Veggie Awards: Last Day to Vote!
You’ve had a month, and we’ve been blogging about it almost daily, so for all you procrastinators out there, here is your final chance: 
Voting for the 2010 VegNews Veggie Awards ends today. This is your last day to vote, and we’d love it if you would. It’s quick and easy, plus you’re automatically entered to win awesome vegan prizes. Look for Allison’s Gourmet nominated under Favorite Vegan Bakery (Online), Favorite Vegan Cookie Company, Favorite Vegan Chocolate, and Favorite Column – Allison’s own “Veganize It!”
To all our fans who’ve already voted, and to everyone who votes today, “Thank You!” We appreciate your support. Need an extra incentive to vote? All submissions will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing to win insanely fabulous prizes including:
Grand Prize: GLOBAL GETAWAY
Take the trip of a lifetime with a coveted spot on a VegNews Vacation™ of your choosing!
First Prize: YEAR SUPPLY OF DAIYA CHEESE
Melty, delicious Daiya vegan cheese has revolutionized kitchens across the country. Sporting fantastic cheddar and mozzarella flavors, it’s perfect for everything from pizza to the ultimate grilled cheese. (one winner)
Second Prize: VEGAN MARSHMALLOW SMORGASBORD
Revel in the ultimate dessert collection, thanks to the marshmallow masterminds at Sweet & Sara. In addition to all their mouthwatering marshmallow varieties, you’ll also receive Sweet & Sara’s nostalgia-inducing Original S’mores and Peanut Butter S’mores, incredible Rocky Road Bark, cocoa-ready mini marshmallows, and rice crispy treats. (two winners)
Third Prize: VEG COOKBOOK COLLECTION
Stock your recipe arsenal with five of Robin Robertson’s amazing cookbooks, including signed copies of Quick Fix Vegetarian, Vegan Fire and Spice, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, Vegan on the Cheap, and Party Vegan. (three winners)
Plus, Weekly Giveaways! TOFU PRESS KITCHEN TOOL
Be prepared for the TofuXpress to change your life. This easy-to-use, fast-working kitchen tool takes the trouble out of tofu, resulting in a perfectly pressed product that absorbs sauces, seasonings, and marinades with ease. From pesto tofu scramble to sesame-ginger cutlets, you’ll love this simple but life-saving counter-top companion! (five winners)
The Details: Ballots must include identifying information and be at least 50% complete to qualify for prizes. Entries must be received between August 2 and August 31, 2010. Nominees are based on the people, places, and products receiving the most votes in the 2009 Veggie Awards as well as nominations made by VegNews editors, and we encourage you to submit write-in votes. Happy voting!
Monday Yumday: Grilled Tempeh Reubens
These are by far one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Not only was this meal super easy to prepare and relatively quick to make (about 40 minutes from prep to assembly), it’s also unbelievably satisfying.
Here’s what you need to make these delicious grilled tempeh reuben sandwiches (makes 4 sandwiches):
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil, divided
- 8 ounces tempeh, sliced into 8 large, 1/8-inch thick sheets
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup water
- 8 slices light rye bread (I used 12 grain)
- 2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
- Thousand Island Dressing (see recipe below)
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained
- 2 avocados, mashed (I completely forgot to mash my avocados!)
1) In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil and tempeh, browning tempeh on each side. Remove tempeh from the pan and set aside.
2) Add remaining oil and onion. Brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return tempeh to the pan and stir in garlic, bay leaves, paprika, caraway, dill, salt, vinegar, tamari, and black pepper. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes or until the water has evaporated and tempeh is infused with flavor and coated with a glaze. Remove bay leaves.
While the tempeh is sauteing you will have plenty of time to prepare the Thousand Island Dressing. It’s so easy! In a small bowl combine the following ingredients: 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and 3 tablespoons dill pickles, chopped. That’s it!
3) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread two slices of bread with margarine. Grill for 3 minutes, until browned on one side only. Repeat for the remaining slices of bread.
4) Between the ungrilled sides of two pieces of toast, layer Thousand Island Dressing, sauerkraut, 2 pieces of tempeh, onions, and avocado. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve with a crisp, fresh green salad with a light vinaigrette dressing and a Hefeweizen beer. (I didn’t make the salad or have the beer. But it was still delicious!)
Favorite Vegan Chocolate!? Who Can Pick Just One?
If you’ve already voted in the 2010 Veggie Awards I’d like to say “Thank You” for participating in the largest survey of vegan products, places and people in the world! 
We’re nominated in several categories, and if you read this blog with any regularity, you’ll know them by heart by now. I know I’ve been writing about this a lot, but since there are only a few more days left to vote, I just want to say a couple of things about our nomination for Favorite Vegan Chocolate.
First, I’d like to giggle at the slightly ridiculous nature of this category. 
I mean, it’s chocolate, do we really need to pick a favorite? Seriously though, our competition in this category is pretty steep; when you vote you’ll no doubt notice some big-name chocolate companies on the list. 
However, even if picking your favorite chocolate is like picking your favorite child, there are some wonderful reasons to vote for Allison’s Gourmet, not least of which is the wide variety of vegan chocolates we offer. Whether your favorite is our peanut butter cups, peppermint creme patties, cherry almond bark or gift-boxed caramels and truffles, if you’ve tried our vegan chocolates I’m sure you’ll have at least one reason to vote for us. Another good reason is that we’re an all-vegan company (no milk chocolate or other animal products hiding in our inventory). Your vote for us will support small-scale, eco-conscious and animal-friendly business practices and products. So, if you haven’t voted yet, do it now! Voting ends Tuesday.
“Wow, that’s a great cookie…”
Since we’re nominated for Favorite Vegan Cookie Company in the 2010 VegNews Veggie Awards, I thought maybe I’d tell you a little bit about our vegan cookies, the philosophies behind them, and what makes them so special. 
We take great pride in making the best cookies any of us have ever eaten, vegan or otherwise. We’re an all-vegan company with extremely high standards for taste and quality. We don’t settle for “it’s good… for being vegan.” When someone tries our vegan cookies for the first time, we want them to say “Wow, that’s a great cookie, is it really vegan?” And they do say that, all the time. We often get responses from customers telling stories of our vegan cookies being the hit of non-vegan parties. Or, as one of our favorite clients put it, “I don’t know what ‘vegan’ means, but your cookies are better than Mrs. Fields.” So, if you love our cookies and want to support a compassionate green company, give us your votes this week, before the polls close on Tuesday.
Confection Affection: Vegan Toffee and Peanut Brittle
Clients often ask what our most popular product is. We have so many great products for such a wide range of tastes that this question is always hard to answer. 
However, there are some products that do stand out as worthy of special praise. Crunchy and crispy, sweet and salty, our vegan toffee and peanut brittle are two of our best-selling confections. Whether you prefer almonds or peanuts, classic, chocolate covered or spiced, these treats are sure to win your heart are first bite. 
With so many varieties to choose from, sold individually or in sets, our vegan toffee and peanut brittle make excellent gifts, and are especially tolerant of being shipped in the summer heat. Our classic toffee, as well as our classic and spiced peanut brittle, won’t melt or get stale even when shipped over weekends.
As you can probably tell, we’re having quite a love affair with these scrumptious confections and we bet, when you try them, you will too!
Last Chance to Vote in the Veggie Awards!
Don’t miss your chance to vote for all your favorite vegan products, people and places in the 2010 VegNews Veggie Awards! 
Allison’s Gourmet is nominated in four categories: Favorite Vegan Bakery (Online), Favorite Vegan Cookie Company, Favorite Vegan Chocolate, and Favorite Column – Veganize It!
But just because you love us isn’t the only reason to vote now. By voting you’ll be entered to win some amazing vegan prizes, and you’ll get to see if your favorites make the awards list published in the November+December issue of VegNews. Voting closes August 31st, one week from today, so don’t waste another second. Vote today, and if you vote for us, we’ll love you forever. 
Monday Yumday: Orange (Chocolate Chip) Scones
I was crammed for time this week so I chose to make something that was made up of ingredients I already had in my kitchen (or rather, ingredients that could be used interchangeably – ie agave nectar vs maple syrup) and something that didn’t require too much time. So, with that we have Allison’s Orange Currant (I used chocolate chips instead of currants) Scones.
Let’s get started – here’s what you need (makes 12 scones):
Dry ingredients:
- 3 1/4 cups unbleached wheat or spelt flour
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 tablespoons non-hydrogenated vegan margarine or light oil (like sunflower or safflower)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (only if using oil; margarine is already salted)
Wet ingredients:
- 2/3 cup currants (I used chocolate chips)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons rice milk (I used almond milk)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup (I used agave nectar)
- Zest of one orange
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment baking paper.
- Oil a 1/4 cup measuring cup (the kind that has a handle and the top can be leveled) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.
- Cut the margarine or oil – into the flour and baking powder mix – with a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers until the texture is crumbly.
- In a separate bowl whisk the wet ingredients (including the chocolate chips or currants).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, lightly stirring until combined. Be careful not to over mix.
- Using the 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop the dough onto the parchment paper, one to two inches a part.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. These are best when warm. Serve with jam or margarine.
I’m not sure I left the scones in the oven long enough because they weren’t quite golden on top. But an inserted toothpick came out clean, and they taste delicious. Before we get started with photos (yay!) please remember to send us your food pics, or post them to our Facebook page. We’d love to see ‘em!
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Fun with School Lunches
Wednesday was Olivia’s first day at her new preschool which means I’m packing her lunches every day for the first time. It’s all new for both of us, and pretty experimental at this point. I love the opportunity and challenge of creating healthy and balanced vegan lunches that she loves (and I secretly hope the other kids will think her food looks so good they’ll all want to go vegan too 
). This was lunch on the first day of school:
Clockwise from left:
Purslane (super high in omega-3)
Quick-pickled fresh garden cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes, also from our garden
Tuna(less) Salad Sandwich on millet bread with tomatoes and kale
Homemade trail mix – almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and dried sea palm
Homemade balsamic vinaigrette for dipping (center)
As a disclaimer, I have to say that Olivia’s tastes are pretty unusual for an almost-four-year-old. We’ve never given her any white sugar, so sweets to her are fruit and even cherry tomatoes. She also eats more kale than most adults I know. I think I packed a little too much food this week, or maybe she was distracted by the new place, kids and routine. In any case, she ate some of everything, but a lot of it came home again. Except for the cherry tomatoes, which as I mentioned, are like dessert to her!
For more vegan meal ideas that even your kids will love, check out my Veganize It! column in VegNews Magazine.
Unique and Delicious Fudge Flavors
I’m always a little sad when, around this time of year, I start to feel Autumn in the air. I’m a summertime kind of girl, and the transition to Fall means that cold, dark winter is just around the corner. One of the things that makes the coming change in the seasons bearable, however, is that Butterscotch Pecan fudge is September’s fudge flavor. 
Words don’t really do it justice, but let me just say that creamy, Butterscotch-flavored white fudge, with an intoxicating scent of caramel and vanilla, perfectly paired with toasted pecans is just the thing to make the idea of coming winter seem like not such a bad thing. You may be surprised that my favorite fudge flavor isn’t a chocolate one, but its uniqueness is part of its charm. Our friends at VegNews like it so much that it has become their preferred corporate food gift whenever we have it available.
If you have a monthly club fudge membership, look for this white fudge delicacy in your mailbox around September 10th. Or, for a memorable and inspiring birthday, holiday, or corporate food gift for compassionate, dessert-loving friends and colleagues all year long, consider a monthly club gift membership.
From Allison’s Kitchen
There’s a reason Allison owns a vegan bakery. Her magic and creativity in the kitchen are always in motion, creating yum-mazing desserts like this weekend’s Strawberry Ice Cream (made with coconut milk) and Blackberry Betty.
Yum Yum! The blackberries were picked by Olivia, David, Grandma and Pops at a local farm, then topped with a crumbly oat flour crust and baked to perfection. The ice cream was homemade too, and sweetened with agave!
Allison’s quest to always make more and more delicious and healthful vegan desserts to share with the world is just one of many reasons to vote for Allison’s Gourmet in the 2010 VegNews Magazine Veggie Awards. We’re nominated for Favorite Vegan Bakery (Online), Favorite Vegan Cookie Company, and Favorite Vegan Chocolate. Allison’s column “Veganize It!” is also nominated for Favorite Column. Vote now!
