Father’s Day Gifts Made Easy
Father’s Day is only three weeks away on June 20th, and instead of scrambling for a gift at the last minute this year, why not plan ahead and order your father’s day gifts today? 
With our delayed delivery date option you can place your order on our website now, choose a delayed delivery date closer to Father’s Day (we recommend June 17th) and we’ll ship your order so it arrives fresh and on time.
If you’re still trying to decide what to get Dad on his special day, we have some truly delicious father’s day gift ideas for you. Our Classic and Spiced Peanut Brittles make excellent gifts, as well as Cherry Almond Bark and Pecan Brownies for the more chocoholic fathers out there. A fair-trade coffee sampler or our Classic Vanilla Lover’s Gift Set also make great gifts for Dads.
Weekly Wrap-Up: VegNews Giveaway & Non-Dairy Milk
I’m just going to jump right in, big news this week: Allison’s Gourmet is proud to be named one of today’s hottest vegan bakeries in VegNews Magazines’s very first annual Great Vegan Dessert Giveaway!
By simply posting a comment on VegNews’ Facebook wall, describing one vegan dessert that you can’t live without, you will get a chance to win one pound of our Chocolate Walnut Vegan Fudge, along with one dozen crème-filled cookies sandwiches from BabyCakes NYC and one dozen little devil chocolate cakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery. I’m sure you will all agree that this deal cannot get any sweeter. Post your answer today!
Moving along. While Twitter has seen better days and weeks, we did get some excellent comments from you on Facebook all regarding non-dairy milk. Earlier this week I asked: “Do you use a variety of non-dairy milk for different things? For example: almond milk for cereal but soy milk for baking?”
Everyone who responded said that yes, for sure, you all use different milks depending on the purpose. One of my favorite responses was from Rebecca B. She said,
“oat milk for oatmeal, soy for coffee, rice milk to drink or for cereal, almond milk only if it’s made from scratch in the vitamix (for coffee or drinking).”
Talk about customizing your milk experience!
Also, Father’s Day is just around the corner and we’re already taking orders so that you can give Dad a unique Father’s Day gift this year. Also, stay tuned for a special giveaway coming up. Our treat!
Follow Allison’s Gourmet on Twitter and Facebook today!
New: Mocha Wheat-Free Brownies
Another month is upon us, and with it another wheat-free brownie flavor! June’s Mocha Wheat-Free Brownies will include our very own fairly-traded Peruvian Femenino organic coffee nibs to enhance the richly aromatic chocolate goodness you’ve all come to expect of our award-winning brownies. 
Perfect for Father’s Day or any day, these rich, chewy wheat-free brownies are made with organic oat flour and are 100% delicious!
Looking for more of that awesome mocha flavor, try brewing our Peruvian Femenino organic coffee with some of our organic drinking chocolate for sweet mocha heaven, hot or iced.
Chocolate Enjoyment 101
Here at Allison’s, we’re proud of our organic fair-trade chocolate. Not only does it help small farmers in developing nations earn a decent living, it also supports the environment and encourages more small farmers to grow organic crops for their own health and the health of the planet. Plus, it’s quite simply the best chocolate we’ve ever tasted. 
In products like next month’s Peppermint Velvet Fudge, where fair-trade chocolate is one of very few ingredients, the quality of our chocolate really shines. This isn’t watery, waxy, overly sweet commercial chocolate. Excellent chocolate is like great coffee or fine wine, its tastes are deep and rich, it has sweet and bitter notes in perfect balance, and it’s best enjoyed slowly, with complete focus and all five senses. So, for those of you receiving our chocolates as a gift or our fudge in your monthly clubs next week, Bon Appétit!
Vegan Gift Baskets for Dads and Grads
Last week I posted some delicious ideas for vegan Father’s Day and Graduation gifts, and here’s yet another alternative to getting Dad another tie. 
If you’re wanting to get a variety of delectable treats for that special dad or grad in your life, consider our vegan gift baskets which include many of our best Father’s Day goodies, plus more vegan baked goods and confections to satisfy any sweet tooth. Show your loved ones how much they mean to you and maybe they’ll even share!
When you do decide to order a vegan gift basket from us for a special father or remarkable graduate, don’t forget to choose your preferred color of basket filling on the cart page before you click “Proceed to Checkout.” Our default color for Father’s Day will be blue, but we also offer beautiful hues of red, green, chocolate and lavender for a more personalized gift.
Weekly Wrap-up: Your Custom Cookie Flavors
Hi Friends, how was your week? Any fun plans for this weekend? I’m thinking about making these mini cashew cream fruit tarts for a going-away party on Saturday. I’ll have to let you know how it goes.
www.herbivoredinosaur.com
Moving on – it’s weekly wrap-up time! This week we had some great feedback on Facebook and Twitter when we asked, “If you could have your own custom-flavor cookie, what would your request be?” Here are some of my favorite responses (did your suggested flavor make the list?):
- White chocolate and macadamia nut with caramel drizzle on top
- Peanut butter with chocolate chips
- German- or black-forest chocolate cake
- Green tea coconut
- Vanilla buttercream
- Key lime
- Chocolate peanut butter
Do you have any others to add to the list? Maybe a flavor just for Father’s Day?
Join the discussions, post pictures, and tell us what you’d like to hear more about on our Facebook and Twitter pages, today! Have a great weekend everyone!
Harness the Power of Sunshine: Make Sun Tea!
The days are longer now, and since it finally stopped raining, my deck is getting long hours of sunshine and that’s making me think of sun tea. 
Herbal tea steeped in the sun is one of my favorite summertime treats. Although many tea companies make specific tea bags for use in sun tea, you don’t actually need special tea. I prefer herbal varieties of fair-trade tea like Allison’s tins of Rooibos Earl Grey and After Dinner Mint Tisanes. I find that black or green teas become bitter when made this way.
Making sun tea is simple. Fill a large glass jar with cold water and 6-8 fair-trade tea bags or the loose leaf equivalent. 
Secure the lid of the jar tightly and place it in direct sunlight for several hours, shaking once or twice. I usually start sun tea in the morning and leave it in the sun all day. If it’s too strong you can always dilute it. Somehow it feels like the power of the sun filters into the tea and makes it especially delicious. After your tea has steeped, strain out tea bags or loose tea leaves, dilute and sweeten to taste, then place in the refrigerator or add ice to chill. Sip and Enjoy!
Fun in Allison’s Kitchen
Last week Allison and I had some fun in the kitchen making a special batch of gourmet cookies for Allison’s father-in-law’s birthday. She called them “Stephen’s Special Ginger Cookies,” so I initially thought we were making something like gingerbread or gingersnaps. But no, these cookies were like nothing I’ve ever had and they were outstanding! Imagine vanilla cookies (think chocolate chip cookies minus the chocolate chips) but as part of the wet ingredients we added several tablespoons of fresh ginger juice. Allison custom-made these sweet, spicy and delicious cookies just for Stephen and I’ll bet he’s enjoying them right now. Although it can sometimes be hard to find perfect gifts for people we love, I have to say, it’s hard to go wrong with gourmet cookies!
Question: If you could have your own custom-flavor, what would your request be?
Green Graduation Gifts
We’re nearing the end of the school year and that means it’s graduation time! Whether they’re graduating from High School or earning their PhD, hard-working and eco-conscious scholars everywhere will be delighted to receive
gourmet coffee gift baskets from Allison’s Gourmet this spring. Finding products that are vegan, fair-trade and organic is one of the biggest changes you can make to go green, and with more and more young people becoming aware of how what they consume effects animals and the environment, your green-mindedness won’t go unnoticed. With a gourmet coffee gift basket your graduate will know that you’re proud of their hard work and that you respect their commitment (and your own) to compassionate green living while also enjoying delectable organic sweets!
Chocolate for Men
Pssst…I know a secret: Moms aren’t the only people who love chocolate! Believe it or not, Dad’s like chocolate, too! 
Although they may not admit it as freely as some women I know, most men really do love good chocolate. Father’s Day is coming up in a few short weeks, and while you’re thinking of father’s day gift ideas, give chocolate some consideration. We think dads might especially enjoy our peanut butter cups, pecan brownies and cherry almond bark.
Okay, but what if your dad really doesn’t like chocolate? We have some excellent non-chocolate father’s day gift ideas too. Check out our spiced peanut brittle, chocolate chip pecan cookies and our aromatic selection of fair-trade coffee.
