One of the rare things I’ve found missing from my life as vegan is “milk” chocolate. I run into a lot of “accidentally-vegan” dark chocolate that has certainly widened my scope of chocolate-eating, but not very many people are tackling a vegan chocolate for those of us who, well, aren’t that into dark chocolate to begin with. So, when I heard there was a box of vegan milk chocolate (or “light chocolate” as NO Whey! is calling it) to be reviewed, I got excited.  And when I saw it was a Valentines assortment, my heart sang and angels appeared.  One of my great past loves was those heart-shaped box Valentines Day assortments. The boxes almost made up for the dumb holiday.

The NO Whey! Candies Valentines assortment is a sampler of heart-shaped chocolate in a tasteful (non-heart shaped) brown-striped box with white, pink and red (recyclable!) paper ribbon, accompanied by a candy menu with ingredient listings in red print. The box sparked memories of chocolates of yore (my pre-vegan days) as visions of Chunkys and Cadbury crème eggs popped into my head. The light chocolate, used for most of the varieties in the box, is very sweet and creamy.

I’ll start with the varieties that aren’t normally my favorites:

The Cream-Filled Hearts stood out as surprisingly on-target for that type of candy. The Cherries & Cream reminded me of the cherry/raspberry confections you’d stumble upon in the assortment box, but better as they weren’t cloyingly sweet (I actually finished this one instead of casting it aside). The Coffee Cream's creamy coffee-flavored filling was a nicely sweet coffee-in-candy alternative compared to the ubiquitous dark chocolate covered espresso beans you find everywhere (that are more coffee than candy). Remarkably, the chocolate covered cherry, My Cherry Amour, didn’t leak goo all over as I bit into the nice mound of sweet milk chocolate to reveal a perfectly respectable maraschino nestled in its creamy interior.

Then I got down to business with the chocolates I was most looking forward to, and for which I had the highest expectations!

PETA's Vegan College Cookbook: 275 Easy, Cheap, and Delicious Recipes to Keep You Vegan at School is aimed at students living in dorms, an experience I am a decade removed from. Still, I remain a fan of tasty food made cheaply and easily so this book excites me. Yes, nearly all the recipes are carb heavy, many are of questionable nutritional value, and most involve very few fresh vegetables beyond onions, but that's how college is. Shit is real! You don't have time to be sprouting mung beans and basting turducken. You've got books to read and beer to drink!

Frankly, I'm amazed at all the things you can make in a microwave (including cake!). So far I've only made spaghetti and meat sauce. While the sauce—thick with Gimme Lean—was deliciously seasoned, the pasta was a mushy nightmare I am loath to revisit. Though preparing a meal in a microwave is more like a science experiment than cooking, there is fun to be had, and possibly even a tasty cake or two to be eaten. I can't wait to start nuking more things! I think every microwave should come with a copy of this animal-friendly book.

Try some of the recipes now on PETA2.com!

It happens every year — well, it could. Cast as little Clara or Marie in the Nutcracker, every night you have to take off one of your shoes and hurl it at the Mouse King to deter him from devouring your precious Nutcracker. But you're concerned about this stage direction, key plot point though it is. Is this violent action reconcilable with the vegan way?

At the very least, you can make sure the shoe you throw is a vegan shoe. Before choreographer and animal activist Cynthia King — an alumna of The Boston Conservatory, The Ailey School, and The Rod Rodgers Dance Company — opened her Brooklyn dance studio in 2002, a canvas shoe with a leather sole was the concerned dancer's only option. I confirmed this after purchasing a bizarre pink plastic pair of something that came to a point in the middle and molded to the arch with all the flexibility of a flip-flop. Whatever it was, it was not a dancing shoe.

The decision to betray my principles and buy real, foot-shaped ballet slippers was traumatic and confusing, and none of you will have to make it, thanks to Cynthia. In 2003 she worked with a local shoemaker to develop gorgeous, durable, and affordable ($24.95 per pair) split-sole canvas shoes, using vinyl instead of suede on the bottom (your feet won't know the difference!), that hug the foot like a sock and create a more flattering shape than any of the Capezios, Sanshas, or Blochs of the pre-vegan past. So even though I'm told that Capezio can now do a special-order vegan slipper with a six- to eight-week waiting period (if so, they keep it quiet on their website), I'm sticking with Cynthia's. They're available immediately from her website and from Karmavore in Canada, and are simply the best slippers you're going to find.

Heeeey, vegans! Looking for a tasty break from the holiday fair at Union Square? The Greenmarket has your back with these sweet and savory prepared vegan foods. Here's what I discovered on a Saturday visit:

Breezy Hill Orchard offers a spectacular carrot-raisin cookie for $2.75. Filled with carrots, roasted walnuts, raisins, and oats, this is one hearty, moist, and chewy cookie. (And may I add, huge.) Do yourself a favor and buy two because you'll undoubtedly be pining for another the next day. Generally I'm only a fan of super-sweet treats, but this cookie unexpectedly delivered taste in a big way. The addition of maple syrup packed a punch of sweetness that had me thinking I was eating some sort of waffle cookie. Breezy Hill also offers a vegan apple-cranberry tart. It looked good, but as I am not a fan of apples, I bypassed it in favor of another cookie.

Hawthorne Valley Farm offers a vast assortment of breads and baked goods. Right smack in the middle of said assortment are soft, vegan chocolate chip and walnut cookies for $1.50. Not only are the cookies delectable, but the vendors are very cheery, happily searching out the cookies with the most chips for you!

Body and Soul peddles their vegan turnovers, wraps, muffins, and cookies on Mondays and Fridays. Everything they offer is vegan. (But nothing is gluten-free.)

Keep in mind that the vendors and offerings vary by day and season. Don't expect neon signs blinking "Vegans Welcome" — you have to ask at each booth or scan the options for the magic word. A great big thank you to the vendors who consistently remember their vegan brethren!

The Union Square Greenmarket is open year-round on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The sharpie tattoo on my arm reads: Eat Chocolate. Review for SuperVegan.

Before me, a mini tower of BlueStocking BonBons by Lagusta's Luscious and a glass of water (to y’know cleanse my palate and be all methodological yo). My mission, simple: eat, type, eat, type, etc.

Selma's Peppermint Patties

Wow. Wasn't expecting this texture at first glance; they are not soft at all. They're damn good though. Simultaneously luscious and robust; they strike a perfect balance of mint and chocolate where neither overpowers the other. You go Selma!

Vandana Shiva’s (Ancho Chilies, Maui Vanilla Beans and Mexican Cinnamon)

Ooooh. Texture! Spicy, smooth and Savory. I must say the texture of this piece really brings the whole experience to another level. It's as though every flavor shines independently and dance together in your mouth. You can really taste every bit!

Pauline Benjamin’s Peanut Butter Cups

Whoa. Not sweet. The Peanut Butter Flavor definitely dominates. A bit dry but the dark chocolate acts as a nice undertone to the heavy peanut butter flavor. This is for you if you like your peanut butter with a little chocolate and not the other way around.

Furious Vulvas (bittersweet chocolate, pink peppercorns and salt)

Mmmmmm. Spicy and Salty! The pink peppercorns and salt add a special dimension to the chocolate piece. This is definitely the smoothest of the four. Melty, luscious and smooth. The salt makes this bonbon sing. Oh. Yeah. These things totally looks like vulvas too. Ha.

The Verdict: Lagusta can throw down some damn tasty chocolate; interestingly flavored, with great packaging and would make a great gift!

If your mom ever made an excellent treasure hunt for you and your greedy, unappreciative siblings, you remember how tingly your toes and fingers got when you finally reached the treasure chest full of whoknowswhat. Now you can have that transcendent shivery feeling and a box of crafty vegan surprise in the mail, and you don't have to share them...or fish clues out of the toilet.

It's All in the Bag is providing that service. Buy a bag of vegan, handmade crafts for $15 (small), $25 (medium), or $35 (large holiday bag, now sold out) from their website and receive a mixed bag of vegan sample stuff donated by crafters on Etsy. All profits from the bags go to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary out in Deer Trail, Colorado. (Oh, check out their site! It is so pretty and soft and delicate and just like being in the womb!) So what's not to like?

That's Oh My Gosh Cupcakes, and yes, they will make you shout their namesake phrase. This afternoon I sat down with a couple of friends to enjoy the goodies Andie and her crew baked and delivered (on time and beautifully packaged in corn-based plastic cupcake holders). Let's meet the edibles!

Carrot Cake
The first cupcake we tried, the carrot cake concoction, is my favorite, and I'll tell you why: it is perfect. I know you can barely stand superlatives so I have to explain myself the only way I know how -- with a list.
1. The carrot flavor is king to the raisin and vanilla peasantry.
2. It has a tight crumb without being too dense.
3. The sweet, decadent icing complements a cake that could knock a man down on its own.
4. Extra points for mini carrot decoration on top.
My only complaint is that it contains raisins, but I can't criticize it for that since most people like raisins and wouldn't call this carrot cake without them. If you like raisins, or even if you aren't hot on them, take it from a woman who usually can't stand 'em: you will love this cake.

Didja hear? It rained in LA. Don't worry! It's right back to 92 and sunny, but for a few days there, it was a sure sign of the apocalypse. People were FREAKING OUT.

I, on the other hand, put on long pants and close-toed shoes for the first time in a long time, went to Trader Joe's for provisions, followed the directives of my fauxtein ("Cook with me!") and made stew with the beefless tips provided by the good people at Gardein. I loosely followed this recipe, adding way more veggies (peas, two kinds of green beans, mushrooms, tomatoes), some extra spices (salt, garlic, thyme, rosemary) and swapping out the onion soup mix for some "beef" broth.

Results, Day 1: (There will be many days worth of stew.) It looks better than it tastes. It's disappointingly bland. The Beefless is also flavorless. Or, the flavor it has is not what I want in m'stew. I thought about marinating them beforehand, but I kinda wanted to see how it would turn out used as-is. Lesson learned: do not use as is. But even the veggies are bland. I'm not sure if this is due to crock pot cooking, which I have never done before, or the flash freezing process they surely endured. Save yourself appx. $25 on groceries, and just saute some $3 mushrooms, cause that's all I taste.

Results, Day 2: No magical vegan elves came and fixed it overnight, but it's improved slightly. "The flavors have gotten to know each other" as my mom says, but not nearly enough. I'm still not proud to have birthed it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to eat it. The texture's good, it's thickened up a bit, and well, it's there.

Results, Day 3: I heard a some high pitched giggling, jingling, and pitter pattering in my kitchen during the night--I got up, sharpened my elbows, and went to check it out (I had been cat food burgled by a hungry raccoon last week, so I'm on high alert). I found the crock pot out of the fridge, a tiny pouch of Magic Yummy Dust on the counter, and one abandoned elfin slipper near the cat door. The stew is delicious! Robust and full of various tastes! I think there's even more of it than there was before!

(Okay, I haven't had any since day 2, but I wanted to end on a posi note.)

Next up: Chicken Scaloppini.

This is one of Supervegan's posts for Vegan MoFo 2009.

The fine people over at Gardein sent me a box so that I may be your Super Guinea Vegan. Inside that box was a box made out of styrofoam. Inside the styrofoam box there were some frozen meatless technologies on ice! First up:

"marinara chick'n good stuff." Or, as I like to call it: Chicken Marinara!

Two to a pack, these cutlets are breaded balls with sauce and cheese in the middle. The package said, "Enjoy me" on it, so my mock meat was giving me orders. Now here's what I did, and I'm not claiming to be a Top Chef or anything (Heeey, Jennifer! You don't MESS in that kitchen.), but I will say that in my preparation for making this, my life has been altered forever. And because I love you, I'mma share:

Did you know that if your local Whole Foods uses Daiya Cheese in their prepared foods department like mine does, that you can saunter over to them with a smile and a soup container from the soup bar and they will fill it with the shredded cassava wonder and charge you for it by weight? A medium tub cost me $3.27, which by vegan standards is basically free.

So, I placed the cutlets on a baking sheet, surrounded by an army of broccoli so that they couldn't flee, (broccoli sprayed with olive oil Pam and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. then I took them out, covered the cutlets in some marinara sauce, covered the marinara sauce in Daiya cheese, and baked them for 5 minutes more.



Verdict: I enjoyed you. I burnt the broccoli; nay, my very very tardy dinner guest caused me to burn the broccoli. I preferred the sauce I put on top of the cutlet over the one already inside, but the chickenry was convincing and the breading was pretty perky for having just gotten off a plane, truck, and my freezer.

This is one of Supervegan's posts for Vegan MoFo 2009.

When I was a vegetarian, I was fat and unhealthy. There was one reason and one reason only: CHEESE. No, seriously. My cholesterol count rivaled the one belonging to my carnivorous dad, and he eats the really gross stuff like liver and tongue.

I was always a picky eater; I eschewed most of the animal products offered me growing up in a S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) household--even as a baby. But cheese was a different story altogether. We were friends.

I officially went vegetarian in my early teens and basked in the excuse to eat cheese all the livelong day. Then, when I went vegan in my mid-twenties, the sudden omission of cheese was pure culture shock: it seemed you could get a substitute for just about everything--even caviar and haggis--but not simple cheese. While many vegan items on the market surpassed their non-vegan counterparts, the cheese options were just place fillers.