspoon oil, and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add tofu-potato mixture and cook, shaking pan and folding mixture constantly for 15 seconds. Smooth top of mixture with rubber spatula. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook, gently shaking pan every 30 seconds until bottom is golden brown and top is lightly set, about 3-5 minutes.

Using rubber spatula, loosen tortilla from pan, shaking back and forth until tortilla slides around freely in pan. Slide tortilla onto large plate. Invert tortilla onto second large plate and slide it browned-side up back into skillet. Tuck edges of tortilla into skillet with rubber spatula. Return pan to medium heat and continue to cook, gently shaking pan every 30 seconds, until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Slide tortilla onto cutting board or serving plate and allow to cool at least 15 minutes. Cut tortilla into cubes or wedges.

Book Review: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy, PhD

"Never underestimate your power to change yourself."
~Dr. Wayne Dyer
What is the belief system that enables us to love some animals and eat others? Social psychologist and professor of psychology and sociology Melanie Joy calls our underlying assumptions about meat eating (eg, that it's natural for us, it's a given, and it's the way things are and the way they've always been), carnism. This pervasive ideology is ingrained in us from earliest childhood by our parents, teachers, friends, and community. Insidious industry slogans that proclaim that "Milk does a body good" and "Meat is Real Food for Real People," continuously condition us into believing that without animal products, we would wither and die (or at the very least, become sick or frail). How ironic, when just the opposite is true.

In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows Joy reminds us how these messages further ingrain in us the false belief that eating certain, "inferior" animals is ethical and appropriate. But why only certain animals? Why is a pig thought to be less intelligent than the family dog? (Actually, pigs are even smarter than most dogs.) And why do we believe that certain animals like chickens and fish are not capable of feeling pain and fear, when science and logic tell us that they do? Such cultural ideas are transmitted and repeated over and over, spreading like viruses—duplicating and infiltrating every aspect of our lives. They become so completely entrenched in us, we never stop to think about the impact our adherence to carnistic ideology has on ourselves, the animals, or the planet.

Ten billion animals are (deliberately) slaughtered for food in the US every year. While the vast majority of them either have feathers or live in the sea, how many of us know that each year millions of factory-farmed egg-laying chickens suffer uterine prolapse or death by wood chipper? How many of us know that hundreds of billions of dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, seals, whales, and other "nontarget" fish get tangled in nets and hooked by long-lines, are thrown back into the water, and left to slowly bleed to death?

"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities." ~Voltaire
Such enormous disregard for life is made possible by our attachment to carnism, an ideology that is, as Joy points out, an oppressive cultural mind-think, as noxious as racism. In the same way that Nazis were able to murder Jewish children and then go home and hug their own sons and daughters, we cause the suffering of cows, pigs, lambs, turkeys, chickens, and fishes, eat their bodies, and then hug our dogs and cats.

But Joy does not lead us on this journey into mass delusion without also providing a light to guide us out of the darkness. She reminds us how all systems of violent oppression depend on both their invisibility and our ability to dissociate or find elaborate rationalizations to keep from recognizing the suffering of socially sanctioned inferiors. In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows she unmasks the underlying mythology that keeps us chained to carnism, and by naming and witnessing it, offers us a clear path from apathy to empathy.

Special thanks to my friend, Arnold, for sharing the following poem:

Learning to Be a Dutiful Carnivore
By Jane Legge

Dogs and cats and goats and cows,
Ducks and chickens, sheeps and sows
Woven into tales for tots,
Pictured on their walls and pots.
Time for dinner! Come and eat
All your lovely juicy meat.
One day ham from Percy Porker
(In the comics he's a corker):
Then the breast from Mrs. Cluck
Or the wing from Donald Duck.
Liver next from Clara Cow
(No, it doesn't hurt her now).
Yes, that leg's from Peter Rabbit
Chew it well; make that a habit.
Eat the creatures killed for sale,
But never pull the pussy's tail.
Eat the flesh from "filthy hogs"
But never be unkind to dogs.
Grow into double-think-
Kiss the hamster; skin the mink.
Never think of slaughter, dear,
That's why animals are here.
They only come on earth to die,
So eat your meat, and don't ask why.

The New So Delicious Coconut Water Sorbet Is a Refreshing Tropical Treat!

It may be a bit too soon to be dreaming of summer, but yesterday was a somewhat balmy, sunny 65°—a perfect day to start cleaning up the garden and then reward myself with a refreshing treat. After all, it's never too soon to be dreaming about the next delectable dessert option, and after all that yard work, I deserved a sweet treat! So Delicious Coconut Water Sorbet was recently launched at Natural Products Expo West, where it received the prestigious "Best in Show Award" from VegNews magazine. (You can view the complete list of winners here.) Since I couldn't get to Expo, I feel fortunate that I was able to get my hands on some award-winning sorbet. (Living in Eugene has its advantages!)


What can I say about these luscious-looking frozen treats before I even taste them? Well, they're made with organic coconut water (yum!), sweetened with organic fruit juice, and weigh in at only 100 calories and zero grams of fat per serving, which makes them a perfect guilt-free indulgence.

Pictured above clockwise from top left, Hibiscus, Lemonade, Raspberry and Mango.
These sorbets certainly look seductively beautiful, but how do they taste? The one issue I've had with any sorbet I've eaten in the past is that it usually tastes very sugary to me, with the sweetness overpowering the fruit flavor. The only exceptions I can recall are a chocolate sorbet I can no longer find and a coconut sorbet I tasted in Hawaii—both were exquisite. (Flavor hints to Turtle Mountain). My guess is that the other sorbets relied on cane sugar as a sweetener and probably contained too much of it. While there's nothing subtle about the fruit-juice-sweetened flavor of So Delicious Coconut Water Sorbet, the fruit flavors take center stage, while the sweeteners and coconut water assume supporting roles. This gives these sorbets a uniquely fruity, full-bodied aliveness.

Which brings me to the Hibiscus flavor ... My first spoonful reminded me of the fragrantly floral flavor of hibiscus tea, but with overtones of deep, dark berry. What a delightfully lovely taste! The Lemonade flavor is definitely tangy. I might prefer it ever-so-slightly sweeter, but my husband Mark, who loves all things lemony, thinks it tastes perfect! My favorite flavor is Raspberry. It's got a rich, bright, eye-opening kind of thing going on—just the kind of sweet flavor I wouldn't mind having in my mouth all day long. And the Mango tastes just like they'd taken some sweet, ripe mangoes, puréed and then frozen them. There's just the slightest hint of coconut, which makes this flavor all the more enticing. Is there anything that doesn't taste better when it's made from coconut? I doubt it!

I'm told by the good folks at Turtle Mountain that So Delicious Coconut Water Sorbet will start appearing on store shelves in the next few weeks. Keep your eyes open for them. They will make your mouth very happy!

Happiness in a Bottle!

I've tasted lots of bottled coconut water sold under many different brand names. The reason I haven't written about them before is because I couldn't get excited about any of them. For some unknown reason, none tasted like coconut water from a coconut, and they all seemed a bit sour to me. But during my recent visit to Grass Valley and Nevada City, I discovered Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water. I was very thirsty, so I bought a bottle. OMG! My tongue was met with sweet, sweet coconut water—as if I'd just cracked open a fresh young coconut!

I have no idea why this coconut water tastes so much better than others I've tried. Maybe it's because it's bottled in Thailand, while others are bottled in Brazil. I had to read the ingredients twice to make sure they hadn't added any sugar! Sure enough it read: "Natural Coconut Water" and nothing else.

I read somewhere in the company's marketing materials that Real Coconut Water is like a $2 plane ticket to Thailand. Well, I've always wanted to go to Thailand. So hold on a sec while I take a sip, close my eyes, and imagine I'm on a beach on Phuket Island ... Okay, slather me with coconut oil, I'm there!

It's comforting to know that you can still find truth in advertising. The cap says, "Happiness in a Bottle." It must be true. You should see the smile on my face right now.

Happy Persian New Year Biscotti!

Ahhh...spring! The magnolias, cherry blossoms, and daffodils are in full bloom ... I love Persian New Year (called "Nowrouz" in Farsi), which begins on the vernal equinox marking the beginning of spring, which often coincides with my birthday. But this year, Nowrouz is today, and my birthday is tomorrow. My dear Persian friend Parandeh's birthday is the day after mine. So this time of year is always filled with great joy and gives me many reasons to celebrate.

Since Parandeh lives way on the other side of the country, this time of year also makes me miss her terribly. It's been decades since the last time we spent our birthdays and Nowrouz together. So when I stumbled upon this incredible recipe for Biscotti with a Persian Twist on a blog called "West of Persia" written by Bria Takavoli, it seemed like the perfect thing to cheer me up.


The combination of cranberries, pistachio, and cardamom in a nearly fat-free cookie is even more delicious than it sounds. They'll be really wonderful with nice cup of chai.

A big kheilie mamnoon and Nowrouz mobarak to you, Bria. And Tavolodat mobarak va Nowrouz mobarak, Parandeh, azizam! To everyone else, Happy Spring!

And the Winners Are ...

Congratulations to Andrea Miller and Carly Johnson! You've each won 5 free coupons for your favorite So Delicious and Purely Decadent products! Thank you to everyone for making this contest such a huge success. Stay tuned for the next one!

Love So Delicious and Purely Decadent? Here's Your Chance to Win!

What is your heart's desire? Is it a big bowl of Purely Decadent Cherry Amaretto Coconut Milk Ice Cream? Or how about a cup of rich dark chocolate hot cocoa made with So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Beverage? Want to keep those healthy intestinal flora in balance? Then maybe you're craving a tall glass of So Delicious Strawberry Coconut Milk Kefir? Or for the sheer joy of it, perhaps you're wishing you had a box of those delectable little So Delicious Coconut Milk Minis in the freezer. Well, now you can win all of the above, with FIVE, yes, count 'em, 5 free product coupons from Turtle Mountain that are good for any of their delicious frozen or refrigerated items.

The more friends you tell about this contest, the more chances you have to win!

First leave a comment here after you have either tweeted this contest or posted it to your Facebook Page. You can even post it on your own blog or website, but only leave me one comment saying which you did. Your comment could say, “Hey, I Tweeted, I posted to my Facebook page, AND I posted to my own website.” That’s fine. But please, only leave one comment here.

Now, here’s where the friend part comes in to play…
When you tweet or post to your Facebook page, blog, or website, make sure you tell your readers to MENTION YOU when they come here to enter the contest. 

For example, you can post this, and ask your friends to do the same, when it's their turn to post:

“I just entered to win 5 FREE product coupons from Turtle Mountain, but I need YOUR help. Go to Hungry Vegan, comment to win, and mention that I sent you." 

Or you can tweet this:

"Let's win some So Delicious & Purely Decadent #dairyfree! Go to http://bit.ly/aBU6iT to enter the #contest, say I sent you & we can BOTH WIN"

The idea is to get your friends over here and have them leave a comment that says that YOU sent them. Why? Because if their comment is randomly chosen as the winner, BOTH of you will win five free product coupons! That means you could have hundreds of chances to win!

So call your Aunt Shirley and tell her to enter. Email your high school friends from 1973. Tweet about this contest, and broadcast it to your friends on Facebook and Myspace. The more friends you bring to the party, the better your chances of winning some of the most delectable dairy-free goodies on Earth!

You may be wondering, what happens if the random winner comment is one of the comments that only says something like “I Tweeted..” – Still great news for you … YOU WIN and you get to choose a friend to give the other five coupons to! 

Now, here's the biggest RULE of the game—you MUST either FOLLOW @SO_Delicious on Twitter OR be a FaceBook Fan. One or the other. I will be verifying this once the winners are randomly selected. If you follow @So_Delicious on Twitter and follow as a Facebook fan, you'll double your chances of winning!

Sorry Canadian friends, but this contest is only open to those with U.S. Postal addresses, as coupons are only good for products purchased within the United States.

So let the contest begin, and good luck!!!

Oh, and one more thing, please tell me WHO you are on twitter or FB. :)

Update: Okay, we're gonna wrap this up on Sunday, March 14th at 11:59 PM PST!

Living la Vida Vegan in Eugene—Well, Almost

I am really excited about the opening of The Divine Cupcake at 1680 W. 11th in Eugene. The day they opened there was a line out the door for the free cupcakes they offered each new customer who came by to celebrate the grand opening. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase to the local community just how delicious vegan can be.


Divine Cupcakes have moved a long way up the yummy scale since I first tasted them at a local market a couple of years ago. In all fairness to DC, it is possible that the cupcakes I tasted in the past sat too long on store shelves before I bought them. But with their own retail outlet, that's no longer an issue. Their cupcakes are moist and delicious, and the their frosting is sweet and butter-creamy. I love all the cute names they come up with for their array of flavors like Thai Me Up, The Electric Pumpkin, and Bananarama. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try them all, (Thai Me Up is a peanut curry-flavored cake topped with peanut buttercream frosting sprinkled with ground chili peppers), but you can sure count me in for a Lavender cupcake the very first time I see one.


With so many flavors to choose from, it's difficult to imagine ever growing tired of stopping by for a treat. And I really like the fact that they offer minis as well as full-sized cupcakes for those of us attempting to watch our calorie intake, and sugar-free and gluten-free choices, as well.


The interior is pretty and inviting—it's the kind of place I could get used to hanging out in, far too often for my own good. If you love cupcakes, check out Divine Cupcake.


Seemingly overnight we received the blessing of not one, but TWO vegan food carts in Eugene! Viva Vegetarian Grill (formerly known as "The Tofurky Food Cart") is located in a parking lot on the east side of Willamette at 12th.


The day I visited Viva Vegetarian Grill, it was a typical cold and overcast winter day. But that didn't stop patrons from lining up outdoors for lunch.


Owner Dave Wagenheim has been feeding hungry country fair attendees and Eugene residents and visitors since 2006. His fun-food menu includes vegan versions of the classic Tempeh Reuben, Footlong Hotdog, and Philly Cheesesteak!




The other vegan food cart is Cornbread Cafe, located on the southeast corner of 13th and Oak.


The lovely ladies there offer some of the tastiest vegan comfort food I've ever tasted.


With down-home choices like Southern Fried Tofu and Barbeque Pull-A-Parts, you can get yours as a plate or sandwich, with sides of Mac UnCheese, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, or Fries and Uncle Todd's Mess O'Greens or Sassy Slaw. I always opt for the BBQ plate with perfectly cooked greens, yummy Mac UnCheese, and some really darn delicious cornbread.


Finally, I visited Holy Donuts. Before I say what I'm about to, let me preface it by saying that anyone who has ever read any of my books, newspaper or magazine articles or blog posts knows that it is not my style to criticize. I generally only write about things I am crazy about, because my philosophy is that there is enough negativity in the world. But I'm pretty disappointed and confused right now. Holy Donuts has been marketing and wholesaling vegan donuts around Eugene for the last two years and finally opened a retail location on Willamette. I couldn't wait to check it out and was immediately enchanted with their insanely cute little courtyard and shop.



But my cheerful mood soon evaporated when I noticed that there were little signs saying "dairy and egg-free" on only some of the donuts in the display case. Wait a minute, isn't this a vegan donut shop? I mean that's what their facebook logo and business card said:

So I asked the gal behind the counter, "Are all of your donuts vegan?" Well, everything except the maple twists, which have have bacon on them," she answered. Bacon? Are you kidding me? "Why?" I asked. "Because people like it," she matter-of-factly replied. (I later learned that they sometimes use eggs, too.) When I heard this news, I felt deeply disappointed, because my need for consistency/logic/compassion was not being met. I'm all for supporting businesses that are moving towards veganism, but away from it? Sorry, but I don't think there's anything "holy" about animal flesh on any baked good, especially one that is touted as vegan. I had just taken a bite of a little banana cream donut when I received this news, and it put me off completely. I just couldn't take another bite. Owner Karen Nunley, who is not vegan, assured me that she has issues of any potential cross-contamination from animal products under control. That may bring comfort to many vegans, but it doesn't bring any comfort to me. Apparently, I'm not the only one who was duped into thinking the donuts at their shop are vegan:

http://chow.eugeneweekly.com/chow/node/333
http://downtowneugene.kval.com/content/heavenly-donuts
http://www.slugqueen.com/2009/05/07/slug-trail/

If you're going to build your business as a vegan company and then change the game plan, that just feels like bait-and-switch marketing to me. Bacon? I completely understand that most people who eat donuts in Eugene (or anywhere else for that matter) are not vegan. But no one was ever offended by a donut that didn't contain meat, eggs, or dairy, especially if it tasted delicious. On the other hand, I think that you run a risk turning off the very heart and soul of your market if you start including animal products after years of promoting them as vegan. I also realize that there are some vegan businesses that simply don't survive. But in my experience, they have failed to thrive for reasons having nothing to do with being vegan. But maybe I'm wrong. What do you think? Am I being overly critical? Have you ever experienced bait-and-switch marketing? How did you feel?