Summer Reading Series Giveaway: Vegan Comfort & Spice Cookbooks

Giveaways

Okay, I know what some of you are thinking, who won the last two giveaways? I was on vacation, and unfortunately couldn’t get internet access to wrap up those giveaways (yes, those last couple of posts were scheduled – I confess!). So what I am going to do is announce the winners of all three giveaways next Tuesday, and I will leave them all open for entry until then! So if you missed out on entering the Divvies Cookbook Giveaway or the Vegan Dessert Cookbook Giveaway, you can still enter those and this one through Monday, August 30th.

This week’s giveaway is from one of my favorite publishers, Vegan Heritage Press. One winner will receive a copy of each of the following cookbooks:

American Vegan Kitchen – I call this one “greasy spoon meets the American bistro.” Full of comfort foods and adventurous recipes, this is much more than your basic run-of-the-mill vegan cookbook.

  • My Review: I sampled several of the recipes, this review highlights just a few!
  • Sample Recipe: They allowed me to reprint one of the recipes I enjoyed, Smokin’ BBQ Portobello Mushroom “Sandwiches” with homemade Q-sauce.

American Vegan Kitchen

Vegan Fire & Spice – I love that this book focuses on spice in terms of flavor and not just heat. Many of the recipes are actually not “spicy” at all (but don’t worry heat fans, true to name, there are some “fire” recipes!), but every recipe is packed with flavor and the global theme keeps things interesting and unique.

  • My Review: I’ve yet to meet a Robin Robertson recipe I didn’t like.
  • Sample Recipe: Enjoy this recipe for Close to Callaloo.

Vegan Fire & Spice

 

Enter to win these cookbooks NOW:

1st Entry – Comment and answer the following: What says ‘comfort food’ to you?

2nd Entry – For another chance to win, share this giveaway via facebook, twitter, or your blog, and leave a second comment here letting me know that you did.

For twitter and/or facebook, you can use the following “Enter to win two popular vegan cookbooks @OneFrugalFoodie – http://tinyurl.com/vegan-comfort-cookbooks“

3rd Entry – Sign up to receive One Frugal Foodie posts and/or Go Dairy Free posts via email (see upper right corner of this blog for One Frugal Foodie, click here to get Go Dairy Free updates), and let me know that you did in another comment.

 

The Summer Book Series Giveaways will go on every week in July & August, so stay tuned!

Fresh and Nutty Maple Fig Spread

Alisa's Recipes

Today I am doing a guest post on The Whole Gang for a continuation of 30 Days to a Food Revolution. But, I also get to post it here. The idea is that I offer a tip for healthy living (whole foods and from scratch kind of stuff), and a recipe. So here you go …

Recipe: Fresh Maple-Fig Spread (recipe below)

fig spread

Tip: Treat yourself to a ‘new to you’ food at least once a month, and a healthy ‘splurge’ food at least once a week

I confess, even though I love whole foods and eating seasonally, I can easily get caught in an ordinary repetitive rut … banana smoothies for breakfast; homemade bread and nut butter for a snack; big salad with greens, carrots, and protein for lunch; an orange or apple for a snack; and a protein, grain, veggie dinner that usually contains broccoli, cauliflower, or a similar common veggie.

It wasn’t until I signed up for a CSA that I discovered the fun and excitement of trialing new-to-me foods. Sure, I still love my banana smoothies and an almost-daily heap of my still favorite veggie, broccoli, but throwing a new food in the mix on occasion really perks up my interest in from-scratch meals, and helps me to expand the variety in my diet.

I tried shooting for one new-to-me food per week, but the pressure was a little too much for me when I didn’t have a CSA for guidance. So I have changed up the program to something more manageable. Now I aim to trial one new-to-me food per month, BUT, each week I pick up at least one “splurge” food that is perhaps something that I have trialed before, but don’t indulge in very often. I guess you would call it re-introducing a food to increase the variety and pleasure in my diet. I often combine this concept with seasonality – a box of organic strawberries at their peak, some fresh ears of local corn mid-summer, or a kabocha squash when it makes its rare appearance at my small town grocer.

Keep in mind, the “new” or “reintroduced” food could be fruit, vegetables, whole grains, organic meats, wild seafood, a drink (think herbal or antioxidant tea, kefir, or kombucha), a wholesome baking ingredient, or even or even a fun “superfood” like maca, acai, or mulberries. The sky is the limit!

For some examples, here are a few creations I made with new-to-me and healthy splurge foods:

As it happened, this month the fruit CSA delivered an item that I couldn’t believe I had never tried before, fresh figs. The dried, wrinkly ones have entered my kitchen on several occasions, but this was my first taste of a fresh fig, and it was delicious! I had several, so I opted to make a spread that would replace my morning nut butter for a for a few days, and even used it to jazz up that banana smoothie …

Fresh Maple-Fig Spread

Feel free to add more fresh figs if you want to highlight the fruit even more. If you only have dried figs on hand, rehydrate them in warm water and puree away.

This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free.

  • 1/4 Cup Cashews or Almonds
  • 1/4 Cup Walnuts
  • 6 Medium-Sized Fresh Figs
  • 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (can sub honey or agave)
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Grind the cashews or almonds somewhat into a powder (I use an electric spice/coffee grinder). Add all ingredients to your food processor, and pulse, chop, or blend to your desired consistency. I made mine fairly smooth, but with some walnut chunks. Feel free to adjust the sweetness, salt, and spices as desired.

Yields about 1 cup

Smoothie Option – The figs help to sweeten up smoothies, while the nuts add some creaminess, healthy fat, and protein. Here I simply blended about 1/3 cup of the spread with 1 frozen banana (and an extra dash of cinnamon) for a lightly sweet and tasty breakfast treat. Feel free to sweeten to taste if your fruit isn’t quite ripe and/or add some protein powder for a little more muscle in your beverage …

fig smoothie

Blog Events:

Chocolate Explosion Oatmeal Cookies

Alisa's Recipes

I was in a baking mood and my husband was in a cookie eating mood, so I whipped out my copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar for a little inspiration, and to give the book another go. So far, it has been a little hit and miss … the hits scoring big points, and the misses still tasting okay, but often a bit too sweet and lacking in the performance category.

Fortunately, the Chocolate Fudgey Oatmeal Cookies were a hit with the husband … and I liked them too! I omitted the fruit, and added in more chocolate. Craving perhaps? Anyway, these are the chocolatiest oatmeal cookies I have ever tasted … almost like an oatmeal-spiked brownie.

chocolate explosion oatmeal cookie

I made a few adjustments to the recipe including an ingredient swap or two, but stayed true to the concept. Here is my modified version …

 

Chocolate Explosion Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, and Soy-Free.

  • 2 Cups Quick Oats (not instant)
  • 1-2/3 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
  • 2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1-1/2 Cups Sugar (I have to admit, plain white sugar (organic if you can) is a standout in chocolate cookies and brownies, but if you want a wholesome alternative, feel free to experiment here with evaporated cane juice or granulated palm sugar)
  • 2 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed
  • 2/3 Cup Unsweetened Milk Alternative (I used coconut milk beverage)
  • 2/3 Cup Olive Oil (extra-light or regular)
  • 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (I used the mini-chips from Enjoy Life Foods)

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the oats, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flax, milk alternative, oil, and vanilla. Stir or mix until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop the batter by the heaping spoonful (a couple tablespoons) onto your baking sheets (I lined mine with a silpat). Shape and flatten the cookies slightly, they only spread a wee bit.

Cook for 10 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny. I prefer them a little soft in the middle, and 10 minutes seemed to be spot on for this.

Yields 12-16 brownie-like pillows

choc explosion oat cookies

Summer Reading Series Giveaway: The New Divvies Bakery Cookbook!

Giveaways

This week, three winners. That’s right, three of you will win this hot off the presses:

Divvies Cookbook

The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious! has just been released (yesterday!), and you can be one of the first to win your very own copy.

I got to preview a copy, and wow, what beautiful book. It is wonderfully written, totally fun and kid-friendly (lots of party ideas), and full color. Love it. I did jump right in and trial a recipe, making the Double Chocolate Zucchini bread into muffins. Alas, I live at 6500 ft, and attempted to make the recipe without adjustments. Bad idea. But, our sunken muffins were actually incredible! We served them up as brownie sundaes and oh my goodness … SO good. I will be trialing that recipe again with some high altitude adjustments, as well as many others in this scrumptious-looking cookbook. These are on the top of my list:

  • Cinnamon Buns (one of  Benjamin’s (her son’s) top 10)
  • Choose-Your-Own-Mix-In Scones
  • Benjamin’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Carrot Cake with “Cream Cheese” Frosting
  • Apple Fritters

If you aren’t familiar with Divvies, they are pretty much a legendary dairy-, egg-, and nut-free bakery that ships cookies, cupcakes, and candy throughout the U.S. The recipe creator  and food allergy mom behind Divvies, Lori Sandler, is the author of The Divvies Bakery Cookbook. Her recipes do not disappoint. Want proof? I just might be posting a Divvies recipe on Go Dairy Free this weekend. Stay tuned.

In the mean time, what have you got to lose? Enter to win NOW:

1st Entry – Comment and answer the following: Why do you want this cookbook?

2nd Entry – For another chance to win, share this giveaway via facebook, twitter, or your blog, and leave a second comment here letting me know that you did.

For twitter and/or facebook, you can use the following “Enter to win the new Divvies cookbook @OneFrugalFoodie – http://tinyurl.com/divvies-cookbook“

3rd Entry – Sign up to receive One Frugal Foodie posts and/or Go Dairy Free posts via email (see upper right corner of this blog for One Frugal Foodie, click here to get Go Dairy Free updates), and let me know that you did in another comment.

Entries will close on Monday, July 26th, and the winner of both cookbooks will be selected and announced on Tuesday, July 27th.

For those of you who can’t wait, The Divvies Bakery Cookbook is now available on Amazon

 

The Summer Book Series Giveaways will go on every week in July & August, so stay tuned!

Summer Reading Series Giveaway: Two Dessert Cookbooks!

Giveaways

Here we are in week two of the summer reading series and I have two awesome vegan full-color dessert cookbooks to giveaway. Even if you already have one of these gems, they make beautiful full-color gifts for the holidays (is it ever to early to plan ahead?) …

Sweet Utopia: Simply Stunning Vegan Desserts
This full color cookbook from Sharon Valencik won over a foodie friend and avid vegan baker who writes reviews for Go Dairy Free. She was immediately pleased with the beautiful photography and the easy-to-follow recipes, but hooked after sampling some of the near perfect cookie recipes. Of course, this cookbook doesn’t stop with cookies … cakes, pies, muffins, cobblers, bread pudding, and more can all be found within.

  •  The Look: With a scrumptious photo for every recipe, what’s not to like?
  • Sample Recipe: Fudgy Chip Cookies

Sweet Utopia - Vegan Desserts

My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert
Though she always throws in some classics (like Black and White Cookies and Pumpkin Pecan Pie) the author, Hannah Kaminsky, is well-known for adding new twists to old favorites (think Baklava Tart and Not Nog Cupcakes), and coming up with completely unique new concepts (how about Green Tea Tiramisu and Pomegranate-Ginger Cupcakes). This author focuses almost exclusively on desserts in all of her culinary adventures, so she definitely knows her sweets.

My Sweet Vegan

1st Entry – Comment and answer the following: What is your favorite dessert? Please do feel free to be specific, or even link to a recipe if you wish. You must answer this question to be eligible!

2nd Entry – For another chance to win, share this giveaway via facebook, twitter, or your blog, and leave a second comment here letting me know that you did.

For twitter and/or facebook, you can use the following “Enter to win one of the best dairy-free cookbooks @OneFrugalFoodie – http://tinyurl.com/2bp48wg”

3rd Entry – Sign up to receive One Frugal Foodie posts and/or Go Dairy Free posts via email (see upper right corner of this blog for One Frugal Foodie, click here to get Go Dairy Free updates), and let me know that you did in another comment.

Entries will close on Monday, July 19th, and the winner of both cookbooks will be selected and announced on Tuesday, July 20th.

The Summer Book Series Giveaways will go on every week in July & August, so stay tuned!